Tonight is the full moon. Esbat time! This month, I was actually part of a fantastic impromptu esbat ritual last night. This time of the month is all about intention setting, bringing in new, cleansing energies that help us reach our goals. So last night, I made a huge list of the things I want to bring into my life this month. Well, really, in the next couple of months, but starting now. I can already feel the magick working. I'm 100% confident that all of my intentions will come true in a timely manner with a little bit of elbow grease, patience, and belief. I am a goddess; I am a witch; I am a woman. And all of those make me powerful. All of those make you, my reader(s), powerful. Whether you are male or female, Pagan, Judeo-Christian, Athiest, or something in between, you also have the power of your will and belief, of the moon and the sun and the Earth behind you. We are all divine; I believe that will all of my heart. It's only what we decide to do with that spark of divinity inside of us that matters. Do we manifest love and light and acceptance? Or do we spread hatred and upheaval? Personally, I vote for the former.

So, I hope you'll join me, whoever happens to be reading this, in setting the intention of peace and love for this next month. With the full moon, I invite into our lives love, balance, serenity and the remembrance of the power that we hold within ourselves. I invite any and all of my readers to invite the same into their own lives and into the world at large. Perhaps if enough of us set the intention for peace, and work at it, it will eventually come to pass.

So mote it be.

Impromtu Prayer

Funny how the smallest things can be some of the most spiritual. Sitting around a campfire in the company of friends for a few hours, watching the moon and the stars and partaking of good conversation can be the most grounding experience in the world, and perhaps one of the most fulfilling. Yes, full-blown intricate ritual is important. But so is sitting back and marveling at the natural magick that occurs all around us without our even noticing it.

So next time you're feeling stressed or afraid or overwhelmed, take a moment and remember the last time you sat with friends and family and roasted marshmallows, or went swimming in a stream, or even just walked around the park. Remember how marvelous it feels to know that you're loved. For you are loved. If no one else tells you that, know that I love you, as I love every one of the God and Goddess' creations. But recall that feeling of calm and love and let it fill you, let it wash away all the stress and the fear, and let it fill you with a sustaining light that will carry you through whatever troubles you are facing. Times will be tough; they're never easy. But if we can recall those moments of pure simplicity, pure love and beauty and magick, I feel that we can get through them unscathed and better people.

Blessed be,
Emer

One of the most relaxing and amusing things I've found is watching three cats explore the back yard. It helps, I suppose, that the branch of one of the trees and the wood pile form a sort of doorway onto the neighbor's yard from where I'm sitting, so I feel as if I'm looking into the Sídhe or the Shire or something, especially with the way the sun is shining through the leaves and painting everything a very vibrant green at the moment.

But back to the cats. As you may or may not have noticed, I have three. The eldest, and orange tabby whom I shall call O.T. here, T, the feral tuxedo in the middle, and B, the chubby, long-haired black cat rounding out the trio. At the moment, B is stuck inside with a plastic cone on (the poor thing!), so it's just O.T. and T prowling around the yard. It's fun to pick out their different personalities as I watch. And there's just something so graceful and natural about cats, and animals in general, that is relaxing to me. So I've spent the last half hour or so watching kitties prowl around the yard.

I promise, this isn't going to turn into a "all I do is talk about my pets" blog. As a matter of fact, I'll twist it a bit right now and go on about familiars. I've wanted a certified familiar since I started on this path. Since B showed up very soon after I began my studies (and he's a black cat, go figure), I was convinced for a while that he was my familiar. I'm not sure if it's because I've been away for three years or what, but we don't seem as in tune any more. He hasn't shown up to any of the magickal workings I've done in the last few weeks, and, honestly, seems to be avoiding me on occasion. So the question arises: how do you know when your pet is just a pet and when (s)he's a familiar? Have you ever had one change into the other?

To Be a Tree

Though summer has officially been here since Beltane, today was the first day that really felt like summer for me. It was hot enough that sitting in the sun for more than a few minutes felt a little like frying, the grass was damp with dew, and I pulled the hammock out of storage for the first time this year. After a bit of reading (a fantasy book, if anyone's interested), I took a moment to just be. The clouds had begun to roll in and it was getting chillier, so I lay back in the hammock, closed my eyes and just breathed. I focused on feeling my own energy and the wind on my skin, and when I opened my eyes again, everything seemed so much more vibrant. The leaves were greener, the wind fresher, and I was calmer. So I took my meditation a step further and tried to connect with one of the trees that supported the hammock. Did you know that trees have heartbeats? They are very, very slow and very, very deep, but also, quite possibly, the most amazing thing I have ever felt.

So, today, I challenge you single reader to be a tree. Take a moment, or three or four if you can, close your eyes and simply let yourself be. It doesn't have to be a formal meditation, but if you want to make it one, be my guest. Focus on your breathing for a bit, count it out if you like, and try to feel your energy flowing through your veins. If you can or want to, let that energy branch out into the objects nearest you (this works best outside, I've found), and feel the energy in those things. Feel the life around you: the heartbeat of the trees, the joy of the grass, the determination of the weeds. Let that life flow through you, energizing, ground and centering you. When you're ready, very slowly and carefully pull your energy back into your heart, and come back to yourself. If you're out there reading this and decide to try this meditation, please let me know how it worked for you! I'm curious, because it was just what I needed today.

Odd Timing

I had something wonderfully Witchy to say today and by the time I sat down to write this post, it seems to have completely slipped my mind. So, I suppose, I'll just write and see if I can remember what it was.

The Pantheon and I have decided that my gut likes to lead me in new directions at the most inconvenient times. I seriously restarted my studies mere weeks before my college graduation; now I'm starting this blog in the middle of a family visit, my sister's high school graduation, and trying to figure out what, exactly, my new job requires of me. Yet, I know better than to ignore the guidance of the stuff inside me. So here I am. Spewing randomness into the internet and probably getting more metaphorical "you're crazy" looks than you can shake a stick at. But I'm here. And that's what matters.

Today was a day for regaining calm for me. Brid and Artemis are absolutely wonderful for this, in case you were wondering. Lots of love and comfort from them (they're also both good for protection work, by the way, especially Brid, since she has a warrior aspect). I also realized today that I'm awfully fond of informal magick: things like anointing myself with bath water and asking the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire and Water to bless and aid me, without formally casting a circle or really using any special tools, excluding the bath salts, battery-operated candle and music I was playing for simple relaxation. I suppose it could also be considered spontaneous magick. Regardless, it seems to be my method of operation, for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable and rather enjoy formal spellcasting, I just seem to do a lot more of the on-the-fly, make-it-up-as-you-go sort of thing. And The Pantheon assures me that that is just fine.

And now I've been staring at this screen for what feels like ages, trying to figure out what else to say today. I haven't remembered what I set out to write, and it's rather a lot later than I thought it was. So I suppose we'll bid you single reader (if we're lucky) good night and we hope to see you tomorrow.