tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69936167080025616922024-02-19T18:06:04.713-06:00StregaNola - Stregheria - Nature Speaks3rd degree Arician Priestess of Stregheria... thoughts, insights, wonderings.Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-87927135332975013242022-01-25T19:56:00.003-06:002022-01-31T20:15:17.720-06:00Diana shows the way<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRaEgmwUuOq_DlJbnDqc2RAcrU7_xqiNUuSosWGr7OVTh6uycq67Zvwyea0HzTNRZefjd_S2jQmceHMrg3QjBfKGSBc4AGMoG_elUpujdeWdy-JYnZhxF0SJH4nTBi8G6NNEmg0qvchE0gcQ0OpVKnn-GyG1O9IhbCvFyFtqYWPejPuf0YBu4qUUvIJw=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="758" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRaEgmwUuOq_DlJbnDqc2RAcrU7_xqiNUuSosWGr7OVTh6uycq67Zvwyea0HzTNRZefjd_S2jQmceHMrg3QjBfKGSBc4AGMoG_elUpujdeWdy-JYnZhxF0SJH4nTBi8G6NNEmg0qvchE0gcQ0OpVKnn-GyG1O9IhbCvFyFtqYWPejPuf0YBu4qUUvIJw=s320" width="118" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKL7ZYcEK_1Z_OWz0JUAqQPQRoIYol6zd_nhPazVDRpz0WdnV0JUlQHiyYCpmcski7NuE-h3hwrxMN-6LLwglw-FzM0Jdn7-HUTI-Nziy_2WiJrLuDv65aLNU2-QxGmgB2Bju2cKwXgL6TilVG8086NsoS2FHeqAwUzFABdDDHgXHYGacXuhJdDfejXw=s1637" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1637" data-original-width="1017" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKL7ZYcEK_1Z_OWz0JUAqQPQRoIYol6zd_nhPazVDRpz0WdnV0JUlQHiyYCpmcski7NuE-h3hwrxMN-6LLwglw-FzM0Jdn7-HUTI-Nziy_2WiJrLuDv65aLNU2-QxGmgB2Bju2cKwXgL6TilVG8086NsoS2FHeqAwUzFABdDDHgXHYGacXuhJdDfejXw=s320" width="199" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">I went to the funeral of the mom of a friend from grade school and high school. I've been able to stay Facebook friends with both this friend and her older sister. There are not many of us who are of like minds from my school days. The funeral was a chance to pay respects and see my mom. My mom 7 aunt came from across Lake Pontchartrain - a ~40 mile drive.
<br />When everyone went into the chapel, I just could not do the organized religion thing. So I waited outside until they were done. I wasn't sure if I should have just sucked it up and gone in and sat in the back. Then I turned and saw this lamp and was comforted by the statue of Diana. Essentially saying it's OK. Be your own woman. Be your own light.</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Image Description:</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Brass statue of Diana with her right hand reaching over her shoulder to a quiver of arrows and her left hand on the head of an antlered deer. No bow. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Statue is the base of a lamp on a round table with a pink marble inset top. Through the windows there is a view of a covered porch, the lawn and, the street in the background.</span></div></div>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-67206084790940508552017-02-02T01:12:00.002-06:002022-11-06T21:39:29.581-06:00Lupercus<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Cabin, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9775rem; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
In Germany it used to be said:</div>
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A shepherd would rather see a wolf enter his stable on Candlemas Day than see the sun shine.</div>
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<span face="Cabin, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 30.3787px;"><a href="http://earthsky.org/human-world/everything-you-need-to-know-about-groundhog-day">http://earthsky.org/human-world/everything-you-need-to-know-about-groundhog-day</a></span></span></div>
Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-38687712507991750432014-10-18T12:24:00.002-05:002022-11-06T22:38:41.289-06:00Dying AND LIVING!!!!<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/16/health/dying-regret-body-hate/index.html?sr=fb101714dyingregret6pStoryLink" target="_blank">article</a> is worthy of a read.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"I'd never admit it to my husband and kids, but more than anything else, it's my own body I'll miss most of all. This body that danced and ate and swam and had sex and made babies. It's amazing to think about it. This body actually made my children. It carried me through this world."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"...About how the apples they stole from the orchard on the way home from school tasted, and how their legs and lungs burned as they ran away. The feel of the water the first time they went skinny-dipping. The smell of their babies' heads. The breeze on their skin the first time they made love outside."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"And dancing."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Charge of Aradia recommends:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"And you shall rejoice, and sing; making music and low. For this is the essence of spirit, and the knowledge of joy."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Perhaps we should listen....</span></span>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-9037838844680897482014-10-17T12:58:00.000-05:002014-10-18T12:59:08.034-05:00Lucky Places and Superstitions in ItalyThis <a href="http://www.swide.com/photo-gallery/art-culture-photo-gallery/top-5-places-to-wish-for-good-luck-in-italy-including-rome-and-florence/2014/10/17/1-5" target="_blank">website has photos & stories</a> of the 5 "luckiest" places in Italy:<br />
Verona, Milan, Rome, Verona, Naples, Rome<br />
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As well as a <a href="http://www.swide.com/art-culture/italian-superstitions-list/2014/10/17" target="_blank">link </a>to Italian superstitions.Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-72625760796564797882014-09-02T10:09:00.002-05:002014-09-02T10:09:40.503-05:00Maybe Frank Sinatra was a closet Stregone...Sources listed below<br />
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<a href="http://deadstate.org/frank-sinatras-views-on-organized-religion-were-decades-ahead-of-his-time/">http://deadstate.org/frank-sinatras-views-on-organized-religion-were-decades-ahead-of-his-time/</a><br />
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<a href="http://sinatrafamily.com/forum/showthread.php/29275-Frank-Sinatra-s-1963-Playboy-Magazine-Interview">http://sinatrafamily.com/forum/showthread.php/29275-Frank-Sinatra-s-1963-Playboy-Magazine-Interview</a> <<< Full Interview in parts, with comments.<br />
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<a href="http://longform.org/stories/playboy-interview-frank-sinatra">http://longform.org/stories/playboy-interview-frank-sinatra</a> <<< Full Interview<br />
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"The interview originally appeared in Playboy Magazine in 1963, and it demonstrates the timeless performer’s incredibly deep and evolved thoughts on organized religion – thoughts that rival many of today’s scholarly critics of faith.</div>
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Check out this excerpt:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> Are you a religious man? Do you believe in God?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> Well, that’ll do for openers. I think I can sum up my religious feelings in a couple of paragraphs. First: I believe in you and me. I’m like Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in that I have a respect for life — in any form. I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky, in everything I can see or that there is real evidence for. If these things are what you mean by God, then I believe in God. But I don’t believe in a personal God to whom I look for comfort or for a natural on the next roll of the dice. I’m not unmindful of man’s seeming need for faith; I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. But to me religion is a deeply personal thing in which man and God go it alone together, without the witch doctor in the middle. The witch doctor tries to convince us that we have to ask God for help, to spell out to him what we need, even to bribe him with prayer or cash on the line. Well, I believe that God knows what each of us wants and needs. It’s not necessary for us to make it to church on Sunday to reach Him. You can find Him anyplace. And if that sounds heretical, my source is pretty good: Matthew, Five to Seven, The Sermon on the Mount.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> You haven’t found any answers for yourself in organized religion?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> There are things about organized religion which I resent. Christ is revered as the Prince of Peace, but more blood has been shed in His name than any other figure in history. You show me one step forward in the name of religion and I’ll show you a hundred retrogressions. Remember, they were men of God who destroyed the educational treasures at Alexandria, who perpetrated the Inquisition in Spain, who burned the witches at Salem. Over 25,000 organized religions flourish on this planet, but the followers of each think all the others are miserably misguided and probably evil as well. In India they worship white cows, monkeys and a dip in the Ganges. The Moslems accept slavery and prepare for Allah, who promises wine and revirginated women. And witch doctors aren’t just in Africa. If you look in the L.A. papers of a Sunday morning, you’ll see the local variety advertising their wares like suits with two pairs of pants.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> Hasn’t religious faith just as often served as a civilizing influence?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> Remember that leering, cursing lynch mob in Little Rock reviling a meek, innocent little 12-year-old Negro girl as she tried to enroll in public school? Weren’t they — or most of them — devout churchgoers? I detest the two-faced who pretend liberality but are practiced bigots in their own mean little spheres. I didn’t tell my daughter whom to marry, but I’d have broken her back if she had had big eyes for a bigot. As I see it, man is a product of his conditioning, and the social forces which mold his morality and conduct — including racial prejudice — are influenced more by material things like food and economic necessities than by the fear and awe and bigotry generated by the high priests of commercialized superstition. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m for decency — period. I’m for anything and everything that bodes love and consideration for my fellow man. But when lip service to some mysterious deity permits bestiality on Wednesday and absolution on Sunday — cash me out.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> But aren’t such spiritual hypocrites in a minority? Aren’t most Americans fairly consistent in their conduct within the precepts of religious doctrine?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> I’ve got no quarrel with men of decency at any level. But I can’t believe that decency stems only from religion. And I can’t help wondering how many public figures make avowals of religious faith to maintain an aura of respectability. Our civilization, such as it is, was shaped by religion, and the men who aspire to public office anyplace in the free world must make obeisance to God or risk immediate opprobrium. Our press accurately reflects the religious nature of our society, but you’ll notice that it also carries the articles and advertisements of astrology and hokey Elmer Gantry revivalists. We in America pride ourselves on freedom of the press, but every day I see, and so do you, this kind of dishonesty and distortion not only in this area but in reporting — about guys like me, for instance, which is of minor importance except to me; but also in reporting world news. How can a free people make decisions without facts? If the press reports world news as they report about me, we’re in trouble.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> Are you saying that . . .</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> No, wait, let me finish. Have you thought of the chance I’m taking by speaking out this way? Can you imagine the deluge of crank letters, curses, threats and obscenities I’ll receive after these remarks gain general circulation? Worse, the boycott of my records, my films, maybe a picket line at my opening at the Sands. Why? Because I’ve dared to say that love and decency are not necessarily concomitants of religious fervor.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Playboy:</strong> If you think you’re stepping over the line, offending your public or perhaps risking economic suicide, shall we cut this off now, erase the tape and start over along more antiseptic lines?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sinatra:</strong> No, let’s let it run. I’ve thought this way for years, ached to say these things. Whom have I harmed by what I’ve said? What moral defection have I suggested? No, I don’t want to chicken out now. Come on, pal, the clock’s running."</div>
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The clock is running... Wake up...Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-20932785405247042212014-07-12T14:21:00.000-05:002014-09-02T14:22:09.988-05:00The Teachings of the Tree<div class="clearfix mbs pbs _1_m" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;">
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<a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="https://www.facebook.com/raven.grimassi/posts/10204590700711721" style="color: #9197a3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">July 13</a> near <a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Springfield-Massachusetts/112781448736001?ref=stream" style="color: #9197a3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Springfield, MA</a> · <a ajaxify="/ajax/edits/browser/post/?content_token=10204590700711721" aria-label="Show edit history" class="uiLinkSubtle" data-ft="{"tn":"+E"}" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/raven.grimassi#" rel="dialog" role="button" style="color: #9197a3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Edited</a><a aria-label="Public" class="uiStreamPrivacy inlineBlock fbStreamPrivacy fbPrivacyAudienceIndicator _1_o" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/raven.grimassi#" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; margin-left: 6px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; top: 1px; zoom: 1;"><i class="lock img sp_w9AFbr5BUgM sx_d571a5" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yY/r/zpitYW9WIA-.png); background-position: -144px -108px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; bottom: -1px; display: inline-block; height: 12px; margin-bottom: -5px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; width: 12px;"></i></a></div>
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This is something I wrote several years ago, and I want to share it again. Perhaps someone out there needs to reflect upon this particular teaching. I often do.<br /><br />It is conveyed in metaphor and allegory, coming from the Greenwood Wisdom for us all:<br /><br />The Teachings of the Tree<br /><br />* Have a position with deep roots in your understanding of it, and stand firm in your place within the world.<br /><br />* Reach upw<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ard to touch lofty things, and outward to extend yourself to the world.<br /><br />* Provide shade for those who need rest, and shelter for those who come to you.<br /><br />* Bear fruit, and be abundant.<br /><br />* In the Winters of your life, conserve your resources.<br /><br />* In your Springs, take advantage of the opportunities for new growth.<br /><br />* In your Summers, expand, thrive, and reach new heights.<br /><br />* In your Falls, release what no longer serves your well-being, make preparations, and await renewal.<br /><br />* When all is said and done, leave behind some seeds.</span></div>
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Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-69352405912887778272013-12-20T14:58:00.000-06:002013-12-20T14:58:00.165-06:00Winter Sun<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/streganola36/6614579915/" title="IMAG0958-1 by StregaNola, on Flickr"><img alt="IMAG0958-1" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6614579915_bbb441bd18.jpg" width="275" /></a>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-15128687859774520992013-07-19T09:13:00.000-05:002013-07-21T09:55:04.427-05:00Energy Interactions"Energies are constantly transmitted and received in a kind of universal Ping-Pong tournament. Energy is information and it’s swirling all around us.<br />
Energies intersect and sync up all the time. One form of energy may be more influential than another but usually when energies collide both are changed in some way. We know that heart and brain wave patterns as well as magnetic fields sync up among humans and across species. We can measure this now. Energy exchanges happen all the time, mostly below the level of your awareness. Yet they still impact you."<br />
<br />
From: <a href="http://blackcoffeepoet.com/2013/07/15/op-ed-laughter-and-orgasm-is-mainstream-science-catching-up-to-indigenous-wisdom/">http://blackcoffeepoet.com/2013/07/15/op-ed-laughter-and-orgasm-is-mainstream-science-catching-up-to-indigenous-wisdom/</a>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-31456507010827451202013-06-20T00:37:00.000-05:002013-06-20T00:37:00.719-05:00THE SONG OF THE WITCHES ROUND THE WALNUT-TREE OF BENEVENTUM<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
An old poem that appeared in: BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY. VOL. XVII. (1845). </div>
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Shared by Raven Grimassi. Thanks Raven.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span><span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hail
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to <span class="gstxthlt"><span>thee, </span></span><br />Weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree</span></span>! <br />All hail to thee ! all hail
to thee ! <br />We are come, we are come, we are come from afar, <br />By the
glancing light of the shooting-star ; <br />Some from the south, and some from the
north, <br />From the east, and the west, we are all come forth,— <br />Some o'er
the land, and some o'er the sea. <br />To hold our sabbath 'neath the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree, </span></span><br />That tree of the awful and
mystic spell, <br />Where we dance the roundels we love so well. <br />The gentle
witch of Capua, who comes of a gentle kind, <br />Hath floated softly hither on
the wings of the western wind ; <br />The gentle witch, whose witcheries the
Capuan youth beguile, <br />With her arching brows, and her cherry lips, and'her
everchanging smile : <br />But, though beauteous, and fair, and gentle she be,
<br />She must come and bend to the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree.
</span></span><br />And Medea is here from her Colchian home, <br />A dragon she
rides through the white sea-foam. <br />Look at her eye with its cold blue glare ;
<br />As lief rouse a lioness from her lair. <br />But, though murd'ress and
fratricide she may be, <br />She must come and bend to the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree. </span></span><br />And who is the seer with the
locks so white, <br />The wrinkled brow, and the eye so bright?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">His tottering limbs have been hither borne <br />By a
magic staff of the wild blackthorn, <br />And from Vetulonia'a halls wends he,
<br />To come and bend to the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree.
</span></span><br />Perimeda is here, with the golden hair, <br />Beauteous, and
blooming, and buoyant, and fair; <br />She has come in a car drawn by peacocks
three, <br />To bend at the shrme of the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree. </span></span><br />And the fairy Calypso has
sped from her home ;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">She has left her grotto and hyacinth flowers,— <br />Her
fruit-trees, and birds that sing all the day long,—</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Her gardens, and violet-scented bowers ; <br />In a
nautilus-shell, so pearly and clear,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">She has sailed from her isle in the Grecian Sea, <br />To
join in our mystic roundels here,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And bend to the wondrous <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree. </span></span><br />Hecate, hail! Hecate, hail!
<br />Far hast thou travell'd o'er hill and dale; <br />By the dead man's tomb thou
hast stopped to alight, <br />Where the Lemures gibber the livelong night, <br />And
the ghoules eat the corpse by the wan moonlight, <br />For such arc the scenes
where thou takest delight. <br />Hail to thee, Hecate, once and twice! <br />And
hail to thee, Hecate ; hail to thee thrice! <br />The Queen of Hades' realm is
here, <br />Bow to her, wizard, and witch, and seer! <br />But, though the Queen of
Hades she be, <br />She must come and bend to the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree. </span></span><br />And Gerda has hurried from
far Iceland, <br />She of the ruthless and red right-hand ; <br />A kraken has
carried her o'er the sea, <br />To come and bend to the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut.</span></span>tree. <br />We are come, we are come, we
are come from afar, <br />By the glancing light of the shooting star ; <br />Some
from the south, and some from the north, <br />From the east and the west we are
all come forth , <br />Some o'er the land, and some o'er the sea, <br />To hold our
sabbath 'neath the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree.
</span></span><br />Then a song to the tree, the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree</span></span>; <br />The king and the chief of
trees is he ; <br />For, though ragged, and gnarl'd, and wither'd, and bare,
<br />We bow the knee, and we offer the prayer <br />To the weird <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree </span></span>on the mystic night, <br />When we
hold our sabbath 'neath the pale moonlight. <br />Hail to Taburnus. that mount of
power, <br />And to Sabatus' stream in this witching hour ! <br />And hail to the
serpent who twines round the tree, <br />Whose age is known but to wizards three,
<br />Who was brought from the land of ice and snow <br />By Saturn, in ages long,
long ago, <br />And who sucks the blood of one of our band, <br />Whene'er 'neath
the tree we take our stand. <br />Hail to them each, and hail to them all <.
<br />Ho ! come with a whoop, and a shout, and a call! <br />Join hand in hand, and
foot it full free, <br />Let us bound and dance round the <span class="gstxthlt"><span>walnut-tree. </span></span><br />Elelen ! Elelen ! Evoe !
Evoe ! <br />For the <span class="gstxthlt"><span>witches </span></span>who leap
round the weird </span><span class="gstxthlt"><span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">walnut-tree.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">C. H. L.</span></span></div>
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Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-17507714971055847022013-06-10T16:12:00.000-05:002013-06-10T16:12:00.317-05:00Ancient CultureI know it looks modern.... but the video is anything but...... just listen
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9c8an2XZ3MU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-33573082466106190082013-05-25T20:26:00.002-05:002013-05-25T20:26:51.012-05:00A good dog's last morning and the comforting power of nature: Oliver Houck<a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/05/a_good_dogs_last_morning_and_t.html" target="_blank">A good dog's last morning and the comforting power of nature: Oliver Houck</a><br />published in The Times Picayune<br />
<br />
<em>"My dog died Thursday morning. We'd found her 17 years ago on the side of a dirt road, coming out of the Atchafalaya swamp. The vet said that she was 5 or 6 weeks old. She was the size of a squirrel and all scab and mange. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
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<em>I tucked her in my lap behind the steering wheel figuring I'd give her to one of my students, who were waiting at another landing. But in the period of that short drive, maybe 20 minutes, I became aware that I wasn't going to give her to anyone at all.</em></div>
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<em>We'd since done many things together, </em><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/09/17/140553646/on-the-edge-in-mississippi-residents-cling-to-land"><em>roaming the batture</em></a><em>, me looking for berries and she the sign of rabbit. Once paddling out of the Pearl, Ms. Bear up in the bow like a hood ornament, we passed a fisherman who looked over at us and asked, absolutely straight faced, "don' he paddle?" There is a lot to remember.</em></div>
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<em>Thursday morning was something of a miracle, indeed two of them. They say that a dog will tell you when it's time to go, and we had been getting signals through the week. At this point she'd lost motion at the rear end, and her eyes were vague. </em><br />
<em>Still, I held out hope. But her last night was turbulent. The dog who never complained whined for hours, nothing was comfortable, so around 4:30 we got up, and I took her out onto the grass. Miracle No. 1, she quieted right down, and I held her, and we saw the dawn together in peace. </em><br />
<br />
<em>The first cardinal, a crow flew over, a mockingbird started up, my neighbor David dragged his trash container to the street, a junker car chugged right through the stop sign, the driver drinking coffee at the wheel.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Looking back on it, Ms. Bear had told me it was time to go. And we found the perfect place to wait it out, under the morning sky. What she was thinking out there I cannot say, but I'd say she felt wired to something huge and beautiful and that was enough. It is also enough for kids in trouble, for adults in pain, for all those folks walking along Bayou St. John and the oval at Audubon Park. There doesn't have to be much nature. But it can do so much. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>The vet came later in the morning, and we put her down. It was the kindest thing we could do.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Then the second miracle happened. Lisa and I went back inside to gather ourselves for the day. Neither of us had gotten much sleep. Lisa was still on the porch when I heard her calling to me. When I arrived, she was pointing to the neighboring yard where a tall white egret was stalking the grass. It went very carefully, a slow ballet, cocking the head, leaning the long neck down, zapping something, a quick swallow and then on.</em><br />
<em>It is still out there, as I write. I have never seen a white egret hunting in this neighborhood, ever, and it's been nearly 30 years. It came this one morning.</em><br />
<br />
<em>My mother died a few years ago. She was 101, and it was her time too. We took her ashes to a field she had loved as a girl and stood in a line, facing the trees, while a minister said a prayer. As the minister was finishing, behind his back, a large falcon darted out from the woods and flew the entire tree line, wheeled, flew it the other way, and then was gone. I saw my mother leaving.</em><br />
<br />
<em>I am not a spiritualist. I do not worship birds and trees. But there is a connection between the peace Ms. Bear and I found early Thursday morning outside in the dawn, and the egret, and the falcon. I do not know exactly what it is, <strong>but it is."</strong></em><br />
<br />
Oliver A. Houck is a professor of law at Tulane University. He is the author of "Down on the Batture."Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-30185414375514378582013-02-25T20:55:00.000-06:002013-02-25T20:55:00.091-06:00Full Moon Rising<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/58385453" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-56933622031417660842013-02-14T04:00:00.000-06:002013-02-14T04:00:12.617-06:00It's enough. It's plentyDear Human: <br />
<br />
You’ve got it all wrong. <br />
<br />
You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. <br />
<br />
Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. <br />
<br />
You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering. But unconditional love? Stop telling that story. <br />
<br />
Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives. It doesn’t require modifiers. It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. <br />
And do your best.<br />That you stay present and feel fully.<br />That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU. <br />
<br />
It’s enough. <br />
It’s plenty.<br />
<br />
- Courtney A. WalshNolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-75353053288079797872013-02-02T23:07:00.000-06:002013-02-02T23:07:00.676-06:00Mardi Gras Links And LupercusThis <a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/02/a_living_carnival_takes_all_co.html" target="_blank">opinion piece was posted in 2012 by a local New Orleanian C. W Cannon</a>. It contrasts the "rich person's Mardi Gras" with the Mardi Gras that developed in the past 20 years <a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/02/legacy_of_former_new_orleans_c.html" target="_blank">since the old line Krewe's were forced to integrate</a>. The Mardi Gras we have today is better than the Mardi Gras of 20 years ago because we New Orleanians have begun to move back to smaller scale groups of individuals who costume and parade without enormous budgets. <a href="http://www.nola.com/mardigras/index.ssf/2012/02/miniature_carnival_parade_form.html" target="_blank">'Tit Rex</a> is a parady of the old line monied Rex and pays tribute to the shoebox float that ever New Orleanian school kid has made at least once. <a href="http://www.kreweduvieux.org/" target="_blank">Krewe du Vieux</a> makes fine art of satire. I will love them forever for the 2006 Mardi Gras "Corps of Engineers we hold nothing back" and "Meet me at the Breech" displays. Carnival is where we turn our ordered patterned world on it's head. Where we break loose and, as Cannon says, "the cultural concept of Carnival is to turn against, invert, or critique the broader culture in which it is enveloped."<br />
<br />
And <a href="http://toulousestreet.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/adiu-paure-carnaval-4/" target="_blank">Mark Folse a local blogger posted</a> about another blogger who wrote extensively about <a href="http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/carnival-time-in-the-occitan-region-of-france/" target="_blank">France's Occtican Carnival</a>. (One of my favorite parts of the world). This talks about how Carnival prepares us for the shift between Winter and Spring. How we revel in the wild and cleanse the old year away. If the pictures of "Spring's Wild Forces" doesn't make you think wild thoughts, nothing will.<br />
<br />
I have always said that Mardi Gras was perfectly aligned with Lupercus these posts reinforce that for me. So please take <a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-howling.html" target="_blank">time to howl for Lupercus</a> and this carnival season. People have known for centuries that it's good for the body and the soul.<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-35470499509956904902013-01-26T19:38:00.000-06:002013-01-26T19:38:00.495-06:00THE WHITE WITCH - Charles GrantTHE WHITE WITCH <br /><br />"O What have you seen, my son, my son, <br />That your
eyes are so wild and bright? <br />Or what have you heard in the eerie woods,
<br />'Twixt the gloaming and the night?" <br /><br />"I have met a witch, a white
white witch, <br />My mother, mother dear; <br />The glamour of earth is on my eyes,
<br />And its music in my ear.<br /><br />"For we are deafen'd by angry words,<br />Are
blinded by tears of woe, <br />But she has garner'd the secret joys <br />That only
the genii know;<br /><br />"Has learn'd from the voice of the fern-hid
stream<br />Where all sweet thoughts abide, <br />And the violets have told her how
they dream <br />In the quiet eventide; <br /><br />"And they fancy, mother, the world
above<br />Where the baby cloudlets play<br />Yearns down to the earth in mystic
love<br />That shall never pass away.<br /><br />"The greenwood knows it; of this
sweet thought<br />Its murmuring tunes are made, <br />And the strange wild tale
that is ever wrought <br />Through its sunshine and its shade.<br /><br />"And the
holy moon, as she moves along<br />From star to star on high, <br />Pours forth her
light as a bridal song <br />And a tender lullaby.<br /><br />"O mother, my mother,
mother dear,<br />Who may the white witch be? <br />She has heard the things we
cannot hear, <br />She has seen what we cannot see;<br /><br />"The beauty that comes
in fitful gleams,<br />That comes, but will not stay, <br />The music that steals
across our dreams <br />From a region far away;<br /><br />"What vainly I sought in
pain and doubt,<br />The light, the form, the tone, <br />At a single glance she has
found them out, <br />And made them all her own.<br /><br />"And with all the music we
cannot hear,<br />The beauty we cannot see, <br />O mother, mother, my mother dear,
<br />She has wrought a charm on me."<br /><br />[from Studies in Verse, by Charles
Grant. London: John Pearson York Street Covent Garden 1875]<br />
<br />
<em>with thanks to Raven Grimassi for sharing.</em>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-7123471137591771382013-01-19T11:15:00.002-06:002013-01-19T11:15:43.888-06:00Carnival & LupercusLupercus is a celebration of the power of wild, of freedom, of being purified of the trappings of civilation. It connects us to Nature, the Great Teacher. It is not Imbolc and lambs and milking. It is the polar opposite of Imbolc. <br />
<br />
Carnival in New Orleans is a season perfectly aligned with Lupercus. <br />
Tonight the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/briandenzer/posts/140710926087780#!/pages/Krewe-du-Vieux/61137073952?sk=info" target="_blank">Krewe du Vieux</a> parade will roll in New Orleans<br />
<div class="mhl">
<em>"The Krewe du Vieux is a non-profit organization dedicated to the historical and traditional concept of a Mardi Gras parade as a venue for individual creative expression and satirical comment. It is unique among all Mardi Gras parades in the city because it alone carries on the old traditions of Carnival celebrations, by using decorated mule-drawn floats with satirical themes, accompanied by costumed revelers dancing in the streets to the sounds of jazzy street musicians. We believe in exposing the world to the true nature of Mardi Gras—and in exposing ourselves to the world."</em></div>
<br />
Looks like this Krewe took the lessons of Umberto Eco to heart.<br />
<em>"Carnival, in order to be enjoyed, requires that rules and rituals be parodied, and that these rules and rituals already be recognized and respected. One must know to what degree certain behaviors are forbidden, and must feel the majesty of the forbidding norm, to appreciate their transgression. Without a valid law to break, carnival is impossible. During the Middle Ages, counterrituals such as the Mass of the Ass or the coronation of the Fool were enjoyable just because, during the rest of the year, the Holy Mass and the true King’s coronation were sacred and respectable activities. The Coena Cypriani quoted by Bachtin, a burlesque representation based upon the subversion of topical situations of the Scriptures, was enjoyed as a comic transgression only by people who took the same Scriptures seriously during the rest of the year. To a modern reader, the Coena Cypriani is only a boring series of meaningless situations, and even though the parody is recognized, it is not felt as a provocative one. Thus the prerequisites of a ‘good’ carnival are: (i) the law must be so pervasively and profoundly introjected as to be overwhelmingly present at the moment of its violation (and this explains why ‘barbaric’ comedy is hardly understandable); (ii) the moment of carnivalization must be very short, and allowed only once a year (semel in anno licet insanire); an everlasting carnival does not work: an entire year of ritual observance is needed in order to make the transgression enjoyable.<br /> <br /> Carnival can exist only as an authorized transgression (which in fact represents a blatant case of contradicto in adjecto or of happy double binding — capable of curing instead of producing neurosis). If the ancient, religious carnival was limited in time, the modern mass-carnival is limited in space: it is reserved for certain places, certain streets, or framed by the television screen.<br /> <br /> In this sense, comedy and carnival are not instances of real transgressions: on the contrary, they represent paramount examples of law reinforcement. They remind us of the existence of the rule.<br /> <br /> Carnivalization can act as a revolution (Rabelais, or Joyce) when it appears unexpectedly, frustrating social expectations. But on the one side it produces its own mannerism (it is reabsorbed by society) and on the other side it is acceptable when performed within the limits of a laboratory situation (literature, stage, screen …). When an unexpected and nonauthorized carnivalization suddenly occurs in ‘real’ everday life, it is interpreted as revolution (campus confrontations, ghetto riots, blackouts, sometimes true ‘historical’ revolutions). But even revolutions produce a restoration of their own (revolutionary rules, another contradicto in adjecto) in order to install their new social model. Otherwise they are not effective revolutions, but only uprisings, revolts, transitory social disturbances.<br /> <br /> In a world dominated by diabolical powers, in a world of everlasting transgression, nothing remains comic or carnivalesque, nothing can any longer become an object of parody."</em><br /><br />
Umberto Eco, “The frames of comic ‘freedom’,” _Carnivale!_, Ed. Thomas A. Sebeok. Berlin: Mouton, 1984Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-64123550188727346362013-01-13T01:50:00.000-06:002013-01-13T01:50:00.368-06:00Deep Time .... is SlowStill ruminating on <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-community/slow-is-beautiful-why-learning-how-to-slow-down-is-the-key-to-simple-living.aspx?page=4#ixzz2HMrEfdyW" target="_blank">this Article from Mother Earth News</a><br />
<br />
<em>"...German environmental thinker Wolfgang Sachs <snip> believes that speed is an under-recognized factor fueling environmental problems. As he puts it, <strong>“It’s possible to talk about the ecological crisis as a collision between time scales — the fast time scale of modernity crashing up against the slow time scale of nature and the earth.”</strong> In his view, genetic engineering, with all its potential for ecological havoc, is an example of how we interfere with natural processes in the name of speeding up evolution."</em><br />
The geologist in me LOVES <strong>this</strong>. It is only this view of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_time" target="_blank">deep time</a>" that will save us from ourselves.<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-46942849921470241052013-01-12T17:11:00.001-06:002013-01-12T17:11:39.927-06:00Lord, I love this city!!!!We talk to strangers like they are our best friends.<br />
<br />
<em>Now, this being New Orleans and, especially, this being the Rouses on Carrollton, the gentleman didn't just unload his basket.</em><br />
<em>No.</em><br />
<em>He started a conversation with anyone who would listen about why he had selected said items in his basket. Turns out he was having foot surgery (right foot, in case you were wondering) and was about to be laid up for about five days.</em><br />
<em>"I don't got nobody to take care of me, so I thought I'd make my first pot of red beans and rice to eat on."</em><br />
<em>Just as he was asking the cashier to help him make sure he had all the right ingredients, a woman standing behind me chimed in, "Why would you make red beans and rice? Just go to Popeyes. They have the best."</em><br />
<em>Well, that did it. All hell broke loose between checkout lines 5, 6 and 7. Right there at the Rouses on Carrollton.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
Read the rest here:<br />
<a href="http://nolavie.com/2013/01/love-nola-to-popeyes-or-not-to-popeyes-50639.html">http://nolavie.com/2013/01/love-nola-to-popeyes-or-not-to-popeyes-50639.html</a>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-15428375481059206782013-01-10T22:27:00.000-06:002013-01-10T23:09:46.830-06:00Food Inc & Small MovesOur modern American lifestyle is at complete odds with living in harmony with the Earth and Nature. Living in harmony with the Earth & Nature starts with "awareness" and a willingness to try to change, a willingness to make the small changes that build up. As Streghe, pagan, the spritually eco-aware, we are swimming against the tide. And it's a corporate tide and a powerful one. <br />
<br />
<strong>Take the time to watch the movie </strong><a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/" target="_blank"><strong>Food Inc.</strong></a> Become aware of the corporate tide that affects everyone because it affects the very food we eat to survive. Watch how Monsanto <a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2009/03/words-of-aradia-concerning-earth.html#uds-search-results" target="_blank">strives against the forces of Nature</a>. Realize how foolish this is and then with this awareness, begin to make changes in your life. A new awareness can be overwhelming. How, with a problem that large and complex, can <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=316781408434309&set=a.294550670657383.60862.238484846263966&type=1&theater" target="_blank">one person</a> make <a href="http://www.osgata.org/" target="_blank">a difference</a>? The only way to "eat an elephant" is "one bite at a time".<br />
<br />
Which brings me to Small Moves. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(film)" target="_blank">Contact </a>(1997) is one of my favorite movies and "Small Moves" one of my favorite quotes. Yes Nature has "big events": Hurricanes, land slides.... but most of the time Nature is slow and steady and subtle. Evolution. Geologic ages. Human maturation.... <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oB6NNbFHjCc" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">So become aware </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">and then choose your own "Small Moves".</span>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-85107024688703679852013-01-09T01:37:00.000-06:002013-01-09T23:27:59.668-06:00Slow Down... reconnect with NatureStill reading and ruminating on this <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-community/slow-is-beautiful-why-learning-how-to-slow-down-is-the-key-to-simple-living.aspx?page=3" target="_blank">Mother Earth New Article </a><br />
<br />
Environmental activist <a href="http://www.foet.org/books/time-wars.html" target="_blank">Jeremy Rifkin</a> was one of the first to raise questions about the desirability of speed in his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671671588/qid=1149210695/sr=1-11/ref=sr_1_11/002-0334537-5173656?s=books&v=glance&n=283155" target="_blank">1987 book <em>Time Wars</em></a>:<br />
<em>"We have quickened the pace of life only to become less patient. We have become more organized but less spontaneous, less joyful. We are better prepared to act on the future but less able to enjoy the present and reflect on the past.</em> <br />
<em>As the tempo of modern life has continued to accelerate, we have come to feel increasingly out of touch with the biological rhythms of the planet, unable to experience a close connection with the natural environment. <strong>The human time world is no longer joined to the incoming and outgoing tides, the rising and setting sun, and the changing seasons. Instead, humanity has created an artificial time environment punctuated by mechanical contrivances and electronic impulses.</strong></em> "<br />
<br />
Pagans go out of their way to be attuned to the solar cycle, be that the daily or yearly cycle, or the the cycle of the moon and the wheel of the year. And that is what makes Pagans "Radicals", even if they don't think of themselves in that way. <br />
<br />
If Nature is the Great Teacher then how can Streghe not work to stay "in touch with the biological rhythms of the planet"?<br />
<br />
This is taken from the Summer Solstice Ritual <br />
in <a href="http://www.ravensloft.biz/items/books/witchcraft-and-wicca/italian-witchcraft-grimassi-stregheria-detail.htm"><span style="color: #de7008;">Italian
Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi</span></a>:<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">“O spirits of the Elemental forces, hear me. And receive our blessings. O
spirits of the earth. O powers that be, hear me and receive our blessings.
Assist us on this sacred night to maintain the natural balance which keeps
vital the essence of the earth. Let there always be clear flowing water,
freshness in the air, fertility within the soil and abundant life within the
world.”</span></em></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-29956921974940189272013-01-08T17:29:00.002-06:002013-01-08T19:38:40.785-06:00Can we talk about Global Warming now?Information below taken from Wired.Com<br />
Click the link for more information<br />
<a href="http://www.wired.com/design/2013/01/australia-temperature-map/">http://www.wired.com/design/2013/01/australia-temperature-map/</a><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-142443" data-lazy-loaded="true" height="412" jquery17201459168829407893="111" scrollin="0" sonarbodyheight="5208" sonarelemtop="409" src="http://www.wired.com/design/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/australia-heat-map.jpg" style="display: inline; zoom: 1;" title="australia-heat-map" width="660" /><br />
<em>"What happens when a changing climate exceeds the operating parameters of the stuff we own? While we in the northern hemisphere make jokes about </em><a href="http://www.wired.com/design/2013/01/pykrete-snow-fort/"><em>indestructible snow forts</em></a><em>, it is getting hot in Australia. How hot? So hot that Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology had to add new colors to its </em><a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml?type=T&level=2m&tz=AEDT&area=Au&model=G&chartSubmit=Refresh+View"><em>weather map</em></a><em>. Now, those unfortunate parts of Australia that achieve temperatures above 122ºF (50ºC) — temperatures that were, until recently, literally off the scale — will be marked in deep purple and terrifying hot pink. It is an interesting moment in data visualization history when climate scientists find themselves in the position of revising the upper bounds of temperatures they ever expected to depict."</em><br />
<br />
<u>And if you think it can't happen here, </u><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=168881610" target="_blank">Listen to this NPR Story</a><u>.</u><br />
<em>"A brutal combination of a widespread drought and a mostly absent winter pushed the average annual U.S. temperature last year up to 55.32 degrees Fahrenheit, the government announced Tuesday. That's a full degree warmer than the old record set in 1998.</em><br />
<em>Breaking temperature records by an entire degree is unprecedented, scientists say. Normally, records are broken by a tenth of a degree or so."<br /></em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2012-hottest-year-on-record-in-continental-us-noaa-says/2013/01/08/5c9dc1ae-55d9-11e2-8b9e-dd8773594efc_story.html" target="_blank">And read more here.</a>Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-13043973251551377612013-01-07T23:24:00.000-06:002013-01-10T23:09:05.662-06:00Slow Down.... pare back...The long days of Winter are times when our lives should naturally slow down.<br />
<br />
The bare days of Winter are time when we should be able to see the structure and bones of our existence and be better able to see what is worth our efforts when the the world warms up and the trees leaf out. <br />
<br />
Take your time and <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-community/slow-is-beautiful-why-learning-how-to-slow-down-is-the-key-to-simple-living.aspx" target="_blank">read this Article from Mother Earth News</a>.<br />
The italicized quotes below are from the article.<br />
<br />
<em>"No matter how fast we go, no matter how many comforts we forgo in order to quicken our pace, there never seems to be enough time."</em><br />
<em></em> <br />
<em>"Curiously, there has been scant public discussion about this dramatic speed-up of society. People may complain about how busy they are, how overloaded modern life has become, but speed is still viewed as generally positive — something that will help us all enrich our lives.</em> "<br />
<br />
This is so much like my day:<br />
<em>"The alarm rings and you hop out of bed. Another day is off and running. A quick shower. Wake the kid<snip>. Down a cup of coffee. <snip> Hurry out to the car, <snip>. Reaching work, <snip>. You take a couple of deep breaths, then remember that the project you didn't finish last night must be <snip>. Meanwhile, you've got five voice-mail messages and seven more e-mail messages, two of them marked urgent."</em><br />
Until I got to the seven more email messages! Seven! Seven! Only Seven! <br />
And what about Instant Messages? I stopped taking voice mails a long time ago. People ramble and you just have to call them back anyway to figure out what they really want.<br />
And 1 project due! Please. I never have fewer than 7 project going, any 1 of which might need special handling on any given day. And then there are the walk-ins. And the meetings. The meetings you go to only so that either your time is wasted or you end up with more projects. <br />
<br />
Americans have become more productive but I'm not sure how much more we can really take. <br />
<em>“The major cause in the speed-up of life is not technology, but economics,” says Schor. “The nature of work has changed now that bosses are demanding longer hours of work.”</em> Harvard economist Juliet Schor,Author of the 1991 best-seller <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Overworked-American-Unexpected-Decline-Leisure/dp/046505434X" target="_blank">The Overworked American</a></u><br />
I too have found that without concerted effort that it is too easy for anyone "working for corporate america" to end up with a life that just gets faster and faster until it spins out of control. I can speak from experience as I work for a Fortune 500 company.<br />
<br />
Then there is Neighborhood Organization stuff which is important and rewarding in that I now have a cadre of amazing friends who care about our city its future... but it's time consuming. Taking photos, posting photos, tracking issues: water leaks, blight (yes we are still recovering from Katrina), potholes, the grinding impracticality of some city services, crime. Tracking successes: Trees planted, streets & sidewalk repairs, Houses renovated and or sold, ....<br />
<br />
And then there is my commitment as 3rd degree to the Tradition, the Ways, the spiritual path I walk and an obligation to ensure that it stays alive, is passed on. Which happens to be the primary reason for this blog.<br />
<br />
In the Spring of 2012, <br />
after being interviewed and providing documentation for review to someone who was working on his PHD at Oxford (yes the one in England), <br />
I read the draft of his PHD and realized that, <br />
in addition to some <u>very</u> interesting ideas about collaborative government,<br />
this doctoral student had put his finger on my personal issue. <br />
Like many of the other individuals who picked up the neighborhood recovery torch PostKatrina, I was burned out!<br />
<br />
Everything I was doing was "Good":<br />
Job=$ to provide for my family and there are days when I really like it, <br />
Neighborhood work = better environment around me, great new friends<br />
Blog = true to my spiritual path<br />
But I couldn't continue the ever quickening pace and ever increasing responsibilities.<br />
<em></em> <br />
<em>"Yet it seems that the faster we go, the farther we fall behind. Not only in the literal sense of not getting done what we set out to do, but at a deeper level, too."</em><br />
<em></em> <br />
<em>"But it has gotten to the point where my days, crammed with all sorts of activities, feel like an Olympic endurance event: the everyday-athon."</em><br />
<br />
Yes.... I needed a break. Not total abdication but a break.<br />
<br />
So I "took a break" in 2012 from some of the responsibilities with which I had burdened myself. <br />
<br />
I lightened up on the neighborhood work and either let others take the lead or let go of the need to "participate' as often as requested by city government leaders or non-profits. And as a result some folks stepped up and some things slid by and all in all it all worked out. And I have a better plan for how I encourage others in 2013.<br />
<br />
I "took a break" from "StregaNola". I took vacation time with my daughter and visited with my teacher. I set some blog posts up to post intermittently throughout the year and then logged off as StregaNola in March and didn't log back on until 2013. And surprise. It's still hear. Just like I left it.<br />
<br />
My pace at work is something I'm still working on ... but everything starts somewhere. <br />
<br />
So while we are still in what should be the slow, dark, part of the year, ask yourself:<br />
What can you pare back? What do you want to focus on? What do you value enough to keep and what can you let go?<br />
<br />
The 1st step in any Magic, before you ACT, is to meditate on your intent and idea and to listen to the feedback the Universe will give you. But to really do this you have to slow down. <br />
And if you are working with the <a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-gratitude-jar-magic-of-intentions.html" target="_blank">Gratitude Jar and a Yearly Jar of goals</a> take some time to slow down and pare back and before you just start filling that Jar up with things you want to accomplish this year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-48586977949438409822013-01-06T18:45:00.001-06:002022-11-06T23:15:30.826-06:002013 Gratitude Jar & the Magic of intentions.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJYuqMWf52JxDS_ngRpryB3EpZ2v-XpARmS1HZVwxHKMjyBaNLB_A94wH0HzVlrSVe1nbyv1SEbcce-sbvCVUhHelMrcpfDfq_1u1gp-fqfPeQ1jBreHqulQ0Pp28ye959lgo5wrcVE-yejGpVwzw6-gC0DVmUO0zo5QuwTbFEKJ3liIbJeqd_f9CnfQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="495" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJYuqMWf52JxDS_ngRpryB3EpZ2v-XpARmS1HZVwxHKMjyBaNLB_A94wH0HzVlrSVe1nbyv1SEbcce-sbvCVUhHelMrcpfDfq_1u1gp-fqfPeQ1jBreHqulQ0Pp28ye959lgo5wrcVE-yejGpVwzw6-gC0DVmUO0zo5QuwTbFEKJ3liIbJeqd_f9CnfQ" width="214" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>After a bit of a hiatus..... I logged back into Facebook and reviewed the blog in preparation for setting up 2013 posts. And bumped into what I am calling the Gratitude Jar. It's a fabulous idea and one that I'll try out myself this year. <br />
<br />
But it got me thinking about alignment and intent and magic. <br />
<br />
The wonderful thing about the Gratitude Jar is that it helps teach <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness" target="_blank">mindfulness</a>. If you have the Jar and you are thinking about what you can put in the Jar then you focus and are mindful of daily blessings, and experiences worth savoring. You also align with the beauty of nature. One of the things my Jar will have on it "<a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2009/03/words-of-aradia-concerning-nature.html" target="_blank">Nature as the Great Teacher</a> Moments".<br />
<br />
Then there is the alternate approach to using a Yearly Jar. One that is aligned with the secular tradition of New Year Resolutions. It has been said by many (<a href="http://michaelhyatt.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-commit-your-goals-to-writing.html" target="_blank">even non-pagans</a>) that writing down your goals makes a difference. <br />
<br />
Few have said it better or to as many people as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Covey" target="_blank">Stephen Covey</a>:<br />
"<em>All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind</em>." <br />
<br />
The "all things are created twice" concept is the essence of all <a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2009/11/words-of-aradia-concerning-magick.html" target="_blank">magic</a> work. You build the idea with your energy and mind. And then you free it on the Astral Plane (or release it into the universe if you prefer) and then you work on the physical plane until it manifests. As you write your goals down and place them in the Jar imbue them with your intent. Then release them by placing them into the Jar. <br />
<br />
At the end of the year (<a href="http://streganola.blogspot.com/2009/08/cornucopia.html" target="_blank">or Cornucopia</a>) you can open the Yearly Jar, reassess or renew your goals.<br />
<br />
I can promise you this: The more aligned you are with the ebb and flow of the universe, the more mindful and aware you are (and the Gratitude Jar helps with this) the easier it is to "make magic".<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-4672203440382797852013-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:002013-01-01T00:00:03.141-06:00New Year's Day and January and JanusJanuary 1st New Year's Day. Some say this is the only World Wide Holiday.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/streganola36/6616412055/" title="God by StregaNola, on Flickr"><img alt="God" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6616412055_bc0c6280f3.jpg" width="308" /></a><br />
<br />
January is named for Janus God of 2 faces, the God that looks back and the God that looks forward.<br />
The symbology of an Old Man representing the old year and a baby representing the New Year weaves seamlessly into the pagan Solstice and Stregheria rituals and celebrations, the ever changing, ever dying god. Janus encompasses both Lupercus the Wolf God who rules this time and Kern the Stag God whose rule begins at the Spring Equinox and ends at the Fall Equinox. Janus is the God who is present when the Child of Promise is born at Lupercus.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January">Wikipedia: "January</a> is named after <a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Janus" title="Janus">Janus</a> (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Ianuarius" title="Ianuarius">Ianuarius</a>), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Roman_mythology" title="Roman mythology">Roman mythology</a>, coming from the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> word for door (<i>ianua</i>) – January is the door to the year."<br />
Again according to Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January">January</a> has been the first month of the year for Romans since at least 153 BC, perhaps as far back as 450 BC or 713 BC depending on which account you prefer.<br />
I prefer the 713 BC account which credits <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numa_Pompilius">Numa Pompilius</a> because I like his affliation with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egeria_(mythology)">Egeria</a> and Egeria's affliation with Lake Nemi. But I digress.<br />
<br />
There is a great site that talks about how the Romans tracked days based on the Moon before they settled on a Solar Calendar. <a href="http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-roman.html">The excerpt below is taken from this site.</a><br />
"January was named after Janus, a sky-god who was ancient even at the time of Rome’s founding. Ovid quoted Janus as saying "The ancients called me chaos, for a being from of old am I." After describing the world’s creation, he again quoted Janus: "It was then that I, till that time a mere ball, a shapeless lump, assumed the face and members of a god." A Lydian named Joannes identified Janus as a planet when he wrote: "Our own Philadelphia still preserves a trace of the ancient belief. On the first day of the month there goes in procession no less a personage than Janus himself, dressed up in a two-faced mask, and people call him Saturnus, identifying him with Kronos."<br />
Early Romans believed that the beginning of each day, month and year were sacred to Janus. They thought he opened the gates of heaven at dawn to let out the morning, and that he closed them at dusk. This eventually led to his worship as the god of all doors, gates, and entrances."<br />
<br />Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993616708002561692.post-26418127632249591332012-12-30T11:31:00.000-06:002013-01-07T01:08:58.521-06:00The New Year's Kiss... or any kiss<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/23/AR2010122302203.html">A kiss to build a year on - if your brain's chemistry agrees<br />By Sheril Kirshenbaum<br />Thursday, December 23, 2010 </a><br />
<br />
<em>A kiss at midnight to ring in the new year. That's what Friday night should bring, right? </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>It's tradition, compulsion, festive duty. An excuse to make a bold move with someone new, a reason to be anxious about finding a date or a chance to celebrate with a longtime love. And there's pressure to get it right. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>There ia a scientific basis for those high stakes. Whom you kiss can set the course for a good year. Really. It's not magic - it's chemistry and neuroscience. And no matter how painstakingly you set the scene, in the end chemistry trumps mood music. From a scientific perspective, a kiss is a natural litmus test to help us identify a good partner. Start the first moments of 2011 with the right one, and you're beginning the year on a natural high. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Just what is it that makes kissing such a powerful and significant part of the human experience? </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>A kiss influences important chemicals in our brains and bodies responsible for promoting social bonding. According to the work of Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher, kissing evolved to facilitate three essential needs: sex drive, romantic love and attachment. Each is involved in promoting reproduction, and kissing bolsters all three. In that view, locking lips helps us find partners, commit to one person and keep couples together long enough to have a child. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Humans have evolved to use a number of signals - including taste, smell and possibly silent chemical messengers called pheromones - to help us figure out whether someone is a suitable partner and a good person to reproduce with. A kiss means getting close to someone - close enough to suss out important clues about chemistry and genetics. At this range, our noses can detect valuable information about another person's health and perhaps even his or her DNA. Biologist Claus Wedekind has found, for instance, that women are most attracted to the scents of men with a different set of genetic coding for immunity than their own. This is probably because when there is greater genetic diversity between parents in this area, their children will have more versatile immune systems. The assessment occurs at a subconscious level, yet a bad initial kiss may be a result of a genetically star-crossed pair. (Which is something else to worry about during a new encounter: "What if the girl of my dreams rejects my genes?") </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>During a passionate kiss, our blood vessels dilate and our brains receive more oxygen than normal. Our breathing can become irregular and deepen. Our cheeks flush, our pulse quickens, and our pupils dilate (which may be one reason that so many of us close our eyes). A long, open-mouthed exchange allows us to sample another person's taste, which can reveal clues about his or her health and fertility. Our tongues - covered with little bumps called papillae that feature our 9,000 to 10,000 taste buds - are ideally designed to gather such information. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>When we kiss, all five of our senses are busy transmitting messages to our brain. Billions of nerve connections are firing away and distributing signals around our bodies. Eventually, these signals reach the somatosenory cortex, the region of the brain that processes feelings of touch, temperature, pain and more. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Our brains respond by producing chemicals that help us decide our next move. A good kiss can work like a drug, influencing the hormones and neurotransmitters coursing through our bodies. It can send two people on a natural high by stimulating pleasure centers in the brain. The feeling has much to do with a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is responsible for craving and desire and associated with "falling in love." When it's really pumping, dopamine spurs us to take things further. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Kissing also promotes the "love hormone," oxytocin, which works to maintain a special connection between two people; kissing can keep love alive when a relationship has survived decades, long after novelty has waned. In other words, kissing influences the uptake of hormones and neurotransmitters beyond our conscious control, and these signals play a huge part in how we feel about each other. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>A bad kiss, alternatively, can lead to chemical chaos. An uncomfortable environment or a poor match can stimulate the "stress hormone" cortisol, discouraging both partners from continuing. Evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup of the University at Albany reports that 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women say they have ended a budding relationship because of a kiss that did not go well. </em><br />
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<em>Whether it's magic or a disaster, there is one thing that a first kiss is very likely to be: unforgettable. Psychologist John Bohannon of Butler University and his research team surveyed 500 people to compare their recollections of a variety of significant life experiences - such as a first kiss and the loss of virginity - to find out what made the most dramatic impression. A first kiss trumped everything: It was the most vivid memory in the minds of those being surveyed. </em><br />
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<em>In fact, when asked about specifics, Bohannon reported that most people could recall up to 90 percent of the details of the moment - where they were, who made the first move - no matter how long ago the exchange took place. </em><br />
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<em>Which is not to say that sharing a New Year's Eve kiss with someone new will necessarily be a memory worth savoring for a lifetime. If midnight's buss is a bust, remember that you can't control everything about the situation and that your body (or your partner's) may be saying something very important: Look elsewhere. If the chemistry is wrong, there's not much you can do. But take heart. Valentine's Day is less than two months away.</em> <br />
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Sheril Kirshenbaum is a research scientist at the University of Texas and the author of the new book "The Science of Kissing."Nolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07736685223472504309noreply@blogger.com0