• April 19-21: The moon will be in Scorpio for most of the weekend, so that is a great time for digging out these roots of spiritual corruption and also dealing with things you’ve hidden away, secrets, shame issues.
• April 21-23: Late Sunday afternoon the moon slips into Sagittarius which is a great time to embrace you adventurous self, work on fears of trying new things, temper impulsive behavior that might be harmful.
• April 23- 25: Late Tuesday, April 23 our waning moon moves into Capricorn. Are you stuck around money or practical issues? What do you need to dig in and get done?
• April 26-28: Friday morning, April 26, the moon skips into Aquarius. This is a good time to think about the bigger picture. Use this opportunity to get out of yourself and spread some kindness to others. Plant a seed of love.
• The 26th and 27th of April designate the Last Quarter phase.
• April 28-30: Late on the 28th as the moon appears as a waning crescent, Pisces will give you opportunities to work on spreading some of that love to yourself. Give your feet that pedicure. Tell yourself you are awesome!
• May 1-3: Finally, the first three days of May bring us into Aries. All that raw energy is great, but if you have anger issues this would be a good time to focus on tempering them.

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Of course, waning moon is good for working on issues you want to let go, regardless of what sign it is in, the signs just give us a boost in particular areas. 

Mercury retrograde ain't helping!

However, even before Mercury kicked my bootie, the first couple of months of the year were pretty challenging! We have neighbors who generously share internet with us at no charge and we were not getting a regular signal from their Wi-Fi!

I am disabled and also carless at the moment so getting places to use WiFi has been challenging. Those disabilities also make me pretty slow in general! Suffice it to say, it's been a rough start to the year.  

Today Facebook and Instagram had a major glitchfest world wide, and were just plain down in some places, making them the poster children for Mercury Retrograde!

I decided that today might be a good day for a break from social media.

I cancelled a doctor appointment that felt like a time waster. I called the dispatcher and cancelled the service that picks me up for appointments hours before I needed to, They sent a driver anyway.  I read a book. I looked at pictures. I finished out a couple blog posts out of half a dozen partially written ones. And when my roommate returned from smog testing his car, I borrowed it to go out for tea and internet. 

So, huzzah! TWO posts: This one and a (Hardly, almost) Daily Divine post. A spread for when you JUST CAN'T EVEN!

Mercury Retrograde is always a good prompt to take more time. Think things through, Take time out for self care, nature, a cuppa tea! Read a book. Treat yourself gently. Embrace your slothy self!

(Play hookey and go see Captain Marvel)

Like I said, I am slowly chugging away at a few more blogs. They always take me so long because of physical pain and focus problems, but even after I finish, it takes more time to add illustrations, spell check and edit, and add categories.  I want them to be quality reading for you. 

There are a couple of things, I don't recommend and this is just my opinion.

I would take a hard pass on Kooch Daniels’ Palmistry class which seems to show up every year. The reason I don’t recommend it is that when I attended it was a total disorganized mess and a big portion of it focused on cold reading your clients rather than just reading their palms. She also paraded my palm around insisting that I had this rare double lifeline, which I later was told is not the case. So, I dunno. That’s my warning.

I’m also no longer recommending Orion Foxwood’s books, workshops, etc to anyone. H recently showed his support for a cultural appropriator who was being viciously defended by obvious racists. When called out for it, he made more excuses and in a display of precious white male fragility, refused to engage further, stomped his foot and deleted all evidence of the disagreement and his original offensive statements. You can get a taste of what he did HERE.

In the Vender Room I highly recommend you check out my friends Bob and Lisa's bling at The Dragon's Treasure Booth! Eye Scream Jewelry is also fabulous. The Fairy Oddmothers has fun stuff too.

Most of all, if you go, have fun and tell me all about it!

I wrote a piece on Thought Of The Deity, about Brigid, and how I formed a relationship with The Great Goddess if you want to find out more. Imbolc is her day. Imbolc is a midwinter festival when we start to focus signs of the coming spring. New growth is in sight. We set intentions for transformation. We light candles to brighten up the dark of winter. The flames spark  new beginnings, creativity, fertility and positive change!

When doing an Imbolc working it is good to spend some time in reflection and gratitude for the winter time when things,  AND YOU, have been resting, gathering energy to burst forth and put your new goals into action. As you light your candles, you can imagine all the things that have been holding you back melting away like the snow. As light returns, what goals do you want to focus on? What changes do you want to make? What negative influences is it time to let go? What  new thing do you want to kindle? 

Imbolc is a joyous celebration, but it is also a good time to dig deep and come to terms with things you have been avoiding

Today, will be the time that I sit down and focus on new goals for 2019. I’m not a resolution person, but goals, I can do. One of the things I have started to focus on which seems perfect for Imbolc, in particular, is to ask Brigid for assistance with doing some deep evaluation and letting go of some of the people and things I’m still connected to from C.A.Y.A. Coven.  Last year, when things blew apart, I actually had the urge to reconnect, but now I think that only a few of these people are going to be good connections in my life moving forward. There was a lot of toxic crap and I am going to be healing for a long time.

The moon is a waning crescent tonight, which is perfect for banishing and clearing negativity so this is perfect. Since the moon is in Capricorn, I can also use this to help clear any negative junk I have clinging to ideas about money or creative projects.  And since it's Friday, I can work on issues I'm having that are interfering with love; self love!

 Well sadly, I have never gotten the knack of making a Brigid’s Cross. I did have one someone made for me but that had to be disposed of in the ongoing purge. I also have no way to go get stuff for crafts so that is out for now. If I have a chance to be industrious this afternoon, I may root around for pipe cleaners or go outside to see if there are any long pine needles I could try with.

I also didn’t have any flowers so I improvised by draping a floral scarf with a white background across the front of the dresser that I'm using as the altar. I also used a little unicorn headband that has flowers on it to add a feeling of spring. Also since the unicorn represents Scotland another area where Brigid is sacred Oh, I thought it worked. I also hung a image of a tea set covered with flowers that also works because it includes a crystal ball and some tarot cards.

​For crystals and such: a silver bracelet with turquoise, serpentine, a clear quartz point, tangerine quartz,  a garnet and picture window quartz which is wonderful for scrying. I might put some chamomile flowers o the altar if I have them or some chamomile tea.

Although I do have a background in Anthropology and have found myself drawn to many cultures (my DNA results show I am pretty much a solid blob of boring Whitey McWhiterson genetic detritus) I never sought out any “exotic” gods or goddesses. I actually started out with Norse and Celtic deities because they made the most sense. Not very many of them vibed with me, however and others started “showing up.” Over the years I seemed to accumulate a plethora of random deities who wanted me to do this or that for a short or sometimes a long time. Some helped me and went away. Some wanted a major commitment, even a dedication. Most of the deities I have felt the most affinity for hail from Greek, Hindu and Egyptian cultures, but that’s not all.

As someone who wants very much to avoid cultural appropriation, cross-cultural, seems a better term than, multicultural. Sure, if you believe in past lives, it’s possible that these were at one point my cultures, but that does not make me an expert, nor does a background in anthropology give me permission to don the trappings of another tradition. Yes, you can argue that deities are archetypes and that from culture to culture they are essentially the same, You can argue the history of religious blending, adopting and appropriating by invading cultures or mixing through trade and commerce having been a thing and therefore making it a non issue.. You can argue cultural appreciation. But, you shouldn't. I think those things are too "easy"  to argue when you are white. and have no real experience with having something so precious taken away from you.

I used to wear Sarees pretty frequently to rituals and pagan gatherings, and that was probably okay because I wore them with respect and genuinely loved the comfort and grace of the clothing.  I would get henna art from time to time, usually in the form of spiritual symbols that were meaningful to me. However, I never thought it would be fun to get traditional henna designs that actually MEAN something not appropriate for me and it never crossed my mind once that it would be cool to wear a bindi!

I have seen many white pagan women slap a bindi on their forehead along with a sexy outfit at rituals, conventions or social events. I used to be in a coven where the very white High Priestess decided that she was the reincarnation of Tibetan Dakini, Yeshe Tsogyal, even bestowing the holy title upon herself. She also claimed to have been a Mongolian Princess. in a past life. She made false claims about her studies, teaching "Tibetan Buddhist chanting"  to mostly white people, She taught pasty people about the Orisha too.. People ate that horseshit up and she's still serving it out.

I used to want to live at a compound dedicated to Isis where a bunch of white women held rituals and read sacred texts, but I'm really, really uncomfortable and conflicted about that whole thing now. I have friends who worship and serve there and it is really important to them, but it's not for me,

​It's important to evaluate, what is genuine and what is just playing  cultural dress up. I'm not from India. It's not my culture, I may be blessed to work with Hindu deities but I am not Hindu. I don't wear sarees in public anymore.  I wouldn't consider doing a puja for someone either. ​ My goal is to be as respectful and sensitive as possible while walking my path.

Personally, I do not feel it would be appropriate for me to call myself a priestess of Isis, Oshun, or Durga. Other white people who do this make me queasy, especially those who have decided they can  ordain themselves and then instruct others in a tradition that is not truly theirs to claim.. I'm not saying every white priest/priestess/priestx of a tradition practiced by people of color is out of line, but you must be respectful. You are a guest, hopefully an invited one.  My calling to work with these goddesses does not give me permission to educate people of color on how to worship them. I’m really careful to be respectful and to listen to any criticism. My relationship with these goddesses is very personal. You need to study, listen and make your own decisions.