I have Sacred Geometry Cards by John Michael Greer.  I can't say they are a beautiful deck but they are nice, and they are really interesting.  I always have the oddest experiences when I use them though.  I can use my Druid Animal Oracle deck and come away with what I feel is a stern lesson but with the geometry deck I always feel like I've disappointed someone  ... or maybe it's more like the deck is just more forceful with a lesson than anything else I've ever worked at.  It's nothing for me to pick the same card three times in a row.  I always get the feeling this deck is saying "YO!, You're not listening to me!!" even if it's the first time I've drawn a card.  This deck just doesn't seem to let me wiggle out of doing something I know I should but I don't want to.  I'm pretty sure it's all in my head but it's like that every time I use it.   *shrug*  It does tell me things that I need to hear but don't want to hear.  I have a love hate relationship with it.

I really love working with cards though.  I love buying new decks and using them the first time.  I love holding them and I leave them out all the time so I can just pick them up whenever I feel like it.  I just love how they kick start my thinking.  Even before pulling a card or doing a spread, I like that I have to focus on something, even if it's only wondering if there is anything that I should be focusing on for the day. 

Anyway, we're between rain showers here so I'm off to harvest some juniper to bring in for protection and purification.  I just realized today how much I need to take some to work with me next week.  I'm in the process of witchifying my work space.  The energy is getting snippy and ugly at work, so much negativity.  I need to get that moving so we can all just work in peace.

Swiped from Jody, who swiped it from Tracy, who swiped it from Niamh ...

Animal totems- My clan animal is the Wild Boar. My personal animal is the bee, fox and hummingbird ... hummingbird comes and goes when I need it, fox is relatively new ... not sure if they are permanent, long term or here just long enough for me to learn something ... I'm not all that informed on the personal animal thing.

solitary or group- solitary but I meet up once a year with my STP sisters

In the Broom Closet or Out- Mostly out

favorite pagan holiday- Samhain

Deities- Danu, Dagda, Lugh, Bran, Brigit

what element do you associate most with- Earth moslty but quite a bit of air

Do you perform formal rituals- occasionally and only formal by my definition

Do you read tarot- No, I have to have someone else interpret. I use oracle decks.

cast runes- no

work with crystals- yes

work with herbs- yes

Sacred Place you need to see - Tara and the Western Islands of Scotland

Zodiac signs- Aquarius ... I don't remember the rest

Birth Month- February

Siblings- 4 ... boy, girl, me, girl, boy ... I'm in the middle of five, the middle girl

Children/grandchildren- I am and was but I don't have any

Pets- I have a cat, Fuzz, that allows us to feed and care for him

tattoos/piercings- I have one tattoo (so far), a thistle, on the front of my left shoulder

favorite vacation spot- Anywhere my sistah's are ... and I really loved Nuremberg Germany

Talents- I can draw funny sheep, given enough time I can make you laugh, I have a wicked-good memory but usually only for strange things *shrug*, I have in inate sense of efficiency ... other than the sheep thing, that pretty much qualifies me to be a good waitress.  Go figure.

Are you a collector- I have a small collection of children's books, and some witchy things but I'm not a big collector

Do you sing, dance, play any musical instruments- yes and I do all of them very poorly, and I'm not being modest. I can play the violin and tin whistle a tiny bit, both of them frighteningly bad

City, Suburbia or Country- in a tiny clump of houses in the country

Favorite season- Fall

Favorite month- October

Favorite exercise- swimming

Favorite outdoor activity- swimming, picnicking, snow sculpting, lounging, exploring

Favorite boardgames- taboo

Favorite card games- not really into cards

Favorite Foods: dill pickles!

Mexican- no thanks

Italian- Caesar salad, pizza, almost any pasta as long as it's not real garlicy

Chinese- almost all of it! Egg rolls, Szechuan string beans, pork and asparagus, sesame chicken, etc, etc, etc

American- cheesesteak sub! Oh yeah! Pretty much any kind of hoagie/sub like the ones made in PA, not the freaky subs made in the southern US. Seriously, you folks down there need to visit the northeast and learn how to make a sandwich!

Tea- .... Assam

Alcohol- champagne, and occasionally Margaritas

shot- I'm a pretty good shot, better with a rifle than a handgun but I can hold my own with a pistol! :) ... oh alcohol ... no thanks. Why does it all have to taste like Nyquil? :P

herb/spice/seasoning- basil, dill, soy sauce

how do you like your eggs- don't you know where they come from? Gak! I can not think about it if they are baked in a cake, otherwise, *shivers*

What are your cooking specialties- I am a sandwich master and I can whip up great soups ... and I'm not too bad with casseroles or one dish frying pan meals

First of all, the stuckness of my last blog is finally breaking apart!  Yay!  It must have been something in the air or the stars with so many of us going through it. No idea what though ... I'm just glad it's gone!

Secondly, maybe you can kick this idea around with me a bit.  I was reading a story about an Ox and it was saying the nature of the Ox is strength.  Well that got me thinking about the lessons many of us take from animals .. Ox is strength, Rabbit is fertility, Fox is cunning, Boar is warrior, etc.  So when I was looking for a new animal guide in my life and I saw a fox twice and then had one RIGHT outside my window last night ... I have to wonder, when that fox was looking at me was he thinking something about the lesson I could teach him?  Was he thinking 'oh, it's a human, that lesson is ???'  Know what I mean?  Is it all of humanity like all foxes or is it broken down like ... white woman, American, Blue eyed people, Jodi, whatever?

And if we are lessons to animals, what is the nature of humans?  We can pick out a few characteristics of animals and that sums up their general nature ... what is that for humans?  Do we have a consistent general nature that encompasses all humans (or most humans?)  We don't have our own call/bark/song ... are we different than animals?  Or is there something like crying or laughing that is our 'call?'  Hmmmm.  This should be an easy question, *sarcasm* ... What is the nature of humanity?  In five or ten charicterisitcs, sum up mankind? 

*fingers crossed* that it's not something like drinking, swearing, obssessivly asking questions ...:)

I had such a huge growth spurt for the last couple of months and now I'm in that after lesson mode.  I don't handle the down time well.  I love that rush of new lessons, new books, new experiences, new ideas ... something, anything new!  Now I'm waiting for a wave of inspiration or something to find me but I don't have a focus or an interest right now.  I need to get fired up about something! 

I'm pretty annoyed with myself.  I had five days off in a row and did next to nothing.  It's not that I relaxed or had me time, it's that I just didn't do anything, which was oddly stressful.  I don't have high demands on my time.  I don't have children or a career, I just have a job that I leave a work when I'm not there.  I don't overbook a schedule or run here and there ... I have plenty of time so I wasn't in need of a break or relaxation.  Pretty much if I was any more relaxed I'd be in a coma. 

I am so annoyed by myself that I dreamt last night that I was working with my sister, something we have done many times, and I was a complete whiny idiot to her.  I was so horrible that I decided the only way to explain my poor behavior was to pretend I couldn't remembering doing it and I was ill in some way.  I have to laugh at that dream!  

I thought when the thunderstorms roared through two nights in a row I would be buzzing with electricity and freshness and starting something new.  It's weird that it didn't happen this time.  I tried music ... nope ... I tried flipping to a page in my favorite bibliomancy book ... nope ... I tried a card reading ... nope again.  None of my usual unstuck methods worked this time.  Weird!

I might need a kick in the arse!

Happy Summer everyone.   Hope you enjoyed Solstice.  I'm looking forward to some lazy summer days, lounging in the creek, laying in the grass, picnicing, sipping lemonade, smelling flowers in the breeze ... ahhhhh