News from A Broad

I'll do a proper post tomorrow, however, just want to let everyone know whats going on:

We had another article posted on Witchvox, "Which Witch is "Persona-Color-Predator-Planet-God-Organ"?" The response has been phenomenal, but Azzerac is kind of disappointed that he only got one piece of hate mail.

I've buried myself in SEO marketing techniques, which is more fun than chewing off my own face. It's good to be learning something new, but the techniques get outdated so quickly as to render them almost useless.
My many thanks go to Pat (a.k.a Bo's Mom); the master of web marketing, and wicked awesome with a set of runes. If it weren't for her, we would still be getting off the ground. I'm going to bribe her with some more of my fab solar incense for web secrets. I love bartering :D

Have to get the next batch of Kyphi started before I go off to bed. I'm re-reading Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett. If I don't bring it back to the library tomorrow, our dear savage librarians are going to hunt me down and put my head on a pole outside the "Overnight Return" box as a warning to other naughty patrons.

Nighty night, and a Blessed New Moon to you!

Tag! You're It!

Hide and seek in the blogosphere

I got tagged by A Pagan Tapestry, here are the Rules. Ahem:
1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

Six random things about me

1. I have a Zombie Plan
2. Completely and irrevocably horse crazy as a girl, I had every major Thoroughbred, Arabian, and Quarter Horse bloodline (anything before 1970) memorized, and would sneak downtown twice a month to pick up a copy of the Racing Form. Spent most of my allowance on Horse & Rider magazine, Saddle Club books, and Breyer figurines.
3. I bite my nails religiously
4. I wrote some REALLY UNBELIEVABLY BAD poetry in middle school, sent it in to Poetry.com, and it only recently got published. On the internet. For the whole world to see.*Cringe, shudder, arrgh*
5. Most of my clothes are covered in paint. It doesn't matter that they haven't been anywhere NEAR paint. They can come over the threshold, sealed in a lead box, and paint would still magically appear.
6. I'd rather have swords than diamonds, and six random things was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be :P

Tag!
Sex, Magick, & the City

Stir the Cauldron

The Spiritual Eclectic

21 Trumps and a Fool

Broomstick Chronicles

When Weeds Whisper

Playing Catch up

Woot! Woot! Thanks to Azzerac, the candle molds are finally done! We should have the new soy-wax candles in the shop by the end of the week:) It will be great to get that giant sack of soy wax that has been lurking in our supply cupboard turned into something useful, finally!
I finished a wire wrapped double terminated quartz necklace last night, and slept with it on to see if it would be scratchy. No
scratches, but my dreams were really intense. Something about Tommy and fruit. I have no idea :P
Experimenting with an egg-cage-nautical design for the wrap. Sounds weird, but I like it.
I like the design for the charm bags, but they look so much different than the standard velvet pouch that everyone is used to. I'm not sure if other practitioners will use them? As often as people say they want something new and different, its kind of disheartening when they want the same old thing anyway.

I have good news: My special recipe for Banishing Powder, which has had marvelous results in my own workings ( the psychotic ex was found in a forest in Montana, covered in ticks), has recently been used with great results by an acquaintance. His crackhead neighbors were given an eviction notice a few hours after he threw a pinch at their door.



-Carmin

One Big Scary Step

Have you ever had a "clue-by-four" moment?
I quit my "day job" today.
Shortly after arriving, I found a coworker torturing an injured bird (he hit the glass) before breaking its neck.
I came to the realization that it may not be the healthiest work environment, and handed in my resignation. That was just a proverbial straw. There was more. I mean, it was the kind of place that wears you down to a nothing-person after awhile.
A big, scary step. And I gotta tell you, I haven't been this happy in years. In the ensuing panic of being ENTIRELY self-employed, I got busy.

I've spent the night (finally) getting our stuff in the Etsy Shop, including one of my personal favorites, Abra-Melin Oil. Warm, luscious cinnamon-gingery, silky myrrh. It's impossible to describe properly in words; tangible on my skin like cream.

I'm in my Polly Anna mode right now. Everything always works out. Just, keep your fingers crossed for me!

-Carmin

A Chill Wind Blows

I love this time of year. Sure, the garden looks like it's on it's last leg (the Pooka came early this year), and I nearly got mugged by a squirrel this morning, but the mist is rolling through the mountains. Full Moon is tonight. Saimhain is just around the corner.
One of my favorite Samhain traditions is the Dumb Supper, especially as a prelude to ritual. I lay a small table with food and (strong) drink familiar to my ancestors. It's usually colcannon, pork, and beer or wine, as well as bits of the harvest. Anyway, in years past, I set it up outside the front door, take the seat beside it, with a bag of candy for the trick or treater' s. Most people assume that it's my dinner, and (it is a "Dumb Supper") that I wasn't speaking to be "creepy" or some such. Great way to avoid being interrupted later in the night.
Legend goes that if you wish to know who you will marry, lay a Dumb Supper on Samhain and watch the mirror at midnight.

-Carmin

I wouldn't do that if I were you...

In fairly recent news (at least by Pagan Standard Time), the Cobb County (Georgia) Commissioner Annette Kesting hired a Voodoo Priestess to curse Kesting's opponent in the upcoming election. Kesting allegedly special requested cancer, or a car accident. Whatever.
Needless to say, the checks bounced, her opponent won, and her political career is in the toilet.
If your head is so mixed up that you need your competition whacked, how can you be expected to balance a check book, right?

Seriously? Does anyone not get that it is a bad idea to piss off a witch?!!

That was really just an excuse to post a link to the Moo Ha Ha! Awards ;)

I'm gonna go look into this whole "sleep" thing now.

Cheers,
-Carmin

Wander, Don't Wonder!

(Thanks to "stevegarufi.com", for image & instruction!)

Sunday morning, our "Power"-Walks took place in the old "Midland Railroad Bed" (Here's the site we used as a guide!).

For 14 years, I'd walked & driven past this collection of tunnels & tiers, always wondering where they went, what they were for, and how they came to be. After starting these nature hikes (The Outdoor version of "Occult Sciences, 101"), it occurred to me that I had to come up with different areas to actually take these hikes. I did the research, and it paid off!
....sorta'.

When a guide book tells you a difficulty rating on a trail, You Listen!
I assumed they were exaggerating when they rated it 4-out-of-5 in difficulty. You know: Lawsuits & such. They weren't kidding! Chalk it up to life-experience!
"You can't get Life-Experience if you don't go out and Have A Life!" ~Ac-ism #20-something
Reagan brought along a GPS device, and we made "Geo-Caching" part of the trip. That was fun! I hope to include it with the class as often as she accompanies us (I don't own one of those device, myself, but if it appeals to the rest of the class,...)

If the weather is agreeable, we're going to Bear Creek Nature Center, next time. The paths are easy, and I think we could use some gentle terrain! ~L~

We'll be meeting at 21st Street & Argus Drive, in the little parking lot, just west of the tennis courts. I've visited it, but never walked it.

I can't wait to see how it goes!
~Azzerac

"Stoned" with Stones and the Anticraft

It's been a busy week, and it's only Tuesday!
We've secured a PO Box, for mail orders, posted our shipping rates, and now that we have found a supplier that deals exclusively with ethically mined stones and crystals, we will be offering them in the shop.
Carmin & I just spent half the day handling and shooting stones for display on our site.

WOW!

After about two hours, your skin is like a tuning fork, with all the different vibration changes you've gone through!

Our supplier is an interesting piece of work, as well! Her cultivated A.D.D. is quite the tool, helping her attend to us, deal with other clients, as well as drop-in friends, two wee-ones wandering about, and still finding time for the occasional smoke break! She's a Trip! Amazing, but still a Trip!

...and we have to go back, and continue shooting, tomorrow!
My head is already spinning!

~Azzerac

Playing with the lovely stones all day definitely recharged my batteries. I bought a few for myself, rose quartz. It was funny; I've spent so much time working with obscure occult materials, stones inclusive, that I forgot that I could enjoy this stone so much. I mean, it's like, fluffy! It's love-y dovey! It's GIRLY! I've been swooning from it all night, and apparently, Aine likes it too!

Yup, Aine finally got a pair :P

The Samhain issue of The AntiCraft finally came out, I'm still working on the Vlad Tepes hat from last issue. These are most definitely my kind of people ( a little twisted)

-Carmin

Three Weeks of Foot-in-Mouth Disease

I shouldn't even be posting this. Mercury retrograde has been playing havoc with me. Yeah, yeah, I know that it should not affect me as harshly because I am AWARE of it, and I am not one of those Witches that hides under the bed until Mercury goes direct, but here's the thing: No man is an island. Interacting with people, on a daily basis who are angry and belligerent because their computers are reenacting "The Exorcist", or credit cards are doing loop-de-loops, cell phones are gleefully dropping calls, letters are playing hooky,... I mean, come on. It's a trying time. I had a woman in today who looked at me like I said a dirty word (it was a very nice "thank you") grabbed her things, and slammed the door.

Something that has intrigued me about this particular retrograde period is that the normally "voiceless" people have found their voice, and are waving it from the rooftops. All repressed emotion seems to be spilling from the mouth, like a combination of mental diarrhea and wasabi : vitriolic, burning, and profuse. Wow, bet that conjured up a really gross mental image :)
This is the dark, seedy underbelly of the meek and mild.
I think that whatever planetary conjunction is manifesting these tendencies can also be used for healthy, positive, and powerful workings. The tightly coiled spring, released, is a powerful medium for energy. Let me know what you think (if this didn't translate as a series of cuss words and gibberish)

-Carmin