Merry Yule and Happy New Year!!!

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it has been since I wrote on this blog. This past year has certainly kept me busy. It seems like all I had time to do was work, go home, eat, sleep and start the cycle again :( One of my goals for 2014 is to really delve into my creativity and find ways of expressing myself. This blog is certainly on my list of priorities for the new year.

Merry Yule!
Keepers of the Hearth spent this sabbat on a weekend retreat to Poverty Point, LA which is in Northern Louisiana not far from Monroe. This was a 3-4 hour drive for us, but definitely worth the drive. This state park is beautiful, has great hiking trails and an awesome man made lake on which some of the smaller lodges sit. As you can see in the pic, the weather was not exactly an inducement for merry making :)
It actually rained all day Saturday, but we managed to find things to do to keep in the holiday spirit.



We arrived Friday evening, unpacked and set up the cabin. That evening we visited with other local pagans who were also at Poverty Point for the weekend. After a brief visit, we returned to the cabin, fixed supper and enjoyed the tv show It's A Wonderful Life. It had been years since many of us had seem this show, and we were very happy to have shared it together as a coven and family.

Saturday started with a big family breakfast followed by a session of making Yule Ornaments.

                            

Everyone took turns making their own set of ornaments, adults and children alike.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching holiday shows, reading, meditating and walking the trails.

That evening we had our Yule Ritual in which we welcomed back the returning light. We honored the triple goddess by lighting candles in her honor as well as honoring the return of the light and the sun lord.



After ritual we indulged in feasting and adult beverages for those who were old enough :). We ended the night with a gift exchange. It was a long day, but a wonderful one. I am hoping this will be a KOTH tradition.

I hope you all had a wonderful and Merry Yule. May the love and light of the Lord and Lady bless you always.

BB,
Autumn

Happy Lupercalia and/or Valentine's Day!!

Happy Lupercalia! and Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Lupercalia is the Roman festival celebrated around the 15th of February, some say the 13-15th. This was considered a fertility ritual and also a purification ritual. We do not know for sure which god(s) were celebrated, how it was celebrated or its true origins. Historians have made educated guesses as to what may have happened during this time.

Priests called the Luperci would participate in a ritual that included the sacrifice of goats and perhaps dogs. The priests would have the blood of the sacrifices smeared upon them and would then soak pieces of pelt in the blood. These pelts would then be used to "strike" people, especially women to keep them from being sterile and to promote fertility. 

The Romans started their new year around March or springtime, so the time before (in February) was a time to get rid of anything old and make way for the new. So this was also a time for purification and cleansing. 

The festival of Lupercalia is said to honor the she-wolf, Lupa, who found the abandoned twins, Remus and Romulus. She became their mother for the most part and suckled them to maturity. She took care of them like a mother would. 

This festival may have started around 753 BC and was thought to end around 1200 years later at the end of the 5th century AD. 

Lupercalia does have some associations to Valentine’s Day. This was a time of match making of couples. Alliances were made between families to strengthen bonds (whether romantic or political). Its association with fertility rites also gives this festival a tie to Valentine’s Day as today Valentine’s Day is mainly a festival or time for romance which may lead to personal fertility rites :). 

So whether you celebrate Lupercalia or Valentine’s Day, I hope you have a wonderfully magical day. May love always be in your heart.

Autumn

Mardi Gras Magic

Laissez les bon temp roulet!! It is Mardi Gras Season or Carnival Time here in Louisiana. I live in South Louisiana, about 3 hours from New Orleans. And yes, other places in Louisiana have Mardi Gras celebrations as well :). I have to admit that it has been a long time since I have celebrated this occasion actually on the date of Mardi Gras. My family usually prefer to do a small town Mardi Gras, they can be just as fun and much more personal as most people know each other anyway. 

Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. This is the time that precedes the Lenten season for Catholics. I was raised Catholic but of course found the goddess later in life and now she is my reason for being :). For most people this is a time of partying and having a good time: great food and music and bringing community together.  Our ancestors used this time as a way to go through all meat, dairy and other food items that were "outlawed" during lent. I am a Cajun, and my Acadian ancestors did not believe in wasting anything. Once lent began (with Ash Wednesday) there was no more partying. People were expected to sacrifice and spend the next 40 days (until Easter Sunday) in repentance and reflection. 

Mardi Gras season here starts on Epiphany or 12th Night (January 6th). The season is celebrated by many balls and parades. In Lafayette there approximately 36-40 Mardi Gras Krewes. A krewe is a group of people who get together for the purpose of celebrating the season. Some krewes consist of members of both men and women while others are restricted to either just men, just women or children only. 

This is a list of some of the krewes here:

Krewe of Phoenix

Krewe of Titon

Mystick Krewe of Apollo

Royal Order of the Unicorns

Krewe of Atlantis

Krewe of Xanadu

Krewe of Celts

Krewe of Olympus

Krewe of Wideload

Krewe of Camelot

Krewe of Oberon

Krewe des Chiens-yes we even have a krewe that celebrates our canine brother and sisters!

See anything familiar in these names? LOL. Maybe a little pagan oriented. Not all the krewes have names like this, but I thought it was interesting that a lot of the krewes are named after pagan themes (or names).

Just a few facts about Mardi Gras in my area:

The most popular food is the King Cake.  It is said this cake origins began in 12th Century France  where the cake would be baked on the eve of Epiphany. A small token of a baby is hidden in the cake. Whoever gets the baby is said to have good luck. Later it meant that you had to buy the next king cake to share :)

1869-1st formal Mardi Gras ball and parade

1897-King Attakapas (1st Mardi Gras King) was crowned

1934- Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association was formed. King Gabriel and Queen Evangeline were "born".

The traditional colors for Mardi Gras are purple symbolizing justice, gold symbolizing power and green symbolizing faith. 

Even though Mardi Gras is a prelude to a Catholic rite (the season of lent), we as pagans can still enjoy this season and celebrate it. Below is a list of correspondences I use to help me celebrate my pagan roots in Mardi Gras.

Symbols- beads, crowns, parades, masks, doubloons (coins thrown at parades)

Colors- (the colors can be given new meanings) purple for divinity, gold for happiness and success and green for fertility and prosperity

Food- King Cake or anything Cajun such as gumbo or jambalaya (anything that can feed a crowd as this is a time of community building as well)

Magical workings- simply honoring the ancient ones, fertility magic, purification rites (Mardi Gras leads into lent, which is a time of repentance and sacrifice), time to build on community relations, and just having a good old party-enjoying life.

Some deities that may work for this season are: Bacchus/Dionysus- gods of the vine; Bast- party goddess herself; Hathor- godess of music and dance; Asar/Osiris-god of agriculture (wine-beer); Renenutet- goddess of the harvest, especially grapes.

This year I unfortunately have to work on the actual day of Mardi Gras. I was able to celebrate earlier in the season by attending the Krewe of Apollo Ball and the Carencro Mardi Gras parade. Tonight when I get off of work I plan to honor the ancient ones with a toast to a great new year.

Happy Mardi Gras!!

Autumn

Imbolc in Louisiana

This weekend is the sabbat of Imbolc/Oimelc. In the northern US, this is a time of winter and snow. Imbolc marks the beginning of Spring or the eventual return of Spring, depending on how you look at it. But here in Louisiana, we really haven't had a winter. At most, we had a week of winter with temps in the 30-40's. The rest of the time the temps have ranged from 40-70. Not exactly winter weather :). So sometimes it is a little harder for us to envision the coming of Spring, when it actually is here already. But we still find ways to celebrate the holiday.

Many people differ on what this word actually means. Some say "in the belly" or "ewe's milk". I think either can be used since this is a time that animals such as sheep and cows are pregnant and almost ready to give birth. The animals will of course begin lactating so they can feed their new broods. The Ancient Celts or at least a good portion of them were farmers and herders. Imbolc was one of their holidays celebrated. Probably the most celebrated deity at this time was Bridgit, goddess of "fire". Fire however is not necessarily referring to the heat of the fire or sun, but more along the lines of "light" or "enlightenment".  She is also linked to water as well due to the many sacred wells blessed in her honor. 

Many pictures of Bridgit show her with fire coming out of her head. This can be interpreted as the fires of inspiration and creativity. She is considered a triple goddess as she is the Goddess of Healing, Goddess of Inspiration (Poetry) and the Goddess of the Forge. 

There are many ways we can connect with Bridgit today. For example:

Healing: making your own tinctures or salves; learning about and growing your own herbs; energy healing, spiritual healing, midwifery (I actually have a coven sister who is in school for this now) :)

Inspiration/Creativity: of course writing or reading poetry, enjoying music and/or dance, learning something new, divination, etc.

Forge- includes smith-crafting, gold-crafting: which would include things like making your own jewelry, and any crafts you make for your home or practice.

Fire or water magic would also be appropriate at this time or any time when working with this goddess. 

Imbolc is also a time of new beginnings. This year my coven has decided to study the Celtic Pantheon. So of course for this sabbat we will be honoring Bridgit. We are also cleansing our sacred circle (which is located at my home) as well as ourselves, opening up to new beginnings. Dedication to the ancient gods is also on the agenda for this ritual.

I hope this new year brings you many new beginnings filled with happiness and beauty. May Bridgit always shine her love upon you. 

Blessed Imbolc to all.

Autumn

Happy New Year

As I write this entry I am listening to the boom boom boom of fireworks gone wild! My men are having a blast :). New Years is almost here. At this time of year, I see a lot of people writing about whether or not to make a resolution list this year. I can understand both points of view. Some say it is a definite to make goals for the year to come. Others say why bother, if you don't stick to it and complete your goals it can affect you in a negative way. So I compromise. I make a "to do" list for the next year. The goal of this list are to put things I would like to do, but they are not set in stone. I usually have way too much on my list, but if I can even accomplish just one or two, I feel like I have achieved something. Those who know me well, know that I am a "list" woman. I have a list for everything. Groceries, daily chores, daily to-do's-both at home and work, monthly goals for my coven, etcetera. I like being able to scratch off things on those lists. Maybe it is silly, but I like the feeling of accomplishment that I feel when I do. It also gives me validation that I didn't waste my day or time.

Past and more recent events have made me feel that I need to get on with living my life and not just watching it pass by. Many years ago, my sister in law and neice were killed in an auto accident, they were 31 and 13 respectively. I had certainly experienced death before-grandparents and great grandparents. But this was the first time to experience death of souls so young. In the next few years we lost one of our best friends to cancer, I think he was forty or close to it. Again, someone taken before their time. More recently I have received news of different friends who are struggling with the issues of illness and possibly death. This makes me think of my life and what have I done with it. How have I lived it? I can say that I am certainly happy with my life now, sure things might be much better if had more money, but I can honestly say I have a happy life. But I do want to do more with it, live more of it, live life every day.

So I do still have my list for 2013 of what I would like to do. But I think the most important one on the list is to live and love. To find joy in every moment you can, because unfortunately we never know when our time will be up. We always think it won't happen to us. Well I know first hand that good young people are taken before their time.

So for this year, I wish you all the normal: health, weath and happiness. But most of all I wish you love and and a good life. Make sure you tell those you love how much they mean to you. Make memories as often as you can. And be happy :)

Blessed be,
Autumn

Merry Yule

Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Warm Winter Blessings....... Whatever you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful, magical day :).  Sorry I haven't blogged more. I have been dealing mostly with my medical issues, mainly my lupus and diabetes. They have been kicking my butt, but of course I haven't exactly been taking good care of myself either.

Our holiday celebrations started a week early as I officiated for the wedding of good friends. It was a lovely ceremony that was attended by both pagans and non pagans. I was a bit nervous for the ceremony as it was very pagan, but I received very nice reviews of the ceremony afterwards.

On the 22nd, my coven celebrated Yule at my home with ritual, feasting and gift giving. The weather was wonderful, sunny and the high was around 55 degrees. Of course as the sun went down, it got a little cooler, but we lit the bonfire and we stayed warm :) Every year we try to focus on one element of the sabbat and work with that symbol during our ritual. This year we made ornaments to use as talismans. I think everyone had a wonderful time. That evening we attended a "We Survived the Mayan Calendar" party at a friends house. Great food, great company :)

Being that our families are Catholic we also celebrate Christmas with them. Christmas has never been a particularly religious occasion, but more of a family oriented one. We have a large family, so spending time together is usually a great time. And again, being Cajun, we had plenty of good food!!

I am looking forward to this new year, we have new plans for our coven's study group. I think it will be both a challenge and a fun way to spend our time together. I wish you all good health, wealth and happiness this coming new year.

Blessed be,
Autumn

Pagan Blog Project- S is for Salt

I am a witch, but I am also a poor witch :). As such I have to make use of things I use on a regular basis or which can be obtained very cheaply.

So I usually go through my cabinets and see what I have on hand and I always have some salt :). Salt is cheap, easy to use and can be used in a variety of ways.

Protection Magic- salt can be used in spells and rituals as a protection item. Add a few grains to a gris gris or mojo bag and you have a portable device for protection. You can also sprinkle salt around the area you are working in to protect from negative energies. For example to form a protective circle or a circle of salt around a mirror for scrying.

Kitchen Magic- when cooking meals, you can add herbs to infuse magic into your meals. Salt can be added for protection or purification/cleansing.

Ritual bathing- when I do rituals I always like to prepare by taking a ritual bath. The salt not only softens the skin but helps cleanse away physical dirt as well as negativity. The Egyptians used natron in all of their cleansing needs. You can even color bath salts for use in sympathetic magic as well. For example, using blue food coloring with salt and then adding to the bath can help facilitate healing magic.

Earth magic- salt is considered related to the element of earth (at least in my way of doing things). You can use salt as a consecration tool for cleansing altars and altar tools. Just be careful of what you use salt on, it can be abrasive to certain objects. 

In most wiccan covens a ritual circle is usually cast prior to performing ritual. In some traditions, salt is mixed with water to help cast the circle. 

I had a friend who used to live in an old plantation home. She complained of being able to feel this negative energy throughout the home, so we put together a cleansing party. Once we were able to complete the cleansing we also added salt around windows to keep out negative energies. 

Do you use salt in your practice?

BB,

Autumn