Anyone doing anything for this around the 21st? Its also the Harvest Moon at the same time. I'm thinking that I will take my daughters to the beach for a little ritual.

Hi Ruth!

I'm not sure yet. I will celebrate though.

Hi Melody!

Do you usually do stuff alone or do you have a group of friends you participate with?

I have some local groups down here that invite me to things but I rarely join in.

Usually it's just me. None of my friends are Pagan but they have hung out with me on some occasions. I haven't found any group rituals around me - but in all fairness, I haven't looked.

I'm kind of a spiritual loaner when I pay homage to the Sabbats.

I was thinking of going to the pub. You know to pay my homage and all.......

So am I.


(that was to Melody)

Cool! Maybe I will see you there........

OH, yeah, that's a given here too!

Copious amounts of wine for the Harvest Moon and the Mabon is the best way to celebrate!

I knew that was gonna happen.

Yep, though I haven't decided on what yet.

Hell just hug a tree and light a fire. Have a few drinks and reflect....

I've been quite busy lately and haven't had much time for ceremonies and rituals. Things are going well here though, I'm basking in the magickal wake of bygone rituals. Lost of karma flowing around here. There's electricity and magnetism in the air.

I've been cleaning out my old barn and I found my old pot belly stove. I actually used it for heat at one time many years ago. In any case, it's burnt through on the upper portion, and so all that's really left is the base and the actual pot-belly itself.

I just realized that this will make a beautiful "cauldron" in my back yard! So I'm in the process of cleaning it up a bit and setting up a place to put it at the south end of my circle.

This is going to be so cool.

Oh that is so cool! I want a big cauldron for my backyard one day. when I have a backyard.

Time for rest from labour blest,
The Mother's answered your request.
Celebrate by giving thanks
while Mother's bounty 'round you flanks.
And fill your heart with gratitude
for Earth's giving Attitude.

~Raven's Wing

That's pretty Ruth. It serves to remind me that I need to become more involved in active rituals. Lately I've basically become a true "Shamanic" witch. By that I mean that I've been doing almost all of my rituals in a dream state of pure imagination without any physical support at all. In fact, I do them in bed laying down.

I basically lay on my back with my arms at my side with my palms turned down against the bed. Then I go into a shamanic state where I leave my body and find myself standing up in the center of my circle area where I can freely move my limbs and perform all of the ritual motions. I've gotten very good at this to the point where I feel like I'm actually performing these things physically.

It has some advantages in that I am free to imagine doing these rituals in very elaborate places. None the less, it's all done in the mind and I would like to get back into performing some rituals live in physical world.

I set up my cauldron in the back yard, but we've had really dry weather here lately and I don't want to build a fire until we get some rain. It's supposed to rain this entire week and we can certainly use it. My spring is bone dry! Fortunately I have about 400 gallons of back-up water, but still, I'd like to see the spring come back pretty soon.

So maybe after this wet spell I can have a fire in the cauldron and perform a circle ritual in the back yard for a change.

I've been thinking about this for a while and I think it is really important to have physical rituals in our lives when it comes to our spirituality. We are physical beings. We are not just spiritual. We need food, water, air, human interaction....all for our physical selves and I think it's true for our spirituality as well. A physical act is important and necessary. It's not enough just to think it. It changes you to physically do a ritual. Even a small one.

I've been reading Modern Magic again. He's really big on performing rituals. From his perspective this is the heart of magic and spirituality. He would have you performing rituals daily and probably nightly too.

Lately I just haven't had the time and energy to devote to it. I've been doing heavy physical work outside preparing for winter and cutting trees into lumber. Right now I'm sitting here typing in this post with my keyboard on my knees. I can hardly move my body. I have dinner on the stove and I'm heating bath water. By the time I eat and take a bath I'm going straight to bed.

Although, my baths are rituals of sorts. I light candles and incense all around the tub anymore. I also put on meditation music. I meditate in the hot water. It's really relaxing and does seem to recharge me spiritually too.

Also, when I do have any free time at all I want to play music. I'm currently writing a little instrumental piece for several instruments. I play all the instruments and record them until I create the whole piece. I've been too tired after work to even do that. It takes energy to play music right.

Baths are a regular ritual of mine, too. Thanks for reminding me of that.

Sounds like you are very busy lately.

I'm sort of 'racing' against the coming of Old Man Winter. Although, not with anxiety, just trying to get as much done as I can in preparation for next spring.

I'm doing three things at once here in a single job, which really feels great! I'm cutting down some trees where I'd like to create more garden space. Then I'm cutting those trees into large logs which I put on a sawmill and make into lumber for a new roof for my cottage. Finally I'm cutting up the tops for firewood for winter heat.

So I'm killing three birds with one stone. (although that sounds kind of violent).

Maybe I should just say that I'm planting three seeds with one sowing?

How's that?

Oh by the way, last night turned into something far more than I had expected. After my bath ritual (which was really nice last night), I felt energized again. I went to bed anyway and read some of the Modern Magic book and performed two simple rituals that I could actually perform lying down. These too were rituals of relaxation and restoration of energy levels.

Well, after having done them I was so full of energy I didn't feel like sleeping.

So I got out of bed and collected all my dirty clothes. Clothes that has been piling up because my spring has gone dry. I took them all over to town and went to the laundromat. I had the place all to myself. I filled 7 washing machines with clothes! Set them all up and went off to eat a nice meal at a restaurant. I actually performed a ritual right at the table in the restaurant. It was mostly mental, but there were some hand gestures included as I blessed my food. I used salt and pepper shakers as 'wands' thus anyone watching me would simply think I was seasoning my food.

I had a really nice meal and enjoyed it very slowly. Went I got back to the laundromat the washing machine were only just stopping as I walked in the door, so the timing was perfect.

Then everything when into the driers. Then I went grocery shopping at the all-night market and again, returned to the laundromat just as the driers were shutting down. Perfect timing once again.

I got home at 4 AM, and THEN made a stew in a crock pot and set that on low just before I finally went to bed at about 5 AM.

I got up at 12 noon and had some stew. Now I'm going out to cut some more lumber.

I just go with the flow.