Blogging The Shadows

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Echo_of_shadows
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

Post by Echo_of_shadows »

Week 47

It's been a slow week in the magick department. I'm still reading "A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook." I finally moved past the first section of the book. I also got to skip a few small segments. Those segments were materials from Gerald Gardener's Book of Shadows, and I've already read the parts of Gardener's book that are available online.
I've been preparing myself to help my boyfriend. He wants to learn psychic shielding. I know that he would rather get a root canal than to read, but I have found him a few articles with different shielding techniques. For me, it's sort of a back up in case I'm unable to verbally explain the process well. I'm also hoping that by reading, he'll see that the process isn't strictly a magical one. He's got reservations about doing spells or any sort of magick himself. He's been told that men performing magick is wrong and will lead to bad things. A myth that the High Priestess from Hell added to and exacerbated. I swear as times goes on, a bigger trip that girl becomes. Sigh.
I've done a bit of further research into astral projection. I can't astral project to save my life. If someone told me to astral project or they'll kill me, I'd just fall over dead. :| I know a few people that can and I feel like telling them "I hate you. Go away." I've tried many methods, mostly the ones that are in the Wiccan books I've read. I've even tried the Silva and Monroe methods. The closest I've come is the ability to visualize myself walking through the house and reinforcing pentagram seals at the doors and windows.
I did do something this week that counts as Goddess time instead of a sabbat activity. My plan for Litha was to meditate and try to figure out the symbolic meanings of a couple things. I've been drawn to some things lately that I haven't really been drawn to before. As I was looking through my big bad book of correspondences to see if there were correspondences for psychic shielding, I looked for the correspondences for the things I've been seeing. They all seem to point to one god. That was rather interesting, so I looked at the correspondences for that god. I think something might have clicked or something, because I started crying as I read the entry. I'm hoping that I'm ready to work with the Lord in a specific aspect. I plan to come before Him in ritual and ask if that is the name by which I should call Him. If it is, I'll share the name. ;)
This week's goal is to do a ritual that honors my initiation into my former coven, and also honors the aspect of the Lady that I wanted to work with at the time of my initiation. I originally wanted to do that ritual during my Litha celebration, but I wasn't up to doing a ritual last night.


Echo's Litha

So I didn't do the ritual or the meditation, just what the heck did I do? I went outside. It might not seem like much, but when you've got bad social anxiety to the point that you're rather terrified of people, going outside alone is a big deal. I took some bread and went into the backyard. I wanted to go into the woods, but I chickened out. I got close, I poked my head in, but that was it. However, it wasn't a completely fruitless ordeal. I picked a few different plants to bring in to press and dry. I think they'll look cute in my BOS, or my adorable magick scrapbook, whatever the case may end up being. :roll:
I did try to come up with a homemade bug repellent. I'm not entirely sure if it worked or not. The mosquitoes only attacked the backs of my hands. I think it was a result of forgetting to put the repellent on them and the fact that other than my face, that was the only part of my skin that was bare. My repellant was a mixture of a few drops of peppermint oil and a scent free lotion. I smelled like a girl scout cookie. :lol:
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Echo_of_shadows
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

Post by Echo_of_shadows »

Week 48

I've been meaning to write this but I keep forgetting to: my morning glories only lived for about a week. They grew a couple inches, then died. I have no idea what went wrong. They looked healthy, but about half way up the stem, they shriveled. I looked at them, sighed, then apologized to Mother Earth for wasting seeds. :( I thought that was the end of it, but the other day Mom bought me a little pot and one of those blown glass balls that you stick in the dirt to help water your plants. I couldn't help but feel that the gesture was like handing Michael Myers a knife. :|
There is good news. I have an aquarium. :mrgreen: Some little boy was carrying it down to the dumpster and Mom flagged him down and told him to take it to our house. It's only a 5-gallon, but it was free, so I'm not going to complain. I need pretty much everything for it, so I've got to wait a bit before I can get a fish. I want to get a Beta. I'm hoping that I can get the one I seen last weekend. I thought it was cute because its tail fin matched my hair. :P
While trying to read "A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook," time feels like it slows to a crawl. I'm thinking of finishing the chapter that I'm on, then I'll switch to reading "Coven Craft: Witchcraft for Three or More."
I created a new spell this week. That's always awesome. I'm always trying to come up with new material. It worked wonderfully. :D
I have two goals this week. The first is to start writing something. I've been wanting to start it for the last couple days, but I've wanted to type it, and that's difficult when you've got 3 people and only one computer. I may end up having to write it down first. My other goal is make a sigil using a planetary square. I've only used a planetary square once before, but it didn't work. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

PS. Between the time that I typed this and now, my boyfriend came home with a couple gifts from the local metaphysical shop. The first is a ring about the size of the one he got me for my birthday two years ago. He doesn't know what it's made of, but he thinks it's pewter. I think it might be hematite, but I'm not real sure since it doesn't quite look or feel like the stone I have. My second gift is a cute, plastic goblet with spiders and webs on it. It's quite wonderfully ironic, since I don't like spiders. :P I'm think of using it as a Halloween decoration.
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I'm up to three things I want to do this week. Unfortunately, I can see procrastination rearing its ugly head. It's saying:
"Come to the dark side now! ...or later ...maybe tomorrow ...how does next week sound?"
I can also hear a certain beloved pair in my kitchen whispering:
"Well, we're here. When is she gonna come wash the dishes? No dishes no fishes."
They know I'll go in there eventually. I just wish They'd send me a motivation pill. halfsm
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I finally put on my big girl pants and attempted contact with the aspect of the Lord that I think has been trying to contact me.
Visiting God
The first place I come to is an outdoor garden. I've been here before with both the Lord and the Lady. I pass by the stone bench we sat on, and I run my hand over it as I pass. Just a few feet in front of me is a tall wall covered in greenery. There is a wooden door in the wall. I don't hesitate to pull a silver chain from my neck. The chain holds a skeleton key to the door, as well as a silver heart shaped locket with pictures of the Lord and Lady. The door leads to a yard that surrounds a tree with yet another door. The tree sort of looks like Winnie the Pooh's house. This door is unlocked.
After passing through a couple random and indistinct basements and staircases, I arrive in a windowless, basement library. Standing before a bookcase is the Lord just as I had seen Him in a picture. He is the wise Father God that I expected. I kneel down and place my offerings on the floor. I ask if He is the one I should connect with. He takes me by the hand, helps me to stand back up, then leads me to a wooden picnic table. We eat a meal of soup and fresh bread. His animal companions are there and I offer small chunks of bread to each of them.
Unfortunately, at this point I am having trouble keeping my mind on the meditation. The Lord tells me to visit again and sends an animal along with me. I forgot that I had been thinking of animal guides before I started preparing for the meditation. Abigail is my spirit animal. She is very affectionate and friendly. She has told me "Listen, and I will tell you things."

My extra goal for the week is to find out what Abigail symbolizes. :)
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I took a break this past week. At first it was because my moon time made me feel terrible, then it became something else.
I think I'm stuck. It feels spiritual, but I think it's on a mundane level too. I think a change is coming. I got a tarot reading on Llewellyn's site that mentions change and a new beginning. I did some research on ravens and they also symbolize change and some of the other stuff mentioned in the reading. I also learned that ravens are associated with Athena. How nice! I think Abigail is a gift from both the Lord and the Lady. :) For now, I'm going to work on getting unstuck. I'm not real sure of anything at the moment, so I may or may not continue my weekly Sunday blog.

I have quite possibly found the answer that I have been looking for. I seen a post on Tumblr that gave meanings for different aura colors. Magenta does seem pretty close to the color I saw.
tumblr_mqreitKLMb1sb6u5no3_1280.jpg
I started working on some new stuff while I was gone. I hope I can finish them. The one has potential, but I don't think I have enough written for it to be good. I have another project that looks real good, I just need to put some art with it.[/color]
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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It sucks being stuck. :(
I've been coming up with new things to try, but they only interest me for a little while.I started a list of tips for correspondences and I ran out of ideas for it. I've got witch block! newangel
What I'd like to do is get out my Book of Shadows and see if I can find a ritual I started to write a couple years ago. I got stuck on it because I wanted it to have a chant, and at the time I could only think of two lines. Well, a couple days ago as I was trying to come up with ideas for something else, I came up with two more lines for the chant. It took me almost two years to come up with a four line chant. What the heck? blue_flee
I'd also like to spend some time looking through a list of some of the suggested requirements for second and third degree advancements. I don't need to worry about degrees, but I want to see where I can advance myself. I don't feel like an adept, but I'm not an inexperienced witch either. I feel like I've stagnated. That's why I'm taking a break from the weekly Sunday blog and I'm not on here quite as often.
I think I need a push. blue_blank
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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Here's a Sunday blog, minus the pressure. smiley_dance
I'm just about done with all of my new books. All I've got left to read is the appendixes in "A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook."
I realized that I've been a silly girl. The Norse pantheon includes a Germanic origin. I do have a bit of German in my cultural makeup. Ha ha oops. :P So now that I've thought things over, it does make sense that a god from the Norse pantheon is trying to contact me. Go forth Echo! :flyingwitch:
I've worked with Abigail a bit. I'm taking baby steps. I send her out to keep an eye on my boyfriend while he's out. I do it to ease my mind or when I miss him. I want to try shape shifting with her, but I'm a little scared because I've never done it before.
I'm trying to put together a personal reference guide for runes. I'm hoping I'll have an easier time learning how to read the runes versus tarot cards, since there are less runes.
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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All my really good ideas are stuck in my head. :cry: I've only gotten one thing written down this week. I've also got stuff that's been started, then left half finished.
Actually, I just came up with a nice idea...
There, I wrote myself a little note. I hope I know what the heck it means later on. I drive myself batty by writing myself notes, then when I find the notes again much later, I have no clue as to what I meant. :vampire: It kind of ruins the point of writing notes.

Hey, I'm sleepy. Here's an I.O.U. I'll see you Tuesday.
....... blue_flee
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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Echo's Lughnasadh
:oops: Sabbat derp.
I got my altar set up and everything was pretty. I knew what I wanted to do.
.....It didn't happen.
I sat down and couldn't concentrate worth a hoot. Yet another sabbat ruined by loud stuff. First it was a blaring TV on Ostara, then it's a blaring radio on Lughnasadh. If only I loved closer to one of the Great Lakes. One of us would be out there on a boat during the sabbats. I'm not saying which one of us though. :twisted: Actually, it wasn't so much the that the music was loud, but the music was crap. It's hard to find good stuff to listen to on the radio at that time of morning.
The lesson learned here is that I need an MP3 player. That sounds a bit materialistic, but I believe that it serves a purpose. Either I need to have it to use it while I'm celebrating the sabbats, or my boyfriend needs to use it when I'm celebrating the sabbats.

Even though I haven't been writing the usual Sunday blogs, nor giving myself goals, I would like to set a couple goals for myself anyway. I need to write stuff down. Even if I don't type them up, at least they'll be out of my head. I'd like to take pictures of some more of my witchy stuff.
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I found the perfect covenstead!
Purrrrfect for the Hello Kitty Priestess. ;)
Purrrrfect for the Hello Kitty Priestess. ;)
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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A couple nights ago, I put a little piece of paper on my altar. On it was a sigil I created for something I really wanted. The next day, I put a rock on it to keep it from moving. I looked at my altar last night, a while after placing my order for what I want. Both the sigil and the rock have been moved. I think they're in the corner. Because you know, why would anything land where it's easy to grab? :P I think either the fan blows it off or something with fur might have sneaked in yesterday.
So, what am I getting? A new tarot deck. I'm hoping that it'll be a little easier to read than my other deck.The Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot deck is pretty and I've used it successfully, but I'm not connecting with the pictures. I'm looking for something that feels different.
Speaking of shopping, I've picked out a Yule present already. That's a good thing. Usually when someone asks me what I want for my birthday and Yule, I have no idea. Maybe once every few years I'll actually have my heart set on something. I've found a pretty, rainbow colored knife that I'd like as an athame. I'm obsessed with rainbows. Here's a link to the picture. I wanted to add it, but the picture is huge. :shock:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAyWDgwMg==/ ... X/$_57.JPG
I could stare at this picture day. smileylove
I noticed that we haven't seen Troll Witch in a while. Let's see what she's up to. :wink2:
She said to tell you "Meow!"
She said to tell you "Meow!"
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I got on Witchvox earlier to see if there were any groups in my area.
:lol:
There's one group in my town. I read their description but they sound a little too dark for my tastes. :|
The individual listings for my town yielded two results. The first was the leader of the dark group. The second is an ex-boyfriend of my former high priestess.
:evilwitch:
There are listings for some of the surrounding areas, but I don't have a car and my besom gets terrible mileage. :P

Time for a video. This song came on the radio and made me feel better. :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I plan to share pictures of my new tarot deck this weekend. I've just got to stop playing Diablo 3 for a while. :P
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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There we go, pictures of the new deck. :) http://everythingunderthemoon.net/forum ... 27485.html
That's really the only Witchy thing I've done lately, other than making a new avatar for Mabon. I should be putting that up this weekend. I did wrack my brain a bit. I'm trying to come up with ideas for my Mabon altar. I've thought about incorporating some of the sticks that fell in my yard over the last few days, but I don't really know what to do with them. They're rather long. I'm already trying to rattle out a new spell or ritual. I always pressure myself to write new stuff. I don't know why I do that. :|
I've decided that some of my extra stuff in my BOS that isn't strictly witchy should go into a different binder. I have a purple binder that's been sitting unused for a while. It think it's perfect because it's purple, and so are some of my BOS notebooks. .....unfortunately, I have idea where that binder is. Too bad I didn't have this idea before I moved, I at least knew where the binder was then. :evil:
So, when I find the binder, one of the things that I want to put in it are the plants that I picked on Litha. They should be plenty pressed and dried by now. :roll:
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Re: Blogging The Shadows

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I'm pretty sure that I've figured everything out. :fairy:
The other day, I looked out at the backyard from Mom's bedroom window. There are a few fallen leaves on the ground already. They're brown and yellow, and they're always the first to fall here in my part of the Mitten. I'm not fond of their colors, I adore red leaves, but hey, it's the symbolism that counts. Mabon is the beginning of fall, so why not use to first fallen leaves? I think they'll look nice with my candle holder.
I think I shall use the long sticks in my yard to make a "city witch grill bonfire" like I did for Lughnasadh last year. I hope to celebrate Mabon on time this year, as opposed to last year. I haven't shown any sign of allergies yet this year, but I had a killer cough earlier today. That cough was something else. It's been a while since I've had one hurt my chest so much. :(
I'm almost positive that my purple binder is at the bottom of my closet. If I find it, I'll go ahead and add my pressed plants to make room to press leaves this fall. If there aren't enough leaves by Mabon, then I'll go leaf collecting for Samhain. A great sabbat idea without really trying. Good job Echo! :mrgreen:
I just realized that decorating for Samhain is gonna be nasty. I don't even wanna think about getting to the bottom of the closet here in the computer room. It makes a horror movie seem like a walk in the park. :anxious:

I'm looking forward to all the pumpkin flavored goodies! I've already tried a pumpkin pie flavored creamer that wasn't the one I mentioned last year. Hopefully by mid-October I'll have another little pumpkin flavor review. ;) I better have a pumpkin pie flavored ice cappuccino from Tim Hortons this year or I'll be irate! :evil:
Here I was all excited about my "new" idea for autumn incense, but come to find out, I made pretty much the same thing for last Samhain. :shock: I keep going back and reading bits of this blog as I'm typing, so that's how I'm so aware of what I did last year. :P
So I've come up with a neat twist on an old spell and was excited to share it today. Unfortunately, it's still sitting inside my head. I need to type it first. :roll:
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