This is the November Blog Comment Content Contest. To enter, leave a comment to this post and remember that it needs to have REAL content. Each entry will qualify for a drawing for a bottle of Yule Oil. This special blend is formulated to help you attune to the season of Yule. This blend is also very appropriate to use for Yule ritual or celebration. As well as it makes a wonderful gift.
All entries must be received by midnight on Monday, November 30th.
The Winner of the October contest was Kiersten Kabob. She received a bottle of Protection Oil. Congratulations to Kiersten!
We are entering into the dark time of the year. This is a time for introspection and for planning what to do with OURSELVES. Though secularly, this time of year is one rife with family obligations, pressures from end-of-the-year budgets and plans, as well as the ME ME ME attitude of commercial-America, it is still very possible to sit back and review what is most important to us as Pagans and Witches of all sorts.
The dark of the year begins at Mabon with the Equinox, but does not really become apparent until closer to Samhain, when the days become noticeably shorter and the nights come upon us so much faster. This year it seemed to happen so much more distinctly in the United States. At 2am on November 1 we set our clocks back an hour. Sundown was all the sudden an hour earlier than it was the day before and some who suffer from seasonal depression were thrown right into that quagmire so much more quickly.
INTROSPECTION: This is a wonderful time of year to look inwards, for introspection. What I mean here is that you should look into yourself and see what and who are now. As it is also the time of year where the Celtics and many Wiccans celebrate the new year. So this is a time to review the past year and begin planning for the next year.
Kerr Cuhulain, in his Full Contact Magick, talks extensively about what he does at this time of year: Every year he looks back over his accomplishments and failures and evaluates why they were one or the other. Then he decides if the failures were truly failures and if they are worth the time and effort to readdress and attempt to turn into successes. This is something that you might want to do yourself. Review your past year and look at each accomplishment and failure. What do they mean to you? Were the failures really failures? Are they worth looking at again?
This is also a time of year to begin planning for the next year. Evaluate what it is that you want to do. Prioritize what you want to do. Be realistic.
A lot of what I do this time of year is look at the things I have planned to do and see what I have accomplished. This past year has been full of ups and downs for me. Mainly ups. But a lot of downs, as well.
- Lost my job in January
- Did the Mind~Body~Spirit Expo in March and made lots of money
- Mom broke her ankle in March
- Launched Pangaia Metaphysical Store with my friend and business partner in April
- Did the Earth~Spirit Celebration in June and was very successful
- Launched Pagan-Musings on Blog Talk Radio in June
- Had a short term job in June and July
- My Great-Aunt died in July
- Had another short term job in August and September
- Had a wonderful job handed to me the end of September
- Did the Mystic Fest in October
That’s a lot of ups and downs, but over all it has been a wonderful year. With the success of both Pangaia and Pagan-Musings the year has been fun and exciting. And we are looking forward to another successful year.
What did I not accomplish that I set out to do? A lot, unfortunately: I had set out to write at least one book this year. I have gotten a lot accomplished for two different books, but neither one of them is actually taking form. That is a goal for 2010 and one that I am firmly committed to working very hard on. These two book ideas are Ground, Center, Shield: the Three Basics of Metaphysics, which you can see some of the notes for that on this blog; the other book is an anthropological, sociological, archaeological, and psychological look at the tarot as it can be interpreted for today. Both are very ambitious and should be well worth the time and effort.
I am not asking you to lay out for our readers what your failures and successes have been. But feel free to comment about what introspection means to you.
This is the November Blog Comment Content Contest. To enter, leave a comment to this post and remember that it needs to have REAL content. Each entry will qualify for a drawing for a bottle of Yule Oil. This special blend is formulated to help you attune to the season of Yule. This blend is also very appropriate to use for Yule ritual or celebration. As well as it makes a wonderful gift.
All entries must be received by midnight on Monday, November 30th.
The Winner of the October contest was Kiersten Kabob. She received a bottle of Protection Oil. Congratulations to Kiersten!
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November 7th, 2009 - 5:57 pm
Wow. Busy year for you, it has been for me as well.
Spent a week with my grandparents…there was a shooting. it was scary.
January-I had to move and quit a really good job that I miss.
Feb-I started as a nanny and moved yet again.
March-I finally got with Jesse. He’d been trying for ages and when he finally stopped is when i finally saw him.
April-I was diagnosed with PCOS. Lots of testing there.
May-I moved again. My employers had suffered cutbacks and couldn’t afford to keep me
June-Tutored my brother
July-Got engaged
August-Gained another year to my age
September-Got to see my brother for the first time in almost 2 years
October-I won Phil’s Blog Contest
November-I’m going to be launching my site with Keta soon.
That’s been my past year. I have big hopes for the next one. I’d like to get back to work on my book. Plan my wedding of course. FIND A JOB. Lol. Move upstate. Etc.
Introspection to me means looking into one’s self and finding out what being you really is. How you’ve changed. How you want to change. Look at the good and the bad and recognize both traits in you. Meditating on yourself and seeing what you need to be happy and healthy from the inside out. I have changed a lot this past year. I stick up for myself. I’ve faced some demons and came back with some scrapes…but not completely broken. I have found true happiness in love. I still have some changes to make, but I’m getting closer to where and who I want to be.
November 8th, 2009 - 2:18 am
For more info on Introspection visit my Keen.com blog: http://www.keen.com/CommunityServer/UserBlogPosts/RevKess/Dark-of-the-Year–a-Time-for-Introspection/496451.aspx
November 9th, 2009 - 6:02 am
Let see. Well I started a Site for Friends of Mine That Were missing each other From a Major Site chatroom.
That was Back in March of 2009.
At the Same time Got Hooked up with Some Very Neat Friends From PS. Who now own PAN.
Got a Contract to Sell My crafts on Pangaiastore.com
Made a Very nice Check. Which is Good for me to have. Seeing I always Dissed my own Work.
Found out from a Another Site I’m a Aunt. And Tried to get a hold of my brother to see if I could Be in His and His Child’s Life. I got turned down. I may have had some good things happened. Contract, Site up and Running. Thinking I could Talk to My Brother when Things (For a First was going great to me) were going right. ~WHACK~ I love doing my Art work at times. It gets what is really bugging me out of the way. Or So in some Ways I had Hoped it would. 15 years of not Talking to my own brother and Finding out online I have a Nephew hurt more then anything. All I try to do is Think “Work on my arts. Let your Brother and Nephew be in your Heart”. Don’t Let the Depression of not having your Brother to talk to Let you down so much.
I also Put SOME of my Work on Consignment at my Local Store Called Piccadilly Hutch.
They where in need of Some Tarot Bag’s to sell while they Started up The Tarot Reading Classes. You could Say I Helped out there. The Place was So Peaceful. And The owners Are Nice. Having my art work out in the world is Scary. I know I have Low Self-a-steam.
That’s something I try to Change.
All I can Do is Take the Good with the bad. And Learn from it all. That’s what we’re here for to Learn From our Mistakes Right?? I’m Still learning. At time I feel like a Child Falling on my behind and Trying as Hard As I can to get back up and TRY TRY AGAIN.
~thanks for reading my post~
Tatiana Aka Lostrayne
November 9th, 2009 - 9:22 pm
Well lets see here there has been a lot that has happened this year for me.
January-was homeless in California
Febuary-got back in touch with Reaper my street brother
March- Moved in with him to help him out with bills
April- Not sure lol
March- started dating Jon *sliverwolf*
June-Jon moved in with Reaper and I to help out
July-Found out my Aunt Kristy passed away from cancer.
Augest-Both Jon and I moved back here to South Dakota to help mom with the bills, been struggling since dad passed away last year and also Jon asked me to marry him.
September-was the year aniversery of dad passing and my grandma and also winning the contest for the month
October- Did my very first ritual with a pendulum i contacted my dad
Lets see here what i have learned about myself is well not always will things go your way. Sometimes I wish i could turn back time to do things differently. But if I did then i wouldn’t be where I am today with the one I love and getting married next year. My dad has always told me learn from your expeariances and also live one day at a time. Everything happens for a reason. I might still be kicking my butt for some of the things i have done in the past but with out what i did in the past i would never be where i am today. Even though dad is no longer here he has taught me a lot and now I understand what he was trying to say so THANK YOU DAD!!!!