MWoD: Know Yourself

I know, I know, I still have Part Two of Food, but I am still writing it, so I will post Part Two when I am done with it, promise. Today I thought I'd tackle something not a lot of the books I have read have really tackled when it comes to the Craft. Perhaps one of the most important things you should do is you. To be more precise, to get to know you. I don't mean like write a paper about yourself or anything so dumb or cliche, it is something far more. When I say get to know you, I mean both spiritually and physically.

Most people now a days do not know their bodies very well, and I believe most of that is to blame on the advent of technology and lots of drugs. But it is not hard to get to know your body, it only takes a few minutes each day and anyone with a pen and some paper and a quiet place can do it. First thing, start recording your weight and body temperature every day for about a month. Use these to find what weight and temperature you are at on a normal basis. Not everyone runs at ninety-eight point eight degrees you know, I myself run at around ninety-six. Now, before you get in the shower or bath each day, take off your clothes and close your eyes. For a few moments get a "feel" for your body, it's aches and pains. Touch yourself to find what makes you feel better or worse. Do this for about the same amount of time. Once you've gotten to know your body, listen to it. It will tell you all sorts of wonderful things you did not even realize it could, and this will help further your Craft, because your body will tell you if it is in the right shape for a ritual.

Now, for spiritually. That is much easier to know, albeit still requiring daily attention. The best way to know you is through meditation. When you let go in meditation, you not only connect to God and Goddess better, you connect to your own self better. But meditation is not the same for everyone. Some people flourish with sitting there legs crossed doing nothing. I have ADD, so that does not fly very well with my need to move. My answer is to walk. Every morning I get up before dawn, I stretch, drink some coffee, and I go walk around the lake in my neighborhood. I let my body follow a hypnotic rhythm of my foot's pace and I let go and meditate as I walk. Some people swim while they meditate or cook. The key is to do some repetitive so you don't focus on the movements but on letting go. It works and you will feel much better afterward.

Follow these simple tricks and you'll be an expert of yourself in no time! Blessed be!

9-27-10: It's Monday

It's Monday. Sorry for my absence, recovering from being sick and working doubles all weekend kept me busy. My house is a wrecked piled into 3 rooms because we are having tile put in this week. No kitchen or laundry room, oh joy. Darren got shot at as well due to some road rage, and I had to find out from Rio two days later that it happened. That boy is going to give me gray hairs I swear to God. Vivi and I may be going to the Moonlight Masquerade together as soon as we figure out a good lie to tel her crazy strict parents (Lying is not good, children, but sometimes it needs to be done).

I went to my baby cousin Abby's baptism yesterday. She was so adorable and laughed the entire time, even when they dunked water on her head. It was also awkward for me because Mom's family is raging Catholic. Enough said. We ended up leaving the party early because Mom was having a nervous breakdown from being around her father (I am not quite sure what happened between them, but from what my dad has told me, her father abused her terribly). I personally cannot stand the man, not only did he never play a part in my life or my sister's, he hurts my mother terribly. He tests my ability to be a good person and not curse him the hell out.

I am just emotionally exhausted from it. I have always been sensitive to others, and as I've gotten older and deeper into the Craft, I've come to find my power (or one of them anyway) is more than likely a profound form of empathy. Or I happen to have a mild form of autism, but I like to think it's the first. It also tends to give me a headache the next day, as I currently have right now. So as I nibble on my chocolate chip cookie, I am trying to rid myself of this headache and the emotions that seem to cling to me. I may just have to cleanse myself tomorrow morning when I bathe.

Recovering Slowly

I hope you all had a blessed and wonderful Mabon. I couldn't go out so I simply did a ritual from my bed before the medicines I am on knocked me out. Tonight I will probably leave class early because I am still not feeling great, and my ear's still bothering the crap out of me. At least tomorrow is my day off. I will also finally post a new MWoD tomorrow as well. That's about it for me. I hope you all are doing splendidly!

Sick and Can't Get Any Rest!

I am sorry to say there won't be any MWoD posting for the next day or two. Not only is Mabon tomorrow, I am currently sick. I am allergic to pretty much anything in the plant kingdom that the allergy doctor can test for (the irony is not lost on me), and come this time of year my allergies make my life. This year they have caused drainage to pool in my ear canals, giving me one helluva ear infection. For those of you blessed enough to not have had one since you were a kid, thank God and Goddess. When you're an adult and you get one, they are a very, very painful experience. Even worse, my mom won't stop calling me from downstairs to ask me stupid questions about her Facebook status! Jesus (>.> it's a habit to use his name, comes with being in the South, we all do it no matter what religion you are) woman I am trying to lay down and let my numbing ear drops work and you are yacking my ear off about your dumb status... Such is life. I will keep you all posted on my condition... If I can ever get left alone to make it better...

Disgust

The gas pipes at work aren't working so we can't make food. That means I got sent home early ladies and gents. Don't worry, I am working on tonight's MWoD post, but before that, I wanted to share a little rant with you about Christine O'Donnell.

Who is this woman? If you watch any form of news, you would know she was the Tea Party candidate who won the Delaware GOP Primary and has been pretty much taking over the media. Today I was reading Perez Hilton's celeb blog when I came across a clip from the Bill Maher Show. In it was a much younger Christine saying how she was a witch because she "had dabbled in witchcraft, but never joined a coven". She also described how on a date with a guy she went with him to a Satanic ritual and then had a picnic.

... Yes, at first I was speechless. Then I screamed at the monitor "BULLSHIT THAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU A WITCH!". It makes me sick that she would connect the Craft to Satanism. The Craft is about balance, respect for life, nature. Satanism... That is just plain freaky shit. They are not the same and should never be thought of that way. All Ms. O'Donnell was doing in that clip was perpetuating stereotypes about witches that can only harm us. It disgusts me that she even did that. My readers, I ask you to express your dislike as well by making sure everyone you know hears about it and making sure they know that the Craft and whatever the hell Ms. O'Donnell experienced are NOT the same. Ms. O'Donnell, you are not a witch, you never were because if you had been, you would have known these things.

Nuuuu I Don't Want To

I don't want to go to work today! I loathe weekend shifts. I currently work at a salad bar at my city's biggest college you see. I know for a fact only about 10% of the student population even leaves on campus, and as a result, it is dead on the weekends. That means for the nest five hours I get to do pretty much nothing. I am so serious. I had a weekend shift last week and I made a total of 3 salads for five hours. The most interesting thing I can do is eat cookies with my manager seeing and text with my manager seeing. Bah I say, bah!
On a lighter note, I did get to go to the spiritual supply store the yesterday. I got my candles and some incense. I am all set for Mabon, and even Samhain if I do not manage to get back there before then. Kitten is definitely in heat by the way. At least she is nice and quiet about it. Risa is back home and has the Internet again, so we can play Jade Dynasty together again, finally. Also, I have great news. Mom is one step closer to being okay with my being a witch! She actually loaned me the money to get my candles yesterday, though she still seems to think I believe in Christianity, but am exploring a different means of worship. I will not be correcting her anytime sooner either. If that makes her happy and my life more peaceful, so be it. I will be doing my MWoD segment after my shift today, so look forward to part 2!

MWoD: Food Pt. 1- Meat or Veggies?

I know it sounds a bit odd to combine food and the Craft, but it's really not. Scott Cunningham actually wrote an entire book on it. Certain foods can increase or decrease certain energies in your body just like herbs and colors can in spells. It's actually a fascinating subject, and that's why my next couple of Magical Wisdom of the Day segments will be talking about food and it's role in Craft.

The first topic to be conquered is a rather simple one: meat. What I mean to say is whether or not to eat it. Some people believe that because of the Path it is wrong to eat meat or animal products, so they are either vegan or vegetarian. Vegetarians will still eat animal products like say eggs or milk but a vegan won't touch anything that came from an animal. I have chosen to define that because let's face it, they can be down right confusing.

So what does meat have to do with the Craft? Some people won't eat meat unless they know the animal died in a humane way out of respect for life. Some say that eating meat can actually decrease your magic and psychic powers. Cunningham once explained he went vegan for a little while, but his Sight (as in magic sight ladies and gents) got so sharp he saw something that utterly terrified him to the point until he passed he never went vegan again.

So, where do I weigh in on this argument? I am personally a vegetarian for the most part, but I am so because I am too broke to afford organic meat. To those who would gasp in horror, I have a must more practical look upon my food. I believe we should be thankful, and as long as we thank the animal for it's sacrifice and God and Goddess for the blessing of the food, as long as we are being healthy and happy, who cares? Being omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan is a personal choice, and I say make your own not only from a religious standpoint, but health and taste as well.