on seasonal celebrations...

an (as usual) excellent post on chaos magic tripped a pet peeve of mine. that pet peeve  being the peculiar insistence of many of many pagans/wiccans tying celebration to an agricultural calender.  i haven't read dawn of sex & so can't argue for/against the idea of agriculture as enemy.  however, i can argue that the marketing of wheel of the year as a necessary part of pagan practice has more to do with selling an easily grasped concept which lends itself well to the peddling  of various patterns, decorations, books, etc. than it does with the idea of magical practice.
harvest home in the face of technology  which allows many of us to buy strawberries in december makes no sense. nor does assigning spiritual significance to an agricultural occasion which precious few people have any direct experience with.
for those of us with gardens, or even with farms, who want to celebrate a good harvest by inviting friends over --that's all well & good-- but hanging out with friends & family hasn't a damn thing to do with my spiritual or magical practices. to claim that it must merely adds an extra layer of fluff which takes too much of my time to shove aside.

tuesday blog thought: my father & chickpeas

the other day this luscious soup was posted in one of my favorite cooking blogs, the wednesday chef  
it features one of my favorite beans, chickpeas (a/k/a: garbanzo beans), plus the crunch of croutons. yum! this is one soup which can't go wrong.  the recipe also brings back a father-memory: whenever my dad goes up to a salad bar there are certain things which are always on his plate. one of which is chickpeas.  not too many, just enough for a small mouthful. every time,the same amount of chickpeas remain on his plate, to be scrapped off into the trash at the end of the meal.  i asked once why he takes something he knows he doesn't like & he replied "because i might like them this time.".  i didn't ask how he would know if he liked the chickpeas this time if he hadn't eaten at least one of them...

where am i heading?

the kitchen sink collective has a lovely post involving chicks & necromancy (it takes a Writer to be able to combine the two legibly).  it gives to me to think about my relationship with the dead. i don't particularly have one, nor do i feel called to develop one.
my mother has a lovely round table filled with framed wedding photographs of our family. as they die, she places their photo near the back. newer weddings go in the front. my auntie (moms' sister) has a collection of family histories & many photographs.  i have a few things that my grandmother (mothers' mother) has made me, & a clock my mom has embroidered for me. also i cross-stitched an animal totem for my maternal & paternal grandmothers. haven't figured out what to do for my mother as she isn't a fan of animals.  and that's it.
i don't feel a need to converse with them, & they don't feel the need to speak with me. i don't feel a loss over it all. i rather wish i did. more emotion is generated by the show 'ghost hunters', even if it's an intense dislike over the rude premise the show is based around. i.e., these ghost aren't bothering the 'hunters' so why are they bothering the ghosts?!  what i feel called towards are trees & stone, & the Spirit of Place. perhaps this is due to my moving so often as a child.....

new camera!

i have finally bought a camera. a little point and shoot digital jobby in green. photos on the blog...woot! as soon as i figure out how to do so....probably saturday...

new moon new year

the first new moon of a year is a wonderful time to initiate new projects (hat tip to mrsb ). however, due to the lovely strong head cold certain grandchildren passes along, i have decided to postpone the start of 2011 for one week.  given that the concept of time is a mutable one, i firmly believe that i can do this with no lasting damage.  or, in the immortal words of adam savage , "i reject your reality, & substitute my own".  i will say that one goal is to figure out how to fully utilized blogger! 

year ending musings

an interesting solstice/eclipse/full moon. a meditation was set up, to start off a years' worth of dedicated workings for next year---my 50th on this plane.  a bit of mercury retrograde got the setup off to a jumpy start.  candles tipping, animals interrupting, youngest grandchild fussing with a cold, knees sore, extremely difficult to sit still (hello, ADD).  but candles were sit & lit, a friendly aura beamed out from the presence invited & addressed.  the color red was needed & welcomed.  45 minutes flew by! today i will sit, light, & finish.  given my ADD i find that multiple days are needed to truly cast free the energy i wish to spread.  the feast day of st. nicholas is 5 december, but, as i'm still in america, solstice eve feels as good, if not better, to address Him.  Dame Fortuna didn't mind.  i have started baking cookies for yuletide yesterday.  i'm not one to start holiday baking for the home until solstice time.  this is the time of year i begin to turn in to the hearth.  from all souls day until solstice the holidays turn out, now it's time for the home to prepare for the year to come.  i am so looking forward to my 50th year, making changes & dreams come fly true.  i hope that all who read this find that their yule is bright with flame & warm with joy. :)

what's going on in....

borrowing an idea from  earthenwitch (who borrowed it from suburban yogini), here is the hopeful list of whats-happening for december:  eldest grandchilds' 5th birthday party, baptism for two youngest grandchildren, sewing dress for littlest grandchild for said baptism, making 3 cross-stitch ornaments, one felt stocking, vanilla fudge (new recipe), baking cookies: santas'whiskers, molasses or french lace, & lebuchen (new recipe) for cut-outs.  also, buying an inexpensive ikea desk to facilitate deutsch lessons (self-taught), getting exercise routine more routine (oo--add meditation routine, to boot), finish knitting scarf, figure out how to post photos without daughters' constant assistance, review gordons' posts (there is so much to ponder & put-into-use), & explore blogger so i have a better understanding of what & how to post.  that's not much, is it?