Just Another Ordinary Miracle

I love that song. So many of Sarah McLachlan's songs are beautiful in that simple kind of way. Sometimes I wait for them to put out a 'best of' album cause I don't want to spend the money OR start another collection of any kind of stuff, including CDs or DVDs for music or movies. But, in this case I might see what I can find next time I'm in Zellers. Would be lovely to listen to her at home while I'm writing.

Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle Lyrics

It’s not that usual when everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don’t need to teach a seed to grow
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle
Do you want to see a miracle?

Its seems so exceptional
Things just work out after all
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

It’s just another ordinary miracle today

hell is Just Another Four Letter Word

The concept of hell and the idea that women could be unclean when they have their period, have sex, or get pregnant and give birth were all reasons why I stopped following/ believing in the standard Christian type religions.

I don't think I even need to go into detail about the women part. I am a woman. Being so and having the body of a woman and all it's cycles does not make me unclean. I don't bite the heads off penis's or chickens. I'm not into that sort of kinky stuff. Other kinky stuff... but not that.

As for hell. How can anyone have faith in a religion which tells you to worship or face going to hell? No real power would say that. Unless it never really had any power and the only way to enforce and keep it's power was to debase itself and threaten the very followers who give it their faith, their hope and their life. Doesn't that seem wrong? Why would you worship something that threatens to take it's ball and go home like a kid having a tantrum? Shouldn't a supreme power be confident, mature and more independent than that?

Anyway the hell thing just proved to me that what people call god is not very godly. It seems to me a real power/ god would not bother with us all that much. Which is the case if you look around. We are left to our own to fight our own battles, to protect our own environment and to keep each other.

Only someone who needs praise demands worship. I don't see a real god being that needy. Rather they would have better things to do.

It's like giving someone a gift. If you really give from your heart you give cause it pleases you, not because you need to be thanked. I don't give a present and then stand around expecting anyone to hang around telling me how sweet I am, how great the gift is. I already know those things.

Quietly an Earth Witch

I don't blog about being Pagan very often. It's a personal decision and something I mostly keep to myself. But, now and then I think of something to say to more than just myself.

When the Internet was newer there were some really good sites for Pagans. Also, many personal sites which were a mix of good and flamboyant. I don't see many good sites still around. It's a shame. Some of those which were my favourites have been gone a long time. It's not an easy road to take, to put yourself out there as a Pagan and an authority on what being Pagan is. When I wrote a column about Wicca I would get a few upset emails but more often it would be questions from young women who wanted to know how to cope with family who disagreed with their choices.

I still think about those young women, now and then. I sent them replies, did my best to explain that for me being Wiccan (as I called myself at that time, it's a bit more generic and easily understood) was all within myself and I did not need to tell anyone anything. I did hear back from a few of them, nothing long term though. I wonder how they did, if they understood what I was trying to say and if they stuck with being Pagan or changed/ evolved in another direction.

Anyway, for any young women who come across this and have the same issue. What I would most like people in general to understand about being Pagan is that it is personal and does not need to be displayed. You don't need to buy the "Kiss me I'm Pagan" t-shirt, or the "I'm a Witch, I can put a hex on you" poster or all the fancy tools, jewellry and books available in Pagan and New Age stores. You don't need to create elaborate rituals and altars. You don't need to work on casting spells. I'm especially against spells as those are always about changing something in someone else. You can only change yourself.

Being an Earth Witch, as I call myself now, is inside of me. I'm quiet about it because I don't need recognition for it. I don't need to join a club to have someone else tell me I'm who I am. I don't need to stick it to Christians. I don't think I'm better than they are. I don't want to upset them or try to make them understand what being an Earth Witch is about.

Being an Earth Witch, quietly, means I only change myself and all the magic comes from me as I work on being a better person and do my part to make the world better. If I am being the best person I can be then the world is that much better too. I don't need to change the world or anyone else. I don't need to broadcast who I am or stir up others. I let them do their best too and when I can I encourage them too. I don't cast spells. I have love and respect for everyone, letting them have the benefit of my optimism.

Of course, there are people who let me down. There are people who have gone too far down the wrong road. I can't even try to change them or feel I should. I can keep myself going, on the right road and in that way be a good example. I'm not perfect and don't want to be. I just keep working on it. We are all works in progress after all.

So for young women who want to buck the system, insist their family accept them as Pagan and so on, stop! If you really do want to be Pagan, do it quietly. Be the best example of what being Pagan can be. Once your family see you doing well and being happy they will be happy and eventually they may see that being Pagan is part of that for you. If they see no reason to fear you being Pagan it will be just a little quirk, rather than a stand of aggression and rebellion.

A practical idea... if you want an altar and don't want it to seem out of the ordinary, get a goldfish. A small goldfish bowl with water, rocks in the bottom, a red feather beside it gives you all the elements represented. You can think up something that will work better for you. But, as an example it shows that you can have an altar without anyone knowing it is anything more than a goldfish.

Best of wishes to all the quiet Pagans and Merry Season to everyone. 

Ruby Gloom

http://www.rubygloomtv.com/

Doodle Week: Air

Doodle Week

Doodle Week: Fire

Doodle Week

Doodle Week: Water

Doodle Week

Doodle Week: Earth Element

Doodle Week

The Housewives Tarot

THE HOUSEWIVES TAROT

These days they could be house husbands too. Did anyone ever come up with another way of saying that?

Something I liked today.

Act as if the Goddess within truly matters.

This came up as the answer to my question on the Goddess Mystic site's oracle.

Red Witch

Witches (Not So) Weekly

What is one item that is sacred to you? (Can be anything, tool, amulet, object, etc)

What holidays or time of year do you consider most sacred to you personally?

Describe your sacred space (can be anywhere, indoors, outdoors, etc):

One item which always feels spiritual and elemental to me are rocks, stones, pebbles and so on. I don't know what it is. Maybe I like that they feel firm and hard in your hand, worn and created by the Earth and water. There is nothing quite like a rock warmed by the sun. Pavement and sand get too hot but a rock takes the heat and keeps enough or bounces it off enough that you can sit on it even when you run to get there across the burning sand or paved lot. There is just something special about rocks.

St. Patricks Day may be most sacred to me personally. Some of my Grandparents were from Ireland and I miss them. It may not be my favourite holiday on the Pagan or standard calendar but it does have a lot of personal meaning.

I think my sacred space is sitting right here in front of my computer monitor. Coffee mug (huge coffee mug) within easy reach when I stop typing. I have pretty much created an altar right here with something from all the elements. I've got a jasper rock on a chain. Wooden beads made into a hair band. Hand cream made from a shop called Fruits and Passion. Hand sanitizer, surely that counts as a water element if the coffee doesn't do it for you. I've got Jann Arden, Bryan Adams, Loreena McKennitt, and Jazz Divas CDs beside my monitor, handy for sticking in the CD player. Couldn't those count for the wind element as you need sound waves to hear them. Stretching a bit, maybe. Of course fire is covered by electricity powering the whole thing and the lights I've got on so I can see what I'm doing down here in the basement apartment. Not a bad altar eh?

Merry Spring

Time for New Things

I was downtown again today. Just a trip out for coffee and a stroll around. No photos this time. It's funny how you can get intimidated and not take photos at times. I saw a few things and I thought about how I would take the picture but there were several people around and I let the chance pass by. I don't know why I cared that anyone was there. After all, what would anyone do, stop me from taking a picture. Not like it's illegal or immoral. I'm going to try to work on that.

Yesterday I read a good article in another blog about writers who have blogs. She said most of us just write blogs about writing. I guess that is what we think we know and have thougths about most often. I think anything to do with blog publishing and SEO (search engine optimization for sites) comes a close second if not first even. But it is true that writers tend to make their blogs pretty predictable, topical blogs. I'm not counting this as a topical blog it doesn't have any real focus.

She said we should write about something else, a personal interest, hobby or cause. I think that is really a good plan. For myself especially as I really do like having a project on the go and I really do need to have a plan and keep myself stuck to it. So, I am coming up with ideas. I do have plenty to choose from, lots of things I am interested in. Too many and some which turn out to be short term or abandoned along the way. I am thinking most about a blog with photos of old things in Toronto. I really do like taking the photos of old buildings and there isn't any shortage of places and bits of places to choose from. I could have a backlog of photos on hand and just post one a day for a very long time. So that does seem like the idea with the most potential.

Makes me think about Skye and her blog for the town she is in. I check on her now and then. I would be lucky cause Toronto is massively big and a centre for a lot of events and traffic of people in general. I think she is finding that a problem for her smaller area.

Other topics I could write about are Pagan or women's issues/ culture/ something or other. I think the Pagan would be good for drawing traffic BUT I don't think I really have enough I want to say to make that a weekly column let alone a daily thing. Unless I added a wider focus for it, including some history and culture which would be borderline on focus for the Wicca/ Pagan topic. Still, it is something I am not passing off on. The women's thing I am passing on. I really don't want to blab on and on about online dating, periods, being a grrl or whatever else that direction would take me. I don't see that being a direction I want to go in. Besides, I see a ton of sites like that which are submitted to Dmoz and most of them are pretty trashy with spam and light/ lame on content.

I am still going to put thought into the Pagan thing. Even though I can't see it as a weekly column I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea. It's important to have someone out there talking about Paganism from a real prespective, not all about quick fixes with spells and worshipping gods. I don't believe in any gods and I am anti-spellcraft. Both seem really phony to me. You can't say you are for life and free choice and such and then try to force things to your will with 'spells' and blame it all on 'gods or goddesses'. Of course it is more complicated than that. I might try it and see how it goes. If I get into it or get wound out and have nothing left to say after a month.

I think I will keep the writing blog going. I renamed it Word Grrls this past week. So far it just has all my old articles with another dozen or so still in drafts to be stuck out there. I've been updating it each Monday. I'm not doing anything else cause I don't feel right to really grow it till I'm out of old content. For now it is fine. As with the Pagan plan, it gives me time to decide if I want to keep it going as a weekly thing. To see what committment I really have to it all.

I do think the Something Old in Toronto idea is good, good for me as well as something I could turn into a popular site. People do seem to enjoy the photos I have done of old buildings. Although most are still the farmhouses from outside of Toronto. Anyway, it seems like a good plan.

Christmas Day... I'm Remembering

For me, as a Witch, most holidays are about nature, traditions and remembering. It's a little after midnight, now the day of Christmas. I'm remembering my family who are dead and thus unavailable to be here for the holidays. At least not in the flesh, capable of enjoying the wine, exchanging presents and all of those physical/ commerical type things.

Here is my list of names:

Alice McRoberts
Emma Garner
Birdie Scherle
Edith Brown
Alec Brown
Sally Harle
Violet Scherle
William Scherle
Ian Noel Brown
The baby who was never born
and the other relatives I didn't really have enough time to get to know.

I used to write letters to penpals from around the world and my older family members too. I don't do that any longer, there is no one left to write to. My Dad was the last one to die from that list.

So, I would like people who are in the midst of petty, trivial and silly family squabbles today or over this past week, to get over it. Realize you are making mole hills into mountains and to anyone watching from your version of an afterlife, you look like you are wasting time and being childish.

We only have so much time. You can't buy more, you can't reset the switch and go back to start again. Once the time is gone, it's gone forever. Don't waste the time you have with the people you care about, including yourself. Don't let yourelf be small and petty. Get a life, your own life and enjoy the season for what it is, traditions, a celebration of life and the last few days of the old year.

Spare a few moments for the empty spaces at your Christmas dinner table, the people who are not there. Go with the Irish custom and set a place for each of them, at the big table or give them a table of their own on the side.

Seasons Greetings

Geomancy

Collegium Geomanticum

It's not feng shui, and it doesn't have anything to do with ley lines or dowsing. It's been called earth astrology, a Western equivalent of the I Ching, and the forgotten oracle of the Western world. It was one of the most popular systems of divination in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and stands at the center of traditions of magic, philosophy, and initiation deeply relevant to today. What is it? Geomancy.

Geomancy is a traditional art of divination that uses the sixteen geomantic figures – patterns of single and double dots – to explore the mysteries of past, present and future. As a branch of the Hermetic tradition, an ancient Western system of spiritual transformation and magical philosophy and practice, it relies on the fundamental Hermetic law, the unity of the macrocosm (the universe around us) and the microcosm (the universe within us) to open up hidden potentials for knowledge, wisdom, and power and, in the words of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus, “perform the miracles of the One Thing.”

Reading this description makes it seem really complicated and mystical. It's not that complex. It's divination using stones. At least that's what it used to be. People do have a way of taking something simple and making it a huge complicated knot they can make some money out of.

Mid Atlantic Geomancers Geomancers are spiritual ecologists.

Geomancy

A system of divination that employs the scattering of pebbles, grains of sand, or seeds on the earth and then the interpretation of their shape and position.

This is a better description. Much simpler and closer to the basic idea.

The Geomancy Group An association of practising geomancers and other like-minded folk over the UK.

Astrological Geomancy by Anthony Louis
Ancient Astronomy and Geomancy in Kyoto, Japan
Geomance
Earth Mysteries

I Like My Horoscope This Week

Sagittarius Horoscope for week of April 20, 2006

In contemplating your astrological omens, I’m reminded of Terence McKenna’s comment about a friend who “hurled herself into the abyss and discovered that it was a feather bed.” If you can summon the courage to dive into the scary depths, Sagittarius, I do believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the comfy, luxurious digs that await you at the end of your descent. Now go ahead and yell “Geronimo!”, which the dictionary defines as an exclamation used to express exhilaration when leaping from a great height.

Harvest Fest

Harvest Fest Main Page

It's expensive for my budget but it would be nice to be there for a Pagan weekend. Funny that it's in easy driving distance of where I am now. I probably wouldn't have considered going if I was still living in Scarborough or Stouffville.

Yahoo! Groups : circle-of-castalia

Yahoo! Groups : circle-of-castalia: "Visual Expressions of Ontario's Pagan Community.

Circle of Castalia is a new collection of Pagans Visual Artists within Ontario. We've formed this guild in order to give us a place to share our artwork and our techniques with one another. We welcome all artistic members of the pagan communtiy to come in to chat and upload their art. We're always cooking up new projects to challange one another! "

I like the sound of this one. I wonder if they consider some ASCII art and the bit of writing I still do (about Paganism) enough to merit joining?

Yahoo! Groups : canadian_witchcraft

Yahoo! Groups : canadian_witchcraft

They've also got a website but I found them through the Yahoo Groups list. So far I haven't found one for Ontario Pagan singles. Is there such a thing?