Imbolc Altar 2012

Well, this is a first for me - the first time i've had an Altar just for the Sabbat / Season and you know what - it's definitely NOT going to be my last.  I enjoyed setting it up - but even more than that - I enjoyed embracing my craft and for the first time I did it without worrying what anyone else would say or think. 


So, here goes with the pictures ..... 

Face on  - from left to right:  Brigit's cross made by me, small crystal dish with Sunflower seeds, pink candle resting on a crystal dish with clear quartz (healing) green aventurine (prosperity) and rose quartz (love), picture of Brigit (taken from Goddess Guidance Oracle cards) and crystal bud vase holding red and white flowers..... base is white satin with red ribbon draped

Side view:  The flowers are situated beneath a sugar'd rose this was taken from the wreath when my Nan died - and a plaque given to me by my Anam Cara!

Side View:  At the end of the Altar is my 'money' plant

For those interested the plaque reads:  

FRIENDSHIP

There's a wonderful thing

that gold can not buy

a blessing that's rare and true. 

And that is the gift 

of a wonderful friend

like the friend I have in you! 

So, that's the focal point sorted - now I just have to work the ritual and find the words that I want to say and not say ones that have been written in books ........ 

Thoughts for a Sunday!

I am by nurture a very cynical person - with the good comes the bad and i've always been one to wait for the lovely bubble to burst and not actually enjoy the time IN the bubble - this is learned behaviour and has been learned over a period of many years and possibly many lifetimes ....

When I started this journey I believed everything would be rosy, all perfect - how could it not be right?? - well we know the bumps and boulders that have been presented to me - and the growth I've shown to get to where I am now but I AM a work in progress and there will be times that I wibble, wobble, blip and bluster - and that's ok too - because without those there would be no markers set in my road for me to look back on and see where the period of growth was and how much I've changed!

Just lately I've been shown why I need the physical one on one mentoring - I KNEW I had a gift - I KNEW that this gift shows up for me most when I meditate and I KNEW that I wasn't making all this stuff up .......... what I didn't know was how to read the sign when I wasn't meditating, when it showed in mundania - that is not shown in books (no matter how brilliant Christopher Penczak writes......)

I am an Air Element - I spend an awful lot of time in my head so I do miss the physical signals and omens that come my way but not anymore.

I am exploring my boundaries, stepping over that comfort zone and putting my head up over the parapet and at times it hurts, at times I wonder just what the heck i'm doing but doing it I am and loving it - even when I get hit by the 2 x 4 or have my butt kicked - because without risks life would get incredibly boring........yes???

B is for.........Banishing

Now this is a subject that has got me into a lot of trouble in the past. 


What is the definition of banishing?  


ban·ish  (bnsh)

tr.v. ban·ished, ban·ish·ing, ban·ish·es

1. To force to leave a country or place by official decree; exile.

2. To drive away; expel: 

Now, it's no: 2 that has me in a tizz - and I'll try to explain why...... I am fine with banishing an object or a personal habit .... my one and only spell so far was actually to banish man-made noise from a loved ones' garden - and I had no problem coming up with the wording for that and it worked very well .... I was specific and made sure that 'it harmed none'! 


Now, that's where my tizz comes in - how do I know I am not harming someone if I am not specific ... I am thinking of the banishing all negativity ............ that's not very specific and in my opinion can open the door to all sorts happening that you didn't intend to! 


The other issue I have is the word negativity - some negatives are really good for you, like the negative ions that come from waterfalls, would you really want to banish that goodness from your life???? 


I've been accused in the past of being 'scared' as I had an issue with attending a banishing ritual, maybe it's me - but I couldn't just say 'yes' without knowing the wording or what it was that was to be banished - I guess I'm old fashioned that I like to know what I am agreeing to!! 


I guess I am just a simple soul and I often think that the Divine does a brilliant job and doesn't need me banishing things She has put in my life for me to learn from, that would most definitely hurt me.... 


Why do I have such an issue with one word.......... I have been on the end of a banishing spell - the person that used it against me does not believe in the Rede, talks the talk but does not walk the walk - she did this spell I'd like to say that it had no affect on me - but that would be untrue - she did indeed banish me from her space, however in doing so she showed her true colours to others we were friends with and now she is alone and bitter whilst I am surrounded by loving and true friends ......... so ...... 


The moral of this blog - or merely a bunni note - be careful with you're banishing you may achieve the banishment ........... but at what cost???? 


love and blessings to all 




bunni x x x

B is for......... Bewitched

My first two blogs for the Pagan Blog project were research based, so today I wanted to do something a little more personal. 


Recently I was asked what drew me to Witchcraft and after some thought I have to say Bewitched, I wanted to BE Samantha - not because she was blonde, slim, blue-eyed or had a spotless house - but because she was so able. 

Ok, so the lack of warts, hooked nose and green skin did help!!!   She was confident, beautiful, powerful, smart and above all calm - it didn't seem to matter how chaotic her life became she had the means - the right spell to say that would take all that worry away. 


That's what I wanted I wanted that inner calm and serenity, I wanted to 'know' what she knew .... I've always been drawn to the Arthurian  legends but I never wanted to be Arthur or Guinevere when I was a child I wanted to be Merlin, I wanted to be the one that people came to for answers. 


All the latter day witches are portrayed as calm under pressure, beautiful and talented - able to make a potion at the drop of hat and recite a rhyme on the spot - and for that they need to be connected to their inner calm - to be grounded and fully in the moment (sound familiar???) 


Also, for me,  it wasn't always about the spell - Samantha came from a more moral time, I guess you'd call it an 'age of innocence' (we weren't bombarded every day with images of the depravity that goes on in our culture - man's inhumanity to man and the other creatures he shares this earth with...that definitely is a rant for another blog!!!! ) and she'd often stop to think about the consequences of what would happen if she said the spell.... and I like that aspect!!


They may be just characters on the TV, figments of some writers imagination, but as role models go - I'd rather have Samantha, Sabrina, Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige than any 'rap' star that glorifies gun violence and drugs.......


love 


bunni x x x

Daily Oracle Draw - Thursday 19th January 2012

Earth Magic Oracle Cards

Mountain ~ Strength

Standing steady like a rock is what is called for now - tho your feet are planted solidly on the ground lift your head up to the stars and know that the solidness of your resolve will be clearly communicated when you model yourself after the mountain, impenetrable, and inscrutable. 

Late at night .....

Late at night, I close my eyes and start to think

Start to meditate and in a wink

I'm taken to a better place, 

Whisked away through time and space

A temple is where I'm bound 

With love and goodness all around

Where I can think, feel and be 

Where the Goddess cares for me 

Questions I can ask, guidance is given

Maybe the answer will come with a ribbon

Or maybe a spoken word or two 

Or maybe She will speak through you 

A sacred place where I can sit and be still 

A place where I can focus my intent and will 

Where I can cry, rage, praise, sing and dance

Where I will always be given a second chance 

Then alas I must return to reality 

Leave my temple high in the tree 

Travel back down the cord to my life 

Of mother, daughter, sister and wife 

But late at night, I close my eyes and start to think

Start to meditate and in a wink

I'm taken to a better place, 

Whisked away through time and space

bunni - January 2012

Daily Oracle Draw - Monday 16th January 2012

Earth Magic Oracle Card

Wolf ~ Instinct

Tis time to shed your inhibitions (but mind the 'An it harm none') and get wild - follow your instincts, listen to your gut and let Spirit of Wolf be your teacher.  Take some deep breaths and listen to your body, your mind will receive those signals and your body and mind can learn to work more closely with each other once again!

A is for ............... Apollo

Well, here goes, it's the second round of A's and I decided I would write about a God - He isn't my patron God, I just realised that for a balance I should write about masculine energies sometimes - plus the research is good for my Soul :) 

Apollo is a Greek God - He is considered to be the God of  Prophecy, music, healing,intellectual pursuits and the Sun - He is often depicted as (in my opinion) a rather handsome young man - now this is good - he is also called Apollo in the Roman Panthenon and is the Brother of both Artemis and Diana (both Goddesses of the Moon)


He mated with a few women and a few men - but he wasn't one to 'reject' the advances of as we see from the stories of Cassandra and Daphne - Cassandra was a Seer and when she rejected Him, He made it impossible for anyone to believe her prophecies.......... but poor Daphne had to turn into a Laurel tree to escape His advances!!!! (although legend has it that it was because Apollo had mocked Eros and so Eros shot two arrows - one into Apollo to infatuate Him with Daphne and one into Daphne making her unable to love anyone.....)

Some say Apollo is responsible for our modern Olympic Games as He was one of the 12 Olympians and one of His great deeds was the killing of the serpent Python (a great big beast terrorising the villages in the hills of Delphi) anyway, Apollo came down from Mt Olympus and with His silver bow he fired a gold arrow and slew the Python - in remembrance of this deed Apollo created the Pythian Games to be held every four years ...............

The most usual attributes of Apollo were the lyre and the bow; the tripod especially was dedicated to him as the god of prophecy. 

Among plants, the bay, used making the crown of victory at the Pythian games, the Laurel Tree (obviously) and the palm-tree, under which he was born in Delos. 

Among animals and birds, the wolf, the roe, the swan, the hawk, the raven, the crow, the snake, the mouse, the grasshopper and the griffin, a mixture of the eagle and the lion.

The swan and grasshopper symbolize music and song; the hawk, raven, crow and snake have reference to his functions as the god of prophecy.

love and blessings to all 

bunni x x x

Words are a very powerful tool........

Words are a very powerful tool, 
Make one man a king, another a fool, 


Those two lines were from a poem I wrote a few years ago, for the life of me I can't remember the rest of it - but those two lines have stayed with me.  


Today, they have come back to me again and I am convinced it's the age we live in - there is good and bad in everything and whilst I love the internet with it's endless research potential and I quite like instant messaging and I totally adore journals and blogging ......... it comes with a price... and the price is we lose the contact of speaking to another person - we are one stepped removed from our 'audience' - so, when I type is it beholden on me the writer or you the reader to work out my meaning??? 


What we read in a blog or journal is as much open to interpretation as the research we do - I may read an article and be profoundly moved by it, you may read the same article and be mortally offended as they misused a comma or swore in the article......... you see it's all in the perception and I guess it also goes with our moral code - personally, I don't like to see or hear profanity - but sometimes it works ..... being honest it's the every other word beginning with F that puts me off - but that's a rant for another day!!! :) 


Personally, I think that as it's my words I do hold a certain amount of responsibility to ensure that the meaning I am trying to impart is not mis-construed by the audience it's aimed at ..... but that being said - if I do offend anyone I can only resolve the issue if you tell me .......... 

Daily Oracle Draw - Thursday 12th January 2012

*cough* - yes I know I missed yesterday ..........

Earth Magic Oracle Card:

Summer Solstice ~ Radiance

Ohhhh my - dance and sing  - stop doubting and worrying and let the real you shine.  This is one of those times that the more you love the more love will be returned to you, the more you smile the more you will be smiled upon.  Show your love, especially to those you are closest and watch the world around you light up!!!!

I wanna be Barbie!!!

I am currently losing weight, I am doing it for myself not for anyone else, because I don't like carrying around several bags of sugar with me when I go shopping, I dislike the 'muffin top' that I display when I wear a pair of jeans.  The only 'muffin top' that I wish to see is on a moist blueberry muffin in a cake shop *drool* especially a Tim Hortons muffin - but that is a blog for another day!!! 

Now, when I say I wanna be Barbie - I don't mean the androgynous Barbie of today - I wanna be the 1950's Barbie, she curved in all the right places, she had a figure!! 


Now, before everyone starts yelling at me about conforming to the media sterotype of what a perfect woman should look like - let me be clear - I will never have a body like Barbie - I will never be a stick insect either (unless I get re-incarnated as one) I will always have curves and I'm proud of my curves - I just want to curve in at the waist and not out!!! 




You also have to admit - Barbie has done pretty well for herself, she's the only gal I know that has kept her figure, owns several houses, horses, cars and has managed to keep her man - and all that and she's managed to hold down a career as an actress, vet you name it and Barbie has done it - and not a wrinkle in sight!!! 

Now I don't know if this is true, or if it's one of those 'urban' myths - but I think I read somewhere that Barbie was modelled on Jayne Mansfield - if so I can definitely see the similarity .......... so maybe I don't want to look like Barbie - maybe I wanna look like Jayne - that lady had hips to die for ..... 


Or maybe I just want to invest in some good ol' suck it in and hold it there 1950's corsetry .... 








What I want to know is when did the media decide that we all had to look like sticks?? I've just been reading the paper and the current crop of 'stars' don't look like they've had a good, filling meal for years let alone days.  


Even the 'stars' that used to be know for their weight have conformed to the image of the skinny minnie - some of them do not look better they just look ill (in my opinion) - I have friends that I could put my hands round their waists that won't eat because they will get a 'food baby' stomach - that if they haven't run 20 miles and done 180 stomach crunches mope around for hours........ why?? they are intelligent women - they know they aren't fat - why conform to a media image that for most is just not viable - no matter how many runs, crunches, skips or jumps you perform - there are some women that will look like Barbie or Jayne but there are thousands more that will not!! 


Lose weight, be healthy, be happy - be Barbie or be Jayne - but be them because YOU want to be them not because the paper says we have to!! 


love and blessings to all 


bunni x x x

Daily Oracle Draw - Tuesday 10th January 2012

Earth Magic Oracle Cards


Rainbow ~ Blessings

The picture here does not do this card justice ........ anyway.


Look for your pot of Gold - you've weathered the storm now the clouds are breaking, the sun is shining and here comes your blessing.  The rainbow has two ends one end may be rooted in dark clouds and trouble, but the other is rooted in the sun and clear weather - journey along the rainbow and give thanks for your blessings! 

Daily Oracle Draw - Monday 9th January 2012

Earth Magic Oracle Card: 


Rain ~ Purification 

As a heavy rainfall after a dry summer can renew the Earth, then so sometimes do we need to purify and renew our hearts, minds and Soul.  Now is the time to purify your heart by forgiving yourself and allowing yourself to love and be loved, purify your mind by releasing that thought of I Can't .... and lastly allow yourself to grieve - the tears that fall are the Divines' way of helping to heal all wounds. 


love and blessings to all 


bunni x x x

Daily Oracle Draw - Sunday 8th January 2012

Using Earth Magic Oracle Cards 


Autumnal Equinox ~ Release 

Release all that does not serve your highest good, that which does not aid you in your growth and progress.  Give away any material possessions that you are hanging onto because ..... one day!  Release any relationships or projects that no longer interest you or that have served their purpose.  


Although in Autumn it looks like the trees have died, remember that in order for something to begin afresh - something must 'die', this is the cycle of life, use this time of quiet to conserve your energy and know that something new is on the horizon and will take the place of what you have released. 

In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust

What does that phrase mean to you?? 


To me it's knowing that I am in a safe place, a place where I can speak my mind, I can laugh, I can play, I can cry, I can rage, I can misunderstand and I can disagree ..... and at the end of the day when the night comes and I lay my head down on my pillow I KNOW that I am not being judged and I am not being put down or belittled. 


Recently, I had a disagreement with a friend, a very dear friend, a friend of over two years standing and did this tiff affect our friendship........... well, from my perspective not a jot - we both spoke our minds, we both said our piece and then we carried on .........no fall out, no tears, no tantrums!! 


When I first started fully committing to my calling as a Witch, I heard the words In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust - and I assumed that meant that everyone I would meet as a Witch would automatically love and trust me - as I loved and trusted them........ I had my eyes opened very early on my Path that this isn't so - this may be part of the Rede - but as every Pagan is not a Witch - not every Witch lives the Rede, some may 'talk the talk' - but are very unwilling to 'walk the walk' 


Trust is earned and once it's broken it's extremely difficult to get back but ............ when you are in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust with the others in your life then you are extremely Blessed because then you can truly Be all that you are meant to Be, there is no artifice, no hiding your emotions and no feeling you can't be honest! 


For want of a better word ............ it's Perfect!!!!


love and blessings to you all 


bunni x x x

A is for Aragonite

Aragonites' properties are said to: 

• foster truth, trust and insight by providing understanding into the root of problems
• understand and uncloud perception of reality
• enhance tolerance
• increase energy
• boosts self-confidence and feelings of self-worth
• relieves stress, emotional fatigue and anger 

Healing properties of Aragonite: 

• warms the extremities, bringing energy through the entire body
• aids calcium absorption
• stops night twitches and muscle spasms

Star Clusters promote a sense of balance while cleansing the surrounding energy and can also be used to open yourself to new visions

Aragonite varies in colour and can be white, gray, yellow, pale blue, violet or brown.  Aragonite is a grounding stone and is often used to centre and ground physical energies and stabilizes the base chakra by strengthening your connection to the earth

It was first discovered in Aragon (a province of Spain) hence the name. 

love and bright blessings to you all 

bunni x x x

Seasons

Swirling, twirling, dance and spin

Leaves of gold, red, orange and green

Shaking, rattling, skeletal and bare

Branches of winter, but not despair

Sprouting, shooting, begin to bud 

Spring time blossoms from the mud 

Dancing, sighing in the Summer rain

Leaves of the spiral begin again!

Pagan Blog Project

You may have noticed a rather snazzy badge that has appeared on the page ....

Well, this is the brainchild of the very talented Rowan Pendragon and basically it means that a group of Pagan bloggers will be blogging every Friday about any manner of things Pagan...........

LOL - for the proper blurb - check out onewitchsway.com for the scoop.........

However, yours truly is up for the challenge and I'm looking forward to researching and growing on this Path of mine with a group of wonderful writers :D

love and blessings to you all

bunni x x x

Moving Forward.......

Ok, so the review has been done - the decorations are all down and now it's time to move forward with the Year!! 


I decided that this year I wasn't going to make any Resolutions for the year but to just resolve to be the best that I could be...... and I'm sticking to that - but ....... it won't hurt to put a few 'objectives' and 'goals' out there for the Universe to work on :-) 


I am going to resurrect my daily draws, I'm not sure why but any slight change in the 'norm' and my daily draws suffer - due to Christmas my Runes and Cards were packed up and sent upstairs until the festivities were over ........ but, they are now back down and in their normal place next to my chair :-) 


I have downloaded 'stickies' so that I can put post - it notes on my laptop - this will have the dual effect of a: reminding me what I should be doing and b: setting the intent in my mind and the Universe  - and the software was free and seems very easy to use ....... free is good!!! 

http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/


I am really looking forward to starting The Outer Temple by Christopher Penczak - if it's anything like the Inner Temple then I am in for a fantastic journey....... 


I will also be working on the 'outer' me - I will be continuing to attend WW and will reach my goal weight!!! 


What are your goals, objectives or resolutions for 2012???


love and blessings to you all 


bunni x x x

2011 - A Review

Year in review:

1: It's ok to feel lost - as there is always someone to come find you
2: There is always someone willing to listen - it just may not be the person you expect it to be
3: A good book is always a source of comfort - but sometimes a character can make you mad!!!!
4: Reading is good but 'hands on' practicals are always better and more fulfilling
5: Patience may be a virtue but it's a pain in the neck to learn!
6: We all walk this path to a different beat - sometimes we are faster than others and sometimes slower
7: I am STILL harsher on myself than on others
8: Being a Witch is not always easy - but it is always fulfilling
9: People come and go - but if they are in my heart I haven't lost them - I can always find them there
10: Daily affirmations DO work - and work well when worded properly
11: Just because I visualise it - doesn't mean I HAVE done it