Harvest And Hearth

Photo by trea-silverwolf.deviantart.com

Autumn is here. Yes, it is my favourite time of the year. I always feel closer to home and hearth. Now I know I'm a few weeks late for my sabbat check in, but life has been quite busy. The Goddess has blessed me with a new job in my field of study and it tends to take up most of my time. 

Mabon actually got me thinking about my own project ideas this year. Usually I look through Llewellyn's Sabbat Almanac for ideas on how to celebrate the sabbats, but I did several of the ideas in the 2013 Mabon section last year when I did not have access to my library and picked the 2013 copy up early. Thus I wanted to do something new this year and with my busy schedule came up with the idea of a sabbat candle. 

The sabbat candle is simply an offering candle that you dress with herb and oils that correspond to the sabbat and then burn the candle daily until the next sabbat when you make another one. For mine Mabon candle I used cloves, cinnamon sticks, orange and ginger oils. The candle is quite fragrant and I can feel the energy of the Lord and Lady that it brings to my home.

Mabon candle and Autumn bouquet.

I plan on doing this simple yet powerful offering for every sabbat from now on. Now back to my books so I can start planning Samhain ahead of time.

Spring Has Set

With the passing of Ostara last week and the Full Moon today, spring is in full swing here in California.  Most of the United States right now is probably grumbling at us, but my parents in Washington State are actually having far better weather than California, so please direct your envy northward.

Full Moon on the Night of 3/26/13

Anyways, back to spring. One of the most common occurrences during spring is the proverbial "spring cleaning." Having most of my possessions 1) in storage up in Washington or 2) packed up and ready to move as soon as we find a new apartment kind of prevents me from going through everything I own and passing on what I don't need. (By the way, this is something I would love to do if I could access everything I own.) However, the house I currently reside in is in a horrible state of filth due to the three male occupants who all seem to have ego issues about doing chores for the others. Drawing energy from the full moon and with what I can only describe as inspiration from the Goddess I went at this disgusting house. I would have loved to do a smudging, but my sage is packed away so boxed incense, Glade candles, and a small bunch of daffodils helped guide me through the cleaning and cleansing process.

Spring "Altar" March 2013

The results? The kitchen, bathroom and my boyfriend's room all feel lighter and free of negativity. It's much more relaxing and homey. I hope this helps clear the funk of negativity that has been clouding my other half as of late.

Light in the Darkness

Imbolc Altar

Two sabbats have come and gone since my last post. I had a wonderful little Yule set up on my table and found the perfect bouquet of flowers for Imbolc. Sadly I was not as actively involved with each sabbat as I would have liked. I got sucked into helping my roommate buy gifts for his daughter for Christmas and ended up pulling extra shifts at work on Imbolc. Perhaps Ostara will see me with a bit more time for observance here at home.

However, I am going to the Sierras this weekend for a few days and think that I will take the opportunity to welcome the light back to the world while I am there. This will also be the first time I have had the opportunity to preform a ritual or observance in the snow. The Bay Area rarely gets any snow and it's never truly that cold or dark. Also, I'm turning 30 this year and I feel that I should dedicate my time and effort to improving myself, my relationships and my life. Last summer's trip to Milsap Bar on the Feather River was rejuvenating and allowed me to get in touch with a specific aspect of nature. I feel that getting in touch with another aspect of nature will only open me up further to my own spiritual growth.

Now to look up some rituals (outdoor preferably) that are meant for a snowy place and welcome the light back into the world.

Going from Maiden to Mother Mode

My house is a bit of a circus. I live with three guys and two cats full time, with a girlfriend, a wee person (one of the guy's three year old daughter) and an Italian Greyhound here half of the time. If the house wasn't entertaining enough with the two cats before hand, well there's never a dull moment now. And it's not a big bouse either. Only two bedrooms and one bath room. At least the living room is rather large as one of the guys lives in it and we still have enough room for everyone to use it as a living room.

The craziness of the living situation has brought me to terms with something I only have a few years left to get started on: motherhood.

I still think of myself as young person but the truth is I'm pushing 30. Not saying 30 is old, but I know that once you pass 35ish the riskier it is to have children of your own. Now I'm not married yet and the other half has stated that he's fine with being an older father. Plus, our career, financial and living situations are not what we would want if we did decide to have children. Several time throughout the last year I've been asked how long we've been married or how many kids we have and most of the time it hasn't made me think twice. But with our 1 year anniversary of being an official couple (long story, but it only took 4 years for that to happen) and the roommate moving in as part of the divorce process from his wife and me getting to help with the little one really has me thinking about kids and what kind of mom I'd be.

There are thing you make note of as you grow up of what you do and do not want to repeat with your kids. Despite my normal adversion to children I have been keeping a list of my own. I know I want my kids to be in Scouts (both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) as I like the opportunities my brother and I had as a result of being involved with them. I'd like to get my kids into wall climbing and maybe yoga. (Talk about cool physical activities that don't make you feel like you suck because you can never hit the ball when at bat!) I also know that I don't want to force a specific religion on my children. Rather I want to expose them to a variety of belief systems and teach them to decide and choose for themselves. However, I know that I want to observe pagan celebrations and involve them in it.

Yes, that is forcing a specific set of religious beliefs on them, but I feel that the pagan wheel of the year lines up better with secular seasonal observances than anything else. Plus the Wheel of the year is a great way to teach kids about the seasons and introduce them to different activities associated with each. And helping my roommate celebrate the holidays with his daughter is making me want one of my own. I know I'm not ready to pass into the cycle of life where one enters the aspect of the Mother from that of the Maiden, but life seems to be telling me it's time.