Tea, Dreams, and Studies

Dear Neophyte,

I've been drinking my sister's ADHD medication.  That is, I've been drinking the tea she was given by her naturopath to help with her ADHD.  It's just fancy blends of herbs and flowers that help the adrenal glands and whatnot. 

Originally they were supposed to be coupled with shamanistic works of deposession in order to calm oneself and get rid of whatever might be hyping you up.  That's why I love naturopaths: They work WITH you as a whole instead of against your body.

She decided that since the teas are supposed to be drunk without sugar that she won't drink them at all.  Well, they do taste pretty much like hot leaf juice in equally hot water if you do it that way.  But, hey, they aren't my prescriptions so I'm drinking them with at least enough sugar to float the actual flavors of the tea. 

The actual flavors are light enough to keep me interested and warm enough to keep me calm. 

I've noticed that I have more energy at work, sleep longer and better, and when I come home I'm typically not all over the place goofing off.  I'm usually goofing off in just one place.  That is after I do my energetic exercises. 

So I looked this tea up online since the prescription didn't include a list of ingredients and it's clearly like 10 different things in each of the two teas ("Adrenal" and "Serenity").  The one that I found on the Teavana website had a whole host of people saying it gave them vivid nightmares. 

Well.  Duh.  I'm pretty sure that herbs have properties that will loosen people's demons from their sources and set them loose.  Uncontrolled entities will either wreck havoc or leave.  It seems to me like the herbal energies are unleashing people's traumas so they have to deal with them.  It's called SERENITY for a reason!  You can't be serene if you're troubled with anxiety, PTSD, and a case of the jitters. 

You have to work through your trauma in order to get serenity.  Tea alone won't do that for you, but herb power of the herbs just might.  Especially if they haven't been overly molested by humanity in their process of becoming a neatly stored and overpriced item on the shelf of a mall kiosk.

That being said: I had another zombie dream on night two of drinking these teas.  It had no zombies in it.  I wasn't all that scared.  I had friends with me who weren't zombies or too awfully terrified.  We just ran around avoiding areas with zombies in order to gather supplies.  I remember keyly trying to o'rperch a wall that was either draped or painted white. I hope this means I'm getting around the 'zombies' in my waking life.

No, I'm not saying that anything that's happening to me is because of the tea.  On the waning parts of the moon, I sleep better due to low energy.  Sleeping better gives me more energy at work.  So does the good coffee I bought for the mornings.  So does eating far better as I tend to do when I watch cooking shows and make blackened tuna, followed by cordon bleu, followed by the perfect mushroom and goat cheese omelet, then onigiri. 

That and some effects of tea are instantaneous.  But not this tea.  It takes about 3 weeks to kick in fully and that's only if you take the recommended amounts.  I'm not taking nearly so much.  I predict I may never get the "full benefits" of this tea at any point.  But the point is that they do help me.  They still have a cumulative effect, even if it's slower.

The lack of overly sweet tea (I AM from the South) right after work and lack of too many sweets in general as of late is probably what's helping with my restlessness.  Let's see if this holds when the moon is waxing and I'm going apeshit with too much energy.  Or the next time I cycle around to an introverted period of depression.

Also, I started a study group for wayward witchlets that includes friends and family.  I predict a good 4 meetings before it either falls apart due to scheduling conflicts or people decide they need a different type of group and vacate.  None of us has cars, so there is that too.

Lastly, I am doing my energy exercises again.  In an attempt to avoid the burn-out associated with pretty much every other time I sat down to retake my studies I am not forcing time limits or forcing note-taking (though it's clear now I need to bend that rule a bit), nor am I forcing times of the day or even daily practice.  So far, so good as it's been about a week and I've done 4 days of practices using the 4 elements for channeling work.   I really do need to take notes, as being able to recall each of the elemental energies and what they felt like is important.  Hm...

More on each of these in the future as I'd like to detail my group as well as my new personal studies.

Salutations,
Sesh

Hekate's Hearth - Puerto Rico

Dear Blacky,

My sister, Rosie, and I sent 3 bags of food to Puerto Rico in the wake of the hurricane.  Below is a picture of the bags of food, along with my toes and the bottom third of our spinning stripper pole.

Giving away food.

No, I don't mean "dance pole, used for exercising".  I mean my sister was a stripper and it's for stripping exercises.  I've used it too.  It's for stripping.  Some dancing is involved.  Mostly the removal of clothing in a slow and sensual manner.  Stripping.

We also sent 5 bags of clothing.

We're generous, right?  Yes, we are.

Sort of.

You see, we had these clothes already in the hall ready to give away.  They don't fit or, in my sister's case, are stained and she no longer wanted them.  In my case, they were old hat from a time when I had just moved into this state, having fled the oppression of the South, and was finally allowed to buy clothing for myself.  I've come to not really like what I bought.  Back then it was fine, but now not so much.

As for the food, it was mostly leftover cans of stuff from the food bank that we have had sitting around for well over a year and had not eaten.  A holy f*ck ton of kidney beans, cranberry sauce, tomatoes of all kinds, and boxes of pasta that a co-worker gave me but that I will honestly never eat now that I know how to make it from scratch.

I'd have sent bags and bags of pasta too if I had not already opened them and resealed them into jars and mylar bags.

You see, this was the remains of my emergency backstock.  Herein lies the giving part, at least on my end:

I had been keeping this food around for emergencies.  It's been sitting on my shelf waiting to be made into gooey baked pasta dishes, or hearty chilies, or as a random dressed up side.  Eventually, it would all have been eaten.  I collected and kept it all from a food bank in town that I stopped going to when I wound up with way more canned and jarred goods than I had room for on the shelves.

The problem arose when I moved into a place that was too small to hold all of this excess food AND store all of my other items.  So I stopped going to the food bank and started just eating it.  My grocery trips have been short and small on the budget because of how much flour, rice, beans, and canned meats I still had at home.  I didn't eat a lot of fresh vegetables, but I almost always got fresh fruits.

Then it turns out I still wasn't going through it fast enough.  My sister moved back in and took half the space that was already too small.  So the food wound up in the drawers of my captain's bed, and on the shelves of my closet.  Originally it had all been on the shelves of the guest closet (her room now) so it all had to move.

Going to sleep with 10 tins of tomatoe paste, 3 jars of cranberry sauce and 23 cans of kidney beans smiling down on you is as weird as having a toilet located 10 feet from your bed.

En suit bathrooms are a no-go for me in the future.  It's too strange that the steam can only vent into your bedroom after you leave the shower.  That much water has no business being that close to my bed, and the toilet (as mentioned) is far-far too close to me at all times.

Anyway.

I started planning to just get rid of the food by regifting it to co-workers.  Occasionally someone brings some things, like the boxes of Roni in the pictures, and gives it away.  My plan was to take a bag full of food to work and leave it there till it's all gone, and then bring another bag once it's empty.

The part of this that has anything to do with being a Hearth Witch is my connection to Hekate.  Hekate is a Titan, not a Goddess, and She is the matron of the downtrodden.  Those on the fringes of society who need help and usually arn't getting it.  Homeless.  Wanderers.  Vagabonds.  Oftentimes Me.

Years ago, after recieving a dream from Hekate, I came to an understanding that I should help those who need help more.  I played around with the idea of a charity that I'd call 'Hekate's Hearth' where those exact people who live on the edges of society could come and get some help.  Sometimes it would be a bed, sometimes food, sometimes an ear to listen.  Nothing formal.  Nothing official.  Just a helping hand.  Maybe even some repair work.

The idea is that there are not enough Pagan charities out there.  Not ones that are actively pagan, who have a Matron they honor, and whose community and recipients know it's in honor of a non-patriarchal deity.  Not in the same way as some charities are just named after or in honor of a deity, but who actually honor a deity, with an altar where people can leave offerings and everything.

Hekate is a deity who rules in the dark half of the year.  Yes, She can rule anytime and is in all times, but She and Her dog like to be out when it's dark and thus They are associated with the dark half.  That being said, this is the time of the year when people are instructed to be given anyway.  I've never thought of pseudo-Christian holidays as instilling a sense of giving in anyone as they tend to be all about receiving, receiving, receiving.

Yet since the year of that dream, I am having more and more urges to donate and give to charity in the name of Hekate.  To honor Her.  To in some way make Her Hearth a thing that brings any type of warmth to those seeking light and shelter or any type from any type of cold.  To spread the love and light around a bit.

To polish my corner of the world.

Or in this case Puerto Rico.

So while my sister may have been giving these bags of food to her office to put with the rest being shipped down, they were actually all from me and all in the name of Hekate and to honor Her as matron of those who are destitute and in need.  The clothing was half hers, but the half that was mine was all in very wearable condition and most only 2-3 years old.

Today I honored Hekate by spreading the light and love of Her heart out around the world.  May every can of beans light a will to rise above in all who consume it and may every skirt be worn to dance the joy of seeing the situation inprove every day.

In Hekate's honor,
Sesh
Priestess of the Hearth

Storing Medicinal Herbs (The Halfway Homestead)

Dear Neophyte,

I've been collecting herbs for years.  The first batch of real healing herbs I ever received was from my sister.  It was back when I had no money and my Bible Belt town somehow thought that herbs were the devil so we couldn't even keep a natural shop open, let alone would anyone have taken me there to get herbs for healing.  Devil's magic.

Well, there are devils in every religion and mine is kinda cute. Even better, He's willing to cooperate in exchange for chocolate and whiskey.

Since moving to Portland I've regularly visited the Herb Shoppe.  Now they call themselves "Fettle", which I don't like.  I still call them "The Herb Shoppe".  No matter how pretentious it is to add extra letters to a word that is only four letters long.  What's that extra "e" even doing in there anyway?

I don't have pictures at hand, but I spent quite a lot of time cleaning wax out of old candle jars.  I then send them through the dishwasher and let them dry out thoroughly after stripping off the labels.

Candle jars, with plastic rings detached from the lids.

The inner plastic rings come out of the glass tops, btw.  Forgot that, and some of them still had strong wax smells so I had to scrub at them with a hot towel to get them good and soot free.

This is my collection of loose herbs.  You'll notice the writing on some of the bags looks very old and faded.  That's because they are probably 10 years or older at this point.  Yes, they still work.  I recently made cough syrup out of them and it went off spectacularly.

You may notice two different labels.  They are from the same shop, just renamed. 

This is the current herbal storage system.  This is by no means air tight but it is really nostalgic looking and I go in for that.  They're actually plastic ornament bottles I got at a craft store for really cheap.  Glass bottles this size are so much more expensive.  I got these last Yule-ish and put my smaller quantities of herbs in them.

Yule ornament bottles repurposed for herbs.

Last time I was at the herb shop I was there to pick up more cough syrup ingredients.  I couldn't remember if I was out of licorice or not.  Turns out I was not.  So here you can see ground licorice that is over 10 years old next to roughly chopped licorice that is only a few months old.  

Ground licorice and chopped licorice.

I put them into the same jar, with the older on top so that it gets used first.  I am so, SO very glad to finally be done with small plastic baggies (twist tied, no less!) for herbs.  No matter how careful you are some of it will always filter out and get into stuff after the second or third time you have to open it.

Ground licorice on top and ground on the bottom.  First in, first out.

I had hoped I'd have enough candle jars, but I did not.  I resorted to having to use mason jars, as you can see above.  The great thing about this is that it's vacuum sealable.  The bad thing is that it annoys me having them in mason jars.  Yes, it's practical, but I don't like the way they look.  Mason jars are for canning, imho.  Not for storing pretty things that I want to look at. It wouldn't be so bad if the rings were more decorative or the jars themselves didn't always have some kind of design or marking on them.  This obscures a clear view of the herbs, which I greatly value.  Again, aesthetics is 90% of why I buy a storage container for herbs.

I started with the herbs in largest quantity and started jarring them up.  What I don't like about bags is they will lay all over the place if you let them.  And you have to dig through them to find what you want.

Clean jar and a bag of raspberry ready to marry.

A brick of raspberry leaves. 

Raspberry and jar, married.

I repeated this for each of the others till I ran out of large candle jars.  I'll have to invest in some smaller candles.  They regularly go on clearance at my work place.  I melt the wax out and make briquets out of them and use them in my candle warmer.  That way I don't have to babysit a flame and I get my jar that much faster.  I know I could just buy jars online, but the shipping would make it cost the same as the candles, and then I miss out on getting the wax smally-good-ness.

Herbs rehoused in former candle jars.

After I ran out of large jars I resorted to the canning jars, as described above.

Herbs in mason jars.  At least till I can find better jars.

I had four different kinds of ginger.  Dried ginger chips, ground ginger, ginger flakes I had dehydrated myself, and whole pieces of dried out ginger.  I kept the ground ginger in my spice cabinet but moved the rest into one jar.  

It doesn't really matter how your herbs come if you plan to make inctures or syrups out of them.  I think it only really matters if you plan to make tea or something like that.  Maybe even for bath soaks, as it all soaks the same in a muslin bag.  

As for bath soaks:  Do what I do and toss them directly into the bag and pin some muslin over the drain when you get out.  I like the herbs floating loose in the water.  They change color when the vitality is washed out and you know your bath is at peak performance then.

There is my herb shelf before and after.  I have to keep it on the bottom shelf else my roomie will take too much notice of them and want to borrow borrow borrow.

Before

After

No matter if you use your herbs for medicine or for magic (these are for both) be sure to store them properly.  Less than airtight jars are fine if you use them quickly enough, but only vacuum sealing or freezing will work to preserve herbs you don't use that often.  

Salutations,

Sesh

The Halfway Homestead

Living with a Shield Maiden

Dear Neophyte,

Living with a Shield Maiden:

Comes into bathroom in middle of night. Stubs toe.
"Holy hell, that hurts! What the f*ck? Feels like I just kicked a... Gods on High, Bonzoo! You left your axe in the bathroom floor again!"

Salutations,

Sesh

Facebook Spirit Guide Meme

Dear Blacky,

I don't often find a spiritual meme on facebook that isn't some hippy "love everything" B.S., but this one really applies to me!



It should say, "Anubis is tired of being your everything, and the hummingbird is getting depressed!"

Sorry guys: I'm not a great shaman.  I'm not even a really dedicated witch.  Like, I do things, but not often and usually as a last resort.  I let my last offerings MOLD for Gods' sake!

I am ashamed and "at some point" I'll get better.  After I get used to my new job, and the new schedule, and get back on track with my New Year's Dissolutions, and then start eating healthy again...  Because the most important thing comes last.  Right?

RIGHT??

Salutations,
Sesh

A rant about Discrimination of Christians

Dear Neophyte,

This is not a nice thing I'm about to say, so if you're flabby of emotions, then go away.

A meme I pulled off facebook.

Yes, I seriously wonder how any woman could follow religions that CURRENTLY tout rape, murder, forced marriage, forced impregnation, lack of control of one's own body, unrealistic expectations of gender, subjugation, slavery, war over pride and materialism, war “for god”, lack of self-worth, degradation of pride in oneself, segregation, unrealistic expectations of family and marriage, and a “god” that's literally full of every excuse in the book: Hint: It's always YOUR fault, never because THEY dropped the ball or just didn't care at the moment.

All of this in the form of poorly translated, deliberately mistranslated, and incomplete archaic mythology from a culture that is not only NOT YOURS, but died out hundreds of years ago. Entire sections of some of these books have been removed deliberately and hidden from the masses. Masses who were subjected to rape, murder, and being conquered “for their own good” so these works could be shoved down their throats. Lets not get started on the loss of culture and lack of respect for Natives everywhere. Not to mention the destruction and loss of Native religions around the world.

Lets start with how cute it is when these religions, used to being entitled to force otehrs to convert, are not legally allowed to rape and murder anymore. Then add to that laws protecting others from being forced to conversion. Continue on with laws protecting minority religions. Now you have an entire generation who are no longer threatened with murder, protected from forced conversion, and living in a society which accepts diversity. This generation is ending the tyranny by not simply ignoring these mass religions, but fighting back with their own rights to be LEFT ALONE.

No, being told to leave someone ALONE is NOT the same thing as someone persecuting you for being Christian. You had a nice terrorism streak, and now it's over. We're not afraid of your bullying anymore, and I know you're having to grow up now. Stop throwing a temper tantrum and face it: No one is denying your right to your beliefs, place of worship, or voting for your hatefull politicians. THAT is what you did to others for the last two thousand years. THAT was persecution.  

Salutations,

Sesh

Happy Ostara 2016

Dear Neophyte,

Happy Ostara everyone. Today is the first day of spring so throw down a picnic blanket, get some fresh flowers and drink some good wine in celebration!

Here are some pictures I pulled off google image search which captures what I like, love, and feel about this holy day.



You see a cute plate of chicks and I see food.  What I love about Ostara is that it means the delicious food is coming back!  All the fresh fruits and vegetables that aren't available during the colder months.  Putting it together on a cute plate it just bonus.



Today is a day to reaffirm our beliefs in our Gods, our way of life, and to reconnect with the changing seasons.  If you don't feel like a priestess of your Gods then the holy days are a time to make it right.



It's still chilly outside, but the Goddess of the Green is coming, already kissing the land awake in some areas.  Hail Ostara!



Music is always a big part of my holy day celebrations.  Here are a few Ostara songs that made it into my playlist this year:

Lisa Thiel - "Ostara (Spring Song)"

"Autumn in Asheville" by Emerald rose

Generic Ostara Music Combination

Decorations are of course important to every holy day.  In my house we change them out seasonally.  That is, four sets of decorations.  Some might think that's too much, but consider that we only decorate the living room by changing out the picture above the fireplace and some hangings on the wall.  It's not more than will fit in one rubbermaid tote and most of us have plenty of room for it in our garage or under the bed.  I go the extra step of also changing out my sheets and curtains to reflect the theme of the seasons.  The old stuff gets stored in the drawers of my 'captain's bed'.

Your inner light also gets honored at this time.  It's growing stronger and should be shared with the world.  This picture also represents the gardens all of us are planning, even if it's only in flower pots in the windows.  The third thing I love about this picture is that it her dress looks very comfortable.  Ostara is the day I begin packing away my winter clothing and bringing out my summer ware.  It's the time I also go through my winter clothing and either give away what I didn't wear that much, reuse the fabric to make something else, or repair it before stowing it away.  Trust me on that last bit: you do NOT want to pull a pair of pants out of storage and find out the front button STILL has not been replaced.

Lastly this is an inspiring and artistic season.  Paintings like this, utilizing symbology of your choice, would be easy to make even using crayons.  As mentioned earlier, the picture hanging over the fireplace gets changed every season and usually to one we've created ourselves.  I painted half the pictures in my house so I very much enjoy the process of creative expression through canvas and acrylic.  No, I didn't paint this one, but it really wouldn't be that difficult if I wanted too.  It's quite beautiful and peaceful. 

I'm so very glad I'm keeping diaries of all the things I do for the holy days.  It's helping me create my own traditions.  Find out what I did and didn't like and dig up deeper meanings in the symbols and acts.

It helps me actually be a Priestess of my Gods.

Salutations,

Sesh