au revoir





















Je suis en vacances...
xx

Today is the summer solstice. It is also known as various other names including Litha, and Midsummer. On this day, in the Northern hemisphere it is the longest day of the year, and the shortest night; when the sun reaches his apex in the sky, and the days will now grow shorter. For North Americans 'summer' has barely started and the kids are just now getting out of school - today marks the official the first day of summer. The summer solstice marks Mid-summer for many cultures, because it is roughly the middle of the growing season in much of our northern hemisphere. In some lore Like Samhain, Litha (mid-summer) is a day when the boundaries between the worlds are thin, when mortals have strange experiences, and when otherworlders travel in our plane.

Honey and mead figure prominently in many Celtic traditional celebrations (at least in our home they did) Mead is a common term for an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of honey, it is produced like wine, and is also referred to as honeywine.
This however is not a tradition I have chosen to continue...as I have yet to taste a mead I like...but I'm open to the "never say die" concept, and will keep trying. (I also don't drink Scotch which my Scottish parents find almost sacrilegious...*laughs*)

I wish a Joyful Summer Solstice to all!

The Summer Sun Shone Round Me

THE summer sun shone round me,

The folded valley lay

In a stream of sun and odour,

That sultry summer day.

The tall trees stood in the sunlight

As still as still could be,

But the deep grass sighed and rustled

And bowed and beckoned me.

The deep grass moved and whispered

And bowed and brushed my face.

It whispered in the sunshine:

"The winter comes apace."

Robert Louis Stevenson

(photo credit: unknown)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words
when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be
long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that
feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined
Cemetery, 1994

I make the best Tabouli in the entire Universe!!! *pats self on back*

Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keeps You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But only Faith keeps You Going!

High Flight (an Airman's Ecstasy)

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee (1922-1941)
A Canadian Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britan

"A Woman"

This is written in the Hebrew Talmud

It says:

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears.

The woman came out of a man's rib.

Not from his feet to be walked on.

Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal.

Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved."

why not indeed?

Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.

Pablo Picasso

I did not write this, and it does not describe my exact path.
I'm publishing it here as sadly I'm running into ignorance and the woefully misinformed.

An Open Letter from a Witch:

I am a witch. I do not worship Satan; I am not interested in Satan.
Satan was invented by the Christians. Satanism is a form of
Christianity. I am not a Christian. I don't go to church on Sunday.
Jesus is NOT my savior. He was simply a holy man who lived 2,000
years ago. I am not afraid of going to Hell because I don't believe
in Hell any more than I believe in Satan. I believe in reincarnation;
that I will come back to this world or another and live out another
life. I am not evil. Telling people I am a "good witch" or asking me
if I am a good witch implies that there are evil witches. There are
evil people in the world, and there are people who chose to work with
the forces of nature in a way that harms others; those people are NOT
witches. The central law of being a witch is: "if it harms none, do
as you will." Please don't ask me about sacrificing cats or
desecrating churches. I love my cats. And I don't go into churches or
synagogues unless a friend from that religion invites me to some
special occasion. And if I DO enter a church, I am not struck by
lightning. And if a Christian or a Jew or a Buddhist came to a pagan
ritual, our gods would not strike them dead either. Isn't that
something to think about?

Wearing a pentacle is no different than wearing a cross, crucifix, or
Star of David. If you want me to take off the symbol of MY religion
(and Wicca is a religion, protected by the same First Amendment
rights as other religions) because it's offensive, you need to make
everyone of every religion do that. The five points of the star
signify the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire & Water, and the fifth
point is Spirit; encircled by the World. How that can offend anyone
boggles my little pagan mind. An image of a tortured, dying man is
more offensive, yet thousands of people openly wear crucifixes every
day. Also, don't ask me if I'm in a "coven" in that half-horrified,
half-fascinated tone of voice. If I want to talk about my coven, I
will bring it up. If I am a solitary practitioner, I have no coven to
discuss. In any case, our rituals have candles, food, drink, poetry,
dancing...yes, there is a knife but it only cuts the air, not
anyone's flesh. I don't drink blood. I am not some kind of vampire. I
wear black because it keeps negativity away and because it looks
better on me than orange and purple polka dots.

If you want to ask me something related to MY religion, ask me when
the next full moon is. Or the next blue moon. Or what a blue moon IS.
Ask me about herbs. Crystals. Healing. Even ask me to make you a love
potion. But I don't cast spells on other people and I won't cast a
spell on you to make you prettier, thinner, more desirable. And I
won't cast a spell on your quarry to make him/her love you. Trust me,
you don't want that, you don't want the karma that involves, and
neither do I! That's a form of manipulation, taking away someone's
power, infringing on their free will. Not nice at all. And I also
won't cast a binding spell to make someone STOP doing something to
you. Spell work is about co-creation.

A witch works with universal energy, with the gods, to tilt the
engine of probability somewhat. Need money? Don't try to ensorcel
your boss to give you a raise. Simply ask the universe to increase
the flow of abundance in your direction. That infringes on NO ONE's
free will. One last thing: giving me a book about the Burning Times
is like giving a book on the Holocaust to a Jewish person. It's not
funny and is rude. Yes, I do go to Salem, but not because any of
those poor executed people were witches (I think the jury is still
out on some of them), but because there's cool pagan shops there. If
there were cool pagan shops in a town called East Cowflop, I'd go
there.

Please don't try to make me ashamed of who I worship and what I am.
Please don't try to convert me or "save" me. Don't throw holy water
on me. Don't leave little pamphlets on my desk or windshield. I don't
need to be saved. Witches are proud of the fact that we don't recruit
people to become witches. We simply ARE, and those around us see how
we think, how we act, and our inner peace, and only when someone
says "how do I become a witch?" do we take them into the fold with
us. I will NEVER leave a religious tract with anyone. I don't have
one, unless you count this letter. I am not asking you to convert. I
am only asking you to understand. If you don't want to understand,
just leave me alone.

Blessed Be,
A Witch

From the cutting room floor....

And God said, "Jeeze, this is dull." And it *was* dull. (Genesis 0:0)

And on the seventh day God went out and got totally shitfaced; and lo, He was liek doin bodyshots off of Gabriel and everything omg wtf?! (Gen 1:348)

make it all stop

from this day forth

this is my wish for you:

Comfort on difficult days,
Smiles when sadness intrudes,
Rainbows to follow the clouds,
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Hugs when spirits sag,
Beauty for your eyes to see,
Friendships to brighten your being,
Faith so that you can believe,
Confidence for when you doubt,
Courage to know yourself,
Patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.

(anonymous)

..and he danced for the sun

And while I stood there
I saw more than I can tell,
and I understood more than I saw;
for I was seeing in a sacred manner
the shapes of things in the spirit,
and the shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being.
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks

Hold on to what is good,
Even if it's a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it's a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
Even if it's a long way from here.
Hold on to your life,
Even if it's easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday
I'll be gone away from you.
Pueblo Indian Prayer