Invocation to the Bornless One

Why do  I fear?
Why do I turn from the light that I look at the ground upon my own shadow?
Overshadow me! Bornless one, that I may see with true sight.
Spread your wings upon me that my soul my fly
that I see your shining face and know your Will.

Is it not the forest fires that opens the seed?
Is it not the storm that brings clear skies and rainbows?
For I have tread long enough in the darkness of the forest,
and seek the break of the sun, cresting over the mountain.

Satori, are you there?

...and her name is Hope.

-painting "Dawn of Hope" by Daniel Gerhartz

Redefining Health, Fitness, and Beauty

For a long time I have been in a dilemma, because I am really short, stocky, and pale among other things that make me completely not fit in with the ideas of beauty in this society.  In the past 6 months I discovered Crossfit, and started redefining my ideas about strength, fitness, and my own fitness and body image. 

This week I decided to add in another approach.  For many years I've courted the idea of being really strong.  I admired strong, muscular women, and wanted to be like them and yet, never seemed to find the way in at the gym in the way that made sense.  In the past six months I went from being in pain and being lazy, being in horrible cardiovascular health, to being vibrant, stronger than I have ever expected, and having a strong physical balance in my core.  I love how I feel.  I feel alive!

And yet, something wasn't adding up.  I eat decently to begin with, and yet, I weight almost as much as I ever have and am not getting thinner.  My body proportions have changed a lot in the past 6 months.  In fact, I've lost 2 inches off my chest, waist, and hips.  I've probably lost close to that off my thighs as well.  My ankles look different too.  My wedding photos from less than a year ago look soft and round to me.  And yet, I wasn't getting smaller, quite the opposite in some ways.  My pant size is the same and my weight is the same.  I am looking at maybe starting to wear men's tailored shirts and altering the waist in order to have room for my biceps, shoulders, and back.

So I started looking at photos.  Here I was feeling strong, and fit, and proud of myself, and wondering why my reflection still looked so far off from any idealized form of feminine beauty I could lay hands on.

This week it occurred to me.  I was looking at all the wrong photos.  I needed to look at Olympians, bodybuilders, and Oxygen Magazine.  A new world opened to me.  Suddenly my legs started looking strong, not bulky.  My back is stable, not wide.  I took it a step further and tried to find some inspirational photos from someone my height.  At 5'1", it's hard for me to find what might make sense for my build.  I found Maribel Dominguez.  She's 5'1", 40 years old, lives in NJ, and weighs 135 pounds.  Ha!  a real weight goal for me! I think she looks amazing. 

See Maribel Dominguez here

I won't look like a professional bodybuilder, ever, doing the amount of physical exercise I'm currently doing, but I can still maybe adopt the adage that "Strong is the new skinny".   Looking at women who have muscles and workout, my body doesn't look weird.  It just looks untrained.

We all need to be active and conscious about how we identify with our culture and the messages we get from the media and our peer, etc.  The issue however, is just like in energetic healing, unless you replace a void with a new thing to fill it, it remains a void.  That void then attracts something else.  This is where the saying that nature abhors a vacuum comes to mind.  Without deciding what to fill that void with, it is very hard to actually change perceptions and habits moving away from the old and towards the new.  

Maribel will be mine for now.  Just because most jackets and T-shirts are too tight in the arms doesn't mean I'm a freak.  It means I'm healthy and strong and clothing styles assume I'm a weakling.  Just because a focus toward health and athleticism is a minority in this culture doesn't mean I'm obsessed, it means I'm healthy and the bell curve needs to shift.  It's time for us all to wake up and build the Earth of our bodies, the salt of our being in a way that will move toward longevity and vitality.

Remember the work is in the mundane.

Blessings. 

The Circle is the Beginning of Magick

My coven is hosting a Circle Casting Extravaganza on August 4th and 5th.

Weekend intensive hosted by Order of the World Tree, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Order-of-the-World-Tree-Assembly-of-the-Sacred-Wheel/233311536732463 a coven in the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. This workshop is presented by Ivo Dominguez Jr., author and an Elder of the Assembly. The workshop will run 8/4 & 8/5 10am-5pm with the Coven's Lammas ritual at 6pm on Sunday.

Cost: $60 if paid no later than August 1st,
$75 at the door (cash only)

Preregistration: May be sent by check to:
Order of the World Tree,
PO Box 665, Ridgefield Park NJ

Or by Paypal to owt@sacredwheel.org. (Email if you need an invoice to pay from)

To RSVP: Email Maggi Setti at owt@sacredwheel.org or call 201-655-4785 for more details.

The casting of the circle is the beginning of ritual and magic in many Wiccan and Pagan traditions and the beginning is always important. In fact, the energetic container provided by the circle casting greatly determines the qualities and characteristics of the ritual experience and efficacy. Do not underestimate the impact of a strong and coherent circle casting that is tuned to the specific work that you are about to undertake.

In this workshop we will explore the process of circle casting, the nature of the Quarters, the 4 Elements, the 3 Modalities, and nuances that are often left out in most training. Whether you are a beginner or an old hand this workshop will provide you with useful insight and techniques. There will be a mixture of both theory and practice. If you have a wand or an athame, please bring it (or both). If not, there will be a few available on loan for the exercises.The workshop will also cover techniques to awaken and to raise the power that is required to actually create sacred space. Perfectly spoken invocations and moving with grace and ease are not enough. You must actually become a conduit for the energies required to take us between the worlds and you must shape them with your will.

Bio:
Ivo Domínguez, Jr. is a visionary, and a practitioner of a variety of esoteric disciplines who has been active in Wicca and the Pagan community since 1978. He serves as one of the Elders of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, a Wiccan syncretic tradition that draws inspiration from Astrology, Qabala, the Western Magickal Tradition and the folk religions of Europe. He is the author of Casting Sacred Space: The Core Of All Magickal Work; Spirit Speak: Knowing and Understanding Spirit Guides, Ancestors, Ghosts, Angels, and the Divine; Beneath the Skins with other books in the pipeline as well. He is also is one of the owners of Bell, Book, & Candle (http://www.bellbookandcandle.biz/), Delaware's largest metaphysical shop. More information is available at http://www.ivodominguezjr.com/.

Published article to be released in August on Witches and Pagans Magazine!

In August I have an article titled "beyond the Written Page" that will be published by Witches and Pagans magazine. The only way to see this e-article is by subscribing to Witches and pagans magazine.  You will then receive their subscribers only enewsletter including my article  

The article is about all the things in magick that you just can't learn from books and the underlying truths of making magick and learning the craft.

Subscribe now so you catch the web article in August!  Make sure you mention that you wanted to catch Maggi Setti's article so she knows where the business came from!

Subscribe to Witches and Pagans Magazine here.

Blessed be!  (and squee!  LOL)

Love, love and love some more

In the current affairs, we find ourselves in a battle of ideologies.  The open intolerance of people is polarizing every aspect of their lives.  Those of us that think about our choices and allow ourselves the reasons for our actions are caught in the rift between the power struggle. 

Most of my lessons in the past couple of years have been about love.  Could it be that all lessons are about love?  My heart beats to the tune of acceptance, tolerance, respect, and love.

 When I was a child, I tried to live as Jesus would have wanted people to; acceptance, tolerance, and love.  It felt right.  In the end, it was the backstabbing, hypocrisy, politicking, and pettiness that that led me from the church and toward a direction connection with God.  I found love, God's love.  I found equality and acceptance for myself.  I found steadfast constancy.  I found that my gender, my sexuality, the  truth of my being was a beautiful strong light that people see and look up to.  That light shines no matter what. 
It is through letting our love show, and living our love that others can afford the freedom to also pursue love.  Love is never ending, it will never run out.  It is the only thing that can fight the fear and insanity of the rest of the world. 

I reach toward love and Unity.  I reach toward the light of my God Soul and the light of God beyond that.  Above me is Beauty, Wisdom, and Understanding.  And today, my soundtrack will be the heartbeat drum, beating for love.