Happy Ostara

Happy Ostara!

This is turning out to be a beautiful day today! I have cakes in the oven baking:

One for the goddess and one for myself!

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 8 tbsp honey

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs; cream at high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Gradually stir sifted dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Spoon in honey and mix thoroughly. Spoon the batter into a greased 9 or 10-inch Bundt pan Bake in a 350° oven for 1 hour. Cool cake completely before removing from pan. Once removed pour honey over top and allow to drip down sides.

OPTIONAL: Top with walnuts!

I'm going to keep this kinda loose and fun today! I want it to be a light celebration. I'll make some Kami braid to hang in the trees. I'll grind up one of the cakes and put it out in the yard for the birds. And then Laura and I are going out to Young's for ice cream and baby goat squees!! *squees*

My full moon ceremony went fairly well. I may have to try and remember everything next time. I kept having to leave the circle to get items I needed. Not to mention the stupid lighter refused to work for the longest damn time. Nothing ruins a ritual like "Damn clickclick stupid frigging click click click click LIGHTER!"

Full Moon

SO I'm running around a wee bit crazily tonight. It will be my first full moon ritual in a very very long time and my very first one done solo. So much to get done. I'll take pictures of it all later and post them up, but wish me luck. I haven't written my own full moon ritual yet. Haven't really had time. XD I'm working on making the house all clean and nice as I believe the house should be clean for any ritual or spell work. I'm even scrubbing my tub down so I can do a full ritual cleansing. This should give some idea of how dedicated I am as I DESPISE bathroom cleaning. Mostly because the chemicals it takes to clean in there drive my asthma crazy. Makes it very difficult to breath and I cough and sneeze a lot. But worth it.
RITUAL BATH
Needs (for shower)
-apricot body scrub
-razor
-shaving cream
-shampoo
-conditioner
-body wash
-floofy body lather thinggy
Needs (for bath)
-hot water (hot as you can stand it)
-clean shaven and well scrubbed body
-oil/bath salt/bubble bath (I prefer a clean scent like eucalyptus, grapefruit, etc.)

For the shower portion I clean myself completely. I shave everything down, use the body scrub and rub myself a little pink till i feel like all the dead skin is gone. I wash my hair and face really well and just in general make myself feel pure in a physical sense.

I let the water re-heat (stupid slow water heater) and then run a hot bath, just as hot as I can which for me is pretty hot. I pour some oil into the tub (actually this time it will be a grapefruit bubble bath I found), close the door, and soak. Sometimes I take in a book and read for a while. Other times I just let myself kinda sink into the tub and enjoy a little sensory deprivation. Sometimes I use candles and turn off the harsh florescent lighting. At any rate, I let myself absorb the events of the day and let them all flow out, good and bad.

By the time I get out I generally feel better all over. More relaxed and at ease.

Tonight I will be accomplishing a lot. Not only is there the actual full moon ceremony, there is:
-book blessing
-salt blessing
-water blessing
-burning my old spirit bag
-consecrating my new spirit bag
-asking for luck in the upcoming Ostara ritual

I found two interesting things today. First of all let me say blessing second hand book stores. Without them I don't think I could afford to read! I found the book Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler. While browsing Youtube I found

Sage

So I wandered Yellow Springs for a bit today and picked up a couple of sage bundles. I need to do some purification on some items this upcoming full moon. I'm still working on getting some items together for Ostara. Turns out I will be celebrating it with a coven. It should be a fairly interesting experience. Like I said it's been awhile since I did anything like this so it may be something I adore it may be something I realize I'm not ready for yet.

Ostara

I'm working rather hard at the moment on creating a suitable Ostara ritual. I am not even really sure what I will be doing for Spring Solstice. I have a friend who knows of a coven that is holding and open ritual and is asking if she may bring me along. I may do that. Or I may do the ritual for myself either in the Glen or out at the local park. Either way I need to have the ritual written so that it can go into my BOS for later.
I went ahead and got some seeds for my fairy garden! I need to look through them and record what I'm planting and why. I got a few herbs but some are more difficult to find. Some of the stores just don't seem to have them yet or sometimes not at all. I want them before Ostara because regardless of solo or group ritual I intend to bless and begin planting that day.

Also I have gotten my girlfriend to agree to be my guinea pig while I practice a few spells! *wicked laughter* Nothing harmful of course. Rather like small experiments to see what works, what effect it has, and if I have any talent in spellcrafting. I feel like being a witch is much the same as being anything else. Some people are good at some parts, others are good at other parts. Not everyone can be a diviner or a charm maker or a spell crafter. So I guess right now I'm learning and searching for my specialty.

Places of Worship

One of the things that irritates me about Springfield is the fact that there is very little wilderness around. There are small patches of forest interceded by large amounts of corn fields, houses,corn fields, cows, corn fields, corn fields and...you guessed it, cornfields. For a pagan it makes you feel a little isolated from anywhere acceptable to worship or go to be in around nature. Objectively I know that nature is everywhere and that there for you can worship at the church of the earth any time any where. But the truth is I WANT to go somewhere that I can't hear cars, trains and the occasional domestic dispute from next door. Maybe that's just me. :)

Knowing that, I find it odd that I haven't ever been to the Glenn in Yellow Springs! It was a pretty nice day out today and I got off work early so I decided to go for a walk. The Glenn is literally right across the street so I took the opportunity.

And pictures.

 

Firepit and Cauldron

This is one of those places where I'm afraid I'm just going to have to suck it up and drop some cash to get what I need.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-30-Outdoor-Fire-Pit/15524218'=

I've debated digging a fire pit, but I'm just afraid that won't work out too well. Number one we rent the place we are in right now and I'm not sure how they might feel about me digging up a thick chunk of their yard. Second I do want everything to look nice. I wish I lived a little bit more out in the boonies where there was some degree of privacy. It feels awkward getting stuff ready to do a ritual right out in the backyard between two other houses.

Also, WHY ARE CAULDRONS SO EXPENSIVE!? It's like the second anyone tacks the word pagan, wiccan or witch onto it they add $30 to the price tag. Not to mention shipping. My mother-in-law has a small cauldron that she keeps in front of her fireplace. Maybe I can convince her to let me have it. It's small but just the right size for what I'm planning.

Ostara is not far off and I'm working on a ritual for that. It's going to involve spring cleaning both inside and outside, preparing the garden for planting, creating an outdoor ritual space, and blessing some items. I won't be offically dedicating myself till Beltane but none the less it will feel good to get back into the grove of things.

Starting My Book of Shadows

Oh my goddess what have I gotten myself into. These are my basic plans for creating my own Book of Shadows and going more in depth with paganism, wicca and witchcraft. Some of it is going to be about personal theory and practical application, a lot of it is creating a reference book for myself and creating a way for me to learn more.

The Rede and It’s Application 
-the Wiccan Rede, considering how it applies, and other duties to self betterment 
Book Blessing
-a simple blessing to keep your book safe and sacred 
Symbols & Signs
-understanding the symbolism and sigils that appear so often in classic witchcraft 
Omens & Portends
-learning to observe the world around you and read what it is telling you 
Familiars
-animal totems, spirit guides, familiars and working with them 
Magickal Tools
a break down of the items and their purposes 
Preparation
-how to make yourself and your space ready for magickal work 
Gathering Energy
-making sure you are mentally, physically and spiritually ready to preform 
Rituals
-the value of prayer and action in witchcraft 
Spells
-thought begets action begets change 
Potions, Tinctures & Salves
-mixtures to aiding and abetting
Charms & Talismans
-little reminders  
Powering Down
-releasing your gathered energy and allowing yourself to rest 
Wheel of the Year
-the holidays, ideas for celebration and revelry 
Moon Magick
-seeing the goddess in all her forms and aspects 
Sun Magick
-seeing the god in all his faces and personalities
Fairy Magick
-the little people of legend and how they bring health, wealth and joy to your home 
Dreams & Visions 
-learning to interpretate yourself and what your mind is telling you
Divination
-reading the 'future', or just telling people what they need to hear
*REFERENCE*
Herbs
Trees 
Incense & Oils
Traditions & Paths
Glossary
Bibliography