January Pagan Circle

[DaughterOfKali]

New month, new year!  Hope you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011!

What are your plans for this weekend?

[Midwitch]

Thank you and the same to you 

The weather is beautiful here, just above freezing, clear blue sky and sunny, so we are going to go for a long walk along the fjord, through the forest there 

Then back home to eat pancakes and drink hot tea

[DaughterOfKali]

Sounds lovely!  Welcome to the Circle!

[Aeress]

We had a wonderful start to our new year, though Bella ate too much and had a stomachache, she woke up just fine this morning. (Mommy over did it as well) We made a cake and lit a candle, each child said a wish for the new year and blew out the candle. We had a fake countdown so the kids could go to sleep, but hubby and I made it till midnight.

Our snow has melted and the kids are bummed, we had planned to go sledding.

I have a word for the new year- wellness...

[wombatclay]

Happy 2011 all!  My word is going to be "Joyful"!  I was teetering between "health" and "prosperity" but finally decided that I'd go the Prince of Denmark route (nothing good or ill but thinking makes it so) and focus on finding and accepting JOY.  I can't magic back my teeth or wave a wand to fix our family's financial picture, but I can find the daily joys and meet the world in a joyful way.

Today is yet another jam packed day, but I have Hoppin' John on the stove (black eyed peas, bringing good luck in the new year), spoonfuls of sweet rice (brown rice and honey, to ensure that the new year is filled with security...the rice... and blessings...the honey), and I'll we rinsing down the house with our home made super stuff (water, hydrogen peroxide, grapefruit seed oil, tea tree oil, dr bronner's peppermint soap) before doing a "welcoming ritual".  There's a nice website with info, but here's the heart of it:

 The woman of the house first sweeps and cleans every corner of the home. Then she walks around the outside of the dwelling three times and standing in the open doorway calls out this welcome, “the bidding-in of the elves”:
“Come, those who wish to come, Stay, those who wish to stay, and Fare, those who wish to fare, harmless to me and mine.”** And of course the alfs and wights love a good meal, and appreciate a clean home, just as they value good manners.

I usually try to have all the cleaning done so I can avoid tasks on NYDay but this year?  Well.  LOL

[bluets]

Happy New Year everyone!

Ooo... I love that ritual Clay, so I'm going to adapt it to my lice-carcass-infested laundry (a task that does need to be done today)!  Only they may not stay.

I've got Hoppin' John simmering in the crockpot too (started it last night).  Collards in the fridge....  yum.  I used a meaty ham bone leftover from Thanksgiving so it will meet dh's criteria of "meat".

I'm thinking our word needs to be Balance.  Maybe I need to make that big and stick it to a wall somewhere.

I learned a big lesson with this lice thing:  Castor oil applied topically - EVEN ON THE HEAD - has a crampy laxative effect.  I'm switching to a different oil :)

[wombatclay]

I've been thinking I might make a wall hanging with this year's word... just a nice sheet or chunk of fabric from the thrift store, then letters cut out from other fabric and sewn in place (or embroidered, but the cut letters seem quicker).  Hem the whole thing and hang!  I had originally thought of it as a sort of patchwork quilt made from fabric found by each family member (or taken from worn out clothes) but I want it "done" so a true quilt might be tough.

Then again, a quilt DEOS take time ('specially hand stitched) and that might be more appropriate... I'd be "forced" to contemplete my word almost daily in a very physical way.  A wall hanging/flag might fade into the decore too quickly.  Hmmmm.

Good luck with the bug-riddance!

[mamaofthree]

happy new years!

h

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by wombatclay Today is yet another jam packed day, but I have Hoppin' John on the stove (black eyed peas, bringing good luck in the new year), spoonfuls of sweet rice (brown rice and honey, to ensure that the new year is filled with security...the rice... and blessings...the honey), and I'll we rinsing down the house with our home made super stuff (water, hydrogen peroxide, grapefruit seed oil, tea tree oil, dr bronner's peppermint soap) before doing a "welcoming ritual".  There's a nice website with info, but here's the heart of it:

Do you think it'd be alright if I did this after we get home, and not today? Monday? Because I'm stuck here today, and then we're traveling tomorrow, so in *our own home* the New Year doesn't really start till Monday. I think-- like you said, thinking makes it so, so it WILL be so. So ha. Right? 

Originally Posted by bluets I learned a big lesson with this lice thing:  Castor oil applied topically - EVEN ON THE HEAD - has a crampy laxative effect.  I'm switching to a different oil :)

Yikes. 

Originally Posted by wombatclay I've been thinking I might make a wall hanging with this year's word... just a nice sheet or chunk of fabric from the thrift store, then letters cut out from other fabric and sewn in place (or embroidered, but the cut letters seem quicker).  Hem the whole thing and hang!  I had originally thought of it as a sort of patchwork quilt made from fabric found by each family member (or taken from worn out clothes) but I want it "done" so a true quilt might be tough.

Then again, a quilt DEOS take time ('specially hand stitched) and that might be more appropriate... I'd be "forced" to contemplete my word almost daily in a very physical way.  A wall hanging/flag might fade into the decore too quickly.  Hmmmm.

What a fantastic idea. I like Clarity, like some of you suggested, but I'm thinking I want one that...hmm, something about our relationship that involves positivity and how to move forward when we hit snags. Which could also carry into my other relationships, like with ds, and my mom, etc. 

The quilt thing-- puts me in mind of Morgaine crafting the Scabbard in Mists of Avalon. Maybe you can do a quick one just to get one up, while you work on the quilty one?

Happy new year, all! 

[coyotemist]

Hi, all, can I join?  I found the old thread a while back, but was a bit intimidated by the long thread, and didn't see that I could get caught up.  But with a new thread, I don't have to get caught up since I caught it at the beginning!!!

I'm a bit pagan, bit Mother-Goddess lover, bit witchy-we'moon,  teeny bit of Christianity left over from my childhood.  We don't celebrate much at home, we should do more with candle ceremonies and stuff.  My beliefs are so different from most people I know that I get caught up in doing it myself and do nothing.  More celebrating in the new year!  That's one of my goals!

[coyotemist]

I love your ideas for quilts!

Sometime soon I want to make one of these

http://rhythmofthehome.com/winter-2010/fabric-labyrinth-children/

[witchygrrl]

Oh, I wish I was a crafty girl! I am just not. That labyrinth is beautiful.

Happy New Year everyone! We went to  a party last night, but left early to minimize the amount of drunk people we might encounter on the roads. Then we came home, DD wanted to stay up so we did, watching Dick Clark, and then Whose Line is it Anyway? afterward. Then bed.

I think for this year, my word needs to be Growth. I felt very stagnant last year.

[Aubergine68]

Happy New Year!

Welcome, Midwitch!  We are supposed to warm up to near freezing here, today, too, but still about 15 below 0 C.  Too cold to play outside with my youngest - we are going to head to the rec center and skate or swim, though I'm sure it will be super crowded.

The word 'resilience'  comes to mind, Maia?  I think that is not quite what you are looking for.  Someone suggested the word `Progress' last year, which I really liked.

My word for last year was `light' and it was a great choice for me.  Clarity is a related word.  Both words are all over my Treasure Map, so I'll be living with them for a while.  My life is lighter and brighter, but not *too* light - I decluttered and unloaded a lot of weight and darkness, but I do not think I have been flighty or light-fingered, or light-weight or any of those negative meanings.

Still in dialogue with my family about what words we're choosing.  I have washed off our chalkboard in the kitchen - new year, a literal clean slate.  We use it for family to-do lists regularly, so it is that kind of space where we put something that we intend to work on manifesting.  I have written the following words across the top of the chalkboard, and there they will stay, unless I come up with something more permanent, like a hanging or quilt:  "Goals achieved" (for my dd who always sets goals but then changes them), "Fun" for my 6-year-old - a great choice, I thought!  And "Pride", which is my word. Dh and youngest DS haven't put their words forth yet.  I figure having all the words up together, we will all benefit from the energy of all of them.

 I've been ambivalent about putting up a word that has such negative connotations, but it feels right.  I think I am self-aware enough to avoid arrogance, but I want to feel genuine, healthy pride in all the areas of my life where I currently feel inadequate or insufficient.  Mostly in how I relate to people outside my family, how I relate to my body, and how I relate to certain  private spiritual goals.  Pride as healthy confidence. I have sun, Mars and Venus in Leo, though few would guess that, who know me, since I don't show much Leo -- I have a Virgo ascendent, so I present to the world as introverted, focused on small stuff, service oriented, and an Aquarius moon, which keeps me open-minded and new-agey and really balances the Leo negatives..   So what that word means to me is a desire to express the best of Leo qualities, to live my life so that I can feel a healthy genuine pride in everything I do, in all my relationships.  I want to live in a way that supports healthy pride in others, too. A U2ish sorta Pride (in the name of Love), maybe.

Time to go be a parent!

ETA - crossposted with you, coyotemist!  Welcome!  Thanks for posting the labyrinth quilt.  I was trying to work on a clay classical labyrinth like that, but it kept cracking.  I want to try again, got lots of clay!  Or maybe in wood?  I wanted to make something that I could use for meditation but that my boys could use for a toy with their minotaur figure....

Edited by Aubergine68 - 1/1/11 at 11:07am

[coyotemist]

Wood would be really fun, I got a scroll saw for Christmas! :)

In the next month I'm going to start stripping wallpaper from my kitchen and painting it.  I love the idea of a small to medium chalkboard, we have just the right wall for it!  Goals and words and special things...

[sweetsunshine85]

subbing

[Autumn Breeze]

welcome 2011!!!

I know I won't be able to keep up with you ladies ;) You're all too quick for me with the posting and the news, I am left behind in the dust!! LOL No worries though, I still appreciate you all!

I have been doing a lot of cleaning, purging, organizing...and I plan to continue this year.

I don't know if I want to come up with a word for the year...but I plan to just try to be better all around....again. I feel like this last year I spent time finding ways to make improvements...so hopefully now I can spend the year making the improvements! I am excited about 2011!!

[_ktg_]

Happy New Year Everyone!!  The temps took a sudden drop - so while it looks sunny & fun outside, brrr its chilly!  We're trying to finish the massive to-do list we had while I was on vacation this past week.  Almost there.... :)

Word for this year... I like these "Balance" and "Believe" and I'm tempted to throw in a "breathe"too .  I love the chalkboard to keep the words visible, but ours is often the "to-do" list. 

Welcome Coyotemist & Midwitch!  and YAY for the pop-in Autumn!!! 

DH just made me a hot shower since I'm all tense from dealing with a croupy little man this morning.  Sending out love & light!! 

[sharon71]

I too would like to join the circle,I'm a beginner I've just started dwelving into Paganism/Wicca and I still have a lot to learn.

My word for the New year is Patience because i need to find more of it.

[sweetsunshine85]

Happy New Year! Welcome new-comers!

I think my word for 2010 was TRUST, though I didn't know that til Solstice. Not sure, maybe it should be 2011's... I don't know!

Had a pretty good New Year's Eve at my friend's house. Drank some, but not too much, watched the ball drop and then listened to my friend become violently ill! Poor thing has some kind of brutal stomach/intestinal bug. She was up all night sick as a dog! :( Made her up a blend of herbal tea to help with the fever, settle her stomach and give her some strength. Hoping she feel better in the morning.

Gotta get cleaning my room. Eclipse sent me this angel ritual thing. 5 angels are due to arrive at 10:30pm. I totally don't know what to think about it, but I gotta try I suppose. I certainly don't want to offend any angels!

[mamaofthree]

i have been thinking about this word thing a bit... i am leaning towards "loving-kindness" for others as well as myself. 

made black eyed peas with ham and collards. after i told the kids it would bring good luck they all at least tried it. lol it was actually pretty good and nice and warming considering it was a wee bit chilly here in AZ. 

dh took the boys on a hike this early afternoon and then he went to the salvation army and found a print of starry night for me. <3 ahhh i love me some van gogh. plus i got to watch the Dr. who with van gogh in it today. <3 

well must go deal with the kidlets. :)

h