If Not Now, When?

Then The Night Came, Like A Ceremony*

I don't know, maybe this happens all the time for other people, but, for me, there are these amazing, transcendent moments that don't come too often (it's like the poem by Sara Teasdale, "For one white, singing hour of peace, count many a year of strife well-lost") but that confirm so much. I mean those moments when I "know" that I am where I was always meant to be. For me, at almost 54, those moments come, more and more often, on one side or other of the Potomac River, in a circle of women, witches, magic-workers gathered to work magic. They come on Dark Moons, and Full Moons, and on the 8 Sabbats of the Witches. They come when they will come, but, when they come, that's enough.

May it be so for you.

*From lyrics by Christine Kane

Picture found here.

Refuse To Be The Host - Part The Second

Sometimes, because the lies of patriarchy and of patriarchy's son, capitalism, are so loud, I forget, even though I should know better, that I am a node on a web. I forget that the work that I do is the same work and is part of the Great Work done by other Witches, by the wights and devas and ancient, unnamed spirits of this place, this bit of Earth, here in the Potomac watershed. I forget that I am joined in my love of Mother Earth by fairies, Ents, moles, and the fox who lives in a deep den on the high hill just to my South, by the squirrels just now having babies in their nests in the crape myrtle trees, by the robins who either returned too early or who never left and, even, by the bossy cardinal who thinks (too often correctly) he can control me from out on the deck.

And, then, sometimes, I get to sit outside, albeit in a coat and gloves and shawl, and watch the branches of trees dance in the wind, and watch the sun make shadows on the half-thawed land. And, then, I remember. And it is a great relief.

I'm Waiting Till It Comes Out On Netflix

More here

Yes We Can!

It's probably just me, but I'm a huge negotiation geek. It was my favorite class in law school. Every single exercise, my partner and I got buckets and buckets more than anyone else. As we were doing one of the exercises, someone in the class sighed out loud, "They're doing it again." There's an art to negotiation, and a huge part of that art is going in knowing who and what you're up against. Plus, negotiation is great fun. I've made a very respectable living for years based, inter alia, on my ability to negotiate (and to go for the jugular when people won't negotiate with me). So it's driven me batshit insane to watch the Obama administration and the Senate Dems "negotiate" and I use that term loosely, themselves into a losing position on health care reform.

FireDogLake has an interview with Congressman Anthony Weiner, who appears to get it:

Weiner didn’t get an invite to tomorrow’s health care summit, but he’ll be watching and even live-blogging the proceedings, he told me. He found its utility limited. “If we want to spend hours tomorrow highlighting bankruptcy of GOP ideas, fine. But we mustn’t delude ourselves. When we gave up public option, we didn’t get a single Republican. When we gave up national exchanges for a state exchange, we didn’t get a single Republican. We keep negotiating with ourselves.” If the summit is meant to contrast the two parties on the issue, Weiner was fine with it, but if it was seen as an opportunity to convert Republicans to the cause of fixing health care, he advised, “Good luck with that.”

I wanted to know from someone who has been in the room for these discussions whether he thought the votes were actually there to pass the bill, regardless of what fixes could be made in reconciliation. Eric Cantor’s memo today certainly suggested otherwise, as have multiple news reports. I asked flat-out, does this thing have the votes?

Weiner replied, “Well, we passed the bill once.” Obviously, he said, the abortion language was a concern, and he admitted, “I don’t know how it gets resolved.” He reiterated the constant dynamic of dropping things like the public option, which he thinks has majority support in the House and Senate and among 72% of the American people, and getting nothing in exchange. In the final analysis, he said, “I’m not sure what we’re doing, and I’m pretty tied in.”

There's this little paperback called "Getting to Yes" that the Dems need to buy and pass out to all of the members of the Obama administration and the Dems in the Senate. Well, first they need to lock Harry Reid in his locker. Then, they need to read "Getting to Yes."

Picture found here.

My New Name For A Blog

What echidne said.

Perhaps the most troubling part of the bill is a standard that could make women legally responsible for miscarriages caused by so-called "reckless" behavior. Under the "reckless behavior" standard, an attorney only needs to show that the woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she did not intend to lose the pregnancy. Under this law, if a woman drinks too much and has a miscarriage, she could face prosecution.

No, really. I'm sick and tired of this bullshit.

Picture found here.

Artemis

Rather pricey, but quite lovely.

A BRONZE sculpture of the Roman goddess Artemis fetched $US28.6 million ($A34 million) at auction, a world-record auction price for a sculpture of any period, Sotheby's said.

Artemis and the Stag, dating from the first century BC to AD100, was bought by London art dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi on behalf of "a European private collector", according to Sotheby's spokeswoman Lauren Gioia.

Picture found here.

When Nothing Else Works

Here's a fascinating article about the reaction of Icelandic Pagans to that country's recent economic difficulties.

An act of sorcery against "Iceland’s enemies," undertaken by members of the pagan society Ásatrúarfélagid in Iceland at the beginning of the economic crisis, finally seems to be delivering the desired results, as high chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson pointed out on the news yesterday—the Dutch government has collapsed and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s political career is hanging by a thread. Members of Ásatrúarfélagid called for the protection of the four Icelandic land wights, the bull, the dragon, the giant and the eagle, in December 2008 and performed an act of sorcery against Iceland’s enemies, Stöd 2 reports.

. . .

“To follow it through, I and Steindór Andersen sat down and wrote an oddhenda, which is a rare form of poetry in the English language,” Hilmarsson said.

“It goes like this: In London town, this lying clown, our land he drowns in chatters, Gordon Brown is going down, his good renown in tatters,” Hilmarsson said, adding with a grin, “now it seems to be working.”

If that's a "rare form of poetry in the English language," I know a lot of witches who write oddhenda.

Europe has seen unusually harsh weather this winter and in the UK people are speaking of an Icelandic winter. “They feel it is our winter and that probably has a symbolic meaning,” Hilmarsson explained.

When asked why it took such a long time for the sorcery to work, the high chieftain replied: “People believed in the old days that […] magic had to go around lakes and such so maybe the Atlantic Ocean caused the delay,” he said and winked.

You know, we might consider something similar concerning "America's enemies," although, sadly, I believe the banksters and their wholly-owned subsidiary, the United States Congress, are internal enemies. But, then, it wouldn't take magic too long to get across the Potomac, either.

I have to say the article reminds me of the story about Gerald Gardner's coven repelling the Nazis who would have invaded England: The coven, including Gardner, joined with other Witches in southern England on July 31 (Lummas Eve), 1940, to perform a ritual to prevent Hitler's forces from invading England. Five members of the coven died shortly afterwards. Their deaths were blamed on the power drained from them during the ritual. Gardner, himself, felt his health had been adversely affected. I can't seem to find it online, but I know that I've read that five older members were selected to perform the ritual skyclad, without even any grease to preserve body heat, and that it was this sacrifice that sealed the magic. At any rate, the Icelanders appear to have figured out how to curse their enemies without any such heroics.

The article includes a link to an article about other ceremonies of Ásatrúarfélagid and a video link to their ritual, along with interviews with various members. What's fascinating is just how respectful the newreporter in the video is; no one is described as a "self-avowed" Pagan and there's no reassurance that Pagans don't worship the devil. The Pagans interviewed assert that Icelanders treat them with respect and are glad to have people who worship the old ways.

More on Örn Hilmarsson.

Picture found here.

Refuse To Be The Host

Southern nights soft and lazy
Southern boys who talk just right
Leave it up to me and I'll take you
Somewhere just you and I

You can round up all your reasons
Tell me that my plan's all wrong
Say you're on the path to Jesus
But I'll bet he'd come along

As for me I've had my demons
Beating down my own back door
Breakin' bad and talking mean
They'll wait for me for sure

I propose we let them in
Sit 'em down and raise a toast
Get 'em drunk and leave those demons
Refuse to be the host.

~From "Made of Steel" by Christine Kane.

What A Cool Way To Celebrate The Census

Decades after xian missionaries outlawed dancing as a spiritual expression for Eskimo people, it's back.

For Atoruk, dancing is a way to tell stories for all occasions, weddings, funerals, birthdays, the subsistence lifestyles of people who live off the land as Noorvik residents do. Motions and songs represent the movements of fishing, ice hopping, even traveling by snowmobile. And as far as Atoruk is concerned, shamanism is an important part of his people's spiritual culture, not a satanic tool.

"I think we lost a lot of our history because the missionaries came," he said. "Now it's coming back."

But too many villages continue to cling to the oppressive legacy left by Western missionaries, according to Theresa Arevgaq John, a Yup'ik Eskimo and Native studies professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Indigenous people saw the destruction of their sacred traditions, including shamans, who were revered as spiritual leaders empowered by the creator with skills and tools to communicate with the spirit world to ensure the welfare of communities. Dancing had nothing to do with devil worship, John said.

"It was our only way of prayer," she said. "Can you imagine someone coming in and saying your way is wrong?"

As Ehrenreich notes, some form of communal dancing is pretty much global in terms of group rituals. My wonderful circle of amazing women loves to dance. I can't imagine how it would feel to have that outlawed by xian missionaries.

Honest, was there ever a worse idea than missionaries?

Picture found here.

Fuck You, Eric Holder. You Took An Oath To Uphold The Constitution.

Dick Cheney said last week: “I signed off on it; others did, as well, too,” when he was asked about waterboarding.

I've been trying to think what I could say about this (other than, "Shame!" and, as Sister Tarsisus taught me to say of evil things done in my name: "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!") that hasn't already been said. And then I decided that there really wasn't anything I could say that Jacob Bronowsk hadn't already said.

(And, of course, Oliver Cromwell ought to have taken his own advice.)

Gee, Now I'm REALLY Sorry That I Missed It. No, I'm Not.

I have a general rule about what goes on in the Pagan community: If Hecate didn't spend her time organizing it (and she didn't) she should shut the fuck up and not criticize. Because I've been on the other side of the spectrum, having spent a cauldron-full of hours doing the work, just to have someone who didn't do anything criticize. And it doesn't exactly inspire me to work even harder next time.

But I'm going to make an exception to my general rule, although I hope this offering will be accepted in the spirit of friendly suggestion, rather than criticism.

Contrast the TED Talks, or Ehrenreich's talk before the Chicago Humanities Festival with the two, count them, two YouTubes that show up if you do a search for YouTubes this month under "Pantheacon."

I'm not trying to pick, per se, on the very young woman who went there to get hit on by Otherkin and to buy a new tail, nor on the folks, above, who took pictures of their friends dressed up in fun costumes. But I'm given to understand that there were wonderful, serious, informative speeches and panel presentations. And they're nowhere to be found on one of America's most influential forms of new media.

A search of last year's Pantheacon offerings would have you believe that, other than the GreySchool of Wizardry and some musical performances, nothing was going on. So it's not as if the problem is that folks just haven't had enough time to get home and load things up onto YouTube.

I'd love to see some of the more serious presentations show up, not only for the many Pagans who, for reasons of family responsibilities, work responsibilities, disabilities, and poverty can't travel to San Jose, but also for those who are curious about us. Others seem to be able to figure out how to do this.

My New Name For A Blog

What NTodd Said.

Also, What Ed Brayton Said:

Fuck you, Bob Barr. You obviously lied to me and you are just as bigoted and stupid as you were when you were in Congress.

Dancing In The Streets

Come, Ostara!

I love Joanna May's work.

Her etsy shop is here.

Things That Make Me Smile

But America is a "xian nation" they keep telling us.

Picture found here.

Got A Bonus?

This is the time of year when some folks will get either tax returns or bonuses based on last year's work. In my never-ending quest to help more Pagans live economically-sound lives, here are some ideas for what to do if you manage to come into a chunk of change sometime in the next month or so. The important thing to realize is that the universe has just deposited a package of usable energy at your doorstep. How will you use it?

The first thing you have to ask yourself is: "How secure is my job?" If you think that you could be out of a paycheck anytime in the next year, there's only one answer to what you should do with your lump sum: bank it. Bank it in an FDIC-insured bank account, even if they are only paying about 1% interest these days. (Most standard savings accounts are FDIC insured; just ask when you walk into the bank.) You may need that money to pay rent, print resumes, buy bus tokens to go to interviews in the next year. And, once you bank your bonus, sit down and make a list of your debts and the interest rate that you're paying on each one (look at your monthly statement; it will tell you the interest rate). Then, begin throwing all that you can at the debt with the highest interest rate. Thus, if you have credit card debt at 18%, a car loan at 12%, and student loans at 9%, you pay the minimum on the car loan and the student loans and you throw all that you can get, including all that you can get from taking a second job on weekends and evenings, at the credit card debt until it is paid off. Then, you start on the car loan. Finally, if you are worried about you job, NOW is the time to use your health insurance. Get your teeth checked, have your mammogram, fill your prescriptions each month as soon as possible (most plans will let you refill a months' worth of pills in 26 to 28 days. Those few extra pills can add up to almost a month's worth of free meds to be used once you lose your job and your health insurance.)

But if you reasonably expect to hold onto your job for the foreseeable future, there are a number of things that you can do with your bonus or tax return that will really help to make you more comfortable, secure, safe.

1. Put it in savings. If, in these economic times, you don't have between 9 and 12 months' worth of your net salary set aside, you're in real danger. In other words, if you get paid two times a month, multiply that amount by 18 and that's the minimum amount that you should have in FDIC-insured savings. Some of that amount could be in certificates of deposit, which pay a bit more interest but require you to not withdraw your money for a given period, but you really don't need to worry about that until you've got a chunk set aside. It is often taking experienced workers 6, 9, 12 months to find new jobs and those jobs often pay less than their former jobs. There is a law of the universe that requires your roof, your car, or your hot water heater to die just after you lose your job. You need to be able to pay your rent for months and months in case you do lose your job. And, hell, if the economy suddenly rebounds, times are great, and suddenly your prospects are unlimited, you can always use the money to redo your kitchen or take that cruise up the Nile that you've always dreamt of.

2. Go back to school in the evenings. Can you use your windfall to take the computer courses, paramedic certification, or massage therapy classes that would allow you to make even more money, do the job you want, be more secure in your present job? Then do it.

3. Replace the weakest link. What is it that's really not working in your life? An old, fuel-inefficient car that always breaks down? A computer you can't rely on? An ancient and rusty fridge that lets the food go bad? A basement that leaks? A wardrobe that doesn't work in your current job? Do the research, buy the best that you can, and do a ritual to kiss the old frustrations and inefficiencies good bye.

4. Get yourself organized. Go buy a good file cabinet (or two), boxes and boxes of colored folders, a real desk set, a paper shredder, trash bags, and some funky pens. Gather all your stray papers and put them in a pile. Several piles. A room full of piles. Blue files are for "home": make files for warranties, home insurance, repairs, etc. Orange files are for "car": make files for insurance, loan payments, repairs. Green files are for "finances": make files for paychecks, 401(k), savings. Yellow files are for "work": make files for work expenses, forms from work, professional orgs. Pink files are for "health": make a file for each doc, a file for health insurance reimbursement, a file for your advance health directive. Purple files are for "personal": make files for passports, birth certificates, awards. Spend 20 minutes a week filing the papers in your pile. In a year, you'll love yourself for it.

5. Go pay a lawyer to write your will, your power of attorney, and your advance medical directive. I don't care how young you are. You'll feel all kinds of better once it's done. Have fun with it. What causes should get all your money if you die after everyone you love? What songs should be played at your memorial service? It's your stuff. Do you really want your fundie cousin to get it all and give it to her fundie minister? If you have kids and you haven't spelled out exactly who will be responsible for them and how they should spend your money on them (College is ok, but funds to tour with the band aren't? A year to hike around Europe is ok but an MBA isn't? It's your call, but only if you make it), you're being negligent. Do it now. Go out for dinner and a nice glass of wine afterwards. Now, you really can die happy.

6. Go get one of those "executive" health exams. Have your damn mammogram. Buy a home treadmill, or a membership in a gym, or a new pair of glasses. Get your teeth fixed. Buy a mountain bike, a set of free weights, some sessions with a personal trainer who will help you develop a regular exercise routine. Buy a good pair of walking shoes. Finally learn to fence.

7. If you can do it and it works in your life for all the right reasons, now is a good time to make a down payment on a home. Do the research first. Make sure you know about every government incentive program that's out there. Make sure you get a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage. Make sure you get the home inspected. Make sure you've negotiated hard for the lowest price. And, then, throw your bonus into the pot of money you've already saved and do it. There's nothing like committing to a very specific piece of land.

8. Green up. Can you use your windfall to install energy-efficient windows, buy new appliances that use less energy, install a green roof, invest in solar panels that will allow you to sell power back to your local utility? Get on the web, spend an hour doing research, and then go for it. Buy a rain barrel, pay a green company to install insulation, buy some mesh bags that you can use every time that you go to the grocery store.

9. Spend the money on plants. Buy, and get a gardener to install, some trees that will give you shade in the summer so you can cut down on your air conditioning bills. Buy a few fruit trees that will give you fresh fruit for years to come. Put in a vegetable garden that will cut both your carbon footprint and your grocery bill. Buy into a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group and have a local farmer deliver food to your door all year long. Pick a color scheme (black/white, orange/yellow, purple/pink) and put a cottage garden outside your door.

10. Prepare for an emergency. You should have at least a few days' worth of food, water, and meds set aside. Take your windfall and buy canned foods, bottled water, basic meds (aspirin, antiseptic, bandaids, etc.), vitamins, etc. Find a good place to store them. I buy one can of something on sale each time that I go to the grocery store. A can of beans, tomatoes, tuna fish. A bottle of vitamins, a box of powdered milk, a few extra batteries. It can, as it has here in the MidAtlantic, snow quite a bit, but it will be a long, long time before I'm starving. Make a list of what you'd like to have on hand in case you are confined to home for a week or two and then go shopping.

11. Finally, here's my one hard and fast rule about bonuses and tax refunds. Set aside 5% for fun and 5% for a good cause. You've got to feel like you're enjoying the money, a little bit. So go buy a lovely scarf and give some money to a candidate you like. Take the family out to dinner and give some money to a homeless shelter in your area. Buy yourself a camping trip and make a micro loan. Buy a tree for your yard and a tree for the local hospice, library, school. Do what will make you feel good.

Money, especially money that shows up as a lump, is just a form of energy. Witches are good at directing energy. How will you direct yours?

Picture found here.

Saturday Poetry Blogging - Black Heritage Month Edition

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

by Nikki Giovanni

I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad

I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and sent an ice age to europe
to cool my thirst
My oldest daughter is nefertiti
the tears from my birth pains
created the nile
I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned
out the sahara desert
with a packet of goat's meat
and a change of clothes
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
so swift you can't catch me

For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal an elephant
He gave me rome for mother's day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
jesus
men intone my loving name
All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My bowels deliver uranium
the filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels
On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the arab world
I am so hip even my errors are correct
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went
The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean...I...can fly
like a bird in the sky...

Picture found here.

Follow Me Down (The Rabbit Hole)

I am so there.