Happy Merry Christmahaunakwanzyule! Or not :P

The is my response to a conversation about saying "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas." Some people felt that if they had to give up saying "Merry Christmas," that would be persecution. In some ways, yes, they're right, but again, this is a subject full of grey area. In some settings, "Happy Holidays" is just more polite. At work or in a position of authority, you're not denying your own beliefs, you're being inclusive of others'. When working or in a position of authority, how you act is not supposed to be about you, but about the people you are serving.

I'm not offended by anyone saying Merry Christmas to me. The person is just trying to be nice, (hopefully.) I don't think the point is to take away from someone else's beliefs, but to find a way to INCLUDE everyone. But for a twist of fate, "Happy Hanukkah" or "Blessed Yule" could be the top dog of religious greetings. Saying "Happy Holidays" is just a simple way of wishing someone a happy holiday, no matter what holiday a person follows.

I do think that the whole P.C. thing is taken too far sometimes. Getting pissy when someone uses a specific religious greeting is excessive. I doubt most people are TRYING to offend when saying "Merry Christmas," or "God Bless." However, I don't think saying "Happy Holidays" is going to "break" anyone. I see it as another example of teaching my kids that there are a multitude of religions in this world, and we should be tolerant of all of them.

At this age, if I encouraged my kids to only say "Blessed Yule," that sends a message that there is something wrong with other religions, or that ours is somehow better. I don't want them to think that. I want them to see all religions as equal, just as I want them to see all people, no matter what they look like, as equal. Young or old, fat or thin, black or white or sky-blue-pink-with-purple-polkadots, I would expect my children to treat them all with respect. So, too, would I expect my kids to respect anyone else's religious beliefs.

Bullies aren't going to go away.

I'm always keeping an eye on my oldest for any signs of her being bullied. Like I was at her age, she is very intelligent and mature, but also innocent and naive. She's also the kind that dances to the beat of her own drum. Thankfully, she is a complete Scorpio, and a natural loner. So far, what other people think doesn't concern her at all.

Me? I was a Virgo/Libra blend, who just wanted to make people happy and fit in. To this day, I still don't know what it was about me that prompted that first bully, back in Kindergarten. What I do know, 23 years too late, is what I did wrong from there.

The thing with bullies is that they thrive on watching their victim suffer. I wish I could obliterate the whole "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me," thing. The concept behind it is true, but just telling kids to say that to their bullies won't fix things. In fact, saying that can make it worse.

What bullied kids need to know, and what I wished I'd learned back in Kindergarten, is that the words can hurt, but you can't let the bully know it. Looking at yourself in the mirror, practice looking at someone like you are looking right through them, as if they are invisible. Practice looking at someone like they're speaking a foreign language and you can't understand a word they are saying. Practice looking at someone like you pity them, or that whatever they said was the stupidest thing you'd ever heard. Train your face until one of those looks is an automatic reaction. Then, make a little place inside yourself to stuff all the pain and tears, and don't let them out until you get home, where there's no chance the bullies can see you.

Now, I had a problem where sometimes what the bullies said would make me laugh. Looking back, I realize it would have been far better to just let myself laugh, even when it hurt. If you laugh, laugh big! Laugh like it was hilarious, maybe even compliment the bully for such a “clever” burn. Then smile and walk away. The insults stop being fun for the bully when it looks like it made you in any way happy instead of sad.

Of course, these tricks won't always stop them. For one, sometimes the insults and harassment break through the armor. The glimmer of suppressed tears, the quiver of a lip before you stiffen your jaw, even the deep breath taken to steady yourself, can be enough to encourage a bully to keep trying. In this instance, I don't regret how I chose to handle things.

In the face of unrelenting bullying, I chose to take control. Not by doing anything stupid, like dreaming of revenge. Trying to retaliate in any way isn't going to make you feel better, or any of the bullies rethink their actions. What I chose to do was to look and be the kind of person that made me happy. I'd tried to wear the “right” clothes and fit in. That didn't change anything, except to make me feel miserable and inadequate.

So, I said to hell with it. Being “normal” didn't make me happy. I liked being outrageous, and wearing different things. I stopped caring whether or not the things I liked to do and talk about would cause me to get made fun of. In fact, I knew it would. The beauty of it was, I could decide WHAT was being made fun of. No matter what clothes I wore, I was teased. Therefor, I would wear what I thought looked good and made ME happy. Layers of patchwork skirts over rainbow pantyhose and make-up to not-match one day, black from head to toe another. My clothes and my makeup were my armor.

These tips can be the most effective, but are the hardest to learn. For one thing, it goes against the very nature of most young kids. From grades K-8, the main part of kids' social development involves finding one's place amongst one's peers. That's why the “sticks and stones” like doesn't work. Words can do as much damage to the soul as a stick or stone can to a bone. If a kid doesn't sound like they believe what they're saying, when they spout off the “sticks and stones” line, they might as well be saying “everything you say and do makes me miserable.” Their words will be saying one thing, but their voice and body posture is screaming the exact opposite.

Unfortunately, the dark side of finding one's place is asserting one's dominance. Bullying is the instinctual method of doing so. This is why the current methods to stop bullying aren't working. The complete cessation of bullying is a fairy tale. It's not going to happen. Instead, the focus should be on teaching bullied kids how to cope, how to diffuse the situation, and to give them support when they need it.

That's not to say that bullies should have free reign. That would be stupid. Persistent harassment, property damage and physical violence require adult intervention. Unfortunately, punishment and lectures can't stop everything. A bullied kid might decide to fight back. If a bullied kid retaliates in a way that violates school rules, they should face punishment for their actions, but the bully should get equal punishment also. What better deterrent to seeing how far you can provoke someone, if you're going to get punished, too?

If your kid is being bullied, teach them how to cope, and encourage them in anything that makes them feel happy and strong. If your kid is a bully, take off the blinders. Find a way to channel your kid's personality into something more positive. The characteristics that make a kid a bully can have real world potential. The ability to read a person's body language and manipulate them through that could mean they would make a great cop or psychologist, but only if they want to help people, not hurt them.

In a nutshell, the keys to surviving bullying are to not let them see you suffer, and to do whatever you need to to be happy with yourself. Nothing you can do will make a bully change. The only thing you can change is how you react, and with the right reactions, you can take control back from the ones who are bullying you.

Exercising my right to invite you to read this.

I friend posted this on Facebook. I don't usually watch long clips, but this one caught me. Some of you may debate whether this is a real old clip, or something manufactured today, but that really doesn't matter. It's full of truth. You can watch the video, or you can read below. I typed out some of the lines that stood out the most for me. Some of it is paraphrased.

There is no scientific proof that there is any correlation between a man's racial characteristics, and his capability or character.

In all racial groups we find the same range of potentialities. We find idiots, and geniuses. We find criminals, and philanthropists. We must judge each man as an individual, and not by the color of his skin, or his eyes, or by the length of his nose.

The people wondered, “How did this happen?” It happened when people allowed themselves to be divided, pitted against one another. Together they could have been strong. But once they allowed themselves to be split apart, they were helpless. If they had stood together, protected one another, they could have stopped it. When that first minority lost out, everybody lost out.

We must never let that happen to us and to our country. We must never let ourselves be divided by race or color or religion. Because in this country, we all belong to minority groups. Your right to belong to your minorities is a precious thing. You have the right to be what you are, and say what you think. Because here, we have personal freedom. We have liberty, and these are not just fancy words. This is a practical and priceless way of living. We must guard EVERYONE'S liberties, or we could lose our own. If we allow any minority to lose it's freedom by persecution or by prejudice we are threatening our own freedom.

This is not simply an ideal. This is good, hard, common sense. In America, it is not simply a question of whether we tolerate minorities. America IS minorities, and that means you, and me.

So let's not be suckers. We must not allow the freedom or dignity of any man to be threatened by any act, or word. Let's be selfish about it. Let's forget about “We” and “They.” Let's think about “Us.”

No matter what your feelings are about the current state of things in America, I hope you see the truth in this. Whatever your beliefs on what the Founding Fathers truly wanted, stripped to the essentials, this is what our country is supposed to stand for! People come to this country because it's supposed to be an enlightened haven for those who are persecuted in their own countries. America was created by people who were tired of being treated like criminals because they didn't agree with the government. People immigrate here for many diverse reasons. For some, it was religious persecution. One brand of Christianity against another. For some, it was because their race, ethnicity, or heritage was facing genocide. For some, it was just the promise of a better life for themselves or their families.

As was stated in the video, we are all minorities. Look at your own roots. Were your ancestors Jewish refugees for the Holocaust? Maybe you descend from people who were here before the founding of America. Or maybe you're the decendent of a group that didn't obtain their freedom until after they got here, and had to fight for it.

America is a melting pot of minorities. We're supposed to be proud of this. Don't we still, to this day, identify ourselves by our ethnic or religious group? We're Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Native Americans. We're Jewish, Christian, Pagan, Atheist. Our fore-fathers came here because they were tired of seeing their families starve, or because they were tired of having to hide how they worshiped God, for fear of being ejected from their country, or facing death. They were tired of working from sun up to sun down, only to see the product of their labors dwindle due to oppressive taxes. The Founding Fathers thought it was wrong that people faced exile or execution because they said the government was wrong.

Our country isn't perfect, of course, but that's why the Founding Fathers constructed the government the way they did. Maybe some of them didn't believe that some people or religions deserved to have the freedoms they fought for and have today. What can't be denied is that they believed the people of America had the right to choose that for themselves, and that things should change as time changes. They believed that true patriotism in America involved giving people the right to tell their government "This is wrong!"

How is it that in this day and age, we STILL haven't learned the lessons we've be taught, time and time again? Once upon a time, slaves had to fight to be recognized as human beings who deserved the same rights as everyone else. Women had to fight to be seen as equal to men. People with Aids had to speak out against the misinformation that made people shun them, to prove that their very presence was going to infect others.

It wasn't all that long ago that a generation took a stand against a war they perceived as wrong. How is it that people from that generation are now calling some of us unpatriotic, for saying that today's war is wrong? How can any true American feel ok with saying it's unpatriotic to disagree with how our country is being run?

There's one line I truly despise. "If you don't like it, leave." No! That's not what this country is about! Yes, leaving is an option, but that's not the only option. We have the right to say "If we don't like it, change it." We have the right to get together with like minded individuals and, if we have a majority, demand change.

In truth, we don't have to LIKE everything or everyone in our country. We don't have to agree with anyone's beliefs or lifestyle. However, we should respect everyone's right to make that decision for themselves. What one is or does is not for anyone to persecute. The only time a person should face a loss of freedom is when their personal actions cause serious harm. Hurt feelings don't count. I might not like when people stereotype SAHMs and food service workers. That's not a crime, however. I can try to change their mind, but only if they are receptive to listening. If they don't want to hear it, then that's my cue to butt out.

If you don't like anyone with black skin, well that's your prerogative. Stay away from them, and talk among like minded people about how you don't like them, if that's your wish. You don't have the right, though, to cross the line and attack black people. You can have a difference of opinion, even if you're wrong.

Same goes for your opinions on religion. You may believe someone's going to hell, because they don't believe in God. You can tell them that, if they're willing to listen. The conversation ends, however, when the person you're talking to says they don't want to hear what you have to say.

A person's lifestyle should not be a crime, either. Being Gay doesn't hurt anyone. You may not agree with it,, morally, but that is a personal choice. If you don't like it, don't be Gay. You can even tell your kids you don't think it's ok to be Gay. However, once they are adults, they gain the right to decide whether they agree with that, for themselves. Your right to make the rules ends at the door to another adult's personal life.

Also, a Gay marriage doesn't harm your marriage. A religion has the right to decree whether they'll sanctify a union. On the legal level, though, a union between people who love each other is no one's business but their own. Your moral beliefs should not dictate what is legal and not legal.

*sigh* Another long rant from me. Maybe I'm just preaching to the choir. Of course, it's my right as an American to say this. I even have the right to invite you to read this. I don't have the right to force you to read this, however, or the right to make you agree with me. Then again, if you didn't want to read this, you would have stopped long before you got to here.

Using urine for ear infections? Simple saline or garlic oil would be better.

In a discussion about using garlic oil for ear aches and infections, one friend mentioned hearing about using urine in a similar fashion. Out of curiosity, I decided to look up the actual composition of human urine. I knew that it is basically a sterile saline solution, but considering that urine is the end product of the body's internal filtering process, I knew there had to be more than that. I mean, urine tests are used all the time to test for hormone imbalances, and kidney stones are crystallized excess minerals. A little searching confirmed that while urine is 90%-95% water, The rest is not just sodium chloride (salt) but other trace minerals and impurities.

Mostly I imagine the benefit comes from the salt. Salt is naturally antibacterial, and also would help dry up excess fluid. If the ear ache is potentially caused by "swimmers ear," a sterile saline solution would probably be better.

The garlic oil is better for ear pain caused by infection or damage to the inner ear or ear canal. Garlic is antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Olive oil is moisturizing and helps skin heal. The combination of the two helps distribute the garlic juice throughout the ear canal and inner ear, and act as a kind of liquid band aid. (see below for Garlic Oil Remedy for Ear Infections.)

The thing is, an ear infection isn't always a bacterial infection. It could also be viral or fungal. Of course, doctors don't usually test to see what kind of infection it is. So an antibiotic isn't always the best option. In fact, if it isn't bacterial, an antibiotic is just going to wipe out the body's good bacteria, making it harder for the immune system to focus on the real problem. Or worse, opening the possibility of adding a bacterial infection on top of the original infection.

I won't say that modern medicine and prescription antibiotics are always bad. Getting a doctor's opinion is always good when you don't know what's wrong. If the condition is chronic, there could be something else causing it. It's also a good idea to get a doctor's opinion when it comes to children, since they might not be able to give a good explanation of what is wrong. A true Naturopath or Holistic doctor isn't often practical, since most insurance plans don't cover them, but if you search around you might find a Primary Care doc who is open to the idea of natural/home-remedies.

If you do end up using an antibiotic, it's a good idea to take an immune boosting supplement at the same time, and after your done taking the antibiotic, take a probiotic for at least as long as you were on the antibiotic.

Garlic Oil Remedy for Ear Infections

One clove of FRESH garlic (not garlic powder, diced minced garlic, or minced garlic from a jar!)
One teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Crush the clove of garlic in the oil. Strain the oil to remove the solid garlic bits. Put 2-3 drops in the affected ear, and lay on your side so the oil drains down into the ear canal. It's best to warm the oil to body temperature. Cold oil can aggravate the ear pain.

I've found that one to two treatments takes care of things. If it doesn't, definitely go see a doctor.

And thus concludes another long-ass post. Hope my ramblings are more helpful than annoying :P

Is it cruel to "rescue" feral children?

Mother Nature Network posted an article on feral children on Facebook today. Feral children are kids who were raised by animals. While other people were reacting with fascination, the only thing I could feel was horror.

Now, some of the kids featured were from some seriously disgusting circumstances. 3 instances involved parents locking their child up with other animals at their home. How sad is it that a family's kennel of dogs was more nurturing than the child's parents?

What I find equally horrifying, is what happened to some of the feral children who had lived in the wild. When found, those kids were taken away, to be "rehabilitated." The way I see it, though, is that those kids were essentially kidnapped.

Just imagine what those kids must have felt. The animals who raised them were their family, just as if those kids had been adopted by another human family. Then one day, strange creatures come along and snatch them from their parents, siblings, etc.. Could you imagine what it would be like to be captured by beings who were completely different from all you had ever known, who didn't look, communicate or behave in any way you understood? Wouldn't you feel terrified and miserable, never knowing if you would see your family ever again? Those kids were then made to live in a way that was completely alien to them, and must have felt so alone.

From their eyes, it must have been torture. No one spoke their language, and they were forced to try to learn a new one. Considering that human languages and animal communication work on completely different levels, is it any wonder that those kids couldn't figure it out? Animal communication involves not just sound, but body posture and subtle movements. How would those kids ever understand the relationship between those languages?

In the end, some of those feral children have been locked into mental institutions, considered mentally unsound. They failed to stop being what they are, and so, because they are human, they must be broken. Yet, science has already determined that a child's personality is set in just a few short years. Plus, the older we get, the harder it is to learn new things, like languages.

So, what kindness are we doing to those feral children? Any wildlife rescuer will tell you that you can't release a wild animal who was raised by humans, and expect it to survive. Why should it be any different for humans? It's the same problem in both situations. That person or animal has spent their formative years learning to be one thing. Putting them into another environment isn't going to change that.

I think in most cases, it would be better to leave those kids to live the rest of their lives in the world they've been adopted to. Of course their are exceptions. The child who's mother locked him in a room with pet birds, who was raised and treated like a bird, needs human help. The little girl who was only age three when found living with dogs has a chance of re-adapting to human society. A child raised by wolves until found at the age of 8, however, is in their soul a wolf.

How I stopped using the guidebook with my tarot cards, and an example of how I use them.

I hated trying to memorize the tarot card meanings. It was such a pain flipping through that little book whenever I went to do a reading. Then I had, well, an epiphany, I guess. Here's the method I use. It's worked perfectly for me.

First, we look at the attributes of the different suits. For wands, I interpret things involving learning, knowledge or understanding. Cups usually indicate strong emotions, such as passion, love, sorrow, desire, longing, etc.. Feelings of anger may be interpreted, usually when cups appear along with swords. Swords isn't always an indication of anger or hate. Sometimes it's just an indication of decisive action, fighting for an ideal, righting a wrong, or the need to do such things. Pentacles refers to physical needs or objects. Maybe the person needs money, or a house. It may also indicate an object that is central to the issue, like a family feud over some memento of a deceased loved one.

The major arcana are usually self explanatory. The card name may ring true to the situation, or some aspect of the picture on the card will spark a thought.

Now, here's how I figured out the minor arcana. It involves imagining the cards mirroring the evolution of a plant, from seed to flower, and back to seed. First, we break the cards 1-9 down into 3 sets of 3. 1-3 are the seed stage.

1. Fresh, unplanted seed. There is potential, but nothing more than that.

2. Newly planted seed. The decision to act is made.

3. Seed has germinated. Things are in their first stages of action. Preliminary steps taken.

Cards 4-6 are the growing stage.

4. The plant breaks to the surface. Perceptive people, or people close to you, begin to see signs.

5. The plant grows beyond it's seed leaves. New roots spread from the tap root. The situation is becoming more defined, things aren't as shaky.

6. The plant is well grown, roots are strong. All of the preliminaries are finished. It will be very difficult to go back now, and there will be big ramifications.

Cards 7-9 are the flowering stage.

7. The bud is formed. Anticipation is heightened. Results may be on the way, but it's yet to be seen. Waiting for what you want.

8. The bud is blossoming, but not fully unfurled. Now is the time when we see what has been growing. Is the flower like a beautiful rose bud, or are there signs of disease or bugs? Is it the flower you wanted, a pleasant surprise, or an ugly weed?

9. The flower is on full display. Are you happy with what has grown?

The face cards are the seeding stage. Some decks have 3 royals, some have 4. Mine has 4, so I'll describe it that way.

• Princess. The seed pod is swelling. Fertilization is successful. Things show signs of possibly growing into something more, spreading out.

• Prince. The seeds are maturing. Which ones will become viable? Analyze the potential to move onward from here. Educate yourself, and prepare for the future.

• Queen. The seeds are full formed, but not ready to be freed from the pod. You have plans, but don't jump in just yet. Go over everything one last time. Make sure you haven't missed anything. Make sure all is fully formed.

• King. The seed pod is dry, the seeds ready for harvest. Time to choose which are good and which are bad. Time to choose when and where to plant.

So, let's look at a classic spread, and read it with my method.

I'm going to do an open ended reading for basic guidance. I choose my Significator card. I chose The Moon, as I'm currently swinging rapidly between manic and depressed, and feeling rather stressed.

Next I shuffle the cards. I usually do things so the cards are always upright. I feel there is enough variety in the cards for them to express themselves without reverses. Sometimes some cards still end up reversed, which I figure means that they REALLY needed to use a reverse meaning. If while shuffling some cards fall out of the deck, I set them to the side, to be read separately.

After shuffling, I cut the cards into three piles, face down, from right to left, using my right hand. Reverse hands if you are a lefty. I then gather the cards back up, starting with the middle, then right, then left.

Now I fan out the cards, close my eyes, and concentrate on what I need to know. I let my hands hover back and forth over the cards, feeling for the ones that “call to me.” I grab up one at a time, until I have ten, and stack them face down.

Then I make my spread. One vertical on the significator, one horizontal on the significator, one above, one below, one to the right, one to the left, and then the last four to the far right, in a column from bottom to top.

Now we read.

1. Basic self. What is important to know about the me of right now? I flip The Seeker. I read this to mean that I am feeling rather empty, alone, in need of something to make me feel fulfilled. A rather easy interpretation, since I'm reading myself. I have a bunch of books I want to write and arts and crafts I want to sell. Everyday life right now isn't very conductive to these pursuits.

2. Obstacles. What is standing in my way? This one is 6 of pentacles. Pentacles mean needs or finances. Physical objects. 6 is the final stage of the plant growth, before flowering. My cards have detailed pictures for every card. This one has men and women standing around a stone table with a mountain of fruits, vegetables and pentacles. No one seems to be looking at the bounty, or taking anything from it. I read this card to mean that, while I have been laying the foundation to get the things I want and need, I have yet to see real progress. My husband and I are in the process of eliminating some debt. We've worked hard, and made many sacrifices. I see a dual meaning here. The people aren't [partaking of the harvest. This could be prudence, or it could also mean that we aren't appreciating the other things we have around us. Not all wealth is monetary.

3. Hopes and dreams. Princess of Swords. Swords mean action. The princess is the first stage of seeding. Things are moving in the right direction for me to get beyond my current obstacles. Now is not the time to be too hasty, or too cautious. I must keep moving forward, but with caution, because one wrong move could damage the seeds before they have a chance to become viable, and I would have to start all over.

4. Foundation. Temperance. I have everything I need, but it's not quite time to use everything. The lion on the right could symbolize my husband, who is a Leo. The woman standing behind the cauldron holds a blue flask and a torch. The cauldron is simmering over a fire, and has the Mars/male symbol on it. There is an eagle to the right. I'm a Virgo/Earth, but I'm rather close to Libra/Air. All elements are represented. Basically, the soup is on the fire, but not ready to eat. I must give it time to cook.

5. Past. 6 of cups. Emotions maturing, but not exposed yet. 6 is an even number. In my past, I have sought balance in my emotional life, and have often kept my feeling penned up. Bipolar sucks. I hope this indicates that I'll be moving beyond this, but I fear it means my recent bout of contained balance is reaching an end. I have to be careful when taking on projects, because I'm prone to grandiose planning. Once I get started, I go overboard. Hypomania is easily triggered by exciting new things.

6. Future. Nine of pentacles. The image is of a heavily pregnant woman in a field of flowers. Pregnancy can't be rushed. Nine is the last phase of flowering. Everything I've worked on will eventually blossom. The woman's face looks pensive. She's gazing into the distance. A full bloomed flower doesn't always result in seeds. The signs point towards us seeing the end of this cycle, but beyond that? It's too soon to tell.

7. The root of my answer. 5 of swords. 5 is the stage of growth where things are taking shape, but not fully formed. Swords are action. A woman in a blue dress clutches a child, while two men in red appear to guard her. They are on top of a rock pile. Two men in red stand lower on the pile, battling the two men on top. One man lies dead. Is the dead man one of the enemy, or one of the guards? Should the woman try to help defend herself? But that puts the child at risk. I feel like I should be “doing more,” but while it may seem like I am not helping myself, I am doing something important. I have two children who aren't ready to be left to their own devices. They're still at the age where they need me to take a more active hand in their lives. I guess my desires will have to wait until my children reach the age where they are breaking away from me, to learn to be their own person.

8. The part of my answer that is visible to the rest of the world. The Fool. More signs of hunting for something, while not seeing what is already there around me. Friends and family are probably looking at my situation and wondering how I can be so blind.

9. Goal or destiny. Death. I rarely see the Death card as truly meaning death. It is often a need for change. I need to make a clean break from old weights dragging me down, if I want to move on. My desires can't be fulfilled until our debt is less of a burden and my kids are more independent.

10. Final outcome. Queen of pentacles. The queen is the last stage of nurturing the seed. My husband earns the money, but I'm the one who moves it where it needs to go. I am literally the queen of my family's finances. I am also the nurturer and disciplinarian of our children. My hands are full right now. It's not time yet to throw myself into the dreams I've been having. I can, however, make plans, so that I am prepared for when that day comes.

So, this reading seems pretty straightforward. I need to be patient. Things will come to me in their own time. I'm on the right path, I just need to keep the end in sight, and keep moving. One step at a time.

Can God make a rock too heavy for Him to lift?

A friend asked this question.

Could God make a rock so heavy that even He can't lift it?

Here's my reply.

According to my theory of energism, it would depend on a number of factors.

Gods and rocks are formed of the same thing. Energy. Rocks are just densely packed balls of energy, with a defined purpose of being a rock. God is a being comprised of free floating energy, given form by the belief of people who believe in a god. So, in a way, God created all rocks, though rocks are, in a way, God.

Planets are just really large rocks. But would energy moving a planet be considered lifting? The center of our solar system is exerting an infinitesimal pull of gravity on it's orbiting satellites. Would an energetic force moving a planet away from the center of the solar system count? How much would it have to move, in order to count as a lift?

Of course, you'd have to have something giving energy the impetus to perform this action. Enough people would have to be visualizing energy lifting the heaviest rock in existence. Are there enough people who could work together to visualize this outcome?

Then you have to take into consideration the amount of available energy. Is there enough around us to do that? There might be enough in the Universe as a whole, but how long would it take for all of that energy to get here? It may be that it would take multiple generations of people visualizing that common goal to have enough energy coalesce here.

Then there is the “jinx” factor. Would there be enough people, with enough will, to overcome the inevitable people who would thoroughly believe that this outcome is impossible?

Now, we must also think of the possible consequences of this. What would happen if this planet were a central nexus of that much energy? Energy creates heat. The amount of energy needed could incinerate the planet. Also, what if some of the energy was pulled from our sun? If enough of the sun's energy was convinced to abandon it's purpose in being a sun, and joined in the “rock lifting” project, our sun might become unstable. It might not have enough energy to be the kind of star that provides our planet with the heat and light it needs to be a life sustaining planet.

Then again, since all things are made of energy, an asteroid is, in part, God. An asteroid hitting our planet would move it. It might not be much, but it would move.

So, while it might be possible, it's not probable. It depends on what you consider lifting, and whether you consider something like an asteroid shifting a planet 'lifting.'

My angle on books my kids could read, and if I would let them.

While I think flat out censorship of books is wrong, I can't say I would NEVER forbid my kid to read a book. I would have to look at it first, check out what was in it. I wouldn't mind them reading books geared towards various religious sects, for example, but I would want to check what kind of message was being sent in the book. It may seem nice and wholesome on the outside, but if there is any indication that the book is making out some other religion/race/whatever to be bad, then yes, I would forbid them to read it. It's the same premise as any parent forbidding their child to read Harry Potter because they think wizards and witchcraft are bad, and don't want them to think that it is ok. The difference for me is, I don't want them reading anything that might even subtly indicate that any specific race/religion/whatever is bad. At ages 3 and 6, my kids might question what they read, if it conflicted with what my husband and I teach them, but it would still cause confusion. It would introduce the thought of, "Well, these people say this is bad. Mommy and Daddy say it isn't, but what if they're wrong?" Also, by my giving them permission to read that book, I am tacitly saying that what is in that book is ok.

There is one other reason I would keep my kids from reading, or reading to my kids, some books. It has only happened once, but I would do it again. My kids get books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, and for the most part, I've liked the books we've received. There was one book though, that I just didn't like. It was called "Flossy and the Fox." by Patricia McKissack. The message of the story was great. It was about a girl who uses smart thinking to outwit a fox that has been plaguing the area. What I didn't like was the way she talked. She had that slave-era, southern accent dialect. I know that that is how they talked back then, and it's not that I have any hatred because of it. But my three year old is in that age of quickly learning new words, proper grammar, and proper pronunciation, and mimicking what she hears. My six year old still has some trouble with annunciation and grammar. I would rather avoid having them pick up the bad grammar and pronunciation, then have to correct them in public. Also, and this is purely a personal quirk, the word "flossy" was a slang term for a girl's private parts when I was a kid. It just made it really odd and uncomfortable for me when reading the book.

These are purely personal choices when it comes to what my children read, though. No matter what I think of a book, if someone else is ok with their kids reading it, then that is their choice. I would never espouse completely banning a book from say, the school library, just because I don't agree with it.

All religions are true religions. It's all about vision.

I believe deity is like clay. Without an individual person's vision of what that clay is supposed to look like and how it is supposed to behave, it is just a mass of potential. We can imbue that clay with a face and a name and a personality, but when not formed, it reverts back into an amorphous state. My lump of clay is the same as your lump of clay. I still believe there is benefit in choosing a specific deity for specific needs. It's just calling forth a more focused, defined aspect of deity to fill the need.

All of the polytheistic religions I know of have an ultimate god/dess. The other deities below them are often described as their children, or are given god-like status by the ruling deity. The parent deity is a specific pantheon's lump of clay, given form. The deities below the parent deity are like a chunk of that clay given it's own specific form.

In my opinion, all religions are in a way polytheistic. In Christianity, God is the ruling deity, and Jesus is an aspect of God. There are plenty of references to that in the Bible, I believe. For the sects of Christianity that believe in patron saints, those Saints are like a specific container to help focus the worshiper's vision of God, and explain to Him their need. In another example, Buddhists have different forms or faces they put on Buddha, to express different things. Buddha is not considered a god, but is an aspect of the clay they believe in. Nirvana is their clay. Their minor deities are viewed, not as gods, but as ideas and symbols.

Even Atheists are right. They just see their lump of clay purely in scientific forms.

Often, religions say that deity is in all of us. Christians believe God is always in their heart. Pagans believe we are all gods and goddesses in our own right. These ideas seem completely opposite, but to me, it's just different ways of looking at the same thing. The spiritual clay that becomes deity is out there, available to all of us. It is in us and around us, just waiting for us to call upon it. That is how God is in our hearts. We are all gods and goddesses in our own right, because we all see deity in our own way, even when we are calling it by the same name. Gods wouldn't exist without us to envision them. We think, therefor, we are.

The only time I will ever say that someone is wrong in regards to their religion is when they say someone else's religion is wrong. Even if that is supposedly part of the teachings of their religion, I think it is a perversion. The belief that one's religion is the only true religion is a human idea formed by fear of doubt, and alpha-humans' need to conquer. I believe that the current interpretations of religious texts saying a god demands that all people believe religion in their way or no way, is a gross misunderstanding. The admonitions to share one's religion with the world are meant to spread peace. It's meant to give people who have no religion and WANT or NEED a religion answers and comfort. It's not meant to rip away a religion already in place in a person's heart, and replace it with another.

The spiritual lump of clay doesn't want us fighting in it's name. It doesn't really WANT anything, except to be what we need it to be. I think maybe it doesn't even want the anger and hate, but because it's nature is to become what we see it, it has no choice. To me, this is why, in the end, good triumphs over evil.

So, in a way, my religion is every religion. It's not Agnosticism. I definitely believe in deity. I just believe that we are all right.

Why I believe in Astrology, and why it doesn't work for everyone.

Whether the planets and stars and other astrological objects really exert some sort of influence, I don't know. However, there does seem to be a pattern between when certain astrological objects are in certain places in the sky and relative to each other. For those who are skeptics, let's remove the "magical" element.

If something happens once, it's unremarkable. If it happens twice, it's a coincidence. If it happens repeatedly, there must be some connection. Whether or not we have discovered all of the reasons and methods behind the phenomena, there is still the fact that something is occurring.

The process of reading events through astrology has been compiled and expanded over hundreds of years. It started by someone noticing that every time such-and-such planet/star/etc. was in this part of the sky, such-and such happened. Early astrologists mapped out the positions of the astrological bodies, took notes on reoccurring events, or similarities in the personalities of people born under different Signs. When things didn't fall out as expected, they noted how some astrological bodies were aligned or in conjunction with each other, and deduced that maybe this signaled some sort of interference.

Did the planets and whatnot cause the feelings and events that played out on 7/21/10? Maybe, maybe not. Did a large number of people feel something skin to what I described in my blog? Definitely. The fact that there were multiple people on my FB feed talking about having the same feelings of unease, before I looked up and posted my Astrological interpretation, removes the possibility of it being psychosomatic. Not all of the people who posted on FB that day were from the same group of friends. They would not have seen each other's posts, so there is no psychosomatic influence there.

Of course, this was no scientific setup, with a broad range of test subjects in blind conditions. I can't definitively state that everyone's experience was caused by whatever influence was mirrored by astrological events. This isn't the first time I've noticed this kind of thing before, though, and the conditions of 7/21 in particular seem to be pushing the bonds of coincidence.

So, I don't know how the planets or stars assert their "influence." I don't even know if they are actually doing anything at all. What I do know is that there is a surprising amount of accuracy when examining the position of astrological objects in the sky and their position relative to each other. There is a surprising amount of accuracy in just the simplest comparison of all people born under specific signs. A more in depth look at a person's star chart for the day they were born explains any deviations from the basic description.

If I had had the time, I could have compared the various Signs with the "influence" of the day. Then I could have explained how much each Sign would be affected, and how. If I had nothing else to do with my time, and cared to do it, I could have compared a specific person's astrological personality as described by their birth chart to the "influence" of the day, and provided more accuracy, and explanation for any deviations.

As a final caveat, I believe that the strength of a person's will trumps all. Whatever is going on to cause these astrological "influences," if a person has a stronger will than the force of those influences, they will overcome them. People who are very skeptical will have a strong desire to have things fall out any way but the way their horoscope says it should. They will actively work to prevent those things from taking place. A person who just has a strong sense-of-self and willpower will subconsciously feel that something outside of themselves is trying to interfere with their life. They will strengthen their resolve to make things fall out in the manner of their choosing.

Astrology and psychic reading are not absolute. The future is mutable, depending on the choices we make. Astrology and psychic readings can be a great tool or a horrible restriction. It all depends on what you do with what you learn.

My process for Energy Healing

1. Ground and center.

2. Use "Sight"/Visualization to read the aura and pinpoint the center of the problem.

3. Use energy and visualization to brush the bad energy into an energy "black hole." Hand gestures help, let's the person you are working on see you doing something.

4. Combine with massage for pain or sinus pressure.

5. Visualize healing energy encompassing and sinking into the muscle and tissue where the pain is originating. Green isn't always the most effective color. I find yellow to be good for tension headaches or pain from depression. Blue is good for pain from hot pains like muscle cramps, fever headaches or headaches brought on by high emotion/racing heart/high blood pressure.

6. If needed, visualize sinus pressure draining, a fever "thermostat" being set so that it can't go above a safe range, a "black hole" sucking up congestion in the lungs, a "valve" controlling the flow of stomach acid being turned down. Anything that works for you, to symbolize the problem being corrected. I also tell the person I am working on what I am visualizing. Then they are visualizing, too. I suggest that they can visualize that themselves if they feel symptoms returning.

7. Establish a link from the free floating energy around us going directly to the person being worked on. Visualize it as a kind of power cord supplying energy to the processes you started, and picture those processes continuing without you, after you stop healing directly.

8. Visualize the "black hole" continuing to siphon up the bad energy.

9. Make sure to imprint upon all of this that it should fade away when it is no longer needed. The "power cord" should unplug and wind back up. The "black hole" should seal shut. Body processes that you may have "adjusted," like that stomach acid "valve," should return to autopilot. Don't leave anything going without a final instruction to end when the problem is gone, or if the process you established is causing harm instead of good.

10. When you're all done working on your "patient," scan yourself. Make sure you're no longer "linked" to them. It seems to me that energy is sticky, like static cling. You want to make sure that nothing that doesn't belong is "stuck" to you. Shake off any bad energy clinging to you. Use your own "black hole" or cosmic vacuum cleaner to suck up that bad energy.

11. Ground and center again.

Screw you, local Veterinarians. I'll do it myself.

Poor Hain seems to have been on the losing end of a battle this time. It looks like his right-front paw dewclaw was ripped out. There's a lot of swelling, so I'm not sure. Possibly a broken bone in there.

I hate that we can't afford to take him to a vet. I hate that there are no options for someone in our situation, except for DIY doctoring, or surrender him to a shelter, who would probably euthanize him anyway.

I refuse to give up. I've gone to such lengths to save animals, even when it was hopeless. I tried to nurse an abandoned baby mouse, to the point of getting up every 2 hours or so to feed it animal formula, built a makeshift incubator, and in the end, even tried mouth to mouth resuscitation. I stopped in the middle of the road to catch a wild rabbit who's fur had been torn, hunted for a wildlife rescue center in the middle of the night for it, even thought about trying to stitch it myself it need be. I paid a vet to surgically remove a guinea pig's damaged eye, when we had the money. I nursed a puppy dying of parvo, including giving her medicated enemas in the hopes of rehydrating her, after vet visits didn't help.

But recent experiences have shown me that the vets in my area just don't care as much about animals as they do for their wallets. When Lulu had what appeared to be a UTI, I had to hunt down freakin' antibiotics for her, basically buying them black market, because no vet would help us. We couldn't pay for all of the extensive tests they swore were necessary. I know that some medical procedures can be very expensive for a vet's office, but the fact that not one would even just take 5 minutes to sell us a broad spectrum antibiotic tells me it's pointless to ask for help with an x-ray. I was willing to pay for the medication. I knew that there was a possibility that the antibiotic wouldn't help, but we couldn't afford $100+ for all these tests they said had to be done to rule out other causes. I had no other choices. Better to do SOMETHING than nothing, right? But I guess all of the vets I called felt it was better to let my cat die than to settle for less than a full office visit. And you know what? Thanks to one kind soul, who managed to find someone who could get me the antibiotic, that cat is fine. She's alive. One of those vets could have saved my cat days of misery, and us tons of worry, if they had had as much heart as that Good Samaritan did.

I may not be able to do as good a job as a vet could, but damn-it I can do the best for Hain I can, from here. I wish we could have him x-rayed. For the amount of swelling, and his complete refusal to put weight on it, I'm pretty sure something is broken. But, evidently, there are no vets around who care more for animals than they do for their wallets. It I can sacrifice sleep to nurse a baby mouse, or give a dying puppy enemas, I can at least attempt to set, splint and bandage my cat. It probably won't heal as well as well as it would if a vet did it, but it's better than nothing.

Girls and makeup

My parents were very militant about not letting me wear makeup, which just pushed me into sneaking into doing it on my own. By high school I was full on goth. I loved it, still do, though I don't put on the full get-out much anymore. Not much point when I'm sitting around the house playing sub-rural housewife. I will say, if you can learn to put liquid eyeliner on on the school bus, you can put it on anywhere.

My kids play around a bit with my makeup at home, and occasionally at friends'. I'm trying to lay the foundation now for understanding "too much" and technique. My oldest had to wear some for a dance recital, though I made sure it was as neutral and natural as possible for a 5 year old. Just enough to emphasize the eyes and lips under the glare of stage lights.

I'm gonna play it by ear as to when to let my 2 girls wear makeup. I do think that some of the timing has to be based on what is the social norm among their peers. I'm not planning on encouraging them to wear makeup just because "everyone else is." But I do know that if I hard line against it, they are likely to try to do it behind my back. With a Scorpio and a Capricorn-cusp-Sagittarius, I'm planning ahead. I figure, if/when they start asking about it, I'll slowly permit them different things, and let them pick to some extent. Maybe starting with lip gloss and/or translucent powder, and on from there.

Once girls reach puberty (which seems to happen younger and younger,) and start the "joys" of womanhood, they want to grasp any element they can to help them understand that new identity. Makeup doesn't HAVE to be part of that, but in the age of peer pressure, it's tricky figuring out how to explain that, and have it sink in. My thought is that they're more likely to listen if I give them a choice. Then I can tell them that it's ok with me if they wear some makeup, and that if they prove to me they can wear it responsibly, I'll give them more latitude. I can also tell them that if they decide they don't want to wear makeup, they don't have to. A subtle bit of reverse peer pressure. I'm not flat out saying, "Just because all the other girls are doing it, doesn't mean you have to." That kind of thing put ME on the defensive as a tween/teen. Instead, it's just a whisper in the back of their mind that they can choose to latch onto if they want, as if it were their own idea.

My womb, an incubation chamber for human immunization

As frightening as it is, it seems mankind is racing towards it's own doom at a breakneck pace. The way things are going, it may be that major catastrophe is the only way our parasitic defilement of the planet can be undone. Like a disease, we have triggered Mother Earth's immune system. Global warming is the fever, dwindling resources are the starvation of the virus/bacteria, and rampant or incurable diseases like Aids or cancer are the white blood cells on the attack.

For those who object to this idea, siting the numerous people who are working to make a change, I tell you this. We who want change are the mutant cells in a sea of depraved organisms. The only hope we have of turning the Earth ravaging human parasite into a beneficial bacteria or symbiotic relationship is to overthrow the black taint of the more numerous parasite. We are the anti-venom, the immunization struggling to help save the Earth from ourselves.

Convincing our peers and elders to change is like trying to change a food allergy into a probiotic. The % of people who change their ways is so small that it goes unnoticed under the cosmic microscope.

If the human race survives, we will be like the sleeper cells of a virus, conquered for the time being, but with the potential to flare up again. The survivors would be the ones who had mutated enough to be immune to the defenses the Earth had mobilized. The Earth, unfortunately, will always be a carrier. For if we ever find a way off of our planet and onto another with the resources to sustain us, most of those unfortunate planets will fall prey to our infection.

Our best hope is our children. The children of the world are like stem cells, blank canvasses waiting to be imprinted with a purpose. We can teach our own children to be better than we are, and encourage them to teach their friends as well. Let us hope that the mutation grows and evolves, and quickly. Mother Earth is desperately battling the wasting disease suffusing her. Hopefully it's not too late for an infusion of evolved human immunization.

If some being on another planet is reading this, you may want to put in your orders for shipment now. I've heard supply and shelf life on immunizations here on Earth are dismal.

Since so many friends are indicating they're feeling tense/off today...

Huh, I was just assuming I was having another panic attack this morning. I'm jittering like I've had too much coffee.

Since so many people are having the same feeling, I decided to look it up. Of course, this will sound nutty for anyone who doesn't believe in astrology, but here is my interpretation:

Saturn is in the sign of Virgo, in conjunction with Chiron which is in the sign of Aquarius. The sun sign of the day is Libra.

Libra's influence on the day is trying to bring about balance, but without upsetting the things already in place around us. Unfortunately, Saturn/Virgo and Chiron/Aquarius are forces full of change and action. This is probably causing all of us to feel internal stress as our spirits try to reconcile this effect.

Saturn/Virgo: Saturn reveals our own limitations, fears, and sense of responsibility. Virgo wants to be helpful, and is frequently analyzing things, looking for ways to make things better. These two, together, cause internal struggle. Virgo is telling us "Fix it!" and Saturn is telling us "Should you fix it? Is it your place to fix it?"

Chiron/Aquarius: Chiron influences the part of ourselves that sympathizes with situations of trial and error, or knowledge from experience. Chiron wants to heal or prevent the wounds caused by something we have been through before. The humanitarian, opinionated and idealistic nature of Aquarius makes us feel strongly that we have the answers to fix the problems.

So, in summary:

Those who have recognized problems in their lives, or in loved ones lives, are probably fretting about them. You may feel like you know the answers, how to fix it, possibly because you've been through the same thing yourself. However, you feel conflicted, because you're not sure if you should act upon those feelings. You may feel like you don't have the authority to do so, or that the situation requires professional help.

Those who haven't had any major problems are probably feeling nervous, like they are anticipating something bad is about to happen. Probably, you feel like you should know what is coming. That you don't makes you feel even more tense, because you want to prepare for what seems inevitable, but without the knowledge of what might happen, there's nothing you can do.

Overall, Libra is demanding balance, while the other influences are saying things are or will be off-balance. But Saturn is amplifying the part of Libra that's afraid to rock the boat. You want to do something, but you feel like you can't or shouldn't.

Anatomy of a Psychic Reading

Here are a few things I learned when I used to do Psychic Readings. Be warned, I have a rather clinical view of magick. For some, reading this will be akin to watching the shows that show you haw stage magic tricks are done. Stop reading now if that kind of thing bugs you.

When I did readings, the majority of what I read came from things the person I was reading already knew. The person I was reading for often already knew the answer to their own question, but had willfully or subconsciously blocked that info from their mind. There was a lot of psychology involved.

Palm and aura readings would help to ease the way, so to speak. I often had to start by "wowing" them with things they consciously knew about themselves, but I would not know if not for what I picked up from their aura or palm. This helped reduce nervousness and skepticism. It was like someone opened the curtains or blew away the fog surrounding them. From there, the tarot would help clue me in to the parts of themselves they couldn't or wouldn't see.

Actually predicting future events depended a lot on what question they were asking, or if it was an open ended reading, where they were in their lives at that moment. I believe firmly that our futures are mutable, subject to change depending on the choices we make. If the person I was reading hadn't made any firm choices yet, it was hard to give solid answers as to what was coming up. I would be tell them that, and offer them advice as to how to get closer to their goals. If I was lucky, I would be able to see where their spirits wanted them to go, and point them in the best direction. Of course, this often wasn't what they wanted to hear, but I would rather be honest. This usually happened when the querent asked one of the generic trinity; Love, Money, or Job. Those people often had made no real strides towards how to get those things for themselves, or had just lost those things and were desperate to find some way to get them back. Too many options lay in front of them, or they wanted a specific answer so badly that a true answer had no chance of coming through.

Dream Analysis and non-specific tarot readings gave me the best chance to tell them about their future. A dream so intense someone wanted it analyzed came from things that had a major influence on the person, or was about to be a major influence. A non-specific tarot reading allowed the subconscious to influence the cards. The subconscious could tell me not only about what was hiding within the querent, but about any outside energies exerting their influence. Thoughts and intentions are as much an impetus of energy as any full-blown spell.

A good way to explain it is that a Reader is like a psychic translator. Some readers are more fluent than others. However, no reader can translate if the words being said aren't clear, or there is a wall in the way. It's hard to hear what the subconscious is saying, if other peoples' subconsciousnesses are talking in the same room. It's also hard to translate if the Reader's subconscious can't focus. Their personal static is interfering with reception.

So, if you go to a psychic and they seem totally clueless, take this in mind before deciding if they're scam artists. There are plenty of them out there, of course, but not all. A good psychic won't take your money if they're giving an inaccurate reading. Be honest with yourself and the Reader. Let them know if they're getting it wrong, or if you're feeling skeptical or uncomfortable. You may find that giving them a fresh start and/or suspending your disbelief will make a major change in how well your reading is going.

What the Founding Fathers intended?

Ah, another sore spot for me. Another blog just reminded me of the asinine attempt to restrict freedom of religion because, evidently, the Founding Fathers intended us to be a Christian country. While I can agree that maybe they never imagined a country that contained as much religious diversity as we do today, I doubt that they intended America to be an exclusively Christian country. Of course, none of us today can state with authority what the Founding Fathers were thinking, unless the have verified written documents, like a journal that belonged to Benjamin Franklin. That's beside the point, however. Here is the First Amendment, exaclty as it was written:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Right there, plain as day. The government shall not establish any specific religion, or prohibit a religion. Even if the Founding Fathers DID intend for us to be a Christian nation, their own words clearly prohibit it. Considering this is the very first Amendment in the Constitution, that argues that they must have felt very strongly about this issue, and thought long and hard about the wording. Considering how many people were considered the Founding Fathers, if they truly wanted to limit religion to Christian based religions, I think that would have been spelled out.

The Constitution is there to make sure everyone has a chance to live in safety and happiness. One person's safety and happiness cannot come at another person's expense. My choice to be pagan may upset some people, but no one has the right to prohibit me from being pagan. They do have the right to prohibit me from committing a crime against another in the name of my religion. It would be a crime if my actions, in the name of religion or not, were destructive. Moral or philosophical differences don't apply.

To some, no matter what I do, unless it's in the name of God or Jesus, I'm going to Hell. That is all the punishment necessary for my supposed crime. Let your God handle that when it is time. According to Christian beliefs, that is all you are supposed to do. Honestly, I am not afraid. I don't think God cares how He is viewed, or how I go about my religious practices, as long as I do it with the intent to be a good person doing good things. I cannot believe in my heart that a being so profound as a god cares whether I picture Him with boobs, or a penis, or genderless, or even non-human. Why should he care what face or name I put on Him, and whether or not that face and name is the same in every situation? Why should it matter if I make my divine requests with herbs and candles and respect to the Earth and elements, or kneeling in a church?

Anyway, I digress. No ones soul should be subject to mortal jurisdiction, no matter what the religion. That is for whatever divinity is out there to decide, and if there is no divinity at all, then the subject is moot.

Blog about a book called "Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine and Beer."

Yeah, I'm blogging this in part because I'd love to win this giveaway, but I think I've got some friends who would like this, too. If you've ever had my drunken chocolate cake, you'd probably like this book. Cake + alcohol= Yum! It's a recipe book titled "Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine and Beer."

This is just one blog entry in a pretty awesome blog called "Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom." Great site for any of my pagan or pagan-curious friends, whether or not you are a parent. Check it out!

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom: Booze Cakes... : "Booze and cake.  What could be better?  (Okay, maybe you could throw some bacon in there....) Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone have j..."

The BP Boycott IS working!

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico isn't the first major oil spill in the world, but maybe if we try hard enough, it can be one of the last. We need to stop thinking that just because we haven't stood up for what is right, before, we don't have the right to now. Just because this has happened before, doesn't mean we shouldn't finally wise up and man up now. Sure, we could have and should have taken a stand long ago. We didn't. What matters now is, are we going to keep sitting back, letting this kind of thing go on, or are we FINALLY going to do something?

Take away all the media hype for either side, and just look at the bare bones. A company took the risk of drilling for oil in the deep ocean. They chose not to have adequate disaster plans in place. How much they make in profits is fact, and the cost of those backup measures and contingencies is a drop in the bucket, comparably. If they couldn't afford it, then responsibility dictates that they shouldn't have done it at all, until they could afford it.

The business owner chose to invest their time and money in a BP franchise. A smart business owner keeps their personal and business finances separate, and have money saved away in case the business fails. If their business goes south, they can declare bankruptcy. BP franchise owners can sue BP for the lost revenue, just the same as those who lost their businesses that depended on the Gulf.

Blue collar workers at BP gas stations will lose their jobs, but that can't dictate how we react to this crisis. It's harsh, but it's part of business. Should they have kept the slaving industry alive, because of all of the people who lost their jobs when slavery was abolished? The plantation owners were the BP franchises of the day, the slave ships were the oil rigs. The slaves themselves were the gas station workers. Most of the slaves were freed from intolerable circumstances, but not every slave was treated like an animal, and all of them found themselves jobless afterwards.

The boycott is one of many outward expressions of disapproval that we have to show BP and other oil companies that America has opened their eyes, and we aren't happy about what we've seen. Irregardless of where any oil company stands in comparison to each other, the fact is they're all dirty, and it has to stop. BP isn't a scapegoat. They're just the first ones to get caught. Now all oil companies are under the microscope, and they should be. If they're afraid of the scrutiny, it's because they have something to hide.

BP itself IS suffering, in part because of the boycott. Sure, if you only look at incoming dollars, a boycott isn't going to make that big a dent in BP's profits. There is so much more to it, though. BP's stocks are plummeting because of their tarnished reputation. People are going to be reluctant to open new BP franchises. Business owners who can will end their contracts with BP. BP is feeling the pinch, and it's only going to fail if we stop boycotting.

Can I get cash for that corpse?

I've told my family, repeatedly, that I want them to do whatever is cheapest when it comes to disposing of my body when I die. If they can do it for free, or earn some money, even better.

It's bad enough how much land is taken up by housing and businesses. The fact that we have swaths of land being used purely for laying out dead bodies is just disturbing. The space that would be used for my grave would be better used to plant food for the hungry, or combined with other grave-sized plots to build homes for the homeless.

Plus, the astronomical price of a funeral, a fancy box no one is going to see after a couple of hours and my dead corpse is not going to feel, and a hole in the ground to put it in, is disgusting. I don't want my family sinking thousands of dollars on my dead corpse. The money spent on an elaborate burial could go towards thousands of better uses. Spend it on someones college education, or the down payment on a home for a grandchild or great grandchild. If we have the money to spare, donate it to charity.

The thing is, I'm not there anymore. At that point, it's just compost. The "me" they'll remember will only live in memories and pictures. Future generations can learn about me from those. Visiting a grave site, where my body had probably turned to soup in that fancy box, is not how I want friends and family to think about me.

Is a witch really a witch?

I think in part there is massive confusion on both sides, pagan and non-pagan, about the whole issue of "witches." I won't claim this as fact, since I can't remember the source, but I believe originally pagans weren't called witches. The term was adopted after Christianity started it's crusade of conversion. Then, with the dawn of the New Age, it kinda just slipped into use as a label when fledgling pagans started self-teaching through the early books.

Yet, for us to call ourselves witches is somewhat akin to a black person to describe themselves casually as, well, a derogatory term I won't use. Or when women play around and call each other bitches. We can use a negative term and say we don't see it as derogatory, but in the end it doesn't matter what we think. What matters is what other people think when they hear it.

So, while we're getting frustrated with having crimes and stupidity being labeled as "witchcraft," most people aren't really looking at it and correlating it with real paganism and Wicca. The problem is not so much in the truth about what we practice, as it is image called forth by the label. When my mom explains her religion to new friends, co-workers, etc., she calls herself a witch. Of course, this causes reactions of shock, panic and/or fear. Then she has to try to explain what that really means while these people are looking at her like a veil has lifted from their eyes and all they see are warts and green skin. She can talk and explain all she wants, but the part of their brains that might be receptive to understanding what she really is has shut down. It's not just a problem of those people refusing to believe anything other than what they've been taught. It's the mental/chemical reaction to shock and fear. My mom's battle is an uphill one, because she is starting the conversation off on the defensive.

That's one of the reasons why I don't describe myself as a witch. I'm very open about my religion, though no longer as "in-your-face" as I was in high school. When people ask, I usually just tell them I'm pagan. Unless they are hard-core Christians, the general reaction is one of confusion and curiosity. This makes my battle the downhill one. I go on to explain, depending on how close my relationship is to the questioner. A random person at the grocery store asking about my pentacle will get something along the lines of "It's basically an earth based religion. Think tree-hugging hippy. We respect nature and life, and are polytheistic." The tree-hugging hippy part is just to give the mildly curious an easy reference they can be comfortable with.

Closer people, like my children's friends parents, will probably have more questions and I go into greater detail. I explain how magic is pretty much a prayer with tools. It's similar to lighting candles in the Catholic religion. It's just a more complicated way of asking my gods for help for myself or others. Minor deities are like the Patron Saints.

Usually from there I have to explain how I am NOT a witch, at least in the sense that they know it. I tell them it's very little like the movie "The Craft." I'm not evil. I don't slaughter goats or chickens. I don't do spells to force people to fall in love with me, or make someone's hair fall out. I wish I could just do a spell and make the huge scar on my back from surgery disappear, or win the lottery, but it doesn't work that way. Stuff like that is actually completely against my religion. Then I explain briefly about the Wiccan Rede, and how it's basically our Ten Commandments.

I may tell them that some people call themselves witches, it just depends on personal preference. I can let them know that the stories about people doing bad things and calling themselves witches are either confused kids or seriously deluded individuals who don't know what true paganism is. Just as there are groups of people who call themselves Christians, yet act in a totally un-Christian-like manner (Westboro Baptist Church for example, ) there are people who claim to be witches who definitely don't behave like one.

If someone is more curious than that, I'll explain any specific questions I can, and point them in the direction of some good books.

So, while my mother's battle is uphill, mine is downhill. Whoever I'm talking to can direct the conversation, and absorb the info at their own pace. Their brain is not shielding themselves in fear, but opening them in curiosity. I'm not fighting against their negative opinion of what a witch is, but informing them about what a pagan is.

I'm not saying pagans shouldn't call themselves witches if that's the term they want to use. I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't be surprised by how people react to it.