The Pagan Manifesto

This is simply too good not to share. This lovely manifesto came across my Facebook page this morning. I don't know it's origins, but I do know it's truth's. It resonates in the very marrow of my bones and has since I was just a wee girl. It cheers me mightily to see it presented not just in writing but as the loveliest art. As I read it, I am grateful to my mother who gave me the permission and the courage from a very early age to be very different. I come from a long line of very uppity women. I write this morning in honor of those in spirit who though unseen by most still walk by my side.

In the midst of these strange days where in this United States we are facing a populace who still believe church and state should not be separated, I am thrilled to see the pagan community standing up and speaking their truths. We have allowed ourselves to be defined by fear of persecution way longer than we ever should have and in giving any credibility to that fear have stuffed our spirits painfully into one little corner of the world. To be sure there are those who try in the name of of witchcraft to manipulate, control or destroy.. We do not honor them nor welcome them into our world . We believe that whatever we put into the world will come back to us by way of three..so I spend my time sending love, not hurt. Harm none. It has been that way for centuries.

We are not Satanists..Satan is a Christian deity, born of a time when the church desired to control anyone who dared speak against it , tithe to it or even simply refuse to honor it or practice it's precepts. We do not even conceive nor honor such a perverted , twisted concept. We harm none. We love this Earth and all it's inhabitants.

We honor your desire to love who you love, believe as you believe and live peacefully and with gratitude for this shared life on this beautiful planet all the while knowing that our most important responsibility is to care for her and ALL of her children... two or four legged, winged , gilled or green. This is my truth.

The Wiccan Rede
(Full Version)

" Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give. 

For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme. 

Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much.
Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,
let love and light be our guides again. 

Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune.
Widdershins go when the moon doth wane,
and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane. 

When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek. 

Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.
When the Wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast. 

When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth.
When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest. 

Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows. 

Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's
insight.   Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower. 

Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.
Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye. 

Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.
White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility. 

Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.
Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen. 

Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be.
Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark. 

As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it's now Samhain.
When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows. 

When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn.
As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite. 

Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.
When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules. 

In the spring, when night equals day time for Ostara to come our way.
When the Sun has reached it's height time for Oak and Holly to fight. 

Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be. 

Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed. 

With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.
Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart. 

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow. 

Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you. 

These Eight words the Rede fulfill: 

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will" 

---

 

 

Love Letters From Lotus Lodge: Stoned

 

Photograph courtesy of http://www.madagascarminerals.com

As I walked my lane this morning my "I Am Presence" drew my attention to all the stones - energy -energy - energy - each side of the lane where beautiful stones dressed in green Moss!  I wear green on Thursday "beloved Hilarion day" manifesting wealth, health, concentration, consecration, speaking your truth.  Indeed Truth was flowing through me - even the stones underneath my feet blessed me!     

    I have stones on my property from the Ice Age!  As I putmy hand to my heart to bless the stones- energy flowed from the Malachite necklace I was wearing for creativity, protection and confidence.  I have just started walking my lane again  due to the the hip injury I sustained last year - and I wear different stones each day - to tune into the highest energy of the day!  My solar plexus, the third Chakra, and my heart chakra received an extra burst of energy and divine protection.

    As I walk my path through the day  the stones I am guided to carry or wear  inspire me to think and feel positive - we not only need to protect ourselves from the stresses of the outside world, but from negative thoughts and feelings that we create  within.

Some of my favorites:  Lapidolite: soothes the emotional body, relieving stress (stress is the number cause of dis-ease), enhancing meditation, peace, serenity, love, divine connection - all the chakras especially heart chakra!  Sugilite: dreams, spiritual, protection and purification helps one to become a beacon of light.  Amethyst: one of my favorites - protection, purification, divine connection release addictions - chakra third eye crown - also chakras above the head.  I love combining this stone with my golden rutilated quartz -expanding awareness, acceleration grounding all chakras. 

Try these stones: Moldavite, Phenacite, Tanzanite, Danburite, Azeztulite, herderite, brookite, petalite, Tibetan tektite, plus many more. These precious minerals are the angel's sensory organs - when I hold a stone and feel some sort of a current, I am connecting with the spiritual world. These beautiful stones and minerals help me to connect to my spiritual destiny and the desire to serve the world, by getting stoned!

    My favorite source of stones: The V Rock Shop in Canton, Ohio, The heart of it all. 

Go with love,

LaWanna

To schedule an appointment with LaWanna please call 330-878-7379

Be~Witched: Who needs a wand when you've got a pair of Glamoury Gloves?

 

I love gloves...some might call me a throwback I suppose to a different time and place, but I find them to be absolutely beautiful and extraordinarily feminine. I have quite a few pairs of them ranging from the first kid gloves that I ever got as a young girl going to dancing school to the trusseau and I inherited many pairs of my mothers when she died. She had wonderful gloves in all colors, soft pinks and creamy shells and several pairs of elbow length black ones. Some have pearl closures and some have buttons. Some have little bows and others are embroidered and all of them are beautiful. I'm inclined to believe that just like pearls, every woman should have a wardrobe of gloves. 

 

Molly's Magical Spell Casting Glamoury Gloves

 

So it didn't come as any surprise to anyone last year when for the Clarimonde Project that I did with a group of extraordinary writers and indie perfumers , I decided to scent a beautifully embroidered pair of vintage French leather gloves. They were glorious by the time that I was done, buttery and sweet with love infused fragrant oils that I'd mixed with a bit of sweet almond oil and glowing with a femininity that was palpable. I made them with the intention of giving them to my nephews fiance' as a special gift for the Winter Solstice.  At one point during the process I put them on and I was astonished when what I can describe as only magical  and healing energies started flowing through me and out through my fingertips. I played with them for quite awhile, drawing Reiki symbols with my gloved fingers, simply moving the energy around and around, using them as I would a Rowan wand. I was enchanted, but I knew they weren't meant to be mine. 

Come Solstice time I wrapped them up and gave them to Molly who absolutely loved them and then I made a pair of my own, simple black velvet this time but adorned with beautiful purple flowers, iridescent jewels and butterflies. I perfumed them for a full moon cycle with oils of rose, cocoa, lily and jasmine and by the time I was finished they were most definitely mine. When I wear them I feel completely lovely and I have used them many times when I've needed to make a wish or two.  It goes without saying that I feel absolutely fascinating when I wear them, somehow a gorgeous pair of gloves just makes everything just a bit more bewitching.  My husband is completely intrigued by them. He says that a certain look comes over my face when I wear them and he knows that he's in for just the right kind of trouble. 

So it seems that I can't stop making them and everytime I wear them out people that I meet beg me to sell them to them right on the spot. So, I've decided that there might be something of a cottage industry here!  If you'd like your own pair of  Glamoury Gloves just write to me at [email protected] and we'll discuss your personal wishes. Each pair is unique, handcrafted and  perfumed with beautiful natural essences that I will choose just for you. I do take the time to create a very personal spell that's just for you so please give me a window of up to three weeks preferably during a full moon cycle. Each pair of gloves is individually priced depending upon the degree of handiwork and magic involved and each  pair will be made just for you.  

                             

Try telling me that Rita Hayworth didn't know how to take her gloves off......WOW!

Please note that I am happy do all sorts of magical workings on your behalf, but none that will harm nor manipulate another. Thank you so much  for understanding!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!

Seen this day at Michaels! I'm getting inspired for the season! How are you decorating this Autumn!

Love Letters From Lotus Lodge: Add More Spice to Life and Live!

 

 

    I love my spices - every morning on my old fashion oats , cinnamon and turmeric - raw honey, cranberry juice or grape juice.  Blueberries or blackberries and lots of raw nuts (no peanuts)!  Cinnamon is one of the most ancient of all spices,  in Rome, it was valued more than gold - I suggest 1 or 2 tsp a day to ahelp lower the blood sugar.  Cinnamon is a top spice for survival,  I grind mine from cinnamon sticks.  I also use cinnamon oil (but make sure that it's the real stuff)!

 Cumin is another spice that's also worth it's weight in gold! ;  a potent natural medicine and food!  Great for digestive and circulatory disorders, cumin has also been of great use  to strngthen the liver and pancreas.  It is a great aid in destroying the larvae and eggs of parasites!  I love cumin to keep fungal growth at bay and cumin also aids the body  in removal of toxic chemicals.  

 Fennel gives physical strength and endurance.  I use fennel seeds when brewing my pot of herbal tea - daily!  This helps my digestive  system, weight balance, gas, bloating, also helps to improve vision and increases the life span because a Healthy liver = healthy life! 

   There is ancient proverb that claims that if sage is consumed every day, the individual shall never grow old!  I add sage to different foods to extend my shelf life!  Edible sage oil made from the wildcrafted herb is the type I use for my health, 3 to 4 drops daily!  I also use it on warts and skin irritations!  Another benefit is that It calms my dogs and I put a few of the ground leaves in their food several times a week to help settle their stomachs during times of stress.  It just goes to show you that everyone can use an adrenal tonic!  I love sage oil as a beauty aid -  and it goes into my tea daily!

Thyme has so many virtues, why don't you try mixing thyme into your spelt (or any other ) flour -  It makes the yummiest bread! 

    Cayenne  can stop a heart attack - but I never ever cook with cayenne - I put it on food after it's cooked, because then it's a stimulant.... if cooked with food it becomes more of an an irritant!

    Garlic is one of the most safe and versatile herbs yet I also classify it as a spice! It goes without saying how wonderful garlic is for seasoning and its very valuable for combating a wide range of illnesses - especially killing parasites, viruses and anything fungal. 

 There are so many wonderful healing spices. In my kitchen I keep them stored in glass canning jars labeled with the dates that I harvested them so I've always got the freshest herbs possible.  They are one of my favorite sources staying healthy and I never run out  of good God ideas for them - Salads, breads, soups, popcorn, vegetables... all of my foods enjoy the spice of life.  I hope that you have fun spicing up yours !!!  

                                       Go with love,

                                          LaWanna Rine

       LaWanna can be reached to set up an appointment at 330-878-7379

Be ~ witched! : The Rain is Falling, The House is Quiet and all I want is last nights leftovers!

 

 

Burton in the Fall...

 

Oh my god, what a gorgeous gray morning. It's finally raining in northeast Ohio after a summer that was probably the hottest and driest on record. It's been storming on and off for a week, but last we snuggled up together with our windows open and the ceiling fan spinning and I woke to a cool wet breeze that was absolutely intoxicating. I'm fond of teasing my husband somewhere around the middle of August that I can smell autumn creeping in just around the corner and generally he tosses up his hands and says "NO YOU CAN"T" but having an overly sensitive nose like most of you I definitely CAN and I know that probably all of you can too! But this year I just couldn't and it kept making me sad in a way that only the marrow of my bones can explain.  I'm sure that you can imagine my joy at waking up and have the crisp windfall apple breezes of early fall come blasting through my windows! Maple syrup, coffee and pancakes from the neighbors house next door came wafting through as well and that's when I began to get really hungry.

 

We were still snuggling when rather uncharacteristically  our son Alex came bounding up the stairs. I say "uncharacteristically" because it was before noon! He lives with  us right now while he's going to school.  All I wanted to do just then was stay curled up against the yummy warm man in my bed, but Alex definitely had something else on his mind. "Eggs mom?" and when I said I would consider it  I was hit with a relentless barrage of requests, designed to force me out of bed and begin cooking. I must have stayed under the covers a little to long because the next comment from both of them was,  "Well fine ..if you're not getting up Dad and I will go GET eggs."  Now, you have to understand that this was designed to get me to become so jealous that someone else would cook for them that I would instantly jump out of bed and fire up the sauté pan…a rare miscalculation on both their parts.

 

I said rather nonchalantly "Ok, that's fine" and dove back under the covers as  I definitely had a plan.  So the two of them went off happily in search of crispy bacon and some  father - son bonding time and I stayed in bed luxuriating long enough to hear the door slam and then went dashing for the refrigerator where I knew that real treasures awaited. Last nights supper was at a wonderful restaurant in town called RED. RED is a wonderful Cleveland steakhouse and although I love a good cut of meat I generally like the way that I cook it better so I don't order it there. But they have one of the loveliest wine lists in town and the best side dishes to be found anywhere. We sat happily on their patio with a couple of glasses of bloody red zinfandel and Jim had the steak tartare and a well earned cigar. I opted for a plate of their creamed spinach and their incredibly fragrant truffled mash potatoes. In true steak house form they give you easily enough for three meals and that my friends is  what was waiting for me to eat this morning!

 

So here I sit all alone listening to Lisa Loeb on Spotify and singing at the tops of my lungs, drinking a hot cup of coffee and enjoying the loveliest plate of spinach and potatoes….truly the best leftovers ever with the exception of my mothers meatloaf , the secrets of which she took with her to the great kitchen beyond the veil. The rain is still falling, the thunder is rumbling, the cats are fed and happy and the windows are all flung open wide and the breezes are so fragrant, smoky sweet and cool.

 

I've got a mountain of perfume samples to sniff and Zoe curled up at my feet.  You are all here with me and my life at this moment just couldn't be any better. 

 

So tell me….what are your favorite leftovers and how do you like to eat them? 

 

Intending that all of you are having a marvelous day,

Beth

I originally published this on Perfume Smellin Things!