~Magickal Graphics~It’s been quite a while since I updated my blog. Things are going well right now. I’m staying with friends until I can get my own place. That should be hopefully by Christmas.

I’ve been doing lots of reading and research on what I believe, and this is what I’ve come up with so far. This is by no means set in stone. I know that it will change.

What I Believe
1. I believe in the Wiccan Law that states “And it harm none, do what ye will.” This is important. It is important to me to respect everyone and everything on this planet. We are all part of The Divine. Every person and every creature is part of my family. See also the next point.

2. I belive in Karma, what you sow you shall reap. If you sow good things you will get good things in return. If you sow bad things you will get bad things in return.

3. I respect Mother Earth, honour her and try my best to care and protect her. My holidays, the Sabbats, are celebrations of Nature. I try to get in touch with Nature by honouring her, by being aware of her and by educating myself.

4. I believe in reincarnation. I believe similar to Celtic beliefs – that when we die we are given a choice: a) that we reincarnate, b) that we go to the “afterlife”, or c) we can choose that our soul will cease to exist. We reincarnate into human form. The deeds we do in this life are carried over into our next life, and the deeds we did in our previous lives are with us now. It is a cyclical view of life. Death is not the end of existance, but merely the beginning of a new opportunity.

5. Nature is also cyclical, as can be seen in the turning of the seasons and the wheel of the year.

6. I believe that I need no one and nothing other than myself in order to reach the Divine. I believe that I am a child of the Goddess, ie. Mother Earth. From the Earth I came, and to the Earth I will return.

7. All the answers I seek are within me. I already have the map of my path. I only need to look and listen for it.

8. I believe in the Great Spirit who created everything and set everything in motion. The Great Spirit is both male and female. The Great Spirit contains all of the gods and goddesses that have ever existed and that will ever exist. Each God and Goddess contains part of the Great Spirit, are separate entities, and are still part of the Great Spirit.

9. As humans developed and evolved we needed something to worship, so the various gods and goddesses came into being. Just as in “Small Gods” by Terry Pratchett, the gods and goddesses become more real as we believe in them.

10. I believe that every natural thing has a soul, including animals and plants. The world and all in it are not there to be conquered. Rather, we must have respect for Mother Earth and all Her creatures, for the Earth is our Mother and the animals and plants are our brothers and sisters.

11. I believe in Magick. It is all around us. It is magick that helps to hold our world together. Without magick our world would not exist. I practice magick, but I do not call myself a witch.

I’ve had a really rotten few months, which is why I haven’t posted. My housemate hasn’t paid rent for 6 months and so we are now 3 months behind. It goes to tribunal on Friday. The real estate agent is really great. She wants me to stay in the house. She knows it’s not me that is the problem but my housemate. She will be pushing for me to stay in the house.

On top of that my housemate ran up two bills in my name which I am now responsible for. It comes to $800 and I am slowly paying those off. He hasn’t given me any money for them. So now money is tight for me until those bills can be paid off.

This has all left me feeling very depressed. He isn’t living here any more, but still has keys and won’t give them back. He reckons he’s going to pay me back what he owes but I know that he won’t. It’s better if he doesn’t tell me things when he has no intention of doing it.

Because of all this and feeling depressed, I lost all motivation to do things. But I found it in the last week and have been creating up a storm. It seems I am now obsessed with making Tarot Bags and what I call “Tocks”, which are Socks for your Tarot cards. I am hoping to sell the Tarot Bags and Tocks through Platypus Moon, an online store.

I started with two little paper fairies.

And these are two of the six Tarot Bags and Tocks I have made so far.

And this is a little pouch that I made a few months ago. It is from a Japanese craft book called “Houses, Houses, Houses”.

And, finally, this is my version of Maisie from “More Softies”.

I’ve been through a horror 8 months. It seems like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It obviously hasn’t been quite that bad as I am still here to tell you all about it. But things have been pretty bad. I found myself in the local psych hospital over New Years because I was suicidal.

I’m now in a situation where my so-called housemate (who I haven’t seen hide nor hair of for over 6 weeks now) hasn’t been paying rent (even though he is on the lease and legally required to pay rent) and has run up my phone bill and other bills which I am responsible for because the bills are in my name.

The eviction date for the house has come and gone. I am now waiting for the paperwork arrive so I know when I have to appear infront of the Tribunal.

Does any of that excite me? No, not really. But my future does! Why? Because I’ve suddenly realised that I can do what I want because I have no ties. No significant other. No children. No house. No car. All I have is my dog and 2 cats, and I can leave those with friends short term until I work out what I’m doing.

So what brought this on?

Partly Spellcraft magazine, partly chatting with a friend last night. We were talking about what my next move would be. I made the almost off-hand comment that I should go visiting friends who live interstate. My stuff has to go into storage anyway because I don’t have a house to go to yet. I should make the most of the couple of months that I will have to go visiting and decide what I’m going to do.

The bit that I read in Spellcraft served to add fuel to the fire.

Tanishka wrote an article called “Manifesting Your Perfect Home, Goddess Style”. In it she says:

Personally, I’d like to ask Uncle Kev (the post-stimulus name for the PM in our household) to consider creating eco-villages with interdependent bungalows and a shared meeting space as a model for affordable housing. The communal meeting place could also serve as a moon lodge, enabling the spirit of community to grow by gathering residents together to honour the natural cycles and seasonal celebration.

After reading that I went for a walk with my dog. The above passage had seriously opened my mind to the possibilities of what my future could be like. Suddenly I wasn’t confined inside that lieelt box. In fact, that little box had been exploded beyond recognition. Oh my! Suddenly my future was looking much brighter. The options for me are endless, restricted only my the limits of my imagination.

I’ve had some ideas simmering away in the back of my mind and now they are real options. The main thing I want to do is to move to Scotland to live. Unfortunately my money doesn’t stretch quite that far, but I can certainly plan a visit there sometime in the future.

For my immediate future I would like this. To find a commune (similar to what Tanishka describes in her article) full of ordinary pagans like me who share resources and skills. A place where meals are shared, vege gardening is a community activity and people don’t care whether you worship the Horned God, Jesus, or Allah!

I don’t know if such a place exists, but I plan to find out. If not, then I will look at creating my own piece of paradise.

To be a Witch is to love and be loved.
To be a Witch is to know everything, and nothing at all.
To be a Witch is to move amongst the stars while staying on earth.
To be a Witch is to change the world around you, and yourself.
To be a Witch is to share and to give, while receiving all the while.
To be a Witch is to dance and sing, and hold hands with the universe.
To be a Witch is to honor the Gods, and yourself.
To be a Witch is to BE magic, not just perform it.
To be a Witch is to be honorable, or nothing at all.
To be a Witch is to accept others who are not.
To be a Witch is to know what you feel is good and right.
To be a Witch is to is to harm none.
To be a Witch is to know the ways of the old.
To be a Witch is to see beyond the barriers.
To be a Witch is to follow the moon.
To be a Witch is to be one with the gods.
To be a Witch is to study and learn.
To be a Witch is to be both the teacher and the student.
To be a Witch is to acknowledge the truth.
To be a Witch is to live with the earth, not just on it.
To be a Witch is to be truly free!

The above is from the site The Blue Fairy. Please visit her. Thank you.

The Wiccan Rede

Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.

For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme.

Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name, let love and light be our guides again.

Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune.
Widdershins go when the moon doth wane, and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.

When the Lady’s moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart’s desire seek.

Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.
When the Wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.

When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth.
When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest.

Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.

Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God’s insight.
Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.

Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.
Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.

Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.
White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.

Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.
Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.

Elder is the Lady’s tree burn it not or cursed you’ll be.
Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark.

As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it’s now Samhain.
When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.

When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn.
As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite.

Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.
When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules.

In the spring, when night equals day time for Ostara to come our way.
When the Sun has reached it’s height time for Oak and Holly to fight.

Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you’ll be.

Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you’ll know.
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.

With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.

Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

“An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will”

Everyone loves knitted garments. They are warm and snuggly. It is even better when they are hand-knit. Hand-knit garments show love in a practical way. It takes quite a lot of time to knit a jumper (or sweater as the Americans call them). But how many people can boast that they have a handspun hand-knit jumper? Not many I’ll bet.

I love spinning my own yarn. It is relaxing, especially when you get into that rhythm of “draw…feed…draw…feed”. It is repetitive, almost zen-like.

Below is a photo of my spinning wheel. My cat has a habit of jumping up into my chair as soon as I get up…lol.

Below is me at my wheel.

At the moment I am spinning up a black alpaca fleece that was given to me by a friend. I have to knit him a jumper out of it for him. But this will guarantee that I will get 2 fleeces off him every year (he has a grey merino sheep as well).

I spin the fleece as it is. This fleece is pretty clean and free of tangles so I don’t even need to card it (I will explain carding another time). So I just spin it.

After it is spun I have to wash it. Alpaca wool felts like sheep wool does, but not as much. So care is required. I will go into the details another time, but I basically let it soak for 2 days changing the water several times in that period. I then spin it in the washing machine to remove excess moisture. It is then hung to dry. I have found the perfect spot in my house to hang it.

That is the window in my laundry/second bathroom. Gets the sun most of the day and so is perfect for drying my yarn on.

More pictures and info will be posted in coming blog posts. Stay tuned!

How many of the following does your neighbor (or YOU) exhibit?

1. Never puts garbage out on the curb…I mean, recycling and compost are fine, but you can take it too far!

2. You casually mention the moon’s phase, and s/he replies with the exact number of days, hours, and minutes of rising, position on horizon, and current angle of declination.

3. All the stray cats in the neighborhood congregate in her/his garden.

4. A screech-owl has chosen the lamppost outside her/his house as it’s favorite perch…just when it’s getting warm outside at night and you want to sleep with your windows open.

5. Doesn’t mow down the weeds in his/her garden and lawn…in fact, it sort of looks like s/he’s cultivating them!

6. The abundance of black garments drying on the clothesline out back.

7. Local kids whisper and stare as they pass his/her house, then start running if they spot movement in the house or yard.

8. Nobody trick-or-treats at his/her door–not since the year that his/her costume was scarier than any of theirs!

9. Footprints on the roof…and the trees near the house look as if they’ve been pruned for a flight-path!

10. S/he can’t make a sandwich without adding fresh herbs to it…and don’t accept that offer of a cup of tea unless you want something yellow-colored and smelling like flowers!

11. S/he never gets junk mail…you idly wonder why, and s/he confides that she just returns it to sender after writing something on it in strange curly script.

12. When you drop in for a chat, the coffee pot or tea kettle is already starting to perk.

13. Jehovah’s Witnesses never knock on his/her door anymore…not after the last time…

14. Keeps the local candle shop solvent.

15. Has a pond out back full of frogs…and you haven’t seen that pesky storm-window salesman in a while.

16. S/he’s always smiling peacefully!

17. Went to a Halloween costume party dressed normally, and won first prize!

18. Her/his house always smells like incense and herbs.

19. Has cats named Kali, Diana, Loki, and Pele.

20. Bumper-sticker on his/her car reads, “I brake for toads”.

21. Frequently gets questioned by the drug squad, who confiscate large amounts of dried green leaves and always return them with abject apologies after analysis!

22. At Christmas, it seems like half the garden is moved into the house.

23. Sometimes you hear the sounds of singing and drumming through the wall…if you look outside, it’s usually a full moon.

24. Was given a bodram or dumbek for her/his last birthday…and sometimes plays it outside at midnight…

25. You discover the “realistic resin” skull s/he affectionately calls “Ron” in the living room actually is real…and hadn’t you heard of an ex-lover named Ron?

26. You catch her/him washing a crystal ball along with the dishes.

27. S/he wears lots of silver jewelry, even when weeding or changing the oil in the car…

28. You knock on the door and s/he answers it wearing only a robe…you apologize for disturbing her/his shower, but notice her/his hair isn’t wet…

29. Tendency to hum or softly chant, especially while outside in the garden.

30. Has a tame robin that will eat from his/her hand in the garden…that can’t be normal.

31. Never catches a cold, despite a tendency to walk around barefoot often…even in the snow.

32. Doesn’t kill spiders…even the huge hairy ones that startle you when you’re in the tub.

33. Always listens to what you’re saying like s/he really cares.

34. Has lots of female friends that come around once or twice a month…when you ask what they’re up to, s/he tells you they just have cake and ale and a nice chat.

35. You catch him/her hugging a tree.

36. Owns a dinner set decorated with Celtic patterns or a “stars and moons” design.

37. Has a mail-order account with a semi-precious gems wholesaler.

38. The priest who lives around the corner always crosses himself when driving past her/his house.

39. Never watches television…but owns shelves full of books with black spines and silver lettering.

40. To your certain knowledge has never set foot in the local church…you’ve even heard rumors s/he’s been barred from it.

41. You ask to borrow a deck of cards for an impromptu evening of canasta, and there are 78 in the pack.

42. You’ve never known him/her to go to a physician.

43. When you chat, s/he gently maintains eye contact the whole time.

44. Expectant mothers are always visiting…also women who become expectant mothers a short time after visiting and leaving with bags full of herbs.

45. You ask for suggestions of nice walks in the area, and they all go by way of strange earth mounds, oak groves, and stone circles.

46. S/he only buys organic food…and you suspect vegetarian as well!

47. When you ask about vacation plans, you’re told about camping in yurts…or festivals with communal cabins.

48. There aren’t any clocks in the house…and most of the mirrors are black.

49. Has a statue of a dragon near the garden gate…calls it her/his “watch-dragon”.

50. Tells you s/he’s coming out of the broom closet, and installs a stained-glass pentagram window in the front door!

Score:
1-10: Probably just a bit odd.
11-20: Might be a New Age hippy…harmless, maybe a little deluded.
21-30: Best not to offend her/him, just to be on the safe side.
31-40: Definitely something suspicious going on…stock up on your supply of Holy Water.
41-50: Get the kindling together–we’re going to have ourselves a burning!
- Andie Gilmour

There’s a great social networking site called ning.com. It’s somewhat like Yahoo goups only it’s much easier to use and much more sophisticated. I belong to 4 communities on Ning.

The Enchanted Forrest – if you love fairies and elves you’ll love this community

Visit Enchanted Forest

Dragonspace – for those of us that are pagan

Visit DRAGONSPACE

Hope you enjoy browsing through Ning. One could seriously get lost there.

Several weeks ago I bought myself a new set of Tarot Cards as an early birthday present. I chose the Dragons Tarot. They were the ones I felt a connection to. I loved the artwork on the few that I had seen from this deck.

Here is the front of 3 of the cards.

Here is what the back of the cards looks like.

I am very impressed with these cards. The meanings are not as in dept as the Rider Waite deck, but they are easy to use. Each and every card depicts a story. From that story the meaning is then easy to tell. The meanings are not the same as the Rider Waite Deck.

I have enjoyed using these cards. The meanings are so far very spot on for me. I find it an easier deck to use than the Rider Waite deck (that’s the other deck that I own). I’m very glad that I bought them.

I belong to several forums and through them I get exposed to the most amazing Pagan graphics. The one below is from a site called “Gemini Moon”.  She has very nice graphics, that are all very well done.  Some are glittery, and it adds to the appeal of the graphic.  Do check out her site.  Her stuff is amazing.

Oh, she has Myspace layouts too.  They are professionally done.  I have one of her layouts on my page on Myspace.

Go to geminimoon.net for more Pagan graphics!

She has other categories as well as Pagan.

Do check out her site.  And if you are on myspace, there is a link to add her to your friends.  And while you’re at it, add me too!