Neuse River Witch

Confessions of a Modern Witch: I is for Invocation

April 30, 2012

Confessions of a Modern Witch: I is for Invocation: I is for Invocation in·vo·ca·tion [in-vuh-key-shuhn] noun 1. the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., ...

I is for Invocation

in·vo·ca·tion [in-vuh-key-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication.

2. any petitioning or supplication for help or aid.

3. a form of prayer invoking God's presence, especially one said at the beginning of a religious service or public ceremony.

4. an entreaty for aid and guidance from a Muse, deity, etc., at the beginning of an epic or epiclike poem.

5. the act of calling upon a spirit by incantation.

I think it’s appropriate that I have this word as it falls just a day after the 29^th of the Month (The Moon ofHecate) and just before the Riteof Her Sacred Fires which is next Sunday May 6^th. Invoking is something most of us doing during our rituals. We invoke the Guardians to ask they come and watch over our circle. We invoke our Gods and Goddess to aid us in our lives.

I’d like to share with you the Invocation I plan to participate in during the Right of Her Sacred Fires which can be found here.

http://youtu.be/p6-zVYbMSJU

Invocation:

I invoke thee, Great Mistress of the Heaven, Earth and Sea,

By your mysteries of Night and Day,

By the Light of the Moon and the Shadow of the Sun

I invoke thee, Mistress of life, death and rebirth

Emerge now from the shadow realm to feed my soul and enlighten my mind,

Triple-formed Mistress of the three ways

I entreat thee, Key-bearing Mistress of the Nightwandering Souls

To bring forth your wisdom from amongst the stars

To bring down your starfire from the darkness between,

Creatrix of Light!

Goddess of the Shadow Realms! Light-bearing queen!

Whisper now your secrets!

Fire-bringer! Earthly-one! Queen of Heaven!

Namaste and Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(

Treegold & Beegold

April 29, 2012

Today I want to share a light hearted post and promote a fellow blogger. Velody is an amazing friend of mine on Facebook. She has a wonderful website called Treegold & Beegold. We are also participating in the Pagan Blog Project 2012 together.

Velody recently had a giveaway on her blog for these amazing little match puzzle pieces, along with sharing the directions on how to make them. I won the prize and she notified me that they would arrive. Yesterday my package arrived and inside was a wonderful note from Velody. She apologized for the delay in shipping and included an amazing car window sticker of the Goddess with Child.

I immediately looked at hubby and said, we must put this on the car, he said now? I said YES NOW. She promptly went on the back of my little Mazda.

In a day when you have to fight to get anything and everything, the effort to provide excellent customer service is still alive and well at Treegold & Beegold. Velody is am amazing person and I adore her.

Velody has some other wonderful products on her etsy shop and you can find her on Facebook.

Here are a few examples of her other products... I just love the little witches!

Namasta & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Starting Over

April 23, 2012

Today hubby and I started back at the gym. Back in October I canceled my membership and started working out at home. Needless to say that did not work out well.

I've been noticing over the last few weeks my pants were getting a little snug and I was getting concerned. With my mother moving in and all the stress I figured I'd put on a few pounds.

I weighed today and I've put on more than a few pounds. My weight today was 181.2 I've gained 20lbs over the last 3 months. No wonder I feel like crap and my clothes are getting snug.

Today felt great, we did a circuit that hubby found by Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser. I can't believe how quickly I've fallen out of shape. I used to be able to go 45 minutes on the eliptical machine. Three minutes was kicking my tush today.

I've decided that my goal is to get back to below 160, maybe smaller we'll see... and start to feel better. I need to be ok with this situation. With my mother living here. With life in general. I've got to start being able to be comfy in my own skin. This is going to be my first day on this journey.

Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Confessions of a Modern Witch: Day of Silence - April 20th

April 19, 2012

Confessions of a Modern Witch: Day of Silence - April 20th: Tomorrow, April 20th is the Day of Silence . The Day of Silence is a day in which students across the country take a pledge not to speak i...

Day of Silence - April 20th

Tomorrow, April 20th is the Day of Silence. The Day of Silence is a day in which students across the country take a pledge not to speak in order to call attention to the silencing effect of the bullying of LGBT in school. It was founded in 1996 at the University of Virginia. Over 8,000 middle and high schools, universities and colleges participated.

My first experience with the Day of Silence was a bit of a eye opener for me. My daughter participated in the event at her high school when we lived in California. She attended Poway High School and was interviewed by the Gay and Lesbian Times as well as other media sources after her fellow student Chase Harper, decided to verbally attack the students taking part in the action. Harper subsequently sued the Poway Unified School District when he was asked to remove a shirt that had tape on it that read:

"I will not accept what God has condemned" and "Be ashamed, our school embraced what God has condemned." On the back of the shirts were handwritten: "Homosexuality is shameful, 'Romans 1:27.'"

My daughter arrived home that day in complete distress. She had adults on school grounds handing out booklets that told her that her mother was a bad person. No child should have to be made to feel ashamed and worthless over something that their parents are.

This is why I choose to be silent on the 20th of April. I'm posting this today to ask that if there are those out there that can take part. Please try to do so. Show the young people participating in this day that we support their right to do so.

I'm also taking part in the Pagan Blog Project 2012. Our letter for this week was H. I've decided for this week, I'm going to use the letter H for HUSH. So for tomorrow, this blog will be silent.

Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Confessions of a Modern Witch: H is for Hekate

April 13, 2012

Confessions of a Modern Witch: H is for Hekate: H is for Hekate Held high by Zeus, Hekate is the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, and necromancy. She is the child of Titane...

H is for Hekate

Held high by Zeus, Hekate is the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, and necromancy. She is the child of Titanes Perses and Asteria. Hekate is referred to as the key bearer in reference to her guardianship of the underworld. She is also considered to be a light bringer.

Hekate followers make their offerings of garlic and honey at the crossroads. This is a point where three roads meet. Known as a triple form goddess, Hekate is said to have rule over the heavens and the earth, including the sea and the underworld. She is the guardian of the underworld and through necromancy and ghost work, she uses her keys to guild souls through their journey there.

One of my favorite myths on Hekate is the story of Persephone. Persephone was kidnapped by Hades to be the Queen of the Underworld. As Demeter searched for Persephone she could not find her. On the 10^th day Hecate told Demeter that Persephone had been taken, but she did not know by who and recommended they ask the God of the Sun, Helius who took her. When she learned that Hades took her daughter and that Zeus was not aiding in her return Demeter walked the earth as a mortal forbidding the trees from bearing fruit. After a year of this Zeus agreed to get Persephone back from Hades. Zeus sent Hermes to collect Persephone, but he found that she had eaten pomegranate seeds, meaning she could not leave the underworld. Because of this every year Persephone must return to the underworld and spend at least four months as the Queen of the Underworld. The rest of the year she can live with Demeter. While Persephone is away, Demeter is sad and all the plants die, and upon her return in the spring, they return to life.

Hekate is the guardian of those moving from this world to another. Like Persephone, looking for someone to lead them to the underworld, Hekate lights her torches and uses her keys to assist in their passage.

Just five days after my dedication to the Goddess, I was presented with my own situation of guiding a soul from the living to the dead. My estranged mother came to live with me on Friday the 13^th following the full moon of my Devotee rites. Now I am tasked with assisting with her Stage IV Renal failure and numerous other health issues. Being only 60, she could have a long productive life, but her abuse of sugar and inability to take care of herself for some many years and made a short life probable. So here I sit, with a woman I do not know and do not care to know, needing to be taken care of, assisted with every aspect of her life, from doctor visits to bathing.

I can only believe that this is a journey presented to me by Hekate, and as she comforted Demeter and served as a guide for Persephone through the underworld so must I, guide this sad soul from this world to the next. I invoke her wisdom and guidance to assist me in making sure that no suffering occurs. I look for her torches to lead me to the correct path and to help in maintaining balance in all I do.

Namaste and Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(

Confessions of a Modern Witch: Pagan Blog Project 2012 - G2

April 6, 2012

Confessions of a Modern Witch: Pagan Blog Project 2012 - G2: G is for Gargoyle gar·goyle [gahr-goil] noun 1. a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal. 2. a spout, ...

Pagan Blog Project 2012 - G is for Gargoyle

G is for Gargoyle

gar·goyle [gahr-goil]

noun

1. a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal.
2. a spout, terminating in a grotesque representation of a human or animal figure with open mouth, projecting from the gutter of a building for throwing rain water clear of a building.

Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English gargoile Old French gargouille, gargoule literally, throat; see gargle

-dictionary.com

A piece of classic architecture, the Gargoyle was generally used a way to get water off the roof of a building. The French “gargouille” translates to English as throat also known as gullet. In other languages the word translates to words such as water spitter, water vomiter, protruding gutter and to gargle.

A French legend says that St Romanus, a bishop of Rouen saved a country from a monster called Gargouille. Gargouille was described as a fire breathing dragon. St. Romanus is said to have defeated the dragon with his crucifix and burned the remains. Its head would not burn so it was mounted on the church to scare off evil spirits.

Gargoyles are sometimes made of concrete or terracotta and can be found in places like The Temple of Zeus.

And Notre Dame de Paris

Aside from dragons, animals were also used as gargoyles. Romans, Greeks, Etruscans and Egyptians used several types. Dogs were seen as guardians, eagles for seeing far away, snakes for immortality, goats were linked with both Christ and Satan and the monkey was linked to sloth.

All over the web everyone seems to either love or fear gargoyles. I found this great video of statues by Larry Lo Presti. He has some amazing paper mache garoyles.