From my witchy self elf to all of you, I sincerely hope everyone had a joyous and delightful Samhain. Blessed and Peaceful Halloween, Merry Witches New Year, to one and all. I stayed home, no pool on a religious holiday! And I got to answer the door for Trick Or Treaters. Something I have always loved to do. I mean, come on! Giving candy to children?! How can that NOT be fun?!
Although, as my son pointed out, it is slightly creepy, when you think about it. But only if I lived in a house made of gingerbread. Or my skin was the shade of fresh mowed grass. Otherwise, it’s just entertaining.
Dan’s 2012 creations.
(If you have not seen the others, from previous years, what are you waiting for? Go back. Use the calendar feature or HISTORY QUILT, right over there <—-. You should see how talented he is.)
I love that so many people in our neighborhood come back year after year to enjoy these (even after they have moved). But look closer, at that tiny example on the right.
Oh yeah, he’s VERY good at this.
The way the mummy carving was made is a new technique this season. And we were happy to see it. The one in the center he had to graph out and chart on his own because it was a design I liked that didn’t have a pattern. He totally should get prizes for these.
I never think I’ll have enough.
He should also be awarded some type of medal for keeping the candy hidden from me for over a week. (Two weeks?) It’ll be gone by tomorrow, one way or another.
When I got into the card altar room earlier I was thinking we’d go with our Special Occasion deck, it being a High Holy Day and all. But no, I was directed to simply stick with our regular rotation. Once I saw the draw, I realized why. This animal is VERY special. And not just to me.
“Dolphin ~ 40 ~ Manna
Dolphin speaks to us of the breath of life, the only thing that humans cannot go without for more than a few minutes. We can live without water and food for days, but oxygen is the source of our sustenance. Within the breath we encounter the rhythm of energy that all life emits. In changing the rate or rhythmic texture of our breath, we can tap into any other life-form or creature. This is a very easy way to connect with divine energy coming from Great Spirit, as well as with your own personal rhythms.
Dolphin is the keeper of the sacred breath of life, and teaches us how to release emotions through Dolphin breath. Dolphin creates rhythm swimming through the water and breathing before submerging then holding its breath for the duration of underwater travel. As Dolphin comes above water again, it blows its breath out in a manner resembling the popping of a cork. We can use this same technique to pull the stopper on our tensions and create total relaxation. This is a good exercise to use before entering the silence.
Manna is life force. Manna is present in every atom, and is Great Spirit’s essence. Dolphin teaches us how to use life-manna through our breath. It revitalizes each cell and organ, and breaks the limits and dimensions of physical reality so that we may enter the Dreamtime.
If Dolphin has appeared to you today, frothing through the waves in your spread, you are to be a link to some solution for the Children of Earth. This can be a time when you are to link with Great Spirit and bring answers to your own questions or to those of others.
In addition, this can mean a time of communication with the rhythms of nature. You are put on notice to be mindful of your body rhythms and the patterns of energy being fed to you from the Creator. Imitate Dolphin and ride the waves of laughter, spreading joy in the world. Breathe and experience the manna so freely given. Break existing barriers and connect to the Dreamtime. Know that we are all whole in the eyes of the Everliving One.
Contrary:
If Dolphin appears reversed, perhaps you are forgetting to breathe. You may be under stress and your body may need manna. You may be starving your cells and organs no matter how many vitamins you are taking. Your natural cycles may be fouling up.
Pay close attention to your health and your feelings. If you are on edge or just tense, take time to relax and breathe the life force into your muscles Focus on releasing old breath at the bottom of your lungs and refilling your respiratory system with regenerative manna. Breathe from the diaphragm and fill the lungs to capacity. Then exhale from the chest to the belly, allowing your body to totally relax as you breathe out.
Another message of contrary Dolphin is that many signals are carried through universal tides or waves, and you may be failing to use your sonar. To detect these wave-patterns you may need to realign yourself with natural rhythms within your body. Then it is necessary to use the Dolphin breath to connect to universal awareness and signals.
Dolphin says to dive deeply into the water, to play by the coral reefs, and to discover the beauty of the rhythm of breath.”
I edited this one for length a bit, and included both directions. My favorite line is the very last one, because I can so clearly SEE this image.
Today’s Deck:
Medicine Cards – The Discovery Of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson Illustrated by Angel C. Werneke
Merry Samhain, Julie & Co! Sounds like you had lots of fun! We had 15 trick-or-treaters, which is more than we had in the last two years combined. (Of course, the first year we’d only moved into the house 48 hours before Magic Hour, and no one knew us yet. A few weeks ago we had new neighbors move in two doors down; they have 8 kids. I suspect they account for most of our upswing this year.)
We had our family Halloween celebration last weekend. We ate jack-o-lantern pizza (a local take-and-bake place makes pizzas with an extra twist of crust for the stem and then makes a smiley pumpkin face out of pepperoni) and watched Halloween cartoon specials, including It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, of course.
~
Eight. Children.
Wow.
Glad your holiday was festive!
J
10:31 p.m.
11-1-12
Happy Samhain!!!
Dan’s creations are absolutely fantastic! I love the pattern/mandala-type one! And the wolf is howling fire!
For the first time since i’ve lived in this apartment (my 6th Halloween here) I got NO trick-or-treaters!
My apartment is in the third of what was a three-building row (my building is farthest from the street), until a fire burnt out the middle building. So i guess none of the trick-or-treaters wanted to go past the dark area that was a building but is now a mud pit surrounded by temporary fencing, to get to my door. So, I’ll just have to eat the candy I got myself!
Dolphin has a great message; I definitely needed a reminder to consciously work on my breathing. I certainly don’t breathe deeply enough most of the time!
~
I have plenty of left-overs too.
Oh, darn.
J
10:34 p.m.
11-1-12
Happy Samhain! May this year be full of love, light, laughter and vibrant health for you all!
)
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For you and yours as well!
J
10:37 p.m.
11-1-12
Great message from Dolphin. I am getting lots of messages about breathing lately, from a number of sources. No trick or treaters for us…wonder if the yellow caution tape at the bottom of the stairs was any clue (we had band rehearsal last night; lots of kids out in the neighborhood).
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Rehearsal on a High Holy Day?!
Well, I guess if you had fun…..
J
10:39 p.m.
11-1-12
Happy Samhain! I was thinking of you last night, and hoping you enjoyed your holiday.
Those pumpkins are AWESOME!!! I didn’t have any trick-or-treaters, since I live in an apartment complex with indoor hallways. Maybe next year I’ll in a location where I can do it, since I missed it last year too because of family stuff.
The cards are really getting on me right now, telling me to take care of myself. Apparently I’ve let that slide over the last few weeks.
~
Sneaky how the Universe knows this shit about us,
isn’t it?
J
10:44 p.m.
11-1-12
The pumpkins are delightful. Happy Samhain! And that’s great advice from the card.
No trick or treaters in my neighborhood last night. No candy in the house. All is good. : )
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Good!
J
10:48 p.m.
11-1-12
Happy Samhain! Happy New Year! This is also the Celtic New Year, not just for witches.
No trick-or-treaters in my apartment complex. Either they just don’t go, or else their parents take them elsewhere. That’s fine: I didn’t buy candy. It would have been a bad idea to have all that candy in the apartment.
Great advice from the card. I tend to hold my breath a lot on a regular basis. I’ll practice breathing better.
~
Dan hid ours from me until the last minute.
Worked out well!
J
10:50 p.m.
11-1-12
Happy Samhain! Love the pumpkins!
Our Halloween has been postponed till the weekend due to Sandy. We’re good here. Soggy, muddy, debris all over the place, but good. Alot of flooding around us (we’re on a hill, which made the wind fun), but pretty much everyone is okay. No major disasters, injuries, or deaths. Just mostly inconvenience. The yard is kinda freaky. It’s so water logged (it’s still raining here) that it is like stepping onto a huge muddy sponge. Your foot just sinks right down into it and it makes squelching noises and water and mud start bubbling and oozing around your foot. And then it slurps when you pull your foot out. A bog on a hill. Just weird.
I need this card! It feels like I’ve been holding my breath for a month.
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Thank you for checking in, so glad to hear that you are all well, albeit soggy.
J
10:56 p.m.
11-1-12
Love Dan’s creations. Loverly.
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And we’re gonna have seeds to roast too!
J
11:01 p.m.
11-1-12
Uoooo, as Little One would say and point with her little fore finger. Very nicely done, Dan. As we were at their house, no candies given out at house this year. We did go to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. A whole new way to have fun now that we have a grand-daughter. She was a little lamb. So cute. Grampy, of course was at the house before they were. She was processing the whole adventure. Knock on the door, they oh and ah over her and put something in her plastic pumpkin bucket. Repeat. She was happier just watching the big kiddies. And that was our night.
I liked yesterday’s card – rest and today’s, breathing is good. I started to do deep breathing to get rid of the stress.
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How fun !!!
Thank you for sharing your festivities with us, I can totally see him making sure she’s having fun.
Yes, breathe.
Just blow that anxiety RIGHT AWAY!
J
11:04 p.m.
11-1-12