Michele Fogal, author of the Wildseed Series, speaks on her Passion as part of the February Guest Post Series. She believes, as I do, that OUR PASSIONS CHOOSE US. 

Thanks Wren for the invite to share my thoughts on this awesome topic! It’s an idea that is very close to my heart these days.

I started writing seriously in high school. There was an outreach program called New Shoots from a local university (University of British Columbia) where their grad students were sent out to high schools to facilitate extra-curricular Writing Groups for the high school students. I loved it and it resulted in me getting a poem published and getting my work into the year book which were thrilling events for me, as well as overwhelming to the point of nausea.

I knew I wanted to go into Creative Writing and so ended up quite naturally in UBC’s Creative Writing Dept. But then something happened. As my degree in Creative Writing unfolded, I started asking questions about job prospects and journalism and writing for magazines, and publicity and all the real world concerns almost sunk me. I finished my degree mostly because my grandmother told me to (thanks Granny) and came out of it determined to get a “real job” and be a strong independent woman and not a starving artist.

Several jobs and incarnations of myself later, I woke up and realized that I had barely written in a decade. It pulled at me and weighted me down. It was like a tender aching wound in my heart, knowing that I needed to write, that I SHOULD be writing and I wasn’t. Just the thought of all the writing I hadn’t done drained a little more blood out of me. Oh I’d tried to sit down and do my “hobby,” but even those moments that I’d carved out of my life (to pour into this thing that was supposed to make me happy) were fraught with unhappiness. 

Twitter

The Books I Love & My Reviews on GoodReads

Like on Facebook

 

Read More Passionate Guest Posts:

 

Whee!! Now it’s time for me to reveal what you’ve been taught to expect.

Forget the fruit where’s the juice?

What’s the dark secret under the mystery of this magic and witchcraft talk?

Here’s the deal with 
1. The devil 
2. hurting or manipulating people 
3. embracing darkness


Have a good day guys,
An it Harm None Do as Thou Wilt
Direct Link to Youtube

xx Sofia Wren

So it has been a fascinating week for me. Two major events have occurred– I saw Patti Smith and I saw MDs marijuana laws begin to change.

The first is that last week I was able to attend the Katherine Hepburn Award Ceremony for artist, author and rock poet Patti Smith. It was an incredible gala and I knew everyone around me had to be pretty rad.

I got to catch up with professor Nathan Wright, who is an official Patti Smith blogger. He and several other professors are commenting as their book club reads through Just Kids. I loved it myself. See my review or check out their very intellectual comments.

As for Patti’s acceptance speech, I went ahead and recorded my memories when they were fresh. I was exhausted from the car ride home, can you tell? I got choked up from the emotional tenor of Patti’s words but her message was so powerful I wanted to share with any other fans in the universe. <3

The second major thing that happened this week was that I went to a meeting with Maryland governmental officials. I got my high heels and suit on to support someone very important to me. He gave testimony about his own arrest to a MD State Senate Committee. Later found innocent, he had been charged with possession of marijuana (aka cannabis).  He spoke in favor of a law change that instead of putting those caught carrying a bit of cannabis in jail, officers would write tickets with a $100 fine.

Watch his testimony or read a summary below

David had been illegally searched while in someone else’s car. When the police found a bag of cannabis under his seat they booked both in jail. He did eventually get off the hook but had to blast all his savings to pay for the lawyers fees before found innocent.

At the end of his testimony he expressed the anger mixed with relief that he felt—why was any of this necessary? Who would his arrest benefit? Does anyone really feel safer with nonviolent marijuana users behind bars? How would he pay for college?

I was very surprised while listening to the other testimonies and the boards questions. They asked for clarification and as the Senators discussed the issue, I sensed a growing understanding and agreement that as it stands now, the process is all wrong. A waste of resources, and a burden for citizens.

I feel really positively about the changes in the landscape around this issue. Back in college I wrote my senior thesis on whether there is a right to use drugs, i.e. a right to choose what we put into our bodies. I explored the rights to privacy and equal protection in hope of finding grounds to assist suppressed minority Americans. Unfortunately, I found that the court history makes the judiciary an unlikely avenue for these changes.

Imagine how surprised I was to be attending a Maryland Senate Judiciary proceedings committee pressing for change. I remembered my old project.  I had concluded with a recommendation that change should be pressed in the legislative and democratic avenues rather than court case decisions. If the committee passes this bill it will be argued in the Senate and lower house of Maryland—or go to referendum.

Called it.  My next prediction–Maryland will either completely legalize through referendum or change possession to a citation by 2014.

Tying both events together I have learned– it is possible for one person, even a young person, to take one’s horrible experiences and heal the world. It is possible to achieve your dreams. 

What do you think?

Going back to book one and rereading them is an exercise in discovery. I see that teaching and teens play significant roles in each. I was an educator and most of my career was spent working with grades seven to nine, so I guess that’s not so surprising. 

Amazon
Apple ibook
Smashwords
Website

The Magic Circle by Waterhouse

Cauldron Magic!

I am absolutely nuts about cauldrons. Since I discovered how effective it is to use cauldrons in my meditations, I return to this visualization almost every day. I feel clear and ready for anything after this. 

The ramifications for me were so drastic, it has led me to share the magic to everyone on my blog. Magic works! You just have to figure out how you tick so you can communicate with your oh-so-magical inner self with the right images.

Most ancient traditions include a veneration of the elements. Usually there are four or five, and in the West we usually go with Spirit, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. If you align more with a Chinese tradition, great news—Wood, Metal, Water, Fire and Earth–are also all involved in this meditation.

Why do you need them all? Truth is, certain elements will align with some people more than others. 

If you’ve been spending years trying to imagine yourself as a tree rooting in the earth, and you aren’t Earthy at all, you may be going crazy. Many books on Wicca, Paganism, and even broader New Age self help mention the basic energy techniques of grounding, centering, and shielding. For some reason, most of these instructions have an Earth or an Air bent. A bubble around you is an example of an Air shield.

Guess what? Those never ever worked for me. For years I tried the same visualizations in multiple places wondering why I didn’t feel a difference in my life. In fact a lot of the time, they just made me more stressed. That was definitely the opposite of what I was going for with all this stuff.

Until one day, I read about the Welsh goddess Cerridwen, and tried visualizing a cauldron. Later I found I have a Fire and Water bend to my style, so it makes sense that cauldrons vibe with me.

By using this visualization often, I now can get some space in super-stressful situations within a minute. I also get more out of the visualizations that never worked before because I can sink into the feeling of the elemental flows that I align with better.

 I think everyone should give the Cauldron Meditation a try and see what parts of the meditation relax and resonate the most. 

Please let me know if you are confused by my rambles! What is your element? Do you have more than one favorite?

Our monthly celebration of writing, reading and PASSION, this month’s topic.

The Schedule

A dominatrix is murdered; her body displayed in a show of dominance. An actress is found dead beneath the Hollywood sign. There’s a murderer roaming the streets of Los Angeles and he’s having far too much fun to stop.

Stephanie Carovella is a woman of fire and ice. She left her career, her friends and her home town of LA but she couldn’t outrun the demons of her past. When she is lured back by the death of her best friend she enters a world where no one’s safe.

I’ve always been a fan of finding wild blackberries in the woods and eating all the ripe ones I can. It makes me feel very fae, like a uncontainable force of nature.

There is a lot to blackberries magically. In my video I share two poems, one from the Druid Plant Oracle (so amazing for anyone interested in herbs) and one from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

Blackberries ripen in cycles. Perhaps this abundant stockpile of ripe and almost ripe berries is why they are used for money magic. I suspect this cyclical growth is also why blackberries are feminine.

Not to mention the bear mama vibe the plant gives off with its scary thorns. To grab a berry you need to be very careful!

The power of these thorns must also be involved in the protection aspect that blackberries have, visitors beware.

Blackberries are very difficult to contain. As am I. In my video I mention a name you may only be familiar with if we’ve engaged in email correspondence. Sofia Wren is a name I intend to use in the next year to describe the creatrix behind the magic. I have two first names, as my Muse refuses to be boxed with one. I have decided to accept her terms. Sofia is my healing side, and Wren is the wild bear.

Guess who blackberries are sacred to?Another entity with many faces is the Goddess Brigit. I share an invocation to Brigid that could be swapped around for this weeks celebration of Imbolc. Its the pagan version of Groundhog’s day.

Blackberries are tenacious and rooted in case you needed some first chakra healing. The plants actually are used by herbalists—make a tincture with the roots and you can skip a portion of your medicine cabinet. Curious? Check out the video

Have you seen A is for Apple Magic?