As a follow up to this post, I’m doing much better (thank you for asking. :-).
Y’all may or may not know that I am the primary leader of a coven that has been in existence (in one form or another) since 2000. Back when I found out I had cancer I (of course) reached out to everyone in the group and was very forthright about the fact that I was really going to not be doing much leading. The group said, in effect, we’ll keep it going.
Or so I thought.
This morning, August 12, 2010 at approximately 8 AM ET, Isaac Bonewits passed away peacefully in his sleep. All his brothers and sisters arrived at his side last night. His family and friends surround him now.
from Isaac and Phaedra’s facebook page.
tears are in my eyes, not for his death, but for our loss.
Isaac, I never met you in person, but I am proud to have been a supporter of yours and will continue to do so for Phaedra. May the Gods and Goddesses receive you with a glass of mead, a hug, and a new collection of songs.
Hair! (I’m told it’s kid of cute.)
Energetically I’m doing well. I still get tired long before I used to, and I’m not sleeping through the night, which isn’t good for my energy.
Today I am not doing well at all. I got some bad news that I am struggling with. I don’t mind the criticism I received, I just mind that it came out of nowhere and there was no discussion. A decision was made and I didn’t get to have a chance to change, or offer input, or anything.
Worse, the decision was based on my performance during chemo. So, at a time when I was struggling, daily, I was being measured against a very high standard. I failed, and now I’m being punished.
I have to be fair: you aren’t hearing the other side of the story, and — as I said — the criticism is absolutely true as far as my part goes. I’m just feeling really bad right now. REALLY bad.
hey there — do me a favor and help a good friend out.
Diana Rajchel is writing a book on neopagans and divorce. She’s written a survey to collect data to be discussed in various part sof the book, and she needs people to fill out the survey. She writes:
I am looking for divorced neopagans to participate in an intensive survey about their divorce and handparting experiences. If you live in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, I would also like to interview you on camera for an online/free release documentary on the subject. The data you share will contribute to building services for the greater neopagan community.
I do ask that you complete this Liability release before participating in the survey. You can contact me here for where to send it electronically.
This is an important work. Please participate and spread the word.
thanks!
I was given Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s Shadowscapes Tarot and book to review for Facing North!
Why am I ‘squeeeing’ over yet another tarot deck?
Try this:
My 43rd birthday is coming up, and we’re thinking about actually having a party.
I’d like to do something to ‘kill’ my 42nd year. It was such a dreadful time I do NOT want to have to go through it again. But I’m not coming up with a good symbology for it. I don’t want to do a whole ritual thing, most of my friends are non-pagans. But I keeping thinking that if we did the cake in a particular way, we’d eat the year and therefore kill it dead.
Or something. I’m stuck on this one — any ideas?
P.S. I updated the picture in the ‘A Year Ago . . .‘ post.
In the hands of a skilled reader, astrology can be a useful tool. As proof, of sorts, I offer excerpts from Susan Miller’s forecast for Virgo, June 2010:
. . . Mars had spent an inordinately long time in Leo, reaching back to October 2009, and this is unusual. Mars typically spends seven weeks in a sign, not eight months! The placement of Mars in Leo put you in a holding pattern over the last months, but that’s about to end now.
. . .It’s also possible that you’ve had a lot of interaction with medical professionals lately, for the twelfth house rules health and healing. Perhaps you had surgery, needed long-term treatments, or required physical therapy.
One reason her forecasts are highly useful for me is that I am a double Virgo (sun and ascendant), others might find reading both forecasts for their different signs will yield a high probability of accuracy each month.
I’ve been ruminating about this post since Azahar first brought the topic up in mid February. I’ve been holding off writing it becuase I really didn’t want to freak y’all out. (Isn’t that nice of me?)
I promise I won’t often share dreams with you. Partly because dreams tend to be harder to describe than it seems when you begin, but also because the lexicon of symbology is intensely personal and intimate.
Last night I dreamed of a catastrophe that wiped out much of the area our clan lived in. This was not a horrible experience, we just went on with the rebuilding. Somehow, I became the person who had managed to keep the icons safe — I ended up working with the shaman-priest/esses and doling out the many (MANY) horned god, star goddess, goddess, and god images I had saved. Oh, and the 50+ tarot decks.
Wheel of Change Deck: High Priestess
I only share this because it’s the first overtly magickal dream I’ve had in a while, and I find the significance of it occurring only days after my final chemo significant.
In therapy the other day I found myself talking about teaching other people how to meditate. Please note that I will cheerfully admit that I am still learning to meditate, and I’ve been doing it for 30+ years. But I know how to teach others, because the first rule is:
show up
That’s it. If you show up you are 100% of the way further than you were yesterday when you didn’t show up.
It’s a tough one, I know. There are all of the things that keep you from it, that distract you, that make it impossible . . . I know.
Over the years I’ve told people to go to the bathroom to meditate (its the only place they are left alone for a few mins); I’ve encouraged them to set boundaries (It’s ok to be left alone for 15 mins every day); and I’ve introduced them to the Law of 3Bs (if there is no blood, or bone, and everyone is breathing — don’t bother me).
But all of that is just window dressing for the most important step: Show Up.
. . .
Oh, you want to know what the 2nd rule is? Shut up.
🙂