Another Day

Well, as I have been doing many days of late, I awaited the mailman's arrival. Though recently it has been a bit half-hearted.
I ordered my Navigator's Tarot of the Mystic Sea deck and book from a seller with a great reputation on eBay. They shipped it January 16th. I KNOW I'm in Canada, but truly, five weeks is longer than I have ever had to wait for any American order. (and I have ordered from the US many times)
The seller has offered to send out a new deck, and if the original ever shows, or if it comes before the new shipped one does, just 'refuse' the item and it will get sent back to them. I'm okay with this, and I am very appreciative of the eBay seller's helpful nature. The only problem is, they have sold out of the book that one would use to go along with the deck. So they have simply refunded me the money for the book and told me if it arrives, to just keep it free of charge. (I guess they really think the order is lost at this point)
I searched through eBay for a replacement book, but there is only one that is out of my price range. Chapters.ca online has one for a good price, but it is not in stock and will take 3-5 weeks to ship. It looks like this is the only option, as the Amazon.ca one is really expensive... though I guess I can check out Amazon.com. WHY are us Canadians so left out of the product loop? *sigh*
Ok, better news (and really, the former was not BAD news, as at least the sellers are being very helpful) the rain was here, but it let up completely at lunchtime, so I was able to take the little one's out for a walk. By the time I got back, the bread was ready to take out of the bread machine and slice for a post lunch time, pre-nap time snack.
My hubby's work has tall cardboard cylinders from the product they make, that simply go into the recycling bin, so he is going to bring two home so that we can make the Pillar of Mercy and Pillar of Severity for our Temple project.
By this weekend, the bags of clothes and stuffed animals will be gone, the box of old comp parts (broken) and other weird little odds and ends, hopefully my mom will take the portable air conditioner. She bought it for us two summers ago but it does diddly squat for a two level home in 35+ C in the summer, so I'm hoping she, or someone she knows can use it. I have a broken dishwasher that is going to the dump also, and once those things are gone, other than some neatly stacked camping gear, the garage will be empty!
I was thinking of going to a Church supply store in town and getting some images for the Altar Room/Temple/Prayer Space.... I would love some pictures or thing-a-ma-jigs of the different Archangels.
I am enjoying the evening Compline in there. I like being able to sing/chant through part of it without being disturbed or overly mindful of possibly wandering teenagers in the house. The two youngest of course are sleeping by then, so they aren't an issue, but the older ones are always lurking about when I least expect it.
I THINK that there may be good news in regards to my application to the seminary. But I am still waiting... to be sure.
*fingers crossed*
It's really strange how fluidly the mingling of  Witch into Esoteric Christian/Hermetic Gnostic  has taken place. At first I felt that combining the two wasn't feasible. I'm so silly. (ok, wait, did I say TWO? )It was one or the other. But I realize that that is not quite true. Mainly because the Craft has always been alot about Myth, and also about a Divine Energy which pervades all. Of course, it depends on who you talk to in the Gnostic Community, or in the Magic Community, but for the most part, both perspectives can co-exist quite well. In fact, especially in the area of Hermetics,there are many connections with Gnosticism. And let's face it, the Craft, in the form of good ol GBG is a DEFINITE version of Golden Dawn type workings. Just more earth based and slightly watered down. (a bit less work-actually, a LOT less work).
I was reading The Hymn of the Pearl last night, after my Compline. There really are alot of beautiful writings in the Gnostic Bible. I'm glad I decided to get it. It really does make for a nice read.
All for now, off to tidy up before the kids wake up from their naps!

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What's New?

Well, along with revamping the terraspirit.ca site, we have moved all posts from here at Blogger over to my hosted wordpress.org. Everything has been imported over there.
So, the main site is http://terraspirit.ca with the blog there, link to the forum as well as Society information.
Blogger is easy and convenient and is almost always up and running, but I just love the ability to create actual pages and not just tag them and categorize them. So, if you have found yourself here at this page, and you're still interested in reading more, then come see us at terraspirit.ca.

In Love & Light!

New Terra Spirit Forum

Terra Spirit took a bit of a break, in order to re-find its direction. Well, it is back up and running, the url has been redirected again, but unfortunately we lost the member list and all old posts! Ack!
Please take a look http://terraspirit.ca
Feel free to join!

About TerraSpirit.Ca

If you found this blog by typing in TerraSpirit.Ca, I apologize. If you are/were a member of Terra Spirit, and did not receive an email update, I'll share here as well.
Although I love TerraSpirit dearly, it has SLOWED to a crawl. The past few months have been the same. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that Social Networking sites are becoming more popular, and people use things like Facebook as a way to stay in touch.I had thought of moving terraspirit to a Facebook group, but it isnt very customizable, and not everyone wants to share their real names.
If you are Canadian and Pagan/Wiccan, http://wiccanweb.ca is a fantastic site. I can't recommend it enough.
For myself, I can not really identify myself as Pagan anymore. And although I am quite interested in magic, it is more from a Hermetic angle. As of late I am also very interested in Gnosticism and am immersing myself in Gnostic Gospels. I love the earth, and I see the earth as a reflection of my inner self through the elements etc. But to run a message board for Pagans/Wiccans, it just isn't my prerogative anymore, and I can not give it the attention it deserves.
If you are interested in joining us at TerraSpirit.Org (terraspirit.ning.com), and you were previously a member of terraspirit.ca, then feel free to check it out. It is non-denominational, and is primarily a site for The Society for the Celebration of Earth and Spirit , and our friends. Pagan, Christian, Jewish, etc... anyone is welcome, as long as they are open to the fact that there is more than just their path. There is more than just their views. If one is a literalist when it comes to their religious dogma, then the Society & Friends site may not be the correct place.
But if one can be focused on the purpose of honouring our earth, and celebrating our indwelling spirit, then it could be the right place!

November Round up

Well, we re-racked our first batch of mead yesterday. It is pretty much done. Down to 1.000 and DRY as can be. Really no sweetness to it whatsoever. Just about time to add a finishing agent to it and then into bottles to age.
TerraSpirit.ca is going to be no more. The decision has been made.
We will keep in touch with those members who want to keep in touch via http://terraspirit.ning.com . It works better for the size of group that we have. It can be more personalized than a general forum, more social. For the most part our forum was just a place where we'd pop in and say 'hi' from time to time and that's about it. The same old threads over and over... just time to move on.
I think Ning will work fine. Granted its odd to go back to an advertising supported platform, but oh well. It's nice to share pictures and interact more socially.
I missed the Open House for the Medicine Lodge at Chilliwack River today. Family came over though, so it was a good enough reason to miss it. Definitely would have liked to go though. Hopefully there is another opportunity.

1 gallon batch of mandarin/clove

Nov 20th

about a half gallon of water heated and 2.5-3lbs honey.
1 mandarin orange , pinch of cloves,drop of vanilla extract (pure)
pinch of yeast energizer (had no prepared nutrient)
1packet of lalvin 1118 yeast, rehydrated and added to cooled must.
Shook it like crazy.
Tossed it into a 1 gallon glass jug and put a piece of cheesecloth over top to allow air for fermentation.
SG.. app 1.120 (I think)


By the second day I noticed an odd smell, not BAD necessarily, but the non citrusy aspect of the mandarin... an aftersmell of sorts.
Today, day 4, I decided to get it off the fruit and into a plastic one gallon milk jug.
The syphon hose wouldnt fit, so unfortunately I had to POUR it in, through a sieve.... a big no-no I know due to the air... hopefully because of the rapid fermentation at this point, all will be ok.
Today's reading was 1.070, but this was not de-gassed first, so it could have possibly been even a tad lower.
Upon tasting, it actually tasted nice. Certainly did not taste as it smelled.

An Idea for Spring

I had hoped we could do this for Winter, but time is short and therefore it isn't going to happen. I was thinking that come spring, SCES should put on a craft fair/flea market with a 'celebration of earth and spirit' theme. Natural products, handmade items, canned goods, used things that fit into the theme, crystals, used books on spirituality etc. This could be open not just to local crafts people, but independent business/proprietors also, home based businesses.
We could procure a hall or venue, and rent out tables. A portion of the table rental can go towards a charity or local cause. Maybe hubby could entertain with his music and perhaps we can get some other pagan/folk type musicians to play, or perhaps some who are proficient on the hand drums.
The vendors can make and keep their own money and at the same time, SCES can help support a worthwhile cause. Vancouver has Pagan Pride,and that is a bit of a trip for most of us Upper Fraser Valley folk, and there is the local farmer market in Chilliwack, but something out here, that focuses more on our emotional , physical, and spiritual well being would be great.
If anyone reading this is interested, email me, or join us at Facebook. (search Society for the Celebration of Earth and Spirit).