Dear Reader,
This offer is free of charge for the period of Moura. Emergency spiritual counseling is always free of charge. Because Moura is a season of introspection, purification, and effort to bring ourselves back into harmony with Déa, I offer my services to assist you in this process.
If you are interested, please contact me at cydira13(@)yahoo.com with the word 'confession' in your subject line.
Dear Reader,
I have been busy trying to finish up projects and such before the end of the week. I have pancakes for Moura Eve's dinner. I will not be partaking of them because of my diabetes, but it's a little bit of a treat I can give my family. I have been working on cleaning things up so that I will have an easier time doing my deep cleaning over the month of Moura in preparation for Spring.
Despite my cleaning and work, my home is still pretty much a mess. My schedule has been thrown into complete disarray this week because the kids are on break from school. My plans for Amity day got tanked because it was the day that we were out doing stuff. I feel like this presages the month of Moura being full of maddening things and life being a source of frustration because it will be getting in the way of my plans. If this week is any indication of the weeks to come, Moura is going to be challenging this year.
I am adapting FlyLady's zone cleaning methodology to how I am going to work on my home. The first week will have me focusing on the entryway and the kitchen (zones 1 & 2). The second week will have me focusing on the bathroom and bedrooms (zones 3 & 4). The third week will be focused on the living room and getting the kitchen completely settled (zone 5 & 2). The fourth week of the month is going to be my daily household cleaning and spent in meditation on Déa.
Dear Reader,
I completely forgot that the kids have winter break this week. So, my schedule is in complete disarray and my posts may be a bit random this week. I'll try to get good quality random content up for you. If I can find my notebook that I planned out my posts in ... One of the boys has taken to grabbing random notebooks to sketch out plans for giant robots. If I find a giant robot pic over my notes, I'll share the artwork because he has gotten quite good at drawing giant robots. But, goodness knows where my notebook has gone.
Dear Reader,
A new version of The Clear Recital is available. After spending the last half year working on updating and clarifying language, I can announce that The Clear Recital: Children of Déa Version is available for purchase. One may find there are some differences in the language here. It is more gender neutral to help the larger community of Independent Filianists to find comfort in the texts. I have also incorporated into the holy narrative of the Creation and the mythos of the Daughter elements that have been revealed to myself and others in the past few years through personal mystic experiences.
Some in the Orthodox Filianic community may have objection to the adjustments made to the holy texts. I would contend that these adjustments are proper and necessary to modernize the language for today's people. There are few major changes in the wisdom texts but those changes reflect that the modern household is not structured as the traditional Madrian household, which was the focus of those sections. I post at the final page the documents I consulted while working on this project. I was not able to include everything but the documents that can be purchased or accessed easily are listed.
Dear Reader,
Due to the fact that my schedule has been thrown into complete disarray, I haven't had time to make a video this week at all. And next week my kids are going to be on break from school. That's going to be pure chaos. Check back during the 4th Thursday of the month for my next video post.
♥
Dear Reader,
There's a lot of recipes for spell bottles and potions kicking around on the internet. Please take the time to seriously investigate what you're putting in there is safe. Different herbs can be deadly (i.e. Belladonna Atropos has earned it's name because it can kill you with a rather small dosage.) and different chemical combinations can be lethal as well (i.e. do not mix urine with bleach, you will get chlorine gas and can die).
When I am making my spell bottles and potions, I use materials that are safe to handle with bare hands. I research what the chemical and medicinal properties of the components I am using, because sometimes even inhaling a small amount of the particulates kicked up as you're grinding them in your mortar and pestle can have an effect on you. My go to book for information on the medicinal properties of herbs is a bit dated. It is M. Grieves's A Modern Herbal. I have the earlier, two volume edition. Either way, you get a lot of really good information on how to use the herbs listed in the book(s) safely and some indications of what they don't work with.
I also will check with my pharmacist before making any sort of thing that I ingest if the herb is safe for consumption. Part of your local pharmacist's education is alternative medicines. I had a book that listed the drug interactions for most of the popular herbs used but the book got borrowed and never came back. I can't even remember the title of it, but it was for the folks in the nursing program where I went to college.
Remember the argument that something is natural therefore its good for you is completely garbage. Hogweed is natural and cause horrific results just brushing up against it. Poison Ivy is natural but is the bane of almost everyone in my region except for the damn deer who eat it like candy. (I am exasperated with the deer population because it is so high that they're a menace. Why is it so high? Because we've pushed out and killed the natural predators that controlled the population. They're slowing being reintroduced but the deer still out number them in a big way.)
Be cautious about what you use in your spellwork, your potions, and consumables. Even your spice rack can be problematic. Fennel, for example, is great for encouraging milk production in lactating people but it will wreck havoc on you if you have gall bladder issues. (Found that one out the hard way, do not recommend -67/10.) If you have underlying health conditions that require you to take prescription medications, always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting some kind of herbal medical regime. Lots of herbs will interact with prescription medication and such because they are the original source for other prescription medications. Valerian, as another example, is a sedative that can cause the same issues as taking Benadryl (drowsiness, dizziness, and difficulty operating heavy machinery) and you don't want to take it along with other medications or herbs that do the same effects because it will amplify them. (Yes, friends, that herb can put you to sleep for good if you take too much of it, so be very careful with your home remedy sleep aids, please.)
If you want to make potions and such, do it from a position of informed safety. All knowledge is worth having. Especially if it allows you to keep your health.
Dear Reader,
This is by no means a comprehensive guide to the Air Elementals. Each tradition has their own associated directions and attributes for each Element. I aim to provide a gentle introduction to working with Air Elementals and an overview of what manner of things fall under their purview. This is a Wicca focused post because in my work with the Elementals, it is based in my training as a Wiccan priestess. Different faiths and traditions of magical practice have different modes of interaction with these spiritual beings.
Air Elementals have been known by many names. They have been associated with many different spiritual beings. Within the tradition that I was trained, the Air Elementals are slyphs. (The Wikipedia article that I have linked actually has a pretty good set of sources for this entry.) Slyphs look like the diminutive fairies of Victoriana artwork. They are winged and dressed in fanciful things such as cobweb gowns and dew drop jewelry. Slyphs hold reign over the action of Air.
They are typically benevolently inclined towards humanity, though their mischievous streak is legendary. The slyphs are a class of faery that is considered to be less powerful than other faeries1. This argument, however, fails to consider the fact that they are the Guardians of the Elemental Force of Air. They have the ability to influence weather and to influence intellect and communication (which are both considered in the Wiccan tradition I was trained in to be under the influence of Air). Most of the time. slyphs are insubstantial like the wind and their presence can only be felt by those who are psychically sensitive.
In the case of a ritual where one invokes the power of Air, slyphs will come to the circle and give counsel and advice. They will also act as guardians of holy spaces from spiritual beings that attempt to assail the person who is engaged in magical work. It is not entirely effective against physical beings. (Alexander Pope's famous poem The Rape of the Lock demonstrates this.) Though slyphs seem to be less than impressive, they have the capacity to wreck havoc when angered. Some of the activity attributed to poltergeists is actually the action of slyphs against people who have offended them (i.e. random items going missing and then reappearing in strange places, unexpected gusts of wind that cause mild chaos with one's plans, etc.).
To appease angered slyphs, the old practice of putting out milk, bread, and honey as an offering is highly effective. The use of this sort of offering to gain the good will of slyphs has a long standing history of success. Home made bread is a favorite but store bought works just as well. It is the intention that is important. The offering should be placed outdoors at a secluded spot where it can be consumed by nature. If it is not possible to place the offering outdoors in such a location, it should be left upon the altar for a period of 24 hours to allow the Elementals time to enjoy it and then disposed of in a ritual fashion. (I have a compost bin that I put such offerings into and then return them to the earth once they have broken down.)
Building alliances with slyphs is a good idea for someone who is working with academics or subject matter that requires a good deal of hard thought. It is also helpful for someone who is seeking to get good with weather magic. Through regular offerings and time spent communing with them via meditation and divination, one can build a strong relationship with the Air Elementals and be able to call upon them at any time for assistance, not just when in the ritual circle.
