The Official Blog of Author Kerri Connor

Blog and Article with Llewellyn

2012-02-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Please stop by and check them out!

http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2012/2/getting-back-on-track/

http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2273

The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook

2012-02-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook by Kenaz Filan. Destiny Books. 2011.

http://store.innertraditions.com/isbn/978-1-59477-435-5?id=3864&displayZoom=1&selectedTextTypeKeynames=18

This book tells the all encompassing story of how present day New Orleans Voodoo came into existence. Going back in time, this book starts at the beginning, and describes the birth of the Crescent City. By drawing on traditions from numerous cultures, and combining faiths and beliefs together, modern day New Orleans Voodoo was created and has grown in popularity throughout the decades.

This book goes into great depth recreating the environment where New Orleans Voodoo took its first breath, showing the differences between other forms of Voodoo such as Haitian or African, and these differences are major. These differences are what make New Orleans Voodoo it’s own, unique practice.

While this book does focus more on the history and environment of New Orleans, than it does on how to actually practice it, this background is necessary in order to fully comprehend what New Orleans Voodoo really and truly is. By knowing its history, it makes the actual practice more feasible.

We are treated to the stories, legends, and history that have combined together over the years to bring us to our modern day.

This handbook is very informative on the history and gives the reader a broad range of knowledge to help point him/her in the right direction if they want to look more in depth for actual practices. The basics on practices are given, though anyone wanting to commit to a life of practicing New Orleans Voodoo is going to want to use some of the given resources to dig deeper. While practice is possible with the information that is given, it would be best supplemented by follow up research with one of the resources provided.

This book is also an invaluable asset for anyone getting ready to plan a trip to New Orleans, or looking to begin some research on The Big Easy.

Minawear Hemp and Organic Yoga Clothing

2012-02-08T06:40:00.001-08:00

Minawear Hemp and Organic Yoga Clothing

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Minawear-Hemp-and-Organic-Yoga-Clothing/159770007369851

www.minawear.com

Minawear is a unique producer of hemp clothing made for yoga, and casual wear. I haven’t had much experience with hemp, so was pleasantly surprised at the softness and warmth of the material these clothes were fashioned from. The blend in this material is 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. With a thickness and consistency similar to wool, but with out the scratchy feeling, these clothes are also more breathable than a lot of other material on the market. Softer, thicker and fluffier than just plain cotton – yet doesn’t make you overheat and sweat.

The Low Rise Clam Diggers (priced at $64), with trim were my favorite out of the 4 different products we were able to review. They have a good length to them, are well fitting and comfortable enough for yoga or everyday casual wear.

The Low Rise Drawstring pants with silk trim ($78), are also comfortable, but it seems these do tend to run a bit long. On the website you can order a custom inseam, and for the extra $2 I would highly recommend it. The length these pants came in was too long to do much of anything in, other than possibly lay around on the couch! I recommend checking the measurements on everything to ensure a good and comfortable fit – especially if you are indeed shopping for clothes for your yoga practice. Comfort and fit should be your highest priorities when searching for your ideal yoga workout clothes.

The Mini Dress with long raglan sleeves ($68) is stylish, and though probably not something you would wear for yoga, you can easily dress it up or down with accessories. It’s also warm enough to wear on cool days and can be partnered with leggings for a warmer look.

The 3 strap tank ($54) comfortable and when sized properly, form fitting with a built in bra.

The colors are all vibrant and these clothes will not only get you noticed, you will feel like you are doing something special for yourself just by wearing them. You will feel as if you have been wrapped in luxury with the feel of this hemp and organic cotton blend against your skin.

Personally, I feel the mini dress and clam diggers are the best value, and you will have the easiest time finding the proper fit for these two items. I do want to emphasize checking on measurements before ordering. You want to get the right size the first time around so you will be able to enjoy your new clothes as soon as they arrive instead of having to exchange them for a different size.

The only issue I found with the Minawear line was the lack of different sizes. While most items are available in S, M, L, or XL, I was unable to find anything on the website that said what these actual sizes stood for – which is another reason to check your measurements before buying. Send an email to customer service to find out which size should fit you best. It seems to me the sizes may run a bit on the small side, and if you’re a larger size person – you aren’t going to find much here for you – which truly is a shame. Larger people do also perform yoga, and should be able to feel comfortable while doing so also. Perhaps with the cost of hemp material the company feels it wouldn’t do enough business in plus sizes to justify the expenditures, I don’t know, but with the growing popularity of yoga, and the number of people trying to get healthier and lose weight, perhaps it’s something Minawear will look into in the future.

The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook

2012-02-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

The Best of Wah! CD. Sounds True. 2006.

2012-02-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

The Best of Wah! CD. Sounds True. 2006.

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/The-Best-of-Wah!/59.productdetails

Although this CD is already a few years old, it was my first experience with Wah – an artist, who by now has been performing with her band for over 17 year. Touring nightclubs and yoga centers, Wah has built her own special following.

Her music brings us peace and contentment and can have multiple uses in our daily spiritual lives. Perfect for yoga, pilates, or light meditation, this is a versatile CD, that can also be used in ritual or other spiritual practices.

The tracks on this CD include:

1. Bola Ram
2. Gopala Hare
3. Is it Love
4. Opening
5. Gayatri (luscious chill mix)
6. Hare Krishna
7. Raksha Ma
8. Heart Sutra
9. Opium
10. Om Mani Padme Hum
11. Stay in My Heart
12. On Namah Shivaya
13. Shree Ram/Om

The CD insert lists the lyrics to the chants, and often translates and explains the significance of the chants which makes it easier to follow along and comprehend the meanings behind each of these songs, building on this musical experience.

If you aren’t familiar with Wah – this is a great way to introduce yourself. The songs on this CD were chosen from her repertoire from the previous decade. This selection showcases some deeply spiritual chants.

The music is calming when needed, and even a bit groovy at times, to give your heart an extra boost. Wah’s voice is soothing and smooth – an experience in itself.

It doesn’t matter what your religion or pathway is, experiencing a connection to your high power through music and song is a positive experience. This CD from Wah can help you connect not only to your higher power, but to your own higher self.

review: Tibetan Dream Journey CD by Nawang Khechog.

2012-01-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

Tibetan Dream Journey CD by Nawang Khechog.

Sounds True. 2011.

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Tibetan-Dream-Journey/3490.productdetails

Master flutist Nawang Khechog, brings to us a beautiful compilation of kindness and compassion, in the incredible music of this CD.

By combining the music of his flute with light percussion, and guest musicians, he creates a masterpiece with which to treats us.

The universal compassion chant from the Dalai Lama is extraordinary, and a delightful experience you can relive over and over again.

While I know not many people bother to read the CD inserts, you'll never know what you just might find a out by doing so.

On the cover of the CD insert, is a letter to the listener. In this letter, Khechog describes an accident that took place in 2007, in which he was seriously injured and his niece lost her life. He briefly discusses his recovery including a setback in 2008 after suffering a heart attack. He goes on to explain a Tibetan spiritual saying, “Take your hardships and strategies into your spiritual path”, and how this is has helped him to recover from this traumatic experience.

After reading this letter, you have a new, even better appreciation for the music. When you understand where the music is coming from, it reaches to a new level, it reaches inside of you and you feel an ever deeper connection to it.

The tracks on t: my lifehe CD include:
1. Prophecy
2. Into Dharmakaya
3. Tibetan Dream Journey
4. Tibetan Freedom Through Nonviolence and Compassion
5. Finding Joy Through Compassion for Others
6. Zen Sem Blues
7. Rocking with Nonviolence and Peace
8. Om Mani Padme Hoong
9. Finding Within the Way Out of Suffering
10. Chant of Universal Compassion
11. May All Be Kind to Each Other
`

Review: Ten Minutes to Relax: Living the Love Response: Guided Meditations for Healing, Balance and Joy CD

2012-01-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Ten Minutes to Relax: Living the Love Response: Guided Meditations for Healing, Balance and Joy CD By Eva M. Selhub, M.D. The Relaxation Company (Sounds True)

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Ten-Minutes-to-Relax%3A-Living-the-Love-Response/2317.productdetails

Though this CD only contains 3 different guided meditations, it very well could become a staple in your meditation practices.

Each guided meditation is accompanied with its own song, and after the guided meditation is complete, the song plays again on its own. This way, you can either continue the meditation to the music, perform only the guided meditation, or do an entire meditation on your own with only the music as background. So, even though there are only the 3 different meditations, they can be used in different ways and combinations to make up several different meditations. Each meditation runs right around ten minutes, so depending on how much time you have, you can adjust the tracks to suit your time needs.

The first meditation is called Letting Go to Love. This meditation involves visualizing yourself at the sea. While you begin on the beach, you do eventually enter the water and are encouraged to take any form you like. I really enjoyed this mediation and found it to be extremely relaxing, and effective for washing away stress and negativity.

The second mediation is called The Flower of Your Heart. This was my favorite on the CD simply because the visualizations are so intriguing. As you work with this meditation, you envision a flower in your heart area opening and closing with each inhalation and exhalation. This image expands to include rays of golden light. This meditation is very uplifting, especially after a hard difficult day. If you are having a hard time in your life – whether it be money related, death in the family or dealing with difficult children this is sure to help. While this meditation won’t solve your problems or make them go away, it will give you a much needed break and change your outlook enough to help you deal with the circumstances.

The final meditation is Mother of the Earth. In this meditation you make a personal connection with Mother Earth. You feel her comfort, her love, her understanding. This is also a powerful meditation for times when you feel overwhelmed and need to unload your burden.

I was really happy and impressed with this CD. These meditations are a very positive experience and highly recommended.

Guided Meditations for Love and Wisdom: 14 Essential Practices CD by Sharon Salzberg.

2012-01-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

Guided Meditations for Love and Wisdom: 14 Essential Practices CD by Sharon Salzberg. Sounds True. 2009.

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Guided-Meditations-for-Love-and-Wisdom/1969.productdetails?gclid=CPjBqpae1a0CFUG8KgodJGpInQ

The CD starts right of with a breath meditation. Sharon explains how any time you are able to breathe you are able to meditate, whether that be standing in line at a grocery store, or waiting in a doctors office any time you can breathe you can be using that time to meditate.

Sharon then begins this meditation by telling you how to sit and relax. There is a lot of discussion on what you should and should not be thinking about, so much in fact it becomes very distracting. These moments of discussion are then followed by long drawn out silences. You find yourself waiting for her to begin talking again, this also ends up being distracting. You should be able to be focusing on your meditation, not focusing on when the speaker will begin speaking again.

The next meditation on this CD is a hearing meditation. Again this is a meditation you should be able to perform just about anywhere. You are to observe and listen to the sounds around you but not let them distract you. However when the speaker refers to things such as perhaps there is a bus outside, and perhaps you will start to think about the bus route, or how the bus route should be changed for you, these things become distracting. By telling you not to elaborate on these thoughts that's exactly what you end up doing. What if there is not a bus outside? Your mind ends up focusing on a bus that is not even there. So often on this CD, statements are made that focus your mind to places or things distracting you from the actual meditation.

The third meditation on this CD is about sensations. The sense of touch. It can help you evaluate pain. While she tells you you do not have to name your sensations just feel them, just the fact that she says that you don't have to, focuses your mind on actually naming them. This is mentioned more than once, drawing your attention to it over and over again.

The fourth meditation is a walking meditation, though she tells you you can do it without walking. What she means is if you are unable to walk and are in a wheelchair you can still do this meditation just focus on the wheeling instead of the walking. Again in this meditation also, so many other things are brought up, distracting you from the true point of the meditation.

You may be noticing a theme here, these are some of the most distracting meditations I've ever seen, or should I say heard. In the walking meditation when she actually tells you how to take a step, it seems so slow you feel like you're going to fall over. You also may notice the title of the CDs is Guided Meditations for Love and Wisdom - yet almost done with the first CD and there hasn't really been anything about love or wisdom mentioned yet. The concepts of these meditations have not touched on the two topics so far.

Next we come to a drinking team meditation, in which you begin by observing the cup, feeling the warmth, smelling the tea, tasting the tea, and so on. Immediately she begins telling you you may have too many judgments about your tea. I don't know about you but I'm generally not too judgmental about my tea.

Finally we come to a loving kindness meditation - that centers on our attention. And believe it or not again we have the same distractions.

I could go on about this CD but I think you're starting to get the point.

This CD finishes up with a loving kindness walking meditation. The second CD contains meditations for: reflection on interconnectedness, meditation on seeing the good, meditation and compassion, meditation on emotions, letting go of thought, mental noting, and meditation on balance. So while the topics finally start turning toward the title topic, it takes a long time to get there, with many distractions inbetween.

Perhaps there are people out there who enjoy meditations that are done without any music, and enjoy the dead air of silence. I myself am not one of those. Perhaps you don't mind what I take to be almost rambling, of the person guiding me through the meditation. I do mind, and find it to be thoroughly distracting.

While I believe many of these meditations could be useful, it is the way in which they are presented that turns me off. They just can’t get me in, and keep me in a meditative state.

Llewellyn Booksellers Blog: Banishing the Post-Holiday Blues

2011-12-28T13:58:00.000-08:00

Llewellyn Booksellers Blog: Banishing the Post-Holiday Blues: Hi Booksellers, I’ll just go ahead and say it: I am not a winter person. I don’t ski, skate, or sled. I don’t cheer for snow (because I ...

Review: Journey to the Faerie Ring: a Guided Meditation CD by Alicen Geddes-Ward

2011-12-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

Journey to the Faerie Ring: a Guided Meditation CD by Alicen Geddes-Ward. Paradise Music.

http://www.paradisemusic.us.com/albumsDetail.asp?id=11

I first tested out this CD with my group, The Gathering Grove, on the best day of the year to work with fairies: Midsummer. We had prepared for the meditation by lying blankets on the ground around a bonfire. After our Midsummer ritual, we proceeded to the bonfire area where each group member took a place on a blanket and got comfortable. The CD played in a portable CD player and was plenty loud for everyone to hear over the popping and snapping of the fire.

This meditation CD is a true journey as you begin in one location, at one time, and the you journey along with the CD meeting different fairies, traveling to different locations throughout the program.

Each track on the CD builds onto the one before. The problem with this, is each track is not its own separate meditation; while the topics change with each track, they cannot be used as their own separate standalone meditation. Therefore in order to complete this meditation most effectively you do need to have plenty of time on hand to go through the entire CD. All of us performing the meditation that Midsummer night, agreed we would have liked the meditation better had each track been able to be completed on its own.

The track listings on this CD include:

1. Begin the Journey of Secrets
2. Discover the Faerie Queen
3. The Sparkling Spider’s Web Entrance
4. The Magic of the Elven Tree
5. Enchantment of the Elves
6. The Singer in the Stream
7. The Faerie Ring
8. The Faerie Mound at Dusk

Though I did try to perform the meditation separately, they just do not work well on their own. Therefore, when preparing to perform this meditation, be sure to have at least an hour set aside to do so.

The enclosed CD insert in clues information such as:
how to use this album for meditation to the faerie ring, tips for meditating successfully, about the fairies and their message, meeting the faerie queen, what is a fairy ring, recommended faerie reading, information on workshops magazines artist and sculptors, and a brief bit of information on the Orkney Faerie Museum and Gallery.

While each one of us enjoyed the meditations on this CD, and each had a different and unique experience, we all agreed that the length seemed too long. Because each track blends in with the track before and after it, there just didn't seem to be any real pauses or breaks. However this also did make it feel like a true journey. If you don't mind longer meditations, this was definitely fun, frisky and informative. I simply cannot emphasize enough, that in order to make this meditation the most positive it can be, you will need to make sure you have plenty of time set aside along with a comfortable position, perhaps even lying down.

Prepare well for this meditation and you will be rewarded at the end of your journey.

The Little Spirit Guide Meditation Album: 10 minute meditations to help find your Spirit Guide by Philip Permutt

2011-12-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

The Little Spirit Guide Meditation Album: 10 minute meditations to help find your Spirit Guide by Philip Permutt. Paradise Music.

http://www.paradisemusic.us.com/albumsDetail.asp?id=231

The first time I tried out this meditation CD, I invited a couple of friends over to do it with me. We set up the downstairs so it would be already for us to meditate, with three couches - one for each of us, and dimmed lights, we put the CD into the DVD player, got into position and let the meditation flow.

The voice of Philip Permutt is soothing and relaxing, so soothing and relaxing that both one of my friends and myself fell asleep halfway through the CD.

The third person in our trio however, completed the entire meditation, ran to a different room, got paper and a pen, wrote down several notes about his own experience, and then woke the rest of us up. Obviously, we were in a pretty deep sleep.

A few days later I attempted the meditation again, this time sitting up in daylight, and was able to go through the entire CD without falling asleep. Though I admit, I was still getting a little groggy by the end of the CD. It wasn't that the meditations were boring it's just that Phillips voice is that soothing and comforting, you feel safe enough to fall asleep wherever you are.

Backed with music by Llewellyn, if you did want to use the CD to help you sleep at night it probably wouldn't hurt.

The track listings on this CD include:
Track 1: Introduction
Track 2: The Mountain
Track 3: The Forest (animal guides)
Track 4: The Cave
Track 5: The Crystal
Track 6: The Pyramid
Track 7: The Temple in the Clouds

What I specifically liked about the CD is the fact that each one of the tracks stands alone as its own separate meditation. You do not have to listen to them all at the same time. If you only have a small amount of time to meditate you can pick which track you would like to work with, or if you have a longer amount of time you can run the tracks together. With some other meditation CDs this just isn't possible you need each track to build upon the one before.

Philip uses rich descriptions to transport your body, mind and soul into your meditation. These places he takes you, become alive and real in your mind's eye. These meditations to meet your spirit guides, are definitely a positive experience that can have great impact on your daily life. Performing these meditations multiple times may introduce you to different spirit guides, or it may just help you build a stronger relationship with specific guides you are working with.

I found the programs on this CD to be highly effective, soothing, entertaining, informative, and just plain interesting. Whether you are new to meditation or an old pro, give this CD a try, it may very well open a new world to you.

Tarot Workshop: An Introductory Guide to Tarot CD by Suzanne Corbie

2011-11-08T07:50:00.001-08:00

Tarot Workshop: An Introductory Guide to Tarot CD by Suzanne Corbie. Paradise Music. http://www.paradisemusic.us.com/albumsDetail.asp?id=53

This two disc set is a whole new way to look at and learn the Tarot. On these CDs, Suzanne Corbie works with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, and while she does say you can use other decks to follow along with her, I would highly recommend going ahead and using the Rider-Waite deck. I listened to this CD several times with several other decks, and while some fit with her descriptions, some don’t have the same details she refers too. At least start with the Rider – Waite, and then when you are comfortable with that, you can move onto other decks.

These discs are broken down into the major and minor arcanas.

Track listings:

CD 1 Major Arcana – Introduction to the Tarot

1. Introduction to the Tarot
2. The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress
3. The Emperor, The Heirophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength
4. The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death
5. Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star
6. The Moon, The Sun, Judgment, The World
7. Working with the Tarot Daily Readings and questions
8. Simple Three Card Spreads

CD 2 Minor Arcana – Connecting your intuition with the tarot

1. Swords
2. Wands
3. Cups
4. Pentacles
5. Connecting with the tarot. Exercises to connect your intuition with the tarot using both major and minor arcane, storytelling, identifying walks of life and describing your life using the cards
6. Step by step celtic cross spread
7. Guided mediation through the Major Arcana – the Journey of the Fool

In learning about these cards, Corbie emphasizes this isn’t about memorization, it’s about interpretation and that the cards will mean what you need for them to mean – this doesn’t mean you consciously tell the cards to mean what you want them to say, but that you will be able to interpret the information from the cards that you need to. The cards may have different meanings for you at different times – depending on what your situation is at the time. A large part of this workshop is taking each card individually and spending time with it, stare at, look at all the aspects of the picture. How does it make you feel? Close your eyes and see what comes into your mind – this is the message the card has for you.

This is a great set to help yourself learn how to use the tarot, or to work together with your friends in a group. For discussion purposes you can each share what each card means to you. You may help others see things they hadn’t seen before, and they may do the same with you. This would make a great discussion/workshop to do at metaphysical stores or with in your own group – particularly if everyone worked with a different deck.

Review: Time of the Quickening: Prophecies for the Coming Utopian Age by Susan B. Martinez, Ph. D

2011-10-17T10:51:00.001-07:00

Time of the Quickening: Prophecies for the Coming Utopian Age by Susan B. Martinez, Ph. D. Bear and Company: Rochester, VT. 2011.

http://store.innertraditions.com/isbn/978-1-59143-126-8?id=3828&displayZoom=1

I really had no clue what to expect with this book, but because it’s sort of 2012 related, I was quite anxious to check it out.

The author takes information and predictions from all kinds of sources – the Oahspe Bible, Nostradamus, Jeane Dixon, and others to compile what she sees at the new world order we are heading too.

Part of this book deals with the mathematical aspects of events that have already happened and how they are connected to each other, and I will admit that these parts just didn’t have a really big impact on me, in fact I began to find them annoying. I feel that timewise, we can tie ANY two events together by saying they are a certain number of years apart, that in no way means they are connected in any other way, and throughout this book we so much about that. I find these correlations to be coincidences, if even that. Just by the nature of time itself, we will always be able to connect ANY event to another event simply by stating the amount of time that occurred that between the 2 (or more) events.

This was not the part of book that I found impressive. What I did indeed find impressive were many of the quotes Martinez used to show what may be coming, and the most impressive was Martinez’s own insights.

When she compares the overall state of mind of Americans to that of someone suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and then explains just how the clinical definition so well fits as a description of American society today, I was simply floored. When she elaborates further on the double standards of American politics, I was so excited to see that someone else out there was publishing views I have agreed with for years.

I was extremely impressed with Martinez’s commentary and views on American life how the way we act now may end up leading to eventual downfall and possible demise in the future.

This book was extremely interesting – far more so than I had originally expected. While I felt the areas talking about time lapses between events was a bit dry, I was highly impressed with Martinez’s theories on American society’s over all beliefs – and just what those beliefs may end up leading us to in the foreseeable future.

Review Goddess Cards: Inanna and Yoga Mama

2011-10-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Review Goddess Cards: Inanna and Yoga Mama
www.goddesscards.com
www.egoddesscards.com

It’s a beautiful day in northern Illinois, and it’s time again for a couple more cards from the Goddess Card collection from Anne Baird. Today’s selection includes: “Inanna: Sumerian Goddess of Heaven and Earth” http://www.goddesscards.com/inanna.html and “Yoga Mama” http://www.goddesscards.com/yogamama.html

The Inanna card is slightly different from the other Goddess cards we have seen so far as this one doesn’t have the border around the main picture, so we don’t get as much of her story in the full picture. Still, this is a beautiful card that emphasizes the strength and wisdom of this Mother aspect Goddess.

This card also reminds us what used to be considered the ideal physique of a good mother – ample breasts, along with ample hips and waist – not the warped image of physical “beauty” advertisers are convincing people to strive for today. Inanna is all real woman.

The second card this week is “Yoga Mama”. On the front of this card it says “You constantly amaze me”, and pictures two women practicing yoga together – showing them in several different poses.

On the inside of the card, we have two women, one younger, one older, belly dancing to the music of two musicians and the words, “Is there anything you can’t do?”

This is a sweet card that you can send to show any woman in your life how you respect and appreciate her. I also like how it does end up showing the tie in of yoga and belly dance too – these two practices are complimentary to each other – perhaps similar to your relationship with the woman you would send this card too. This is another card that emphasis the strength of women – something women everywhere need to celebrate – in themselves and in each other.

Pick up some of these cards today to send to your female friends and family. Let them know you appreciate and celebrate their strength – you are not intimidated by or jealous of it. Female strength gives the world life. Take the time to honor it.

Essence of Vali: Relief Massage and Bath Oil

2011-09-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

Essence of Vali

Essenceofvali.com

Relief Massage and Bath Oil

http://essenceofvali.com/products-page/massage-and-bath-oils/relief-massage-and-bath-oil

The ingredients of this mixture contains: Jojoba oil, essential oils of lavender oils, peppermint leaves and birch bark.

This mixture combines together to help relax the body, penetrate into the muscles and soothe away pain.

As someone who suffers from several different forms of chronic pain, I found this oil to be suitable to deal with the arthritis in my knees, but not potent enough to alleviate the pain from my sciatica (which is not too surprising since that is a rather severe pain.)

For sore muscles, and arthritis pain however, this massage oil worked quite well, especially when used after a hot shower, applied in a massage fashion, and then covered with a heating pad. This allowed the peppermint oil to really penetrate into the muscle and let the birch bark do its job to alleviate the pain.

Available in two sizes” 2 oz for $10.00, 4 oz for $17.00

Watch for more Essence of Vali reviews in the near future!

Goddess cards: Isis and Gaia

2011-09-26T08:57:00.001-07:00

Goddess Cards

www.goddesscards.com

www.egoddesscards.com

Our third set of greeting cards from Anne Baird of Goddess Cards brings us “Isis: Queen of the Immortals” http://www.goddesscards.com/isquofim.html and “Gaia: Mother of All”. http://www.goddesscards.com/gamoofall.html

Though, the Isis one is very interesting, and again the artwork is incredible while telling the story of Isis and her love and search for Osiris around the outside of the card – I am particularly drawn to the Gaia card.

As “Mother of All” this card shows Gaia as mother to the animals that live on the land, in the sea, and in the air, along with humans of different ethnic groups. Animals and children both flock around her, while one small babe reaches out to be nursed.

With a cat curled up in her lap and a cow laying at her feet while a sheep grazes just inches away off of lush green grass, we are truly able to see and understand just what “mother of all” really is. Gaia is mother to not only the animals and people depicted on this card, but the vegetation, tree, flowers, hills, and river as well, making this the perfect card for many occasions including new moms or for someone who just needs to know they aren’t alone – we are all Gaia’s children, we are all connected, we are all family.

EOV Eau de parfum

2011-09-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Essence of Vali

Essenceofvali.com

EOV eau de parfum

http://essenceofvali.com/eau-de-parfum

When you head over to the Essence of Vali eau de parfum page – Vali herself gives this background and explanation of how this scent came into existence:
I consider EOV my masterpiece blend! It was created over
10 years ago for a private client and I have always loved the
aroma of this complex formula. Five years ago, I had it made
into a Eau de Parfum and it won an award for Best Natural
Product at the Extracts show in NYC in 2004.

It is personally my favorite perfume and I wear it year round.
Where ever I go, people ask –“what is that perfume you are
wearing?” The essential oils we use are – lavender, cedarwood,
rosewood, patchouli, palmarosa, geranium, litsea cubeba & clove.

Men and women can both enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy
and the pleasure of wearing a beautiful fragrance. If you would
like to try a sample, please call or e-mail and we will send one to you free
of charge.
$60.00Price:

Being an eau de parfum, this scent is definitely strong and a little dab will go a long way, but what I do find really interesting about this scent is that it will indeed work for either a man or a woman. Slightly sweet undertones, with heavier earthy, woodsy and spicy overtones, this scent is masculine enough for a man, while retaining a hint of mystery for a woman.

Obviously with different body chemistries, scents take on a life of their own when applied to various people, but with a free sample available, you have nothing to lose by giving this eau de parfum a change.

It’s sleek, it’s sexy, it’s seductive. What more could anyone want?

Vote for the Next Pet Star - Photo Contest | Show Us Your Pet's Healthy Smile

2011-09-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Vote for the Next Pet Star - Photo Contest | Show Us Your Pet's Healthy Smile

Review: Goddess Cards - Demeter and Persephone

2011-09-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

Goddess Cards

www.goddesscards.com

Our second set of greeting cards from Anne Baird of Goddess Cards brings us “Demeter: The Fierce Mother” and “Persephone: the Maiden, Queen of the Underworld”.

With Autumn upon us, this is the perfect time for either of these cards. Again Anne Baird uses her extreme talent to interpret the lives of Demeter and her daughter around the edges of each of these cards and tell us their stories.

The story of Demeter and Persephone is a beautiful story of a mother’s love for her daughter, and how a mother will go to the ends of the earth to protect her daughter from the evils of the world – or the Underworld for that matter.

While I am still more partial to actual paper cards, Anne Baird does also have ecards available through her second website www.egoddesscards.com. A full year’s membership is only $19.95 and for that price you can send up to 40 ecards a day. It is a great price and with the large selection of cards available, anyone should be able to get plenty of usage for their money.

I particularly like the Demeter card as it not only resonates with me as a mother, the main picture of Demeter depicts her walking through a field of wheat as she holds some in one arm and a torch in the other. This card has a very “fallish” feel to it, and fall is my most favorite time of the year.

Whether you have friends with birthdays this time of year, or just want to wish someone a Merry Mabon, this is the perfect card to write your own internal note on and send away to share the beauty with someone you love.

Review: Rita's Spiritual Goods

2011-09-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Rita’s Spiritual Goods

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RitaSpiritualGoods

Rita sent in 2 products from the dozens she has available on her etsy website to have reviewed. I was pleased when I saw her site and saw what a wide variety of products she has and know that she is catering to the needs of many and not just a few. Her line is extensive and impressive.

Rita’s Signature St. Rita’s Hand Brewed Oil

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62472553/ritas-signature-st-ritas-hand-brewed-oil

The description given by Rita on her etsy site for this product says:

St. Rita is the Patron Saint of Impossible Wishes and Causes. It is said that a sweet smell emanates from the walls where St. Rita’s body is buried and that it even perfumes the atmosphere beyond the walls of the church.

This essential blend is not only to honor the goddess St. Rita, but also embodies the energy of her patronage to help call on her in impossible situations. Wear it daily as a perfume to honor her or on your third eye and behind your ear to call on her to make your impossible wishes come true.

Rita's ST. RITA Oil comes in an 1/8 ounce perfume roller bottle that measures about 2 1/2 inches with the cap on and as always made when the moon is right.

The price on these bottlew is set at $7.88 making them just over to $10 with shipping.

For several years now I’ve had a favorite scent I get from an online business that also travels the ren faire circuit. This scent is extremely close to that one, which totally caught me off guard and surprised me even more with the price - which is also a lot less than what I’m used to paying – about 1/3 the cost.

St. Rita is also the patron saint of interline travel, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse, and mothers – so this blend can be used for more than just impossible wishes and causes.

This blend is rich, sweet, and sensual and will give you a magical boost throughout your day as it helps give you the confidence to take on anything.

Rita's Triple Strength Dragon's Blood Spiritual Mist Spray

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79274720/ritas-triple-strength-dragons-blood

The description for this product states:
Rita's Spiritual Mist Sprays are hand brewed with all natural herbal powders and essential oils. Carry one with you or keep it in the home, office or car for when you need a quick cleansing. These sprays are perfect to use throughout the day to clear negativity away from your personal space and revive the energy around you.

This one is a personal favorite of mine, the smell is addicting. I don't know what I would do without Dragon's Blood!!! The magical uses for Dragon's Blood are quite powerful for rejuvenation and cleansing, Energy, Strength, Purification, Changes, Determination, Cleansing, Courage. Use this mist anytime a confrontation has occurred in your home or office, or right before you begin a ritual to charge you and your space with strength and power. It is a must for any witches juju collection.

Rita's Dragon's Blood Spiritual Mist comes in a 4 ounce spray bottle and as always made when the moon is right.

Please note true traditional hoodoo sprays are made to be shaken upon use as some settle make occur of the juju inside, this also helps to charge the energy of the spray before you spritz. Please also note that some sprays may stain fabrics due to oils, resins and/or color even though the color is water based (most of the time washing in cool water with woolite on delicate cycle will work though).

This spray is listed at $9.98, again making it less expensive than many similar products from competitors. It’s definitely very red, so I would be careful where this product does get sprayed if you don’t want to have to worry about clean up.

I honestly was a little surprised with this one – as it is called Triple Stregnth, I thought it would have an extremely strong smell, but instead the smell was actually pretty light.

I can see where people would really enjoy using this – I just don’t know how much of a spritzer kind of person I am myself preferring to use droppers or other methods of dispersing.

This would come in real handy to purify people before they enter a circle, but with the color of it I don’t know how well people would want to take the risk of staining clothes. One of my group members recommended it be sprayed only on the hair of a person, but I don’t know that I would consider that to be quite the cleansing we normally do before ritual. While I can see definitely using it in a personal setting, I think for group dynamics it would have to be discussed ahead of time – just in case.

One way I did find that I really did like to use it was in my own purifying ritual. After taking a purifying bath I sprayed it all over me (while still standing in the shower) and allowed myself to drip dry. This way clean up was minimal, no clothes are towels were stained, and I was able to completely retain the dragon’s blood potency on my own skin and carry it with me for the rest of the day.

While I thought the labels were really great looking for the packaging, I was disappointed to see no ingredients listed – not on the web page, nor on the packaging itself and this could be a problem for people with sensitive skin or allergies, so if you have any of these types of conditions, it would be best to send Rita an email an ask about any possible reactions first.

Review: Essence of Vali - Sleep: A Bedtime Ritual

2011-09-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

Essence of Vali

Essenceofvali.com

http://essenceofvali.com/products-page/natural-sleep-aids

Essence of Vali is a an aromatherapy company created by a woman named….yes, you guessed it…. Vali!

Vali sent in several different products to be reviewed, so like Goddess Cards, in order to do these products justice, the reviews will be broken up over the next few weeks, in order to get them all in and give them all sufficient testing, and opportunity to be written about.

The first product I am going to review is Sleep – A Bedtime Ritual. This is a small vial of a combination of essential oils that you simply place one drop -- and yes – JUST ONE DROP – on your onto a tissue that you can stick inside your pillow case.

My only problem with this product was getting that just one drop out of the vial! You do have to be very careful or you will accidently spill more out of the vial and this potion is so potent, one drop is really all you need.

Sleep is a combination of lavender, cedar, marjoram and ylang ylang. These scents combine together to create a very uniquely relaxing smell that does indeed help induce sleep. Those who have read my reviews for a while know that without some kind of help, I have severe sleep issues, so whenever I go to try out a new sleep aid, I have to basically go cold turkey for a few days on any remedies and then try out the product to give it ample opportunity to prove itself.

This product did just that. It is very relaxing and literally you can feel yourself sinking into a state of relaxation. When I combine this essence with one of my sleep CD’s - I get the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life.

Watch for more Essence of Vali reviews in the near future!

Goddess Greeting Cards from Goddesscards.com

2011-09-07T09:09:00.001-07:00

Goddess Cards

www.goddesscards.com

Anne Baird of Goddess Cards sent us so many of her greeting cards to review, I thought it only fair to break them down into sets and review them 2 at a time. Because we still have so many other items to review right now and are a bit behind (thanks to many life events hitting all at once!), these reviews will be intermingled with other products instead of doing a straight series.

Goddess Cards has many different categories of cards, but I am going to start with the actual Goddess Category. This week’s cards are “Kuan Yin” and “Oshun”

The Kuan Yin card states her name at the bottom middle of the card, with “Mercy and Compassion” written underneath. The back of the card gives a bit of information about this Goddess and gives some history and stories about her as well. These cards are both beautiful and informative. If you are unfamiliar with any of the Goddesses featured on any of her cards, the back will give you enough information to be able to understand why the front is drawn as it is.

With the Kuan Yin card, we see the Goddess featured in the center of the greeting card, while other information about her surrounds her, for example, we see her with her sisters before her father the king, and we see her being rescued by a tiger before she was to be beheaded.

These cards are simply beautiful while being educational at the same time.

The Oshun card tells us she is The “Yoruba Goddess of Love and Beauty”. Her card includes the same type of information on the back with important events from her background drawn in all around her on the front.

These blank cards could be used for many different occasions, or for no occasion at all – just to drop a friend a quick note.

In a world of electronic….well everything, these cards are a beautiful way to keep in touch with loved ones, to wish a happy and joyous marriage, or just to help educate those you love in your own beliefs.

You may have a draw to a particular Goddess that you prefer to work with, and Goddess Cards has designs of many of them – which we will explore in later reviews, but go ahead and check out her website to see all of the many cards she offers in the different categories. She also does have sabbat cards and with Samhain and Yule just around the corner, now would be a good time to get your orders in!

Review: Earth Star Studios: Spiritually focused art and unique Goddess imagery

2011-09-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Earth Star Studios: Spiritually focused art and unique Goddess imagery

Earthstarstudios.etsy.com

The artwork of Megan Welti is truly awe inspiring. Earth Star Studios owner, Megan Welti sent out several greeting cards to be reviewed that feature her artwork. Not only can this art be bought in card format, but also prints, and there are other goodies available on her site as well including wall plaques and jewelry. Each of these designs is truly unique, thought provoking and they have a strong spiritual presence.

My favorite of the samples is “Danu”. In her green cloak, with braided red hair, the Celtic mother of all nurses one green nature baby – serving as a symbol of the earth – while her belly swells with another child waiting to be born.

Also in this picture we see the grass beginning to green, leaves beginning to form on a tree, and a blue bird preparing to build her nest – all signs of new life approaching.

Each one of these different designs tells its own story and in each one you may find more than one story waiting to be told.

Often in this day and age the simple gesture of sending a card to someone is overlooked. We can email, text, even post to their wall on Facebook. We can continue to communicate in these impersonal, technological ways, or we can take the time to show our loved ones we are never too busy to take some time for a personal, more connected communication. These cards are all blank on the inside so you can use them to write out what you truly want to say instead of using someone else’s mass produced words to try to explain how you feel. Not too mention we often find ourselves in situations that mass produced cards just don’t cover.

These cards will help make your communications more spiritual, more heartfelt, more personal, and more real, all while sharing a beautiful piece of artwork with your loved ones. These cards are also worthy of being framed (or buy the larger print sizes) to decorate your home or even to be used as altar decorations – especially those that are sabbat related or if you will be honoring or working with a particular deity, you can include her picture as you call her into your circle.

Truly a bright and beautiful collection, these cards make you want to take the time to communicate deep thoughts, or other sentimental messages to family and friends, with a bit of spiritual style.

Also look for: Imbolg, Luna (which is really quite lovely), Artemis, The Bee Priestess, and with Samhain and Yule coming up, the prints and jewelry would make great gifts, while the Samhain and Yule cards are great for just letting people know you care without having to spend a ton of money – one of these cards with a picture frame to put it in after the card is read, is an incredibly personal, beautiful and unique, yet inexpensive gift from the heart.

The White Witch of Spiton and the Serpent of Anata by Tracey Rolfe

2011-09-01T18:01:00.001-07:00

The White Witch of Spiton and the Serpent of Anata by Tracey Rolfe

www.thewhitewitchofspiton.com

Jake Boy Publishing: 2007.

When I first began reading this book, I had a difficult time trying to figure out what age the intended audience was supposed to be – actually I didn’t figure it out until I found a postcard that states “The White Witch of Spiton Children’s Books” – still I’m not sure which age group of children they expect this book to appeal to – between the length and subject matter, it seems to be a bit of a clash.

The characters are extremely one dimensional and instead of writing about “real” witches with “real” powers, we are given another Harry Potter want to be type of story except this one isn’t even near as good.

The timeline is even fishy as it doesn’t seem the characters have enough time to complete their different tasks, when suddenly their counterparts are off on another task or adventure, time seems to go by too quickly.

The characters also come across as confusing with some of the language they use, their motivations and their actions, yet at the same time they are also often predictable.

Unfortunately, this book seemed to be another attempt at creating a world of wizards and witches that falls short of its goal. It would be nice to see stories regarding real witches – not people riding vacuum cleaners across the globe.

This is also one of those books that brings color into play (as shown immediately by the title), making it a tad bit on the skewed side – of course we all know “white” is “good” and nothing but – yes – that would be a ton of sarcasm.

Unless you’ve got nothing better to do and you’re strapped into a chair and are forced to read this book, there really isn’t a whole lot of point to bothering with it. You won’t be missing much and I can’t see this being a strong pull for children of any age either. Unfortunately, I can’t like everything that comes across my desk, and this one just doesn’t make the cut.

2012 A Clarion Call: Your Soul’s Purpose in Conscious Evolution. By Nicolya Christi

2011-08-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

2012 A Clarion Call: Your Soul’s Purpose in Conscious Evolution. By Nicolya Christi

http://store.innertraditions.com/isbn/978-1-59143-129-9

Bear and Company: Rochester, VT. 2011.

This is an extremely interesting and different point of view of what is going to happen when the Mayan calendar ends in 2012. In this theory, the author explains her belief that humans will change from being Homo sapiens to Homo luminous – from 3rd dimensional human beings to 5th dimensional beings of light that vibrate at a higher frequency.

According to Christi, we need to start working toward making changes now that will adjust our vibrational frequencies so that we are able to fully adjust and transform when need be when the right time in 2012 rolls along.

While many of her ideas are definitely thought provoking and sound like what many of us would like to see happen in a “New World”, I do have to wonder how realistic it really is.

Filled with activities and exercises to help you bring about your own personal chances, many of these exercises are really interesting and would definitely be life changing if you allow them to be. The real question here is what about those who don’t make these changes? What happens to them?

This book includes an remarkable appendix that contains a glossary, a list of resources, and several healing methods and practices¬ used to help you in your quest to raise your vibrational frequency,

While this book is actually a lot easier to read than I had thought it would be, there are moments when you have to just pull back and take a deep breath and say, “What if this is all true?” Because if it is, we are all in for some massively huge changes in front of us and real soon.

Review: Simple Green Cat Pet Stain and Odor Remover

2011-08-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

Simple Green Cat Pet Stain and Odor Remover

http://www.simplegreen.com/products_pet_cat.php

The makers of Simple Green bring us a super duper pet stain odor remover that is people and pet safe made with natural, non-toxic biodegradable ingredients.

For those of us that are cat owners, we know that our animals have accidents every now and then, some more than others. Whether they are kittens just trying to learn to use the litter box or older cats who are having physical or emotional issues, sometimes messes happen.

Often when an animal urinates on a rug or other location, they will continue to go back to the same area and use that location over and over simply because they can smell that they have gone there before. If you have other animals in your house, they may also begin peeing on the same area as a way of claiming territory. Either way, you can end up with a terrible mess and an even worse smell wafting throughout your home.

With Simple Green’s Cat Pet Stain and Odor Remover the smell isn’t just covered up or masked as often is the case with so called odor removers. Simple Green’s natural bacteria neutralizes the urine smell so cats don’t find the same location again.

I have 4 cats, 2 older, 2 younger and lately 1 of the older cats has been having a lot of peeing issues. To make a long story short we couldn’t get rid of his bladder infection as it turned out he was diabetic, so we were dealing with a whole lot of peeing throughout the house – especially on the rug and sofa cover in the family room. Because so much of the sofa cover had been urinated on we decided instead of spraying it to simply wash it in the Simple Green Cat Pet Stain and Odor Remover. Of course we ended up diluting the spray with the wash water, but we washed it on as low of a wash as possible and it did the trick. Simple Green Cat is also available in a gallon size bottle (along with the 32 oz spray bottle) to make things like adding it to your wash easy if it’s necessary.

To clean the sofa itself, I added the Simple Green to the upholstery shampoo and used my carpet shampooer to clean it followed by another spraying of the Simple Green Cat once the area had dried.

These treatments successfully kept my Quantico from going back to the same area and urinating there again. In the meantime, since we now knew Quanitco was having health issues, we were able to get more testing done until we learned he was diabetic and have been able to get him help.

So in the long run, while it’s important to have a good odor remover like Simple Green Cat – it’s also important to remember your pet is peeing where he or she is for a reason. While Simple Green Cat takes care of the smell and prevents further urination in specific areas, it’s even more important to find out what is causing the problem in the first place so you can give your animal the help he or she needs.

Simple Green Cat is available through the website or at your local Petsmart.

Fate, Fortune and Mysticism in the Peruvian Amazon: The Septrionic Order and the Naipes Cards

2011-08-01T07:38:00.001-07:00

Fate, Fortune and Mysticism in the Peruvian Amazon: The Septrionic Order and the Naipes Cards by Marlene Dobkin De Rios, Ph.D. Park Street Press. Rochester, VT: 2011.

Since this is a short book, (just over a 100 pages), I had assumed it was going to be highly focused on the Naipes cards and their meanings, but in actuality the Naipes cards are a relatively small part of this book with most of the emphasis being on other practices.

The author goes into detail about the time she spent in the Peruvian Amazon back in the 70s. When she discovered the Naipes cards, which are semi similar to tarot cards. she began giving readings to the natives. Eventually she was initiated into the Septrionism tradition – and this book gives more information about this tradition.

The author writes in a clear and easy to understand manner, so that this book doesn’t read like a college text book, but more like a personal conversation reflecting on her experiences.

While the book wasn’t as centered on the instruction of using the cards as much as I thought it would be, it was definitely an interesting read while informing the reader about a completely different tradition. However, I would find it beneficial if there was some updated information to see if the traditions are still practiced the same way they were 40 years ago when the author spent her time in the Peruvian Amazon.

http://store.innertraditions.com/isbn/978-1-59477-372-3

Review: Goddess Healing CDs by Mary Marzo

2011-07-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

Goddess Healing CDs by Mary Marzo (4 CD set) www.goddesshealing.com

Mary Marzo is a holistic psychotherapist, a certified Kundalini Yoga instructor, a devoted Goddess spirituality teacher and leader of workshops, rituals and sacred healing circles.

This CD set includes:

Goddess Relaxation and Meditations

Goddess and Child (Meditations for the Inner Child)

and Goddess Blessings: (2 CD set that includes Goddess Mantra Chants on one CD and Daily Meditations on another)

The Goddess Relaxation and Meditations CD is broken down into 3 meditations:

1. Relaxation (30 minutes)
2. Grounding Meditation (18 minutes)
3. Inner Sanctuary Meditation (15 minutes)

The tracks on this CD not only include the guided meditations, they include some helpful hints and tips for meditating along with breathing patterns to practice. Before actually performing any of these meditations, I recommend listening through the entire CD at least once and do some of the breathing exercises as you familiarize yourself with the process and get together any of the items Marzo suggests to use; such as a shawl or blanket, and prepare a comfortable location for your meditation practices. By listening to the CD ahead of your actual meditation session, you will also know what you are dealing with and which meditation you would like to perform.

You can perform each of these meditations separately or join them together for a longer session. I would not recommend joining more than 2 together though, as this may end up being too emotionally and mentally draining. If you do want to join two together, I would recommend the relaxation meditation followed by either one of the other two meditations.

The Goddess and Child (Healing Meditations for the Inner Child) CD includes the following tracks:

1. Healing the Inner Child (31 minutes)
2. Introduction to the MA chant
3. MA chant (13 minutes) – the CD insert says “Inspired by the temples of Malta. Imagine yourself encircled by 13 female voices chanting “MA” in a healing Goddess temple circa 3500 BCE. The MA mantra is one of the most ancient sounds on earth and is evocative of the primordial Great Mother Goddess.”
4. Coming Home – Creating a Safe Sacred Place (23 minutes)

This CD I do recommend taking the time to again, listen to it first, but then complete the entire CD in one meditation session – at least the first time, so in the future you can specialize your practice to what you need it to be.

The third CD is Goddess Blessings, and this is a 2 CD set.

The first CD of this set is Daily Meditations, and includes the following tracks:

1. Introduction to Goddess Blessings
2. Inner Teacher Meditation
3. Introduction to Chakra Meditation
4. Chakra and Golden Light Meditation
5. Protection
6. Gratitudes
7. Intentions
8, Affirmations
9. The Charge of the Goddess
10. HER Amazing Grace

The 2nd CD is Goddess Mantra Chants

1. Durga (Goddess of Protection)
2. Lakshmi (Goddess of Abundance)
3. Saraswati (Goddess of Creativity and Communication)
4. Sri Yantra (Universal Divine Feminine)

With the first CD you are able to pick and choose what type of meditation you need to suit your needs at any particular time. With the second CD you can practice the different Goddess mantra chants.

This entire CD set can be used to add to your daily practices or to enhance group or solitary ritual.

This set is a complete collection to help intensify your spirituality. Marzo expertly helps the listener transcend into a meditative, highly spiritual state, where true healing of the mind, body, and soul can take place while strengthening the relationship between the listener and the divine feminine.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley CD by Loreena McKennitt

2011-07-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Wind that Shakes the Barley CD by Loreena McKennitt. Quinlan Road Limited. 2010. www.quinlanroad.com

Sitting through this incredibly hot summer in northern Illinois, makes me yearn even more for the cooler, humidity free days of fall. This latest CD from Loreena McKennitt, helps me imagine those cooler carefree days, giving me at least some relief from the heat.

On the inside of the CD case there is a quote that says, “Every once in a while, there is a pull to return to one’s own roots or beginnings, with the perspective of time and experience, to feel the familiar things you once loved and love still.” This quote is repeated over and over in many different languages, showing its true importance to the music selection on this CD.

This CD of mostly traditional songs, takes the listeners back in time, transporting us to an era where the earth and nature were of the highest importance as they were the givers of life. A time when Kings and Queens ruled until their death with the love, or at the very least- respect, of the people.

Songs on this CD are perfect for listening to any day or time, but many are also perfect for different ritual use. I particularly like Brian Boru’s March and feel it is perfect for maypole dancing, walking down the aisle at an outdoor wedding, or even as ceremonial music for bringing in a harvest and presenting the first feast to the Gods. It’s truly a beautiful song that can be used in all kinds of situations.

The tracks on this CD include:

1. As I Roved Out
2. On a Bright May Morning
3. Brian Boru’s March
4. Down by the Sally Gardens
5. The Star of the County Down
6. The Wind that Shakes the Barley
7. The Death of Queen Jane
8. The Emigration Tunes
9. The Parting Glass

Whenever a Loreena McKennitt CD comes out, it’s hard not to say for each and every one, “this one is my all time favorite”, but with this one and the Irish/Celtic roots, I can’t fight it anymore, this one is definitely my favorite CD so far from Loreena.

It is spiritual while entertaining. I have big plans for this CD at our Lughnasadh ritual, as the mood it creates will go along great with our festival and ritual.

You can listen to samples on the Quinlan Road website – make sure to check out this incredible CD from one of our most talented artists.

Review: Moon Glow Jewelry

2011-06-27T09:18:00.001-07:00

Moon Glow Jewelry

www.originalmoonglow.com

These handcrafted customized pieces of jewelry can help you commemorate any special date or event in your life with a glowing moon matching the phase of the moon on your special date.

Available in necklaces, earrings, anklets or bracelets with either 1, 2, or 3 moons, this jewelry makes the perfect gift for a large variety of occasions.

Moon Glow jewelry is available in silver, pewter or stainless steel with moonstone.

Each piece of jewelry is customized to match the moon phase for the date you requested. Other customizations include adding a birthstone or other stone charm.

When you receive your jewelry, you will also receive a card that gives you a code to use to go back to the website to learn more about your selected moon phase.

Even the artist’s signature logo on the back of the pendants is a beautiful design.

One of the best parts of this jewelry line is it does exactly what the name says – the moons actually glow after they soak up some light, giving this line an extra special touch.

With a vast price range depending on the type of jewelry and the material used, “Moon Glow”, is the perfect gift for yourself or anyone else for any occasion.

Review: Sacred Suds: Soaps with Soul.

2011-06-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sacred Suds: Soaps with Soul.
www.sacredsuds.com
www.sacredsuds.etsy.com
andrea@sacredsuds.com

Sacred Suds combine natural ingredients with positive intentions to create a spiritual cleansing experience.

Andrea Badgley, owner of Sacred Suds says, “At Sacred Suds, we believe that by giving something our attention, either through prayer, meditation, or the simple ritual of mindful bathing, we give it power to grow and manifest in our lives. Our mission with Sacred Suds is to provide soulful soaps that help channel positive energies into your life.”

Sacred Suds sent three different soaps to be reviewed: Green Man, Spring Witch and Vesta.

The Green Man (Be Wild and Be Happy!) soap is made with olive oil, coconut oil, organic palm oil, patchouli essential oil (earthy, wealth), basil essential oil (peace, happiness, money). This soap is vegan and all natural. The description given by Sacred Suds is: “Reunite with the natural world and revel in its prolific greenness with this soap inspired by the Green Man, Celtic Nature Spirit.

Spring Witch (An ye harm none, do as ye will) soap is made with olive oil, coconut oil, organic palm oil, hemp seed oil, castor oil, rosemary essential oil, pine essential oil, orange essential oil, and cinnamon leaf essential oil. This soap is vegan and all natural. The description given by Sacred Suds is: “Follow the way of the witch! Celebrate life, nature, and your personal intuitive and healing powers with this soap inspired by the witches of the world.”

Vesta “Cook’s Hand Soap” is made with brewed coffee, coconut, organic palm, olive, avocado, wheat germ and castor oils, essential oils of orange and cinnamon leaf. The description provided by Sacred Suds says, “Keep your hands clean and your kitchen blessed with this soap inspired by Vesta, Roman Goddess of the Hearth and Home.”

My favorite of these soaps was the Spring Witch, the scent is just incredible, and leaves you feeling clean and in a spiritual state of mind.

All of the soaps have creamy rich lather and good strong scents that help transport you into a different frame of mind.

Many of the other soaps made by Sacred Suds are named and fashioned after Gods and Goddesses of different pantheons. Soaps sell for $6.00 each on Etsy, or you can buy a pick four pack for $22.00.

Astrology Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards

2011-06-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Astrology Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards Designed by Jadzia DeForest and Jay GreenMan DeForest. Living Magick Learning Card Series. Living Magick Publishing Company. www.livingmagickpublishing.com

This is part three of three reviews from the Living Magick Learning Card Series.

The Astrology Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards are a new concept in learning to use the zodiac to plot birth chart, and for other astrological information. These cards are approximately 3.75” X 5.25.

There are several different kinds of cards in this deck. For starters there are the cards that will help you use the actual flash cards. These include cards that are titled as:

How to use the Astrology Deck

Terminology (includes 10 definitions)

Chart Casting (this includes information on what is needed to do a chart and websites that are recommended chart calculators, along with instructions on how to lay out a chart.

There is also a second card that is titled “More about Chart Casting” to give additional information.

We also have a card “Astrological signs in order” which lists each zodiac sign along with it’s corresponding dates.

The Ascendant/Rising Sign card
tells us:
Theme: Public Image
Keywords: Outward self, public personality, first impression, projected personality, self awareness, drive, ambition, goals, motivation, persona, future personality

We are also given the Ascendent card which explains”

Your ascendant, or rising sign, is the part of your
personality that others first see, this is the first impression
you make on those around you – the sigh that your ascendant
is in also shows your goals and what you are moving
toward in your life. If your sun sign represents your
present self, then your rising sign is your future self
and shows that progression

The actual zodiac sign cards give a variety of information. For example, the Pisces card:

Element: water
Mutable: flexible, adaptable. intellectual
keywords: receptive, intuitive, emotional, romantic, mystical, imaginative, psychic, depressed, impractical, lazy
ruling planet: Neptune
Symbol: The fishes
Phrase: “I believe”
Zodiac birthstone: Amethyst
Opposite sign: Virgo

The other side of the card simple shows the zodiac symbol.

The planetary cards some with the symbol on one side and information on the other. For example the Pluto card:

Theme: transformation
keywords: death, rebirth, regeneration, destruction, change, reincarnation, elimination, insight, revolutions, politics, society, mass consciousness, transition
Pluto: (God of the Underworld) Where Pluto is in your chart shows in which part of your life you will experience sudden change, endings and new beginnings. Pluto is also the planet that influences war, politics and generational movements involving revolution.
Pluto rules: scorpio

The astrological houses information card shows how to use the houses in a birth chart. The house cards contain such information as:

First house
House of the Self
Keywords: personality, mannerisms, temperament, attitude, goals, desires, behaviors, motivations, outward appearance, physical self, first impressions
First house ruler: Aries

The “Conjunction”, “Opposition”, “Trine”, “Square”, and “Sextile” cards all give their degrees and list indications.

Elemental cards are also included with information such as:

Fire Signs
element: fire
keywords: outgoing, spontaneous, optimistic, energetic, creative, warm, impulsive, passionate, arrogant, egotistical, selfish, quick tempered, impatient.
Fire signs: aries, leo, sagittarius

Finally we have separate decks of the zodiac and planetary cards that simply have the symbol on one side and the name on the other side, that can be used for chartings and readings once the information about each card is memorized.

As you can see, there is a lot of information covered in this deck, which I think is just incredible. Having these cards – being able to lay them out, move them around, really makes learning the aspects of birth charts a bit easier. Once the student gets the idea, a lot of the confusion often associated with all of these different concepts can easily be eliminated – everything is right there is front of you, you just need to learn where to put it.

Out of the three sets of self study cards, I liked this one the best, it takes what for me anyhow, is the most difficult to learn (out of the tarot, runes, and astrology) and it makes it much more simple to deal with.

Living Magick will also soon be adding more to their product line, bookmark their page, and add them on Facebook so you can keep up to date on these innovative products that help add some magic to your life.

New Orleans - gotta go home

2011-06-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 30th

Though we were excited we would soon be able to see everyone, Monday morning was quite sad knowing that we would soon be on the plane and headed away from New Orleans. I had figured I would fall in love with the place, and I definitely had, even in just the short amount of time we had been there. Who Knows, maybe if I had to live there all the time I wouldn't like it as much - I doubt it though!

In the morning we packed everything up, loaded up the car and checked out of the hotel. We were going to be spending some time driving around before heading to the car rental place to drop it off. We went back to Audubon park and found the labyrinth - which of course now I want one in my backyard. We tried twice to go by Hanson's Snow Biz as our guide book said it was the best place for "sno- balls" but it was closed both times. We neaded over to City Park and saw the Suicide Tree - this was a rather emotional stop for me and I was disappointed in the state the park was in. Very large park, but in complete disarray. I truly felt bad for this tree that had obviously been through so much.

We ate lunch at a cute little place called Cafe Luna - picked because of the name, but the frapps and food were outstanding!

We also found a spot finally, where we could drive out to see Lake Ponchatrain. What a HUGE lake. Though the lake itself was beautiful, we saw the same problem with the park area - a lot of garbage all over the place and what seemed to be a lack of care. To have these resources and waste them was disenchanting to say the least. I hope we just happened to catch both of these parks on bad days and that this wasn't the norm for the parks in the area.

After all of that, we dropped off the car, got shuttled to the airport and ended our vacation. However...I already have a few ideas for our next one.

New Orleans Day 5

2011-06-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 29th

Sunday we drove out of New Orleans and into a whole different world once again. On our way to Cajun Encounters for our swamp tour we past by Irish Bayou - a place I could probably live quite happily - as long as I was living in the miniature castle that was there!
The drive took us past a whole lot of water, and it was a lot easier to start picturing what it had been like when everything was under water! There was already so much water all around us, it didn't seem like it would take much for a massive flood.

Once at Cajun Encounters I had to bite back my fear of boats (especially smaller ones) and hop on board to go on our swamp tour. We did see several alligators and I did get to hold a tiny baby one - well he was a year old, but he still looked very babyish to me. Took a ton of pictures out on the swamp, saw more damage done by Katrina, and again, found another place I thought I could be completely happy living in. Mike didn't agree. Thought I think throwing marshmallows out my window in the morning to check for gators might be kind of fun.

Once that tour was over, we got back on the road and headed back towards and then pass new orleans headed west to make it to Destrehan Manor Plantation. This home had once run an indigo plantation - I had no idea indigo plantations had even existed. The home was also used in the Anne Rice movie, "Interview with a Vampire".

After we returned back at the hotel, we finished up left overs from our other meals out and decided since this was a vacation of "firsts" we would head over to Harrah's and try our hands at the slot machines. We played some penny slots, and though I won about $55 off of a sea monkey slot machine, I did end up loosing about $20 of that before we decided to head home and make our plans for what to get in before catching our plane home the next day.

New Orleans Day 4

2011-06-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 28, 2011

We started off the day driving down to the RiverFront for our ride on the steamboat Natchez. We had lunch on the boat and road up and down the mississippi River for two hours. It was a great time and the breeze was really relaxing and appreciated!

We were able to see some things from a "different" point of view, including the lower 9th ward and some of the destruction still quite visable from the river. Even though the river was above it's normal level, it was just so difficult to imagine what it must have been like when 80% of the city was underwater.

After our trip on the steamboat, we headed over to the free shuttle to Mardi Gras world and went on that tour. WOW! The tour guide explained that none of the props used on the Mardi Gras floats gets thrown away. They are repainted or redecorated in other ways and eventually reused. Mardi Gras World does 80% of the props for the parades, and the warehouse we toured was just one of twenty. The props were just incredible, and it really made me want to be able to see a Mardi Gras parade in the flesh someday instead of just watching one on the internet. Just don't know if I can handle that many people in one location at a time!

After Mardi Gras world, we made it back to our car, then back to the hotel and took a taxi out for our dinner at Arnaud's at the corner of Bienville and Bourbon Streets. I had Oysters Kathryn with wild mushrooms and gazpacho soup, while Mike had Black drum fish Mitchell and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce.

We hadn't been there long when we were approached by a waiter who had heard about a search for a specific coffee we were on. Mike's sister had sent us a text message requesting we bring back some "Wake the Fuck up" coffee and said it was on St Phillip street. It wasn't. This waiter was able to give us a better idea of where we could find it though, in a store on Decatur street, NEAR St. Phillip street -- that had a bunch of cajun spices and an alligator in the store. Once you've been to New Orleans, you realize that describes about one half of the actual stores. We made our way to Decatur street (Mike with a hand grenade) and did indeed find the elusive coffee at a store called Jazz Funeral. After stopping for daiquiris, we made it further down to decatur, finally to a cab and back to the hotel for the night.

New Orleans Day 3

2011-06-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 27th

We started the day off bright and early arriving early for the start of the Cemetaey tour so we had time to shop a little first. Our tour took us into St. Louis Cemetery #1, home to the tomb of Marie Laveau and future tomb of Nicholas Cage. It was pretty obvious that our tour guide was not a fan of Nicholas Cage (since she stated that he probably bought the tomb just so the government couldn't take it back). We spent plenty of time walking around the cemetery that truly was an interesting experience. At the back of the cemetery she shouwed us where the Protestants were allowed to be buried since it is a Catholic cemetery.

After the cemetery tour, we ate at The Old Coffee Pot. I had crayfish etouffee and Mike had catfish and jambalaya.

We spent a lot of the day walking and shopping. Some of the places we went to include:

Erzulies - 807 Rue Royal

Witchy Living -v2109 Decatur Street

Boutique du Vampyre - 633 Toulouse

Glass Magick - 713 Toulouse

Rev Zombie's House of VooDoo - 723 St. Peter Street

Voodoo Museum - 724 Dumaine Street

Jackson Square

St. Louis Cathedral

VooDoo Spiritual Temple - 828 N. Rampart

La Laurie mansion - 1140 Rue Royal

We took some time to drive through the 9th ward and see what kind of destruction was still left from hurricane Katrina. It was shocking to see how many houses were still boarded up and abandoned. Some of them it looked like people had just recently returned and were just now starting to clean out the debris left behind. We saw several homes with tons of garbage piled how outside by the road, while other homes looked to be full restored. There were a lot of homes though - way too many - that had obviously not been touched at all yet. It was a real shame to see the destruction and imagine what it had been like there when the storm had hit.

After leaving the 9th Ward, we went to dinner at Coop's Kitchen - 1109 Decatur - A small restaurant that often has a line going out the door because there are so few tables to sit at. Mike got the fried chicken, I got a platter of several different items and we also had a couple different appetizers -- including their version of the crab stuffed jalapenos - they weren't near as good as the ones at the chinese restaurant. The food was ok, but we really liked the food at the Old Coffee Pot better.

Friday was a very long day with a whole lot packed into it, we got far more done than we had imagined we would be able to in one day, but needless to say, by the end of it, we were wiped out.

New Orleans day 2

2011-06-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 26th

Our next self guided tour of the day, we headed uptown to see another different side of New Orleans. This was something that really was impressed upon me, from Tulane University to the lower 9th ward, the area of New Orleans has vast differences in such a small geographic area.

While on our uptown tour, we again found a spot were we could park and got out to do a lot of walking. On this walking tour we saw:

1) Loyola University - 6363 St. Charles Avenue

2) Holy Name of Jesus Church - 6367 St. Charles Avenue

3) Tulane University - 6823 St. Charles Avenue - What a beautiful school!

4) Gibson Hall - 6823 St, Charles Avenue

5) Zemurray Mansion - 7000 St. Charles Avenue

6) Parkview Guesthouse - 7004 St. Charles Avenue

7) Audubon Park - across from Tulane and Loyola

8) Auduborn Park Oak - the trunk measures more than 35 feet around.

After the park, we stopped by Guy's at 5259 Magazine Street to pick up some shrimp po boy sandwiches which we took back to our hotel to eat.

SInce it was still early, we hopped on the St. Charles trolley and headed back into the French Quarter and then to the Canal Street Trolley to the RiverFront.

We stopped by Cafe du monde (finally) and got our chickory coffee and beignets. We did some more walking around, checked out Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral and the took the trolley back to the hotel. We walked over to Voodoo Barbeque for take out. We could have missed eating there, and we wouldn't have really missed eating there - not the best food we had.

New Orleans Day 1 part 1

2011-06-09T13:56:00.001-07:00

Thursday, May 26th
After out continental breakfast at the hotel (this really
helped save some money!), we grabbed our Frommer's New Orleans
Day by Day Guidebook, and headed off to do some self guided tours.
Since our hotel was in the Garden District on Prytania Street, and the first
stop on the self guided tour was also on Prytania Street we didn't have far to go.
Though we didn't necessarily hit everything listed on the tour, and we did end up taking

a ton of pictures of places not listed, it was a great starting point for us to springboard off of. Some of the sites we saw on our drive and walk through the Garden District included some of the most beautiful gardens, incredible wrought iron fences, gates and even bars on windows, trees that were just shocking in size (and then later we saw the REAL big trees), and homes that just made us drool and want to win a hefty lottery. Also on the Garden District tour we saw:

1) Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (established in 1833 - 1400 block of Washington Ave)

2) The Musson-Bell House - 1331 Third Street

3) Robinson House - 1415 Third Street

4) Davis House - 2504 Prytania street (built in 1858 it belongs to the Women's Guild of the New Oleans Opera Association)

5) Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel - 2521 Prytania Street. Built in 1858, this home
was owned for a while by author Anne Rice and more recently Nicholas Cage until he lost it in a foreclosure. In the pictures, the beautiful statue of Mary and the baby Jesus are homed at this location in a side garden.

6) Bradish Johnson House - 2343 Prytania Street.

7) Toby's Corner - 2340 Pyrtania Street - built in 1838,
this is the oldest house in the Garden District.

8) Rosegate - 1239 First Street. Another former home of Anne
Rice and also the setting for her "Witching Hour" series.

9) Payne - Strachan house -- 1134 First Street.

New Orleans take me away

2011-06-09T11:14:00.001-07:00

Over the next few days I( will posting about our trip to New Orleans - a sort of day by day play by play. I am writing all of this up to include in our trip scrapbook (which is almost done - thank goodness!), and figured I should be sharing it along here as well since I should have done a whole lot more writing before I left!

So lets get started with arriving in N'Awlins

Wednesday night, we arrived in New Orleans by plane, made it to our car rental and then hotel with a few hours to kill before crashing for the night.

We had decided earlier to head to Cafe du Monde since it it open 24 hours a day. After unloading in the hotel, we hopped back into the rental car, looked up Cafe Du monde in the Tom Tom - as a point of interest, not an address - and promptly got lost.

I'm positive that n'awlins has a deal with the makers of Tom Tom. If you are in N'awlins and say you want coffee --- you will be directed directly to alcohol on Bourbon Street instead.

So though we really never had any intention of walking Bourbon Street, much less at night, that's exactly where we found ourselves our first night in the Big Easy.

Parking in New Orleans is almost unheard of, it's very difficult to find a place, but we finally did on Iberville and decided to start hoofing it around the French Quarter. We didn't have our maps with us, only our currently unreliable Tom Tom, so we noted where the car was and took off on our own. I was trying to navigate from memory and we realized after we got back to our hotel that we had made it within a couple of blocks of Cafe du Monde, but I had seen something bright and shiny and turned the other way. The bright and shiny we saw was actually the entrance to Louis Armstrong Park on the exact opposite side of the quarter. But it was a beautiful night and just being out and about in the quarter was a rush.

Though I never felt threatened by any of the actual residents, there were a few times some of the tourists we came acorss made me a bit uncomfortable. Even though New Orleans has a pretty high crime rate, the drunks were far scarier to me than any of the "natives".

We made it back to our car, and on our way back to the hotel decided we needed some food. Oddly enough, our first night, we had a difficult time finding a place to eat, instead of trying to find something in the French Quarter, we decided to opt for something closer to out hotel. Problem was as we got closer to our hotel, just about everything was closed or closing. We actually ended up at a Chinese food restaurant!

It wasn't quite what we would considered a "normal" Chinese restaurant though.
We ordered a few different appetizers to share for our dinner. These included California Sushi rolls, egg rolls --- with alligator meat, and what they called "J-pops". These were incredible! HUGE jalapeno peppers halved, and stuffed with a crab meat/cream cheese mixture. They were drizzled with 2 different kinds of sauces, and both were just to die for. Would sure love to find a place closer that served those!

The egg rolls were smaller than what we were used to - probably about 1/3 the size of egg rolls served near us, and though they were good, I wouldn't say the alligator had any real distinctive flavor, but they were pretty good.

Back at our hotel, we got things planned out for the next morning - our first full day in New Orleans. Since we had the cemetery tour scheduled for Friday already, we didn't plan on heading back to the French Quarter 'til then. Thursday would be all about the Garden District and Uptown.

Rune Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards

2011-05-17T12:08:00.001-07:00

Rune Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards Designed by Jadzia DeForest and Jay GreenMan DeForest. Living Magick Learning Card Series. Living Magick Publishing Company. www.livingmagickpublishing.com

This is part two of three reviews from the Living Magick Learning Card Series.

The Rune Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards are a new concept in learning to use the rune symbols. These cards – approximately 3.75” X 5.25” come with two different sets. The first set has the symbol for each rune on one side of the card, with the name on the other side. This is a great way to learn the names of each of the different rune symbols.

The second set of cards has the symbol on one side with the information about that rune on the other side.

For example the card “Algiz”, has the rune on one side, and the other side contains the information:

ALGIZ (Letter: Z)
Pronunciation: el-haz Rune #15
Theme: Elk (Guardians)
Keywords: Refuge, Protection, Safety,
Sanctuary, Guardians, Trust
Magickal Working: Protection
Summoning Guardians
Creating Safe Space
Building Good Instincts
Key Phrases:
Safe and protected space
Take advantage of natural defenses
Allies with your best interests at heart
Be alert and keep your wits

At the bottom of the card flipped is the reverse meaning.

ALGIZ (reversed)
Key Phrases:
At risk; unsafe conditions
Deception; hidden agendas
All may not be what it seems
Don’t trust too much

These decks also come with several different instructional and informational cards. These are titled:
About This Deck
Rune Casting
Rune Casting Layouts
Additional Reference Material
Understanding the Runes
Origins of the Runes

These flash cards make for an easy, interesting and quick way to learn all about the runes. The two decks are beneficial as you can the first simple deck to practice learning the signs and their names, switch to the second deck to learn the meanings, and then switch back to the first deck for actual readings.

This is a great deck that can help you broaden your knowledge base and teach you a new skill to add to your spiritual practices.

The other sets in this series includes Tarot Learning Cards and Astrology Learning Cards.

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Review: Tarot Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards

2011-05-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

Tarot Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards Designed by Jadzia DeForest and Jay GreenMan DeForest. Living Magick Learning Card Series. Living Magick Publishing Company. www.livingmagickpublishing.com

This is part one of three reviews from the Living Magick Learning Card Series.

The Tarot Learning Cards: Self Study Flash Cards are a new concept in learning to use tarot cards for your own benefit. These cards – approximately 3.75” X 5.25” contain on one side the name of the card, with the other side containing information on what the card means both in normal and reversed positions. The exact meanings are not given, yet ideas to help you understand the exact meaning of the cards.

For example the card the Four of Pentacles, on one side simply states “Four of Pentacles” with a drawing of a pentacle. The other side says:

Four of Pentacles
Theme: Wealth
Pentacles: Work, Money, Education
Fours: Foundation, Resting
Keywords: Financial Security, Gain, Power,
Self Preservation, Stability, Unsentimental,
Monetary Hoarding

The bottom half of the card can be flipped for the reversal meaning:

Four of Pentacles (Rx)
Theme: Financial Loss
Pentacles: Work, Money, Education
Keywords: Monetary Difficulties,
Bankruptcy, Setbacks, Gambling,
Taking Financial Risks, Obstacles

This deck includes all of the cards of the major and minor arcana, along with a few instructional cards. These instructional cards include: “About this deck”, “How to Use These Cards”, “Numerology”, “Suits and Elements”, “Recommended Reading”, “About the Court Cards”, “Terminology”, and “About Reversals”.

Though you can also use these cards to do actual readings, they are of a large size and rather thick which makes shuffling a bit difficult – especially for those of us with pudgy little hands!

Different people have different ways they like to learn, and there are different theories of the best ways to learn the meanings of the cards in Tarot. One theory is through memorization of the meanings and themes. Another theory says they are easiest to learn through interpretation of the artwork on the cards. Because these cards don’t contain those type of artwork pictures, these cards are strictly for those who are more comfortable learning through the memorization of themes and meanings.

The other sets in this series includes Rune Learning Cards and Astrology Learning Cards. Because neither Astrology nor Runes require interpreting artwork, I think these cards will appeal to a slightly larger audience than the Tarot Flash Cards do. I definitely look forward to checking these other sets out too.

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Life keeps getting in the way

2011-05-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

I highly doubt it's possible for my life to get anymore sidetracked than it already does.

New Orleans is just over 2 weeks away and I've hardly posted about it at all. Why?

Life just keeps getting in the way.

Since we last "talked", my daughter moved out, and eventually came clean about being pregnant. We planned a wedding, that was then cancelled by her fiance. Too much time and money lost that I'll never get back, not to mention the stress and mental anguish.

I finished the edits on my book with Llewellyn that will be out in February: Spells for Tough Times: Crafting Hope When Faced With Life’s Thorniest Challenges.

Definitely the longest book I have ever written (it will be over 400 pages!), but also very fulfilling. I really feel this book will be a help and comfort to people, so I'm rather proud of it.

I am working on a proposal for another book with Llewellyn, and hope to have that finished up this week so I can start the waiting game to see if they are interested in it.

Still working on surveys and need to get a whole lot of them tallied, but that project is going to be ongoing for quite a while.

Things are moving along, though slowly, with Nurturing Necessities. Turned in the paperwork on the 1023 form to try to get us non-profit status, got an update from them last week wanting some other information, and they had some changes they wanted made, that's been taken care of and now that waiting game begins again to.

My parents also sold their home in Missouri and so when I get back from New Orleans, I'll have my True Blood season 3 marathon, get all my clothes washed and then repack a few things to go down there to help pack them up and drive them back up here to northern Illinois where they will be living in an assisted living facility. Mom and dad moved close to 13 years ago, and it's going to be different having them around for the holidays and stuff again, but I'm glad they are coming home.

Today I am going to be playing in dirt. We are supposed to hit 80 degrees today, the first time probably since last September! My garden that is usually done by now has been plowed, and I will finally start putting plants and seeds in with 2 dear friends today. With everything that has been going on, squishing my toes in dirt (and possible mud if we get the rain they started forecasting this morning!) will be quite therapeutic!

Plans for this week include ordering our tour tickets, did get some dinner reservations made already, but need to get some more done too. We have our ride to and from Milwaukee airport taken care of, and I need to get luggage tags - why they don't automatically come with luggage, I'll never know!

April Winner!

2011-05-02T14:16:00.001-07:00

Miss Murder! You are this month's winner, please contact me to claim your prize!

Meditation for the Love of it: Enjoying your own deepest experience by Sally Kempton.

2011-04-25T07:59:00.001-07:00

Meditation for the Love of it: Enjoying your own deepest experience by Sally Kempton. Sounds True: Boulder, CO. 2011.

Are you ready to begin a meditation practice? Or have you already been practicing for a while and are looking to intensify your practice or increase your meditation knowledge? This book is for you either way.

Kempton is able to educate the reader on different forms of meditation, different processes of relaxation, and she does it without speaking over or under the level of the reader – know matter what level they are at.

Not only is the book a great source for information on different meditation techniques, it is filled with quotes that will give you new perspectives and help you think about topics in a different light.

It is also filled with exercises to perform on your own to help you begin and then broaden your practices at your own speed.

Kempton write in such an easy, conversational manner, it makes this book fun to read and you feel as if you are sitting down having a one on one conversation with the author.

Kempton is an adept and caring teacher who can help you learn through this book, what you need to build a peaceful and successful meditative practice.

Review: Teen Witch Workshop: An Introductory Guide to the Craft CD

2011-04-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Teen Witch Workshop: An Introductory Guide to the Craft CD by Alicen Geddes.
Paradise Music www.paradisemusic.us.com 2010

The more familiar I become with the Paradise Music workshops, the more I like them.

On this CD, Alicen Geddes takes teens by the hand to open them to the world of The Craft.

The only problem I could foresee with this CD is a small difference in culture. I’m not sure if American teens will understand the comparison of a Burberry and a pac-a-mac, when Alicen talks about different ways of creating a sacred circle. Yet this was the only problem I foresaw with this CD, so that’s a pretty good thing!

The tracks on the CD include:

1. Introduction
2. Know the warning label on Magic, Use magic Safely and responsibly
3. Prepare to be Magical with Potions and Herbology
4. Open and Close the door Marked Magic
5. Cast a Magic Circle
6. Meet the Elementals
7. Raising the Power and a Journey with the Star Goddess – Queen of the Constellations
8. Perform Three Simple Spells to Empower Your Life
9. Spell One – The Invisibility Cloak
10. Spell Two – Find Me Love
11. Spell Three – Keep Me Safe
12. Magical Offerings/Close the Door Marked Magic and Have a Midnight Feast

In the booklet, Alicen points out that the booklet and the CD are meant to be used together hand-in-hand in order to achieve the full workshop experience. In the booklet Alicen covers topics such as The Witches’ Rede, using herbs and potions to prepare you for magical work, the sabbats, raising power, creating a book of shadows, color correspondences and 5 different spells including:

1. The invisibility cloak
2. Find me love
3. Keep me safe
4. The telephone spell
5. Home sweet home

Alicen does a great job of explaining that while magic is fun, it is also serious work and important to take it seriously. It’s not just about spells – it’s about spirituality and a reference for the earth and the deities.

Teens – or even other people new to The Craft – will find this an interesting way to start their magical practices.

Review: The Dangerous Old Woman: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype CD Set

2011-04-19T15:33:00.001-07:00

The Dangerous Old Woman: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype CD Set by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD. Sounds True. www.soundstrue.com . 2010.

If you loved Women Who Run with Wolves, you are sure to love this audio collection from author Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Each of the 6 CDs in this set, features a different session and topic from Clarissa, and each one has its own great moments. Whether Clarissa is retelling a traditional story, or sharing anecdotes about some of her own family members, the experience is truly entertaining and spiritually educational, all at the same time.

While many of the stories may be new to you, you will also hear old favorites – such as Snow White and the 7 dwarves, told in a way you probably haven’t heard before – we are too used to the softening of Disney.

Clarissa is an incredible story teller who draws you into the illusion she is creating for her listeners, all the while teaching them valuable lessons about life, respect, and decency.

We have stories about vampires that teach us about seduction, a story about Clarissa’s neighbor who cuts down one of her own trees in an attempt at control, and a story of jealous girls who trick a caring giving girl and what karma brings to them, and many more that all have additional meanings and lessons for us to learn.

This is a great series for anyone who is interested in women’s issues, and would be a great substitute for a book club – instead of a book a month, how about a CD a month? (Or even a week, because once you get started you won’t want to wait a whole month before moving on!)

Clarissa points out that this compilation took her 30 years to complete – for those of us who get to listen, it has been a worth while wait.

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/The-Dangerous-Old-Woman/2685.productdetails

My new book!

2011-04-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Just got word from Llewellyn -- the title of ny new book will be: Spells for Tough Times: Crafting Hope When Faced With Life’s Thorniest Challenges

It is due out February 2012!

Drawing Winner!

2011-04-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Been having some internet issues, so just now getting this posted! The winner for the March drawing is Flying Monkey Musings!

Hey buddy can you spare a dime?

2011-03-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

this is the link to sponsor my team in Sleep out for Shelter to be held the
end of April. My team goal is to raise $250 -- though of course I'm more
than willing to raise more than that. Homelessness is a problem all
over the world these days, so let's all do our part to help out where
and how we can. Thank you! Anyone who makes a donation of at least $2.00 will get entered into a separate monthly drawing!

http://www.gifttool.com/athon/OurTeamPage?ID=1505&AID=1422&TID=8931

Delta Sleep System (2 CD set) by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson.

2011-03-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

Delta Sleep System (2 CD set) by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. The Relaxation Company. 1999. www.therelaxationcompany.com

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Delta-Sleep-System/2222.productdetails

Though this is an older CD set, it is definitely worth a look at. With it currently available for less than $10, anyone who has problems getting to sleep would do well to try this set out.

This set has 2 different CDs – both designed to work the same, just the music selection is different. The instruction books that come with the CDs explain how and why these CDs will get you to sleep and get a better sleep than what you are used to getting. I used each CD for a month, and then switched to the other CD. Every now and then I purposely did NOT use the CD, and I definitely felt the difference.

Being married to someone who has been diagnosed borderline narcoleptic when I have been diagnosed as an insomniac, has always been tough. We go to bed at night, and within minutes he is snoring away content as can be. Often I spend a minimum of 45 minutes trying to get settled in and relaxed enough to even consider sleep. It generally takes another hour or so after that for me to actually fall asleep. (Really makes me want to kick the husband every now and then too as he is blissfully in lala land, and I’m still tossing and turning.)

On the nights I used either one of these CDs I can honestly say I was asleep in an average of 15 minutes. I’m also one of those people who gets up multiple times throughout the night, and these CDs have helped to cut that down to – though not entirely eliminated it – which most of my getting up in the night is for bathroom breaks anyway – something I could control better by not drinking later in the evening, but I do all the time. The instruction booklets do tell you that if you wake up during the night, simply put the CD back on and it will help you fall asleep faster. Again – this is true and has worked quite well for me, getting me back to sleep in usually around 5 minutes or less instead of my normal half hour or so.

The instruction booklets also give you hints and tips on ways to help relax before attempting to sleep, to get you to sleep even faster.

I am 100% positive that since I began using the Delta Sleep System, that I am getting far more, and better, sleep than I did before.

Review: Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.

2011-03-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. Sounds True. www.soundstrue.com 2009.

This book and CD set work together to provide you with complete lessons to learn how to not only tell when you are dreaming, but how to take control of your dreams to do what you want them to do.

As you read through the book, it will tell you when to listen to a certain track on the CD. I like the way this system works to give you a little bit of extra lecture on the CD and then helps to walk you through the exercises led by Dr. LaBerge.

The tracks on the CD include:

1. Your present state of consciousness and the Lucid dream state
2. Guided Reality Test
3. The Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams
4. Dream Lotus and Flame Technique
5. Trance Induction of Lucid Dreaming: Day
6. Trance Induction of Lucid Dreaming: Night

In the book we learn skills for telling whether we are dreaming or not, skills to help us take control in our dreams, and skills to direct a dream where it is going – in this manner we are able to take control of bad dreams or nightmares and turn them into positive moments instead. LaBerge also teaches us we can use our dreams to heal ourselves, solve problems, rehearse upcoming events in our lives, evaluate information to help make decisions, fulfill wishes and finish unfinished business.

Using the MILD technique taught by Dr. LaBerge all of these possibilities can help to relieve massive quantities of stress in our waking lives..

I really appreciate the way LaBerge writes in a very commonplace, conversational tone. When talking about matters of the mind, writers, especially highly educated ones, often talk above their audience, but LaBerge makes these concepts simple and easy to understand, opening this technique for everyone to use.

Review: Wolf Love CD and DVD set by Omnia.

2011-03-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Wolf Love CD and DVD set by Omnia. www.worldofomnia.com Pagan Scum Records. 2010.

In this newest CD from Omnia, we are shown a diversity like never seen before. The first two songs on this CD alone show one extreme to the other, with the reverse lullaby “Wake Up” and the highly politically semi rap like “Dance until we Die”. This song itself brings together different types of music in an anti-government celebration of freedom.

Next we have “Jabberwocky”, which I really enjoyed with its repetitive musical measures that create a rocking back and forth feeling – actually soothing musically speaking.

Saltatio Vita was written for the maenads – which I admit, made me think of Maryann Forester from True Blood, seeing as to how in today’s modern world she’s probably what most people would associate with maenads. Knowing what maenads really are, I found this song to be fitting and can easily imagine dancing around a bonfire with with wine flowing.

“Teachers” tells us about the hard lessons learned in life, and let’s us know, like it or not, that we are never really done learning.

“Love in the Forest” is probably my favorite song on this CD, after all, it is about love in the forest – though at least here in the Midwest the wintertime part would probably just lead to frostbite.

Other tracks on this CD include:

Toys in the Attic

Shamaniac – an ancient tribal chant

Solfeggio from Carl Philipp Emanual Bach

Wheel of Time sings from the point of view of an elderly woman who has said goodbye to everything in her life as the wheel of time rolls on.

Sister Sunshine

Taranis Jupiter

Moon – another one of my favorites, this is an instrumental only song that would be a perfect accompaniment to a full moon ritual.

Wolf Song – puts Little Red Riding Hood to shame.

Cornwall -- set to music that makes this sound like a traditional piece. Beautiful music, and personal, telling lyrics.

Sing for Love

Many of the songs on this CD also incorporate sounds from nature including bird calls and running water.

The DVD includes three different sections: Wolf Love in the Studio, Live at Castlefest 2009, and Extras. These are broken down as follows:

Wolf Love in the Studio:
1) Wolf Song
2) Studio Love
3) “Making of” photos

Live at Castlefest 2009 (performances of):
1) Dance until we Die
2) Saltatio Vita
3) Richard parker’s Fancy
4) Wytches Brew
5) Morrigan (parts I, II, and III)

Extras:
1) The Bold Fenian Men (acoustic 2008)
2) The Bold Fenian Men (Electric at the Ratcave)
3) Old Man Tree (Very first tryout recording)
4) Pagans on the beach – before and after Castlefest 2009
5) Omnia Trailer 2009
6) Nature Photos (accompanied by Old Man Tree studio version 2009)

Omnia truly shows their diversity not only with the different kinds of music represented on this CD, but with the lyrics as well. This CD proves why Omnia has the following they already do, and it is sure to attract even more listeners to this talented and outspoken Pagan group.

Review: Mythic Journeys DVD

2011-03-09T12:00:00.001-08:00

Mythic Journeys DVD. Imaginal Cells Filmworks. 2009.

Running time: 97 minutes

www.mythmovie.net

Written and directed by Steven Boe and Whitney Boe

Starring Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, and Lance Henriksen

Interviews with Deepak Chopra and Michael Bernard Beckwith

Puppets created by Brian and Wendy Froud

This documentary shows how myth has a powerful and important role in our daily lives, and what happens to our lives when myth is missing from it.

The Frouds lend their hands to create characters who tell us different myths within a myth throughout the film. These myths are then expounded on by a panel of spiritual experts who discuss how these myths touch our own lives, how we live the myths in our own lives.

We learn how we need to step up and take responsibility for our actions – and indeed our own inaction – in order to change the world around us.

The people interviewed in this film work to show us that life needs to be fully lived, not just followed along, We spend too much time just getting by, and not truly getting involved in life. We need to be the change we want to see in the world.

We need to write our own new myths, figuring out who we are, and where we are going, what we need to do to evolve. We need to use the myths of the past to learn from in order to bring about the future we want to see.

This award winning film is thought provoking and is sure to be the beginning of many conversations that will hopefully lead people to making many changes in their lives to bring about a new, better world in the future.

Respect

2011-02-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, I came home from running errands with my husband to discover my father had called. It’s well known in my family that if dad calls during the day, something is wrong, and this call was no exception. He had called to let me know that one of my step brothers had passed away the night before. This was the second one of my step siblings that had passed away in less than a year.

At 53 years old, Wally was the youngest of my step mother’s biological children. His death was sudden and completely unexpected.

My parent’s live in Springfield Missouri and since my father was too ill to travel, my brother who lives about an hour away from him went to watch him while my step mother and another step brother flew into O’Hare to stay with us for a few days so they could attend the memorial service.

They flew in on Thursday evening, and with the memorial service on Saturday, that left us with time to pass on Friday. Mom wanted to see a couple of independent living centers they were interested in so we spent the day doing that and running other errands.

My mother is slightly handicap and often walks with a cane – especially if she’s getting tired or in an unfamiliar location. To make things easier on her, I always pulled up to the door, got out of the car, helped her out of the car, parked the car and then came back to her. When we were leaving; I went and got the car , pulled it up to where she was waiting, helped her get into the car, shut her door and then drove on to our next location.

On Sunday, when we were heading to the memorial service, my mother decided she would ride with my two step brothers since for starters we couldn’t all fit into one car and second, so she could spend a little time with her son that lives here instead of in Missouri. There was about a half an inch of snow on the ground and the roads and pavement were slick with ice. Needless to say, I was completely in shock when my step brother parked the car at the funeral home and had my mother walk clear across the parking lot instead of dropping her off underneath the portico. He realized once she was half way across the parking lot that he could have done that. When we left the funeral home he did pull the car up for her so she didn’t have to make the trek again. Our next stop was a luncheon at a small dining hall, but once again, he parked the car instead of dropping her off at the door, and when they left, he again made her walk through the icy, slushy parking lot with her cane instead of picking her up.

By the way, my mother is 85 years old.

I was completely flabbergasted. Not only is she not well physically, she has had several small strokes – the most recent less than a month ago, she’s prone to falling and has pins in her leg and a new hip because of that. Add on top of that a recent airplane flight, all the running around the day before, and most importantly – the stress of losing her baby boy and you end up with a woman who actually should probably have been in a wheel chair, not trekking across snow covered parking lots.

:Later that night, when we were all back home and mom had some time to relax a little and attempt to unwind, we ended up in a conversation about the lack of respect Americans give to elderly people and to “age” in general, and how this differs from so many other countries in the world.

In other countries, old age is almost synonymous with wisdom and respect. Here in America it’s associated with being worn out or used up. We are told everyday in our country (just turn on the TV) that it’s not good to look old, that indeed it’s a bad bad thing. We have to wash the gray out of our hair. We have to inject our faces with literal poison to get rid of the wrinkles (often along with facial muscle control!) in order to try to make us look younger, newer. We are a population of people that has decided young and dumb is far more desirable than old and wise – that unfortunately says a whole lot about us as a people.

I refuse to buy into this attitude anymore. I admit I caved a while ago and did wash the gray out of my hair when I was trying to find a job, and unfortunately I think it made a difference. I had interviews with gray hair and didn’t get the job, but this interview as a younger looking brunette I got an offer almost immediately. Did it have anything to do with my hair color? I can’t be sure, but I can tell you there was an extreme lack of gray haired people where I had worked. (I have since left that job and that’s a whole other story!)

But, I won’t do it again. I’ve lived 41 years so far. I’ve raised 7 children. I’ve buried my mother, all my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, my best friend, 2 siblings and many many more people. I have not had an easy life and with that has come gray hair. Each and every one representative of a battle I had to fight or endure. I may not always have come out on top, but more importantly even than winning:

1) I showed up, and
2) I made it through

Each one of those gray hairs that I now carry around with me are proof of another grain of wisdom I’ve acquired somewhere along the way.

I’m taking back the respect and power I deserve – the respect people have so desperately tried to take away from those who are older, The power that has been stripped from them when they start to age. There is no reason to hide our age, no reason to be embarrassed, no reason to try to pretend we are young and dumb instead of older and wiser. I hope others will join in with me and embrace their increasing age and show the utmost respect to those around them who truly deserve it.

At some point. one person came up with the idea that youth should be more desirable than maturity, and somehow that idea spread. Lets start spreading the ideas that wisdom and maturity are the truly desirable qualities people want to see in each other – not botox injections.

And the next time you go somewhere and you see an elderly person struggling with something, help them out. Hold the door open for them. Carry their groceries for them.

Whatever you do, simply do it with the upmost respect.

FEBRUARY WINNER!!!

2011-02-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

The winner for the first monthly drawing is:

Krista Langdon!

Krista please email me at kerri.connor@mchsi.com so I can send you the listing to chose your prize!

Thanks everyone -- The next drawing will be held the last day of March!

Music for Meditation: Inner Stillness CD by David and Steve Gordon

2011-02-21T09:35:00.001-08:00

Music for Meditation: Inner Stillness CD by David and Steve Gordon. Sequoia Records. 2010.

http://www.sequoiarecords.com/x710cd/Music+for+Meditation+-+Inner+Stillness.html

This exquisite CD from David and Steve Gordon, is perfect for your meditation or even yoga practice. These soothing and refreshing songs will take you on a musical journey as you allow yourself to be swept away in their embrace.

With the different varying lengths, you can chose shorter songs for shorter meditations or simply allow the CD to play to participate in one longer meditation.

This CD is also great for helping you unwind and relax at night to get you into the proper mind set for a good night’s sleep.

I particularly like Bridge of Breath with its occasional wind chimes and really look forward to a warm and dry spring day (hopefully really soon!) where I can use this song in an outdoors meditation.

Tracks on this CD include:

1. Bridge of Breath 14:36
2. Entering the Now 13:47
3. Wave on the Ocean of Mind 6:59
4. Flowering of Consciousness 14:10
5 River to the Sea 7:32
6. The Limitless Way 14:16

I believe these songs would also bring an interesting aspect to any ritual if played as background music – most effectively with an outdoor late night full moon ritual.

Versatile and graceful, you are sure to find many different uses for this CD.

Review: Living as a River: Finding Fearlessness in the Face of Change

2011-02-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Living as a River: Finding Fearlessness in the Face of Change by Bodhipaksa. Sounds True. www.soundstrue.com 2010

When I read this title I thought this would be a book interesting to a lot of readers – particularly with all the changes many families are going through as unemployment continues to be out of control, homes are still being lost, and the economy seems to be taking forever to recover.

However, I have to believe I was really wrong on this one.

I will start by admitting I’m not Buddhist, and while this book deals with some Buddhists teachings, that I was unaware of, and frankly could never agree with, that wasn’t my only problem with this book. It wasn’t even my biggest problem with this book.

My biggest problem was how insanely boring this book was. Yes there was a story here and there on something Buddha did, which those were brief yet interesting. Yet the vast majority of the book dealt with how you are not your “self” you are not a static individual therefore everything you see yourself as being isn’t really true because you change constantly. Ok, well I don’t agree with that, but to rephrase it, to tell stories of how the plane the Vin Fizz that took off on a trip across country isn’t the same one that landed because parts were changed, to go over and over and over and over an over the same thing again and again, was flat out annoying,

It was so repetitive, it would be like writing a book that says nothing but:

Ok, 5 seconds have passed, you are now different than you were 5 seconds ago.
Ok, another 5 seconds have passesd you are now different than you were 5 seconds ago.
Now another 5 seconds have gone by so you are different than you were 5 seconds ago.

On and on and on.

I don’t know, maybe for someone who practices Buddism this is a great revelation, for me it was nothing more than a waste of time.

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Living-as-a-River/2688.productdetails

Quick update

2011-02-15T12:16:00.001-08:00

Still playing some catch-up with life - will have a new "real" blog posted soon, and we do have a drawing for goodies coming up the end of the month!

Review: The Lotus Room CD by David Gordon.

2011-02-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

The Lotus Room CD by David Gordon. Sequoia Records. www.sequoiarecords.com 2010

http://www.sequoiarecords.com/x601cd/The+Lotus+Room.html

Sequoia Records never disappoints. Truly this is the best company I have found for versatile CDs and their catalog is simply loaded with great music

This CD from David Gordon is a collection of songs to relax and unwind the listener, yet these songs can be put to plenty of other uses as well. I have yet to find a CD by either of the Gordons that isn’t great for sitting and relaxing in the hot tub, yet of course this is so much more. Great ambiance background (or foreground!) music for a dinner party, night out on the deck or patio, or even yoga, it energizes while it relaxes replacing negative energy with clean, pure, positive energy. This CD is revitalizing and recharging. Perfect for exercise or to help you rejuvenate after a long day on the job.

Tracks on this CD include:
1) Hi-Fi Rendezvous
2) Buddha Nova
3) Floating
4) Mangoville
5) Forever in a Smile
6) A Night in Martinique
7) Alice under Skies
8) Bodhisattvas
9) Out in the Morning
10) Rain in the Sun
11) Whole of the Moon

. Sequoia Records is great at providing soundtracks for real life.

2011-02-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

The Yoga of Sleep: Sacred and Scientific Practices to Heal Sleeplessness CD by Rubin Naiman, PhD. Sounds True. 2010

2 CDs Running time: 2 hours

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/The-Yoga-of-Sleep/2692.productdetails

This two CD set is broken down into two sessions (one for each disc). The first disc delves into exactly what sleep is – from a scientific and a spiritual view and discusses why people have problems with sleep and why sleep is so important.

Dr. Naiman discuss how our view of sleep has changed making it a mechanical, technical process instead of a chance for our soul to refresh itself – he explains how we have lost the sacredness of sleep.

He further goes on to explain how many of the principles of yoga cross over to be the same principles we need to honor in order to get good, meaningful sleep.

By taking these principles and applying them to sleep, we are able to take back the sacredness, the spiritual aspect of sleep and adjust the way we view not only sleep, but night as well.

We are given both a scientific and a spiritual breakdown of what sleep is. While the scientific view is similar to what is generally taught in psychology classes, the sacred, spiritual view is quite different and just hearing this view is going to be a huge step for most people.

While the scientific view of sleep is often defined by what sleep is NOT – it’s not awake, and we often see sleep as a time of nothing, the sacred view of sleep is seen as the presence of peace and serenity.

Dr. Naiman also goes into deep details of different sleep problems, and then tells you how to start working around these areas.

While disc (session 1) focus on what sleep is and problems with sleeplessness, the second disc (session 2) is the application of the information and shows us how we can use “the yoga of sleep” to get the much needed sleep our bodies, minds, and spirits need.

Each of these sessions goes into a lot of depth and detail on what changes to make, and how to go about making those changes.

On the second disc, Dr. Naiman literall walks you through different practices and routines to help your body learn to make the transition from day time waking life to night time sleeping life.

I find it beneficial to have this information on CD instead of in book format partly because it is so relaxing to listen to. One of the discussions Dr.Naiman has, is that we are on information overload. When reading a book on what to do, we are going to have to remember, to be more focused on what we are doing rather than just doing it. The fact that we can just listen to the instructions and not have to worry about memorizing them or wondering if we are getting everything right, helps eliminate some of this information overload. The CD creates a quiet, peaceful way to learn the spiritual, sacred way of sleeping versus the technical, mechanical version.

I really enjoyed this CD set, and as a lifetime insomniac, have already started making some of these changes and have found these changes to be beneficial.

Review: The Energy Cure: Unraveling the Mystery of Hands on Healing

2011-02-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Energy Cure: Unraveling the Mystery of Hands on Healing by William Bengston, PhD. Sounds True. 2010. www.soundstrue.com

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/The-Energy-Cure/2653.productdetails

In this book by William Bengston, a professor of sociology at St. Joseph’s College in New York – the author details different studies he conducted on a version of hands on energy healing that is done while the “healer” cycles different unrelated to the “patient” images through his/her mind that aid in drawing the focus away from what the healer is actually attempting to do.

Similar in theory to Reiki – in the aspect that it’s hands on healing – but different in practice when it comes to where the healer should be focusing.

According to Bengston, this technique works, though I’m not really sure what the benefits of it versus Reiki are, as this doesn’t get covered in this book.

I also found it interesting that the back cover comments and the author himself almost act as if hands on healing through any type of energy exchange is fairly new and that the person who created this “cycling” method is the first to perform energy healing with success.

While the book was interesting, and really quite easy to read, along with entertaining even in parts, I was disappointed that it didn’t really draw on any comparison with Reiki whatsoever, especially since Reiki is most likely the most popular, most well known type of energy healing out there.

Review: Ghosts CD by Llewellyn: Music inspired by true ghost stories of the UK.

2011-02-03T15:21:00.001-08:00

Ghosts CD by Llewellyn: Music inspired by true ghost stories of the UK. Paradise Music. www,paradisemusic.us.com 2009

A truly different idea!

Though you may imagine from the title, that this CD might sound like a bunch of spooky scary, music it is anything but.

Each song is created to tell a musical story centered around the ghost the song is based on.

For instance, the first song - “The Piper” we are treated with the forlorn sound of a pipe as its player seems to be traveling along a path – a path that led him to the gallows outside of Inveraray Castle. As the drummers kick in, we know he is ending his travels and has reached his destination. Though his death is lamented by the crowd, his pipe is soon heard being played again – though now a more ghostly piper is the musician.

Other tracks on this CD include:

2) Lady Hoby –Lady Hoby lived in Bisham Abbey (a Tudor House that Anne of Cleves had been given by Henry VIII), and shortly after murdering her own son, she died herself. In this song you can her ghostly wail as she searches…perhaps for the son she killed.

3) The Hooded Maiden- Near Ardfen on Loch Craignish a woman appears who is thought to be awaiting the return of her love. In this song the Hooded Maiden appears to carry on her sad, endless, lonely search.

4) The White Lady – The story of Marrion de la Bruyer at Ludlow Castle. Though Marrion had fallen in love with an enemy of Ludlow – her lover was only using her to gain access to the castle to attack with an army. When Marrion discovered his deceit, she killed him with his own sword and then threw herself from the battlements. In this song, the sound of waves gives in to the woman lamenting the betrayal she suffered

5) Borley Rectory – According to some, this may be the most haunted house in England. Reports of a ghostly nun and the remains of a young woman buried in the cellar, make up the story of this rectory. In this song, you can practically hear the nun floating regally through passageways, and she most definitely does not seem very happy to be in her current state as she calls out to anyone who can hear her.

6) Jenny Spinner – Said to have been imprisoned in Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, she worked all day long at a spinning wheel and died after going insane. The spinning of her wheel can still be heard even though the room she was imprisoned in was demolished 200 years ago. In this song, “Jenny Spinner” sits at her wheel making the most beautiful threads.

7) Babes in the Wood – Wayland Woods in Norfolk is where two children were left by their uncle’s servant. The spirits of these children are said to be seen walking hand and hand are often heard crying in the woods. In the song, you can feel the children skipping along in the woods, but then feel them turn scared and desperate as they try, unsuccessfully to find their way out again.

8) Hinxworth Place – When a frightened nursemaid accidently kills one of the boys she is watching, a young boy becomes the ghost of Hinxworth Place. In this song the young boy is heard playing – perhaps attempting to look over his younger brother. There also seems to be some remorse in frightening the nursemaid in the first place. Is he truly sorry for his actions – or just sorry that he ended up dead because of them?

9) The Ghost Ship – The ship Lady Luvibund was purposely caused to wreck by first mate John Rivers in a fit of jealous rage after the woman he was obsessed with married the Captain – Simon Reed. Everyone the ship were lost at sea. In this song we here those drastic moments when the ship is ripped to pieces and the souls ripped from the bodies of all aboard.

On the back of the CD, it says that song 9 (The Ghost Ship) is the bonus track. However when playing in Windows Media Player a tenth track is listed but only as track 10. No title or other information is given for this song.

The linear notes included do give a small bit of information about each ghost and the location it haunts, and two books are recommended if you would like to learn more about these famous ghost stories from the United Kingdom.

Even without knowing the stories behind these songs, each is beautiful in its own right. Llewellyn once again combines the sound of nature with modern techniques and creates a wonderful CD with music that would work well for meditation, yoga, or just plain relaxing.

Review: Cassandra Eason’s Chronicles of Magick: Love Magick

2011-01-31T07:17:00.001-08:00

Cassandra Eason’s Chronicles of Magick: Love Magick. Paradise Music, Ltd. 2009

www.paradisemusic.us.com

This is the first of seven CDs from white witch Cassandra Eason – author of more than 80 books on magic and paganism.

In each of the CDs, Eason walks you through each topic step-by-step so you can listen along as you perform the ritual and spells she sets out for you. This is a bit easier than trying to read a spell or ritual as you perform it, so the CD idea is pretty interesting. Though I’m sure some people will be more apt to write the spells out and perform them from a written work instead.

The tracks on this CD include:

1. What is love magick?
2. The tools of love magick
3. Basic love spells with flowers
4. A moon love spell
5. Seeing your future lover in the mirror
6. Knot magick for making love grow
7. Spells for commitment and marriage
8. Spells for fidelity and enduring love in existing relationships
9. Two spells to rekindle or restore passion
10. When things go wrong, reconciliation in love
11. Bringing and keeping lasting love in your life
12. Love is for all of us

I particularly liked track 2, and the enclosed linear notes do include more information to help you along.

I would have like to see more history given in track one, and for each of the spells given as well. I’m not sure which are spells that Eason wrote herself, or if some of them were passed down to her.

Tracks 3 – 11 are all different spells given for the listed topic. Some are short and don’t require much preparation, while others are more elaborate so there is a good variety here.

Track 12, Eason gives a bit of a pep talk on finding love – in other words, she lets you know the work you need to do in the mundane world in order to back up the spells to help you find love. Basically, she states that once you stop looking for love is when you will most likely find it.

The CD includes beautiful background music to accompany the spoken words, and it also helps to create a magical feeling while listening to the CD.

The other CDs in this collection include:
Defensive Magick
Moon Magick
Candle Magick
Prosperity Magick
Healing Magick
Workplace Magick

If I should die, before I wake

2011-01-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I made an executive decision in my household.

After over 11 years of marriage, my husband and I are going to take a REAL vacation together.

We’ve done a few weekend camping trips, 1 night in Chicago after a Bears game, 1 night in Springfield, IL when driving down to meet my parents who had been playing with their grandchildren for a few weeks, but we had definitely never gotten on a plane and gone anywhere before.

I’ve wanted to see New Orleans for probably about 25 years now, and so we are going.
The reason I decided to go ahead and do this is because a month ago my best friend died very unexpectedly. She was only 34 years old. Her death made me realize we have no clue how long we will be around. She literally got sick on December 27th, and died on December 29th. I didn’t even know for 2 weeks because the family had no idea how to get a hold of me.

Often we talk about doing things “Someday”. Well I decided “Someday” is now. I’m not waiting any longer. All those things I said I would do “Someday”, I’m doing. And I’m doing them now.

One of those things I am doing is starting a non-profit organization called Nurturing Necessities. The mission of Nurturing Necessities is to provide gently used clothing, blankets, toys and other baby related items to low income families in Lake and McHenry Counties in order to help relieve the financial burden on these families while keeping these reusable items out of landfills.

Some of the other things I have planned is a Mardi Gras Party, an Irish Heritage Party (I don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day) and I hope to get another book or two done this year. (I did just finish up my fifth book/first book with Llewellyn that should be out early next year.)

So for the most part, this blog is going to turn towards being about living life to the fullest. I will document the plans for my trip, and the parties, and as one of those things comes up that I want to “someday” too, instead of answering “someday”, I will grab my calendar and write it in. In pen even.

Plans for our trip so far have included checking out different tours we want to take. SO far those are:

From Haunted History Tours:
New Orleans Ghost Tour
Voodoo Tour
Vampire Tour
Cemetary Tour

And the Honey Island Swamp tour

We’ve been given a few suggestions of places to see and things to eat and will get into that more in detail later on. Today in preparation we bought a Frommer’s New Orleans Day by Day guidebook and got a great deal on luggage - $63 including tax for a 5 piece set. Granted it’s hot pink, but I think that will only make it easier to pick it out at the luggage carousel at the airport – one of my irrational fears is never finding my luggage as it goes round and round in circles right in front of my face.

Oh, I also hate flying, but apparently I don’t hate it as much as the idea of not going at all so I plan on dealing with my fear at a much later date – and most likely with some valium.

And finally…since I want to work on this blog this year, I also want someone out there to oh I don’t know…READ it!

So anyone who follows it will get entered into a monthly drawing. Don’t know what prizes yet. Maybe autographed books, maybe gift cards, maybe items reviewed on The Pagan Review site, maybe I’ll just give the winner a choice. Please share the link with your friends too, if they post that they were referred by you, I’ll give you an extra entry into the drawing.

So that’s it for now – don’t forget – life is too short to be miserable.

Elemental CD by Kellianna. 2010

2011-01-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

Elemental CD by Kellianna. 2010

www.kellianna.com

The much anticipated new CD from Kellianna is out and sure to be a huge hit in the Pagan community.

This CD is so versatile – the songs are great just to listen to, but so many of them can be used in your actual rituals adding a new dimension to your practice.

1. Direction Song (by Terri Rivera)
This song can be used to call direction, and deities. This would be incredible to see being used at a large community ritual. Easy to sing along with, or someone could actually act out the words as they travel around a sacred circle.

2. There is No Time (by Veronica Appolonia)
This song could also be used to create a sacred circle. A beautiful chant that is sung in a round, so it’s really a circle within a song about a circle. Easy to learn. I have plans to use this one at a full moon ritual around a bonfire this summer. With the round going, this one shows the true beauty of Kellianna’s voice. This is definitely one of my favorites.

3. She is Crone (by Kellianna)
My group used this song at our last Samhain festival. Our entire ritual was spread out throughout our acreage where tributes to deceased love ones took place at our bonfire and then we traveled through the grove to our sacred space ritual area. This song accompanied us on our way. While at the bonfire, it was a time of reflection and communion with those who had gone from this world before us, so needless to say, it was also quite emotionally heavy. The beat to this song is uplifting and transformed us as we danced along from one part of the festival to the next, recharging us as we went.

4. Pele (by Kellianna)
Though I personally don’t work with Pele, this song is quite awesome. Very upbeat and it will get you moving. One of the lines in this song is I’m taking action to waken the fire within”. This is a perfect song to add into any spell or ritual that is about achieving or gaining something.

5. Sacred Stones of Stonehenge (by Shawna Carol)
This song slows it back down again, but also would be a great song to use in ritual, especially any ritual dealing with ancestors. A beautiful song with a beautiful message.

6. Brighid’s Flame (by Kellianna)
This song is also one of my favorites, kind of gives me a chill when listening to it. I look forward to incorporating this into our upcoming Imbolg ritual. This is a true celebration of Brighid and all that she is.

7. Full Height of Our Power (by Shawna Carol)
This song again speeds things up a bit with some fun drumming. Easy to sing along or drum with. This song has several different possibilities for ritual/spell use. With the “full height of our power” lines, it’s appropriate to be used in conjunction with the sun or moon being at its full height of our power – which means it could be used at solstices or full moons. There is also a line “We have the power to transform the earth”. This would be great in healing rituals for events such as Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. Granted it would be nice if things like that never happened again, but we all know better. The next time one of these catastrophes happen, keep this song in mind as a delightful way to build energy for a devastating situation.

8. Gaia Loves (by Kellianna)
Kellianna slows it back down for us with this moving, swaying song. Any ritual designed to honor or draw down Gaia would be perfect with this song added in as it creates a somber, loving atmosphere.

9. Fire Transform Me (Alisa Starkweather)
This song, with its pounding drum, makes me want to go build a bonfire right now (and it’s January with about 10 inches of snow on the ground!) and dance around it. This song is the perfect accompaniment to any fire festival.

10. The Horned God (by Kellianna)
This celebration of the Horned God and Beltaine can be used as pure entertainment, in your Beltaine ritual, for dancing the maypole or for dancing around your Beltaine bonfire.

11. Ebb and Flow (Shawna Carol)
Singing of the different ebbs and flows in nature, this song is perfect for moon, menarche or croning rituals.

12. The Maid and the Dragon (by Kellianna) With the Dragon Ritual Drummers, this song is sexy and seductive, making it a nice choice for Beltaine or a handfasting – especially with its message of love, it’s almost a singing of vows.

13. Elemental (by Kellianna) This song brings us full circle back to calling the elements and directions as the first song did, however the tone of this song makes it perfect for dismissing the elements instead. Like the first song, I would love to see a large community ritual using this song in there closing, though of course you can use it in your own private ritual just as well, I feel it would be quite an impressive sight and experience to be used with a large group.

A CD that is just plain great to listen to is always a nice treat, but when it is one that you can use in many different ways while adding to your own spirituality, and possibly sharing it with others – well that makes this CD an important aspect of Pagan practices today.

Just some of those little things

2010-06-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't been here for a while. Just want to post some of those little things that bother me so I can get them off of chest and move on.

For starters, if you post a bunch of political garbage in your status that proves you are a RWNJ and people call you on it and you say, "Hey if you don't like my politics unfriend me" - then please keep your yap shut and don't complain when people unfriend you en masse. Not everyone wants to hear your hate speech against the President that amounts to nothing more than either 1) you are truly nothing more than a bigot or 2) you watch nothing but Fox news. Either way -- just shut the hell up.

Secondly, say your god daughter just graduated high school and her father and step mother are throwing a party for her. Her REAL mother and her family are all coming to the party at her father and step mother's house. Well almost all of her family, because you, the god mother, who is also her aunt isn't going to go, neither is your husband - her uncle - because YOU have "A problem" with her step mother.

Where do I even start with this? Let's start with the whole "GOD" thing. So as a god mother - you are responsible for helping with the upbringing of your god child particularly in the area of spiritual matters.

What kind of message does it send when someone refuses to go to a graduation party because you don't like someone who will be there? Well it sends the following messages:

1) Pettiness is OK
2) The role of a god parent is to be played out only when it's convenient for the god parent
3) The role of aunt is only to be played out when it's convenient for the aunt.
4) obviously you think far too highly of yourself and can't manage to get off of your high horse long enough to be respectful to your own niece.

Not exactly what a parent of any sort should be teaching is it?

That is just truly sad.

And to try to put the blame off onto someone else? As in because that person will be there, I won't be...uhhhh no. It's not the other person's fault. It's your own. YOU are the one making the choice. So instead of saying, "I'm not coming because I have a problem with so and so" why not speak the truth? How about "I'm not coming because I'm to immature to put aside my own feelings so that I can support my niece"? That would, after all, be far more accurate. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY for your OWN ACTIONS people. Blaming other people for your choices? Well it's immature, and ignorant. It really doesn't put you in the "holier than thou" light you think it does. It does however make you look like a complete ass.

Sacred Space

2010-04-26T06:38:00.001-07:00

I walk barefoot through dew covered grass. The long wet blades curve around my foot, tickling the tops of my feet.

The dew is cold and yet it feels so refreshing on my tired aching feet.

The path winds in and out of trees. Leaves rustle overhead, dripping drops of dew like a gentle summer rain.

I feel cleansed, renewed.

The ground around me is splattered with splurts of color – dainty flowers poke through the green grass in hues of blue, purple, and yellow. They decorate the ground like confetti tossed about.

The trees too are full of life, but in animal form. Birds hop about as I move closer to them.

The squirrel runs to the opposite side of the tree trunk hoping I won’t see him. A chipmunk climbs a stump and curiously watches to see if I’ll leave a treat for him, which of course I do.

A small toad climbs on a tree trunk, not sure where he should go, so he just stays where he is for now.

The path looks as if it comes to end. It stops in front of a wall of foliage. Branches and leaves from both sides forming a protective barrier.

But looking down, it’s clear that the path should go on. I slowly pull each branch back sending a spray of dew drops all over my feet and bare legs. I step further through the maze. Pull back another branch, take another step.

Another branch.

Another step.

Another branch.

Another step.

I emerge into the opening and there I find it, my sacred space.

My home.

Honesty

2010-04-23T04:30:00.001-07:00

Why aren’t people more honest? What is the point of lying? Seems to me that people often lie because they afraid to face up to who THEY really are.

Q. Did you _______? (fill in the blank)

Lie: Of course not, I would never ______

Obviously someone doesn’t want you to know that yes, indeed, they are exactly the kind of person who would _________.

As if lying about it makes it untrue.

Some lies are easy to see through, others, well sometimes when we learn the truth we are just completely floored.

How about this one?

Q. Do you want to ________? (Again fill in the blank yourself)

Lie: Sorry I have plans.

Maybe that is easier than the truth. Maybe that’s easier than saying, “No, I really don’t feel like it/like you/want to spend anytime with you whatsoever, you creep me out and I wish you would just go away.

Sometimes lies are told to make other people feel good.

Q. Am I fat?

Lie: Of course not, you look great.

But in the long run, does this lie help anyway? What if the person believes you and ends up dying from an obesity related problem?

How about instead of the lie, try the truth?

“Unfortunately, yes, you are fat. Please work on losing weight and getting healthier so you’re around for a long time. I’d miss you if you were gone, and maybe we can do some working out together.”

Which one sounds like the person cares more?

Sometimes the truth may hurt, but it seems to me in the end, the lie always hurts more.

Determination

2010-04-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

I am determined.

I am determined to get certain things accomplished in my life.

I am determined to find a decent job that will have a regular paycheck.

I am determined to write at least a dozen books in my lifetime.

I am determined to spend a month in Ireland.

And another in England.

And a third in Scotland.

I am determined to read and learn about as much as I can about the topics that interest me.

I am determined to spend time with my friends and let them know how much they mean to me.

I am determined to raise my children to be good people.

I am determined to do my part to help the environment and work on other causes I believe in.

I am determined to save my home from the evils of Bank of America.

I am determined to live a life that I will be proud to have lived when it comes to an end.

I am determined.

Patience

2010-04-20T07:15:00.001-07:00

Patience is not one of my virtues.

I’ve never been very good about being patient, and I’m sure it was probably a problem I had in past lives too.

It’s not that I want instant gratification – it isn’t that at all.

No, in fact, I truly believe that anything worth having is worth waiting for.

I think it comes more from me expecting other people to act the way I do, or at least the way I feel is “right”.

For example, over a month ago, I sent out 2 emails to 2 different people requesting information from them. Still no answer, and at this point I doubt I ever will get an answer, and I’ve managed to find the information elsewhere. But still, I never heard back from either person. Not even an “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

It’s not even so much the rudeness of not answering – though that is a whole different can of worms – the question was a simple, yes or no question I needed answered for professional reasons. But even though I did get an answer elsewhere, those first few days of waiting was torture.

When I send in proposals or manuscripts – more torture while waiting to hear something, anything.

Applying for jobs – same thing. Torture while waiting to hear something, anything.

Lately my life has been about waiting, always waiting for something.

I can only hope that with all the waiting I’m doing lately, maybe I’ll get a little bit better at being patient.

Fragrances from Dunraven House

2010-04-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

Dunraven House

www.dunravenhouse.com

We received so many great products from Morwyn of Dunraven House that we’ve had to break them up into several different reviews.

Earlier we brought you reviews of two of her books, and this week we are reviewing a sampling of her fragrances – these ones in the form of bath salts.

Most of the fragrances from Dunraven House are available as perfumes, bath salts, massage oils and incenses, which means you can combine different forms for a complete magical experience.

The fragrances we are reviewing are: Meditation, Angel Fire, Green Goddess, and Sixth Sense. (Quoted portions are from Dunraven’s descriptions of these products.)

Meditation: “A mellow blend that facilitates the contemplative state and helps your mind focus on Spirit”. This a deeply enticing rich scent that helps you to relax and concentrate on the task at hand.

Angel Fire: “For those who have heeded the sacred call and wish to devote their lives to the path of magickal self-development. Angel Fire draws the fiery spiritual power of the Angelic realms”. Innocent and spicy at the same time, relaxes while it empowers.

Green Goddess: “A tribute to the shimmering lady of field, forest, wood, and meadow. It invokes her all-encompassing love & compassion.” Earthy, with a bit of dew. A walk in the woods with the leaves over head and ferns at your feet after a brief summer rain.

Sixth Sense: “Specific to psychic self-development, clairvoyance, and spirit communication.” I KNOW you are going to love this! A must for any medium or channeler. Use before tarot readings, pendulum sessions or any other divination tasks.

Dunraven House has been in business since 1979. All items are handcrafted by Morwyn herself.

Stop on by this site and pick up a sampling of products for yourself – the small ounce size is just $2.00.

Review info

2010-04-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

As the Editor of The Pagan Review, I do lots and lots and lots of product reviews so I've decided I'm going to include those on my blog here too. They are something I write and so they may as well get added in here too!

Seriously now

2010-04-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

I really am going to start writing on this more. I promise.

Looking forward to some new adventures on the horizon.

Hoping to hear from Llewellyn about a project soon...

And just to take on something else, I'm going to be the Chicago Pagan Examiner at Examiner.com. Page isn't up yet, but will let everyone know when it is. And I will expect to hear all about the events everyone has planned.

IF the future is what we make it, then I think it's time for me to get working on mine.

Really? I don't buy it!

2010-03-22T06:25:00.001-07:00

So in the past 12 hours, I've seen people type and have heard people say things such as:

I believe in helping those people who help themselves. I will be the first to get out there and lend someone a hand if they are willing to help themselves.

To those people I say. BULL.

I'd really like to know how many of those people have taken someone to the er AND paid the bill. How many have allowed a homeless person to live with them. How many have helped out at their local homeless shelter. How many have spent one hour serving lunch at a soup kitchen.

I'm wiling to bet those numbers are VERY VERY VERY low.

You know how I know that? Because if even half the people who claim they are the first to get right out there and help someone actually did, this country wouldn't be in the mess it's in in the first place.

Stop believing the lies that only the lazy need help. It's simply not true It's nothing more than an excuse to justify your lack of action to help out. People say Oh well I would help those who need help if they were willing to help themselves but gee not a single one of the needy out there is trying to help themselves. Again I say BULL.

Open your eyes. The world is what you make it.

Just remember, what goes around comes around. Someday it may be you that needs the helping hand -- who is going to lend it to you?

Yes some times stupidity makes me laugh -- caution, politics attached!

2010-02-22T10:46:00.001-08:00

So today I got this little gem of an email that I just wanted to share with everyone -- really it's not as long as it looks.

It's a slow day in a little east Texas town. The sun is beating down, and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from back east is driving through town. He stops at the motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has
also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are
not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything.

However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today.

Now what I particularly love about this is the last line "...is how the United States Government is conducting business today". This of course is supposed to be another jab at President Obama, and whether you like him or not - please at least do your homework enough to know what is going on in the world and what has gone on in the world so when you create an email like this you don't look like a complete flipping fool.

Contrary to popular republican opinion, President Obama did NOT indeed start the national deficit. No really. He didn't. It's been around for a long long time. LONG. Seriously.

The national deficit first appeared in 1790 -- when the United States of America was still a babe in diapers. The President at the time? Thomas Jefferson. You know that guy who pretty much wrote the Declaration of Indpendence? He was also a Republican.

So please stop giving President Obama credit for something he did not create. The mess our country is in was inherited by the President, not started by the Presidient. I almost wish he hadn't of won the election, perhaps then the people who started this mess would actually be the ones getting the blame f it.

I also find this funny because it claims this is how the government conducts business. wow. really? And the rest of the country and the world doesn't work this way too?? PLEASE.

Sorry but it just cracks me up. I have to wonder if the person who wrote this is completely self sufficient and has never used credit or paid anyone for anything ever, nor received any payment in return either.

Just plain stupid.

Just remember if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Seriously? People are that bad?

2010-01-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

I heard back from my agent and the news wasn’t good. She won’t try to sell my latest work and gave several reasons as to why.

I really could have a lot to say about most of the reason she gave me – including the suggestion that I join a writing group. This of course means she assumed I don’t already belong to a writing group, AND that my writing group would also have agreed with her comments. This of course I found extremely interesting since almost every single aspect she commented on was directly related to suggestions from my peers in my writing group in the first place!

However, the one reason that completely floored me the most was being told my characters were basically too supportive.

Let me give a little background. The setting for this book is a small rural town. A place where everyone has grown up together, and known each other since they were little kids. A town where people not only knew their neighbors – they liked and respected them as well.

In the story, a young woman’s husband tragically dies and her brother-in-law and friends come together and help her out.

Wow.

Because of this they are too supportive and therefore this is actually a reason why the book isn’t marketable?

Seriously??

Her exact words were, “Most people just aren't that perceptive and empathic in real life.”

I don’t know where she lives or grew up, but the people I know and love are EXACTLY like that. I could go as far to say if they weren’t like that, I wouldn’t keep them in my life in the first place.

I’m told “the market” wants more conflict.

In current times with so many people unemployed, (unless of course they happen to be bill collectors in which case they have all kinds of work!) losing their homes, wars ripping countries apart, earthquakes devastating islands leaving the death toll in the hundreds of thousands…well really now, don’t we have enough conflict in our everyday lives? When is enough, enough?

I don’t know about you, but I have enough conflict and problems in my life already. I’d like to hear something supporting every now and then. I’d like to know it doesn’t take an entire country being almost shook off the globe, it doesn’t take a hurricane turning a major metropolitan area into a large lake, it doesn’t take airplanes flying into skyscrapers to bring people together to help each other out, especially when those people are your friends and family.

Showing people ARE empathetic and perceptive and supportive – well that’s exactly what everyone in my group wanted to see.

Everyday we are bombarded by bad news – the good news – well it isn’t even considered news. And we wonder why so many people are depressed these days. What do you expect when conflict after conflict after conflict are crammed down their throats? What do people expect when we constantly give attention to the bad and the good gets swept away.

If we aren’t even allowed to have love and support in our recreation time, in the time we take for ourselves to escape from the hell of daily life – how can we be expected to ever be truly happy?

Oh wait.

We aren’t supposed to be happy. Heaven forbid. If we were happy we wouldn’t need to buy half the crap advertisers tell us we need to so that we can be happy.

So much of our lives is already based on some type of conflict or another. We are told everyday that we don’t look enough, are teeth aren’t white enough, we don’t wear the right clothes, we don’t drive the right car, we don’t drink the right pop.

Companies make their money by telling us what is wrong with us and then telling us how THEY can fix it. Just turn on your TV and see. Open a magazine or newspaper and look at the ads.

Hasn’t it gone far enough?

I don’t know why we, as a society keep buying into it. Why we keep putting up with it.

I for one am fed up.

I want world peace. I want love, support and comfort in my life and believe me, I’m not going to listen to some multimillion dollar corporation on how to find it. They don’t know me.

No, instead I think I’ll take a walk out in the snow, and stop by the coop to say hello to my chickens on the way.

A new year, new goals, and new changes!

2010-01-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

A new year, new goals, and new changes!

Yes, I do plan on working on my blog and newsletter much more this year. It’s time to start bringing some new order to my life.

I am still waiting to hear back from my new agent (my former agent has left the business) on the last book I sent in. It has been over 5 months now, so hopefully I will hear something soon.

I hope everyone has had a happy and safe holiday season and that 2010 is your most prosperous year yet!

The Pagan Review
The Pagan Review is still going, though the shape of the economy has affected our reviewable items greatly. You can find The Pagan Review on both Facebook and Myspace.

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Classes
This spring I do plan to start offering more classes and workshops both at my home and online, so keep an eye out for those.

Current online classes can be found at The School of the Craft: http://www.shopwicca.com/college/

Readings
I am also looking for people who would like to receive a free reading. New year, new decks of tarot cards and other oracles! So I am looking for people I can do practice readings with to try these out. This month’s deck I am working with is The Wisdom of Avalon oracle. It interested please email me.

Writings and Contest!
My latest book Goodbye Grandmother is available through Wyrdwood Publications at http://www.wyrdwoodpublications.com/gg.htm.

Goodbye Grandmother is the story of eleven year old Hope who is getting ready to attend the Wiccan funeral rite of her beloved Grandmother. Although Hope has attended ritual with her family in the past and her mother is the High Priestess of the grove they practice with, this is the first time Hope has attended a funeral rite and is, needless to say, sad and nervous at the same time.
This story is intended for intermediate children readers as it does contain difficult situations that are harder for younger children to understand. As death is something that affects all of us at one time, or another, this is an important story for children to know there is someone else out there in the world that feels as they do. This is a story that parents should share with a child on it’s first reading, and can then be referred back to as a child goes through the grieving process of losing a loved one. Parts of the story can be read to younger children, with the parents editing out those sections they feel the need to pass on, depending on the age of the child.

Anyone who purchases a copy of Goodbye Grandmother will be entered into a drawing for a free autographed copy of The Pocket Guide to Rituals. Simply go to the above website, purchase a copy of Goodbye Grandmother for $4.99. Send me an email at kerri.connor@mchsi.com with confirmation of your purchase and you will be entered into the drawing. The drawing will take place on February 28, 2010.

Other Ways to Connect

webpage:
www.kerriconnor.com

blog:
http://kerriconnor.blogspot.com/

email:
kerri.connor@mchsi.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/KerriConnor

New articles up on my Associated Content page:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/23403/kerrilyn_bachlerconnor.html

New and used books for sale on Half.com:
http://shops.half.ebay.com/my-hope-chest_W0QQsellerZmyQ2dhopeQ2dchest

My facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=578533056#/profile.php?id=1373273452&ref=ts

My Myspace:
www.myspace.com/kerrilynhope

Wouldn't it be nice.....??

2009-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today I want to write about something that really has nothing to do with writing.

It has to do with how people treat one another on this planet we call home. Or maybe it’s about the way they don’t treat each other.

Sometimes I’m just downright shocked at the lack of respect I see coming out of people.

For example, perhaps you believe in raising your children with absolutely no rules or consequences. They have free reign. They can talk how they want, when they want to whom they want at any time. This may mean swearing, or lewd, crude and vulgar jokes, and it doesn’t matter who’s in earshot – young children or adults alike, they are never ever told it’s not appropriate.

In other words, they are basically taught no respect - not only for those around them, they are also taught no respect for themselves.

Then to make it even better, these same parents often tell people (including their kids) that those parents who expect their kids to listen, to be polite, to be respectful of others, are actually the parents who are in the wrong.

Why are they wrong? Oh well because they aren’t allowing their children the freedom to express themselves. Parents who correct their kids are controlling. Stifling.

Is this a load of crap or what?

I have to wonder about the people out there who have no desire to actually raise their children, why on earth did they become a parent in the first place?

Do they not realize that giving children guidance and nurturing in their formative years is what helps them to become responsible, mature adults who are able to go out into the world and make a difference – one for the good that is!

What happens to the child who thinks jokes about pedophiles are funny when he grows up? Does he contribute to society in a positive manner? Or is his ethical sense of right and wrong so warped, he goes from telling and laughing at pedophile jokes to becoming one himself?

And what can be done about it? Virtually nothing. You can’t call children’s services on them – well you can but it wouldn’t matter. Unless the child’s physical health is at harm they don’t care. Mental health? Who cares about that? Who cares if people are raising another generation of sociopaths? No one.

But you can.

When you hear one of these parents justifying themselves – as they always do, and usually in the same way – saying “Oh I was raised the same way and look at me – I turned out fine”, let them know the truth.

“No. No, you didn’t turn out fine.”

Someone who was “fine”, wouldn’t be raising their kids in that way to begin with. They wouldn’t be teaching their child to have no manners, no conscience, no self respect.

They would know where their kids are, know that they are safe – not go to bed and wake up the next day to discover their child never came home the night before.

They would teach them to have respect for themselves, for other people and for the world around them.

It may not help much, not at first, but maybe, just maybe eventually if enough people start saying something, start complaining, start saying enough is enough, people will start to get it, will start to understand, will realize what they are doing to their own children and start to change.

In the beginning...

2009-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to getting my webpage and blog set up. It's been a long time coming and it's about time I got myself moving on it!

I hope to update this weekly, so hopefully I can manage to stick to that!

I recently turned in a new manuscript to my agent and waiting to hear back on that. It's different from anything I've done before - a full length novel about second chances. So now it's just about waiting to see what happens.

I have several more ideas and just getting started on one of those so I still have a long way to go on that one!

Thanks for stopping by!