Pneumatised!

MM,

I finished reading The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley. She’s a great author, I have to say. Although the book seems to be another Romeo and Juliet type romantic tragedy, there’s still a twist at the end that I was not expecting. Compared to other fiction writers, she can make a fairly boring story intriguing with the way she writes. Somehow I suspect that even though I thought the story for this novel boring, it will stay with me a long time.

I started reading book six (Lord of Chaos) of The Wheel of Time. I made it through the 72-page prologue and into chapter one. Though now I’m distracted from it because I decided to start reading Ian Irvine’s fantasy serial, The View from the Mirror. I’m on book one, The Shadow on the Glass. I decided to read this serial because the story is interesting, though as Nathan likes to point out every so often, Irvine isn’t a great fiction writer. Nonetheless, I still find myself intrigued because I want to find out what happens to the main characters. Basically, Irvine’s book is the opposite of Bradley’s above – great story, but not the best writing.

I also found copies of David Eddings’ books, The Diamond Throne and The Ruby Knight from the serial, The Elenium, in our laundry room. (We recirculate books we don’t want through the laundry room.) I’ll get into that serial at some point too.

I put aside The World’s Religions for a bit since I have to review my WCC stuff, but I’ll probably get back to that book every so often because it is such a good starting point on other religions. I also finally found a good little book that covers the history and culture of China. It’s China: Its History and Culture by W. Scott Morton and Charlton M. Lewis, second edition, published in 2005. Thus, it’s fairly up-to-date.

I finished reading Gardner’s Witchcraft Today. Interesting, what “ol’ uncle Gerald” has to say about witchcraft. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in Wicca – the tradition of witchcraft he started. Now, I have to read The Meaning of Witchcraft, and strangely enough, I saw it at the used book store last week. Of course, I snatched it up. I just haven’t had time to get into it yet. Plus, it’s good to vary my reading material so I don’t get too bored with one topic!

BB,
Cassandrah
(Too much to read, too much to do, and not enough time!)
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

This year started out busy for me.

First, Nathan and I were treated to a visit from his brother. He came to stay with us during the New Year’s weekend. Thus, the last part of 2006 was spent showing our visitor around the city and taking him to a few places.

Public ritual on New Year’s Eve (yes, the WCC was open) was a Compitalia where we paid tribute to the Lares (sort of like Italian fairies) of our physical boundaries. We did this by having a pig roast, then leaving some of the food at the boundaries and doorways. A very simple ritual.

After the ritual on New Year’s Eve, Nathan, I and our visitor went to hang out at Tamarra’s place. She always holds a party on New Year’s Eve for the WCC community. This year was busier than in previous year’s, so we ended up leaving after the fireworks show. (Lucky us, we have a licensed pyrotechnic in the community who’s more than willing to display his talents. 🙂 ) Since Nathan’s brother had to leave in the early morning to get to the airport on time, we went back to the apartment early and toasted in the CST New Year. 😉

On New Year’s Day, Nathan and I had to go out for dim sum with my mother and family, pretty much a tradition in my family. Because of all the craziness during the holiday season, I ended up spending the first week of January resting and recuperating (puttered around the apartment, read, went walking around the city some more). It was fun though having a visitor to show around the city. (I probably should have been a tour guide.)

Public ritual on the 7th was a sort of meditation. Being Summoner, it was amusing watching everyone sprawled out on the temple floor half asleep. Haha… peace at last!

Last week, I went to my group ritual and the women’s group ritual on top of the public ritual. The group ritual was an interesting one to Janus. (I knew he’d show up sooner or later!) We tossed a coin to determine if we needed help from the past or the future for the upcoming year. I got tails (past), which means I need to look to the past to see what needs to be done. This sort of makes sense as there is so much I still need to finish. Hehe… I guess I laid a good foundation already, but I just need to keep building.

The women’s group ritual was a Trimestra ritual. It is one of a set of rituals that were written to correspond with each stage of pregnancy that a woman goes through. It is one of the major female rites of passage in the Odyssean tradition. It’s a lovely ritual – each time I see the ritual performed the energy is amazing. The mother-to-be always seems to sparkle and shine.

Public ritual on the 14th was another little meditation. We were given rocks in which to tell one secret, then we were to bury the rock as soon as possible. It was interesting. Being Summoner though, I didn’t really pay attention to the meditation. I did get rid of my rock though – buried it on my way home.

Yesterday I went out to the public class. It was a class on elements, and I thought to compare the notes I have with the class. This way I have an idea of what topics to teach for each class. Plus, it’s good to refresh my mind every so often. I need to sit down sometime and review the notes for all the classes (52 plus because some class topics don’t come around every year). I’ll probably end up typing up a whole set of teaching notes that are separate from the student notes I took.

I managed to make it into the do jang last Thursday in the early afternoon. It was nice to be able to just concentrate on some things that we don’t practice much in class. I worked on my stances and hand strikes, even my elbow strike. I worked on the form of my kicks and blocks. It felt good to be able to do that. I will be trying to get into the do jang in the afternoon more often this year. This will give me training time even if I can’t make it to the evening or weekend classes as much. I haven’t been running much – it’s been so busy, and so cold on the days I feel like running that there’s no motivation. Hopefully in the next month or so, I can get back into it. I haven’t been to the gym in a month. At the very least, I was able to do some push-ups and light weight training at home. Free weights are always handy. I hate missing the do jang and gym so much that sometimes I get up and do some things around the home.

I still need to set aside some time to review the stuff I have to teach for reiki. I have a teaching plan, but just haven’t gotten around to finishing my teaching notes yet. I’d like to read over my reiki manuals again before I start teaching. I also have to get some supplies. Hopefully, I can be set to teach before spring sets in.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame