my rock

I get my best work done following the light of the moon. Maybe it's just an old habit or maybe there is some ancient wisdom at work that guides me to:  'Plant' with the waxing crescent, nurture until the full moon, rejoice with the full moon ('dance by the light of the moon'), relax and take inventory as the moon begins to wane, and (this is important)dump/throw out/ get rid of stuff (energy, negative thoughts, things I no longer want or need, trash, etc.) from the waning crescent until the new moon, finally - to rest with the new moon. 

This schedule became clear to me after I stopped having a period.  I guess without a monthly cycle to guide me, I was left to my own devises and at some point a couple of years back I realized I still lived 'by the moon.'

If I'm ever uptight or worried I try to calm myself by going out to check the moon. There's just something about taking a few minutes to acknowledge this heavenly body that calms me and helps me focus. I don't worship the moon. I enjoy it. I love the mystery and wonder attached to it. It is my rock.

Are you a 'moonie?'

~Sam

)O(

believe what you will

O Summertime, how lovely you are!  Over abundance of flowers, fruit, and veggies in the garden - life at it's best... until a crazy sister in law at a family reunion cornered me and wondered why I never respond to her 'Praise the Lord' Facebook posts.  I honestly told her I just don't have time to respond to all my FB friends and their daily (hourly) status updates.  But her posts are special and she knows that the goodness of the lord will come down on me and my family if I will just start LIKING and SHARING her posts.  I told her that I didn't think that was the way it works.  My eyes glazed over as she lectured me on her beliefs...

Her beliefs - they work for her.  Wonderful.  Go for it. 

At some point I saw Darrin rolling his eyes - SIL's form of Christianity is scary as hell and even Darrin starts to doubt when this woman starts to preach.  She launched into a if you don't stand with me monologue that worried me because she has the fear of witches.  "Lord Jesus there are witches..."  I couldn't help but think that 'they' were closer than she realized.  While I didn't keep my mouth shut to save my life, I did keep my mouth shut to save the reunion and the rest of my family from her prejudices and preaching.

I'm back home now, safe for now, wondering how long I will keep silent.  At what point do I step forward and just explain myself.  I follow a natural path, my beliefs are my own and I chose not to believe in your god(s).  I still love you - please notice I've been good to you for years, not for a reward in heaven or because I fear hell, just because we are all creatures on this planet at this time.

Days growing shorter but this seems to be the hottest part of summer,
 only a few daisy blooms this late in the season.
I like how the buds look like fairies in the evening light.

All of us should be following what we believe.  I can't see life being any better than being free to believe and live as we want to, except maybe being able to tell anyone who asks "This is what I believe" and know that they will accept me and love me just as I am.

~ Sam

)O(

what is going on?

I sit here watching state houses around the U.S. 'saving babies.'  I am appalled that these people are elected officials - these law makers believe that if they shut down clinics where abortions can be legally performed that they are stopping abortions and saving babies.  How can any adult be so blind?  Most women (and girls) who choose to end their pregnancy will do so with or with out the 'permission' of the government. 

In my view these law makers (so many of them men!) are trying to make women stop having sex because they believe it is naughty.  Good girls should not enjoy sex outside of marriage and even then perhaps it would be better if they just didn't enjoy. 

All I see are people trying to prove how good they are by shutting down women's clinics, especially those with the name Planned Parenthood.  They have decided that Planned Parenthood is in league with the devil and anyone who makes money providing 'those services' is just evil and must be publicly shamed and gotten rid of - as soon as possible. 

Did it ever cross their minds that we know the number of abortions performed in this country because these facilities are regulated and required to keep statistics?  No one knows how many abortions were performed before Roe v. Wade because it was illegal. 

Watching the folks in Texas is heart breaking.  It looks like half the state will be without clinics if this bill passes.  How is this compassion for the poor?  How is this good for women?  During the last week or so, I read where sex education is very lacking in the state.  If these Texans really want to end abortions why are they not teaching birth control? 

I think this is being done to appease their god.  Forget that they tell stories of this god which include drowning all the world's population (except 8 who survived on a big boat with 2 of all the world's animals), a god who took his people out of slavery and then started teaching them how to treat their own slaves (the part about selling one's own daughter into slavery is a bit disconcerting), there's lots more I just don't want to read a bible tonight...

I do want to make the world a better place for the generations to come. 

Wake up People!  Register to vote.  Stay informed.  When the time comes VOTE.

Pro Choice is Pro Life

Thanks for letting me rant.  We should all be ranting - these laws affect women and men.  We must never take freedoms for granted.  Our grandmothers and mothers thought this was settled in 1973, why on earth are we still fighting this battle? 

~Sam

)O(

a year in the life

For just over a year now, I have followed a natural / pagan path.  A path of my own making, I guess I am 'the road less traveled' type of person. 

I have greeted sun rises and relaxed and enjoyed sun sets. 

Tuning into the seasons has been lovely.  Trying to just live in this moment. 

Today I enjoyed the heat, acknowledging that this is summer, the hottest time of the year, but even now the days have started to grow shorter.  The wheel is turning.

Just trying to enjoy the now and not go jumping ahead to what's next has been life changing for me.  Sure, sometimes I have to plan for the future, but I spent so much of my life worrying about what might or might not happen - I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I have been kind only because I wanted to be kind - not with the thought of getting a better seat in the afterlife, just because - maybe because something in me acknowledged something in another person and wanted to stop and mark this moment. 

I have tried to talk less, not because I have nothing to say.  Hell, I could jabber all night and still have things to chat about over morning coffee.  These days I see words as one of the most power tools on earth.  They build up and they can destroy.  I try to speak only what I want put out in the world.

Life is so much more peaceful.  I find myself less competitive these days - is that something that comes with wisdom or old age?

~Sam

)O(

totem toad

I have a list of wishes that I have brought to the attention of the universe over the course of this past year, and recently I got an answer to one of my desires.

I have no animal in my life to look after and love. I would prefer an indoor pet, but an outside pet would be much more practical for my situation (Darrin is highly allergic to animal dander). Here I was hoping that the Universe would throw me a cool totem - a Maine Coon Cat - my first choice. A beautiful owl would be a close second.  

Lighting a candle, planning my day, I acknowledged this desire and silently waited for the perfect totem to come to me. 

The sign I've been waiting for?

This little fellow just popped up at my house a couple of weeks ago and shows no sign of leaving. I got an old clay pot and put in my shade garden for his home and now seems like it might be time to name the little creature.   

I checked the meaning of toads with a few of my books and decided "If the shoe fits - keep the toad." It seems very content to stay here in my garden.

What's new with you?

~Sam

)O(

not ready to quit

I hope it's not a bad thing to go a month without posting.  I am on such a self discovery mission that all my spare time is spent learning.  While I am happy, relieved even, to be god free - I find myself in need of witchyness.

I have always seen witches as strong women and I want that.  I am that.  At the same time I only seek equality for women and men, gay and straight, whatever.  I suppose I'm growing up, and maybe wiser, and see less need for competition and more need for cooperation.

Dropping my Christian beliefs, including the one about Jesus coming back and starting the world over again, I now have a desire to take care of the planet for the generations to come.  This has been a big eye opener for me.  The health of this planet (our home)  is up to people living now, doing the right thing for the future. 

I have sadness for all the time I've wasted.  I have so much to learn.  And to share - I have started to open up to Darrin about the fact that I'm an atheist.  We've got a ways to go, but I have made a bit of progress. 

As for telling him about my witch journey - I'm still trying to figure out how to do that.

For a while, I considered giving up my 'witch blog.'  I even closed it for a week, but it is here that I take a few minutes to put into words some of the change going on in my life.  If you are making changes and blogging about it, let me know - I'm looking for inspiration. 

Last of this Spring's smiling pansies.

Hope you are having a wonderful Spring.  As the moon gets smaller I'm in a rush to clean out closets.  Somehow it just feels so right / natural / comfortable / EASY to throw things away during this phase of the moon. 

I have too many witchy habits to give up on everything.  I guess I'm just looking for a sign.  If I could have a Fairy come sit at my feet and visit with me, or if the spirit of one of my ancestors strolled into the room - I would grab my broom and dance around the neighborhood.

I need a little proof.

~Sam

)O(

coming out of the dark

The events of the past week have left me weak.  I have friends in Texas and only wish for them good things.  (How could this happen? - how could a fertilizer plant be anywhere near homes and schools?) 

I still can not believe that someone, anyone would just leave a couple of bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  (Was it to see how many people they could kill or injure.  Why on earth would people do this to other people?) 

A week like this reassures me that I'm on the right track - there is no god worth following, let alone worshipping.  A good god, even a mediocre one, would not let these kind of things happen. 

Many of my Facebook friends keep posting little sayings like ~

"God will make this all better."

"God has a plan."

"God will dry our tears."

Things will be made better by caring families, friends, neighbors, & communities, and with the help of state, local, and Federal government (that's right - who we vote into office matters on all levels). 

It will be our plans that help us move on through these tragedies (and try to prevent such things from happening in the future). 

And we are the ones who will dry each others' tears - for we know what it is like to cry.

First rose,
a sign of hope for me.

This evening, I am sad because of the destruction I have witnessed this week, but I have hope that my fellow humans will someday soon see that it is just us, and it is up to us to make the world a better place. 


~Sam

)O(