Yuletide

Yule has arrived. The Solstice is at 11:30 PM Central. I have been thinking about what to do for this night for awhile. Having to work, staying awake all night is not an option. The first thing I decided to do was check the technical stuff. Thursday, 12/22/11 is the shortest day of the year (it is less than 1 second shorter than today 12/21/11.) I purchased a Birch log to decorate for my Yule log and want to burn it on the Solstice so I'm definitely staying up past 11:30 tonight. Thursay, the shortest day will be a day of reflection. I've been in a weird place lately with a lot on my mind. It's time to get things worked out and figure out what I'm doing, where I'm going and who I'm going with. On friday, 12/23/11 the day is 4 seconds longer than Thursay so that seems like the appropriate day to welcome back the sun. So it seems to me that the Yuletide season lasts for three days. Yes! On friday I will start planning my garden. Welcome back sun!

Preparing for Yule

How does one prepare for a holiday with their family when they follow a different religion than the rest of their family? First off I think you follow your heart. I guess it's easier for me being Pagan when my family is mostly Agnostic or Atheist. I can jump on the commercial Christmas bandwagon for my grandchildren but still hold true to what I believe the Yule holiday is all about. When having little children you must have a tree. Our Yule tree went up this past weekend. While most people will be celebrating the birth of Jesus (whom historians believe was not actually born in December) I'll be celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. Similar enough. I'm looking forward to making a Yule log to decorate my altar. One that can be used year after year (since I don't have a fireplace to burn the Yule log as was traditionally done.) I helped my Grandson make Yule gifts for his teachers and other grandparents this past weekend. I've made small Yule gifts for my friends in my spiritual circle (my spiritual family.) I'm hoping to pass down some traditions to my grandson of the way I celebrate. My daughter is open to this which pleases me immensely.

I found the following in a Christian website christiananswers.net and thought it was interesting:

Why do many Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, if that is not when he was born?

The date was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church. Because Rome dominated most of the “Christian” world for centuries, the date became tradition throughout most of Christendom.

The original significance of December 25 is that it was a well-known festival day celebrating the annual return of the sun. December 21 is the winter solstice (shortest day of the year and thus a key date on the calendar), and December 25 is the first day that ancients could clearly note that the days were definitely getting longer and the sunlight was returning.

So, why was December 25 chosen to remember Jesus Christ’s birth with a mass (or Communion supper)? Since no one knows the day of his birth, the Roman Catholic Church felt free to chose this date. The Church wished to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holy day (holiday). The psychology was that is easier to take away an unholy (but traditional) festival from the population, when you can replace it with a good one. Otherwise, the Church would have left a void where there was a long-standing tradition, and risked producing a discontented population and a rapid return to the old ways.

Some of us are now returning to the old ways. Yule Blessings to All.

Emerald Storm

Why I Occupy

The Occupy movement has grown a lot (though not locally) and I support it wholeheartedly. Most people have an opinion one way or the other. Some people just don't seem to care. Being a spiritual person I don't see how I can "not" care. At the core of the movement is the people's complaint that the government is influenced by big corporations and their money. Laws are passed not based on what's best for the people but by lobbyist, campaign contributions etc. When I watch movies like Food Inc and The World According to Monsanto I get pissed. How can the government be allowing this to happen to our food supply? Is the money they receive from the big corporations so important? To the detriment of the people? What about what is being done to the Earth? Whether you believe in the Christian god or Mother Earth it is our job to be stewards of the Earth. This is our home. We don't get another one. Being able to afford to eat healthy shouldn't be a privilege it should be a right. Our children that attend public schools should be given a well balanced meal. People say there are jobs here if your willing to work but where are they really? I remember my father talking about graduation from high school. If you didn't go to college you went to work for Cat. Well not anymore. Those that came before us worked hard to unionize our work force. They made your work place a safer environment for you and the pay better whether you now work for a union or not. Well the big greedy retail companies figured out a way around that. They buy the stuff that's made overseas in the sweat shops. So many companies have left American soil citing the need to be "globally competitive." Bullshit. Your getting cheap labor and stuffing your pockets. This is fine with the government. They passed the laws to protect our own workers (I'm sure there was tremendous pressure) but are perfectly fine if our goods come from child/sweat shop labor. Hypocrits. Another problem I see is the companies that hold government contracts. I believe if your company has a government contract then your workers should be tax-paying Americans. I don't want to call to check on my medicare claim and get a call center in Manilla.

OK I've ranted quite a bit. The bottom line is that I want a better future for my children and grandchildren. The government should be for the people and influenced by their needs not the greed of big corporations.

Blessings,

Emerald

Pokeberry Ink

Instructions

Things You'll Need

· Ripe pokeberries

· Gloves

· Bowl

· Strainer

· 1/2 tsp. salt

· 1/2 tsp. vinegar

· Small jar

1.

o 1

Pick 1/2 cup ripe pokeberries. Look for the ripest berries which will be jet-black. These dark berries may have already fallen to the ground, but they are the best for ink-making. Wear gloves when picking pokeberries and making the ink.

o 2

Put berries in a strainer, and hold the strainer over a bowl. Crush the berries with a spoon, straining only the juice of the berries into the bowl. Continue this process until the berries are completely crushed.

o 3

Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. vinegar into the bowl with the pokeberry juice and mix well. The salt is to prevent the ink from spoiling, and the vinegar will help the color of the ink last longer.

o 4

Store ink in a tightly covered jar such as a small canning jar or a baby food jar when not in use. Keep the pokeberry ink in a dark place.

Life's Journey

Well with my First Degree Initiation done I am ready to start on a new leg of my Spiritual Journey. I feel a sense of accomplishment. While I have been studying various Pagan Path's for a number of years, actually following a course of study, with a qualified teacher has made a huge difference to me. The initiation ritual was wonderful. I'm undecided on what course of study I will follow now while working towards by second degree. I am leaning towards herbal studies but need to think some more about it. I would also like to start concentrating more on my "magick." I consider myself a very Spiritual person in that I honor the Sabbats and do work with the Goddess on the full moon. I have never done a lot of magick. I would like to incorporate some conjure type magic into my personal style of magick. I will see where that takes me.

I am excited about Lammas tomorrow and the first harvest. I acually harvested green beans, cucumbers and potatoes from my garden yesterday. Even though we still have plenty of heat ahead of us I feel Fall, my favorite time of year, coming closer.

Blessings,

Emerald Storm

Litha Herb Gathering

Litha is a good time to gather herbs, whether from the wild or from your own magickal herb garden. Herbs gathered at Litha, when the sun is at its peak, are powerful for use in magickal workings. Dried herbs from your garden can also be used to make sachets and dreams pillows. Remember when gathering herbs from the wild to never take them all. Also remember to leave something behind. A gift for a gift.

Herbs nurtured and grown in our own magickal gardens have our own personal power that we put into them. Stock your magickal cabinet with herbs from your own garden. Remember to look around your yard. Many common weeds have magickal properties also. I have decided to try to forge a relationship with Creeping Charlie since he is in so much abundance in my yard. A plant that resilient must have strong magick. I’m hoping he will share those secrets with me.

Use your herbs in your magickal spells. Magic can be performed on all phases of the moon. New moon magick for new beginnings, for example, looking for a job. Waxing moon magic is for bringing stuff to you and the waning moon is for banishing or getting rid of something.

Solstice Blessings to everyone!

White Tara

I did not write this but borrowed it from another site. It says so many of the things that have going thru my head lately.

White Tara

Sensitivity

Message from White Tara: As you’ve purified your inner world of thoughts, actions, and intentions, it’s natural that you seek purity in your outer world as well. This is to acknowledge your heightened sensitivity, which is as real as it seems! You’ve stripped away the outer protective layers of unneeded defenses, which blocked your psychic and spiritual awareness. Now you’re on the path of ascension, which calls for your heightened awareness. And with this awareness comes new levels of sensitivity to the impure and harsh. Your body is a trustworthy instrument of measurement of your tolerance level. Steer clear of that which the body signals you to avoid. Take excellent care of your body, and it shall serve you well.

Various meanings of this card: Acknowledge and honor your sensitivity * Take steps to protect yourself from negativity * Avoid chemicals * Steer clear of situations with loud noise, crowds, violent media, and other triggers.

About White Tara (pronounced TAIR – uh): White Tara is an aspect of Tara, a female Buddha and Hindu Mother Creator. The many female faces of the Buddha and Mother Creator are represented as various colors of Tara. White Tara represents purity, maturity, and compassion. The eyes on her hands, feet, and forehead allow her to be aware of all prayers. She helps us to live long and peaceful lives.

Our roots

I become very interested in tracing my roots a few years back around Samhain. I contacted my Aunt (on my mom's side) who had done a family tree for my grandparents and she sent me all the information she had. I was excited and pleased to see that she had traced our family back to Adam and Janty Klaasen. They had come to America from Prussia, Germany in the early 1850's. Because they had settled and stayed in the same place, as did all the generations since then, It was easy to do the family tree. It also helped that they were fairly new immigrants. I was able to do tombstone rubbings of these two brave people who took tempted fate and took a chance at building a life in a world that was strange and unfamiliar to them.

Tracing my father's roots has been a bit more challenging. I am not in contact with any of his relatives and therefore cannot pick their brains for information. My surname Searle is very English and the last generation I can trace came from Canada. He remembers that his grandmother was Cherokee Indian but since his mother didn't get along with her he doesn't have a whole lot of information about her besides a name. Both of my grandparents on my father's side have passed.

It's fascinating and exciting when you get a clue about where you come from. It's not something I thought a lot about while growing up. It was more about immediate family. I still think immediate family is important but since I've started studying the various Pagan traditions I've had a craving for more information. I want to know where I come from so I can include that in my Spiritual path.

Munay-Ki

To Munay-Ki or not to Munay-Ki that is the question. This is something I have been thinking about for awhile. I have read the website and talked to people that received the rites. It seems to be the "in" thing for a lot of Pagans right now and since I have a bit of a rebel in me I don't really like going with the norm. lol I thought I would weigh the positive against the negative. On a positive note people that get them seem to really like them and state they are life changing. They are free. That's it for positive. Now the negative, I know of four instances where people that have received them have ditched their friends, or thought they had become better than them or something along those lines. Another negative, not crazy about people messing in my energy fields or planting some invisible "seed" in me. I think I would have to trust someone an awful lot to let them perform these rites on me. Another problem I have with it all is that I think before people start trying to mess in other peoples energies they need to settle the problems they have or it's hard telling what they are actually planting in you. My shield is a thick brick wall with flames on the outside of it and swords at all four directions and I don't usually let people in and not sure I'm ready to put down my guard for this. I think to be a healer you have to heal yourself first and reach a balance and harmony in your own life. Don't really want to dump my friends either.

So it's sounding like the munyki thing is not going to be for me. Those of you receiving these rites I wish you the best and hope they do something for you. Just don't ditch our friendship please:)

New Blog

Not sure what this is going to be all about yet. Perhaps my second degree studies (if I ever figure out for sure what that is). There will probably be a lot about being green. Somewhat of a passion of mine. Will give it some thought and write later.