My 2010 Samhain (pronounced Sow een)

Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was traditionally celebrated over the course of several days. Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year. It has some elements of a festival of the dead. The Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain; because some animals and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks, was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white. Samhnag - turnips which were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns - were also used to ward off harmful spirits. 

The Gaelic festival became associated with the Christian All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, and has hugely influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween, a name first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish shortening of the fuller All-Hallows-Even. Samhain continues to be celebrated as a religious festival by some Neopagans.

-------------

So this 2010 Samhain is going to be a lot of things for me, I have started cleaning out old things I don't wear, use or have looked at in a long time.  I going to my very first Samhain party!  I have managed to find a way to pay more on my bills each month by getting my car insurance lowered and I can't begin to tell you how much better I feel there! 

I am going to truly follow the Wheel this year, I am going to stitch something for each turn of the wheel with what it means and corresponding colours, stones etc and will be really putting ME first!  God and Goddess live within me and I am going to honor them more in my daily life and build some altars for different things within my apartment where I can light a candle say a prayer and then go about my day a little more peacefully and of course MORE professionally.

Blessed Be to all my friends and loved ones, may you have a wonderful safe and happy New Year!

Time to get my spiritual self on track

It is time to start diving into myself again. 

Having the flu the last few days has proven to me that I need to start to study again. 

To practice what I am learning and to absorb the words, prayers, chants etc.

I need to be more spiritual, I am getting better at being less negative and with the help of my Witchy Sisters, Fran, Shannon and Jenni I am feeling like now is the time to begin the next step in my Wiccan life!

~~ May Goddess Bless and keep us all in her arms and may the Gods Bless and watch over each of us each day ~~

Blessed Litha to you all!

Goddess with child!

UPDATED!! Motivated and very Excited!

Update!!!  I have 4 designed!

I am desiging 4 - 6 smaller designs for a friend to use in making some wiccan/pagan wall quilts/totes to see in her Etsy shop!

I am so excited and motivated I have 2 done so far!

Still have to stitch them up but so far the designs are GREAT!!

 

May God/Goddess Bless and keep you!

Found this GREAT graphic and saying today!

It totally made me smile!

Cold and Windy!

I am sitting here trying to stay warm, the apartment is warm however the sound of the howling winds and the threat of a storm is not comforting knowing that in 2 hours I will have to warm up my suv to drive Fran to work then come home and try and organize enough for the cable guys to come in and do their magic so we have TV in the new place.

I have never been a fan of winter, I know it serves a purpose for everything to be dormant before spring, but I hate the idiots that have forgotten how to drive in it or the newer drivers who have NEVER driven in it before to be on the roads when I am.

Goddess, keep me and mine safe while travelling on the roads and sidewalks. 

Protect us from harm as we go about our daily lives.

So Mote It Be.

Ready for the next Phase of my Life to begin! This is a serious post.

At some point a person has to decide they have had enough alone time.

I love my family, friends, kids, job, cats and at most times, my life but I have had enough of being a single parent, Mom and woman.

I am in a place in my life where I wonder if in my past lives if I was an adulterer or adulteress, my relationships either end due to lack of emotional commitment from him or although I give my trust, heart, life I get cheated on and it is not for a lack of, well you know what I mean. :)

I would like to find a man who is honest, has a purpose in his life, a JOB, teeth *you have no idea*, and knows what it is he wants out of this life we live even if he isn't 'there' yet.

I wonder if there is anyone out there for me sometimes, I have thought that I had found 'THE' one for me, however we were too young but are good friends after many years apart.

Then I met and married another I thought was my life partner, after we had our children he became distant and just not there for any of us.

Then I met Tom who 'said' all the 'right' things to me and I fell head over heals. Although others saw and some even told me he was a big cheater and lair, I just didn't see it as I was not ready to be 'alone' as a woman.

Then after a few years I decided I was ready to move on and I met Fred, we started as friends and ended falling deeply in love. We blended our families together and the kids even started calling each other brothers, then after a couple of years of what seemed like a blissful relationship, he cheated on me and left me for her.

That broke my heart in so many pieces it has taken me years to heal.

Thanks to my family, friends and my belief that things happen for a reason, that we create a lot of the drama in our lives and we follow patterns from past lives I have said ENOUGH! I deserve to be happy, I deserve to feel safe and I DESERVE to love and feel love again.

I would LOVE to have a 'LOVE' like my Parents, my sister, my grandparents and like others who deeply love each other and are surely each other's PARTNER!

So, if you know anyone you think deserves to have me in their life, I will gladly start very slow with email and phone calls LOL cousins, COME ON you must know someone LOL

I pray that God and Goddess bless me with someone to be my life partner who will be good to my kids and grandson, will be able to interact with my friends and family and be supportive and loving to me and mine.

OK that is all, I just needed to see it in writing and put it out there for my soul to find who I am suppose to live the rest of my life with.

Bright Blessings to all who read this and think, OMG she has lost her ever loving mind!

Sherry (Autumn Turtle)

Day 1 of Training

I went to bed last night asking Goddess to give me some kind of sign that I should actually take this job and dreamed of happiness and success.

I think that was my answer lol

It was wonderful putting myself in the God and Goddess' hands and finding the answer because today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I had a good day.

Love & Prayers

God and Goddess, watch over those going in for procedures today and those in poor health.

There are people in their lives that love them dearly as do you and we need them around longer.

So Mote It Be.

Spirit Is Calling

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my spirituality and it is showing up in my designs.

I am a solitary Wiccan as most of you know, and my relationship with the Lord & Lady or God & Goddess is becoming even more important to me.

I have designed these 3 charts and will be stitching them myself as I believe they were a gift from the God & Goddess for me to have and hang on my wall to remind me daily of the pleasure that Spirit brings to me.

I hope you like them, but if not, as I said I believe these were a gift given to me, which I want to share with others. If you know someone Wiccan or Pagan stitching these would be a wonderful gift for them!

Your opinion matters to me, please comment and let me know what you think.

**Blessed Be**

Love of your Children

It is amazing how much love a Mother has for her children no matter their age or what they do. I could not imagine not having my children in my life, even though Joey lives with his dad and Mike is now living with me again I love them so much it can and does hurt.

Mike got to see the ultrasound with this girlfriend this past Friday and the joy on his face as he told me about it just filled my heart with joy! I will support him no matter what, that is what a Mother is suppose to do. Joe is just starting to enter the dating of teenage girls and finding out just how hormonal girls can be, my heart goes out to him it is not easy being almost 16 and dating. So glad my teens are DONE lol

The boys go on Tuesday to get their top braces, I am sure it is not going to be a fun time LOL

I have started to plan a container garden for my house. I am going to make a natural magic space in my room as it is my area of freedom and the only space left that is just mine. I plan on creating an area for meditation and a place for my alter where I can celebrate being a Wiccan.

I am going to arrange my cross stitch patterns and stash tomorrow and donate a bunch to my online group for prizes. I have been printing off orders galore for my distributor and now must wait until Friday to mail them all out. However they did pickup 2 more of my designs so that is a good thing and one that makes me so very happy!

I am currently stitching on items for the tea quilt I am going to make this summer for my living room. I have a number of good friends that have stitched pieces for my quilt and it is going to be a quilt of love having so many people contributing to it.

Then I will start working on a baby quilt of cross stitch blocks from myself and some friends for my Grandson coming August 12th, 2008, this will be another project of love. I am very excited for Stephanie and Michael expecting their first child, they are young she is 20 he is 18 1/2 but I believe with the support of myself and her family they are going to make it and do well as a young family.

It is odd how when it rains it pours in peoples lives, my oldest and dearest friend is going through a horrible time after 20 years of marriage her husband says he is done. My heart and love goes out to them all. I know this is such a hard time for them.

Mike is having panic attacks missing his half brother and his Dad. It is so painful to see your children in so much pain. I just wish I could make everything better with a kiss like when they were 5yrs old. But they are men now and that just isn't going to happen. I have to get him to a doctor and get him something for his anxiety I am aware some of it is heredity, but some of it is caused by his missing his Dad and his brothers so very much.

I am proud that he is going to finish high school in February 2009 with his grade 12 diploma and his girl friend will get hers this June. It means so much that they both stuck with school and finished it!

I love all my children, the 2 I gave birth too, and the ones that love and trust me enough to call me Mom. You are all very special to me and together we will all get through all of life's thrills and disappointments.

Well I guess I am finished with my rant and run on here, but also have to thank Franzilla for the words of wisdom, if I do not give power to those who are hateful, or do not give support when it is needed it takes away their power to be a negative influence in my life.

I know both God & Goddess will help me to get through this and it just means I have to trust my judgement and in my faith, do what I feel is good and right and what I feel is right for my children.

Love, Faith and Hope are all we have when it comes down to it and they will guide us through everything we end up facing.