Pagan Movie Night - December 4

Mists of Avalon

who's coming?

Pagan Movie Night - December 4

Friday, December 4
movie starts @ 7pm

the Mists of Avalon


6765 Lakeview Avenue, Burnaby
(604) 760-1944
closest skytrain is Royal Oak

more details here

Pagan Movie Night

Scathach TV Night

Friday evenings; once or twice monthly TBA
show up anytime after 5pm; movie starts at 7:00

My House has TV of Doom! 6765 Lakeview Avenue, Burnaby (604) 760-1944

• street parking in the cul-de-sac; follow the christmas lights in
• "shuttle" available to/from Royal Oak skytrain station; just call me
• feel free to bring your munchies, pj's, blankies & pillows, whatever!
• 2 couches and 1 papason; if you can bring comfy floor mats and cushions, even better!
  
• cat-free, smoke-free, and fragrance-free for your utmost comfort and enjoyment

Television shows, documentaries, movies, etc that are relevant and informative to us as pagans, as magickians, as warriors, as environmentalists, as politically aware and involved citizens, etc. Examples include (but are not limited to): "Religulous", "What the Bleep Do We Know?" and "Down the Rabbit Hole", "An Inconvenient Truth", TLC or Discovery Channel shows about the paranormal and psychic, "Psychic Investigators", "Fringe", educational shows involving the mind/body connection, spirituality, global consciousness, prophecies, new age, showcasing pagans/wiccans, anything to do with medieval Knights and chivalry (Templars, King Arthur, etc), anything about eastern martial arts & disciplines (Bushido, etc), what else can you think of ...?

Also fiction for the fun of it, i.e.: "Harry Potter", "Doctor Strange", "Practical Magic", "the Craft", "Merlin", "Mists of Avalon", "Avatar: the Last Airbender", "What Dreams May Come", "the Matrix", "the Last Samurai", "Dances With Wolves", "the Spiderwick Chronicles", "Bridge to Terabithia", "Kung Fu Panda", "the Last Mimzy", the list goes on ...


I'll post a note with the movie(s) we're watching, with a link to its writeup on imdb.com so you can read beforehand if the movie is suitable for your kids (which means you can bring them along!)

I'll be sure to post the movie ahead of time, so anyone not local can obtain a copy to watch also. This way, anyone who cannot attend in person can follow along at home.

Then we can discuss like mad on the blog, and use up ALL the available space left on the Internets!!! crazy.

books! omg books!

I don't know which to squee over more: books or shoes!

Thanks for the double-armload of books last night. My poor bookcases are going to bow under the weight, at the rate I'm going! But my brain is going "wheeee.... more stuffs to learn!"

Looking through some of the small vanity-press newsletter/periodicals, I found a yellow post-it sticky saying "This is my stuff; I want credit for it!" signed by Amber K. Kerr confirmed it was her handwriting all right. That was neat to find. Could you imagine this making its way to a public library and someone signing it out to find this sticky? Cool.

And as much as I don't condone book-burning (unless it's tax law from 50 years ago, and it's the Day After Tomorrow and you need a fire), there were a couple gems in there I thought would serve better as kindling than reading material. But hey, if it weren't for some of those not-so-great books paving the way for the improved upgrades, we may not see the better books being published today.

Last week I started to reorganize my bookcases to accommodate a half-dozen new books I had bought recently that didn't yet have homes... and now I have to do it all over again to make room for these new additions.

Could you imagine if my allergies/asthma didn't prevent me from taking in cats as fast as I take in books and shoes?? yikes!

Maeve, Goddess-Queen of Cats

Was it just me, or did anyone else notice that during her Dedication Oath at last night's Arming Maeve's eyes turned green-gold and feline?!?

I couldn't stop staring. And wondering if she has some kind of cat totem...?

Maeve, any thoughts? Inquiring minds are inquiring!

Galen Wainwright

I just received this e-mail from Sapphire Wainwright regarding the healing we did for Galen at Pagan Pride yesterday:

Thank you so much for the healing energy you guys did on Galen. If you hadn't I'm pretty sure that we would have had to cart him off in an ambulance to the closest ER. And since you guys did it he hasn't had a sever muscle spasm. You guys save our day and made Galen feel so much better. So please give my deepest felt gratitude to the rest of the group for doing that.

Sapphire

I replied with

It's the least we could do for the artisan who so lovingly crafted our coven's tokens! We were like "he made our tokens; we have to do good by him!" :-)

I'm SO glad we could help ease his pain. It hurt SO much to see him in agony.

Lots of ~HUGS~
and let us know how he fares

And it really DOES hurt to see my friends and family in pain, and I LOVE that everyone in our coven feels the same way and jumps at the chance to help ease suffering whenever and wherever we can.

Thank you so much. I LOVE you guys!!

1 + 1 = 1

As anyone on facebook and twitter may already know, my red van was stolen on Wednesday from skytrain parking.

Long story short: van stolen, filed police report, nosy neighbor called cops, thieves busted using van for B&Es, van recovered, processing as evidence, waiting for release/assessment/repair.

Purpose of my post: I'm just blown away by the interconnectedness of the universe. Buddha's right; we're ALL connected in ways we can't even comprehend. How?

The day it was stolen, I put it out to the universe (a la "The Secret"): my van will be recovered, contents intact. And the cops phoned 8 hours later; it was recovered, contents intact!

And then when people were expressing sympathy, I'm like: I don't need to worry, Karma will take care of it... and the thieves were busted same-day.

I create my own reality; as I will it, so shall it be!

A pagan from the Gathering re-friends me on facebook, the very same day she's clerking in provincial criminal court, and (of all days!) decides to peruse the prosecution docket and sees my name! Small world!

Just marveling at how we're all connected, and how we all seem to move in and out of eachothers lives, and at the vast and diverse web of people we touch.

And, dude, we need more witches in the justice system; some serious shit would get DONE!

Toymaking Workshop - rescheduled

It's WAY too gorgeous of a weekend to spend NOT out at the beach!

So go play outside tomorrow; we'll work on projects some other time.

Adult "Toy"-making Workshop

For those who have expressed an interest in doing the adult toy-making workshop:

Sunday, September 13th
1pm - 5pm

6765 Lakeview Avenue, Burnaby

Then we'll hop in my Pagan Wagon and head over to the Motherhouse for 6pm class.

what you will need:

- wear/bring clothes you're not afraid to get glue, etc on

- any pieces or scraps of: leather, suede, pvc, lame, leopard-print, fun-fur, decorative trims or cord, etc that you would like to use to decorate the handle of your flogger(s)

*if you can contribute a few bucks to offset my costs to supply the materials, it would be greatly appreciated... and my boyfriend won't give me such dirty looks*

Scathach TV Night

Proposing a new idea (let me know what you think):

Scathach TV Night

Sundays, when not meeting at Surrey Motherhouse for training/rituals.

6 or 7(ish) (earlier is okay too, whatever people want)
until 10pm (firm end time because both Logan and I have work early in the morning)

My House has TV of Doom! 6765 Lakeview Avenue, Burnaby

Television shows, documentaries, movies, etc that are relevant and informative to us as pagans, as magickians, as warriors, as environmentalists, as politically aware and involved citizens, etc. Examples include (but are not limited to): "Religulous", "What the Bleep Do We Know?" and "Down the Rabbit Hole", "An Inconvenient Truth", TLC or Discovery Channel shows about the paranormal and psychic, "Psychic Investigators", "Fringe", anything to do with medieval Knights and chivalry (Templars, King Arthur, etc), anything about eastern martial arts & disciplines (Bushido, etc), what else can you think of ...?

Also fiction for the fun of it, i.e.: "Harry Potter", "Doctor Strange", "Practical Magic", "the Craft", "Merlin", "Mists of Avalon", "Avatar: the Last Airbender", "What Dreams May Come", "the Matrix", "the Last Samurai", "Dances With Wolves", "the Spiderwick Chronicles", "Bridge to Terabithia", "Kung Fu Panda", "the Last Mimzy", the list goes on ...


Comments? Feedback? Suggestions?

Scathach photos

At long last, the photos I took at the Seattle Motherhouse!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21710552@N02/sets/72157621994311072/

withdrawal

Doesn't it feel like we should be meeting up today?

Spending the weekend at the Gathering made me feel all squishy warm fuzzies: I LOVE my coven! HUGS and loves all around! I had such a great time (and I absolutely agree with the idea that we should have our own annual Scathach retreat).

I love how we take such great care of eachother, everyone brought extras to pitch in so no one went without. I love how there aren't any walls between us, and how the kids respond to us all as family. I love having big brothers! I loved finally being at a kids' summer camp in a bunk eating junkfood with the other kids. I loved playing Barbie with Char! I loved that I was able to push my boundaries with my friends and NOT feel at all awkward afterwards. I mean, if you can't trust your friends to be vulnerable with, how could you possibly trust strangers?! I love how we come together and love eachother (welcome, Robyn! <3 ) and support eachother (you're OUR girl, Geri!). I love that we comrades-in-arms stand together, side by side, and face all odds.

I just frakkin LOVE my coven, okay?!?

GREAT BIG HUGS to everyone! Can't wait to see you again...

Malthusian Collapse

re-posted from Kerr Cuhulain's blog:

Malthusian Collapse

I heard a Christian on the radio the other day going on about how it was right and proper that we all should be having lots of children. I sat there in amazement, wondering how a person like this could justify this position in the face of the current global situation. The population of the world is now approaching 9 billion people. Our food reserves are down to record lows: In 2007 the carryover stocks were down to a 61 day supply, the lowest on record. As a result food prices have skyrocketed and there are more poor people than ever. Ever increasing populations are consuming ever increasing amounts of fossil fuels, resulting in global warming. This world of ours is being pushed to a breaking point.

Decades ago agricultural scientists came up with a “Green Revolution” involving monocultures, fertilizers and industrial type farming. This increased yields alright, giving many the impression that the crisis was over. What actually happened is that we ended up driving water tables down, pushing water resources to all time lows and leaving many rivers and bodies of water polluted with chemical runoff. Monoculture crops took everything out of the soil and put nothing back in, leaving soils depleted and eventually driving crop yields down. Much of our grain, instead of going to feed people, is going to feed animals and produce bio-fuels. The grain that it takes to feed one animal for food can feed 5 people. As Thomas Robert Malthus, in his 1798 Essay on the Principle of Population, pointed out that human population increases at a geometric rate, doubling about every 25 years if unchecked. On the other hand, agricultural production increases arithmetically. Thus unchecked population will always outstrip agricultural production. And if the population just keeps on growing, taking up more and more land, where exactly do you figure we are going to be able to grow this food?

It is time for a change, people. We have to abandon the current idea that we are “rulers of the earth” and replace it with the idea that we are “stewards of the earth”. We need to switch to sustainable farming, involving interplanting with plants like legumes to put things back into the earth. We need to compost and reduce our reliance on pesticides and fertilizer. We need to engage in smarter irrigation practices and use mulching and cover crops. We need to come up with alternative, clean sources of energy. And I really think that we need to start paying attention to the concept of zero population growth. We’ve reached the point of Malthusian collapse. We need to do this now, before we push our dear Mother Earth past the point of no return.

BB Kerr
originally posted at http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/


Here are my comments in reply to Kerr's post:

I agree with this on each and every count!

I also agree with Gaelan in that, when I come to decide if I'm going to have children, I am very very likely to adopt a child that already exists on this planet, instead of creating another one to increase the population.

I also believe we (globally) should actively encourage negative population growth. Perhaps making contraceptives free or extremely cheap, so the "default" in a financial crunch is not to get pregnant but instead to NOT get pregnant. Or abolishing "child tax credit" because many poor people have children JUST to get more free money from government programs. We need to stop pressuring our children and peers to "give us grandchildren" and "don't be selfish, have kids like you're supposed to". We need to make zero/negative population growth the "norm", not continuing to breed uncontrollably and mindlessly.

And no more of this "in the future" and "our kids' generation", it's NOW, TODAY, OUR generation. We can't keep living like there's no tomorrow, or that someone else who comes along tomorrow will be able to clean up our mess. We as a planet have run amuck and it's time we gave our heads a shake and realized that our actions come with hefty consequences.

For example, the reason we're getting more cancers is due to the processed foods we're consuming, as opposed to our grandparents who lived off the fresh produce, grains, and meats on their farms.

And the reason we're getting more skin cancers and extreme sunburns is because we no longer have an effective ozone layer to shield us from the sun's RADIATION. And why is that? We destroyed our ozone in the 80s and 90s. How? Pollution that was excessive and uncontrolled and mindless of any consequence. Commercialism, Industrial Revolution: finding ways to produce consumables quickly, cheaply, and on a large enough scale to accommodate our growing population.

We need the Powers That Be to aggressively pursue a change, and to educate the people. The planet needs to pull its collective head out of the sand.


I repost this in the hopes of spreading the word and encouraging discussion and awareness.

As the First Nations people believe: we are the Caretakers of our Mother the Earth. She has given us the gift of this bountiful planet that can sustain our People and provide all that we shall desire... so long as we care for it.

gearing up for the Gathering

I've turned my living room upside-down by emptying out my closet/storage space under the stairs, in preparation for the Gathering. Not only did I have a couple sewing projects I wanted to finish for it, but I knew I had some fabrics and whatnot I could bring to help pretty up the Temple/Lair/Grotto, etc. Well. Apparently I have 6+ large rubbermaid tubs of fabric I forgot I had... THAT's where all my closet space went to!

So while I'm preparing to pack for the Gathering, I've got stuff strewn all over the living room that I intend to pack: clothes, costumes, ritual wear, bellydancing wear, what else could I possibly need wear?, supplies for a few of the workshops (visionboarding, kinky toy-making, etc), as well as radios and flashlights for Goon Squad, my Beach Bag, and I can't forget altar stuffs, etc etc. I'm taking everything because I don't know what I'll need, so better have it and not use it than not have it when I want to use it.

So, I ask of you who've been in past years: What else could I possibly need?

worthy causes

I think this is just amazing and wonderful:

http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/facility.php

need emergency crash space

I have a friend who is in dire straits at the moment.

She has nowhere to live, no money, and the couch she's been surfing on is giving her the boot any day now. She is also pregnant.

She is terrified of going to a shelter (and even if she did, they don't allow her cat, and apparently they're all full anyway).

She is desperately looking for crash space for her, her boyfriend, and 1 cat asap. She can contribute via domestic chores.

I don't know how long she would need this crash space.

If anyone can help her, please let me know.

Even better, if anyone knows of any programs or assistance that could help in this situation, please shout out. I have no idea where to send her for help.

[headdesk]

oh boy.

do we even respond to this kind of crap?

http://community.livejournal.com/dot_pagan_snark/789012.html
http://www.witchforum.net/forum/index.php?topic=12015.0
http://www.witchforum.net/forum/index.php?topic=11701.0

posted by SharpSage:
based on the little research i have done, Kerr Cuhulain was a police officer. i find it rather discomforting that someone will choose a peaceful religious path along with a profession that may require him to kill. i'm not quite sure what to make of that.

For the most part, the majority of the replies all support the warrior path and respect Kerr as a wiccan author. But I felt a need to speak up, so I simply posted the link to Scathach's website.

Any thoughts?

Toymaking Workshop

There was some talk in that red-coloured kitchen at the Motherhouse a while back. Yes, THAT kind of talk.

I had attended a hands-on workshop in the local kink community on making rubber floggers, and paid attention well enough that I could teach the workshop myself now. Also, between my handyman boyfriend and myself, we've figured out a few other homemade toys that we easily and cheaply made at home instead of venturing forth to expensive shops.

And while it is not a Scathach-related activity, it would appear that the pagan community and the kink community are some of the non-mainstream communities that tend to have overlapping members, and some interest was shown.

So now that the weather is warmer, I will be hosting a workshop at my house on how to make your own adult toys. It's cheap and easy and loads of fun!

Any suggestions on the date? I'm thinking it would take the better part of 1 day, so if we have it on both days of a weekend, people can attend either day depending on their schedule.

Date Suggestions:
May 23/24
June 13/14
June 27/28
July 18/19
July 25/26
August 8/9
August 29/30

Seattle Armouring - carpool

I am going to Seattle on Sunday.

I have room for 5 people in my PaganWagon. So far I have:

1 Geri
2 Kerry
3
4
5

Does anyone else need a ride? Chris & Lisa? Mike & Sara? Bueller?

In order to make it to Seattle by noon, I would be leaving my house before 8:00 a.m. Please arrange to arrive at my house at 7:30 so we can load up our gear (and have time to grab a coffee for the drive).

I will pick up Kerry in Surrey on the way to the border. So expect me to arrive around 8 or 8:15ish.

6765 Lakeview Avenue
parking in the cul-de-sac or in my driveway

(604) 760-1944

P.S. Bring CDs if you want something in particular played (i.e. Great Big Sea)

As many of you may already know, I have chosen (I mean, it has chosen me) to dedicate myself to mastering Earth (stone/shield).

Earth's Law is "to be silent".

Yesterday I lost my voice.

*sigh*

Thank you for assigning me the least-speaking role for the Seattle ritual. ;-)