nefaeria: October 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Luverly of the Week: Crow from fotographix.ca

Happy Hallowe'en/Samhain!

We wish you all a wonderful Hallowe'en/Samhain/Hallowmas/El Día de los Muertos or whatever holiday that you celebrate at this time! May these next few days be filled with blessings for you and yours and may the Ancestors be honoured.

Sláinte!

Aymi & Laurel

Friday, October 30, 2009

Sleeping for Another Season

I think it's safe to say that the garden is done the year {save for some onions, lettuce and beets!}. *sniff* *sniff*

Skeery!

The Sabbath of Witches by Francisco Goya, 18th C.

Wanna see something spooky just in time for Hallowe'en? This article that I originally came across on The Wild Hunt will fail to disappoint! The article is called The Danger of Celebrating Halloween and it is written by Kimberly Daniels and was published in Charisma.

Before I comment on some of the content of the article, please note that I do not have a problem with Christians and folks of other religions not celebrating Pagan/Pagan-based holidays. I get it, really. I also do not have a problem with these folks even speaking out against these holidays, as it is their right to do so! What I do have an issue with is intellectual dishonesty and fear-mongering...so let's have a look, shall we?

You may ask, "Doesn't God have more power than the devil?" Yes, but He has given that power to us. If we do not walk in it, we will become the devil's prey. Witchcraft works through dirty hearts and wrong spirits.

Uh, what? No, I am not one of those Pagans who buy into the fluff that all Witches are about 'love and light', but they come in all stripes. Of course there are some who will blast some poor sap for cutting them off during rush hour, and others who prey on the unwitting for their own personal gratification. That is not everyone though. And the last I checked, there were all sorts of 'dirty hearts and wrong spirits' within Christian churches. Isn't there something in the Bible about casting stones?

During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.

I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.

Ok, I am beginning to wonder if this woman is actually a writer for The Onion.

The truth is that these demons that have been presented as scary cartoons actually exist. I have prayed for witches who are addicted to drinking blood and howling at the moon.

I think she meant to say people with mental health issues. I am no shrink, but I am pretty sure that delusion and paranoia are symptoms of a few.

While the lukewarm and ignorant think of these customs as "just harmless fun," the vortexes of hell are releasing new assignments against souls. Witches take pride in laughing at the ignorance of natural men (those who ignore the spirit realm).

Yep, better get those symptoms checked out.

Now to the really scary shit!

The word "occult" means "secret." The danger of Halloween is not in the scary things we see but in the secret, wicked, cruel activities that go on behind the scenes. These activities include:

Sex with demons

Hey, some people need to get it from somewhere!

Orgies between animals and humans

That's right, a common form of entertainment at our shindigs is wanking off horses!

Animal and human sacrifices

Wasn't this at one point a favourite Christian activity?

Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood

Oh, you mean like the numerous events where Yahweh condoned this in the Bible?

Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies

Sounds familiar doesn't it?

I am quite certain that this is not the average Christian's point of view! It would be great if the Christians who embrace intellectual honesty could let these nutters like this writer know that they do not speak for them.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Wortcunning: Black Witches Butter {Exidia glandulosa}

Photo from AnneTanne

Given that Samhain/Hallowe'en is only a couple days away, I thought that Black Witches Butter would be a most suitable candidate to do a wortcunning post on. It is not the most lengthy one I have done, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless.

Other Names: Black Faery/Fairy Butter, Black Jelly Fungus, Black Jelly Roll, Warty Jelly, Devil's Butter, Troll-Smor.

Description: One could not say with a straight face that Black Witches Butter is a pretty fungus, and I have come across a few that are very reminiscent of poop. But physical beauty is certainly not everything!

Black Witches Butter is a jelly fungus, just like the similarly named Gold Witches Butter. It is anywhere from a greenish brown to almost black in colour, and comes in masses up to 30 cm in diameter. Although generally jelly-like, when in very dry weather, it becomes crusty and can sometimes look like a completely different fungus. It can be found in North America and in many places in Europe.

Warnings: As with all herbs, one should make sure to be thoroughly informed before ingesting them, and is best to do so under the guidance of a qualified healer.

I have not ingested it myself, so I am certainly not qualified to say if Black Witches Butter is edible or not. There also seems to be quite a wide disagreement on its edibility, so with that said, it is probably best to err on the side of caution.

Photo from Cornell Fungi

Cultivating: Black Witches Butter is a fairly common sight in hard and mixed wood forests, most often seen in cooler regions. It is generally found on recently fallen hardwood branches, especially on those that once belong to an oak, birch, and alder tree. The fruits are seen in Spring and Autumn, and sometimes during a cool period in Summer and a warm one in Winter.

Medicinal/Remedial Properties and Lore: In Asia, many different jelly fungi have been used for their healing properties for hundreds of years. They are most coveted for being immune boosters, and to help with health conditions effecting circulation and breathing.

According to The Hiker's Notebook, jelly fungi have been found to:

...reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and are useful in the treatment of allergies and diabetes.

The Hiker's Notebook goes on to say:

A group of Israeli and Ukrainian researchers evaluated fungi of the Tremella genus in 2000 and confirmed that they exhibited antitumor properties and that they could be used to "improve immunodeficiency … and to prevent senile degeneration of microvessels."

Photo from amadej2008

Magical Properties and Lore: In Popular Names of British Plants by Dr. R.C. Alexander Prior, it got its name from:

its buttery appearance, and unaccountably rapid growth in the night, which has given rise to a superstitious belief, still prevalent in Sweden, that witches milk the cows,and scatter about the butter on the ground.

The authors of English Botany give credit Johann Jacob Dillenius for inspiring the name, because according to him, Black Witches Butter was thrown on a pyre to counteract malignant witchcraft.

I have personally used it in this manner for banishing magic, and have found it quite effective. I have some in my possession and will be using it for this purpose again soon.

Other Uses: None really that I know of, although it could be perhaps used in a prank to mimic poop! ;)

Sláinte!

Laurel

Monday, October 26, 2009

Moday Musing: Letting Go

Boy on White Horse from Theodor Kittelsen

I was re-reading a few write ups that I have collected about Kelpies.

The legend goes that Kelpies often disguise themselves as beautiful horses, and can be seen by water. When seen, there is an overwhelming desire to ride them, which often leads to the rider’s death as the Kelpie dashes to the water, and devours its rider.

When reading them it dawned on me that this is often what anger is like. It is so tempting to hold onto anger! It is an effective armour to keep around the heart for those who have been deeply hurt. But eventually you can be devoured by it.

I think that it would be fair to say that lately I have been a very angry person. In my defence, my anger is largely justified, whether talking about a local group who has plagiarized and/or misused a proposal that I wrote for another group 5 times in less than a year and lying about it {these are the times that I know about} to reliving some pretty serious transgressions that were committed against me in my childhood in preparation for trial.

Yes, my own anger is probably justifiable to most, but I am not handling all of this gracefully. I have been so tempted to smear the fuckers who have stolen my work and I have found myself hoping that the asshole who violated me has a long and painful death. This is the type of anger—no, rage—that can consume a person. It clouds your judgement and can make you over react to other things happening in the here and now. If it goes too far, it can make you give up on the world.

I am not ready to give up...I am ready to let go.

I know that the group who stole my writing will be their own undoing, as they are not too bright. Eventually they will piss off the wrong person or organization and either be ostracized or dealt with in a legal arena. This I do not have the time or energy for, and I have bigger things to contend with.

I have faith that my abuser will be found guilty. If this does happen, at the very least he will be put on Canada's sex offender list, and he will be publically known as a child rapist. That way I can put my own demons to rest, knowing that he will think twice before he does it again.

Clearly, I am not coming from a place of forgiveness, nor even relinquishing my anger. I suppose what I am letting go of is my desire for vengeance.

Hey, it's a step.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Luverly of the Week: Autumn Dreams from onkel_wart

Autumn Dreams from onkel_wart

This is such a beautiful shot from a graveyard. Below are a few of my other favourites that can be found on Flickr Creative Commons:

From uberculture:

From seriykotik1970:

From tim_d:

From Davide Rusconi:

From Donna Cazadd:

From Shadowgate:

From AndreA:

From D.O'Brien:

From mira66:

From Bad curtain from hell:

From [henning]:

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Samhain Pretties {Ritual Edition}

During the time when 'the veil between worlds in the thinnest', many folks like to take advantage of this time to conduct rituals, divination, and to commune with our Ancestors, Land Spirits and Gods.

Here are some items from Etsy that could come in handy for Samhain.

Offering Dish from Last Chants