Vacation and Updates

Hi and Merry Meet,
I've been really bad about updating here!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Yule.

This week I have been in vacation so I have made an effort to get a few things done around here. In August I pulled the wallpaper out if my witchy room and I have been trying to decide what color to paint it. My good friend came over and helped me primed it a few weeks ago. Today, I finally picked and painted it!!! Yay! I went with a beige so it is relaxing and neutral. My witchy room is also our guest room so I thought this color would work for that purpose too!

Tomorrow my plan is to move my altar back into my room. I want to get new curtains and get my pictures back on the wall. It will be so nice to have my space back! I have some workings I want to do and not having my space is making it hard. My husband will be happy also so he can stop finding workings in our main bathroom. I leave ny candles in the tub to finish burning. Once I have ny space back I can leave all workings in my room unless it is candles and they can stay in the bathroom upstairs. Yay!!!

At Mabon I went to an open circle and met an awesome coven. I have been invited to their moon rituals and now their Sabbats as well. It has been really nice to meet people who are like minded in my community. I've enjoyed hanging out with them and learning from them. They asked if I would be intrested in being part of their general circle. In the future I might petition for my first degree with them. For now, I am happily in the general circle. Guess I'm not really a circle of one anymore!

I hope you have a very Happy New Years! May 2012 bring you joy and blessings!
Blessed be,
Autumn

NYC!

Hi  and Merry Meet,
Today my mom and I are venturing down to NYC. Now that my brother has moved to Colorado, this will be our first trip to navigate all by ourselves!

Mom really wants to see the big Christmas tree so that is our last stop since we want to see it all lit up! I don't have any agenda so whatever Mom wants to do I'm cool with. This will be our first mother/daughter trip ever were we don't meet family at the end.

I'm excited to get away and have a nice three day weekend! I took today off so we can drive down today. Seven hours of car bonding time! Lucky we love to chat so the time goes quick. We also might stop at an outlet mall on the way down to get a break.

The past few weeks have been overwhelmingly stressful for me. I get one task completed and three more crazy things pop up. One thing I've done to help get rid of stress is to start painting my witchy room. My good friend came over to help me with the primer since painting with me is dangerous. Paint and I don't get along really well. It is so attracted to me and then I smear it all over the house somehow. Lucky my friend is much better with paint and helped me get more paint on the walls than myself! Over winter break we are going to paint it for real so I can have my space back. My lack if clamming space is not helping my stress load.

This weekend with Mom is just what I needed to clear my head from work!
Have a great weekend!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Shopping Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
My family and my in-laws all had a wonderful Thanksgiving together. Good food, good company, and many things to be grateful for!

Yesterday for Black Friday my mom and I went out shopping. Since we don't go at midnight by the time we arrived there were parking spots, good deals and very short lines. We were happy. There was no need this year to go however it is a tradition for us. This year I was done with gift shopping in August. Mom was done by the end of September. We really went to get clothes for work and see the hard core shoppers.

Today we are laying low. Yesterday while we were out my dad made turkey soup with the leftover carcass. Yummy! Today my husband and I might go out with some high school friends. Later we might go out to dinner with his parents. As for this morning, my hope is to get my dad out geocaching with me!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Done and On To More Fun!

Hi and Merry Meet,
I made the decision to walk away from my night job. Financially we don't need it and it was just for security and peace of mind for me. My peace of mind was destroyed by my coworker. It has been coming to this and better things are out there for me. It will give me more time to do things I really enjoy. Knitting, geocaching, running and now reiki. I miss time for me. Now I will have that again after yule. I told my boss I will stay on until the end of December but please try to find someone sooner.

Today however I am driving to my hometown so I can help my mom get ready for Thanksgiving! Tomorrow I will run in the Turkey Trot like I do every year with my uncle. After the race I will come home and help my parents get everything food wise ready (after I get a shower of course!).

The rest of the week will be spent with family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time!

Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Blessed be,
Autumn

U-N-P-R-O-F-E-S-S-I-O-N-A-L

Hi and Merry Meet,
Did you ever have one of those days were the universe is really trying to get your attention?

I work two jobs. One is full time in the day and then one is part time in the evenings. It is the part time one that Spirit has been trying to get my attention on. The room I teach in is a classroom in the daytime as well. The woman who uses it is very difficult to get along with, as told to me on my first day three years ago. We have had to get use to each other and cooperatively live together during the end of her shift and the start of mine. Adjusting to life with her has been a challenge but as far I'm concerned the best way to deal with her is to leave her alone.

This however is not what she wants. If I am in the room she will talk at me then yell about how distracting I am. I'm not talking, I'm trying to read my book, prep for my class and eat my dinner between my working hours. This bothers her so she has written me post-it note messages to tell me things. This is were my problem comes in. If we are in the same room then why waste energy, time, and resources rather than talking directly to me. I have also reiceved a litany of e-mails about bothering her. If there was another place for me to go I would. I do need to prepare for my classes and so I come in to eat/work.

It has been coming for some time. I know Spirit has been trying to get me to see that this is not were I need to be for a while now. I thought I could tough it out and get though this year and then reevaluate. Guess not.

Last night it all came to a head. She attacked me for not respecting what the last e-mail demanded. I admit I finally took a stand against her crazy policy that our boss has a.) no knowledge of or b.) didn't set in the first place. It got ugly and unprofessional. I admit it became a pissing contest and now we both have to go to mediation.

I got the point that it is time for me to leave. I know it has been coming and now I know what happens when ignore the signs that I need to walk away. I will go to the mediation to try and see if anything can be fixed with my coworker. I will leave with my head held high knowing during my time I did the best job I could do. I wish good luck on whoever replaces me and has to share a room with this woman. I am not sad about it, just upset that I let it go so far as to get to the point we got to last night.

I am hopeful for what will come my way when I walk away from this.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Musings

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I have the last of my reviews at work for this part of the year. These always make me so nervous since my main supervisor and my secondary one are focused on my work, how I do my work, and my general overall performance.

The three other days of reviews that I've had this month were not as bad as I had worried about. That's part of my problem, I worry entirely too much about them. What is done is done and I can only answer for it at this point. After changing my thinking to my last statement, I slept great and I am still anxious about getting them done, but my nervousness is much better.

Tonight after work, my coworker and I are going out to dinner to relax and enjoy our selves. That I am looking forward to!

Enjoy the day, whatever comes your way!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Certified!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I went for part two of my level 1 reiki class. They quizzed me on my self healing and asked me to demo it so they could see my hand placements and flow. That part went great!

Next I had to give reiki to both instructors. I have only practiced on one live person and we only got through her head area before she was so relaxed that she let go off her dog's leash and we had to chase the puppy! Needless to say, that one wasn't the best practice. However, I got through both instructors just fine. When I was done they both did my attunement. That was awesome! I saw silver sparkles and felt so calm.

After my attunement I did reiki on the instructors again. This time it felt more intense that before. I also gave reiki to a plant. They presented me with my level one certificate and a astrology chart of the time of my attunement. To me that was a very special gift and I love how it shows what energies were where!

I really want to frame my certificate! It is so pretty and shiny! Level 2 will be offered in March. I will keep practicing and maybe I'll take that class then.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Level 1!

Hi and Merry Meet,
This week I have been doing my reiki homework. I've done my self healing everyday. My teachers told me I might notice a few changes due to the energies that I am working with.

I have noticed a few changes. One thing I noticed for is my sleep has been deeper and my dreams even more vivid that I thought they could be! I've also noticed that even though our weather is turning colder and people at work are complaining that they are cold I am nice and warm (without all my wooly sweaters!).

Tomorrow night is the last part and then I will be a level 1 reiki practitioner! I am so excited about it and I love that it is a private class just for me. Humble, I know...
Blessed be,
Autumn

11-11-11

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I went to a full moon ritual with this coven I am interested in. The facebook invite said many more were coming but when I found the house of the girl hosting there were only four of us.

It couldn't have been better! I got to know the other three ladies really well and had a blast! During the ritual they had me call the South quarter. I've never called for a group so I was a bit nervous. Turned out great! I stumbled over my words slightly, but I got the job done. I was glad they asked me to do South as I my home altar faces South. I felt a deep connection as I am a fire sign.

It was a great way to spend my moon.Blessed be,
Autumn

Full Moon Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
Tonight I will celebrate the full moon but not as a coven of one. The coven that invited me to their dumb supper at Samhain has invited me back for their ritual tonight.

I admit I have been thinking about finding a coven for a while. I've been trying to attend open circles so I can get a feel for different covens. If I'm going to join one then I want to see how they work with people, what kind of people are the leaders, and what us their group energy like.

This coven was the friendliest I'd seen and the leaders were very approachable. I loved the chats they used so after the open circle I talked to them. I'm not good at going up to new people to ask questions so the fact that I did surprised me. It also made me realize that even though I was reluctant to speak up maybe this is what I need in my life right now.

I again was very impressed with the dumb supper and the ritual that followed. I talked to the HP the following week and she asked me to come tonight. Since their open circle was a open portal time for new people to explore if they wanted to become members my timing was perfect.

I am excited to learn from them tonight. This will be my third time working with them and maybe this is what I need to do to further my spiritual growth.  I'm ready to see where this leads me.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Reiki

Hi and Merry Meet,
My reiki class last night was amazing! The class was going to be me and one other student. The other student had been asking them to hold this class for three months. That's what my instructors told me while we waited for her to show up. They told me we would have to wait for her since she called and said she was running late. After half an hour of waiting it was decided that we would start and they would catch her up when she came. However, my classmate never showed so it became a private class!! Yay!

After learning about the history of reiki and talking about energy I had a lesson in what self healing looked like.  I had an attument so I can practice but it's not permanent at this time. After my next class I will be certified in Reiki 1.

One of theno things that really interested me the most was that I can do reiki on pets. Of course I wanted to know if I could do this on my bunnies. Things got even better when the one teacher told me that animal healing was why she got into reiki. She walked me through what a healing for rabbits would look like. I was glad that I was the only student so I could ask all about bunnies and reiki!

My homework for the week is to practice self healing everyday and if I can practice on others then do that too. I was also told to try to do healings on the bunnies if they would let me. Chanel, my nine year old rabbit really really loves it!  She let me practice last night and again tonight. The other two rabbits were interested but would only sniff my hands. I was excited we got that far!

Tonight I am going to do my self healing homework and relax after that. Tomorrow I have off for Veterans day so I plan to get a bunch done around the house. That way Saturday Husband and I can have the day to our selves!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Learning Something New!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Tonight I am going to a reiki 1 class. I am super excited about it! I have been waiting for a beginning class for quite a while now. The timing and opportunity were perfect.

It is a two part class with each session for three hours.  When I called to sign up they were so happy as only one other person had signed up. So my class of two will start in a little while. I have to let you know how it is when I've finished!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Updates

Hi and Merry Meet,
I hope everyone had a great Samhain. I celebrated by having a small ritual after handing out candy to the few kids who come down out street.

Now that it is November I'm trying to get our Thanksgiving plans in order.
I am running the turkey trot in the morning and then I'll help my mom finish up setting the table and preping the side dishes. The question this year is who all will be coming. My brother and his wife just moved to Colorado so they won't be there. So that leaves my parents, my husband, me and I think my in-laws. I don't know if my aunt and uncle are coming yet. The timing for us is the part I can't nail down. I have off Wednesday but Husband has to work on Wednesday night. Every year we run into this problem. Since my husband works in the food industry this holiday is kind of a big one!

This week however I am going to take a Reiki class. I have been waiting for a beginner class to start up. I am so excited about this! I've had Reiki treatments in the past, and I love how I feel after them!  This is something I've been interested in for awhile so I'm really glad I finally have the opportunity to learn it!

That's all my updates for now!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy Samhain!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Happy Samhain!!!! Today the veil between the worlds is very thin. It is a day of remembrance for me.

Friday night I went to a sencae and then I went to a dumb supper with a ritual following after. Both were new experiences for me. I loved both!

The sencae had two mediums and was hosted by a women I know from tarot classes. She invited seven of us to it and it was a wonderful group of women. I had a few messages come through before I had to leave. One message I have no idea how to do what the spirit asked! There was a spirit of a small boy maybe four or five and he said that his mom was close to me. She miscarried him and she is blaming herself. He wants me to tell her that the tea she was drinking at that time was not the cause. He just decided he wasn't ready to come back to this plain. It wasn't her fault and know that she needs to stop blaming herself.

After that I went to the dumb supper. That was an amazing experience. There were eight of us and a plate for the dead. After the coven who hosted it had a beautiful outdoor ritual.  I was glad I had a heavy coat as it was pretty chilly out there! The energy levels that were raised were so intense.  We also did a working and after they had a medium come for more spiritual contact.

Today I am dressing up for school and then having my own small ritual after I hand out candy to the kids.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Spells and Words

Hi and Merry Meet,
Recently I've been reading Silver RavenWolf's Sacred Flame book. I've read the other two books in the series but has been a while.

One thing I noticed right off the bat is how wordy her spells are. I don't know about you, but I like to keep my spells short and sweet. I like to make them pack a punch so then I also don't have to copy long monologues into my BOS. I do like what some of her spells are for and I admit I have done some of them however, I have changed the wording to be my own.

When I started on this path Silver's books were some of the first I read as they were the first ones recommend to me. I loved what I learned from them. At first I was also told that walking this path involves a lot of shadow work. At the time I didn't totally understand what that meant. Now I understand that my spells need to focus on changing me and not asking the universe to bring things to me. I need to be the change to get changes.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Lazy Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today Husband and I are just being a bit lazy. I've been doing my weekly cleaning this morning while he is taking a nap.

My plan had been to get our chores done and then get our house ready for Halloween! I haven't decorated yet and I thought we'd get things done today. Husband doesn't care as much as I do but I do need his help to get the ladder out of the basement. Our living room has a lofted celling and it is hard for me to carry the ladder up from the basement. Plus his napping in my decorating space is not helping. Oh well, he has had a rough week and if that's what he needs then I'm going to let him sleep. Besides, I have all day tomorrow yet!

So instead of decorating I have been knitting a lace shawl that I started over the summer. I just have the border left and it is done! I guess I'm not as lazy today as I thought I was.

In other news my sacred space is coming along. Over the summer I pulled out all the wallpaper in ny witchy room so I could paint the walls. I did the fist coat of spackle to fix the uneven spots. After I sand it down I'll do another coat and then we should be ready for painting! I really miss my witchy room but I've enjoyed doing spell work and rituals in different rooms of the house.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Changing With The Seasons

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I was reading a book in bed and the chapter was about making your life reflect the seasons. For example this time of season looking at ending projects or friendships that have run their course.

I was thinking about how do I do this in my daily life. The best thing I could come up with is my cooking and food choices. I love a good pot roast and now that it's fall I can make it again. I don't see us grilling corn now that the season has past. The past two days have brought this into focus with the cold weather. I've made a hearty chili and a nice stew.

I've been trying to think about it in the rest of my life. This season is when I clean out old clothes from closets and donate them. This time of year I clean out the old so we can enjoy winter with less clutter around us as we hibrenate.  In spring I seem to collect new things.

It has been a good exercise to think about how in tune or not my daily life is with nature.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Catching Up

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today we are under a wind advisory. It is really gusting out there. My husband is out there building a weight box for our lawn tractor so when the snow plow is fitted to it it is balanced. We had a few problems with that last year. So he is fixing it for this year. All too soon we will need the plow again.

I've been working on updating my BOS and my spell book. I like to write my spells out ahead of time on scratch paper and after I cast them I like to write them in my spell book. I like my spell book to look nice and pretty so I use the scratch paper as a draft complete with all my revisions. After they are copied in I dispose of the drafts. Funny, I never liked rewriting, drafting, and editing in school.

After I finish that I'm going to put on some hot water for tea to thaw my poor husband out!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Upcoming Plans

Hi and Merry Meet,
I was thinking about what my plans are for  Samhain. I wanted to do something special and my thoughts were heard.

I got an invite to attend a Dumb Supper and ritual with a coven that I attended an open circle with. Right now is the time of year that they open up to others to see if new people fit with their group. Kind of like an interview process. This dinner will be part of that.

I have to admit that I'm excited. It will be nice to celebrate with other like minded people. I told my husband and he said I should definitely go since he is working that night and won't be able to gave a big sit down meal with me. Of course early the time next morning we have a bit of a drive to a craft show we are in. It's craft show time again for us!

Hope things are going well for you!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Taking Advantage of The Weather!

Hi and Merry Meet,
This weekend the weather is looking great! It's a nice long weekend on top of it too!!

Husband and I are going to get a few things done today. First we are going couch shopping. We are taking a nice long drive to see the leaves changing and to go to a furniture store. After that I want to work on painting my witchy room. It is still all torn up from my pulling the wall paper off. I need to do some spackling before I can prime it.

Tomorrow we are going to try to get out hiking. There is park with great trails I've been wanting to go to. With the weather looking so nice we might try to get out there.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy Mabon!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Happy Mabon!! I celebrated by going to my first open Sabbat. It was good and I got to meet people in theform pagan  community here. I will admit I debated with myself on going. I went alone and not knowing anyone at first I can be very shy.

However food is a great way to get me talking. I had the most amazing corn bread and I had to know who made it. After that I talked to the coven who hosted the circle and some other people.

Today I give thanks for all the blessings in my life. I also give thanks for all new friends!
I hope your Mabon was wonderful!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Random Act of Kindness

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I had a random act of kindness happen to me. Now I am inspired to pass it on.

I was doing my grocery shopping after work when this small boy approached me with a wad of singles in his hand. He tried to hand it to me but I looked for his mother to direct him to give it to her. The mother told me that she was teaching her boys to do random acts of kindness and he had chosen me. I was so caught off guard that I didn't know what to say. The mom then instructed that he hand me the money and give me a hug. After he hugged me I asked again "why?" She said it was a blessing.

This kind gesture truly made my day. I have also decided to pass it on. I will not keep the money but donate it to a charity that needs it.

Sometimes blessings come in the form of small children with caring parents to guide them.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Fairy Guides

Hi and Merry Meet,
Sorry about the lull in posting. My summer vacation has come to an end and I'm back to work!

Yesterday I went to a pagan pride festival. It was so nice to surrounded by like minded people. They even had live music. I guess there was going to belly dancing later in the day, but I missed that part.

I got to chat with some wonderful vendors and I learned a lot about their different areas of expertise. One lady does a lot with fairy magick. She had kits for sale about connecting with fairy guides. I have never worked with fairies or fairy magick. Normally I don't buy spells or spell kits,  but this seemed different to me. Since the shop owner had spent so much time with me, I did buy a fairy kit. I am happy to say it was a good choice.

I've set up the supplies to start my meditation after I post this. The smells of lavender and rose are so present to blog to!

Now that I'm back to work my posting might be a little more sporadic. Stay tunned!
Blessed be,
Autumn

New Project

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I tried something new! I made mango raspberry jam.

The other day I bought a book on canning. I've canned pickles a while back. However jam is new for me. I thought I should start with something easy. Jam seemed easy and it was!

I now have confidence in canning and want to try some other recipes in my book!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Runes!

Hi and Merry Meet,
My rune set came this week! They are just beautiful and now I have the task of learning what they mean.

I've been trying to pull one stone a day (day two of that so far) and then focusing on what it means, looks like, and how it feels. When I started learning tarot a few years ago this was how I did it. I think that for me focusing on one a day helps me connect with that image.

Today I pulled the rune for separation. It looks like a fish to me, so to help me remember I am using the visual of a fish separated form it's school. The feeling is lonely and sad.

Yesterday I pulled the rune for movement. It looks like a m so that was easy to remember for me. My visual for that was a fluid dancer on a stage. The feeling was sure and steady.

I have a few more to go but I am enjoying the journey. Some day soon I will try reading with them even if I have to look up the meanings.
Blessed be,
Autumn

One Small Step

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday I had a brainstorm. Within the past two months I have started to drink more water. I don't like the taste, but I know it is good for me. Normally, I drink juice or milk. I'm not a big soda drinker. My husband on the other hand drinks water and soda.

I bought a re-useble water bottle and have been forcing myself to use it. I'm starting to like it but still not my favorite. Anyway, I've been filling it by using the bottled water that we have in the house. My brainstorm occured when I realize that was crazy!

I would drink our tap water but it has a funky taste (more than normal water). So while I was at Wal-mart yesterday I got a Brita pitcher and extra filters. This now will stop me from wasting all the bottles and it is a small step to keeping them out of our recycle bin. On the plus side, I like the taste! I think my trying to drink more water for my health will get there, sooner rather than later!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Runes

Hi and Merry Meet,
The other day I found a beautiful tiger eye runes set on ebay.

Runes are something I want to start learning. A year or two ago I made my own set out of lake rocks that I found at the beach. I had fun making them and wanted to learn then, but I didn't really presue it. I had no books, no knowledge and so I didn't get very far.

I bid on this set anyway and ened up winning them. They come with a small booklet/pamphlet to help me. I think now is the time. I've been doing more tarot work and I want to expand my divining skills. Yeah, my pendulums and I are still working on building a connection. I've been working with one of them exclusively and I am starting to get the hang of it. I wouldn't use it yet to read for other people but we are making head way. As for my tarot, I have been doing more readings for friends/family and I am thinking about trying to expand my clientele. I would like to read more for others. I've done a few nights of impromptu readings for friends and people I don't know have asked for one too. That was fun and helped build my confidence as a reader. I would be willing to take that chance and am starting to see what kind of opportunities are around me.

Anyway my runes should come this week! I am really excited about learning to work with them. I've started reading up on them and think this will be a fun new venture.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Thrifty Find!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today my friend and I went thrifting. She has never done this and so we headed off for her to learn.

She has been watching some home decorating show where the designers go to thrift stores to decorate houses. This idea really looked good on tv she told me. I told her she might not find excatly what she had seen but we might find cool stuff anyways.

Needless to say she was disappointed that they didn't have the same things as she saw on tv. I on the other hand found some great stuff! My favorite find of the day was this picture frame. I took a note card that the goddess on it and trimmed it down a little to fit, but I think it looks great!

Now my picture of the goddess Epona can be displayed in a cool funky way that makes her look like part of my decore.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy Lammas!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Happy Lammas! Today is the first harvest festival. I love it!

Today is a celebration of the grains and sacrifice. I planned all my meals today to go with the grains theme. I baked two loaves of bread. One is for my circle tonight and the other is for Husband and his coworkers. I also plan to bake some corn bread for Husband after dinner comes out.
For dinner I'm baking some chicken and rosting some corn. Husband is not a fan of corn on the cob so the corn bread is for him. I'm never going to be a famous chef, so one sacrifice I've made today is cooking. It would be easy to make Husband's corn bread from a box mix however I will make it from scratch. I really hope it comes out good!!

I wish you all a vedy happy Lammas!
Blessed be,
Autumn

New Crystals!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday we hiked to the tallest waterfall in Vermont. Husband didn't think he was going to make it to the top, but he did it!!! It was beautiful but no swimming this time.

On our hike back it started to rain and that put an end to our next hike for the day. Husband instead took me to a crystal shop that he found online to go to. We had a very rainy drive but the landscape was stunning! Lush rolling green mountains were on all sides of us.

Husband suggested the crystal shop because "it seems like something you would like" according to him. He was right! I loved it. He knows a few stone names from making jewelry but he was shocked by how many I could name without looking at the tags. One that caught my eye was a free form jasper. I love jasper and this piece was gorgeous! After asking how much it would be Husband got it for me! He also got me a clear quartz point. He is so sweet and supportive of me. I have truly been blessed to have him in my life.

Now we are driving home. It was a great vacation and I am really glad that our plans changed to bring us to this wonderful place!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Dawn Healing Ritual

Hi and Merry Meet,
This morning I got up before the sun to prepare for a dawn healing ritual. I've done one like this before to clear out any negative energies in me. I usually do it on my backyard sitting on the grass facing east to see the sun rising in my pajamas.

Today, I tried something new. I got up raced off to the restroom (yes, camping restrooms are not as convenient as home) and quickly changed into my swim suite. I admit I would have liked to do this one skyclad but seeing as we are in a public park that wasn't really an option. (plus the fact that I've never done a ritual skyclad) As the sun rose I submerged myself in the river here, which by the way was ice cold! I asked the god and goddess to let the water wash away any negative thoughts or feelings and let the rising sun fill me with warmth and light. I stayed in the river for quite a while and when I was done I stood on a rock with my hands up to give thanks and grounding. It was a beautiful ritual and I am so blessed that we came here.

The rest of the day is wide open! Maybe a hike, maybe some swimming... we'll see what Husband wants to do once he gets up!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Waterfall Wonders

Hi and Merry Meet,
The past few days Husband and I have been hiking waterfall trails around where we are camping.

Yesterday we went to Jamaica State Park. We hiked up to Hamlton Waterfall from the park. It was about three miles out there to see it. The hike was really great!! Straight up hill almost the whole way there. It is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Vermont we were told. Also it is one of the deadliest in the state.

On the trail it is posted that there is no swimming sign however it is a very popular swimming hole with locals. Of course we jumped in too! It was so refreshing! Husband is not a big swimmer but after a three mile hike he was happy to jump in with me. We almost saw why it is a deadly place. The falls are straight up with pools up high that it fills as it comes down. People were scaling the falls to get to the higher pools. Going up they were ok, it was coming down. One guy started to slip and slide down the rocks but he was able to aim his fall into one of the pools at the base were most people were swimming. That scared me a bit. There is no fast way out if you got hurt. No way they could do an airlift so three miles back down on rocky small paths. I can see why people have died here.

However, Husband and I just enjoyed the cold water and the refreshing energy. Today we have no plans, just enjoying our time together!
Blessed be,
Autumn

The Four Elements

Hi and Merry Meet,
This morning we went on a four mile hike. We love hiking to see waterfalls and today we thought would be perfect...

It was ok temp wise when we started but by the time we reached the falls it had rocketed up to 95. I didn't care and jumped into the natural pool at the base of the falls. Husband just laughed at me, but it was so worth it!!! The water was cool and clean and felt great!!! He just dipped his toes in. I always pack a small towel for waterfall hikes because we always put at least our feet in.

On our way back we had a great experience of seeing the four elements manifest. As we started back a small snake (fire) was blocking our path. Once we got around him we came to a small pool were we saw one large fish (water) lazily swimming. Much further on our way we had a monarch butterfly (air) float by in front of us. Finally a woodchuck (earth) waddled by as we were getting in the car to drive back to camp. Usually we see only three of the elements on our hikes. Today seeing all four was very cool.

After our hike we went straight to the river to cool off and swim a bit. Perfect!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Vacation Fun!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today's weather prediction was for high 90s so Husband and I decided that today would be our day trip day.

Whenever we go on a vacation we like to visit the local sites. Vermont is full of cool sites! We thought some ice cream sounded good. We stopped at the Marsh-Billings-Rockafeller National Historical Park so I could get a stamp in our National Parks Passport book. Then we continued our quest for ice cream.

Our quest ended at the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. Three dollars for a tour and a sample of the flavor of the day. Just awesome! Today's flavor was Americone Dream. Yum.

That was lunch. Then we needed dessert. We made a quick stop off at the Green Mountain Factory, but I just like the smell of coffee and Husvand doesn't like it so we left. Off to the Magic Hat brewery for some free samples and a free tour. Yum!

Vermont has some cool places. Very fun day trip! What I like best about the places we saw today was they use fair trade, give back to their local communities and most of their stuff is all natural. Tomorrow we are on hiking trails.
Blessed be,
Autumn

My New Backyard

Hi and Merry Meet,
Husband and I left early yesterday morning to come to Vermont for a much needed vacation!

We are in the beautiful state of Vermont. This is a new state for Husband. He never really went on trips as a kid. My family went some place new every year. I've been to 42 of the 50 states. I want to get all 50. Husband has only been in about ten. I'm slowly fixing that. Camping was something he had never done til he married me. Now he loves it!! I'm so glad because camping with mu family when I was a kid are some of my favorite memories.

Today we are thinking a swim and a hike are in order. This place is so beautiful and I thank the gods that we could come here. Check out the view from our camp site!!!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Change of Plans

Hi and Merry Meet,
Tomorrow we leave on our big camping trip. I had reserved a beautiful spot in Shenandoah National Park. It's one of our favorite places to go.

Two days ago while Husband was at his last night of work before vacation he calls me to tell me the weather report for Shenandoah. It is going to be crazy hot with outrageous humidity! Both Husband and I like cold weather. This is not good. He asks me to find a new place to camp. I do love a good challenge however finding a camp site for eight days with a June weekend free would take nothing short of divine intervention.

I fell short. I looked for somewhere within our driving range that would be cooler and available. Sadly, I failed.

Husband however had success and we are now headed to Vermont! I've bern there but it will be a new state for Husband!! Yay! New forests to hike and a day trip planned to the Ben and Jerry's factory. Our new camp site is in a National forest and we got a site right on the river. The gods have smiled on us! I know nothing about the hiking here or anything about the area so I am off to AAA to get maps and guide books.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Patron Goddess

Hi and Merry Meet,
My patron goddess is Epona, the goddess of horses, dreams and nightmares.

I have talked about my dreams a while ago. Since I was a child I have always had very vivid and strong dreams and can remeber them many moths after I've had them. When I started to look into this path for myself I turned to my dreams. I don't know a lot about the symbols in dreams but I know that somehow they lead me to what I need to know. When I started contemplating this path it was imporant to me to find out more about who is the goddess or god of dreams.

I wanted to follow a celtic path so I started to look in books. It wasn't long before I found her name, Epona. I thought about this for a few days. During that time my dreams shifted and started to have this beautiful women in them. I got the message loud and clear. I started to learn to meditate. After a few tries I went to an open circle where they had a guided meditation. There she was in this beautiful place that we were guided to.

That was two years ago. Now She comes in my meditations often and my dreams. After more study I believe Epona is my parton goddess. I have worked with other gods and goddess on different occasions but I find She is always there watching. Oh I have been scolded when I've needed it, but that's all part of learning. There will always more learning to be done and lessons to be learned.

Who are your patron gods or goddesses? What gods/goddesses do you work with the most?
Blessed be,
Autumn

Preparations For Camping!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Tuesday we leave for Shenandoah National Park for a much needed vacation! My husband's work decided that they should guve the guys back their summer vacations. Vacations make happy workers. Happt workers will work harder (in theory).

I've booked the camp site, got out the hiking books, found most of the camping gear from the basement and lined up a bunny sitter. Most of my mundane stuff is done, now on to the magickal.

From my spell writing class I have a sage sumge that I'm going to use to start cleaning the camper. Then my cleaning spray that I made and finally a safe travel bag. I'm also going to take a pict of us and one of the camper, place them together in a white envelope and kerp it safe here at home. That way we will be surrounded by white light our whole trip.

Being that tonight is the full moon I have a few other things to do magickaly and an esbat to celebrate!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Prefecting Spell Writing and a $ Spell or Two

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night after the fair I went to a spell writing class. I thought it would help me to expand my magickal practice. It was great!

We did a lot of talking on spells intent. What do you want to get out of it? Why? The other students were not witches and were definitely there for love spells. We did talk about them and the rule of three, but I'm not so sure they heard that part. The ones I liked were the protection spells. The teacher also talked about money spells.

The teacher went over colors, candles, stones, herbs and days of the week for the three basic spells we were studying. I loved the herb part! This is were I want to learn more!

I learned that basil is an amazing herb! Here is an easy money charm to do. Cast a simple circle around you. Place basil in a small dish then cover it with water. Place the dish in the Northeast corner of your home. Sprinkle some of the water around the house. Don't let the water dry out, but fill it. This will help to bring money into the home. Or try this: place basil in olive oil in a circle and then draw $ on tens and twenties so as they are spent new ones of the same amount come back to you.

I loved the instructor as she would drop nuggets of wisdom that she has learned as we were talking. Definitely a good class for me. Even the love spell girls seemed to enjoy it. ;-)
Blessed be,
Autumn

And The Winner is....

Hi and Merry Meet,

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I'm a bit of a knitter. My husband is worried that if any more yarn comes into this house there could be an episode of intervention on me.

However, my knitting passion is lace. I love it. This amuses my family to no end for the simple fact that knitting is math. I am allergic to math. So, lace knitting can't be math, right?

Last year I entered my first lace and bead piece in my home county's fair. I won a blue ribbon. Then I won overall best knitter. It was the best thing ever!

This year I entered a new fair with a new lace beaded piece. This fair is in the county were I live now. The judging on the shawl was over the weekend and today was opening day. I met a friend who works there to see how I did. She knew already but refused to tell me!

I'm so excited to announce that not only did I get the blue but also overall knitter! The fair committee asked me if I would allow them to use my piece as the one piece to represent our county at the state fair competition! Honored is not even close to how I feel!!!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Anniversary #8!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today is our eighth wedding anniversary! Here is to many more happy ones!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Trees of Life

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I went out with my Nana to visit the Thomas Edison home in Ft. Myers Florida.

This tree is amazing! It takes up an acre of land. It was a gift to Edison from Mr. Firestone. It was planted in 1925. The caretakes told me that they have trimmed it back due to it overtaking some of the buildings.  It was just beautiful.

Later after a swim I took a walk and saw some other smaller trees. This group of trees were the ones that made me think of the Tree of Life.  It was so peaceful here. I sat and tried to meditate however the bugs feasting on me put a stop to that.

Sitting there made me feel like time had stopped. The trees had such a wonderful pluse and energy. A white heron joined me. For a moment I felt like something primordial was happening. Incredible!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Really???

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday was crazy. I went to the doctor first thing to see about a spot on my face that is starting to grow and change color. While I was there they said I should update my tetnis shots. I told them no as it had nothing to do with why I was there.

Next ran over to my friend's house to drop off my shawl. I entered in the local county fair but the drop ofg date is while I'm on vacation with my Nana. My friend was kind enough to offer to do it for me! Yay!

After that I had to pack then I was going to shower and drive to my parents house. However that's not how it went. Remember what the doctor wanted me to do???

I went to make some garlic toast in the oven and managed to give myself a second degree burn. Husband took me to urgent care to have it looked at. The doctor told me I needed a (surprise!) tetnis shot! Yay! My husband is so proud. Really epic move on my part. The doctor told me a burned hand is the sign of a good cook. I just think she was trying to make me feel better.

So after all that I got packed up, drove to my parents house a bit late for the dinner party they were having, but managed to get everything done.

Today I got up before the birds. My dad drove me to the airport. Our airport near my house is really small so I can get better flights from my hometown. Side note, people don't want to sit next to people knitting with 14 inch knitting needles... too bad I was the only person not on a digital device. I made it here and it is so great to see my Nana.

I love being here with her. I saw some manatees swimming and playing in the water. I found an amazing tree that makes me think of the tree of life. I'll try to get pictures of that tomorrow. Today's pict is out the airplane window.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Scared and Stones

Hi and Merry Meet,
The fireworks last night were amazing! I had a great time watching them from my front yard and then from my back yard. Husband missed the fun as he had to go to work. Oh well, looks like he's getting his vacation back so things arw looking up!

Today I went to the dentist. Normally, I don't mind going, but today was a very different story. I had to have my first cavity filled. You would have thought I was a ten year old child the way I was carring on. Truth be told, I got defensive and a bit bitchy because I was scared. I finally even told the staff that. I had no idea what the process was so I freaked out a bit (ok, a lot). I did have my zebra stone in my pocket to help me.

Zebra stones are good for teeth and gums. I held on to mine tightly. The doctor asked me about it. When I explained he laughed and said they should be handing them out. That made me smile.

My best bud left on her trip to Spain on the thrid. I bought each of us a unkite stone heart. I promised to carry mine with me where ever I go until she is home. Hers is packed in the bottom of her pack. I wantec to put together a pouch of the stones I always carry with me for travel, but I thought more than one for someone who has to weigh every ounce would not be the best idea.

Tomorrow I drive back to my hometown to visit friends for dinner and a lift to the airport on Thursday to visit my Nana.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy 4th!!

Hi and Merry Meet,
The smell of bbq is in the air. A hot dog eating contest has finish. The sounds of people gathered together as families. Yup, it's the Fourth of July!

Happy Birthday America!
Can't wait to watch the fireworks tonight!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Garage Sales Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday I drove to my hometown to have another garage sale at my parents' home.

We got rid of a lot of stuff! I saw people from my neighborhood that I haven't seen in years. It was great fun.

Today my husband had off so he wanted to go out and find some garage sales around where we live. I have worked hard to clear out the clutter from our house so I was nervous that he wanted to replenish the house. Nope, just wanted to get out and see what's out there today. In fact the only things we came home with were two books for me!

Havea great rest of the weekend!
Blessed be,
Autumn

More Crazy Spinning

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I had another spinning gig with the alpaca farm that I've hooked up with.

This time it was at the home of the farm owner. This was no farm house! This was a gargantuan house, like the kind you would see in a gated community. It was a lot of fun! Most of the women had a lot of really great questions about the wheel and fibers in general. I was impressed with their willingness to learn about what I was doing. I was also being interviewed.

This farm owner that I'm working with invited over other alpaca owners to meet me. None of them spin or even process their own fiber so to meet someone who does was novel for them. I might be working with a few more farms and I might be spinning a whole lot more.

Overall, it was a fun evening with women, wine and my new favorite alpaca fiber!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Caring For Others

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today was my day to take dinner and dessert to a coworker in need. As well as give her a much needed social hour or two...

A few weeks ago our main secretary at my second job had a knee replacement. She has already had both of her hips replaced due to severe arthritis (my mom suffers from this, so I have a lot sympathy for her). One of the other teachers set up a schedule for us to pick a day to take dinner to secretary and her husband.

I picked today to go and visit for a while and well as take a meal over to them. She looks great! She's moving around like a champ with her walker. Her smile was bright and she was happy to have some company. She said that she likes looking out the window at a family of birds, but it was nice to talk and have someone reply.

Being that I'm not the best cook in the world I went with something I knew couldn't fail. My cheesy rice bake always comes out good. I got salad and bread and even an apple pie for dessert. No, I'm never going to open a five star restaurant with my cooking but I do what I can!

When I told another friend last night that I was doing this her reply was kind of shocking to me. She asked why would I bother when I'm only part time there and I'm not planning to stay forever? I was really stunned. I thought that's what you do when others are in need. It never occurred to me not to do this as just because some aspects of that job drive me crazy, the people there make it worth while.

The person who said this I thought was someone who would go out of their way for others in need. I guess that only counts if you are friends with her. I would gladly take a meal to any of my coworkers at either job if it means a speedy recovery and less stress on them and their families. I just hope that if I was ever in need that others would do the same for me. What happened to the golden rule???

So, my lovely coworker was in high spirits when I left and I wish her a fast a healthy recovery!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Looking Good!

Hi and Merry Meet,
My cleaning up is doing wonders around here. Stale energy is being swept out and fresh clean energy is moving in!

One thing I have managed to do wad empty out one wire tower storage cubes. I thought I wanted to break it apart and get it out but Husband stopped my madness and talked me into putting it in my witchy room. That was a great suggestion. Now all my books and crystals are in one place! I'm still not sure if I will leave them out when guests are here, but I'll worry about that later.

The photo is of my books happily in one easy to find space!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Fresh Start

Hi and Merry Meet,
As you may know by now I have been on a mission to clean my house. Not just clean it but, clear it of unnecessary clutter.

When I arrived home this afternoon my poor over worked Husband was sound asleep on the couch. He has been working 75+ hours a week for the past three weeks. I really wasn't surprised to find him zonked out. However, that meant I could come upstairs and getting things done. My witchy room and the spare room have gotten out of hand. My witchy room just needs to organized and all the stuff put back in its home. The spare room however needed decluttering!

So far I pulled out clothes that don't fit, don't like or just plain never wear anymore. I rearranged some of met books. I am trying to clean out a wire storage cube that Husband built for me because I have three of them in there and they are filled with stuff!! Time to have that second garage sale.
I am working slowly on my goal of decluttering. It wasn't all collected in a day so it will take me some time to weed it all out.

My gardina candel is burning on my altar to help infuse me with relaxing energies so I don't get too overwhelmed by the mess I've bern making!

Here is the spare room as it looks now. Maybe tomorrow I can get it looking better!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Perfect Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
What a perfect day! My last day at work was this morning. Now I can enjoy summer vacation!

After work I started my vacation off right... I took an hour long nap. It was very refreshing. My dreams were calm and peaceful. My sleep was deep. That is something I've been missing due to all the stress the past few weeks.

I also took my spinning wheel to a show tonight. A alpaca farm needed a spinner so I got the job. They paid me with a fleece from one of their prize winning females. It was great fun!! Now I have a whole fleece to spin and knit with. I am a bit excited about that.

Tomorrow I will spend some time with my mom. After that no plans! It's been a long year!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Modern Spinning

Hi and Merry Meet,
I love all things fiber. Knitting, felting, spinning. If it has fiber involved I want to be part of it. One of my crazy dreams is to be on a fleece to shawl team. Google it to see what level of crazy I aspire to.

This morning I started to spin with alpaca. I have been booked as the spinner for a new alpaca farm. Trouble is I don't have a lot of experience with alpaca. So before work, I broke out my coveted stash and started to try it out. Wow!!! It's like spinning with a cloud! Just gorgeous!

Now I hope I can do it in front of people watching my every move!!! I doubt the farm will be blasting mudic that is good for spinning. Oh well, Fatboy Slim wasn't around back in the day.... that's my life as a modern spinner!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Honoring The Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I made sure to do a few things to honor the gods and recognize the solstice.

I took a long solitary hike through the woods. I absorbed the sights, sounds, and smells. I sat and looked at a river lazily rolling by. I even hugged a tree (ok, I had to or I would have slid down the steep hillside I was traversing).

When I came home, I rushed out to my garden to harvest some light pink roses, chives, sage, and pink rose buds.

Tonight I will leave a dish of milk out as a gift for the fairies around my yard.

I hope you had a wonderful first day of summer too!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy Summer Solstice!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Happy Summer Solstice! I hope you and your have a wonderful day today!

I am going to go outside today as long as the rain holds off because today is our school's outside fair! Lots of fun games for the kids and of course ice cream at the end. I just hope our weather holds out so the kids can have a great day outside.... ok, I want to be outside all day too!

After work today, I am going hiking/caching to enjoy nature and reflect on the start of summer. Tonight Husband and I are going to grill for dinner and then I will set up my altar for a ritual.

Have a very Happy Summer Solstice!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Reunion

Hi and Merry Meet,
This weekend was my college 10 year reunion. I admit to be nervous about seeing some of my former classmates. However, the one I was most excited to see was my best friend!

When we started college she and I lived next door to each other. Since day one we've been great friends. When I met her she was Pagan and I was Christian. Now, she is Muslim and I'm Pagan. We have been tnrough a lot together. We stood up at each others weddings. We've made weekend plans for us and our husbands. Now she is going to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago and I'm still trying to see if I can go.

One of my favorite things is her knowledge of herbs. I've been staying at her house all weekend and I've already learned a ton! She has given me a huge bag of dried raspberry leaves to mix with mint tea to ease cramps. I've been trying to absorb all things herbs while I'm here so I can further my limited knowledge.

Last night we both learned that 70 year old women party harder than rock stars! We tried to keep up with them, but when they invited us to their after party, we had to decline. I hope we are rocking that hard when we hit our 70s!!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Cool Giveaway Opportunity!

Hi and Merry Meet,
Most days when I find a giveaway I only go for ones that really spark my interests. This morning while I was reading though the blogs that I like I came across this giveaway at the Laughing Vixen Lounge.. This girl has some cool jewelry and all you have to do to win some is look at her stuff and post to win! How easy is that!!! Her blog giveaway can be found here. Her Etsy store can be found here. I like this girl's style so, I had to share. I love her Eiffel Tower necklace. It would be the perfect gift for my coworker! Anyway, check it out and enjoy!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Coming Up Roses

Hi and Merry Meet,
One of the things I wanted to work harder on this year was using more herbs in my practice.

I've got a few books on the subject, but I haven't put in too much effort recently. Tonight as part of my full moon esbat I gathered roses to dry the petals. I only gathered my red roses since they are blooming in abundance right now.

I took three blooms altogether from two different bushes. Last year I pruned them back something fearsome. This year they are rewarding me with a bounty of blooms. The smell is amazing.

After asking the plant's blessing and cutting them free I made a gift of egg shells to the plants. I read someplace that roses love egg shells so I saved the shells from my dinner preparations.

The picture  is my altar filled with drying rose petals. My goddess stature is watching over them.

Once they are dry, I plan to put them in a glass jar and label them with the date. It is a small step to workung more with herbs, but it is still a step. I have a lot of learning to do with herbs, but I want to start with things in my garden and things I already use. Once I can do that, then I might be ready to branch out. I want to take it slow and learn to use what I have around me and available to me.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Maybe Next Time

Hi and Merry Meet,
I was so excited for tomorrow night. I had signed up for a spell writing class at a shop close to here.

I thought this would help me write better spells and get a different take on spell writing. However, the shop called me today to say that since only two people had signed up it would be canceled. They will try again next month.

I hope more people sign up so they could have it. I'd like to see what new ideas they have for me! Sometimes being a solitary is hard.... taking classes helps me meet other witches around here and give me new ideas to incoporate into my practices.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Positive Body Image

Hi and Merry Meet,
One thing I think our society struggles with is postive body image.

This is a tough subject. Our media tells us one thing but our bodies tell us different. Many women ignore the curves that make us feminine and beautiful for a gaunt sickly thin look. This bothers me.

I have curves, mostly hips, but they are curves. I am not a size 0, I'm a 10. I eat real food and I workout to stay healthy. I have struggled with this for a while. One thing I've had to learn is my body is beautiful the way it is. Eleven years ago I moved home from Japan as a size 2. I was sickly and eating one small meal a day. I was not happy this way. I has wanted to fit in and so I droped my weight so I was tiny. My husband was so sad to see me like that. I learned to eat again and cook. While I still don't enjoy cooking I do enjoy our dinners together. My form is much nicer now then it was then. Now I have a heathly look to me. Why in the eyes of media does this not make me beautiful? I think I look pretty good in my skin. Why are healthy women not celebrated more? Not the crazy workout freaks, but everyday women. Busy moms, business ladies, women who provide for their families, young, old and all the ones in between.

I would love to see a reality show that celebrates women the way we are, not some fantasy that is impossible to live up to. Marilyn Monroe was a 12 and she looked amazing! What changed? When did the idea of beauty here change? Why is it so out of control? From what make up I should put on, to what cream is best to fight ageing. It makes me sad that we as a whole are not looked at as a whole person, just parts that the media can then market different products to. The images for men are just as damming I think. Positive body images are hard to come by when everywhere you look someone is telling you how to look better.

Celebrate curves and enjoy the natural beauty you have been blessed with. Be a positive image for someone esle. You never know who is looking at you as a role model.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Beautiful Bounty

Hi and Merry Meet,
All my hard work of gathering old items to cleaned out paid off. We were blessed with good weather and eager customers! I paired down from eight boxes of stuff to four. My house feel lighter and happier. Tomorrow I will do a cleansing ritural to help make the house feel loved and cleaned!

My mom and I even found a few moments to work in my gardens. She helped me weed and rake out old leaves. I worked some more after dinner to start trimming back some unruly plants. I need to work with my climbing rose some more since she thinks she is supposed to grow straight out into the yard instead of up.

The picture is of my peony in full.bloom. It is a beautiful bounty indeed.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Cleaning Out

Hi and Merry Meet,
In my quest to clean out unwanted stuff and stale energies I am having a garage sale tomorrow!

I have been weeding out for a while now. Ebay has helped me clear out a lot of smaller items. Tomorrow all the big stuff that I couldn't ship with ebay will be up for grabs in my front yard. I also have a ton of smaller items that are no longer needed here. My mom was so excited by my cleaning spree that she is coming to sell her stuff too!

Just moving the eight boxes that I had crammed into my dinning room to my garage seemed to make the house lighter. After the sale I will open all windows to let in a fresh breeze to keep new clean energy flowing. There is too much stale energy in my home and the more I can clear out the better the house and I feel. It is time to let go of the clutter. My fear is that if I don’t start now someday I might end up in tjat show" horaders". My house is not even close to what those folks have and I hope to never get that way. My problem is I'm lazy to clean.

I love a clean house! However, since I've been married I found out how much work really goes into keeping a house at a five star level. I wish I was more of a neat freak, I really do. I'm really good at cleaning when I have guest or company. My mom taught me the importance of appearances... too bad I missed the gene to like cleaning. My mom's house is alway neat and tidy.... and no clutter.

Funny thing is, my husband is the same way as I am. Guess we should guests over more often!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Pendulums and Practice

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I was laying in bed reading Starhawk's Spiral Dance. I have been reading it at night for a while, so it takes me forever to finish books that I only read a page or two of at a time.

Anyway, last night I came across a practice for pendulums. This was very exciting for me. I have three pendulums, but I haven't really used them and was unsure about how to go about it. Needless to say, I lept out of bed and raced upstairs to get one of them so I could start working on building my skills/ relationship with one. I grabbed my newest one that I bought at a rock and gem show.

I spent some time meditating with it in my hands before I did the practices. I wanted to be as relaxed as I could to help me be open. I felt really good about the practice and I want to keep working on it. To help build a strong connection to my tarot decks, the first night I get them after I clean them, I sleep with them under my pillow. I thought I should try it with this pendulum as well.

Tonight before I go to bed I will sit and work with my pendulum a bit more. Knowing more than one divination skill would be good! I'm really comfortable with tarot at this point, but other skills are lacking. I'd like to someday to work not only with my pendulums but maybe I'd be able to scry too! 
Blessed be,
Autumn

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today I was out back in the garden photographing some of our jewelry for our etsy store when I noticed my yelllow iris has bloomed!!! Then to my delight I found that my mini purple irises are also in bloom!

Irises are my favorite. In my garden I have 5 different kinds. I love the shape of the flowers and the colors. The photo below is my new yellow one. I just got her last fall. It was so exciting to see it bloom after it's first winter in my garden.

Now with summer approching I plan to spend more time out there this year. Last year my garden fell by the wayside as my jobs were more demanding of my time. This year the whole summer is open to me and some good old quality time in the garden.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Family Life Thoughts

Hi and Merry Meet,
My husband I are going to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary this summer. Recently it seems people keep asking us about having kids or assume that now we are going to start having them since we have been married for longer than most Hollywood couples.

My friends who have recently had babies can not understand how I could go another day without children. My husband's cousin just had one and now we are getting it from that direction too. Being he is an only child is not helping.

To me, the desission to have children is one that has to be made by the couple alone. I refuse to be pressured into this. Just becasue family wants grandkids or great-grandkids is not a good reason. To be honest, I don't know if I want them or not. So for now since I can't pick the safe thing is not to have them. As my mom told me once "you can't give them back".

We enjoy our life the way it is. We have fun together and enjoy each other's company. I love that we can be spontaneous and change our plans because we feel like it. Maybe, I'm selfish and want all my husband's attention for myself.

If our life is fine and happy the way it is, why push us to add a new crazy dynamic to it? Just because we're married doesn't mean we have to have kids. Bunnies are work enough for me and they can't talk back or demand things and say I'm ruining their lives!

To all the moms out there, I admire you! I have no idea how you do it and I applaud your energy!!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Heat Wave

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today was so hot! It has been so rainy that the heat was unexpected. In fact, I heard that this May was the wettest on record! We had the most rainfall ever here!! To me, that news is wild.

Since it was so hot, Husband and I put in our bedroom a/c unit. Poor rabbits don't have a/c upstairs where they live. I put ice cubes in their water bottles, gave them ice to play with and gave them frozen tiles to lay on. The pict below is Tira sitting near her tile. I just put a freshly frozen ones up there and right now they are too cold to lay on. Once it warms up a little she'll sleep on it.

Hope you are also enjoying some nice weather!
Blessed be,
Autumn

The Big City

Hi and Merry Meet,
This long weekend my mom and I ventured down to New York City to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I love going to visit them however, the lack of green opem spaces really gets to me.

This time they took us to Central Park. It was great! Every time we come here we try to see something different. Sitting eating ice cream and people watching was so fun. I also climbed on the rocks and did one geocache. My brother might start caching because he was really interested in it. My sister-in-law thinks it looks like a fun adventure!

Of course, we had to do some shopping. Mom also got dinner from us as a belated mother's day gift.

Today Mom and I will drive back home. Then I will drive back to my home from my parents house.

I hope you had a great Memorial weekend too!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Land Blessings

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday after I made dinner I went outside to do a land blessed. I did one for our house and property two years ago. So, needless to say it was way overdue!

I took four raw eggs and drew silver pentacles on each one. I held them and infused them with loving energy. Then I went to dig holes at the four coners of our property. As I placed each egg in their hole I said a small blessing and covered them up with dirt. I then went in the backyard and called to the four elements to watch over my land and enjoy the gifts of eggs at each coner.

It felt so good to reconnect with the land on which I live. The picture shows the eggs, my sliver sharpie, and my BOS.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Tools of The Trade

Hi and Merry Meet,
I was thinking about the tools that I use in my practice or the lack there of.

My main tool is a large quartz crystal that is my wand and my athame. I've never used anything else. I started with this quartz chunk and I thought I'd get the "right" tools later on. I don't know that I ever will at this point. My quartz and I work pretty well together. I mentioned this at a workshop I was at and you'd think I had said something rude.

Tools are personal. My quartz and I are pretty well tuned to each other at this point. Plus, I like using just the one and not having to worry about more tools around my small space. For me having less to worry about is a good thing. I'm sure there are people out there who think more is better but I'm trying to decluter my life and learn to have a great circle with only a few items.

Most of the tools I use are crystals or stones. I love the different vibrations and energies that they bring to my circle.

What are your favorite tools?
Blessed be,
Autumn

Unhappiness

Hi and Merry Meet,
The past few weeks I have been giving serious thoughts to summer vacation plans. We are going camping for 10 days, and so I want to plan as much as I can before we go.

At least that was the plan until this past weekend. My husband's company is a good company 99% of the time. However, they just pulled a stunt that made me see red and him to become very depressed. For all supervisors, summer vacations have been cancelled until some new computer thing is installed and running. Being that Husband is a supervisor...  yup, camping has been called off! I asked if Company owner gets to still take his vacation. Answer: only supervisors have to give up vacation. Crock of **** in my opinion. Husband also thinks so, just he is not as vocal about it as I am. Although, he did make the comment that without his paycheck we'd be ok. His thinking is pretty unhappy right now.

Husband is the kind of guy who wants to earn his paycheck. He works crazy hours. He works hard. When I joking around said stay home with me tonight the look that crossed his face is one that I am unfamiliar with. It was a look that said he was considering just that. Since he started with Company, he has only taken off 2 days in 10 years for sick/mental health. My boy works for that paycheck. I even took the summer off this year so we could enjoy camping weekends and the big 10 day camping trip. Yes, as a teacher, I do get summers off, but last year I worked both my jobs all year so no vacation for me. It sucks. Both of us are pretty sad about it.

I've meditated at my altar about Husband's unhappiness. I still have the summer off so I can enjoy the time in my garden or knitting, or any other hobby that strikes my fancy, so on his days off we can do whatever it is that he's like to do. The answer for now is to just be as supportive of him as I can . Also making our home a happy place (and cleaner...) will help him too. I've been also scouting out hiking around our area so that at least we can still enjoy a day of nature together even if we aren't out camping in it.

Maybe, tomorrow will be brighter news.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Weekend Readings

Hi and Merry Meet,
I posted the other day about my daily readings, so today I thought I should post about my weekend readings.

Weekends are my time to relax and reset for the week to come so my tarot readings do the same. I try to do bigger readings to get a feel for the week to come. Once a month or so I do a full person reading. This helps me focus on tne areas of my life that I need work in. The picture below is a whole perdon spread dome with 38 cards. I had to do it im stages since tne whole reading wouldn't fit on my altar. Afterwards I spread it out on the floor of my witchy room.

Today I just did a five card spread. Tomorrow I will do my big weekly one.

Today Husband and I are off to the Lilac Festival! Have a great Saturday!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Spinning Away

Hi and Merry Meet,
On Friday I am taking my spinning wheel to school to talk with kids about what life in colonial times was like. For me spinning is another form of what I call "moving meditation".  My hands are busy while my mind is free to wander. Today I was asked if I weave since I spin and knit. No, I don't but I thought about the story of the Goddess Athena and the girl weaver who claimed she wove better than the Goddess. My skills are not that amazing. I do try to honor the gods with my crafts, not challenge the fact that they are more skilled that I can ever hope to be. Little gifts of fiber are ready to take outside as offerings for this demo to go well. I spent time today getting everything ready for Friday.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Daily Reading

Hi and Merry Meet,
Every morning after I get my cup of tea I come up to my altar for a daily tarot reading. My favorite quick spread is a 5 card overview of the day. It is also were I do my morning prayers. This five card spread looks at work, home, unexpected, my role and the overall outlook for the day. Below is my reading for today. I used my Shadowscapes Tarot Deck.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Full Bloom

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last week one night after work I had to go out and take some photos of my cherry tree. It was finally in full bloom and was the star of our backyard last week. I also took some other pictuers of flowers in my garden, which I'll upload another time.
Here is my cherry tree in full bloom:

I also took a close up of the flowers:

Since they only last for a few days, I love to get out and see them!! It was a beautiful to be out in my garden. I hope this year to really honor the Goddess and make my garden a place that is peaceful and relaxing to all who visit it. This weekend's rain has  ended the flowers' splendor. I'll have to wait until next year to see them again!!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Craft Show Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday my husband and I were selling jewelry and my mini socks at a craft show. We've done these shows before and always find it fun just spending the day together. This show was part of a tulip festival and the flowers were beautiful!!! Here is a photo of my mini sock display.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Happy Mother's Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Happy Mother's Day! Since I couldn't be with my mom today, I went out to celebrate Mother Nature! I took a long walk in the woods and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the forest. I also startled two white tailed deer, who took off bounding down the path right in front of me! It was just awesome! Here is a cool tree that was in front of a creek:

Here is a tree that's roots were beautiful and in the creek:

I might have also found a few caches while I was out there... :^)

Next weekend, my husband and I are making a trip to our hometown so we will celebrate with our moms then. We will also be selling our jewelry at a craft show. I've been making these mini socks like crazy to sell, and he makes all the other stuff. Here are my mini socks:

It has been just beautiful this weekend here so I was able to get out and get in my garden. Last year due to having way too many things to do my garden was left to run wild. SO, yesterday I attacked the weeds with vigor. I also planted three new plants and called a friend to help me get back on track. When we moved in here there was nothing but grass out back. Two years ago I started to dig out the grass around the fence and make a small garden area. Over the course of that first summer gardening, I managed to dig out and make small gardens around the yard. Last year with no one to tame it, it got out of hand. This year I am taking the summer off, and I will get my garden back! I wanted to start small and then each year add to it so it became a sanctuary. However, looks like I went backwards. Luckily, it's a summer project that I am looking forward to!

Happy Mother's Day!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Cleansing Time

Hi and Merry Meet,
This past week I have had strep. Yuck. It really knocked me down and I finally and reluctantly went to the doctor. I'm now on penicillin.

While I was sick i had a lot of time to think and reflect on events that lead me to be so stressed out my immune system was weakened. One of my major problems is that I work with a very small population of unique people and therefore most people do no understand my job. I spend a lot of time trying to educate them on what it is I do, but narrow-minded people just want to argue with me about my job. This is something I need to work on as it will not go away (it is part of the job!). With this week as vacation and being sick, I have been doing some serious meditations on this problem. I need to stay clam when people are shouting their opinions at me and telling me what my job should look like. I put together a small pouch of some of my favorite stones to place in my desk along with my cleaning spray.

The population I work with can not always speak up for themselves and therefore I also have to be an advocate for them. This part of my job I don't mind doing because I know that I am speaking for people who can't communicate their needs right now. Once I know what they want, off I go to make it happen as best as I can. This has eared me the reputation of being a bulldog. That part I'm OK with, it's dealing again with people outside my field who just want to tell me how to do my job but don't understand what I really do. I've mediated on this as well, but looks like I have to tackle one problem at a time.

I know I have a lot to learn in this life. I think this is one of my major lessons that I need to work on- dealing with people who are ignorant and still getting what I need done without having them tell me how to do my job. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way! Luckily, I have a great coworker who does the same job and at the end of the day we swap stories about who had to deal with crazier people!
Have a great weekend!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Friends and Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
This weekend was just what I needed. I spend Friday night hanging out with friends and watching the movie District 9. I loved it by the way!! Yesterday I went out Geocaching with a new friend. It was great and we found 6 caches in 4 hours. The woods yesterday so lovely with birds and the signs that spring has finally arrived here!

Today I am just doing my normal Sunday routine. Cleaning the house, cleaning the rabbit cages, washing the dishes and the laundry. Most Sundays I find this routine boring and monotonous, but for some reason today I'm happy to do it. I've managed to whip through part of my stuff and found I have time to sit down and relax a bit. I love it. It might have a lot to do with our weather here... I see green things on the trees and some spring flowers are slowly making their way to the surface. It seems I always feel a surge of energy this time of year. I guess there really is something to spring cleaning! ;)

This week is my last week at work before a much needed vacation! Right now no plans are in place, but I'm sure I'll come up with something! I know at least one or two days will be outside. One day to tend to my garden and one for more caching!

Blessed be,
Autumn

Bad Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today it was one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. I tried to fight it and that seemed to make it worse. It seemed like everything I said was the wrong thing, everything I wanted to get done was a messy, and everyone I tried to help was unhappy that I was there. I know there is a lesson to be learned in all of this but right now I can't see it. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
Blesses be,
Autumn

Home Sick and Deep Thoughts

Hi and Merry Meet,
Last night I left my second job due to a fever and being really achy. My coworker took my class with hers so she had a MAMMOTH class to deal with. We have both done this for one another when something like this happens. However, I think she had the most we've ever had last night.  I seriously owe her some candy bars or flowers. It was so nice of her to let me go and take care of my class for me.

As I've been feeling a little better today I've spent part of my day sleeping, knitting and reading. In that order and then the cycle starts over. My reading today is a new book that I got called "Crafting Wiccan Traditions by: Raven Grimassi". I haven't gotten very far into it yet, but it is making me stop and think about what I believe and what my foundations look like.

One thing that is has really made me stop and think about are the degree systems that many covens use. I am a solitary. Therefore, I have no degree system or hierarchy in my practice since I am alone. What if, for say, my husband and I decided to bring a child into this world? What would my practice look like then? What if my husband wanted to celebrate with me? This really got me thinking about what would a circle look like then as a family group?

My husband and I are very open with each other. When I first became interested in the Craft I talked to him a lot about it. I asked him if he was OK with me exploring this new idea and what would he think if this fit with me. Would he be OK with it or not? He was very understanding and supportive of me. He even bought me my first Wiccan books on half.com so I could read more (our library here dosen't have a very big selection on alternate religions). He even told me that he has always believed in a Goddess.

One thing that we haven't really deiced on is children. We both keep saying "someday" or "maybe". I go back and forth with how I feel. I work with kids all day long... that has a big impact on how I feel about having my own.  However, if we had children, how would we rise them? Husband has never been to church other than the few times many years ago that I dragged him for Christmas or Easter services. I would want them to have their own  ideas about religion and I think I would try to expose them to more than one view point. So again, what would my practice look like with kids as part of it? I think for sure I would want them to be a part of it, but if they came to a time in their lives when they don't want to, well, then that would be what they want. Can I really say how I would feel without being put in that situation? No, I don't think I can.

I admit, I'd love to have my husband as part of my practice with me but I would never make him be a part of it if it's not his cup of tea. He has respected my wishes to follow this path and I will respect his to keep looking or not looking for what works for him. Maybe, someday we'll have an answer to these questions. For now, it's just me and my circles of one.

Too much thinking for being home sick! ;^)
Blessed be,
Autumn