Pagan

[Bit]

Hi Licious, welcome! That's why we're here, to give each other a community. I suspect a lot of us have experienced what you do, and some of us are still that isolated. Threads like this one have been my haven from a harsh world for a long time.

Massive and LadyBlue, thanks for the info about Stonehenge and Woodhenge!

Hello to Nat, oblivia, softness, Magic, Foxy Shaman, and everyone else!!

[*Magic_and_Silk*]

Hi Bit...and everyone!

[Bit]

{{{{{{{{{{{{Magic}}}}}}}}}}}}} How are you today, darlin?

I'm looking forward to a new-to-me experience; we should be able to go on Friday evening to a local New Moon Circle. It seems to be a presentation rather than a ritual, a talk on Litha. It starts with a potluck, so no stress on getting dinner out of the way first, yanno? I like that.

[*Magic_and_Silk*]

Originally Posted by Bit

{{{{{{{{{{{{Magic}}}}}}}}}}}}} How are you today, darlin?

I'm looking forward to a new-to-me experience; we should be able to go on Friday evening to a local New Moon Circle. It seems to be a presentation rather than a ritual, a talk on Litha. It starts with a potluck, so no stress on getting dinner out of the way first, yanno? I like that.

Hey, Bit....I am doing better. I am going for another inversion treatment this evening. A friend of mine is a massage therapist and very good at what she does. She is Druid...Pagan. So, the energy is way good!

I hope you have a GREAT time this weekend. How very fortunate you are.

Goddess bless, my friend!

[Bit]

Goddess bless you too, honey, and your massage therapist! It's a wonderful thing to find someone who understands energy work on that level!

[*Magic_and_Silk*]

Originally Posted by Bit

Goddess bless you too, honey, and your massage therapist! It's a wonderful thing to find someone who understands energy work on that level!

You're tellin' ME!!!!

[Bit]

Yanno, one of the most inconvenient things about being disabled is the choices it forces you to make. New Moon Circles come once a month, Pride comes once a year... and my body is making it plain today that I cannot do both in one weekend. *sigh* So, no community time for me tonight. Maybe next month.

[Massive]

Originally Posted by Bit

Hi Licious, welcome! That's why we're here, to give each other a community. I suspect a lot of us have experienced what you do, and some of us are still that isolated. Threads like this one have been my haven from a harsh world for a long time.

Massive and LadyBlue, thanks for the info about Stonehenge and Woodhenge!

Hello to Nat, oblivia, softness, Magic, Foxy Shaman, and everyone else!!

You're welcome Bit, There's more information I know about Woodhenge, but I'm rather heavily medicated now due to reinjuring My back and details are somewhat lacking.

[Bit]

Massive, may your back heal quickly and easily and may it stay strong! Blessings!

[foxyshaman]

Hello everyone!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Sunshine}}}}}}}}}}}} I am sorry your body rebelled and you were unable to attend the new moon ceremony. I was looking forward to reading how it went. Did you get to Pride? I missed the parade, I got caught up in stuff that was so not on my schedule. I really wanted to go. We are going to the pride film festival this week, well all two evenings of it. There are some other events going on, but I am not sure how much we are going to be able to attend.

Nice to read what everyone is doing. Massive I have never heard of Woodhenge, fascinating stuff.

Nat that is a beautiful mirror. Very ornate. I like stuff like that, it reminds me of Art Nouveau, such beautiful detail.

I have finished my transition and now I am not quite sure what is on the horizon, but I am sure it will be just as delicious as holding circles for years. We finished with a terrific Whoop Up Trance Dance... very cool way to end an era. But holy moly the energy released was intense. I was sooooo tired for the next week. I kept promising my body I could sleep on Saturday night and to just hold on... I slept 13 hours and got up at 1pm on Sunday... I felt like I had finally come home to myself. I had a great sleep and had lots of renewed energy.

My GF and I are writing a workshop on Sacred Sexuality. We were supposed to present a short version of it at a Co-ed spiritual retreat weekend, but I got word this morning that it was cancelled due to low registrations. Bummer, we really wanted to short run a workshop. We are still going to develop it, and then present a short day version this summer. We have enough couples to run it. We are most interested in running it for the LGBTQ community as there IS NOT ONE sacred sexuality workshop for us anywhere in central Canada. Well none we have found anyway. There are tantra weekends in Vancouver and Toronto, but none geared towards us. We had to fly to Calif. to find lesbian workshops. Stupid eh!!! Good thing I have that Mohammed mentality.

What is everyone doing for Litha? Ceremonies? Quiet evening? Long night of passion?? Anything????

[Bit]

{{{{{{{{{{{{Foxy}}}}}}}}}}}} wooohooo!! Been waiting for you to come back!

Glad you've managed the transition with a wild and wonderful ending, and that you have lots of energy for your new beginning now! I think life has lots of cool stuff in store for you, darlin.

That workshop sounds amazing and wonderful.

Pride was lots of fun--after a while the freedom to be ourselves even made Gryph a little giggly; being kissed by a giggling Butch is a little strange, lol--but I sure am tired today. The chairman of the Pride Committee has asked us to work more closely with the committee this coming year, as we have a yahoo list and they're looking for more queer female input. I'm looking forward to that.

I skipped the Parade as I was staffing our table (and then later eating lunch), but the festival was lovely. The estimate so far is that we had 2000 people; it's bigger every year! Not bad for the buckle of the Bible belt.

Litha plans... nope, not so far... Gryph and I usually notice it but don't celebrate it. That may be different this year, as we have new friends who are Pagan. We're thinking about suggesting a picnic Monday evening. Their kids like to play with the fireflies in our yard and I'm hoping there will still be lots next week. Right now we are the major producer of fireflies on our block, but we have to mow the lawn tomorrow and fireflies very much prefer grass that is longer.

How about you? Do you have Litha plans?

So glad to see you posting again,
Sunshine

[foxyshaman]

Heya Sunshine!!!!!!!!

I think life does have lots of cool things in store for me. And I am just window shopping. I am trying to find the time to write and it is not that easy. There are always others things to do and then I can't seem to have a quiet week, always booking something. But summer is a busy time and who wants to work inside when it is nice outside.... especially when you get 10 months of crap weather... a girl needs a little sun ... especially when white enough to be a reflector!!!

The Pride Committee... you go girl!! And a giggly butch... that made me smile. And kisses...in public... say it isn't so...so the shy guy gryph came outt his shell a bit then!! Nice!!!!

For Litha there is a new group that is focused on world peace and well other fun lofty ideals as such. So I am taking my drum out to the main square downtown to play with some others. And then we are all wearing white T-shirts carrying balloons in front of us with inspiring words... I am not sure what the word on my balloon will say, but I am excited to cause some people to think and perhaps pick up a balloon and get excited. Sometimes I get depressed when all I hear is that the people around me are buying the basement bargain priced fear that corporate canada is selling. I am not niave and understand that we are at, if not past, the tipping point. I get that things are HORRIBLE... but if we do not accept that we are the dreamers and the dream we will not change. I refuse to dream a mass death for my human world. I choose to dream a world with hope. I am a dreamer and I am consciously dreaming my life better. I am dreaming that the people around me are going to get hope and that together we will refuse the bargain basement priced fear and dream a new paradigm. That is my dream for Litha. In the evening not sure I am conflicted... I could go to the pool and hot tub with some friends I don't get to spend nearly enough time with, or I could go to the park and continue with a public ritual. I am torn.

Next weekend we are heading to Southern Alberta to attend a Sun Dance in the Blackfoot Nation. I have never been to a Sundance, so it should be interesting. I suspect it will be very moving and powerful. I will be attending daily sweats and will be drumming inside. That should be a spiritual experience. I have been to sweats but never been able to bring my drums inside. Then on the way back home we are stopping at the a HUGE medicine wheel to leave offerings and get some energetic infusion. I will be back there in August with a group from the Depossession workshop. So, at least I will have an idea of how to get there and what to expect.

I have directions to another wheel just 340 KM away from me. That will be a nice Saturday . And won't take long... I am such a speed demon...



Do you or anyone else on this list use drums or rattles for healing work?

[Bit]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Foxy}}}}}}}}}}}}} I keep thinking I'm gonna answer just as soon as I get a little energy... sheesh, that just ain't happenin' anytime soon! sheesh! sheesh!

I'm whupped...

I guess for Litha we're closing the back third of the house off again. Not exactly how I thought we'd be celebrating! But it means we can actually make it through summer's heat and humidity without getting heatstroke inside the house.

Our friend's car broke down; she talked about bringing the kids over on the bus to have dinner together and then walking home, but there's a heat advisory out for Monday and Tuesday is predicted to be even worse, so a two-mile walk home just cannot be a good idea, not even at night.

Truth be known, I'm relieved, because it was way harder than I expected to move the furniture and stuff in order to get the computers back out here in the dining room again, and I did walk to the store and back to get the groceries--my ice packs and the thermal bag didn't really keep the frozen stuff frozen because it's so hot right now, yikes! I really am worn out, as much from the heat as from anything, and will need a day to recuperate.

The good thing is that I FINALLY found the paperwork on the plumbing repairs we had done in October, so now I can call the city and tell them the work didn't hold. This is a terrible time of year to be without a shower, yanno? And our outdoor faucets turn inside the wall when we try to turn them on! That cannot be good for pipes!

So, there ya have our Litha plans, organizing and rearranging. Hope yours is rather more celebratory! lol! That new group sounds GREAT!

Originally Posted by that Foxy One

The Pride Committee... you go girl!! And a giggly butch... that made me smile. And kisses...in public... say it isn't so...so the shy guy gryph came outt his shell a bit then!! Nice!!!!

Oh I think that's backwards the Butch got giggly because *I* was all kissy in public. He's always been much more uninhibited than I am.

Your time at the Sundance will more than likely be spectacular... but can drumheads handle the kind of intense steamy heat inside a sweat? I don't know what kind of drums you use. Gryph says it takes a while for the steam to affect rawhide drumheads, but you'll be there a while and then back again, day after day.... okay, I'm probably the only one who would worry about such things, lol... grew up in a family of musicians.

The Medicine Wheels sound wonderful!

I'll answer your question in a separate post; it deserves its own space.

Blessings!
Sunshine

[Bit]

Originally Posted by foxyshaman

Do you or anyone else on this list use drums or rattles for healing work?

Gryph does sometimes. I'd like to learn.

I've always been pretty self-conscious about using tools or props--except candles and incense; I grew up with them--and I find myself really hesitant to just pick something up and start using it.

I confess though, every once in a while I pick up my wand, hold it up into the air, and exclaim "Wand powers actiVAAAAATE!!!" Hey, I wouldn't mind being a superhero. *eyebrow waggle*

Anyhow, I drummed a little bit at Beltane when they were dancing the Maypole and was shocked both that I was able to drum and also how little I was able to do. Go figure, eh? Guess I could use a LOT of practice.