I Stand Tall - Creativity Chant

I realized I never shared the chant I wrote last year about channeling your creative power with your whole heart.  It's a favorite at the drum and chant circle I often attend.

Remember, the opposite of war isn't peace - it's creation (la vie Boheme!)



Lyrics:

I stand tall in my creative power,
I stand strong revealing what I know.
I stand tall in my creative power,
I stand tall, I stand strong!


(c) Colleen Beaty.  Sung by Colleen Beaty & Stephanie Seger, drums by Len S.

You are free to share my post and SoundCloud widget, and to use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission.

Review: Stolen Season by S.J. Tucker

A few weeks ago S.J. Tucker released her long-awaited album, Stolen Season. When she asked in her newsletter for bloggers to review her album, I of course jumped at the chance! I just adore her music so much - how could I resist?

I've been listening the heck out of this album ever since it arrived a couple of weeks ago, especially at work.  To sum up my feelings: j'adore!

Let's start with the artwork.  I mean, how gorgeous is this cover art? 

Source: sjtucker.com

The rest of the art in the insert is equally gorgeous, especially the Black Swan image, swoon.  (And in case you haven't seen it, the full version of the gorgeous drawing on the far right was used as the cover art for the unmastered release of the album.  According to Bandcamp, the artist, Chaz Kemp, also did the cover art for her Witchy Ways mix.)

Stolen Season is a bit of a departure from s00j's previous albums. It's got a bluesey, jazzy vibe that I am totally in love with. She uses a downright sultry voice for some songs, like "Believe in Lullabies."  One thing I noticed is the use of a bass guitar in several songs, including "Black Swan Blues," which I don't remember from her previous work (or if she used it, it's certainly not as prominent.) It sounds utterly gorgeous alongside her voice, though.

I like when artists take a risk and try something different, because we get to see them grow as artists as they find out more of what they're capable of and what drive their creativity.  It doesn't always work, but when it does?  Oh yes.  And s00j's risk with Stolen Season really pays off.

I think my favorite song from this album is "Girl Into Devil (I Belong to Me)."  The words and the song's progression speak so much about pulling yourself through hell and finding your own power, something I can really relate to.

The title track, "Stolen Season," is another song that really gets me right in the feels. It speaks so much of sad but inevitable endings. (Reminds me a little of "Neptune," in fact). The cello in that song (performed by Betsy Tinney) in particular is oh so gorgeous. And as a Jimi Hendrix fan I have to appreciate how she ends with, "There must be some kinda way outta here..." in a sad, breathy tone.

Though s00j may have incorporated a new sound into the ablum, Stolen Season still has that essential s00j-ness of brilliant storytelling, musical artistry, and a giving us a glimpse of her true heart that I love so much.

Take a listen to the album below and hear for yourself how beautiful this album is.  And then go buy yourself a copy so s00j can keep making such wonderful music, and because you (yes, YOU) deserve to have such beautiful music in your life!




Disclaimer: I received a copy of Stolen Season in exchange for a fair review.  All art and music from the album as shared are (c) S.J. Tucker.  All opinions are my own.

Goals for 2015

Gosh, I can't believe we're more than 2 weeks into 2015 already!  Each year I usually set myself some goals (okay, they're really resolutions but we all know resolutions get broken!)  I've spent some time mulling over where I want to take myself this year and what goals to set to get there.  So without further ado...

 1. Blog more often                                                                                                                                                  
I undertook a lot of effort to rename, rebrand, and refresh my blog... and then didn't do much with it.  More blogging this year! 

2. Make more food from scratch                                                                                                                          
I've been trying to make more foods from scratch over the last year or so, in part to challenge myself in the kitchen and in part to eat more nutritious, whole foods and fewer additives and preservatives.  I already make soups from scratch, and I recently learned how to make hummus.  (For the hummus I've been working from this recipe - so much deliciousness!)

Now I want to expand my horizons and make more foods from scratch.  Definitely bread, since we go through a couple loaves a month.  I'd also like to try my hand at applesauce and pesto.  Do you guys have any other ideas on foods to make homemade - maybe something you'd like to see me blog about making?


3. Read at least 30 books                                                                                                                                        
Last year I set a goal for myself of reading 30 books.  I didn't meet it, but that's okay.  I really enjoyed setting aside more time on the weekends and evenings to just read.  I want to encourage myself to keep doing that, so I'm setting myself the same goal for this year.  I'm once again participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge as I have in previous years - which is an easy way for keeping track of what I read and seeing how "on track" I am for meeting my goal as the year progresses.

4. Stretch and do yoga more often                                                                                                                       
I may have mentioned in here in the past that I have fibromyalgia.  For me, stretching and gentle yoga are by far the best types of exercise for managing my symptoms.  But I've been very lax in getting my movement on and I can feel the consequences of worsened pain, stiffness, and weakness the last few years.  So even if it's just 5 minutes a night or 1 good session a week, I need to do more.

5. Work on my Book of Lore & Craft                                                                                                                     
I bought a new Book of Lore & Craft (what most people call their Book of Shadows) early last year, and after it sat unused for many months I finally cleansed, blessed, and dedicated it at Samhain.  Right now it just has the dedication written in it, but I intend to add much more to it this year.

6. Get married!                                                                                                                                                          
Jack and I have been engaged since Yule 2013.  It's going to happen this year!  We're going to have a private courthouse ceremony soon, once we get our plans finalized.  I'll be sure to share photos and such in here once we finally tie the knot :)

New look, new name, & new URL!

I am so excited, you guys!  If you haven't seen my posts on social media lately, I am really pleased to announce that my blog has a new look, and a new name!!

Please say hello to Stormy Heart!

I am kind of in love with the font on my new header, you guys.  It is so, so gorgeous.

New Blog Name!
So why "Stormy Heart?"  Well, I'm a sea witch, so I draw a lot of my power from storms - especially thunderstorms and hurricanes.  I feel pretty energized by tornadoes, too, but we don't get many around here.  (Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever posted the story of how I conducted my tool charging ritual in a hurricane.  I will have to write that post soon!)  My magick and spirituality is definitely influenced by that energy - it can be wild and swirly, but there's a definite "eye of the storm" center somewhere inside me that helps focus and direct it, and keeps me grounded.

New Look!
Before I had even decided on a new name, I decided a new look was in order.  I found a spiffy free template online that was very blue and very blocky looking.  Unfortunately after a couple days of working with it on my blog I realized it was terrifically buggy, and wasn't really fitting the aesthetic I wanted after all.

So then I decided to start over (again) by creating a header image, and going from there.  I ended up going back to one of the standard Blogger templates and customized away - and I am much, much happier with it!

I still have a few tweaks to make, like the social media buttons in the corner, but overall I'm rather pleased with it.  I hope you like it too!

New URL!
Anyway, you may have noticed the new URL: http://stormy-heart.blogspot.com.  I set up a permanent redirect from http://heartacheintobeauty.blogspot.com, so hopefully that will help folks finding me.  And I'm in the process of changing my name & URL over on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin, etc.

However, I strongly recommend you update your RSS feed readers, bookmarks, etc. to pull from http://stormy-heart.blogspot.com from now on, to make sure it brings up the right posts.  (If you click on the RSS button in the top right corner of my blog, that's the easiest way!)

So, yay!  Seriously, I actually feel excited to blog again.  I haven't felt this motivated about blogging in a long time.  Is that weird?  It feels like part of what I really needed to get my creative mojo flowing again was to freshen things up around here.  And having a name that fits me and my blogging interests better makes me feel more authentic as a blogger.

Time for a New Book of Shadows

Now that I've been solitary for a while, I've been feeling a pull to start a new Book of Shadows.  My old one is in a binder, and contained a large amount of material that is no longer relevant to my path, like outlines for coven rituals and the Wiccan rede.  More importantly, the binder is falling apart big time.

Enter Etsy!  I debated getting a scrapbook from a craft retailer, but after poking around on Etsy I found this lovely sketchbook/journal.  I adore the color of the leather, the stamping, the rivets... :)  Blessedly the paper is unlined, unlike almost every other lovely leather-bound journal I looked at.  (I don't want lined paper so I can write in any size I want, draw, paste images, etc. without it breaking up the page.)  The paper is recycled too, which suits the sustainability ethic of my path. 

The only downside (which I did not know when I purchased it) is that the cover is not entirely leather but is cardboard covered by a thin layer of leather.  So, it's a bit flimsier and prone to damage than I realized, but I think it should be fine for a good many years if I take care of it.

I haven't added anything to it yet, but it's starting to take shape in my head.  I'm thinking I want to put in there the things like my personal prayers and invocations, the few spells I actually use, and the successful pathworkings I've used to start.  I may also add my knowledge about things like my gods and guardians and listening to Spirit.


But I feel like before I can add anything it needs a name.  "Book of Shadows" is a Wiccan name that just doesn't resonate with me, primarily because I don't believe my faith or work has to remain in the shadows.  So what the heck do I call it??

I have a few ideas, like Book of Magick, Book of Magickal Knowledge, Book of Lore, Book of the Craft, Book of Craft & Lore, and Book of the Work.  Right now I'm leaning towards Book of Craft & Lore.

Do you have a Book or journal where you write down things like your beliefs, or magickal/religious knowledge, or spells?  What do you call your Book?

Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Blogging Notebook

One of the things I love about Bloggiesta is that it seems to spark in me a great deal of creativity about blogging and blog design.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  Reading everyone's to-do lists and mini-challenges and twitter posts gives me so many of my own ideas about what I could do with my blog.

Trish over at Lough, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity posted a Blogging Notebook and Calendar Mini-Challenge for Bloggiesta.  You have the option to participate in either the notebook or calendar part of the mini-challenge, or both.  I decided that writing down all of these ideas I was having (and will probably keep having) would be a great idea for, so I went with the notebook part of the mini-challenge.  I wrote down big ideas for my blog (sort of my "wish list" of things I'd like to eventually accomplish), as well as ideas for blog posts I could/should write in the near future.

Last night I took myself out to dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant in Silver Spring, Thai at Silver Spring.  While I was enjoying a delicious bowl of yellow chicken curry, here's what I came up:

This was definitely a great exercise, and I really should keep doing it given how helpful it was in the creative process.  I'll probably take this rough list and separate it out into three lists - big ideas, blog posts I should write soon (AKA a post to-do list), and ideas for posts.

Inspiration in Dance

Dance inspires me so much.  I love to dance, though I have very little training - mostly I just love to move to the beat.  I really, really love to watch others dancing, too, especially trained dancers who do it well.  It's so inspiring, and sometimes churns a spark of creativity within me.  I think that's why I love watching shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Breaking Pointe so much (Allison's ridiculous drama on the latter show notwithstanding).  My favorite styles to watch are ballet, contemporary, and bollywood. 

I saw this performance on SYTYCD a few weeks ago, danced by Amelia and Will and choreographed by the utterly brilliant Sonya Tayeh.  It brought me to tears, and then it took my breath away.  When it was over I may have also screamed something like "OH MY GOD!!" a few times, and pounded the couch for emphasis.

 

Do you have a favorite style to dance, or to watch others dance?  Please share in the comments!

Wednesday Thingums

For those of you that prefer to use Bloglovin for following blogs, I just joined. Go ahead and add me! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity

" ‘Ole!’ to you, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.” (Elizabeth Gilbert)

I just watched a TED talkby Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, about using some of the old ways to nurture creativity.  She talks about how the Greeks and Romans would ascribe creativity to an outside source (a muse, daemon, or genius) - that instead of 'being' a genius, we all 'have' a genius. This concept would help to buffer the artist from internalizing things like anxiety about doing poorly or not finishing.  

 

I was really moved by this talk because I tend to feel that much of my creativity does not come entirely from me, but is inspired by Spirit.  I tend to feel overcome by words or music when writing chants, as if they are being given to me by the gods, or being drawn up from something inside me with a little outside help.

Monday Music Break: Jenna Greene

My usual playlist just wasn't doing it for me today, so in a fit of near-desperation for inspiration I went to bandcamp.com and searched the tag list for "pagan." Among some of the usual pagan artists (SJ Tucker, T. Thorn Coyle), I came across Jenna Green's album Wild Earth Child.  I was drawn to the cover art, and after glancing through the tracklist I clicked play on "Muse" and fell in love.

From greenladymusic.com

The page describes the song as such: Explores the relationship between artist and creative spirit that the Celts called “the fire in the head.”  I was looking for inspiration, and I found a song about inspiration.  So...stuff means stuff?

I love the gentle but insistent tempo provided by the bongos and the maracas (or egg, whatever shaky instrument that is).  Her voice isn't perfect, but it's still very lovely and draws you in to her story.  I think I'll add her to my playlist at work tomorrow and see if it brings me any more inspiration.

Also, just a reminder that you can submit your suggestions/requests for the Monday Music Break using the handy Google Form I created. 

Fueling the creative fire

I recently pinned this fantastic list of 29 ways to stay creative.  Most of them are pretty simple, but effective.  And this music blogger would like to point out #9, listen to new music.  Right on!  I listen to music all the time, and I feel like it fuels my creativity.

I got the list from here: http://www.mobypicture.com/user/therealhuubkoch/view/9690239

What are the ways that you fuel your creativity?  Are there any that aren't on this list?