Stephen and I arrived in Honolulu on the 9th of October. It took us almost a month to find a house to rent. Being patient has paid off. We found a nice 3/2/2 house in the Makakilo area with a yard! Yippee! Finally I have the space to be creative with Mother Nature again.
Our back yard has a terraced garden area with 2 levels. Since we have not received our household goods and will not until the 1st week of December, we have been very busy cleaning up and planting to make our surroundings harmonious. I might add that it coming along beautifully. When we are finished I will be sure to post some pictures for all to see.
The island is so awesome. There is so much beauty all around. I am in total awe of this grand place.

I hope that everyone is magically experiencing the
newness. Sorry for the delay of well wishing. I haven't had access to
a computer for the past few days. Stephen and I took a road trip to
Boone, NC to eat dinner with an old friend. Then we spent the night in
Bolling Rock. There was snow on the ground. How pretty! The next day
we set out to drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway for the Hell of it.
Happens that the parkway had many detours due to ice on some of he
bridges. Thank goodness for our GPS! On one of our detours we found a
Gem Mine and decided to stop and check it out. After 3 hours of
fluming, we came out smiling with 6 bags of Crystals
(Rose/clear/smoky quartz, aquamarine, amethyst/ametrine, citrine,
garnets, emeralds, moonstone, black/green/watermelon tourmaline, and
sodalite). For not having a trip plan, I think we faired very well.


Today I awoke bright and early (5:30am) full of energy thinking to
myself, why the sudden urgency to do something productive.
For no reason at all other than intuition. I looked at today's entry
in the Witches Almanac and it read Wolf Moon in Cancer. How fitting
for today's felt energies. Yippee!!!
After, lying there in my warm bed for a few more minutes, I decided
that today would be a good day to cleanse the house and be spiritually
creative. In short, I spent the better part of the day being a
kitchen witch. First, I smudged my home. Then I made 5 new
tinctures, 3 new oil blends and 1 bath salt blend.

Something to ponder:
A good friend of mine suggested how nice it would be to have a collective thought for the new year. How awesome is that?!
Especially, since today is the 1st full moon of the year. To all come together with the same/similar hopes and dreams of a peaceful and prosperous forthcoming year. So in honor of this magical Wolf Moon I plan on bathing in her light, howling along her side and setting my new creations & crystals out to bask in her greatness. Will any of you care to join me?

Blessings to all of you, Tawny

Today marks the Pagan Holiday Yule.
"Yule is the time of greatest darkness and the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice had been associated with the birth of a "Divine King" long before the rise of Christianity. Since the Sun is considered to represent the Male Divinity in many Pagan Traditions, this time is celebrated as the "return of the Sun God" where He is reborn of the Goddess"
The above definition is courtesy of The Witches Voice, www.witchvox.com

In honor of Yule:
I give thanks...
to my own soul's journey,
to the many valuable lessons I have learned,
to the souls I have encountered along the way,
to my humanness,
and to my ever growing insight.
Today I will say goodbye to the ties that bind me and break free of old habits.
Today I will welcome my newfound freedoms and continue to grow inward and outward.

Yule Poem I wrote today:
Reflecting on the year that is to pass
Memories I cherish come quickly then fade quite fast
The darkness calls on me to remember
I am reminded of my soul’s much needed slumber
This night, to sleep my old self shall go
To awaken in light’s embrace come morrow
Trusting in the ways of the “Old”
Rebirth is inevitable, for it has been foretold

Below is a traditional family recipe that has been handed down from my Great Grandmother(this recipe was her Grandmother's).
A small gift from me to you:

Yulekage
(Scandinavian Christmas Bread-Makes 2 loaves)

4 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Quarts Milk
2 Cups Butter, softened
2 Cakes of Yeast
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Ground Cardamom, or more to taste
1 Cup Mixed chopped Candied Citron
1 Cup Raisins
6 Cups Flour

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 cups of flour, sugar, eggs, salt, butter and beat until smooth. Add cardamom, citron and raisins. Add 4 cups of flour. Mix. Knead for 10 minutes. If dough becomes too sticky, knead in an-other 1/2 to 1 cup of flour. Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. Punch down dough. Knead for a minute or two. Shape into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Turn out of pans. Allow the bread to cool before slicing it.
If you prefer, after the Yulekage is cool, drizzle on powdered sugar icing and decorate with cherries, walnuts or pecans.

Blessings to all on this day of renewal, Tawny

Today marks the 6th day and 5th night spent in my new home.
I am currently sitting on my balcony over-looking the lake in my back yard reflecting how lucky I am to be present in the here and now.
Mabon proved to be yet another transformation for me as I have had many in this year alone.
Yes, times are vastly changing and I have been scooped up with the wind to join along.

My, what a wonderful ride this has been.

I sit here now reminiscing about the insightful Summer I had touring with my Forest Dance Family. Oh how I miss each and every one of you! I thought last summer had a lot to offer me as far as my spiritual quest goes. Most of my life's comfort levels dealt only with the elements of Earth and Water. I never knew how important and valuable "Fire" was to my soul until FDMA last year. Fire touched me, embraced me and took me in.

I must share this: Nicole and I were searching the area behind where the fire altar was to sit. We found a lovely piece of wood that was perfect for the altar itself because it was very large and flat like a table/altar should be. We knew it was going to be tough getting this thing back to the circle (it was heavy) but we were determined. lol
To our surprise, when we picked this log up, underneath it sat the most amazing thing... Looking at the 2 of us was a Salamander. I had never before seen such vibrant deep colored red Salamander. Nicole and I just looked at each other in awe of the gift we had before us. We simultaneously sat the log off to the side of us and held a small ritual asking the Salamander for its guidance and blessing to use the log for the Fire Altar. WOW!!! At this moment, I knew in my heart and soul that this was going to be the best FD ever.
I was right! Infact, one night the fire altar caught flame (did anyone else witness this?)... In the flames I was shown many things of past and future. This is when I became one with the Fire :-)

Which in turn has led me to this reality: Last year (around Mabon), I knew that the year ahead (2006) would be the year of "Air". I was given many signs prior to my trip that began the last portion of May on how I would come to understand the Air/Wind element.
I received many visions from the "One's" that come with the "Wind". And, this Summer proved to me that these messages were indeed factual.
One of the messages I received was this; "The winds of time grow heavy on your mind, the winds of change will show you the needed way". Little did I know that this would all make perfect sense in the end.
I can honestly say that today, I feel more complete, more confident in myself, and more spiritually sound.

Humbly blessed to be a witness, Tawny