Blessed Yule!

Born is the Sun God; the promise of the continuation of life. We decorate our homes with evergreen boughs, holly and berries to symbolize warmth and life. Candles are lit to bring the welcome light to darkness; the days will now begin their journey to extended light. Gather around the hearth-fire to ring in the blessed Yule and peace to all.

Deep within the still centre of my being, may we find peace.
Silently within the quiet of my home, may we share peace.
Gently within the realm of human and animal kind, may we radiate peace.

The warmth of the summer is a memory; we are far from that place.
We witness darkness, the bare oak, the cold earth, and the black sky.
My eyes are wet with tears for the passing of the light.
Yeah, but tonight the light is reborn on Earth as it is in my soul.
May the strength, power and love of this moment live deep  in my centre and inspire us all.
Blessed Yule!
A beautiful Winter Solstice prayer adapted from the OBOD.

May the blessings of the Goddess and God be with us always.

My sweet Moonshadow likes to lay in the warmth of the lights on the evergreens; as you can see, they are a bit trampled. LOL.

Have a Merry and Blessed Yule!

Syster Lorie

Salem Revisited

The Systers Wyrd made their long awaited return to Salem, Mass. this summer. What a wonderful time we had; visiting the old haunts, going on the well remembered jaunts, but most of all, discovering the new sights of Salem and those that we missed on our first visit.
As always, we stayed at the famed Hawthorne Hotel; a beautiful spot. Our room was wonderful and very comfortable, and the service was impeccable. I am sure the other hotels in Salem are very nice as well, but there is something to be said for having stayed in this beautiful historic hotel.

The image here is of the Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel. Our favourite spot to sit is the green chairs in the corner at the left of the picture. Many glasses of wine and samplings of the scrumptious appetizers have taken place here. And of course we watched Jennifer on Hells' Kitchen from this spot!!

A number of great new shops have opened since our first trip back in 2006; two of our favourites this time were 'Hex: Old World Witchery' and 'Omen: Psychic Parlour and Witchcraft Emporium'. The people working these shops were helpful and very nice; we made some great purchases.

And of course, who can forget the tours; they are soooo important! We had a riot as well as learned many new things about Salem. The wonderful gentleman here in the picture was our tour guide for our evening haunted excursion. (That's me on the left and my dear syster and sister on the right!)

Whether afternoon or night, another favourite spot was a cafe down near the wharf; great spot to sit outside under the shade tree and watch the world go by. Both of us noticed that almost every resident (so it seemed) has a dog or two! My sister, being a dog lover, and I enjoyed ourselves greeting all those that trotted past us. Across the street was an 'establishment' that we frequented more than a few times during our stay. The picture here shows the night view of the Bunghole; the best place in town to purchase your evening 'enjoyment in a bottle'.

We  did so many other wonderful things while there: excursions on our own to see the local architecture; a sailing trip aboard the Flame, a beautiful schooner; a visit to the Peabody Museum;  LOTS of fine dining at a few of the best restaurants in Salem (one of our favourites is the little Italian place across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel) delicious, fabulous food!; and plenty of relaxation in The Commons sitting on a bench drinking 'coffee'. We also revisited the House of Seven Gables; amazing place. And how could I forget the oldest candy shoppe in the US; they have the most incredible cherry cordials!!!! A magazine article displayed in the store reads that Oprah goes there to buy their version of the Turtle. Mmmmm! Unfortunately she was not there when we were! But I do recall hearing that we missed Debbie Reynolds in the Tavern at the Hawthorne one night. Not sure where we were at the time but obviously in the wrong place.

Anyway, we both hope to go back one day; however, the Systers Wyrd are toying with the idea of trying somewhere new. New Orleans? Romania? Who knows. We shall see where the heart takes us next.

Birds of Paradise

As always, when spring arrives and begins its tentative slide into summer, my life partner and I share the excitement and wonder of welcoming our feathered friends back for another season of companionship. And as hoped, each year brings something new.

Today we sighted a new bird that we had never seen before. Full of childish delight, I ran to get my laptop and the two bird books we have, hoping that we would find the little darling we had seen. What to type into Google? OK, think about what he looked like. Yellow throated, masked, and maybe a wren? No my hubby says; try warbler. Dang if our first try didn't find the little bird. The Common Yellow-throated Warbler. And guess what the call of this bird is, and a very distinguishing call the book says.

Well, there ya go, a new one for the album. It appears as if he might like aphids as he climbed all through our honeysuckle, pecking into each leaf cluster.

We have some of our favourites back this year as well. The Baltimore oriole is a  bit timid this year but has felt at home enough to devour oranges from the new feeder we bought for them.

And how can I forget the red breasted grosbeak that came for the first time a month ago. Now there is one beautiful and noble bird. We have not seem much of him this past two weeks but I am hoping he and his partner are busy sitting on a nest somewhere and will be back once the little ones are bigger.

And for a bit of humour, we have been visited by a particular bird for the past three years; actually, they are in abundance until about mid May. The colouring on their heads gives them an appearance of wearing a bike helmet. We have jokingly called them "Helmet Heads" and just recently found out that they are White Crested Sparrows. Well, they have flown somewhere to spend the summer and we can only hope they come back for a short time in the fall before heading home for the winter.

Such fun we have watching these guys and waiting patiently for them to drop by and visit. Of course we have the ole faithfuls that always arrive each year; robins, yellow finches, hummingbirds, blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and the annoying but comical grackles. Never a dull morning or evening around here!!

Your Syster,

Blessed Be

The Wind Moon

Tonight at 10:44 pm est, the moon will be at its fullest. This moon is known as the Wind Moon by some; and windy it is!! For a few days now the wind has been howling about the house and of course, the temperatures have dropped significantly as well; something that can happen easily during the early spring in April.

We probably will not see the Lady Moon's lovely face as there are quite a few clouds in the sky. Albeit, I will still be faithful, and will perch near a window at some point to look for her face, to gaze upon it in wonder and love if only for a  fleeting moment between the heavy veil of clouds.

What has me a little concerned though is the mother dove that has seen fit to build her nest on top of our garden seat arbor. It is a very precarious birds nest to say the least.  I was very sure that she (nest and all) would surely drop through between the cross members of the canopy, to the seat below and lose her lovely eggs.

The honeysuckle vines that cover the top of the arbor are woven around her somewhat, but of course there is no foilage yet. Needless to say, she is very unprotected and at the mercy of the elements; snow, wind, and the cold. I must keep her in my heart tonight and pray that the Lady keeps her and her little ones safe. Indeed, I shall pray for all those who find thier lives sitting precariously on the edge, that this season of perennial renewal will bring growth and sustenance to all. Inner knowing and belief, and trust in the ways of the Lady, as I am sure the dove trusts that the warmth and sunshine will come after the cold and storms, will keep us safe.

Blessed Be.

Your Syster

Won`t you write a little to me, we can be merry you and me.

We Are Never Alone

An interesting concept to say the very least.

A man or woman, living ``far from the madding crowd``, alone and sequestered away from society; possibly in a remote area, would be considered in all sense of the word as alone. Separate, apart, isolated; to the exclusion of all others or all else. Well, I would ask you to humour me for a minute as I beg to differ with you.

This same man or woman wakens early on a morning. The first days of spring are evident in the swollen running of the brook, carrying hilltop snows to the streams and rivers before filling the lakes with their cool freshness. But how could this waking soul not hear the chatter of the two squirrels racing, spiralling, about the redwood that stands beyond the window, tiny claws catching and scratching in the bark. Or the symphony of birds singing praises to the sun that has returned to warm the day; robins twittering so beautifully or mesmerizing their pray with love songs, the jays screeching to be heard or daring the earth bound targets to show themselves even for a moment, and the timid peep of the finches as if saying not I, I am not with them.

Quiet is suddenly all the nearby world can hear, if that can even be counted as a sound just this once. For there, among the birches and willow saplings is a doe; all remain quiet in reverence to her beauty and grace. The squirrels and the birds take flight in their respective directions, startling the doe to leap back towards cover. As if startled ourselves, we come back to reality and our own places of abode.

How can any man or woman say that they are alone!! It is beyond me. And who are we to believe that any living thing is beneath us such that we are the only inhabitants that count or seem to matter.

Some of my best times are spent with my wildlife friends, sitting outdoors, listening and watching. They play, laugh, work and cry just like us. You only need to quiet yourself to join them.

So this spring, though some would say it is not here yet because of the snow, has already established itself in my mind, heart and soul; the robins are here, the sparrows have woken from their half sleep and soon the others will join us. Take the time and listen and watch; you will never be alone again.

Your Syster,

Blessed Be

Melodies

Wind in the trees
Whisper in the willows
Rustle in the mighty oak
A sigh in the pines -
Breathe life to all whom it kisses
To stir emotion in all it caresses.

Stream at snow melt
Tears of winter passing
Falling onto the sun kissed cheeks of spring -
Rivulets flowing as a sigh on her lips
To great the summer morn ahead.

Cry of a new borne babe
Man and beast alike
Harken to the moon
subtle, softest cries of wanting and desire -
Night presents it's mystery
For all to behold in awe.

Putting a Little Class on the Wine

Each year my syster and I put on batches of homemade wine and I thought it would be extrordinary to have our own wine labels for Systers Wyrd. So here they are; a signature series which will be a new one each year, and a label for each of the Sabbats, again new ones for each year. Should be getting these in the mail soon; am so excited to see how they turned out. This first one is the Signature label for 2011.

This next one is our Midsummers label.

Ohh la la. Cannot wait until I sip from these. Cheers!

The Magik of Three

Many times I have gone back to the Wiccan Rede to understand the nuances of it; each time, I read something a little different, or maybe it is that I understand a little more deeply what some of it means to my journey as a Witch. The one segment of the Rede that has always seemed provocative and mysterious is line 23 where we read; "Less in thy own defense it be, always mind the Rule of Three".

Now let's just leave the first part of that line for another time as it in itself can create volumes of discussion, and look to the final segment, "always mind the Rule of Three." In my naivete, I have always considered this meant that if I put out into this world something bad or something good, that it's energy would return to me in threefold. Done, understood, and certainly a motivation to do your best to harm none in all ways.

Recently, I have acquired an interesting book written by A.J. Drew, "A Wiccan Bible" and I have to tell you, his perspective on many things is quite interesting, thought provoking and, speaks to my inner desire for knowledge and understanding. So regarding the Rule of Three, here is his perspective.

Three is a magikal number because it "unlocks the totality of that which we are,...the whole of our being is mind, body and soul. It uncovers our very essence". He then goes on to say that all that we do, including our thoughts, actions and words, affect the mind, body and soul, and that these aspects of humanity are entwined. He also suggests that causing harm to one of the three will bring harm to the other two. Alternately, two will benefit from uplifting the one.

Think about this; a very powerful statement and belief. I can certainly find much to think on regarding this revelation. But that will have to wait for another time; the canine and feline friends are acalling me.

Blessed Be

Syster Wyrd

Solar Festival of Ostara - The Spring Equinox

This has not always been my most favourite of the festivals; solar or lunar. However, this year I am most excited about the coming of spring. Not sure why but think it has something to do with having just returned from a warm climate vacation and all the flowers and aninals that go with that.

And true also is that I have been doing some study on the balance of all things, both through Wiccan study and the study of Energy, and also through the Noetic Society. Of course, the Spring Equinox is the only other time of the year when light and dark are at equal; a balance.

Some kewl tid bits --  For those non-Pagans, know that your Easter is actually named after the spring Goddess Eostre, and that her sacred animal is the hare - the original Easter Bunny. I also read that hot cross buns had nothing to do with the Ressurection of Christ. In early Rome, cakes marked with an equal arm cross where buried at crossroads as offerings to the moon Goddess Diana. Well son of a gun; what do you think of that.

Anyway, more to come as I delve into this festival.

Blessed Be.

Your Syster.

Return to Salem

Merry Meet Again All!

That's right!! I am so excited!! This August my dear syster and I are making our pilgrimage back to the place of our dreams. Salem, Mass. This August will be the five year anniversary of our first trip together. Above, the awesome Hawthorne Hotel, will again be our place of abode. Haunted they say it is, but we have yet to experience any of that fun stuff; maybe this time.

I am hoping that if I get some readers here who have been to Salem or, hope of all hopes, actually LIVE in Salem, that you might be willing to share some highlights you feel we should not miss!!

Sorry this is a short one but I will be back to muse a bit on what we did last trip and some of the activities we hope to share in this year!!

Blessed Be!



January Full Moon and Juno Retrograde

I was perusing my Llewellyn's, Witches Datebook to get a head start on this coming week and of course verified that Wednesday is the January full moon. I also noticed that the secondary star Juno is also going retrograde the same day. I do not know much about this state or the star, so did a little searching.

First off, the Roman Goddess Juno's name means "vital force"; she is the counterpart to the Greek Goddess Hera, the wife and sister to Jupiter, and associated with the moon and the life force of women. Great stuff. So now what would a star in retrograde mean to me. Juno is in retrograde from January 19th at 3:41 pm (same day as full moon at 4:21 pm) and remains so until May 2 at 1:33 am.

I also researched what "retrograde signifies and came up with the following, in brief: during the time of retrograde, we will experience the energy of the specific planet or star in a more internal and subjective way; that we will find it's properties within ourselves; and that we can gain a better understanding of the area signified by that planet or star during this time. So, with Juno meaning "vital source", boy, can I come up with some great thoughts on this one.

Given circumstances around work and personal spirituality, I can suggest to myself that between these two dates, my focus should be on my inner vital force (pretty easy deduction). What that means to me is my awakening of energy, psychic force if you will, and the blending of the Lady and all that she is with my inner self.

My query out to all of you out there; do you agree, do you have thoughts on what this moon and time of retrograde means or should mean, or is there any other teachings that you can give.

Your Syster, Blessed Be.

Merry Meet All!

Life has presented me with various "surprises" over time; I am a product of many pathways on my journey to fullfilment. Through all these facets of my journey, one thing has held common and solid; that is my respect, love and appreciation for my fellow man and the earth and all of life around me.
I am a solitary Wiccan and I also follow the Druid teachings of the Order of the Bards Ovates and Druids. I hope with all my heart and soul that I am able to continue to appreciate the many gifts given to mankind; those that the Goddess gives freely to any who accept her with love.

That I will always know the content to sit in silence and hear that which is around me. Blessed Be.