Peaceful Home Tea-tini

It's getting to be the steamy part of the year and when we're unwinding at night we could use something calming and refreshing.  This Lavender, Vanilla and Chamomile tea blends nicely with a quality vodka.

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/collections/frontpage/products/peaceful-home

Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 oz quality vodka
1 1/2 oz sweetened Peaceful Home iced tea
Splash fresh lemon juice
Sprig Lemon Balm for garnish
Sugar for rimming

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar. Garnish with the lemon balm.

Holy (Spirit) Roller Cocktail

This blend of Ginger Oolong, Chamomile and Mint lightly dusted with lavender flowers will roll you over with serenity and calm.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:
2 oz Brewed Holy Spirit tea
1 oz Cognac
1/2 oz Simple syrup
3 Mint leaves
3 Thumbnail sized pieces of Ginger
Extra mint leaf for garnish

Preparation: In a mixing glass, place syrup, mint and ginger and muddle. Pour the Cognac and fresh tea over top and muddle a little more. Strain into an ice filled glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Adam and Eve's Affair

This torrid affair in black tea blend is perfect for all matters of love, faithful partnership and attraction. 

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/products/adam-and-eve-tea

Ingredients:
4 tsp Adam and Eve tea
6 ounces gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 cup sugar
5 dashes orange bitters
Orange and/or lemon twists, for garnish

Directions:
Place a saucepan over medium heat, add 3 cups water and sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Strain the syrup into a glass measuring cup; if you have less than 2 cups syrup, add hot water. Add the tea and steep, about 3 minutes. Gently strain the tea and cool the syrup to room temperature. Combine the syrup, gin, vermouth and bitters in a large cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, about 20 seconds, then pour into a pitcher filled with ice. Garnish with orange and/or lemon twists.

My-Tea New Moon (Non alcoholic Mocktail)

For a MIGHTY start to your New Moon cycle, try this non alcoholic beverage. 

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/products/my-tea-tea

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

Yield: 1 

Drink Ingredients: 

1 tbsp My-Tea spice tea (unbrewed)

2 cups apple cider

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Add Tea to Cider in sauce pan. Gently heat apple cider on medium heat. Add Agave to sweeten and lemon juice to taste. Enjoy! 

Of Green and Glass: Dealing with Loss

Of Green and Glass:

Where Down to Earth Solutions and a Glass Edge Meet

By Goewin GreenWitch

Dear Goewin,

            It’s Samhain, and I’m conflicted.  I have always adored this holiday, and have since I was a child.  It was always more than the candy, and the chance to be someone else for the night.  I truly believed, even as a child that the Spirits I saw during my daily life were more easily understood at “Hallowe’en”. 

            My conflict comes from the series of events from the last year.  You see, my brother died this past spring, and it’s not clear as to whether his death was accidental or a suicide.  The police say there were drugs in his system and he stumbled onto the train tracks in his back yard.  Since no one knows for sure if it was an accident or not, it’s causing a lot of problems in our family. 

            My other brother makes things worse, by announcing that because he is recently “saved” he believes that our brother is burning in hell for having committed suicide.  Apparently he found Jesus last month in jail and that makes him an expert. 

            I’d love to celebrate Samhain and Honor him as I would any of my beloved dead, but I don’t feel his is “really” dead.  I’ve seen him, his spirit, a few months after his death, not in passing but for extended periods.  He asked me to tell our father that he was okay.  My dad has just now started to seem like his old self and I don’t want to hurt him further by mentioning it.

Do I know if he committed suicide?  No. I was too mad at my brother for dying to speak to him when he appeared to me. So all I know is that he says he’s okay.  Obviously (to me) if he can pop in to say he’s okay, then he’s not burning in hell.  Some might say that this was just my imagination brought on by grief, but I really believe it was him. 

            I feel bad that I wouldn’t talk to him when he showed up so unexpectedly, and he hasn’t come back.  How do I go about my Samhain plans feeling like I’ve abandoned my brother when he needed me?  I can’t tell my father he’s okay.  My mother and other family members have seen ghosts and communicated with them, so I know he would believe me, but I don’t want to remind him of his pain, either.  Do I mourn a suicide victim, or just the victim of an accident?

-Sad at Samhain

           

Dear Sad,

            That’s an awful lot to process for one person.  Any one part of that is enough to upset someone, and for you to be dealing with it at once can be hard.  I know you got dealt a crap hand in all of this, but you’re going to have to figure out a way to deal.  Life isn’t always fair, but I can tell you are a tough cookie, and you’ll do fine.  Let’s take this piece by piece. 

            Your brother’s death is a hard enough problem to deal with by itself.  It’s hard to have closure when you know the how of his death, but not the why.  I know it’s hard to talk about; suicide is almost as much a taboo in the Pagan community as it is in the mundane. 

Not many people know that there is a Goddess just for suicide victims.  Ixtab is a Mayan Goddess, who is believed to carry the souls of suicide victims in her heart to Paradise.  I’m sure if suicide were involved, she carried your brother in her heart to a place where he could rest and deal with what happened before moving on. 

I know you want to honor your brother’s memory by letting your father know he is okay, but I think the time for this is down the way, after he has had time to overcome his grief at his loss.  

With the common belief in reincarnation and the Summerland as a part of Wiccan and some Pagan beliefs it’s common to hear that victims of suicide weren’t capable of dealing with the lessons they chose for this lifetime and that they’ll need to repeat them in the next.  Whether or not he was an accident victim or not, I firmly believe that his coming to you to let you know he was okay was the important part. 

            Your brother’s assertions about heaven and hell come from his desire to exert some control over his loss and his own feelings.  Even though it is hurtful to you to hear him say these things, it’s merely his way of dealing.  It doesn’t make it right, but I hope that helps you understand where he’s coming from. 

            Samhain is the perfect time to let him know that you love him and miss him.  You can set up a special ancestral altar, and give photos of him prominence. Talk to him as if he were standing in front of you.  I’m sure wherever he is, he will hear you.  Don’t muddy your celebration with feelings of guilt.  You responded as many people would.  Samhain is the time to celebrate the times you enjoyed with your loved ones, not to concentrate on their death.  On this day he is not an accident victim, or a suicide victim, he’s your brother.

‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens

‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens:

 the Realities of Feelings

Black Salt, Good for Banishing Spirits & Protecting a Home

 
     A friend and former coworker tagged me in a comment on Facebook sometime during the night. I rolled over and checked my email as I wake up, the way I do every morning. (Hey, some people drink coffee, I read my email to get my brain in gear.) He had encountered an animal on his way home from work late and it left him with a feeling of foreboding. The discussion progressed to supernatural reasons for seeing such a thing. Without something to add, I moved about my morning.

     Once I’m at my office and settled in, I pulled up Facebook. Right now, my job involves a lot of hurry up and wait. So they allow me to occupy my brain, as long as I make sure the customers are taken care of. So, back to Facebook, I’m looking through my feed when I see an update from the same friend.

     “So update to last night's story- I had a flat tire this morning and I'm just waiting for something bad to happen. Creepy, eh?”

     I told this friend I’d be writing a blog post about our interaction because this is something I’ve seen more than once and it’s something I wanted to discuss.

     Amy Blackthorn: Fuck that waiting around shit. Don't allow it into your space. Do something. Dump a McDonald’s packet of salt into a cup of water and anoint yourself. Say a prayer. Say, "Fuck off!" Light a birthday candle. Cast a circle. Cast a Square. Don't just sit and wait for bad shit to happen. Well protected is good. Just remember what they say in martial arts, "No matter how good you are, somewhere there's someone better." We have those senses for a reason. Any time I've had that sense and didn't do something about it,

BAD SHIT happened.

(Hello Tractor trailer, 27 broken bones, 72 pins and years in a wheelchair).

     I’m trying to figure out where we are in our personal evolutions. Go to a gathering of Pagans or Witchy folk and you’ll likely hear a mention at some point about feelings, ‘juju’, or the like. Most people are quick to jump in with their experience, but that’s usually where it ends. People want to talk and share their experiences and occasionally they’ll ask for opinions, personal revelations or simply validation of their feelings on the subject.

     I’ve noticed this outside of our little world in one place in particular, “Reality” ghost hunting television shows. People hear something go bump in the night, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a bunch of yahoos in fatigues running around your house with night vision cameras strapped to their heads. Viewers see people attempting to antagonize the dead, using dramatic pauses and fervent “Did you hear that?” questioning. One of the issues I have with shows of this ilk is If they find something they feel is compelling evidence, they show the owner of the property, and then pack up and go home. “Yup, it’s haunted. Bye!” Wait. What just happened?

     Why do we stop there? Why acknowledge the fact that you feel something bad is going to happen, only to sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop? Magic is supposed to be a last resort, after all of the ‘real world’ things have been ruled out. That doesn’t mean we have to sit idly by and wonder at our fate. If it really is fate, that the other shoe drops, it will. However, if taking a step out of the way saves your bacon, I’d take that step. Wouldn’t you?

     If we accept that we have developed these feelings for a purpose, then it stands to reason that we were meant to DO something with them. So do it. Rearrange the furniture so that energy doesn’t have a place to lie. Smudge the house. Open the windows and let the fresh air in. Get rid of your clutter. Just do Something.

The Broom Closet In and Out and Back In Again?

IPCOD Pt 3:

In and Out and Back In Again—a Career in Law Enforcement

For those of you who have been with me since the first of the series you’ll remember this:

Two years ago, I made the decision to go back to school. My goal: to kick ass and take names in school such that the FBI will welcome me with open arms when I graduate with Honors. I’m doing very well on that end, if I do say so myself. But let’s face it, you didn’t stop by to listen to me toot my own horn, did you?

I discussed it with a friend when I made the choice. She’s been working with Law Enforcement Officers of all stripes (Pun intended) for all of her adult life. She warned me that LEOs were a conservative lot. I assured her that I knew because I come from a LEO extended family. The words ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’ both give me hives, but that’s a topic for another day. We’re talking about being out of the broom closet.

As I got closer and closer to the first week of school I got more and more nervous. My inner monologue was replaying the above conversation and worrying about how my faith might affect my career advancement. It’s pretty sad that I felt I had to agonize over it this much, but I try to be honest with myself about such things.

So when school rolled around I decided it was a non-issue. I don’t introduce myself to people as “I’m Amy and I’m Pagan.” So why should it be an issue. I wear my pentacle every day, just like I always have. It’s not really that noticeable, I’m told. The chain also carries a single cabochon in a plain setting. This blue stone looks somewhat unremarkable to the uninitiated (pun completely intended!). This blend of Dolomite, Rhyolite and Slate is found in one place in the world, and my necklace is the same stone that Stonehenge is built from. As they hang from the same chain, the blue stone usually covers the pentacle to some degree.

Two good friends from school wound up earning my trust to the point where I answered questions about my faith with them, but I don’t advertise. I stopped putting my magnetic bumper stickers with witchy slogans on them. (Honestly, part of that was school, and part of that was a crazy person trying to run me off the road while screaming obscenities.)

Now at my job I still wear my necklace daily, but as it’s under a security uniform, no one knows it is there, at least until last week. One of the relief guys noticed the chain for the first time since I started working here almost a year ago. When he asked what was on it, I merely pulled the Stonehenge piece out of my shirt and left the pentacle hanging inside my shirt, because honestly, he hasn’t earned it. My coworkers know I’m a minister, because my last partner was president of the Jesus wagon. So we had great discussions about religion and when asked I state I’m ‘non-denominational’.

For a time I worried that this meant I was denying who I was. I had flashbacks to Sunday school in the second grade when they were telling us about Peter denying God three times in the Book of John. I wondered if I was doing a disservice to my community by not shouting my faith to the rooftops. Then I had a deep breath and got over myself. /grin

I still have a runic license plate frame that reads, “If you can read this, you’re my kind of Witch” but it’s almost an in-joke. I can display my faith to those who would understand it, and those that don’t, have no bearing on the subject anyway.

So instead of panicking that I’ve somehow put myself back in the closet, I’ve stopped worrying about it. My family and friends all know. Anyone I’m friends with on (my personal) Facebook knows. It’s okay to consider yourself when discussing your faith with others. I’m not ashamed. I still do my outreach work and occasionally have my photo out there. For pity’s sake, I appeared on TLC and the AP News Wire in ritual. It’s just that I don’t feel I need a flag to wave anymore. I’m more secure than that. And honestly, me being secure in who I am will land me my dream job, or the job I’m meant to have, more than any flag waving in my faith. I’m happy with that.

Blessed Be.

International Pagan Coming Out Day Part 1

International Pagan Coming Out Day May 2nd

Every year when May 2nd rolls around, I get a feeling in my chest. It varies, year to year, but I always have strong feelings about it. Two years ago, I made the decision to go back to school. My goal: to kick ass and take names in school such that the FBI will welcome me with open arms when I graduate with Honors. I’m doing very well on that end, if I do say so myself. But let’s face it, you didn’t stop by to listen to me toot my own horn, did you?

I discussed it with a friend when I made the choice. She’s been working with Law Enforcement Officers of all stripes (Pun intended) for all of her adult life. She warned me that LEOs were a conservative lot. I assured her that I knew because I come from a LEO extended family. The words ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’ both give me hives, but that’s a topic for another day. We’re talking about being out of the broom closet.

I still remember the day I told my mom and step-dad I was a Witch. I did what all the articles tell you NOT, under any circumstances, to do. I walked up to my mom while she was cooking dinner and said, “So, mom… I’m a Witch”. I had been testing the waters you see. This was in 1995 and Dishwalla’s Counting Blue Cars was on the radio every five minutes. So while we were driving one day, I asked my mom about the lyrics.

We said, "Tell me all your thoughts of God?

'Cause I would really like to meet her

And ask her why we're who we are

Tell me all your thoughts on God

'Cause I am on my way to see her

So tell me am I very far,

am I very far now?"

So I asked my mom, “Do you think the lyricist is going to meet God (Her) or a girl he likes (her)?” We started having a discussion about whether my mom believed that God was Male, Female or All. It was a great discussion. I don’t remember what she said, but I felt very warm and positive. My mom was raised Catholic, but was non-practicing herself. My parents insisted we go to a church (usually whichever was closest to where we were living at the time) as kids. When my mom left my father, we stopped going to church, and we were all okay with that.

You see, I am the second oldest of my mom’s four girls. I shared a room with my older sister, and much like any other younger sister, I was nosy. One day while peeking in my older sister’s back pack I found a book that caught my eye. “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner”. I was 11. I was also fascinated. The town we lived in was small enough, and I was responsible enough, mom let me walk to the library after school to hang out and read a bit before dinner. In a house with 6 people, quiet is a luxury. The next day after I got home from school, I hoofed it over to the library and started investigating this new thing I discovered, Wicca.

3 ½ years later I’m standing in our kitchen blurting out the words that I knew would change my life forever. “I’m a Witch”. As I wait for mom to look up from her dinner preparations, for the earth to swallow me whole, or something equally traumatizing to happen. My mom didn’t miss a beat, “Oh? Have you told your father (my step-dad)?”

“No, I wanted to tell you first.”

“Oh, okay. Why don’t you go tell him? Dinner in 30.”

The earth didn’t swallow me up. The earth didn’t swallow me up? Who is this woman and what has she done with my mother? I realized a few days later that my mother had the “mom” enough that she figured this was a phase, and it would pass sooner if she didn’t fight me over it. Seventeen years, and still the earth hasn’t swallowed me up and I haven’t gotten over my ‘phase’.

So I wander outside. It’s mid Spring and J is planting beautiful Clematis to climb a trellis he just built. “So how was school today, Princess?”

“It was okay. English was interesting. The teacher showed up in two different shoes, and threw a chair when someone pointed it out.”

“Whoa, anyone hurt?”

“Nope. Oh, mom wanted me to tell you dinner is in 30.”

“Okay, sweetie.”

“Oh, there was one more thing. I’m a Witch”.

“Oh really? I dated a Witch in High school.”

That was it. I had gnashed my teeth and worried and angsted over NOTHING. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t interesting for a while. My mother threw it in my face for a while when she was mad at me. Her issue wasn’t that I had converted. Her issue was that I was investigating another faith (I had converted years before, but who takes the word of a kid? Sadly, very few.) without talking to her.

So she was hurt.  As an adult I can understand why she was hurt.  In her mind, when she left my father and stopped drinking, she wanted us to be buddies.  But I had grown up with her being a terrifying dictator who unleashed her fury over things that never would have occured to us.  How was I, as a 14 year old, to know whether or not this would be one of the things that she loses her mind over?

The Queen of Swords

The Queen of Swords  

  

        I posted a new user photo on Facebook recently.  Two marriage proposals, (sorry, already married!) and six sword jokes later, and I got a message from the lovely and talented Rebecca.  You may remember my posting or talking about her 365 Days of Tarot though the Facebook page for this blog.

        Rebecca was inspired to post about the Queen of Swords after seeing this photo, and wanted permission to feature it in her Tarot blog.  Of course I was so thrilled that she loved Stacey B & Marisa's work that I immediately agreed.

       The interview and blog soon followed, and let me tell you.  I was moved to tears at this vision of another strong woman painted of me.  I wanted to share it with you all.  To view the photo and read the full post, please click the link posted at the bottom of the page.

___________________________________________

Day 101-Creating her Reality: The Meaning of the 

Queen of Swords Tarot Card

My friend Amy is a true Queen of Swords

      Up to this point I’ve had some fun blogging about Queens of Swords I don’t personally know (Suze Orman and Jodi Arias).  Today I present to you a Queen of Swords in my everyday experience, the Rev. Amy Blackthorn.  I was initially inspired to use Amy as the Queen of Swords because of her sword-swallowing photo above, but the more we got to talking about a post on the Queen of Swords the more I realized just how much Amy really is this Tarot archetype!  Amy is a true Queen of Swords.

      This Queen of Swords is a Black Belt, a firearms instructor (firearms are the modern day swords!), self-defense advocate, teacher, professional intuitive, High Priestess, and has earned multiple degrees in various fields of study.  The Queen of Swords is the kind of woman you want to rule your empire, as she is as versatile as she is intelligent.  Yet as I was discussing this post with Amy, another story came into play; one that I feel most defines Amy as the Queen of Swords.

To read the full post, click here.

Fox News mocked beliefs, Wiccans say

April Ford understands that paganism is a minority faith generally misunderstood in the mainstream, but it still stung when Fox News commentators mocked believers with stereotypes and jokes.




“When you say derogatory things about a religious group, you have taken our sacred traditions and spat on us,” she said. “It’s very hurtful.”



Ford practices Wicca, a form of paganism, in the Columbus area. She is among about 40,000 people who have signed petitions on causes.com and change.org asking for an apology for comments made Sunday during a Fox & Friends Weekend report about the University of Missouri adding pagan and Wiccan holidays to its “Guide to Religions.”



Paganism, also called neo-paganism, is a group of ancient religions that do not acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity or Islam. They are generally polytheistic and revere the earth and nature. Wiccans tend to worship goddesses and practice natural magic. Adherents.com estimates about 1 million neo-pagans worldwide.



Read the rest here: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/02/22/fox-news-mocked-beliefs-wiccans-say.html