Tag Archives: passion

February 16, 2024 · 10:21 pm

The Outer Realm of the Paranormal

Merry meet all,

I have really enjoyed listening to the podcast The Outer Realm hosted by Michelle DesRochers and Amelia Pisano. I can’t get enough of their podcast. I am even a convert to Folgers Coffee. I have subscribed to their podcast and I am quickly becoming a loyal listener. The podcast is so amazing that I can’t imagine missing a single podcast. 

I love podcasts, more than movies. They provide entertainment in a way that movies don’t and the podcasts are in line with my passions and interests. I have learned a lot since listening to her podcast. Yes I do love podcasts and I love her podcast – it is all about the paranormal: ETs, alien encounters and some other topics. The other topics have ranged from ghosts, animal empaths and historical horror novels like Dracula.

Michele and Amelia are intelligent, down to earth and compassionate. They are super nice and they are great listeners. Maybe I can be on their podcast some day. I would love that. 

I just bought a fascinating magazine titled Ghosts and Hauntings: Spectres, Spooks & Restless Spirits. The magazine was produced by Fortean Times: The World of Strange phenomena. I have to finish reading the book The Witch’s Guide to the Paranormal. I started reading it and I haven’t finished it but I will soon. I want to actually write the book on ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. I will likely do a lot of research for my book. I have started writing it and I am really excited. I have been blogging on the paranormal for years. I have completed under a thousand posts. It is my passion and life. I am quite excited and it feels good to be writing something new. I also want to read a book I bought titled Deathbed Visions. I bet that will be a good book! The book was written by Sir William Barrett. 

I doubt I will self-publish the book. I can get the book traditionally published, I am sure and I can’t afford to cover the costs involved with self-publishing. Maybe this is the right time for to write this book on ghosts and clairvoyance. I had to have a bit of life experience before I could write it. I mean, the paranormal is my life and I hope that readers can feel my passion as they read. 

I bought a small bird house and a bottle of brown acrylic paint from Dollarama today. I plan to paint the birdhouse brown and make it a bat house. The green and white bookcase that I assembled where I store most of my paranormal books is for horror titles. A bat house will be a welcome spooky addition to the bookcase. It will hang from a hook and the bats are welcome to inhabit the little house and hang out there. 

Tonight I listened to Lights out Podcast. I am now listening to The Paranormal 60 hosted by Dave Schrader. His guest is discussing the phenomena about black eyed kids. I have never seen a black eyed kid myself but many people have claimed to have seen them. They sound eerie and unsettling. I am not exactly holding my breath waiting for an encounter with them. 

There is so much to learn about the paranormal and all the strange beings that come with it. Aliens, angels, demons, skin walkers, black eyed kids, grey aliens, wendigos, Bigfoot, etc. I think it is important to maintain a balanced, open mind about it. There is way more talk about the paranormal than ever before. I know we have the benefit of unprecedented ease of global communication. I think that is part of it but I also think that something like a portal opened. Now, this portal is open and it was done in such a way that some beings crossed over. Whatever has opened the portal or inter dimensional portal doesn’t want to seal it and doesn’t care about the human race. It could have been aliens, a person or something. Now that something has opened like a portal, a portly? lol, I don’t think there is any closing it. It’s like a Pandora’s box. 

We may see weirder things in the future, which scares me. The earth is suffering from the fact that her resources are being so wantonly wasted, climate change, war, crime and poverty. These are just a handful of the issues we are facing today. On a paranormal level, it may become common to see black eyed kids, aliens and other cryptid creatures. The future is so uncertain and fascinating at the same time. We can at least have an open mind and still protect ourselves- or you just may have an experience yourself!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Links: 

https://www.youtube.com/@TheParanormal60

https://www.youtube.com/@Michelle-TheOuterRealmRadio

 

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August 18, 2023 · 12:20 pm

August’s prequel to October

Merry meet all,

The rain’s pouring hard here. Last night, a few raccoons were cacophonously serenading the backyard. I have no idea what was going on but they caused a real ruckus. Nothing happened to my garden. I guess it is all good. The summer season has flown by. October is around the corner. I want my garden to grow faster and better. I know Mother Nature takes her time. 

Yesterday A.F Stewart interviewed me for her show The Book Chat. I was thrilled to be interviewed. I shall post the link when it becomes available. I spoke about writing short fiction and poetry, and my horror novella. It felt good to be interviewed. A.F Stewart was so sweet. 

The first Paranormal Symposium occurs in October, 2023. I bought my ticket months ago. I just can’t wait. I have posted the latest trailer for the symposium on my timeline. I just can’t wait and I am so excited. Here is the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/halifax-paranormal-symposium-2023-tickets-541022772677.  I may need to try on 60 different outfits for this and I have to figure out where the event is located before the event. I love the paranormal and well, I mean, look at this blog. Of course I love the paranormal. I will dive deeper into the paranormal since the dark half of the year is not that far away. Nothing is keeping me from attending the Paranormal Symposium.

I guess I love the paranormal so much. I feel a strong connection to it. I have a connection to the dead. I know I tackle some strong topics on this blog, but isn’t that what a blog is for? I have always had the ability to see the dead. Well I shouldn’t say always, I had to move to Nova Scotia to realize I had this ability but once I did, it just went from there. I was fortunate enough to find a supportive community of like minded individuals. I was trained in mediumship and I have certificates. I don’t always see or sense something but when I do, I am usually right. I have no idea why  I had to move to another province to find out I am mediumistic. It could be the energies of the city here, the fact that it is uber haunted, full of ghosts, history, tragedy, blood. That woke up a latent talent, I guess. Maybe the spirits chose me. Who knows? I will never have the reason and I have decided to accept it. Or, as Harry Potter says, just go with it. You don’t always get the answers you were after. 

I believe it is vital to be a part of a community of like minded individuals when you delve into occultism, mediumship, etc. They can protect you, support you and teach you. I probably sound like Gandalf right now but he had a good point. Skeptics can be cruel or nice. But it is good to have a group of people to reach out to if you get a hard time. One hard lesson I have learned is to offer aid only to those who ask for it. Also, it is important to have an open mind. Not everyone who doesn’t believe in ghosts or aliens is trying to be mean. They could just be sharing their perspective. They are entitled to their opinions, no matter what it may be. I know, I go home and grumble about the skeptics too. They can’t help themselves. If you need to, stand up for yourself. 

Training in mediumship allows you to have more control over your talents. That is a good thing. I would never turn down the opportunity for training. Your talents grow better with practice. It is like exercising a muscle. To keep it strong, you have to try. So. you can imagine my enthusiasm when I first learned about the Paranormal Symposium. That never happens here. Of course I bought my ticket early. I bet they will be sold out for tickets and that the room where it takes place will barely have standing room. I plan to arrive early to get my spot- front row!

August is almost over. August is the prequel to October and the dark half of the year. I love summer. I love being in my garden. My garden takes away my stress. Fall though is when I feel I can be myself more. The leaves trickle to the cold earth and the days grow darker. I look forward to the cold season and all the dark gifts it brings: the harvest, the colourful leaves, ghosts, the scent of autumn in the air. Pumpkins, Samhain, cider and apples!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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June 21, 2022 · 8:37 pm

Summer Solstice Lantern )O(

Merry meet all,

Happy Summer Solstice!!! I hope you are all celebrating the summer solstice. I did too and I’m going to tell you all about it in this post. I will post a link below to the blog post from Herbal Academy that tells you how to make it. I’m taking the summer course on how to press flowers at the Herbal Academy. 

To make a Summer Solstice Lantern, clean and wash a large glass jar like one you use for pasta sauce. Let it air dry. For this project, I didn’t press the flowers first but they are supposed to be pressed. Also, instead of white glue or Mod Podge glue, I used a hot glue gun. I used the watered down white glue at first. I discovered that a hot glue gun was better at making flowers adhere to the jar. Afterwards, I bought and used Mod Podge to give it a permanent finish. It looks great and yours will too. 

You will need the following supplies:

  • a hot glue gun and glue
  • tweezers
  • scissors
  • a clean dry jar
  • flowers
  • white glue
  • Mod Podge glue
  • paper towel and a work surface – glue can get messy
  • twine, a wire
  • salt
  • tealights

Ok let’s get started. So once your jar is clean and dry, set it down on your workspace. Have old newspaper and paper towel nearby. This can get messy. If you pressed the flowers ahead of time, that’s great. I used the flowers I picked today for this project. Clean off any bugs and snip off the stems. It’s a good idea to use flat faced flowers for this project such as buttercup, white Shasta daisies, violets, red clover leaves. Use a paintbrush to dab on the glue of your choice to the jar. Before the glue dries, pick up the delicate flower with the tweezers and stick it on the jar where you dabbed the glue. Apply the flower with gentle firm pressure. 

This is tricky. You can’t tear or cut the flower. I brushed from the centre of the flower out to the petals. I dabbed the glue over the face of the flower in gentle, outward strokes. I suggest making sure the flower face stays flat. So be gentle with this step. Add more flowers to the jar. Think about the design you want it to have. Let the jar dry thoroughly. Be patient with this project. Arrange the flowers around the jar as you choose. Keep dabbing glue on to the jar and applying gentle firm pressure till you are satisfied with it. Place stems around flowers or under flowers or in whichever design you choose. 

Gently dab glue over the flowers. I suggest using Mod Podge for this step. It gives the flowers a frosted finish. When it has all dried, then you can proceed to the next step. You can wrap a wire around the opening of the jar. I secured mine with a dab of hot glue. I love my hot glue gun, can you tell? The instructions on how to do this are in the link. Then add a few inches of salt into the jar. Put a tea light in perhaps one with essential oils added to the candle, and watch the candle glow in your personal Summer Solstice Lantern. I hope you have fun with this and show me pictures of your own summery crafts. 

Below is the link to the blog post from the Herbal Academy:

Link: https://theherbalacademy.com/flower-lanterns/ 

Happy Solstice!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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May 2, 2022 · 5:43 pm

The Fires of Beltane

Merry meet all,

The Wheel of the Year has turned again! The Beltane Sabbat is upon us. But I keep seeing ads that tell us we are halfway to Samhain. I just feel like jumping up and declaring, “No, not yet, I don’t have my plants in the ground!”. Beltane is about fertility, love magic, passion and flowers. I am excited to see my garden growing! The chives, woodruff, lemon balm, dandelions, coltsfoot, raspberries and tiger lilies are up. Even the lungwort has already flowered! It is just beautiful. I went on a long walk on the nature trail.

We are less than a week away fron StokerCon! I am so excited! It is the premier horror writing convention for all those horror fans (including me!). I attended the virtual StokerCon last year and I can’t wait for this year’s StokerCon! A lot to look forward to! I pre-ordered Tim Waggoner’s Writing in the Dark workbook. It accompanies the original Writing in the Dark book.  My poem, The Frightening Spirit, is the second poem published by Polar Borealis this year! It will publish soon. I look forward to that too. I just approved the proofs the editor sent me.  Waggoner’s book is released on May 25, 2022.

I ordered a hot black dress from Killstar. That should arrive soon! So much to look forward to. !!

My pumpkin seeds just germinated. I am surprised. I had to wait 2 weeks for them to germinate. They did germinate and now I have to let them grow. When they are transplanted outside, I have to either thin them out or figure out where they will get the most room to grow. Pumpkin patches need lots of space and sunlight to grow their best. 

Beltane is a Pagan holiday, and one of the eight Sabbats. It falls about halfway between the spring equinox (Ostara) and the coming summer solstice, Litha. The holiday celebrates spring at its peak, and the coming summer. Beltane also sometimes goes by the name May Day. This holiday is associated very strongly with fertility for pagans.

This festival is often commemorated with bonfires, maypoles, dancing, and performing fertility rituals. Beltane is a Celtic word, meaning “the fires of Bel.” Bel, likely referred to the Celtic sun god, Belenus. The Celts used to light two bonfires because they believed it would purify themselves, as well as increase their fertility. They would pass cattle between the two fires, with the belief that it would purify the cattle, and ensure the fertility of the herd. Although this is not a ritual that is practiced now, modern pagans still light bonfires and practice fertility rituals on this day.

Modern-day pagans celebrate Beltane in a variety of ways. One way to celebrate is with a maypole. In this custom, a pole is placed in a field with ribbons attached. Each person (usually women and girls) will grab a hold of their own ribbon, and dance around the pole in a special way, so as to weave the ribbons into a specific pattern. This is one of the more common fertility rituals that might take place on this day. Celebrators also might weave flowers into their hair, or create a floral wreath to wear upon their head as a celebration of spring. Some pagans light a bonfire and dance around (or even over) it, which is another common fertility ritual for the day. Lastly, some people prepare “May baskets,” and fill them with flowers and goodwill. They give the baskets to someone in need of care, such as an elderly friend, or someone who is recovering from an illness.

Credit given to https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-holidays-beltane-and-the-last-day-of-ridvan/

Beltane Lore & Rites

 

Beltane Customs

Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend. Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within. On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it. Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck. Welcome in the May at dawn with singing and dancing.

Going A-Maying & Bringing in the May — Merry-making and Nature communion. * Midpoint between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. * In Pagan Rome, Floralia, from April 27-May 3 was the festival of the Flower Goddess Flora and the flowering of Springtime. On May 1, offerings were made to Bona Dea (as Mother Earth), the Lares (household guardian spirits), and Maia (Goddess of Increase) from whom May gets its name. * Roman Catholic traditions of crowning statues of Mary with flowers on May 1 have Roman Pagan roots. * Marks the second half of the Celtic Year; one of the four Celtic Fire Festivals. Complement to Samhain, it is a time of divination and communion with Fairy Folk/Nature Spirits. * Pastoral tradition of turning sheep, cows, other livestock out to pasture. * In Pagan Scandinavia, mock battles between Winter and Summer were enacted at this time. * Building on older tradition of this time being a holiday for the masses, in the twentieth century, May Day has been a workers’ holiday in many places. * Some say that Mother’s Day, in the USA, Mexico, and elsewhere has Pagan roots.

Maypole

Forms include pole, tree, bush, cross; communal or household; permanent or annual. * In Germany, Fir tree was cut on May Eve by young unmarried men, branches removed, decorated, put up in village square, & guarded all night until dance occurred on May Day. * In England, permanent Maypoles were erected on village greens * In some villages, there also were smaller Maypoles in the yards of households. * Maypole ribbondances, with two circles interweaving; around decorated bush/tree, clockwise circle dances.

Flowers & Greenwood

Gathering and exchange of Flowers and Greens on May Eve, pre-dawn May Day, Beltane. * Decorating homes, barns, and other buildings with Green budding branches, including Hawthorn. * Making and wearing of garland wreaths of Flowers and/or Greens. * May Baskets were given or placed secretly on doorsteps to friends, shut-ins, lovers, others. * May Bowl was punch (wine or non-alcoholic) made of Sweet Woodruff blossoms.

Beltane Fires

Traditionally, sacred woods kindled by spark from flint or by friction — in Irish Gaelic, the Beltane Fire has been called teine eigin (fire from rubbing sticks). * Jump over the Beltane Fire, move through it, or dance clockwise around it. * Livestock was driven through it or between two fires for purification and fertility blessings. * In ancient times Druid priests kindled it at sacred places; later times, Christian priests kindled it in fields near the church after peforming a Christian church service. * Rowan twigs were carried around the fire three times, then hung over hearths to bless homes. * In the past, Beltane community fire purification customs included symbolic sacrifice of effigy knobs on the Beltane Cake (of barley) to the fire, or, in medieval times, mock sacrifice of Beltane Carline (Hag) who received blackened piece of Beltane Cake; Maypoles in Spain were each topped with a male effigy which was later burned. Contemporary Pagans burn sacred wood and dried herbs as offerings in their Beltane fires.

May Waters

Rolling in May Eve dew or washing face in pre-dawn May Day dew for health, luck, beauty. * Getting head and hair wet in Beltane rain to bless the head. * Blessing springs, ponds, other sacred waters with flowers, garlands, ribbons, other offerings. * Collecting sacred waters and scrying in sacred springs, wells, ponds, other waters.

Sacred Union & Fertility

Union with the Land focus, often with actual mating outside on the Land to bless fields, herds, home. * May Queen (May Bride) as personification of the Earth Goddess and Goddesses of Fertility. * May King (May Groom) as personification of Vegetation God, Jack-in-Green — often covered in green leaves. * At Circle Sanctuary, in addition to May Queen & May King, is May Spirit Couple, an already bonded pair. * Symbolic Union of Goddess and God in election/selection, crowning, processional, Maypole dance, feast. * Morris Dancers and pageants (with Hag & Jack-in-Green) to awaken the fertility in the Land.

Credit given to Circle Sanctuary site. 

I hope you found this post interesting! I shall post the link to Polar Borealis when the new issue is published. Till then, be well and enjoy Beltane!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

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