Freedom is Never Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.

—-Kelly Strong
Memorial Day Tributes

Monday is Ruled by the Moon

This day of the week is dedicated to the moon and all of her magic and mystery. Mondays are for women’s mysteries, illusion, prophetic dreaming, emotions, travel, and fertility. Some suggestions for Monday enchantments would include:

Getting outside and looking for the moon in the heavens. Sit under her light and absorb a little glamour.

Call on the moon goddess Selene for practical help in magical issues.

Invoking the god Thoth for wisdom and insight

Empowering your silver jewelry under the light of the moon. Wear moonstone or pearl jewelry today to add a lunar and magical shimmer to your outfit.

Be mysterious and subtle and wear moon-associated colors such as white, silver, and blue.

Working spells for safe travel with a simple moonstone

Gathering bluebells, jasmine, gardenias, or white roses to create a little garden witchery with the flowers that are associated with the moon

Setting up a lunar Tarot spell today to increase your psychic powers

Eating a lunar fruit such as a melon to be healthy, serene, and at peace

Brewing up a cup of chamomile or mint tea and enchanting it for sweet dreams and restful sleep

Monday Is A Day of Witchery, Magick and Enchantment

Think for a moment on all of the witchery, magick and enchantments that you have discovered. Don’t be afraid to adjust spells to suit your own specific needs. Any gentle, illusory, and dreamy charms and spells can be enhanced when you work on the day of the week that is dedicated to the moon. Mondays are a fantastic day to boost your psychic abilities and to tune in to your intuition and empathy. It also gives you the opportunity to work with a different lunar phase each and every Monday, which means in one month you could work four different types of moon magicks on Mondays. How’s that for adding to your repertoire? You are going to have mad skills in no time at all.

So light up those lunar scented candles and add a little mystique to your outfit by wearing an enchanting lunar color. Wear your sparkling silver jewelry and maybe add a pair of dangling silver earrings or a pendant shaped like a crescent moon. Create lunar potions and philters; make a dream catcher and give it as a gift to someone you love. Burn some sandalwood or jasmine-scented incense today to inspire the glamour and magick of the moon. Slice up a favorite variety of fruit that is in season for a snack or share it with your love and enjoy his or her lunar and romantic qualities. Brew up a cup of chamomile tea, enchant it with a little moon magick, and relax and get a good night’s sleep.

Most importantly, get outside tonight and watch the moon for a while. What phase is she in? What color was the moon as she rose? Why not start a journal and write down at what location the moon rises and sets for a few seasons? This is a great way to teach you to tune in and to become more aware of the moon and the influence that she pulls into our lives. Try calling on Selene for her magickal assistance, and call Thoth for wisdom and strength. Get to know the Norse Mani and the Latvian Meness. These gods of the moon have plenty to teach, and if you allow their influence to cycle through your life, you’ll receive many blessings. Be imaginative, and create your own personal lunar magick and witchery. Go on….the moonlight becomes you.

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Honor Our Military

Let’s honor our military,
The men and women who serve,
Whose dedication to our country
Does not falter, halt or swerve.

Let’s respect them for their courage;
They’re ready to do what’s right
To keep America safe,
So we can sleep better at night.

Let’s support and defend our soldiers,
Whose hardships are brutal and cruel,
Whose discipline we can’t imagine,
Who follow each order and rule.

Here’s to those who choose to be warriors
And their helpers good and true;
They’re fighting for American values;
They’re fighting for me and you.

By Joanna Fuchs
PoemSource.com