I guess I need to start doing some reviews for the sites that I'm running into.
Augh. I hate doing reviews.
Anyway, Skidmore Bluffs is a web comic of photographs that combine art and sometimes, humor. The guy is an apparently professional artist and his photography is really beautiful to me. (Whereas, I am NOT a professional, but like to play at it. :) ) Anyway, if you're just wanting a quick comic, it's cool, but the guy doesn't post daily. And..it's not always something funny, but there are things that strike me as funny.
The thing of it is....sometimes we need to step outside of our own perspectives, because we get so caught up in the day-to-day we're stuck with, we can't always see past the box we're trapped in.
Humor is a cure-all. But beauty lets us know how much we're missing.
Just a thought.
7.15.2010
7.14.2010
dreaming again
The night before last, I dreamed of a friend of mine that I was kind of on the outs with (Actually, we were in fact not speaking to one another, with very good reason - in our own minds, anyway....because we were both very peevish with one another).
I dreamed he came to my house (that I don't own, I live in an apartment) and that we talked at great length. Then I told him I was tired, and he talked with me, followed me to my room and laid down beside me on the bed, sleeping.
This is perfectly acceptable in our world. It isn't uncommon for friends in my circles to climb into be together, even opposite-sex friends, to snuggle up and sleep.
But I woke up and the reality of the fact we weren't speaking to one another set in, and it was something very sad.
However, we'd been a little over two weeks of not speaking to one another, and the issue at the end of the day, from the night/morning of dreaming, the 'silent stand-off' came to an end.
So what is the dreaming? Is it a portent of that which is to come? Is it something which our minds send to us to comfort us, trying to give a little peace to the waking mind? Who knows.
But I found that the events were kind of interesting.
Also...I added a new feed. It's called "Surviving the World". I just found it hilarious. :) I hope you enjoy.
I dreamed he came to my house (that I don't own, I live in an apartment) and that we talked at great length. Then I told him I was tired, and he talked with me, followed me to my room and laid down beside me on the bed, sleeping.
This is perfectly acceptable in our world. It isn't uncommon for friends in my circles to climb into be together, even opposite-sex friends, to snuggle up and sleep.
But I woke up and the reality of the fact we weren't speaking to one another set in, and it was something very sad.
However, we'd been a little over two weeks of not speaking to one another, and the issue at the end of the day, from the night/morning of dreaming, the 'silent stand-off' came to an end.
So what is the dreaming? Is it a portent of that which is to come? Is it something which our minds send to us to comfort us, trying to give a little peace to the waking mind? Who knows.
But I found that the events were kind of interesting.
Also...I added a new feed. It's called "Surviving the World". I just found it hilarious. :) I hope you enjoy.
7.11.2010
Amateur Herbalism (reposted here)
I've been collecting up herbs for a while in hopes that eventually I'll start making ritual/magical items for sale...soaps, bath salts, incenses and other kinds of crafting. This is not really an unheard-of activity amongst the flurry of people labeling themselves in the same general direction as I am.
However....one must proceed with caution.
Time after time, I've come across a nice quantity of something, looked at it both magically and medicinally....or seen it and thought, "Hmm...what could I use this for?" Stashed away in a dark cabinet in sealed jars, the collection has kept growing. A friend recently came to me and asked if I could help them find a blend of an herbal nature.
With a great amount of zeal, I went straight-away to looking at properties, balancing smells, breaking out the 'ole pestle and mortar and grinding away happily.
Holy toledo.
The first unwritten rule of herbalism - take great care to never wipe your face or any part of your body if you are using herbs you've never used before.
The second? If you think you might have, then wash immediately.
And the third? You can never be too careful.
So, the next evening, I decided that the allergic reaction was so bad, I had to go to one of those walk-in clinics (it was last Saturday, the doctor's offices were closed). When I finally got around to seeing somebody, my left eye was swollen almost completely shut and it was weeping in a feeble way. Annoyed, I was just working on relaxed breathing. The lady took one look at me and started rattling off stuff and writing hurriedly in the little folder that people generally get (mine's probably getting fuller). I heard the measurement "cc's" and asked politely, "Excuse me, what are you giving me?"
"An IV. This needs to go into your system immediately." She begins calling down the hall for a nurse practitioner.
"UM,....no disrespect meant, but I'm not about to get an IV in a walk-in clinic. Can you put it in a shot?"
"......"
"I am....REALLY...bad with needles. A HUGE baby. I can't take an IV. And my veins are small. Tiny. Minuscule. I'll be a pincushion for hours...." (Which really is no lie, everyone always had a damned time trying to tap a vein on me...) I brandish the insides of my elbows with great enthusiasm.
"Fine. And I'm going to give you *some measurement of some sort of drug here*, but you need to take Zantac and Benedryl over that as well. As long as needed. And if anything else happens, go to the ER IMMEDIATELY."
"Uh, sure. No problem."
"Did you actually drive yourself here?"
"Uh, yeah?"
*long-suffering eye-roll* "The nurse will be with you momentarily."
At which point, a marvelous woman came in, used my butt as a dart board, scored a perfect bulls-eye, and was slapping a band-aid on my ass before I could say, "Needles make me squeamish." I really could have hugged her.
(And a LOT of people find this amusing, because I used to pierce and tattoo....yet, if you look at me, for the tattoos I have, I've never really gotten more than my ears pierced. Why, you ask? Why the hell would I stick a perfectly good piece of flesh with a hollow needle and gouge out a chunk? Are you crazy?)
Now this does kind of daunt me some. Because the redhead, the partner in crime in this endeavour, is probably as allergic to crap as I am. BUT....we're still willing to give it a go. Just...more precautions. Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure and all that. It's just taking it easier and going a bit slower at it.
So...for Yule, you people might wind up with homemade stuff. Mead. Wine. Soap. Whatever. For gifts, you get to be guinea pigs. So there. :P
7.08.2010
a test of friendship
The worst part about loving people, is that you ultimately hand them weapons that undo you. Your Achilles' heel is vulnerable, your heart laid naked. So it is much easier (especially if they can't seem to communicate to them that there are things which are bothering them about your behaviors) to cut you to the quick and wound you deeply. People who love one another might as well be soft-bodied things with appendages of razors, gutting a person with merely a flick of a finger or a bat of an eye.
The friendship that can cease has never been real. - Saint Jerome (374 AD - 419 AD), Letter
Rule of thumb?
"Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
The friendship that can cease has never been real. - Saint Jerome (374 AD - 419 AD), Letter
Rule of thumb?
"Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
6.09.2010
the Art of Teaching
As more and more people seek out spirituality in the pagan sector, there are many more people who have picked up paths generated in America as opposed to Traditional paths.
This is nothing new. This is nothing bad. To each their own. Spirituality is a very deeply personal thing, and any yahoo that would judge an individual over something so personal just needs to get a grip. There were just more people becoming interested in it than there were teachers, so they're not 'doing it wrong', they're just 'doing it differently'. (We'll skip the argument over what to call the 'modern wiccans' and just hang it up as western wicca, okay?)
However, when you are in spiritual starvation mode, it's kind of hard to keep from seeking in places that aren't the wisest of places. Particularly if you are caught up in that bright, shiny newness of a thing. We are blinded sometimes by our revelations and fail to realize in the seeking for peers and teachers, there are some fundamental things that we skip. Here's some thoughts to consider.
Not everyone can be a teacher. As skilled or as knowledgeable as a person is, this doesn't qualify them to teach. Some people have a hard idea communicating their thoughts. And yet some have no patience for it, skipping fundamentals as if you'd already know them, or not explaining a thing more than once. And that failing, some people just really don't know what they're doing, and it becomes the blind leading the blind.
Not every teacher teaches in the way you expect it. Just because you expect to pick up practical knowledge from someone doesn't mean it's going to happen. However, maybe this person has wandered into your life for other reasons. If they can't teach you directly, generally there is something about their lives, they way that they are going, which is going to teach you something. Sometimes we can't see past our noses. Maybe the lesson doesn't come directly from the person as opposed to a lesson through observation and interaction. This seems like a stretch, but it's true. In our haste to find what we are seeking, we may not evaluate closely enough the person we are seeking to be our teacher.
Be selective of your teachers. What method do they teach by? Do they lead by example, are they those that guide you through experience? Do they use paperwork, homework, and visual aids? - and that's just the 'teaching part'. What makes you think they will be a good teacher? Beyond their teaching skills, look at their life. Are they in a constant state of drama? Do those that fill their homes and circles seem unnecessarily needy? Is there an over-abundance of hero-worship among their peers or perhaps they seem to rule instead of lead?
As we move through the world, seeking to lean from people, we must be intimately aware that magic is a very visceral thing. It is something that moves us deeply, that connects us deeply, and changes ourselves and the world. With that in mind, this kind of evaluation will bring you to ask yourself questions. Do you want to be so closely entwined with someone who is less than scrupulous as a teacher of magic? Do you want to carry the baggage, the karma, of someone who's caught up in witch wars and epic drama? Do you want a charismatic leader, or a competent teacher?
Whether you are a new seeker or the seasoned initiate looking for a different path, it's just some food for thought.
This is nothing new. This is nothing bad. To each their own. Spirituality is a very deeply personal thing, and any yahoo that would judge an individual over something so personal just needs to get a grip. There were just more people becoming interested in it than there were teachers, so they're not 'doing it wrong', they're just 'doing it differently'. (We'll skip the argument over what to call the 'modern wiccans' and just hang it up as western wicca, okay?)
However, when you are in spiritual starvation mode, it's kind of hard to keep from seeking in places that aren't the wisest of places. Particularly if you are caught up in that bright, shiny newness of a thing. We are blinded sometimes by our revelations and fail to realize in the seeking for peers and teachers, there are some fundamental things that we skip. Here's some thoughts to consider.
Not everyone can be a teacher. As skilled or as knowledgeable as a person is, this doesn't qualify them to teach. Some people have a hard idea communicating their thoughts. And yet some have no patience for it, skipping fundamentals as if you'd already know them, or not explaining a thing more than once. And that failing, some people just really don't know what they're doing, and it becomes the blind leading the blind.
Not every teacher teaches in the way you expect it. Just because you expect to pick up practical knowledge from someone doesn't mean it's going to happen. However, maybe this person has wandered into your life for other reasons. If they can't teach you directly, generally there is something about their lives, they way that they are going, which is going to teach you something. Sometimes we can't see past our noses. Maybe the lesson doesn't come directly from the person as opposed to a lesson through observation and interaction. This seems like a stretch, but it's true. In our haste to find what we are seeking, we may not evaluate closely enough the person we are seeking to be our teacher.
Be selective of your teachers. What method do they teach by? Do they lead by example, are they those that guide you through experience? Do they use paperwork, homework, and visual aids? - and that's just the 'teaching part'. What makes you think they will be a good teacher? Beyond their teaching skills, look at their life. Are they in a constant state of drama? Do those that fill their homes and circles seem unnecessarily needy? Is there an over-abundance of hero-worship among their peers or perhaps they seem to rule instead of lead?
As we move through the world, seeking to lean from people, we must be intimately aware that magic is a very visceral thing. It is something that moves us deeply, that connects us deeply, and changes ourselves and the world. With that in mind, this kind of evaluation will bring you to ask yourself questions. Do you want to be so closely entwined with someone who is less than scrupulous as a teacher of magic? Do you want to carry the baggage, the karma, of someone who's caught up in witch wars and epic drama? Do you want a charismatic leader, or a competent teacher?
Whether you are a new seeker or the seasoned initiate looking for a different path, it's just some food for thought.
6.08.2010
so easy (I had to post this here)
And so I'm in the vehicle, passenger on a meandering journey. And what should I see, but a in a little town, a little sign which I read aloud.
".... Primitive Baptist Church...."
And the passenger in front of me quietly spoke, answering my question.
"So easy....a cave man can do it."
".... Primitive Baptist Church...."
And the passenger in front of me quietly spoke, answering my question.
"So easy....a cave man can do it."
5.22.2010
rethinking things (or IN MY HUMBLE OPINION)
One of the cute little idiosyncrasies of being a Seeker of traditional witchcraft is changing thought processes.
Now, some things are pretty inherent, that you can't really change in your outlook. Other things can be tweaked to fit a thinking process.
I know that didn't make much sense, but let me explain.
For ages, I have been using a ceremonial knife. Before, if asked, I'd have said, "Yes, sweetie, that's my athame. Please don't cut yourself." But after observing the highly secretive and eccentric BTW groups roaming about, athame is how I'd probably explain it, but I've been corrective in my mind set, calling it a ceremonial or ritual (magical) knife.
Does that make a difference? I think so. Most people would have taken offense to it, or even might (by some of the things I'm saying) still. The easiest way it was put to me was, "Are you Gardenarian?" "Uh, no." "You realize the concept of an athame is from BTW, is it not?" "Uh...a lot of cultures religiously use knifes for things-" "But do they call it an athame?" "Uh, no." "SO...is your knife an athame?" "Uh, no?" *pat on the head*
Okay, maybe it was a little more elaborate than that, but I got it. The fact of the matter is that most people that practice 'Wicca' practice a magical system that was jacked from a religion, and they liberally slap whatever the hell they want into it, with a semi-structured ritual and gobs of other bullshit.
That does not, in essence, make what any of the little fluffy pagans do specifically 'Wicca'.
I ran into a concept the other day by accident. It was a concept that I'd never encountered reading some of the books that I've read regarding Wicca, so I was surprised to see it. However, it made oodles of sense, and I didn't understand why it's never surfaced before for me. But...you don't see it in a lot of 'modern books' because people either didn't know about it, or it smacked too much of monotheism for a religion with a lot of gods.
Omission doesn't make something better, it changes. Restructuring doesn't make something modern, it changes it. Wicca doesn't equate to 'do what you feel is right for you'. Maybe you have it confused with the New-Age White-Light mumbo jumbo that has been breeding like rabbits. But it's definitely not Wicca.
Not that things DON'T change...but there are some things that remain unmovable. We don't omit the sun because we like pale skin. The sun is there regardless.
So...consider what you are doing and why. How far are you from actuality?
Who are you really?
Now, some things are pretty inherent, that you can't really change in your outlook. Other things can be tweaked to fit a thinking process.
I know that didn't make much sense, but let me explain.
For ages, I have been using a ceremonial knife. Before, if asked, I'd have said, "Yes, sweetie, that's my athame. Please don't cut yourself." But after observing the highly secretive and eccentric BTW groups roaming about, athame is how I'd probably explain it, but I've been corrective in my mind set, calling it a ceremonial or ritual (magical) knife.
Does that make a difference? I think so. Most people would have taken offense to it, or even might (by some of the things I'm saying) still. The easiest way it was put to me was, "Are you Gardenarian?" "Uh, no." "You realize the concept of an athame is from BTW, is it not?" "Uh...a lot of cultures religiously use knifes for things-" "But do they call it an athame?" "Uh, no." "SO...is your knife an athame?" "Uh, no?" *pat on the head*
Okay, maybe it was a little more elaborate than that, but I got it. The fact of the matter is that most people that practice 'Wicca' practice a magical system that was jacked from a religion, and they liberally slap whatever the hell they want into it, with a semi-structured ritual and gobs of other bullshit.
That does not, in essence, make what any of the little fluffy pagans do specifically 'Wicca'.
I ran into a concept the other day by accident. It was a concept that I'd never encountered reading some of the books that I've read regarding Wicca, so I was surprised to see it. However, it made oodles of sense, and I didn't understand why it's never surfaced before for me. But...you don't see it in a lot of 'modern books' because people either didn't know about it, or it smacked too much of monotheism for a religion with a lot of gods.
Omission doesn't make something better, it changes. Restructuring doesn't make something modern, it changes it. Wicca doesn't equate to 'do what you feel is right for you'. Maybe you have it confused with the New-Age White-Light mumbo jumbo that has been breeding like rabbits. But it's definitely not Wicca.
Not that things DON'T change...but there are some things that remain unmovable. We don't omit the sun because we like pale skin. The sun is there regardless.
So...consider what you are doing and why. How far are you from actuality?
Who are you really?
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