Yule Blessings!

Yule blessings everyone! This is a very special Winter Solstice this year. There is also a full lunar eclipse coinciding with it. This is the first time in over 300 years that this event has happened. Unfortunately I am unable to actually witness it as it is pouring cats and dogs, here in Los Angeles. Though I can't see it, I can feel it and work with it's energies. As I type this I am just waiting for midnight to come so I can begin my Yule ritual, welcoming back the sun. It is a time of introspection and for planning for the future. What do you you want to come into fruition this coming year? Now is the time to ask the Goddess (or whom ever your Higher Power is) for what you would like to manifest. Also don't forget to be grateful for the things that were manifested with in the past year. Look with in yourself, meditate, journal or do dreamwork. Tonight I will be honoring Isis and her divine child Horus and asking for happiness for myself and all of those I know. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday, which ever holiday it is you celebrate!

Riding With Holda- Beliefnet.com

The link below is to a lovely article on the Goddess Holda and her similarities with Santa.

Riding With Holda- Beliefnet.com

Selenite's Healing Properties

Selenite is one of my favorite healing stones. It assists in spiritual activation, communication with angels and spirit guides, clearing etheric blockages and overcoming stagnation. The chakra's it has the best effect on are Third eye and the Crown.  According to Robert Simmons in The Book of Stones, "The intensity of energy delivered by Selenite is greater thank almost any other stone for the upper chakras" This stone is wonderful for cleaning the auric field, negative energies and purifying objects. I use it to purify other crystals before I begin using them for healing as well as afterward, I also use a Selenite wand when purifying ritual tools. What I love about it, is that Selenite purifies itself. It works well with most other stones, in fact I have yet to find one that isn't complimented by Selenite. This stone is essential in any crystal healers toolbox.

Merry Mabon and Happy Fall Equinox

Goodbye Goddess, enjoy your trip to the underworld, you will be missed.

Happy Thanksgiving, it is the second harvest which I hope is bountiful for all.

Happy Summer Solstice aka Litha!

     Today is the first day of summer, when the sun enters the  tropic of Cancer, the longest day of the year and a Pagan Holiday. . Other names include mid-summer, St. Johns Day and Gathering Day. For Pagans it is a Lesser Sabbat or quarter day.

      This is a celebration of the sun as the Sun God is reached full power and the Goddess is in full pregnancy as the earth is ready for harvest. Since the year is now waning the Oak King who represents a growing youth and the waxing time of year gives over the reign to the Holly King, who represents the mature man and wanning year. Other deities that can be honored today include Amaterasu,Astarte, Aten, Apollo,Epona,Hestia, Horus, Istar,Juno,Lugh, Minerva, Ra, Sekhmet, Sol and Sulis. This is a short list, basically any Father God, Sun Deity or pregnant Goddess can be recognized during Litha.
     This is a time of fertility, growth, preparing for the harvest and handfastings. You can purify and renew you're spirit, commune with fairies, do divination, dedicate or re-dedicate yourself and celebrate your inner light!

The Dash by Linda Ellis

The Dash

by Linda Ellis

 

 

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend

 

He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

 

He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,

 

But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

 

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.

 

And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

 

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,

 

What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

 

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?

 

For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

 

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real

 

And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

 

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more

 

And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

 

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile

 

Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

 

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash

 

Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

 

© 1996 All Rights Reserved, Linda Ellis

Accidental origins: Where species come from - life - 10 March 2010 - New Scientist

Accidental origins: Where species come from - life - 10 March 2010 - New Scientist