This is the one I purchased because it was on sale.
Today, to prepare for the fall and winter, I decided to get a larger aerogarden (9 pods) so I can grow more stuff and have fresh tomatoes and lettuce all winter. I also want to have more herbs to dry as the holiday seasons roll around. If this works well, I think I’ll use this system in the summer too so I can use the space out doors for other things. I’m thinking the Lettuce Coop might make a better Strawberry Coop. I’m getting so many ideas for next year already!
Mugwort in the wild.
I also bought some mugwort tea today. I’m having a difficult time remembering my dreams in the morning as of late. This never used to be a problem for me. Writing down my dreams in the morning helps me to see what’s truly important to me or where my focus/energy is going. If I need to redirect or explore something further, my dreams will tell me. If I can remember them! I know mugwort and wormwood are both considered good aids for remembering dreams and even creating more lucid dreams. I will blog about my results with the mugwort tea after I’ve tried it for a few weeks.
If anyone else has any suggestions for remembering dreams, I’d like to hear them!
The early days of the Lettuce Coop. Not a single lettuce escaped!
I’m trying my hand at gardening and growing herbs, but alas this year I did nearly everything wrong. Somethings, like my lettuce and zucchini turned out great, but not so much my tomatoes, peppers and strawberries. Part of it is that I started it during the early days of the lockdown, but then as I had to go onto the office again I didn’t have the time. I also lacked some tools and know-how. So this winter I’m going to take my time to read up on how to plant a garden and manage the up-keep. I’m also going to use my aerogarden to learn more about growing healthy herbs and tomatoes.
My nipped cat
I have big aspirations to be a hedge witch, knowledgeable in herbs and how to make essential oil and medicinal tinctures and herbal tea. I also want to keep a garden to make meals from scratch. Three herbs that did well for me were chamomile, mint, and catnip. I plan to make some tea blends with them and, of course, drug my cats with the nip. The addicts!
A Kitchen Witch book I bought makes the claim that our food carries the energy of the people and conditions it was made in, so it’s best for us to grow and make as much of our food ourselves as possible. I believe this to be true and basic logic. Whether or not one believes in the metaphysical properties of energy transference, it doesn’t take a genius to feel the inherent difference between something out of a box and fresh food out of a garden. And to take that further, pulling it out of the garden is so much better than buying it in the produce department of a grocery store.
Is the food you grow and harvest yourself really spiritually and nutritionally better for you? I’d say yes. From the ground to the table it keeps more of it’s nutrients since it doesn’t have to travel far only to sit on a shelf and wait to be picked up by a shopper. And when you put your heart and soul into growing something, you can’t help but be enriched by that. I felt good every time I made a salad with my lettuce and tomatoes (do not ask about the poor, sad cucumber plant). Yesterday I made chicken fried rice with my wife’s garden carrots and I was beaming with pride at how good they tasted! Today I made a spaghetti sauce with my basil and oregano that was amazing!
Zucchini Parmesan, much better than eggplant! Plus I need to figure out what to do with the billions of zucchini this plant is producing…
When I can’t grow my own food, I at least try to cook my own food. It’s not always easy when I work a 9-5 job and I want to write, research, and relax a little. I admit it, I use Grubhub a lot. Waaaay to much. And I have to say I can totally tell when the chef at whatever restaurant was having a bad day. It telegraphs in the food. Cooking is an art. If someone is depressed or angry, it messes with the mojo and it ends up in the taste of the food.
This fall and winter I’ll get to work on learning how to build a better garden. Even though I messed up a lot on my Coronavirus Impromptu Victory Garden, I still found it quite fulfilling! I hope a lot of you out there have tried growing your own garden or are thinking about trying it too. If anyone out there has some good tips on gardening or knows of a good book or youtube channel – drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you.
I’m an Aries sun, Taurus rising, and Scorpio moon, thanks for asking!
A friend of mine went off again on how astrology is bogus and how people need to join the 21st century. The stars and planets cannot influence our reality, after all! I agreed with her, they don’t. And that’s the thing astrology downer types don’t get because they have no idea how astrology works. They get their knowledge from people who only have a passing knowledge of it themselves or from media. It’s sounds stupid to them (because it is) so they don’t research it any further. I understand this, I used to think astrology was bogus too for the same reason.
But this is like asking a random person to explain their religion to you. Most people know a couple of basics about it, but would score about 15% if you handed them a test. Many people think they know their religion, but really, they don’t. Some of the stuff they will tell you is way out in left field. I know this because I taught comparative religion for thirteen years and I had students do a research paper on their own religion to learn about it from an academic perspective. WAY too many didn’t bother to do the research part and handed me testimonials which reflected little knowledge of their faith (history, beliefs, rituals, holidays). Those who did the research were often surprised by what they learned.
This is to say, get you knowledge on a topic from and expert in the field who knows what they are talking about. And it’s also important to keep in mind that one source is not going to do it. Go to several sources, get a few opinions. Dig into a few books.
That said, I’m not an astrologer, so don’t take my words as expert knowledge. But my understanding is, no astrologer worth their salt thinks that the planets actually influence anything. They can’t. They’re just astrological bodies in space that barely affect us with their gravity, let alone control our fate.
Astrology works because the constellations and planets reflect human constructed archetypes on Earth. These archetypes are deeply rooted in the human psyche. Most humans share a connection to them. Through our history, the constellations and planets have taken on these representations encoded in our myths and stories. As the planets pass through the zodiac, they tell a story, teach lessons, hand out warnings, and so forth. Astrology is human psychology playing out. What happens in the stars isn’t their influence on us, it’s synchronicity.
Tarot works in the same way, though perhaps more personal.
I started following astrology about five years ago, but it’s only in the past three years that I started to take it more seriously. The people I pay attention to nailed 2020.
I was listening to a video from Carolyn Elliott the other day regarding the topic of love. In it she talks about how many of us miss the love around us because we are seeking to find ourselves worthy of it. Am I worthy of love? What must I do to be worthy of love?
But this is the wrong way of looking at love. It’s not about making the grade or getting to the final cut where we’ll finally grasp the golden ring and be found worthy!
Nope.
The most humbling aspect of love, she says, is that worthiness has nothing to do with it. Alas, love just is for no reason at all.
This is the truth about love. It’s unconditional or it’s not love at all. One loves everything; the ugly, scary, awkward, weird bits alongside of the ordinary, milquetoast, mediocre bits, and the beautiful, fabulous, glorious bits.
When it comes to ourselves, I think it’s difficult and often even terrifying to love the whole of ourselves. I know it is for me. I can be mean, nasty and petty sometimes. I can also be quite awesome and a cool person to be around too. I’m both of these people. It’s been hard for me to love my dark side. But I’ve learned to over the last few years. My shadow is part of me and she’s gotten me through some tough spots. I’ve learned to stop shunning her so that we can become better partners and work through the rough patches with greater ease and less drama.
The one I still have trouble with is Awkward-me. The one who has ADD, poor coordination, brain fog, and freezes at the thought of small talk. She’s the introvert that trips me up and makes my life extraordinarily difficult. She’s why I suck at job interviews and have such a hard time in front of cameras. She’s a big reason why Shadow-me can be such a monster. I feel like I’m always paying a huge price for Awkward-me, so loving her has been so very difficult. It’s a hell of a lot easier for me to love my shadow!
This awkward part of me is why I’ve had worthiness issues in the past. When I get frustrated with myself, I still scream, “Why can’t I do this?! What’s wrong with me?!” But the simple answer is, this is the body I have. These are the chemicals in my brain. I have these challenges and they shape me into who I am. I would likely not be on my current path had it not been for these challenges. As frustrating as my challenges can be – I love my path, I love how I think. What I really don’t like are the bumps in the road. Welcome to the human condition.
I’m may be the fire breathing unicorn, but she’s the gun toting cat!
Love is not about being worthy. Love is about embracing the whole, even the stuff you hate. Maybe especially the stuff you hate. That’s the stuff that carves us into the magical creatures we become.
I know I’m a unicorn. My beloved told me I was this morning and she never lies.
A year ago, I was in a serious financial and spiritual rut and my good friend and spirit brother, Nick, helped me out. He thought it would be good for me to get out of my house in Colorado and visit him in Pasadena for a change of pace. So, I did and it was awesome and healing and everything I needed when I needed it. We took a long walk down Venice beach, rode down Sunset strip, jeered at the Scientology building, visited some awesome museums, bought Day of the Dead souvenirs on Olvera Street, picked up all the minerals and crystals in the metaphysical bookshops, and binge watched Rick & Morty and the Twin Peaks reboot while in altered states. He bought or made me dinner every night and boy did we drink!
We also engaged in a night of ceremony and I had a fascinating experience that has taken me some time to unpack. The experience gave me great insight into my own mind and even now I find at times I come to new realizations about myself and my perceptions.
On the road trip back we stopped in Quartzsite, AZ and touched all the crystals even though was 5 billion degrees and you could cook an egg on the big ones.
Nick was the perfect host. I have great gratitude for all that he did for me last summer. It was certainly what I needed and when I got back to Colorado (we road tripped it back), I was refreshed and able to start everything over. I started working on my magickal practices and getting my shit in gear. I started working with Venus again (I was working with her prior to my vacation) and she provided! By the end of September, I had a new job interview that came out of the blue in a field I never would have applied for on my own. By the end of October, I was working as a contractor making decent money after two years of bad adjunct teaching jobs.
The job unexpectedly took me to Memphis in January for a week, which was quite awesome. I had a chance to visit Beale Street, eat fabulous Memphis BBQ, visit the Civil Rights Museum, and learned how to conduct a 5-day training event for a group of middle-aged men than really just wanted to be at the bars.
The Lorraine Motel where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, part of the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
Then a few weeks after getting back, coronavirus hit. I’m currently working in one of the very few industries not rocked by the virus. I was still on the books to teach online classes in the summer and fall – all of those courses vanished. While things were drying up elsewhere, I was asked if I wanted to move from a contractor position to a full-time position with the company. Um, YES! I received a raise and a much better benefits package.
This journey is by no means over. I have so much more to do. This job I have now is nice. It pays my bills and keeps food on the table. I find it far more enjoyable than the endless grading of an adjunct. But I also know it’s not my life’s work. It’s what I have to keep my family and I afloat until I’m ready to move on to my life’s purpose work. I think it is coming in this next phase. It’s what I’m working toward now with my research and writing.
My alter to Venus and the Divine Feminine
But for right now in this moment, I am so grateful for everything! For my beautiful partner, Lisa, my brother Nick, and my family and friends who do so much to support me. I have so much when so many do not. I know this. I’m giving back what I can to my community in as many ways as I can think of to help.
By Tarotmum13 ~ Just a Tarot-mad mum writing about the things she loves - might be Tarot and Oracle cards, might be my little girl, might be crystals or pendulums, might be my cat!
Awakening the Witch 