So.
When I moved from the town where our SPLAC is located to the town in which I'm currently living, I ended up moving a big hour away. Which kind of sucks, because it's not like I can just drop everything and show up five minutes before a treguenda with my boschetto.
I tried using WitchVox to find a coven or a study group in my area and had no luck. So what's a witch to do?
Start her own, of course!!
I'm billing it as a study group - that way witches of all types can come together and share their knowledge.
I got my second email about it today - the first I received right before Yule. I emailed her back but haven't heard anything - but I hope this one turns out to be promising!! We shall see...... Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!
28 December, 2011
26 December, 2011
New Year's Resolutions?
Yaaaay! It's Thistle!! Hi, Thistle! *waves*
Rather funny that I thought of Thistle when I read the blog post that I'm going to link to. It's almost 2012, and I'm sure some of you are gearing up and thinking of your new year's resolutions. Do you make them? Can you keep them? This year, I've decided that instead of losing 30 pounds, I'm going to gain 30 pounds. I never keep my resolutions, but let's see how this one works out.
I follow GoddessLife on Facebook, the website of Dolphina - goddess, bellydancer, and all around ass-kicker. She had an interesting post about a new twist on new year's resolutions, to which she refers as 'rezzies'. I think my word would be "more money". =S Read her post here! In the meantime, I'll let Thistle tell you her unique twist on new year's resolutions!
Rather funny that I thought of Thistle when I read the blog post that I'm going to link to. It's almost 2012, and I'm sure some of you are gearing up and thinking of your new year's resolutions. Do you make them? Can you keep them? This year, I've decided that instead of losing 30 pounds, I'm going to gain 30 pounds. I never keep my resolutions, but let's see how this one works out.
I follow GoddessLife on Facebook, the website of Dolphina - goddess, bellydancer, and all around ass-kicker. She had an interesting post about a new twist on new year's resolutions, to which she refers as 'rezzies'. I think my word would be "more money". =S Read her post here! In the meantime, I'll let Thistle tell you her unique twist on new year's resolutions!
25 December, 2011
Thistle does exist!
Look, it's Thistle! Posting something! Finally. Sheesh.
See? Blessing wasn't making me up.
My apologies for the delay in my first post -- I got very wrapped up (heh.) with my holiday preparations. Between knitting gifts, wrapping them, shopping, decorating, everything involved.... well, it gets hectic.
Anyway, a great big thanks to Blessing for starting us off here. She did a great job of introducing us to the Internet.
Curious about why I'm doing this blog? I thought you'd never ask.
First of all, when Blessing called me about this a few weeks ago, I was thrilled because, well, I jump at the opportunity to do ANYTHING with Blessing. As I'm sure you can tell, she's super-awesome. And aside from that, I also jump at the opportunity to work on my spirituality, and to share with others. I've always worked as a solitary witch, and often have trouble playing with even very similar friends. Including, but not limited to, my girlfriend.
Anyway.
A little about me: I've been practicing as a solitary witch for, oh my goodness, 8 years. That's unreal. I'm usually not terribly conversant about my spirituality, except in the abstract, because of parts of my family -- another story for another day -- and I tend to be independent, slightly private and aloof, and highly personalized in my practices. Also casual. I grew up in Jersey (no jokes, thanks), moved to the town where Blessing and my SPLAC is (which feels like it's super-rural to me), my parents moved to Tennessee, and I'm moving to metro DC this spring. My familiar of many years passed away last November, but my girlfriend (also a witch) and I opened our hearts and home to a rabbit this fall. We adopted Bramble on Mabon, and have noticed strong indications that he may end up being a familiar as well. You'll see some super-cute pictures of him in the very near future, I promise.
I just thought that I'd share some q
uick shots of my Yule setup here where I'm visiting at my parents' place in Tennessee for the holidays.
That tree was my Yule tree last year. Which means that I have, through my super green thumb skills, kept it alive for at least thirteen months. Go Thistle!
In any case, Blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah and Kwanzaa, and a Blessed New Year to one and all!
See? Blessing wasn't making me up.
My apologies for the delay in my first post -- I got very wrapped up (heh.) with my holiday preparations. Between knitting gifts, wrapping them, shopping, decorating, everything involved.... well, it gets hectic.
Anyway, a great big thanks to Blessing for starting us off here. She did a great job of introducing us to the Internet.
Curious about why I'm doing this blog? I thought you'd never ask.
First of all, when Blessing called me about this a few weeks ago, I was thrilled because, well, I jump at the opportunity to do ANYTHING with Blessing. As I'm sure you can tell, she's super-awesome. And aside from that, I also jump at the opportunity to work on my spirituality, and to share with others. I've always worked as a solitary witch, and often have trouble playing with even very similar friends. Including, but not limited to, my girlfriend.
Anyway.
A little about me: I've been practicing as a solitary witch for, oh my goodness, 8 years. That's unreal. I'm usually not terribly conversant about my spirituality, except in the abstract, because of parts of my family -- another story for another day -- and I tend to be independent, slightly private and aloof, and highly personalized in my practices. Also casual. I grew up in Jersey (no jokes, thanks), moved to the town where Blessing and my SPLAC is (which feels like it's super-rural to me), my parents moved to Tennessee, and I'm moving to metro DC this spring. My familiar of many years passed away last November, but my girlfriend (also a witch) and I opened our hearts and home to a rabbit this fall. We adopted Bramble on Mabon, and have noticed strong indications that he may end up being a familiar as well. You'll see some super-cute pictures of him in the very near future, I promise.
I just thought that I'd share some q
uick shots of my Yule setup here where I'm visiting at my parents' place in Tennessee for the holidays.That tree was my Yule tree last year. Which means that I have, through my super green thumb skills, kept it alive for at least thirteen months. Go Thistle!
In any case, Blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah and Kwanzaa, and a Blessed New Year to one and all!
24 December, 2011
Test...
I noticed Thistle was organizing herself on here and thought maybe I should do the same... Pay no attention to the witch behind this blog post.
La Festa dell'Inverno
Last night, I celebrated the Solstice with my Strega boschetto! (For those of you unfamiliar with Strega, it is very similar to Wicca in structure but has a lot of minor differences that add up to making it its own sect. For example, a boschetto is a coven and instead of celebrating Yule, I celebrated La Festa dell'Inverno. Strega holidays are called treguendas.)
I know I haven't gone into detail about my spiritual background but I just had to share because I am still buzzing from it! We had a great time with great witches, great fellowship, and a great feast!! The short of the long is that the boschetto is restructuring so there's only three of us, but we had a wonderful ritual! I only wish that Thistle could have been there to celebrate with us. When it came time for the gift exchange, I was given a new besom and a butterfly windchime. Which is really ironic because the butterfly is my totem animal. (Totem insect?) I don't know if the witch who gave me my gift knew that. How cool, right?
During our rituals we always do a spell that holds some significance for the streghe, or witches, in our boschetto. This time, our spell was for all of the abused animals. When you're thinking of all your people during this holiday season, don't forget about our furry little friends, too. Whether outside flying around, inside laying at your feet, chained up outside in the cold, or waiting for you to come to the shelter, please do something kind for some deserving animals. And please, spay and neuter your pets!!!
Speaking of pets, I wrapped the presents for my familiars, Tabitha and Kinsey, today! Don't tell but they have a scratching carpet door hanger thing and a boogie rug coming. The Pedi-Paws needs 2 C batteries!! Wish I would have known that before I got home! Oh well. I'm sure I'll need to go to the grocery store soon...
Thistle has a post coming soon. I promise I'm not making her up. Though she's probably about ready to slug me for all the more hounding I've been doing... Heehee. Miss you, Thistle!!
-:- Blessing
I know I haven't gone into detail about my spiritual background but I just had to share because I am still buzzing from it! We had a great time with great witches, great fellowship, and a great feast!! The short of the long is that the boschetto is restructuring so there's only three of us, but we had a wonderful ritual! I only wish that Thistle could have been there to celebrate with us. When it came time for the gift exchange, I was given a new besom and a butterfly windchime. Which is really ironic because the butterfly is my totem animal. (Totem insect?) I don't know if the witch who gave me my gift knew that. How cool, right?
During our rituals we always do a spell that holds some significance for the streghe, or witches, in our boschetto. This time, our spell was for all of the abused animals. When you're thinking of all your people during this holiday season, don't forget about our furry little friends, too. Whether outside flying around, inside laying at your feet, chained up outside in the cold, or waiting for you to come to the shelter, please do something kind for some deserving animals. And please, spay and neuter your pets!!!
Speaking of pets, I wrapped the presents for my familiars, Tabitha and Kinsey, today! Don't tell but they have a scratching carpet door hanger thing and a boogie rug coming. The Pedi-Paws needs 2 C batteries!! Wish I would have known that before I got home! Oh well. I'm sure I'll need to go to the grocery store soon...
Thistle has a post coming soon. I promise I'm not making her up. Though she's probably about ready to slug me for all the more hounding I've been doing... Heehee. Miss you, Thistle!!
-:- Blessing
22 December, 2011
Blessed Yule!!
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
Oh the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
As the shortest day marks the turning year
And spring will soon draw near
Have a blessed Yuletide from our hearts to yours!
Love,
Thistle and Blessing
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
Oh the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
As the shortest day marks the turning year
And spring will soon draw near
Have a blessed Yuletide from our hearts to yours!
Love,
Thistle and Blessing
21 December, 2011
The Obligatory Introductory Post
I don't know about you, but all of my good ideas come to me when I'm in the shower.
Right?? Am I right??
I clearly remember this idea for City Witch, Country Witch popping into my head and thinking, 'I need to message Thistle, and I have to message her now.'
Maybe it's something to do with massaging your scalp and sending your axons and dendrites and myelin sheaths and all those other fun things I learned about in Biopsychology into a state of invigorated frenzy.
So here it is. Our blog. Shiny, new, and full of possibilities.
I guess every blog should have a purpose, and Thistle can tell you hers, but to get us started, I'll tell you mine. By the way, I should probably introduce myself as Blessing. I chose this name when I started studying witchcraft, ironically with inspiration from my parents. That's another story for another day. Thistle and I met when we attended the same SPLAC. I bet you're really wondering what a SPLAC is. It's not a racial slur, though it kind of sounds like one. It's a Small Private Liberal Arts College. With that out of the way, Thistle and I have known each other for... three years, Thistle? That sound about right? Anyway, we quickly became friends, and when we finally connected the fact that we were both pagans, our friendship blossomed. We have been celebrating the seasons together now for about a year. It comes to a point in everyone's life when they reach a crossroads, and Thistle and I just happen to be reaching crossroads at about the same time. Crossroads that, if they haven't already like in my case, will take us away from the bubble of our SPLAC and into the wide, wide world. With that sort of background in mind, here's my story.
I graduated from the SPLAC in 2010 with a B.S. in Psychology. Toward the end of my college career, I waitressed at a restaurant in town and ended up with some of the best friends anyone could ever be so lucky to have. After graduation, I stayed around for about a year and a half to be with my friends. I ended up getting a job working as a psych tech at a hospital on their inpatient behavioral health unit which was wild. I enjoyed working at our geriatric unit but when we combined with our other unit, I got tired of the drug-and-alcohol and the borderlines. Long story short, coupled with a grandmother who was pretty sick with peritoneal cancer and a grandmother who's in her middle stages of Alzheimer's disease, I decided to move back to where I grew up. I grew up in the country, then moved to what felt like the city, even though it was only 7,000 people when the SPLAC was in session. So back to the country I went!
So, here I am. I'm living next door to my grandparents in a 1940s cottage built by my great-grandfather, my pap's dad. I went from having an apartment to having an entire house to myself. I am a fiercely independent female with at least one cat. (I say at least one cat because normally I have two, but the other seems to have gone AWOL outside. Good. Let him remember how hard it is to live on his own in the wild.) My cat, Tabitha, is my familiar. When I started my post, she was sitting on the back of my chair, peering over my shoulder. Now, she's sitting on the floor in front of me, staring at me and meowing to remind me it's time for my shower. "Mom. You have to work tomorrow, Mom. You need to be in bed at ten, Mom, otherwise you get grouchy, Mom." Yes. Thank you, Mother. What can I say. My kitten enjoys her sleep too.
Well, I think that's enough from me for now. Thistle? Why don't you have a whirl?
Before I sign off, I just wanted to outline my Yuletide plans! Tomorrow I plan on celebrating the Solstice. Friday, I am going back to the area where the SPLAC is - it's also where my Strega boschetto is located! I am excited to celebrate the Solstice with my Strega sisters, though I wish you could be there too, Thistle!!
Blessed be - until next time!
-:- Blessing
Right?? Am I right??
I clearly remember this idea for City Witch, Country Witch popping into my head and thinking, 'I need to message Thistle, and I have to message her now.'
Maybe it's something to do with massaging your scalp and sending your axons and dendrites and myelin sheaths and all those other fun things I learned about in Biopsychology into a state of invigorated frenzy.
So here it is. Our blog. Shiny, new, and full of possibilities.
I guess every blog should have a purpose, and Thistle can tell you hers, but to get us started, I'll tell you mine. By the way, I should probably introduce myself as Blessing. I chose this name when I started studying witchcraft, ironically with inspiration from my parents. That's another story for another day. Thistle and I met when we attended the same SPLAC. I bet you're really wondering what a SPLAC is. It's not a racial slur, though it kind of sounds like one. It's a Small Private Liberal Arts College. With that out of the way, Thistle and I have known each other for... three years, Thistle? That sound about right? Anyway, we quickly became friends, and when we finally connected the fact that we were both pagans, our friendship blossomed. We have been celebrating the seasons together now for about a year. It comes to a point in everyone's life when they reach a crossroads, and Thistle and I just happen to be reaching crossroads at about the same time. Crossroads that, if they haven't already like in my case, will take us away from the bubble of our SPLAC and into the wide, wide world. With that sort of background in mind, here's my story.
I graduated from the SPLAC in 2010 with a B.S. in Psychology. Toward the end of my college career, I waitressed at a restaurant in town and ended up with some of the best friends anyone could ever be so lucky to have. After graduation, I stayed around for about a year and a half to be with my friends. I ended up getting a job working as a psych tech at a hospital on their inpatient behavioral health unit which was wild. I enjoyed working at our geriatric unit but when we combined with our other unit, I got tired of the drug-and-alcohol and the borderlines. Long story short, coupled with a grandmother who was pretty sick with peritoneal cancer and a grandmother who's in her middle stages of Alzheimer's disease, I decided to move back to where I grew up. I grew up in the country, then moved to what felt like the city, even though it was only 7,000 people when the SPLAC was in session. So back to the country I went!
So, here I am. I'm living next door to my grandparents in a 1940s cottage built by my great-grandfather, my pap's dad. I went from having an apartment to having an entire house to myself. I am a fiercely independent female with at least one cat. (I say at least one cat because normally I have two, but the other seems to have gone AWOL outside. Good. Let him remember how hard it is to live on his own in the wild.) My cat, Tabitha, is my familiar. When I started my post, she was sitting on the back of my chair, peering over my shoulder. Now, she's sitting on the floor in front of me, staring at me and meowing to remind me it's time for my shower. "Mom. You have to work tomorrow, Mom. You need to be in bed at ten, Mom, otherwise you get grouchy, Mom." Yes. Thank you, Mother. What can I say. My kitten enjoys her sleep too.
Well, I think that's enough from me for now. Thistle? Why don't you have a whirl?
Before I sign off, I just wanted to outline my Yuletide plans! Tomorrow I plan on celebrating the Solstice. Friday, I am going back to the area where the SPLAC is - it's also where my Strega boschetto is located! I am excited to celebrate the Solstice with my Strega sisters, though I wish you could be there too, Thistle!!
Blessed be - until next time!
-:- Blessing
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