Book cover reveal... "The Ultimate Tarot Guide for Your Personal Tarot Journey" (release 2018).  

I'm so excited!  Book #6 is coming out this year, the proof copy is on it's way to me, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  I've worked on this book sporadically for three years, so this was an exceptionally long creative birthing process.  I am soooo relieved that it's finished!  Now I have to wait for the go-ahead to officially release the sale link.

Tags: books, writing, publishing,

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The following content was originally posted on my personal blog March of 2015.  This is a letter to my mother, and at the time of this posting we had been estranged for 10 years.  My mother and I never reconnected, and she passed away June 5th, 2016.

____________________

I usually try to keep this blog and my "Other Blog" separate, saving this space for the more mundane conventional everyday aspects of life. However, once in a while there's something about the magickal world that is actually fitting for both worlds.  And this is one of those days.

Today is Wednesday, and this is my post, fitting for both blogs.

Wednesday-- Mercury-- Air...communication. I'm going to write a letter today to someone that I haven't seen or spoken to for a very long time. And if it's someone whom, for whatever reason, I can't send the letter to, then I will burn it in the flame of a yellow candle and scatter the ashes to the wind...knowing they will get the message.

Dear Mom,

It's a beautiful morning here, a little crisp, but it will be warmer this afternoon.  We had a couple days of crazy weather, into the 80s, which you know just isn't right for this area this time of year.  It was sort of discombobulating-- to go shopping one day with the heater running, and the next day it was the air-conditioner.

The kids have grown SO MUCH since you last saw them (about 10 years ago):

Anne (27) is a married lady now.  She is an artist at heart, and this was her major in college.  She has a BA in Studio Art.  I don't know if you've kept up with anything on the internet, but her Apple Heart sculpture is the cover art for my new book.  I love the idea that this project is entwined with both of us, it makes it extra special, and I'm very proud of her.  Her husband is also a "Joe", so it can get kind of confusing; we usually differentiate between "Anne's Joe" and "My Joe".  He's 12 years older than Anne (I know what you're thinking-- Norman was 14 years older than Bonny, I thought about that too), and he's diabetic, so they have lots on their plate to deal with at times.  He is the sweetest man you'd ever want to meet, he loves Anne dearly, and he is so good to her.  He is a wonderful son-in-law, and I'm very happy for them.  They have a lovely apartment filled with Anne's art, Buddhas, plants, paintings, crystals, etc.-- it's very Zen.  Anne is the manager at a local shop here in town (a franchised business), so she has weekly conference calls, regional meetings, and all that kind of stuff.  It's a good job; she's doing very well.

John (25) is still a bachelor.  He has an amazing apartment here in town.  He was on a waiting list for a year before there was an opening.  I'll have to post some photos of his apartment some time.  You'd love this place, and so would Bill, especially with all the books (a virtual library!) and other really cool avant-garde stuff.  John graduated from High School early (as did Anne), and he had an Associates Degree in Computer Science by the time he was 19.  He enrolled at UNO and was going to go further with this, but he didn't like campus life and the rush of it all-- remember, he's not a people person, very introverted, and quiet, and studious.  He works at a Shopko Distribution Center in Omaha and commutes.  He loves this job and has been tapped for managerial training.  No girlfriends as of yet, and maybe there never will be.  He does not suffer fools, and he'd have to come across a girl that was an intellectual equal before anything would come of it.  He's a no nonsense kind of guy.  His companion is a beautiful gray tabby-cat named "Heinrich".

Beth (21) just moved to Omaha last fall with her boyfriend, Dustin.  (You can look two blog posts back and see photos I took at their apartment just last weekend.)  Beth just started a New Job this week, and we're very excited and happy for her-- at JC Pennys, in a beautiful Omaha Mall.  She's thrilled.  Dustin is tackling the monumental job of college and work, and together they seem to be carving out a wonderful life for themselves.  He's studying neurobiology (I think), I'll have to ask again just to be sure.  I looked at his textbooks when we were over there, and all I can say is that it's waaaay over my head.  They seem to love living in the city, and I have to admit that it's fun having a spot over there to call "home" (in a round-a-bout way).  I did an over-night stay with them a few weeks ago, and I told Beth that it reminded me a lot of staying with you in Loveland.  Beth's tastes and house-keeping skills are very similar to yours-- I had a cozy guest bed, and jammies laid out for me, and supper made for me, and treats, and movies.  I actually felt spoiled.  

The "babies" left at home...

Laura (19) works at a local eatery here in town, and she still lives at home.  She has grown into a very independent thinking young woman, tall and statuesque.  I think she's ready to move on to another job, but she's hesitant to give this one up too fast.  Jobs are few and far between right here in town, and I don't think that she really wants to commute to the city-- that's lots of wear and tear on your car, and then there's gas (and gas prices) to think about, and winter driving can be pretty rugged, making it hard to get where you need to be sometimes.  I keep telling her to put in an application at JC Pennys here in town, she's so into fashion and all that, I think she'd love retail connected to clothing.

Sara (17) wants to be a mortician, and she actually got to take a pretty close look into this adventure.  She's really young, though, so I don't know if she'll want to be something else a year from now, but this is where she's at today, and what she's actually thought about for quite some time.  As quiet and introverted as she is, I can see her in this industry working "behind the scenes", not so much with the families.  She's pretty gritty; I not only think she could do it, I think she'd like it.

Emma (14) is still "The Baby" in a strange, not-s0-babyish way anymore (she got surprisingly tall).  She's a lovely young lady who doesn't really know what she wants to do yet, and is enjoying the stage of life she's in.  She adores her big sisters, and they all coddle her.  She's very quiet, or you think she is, until she opens her mouth and something totally unexpected and funny comes out.  

What else...I have no idea if you've followed my blogs or websites, so just a quick fill-in:  All those years of writing and writing and writing in notebooks and sticking stuff in drawers finally paid off.  My fourth book comes out this April.   I've done some radio, which I love, and you can find the podcasts and links at my sites.  We've had some amazing opportunities and experiences over the past year, but I can't tell you about that here-- we'd have to have a more private conversation.  Since I saw you last, Myron and I got divorced, and I'm remarried.  His name is Joe and he's Japanese, more-or-less, until you remember that he has an Irish mother.  We are still in the Same Old House here in Fremont, though we have our eye on California (this is where Joe is originally from-- San Diego), but I told him that I have too big a love affair with Trees to live in the desert, and we'd have to live much farther north.  It's a goal.

I saw photos of you and Bill last Mother's Day, when Susan took you on a swamp adventure.  You've aged over the years (as we all have), but you still look like you (which is a good thing; it wouldn't be right if you looked like someone else!).  I wonder about your health, and the type of house you're living in now, and if you miss Colorado, because I know how much you hated the heat and humidity Down South.  Do you still drive?  What kinds of book stores and shops are you haunting these days?  Do you have any pets now?

We all still fondly remember visiting your pretty little house in Loveland and having Morning Coffee...it was more like a ritual, with the candles all lit, and maybe an hour (sometimes more) spent sitting together around the table in conversation.  The kids all have good memories, and I do too, and I just wanted you to know this.

Love,

Amythyst

Tags: estrangement, relationships, communication

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Tags: friendship, endings, transitions, memories

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[Originally posted at my blog, Magickal Connections, on October 28th, 2014]

No, this will not be a running theme on my blog, it’s purely coincidental that my last blog post also dealt with this topic (but on a different level).  The following questions were put to me by a journalist for a magazine interview.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get these questions filled out in time to meet the magazine’s deadline. (My bad, I’m usually very prompt with such things).  However, between adjusting to a full-time “real” job outside the home, and the fact that at my age I had to get myself all revved up and in the mood to answer questions on this topic, it took me a few days to embrace the subject.

Anyway, I’ve decided that these questions and this interview, were just too good to waste, so I’m posting it here on Editorial Wednesday morning from The Witch’s Desk. 

1. When did you start practicing witchcraft? What drew you to it?

I cast my first spell in the basement of my grandmother’s house when I was seventeen.  What drew me to it?…Necessity.  I was involved in an unfortunate relationship with a boy, and I wanted him to go away.  So, without a lot of heavy thought, it just seemed to “pop into my mind” to get rid of him with a flaming candle and a photo.  As I recall, this also involved a little incantation, some spitting, and foot-stomping (I was 17, and angry). I honestly don’t know why, or how, I thought of using magick to fix a mundane problem.  This was back in the 1970s; there were no books on witchcraft in our local library, there was no internet.  I figured this one out all by myself.

The biggest, and scariest, thing about this adventure…it worked.

Two to three days later, after this novice attempt at spell casting, the boy’s mother called my grandmother.  She was hysterical and angry, and I honestly don’t know what would have driven her to contact my grandmother with this information, but she said that her son had been rushed to the emergency room hemorrhaging profusely from a stomach ulcer that they did not know he had.  This information was bone jarring and riveting to me!  In the course of this spell, I had used a pen with red blood-like ink to draw a large angry line through this boy’s mid-section.

This was an “Aha!” moment…I realized, without a shred of a doubt, that witchcraft and magick were both very real, and spell casting is both very powerful and can be very dangerous.  It also frightened me to the point where it would be several years before I took up the torch and resumed this path.  It had not been my intention to hurt this young man, but to make him go away.  My in-experience and unbridled emotion mixed with the awesome energy of magick had been untamed, scattered, and out-of-control.

The lesson learned:  Be careful what you do.  Don’t cast spells in anger.  Think about all the possible consequences, and then think on it some more.  Stay on the light side of magick for the most part, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to protect yourself and your family if the situation warrants it.  Be very specific…you’re working with pure energy, and pure energy has no conscious thought process but will take the route of least resistance.  Love when you can.  Hate in moderation.  Try something positive before you do something negative.

2. Does your witchcraft and practice factor into your sex life? If so, how? Has it changed or influenced your ideas about sex?

1)  Does witchcraft and it’s practice factor into my sex life? ~ It use to, but quite honestly, at this stage of life, it no longer does (I’m approaching 60).  After menopause, when the time of The Crone descends, it’s almost as if your head clears from the physical aspect of life (sex), and you suddenly realize how much time and effort and thought went into this topic.  You feel riveted to action, the world opening up in a gazillion ways with so much To Do and Get Done, work to finish and accomplish, new projects to start.  When the time of your sexual peak passes, you will be utterly amazed, and somewhat appalled, at how much sex dominated your life, your thoughts, your actions, and your decisions.

What misconception there is about the third stage of life, a woman’s life…The Crone.  There is no sitting back and stopping to enjoy the moment (or smell the roses, as the old saying goes).  Instead, you rev up and work and move faster than you did in your 20s and 30s.  It is an absolutely glorious stage of life, and I feel sorry for those who do not reach this magickal moment.

2)  How can witchcraft affect your sex life? ~  Magick can be used to affect any area of our lives, and sex is no exception.  I am inundated, on an almost daily basis, by people who want to fix their love lives with magick.  Probably the most significant way that magick can affect someone’s sex life is to speed it up, or slow it down, whichever route is the desired one.  (There are herbs and spells to do both.)  The most requested and popular magick is a spell to get someone attracted to you in the first place; only second to this is magick to keep them faithful.  The most unusual request I had was from a transgendered individual who wanted to know if there were a spell to allow them to switch back and forth between male and female sexual organs (literally)…no, there is not.  No one likes to think of magick as having limits, after all it’s the “Endless Possibilities” that attract most of us to magick in the first place, but magick does not break the laws of physics, and that’s a good thing.  So when you’re thinking about working a little sex magick, be realistic…and cautious.  “Be careful what you wish for”, as the warning goes.

3) Has witchcraft changed or influenced my ideas about sex? ~ As a Pagan, my attitude and ideas about sex were already outside the proverbial box and middle-of-the road suburbia mindset.  As an example, I don’t believe that we are eternally connected to one partner for our entire lives, till death do us part.  (I had an interesting discussion once with a Fundamentalist Baptist wife who foot-stamping declared to me that God had ordained her to be with her husband till the end, no matter how he treated her.)  I believe that people come into our lives at various stages and phases for a reason; I believe that we learn something from each individual we connect with on such an intimate personal level.  I believe that there is a time and season for everything, and people change, circumstances change, and some relationships will come to a natural conclusion.  Most people who live long healthy lives will have several partners during this lifetime, and I believe this is the natural way of things.

My paganism also influences my ideas about sex in that I’m very open to accepting other people’s views and practices, even if their lifestyles or activities would not be something that would be part of my own life.  Basically, when it comes to the bedroom and intimate relationships, whatever is agreed upon mutually by consenting adults is no one elses business.

3. Has your witchcraft taught you anything about sex, or your personal sexuality?

Actually, witchcraft has taught me many things about sexuality ~ embrace your sexuality and celebrate the beauty and mystery of it; sexuality is natural and healthy, do not load it down with the spiritual guilt that most often accompanies mainstream religions; there are many different types of sexuality and sexual practices, each deserving of respect and tolerance in their own right; sex and sexual activity are most definitely included within the realm of the Wiccan Rede:  “Do what ye’ will, but harm none”; witchcraft is all about the movement of energy to generate and manifest physical changes in the world, sex is pure energy, this energy can be harnessed to magickally manifest change.

4. Have you ever cast a sex spell or created a love potion? If so, can you explain a little about the process?

Yes, I have.  One of the love potions I created has a rather unique story behind it.

Last summer my family and I were filming a pilot for a documentary/reality series based on my life and spiritual practices.  During the course of this filming, the producer wanted some witchy “B-roll”, so they sat me down in the middle of my “Wytchy Room”, comfortably nestled on the carpet, surrounded by my Big Black Book, bottles and herbs, stones, incense, and candles.  I was suppose to start “doing what I do”, so I decided to create a Love Potion.

Don’t talk, they told me. (So I’m assuming this is going to be some of that slow-motion pretty witchy visuals used for editing purposes.)  I started with a quart jar.

With two cameramen sitting on opposite sides of me, squatting on the floor, their cameras balanced on their shoulders, and the director and producer watching from monitors in the other room, I began.  I added oil to the bottle, filling it half way.  To this oil I added some herbs, taking my time, sprinkling them in slowly for the cameras…cardamom for love and lust; nutmeg for fidelity; a stone of rose quartz for love and friendship; and the final icing on the cake:  a beautiful whole dried rose blossom.

As the rose blossom sank in the oil and landed delicately on top of the rose quartz, bubbles began rising  from the bottom of the jar, floating gracefully to the top.

Suddenly the producer’s voice cuts through the silence:  “Why is it doing that?”, he asks.

I’m bent over, fascinated, my nose to the jar, watching in mystified delight.  At first I said, “I don’t know, it’s never done this before.”

And then there was a sudden jolt to my system, and in one clairvoyant moment, I knew.

“It’s not me.”, I said.  “It’s you guys.  Love is just flowing along for someone in your crew.”  And I look suddenly at each of the two cameramen seated before me.  The energy was outrageously “rosey”.  I knew it had to be one of them.  And it was.

It was a guarded secret among this production crew that two of them were actually a couple– the tall handsome Russian cameraman, and the beautiful petite field producer.  She asked if she could have this bottle of Love Potion to use at weddings and handfastings, and of course, I gave it to her, still in the dark about the total magick of it all.

It wasn’t until later that we found out the full story.  This young couple went on to get engaged and were married this year.  I like to think of my beautiful Love Potion perking away on the west coast, sprouting love matches, life-long commitments, and beautiful passion.

5. Is there anything related to your practice that a non-practitioner may be able to incorporate into their sex life? What lessons can they learn from witchcraft about sex and sexuality?

If a non-practitioner incorporated some of my occult practices in their sex life, that would make them practitioners. (I just thought I’d point that out.)  Most non-practitioners I know would not be open to using witchcraft and spells to influence any part of their lives, much less their sex life.  That being said, if couples are having trouble with impotence (male), or lack of sexual desire (female); as I said, there are herbs and spells for this type of thing, something that would help put a couple back into sync with each other.  This is a topic that’s so common and that has such mundane roots, I would think even non-practitioners would not be hesitant to try it.  (Consider it magical couples counseling.)

What lessons have I learned from witchcraft about sex/sexuality?  I’ve learned the most important lesson of all…We never stop learning.

Tags: interview, Q&A, sexuality, witchcraft, relationships,

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First, I want to start off by saying that I respect ALL religions.  I want to start off by saying that there is no one true right path.  I want to start off by saying that each individual has the right to choose their spiritual path and the beliefs that they adhere to, and they deserve this right to be respected by the world community without coercion, ridicule, or prejudice.

I have nothing against Christianity or Jesus.  I have dear family members who follow this spiritual path as well as individuals close to our family circle, and I would not think of interfering with their decision, or degrading their practices, beliefs, and dogmas.  Among my own immediate family circle, we are a wide and diverse group.  My seven children include, not only Christian practitioners, but Buddhists, agnostics, Wiccans, atheists, and more.  Apparently this is something that makes us unique as a group of people that are close knit in spite of our varied and often conflicting spiritual beliefs.

It’s all good.

The ONLY thing that I find offensive about Christianity and the Jesus cult is the hard-core Christians who have a very obnoxious attitude of “My way or the highway”; their incessant domineering insistence that you must believe what they believe; and their often disrespectful attitude and response to people of other spiritual paths.  Sometimes this is very over-bearing and “in your face”, and other times it’s very subtle with biting quips and off hand remarks.

How should non-Christians respond when confronted by disrespect regarding our spiritual paths, practices, and deities without being disrespectful to someone elses’ spirituality?

It’s a conundrum.

A brief note to Christians determined to convert the non-Chrisitian ~

1.  Just as grounded and passionate as you are about your Christian faith, we are just as grounded and passionate about our faith.

2.  â€œBut the Bible says…” â€” You are assuming that everyone in the world views the Bible as a divine work from the spirit world.  Not so.  I can’t speak for other non-Christians, but I view the Bible as a piece of literature written by men, from a male perspective, over the course of centuries, and modified much through various translations since then.  (Although the original was bad enough.)  There is nothing divine about it to me.  As a matter of fact, as a woman I find it very insulting and reflective of the negative attitudes towards women that prevailed back in the day, and even survives to some degree in modern times.

What the Bible says does not impress me.

3.  â€œYou need God in your life…” â€” I’m assuming as in “god” you are referring to a super-natural entity of a high vibration.  If this is the case, I call this entity “Goddess”, and She indeed enriches my life and life experiences through my connection with Her and the daily spiritual practices I use to connect with Her energy.  I can only speak for myself when I say that I view divinity as a universal consciousness expressed around the world through a variety of pantheons, spiritual practices, mystical stories, and archetypes.  However you personally connect with “Divinity”, it will be a unique and blessed experience.  Just because your experience is different from my experience, it does not invalidate my experience, or the higher vibrational entity that I connect with on my spiritual journey.

4.  â€œI’ll pray for you…” â€” Under certain circumstances, this can be a positive statement to hear.  For instance, you’re facing a problem or a decision and close friends or family who are of the Christian faith want good things to happen for you.  It’s like saying, I’m on your side, or I’ll add my energy for a positive outcome, or I’m concerned about you and I want to help.  But when this comes from the lips of someone who is trying to convert you, someone who has pestered and preached to you about your spirituality, someone who has been at you to try and convince you that you are wrong in your beliefs… Then this statement can be chilling.

All thoughts are energy, no matter who they come from or what they consist of.  The energy that these people will be sending out into the universe will be very negative and conflicting with your soul and your connection to divinity.  Personally, I view this as the ultimate insult.

I like to respond without being negative or rude if at all possible.  I usually say, â€œWell, while you’re praying for me, I’ll be casting a spell for you.”  This generally brings about a very shocked reaction.  Maybe they never considered that you would reciprocate in kind, or that this was even an option.

5.  â€œIt’s heaven or hell…” â€”  Actually, this is inaccurate.  The non-Christian has so many other options.  First, I have to say that the idea of “hell” came from the Bible, the book that was written by controlling domineering males who wanted to intimidate and frighten people, which would make it so much easier to control people.  So we can just let hell go all together.

Other spiritualities have a variety of beliefs in what happens to us after death.  I can only speak for myself.  The following perceptions were typed out randomly, as they came to mind, in no specific order:

I believe in life after death; I also believe in reincarnation.  I believe that it’s possible for some very enlightened gifted individuals to connect with the spirits of those who have passed and communicate with them.  I believe in the Wiccan idea of  “The Summerland”.  I believe that certain soul connections are so strong and indomitable that they reconnect through many life times.  I believe that the soul is set free of the physical body at death.  I believe we have spirit guides to help us through major transitions in life, which includes death.

Tags: spirituality, religioustolerance, paganism, christianity,

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“…Thank you to all the people who sent me their true Ouija Board Experiences! It was fascinating hearing about what you went through and how it has affected you. I enjoyed reading your stories, and I’m betting the viewers will enjoy hearing them! Again, thank you for taking the time and effort to send them to me. You’ll find the Ouija Board Stories in this month’s Newsletter Video…scroll down.

The “Special Offer” for this month’s newsletter ~ When you purchase a 3 card audio tarot reading, you’ll receive a FREE crescent moon pendant. (While supplies last). This offer expires on May 31st, so you’d better scroll all the way down to the bottom of this newsletter and use the Paypal widget found there.

Check out the section, Spell-a-Day: Monday-Friday Magick, for some magickal inspiration and some pretty vibrant and major magickal candle spells. Included in this section are the following spells ~ Spirit Guide Protection; Goin’ to the Chapel; Loosin’ the Pen; Goin’ for Broke; The Goddess in Me.

There’s also a special video section this month with some inspiration from some amazing Youtube women. Kudos to them! I hope you enjoy their videos as much as I do!

You’ll find all the usual sections on herbs, stones, and moon magick… I hope you enjoy browsing this newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a wonderful, happy, magickal May!…”

http://www.thewitchscornernewsletter.yolasite.com/may-2018.php

Tags: May, Beltaine, herbs, stones, tarot, videos, mediums, moon magick,

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The Spring Equinox:  Ostara
(March 21)

The Goddess manifests her treasures in the material world, and Mother Earth marks this event with the emergence of plants and young animals, setting the stage once again for future harvests, both those of the physical world and those of the spiritual realm.  The miracle of birth is highlighted, and the miracle that is womanhood confirmed.  Within the celebration of Ostara, fertility is emphasized and celebrated.  Nature’s womb, filled with the seeds of life, embellishes the earth in productivity and prosperity.

Ostara is a day when the period of light and dark are equal, heralding springtime planting and the promise of warmth returning for the summer months.  Sunlight is going to reign supreme starting the very next day, second by second, minute by minute. This is also a celebration of the Saxon goddess of fertility…Eostre. Eggs and rabbits are symbols belonging to this Goddess and are incorporated into the festivities and celebrations. Sound familiar yet?  It’s all about bunnies, fertile eggs, and growing things.  Now’s the time to start those seedlings in egg cartons, time to start planning your herb garden, digging out those pots and diving into a bag of potting soil.  Smell the earth women, get your fingernails dirty, follow that natural instinct that you know is there, the one you’ve probably been trying to ignore…Grow Things!

A noteworthy tidbit: Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

(The Goddess is smiling now.)

My Celebration:

The biggest part of Ostara for my family has always been coloring Easter Eggs (we decorate about 4 or 5 dozen– often with witches, animals, and other very un-Eastery images).  The magickal nocturnal visit of the Easter Bunny is also a yearly tradition at our house, complete with pretty baskets of goodies.  With seven children, putting all those baskets together, dividing all that candy, has been quite a process.

But this celebration has a deeper meaning for me, one that was made indelible upon my soul.  The year was 1969, I was 12-years-old, and it was the traditional Christian Easter Sunday that my family was celebrating:

The night before, my Aunt was glowing– beautiful and striking looking at thirty-two.  She was helping my sister and me color Easter eggs, finishing up by combining all the colors to get an interesting brown egg.  I’ll never forget the sight of her holding the egg up in the air so we could all get a look at it, laughing out loud.  This was to be the last truly happy day this woman would know for a very long time to come.  The next day, her husband (my uncle) would suffer a massive heart attack and die in her arms in the foyer of their home.  It was just after a beautiful Easter Sunday meal, and we were all there.

Every year since, when we color eggs for this spring celebration, I remember  coloring eggs with my aunt the night before Easter Sunday 1969.  It’s a crystal clear memory 44 years later.  The symbolism of this holiday is brought home to me in the idea of rejuvination, resurrection, a return to life– life in the form of warmth, sunshine, growing plants, small animals, and souls.

“Everything is connected.” the goddess is telling me.

Ostara Correspondences

Herbs: cinquefoil, rose, violets, tansy, celandine
Altar Flowers/Herbs: honeysuckle, iris, lily, daffodil, crocus
Feast Foods: eggs, fish, honey, sweet food, leafy vegetables
Animals: chicks, hares, rabbits, swallows
Incense: honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender, lotus, magnolia, rose, violet
Rituals/Spells: planting/sowing, rejuvenation spells, consecration of tools, grounding work, Earth blessings, spring cleansing

Ostara Recipes

Magickal Egg Salad
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Lettuce leaves

Reserve 4 center egg slices for garnish, if desired. Chop remaining eggs.

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, onion, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add chopped eggs and celery; mix well. Refrigerate, covered, to blend flavors.

Serve on lettuce leaves; garnish with reserved egg slices.
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Honey Baked Ham
18 to 20-pound smoked ham, water added, ham hock removed
One 16-ounce box light brown sugar
1 cup (8-ounce jar) clover honey

Adjust the oven racks to accommodate a large covered roasting pan. Fit the pan with a shallow rack. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Unwrap the ham and rinse it in cold water. Place it on the rack in the roasting pan. Cover the pan with the lid and bake for half the estimated cooking time (Total cooking time is about 20 minutes per pound.) Halfway through the estimated cooking time, add the sugar and honey to a saucepan, cooking over medium heat until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the ham and continue baking the ham, basting occasionally with the drippings in the roaster.

Check for doneness at the end of the estimated cooking time by inserting a meat thermometer at a meaty point (not into fat or touching the bone). It should register 160 degrees F.

Allow the ham to stand for 15 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to set.

The Source for this blog post is my book ~

The Spiritual Feminist

Follow this link to purchase your own copy:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004NMWMX4

Tags: holidays, easter, ostara, celebration, recipes, traditions

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Hello, Peoples!  The Witch's Corner April Newsletter is up.  Follow the link and Enjoy!  

http://www.thewitchscornernewsletter.yolasite.com/april-2018.php

Tags: information inspiration

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It's been a ridiculously hectic week, and I'm kind of sorta' proud of myself for coming through in the middle of a raging achy cold, what my grandmother would call "a case of the cruds".

I've been sick since last Friday, went to work on Monday, came home and started editing a manuscript at 5pm, for my very first book that was published in 2010 by Labyrinth House, Tarot: A Witch's Journey. I contacted my editor for this book who was excited and gracious, and immediately acknowledged the return of my copyright. (Yay! First hurdle accomplished!). The next thing to do was to bring this manuscript up and start the tedious, very non-fun part of writing called editing. Ugh. But I was driven with determination and a lot of excitement experienced through a haze of some really awesome cold medicine. (Did I say that?)

Tags: writing, editing, publishing, life,

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