Magickal Monday..... er....2 days late

So, on my list of things to say:

1) Sorry I missed Monday, I got sucked into the world of crafting in order to finish a swap package. I was literally crafting all day save the few hours I went to work.

2)Yes, I missed Tuesday too, but I'll make up for that today when you read about my AMAZING ADVENTURE in the next post

3) mmmmm, magick

Ok, so the last one doesn't count too much. I was originally going to be writing 3 days a week for Halloween/Samhain. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But that was before I took the challenge over at The Whimsical Cottage and decided to write something Halloweeny every day to get in the spirit. So I welcome you to Magical Monday.... mmmm, alliteration.... tasty. :P

I thought I would share something that I have read or have come to use in spells or ritual for Samhain on these days. Like most witches Samhain is a big time of year for me. It is also one of the saddest. For my best friend and I Halloween was the most Epic day of the year for us growing up. We dressed up every year, well into our high school years. We celebrated it as big as we celebrated every Friday the 13th. We even made a horror movie of our own one year (it was terrible lol). In my junior year of high school I lost my best friend and the holidays just have never been the same. After a few year of taking it all in, I made the decision to keep our love and tradition strong, even if it was just me. So every year for Samhain I still dress up, hand out candy, and last year I even decorated our yard (I was told we were the scariest house on the block thanks to the bloody hand prints!). And for ritual every year I light a candle for all of the people in my life that I have lost and have flown to the other side of the veil. During ritual I have a portion that is set aside just for honoring them. I usually have their photos set up on my altar and I light a candle for them and if available I put little tokens there for them as well. From there I usually do a little tarot or some other kind of spirit communication in hopes of hearing from them. After ritual I leave the candles burning and the when their gone I wake up the next morning and light another one for each of them. Sometimes I will write letters and leave them on the altar and then the next morning I will burn them in hopes that they find their way to them across the veil. So today I will talk about writing letters to the dead.

This is a simple spell that can be done anytime of the year. All you need is a bit of paper and a pen. It can be a special paper and pen or it can be something from your school bag. Just know the more preparation and thought you put into it every ingredient of every spell or ritual the more special it will be and the more energy you are putting into it. Personally, I usually use just plain paper that I sit on my altar the day of and I usually place it there and say something like,

"God and Goddess, These papers are soon to be vessels. They will carry my love and thoughts to spirits whom I miss greatly. Please help me bless these papers in hopes that they will serve their purpose."

Or something of that manor. I do a lot of improv at the altar. I focus some energy into them and then I usually leave the papers there until that night or until I am ready to put my love and thoughts into words. Whenever the moment strikes throughout the day and you feel ready, then just do it. Sometimes I get picky with my pens, depending on the person I'm writing to. For my best friend it's always pink, that was her favorite color. When you're finished writing you can always choose to anoint the papers and your words with a spirit oil or water used for communication with spirits or you can seal your letter with an herb for that purpose and leave it in there to be burnt with the letter when it is time ( I think this year I will add a flower in the one to my grandmother who just passed a few months ago, she would enjoy that). I usually just roll the paper up like parchment and tie it with a ribbon (Yep, I even get choosy with the color ribbon. Every little thing adds an extra touch of you and your connection to them) and I'll sit it in front of the picture of the person it is going to. You can also decide to leave the paper open in hopes of your loved one popping by during the day and reading it. I like to read mine out loud during the honoring before sealing it the final time.

In the morning, or the next day, I set aside time and I either take my cauldron to a place where it's well ventilated and set up a tiny altar there or if I'm the only one home I just leave it on the altar and unplug the smoke detectors ;) I take the first letter and hold it. I focus on the words written within it and I picture the person whom I am sending it to. If the feeling arises I may say something like,

"This letter acts as a vessel and it carries with it my heart,

Please help it to reach (person's name here) through our two worlds apart."

Or something of that nature. Once again I improv :) Then I hold it over the cauldron and light it. I watch it burn and stay focusing my energy on it until it is completely gone. Then I repeat until all the letters are sent. When it is cool enough I take my cauldron outside and let the ash join the Earth.

There are a lot of way to take this and personalize it to you and your loved ones, as well as many ways to go about it. Always do what feels right for you. Does anyone else write letters already? How do you go about it? Thanks for reading and I'll be back with Tuesday soon!

On the 3rd Day of Halloween......

The creepies brought to me....... RAIN! LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN! Seriously? Why? Which can only mean that Mom and I cancelled our trip to Poe's house. We've decided to reschedule for next Sunday and in exchange I made her promise that she would trip with me on Tuesday to go to Grace Sherwood's house, also known as the Witch of Pungo. She was the only person tried in Virginia for witch craft and she is the last known witch trial in North America. She was tried by ducking and guess what..... SHE SURVIVED! HA! She was then imprisoned for about 8 years and then returned to her land where she lived out the rest of her days in solitude. There is a lot more to the story and if you are interested this site gives you the very basics and even shows the memorial statue and this site gives a bit better of a story as well as some honoring ritual and what nots dedicated to her (the poem at the beginning is very nice as well). She was given a pardon by the Governor on the 300th anniversary of her trial. Being a local, you here about her history often throughout your life. There is even a main road that is called Witchduck that goes from the old court houses where she was tried to the bay where she was ducked. MMmmm, love the south and our inevitability to name things after tragic events. So that's our deal, and I will make sure she sticks to it!!
As for today, I was busy crafting and up to my elbows in chocolate and powdered sugar. Results of which you will see at a later day this week. For the moment, the kitty is curled up next to me and there is a terribly cheesy movie on SyFy, all the makings for a good ending to a dreary day. I hope you all had a more productive day than I. And if you got caught in the rain too I hope that you were able to salvage some of it. See you tomorrow!

Pumpkin patch.... on my feet?!

So, today was a very long day.... No, seriously... VERY VERY LONG! Lets just say I love the taste of CPR and First Aid Training in the morning (please read that with EXTREME sarcasm). And straight from that I had to go to work. That part wasn't to shabby. The kid I work with and I had a lovely little picnic outside. I got to lay back for about an hour while he ate and diddle daddled and breath in the chill of October while looking up at the pines. Best hour ever. And while I came home and crafted (while rocking out to Nightmare Revisited of course! "And I Jack, THE PUMPKIN KING!") I have nothing completed to show you as of yet. Just know I have mini chocolate sugar skulls in the work, a few things pertaining to Poe, a few B-Horror Movies, and more s'mores! So I promise updates on them later this week. So as a consolation prize I present to you a little something I managed to finish last week in the spirit of the coming Halloween season.

Why, what is that, you ask? To which I respond most excitedly, That is my pumpkin patch! The best thing about the October for me is the Pumpkins! I actually hate pumpkins in all edible senses, however I love the way the look! Don't ask, I'm strange. Just know that they have a big spot light on the seasons festivities for my house. I've been dying for a pair of bare feet sandals for some time now. So last week I got up the nerve and decided to bead me a pair. I found a tutorial somewhere on the interwebs but they had flowers in theirs. I decided I'm not a flower type of girl... I mean it's FALL for crying out loud!! And some how it dawned on me. PUMPKINS! And thus, the Pumpkin Patch was born.

For the love of all things divine, please pay no mind to my tired dogs. Years of playing sports has caused them to look most unattractive. lol. And you may have also noticed that I'm only modeling one foot. Well that's because I only beaded one of them. So I guess technically I have one bare feet sandal. >_<

I hope your second day was a bit better than mine! I'll see you tomorrow! Mom and I are going to Poe's house tomorrow in Richmond. I love terribly short road trips!! Wish us luck!

Creepy Freaky Friday- Ode to the Night Walkers

It is October 1st!!!!!!!!!! Let Halloween BEGIN! There is so much to do this month! And I think I will enjoy every minute of it. muhahahaha! I have decided to make every Friday this month a Creepy Freaky Friday. Meaning that I will post some kind of Halloween inspired whatnot that I am up to . Today, I have someone I would like to introduce.

Meet Dracula! Pasty white from his centuries of life he has come to visit in order to disprove the myth. No, unfortunately, contrary to popular belief he is unable to turn into a bat and fly away. His once beating heart, now possibly black hole abyss, is saddened as well by new myth and popularity. FOR THE LOVE OF SIX YEAR OLD SALLY HE DOES NOT SPARKLE! Ask him to step into the sun and glisten and it may just be the last thing you say. However, you could try and starting counting numbers and he may be inclined to continue while you make a speedy escape. One, two, three ah ah ah!

Dracula, or shall we call him Vlad, was born sometime in 1431 as a human child. If you are a history nerd such as I, or happened to obtain a freaky reputation in high school for doing a research project on Dracula and his human life , then you know the story of the vampire is based of a real life man. His name was Vlad Dracul III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, and he was from, you guessed it, Transylvania and he ruled over a place called Wallachia. He was one of the most fearsome tyrants you will ever meet. I like to consider him a bloodier and earlier Hitler. He was, for lack of a better term, a serial killer with a throne. There is much more history I could give I but I won't. There are biographies all over the Internet. All you have to do is google. Just know that you won't like what you find.

But this post is not an ode to Vlad, that wretched man! No, this post is an ode to Vampire fiction. It's an ode to Boris Karloff, Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, and Stephenie Meyer for bringing us Vampires to love throughout the ages and even well into our futures! CHEERS TO THEM!! And what better way to say cheers than with a S'more. Yes, you know that ten year old inside you is already sqeeing with extreme excitement. Mine is!

mmmmm, Bat-tastic! The graham crackers and the marshmallows are all homemade from scratch. The chocolate is store bought..... what? I'm not a miracle worker ya know! The graham cracker recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and is the best I have tasted so far! Even the dough is amazing with out baking (ssshhhh, I swear I didn't eat too much of it XP ). And the marshmallows are from Alton Brown (I heart that man!)

I tried turning the marshmallows a nice Halloween orange but I added the color too soon to the mixture. Therefore I added colored sugar on top to add a little shabang to it. Mind the already melted chocolate, the kitchen was a little hot. I love making homemade marshmallows. It's really easy and they taste so much better than store bought. At Christmas/Yule I make candy cane flavored ones. They are always a big hit.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, melted half eaten goodness. Trust me, it was hard to set this down to take the picture not to mention I got ooey gooey yum yum on my camera. But the best foods are the ones that you end up wearing aren't they?

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF HALLOWEEN!!!! I hope yours was as yummy and productive as mine!!

Craftacular me!

I have been a very, very busy girl.... But before I plug my stuff I would like you all to check out Blue Fairie. She is having a give away on her blog, Dancing with a Spatula Wand , of this AMAZINGLY CUTE crochet toad as part of her Practical Magic entry. He's is so adorable, and it's no secret that I LUST after all things yarn, crochet, and knit. That seems to be the only craft stuff I completely fail at. And besides her always amazing recipes, she pwns the crochet hook. Go, look, visit, cook, and love the toad as I have!

So, I have been very busy making swap packages the past few months. It's become an addiction I must say. And in a later post I will highlight some of my favorite things I've made for others, but this post is all about ME! I never make myself anything and last week I got the urge to craft. So I made myself this:

Cute right? I found the fabric at a Joann's

and I couldn't resist it. It's a corduroy I think.

And the little Acorn closure is made of felt.

Inside! I left the post-its in so you could see the inside zipper pocket.

It's almost like a Mary Poppins purse.

It fits my a handful of pins, sun glasses, makeup,

keys, ipod, phone, post-its, lotion, and my giant

Nikon CoolPix Camera. But wait, is there something more???

A wallet!! It's a pattern in progress. But not

too shabby for mostly winging it. Under the change

part is a tiny slot for my check book and money.

It has 4 card slots, it was supposed to be 6 but you can

tell that didn't work out. I didn't measure properly so oh well.

The lot together.

I'm extremely happy with it. I love the fall, outdoorsy, child like humor of it. It's very, very me. YAY!! I hope to get on here later and post a few more things I have been working on. Have a crafty day!!

Mabon, where did you go?

BLESSED MABON!!!

Ok, so I know... I'm like a week late.... I haven't posted in a while and I know I completely missed Mabon. I hope everyone had a wonderful day and gave many a thanks to the Earth. I spent The weekend before Mabon at the local Mabon/Pagan Pride event.... it.was.awesome! I've been active in my local community for a over a year now! Happy any to me! I got there kind of late since I was finishing up a hat for a friend of mine I was meeting there. When I got there they had just started the chanting workshop.... mmmm, chanting. I love it! I learned a few new chants and now I have forgotten them. But they were really nice, trust me. One day it will dawn on me and I'll write the words down. After that I did some window shopping while a local artist sang beautifully in the background. I stopped by the alter and placed some acorns on it as an offering. I was surprised to find that the alter this year was designated to the patron God of Virginia Beach.... can you guess who it is? Neptune of course! You have to love living by the beach! It was beautifully set up I wish i took a picture of it. They had stones sitting there that anyone could come up to and charge and place into a another dish filled with sand. They were released back into the ocean after the festival in order to help heal our oceans with everything that has been going on. My friend Julie, and I took her son to a children's drumming workshop which was really nice. Unfortunately not a lot of children showed up since they were required to bring their own drums. Julie and I discussed maybe setting up a children's tent next year so that the kids can come and do crafts and maybe make their own instruments while learning about some Pagan goodness related to mabon or paganism in general. If I don't vend next year I think I will try and arrange that. Next, we had a drum circle in the middle of the day (unheard of right? NOBODY DANCES IN THE LIGHT!! lol) But it was connected with other drum circles around the world taking place at the same time in order to promote global unity . We all circled up, people brought their drums, others of us just clapped, and a few people decided to get out there and dance. Somehow, this chick I was standing and clapping beside got the urge to dance. So she went out into the circle and started doing her thing. Next thing I know she has come back over to me, grabbed my hand, and led me out to the circle to dance too. I don't know her at all!! But I embraced it and got my dance on and somehow, I didn't feel paranoid or shy at all. I don't usually dance in the circles because, well, I find it just a bit relaxing and I don't feel the urge to dance. Not to mention sometime you just feel paranoid like others are looking at you like WTF is she doing! Which I know is never the Case, but I mean, come on, we're raised to think people are always going to look at us strange is we step out of line. But yeah, there I was, in broad daylight, dancing. I'm not gonna lie.... it was kind of awesome. After all that was done the local Pagan choir, The Inchantors, serenaded us with lovely music, harmonies, and drumming. After which the community came together and participated in a Mabon Ritual. It was a lot different from last year. Which is expected since every year someone different leads it. This year when you came in to the festival they handed you a mini baggie with 4 papers in it. Each saying something different, such as: Things continuing, Things to throw away, Things to start, and Things finished. We were to take time throughout the day and write things on these papers that corresponded with what each was saying. During the ritual the corner callers walked around at certain points with branches and we strung our papers on the branches. they looked almost like leaves. And then we took the one with Things to throw away on it and we placed it in a cauldron to be burned. After all of that was done we all sat in a circle and meditated and raised energy in order to do a Peace Spell while two very talented ladies played on the Tibetan singing bowls. Then a candle was passed around and we each put our energy into this candle which would be burned and the energy released. And finally we all got up, were given a piece of paper with a chant on it, and marched and stomped around the circle while chanting in order to bring down the circle or cone of power as we were calling it in the chant. It was one of the most active rituals I have been a part of this past year (minus dancing around the may pole). I left with a sense of accomplishment. After ritual a very popular and talented group by the name of Mystic Fire performed for us (I love them sooo much!!). And to close the entire day out we had a massive drum circle in a field. Best.Day.Ever... I'm sure that's what you're thinking. But it doesn't end yet. I was laying on my back looking up at the stars and letting my mind wonder with the drumming, when all of a sudden, there it was. A shooting star. I've never seen one in my life. Not in person. It was like some celestial sign. So I did what all people do and should do in the case of a shooting star. I made a wish. I wished for another job so that I could finally start making some money. I know, I know I shouldn't tell you what I wished for right? PISH POSH! That my friends is a bunch of hocus pocus! If I don't voice it out loud how will the universe know what it is I need. It's not a mind reader ya know! So, I came home, slept an amazing sleep and the next thing I know, my dad is calling me and telling em to fill out an application online at a store my non-blood-related-but-should-be Uncle works as at. He's going to get me a job!!! WHAT!??!!! Psh, Epic Win! I had an interview this Saturday morning and got the job. It's just a cashier position but it's money and I am in need of it. Student loans are no joke!

Long story short, after a very long year things are slowly taking a turn for the good. Let's hope this plane keeps on rising.

Children's Drumming Workshop

The Inchantors

(well, a select number of them shall we say)

Mystic Fire

My Friend Julie,

and wait what's that she's wearing...

why a hat I made ;)

Unexplainable

I don't know how to say it. The past two weeks are just... well... unexplainable. Furball is still keeping me up and waking me up, but he is feeling better. We revistied the vet Monday and I brought along mom who helped me keep my head on straight and we accomplished some good stuff. He now has meds for nausea and pain relief for his mouth. Too bad we had to be the ones to ask about it..... you tihk since they knew those symptoms were happening they would have said something about it first. We shouldn't have had to ask..... oh well. And they gave us an IV bag full of liquid so we can hydrate him once every two days. ok.... so you read that right? fluids in an IV bag... you know the only way to get them in his body?!? Hook him up to a needle for about 5 minutes.... NEEDLES!!!! Ya know for a woman who sews so much she is constantly pricked hundreds of times a day, I am deathly afraid of needles. Ironic? Pretty much. Funny? Slightly. Nerve racking? ABSOLUTELY! So, I gave him his first IV Wednesday.... it was insane. Easily done but it seriously took a lot in me to conquer my fears and do to him what I hate others doing to me. I mean needles are why I never finished signing up for nursing school. I took all the placement tests and was aquiring financial aid when I decided....shit... I can't do this. Needles and blood my friends..... freak.me.out! But atleast he is feeling better and hopefully we will have him grace us with a few more years. That would make me happy. But in the mean time, I am sooo exhausted. Oh well, on to business as usual. I'm not sure if it's the lack of sleep or knowing my cat is terribly sick but I've had the most dreadful feelings this week. Like something is about to happen and it's not going to be a good thing. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it's all just my sleep deprived mind going on a rampage and it's not really a warning.

Other than my current dose of the crazies (as stated above >_<) I've been doing a lot of crafting and a lot of thinking. I need to take a break from everything. I just need some time to myself. I lie, actually I realized this about a month or so ago and I have been putting it into effect since. I've slowly began a period of isolation from friends and family. The only people I talk to currently are online. Every few years I enter a period of isolation for a few months. It's extremely needed. It allows me to clear my head, reconsider my priorities, rearrange and change things in my life, and deal with whatever I have going on. I'm sure there is some shrink out there who is like, "Why, this isn't healthy!" to which I would reply, "Neither is spreading myself too thin!" long story short, this is my imagination and I just won that argument ;) I'll create a list later tonight or tomorrow when I finish crafting for these swaps and start to reorganize my life a little. I'll give myself a week to really lay it all down. Which is good because the local Mabon and Pagan Pride celebrations are this Saturday and hopefully I will have something to purge and throw in the fire.

And now, to change the subject. On the crafting front I am working on a new quilted duffel bag pattern and have just discovered that one... I suck at designing patterns .........and two, I despise clear vinyl. I think I will have to completely toss the bag I was working on and just try a regular rounded shaped duffel bag. I'm doing this for a swap and it needs to be water proof, hence the clear vinyl. My thought was to make it super water proof. Seriously, she could probably carry water in the duffel bag instead of clothes if she wanted. But I am having the hardest time with working out the zipper closure. Ilove to hate zippers. *sigh* Other than that disaster, I am also working on book binding for the first time. I'll be doing that tonight. I need to do two separate books. And I am finishing a beading project that I am slightly proud of. Pictures will hopefully follow their completion! Well, I've doddled long enough. Back to the craft room!! Wish me luck!