Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Carrying the body, from Church to Grave...


Holding your ancestors body with all of your strength connects you with the soil, your heritage, those who walked before you and their life.

The Familiar broken doll laying in the coffin was not my grandmother, but yet it was. Was she afraid? She had been praying to her Rosary like she did before going to sleep every night, but this was different. My mother would say she was "Working something out with God." 

She lay in the hospital bed, kept alive by machines, forcing air into her lungs and keeping her blood flowing. I massage her feet, she is warm, but not responsive. She is in and out of her body. It will not work for her, and she wants all the plastic and metal out of her face. I know, this is the end. I wanted to believe she would be back at home, talking about the Las Vegas weather and asking for me to bring her a shot of Macieira. I couldnt cry, but I was sad. I told myself I will not go to see her at the hospital like this, but I went anyway. I asked people to talk to her, while some whispered in her ear others asked her to get up, it is time to wake up!~ 

At her Vigil I stared at her corpse, like a child, hoping she would get up again. I knew in my heart she was not there. But I would see her walking in the distance as other family members. I kept expecting her to show up and I knew she would have loved this gathering.

I finally had a good night's sleep but I had a night full of Dreams. About my grandmother, about her being locked away in a box forever. An 81 year old doll kidnapped and hidden away, but it is not her. She is not a doll, she is not broken! She is pure Spirit, melting away all the darkness and hurt only leaving the good and joyful. And the box is now empty, I open it to find the light that fills it tells me she was not being kept for long. 

I am holding this empty box and struggling with the physical. Tears like holy water drop on it and it is swallowed by the Earth to be covered in flowers, and I step back. No one can see what I see. She removes her body like one takes off their old clothes to be donated. Her donation feeds the vines that grow near her grave. Like the place that she was born. Covered in wild vines, with so much green fed on flesh and tears. We hold your burden, your grandchildren and your great-grandchild lift your body up, with great reverence and sadness, we give it back to the earth.

 I light incense for you today, and sprinkle holy tears onto the earth in your memory.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Healing !




I've forgotten how horrible it is to get sick. The amount of energy you take just in getting well takes up every second of your day. You can't afford to be overexerting yourself and you need to be on top of your healing regimen. This past week I was hit with the worst and longest lasting sore throat/sinus/ear pain I can remember ever having. Usually I get over a sore throat in a day or two, but this was the mother of all sore throat pain and it radiated to the ears, and eventually my bronchioli. I was starting to get scared at this point, I needed to up the dosage of my herbs considerably. I was drinking plenty of hot marshmallow root/elderberry tea and honey, but was not giving myself the dose of herbs I needed. When I noticed considerable relief was when I took a full dose of herbs every hour. I have many tinctures. I find these are the best way to preserve herbs, a tincture will last forever.  Some that I have made and some that I get through my work through reliable companies.
I took Phytocillin from the company Herbs Etc. This has Usnea lichen, yerba mansa root, propolis gum, echinacea angustifolia root, licorice root, oregon grape root and hops strobile extracted with 70% grain alcohol, purified water and vegetable glycerine. This is great for boosting the immune system, as well as helping with sinus and calming a cough. 
Fenuthyme, a good old standby that I always keep on hand from Natures Way. Its basic, and works really great for congested lungs.  I'll take 4 at a time every 1-2 hours. Helps make a cough more productive so you don't sit there hacking for an hour with no relief. I make my own Lung Tonic that has Osha root, Coltsfoot and Mullein, Elecampane and thyme in an alcohol tincture. I also make my own Fire Cider with Horseradish and tons of ginger and onion. I make Hot and spicy soups and teas to help with the pain, and I went through a couple pounds of local honey in the week I was sick to mix with my teas and hot toddys.  (I make a mean Elderberry liquor with Macieira brandy, honey, pineapple juice and of course a generous helping of Elderberries, just add a shot to hot water and sip.) Luckly, I think ahead and many of these preparations were made well ahead of time. 

Over the weekend I went to my Covens annual ordination retreat. I was only able to attend one day but I was not going to miss it.  I am on my year of Sabbatical and I am making big changes for this year. While I am not doing much public work, I am doing a lot of cleansing, both internal and in my life. I am dedicated to Hekate through CAYA and this years ordination was a great time to look at what my dedications mean to me in the public sphere and what I wish to manifest from that. Plus I got to see many people that I have not seen in Months, attend some great ritual and get some fresh air from the Redwoods. A whole new hive emerged and I am proud to say this is a Hive with so many talents! It's always nice to see who everyone dedicates to and makes it "official" within the coven. 
As for me I had a whole ritual plan for heading to the beach that weekend, but I was far too sick to carry it out. (There is always beach time for the Sunday after ordination retreat) So I gave it a rain check and eventually later that week found myself on the beach for some intense healing magic. 



On my way home from retreat I picked up some fresh roots to make a healing broth: 

Fresh Ginger root, Turmeric and Burdock - Slice em thin and make a strong broth by adding good water, (you may want to add chopped garlic and onion) You can blend these in a blender as well and eat the bits or strain them off. I will add pineapple juice and honey to get it lukewarm after it is off the stove. Sip this concoction. I like to make my onion syrup separate, but it does not taste too terrible when mixed together. 




Vibrational sound therapy was another helpful tool. The vibrations of a drum, Guitar or a singing bowl when played can help shake up mucus and lift spirits. I played these every day with focus on my lungs , soothing away inflammation and blockages. I massaged my throat with White Flower oil and Mobility Oil from my colleague Betty (its got comfrey, st johns and many other wonderful additions) I made a mix of neem powder and coconut oil and rubbed it all over my body, including my hair and scalp, then I took a shower as hot as I could stand, with a plug in the the bathtub to draw a bath. I added seasalts and essential oils, breathed that in.  (If I had some Food grade Hydrogen peroxide and Ginger powder I would have done that in the bath as well!) I DID gargle with a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash called Coolsense.



Then My friend Jodi came to town to visit from Arizona. She is one of my first Natural healing teachers and a very good friend. She was only in town for a few days, so when I started to feel good enough to leave the house we went to one of our favorite beaches in Pescadero. She had mentioned something about Iodine being a good remedy for sore throats, and It was something I had been thinking about taking for a while. "Lets stop at New Leaf Market then!" I knew which one I wanted, and I got the Tri-Iodine in 12.5 mg. and we got some hot soups and Extra Ginger Beer. It was a warm day, lightly overcast, and beautiful. This beach is covered in gemstones, sea worn glass and shells, it is a beautiful place of healing. 



We parked and there was a rather large Raven there to great us. We caawed back at said Corvid and began to walk down the path to our spot. Jodi began to set up a stone grid on the beach, then she told me to lay down in it, with as much skin touching rock as was comfortable.  She put her healing intention into her grid, and placed rocks where she saw were my "problem areas". She had me lie there for a while, listening to the waves and taking in the salty air. The rocks and their placement brought awareness to these hurting areas and helped to facilitate my healing. It was warm enough to lay there in my tank top, so I was not chilled or otherwise uncomfortable. 




I left offerings for the ocean, my gratitude for her work with me in Caya, and asking for strength in my life at this time.  We then built a Yoni labyrinth from the grid rocks. Jodi and I each took turns walking the labyrinth with our thoughts of rebirth, renewal and peace.


As of today I feel much better, I have most of my voice back and that horrible sore throat is gone! Thank Goddess!










Sunday, March 1, 2015

Herb Bundles for prayer and blessings
 
Your sacred songs and/or chants (sacred breath)
Collected fresh herbs
Cotton string (embroidery thread is nice)

I purify and protect his space, 
Bringing forth wealth and love,
Joy and light enters this place~
So below and above~
 
 Please note, Only use herbs you can grow or source sustainably, and use respect when gathering. If you feel the energy is not right to collect herbs from the plants, then don't. White sage is in danger of being over harvested.
My process for finding the plants is not always simple. I grow the herbs I use in sage bundles. This is how I make them, I am sure there are many ways to make bundles, but this is how I do them generally. You can add dried herbs and/or resins to the middle in fine powders.Once in a while I add an essential oil to herbs as well, something like peru balsam or benzoin.




About the ingredients:
Grown in the garden, the tobacco plant was one  that came from an unknown source. She just started to grown in the garden. I do not remember planting a seed, but up she came to offer her blessings. Her aroma is strong and her leaves are sticky, with beautiful white flowers that stand tall  over all of her sisters.  This wandering seed grew to her fullest and i fully enjoy watching her grow. Next to the Tobacco, is my white sage, I had tried growing many times before, but this is the first time I have gotten this plant to really thrive.  Maybe the sage thrives next to the tobacco? Who knows, they grow in separate pots, but close to each other. Happily producing fragrance on this sunny California day. I gently cut the bottom stems with leaves to make my bundles. For the tobacco I gather the bottom leaves, some are big, and some are bug bitten, but I keep the fresh tops on the plant to produce more leaves. Wormwood is my hearty silver haired fairy in the garden. She morphs into a tiny woman, and back into her plant form all the time. The secrets this plant has! They are as old as that tiny woman! She has that gentle strength we need in this world. I take a few sprigs from this lovely bushy plant and add to my basket of bundle making herbs. I find lavender to be overpowering in many things, and my lavender has a strong personality. A small amount is all that's needed for this bundle. This particular lavender plant has been with me for almost 10 years. Originally she was brought home in a pot, and eventually she broke out of the pot and sunk her roots deep within the earth. I can still find fragments of that damned pot in the soil around her. This one has survived while many other plants have died, through drought and through floods. Lavender just grows in this spot well. 

 Serendipitous discovery of ancient and sacred secrets kept safe in the arms of grandmother, while endurance and fortitude create well being and joyful existence in a world of uncertainty. Beautiful mystery that is everywhere, guiding and shining light on our path.

First I make a bouquet of herbs and tie of the bottom stems with your cotton thread. You can choose a color of significance to you , often red is a great color to use because it is such a power color. Flowing life blood, menstrual blood, nutrient rich and warm. Red is my number one color for wrapping sage. Though, I can say I have used all colors, and in a snap used other plants to wrap my bundles~ Sometimes it is a matter of using what you have, and that is powerful. You don't have to buy anything new to make these! I often lightly coat the threads in essential oils too, singing songs with the herbs as I wrap them.
 
 

"Fertility surrounds me, strength flows through me, we are Blessed, Protected and Sacred!"
 
I start at the bottom stem, and just spiral up and back down again, tying them off with thread to let them hang. 

Depending on humidity, they may take more or less time to dry. I enjoy to having the bundles all around the house and in special places (all in the shade so as not to damage the plants) they are protective amulets for the house and their power can grow, when I feel they are ready, I might give them as a gift to someone in need or burn them in a prayer offering.

 
Please note, it is important to not overdo bundles. Only use herbs you can grow or source sustainably, and use respect when gathering. If you feel the energy is not right to collect herbs from the plants, then don't.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Massage and Letting Go.


At a Party this past weekend, I was speaking with someone and was asked the question or how do I release or avoid negative energy that I get from my clients when I am working Massage.

The Massage Therapists job is Physical, you are a bodyworker. There is energy work involved, but with Massage, you are trying to release negative attachments from the body. There is no avoiding the work you are doing, you are there to "let it go" so to speak. These are often emotional pieces of ourselves that finds a place to attach in our muscles and bones. If we have a body, typically, you are in that body. Pain can effect you spiritually, in a negative or positive way, but we all have our challenges in life, how we deal with that is up to us. Emotions will cause us to tense our shoulders, arch our backs, and crunch our faces in disgust or pure joy.
There is always some energy exchange when we meet someone. I almost always know if I am intrigued with someone, feel like we can become good friends or that I would be fine to have them as an aquantance.  I am a very adaptable person, I can shift to meet my clients where they need me, if they are going through A time of great suffering, I will meet them there, If they are going through a time of joy, I will be there. I would never ask them to meet me in the place I am at, because that is not what I am there for. I am offering my work, to release the residual tensions of emotional, physical and spiritual attachments.

It's a little complicated, many times it is hard to explain in the limited range of words that we use, its  intuition and having the Goddess guide me to the right places for where my client needs me right now.

When I am offering my body working skills to a client I am acting as a conduit, Releasing their negative energy and giving it back to the earth. Taking their muscles and offering energy/blood/nervous system flow. This effects everything, it may be painful, or feel good, sometimes the damage is great and there is no feeling. It is the connection to our bodies, it is why we are alive.

In Lomi lomi massage I have learned that in our role as body worker, we are also healing ancestral pain, the pain that lies in the bones. This can manifest itself through our actions, causing us to hurt ourselves physically because of the energies involved in our bloodlines.  Overexerting and exhausting ourselves because we feel like the ones before us did not do enough, and we must make up for their lack of action. Or it could just be the opposite...

While I am a conduit, also, the energies are sticky, they want to attach to something...
Often I need to take salt water baths, receive massage and Meditate to release these bits of other peoples sticky energy and my own. If I don't, I am not actively taking part in my healing, and it would be difficult for me to suggest to others to do the same.
Sticky Energy is difficult...
It won't  always leave in one or ten sessions, it might not be that it ever will in this case, but it is my job as the therapist to at least put that spark of healing within the person I am working on. That they may find the right tools to heal themselves. That is my magic, is that they find the best healing available to them.

Recently at the Northern California Womens Herbal Symposium I volunteered my time as a bodyworker, and with great joy was able to trade for a few massages from amazing women. I received a massage from a woman who specialized in Arvigo Mayan Belly Massage, a deeply emotional and therapeutic work. There was some heavy emotional release going on, then I felt bad I was dumping this out with so much intensity! I had worked for the weekend, picking up and releasing all weekend, as well as my own energy (belly massage makes me a little uncomfortable, which means I need it!) I asked her, "How do you deal with the energies you pick up when doing massage?" She told me for every hour of massage she does, she meditates for 10 minutes with an element. Going to a river and letting it take the energy to be recycled, letting the bonfire burn away the energy to be transformed, Sitting on a windy mountain and breathing out anything that that you do not need, or digging in the earth and letting the soil receive the shit, to make it into flowers. That was powerful to me, so now I employ it into my life. This is not just for therapists, but really for everyone. We are always contacting these sticky, unwanted energies. The best thing we can do is release. Take that Emotional Laxative and let that shit out.


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Azores Museum : Who is this Guy?

 
"Figural de navio, madeira de Flandres e cedro"
Ship Figure, Cedar Wood from Flanders?
The Azores where known as the "Isle of Flanders" for a while, so there were many people from Flanders, what is part of Belgium now. This was from a shipwreck off the Azores. I don't know what to make of it, I really like his outfit, But isn't it Cold in Belgium? why does he have his knees exposed? What's with the Feathered headdress and pierced ears? They also do not list a estimated Year on this. There is so much more work to be done!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Ancestor Work. Visiting the Azores Islands.
 
 
My family is from the Azores Islands. I am a first generation, born in California, American. I speak a little Portuguese, but not enough to have the most philosophical of conversations. I recently took a 3 week vacation to the islands. We Visited Pico Island, Prainha Du Baixo is the Village my mother is from and we stayed In Angra Du Heroismo on Terceira to visit the Island my father is from.  I was able to take my 14 years old son Joseph, and we had a wonderful time. Bear with me, these are taken from my journal, I figured, I should get them out now while I have them!
 
 
On the first day of arrival, I sat on the roof of my parents house in Angra listening to the birds and feeling the wind gently caress my skin. The Sun was just coming up and I could get my first daylight glimpse of the grapevines crawling over walls and the smell of the pineapples and all sorts of flowers dancing in the wind. I hear the roosters chorus for the dawn, and I breathe in the sweet perfumed air as the sun turns its' face upwards as if to kiss the clouds. The moon is smiling in the dawning sky, while the stars give their last farewell of the night. I am reminded that everyday is a miracle. Every sunrise is a gift, enjoy every moment, and make it beautiful, of course, this is easy to say when you are on vacation!
 My son and I soon visit the caves; Gruta do Natal and Algar do Carvao. These have changed very little since the last time I was here. You are handed a hard hat, and given free reign throughout Gruta Do Natal. Gruta Do Natal translates to "Christmas Cave" Mass is held inside every December 25th, and there is an altar inside. Everywhere on the island has some kind of spiritual significance to the people. As I soon find out. The cave is classified as a "Lava Tube" and the hard hats are welcomed, you get into tiny crawl spaces and there are many stalactites to bump your head on. For the trip through Algar Do Carvao, you are immediately gazing up at the cone from the inside of the volcano. It is one of the only places where you can walk on the inside of a dormant volcano. And further on you see beautiful colors on the cavern walls, and once in a while they have concerts inside because of the awesome acoustics. This is also considered a lava tube, but giant bubbles of lava made this cave a lot less "snug" than Gruta Do Natal.
 Soon we took the Santorini Express for an inter-island trip. Our destination is Pico, the Island My mother was born. We were to help my grandmother with her Promissa. This is a promise she made, for my Aunt Fatima. When Fatima was a child, she got very sick and my grandmother was afraid she would die. So she went to the church and made a promise, my aunt did survive that time. So this is a fulfillment of that promise made years and years ago. She promised a Festa "Party" for her whole village, she would provide all the food, wine and entertainment for the party, and there will be a procession to church for mass. I had never seen such a thing, so I wanted to go. But back to the boat voyage: The whole time on this boat there was music, we had drum circles on the outside and on the inside the big brass bands would play. People found their sea legs and were dancing everywhere. I took video, but eventually all the time I was trying to capture these moments really did not capture the energy of what it felt like.
 
We stopped at one island briefly and I'll never forget the majestic cliffs and beauty of Sao Jorge island. It looked like a fairytale village  with the sun setting in pink and purple hues across the mountains above Velas. The streetlights looked like Christmas lights strung throughout the town. Pastel Hues boarding lush green cliffs, and the fog rolls in off the cliffs of Velas creeping up like a blanket, getting ready for bedtime. I wanted to stay for a little while, and find those hard to find villages perched on cliffs and in places only accessible by hike. As our boat thrusts itself back into deep ocean waters You see houses perched on cliffs, and just wonder, "How did they get there?" I look towards the west and see the overcast and dark Pico Mountain in our path. We arrive Pico and night has fallen. The waters are like a rough obsidian layered wih white lace. Spots of lights peek out through dark clouds and rain is falling from the sky. The air is warm, the sky black, this is Midnight. The rain awakens me, I *love* the rain. The island is very dark, there really are not many lights here, but it also has the nickname of Ilha Preta, meaning "Black Island" so I guess it makes sense.  The entire population of Pico is around 16,000 but the island is only 173 sq mi . My parents had taken their car on the boat, and we drive about 20 minutes to Prainha do Baixu which is the town my Mothers-Mothers- Mother is from (I actually have no idea how far back it goes) I just know they lived here.  My uncle has an Adega there, right on the ocean side. I would always hear my mother tell stories of Seeing an Adega one day, and then the next morning it was washed away by the waves. But, this one has been here for at least a hundred years, I try not to worry myself. Our time on Pico is blessed by abundant thunder and Lightning, the sky is having its own party. The Night before my grandmothers big day, all the women sit at the Adega and drink Homemade wine from 100 year old ceramic bowls. They are mostly speaking Portuguese, but planning the logistics for tomorrow. We needed four Queens to which I and my mother volunteered. Two other Queens came from the Village.  My son carried the flag my Aunt Ana Made in America for this event, and my dad was to carry the flag from the community center to the church. We had mass inside the Church,  Soon the queens where  asked to come forward. The Priest said some words here and there, we had incense smoked around us, It lasted for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden I feel hard things being thrown at me! Well, the ending of this involves all the children in the village throwing hard sugar candies in our crowns. With giggles and till the candy was gone, my crown filled up with little white sugar candies. The candy blessing, I'm not sure exactly what it meant, but for me it was a simple, "May sweetness come to you" and to get all churchy, "May it also be with you" . I did not have any hesitation in being part of this ritual act in a church that is on top of the graves of my ancestors. I was surprised that I was asked to be a Queen, just because I am not a Catholic any more, but it was definatly a memorable and unique experience I would never give up! And Now I will totally being thowing candy at people sometime soon!

 
 
In Terceira, I was able to hang out Sandy, Sandy is good times for sure. We visited tombs, and churches, and some random, "lets just see what happens" kinds of places.
Christie, Sandy and I had decided to hang out in Angra for a while, the streets of Praia where packed with kids and families and we lost patience quick. I asked my dad how Port do pipas was after it was destroyed by the storm last year, and he said that it was rebuilt, but it is a very shady area now, lots of drugs and strange occurrences. Challenge Accepted. So we stopped at Praca Velha, then walked to the Cais and decided to check out our old hangin spot; Port Do Pipas. It looked dead from The Cais but we figured it would be an adventure, and it would be our first time walking there since we got to the island. It was dark, but they do have some streetlamps and lights from the main street. To give you a visual, it is a port, with boats , some in storage and some on the water, there are clubs that stick out, it used to be a really bumpin' spot, all kinds of music, and LOUD. But the storm destroyed much of the port, and it was rebuilt. Unfortunately many of the businesses left for good, so there is one Bar and one club there now. People still go fishing off the very end, but it is fenced off, so I imagine there is some other "shady" stuff happening around the fence too now.
We decide to not walk on the street, because we could see the light of cigarettes being smoked from behind the shadows, and they puffed long and hard as if they where really focused on us. We walked close to the water on the landing. This is a place I have visited my whole life, and it has gone through major transformations. They have the one room Sailor/fisherman houses lined up on the street, these are new, but they still have the old dilapidated stone houses with their darkened windows and doors. We immediately look at each other, and say, "It's a fucking Ghost town"  and continue on, we see the little lights of cigarettes get thrown on the ground, and hear the whisper of Cat Calls coming from the shadows. The sound of cat calls around the Azores seems to be something like if you make the Shhhhh sound and move your lips open and closed very fast. I call a cat to me in a similar way. And then men start to come out of the darkness, not getting close, but just watching, like maybe they wanted to rob us, or maybe they thought we were prostitutes, Maybe they just wanted a closer look for all of the above reasons. Who knows why, but they do not follow us to the bars. We sit down for a beer, there is one group next to us, and all other tables are empty. Christie and I remember this bar was once a club. We try to recall the name, but settled at "The place where Monika threw up on the floor, then danced to get the mop, and then, as she sang and danced to the music, mopped up her spew" We laughed, tis was so weird. We sat with our beers and reminisced a bit, telling Sandy how great this place was. We could hear the club on the end of the pier and it was so loud, there was no way we were going near it without earplugs. Then we saw a police car pull up, and 6 policeman come out one by one , reminding me of a clownmobile. We could not stop laughing! This was a little car! I think deep down we were grateful for the presence, but also for the comedic value of it. They stood there and dutifully waited for people to attempt to drive home drunk. Unfortunately this is when the Drunk guy at the bar globbed onto Sandy and wanted to talk with her all night. She politely answered and Christie and I giggled as we thought of ways to remove ourselves from the Situation. We finished our beer and started to walk to the end of the pier. The drunk guy goes in to tell everyone that there are Cops outside those "Secanas" And "Filha Du Putas" are waiting to put you in jail! Eh, we find this our chance to take off, back the way we came, past the shadow smokers and creaking boats with mystery devils and lost souls. Sandy got a great picture Of Portu Pipas:
 
 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Path To Priestess!



Feb 14 (12 days ago)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
The Path to Priestess!
  It was the Pagan Fest in Berkeley; I believe it was 2005 or 2006. My friends and I were on the lookout for a high priestess to help with our friends’ baby blessing. We figured the Pagan fest was a great place to look!  Rabbit had been giving tarot readings at the fest and could be seen happily dancing in the California sunshine from time to time and when Leanna spoke with her, she said Rabbit was a perfect fit. My son was with me that day and we had been playing, visiting the crafty kids section and looking at all the wonderful items that pagan artists had to offer. As I stopped by one shop, it had been selling rings and other beautiful bobbles, a particular ring caught my eye. It was red amber; it had bubbles and was twinkling at me. I asked the woman what type of stone it was, she said cherry amber. So I tried the ring on, it fit perfect and I thought to myself. This is my ring, this is not normal for me to be so drawn to something and I will pay whatever amount that I have to have it. When she responded $40, I was sold.  Done and Done.
  When the time came for the Baby blessing, I arrived at the same time as  Rabbit. I only recognized her from the bouncing light above her head and found it serendipitous that she wore a ring with a matching setting as mine, but her amber was yellow butter amber. We met at the Threshold of Leannas' Home, I immediately introduced myself and asked if I could shake her hand. We walked into the home, and enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere. The baby blessing was astounding, I had never seen a priestess work in such a way; I had never seen anyone work this way. We all hit it off and had a really good time. Soon Jodi was talking about us all taking a road trip to Mexico, and well, we did, and that’s a whole ‘nother story! After a year or two of consideration, I decided to try my hand at Priestess work; I put in my application, did my training and found that I really enjoyed being a Priestess. This experience has opened a whole new outlook and inspiration in my life; it also was a perfect fit, even if I had some apprehension or uncertainty in this role. My amber ring has not left my finger, save for the times when it has to. On occasion it needs to be cleansed or my finger needs to breathe. It is my Priestess ring and I have been a Priestess in CAYA coven since 2009 and was ordained as a High Priestess a few years after. With Help from Rabbit, the Elderflowers and all of my sisters and Brothers~ I am grateful for this experience!