The responsibilities of the traditional church, in which are commonly know & associated with the Catholic and Christian churches of the world, range from performing weddings, christenings, confirmations and funerals. Why then is the title "minister" or "clergy" immediately synonymous with Christianity?

A minister's duty, especially as an ordained minister, is to perform the said functions. It is their duty to, in their community, be as teacher, friend, confidant, therapist and leader for the people who are a part of their ministry.

They should not teach hate and discrimination, nor that they are set apart and that the rest of the world that does not follow their teachings will burn in eternal fire.

A minister should teach love. A minister should teach right from wrong, with good values as set forth in the charter of their ministry. There shouldn't be differences in how each member of the clergy are treated by those who devote their time and effort into building the ministry into a large one. Each person is entitled their own time for emotional, mental and physical support.

I say this in affirmation, understanding of my duties as part of the clergy. I say this because I believe religion should not be a barrier between people, and I also feel that those who seek counsel should not be denied.

A mere week ago, it was unheard of. But now, a mortality rate of around 12% has the world panicked regarding a flu that began in Mexico and has since spread to the United States, Canada and Spain.

Here in the states, there have been 20 confirmed cases in Texas and California, and another 6 in Canada. The suspected cause for the outbreak? Bad sanitation.

Swine Flu (or Swine Influenza) is a virus that, when it underwent a mutation in it's genetic code, was able to pass from human to human. In Mexico, bad working conditions are the probable cause for the transmission of the new virus from pigs to human workers. Swine Flu is tends to attack the respiratory system more heavily than the traditional strains of flu the U.S. is used to seeing during cold season.

Now, anyone who washes their hands with frequency, drinks lots of water and tends to not share their straws or drinks with other people are a lot less likely to contract any sort of virus or cold. If you hear of breakouts of swine flu in your area, keep a face mask handy in your coat pocket when you're out and about. And Emergen-C tends to be a handy thing, which will at least put your mind at ease if you fear you're at risk for contracting Swine Flu.

Now for the part you've been waiting for. What does this have to do with anything you write here? Well, that one's simple. A great friend of mine once explained that everything, ultimately, is just levels of energy that are swirling around in either positive swirls (love, a good movie, or a healthy glow) or negative swirls (emotional pains, self-inflicted sickness, etc). I say that because that energy can be directed. People who are familiar with the craft are likely to understand what I'm saying here. Younger people who might have experienced their first circle or time at church at a young age might subliminally understand this. Singing hymns in a church, spiral dances, praying.. those are all different ways of raising and directing energy.

I'm not saying the next time you get sick, to dance in a circle naked with mud smeared on your body. But I'm saying that proper nutrition and care of your physical body with the right medication when it's needed, along with the random healing tea or session of reiki is definitely beneficial. Relaxing if you're in a stressful environment is immensely important. So, take a few minutes out of your day and thank whatever or whoever it is you follow for your health, and to reflect on what you've been given. Send healing energy the way of someone you might know who's got a cold, or to just the general idea of world health. It's good for you, and the world. :)

)o(

"So, are you going to the tea party?" my dad asked me when I came home from school last night. And then I realized that it was the TEA Party: Taxed Enough Already Party.

When I got to downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the amount of people who was there was staggering. Six thousand people, ranging in ages from six months to over seventy years old were gathered in the plaza, holding signs protesting the over-spending of the Government, and how much of a mistake we made by electing Obama into office.

The speakers in the center of it all were talking about community, having a barbecue with our neighbors, and to begin talking about the issues. Calling our government and telling them we aren't happy with them, and giving them a taste of our dislike of their level of spending.

Another thing the announcer said was that this wasn't just a Republican meeting. It was a Democrat protest. It was for everyone, because this effects everyone.

This is no longer one war. It's all of ours.

It's something I know only a few people do on a day to day basis, and something I bet people don't exactly realize they can do with their flower gardens.

A simple pot of basil or sage not only is an advantage when cooking Italiano, but the advantages of using fresh sage for a ritual can be greater than using dried or even store-bought. A raised bed can have several herbs, perhaps even some of the "lunar garden" variety to bring a air of mystique and ethereal scenery to your next outdoor ritual.

Think about the past for a second though. The Druids had the right idea of having groves of trees, some fruit or nut-bearing, and the witch's of past seemed to always have a good holistic knowledge when it came to which plants were best for a headache, birthing pains, or to get rid of boils, and they also knew which ones to steer clear of (Nightshade, for instance, should still be handled with care and gloves).

If you're thinking about investing in a "magic garden", get your hands on a good book. Or three. One for basic gardening, that might have what climate you're in, and what's native to your area. This will give you a good idea of what will and will not grow in your area. If you have shade, use it. Full sun? Odds are there's something there. Remember that some plants, particularly types of mints, can be invasive an spread like wildfire through your garden. Keep them (and other invasive types) in separate containers. There are a lot of herbs & plants that are natives to Oregon that I keep in mine. The next, would be a good 'magical' correspondence. The one by Scott Cunningham (because his information has proven itself to me, and many others time and time again) is a great starting point. His book should be used as a supplement to your "guide to gardening" book, since it goes more into what you can use each herb for.

Finally, if you want to get serious about gardening with a purpose, get a book on natural remedies. Simple things like diuretics, blood clotters, and anti-bacterial plants can be used to make different types of remedies for every day things, for diarehhea, a cut, or using in place of soap.

One important final note, always read about what you're using or growing. Know it, inside and out, even if you have to buy or borrow a book on it. Black Salve, while it could help with getting a bee stinger out, is corrosive and can cause tissue damage. Know the difference between plants, local and exotic, if they're in your garden. If you can, write labels for each area of plants with a warning if they're poisonous to be ingested or touched. If you have children playing in or around your garden, teach them about which herbs can hurt them, or keep the plants in a place out of reach if they're potted.

And most of all, get your green thumb on!

...When the Ash and Oak, and the Birch and Yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair..
Loreena McKennitt, Mummer's Dance

Yep. It's finally beginning to warm up here in the great Northwest. With the coming of spring, brings the birds, Saturday Market, tank tops, Easter baskets and swimming. And of course, outdoor rituals.

My share of outdoor rituals have always included some aspect of Brigid, singing to raise energy, and incredible surprises by nature before, during & after the ritual. I've had instances where the sun has drifted in and out of the clouds during key points in the ritual, when we've invoked the Sun God, and also from the local animal life while calling the elements.

For anyone who's either new in the Craft, or long time practitioners, spring is generally a time of renewal, and a time to celebrate the maiden aspect of ourselves as women & the youth aspect for men. Both are times of learning in our lives.. and at this point, we're young, and tend to do things on a whim instead of carefully planning. It's also representative of the very fruitfulness that youth gives us, and the holidays I recognize that are associated with this are Ostara and Beltane, or Easter and May Day (March 21st and May 1st).

Ostara is one of the holidays that Christianity took the date and changed the meaning of, to put it simply. The date for Easter varies with each year, but Ostara is generally on the Spring Equinox, anywhere from March 21-22nd. This is the date that most people who identify as Pagan feel that the earth is waking up from her slumber, and the world is becoming ever abundant in food, nature, and in children. The wheel paralled with the life of the Goddess as taken from the Wiccan belief system, her son (the reincarnated God) is growing strong. The light of the world is back, and we celebrate by channeling the energy to take out the negative thoughts, and leave space for the positive to thrive. A lot like spring cleaning! Take out the old for the new. :)

May Day, or Beltane, is well after the equinox. It is the time the world is warm, and our souls gravitate towards one another. With the wheel, it represents the height of spring at it's warmest and the unity of the Goddess and the God. If you've ever played with a May Pole, well... let's just say it's more of a phallic symbol than anything else. It's the time that the Maiden takes her first step towards becoming the Mother. This is generally a fertility holiday, for livestock, mother nature and for humanity.

My rituals for these times include offerings of salt and fruit, ribbons in hair to represent the weave of the world in time, and dancing. They're supposed to be social things, and dancing (espeically a Spiral Dance) is great for not only breaking down the barriers between people who might not have met before, but also for raising energy to channel towards a bountiful year. I tend to do a demonstration including an apple for people I know are new, showing the natural star the seeds make in the fruit, and then cutting it up to share with those around us.

Jesus did something similar, using the bread and wine as his body and blood. It represents something deeper than that however. His life ended violently, for a belief of God. This time of year is also a good time to remember those who have lost their lives for beliving in a higher purpose which spans beyond themselves.

Martin Luther King, Jesus, our family and friends who have gone to a war and not come home... yes, not all of these situations and people died completely for a good cause. But think of what they believed in. What they changed in the world. They had their own purposes that they felt strongly for, and they fought (literally or figuratively) for that cause.

So, next time you go to a ritual, the monastary, or church, think outside your world. Think of the world around you. Think of holidays that are local, federal, ancient or traditional to your family. Or if you have to go somewhere that's outside your faith or belief system, respect it.

You won't die by hellfire by going to a circle. Instead, respect the beauty of the words we speak.

If you have to go to the church with family, don't dread it. There's beauty in scripture.

If you have to go to a monastary, don't ignore your surroundings. Look at the meaning behind the incense, the statues.

And most of all, don't push your image of yourself beyond the capability of respecting and appreciating the world around you.

Aye, I am quite the geek. I tend to be very adament about what games I play, and the same goes for my music. So when Guitar Hero first came out, and then a few years later Rock Band, I was ecstatic. I absolutely loved the first Guitar Hero, and when the chance for me to pretend to be a professional drummer came into reality, I was even happier. Unfortunatley, I have never owned it. So I borrowed my boyfriend's copy of Guitar Hero: World Tour. I beat it within a week on medium, considering before then I couldn't even play Rock Band on easy as the guitar. Bit of a learning curve, eh?

But it got me thinking. If they can do that with six buttons and a "strummer", would it be possible to do something like that with say, a violin? Or maybe even a lute! Twelve string guitar... the possibilities are endless. A friend of mine posted a notice online that included a picture of the guitar hero controller, and then a picture of what THEIR controller looked like. Someone had photoshopped the GH controller to have six rows of what looked to be 30 buttons, and six separate strummers. Can you say overkill?

Speaking of Overkill. I'm an avid Halo 3 Matchmaking player. Sure, I don't have the Legendary Map Pack, or the Mythic... or Halo Wars... but hey, I've made it up to Lieutenant grade 3 in the three months I've owned the game AND system. And considering I try to keep up in school and tend to go to bed at 9-10 pm any given night. I know for a fact that music effects how I play. If I'm going to be playing some good old team slayer, than I need something that has intense riffs, and a powerful first verse to pull me into that mode: kill or be killed.

My music taste tends to be a mix of whatever suits my mood at the moment. Be it power metal with a taste of despair, jazz with a good bassline, or perhaps an ancient song from Ireland given the breath of new life by Clannad. Something that has texture. And for me, texture can encompass anything from incredible drums, a shoe-in by a lute, or a opening guitar solo that can stir the beast within. The last one is generally the one I use when I play Halo 3.

But for now, I think I'll just stick with GH: World Tour until I can beat if fully. I still haven't gotten 100% on Pull Me Under by Dream Theater!

Haha, something we've all done sooner or later, right? Well, it's something that I think more people should understand how to do. Knowing how to write a good persuasive paragraph or research, can lead to perhaps a job writing proposals for companies, or even publishing a paper. But what's the best way to write a paper?


1. Know your enemy!

Yep, you heard me. In order to write a good paper, you need to spend time getting to know your new best friend. Be it a type of disease, a desire to go to a certain college, or how you encountered your first big wave. Go hop onto Google, bike or walk to your local library, or take a small self-exploring sit-down to better understand your topic. The internet can hook you up to other resources (book exchanges, maybe?) that you can use, and most of all, it's free.

At your library, you can also look at actual articles both on a slide viewer or their catalogs. It may take some hunting if you're doing a research paper on a historical event from ancient history, you might not find anything. That's when you have to hunt through the encyclopedias.

If you are writing a reflective piece, think about what event you're doing. When was it? How did it change you? Did it change your view on your life, or change it? Write down your questions, and then answer them.


2. Organize the chaos!

This may take some doing, considering you might be one of those sporadic people like me. There are a few ways to better your paper this way, too. Draw out a web, centering around your main idea or topic, and create three bubbles. Fill these in with either three supporting points, events that happened chronologically, or more detailed information. Stem out from the smaller ones with the stronger points that you don't want to forget.

3. Write the first draft.

Your first draft will NOT be your prettiest. From my years working on newspaper in high school, I've learned two things. ONE: Coffee is the cure to fatigue behind the computer screen, and TWO: the editors are your friends and will make your writing better. Give it to your teacher to read through, or a friend. Or two. Or five! Print out multiple copies of it, and have people edit them. Compare what they said to change, and if you disagree with something, ask them about it. This is only your first draft, so continue to work on it!


4. Make the changes.

Yep. Now it's time to hunt for that one misspelled word, or that run on sentence that needs to be tackled into three. A dirty job, but someone's got to do it! By now you've thought about your topic inside and out, and know it as well as you know your big toe. Did you think up a new way to start it? Find a paragraph that can be rewritten in a much cleaner way? Write it out, and get fresh eyes to take a gander at it. If it works, keep. If no, go back to the old one.

5. Beautify it!

Yes. It's finished now. It didn't take too long, either! But now it has to appeal both literally (ahaha, a pun on words. So witty.) and aesthetically to your reader. Take into consideration these things:

• Who is reading it? A teacher, a friend, a newspaper... parents, maybe? Each person is going to look for a certain thing that will lock them in. And for each one, it will be different. Know your audience!
• What were the requirements for it? Double spaced in size 12 font? Ariel font? Open-ended? If there has been a previously outlined way of writing it and how it should be turned in, follow those directions. If it requires a cover letter, center the text both in the middle of the paper horizontally and vertically. Don't use capitals in your name, the title of the essay, or any other information. If your paper is going to be read by a newspaper, keep the headline to a minimum. Name, date, section the article will fall under. Make sure it's properly formatted so the editor doesn't get pissed off.
• How organized is it? Do you know who's going to read it, and will they be able to follow your line of thought? If not, reorganize things.
• Is it gold-frame work? Or in other words, is it something you would put into a $600 gold frame on display at the school or entry hall of your workplace? Would you want your parents to read it, or pastor/clergy to see it? If you don't want your name on your work, there's something wrong with it. Your writing should be something you're proud of! Not scared of.

Maybe you might be the type of person to get scared by an essay or paper.. never fear however! They can be your friend.

Just some things I tend to notice among my days at my school. That's all I can really say about school, is what I've seen, and what I've thought afterwards from it.

Freshman year, I was going through a hard time mentally because of a weird situation that had put me way out of my comfort zone. I also encountered the first teacher ever to make English and Writing fun. I had an A all that year, both terms. It was not an Honors Class.. just strictly English 1-2. But we talked about things that had taken our minds from the infancy of middle/junior high school, to a mindset of what later turned us into our sophomoric selves. I wrote several essays in that class that I still keep.

Sophomore year, I began something else that really changed my outlook on my life. Theater... it's amazing how such a small thing as acting can turn into a catalyst for change. Acting pushes you to push yourself to the limits of your comfort zone, and beyond.

And this year alone... I have met amazing people. In Drama, while at competition and in class... at ACE this year, who go to multiple other high schools in Portland. And Pagan Faire. I cannot stress how incredible it is to work with the women of Sister Spirit in circles. Frodo Okulam, the woman who leads them 95% of the time, is a woman of sheer power and grace.

The last three years I've been in high school, I have grown in who I am... much thanks to my teachers who have mentored me, the people in my life who have loved me, and the adults in my life who have pushed me. :)

Ah.. took some pictures of things that caught my eye at Pagan Faire. Fabulous place... lots of awesome people. And the stuff I saw, I just have to share. It's beautiful. So some nice pagan eye candy...

What we saw when we walked in.
















Some of the displays that caught my eye.... all hand-made!!!




(And yes... that is a little girl in a cloak. She's watching the dancers. )





















These pictures do not do this event nor the vendors that were there justice... I was too distracted by the cloaks to get a picture of them. And just for good measure, I'm gonna throw in a pic of the one I got to share it all with. <3



Nearly a year now, of laughing, fighting, playing, swimming, gaming, jellyfish, growing and love. We've had our rough times, but... we have things figured out now. And he is awesome. My Kyle.