Kemmyrk

We've Moved!

2007-01-11T12:52:00.000-05:00

Come visit at our new home:

http://kemmyrk.wordpress.com

Comparative/Competitive Spirituality

2007-01-09T09:01:00.000-05:00

One of the temptations we need to fight as we wend our way down the spiritual pathways, highways, and byways, is the tendency towards competitive or comparative spirituality.

It happens in places like yoga classes all the time – people comparing themselves to each other. Not trying to be their best selves in the asanas, but trying to be better than their classmates, to get more of the teacher’s praise.

Unfortunately, it happens in circles and spiritual workshops as well. We want to be good at whatever we do. Unfortunately, too often, we take it too far and try to prove we’re good because someone else is “not good”.

In reality, they may simply progress at a different pace or have different goals. We can’t compare ourselves to anyone else when it comes to something as ephemeral and personal as spirituality.

What we can do is strive to meet our own goals, and encourage our fellow travelers to do the same.

New Year's Goals

2007-01-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 4, 2007
Moon phase: Last day of the Wolf/Cold Moon
Retrogrades: Saturn

A fresh year means a fresh start, a clean slate. One can have that at the beginning of each new moon cycle, but there’s something about the optimistic energy with which the majority of the world is infused on the 1st of January that’s infectious.

And, on top of that, this year, the turn of the year happened during a waxing moon, so even the moon cycle supports our resolutions!

There are three things I want to work on this year:

--Go deeper in the oracle work;
--Remain steady in my yoga/meditation practice
--Study herbs

I’ve done some herbal study and even had a bit of training, and I’d like to enter a formal training program; however, both financially and chaos-wise, I can’t commit to that this year. But what I CAN commit to, starting with the next new moon, is studying herbals and learning as much as I can about as many herbs as I can, herb by herb. This will help me when I do enter formal training for herbalism.

And, I have The Herbal Tarot, which will, no doubt, help me.

One of my Yule gifts was John Matthews’s The Celtic Oracle, which used to be called The Celtic Shaman’s Pack. I’m going to focus my oracle work from this full moon to the next one on that pack.

Unfortunately, I don’t have permission from the publisher to post photos of the deck, so it will be without illustration, but I hope you will join me on my journey in 2007.

The Importance of New Year's Resolutions

2006-12-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Even though my year spiritually goes from Samhain to Samhain, January 1 gives me a chance to start fresh, too, with New Year’s resolutions.

People squawk about New Year’s Resolutions. They tend to say they don’t do them because they set themselves up for failure and it makes them feel bad; or they pick a bunch of simple steps that are little more than a to-do list.

The point of a resolution is to make a commitment to yourself. If you esteem yourself, if you respect yourself, you are going to keep striving beyond what you think you can do AND ACHIEVE IT.

If you don’t push yourself beyond your boundaries, beyond your comfort zone, you can’t grow. Growth is spurred by challenge, not by complacency.

Does that mean everything on your list gets perfectly polished off?

No, because, during the course of a year, your life changes, and you have to adjust.

But not to do something because you’re afraid of failure, or purposely setting goals that are too easy for you are marks of self disrespect. And how can you expect others to respect you when you don’t respect yourself?

Resolutions are for YOU, not anyone else. If you wish, don’t tell anyone. Making them public allows those who don’t have your best interests at heart to try to sabotage you. Sometimes, that’s a spur to go even farther than you thought you could. Other times, it discourages you.

Whether you choose to share your resolutions with a close friend, on a blog, or just keep it in your heart – pick one thing you want to strive towards this year. Let this be the resolution of your heart. And push yourself to achieve it.

Choose growth in the coming year instead of complacency.

Yule 2006

2006-12-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the Winter Solstice – Yule. It’s the shortest day and the longest night. One of the wonderful things is that . . .starting tomorrow, the days get longer!

The solstice is when we celebrate the return of the Sun (son in archetypical reference) after the long winter nights. Even though often tonight is called “The First Night of Winter” – it’s merely the LONGEST night, not the first. We still have many long nights to experience – to me, February nights seem particularly interminable.

But tonight is a time to celebrate.

Even if it’s only a moment, take a candle and light it as a welcoming symbol towards the sun’s return. Take a minute to reflect on the darknesses in your life and how you want to bring in more light during the coming cycle.

Celebrate with family and friends in this festive season; take some time to breathe. Align yourself with the natural world and work WITH the seasons, not against them.

Bright blessings to you!

7 in '07

2006-12-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here’s a bit of Shameless Self-Promotion for you:

I have articles in 7 of the 2007 Llewellyn Almanacs:

The Witches’ Calendar
The Spell-A-Day
The Magical Almanac
The Herbal Almanac
The Tarot Reader
The Moon Almanac
The Wicca Almanac (which is released in Spring)

Of course, I hope you buy them for friends and family and keep a copy of yourself!

Enjoy!

Mercury Retrograde

2006-11-02T08:27:00.000-05:00

So, what, exactly, is Mercury Retrograde? And why do we bitch and moan about it so much?

There are certain times of the year when it appears that the planets are going in the opposite way of their journey around the sun than normal. That’s a “retrograde”. In terms of planetary influences, it means that the planet’s influence in your chart is also backwards.

Mercury is fairly close to earth, and therefore has a good bit of influence. Mercury handles communication, travel, electronics, and shopping. So, when Mercury is retrograde, people tend to misunderstand each other, travel is screwed up, the computer goes kaplooey, and money changes hands quickly.

How can you use Mercury retrograde to your advantage? Depending on where it is in your chart (which will change the degree of influence) and where it was when you were born, here are some suggestions:

--Think before you speak. You should do so anyway, but do it even more during these weeks. And, if someone says something you find offensive, don’t react. Walk away and think about it, within the context of what you know about the person. The words could have come out wrong, or what you heard might not be what was said. Mercury is also associated with the Trickster in some mythologies – so be careful.

--If you have to travel, give yourself lots of extra time. I try not to travel by airplane during a Mercury retrograde; if I do, I expect delays for hours and hours, so if it goes smoothly, it’s a gift. If I’m driving, I’m especially vigilant. I don’t want to get into an accident because someone else was careless. And I give myself an hour to an hour and a half cushion for all appointments. I can always arrive early and sit down and write a few pages while I’m waiting. However, I still expect and demand a call if someone else has caught up in the retrograde and will be late. It’s not an excuse to be irresponsible and disrespectful.

--I’m careful with the computer. Usually, my computer crashes. This time, it was my printer. Sigh. I do the best I can, and try not to get too frustrated. Which doesn’t work.

--I do a lot of thrift shopping and sale shopping. And antiquing. People don’t realize the value of what they’re selling, so it’s a good time to bargain shop.

--On the flip side, I don’t make large ticket purchases or sign contracts. I put off signage until Mercury goes direct. You especially don’t want to buy a house or a car during either a Mercury or a Jupiter retrograde. Or buy electronics. If they work now, they’ll stop when Mercury goes direct. Or, even more likely, they won’t work now.

I try to find more patience for myself and others during this time. It doesn’t always work.

My mantra: Stay low, stay quiet, go shopping.

Good luck!

Samhain

2006-10-30T06:06:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the Celtic New Year, where the wheel of the year turns towards the time of inner work and contemplation.

It’s also the time of “Tending the Dead”, a subject I discussed at length in last year’s entries at this time – five nights of tending to different groups of dead in one’s life – ancestors, children, pets, friends, The Lost.

Tomorrow, take time to re-evaluate your life. What do you need to harvest? What do you need to cut away?

Use your favorite oracle to divine the coming year.

My favorite spread to use at this time of year is a two-deck clock face spread. I choose one tarot deck as the “action” deck and the second deck as the “energy” deck. I shuffle both, thinking about the coming year.

For each month, starting with November, I place one card from each deck at a clock face position. Twelve o’clock is November, one o’clock is December, two o’clock is January, etc., all away around the dial. At the center are two more cards, for the 13th lunar month of the year.

Write down each card, marked “action” and “energy”, and, for each month, write an evaluation of what the cards mean together for that month.

Refer to it every month, so you can see what changes in the course of a year. And what does not. It will help point out patterns, both good and bad, in your life.

Now we begin the inward journey. Outdoors, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are moving towards winter. It’s a time to pull inward, let the storms rage outside, and deal with the storms within.

Samhain is the third and final harvest. It’s considered back luck to pick anything from the fields or garden after tomorrow – it brings bad luck, it will turn bad. Anything not harvested by now must be left in the fields for the spirits. So, if there’s any last minute garden work to put your beds to sleep for the winter, do it today and tomorrow.

Remember, there’s a price to pay for the excuse “I’m too busy” when it comes to Spirit.

October 5 -- Full Moon: Blood Moon

2006-10-05T08:45:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is October’s full moon. It’s called either the “blood moon” or the “hunter’s moon.” Legend has it that this was the last chance hunters had to stock up for the winter, and this moon lit the way so they could hunt at night.

The moon usually hangs low in the sky, an almost orange-yellow, tinged with red. Whatever the scientific reasons for this are, on another level, it makes sense that the moon allowing bloodshed is shaded with red.

This is the last full moon before Samhain. Samhain itself falls during the first quarter (the new moon is on the 22nd). So, this is the last full moon of this agricultural cycle. Some folklore states the final harvest can be no later than the 11th; others that before Samhain itself is acceptable to harvest. Anything not picked by then must be left in the fields for the spirits. Bringing it into the house and eating it after Samhain brings bad luck and illness.

Tomorrow, think about what you’ve brought to fruition in this cycle. And then think about what you still have to harvest before the end of the month. What needs to lie fallow over the winter, in order to replenish and bloom by spring? What needs to be cut away?

One Year Anniversary!

2006-08-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

Waning Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Today is the one year anniversary of Kemmyrk!

Thank you to my loyal readers, who stick with me as I find the best way for this blog to serve both the oracles and the community.

Home Om -- Day 32

2006-08-10T06:42:00.000-04:00

Last Day of the Full Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Yes, there’s one final bit of work to do in order to complete our full moon to full moon work:

Release it.

That’s right. For the next few days, go about your business, with an awareness of the work we’ve done, but without dwelling on it.

Give it the energy raised over the past month a chance to get out there and manifest.

It’s difficult – it’s always hard not to hang on to it and worry it. But let go, and let the manifestation happen!

Many thanks for taking this journey with me. Please let me know when you find your new home!

Home Om -- Day 31

2006-08-09T07:28:00.000-04:00

Full Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Take your pen and paper. Write a short note to the Universe about your new home, your hopes and dreams for it, what worries you. Light the candle. From the lit candle, set the paper on fire, and let it burn out in your fireproof dish. This sends the message into the Universe.

Let the candle burn all the way down; throw away whatever’s left and the ashes.

There’s one more day of our work together, tomorrow. We’re not quite finished!

Home Om -- Day 30

2006-08-08T06:55:00.000-04:00

First day of the Full Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

In today’s visualization, walk up the path to your new home. You are carrying bread, salt, and wine. Open the door. Feel it under your hand. Smell the scent of your new house.

Step inside, carrying your items.

Let your energy spread throughout the space, mingling with that of your new home.

Put the salt in the cupboard, marked with an “X” so that you don’t use it.

Eat the bread; drink the wine.

These are visualizations of the first time you actually step over the threshold of your own home.

Home Om -- Day 29

2006-08-07T08:51:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrograde: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Wednesday is the full moon. Gather up paper and pen, a dish in which you can burn something, a candle (white or green) in preparation.

Today, in your sitting, concentrate on the sense of peace a secure home environment gives you.

Home Om -- Day 28

2006-08-06T08:39:00.001-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Has anything changed? Or do you feel like you’re treading water? Are changes rumbling under the surface, or bursting forth?

Take today to evaluate the work of the past 28 days. Visualize your happiness in your new home.

It will be the full moon in a few short days, and our work for Home Om will be complete.

Home Om -- Day 28

2006-08-06T08:39:00.000-04:00

Home Om -- Day 27

2006-08-05T11:09:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Affirmation: I accept the gifts of abundance offered to me, and promise to be a loving guardian to my new piece of earth.

Home Om -- Day 26

2006-08-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

As new job opportunities open, more lucrative than those before, I accept the abundance and turn that energy towards the new home.

Home Om -- Day 25

2006-08-03T04:28:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

As you follow your breath today, concentrate on pulling your new home towards you. Feel it from your gut and coming towards your gut.

Today is a day to concentrate on the sensation, rather than the visualization.

Home Om -- Day 24

2006-08-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

Many places across the United States are experiencing a heat wave unlike any before. Around here, with the heat index, it’s expected to reach 120 degrees today. The air is low and stagnant, and there is a distinct possibility for a major power outage.

How can you use this weather in your Home Om work?

On a physical level, obviously, stay quiet and drink lots of fluids. The heat is a wonderful excuse to spend extra time in meditation. You can stay still and concentrate on an inner coolness, keep the blood pressure down, and stay quiet.

On a psychological level, you can use the exterior heat as “hearth energy” and feed it into your Home Om meditation. Use the heat of the summer to fuel your meditation.

For instance, as you do your home om, as you let your mind wander through your new home, imagine it is winter. If your home is in a seasonal climate, imagine the snow and ice and the falling flakes. Inside the home, a fire is merrily dancing in the fireplace, and the entire home has a feeling of warmth, joy, and love. Tap into the external summer heat and transform that energy into the gentle warming energy of your astral hearth – the hearth you are in the process of making corporeal.

Home Om -- Day 23

2006-08-01T07:30:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus
Lammas

Lammas is an extremely significant day for me. It’s also the first harvest.

What are you harvesting from this experience?

I know I’m being challenged to actually break old patterns, instead of merely talking about doing so, or planning to do so in the future. I have to re-draw some boundaries, and I have to find some new ways of looking at things.

I’m working on a new affirmation for this point in my life – it’s challenging in a new set of ways, since I have to draw boundaries with people with whom I’ve recently weathered some tough times. But it’s necessary. We developed some patterns that are not working for me as I flood energy into the Home Om. So, I have to find a way to cheerfully and respectfully and honestly redefine those boundaries.

I wish you all a wonderful first harvest, and, by the next harvest, may your hearth energy be moving positively!

Home Om -- Day 22

2006-07-31T08:26:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

The Garden.

I’ve always wanted a garden. As I daydream about my garden, it gets more and more elaborate – not only will it take 20 years to create, but it may be more than I can handle!

However, there are elements I want to include:

Lilac, rose, forsythia, rhododendron, and azalea bushes
At least one of each of the 13 sacred trees
A small natural pond or water fountain
A birdbath
A small grove of birches with a bench
Statuary
Beds of flowers
An herb garden
A vegetable garden

I want to create it so it can be certified as a habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Their program is exciting, and you can learn more about it here.

Home Om -- Day 21

2006-07-30T10:39:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus

The Library.

To me, that is the most important room in the entire house. While I am capable of writing anywhere (and by “anywhere” I mean on trains, in coffee shops, and backstage in between cues), I PREFER a home library.

Not a home office, mind you. A home LIBRARY.

By that, I mean a room with high ceilings and lots of natural light. I mean floors sturdy enough to hold several walls of floor to ceiling bookcases. I want and need my books around me. I want a large, six-legged wooden table as my desk, so that I have space for computer work and for longhand work. I want long, lateral files for my paperwork, so it’s not all housed in boxes and it takes me hours to find something. I want at least one big comfy chair with a reading lamp bending over it, so I can sit and read.

Pet-friendly, of course. Everything in the house must be pet-friendly.

And it must have a door.

This is the room where I will spend the bulk of my writing life, and I’m specific about how I want to set it up. I want to set up what works for me as a creative space.

Everyone has rooms in the house that are of particular importance. The library is mine.

If the house has both a living room and a family room, chances are I will convert the formal living room into the library. I have no need of a formal living room. A dining room is more important to me than a formal living room. The family room is my living room.

I don’t believe in having rooms shut up and unused most of the time, just for show. I believe that a house should be lived in.

And my library will get more than its share of life.

Home Om -- Day 20

2006-07-29T07:11:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus
Mercury Direct

Mercury went direct last night. While the Merc Ret is great for thrift shopping, big tickets items tend to run into problems. Now that both Mercury and Jupiter are direct, it’s safe to sign house contracts.

Now we can enjoy the home energy we’re pulling towards us. Take some time to daydream about specific elements you want or need in your home.

Several qualities are important to me in a home. One of the most important is the kitchen. I don’t need the fanciest, most up-to-date kitchen. (And, am I so sick of the spoiled brats on House Hunters who whine about perfectly decent, lovely kitchens because they don’t have granite counter tops? It wasn’t that long ago it was unusual for a kitchen to have electricity. Get over yourselves!) I love to cook. I love to have people over for meals. I love to work on oils, incenses, tinctures. All I need is a kitchen where I can move around easily, and a gas stove. In the best of all possible worlds, there will be a separate pantry. I like to have a full refrigerator and a well-stocked pantry. I’m used to cooking a meal for twenty in a galley kitchen.

I certainly wouldn’t refuse a state-of-the-art kitchen, but natural light and a gas stove are more important than the latest bells and whistles. I really do not need or want a television screen in my refrigerator. All I need my fridge to do is keep my food cold and give me ice upon request. I would much rather it did those two things well than a half a dozen other things that have nothing to do with fridgi-ness.

Will I paint the walls? Probably. I have no set ideas as to color and cabinetry, etc. for the kitchen. I’m flexible. I’ll see what’s there. If all I need to do is repaint the walls, terrific. If the cabinets need some stripping or painting or maybe a different type of handle, fine. As long as the floor is pet friendly and doesn’t look like an acid trip from the 1960s, I’m happy.

The feel of the kitchen is important. I’ll spend a lot of time there, cooking, baking bread, making coffee, reading the paper. Of course I’ll smudge the whole house, align with the devas of place, and all of that. But I want to be able to stand in the kitchen and feel its pulse when I go through the house. I don’t care if it hasn’t been renovated since 1957 – if the vibe is good, I can work with it.

I’m a home and hearth person, and the feel of the hearth has a lot to do with the feel of the overall home. The kitchen is important. But it needs to be MY kitchen, not something ready for a magazine shoot.

Home Om -- Day 19

2006-07-28T08:31:00.000-04:00

Waxing Moon
Retrogrades: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Mercury

This week, you may well find obstacles and resistance and all sorts of wrenches thrown in the works to test you and ask you, “How badly do you want this change?”

How will you deal with them?

Look back at old patterns that haven’t worked. Make a conscious effort to break them.

Concentrate on your meditation. Concentrate on your breath. And spend time focusing on the sense of peace and happiness you will feel in your new living situation.