I’m back

After a several year hiatus, a divorce, a major job change, and many other life incidents. I’ve decided to renew this blog.  There are going to be changes here too.  More on movies, and seasons and celebrating the wheel of the year, probably less on tarot, but you never know.

My forecast for 2016.  A renewal of creative energy, more birding, more movies, more living.  Here’s hoping for less stress. – Lirala

Image shared from: http://www.incredibly.co/notes/the-art-of-creativity/

 

Secret of Kells

Official site at: http://newvideo.com/secretofkells/
Nominated for an Academy Award in 2010 I got to see the film on Sunday.  It is the merging of a theory of the history of the Book of Kells with Irish mythology. But more than this, it is a gorgeous visual extravaganza celebrating nature, art, and passion. 

The actual Book of Kells contains the four gospels of the new testament, but its fame is derived from the beautiful illumination artwork that graces so many of its pages (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells and http://www.snake.net/people/paul/kells/).  This artwork informs the artwork of the movie itself.  

 The Irish mythology centers around Crom Cruach  (see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crom_Cruach) and Faerie. 

So there’s a great story and gorgeous art and then they add in things like the name of the cat Pangur Ban which is the name of an Old Irish poem written by a monk who owned a cat of the same name. 

Pangur Ban

I and Pangur Ban my cat,
Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will,
He too plies his simple skill.

Tis a merry thing to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur’s way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

‘Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
‘Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

From — http://www.fisheaters.com/pangurban.html
It is available in the original language on the webpage along with a bit more on monks and cats.

This poem is read over the closing credits part way into said credits.

They also have the girl, Christen Mooney voicing Aisling (the fairy) sing the most haunting magical song.  See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTiSak8r9P8  or this one with subtitles in English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnkanYUQMo&feature=related

Her name Aisling is the name of a type of Irish vision poem which features a female. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisling 

This movie is going into the collection of Pagan Films. It is haunting and magical. It celebrates nature and knowledge, and it is full of wonder. 

Movie trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2_HZTuQBE

And a fascinating interview with the director of the movie Tomm Moore at http://thefilmstage.com/2010/10/05/interview-tomm-moore-talks-the-secret-of-kells/

Altar Space

I cleaned and relaid my altar space today.  I think I’ve found the perfect altar cloth for a kitchen witch.  A new white all cotton dish towel. 

Altar

 

The boxes contain tarot decks, rocks, crystals, bits of wood shavings, pine cone, dried petals, herbs, shells and other treasures.  The roses on either side were gifts from my honey.  I’ve got two fairies watching over things on the roses.  On the rear left is a stack of stones I found on a beach in Monterey. On the rear right is a small aloe vera in a piece of hand made pottery I found in my house when we bought it. The quartz wand on the left was a gift to myself this year. On the right of the candle space is a feather I found where I work. The candle holder is really just a heavy green glass goblet embossed with a leaf pattern.  The little dish to the left of the candle is a piece of pottery I bought from a local artist. I use it for my used matches.   Both are sitting on a green marble 12″ square tile I picked up at a garage sale. In the front is a Rider-Waite in five piles, one for each suit and one for the major arcana.  I’ve got a polished rock representing the first card in each pile sitting on top.  The altar itself is a gift from a friend that my husband refinished for me. It’s an old fashioned type of cedar chest.  It contains more candles and supplies.  The walls of my home office are green and not quite this yellow.  This is the place to begin…

Privacy …

I’m so excited. I just found out that you can mark specific posts as password protected.  Anyone with the password can see the post, but otherwise, NO.  Why is this exciting?  Well, I’ve been working on a tarot deck of stones and myths for the past few years. I’m getting to the end and need feedback. The people I want feedback from all live far away from me so sharing things electronically is the best way to go.  But my work is original and I don’t want it out on the Internet to be used/shared willy nilly. Not yet anyway, not till after it’s finished.  SOOOoooo I’ll be posting the cards/stones here instead.  My goal is to do four per month, aces in january, twos in february … I’m hoping I’ll get on a roll. If I do then I can always fill in with Major Arcana.   This is very exciting for me cause I’m so close to getting done I can taste it.  Even if it is never published, at least I’ll have it done and can share it on the net.   Wheeeeeee

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Rune Stones

I spent some time today hand lettering rune stone sets to give as gifts for Solstice.  I used this chart which I found at http://www.crystalcavern.com/en-us/rune_stone_meanings.html

Rune Chart

I used a black marker (for glass work). They look a bit like the picture below though the runes are in black not gold. I did three sets on white glass beads, one set on aqua, and another on yellow. 

I got this image from http://www.secondhand-souls-4occult.com/rune-stone-sets.html where you can buy lots of different colors of rune sets at really reasonable prices.

Book Review – Cunningham’s Book of Shadows

Cunningham’s Book of Shadows by Scott Cunningham

Published posthumously, this is a compilation of Scott Cunningham’s personal Book of Shadows material supplemented with verbiage from his published works. It is charming in its simplicity and feels, to me, like it comes from a wide eyed, honest, feeling, trusting perspective. It is refreshingly direct, as all of his works are and incredibly useful. I will be referring back to this book for its sections on signs & symbols, and may actually copy much of it out into my own BOS. The Appendixes at the end of the book are personal reminiscences of Scott by a few of his friends. They give insight into who he was, and are a nice supplement to his biography ‘Whispers of the Moon’ by Harrington. I would recommend this book as a supplement to his other works. For a newbie, I’d still suggest starting with his ‘Wicca: a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner’.

Book Review – Essential Guide to Crystals

The Essential Guide to Crystals by Simon & Sue Lilly

A handy sized magical reference for rocks, gems, minerals, and crystals. The introductory material ‘The Power of Crystals’ includes healing traditions, a bit of geology, taking care of your collection, healing techniques, correspondences such as chakras and colors, and meditations. The bulk of the book are entries detailing each crystal. The word crystal is used as a synonym for all kinds of rocks and minerals. Since this seems to be the norm in the neopagan/new age genre I’ll not argue about it here. The crystal entries are arranged by color which is useful for identification purposes. Each entry has information such as the chemical composition, locations where the stone is found, identification and care, healing, practical ideas, magic ideas and a list of similar stones. The list of similar stones is particularly helpful for identification purposes. Great care has been taken to warn readers against doing things to the stones that would degrade them or using them for purposes that would harm the reader. I know there is no book that can include every polished stone found on the market, but this book lists howlite twice in the ‘similar stones’ section but does not give howlite an entry for itself. On the other hand objects such as coral and pearl are included though they are not stones. I appreciate these inclusions because the items can be used in many of the same ways and are found near each other in bead stores and rock shops. The Lilly’s have packed the book with a lot of useful information for anyone wishing to work magic and/or healing with stones. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Book Review – Practical Candleburning Rituals

Practical Candleburning Rituals by Raymond Buckland (amazon link)

A classic in pagan world it was originally published in 1970. This third edition includes Christian and Pagan versions of candle rituals. For good or ill the book includes both what could be considered black ritual and white ritual.  It is up to the practitioner to decide how or if these should be used.  Buckland includes a warning about this very thing in his introduction. There are correspondences for colors, day of the week, along with altar placements.  

I recommend this book since so many current books use this as a foundation for their candle burning ritual suggestions. 

The caveat to this is my belief that the magic is effective because of the witch not the ritual.  To me the correspondences and even the candles themselves are secondary to the belief and connections of the witch.

Salt Scrubs

Epsom Salts

photo source: http://www.ecoerth.com/relieve-sore-muscles-and-more-with-epsom-salt/

I made up batches of Salt Scrubs to give away as holiday gifts.  Selfishly I am keeping some for my Solstice gift to self.  I just love them. 

I use them in my shower. I scoop out small handfulls and gently rub them on my skin. It cleanses/rebalances the aura and makes my skin smooth. I have very dry skin so the mineral oil, though not absorbed by the skin, creates a protective layer that holds in the moisture.  I use the scrubs sporadically … not with every shower.  When you towel dry the slick feeling disappears. 

You can make these up using other oils, such as hazelnut or almond. The scent will be a tad less pure but still yummy. These types of oil can become rancid, so it is best to use and/or refrigerate them to prolong their life.

If I don’t have a scented version on hand I just use plain epsom salts as a scrub.  I also scatter epsom salts on the floor of the shower and stand on them if I’m feeling particularly psychically/emotionally icky.

Frankincense Salt Scrub 1 cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil	Amber Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil
Rose Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil	Eucalyptus Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil
Musk Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil	Clean Cotton Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil
Vanilla Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil	Raspberry Salt Scrub 1 ¼ cup epsom salt¼ cup desert salt ¼ cup sea salt 6 tablespoons mineral oil ½ – 1 teaspoons essential oil

 

This a macro made of some very large Maldon Sea Salt crystals.

photo by micon@chello.nl source: http://www.ifood.tv/blog/salt