Memoirs of a Voodoo Beach Bunny

As I am already reading for 2012, why not? I'm still thinking about my 'level' of choice because some of the books on my reading list are pretty hefty in both size and depth of subject matter. On the other hand, I do tend to have 2-5 books on the go at the same time, so, over the course of a year, I could possibly read more than 10 books. I think I'll choose later, but aim for the higher levels of High Priestess-Goddess. I also hope to post reviews of the books I've read as I go along through the year.


My list:

1. Viridarium Umbris: The Pleasure-Garden of Shadow by Daniel A. Schulke (Grimoire)
Status: In progress
( Publishers description. )

2. Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker (fiction, Kindle edition)
Status: Read
( Amazon description. )

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To be a witch is predominantly a thing of body. To walk the witch's path is to follow the path of Blood and Bone.

There is, to my way of thinking, a regrettable distancing from this fundamental truth in the Wiccan and Neo-Pagan communities. One has only to mention the use of blood in magic to get the wide-eyed disclaimers spilling forth about how blood was, maybe (once upon a misguided time), used but now in these enlightened modern days all good Wiccans¹ use egg whites... if anything at all. The subject of bones being displayed, much less used, has lately stirred up something of a tizzy in the Wiccan net communities (I'm sure if you Google Christian Day's book on necromancy and the skull on the cover you'll find the arguments I didn't wish to spend either time or patience to read). Heavens and hells help you if you bring up the ideas of sacrifices in religions such as Santería and the many branches thereof... Unless you want to make the fur fly for fun. In which case, you should also admit to owning and regularly viewing your collector's edition of the original The Wicker Man² (because it's awesome); and that in your opinion, the film should be required viewing for every one on a pagan path.

We are creatures of Spirit with bodies of Blood and Bone. This self-knowledge is so deeply rooted in us and so deeply meaningful to us that we have enshrined the colours Red and White in Witchcraft and Esoteric Mysteries. One has only to fan open a deck of Tarot cards, browse the covers of esoteric texts, and read the alchemical texts to see this. Red and white figure predominantly in these places, and are generally accompanied by a backdrop of black for the eternal cauldron of creation.

In my witchcraft, I use blood in spells. I do not use the blood of others, merely my own. Blood is the heat of our bodies. It enlivens us by providing heat, nutrients, oxygen, and antibodies to every single place within us. It is one of the most powerful and potent of spell ingredients we can offer to a working because of this virtue: it is a vital part of ourself and fully charged to our intent. It is also a wonderful way to gauge the desire for working a spell. Before preparing for spell work, I ask myself 'Are you willing to bleed for this?'. If the answer is not a resounding 'Yes' then it is time to rethink the desires for wanting to undertake the working.

Other than having a 10 point stag skull by my altar, I have not often worked with bones in my witchcraft. It just has not been a path that I've been called down to explore. I have, however, read quite a few wonderful posts from witches who work with bones. In the Chimehours has a wonderful post up about reddening the bones of a stag skull and the Witch of Forest Grove frequently posts photo blogs of her workings with found bones. Whilst I do not see myself going out and deliberately setting my foot on the Bone Path, I am quite happy to learn all that I might for the day when I could be called to act on that path.

I feel that I should offer my apologies on this post, as it is not quite presenting the way that I want it to, and can only offer the excuse of a horrible sinus infection playing merry buggers with my thoughts. And that these are topics that really do need more than one blog post to discuss with any sense of justice for them. So, to that end, I do welcome discussion in comments.

1. For a reason unknown to me, it seems that all witches have gotten lumped into the category of Wiccan. Drives me mad, as I am not a Wiccan and cannot get other people to see that there really is an important distinction between the two words.
2. It pains me to have to put the disclaimer original in front of the film title. A large part of me writhes each time I am forced to remember that there is a pathetic remake of this film burdening the world.

Moon: Waxing Crescent (20% illumintaion), in Aries (0°)



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Plans for the night derailed by this creeping crud.

I've so much snot in my head right now. Damned yo-yo weather is starting to erode my immunity and defences.

Finishing up my tea and going to sleep. I wanted to do some more creative writing tonight as the PBP post ate my brain last night (and I'm still neither happy nor finished).

Here's to a good night's sleep righting it all.

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Each Sunday, post six sentences from a writing project -- published, submitted, in progress, for your cat -- whatever. (Ganked from ysabetwordsmith.)

These sentences are from A Book of Worlds.



"From the dark moon's depths, I cloth myself with the authority of Hekate. My skin is her raiment, my breath her breath, and my blood her blood. I call to the soundless depths of the sea, know that your mistress walks in Her glory this night!"

A deep breath was drawn into her lungs and on the exhale, Isabella felt the barrier between the worlds dissolve and melt away. Strange, small shadows danced around her feet as the silence of the night deepened. Unmoved, she waited, her black hair fanning out behind her as the currents of the other worlds overlapped, until one of the Guardians of the Dead appeared before her eyes.

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It's Sunday and therefore time for the weekly writing wrap-up.

Goal-wise for ROW80, I've been finding time to write for an hour a day. This week was much kinder than last week, allowing me to get some great foundations laid for projects that are being revamped, continuing, and just coming out of the starting gates. Last week, much of the writing was on the morning (evening) pages as a dump to get things out of my head and give me the blessing of a clear mind... or at least a less cluttered one. This week I have focused more on the creative writing and world building for the projects on the table for 2012. I did not, however, meet my goal of commenting in five other blogs this week. I will have to try harder on that goal this coming week.

Word count for inkingitout as of 22-01-12:


For those coming to my pages from other blog sites, please remember that you don't have to remain Anonymous when commenting. Dreamwidth allows for commenting with OpenID. For example: Commenting from Wordpress? All you need to do is enter your WordPress.com URL "username.wordpress.com" et violà! Or, alternatively, you can just go to my Wordpress account and comment there *cheeky grin*.

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I saw this first reading ariestess's post this morning.

LiveJournal’s leadership has made it clear that their future American business strategy lies in generating new traffic rather than catering to the service’s current small-but-loyal membership. The challenge for Petrochenko and other executives at LiveJournal will be redefining the brand’s identity in a crowded media marketplace.

Even though I don't use LJ any longer (I left when Dreamwidth hung out their shingle), it does make me sad¹.


1. Sad in the way you feel when you learn that a friend you've fallen out of touch with ages ago has had a bad run of luck and isn't faring so well.

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Belladonna is the sister plant to Aconite in the witches garden. I have posted about the lore, care, and cultivation of the plant after I rescued two of them from certain weed whacker doom.

Belladonna is not a plant spirit for the unwary to interact with on any level. That said, it is a rewarding one if you are prepared to work with the energies this ally will bring to the inner realms. After experiencing first hand the journey experiences Belladonna will bring, I understand how and why this plant earned its place in traditional flying ointments.

My experiences have shown me that it is not necessary to physically use the plant parts to experience these journeys first hand. What, then, is needed? Simply the willingness to open yourself to the plant spirit. I found my journeys beginning a week or so after I had been talking daily with the plant¹.

There is a dark beauty to the journeys belladonna will take you on through the realms of the dreaming. Doors you never knew were closed, much less knew existed, will be opened to you. As a warning to this, unlike other journey allies, belladonna is not overly concerned with your safety and well being. Unless you are fully prepared for these experiences and the echoes they will leave in the waking worlds, do not enter these doors.

But if you are ready for these journeys and approach the plants in your own witch's garden with respect, the work done on the inner realms is invaluable. Remember, too, to keep a record of your Otherworldly encounters with these plant spirits.

1. Notice I said talk with the plant and not to the plant. There is a big difference; no one likes being 'talked to' and having no input in the conversation. When talking with allies, allow room to listen, and be prepared for amazing experiences to follow.

Moon: Waning Crescent (06% illumintaion), in Capricorn (1°)



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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.





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Got in about 10 minutes ago from an orientation meeting for the middle beastie. 58 mile commute each way. I'm dragging my bum now that I'm home and off the roads.

Supper, then bed, I fear.

Replies and *BIG SQUEEZY HUGS* to be distributed tomorrow after work.

Goodnight stars, goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere.

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I saw a link to the Pagan Blog Project on elf's page yesterday. "Hm," I said to myself, "This could be interesting."

Then I forgot about it.

I saw it again today in my bookmarks and thought to take a second look at it. This time I thought that it could be very interesting and promptly went about running a few errands. That is when ,as these things do, the idea became more appealing. Two things that come to mind for topics are 'acceptance' and 'blessings'. These are things that I could get interested in writing about for a blog. I've signed up for the newsletter, snagged a graphic to pop on posts that tie-in to the project, have written down the Twitter hashtag, and have written down that Fridays are the planned posting day for these topics. I will not submit my blog for listing nor will I join the Facebook page¹. Promises are not being made for 52 essays, either. This is very much a whimsical thing with me at the moment.


1. Everyone and their brother seems to be convinced that a Facebook presence is critical if you want to ever do x,y,z. I'm not so sure, and am closer to pulling the plug there than ever before. Time will tell.

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Well... honestly, it has been more treading water than rowing for this week. It was a very challenging week and I feel accomplished that I didn't break under the pressure. And, for the first time in ages, Friday the 13th whomped me with too many bureaucratic snaffus that had to be dealt with ASAP (mainly getting my health insurance sorted so I can renew my scripts as someone decided that I have no dependent children at home and was ineligible for insurance...*headdesk*). Yes. It was fun. In the same way that banging your head into a wall is fun because it feels so nice when you stop. *sigh*

Any way, I did get the creativity going again with a delightfully wicked flash fiction for writers_muses.

Saturday was much kinder and I got a lot accomplished on a fan-fiction reboot, some character bios written for a new project, and some ideas percolating for future projects. I've not begun anything yet for today. I've recently gotten home from work, gotten some lunch in me, figured out what was wrong with the router settings, and now checking in.

Time to go play.

Word count as of 15-01-12:


For those coming to my pages from other blog sites, please remember that you don't have to remain Anonymous when commenting. Dreamwidth allows for commenting with OpenID. For example: Commenting from Wordpress? All you need to do is enter your WordPress.com URL "username.wordpress.com" et violà! Or, alternatively, you can just go to my Wordpress account and comment there *cheeky grin*.

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It has been, to be kind, a week.

This is the kind of week that after the happy-go-lucky time of last week has tested my mettle for all of the goals I've set for myself.

I've pretty much fallen flat on my face on the writing front. It just hasn't happened since Tuesday's spiralling slope down into Hades.

I am, though, happy to report that I've been very good at not kicking myself over this lack of writing. In fact, I've been good at nurturing myself during these difficult days (although Tuesday and Wednesday were the worst of them) and managed to make it through the very long day of today gracefully and with good humour intact¹.

In my sparse free-time, I did manage to jot down some ideas for the muses, made a priority list of who gets replies first tomorrow after work, and found some edits to one story arc that I thought I'd lost (they'd gotten stuck behind some workshop notes in my briefcase). I've also decided to do a Tarot Card reading for the themes of the week to come each Monday. I might add a Wednesday rune draw/cast to the routine come Imbolc.

All told, it was a harrowing week, but I didn't let it break me. This time last year, I'd probably have survived it (less serenely) and then my body would have retaliated by getting diseased with whatever germs du jour was going around the school that week.

And... It's Friday Eve!!


1. Or falling into a sobbing heap at any given point from the stress of holding it together... but we won't talk about that.

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Tis a fine and grand combination, doubly so after a long day that lasted two centuries. Granted, there was a brief shining moment of delusion where I thought it was Thursday... *shakes fist* curse you reality for superimposing yourself upon me!

Thankfully the beasties thought a simple supper was another fine idea, and we've finished with no fuss and an amazing amount of cooperation in the kitchen. I'm not holding my breath that this will continue when it comes time to do the washing up.

It snowed a bit yesterday. Well, not really snowed, as there was nothing covering the ground (too warm) but it was pretty white, lacy fluff falling harmlessly from the sky as the weather cycled back around to winter again from the spring we had this weekend.

It's maddening this tug-o-war between winter and spring, but it does at least produce mornings like this one:



And now, I'm going to go back to savouring my chocolate and whiskey before shaking up the peace by suggesting we get the kitchen cleaned and tidied before bed time.

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Wow! What a week's it been. This new year is off to some kind of wild start between the weather starting the year around 14° C (58° F) and then plunging to -1° C (30° F) mid week only to have it back at 10° C (50° F) today.

And, that's almost a perfect mirror of my writing week. As above, so below, eh?

Sunday saw a strong start to the writing year as inkingitout kicked off on the 1st. Monday wasn't so good word count wise, but I did get my hour of writing in, even though it was painfully slow. Tuesday was... Tuesday was a very challenging day due to external factors. I wrote, but only in my morning pages (well, evening pages by that point) to vent about the day. Wednesday nothing got done, although it did remind me that I do need to build-in a recharge day in my goals. There will be times when I am burnt to a cinder and will need time to get myself back into the game. Thursday and Friday were both good. I got pages written on the main WIP as well as a few book reviews which have been posted. Saturday, I finished my story for witchesbigbang! Today I will be typing up the week's worth of handwritten pages and getting it ready for Beta readers. After that, who knows? (Sorry, still a bit giddy about finishing up the WBB story.)

I hope that everyone else is having a great start to the year and to their goals.

Word count as of 07-01-12:


For those coming to my pages from other blog sites, please remember that you don't have to remain Anonymous when commenting. Dreamwidth allows for commenting with OpenID. For example: Commenting from Wordpress? All you need to do is enter your WordPress.com URL "username.wordpress.com" et violà! Or, alternatively, you can just go to my Wordpress account and comment there *cheeky grin*.

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A week past my self-imposed deadline, but...

I finished my rough draft of The Order of the Twilight Star: Book One!

*faints*

I've no idea of the word count (yet) as I have not typed up the past week's worth or writing into the Scrivener files. That will be a task for tomorrow *grins*.

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My dreams lately have been vaguely irking as I am remembering that I dreamt but have no recall other than that. It's as if a memory wipe occurs the moment I open my eyes. This morning, though, I do remember the last dream I had.

A new island continent has risen from the sea and is firing pulse energy weapons at the aircraft approaching it in the sky after being fired upon by a military craft. I am watching a 'live-feed' from the cockpit of one of a fighter jet dispatched to disable this defence pylon. Eventually the crew realised that none of their weapons were effective and they were hit by one of the energy pulses. The pilot decided to use the plane as a weapon and the three others agreed.

My point-of-view shifted and I was outside watching the plane from above as it dove toward the pylon. Another pulse weapon was fired and locked onto the plane. The pilot must have realised this as the plane banked around and went nose first into the pylon with the energy missile following close behind it.

After the impact and seeing that the pylon was still standing, I woke up.

The colours in the dream were exquisitely vivid. The island continent was in an azure sea with white buildings and streets. The energy pylon was also white and glowed with a purple light before firing the pulse weapons. Surrounding the buildings and avenues were lawns and gardens that were a perfect green.

And how precisely like monkeys was the world's response to try and blow up something they could not understand.

*sighs* After things like this, I do wish there was a 'mystic woo-woo' community on Dreamwidth.

Waxing Gibbous (98% illumination)
in Cancer (1°)

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I've been working on some reading, thanks (somewhat sarcastically meant) to the free Kindle books on offer from the interwebs. I finished up three books this week after starting them in December.

In no particular order, they are:

1. Irish Moon by Amber Scott. This is part of the Moon Magick Series (the rest of which I will be avoiding) and frankly the Crowleyean spelling of magick should have warned me from the first. While the potential of a good story was in there, it never really had a chance to shine through the problems I had with the book. First and foremost, Druidry does not equal Wicca. Ever. Second, pick a dialect and stick with it consistently, or do not use it at all. It was quite jarring to be reading and have the flow broken by 'dialect' for three lines and then abandoned until a chapter or two later. Third was the setting. If she'd set the ideas in the story in the Ireland of the Fianna or in the later 15th/16th centuries it would have worked better than setting it in the 1300's and trying to fit the older and newer details into the setting. And, by the time I realised it was a Knight Templar fleeing with a secret given to him by Jacques de Molay on his death bed, I was thoroughly bored. It would have been much more interesting to have the questing knight running to Ireland before the demise of the Templars in my opinion and establishing Ulster as their secret safe haven and universal refuge instead of relying on taking the author's word for it.

2. Viridis - A Steampunk Romance & Mystery (The Viridis Series) by Calista Taylor. A bit more romance than Steampunk, but not a bad story. After reading it, I wouldn't read the others in the series because the characters didn't catch my affection that much, nor did the setting. It seemed to be more Victorian London with sprinklings of gadgetry tossed in for flavour, which was a disservice to the backstory that was developing over the course of the novel. My largest complaint, though, was the author's complete lack of knowledge of how a Victorian lady would have dressed. Corsets were not worn on bare skin nor were they inflexible and unyielding (made of whale bone, the stays would have warmed from body heat and become pliable, unlike modern corsets we are accustomed to); and bustles were not rigid metal cages that made sitting at a table an acrobatic feat (as they were made from spring steel and gave quite easily). There are two twists at the end, one which you can see developing but still not fully puzzle together until the last moment, and the second which is quite deliciously unforeseen, and they make up for the tedious "I love you but do you love me enough" see-sawing that plagues the storyline.

3. The Bond That Ties Us (Eternal Bonds, Book One) by Christine d'Abo. Again not a book series that I'll likely run out and finish immediately. I liked the premise of human girl meets alien boy, and despite all evidence to the contrary, bond for life in the midst of betrayal and second alien species invasion. I enjoyed the alien Briel culture the author created and the plot twists taken over the course of the story, but (and this is petty and stupid, I know) one line at the end of the book spoiled the experience for me.

( Remember that episode of Family Guy when... )

So, all things told, I'll keep the other books in my 'maybe later' pile, if later ever arrives.


Currently up on the Kindle is Deja Vu In A Dream: A True Short Story by T. St. Laurent.

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Caution: Aconite is one of the deadliest poisons, full stop. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Aconite can be absorbed through open wounds and the skin.

Why, you might ask, after that cheerful warning, write about the Queen of Poisons? Well, amongst other reasons~

Belladonna and Aconite
Give to witches their astral flight.

This astral flight, I suspect was not the lucid dreaming that communing with the plant spirit of Belladonna produces; but a daring dance with Death. Aconite causes paralysis whilst the mind retains its clarity: It isn't a far stretch of the imagination to see how tales of witches flight arose from this physiological state.

Other temptations to try cultivating aconite can be found in its lore. Briefly, Aconite is...

* A poison par excellence. As such it is strongly associated with Hekate. In her guise as wife of King Aeetes, Hekate used aconite to eliminate her rivals.

* Also associated with Circe and Medea. Both sorceress have not only been called priestess of Hekate, but her daughters as well.

* When called Dogsbane, it is in reference to the plant springing up from the spittle of Cerberus when Herakles dragged him up from the Underworld. Hekate is said to have then cultivated the plant in her garden near Colchis.

* When referred to as Wolf's Bane, it is recalling the Greek practise of coating arrows in the poison and hunting wolves. Similarly, in India, meat was laced with aconite and left out expressly to kill tigers.

* A plant associated with Saturn, and used for astral travels to the Underworld.

* Also associated with Venus and love in its darker aspects.

* Sometimes used to consecrate magical blades.

Yes, aconite has a wonderful, witchy pedigree and would be the crown jewel in my witch's garden. That said, I have not yet attempted to cultivate the plant. After the experiences I have had in working with the plant spirit of Belladonna, I know that I am not yet ready for working with the currents and flows aconite would open in the inner realms.

Apart from it being deadly poisonous from root to stem to bud, there are other plant spirits to be worked with in achieving similar results during inner work. I've found Yew to be quite companionable in workings involving martial aspects or as an aide in Cthonic travels.

Whilst from a purely traditionalist point of view, I would love to have aconite in my garden, for the moment I am content to give a nod to this plant and the elder gods by keeping a framed photograph of it on my wall.

Moon: Waxing Gibbous (95% illumintaion), in Gemini (19°)



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It's a new calendar year! Time to set out my goals¹ for writing this year. They are deliberately broad (right now) because I am finishing up a big story for witchesbigbang, revamping a few of the fan fiction pieces (and muse journals) written over the past decade, and organising another large story arc of original fiction to be written this year. Once I've gotten the wrinkles out, I will sit down and define/refine these goals in greater detail².

For inkingitout: Write 75k words this year with the option to write more if I make my goal early.

For ROW80:

*Write an hour each day. What I will count toward my goal:
•Original and Fan Fiction
•In-depth blog posts about matters arcane
•Book reviews
•Morning Pages

*Check-in on Sundays. I prefer the weekly writing wrap-up to posting twice a week. It will be best to start this pattern from the beginning.

*Comment on (at least) five other check-ins. I like encouragement and I want to return the gift in 2012.

It's going to be a good year.


1. I like goals opposed to resolutions. Resolutions just have that 'set in stone' feel to theme and make me feel as if I am setting myself up to fail in the long run. Goals are flexible and something that I can aim for and adjust when I need to be more realistic.
2. My apologies if I sound scatter-brained. I am. Right now, I am remembering exactly why I don't stay up listening to LMFAO and shuffling until 3:00 in the morning on a regular basis. "Every day I'm shuffling" is not going to be the chorus for 2012.

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My wishes to all who read this:

Prosperity and Good Health be yours in 2012!

As for me, I'll be printing this as a reminder:

This New Year's Eve you can lay the groundwork for continued growth without making any resolutions except one: to let go of the past, connect with yourself, to Wake Up, and be Present.

-EnneaThoughts for Type Nine

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