and (often) my body dance. This is my new CD compilation.
Enjoy (and, play it LOUD.)
Songs that Make My Soul Sing (Thanksgiving 2011)
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Monthly Archives: November 2011
Two years and counting
Today I am cancer free for two years.
I’ve said this before and it continues to be true: I am, in many ways, healthier than I was in my 20s. (Mentally, for sure.) Although I look like a blue meanie and my cholesterol level is too high :-(, I am exercising regularly (being back at Muay Thai is a fabulous feeling!) and eating much better than I was.
Most importantly: I’m smoke free for two years as well.
In our last full moon ritual, I reminded us all that the body is constantly renewing and recreating itself , based on nothing more than the mind. Changing one’s image, manifesting the healthy body that is our birthright, that is a magickal task for a lifetime. At least, it is for me.
So, yay me. *clink* Here’s to three more years.
A Pre-Travel Torta
(This was a draft of a post I never finished back in February 2010. I *think* its a reference to our Ashland trip)
We were going to have a lot of left-overs when we left, and I hated to let them become science experiments. So I decided to make a torta, which is a kind of baked dough-enclosed sandwich, from the same people who gave us the calzone.
It took a lot longer than I expected. (I didn’t read the recipe through before starting.)
The dough took a day (make dough, kill the processor, finish making by hand, let sit overnight). The fillings needed to be recombined and added to other ingredients, then cooled. I took spinach, sauteed it with onion and garlic, and added roasted artichoke hearts. To ricotta cheese, I added 2 eggs. The smoked ham I simply chopped fine, Provolone cheese rounded it out.
I layered the ingredients with half of the the egg mixture first, then half the provolone, half the spinach and all of the ham, then the remaining spinach, cheese, ending with the egg mixture. Cover with more dough, seal. Let sit in ‘fridge overnight. Bake at 375. Cool to eat.
This produces a dense, layered, pastry-enclosed and very tasty meal. It’s pretty rich, and wanted a salad or fruit to accompany it. But we made it into a nice meal in our room the first night we traveled.
Because sometimes a song says it best
Peter Gabriel, Games without Frontiers (Uncensored)
Setting foot upon the path
“Don’t delude yourself. The minute you set foot upon the path of witchcraft, a call rings out in the unseen world announcing the fact of your arrival.”
-Paul Huson
In July of each year since 1997 I participate in an online class, the Art of Ritual. The first year I was a student, now I’m an instructor. This is a witchcraft 101 class, complete with rituals and mentoring.
Each year, the students start out eager and fresh. Each year their lives change. Each year I watch them be changed by the simple act of accepting magick into their life.
Some try to deny the changes, to stop them from happening. Those students have trouble, they struggle.
Others embrace the changes and I watch them blossom and grow.
Magick — whether you spell it with a k or not — is not easy. It requires a high level of self-knowledge and a willingness to accept that the Gods have tasks They want you to do.
This is the season of the witch, a time of transformation. I feel the tide of the harvest calming as we draw closer to the dreaming time.
What magick will you manifest?
2011 Litany of the Dead
(posted a little late)
2011 SAMHAIN LITANY
Dagonet Dewr, Compiler
As always, editorial comments and content are solely my responsibility. I will forget people; email me at dagonet.dewr@… and I’ll add them to permanent archived copies of this list. More and more every year, I realize we need a central listing point for Neo-Pagan dead; if anyone is interested in making that project a reality, please email me as well. Feel free to disseminate with attribution.
New Year’s Tarot Reading
The question asked, as always: What will the coming year bring?
Covering: Page of Cups: The essence of water behaving as earth, such as a wellspring: An unexpected new relationship that is playful and spontaneous. A romantic soul who embraces compassion and imagination with childlike joy. Gentle reflections on love, spirituality, and the importance of personal relationships in business and material affairs. May herald the birth of a child.
“Shake it Off”
The effing brilliant new release from Florence and the Machine. I can’t wait for the album to be released.