I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all you posses.

I wish you enough "hellos" to get through the final "goodbyes".

I wish you just enough.

I am a Facebook junkie....I spend a great deal of time "playing" on Facebook.  Most of the information I see within the Facebook space is frivolous nonsense.  Once in a while, a status update will make me stop and feel.  The above prose was a status update from "The Daily Budda". 

I am a consumer.  I buy things, I dont always recycle, I still use plastic bottles because I am addicted to VitaminWater (dragonfuit!).  These actions alone were not enough to make me stop and think, but after reading "I wish you enough" I began examing my life and where I have MORE than enough.

I can buy less.  I can make more of an effort to recycle.  I can try to "upcycle" items before they make it to the garbage.  What I can't do is understand how to determine when you have enough. Apparently I am trying to make up for not having enough, by purchasing more stuff.  The stuff does not make me feel better for long - the good feeling stops when I realize that I still have a broken-ness inside me and no amount of "stuff" is going to fill it.

The things I dont have enough of are not things I can go buy.  Money is no use when you are searching for an understanding of your place in the world.  Money does not answer the question "why am I here?".  So, now that I understand that....what's next?

I am not going to go severe.  I will still go shopping.  I will still get my nails done.  I will still roam around antique shops to find treasures.  What I will do is switch to Snapple, because they are in glass bottles and can be recycled easily.  I will continue to look at the items I have around my house with a thought of "does someone else need this?" - if the answer is yes, then I will give it to them.  I will continue to be a good friend, wife, daughter in law, step mother. 

I believe the spritual journey I am on is much bigger than I originally thought.  Wicca is a nature based path.  Not only do I need to align myself with nature, but I need to be a steward for nature.  Nature, our world, needs protection and now that I have self-reflected enough to understand that it is my responsibility to make the small changes (internal and external) there is no reason for me not to follow my spirit.

Expect to see a lot less VitaminWater and a lot more tree hugging from me.

Peace and I wish you enough.

My Herb Garden

My new Herb garden -

This is the first year I have a dedicated space for Herbs, and what an overwhelming space! What herbs do I plant, what design do I use, what am I going to create in this blank space?

Here is my list thus far, along with their magical properties;

• Mint - Mint is placed in the home as a protective herb. It belongs to the sphere of Venus and has long been used in healing potions and mixtures. The fresh leaves rubbed against the head are said to relieve headaches. Mint worn at the wrist assures that you will not be ill. Its bright green leaves and crisp scent led to its use in money and prosperity spells. Fresh mint laid on the altar will call good spirits to be present and aid you in magic, especially healing spells. Added to incenses it cleanses the house or ritual area. Use for: Protection; Healing; Prosperity; Good Luck; Fortune; Justice; Travel; Exorcism.




• Spearmint - Used in magic for healing, love, and protection while sleeping.




• Solomon's Seal Root - Used for protection, exorcism and cleansing. Used to drive away evil/negative spirits.




• Pineapple Mint




• Pineapple Sage




• Oregano - Oregano planted around the house can ward off bad vibrations. In the kitchen, it is a must in tomato sauces! It also goes well with other foods such as eggs and cheese.




• Dill - Dill has protective properties but is also a great addition to salads, seafood, potato dishes, etc. It is a very tender herb and is considered an annual.




• Catnip - Aside from what it does to many cats, Catnip can be used in teas to help relax and soothe. Grow it near the home for luck. Use it to attract love.




• Aloe - Used for protection and luck. It can be hung in the home as a charm to attract luck and protection for those who live there. It can also be grown in pots and placed around the home to provide protection from accidents within the home.




• Echinacea - Used to add power to charms, spells and incenses. Can be used as an offering to spirits.




• Sweet Basil - It is used for exorcism, protection and love potions. Sprinkled around the house to ward off evil/negative spirits. There is an old saying, "Where Basil grows, no evil goes!" and "Where Basil is, no evil lives". A gift of basil given to someone moving into a new home will bring them good luck.




• Bee Balm




• Garlic Chives - Chives taste like mild onion and can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Mix minced chives with butter and garlic to toast on bread, in cream cheese, in eggs and many other dishes. Chives flowers dry well and the seeds can be collected in bags for planting.




• Rosemary - Rosemary is very powerful and has cleansing properties as well as protection. In the kitchen it is wonderful with many meats. Rosemary can also be used to flavor oils and vinegars.




• Catmint




• Snapdragon Flower - Used for protection, exorcism and purification




• Chrysanthemum - Protection. Grow in the garden for protection of the home. White is the best color of flower to do this, but any color will do.




• Citronella - Burn or use in charm to protect and cleanse the Aura, Use in charms and spells to encourage creativity and clear the mind. Also used to repel insects.




• Clover - Use in spells and charms to promote fidelity, money, love or success. Also used for protection. Used in the consecration of ritual tools. Place around the home to drive away negative spirits.




• Sweet Lavender - This sweet smelling flower can be dried and used in sachets. It helps induce sleep and relaxation.




• Morning Glory - Used for binding and/or banishing spells and rituals. Can be used to bring people or objects towards you. Use the vine to wrap around a poppet to bind someone. - Poisonous - don't eat!




• Thyme - Magically, thyme can be burned or worn to attract good health or put under the pillow to help with dreams. Culinary, thyme is a wonderful seasoning!




• Lemon Balm - Lemon balm may have sedative properties. In the kitchen, it is great for seasoning summer squash and in teas. It makes great satchels when dried.




• King Edward Yarrow - Used in magic and ritual for healing, hand-fasting and divination. Used in spells and charms to draw love. Used to banish negativity and promote peaceful relations, especially between married couples.

These are my grandmother's "everyday" plates. They were broken when I got them out of the attic and it broke my heart. Since I refused to let them just go to the garbage, I figured they would work well as a barrier for my mint. Seeing these plates makes me smile inside my heart. I have eaten MANY a meal from these plates - lovingly prepared by my grandparents. I think they bring the best, positive energy to my garden. Thanks Mom. (I called my grandmother Mom.)

Mothers, Gardening, and Life Lessons

Over the last several years I have gotten more and more into gardening. It makes me appreciate the ebb and flow of life. There is no rushing a seedling into a plant, and there is no rushing a plant to flower. You provide the plant what it needs to stay alive and it rewards you by growing and blooming...in its own time. The only way to do it wrong is to not provide the plant what it asks for. Pretty easy, huh?

The process gets me thinking. Mother Nature and the universe provide the human embryo what it needs to grow. The mother is a vessel for that miracle, but she is really a bystander in the process. The fates and nature will grow the embryo into a tiny human. When we are born, we are helpless, relying only on our mothers for nourishment, comforting, and warmth. Motherhood is a beautiful experience - I cannot imagine the unbridled joy of seeing your child for the first time. The white light of peace and contentment has to be visible. Seeing this with friends, family members, hell - even on TV - it seems that all is right with the world at that moment.

What I don't understand is the ability of a Mother to decide that the child they gave birth to, the child they nurtured, worried about, taught, laughed with is no longer their child. I can only use a few examples in my life to compare that relationship to. My step daughter, my pets, and my gardens. Never have I looked at any of those precious examples and thought...hmm...screw it. I can't turn the step daughter away anymore than I could not feed one of my pets or watch a plant whiter and die. Yet, I have a mother out in the world who does not believe that I should be her daughter. As much as that hurts me, it really calls attention to an emptiness in my life. I miss having a mother...I think. I am not entirely sure I ever had one, but the relationships I see with other mother/daughters make me wish I had one.

As I garden, I am reminded how much I have to give the world. I can grow FOOD, flowers, herbs. I even know what to plant with other plants...I have beautiful gardens. But I do not have a mother, sister, father.....I am a transplant volunteer - growing as big as possible, but no one can trace me back to a starting point.