Renn Faire Magick

The Colorado Renn Faire opened June 15, 2013 and I went this past weekend.  How I love the Renn Faire!  I've been attending since 1992 and every time I go it just gets better and better.

The first time I set foot on the Renn Faire grounds, in the summer of 1992, I knew I had a found a magickal place.  The Faire was filled with people who thought like me and loved the Rennaissance period of history.

Like other Faire goers, the first few times I attended the Faire, I did not wear period clothing.  That just seemed a little too much for me.  Plus its silly right to dress and pretend your're wench, a fairy, a knight of the court, a lady in waiting, or a mysterious, magickal person, a Witch, walking through the realm, right?  WRONG!

As the fates would have it, one year I took my son to the Renn Faire when he was just a little boy.  We noticed ta "costumes for rent" tent, right outside the Faire gates.  We took the plunge, rented costumes and the magickal doors of the Faire opened to us.  We didn't know at the time, we'd picked a prince's costume for my son.  Everywhere we went through the Faire, people bowed to him, and he went before the court and bowed before the king.  Oh what a great day that was and I've been going in "costume" ever since.  I put "costume" in quotes, because now I have real Renni clothes, that I just love wearing to the Faire and any other place that is appropriate.  To me, they are my real clothes.  When I get dressed up in my Renni clothes and saunter through the Faire, I feel at home:

You meet the nicest people at the Faire.  After years of attending, I've now got friends who come to work the Faire for the 8 weeks the Faire is running.  I'm secretly jealous of their ability to do this!  I've always fantasized about having my own little Gypsy cart and traveling the country, going from Faire to Faire.  Well, it still could happen!
This year I took a friend to the Faire who had never been before.  She was a "Renn Faire Virgin".  I supplied her with clothes, stressing to her how much more fun she would have, if she dressed up.  Thankfully she is good sport as well as being an author, and she loved it!  We had such a good time.
And to put an end to our magickal day at the Faire, as we were leaving, a woman came up to me and asked, "Are you Witches?"  Of course I turned to her and said, "Yes, I am! "

Blessed Be.

Little Coffins

I am a True Blood Truebie.  Love it, love it, love it and can hardly wait for Season 6 to begin on Sunday.

Tonight on Twitter, TrueBlood@HBO was asking us to post our "bad thing" with the hashtag #badthing.

I tweeted,  "I keep little coffins around just in case I need them for a spell".  Which got me thinking why do I keep little coffins around and what type of spell work would I use them for?  Why do I find peace in cemeteries? 

I do enjoy cemeteries.  Always have.  And I do find them peaceful.  Sometimes I just like to stroll through cemeteries.  I like to read the headstones and see what kind of life a person may have had.  I like to see how loved ones construct tombs to their dearly departed.  So much knowledge can be gained by hanging out in a cemetery.

And the little coffins, what about their use?  Little coffins come in handy for getting rid of stuff that no longer serves you, or things you want to let go of and bury.  These things may be bad habits, thoughts, mistakes or feelings.  Little coffins are also symbols for the turn of the Wheel and the season of Samhain and Halloween.  They symbolize those who have crossed over and that are our own coffins are waiting for us as well, if you can think in those terms.  They remind me that life is fleeting and fragile, and that we can go at any moment.  So yes, I like little coffins and I find them to be very useful magickal symbols.

Priestess Najah

Vampires, True Blood and Anne Rice

True Blood returns to HBO on June 16, 2013.  I can hardly wait.  I have a passion for Vampires, Witches, New Orleans, cemeteries and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. 

I fell down the Vampire hole when I first saw "Interview With the Vampire" in the theatre.  During that time lots of people were reading Anne Rice and excitement about her writing was everywhere.  Honestly at that time I didn't understand what was the big deal.  And then I went to see the movie and this scene appeared before my eyes:

When she opened her eyes and looked at "Louis" a recognition shot through my soul, that I still have a hard time putting into words.

Who was this writer, who were these characters that spoke so deeply to my soul?.  I was a changed person after seeing "Interview With the Vampire".  I became obsessed with Anne Rice novels and and read all her Vampire Chronicles.  I was like a parched traveler in the desert, finding an oasis.  My favorite Chronicle is "Tale of the Body Thief".  And to my great glory, I met Anne Rice at an Author's signing and she signed my copy of  "Tale of the Body Thief".

I feel in love with Lestat and his unapologetic nature.  There is nothing sexier than a Vampire without guilt or remorse.  And definitely one that doesn't twinkle.  No sparkling Vampires for this woman.

On my first trip to New Orleans, I had a wonderful day touring the Garden District.  As fate would have it, I was alone the day I walked the Garden District and stood outside Anne Rice's home.  At the time she was still living in New Orleans.  I also toured Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.  While I was in the cemetery I had a creepy experience with one of the Guides.  Of course he was dressed in a top hat and had on round, blue sunglasses, which made it all the better.

Fast forward to True Blood.  I was hooked after the first episode of Season 1.  I could live and work in Bon Temps.  I'd have a little shack where I wrote and sometimes did Conjure work for folks, if I was in the mood to do so.  I'd take walks in the cemetery and have lunch at Merlotte's.  And I'd be a friend of the Vampires, but knowing their nature and that immortality is not what its cracked up to be, I'd stay away from their fangs.

Priestess Najah

Training With Grandmaster Sin Kwang The

Yesterday for the very first time I met and trained with the living Grandmaster of our Shao-lin Art, Grandmaster Sin Kwang The.

Each year he travels to the schools to teach us and our Masters, and have those moving up in the degrees of Black Belt, to test before him.

I was giddy as a school girl waiting for him to arrive.  If was if we were waiting for Santa.  And then he was there.  Small in stature, humble in nature, gigantic in skill and talent, he led us through 12 hours of training, teaching us two Immortal Forms of Shao-lin Kung Fu! 

Grandmaster Sin Kwang The

I have always loved martial arts.  I grew up in Los Angeles, CA where Asian culture has a huge influence on daily life.  I went to elementary school with many Asian-American children and I've  been fascinated with Asian culture since I could remember.  Surely there must have been a past life as a Chinese or Japanese person.  Visiting China in 2011 was an amazing experience.  What a blessing it was to travel to China with my Shao-lin school in 2011 and see and perform at the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Kung Fu.

Yesterday I felt the same reverence as we trained with Grandmaster The.  Even in his humbleness, I could sense the lineage and the time and training he has put into Shao-lin Kung Fu, and he is 70 years old! Wow! 

Shao-lin Kung Fu continues to train my mind, body and spirit, and take me places I never thought I would attain.  I feel inspired to continue training to my next degree of Black Belt.  Attaining my next degree will take at least another year of dedication and training, but I am inspired by the dedication, friendship and support of my Shao-lin buddies.  We shall continue to carry on!