Fortunately, we have been able to transfer the majority of my older blogs and history into the new website.

Unfortunately, we were not able to transfer my stalkers (replace with “subscribers”) and followers from the old blog to the new website. So, you will have to renew your stalking requests at the new website.

Brightest of Blessings!

Mead Muse

Most pagans and wytches have a patron god or goddess (one or two primary deities with whom they commune). New pagans and the pagan-curious are often stymied by this approach especially when they are advised that it can take years of study and communication with deities to make an informed and wise decision as to who your patron god or goddess will be. However, the decision is not to be taken lightly as this choice can influence your path to enlightenment as well as your approach to the mundane world.

How is this selection of a patron god or goddess determined? How do you choose? First, we need to have a strong understanding of the purposes and structures behind the gods.

Most of the gods can be grouped into pantheons, each with its own particular texture or flavor. Pantheon grouping is often based upon several factors: region, religion, tradition, history, or ethnicity. Some of the more common pantheons are as follows:

~ Berber, Canaanite, Sumerian, Egyptian, Armenian, Incan, Greek, Roman, Germanic, Norse, Celtic, Welsh, Slavic, Hawaiian (Huna), Hindu, Rigvedic, Japanese, Japanese Buddhist, Aztec, Mayan, Native American, African, Guanche, Theosophical, Hoodoo, Voodou

As your studies advance, you will also come to realize that Christianity (with the triple aspect of Father-Son-Holy Ghost) and Judaism (although the wife aspect has been suppressed in history). Even Catholicism has what we consider to be a pantheon. They just call them Saints.

It is important in our workings, though, to work within the same pantheon for reasons we will discuss later when we talk about working with the aspects. For the moment, however, let’s focus on how to choose a proper working pantheon for yourself. Keep in mind that before you go thinking you have to be limited exclusively to one pantheon, you don’t. However, we all have our primary pantheon that we work with and on special occasions, we may work in another pantheon. So, let’s focus on how to choose that primary pantheon and discuss working with others later.

Some of the many ways to choose your main pantheon are as follows:

1. Sometimes they are chosen for you. If you are accepted into a coven, the coven will already have established primary communications and a relationship with a pantheon. If so, then your studies will progress through this pantheon. (Note: if you have a call towards another pantheon, you can make use of that call later, but beginners really should stick with the pantheons of the coven they are studying with until they are ready for more advanced studies.)

2. Look into your ethnicity or heredity. If you are Italian, you may find your calling in the gods of the Stregheria. If you are of Irish descent, then perhaps the Celtic path might call to you.

3. The pantheons will call to you and send visions. Oftentimes, people will have an uncanny pull towards a pantheon or patron god or goddess. BUT I highly suggest that you do not randomly follow any calling without proper consideration. Some of the pantheons and gods therein can be extremely difficult to have as a patron. Chaos gods will cause chaos not only to those around you, but also in your life. They are chaos in its purest sense. You have to keep in mind that this is what they are and that’s what they do. Human being (no matter how wonderfully dark you may think you are) are not by nature meant to dwell in pure Chaos every moment of our lives. More on this later when we get into choosing your patron / aspect within the pantheon.

BEFORE CHOOSING ANYTHING — Keep in mind that unattaching to a pantheon or patron god or goddess if far more difficult than it is establishing first contact. Sort of like dating. The first date is fun. Marriages can be wonderful. Divorces suck. This is an important life-altering decision to make. Their strength will be your strength, but so will their quirks and weaknesses.

The most important aspect to finding the right pantheon for you is to STUDY. Wytches and pagans are not slothful or lazy. We study, read, and research a lot in our quest for knowledge and enlightenment. The more you expose yourself to information regarding various pantheons, the more your spirit will be open to choosing the right pantheon.

Brightest of Blessings!

This time She opened me to hear other callings of others coming through the night air. We only take new Seekers for training every two years or so and She has expressed that it’s time to open the window again. To Her purpose, I have put callings out to help those She wishes to come find their way. Oftentimes, the journey to my front door is the hardest journey for Seekers and even though they may respond to my Calling, they must be able to pass this crucial first test of coming.

There are rules and limitations to helping Seekers find their way to the front door. They have to come of their own free will to the appointed place at the appointed time. Are there means to force them to come? Of course, there are. But there are repercussions for using those methods as well. It is critical a Seeker be able to build their own confidence with accomplishments in their own journey. It would be a great disservice to rob them of those important experiences. I’m not sure that it’s possible to recover those experiences later.

So we put the Calling into the wind – a light in the darkness for those who are meant to come. I often know when they hit an obstacle in their coming. I can sense their confusion as well because oftentimes, they don’t know what they are seeking just that they “must” seek. The push to seek comes from Her through their souls. The Calling is a light on the window sill in the darkest of nights.

On this night, with the moon sitting so low in the sky, I could sense her turning Her children towards the different Callings in the winds, guiding them to their paths and future.

Brightest of Blessings and may the path of the Seekers be illumined by the lights in the windows and may She give them strength to help them find their way to those doors if that what She wishes.

At first, it seems almost unfair and lopsided as to the “coming of the new” celebration, but then when you stop for a moment and see how New Years fits into our religious / nature cycle, it makes a little more sense.

At Samhain, we are very focused on communing with our beloveds from the Summerland. We don’t really focus on the beginning at that point, but celebrate our past and our loved ones. This isn’t about US, it’s about Granny, Aunt Betty, and other spirits. In our search for enlightenment, it is wise that we spend time learning the lessons and remembering the love of the past.

As time moves on, of course, we look at Yule and the rebirth of the Solar Tide King. So while this is a celebration of a new beginning, it’s really not celebrated as “our personal” beginning, but we focus on the nature aspect and empowering the male aspect’s renewed power and energy.

Then comes New Years. Why do we continue to celebrate New Years with such revelry? Of course, there’s the social and cultural paradigm that we grew up with, but also it fits nicely into our circle. At Samhain, we reflect on the past. At Yule, we empower the future. At New Years, we turn our focus on how want to participate in that future and to reflect on our personal involvement.

So Happy New Years for the Third Time to all my wonderful friends!

ESTROGEN – Estrogen is present in both men and women, although in much higher levels in women. There are actually three types of this hormone – are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). From menarche to menopause the primary estrogen is estradiol. In postmenopausal women the primary estrogen is estrone.

Estrogens are produced primarily by developing follicles in the ovaries and some are also produced in smaller amounts by other tissues such as the liver, adrenal glands, and the breasts. These secondary sources of estrogens are especially important in postmenopausal women. Fat cells also produce estrogen.

Estrogen can be found in other substances:

Xenoestrogens – are synthetic.
Phytoestrogens – are plants with estrogenic activity
Mycoestrogens – fungi with estrogenic activity

Estrogen also is important in women’s mental health with fluctuations and sudden withdrawals correlate with significant mood lowering. Once levels of estrogen were stabilized and/or restored mood stabilized.

Soy – Phytoestrogens in soy are structurally similar to human estrogen, but very weak compared to the estrogens that the human body. I do take soy supplements in the amount of 2 pills at 38 mg each which seem to help with hot flushing and flashes. I got mine at the health food store for around $20.

Soy can be consumed in the form of tofu, soy cheese, meat substitute products such as soy burgers, breads and muffins made with soy flour, and soy drinks, sometimes known as “soy milk”.

Red clover – recently discovered to contain high levels of phytoestrogens,

Dong Quai is an Chinese herbal used to treat PMS, menstrual irregularities and menopause and is also believed to dilate blood vessels, and is used to treat high blood pressure and circulatory problems.

PROGESTERONE -

Progesterone belongs to a class of hormones called progestogens, and is the major naturally occurring human progestogen. Progesterone is produced in the ovaries and the adrenal glands (near the kidney),

Progesterone’s most important role in the woman’s body is to balance her hormone levels, by regulating and sequencing estrogen. It is indicated that perimenopause is actually the result of estrogen dominance from estrogen surges and that Progesterone regulates those functions to balance the estrogen dominance.

Progesterone also has a role in skin elasticity, bone strength, respiration, nerve tissue and in female sexuality. Its anti-inflammatory properties grant relief from menopausal arthritis symptoms.

Poor diet along with vitamin and mineral deficiencies can lower the production of progesterone, along with lack of exercise and chronic stress.

Low progesterone levels in women results in estrogen dominance, PMS, early perimenopause onset, low libido, excessively heavy bleeding during a period, weight-gain, migraine like headaches, primary dysmenorrhea or cramps, increases the risk of endometrial cancer.

Progesterone is commonly manufactured from the yam family, Dioscorea. It is usually processed into a cream as being one of the better deliver systems. When selecting a cream, choose one that is not oil or wax based because it needs to be absorbed into the skin. The dosing is only a very small dab once or twice a day on the chest area and for only a 25 day cycle each month. I got mine from the health food store for about $28.

Milk also contains bioavailable progesterone because cows are milked during pregnancy when the progesterone content of milk is high.

OTHER SOURCES OF PERIMENOPAUSE RELIEF:

Black Cohosh – No one is really sure what makes this work and there seems to be a lot of questions as to whether it works. The “studies” seem to be contradictory, but it is an old fashioned herbal assistance.

Fortunately, I’ve been tested for rheumatoid a couple of times and have come out negative. So I know I’m blessed. I’m not in a wheelchair and am still mobile, but I do have to wonder how I’d look with one of those beehive hair do’s.

The other side of the family is worse, though. My other grandmother died of some mysterious something or the other. The only thing they really know is that she would go in the hospital and be put in an iron lung for months and do better in the hospital and as soon as she was released home, she would tank. Considering what we know now about hyper allergies and the sensitivities, I personally lean towards her having hyper allergies and her immune system attacking her other systems. Regardless, she passed before she reach perimenopause.

So, I go back further to my great grandmother (Cookie Grandma). Her periomenopause was so bad, my grandfather had to take a year or two off of high school to care for her. Not a good sign. She was a housewife with one child, didn’t work and had a housemaid her whole life. And SHE couldn’t cope with it? Kind of overwhelming to think that we have so many kids and retirement doesn’t ever seem to be an option.

So, my conclusions? Most everyone in my family lives into their late 90’s. So, I guess what this journey into my genetic past means is . . . I’m screwed unless I continue to be proactive.

PROGRESS NOTE: I’m really trying to avoid taking the pill for hormone therapy if I can. The night sweats were hitting me with a vengeance, so I need to do something. Also, I don’t really like “mixture” pills. With my system, I don’t do well with a lot of things, so I prefer to try one thing and then adjust or add from there.

So, I took Soy Isoflavones previously with good results. I’m back on those at 2 pills at 38 mg each. I also started with Progesterone Cream at the rate of a small dab twice a day on my chest. After four days, I’m still having light flushing, but nothing like I was having before.

So, I’m getting good results after five days with the Soy and the Progesterone Cream.

2. Constant comments in articles that women have an issue with no longer having or rather being able to have children. Trust me. At my age, I’m done. I already have five children and to automatically assume that any concerns are based on my ability to not have any more is ridiculous. My concern is vitality and how it is going to affect my spirituality and my magickal abilities.

3. Symptom charts over and over again. They read like the zombie apocalypse and it’s enough to scare the beezeebees out of anyone just to look at it.

4. Minimalistic approaches to managing perimenopause such as listing five things (without dosing suggestions) and emphatically stating that it may or may not work.

5. Recommendations to take up yoga when all the local classes are geared toward younger women who can bend over backwards, touch their toes, and lick their own butt before they even have to stretch.

6. Creams. Why is my life turning into creams. Creams to keep my face and skin moist. Progesterone cream. Medical creams for joint pains. Regular aspirin creams for general joint pains. Sometimes I feel like just sitting in a tub and just dumping all the creams in there and rolling around. Remember powders? I remember powders. I loved powder because of the silky feel, now it just dries out my skin even more. Perhaps, perimenopause really means saying goodbye to powder. Maybe that’s what really bothers us about it.

7. Pills. Just the sheer number of pills at my age SO FAR. As if the prescriptions weren’t enough and expensive enough, then there are the supplements which are sometimes even more expensive than the prescriptions.

Then a few months ago, the flu got even worse with random back cramps and then I started having more fever attacks during the night. Now, sometimes I even have to get up from bed and change because I’m so damp from this dreadful flu. My allergies have gotten really crazy and my nose is stuffed up more often than now.

The worse part is that I never know when it will resurface, but I can usually guarantee the symptoms will show up when I most wish they wouldn’t — like breaking out into a fever when it’s 98 degrees in the Florida Summer.

I’ve been to the doctors and they keep looking up at me from the top of my medical files and say, “So how old are you now?” What’s my age got to do with this dreadful flu that won’t go away? Then they mention two words that I just don’t want to hear: Perimenopause and Menopause. That’s ridiculous! I still have my monthlies. Well, then again they aren’t as predictable as they used to be before I had kids, but nothing in my body is like it was before I had kids.

This is some weird flu baby! I don’t know why they laugh when I say that, but I have been told that I should expect this flu last about seven years give or take.

So I’ve been thinking about this Seven Year Flu lately and I’m sure that at some point in the far away future, I might go into Perimenopause at some point and eventually Menopause itself, so I figure maybe should start looking into it. Although I’m sure I just have the Seven Year Flu right now.

So, first, I figure I’d look up the symptoms. Makes sense right? And here they are. . .

Common Symptoms
1. Hot Flashes
2. Night Sweats
3. Irregular Periods
4. Loss of Libido
5. Vaginal Dryness
6. Mood Swings
7. Fatigue
8. Hair Loss
9. Sleep Disorders
10. Difficult Concentrating
11. Memory Lapses
12. Dizziness
13. Weight Gain
14. Incontinence
15. Bloating
16. Allergies
17. Brittle Nails
18. Changes in Odor
19. Irregular Heartbeat
20. Depression
21. Anxiety
22. Irritability
23. Panic Disorder
24. Breast Pain
25. Headaches
26. Joint Pain
27. Burning Tongue
28. Electric Shocks
29. Digestive Problems
30. Gum Problems and Dental Loss
31. Muscle Tension
32. Itchy Skin
33. Tingling Extremities
34. Osteoporosis

Well, if I wasn’t convinced before, I am even more adamant that I have the Seven Year Flu. This list looks like the symptoms of Zombies. It’s gonna be rough if I ever do go into Perimenopause.

Because we aren’t set up in a strict religious structure (which is what appeals to most of us), it is up to us to determine our own boundaries and definitions. I personally have spent many, many years in the Arte Of Becoming and I know who and what I am. I am a Wytch. Sounds simple, but it is also complex in its simplicity.

Vampyres are not Wytches. Satanists are not Wytches. Chaos workers are not Wytches. Trying to make things “vanilla”, by stretching definitions makes it difficult for manifested people to understand that they are different. I have spent a lot of time to BE what I am. I am proud of it. While there is a similarity in that the occult is involved, there still remains a profound difference.

Wytches do not reside in the land of white light and flowery fields. We don’t. We understand that there are tiers and levels to all of nature beyond the sunny field of happy thoughts and wishes. Wytches break that perception and see beyond. That’s what we do. We don’t pretend otherwise. I prefer to call those that will only remain in the field “White Lighters” myself.

Our “job” is not to heal everyone. Wytches understand that you can’t heal people who don’t want to be healed. However, oftentimes, we make the mistake of thinking we can “make” someone want to be healed when we can’t. This is dealing with the basic laws of nature and magick. You can influence another person, but you can’t change them permanently. And why would you?

A talented Wytch understands that she or he must apply their Artes where it will do the most good and not on the squeaking or “needy” person who won’t help themselves. You can spend a lifetime on one needy person or you can spend that lifetime on helping many, many people who are “willing” and “seeking” to help themselves. We are the way, not the ones who drag people along.

So in the meantime, what do you do with those that don’t want to be helped, but choose to keep hanging around? You have to determine that yourself. I choose to make determinations by the “balanced group theory”. If someone is consistently imbalancing a balanced group (whatever kind of group) and causing chaos and disruption to the spirituality of the group, then they need to be elsewhere. A healthy group mind provides fertile ground for everyone to grow. When one person continually pisses in the garden, everything slowly dies. Pretending otherwise and calling it out “duty to heal” puts everyone at risk. It’s a fact. It is the way of the manifested world.

Sometimes, it’s just not the right fit for someone to be in a particular group mind. We understand that as well and oftentimes, will attempt to find a better group mind for that person. Still, however, maintaining the balanced mind of the group needs to be the priority.
Remember though that there is a difference between “growing pains” and imbalancing a group. The difference is progress. People that wish to become more enlightened and work on being healed will make progress AND it will not be a detriment or destructive to other members of the group.

Remember, search your own definitions and healthy boundaries. And as important as having them, be willing to enforce them when necessary. Have faith in the Goddess that she will handle situations and that you don’t automatically have to “fix” everything. There are plenty of group minds. There are plenty of teachers if someone wishes to avail themselves of them. Faith in the Goddess means not assuming that YOU are in charge of everything. Let go. Focus on being balanced and remaining so.