Today was a great triple play of PR for The Sacred Well, Rabbit, and Come As You Are Coven. We were all mentioned in a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, here.
I think the reporter, Susan Fornoff, did a great job of capturing the twisting, diverse threads of the pagan mythos in an easy-to-digest format. She weft a web of info that demonstrated both the deep magic and the wry humor of the pagan community. I also appreciated that there was no mention of, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" in this article. That question gets old. Molly Blue Dawn offers my favorite quip, "I am an excellent witch."
Seriously, many thanks to Susan and to the staff and editors of The San Francisco Chronicle for offering the local pagan community such a wonderful opportunity to advance the cultural consciousness around Earth-based traditions.
October 29, 2008
October 27, 2008
Praise And Respect
Praise and respect to all my blood ancestors,
my four deceased grandparents...
Praise and respect to my grandfather George,
the sensitive one with the artful precise eye
and the seashell collection...
Praise and respect to my grandmother Libby,
a warrior spirit and careerwoman,
with a commanding presence...
Praise and respect to my grandfather Lester,
a private feeler who put on a happy face for his family
and impressed his only grandson by tying him into a pretzel
and pulling quarters out of his nose...
Praise and respect to my grandmother Harriet,
oldest of 3 daughters who lost their father as children,
with the quickest mind and most voracious appetite for knowledge,
who taught me inquisitiveness and serves as a spiritual touchstone:
Barry, scribe of Harriet...
Praise and respect to the other ancestors in Africa, India, Australia...
the astrologers, seers and speakers of truth...
the sensitive men and overweight lesbians...
trailblazers, drug-takers and witch doctors who instilled in me powers I still don't understand...
to the writers, poets, thinkers and goofy oddballs,
some who were tortured, beheaded or imprisoned for talking too much of the right things at the right times...
I hope to connect with you,
and repay you with my gratitude for making who I am and what I do possible...
by doing it to the best of my ability at any given time
and making you proud of me...
... in praise and respect.
-astrobarry
Praise and respect to all my blood ancestors,
my four deceased grandparents...
Praise and respect to my grandfather George,
the sensitive one with the artful precise eye
and the seashell collection...
Praise and respect to my grandmother Libby,
a warrior spirit and careerwoman,
with a commanding presence...
Praise and respect to my grandfather Lester,
a private feeler who put on a happy face for his family
and impressed his only grandson by tying him into a pretzel
and pulling quarters out of his nose...
Praise and respect to my grandmother Harriet,
oldest of 3 daughters who lost their father as children,
with the quickest mind and most voracious appetite for knowledge,
who taught me inquisitiveness and serves as a spiritual touchstone:
Barry, scribe of Harriet...
Praise and respect to the other ancestors in Africa, India, Australia...
the astrologers, seers and speakers of truth...
the sensitive men and overweight lesbians...
trailblazers, drug-takers and witch doctors who instilled in me powers I still don't understand...
to the writers, poets, thinkers and goofy oddballs,
some who were tortured, beheaded or imprisoned for talking too much of the right things at the right times...
I hope to connect with you,
and repay you with my gratitude for making who I am and what I do possible...
by doing it to the best of my ability at any given time
and making you proud of me...
... in praise and respect.
-astrobarry
October 22, 2008
Election Day Spell
Election Day Spell by Iris and Rabbit
We aren’t going to try to tell you what to choose on Election Day. We hope we don’t need to :)
Instead, we have written a spell that creates intention for the best possible outcome in all initiatives, and the highest possible good for this country, state, county, and city. You may want to use this spell with a seven-day candle, and start it on Tues the 28th, the new moon. Or you may decide to do this spell with a three- or one-day candle, leading up to Election Day. We invite you to snag this and post it on your blog/list/chat as well. Please remember to include a link to this blog, if you don’t mind. And feel free to adapt and add your own magic as well.
You will need:
-a seven-, three-, or one-day blue candle
-a High John the Conqueror root
-a cinnamon stick
-a Justice tarot card from your deck…
…or else a 3 of Diamonds (the hard worker) from a regular deck
-a sample ballot (this is usually available for free at most public libraries and post offices, or you might check your local government website)
-a dollar bill
-a piece of string
-cinnamon, lemon, frankincense, and/or dragon’s blood oils (optional)
-frankincense tears and a charcoal, or else frankincense incense
-a pen
Begin by lighting the incense. Pass the dollar bill through the smoke three times. Then, write on the dollar bill, “This does not determine my vote.” Wrap the bill around the cinnamon stick and tie it with the string, in 9 knots. This will ensure that our voting process is neither bought nor swindled for monetary purposes by any representative of any party or constituency. Keep this bundle near the candle as it’s going.
Fill out the sample ballot with your choices of votes. Think carefully about each vote you place, and after you place your check mark, say out loud, ‘So mote it be.”
When you have finished filling out your sample ballot, place it on your altar. On top of it, place the Justice card or 3 of Diamonds. On top of that, place the candle.
Light the candle, and then anoint your High John the Conqueror root with the oil mixture, or else pass it through the candle flame three times. (Please don’t do both, because the oils are flammable.) Set it on top of the ballot at the base of the candle.
Chant the following daily until Election Day (or make up a suitable chant of your own.)
“By the power of three times three
As I do will, so mote it be,
With good toward all and harm to none
Civic duty will be done.
Transformation, both great and small
With liberty and justice for all.”
On Election Day, take your sample ballot with you to the polls and copy your votes from it. Touch it to whatever paper or screen where you vote to transfer the power of your intention. Tap the table, booth, or floor three times before you leave to seal the deal.
Blessed be!
We aren’t going to try to tell you what to choose on Election Day. We hope we don’t need to :)
Instead, we have written a spell that creates intention for the best possible outcome in all initiatives, and the highest possible good for this country, state, county, and city. You may want to use this spell with a seven-day candle, and start it on Tues the 28th, the new moon. Or you may decide to do this spell with a three- or one-day candle, leading up to Election Day. We invite you to snag this and post it on your blog/list/chat as well. Please remember to include a link to this blog, if you don’t mind. And feel free to adapt and add your own magic as well.
You will need:
-a seven-, three-, or one-day blue candle
-a High John the Conqueror root
-a cinnamon stick
-a Justice tarot card from your deck…
…or else a 3 of Diamonds (the hard worker) from a regular deck
-a sample ballot (this is usually available for free at most public libraries and post offices, or you might check your local government website)
-a dollar bill
-a piece of string
-cinnamon, lemon, frankincense, and/or dragon’s blood oils (optional)
-frankincense tears and a charcoal, or else frankincense incense
-a pen
Begin by lighting the incense. Pass the dollar bill through the smoke three times. Then, write on the dollar bill, “This does not determine my vote.” Wrap the bill around the cinnamon stick and tie it with the string, in 9 knots. This will ensure that our voting process is neither bought nor swindled for monetary purposes by any representative of any party or constituency. Keep this bundle near the candle as it’s going.
Fill out the sample ballot with your choices of votes. Think carefully about each vote you place, and after you place your check mark, say out loud, ‘So mote it be.”
When you have finished filling out your sample ballot, place it on your altar. On top of it, place the Justice card or 3 of Diamonds. On top of that, place the candle.
Light the candle, and then anoint your High John the Conqueror root with the oil mixture, or else pass it through the candle flame three times. (Please don’t do both, because the oils are flammable.) Set it on top of the ballot at the base of the candle.
Chant the following daily until Election Day (or make up a suitable chant of your own.)
“By the power of three times three
As I do will, so mote it be,
With good toward all and harm to none
Civic duty will be done.
Transformation, both great and small
With liberty and justice for all.”
On Election Day, take your sample ballot with you to the polls and copy your votes from it. Touch it to whatever paper or screen where you vote to transfer the power of your intention. Tap the table, booth, or floor three times before you leave to seal the deal.
Blessed be!
October 14, 2008
October 6, 2008
Oh, Yeah... The Money Corner
I hadn’t noticed when the money corner of the store began to pile up with boxes and other crap.
It was only when Iris and I began to grid the store with four vials of alchemical Sacred Salt mix (made my friend Ben Commons, a Santa Barbara-based astrologer, alchemist & energy worker)—and realized we couldn’t reach that last far corner—that we discovered our feng shui gaffe.
Iris, bless her heart, proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes cleaning out our money corner. (She even found broken glass and a long-displaced food container in those hinterlands.) Thank you, Iris, as always.
Store gridded with the salt mix, money corner cleared and rededicated... the next two days were FANTASTIC saleswise.
That first day after the clearing, we even sold that amazing specimen-quality celestite cluster (a big ticket item, to be sure) within only a week of putting it out. I just picked it up at the Denver mineral show I attended last month, and had never seen a celestite cluster quite like it.
Needless to say, it’s only one of MANY goodies I found...
September 30, 2008
Tangerine Quartz
Barry just got back from a crystal show in Denver with lots of delicious crystals.This morning I began my shift at The Sacred Well and was excited to browse all the new stones that had been put out in small bowls. I stopped in front of these very juicy, plump Tangerine Quartz, "Enhances one's creative energy" the little sign read. I grabbed one and felt a jolt of excitement go up my arm. I picked one out for myself and carried it around all day. Let me interrupt here by saying that I've sort of had a creative block for quite some time now. I've been unable to sketch, draw or paint. I sit, sketchbook open, favorite pen in hand and...nothing. But today, I was drawing on post it notes, my hand was grabbing for the nicest pen in the abalone shell on the counter, wanting to sketch. I was happy to have that impulsive-wanting-to-sketch feeling back. I had completely forgotten that I was carrying the Tangerine Quartz around with me until I reached in my pocket. On my way home I held and rubbed the crystal, wanting its energy to rub off on me. When I got home, my entire body had that excited creative jolt in it and I found myself scanning old artwork and uploading it onto my blog. Now I've had a very productive night and I'm grateful for that little Tangerine Quartz.
September 16, 2008
Our 1st Anniversary is coming!
Save the date of October 25, 2008, everybody! That will be the store's one-year anniversary party!
It's pretty amazing how far we've come in one year. I am never short on things to be thankful for- our loyal, supportive, and growing customer community; the beauty of our urban oasis, Lake Merritt; Barry's and my wonderful relationship and our really great staff and SW family: Ninette, Medea, Violet, Ricky, Jojo, our supportive parents, Mollie & Jenna, Iris & Jack, Rha, Suzanne..the friends from CAYA and other local spiritual communities...the list goes on. With a list of thank-yous this long, I feel certain that we have established a great foundation this year, with lots of good to come.
One of our major goals this year was to develop and launch a line of products based on some of the talents exhibited by our team here at TSW. We're happy to announce that at our 1-year anniversary party, we will have new products that represent a true community effort: from candle design by Ninette to oils and elixirs created by Rabbit and Barry, mixed and perfected by Mollie's aromatherapy skills, to artwork and graphic layout by Rha...and a t-shirt...
So come and visit us on the 25th of October, promise? Help us celebrate with gratitude the ancestors, guides, goddesses, stars and all those who've "got our back." We can all toast our mutual efforts to make magic happen every day. And hey...thanks.
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