I haven’t lived in Juneau, Alaska, for over a decade. I’ve spent little more than a handful of weeks at a time there. Home for me these days is Olympia, Washington. I’ve just recently returned from a ‘long weekend’ in California, a stunningly beautiful part of the world. There were six ladies present: three of whom live in California (two in the Bay Area, one in the LA area), two in the Pacific North West (me and one in Seattle),... Read more
Hello again. I’ve returned from a few days along the Russian River in Northern California. The Sonoma/Russian River area is easily my favorite part of that great state. The wineries, oak trees, enormous redwoods; the jays, buzzards, herons; the warm sun, cool breezes, and lazy river are intoxicating. I’m not yet ready to get back to the Delphic Maxims or my daily grind/practice. I am sleepy (baby girl decided to celebrate my return by nursing all night long) and... Read more
I will be away from my computer for the next 4 days. I am going on a short, child-free vacation: a bachelorette/bridal party for a life-time friend. I shall quaff wine, bask in the sun, and say hello to my old friend, California. See you later this week. Read more
Today is World Tarot Day! I want to share with you something that has been absorbing my attention lately: my husband’s tarot kickstarter campaign! We both love tarot, but have different tastes in the art (mostly) and we seem to use the decks differently. He is much more interested in the history and evolution of the deck and symbols than I am, whereas I use my deck/s nearly everyday. For the last year and half, Adam, the husband, has been... Read more
Today’s maxim sounds like a nagging parent. I can’t help but approach this as a feminist first and foremost, and I think, ‘how heteronormative that is!’ But as soon as my knee jerk reaction calms down, I realize, ‘hey, I’m married!’ So what is this maxim really about? I think the key word here is intention. The important part may or may not be that we actually get married (or partner up, however that has meaning for you). But the... Read more
24 hours of magic. That was my weekend. It started with a Feri gathering in Seattle on Saturday evening. We did some mediation and chanting about Godsoul. There are no coincidences, and I was only mildly surprised that the chants overlapped with some work that I’ve been doing in relation to some non-blogged about stuff. I’ve woven those words in with my daily practice and that dovetailed nicely into the work with the group. These days everything – everything –... Read more
This is a maxim that is so simple that at first it’s deceiving. And trite. How many times has an advertising campaign suggested that you ‘be yourself’ by purchasing their shirt/deodorant/car/beer/etc? And yet, even the ‘alternative’ people can seem fairly homogenous. You want to be unique? Well you’d better be an anarchist-liberal, with tattoos, piercings, practice polyamory (because monogamy is so repressive) and read (and genuinely like) Bukowski. So just what does it mean to Be Yourself? I think this... Read more
Today’s Delphic Maxim appeals to the scholar in me. I’ve spent a lot of money on my education – vocal performance and religious studies – so I damn well better know what I’ve learned. It has only been 8 months since I walked away from the PhD program and I already find myself forgetting sources, details, arguments I once had. But I don’t think book knowledge is necessarily what this maxim is talking about. I think this maxim is encouraging... Read more
Earlier this week I went hiking with my kids. We went to the Watershed park in town. Olympia is chock full of parks and I’m enjoying exploring them. The forest reminded me of SE Alaska, only slightly more tame, open and safe. Many of the plant species were familiar, though the underbrush wasn’t as dense and more light was able to enter in. I was able to show my son two of my favorite plants, skunk cabbage and devil’s club.... Read more
Delphic maxim number five is: Be overcome by justice (Ηττω υπο δικαιου). The phrasing of this one stops me in my tracks. How in the world are we to be overcome by justice? Overcome is a word that I associate with overwhelmed; be overwhelmed by justice. Be completely covered in justice. Be brought to your knees by justice. Just what does that mean? I can see how culturally, socially, institutionally we as an entity could stand to be overcome by... Read more
A Witch's Ashram
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