Memoir ~ Good Grief

April 8th, 2007

Today the girls coaxed the cat to sit on the copier and they photocopied it. Then they brought the picture to me and asked me what I thought it was.

I wasn't even close.

Bast & Basil

Woman Speak

 

 An innovative Video Series

 

Explore the world of women, witches, and pagans on a variety of levels at Woman Speak. Reconnect with The Goddess. Find healing, empowerment, and sisterhood through Matriarchal Divinity. The topics are pagan, occult, new-age, paranormal, and supernatural. The topics will also center around feminism, relationships, family, careers, writing, and books.

 

Woman Speak– exploring women’s issues.

 

 

My Youtube channel:  click  Here

 

Individual “Woman Speak” episodes are  also listed here as Links:

 

Woman Speak 4-3-2015

 

I AM…celebrating You and your connection to The Goddess.

 

Woman Speak 3-27-2015

 

This week’s goddess is Pele, and we’re going to use her energy, along with the element of Fire, to manifest desires and wishes into our lives with a ritual. (Also included, a special thank you to The Spellery magazine for allowing me to be a part of their 1st edition and their magickal launch!)

 

Woman Speak 3-20-2015

 

The Goddess is Copia; the tarot card is seven of wands.  In this episode you are invited inside the Witch’s house to snoop in her Magickal Cupboard!  What do you think you’ll find?

 

Woman Speak 3-13-2015

 

The Goddess is Snake Woman, the energy and magick are all about unity and communication, whether women gather for rituals, discussions, or private conversations. I’m joined this week by 2 of my daughters for an UNEDITED round-table discussion.  It’s lively, off-the-cuff, and totally unpredictable! Also joining me this week are two black cats:  Dolly & Salem.

 

Woman Speak 3-6-2015

 

This week the goddess is Airmed.  The topics are herbs and green witchcraft.  Our project– we’re going to create a Witch’s Bottle for Love Magick.  You’ll also find a section at this video on precautions for love magick, encouraging common sense, as well as the use of mundane efforts to keep your life running smoothly, and to keep yourself safe.  The National Domestic Abuse Hotline number will be found at the end of this video.

 

Woman Speak 2-27-2015

 

The goddess is Aurora…and with this goddess comes the happy anticipation of Spring, new beginnings, second chances, clean slates, rejuvenation. Plant new life-seeds now, and watch your future blossom.  To honor & invoke this goddess, we’re doing a short ritual to The Four Winds (Aurora’s children)…join me.

 

Woman Speak 2-20-2015

 

The goddess is Cybele.  The topics include sexual orientation, transsexuals, transgender individuals, acceptance, and tolerance.  We talk about learning to accept ourselves and celebrate our unique individuality.  We also talk about how society has to move forward and improve how it accepts– and treats– people who live their lives “outside the box”.  Ms. Jenner…this one’s for you.

 

Woman Speak 2-13-2015

 

The Goddess is Aphrodite, the topic is birthdays and how we celebrate these milestones in connection with the Goddess and all the unique stages in a woman’s life.  The discussion is about– Beauty.  What’s beautiful, what’s not…How has our society and culture influenced our idea of physical beauty, our idea of youth and aging…How can we relearn to recognize and appreciate the inner beauty we all possess?  How can we redefine what’s beautiful?

 

Woman Speak 2-6-2015

 

Come plant rosemary with me…the Goddess is Thalia, the herb blessed Rosemary.  Where ever you might live, whether on an acreage, or in an apartment, plant a garden to invoke goddess energy.  Here’s what to plant at the four corners and at the elemental quarters.  And what shall we put in the center?…let’s find out.

 

Woman Speak 1-30-2015

 

Topics include:  Astarte; Tarot/Knight of cups; finding the warrior goddess in you; our “knight-in-shining-armor”–  chasing the fairy tale; the duality of woman’s nature.

 

Women are incredible! To traverse life we have to take on so many different personas and faces.  But we do it, and we do it So Well!  Discovering and honoring the warrior goddess within yourself does not mean that you have to sacrifice the soft, beautiful, uniquely feminine side of your nature– both energies are in your power and control.

 

Woman Speak 1-23-2015

 

Topics include:  White Buffalo Calf Woman; Tarot/the 2 of cups; 10 tips for women– surviving the modern world. Relationships– Is your Ex badmouthing you publically? How you can deal with this situation, both on a mundane level and magically.

 

Woman Speak 1-16-2015

 

I’m very excited at this taping because my new book, “The Spiritual Feminist”, had just came out on Amazon and was available to be pre-ordered.  Included in this discussion is a note about the special dedication page and the very personal aspects of this book.  Also…Spell casting information; Magickal Connections– and a blog post I was working on at the time (Witchcraft: It’s All About the Journey, Not the Destination); Lisa Allen (Master Herbalist & Astrologer); as well as other personal stuff (kidz & carz).

 

Woman Speak 1-9-2015

 

The goddess is Lucina. The magick is Knot Magick done during a Baby Shower to see the mother and child through to a safe birth.  This magick is unleashed in a ritual after labor has begun.  Good stuff!– feminine bonding and support.  Also included, personal stuff, daily chit-chat.

 

 

My Super Secret Revealed

[I've opted to blog this post exclusively at my Other Blog,
 "Magickal Connections"]

Oh my god, I’ve been hanging onto a Super Duper Secret for so long. It hasn’t been easy, and admittedly there are a very small handful of people (family and close friends) who may have been privy to bits and pieces. I was, however, quite proud of our ability to sit on our tongues for the most part, to not give out any details– even to them, to be able to draw ourselves up short. It wasn’t easy, believe me. It was enormous, this Secret, you’ve no idea!...continue reading

The Witch's Diary ~ The Sacred Cupcake (video)

I added a new video to my Youtube Channel today.  The topic is "Food"...please join me and my very special guest, The Sacred Cupcake.

 

 

Tumblr Week-in-Review

My weekly Tumblr post is an excellent way to stay abreast of my internet posts and Stuff from here n' there, everything from Facebook posts (which almost always include photos), to my blogs, to my website, Youtube, and more.  An original essay (some weeks longer than others) will always be included with this weekly update:  click  Here

The Witch's Corner: http://ladyamythyst.com

 

The Witch's Diary: Feet (video)

I added a new video to my Youtube Channel today ~ the topic is "Feet"

 

 

I Can Feel It Coming

The other day I returned a call from my daughter, Anne.  She was cheerful, tired from work, on the verge of a cold.  We talked about all the usual Stuff.  Then she said, "Mom, this sounds weird, but I feel like something bad is going to happen.  Is it just because nothing has happened for a while?"

I about keeled over, took a deep breath and said, "That doesn't sound weird at all! 

I went on to explain to her that I've been having this feeling for the past couple of weeks.  I told her that every time she has called me, my heart jumps, and I wait to hear the tone of her voice, hoping that it will be her cheerful, "Hi, Mom, it's just me Anne", always feeling relieved when it is.

I don't know how to explain this "feeling".  I could say "dread", but even that wouldn't be completely accurate, though the feeling itself produces the emotion of dread. It's kind of a "knowing" in the back of your mind.  It's an expectancy that comes from somewhere or something I can't explain.  It tends to be a little nerve wracking.

The last time I experienced this "feeling" was Thursday, March 13, 2014...I woke up that morning next to my husband, stared at the ceiling for about five minutes, then I rolled over, woke the man up, looked into his sleepy eyes and said:  "Something really, really bad has happened to someone.  But I don't know "who" or "what".

I received a telephone call the following day informing me that my Dad had committed suicide on Thursday, March 13th.

So, my daughter has this intuition, too.  I'm so glad that she said something to me.  These types of "experiences" aren't things you feel you can necessarily share in your day to day encounter with people.  Most people wouldn't understand.  And these types of experiences in real life, usually, don't have all the fine detail and Technicolor previews they depict in the movies and tv.

So you live with it.  You wait for it.  You watch for it. 

You don't know exactly what "it" is.

But you can feel it coming. 

Tumblr ~ Week-In-Review

Happy Thursday to all my Every Cat readers!

Here's a link to my Tumblr page, and this week-in-review.  This is an easy way to catch up with all my posting and activity at a variety of spots:

click  Here

Thundershower, How I Love Thee

This is my first attempt at creating an ambient music video (the music is courtesy of the royalty free public-domain music lists offered for download by Youtube).  Ironically, the song that I chose was titled "Hydra", how perfect is that!  This was fun, and it sparked my interest to try again, and maybe to save towards a better bigger camera!  Location-- our back porch, and our front yard.

The Man with One Shoe

Behind a row of businesses on a busy main thoroughfare in Fremont, homeless people are camping out in a stand of trees.  Once in a while, the police will get a call from one of these businesses complaining about these people.  The patrol car shows up, and the vagrant is "shooed away". 

During a recent thunderstorm and the resultant downpour, one of the ladies working at one of these businesses opened the backdoor and invited an elderly homeless man into the shop to wait out the passing storm.  She said that he was thin and frail, small and fragile, old and tired.

And she said that he only had one shoe.

The great irony in this story is that the shop the old man took refuge in was a shoe store.

This story, and the plight of this man, has bothered me so much since I heard it, that I couldn't sleep last night for thinking of it.  So I laid quiet and still in the pitch dark with an open notebook on my stomach, and I wrote my thoughts to the blackness of the night.

What follows might be random and scattered, emotional, or unpolished, but it's what flowed (unseen) from my pen...

The reality is stark.  It's unbeautiful, often dirty, and it smells.  It's hungry, and cold, and alone.  It's hopelessness magnified.  It's defeat consumed.  It's difficult for society to look homeless humanity directly in the eye.  It makes us flinch and look away.  We blame the victim for their predicament; we find excuses for their existence; we will the ugly reality to go away, where it won't be seen, where we won't have to watch the silent struggle.

Local ladies working so valiantly for overseas charity and relief can feel all warm and fuzzy about their endeavors because they haven't actually looked in the face of the afflicted.  Why do we ignore what's right before us?  We reach across the ocean to give comfort and aid and assistance, but we won't open the back door and offer refuge from the rain.

RADIO ~ Show Time!

RADIO!...Show Time!

I'll be a guest on Prairie Land Pagan Radio,

TODAY, 3pm CST

http://www.unitedpaganradio.net/

 

 

@ Tumblr ~ My Week in Review

(An original short essay will always be included with these posts.)

 

Click  Here

Enjoy the Updates!...You'll find a couple surprises.

 

"Feminist" is Not a Dirty Word

I think there's a lot of confusion about what a feminist is and what she isn't.  I also think that misconceptions about this extraordinary individual have come about because of this confusion.  I read recently about an interview Katy Perry did in Australia, and even though she admitted to being a "feminist", her idea of the definition seemed a little foggy.  To throw more hoopla into the mix, we have a considerable population of people who like to "boo n' hiss" the feminist, and I have to note that most of this crowd (which I've experienced) appears to be a few cranky old men who actually don't like women to start with-- feminist or not. (This group of anti-feminists also includes some misguided young men with an unhealthy dose of misguided women who feel compelled to Stick-By-Their-Men on this touchy topic.)   *head-slap*

"Feminist" is not a dirty word.  Feminists are depicted in a rather harsh light so much of the time, and I think it's because we make society uncomfortable.  Think about it.  For the last millennia, everyone had a role, everyone knew their place, and life went on without any bumps in the road-- well, it went on merrily for those who have been In Charge of this world, the Top Guys on the food chain.  For the unfortunate souls at the bottom of the ladder-- like women, and anyone else who stuck out in the crowd as different, well, life could be a little tricky.

Feminism:

If you believe that all humans, regardless of gender, should have equal political, social, and economic rights, you are literally a feminist by definition.

Are you a feminist?

• Do you support the idea of equality for both genders?
• Have you felt compelled to study women's issues, women's history, women's future; and by doing so has it given you motivation to make changes in the world?
• Are you acutely aware of how gender roles play out in the media?
• Do you feel that your accomplishments, your skills, your intelligence are more important than your looks? (And, hey, who defines true "Beauty" anyway.)
• Do you find yourself more aware of type-casting individuals and what they can and can't do, what they do or don't know, by their sex?
• Do you realize that it's perfectly okay for some women to embrace traditional roles of housewife and mother, when this is their choice?
• Do you realize that it's perfectly okay for some women to forgo motherhood completely, realizing that just because they're female, it doesn't mean they want, or need, to accept this role in life?
• Are you painfully aware of the difference in wages between men and women?
• Are you a strong advocate for the underdog? 
• Do you work to eliminate injustice in the world?
• Do you aspire to be the best you can be, to achieve your full potential?
• Do you encourage this type of aspiration in other women, cheering them on to live their lives to the fullest, to be who they were meant to be, to achieve all that is within the realm of possibility?
• Do you love yourself?
• Do you respect yourself?

My thoughts:

1.  No, I don't "Hate Men".  In fact, I adore them-- that's why I married five of them in my lifetime.
2.  I do not want to give up one shred of my delightfully feminine ways, tastes, and habits.
3.  I do not want a stereo-typically "male" oriented job.  Get real, I have all the physical strength and stamina of a slug...But I DO want my daughters, and any other women out there, to have the CHOICE of such a job if this is their desire and they have the talent to do it.
4.  If I want to cuss, swear, and spit, by golly, I will.
5.  I want to show men the same respect that I expect from them in return. (It's a two-way street, you see.)
6.  I want to live in a safe world.
7.  I want to have a gazillion "warm n' fuzzy" moments in my lifetime.
8.  I want the Universe to slow down, just for a minute, just for an instant, so that every human being on the planet can take a deep breath and take stock of who they are, where they're at, and where they want to go from this point on.
9.  I don't want anyone to live with regrets.
10.  I want all Women to realize how god-damn frickin' awesome they really are.

A New Book Review! ~ for The Spiritual Feminist

A Review by Vivienne Moss

“There is much wisdom and enchantment to be found in The Spiritual Feminist. The amount of information revealed will be welcomed by anyone wanting to travel along the Goddess Path. Amythyst Raine-Hatayama has poured her heart and soul into this charming book and I hope to read more from this wisdom-filled author. I sense this will make a remarkable companion book to Naming the Goddess and many other volumes on Goddess Spirituality…”

To read this review, follow This Link