Tag: Christmas

About.com:12 Days of Yule Devotionals (Day 6)

About.com

 

Day 6: A Sunset Prayer for Yule                              
Patti Wigington
From Patti Wigington, your Guide to Paganism /Wicca                                                                           
As the sun descends into the horizon on the longest night of the year, take a moment to ponder what you will see when you wake the next day. 
 

A Sunset Prayer for Yule                            

Set aside some time to meditate upon the meaning of this time of year, and what it signifies for you and your life.


The longest night has come once more,

the sun has set, and darkness fallen.

The trees are bare, the earth asleep,

and the skies are cold and black.

Yet tonight we rejoice, in this longest night,

embracing the darkness that enfolds us.

We welcome the night and all that it holds,

as the light of the stars shines down.     

                        

 

Additional Reading                            

Make those long winter nights a little more refreshing with some freshly blended incense. Put together a batch of Winter Nights Yule Incense, and burn it during rituals, or just to make your home smell comforting in the cold of winter.
 

Tomorrow: A Nordic Yule Blessing                             
This email is written by:                                                                      Patti Wigington                             

Paganism /Wicca Guide                                         

The Snow Maiden

The Snow Maiden

(Russia)

Many readers will already be familiar with the tale of the Snow Maiden. It come to us from Old Russia, a land of sparkling forests and frozen palaces. The tale begins, as do so many folktales the world over, with an old childless couple. They are poor and devoutly religious (poverty and piety being de riguer for old childless couples in folktales). While cutting wood in the forest, they take a break to build a snegourochka, a little girl made of snowballs. Lo and behold, the snegourochka comes to life, and she is everything the old couple ever dreamed of in a daughter. She is pretty, respectful and well dressed in fancy boots, cloak and diamond tiara. She helps out around the house and conveniently for her elderly parents, she’s bypassed the diaper stage.

The storyteller would have us believe that this Snow Maiden is a gift from God, a reward for the old couple’s unwavering faith. Given the outcome of the story, however, the exercise seems cruel and pointless in God’s part. For Snegourochka is not a child of flesh but of snow. In some versions of the story, she crumples at the first sign of spring. In others, she lasts until Midsummer, only to be vaporized by the St. John’s Day fires. A few writers hint at the possibility that, like Frosty, she’ll be back again someday, but this is a modern gloss. When the girl is gone, she’s gone and the old couple is left with nothing but a soggy patch of forest floor.

No doubt it was a witch and not an angel hiding behind one of the snowclad fir trees in the forest that day–perhaps Baba Yaga or one of those pesky German witches flown over from the west. “Be careful what you wish for, “ she might have cackled to herself as she worked her magick over the doomed little snegourochka.

Excerpt from:

The Snow People
Linda Raedisch
Lllewellyn’s 2012 Witches’ Companion
An Almanac for Everyday Living

Dealing With Stress at Yule-How to Have a Low-Stress Holiday

Dealing With Stress at Yule

-How to Have a Low-Stress Holiday

By , About.com Guide

It should be the happiest time of year, right? After all, the Yule season is when we celebrate the return of the sun, and the days start to get a little brighter. The mundane world is observing Christmas and Hanukah, gifts are being given all over the place — it should be a season of great joy. Yet for many people, late fall and early winter are a time when frustrations begin to build, and anxiety (and often depression) set in. Between getting together with family, preparing big meals, shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and spending money on others, for many people Yule can be a time of overwhelming stress. Here are a few tips on reducing your stress levels during the Yule season.

Set your limits.

Are you in charge of the community coat drive, the local toy roundup, and getting your entire PTO’s fundraiser up and running? Step back! Be willing to say “No” when someone asks you to commit more time and energy than you have to give. We all want to help others at this time of year, but if you take on more than you really are capable of, you’ll become resentful and angry – and that’s no way to spend the Yule season. Learning to say “No” might be the best gift you can give yourself this year.

Enlist help.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the eighteen boxes of Yule décor in your basement? Fine — put the kids to work. If you don’t have kids — or if yours are too young to decorate — put on a pot of wassail and invite a few friends over for a decorating party. It will take the stress out of the situation if you’re surrounded by people whose company you enjoy. Likewise, if you’re hosting a holiday dinner, ask others to show up early to set the table or to bring part of the meal as a side dish. I’ve learned that if I plan ahead, and just ask, I can usually get someone else to commit to taking care of cleanup afterwards!

Don’t overspend.

One of the biggest holiday stress-outs is the knowledge that you’ll be paying off Yule until June. Don’t let this happen. Make a budget, and stick to it. For more on how to do this, read about How to Have a Budget Friendly Yule. Also remember, you don’t have to go crazy with the gifts. Do you want to teach your children about the value of the holiday season, or that whoever gets more stuff wins? In many families, parents have learned to limit the number of gifts each person gets — in mine, each kid gets one really big gift, and then three smaller gifts such as a DVD, a pair of cute winter pajamas, and a game to play or a book to read.

Set boundaries.

A lot of people stress out over family relationships during the holidays. If you’re one of those people, you need to decide ahead of time how you’re going to deal with family members who aggravate you. Got a non-Pagan family member who just won’t leave you alone? Brush up on coping strategies at Surivivng the Holidays with Your Non-Pagan Family.

Decompress.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed in the middle of the season, and you know you still have things that need to get done, take a break. Turn off the phone, shut the door, and go have some Me Time. Take a one-hour power nap, enjoy a bubble bath with some nice scented candles, invite a friend out for a quick coffee date. Set aside a few minutes each day to meditate and get yourself grounded. You’ll appreciate it in the long run.

Recognize burnout.

A big problem many people seem to have is they just fail to realize they’re burning themselves out. Stress creeps up on us, and then we tend to justify it by saying, “Well, it’s the holidays.” Learn to recognize the signs of burnout, and react accordingly. Some signs include:

  • Depleted levels of physical energy
  • Lowered immune system, feeling run-down or ill
  • Lack of interest in things that you normally enjoy
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Negative, pessimistic outlook
  • Anger directed at people who don’t deserve it, like kids and sales clerks

If you start seeing these behaviors in yourself, it’s time to take a step back and recognize that you’re stressing out. Now that you’ve discovered the problem, take time to fix it, so that you and the people around you can have a happy and healthy Yule season.

How to Make a Yule Log

How to Make a Yule Log

By , About.com Guide

 

As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, the days get shorter, the skies become gray, and it seems as though the sun is dying. In this time of darkness, we pause on the Solstice (usually around December 21st, although not always on the same date) and realize that something wonderful is happening.

On Yule, the sun stops its decline into the south. For a few days, it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place… and then the amazing, the wonderful, the miraculous happens. The light begins to return.

The sun begins its journey back to the north, and once again we are reminded that we have something worth celebrating.  In families of all different spiritual paths, the return of the light is celebrated, with Menorahs, Kwanzaa candles, bonfires, and brightly lit Christmas trees. On Yule, many Pagan and Wiccan families celebrate the return of the sun by adding light into their homes. One of our family’s favorite traditions – and one that children can do easily – is to make a Yule log for a family-sized celebration.

A holiday celebration that began in Norway, on the night of the winter solstice it was common to hoist a giant log onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. The Norsemen believed that the sun was a giant wheel of fire which rolled away from the earth, and then began rolling back again on the winter solstice.

As Christianity spread through Europe, the tradition became part of Christmas Eve festivities. The father or master of the house would sprinkle the log with libations of mead, oil or salt. Once the log was burned in the hearth, the ashes were scattered about the house to protect the family within from hostile spirits.

Because each type of wood is associated with various magickal and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while the mighty oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth.

In our house, we usually make our Yule log out of pine, but you can make yours of any type of wood you choose. You can select one based on its magickal properties, or you can just use whatever’s handy. To make a basic Yule log, you will need the following:

  • A log about 14 – 18” long
  • Pinecones
  • Dried berries, such as cranberries
  • Cuttings of mistletoe, holly, pine needles, and ivy
  • Feathers and cinnamon sticks
  • Some festive ribbon – use paper or cloth ribbon, not the synthetic or wire-lined type
  • A hot glue gun

 

All of these – except for the ribbon and the hot glue gun — are things you and your children can gather outside.  You might wish to start collecting them earlier in the year, and saving them.  Encourage your children to only pick up items they find on the ground, and not to take any cuttings from live plants.

Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon. In our house, we place five feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family. Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pinecones, cinnamon sticks and berries. Add as much or as little as you like. Remember to keep the hot glue gun away from small children.

Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, the question arises of what to do with it. For starters, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery.

Another way to use your Yule log is to burn it as our ancestors did so many centuries ago. In our family, before we burn our log we each write down a wish on a piece of paper, and then insert it into the ribbons. It’s our wish for the upcoming year, and we keep it to ourselves in hopes that it will come true.

If you have a fireplace, you can certainly burn your Yule log in it, but we prefer to do ours outside. We have a fire pit in the back yard, and on the night of the winter solstice, we gather out there with blankets, mittens, and mugs full of warm drinks as we burn our log. While we watch the flames consume it, we discuss how thankful we are for the good things that have come our way this year, and how we hope for abundance, good health, and happiness in the next.

 

About.com Guide

 

About.com: 12 Days of Yule Devotionals (Day 1)

About.com
Day 1: A Prayer to the Earth at Yule                              
Patti Wigington
From Patti Wigington, your Guide to Paganism /Wicca                                                                           
Welcome to the 12 Days of Yule Devotionals! We’ll begin today by taking a moment to honor the earth at the time of the Winter Solstice.
A Prayer to the Earth at Yule                            

Just because the earth is cold doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on down there in the soil. Think about what lies dormant in your own life right now, and consider what may bloom a few months from now.

 

Cold and dark, this time of year, the earth lies dormant, awaiting the return of the sun, and with it, life. Far beneath the frozen surface, a heartbeat waits, until the moment is right, to spring.

Additional Reading                            

Cultures around the world have celebrated the winter solstice for eons, and each has its own unique set of traditions. Take a moment today to get to learn about some of the customs of winter.
Tomorrow: A Sunrise Prayer for Yule                            

                                        This email is written by:                                                                      Patti Wigington                                                          Paganism / Wicca Guide                                        

Clean House Spiritually for the Dark Time of the Year

Clean House Spiritually for the Dark Time of the Year

 

by Freya Ray

Personally, I have had my issues with the “holiday” season. The directions in which our culture has chosen to take Christmas and other celebrations, turning them into rites of capitalist fervor (insert your favorite rant here), have not appealed to me. To me, winter is a powerful time for introspection and returning to your “self.” There is a primal urge to clear the dusty corners of your soul so that the seeds planted in springtime are well chosen and likely to grow up into what you actually want. If it happens for you, as it happens for me, that winter inspires the desire to get rid of the unnecessary rather than accumulate more of it, here are some suggestions.

What do you focus on if you’re feeling the urge to crawl into a hole but aren’t sure which direction to take in your inner odyssey?

There are four main categories of spiritual debris that can benefit from closer examination. You started life with three of them, the fourth you’ve picked up along the way. I don’t mean to sound negative — you have also collected many wonderful gifts in each of these four categories. While still honoring your blessings and achievements, it is more productive to work on the pieces that keep you from your dreams.

I’m going to describe a number of possible approaches to spiritual fine-tuning. For earth signs out there, this is not a “to do” list that should be followed from beginning to end in order to become a better person. Rather, this is a collection of inspirations, and your intuition is your best guide for which pathways to pursue. You might become excited about a suggestion, or be repelled by one. Pay attention to any strong reaction — it’s probably worth focusing on.

The person you are today is made up of what you’ve inherited from your parents and ancestors, your past lives and your experiences this lifetime. There are probably some bits of eternal soul and red blood cells too, but these four areas are the ones I’ll focus on.

Parental Inheritance

At the moment you were conceived, you inherited from your parents everything they had learned about life up to that point. Any wisdom, fears, good or bad habits, failures and triumphs. To determine if this is an area that needs some attention, ask yourself the following questions: What is unresolved or in conflict between my parents and me? What issues do they struggle with that also affect me? Where did they fail in their lives?

Parental issues respond well to traditional methods. Journaling — writing about their patterns and your own — can highlight repetitive patterns. For example, if your parents always struggled with money, write down everything you know about their beliefs regarding money and abundance. Write down everything you believe about the same issue. Write down how your behavior about money is the same as your parents, or the opposite. Remember that anything that you do that is exactly not how they did it is not really an evolutionary step beyond. It’s just a reaction. After thesis, step two is antithesis. Synthesis is step three and the launch point for evolution.

Awareness of when you are stuck in a self-defeating pattern is the most powerful step. Seeing the pattern’s origins gives you information on how to change it. If you’ve inherited something from your parents that you’re tired of carrying around, set it down. This can be done in a ritual where you release any burdens you’re carrying for them. Write the burdens down and burn whatever you wrote them on in circle. Craft a small boat and send them downstream.

It can also be done in a very different way: by correcting the problem at the source. See if you can find a way to help your parents get what they want. If you work toward success with them, either in real time or in meditation, everyone becomes liberated. When I helped my mother quit drinking, somehow I quit smoking. It’s all one big hologram, one metaphor. By changing one piece we change all the pieces connected to it.

Ancestral Inheritance

You also inherited your entire ancestral lineage. Everything that was experienced and learned by each of your ancestors was handed down to you, encoded in your spiritual DNA. If you feel an urge to plant a garden in the spring, that’s because your ancestors have been doing just that for millennia. Your choice of magickal path may well be related to your genetic inheritance as well.

Ancestral lineages connect to you at your shoulder blades — the “wing points” — where your wings would sprout if you could see them. The maternal lineage extends behind you on the left side, the paternal on the right. They go out at an angle, and upwards, so they make a V gradually rising behind you. Trust me on this one. I’m not the only psychic who sees them this way.

What this means for you is that you know exactly where to look for problems. I’m going to suggest two approaches. The first is to let your attention, in meditation, follow back along the line of your ancestors. Logically, each earlier generation is further away from you. Look for blockages — for places where the energy is not flowing freely. Bring energy and light to the area until you see the pathway clear. Pay particular attention to balancing the left and right sides. If your father had a really unpleasant childhood due to abusive parents, you might have shut down the energy on the right side. This protected you when you were unable to take a more active role, but now you can clear the blockages and make use of all of the gifts from your inheritance. If you shut down the masculine side you might have noticed difficulty in taking charge of your life. This is corrected by balancing the two sides.

The other method is to examine the spiritual DNA. I highly recommend Chris Griscom’s book Psychogenetics for full information on this method. The short form is: Visualize your DNA and look for blocks related to issues you’ve inherited from your ancestors. Heal those blocks by blasting them with white, laser-like light. Allow the DNA to re-form itself, whole and healthy. These methods may sound silly or difficult, but they are neither. By simply going into a meditative state and visualizing, everyone I’ve ever worked with has been capable of receiving useful information and effecting positive change.

Past Life Inheritance

Your past lives are a fertile place to look for issues that are causing you trouble this time around. Ask yourself: What habits do I have as a soul that aren’t working for me? Do I have strong, unexplained aversions or fears? Are there difficult relationships or repetitive patterns that I don’t seem to be able to get out of? Any of these things could have come from traumatic experiences in past lives.

Richard Webster wrote a wonderful book, Practical Guide to Past-Life Memories, that gives twelve different methods for remembering your past lives. I recommend getting this book, choosing a method and trying it out. When you feel like you’ve got the hang of recall, go on specific missions. Go looking for the other times you’ve known that difficult person, and information about why you struggle with him or her now. Seek the source of your fear of water. Look for patterns — a habit you have formed in many lives of being subservient to others. Ask yourself what in your current life is no longer serving you, and see if your past lives offer clues for letting it go.

Past life work is a magickally productive area to pursue. It seems that most of the time simply recalling the prior events and allowing yourself to really feel the feelings that go along with the memories will release their power. As soon as I remembered the witchy lifetime in which I was hung (and sobbed for a couple hours), I was able to do ritual again. For years before that, I had identified as a witch, but found myself unable to do Wiccan ceremony. That changed immediately, just from bringing the source of my fear to consciousness. Remember, cry/rage/laugh, and let it go.

Your Energy Body

The final area that could use cleaning up is all about you. As you move through your life, every experience you have leaves its residue. In a quiet, meditative state, scan your energy body for tension, grief, or pain`or even dark spots or places where the energy doesn’t feel like it’s moving. Ask yourself what color of light is needed to rebalance this blocked place. Bathe the area in healing light — different colors for different issues — until the area is balanced again. Do a ritual to release the block or get some energy work to address it.

In working with this lifetime, shame can be a powerful marker for stored garbage. Mentally scan your past, looking for places in your life you still feel shame about. Then use the color technique, journaling or meditation to forgive yourself. You did the best you could at the time, with what you knew then. If you can’t forgive yourself through meditation, consider taking action to atone. If you still feel guilty for a deed that caused harm to another, apologize to him or her or assist others with a similar problem. No personal ritual would have had the same effect as the action I took as a young adult: I walked into the store I had shoplifted from in high school and wrote them a check. Customers standing next to me were crying with me. It was powerful beyond anything confined to my journal would have been. Just do something, since shame is a crippling emotion that signals an area in which you are experiencing paralysis of the soul.

Likewise, forgiveness of others is important. Resentments we hang onto keep us from embracing new joys, and can lead to health issues in the body. Look back over your past for anyone you’re still mad at, and do whatever you need to do to let it go. This doesn’t mean you need to believe your rapist did the right thing. This does mean you get to a place where he’s not still holding the knife at your throat. Do what you need to do to clear your field, to harmonize the energies you carry with you.

As you go, breathe and pray. Sift through all the seeds you carry. Examine each one and discard those you don’t choose to have in your life again. With a little time and attention, you can move forward into spring lighter and liberated. Once you walk off the turkey and fudge, that is.

Freya Ray is a professional psychic, shaman, writer and teacher. She teaches energy work, shamanic journeying, Tarot reading, and how to live a more blissful life in general. She recently relocated to Seattle after working at Phoenix and Dragon in Atlanta and Rainbow Moods in Tucson. Her writing has appeared in the New Times, the Awareness Journal and the Magical Journal.

Feng Shui for Winter Nights

Feng Shui for Winter Nights

by a Care2 favorite by Betsy Stang

 

Red is not just for Christmas! Red is the color of warmth, of fire, of yang.  It is the antidote for the cold yin nights of winter. Warm your nights with just  the right chi by practicing these feng shui tips for winter colors, light,  warmth, safety and sharing.

Winter Colors and Light

Red Replace some of your summer blues with reds and oranges.  Think pillows, quilts and place settings. You will feel warmer and less  depressed. A cozy red or burgundy throw on the chair or on the bed will make you  feel wonderful, and cut down on the need to turn up the heat.

Orange Cook orange. Pumpkins and squash are plentiful and give  you the good carbohydrates and nutrients that you need for winter.

 

Light up the Night

Get at least one full spectrum light  for a reading area. The complete spectrum will relieve seasonal affective  disorder and help your eyes. Plants love full spectrum light so you can put some  greenery nearby, and create a small winter garden that will cheer you up and  help provide oxygen for your rooms.

Long evenings mean it is time to replace light bulbs. Think energy conserving  compact fluorescents, especially for outside lights and accent areas. Your  pocket book and your planet will thank you. There are even energy conserving  Christmas lights that are now standard in Canada. Solar path lights won’t go all  night at this time of year, but they probably are on sale and will light your  way home in the evening with no strain on the environment. Additionally, in  February, as the days lengthen, they will glitter most of the night, even in the  snow, and will make you smile for years to come.

 

Warm up your Windows

Check to make sure all windows  shut well. If you have single paned glass which lets the cold wind into the  house, find some cheerful thick fabric, valances or drapes, which can cut your  heating costs all winter and is a terrific way to change the feel of a room. The  Victorians covered their windows for a reason; their homes were drafty! When you  feel an uncovered window on a cold night, it’s cold! So think warm and add  fabric.

Remove or cover your air conditioners. If removal is difficult get some  wonderful natural fabric from your local fabric store and create a cover. Tip:  Double-sided Velcro is amazing for the sewing challenged!

Watch For Fire

It is the time to have your boiler and  fireplace checked and cleaned. Too many house fires or clogged boilers are  caused by the lack of taking this step. All combustible materials create residue  which in time builds up, so be safe, be warm and be pro-active. This expense  could save you thousands.

 

Pay Attention to Your Floor, Your Grounding

Remove any  dangerously slippery bath mat. The backing does disintegrate, and think about a  cozy rug for your bedroom or sitting area. Please think about natural materials  so you are not creating a toxic environment. Artificial rugs off-gas and pollute  a closed environment; you could expose yourself and your family to illnesses.  Look for Tibetan or other tribal rugs made from natural fiber and plant  dyes.

Tell Stories; Share with Others

Get some good books. The  wintertime has always been storytelling time among all traditions, so let the  indoor time give you a chance to expand your mind, either for sheer pleasure or  to learn something new you have been meaning to get to but haven’t had the  chance.

Lastly, share your home with your friends. Long winter evenings are great for  sharing food and conversation. Being with those you love will remind you of how  much you have to be grateful for.

And as your gratitude increases take some of your old clothing and household  goods to a local shelter or Goodwill and spread some cheer around. You will also  get rid of your clutter and make room for the new.

 

From Divine Design by Betsy  Stang, certified Feng Shui consultant.

The Herbs Of The Sabbats

To be used as decorations on the altar, round the circle, in the home.

Samhain:
Chrysanthemum, wormwood, apples, pears, hazel, thistle, pomegranates, all 
grains,  harvested fruits and nuts, the pumpkin, corn.

Yule:
Holly, mistletoe, ivy, cedar, bay, juniper, rosemary, pine. Place offerings of 
apples, oranges, nutmegs, lemons and whole cinnamon sticks on the Yule tree.

Imbolc:
Snowdrop, rowan, the first flowers of the year.

Eostara:
Daffodil, woodruff, violet, gorse, olive, peony, iris, narcissus, all spring 
flowers.

Beltane:
Hawthorn, honeysuckle, St. John's wort,  woodruff, all flowers.

Midsummer:
Mugwort, vervain, chamomile, rose, lily, oak, lavender, ivy, yarrow, fern, 
elder, wild thyme, daisy, carnation.

Lughnasadh:
All grains, grapes, heather, blackberries, sloe, crabapples, pears.

Mabon:
Hazel, corn, aspen, acorns, oak sprigs, autumn leaves, wheat stalks, cypress 
cones, pine cones, harvest gleanings.

Wishing You A Fantastic Wednesday! 2 More Days To Friday!

Wednesday Images, Quotes, Comments, Graphics
Good morning, my dearest of friends! How are you today? Me, fantastic!!! I did some astral projecting last night. It was great. I went back to a very happy time in my life. Then I came back, I relaxed and fell asleep in the floor. Then this morning at 6:00 a.m., my son ran in the bedroom. He proceeded to hit me on the foot with a magazine, hollering, “Get up! Get up!” He then ran like hell. He woke up Kiki and she flew off the bed trying to eat him up. He came back and told me, “my damn dog bite him!” I told him not to worry she had all her shots, lol! Then he turns around and goes back to bed. I thought what the heck? So I went down to his bedroom, and told him to get his butt up! He had to get up and go do something at a boarding kennel he works at. The kid has three jobs. But his point of getting me up was something I said yesterday. For supper, I unthawed some pulled pork I had made and we had sandwiches. I told him I had slept to late to put a roast in the crock pot and let it cook. So he got me up this morning were I would have time to fix that roast.  I thought you little poop!

Funny thing, Razzy remembers my son from the dog attack. I went down to his room last night while he ate. There was clothes drug out of plastic garbage bags all over the place. I asked him, if he was looking for something. He said no he figured that one of my cats had been playing. While we are sitting in there, here come Razzy. She is crouched down on the ground, sneaking in the door. The next thing, she has one of his shirt and is off and running. I laughed my rump off. My son chased her till he finally got his shirt. His dear sweet wife packed up all his stuff in garbage sacks and sit them on the porch for him. I haven’t said anything about this to anyone but she is trying to paint him as the villain. He might be my son but he isn’t a villain at all. His wife is two months pregnant and come to find out she has been having an affair.  She would take their two kids to her grandmother’s and then she would be off to meet her man. It gets me, my son working three jobs. He has a brand new house, two new cars, he has given her anything she wants. Then she does him like this. I told my son, very gently, that he might want to consider having a DNA test on this third child. He agreed with me.

My son has changed so much since he has come back out here. It is expected that when he comes home from work that we sit and talk. He said talking to me clears his head. He also apologized for the way he has treated me the last seven years. He told me I was right all along. Between my two children, my son was the one most interested in magick. I asked him last night if he has a moment would he like to help me in operating the Ouija Board. He told me, I was crazy. Then I reminded him what a time we use to have. He then said, yes if he had the time he would like to help me. Then he wanted to know if I still had those Tarot Cards he had gotten me one Christmas. I told him, he was crazy if he thought I would ever throw them away. He told me, he wanted a reading. After last night, my hopes are I am getting my son back. But with children and one on the way, who knows what might happen.

My son told me that her family had run me down and talked about like I was a dog. He told me that he had gotten the point to where he wanted nothing to do with me. Especially since they had started going to church. Then listening to her grandmother yell, “Suffer not a witch to live!” I quietly told him, I knew what was going on. He started crying and saying how sorry he was. Then he asked me, how he could have turned so against me? I told him I didn’t know. Perhaps these past seven years were something he was supposed to experience. Perhaps he just married the little *&$@^ just to spite me. Who knows? All that matters is that you knew no matter what, you could always come home. You knew this was your safe haven. The Goddess’ Love brought him home. Her Love & Grace will open his eyes finally. As for me, I am going to serve them a dish best served cold! Not only for myself but also my son.

And Father’s Day This Month – Father’s Day gift ideas for grown-ups

What to give to Dad when you’ve moved beyond the construction paper stage of your life.

By Stephanie Rogers
 
Thanking Dad for all he’s done for you doesn’t have to stop at a greeting card and a gift-wrapped tie. But coming up with fresh, unique ideas for Father’s Day gifts can be hard, especially when you’ve outgrown homemade construction paper cards. Instead of focusing on expensive material gifts or worrying about how to outdo your siblings, think about fun ways that you can surprise your father or spend time with him, even if you don’t live close enough for a visit. Here are 10 fun Father’s Day activitiesand gift ideas for grown children.

 
1. Treat him to his favorite things. If you live near your Dad and can spend the day with him, taking him out to enjoy his favorite activity is hands-down the best way to spend Father’s Day. Whether you just tag along on a fishing trip or organize an all-day outing of picnics and paintball, having you there with him will make it more special.
 
2. Give him a new experience. Maybe your father has always wanted to go to a music festival or a wine-tasting tour. Perhaps he’s been harboring a secret desire to learn how to paint or to visit a nearby town. Talk to him before Father’s Day arrives and try to glean some inside info that will help you craft a plan of action. We tend to focus on childhood memories when we think of our parents, but we should never stop making new ones.
 
3. Take a spa day. A gift certificate to a spa is traditionally more of a Mother’s Day gift, but who says men don’t want to be pampered? There’s nothing quite like a massage for sore muscles, or a nice soak in a mineral tub. He could even get an old-fashioned professional shave. Group relaxation time is great for bonding, too.
 
4. Do all of his chores. If your father is too busy to take the day off and spend time with you or to relax at home, help him eliminate some of his chores. Arrange to have the lawn mowed, or to have somebody else take care of his errands. Swing by and do all of the things around the house that take up the most of his time. At the very least, he’ll be able to kick back for a day — and that can be priceless.
 
5. Send him a video card. Live too far away to visit? Record a video greeting. This is especially fun if you can get together with your siblings, or if you have children who’d like to participate. Recount a funny story from your childhood, or just send a sincere message of love and gratitude.
 
6. Organize a video chat. If you can’t get home and a telephone call just isn’t enough, plan to meet via Apple FaceTime, Skype or video conferencing software. Few Father’s Day activities are as rewarding as a simple chat, and it’s nice to see each other’s faces.
 
7. Create a custom photo album. If you’ve got the time, going through old photographs to choose your favorite memories of your father and put them in a special album can be very rewarding. If you want to keep the originals, scan them and them use an online photo service like Shutterfly.com to design and print a custom photo book.
 
8. Create a montage of home videos. Many of us have drawers full of old VHS tapes or even film reels taken when we were kids. Among all of the long, boring clips of dance recitals and Christmas mornings are bound to be some funny and touching gems. If you’re tech-literate, you can likely learn how to transfer these moments onto a DVD or digital medium, or you can take it all to a video editing company.
 
9. Put together a personalized basket of goodies. Does Dad really need another generic gift basket full of stale crackers and salted meats? Give the standard Father’s Day gift basket a little more thought. Purchase an empty basket and fill it with things your Dad likes — specific foods, wine, movies, gift cards and small objects that will make him smile.
 
10. Try your hand at something creative. So maybe you’re not an artist, and you’re long beyond the age when a clay handprint is an acceptable Father’s Day gift. But something made with your own hands is just as meaningful now as it was when you were 10. Doodle, paint, sculpt or sew. If it results in a horrific mess, all the better — it will get a laugh.