All Fools Day

Happy foolishness! Today is April Fool’s Day, well known for pranks and trickery and general silliness.

No one really knows how the day originated, although the most popular theory claims that it came about when the Gregorian calendar took over from the Julian calendar in 1582.  According to this theory, some people didn’t get the message about the change, and tried to celebrate New Year’s (previously observed on April 1^st instead of January 1^st) on the wrong date. These poor folks were teased for being “April Fools.”

Other theories suggest that April Fool’s Day was derived from the Roman holiday of Veneralia, which celebrated the goddess Venus. According to Barbara Ardinger, “to the Romans, it was All Fools Day. They spent the day doing foolish things and playing pranks.” (2) It is also possible that there is an association with the Spring Equinox, when Mother Nature is known for playing her own tricks.

Still, whatever its origins, whether you call it All Fools Day or April Fool’s Day, it gives us the opportunity to indulge our playful side. But I look at it as a time to be more serious as well. (Reverence and mirth, after all, are at the core of all we do.)

Let’s take a look at my favorite Fool, The Fool card from the tarot. This card is number 0; either the beginning or the end of the Major Arcana cards, depending on the book you are looking in. Since all things are circular, maybe he’s both!

The most common representation of The Fool is as a young man with his possessions hanging in a bag on the end of his staff, cheerfully preparing to step off the side of a cliff. His little dog dances gaily at his feet.

Popular tarot expert Mary K. Greer, in her book Tarot for Yourself: A workbook for personal transformation, gives the following as some possible interpretations of The Fool: “Leaping off into some new phase of life. Free-spirited. Carefree. Being open to experience. Acting on impulse without thought or plan. Spontaneity. Childlike enthusiasm. Innocence. Lack of inhibitions. Footloose and fancy free. Being silly. Frivolity. Trusting in the universe. Experiencing life in the here and now—from moment to moment. Optimism.”

Doesn’t that all sound wonderful? Who among us wouldn’t like to have a little more of those qualities in our mundane lives?

So today, on All Fool’s day, let’s resolve to let ourselves be foolish. Let us live a little more freely, be open to what the universe has to offer and put aside our fear of change, even if just for a day.

What do you dream of doing? What would you change about your life if you could gather up your courage and take that leap of faith? Is there something you’ve been longing to do, but have held back from out of a fear of looking foolish?

Well, today’s the day! Make a wish list for yourself of all those dreams you keep in that dusty, “I just don’t dare,” corner of your mind and heart. Do you want a new job or a new career? Have you been pining for the guy next door, but lacking the courage to ask him out? Is there a writer or an artist, a singer, actor or comedian inside you, longing to be brought out into the shining light of day?

Today, on All Fool’s Day, why not pick one of the aspects of The Fool and make it your own? Choose to be more spontaneous or optimistic. Take a leap of faith. Trust in the universe to help you make your dreams come true.

And if things don’t work out the way you’d hoped, and you make a fool of yourself, so what? At least on April Fool’s Day, you’ll have plenty of company.

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Ritual: according to the Encarta Dictionary, the observance of actions or procedures in a set, ordered, and ceremonial way.

We all have rituals. Some of them are practical, like the routine we have before we go to bed. (In my house, that goes something like this – lock the doors, turn off the computers, clean the litter boxes, turn off the lights throughout the house, brush teeth, pee, go to bed with a book. Yes, I lead a glamorous and exciting life…why do you ask?) Some rituals are spiritual, whether that means observing a particular holiday, or lighting a candle on an altar.

Some are a combination of both. In many ways, these are my favorite kinds of ritual. I’m a pragmatic kind of woman…if I can accomplish two purposes with one act, I’m a happy camper.

One of my yearly rituals is something I like to call “Spiritual Spring Cleaning.” You might say that this is something of a specialty of mine. I’ve given workshops about it at Pantheacon and other Pagan conferences, written about it in my various books, and in articles in the Llewellyn annuals. All that means, really, is that it is one of my favorite things to do, and I like sharing it with others.

You don’t have to be a Witch to do spiritual spring cleaning. It just requires  mindful focus and a little extra effort. This is how I do it, but as with everything else, you are welcome to change my approach to better suit your own needs and inclinations.

The Purpose: To cleanse your personal space (home, apartment, whatever) on a level that goes deeper than simply sweeping the floor and dusting off the spider plants.

Why Do It: Some kinds of clutter and mess are obvious, like that pile of papers on the table and the laundry you meant to put away three weeks ago. But energy gets cluttered too, and by clearing and cleansing the space you live in, you can often lift yourself out of ruts you didn’t even know you were in, and clear the way for new and rewarding pursuits.

What You’ll Need: A sage smudge stick (or the cleansing incense of your choice), salt and water in a small bowl, a broom and some magickal cleansing oil and/or more salt & water mixture  or lemon juice (optional). If you have sea salt, that’s great, but even regular old table salt will do.

How You Do It: It couldn’t be easier.

If you are going to do a regular spring cleaning, as I do, you can do the spiritual spring cleaning either before or after (I like to do it afterwards, once you’ve stirred up all the stagnant energy by physically cleaning). Otherwise, you can do this by itself, at any time. In reality, I often do this in the fall, as well as the spring, to prepare my home for the long winter hibernation.

Starting either at the bottom of your house (the basement or first floor) or at the front door if you have an apartment, walk from room to room wafting your sage smudge stick and visualizing the smoke clearing and cleansing the space. Take extra care to go around all doors and windows, and any other entrances such as chimneys, since negative energy can come and go through these areas. If you can, open all the windows before you start, and visualize any negative energy or unwanted crap (yes, that’s the technical witchy term) going out the windows. If, as is often the case where I live, it is too cold to open them all, you can just open one window a crack at the end. Be sure to shut the window (s) once you have gotten rid of all the bad stuff.

Repeat the process with the bowl holding the mixture of salt and water, sprinkling it around the rooms with the tips of your fingers or a feather. In this case, you should visualize bright protective energy springing up wherever you walk. Again, take special care with doors and windows, and any spots that just don’t feel “right.”

For an extra boost, dip a broom (magickal or mundane) in a little water with either magickal protection and/or cleansing oils in it, or a squeeze of lemon juice (which is both cleansing and yummy smelling). Sweep your house as you normally would, but as you go, visualize any negative energy or old bad feelings (left over from arguments, bad days, whatever) being swept away as you go.

When you’re done, feel how light and clear your home feels, and open yourself up to new and wonderful things as they waft in on spring breezes.

Ritual—not just for holidays (or bedtime). Happy spring!

Quick Important Question about My Online classes

Hi all!

As you know, I have been giving some online witchcraft and/or writing workshops over at my workshop loop -- I started this endeavor at the urging of a bunch of folks last year (and with the invaluable help of sometimes-co-teacher Heather Long). We had a hugely successful bunch of classes last year, and many requests for repeats and new classes this year.

Sadly, the turnout this year has been kinda sparse. I don't know if this is because of the economy, or if the folks who were interested already took the classes, or what. And honestly, it is fine--I love teaching the classes, but they do take time away from the writing.

We're trying to decide whether or not to continue giving the workshops at all, or maybe only give the couple of new ones we have lined up, and not the repeats from last year. It would really help me if you could let me know if you want and intend to take any of the following classes. Thanks as always for your support.

April – Spells & Spellcasting

May – Herbal Magick & Kitchen Alchemy

June– World Building for the Paranormal Author (Heather)

July – No Class

August – Pre-Writing Workshop (Heather)

September – Crystals & Gemstone Magick

 

I especially need to know about the next couple, so I can tell Heather whether or not to post the registration.

If you're not interested, no biggie. If you are, though, we need to hear from you. Thanks! 

Feline Friday: The Ugly Week Version

Sorry today's Feline Friday is late...to be honest, it almost didn't get posted at all. Not because no cat did anything cute or photo-worthy this week (AS IF), but because this has been one of those Ugly and Frustrating weeks. Nothing truly terrible (like my author pal Nancy Holzner is dealing with--a diabetic husband in the hospital first fighting for his life, and now facing possible amputation...compared to that, my week was a piece of cake. Jeez. Also, check out her books here -- I loved them, and I think you will too. So let's send her lots of energy and strength and good wishes. And if you feel so inclined, go buy a book).

But still, it was One of Those Weeks. It started with a leak in the ceiling at The Artisans' Guild last Wednesday. Not Wednesday this week. LAST week, nine days ago. Add in one absentee landlord (unreachable), one sort-of building manager who turned out to be in Ohio for two weeks (also unreachable), one very nice real estate lady who would have helped, but didn't have keys to get into the apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors...and a LOT of water. Buckets and buckets of water. Coming from the ceiling. In an artists' cooperative shop filled with art. For eight days.

 The ceiling.

 The wet carpet.

The buckets. Many, may, buckets.

That's right. Eight days of starting each morning by emptying all those buckets, then running the wet vac and emptying that, then trying yet again to call the landlord, then explaining the situation to the various artists (and customers) who came in. Not to mention the poor artists whose work had been up on those walls, and had to be taken down and propped in corners...

And then, of course, there was this:

Which, hey, is not unexpected in March in upstate NY, but meant shoveling at home, and then at the shop, and then at home again, after we got 3 inches of snow followed by freezing rain and sleet, followed by another three inches of snow.

And then there was the artist who somehow mysteriously unplugged the keyboard at the shop and then we couldn't get it to work again...but nevermind that.

And, of course, there was other stuff, but I'm too tired to type about it. So instead, I'll give you this:

 No--you're not seeing double. That's Mystic on the right, and his mama Minerva on the left. He's much larger, and had a cute spot on one side of his upper lip instead of Minerva's two little lipstick dots, but otherwise, their coloring is pretty much identical.

And that's Magic, who clearly is feeling about the way I am about this week. TGI freaking F.

On the bright side, they finally got in upstairs and tracked the water down to a leaking water heater in an empty apartment, so the water has stopped coming through the ceiling, and hopefully the Giant Mess will be cleaned up next week. The keyboard is working again too, thanks to Dan, my wonderful computer guy (and ex-brother in-law, current friend). And the other stuff is better, if not completely dealt with.

Here's hoping your week was not quite this interesting :-)

Don't forget that if you want to sign up for the upcoming Witchcraft 201 class (which won't be given again this year or next), registration closes Sunday 6 PM EST register HERE

And I promise, I'm going to send out the Spring newsletter...NEXT WEEK.

TGI (Feline) Friday!

Wow--is it just me, or has this been a REALLY long and REALLY tough week?

Frankly, most of my issues were fairly minor (albeit annoying and exhausting), like yet another leak at the shop (which necessitated a lot of running around and moving artists' work out of the danger zone, and emptying of buckets, and unsuccessfully trying to chase down our absentee landlord and his in-theory local building manager who turned out to be in freaking OHIO for the week), and a fibromyalgia flare-up because of the wacky weather.

But some of my friends have been dealing with real crises. And annoying and exhausting is still annoying and exhausting. Did y'all have a tough week too?

I hope not, but if you did, here are a few quick reminders, and then some Feline Friday pictures to cheer you up. I also highly recommend a cute little book of poetry written by cats (you heard me) that a friend gave me for Yule. It is so funny, I am only reading a few at a time, and saving them for the days I really need them. It's called I COULD PEE ON THIS, and it is as funny as anything I have ever read.

Okay--reminders:
The spring newsletter will go out next week (I hope). Still not too late to sign up to get it at the bottom of the page here at my website .
Also, you still have until Sunday the 24th to sign up for the great Witchcraft 201 class over at the Workshop loop and the new "WHEEL OF THE YEAR" class is still open for registration too, since it is ongoing. I hope to put up the Spring Equinox post this weekend, so go sign up now!

While I'm reminding you of stuff, have you read my paranormal romance eBook yet? Witch Ever Way You Can

Yeesh--enough of all that. Time for cute cat pics!!!

 

I got a new catnip pillow from the artist at the shop who makes them. Mystic has been hogging it, as you can see.

 

Magic, on the other hand, is a purist. She's rather just have the floor and a patch of sunlight.

I hope you find someplace comfy to stretch out and relax this weekend!

Newsletter Time!

As some of you know, I put out a (theoretically) quarterly newsletter, to let everyone know what thrilling things I've been up to. Well, okay, there is hardly ever anything REALLY thrilling to report, but, hey, you never know. 

Anyway, it is almost time for the spring edition of the newsletter, so if you want to receive it and you aren't signed up, you can go to my website and sign up at the bottom of the page. 

Hey--what are you still doing here?! Go on, sign up! Tell all your friends to sign up! Tell your cat to sign up. (Really, Magic the Cat says so.)

And this time, there might even be some exciting news...just sayin'.

A Few Questions for Y'all

I'm pondering some options and would love some input from the folks who are kind enough to follow me here.

I'm thinking of running a series of contests/giveaways leading up to my birthday at the end of April, and possibly culminating in the ePub release of another one of my paranormal romances [this one is called KING ME! and is is about a modern witch who accidentally brings back King Arthur to save the world. Oops.]
I'm also debating giving a different class up on the witchcraft/workshop loop, and possibly offering some extra services on the side.

SO...which, if any of these, would you be interested in?

1) A new eBook (it would probably be priced at $2.99 like the 1st one)
2) A workshop on "Fast and Easy Edit as You Go" tips. That one would probably be 4 days/$15
3) Tarot readings via either Skype or phone
4) Professional editing (fees would vary, depending on the amount of editing needed/wanted)
5)Giveaway of this year's Sabbats Almanac from Llewellyn (including a Yule ritual and summary by me)
6) Giveaway of a signed copy of Circle, Coven & Grove (my first book, now out of print)
7) Giveaway of a signed copy of my most recent book, Everyday Witch Book of Rituals
8) Giveaway of editing/feedback on up to 10 pages of your writing
9) Some other giveaway (tell me what you want!)

You can answer by simply listing numbers (3, 5 & 7, for instance) or by giving specifics for which ones you'd want and why. Thanks for helping me figure out what I'm doing next!!!!

Deborah