Witchy Musings After The Holidays! Time is Precious!

Hi there everyone!

Sorry I haven't been doing many postings lately. We have been busy, both with the general holiday season, as well as doing a bit of traveling to see family. I can truly say I did all holiday shopping online this year, because I find it generally annoying and impossible to deal with the snail traffic and attitudes of other shoppers this time of year.
Why does it seem that the one time of year that we are "supposed to" count our blessings and remember what we have, happens to have become the most stressful, materialistic, expensive, and most ruthless time of year when people are so rushed and busy that they ignore the real reason behind it. Take religion completely out of it, because obviously I don't follow the Christianity based meaning behind Christmas, but we are still supposed to look at this time of year as a time to self reflect on the past year, love our friends and family, give them little tokens of our appreciation for them, and try to treat others with more kindness.
Instead, over the last few years, I have seen businesses staying open later and not paying their employees overtime or holiday pay, (something you are obviously not going to dare to make a scene about because you are probably just happy you have a job - and believe me, they know this, and that's why they are getting away with it) people cutting other people off in traffic, having arguments over the last toy on the shelf, my personal favorite, having accidents in department store parking lots and then yelling back and forth about whose fault it is, trying to attend all the concerts, events, christmas parties, new years parties, family gatherings, while still trying to plan and grocery shop for your own family meal, and the whole thing has gone from a humbling and joy filled occasion, to an absolute Hallmark style nightmare. Pretty sad really. Although I can say I was pretty happy with my online Christmas shopping this year, not only because it didn't cost me any gas mileage, but also because it saved me so much precious time. In fact, I am not even sure I would have had gifts for anyone had I not done the shopping online, because getting from one end of my town to the other end was taking over 30 minutes alone.
Anyway, the purpose of what I was getting at is that this Christmas I spent a lot of time doing self reflection about the meaning of life and why it is so important that we realize how precious our time is. Especially with those who are older than us. I got to spend some quality time with my Uncle who is suffering from cancer and I was so glad that I did. I don't keep in touch with him like I should and we don't know whether we will get another Christmas with him, so it was a truly magickal Christmas to be able to spend with him and the rest of my family. The chemo is killing him and he knows it. But what can he do? If he stops going, the tumors grow rapidly, and when he goes, they don't grow - so in effect its not cancer that's killing him, its the chemo. But the chemo is essential to stopping its growth. Time is the most precious thing we have. I was able to give him several Reiki treatments while we were there so I am hoping that will help him some, and we will be continuing to send him distance healing as well.
On a more light note, we are finally back home and back to work, and our cats are sure happy to see us! We are going to be working with some new vessels soon, and are quite excited to see what  2013 brings us for experiences and opportunities. Has everyone created some sort of new resolution for this year? I hope you all have. I can share with you that I have chosen to work more on my own healing level. What I mean by that is that I want to clear out all of my blockages and work on healing and forgiving. I also want to strengthen my Reiki healing, as I and my family have been Reiki Masters for many years now, but recently haven't been using it as much as we should!
I want to do more personal art this year - and even work with some intuitive painting and drawing. I will be working on that and will have to post pictures as I do some. Working on a lot of new things that I will be happy to share as I get going!

Well, that's all for now. Love you all. Remember that time is precious. That's really the most important thing. You are going to remember fun times you had and memories with your loved ones, not how you "always went to work" or "put work before your family." Its those people and animals that are near to you when you are having a hard time, and we don't have nearly enough time together. Good thing we are enlightened beings, we understand more what and where our loves ones go when they pass on to another dimension, but it's still never easy.

Talk to you all soon!

xxx Rebecca

Updates, Samhain and More!

Hi everyone,

Here I am again, for my nightly rant and chat session. I feel like this blog has been a great addition for me to feel like I am getting to know everyone on a personal level, and you are getting to know my family and I a little better!

A few updates, tonight I was getting ready for our annual spell casting as a family, which we do every Samhain at around 10 pm. We are SOOO excited because we can already feel the spirits lurking and wanting to come through the veil. There are so many, and so many people have recently passed that want to give messages to their loved ones, etc.

We are very interested in hearing how everyone does with their ceremonies. We find that every year turns out completely different and we have high hopes for this year as well.

If you are interested in letting the spirits KNOW that you are welcome to them coming by tomorrow night, make sure you FEED them!

What does that mean? For those who are new to this, or haven't completed a Samhain ritual before, this means that you need to go out front of your house around 6 pm your time, and place offerings of milk and barley outside under the stars to ease the ghosts' hunger, prevent mischief, and accrue their blessings. If it is not dark yet where you live at 6 pm, you may want to wait until 7, but make sure you do it early enough so you give them time to realize that you are welcoming them!

Then, I also take an incense burner and place mugwort, wormwood, charcoal disc and granular incense in the burner and light it on my front porch. The combination of mugwort and wormwood will invite them in, call them forth, without you even having to do so, and allow them to gather round and partake in your evening!

Beware: The incense IS NOT to be burned inside your house because of the herb containments. This is very important. Burn outside only. ALSO! I always say a blessing at my doorstep first, and lay a thin line of salt at the door, so any malicious spirits may not cross. Only the good ones in your home!

Just know that when you do this, you are opening your house up like an open house! You will basically feel that the whole evening your house is full of activity, busy, and you will maybe at times even feel like it's getting crowded!

When you are finished for the evening and want them to depart, be sure to stand at your door, let them know its time for them to return to their realm, and blow out the incense, or douse with water, just MAKE sure it is out, and then remove the offerings you placed outside!

The feast and offering time is over, everyone will have had a terrific time, and they will feel grateful, as you will to, for the company and companionship!

Tomorrow night will be an excellent night the ouija board also! So, if you are up for allowing them to talk with you freely, go ahead and do so! Just be sure to do your blessings and protection first!

Alright, that is all for my notes on Samhain!

We have already gotten all of the groceries today, as my sister, brother, and mother are all helping me with the cooking. My aunts, uncles, and cousins are all going to be coming in the mid afternoon and the party will be totally started by 5 pm, with dinner at 7 pm sharp! I am so excited to see everyone!

We are also having our Samhain Altar Contest tomorrow night, with the deadline at 10 pm and judging following that deadline! We will post the following day the winning altar picture on our website and that person will win the gift certificate and spell cast candle! We are excited to see who has won and we have received some very interesting altars!

Finally, if you have not already submitted your altar, go ahead and do so at my email address - moondanceroriginals@yahoo.com

We have also been requested to do a few custom conjures and custom castings, as our conjurer friend who lives in Norway is also going to be doing as well, and we will be doing those tomorrow night as well. We will have plenty of new exciting additions for you to purchase, in the next week or so, after tomorrow night!! The moon is going to be so energized, the veil so thin, and we will walk with our deceased loved ones hand in hand!

A bon fire, good friends and family, a cool chilly breeze, pumpkins and candy for the kids in the neighborhood that always stop by to see us in our witchy attire! I cannot wait to see all the wonderful little ghosts, vampires, princesses and pirates that will come to our door!

Hope you all have a blessed Samhain! Eat too much, be merry and welcoming of your spirit friends and family, and rejoice and pay reverence to the memories you had to share with your departed loved ones! This is the best night of the year, dedicated to those individuals who left a lasting impression on our hearts and souls, and that are with us tomorrow night, even if we can't see them with our human eyes. We will one day soon see them, or for some of them, you will see them tomorrow night, and dance once more with them till dawn!

Namaste' Loved Ones, Friends and Fellow Witches,

Have A Blessed Samhain!

xxx Rebecca