Pagan Events – Aug. 17 thru 19 – Brushwood’s Women Weekend

Brushwood Women’s Weekend
The following was taken from their Facebook page. You can either check it out yourself for more info or visit their website, http://www.brushwood.com/

Brushwood Women’s Weekend

Public Event · By Brushwood Folklore Center LLC

Sherman, NY

Friday, August 19, 2011

Brushwood Folklore Center, 8881 Bailey Hill Road
Aug 19-21, 2011
$50 (overnight camping and Tea included)BRUSHWOOD HIGH TEA!!!
(limit 60)

SATURDAY EVENING CONCERT
*Telling Point – “Tribal Rock” –

http://www.tellingpointmusic.com/

WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES
*Women’s Sweat Lodge – Orientation Friday evening!
*Women’s Fire Circles
*Salted Silk
*Reikki
*Prayer Beads
*Drumming
*Hand and Foot Massage
*Opening and Closing Circles
*Movie
*Wagon Rides, Hiking Trails, Pool, Showers, Hot Tub, and more…
Watch for updates!

August 2 – Daily Feast

August 2 – Daily Feast

It is not easy to forget the hours we spent as children along some sparkling stream – and there were more sparkling streams then. It is not hard to remember every sound that carried up the creek, how the fishing was, and how it tasted fresh from the water and cooked in an old tin skillet over an open fire. There were a nv s tsigi, violet flowers, blooming in clusters along the banks – and poison ivy we had to avoid – and didn’t always. A cardinal sang a fishing song and the sound of oars dipped in warm water with a soft splish-splash. Bugs, like people on water-skis, slipped over the surface of water. And as we passed, tsisdvna, crawfish backed into holes in the mud. Every moment was a thing of joy and knocks softly on our minds today when the need for solitude is there.

~ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night….the breath of a buffalo in the winter time….a little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. ~

CROWFOOT, 1821

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

33 sick in 7 states from salmonella in beef

33 sick in 7 states from salmonella in beef

By JoNel Aleccia, NBC News

At least 33 people are sick, including 11 hospitalized, from salmonella-tainted ground beef linked to nearly 30,000 pounds of recalled hamburger on Sunday.

People in seven states have been infected with salmonella Enteritidis linked to beef produced by Cargill Meat Solutions of Wyalusing, Pa., officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

The 85-percent lean ground beef was produced on May 25.

Ill people include 14 in New York, 10 in Vermont, three in Massachusetts, two in Virginia and New Hampshire and one in Maine, the CDC said.

Illnesses began in early June. Those that occurred after June 29 might not yet be reported because of the lag in time between when illness occurs and when it’s documented.

Cargill officials recalled 29,339 pounds of meat, packaged in 14-pound chubs, after the outbreak was detected. Federal officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service linked the beef to five infected patients.

Consumers should check their freezers for recalled products and discard them. The recalled meat bears the establishment number “EST.9400” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Paganistan Weekly; July 30- August 5

Paganistan Weekly; July 30- August 5

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Twin Cities Pagans

It’s just one more week until Sacred Harvest Festival, August 6-12; http://harmonytribe.org/content/sacred-harvest-festival-2012-our-fifteenth-year

At Sacred Harvest Festival in 2008, I participated in a ritual known as The Sacred Hunt. It is a powerful and transformational ritual. I hunted for community. When I returned from the festival, I began developing the community Calendar at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/

In order to promote the Yahoo group, I began putting out this newsletter. My goal was never to publish a newsletter, but rather to promote the Yahoo group, but one thing led to another, and here we are four years later, and the newsletter is still going. Putting out the newsletter just keeps getting to be more and more of a hassle, so after Yule of this year, I am stopping. I will continue updating the Yahoo group, but I will no longer be publishing this newsletter.

I accept that many people rely on this newsletter to stay informed, but 667 of you are already staying informed as members of the Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwinCitiesPagans/

Good Monday Morning, My Dear & Blessed Friends!

Celtic & British Isles Graphics

Goddess My Shield, My Encircler

Goddess my shield, my encircler,
Each day, each night, each dark, each light.
Goddess my shield, my encircler,
Each day, each night, each dark, each light.
In my lying, in my standing,
In my watching, in my sleeping.
Goddess be my strength everlasting.

So Mote It Be.

 

Magickal Graphics

Good Friday To All My Dear Friends!

Good Friday Morning/Afternoon to all of you! I hope you are having a very blessed day.  I am sorry I am running late but there is no rest for the wicked, lol! Every time I say that my husband looks at me and asks, “what have you been up too?” That just happens to be one of my favorite sayings. I am not a wicked or evil person. But when you work your butt off and people come along leave crap on the floor or make a mess. It seems these people are trying to push you to the edge, turn you wicked. Does that make any sense? I am sure it does to those who have picked up a living room. Then have two grown men come in and mess it. I blew a gasket last night with both of their butts. I told them if they do it again, I was going to beat them with a wet noodle.

Anyway, you might be wondering what the little farm girl has to do with witchcraft. Nothing, lol! It has to do with me. I am running late because I had some chores to do. Hmm, that reminds me of a song that will tell my story, and oh, woe is me, it is ……………

Green acres is the place for me.

Farm livin’ is the life for me.

Land spreadin’ out so far and wide

Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.

New York is where I’d rather stay.

I get allergic smelling hay.

I just adore a penthouse view.

Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.

…The chores.

…The stores.

…Fresh air.

…Times Square

You are my wife.

Good bye, city life.

Green Acres we are there.

Green Acres Lyrics by Vic Mizzy

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/greenacreslyrics.html

Daily Motivator for April 25th – Keep moving

Keep moving

When your efforts bring the results you seek and also when they don’t, keep moving. Welcome the achievements with humility, welcome the setbacks with confidence, and keep moving.

Don’t use success as an excuse to rest on your accomplishments. Don’t use failure as an excuse to give up.

Whatever has happened before, your best choice now is to keep moving, keep learning, keep making the effort, and keep improving. Build new value with what does work, and accumulate valuable experience from what doesn’t work.

When you realize you’ve been distracted and wandered off course, don’t let it get you down. Just accept where you are, figure out the best way forward, and quickly get going again.

When you’re standing still or being pushed backward, you have no control over what happens to you. Keep moving, because the way to control your direction is to have some direction, and the more assertively you move, the more control you have.

Life’s abundance is all around you, and each day brings new opportunities for fulfillment. Use every day to keep moving, and bring your best possibilities to life.

— Ralph Marston

The Daily Motivator

Precious Pup of the Day for April 24 – Buddy

Name: Buddy
Age: Nine weeks old
Gender: Male Breed: Bichon Frise
Home: Ballston Lake, New York, USA
Buddy is a Bichon Frise puppy that is owned by Lindsey. He is very friendly and is playful. He loves to chase me around the yard and he is always exploring. He is a little bad, too, like when he chews on the kitchen chairs (Uh-Oh!!!). He is still a puppy, though. He is a cuddle bug and is the sweetest guy you will ever meet!!!He is a very cute and courageous guy and is not independent at all! If we let him out of the kitchen he will chew on a lot of stuff. But if you play with him he is the sweetest and most loving Bichon Frise in the world. He loves to go outside on the yard and he doesn’t even need a leash (yet) but he is an adorable guy and if you meet him, will love you forever!

Buddy, the Dog of the Day
See more images of Buddy!

Special Kitties of the Day for April 17th

Solange, Simone, the Cat of the Day
Name: Solange, Simone
Age: Two years and a half years old
Gender: Female
Kind: Siamese
Home: Québec, Canada
Introducing Simone and Solange, Siamese cats … and real Siamese twin sisters! You cannot think of Solange without Simone or the inverse; they are just glued to one another! Those two little sisters are the most loving and precious cats in the world (from an objective point of view!). We first go them for the children but surprisingly, I got very attached to them. Truly, when I wake up with the two of them, sleeping inside my blankets against my stomach, looking at me with the look that says it all (the * I love you so much and I don’t need to speak to tell it to you* look), I feel so much love for those two cats that I could think possible. it is really hard to take a good picture of them as they are camera shy and always close their beautiful blue eyes!

Being an anxious person, it happens that I feel stressed, in my bed at night. Then the cats arrive, they start to purr, they literally cuddle me … and my respiration slows down, my breathing gets better, I start to feel more relaxed … no meditation needed with those two. They have helped me in a way that many people would not understand and for that, they are my cats of the day every day.

Special Kitty of the Day for April 12th

Coolidge, the Cat of the Day
Name: Coolidge
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Kind: Cat
Home: New York, USA
Coolidge is a fearless cat with lots of street smarts and attitude. During the heatwave of August 2011, he approached a woman walking two large dogs on the Lower East side and demanded that she take him in, feed him and provide some air-conditioning. He picked the right woman since she is the founder of rescue Project Pet, Inc. She knew just what to do.

Cool’s pet parents had just lost their cat and their German Shepherd Sheba was missing him something fierce, looking for him and crying all the time. And so, a search on Petfinder.com led to Coolidge and he joined the family in October 2011. Cool is learning to walk on a leash so he can see the streets of NYC once again, this time as a visitor. And he gets along fine with Sheba, so our family feels complete again. We’re all happy he is here.

Coolidge, the Cat of the Day

 

Kozy Kitten of the Day for March 6th

Chuck, the Cat of the Day
Name: Chuck
Age: Five years old
Gender: Male
Kind: Orange Tabby
Home: Gloversville, New York, USA
This is Chuck. He loves sleeping in high places, and also trying to eat my food. He shares his home with his two sisters Inky and Flower, so he is outnumbered by the girls! He is five years old and is an orange tabby. He loves to chase his sisters around and follow my boyfriend and I like he’s our shadow. He is very friendly and loves people. He greets you at the door when you get home and walks us to the door when we go to leave. He loves to drink from the sink, until his sisters realize what he is doing and they push him out of the way. When he’s not following us around, he likes to hang out on top of my boyfriend’s bookcase.

He loves to play in bags and boxes and we cut holes in the boxes because he likes to stick his paw through the hole to attack his sisters!!! He is the sweetest cat ever!

Dog-gone Doggie of the Day for March 3rd

Nelson, the Dog of the Day
Name: Nelson
Age: Eight months old
Gender: Male Breed: Toy Poodle
Home: Rochester, New York, USA
After our eighteen year old poodle died I thought I could never love another dog. A few months later I was browsing on the internet and saw an ad for a Toy Poodle puppy. Even though I didn’t want another dog I kept looking at that ad. Finally I decided I had to meet this little puppy. Well I took one look at that adorable face and immediately fell in love. We’ve had Nelson for six months and he has brought so much joy into our lives. He loves to snuggle with me on the couch and there is never a shortage of kisses. When we come home he is always waiting at the door to greet us with a wagging tail and and a happy howl. Even though Nelson is only 5 1/2 pounds he’s a terrific watchdog and protects our yard from pesky squirrels. He has also become a wonderful big brother to our Dusky Conure Rocky. Nelson has proven that a house really is not a home without a Toy Poodle!

We have a web site at A Conure, A Poodle, and Two Parakeets! with more pictures!

Earth Science Photo of the Day for December 26th

Crabapples in Snow

December 26, 2011

Crabapples-in-Snow

Photographer
: Ron Chapin; Ron’s School Website
Summary Author: Ron Chapin; Jim Foster

These festive looking crabapples were photographed near Sidney, New York, after an impressive, early-season snowfall. On October 29, 2011, a strong nor’easter dumped as much as 24 in (61 cm) of snow in interior, upland areas of New England and New York. Higher elevations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia were also snow covered. October snowfall in the northeast U.S. isn’t really rare; neither are nor’easters in October, but this storm was a record setter in that it produced so much snow so early in the season. The 4 in (10 cm) of snow that fell near Sidney melted away rather quickly — temperatures were well above freezing the day following the storm when this photo was taken. However, the added mass of snow on many trees still holding onto their leaves caused considerable limb damage and seriously compromised electrical power. Some unlucky residents in Connecticut were without electricity two weeks after the storm departed.

On Creating Magick

On Creating Magick

Author: Lady Wolfwind

I have been blessed with another bright and beautiful day. I’m not sure what I will do with it. It is like a gift to me. I think for a while I will just lay in my chair outside under the tree. It’s my favorite place to be when I choose to seek peace. For a while today, I think I will try a visualization meditation. I find that I can travel anywhere and see anything I choose to. When I come back to a waking state I feel refreshed, more alive. The mind is a wonderful tool if we learn how to use it.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I feel the breeze blowing and lifting the ends of my hair. I feel the touch of the sun on my skin. I concentrate on my breathing. In, out, in, out. I let all the stress leave my body. I feel it slowly melt out of my fingers and toes. In my mind, I open my eyes. I have been transported. Today, I float on a raft in the middle of a lake far, far away. It is not where I live now, but my native state of New York.

I continue to breathe. I am alone. All around me are the trees of autumn. It is a warm fall day. The maples and the poplars are decked out in all their glory, the orange, the gold and the browns that make this time of year special to me. It’s funny; when I left, it was August. At this place and time, it is October, my favorite time of the year. I take a deep breath and I can smell the water all around me. I can smell the crisp scent of the leaves and the subtle scent of my mother, the Earth. I open all of my senses. I can feel the breeze on my skin and also the warmness of the sun. There is promise of winter in the air. A sense of someone whispering and telling me to enjoy this day, this gift. Soon the snow will be flying and the earth will rest for the winter.

As I listen I hear the quiet swirl of a fish that has come to the surface to snatch a bug. I hear the singing of the frogs on the nearby shore. It’s as if they are singing a song just for me. I hear the leaves rustling and I realize that this is the music of the Earth. I just lie on my back and look at the puffy white clouds in the sky. I remember when I was a child and I could lie for hours and pick out shapes and animals. Today, I spend some time doing the same. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to just stare into the sky without a worry in the world.

After some time, I grow bored with the clouds and I flip onto my stomach, lay my chin on my arms, and stare at the reflection of myself in the water. I smile. I am so at peace. I know that this feeling will follow me for weeks to come. I also know that I can travel this way whenever I need to. I focus deeper and see small minnows swimming just beneath the surface. I also see small bits of moss suspended in the water floating by. I let my one arm free and feel the refreshing coolness of the water. Part of me would like to take off my clothes and dive right in. At this moment I am too lazy to move. I close my eyes and drift in and out of sleep. I know that here I am safe. In travels there is nothing that can hurt me.

I lay here for a few hours, dreaming of my life at home and of the people I know. The rustle on the bank interrupts my thoughts. It is a family of rabbits stopping by to take a drink. The mother rabbit eyes me nervously, but we communicate on a different level, without words. I sense that she understands that I mean her no harm and they continue to take a drink of the cool water. There are birds flying overhead, gliding on the current. I am sometimes envious of their ability to do this. At times I visualize that I am a bird in flight. I can hear the wind rushing past my ears and I feel the quietness that surrounds me. I look at the earth below and feel the freedom. Today, I just watch in amazement as this great creature glides over my head.

I am in no hurry. I know that I have left my body behind in a semi conscious state. I have nothing to fear there either. I continue to drift. After a time, I hear the cry of the loons. I’ve always thought it was such a haunting sound. I wonder what it would be like to lay on this raft at night. I’ll have to try it sometime. I wonder what sounds I will hear. Instead of looking at the clouds I can look for the constellations and contemplate how it must have been to live so long ago and have to chart courses using only the stars.

There are many places to go. I will wait for another day. After some time, I reluctantly let myself return to my body. I slowly open my eyes. I’ve been gone for quite awhile. The sun has changed position and it is cooler. I feel so at peace, I have a hard time describing this feeling of quietness within me. I sit in my chair for a while longer and allow my spirit to settle into my body completely. I laugh at the thought of someone asking me what I did today. “Well, ” I’ll tell them, “I traveled to another time and place and drifted on a raft, celebrating life.” Won’t they look at me funny?

Sometimes when I’m having trouble sleeping I will slip off somewhere and lie under the stars and look up at the moon. Before you know it, it’s morning and time to start my day. When life gets to be too much for me to handle, I escape somewhere else where life is more peaceful. Sometimes I may spend the day with my mother or father, lost long ago. We don’t usually talk, but we sit, quietly enjoying each other’s company for a few hours. If this is not a gift from the Goddess, then I don’t know what is. I have been blessed with this ability and I’m happy that I’ve shared it with you all here.

It didn’t just happen overnight. I’ve spent years developing my meditation techniques. I’ve spent years developing my imagination and my insights. It’s like anything else, it’s something you have to work at, but oh, so worth every moment spent. I get so lost in these places I visit, and the people who spend time with me there that I’ve often wondered what is real and what is imagined. At times, it feels as if I could reach out and hug my parents. Maybe one day I’ll try. I may scare myself though.

Once I had a dream. It has always haunted me. I dreamed that I was in a wolf’s body. It was a cold night. I was standing on the edge of a stream with my front feet in the water. There was a fallen tree beside me and I could smell the decaying of the wood. I could feel the coldness of the water on my feet. I turned my head and looked at my mate behind me. I looked right into her eyes. I woke up with a start. I expected to feel that my hands were wet. I have never had a dream so vivid before or since. I’m not sure of its significance. This is the way it feels when I visually meditate, except I am in control. I make up the sequence of events. This dream was spontaneous and very odd.

So, today, I share with you a little piece of me. I think that, maybe, we all have this ability, to let go of all the stress and slip away, if only for a few short moments. I’d like to think that we could all find a peaceful place in the middle of chaos, where we can breathe, where we can think, where we can focus on what matters, just living.

We all speak of the Goddess. What gifts has she given to you? Are you afraid to develop them, to use them? You may be surprised. I’d like to challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and test the waters of some of your abilities. She gave them to you for a reason. There is no reason to be afraid. We all have unique abilities. It’s part of your magic; it’s how you create magic.

Some ask how do you create spells or how do you create magic. I believe that it is all around you. The problem I see is that we don’t truly believe deep down inside. Ever since we were children we were told that such things were myths and did not exist. As a child, you know they did. We were bashed and brainwashed to conform and to not talk about such things. Look, deep inside of yourself. Find that magic and that belief again. You know it’s there, sleeping, waiting, wanting to come to the surface again. You would be surprised what magic you can create if you discover the gifts that were given to you.

10 Cheap Winter Tips To Stay Warm

10 Cheap Winter Tips To Stay Warm

Hot water bottle sales are up! This might seem like headline from a newspaper 50 years ago. Hot water bottles are enjoying a moment again, and not as a frumpy relic from a bygone era, but as a frugal way to stay warm and toasty during the cold winter months. In this post, Preheat The Bed there’s a “heated” discussion about the pros and cons of hot water bottles vs. electric blankets. Do you use either?

As the winter begins to get chilly, more and more people are seeking ways to cut down on their heating bills and still stay warm.

Here are 10 cheap tricks and toasty winter tips for staying warm this winter:

The first 9 tips come from this infographic from Wonder How To:

10. Use a programmable thermostat.Why? Because it saves money and energy. The cost of the thermostat pays for itself over usage time. The US Department of Energy estimates you can save 10% on your heating bill by rolling back your thermostat 10-15% for just 8 hours. Of course, this saves money! Here’s a snazzy one for 2012: Practically Green recently posted about The Nest. Sarah Finnie Robinson from Practically Green shares her thoughts about this new programmable thermostat:

“It’s a brainy new thermostat designed by Tony Fadell, the guy who sold Steve Jobs on the iPod. In the past 48 hours, this stylish tool has been a complete thumbs-up for testers ranging from TechCrunch to Grist to Fast Company to Wired to the Wall Street Journal: “like Apple, Nest Labs has taken something you use every day and made it simple and delightful to use.”

My best tip for staying warm in the winter: Knit something warm! What’s your best cheap tip for staying warm?

Ronnie Citron-Fink is a writer, editor and educator. She has written hundreds of articles about sustainable living, the environment, design, and family life for websites, books and magazines. Ronnie is the creator of Econesting, and the managing editor of Moms Clean Air Force. Ronnie was named one of the Top Ten Living Green Experts by Yahoo. Ronnie lives in New York with her family.

THINK ON THESE THINGS

THINK ON THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Let’s not forget Dr. Schuller’s words when he was asked why so many of our people were killed in the terrorists’ attack on New York and in Washington. He said, “Take an O out of good and we have God; put a D before evil and we have devil.”

Can it be any plainer? We are told that we are not dealing with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers in evil places. Our spirits are whispering, “In all these things I am more than a conqueror.” This is not just a wish but a truth.

At one time it was “cool” to say we did not believe in spiritual help, but now it is cool to know we are of ourselves no strength, but with help we are overcomers, conquerors in the truest sense.

*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*

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

Unfortunately I have declared…..

this site magickal lacking. If you notice I have done a few changes today. One of the changes I made was in the category area. I put the category’s posts count out besides each topic. I found some of the areas were pitiful. They had one or two posts in them at the most. So for the next few hours, I am going to try to change that. I hope you enjoy the postings and find some of them of interest.

Lady A

Most of the information I will be transferring from the old WOTC as fast as I can. If there is an author, the author will be credited to the info. If there is no author listed and you know the author, please let me know and I will credit them.