Samhain Resolutions

Samhain is the Pagan New Year, so I figured why not make some resolutions? There are some things I want to work on in the coming year:

Learn as much as possible about herbalism
Use my tarot deck
Connect with my spirit guide
Start writing things down- possibly in a BOS
Look more into my ancestry

I think learning about herbs is going to be my #1 thing for the coming year. It is something that seems interesting to me, and I figure if I dedicate myself to it for a year it will motivate me to actively learn. Everything else on the list is important, but not my main focus.

What do you want to work on in the coming year?

Happy Dance!

I wanted to share that I did really well on my Practical! The written exam was easy, at least for someone like me who studies obsessively before tests. The cooking part of the exam was a bit more challenging. There were 7 things we had to cook, and we had to have at least 5 of them done in two hours or we had to take the whole thing over. Luckily I got 5 out of 7 done, so I only need to complete those 2 things on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised with myself for doing so well.

I really don't have much to talk about. I thought I did yesterday, but then I started feeling kind of crappy. I'm feeling better today, but not 100%. I've been listening to PCP all day, and I watched episode 3 of House. Yeah, this is how I spend my day off!

I probably would have done more if I had been feeling 100% better. I know that since I started listening to PCP I have realized that, even though I've been studying this path since about 9th grade, I don't know very much. I know how ignorant I am, and I don't like it. I feel like I am past the "Pagan 101" type things, but I don't know what my next move is. Does anyone have any advice?

Pagan Podcasts

I was watching a fellow Pagan teen's youtube videos and she mentioned Pagan Centered Podcast multiple times, insisting that anyone watching go there and listen. I took her suggestion and listened to their latest podcast, which just happened to be a live one, and I loved it! PCP is hilarious and informative. I plan to listen to the other 120 they have up. Check them out!

Born Under a Balsamic Moon

Last week my parents went to The Big E (a fair)and while there they bought my sister and I these cool necklaces with a picture of the moon we were born under. My sister was born just before the full moon, while I was born just before the new moon. Together we complete eachother! When my parents saw this they decided that they had to buy the necklaces.

The moon I was born under is called a Balsamic moon. What moon were you born under? You can enter your birth date here and find out. When you do find out, this website has some great info about the different phases people are born under.

Here is what it says for the Balsamic Moon:

The Balsamic Phase is the last phase of the Moon's cycle. This is the time of adjustment from one cycle to another. It is the bridge between the past and the future. People born at this time are finishing an eight phase cycle of lifetimes. Therefore, this lifetime is a very karmic one. There is a pattern of very intense, all-consuming although short term relationships with people from the past including other lifetimes. These karmic ties are in need of resolution before continuing on into the next new cycle. These people often have pronounced psychic abilities. They are the visionaries seeing years ahead of their times. As children they often feel apart from their peers; they are loners. Balsamic Moon people are able to take the true meaning of a situation, distill it into its wisdom essence and plant it into the awareness of others. They are the gurus. Their job is the transmission of essential knowledge which will germinate at the next level during the next Lunation Cycle.

BALSAMIC NATAL PHASE, 315 deg - 360 deg.

If you were born during the Lunar Cycle of the Balsamic Phase...

This is a very karmic lifetime in which you are meeting all those with which you have unfinished business from the previous seven lifetimes before this one. Therefore, you may encounter many brief, but intense relationships. There is a need for completion, a sense of closure to occur concerning these individuals. This can be confusing at times. It may be helpful to ask the question either to the person or to yourself, "Is there anything I've ever needed to say, do or give to you, let me do it now. If there is anything you've needed to say, do or give to me let's not put it off any longer, let us complete it now." If you cannot finish something in person, you need to ask in meditation to be released, possibly to forgive or to be forgiven. Having a full past of prior lifetimes to reflect upon, you are a born visionary, a natural psychic with a bridge to the future.

You realized at an early age that you were different and may have pretended to be like everyone else to fend off alienation from peers. You may have been described as an unusual child, and may have even been regarded as the black sheep of the family. Others will recognize your special-ness. One of your unique qualities is to be able to take the key meaning of all situations and distill it into its wisdom essence. You can then transfer this awareness and consciousness in others to live beyond this physical life. Your commitment is to the future. By reckoning with the past, you can consciously make a break with it. You sense that something larger than yourself can manifest through you if you make the commitment to allow it to do so. For one to understand you at all one needs to look at what is happening THROUGH you. The transmission of essential knowledge is your purpose.

Imbolc Past and Present

As you can see I changed my blog template. I was bored with the other one, and I like this one better!

So, Monday is Imbolc. I have no clue what I'm going to do for it, but that datebook I got had this recipe in it. It was easier to scan it than to type it up. I <3 my scanner/ printer/ copier! It makes life so much easier. I want to make this cake, but it's supposed to be a light grocery week so I may have to wait. Either way it sounds really good.



I remember this time last year I was writing tons in my journals, and I had bought a gold fish which I named Brigid after the triple goddess. There's no way I'm going to buy another gold fish. I can't keep any sort of fish alive for more than a month. xD I've been thinking about getting some kind of plant I can keep in my room, though. I have a bad record with plants, too, but I want to try again. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what kind of plant I should get? Something that's hard to kill preferably, and not poisonous to our cats who may sniff at it.

I may be writing less for pleasure, but I have been writing a lot for school. I'm always writing papers for my English classes, and now I have one to write about my future career. I'll be doing that today, hopefully I have time to make more of that chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough. Everyone in my family loves the cookies!

Heathen and Pagan Awareness Day

The Facebook group I am in has a link to an event. Tomorrow, October 1st, is Heathen and Pagan Awareness Day. It is just to bring attention to the growing number of people practicing some sort of Pagan faith. It's meant to help educate others about Paganism in general, and to clear up some common misunderstandings. There is a partial FAQ there, with a link to the longer one. It was very helpful when I read it.

I hope the day brings knowledge to people who need and want it. Knowledge is the greatest tool we have. =)

Edit: I want to say that I am feeling a bit better today. Sleeping a whole night really helps. I should be 100% by the end of the week!