God Always Has Something For You
God/Goddess
Full Strawberry Moon In Sagittarius
Tonight is the Full Strawberry Moon. It is called that because of the abundance of strawberries around this time of year. If you have a lover or a love interest give them roses, as this Moon is also known as the Rose or the Love Moon. It is the perfect time to patch up relationships, get married, or find a new love. The June Moon is also known as the Honey Moon because it has a slight amber tint to it and it is also a time when bees are at their most active. This is where we get the term ‘Honeymoon’ from.
Tonight the Full Moon falls on the Summer Solstice. This is a very rare event and will probably only happen once in a lifetime. The Sun is at its strongest point today and combined with the energy from the Full Moon will make this a potent time filled with strong energy that can propel us in a new and exciting direction.
The Full Moon is in the sign of Sagittarius, which is the sign of truth. Things that were in the dark will start to come to light, new truths will be revealed. We can look at our lives with more clarity now that the veil will is lifted. We must also look within ourselves and find our own inner truths. You may experience some restless nights and wild and vivid dreams.
Don’t be scared to dream and want for more on this Full Moon. Sagittarius is brave and bold and will give us a boost of courage and ambition. You may feel unstoppable and have renewed energy. Use this energy to make plans for the future. Be daring and move out of your comfort zone a little, try new things. Only by doing this can we learn and grow.
This Full Moon will have our emotions on high alert, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. We may be feeling a little fragile at the moment, so be kind and gentle with yourself, don’t be too self-critical, try to stay positive, and think about all the good in your life rather than the bad. There may be emotional desire to pack up and go off on an adventure or to visit places that bring up sweet memories. It gives us an opportunity to grow in so many ways and have an epic summer.
The earth is full of energy and life now, use these energies to inspire you, be creative and go out into nature for long walks. See the beauty all around you and embrace all life has to offer. Let the Sagittarius fires cleanse, heal, and energize you.
You are getting a huge blast of positive energy from the Cosmos. Solstices are power days. This is one of the most powerful days of the year. You can feel the shift in your being. The light of the heavens is pouring down on you. Use the light of this Full Moon to find your way home.
Have a blessed Solstice and Full Moon & may the Goddess watch over you.
Written & photo credit goes to Wicca Teachings.
Edited by Lisa Marino.
Beltane Blessings
Beltane blessings to all.
Beltane is a major Pagan festival called a Sabbat. It is the union of the God and Goddess.
The word Beltane means “Bright Fire”. It is named after the God Bel, an ancient Celtic God. It is a fire festival and it is traditional to build a fire on Beltane night to honor the Sun Gods.
Beltane is a fertility festival. This is the time when the God and Goddess come together, it is the height of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth’s energy is very strong and potent at the minute with new life everywhere. Beltane is the start of the farming calendar.
Fire is believed to have purifying qualities, it cleansed and rejuvenated both the land and the people. The ritual welcoming of the sun and the lighting of the fires was also believed to ensure fertility of the land and the people. Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield.
In Celtic times it would be traditional to build a big bonfire in the center of the village and have a big feast. Young men and women would dance around the maypole, while many people would marry in a hand-fasting (Pagan wedding). People wishing to find love or conceive would jump over a Belfire for luck in love and fertility
On Beltane we celebrate the abundance of the earth. It is a happy time when we give thanks for all we have in our lives and look forward to the bright, sunny days ahead. We celebrate the coming together of the God and the Goddess and the gifts they will bestow upon the earth.
May you have a happy and joyous Beltane.
Written & photo credit goes to Wicca Teachings.
Edited by Lisa Marino.
Blessed Imbolc
Today is Imbolc, pronounced ‘im’olk. This is the first of 8 Pagan holidays throughout the year called Sabbats. Imbolc is a time to acknowledge the “First Spark” of embedded energies that have been sleeping over the winter. The seeds that are underground acknowledge the returning energy and will begin to convert it to life deep within. Underground and unseen by man they will start to make their way to the surface and break through the soil and begin to bud. Even though it is still the dead of winter and feels like winter in most places, the Sun’s energy has been returning ever since the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year, Yule).
On Imbolc we celebrate the first days of Spring. Snowdrops and crocuses begin to appear, things become very spring-like with daffodils and hyacinths coming early. Animals begin to wake from their winter hibernation. Nights get shorter and days will get longer, and it will start to get warmer as winter snow and frost begin to thaw.
We celebrate the rebirth of the Goddess on Imbolc after she sacrificed herself on Yule to give birth to the Sun God. Both the God and Goddess are young, the triple Goddess is in her maiden form and gains strength from the earth, while the Sun God will grow in strength over the coming months.
Imbolc is a Celtic fire festival, where in ancient times most towns and villages would build a ceremonial bonfire. The Goddess Brigid, the Goddess of fire, healing, and fertility is worshiped on this day. The lighting of fires celebrated the increasing power of the Sun. The Goddess Brigid was so loved by the Celts that when the Christians were converting Pagans, they could not change the holiday of Imbolc, so the holiday was reformed and renamed ‘Candlemas’, when candles are lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary, and they changed the Goddess Brigid to Saint Brigid.
Imbolc indicates the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. To celebrate Imbolc, light a fire, it may only be a small one, and make wishes for the coming year into the flames. Burn any leftover evergreens that were decorating your home at Yule. Clean your homes of clutter that gathered over Yule, and get rid of the old and bring in the new. Plant seeds for them to bloom in the Spring and Summer. Use a sage smudge stick to cleanse your home of stale and/or unwanted negative energies.
It was customary to make a Brigid Cross or Sun Cross on Imbolc, this is a cross woven traditionally from reeds, but can be made with anything such as wheat, straw, or paper and put them around your home to bring luck and protection for the coming year. Fill your alter with lit candles and leave them to carefully burn through the day. Add any blooming flowers such as daffodils or daisies and anything yellow, orange, gold, or silver to honor the Sun God.
Imbolc is a time of contemplation, to think about the year that has past and the mistakes or successes we have had and what we have learned from them to help us achieve our goals, dreams and ambitions for the coming year. As well as planting seeds to grow in the earth also plant seeds and ideas in your mind to grow and blossom over the coming months.
Have a blessed Imbolc. May the God and Goddess watch over you.
Written credit: Wicca Teachings
Photo Credit: Various
Edited by Lisa Marino
Samhain Blessings
Today is Samhain. It is one of the most important of the 8 Sabbats, as it is the Pagan New Year.
The wheel of the year has turned full circle and a new year begins. The word Samhain means Suns’ End. It is pronounced Sow’in.
Samhain is the third of the harvest festivals, only this isn’t a harvest of crops or grain, it is the harvest of flesh. It was the time of year when farmers and families would slaughter cattle and preserve the meat to last through the cold winter months.
Samhain is a festival of death as it is the death of the year and of the waxing Sun. It is also the death of the earth when plants, seeds, and acorns are now slowly descending underground to ready themselves to be reborn in Spring. Animals will start to hibernate, and the earth will appear barren as it sleeps through the winter months.
Earth’s energies are being pulled inwards at this time. This is the time we should also be looking inwards at ourselves. Contemplate the year we have had and what lessons we have learned, whether they were good or bad, and contemplate what we can take from them and use in the future.
The God of the waxing Sun descends into the underworld opening up the veil between the two worlds of the living and the dead. At Samhain spirits can commune with the living and visit us. We remember our ancestors, people, and pets who have died. We honor them by placing pictures of them on our altars and invite them to join us. We should also adorn our altars with seasonal fare such as fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, nuts, turnips, and pumpkins and offer these as gifts to the Triple Goddess who is now in her crone phase, she is the wise dark mother of knowledge and days past.
Although a time of death, Samhain is also a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. It is a time of ‘out with the old, in with the new’. It is a good time to start looking forward to our future.
On Samhain we should light a fire, as this is primarily a Celtic fire festival where the villagers and townsfolk would light giant bonfires to say goodbye to the God of the waxing Sun and to thank the Goddess for her harvest of gifts bestowed upon the earth. There would be big feasts with stews, corn, and breads and we would give thanks for people in our lives and show gratitude for all that we have, and give thanks to the people who are no longer with us and invite them to join us at the feast.
Light a candle tonight and put it in a window facing West to light the way for our lost loved ones and invite their spirits to visit us.
Today is a great time for divination, for doing Tarot reading and looking to the future and asking ourselves how we can improve our lives and move forward for the coming year.
Have a Blessed Samhain and may the God and Goddess watch over you.
Full written credit goes to Wicca Teachings.
Edited for cohesiveness by Lisa Marino.
Autumnal Equinox
Today is the Autumnal Equinox when night and day are exactly at equal length. It is also one of the eight Pagan Sabbats, Mabon.
Mabon is mainly a harvest festival, it is the last harvest before winter comes. In old times it would be a time to start stocking up on fruit, wheat, corn, and grain for the winter months ahead.
This is a time of transformation. The great wheel has turned as we pass into a new season and say goodbye to Summer. The earth is going through a major shift, where darkness will now start to take over light as the nights get longer and days get shorter. Cold will start to take over warmth and death will start to take over life as plants wilt and trees start to lose their leaves, and fields become barren. Wild animals will start to gather food for the winter months and hibernate.
Mabon is a time of thanksgiving. We thank the God and Goddess for all that we have and thank them for the harvest. The sap of trees returns to their roots deep in the earth, changing the green of summer to the fire of autumn, to the flaming reds, oranges, and golds. We are returning to the dark from whence we came.
The Goddess is radiant as Harvest Queen and the God finally dies with his gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain. He will descend into the underworld, his last day on earth will be Samhain when a gate will open between our world and the underworld. We enjoy the abundance of fruit and vegetables at this time. We should adorn our altars with pumpkins, nuts, corn, wheat, squash, fruits, and other seasonal fair and any falling leaves or acorns we may find to honor the season and to thank the waning Sun for the wealth of harvest bestowed upon us.
Mabon is also a transition for the Triple Goddess as she goes from her mother phase to her crone phase, her final phase from her journey of the year.
The Autumnal Equinox is a time of balance, of both light and dark, it is a time to look within ourselves and balance our thoughts and emotions, and to find balance in our lives. To embrace our dark and our light equally, as one cannot exist without the other. It is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing.
Full written credit goes to Wicca Teachings. Full editing credit goes to Lisa Marino.
Photo credit: Various.
Critters
I love Cat and Kitten, but sometimes, I have no energy for their antics. Okay, most days I don’t have the energy, but I digress.
This morning, the antics began early, and I had about as much patience for it as I do for a KKK rally. I decided to put a little food in their bowls to try to entice them away from my general direction so I could lock them out of my bedroom in the hopes that I’d be able to get a few more hours of sleep. It was an epic fail.
I came back to discover that Cat was sound asleep in my bed and it was Kitten making all the noise, running around like there were ten of her. I can’t decide if she has too much energy or if we feed her too much. 😛 She zipped past me after I’d already put food in both bowls, and tried hiding under the bed. There is no sense in trying to pull a spry cat out from underneath a bed, no matter what time of day it is. I already have two healing scratches and I don’t need fresh ones.
My brain was foggy with sleep, so at the time, I couldn’t tell who was who and I didn’t care, so long as the behavior stopped. I got back into bed and thought I saw Cat at the foot of the bed. I put out a hand and immediately knew who it was by texture. She feels like silk. That’s when I thought “What a little shit!” Thirty seconds later, she was opening the door and flying down the stairs like a monkey on crack. The insane behavior didn’t stop until well after I was awake. She tormented me until I fed her two hours in advance, as if she’s ever starved a day in her life with me. It’s a little scary how ravenous she is, but I suppose many cats (and dogs) are hungry when they’re on a schedule. They probably have internal timers we are completely unaware of. They don’t greet us at the door out of love, they greet us at the door because we control the food. If they had thumbs, we’d be obsolete. They’d start adopting themselves. I’m pretty sure there are animals who could bag my groceries better than most humans, but that’s a story for another day (I mean really: Who the hell puts two huge cans of crushed tomatoes on top of a loaf of bread?! Think about that for a second before answering.).
On the plus side, I love it when they’re sweet, sleepy, affectionate, and cuddly. While I was working yesterday afternoon Kitten walked over to Cat, who was sleeping, and proceeded to kiss her head. Affection ensued. Then, they wrapped their paws around each other and snuggled to sleep. This went on for three hours before they got nasty with each other and one of them took off, but it was nice to see because as they get older, there will be more fighting, as opposed to play-fighting, and less affection. That’s how it is with female cats, even if they’re litter-mates or siblings. I’ve seen it before, I’ve lived it, and I am not anticipating miracles here. Coexistence, but not miracles.
Cat and Kitten are many things, but they’re not mean, selfish assholes. I thank God/Goddess every day that they’re not people-people, because then I’d probably find them rude and/or annoying. Thankfully, animals bring unconditional love with them. They’ll spend time with you if you’re sick or sad, they’ll check in on you, bring you toys (Maybe that’s just my two?), and give you kisses. They don’t care what you look like because they don’t have human vision. They don’t care if you have perfume or cologne on (Cat and Kitten both smell like spicy maple syrup. I have no idea how this is achieved.), so long as your skin smells like Mommy/Daddy and is consistently familiar. There is no superficiality to the life of critters. These two could care less if I have a full face of makeup on or if I’m in my PJ’s, they still love me. I swear, it’s the food thing. LOL. In all seriousness, I find comfort in that. I can be myself without fear of persecution or demands I cannot meet. In this selfie obsessed world, they are two of the reasons I am alive. I could not be more grateful.
copyright © 2015 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Have You Ever Had A Day…
Have You Ever Had A Day…
We’ve all had days where we’d like to call into work or life “dead”. For me, today is one of those days. I’ve reached a breaking point. It started yesterday, when I had to walk away from a very serious look at suicide. No, I am not seeking attention with my honesty, I am simply being forthcoming. Why do so many things have to go wrong all at once? Why does every single thing in life revolve around money?
Money equates security, and it also equates greed, depending on how you look at it. Some people are so greedy for “stuff” that they never realize they could be helping someone in need. It doesn’t even occur to them. No matter how bad things get in my life, I always look at where I came from and if a small donation to charity will make a difference, then I will do it. If helping someone with a problem, or simply being a good person is what is needed of me on any given day, then I don’t even think about it, I just do it.
For me, money is about security. It’s about making sure the bills are paid, there is a roof over my head, and food on the table. It’s also about providing for my overall health. Yes, I like nice things, what woman doesn’t, but if it comes down to buying something shiny and buying food, I am going to choose food. If it comes down to paying my bills or buying something fancy, I am going to pay my bills. In this, I feel like my priorities are in check. Someone suggested to me that during my struggles, I get rid of my cat. I was LIVID. I would rather STARVE than surrender a precious little life that trusts and loves me into the hands of a shelter. Who else will cheer me up with her insane antics and ankle biting?!
Some days though, I simply don’t know how I survive, or why. These past two years have been a terrible struggle for me with my health, with family, and life in general. When you’re suffering, finances dwindle pretty quickly. As my health worsens, I am faced with the very real possibility of being homeless, of requiring a pain pump to help manage the Fibromyalgia, and possibly a wheelchair. I assure you that I am far too young for the last two, and yet, these are all very real possibilities. Moreover, they’re terrifying.
If you believe in a Higher Power, today I ask that you say a little prayer for anyone and everyone suffering and struggling. I will do the same. I believe strongly in the power of prayer, and I also believe that sometimes the best things comes out of the absolute worst things.
Today I find myself desperate, humbled, and scared for so many reasons. I have nothing left, but to believe that God has answers, and that they will soon show themselves in unexpected ways.
copyright © 2014 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Written by LISA MARINO-Molchanova 