Pneumatised!

MM,

Nathan showed me this interesting chart a few days ago and I had some amusing thoughts about it. The chart lists a few major religions and shows what followers in each religion thinks will happen to followers of the other ones. Seeing as they didn’t put Paganism or Wicca on the chart, I figure I might as well give an individual pagan’s perspective.

First, catholics – you will either go to heaven, purgatory, hell or are going to reincarnate depending on how nice you are to us pagans. I don’t particularly believe in hell, but since you’re so adamant about it existing, I figure you’ll end up there anyway if you don’t treat people of other spiritual backgrounds nice enough. Chances are though, most of you will reincarnate as you really don’t have a clue how life and death work. Purgatory is for those who have been toeing the line a little too often. Heaven is for those lucky few who manage to be very nice to everyone and become so enlightened you won’t reincarnate – you’ll probably see a few of us pagans there too.

Second, protestants – you almost fall into the same category as the catholics except since you don’t believe in purgatory, you’ll either go to heaven or hell or are going to reincarnate. Chances are you’ll reincarnate because you don’t have a clue either, just like the catholics. If you’re really mean to us pagans though, you’ll probably end up in hell since you believe in it so much. To get to heaven, see comment regarding catholics.

Third, mormons – you’re much nicer than the catholics and protestants and you have good hearts, though a little misguided. I think you’ll likely reincarnate because you don’t quite have the meaning of life and death yet. You’re not as clueless as the catholics or protestants though, so maybe a few of you will get to heaven this time around. Otherwise, if you heed my words, you might get to heaven in the next lifetime. As for hell, well, if you leave us pagans alone which you tend to do sometimes, you probably won’t go there.

Next, muslims – hm… thinking they’ll reincarnate like most of the mormons. Some muslims are quite enlightened though, so maybe they’ll get to heaven. Just stay away from crazy kamakazi maneouvres and you should stay away from hell.

Hindus and Buddhists will either go to heaven or reincarnate. They don’t tend to be as bad as the catholics, protestants, mormons, or muslims. They tend to relatively nice people, not shoving their beliefs at everyone else trying to convert them and they don’t tend to condemn someone just because of their spiritual background. Much more enlightened groups of people they are. Some may get to heaven this time or maybe in the next life.

Unitarians are quite nice folks. This is a toss-up. Because they are so nice, I’m hesitant to say they are going to reincarnate. They at least try to be nice to everyone and maybe they actually do have a clue. For now, I’ll say they’ll go to heaven (just to be nice back) and maybe us pagans will see them there.

Atheists and Agnostics, I hate to say this, but you’re probably going to be reincarnated in this sometimes miserable limited-dimension world that is comprised of nothing but suffering, as Buddha says “All life is suffering”. Sorry, but just because you can’t prove something exists doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You won’t get to heaven frankly because you don’t believe in it and you really don’t have a clue. So another trip around the circle of life you go. Maybe next time, you’ll take my advice and just become pagan.

As for other pagans, we’ll all just go to our respective otherworldly places that we each believe in whether it be the Summerlands or Valhalla or Hades or the Egyptian underworld or just heading into the west a la Lord of the Rings elf-style or well you get the idea. There’s the off chance some might reincarnate because they may need to learn a few more lessons, but hopefully they’ll all just come back as pagans again.

Well, there you have it. Be nice to us pagans and you can’t go wrong.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Finally went for a run. I ran a half mile to Bloor and Park Rd., then a mile back going north on Yonge to Church and then south on Church. My time was a little slow, but decent. I was feeling a little dizzy from the cold. Thinking on top of wearing a hat, I need to wear ear muffs. My ears really can’t take the cold well. The time for the half mile was 5 minutes 14 seconds and the time for the mile was 9 minutes 7 seconds. I’m hoping to get a run in tomorrow.

I did do some pushups when I got back from the run and some free weights for my arms. I felt like my arms were getting weak from not getting to the gym as much as I should lately. I also did some light stretching. I’m fairly flexible, so a short time not doing much stretching doesn’t hurt me as much as missing the running and weight training.

I didn’t get any writing done, so hoping to go for a run tomorrow and come back and do some writing.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

This is just a quick update. Since I’ve been so busy writing lately, I haven’t gotten much training in. 🙁 I did get to the do jang last Monday for taekwondo. Then on Saturday was a black belt meeting, so I had to go to the do jang. We didn’t do much training and because I didn’t get enough sleep, I decided to head home. Next week, I’m hoping to get some more training in though it’s hard to do sometimes when my brain just has too much that needs to be written.

On a good note, I’m just about done writing my Reiki One manual. 🙂 There was much to write and I still have to review it and edit it.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week and hoping I can get some writing done as well as get some exercise. Around March I have to increase the amount of training because I have my black belt test in July. Intense training starts in May and I have to get up to speed again after taking some time off of regular training.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Awhile back, some people asked me what oolong tea is? Not quite sure myself, I jokingly said, “It’s from Oolong.” Afterwards though, I decided to look up oolong tea. This was not the first time I researched the subject of tea though. Awhile back, I was looking up what is packaged as “Chai Tea“. (By the way, since the word “chai” means “tea” in Indian, it is redundant to call it “chai tea” – you are then calling it “tea tea”. What is packaged and sold as “chai tea” is properly called masala chai or masala tea.) This time, I did a bit more research on the subject of tea.

Tea is, in fact, a plant (not really a surprise there). It comes from Camellia sinensis, a bush found primarily in countries such as China and India. The leaves or buds of this plant is harvested to produce the hot drink known as tea. There are generally four major kinds of tea – white, green, oolong, and black – with some variations based on these. Each of these teas is processed differently. The major difference in the process for the teas is whether or not the leaves are oxidised and how long the leaves are oxidised before they are dried. (Please note the term fermentation is often used for this process, but that is an incorrect use of that term, which comes from the process for making wine.)

The not-well-known white tea is made from young leaves that have undergone no oxidation. Live buds receive no sunlight so they never produce the green colour that comes from chlorophyll. This is why white tea is more expensive than the other three kinds of tea.

The quite popular green tea is made by stopping the oxidation process very early on. Because the oxidation needs to be stopped so soon, this tea is made within one to two days after harvesting. This explains why green tea tends to have a lighter flavour than black tea. The nice and subtle jasmine tea is made with green tea and jasmine flowers.

The common black tea is made by allowing the leaves to fully oxidise before drying. The full oxidation of the leaves produces a strong flavour. Black tea is properly known as red tea in Chinese. However, red tea is also used to describe the hot drink made from rooibos, a South African plant not related to Camellia sinensis. True black tea in China is post-fermented tea.

The relatively unfamiliar oolong tea is made by stopping the oxidation process sometime after the deadline for making green tea and before the leaves are fully oxidised (as for black tea). Because of the variation in when the oxidation is stopped, there can be a variety of oolong tea flavours.

There is a yellow tea that is a variation of green tea. The difference between the two is that yellow tea has a slower drying process.

Teas and their processes are described in the Wikipedia article on tea.

Orange pekoe describes the grading of black tea. Despite its name, it does not have any orange flavour in it. This grading system is not used in China and is a term used in the Western tea trade. Orange pekoe generally describes a basic, medium-grade black tea.

Below are some popular black teas:
Darjeeling tea is a black tea that comes from the plant grown in the Darjeeling region of India.
Ceylon tea is a black tea that comes from the plant grown in Sri Lanka.
Assam tea is a black tea that come from the plant grown in Assam, India.
Irish Breakfast tea is a blend of black tea with predominantly Assam teas.
English Breakfast tea is a blend of black tea with predominantly Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan teas.
Earl Grey tea is a black tea blended with bergamot oil to give it a distinctive flavour and aroma.

Masala chai should be specially noted here. It is usually made with black tea or Darjeeling tea, but can be made with green tea or jasmine tea. Masala tea is noted for the blend of spices that produce a nice aromatic tea and is served with sugar and a little milk or cream. Five spices that make a nice masala chai are cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves, and cardamom. There are, however, variations on the spices used.

Since the discovery of tea, the word has been used to describe nearly every hot drink made with a herb, from “chamomile tea” to “summerberry tea” to “rooibos tea”, even if no actual tea is in the drink. These are labelled “herbal teas” by manufacturers to distinguish it from true teas (those made from the tea plant) and is likely the source of the confusion regarding what is tea. Properly, these drinks should be called a tisane or an infusion. Therefore, a cup of hot tea is really an infusion of tea. However, I suppose infusion isn’t a catchy enough word to use on marketing packaging! At least the word tisane has been used by one brand to describe these hot herbal drinks.

Okay, I’m going to go have some hot tea now – and I do mean the real stuff, Camellia sinensis.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and tea fancier
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I came across this little tidbit while doing some reiki research.

While it is true that in Chinese and Japanese culture a baby is considered to be one on the day of birth, it is not because age is counted from the date of conception. First of all, traditionally we wouldn’t know the date of conception and therefore can’t count from that day. (Yes, I realize doctors can count backwards from whatever stage of pregnancy, but I highly doubt that is an accurate way to determine the date of conception.) Secondly, saying that a baby is “one year old” on the day the baby is born implies a pregnancy term of one year.

Now the real reason why a baby is considered to be one on the day of birth is simply because the Chinese and Japanese do not say the baby is “one year old”. The phrase “year old” implies that a year has passed. The proper phrasing is that the baby is “in her first year of life”. In other words, on the day you were born, you started the first year of your life. So, if you are thirty-one years old, in Chinese you would say you are in your thirty-second year.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Okay, I normally don’t do these quizzes. They get passed around so much around the internet and you end up answering the same questions over and over and over again. Since the quiz came through an email list I’m on, I decided to reply and answer the questions. Now, to avoid any further “let’s get to know each other” quizzes, I posted my answers to the questions on here (with maybe some deletions).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
A second house? I don’t even have a first.. yet. So here’s where they would be. One north of this city, because I just can’t seem to leave here, no matter what… been here too long. I’d have a second house somewhere near the Mediterranean or maybe in a mountain in Japan, China, or Korea. (Those mountains are known to be “hot spots” of spiritual energy – great place for meditation!)

2. FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
As in item of clothing? My ritual robes! For normal everyday wear, don’t have a favourite. Depends on the weather. In winter, something cotton and snuggly. In summer, nice loose summer dresses. Overall though, I’m too practical these days about clothes, so despite any favourites, I can be found wearing mostly sports clothes or jeans or cords and a top.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
Hungry Lucy.

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Whatever time my body decides it wants to wake up!

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
Hehe… the good ol’ stove and oven. Can’t do anything without it.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Okay, I can play a clarinet, saxophone (once you learn a clarinet, saxophone is easy), and a little flute (though I’m not quite as good with the flute as with a clarinet), but I haven’t played any of these in years (studied music for 5 years in high school). It will hopefully come back to me when I finally get around to buying a used cheap clarinet to play again. I have practiced drumming off an on. Now, I have to pick only ONE instrument to play…? I’d like to make it through most of the wood winds and learn some stringed instruments (harp, violin), but if I have to pick only one to learn, it’d be the good ol’ classic PIANO.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
Don’t have one. I like all colours… well, except for pink, but only because when I wear it, I look sallow. I guess you could say I like purple more because I love writing in purple.

8. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU LIKE?
If I could have any car – a Jaguar, anything sporty. But lately, I’ve been thinking about horse-drawn carriages for transportation… hehe.

9. IF YOU COULD TELL ANYONE TO SHOVE IT, WHO WOULD IT BE?
I’d have to go with Tamarra’s answer for this one. Steven Harper, but also anyone willing to follow that sort of b/s… okay… going back to my “happy place”.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK?
Probably Alice in Wonderland because I can’t remember any other books from childhood.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Have to go with summer here. I like spring too, but I have too many allergies to actually LOVE spring.

12. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Sue Storm’s ability in Fantastic Four. It’s not just invisibility, but to bend light!

13. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
Don’t have one. If I did, it’d be a rose piercing a heart.

14. NAME ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
My father. I still miss him and have so many questions now.

16. WHAT’S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE DAY?
Days when the moon goes void-of-course and days when the moon energy makes me feel scattered (usually waning moon in Sagittarius or Aquarius or Gemini).

17. WHAT’S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR/TRUCK?
Don’t have a car, truck, etc.

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Definitely Sushi! As long as you don’t mean those rolls, but the real thing… raw fish. Sashimi is sometimes preferable.

19. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL EMAIL THIS TO, WHO’S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
“Georgina, then she will send it on to the entire Sistrum mailing list.” LOL. Good answer, Tamarra.

20. WHO’S LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
My bittersweetheart, Nathan.

21. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM?
Georgina from Sistrum

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Roses and purple coloured flowers.

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Lobster dinner!

24. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?
August 6

25. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS
Hehe… skyclad, it’s more comfy. Clothes get twisted around when I sleep and I hate feeling like my whole body is being choked.

26.DO YOU BELIEVE IN SOME TYPE OF AFTERLIFE?
Hm… find me a Wiccan who doesn’t?

27. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GIFT TO RECEIVE FROM A FRIEND?
A hug!

There! Now, if anyone sends me another of these quizzes, I can tell them to look on here.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Made myself go to the do jang last night. Hehe… had to tear myself away from writing, but the exercise did help clear my head. We had an easy class, just practicing all our kicks on our own. Not an olympic style training class. Phew! I hadn’t exercised for a few days, so I was glad it wasn’t too much cardio.

Today, I need to do more writing.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

It’s been a busy few days. The sabbat Imbolc is upon us and I attended two Imbolc rituals last week (Thursday and Friday). Saturday I had the last little bit of my Reiki course and then had to rush off to my mother’s for Chinese New Year celebration. (For those who don’t know, Chinese New Year’s is the the second new moon after winter solstice.) Since I only had four hours of sleep on Friday night, I was quite exhausted by the time I got home Saturday night (midnight). Because of all the craziness the past weekend, I had Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to work on my Reiki manuals. Yes, I will be teaching Reiki, but I have to get things organized first.

Imbolc (which is traditionally on February 2) falls around the same time as the beginning of spring as marked in the Chinese calendar. This year it is quite close. The beginning of spring in the Chinese calendar occurs when the sun is 315 degrees longitude (or 15 degrees in Aquarius for the astrologers out there). This year the sun reaches this point on February 3. This is also known as “Imbolc crossquarter” (according to Llewellyn’s Witches Datebook) and is thought by some to be the proper timing for Imbolc. This idea does have its merits.

If you study the Chinese lunisolar calendar and then correlate the sabbats with the seasonal markers on that calendar, you can see how evenly the sabbats are placed throughout the year. The Essence of the Chinese Calendar shows these seasonal markers. Looking at the table provided on the web page, we see “Start of Spring” at 315 degrees sun longitude. This would be the sabbat Imbolc. Move down to the vernal equinox at 0 degrees sun longitude and we have the sabbat Ostara. Keep moving down the table, looking for the “start of (season)” and the solstices and equinoxes until you reach the end of the year. Correlating the sabbats with the seasonal markers on the Chinese calendar, we have the following:

Imbolc – start of spring – 315 degrees (15 degrees Aquarius)
Ostara – vernal equinox – 0 degrees (sun enters Aries)
Beltane – start of summer – 45 degrees (15 degrees Taurus)
Midsummer – summer solstice – 90 degrees (sun enters Cancer)
Lughnasadh – start of autumn – 135 degrees (15 degrees Leo)
Harvestide – autumnal equinox – 180 degrees (sun enters Libra)
Samhain – start of winter – 225 degrees (15 degrees Scorpio)
Yule – winter solstice – 270 degrees (sun enters Capricorn)

You will notice that the sabbats are celebrated every 3 solar segments according to this calendar. This I find has a nice balance and makes it easier to understand the sabbats as seasonal events. The other great thing about correlating the sabbats to the Chinese calendar is that the calendar is still in use!

This year, the dates of the sabbats based on the above will be as follows:

Imbolc – February 3
Ostara – March 20
Beltane – May 5
Midsummer – June 21
Lughnasadh – August 7
Harvestide – September 23
Samhain – November 7
Yule – December 21

Well, there you have it – Imbolc really is the start of spring (at least in climates similar to China’s – and the climate there varies depending on your latitude) and it is celebrated when the sun reaches 15 degrees Aquarius.

Bright Imbolc Blessings,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Finally had a chance to run last Friday. Since I had nearly two weeks off from running and not much do jang and gym time, it was rough trying to run again. I also felt a little bloated. I ended up getting a cramp by the time I finished running a half mile – that’s what I get for taking time off. I thought maybe the cramp would go away after I walked for a bit and then started my mile run. It only eased up a bit and after running another half mile, I cramped up again. This time it was much harder to recover from and I ended up walking almost the whole next half mile back. It took me nearly 5 minutes to recover from the cramp. By that time, I was almost home. I decided that I might as well run the rest of the way anyway.

My time for the first half mile was 4 minutes 55 seconds. The time for the second half mile was 4 minutes 39 seconds. At least I did run a total distance of one mile.

Tonight I’m hoping to make it into the do jang. I’ve been busy since last Wednesday and haven’t gone in yet. My Master is probably wondering what happened to me!

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame