The Ramblings and Wanderings

Archive for August, 2009

… or everyone doesn’t have to be nice, or serious, all the time … especially me!

In fact I am almost never 100% serious, even when ranting. But you can take me any way you like, its all good in my world(s)

Satire:
* A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
* Trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly
* A message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

Sarcasm:
* A sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
* A mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual b : the use or language of sarcasm

Trickster:
* One that swindles or plays tricks.
* A mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore, often an animal, who typically makes up for physical weakness with cunning and subversive humor.
* A mischievous being found in the folklore of many primitive people; sometimes distinguished by prodigious biological drives and exaggerated bodily parts.
* One who tricks or deceives the hero of a story into taking action or gaining knowledge, insight or wisdom through unconventional means.

Capricious:
* Changeable; “a capricious summer breeze”; “freakish weather”
* Determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; “a capricious refusal”; “authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious”; “the victim of whimsical persecutions”

God Is a DJ
(By Pink)

I’ve been the girl with her skirt pulled high
Been the outcast never running with mascara eyes
Now I see the world as a candy store
With a cigarette smile, saying things you can’t ignore
Like mummy I love you
Daddy I hate you
Brother I need you
Lover hey, “Fuck you”
I can see everything here with my third eye
Like the blue in the sky

If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music
If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
You get what you’re given
It’s all how you use it…

I’ve been the girl with her middle finger in the air
Unaffected by rumors, the truth: I don’t care
So open your mouth and stick out your tongue
You might as well let go you can’t take back what you’ve done
So find a new lifestyle
A reason to smile
Look for Nirvana
Under the strobe lights
Sequins and sex dreams
You whisper to me
There’s no reason to cry…

You take what you get and you get what you give
I say don’t run from yourself, man, that’s no way to live
I’ve got a record in my bag you should give it a spin
Lift your hands in the air so that life can begin

If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music
If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
You get what you’re given
It’s all how you use it…

If God is a DJ…If God… say If God is a DJ, Then life is a dance floor so
Get your ass on the dance floor now

“If you make people think they’re thinking,
they’ll love you;
but if you really make them think,
they’ll hate you.”
~ Don Marquis

Walking the Hedge, breaking eggs to make omelets since 2005… hehehe

But all silliness aside for a moment, I do not expect everyone to “get” me (in fact I am often misunderstood and just let it stand as is), or to agree with me, or to care, or … well, anything really. It’s just a blog after all and you can’t please everyone    besides which all publicity is good publicity and all that

*hugs*

I came across this old reading list on Mysticwicks the other day. I like the MW Magazine (I have a couple of articles in early editions) but have neglected the forum for a while now. Anyways it seems 4 years later people are still using this reading list and I realized its not on the Hedge!

It used to be, back in the early days when the Hedge was lavender, pink and pastel green … written by hand in novice HTML code. Remember those days? hehehehe

So for old times sake, here is an old reading list. Not sure if all these books would be on this list today, and I wouldn’t be so bold and arrogant as to separate things into categories such as Beginner or Advanced. But I will let it stand as it was some 4 years ago (or however long its been, has it been that long???)

You can find a somewhat updated list here.

Some Book Suggestions for a Nature Witch

* Books with an asterisk are on Juniper’s favorite list.*

I would recommend reading at least one book in each subject group before moving on to the next level (beginner to intermediate, intermediate to advanced) as an absolute minimum.
Beginner

Identification, Science & Research

* Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places – Steve Brill *
* National Geographic Field Guide to Trees of North America – Keith Rushforth, Charles Hollis
* North american wildlife: trees and nonflowering plants field guide – Reader’s Digest Editors
* The Basic Essentials of Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs – Jim Meuninck
* Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Revised and Updated – C. Frank Brockman, Rebecca Marrilees
* American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants – H. Marc Cathey
* Flora: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia – Sean Hogan *
* Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide – Thomas Elias
* Peterson First Guides: Trees – George Petrides, Olivia Petrides , Janet Wehr *
* Earth Science – Edward J. Tarbuck
* National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Eastern Region) – William A. Niering, Nancy C. Olmstead, Susan Rayfield, and Carol Nehring

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* Growing Herbs from Seed, Cutting & Root: An Adventure in Small Miracles – Thomas Debaggio
* Jerry Baker’s Giant Book of Garden Solutions: 1,954 Natural Remedies to Handle Your Toughest Garden Problems – Jerry Baker
* Let It Rot! the Gardener’s Guide to Composting (Down-to-Earth Book) – Stu Campbell
* Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening – Anna Kruger

Herbal & Natural Health

* The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety – Simon Mills *
* The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism: A Comprehensive Guide to Practical Herbal Therapy – Simon Mills *
* The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook: A Home Manual – James Green
* Jeanne Rose: Herbal Body Book: The Herbal Way to Natural Beauty & Health for Men & Women – Jeanne Rose
* The Way of Herbs – Michael Tierra

Magickal & Spiritual

* The Wicca Garden: A Modern Witch’s Book of Magickal & Enchanted Herbs & Plants – Gerina Dunwich
* The Magical Garden: Spells, Charms, and Lore for magical Gardens and the Curious Gardeners Who Tell -Sophia and Denny Sargent
* The Green Witch Herbal: Restoring Nature’s Magic in Home, Health, and Beauty Care – Barbara Griggs
* Magical Herbalism – Scott Cunningham *
* Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs – Scott Cunningham
* Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up – Ellen Dugan
* Real Witches Garden – Kate West
* Earth Power – Scott Cunningham
* Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick – Ellen Dugan
* Herb Magic For Beginners – Ellen Dugan
* The Elements of Natural Magic (Elements of) – Marian Green
* Craft Of The Wild Witch: Green Spirituality & Natural Enchantment – Poppy Palin
* Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft – Aoumiel, Ann Moura
* Grimoire For The Green Witch: A Complete Book of Shadows – Ann Moura
* Green Magic: The Sacred Connection to Nature – Ann Moura

Incense, Oils & more

* Wylundt’s Book of Incense: A Magical Primer – Wylundt
* Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents – Carl Neal *
* Complete Book Of Incense, Oils & Brews – Scott Cunningham *

Lifestyles & the Environment

* It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living – Crissy Trask
* Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability – Greg Horn

Home & Hearth

* Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen – Scott Cunningham
* Cottage Witchery: Natural Magick for Hearth and Home – Ellen Dugan
* The Magical Household – Scott Cunningham *
* Clean House Clean Planet – Karen Logan
* The Naturally Clean Home: 100 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Non-Toxic Cleansers – Karyn Siegel-Maier

Folklore & Mythology

* The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore – Ann Field
* Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees (Dover Pictorial Archive Series) – Ernst Lehner (Author), Johanna Lehner

Well Rounded (or a little bit of everything)

* The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs – Lesley Bremness *
* Herbs & Things – Jeanne Rose *
* Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More – Miranda Smith
Intermediate

Identification, Science and Research

* Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine (Paperback) – Barbara Griggs
* The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work (Paperback) – Angela Paine
* Botany for Gardeners – Brian Capon *

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* The Secret Garden: Talking Beetles and Signaling Trees: The Hidden Ways Gardens Communicate – David Bodanis
* Making an Herb Garden: Beautiful Designs, Plantings and Ornamentation -Catherine Mason
* Growing 101 Herbs that Heal: Gardening Techniques, Recipes, and Remedies – Tammi Hartung
* Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically – Karan Davis Cutler, Cavagnarok David, Barbara W. Ellis, David Cavagnaro
* Bud, Blossom, & Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardener’s Handbook – Dorothy Morrison
* Herb Garden Design – Ethne Clarke
* Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture – Toby Hemenway *
* Introduction to Permaculture – Bill Mollison *

Herbal & Natural Health

* Wicca Herbal: Guide to Healing Body and Spirit with Magickal Herbs -Jamie Wood
* Mastering Herbalism: A Practical Guide – Paul Huson
* Healing Wise (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed *
* Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed
* New Menopausal Years, The Wise Woman Way: Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90 (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed
* Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed, Alan McKnight, Christine Northrup

Magickal & Spiritual

* The Nature Path – Starhawk *
* The Magical and Ritual Use of Herbs – Richard Alan Miller
* Wild Witchcraft: A Guide to Natural, Herbal and Earth Magic – Marian Green
* Natural Witchcraft: The Timeless Arts and Crafts of the Country Witch (Natural Way) – Marian Green
* Natural Magic – Doreen Valiente *
* Green Witchcraft II Ann Moura

Incense, Oils & more

* 375 Essential Oils – Jeanne Rose *
* Aromatherapy Book: Inhalations and Applications – Jeanne Rose
* Jeanne Rose’s Kitchen Cosmetics: Using Herbs, Fruit and Flowers for Natural Bodycare – Jeanne Rose
* Magick Potions: How to Prepare and Use Homemade Incense, Oils, Aphordisacs, and Much More – Gerina Dunwich
* A Dyer’s Garden: From Plant to Pot Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers – Rita Buchanan

Lifestyles & the Environment

* The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It – John Seymour
* Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth James Lovelock *
* The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth – James E. Lovelock *

Home & Hearth

* The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for your Home, 2nd Edition – Dan Ramsey

Folklore & Mythology

* Celtic Tree Magic – Elizabeth Pepper

Well Rounded (or a little bit of everything)

* Herbs: Gardens, Decorations, and Recipes – Emelie Tolley
* The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking With Herbs – Katherine K. Schlosser
* The Wild Plant Companion: A Fresh Understanding of Herbal Food and Medicine – Kathryn G. March *
* The Meaning of Trees: Botany, History, Healing, Lore – Fred Hageneder
Advanced

Identification, Science and Research

* The Secret Life of Plants – Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird *
* Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants – Nicholas Harberd
* Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine – Daniel Mowrey *

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* The Medicine Wheel Garden: Creating Sacred Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquillity – E. Barrie Kavasch
* Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment & Well-Being – Marietta Marshall Marcin
* Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs, Cultivation, Conservation and Ecology – Richo Cech
* The Self-Sustaining Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Matrix Planting – Peter Thompson *
* The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals – Barbara W. Ellis, Fern Marshall Bradley
* Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual – Bill Mollison *

Herbal & Natural Health

* Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing – Stephen Pollington
* Veterinary Herbal Medicine – Susan G. Wynn
* Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy: Modern Herbal Medicine – Simon Mills *

Magickal & Spiritual

* Herbs of the Northern Shaman – Steve Andrews
* Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation & Shamanic Use of Psychoactive Plants – Jim Dekorne
* Psychedelics Encyclopedia – Peter Stafford
* The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications – Christian Ratsch
* Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices of Unity, Power and Earth Healing – James Endredy *
* Planetary Herbology – Michael Tierra
* Green Witchcraft III: The Manual – Ann Moura
* Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Spirit of Nature – Jesse Wolf Hardin

Incense, Oils & More

* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism (Illustrated Encyclopedia) – Julia Lawless
* The Book of Incense: Enjoying the Traditional Art of Japanese Scents – Kiyoko Morita
* The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy: An Herbalist’s Guide to Preparing Medicinal Essences, Tinctures, and Elixirs – Manfred M. Junius

Lifestyles & the Environment

* The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living – William H. Kemp
* Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Science – Anne Primavesi *

Home & Hearth

* Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House: Bringing Your Home into Harmony with Nature – Carol Venolia, Kelly Lerner
* The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence Through Solar, Wind, Biomass And Hydropower – Daniel D. Chiras

Folklore & Mythology

* Ancient Herbs – Marina Heilmeyer

A while back, the wife of the creator of Tarot comic book emailed me saying they loved my website and sent me a page from the comic book. I didn’t know there were pagan comics books! Cool.

I love this I had to share it as it shows my own fears for the future of paganism. Well … actually I am less concerned about Paganism becoming suburban and sanitary than I am concerned about Witchcraft. (Yes dammit there is a difference!)

I realized the other day I sound a lot like the older folks from the hippy generation out here, afraid that if we keep getting more and more PC and mainstream that one day we will find ourselves sitting in a square building on pews, the congregation being lead by a soccer Mom in a pink sweater-vest.

It a funny balance you know, the Otherkins, the Elfs and the Vampires and stuff drive me up the wall. I mean people think I am crazy; they haven’t met someone who thinks they are a wolf from outer space.
But the Martha Stewart Witches drive me up the same damned wall. I guess you just can’t please me eh?

Now don’t get me wrong folks, its nice to see normal people get into paganism. It’s nice to see whole families at Gatherings. I’m glad we are growing and that more of the regular folks are joining.

I’m glad the normals out number the weirdos now.

I’m glad that we can be leaders in the world regarding tolerance, diversity and multiculturalism and all of that.

But all I am asking is this:

Leave room for me!

Leave room for the witches who actually own blackthorn-blasting rods and use them. Leave room for those of us who aren’t afraid to eat meat or get our hands dirty. Or bloody for that matter.
Leave room for the witches, pagans, shamans and mystics (etc) who do the things the PC world won’t touch.

Let those who walk an outsider, trickster, crooked (etc) path do their thing.

Other religions have a way worse fringe element than we do you know. None of us blow up buildings after all.

I can play PC and cute and be sweet and family oriented at the gatherings and fests and open Circles, don’t you worry about that. Its not like I’m going to be sacrificing rabbits in front of my kids someday or anything. But if I wanted to, I should have the right to.

Just let me do what I do in the privacy of my own practice, don’t you dare try to censor that!

Because seriously folks, you don’t want to try driving us off anyway. Some Witches aren’t afraid to throw curses you know.

*evil laugh*

(sorry this is a large as I can make the image, you can save it and view it larger on your PC. The gist of it is the goth witch it trying to get the community to form a leadership to save us from oppression. But the Soccer Mom witches don’t want anyone who isn’t wholesome and modest to represent all of us)

Things

Trees are good for you.

Everyone is the hero of the story in his or her own mind.

Chances are, no one is out to get you.

A spiritual path wouldn’t be worth it if it were easy.

There are many approaches to everything.

Please yourself first, but not exclusively.

The sort of people who set up a yurt on the beach and spend a summer cleaning up oil spills, without pay, are amongst the least respected in our society. No good, longhaired, tree-hugging, hippy, eco-terrorists!

If there is a way off this crazy merry-go-round only Buddha knows it.

You can tell the difference between a curse and a run of bad luck, but I couldn’t explain it.

Education does not equate intelligence.

The majority of white people will be pagan again someday, but not any time soon.

Thou art God (really).

But don’t get full of yourself now; most of the entities in the universe can kick your ass.

There is a trend to claim to be god owned in pagan culture right now, this is not something you should lie about kids. The gods are real and not all cupcakes and bunny rabbits.

No one has any patience any more, especially in the city.

Paganism has always been somewhat different in the sticks than in the towns. It always will be that way.

Head Six is the Devil.

A mother should be proud her son grew up to join the Sea Shepherd Society, but will rather wish he became a small time lawyer for petty crooks.

Some day we will again have stunning marble temples built to our gods. Only in the future temples will be built of reclaimed marble and other recycled materials, also they will have green roofs and run on solar, wind, or hydro power.

School (as in the modern school system in our part of the world) is not for everyone and everyone is not for school, but everybody ought to give it their best shot and go as far as they can.

I don’t care how much money you make, how big your house is, I don’t care if you’re hard working or a lazy bum, I don’t care if you are wise or ignorant, I don’t care if you’re a “real” Witch or not.

What I care about is whether or not the world is a better place for having you in it.

Play to your strengths, and remember not everyone has the same talents and abilities as you; they must play to their own strengths.

There are as many different kinds of intelligence as there are people on this earth.

Your personality is only a small part of you.

There is a trend  to be using flying ointments and such as shortcuts in pagan culture right now, this is not something you should play with kids. This is something that should be taken seriously and researched first. Please.

In order to Be Yourself, you must first Know Yourself.

The first step to knowing yourself is coming to the understanding that you (and everything else) are always changing.

How do you want to BE always changing?

Grow

Love

There is more than one way to gain knowledge and experience in this world.

Ability, knowledge, experience, understanding, and wisdom; all fingers and a thumb upon a palm called enlightenment.

What is the wrist? Where is the arm?

There is a difference between infatuation and love.

Wouldn’t bliss get boring after a while?

Once having achieved nirvana, would you want a nice greasy cheeseburger?

Nothing separates you from nature or the divine except for your belief that you are.

It seems to me that people complicate spirituality needlessly. I’m not sure exactly why?

There are no do-overs.

You cannot play this game without screwing up sometimes.

I write with more humor in mind than people think/read.

I broke my keyboard.

Two ladies, sisters and both breeders who lived closed to each other, had taken on Maia’s pups. Good friends of my Mom and kind enough to help care for the babes and bring them to their momma dogs.

Sadly, two days ago the hubby of one of the ladies came home to find her passed away on the couch. We still do not know what the cause was but it was probably her heart. Her sister is of course devastated. She was only 56, and had spent her adult life breeding healthy dogs and taking on foster dogs and abused horses.
She was, like many people who take on such causes, the kind of person who would not buy the medication she needed for herself in order to afford medication for an animal that had been abused at the hands of another human being. She was the kind of person who would miss a doctor appointment rather than make a litter of pups miss a feeding.

She was, like many of the best people I have ever met, yet another girl born onto a farm, pulled out of high school by the family (still a common practice amongst farm families) and never finished, married young, had kids young, and then dedicated her life to helping those who cannot help themselves.

Its true, only the good die young.

People who spend their lives in selfish pursuits collecting more toys and bigger homes and walking all over the rest of the world get to live long lives in luxury.
People like my Mom’s friend spend their lives barley getting by, being looked down upon by people and die young in poor health.

Its a fucking tragedy.

I’m almost 30 and still haven’t had my wisdom teeth removed because it would cost thousands of dollars (requires surgery) and I spend that money on abused animals.

People who would never sacrifice themselves for another look down their noses at people like my Mom and Marge and me, call people like us stupid hill-billies, reeking of dog and horse. Good for nothing because we don’t have educations, or big houses, or make lots of money, or wear fashionable clothes, or have Martha Stewart housekeeping skills.

Fuck the world. I’d rather smell like a horse than smell like money.

Anyways…

So I will be going to pick up the pups earlier than planned, but their eyes are opening so they can start weaning soon.

I’m going to go have a cry now.