October 27, 2004--Happy Lunar Eclipse and Merry Samhain (early)! The past few weeks have been spent hunched over the sewing machine so I could finish the costume I wore to Ren Faire this past weekend (October 23). You can see the results of my costume to the right, though I promised K'Tok that I wouldn't post pics of him without permission. He's shy. *grin* Actually, though, I haven't finished touching up the pics taken of us together, and I wanted to get this post up first. Most of the time was actually spent sewing on his costume. It only took me two years or so, but I finally finished up his costume by completing his sleeves around 11 am on Friday...about 4 hours before we left. I honestly was beginning to think I'd be bringing my sewing machine with me to complete everything at the hotel!

We had a great time, even though the clam chowder I had the night before with dinner left my stomach quite unsettled throughout the day. Could have been worse, I'm sure. Nothing was going to stop a good Faire day. It was cool and overcast, but it didn't rain while we were there. By the end of the day I was beginning to wish I hadn't left my cloak in the car, but at the same time I had too much fun getting compliments on my costume. Yes, I will be wearing it again on Samhain!

So anyway, tonight there's a Lunar Eclipse visible to the majority of the United States for the whole event, as well as to all of South America, and a significant portion of western Europe. More information can be found at this link.

Eclipses tend to shake things up and can be unsettling, but they also do so to make the big picture more clear. This is a good time to form your rituals around the idea of "clearing the clutter" if you are still trying to come up with something to do tonight. More information can be found at this link.

Doing such a theme for your ritual can also be given more emphasis because it's just about Samhain as well. As Samhain is the New Year for us, what better time to make our New Year's Resolutions to actively streamline our lives and actually get organized for a change?

But, don't forget about your loved ones who may have passed on. I've loved holding Silent Suppers to honor the dear departed. We're planning on making our traditional pork pie for dinner. Beyond that, we have no plans made yet. Then again, I've enjoyed just winging my rituals lately instead of planning or scripting them out.

I love this time of year...the leaves are changing beautifully, the air is crisp, and the best foods are more readily available again. Pomegranates, apple cider, roasted pumpkin seeds, cinnamon and spice anything...I just wish winter wouldn't be upon us so fast!

October 3, 2004--Recommended Reading I recently got a copy of A Voice in the Forest: Spirit Conversations with Alex Sanders by Jimahl di Fiosa and have been itching to read it for a while now. Due to work and other things, I haven't had the chance to really sit down and enjoy a book for the past month or so. But last week I caught a cold, and with nothing else to do, I finally had the time to sit down and read.

I began the book last night while waiting for the Nyquil to kick in. "Just one chapter," I kept telling myself. Four chapters later (I'm a fast reader) I finally had to put the book down and succumb to some much-needed sleep. That didn't stop me, though. As soon as I had the chance today, I sat down with it again, and only got up once (bathroom break!) before the book was done.

Mind you, yes, my first exposure to Wicca was Stewart Farrar's What Witches Do, so I have a little bias towards the Alexandrian tradition. Not that I've ever had the chance to practice with an Alexandrian coven, it was just my first impression. And obviously I'm still Wiccan, so what a powerful first impression it was! So hearing about A Voice in the Forest piqued my interest: it's about the true story of members of a coven (that was a direct descendant to Alex Sanders) who contacted Alex's spirit while camping. They continued to converse with Alex, and they documented what happened. Jimahl, the author, was the medium for the sessions, and wrote the book from his experiences and the careful notes taken by others participating.

I've always been a skeptic when it comes to channeling the spirits. Something about this book, however, makes even a believer out of me. If anything, the messages that Alex tells them strike an important note: TOGETHERNESS, BE STRONG NEVER STOP, HAVE FAITH.

I do recommend this book...it has re-kindled my desire to be there for the Goddess as She is there for me.