Mundane and Magickal in Bullets

This is a new thing I'm trying as I'm attempting to get things more organized not only here at Casa del SlytherinBurrow, but in my spiritual practices as well.  This is going to be even more of a challenge than I originally bargained for since I was just kind of forced to sign on for a few more extra hours a week at work.  I've been keeping an old fashioned pen n' paper mini notebook that I call A Goddess' Guide to Domestic Goddess-ry in which I simply bullet point some of my week's accomplishments.  I'm not gonna lie... the few readers I have here will not probably be interested in this at all, but this is solely for my own record keeping.

Sunday, 6/17/12
Mundane:

• Golden Corral for Father's Day family outing
• Arranged all the kitchen "pantry cabinets".  (We have no real pantry and our cabinet space is a joke, but I did get the spices and tea section organized in a way that feels much more "properly witchy").
• 5 loads of laundry folded
• Scrubbed bathroom floor
• Worked on what I simply call THE HOARD.  We are not literal HOARDERS, but our bedroom and master closet are much too small and I've been working on trying to make what we have to store in there "acceptably functional" for YEARS.

Magickal:

• 2 pages from old "Book of Shadows" transcribed into new and improved one.  Yup, I still like "Books of Shadows" (like I kept in my strictly Wiccan days) and I still like them in the old fashioned pen n' paper way.
• Wore a rose quartz stone necklace to promote stress relief (and I was stressed about home duties, lol).
• Started this form of record keeping!

Wednesday, 6/20/12
Mundane:

• Organized the "most important" drawer
• 2 loads of laundry folded 

Magickal:

• Happy Summer Solstice!  Written and thought manifestation on getting back onto the Health and Spiritual bandwagon.
• Transcribed 1 BOS page

Saturday, 6/23/12
Mundane:

• Got master bath sink and storage area functional again

 Magickal:

• Had found a new inspirational person via media the day before (Karen Huff Klein) and then she accepted my Facebook friend request, and yes, I was kinda squee about it.
• Blog post

Monday, 6/25/12
Mundane:

• 1 load of laundry
• Worked on my "Sheldon Spot" (beside my side of the bed and the purses and books and things that go there).

 Magickal:

• Saw a shooting star while walking the dog!  My wish was to keep delving deeper on my spiritual path and quest for self love.
• Transcribed 2 pages in BOS.

Karen Huff Klein's Purse - Words to Live By

This is a close up photo of Karen Klein's purse.  She is the elderly  "Bullied Bus Monitor",and most people have by now seen this week's viral video sensation.  Like many others I was shocked beyond belief by what I saw in this video.  I sent her a message (she may or may not read or respond to it, but I felt it had to be said).  This is part of it:

"When I saw the video, I saw my own memories of being bullied on a school bus in middle school (but not nearly as badly)! I saw a later grown up me being bullied in a workplace for years for "failing to lose the weight" after giving birth to my first child. But going much deeper (outside myself) I saw my own daughter, my mother, my sister... I saw just about every woman I know going through something similar at one point or another. Like anyone else who has seen the video I wanted to reach through the computer screen, knock some punks flat, and give you a hug. (And I'm really not a violent person at all). But things have a funny way of working out, and I'm sure you could have never seen your week playing out the way it did. I keep the parents of those children in my thoughts as well, as lots of blame is being hurled at them. However I believe those kids may be more of a product of social, cultural, and media influence than a bad upbringing. I am debating on letting my oldest child watch this (she's only 7) as a lesson on bullying and the damage it can do.  I wish you the best, and I admire and thank you for your grace."

Back to the purse... printed on it were various uplifting sayings and quotes (here are just a few):

Live Love Laugh/Embrace Change/Pretending to be a normal person day after day is exhausting/Life is all about how you handle Plan B/Wonderful Wacky Women/Uplift/Embrace Change/Expect Miracles/Live with Integrity/Why be a queen when you can be a Goddess?/Inspire/Dare to be Remarkable/Don't Play It Safe, Make Waves.

Ironically these lines of positive affirmation and peace were one of the many things targeted by bullies in a ten minute spew of negativity and hatred. She said in the video to the bullies “I try to live by some of these words, I try and it’s really hard,” referring to the words on her purse.   Well, I believe she is doing a fabulous job of living out these phrases.  Apparently a lot of the world thinks so too, given the $618,565.00 donated to the fund in her name so far (as of this writing).

In a interview with Karen a newscaster shows this close up of the purse that those kids were bagging on her about (bad pun intended). It's an awesome purse. I'd totally carry it!

Love and Light,
*Winter Phoebe Daswon

Birthday Stuff - 50 Shades of Age 37

So yesterday I just celebrated my birthday (and the Loaves were really into it for some reason this year).  I got a text from my very first love at age 16 (and still awesomely amazing friend) last night that said... "Hey, isn't it your birthday today!"  "Yes!" I texted back, "I'm 37!  Can you believe this shit?"

The actual "age progression" part of birthdays ceased to matter for me at about 30.  Birthdays don't fill me with dread (hurtling on forward toward the Crone phase is gonna happen and haters are gonna hate) because birthdays always mean cash and gift cards which mean online shopping.... Oooooooohhh!  (Regular Show inspired whoop for joy).  I got my typical Amazon card to start (I'd like to think the ol' husband knows me at least a little bit) and ordered the rest of the Fifty Shades series.  Now I'm not batshit nuts about this series.  It's no literary work of the ages, I can't stand Twilight (which it was inspired from), the writing is really kind of bad (I mean... how many times can you use the phrases "his breath hitches/and I flushed" before it becomes a literary insult?).  But I do like the characters and am interested in seeing where it will all go.  And being the most *vanilla* person alive I am kind of fascinated with the freaky stuff on every other page but have no interest in partaking for myself.  Most men I've known needed to brush up on their Vanilla skills before bothering to dive into the BDSM World.  While ordering I found Fifty Shades of Black and Blue, a parody book on the whole Fifty Shades Thang, and just the cover alone made me laugh for five minutes.  I just might have to get that after I finish all the other!

I'm also going to treat myself to an oracle reading by one of my all time favorite blogger-esses, Blessing Manifesting, and then just order a couple of other odds and ends online.

Not that I ever got around to doing it but I wanted to do a little birthday spell/ritual/mantra/whathaveyou.  Maybe next year or belatedly this year.  I did a various search and found one practice of saving a piece of your cake and one of the candles for a ritual later. Then I found a little rhyme/mantra type thing at another site that I thought might be nice combined with private ritual with cake and candle later.  (But probably not... 'cause I gladly skipped the cake this year).   I've copied it, but modified it to be a bit more "me".  (Source).

A Witchchild, Mother, Goddess am I, With life wisdom and magick to share.
A woman of Spirit am I, With a chakra crown of white within my hair.
A friend of the all am I, Aspiring to unconditionally show love and care.
A daughter of the Earth am I, Walking Her ways awake and aware.
A sister of the waters am I, Flowing wild and free without a care.
At one with the blowing winds am I, Singing softly through the midnight air.
A keeper of the fire am I, Let me kindle your passions if you dare.
Connected in Spirit with You am I, Fused together as one in prayer.

Beautiful thoughts.  I love that I still love birthdays!

*Winter Phoebe Dawson

Cultivate Grace

Color of the day: White

Incense of the day:  Orchid

Friday is the traditional day of Venus/Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Venus's/Aphrodite's energies include charm, composure, courtesy, and joy. In Latin, the noun venus is also linked to venerari (to honor or try to please) and venia (grace or favor).

I recently read one of the best books ever on select Greek Goddesses: Conversations With the Goddesses.  I had always before believed that Venus/Aphrodite was one of the Goddesses I couldn't relate to or draw much wisdom from.  I was incorrect.  Not only does this Goddess embody passion, self-assurance, and charisma (all qualities I struggle to maintain in my own day to day life), but she also possesses radiance and grace.  From Conversations With the Goddesses:

"One of the most famous Aphrodite/Venus archetypes is Cleopatra, the powerful queen of Egypt.  Legends of her beauty are often disputed.  Some claim that her seductiveness lay not in her beauty but in her presence-her beguiling voice, her vivacity, her intelligence.  Her irresistible charm was enhanced by beautiful clothes, cosmetics, perfume, and jewels.  She was intoxicated by living."

Since today is Friday it is a great day to work a bit of  powerful social magic, channeling Venus/Aphrodite to create positive change.  This is a very simple spell that involves no tools but simply attempting to reprogram your thoughts to be a bit more peaceful and to consciously practice social grace and honor. When speaking to people, cultivate a deep sense of affection for them and express it through the tone of your voice. When listening, look deep into their eyes, and into their souls, really seeing and hearing them. Do not hold an agenda, but honor people by simply listening. Show them the courtesy of your undivided interest. Practice grace by acting, looking, and speaking in a gentle and kind manner, letting go of judgment. And because Friday is a day for relating and building relationships, your grace may invite Venus's/Aphrodite's blessings of love.

One way I attempt to do this at times is to envision that I've sort of "time warped" into this time in my life from another.  About 15 years ago I thought there was no real possibility that I'd ever be a mother, and I would have given just about anything for it to become a possibility.  So if that person I was back then were to be suddenly time warped here she'd be appalled to hear the now-me yelling at her children.  About 5 years ago I had a co-worker that I really admired and looked up to, a person that I thought I would never have a chance to become a friend to because they had a great work ethic and sense of responsibility (while I was an angry and negative person who was also a bit of a flake with my life falling apart around me).  Not only did this person become a friend; he became my husband.  So the then-me probably wouldn't even begin to understand the now-me complaining that he didn't wipe the counter after doing dishes or that he's clingy and annoying.

Its all a matter of perspective, really.  When I think of things in this way, Venus/Aphrodite's qualities of trying to honor and please and to show grace seem more attainable for me.

Source: Cultivate Grace

The Myth of Domestic Goddess-ry Part II

(This is a modified but recycled post from my old blog so some of you may have read this before).

"Your goal : Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order, and tranquility."  -from The Good Wife's Guide, circa 1955

Remember Monica Gellar from Friends?  She was obsessive about keeping her living space clean, so obsessive in fact that she could not even go to sleep at night if she knew that there was a pair of shoes lying out in the middle of the living room floor.  My sister used to call me "Monica" because I was exactly that way.  In my first marriage my ex husband used to marvel over the fact that as soon as he put down an empty glass it would be whisked away to the dishwasher... and sometimes the glass wouldn't even make it to emptiness.  I used to be Monica.  In fact, I still am.  There's just one problem that I have that I didn't have in the days of pre-motherhood: MY HOUSE IS NEVER CLEAN.

I spend HOURS every day on cleaning.  But at the end of the day no matter how much I've cleaned it ends up looking exactly like the picture above.  That's what a 7 year old, a 3 year old, and a 2 year old will do for you, I suppose.  Not to mention my husband.  Oh he helps clean, a lot, so this isn't a rant that he's a useless lump that won't help 'cause he's not.  It's just that his messes that he leaves before he cleans are nothing short of amazing.  Thankfully the 7 year old is now old enough to help quite a bit, but the messes are so frequent and huge that both of our efforts kind of equal the little boy that stuck his finger in the hole to plug up the dam. Now there are days that I "take off" and don't clean and just choose to catch up on DVR backlog.  But the whole time I'm sitting there full of guilt and beating myself up feelings. 




The thing is I wish I could stop obsessing about cleaning.  Because in between actually raising my kids, working, spending time with The Family Guy, exercising, brief spiritual practices, and cleaning I have NO time left for anyone else.  My scrapbooking box gets left under the bed.  The pile of books at my bedside remains unread.  Excluding Titanic 3D, I haven't seen a full length movie in almost a year.  I have no friends outside of one sentence updates on Facebook and no social life at all.  And for what?  Nobody actually CARES if my house is clean except ME.  And yet I cannot let go of the guilt.  Two years ago my daughter contracted a case of head lice from school.  Being as obsessive as I am I got the case under control within a day (while the poor girl had to endure hours of lice shampoo treatment, comb throughs, and me ranting and crying).  But before I found out it came from school my first automatic thoughts were, "It's my fault, my house is so dirty, I'm officially a bad mother."

But therein unearths a much deeper issue: every since the failed cosmetology career fiasco of 4-5 years ago my constant thoughts about almost everything are: "I'm not good enough, I'm only average at best, etc."  Something else has been getting to me as well.  I look at friends my age with their Facebook photos and they are living in nice brand new homes.  We are not. (My husband and I had to start life all over with no credit and a huge loss of income while most of them didn't).   That's the the really unhealthy thing about "Fuckbook" (as my hilarious bloggy friend, Hippy Jersey Devil , calls it).  It's like Mind-Fuckbook.  Everybody is hotter, smarter, and lives in a better house than you.  I think something inside of me says: "Well I don't have it as nice as they do but maybe if I keep what I have nice it could come at least semi-close."  Ugh... what a waste of time, energy, and everything else.

As bad as I feel and as icky as the energy feels here my home never looks like we need to call Hoarders to come set up a camera crew and a few 1-800-JUNK trucks, so my efforts aren't totally in vain.



I'm really working very hard to not dwell on these things constantly.  Despite being a Domestic Goddess, one can only do what they can do.