Goddess Light

Julie, I'm sending out healing light to you, little mamma. No babies shall be hatched before it is time. xoxoxoxoxo

Dear Santa,

I have just been to the bookstore and discovered, much to my delight, that pop-up books have regained popularity this year. Please bring me all of them. Or maybe just 5? Okay, I'll settle for 2? I have been very good. I even quit smoking. I promise to never bash x-mas again....pretty, pretty, please?

Just don't bring this one, I already bought it.




Thanks!

Luv,

G.

Reasons Why Halloween is Superior to All Other Holidays #1: Sam Hain (Happy Halloween!)

Samhain is known by most folks as Halloween, but for Wiccans and Pagans it's considered a Sabbat to honor the ancestors who came before us. It's a good time to contact the spirit world with a seance, because it's the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.

Myths and Misconceptions:

Contrary to a popular Internet-based (and Chick Tract-encouraged) rumor, Samhain was not the name of some ancient Celtic god of death, or of anything else, for that matter. Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") comes from the Gaelic “Samhuin,” but they’re divided on whether it means the end or beginning of summer. After all, when summer is ending here on earth, it’s just beginning in the Underworld. Samhain actually refers to the daylight portion of the holiday, on November 1st.

All Hallow Mass:

Around the eighth century or so, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as All Saints Day. This was actually a pretty smart move on their part – the local pagans were already celebrating that day anyway, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday. All Saints’ became the festival to honor any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints’ was called Allhallowmas – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve, and eventually morphed into what we call Halloween.



A Time for Rest
by Angela

As the Sun God bids his last farewell, we are reminded of the cycle's end. The leaves are falling from the trees, the animals have almost completed their gathering, and the air takes on a northerly chill. Everything begins to take on a pose of rest; of death.

This is the time when the veil between worlds is the thinnest. A time when we are able to communicate with the spirits that have passed before us. If you need guidance, ask the spirits. Let them guide you on your path, if needed. Thank the spirits and then rest. Resting now allows all sensations and creative energy to integrate into every pore of your body.

In this season of death, it is an excellent time to reflect on the past year and identify all that needs to metaphorically die in our lives as well. Perhaps we need to remove addictive habits, self-sabotaging behaviors, relationships that do not serve a higher purpose, etc. Now is the time to set up a game plan on how to allow them to "die" and be discarded.

As winter approaches, and for some, snow begins to blanket the ground, summon energy to blanket you, as well. To protect your spirit as the process of hibernation begins and spiritual gestation continues. Enter your hibernation with grace.

Rest!

While in your spiritual hibernation, allow your body, mind and spirit to detox. Cleanse you aura to cleanse your spirit. Take gentle care of it. The seeds of creations are in the processes of growing. It is a time of inner nourishment.

On Samhain, the Sun God has left the spirit realm to rest and prepare for new birth. Come Yule, the first labor pains will begin for the Great Mother Goddess. She will again birth the new cycle of life for the Sun God. New life energy for all. With the spirit replenished, creative energy will slowly begin to flow again. This is a time for joining together to celebrate the coming of a new, refreshed, cleansed time of being.

Rejoice!

#2: Costumes and Trick or Treating

I like most when costumes are clever and funny. I also like when they are zombie anything: zombie girl scout, zombie mailman, etc. My best costume to date, I think, is when I was a fang fairy. Yeah, a tooth fairy for vampires. I had a long bright-red wig, a long satin white dress, wings, blood all over me, fangs, a fang necklace and a tool belt around my waist that included pliers and a wrench. No one knew what I was. It was great. Here are some from this year.


Super Tofu Man with Jennifer, the Sushi Chef


Me being a black widow. I always wanted to make this costume and was fortunate enough to find it already made this year. Yippee!


Erin, the Lady of Doom...oooh scary!

#3: Jack O' Lanterns!

We are to carry on the tradition of carving pumpkins tomorrow! Woo! In the meantime, these are pics from the last couple of years in Los Angeles. The masterpieces above are carved by myself and my trusty friends Erin, Greg, and Marcus. Me, Greg, and Marcus shown above.

#4: CANDY

All of it. Especially the kind with chocolate involved. YAY! I bought three bags early this year, and unfortunately have eaten half of it....Ooops!

#5: Cemeteries

One of my most favourite cemeteries is, Bachelor's Grove. It is one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States. Located near the south suburbs of Chicago on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve, in Midlothian, Illinois, the cemetery is abandoned and disheveled. The name, Bachelor's Grove, came from the fact that a lot of single men were living in the area at the time. Among the ghosts that are haunting this charming place are; a farmer with his horse pulling a plough(whom drowned in a river), the White Lady who appears only during full moon, and of course a lot of mobsters and murder victims from the 1920's, Chicago.

A lot of strange paranormal phenomena has been reported, such as actual apparitions, unexplained sights and sounds, and even glowing balls of light. But even during the day, one can feel some kind of presence. The haunted history of the Bachelor's Grove cemetery began in 1844 when the area was left behind as a burial ground, first called "Everdon's". It was actually the first burial in the cemetery and had been used until 1965, when things began to drift off until 1989, when another burial occurred, and the ashes of a local were interred.

To enter Bachelor's Grove cemetery, you have to take a small gravel trail away from the turnpike -- are you sure you want to go there? It is on this small road that people have reported that they saw a white farmhouse that appears and disappears. The house is always described in the same way by visitors - a white house with porch pillars, a soft light burning in the window, and a swing - but it never stays in the same place. The house has been seen during daylight and night, but there is no historical record stating that a house was ever built there. I have seen this. Also, while walking down this trail, a Screaming Banshee passed through my ex boyfriend.....I heard and saw it. He felt it as a freezing sensation going through him. No kidding.