STAY CURRENT WITH THE WITCHING WORLD

Monday, July 9, 2012

Em's Birthday GIVEAWAY

It's been ages since I've been able to find the time and creative state of mind to craft a blog post here at Pagan Presence.  Busy summer days and nights blur together and I float through them admittedly content to be getting nothing productive done with my writing. 

Instead I enjoy my little kitchen chemistry experiments that accompany my goals to create a line of all-natural bath & body care products.  It's been such fun taking my witchy knowledge of essential oils and using such to craft the loveliest scrubs, salts, lotions and blends. 

BEFORE
AFTER 5 WEEKS

Most important to me has been the search for an all-natural skin care line.

I struggle with breakouts during the hot summer months and it's never been something I can gain an edge over -- even when I anticipate its arrival weeks in advance! 

After much reading and in-turn many realizations [oil is needed on the skin -- it's just WHICH oils are good and WHICH are bad that make the difference]...

I have perfected an all-natural exfoliating cleanser, toner and moisturizer that have personally performed miracles on my summer skin.  The Before/After pictures are my own.  They are not retouched and I am not wearing makeup in the After photo.  Not only are my breakouts now under control but the overall glow of my skin is dramatically improved -- mind you, I have gotten a bit more of a tan as well from my vacation poolside!  ;) 

I am THRILLED to share this skin care line.  One of my guinea pigs [human variety, of course] has all but broken down my door to get a second bottle of the exfoliating cleanser after using up what I'd given her to "test out".  The last of the back-ordered ingredients [jojoba esters] have arrived so we needn't wait any longer!

Now to the good part...
THE GIVEAWAY!!!

I would like to share an entire set of the skin care line [exfoliating cleanser, toner and moisturizer] with a lucky winner and will draw the name on my birthday, July 16th.

To Enter:

1.  Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" us.
2.  Head over to Pagan Presence on Facebook where you'll find a post related to the Giveaway.  Comment on that post.  Say anything you'd like!  :)
3.  Once you've done steps 1 and 2 I will add your name to the bunch.  If you see that I've 'liked' your comment, then you know you've been accepted into the drawing. 
4.  You have until July 15th at 11:59pm to enter.  I will draw the winning name as I drink my morning birthday coffee on the 16th!  :)

Best of luck my Wickedees!


***INGREDIENTS

Exfoliating Cleanser:   features jojoba esters to scrub off dirt and grime, an emulsifier, almond oil for healthy skin, grapeseed oil to clear and shrink pores, vegetable glycerin to soften and clean and grapefruit & lavender therapy-grade essential oils which are known to promote clear and healthy skin by acting as natural antibacterial and antimicrobial sources.

Toner:  witch hazel to reduce redness and irritation on the skin, grapeseed oil and tea tree oil [antimicrobial].

Moisturizer:  emulsifier, almond oil, apricot oil [helps to soften fine lines], grapeseed oil, grapefruit & lavender.

Friday, May 4, 2012

And the WINNER is...

After returning from seeing AVENGERS [great movie, by the way], I put the names of those who entered the giveaway into my hat [you didn't think I'd really use my pointy black hat, but I did!]...

Congratulations to the winner of our ESSENTIAL PRESENCE Foot Scrub GIVEAWAY:


Salem Witch Child

Salem will be choosing her favorite from my three all-natural foot scrubs. 
I'll be in touch Salem!  Congrats!


These scrubs are available for purchase through my Etsy shop, Essential Presence

I'm very excited about the trial-and-error progress of the upcoming facial cleansers and will also be looking to list an all-purpose household cleanser featuring orange zest and thyme in a mild vinegar base.  Look for all of these new products May-June 2012!  Gift baskets coming soon too!

As the new products become available, we'll be sure to do another giveaway!

Last Day 4 the GIVEAWAY!!

May the 4th be with you!

Today is the last day of the

Essential Presence Foot Scrub Giveaway Extravaganza... anza... anza... anza!!!  

Okay, I'm going overboard.   But still... freebies are cool.  :)

Our winner will choose from my tried and true all-natural foot scrubs in three delectable scents:
a.  Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub
b.  Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub
c.  Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub


These sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, ESSENTIAL PRESENCE.

Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose Cleaner].  Gift baskets also coming soon!!

RULES OF ENTRY
____________________________________________

1.  Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.
2.  Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"

That's ALL?  Yep!  That's ALL!!!  The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012
at which time I will gather the names of the participants
and pull a winner from my [pointy] [black] hat!

I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news
and obtain shipping details.

Good luck!!
____________________________________________


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

SuperMoon

Saturday, May 5th will host the year's largest full moon -- a true Supermoon at that.  So what exactly is meant by the term 'super' moon?

On its elliptical orbit, the moon reaches perigee [the point when it passes closest to the earth].  When this close approach coincides with the whole illumination of the full moon... blam!  SUPERMOON!  Though, don't try to discuss this term with a full-blown astronomer.  They don't recognize it.  To them it just happens to be that perigee and the full moon share a day and because of it, the moon will be noticeably larger than it is when it is full at apogee (the point in its orbit farthest from Earth).

Yawn!

Good thing the Witching World knows there's more to our moon than just science!  The moon, in all of its phases -- from dark to waxing crescent and full to waning Crone -- embodies the Goddess aspect of our divinity.  She is a symbol of the ever-changing, ever-flowing energies around and within each of us.  There are many in our Faith who draw her down and soak in her light and who follow her through her cycle -- taking on new goals and projects as she grows; discarding negativity and completing what lies pending and in wait as she descends into darkness once again.

Image by Kane L Strand
In honor of Saturday's extreme Supermoon, I humbly share with you the ritual prayer that I wrote for my children to recite on the esbats.  For those of you with Pagan children of your own, I hope that you find its innocence touching -- [to hear my son's voices as they repeat it is nothing shy of angelic].

To our Esbat Blessing we like to add Moon Cookies [recipe provided] and a selection of incenses and essential oils under the moon's rule [camphor, jasmine, lemon, lily, melon, night-blooming cereus, sandalwood, stephanotis and water lily -- thank you to Scott Cunningham's "Magical Aromatherapy" for those particular correspondences].

Moon Cookie
MOON COOKIES
1C butter, softened
1/2C brown sugar
3/4C white sugar
2 eggs [cage-free please!]
2 3/4C flour
2TSP baking soda
1TSP vanilla

Oven: 375

Cream butter.  Add sugars.  Beat one minute.  Add eggs one at a time.  Beat well between eggs.  Slowly add flour and baking soda.  Then vanilla.  Beat well for three minutes.  Refrigerate ten minutes.  Roll out between parchment paper [with flour if needed].  Use a clean aluminum can [or circle-shaped cookie cutter] to cut 'full moons' from the dough.  Re-refrigerate to make the transfer to the cookie sheet easier.  

Bake 8 - 10 minutes.

We like to add two crescent moons to either side of the cookie in a light blue frosting to get the full effect of the triple goddess.  We also make them during crescent moon phases [any excuse for a cookie, right?!] and frost accordingly.


***A CHILDREN'S FULL MOON RITUAL

Begin by casting your circle -- to make it fun for a child, hold hands and move in a circle as you call upon the elements and invoke the gods.

PRAYER

 "Mother Moon, so bright,
so full and round,
do you know my voice
within the sound --
of life on earth,
of all the noise,
of cars, of tools,
of games and toys?
For though I’m small,
I am here,
the only Me
that you will hear.
Bless my dreams.
Keep them true.
And when fears I face,
please see me through–
from dark to light,
from night to day.
By you, I live
to laugh and play."

Reach your arms toward the moon and recite the following as you pull your hands toward the center of your chest, welcoming the energy being offered:

"I draw you down,
a light so whole
and keep you
in my very soul."
 
At the close of our prayer we blow our goddess a kiss as we proclaim, "Bless-ed Be".  And, of course, we end our night reading "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown.

Good night moon.  Good night cow jumping over the moon.
Good night stars.  Good night air.  Good night noises....
everywhere.



Monday, April 30, 2012

GIVEAWAY ends Friday, May 7th

Just a reminder that I'm running a [very first] GIVEAWAY here at Pagan Presence.  The freebie up for grabs is from my new line of Essential Presence Foot Scrubs featuring almond and grapeseed oils, turbinado sugar and essences of lavender, orange, mint and more!






RULES OF ENTRY
____________________________________________

1.  Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.
2.  Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"

That's ALL?  Yep!  That's ALL!!!  The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012
at which time I will gather the names of the participants
and pull a winner from my [pointy] hat!

I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news
and obtain shipping details.

Good luck!!
____________________________________________


The three sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, ESSENTIAL PRESENCE.
Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose Cleaner].  Gift baskets also coming soon!!

a.  Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub
b.  Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub
c.  Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub

Treat your Feet... it's ESSENTIAL!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

*** GIVEAWAY ***

It's the very 1st Pagan Presence GIVEAWAY!!!! 
Woo hoo: freebies!!! 

For many months I have been diligently working to perfect a line of sugar foot scrubs and am inexpressibly excited to have the first three recipes ready for shipment!!!

These scrubs feature Turbinado Sugar [Sugar in the Raw], Grapeseed & Almond oils blended with the essences of Orange, Lavender, Grapefruit, Spearmint and more.  Your feet will thank you for such an indulgence!

And what better than to share these amazing scrubs with a fabulous reader!


RULES OF ENTRY
____________________________________________

1.  Visit Essential Presence on Facebook and "LIKE" the page.
2.  Return to Pagan Presence on blogspot and comment with "TREAT MY FEET"

That's ALL?  Yep!  That's ALL!!!  The giveaway will end at sunset on May 4th 2012
at which time I will gather the names of the participants
and pull a winner from my [pointy] hat!

I will contact the winner by midnight on the 4th to share the good news
and obtain shipping details.

Good luck my wicked friends!!
____________________________________________


The three sugar scrubs are also available for purchase on my Etsy shop, ESSENTIAL PRESENCE.
Keep checking back to Etsy and our Facebook page for new scrubs and other organic products [such as the Sweet Orange & Thyme All-Purpose Cleaner].  Gift baskets also coming soon!!

a.  Sweet Orange Sugar Scrub
b.  Lavender Orange Sugar Scrub
c.  Citrus Mint Sugar Scrub

Treat your Feet... it's ESSENTIAL!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Coming Out of the Broom Closet

"Coming out of the Broom Closet"

It's a phrase that cycles often through the Pagan community.  And as silly as it may sound to some, there are those who find the idea of publicly announcing a connection to this still very misrepresented faith a bit overwhelming.  Not silly, but scary!

Not everyone can afford to be linked to something that takes them "off the beaten path" in the eyes of their peers.  Forget any hope of being seen as a cutting-edge, unique individual that might offer a refreshing perspective.  No, you'll become "the odd man out", "that devil worshiper", "the freak".  Or at least that's what many closeted Pagans fear may be the reaction they will face if they ever chose to "come out".

Everyone's situation differs and it may be that you whole-heartedly fear a loss of your job, family or friends should you let your faith be known.  No judgments from me!  But in my heart I can't see a healthy benefit in masking who it is you truly are within.

In honor of the upcoming International Pagan Coming Out Day [May 2nd], I wanted to take the opportunity to share my own story of finding this well-worn path that many of us call home.

"So, when did you discover that you were a witch?"

I recently finished reading "The Goddess is in the Details" by Deborah Blake, author and High Priestess of the Blue Moon Circle.  In her first chapter she tells very enchantingly of the moment she felt "an indefinable something inside [me] shift and change".  She speaks of one Halloween when she was persuaded to come to a Pagan event hosted by her friend.  Reluctantly she decided to attend.

          Deborah writes, "And there, amid the trees, in a clearing lit only by moonlight and candle flame, something unexpected happened.  The circle was cast, the quarters called, the gods invoked, and I felt an indefinable something inside me shift and change."

          She was amazed to find a profound connection to Nature and to the other members of the party, who had, but moments ago, been merely strangers.  Deborah felt as though she had touched the gods and that they had touched her back [chapter 1: page 8].

          She proclaims, "never had I felt with any certainty that there was, in fact, a god.  But on that Samhain night, in that circle in the park, I was suddenly absolutely sure:  sure that there was deity around me and inside me, sure that what I had found was the right path for me.  I was a Witch, and I had come home."

Many  a-story of finding the Pagan faith[s] elude to this idea of "coming home" -- like it was always waiting quietly in the shadows of your life until that moment when you finally noticed it and it pulled you with warm welcome into its arms.  I know the feeling well...

I was raised Roman Catholic -- just about as anti-Witch as you can get!  And I didn't really think about it much until... well, until reaching an age when I actually started to think about it!

My mother would dress us up and haul us off to church on Sunday mornings, which, aside from being exceedingly boring, didn't cause me much concern.  That is, until my growing little mind began to sort through what it was that they were preaching -- there were stories with lessons and rules [oh!  The rules!].  And when I began attempting to make sense of it all, well, there were just too many conflicting details.

And so... what was a confused and curious young girl to do but to ask for clarification [because, after all, the only 'dumb question' is the one not asked, right?].   Not quite.

I was probably age seven or eight when I began Religion Classes.  This was my opportunity to make some sense of it all -- or so I thought.
           
          "Are they sure Jesus was born in December?  Because that's when we celebrate Christmas but The Bible says there were shepherds living in fields nearby and watching over their flocks and I don't think that happens in winter."  

          "What do Easter eggs and bunnies have to do with our Lord?"  

          "You said Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday but that's really not three days like they say in church ['on the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures' -- yes it's still burned into my brain]."

This innocent mind wanted to know!  And I was ready for their answers [so that I might set some order to the madness I was hearing].  But these answers never came.  Instead I was warned about doubting the word of God.  "Just have faith" I was told. 

Have faith?  Have faith that the Lord thinks Friday afternoon to Sunday morning could somehow work out to be three days?  I can't imagine the look that must have fastened itself onto my perplexed little face but regardless, that was the end of that!  No room for discussion!

It wasn't but a year or two after this that I learned of a particularly well-like Father's involvement in an embezzlement scam.  That was my breaking point.  I had suppressed my desire to clarify some fairly senseless Christian claims and did my best to "just have faith" when all the while these very people [who stood preaching about righteousness endless Sunday after endless Sunday] were picking the pockets of those who turned to them for spiritual purpose.

I likely couldn't have defined the term "double-standard" back in those days but I sure as heck could tell you how it made a person feel!  Abandoned.  Lost.  Dare I say... bitch-slapped?!  I dare!!!

My mother never batted a single eyelash when I told her I would no longer be attending church.  I think she herself questioned what benefit the Catholic faith could bring to her children.  Truly I believe that the only reason she ever dragged us there to begin with was a thoughtless fall into the family routine she herself was raised to follow.  It's just what you did.

I was quite content without religion... for awhile.  It was about my junior year of high school that I noticed a soft-spoken emptiness inside and began to explore.  I attended a church function with a friend who was Born Again and was frightened away from that very restrictive belief system just about as fast as my cut-off shorts would take me!

It was random chance that would lead me to the "Pocket Guide to Wicca".  Random chance.  Or was it?  Perhaps I was supposed to be in that bookstore at just that moment, walking around aimlessly after picking up a new hard-cover blank journal [to house my totally deep, teenage-drama poetry].

Property of Looney Toons
So we've all learned that the Catholic religion had left me with a bitter taste towards spirituality.  And I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first came across the small section of books on Witchcraft, my initial draw to it came from a deep desire to stick it to those Roman Catholic hypocrites!  What could be worse than turning to the very heathens that they'd preached against?!   * insert sinister cackle like the one by the plump witch from Looney Toons *

This less-than-virtuous motive was enough to get me to purchase that  pocket guide.  Little did I know how much it would change my life.

The mini book laid out the basic foundations of Wicca with simple descriptions of rites, elements, correspondences, sabbats and more.  The text itself contained no rushing waves of passion and power.  And yet, through its simplistic breakdown of the Faith it was very clear to me that this was a belief system that encouraged a more personal connection to divinity.  It wasn't about doing what everyone else told you to do so that you might 'find the Lord'.  It was about doing what felt right so that you might develop a personal inner relationship with deity.

And when it related across the board to the profound expressions of Ralph Waldo Emerson that I so cherished -- those expressions that stated God's ability to connect with every individual through private door to their heart -- that is when I felt "the shift".

At age 16 I had found what was needed to occupy the void that Catholicism had left within me.  And it truly was a "coming home".  It was comfortable and uplifting.  The world was brighter, the wind was crisper.  After years of reading, learning and following a more typical Wiccan path, I veered onto my own trail of eclectic Pagan beliefs and inspirations.

And today I don't turn to anyone to validate my connection to divinity.  Just as author Deborah Blake expressed in her book, I too touch the gods and they touch me.  And while I've faced judgments and opinions from others as I've walked this ["off-the-beaten"] path, I need only look within to recognize that what they think they know dulls in comparison to what I feel is right [for me]. 

My Pagan faith fulfills me.  It gives me the foundation to face a hectic and imperfect world with optimism and with confidence.  It provides me with a compassion for others -- something that I noticed [even as a young child] is very lacking in the Catholic community [generally speaking, of course].  I live with an outlook of "open-mind & open-heart".  Everyone matters because everyone is connected at a level deeper than what this physical world allows us to recognize. 

And to now see my two sons growing up to cherish and accept everyone as special and unique -- to know that they themselves hold a special light which makes them a 'one and only' -- that has served to enhance the gratitude I have for my faith.

A friend [one raised to fear and detest Pagan religious beliefs] once told me that I should at least take my children to a non-denominational church so that they are raised with some sort of foundation.  Rather than take offense, I almost laughed, with all sincerity, right in her face!  My children have more compassion and genuine respect for themselves and others than your average, educated adult!  They do not lack anything that a Christian counterpart can claim.  And in fact, I find that because they are not taught that one path is the only path, my children are more likely to form a lasting bond of genuine acceptance with another person than might a child from a monotheistic faith.

Yes I'm 100% out of the broom closet!  Plenty of storage space in there!  I don't worry about the opinions that others form based on misconceptions that continue to circulate... because I live by example.  Someone can examine my life, my words and my actions and know that it is my belief system that grants me the open-hearted perspective that I have towards the world around me.

In the Closet or Out, Bless-ed Be my Pagan friends.  Know that you are beautiful.
Love & Light,
Em