Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Samhain To All.

And, because I cannot help myself...

'Twas The Night Of Samhain

'Twas the night of Samhain, and back at the house
The cats were all stirring like they'd seen a mouse.
The pumpkin was set on the counter with care
In the hopes our Beloved Dead soon would be there.

I'd taken off my breeches and my riding cap
And made a to-do list; no time to nap!
A salmon to cook for it's the fish of the wise
But then what should appear to my wondering eyes?

A great horned figure, and his retinue,
So many creatures, it looked like a zoo.
Here in the subdivison? Racing at that speed?
But to the stop sign they all paid no heed.

I heard them calling, "Hail Cernnuons! Hail Pan!
Hail Odin and Herne and come if you can!"
So I followed along as fast as I could
As the whole company headed into the wood

I saw dancing and revelry, wild and fast
We partied for hours and I had a blast.
When I came back, the fish wasn't done
And no-one believed the tale of my fun.

As I was scolded, what rose 'gainst the moon?
The Wild Hunt again, not a moment too soon!
As the Horned One rode past our place again,
They had to admit that I wasn't insane.

We stood unmoving, as though frozen there,
As the Horned One and his Hunt took to the air.
We heard him call as they flew out of sight,
"Happy Samhain to all, and to all a good fright!"



Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ceremonial Magic Afoot.

I'm doing Frater R.O.'s Seven Spheres In Seven Days. So far, it's...interesting.

I started last Thursday, just as I got hit with the double whammy of the Sinus Crud and a sudden firing from the Bad Barn*. By Saturday, I was asking the good Frater if this stuff ought to be left alone by a newbie like me if she was pretty damn sick.  Based on his response, I soldiered through. I'm still sick, but I really have to wonder if I wouldn't be bedridden by now if I weren't doing this; I'm better for a while after each Rite, and have at least been able to go to work at the Good Barn.

I also joined the FB group he's set up to discuss results, though with my normal tendency not to discuss Work until it's done, I'm probably not contributing much. But I'm doing it - maybe not perfectly, maybe reading from cue cards, maybe in a way that would give any real magician fits, but sticking with this nonetheless.

Now it's off to feed the horse, get some groceries, and buy a piece of wood for a proper Table Of Practice.


*Via email, no less. The Bad Barn has apparently done this kind of thing before, or so goes horse community scuttlebutt. Considering that they apparently wanted the remaining trainer to use a horse with blood-spurting wounds in her lessons, I think this was a straight-up blessing, no disguise needed. And I think a call to the ASPCA may be in order. A little "heads-up" to Epona will happen at the very least.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Samhain Wonderland.

Granted, we haven't gotten the festivities on the way I would've liked. But there was dinner last night with the Housemates and some friends, and a plate for the Ancestors.

And now, from my own warped brain, I give you...


Walkin' in a Samhain Wonderland
 
Bones rattling, are you listnin'?
In the lane, offerin's glistnin',
What a beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walkin' in a Samhain wonderland.
 
Sidhe-folk troop out of their mounds
Here's the Hunt and all of its' hounds
Extra turnips to carve,
Hurrah! We won't starve!
Walkin' in a Samhain wonderland.
 
Maybe later we can read the Tarot,
And play some funny tricks on Parson Brown,
He'll say, "Did you do this?", we'll say, "no man,
'Twas the Man in Black who knocked your outhouse down"
 
Later on, we'll perspire
As we dance by the fire
We're happy to say
It's the New Year today
Walkin' in a Samhain wonderland.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Weather Report.

Temperature: chilly. Hooray!

Time: 8:32am.

Six-hour forecast: continuation of Rufus Opus's Seven Gates in Seven Days Rites, with today's being Venus. Riding lesson after the Rite. Pumpkin-picking and Samhain dinner with Housemates, Husband, and friends.

Advisory: go take the stew meat out of the fridge before you forget.

Monday, October 22, 2012

When Life Gets In The Way.

Despite my best intentions to Demand Some Answers this Sunday, life got in the way.

First, a lesson at the New Barn, which was fabulous. My students were adorable and pretty darn talented. Next was meeting The Ex to get my dog for a walk in the state forest. Then home and chatting with Housemate #1. After that, off to the store for foodstuffs. Cooking of the foodstuffs followed. Husband was in bed and dead to the world by 9pm after a grueling day spent disposing of The Jeep That Would Not Run, (aka Remind Me To Curse Hell Out Of The Asshole Who Sold Us This Thing).

And then I went to bed, as Husband has overtime this week. Despite it being "overtime", this actually means that he has to be at work at 4am. Which meant we had to be up by 2:10am at the latest in order to feed him and pack his lunch and whatnot. Ugh. Money good. Schedule bad.

I've got five hours before I have to be at the New Barn again for more lessons, and I fully intend to get some time in front of the altar before then.


Friday, October 19, 2012

The Land, Redux.

Husband and I will be looking for our own place in a few months - say, around March. We will probably not get a place with land.

The idea of moving into some just-off-the-highway rent-a-box with no woods around or near it makes me grieve. For years, now, I've lived in actual houses, mostly suburbs with a decent amount of flora and fauna. But I suspect that wherever we end up, there will be no raccoons in the yard, no owls in the trees, no Land. No more watching the stars fade out after sending the Husband off to work.

I keep praying for a trailer on some land where I can keep the horse and my dog; a little patch that we can rent from decent landlords where I can garden and engage in the kind of outdoor witchery that I'm accustomed to, i.e., the kind that isn't well-suited to a little patio in full view of the neighbors. Maybe a rent-to-own.

I keep telling myself that the Husband said, just a few days ago, that I have proven myself to be very resourceful. If I am, then surely the Gods are even moreso, and They see what I do not.

I keep going, no matter how much I want to jump up and down, shaking my fists at the sky, yelling, "WHAT EXACTLY AM I SUPPOSED TO LEARN BY BEING 41, IMPOVERISHED, DRAGGING THE POOR HUSBAND WITH ME THROUGH ALL THIS, AND GETTING THE SLATS KNOCKED BACK OUT FROM UNDER ME EVERY TIME I THINK IT'S FINALLY OK TO RELAX AND FEEL SAFE? HUH? I WANT ANSWERS, DAMMNIT!!!"

Time to spend some of this weekend at the altar, I think. There are answers, and I need to find out what they are.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Wherein The Ocelot Discovers Her Husband Is Pretty Good At Witchery.

Setting: Renfaire. Time: Yesterday. Place: Prince of Wales Pub at TRF. Husband is buying beer, bantering with the bartender (a straight woman) and a performer (a young gay man). Our Heroine (me) comes up behind Husband, banters along with bartender and young man for a moment, and then -

HUSBAND: We need to leave now.
ME: What? (figuring either Young Man or Bartender has freaked him out somehow, which is pretty odd as he is not homophobic, not skeeved by older women, and a flirt to boot)
HUSBAND: (takes off out of Pub at a brisk pace)
ME: (plaintively, trying to drink raspberry mead while following) Why are we running?

Finally, we find an opportune stopping point.

H: The Ex-Husband and Ex-Co Wife were right behind us.
ME: (indifferent) Really? (thinks, gets puzzled) But I didn't see anybody. (Ex-Husband is a big man and not easily missed)
H: Yeah, well, I might have...done something so you didn't see him.
ME: WAIT, WHAT?! Since when can you make other people invisible to me?
H: Well, I thought you wouldn't want to see him and have it ruin your day, so...
ME: (brain bending at uncomfortable angles) SO YOU MADE HIM INVISIBLE SINCE WHEN CAN YOU DO THIS.
H: (a bit smugly) Didn't you think I was a good enough witch to do something like that?
ME: (sternly) That is not the point. HOW DID YOU DO THIS IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN MISS HIM.
H: (again with slight smug) All things are energy. So I just pushed him one way and you the other.
ME: (headbench) So now there's going to be weirdness about "Why did you two run off" and crap. It would have been better to just do the, "Oh hai seeya bye" thing. And by the way, again, HOW DID YOU DO THIS.
H: I told you. It isn't hard, and -
ME: (suspicious) Have you done this to me before?
H: (serious) No. I just thought it might ruin your day.
ME: No, it would not have ruined my day. It's a big Faire, and it is a beautiful cool day and I am here with the man I love who loves me. Seeing him doesn't do anything to change that. But you have to understand something.
H: What?
ME: THAT THIS IS LIKE GIVING YOUR KID A CHEMISTRY SET, SHOWING HIM HOW TO MAKE A BAKING-SODA AND VINEGAR VOLCANO, AND THEN FINDING HIM IN THE BASEMENT WITH A FULL ALCHEMICAL SETUP THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
H: (snickers)
ME: (despairs)

A stern "we do not make decisions for other people like that and this may be why you now have a hell of a headache" general lecture was issued. Another lecture on "let's use our witchery to create a computer glitch that makes the ocelot's student loan payments considerably smaller so she can actually pay them" will follow.*


*I'm kidding.