I have A New "Thing"

Ok, I must confess this to you all: I'm addicted to iTunes & CD Baby. In the past few months, I have accumulated over 300 Pagan songs, chants, etc to listen on my iPod. I have music ranging from Kellianna to Moonstruck, Blackmore's Night to Alicia Bonnet and then some. I find these to be particularly uplifting, esp. recently as my mother was going through a quadruple bypass and I needed something to listen to, to keep me sane in the hospital waiting room. So, if you get a chance to, check out iTunes for these artists. Another artist I have been listening to is Heather Alexander, she's mostly a balladeer, a minstrel. I found her through my good friend, Cliff. who turned me onto her music. Her songs are quoted in The Change series by SM Stirling, another science fiction series that is heavily influenced by Paganism.

I've also been keeping busy catching up on blogs that I haven't read in a long time. Boy, there was a lot I missed about blogging. There are a lot of giveaways on some. I'm still thinking about doing a giveaway on here, I just have to find the perfect thing to giveaway. Does anyone out there have any helpful suggestions??

I will be heading back into the wilds of north-central Nova Scotia very soon to partake in a "Nature by Night" activity that Cliff is hosting at his homestead. We will be journeying through the wilderness at night, using red flashlights (so the light doesn't disturb the critters) to see flying squirrels, deer, bats, etc. then ending up spending the night in a cabin. There will be a group of us gallivanting about in the woods. Hoping that the Horned God doesn't mind us in his turf, maybe some of the earth spirits will help us on the way. I feel such a connection to the land since I was last at Twa Corbies Hollow. I have a better sense of the city spirits that dwell near my apt. Unlike their country counterparts, they are a lot more difficult to make a connection to, as they seem to be wary. To find some gentler spirits, I have been going to a park in my city that is surrounded on 3 sides by water, with a sparse wooded area. I go to a little nook I love to visit and meditate, taking in what is all around me.

The Mourning Moon

November was the ninth month in the oldest Roman calendar. In the Celtic tradition this was the beginning of a new year. The Celtic year ended on the eve before Samhain and began again on the day after. They considered it a Moon month of beginnings and endings and many still do.

The goddess Hecate had many celebrations though out the year. November 16 was known as the Night of Hecate, the Three -formed. Hecate is part of the most ancient form of the triple Moon goddess as Crone or Dark Moon: Artemis was the Crescent Moon and Selene the Full moon. Most of Hecate's worship, and especially on this night, was performed in a three way crossroad at night. Food was left there as an offering to her. She was known to rule the passages of life and transformation, birth and death. Her animals were the toad, the owl, the dog and the bat.

Correspondences

Moon Names: Snow Moon, Dark Moon, Fog Moon, Beaver Moon, Mourning Moon, Blotmonath (Sacrifice Month), Herbistmonoth (Harvest Month), Mad Moon, Moon of Storms, Moon When Deer Shed Antlers.

Nature Spirits: subterranean faeries

Herbs: grains of paradise, verbena, betony, borage, cinquefoil, blessed thistle

Colours: gray, sea-green

Flowers: blooming cacti, chrysanthemum

Scents: cedar, cherry blossoms, hyacinth, narcissus, peppermint, lemon

Stones: topaz, hyacinth, lapis lazuli

Trees: alder, cypress

Animals: unicorn, scorpion, crocodile, jackal

Birds: owl, goose, sparrow

Deities: Kali, Black Isis, Nicnevin, Hecate, Bast Osiris, Sarasvati, Lakshme, Skadi, Mawu

Power Flow: Take root, prepare. Transformation. Strengthen communication with the god or goddess who seems closest to you.

According to the Old Farmers' Almanac, the full moon in November is the Full Beaver Moon. This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

Happy November!!!

Happy November to you all!! I hoped that all you Samhain festivities were awesome. I know that here in my house it was. I'm a little exhausted with the trick or treating we did last night, my Samhain ritual and the time change.

November in my house is a time to rest after a busy last 2 months with Mabon & Samhain. This is when I take down all the decorations, tidy up and prepare for the upcoming Yule season. It is also the time when, here in Canada, we remember our fallen heroes on the 11th.

November is also when I start my holiday baking. This year, I'll be making my favorite shortbread recipe, which I may post on here...not sure, it's my "secret" family recipe, I'll be making my mom's chocolate chip cookies, chocolate macaroon cookies, molasses cookies, etc. I also pull out the slow cooker to make boiled dinners, a family tradition in my house since I was a kid. I usually make chicken stews, beef stews, corned beef & cabbage. I may even be making my homemade chilli. Comfort food to warm up our bones when the temperature drops.

As much as most of you out there hate this...snow will soon be falling. I, personally, love the snow in winter. From the howling of a Nor'easter to the gentle falling of snow at night time, I love it!! To see the snow on the branches first thing in the morning is a sight to behold.

Wanna know what else I love about this month?? The Twilight Saga: New Moon is out on the 20th!! Yes, I love me some Edward Cullen. I have 3 weeks to wait til I get to see this movie. I've been following it on other blogs since they started filming it back in March. You can say I'm a little obsessed.

So, this ends my into to November. May you all be rested up this month for the soon-to-be-here Solstice/Yule/Christmas season. Remember, it's only 51 days 'til Solstice.

)O( Blessed Be,
Rowan

Samhain Correspondences

Symbolism: Third Harvest, wisdom of the Crone, death of the God, reflection on our place in the Wheel of the Year, New Year, reincarnation, the dark mysteries, Rebirth after Death.

Foods: turnips, apples, nuts, beef, pork, poultry, gingerbread.

Drinks: Mead, apple cider, mulled cider, mulled wines.

Herbs: Angelica, burdock, catnip, pennyroyal, rosemary, rue, sunflower, sage, thyme, wild ginseng, tarragon, mugwort.

Flowers: Calendula, chrysanthemum, cosmos, marigold.

Trees: Acacia, apple, cypress, hazel, hemlock, yew.

Incenses and oils: Bay, cedar, clove, copal, coriander, cypress, eucalyptus, frankincense, heather, mugwort, myrrh, patchouli, peppermint, sage, sandalwood, vetiver, wormwood.

Colors: Black, brown, orange.

Stones: Amber, beryl, bloodstone, carnelian, clear quartz, diamond, garnet, gold, granite, hematite, jasper, jet, marble, obsidian, opal, pyrite, rose sapphire, ruby, sandstone, smoky quartz, steel, tourmaline, turquoise.

Animals: Stag, jackal, cat, bat, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin.

Mythical creatures: Goblins, harpies.

Some appropriate Gods: all Death, Underworld, and aged Gods; Am-Heh (Egyptian), Anubis (Egyptian), Arawn (Welsh), Cernunnos (Celtic), Dis (Roman), Hades (Greek), Heimdahl (Norse), Herne (English), The Horned God (European), Kronos (Greek), Loki (Norse), Nefertum (Egyptian), Odin (Norse), Osiris (Egyptian), Pluto (Greco-Roman)

Some appropriate Goddesses: all Crone and Underworld Goddesses; Arachne (Greek), Aradia (Italian), Babd (Irish), Cerridwen (Welsh), Elli (Teutonic), Ereshkigal (Assyro-Babylonian), Eris (Greek), The Fates/Moerae (Greek), Fortuna (Roman), Freya/Frigg (Norse), Hecate (Greek), Hel (Teutonic), Inanna (Sumerian), Ishtar (Babylonian), Macha (Irish), Mari (Basque), Morrigan (Celtic), Nephthys (Egyptian), Nicneven (Scottish), Persephone (Greek), Psyche (Greek), Proserpina (Roman), Rhiannon (Welsh)

Decorations: Autumn leaves, fall flowers, pomegranates, apples, pumpkins, ears of corn, sprays of grain, corn dollies, gourds, nuts, seeds.

Traditional activities: divination, drying winter herbs, feasting and partying to defy the coming darkness (bob for apples, roast nuts, pop popcorn), Witches' Ball.

Spell/ritual work: astral projection, past life recall, Dark Moon mysteries, mirror spells, scrying, protection, inner work, clearing obstacles, transition, culmination, transformation. Releasing bad habits and toxic relationships, illness, failure and poverty; everything you do not want to carry into the new year.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!!

Well, it's another Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. The autumn chill is in full swing, the leaves are changing into their autumn looks, shades of reds, oranges and golds are everywhere. Looking in the grocery stores are all the gourds, fall vegetables and turkeys for sale. Bakeries are baking & selling pumpkin pies, apple pies, all sorts of fall treats.

This year, however, I will not be taking part in the whole Turkey-day festivities. Why, you ask?? Well, for a few reasons. It's my son's weekend to spend with his father, so the idea of me cooking a Thanksgiving dinner is a little pointless when it's just me home alone with 2 cats. I also had to work this weekend, so I couldn't go home to my family's for dinner (I don't even think Mom's cooking anything special) and I have a bunch of housework to keep me busy for the long weekend (laundry, dishes, changing the litter box, garbage, etc).

I do like this holiday, not just because I get a paid day off from work, either. I love being with my family & friends back at home. I love my mom's roast turkey dinner, that I help cook with her. It's just us 2 in the kitchen, bonding over boiling carrots & potatoes. Since I don't like pumpkin pie (hearing gasps from all you readers), Mom usually makes me my favourite pie, lemon meringue. I will be taking Mark home next weekend where we'll have a belated Thanksgiving dinner. I will also be taking him to a corn maze, where we can pick a pumpkin for Samhain, go on a hayride and play in those bouncy castes thingies. It will be a lot of fun. We'll also go walking through the park, look at the waterfalls, hike through the trails in the woods and then go play in the playground.

I am looking forward to next weekend, my Thanksgiving with my family, eating the wonderful food, sharing laughs across the dinner table and being thankful for all that we have in this life. The Gods have blessed us with many things and even though this is a secular holiday, based on our Harvest Sabbats, giving thanks is always appreciated.

Blessed Be )O(