For this week’s Pagan Video Tuesday I share a collection of videos that touch on the subject of why a person would leave the religion they were raised in and turn instead to a Pagan path.

I personally have not yet had time to view them myself, but I hope you find them enjoyable.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

“Michael Gorman, “The Druid” tells the story of his spiritual journey from Catholic to Fundamentalist to Druid.”

SybilSilverPhoenix “details (her) reasons for coming to the Path of Wicca and some the ups and downs (she’s) had along the way”
view part 2

Paganperspective “share(s) … why it is (he) call(s) myself what (he) do(es)”

Written by Mama KellyTags:druid, pagan, paganism, video, wiccan, youtube

I have been a bit remiss in my blog posting as well as my blog reading.  My laptop is sick and wont be repaired for a couple of weeks.  Right now we are waiting for the girls’ computer to get out of the shop and I’ll wait a couple of weeks before putting mine in to save us the sticker shock.

My time on the one remaining computer in the house is limited as I am sharing it with 3 other people and I am generally not able to get on it in the evenings very much and can’t get on it at all in the morning.  I do plan to work my way back to your regularly scheduled programming soon though – one way or another.

For this week’s Pagan Video Tuesday I share a piece I found on Hecate’s blog a couple of days ago.  While I watched it my heart swelled and my eyes filled with tears.  Yes because it was beautiful and moving and touching in so many ways but also because I long so much to be part of a Pagan community again.

I miss having a group of people to grapevine about the circle with.

I miss having people to sit and toast the Gods and Goddesses with.

I miss having no excuses when it came to honoring the Esbats and Sabbats.

I miss not being a Witch alone.

I spent a few moments on Samhain evening listening to the wind rushing through the dying leaves and whispered my wishes to my ancestors.  I asked them to pull some strings for me.  Desires that revolve around hearth and finances and a home of our own, one day, in the country.

I forgot to ask for this one thing for myself and so I whisper it here in cyberspace and pray that my ancestors don’t mind pulling another string or two that will bring some likeminded folk my way.

I have family.

I have friends.

But, frankly, I’m still feeling a bit lonely.

In any case – may the dance spiral on – may the circle never be broken – may we each find renewal and healing and hope.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:pagan, pagan video tuesday, paganism, video, wicca, witchcraft, youtube

Just a short slide-show of images interspersed with tidbits about the upcoming Autumnal Equinox, the Sabbat of Mabon.

May your harvest be rich, sufficient to see you through the dark months ahead.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:mabon, video

OK so this week’s Pagan Video Tuesday post is not only late but not all that Pagan in flavor.  But, let me explain.  My oldest Miss Artistic starts high school tomorrow.  As a result I keep finding myself flashing on that time period in my own life.  Who my friends were and what I was “into” and what music I was in love with at the time.

This is particularly nostalgic as she is attending the school (one of a total of three high schools I wound up attending) I graduated from.  So as of tomorrow she will be walking halls that I once walked.  Now granted, 20+ years later, the school is larger than it once was and I doubt I’ll remember much of the “landmarks” of it when its time for back-to-school night in a couple of weeks, but still I can’t help but feel more deeply connected to this moment in her life than I might otherwise.

Anyway … I thought for this week I’d share some of the top 100 hits if 1983, the year that found me entering my own high school career (albeit at a different school in a different state).  And while I never settled on one particular genre of music (and frankly never have) these are the ones off the list that I can most vividly remember singing along to (at that age it would’ve been in home in Staten Island, in the basement, at the top of my lungs).

At her age I was a voracious reader and had already read a number of titles that I can only describe as New Age – thanks to the wonders of Scholastic Books (who are not nearly as progressive I guess as they once were) and had “played around” with seances and the whole “light as a feather” thing more times than I could count. By the end of my 2nd year of high school I was already reading tarot cards and had met the boy who would grow up into the man I would one day marry.

As a woman who remembers that time of her life I know that these next years are the formation of the woman she will become. I know that these next years are where she discovers her own identity, her goals, her dreams, her deepest desires. I am happy for her, more than I can say. While not all of high school was easy for me … while I never really found a clique to belong to (larger than an intimate circle of friends) until my Senior year when I fell into the whole choir/band/drama mix … it sure beat the heck of of Junior High and, especially with the ability to reconnect to friend from that period through Facebook I find I remember it fondly overall.

But, as a parent (especially with all we have been through) all I can do is look at her and see that my little girl is gone forever, replaced by a beautiful young woman who’s had a really rough time in Junior High, and hope and pray (and plead and beg) that the next 4 years are easier for her than the last 3 were.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:80's, daughter, high school, music, parenting, video

Media opoly


Read the lyrics.

According to Urban Dictionary, the above video is a Saturday Night Live skit written by Robert Smigel which was intended to be a parody of the educational cartoon series “School House Rock.” The stimulus for the video, according to a few sources I read, may have been the firing of Norm McDonald by SNL management.

Its message is focused on the impact of media-opolies going on in the US, the fact that companies such as GE, Westinghouse, Disney have become our country’s media giants. It was aired just once on 3/14/1998 on NBC, cut out of all the reruns, and never aired again. The fact that NBC is owned by GE may or may not be a coincidence.

While I am not, for the most part, a conspiracy theorist, it is certainly food for thought.

While we do have the guaranteed right of freedom of the press here in the US, that only guarantees the right to be free from interference from the government – it does not free our reporters from having to answer to their bosses, and their bosses to “corporate.” Other people choose what news we are allowed to see, that is a plain and simple fact. How much of what we are allowed to see is propaganda as opposed to actual news is up for debate.

Not necessarily Pagan in theme this week, but when you think about how modern Paganism is handled by the media it is certainly, if nothing else, as timely now as it was more than a decade ago.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:SNL, video

I cam across CharmingPixieFlora on youtube and decided immediately that her Lammas videos were just what I wanted to feature this week. Her approach to Paganism is so simplt and practical and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious.

Give these videos a look and if so inclined hop over to youtune, give her some feedback, and let her know that 2 Witches sent you.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

her take on Lammas / Lughnasad

learn to make corn dollies

make Lammas ritual oil and incense

Written by Mama KellyTags:sabbat, video, youtube

I love the internet!  You can find anything … literally anything … that you might want to read, watch, or learn.  For example, last night I found a video highlighting the title song of a musical based on a woman who comes out of the closet as a lesbian after her divorce, finds love with a Wiccan woman, rediscovers her own faith, and eventually marries in a ceremony that draws on both their faiths.  I mean seriously, how many plays like that are out there?

“My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding” is a 60 minute long musical by David Hein.  According to it’s creator MMLJWW is “a new musical comedy based on a true story featuring hilarious songs, a live band, and hot lesbian action.” More seriously it is the story of how Mr. Hein’s mom “came out to (him), met her partner and got married.”

The title, while chosen I’m sure for shock value, is not a joke.  As you will hear in the introduction to the song Mr. Hein’s mom is Jewish, her partner is Wiccan and when they decided to marry well it was a “lesbian Jewish Wiccan wedding.”

I have to say that the reviews made me wish the play was here in my neck of the woods:

“David Hein turns autobiography into musical theatre as the story of his two moms is told through songs like “You Don’t Need a Penis” and “Straight White Male,” … an awkward dinner date at Hooters and a sidebar on gay rights in Canada… genuinely moving and well-executed … an all-ages lesson in tolerance”
- EYE weekly

“Director Andrew Lamb skilfully squeezes a live 3-piece band and a gifted seven-member cast onto the small stage while keeping the action fluid and fun, and the audience cheers wildly through 18 witty songs.”
- NOW

“David Hein and Irene Carl have created a very sweet and endearing love musical for his mothers. The crowd fell in love and how could they not”
- Dead Sexy Magazine

It was performed at the The Toronto Fringe Festival, July 1-12.

Enjoy!

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:musical, pagan, video, wiccan

One of my favorite movies is The Color Purple
. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen it, but the most recent viewing was the most special as I watched it from beginning to end with Princess Nibbles. She had requested it for one of our cuddle on the couch evenings as we’ve caught snippets of it here and there on cable and she was intrigued.

The above scene makes me cry every time I see it. In fact, I viewed this Youtube video again before posting it here and sure enough my throat tightened and tears rolled down my face. It is a scene I can count on when I need a good cry.

I love it because, if you’ve never seen the movie, it is a scene of redemption. The character who comes into the church, Shug Avery (played by the phenomenally voiced Margaret Avery), is hugged by her father after years (decades) of his being unable to accept her “sinful ways.” It is a moment that serves not only as a balm to Shug’s soul after years of torment but, as I always imagine watching the face of the preacher, is a balm to her father’s soul also.

I love it because, Pagan or Christian, there is something about the musical genre of gospel/spirituals that can move me. Raising ones voice in song, regardless of whether or not you can carry a tune, has a long time-honored tradition in the worship of the Divine. And while once, as a young Witch, I would’ve been unable to see past the Christian language in order to relate the hymn to my own faith I no longer have that particular stumbling block.

And so I share this here, no insult intended to my Christian readers (I know I have at least a few) because we all need redemption at some time or another. We all need to be reminded that in the darkest nights of our soul that the Divine (call it God, call it Goddess, call it Lord & Lady, it matters not) can and does reach out and speak to us.

If I were you, I would say yes, speak, Lord. Speak to me.
Oh, Speak, Lord. Won’t you speak to me?
I was so blind, I was so lost until you spoke to me
Oh, speak, Lord. Speak, Lord. And hear my mind,
Oh, with your word, heal my soul
Oh, speak, Lord. Speak to me. Speak, my Lord.
I love you, Lord. Save my soul

Can’t sleep at night and you wonder why
Maybe God is trying to tell you something
Crying all night long, something’s gone wrong
Maybe God is trying to tell you something

written by Andrae Crouch, Quincy Jones,
Bill Maxwell & D.Del Sesto

I want to thank Sherry, Kathy, and Brahnamin for their kind words on my last post. This blog is a blessing in my life because it allows me to connect with wonderful people like you.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

PS If you need a laugh instead of a good cry I recommend this, though you may still find tears rolling down your cheeks, just for a different reason.

Written by Mama KellyTags:video

Its hard to believe I know, but Midsummer is fast approaching. Despite its misnomer this day actually marks the first day of summer and is the day with the most sunlight of the year. Take to the outside on the evening of the solstice and celebrate the extra light. Eat dinner outside. Blow bubbles, bird watch, hunt for egg shells and feathers under trees. Take nature photos.

Stay out late and watch the sunset (be sure to wear a bug repellent natural or otherwise if you live in an area replete with mosquitoes or deer ticks). Let the kids catch fireflies and play with glowsticks as the dark begins to fall.

It is a wonderful reminder that just as there are periods of darkness in all of our lives, so too are there periods of light.

This is the Sabbat that falls closest to my birthday. I love the plenty that is generally available at the local farmer’s markets, produce stands, and the supermarket. I love the bright blue skies, the singing birds, and air-dancing butterflies. But, I will be frank in saying that while I adore the extra light and can remember moments in my childhood where I relished being able to stay up (and outside) so “late” that I am not a fan of the heat.

Which is of course a lesson in itself, in that “you can’t always get what you want … but … you may just find you get what you need.”

So in that spirit ….

Welcome Summer
bring your light
Shortening
the dark and night

Bring your warmth
bring your heat
and all this season’s
blessings sweet

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Related links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer

http://www.wiccanglade.com/midsummer.html

Related reading:

Cooking To The Wheel of the Year

A Year of Ritual: Sabbats & Esbats for Solitaries & Covens

The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways

Sabbat Entertaining: Celebrating the Wiccan Holidays with Style

Celebrating The Seasons Of Life: Beltane to Mabon : Lore, Rituals, Activities, And Symbols

The Summer Solstice – a children’s book

Written by Mama KellyTags:Litha, video

Inspired by Morgana’s Blog I put off a planned post for today and instead decided to share a different video instead.

I discovered “Playing for Change” on Youtube in late 2008, through a compilation video showing musicians from around the globe contributing on the song Stand By Me.

(BTW I so love how Youtube has unshackled me in terms of what music I can listen to, what music I love, and what music I am willing to discover … music that might not make it to radio play, music I might never otherwise hear, music I might have otherwise forgotten or never gotten around to)

I’ve loved this song, ever since the movie of the same name came out in 1986 and I fell in love with it again. It was the spirit of global connectedness that the video portrays, and the feeling it expresses of us all being one people.

And if we are all truly one people then color shouldn’t matter, race shouldn’t matter, gender shouldn’t matter, religion shouldn’t matter, sexual orientation shouldn’t matter.

Anyway, Morgana asked her readers to post a video and to feature “Playing for Change” on their blogs to shine a light on the work this organization is doing which includes ” (bringing) musicians from all over the world … together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope.”

“That until there is no longer first class
And second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war”
– “War”, Bob Marley

“(We don’t need no more trouble)
Make love and not war! ‘Cause we don’t need no trouble.
What we need is love (love)
To guide and protect us on. (on)
If you hope good down from above, (love)
Help the weak if you are strong now. (love)”
– “No More Trouble”, Bob Marley

What we all need is love …. love for ourselves, for our families, for our communities, for our nations, for the globe and everyone and everything on it.

While I was a young Witch, not long after my 2nd degree Initiation (if memory serves), Gamer Dude (in the ranks at that time of first love, ex-boyfriend, turned friend, for whom I still had feelings for on a level I didn’t understand that well) was a Marine serving overseas in the Gulf War.

During this period my boyfriend at the time (I think it was while we were living together and still engaged – again if memory serves … it was a long time ago) led a circle in our/his(?) living room for peace. After we hit the peak of the spell and sent our energies out into the Universe …. suddenly the room was filled with music …. real audible music.

Of course it was coming from the downstairs neighbors radio. But as the radio turned on the first vocals trumpeted out the words “what the world needs now, is love, sweet love” which we all took as a nod of assent from the Gods above and a reminder. And, sadly, that reminder more needed now than then.

I’ve joked (sadly, darkly) that the people living on this plant (our little blue and green marble swimming in a swirl of stars) probably wont get it right until we discover, without room for doubt, intelligent life on another planet. Until then we will probably remain blinded, unable to see that “we are all Earthlings” (gotta love Sesame Street). We fear each other .. we fear what we don’t know … what we don’t understand … what we can’t control …

What’s a Witch to do in a world like this …. in a time like we live in?

Send love …. there is no such thing as too much. Send it to the whole globe …. see it blowing on the wind and traveling through the rains into the rivers and growing like weeds through the earth and pulsing like lava at its core. See that love touching every living creature … every person … see it bringing with it compassion and understanding and tolerance and joy.

Can love change the world? Can music? Can it hurt to try?

Love!

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:music, playing for change, video