The calm after the storm

Greetings, friends! Well, today was rather windy and in the low 20's BUT NOT snowing. My husband decided to take a vacation day (although he is still on call this entire week up and including this weekend) to dig our cars out of the snowy mess. The remainder of the week promises to be VERY cold. Par for the course so to speak ....

And now an update on Butterscotch. We received a call from our veterinarian this afternoon. She told us that Butterscotch's blood tests were normal for the most part save for his low urine concentration. She said that his urine is very diluted which is not considered normal for a cat. She suggested we either have a follow up done in a month so long as he keeps his food down or we can have an abdominal x-ray performed to make sure that the removal of his malignant cancerous tumor has not spread for any reason as Dr. Mike noted in Butterscotch's chart that he was unable to remove ALL of the surrounding tumor from his left leg. We have scheduled him for a follow-up on February 24th.   

Last weekend, I spent the afternoon with my sister Aurora Skye where I picked up these books at Barnes & Noble ...

This book was written by actor Kristian Nairn who played the character of Hodor in the HBO series, "Game of Thrones".

And, this interesting magazine on Stevie Nicks! ...

 " ... and the summer became the Fall. I was not ready for the Winter ..." ~ Stevie Nicks ("Nightbird")

Thank you to everyone for their prayers and good thoughts for Butterscotch!

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The Business of Witchcraft: A Review

The other day, while looking around in our local Barnes & Noble Bookstore, I picked up the newest edition of The Witches Almanac. I usually only buy it for the yearly calendar and maybe a couple of interesting articles and such. Paging through it, I came across an article titled, "The Business of Witchcraft" by Laura Tempest Zakroff

It left such a bad taste in my mouth after reading it that I decided I needed to write a post of my own about both the article and the subject she hit a nerve on! In the interest of keeping this post from getting too long and detailed, I will stick to only the main points from her rather ill-advised views.

She begins by mentioning witchcraft and business, saying: 

"... quite a few witches tend to get uneasy when you mention business and money in reference to Witchery."

Then, she continues by comparing the services of witchcraft to non-spiritual and metaphysical services, stating:

 

"We don't ask our farmers, lawyers, or doctors to give away their services or expertise."

Really? First of all, some services provided by witches such as tarot, palm readings, any type of divination or spell working, even Reiki (although if a Reiki Master chooses to charge money within reason due to materials and their time and cost incurred for their own training it may be understandable), involve the ethics of the witch in question because he or she is  NOT God or our Mother Herself (the Divine). In other words, the witches themselves are only using the "gift" given by the Divine and furthermore, are using the Divine to profit from this gift in regards to the craft and services they are performing. 

I always question the motives of some other witches and how they view their own "ethics" when practicing their craft. I, personally, never ask or demand any monies when performing tarot readings for anyone. I feel however, that if they wish to give a couple of dollars as a thank you (gift) I will accept, but I NEVER charge! I have always held a personal general rule about it because I feel it is too self-serving at the very least.

This author does nothing but make excuses and tries to rationalize personal behaviors. Her attitude is quite obvious in her below YouTube video when she tries to twist and change the idea of The Three-Fold Law - the idea of karma and the universal law of return. 

I, myself, have a few posts on the subject of The Three-Fold Law of Return and protecting yourself the RIGHT WAY while doing so. In my opinion, this author is extremely misguided. 

(For more info regarding this "author", I have included one of her YouTube videos in case anyone is interested)

Lehigh Canal Ghost Tour with Charlie Adams III!

Blessed Samhain and Happy Halloween all! Tonight, my husband and I had tickets to take one of Charlie Adams III's ghost tours. Charlie was born and raised in Berks County, PA and has authored 35 ghost story books over the past few years - I own a few of them. This tour was located at The National Canal Museum in Easton, PA ...

One of the two mules helping to pull the canal boat. Their names are Hank and Ernie ...

The Captain dressed up as a zombie ...

Posing for a pic with Charlie before the start of the boat tour. He is so personable and was such a pleasure to chat with ...

Charlie sharing ghost stories with everyone ...

Midway through the tour, we paused briefly to enjoy the gorgeous sunset and beautiful scenery along the canal ...

Even Charlie commented on "how cool" it was while everyone including himself snapped a quick pic ...

This was Charlie's last tour for this year. I have always wanted to be a part of one of Charlie Adams' ghost tours and I am very happy that I finally had the chance!

(Photo courtesy of Charles J. Adams III)

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Some neat pics on our ride home from the ghost tour ...

Science, Colors & Emotions

A few years ago, I had written a post entitled, "The Color of Moods" in which I talked about a seminar I attended that was facilitated by a registered nurse on how colors affect our emotions. This post is intended to serve as a more scientific view on the subject. 

Have you ever noticed that certain colors tend to induce or bring about specific emotions when looking at them? For example, does the color light blue make you feel calm or peaceful? Does the color red make you feel passionate - or perhaps even a little more aggressive? Have you ever noticed that mental hospitals tend to use the color yellow on their walls?

While doing some further research on the subject, I learned a few very interesting things. For one, not only do certain colors evoke specific emotional responses regarding our brain patterns, but scientific studies have found that there are three ways in which colors effect us: 

1) Psychologically: This effect is based on our personal experiences.
2) Symbolically: Such colors can be associated with a specific object. For example, the color "sky-blue," "sea-green," "candy-apple red," and so on.
3) Culturally: The color white, for example, is usually associated with pureness and innocence in western society, but in eastern culture it is the color for death and sadness.

How exactly can colors manipulate our feelings and emotions? Well, according to a study by Wellesley College researchers Stoughton and Bevil Conway, it is possible that our brains are hard-wired to like or dislike certain colors and it all relates to emotional responses when we see color. Advertisers are well aware of this fact and use this information to their advantage when promoting and selling their products. As stated by Conway, the research study has significant implications for the creative community "to the extent that anyone would find it informative to know how the nervous system works, and through that would gain an appreciation for these phenomena, I would think artists and designers could benefit."

(For more information on colors, please click on the links at the bottom)

While the science behind our emotional connections to color is a complicated one, it is becoming more clear through anecdotal knowledge and scientific experimentation. 
Science Behind Color and Emotion

(References: "Science Behind Color and Emotion" and "How Colors Manipulate Your Emotions")

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Speaking of colors, I have always been fascinated by "eyes" ever since I was a child. I used to (and still do) love to draw, most especially, eyes. As an adult, I love to use color mascara when playing/experimenting with make-up. 

(M.C. Escher, study for Eye, pencil on paper, September 1946.)

I recently found this beautiful, vibrant "Teayason Mascara" set on line. Love the cat design, too! This set was only $22.23!

Blue ...

Purple ...

Pink ...

White ...

Brown ...

One of my fav's are the Colour Pop line of mascara's ...

"Blue Ya' Mind"

"Purple Prouse"

"Kiss n' Teal"

"Pink Inc.

"Plumb and Go"

"Right on Red"

And, a bit more expensive brands are also available such as Urban Decay's "Double Team" line of mascara ...

So much fun!!