Are you friggin' kidding me?!!

I was sitting at my computer this morning working on a video listening to the music on my blog and all of a sudden I heard this guy's voice. I quickly scrolled to the bottom of the page to see the offending song only to find out that it was a commercial for Captain Morgan Rum! Are you friggin' kidding me?

Why? Why are there commercials on my playlist? I'll guess I'll have to go and investigate and decide whether or not it's worth listening to a few commercials in order to have music on my blog. Hmmm . . . what are your thoughts?

Hoping you have a commercial-free day . . . yeah, I know . . . good luck with that!

A Great Find . . .

As I was going through some youtube videos yesterday . . . you know how that goes - one leads to another and another and well, you get the idea. Anyway, I found this fabulous channel by the FireFly Academy. It basically teaches Wicca in simple and understandable language. The narrator, Lady Iris, has a beautiful voice and one that is very easy to listen to.

So, if you're new to the path or are just looking to reinforce what you already know or to fill in the blanks, I highly recommend visiting this channel. Here's Wicca 1 - Lesson 1 (Part 1) to get you started.

Happy learning!

I'm grateful for . . .

Sometimes a person just takes things for granted. Things like friends, a good book, and a warm cup of tea. Today I realized, after losing my blogroll, that I take my followers and those on my blogroll for granted. Like a worn out 'ol shoe that you just can't throw away, but have forgotten about at the back of the closet. Well, today I want to take out that 'ol shoe and give it a good run.

So to my followers and those on my blogroll, I tip my cup to you . . . you don't know how much you inspire me, teach me, and make me laugh. You are a great bunch and my life is richer because of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Oh Rats!

It seems in changing my blog over to 'I Heart the Goddess' I lost my blog roll. Rats! If you know that your blog was on my list would you be so kind as to leave a comment here for me and I'll add you to my list again.

Honestly, if I'd know this was going to happen I'd have made a list and checked it twice!

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

And so I hope it is with changing my current blog name from 'Embracing My Goddess-Self' to 'I Heart the Goddess'. I came up with the name when I signed up for a youtube account and decided I liked it so much I was going to change my blog name too. I hope you all don't mind and will bear with me as I make changes (just a few, I promise) to my blog. And of course I couldn't do it without the help of one very talented graphic designer - Sharon from Plumrose Lane!

So, out with the old, in with the new . . .

Summer Garden

I love this time of year when the garden is full and lush and it's always a surprise when something begins to bloom that wasn't blooming the day before. A gardener must keep a constant vigil so as not to miss anything!

I hope you enjoy some pictures of my garden . . .

Happy Litha!

Day Trippin' - Holy Hill

Yesterday I spent the day with a friend exploring the area known as 'Kettle Moraine' here in Wisconsin. The day started with a severe thunderstorm, so I wasn't sure we'd make it out, but it stopped raining by 8:00 a.m. and we were off.

It was a day dotted with a great friend, great sites and great food.

We visited a very special place known as 'Holy Hill'. And while I'm not Catholic or Christian, I still felt a special energy about the place and enjoyed my time there.

I lit a candle for Japan.

I've created a video and hope you enjoy!

Litha/Summer Solstice

Litha is the Sabbatt that is celebrated at the Summer Solstice. The Goddess is in her full pregancy ready to give birth to the God. It is the longest day of the year and it's about celebrating the power of the Sun. The crops are growing heartily and the earth is warm and inviting. It's a time to spend long sunny afternoons enjoying the outdoors and getting back to nature.

I've created my Litha altar with reverence for the God and Goddess, but also with fun and frivolity in mind. Midsummer is a time to let your hair down, swim skyclad (if you're so inclined) and just enjoy 'being'.

Do you see the purple orb in the top right hand corner? Magick at work!

If you're looking for a ritual to celebrate Litha, I've added one to my 'Sabbatts and Esbats Ritual Pages'. It's a simple ritual that can be done in the great outdoors, but one that can also be done inside if required.

Wishing you a Blessed and Happy Litha!

A 'Fairy' Surprise!

I was sitting on the bench in my Moon Garden the other day when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to the big Maple tree in our backyard and to my suprise and delight I found that the fairies had moved in!

They built a beautiful walled garden with plants and rocks and shells. It's magickal!

I haven't met the fairies yet, but I suspect they're the 'keep to themselves' types. I'm just happy they decided to make my backyard their home and that I get to enjoy their gardening prowess!

I hope you are lucky enough to find fairies in your backyard . . .

Moon Garden Bench

The bench for my Moon Garden came yesterday and not having any patience, and despite being sick with a bad cold and flu, I went ahead and assembled the bench myself. It came together fairly easily with a few bolts and screws and once I was done I took it out to the garden.

It looks so pretty sitting underneath the arbor and despite the bad weather and my cold, I sat on it for a few minutes pondering how far the garden had come in such a short amount of time - relatively speaking of course since it was actually started last summer, as you know.

Anyway, this project is complete, except for a few more plants that I purchased the other day to plant, but that will have to wait as it's been raining off and on for two days now and the soil is saturated. Oh well, I have nothing but time . . .

Abraham-Hicks

Last Friday my friend, Carl, and I headed down to Chicago to participate in the Abraham-Hicks workshop scheduled for Saturday. We took a leisurely drive down, taking the scenic route and stopped at the quaint little town of Lake Geneva. We stopped over for about an hour, checking out some of the cute little shops along main street. Then we got back in the car, after stopping at Starbucks, and made our way to Lincolnshire.

Beautiful sunrise from my hotel room.

After spending a very restless night, I awoke the next morning excited and anticipating the day. We started with breakfast at Panera Bread and then made our way to the hotel where the workshop was being held.

Esther and Jerry Hicks

Esther came onto the stage, said 'hello' and then 'goodbye' and Abraham was front and center ready to deliver his message and then was ready for the audience to ask their questions. I had put my hand up throughout the morning, but each time I did I felt the pangs of nervousness and well, quite frankly, unworthiness. Fortunately for me a man went up to the 'hot seat' and asked the question, "What is worthiness?", whereupon Abraham delivered the answer.

After that I felt something shift within me. After the final break, I sat in my chair, grounded and centered myself definitely feeling 'different'. No sooner had I finished my little exercise, I put my hand up and to my amazement, Abraham called ME to the hot seat! Admittedly, I was nervous, but I managed to get my question out and have it answered. I can't quite remember everything Abraham said to me, because I was nervous, AND he was emitting such a strong and powerful energy, AND he was looking directly into my eyes, that I couldn't quite focus on what was being said. I did, however, order the audio CDs so I'm looking forward to sitting down with a cup of tea and listening all over again to the amazing and wonderful workshop I had participated in.

If you don't know who Abraham-Hicks is perhaps you have heard of 'The Law of Attraction'. If not, it's something that I encourage you to look into . . . it's empowering and helps you realize that 'yes, I am responsible for my life and how I create it to be' - something us Wiccans already inherently know.