Hush Little Baby
New Age Version
~Author Unknown ~
Hush little baby don't you squall
Momma's gonna buy you a crystal ball
And if you still can't see beyond
Momma's gonna buy you a magic wand
And if that wand don't change your fate
Momma's gonna teach you to levitate
And if the astral makes you sick
Momma's gonna buy you an incense stick
And if that frankincense smells rank
Mom'll buy a sensory deprivation tank
And if that tank don't float your bones
Momma's gonna buy you some some precious stones
And if those gems don't ease your heart
Momma's gonna buy you a natal chart
And if your planets go berserk
Momma's gonna buy you some bodywork
And if your aura still needs kneading
Momma's gonna buy you a past life reading
And if your destiny stays hid
Momma's gonna buy you a pyramid
And if your chakras still feel stressed
Momma's gonna take you on a vision quest
And if power animals don't come to charm ya
Sorry, kid, it's just your karma.
:)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
A Time to Believe
A Time To Believe
To believe is to know that every
day is a new beginning.
It is to trust that miracles happen,
and dreams really do come true.
To believe is to see angels
dancing among the clouds
To know the wonder of a stardust
sky and the wisdom of the
man in the moon.
To believe is to know the value
of a nurturing heart,
The innocence of a child's eyes and
the beauty of an aging hand, for it
is through their teachings
we learn to love.
To believe is to find the strength
and courage that lies within us.
When it is time to pick up
the pieces and begin again.
To believe is to know we are not alone,
That life is a gift
and this is our
time to cherish it.
To believe is to know that wonderful
surprises are just waiting to happen,
And all our hopes and dreams
are within reach.
"If only we believe"
Author: Unknown
To believe is to know that every
day is a new beginning.
It is to trust that miracles happen,
and dreams really do come true.
To believe is to see angels
dancing among the clouds
To know the wonder of a stardust
sky and the wisdom of the
man in the moon.
To believe is to know the value
of a nurturing heart,
The innocence of a child's eyes and
the beauty of an aging hand, for it
is through their teachings
we learn to love.
To believe is to find the strength
and courage that lies within us.
When it is time to pick up
the pieces and begin again.
To believe is to know we are not alone,
That life is a gift
and this is our
time to cherish it.
To believe is to know that wonderful
surprises are just waiting to happen,
And all our hopes and dreams
are within reach.
"If only we believe"
Author: Unknown
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Feature Artist: Stephanie Rose Bird
I have met Stephanie Rose Bird via Twitter and I find her very intriguing and captivating. She is an African American green witch, pagan, artist and author. While researching her I found her very well written and informative and decided she would be a great artist to feature. I’m looking forward to reading her books and hope we can have her as a guest again in the future.
A Meditation on Honey: Sweet Medicine of the Mind, Body and Spirit
A blog post by Stephanie Rose Bird
In this blog I am meditating on the various mind, body, and spiritual uses of honey. This is an excerpt from my book The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit: Legends & Lore, Music & Mysticism, and Recipes & Rituals.
One of the most endearing images of honey in my memory was the unifying element in the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. In this tale set in South Carolina, three sisters named May, June, and August take in a white girl named Lily and her housekeeper Rosaleen. Gradually, they allow the two newcomers into their spiritual world, which includes synchronized rituals with a circle of women, celebrating the Black Madonna and freedom from slavery using honey. They ceremoniously pour honey over the head of the Black Madonna who is chained. As the honey drizzles down the statue’s body, the chains loosen. The Black Madonna, like the black people, enjoys the sweetness of freedom.
In real life honey has a rich history in Africa. Honey use weaves through ancient Egyptian apothecaries, recipes, and ritual devotion. It was an important ingredient in Kyphi, unique Egyptian incense used to pay homage to the God Ra and Goddess Isis, which also contains dried fruit, red wine, and resins. Honey was used to mix a kohl solution to paint the eyes. It was also used cosmetically in hair and facial care.
Honey across Africa Today
West Africa: In Mali, soume is an alcoholic drink derived from honey. Soume is consumed from a calabash. Around the calabash and under the influence of soume, young people learn the secrets of their community. The elders gather around the soume-filled calabash to brag, remember and gossip.
East Africa: The Samburu people mix milk from their cattle with honey and pour it as a libation for spiritual blessings of the land. They use blood from the cattle and honey as a libation in a land cleansing rite. They have done this publicly in recent times as a gesture of peace with neighbors with whom there have been land disputes.
Southern Africa: The Bemba people of Zambia in Southern Africa enjoy grain and honey as an important part of their sustenance.
Honey in the Sacred Life of the Diaspora
Caribbean and the Americas: In the Black Atlantic, the honey Orisha is Oshun; in Brazil, Oxun; and in Cuba, Ochun. Oshun, as I like to call her, is invoked to bring healthy children, easy childbirth, love, sensuality, beauty, refinement, and sweetness. The people of Trinidad and Tobago Islands demonstrate how honey of Oshun is used in blessing, ritual, and ceremony.
• They prepare it with water, brandy, olive oil, and sugar and place it in a calabash as an offering to Oshun during some thanksgiving rites.
• Devotees consume an offering that includes duck, honey, olive oil, sugar, and brandy.
• A libation of honey, lavender, brandy, and olive oil is poured in honor of Oshun, also called Goddess of Water Powers and sometimes referred to as Saint Philomene.
• A honey dressing is rubbed on a bamboo pole to invoke the spirit of Oshun.
• A table is laid with honey, a calabash, candles, grains, and flowers to honor Oshun.
Honey is a rich part of story, history, song, dance, ritual, and economic opportunity for Africans and people of African descent. It is also a tasty way to sweeten teas and baked goods, allowing us to cut down on sugar consumption. Honey is sensual and it is useful in lovemaking rites as an edible body balm. It is also an excellent cosmetic, making an easy facial that controls oily skin, a soothing instant lip balm (just apply to cracked lips directly), a wound and burn healer and because it is antimicrobial and antiseptic it can be applied directly to cuts. There are so many things we can do with honey. It is a supreme mind, body, spirit healer, and as its uses in African diasporic healing demonstrates, it is one of nature’s great gifts to soulful wellness.
Bio:
Stephanie Rose Bird, is the author of five books: The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit: Legends and Lore, Music and Mysticism and Recipes and Rituals, (2010, Hampton Road Publishers), A Healing Grove: African Tree Medicine, Remedies and Rituals ( 2009, Chicago Review Press), Light, Bright, Damn Near White: Biracial and Triracial Culture in America and Beyond (2009, Praeger Press/Greenwood Publishers) Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs (June 2004, by Llewellyn Worldwide) and “Four Seasons of Mojo: An Herbal Guide to Natural Living (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006). Bird has published numerous articles and columns including “Sage Woman,” www.naturallycurly.com, “Witchvox,” “PanGaia” and the “Oracle.” She is the mother of four, married to her soul mate and companion to four feisty animals. Bird is a practicing green witch, hoodoo, magickal herbalist and aromatherapist living and working in the Chicago area.
Where you can find her:
Twitter @StephanieRoseBi
Website
Authors Den
Want to learn more and see where will she be next?
Pump Up your Book
Amazon.com links can be found on her website to purchase her books
(This blog is posted today in memory and honor of Stephanie’s mother)
A Meditation on Honey: Sweet Medicine of the Mind, Body and Spirit
A blog post by Stephanie Rose Bird
In this blog I am meditating on the various mind, body, and spiritual uses of honey. This is an excerpt from my book The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit: Legends & Lore, Music & Mysticism, and Recipes & Rituals.
Honey: Sweetness of the Goddess and the God
One of the most endearing images of honey in my memory was the unifying element in the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. In this tale set in South Carolina, three sisters named May, June, and August take in a white girl named Lily and her housekeeper Rosaleen. Gradually, they allow the two newcomers into their spiritual world, which includes synchronized rituals with a circle of women, celebrating the Black Madonna and freedom from slavery using honey. They ceremoniously pour honey over the head of the Black Madonna who is chained. As the honey drizzles down the statue’s body, the chains loosen. The Black Madonna, like the black people, enjoys the sweetness of freedom.
In real life honey has a rich history in Africa. Honey use weaves through ancient Egyptian apothecaries, recipes, and ritual devotion. It was an important ingredient in Kyphi, unique Egyptian incense used to pay homage to the God Ra and Goddess Isis, which also contains dried fruit, red wine, and resins. Honey was used to mix a kohl solution to paint the eyes. It was also used cosmetically in hair and facial care.
Honey across Africa Today
West Africa: In Mali, soume is an alcoholic drink derived from honey. Soume is consumed from a calabash. Around the calabash and under the influence of soume, young people learn the secrets of their community. The elders gather around the soume-filled calabash to brag, remember and gossip.
East Africa: The Samburu people mix milk from their cattle with honey and pour it as a libation for spiritual blessings of the land. They use blood from the cattle and honey as a libation in a land cleansing rite. They have done this publicly in recent times as a gesture of peace with neighbors with whom there have been land disputes.
Southern Africa: The Bemba people of Zambia in Southern Africa enjoy grain and honey as an important part of their sustenance.
Honey in the Sacred Life of the Diaspora
Caribbean and the Americas: In the Black Atlantic, the honey Orisha is Oshun; in Brazil, Oxun; and in Cuba, Ochun. Oshun, as I like to call her, is invoked to bring healthy children, easy childbirth, love, sensuality, beauty, refinement, and sweetness. The people of Trinidad and Tobago Islands demonstrate how honey of Oshun is used in blessing, ritual, and ceremony.
• They prepare it with water, brandy, olive oil, and sugar and place it in a calabash as an offering to Oshun during some thanksgiving rites.
• Devotees consume an offering that includes duck, honey, olive oil, sugar, and brandy.
• A libation of honey, lavender, brandy, and olive oil is poured in honor of Oshun, also called Goddess of Water Powers and sometimes referred to as Saint Philomene.
• A honey dressing is rubbed on a bamboo pole to invoke the spirit of Oshun.
• A table is laid with honey, a calabash, candles, grains, and flowers to honor Oshun.
Honey is a rich part of story, history, song, dance, ritual, and economic opportunity for Africans and people of African descent. It is also a tasty way to sweeten teas and baked goods, allowing us to cut down on sugar consumption. Honey is sensual and it is useful in lovemaking rites as an edible body balm. It is also an excellent cosmetic, making an easy facial that controls oily skin, a soothing instant lip balm (just apply to cracked lips directly), a wound and burn healer and because it is antimicrobial and antiseptic it can be applied directly to cuts. There are so many things we can do with honey. It is a supreme mind, body, spirit healer, and as its uses in African diasporic healing demonstrates, it is one of nature’s great gifts to soulful wellness.
Teaching a workshop on magickal herbalism
Bio:
Stephanie Rose Bird, is the author of five books: The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit: Legends and Lore, Music and Mysticism and Recipes and Rituals, (2010, Hampton Road Publishers), A Healing Grove: African Tree Medicine, Remedies and Rituals ( 2009, Chicago Review Press), Light, Bright, Damn Near White: Biracial and Triracial Culture in America and Beyond (2009, Praeger Press/Greenwood Publishers) Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs (June 2004, by Llewellyn Worldwide) and “Four Seasons of Mojo: An Herbal Guide to Natural Living (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006). Bird has published numerous articles and columns including “Sage Woman,” www.naturallycurly.com, “Witchvox,” “PanGaia” and the “Oracle.” She is the mother of four, married to her soul mate and companion to four feisty animals. Bird is a practicing green witch, hoodoo, magickal herbalist and aromatherapist living and working in the Chicago area.
Where you can find her:
Twitter @StephanieRoseBi
Website
Authors Den
Want to learn more and see where will she be next?
Pump Up your Book
Amazon.com links can be found on her website to purchase her books
(This blog is posted today in memory and honor of Stephanie’s mother)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Featured Artist ~ Fantasy Clay
Susan, of Fantasy clay is a talented artist. I took some time to browse her shop and was truly amazed at her work. She is a must see artist!
Susan, how long have you been creating your clay figures and such?
I have been working with polymer clay for about 10 years now and have taken over the first floor of my house with it. My workspace is our table so I need to be able to move it quickly. Just waiting for the day I can have a craft room (hint, hint kids- move out soon)
So you make them yourself?
All items are 100% hand made, no molds are ever used. Each piece is one of a kind, but similar items can often be made.
Where are you located?
I'm from New Jersey, I live in a small city in the New York metro area. Unlike some, I really like living in a city. Just something about it. I like having everything close by.
What is your family life like?
I've been very happily married to my college sweetheart for more than 20 years now. He still makes me smile by just coming in the room. We have 2 teenagers, actually the oldest will be 20 in a few months. Both are good kids and both are great at giving me ideas for my work, directly and indirectly.
What types of items do you make?
Dragons, Magical Creatures, Fairies, Pixies, Mermaids, Steampunk ,Jewelry People/ Figurines, Monsters, Trolls, Animals, Game Pieces, Geekery, Magnets, Wall hangings, Switch Plate Covers, River Rock Beads and Seasonal/ Holiday
What do you use to create them ?
Polymer clay is my favorite medium. I am always finding something new to try. I love making sculptural and fantasy creatures but I try not to let myself get boxed in. I have started making beads and exploring more cane work recently. I love to explore colors and enjoy trying new materials to enhance my work, like mixed media, inks, mica powders. It always seems like these creatures have their own personalities that have nothing to do with what I want.
Do you do custom orders?
I especially enjoy custom orders. I am willing to try anything, so feel free to ask. 99% of the time, you are under no obligation to buy if you are not satisfied with the work. The only exception might be for a personalized piece.
Where can we find you?
You can find me in many different places.
Artfire Studio
Blog
Flickr
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Feature Offer
Greeting my Friends,
I would like to offer a feature spot on our site to help mesh our little community from Twitter, as that’s where I have met some wonderful people. You do not have to be Pagan or a Witch, just creative or informative.
Contact me via Twitter @DFApothecary and let me know what information you would like to share with others.
Do you have a blog that offers spells, recipes or crafts?
Do you have an Etsy account of homemade products, jewelry , etc?
Do you have a website ?
I only want to feature the little guy. The people who have small businesses or who share their thoughts on different, positive, subjects.
I think this addition will bring a lot of color and spice to my blog and also assist you in getting the words out that you want people to know.
Bright Blessings to all!
Rules: Contact me via Twitter
Must be following our blog
No haters or negative posts
I would like to offer a feature spot on our site to help mesh our little community from Twitter, as that’s where I have met some wonderful people. You do not have to be Pagan or a Witch, just creative or informative.
Contact me via Twitter @DFApothecary and let me know what information you would like to share with others.
Do you have a blog that offers spells, recipes or crafts?
Do you have an Etsy account of homemade products, jewelry , etc?
Do you have a website ?
I only want to feature the little guy. The people who have small businesses or who share their thoughts on different, positive, subjects.
I think this addition will bring a lot of color and spice to my blog and also assist you in getting the words out that you want people to know.
Bright Blessings to all!
Rules: Contact me via Twitter
Must be following our blog
No haters or negative posts
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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