Protecting Rock Art & Sacred Places

I was saddened to read about the recent defacement of 6,000 year old rock art by UN Peacekeepers in Morrocco. This is our human heritage and defacing, stealing or destroying ancient art effects us all. The climate scientist who broke this story at the Sand & Dust blog writes:

A recent visit (Nov-Dec 2007) to Western Sahara by this blogger revealed a more unsavoury legacy of MINURSO’s presence in Western Sahara - the deliberate vandalism of archaeological sites. The most dramatic example of this is at Lajuad in the Southern Sector of the Polisario-controlled zone, where MINURSO recently installed some communications hardware on the inaccessible (except by helicopter) summit of a smooth granite hill. It appears that the MINURSO personnel responsible for the installation amused themselves by spray-painting their names on the wall of a rockshelter that is also an important archaeological site (see photos).

It is a tragedy that UN personnel tasked with resolving one of the world’s longest running military and political conflicts are engaging in the willful destruction of important archaeological sites that have much to teach us about the prehistory of a part of the world that is virtually unknown to the international research community. It is also a tragedy for the cultural heritage of Western Sahara, and is indicative of a contempt for the Sahrawi people on whose land these crimes have been committed.

More pictures can be see at his site.

Wanna Be Pagans and New Age folks have been just as guilty of defacement and disrespect, as Documentary Works notes:

The appearance of various "New Age" symbols at or near rock art sites, such as "medicine wheels" and various "offerings," is increasingly common and a source of concern for land managers, site stewards, rock art researchers and some Native Americans. Such symbols are presumably placed in response to the marks already present, as indigenous rock art sites come to serve as shrines or ritual sites for non-Natives.

Folks, any good camper can tell you that you must "Leave nothing and take nothing away". If you are visiting an ancient site, even if it is part of your heritage and especially if is is not, it is not your place to add to it. Make a shine in your heart and leave it at that.

Sia

Links:

Petroglyphs U.S.

Rock Art - Wikiedia

Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs are found world-wide, and are often (but not always) associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek words petros meaning "stone" and glyphein meaning "to carve" (it was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe).

The term petroglyph should not be confused with pictograph, which is an image drawn or painted on a rock face. Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by many large rocks and boulders over the ground, are also quite different. Inukshuks are also unique, and found mainly in the arctic.

Fire Festivals: Up-Helly-Aa

Ok, I'll admit it - I love fire festivals, and I've always wanted to go go to this one: Up-Helly-Aa, Britain's biggest.

Thinking of a making your own bonfire this season? Then by all means, do so safely. Here are some tips for building your own bonfire, including instructions on what chemicals you can safely use to make colored flame.

From Visit Shetland (with a few links from yours truly)

For 24 hours, on the last Tuesday of January, the town of Lerwick goes more than a little mad.

"There will be no postponement for weather". That's a defiant boast by Shetland's biggest fire festival, considering it's held in mid-winter on the same latitude as southern Greenland. But it's true: gales, sleet and snow have never yet stopped the Up Helly Aa guizers of Lerwick from burning their Viking galley - and then dancing the dawn away. Up Helly Aa is a lot more than a sub-arctic bonfire and booze-up. It's a superb spectacle, a celebration of Shetland history, and a triumphant demonstration of the islanders' skills and spirit. This northern Mardi Gras lasts just one day (and night). But it takes several thousand people 364 days to organise. Much of the preparation is in strictest secrecy. The biggest secret of all is what the head of the festival, the 'Guizer Jarl', will wear and which character from the Norse Sagas he'll represent.

Enjoy,

Sia

This post goes out to my good friend Fyrehawk, who hosts great bonfires twice yearly, and to her Life Partner Debbie, a Cooking Goddess who provides the feast, and their seven cats who acts as jestors. We love you gals.

Cats Rescued from Beirut

Witches help those who can't help themselves
- Terry Pratchett

I've met five of these cats, and they are very sweet.

You can view their pictures and read their stories. Different cats are in shelters here and here.

Congratulations to PETA in Beruit for the work they are doing rescuing animals in the war zone, and to the Pixie Project and CAT, here in Oregon.

Looking for a pet in your area?

Check out Petfinder.com - they list rescued pets from all over the U.S. You can search both dogs and cats, and look for your new best friend by breed, size, age, etc.

February Fix-A-Thon

Do you need a low cost spay or neuter for your cat? If so, check out the February Fix-A-Thon at CAT, which is designed to help individuals and families in need of financial assistance.

Sia

Brigid in Cyperspace Poetry Reading - February 2nd

Announcement from Deborah Oak

You are invited to the third annual
Brigid in Cyperspace Poetry Reading

Well, Anne Hill asked if we were going to do this again, and I say YES! Feel free to copy the following to your blog and spread the word. Let poetry bless the blogosphere once again!

WHAT: A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2008

WHERE: Your blog

WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Brigid, aka Groundhog Day

HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.

RSVP: If you plan to publish, feel free to leave a comment and link on this post. Last year when the call went out there was more poetry in cyberspace than I could keep track of. So, link to whoever you hear about this from and a mighty web of poetry will be spun.

Feel free to pass this invitation on to any and all bloggers.

Thank you, Reya, for beginning what is now an annual event.

Posted by deborah oak at 4:20 PM

------------

My thanks to Hecate for the information - sounds like fun :-)

Sia

Related Articles:

Old Imbolc

Can You Feel It? Imbolc!

Art: Brigid by Lisa Iris

Lucy Daughter Of The Devil

I love this show. It's so dry and subversive. The voices are perfect and the visuals are unique. You get the point of view (and often feel sympathy for) all of the characters. How can you not like Satan, who wears a Cosby sweater, tries (in his own way) to be a good Dad, and is much sweeter than anyone I've ever seen in the Bush Administration.

One of my favorite characters is Becky, the Devil's Advocate, and this Jesus is one I'd like to meet. Best of all, it takes place in San Francisco, one of my very favorite cities. Personally, I think the Antichrist would live somewhere else, SF being so laid back, accepting and all. Wouldn't an evil mission be better received elsewhere? But let's not quibble. It's a great little show. My witches' hat is off to the creators, who make us laugh in hard times.

It's very dark and very funny - check it out.

Sia

Note: This is the first episode. You can find the other episodes on Adult Swim.

Sexism Bad, Makes Us Mad, You'll Be Sad: Got That?

Yes, we are angry at the sexist claptrap thrown at Hillary, whether we plan to vote for her or not, because we know the real reasons you folks both hate and fear her. She is woman, she is Other. Worse yet, she does not know her proper place.

How dare you?

But we're also laughing. We've been here before. We know what goes around, comes around.....eventually And we're going to make sure it does so in a timely manner.

Let it work;

For 'tis the sport to have the enginer

Hoist with his own petar; and 't shall go hard

But I will delve one yard below their mines

And blow them at the moon: O, 'tis most sweet,

When in one line two crafts directly meet. - Hamlet

Sexists, you're on notice. What you do and say is every bit as sick and shameful as racism, and it deserves the same level of scorn and concern from decent people.

As Gloria Steinem recently wrote in the New York Times:

..why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects “only” the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more “masculine” for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren’t too many of them); and because there is still no “right” way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what.

We don't like the pervasive sexist behavior in this election. We speak out when you do it. And then - in this brave new blogging world - you are caught in that act, and have to apologize, publicly.

From Media Matters:

When Chris Matthews' long-winded monologue at the opening of the January 17 Hardball program eventually touched down with an apology to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) for the way the cable talker had been treating the candidate on the air, the moment represented an unmistakable victory for the liberal blogosphere.

By not only getting Matthews to apologize, but by also forcing the rest of the press -- post-New Hampshire -- to back off its, at-times, overtly sexist coverage of a prominent Democratic contender, the blogs have already had more impact on how the traditional press covers this presidential campaign than they did during the entire 2004 White House run.

.... Matthews has referred to Clinton as "She devil." He has repeatedly likened Clinton to "Nurse Ratched," referring to the scheming, manipulative character in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest who "asserts arbitrary control simply because she can." He has called her "Madame Defarge." And he has described male politicians who have endorsed Clinton as "castratos in the eunuch chorus."

Matthews has compared Clinton to a "strip-teaser" and questioned whether she is "a convincing mom." He refers to Clinton's "cold eyes" and the "cold look" she supposedly gives people; he says she speaks in a "scolding manner" and is "going to tell us what to do."

Got caught with your pants down, didn't ja?

Did you learn your lesson, all of you? Now grow up. Treat her with the respect due to a Senator - a Candidate - a Mother - a Woman - a Human Being.

and remember this: We're watching. We're Listening. We're Speaking Out.

No matter who wins this election, you will become a joke. Your fifteen minutes will be over. But we women will still be here. Laughing....and leading.

Sia

Art: Laughing Woman

Notes: My thanks to Echidne of the Snakes for the updates on this story - congrats on your recent award.

Related Articles:

Recovering From Our Culture: Why Words Matter

Fear of Women in Politics

Bandon Marsh Wildlife Refuge - Safe for Now, Thanks to "Friends"

Here is a hopeful note for those who love nature but still wonder if it's possible to stop the endless, mindless development on or near wild places: A state agency has just rejected plans for an RV park next to a wildlife refuge on Oregon's south coast, thanks to work done by the Friends of Bandon Marsh.

The fight is not over - it never is. The price for preserving nature is eternal vigilance.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in
where nature may heal and cheer
and give strength to the body and soul.
- John Muir

Meanwhile, SEA (Shoreline Education for Awareness) has room for two National Docents to live in the Bandon Marsh NWR Bunkhouse next year in exchange for 20 hours per week. The bunkhouse is a modern 5 bedroom, manufactured home upgraded to Federal safety standards and completely equiped with a gormet kitchen, laundry facilities and two full baths.

If you have an interest in being a National Volunteer send an e-mail to Bill-R@SEA-edu.org for more information.

Come Walk the Coast: Bird lovers will enjoy the Oregon Coast Birding Trail.

Road Trip! The Cooking Light Website offers an article titled Cruise the Coast of Oregon. It offers advice on planning a four day road trip along that coast for those who like good food to go with their scenery.

Sia

Links:

Bandon Marsh Wildlife Refuge

For Pagan Parents & Teachers: Information on sea birds

Rainforests - When They Go, We go With Them

From the BBC:
The Brazilian government has announced a huge rise in the rate of Amazon deforestation, months after celebrating its success in achieving a reduction.

In the last five months of 2007, 3,235 sq km (1,250 sq miles) were lost....rising prices of raw materials and commodities could be spurring the rate of forest clearing, as more and more farmers saw the Amazon as a source of cheap land.

"The economic reality of these states indicate that these activities impact, without a shadow of a doubt, on the forest," she said.

The state of Mato Grosso was the worst affected, contributing more than half the total area of forest stripped.

How We Can Help

The Nature Conservancy offers us several ways to help - check it out.

Here's a fun fact:

"It is estimated that 1/3 to 1/5 of carbon dioxide pollution comes from tropical rainforest destruction.

This warming of the atmosphere will also cause problems with the sea levels because of melting ice caps and expansion of water. Sea levels are rising and it is estimated that by 2050 sea levels will rise to 1.5 metres, flooding many low-lying areas. It is estimated that by 2050, 150 million people in countries such as Holland, India and Bangladesh will be homeless."

Does anyone want the kind of wars that will take place when all of these people are in desperate need of food, land and shelter?

Why Should You Care About the Rainforest?

As the Nature Conservancy notes:

Wild and wondrous, rainforests extend from as far as Alaska and Canada to Latin America, Asia and Africa. They nurture thousands of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.....Besides providing food, water and air to the rest of the world, rainforests offer critical habitat for many of the Earth's most interesting and rare plants and animals. Read on for more rainforest facts:

• Temperate and tropical rainforests help regulate the Earth's temperature and weather patterns.
• Rainforests provide jobs to surrounding communities.
• Rainforests contain many of the essential plants used in the treatment of cancer.
• Fifty percent of the world's plants and animals can be found in the rainforest.

If there was ever a time to realize that our fates are all linked, it is now.

Sia

The 59th Street Bridge Kitten Rescue

Never, ever make me Queen of Heaven. If I am in charge, there will be far fewer people in the world, and a lot more tigers and polar bears. But this lady, she can stay.

Nobody sees a flower

Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small.
We haven't time - and to see takes time
like to have a friend takes time
- Georgia O'Keefee

Sia

Dreaming of gardens to come on a very cold day.....

Every Flower Is To Bloom

It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone.
I think that's what I get from these older black women,
that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower is to bloom.

—Alice Walker

Happy Martin Luther King Day

Art: Yemaya by Sandra Stanton

Privacy Concerns - Facebook & Google

There are serveral reasons why I won't use Facebook, but this is chief among them:

Facebook is to be quizzed about its data protection policies...The investigation follows a complaint by a user of the social network who was unable to fully delete their profile even after terminating their account.

I first heard this complaint from Rowan Fairgrove over at Second Life. Rowan is a very tech savy gal, and she found that when she left Facebook, she could not delete her information. They have indeed turned into the Hotel California- you can check out, but you can never leave. You can read more about this issue at the BBC site, in a story titled Facebook Faces Privacy Questions

I have the same sorts of concerns about Goggle Reader and Gmail. If you use Gmail, I would suggest reading When Google Is Not Your Friend by Declan McCullagh at CNET.

As Annelee Newitz noted way back when, in her article Dataopocalypse

To pay for this amazing free service, Google is serving up a few little ads with each email. No big deal.

Except these ads are context sensitive. They're generated by bots reading your email the instant you open it, discerning key concepts in the message and choosing ads that somehow fit with the content of your email. So an email from your friend about picking up some bagels will be accompanied by ads for bagel shops in your area. An email from your lover which refers to an intimate moment you had the night before might include ads for sex toys or online dating services.

These days, information surveillance is the name of the game. Companies make huge profits from collecting and selling your personal information. Money can also be made by providing wide ranging background checks for private employers and goverment agencies.

These days, your most private email can also be used against you in a court case . Gmail will give the goverment pretty much anything it wants, any time it wants it. As Brad Templeton, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, writes in his blog:

...because GMail gets your consent to be more than an e-mail delivery service -- offering searching, storage and shopping -- your mail there may not get the legal protection the ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) gives you on E-mail.

Google Reader is also problematic. Jack Schofield wrote an article for The Guardian titled Google Reader Invades Your Privacy and It's Not Going To Stop, which should be required reading for anyone who doesn't want Big Brother looking over our shoulder, checking our on-line search patterns, our reading habits, our political opinions, and our buying choices.

Alter.net says this in their recent story on society and spying:

When one of America's largest electronic surveillance systems was launched in Palo Alto a year ago, it sparked an immediate national uproar. The new system tracked roughly 9 million Americans, broadcasting their photographs and personal information on the Internet; 700,000 web-savvy young people organized online protests in just days. Time declared it "Gen Y's first official revolution," while a Nation blogger lauded students for taking privacy activism to "a mass scale." Yet today, the activism has waned, and the surveillance continues largely unabated.

Generation Y's "revolution" failed partly because young people were getting what they signed up for. All the protesters were members of Facebook, a popular social networking site, which had designed a sweeping "news feed" program to disseminate personal information that users post on their web profiles. Suddenly everything people posted, from photos to their relationship status, was sent to hundreds of other users in a feed of time-stamped updates. People complained that the new system violated their privacy. Facebook argued that it was merely distributing information users had already revealed. The battle -- and Facebook's growing market dominance in the past year -- show how social networking sites are rupturing the traditional conception of privacy and priming a new generation for complacency in a surveillance society. Users can complain, but the information keeps flowing.

So be careful out there,

Sia

Links:

Privacy International

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

Art: An ancient sculpture of Maat, Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Justice and Order. Tour Egypt notes that:

The primary duty of the pharaoh was to uphold this order by maintaining the law and administering justice. To reflect this, many pharaohs took the title "Beloved of Maat," emphasizing their focus on justice and truth.

At any event in which something would be judged, Maat was said to be present, and her name would be invoked so that the judge involved would rule correctly and impartially. In the underworld, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis against Maat's feather. If the heart was heavy with wicked deeds, it would outweigh the feather, and the soul would be fed to Ammit. But if the scales were balanced, indicating that the deceased was a just and honorable person in life, he would be welcomed by Osiris into the Blessed Land. Maat's presence in all worlds was universal, and all the gods deferred to her. ....Even the gods are shown praising Maat.

Bob the Butterfly Or Are You Living the LIfe You Want?

A colleague of mine was just diagnosed with liver cancer and has moved to a hospice to begin her journey. She is 52. The cancer started in her colon. If her doctor had given her a base line screening at 50, as is recommended, they might have caught it in time. As things stand, she has just enough time to settle her affairs.

This news reminded me once again that our lives here are so short and so very fragile. I turn 50 this year, an age when I have less time ahead of me then behind me. If you want to know why older women have little tolerance for B.S., that's why.

I believe that the best thing we can do while we are here is love well, do good work, and take care of our selves. For me, that last bit has sometimes been a struggle.

My colleague will not return to work, but I am in touch with other folks who know her. We will go and visit her when she is ready and in the meantime we will find ways to let her know that she has our best wishes. She is a good and talented person, who gives back to her community in many ways. My thoughts today are with her and her family.

Our single purpose is to magnify that Light we share between us - Mimi Foyle

After my sister died I had an epiphany about my high stress life style and what exactly that was doing to me. Then I got busy again and forgot most of it. Then 9/11 happened, and all that death and destruction reminded me again. Then I let things slide back into overwork and stress - I had commitments, after all. Then my father's fight with cancer brought me back to earth again in every sense of that phrase.

I finally got it, got it in my gut, how much self induced pressure and stress I was under and how this was undermining, not only my health, but my spiritual practice and the quality of my life. Soon after that, I had my own health scare. I wrote a note to two friends several years ago which I found the other day in my files - it's copied below. At that point, I was letting certain things go from my schedule. I'd buried my sister and my father within a two year period. I'd spent 13 years in the salt mines of Silicon Valley where we eat stress like air. I had volunteered with various efforts in my town, and I'd worked as an active organizer in the Pagan community for over a decade. As a Priestess and as an Organizer I supported, trained and mentored a good number people in the earthwise and feminist communities. I had also counseled and supported many of our volunteers through job losses, divorces, illnesses, deaths in their own family, bouts with depression, and other life changes for years. When the time came, when I was directing two large Pagan events and overseeing fifty volunteer staff members, managing a business and helping my father die, when it was my turn to need support, or at the very least, just needed to know that people would do the jobs they'd taken on, and not make me leap into a breech, I learned who my real friends where. In some cases, that life lesson came to me as a deep disappointment. In other cases, it manifested as a grace note and blessing.

I am profoundly grateful for these lessons. Both kinds.

When I realized that I had to bless and release things from my work and volunteer load I thought I would miss some of the community projects I had founded and directed. I do not :-) I kept three projects that were most dear to my heart, and which I felt I could most effectively continue after our move to Oregon. I miss working with certain friends and colleagues on events like our interfaith Witches Ball but we have stayed in touch and continue to network with others of like mind, so I have the best of both worlds.

If my own cancer scare had turned out to be serious back then, I would have had a great many regrets about certain parts of my life that were not as fully realized and cherished as they could have been. I no longer have those regrets. I travel more these days, and spend more time just being. My creativity is back. I am realizing the life I've been wanting to live more and more each day.

So my question to you is this: Are you living the life you want?

Take care of yourselves,

Sia

Letter:

So, the month of March was interesting. Bit of a cancer scare. The threat
runs in the family. Beautiful eyes. Mordant wit. Cancer.

So, we did the usual tango of tests and procedures. I got my "Get out of jail, free" card last week. And any cells that were even thinking about being cancer are gone now.

yeah.

The good news came on Thursday. Friday was our wedding anniversary. There was much rejoicing.

We drove to Santa Cruz on Friday and saw what was, I swear, the very last
Monarch butterfly left in the nesting grove near the beach. The ten thousand
others have gone to Mexico by now, which, if anyone is asking, is where I'd like to be.

We called him Bob.

We think that Bob was left behind to lock up.

Bob was quite the wild guy in his youth but he's very responsible now. I
worry that Bob has become too responsible. In fact, he's headed into earnest and he's approaching grim. I've advised him to travel, see some friends. Lighten up. You don't have to help every flower, Bob. Just be decorative for a while.

To my credit, I think, I had worked on the stress quite a lot before the
Doctor got that funny look on her face. I wrote the notice officially
canceling the Witches Ball, prior to that, really I did. In fact, I wrote it over and over and finally took out the flinty bits that were sticking out, like caltrops, in certain paragraphs. These were made of earnest. And a bit of E-goo. Sharpened
by Feeling Let Down by Certain People. When I go all Victorian capitals like that, it's not a good sign.

So here we are; lost in a dot.com bust and a lousy economy, caught up in this horrible war, and worried about our civil and religious rights. We just can't find enough responsible volunteers to help with our charity costume balls, and those that have done the work well for years now are tired, and need a rest. I wanted to remind the Pagan community that they cannot just sit on their hands in hard times. In fact, it's during such times when they want most to run and hide that we need them the most. But a warning can sound like a curse to some people, and the staff - who have worked so hard on these community events for so long - deserved a celebration and public thanks, not a manifesto. So, we left on a high note, as was proper.

I'll tell you a secret: Most Mavens have a Martyr Complex. It comes to us as part of a matched set in our tool box. We can move from Doing Good Work to Doing Too Much And Then Resenting It very easily. (Such a fine line, yes?). Embarrassing, but true. If you tell anyone - I'll steal your brooms.

I feel good now. I put the bitter burnout demon in a blender and he's history.

The notice goes into the April newsletter and that goes out tonight. Then I go
on to work on the essays we've discussed.

As always,

Sia

Related Articles:

Mavens and Maryters

Deer Myths, Legends and Songs: What Ari Burke Has To Tell Us

Today I would like to share an rich article by Ari Burke titled Where the White Stage Runs: Boundary and Transformation in Deer Myths, Legends and Songs. It is brought to us by the wonderful folks at The Endicott Studio.

Excerpt:

As long as people have lived or hunted alongside the deer's habitats, there have been stories: some of kindly creatures who become the wives of mortals; or of lost children changed into deer for a time, reminding their kin to honor the relationship with the Deer People, their close neighbors. And there are darker tales, recalling strange journeys into the Otherworld, abductions, and dangerous transformations that don't end well at all. But all stories about the deer share some common ground by showing us that the line between our world and theirs is very thin indeed.

The bibliography he offers at the end is a wonderful source point for those who are interested in myth and legends, and the art that accompanies it on their webpage is well worth your time. The first piece you'll see is by Helen Nelson Reed, an artist I know well. That Lord of the Wildwood card is sitting on my bookcase as we speak.

Enjoy,

Sia

Related Articles:

Honoring Deer: What the Stag and the Earth Mother Teach Us

Stag & Deer Myths

Links to Art:
The image above is the one I refered to by Helen Nelson Reed. It is titled The Lord of the Wild Wood. You can purchase this image as art cards from our friends at Amber Lotus

North American Discworld Convention

It's Official: The first ever North American Discworld Convention will take place over Labor Day Weekend in 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Seamstress Guild - of which I am one humble, bustier wearing member - has been asked by Himself to host another of our notorious Seamstress Guild parties at this event. We said "Yes!" so fast, it blew his hat off.

As of this writing, Terry plans to attend both the Discworld Convention in England in 2008, (1) and this new one in the U.S. in 2009. (Update on Terry's Health)

Preparations for food, costuming, decorations, et al are underway at the Guild Yahoo site and through the various Convention Committees. (If you've even been involved in a large convention, you'll know why it takes two years to plan. I know several of the the folks who are organizing this one. They are experienced, organized, creative folks who will do a very good job). Meanwhile, my friends and I plan to use this opportunity to tour the American Southwest. We will spend that weekend in Phoenix attending the convention, and enjoying the great music clubs in that city. My husband and I plan to take vacation time for this trip, overall, assuming our work allows for this. I've always wanted to see the high desert in Arizona, and we may try for visits to Sedona and Taos, as well. Any place that has Southwestern cuisine, art and music, not to mention so many beautiful gardens and sacred, natural places, is my idea of a good time. As much as I love the Pacific Northwest, it will be good to walk through fields of sage and manzanita again. I want to hear doves and mockingbirds sing, and breath in the heady scent of pine trees. I want to watch the sunrise over Red Rock.

I may organize a Pagan meet at this Con. Goddess knows, there are enough Pagan Pratchett fans...it could be fun.

Sia

Links:

For more on the Guild's Background in the Discworld Novels, go here.

Xcentricities
I love these corset makers. They were a strong supporter of our Witches Ball for many years, and can often be seen at PantheaCon.

Related Articles:

Pratchet and the Pagans

EndNotes:

(1) England has long had a wonderful Discworld Convention....b#$#@ds!

Help Build A New Cat Shelter For Free

The Cat Adoption Team Adopted out 3,027 cats in 2007. In the Portland Metro area alone, over 13,000 cats are euthanized every year for lack of shelter space.

FROM OREGON LIVE:

There's no doubt about it: the Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood desperately needs a new shelter. Open a door -- any door -- and you'll find cats on the other side. Loved cats. Clean cats. Fabulous cats. But crowded cats.

The Cat Adoption Team wants more space to be able to give the cats better lives, promote adoptions, and upgrade its wonderful but spartan on-site veterinary clinic.

This no-kill shelter is hoping to get some help in funding that dream shelter -- at no cost to cat lovers.

Internet site Zootoo is holding a contest. The shelters that get the most clicks -- for everything from just signing up to support a shelter to chatting about topics to buying products -- wins a million dollar makeover. The second place winner gets $10, 000 for its shelter, and the following 18 top placers receive $5000.

While other Northwest shelters have signed up, the Cat Adoption Team is the Oregon shelter that has a real chance of winning, based on interest in the site so far. Right now it ranks 44th out of 3881 shelters registered -- and with a little help from its friends could very easily move up to the top 20.

Click here if you want to sign up for free and vote for the shelter:

****

Please support whatever shelter you want, but it would help us all if you could click on one you like.

Sia V.

Cats and Wildlife

As some of you know, my husband and I have been wildlife rescue and rehab volunteers for some years now. Tonight I'm giving a little talk at our local nature center titled Living with Wildlife. In these talks I always include notes on the issues surrounding cats and their tremendous impact on wildlife. The Portland Audubon Center has a wonderful page on this issue, which I'd like to share with you all:

Cats & Wildlife

This is yet another way to make the case for an indoor only life for our beloved cats. It has a very nice section on keeping indoor cats happy.

Regards to all here,

Sia

The Sister Study

I called a gal pal the other day. We had a good talk. This woman and I have been friends for almost 30 years- how are we possible? In my own head, I'm still 23. The older I get, the more I cherish the strong, smart, funny women I'm blessed to call my friends. Mine you, I don't miss being 23. Give me the energy back, without all the angst, and I'll take it. Otherwise, no thank you.

In the midst of other news she told me that a old library colleague of ours had recently passed on from breast cancer. She was in her early 50's. L. was a good woman, who survived an abusive marriage and made a good life for herself, with the help of another old friend, M, who herself died far too young from undiagnosed heart disease, the number one killer of women in this country. As my sister used to say when she heard news like this, "Carpe f---ing diem!"

L. is fondly remembered by many people, both personally and professionally. She was a kind lady, and a damn good Librarian.

Next month will make it seven years since my sister passed from the same disease that took our friend, L. Areon was 43. I was reading her letters the other day, and was reminded again, that she was much the better writer. I miss her wit and her darkly funny take on life. And I miss her support. I wish I could have watched her fullfill more of her dreams. The older she got, the more centered, more interesting and more peaceful she got. At the same time, she became more passionate about the things she cared most about, like animals and the protection of wild lands. That's the best thing about getting older, you let go of more and more of the small stuff and focus on the things that really matter.

If, like me, you are the sister of someone who fought (or still fights) breast cancer, you may be interested in The Sister Study: A Study for the Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors for Breast Cancer.

The Sister Study needs at least 50,000 women to join the effort to find the causes of breast cancer. We are almost there, but we still need more women of all backgrounds, occupations, ages, and ethnic groups to join. In order for everyone to benefit from the results of this landmark breast cancer research study, we want to more than double the number of sisters enrolled from the following populations.

Stay heart smart, and get those breast exams!

Sia

Off the Shelf: Breast Cancer, Breast Health by Susun Weed

P.S. I've chosen to decorate this post with an art piece by Yvonne Gilbert (link below). Some people will see this as an angel, which is fine by me. I see it as a Spirit of Air or Light Bearer, and the image is made all the more significant to me by the use of rainbow or chakra colors. If you are interested in the concept of Angels AKA Messengers AKA Spirit Teachers from a Pagan point of view, check out the article titled Angels Explained by SpringWolf. (As always, folks, take what you need and leave the rest).

Excerpt:

Let's start with the misconception that Angels are strictly Christian or non-pagan. They're not. Mythology of Angels existed long before Judaism and Christianity.

Angels also are major figures in Buddhism and Hinduism. Celtic and Norse mythology. And in many Shamanistic legends. But not all of these call these entities "angels", just like not everyone refers to a prayer as a mantra, or a spell of protection a prayer, and so on. We all have our "labels" for what fundamentally are the same things.

The Buddhist for instance refer to angels as devas, or celestial beings. Some paths of Buddhism use the label dharmapalas or dharma protectors. In Tibetan Buddhism, devas are sometimes considered to be emanations of bodhisattvas or enlightened beings. Other paths of Buddhism have specific important devas, as they are often derived from pre-Buddhist cultures and religions and not from Buddhist philosophy itself. So these paths encorporated pre-Buddhist local or regional mythology into their Buddhist paths long ago.

Hinduism has many different types of spiritual beings who act in a similar capacity to Angels. One example are the minor gods, or devas, refered to as the "shining ones". They inhabit the higher astral plane of the divine world. Gods, devas, planets like Sani (Saturn), gurus (teachers), and ancestors can all play a protective role for humans. The Asuras are also a component of Hinduism. They are also refered to as evil spirits or demons. They are fallen devas who inhabit the lower astral plane, the mental plane of existence. Much like the fallen angels outlined in Christian philosophy. If an Asuras does a good dead, they can be reincarnated into devas and do not have to remain eternally in the lower plane. Hinduism also includes Apsaras, who are heavenly nymphs, who preside over sacrifices, and lipika, who regulate karma. Devas and asuras can inspire or bring down aspirants, helping or hindering people on their spiritual journey.

In Norse mythology the equivalent angels are the Valkyries who were originally sinister spirits of slaughter, dark angels of death who soared over the battlefields like birds of prey, carrying out a warriors fate in the name of Odin. They chose the heroes of the battle and took them away to Valhalla, the heavenly home of honor for Odin's ghostly army. In later Norse mythology, the Valkyries were romanticized as Odin's Shield-Maidens, virgins with golden hair and snowy arms who served the chosen heroes everlasting mead and meat in the great hall of Valhalla. They also soared over the battlefield as lovely swan-maidens or splendid mounted Amazons. This was portrayed in the Volsung Saga and Niebelungenlied, where the heroine Brynhild was a beautiful fallen Valkyrie.

In Celtic mythology, the Faeries were often seen as the helpers of mankind. They too have many corrolations to their deeds as an angel would. There are a few lesser Goddesses which also acted as Angels; and perhaps that's why they're often refered to as the lesser Goddesses. Such as the goddess Sirona.

Links:

Women & Heart Disease: An FAQ

Related Articles:

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Art by Yvonne Gilbert

School of the Seasons or How's Your Plan B?

It's Saturday and we're both here at home looking at our To Do Lists. There are large storms running all along the California and Oregon coasts bringing high winds, heavy rains and more lots more snow our way. Our contractor, Wally, arrived early this morning. We weren't sure we'd see him today, as he's been helping out the flood victims in the small town of Veronia who found themselves underwater just before Christmas. He's just helped a family of five get back into their home, and he did it all for free. Nice guy.

Wally greeted our dog (who likes to think his vigilant guard work here is appreciated by the right sorts of people i.e. those who, like Wally, come with dog cookies in hand). At 8 am, he went to work downstairs. He was soon back in my kitchen again with a concerned look on his face. It seems that a outdoor drain pipe system that funnels water from our roof and gutters and down the hill, away from the house, and into the canyon creek below is blocked up somewhere in it's midpoint, where we can't see it or clear it without a plumbing snake. The ground near our house is now saturated and the under storage area, which is really no more than a large open space with dirt and support beams, has turned into an small underground lake, about a foot deep. Wally was going to turn that unused area into a nice little basement for us. He will now have to move from putting in a floor today to pumping out four feet of water. Ah...Plan B. I know it well. The older you get, the better you get at Plan B . And Plan C. And so on.

The good news? The stuff we had stored down there (much of it belonging to two good friends who are traveling the world together on a two year tour) is all in plastic bins. So while we moved these out, Wally and his nephew have gone back down the mountain to get a suction pump and that plumbing snake. When they get back, my husband and I will suit up to help them move pipes outside and change the flow of water in order to keep it away from our foundations before the next big storm comes down on our heads. As I write this, it's started to snow. Well, well. Good thing I have those boots.

Whenever I face change - and I'm doing so now on several fronts, both physical and emotional - I ask myself: What do I want to create in my life? With that question in mind, I recently spend several days thinking about my project lists. When faced with one of the left turns life offers, I do more then just think about it. I meditate, write about it, draw, dream and just plain talk with people I trust while I'm looking for answers. Spend enough time on a question and it becomes a trance dance where we circle closer and closer to the fire till we can see the truth that fits our life. As we all know, there's never one truth. There's just the truth we can see right now. Which is why it's always good to have Plan B.

Of course, another way to get to that same place is to make a list what I don't want. Often as not that could be a list of some things I brought in to my life in years previous. Ah, well. We live and learn. One thing we learn to do as we age is to discard what no longer works. There is where the idea of "bless and release" comes in very handy.

Whatever the answer might be this year, I need to think about what time and space really mean to me in order to bring my vision into being. It helps to know how active, thoughtful people address this issue. One person who writes a great deal about this subject is Waverly Fitzgerald. I've been reading Waverly's newsletter for a while now. Her writing always brings me home to earth, which is where I get my strength. As a gardener, I think it's grand for anyone to want to grow tall and flower. We all want our dreams to bear fruit. At the same time, it's vital to have good solid, roots to give us strength and balance. Roots are our foundations, our values and our core strengths; the things that help us withstand wind force and floods. A practice that includes a daily awareness will give us the kind of centered, informed perception otherwise known as life wisdom, the kind of wisdom closely related both to the Root Chakra and Gaia. My practice and study has always been about "getting to the root of it all", which is why I read Waverly and writers like her.

I've got her book Slow Time: Recovering the Natural Rhythm for Life on my book list for this year. Those who are new to her work might also want to check out her School of the Seasons website and classes. It is an interfaith site with deep Earthwise values. She has a calendar to offer, as well. While my favorite calendar remains We Moon, I enjoy Waverly's work, and I will definitely consider using her Natural Planning Journal this year, as well.

Overall, my goal this year is to make space and time in my life for more thought and creativity. I mean that quite literally. I'm reorganizing my home office space as we speak, for just this reason. And I'm clearing the board in other areas, as well, including some of the services I have offered to the Earthwise community since 1999. I consider change to be an ongoing and necessary upgrade to my spiritual practice, one that involves moving to a deeper, more natural rhythm. As a Pagan woman this is a familiar part of my path, but there's always something new for me to learn. After so many years in the salt mines of Silicon Valley, I'm more than ready to let go of stress. (I said that several years ago and it took some time for my good friends to stop laughing. They soon found out finally meant it.) During that mental trance dance I mentioned earlier, I moved a comfy chair, a desk lamp and a good, sturdy table into my heart space. I can see now that I need to shore up the foundations and resist adding more stress to my life or I could soon have a flood in there. It's hard for us Doers not to do, and just Be, but I'd learning.

Now that these hectic, civil holidays are over, I find myself looking forward to the dark days ahead as a time of rest and contemplation, with a little creativity, thrown in for good measure. A cat on the lap is optional to this process, but most useful, nonetheless. And it never hurts to lay in extra supplies for the storms ahead. Living up here, I've learned the value of things like water pumps, candles and snow boots. I'm learning more and more to embrace change. School of the seasons, indeed.

Hoping this finds you well and happy,

Sia

Photo: One of my favorite creatures, the bobcat

WeMoon

There are three things I love to do on January 1st.

1. Greet the sunrise, make a very dark pot of coffee, and watch the Rose Parade. Watching the parade is something I've done since I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles. The floats made from flowers, leaves, grasses and seeds, the high school bands, the multicultural performing groups, and the gorgeous horse teams always make me smile.

2. Go on a hike with some loved ones, and

3. Put up my new WeMoon Wall calendar and put my new WeMoon datebook on my desk. The theme this year is Mending the Web (1)

Check out their website and the links page, as well. They have a lovely collection of links for women artists.

Welcome 2008

Sia

(1) From the website:

We'Moon is a best-selling appointment book, astrological moon calendar, earth-centered spiritual guide and multicultural handbook in natural rhythms. Now in its 27th year of publication, We'Moon is created for, by and about womyn.

With the theme this year of Mending the Web, We'Moon '08 contains inspirational art and writing by womyn on the growing edge of international womyn's culture—and offers a kaleidoscopic view of earth and the divine feminine.

We'Moon includes: week-at-a-glance format, daily astrological aspects, daily moon phases and signs, complete ephemeredes, astrological predictions for each sign and an extra 10-page section for notes.

We'Moon '08 is available in three editions: spiral binding, durable layflat binding and unbound. The unbound edition is identical to the other two in every way except for the binding and packaging—it is loose-leafed and shrink-wrapped, and gives expanded options for the varied lives of We'Moon users. It can be customized at a local copy shop for those who want a We'Moon supplement to day-planners or a customized We'Moon personal journal.