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All my life I’ve walked alone down thorny paths of broken stone. No one to hear my silent screams. No one to see my broken dreams. I’ve always held my head up high without a thought of days gone by. My tears contained within a cage, my soul poured out upon a page. These words you read explain my life. I’ve cut myself open with a knife. I’ve bled for you to feel the pain. I’ve bled for me to keep me sane. So take these words into your heart. Trust that I won’t fall apart. I’ll stand up tall without a crack because Ive beat those demons back.

The Rede- Harm None Harm none.  Short and to the point.  That being the case, it’s a law we can live with.  Besides, it’s easy enough to follow. Right? Well……. Seems like most applications should be fairly obvious… For example, not to do bodily harm, to ourselves or anyone else. Do not wish ill, manipulate, or deliberately hurt someone’s feelings. We even know better than to damage as we become successful. These things go without saying. But what about all the things we can’t know or control? Like how something we say might affect someone else. What if it is taken out of context, and angers them or brings on…

Relaxing Summer Tonic You will need 1tsp. of each of the following herbs: Lavender, Chamomile, and Jasmine You will also need about 1 cup of lemon juice. Bring approximately ¾ of a gallon of water to a boil and add the herbs.  Remove the pot from the heat and steep the herbs for a minimum of 5 minutes (longer if you want a stronger flavor).  Strain the mixture and place in a pitcher, add the lemon juice and ½ to 1 cup of sugar or other desired sweetener and stir.  Place in the refrigerator to cool. Serve over ice and enjoy. Madame Mora’s herbal This class is designed to show…

Meditation Moment: A Practical and Magical Skill I’ve spent the last few months discussing different ways to meditate; this month I’d like to focus on why meditation is such an important skill for both practical and magical purposes. Research is revealing more and more health benefits to a regular meditation practice, but the ability to direct your own attention and shift your focus as you wish is incredibly valuable in everyday life, not just while actively meditating, and also an essential part of working magic. As a practical skill, meditation can help us deal with difficult times in our lives. Many people who have depression experience being stuck in negative…

The Weiser Field Guide to Ghosts  by Raymond Buckland © 2009 Weiser Books  ISBN:  978-1578634512 Paperback        192 pages $14.95 (U.S.) There are field guide and there are field guides.  Weiser is, apparently, planning to produce a series of field guides on a variety of topics.  This is the second one I have reviewed (see The Weiser Field Guide to Vampires previously).  My only comment on the series, so far, is that it is somewhat inconsistent.  Vampires didn’t really seem to fit the category (although it was technically well-written and interesting), whereas this volume is truer to the format.  Oh, it ranges a bit afield – monsters and vampires being technically…

A most complex unit for any mind to comprehend, It travels strait or can even bend. Defining it eludes the greatest mind, It keeps moving forward its so unkind. It measures speed, a life, or infinity, It is the future, the present and loves history. By its self it cant be measured or even traveled, Nor straddled, or smuggled or even canceled. Its not an event… nor a thing, But age is something that it can bring. It can be read by by a grain of sand, It’s Dimensions can consume the land. It can be measured by a single candle, It has no form that you can handle. It…

Herbs: Copal, fennel, rye, wheat, valerian, skullcap, acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, pine cones, rose, sage, Solomon’s Seal, tobacco, thistle, vegetables. Foods: Breads, grains, seeds, dried fruits and beans, baked squash, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions, wine. Colors: Brown, yellow-green, yellow, red, russet, maroon, gold, scarlet, purple. Flowers: Narcissus, lily, aster, morning glory. Scents: Storax, mastic, gardenia, bergamot. Autumn blend made by combining: benzoin, myrrh, and sage, also these incenses separately. Stones: Blue sapphire, peridot, olivine, chrysolite, citrine, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates. Trees: Hazel, larch, bay. Animals: Snake, jackal. Birds: Ibis, sparrow. Deities: Bona Dea, Ceres, Ch’ang-O, Demeter, The…

Deity Diversity I have noticed that a recent hot topic in the Pagan community is Pagan minorities. This is an important topic and I am so glad to see it finally being discussed. Along the same lines of diversity of people within Paganism, I have also been reflecting on diversity of deities within Paganism. The other day I was writing up a yoga sequence for a Goddess Yoga class I was going to be teaching and I started thinking about this topic of diversity of deities. I was researching different Goddesses trying to come up with Goddesses from multiple cultures to match specific yoga poses.  While researching I was excited…

Be Your Own Herbal Expert Part 3 Herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is simple, safe, effective, and free. Our ancestors knew how to use an enormous variety of plants for health and well-being. Our neighbors around the world continue to use local plants for healing and health maintenance, and you can too. In your first lesson, you learned how to “listen” to the messages of plant’s tastes.  And you discovered that using plants in water bases (as teas, infusions, vinegars, and soups) – and as simples – allows you to experiment with and explore herbal medicine safely. In your second lesson, you learned about herbs for…

Back to School! Here we are again!  The wheels on the bus do go ‘round and ‘round, as does the Wheel of the Year.  As we are heading into September, our thoughts are pulled in a million directions – kids’ going back to school and all that implies (i.e., shopping for school clothes, schedules, chauffeuring the kids, etc.) and our own work schedules/home schedules and getting everything to coincide and work together in some smooth synergy. We want our kids to do well; AND, if we are also going back to school as adults taking advance courses, trade courses, or just a yoga class or craft class, we all need…