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May. 1st, 2011
Beltane Ritual
May. 1st, 2011 09:22 amI am very, very pleased to be able to report that I did everything I intended to yesterday to prepare for and carry though on the Beltane instructions I received. I didn't make it to the workshop, but that was only because it was cancelled.
I spent *hours* cleaning my temple room and re-doing my altars, and it was very satisfying.
The observance itself was quite powerful, a combination of affirming and seeking integration with returning parts of myself and burning out things within me that were not of me and not serving me. We started with LM and I journeying to see Freyja, and she took a very active part in what followed. I'm not sure if what I experienced qualified as "aspecting" or not, but I definitely felt her spirit and presence within me, guiding some of my actions. I was still in control, but she was there too. I think it might qualify as the "me in the driver's seat, her in the front passenger seat" model of sharing.
Evidently the working generated some less-than-welcome attention, which I was able to handle with Ereshkigal's help.
The weather is absolutely gorgeous this morning. I need to clean the kitchen, but after that I am definitely going to head out to the island.
I spent *hours* cleaning my temple room and re-doing my altars, and it was very satisfying.
The observance itself was quite powerful, a combination of affirming and seeking integration with returning parts of myself and burning out things within me that were not of me and not serving me. We started with LM and I journeying to see Freyja, and she took a very active part in what followed. I'm not sure if what I experienced qualified as "aspecting" or not, but I definitely felt her spirit and presence within me, guiding some of my actions. I was still in control, but she was there too. I think it might qualify as the "me in the driver's seat, her in the front passenger seat" model of sharing.
Evidently the working generated some less-than-welcome attention, which I was able to handle with Ereshkigal's help.
The weather is absolutely gorgeous this morning. I need to clean the kitchen, but after that I am definitely going to head out to the island.
Balancing Names and Influences on the Tree
May. 1st, 2011 11:05 amFor the past couple of years I've been contemplating changing my last name, the name I inherited from my father, to LM's last name. The more I progress along this path, the more that name reflects who I am and who I am becoming.
It's a little bit ironic, because all my life I've been someone who did not intend to take a husband's name -- and indeed did not take my husband's name when I was married. But my initiation as a priestess was catalyzed by LM's death, and my ongoing union with him is something that defines me and continues to distance me from the restrictions of my childhood socialization and expectations.
But as my long-time friends know, I continue to have a strong connection to my parents, especially my father. I don't change my last name in large part because I don't want to hurt him. (There are also not insignificant issues of keeping my kinky-Pagan identity at least somewhat distinct from my mundane life and day job, but that's an entirely different set of issues than what I'm focusing on right now.)
At some point yesterday I started silently repeating a new form of my name to myself: my first name, my father's last name, and LM's last name. For the first time, it seemed appropriate to have my family name as part of my into-the-future name. So much of who I am, of how I interact with the world, so many of my strengths, are symbolically reprsented by that name.
And that's when I suddenly saw my name on the Tree of Life: LM's last name on the pillar of Force, my father's last name on the pillar of Form, and my first name on the Middle Pillar, integrating and balancing those energies.
It felt very, very right. It felt balanced and whole, honoring the very different but very potent family/union energies which have gone in to making me who I am today.
(And, it occurs to me, it might appeal to a particular ancestor as well. . .)
It's a little bit ironic, because all my life I've been someone who did not intend to take a husband's name -- and indeed did not take my husband's name when I was married. But my initiation as a priestess was catalyzed by LM's death, and my ongoing union with him is something that defines me and continues to distance me from the restrictions of my childhood socialization and expectations.
But as my long-time friends know, I continue to have a strong connection to my parents, especially my father. I don't change my last name in large part because I don't want to hurt him. (There are also not insignificant issues of keeping my kinky-Pagan identity at least somewhat distinct from my mundane life and day job, but that's an entirely different set of issues than what I'm focusing on right now.)
At some point yesterday I started silently repeating a new form of my name to myself: my first name, my father's last name, and LM's last name. For the first time, it seemed appropriate to have my family name as part of my into-the-future name. So much of who I am, of how I interact with the world, so many of my strengths, are symbolically reprsented by that name.
And that's when I suddenly saw my name on the Tree of Life: LM's last name on the pillar of Force, my father's last name on the pillar of Form, and my first name on the Middle Pillar, integrating and balancing those energies.
It felt very, very right. It felt balanced and whole, honoring the very different but very potent family/union energies which have gone in to making me who I am today.
(And, it occurs to me, it might appeal to a particular ancestor as well. . .)
Obama Roasts Trump
May. 1st, 2011 07:59 pmI *love* this clip from President Obama's address at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
He roasts Trump (who is in the audience) and tweaks Fox news with a supposed "birth video."
He roasts Trump (who is in the audience) and tweaks Fox news with a supposed "birth video."