tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:47:53 +0000http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Cosette)Blogger626125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-905420892644120221Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:08:00 +00002009-08-29T19:16:27.001-04:00I am moving my blog to a new address: http://www.cosettefromjupiter.blogspot.com Please update your links. It needs a bit of cleanup and I still need to add my widgets and my Blogroll which got lost in the process, but it's up and running. Thank you. http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/moving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-9145844218851619917Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:58:00 +00002009-08-28T07:07:43.156-04:00LifeOne of the characteristics of sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter is that they often cause a merging of personas. Suddenly my High Priest is interacting with my best friend from high school, a devout Jehova's Witness. And Facebook doesn't allow user names. So even though Pandora's Bazaar has always been Cosette, now there's a face to the name, an education history, a work history, and even http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/quoting-david-bowie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-7087135908575220651Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:02:00 +00002009-08-22T12:02:09.830-04:00NewsCatholicsWomenChurchMy coven mate brought this story to my attention.Americans nuns are asking why the Vatican is investigating them.Kenneth Briggs, a columnist for the Web site Belief.net and former religion editor of the New York Times, is the author of a 2006 book called Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church's Betrayal of American Nuns. In an interview with NPR's Sheilah Kast, he talks about how the http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/news-vatican-investigates-its-women.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-4980129834501341791Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:17:00 +00002009-08-20T12:36:48.882-04:00NewsArchaeologyHaaretz.com reports that more figures of Aphrodite have been uncovered in the southern Golan Heights site of Susita (in Israel).At the site, on a 350 meter-high-plateau overlooking the eastern shore of Lake Kinneret, archaeologists found a cache of three figurines of Aphrodite (whom the Romans called Venus), dating back about 1,500 years. The figurines, made of clay, are about 30 centimeters tallhttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/news-more-venus-figurines-found.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-487767696426215511Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:09:00 +00002009-08-19T13:47:07.337-04:00PaganismA lot of Wiccan readers exclaim that there are two many beginner books on the market. They often wonder where is the Wicca 102 material. Some Wiccans seem to think it's being kept from them somehow. Other Wiccans astutely point out there isn't any 102 material. I tend to agree.Wicca itself, as outlined by Gardner and other early fathers and mothers of the religion, is pretty bare bones. You havehttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/sign-up-for-wicca-102.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-4032268300994803649Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:15:00 +00002009-08-15T12:23:02.358-04:00NewsMaybe it's the whole goddess thing.The Telegraph out of the UK reports that a Greek woman has become a national hero after setting a man's penis on fire. Yah, really. It alleged the Briton took down his trousers and started waving his genitals at a number of girls. He then specifically "forcefully fondled" the 26-year old Greek woman, asking her to take hold of his genitals. After askinghttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/news-dont-mess-with-cretan-women.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-2710175636503991866Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:29:00 +00002009-08-12T13:49:14.284-04:00WiccaLucumiPaganismSanteriaCovensIn a comment, reine asked the following:How has your life changed since receiving your warriors? How do you balance your 'coven" and Santeria? or do you?Those are mighty good questions, reine, and the balancing act is something I give a lot of thought to.I am very blessed in life. I'm in good health, I have a job, go to school, have family, friends, and a great community. The Warriors are your,http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/juggling-act.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-322103337338839893Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:02:00 +00002009-08-10T14:20:15.745-04:00CovensYesterday, two people dedicated themselves to my coven. Being a consensus-based, non-hierarchical, non-training, eclectic coven, dedicating means full membership. Normally we dedicate and rededicate at Imbolc, but we didn't want to make these two special people wait another six months. Plus at Imbolc we set goals and at this time of year we release any we're not progressing on. Having a http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/good-magickal-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-4666575819800742008Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:50:00 +00002009-08-08T12:55:37.200-04:00ReviewsBooksGloria Naylor's Mama Day is set on the island of Willow Springs, which lies between Georgia and South Caroline, but belongs to neither and doesn't even appear on the map. Willow Springs is a liminal place. It exists, but it doesn't. The living and the dead walk its roads. Its residents are Christian, but deeply entrenched in the hoodoo spirituality of their slave ancestors that once inhabited thehttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/review-mama-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-9137299487071564683Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:24:00 +00002009-08-06T12:31:51.642-04:00PaganismAncestorsSanteriaLast night I went to P's house for a misa. When most people think of Santeria, they probably think of the orishas. Ok, they probably think of animal sacrifice, but probably because they believe that the Santeria gods, aka orisha, require them. So we're back at the orishas. But equally important, probably more so actually, are the egun, the spirits of dead ancestors, other spirit guides, passed http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/wednesday-night-seance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-5432185249444620492Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:59:00 +00002009-08-05T13:29:23.275-04:00WiccaPaganismCovensI'm going to toot the fabulousness of my coven and congratulate (read: brag) about my coven mate Kallistos. His essay, a comparative study of ancient priesthoods, has been selected for inclusion in the book Above, Below, Within; Planetary Magick and the Greek Gods (more info on that book coming soon). I also want to get your thoughts about the points he brings up in this essay.The main point of http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-priesthood-and-clergy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-318729984910062404Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:14:00 +00002009-08-03T12:33:28.149-04:00GodsLughnassadhHinduismPaganismGaneshaLughnassadh with my coven went really well. There were about 13 of us (nice number) and we celebrated with a simple ritual dedicated to Lugh focusing on our skills, a little spiral dance, and eating really good food including beer and beer bread for Cakes & Ale. I love that my coven always has delicious, quality, ritual-appropriate food. We're not one of those Coca-Cola and Twinkies covens. http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-lughnassadh-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-7392448864775420304Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:44:00 +00002009-08-01T12:53:08.696-04:00SabbatsLughnassadhLifeHappy Lughnassadh. I'll be celebrating tonight with my coven. We'll be thanking Lugh for all the wonderful skills he's inspired in us. I don't have a lot of crafty skills. I don't cook or sew or tend a garden. I'm not artistic nor able to create much with my hands. But I have other skills I value. I'm organized, detailed, and able to juggle a variety of tasks. For example, right now I'm checkinghttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-lughnassadh.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-8542705307265319825Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:27:00 +00002009-06-23T11:32:17.845-04:00WiccaSabbatsLucumiLifeMidsummerOrishasSummer SolsticeOgunSanteriaI hope you had a great Midsummer Sabbat. Mine was very pleasant. I celebrated it with my coven and some friends at our covenstead. It was a small, intimate gathering and the ritual focus was on using the sun's light to reveal things about ourselves that we want others to see. My brilliant High Priest lit our coven's power candle from the sun's rays using a magnifying glass and we all lit http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/06/midsummer-darkness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1186212985635545773Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:04:00 +00002009-06-17T17:20:48.557-04:00LucumiOgunSanteriaLooking at my notes, it's been just over a year since I had the registro with Eleggua. Last night, I had the bajada. Also called el angel de la guardia (guardian angel), it is the reading where you discover which Orisha rules your crown.I went to my padrino's (my godfather in the religion) for the reading. The Oba Oriate (the high priest of Santeria), a priest of Eleggua, showed up shortly after.http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/06/bajada.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1786900949164879551Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:11:00 +00002009-02-19T13:13:49.923-05:00LifeWitchcraftLast night I had a great dinner with my Black sisters. I think it was supposed to be a sort of business dinner to discuss the Black Hat Society, but we never got around to it. Instead we spent about three hours talking about the local community and our experiences with deity, ritual, and magick over pomegranate mojitos, taquitos, buffalo chicken, and cheesecake. Good stuff.After dinner, we http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/pink.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-9116851767696748670Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:50:00 +00002009-02-17T22:58:39.112-05:00BrigidGoddessesCheck out this lovely statue I bought yesterday for just eleven bucks at JoAnn Fabrics. She was screaming at me as I walked by. Brigid. We will both be much happier when I clip her wings.Brigid came into my life a few years ago when I put a call out for help getting in touch with my creative side. I mean creative with my hands as in crafting art as opposed to my writing, which I don't really http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-shiny.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-8004896933592116108Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:06:00 +00002009-02-16T11:09:58.386-05:00LifeI'm taking a class called Psychology of Personal Effectiveness. Some of the things the class and textbook stress are the interconnectedness of everything and the importance of being a global citizen. In one chapter, the authors discussed Lovelock and the Gaia hypothesis. Cool huh. I love this class. Anyway, in a recent chapter, the authors talked about Rupert Sheldrake. In his 1981 book called A http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-monday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3528305906386564735Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:45:00 +00002009-02-12T11:46:37.512-05:00WiccaPower AnimalsFull MoonShamanismTotemsI marked the full moon last night with my coven. It was a formal circle as one of our goals this year as a group is to helps some of us polish our tech and really drill the liturgy into our heads. The work of the ritual was shamanic in nature, which I love, love, love. Another of our coven goals is to work with and introduce each other to our spirit animal companions. Last night's journey was http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/animal-workings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6635745397971864862Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:01:00 +00002009-02-11T11:15:48.016-05:00NewsArchaeology Magazine is always an interesting read. This month's issue features two stories that may be of particular interest to Pagans and Witches who have an interest in ancient ways.In A Mummy's Life, Eti Bonn-Muller reports on the journey to get to know an Egyptian priestess.Around 800 B.C., a wealthy Egyptian priestess named Meresamun served the god Amun in the monumental Temple of Karnak http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/archaeology-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-5697409730926568864Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:34:00 +00002009-02-09T11:34:51.316-05:00LifeIt's been a while since I really blogged. I've been meaning to, but it's been hard finding the time. I've had a big, internal restructuring. I've taken a good, hard look at my life goals and reorganized my priorities around them. Although I enjoy blogging and it helps me feel connected in some ways, it doesn't significantly contribute to achieving my life goals. I like blogging too much to stop http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6886650239642348771Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-02-04T12:34:09.536-05:00NewsPaganismRomanI love this. A pagan cult mosaic has been discovered under a cathedral in central-northern Italy.The scenes are rather unusual. One shows a naked man falling into someone's arms, another displays two naked figures — a man and a woman — wearing jewels. The woman holds a just caught fish, while the man holds two live ducks.Another extraordinary scene shows a naked man wearing an ivy crown and http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/02/news-pagan-mosaic-found-under-cathedral.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-289096627411975984Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:43:00 +00002009-01-02T14:46:55.523-05:00HolidaysHappy New Year, dear readers and friends.I'm taking a broad look at my 2008.January: I made New Year's resolutions and pretty much broke them. I crafted a great spell that helped me heal through feelings of anger and hurt over a friendship.February: I celebrated a beautiful Imbolc with my coven and set forth goals, many of which I accomplished. I bought a bicycle. I took a class on herbs and http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2009/01/out-with-old.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-8946793517493007794Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:09:00 +00002008-12-29T12:17:31.311-05:00NewsPaganismFuneralsGreen DyingExploring WiccaRites of PassageHere's an interesting article from The Seattle Times on greener funerals, your pocketbook, and "death midvwives."Lyons is a "death midwife," a specialist in the little-known field of helping people manage the passing of a loved one outside the traditional funeral industry. As the nation reels during its worst economic crisis in more than a generation, her business is booming.In normal times, http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/12/in-news-death-midwives.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3843489890196344158Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:33:00 +00002008-12-22T13:34:31.387-05:00YuleWiccaningSabbatsWinter SolsticeHappy Yule!I celebrated Yule with my coven. We had a Wiccaning for baby Friday, the child of my friends Jose and Zoyla who I handfasted Beltaine 2007. What a wonderful way to celebrate the winter solstice, by honoring the new born sun in a beautiful baby, the newest member of our community.We gathered outside in the dark and cast the circle by lighting candles. After the usual (casting, http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/12/merry-yule.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)2