Tag: Christmas

Calendar of the Sun for December 16th

Calendar of the Sun

Carista – Day of Peace in the Family

Color: Lavender
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a lavender cloth set a tray of cakes shaped like clasping hands, and many cups full of hot tea.
Offerings: Promise to attempt to be more considerate of those you live with.
Daily Meal: Any food, but it must be served from one great plate for every table, and it should not be in separate portions.

Carista Invocation

May there be Peace in this house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Peace can be a hard mistress.
The daily round of the ordinary,
The simple turn of day and night and day
The presence of the same souls
Can come to be like a shadow on the sun,
And yet Peace still demands
That we find a way to move past
That ordinariness
And all the thousand thorns and briars
And bring Peace into the house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Take the hand of your sister, your brother,
The one who shares your roof, your table,
The ground you walk on,
Whose feet know the boards as well as your own,
And swear to find a way
To bring peace into the space between you.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)

Chant:
My brother, my heart, my sister, my soul;
My family, my life, come in from the cold;
My sister, my heart, my brother, my soul;
My family, my life, that makes this life whole.

(Instead of a ritual, this period of time should be used to mediate and address problems between members of the community, with emphasis on peacemaking and compromise and useful solutions. At the end of the meeting, all share cakes and tea.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Good Sunday Morning or Good Sunday Afternoon, dear friends and family!

Just picture the above being a woman’s hand greeting you. I had to find something humorous to keep you from being angry with me.  I got a last minute call this morning from Lady A wanting to know if I could do the daily posts today.  She couldn’t get ahold of the Countess and I was next in line (or last in line, whichever way you way to look at it).  Lady A was on her way to meet someone in Missouri. She received a phone call from an individual in Colorado about taking a momma wolf and her pups. Of course, Lady was in the truck and off. Her husband, another man and Lady made the trip. I know how bad Lady A has wanted another wolf dog since the passing of her beloved Mocha. She wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for nothing in the world. I hope they have a safe trip and Lady A finally finds the pup she has been looking for so long.

Lady A is off, the Countess can’t be found (which is nothing unusual for her) so you are stuck with me. You lucky, dogs, lol!

Have a blessed Sunday,

Annie

More Hello Comments

To think this candle can be snuffed out as quickly as a child’s life is a horrible and terrifying thought.

What has gone wrong with the world? I just read on MSN about the shootings at the Elementary School in Connecticut. Words can not describe how I feel right now. I have children of my own and I truly grieve with the parents that lost children this awful day.

This is suppose to be the most joyous time of the year. But yet we have a gunman go into an Elementary school and kill our children. Can you imagine those poor little children? Oh, Goddess, it is a horrible image. Their little lives cut so short. So much hope and potential for the future passed on this day. There is no reason to ask why nor should anyone look for a reason. For someone to do such an act, they have to be out of their mind. Crazy or not even have a mind at all, a Monster is the only word I can think of to describe this type of person. But the killer should not be remembered. For this is why he did such a horrible act for fame, glory and most of all to be remembered. Instead, we should forget about him and focus on those who need us most right now. The parents, husbands, wives, family and friends who lost their loved ones today.

There pain and grief consumes me. I can feel their emotions so strongly. It is as if I had lost a child of my own. How does anyone ever heal from the lost of a child? Is it possible? Especially at Yule and Christmas. There are their presents waiting to be opened. Mom and Dad watching as they come down the stairs to see what Santa had brought. Their eyes twinkling with delight when they open their presents. All of that taken away from these parents by a lone gunman. Why pick on our innocent children? Because they are so defenseless and trusting. What do we have to do in this country to keep such tragedies from reoccurring?

Tonight the town in Connecticut along with the entire country mourns the lost of these young souls. We have no words of comfort. Nothing will ease their pain, not even time. The loss of a child is simply unbearable. No parent should ever have to burying their own child. I can’t imagine their heartbreak nor what they must be experiencing. Such loss, such emptiness, the lives of the young and innocent cut so, so short.

Goddess, grant these parents peace,

I know if is hard for them to find it at this time.

But grant them Your Love and Comfort at this

their hour of need.

Give them the knowledge their children have

left this old cruel world and gone to a much

brighter and happier place. A place they will

be with their Eternal Mother.

Take away the parents and families heavy

hearts, remind them though their loss be great,

we will all meet again one day.

One day in Your Glorious Love and Light, we

will all reunite. All sorrows shall be forgotten,

all heavy hearts mended.

For that day, tears will be no more,

but sounds of laughter and love will

fill the Summerlands.

Goddess, grant them peace and let

them know they are not alone.

All of our heart are heavy and bear

their sorrow.

So Mote It Be.

More Candles Comments

Wishing You & Yours A Very Lovely & Beautiful Wednesday!

I don’t think I will be getting anything this year for Yule according to this, lmao! I seen no harm in starting the day off with a funny. It gets us off to a good start. I believe I gave Lady A and Annie a good start to their day. I came in this morning at my usual time of 7 am sharp. On the desks, I saw two heaps of what (I don’t really know how to describe it). Both of the objects looked like long silk worms that were big enough to take up the entire desk. One of them were flannel and the other a camo one. Of course I knew it was Lady A and Annie. They were just so funny looking. All squished up were they could fit on the desk. You couldn’t see their heads or anything. When I opened the door I apparently woke the babies that were sleeping with them up. You could see little knots moving around under the sleeping bags. Lady A kept telling them to lay down and go back to sleep, it wasn’t time to get up. I woke over to her real quiet and said, “Wake up, little rosebud! Wakey, Wakey!” She almost jumped through her sleeping bag. She asked me what the heck I was doing here. I told her it was time to go to work. Through all this Annie was still sleeping. I walked over to her and started tickling her face. She would swat at my hand and miss. I did this two or three times, she finally woke up. She had a few choice words for me, lol!

After getting the two sleeping beauties up, we decided Lady A needed to go home and take a shower. The skunks have an odor about them. If they rub on you, you get that odor. So she went home. And I am now stuck with Annie. I see this is going to be an interesting day. She is asleep at her desk. I have thoughts running through my head on ways I could wake her up. But it is rather peaceful in here and I believe I will let sleeping dogs lay, lol!

Have a very beautiful and lovely Wednesday,

Kathleen

More Funny Christmas Comments

A Little Humor For Your Day – Oreo Cookie Divination

Oreo™ Cookie Divination

Casting

You will need a package of Oreo Cookies … the cheap imitation sandwich cookies are an insult to the Goddess! … enough for everyone to have at least three. Milk is good, but optional.

  • Take a cookie in your hand.
  • Ask the cookie a question. A “yes or no” question is best.
  • Put your intent on the cookie, e.g. hold the cookie in your left hand, cover it with your right, and hold it for 13 seconds.
  • Using both hands, take the cookie apart (straight pull or twisting deosil), with one side in the left hand and one side in the right.

Reading the “creme filling”

  • If the creme filling is full on the right side cookie, the answer is “yes”, or a positive outcome, or wish will come true.
  • If the creme filling is full on the left side cookie, the answer is “no”, or negative outcome, or wish won’t come true.
  • If the creme is mostly on the right, the answer would be mainly positive.
  • Vise versa on the left cookie.
  • If the creme is on both cookies in a pattern, shape, split, chunks falling off, etc, you may interpret the creme filling in however manner you feel comfortable with.

You can also interpret the creme as moon phases: The full creme on right side is full moon, left side new moon….different  phases can be  interpreted by different splits in the creme. There are many other possible ways to interpret these cookies.  Go with what feels right for you.

Grounding

Of course, you must eat the cookie afterward to honor the Goddess.  If you want to dunk your cookie, do so after the divination.  Mushy cookies don’t separate well.

6 Tips for Less Stress & More Joy This Season

6 Tips for Less Stress & More Joy This Season

The clock is ticking toward the holidays, and  two very different feelings  are flashing on your emotional news feed:  impending joy and impending doom.

OK, maybe doom is overstating it; dread may be closer to the mark.  But let’s  face it, many of us are finding ourselves up at 3:00 in the  morning checking  our to-do lists and reviewing incessantly the parade of  possible catastrophes:  “Will my brined turkey be a disaster?” “Will  everyone be happy with their  gifts?” “How much weight (and debt) am I  going to gain?” “What if my family  doesn’t get along?” “What if I’m not  ready?” “What if I totally fail?!” Wait,  are we preparing for the  holidays — or final exams?

It doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s time to change our relationship with the holidays. We don’t have  to  break up with them, but just know that as with all things anxiety,  the holidays  aren’t the problem; it’s the story in our head about the  holidays that needs to  change.

So, don’t gather up the mistletoe or menorahs, waiting for that  starting gun  to say: “On your mark, get set, stress!” Instead, put down  the supplies, take  off your running shoes, and change your expectations.

The holidays are not a control-freak boss or a mother-in-law poised  with a  perfection-sensor critiquing your every move — more likely,  you’re doing that  number on yourself. The holidays are an opportunity —  your opportunity — to  acknowledge and celebrate in the ways that you  would like.

So, this year, give a gift to yourself. Be daring. Choose how you  want to  celebrate this season. Yes, you do have many choices in the  matter. Whether  that’s a tailgating party, a marathon family reading of The Hobbit,  or  the more traditional hot cider in front of the fire, don’t let the  anxious  chatter — “You should, you must, you’ve failed!” — ruin it for  you. Find your  own meaning, there are no right or wrong answers. If  it’s real to you, it’s  real.

Here are six ways to help you have more joy and less stress this holiday  season:

Get Specific and Fact-Check Your Worry

If the mantra in your head is: “I have to make this the most perfect  holiday  ever,” it’s time to release yourself from the impossible. The  constant worry  that this thought generates is sure to distract you — if  not derail you — from  enjoying what is. Take a minute and on one side  of a piece of a paper write  down what your worries are about the  holidays. Your worst picture of what could  go wrong. Then, on the other  side of the page, write down your answers to a  different question: What  do you think will actually happen? Or, put another  way: The next  morning, how do you think things will have actually turned out?  Pick up  the paper and read it from time to time, then notice what happens in   your body when you read your answers to those second questions. It’s  like  someone unplugged you from the stress machine and you’ve tapped  into the truth.  Make sure there’s room for reality in your head and at  your holiday table.

Don’t Script, Live

If you back up and look at the most cherished moments from holiday  times in  the past — the raucous game of charades or football, the quiet  moment when  everyone was happily entertaining themselves in the living  room while the snow  was falling out the window. What happened before those moments? It  wasn’t that anyone said, “Hey, let’s make memories  here — let’s all sit in the  living room and occupy ourselves  contentedly, okay?” Things just evolved. So as  much as it is great to  have plans and ideas, flexibility, spontaneity and being  open to what  might happen provide the greatest possibilities.

Let the Mistakes Be… New Traditions?

Forgot the cranberry sauce? Maybe a guest has a great idea for how to   innovate an alternative. Miscounted the spaces at the table? A  Christmas picnic  or a lighthearted impromptu game of musical chairs  before sitting for dinner  might be the memory that sticks for people —  and may give birth to a new  tradition.

One holiday bonding experience happened one year when we were hosting   Christmas dinner for friends and discovered that our kitchen had a  mouse. We  called our friends and asked if we could bring food to their  house and cook  there. The last-minute change, the pulling together in a  pinch, solidified our  friendship. Mistakes and glitches are often the  shortest distance between two  people if you have the right spirit about  it.

Pace Yourself and Schedule in Down-Time

Having a week off for the holidays can feel like winning the lottery:  You’re  flush with time and yet, like winning the lottery, when you  start divvying up  the pot of who is going to get what– or, in holiday  break terms, who you’re  going to see when — you may end up feeling  broke, with nothing left for you.  Rather than end winter vacation  feeling like you need a vacation, do what  marathoners do. Pace yourself.  Schedule in some coasting time. Would you like  to sit and read the  paper (or similar) once during the holidays? Put it in your  calendar.  Block out the time and enjoy. Repeat when possible.

Finding Joy: Savoring the Moment

I like to think about the one thing that I want to notice during the   holidays. Yes, I know I’m scripting it ahead, but bear with me — my  ability to  live in a clutch-free or cling-free manner of zen  present-centeredness is still  under construction. For me, it’s noticing  that moment at the holiday table when  everyone is contentedly eating and  conversation is flowing and my only wish is  exactly what I am  experiencing right then. Sometimes that picture doesn’t  happen, and  something else happens that hits that spot. Be on the look out for  that  one moment where you stop worrying about what’s next and you’re   thoroughly savoring what is.

Turn the Focus Outward: Help Others

Anxiety and worry turn the focus inward — the critic in your head  has a  strong bias toward “that’s not good enough.” Unplug that  microphone, get out of  the spotlight and focus on others: Volunteer time  if you’ve got it, contribute  if you don’t. It doesn’t have to be a pot  of gold, donating clothing or canned  goods can make a great difference  to a family in need.

So this year, forego the worry and give yourself more breathing room. In  so  doing, you will give joy, gratitude, and contentedness a wider berth  to find  their way into your life for the holidays and beyond.

Copyright Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety (DaCapo, 2012).