12 Days of Yule; Day 5 - Darkness

I have been posting Blog Prompts and Journaling suggestions at my other blog, Spirit Self Awareness Journaling.  They have been based on the 12 Days of Yule prayers at Pagan/Wiccan About.com by Patti Wigington, and I have prepared these prompts in advance with no way of knowing what the day would hold on the day the blog was scheduled to be published.

The prompt and prayer from the blog that was published today was this;


December 14, 2012 - Day 5

Day 5 ; A Prayer For The Beginning of Winter
In early winter, we can see the skies becoming overcast, and smell fresh snow in the air. Take a few minutes to think about the fact that even if the skies are cold and dark, it's only temporary.


"See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way
for the darkness soon to come.
See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way,
for the world to go cold and lifeless.
See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way
for the longest night of the year.
See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way
for the sun to one day return,
bringing with it light."

By Patti Wigington; http://paganwiccan.about.com

My Journaling / Blogging suggestion;

Take time to think about how everything comes in cycles. The winter months eventually give way to spring... things won't always be dark and gloomy. What were some times in your life you remember seeming the darkest? They didn't last forever. Even if pain from those dark times still lingers, you have had moments of joy and light again. Thank the Earth for these cycles for they help us grow and make us stronger. I recently asked a group of friends, "If you could erase the memory of the darkest time in your life, would you?" The answer was a resounding NO, because those memories, though painful, have shaped us into who we are today. So even if the weather isn't pleasant, be thankful for it. It makes us more appreciative of the sun when it does return. 

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I had planned on writing about some of my own personal dark days.  Something perhaps about many years ago, when I was a rape victim, or a drug addict.  I have recovered from those days, though their memory can still cast a dark shadow on me at times.  I was going to write about how I had overcome those "dark days" and found myself to now be a much stronger and more positive person.

But today, there is a present darkness that has cast it's shadow across our country - and across the whole world.  I think it effects all of us as humans very deeply and profoundly.  I am refering to the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.  A darkness has cast a cloud on all of us today as 28 people were killed by the gunfire of a madman, 20 of those beautiful souls being just children, between the ages of 5 and 10.

My original plan for blogging was to talk about how many of our dark times are "lessons" we need to learn, which make us stronger.  Yet when we experience something senseless, so meaningless, so tragic, we can't really think of it in the same way as a "lesson" which needed to be learned.  My own personal struggles with drug addiction in my early 20's (12 years clean, by the way!!) was one of those things that can be looked back on as a lesson.  My spirit needed to learn self-love, self-control, and to not seek "temporary fixes".  Today, the darkness and pain felt everywhere is a different kind of pain.  Because I don't think that God and Goddess send us lessons in the form of senseless violence and the loss of lives in tragic meaningless ways.  The sad truth is, bad things happen on this planet.  They happen every day.  While we don't need to look at this as a "message" from the Gods, or a "lesson" sent by the universe to our people.... we DO need to find a way to grow from this experience.  Let it change you, let it teach you.  Not because it's a lesson to be learned, but because if you don't let it change you, THEN it becomes even more senseless and pointless than it already is.  Hug your family close.  Show kindness to strangers.  Give, even when you have little or nothing to give.  Pray more often, lift up all of mankind in your prayers.  Greive for the children, and the adults who lost their lives, greive for the people who are so lost and disconnected from the Light of Spirit that they act in any way other than Divine Love.  The Sun WILL return.  It's in US... the solar power to light up the world again.  My heart is breaking for this tradgedy, and I pray for hope, I pray for peace, I pray for Light.  May The Great Wheel's turning carry us with it, forward into a place of Light, where we can learn the true meaning of Brotherhood and Love.....

Blessed Be...

Facebook Friends Giveaway!

Have you added me as a friend on Facebook? Have you "liked" the Tarot by Josephine fan page?? I post links to my blog, my website, and other cool stuff on facebook with my Fan page!

So here's the deal...
My fan page has 216 fans. Once it gets 250 fans, one of them will get a FREE Tarot or oracle card reading! So click that "like" button if you haven't done it yet! Not only will you get my blog updates directly on your facebook news feed, but you will have a 1 in 250 chance of winning a free reading! Suggest the page to your friends who are interested in Tarot, Oracle, or Astrology type stuff, and if they "like" it, they will be entered to win too!!

http://www.facebook.com/lady.josephine#!/pages/Tarot-By-Josephine/129999540288?ref=mf

Check your boobies & lick your lids!

Just a reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!!

Remember to give yourself monthly self-exams, and talk to your Dr about getting a mammogram! Early detection is the greatest thing you can do for yourself!

If you want to help out, you can always donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation, or send in your Yoplait lids to the Save Lids, Save Lives foundation. You can register here; http://www.yoplait.com/slsl/default.aspx#/default. You don't have to register or join a team to send in lids, but it might help you remember to do so! If you're interested in joining a team, I created one, so if you do register, click to join a team and search for Pink Pagan Moms (Arizona) and together we can keep track of how many lids we send in!

Anytime between now and Dec. 31 you can send your clean Yoplait lids to:

Save Lids to Save Lives®

P.O. Box 420704

El Paso, TX 88542-0704

8 years later. In memorandum.

In Loving Memory of all those who were lost, and in Honor of those who worked so hard to rescue and help the missing, trapped, and injured....

Blessed Be.....






(this is a very touching memorial video)

Where were YOU when the attacks happened?

Sept. 11, 2001. I was 21 years old, my daughter, "Miss Zee", was 2. We were living in Texas, I was a waitress at the local Denny's. I was in a relationship, but it was going nowhere fast. I was unhappy and knew it wouldn't last. We were just waking up, I didn't have a tv, so we had no idea what had happened. My x husband called me, and I was irritated to hear his voice. He said "They bombed the World Trade Center". I laughed. Yes, I laughed, I am ashamed to admit it, but I didn't know what he was talking about. I was still half asleep, could't figure out who "They" were, and didn't know what he meant by "World Trade Center." I guess I was always kinda shut off from society in some way, because I honestly did not know that the Twin Towers were called "The World Trade Center". So I figured my x husband was telling me about something that had happened in another country. Because stuff like that happens in other countries, but not here. So I was like, "Umm, okay. Why are you calling me? I just woke up." As if my x-husband didn't already think I was a cold-hearted bitch. He says, "No, I mean it, they bombed the World Trade Center." My blonde moment continued...."Where is that?"
"New York! The Twin Towers! It's on the TV! COME OVER HERE!"
Everything stopped. I went cold. The rest of the day was cold. The rest of the day was in slow motion. Nothing that I cared about before really seemed to matter.... I forgot about how unsatisfying my relationship was. I forgot about how much I hated my x-husband. I forgot about how annoying my job was. Watching the towers fall again and again on TV, listening to them explain what happened as they figured it out. Hearing the words "Al Queida" and "Taliban" for the first time. Confusion. Fear. Looking up at the sky, wondering if more would die today. Looking up at the sky, and wondering if we are going to war, if the war would be on American turf. Wondering how much our lives would change, how much our country would change. Frozen in time, tears and words stuck in my throat; neither came out for a long time.

A few days later, my boyfriend and I broke up. He took his car and drove back to Oklahoma. I wasn't upset. It had been over before he left. It had been over before the towers fell. I somehow felt like the timing was symbolic. America had been shaken awake by a catastrophe, and was now stronger, more alert, more aware of it's priorities as a nation, and ready to rebuild. I felt the same way. I didn't want to waste any more time on trivial relationships. I had gone thru so much in the previous two years, and I felt like I was finally ready to take my life seriously again, to start building something meaningful rather than just playing in the rubble and ashes. Ironically enough, I began dating again a week later. September 18. We have been together ever since. We ended up getting married in 2003, and having two more kids together. Over the past 8 years, America has had to make a lot of choices, change, move forward, and grow up. So have I.

Celebrity Deaths

Well, it is said that deaths usually happen in 3's . This week we have had three major celebrity deaths, shocking the airwaves and cluttering up the Twitter and FaceBook world. First there was Ed McMahon - many of us grew up with him on tv, and hoped that someday he would come knock on our door with a huge check for a million dollars. His presence in TV land will be missed. Then, this morning we found out about Farrah Fawcet. Amazing actress and sex symbol of the 70's and 80's. She will not only be remembered for her amazing hair, but for her strength and positivity during her struggle with cancer. Then there is Michael Jackson who died of a heart attack this afternoon at the age of 50. His music influenced a whole generation, and although his life was controversial and strange, he should be remembered as a revolutionary pop-artist and musician, and let's not forget his dance skillz!!
I know that not everyone is a fan of Michael and his music, especially in lieu of all his escapades and shennanigans that have been aired over the media in the past. His strange mansion full of exotic animals, his strange appearance and behavior, and the allegations against him as a pedophile. You certainly didn't catch me praising him over the past few years, and I definatley had my opinions about him as well. But something caught my attenton today. During the buzz about his death, people are still trash-talking!! Seriously, what is wrong with you people? I am not saying we should forgive him of all his transgressions, but let it go!! The man is dead, he died tragically and suddenly at the young age of 50!! Let's celebrate the good memories that we have, the good music that we have, and let him Rest In Peace!! His family is grieving, and I have heard people say; "Well, he got what was coming to him", and "Was it drugs?" and "He was an evil man, I hope he died in a humiliating way, like on the toilet." (yes, I really heard someone say that.) I mean, would you say that if it was a family member, even if that family member was a horrible person? No, you would try to find something nice to say in their memory. Just because someone is a celebrity and has had their life aired out for all to see does not mean that they "deserved to die" any more than the next person, and it certainly doesn't mean that they deserve any less respect in death. When you say "R.I.P." on your facebook page, do you mean it? Can you actually let them Rest In Peace and resist the urge to spit on thier grave?