The Way It Should Be

Very poignant thoughts. I couldn’t agree more, and I’m not a capital ‘P’ Polytheist.

Caw, Motherfsckers

Once upon a time, yesterday in fact, there were two chiefs. The elder was a priestess of Oshun, and the younger a priestess of Yemaya. They agreed to confer, with students observing them, on a subject in which they had not reached total agreement. What matters to this story is not the matter on which they disagreed but the manner in which they did it:

Priestess Younger brought forward her well-researched explorations of original lore, along with resources to share for others who wished to follow the threads she had found. Priestess Elder brought forward regional variations she had found and the historical context borne of her lifetime of experience.

Priestess Younger said, “This is my Work, here and now. I want to pay you respect because I know that it is the Work you have already done that makes mine possible. I wish you continued success in your own…

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Witch Wars: The Fight to be Right – Circa 2006

Ten Years on, and I’m sad to say that this article is still entirely relevant. I think that the only thing that I would add is that I have removed myself completely from the scene. While there are times that I do feel bad that I didn’t stay in it to provide some manner of ally to the Seekers, I still believe that the best way to deal with Defender Trolls, is to disengage. The wealth of knowledge has grown exponentially in the last ten years. eBooks are a fraction of the cost of their paperback cousins. And only speaking for myself, if fate draws you to my inbox, I still happily answer all the questions I can.

A Less Travelled Path

Some Thoughts on Community

A community is something that most of us strive for. The gathering of souls of a like mind is a very powerful calling. Even those who are not converts from a monotheistic, congregation-style religion seem to seek the simple joys and socialization of worship with others. With the advent of the World Wide Web, that desire can be fulfilled in the space of a nanosecond, and you can find what seems like the whole of Pagan society at your fingertips.

Yet, for all the romantic ideals of people coming together for a common cause and enjoying the company of fellow Pagans, there comes an undeniable truth, that Pagans, just like any other group of people, come in all shapes, sizes and opinions. For those unaccustomed to having their own ideas challenged, the world of Pagan internet forums and email groups can seem like a barrel of…

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ReBlog: Screw Finding Your Passion

Remember back when you were a kid? You would just do things. You never thought to yourself, “What are the relative merits of learning baseball versus football?” You just ran around the playground and played baseball and football. You built sand castles and played tag and asked silly questions and looked for bugs and dug up grass and pretended you were a sewer monster.

Source: Screw Finding Your Passion

I am so feeling this article right now.  I have dozens of hobbies and passions (long time readers will already know that), and they all take their turn garnering my full attention when the mood strikes.  I have always felt a little left out when folks find out that they are “insert discipline here”.  I am me.  I am a Jack of All Trades – screw being a master of any of it.

I love what I do in the fits and spurts that I do it in.  I am suddenly feeling inspired to write up a new bio.  You can just call me Jack.

What Do I Want to Do with the Rest of My Life? — Melanie Falick

What Do I Want to Do with the Rest of My Life? — Melanie Falick.

I loved this.  I need to make my own list.  Big and small – first two entries:

1) Work as a Spa Reviewer
2) Live in a little stone cottage by the sea

Balancing Creativity and Parenthood

Infinite Monkey Theorem

Like many creatives¹, I spent a lot of my younger years lost in a swirl of daydreams, fantasies, and surges of creative expression. I could set pen to paper whenever the mood struck. Skills practise never felt like work; it was only the refinement of a project in progress.  There were no deadlines, no expectations other than my own — a piece was done when I called it done.  And if one piece sat unfinished while I explored other ideas, so be it.  Time was not a commodity.

Of course, the utopia of youth never lasts, and all too quickly there are bills to pay, responsibilities that never give you a day off, and for some of us, loud, clumsy little people who are in constant need of our undivided attention.

Finding the Time to Create

When children come into your life, two things become a coveted luxury: sleep and alone time…

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Resolutions, Self Improvement, and Self Care

I’ve always wanted to be the type of person who says, “I don’t believe in self-improvement.”  Unfortunately, I have to admit that I am somewhat addicted to it.  It’s the whole “new project” aspect of it.  I love starting new things.  Long time readers will know that where I lack is in the finishing.  I’ve started so many projects that haven’t really gone anywhere.  Either I forget, or lose interest.  Really, unless it’s a job, I’m not good at sticking to a schedule.

This year, while I am still compelled to do a full new year clean and cleansing of my home (I am procrastinating on the floors), I am also finding myself waffling on what I want to take on as a new project for the year.  My New Year’s resolution was about meditation and self-care (and doing a little more work on my blog).  Later this week, I am going for my first mani/pedi of the year – I think I will probably go with an Imbolc-y colour.

For the blog, I will probably be going through and overhauling some of the pages, and adding to some of the most popular topics.  I think that perhaps this is the year I need to give myself a break.  Prompted topics, while they can make for some really interesting content, tend to end up feeling like a chore, especially when they are due every week.

I’d like to write more on topics that are interesting to me, regardless of genre.  There are a lot of facets to me, so it can’t hurt to add some more facets to the blog.  I think the category of Pagan Lifestyle has room for all the things that make up me and my life.

One idea I had been tossing around in my head was the thought of contributing to some Pagan magazine sites.  It has been so long since I was up on the whole scene that I think it will take a bit of research to find out which sites are still active and popular – and looking for articles relating to a more secular approach to witchcraft and not only yet another spin on “How to Live a Religious Life”.  We’ll see how that goes.  I know that a lot of publications tend to shut down due to lack of interest/content.

On a positive note, no matter how flighty or lazy I get, this blog will always be here. Happy New Year – may yours be filled with blessings.

Bad Blogger

Bill Watterson is the Best

I know I have been neglecting you all terribly, but I have had my head stuck in a novel and … I DID IT!  I won NaNoWriMo!  Not quite finished the story, but I crossed the 50k finish line in 29 days, so that has to count for something.  I am dog tired. <- I like that phrase, tho every dog I’ve ever owned has be undeniably lazy, so I don’t know how apt it is.

I will say that writing a novel in 30 days with toddlers climbing on you is no easy task.  I swear that they have some kind of a radar that tells them when Mommy is busy, so that they can drop whatever it is that they’re doing and come running to chatter or scream at me.  But I muscled through, and now that I am physically exhausted, bring on the holidays!

Haha.  I am going to be spending December catching up on some reading in my spare time between kids, cleaning my sadly neglected house, and the holidays.  I will try to get some more pages updated here.  I will aim for writing up the Yule article for the WOTY page – I had assumed that I had that one written already.

Then my new year’s resolution will be to finish the story I started at NaNo and get it all polished up shiny.  I have also been thinking of finally getting the intro packet from the OBOD.  We’ll see how that goes.

That’s all I’ve got folks.  Talk at ya later!

Sailing off into uncharted waters… | Nature Nurtured

Sailing off into uncharted waters… | Nature Nurtured.

Nature Nurtured is a little sprout of a thing, half-realized and vulnerable, and I’m recognizing that it can withstand some experimentation with placement and light. For the first few months of its existence, the site has been organized into a quasi-magazine format with monthly issues and grouped posts standing in as articles.