The Path To Priestess!

	Feb 14 (12 days ago)
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! 

 
With Love,Madame Hummingbird

Created as an offering to Hekate Phosphoros November 2012

By Mme. Hummingbird

Hekate Phosphoros Incense Recipe.

I am giving approx measurements.

Begin on the new moon (around November 16^th would be good but work with what you have of course!)

Large handful of dark juniper berries (bruised and mashed)

½ a vanilla bean chopped into small pieces

2 tablespoons of frankincense (small tears and powder)

Tablspn of Myrrh (in small tears)

Teaspn cardamom powder

3 pods of star anise crushed

a sprig of juniper (cut in small bits)

3 drops of wormwood EO

6 drops of oakmoss EO

6 drops of Cypress EO

6 drops of Pine EO

a drizzle of Vetiver EO

1-3 chopped/sliced figs (dried unsweetened) and sweet wine to cover in a bowl)

3 shade dried fig leaves (crumbled, stems removed)

a drizzle of honey

myrrh powder (about a tablespoon)

Mugwort dry herb(approx a tablespoon.)

Pinch of saffron -or suitable alternative (I’ve used calendula, when saffron is not available)

Begin under the new moon.

Try your best to source ingredients locally and at specific places; crossroads, seaside, in liminal places, for instance I gather my mugwort at a crossroad, but many I order or get from work. Make sure you know what you are gathering.

I gather figs that have fallen and dried on the tree and it may be best to cut them in small pieces while they are not covered in wine, or you could mash them by hand when wet, which is what I do. Let the figs soak in the wine for about 3 days. Let them sit on your altar to Hekate or give them their own place to soak. Then mash them up to a paste.

Add all the dry ingredients first (saving the myrrh powder), spread it out flat on a plate-then add the essential oils, mix well. Add the fig mix and a drizzle of honey, mix well, then add the powdered myrrh. Let it set till the full moon preferably in altar space.

To note: as you mix your ingredients and as you work, chant to Hekate and putting in your prayers to the incense is part of the work.

Dance to Hekate

Dance To hekate


Living, Death, Rebirth-
through Heaven, Sea and Earth.
Through Darkness and Shadow~
We seek what we know.

Dancing in Darkness- Dancing on Graves~
Hidden in Caverns, crawling in caves.

Cutting through Chaos,
finding the Lost~
Where 3 Roads Cross.

Death seeks to Devour~
The Primal-Power~
Hidden in the moss.

Living, Death, Reborn-
In the Light we do not Mourn.

Triple Way, Paths revealed,
Dancing in Darkness - You Heal.
Let us see now the Way~

Hekate! Hekate! Hekate!

-Madame Hummingbird

New Time

Cut away doubt and self loathing,

Cut away greed and frustration.

Clear the land of foul thought~

break the rock of their foundation

Monuments of poverty stand in city places

Woe has filled the spirit of many faces.

When our only respite is Death

The earth needs new Breath

When all hope has been taken;

Dance, till their spirits awaken.

Hummingbird

Adventure Thursday.

Typically, on Thursdays, I like to create a little adventure for myself (and, sometimes, others around me ;) Just
yesterday morning I got an email from the site findagrave requesting that I find, and photograph 3 headstones in a local cemetery. So I grab my friend Colette, who is also a joyful adventurer . We headed in our festive finery to the Holy Ghost Cemetery to snap pics, take a quiet stroll and muse over the obscene amount of nettles and other stinging/stabbing plants in this cemetery.

You see, this cemetery

has always been a target for mischief and midnight marauders. Headstones are moved and pushed over, some are completely destroyed and some, you find, have been lovingly handmade, with painted Mother Marys, Angels and/or Saints bought at the Garden store, and names carved in tiles to remember those buried here. Cactus, Nettle and thistles are ABUNDANT. I assume they where planted on purpose, to make sure people who come to the cemetery, pay attention and watch their step.

Colette and I are brainstorming ways to clean up the place a bit, maybe have a garbage pick up,

or pull some of the more obtrusive weeds. Then Colette suggests we head to the Holy Spirit Church to talk to the caretaker of the place, after all, someone does come here every morning to open the gates, and at dusk to lock them up. So two witches find their way to Holy Spirit Church.

We ask questions, how do we find out where someone I know is buried (my great Grandmother is buried

here) and if we can volunteer for a cemetery clean up. The woman at the counter tells us a few stories of headstones completely removed and how they would get calls from the police about a random headstone in a park, or backyard. It seems that stealing headstones for pranks is pretty funny to someone out there, but I can't image in the bad juju that could fall on that someone because of it.

Colette and I ramble on about the beauty and tranquility of walking in the cemetery and the Guy in charge gives us a a little bit of an odd look, but overall he was very polite and he got our information for future reference :P I think we know a bit too much about local cemeteries and other odd bits of local info, that we came off as a bit, um, suspicious- but who knows, I try not to assume. Maybe he will call us.

They certainly need some help. I would be willing to offer hands and any assistance to the cemetery if they need me to. I am pretty sure Colette is with me on this one.

We eventually found our way to the Pioneer Cemetery where, we found a very interesting person, but that might have to be for another blog, at another time that Rachel Chooses to visit.

The adventure never ends! May you have a blessed one yourself, today and everyday ~

Dakini

This is part 2 of My Legacy of the year. Yeshe Rabbit suggested this year long Legacy project to me and I thought it was a great idea. Basically what it means is that I commit to recording 9 videos of me performing a Sacred Dance with the general idea being related to honoring Goddess, Ancestress and/or Feminine figures or their energy. I had the feeling this next dance was going to be completely improvised and I was hoping so. I took the opportunity of our annual retreat in the beautiful and secluded Santa Cruz Mountains to find the perfect time and place for this to come together. I told Rabbit my feeling on this dance, celebrating the great change within our coven, the sacrifice of our beloved name (within the Amazon Tribe), and the feeling of knowing you are truly free to do what you want, and need to do for your spiritual well being. Rabbit knew of this chant, which maybe she can explain some time, but it worked out wonderfully for the energy I wanted. The Magnolia tree proved to be the perfect setting for this dance, it had always been a great place to sit under and admire the beauty within and around.

And now, for the dance! Thanks to everyone who helped.

Sky Dancer

Love,

Madame Hummingbird

Making Change.

Real change comes through evolution, it comes with hard work, and sacrifice. In my own growth as a High Priestess and person, I set the stage for my growth within community.

This will be hard for me to write out, so forgive me if it makes absolutely no sense at all to the casual reader.

There have been low points in my life that I often attributed to me deserving it. Being told throughout my life that all of the pain and suffering of the world is because of Eve and now I will suffer for it because, somehow; I deserve to suffer. I menstruate, I give birth, I have breasts and a Vagina. All of the beautiful parts of me have been demoralized and perverted. And somehow, this is all My fault. When I went into the hospital to give birth, alone, scared and young. I was not treated with compassion or respect. I was asked right away to show my proof of insurance, they assumed, I had none. I was interrogated, "you might as well tell me what drugs you are on because we will test you!". They injected me and prodded me, all "standard procedure" of course, though I don't know how the hurtful words come into standard procedure. Once my doctor confirmed that I was her patient for the last 3 years the staff changed (I had asked they be removed from my room, and I was moved to a nicer room anyway). I was soon wheeled off to surgery to have my son cut out of my belly. I felt very alone and I cried the whole time. When my son cried for the first time I laughed, it sounded like he cried "Maamaaa!". It was the best and worst moment of my life. I had no one there to comfort me or be my council. no one there to tell me "it's going to be Ok" Instead the people I had put my trust in, had hurt me in a way that was life-changing.

I know they were wrong for treating me this way, but the pain is still there, and when I think of that time, I still cry like I was on that table being cut open again.

Flash forward to me meeting up with Rabbit and becoming a High Priestess. I was not really that interested in "women-only naked ritual". I thought that would just set me up for disaster! I had been a Priestess in The Wildflower tradition for a few years before I decided to train to become an Amazon Priestess. It was not an easy decision for me to make. But the Change was good. I sat and shared stories with my sisters of heartache and success in the world, of what its like to be a mother and even discuss menstruation in all of its details. This does not make us who we are, but it is a part of us.

Now, I invite change, I wish for it. I enjoy the light of the moon and when the tide pulls back, I look for all the new treasures in the sand. My painful experiences are not all my fault, they are not any one persons fault, but I can grow from them. This Tribe of women will continue to evolve and create healing for the World.