King Tapioca

I love tapioca. For those in the know about bubble tea, the best part of that entire beverage are the deliciously chewy pieces of tapioca at the bottom.

Recently I had my birthday lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant and, of course, had to try the desserts they offered. One of the desserts was a coconut tapioca pudding, with a super-coconutty flavour.
I was instantly impressed and obsessed, so I attempted to make my own.

The result was this:

December Fifteenth

Today is my birthday. I am now 27 years old. Holy shit.

Somehow all the excitement of having a birthday is drowned out by that number.
Hey, it's my birthday! But I'm turning 27.
27 is not exactly one of the "cool" birthdays. In fact, I would say it's the "un-cool" birthday.
Yes, you are another year wiser, a bit more educated, and (perhaps) a little richer- if that is possible these days. But in my case, realistically speaking, 27 is another reminder that I'm an aging female with even more raging hormones and even more problems.
I guess that's the one caveat of my birthdays, each consecutive birthday brings yet another problem into my life.
This year, the problem centers around family issues and more family issues.
How lovely.
Happy birthday to me.

I shouldn't complain so much, though. This birthday has given me a lot to be thankful for.
My friends were absolutely wonderful and gave me a (partial) surprise party. I am happy and grateful to know that there are a few people in the world that care about my happiness and my crappy 27th birthday enough to make it a happy one.

I couldn't ask for more.

Return from the Dark

It has been a very, very long time since I last posted. I wish I didn't have to put a long pause on my blog, but unfortunately a sad event and other difficult times has befallen me and my family.

My grandmother- the loving, green-thumbed, and overall wise-woman she was- passed on from a two-week coma in the hospital during the early part of August.

It's funny, you know.Within the last year and half, two comas occurred within my circle of family and friends, and both fell on big Sabbat days.

The first was on Ostara 2010; a friend passed into a coma and 2 days later passed on.

The second was my grandmother this Lammas. Sad, but true.

It was fitting really, for her to pass on after Lammas, as it the second to last harvest festival in the wheel of the year. As if she wanted to go before Samhain, so I could have her with me for that final time before the winter. Not that she loved winter, in fact, she quite loathed it. My grandmother was one of those people that suffered greatly from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and she really found nothing pleasurable about winter except for the snow making everything look clean.

Since her passing, my family and I have felt the void of her loss. She certainly was the matriarch of the family; the center of attention at every family function and the life of the party.
Like my mother always said, she was the tree that held up all the branches of our family, and her passing has left everything to fall away, like a decayed mansion that once held a happy family.

Now things have changed, and life has become complicated and morose. Those were the reasons I left my blogging for long. For who wants to read about family squabbling and sadness? Not me.

I will slowly come back into my blogging, and perhaps get more into my spiritual road trip, which went slightly on hiatus as well.

It is not easy to celebrate an Esbat when you are too tired to look out the window, or too depressed to feel a spark of Goddess love in your heart.

As the months have passed, however, I feel like I need my spirituality even more than before, and I am seriously going to delve deeply into a search for my innermost soul of being.

That is all I can muster the strength to write at this moment.

Take care, readers, and I will post again soon.

Sacred Lemons

There is nothing more refreshing than a lemon. The citrusy tang of it's juice can add flavor and freshness to almost anything, be it drink, food, or scent. The acidity if lemon juice can even be used to lighten hair, skin, or as a mild antiseptic.

Historically, lemons were venerated as an antidote for poison. The famous Roman emperor Nero drank copious amounts of lemon juice to, supposedly, prevent himself from being poisoned from his food. Placing poison in food was actually quite common in ancient Roman times.

In witchcraft, the lemon is a sacred fruit of the goddess, like the pomegranate and the apple.

Rituals and spells of purification and renewal can benefit from the use of lemon juice or lemon peel, especially in incense blends, offerings to the goddess, a libation, charged moon water, or as part of cakes and ale. A good example of this would be using lemonade as a summertime esbat drink during ritual.

So the next time you smell a lemon, think of the Goddess, and how you can use this sacred fruit to purify yourself, your surroundings, and your spirit.

This is why I don't like Missionaries

I was tuning into my blogger reading list today, and again, the topic of children accused of practicing witchcraft in Africa took center stage.

Witch-hunts and killings have been rampant in certain parts of Africa due to many local evangelists and preachers (some posing to be such) using their power to provoke. This is apparently a tactic used by these evangelists for monetary gains, and not out of a real need for spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ.

According to Christianity Today online, the increasing numbers of accused children, and others, as so-called "witches" are not only stemming from these zealot evangelists, but also from Christian missionaries, who are, to be blunt, just fanning the fire. Aptly named Mr. Robert Priest states in the article that, "Missionaries have commonly responded in two ways... The power of witches to harm others is dismissed as superstition, but this seldom persuades local Christians to abandon the concept; or the reality of witchcraft is endorsed by missionaries not wanting to be "post-Enlightenment rationalists" with a non-biblical skepticism of spiritual warfare."

With that statement as a springboard, I want to discuss (i.e. rant), about missionaries and their practices.

Now, as a lover of anthropology and foreign cultures (its a sort of hobby), I have never liked the concept of people going abroad with the sole purpose of converting others to their religion. Proselytizing, in my humble opinion, is a one-sided conversation no one can pull off.

So, yes, in a word, I abhor missionaries. Note, I do not think missionaries are bad people. Missionaries have, at times, done many an isolated population great favours. They have been the first chroniclers of foreign peoples and lands, and they have saved (literally) many lives, perhaps even brought comfort in the word of God to people in need.

But...and there anyways is one...there is a dark side to having missionaries hanging around. They have brought disease, like small-pox, and in some areas they wiped out the entire indigenous religious practice through their very thorough Christian conversion practices.

Yes, people sometimes need to be shown the way; but I emphasize the word "shown". From what I have experienced, many missionaries tend to "shove" people in that direction, saying God will 'save' them.

People living in poverty, that face starvation, disease, and dying everyday are in need of salvation, but not the kind that God can provide. They need medical care, clean water, love, and respect. God may be able to give them peace in the afterlife, but their daily suffering cannot be soothed over with whatever they are told about God or quoted Bible passages.

If you are a missionary reading this, then I apologize. I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you really need to get with modernity and tell people like it is. Tell them the scientific facts. Christianity and Science can coexist, but only if we use our brains to make it possible.

Think about it. There are children in Africa at this very moment, being beaten, tortured, burned, killed, or abandoned by their families because they have been accused of "witchcraft". Little children, some only 3 or 4 years old, told that they have killed others through spells, curses, and the evil eye.

Is this not insanity? Is this not injustice? How can a person accuse children of these practices when a child is not even aware of the existence of witchcraft? It is completely and utterly disgusting.

I am not a malicious person, but I hope that these evangelical preachers in Africa suffer all the wrath God has to give, because they deserve all of it and more.

I hope all the missionaries in Africa  can work together and help these suffering children. Save the children with spreading the true message of God. Use the teachings of Jesus to teach adults to love their children, and not listen to accusations that are blatant lies.

Do it for the children.

Readers: If you want to learn more about this awful situation and help out, click on this link:

http://www.confessionsofapagansoccermom.com/2011/06/helping-witches-of-africa.html

Another New(ish) Start

I revamped my blog today.

There were a few reasons for me to do so, but it was mainly because I have been going in many different directions lately.

Guanyin and Buddha always have a place in my heart, but as of now...so many more deities and cultures are tugging (hard!) on my heart strings. So in the spirit of change, and the turning of the year, I took stock of where I am at right now- spiritually speaking.

I think this new found yearning for change has stemmed from my recent readings on Hermeticism and a few books on traditional and European witchcraft by Raven Grimassi.
Europe is, of course, the heartland of the witchcraft tradition, and with Mr. Grimassi being a practitioner of Stregheria himself, my readings have been slightly skewed towards the original practices of witchcraft. Ancient Greece and Italy are historically linked with the first occurrences of the craft. In the days of Homer and Pythagoras, mystery religions dedicated to the Gods thrived; the cult of Mithras and the Hermes Trismegistus were part of the ancient Greek culture, and they influence our modern learnings in Hermeticism and parts of Neo-Pagan practice.

And so in learning more about these traditions, my views of the craft have deepened and my focus is changing.

There are things I will always love through having them as part of my life for so long, like an old, inseparable, friend. They will always be there for me.
But there comes a time when the new must be embraced; there is no other way than moving forward and forging a new turn in the meandering path of my witchy life.

Midsummer has arrived!

This message is a tad belated, but life is moving fast.

I hope everyone had a very fruitful and blessed Litha/Summer Solstice celebration with lots of good cheer and joy!

The Holly King has now won the battle against the Oak King, and the Wheel of the Year is turning towards the wane.

Summer's fruits will soon be jam, and preparations for harvesting and preserving for the winter will be taking place in the months to come.

So get out there and enjoy the full strength of the Lord Sun at his peak, and the beauty of the mysterious Green man of the forests and fields.

Blessed be!