June was filled with beer, penguins... and a sharktopus.

I went to Artomatic a few weeks ago and saw a bunch of really awesome art.  Several of my friends and friends-of-friends were exhibiting their work, including Angela Raincatcher and my good friend Jess.  Also, there was a stuffed sharktopus on the 2nd floor.  It was amazing.

EDIT: Shannon reminded me that the sharktopus is by an artist named Suzannah Eller, who is awesome.

One of my coworkers had a big milestone at work and we celebrated with yummy cake.  Unfortunately, the art of spelling seems to have been lost on the cake decorator.  A candidate for cakewrecks perhaps?

We had some wild storms in Maryland last night!  There were winds in the 60+ mph range, and the rain was pouring down in sheets.  Our power kicked off twice, but it came back on after a minute or two.  And now Montgomery and Prince George's counties are on mandatory water restriction until WSSC can restore power to all of its pump stations and get the system fully charged again.  How did you fare?  Did you lose power?

Monday Music Break: Moving Breath

Happy Monday!  I have a pretty awful migraine today, so I'm in the mood for something on the quieter and more mellow side.  Here's a song I came across via the Keep Music Pagan YouTube channel, called "Spirit of the Wind" by a female group called Moving Breath.

Pretty, right?  I feel like it would be a great song to use in ritual, maybe as an invocation to air/the east.

"Spirit of the Wind" by Marie Wise:
http://www.mariewise.com/paintings/2007-3/wind-spirit/

Friday giggle

The caption cracks me up the most :)

What plans do ya'll have for the weekend?  Are any DC/Maryland/NoVa locals heading to the OHF's opening reception for the Elements and Elementals art exhibit?  I'll be there - if you go please say hi!

Triumph of the Light

Happy Summer Solstice!  As promised, I am sharing with you all the Litha chant I wrote a couple of years ago.

While doing some research about the sabbat, I came across a passage in a book that mentioned that in one of the presettlement Mesoamerican cultures (I wish I could remember which one - maybe Incan?), the summer solstice is celebrated as the "triumph of the light" over the dark of night.  I was really inspired by that phrase, and this chant is what emerged.  And as always I had a little divine help, this time from Mama Cocha and Inti.

Triumph of the Light

Lyrics:

I am Inti, King of the Day

I walk in the light of the sun

I dance in the heat of the sun

I sing in the strength of the sun

I am the Sun King, Summer Bright

So light the Litha fires,

and tell the tale of the triumph of the light

la la la la la la la la (x2)

I am Mama Quilla, Queen of the Night

I walk in the light of the moon

I dance in the spark of the moon

I sing in the pull of the moon

I am the Moon Queen, Reflecting His Might

So light the Litha fires,

and tell the tale of the triumph of the light

la la la la la la la la (x2)

Please let me know what you think!

© Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not reproduce my chants in any way without permission.

Monday Music Break: Kiva

Wednesday is the Summer Solstice.  How did that arrive so fast?

In honor of the solstice, here's my favorite song by Kiva, "Morning Sun."  It's such a powerful song to celebrate the blessings that the sun bestows upon us daily.

I know, I know - Kiva.  Love 'em or not (personally I love them), they are a mainstay of the pagan music scene, with 20 years of albums and concerts, and a very solid and diverse discography.  I saw their 20th anniversary concert a couple years ago, which was also my introduction to the band.  I was so blown away by the power in their music and the gorgeous blending of harmonies that I fell in love with their music.

Image from kivasong.com

And since Wednesday is the solstice, I'll be sharing my summer solstice chant with you all later in the week :)

Santa Muerte

Source: https://www.facebook.com/SantaMuerte.DiaDeLosMuertos

I know it's not Dia de los Muertos, but Motown Witch shared this awesome photo of Santa Muerte on her Facebook, and I am so in love with it and wanted to share outside of Pinterest.  I am fascinated by the blending of Dia de lost Muertos and Baron Samedi imagery with Santa Muerte.

If you don't know who Santa Muerte is (I didn't before I looked it up), she is the "Mexican Death Saint" or "Holy Death."  Although she has become associated with the drug cartels, her presence is much older than them - probably a blending of Mesoamerican reverence for death, and Roman Catholic saint imagery.  Santa Muerte is usually depicted as a skeleton, often wearing a robe and holding a globe or scythe.

Hope you all are having a great Saturday!

Psychic Development, inspired by YouTube

I've been watching a lot of other folks' videos about understanding and developing your psychic abilities.  I'm feeling particularly inspired by CharlieSaysGo's psychic series and Teal Scott.


Lately I've been pondering how to best start developing my own abilities.  I really feel I need to start by documenting my dreams and psychic visions so that later I can more easily compare the facts to what I experienced, especially when it comes to precognitive experiences.

Source: englisharticles.info/tag/clairsentience-definition/

Maybe an aside is needed here.  Now, when I say "visions" I don't always mean visual psychic phenomena.  I tend to use this term to refer to receiving information when awake (not a dream).  I mostly receive information via dreams, automatic writing, and clairsentience (just "knowing" when something is true), but I also occasionally hear, see, and feel information.  Feeling/empathy is most common when I'm communicating with the departed.

In the spirit of documenting my dreams and visions, last month I started a dreams & visions journal, wrote about a really vivid dream I had... and haven't touched it since.  So now I'm toying with the idea of making videos about these visions instead, and publishing some or all of them on YouTube. 

How about you folks?  In what ways do you receive psychic information, and what do you do with that information?  Please let me know in the comments!

Monday Music Break - Aku Pema

Sorry for the unintended blogging hiatus there.  I had a migraine for most of last week, and it really took it out of me.

This week's music break is a recording of a popular Tibetan song, "Aku Pema," performed by Rigzen Dolma and Greg Howard.  I'm feeling very connected to the animal spirits right now, so a gorgeous song that sings about them seemed appropriate.

I also wanted to share this song in light of the news that China has closed Tibet to foreign tourism as a means of further repressing Tibetan culture and punishing Tibetans for the recent protests (including two recent cases of self-immolation).  So screw the Chinese government - today I celebrate Tibetan music!

Here's the English translation of the lyrics, from Wikipedia:

Oh Uncle Pema!
Oh mighty Eagle adorned with a conch-white stripe!
If you soar up heavenwards, you adorn the azure sky,
If you descend earthwards, you gladden the craggy mountains.
And, your absence makes the craggy ledges bereft of any life!
Oh Uncle Pema!
Duck with the golden rosary
If you fly out of the water, you adorn the meadows,
If you swim in the water, you gladden the water's spirits
And, your absence makes the lake bereft of life and spirit!
Oh Uncle Pema!
Oh handsome Youth, adorned with conch-white teeth like a tiger!
If you go away, you are a credit to your fellow townsfolk, and
If you come this way, you are a star amongst your peers.
And, your absence makes my heart bereft of love and meaning!