Nonna! Did You Know???

Son and DiL took G/Son on a hike today on the Rachel Carson Greenway.

My phone rang this afternoon and the most excited little voice said: "Nonna! We're in the WOODS! And, hey, Nonna! Did you know that frogs can SING?"

Swear to Goddess, this grandparent thing is the best thing, EVER!

And, thank you, Ms. Carson, that all these years later, there are still frogs to sing to my G/Son

More info: here and here.

Beltane's Coming

We're just a few weeks away from Beltane. I know that I say this about each of the Eight Pagan Holidays, but Beltane is really my favorite. It's one of the most "pagan" of the Pagan Holidays. For me, it's all about loving early Summer, and lying down in the fields and having sex to encourage everything to grow, be fertile, lay eggs, make babies, . . . GO!

Lately, my own life, especially at work, is going flat out, full of Beltane energy, more abundant than seems possible.

And, so, I do what I always do: I keep my daily practice. I ground. I say the Ha Prayer. I go to my astral temple. I light candles and incense and I remind myself that it's all real, it's all metaphor, there's always more. I record and work with my dreams. I do reiki on my morning cup of coffee, and my afternoon tea, and on the Stoli that I drink at sunset on the porch. I dig in the dirt and handle seeds and keep soil moist and stand, like the angel in the Talmud with the blade of grass, and whisper, "Grow. Grow." I'm always so delighted and surprised when something that I've planted grows. This Spring, in particular, I'm delighting in the 3 Japanese Maples that Landscape Guy and I planted last fall.

And, when I sit at my desk at work, I remind myself of all the women who, from time immemorial, played the glass bead game of the law with the joy and delight that can only come from shuffling precedent, and good prose. and logic, and thought. I open my mind and touch those (to me) silvery blue and green threads and ride them through to the end of my own motion, brief, answer, petition.

In a very few weeks, I'll weave flower crowns and dance with my sisters and, a tradition with us on Beltane, drink pink champagne. And I will be glad to have work in these hard times and grateful for some well-timed wins and hopeful that, come late summer, the harvest will be bountiful.

May it be so for you.

Photo found here

Pretty Much The Most Sensible Thing That I've Read

is here.


Hey.

Come on.

This is not why any of us went to law school.


Seriously.


And, I'm looking at you Mr. Harvard Editor of the Law Review, constitutional scholar, change we can believe in, rule of law Obama. I'm looking right at you.

Oh, photo found here.

Sinfonian!

Here's my brilliant friend, Sinfonian, taking on the poor, deluded racists in Florida. He rocks like a big rocking rock.

My New Name For A Blog

You should go read all of this. It's all about what it means to be a witch on a day by day by day by day basis.

Cobras? Really? Wow.

Photo found here.

I Still Think That "My Love Rode By With Sun-Stained Feet" May Be The Sexiest Thing, Ever

World's Wedding by Emerald Rose

As poppies fired the nut-brown wheat
My love rode by with sun-stained feet
With a longing call and horse hooves fleet
I followed her laughter all a summer morn
But, oh, from a distant palace of shade
I heard the rune of my nature played
I strained to listen and lost the maid
And walked the world forlorn

When the circle green was brown with leaves
My love rode by as one that grieves
I left my stand within the sheaves
And followed her weeping all an autumn noon
From beyond the sunset splashed with red
A circle weighed upon my head
I begged embrace but she had fled
Beyond the dawning moon

When the woods were covered with snow drifts deep
My love passed by as one asleep
I left the earth my horns to keep
And followed her dreaming all a winter's night
And all along the moonlit track
With thorny shadows printed black
I caught a scent and turned my back
And lost my life's delight

Maiden of the secret well
I strain for you, yearning
From upon the oak throne quivering
Mistress of the horned moon
I pain for you, burning
Underneath the blue stone shivering
I need you, I need you, I need you....

When heather primed the morning air
My love arose, and I was there
A thousand flowers in her hair
And in her eyes was the Wheel of Time
Reached for her hand, I did not miss
Combining all this diverse bliss
Forged together in one single kiss
We made the world one in rhyme

Based on the poem by Alfred Noyes


Picture found here.

My New Name For A Blog

What Susie Said

Picture found here.

Fuck That Shit

What She Said.

When the church cleans up its own act, it can get back to me about some poor woman in Africa who gives the powerless a charm against the powerful. Until then, the catholic church can eat shit and die.

hat tip: Gus, who is in no way responsible for my nasty attitude.

Picture found here.

Music

More here.

You Say That As If Poison Were A Bad Thing

Poison in the garden.

/Requisite disclaimer. I am, of course, kidding. Kinda. And, of course, the presence of small children does change everything.


PIcture found here.

Starhawk To Pope: Say You're Sorry

Starhawk is calling on the Pope to apologize to witches.

An apology is a way to take responsibility, to signal a change, and to assure the world that it won't happen again.
And if apologies are being given out, Witches would like one. It's more than time that the Catholic and Protestant Churches both apologized for centuries of persecution of Witches, Pagans and those they deemed 'heretics' for believing something different than standard dogma. How about an apology for the Papal Bull of Pope Innocent the Eighth, in 1484, that made Witchcraft an heresy and unleashed the Inquisition against traditional healers, midwives, and any woman unpopular with her neighbors for being too uppity? It's high past time to apologize for the Malleus Maleficarum, a vicious document written by two Dominican priests in 1486 that created a whole mythology of Satan worship, attributed it mostly to women, and unleashed a wave of accusations, torture, and judicial murder that have haunted us ever since. An apology won't do much good, now, to those accused, tormented, and destroyed because someone coveted their property or needed a local scapegoat, nor to their children left motherless or fatherless centuries ago. But it might clear some air.


I agree with her, but I hope she's not holding her breath. This pope seems to have gone out of his way to continue to hurl insults at modern Pagans. And others have asked, before.

How Do We Make A Revolution Happen?

Lierre Keith: That's a huge question. Basically, you're asking: how do we make a revolution happen? Naming the power and the agents of power is the first step, and most people stumble right there. And for a multitude of reasons: personal cowardice, the intellectual pitfalls of liberalism, the tremendous seductions of conformity and privilege, psychological identification with the powerful and their values, and a very real fear of retaliation, to name just a few. This is one of my favorite Andrea Dworkin quotes, "Feminism requires precisely what patriarchy destroys in women: unimpeachable bravery in confronting male power." That bravery is the linchpin of resistance. Without it, there's no possibility of hope.

More here.

Picture found here.

We Are So Fucked And Life Is So Good

Activist Knitting

Pick up your knitting needles!

A Radical Act of Knitting in honor of Mother's Day!


Calling all CODEPINK knitters! We are creating a beautiful, quilted cozy to cover the fence in front of the White House to honor Mother's Day. The message will be “We will not raise our children to kill another mother’s child”-inspired by Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation. We’ll be piecing it together from individual squares knitted by YOU as part of the 24 hour Mother’s Day vigil for Women who live in War Zones. The best part is you don’t have to be an experienced knitter to help! This is perfect for knitters of all skill levels—and a great opportunity for those who want to learn! Celebrate the time honored tradition of the radical act of knitting. ow-to-knit page here (just in case!)

What we need:
4” x 4” squares, as tightly knit as you can make them, but the stitch of your choice

Yarn in either dark green or a fabulous shade of pink- take a little inspiration from CODEPINK’s signature PINK. Note: We will need a ratio of about 5 pink squares to 1 green square to spell out the message.

We need all pieces by May 4th so get out your needles gals (and guys)!

Please take 1 minute to send us a quick email to tell us how many squares you plan to make and in what colors. We need to know in order to make sure we have enough to spell out our message. Email Janna at codepinkcozy[at]gmail.com

Send your knitted creations to:
CODEPINK House
712 5th Street NE
Washington, D.C.
20002

Tell Me A Poem

I tried to write something about National Poetry Month, and poetry, and Paganism, and ecstasy, and Pagan Practice, but, you know, you can write poetry, but almost any attempt to write ABOUT poetry is doomed to awful failure.

Good poetry cuts through Talking Self, by diverting it with lovely or effective or unusual language, and goes straight to Younger Self, and, once in a while, when you're giving as much as the poet, straight to your Higher Self.

That's why.

Picture found here.

Miniature Daffodils

Leonard

Water Wars, Coming Soon To A Continent Near You

From Comcast:

Mexico City has turned off the tap to millions of residents because water reserves have reached historic lows.

The two-day shutdown of a main pipeline starting Thursday affects at least 5 million of the 20 million people in the Mexico City valley. It is the third time this year the metropolis has temporarily turned off the tap to conserve water.

The water restrictions come as many residents are out of town for Holy Week.

An unusually dry rainy season last year left the city's Cutzamala water system at 47 percent capacity compared to 85 percent in previous years. The system supplies 20 percent of the area's water.

The government says it will restore 50 percent of service Saturday and full service by Wednesday.

Here we go.

Little Messages Everywhere.

What if Gaia had been talking to you all the time and you just hadn't been listening? What if that could change tonight?

Both Thorn:

[The homeless man] staggered to his feet again, unsteadily weaving, trying to catch his balance and muttering, more like a person in a mystic trance than like one drunk. Before the doors opened, he paused and looked directly into my eyes. After several long seconds of our staring he spoke, clearly and cogently, "Look at the Temple. Thank you." The doors opened, he walked out onto the platform, arms spread and head tilted toward the gathering rain clouds above. I wondered if he would catch the train he needed. The doors closed again, and I returned to his words, that had penetrated to my core: "Look at the Temple."

Indeed. Elijah had spoken and there is work for me in the prophecy that fell upon my ears. I am thankful I was open enough to hear them today and wonder what will unfold.

Magic is every place and any moment.

I am off to Baltimore first thing in the morning and will carry thoughts of the Temple with me. Blessed be.

and Deborah Oak

I left the gathering, my heart stretched with tenderness for my friends, and also beginning to contract with worry and mounting anxiety.

It only took me several steps on Cortland Avenue until the world interjected and had something pithy to say. There, in a window of a small shop, was a big red poster with white lettering. "Calm down, and Carry On", it simply stated. Yes, indeed.

Calming down, is of course, hard. Breathing helps, and slowing down thoughts. Carrying on, well, that's hard too, but it's made easier by the world carrying some of the burden of the ongoing conversation. Cock your ear, and really, the world, it just won't shut up.

Thankfully, it's pretty darn smart. Carrying on, we would all do well to deeply listen.

are getting messages.

There's a full moon in Libra tonight. Go listen to what it, the World, your Spirit Guides, your Higher Self has to say.

I love what Deborah says about Pagans:

[W]e Pagans have something to offer. We know how to carry on mytho-poetic conversations with the world, and any rich conversation like that makes human life a hell of a lot more meaningful, if not more interesting.

"I was the I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. I was the Pagan carrying on a mytho-poetic conversation with the world." Carve those words on my gravestone and you'll have told the truth.

What messages have you gotten this Full Moon?

My New Name For A Blog

Go read Jeffers. He's a xian, making a lot of sense of the whole "post-xian nation" thing.

Photo found here.