Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Rhiannon ~ In Mythology and Song


"Once in a million years a lady like her rises,
 Rhiannon!, you cry, but she's gone and your life knows no answer."
 ~ Stevie Nicks describing Pwyll's relentless pursuit of the Celtic Triple Goddess Rhiannon through song.


Stevie Nicks discovered the Rhiannon character in the early 1970s through a novel called Triad by Mary Bartlet Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon. There is mention of the Welsh legend of Rhiannon in the novel, but the characters in the novel bear little resemblance to their original Welsh namesakes (both Rhiannon and Branwen are major female characters in the medieval Welsh prose tales of the Mabinogion).
After writing the song, Nicks learned that Rhiannon originated from a Welsh goddess, and was amazed that the haunting song lyrics applied to the Welsh Rhiannon as well. Nicks researched the Mabinogion story and began work on a Rhiannon project, unsure of whether it would become a movie, a musical, a cartoon or a ballet. Subsequently, there were several Rhiannon-centered songs from this unfinished project, including "Stay Away" and "Maker of Birds." Nicks wrote the Fleetwood Mac song "Angel" based on the Rhiannon story.

The Story of Rhiannon

Rhiannon was the Celtic Goddess of song, white horses and death. Her name means, "Great Queen" and she is often depicted as a beautiful blonde-haired Goddess riding a swift, white horse. She is also considered a Triple Goddess – maiden, mother and crone. She was the wife of Pwyll, Prince of the Land of Dyved and the mother to their only son, Pryderi. She was wrongly accused of murdering her son and then later found innocent after he was returned to Dyved by his foster guardians. The child had actually been kidnapped by a man named Gwawl. Gwawl was the man whom Rhiannon’s father had promised her to before she had met Pwyll and a man whom she did not love. She and Pwyll had tricked Gwawl into releasing her from her fate of becoming his wife. Gwawl took his revenge by taking her child and framing her - making the kidnapping look like a murder.


After Pwyll had died years later, Rhiannon married Pryderi’s brother-in-law, Manawydan whom she was promised to by Pwyll upon his death. Together they ruled the Land of Dyved. Until one day, Rhiannon, her husband and Pryderi’s wife, Cigfa suddenly discovered that they were all alone in the land – everything else was gone! They roamed the land trying to find out what had happened. The next day, while hunting, Pryderi and Manawydan’s dogs chased a wild boar into a castle. When the dogs did not come back out, Pryderi went into the castle after them. When he did not come out, Rhiannon insisted upon going into the castle after him. As she entered the doorway, she found Pryderi’s hands frozen to a golden bowl which was attached to a fountain made of marble stone – his feet stuck to the slab of marble upon which he stood. Rhiannon then took hold of the bowl which enslaved him and she too became frozen to it. Neither one were able to speak. As night fell, the castle vanished!


Years after, while planting three seeds, Manawydan discovered that the first two seeds had been destroyed by a huge mouse. He decided to catch the mouse and place a noose around its neck to hang it. While attempting to hang the mouse, a Bishop approached him and began begging him not to kill it! Manawydan refused to let the mouse go until finally the Bishop explained to him that the mouse was actually his pregnant wife who had an enchantment placed upon her and that he was the one who cast the enchantment over Dyved to avenge his friend Gwawl, whom Rhiannon had dishonored so many years ago.

Manawydan insisted he would not let the creature go unless the Bishop freed his beloved wife Rhiannon and her son, Pryderi, and also promised to never harm him, his wife or her son ever again! The Bishop agreed and Rhiannon and her son were returned to Dyved where they finally lived happily ever after.

Monday, March 30, 2020

Monday this and that

Greetings friends and here we are, Monday already ... I mean once again - lol! Weekends always go by way too quickly for my liking, but I did however get a lot accomplished at home that I wanted to so at least it was a productive one. Among the projects I was able to cross off my list was finishing up the office downstairs (which used to be my reiki room). It will be used mainly for Brett's job, but I will also be utilizing it for my notary work and for storing my portable reiki bed as well ...

The bad news; however, is now I have to clean up and re-arrange my altar room since I had to go some place with all of the stuff I had stored in the old reiki room - oh well, perhaps that will be next weekends project? ...

Also, before I had put away my baking paraphernalia, I decided to bake my mom one of her favorite treats - lemon cupcakes!

As you all know, I have five beautiful fur babies who I absolutely love photographing every chance I get. So, here are a couple of gratuitous kitty pics I took this weekend ...
Merlin pretending he is not looking for trouble!
Merlin and Tabitha in a rare moment lying peacefully together in front of the living room window.
Leo loves to dive and hide underneath covers - lol
My sweet angel Butterscotch.

Have a great week everyone!!

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Saturday Odds 'n' Ends

Blessed Saturday evening everyone - hope all is well with you! I took a vacation day this past Friday to take my mom to her doctor appointment in order to get her cast off and also run some other errands she needed me to. There has recently been a "stay at home" order in place for many counties in Pennsylvania - including mine. That does not include traveling back and forth to my job since we are considered "essential" and will remain open as the hospitals, doctors, and patients who are in need of our services still depend on us for their medical needs. Remember, not ALL surgeries are elective! I happen to agree with this - I truly do feel as if what my company provides is actually important indeed. And, because of the 8pm curfew we are currently under, my company has provided all of us with a "letter of necessity" in the event that we are pulled over by a police officer driving to and from work as we have second shift that works until 10:30pm and third shift that starts at 10:30pm.

Speaking of work,  I had some left over rosemary chicken sauce from my last order of Chef Jesenia's rosemary chicken dinner. I used the rest of it to add to my grilled chicken sandwiches I made in my air fryer today ...

I added some marinara sauce and provolone cheese to Brett's sandwich and a side of spaghetti as well ...

Moving on, I plan to spend the remainder of the weekend cleaning up the downstairs in order to turn my old reiki room into an office for Brett's job. Here are some before and after pics; however, the office is not quite finished yet although it is good enough to work in for the time being ...
(Before)

(After)

Of course, now I have the time-consuming task of cleaning up and re-arranging my altar room as mostly everything from the reiki room had to be moved somewhere. ...

At any rate, the weather has been nothing but miserable and rainy here all day so may as well get some stuff accomplished at home. Take care all!!

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Throwback Thursday

Saturday, September 08, 2012:


An Invocation of the Triple Goddess and God


This is an easy little invocation of the Triple Goddess and Triple God, and it is one that I use for various rituals and meditations. All you need is:


One white, one red and one black candle to honor the Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother and Crone. In addition, you will also need one yellow, one green and one gold candle to represent the Triple God of Lord, Father and King.
Start by lighting the Goddess candles while repeating the following words:
(white) ~ "Blessed be the Maiden, innocent and fresh."
(red)    ~  "Blessed be the Mother, fertile and loving." 
(black) ~ "Blessed be the Crone, powerful and wise!"

Then light the God candles and repeat as follows:

(yellow) ~ "Blessed be the Lord, gentle and kind."

(green)  ~ "Blessed be the Father, protective and warm."
(gold)   ~  "Blessed be the King, forever reborn!"

(You may, of course, wish to add your own names to fit your own tradition, etc. Just a suggestion, another good name to use in place of "King" is "Sage.")

Sunday, March 22, 2020

A Sunday post




https://www.patheos.com/blogs/tempest/2020/03/immunity-booster-sigil-promoting-good-health.html?fbclid=IwAR0rNhndaFosNLeBH0GKG4ij8M2Gfi46ZwBqlvFsKz_92pDDfm2GUTkHt3o


Greetings, friends and Blessed Sunday to all of you! With all of the insanity that is currently going on in the world right now (including the United States), I decided to share a post which my friend, Reiki Master, Wiccan High Priestess and fellow U.L.C. Minister Lady Sabrina Rhiannon passed along to me a couple of days ago:


With most media and government spreading more panic about the coronavirus than actual facts and proper guidance, I figured it would be a good idea to craft a sigil that can help folks who especially need to boost their immunity – and for the rest to help cut down on transmission.
This sigil is especially made with those who have compromised immune systems* and other high-risk categories in mind, as well as those who interact with them on a daily basis. Being health-conscious helps everyone.
BIG IMPORTANT THING:  I want to make it clear that the goal of this sigil is NOT to be a replacement for proper hygiene and medical treatment. Rather the Immunity Booster sigil is designed to help aid in the processes that contribute to sustainable good health.  Remember, magic is not an “out there” force, but the power to change that originates from within ourselves. Individually we can make a difference if we seek to change the situation, especially collectively. So to repeat: keep washing your hands (and moisturize them), cover your cough properly, take sanitary precautions, seek medical treatment when needed, and generally be a smarter human being. (Also, don’t be a racist idiot.)  
Built Into This Sigil:
– protection
– responsible mindfulness
– community conscious
– promote cleanliness and good hygeine
– minimize transmission
– sustained good health
– enough resources for all (prevention and treatment)
– affordable access to those resources for everyone
– focus on lungs
– calm, let wisdom and common sense guide



How To Use This Sigil
This is a shared magic sigil. You are welcome to use this sigil however you see fit that is in alignment with the intent of the sigil.  Ideas for use:
– post in public places where transmission of contagious diseases can increase – meeting rooms, bathrooms, kitchens – places where promoting excellent sanitary habits benefits everyone
– washing the body (carve on soap)
– anointing the body (perhaps in combination with oils that promote awareness and good health)
– applying to health-boosting tincture containers, water bottles, and other personal cups
– place on candles to help focus energy on those who especially need additional protection.

*It’s important to note that boosting the actual human immune system itself is not specifically built into this sigil. For some people, the root of the problem is that their immune systems are already working overtime. Instead, the focus is on promoting good health and appropriate protection – in whatever form helps – so those folks won’t be additionally compromised.  The name pulls more on the idea of herd immunity: referring to the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease.
The Immunity Booster Sigil is protected by the Creative Commons License, details below:

Blessings to ALL and please stay safe and well!

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Ostara ~ 2020

"The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us, that which we put into the ground, she returns to us ..."
~ Big Thunder

Greetings, friends and Happy Saturday! Today, I spent the afternoon with my sister Aurora Skye. We had a very nice day catching up! So glad it is finally spring and the weather is gradually getting warmer as the days go on. 

I would like to share a few pics with you from Ostara ...
Our Ostara/Spring Equinox altar.

The basket of decorated eggs used to place around the perimeter of the circle during ritual.

Aurora and I enjoying our home baked spring cupcakes of strawberry and confetti cake.

The cats chilling out together on such a beautiful afternoon!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of rosemary chicken and macaroni and cheese ...

And some yummy desserts including sourdough pound cake with chocolate ice cream and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (both baked by Chef Jesenia)!

Brightest Blessings all!

Friday, March 20, 2020

Blessed Spring (and some other stuff) ...

Happy Spring everyone and Blessed Ostara! I was orginally scheduled to work another mandatory Saturday this weekend, but it was thankfully cancelled and it looks like my original plans to spend time with my sister Aurora Skye and celebrate the Spring Equinox with her this weekend is back on! 

I also wanted to share a couple of more pics from Chef Jesenia's menu last week ...

Baby Back Ribs and rice.

Oreo Cookie muffins! These are so GOOD! The chocolate taste is heavenly!

After I got home from work last night, I baked some Spring cupcakes for our Ostara ritual celebration for Saturday. One batch is strawberry flavored and the other is confetti cake mix ...


I will post again sometime this weekend after our Ostara celebration. We have a special day planned and I am very much looking forward to it! Have a great Friday everyone and stay safe!!

Monday, March 16, 2020

2020 Sabbats & Full Moons

FULL MOON
January 10th
February 9th
March 9th
 April 7th
May 7th
June 5th
July 5th
August 3rd
September 2nd
October 1st
October 31st (SECOND FULL MOON)
November 30th
December 29th

SABBATS

Imbolg/Imbolc - February 2nd
Ostara/Spring Equinox - March 19th
Beltane - May 1st
Litha/Summer Solstice - June 20th
Lughnasadh/Lammas - August 1st
Mabon/Autumnal Equinox - September 22nd
Samhain - October 31st
Yule/Winter Solstice - December 21st

Friday, March 13, 2020

Fun Friday (and an update)

Greetings, friends and Happy Friday to you! I have been meaning to publish this post all week, but things have been so crazy busy so I am using it in my Fun Friday post for today.

But first, little update on my mom. I took her for her follow-up appointment with her orthopedic doctor last Friday morning. He said that as far as he can tell, her cast is working just fine and she most likely will not need surgery on her right wrist so long as she keeps taking care of it as she has been and she will need yet another follow up in another two weeks. Fingers crossed. I wish to thank you all for your kind words of support!

After her doctor appointment, I needed to take her a couple of more places before going to work. One of those places was her local dollar store where I found these little goodies ...

I also tried a couple of more new meals from "Chef Jesenia's" menu ... all were very, very good! 👏
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Rosemary Chicken with yummy roasted potatoes - DELICIOUS!!

Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes.


💙💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜


And, a thoughtful little surprise from a co-worker yesterday - a Gertrude Hawk Chocolate Cat! It is almost too cute to eat - lol! Many "Thanks" to Joyanne!


Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!