The quiet comfortable solitude of a cat reminds me of a woman. The cat is satisfied within it's solitary little world, just as women tend to bloom and adapt to a solitary existence with more finesse and success than a lot of men. (I know, that sounds so sexist, but it's true.)
This is Bast. She's very old (about 13), and she has a stuffy nose or runny sinuses most of the time. She's kept inside, warm and safe, during the winter months. But from spring to fall, she rules the backyard with an iron fist.
Kuan Yin...a favorite Goddess at our house. She's the Chinese "goddess of compassion". She's an oriental version of the Virgin Mary-- and way cooler. Since my son moved out, there's only two males in this house: 1) my husband, Joe; and 2) my cat, Salem. Joe wanted to 'man-up' the entertainment center, get some really tough and testosterony art and sculpture. This idea was met with a resounding "No!" from the ladies of the house...Kuan Yin stays.
(We're all helping Joe embrace his feminine side *giggle*.)
For years I've used the kitchen table as my office. I churned out four books at this table. But that's all going to change this year. Since my son John moved out, I'll be re-decorating what was the extra basement bedroom. It will become "The Witch's Corner"-- a combination craft room (as in artsy and creative), it will become an occasional boutique, and it will become a tarot reading room. But for now, I'm still working at the kitchen table, as you can see.
What you see in the foreground is "My Big Black Book". It's full of years of delicious spell collecting, secret things, sentimental things-- ranging from cottonwood leaves picked up off my grandmother's grave, to four leaf clovers my sister and I picked in our front yard the summer of 1969. If the house were burning down and I could only take one material thing with me-- it would be this book.
"Me & My Dawg"
(circa 1959-1960)
This animal was magickal.
No wonder I believed Lassie was real.
Over 50 years later, and animals still play an integral part in our daily lives. This is Miss Cletus who-- through FB-- was known around the world. When she passed away last year, we got sympathy messages from four continents.
This little hen was hand-raised in the house; had a favorite 'blanket'; loved to sit in your lap and eat popcorn during movies; had a favorite perch in the kitchen, and patrolled the grounds and gardens fearlessly-- digging up a lot of my flowers in the process.
We miss her terribly.
A few years ago I started having a yearly garage sale, and in true old "yard sale" tradition, we'd set up tables for our wares and services in the yard. This garage sale was a bit different than the run-of-the-mill neighborhood sales, I have to admit. I sell occult and meta-physical items online, and I give tarot readings, and I thought that it would be a good idea to combine the two, creating the "New-Age Boutique Garage Sale". Once in a while, a couple of friends would get together and we'd combine our wares...we didn't make much money on it; but we had loads of curious people stop by to stand in awe and gape at things-- especially the voodoo poppets; and once in a while we had a Christian or two come by n' try and "save" us. We also had the occasional rare local Pagan come tip-toeing out of the broom closet just long enough to shake hands and say hello. It was fun, it was a hoot actually.
I plan on doing it again this year.
(The following video was shot in June 2011)
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