Mystical Mundane

Well, as I have been doing many days of late, I awaited the mailman's arrival. Though recently it has been a bit half-hearted. I ordered my Navigator's Tarot of the Mystic Sea deck and book from a seller with a great reputation on eBay. They shipped it January 16th. I KNOW I'm in Canada, but truly, five weeks is longer than I have ever had to wait for any American order. (and I have ordered from the US many times) The seller has offered to send out a new deck, and if the original ever shows, or if it comes before the new shipped one does, just 'refuse' the item and it will get sent back to them. I'm okay with this, and I am very appreciative of the eBay seller's helpful nature. The only problem is, they have sold out of the book that one would use to go along with the deck. So they have simply refunded me the money for the book and told me if it arrives, to just keep it free of charge. (I guess they really think the order is lost at this point) I searched th...

Well, as I have been doing many days of late, I awaited the mailman's arrival. Though recently it has been a bit half-hearted. I ordered my Navigator's Tarot of the Mystic Sea deck and book from a seller with a great reputation on eBay. They shipped it January 16th. I KNOW I'm in Canada, but truly, five weeks is longer than I have ever had to wait for any American order. (and I have ordered from the US many times) The seller has offered to send out a new deck, and if the original ever shows, or if it comes before the new shipped one does, just 'refuse' the item and it will get sent back to them. I'm okay with this, and I am very appreciative of the eBay seller's helpful nature. The only problem is, they have sold out of the book that one would use to go along with the deck. So they have simply refunded me the money for the book and told me if it arrives, to just keep it free of charge. (I guess they really think the order is lost at this point) I searched th...

I was reading Jung and the Lost Gospels ( S.A. Hoeller) the other night, chapter 6, Errant Wisdom~The Myth of Sophia ; Introduction: Gnosis,Metaphor and Myth. I had one of those 'moments'. You know, the type that cause an almost audible 'click' of recognition. In the craft we did rituals to celebrate the Sabbats, and there are rituals to bring about desires/magic, but it just really didn't work for me. It felt more like dress up. It was fun, and sometimes I got a real feeling of energy (possibly from dancing in circles while chanting... kind of a head rush), but because I did not feel a real call to a particular pair of deities, I had a hard time visualizing who it was I was invoking and why. When I decided to find out where our rituals came from, I realized that much of what we do is from the origin of hermetic societies. In fact, it is so similar that I would say it's in many ways like a 'Reader's Digest Condensed Version'. I had al...

Okay, so I probably should've posted this up last week, as it would have been more beneficial, what with Valentines Day and such, but I guess better late then never! These are little romantic food ideas :) They don't take too much time to make, and they are all rather tasty. :) Chilled Steamed Asparagus with Chervil Dressing This simple, very quick, and easy to make recipe, is tasty and elegant. :) Ingredients: Juice of 2 lemons 2 Tablespoons chopped chervil 1 large egg yolk 2/3 cup olive oil 2 pounds tender young asparagus Directions: Whisk together the lemon juice, chervil, and egg yolk in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Cover and chill. Whisk for a minute or so just before serving. Trim the asparagus of any fibrous ends and steam it in a vegetable-steamer over simmering water until it is crisp-tender and turns a bright emerald green, no more than 5 minutes. Remove to a colander and place under cold running water unti...

Drink - Lemon Soda (Num Ma Now) Ingredients: 3 Lemons 500 ml Soda Water (Fizzy Mineral Water) 200 ml Water 150 gms Sugar 200 gms Ice Directions: 1. Boil the water with sugar until it has completely dissolved, then leave it to cool. This is your sweetening syrup. 2. Squeeze the lemons to get juice. 3. Then mix the syrup with lemon juice, soda-water and stir it together. Add the syrup slowly to adjust the sweetness to your own tastes. 4. Put ice it to the glass and pour the lemon soda over it, its nice to present with slices of lemon and orange in it. This drink is delicious and refreshing, it's not too complicated, and can be had at anytime, it's definitely something the whole family would enjoy to drink. :) Main Meal - Curried Coconut Chicken Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons curry powder 1/2 onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 (14 ou...

Beef Barley Soup Any type of beef will do for this recipe (leftover roast beef, browned ground beef, sliced chuck steak, etc.) Beef Barley Soup is one of those soups that improves in flavor the next day. This is because the flavors have  more time to mix with one another, and infuse themselves into all the ingredients. If you decide to do this don't freeze it right away, because the ingredients won't mix. Feel free to freeze it after a day or two, if there's anything left over. (: Ingredients A splash of olive oil A pat of butter (optional) 1 large carrot , chopped 1 large celery stalk, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped Salt and pepper to taste 2 to 3 cups of chopped, cooked beef, or similar amount of cooked ground beef A splash of Worcestershire sauce (optional) Basil, oregano, garlic powder to taste 8 cups beef stock or broth 1 large can of diced tomatoes, including liquid 3/4 to 1 cup dried pearl barley (more barley will make the broth thicker). Preparation 1. Heat the oli...

For all you folks in the 'wack March 26-28 is the 8th Annual Outdoor Decor Yard and Garden Show at the Chilliwack Heritage Park Things to do in the garden. Seeing as the weathers been a bit wacky, I'm going to go with a late winter/ early spring combo of chores  - Mulch those garden beds! A good decomposed bark mulch is a great thing- it gives the garden that lovely tidy and finished look that only a nice black mulch can. And the weed suppression is a great perk too  The plants benefit too- mulch helps keep the soil warm when the temps are low and cool when the temps are high. The mulch also contributes the organic matter content of the soil- O.M is important in that it helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients, as well as encourages microbial activity (all them hardworking little critters that make a healthy soil). So weed/ clean out any left over debris, and add mulch! A good rule of thumb is approximately 1-2" of mulch (I find one inch is more than adequate, but it y...

LOL, the last one I did said I looked like Mel Gibson!

From the Divine~ The Divine is beautiful, strong, eternal. The Divine is life and death, male, female, spirit and soul. The Divine is all of us. The Myth: In the beginning, there was the Divine One. Love in it's purest form. In order to increase in strength, the Divine took two aspects of itself, male and female, and sent them outward to the universe, to the earth upon which we dwell. She became the earth and the water. He became the air and the fire. She became Goddess. He became God. They are called by many names. They are The Great Mother and Father,Lord and Lady, Goddess and Horned God, as well as a myriad of names given to them by different people from different places at different times. The Goddess manifested herself through the all that grows from the earth and waters. She receives her warmth from the air from God , and God also moves her from below, as the fires under her. God is apparent in his solar form, which he governs. This heats the earth and helps Her life ...

Three things I am thankful for today. The first goes without saying and will always be #1. The health and life of my family. When I was due with my 2 year old, I belonged to a message board that had sections for people due round the same time. I got to know these women online quite well. Going through the ups and downs of our pregnancies together. One of the women had her baby. A beautiful baby boy. Dark hair and rosebud lips. He was born no longer alive. He has passed during his birth... into death. We were all heartbroken for her and her husband. Of course, we could not be as heartbroken as they were. I have thought of her often in the past two+ years. During the last bit of pregnancy, I thought of her little one, and her, almost daily. I realized how very fragile life is. Not that I did not have an appreciation of it before... but it really hit home. When my turn came, and my son was born easily into the world via a super simple c-section, I was so relieved. So glad that he was aliv...

Well, we did some researching and had some estimates done and decided on a heat pump. It was installed today, a Bryant 15 or 16 SEER (cant remember off hand, I just know it qualified for the grant). It's quite quiet actually and came with a nifty new thermostat. What was REALLY interesting is that the electrician wanted to access the crawlspace under the house, to get to the ductwork, and lo and behold there was a foot of water down there! The whole crawlspace, that we have NEVER looked at before was flooded. It's a pond down there people! So, I called the only plumber we knew out here and he came out almost right away and fixed the broken main water faucet. It somehow had acquired a hole in it. Odd. Probably had been leaking for close to a year? I had never heard it because we always have the dehumidifier fan going from the furnace, so it tends to mask all other quieter sounds such as that. Now, 6 hours later, the water main is fixed, and hopefully the water is draining out. ...

The light is returning. Every day it takes longer for the sun to set. I love it. With this renewal of light, evident in the warmer air, and vibrational hum of the awakening earth, comes an awakening from within as well. Of course, we all know that from the Winter Solstice onward, the days are spiraling outward again, but it's not until about this time that we really feel it. For me, this time of year is definitely about the real beginning of spiritual growth.Time for action. The composting of my thoughts and ideas over the past few months has given way to an emergence of love for myself, and for the Divine, and now, more than ever I feel ready to physically put that in motion. As for the parenting aspects of my life, well what can I say. The older three are behaving as older children do, somewhat self indulgent, self absorbed, but they are well. My fifteen year old is finishing grade nine at home right now however. The school thought it best. When he finishes grade nine (PLEASE le...