Tuesday, November 1, 2011

44 Days of Witchery: Day One





"What’s your witchy background?"


As discussed in a previous post, I was raised in a Catholic family. I realized that it was not for me by the time I was in High School. But I had to keep that to myself. My family would not approve.

I remember being at a bookstore, and my cousin found a book on Witchcraft. After telling her mother (my father's sister) that she wanted to buy it, she was admonished for it. My cousin was told that simply reading the book was a path to destruction.

However, books like the Odyssey were not dangerous like the book on witchcraft. Not only was my reading of mythology encouraged, I was given antique books on the subject. It was (and still is) difficult to read the antique books, because they aren't meant to be read. They're meant to be listened to.

I always felt like I had special abilities. When I was around six or seven, I slept in an upstairs room. I woke up in the middle of the night and heard a tornado in the distance. But I didn't feel threatened (though I should have been terrified). Instead, I went back to sleep. Somehow, I knew it was going to pass our farm without incident.

After I left home, and moved to California, I stopped being a practicing Catholic. As far as the majority of my family is concerned, I just don't attend Mass. It wasn't long after that I began studying Witchcraft, and alternative religions, voraciously.

Now I am firmly on the path I was meant for. It has no name, and it does not follow anyone elses path. Some of my beliefs come from existing religions, or extinct ones. Some come from fictional books, but the idea presented in the story made sense to me. My beliefs grow and change as I continue to learn, and as such can't be labeled. At least not for long.

44 Days of Witchery

I was reading blogs that I subscribe to via RSS, and I saw a post that sounded like a fun idea. It's called 44 Days of Witchery. Starting today, I will also be filling out this poll. Honestly, it sounds like fun, and gives me something to talk about every day.

Here is the complete list of days.

  1. What’s your witchy background?
  2. A myth or story from folklore.
  3. Witchy tools: athame.
  4. Picture of nature (water element).
  5. A favorite Goddess.
  6. A favorite God.
  7. Air element.
  8. A photo of a magical place outdoors.
  9. A favorite mythological animal.
  10. Your sun sign.
  11. Witchy tools: oils.
  12. Picture of nature (air element).
  13. What are some of the witchy books that influenced you?
  14. A favorite pagan holiday that you celebrate.
  15. Thoughts on the afterlife?
  16. Favorite witchy website(s).
  17. Picture of nature (fire element).
  18. Have you had any paranormal experiences?
  19. Fire element.
  20. A picture of a tarot or oracle card, and its meaning.
  21. A favorite scent.
  22. Current moon phase.
  23. A favorite candle.
  24. Your moon sign.
  25. How do your close ones feel about your witchy path? Do they know? Why or why not?
  26. A witchy podcast.
  27. Picture of nature (earth element).
  28. A picture of a witchy I-Want-It-Now!
  29. Water element.
  30. Witchy tools: wand.
  31. A favorite pagan/witchy movie.
  32. A pagan/witchy artwork.
  33. Faerie of your choice.
  34. Rune of your choice.
  35. Something that I think people who don’t know much about paganism/witchcraft should know.
  36. Flower of your choice, and its magical properties.
  37. A famous pagan/witch!
  38. Witchy tools: cauldron.
  39. Something that inspires you.
  40. Your altar, if you have one!
  41. A spell you’ve done.
  42. A favorite nature spirit.
  43. A magical recipe.
  44. Witch’s choice!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Samhain

Samhain is one of my favorite holidays. I love the macabre, so this holiday is perfect for me.

Samhain is a festival of the dead. It is believed that in this day the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, and the deceased can return to visit. It begins on October 31 at sunset, and ends on November 1 at sunset.

Adult Traditions include setting aside a plate of food for the dead, setting up Ancestor Shrines, carving Jack O'Lanterns, Zombie Walks, and cosplaying.

This year I will be carving two Jack O'Lanterns. There is a third and fourth pumpkin that were purchased, but it can't be used as a Jack O'Lantern since they don't have flat bottoms.

A new tradition I recently discovered sounds like fun. It's called All Hallow's Read. The idea is to get a scary book and leave it for someone to find and read. You can buy it new, used, in ebook format, as an audio book, and sometimes even at the library. I don't know if every library does this, but my local library will take donated books that others don't want and put them in a box. People are free to take the books out of the box and keep them at no charge.




Label Cloud

101 2011 2012 44 days of witchery ability activism agnosticism air alberta altar ancestor anubis apatheism apocalypse apollo aquarius arachne arts athame atheism athena autotheism autumn banner beliefs bigotry bottle burning times calendar canada candle celtic child children's christian christmas cleaning coexist common man correspondences crafts creation cryptozoology cycle dalai lama deism deity deity of the month demeter deucalion E3 egypt electronic entertainment expo electronics elements end of the world endymion equality equinox extinction feast festival festivus fires flood food fur g4 gaea gaming germany glass god goddess great flood great spirit greek green griffin halloween hanukkah health henotheism herbalism history holiday holidays hospitality instructions international internet irish italian jack o'lantern kathenotheism kwanzaa lakota lavender leather life luna magic magical place makoshika meatless monday microsoft minerva mjöllnir monolatrism monotheism mothers mythology native american nature norse oil oisin ostara pagan pagan values month paganism pandeism panentheism pantheism pelops pepitas persephone philosophy pipa pirate politics poll polydeism polytheism prayer prayer chain preternatural prophecy pumpkin pyrrha rant Recipes religion religious roman rules sabbat sacred element samhain saturnalia seasons seeds selene shrine sioux sol invictus solstice sopa spider spiritual element spiritualism spring stories sun sign sword of truth symbol tantalus thor three tir na nog tools triad trials trio triskele values vegan vegetarian veneration viking vinegar warlock water wax wheel wheel of the year wicca winter witch witchcraft wizard xenia year yule

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