from Jupiter

The Unofficial Start of Summer

2012-05-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

It's Memorial Day in America, a day on which we remember the men and women who have died while in the U.S. Armed Forces. Today Americans will fly the flag at half-staff, visit cemeteries and memorials, and pause for a national moment of remembrance at 3 pm. They may also attend a parade. And because Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, many Americans will head to the beach and

No Critical Thinking Skills Required

2012-05-25T17:00:00.000-04:00

Anderson Cooper talked to one supporter of Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina. A few days ago, Pastor Worley figured out a way to get rid of all the gays and lesbians - put them in an electrified enclosure and let them die off. Cooper challenges her on what the Pastor said versus what he meant, whether they realize that gay people are born to straight

Documentary Follows Fake Indian Guru

2012-05-11T22:43:00.002-04:00

A new documentary called Kumare follows a fake guru and his worshipers. At PSFK CONFERENCE NYC, American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi spoke about his experience growing up Indian in New Jersey. He says Americans and other Westerners often look to Indian culture for emotional and spiritual support. In his new documentary, Gandhi pretends to be a spiritual guru, gains devoted followers, then tells him

Non-Religious Are More Charitable Out of Compassion

2012-05-06T20:24:00.000-04:00

Last month, the Australian talk show Q&A featured Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and atheist Richard Dawkins going head-to-head on history, faith, God, and (Christian) religion. The first question posed by an audience member was: At Easter Australia's religious leaders invoke the power of God to preach peace, love, political integrity, and moral fortitude - all positive, worthwhile

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

It's been a lovely year. In January, I began blogging about Second Life. I'd wanted to try out the (no longer) new platform Tumblr, which turned out to be fun in its way, but didn't serve my needs ultimately. I moved my Second Life blog to WordPress. February was an awesome month. I re-dedicated to my coven, set new goals for myself, and attended PantheaCon once again where I had a great time.

Blessed Samhain & Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:28:00.000-04:00

A very blessed Samhain and happy Halloween to everyone! I celebrated Samhain this weekend with my coven. It was a magickal night. The dissipated hurricane Rina has been bringing heavy storms with thunder and lightning and provided the perfect atmosphere for our observance. We honored and connected with our ancestors and had a delicious feast. The photo above is of our cauldrons full of

44 Days of Witchery Day 26: A Witchy Podcast

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

I listen to a number of podcasts, but not a single Pagan one. I've tuned into different ones over the years and may catch an episode here and there, but the last Pagan podcast I heard was a 2010 episode of Pagans Tonight featuring Margot Adler. I'm glad there's a Pagan podcasting community and an audience for it, but I just don't dig it. I was giving some thought as to why so I browsed the

Sagan v. Snooki, or You're Not What's Wrong with the World

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

Some of my Facebook friends have been circulating the image above. At first, I chuckled and joked whether this guy had been on Star Trek. Never having watched an episode, that would explain why I don't know who he is. As it turns out, some of my acquaintances didn't realize I was joking and were shocked (shocked!) at my ignorance. Of course, I know this is the famous Carl Sagan and I also know

The passing of a visionary, Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T20:25:00.001-04:00

I'm terribly saddened to learn that Steve Jobs has died. The world has lost an amazing creative and visionary force. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends. Geeks all over the world mourn with you.

44 Days of Witchery Day 25: Loved Ones

2011-10-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

The question today is: How do your close ones feel about your witchy path? Do they know? Why or why not? The short answer is yes, they all know, and are fine with it. The long answer is more complicated. My mother and sister know that I'm Pagan and that I belong to a coven. They know most, if not all, of the coven members because they're also my friends. They know that our coven is part of a

44 Days of Witchery Day 24: Moon Sign

2011-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

In day 10 I wrote about my sun sign Sagittarius. My moon is in Cancer. If the sun sign represents the external you, what you radiate to the world, the moon is about what's hidden and lies beneath such as emotions, instincts, and the unconscious. I think my moon conflicts with my sun rather than compliment it. Fiery Sagittarius is cheerful, action-oriented, and extroverted. The watery Cancerian

44 Days of Witchery Day 23: A favorite candle

2011-10-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

When I first say the topic for day 44, I wondered what I'd write about thinking that I don't have a favorite candle. There are many beautiful candles out there. Just recently, at Target with a coven mate, we saw a pretty owl candle. The owl is special to my coven mate and she liked it, but then added she wouldn't be able to burn it because it was so pretty. I can relate to that. I have one

The Secret Circle, Episodes 2 & 3

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the CW's new show The Secret Circle following its premiere episode. I promised to tune in a few more times to see how it develops. There are some spoilers here, but not much; I don't want to ruin it for you. In episode 2, "Bound", our heroine Cassie finds herself learning more about her mother's witchy past and coming to grips with her newly-discovered,

44 Days of Witchery Day 22: Current moon phase

2011-09-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

Awesome photo by uber-talented Mr. T We are in the new moon. It is approximately 8.2% full. As a Wiccan, I maintain that the waxing moon is a good time for new projects, creative work, and building. I've been working on a journal. Apparently, I'm supposed to have been doing this for years since I began my Georgian training and it's a common practice to keep a magickal diary. Some Wiccans

44 Days of Witchery Day 21: A favorite scent

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

You'd get a different answer if you asked me during the spring or summer, but in the fall I'm intoxicated by the scent of pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice is neither pumpkin nor a spice (discuss!). Pumpkin spice is just a blend of warm spices such as cinnamon ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and sometimes clove. For me, this is a part of the enchantment of the fall. The air is filled with this aroma.

44 Days of Witchery Day 20: Tarot

2011-09-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

The assignment for day 19 is: A picture of a tarot or oracle card, and its meaning. I'm going to take a slightly different route with this one and share instead a tarot reading I had earlier this year. It happened last February. I was in California attending PantheaCon when it occurred to me that this time next year would be a good time to travel to Australia. Most of the flights go through

Mabon Anniversary

2011-09-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe my coven is nine years old! Mabon marked our anniversary and we celebrated with friends from the broader Pagan community. The ritual was simple and included a lot of the eclectic elements that have become standard hallmarks of our coven's practice. For instance, we tend to favor street clothes over robes, hand-to-hand circle casting, and inspired invocations over

44 Days of Witchery Day 19: Fire Element

2011-09-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Fire is one of the classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. Much of that lore has come down to Wicca through the Western occult tradition. In the spirit of many Wiccan traditions, I associate fire with the south, with the power of the will, of transformation, the midday sun, the colors red and orange, summer, youth, and the athame. Obviously, fire can be destructive, but it

44 Days of Witchery Day 18: Paranormal

2011-09-24T14:03:00.002-04:00

The question today is: Have you had any paranormal experiences? I'm glad the question is about the paranormal rather than the supernatural, which is more often associated with religion and the occult. I don't believe in the supernatural because I don't believe anything exists outside the laws of nature. I do believe in the paranormal, phenomena that is outside of science's current ability to

Pagan Pride Day

2011-09-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Pagan Pride Day! Aromatic herbs Altar cloths Handcrafted runes A colorful Pagan Witch's Mark The labyrinth

A Review of The Secret Circle

2011-09-16T13:28:00.000-04:00

The fascination with witches continues on the CW's newest show The Secret Circle. The Secret Circle is based on a young adult fantasy romance series, which I've never read so there are no comparisons here. The Secret Circle is exactly what you might expect from the home of shows like The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl. Brit Robertson (Dan in Real Life, Swingtown) plays Cassie, a teen whose

Speak Geek #5: Favorite Speaks

2011-09-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

For my last entry in the Speak Out With Your Geek Out series, I want to highlight some submissions from fellow geeks that I enjoyed. You can find more great submissions in the comments section and with the Twitter hashtag #speakgeek.Jess Banks wants to make room for all women to live out their sci-fi/ fantasy fashion dreams. Geeks are pretty good at recognizing and giving respect for the hard

Speak Geek #4: Second Life

2011-09-15T12:20:00.001-04:00

Let me share some statistics with you. Facebook has 750 million active users and 53% of Facebook users play games 65% of U.S. households play video games World of Warcraft has 11.1 million subscribers 2008 saw eight superhero movies The Dark Knight was the highest-grossing film of 2008 worldwide with a total of $1,001,921,825 About 130,000 people attended San Diego Comic-Con in 2010 But

Speak Geek #3: That Bridget is a Ringer for Buffy

2011-09-14T17:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I blogged about Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Speak Out With Your Geek Out and that happened to coincide with Our Lady of Vampire Slayerage's return to television last night on the CW network with Ringer. Here's the geek angle: I only tuned into Ringer because Sarah Michelle Gellar stars. Yep, that's it. I don't watch much television and I hadn't followed the promotion around this

Speak Geek #2: How Buffy Changed the World

2011-09-13T18:30:00.000-04:00

I LOVE Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even though it has been off the air for eight years, I still love it as much today as I did then, and I miss it. People laugh at me when I say this. People who have never experienced it, that is. The rest of us Whedonites know better and feel sorry for the kids who think they're too cool for Buffy. Truly. If you've never experienced Buffy the Vampire Slayer