The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, y our friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for t he things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Go to geminimoon.net for more Pagan graphics!

The fact that our troops and their family's do not get near the recognition they deserve; inspired this painting by my husband, Jim. GeminiMoon did the beautiful job of adding the glitter's and the text to it.

Please send her to everyone you know that is either serving or is here keeping the home fires going waiting on the return of their loved one. It is not much we know but our deepest wish is that it will show that what they do is treasured and appreciated. And it may bring a smile during this time when smiles are sometimes hard to come by.

~*~ Flutterbye Kisses and (Healing Air Hugs) from

 )O(~July the crone of the enchanted forrest



My Goddess I call to thee
Let our Troops your
Blessings Receive

With your abundance of
Guidance and Love
Keep them safe from all harm

Using your Light so bright
Guide them back to the
Family's needing them so.

I call now to my Elements Dear

Earth, to bind this spell,

Air, to speed its travels well.

Fire, to give it spark from above,

Water, to quench my spell with love.

As this is my will ~ So will it be

Free and Magickal Graphics by MyspaceMagick.com

Prep for Upcoming New Moon Manifestation

1. Check a moon phase calendar for the next upcoming new moon.

    

   
   Free and Magickal Graphics by MyspaceMagick.com
2. Set aside 20-30 minutes to do the ritual itself.

    

3. Supply suggestions:
   • notebooks
   • pen and colored markers
   • scissors
   • scotch tape
   • candle
   • matches
   • incense
   • smudge sticks
   • meditation CDs

    

4. Prepare yourself a sacred space where to perform the ceremony when the new moon arrives

Setting your New Moon Intentions in Motion

1. Cleanse your sacred area with an opening prayer, a sage smudging, and/or by burning some incense.

    

2. Light one or more candles.

    

3. Center your being and calm yourself in whatever way is appropriate for you. Take some deep cleansing breaths, slip in a meditation CD to listen to, and/or leisurely sip on a cup of relaxing herbal tea.

    

4. Open your notebook, and date the first page. Write down these words "I accept these things into my life now or something better for my highest good and for the highest good of all concerned." or something similar. Below your affirmation statement, begin writing down your desires. Your list may consist of only one item or you may have several pages written down. Try not to limit yourself. If having many things in your life helps to fulfill you then don't deny yourself wanting these things.

    

5. During the month when an item on your new moon list comes to you, don't merely cross it off of your list, take the time to rewrite the list in its entirety eliminating the manifested item from the listing. This is highly recommended. At the same time you may add whatever else that you have decided you would like. Feel free to reword any of the original phrases if they better fit your life now. It is natural that your desires will change as time advances.

    

6. A second notebook will be used as a manifestation scrapbook where you paste in pictures or catalog clippings of items that you want to manifest. This is a fun project so enjoy yourself. You will soon be amazed how these things begin to find their way into your life once you start this process.

Rededicating your New Moon Intentions

Each month at the new moon rededicate your intentions by renewing your list at a repeated ritual. This is accomplished by rewriting your list out using a fresh sheet of paper. Don't get in the habit of simply scratching out the items you no longer desire and adding the new stuff to the bottom of your old list. You don't want clutter and sloppiness energies messing up your new stuff do you? Disregard any items that no longer feed your soul and add new things that do.

It is helpful to salt and pepper your manifest list with smaller items that will manifest quickly, such as tickets to the ballet, lunch with a friend, or a day at the spa. You may think that smaller things are too trivial to put on your intention list... Wrong! Things that tend to manifest with little effort still deserve to be written down. Write down everything that you desire, no matter how little or simple. If it is something that makes you happy, write it down. Manifesting smaller items on our lists actually creates a steady flow of energy to the list. These smaller manifestations create movement, allowing an ebb and flow of the tides. We are dealing here with the moon cycles after all. Besides, sometimes we forget to appreciate the smaller pleasures in our lives while we are waiting for the BIG stuff to come in. If you only write statements like, "I want to win the lottery" in your notebook then you are limiting yourself by not allowing abundance to flow to you from other avenues.

Free and Magickal Graphics by MyspaceMagick.com

Full Moon Purging Preparation

1. Check a moon phase calendar for the next upcoming full moon.

    

2. Create a sacred space and arrange a time to perform the ceremony (preferably at nighttime and outdoors under the moonlight).

    

3. Write down on separate slips of paper the things you want to release or change.

Supply suggestions: fire proof calderon or cooking pot to toss the burning paper inside, candle with matches or lighter, water (to put out the fire afterwards), and smudge sticks for cleansing.

Full Moon Purging

1. Cleanse your sacred area with an opening prayer, a sage smudging, and/or by burning some incense. Invite your guides, angels, masters, or teachers to be at your side throughout the ceremony.

    

2. Light one or more candles. Look to the skies. Breathe in the night air.

    

3. One by one, read out loud the words you have written on each slip of paper. Set your intention to release the item/addiction/attitude from your life. Set it to fire and place it in the calderon. If you have a campsite barbecue or bonfire going that's cool, just toss the slips of paper into the fire one by one. If you are doing this ritual with a group of others take turns reading your words. If these things are too personal to read out loud, read them silently to yourself. Just remember... our words have power. Saying - "Be Gone" audibly and loudly can be very freeing. Go ahead, howl at the moon if you've a mind to. Have some fun!

    

4. Thank the spirits. Be safe. Put out the fire.

Monthly Pagan Moon Rituals

• January / Wolf Moon - Plan a ritual of protection around your home and family.

   

• February / Storm Moon - Plan a ritual to ask the Old Ones for help in planning your future.

   

• March / Chaste Moon - Plan a ritual to plant your desires.

   

• April / Seed Moon - Plan a ritual to physically plant your seeds of desire in Mother Earth.

   

• May / Hare Moon - Plan a ritual to reaffirm your goals.

   

• June / Dyad Moon - Plan a ritual to balance your spiritual and physical desires

   

• July / Mead Moon - Plan a ritual to decide what you will do once your goals have been met.

   

• August / Wort Moon - Plan a ritual to preserve what you already have.

   

• September / Barley Moon - Plan a ritual of Thanksgiving for all the Old

   

• October / Blood Moon - Plan another ritual of Thanksgiving.

   

• November / Snow Moon - Plan for a ritual to work on ridding yourself of negative thoughts and vibrations.

   

• December / Oak Moon - Plan for a ritual to help you remain steadfast in your convictions

Every one needs faery dust available once in a while

FAERY DUST:

1/4 cup grated dried coconut

1/4 cup your choice of

   Organic Raw sugar

   Organic Date sugar

   Organic Powdered Honey

 Mix the coconut and other sugar type in a mortar and pestle and grind into a fine powder.

Excellent for sprinkling on top of Witchy Egg Toast.

Ostara

"o-star-uh"
The dates of the Solstices and Equinoxes can change each year but are always between the 20th and the 23rd of the corresponding month.

2008

Vernal Equinox

Mar 20 2008

05:48 UT

© http://twopagans.com/graphics/index.html

Ostara marks the first true day of spring. It is the vernal equinox. It is believed that the name Ostara comes from the Germanic Goddess Oestara. Oestara is the Goddess of Fertility. For this holiday we picture the goddess in her Maiden form. Ostara is the time when witches celebrate the balance of the seasons and the passage of nigh into day. The Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility, bursting forth from her sleep, as the God stretches and grows to maturity. He walks the greening fields and delights in the abundance of Nature. On Ostara the hours of day and night are equal. Light is overtaking darkness. This is a time for beginnings, of action, or planting spells for future gains, and of tending ritual gardens.

As spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals. The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit. Although Ostara is a festival of fertility, however, unlike Beltaine, it is not a festival of human and animal fertility, but of the fertility of the earth.

Other Names: Eostre (OHS-truh or EST-truh), spring equinox.

Correspondances

Colors: Light green, lemon yellow, pale pink.
Food: hard-boiled eggs, honey cakes, 1^st fruit of the season, leafy greens, dairy foods, nuts, sunflower seeds, flower dishes.
Deities: Diana, Artemis
Symbols: eggs, rabbits, spring flowers, green and yellow jellybeans
Incense: African Violet, Jasmine, Rose, Sage and Strawberry
Candles: gold, green and yellow
Gemstones: amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone and red jasper.
Herbs: Daffodil, jonquils, woodruff, violet, gorse, olive, peony, iris, narcissus, acorns, celadine, cinquefoil, dandelion, dogwood, jasmine, rose, tansy, honeysuckle and all spring flowers.

Activities and Traditions

- Adults only or with adults help - may be dangerous

- Ask permission from parents first

• Color eggs and place on altar as magickal talismans
• A visit from the Easter Bunny
• Decorate home with baskets of flowers
• Planting seeds or start an herb garden
• Take a long walk in nature
• Spring cleaning - Clear out old clothes, books, toys etc..
• Have a sunrise observance
• Bless some seeds with a wish. Plant them, and as they come up, the wish is fulfilled
• Write and perform a mystery play about the God's resurrection. Write one about Ishtar and Tammuz or Isis and Osiris
• Plant your live Yule tree if you bought one
• Do something new. This is a great time to try something new, to renew our thoughts and dreams.
• A good time for spells of love, healing and protection.

Poems and Invocations

Eostre

When the snow melts
And winter breathes its last
Then do we dream of you
Eostre Lady of Springtime
Bringer of new growth and freshness.
The frozen Earth beneath your feet
Becomes soft and yielding
Now ready to burst forth with new life.
Return to us, Eostre.
Return to us, Sacred Hare.
Melt the snow from the ground
The ice from the streams
The frost from our hearts.

- GateWest Invocations (link no longer works, don't know if they've moved or not)