non-Scathach workshop in spring

So there was some talk in the kitchen tonight after swinging around our staffs outside.

I recently 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 when the weather is warmer come spring, 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! And just in time for Beltane!

Will keep you posted...

Angela

update on "request for energy"

okay, wise guys...

when I said think "green" energy at me for prosperity, I meant a larger ICBC writeoff cheque for my car.

Instead, my parents loaned me a BIG GREEN MINIVAN (for the next 2 or 3 years until I'm back at a stable job and can buy a new car again and have all those lovely monthly car payments).

It's really big, and it's really green.

haha. funny. :-P

request for energy

I was runover by a semi-truck yesterday. Yes, an 18-wheeler. I was merging onto Hwy 1 and the trucker sped up to cut me off because apparently he didn't want me getting in ahead of him. I guess the entire concept of "merge" was lost on him, maybe he thought I had a "yield" sign, I don't know. At any rate, he parked his truck ontop of my back corner and ICBC decided my car is a complete writeoff.

What upset me the most out of the whole thing, was that 'writeoff' means they'll give me $1400 and send me on my way to buy a new/replacement car. Meanwhile, I had just spent $7,000 in the past 18 months fixing up the car to the point that I will definitely get another 10 - 15 years out of it.

Right now I am completely broke, unemployed, and my partner is going into debt trying to keep us from sleeping in cardboard boxes in the downtown eastside. His car broke down 2 days ago and we had no choice but to buy a replacement for it (ironically, the exact make and model and year of my car!), which we are scrambling now trying to figure out how we are going to make payments on it when we're already scrambling to pay rent and groceries. Now my car also requires replacing. We don't have the money to replace 1 car right now, let alone both.

So I'm putting a request out to my coven (because that's what we do in communities and tribes when we need help) for some well-wishes and thoughts and energy. Anything anyone wants to send in the "prosperity" category would really go a long way right now. Plus, I would really like this headache to go away; it's been non-stop for the past 27 hours (since the accident, actually).

My dad seems to think he can find a friend or someone who will repair the damage to my car for less than what ICBC is offering to write it off, which would be ideal since the car is ridiculously well-maintained and driveable for the next decade. Really, it just needs the dent hammered out, the bumper and tail-light replaced, and the scraped-off paint patched up. I would really like this particular plan to go ahead successfully. So I am putting my energy into "encouraging" that to happen. Anyone who wants to chip in their visulalizing is welcome to. It's a 1994 Toyota Tercel, 2-door, white.

Somewhat related: This morning I woke up and my "I am" statement came rushing unbidden from my lips, as if it was communicated to me through my sub/unconscious during a dreamwalk I don't remember embarking on. I said it out loud a few times today and I felt STRONG.

"I am the Phoenix that rises from the purifying flames of my own destruction; in the white-hot heat of the crucible I am forged anew."

Angela

EDIT (28 Nov 2008): The car is definitely a writeoff and it's not worth repairing. So now I'm looking at buying a replacement vehicle with the $1400 - $1700 ICBC will give me. There seem to be a wicked large number of 1990s Tercels in the used car ads for my price range, so I should be okay after all... it's just a matter of going to look at and test drive all of them.

I am ...

I am the Phoenix
that rises from the purifying flames of my own destruction;
in the white-hot heat of the crucible
I am forged anew.

Armoring - 13 September 2008

I can see in some of your eyes that haunted look that tells me that you’ve been victims. You’ve been set upon, bruised, harassed, suffered setbacks. That’s a terrible thing. But if you came to this place to claim the title “Victim” and expect to have us feel sorry for you, then you’ve come to the wrong place. You may as well turn around and leave. Yet if you came here to empower yourself, to take charge of your life, to say “Never Again!”, then you are very welcome. We Warriors are here to show you how.

And some of you have that inward look which tells me that you don’t like what you see when you look in the mirror. You consider yourself weak or flawed or disrespected. That’s a difficult thing to deal with, to be sure. But if you came here to rub shoulders with us Warriors, hoping that you’d gain some respect or honor by association only, then I suggest you get lost. We’ve no time for that. But if you’ve come here to reinvent yourself, to rise from your own ashes like the Phoenix, to be glorious, then you are very welcome indeed. We are here to witness your glories and vouch for your honor.

And some of you have fear in your eyes. You’ve found the world to be a chaotic and dangerous place. But if you came here hoping that we Warriors will stand between you and that scary world, then think again. Yet if you came here to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, face your fears and not back down, then you’ll find yourself amongst friends. We Warriors are here to stand with you and watch your back.

At this point in many rituals the priestess or priest pokes you in the chest with an edged weapon and says things about it being “better to rush upon this blade” than enter with fear and demand secret passwords. I’m not wearing an edged weapon today. There are no passwords that will get you through life. What you need to enter here is not a secret. You need seven things: Loyalty, Justice, Sincerity, Courtesy, Compassion, Courage and Honor. If you have these then enter and take your places around the circle.

Armoring Oath

The Morrighan offered Setanta a choice. Setanta went on to be the great Warrior hero, Cú Chullain. This ceremony offers a choice to those who have not taken this oath before: A chance to decide your future; To take charge of it to make it what you want. For those who have taken this oath before, it is a chance to rededicate yourself to this path, to reaffirm your willingness to take on challenges and be glorious.

Acceptance Ceremony - 6 April 2008

Oath of Scáthach

By the power of earth, water, air, fire, and spirit, before the Gods, the Sidhe and the Ancestors, I do declare before this assemblage my fealty and allegiance to Scáthach, to its thirteen precepts, and to the rule of law.

So shall I ever defend the values of Sincerity, Courtesy, Compassion, Perseverance, Industriousness, Justice, Loyalty, Courage, Self-Discipline, Humility, Largesse, Truth, and Honor, which in this modern world are so often neglected. I take these values into my heart and soul that they may manifest themselves in my words and deeds.

Biodh Se!

Wiccan Warrior - 28 February 2008

Kerr Cuhulain, wiccan author and retired VPD law enforcement, introduced his Wiccan Warrior tradition at Grimoire's Books.