This is a tricky Maxim for me. I like to think that I know far more often than I probably do. I’m a bit of a know-it-all, I’ll admit, and I like being a woman of action. Waiting and seeing is not my strong suit. So, while on the surface I’d like to think that I’ve got this acting and knowing Maxim down, this is actually a great reminder for me that I probably ought to act a little less... Read more
Equinox is the time when light and dark is balanced. From here we tip discernibly into the Dark Season. While technically the Dark Season begins at Midsummer, when the nights begin to get longer, I don’t really feel the longer nights until around this Equinox time. The same goes for the growing days. I don’t feel their lengthening until spring Equinox. Once upon a time, the Equinox meant for me giving the house a deep clean and fasting. The fasting... Read more
Earlier in the week a friend on Facebook linked to a great blog post on a blog I’d never read before. The post is called The Keys to Success in Magic. It makes a great point, that most witches/magicians/sorcerers worth their salt don’t do magic most of the time. I’d say that’s true! Midway through the post the author has a ‘flow chart’ of his practice. If I had to make a chart, this would be pretty close. If we’re... Read more
When I started this blog just over 2 years ago my youngest child was only 4 months old, we were living in Wales, I was enrolled in a PhD program specializing in systematic and feminist theologies and the Virgin Mary. Now I’m living in Washington State, my eldest child has started kindergarten, my youngest is 2 and half years old and goes to preschool five mornings a week, and I happily moved away from academia. Time flies! My family is... Read more
Earlier this week I was nominated for a Liebster Award by a reader. Basically this is a like a chain-letter blog love fest. A reader with her own blog included me in a list of blogs she really loves. Thank you!! I’m not going to follow all the rules (because that’s not my style), but I thought I’d answer the questions my fellow blogger posed on her post and then recommend a few blogs myself. What is your favorite quote/proverb?... Read more
Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi – the first day of a ten (or so) day festival celebrating the birthday of Ganesh. In India this is a huge festival! Many people make murtis (statues) of Ganesh out of clay and then submerge and dissolve them in local rivers. There is no Hindu community in my town with which to celebrate, and I have no interest in crafting a statue (maybe next year?), so my household celebrated by basically having a bit of... Read more
With this Maxim I immediately want to know what the ancient Greeks considered divine! From what little I understand, ancient Greeks did not consider their gods omnipotent or omniscient. There is a very different understanding of divinity between ancient polytheistic beliefs and current monotheistic (particularly mainstream Christian) beliefs. But I’m going to leave the ancient Greek parsing of this Maxim to people who actually know something about ancient Greece. I’ve been sitting here in front of my screen for the... Read more
Last week I wrote about the coming of age ritual my husband and I did for our five-year old son. That single post has received significant attention: repostings, comments, and discussion. More people may have seen that post than any other I’ve written and there are a few things I want to follow-up on. In retrospect, the title is unclear. I would prefer to re-title it “Rites of Passage for a 5-year-old.” The event was not just a ‘regular’ ritual,... Read more
I feel like this one has been covered before in the Maxim series. But we always need nudges to remind us to seek wisdom, no? This is another Maxim that I think I’ve got covered. Once upon a time I was a seeker of knowledge. Until only recently I felt almost as though I could never get enough knowledge. I devoured books. I pursued degree programs. I wanted more. I was hungry for knowledge, and I hoarded it, like a... Read more
At the beginning of August many of my Pagan friends celebrated the first harvest, commonly known as Lammas or Lughnasadh (from the Celtic calendar system). That observance has never meant much to me. I am not a farmer, and have spent precious little time in places where early August means first fruits of any kind. Now in Washington, it means the height of summer, and I spend my summer time waiting for the days to cool. As August passed I... Read more
A Witch's Ashram
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