Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: WWP

  • Blessed Lammas/ Lughnasadh

    Blessed Lammas/ Lughnasadh

    It is difficult in the heat of August to think that Fall is starting. In Ohio we have at least another month of summer like conditions to go at the beginning of August, so for me Lammas is less a Fall/Harvest festival than it is a celebration of the continuation of summer. It is the time when all the county fairs begin, and when the schools are getting ready to open again for the school year.

    Lammas is a bright golden sunny holiday; it brings with it the glance of fall that comes when you think of children going to school, football games, and bonfires at night. Corn is not quite its ripest or sweetest, but it is working toward it. August is when you start to work overtime to do all the fun summer things you wanted to get in before the season was over. Lammas is a warning that your summer is winding down, and your autumn is on the horizon.

    Enjoy the last days of your summer. Go to a baseball game, eat a popsicle from a truck, go on a picnic, do all the things that make summer what it is.

    lughnasadhblessingstoyou (1)

  • Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    It is Beltane and in honor of the day I am using a Tarot Spread from Llewellyn called the May Queen.

    May Queen

    May is a time of fertility and high spirits. By Beltane, the dark time of the year is a distant memory and the possibilities of life seem sweet. Use the May Queen spread to regain or confirm a sense of abundance and safety. If you have a specific question in mind, ask it as you shuffle the cards. Shuffle the cards and place them in positions one through five, as shown.

    mayqueen

    Position 1: Safety. Emotional security. What you need to feel safe. Where are you secure in yourself? A seemingly negative card describes a situation that needs your focused attention. Work with the energy of that card to produce feelings of safety.

    Position 2: Abundance. Feelings of plenty. Abundance may encompass monetary prosperity, but it also describes the emotional breadth of your life that is full and sweet. A challenging card directs you to constricted energy flow; by releasing the block of a challenging card, emotional abundance will follow.

    Position 3: Regeneration. Exploring the possibilities. The bold action needed to grow and flourish. A challenging card will show you the block that keeps you from your heart’s desire.

    Position 4: Love. Emotions and relationships. All forms of love, from friendship to sexual passion. Only you know your heart. Look at the suit of the card: what does it tell you about your life right now? (Wands = passion or anger; Cups = love or friendship; Swords = loving the intellect, heartache, or painful decisions; Pentacles = sensuality, the body, or the value you place on love; Court Cards = personal characteristics in your relationships; Major Arcana cards = the big picture, karma, or the spiritual aspects of your relationships.)

    Position 5: The Future. The present conceivable outcome based on the flow of cards one through four. What story do the cards tell? The lessons to be learned and the potential for growth. How does position three, regeneration, relate to the future?

    1. Safety: Page of Wands (Reversed) – My place of safety is within my creativity, but I can also use it as a crutch and an excuse. I also have a bad habit of procrastinating which is always pushing the limit of what I am capable of doing. I need to be smart and do my best work and best thinking early when I am at my highest self and most creative.
    2. Abundance: King of Cups – My abundance lies in my creativity. If I learned nothing else from my mother it was how to make something out of nothing. I need to make the most of this.
    3. Regeneration: Five of Cups (Reversed) – I need to make the most of new friendships and relationships. And also keep myself open to the return of old relationships. Or, be social, Betsy!
    4. Love: Four of Pentacles – Per the chart above I feel stable, and somewhat possessive of my love, which is true. I am in love with our love, in all it’s aspects.
    5. The Future: XX Judgement – I am coming to a time of renewal and new beginnings. It is time for a good hard look at myself, and some decisions about where I am heading. It is time to start a new part of my journey.

    It sounds like my future is auspicious. I am working on a Job spell, so hopefully much of the tarot reading is an omen toward that. I hope you have a beautiful Beltane.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 17

    Day 17: Post about your zodiac sign, and whether or not it fits you.

    Sun sign: Pisces: February 18 – March 20

    Strengths: Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, gentle, wise, musical

    Weaknesses: Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim or a martyr

    I have always felt that I am a pretty accurate representation of what a Pisces is supposed to be for good or for ill. As I have learned more about astrology I know that I am a pretty good amalgam of my sign mixture: Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon, and Aquarius Rising. The Pisces makes me creative, tending toward escapist, intuitive, and artistic. The Cancer makes me sensitive, homebody, with intuition, and deep ties to family. The Aquarius makes me odd, attracted to the offbeat, curious, creative and unaffected by wealth or status. So, I am ridiculously sensitive, intuitive, creative, a little odd, and interested in everybody and everything. I like to be alone, but love to be out with people. I am honest, and expect honesty from others. In many ways I am a giant juxtaposition of myself. And I am happy to be so. 

    astro_w2gw_01_betsy_white.43522.17794

  • Writing Challenge – Day 4

    Writing Challenge – Day 4

    Day 4 – Write about someone who inspires you.

    Earlier this year I was introduced to a lovely pagan blogger, youtuber, artist and musician named Molly Roberts (http://mollyrobertsmagick.blogspot.com/).

    burnhearts

    On her Blog, Molly labels herself a City Witch, Magick Junkie, Artistic Mystic. She is the front woman of the band Tigernite. She writes beautiful and inspiring meditations. She wrote a beautiful book called Art Witch, in which she explains how to manifest magic through art. Her youtube channel is full of beautiful and inspiring videos. And if you are driven to support her on Patreon or to join her mailing list she will send you extra inspiring and beautiful videos, meditations, and pictures throughout the month.

    There is just something about her calm demeanor, beautiful nature, and creative insight that just speaks to the soul of me. One of her recent writings was a reimagining of the Call to the Quarters, which is a very traditional wiccan ritual opening. In her version she calls to the spirits of the city, and the version speaks so well to a witch who has never lived outside of an urban area. She calls to mosh pits, gutters, and smoke stacks in a way that evokes all the emotion and spirit of the original call.

    She talks about Pop Pantheons and using the imagery that inspires and speaks to you the most. If that means invoking Wonder Woman, or Frida Kahlo, do it. The magick is made when you believe and commit, so whether you pray to Athena or David Bowie the Magick happens in you.

    Whether you are WWP (Witchy, Wiccan or Pagan) or not, Molly Roberts is a beautiful source of inspiration. Find her and enjoy.