Sunday Intentional: Creating a Ritual

Today is a fun day in that I get to play with the 'big witches'.  Sometimes it feels like I got invited to the grown-up's table :)  But not only do I get to hang with the Witches today, I'm actually running ritual so why not share the process on here with my lovely readers?  I believe that creating ritual is like any other creative process and each person will do it a little differently but that we can all gain insight by seeing how others do it.  Here's me.  Please remember all of these steps are simply how things are done today in the world according to Kat.

The first step of any ritual is intention.  I was chatting with the High Priestess I borrow on a semi monthly basis and expressed my new Sacred Space epiphany, that I'm doing all of this backwards.  The more I thought about how disjointed my magical training is the more I'd like other young people to be able to avoid it.  So the intention for today's working is: Allow the younger seekers to find guidance.  Intention crafting is almost as difficult a process as ritual craft; it should be short and sweet but directed and to the point but making sure to include all the important elements.  The seven words of my intention went through many incarnations, changing even as I write this.

The next part of ritual is purification but that's not the difficult part.  Now that I have the intention I want to discover what the main magic of the ritual will be.  This is typically the part where energy is raised within the sacred space, built up and then released with the intention.  There are various ways of raising energy, like movement, song, intoning, circling, etc.  I think today I'm feeling the noise makers.  We will raise the energy by using hand-held percussive instruments, starting at a very love volume and slow pulse.  As the energy gets added we will increase the speed and volume of the percussive noise until it feels wild and ecstatic and then we will released in intention.  I think when I get there I will crowd source a bit and see what everyone's comfortable with.

Now that the intention and main magic are decided I can work on the other parts or the structure.  Basics include purification, which I think we will most likely do with burning incense and salt water.  I like using these two methods because they bring together all four elements.  If we're feeling cheeky I may just run a quick purification by fire visual, but that may be dangerous, depending on who's house one is in.

Next up is grounding, which I have no desire to lead and don't feel I should need to at the grown-ups play-date, but sometimes a lead grounding exercise is really good for getting all the participant's minds in the same ritual and sacred place.  If we do feel like grounding together I will probably run a quick and dirty water cycle visualization, as I dislike the tree method a lot and the water cycle has the connections to above and below that is so necessary to good grounding.  I believe that all elements can be used to purify and all can be used to ground in, I just haven't figured them all out yet; this will be it's own SI post some other day.

So the participants and space are ready for the ritual to begin, now what?  Set up the sacred space.  This is one of those things that every tradition and sometimes every witch does just a little bit differently.  The three elements of setting up sacred space include casting a circle, inviting the elemental energies and inviting divine presence but not necessarily all of those steps and not necessarily in that order.  Today I will probably cast the circle then invite the elemental energies and then the divine presence.

The point of this stage of the ritual is to separate the space we are in from the mundane world physically and fairly temporally, hence the line "a space out of time and a time out of space"; a circle takes the space between the worlds.  They also serve to filter the energies.  For instance, I always envision my circle as a giant semi-permeable membrane that allows in the energy that is necessary and not detrimental to the working and also allows our energy to flow out as necessary.  I will probably bring my 'travel wand' to cast this circle, teehee.  I've decided to use song to call in the elements called 'I Am' © 1997 by Christian Williamson and you can listen to it here.  I think I will ask Hermes to join us as a God of travel and communication and Athena to be welcome as a Goddess of wisdom.

Once all the magic is done it's very important to say thanks you and good bye.  As I once told my five year old, Gods are kinda like grown-ups and you have to be polite.  I will thank the divine for their time and hail and farewell them, then do the same for the elemental energies, then I will (probably not use the wand to) open the circle and hugs will ensue.

Now that this is all written out, I feel better.  Have a lovely Sunday everyone!

Sunday Intentional: Collegiate Crossroads Crucible

So each year at the Sacred Space conference I have found that I tend to come home with at least one really big ‘AhHa!’ moment. In 2011 that AhHa! was recognizing, for the first time, that I went to college at the crossroads. Now, I mean this figuratively in that college is that place between being dependent and independent and choices made in this liminal space shape current and future paths. But for me personally I also mean this in a very literal sense.

 I went to school at Southampton College of Long Island University, now closed due to incompetence at the highest levels. To get to my school, the directions include: get on NY-27 and drive, keep driving, enjoy the pine-barrens, drive some more and at the first stoplight, take a right. We were the first intersection, the first power substation, the first sign of civilization past the barrens, the first real stopping place on the main road down the south fork. If you let your head go way out with it, the school was a liminal point (college), in a liminal town (first stop on the south fork), on a liminal place (the south fork – between the ocean and the bay), on a liminal place (the island – a glorified sandbar left by glaciers). Once this AhHa! hit, some parts of the college experience suddenly clicked and made so much more sense.

If any of you have caught me at one of those times where I feel safe and supported enough to be open about my experiences (totally different blog post), you have probably heard me talk about Campus. Campus is a collection of energies, spirits, essences and places of power that just happens to have a college sitting on top of it; doesn’t that sound like a perfect combination (sarcasm alert). Every couple of weeks the P.A.G.A.N.S. Club would walk the boundaries of Campus after our meeting and it would go a bit like this:

• Leave the upper class dorms, waving to the sleepy presence that’s in the big field
• Walk over towards Pratt hall and say hi to the Indians on the front lawn, check that they are maintaining the boundary of Campus along Montauk Highway
• Take a few moments for someone to play with the dead boy in the windmill
• Skirt the actual footprint of Pratt Hall, just making sure there are minor wards up; that house is spooky and doesn’t play well with others
• Stop by the ley line under the pine tree circle, if so inclined cheerfully check on the dragon there that smells of deep ice and raw rock
• Swing out around the theatre and play with those bouncy spirits in the (non-circular) pine tree patch
• Feel, check and reinforce the front boundary of Campus along the road that cuts from NY-27 to Montauk Highway
• Smile and wave at the Public Safety officers at the front gate, they may think we’re crazy but they’re always friendly
• Connect with the corner-node of Campus that begins the stretch of boundary with NY-27, high tension lines and the railroad track parallel along the line; check and reinforce as necessary while walking along the inside of the high tension lines.
• While passing the freshman dorms, smile at the Montauks and check that the Peconics are loosely contained
• Enjoy the rest of the walk around the upperclassman dorms and back home as Campus feels better, whole, grateful, at peace… this is the most difficult to describe

Crossroads by JenMcCleary

Many traditions teach that crossroads are places of power and we certainly found this to be true. What’s less often said is that places of power are typically neural, not positive or negative when one looks at their entirety. As a place of power Campus challenged us to experience the mundane and the non-mundane concurrently, but it was never malignant.

Those with any sensitivity to energy were forced to either deal with their layers of experiences or to block one out completely. Many of my friends choose to self medicate the non-mundane away and others fell so far behind in their mundane responsibilities that they could no longer continue to be there.

As I look back there are only a few of us that managed to maintain grades and continue to grow in our power, hence the crucible in the title. For me the challenge of Campus enabled me to just treat as ordinary so many non-mundane things:

• Listening to my body and fasting when called to do so 
• Picking up cards as a tool for my intuition with Tarot Card fights that lasted till 2am 
• Having conversations about past lives with other people that were there with me and have the same memories 
• Having a group of people all experience walking the Boundaries as described above, and experiencing it in the same way at the same time 
• Warding a space 
• Tapping a ley line 
• Forcibly ground myself and others 
• Talk with and interact with spirits and energies and even spirit entities 
• Allowing the Goddess to speak through me 

At the time we didn’t think about it too much, this is just what we did and what happened. Looking back, and even a bit at the time, I can see how overwhelming this could be and understand why my friends may have made their choices. I use the crucible analogy because what Campus did was strip away all the peripherals and just leave us with the pure experience of all of these things; some of us managed to make it through the fire.





I miss Campus. I miss walking the boundaries and I worry how Campus is doing with all the changes. I miss the friendships I made there. I deeply miss the friendships that were lost. But mostly I miss the luxury of sharing experiences in a truly safe space, without judgment. I’m recently starting to connect with people who feel the same and having honest and open conversations with them is helping, slowly but surely.

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Sunday Intentional: A-Z of Me

Welcome to the Lamest Sunday Intentional ever!

A. Age:  Almost 30

B. Bed size:  Queen, cause I have an awesome DBF who talked me into a bigger bed
C. Chore that you hate: Cooking.  There is absolutely NOTHING better than walking into a complete homemade meal every night.  I hate cooking.

D. Dogs: Are not quite as awesome as cats with a few exceptions (cause Tia is awesome!)

E. Essential start to your day: My most amazing daycare-mom ever always sets me up with a cup of coffee for the ride to work.  Did I mention she's amazing?
F. Favorite color: Atlantic gray.
G. Gold or Silver: I'm allergic to gold of almost any kind so I'm a .925 Sterling kinda gal.  (Though I would love to be a platinum kinda gal.)

H. Height: 5’10"

I. Instruments you play: I played the clarinet and marched bass drum in high school, though my best instrument is my voice.
J. Job title: Quality Assurance Technician, Tarot Reader, Pagan Community Organizer
K. Kids: Yup, a 5yr old munchkin who is a fantastic cross between a Valkyrie and a Princess
L. Live: Baltimore, MD

M. Mother’s name: Sandy

N. Nicknames: Well... Kat is the most known one.  The others are only allowed by family, except for Megatron, but Rahat's special
O. Overnight hospital stays: Can't think of one other than the C-Section.
P. Pet peeves: Interrupting me in the middle of a sentence; this is my dad's fault.  Oh, and the word irregardless.
Q. Quote from a movie: "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: 2 younger sisters, who rock

U. Underwear:. Typically boring cotton, sadly
V. Vegetable you hate: Peas... they just taste green... ick!
W. What makes you run late: The aforementioned 5yr old
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, ankle, back, and an CAT scan and MRI for good measure
Y. Yummy food that you make: A version of my mother's chicken in white sauce.... delicious!

Z. Zoo animal: The big cats, any of them :)

Next week will be much more deep and meaningful.

Sunday Intentional: Apparently I got Tagged?!

I'm only doing this because I adore The Cauldron Keeper...

And remember January's giveaway is still live here.

The Rules

1. Post these rules.

2. You must post 11 random thoughts about yourself.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

5. Go to their blog and tell them you have tagged them.

6. No stuff in the tagging section about 'you are tagged if you are reading this.' blah, blah, blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 Random thoughts about me:

1. I hate socks and shoes... no really.... HATE them.  If it were a perfect world I would be barefoot all the time.

2. I can't tie a bow on presents.  Apparently this critical (according to the DBF) step in my ascension to adulthood was missed.

3. I have a tarot card addiction.  It's like my shoe addiction... only worse.  I think I have like 20+ decks right now.

4. The DBF believes that I have NO movie knowledge and is scandalized when I don't know quotes immediately.

5. I finally got sucked back into table-top RPG recently and it's awesome.  I are currently a level 17 straight-rogue with spiffy natural armor that almost started the apocalypse.

6. Geeks are sexy.  Jeff Goldbloom, Egon in Ghostbusters, men who can quote the entirety of the Star Wars universe are just wicked sexy.

7. My secret indulgence is cheezy supernatural or historical romance novels.  It's sad.

8. As a Taurus I am a control freak, and this extends to the remote, much to the chagrin of the DBF.

9. Dolls are creepy. I had a Cabbage Patch doll as a kid and it stayed at the very bottom of the toy box and every once and while I would check to make sure it was still there.

10. I love Jazz music, give me some Charlie Parker or Miles Davis any day!

11. I are a Pagan Community Organizer and it's almost as difficult as it is rewarding

Questions for me to answer:

1.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

  - Being interrupted.  This is totally my Dad's fault cause he is the biggest offender.

2.  How did you find out Santa Claus/Easter Bunny/ Tooth Fairy wasn't quite legit?

  - I don't remember so it must have been less than traumatic.

3.  Favorite toy as a kid?

  - Ponies, totally my little ponies!

4.  If you could go back in time, which person would you most like to shake and say "What were you thinking?!"

  -  Honestly, my ex husband.

5.  Chicken or the egg?

  - Dinosaur

6. If you could read people's thoughts, would you want to?

  - Nope.

7. If you could turn someone into a toad who would it be?

  - Probably also my ex-husband, lol.

8. Fantasy vacation?

  - Caribbean island

9.  What is the most romantic thing you've experienced?

  -  I got a surprise note and key once at the Renn Faire... too sweet.

10. If you could create your own society what would it be like?

  - Benevolent dictatorship with ME in charge, lol.

11.  What book would you most love to see brought to life (through movie making or literally)?

  - Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffery

Who I've tagged:

1.  Mom's a Witch

2. It's all Elemental

3. Free Thoughts of Free Dragon

4. Musing of a Magical Mom

5. By Land Sea and Sky

6. Pieces of Fate

7. Something Oddly

8. The Artistic Witch

9. The Coexist Cafe

10. The Firefly Chronicles

11. David's Cauldron

Questions for you to answer:

1. What's your favorite song or musical artist?

2. If you could live in any era, what would you choose?

3. What's your favorite holiday?

4. Which modern convenience would you rather give up, indoor stoves or plumbing?

5. Pirates or Ninjas?

6. Do you have a patron deity, if so whom?

7. Coffee or Tea?

8. What's the farthest you've ever been from home?

9. Which element is your favorite or which do you work best with?

10. Cats, Dogs, Rodents, Birds or Reptiles?

11. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

Sunday Intentional: Is there a path to the divine?

(Don't forget to enter January's giveaway: Your choice of  handmade Celtic Knots)

So I rarely get involved in online discussions (as they can get so drama-full) but I had to share my $0.02 over here at a Catholic blog by Katrina Fernandez.  My comment was basically a thank you to the writer for her being so upfront and honest about believing that the Catholic religion is the one and true religion.  It may seem weird but here's what I said:

"I have wandered over from Starr Foster of the Pagan Portal and just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being rational, honest and up-front about your faith and your religion. I 100% agree that true interfaith dialogue can't work when everyone is 'tip-toeing' around each other. Through your unapologetic post I feel like I would be able to give you the space to know your Church is right and you could give me space for my faith by not trying to convert me. I think it's unfortunate that some pagans, in the quest for acceptance fail to accept that some religions, like Catholicism, have a doctrine of 'one-true-way' and that just as we look for the space to practice what we believe, we must allow others the same space."

Someone replied to me as Robert E. Donadio, Esq. and basically said that the shortest way to god is a straight line and that Catholicism is that straight line.  This got me thinking... a lot.


Is the shortest way always a straight line?  ie as the crow flies vs roads.  Is it faster to go over the mountain than to follow the landscape?


DO we really have to have any path to get to the divine if it is within us?


Are all religious paths basically spirals that lead back into our own souls?

If the path to the divine is supposed to be a straight line, why all the labyrinths?

Check out the Labyrinth Society’s website, a good source of historical and practical information.

Sunday Intentional: New Years?

New Years is an interesting thing for me to look at deeply as it's not really part of the turning of my internal calendar.  A few years ago at Imbolc I pushed myself to really follow the wheel of the year and the natural patterns of the world.  Because of this goal I already celebrated the end of my year and the beginning of the next at Samhain and the Solstice and I plan to begin the new years goals on Imbolc.

That being said, I have yet to set goals for the next solar circuit and I should have done that at the Solstice and be in planning stages now.  I guess I'm a week or so behind so... as cliche as this post is, here are my goals for the next year:



I will have two products up in my etsy store for ALL sabbats. Yule went well and Imbolc is already planned but needs to be posted.  My etsy store is helping me be a better witch and I will continue to improve and grow my product lines.

I will participate in the 2012 Pagan Reading Challenge and the 2012 Witchy Books Reading Challenge by reading non-fiction witchy and pagan books that have been sitting on my shelves gathering dust.

Blog schedule goals:

• First Featured Friday of each month is a giveaway
• Second Third Featured Friday of each month is a pagan organization
• Keep up with Sunday Intentionals

Sunday Intentional: One day Late and Lame

So... I put up Christmas this weekend and hung out with AWESOME witches.  I have a real post in the works, but you will have to wait until next weekend.  In the meantime here are some interesting facts that none of you know.  And don't forget to swing by my giveaway. 

#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
My actual blood sisters and ONLY my actual blood sisters can get away with calling me "Meggy".

#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
Um, don't know really...

#3. Do you have any weird phobias?
Yes.  I cannot use the bathroom at someone's house if the shower curtain is closed.  I mean, what if there's a crazy person with a knife in there and they wait for me to sit down before they jump out and try to kill me?!  For a similar reason, all closet doors must be kept closed, especially before I go to bed.

#4. What's a song you secretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you're alone?
A Boyz-II-Men album or Michael Jackson... any of them.

#5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
Pagan-Standard-Time and Monotheism-Bashing.  I just feel like it's a lack of respect.

#6. What's one of your nervous habits?
I chew on my fingernails.

#7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The right.

#8. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
I still have my lion named Leo.  He's in rough shape, but my daughter loves him too!

#9. What's the drink you ALWAYS order at Starbucks?
Blech... I like boring coffee and therefore dis-like Starbucks.  When I get dragged there I typically get something iced.

#10. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
Depends on who I'm with, LOL.  Typically "Damn-it" or "Wait, let me pretend to be surprised".

Sunday Intentional: Making the Traditionalists Scoff

I'm a solitary eclectic, that much bemoaned classification that makes practitioners of 'traditional witch craft' scoff and/or roll their eyes.  I do not affiliate with any specific tradition or coven, I tend to practice on my own, celebrating the seasons and lunar phases with spells and rituals based on my learning and experience but infused with deeply personal meanings.  I speak words from my own heart and invite the divine in ways unique to me.  May times I sit down to spell work with only a vague idea of how I will be accomplishing my goals; I just let the magick of intuition guide the magick of my intent.

Not being a 'traditional witch' I can only assume the reason for the typical dismissive reactions is that one could use the term 'solitary eclectic' to mean simply 'I do what I feel is right' and I have even shared this frustration when speaking to some people that self identify as I do... because to just 'do what feels right' takes away from the depth of my personal faith and personal praxis.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82323286

I take my faith very seriously and have studied it for over ten years now.  I have read multiple books about various types of nature based religions.  I have attended conferences and workshops presented by a multitude of traditions/faiths/paths.  I have participated and/or observed rituals and services of multiple faiths.  I engage people in conversation about their personal faith on a regular basis.  I have taken structured classes and less than structured classes but more than all of that I follow my Goddess and try to live as She bids me.  It's really all any of us can do.

Sunday Intentional: Practical Witch?!

One of the terms I introduced in a post (ages ago) is 'practical witch'; not a term one typically bandies about so let me enlighten you and give some background information at the same time.

I'm a solitary eclectic, that much bemoaned classification that makes practitioners of 'traditional witch craft' scoff and/or roll their eyes; a topic I have just decided to save for an upcoming post.  Creating my own faith and praxis means that I have more freedom to improvise in this modern world as I spell and ritual craft.

Example #1: Candle Magick

Money Drawing Spell Candle

So how many spells contain some version of the phrase "Using your athame/a pin carve xxxxxx onto the candle to imprint your intent"?  Well, let me tell you a secret, I don't like getting my athame all waxy and/or I don't have it on me and/or it's a letter opener that couldn't carve into a candle if you tried.  The point of the spell is to take an instrument of your will and set your intention on the candle so why not use a sharpie?  A sharpie can be an instrument of my will, it's even very permanent.  I can be more precise with it; they even come in colors, allowing me to add one more layer of correspondence to any given spell.

 I have watched this suggestion make witches literally twitch but I don't see why.  I am a witch of the 21st century with amazing technology of markers at my fingertips!  My Will will be permanent and pretty!

Example #2: Ritual Tool Storage

Many witches have a special box or shelf in/on which they keep their magical tools, spell components, altar decorations ect.  I also have a special box... a big, portable, many-layered yellow and black tool box.

I like to call it my 'portable altar'.  I have gotten many a skeptical look when I pull it out of my car, but those looks change to looks of grudging admiration when I can set up at least four different altars at the same time, all with materials that I safely transport wherever I want.  Forgot your chalice at home?  I gotcha covered.  Need a different color candle?  Votive, tea-light or chime?  Offering plate broke?  How many do you need?  I LOVE my toolbox!


Example #3: BOS in the Computer Age

Classic Seal of Rassilon Decal

Seriously.... see this previous post.  I want a ridiculously practical and modern Book of Shadows.  I want folders and spreadsheets and cross referenced tables and I don't want to have to hand-write it.  Again, we live in a time of fantastic technology and I do not see the issue with integrating this technology into my magical practice.

Does it really make one's knowledge more 'real' by writing it by hand?  Is the act of typing really less powerful than writing?  I don't believe so nor have I experienced a 'lessening' of power.  How about you?

Sunday Intentional: I actually am a Pagan Community Organizer

A point of clarification (07-14-2011): I was very politely contacted by someone in the pagan community asking for just some clarification about the 'witch-wars' I made a reference to.  I can 100% understand how the language used below could be understood as me pointing fingers at the OHF for the 'witch-wars' which was in NO WAY my intent.  The language of the post comes out of my frustration when trying to reach out and getting met with various forms of the cold-shoulder or even more maddeningly partial pieces of a story that happened when I was still in middle-school.  I do not think any one person or organization is in anyway to 'blame' for my frustrations.  I'm SO sorry if my post came across as accusatory, that was not the intention.

Sunday Intentional: Happy Mid-Summer!

Happy Litha everyone!  This SI is very very very short, because I had a weekend FULL of magick.

First, a HUGE thank you to everyone at the Central Maryland Pagans Two-Year Anniversary Picnic.  We Rocked the Pot-Luck!  The belly-dancing was fantastic, the kids had a blast and I even ran a silly and fun Litha ritual to the Sun God and the Faeries of the place.  Morgaine and I are SO blessed to have such an awesome group of people with us!

Second, thank you to all the Druid and friends at Cedar Light Grove, ADF.  Your ritual among the Well, the Fire and the Tree was beautiful, inspiring and powerful.  It's so wonderful to have you all as a part of the greater Maryland pagan community.

Blessed Solstice to everyone!

Summer Solstice BOS illustration by gwathy

Sunday Intentional: Book of Shadows

I'm not always (in fact very rarely) able to just 'come up with' a topic that I want to delve into.  Thankfully there is a site that can help!  PaganBlogPrompts posts blog topic weekly that ask bloggers to really delve into different aspects of their faith and/or how their faith effects interactions with others/current events.  Without this resource I would NOT be able to keep this blog effectively.  I may not use a prompt every time, but it helps just to know the resource is there.

Prompt from May 12, 2011: Book of Shadows

"What is your Book of Shadows (or Grimoire) like, if you even have one? What does it look like? What sorts of things does it contain? Is it completely handmade, or store-bought?"

Celtic Crow Beautiful Handmade Journal.

When I think of the term Book of Shadows (BOS) I think of a heavy hand-made book, beautifully adorned with mystic symbols containing handwritten sheets of spells and correspondences.  I can almost smell the ink splattered parchment and feel the tattered edges.  It should be pretty and sacred and hold an air of importance and otherworldly-ness.  This is the BOS I have in my mind, it very much looks like this one from mysticmoonmedia (which I desire greatly!).

I'm also a Taurus so I want organization, tabs, dividers, heck, even a book mark or two.   I want tables and indexes and cross reference notes.  I want sections for spells, rituals, herbs, correspondences, deities, path-workings, tarot, other divination, sacred places, meditations, dreams, goals, tools, resources, fae, spirits, recipes, the Wheel of the Year, class notes, rocks and animals too.  Maybe even a section called 'people of note' with a Rolodex or address book.

In reality my BOS is a mish-mash of composition journals, electronic files, loose-leaf notes and workshop handouts.  Every so often I tell myself that I'm actually going to sit down at the computer and really fully digitize my BOS; because I know better than to tell myself I'll actually have the self discipline to sit down and put together a physical BOS.  Truth be told, I'm a practical witch.

Man has created the technology to store nearly infinite amounts of data in plastic covered chips that are smaller than a thumbnail.  Not only that but operating systems allow you to name, sort, categorize, separate and even cross reference files.  Think of all the search-able file types and the artwork that is available at the click of a button. A truly working computerized BOS could be almost as magickal as the hand-bound paper, and easier to search through as well.