Blessed Beltane/May Day

Wishing all my beautiful friends a blessed, happy May as we celebrate the earth's fertility and her generous offerings. :)

--Mary

Beltane

This year is my first Beltane, and I love the whole fertility aspect of this sabbat, even though I've never been pregnant. Because I haven't found a group to participate with, I'll be alone this time. But that's okay.

It will be a subtle day of festivity for me. I'll walk in the woods, drink some strawberry wine, and eat sweet strawberries (which are associated with both Beltane and creativity). Since fertility is creating life, I'll also be creating life in art.

My altar hasn't changed much; it's now full of a cluster of brightly coloured candles, and a besom I made specifically for the sabbat.


The little broom has been in my MIL's craft stash for about twenty years. I dressed it up and thought the knotted heart charm was appropriate. I knotted the ribbon three times to follow the rule of threes :)

Need ideas for Beltane decorations? Check out this post at The Witch of Howling Creek for inspiration!

A Happy Solstice!

Sorry I didn't post last night!

I hope you all had a magical Yule/Solstice yesterday, and that the coming year is full of beautiful light and joy :)


Yesterday I decorated my altar in festive decorations, sparkly snowflakes, yellow and orange candles to represent the sun, and a blue glass candle holder with the sun emblazoned on all four sides. I lit a white candle, the yellow candle, and turned on a string of lighting around the altar as I said a Solstice prayer and meditated.

My wish is to live more adventurously in 2013. To stop worrying so much, to stop the habit of just "existing" and really LIVE. Live a creative life, live doing what I love.

Stop fearing.

The world didn't end yesterday, but we have entered a new cycle. A new era.

And mine is beginning quite wonderfully.

I will be back with the photo a day and other regularly scheduled posts after Christmas, my loves. Have a wonderful holiday and I shall see you then! :)

Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain!

First of all, my thoughts, heart, and prayers are with every single person who was affected by Superstorm Sandy and her aftermath. This massive storm affected family in Virginia all the way up to here and beyond.

I apologize for not getting the BFTE eyeshadow swatches posted yesterday. I completely forgot!

Secondly, I hope that you all who celebrate have a wonderful Halloween and/or Samhain! It's another grey, chill day here, but that's not going to stop me from anything! :)

Samhain's Sirens took a break for the past couple of days, not only to batten down the hatches from Sandy, but to focus their energies on all of those affected by the storm. They're catching up today with two giveaways, both of which I'm sharing here!

The first giveaway I'm sharing is a beautiful, hand-crafted handfasting cord from Confessions of a Modern Witch.


Trevor and I have been married for nearly four years, but our wedding was a very simple, intimate civil event where only a few of our friends and some of Trevor's family could attend as it was a weekday morning. We had intended upon having a bigger, more festive outdoor event in the spring, but that never happened. I had to leave Canada then. I didn't get back here until December 2010, we didn't have much money through 2011, and we'd planned for this past spring but then Trevor was fired from his job!! By the time he secured a new job in July, we had debt to pay off, and none of my family in Virginia could come. And my mother has been back and forth from the hospital to the rehab centre after various complications since having triple-bypass surgery.

So we're shooting for spring 2013 as our celebration date. We were going to do something like have a unity candle, but I think a handfasting would further cement our relationship and vows toward one another. I love the bright, rich colours in this cord. Our celebration will also be full of vivid colours :)

You can check out more of Sosanna's gorgeous products over at her Facebook page, Sosanna's Closet.


The second giveaway is a $35 gift certificate to East Coast Craft & Curio, owned by a fabulous Canadian lady by the name of Tess. I think that if I won this, I would snag this: Celestial Bangle Bracelet.

Remember, each entry in these giveaways is good for an entry into the Grand Prize Giveaway, worth over $400!!

Dios de los Muertos and Another Samhain's Sirens Giveaway!

Today is the day that Hurricane Sandy is going to hit us. Tonight, actually. The past few days have been very grey and rainy, and they will continue to be through Thursday. I was hoping for a clear night tonight so I could charge my crystals under a full moon, but no such luck. Instead, we will have 60-100km/h winds that will tear all the remaining leaves off the trees and knock things around. I hope that everyone in the path of this storm is staying safe.

It's hard to believe that Halloween/Samhain is in just two days. And then Dios de los Muertos. This is my first time celebrating both Samhain and Dios de los Muertos. Both hold great importance to me, and here's what I will be doing to honour them.

On Samhain, I will be making a small altar on our antique sideboard. It will include a picture of my father, incense to guide him home, flowers to remind us how fragile life is, and a glass of water to represent purity and to satisfy his thirst. Although, as my dad owned a liquor store for many years, I wonder if a good shot of tequila would be better suited! I will also include a candle to light his way and to represent faith and hope. I will be praying there and remembering him, burning notes and even speaking to him, as I am wont to do, in the hopes that he hears me. I feel his presence nearly all the time, and while this could be my wishful imagination, I believe that his presence will be that much stronger and easier to communicate to when the veil is thinnest.

I will be using Dios de los Muertos, chiefly a Spanish holiday full of festivity and respect for the dead, as a sort of guideline for my celebration. It takes place November 1st and 2nd to coincide with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day.

I also love sugar skulls, which began as a sweet vividly decorated in spiderwebs, flowers, hearts or swirls, designed as altar decor. Over the years, they have evolved into something much more, and nowadays are more likely to be seen as art rather than sweets. The image of the sugar skull has really become a representation of the Day of the Dead. I love face paint and makeup looks where people's faces are beautifully decked out as festive sugar skulls. I think it's a beautiful thing to accept death, to respect it and see it full of colourful life.


Day of the Dead Catrina with Roses glicee print by Greg Colligan
Also, on Samhain, I will be doing a version of an animal-honouring rite. :)

I'm sharing another Samhain's Sirens giveaway with you guys today! It comes from Deb Garnett of Twysted Thystle, a small herbal and aromatherapy company specializing in wildcrafted and homegrown herbs. This set includes 1 Cinnamon Skin Sugar Scrub, 1 Cinnamon Skin Body Oil, and 1 Cinnamon Lip Balm.


Check out the awesome artwork, all hand-drawn by one of the Twysted Thystle ladies!
I was looking around their site, and it's DEFINITELY worth checking out. I would love to have some of their loose teas, especially Chick Weeds PMS Relief and Frostbyte!

That's all for today :) I still have those Beauty from the Earth mineral eyeshadow swatches to show you, so hopefully I will be posting that tomorrow.