TT #65: it's a kinda magic!

Thirteen quotes on magic What is magic? What's magical? Here are 13 quotes about magic and magical things! "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will." - Aleister Crowley "Magic is not a practice. It is a living, breathing web of energy that, with our permission, can encase our every action." - Dorothy Morrison "Magic is a faculty of wonderful virtue, full of most high mysteries, containing the most profound contemplation of most secret things, together with the nature, power, quality, substance and virtues thereof, as also the knowledge of whole Nature, and it doth instruct us concerning the differing and agreement of things amongst themselves, whence it produceth its wonderful effects, by uniting the virtues of things through the application of them one to the other." - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa "Let the magic happen. It's always there. Abundance and love are always there. Believe in the highest good. There is a higher essence to everything. The realm you're in has a heaviness that mutes energy. You can penetrate through it, no matter how dark and heavy. Sometimes it has nothing to do with karma. Just don't forget to keep it open. Don't get too bogged down, don't limit the brightness. Reach through the dark energy and grab it. You might see the smoke coming out of the chimney and you'll even see the smoky sky. You need to reach through the smoke and bring the light to you. Remember the possibilities of something greater then are right here. Be willing to go to the lightness. Don't feed off what is not right in the world." - Kuan Yin (channeled) "Whatever enchants, also guides and protects. Passionately obsessed by anything we love- sailboats, airplanes, ideas- an avalanche of magic flattens the way ahead, levels rules, reasons, dissents... bears us with it over chasms, fears, doubts." - Richard Bach "A sufficiently high level of technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke "You know quite well deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation... And that is called loving." - Herman Hesse "I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. When I was twelve, the words was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present, and into the future. We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see out destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put in the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we’re told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wilderness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad at what they allowed to whither in themselves." - Robert McCammon "Genius is another word for magic, and the whole point of magic is that it is inexplicable."- Margot Fonteyn "Using words to describe magic is like using a screwdriver to cut roast beef." - Tom Robbins "But Shakespeare's magic could not copied be; Within that circle none durst walk but he." - John Dryden "Trees have from time immemorial been closely associated with magic. These stout members of the vegetable kingdom may stand for as long as a thousand years, and tower far above our mortal heads. As such they are symbols and keepers of unlimited power, longevity, and timelessness. An untouched forest, studded with trees of all ages, sizes and types, is more than a mysterious, magical place - it is one of the energy reservoirs of nature. Within its boundaries stand ancient and new sentinels, guardians of the universal force which has manifested on the the Earth. . . ." - Scott Cunningham "Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice." - Nora Roberts source: Zaadz ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Deb ~*~ Holly ~*~ Lori ~*~ Robin ~*~ Maryt ~*~ Sandee ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Yuriko ~*~ Malcolm ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ HomeandHearth ~*~ WorksforMom ~*~ Journeywoman ~*~ Secret Agent Mama ~*~ Rae ~*~ Cordia Amant ~*~ Greatfullivin ~*~ Sharon ~*~ Carolan Ivey ~*~ Leah ~*~ Forgetfulone ~*~ Dallas Meow ~*~ grace ~*~ Zenmomma ~*~ busy91 ~*~ Shoshana ~*~ Tempest Knight ~*~ The Mocha Mom ~*~ Darla ~*~ JoyIsMyGoal ~*~ WackyMom ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Cindi ~*~ IamTheDiva ~*~ Nathalie ~*~ Stubarnes ~*~ Xakara ~*~ Janet ~*~ Starrlight ~*~ Thorne ~*~ cajunvegan ~*~ Linda R. Moore ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Experience work

This morning I drove to Utrecht for an open meeting of the "Vakvereniging voor Ervaringswerkers" (VvE), an association / union for people who are working with their experience in the mental health care. I got the invitation and was curious enough to go! :-)

It was an interesting meeting. Unfortunately the guest speaker had become ill and gone home. That's a pity! I learned a lot about the VvE though: the goals, the collaboration with other groups, the finances, etc. It didn't really apply to my personal situation, because I work as a volunteer. Voluntary experience workers are welcome to join, but for the VvE the emphasis is on experience workers with a paid job. A uniform job description and rules for payment are important goals. Furthermore they support research in the field of working with experience, aim for more cooperation (together we're stronger) and special education opportunities.

Because part of the agenda was off, we were ready around 2pm, so I could drive home without a lot of traffic jams. It was worth the time to go; I don't think I'll go another time though. I'll write a report about the meeting for the newsletter of the experience workers pool I'm part of.

Dyeing robes

Saturday I had another meeting with the Ara Lowlands group. We had all taken our robes to dye them together. The colour we had chosen was olive green. We first did Sorcha's robe and mine. My robe is made of heavier material, the others are lighter and Sorcha's is in between. When everyone had arrived we did all the others in the second session. When they were all done, we hung them together on a line outside. The colours are nice, although mine is more army green. On the picture the flashlight changed the colours a bit.

We planned meetings for the next year. In January we'll do the Shadow Workshop with Phyllis. It will be nice to see her again. In October we hope to do the initiation and around those two we planned meetings and journeys-apart-together.

We discussed an idea Sorcha and I learned from Marian Green in her last workshop; to build a group temple on the astral plane, where we can meet in journeys and do rituals and other stuff together. Everyone was enthusiastic, so we discussed how it will look like. We'll go there in a meditation / journey. It's a private place, so I won't tell you how it looks like. One (or two actually) of my additions: two templecats, a black and a white one. :-)

In a little ritual we did a Cone of Power to charge a bowl with little objects on the middle of the altar. Each of us put something in it to be charged with energy. When we need extra energy in the dark and cold ahead we can take our objects to get some. I put my Bast-pentacle in and a little bag with a mini-statue of Kuan Yin.

Afterwards we talked , ate and drank something. Ron and Wonder came to pick me up.

TT #64: random

Thirteen random things I want to share So much to tell, so little time to blog... Friday last week I broke down. I cried and let it all out. Let's face it; I have another depression. That makes two of us here at home, not the nicest situation. But somehow we'll come through this helping each other along the way. We were supposed to go to a fair in Alkmaar on Saturday and we had also planned to go to the belated Halloween party of friends in Den Haag in the evening. We decided to cancel everything so I could rest and charge my battery. Not an easy decision, but it was the good one. I slept a lot and did close to nothing. I'm still not back to "normal", but it's getting better. Baby Dominique has come home to her mother Monique. She was doing so well she could leave the hospital early. She has grown a lot, although to me she's still so tiny! (pics by IJs) My brother and his girlfriend have a puppy, a Border Collie named Doggy. She is such a cutie!! During the day Gerard takes the little one with him to his work. We visited them last week. We played until she fell asleep on my hand. When Sylvia celebrated her birthday at home I saw Doggy again. I think I'm in love... ;-) This saturday there is a meeting of the Ara-group. We are going to dye our robes. I still hadn't finished the sewing though. I don't like it, I'm not good at it, it isn't and will never be my hobby! The stress of wanting to do it perfect nevertheless was killing me. Ron took matters out of my hand and put the robe together with his sewing machine. On one hand I'm a bit disappointed because I wanted to do it by hand, but on the other hand I'm soooo happy it's done! I didn't want net curtains in front of the kitchen window, but I also didn't like the fact that passers-by could look right at what's on our kitchen unit. Gerard made a special sticker screen that does let light in, but keeps out the glancing. To break the line there's a cat too; it looks great! See from the outside and inside. Wonder and I are busy planning a special meeting for Beltane 2008. Together with Mol and Aphro we are making planns. The location has already been booked. It will be two days: Wednesday April 30 and Thursday May 1. For my birthday money I bought a planner for 2008 with a beautiful leather binder. The planner is from Seasons of the Witch, with colourful pages and gorgeous images. I had seen the binder on their website a long time ago and it never left my mind. It was expensive, but worth every cent! If you live outside the USA I wouldn't recommend ordering the binder though: I had to pay almost € 35 import duty to customs! We are invited at the home of Ron's eldest sister for Christmas. The rest of the family will be there too. It's going to be a brunch and thank goddess the dresscode is casual. Some time ago I bought the CD/DVD Forever Cool featuring Dean Martin together with a selection of artists, singing his songs together. Among them Robbie Williams (a big fan of Dino) on "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone", but also Joss Stone, Kevin Spacey, Charles Aznavour, etc. I listen to it a lot! If you click the link you can listen to samples of the songs. The DVD contains 25 minutes "making of" and interviews. I bought 2 new DVDs last week: The Jungle Book and Harry Potter 5. We have watched them both. Jungle Book will always be one of my favourite Disney-movies, I love it! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was good. I'm looking forward to 6 and the final year! Over here in The Netherlands the little children are excited, because Sinterklaas has arrived. On December 5th he brings all of them presents. I wrote a TT about the tradition of Sinterklaas last year. The Christmas rush has already started too, but it only gets going after Sinterklaas. I love wordgames and puzzles. I've been addicted to games like Tetris and Mahjongg. For some time I've been playing BookWorm online in Dutch and English, but now I have BookWorm DeLuxe and I just can't stop. It's a bit like Tetris with letters. You are supposed to make words. I received another postcard for my bloggers' postcard exchange. If you like to send and receive real postcards from around the world, feel free to join in! If you send me a postcard from your town/region of residence, I'll send you one from mine. Send me an e-mail through the link on my site to exchange addresses and we'll have a deal! ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Holly ~*~ Mocha Mom ~*~ Mar ~*~ Nap Warden ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Amy Ruttan ~*~ Joyismygoal ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ The Gal Herself ~*~ Yuriko ~*~ shesawriter ~*~ thecabinet ~*~ Nicole ~*~ Lori ~*~ Greatfullivin' ~*~ Susan Helene ~*~ Janet ~*~ Rae ~*~ Wacky Mommy ~*~ grace ~*~ Gattina ~*~ Sassy Lucy ~*~ Robin ~*~ Dallas Meow ~*~ Kate ~*~ Darla ~*~ Kat ~*~ betty ~*~ Aline ~*~ Di ~*~ Natalie ~*~ Xakara ~*~ Iamthediva ~*~ cajunvegan ~*~ Tina Kubala ~*~ Yummy! ~*~ Damozel ~*~ Candy Minx ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Romance

To choose my most romantic experience isn't easy. There are so many... To make a choice I'll share the story of a very special night long time ago. At the time I was volunteering in a clubhouse/discotheque. I worked in the cloakroom, collected empty glasses and helped behind the bar. My free time I spent next to the DJ corner, especially when my favourite DJ was there... I had fallen in love with him instantly, but never told him. We talked about a lot of things, sometimes flirty, sometimes about serious matters, always interesting. We just had that click together. That evening I felt the tension mounting. We danced a few times. My heart was working overtime, I felt flirty and shy at the same time. After closing time the volunteers stayed to clean and have a drink together. One by one everyone disappeared. There were only a few people left when I went to the bathroom. When I came back the lights were dimmed, slow music was playing and we were alone. I stood at the doorstep and hesitated. He walked towards me and looked me in the eyes. My knees were trembling. He smiled, took me by the hand and led me to the dance-floor. We danced closely together. His breath warmed my neck, singing softly in my ear. The feeling of his body against mine felt so good, so right. We danced for minutes, hours... I couldn't tell, I lost track of time. Exasperatingly slow our heads moved towards each other and our lips touched. I had kissed before but never like that. We caressed each other. He looked at me and asked me without words. I answered willingly and we left the dance-floor hand in hand. He laid me down very carefully and I made love for the first time. It was beautiful, he was very gentle. We were so good together. Afterwards he walked me to my (parents') home, close together in the dark and quiet night. A wonderful experience that I'll cherish forever...

Romance is important to me in a relationship. It is the icing on the cake! It doesn't have to be big and impressive; the little things count. Romance has to do with care and attention, the feeling of being loved. An unexpected little present or gesture "just because I love you" always speaks to my heart... A note saying "I miss you already" in my suitcase... I have nothing to complain with Ron, he's my romantic hero! A candlelight dinner for just the two of us may be cliché, but that's because it is so romantic! The same goes for a walk on the beach during sunset or sunrise.

When I'm in the mood I love romantic movies like Ghost or Pretty Woman. I read literature, non-fiction, in fact everything with letters! ;-) From time to time I want to relax with romance novels. The link leads you to a wide variety of romance novels in many genres, really worth checking out! I especially like historical and supernatural themes or a combination of both. There has to be more to it than boy-meets-girl and other predictable stuff. I like a good plot, a real story. The blogosphere broadened my horizon too, I've met some great romantic writers. They've written enough to keep me busy for quite some time!

CoT #7: cat names

CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers

who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week,

hosted by Gattina.

What's in a name?

The names of my 3 cats are derived from goddess names:

• Freyja (named after the Norse goddess of love and fertility who was famous for her great beauty; the cat was sacred to her, she drove in a chariot drawn by cats)
• Bastet (named after the ancient Egyptian goddess of cats)
• Maia (she is born in May and named after the goddess Maia, the most beautiful of The Pleiades and goddess of spring & fresh beginnings).

Other names we used: Mickey, Garfield, Heathcliff, Snoopy (all obvious origins), Cleo (Cleopatra), Coco (after Koko from "the cat who.." detectives), Snoetje (Dutch for "pretty little face"), Lapje (Dutch for "calico"), Ukkie (Dutch for "little one") and some self-invented names that sound nice.

I know people that named their cats after cartoon characters, or clowns, or drinks, or even ex-boyfriends! Where does your cat's name come from??

TT #63: black panther

Thirteen facts about the black panther My power animal is a black panther, that has been with me for as long as I can remember. Practically always when I'm in a meditation or journey she accompagnies me. Black panthers don't actually refer to any specific species of cats, but rather any large cat that is all-black in colouring. These cats possess a mutated gene, which causes melanism. Melanism is the trait that makes the cats' coat turn black. When people say black panthers, they are usually referring to black leopards, though it still depends on a specific area's use of the word Panther. Panther itself used to be a word to mean any large cat with a long tail, but has since then become a word to refer to any large black cat. Black panthers, whether of the jaguar or leopard species, are considered either threatened or endangered in various locations around the world. Leopards in Africa are considered endangered, while the leopards in South America are considered threatened or near threatened. There are fewer black panthers in these places than their normal kin, so they are considered endangered. On the other hand, black panthers in Asia are bigger in number than their normal-coloured kin, though both are still in either the endangered or threatened list. The better survival rate of black panthers in these locations may be because the black colouring helps them hide better in dimly lit jungle and forest habitats. Black panthers are born when the parents both have the melanistic trait in their genes, though in jaguars, one may be enough because it is a dominant gene in them. Black panthers can be born from two normal-colored cats, while a black panther can give birth to normal-coloured cubs. They usually have a smaller amount of cubs in a litter than their normal counterparts. This may be because of in-breeding. In-breeding also causes the black panthers to become temperamental and more skittish than the normal members of their species. This is also the reason why their lifespans and reproductive rate become shorter and smaller. Black panthers still share the same traits as the normal-coloured cats of their respective species. Black leopards, for example, still have leopard spots, only they are hidden by the blackness of the rest of their coat. Black jaguars are still stocky and heavily built. Their rosetta pattern spots are usually still slightly visible through their black coats. Like most cats, black panthers in general are graceful and agile on their feet, are fierce and excellent hunters, and vary in size from large to medium depending on their species. Black tigers, for example, are extremely large, while melanistic bobcats are relatively small. Black panthers are hunted down for their unique and beautiful fur because their pelt fetches a large sum in illegal trade. Sometimes, they are also hunted down because they threaten the livestock of the humans in the area. Black panthers are often found in captivity because they are very attractive to tourists and visitors. Some people even try to have them as a pet, but that's a very bad idea!! Not rarely deathly accidents happen when the cub grows older. The Black Leopard has a highly proven track record as a man eater. Black panthers are athletic creatures that can kill prey bigger than they are. They are excellent hunters and take advantage of their fur to sneak up on their prey better. A black panther can walk through a heard of cattle without being noticed – that's how good they are. They can usually run fast enough to chase prey across the jungle floor, though they prefer stalking and catching their prey off guard. Black panthers are excellent climbers and can also catch their prey by snagging them from trees. They can climb up a tree trunk at amazing speeds, and reach high places by jumping them leaping on the branches. The female black panther raises her cubs on her own after a pregnancy of about 90 to a hundred days. The litter ranges from about 2 to 3 cubs per litter. She trains her cubs to hunt at about 2 to 3 months old. Before then, she leaves them in a den or any secure hollow that can keep the cubs hidden from any possible predator. Cubs start their training by preying on lizards and larger insects. They only start to go after larger game at around 7 months old, when they get their permanent teeth. Female cubs leave their mothers at about two years old, but usually stay close to their mother's territory. In the fictional universe of the Forgotten Realms (a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game) Guenhwyvar is a magical black panther from the Astral Plane. Guenhwyvar weighs about 600 lb (272 kg). The panther was created by writer R.A. Salvatore, who named one of his own cats after the panther. The name Guenhwyvar is taken from the Welsh version of the name Guinevere, King Arthur's queen. Who doesn't know Bagheera, the black panther from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling? "Bagheera" is Hindi for leopard. Bagheera is one of Mowgli's mentors and shares in many of his adventures as he grows. In several adaptations of the story Bagheera is portrayed as female, since there are no major female characters in the original novel by Kipling. In Maugli (Russian film adaptation) it should be noted that she has three cubs, one black and two normally colored ones. In Disney's adaptation Bagheera the panther is male. The Panther, Leopard or Jaguar is a very ancient and powerful totem animal. It embodies aggressiveness and power but without solar influence. A Black Panther’s power is lunar. The Black Panther is endowed with great magic and power and this power will increasingly be experienced. People with a Panther totem have the ability to do a variety of tasks at the same time. They tend to be loners, very comfortable with themselves and are often drawn to other solitary people. Women with Panther totems often find themselves raising their children alone, whether it be through divorce or just circumstances of the job. Panther people can develop clairaudience, the ability to hear communications from other forms of life or dimensions. They should trust their thoughts and inner visions as they are based in reality. On YouTube I found this beautiful tribute to the black panther, a compilation of great pictures. If you search YouTube for "black panther" or "black leopard" you can see a lot more videos. sources: Beautiful Black Panthers, Lin's Domain, Wikipedia This is my current desktop wallpaper. Get it here. ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Candy Minx ~*~ Chelle Y. ~*~ Yuriko ~*~ pussreboots ~*~ Lori ~*~ Janet ~*~ Sandy ~*~ WorksForMom ~*~ The Gal Herself ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ Malcolm ~*~ Susan Helene ~*~ Lori ~*~ Joely Sue ~*~ SusieJ ~*~ Claudia ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Mitchypoo ~*~ Rae ~*~ Greatfullivin ~*~ 2boys2teach ~*~ Dallas Meow ~*~ Nicole ~*~ grace ~*~ MomG ~*~ Raggedy ~*~ amypalko ~*~ Xakara ~*~ Bloggers ~*~ Hootin'Anni ~*~ Alasandra ~*~ Kat ~*~ Tempest Knight ~*~ Ann Aguirre ~*~ Darla ~*~ Nap Warden ~*~ Holly ~*~ Sarah ~*~ Mama Pajama ~*~ Mark ~*~ Jean Marie ~*~ damozel ~*~ Sue ~*~ Gattina ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Empath

What Kind of Empath Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Shaman You are a Shamanic Empath. You are at one with nature and can speak with animal/plant life. Your powers come from the Sun & the Moon, and the elements. The weather moves with your mind and all of nature is at your beck and call. (from The Book of Storms by Jad Alexander) Shaman 95% Judge 90% Universal 85% Healer 85% Precog 75% Artist 65% Traveler 60% Fallen Angel 55%

found at Garnet's Place

Elements workshop Marian Green

Yesterday and part of today I attended another workshop by Marian Green in Amsterdam. The theme this time was "The Elements". That sounds like a very basic thing and in fact it is, but you can study the elements at several levels. Earth, air, fire, water and spirit go far beyond the well-known correspondences. This time we took it to a deeper level and it was very interesting! We did some exercises to experience things for ourselves and to make them clear. Saturday we ended with a beautiful guided meditation through the elements. I was too tired after a long day, but I'm definitely going to do it again.
We also looked a bit closer and deeper to the structure of a ritual. What we do, why, how, etc. Although everyone had ample experience with rituals we all learned new things, new perspectives.
Marian has so much knowledge to share and she does it in a very good and nice way. I feel privileged to be part of this studygroup. An outsider might say we just talk a lot, but I learned so much. I have a lot of new stuff to contemplate, great! I like food for thought. :-)

TT #62: symbols

Thirteen symbols I like After two weeks absence from TT I'm glad I'm back into the swing of it! This time I decided to share some symbols with you that are special to me. pentagram & pentacle (a pentagram enclosed within a circle is known as a pentacle) - the five points of the star represent spirit, earth, air, fire and water (or love, wisdom, knowledge, law and power). The pentagram faces point upward to symbolize the triumph of spirit over matter. For a more detailed look at the history and meaning of this symbol: The Pentagram. Chalice Well - This image graces the cover of the Chalice Well at Glastonbury, designed in the nineteenth century by archaeologist Bligh Bond. Crafted of wrought iron and wood, it depicts the Vesica Pisces, a symbol of the divine feminine, and Excalibur, the sword of the legendary King Arthur, who is believed by some to be buried at Glastonbury. For me it also stands for "as above so below" and the two worlds (spirit world and our world) intertwining. Ankh - The ancient Egyptian staff sign or god staff ankh, which was also the hieroglyph used to symbolize reproduction and sexual union. According to other sources it meant life and zest for life. Hathor, who was both the goddess of life and the goddess of death, carried it and gave life with it. This combination of male and female symbols (the cross and circle, see next item) in the ankh suggest fertility and creative power. The top loop also symbolises the sun on the horizon, and suggests reincarnation and rebirth. female & male - also stand for the planets Venus & Mars, or the moon's daughter & the sun's son. The female symbol has been described as representing the mirror of the goddess and femininity, but is most likely a variation of the ankh. Alchemically, the male symbol is also the symbol of iron, the metal used to fashion implements of war. Virgo - My zodiac sign is Virgo, the virgin. It heralds the end of summer and nearing of the harvest. Virgo has always been a symbol of fertility and a representation of the production of crops. Even in prehistoric times, this zodiac sign was perceived as both a mother and a virgin. According to some astrological sources, Virgo's original symbol was the Sphinx, mythological poser of riddles. Horus eye - Designed to resemble the eye of a falcon, this symbol is called the Eye of Ra or Eye of Horus and represents the eye of the Egyptian Falcon God Horus or Sun God Ra. It is believed to have healing and protective power, and was used as a protective amulet and as a medical measuring device (using the mathematical proportions of the eye to determine the proportions of ingredients in medical preparations) to prepare medications. heart - The heart does not appear in any established sign system. It is an anarchistic graph that has yet to find a place in any conventional sign system. Nonetheless it is well known throughout the Western world as a sign for togetherness or love, especially sexual love, making love, affection and so on. The arrowed heart is a modern sign for sexual love in general and for being in love, hurt by the arrow of Amor, without any negative meaning. Goddess & God - The Goddess is represented by the triple moon, the three aspects of the moon (waxing, waning, and full) and womankind (mother, maiden, crone), as well as the Lady, the feminine polarity of the universe. The God symbol is a stylized representation of the Horned God, who in Wicca represents the masculine polarity of the universe. The horned god is the archetypal horned Shaman, related to the ancient Gods of vegetation and the hunt: Greek Pan, the Celtic Cernunnos, and the Egyptian Ammon. YinYang - The yin yang is the easily recognized Taoist symbol of the interplay of forces in the universe. In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang represent the two primal cosmic forces in the universe. Yin (moon) is the receptive, passive, cold female force. Yang (sun) is masculine- force, movement, heat. The YinYang symbol represents the idealized harmony of these forces; equilibrium in the universe. In ancient Taoist texts, white and black represent enlightenment and ignorance, respectively. Celtic Tree - To the Celts, the tree was a source of basic sustenance- a bearer of food, a provider of shelter and fuel for cooking and warmth. Without trees, life would have been extraordinarily difficult. Trees were also a connection to the world of the spirits and the ancestors, living entities, and doorways into other worlds. lemniscate - the symbol for infinity. In the tarot, it represents the balance of forces and is often associated with the magician card. As far as time is concerned the most common similar medieval symbol is the snake biting its own tail, or the empty circle. It is as if the lemniscate represents a double endlessness or eternity. spiral - The spiral is probably the oldest symbol of human spirituality. It has been found scratched into rocks from thousands of years ago, on every continent in the world. In modern times, the spiral is still spiritually significant. It is the symbol of spirit and an emblem of the Goddess. septagram - the sevenpointed star, a continuously drawn figure having seven points. It is a sacred symbol to Wiccans who follow the Faery tradition, where it is called the Elven or Fairy Star. The septagram is also important in Western kabbalah, where it symbolizes the sphere of Netzach, the seven planets, the seven alchemical metals, and the seven days of the week. sources: Symbols.com and About.com ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Nap Warden ~*~ Sandee ~*~ Yuriko ~*~ Holly ~*~ busy91 ~*~ Janet ~*~ Chelle Y. ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Susan Helene ~*~ Joely Sue ~*~ Joyismygoal ~*~ Lori ~*~ Judy ~*~ Lara Angelina ~*~ Candy Minx ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ grace ~*~ rae ~*~ Yen ~*~ bloggers ~*~ Xakara ~*~ raggedy ~*~ Maria ~*~ Tempest Knight ~*~ Darla ~*~ Mo ~*~ Claudia ~*~ julia ~*~ Lisa ~*~ Sue ~*~ Gattina ~*~ Mitchypoo ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Samhain on the Brookberg

This weekend Wonder and I celebrated Samhain with the Children of the Circle on the Brookberg. We both needed it! Wonder is going through a rough time and I had to unload some major stress.
The lake always looks beautiful, but the colours of autumn were splendid. Bullocks were grazing. The surroundings always do me good, the peace and quiet calms me down. We put up the tent with the opening towards the lake.
The first round in the sweatlodge was hard on me. I couldn't surrender myself to the heat, but fighting it only makes it harder. I was thinking about quitting, but Wonder convinced me to do the other two rounds also and I'm glad he did. They went a lot better.
After dinner we wrote down things we want to let go and things we'd like to have (not material). We burned them in a big fire to let the fire transform the things we wanted to let go into positive energy to feed our wishes. Afterwards we went inside to complete the ritual. It was very very late when we finally went to bed.
The next morning after only a few hours of sleep (yawn!) we had breakfast together. We tidied up the space and put down the tent. I walked to the lake for the last time this weekend to say goodbye. I filled my bottle with water from the lake. I don't know why, i just had to. I guess I'll need it some time!

Samhain with the Witchy Girls

Yesterday I celebrated Samhain with the Witchy Girls. For this occasion we hired a scouting clubhouse in the neighbourhood. We decorated the main room and lit it by candles and the fireplace only; really beautiful! We put up an ancestor altar to honour those that have gone before. In front were three cauldrons and around it extra decorations. The corner looked great.
We set the dinner table for ourselves and our ancestors. We all had two sets of everything. In the middle were candles and decorations. It was a very plaesant and homey atmosphere. We each invited our own ancestors. I invited mum and dad.
We all contributed something to the dinner. I brought drinks and some snacks. We had pumpkin soup, a vegetarian salad and stew of pumpkin, beef & potatoes. Very yummy! For dessert we had tiramisu and pumpkin pie. Oh, the guilty pleasure! ;-)

Later in the evening we did a wonderful Samhain ritual outside. Together we set up the altar. I did the west, element water. On the four corners we had a candle in a big jar. We asked Hecate and Hades to guide us to our ancestors.
Each of us asked their ancestor(s) a question, the answer would be in divination. Some took a tarot card, others a rune. When I asked mum and dad for guidance, initially they stayed in the background. I felt someone else and was surprised to see it was Wonder's dad. He asked me to take a card for Wonder first. Then he disappeared and I felt someone else again. It was Ron's dad, asking me to take a card for Ron after that. And finally mum and dad gave me the third card. I took 3 cards, all major arcana! For Wonder I had the High Priestess, for Ron the Hermit and for myself the Chariot. (click the link to read the meaning)
After the cake & wine we closed the circle, cleared out the space and went inside. We drank and ate something and then it was time to say goodbye already.
A wonderful Samhain!