tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:00:49 +0000http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Cosette)Blogger577125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1874596565308257638Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:45:00 +00002008-07-23T13:51:02.714-04:00ReviewsMoviesGuillermo del ToroThe OrphanagePan's Labyrinth I am not a fan of torture horror, movies like Saw that frighten by assault and leave little to the imagination. I was pleasantly surprised that although The Orphanage (2007) is one of those films that can easily descend into cliche shock and horror, instead it's a movie that knows the difference between surprise and suspense, and how much scarier it is to wait for something sometimes than it is http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-orphanage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-4459208977642193213Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:39:00 +00002008-07-21T15:40:46.073-04:00SpiritsWiccaOuijaRitualCeremonial MagickIn my entry about ouija boards, I mentioned a couple of theories about how they work. One is that the ouija is a door to the spirit world and if you open it, you should close it as well. The second follows that the user moves the planchette through the subconscious, which is where the information really filters through. This means the board isn't the medium, the user is. One commenter then asked,http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/doors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-4079814431325568864Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:52:00 +00002008-07-19T11:58:56.565-04:00LucumiSanteriaLast night I attended a misa, the spiritualist mass that has become standard practice in Santeria as a way to communicate with the dead. About eleven of us gathered in the private home of a couple that we know. They were great hosts and among the many goodies was the bucket of mojito that just never seemed bottomless. Once we'd had some spirits for the spirits, we circled up outside and began. http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/mojito-mass.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6785375433724377369Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:34:00 +00002008-07-16T12:37:49.967-04:00WitchesCoGI would just like to declare that M. Macha NightMare and Anna Korn are two of my favorite Witches on the planet. We now return to your irregularly non-schedule program.http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/awesome-witches.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-5026593828159328300Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:43:00 +00002008-07-09T21:16:41.990-04:00SpiritsLifeOuijaThis week the discussion everywhere seems to be about the ouija board. At first, I was like, eh whatever, but upon more consideration I realized that the ouija board was my first method of spirit communication. When I was a little girl of about nine or ten, my mother used to buy me a Spanish-language comic book at the local grocery store. Aside from the short stories, the comic book often http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/07/ouija-memories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-9093245461862198924Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:38:00 +00002008-06-29T22:09:04.685-04:00TelevisionThe Today ShowKathie Lee GiffordI've been a bad blogger this week. I've had a lot going on this week. I've been dealing with getting my paperwork in order so I can go back to school, the insanity that runs in my family, and some new relationship issues. Thankfully, my Craft hasn't suffered. I redecorated my altar for Midsummer, got some offering together for my HPS who's in Ireland this week and offered to take them to Bridget,http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/bad-blogger-girl-stupid-kathie-lee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-2408713864874816870Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:48:00 +00002008-06-24T22:06:44.219-04:00WitchesLifeEnergyOrien RoseBecause I'm perpetually behind on email, I almost failed to share this with you, gentle readers. Our friend Deborah Lipp over at Property of a Lady is asking us to spare a thought for a miracle. Orien Rose is a nine year old girl was in a horrific boating accident just over a year ago and suffered skull, facial, and brain injuries. She is having surgery this morning, Tuesday, June 24th, and we http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/call-for-energy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-8992001868307170559Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:39:00 +00002008-06-21T13:42:12.037-04:00LithaSabbatsMidsummerSummer SolsticeHappy summer solstice! What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Here in South Florida, it's been hot and raining all week. That's what the summer solstice means to me, the end of dry season and the beginning of the rainy seasons (as well as hurricane season). For most people, this solstice marks the start of summer and it's true that, at least down here, June is not the hottest month,http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-litha.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3327515071101508194Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:57:00 +00002008-06-16T22:58:27.581-04:00Gay RightsLifeCheck out these beautiful wedding pictures. http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/about-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3588787440363782703Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:59:00 +00002008-06-16T22:07:14.928-04:00LithaLifeMidsummerTarotDuring our Litha celebration this weekend, we called upon Apollo. I've never been able to develop much of a relationship with Apollo, but my HP is connected and he thought it would be great to work with Apollo's solar and prophetic energies. One of the things we did was a minor divination where a tarot deck went around and we just picked a card. I pulled the Four of Swords. When the Lord of http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/four-of-swords.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6137252450958713538Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:02:00 +00002008-06-15T20:04:20.175-04:00LithaSabbatsMidsummerI had a great weekend. Friday night I went out with the Black Hat Society, a small group of local female Witches. We don't actually wear hats, but that might change. We went to a super popular restaurant and it should have been really busy, but with gas prices up and the general economy being the way it is, I don't think people are going out that much. We got a table in about 20 minutes and had ahttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/witchy-weekend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3509485126050931153Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:16:00 +00002008-06-12T15:20:17.261-04:00MarriagePolyamoryPaganismSexSwingtown is on tonight. It's a new one-hour drama that premiered last week about sex and the 1970s. The first episode contained a threesome, adolescent boys browsing porn, a teenager smoking pot and flirting with her English teacher, Quaaludes, cocaine, a basement orgy, and an implied foursome. Did I mention it's on CBS? That might be my favorite part. Despite the critics, who can't seem to http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/revelations.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6511939645506975687Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:09:00 +00002008-06-10T22:53:23.123-04:00LucumiMagickSanteria I had the day off today so I caught up with Quaaa and we went shopping for my guerreros set. One of the many initiations in Santeria is called Los Guerreros, or the Warriors. In this ceremony, a person receives Eleggua, Ochosi, Oggun, and Osun. Most botanicas in Miami sell the ceremonial items in a set like this one for $20-40. The cauldron holds the implements of Oggun and Ochosi. Oggun is http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/magic-at-work.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1705078031233269984Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:22:00 +00002008-06-09T22:35:39.762-04:00WiccaCovensSaturday was the EMLC meeting, which went really well. We had two guests, an Elder and his covenor, from a local coven that is interested in membership. They lingered long after the meeting was over. It was tiring, but good because it was the first time that I caught a real glimpse into the coven's inner workings and there was a lot of discussion about coven dynamics. This coven formed when http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/coven-dynamics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1531818391284261967Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:59:00 +00002008-06-06T19:47:02.618-04:00MarriagePolyamoryTelevisionLifeSexI've been thinking about social attitudes towards sex and relationships a lot lately. I was going to say that it seems to me that attitudes are changing, moving away from traditional relationships and family dynamics, but then I remembered that there is no such thing as the traditional American family. There never really has been either. It's a social and political construct, a nearly impossible http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/whos-your-daddy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-7308890991795141046Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:44:00 +00002008-06-05T23:19:29.073-04:00LucumiOrishasSanteriaLast Friday marked 21 days since I had my consultation with Eleggua. There were a lot of things the oriate (the expert at reading the cowrie shell divination system) said to me that didn't make complete sense. However, now that the time is up, things are clearer. One of the most important and puzzling predictions the oriate made regarded problems with blood relatives, specifically my sibling. Myhttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/21-days.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3006666786996319592Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:20:00 +00002008-06-03T20:25:26.377-04:00ReviewsCAWMorning Glory Zell-RavenheartBooksRitualOberon Zell-RavenheartIf I were stranded on a desert island with only one book from my personal library, I hope it's this one. Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons and Reasons by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart is an accumulation of many years of rituals and magick. Creating Circles & Ceremonies is a collection of ritual elements, spells, chants, and invocations from some ofhttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-creating-circles-ceremonies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-616791745905947108Sat, 31 May 2008 19:01:00 +00002008-05-31T15:44:21.796-04:00ReviewsWiccaPaganismBooksDorothy MorrisonWitchcraftDubbed by Publishers Weekly as "a witch to watch," Dorothy Morrison is the award-winning author of numerous books on the Ancient Arts and their application to modern life. She's won several awards for her writing, and has become a favorite of readers and critics from all walks of life. Some say it's because of the easily appreciated conversational tone she applies to her work. Others say it's http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/interview-with-dorothy-morrison.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6603827642971957212Fri, 30 May 2008 03:10:00 +00002008-05-30T00:49:35.950-04:00PaganismPujaKali Every now and then, people ask me how I perform ritual worship for Kali. So here it is. I should preface by explaining that I see Kali in an extremely positive manner, as a benevolent Great Mother ruling creation, protection, and destruction. I see her physical characteristics like her blackness, her nudity, her garland of severed heads, her girdle of severed arms, and so forth as symbolic of http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-kali-worship.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-5114613899677340481Fri, 30 May 2008 02:20:00 +00002008-05-29T23:04:56.860-04:00Life Nine thousand were naturalized and became American citizens today. My mother was one of them. The swearing in ceremony was at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The would-be citizens went in one way and guests another. I found a place to sit and looked around, but didn't find her in that ocean of people. The ceremony began with the the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by some speeches, a video http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-americans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-8468906992125368270Wed, 28 May 2008 03:55:00 +00002008-05-28T01:16:08.986-04:00ReligionPaganismOnce upon a time in West Africa, priests used the kola nut as the mouth of Eleggua. But there was no kola nut in the New World so the Yoruba used something else that was abundant, the coconut. To this day, in the New World, the coconut is used in divination with Eleggua. The longer I am on this path called, in the broadest terms, Paganism, the less I care about the dogma. Pagans say we're not http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/rice-and-mango-pt-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-3771385933764469613Tue, 27 May 2008 03:51:00 +00002008-05-27T00:32:41.434-04:00SpiritsLucumiSanteriaI went to a misa tonight. We're trying to hold one every month to help us work more with the eggun (the spirits of the dead) and to develop our mediumship skills. The altar and space were ready by the time I arrived at the covenstead so we got started almost right away. Normally misas begin with lengthy prayers mostly composed by Allan Kardec and largely using Christian language, but the Santerohttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/rice-and-mango.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-6957257783791066281Sun, 25 May 2008 16:48:00 +00002008-05-25T14:20:32.190-04:00VacationI'm back! I had a great time on the road and visiting friends. I hit the road early Tuesday morning. I love road trips and really enjoy driving for hours on my own. It gives me time to think and process as I jam to Orishas and Scissor Sisters. I checked into my hotel and relaxed for a while before L and her husband J picked me up for dinner and a movie. I met L my first year at college in 1995.http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/little-getaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-1747984861739011681Tue, 20 May 2008 04:59:00 +00002008-05-20T01:01:03.698-04:00LifeVacationI'm going on vacation this week. Blogging is on hiatus until I get back next weekend. Have a wonderful week. http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/on-vacation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11763736.post-903567610146074302Tue, 20 May 2008 04:32:00 +00002008-05-20T00:59:50.195-04:00WiccaMagickEsbatsWitchcraftI celebrated the full moon tonight with my coven and we finally got around to performing some prosperity magick. We used cord magick to work it. Cord magick is a form of folk magic that has been around for a long time. According to the mighty Wikipedia, the earliest documented example is described in an issue of Folk Journal from 1887. It describes a long piece of rope comprised of three strandshttp://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/05/cord-magick.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Cosette)