Author: ladyoftheabyss

Wishing You & Yours A Very Blessed & Joyous Ostara!

Ostara Comments

Great Gaia, Earth Mother
Now that Spring is upon us
Help us to reconnect once again
With the land below and the sky above
Help us to see the beauty that now begins
to surround us all
Let us appreciate all the gifts that now
await us
So we might live more fully
See more clearly
Breathe more deeply
Of all that is you
Thank you Great Gaia, Earth Mother
for bringing us through Your Wintery
Months and bringing the joy and
beauty that now awaits us in this
Season of Spring and Rebirth.

So Mote It Be.

Thank You All So Much for The Lovely Birthday Wishes!

Thank You Images

Thank you all for your wonderful birthday wishes, cards and email. It is has been mind blowing to say the least. I like to keep my birthdays quite. Some how this one leaked out, I wonder how, hmm….

It does my heart good to know that I am loved and appreciated. I have days just like everyone else were a little reminder is welcome. I appreciate everyone of you so much. You are my family and I love each of you.

After we get through doing today’s posts, Mystie has a party planned. She also told me that everyone pitched in an bought me a birthday gift. I can’t wait to see what it is. I know if it came from all of you I will love it.  You might need to watch me. I might hop, skip and jump over the dailys and run for the end, lol! I can’t help it, I am still a kid at heart.

It is great to be back. I hope you enjoyed meeting Lord Myst. He is bored right now so he will be around to something better comes along. No, seriously, I love him to pieces. He is a wonderful man. Now if I don’t hush and get to work, we won’t never get to have that party.

Thank you all again,

I love you,

Lady Of The Abyss

Today Is Your Day, Lady Abyss! Happy Birthday! We Love You!

Happy Birthday Images

We are celebrating this day as one of the best days of the year.

It is the birthday of a very special person who has been

a friend, philosopher, role model, guide and much more

importantly, one of the most caring individuals in our lives.

It’s you, Lady Abyss!

Wishing you a birthday full of much happiness, joy & love!

Happy Birthday, we love you,

Susan Randis
Shari Lenway
Kari Vela
Tabitha Rust
Alice Dilts
Dym Shiu
Leslie Same
Abe Parker
James Andrews
Andy Forrester
SpiritWolf
Barbara Fox
Brenda Martin
Becky Heflin
Don da Wan
Alexander Krueger
Petri Glasnovy
Peter Glassner
The Green Witch
Jerry Marshall
Frank Nance
Katlin Mercer
John Morris
Mistress of the Myst
Lord of the Myst
and
The Entire WOTC
 
Happy Birthday, Lady A!

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for March 19th

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

It has been written that an optimist is someone who can fall ten stories and call out to each floor in passing that everything is okay so far. It has also been said that an optimist is someone who refuses to see things as they really are.

It is far better, the pessimist believes, to look for the worst so as to be pleasantly surprised when things are better than expected. Then, if they are as bad as imagined, the disappointment won’t be quite so great.

But this is somewhat like backing into a rose so to avoid seeing the beauty of it, only to find it is an elevator shaft.

There can be no advancement where we expect the worst and believe that going outside the limits of ordinary thinking is only day dreaming. Thinkers, capable of forecasting and predicting answers before the questions arise, are in great demand.

Only the optimist can fill the bill. Only the optimist can dare to believe there are things waiting for discovery and further development.

An optimist questions life the same as a pessimist – the difference is that the optimist knows there is an answer and that the answer can be found. Optimists are aware that the cherries of life have pits, but they are prepared to remove them. Their minds do not dwell on the pits, but on the sweetness of the cherries.

There will be situations that will make us afraid. Fear is a common sense emotion that keeps us from walking in front of a moving car or from jumping off the deep end of anything. And there are periods of natural anxiety when we want too much to perform well, and the butterflies begin to flutter.

Then, there is another kind of fear that is unnatural. It has the ability to possess us and rule over our very lives. It is that “what if” fear that builds nests in our minds and hatches dire images that scare the daylights out of us. It can keep the lights off, the doors bolted, and the windows of our souls locked against the most beautiful things in life.

It is no disgrace in this day to ask for professional help in understanding our fears. Only the very foolish would consider this help a crutch. It is a brave person who admits the need for help and has the courage to go and find it.

They are the pioneers in recognizing our existence as threefold: spirit, mind, and body.

________________________________________

Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 19

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 19

“There’s a deep wound in people-that they have been so cut off from the source of their being, their mother, their Earth Mother.”

–Francis Story Talbott II (Medicine Story), WAMPANOAG

When we are connected to the Earth Mother, or when we are clear on our purpose, we will feel connected and safe. We will feel love. When we are disconnected from the Earth Mother, or we don’t know who we are or why we are, we will feel pain. It will be similar to a little child who has lost its Mother. We will hurt inside-we will be wounded within. If this happens to the whole community, the people will be very sad and lost. It will seem like there is death in the air. When this happens, it is time for ceremony and reconnection to God and Mother Earth. This is the time of prayer.

Great Mystery, today, help me to stay connected to the Earth and to You, my Creator.

March 19 – Daily Feast

March 19 – Daily Feast

Last autumn’s leaves have been dislodged from their wintering places to race north with the wind from the South – only to be turned and blown south again. They drift and dance on end, twirling and falling into deep piles to disintegrate in spring rains. Drifting with the wind is not a habit of nature alone. People with no goals, no aims, drift from one place to another in hopes that fate will put them in the right place at the right time. Fate is simply accepting what comes because nothing has been done to direct thought and action in any other way. If decisions are not made and goals are not set, the world will make them for us. The Cherokee calls this attitude go na ya, which translates to the same thing as “doing without.”

~ The problem with blending the Indian and European cultures is that the Indian is devoted to living and the European to getting. ~

JOHN ROSS McINTOSH

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

The Daily Motivator for March 19th – Start right away

Start right away

Careful and detailed planning is essential to any achievement, and yet the  planning is not the achievement. To achieve any goal you must act on it, and the  sooner you begin to act, the better.

The first thing to do is to do something. Instead of speculating, or  debating, or making excuses, or wondering, step forward and take action.

You cannot learn what works until you actually do some work. Begin, learn,  adjust, and continue acting with growing wisdom and experience until the goal is  reached.

Yes, you can benefit greatly from the experience of others. And the way to do  that is to continue adding your own experience to it.

If there’s something you intend to do, get started. If you don’t take the  first step immediately, it’s not really an intention but merely an empty  wish.

You are fully capable and fully deserving of the great, rewarding experience  of achievement. Start on it right away, right now, and bring that experience to  life.

— Ralph Marston

 

Source

The Daily Motivator

The Daily OM for March 19th – Flying Home

Flying Home
Free of Gravity

by Madisyn Taylor

 

We take flight mentally when we rise above our habitual ways of thinking about things and experience new insights.

As earthbound beings, humans have always had a fascination with winged creatures of all kinds. The idea of being able to spontaneously lift off from the earth and fly is so compelling to us that we invented airplanes and helicopters and myriad other flying machines in order to provide ourselves with the many gifts of being airborne. Flying high in the sky, we look down on the earth that is our home and see things from an entirely different perspective. We can see more, and we can see farther than we can when we’re on the ground. As if all this weren’t enough, the out-of-this-world feeling of freedom that comes with groundlessness inspires us to want to take flight again and again.

Metaphorically, we take flight whenever we break free of the gravity that holds us to a particular way of thinking or feeling or being. We take flight mentally when we rise above our habitual ways of thinking about things and experience new insights. This is what it means to open our minds. Emotionally, we take flight when the strength of our passion exceeds the strength of our blockages; the floodgates open and we are free to feel fully. Spiritually we take flight when we locate that part of ourselves that is beyond the constraint of linear time and the world of form. It is in this place that we experience the essential boundlessness that defines the experience of flight.

Taking flight is always about freeing ourselves from form, if only temporarily. When we literally fly, in a plane or on a hang glider, we free ourselves from the strength of gravity’s pull. As we open our minds and our hearts, we free ourselves from habitual patterns of thought and emotional blockages. As we remember our true nature, we free ourselves from identification with the temporary state of our physical forms. The more we stretch our wings, the clearer it becomes that taking flight is a state of grace that simply reminds us of who we really are.

Source

The Daily OM

Ostara Incense

Ostara Incense

Recipe by Scott Cunningham

2 parts Frankincense 1 part Benzoin 1 part Dragon’s Blood 1/2 part Nutmeg 1/2 part Violet flowers (or a few drops Violet oil) 1/2 part Orange peel 1/2 part Rose petals

Burn during Wiccan rituals on Ostara (the Spring Equinox, which varies from March 20th to the 24th each year), or to welcome the spring and refresh your life.

(The above recipe for “Ostara Incense” is directly quoted from Scott Cunningham’s book: “The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews”, page 83, Llewellyn Publications, 1992.)

 

Source

Ostara Lore

Researched and Compiled by StormWing

Natural Oestara Eggs

Natural Oestara Eggs

by Ariadne

Natural egg-dying is like recycling. It takes a li’l bit longer to do, but gives you that Oh-Im-soooooo-WC (witchly correct) feeling.

Cover your plant material (see list below) with about 3 inches of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until the color looks good. You’ll probably have to let the eggs sit in the dye overnight, so if you’re planning more than one color per egg, start this a few days before Oestara. Experimenting is half the fun, but here are some hints to get you started:

Yellows- daffodil petals, saffron, turmeric, onion skins Blues- blueberries, red cabbage leaves & vinegar Greens-broccoli, coltsfoot Pinks- cochineal, madder root Browns – walnut shells, tea, coffee

Wanna get fancy? Gather some small leaves, ferns, flowers and grasses. Dip them in water (to help them stick) and press them onto your eggs. Wrap each egg in a piece of cut up pantyhose and secure it with a twist tie before dyeing. When you remove the flower or leaf, it’s design will appear (either in white or in your first dye-color). Rub your finished eggs with a tiny bit of vegetable oil on a soft cloth to shine them.

Too hard?? No hosiery??? Okay, try using crayons to draw spirals and pentagrams on the eggs before dying them.

Now, plan a fertility ritual for your garden. Bury an Oestara egg in the east corner of your garden, or one egg for each direction, or dig an entire circle for them (depends on how much you hate egg-salad).

 

Source:

Ostara Lore

Researched and Compiled by StormWing

Ostara Lore

Ostara Lore

 

Ostara (pronounced “O-STAR-ah”) is one of the Lesser Wiccan Sabbats and is celebrated on the Spring Equinox, most often March 21st, but varies somewhat from the 20th to the 23rd. The variance, as with all Solar festivals, is due to the differences between the actual astronomical event and our calendar, so be sure to check the calendar each year.

Other names this Sabbat is also called by are the Vernal Equinox or the Spring Equinox, Oestara, Eostre’s Day, Rite of Eostre, Equinozio della Primavera (Aridian Strega), Alban Eiber (Caledonii Tradition or the Druids), Bacchanalia, Festival of the Trees, and Lady Day. Christians celebrate their holiday – Easter – near this same time and it is based on basically the same principles as ours in the Old Religion. Easter is actually determined in a very Pagan manner… it is always the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox.

This Sabbat is a time to celebrate the arrival of Spring, when light and darkness are in balance but the light is growing stronger. The forces of masculine energy and feminine energy are also in balance and this day marks paves the way for the coming lushness of Summer. Ostara is a time for the celebration of fertility and balance, a time when all elements within and without us are brought into harmony. A time of new life and rebirth, as well as the end of Winter.

Symbols used to represent Ostara include the egg (for fertility and reproduction) and the hare (for rebirth and resurrection), the New Moon, butterflies and cocoons. Symbolically, many Pagans choose to represent Ostara by the planting of seeds, potted plants, ringing bells, lighting new fires at sunrise, either in the fireplace (if the weather us still cold enough), in the the cauldron, or light a balefire (if outdoors). I always give myself a gift of a newly potted plant or take a seed and plant it within my cast Circle. Ritually, a fire may be lit in the cauldron during (not before) the rite itself. You may want to decorate your altar with a colorful bouquet of Spring wildflowers. Other traditional activities include working on magickal gardens and practicing all forms of herbal work — magickal, artistic, medicinal, culinary, and cosmetic.

Here is a traditional Vernal Equinox pastime according to Scott Cunningham: go to a field and randomly collect wildflowers. Thank the flowers for their sacrifice before picking them and it is also best to leave an offering to the plant and/or the Earth for taking the flowers, such as some milk and honey, a small crystal or even a coin. Or, buy some from a florist, taking one or two of those that appeal to you. Then bring them home and divine their magickal meanings by the use of books, your own intuition, a pendulum or by other means. The flowers you’ve chosen reveal your inner thoughts and emotions. A particular suggestion from Scott Cunningham that I really enjoy each year is to do the following… at this time in the turn of the Wheel of the Year, when all things are green and renewed life is all around us, it is a very good idea to plan a walk (or a ride) through gardens, a park, woodlands, forest and other green places. This is not simply for exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn’t even just an appreciation of Nature. You should make your walk celebratory, a ritual for Nature itself. Other Pagan activities may include the planting of your herb and/or vegetable garden.

Another very popular Ostara activity is decorating and coloring or dying hard-boiled eggs – or other eggs such as wooden or paper mache (I call them “Ostara Eggs”), and drawing Pagan and magickal symbols on the colored eggs. You could then choose to either keep the eggs, bury them in the Earth or cast them into a fire as offerings to the Goddess – the choice is yours. If I use hard- boiled eggs, I usually bury them in the Earth when the ritual is over, but – alternately – here is my personal choice… I usually make my eggs from the paper mache ones (the cost factor comes in to play here, they are a LOT cheaper than the wooden ones, but the wooden ones are much smoother). I buy them at the local craft store (such as Hobby Lobby). These eggs can be reused next year and you can even add new ones to the old, if you like. The first thing I do is paint them each a different color – whatever shade strikes me – whether it be dull, bright, pastel, or primary. Then I use gold and silver paint pens to draw Pagan designs and magicakl symbols all over them. You may opt to use other color combinations. It is entirely up to your personal choice. I have one egg that is totally covered with interconnected triangles (Triple Goddess), a couple with pentagrams and God and Goddess symbols, some with words written in Theban script, etc. Just let your imagination take you there – it’s a lot of fun!

Appropriate Deities for Ostara include all Youthful and Virile Gods and Goddesses, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, Love Goddesses, Moon Gods and Goddesses, and all Fertility Deities. Some Ostara Deities to mention by name here include Persephone, Blodeuwedd, Eostre, Aphrodite, Athena, Cybele, Gaia, Hera, Isis, Ishtar, Minerva, Venus, Robin of the Woods, the Green Man, Cernunnos, Lord of the Greenwood, The Dagda, Attis, The Great Horned God, Mithras, Odin, Thoth, Osiris, and Pan.

Key actions to keep in mind during this time in the Wheel of the Year include openings and new beginnings. Spellwork for improving communication and group interaction are recommended, as well as fertility and abundance. Ostara is a good time to start putting those plans and preparations you made at Imbolc into action. Start working towards physically manifesting your plans now. The most common colors associated with Ostara are lemon yellow, pale green and pale pink. However, also appropriate colors include grass green, all pastels, Robin’s egg blue, violet, and white. Stones to use during the Ostara celebration include aquamarine, rose quartz, and moonstone. Animals associated with Ostara are rabbits and snakes. Mythical beasts associated with Ostara include unicorns, merpeople, and pegasus. Plants and herbs associated with Ostara are crocus flowers, daffodils, jasmine, Irish moss, snowdrops, and ginger. For Ostara incense, you could make a blend from any of the following scents or simply choose one… jasmine, frankincense, myrrh, dragon’s blood, cinnamon, nutmeg, aloes wood, benzoin, musk, African violet, sage, strawberry, lotus, violet flowers, orange peel, or rose petals.

Foods in tune with this day (linking your meals with the seasons is a fine way of attuning with Nature) include eggs, egg salad, hard-boiled eggs, honey cakes, first fruits of the season, fish, cakes, biscuits, cheeses, honey and ham. You may also include foods made of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts. Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. From Scott Cunningham: flower dishes such as stuffed nasturtiums or carnation cupcakes also find their place here. (Find a book of flower cooking or simply make spice cupcakes. Ice with pink frosting and place a fresh carnation petal on each cupcake. Stuff nasturtium blossoms with a mixture made of cream cheese, chopped nuts, chives and watercress.) Appropriate Ostara meat dishes should contain fish or ham.

May the Lord and Lady bless you all with fertility, abundance, success, and all things new!

 

Source:

Ostara Lore

Researched and Compiled by StormWing

Humor for the Day – ‘Circle Etiquette’

Circle Etiquette

 

Never summon Anything you can’t banish.

Never put asafetida on the rocks in the sweat lodge.

Do not attempt to walk more than 10 paces while wearing all of your ritual jewelry, dream bags and crystals at the same time.

When proposing to initiate someone, do not mention the Great Rite, leer, and say, “Hey, your trad or mine?”

Never laugh at someone who is skyclad. They can see you, too.

Never, ever set the Witch on fire.

Looking at nifty pictures is not a valid path to mastering the ancient grimoires. Please read thoroughly and carefully from beginning to end so that your madness and gibberings will at least make some sense.

A good grasp of ritual and ritual techniques are essential! In the event of a random impaling, or other accidental death amongst the participants, (see next rule) a quick thinker can improvise to ensure successful completion of the Rite. Make them another sacrifice, Demons like those.

Watch where you wave the sharp pointy items.

Avoid walking through disembodied spirits.

Carry an all purpose translators dictionary in case the ritual leader begins talking in some strange and unknown language.

Avoid joining your life force to anything with glowing red eyes.

If asked to sign a contract or pact and you are experiencing doubts or reservations, sign your neighbors name. Malevolent entities rarely ask for photo ID.

Blood is thicker than water. Soak ritual garments an extra 30-45 minutes.

While drunken weaving may be mistaken for ecstatic dancing, slurring the names of Deities is generally considered bad form.

 

Source:

The Cauldron

Daily Feng Shui Tip for March 19th – ‘Saint Joseph’s Day’

Today is ‘Saint Joseph’s Day’ and I’m reminded of the many anecdotes regarding people having real estate success by calling on him. The legend goes that burying a statue of Saint Joseph upside down in the front yard will unearth a new buyer, resulting in a satisfying sales contract. If you’re currently trying to sell real estate and think you can use a cosmic assist, go ahead bury a small statue of St. Joseph head down in the ‘Helpful People’ area (front right-hand corner of your yard) and then keep the faith. Can I get an Amen?

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Charm for March 19th is Taurus The Bull

Your Charm for Today

Taurus The Bull

 

Today’s Meaning:   

This aspect of your life will be strongly influenced by a person who is patient, reliable, warmhearted, loving, persistent, determined, placid and security loving. This is a person you respect.

General Description:

Second sign of the Zodiac, April 21st to May 22nd. Ruling planet Venus; correct metal Copper. Those born under Taurus were thought to be endowed with mental and physical strength, strong minded, clever, fearless and emotional. The correct Taurus gem is the Sapphire. The sapphire is of a deep blue color, and the darker the blue the greater its value. The ancients wore Sapphire charms for protection from poison, plague, fever, diseases of the skin, and to bring peace and happiness upon its wearer. The eyes were rubbed by a Sapphire to preserve them from injury by smallpox. King Solomon’s seal is said to have been a Sapphire

Your Animal Spirit for March 19th is The Coyote

Your Animal Spirit for Today

Coyote

Taking yourself too seriously? If you are, Coyote will throw a banana peel in your tracks just to see you take a silly spill. Coyote medicine is Trickster medicine—the practical joker, the chaos maker. If Coyote appeared in your reading today, be ready for a curveball thrown in your direction. Remember, though, Coyote uses the bizarre to help us learn lessons we just can’t seem to get any other way.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for March 19th is The Golden Egg

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Golden Egg

The Golden Egg denotes the opportunity for substantial material gains. However, the Golden Egg is also a reminder that unmanaged greed ensures what gains are made will be lost.

As a daily card, The Golden Egg suggest that the prospects for you to increase your financial wealth are very strong today. Seize whatever opportunities come your way, but don’t ride them too long or you may find yourself no better off than you were before they came along.