Written during my full moon ceremony 1/15/25

The full moon started on 1/13. I had my ceremony on 1/15.

 RAISE THE POWER:

With the waning of the moon

Comes the waning of the influence of gaslighters, distracters, liars and national thiefs

With the howling of the wolves at the waning Wolf moon

Comes the silencing of the voices that would create confusion and hide truth

With the waning of the moon

The fires of harmful destruction burn down the forces promoting hatred in our global society

With the waning of the moon which influences the tides

Selfishness is ebbing out and kindness is flowing in

With the flapping of birds wings as they witness the waning moon

National public witness is brought to bear on the evil actions meant to line pockets with gold while making the Earth uninhabitable for future generations of humans and all other lifeforms - the power of people attempting such actions wanes with the moon

With the waning of the moon

The current turmoil of Earth's climate wanes

With the waning of the moon

All energy wanes except for light and love

I hold space for this so it will be.

The Delight of Finding the Perfect Word For Something

 As an atheist it can be difficult to express intense emotion. Oh my god doesn't work. Oh my gourd does, though. 

And, oh my gourd - I love this word: Solivagant. It means solitary wanderer. It's origins are the Latin words solus meaning alone and vagans meaning wander.

I am definitely happy as a solivagant.

Mogli - Wanderer

Do Not Go Gentle Into Their Gaslight

It's winter solstice and all the Celtic that is me wants to welcome the return of the light.

First I need to acknowledge all the dark that makes it harder. 

So I rewrote the beautiful words of another person of Irish decent; Dylan Thomas.

--------- --------- --------- ---------

Do not go gentle into their gaslight

Democracy should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against their dimming of the light.

There are no wise ones to know that dark is right

Because their words spin and lie and betray

Do not go gentle into their gaslight.

The wave of un-good men hiding in plain sight

Whose deeds cause crying and kill every green bay

Rage, rage against their dimming of the light.

Mean men who incite others to hate and fight,

And distract anyone who sees it is their way,

Do not go gentle into their gaslight.

Greedy men hoarding money, holding tight,

Power hungry and going to make you pay

Rage, rage against their dimming of the light.

And you, failed America, there on the sad height,

Must cry fierce tears for what was done yesterday.

Do not go gentle into their gaslight.

Rage, rage against their dimming of the light.

---- --- ---- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Now I can move on.

Madonna- Ray Of Light

Winter solstice 2024

 "One kind word can warm three winter months." — Japanese Proverb

"Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness." – Mary Oliver

"Don’t think the garden loses it’s ecstacy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." – Rumi

"Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake."

"Snow brings a special quality with it — the power to stop life as you know it dead in its tracks." – Nancy Hatch Woodward

"May this solstice and the returning of the sun bring you love, magic and starlight." – Unknown

"What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter’s day?" – Henry David Thoreau

"Winter is a glorious spectacle of glittering fractals complete with a soundscape and atmosphere entirely its own." – Anders Swanson

May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night. That each day forward is blessed with more light.

Madonna - Ray of Light

Breathing Sessions

 To build stamina:

Sit in comfortable upright position - mouth closed. Breathe quickly - in & out through nose - 2-3 breaths per second for 5 minutes.

Strengthens respiratory muscles & boosts endurance.

Improved concentration:

Same position as above - for me in through mouth out through nose. Deep breath in - exhale repeating a word - for me "resilience".

During movement sessions:

Exhale on the Effort

Anna Nalik - Breathe

YOU ARE NOT DONALD TRUMP

 Listen up all you white straight males & females who think you share the same privileges as DJT. 

YOU DO NOT!

You're white. He's white. You have a penis probably tiny like his. Or you don't. You identify as straight like him. Maybe even sexual predator like him.

There are two types of white privilege. Both types are injust & immoral but very different in scope.

There is the millionaire / billionaire type. It's a club. DJT is a member. You are not. That is why he can incite riots that result in people dying & being injured & the charges get dropped.

Do not let the fact that he got away with his deadly sociopathic actions with no consequences encourage you to act on your hate driven violent longings.

You are in a different white privilege club. Your club will not get charges dropped. It will, I'm disgusted to say, get you a shorter sentence than if you weren't white and straight.

But unlike DJT you will spend time in prison. Locked up with a majority of very angry people who aren't white.

Think about that before you do something stupid. Not that I care what happens to you but DJT leaves legions of innocent victims in his wake. You don't need to add to that.

Ceremonies Inspired by Deborah Blake's Magic & Julie Brook's Firestacks

 The election left me shaken to the core, like so many others.

I feel the need to respond in some big way. Though I don't think discourse is the answer for me. 

Instead I am planning a ceremonial response.

The intent of my ceremony will be to stem the tide of evil threatening democracy and life on this planet at the hands of people who take or retain their positions of power and responsibility starting January 20th, 2025.

I am taking my ceremonial inspiration from the work of two strong women.

The first strong woman is Deborah Blake; noted author & witch. She writes books for Llewellyn Publications as the Everyday Witch. She also writes enthralling, poignant, often funny, fiction. One of her series of fiction books centers around the tales of the Baba Yaga. 

Wickedly Unraveled* is a book in that series with a very strong spell that I adapted for my ceremony.

The second strong woman is Julie Brook who does 'land and tidal art'; specifically her 'Firestacks'.

Julie Brook builds what she calls firestacks, which are essentially cairns, starting at low tide, using the 'dry-stone walling method' to be 5.75 feet high & 6.5 feet wide so they will not go down easily when the tide comes in high. 

Next she builds a fire in the firestack with seasoned logs. She & others replenish the fire with more logs every half hour or so.

The tide washes in and the fire in the firestack is beautiful against the sea & the sky. 

For the website Terrain.org in an article titled: Prose, Photography and Landscape Art by Julie Brook - she said:

"When the sea was quiet and rising—an incremental rising you felt creeping up your body— the tension between fire and water became a form of choreography: of time, of sound, of light—an exquisite dance between the water rising and receding, the fire dousing and regaining itself."

I think that's what we have to do over the next 2 or 4 years. We  have to keep dancing even if the fire seems to go completely out. 

And rest in the knowledge that the tide - a force of the true apex predator - Mother Earth - will wash all evidence of those who would attack her out to sea - so much unremembered sand on the ocean floor. Good riddance.

(I don't have permission to use Julie Brook's work BUT I URGE YOU SERIOUSLY to click on the Terrain.org article & look at the pictures & view the very powerful 15 minute video. Mesmerizing.)

So that's how I will be spending a small part of my equinoxes, solstices, full moons & new moons in the coming year. 

After that - maybe something with an Earth focus, or water, or air.

Always with love & light. 

*The Baba Yaga series:

Wickedly Dangerous, Wickedly Wonderful, Wickedly Powerful

Dangerously Charming, Dangerously Divine, Dangerously Fierce

Wickedly Unraveled