Wednesday Ramblings.

Dear Reader,

I am in the process of finishing up projects right now. It is NaNoWriMo. This year, instead of starting a new project and trying to hit 50k words by the end of the month, my goal is to finish up books I have already started. I just finished the first draft of the rosary book (title is yet to be determined, but there have been some great suggestions). Also, I am working on a handbook for psychics. That's been a project in the works for about three years. I am about 10k words from finishing it. I hope to have that done within the next week.

I paused in writing poems and prayers for the updated version of Rose Petals to work on this stuff. If I can hit my goals before the thanksgiving break, I'll get back to that project. In the works on that one is a wider range of prayers, better organization of the prayers, and hopefully some songs that can be sung. I don't know how to write music, but I can sing to some extent. So, if I get to where I am writing songs, you will find I'm posting some youtube videos with my singing the lyrics I have written.

I'm going to try to base at least some of my lyrics on English, Irish, and American folk tunes. If I do accomplish that, I will note what folk song they are set to to make it easier to sing them. I got the idea from a Presbyterian Christian hymnal that had songs written based on other hymns in the book and at least one based on a folk song.

Exciting News!

Dear Reader,

I have been working on a book about the rosary for the last month. I just finished the first draft. I could use your help. I am at a loss for a title. Please, post your suggestions in the comments!

Dea bless.

Adoration of the Dark Mother.

Dear Reader,

Much has been written about adoration of the Bright Mother and her Daughter. The Dark Mother is equally worthy of adoration. Perhaps Deam Mysterium is not written about because she is mysterious and hard to describe. Perhaps the Absolute Deity is too intimidating to approach because of how vast she is. When one is in the ocean, one is surrounded by the ocean. This can be terrifying. And yet, the ocean remains surrounding the person regardless if they close their eyes to it or not.

It is not unnatural to be uneasy with that which surpasses us. It is a survival trait that has served humanity and the rest of life upon this planet quite well, hence why we still live. At the same time, as thinking beings, we have the capacity to transcend that discomfort and engage with the overwhelming things that surround us. If we did not, humanity would never have built boats to sail upon the ocean with, aircraft to soar the skies, or spacecraft to explore the stars.

Such daring can be brought to our love of Dea. Though the Dark Mother is the light that blinds us, we can still love in our blindness. A child within the womb is blind but surrounded by their mother's love regardless of the blindness. We can adore Deam Mysterium with the pure simplicity of a child's love. Through that love which the Dark Mother gives us in return, she is the darkness that reveals mysteries.

In all things, let us love Dea as she loves us. Unconditionally and simply.

Godspousery notes: Why aren't you writing...?

Dear Reader,

I was struggling with chores when Freyr popped up and asked me why I wasn't writing. I was about to say something about how I didn't have time. That was when he pointedly looked at the pile of dishes and said "They're not going anywhere. I'll make sure they don't escape you." I wasn't sure if I was going to laugh or be exasperated. When Freyr does deadpan, it's hard to tell. He's really good at it.

Godspousery Notes: Stop taking it so seriously.

Dear Reader,

I was having a crisis of confidence in my writing last week. I was working hard, I was being serious about it. And suddenly my play list changed. A nordic drinking song came on and completely derailed my train of thought. The message was clear, stop thinking so hard about everything. And get a drink.

Video Post. 17: Support your local witchy author

I have no transcript for the above video because it took me three tries to come up with content. It's not one of my best videos. I'd have maybe given it one more try except for the fact that one of the kids is home making tons of noise now. Because 'YAY! IT'S FRIDAY!'

That said, I posted an update on how the rosary book is coming. I'm half through my outline but I am not going to say that I am half through my text because I'm honestly not sure how long this will be. I am confident that it will be a novella length work, but it might be a novelette length.

I have works available for purchase through Lulu.com. The paperback books are of standard quality. The proof copies that I have are proving pretty sturdy and I go through them on a daily basis. The ebooks are Epub format on Lulu. I'm having technical difficulties getting them distributed through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other outlets because Lulu and those companies are having some kind of technical glitch they are working out. (I suspect this is somehow related to the CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing merger, but it is possible I'm quite wrong.)

If you enjoy my work and my blog, please support me. You can do so by recommending my works to your associates and friends, or anyone you think might be interested. You can purchase my books. I am also making my books available via PDF for a donation. The way this will work is that you contact me at cydira13@yahoo.com and inform me which text you are looking for. Then you make a donation. Once the donation is processed through paypal (see the link on the sidebar for where you can donate), I will send you the PDF.

If you just want to donate, that would be exceptional. Any amount helps. It funds the process of producing these books, maintaining the altar that I keep for the gods, candles and other supplies required for ritual prayers on people's behalf, and magical supplies.

I do have a spell casting service and a spell writing service. (See the services offered page.) I also offer tarot readings, rune readings, and spiritual advice. All of this can be funded through paypal.

Tamala/Samhain

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger from Pexels

Dear Reader,

Please forgive my lack of posts over the last few days. I have been sick with a cold. I seem to be on the mend, thank the good gods for that. I'm going to make something of a personal post here about this holiday. Samhain (pronounces sow-en) has always been a special time of year for me. Partly because I love how it is one of the few pagan holidays embraced by the over culture (albeit in a very shallow and materialistic way). Partly because I find it easier to spend time with my beloved dead.

I keep a shrine for the dead and give them daily offerings (when life isn't too hectic and I remember). I talk with them regularly. It's like sitting down with them over a cup of coffee and just keeping them up to date about what is going on in my life. I treat them, in many ways, as though they are still alive and with me. Because, death is but stepping through a doorway into another room that we can not follow through in life.

In the last few years, the secular aspect of this holiday has begun to grate on my nerves. Perhaps it is because the weather's been poor and the kids didn't get to go trick-or-treating. (With young children, that equals a meltdown of epic proportions after a day of school getting them hyped up for the hunt for treats.) Perhaps it is because I want to do more formal observances but it is hard because I have young children. In either case, I've been feeling less joy and more curmudgeonly annoyance with it all.

As people around me focus on the 'spooky' elements, I get annoyed. Skeletons are cool and all, but the likelihood of them rising up from the grave is pretty small. Dragur are spiritual beings, not physical. The images of blood sucking vampires are laughable in their grotesqueness. But they don't mention anything about the fact that there are spiritual beings that are about this time of year that are pretty nasty. Some of the stories about how Samhain is the 'devil's night' hold a little bit of truth to them.

Haunted locations become more active. The spirit-bothered people get to deal with even more clamoring for attention. Strange things happen this time of year just because the energies are running weird compared to the off season. But, people get so focused on gorge themselves with candy and throw wild parties that they forget that randomly playing with magic is a bad idea. Those stories about the person who played with a ouija board and wound up with the thing getting haunted, at least 80% of them took place around Samhain. Because the veil between the physical and the spiritual world is thinner and pretty much anyone can move between them regardless of aptitude for such magic.

This is how people get spirited off by the fair folk. I'm absolutely sure that some of the missing people are off in another realm because they got lost. And their bodies, inhabited by changelings who wanted to see what human life was all about. So they're off living another life with out little if any recollection of their life before because they've been taken over by a spiritual being. I may get looked at as weird for this belief. I've seen enough weird stuff, however, this belief actually looks kinda logical.

♥