New Stuff

I gots new stuff!!!, lol sorry im a tad excited as i never by stuff for me, always the kids and the hubs. Seems to be a trend i've noticed...:S anywho, I got 2 new bamboo boards to design and post on etsy w/e i feel inspiration hit me. They are super nice all bamboo and super smooth :D

And i got a new camera, well new to me, its used but works great, takes great pics too.

And I got a new books. It's called :

Spells for tough times: Crafting hope when faced with life's thorniest challenges. I've only skimmed through it so far but i'm really glad i bought it.

check it out if u wanna snag a copy, i might do a more in depth review after i get to look at it more and the kids are in bed:P

http://www.amazon.com/Spells-Tough-Times-Thorniest-Challenges/dp/0738727288/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347054618&sr=8-1&keywords=spells+for+tough+times

oh and new listing posted on etsy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/108876152/cutting-bard-with-ivy-and-triqeutra
&
https://www.etsy.com/listing/108876945/inspirational-clothespins

Blue Moon

The Goddess has arrived!

And she is in love with it

Ty again Nydia for making this!

Back to school Pagan read a thon

check this out and join it!

Blog award

Okay so I got nominated for a blog award. TY Earth Mother Musings !

One Lovely Blog Award Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 or so bloggers you admire.
4. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.

7 things about myself....

1. I'm actually really reclusive by nature.

2. I am a kitchen witch

3. My hair is not really red ; P

4. I do play WoW :)

5. I have a slight obsession with wood furniture and decoration.

6. I've always dreamed of living in a stone cottage off the coast of ireland.

7. I love handmade items that are made by other pagans/witches.

Blog im nominating (will update as i add more...)

1. Cargillwitch

2. Green Witch with Sprinkles

3. Can we have a new Witch? Ours melted

4. Merlin's Magickal Mistress

5. Witching in the kitchen

Please share this!

I dont care if you dont like her (personally i love her), this isnt about the craft but its something that needs to be shared over and over again to let every woman and child know there is a choice and that they can be strong!!

http://silverravenwolf.wordpress.com/

School?

Who else is ready for their munchkins to go back to school?, lol I'ts one of those days that requires a good dose of Practical Magic, netflix i love you because im to hot and lazy today to move the dvd player into the living room:P

School starts for Miss T in 3 weeks, boy is she excited she loves school (yay!) and she has already went online with me to look for a special outfit for the first day. She even decided to get her ears pierced before school becuase she saw hello kitty earrings. I think its the year of hello kitty for mine,she had to have a hello kitty dress, hello kitty sneakers hello kitty earrings and im surprising her on the first day in the morning with a hello kitty watch we found at goodwill that works great it just needed a battery,. snagged that for $2.75. We dont have a ton of  money so we are always looking for great finds for mundane or magical works?

Share some of the cool stuff you have found at second hand stores or goodwill? I will post some of the stuff i've found this summer in about a week as im not done damn it!:P

What i've been up to

making clothing and herbal remedies for my kids and friends
                             
                                                                        Anti Anxie-tea

                              Miss T. modeling her new horde shirt, a symbol used in World of Warcraft

A boys 5T cotton button up shirt with pentacle and dragons surrounding it. This one is for sale on my etsy shop 

Happy mothers day!

I got my wood burner today!!

and here's what i did

this one is hard to see but will have a matching spoon fork thingy, lol

i made this for my mom who is sick she got celluitis (skin infection) after hitting her shin on a futon 

this is for my grandmother house, her fav flower is a carnation

and this was for my husband, he loves wolves, i actually went and filled it in and it looks better.

I'm back...hopefully

I know ive been a tad bit quiet here the past few weeks. Been interesting few and very very busy. Anyway I Just had to share this particular event that happened.

Friday night My bat shit crazy mother found 4 baby owls that had gotten out of their tree somehow. It was a pretty cold night and when i say baby owls i mean baby to the point they didnt have feathers just the fluffy down. So we put a blanket in a box and put the babies in the box. I actually went and sat on our roof with the babies hoping mama would swoop and come get them but she wanted nothing to do with them for some reason. So sadly 2 of the babies didnt make it through the night, one had a broken wing the other one we think hit its head on the way down but 2 of them did live. So we began calling every place we could think of short of animal control because our animal control is nothing more than a power hungry animal killer here and i hate them (well at least the old one was idk if they are still around of if there is a new one now but none the less). So after caring for the babies over the weekend I finally got a call Monday morning from F.A.C.T., which is a local place that is run by the university here, well in the city but close enough:P They sent someone over to get the babies where they will be cared for checked out raised among their own kind and if they are able to be, re-released back into nature and if not they will reside in their GIANT aviary. anyway if u wanna check out their website here is it

http://www.csub.edu/fact/

and here is the only decent pic i got of the two babies before they left for their new home:

some random cool stuff while i think of something to write about

Sorry for the MIA been crazy around here, here's some pretty cool stuff tho ive found here and there that i wnt to share

thats it for now, working on a project with Miss T for the yard will post some updates later along with some pics of the badass cake i made for my husbands birthday:P

BTW  HAPPY IRISH DAY!!!!!!

Mother nature needs calendar..

Seriously...someone buy one for her please? 3 days in a row was damn near 80, then yesterday all of a sudden dropped back down to 50 and its maybe 55 today, but My baby plants weren't so much baby's anymore and they had to be planted.

I have more seeds soaking overnight for tomarrow but so far we now have our pumpkins and garlic in the ground, Morning glory's are making their push towards the soil surface for sun and the moonflowers, which in my experience take almost as long as tulips to sprout, are working their way to the top.

So for tomorrow we have Basil, from the seeds I saved from last years plants. My brother saved some seeds fom this sugar can corn plant thing, idk we researched it and its a sugar plant but is related to corn and it was really pretty and exotic so we saved some seeds from it and im gonna try and grow some this year, it was a super big plant and didnt require much effort to maintain really, seemed to be happy with just a bit of water every day

okay end of mother nature rant, lol have a great day guys
Blessed be
SPiritrunner

Weekend without my SO

He went to the city to hang out with friends for the weekend. He left on Thursday and after we had our little Miss T meltdown over with, least till later that evening...I was home and swore to myself I wasn't goig to sit on my butt and relax. I was going to get every chore in the house done and bask in the glory that it would be clean for maybe an entire weekend...

What really happened...

Got Miss T out of school early because i didn't want to have her miss daddy before he left for 4 days...She had meltdown and sad puppy face for about 4 hours. Ended up having to make her happy tea and let her have a "sleepover" in out bed...Lil man was great, didn't seem to notice a damn thing.

Friday we successfully avoided a daddy meltdown, until bubba got overly tired and upset and he started screaming for daddy.

So essentially I spent the weekend playing with the kids (which by all means isn't a bad thing), planning out the garden with miss T and letting her put mammas hair into a "Hairstyle" and watching bubba run around like a crazy kid when the dog would bark at him:S

So much for getting everything clean and pristine...lol, oh well we had fun!!!

Blessed be
Spiritrunner


Recipe for Happy tea:

2 bags plain black tea
1 tbsp lavender flowers
2 tbsp chamomile flowers
ive been known to add hibiscus and catnip before as well.

Brew in 6 cups of water. DO NOT BOIL!.
ruins the herbs

After its done steeping and simmering and whatnot pour through a strainer into a clean milk jug or 64 oz juice bottle. If the brew is too strong dilute it by half and add ice. Great for summer bbq's too

:(

Okay so i completely missed Imbolic this year, im sorry guys, ive been so stressed about some stuff and fighting sinus colds and truth be told those are more miserable than flues sometimes. Here's some random information i have had sitting around waiting to be used

Imbolc, The Spring Quarter Begins

By Grove Harris altered just a tad by me.

Whatever the ground hog does or doesn't do, we're half-way there. Early February marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Spring, that glorious season of renewal, is starting now according to Pagan tradition. Despite the Northern Hemisphere's snow and cold, Pagans celebrate Imbolc and the returning light. Imbolc is a time to consider intentions and tools; it is a time to clarify aim and dedicate one's self for the coming year. Now is the time to consider spring cleaning, to let go of clutter of the physical and mental varieties, and to prepare for the season of growth. Spring cleaning is better done before the warmth of a fresh spring breeze calls us outside.

While still in the dark time, the inner focus can be brought on the year to come. We are poised in a reflective moment, at a time to set aim. Caitlin Matthews offers this Threshold Invocation for the Festival of Imbolc in her Celtic Devotional:

"Midwife of Mystery, open the door,

Infant of the Infinite, come you in.

Let there be welcome to the newborn truth,

Let there be welcome to the Spring of the Year.

In cold and darkness you are traveling,

In warmth and brightness you will arrive.

May the blessed time of Imbolc

Kindle the soul of all beings,

Bringing birth to innocence and integrity

From the depths to the heights,

From the heights to the depths,

In the heart of every soul."

The New Year is taking form. Now is the time to nurture intentions, to feed and fuel and retool according to those intentions. Are your tools ready at hand, and honed for the work ahead? What gets in the way of your fullest creative productivity? How can you minimize obstacles, both inner and outer? What help do you need? What simple joys fuel your work?

How can you make sure you dance enough to keep yourself happy and inspired in the seasons to come?

Dancers use a focal point, so that as they spin on the dance floor, they can stay oriented and not lose their balance or spin off in dizziness. Ritual at points on the wheel of the year can serve the same purpose.

This is a time of affirmation of connection with the divine, of asking for help to overcome fears, to keep on walking each step without turning aside. It is a time of forging simple aims and tools to cut through the excesses of our lives: the material clutter, the informational clutter, the clutter of excess demands, of websites and applications, of upgrades and learning curves, the clutter of excess stuff and excess wants, anything that gets in the way of hearing Spirit and acting on our own best intentions. Now is a great time to focus intention and check on our tools. Sharpening one's insight can help maintain one's aim in the months to come.

For many this holiday is dedicated to Brigid, the three fold Celtic Goddess of smith-craft, poetry and healing. Hers is a complex and powerful combination of attributes -- the forging of tools, the insight of poetry and the ability to render whole and holy that which has been hurt. Many dedicate themselves to Her each year, both giving and receiving in relationship throughout the year. Offerings are left at Her wells across Ireland, considered to be sources of healing and portals to spiritual realms. Chants are offered to Her: We are shaped in your fire, and cooled in your waters ... Brigid, Brigid we call your name.

For some, this holiday is most closely connected with the agricultural cycle, with the early birthing of lambs and the ewe's milk, and with the planting decisions to be made now, well in advance of the warmer days to come. We can nurture the seeds of intention for the coming year. Letting go and focusing, cleansing and clarifying, are most appropriate activities for this cold part of the spring quarter.

Every day is longer, offering more sunlight and the promise of greater warmth to come. For other still, there is a blending of both Brigid's powerful combination of attributes, and the closely connectedness with the cycles of the earth.

Surely, this is reason to celebrate.

Imbolc Customs & Lore

by Selena Fox

Other Festival Names:Candlemas, Oimlec, Brigid's Day, Groundhog's Day; merged with Lupercalia/Valentine's Day
Festival Dates: January 31, February 1, February 2, February 6, February 7.
Multicultural Parallels: Ground Hog's Day (USA); Aztec New Year; Chinese New Year; Roman Lupercalia; Valentine's Day (USA); Armenian Candlemas.

Flames: Sacred Fire

Torchlight processions circling fields to purify & invigorate for the coming growing season (old Pagan)

Lighting & blessing of candles (11th century, Christian)

Sacred fire of Brigid (Celtic Pagan)

Torchlight procession to honor Juno Februata/Regina (Pagan Rome; Christianized, 7th century)

Brigid:Celtic Goddess

Triple Aspects

Goddess of Inspiration - poets, poetry, creativity, prophecy, arts

Goddess of Smithcraft - blacksmiths, goldsmiths, household crafts

Goddess of Healing - healers, medicine, spiritual healing, fertility (crops, land, cattle)

Symbols

Fire - flames, candle crown, hearth  

Water - cauldron, springs, wells

Grain - Brigid wheels, corn/oat sheaf Goddess effigy, Brigid's Bed

Creatures - white cow with red ears, wolf, snake, swan and vulture

Talismans - Shining Mirror to Otherworld, Spinning Wheel and Holy Grail

Name variations: Brighid; Bride (Scotland), Brid, Brigit, Bridget, Briganta (England), Brigan, Brigindo (Gaul), Berecyntia, Brigandu (France)
Name means Bright One, High One, Bright Arrow, Power.
Christianized forms: St. Brigit (Irish), St. Ffraid (Welsh), St. Bridget (Swedish), Queen of Heaven, Prophetess of Christ, Mary.

Pictish Pagan Roots
Bruide, the Pictish royal throne name, is said to derived from the Pagan Goddess Brigid. The Bruide name was given to each Pagan Pictish king who was viewed as the male manifestation of the spirit of the Goddess. The most sacred place of the Picts was Abernethy in Fife. It was dedicated to Brigid, in Pagan times, and to St. Brigid, in Christian times. Columban monks tended a Celtic abbey there and hereditary abbots were of the Earl of Fife branch of the Clan MacDuff, which survived to the present day as Clan Wemyss (Weems).

Irish Transitions and Traditions
When Ireland was Christianized, veneration of the Pagan Goddess Brigid was transformed into that of St. Brigit, said to be the human daughter of a Druid. St. Brigit became a saint after her "death" and was supposedly converted and baptized by St. Patrick. Pagan lore was incorporated into the Christian traditions and legends associated with Her as a saint. For example, as St. Brigit, She had the power to appoint bishops and they had to be goldsmiths. She was associated with miracles and fertility. Into the 18th century a women's only shrine was kept to her in Kildare (meaning Church of the Oak) in Ireland. There, nineteen nuns tended Her continually burning sacred flame. An ancient song was sung to Her: "Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom." Brigid/St. Brigit was said to be the inventor of whistling and of keening.

Customs

Blessing rushes/straw and making Brigid wheels

Putting out food and drink for Brigid on Her eve (such as buttered bread, milk, grains, seeds)

Chair by hearth decorated by women; young woman carries in first flowers & greens, candle.

Opening the door and welcoming Her into the home. "Bride! Come in, they bed is made! Preserve the House for the Triple Goddess!" Scottish Gaelic Invocation: "May Brigit give blessing to the house that is here; Brigit, the fair and tender,Her hue like the cotton-grass, Rich-tressed maiden of ringlets of gold."

Brigid's Bed (Scotland): Putting grain effigy and a phallic wand in a basket next to the hearth/candles at night and chanting three times: "Brigid is Come! Brigid is Welcome!"

Purification

Removing Yuletide greens from home & burning them (Celtic)

Cleaning up fields and home (old Roman, Februa "to cleanse" month)

Mary purification festival (Christian, Western church)

Burning old Brigid's wheels and making new ones (some parts of Ireland)

Placing Brigid's wheel above/on door to bless home (Celtic, Wiccan)

Signs of Spring: Ground Hog's Day

Seeds as a symbols of new life to come

First greens and flowers as offerings

Weather - bright or grey

Hibernating animals - groundhog, bear, badger

If Candlemas day be sunny and bright, Winter again will show its might.
If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey, Winter soon will pass away. (Fox version)
If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight.
If       Candlemas day be shower and rain, Winter is gone and will not come again. (Traditional)

Spiritual Awakening: Spirit Within

Initiations - self, group (Dianic & Faery Wiccan); Christchild in temple (Christian, Eastern church)

Dedication - shrines, temples (contemporary Pagan)

Self blessing and spiritual dedication

Inner journey for Divine inspiration

Affirming the artist/innovator within; energizing creative work.