Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Lammas Questions and answers from Yahoo

In am lousy at explaining Pagan holidays. I know them in my head and what they mean and why I celebrate them, but for some reason I have a hard time explaining it on paper. When I look around the net, I seem to find a lot of imformation, so it is just easier to pass it on here.
I thought this was an interesting article. I found it on Yahoo Answers and I wanted to share it for all of you who do not follow a Pagan path. Also here are some photos of my Lammas Altar



Question: Lammas what is it???
is it on the night of august 31 or something and is a sabbath what does it have to do with witches what sort of thing do they do on this date???

Answer


Lammas pronouced (Lah-mas) is not just related to 'Witches" it is an ancient Pagan festival (the Name Lammas came from the Saxon or Old English "hlaf," meaning "loaf" and "maesse," meaning feast.), which means loaf-mass.

It is a harvest festival, and a Fires Festival . (One of Eight Sabbat Festivals celebrated by Pagans - four major/four minor) That are still celebrated today by Pagans around the world. It is actually Celebrated on the Eve of July 31st through to the morning of August the 1st. (The Pagans celebrated a day as BEGINNING at sunset).

It is the first Festival of the waning year and celebrated the first day of Autumn. It is also sometimes called the Festival of First Fruits, and the first sheaves of grain were cut.

This festival is also called "Lughnasadh" (Loo-nah-sah), which has an entirely different meaning. The "nasadh" relates to the Gaelic, "to give in marriage," and so means the "Marriage of Lugh," basically this was the time the King of the People "Married" the "Bride of the Land" a Priestess who later during Beltaine (another of the Festivals, celebrating the "Great Rite") would consecrate the relationship making him a true King.

What Pagans generally do, differs from Coven to Coven, Tradition to Tradition............heres an example:

** An old custom that can be re-created today is the construction of the Kern-baby or corn maiden at Lammas. This figure, originally made from the first sheaf, would be saved until spring, then ploughed into the field to prepare for planting. (The Maiden thus returns to the field at Spring.)
**

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I found this table cloth a few months ago at a thrift store and knew it would be perfect for the fall sabbaths

Close up of cloth





On the table itself I put the following things:





The basket is made from corn husk and if you look closely you can see tiny corn stalks on it. There is a mirror of the sun sitting in the basket. The sun is in honor of Lugh the sun God who Lughnasadh is named (Another name for Lammas) The troll is a harvest troll. In his basket find things from the garden. The woman is a corn dolly witch that was made by Carries mom Jet. She was a gift for me and I keep her out year round.

No real plans for the day itself. I will probably do a small private ritual and plan on cooking some corn bread (one of the tradional food for this sabbath).
I hope everyone enjoys the day

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Lammas




L A M M A S: The First Harvest
by Mike Nichols

Once upon a Lammas Night When corn rigs are bonny, I held awhile to Annie...

Although in the heat of a Mid-western summer it might be difficult to discern, the festival of Lammas (Aug 1st) marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The days now grow visibly shorter and by the time we've reached autumn's end (Oct 31st), we will have run the gamut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold and (sometimes) snow of November. And in the midst of it, a perfect Mid-western autumn.

The history of Lammas is as convoluted as all the rest of the old folk holidays. It is of course a cross-quarter day, one of the four High Holidays or Greater Sabbats of Witchcraft, occurring 1/4 of a year after Beltane. It's true astrological point is 15 degrees Leo, which occurs at 1:18 am CDT, Aug 6th this year (1988), but tradition has set August 1st as the day Lammas is typically celebrated. The celebration proper would begin on sundown of the previous evening, our July 31st, since the Celts reckon their days from sundown to sundown.

However, British Witches often refer to the astrological date of Aug 6th as Old Lammas, and folklorists call it Lammas O.S. ('Old Style'). This date has long been considered a 'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the 'tetramorph' figures found on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune (the other three figures being the Bull, the Eagle, and the Spirit). Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac, and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four gospel-writers.

'Lammas' was the medieval Christian name for the holiday and it means 'loaf-mass', for this was the day on which loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and laid on the church altars as offerings. It was a day representative of 'first fruits' and early harvest.

In Irish Gaelic, the feast was referred to as 'Lugnasadh', a feast to commemorate the funeral games of the Irish sun-god Lugh. However, there is some confusion on this point. Although at first glance, it may seem that we are celebrating the death of the Lugh, the god of light does not really die (mythically) until the autumnal equinox. And indeed, if we read the Irish myths closer, we discover that it is not Lugh's death that is being celebrated, but the funeral games which Lugh hosted to commemorate the death of his foster- mother, Taillte. That is why the Lugnasadh celebrations in Ireland are often called the 'Tailltean Games'.

The time went by with careless heed Between the late and early, With small persuasion she agreed To see me through the barley...

One common feature of the Games were the 'Tailltean marriages', a rather informal marriage that lasted for only 'a year and a day' or until next Lammas. At that time, the couple could decide to continue the arrangement if it pleased them, or to stand back to back and walk away from one another, thus bringing the Tailltean marriage to a formal close. Such trial marriages (obviously related to the Wiccan 'Handfasting') were quite common even into the 1500's, although it was something one 'didn't bother the parish priest about'. Indeed, such ceremonies were usually solemnized by a poet, bard, or shanachie (or, it may be guessed, by a priest or priestess of the Old Religion).

Lammastide was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar to our modern-day Renaissance Festivals, such as the one celebrated in near-by Bonner Springs, Kansas, each fall.

A ceremonial highlight of such festivals was the 'Catherine wheel'. Although the Roman Church moved St. Catherine's feast day all around the calender with bewildering frequency, it's most popular date was Lammas. (They also kept trying to expel this much-loved saint from the ranks of the blessed because she was mythical rather than historical, and because her worship gave rise to the heretical sect known as the Cathari.) At any rate, a large wagon wheel was taken to the top of a near-by hill, covered with tar, set aflame, and ceremoniously rolled down the hill. Some mythologists see in this ritual the remnants of a Pagan rite symbolizing the end of summer, the flaming disk representing the sun-god in his decline. And just as the sun king has now reached the autumn of his years, his rival or dark self has just reached puberty.

Many commentators have bewailed the fact that traditional Gardnerian and Alexandrian Books of Shadows say very little about the holiday of Lammas, stating only that poles should be ridden and a circle dance performed. This seems strange, for Lammas is a holiday of rich mythic and cultural associations, providing endless resources for liturgical celebration.

Corn rigs and barley rigs, Corn rigs are bonny! I'll not forget that happy night Among the rigs with Annie !





(quotations by Robert Burns, as handed down through several Books of Shadows.]

Document Copyright © 1995, 2000 by Mike Nichols

This document can be re-published only as long as no information is lost or changed, credit is given to the author, and it is provided or used without cost to others.

Viedo by You Tube

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Saturday, July 28, 2007

Moon madness

With the moon at 99% full all the crazy people were shopping at the mall today. I always expect it so I am prepared but I still get irritated with them. One of the first customers I had today pissed me off. I was trying to mind my own busines and doing my job ringing someone up when a lady approached us interrupted and asked where a certain brand item was at. I pointed to it (Yes I know your suppose to show them, but I was busy) and went on with what I was doing. As I was finishing up I looked up and noticed this same lady standing nearby as if she were waiting to be rang up next. I thanked my customer and then asked the woman if she was ready. NOOO she bellowed. I want to know where the jeans are..They aren't where you told me and I have been standing here waiting all this time.

What the F*ck I thought to myself..Why didn't she just look behind her. The darn jeans she wanted were about two feet away. How dare she bellow at me! Lazt B* It just really rubbed me the wrong way, but I just smiled and walked her over to the jeans she was looking for explaining that they had just moved a lot of things around. I then walked away leaving her looking. I was so mad. How dare her criticize me when all she had to do was look around and find them. I thought to myself I AM NOT YOUR PERSONAL SHOPPING SLAVE. I then went to the ladies room for several minutes leaving her to find another cashier in a different area. GROWL...

Ok I get over that...the day is rolling along and I go over to the sale area to hang up a few things only to find a lady coming out of our employee hallway pulling a blouse over her head. She had been in the hall way trying clothes on. I explained to her that it was not a fitting room and told her that there were two areas one on each side she could go too...Well I'm almost done now she says..I told her we had cameras, and her reply was, Oh well I guess they got a show..I just walked off..People are WEIRD!

On the bright side I did buy a pretty tree of life pendant today. I also found out that one of our part time clerks follows a pagan path. She had on pentacle earrings.
We chatted a bit and found out we both attend the same drum circle at our local pagan shop. Because both of us go infrequently we had never seen the other there so we never put it together that we might know each other outside the job.

Anyway I am back to reading Harry. Enjoy your Weekend

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Cerridwen, Goddess of Death and Rebirth

(This is for Robyn who asked me for information on Cerridwen)

Cerridwen, Goddess of Death and Rebirth



I give you life

I give you death

it is all one

You travel the spiral path

the eternal path

that is existence

ever becoming

ever growing

ever changing

Nothing dies that is not reborn

nothing is born that does not die

When you come to me

I welcome you home

then I take you into my womb

my cauldron of transformation

where you are stirred and sifted

blended and boiled

melted and mashed

reconstituted then recycled

You always come back to me

you always go forth renewed

Death and Rebirth are but points of transition

along the Eternal Path



The Mythology

Cerridwen (pronounced ker'rid-when)is a Welsh triple Goddess, Maid, Mother, and Crone, whose totem animal is the great white sow. She is associated with the moon, inspiration, poetry, prophecy, shape-shifting, and life and death. Cerridwen had two boys. One was beautiful and the other was ugly. Beacuse she wanted the ugly one to have something of his own, she made him a magical brew. The brew took a year and a day to complete and would make him inspired and brilliant. She set Gwion, her assistant to watch the brew and bade him not to drink it. Accidentally, some drops of the brew splashed onto his hand and he put his hand in his mouth. Instantly he knew everything, including the fact that Cerridwen would seek his death. He ran away and she ran after him. After many shape-shiftings, he was swallowed by Cerridwen who gave birth to him nine months later.



The Lessons of this Goddess

Cerridwen's appearance in your life heralds a time of death and rebirth. Something is dying and needs to be let go of, so something new can be born. We know the earth's dance of death and rebirth as the seasons. Matter cannot be created or destroyed, but undergoes transformation. So do we. To live fully and in wholeness we need to accept life in all that it is, which includes death and rebirth. Let go of what does not serve you and your wholeness.

Perhaps, you have reahed the end of a cycle, a realationship, a job, and you fear letting it go. Or feel that you are dying, when only a piece of you needs to give way to the new. Perhaps the idea that there is death and only death is too painful for you to accept. Living in a partiarchal culture has deprived most of us of the Goddess's way of death and rebirth. Wholeness is nurtured whe we say yes and do our dance with death and rebirth. The Goddess says you will always get back what you give to me. It will be changed, it
will be transformed, but you will get it back.

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Friday, July 27, 2007

At the Crossroads

I was cleaning up some files when I ran across this and read over it. It reminds me of more than one time when I was standing at a crossroad.
Thankfully right now things are going smooth in my life, but Hecate is still one of my favorite Goddess, so I wanted to share this.




I sit in the blackness of the
dark moon night
with my hounds
at the crossroads
where three roads converge
at the crossroads
the place of choice
All paths lead to the crossroads
and all are desirable
but only one can you travel
only one can you choose
choice creates endings
and all beginnings come from endings
at the crossroads
Which one will you choose?
which way will you go?
which?
though the choice is yours
here's a secret I'll share
The way to choose is to enter the void
the way to choose is to let die
the way to choose is to fly free


The Lessons of this Goddess
Hecate meets you at the crossroads when you must make a choice. Times of choice are not easy times. The challenges presented by choice necessitate a leap of faith from the person doing the choosing. Hecate says to let go of the idea that there are wrong or right choices: there is just choice. Have you been putting off making a choice because it seems to be too overwhelming or a "no win" situation? does the choice bring up fear of the unknown? Does it seem better and/or easier to remain with what you know?
Sometimes a choice must be made, yet you are not ready in such cases, the way to nurture wholeness is to acknowledge where you are and let it go. Trust that you will be able to make a choice when the time is right. Give yourself time and space. Don't press, berate, or blame yourself. You need nourishment here. When you let go, suddenly clarity comes to show you what you need. The Goddess urges you to enbrace the unknown. Know that whatever you choose will bring you something invaluable that you can use on your path to wholeness.

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lost

I haven't posted for a few days because I have been lost....In Harry Potter land.
Actually I have been trying to play catch up so I can read the last book.. Soooo
In the last two days I have seen Three Harry Potter Movies. The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, and The Order of the Phoenix Now I am reading The Half Blood Prince and as soon as I finish it I will start the Deathly Hollows. I've already read the first five chapters of it and realized I really needed a refresher before I went on. I dreamed of Harry last night..Does this surprise you? Anyway I am off today and I plan on spending most of my day with my nose stuck in a book. I will check in again soon

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

and the winner is

Among the votes for what I was going to do this weekend were a trip to VA. Beach. A tour of a local plantation and a ferry ride. The only way I could pick when it came right down to it was write them down on a paper and pick one out.(Sorry I didn't think to take photos)....The winner was the ferry trip.




As it turned out this was the perfect thing to do. The weather was beautiful as we set sail from Jamestown. In just a few short minutes we arrived in Surry and noticed signs pointing to the
Peanut, Pork and Pine Festival. Not knowing what to expect we followed them and found ourselves at Chippokes Plantation State Park
We had never been to the park so I was excited.
What we found was a gorgeous area with a really nice campground (that we plan on going back and checking out this fall). They also have a pool, and lots and lots of hiking trails along the James River, with picnic tables near the shore.
After checking all this out we went on down the path towards the festival itself.
What we found there was a lot of fun. Rows and rows of crafts and yummy food. We opted for a bar be que sandwich with slaw, chips and a drink. At only 11 dollars for the both of us we were happy because I expected it to be more. We also split a funnel cake, which proved to be a bit more pricey at five bucks, but I only have those when I go to something like this so it was worth it. Yummy!


The best part of the day was...
Chippokes is a working farm, and the exhibits were open for free. We were able to tour A PLANTATION HOUSE. They wouldn't let me take photos inside but it is the red brick house in the photos.

Also we got a tour of the river house, and this is the one with the dirt floors and the fireplaces.
As you can see there were also displays of farm animals, and a lot of old tools and things used to keep a farm running.
We spent the entire day just looking at everything and enjoying the park.
We didn't get to see a light house this trip or go to the farmers market, but I hope everyone enjoyed what we did do...
Thanks for all the votes and for helping us have a nice day

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Saturday, July 21, 2007

How might your life have been different

How might your life have been different
By: Judith Duerk

Hpw might your life have been different if there had been a place for you?
A place for you to go... a place of women,
to help you learn the ways of women...
a place where you were nurtured from an ancient flow
sustaining you and steadying you as you sought to become your self,
A place of women to help you find and trust
the ancient flow already there within yourself...
waiting to be released...
A place of women....
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different, if
deep within, you carried an image of the Great Mother?
And, when things seemed very, very bad, you could imagine that you were sitting in the lap of the Goddess,
held tightly embraced, at last
And that you could hear her saying to you,
I love you I love you and I need you to bring
forth your self.
And, if, in that image, you could see the Great Mother looking to Her daughters,
looking to each woman to reveal, in her own life, the beauty, strength, and wisdom of the Mother......
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different if there had been a place
for you...a place of women, where you were received and affirmed? A
place where other women, perhaps somewhat older, had been affirmed
before you, each in her time, affirmed, as she struggled to become
more truly herself.

A place where, after the fires were lighted, and the drumming, and
the silence, there would be a hush of expectancy filling the entire
chamber...a knowing that each woman there was leaving old conformity
to find her self...a sense that all of womanhood stood on a threshold.

And if, during the hush, the older women, slightly older, had
helped you to trust your own becoming... to trust it and quietly and
prayerfully to nurture it...
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different if there had been a place for
you to be, a place of women... a place where, one day in your monthly
stay, you were asked if it were almost time? And, if other women,
somewhat older, already initiated, had begun to help you prepare?
And, for many months, the women helped you during your times in the
lodge to go inside yourself and consider all the experiences of your
life and to reflect on them... if the women had helped you draw your
thoughts and feelings together and to weigh them.... so that you
could come to a clearer knowing of what your life was about. And if
the women had listened as you told them of your whole life and the
sense and meaning it held for you... the happenings of your whole
life.
And, at the end of that process, after the bathing and fasting, and
praying. the oldest women in the lodge had come and sat in a
circle, and you saw that they had left and empty place...a place for
you. And you softly and timidly made your way to the empty place and
quietly claimed your wisdom, and wisdom of your soul...
How might your life be different?



How might it have been different for you, if, early in your life, the
first time you as a tiny child felt your anger coming together inside
yourself, someone, a parent or grandparent, or older sister, has
said "Bravo! yes, that's it! You’re feeling it!"
If, the first time you had experienced that sharp awareness of ego,
of "me, I'm me, not you"...you had been received and hugged and
affirmed instead of shamed and isolated?
If someone had been able to see that you were taking the first tiny
baby step towards feeling your own feelings, of knowing that you saw
life differently from those around you. If you had been helped to
Experience your own uniqueness, to feel excitement of sensing, for the
Very first time, your own awareness of life. What if someone had
helped you to own all of this...to own your own life?
How might it be different for you?



How might your life have been different, if, when you were a young
woman, the first time you felt feelings of depression, an older woman
had come to sit with you? If she had come to sit with you, as someone
had come to sit with her the first time she had feelings of
depression? To simply sit, quietly, perhaps wordlessly-to sit with
you, during your dark time
And how might your life have been different if the woman had
accepted your feelings of depression? Had accepted them so completely
and fully that you began to feel safe with them. If there had been no
judgement and no questioning... no attempt to make you smile, to
betray your feelings, to deny your darkness. If the woman has simply
sat in silence with you, with your pain, and in the darkest moments
had been able to reflect it to you...to reflect to you your pain...to
witness...attend...and by her quiet respect for it to help you learn
To respect it...your own pain and depression...to witness, attend and
respect your depression...and to see that just as the woman had faith
in it, you also might have a glimmer of faith that there was meaning
and truth in you darkness.
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different, if, as a young woman, there
had been a place for you, a place where you could go to be among
women...a place for you when you had feelings of darkness? And, if
there had been another woman, somewhat older, to be with you in your
darkness, to be with you until you spoke...spoke out your pain and
anger and sorrow.
And, if you has spoken until you had understood the sense of your
feelings, how they reflected your own nature, your deepest nature,
crying out of the darkness, struggling to be heard.
And, what if, after that, every time you had feelings of darkness,
you knew that the woman would come to be with you? and would sit
quietly by as you went into your darkness to listen to your feelings
and bring them to birth...so that, over the years, companioned by the
woman, you learned to no longer fear your darkness, but to trust
It...to trust it as the place where you could meet your own deepest
nature and give it voice.
How might your life be different if you could trust your
darkness...could trust your own darkness.

How might your life have been different, if, long ago when you were
still a tiny child, long before you began to come to the Women's
Lodge as the normal cycle of your life, you had been brought here
especially by your mother and aunts...and you and your girl cousin
entered shyly into this place you had overheard so much about?
And, after the fires were lighted, and the drumming, and the
silence, you heard, for the very first time, what the women called
The Naming... each woman speaking slowly into the stillness, sharing
her feeling of how she saw her life and what she wished to say of
it...sharing it with the women around her... weaving the threads of
her life into a fabric to be given and named.
And, as the shadows of the day lengthened into dusk and you leaned
your head against your mother's shoulder, you pondered in your heart
a different sense of a woman's life...
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different, is, as a young woman,
there had been a place for you, a place where you could go to be with
women? A place where you could be received as you strove to order
your moments and your days.
A place where you could learn a quite centeredness...to help you
ground yourself in daily patterns that would nurture you through
their gentle rhythms...a place where, in the stillness at the ending
of a task, you could feel and ancient presence flowing out to sustain
you...and you learned how to receive and to sustain it in return.
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different, if, through the years,
there had been a place where you could go?...a place of women, away
from the ordinary busy-ness of life...a place of women who knew the
cycles of life, the ebb and flow of nature, who knew of times of
quiet...who understood your tiredness and need for rest.
A place of women who could help you accept your fatigue and trust
your limitations, and know, in the dark winter, that your energy
would return, as surely as the spring.
Women who could help you learn to light a candle and to wait...
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different, if, one day, during your
monthly stay in the Women's Lodge, you had suddenly felt fearful?
If, even in those safe surroundings, you felt the dread and panic you
sometimes felt in your life away from there?
And, what if, as you tried to express your anguish, a women had
listened quietly, intently, as you expressed your fears, your
experiencing of your own shame and abandonment?
If there had been a stillness, a grave silence in that moment, as
your eyes looked into the eyes of the women who listened, and you saw
that she was there, present to your suffering... that she was there,
so present to your terror and woundedness that she helped you, also,
to embrace your own anguish...and give it a place to rest...
How might your life be different?

How might your life have been different if there had been a place
for you, A place of women? A place where other women, somewhat older,
had reached out to help you as you rooted yourself in the earth of
ancient feminine... A place where there was a deep understanding of
the ways of women to nurture you in every season of your life. A
place of women to help you measure your own stature... to help you
prepare and know when you were ready.
A place where, after the fires were lighted, and the drumming, and
the silence, you would claim, finally, in your naming, as you spoke
slowly into that silence, that the time had come, full circle, for
you, also, to reach out...reach out to help them prepare as they
struck root in that same timeless earth.
How might your life be different?

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Cherokee Herbology

Cherokee Herbology
A Beginning of Understanding





Agrimony (Agrimonia Gyposepala). Drink tea of burs to check bowels, and for fevers; root tea to build up blood.


Alder, red/smooth/tag (Alnus Serrulata). For pains related to birth, ingredient in tea for menstrual period - acts as an emetic and a true purgative.


Alder, white (Clethra Acuminata). Decoction of bark and wild cherry is drunk to break a high fever.


Aloe, false Aloe (Agave Virginica). Chew root for obstinant problems with diarrhea. Also good for treating animals for worms.


Alum-root, American Sanicle (Heuchera Americana). Root - An astringent; root tea for bowel complaints or dysentery (usually made with honey to improve the taste).


Angelica (Angelica Atropurpurea). Root - tonic for fevers and colds. Gargle for sore throats and mouth pains/cold sores.


Bastard Toadflax (Comandra Umbellataa). Steep with roots of pink lady's slipper for kidneys; put juice on open cuts or sores.


Beardtongue, hairy (Penstemon Laevigatus). Tea - for cramps.


Birch, cherry/mountain/red/river/sweet (Betula Lenta). Chew leaves or drink tea for dysentery; tea for colds.


Bittersweet (Celastrus Scandens). Bark - tea to settle stomach; strong tea combined with red raspberry leaves for pains of childbirth.


Blood leather/rock tripe (Gyrophora Dillenii). Stop bleeding from open wounds.


Bluebells..lungwort..virginia cowslip (Mertensia Virginica). For whooping cough; consumption.


Bluets (Houstonia Caerulea). Tea to stop bedwetting.


Branch lettuce/saxifrage (Saxifraga Pensylvanica). Root - poultice for sore swollen muscles.


Buckeye, red (Aesculus Pavia). Pounded nuts are poultice for swelling, sprains and infected wounds. bark tea drank for facilitating woman's delivery in childbirth.


Buffalo nut/oilnut (Pyrularia Pubera). Salve for old sores.


Butterfly weed/Witch weed (Asclepias Tuberosa). Seeds or root are a gentle laxative; boil seeds in new milk for diarrhea; also for pleurisy, pains in breast, stomache and lungs.


Cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum). Bark -tea for flu.


Coneflower/Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia Fulgida). Root - Ooze for earache. Wash for snakebites and swelling caused by worms.


Fern, bracken (Pteridium Aquilinum). Root - tonic used as antiseptic.


Fern, rattlesnake (Botrychium Virginianum). Boil root down to syrup and rub on snake bites.


Feverfew (Chrysanthemum Parthenium). Bathe swollen feet in a tea.


Geranium, wild (Geranium Maculatum). Used for open wounds; astringent.


Goosegrass (Galium Aparine). Tea to move bowels.


Indian Pipe/Fit root/ice plant (Monotropa Uniflora). Root - pulverized and given for epilepsy and convulsions.


Laurel, Mountain (Kalmia Latifola). Ingredient in liniments.


New jersey tea/Red root (Ceanothus Americanus). Hold root tea on an aching tooth; hot root tea for bowel complaints.


Short Bibliography
Cobb, B. 1963 : Field guide to The Ferns. Boston. Houghton-Mifflin Co.
Fernald, M.L., Gray's Manual of Botany. NY
Hamel, Paul, Plants of The Cherokees. 1974.
Plowden, C.C., Manual of Plant Names. NY 1970.
Sharp, J.E., The Cherokees Past and Present. 1970. Cherokee Press.



This is not meant to be a complete monograph on the subject of the Cherokee plant lore, just a sampling of the available information.



Collected & Distributed by Joseph Teller of the Pagan Information Network, Homeboard being the Wonderland BBS 508-663-6220 Billerica MA. Open for public non-commercial Distribution.

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Friday, July 20, 2007

You pick (Updated)

I'm going to do something different. I am turning my life over to YOU, my readers. For one day you get to pick what I do. See it is like this. I can't decide what I want to do on Sunday, so I am going to list a few things to choose from and let the votes make the choice for me. Here is a few things I thought of

I can go to:
A Ferry Ride from Jamestown to Surry
A old plantation in Newport News Va
Virginia Beach Lighthouse, and oceanfront
Va, Beach farmers Market
The air and space center Hampton Va
A drive and just go somewhere unexpected, take a photo or two and come home.
If I think of anything else I will add it to this post by midnight tonight and then you can vote.


Just leave me a comment and let me know where YOU want me to go because you will see photos of my day.
I need all votes in by midnight tomorrow night so that will leave you a little over 24 hours for you to think of something fun for me to show you.


*Update
I thought of something else that I haven't done or shown on this blog to add to the list for you to vote on..(Yes you can vote twice if you change your mind about what you think I should do)

Transportation Museum,Fort Eustus VA
Fishing and swimming at Jamestown Beach

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Blogger Award

Suzie of Suzie's Sacred Space has honored me by nominating me for this award.


I know that the idea of this award is for the receiver to continue passing the award along to others she/he thinks is worthy, but I have a problem with that. I read 74 blogs via bloglines, and I love each and every one of them Picking a favorite one would be like a mother choosing a favorite child. I just can't narrow it down to a few. So instead of picking some and leaving out others I will just say Thank you to Suzie and post it on my sidebar.

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Psychoanalyze Yourself

I stole..uhhh I mean borrowed this from Jaspenelle
Answer the questions BEFORE you go to the bottom of the page and let me know if you post it so I can come read your answers




Answer the following questions with the first thought that comes to mind. Then read which each answer means. (No cheating!)

1. You are not alone. You are walking in the woods. Who is with you.
Dean

2. You are walking in the woods. You see an animal. What kind of animal?
A deer

3. What interaction takes place between you and the animal?
We both stop. Stand very still, look at each other wanting to go closer, think about it for a moment, then the deer turns and walks away.

4. You walk deeper in the woods. You enter a clearing, and before you is your DREAM house. How big is it?
It is an old antebellum home. With four bedrooms, a huge living room, dinning room, a big eat in kitchen, a side pantry, and one or two extra rooms, one for books and one for a storage room. Oh and THREE bathrooms.

5. Is your dream house surrounded by a fence?
Yes, a white picket fence with flowers up against it.

6. You enter the house. You walk into the dining room and see the dining room table. What do you see on AND around it?
A basket of wild flowers and around the table is 6 chairs

7. You exit the house and a cup is on the ground, what kind is it?
A plastic cup of my grandsons

8. What do you do with the cup?

Take it inside and put it in the kitchen sink

9. You walk to the edge of the property where you find yourself standing at the edge of a body of water. What kind of body of water is it?

A pond

10. How will you cross the water?
A row boat..Tied to a tree near by
___________________________________________________________

1. The person who you are walking in the woods with is the most important person in your life.

2. The size of the animal is representative of your perception of the size of your problems in your life.

3. The severity of the interaction you have with the animal is representative of how you deal with your problems.

4. The size of your dream home is representative of the size of your ambition to solve your problems.

5. A lack of a fence is indicative of an open personality. People are welcome at all times. The presence of a fence indicates a closed personality. You’d prefer people not drop by unannounced.

6. If your answer did NOT include food, flowers, or people, then you are generally unhappy.

7. The durability of the material with the cup is made of is representative of the perceived durability of your relationship.

8. What you did with the cup is representative of your attitude.

9. The size of the body of water is representative of the size of your sexual desire.

10. The way you cross the water is representative to how easy or hard you expect your life to be.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Aches, pains, and Hiding the bodies

Oh my goodness I am tired today. After working 7 days straight at work and having so much to do in the house yesterday I am ready to sit here and be lazy today. Remember all those bodies I was teasing about hiding. Well yesterday I think I really could have strangled someone. I cleaned out all the stuff from my kitchen to get ready for the pest control guy. Took my bird, two cats and dog out of the house for the day and cleaned up in general so the guy could kick his way past the front door. Thankfully he arrived about 10 am., but when he did he informed me that he didn't know why the office sent out letters telling everyone to do the cleaning and removing, that it was NOT necessary. He went on to say that it was an old letter and he wasn't even from that company, that they didn't use them any more. Then he took what looked like a medicine syringe and outlined the edges of the cabinets and left. It took all of 90 second. NINTY seconds for all that hard work. I'm still putting stuff away (because I was to lazy to do it yesterday). I'm telling you I was really ticked off. I just can't believe that the management in this complex is so bad. Our lease is up in the spring and I really hope we can get out of here. I'm dreaming about that mobile (modular) home, and hope we can figure out a way to get into one. My hubby and I went yesterday and looked at the ones they have on the lot again. I think we have narrowed it down to two or three that we like. Hopefully we will qualify for more than I think we will and we can make a solid plan in a few months for one. If not a brand new one then at lest we can start looking around the mobile home parks for someone selling one. I know for sure we wouldn't have to put as much money down on a used one, and I suspect that is the direction we will have to go in due to lack of funds.

As for today, I plan on reading the blogs, finishing up my house work, doing some laundry this afternoon and then just relaxing. My arthritis is kicking my butt lately. My knees are swollen and sore. My friend Merry send me this recipe for an herbal lotion in my email today and I may try and find the ingredients at my local shop for it. I thought I would post it for anyone who is interested.


HERBAL LOTION FOR ACHES AND PAINS

4 drops marjoram

6 drops juniper

8 drops of sweet birch or wintergreen

3 drops chamomile

3 drops lavender

3 drops ginger

2 oz of carrier oil or lotion

Mix the above ingredients and let blend for 24 hours before using. Massage in to area of pain or inflammation

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Meditation of the Day

"It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth... The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing."
--Chief Luther Standing Bear, TETON SIOUX
Touching the earth - getting grounded, centered. There is magic in touching the earth and feeling her healing power. This is especially healthy to do during a troubling time when our minds are racing or can't stop thinking or are locked onto fear or resentment. When I need to feel free I can go to the Mother Earth. The Mother Earth is full of life and love. She always gives her powers to those who come to her. The Mother Earth is alive.

Today, my Great Spirit, let me remember to touch the earth. Let me slow down and live just for today. Let me be gentle, patient and kind.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

Hiding the bodies

Yesterday I posted a little ditty about hiding bodies of people that piss me off. I think I am going to have some to hide. We got a notice on our door letting us know that tomorrow maintenance would be coming out ssometime between 8 and 5 to spray the apartment for pest control. The note said that I have to remove EVERYTHING from the cabinets, and remove all animals for the day. What a pain in the butt. I just got off from a seven day stretch at work, tomorrow is my day off and now I have to do this. GRRRRR. Do you think the storage shed that they made me clear out about two weeks ago will be big enough to hide the bodies? Making a bigger mess of my apartment is not my idea of relaxing.
I had wanted to spend my day reading and being lazy. Oh speaking of reading I wanted to say Thanks to my friend Tammy. She sent me a book last week that she had read called The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney. I loved it. It was one of those read it till your finished kind of books. I think I will start the Celtic Womens' Spirituality book next. Right after I find my shovel to bury the workers tomorrow for irriatation me on my day off.

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Serenity Under Pressure

It was a long hard weekend at work. I think this sums up how I feel about it.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill because they pissed me off.
And also, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today, as they may be connected to the ass that I may have to kiss tomorrow.
Help me to always give 100% at work: 12% on Monday, 23% on Tuesday, 40% on Wednesday, 20% on Thursday, 5% on Friday.
And help me to remember: When I'm having a really bad day, and it seems that people are trying to piss me off, that it takes 42 muscles to frown and only 4 to extend my middle finger and tell them to bite me.

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Look at all the goodies

You might remember several weeks ago me mentioning that I had signed up for a scavenger hunt at PepperLady's blog. My partner wasJaspenelle and I received her lovely package today. Here are the things she sent me

The hunt was a lot of fun, and I know I will enjoy all my goodies.

I also did a bit of thrift store shopping with my daughter today. We had been out to breakfast and stopped in early before everything was picked over
I managed to find this cute little magnet for refrigerator
It is a kitchen witch and is just perfect for me.

I found this rooster

He is made of tin, and this place above my bookshelf seemed to be waiting for him.

I also found several paper back books that look like they will be good reads.


The bargain of the day was the book on Celtic Women's Spirituality. It retails for $16.95 and I got it for $1.95! I was thrilled. I have had my eye on this book for a couple of years now but didn't want to pay full price for it. You better believe I snatched it up fast when I saw it. I rarely find any pagan books in the thrift stores so it made it all the more special.

Well that was my Saturday. I hope you enjoyed yours. I worked this afternoon and have to work again tomorrow, so this is a long weekend for me.

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Friday, July 13, 2007

Chit chat, and stuff


My grand daughter turned four today. This photo is the closest thing I have to seeing her.
(we are not sure who the older girl is)
Her mom and my son separated when she was a baby and she lives on the west coast. I have never seen her except for photos. Thankfully my daughter in law does send them about twice a year. I think I have mentioned this before on this blog, but the hurt from wanting to see her always lies just under the surface. Yes I know I could go out west to see her but that cost money that I don't have. We would not only need round trip tickets, but a rent a car and a motel for a few days. I'm guessing that would be close to two thousand dollars. If I had that kind of money I would use it to put a down payment on a modular home (a fancy word for a mobile home). Speaking of has anyone taken a look at the mobile homes on the market? I did last week and I have to tell you that they are really beautiful. I also have to admit I have always been a bit of a snob when it came to living in one. It is not something that I thought I would ever consider. My mind has been changed, and I found that they are just as pretty as a condo or single family home. Several of them had a fire place, a jacuzzi tub his and her HUGE walk in closets along with big eat in kitchens with a real pantry. Laundry rooms and some with both a living room and family room. Most had 3-4 bedrooms and almost as many baths. The great part is that they sell for around fifty thousand dollars. The bad part is that due to us having a bad credit score we will probably have to put close to 10 percent down. They means about five thousand dollars. It might as well be five million. Were not sure if we can get a personal loan for that amount (due to the same lousy credit), and even if we did we don't know if we can afford a loan payment and a mortgage payment plus a payment for the lot rent in a mobile home park. Worst case scenario is we will have to wait three years for my husband to finish up paying child support on his youngest son who turns 16 in a couple of weeks. YEAH!! (every birthday brings us closer to getting out from under paying the wicked witch Five hundred bucks a month, Oh by the way she has a new trailer..Gee I'm glad ot know we bought her one...this is being sarcastic folks if you didn't catch that)
Anyway back to US buying a home. We know this is something we want to do because we have already been informed rent will go up AGAIN in the spring when our lease is up. This time to about 800.00 a month, and that is just to much for this dinky little apartment)
Oh well, maybe we will win the lottery, then I can visit my grand daughter and buy a home.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Things that go bump

After our trip to the graveyard over the weekend my daughter and I both were a bit spooked. I showed my photos to a friend of mine who is involved with a paranormal group and he said he does believe we captured something on film. Eeeek..Freaky even for me who believes in all this stuff. I haven't worried to much about it, but my daughter got a bit of a scare night before last. She was having trouble sleeping and told me she was lying in bed tossing and turning, and her thoughts wandered to the events of Saturday .She said for some reason she felt like something was watching her. Just as she was thinking this thoughts, my grandson who was sleeping next to her suddenly woke up..looked over at her and said PAPA...She said to him, where do you see papa..He pointed to the doorway. She said it really frightened her and she grabbed him and told him GO TO SLEEP..She said she didn't open her eyes the rest of the night. I laughed it off when she told me this, but just to be on the safe side I Smuged both her house and mine yesterday with sage to cleanse them. I didn't want to take any chances that a nasty spirit had followed us home.
My house feels much lighter and the energy feels good in here today. I asked my daughter if she had any problems last night and she said no. Hopefully she will rest good tongiht

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Just another meme

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous
People will stop and watch you when you appear
Even though you're capable of random violence

You are best known for: your power

Your dominant state: performing

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Sunday, July 8, 2007

Finding a ghost on my trip to Petersburg

My daughter and I went to Petersburg today, and spent the afternoon touring.
We started off at the Visitors Center


Then we walked over to the Farmers Market


From there you could see some old buildings, a lot of them are boarded up now, but I can picture in my mind how beautiful they must have once been.












Some of them have been turned into Antique stores and we spent most of the afternoon looking around in them.





After we shopped we stopped at BLANDFORD CHURCH


Blandford Church was built in 1735 as the seat of worship for members of Bristol Parish. The church building was abandoned in 1806 when membership in its congregation dwindled as a result of the consecration of a new church building in downtown Petersburg. In 1901, work began to restore the building for use as a Confederate Memorial chapel.

Blandford Church is believed to be one of only six in the United States with windows exclusively designed and fabricated by artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. Officials believe the church's 15 glass masterpieces were installed between 1904 and 1912.

The project represents the continuation of restoration efforts at the church by the Ladies Memorial Association of Petersburg. The group formed in 1866 and began its work by coordinating the re-interment of the remains of 30,000 Confederate soldiers that were scattered about the city after the Civil War. In 1901, the association began restoring Old Blandford Church as a Confederate memorial. Tiffany was commissioned to make the windows. Eleven former Confederate states and the border states of Maryland and Missouri each donated a window. A booklet on the Tiffany Compass Windows of Old Blandford Church is available through the Petersburg Museums gift shop.

BLANDFORD CEMETERY
The cemetery adjacent to Blandford Church has been used as a burial ground since the early eighteenth century. The oldest marked grave dates from 1702. Among the more noted individuals buried within the cemetery is one foreigner, Major General William Phillips, British citizen and commander of the British troops during the April 25, 1781 "Battle of Petersburg." Phillips died on May 13, 1781 in Petersburg following a fever that was most likely malaria or typhus. A memorial stone, erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1914, stands adjacent to Blandford Church, marking the general location of Phillips' secret burial, done at the direction of his deputy commander, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold.

In June 1866, the first Memorial Day was celebrated in honor of the 30,000 Confederate soldiers buried on Memorial Hill inside the burial ground. The cemetery's gravestones, sculptures, and tombs represent a diverse array of eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century styles of funerary art. In addition, some plots feature exquisite examples of nineteenth century decorative iron fences


While we were in the grave yard, we started playing with my grandson, asking him if he saw any ghost. I believe that children see and feel things that we as grown-ups can't. It didn't surprise me when he said YES. We asked him who did he see...He replied A papa..not HIS papa, but A papa. We really started getting into it when he started walking off on his own.


My daughter and I followed at a short distances asking him where the Papa was...Gone he said..Where did he go we asked..Here he said pointing to the ground.



We let his imagination (and ours) run wild for a few more minutes, checking out a few of the confederate graves




then we got in the car and road to the back of the cemetery where we saw these beautiful deer grazing. It was a breath of fresh air to see something so alive and so beautiful in an other wise dead and solemn area




We spotted a few old graves that were set apart from the others and when we stopped to take photos this is what happened.




Did you see the mist? Or was my imagination playing tricks on me?
Just before those photos were taken, my daughter once again asked her son if he was seeing anyone in the area...He pointed to the exact spot I just showed you and said Yep..
It spooked me and I told my daughter I thought it was time to leave


We had just got around the corner and took the last two photos (I love the dog and the angel) when:
My grandson looked out the window and let out a scream. YIKES!
I let out a scream and started yelling at my daughter to roll up the windows. She was trying to adjust her contacts at the time and couldn't see to drive, so we were laughing and panicking at the same time. We got out of there as fast as we could giggling because if it there really were any ghost out there rolling up the window wouldn't have stopped them from getting in the car!!
Anyway it was quite an adventure and I think it will be awhile before we go ghost hunting again.

These last few photos are of the treasure my daughter got today while shopping.
This is a real elephants foot. You can see the toes which are bone and actually see where they sewed the skin back together. It has been used as a plant stand, so my daughter will continue to use it that way.
I have never heard of anyone making a planter out of an elephants foot before and wondered how a thrift store happened to have it. I suppose if she ever gets tired of it she can sell it on EBAY.
As for me I bought a funky chicken made of wood. I'm to tired to take a photo of it tonight. I am heading to bed, but will try and photograph it tomorrow. Also if you would like to see more photos of the cemetary, you can visit my blog archives for Dec 3, 2006. My husband and I were there then and I have a slide show on that post of the day







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Friday, July 6, 2007

The Goddess is Alive in Every Woman

I have written consent to publish this article on this blog


The Goddess is Alive in Every Woman:
The True Story of How She Came to Be, How She Disappeared, and How She Returned
by Susun Weed
copyright 1999

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the beginning, everything began, as it always does, with birth. The Great Mother of All gave birth, and the Earth began to breathe. Again, and again, and again, the Great Mother gave birth. And the plants began to breathe and the animals began to breathe and the two-legged ones began to breathe. All forms of life began to breathe. To breathe, to live. In the air, on the land, in the water, and even in the fires of deep sulfurous vents where light never shines, all forms of life began to breathe. And they were all very hungry.
"What shall we eat?" they asked the Great Mother. "You eat me," she said with a smile. And they did. They ate of Her body. The plants sent their roots down into the earth and they ate of Her flesh and Her bones. The plants drank Her clear blood. From her deep springs, from her flowing waters, the plants ate. And they grew strong. And they gave birth. The grasses multiplied and rippled in the wind. Roots grew fat and juicy. And everywhere there were amazingly-shaped leaves, and flowers of many colors, and fruits wondrous to behold.
The animals ate Her. They did not eat Her flesh and Her bones as the plants did. They could not send their roots into Her, for they had legs and they moved about on the face of the Earth. Some of the animals ate of the grasses that grew from the Mother. Some of the two-legged ones ate the seeds of the grasses and the roots of the plants and their leaves. They ate and they ate and they ate. They began to give to birth, too. Soon there were many, many mouths eating the Mother. There were many, many feet stirring up the red dust of the Mother. There were many mouths to praise her abundance. And many mouths to feed.
"I am you and you are me. I am here for you to eat. Now eat me. Eat all of me." she urged them. And some of the animals ate Her flesh and Her bones in the form of the other animals. And some of the two-legged ones ate Her flesh and Her bones in the form of the animals. And her clear blood became red. And this red blood flowed in the bodies of the animals and the bodies of the two-leggeds who ate of the animals who ate of the plants who ate of Her. And the Great Mother was well pleased.
Now this red blood flowed in the bodies of the two-legged ones. It flowed in their bodies and it sang to them. This red blood sang to them of the endless wisdom of the Great Mother, and the endless dance of the moon, and the endless spiral of birth and life and death. And the ones who were round and full like the Mother felt the blood stirring in their bellies. The good red blood moved in their bellies and they were full of wonder, and they said to the Mother: "What shall we do with the red blood that moves so strongly in our bellies, Mother?" And she replied: "Give it to me. Return this blood to me. Nourish me. Allow me to replenish myself from your blood." And so they did.
Each month when the moon grew dark and disappeared, the blood began to flow from between the legs of some of the two-legged ones. From the wombs of the two-legged ones, the blood flowed: red and rich and nourishing. The red blood flowed into Her and she said: "You are me and I am you. Your blood is my blood. And my blood is yours. Forever and forever, we will nourish each other. And if you will keep holy the days of your bleeding, I will teach you all the secrets of the plants and the animals. And if you will keep holy the days of your bleeding, I will teach you all the secrets of Heaven and Earth." And so the women kept holy the days of their bleeding, and they grew wise in the ways of the plants, the ways of the animals, and the ways of Heaven and Earth.
And so it was for many, many turns of the Earth around the Sun. Until the change. No one really knows where it started. Like a small fire, at first it seemed harmless. The women were wise and they thought no harm could come to them. Were they not the very Earth herself? To harm a woman, was it not the same as harming the Mother? And who would be so foolish as to harm their own Mother? To harm the source of nourishment and comfort and strength?
Yet there were those who were so foolish. Deluded, they grew arrogant, and began to tell the story of creation in a strange way. They began to believe that a man gave birth to the Earth and to humans! They said that man was the source of all nourishment and wisdom. They said that man was the image of God, and that God was jealous, and angry, that God demanded pain and blood and despised the simple pleasures of the body, of the earth. They said that God lived above, not within the earth, that God lived in heaven and was above all life. They said that men were above all life, too. That man had dominion over all of life, over all of the Earth herself, to do with as he pleased.
Oh, how silly their stories were. Surely no one could believe such stories! Surely everyone could see clearly that woman was the source of life, and nourishment. Surely it was clear that the women's blood was the life of the Earth and the life of the people. And that the pleasure of the body was holy, was sacred, was good. That the Earth was alive, was our true Mother, and must be respected. That we are part of Her, dependent on Her for our very breath.
But, like a small fire left alone when the wind is blowing, the strange stories of God, of man as creator, grew and multiplied. The small fire of deceit rapidly became a raging storm, a storm that threatened all life. For the men began to say that the blood of women was bad, that women's moon time blood was dirty, unclean, even dangerous. They began to say that women themselves were dirty and dangerous. They began to say that the Earth was dirty and dangerous. They began to think of themselves as apart from the Earth, as separate from the Earth, as better than the Earth. They began to think of themselves as apart from women, as superior to women, as the master of women.
The women did their best to tend to the holy fires. The women did their best to keep the days of their bleeding sacred. The women did their best to teach their daughters how to learn from the plants and the animals and the Earth. And the women did their best to be true to the mysteries of the moon-time and the wisdom of the Great Mother.
But the men were lost. Without the wisdom of the women, alone and apart, the men forgot the ways of peace. They forgot that the Earth was their Mother. They forgot that all women were sacred. And they began to fight. At first they fought only among themselves. But soon the sickness spread and the men began to fight the women. They began to torture the women. They began to kill the women. They bound women's feet for this pain gave men pleasure.
They burned women at the stake for how dare any woman pretend to know the healing ways of the plants. They stoned women to death for it frightened them to see even the smallest bit of her holy flesh. They cut out the pleasure parts from between her legs for here was a power that seemed uncontrollable. And they told her, again and again, until she began to believe it was true, that she was not sacred, that she was not made in the image of God.
They men told each other that women were inferior, that the animals were inferior, and that the plants were inferior. Soon, puffed up with false pride, the men began to devise ways to use the women and the animals and the plants without respect for their power, without respect for their sacredness. The men began to believe that their view of the world was the only view of the world.
From one side of the Earth to the other, they abused the women and the plants and the animals. They used them without regard and kept them locked away. They ignored the cries of pain. They came to believe that women and plants and animals actually enjoyed being hurt. They confused some women so terribly that these women began to believe that they actually were dirty and in need of punishment. They tortured so many women that the wisdom of the women seemed to be the lie, and the lies of the men took on the trappings of truth.
But the Great Mother lives in every woman. In every place and every time, the Great Mother shows herself in the form of every living woman. "Eat me." she whispers in the dreams of the woman. And the woman throws off the bed covers and walks barefoot into the moonlit night. She is yearning. She feels a deep stirring in her belly. She looks at the moon and she fancies that she hears the moon speaking to her. "You are sacred. You are the beginning and the end of all existence. I am you and you are me. Keep sacred the days of your bleeding and I will share with you the wisdom of the plants and the animals and the very Earth."
Can she believe it is true? Dare she believe the truth of the words she seems to hear? All her life she has been told that she is not pretty enough, nor smart enough, not strong enough. Everything seems to tell her that she is too round, too emotional, too sensitive. And not sacred, in fact, the complete opposite of sacred. All the days of her life she has heard the stories of the wonders of man, the creator. She has heard it so often that it has the sound of truth: God is a man. God is all powerful, so men are all powerful (and women are weak). God is clean, so men are clean (and women are dirty). God is pure, so men are pure (and women are filth). God never bleeds from between his legs and men never bleed from between their legs (so the flowing blood of women is a sickness, a curse, a punishment). How can she believe that her blood is sacred? How can she allow herself to feel pleasure, to name it good, to name it holy? How can she dare to believe that she is the Goddess?
Yes, the Goddess! The Goddess who is alive in every woman, in every place, in every time. The Goddess who whispers in our dreams. The Goddess who smiles in our lives. The Goddess who stirs the blood in our bellies. The Goddess who knows that every woman is wise and powerful and sacred. The Goddess who calls to us: "Keep the days of your bleeding sacred. Remember that your blood is the blood of life, the blood of peace. Feed me your blood, your moon-time blood, oh my daughter, my lover. Feed me, for I hunger and I thirst for you.
"Return to me. Return to yourself. Remember yourself. Remember me. I am the Great Mother. I am the Goddess. I am the Wise Woman. Listen to my words. Listen to my song. I am in you, thus I can never be lost. My story is your story. And it is the true story of birth and life and death. Eat me. Feed me. You are woman and so am I. Through me, you exist; through you, I exist. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who nourish. We are the ones who open the gates between the worlds. We are the ones who must reclaim ourselves, who must reweave ourselves.
"Oh sister, dear sister, the threads are thin, the song is faint. Tell me it is not too late. Tell me that you hear me. Tell me that you believe me. Tell me that the Goddess has returned. Tell me you are listening to the plants and the animals and your own deep knowing. Tell me you are looking past the slick, simple lies and into the messy, complex truth. Tell me that you feel the red blood stirring in your belly.
"Tell me it is not too late. Tell me the sisters are awakening. Tell me the moonlodge is rebuilt. Tell me that the words of White Buffalo Calf Woman were not in vain. Tell me that Kwan Yin's heart is not breaking. Tell me that Venus is safe. Tell me that Artemis roams free in the woods. Tell me that Lilith is welcome at your table. Tell me that you remember that pleasure is holy to me. Tell me that you refuse to believe that you delight in pain.
"Tell me that you feel me reaching out to you from the deep core of your being, from time out of mind. Tell me that you feel me waking up inside you, waking you up to your beauty and your power. Tell me that you are reclaiming your truth and turning a deaf ear to the lies. Tell me that you remember that you are the Goddess. Tell me that you remember that you and I are the same. Tell me you keep sacred the days of your bleeding. Tell me you honor your crones.
"I have been with you since the beginning, and I will be with you at the end. I am part of you and you are part of me. Allow me to love you. Allow me to honor you. Allow me to return."

About the Author:
Susun Weed, green witch and wise woman, is an extraordinary teacher with a joyous spirit, a powerful presence, and an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs and health. She is the voice of the Wise Woman Way, where common weeds, simple ceremony, and compassionate listening support and nourish health/wholeness/holiness. She has opened hearts to the magic and medicine of the green nations for three decades. Ms. Weed's four herbal medicine books focus on women's health topics including: menopause, childbearing, and breast health. Visit her site www.susunweed.com for information on her workshops, apprenticeships, correspondence courses and more! Browse the publishing site www.ashtreepublishing.com to learn more about her alternative health books. Venture into the Menopause site www.menopause-metamorphosis.com to learn all about the Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way.
Liked this article?
Support Susun's work and Spiritualitea by purchasing one of these superb books(these links will go to amazon):
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
Healing Wise
Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way
Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@hvc.rr.com or Susun Weed, PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498(845-246-8081)

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Thought of the day

What if, happiness didn't have anything to do with what you had, where you've been, or who you were, and arose entirely from what you chose to think about, yet nobody knew this?

And that changing your thoughts, so that you could feel happier more often, would entirely change what you had, who you were, and where you're headed, yet nobody knew this either?

Do you think if we told them they'd choose to think differently?

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Thursday, July 5, 2007

Family LIfe

In my last post I showed off a couple of family photos and got some really nice comments on them. I wanted to take a minute and repsond here. Explaining a bit more about my ex and myself.
We were married for 25 years before we divorced, and to be honest the only reason we did was I had a mental break down. I was severally depressed and unhappy. Living in Tennessee away from my family and friends. I won't go into all the details as I feel those don't need to be rehashed again, but the final result was me leaving and meeting the man I am married to now.

It has taken a lot of years (and a lot of tears) for my ex and I to reach a point where we are friends again.. Now we are really good friends. We love each other as "family". A lot of people find it hard to understand our relationship but there is nothing we wouldn't do for each other or the kdis and grandkids. We see each other every day. Most of the meals are cooked at his house, some by me some by him. We all eat together as a family...my daughter her son..her boyfriend if he is off..my hubby and myself. Some times we all go places together and we still enjoy each others company. He has a lady friend who visits on weekend. She isn't real keen on our "blended family", but she tolerates it. She cares deeply for my ex, so we all make the best of things. There is no sexual involvement just deep love and caring and I feel truly blessed. The children and grandchild also get the best of both words. My ex is not in good health and in all reality probably won't live to see my grandson grow up. Of course none of know when our days are up, so I could go first. Life is funny that way. I just want to leave the best memories I can for those that follow me. I hope that makes sense
Have a blessed Day

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Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy 4th of July


I hope everyone had a good holiday today. I had to work, but it wasn't very busy, Thank Goodness. My ex offered to grill burgers and hot dogs tonight, so we went down to his house for that. Yum! After we ate we all sat out front for awhile and watched my grandson play. (He is feeling better tonight and seemed to be in a good mood.)

Living in an apartment complex like we do I don't sit outside often so it was nice to get some fresh air and enjoy the summer evening. As dark approched several of the neighbors started shooting fireworks. (Which by the way is illegal here) We watched those awhile and headed home. I'm about to head to bed to read for awhile then it back to work tomorrow till 10 pm.
Happy 4th of July everyone.....Here are a few photos from today.



My husband, my daughter, ex and grandson, sitting out front

This one we did for my grandson. I want him to have some photos of himself with his mom and both grandma and grandpa. Even though we are divorced we are still his grandparents and I think it is important that he has some photos of his "family" when he is older



This last one if him showing off

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Guest Book

(*Update: 7/11/07
I am bringing the guest book back to the top of my page and will leave it here until Friday at which time I will retire it to the archives)


I've seen this around the blogs and thought I would invite everyone to sign my guest book.



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