The Birth of The Sun

Today is the eve of the Winter Solstice.  Tonight is especially auspicious because as of the Witching Hour, the Moon will be full, a total lunar eclipse will be in progress, and Winter will come in it's full being in the Northern hemisphere of our blessed Earth.

I'm giddy with excitement.  I can feel the surge and anticipation as the Great Mother is in labor, preparing to give life and rebirth to the Sun.  And for the third year in a row I will be joining with others to drum up the Sun at beautiful, magickal, majestic, Red Rocks Park.

I can feel the night and darkness coming, the womb of creation preparing itself for its glorious moment of birth.  I am grateful for my intune-ness with the cycles of the Earth and the Mysteries of the Universe.  I am grateful I have found my path as a Pagan and Witch, and that I have such a wonderful community with which to celebrate these special days.

It nice to know we start the season.  First comes the Solstice then Christmas.  I have the giddyness of a little kid, and the understanding of a Pagan.  Finally things make sense to me that I had questioned for so long.  Why the tree, why evergreen, why lights?  I have the blessing to have walked different religious paths as a Christian, and then a Muslim, before finally arriving here.  Today I am grateful for the path of Seeker, which I walked for so long.  Now I am at peace, joyful and serene.

Blessed Be.

Seven Days Until Halloween!

According to my ticker, its 7 days until Halloween.  I'm getting so excited I can hardly stand it.  Tonight is the 19th Annual Denver Witches' Ball and for the second year in a row, I will be participating in the opening ritual.

I remember last year, how scared I was to be in public, calling the quarters.  We had a great opening ritual and everything went fine.  This year I don't have the jitters as bad, except that I lead off the quarters by starting with Air, my personal element being the Gemini that I am.

I'm also excited because as fate would have it, I am able to stay until the midnight ritual.  I've never been able to participate in the midnight ritual due to my work schedule.  So the Ball indeed looks good from my perspective this year!

Following the Ball, the next weekend a dear friend of mine is holding a Day of the Dead party.  I am very honored that she felt so inspired after attending my party for the last few years, that she has decided to hold her own.  I'll be going over early to help her set up her altar and the energies for a fabulous night.

The next day, my Circle and I will have Samhain dinner and ritual at my home.  I'm very excited about this, as I've wanted to hold a formal Samhain dinner for years.  It will be so nice to actually sit down and enjoy dinner with my Circle and family.

I hope that you too are getting excited about the Season and having fun making plans, going to parties, or just hanging out with your loved ones.

Blessed Be,
Sister Najah

Remembering Those We Love - Samhain (Your Halloween)

A dear and beloved friend passed away yesterday.  He was like a brother to us, a friend to our son, a great person, wonderful father and he is deeply missed.  I write this piece in memory of Chad Blatt.

Halloween is coming.  I can feel it the air and most everywhere I go, homes are decorated with Witches, ghosts, spider webs and monsters.  Pumpkins are for sale as well as gobs of candy.  But my heart isn't there, it's grieving over the passing of our beloved Chad.

I'm grateful that as a practicing Witch, I know the real meaning of Halloween, which we call Samhain.  It's nice to remember our ancestors and those who have gone before us.  We hold a dumb supper and set a place for our loved ones who are now on the other side.  How grateful am I to know this night is coming.  And true, as we say the veil between the Seen and Unseen is thinnest at this time allowing us to commune with our Ancestors should we choose to.  We light candles and fires for them to find their way as they come to be with us, should they choose.  We ask them not to stay, and we call them not, we simply honor them and are grateful should they choose to visit us for a while on Samhain night.
I'm glad we have this night to honor our dead.  I find our American culture is sorely lacking in Ancestor veneration and rememberance.  We bury our dead, grieve and then move on.  We're not supposed to talk about death and certainly not embrace it by setting a place for our passed on, loved ones at are table.
For years I've held a party on Halloween night, not only for Witches but for anybody who would like to come.  No mistake we party, but we also take time to remember and honor everyone who has brought a memento of their loved one.  Each year I am surprised and humbled by how many non-Witches want to attend and how many people get so filled by taking a turn a sharing about their loved ones who have passed on.
Another benefit I've received from holding my party is getting to know the ancestors of my friends.  Each year my friendship deepens with my friends, by listening to them tell their stories of their loved ones on the other side.  And isn't that what we're about, our stories, the threads of our lives?
So this year my heart is sad as I decorate my home for the Holiday, but I am also gladdened to know I will set a place for our beloved Chad, and wish him love.

 Blessed Be.

Halloween Movie Time

The Halloween movies have begun!  I'm keeping a log of the movies I watch and rating them from 1-5 brooms, 5 being Witchtastic!

Today's movie "Hocus Pocus".  I give it 4 brooms!

*** I'm a Disney fan, so I enjoyed the movie from that perspective, but unfortunately and subtly it promotes long held stereotyphes.  I still think Bette Midler rocks, I want her dress!  And Sarah Jessica Parker is just wonderful, and Kathy Najemy has the best hair.

Sittin' in the Cemetery

I've been blessed to be a co-author, on the blog "Hoodoo Crossroads".  Check out my latest post "Sittin' in the Cemetery":

http://hoodoocrossroads.wordpress.com

Blessed Be and Happy New Moon,
Najah

Friday the 13th Magick

Today is Friday the 13th of August, 2010.  As a practicing Witch, Hoodoo Rootworker, and believer in magick, I wake up tingly and excited about this day.  I know that as there are possibly thousands of people who superstitious about this day, I for one am excited about the magick this day holds.

The number 13 is a sacred number in my world.  I resonate to it as the number of lunar cycles in the year, which corresponds to the Full Moon esbats me and my Circle hold every year.  It's the number of a powerful herb cleansing bath used in Hoodoo.  It used to be the time most girls started their period.

I began this day early. I rose at 4:00 a.m. to witness the Perseid Meteor shower and oh what a display!  As I softened my eyes I could see the sky lit up with meteors crisscrossing, zig zagging across the dark of the early morning.  And then whoosh, a huge meteor went right across the sky.  The stars were out, I could clearly see the Pleaides.  It was truly a magickal moment.

I went back to bed to grab a little more sleep, before getting ready for work.  I was excited to perform my daily prayer and meditation, where I often pull a tarot card.  Imagine my surprise when I drew:

I am attuned to the magick and surprise of this day and night!  Blessed Be!

Paring Beer with Ritual

Over at The Juggler - I'm following Laura LaVoie's blog, who is discussing pairing beer with Sabbats.  I've been enjoying her posts, especially because she's given me some different choices to mead and wine, since I'm not a big fan of either.  While I enjoy mead, sometimes its too sweet and sticky, and red wine has always given me a headache.

Well for this Lammas, Laura recommended Mothership Wit from New Belgium Brewery, which is brewed right here in my Colorado.  I like New Belgium for their Sunshine Wheat, but I had never heard of Mothership Wit.  I'd thought I'd try it on the name alone.

Happy to say, I found some without any problem and it was our libation for Lammas celebration:

I enjoyed the light and smooth taste of Mothership Wit and have now added it to our lists of favorite beers.  It was fun drinking beer for Lammas.  We celebrated the harvest with wheat beer, fresh produce from our garden and the local market, and flowers from my flower beds.

I'm looking forward to Laura's post for Mabon.

End Trans
Blessed Be