I was just walking out of my office to the front counter and I saw a blonde woman get out of a car that was parked in front of the store.  I thought to myself,  “Boy, that looks just like Jen.  But why on earth would Jen be here?”  Now, Jen lives, with her husband and daughter, two Australian Shepherds,  and a couple of cats , in Michigan.  So the chances of her arriving on my doorstep are pretty slim.  So this blonde walks in, I said hi, she said hi, but she had a funny look on her face, so I knew my suspicion was correct.  WOW!

Sandi, Jen, and Lleu

I haven’t seen Jennifer in about 9 years, I guess it is now.    That was when we took our still-talked-about trip to Florida.  Confused?  Can’t say I blame you.  Here’s some background.  Jen, our friend Marcy (who lives in White Plains, NY), our friend Myra (who used to live in FL), and I all met on a deaf dogs yahoogroup.  At that time, there were only a few dozen of us on the newsgroup, which has now grown to over 1000 strong.  We all got to know each other pretty well, and somehow or another (I seem to remember it was Marcy’s and my idea), we all decided to travel down to Myra’s for a Deaf Dog Picnic.  After much planning, we all took the time off, and I rented a big van, which we promptly dubbed The Church Van due to its size and the fact that the three of us are Witches.  Seemed to make a lot of sense.

So Jen loaded up her car with dog gear, human gear, and two deaf Australian Shepherds named Gwydion and Gwendolyn, and headed to my house.  We still tease her about how she ever got here because she won’t pass any trucks on the highway, and try getting from MI to NJ on Rte. 80 without passing a truck or two along the way!  But she made it, all in one piece.

Marcy came down from White Plains with her deaf Aussie named Woof, and her hearing Aussie named Bandit, along with all her gear and the dog gear. 

We met at my house and transferred all the gear, dogs (including my two deaf ones), crates, x-pens, blankets, food, CDs for the ride, human clothes, and anything else that wasn’t nailed down, into the Church Van.  From the back of the van forward, we had Gwydion and Gwen in their crates, facing each other, on the back seat, with various crates and x-pens on the floor underneath them.  On the seat in front of them was Jen and next to her was more of the dog gear.  On top of the dog gear was Bandit, the only hearing dog of the six.

On the next forward seat was Woof, the Grande Dame of the group.  She was 10+ years old at that point and definitely felt she was the Queen Mum, sitting on top of all the rest of the gear, happy as a clam.

On the next forward seat, right behind the driver seat, was Orion and Nina, my two deaf Dalmatians, who slept most of the trip.  I drove most of the way and Marcy was co-pilot.

We left on a Thursday to arrive in FL (near Tampa) on Friday.  We stopped over for a couple of hours in South Carolina in a rest stop, but there was no overnight parking so we didn’t stay very long.  We pulled into Myra’s house after noon sometime, and unloaded dogs and everything else, as well as met Myra’s two deaf Dallies, Willow and Gypsy, my goddessdaughter, who was still a puppy at that point.

Have you kept up with me so far?  We’ve got four adults (five including Myra’s (now ex) husband and eight dogs (seven of whom were deaf), 4 Aussies (whom I call Long Hairs), and 4 Dallies (AKA Spotted Wonders).  And keep in mind that none of us had ever met each other face-to-face before this marathon trip!

We were all really exhausted, and I don’t even remember what we did that night except laid out mattresses and futons and get ourselves all settled in.  I had the blow-up mattress and ended up with assorted dogs on it with me, including Orion and later on, Nina (that was her eureka! weekend when she told me she didn’t need to stay in a crate any longer), as well as Gypsy and I think Gwen joined us also.

The next day we all got up, fed and watered the dogs and ourselves, and traipsed off to a dog outing for the afternoon.  It was a great time, and we even had a portrait taken of all of us (humans and dogs) that Marcy created a matte for when we got home.  I still have that photo displayed in my home, even though the only dogs still here are Bandit, Gwen, Orion, and Nina.

On Sunday, we went to a dog park the area has and had a ball!  A huge park, totally made by and for dogs and their people, and really well maintained.  We met several people we’d become friendly with on the deafdogs list, and even got interviewed on the local TV news that aired that night because we’d come so far for our furkids.  I still have a VHS tape of that episode.  Orion had his first encounter with a big dog.  An Irish Elkhound meandered over to investigate and even Nina was a little surprised at the size of this small horse.

We headed home on Monday morning to be home by Tuesday (and Jen still had a day’s drive ahead of her back to MI).  There were so many stories that came out of that trip, and such great friendships.  I could write about it for hours.  Jen’s choice of traveling music (Enya is not good driving music); Bandit almost biting off my nose (hence his nickname of Dead Dog Walking, or DDW for short); how Orion didn’t eat the entire weekend; Nina playing Miss Hospitality; Willow and her blank, blue-eyed stare; little Gypsy stealing everyone’s heart (especially mine); Gwydion barking, non-stop, the entire 21 hours it took us to get to FL, and being so hoarse he slept the entire way home (and Jen falling asleep on the seat in front of him); and I know there was more. 

Anyway, back to present day.  I almost forgot this part!  So Jen and her husband Mark (whom I’ve never met) show up with their new puppy Lleu (they had to send Gwydion to The Rainbow Bridge a couple years ago) and totally surprised me.  Turns out that Marcy knew they were coming, and I should have, but didn’t.  Jen mentioned the other day (we’re both on the Board of Directors of D2Care) that they were going on vacation, but I got distracted and didn’t get a chance to ask for details.  And Marcy posted on Facebook, asking if anyone knew where there were some dog-friendly places to take some friends who were coming in.  I never questioned that because Marcy’s always got dog friends coming in.  And it also turns out that Katrina, D2Care President, also knew but never breathed a word.  Boy, they got me, but GOOD!!  I don’t shock easily, but this one was totally meant to be, it seems.  Good One, Ladies!  With friends like you … ROFL

Thank you all for the years of friendship, shared heartache over our kids, and wonderful memories!

Please tell us about your childhood, growing up in such a staunchly religious household.
Oddly enough, I don’t think of my household as being staunchly religious, although my father was an Episcopal priest. I don’t recall having much direct religious instruction from either of my parents, except for singing prayers at bedtime. It was more that I literally grew up in the Church, hearing the rich, sonorous—and sometimes frightening—language of the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible (which I remember my father jokingly called the King James virgin) before I could read. Unlike other children, I did not attend Church with my parents. My father was in the pulpit, my mother in the choir, and my siblings and I were not allowed to sit together because we would incite each other to misbehavior. I still cannot sit with my sister in church without getting an uncontrollable fit of the giggles.

I apparently did not form a very favorable opinion of God in early childhood. My first datable memory (age three) is of my plot to kill God and Jesus by rolling a boulder onto them while they passed by in a desert landscape straight out of Road Runner cartoons. I developed a fear and mistrust of all authority figures including policemen. (I am still afraid of police).

There were good things about growing up in the churchyard. I have always had a strong sense of community, of how diverse and sometimes disagreeable people can manage to come together, not just, or even mainly, for a common purpose, but to help each other through life. Though I am not part of a formal religious community, I have always found community wherever I am. Temple Magdalen in The Passion of Mary Magdalen is an expression of my idea of what community can be.

Even though you rebelled as a young woman (in more ways than one!), you still chose to become an interfaith minister.  Why?
According to family lore, I come from a line of nine generations of Episcopal priests, and I considered going to seminary, especially because at the time I graduated from college, women were not yet allowed to be ordained. That appealed to the rebel in me. But in the Spring of my senior year, I began writing my first novel, The Wild Mother, and heaved a sigh of relief when ordination of women was passed later that year. By then I had determined that fiction writing was my path, and I determined to have no other vocation, and so worked only at what I considered day jobs.

Then in 1995, I decided somebody had to do something on the property where my mother-in-law had run a small school until 1992. I tried a variety of things and we now have a wonderful alternative community center where we celebrate the Celtic Cross Quarter days. But what the Buddhists call right livelihood was not forthcoming. By then I had been facilitating and participating in earth-centered ritual for many years, so I was already functioning as a priestess. I was also beginning the story of the Celtic Mary Magdalen who loves Jesus but never converts or becomes a disciple. I wanted to integrate my Christian roots and my pagan practices. Interfaith seminary made sense to me. Most of all, I wanted to be a counselor, and the New Seminary offered training in counseling. I have now been in private practice as a counselor for eleven years. Counseling is not at all a rival vocation. It’s really part of the same vocation, listening for the story.

I read on your website that Madge/Maeve came to you first as a contemporary cartoon character who refused to be in a novel until you proposed that she be the Celtic Mary Magdalen. How did you conceive of the Maeve Chronicles, particularly in light of your background?
Maeve really did come to me as a mouthy, outrageous, contemporary woman named Madge, who insisted I draw a book of cartoons before she would consider being a character in a novel. I complied. Then, one night I was talking to my husband about Mary Magdalen (I don’t know why) when it occurred to me that Madge and Magdalen had many of the same letters. Madge’s hair was a shade called Fiery Neon Orange, which made me think of red-headed Celts. I put the two together and proposed to her a book about the Celtic Mary Magdalen. She was enthused because it seemed sufficiently outrageous to her.

In terms of my background, I now see that it was deeply satisfying and perhaps necessary for me to explore the Christian story from a fresh (in every sense) point of view. But as Maeve is quick to point out, it is her story, not his. Also, after having had an encounter with the goddess and exploring the goddess movement, I found myself longing for an incarnate, earthy goddess, one who is also human, who shares our trials and tribulations, as Jesus does in the Christian tradition. For me, that’s Maeve.

When you and I first started speaking, I told you how much I loved your books and how I stayed up till 2am or later, totally captivated by Maeve’s story.  Do you get this sort of reaction a lot?
Yes, I am very pleased to say that I do. The other response I hear from people is: I am rationing myself and only reading a little every day, because I don’t want the book to end. I am thrilled with both approaches. Hearing from readers has been a great gift. I never want to miss an opportunity to say that I believe reading is a creative act, and each person’s reading deepens the life and meaning of the story. Thank you all so much, dear readers!

Do you feel that all the media attention paid to The Da Vinci Code is a good or bad thing?  Do you feel that it’s helped or hurt the Maeve Chronicles at all?
The media attention paid to The Da Vinci Code was a good and a bad thing on balance. It was at its height when The Passion of Mary Magdalen was published in Spring 2006, and it definitely stirred public interest in all things Mary Magdalen. It helped people find my work who might not have otherwise. That kind of media frenzy is never long-lived, so soon (to the media) Mary Magdalen was yesterday’s news and it was harder to get press for the other book. It’s nice to catch the zeitgeist, but you can’t count on it. Loyal readers who spread the word matter more than anything else.

What will the next, and last, Maeve Chronicle edition be about?
Those who have read Magdalen Rising know that I planted a seed that can only come to fruition with Maeve’s return to the British Isles. Originally I thought I’d be able to include that story in the third volume, but it is a story in itself. Those who have read Bright Dark Madonna can guess that Maeve’s daughter Sarah is with her as she returns to her native isles to search for the daughter who was taken from her by force. This story will include an account of the uprising of Queen Boudica. I am hoping Red-Robed Priestess (the working title) will be available in 2011. Stay tuned!

Elizabeth, thank you so much for your time.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to be hosting you at the store and hearing you speak about Maeve!

We managed to wade our way through all the traffic in CT and RI.  It’s amazing how badly they drive up there, unless everyone was just not concentrating because they wanted to be away on vacation.  It took us an extra 45 minutes due to all the delays, but we finally arrived.  Doug’s cousins came to meet us where we’d parked and we walked into Newport (or “Newpot” as they say up there) for lunch.  We’d eaten at the same place the last time we were there and the food was just great. 

We wandered around town, looking in all the shops until it was time for us to leave to check into our motel, which we did, and got changed for dinner.  We went back over to the cousins’ home and drove into town from there.  We ate at a wonderful restaurant called The Mooring.

Here’s a picture of the view from our table:
But the best part was on the menu!  We started looking everything over and we decided to have – get this! – Bags of Doughnuts for appetizers.  I kid you not, that’s what it was called, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with fried dough.  I even asked for a menu back so I could take a picture, knowing I wanted to blog about this.
They were absolutely incredible, even without the side sauce, which was a variation of Russian dressing.  I could easily see sitting at the bar, downing a few beers and munching down on a couple Bags of Doughnuts.  Wow!

Dinner was just stupendous, and I can highly recommend this place if you’re ever in Newpot or vicinity.

We left the next morning and drove up to Cape Cod to buy Witches’ Balls for the store.  I always love hand-picking what I’m going to sell, and this was no exception.  The first time we ever went there, we just happened to drive past the place while we were on vacation, and headed to Deborah Ann’s Rainbow, a New Age store located in Dennisport.  We turned around and I had a field day.  Anyway, love their quality and the colors, and they’re just so nice to work with, they make the trip a pleasure.  So here’s a picture of some of the Balls I bought:

I just LOVE all the colors, and usually have a terrible time picking them out cause I just want them all!

But we left after less than an hour because traffic getting off the Cape was already piling up (there’re only two one-lane roads leading up to two bridges to get off the island, so you can imagine the back-ups).  Sure enough, it was awful, and we decided to take an alternate route back home instead of I-95.  Not that the alternates were any better, mind you.  It took us just under six hours to get home, a trip that should’ve only taken us just about four.  Craziness.

So today was my first day back in the store and I unpacked the Witches’ Balls and the aromatherapy lamps I bought, and I also got a shipment of new cauldrons, which I’m really happy about!
Don’t they look great, on the shelf all together?  There are several more scattered throughout the store, but I made this one shelf of each of the sizes, and even managed to get them onto the website. 

A very productive day, after a great weekend, indeed!

I had the extreme pleasure to interview Jason Miller in preparation for his visit here on September 27.  He’ll be conducting an all-day workshop in Hoodoo Magick that is already garnering some attention.  If you’re waiting to sign up for this class, I sure wouldn’t!  Read on for some real interesting answers:

Why do you feel it’s your karma to help people defend themselves against magickal attack and/or spirit obsession?  Why do you feel people sought you out for that purpose?
I say that it’s my Karma to do this, simply because the opportunity to do it comes up more often than it does for other people, and because I seem to be pretty good at it. Helping someone defend against psychic attack was the second practical thing I was ever asked to do with magick (the first was draw money); so right from the start it was a need that I saw people had. Throughout the last 20 years, even before I started officially doing magick professionally, people always seemed to find me when they needed this kind of help. Even other Witches and Magicians, with more years of practice behind them, have looked for help because when the situation came up, they were not prepared for it.

If someone feels they’re under psychic attack. What can they do to?ascertain it is, in fact, true?
There are a number of symptoms that I list in my book (Protection and Reversal Magick), which I divide into external, mental, and physical conditions, as well as omens and warnings. Runs of bad luck, unfortunate synchronicities, and a feeling of being out of step with the flow of time are examples of external conditions. Mental symptoms such as a sudden depression or anxiety might be a symptom of attack, and acting out of character might be a symptom of coercive magick. Sudden illnesses and sleep paralysis are two examples of physical conditions that can pop up. Omens can range from bad dreams, to all the plants in the house dying. In fact, many Sorcerers keep plants in the temple specifically as an early warning system for just this reason. I list many more in my book, and even that list is far from exhaustive. The important thing is not the presence of any one of these symptoms alone, but clusters of them together.

Though it is true that many people who seek help with psychic attack are either bringing their problems on themselves or just having a normal run of bad luck, it is also true that some practitioners, especially those with training in Western systems like Wicca or Ceremonial Magic, tend to dismiss any claim at psychic attack out of hand. This is because, in an attempt to make Witchcraft and magick more palatable to the general public, the books all reiterate how safe it all is and how no real Witch or Magician would ever do harmful magick because of the Wiccan Rede or Karma or something like that.

The truth is that most magickal attacks do not emanate from other people, but from spirits or nature or places that are reacting to how our human lifestyle (air pollution, damming rivers, dumping trash, country music, etc.) infringes onto their space. The primary role of the shaman was to address these imbalances, and even today, this is a huge part of medicine in traditional cultures. That said, attacks from other Magicians and Witches do happen more often than most people are willing to admit. Anyone that stocks a lot of material used in Hoodoo, for instance, will find that cursing materials are a big seller. From the ancient Greek defixiones tablets, to the Israeli Khabbalists that put a curse on Ariel Sharon a few years ago, it has always been part of the art of magick and always will be.

Thankfully, the treatment for imaginary attack and real attack is the same. Just do the cleansing and protection; It wont hurt. If people keep coming back again and again because they are claiming that they are constantly under attack, then there is a good chance that they are imagining it or creating the situation for drama.

What are some signs that someone has actually been cursed?
Well, some of the symptoms of psychic attack I just listed above. Often, however, people that have been cursed or suspect that they have been cursed will have someone in mind as the attacker. They either know that they have ticked off someone that knows magick and is not morally opposed to using it for justice or revenge (largely a matter of perspective), or they know someone that might seek a professional’s services in doing the same. I think that people often underestimate how many people use magick, or are involved in religions that use magick. It’s not just people with pentagrams. It might be a family from Mexico praying to Santissima Muerte for help, or even an evangelical preacher using imprecatory psalms, like Rev. Willie Drake recently made news doing against the President.

Sometimes it is unmistakable that you are being cursed because the attacker has let you know. You wake up and find a smashed bottle of War Water on your doorstep, an obituary has been taken out for you in the local paper, or the Sigil of Belphegor is glued to your windshield. All good signs you have probably been cursed. The idea in most of these cases is that the psychological impact will do as much or more than any actual magick. This effect is known in medicine as a nocebo, the opposite of a placebo; The expectation of doom creates the doom that is expected. Chaos magicians like Peter Carroll like this approach to cursing, but I do not. Any psychological boost to the curse is rendered moot when the target does a reversal spell or seeks help from a professional. If you were genuinely interested in cursing someone, you wouldn’t want them to be able to respond, right?

Please explain what Chinese Qigong is and how you use it in your magickal practices.
Qigong is the Chinese internal energy art that is similar to yoga and is connected to various martial arts like Tai Chi and Kung Fu. Though I took some classes in it years ago in Philadelphia, it has resurfaced as a interest of mine because it uses a subtle body map similar to the Tibetan Buddhist system, which I am very familiar and experienced with, but uses it in a different way. Whereas the Buddhists are more concerned with generating strong, reality-shaking, experiences of bliss and emptiness that can be hard to snap back to regular life from, the Taoists are more concerned with physical health and well being, and thus use the winds and channels of the psychic body differently.

In the past I have always felt more connected to my inner life than my outer one, but as a recent father of twins, I am finding my concern for material health and longevity increasing. QiGung, Tsa Lung, and other arts of internal energy are quite useful in casting spells as well because they enable you to be a lot more focused and exact than just “sending energy.”  You get a real sense of what different types of energy are available and how to control them. In my new book (The Sorcerer’s Secret) I get into how to use these energies in field magick, where you aren’t in the temple using herbs and candles, but casting spells in the course of a conversation, or glancing at someone.

Please tell us what prompted you to write a book in the first place.
I was asked to. A few years ago I wrote an article for Witchvox called “Spell casting; the Witch’s Craft” that received a lot of attention. One of the people that read it was Laurie from New Page Books, and she asked if I would want to write a book. I am a big believer in signs and omens, and they don’t get much more blatant than that. I wanted to do Protection and Reversal Magick because it was a subject that I felt was not getting enough quality treatment in recent books, and the older classics in the subject were seriously outdated. For instance, Dion Fortune’s book “Psychic Self-Defense” came out before the Witchcraft revival and treats all Witches as essentially evil. She also talks a lot about Black Lodges of Magicians who seemingly do nothing but evil for evil’s sake. While there are people who do harmful magick, they usually have a reason. The idea of lodges of Magicians blighting crops and causing infertility, then dancing around in perfidious glee at the weekly meeting is something that I think we need to let go of.

What is your upcoming book, The Sorcerer’s Secret, about?
The Sorcerer’s Secret was written to get people to think strategically about magick. Too often people have a problem, open up a spell book, try a spell, then forget the whole thing. A real Sorcerer will approach problems with a plan that incorporates a series of magickal workings along with some tactical mundane actions to support that magick. Though many books talk about the need for mundane action to support magick, mine is the first I know of that sets forth some concrete suggestions and ideas. For instance, in the Influencing section, along with spells and tricks of magick, there are hypnotic techniques and some sales tricks that have been known to get people on your side. In the Financial Magick section we talk about using your magick to support a personal financial plan that involves five separate stages. In Court Case Magick, I want people not only to do a spell to win the case, but to do one that charms the judge, another than jinxes the opposition, and another that acts as a glamour on themselves.??The other purpose of the new book is to flesh out your magick. Some systems are worked only in the temple.  This book teaches how to also do magick during a conversation. Some systems of magick rely primarily upon material items charged with prayer.  This book will teach how to flesh that out using energies from the body and the astral. Others that rely upon astral and psychic energies will learn how to ground their magick and get more material results by using material objects.??I try not to write anything that I think is already being covered well by someone else, so I think that people will find this new book unique.

I read one of your blogs about Financial Magick.  I encounter people all the time who feel, as your student did, that financial success, or even doing a spell for money, is “bad” and “not spiritual.”  How do you respond to that notion?
It’s funny, but less than 100 years ago, Western magick was largely a pre-occupation of the rich and elite. In the Fifties and Sixties, it got mixed in heavily with the Hippie and other counter-culture movements that seemed to regard material success as inherently evil. This idea has stuck with magick ever since, and it’s a shame. While there are certainly spiritual paths that rely upon non-materialism, it is not inherent to magick; just the opposite in fact. The thing that differentiates the Witch and Magician from the monk or the mystic is the way in which we reflect our spiritual progress out into the world through action. If you want to join an Ashram or Monastery, I am all for it, but if you are living in the world where you have work and bills and all the other facets of modern society, you should be skillful at dealing with it, no?

There is a school of thought that says that the love of money is the root of all evil, but in my experience it is the lack of money that is the root of evil. It’s true that money can do bad things to people, but if we are not going to reject it outright, then we have a responsibility to master it.

Some people will object specifically to the use of magick for money. These people also tend to object to the use of magick to do just about anything that is not 100% altruistic. To these folks, magick is different from any other action. While they might influence their boss, or vie for a promotion through any other means, they feel that magick should be beyond all that. The truth is, though, that you can do a lot more good in the world if you know how to make money work for you than if you don’t.  All the good intentions in the world won’t write the check to the charity. If you are not well off, you are not in a position to help people. It’s just like they say on the airplane before a flight: secure your own oxygen mask before trying to help your neighbor.

Please tell us a little about the time you spent living in Nepal and Tibet.  I can’t imagine how spiritually uplifting and fulfilling that must?have been!  What brought you there in the first place?
Sadly, I have never been to Tibet proper. Since the Cultural Revolution, it just hasn’t been a place that you could go and  study with the Tibetans without interference. You have to go to India or Nepal, so I chose Nepal. Living in a place where magick is a facet of culture for everyone, rather than a sub-culture that is very hush-hush, was really amazing. Tibetan magick is certainly among the most, if not the most, evolved magickal cultures on the planet. They have devoted as much to meditation, magick, and spirituality over the past 1200 years as we have on science and business. From hedge magick, to internal energy work, to complex ceremonial evocation, it is all there.

I studied Tibetan Buddhism in the States with various visiting and resident Lamas for four years before going to Nepal. Eventually, you get to a point where you ask questions of the visiting Lamas that they can only answer in certain situations or give out on retreat. They would tell me to come to Nepal and that they would teach me what I wanted to know there, so that’s what I did.

Since I was a teenager, long before I became deeply involved in Tibetan Buddhism, I have been close friends with John Myrdhin Reynolds, who is a translator and Lama himself. He helped open a lot of doors for me over there and guided me so that I could learn more in one year than most students would get to learn in five. I owe him an immeasurable debt for his guidance and knowledge. The practices that I learned from living in Nepal, and from studying with many Lamas in the States, not only form the root of my spiritual life as a Buddhist, but also have transformed the way in which I approach all other magick as well.

Jason, I want to thank you so much for your time and these great answers.  I’m really looking forward to seeing you in September, as I’m sure my customers are.  I get the feeling we’ll be learning quite a bit from you!

But I decided not to go with that idea cause I didn’t want to copycat Murv.  He’s the one who’s writing about his experience in four-part harmony and I don’t want to horn in on his action.

Then I had an idea to blog about some comments made on my Facebook page.  One of my friends posted a “social experiment” that asked your friends to post their most memorable experience of/with you.  Some of the comments my friends and family made were truly touching, and most were totally hysterical!  They all brought back some incredibly wonderful memories, including things I’d totally forgotten.  It’s always amazing to me what people remember about you.  Something that you never remember, a very small occurance to you, means everything to them.  Think back to your own memories of your parents.  I have several that they never remembered, but are seared into my brain like they happened yesterday.  We are truly incredible creatures, and I never cease to be amazed by the human body, brain, and experience. 

But I decided not to blog about the comments when a couple of my - so-called! - friends said they wanted royalties for their stories.  Funny idea, but it wasn’t going to happen.

I also had a thought to blog about (what I’m calling) ’snot-nose’ kids.  That’s a little harsh, but it did come from a place of some frustration and anger for me at the time.  Now that school’s out, kids are walking through downtown Butler.  Most of the time they’re not a problem.  And to be honest, they’re really more of an issue when they’re on their way home, walking past the store, when school is in session.  Anyway, they seem to like to come in and challenge me, for lack of a better term.  If they were truly interested in learning, I’d have no problem whatsoever about engaging them and answering their questions.  But instead, they seem to feel the need to ask me what they’re thinking about (cause if I’m psychic, then I must know), how can they change a teacher/parent/ex-boyfriend into a toad or frog (a la Charmed), what spell can they put on someone, and other ridiculous questions about nonsense.  And when I don’t engage and ask them to leave, they get all indignant and then nasty.  I gather the idea is that because I’m standing here, I MUST answer them, I MUST do what they want, and how DARE I say no!!  They’re not about to open their minds to anything, they’[re not about to buy anything, they just have nothing better to do but harrass me, I guess. 

What only makes it worse is that they feel they’re entitled to this behavior!  I just don’t get it.  When did it become a great idea to let kids think that they can order adults around (if their parents want to allow it, that’s their business, but not strangers)?  I call this The Entitlement Factor and it’s only getting worse and worse as time goes on.  There’s just no such thing as courtesy anymore.  For instance, a man came in earlier (just so we don’t think it’s only the kids, although they’re the worst offenders) and asked me all sorts of questions about an upcoming event.  I answered him, even offered him a flyer about it, and instead he turned to leave without a word.  As he approached the door, I called out “You’re welcome!” in a real cheery tone.  “Oh, thank you.” was what I got back as an afterthought.  This is my standard way to deal with inconsiderateness, being nice (yet a tinge sarcastic) to remind people of their lack of manners.

My thought is that the internet has obscured any thought of courtesy and responsibility for one’s actions.  It’s the anonymity, I’ve decided, that sitting behind a computer affords.  It might be okay to get away with that kind of behavior on a computer screen, where you can dismiss it as the lack of emotions in an email, but it’s not alright to treat people that way in person! 

Why can’t people thank you for holding a door open for them?  If you give them directions or help them with something, why can’t they just thank you?  Is it too hard to give a wave of thanks when someone lets you turn your car in front of them?  Is it that difficult to appreciate the assistance someone’s given you?  I really don’t think so.  It’s a small thing, and makes the other person happy to have helped in some small way.  Even a smile of acknowledgement can be worth its weight in gold.  That smile, or wave, or thank you may be all that’s needed to brighten up someone’s day and really help them keep going.  I realize we’re all busy and we get distracted, but when did being busy replace basic kindness?

So that’s what I decided to blog about today.  Please remember to be kind to someone else.  It not only helps them, but helps in giving you the opportunity to feel good about yourself, helping your fellow wo/man.  It’s a small thing to you but can mean so much to someone else.

Friday night we had some friends over for a small bbq.  Doug made an incredible pork tenderloin and I did everything else.  All the food was SO good, if I do say so myself!

Saturday, we were invited to a party on one of the piers on the Hudson.  I’m not at liberty to disclose where we were, but we were, quite literally, ON the water.  I was leaning against the chain-link fence that separated the concrete slab we were sitting on from the water, so you get an idea of how close we were.  We were only a couple of piers away from the Intrepid where all the dignitaries were, and the next one down from the NY Waterway pier.

What a show!  I posted all my pictures on my Facebook page, but I’ll stick a couple in here, just so you get an idea.  We were in full view of 3 of the barges that the fireworks were shot off from, and had complete panorama of the fire barges and the NYPD helicopters that flew over, as well as a wonderful sunset!  I had tears in my eyes at the spectacle, and I told our friends that it made you proud to be an American, celebrating with a Chinese invention. LOL  Just goes to show that Macy’s really knows how to throw a birthday party!

fire barges shooting red, blue, and clear water

NYC July 4 Fireworks

NYC July 4 Fireworks

Of course, it was over way too soon – if you love fireworks, aren’t they always? – and we made our way back to the Port Authority to catch a bus back to the Wayne Transit Center (we’d decided early on that the best route was by bus).  The first bus was standing-room only, and then another one showed up, so we jumped on that, which was even better than the first cause it was an express.  But the Port Authority was just a mass of people who had no idea where they were going or how to get there!  Thankfully, we’re pretty knowledgeable about the busses that run to the Transit Center, so we were able to make adjustments.  I felt sorry for the people who were stuck in that airless tube with thousands of others, waiting for the next bus they might be able to take.

All in all, it was a really nice, totally relaxing weekend, which we both totally needed.  We even made it to the movies, something we haven’t been able to do in about 2 years!  We saw Up!, the Disney/Pixar flick, which was rather funny and very cute.  I can highly recommend it, especially if you go to a late show and you’re the only ones in the theater, and you like animation, which I do.

a good time was had by all!

Then it was Ed McMahon, followed closely by Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. 

A couple of days later Gayle Storm passed.  For those of us old enough to remember, she was the star of the 1950’s sitcom, My Little Margie.

Then Billy Mays died.  Doug and I hoped that June would end with those six and be done with it.  But apparently, July’s starting off with a bang.  Karl Malden died today.

That makes 7 in less than a month.  And since these things always happen in three’s, I’m guessing there’s going to be another couple in the next short amount of time. 

A definite shift in energy has been occurring, if you’ve noticed.  We usually see this at the end of a year, when souls are almost rushing to leave before the dawning of a new year.  It’s almost as if they have a time clock to punch prior to January 1st.

But this year, they’re dropping like flies.  And way too early in the year, too.  It does make one wonder what’s going on.

On Saturday afternoon, some of my cousins (Geri, Scott, Ryan, and Nathan) from Houston TX came up.  They’re here on vacation and had a couple of free hours, so I was finally going to meet Scott and Nathan for the first time, not having seen Geri or Ryan in over 10 years.  They got stuck in some major traffic coming down from CT and then the GPS got turned around a bit, but they finally got here, and even got to meet Doug at his gig at The Stumble Inn in Bloomingdale.  It was so great to see them all, and we even came back to the store so they could see it.

 I’m just so glad we got a chance to spend even a little time together!

In the break from all the rain on Sunday, Doug and I got some yardwork done at his house, and worked on my motorcycle a little bit. 

We’re trying to figure out how to mount the saddle bags he bought me so that the signals will still fit, and I can still sit on the seat.  There’s not much play with the fitting, so it’s a little tight.  Doug’s going to make me supports.  Also having an electrical issue of sorts in that we had to remove the entire right front signal harness so we can get a new mounting.  Never ends, I swear.

Monday I had to take the new car into the shop to get the LoJack installed and get some other things attended to.  The driver’s headrest kept vibrating up and wouldn’t lock in place so that as you were driving, all of a sudden, your chin was touching your chest.  Not quite that bad, but it was becoming an issue.  Thankfully, the guys at Wayne Subaru (www.waynesubaru.com) are really great and I’m hoping it’s all fixed now.

As far as the store’s concerned, the author events are on the website and I’m really excited about what’s coming up!  Faerie Elaine Silver (www.elainesilver.com) is here in NJ for the Summer and will do a Musical Full Moon at the store in August.  Check out www.souljourney.com/FaerieElaine.htm for more details.

In September, Jason Miller (Inominandum) will be here for a Hoodoo Workshop.  He’s written some excellent books (Protection and Reversal Magick and The Sorcerer’s Secrets) and that should be such a great workshop.  Click on www.souljourney.com/JasonMiller.htm for more details.

There’s more, but that’s for another blog down the road.

I am SO looking forward to having a couple of days off this week.  I desperately need it, and Doug needs it even more than I do.  The July 4th holiday couldn’t have come at a better time in terms of ease for a couple of days, so we’re taking Thursday and Friday (naturally, they’re calling for rain), and other than having some friends over Friday night, we’ve got blissfully nothing planned.  I just cannot wait!

Solstice weekend started off bright and early (and I do mean early) with my getting to the store a little after 8am on Saturday to get set up for the Psychic Faire.  I was a little concerned that the rain wasn’t going to hold off so I could get the Easy-Up put together, but my fears were unfounded.  I got the coffee going and even had some time to do my own email.  Our first appointment was at 10am and everyone was in place and raring to go.  It was the first time a few of the readers had seen each other in some time, so there was much chatting and catching up to do.  Everyone got down to business pretty quickly, and we all had a great day!  I had several walk-in customers who ended up getting readings, and we all just had a great time.  I’m so thankful to all the readers and to my customers, both old and new.

After I closed and we got everything shut down at the store, Doug and I took off for the car dealer so I could pick up my new car.  It’s a 2009 Subaru Forester and I just LOVE it!  I’m still trying to figure out the iPod interface (I just need to spend some time with the instruction manual in front of the stereo) and trying to find the sweet spot of the seat in relation to the pedals.  All the options are daunting and one little movement one way affects everything else the other way.  It’s such a joy having a stereo that actually works, as well as a clock that I can actually see.  Quite an adjustment getting used to such a ‘grabby’ clutch, too.   Gotta love new cars!

On Saturday morning, just as things were getting underway and busy, I answered the store phone and experienced a new one for the books.  The Caller ID showed me an incoming call from a payphone in the 609 area code.  I had no idea what this was about, and when I answered, I could hardly understand the man at the other end.  He started off by asking me what the store was about, and then mumbled something about trying to call “the goddess number.”  I had no idea what he was talking about.  He then asked me what the 973/838-6564 number was and seemed completely confused when I informed him it was my phone number.  Then he started asking me what Runes and Tarot was, and seemed completely bewildered when I explained what they were.  I told him I didn’t really have time to give lessons over the phone at that moment and he could look on the internet for any of these items.  He told me he didn’t have a computer, and when I told him he could go to a library, that’s when he told me he was in a Psych ward!  I was completely flabbergasted and finally hung up, shaking my head.  I still have no idea how he was able to make the phone call, or where he came up with all the change to feed the phone in the first place!  I thought I’d experienced it all, but boy, was I wrong!

On Sunday we had a really nice day with Doug’s parents, and we also dropped off a gift basket I’d put together for Doug’s friend Tony who’d arranged for the great deal I got on the Subaru.

Monday I was finally able, in the break in the weather, to get the three azaleas into the ground that’ve been sitting on the deck since I bought them three weeks ago in CT.  Even got some other planting done before it got dark.

Today, I received a phone call from a reporter for The Daily Record.  This is the big newspaper for Morris County and surrounding areas, if you’re not familiar with the area.  The woman identified herself and said she’s doing an article on Faerie Elaine Silver who will be at the store for August’s Full Moon.  I’m quite excited about it – www.souljourney.com/FaerieElaine.htm – and am looking forward to hosting her at the store.  Anyway, the reporter said that she’d been in Butler a couple of weeks ago and loved the store, and wants to do an article on SoulJourney for a shopping feature she does.  She’s going to call me when she knows it’ll run and we’ll set up a time for her to come out with a photographer and do a full feature.  I’ve had articles in The Bergen Record before, but this will be the first time in The Daily Record.  I’m looking forward to hearing from her in the near future!

I came home and started putting some stuff away (I recently had some work done in my house and I’m trying to get everything put away) and Nina, my female Dalmatian, started going nuts, running around and barking.  I rushed up to see what she was so excited about and looked out my back windows.  I saw three baby bear, little cubs, in one of the trees behind the house.  Two were already up the tree and the third was on the ground yet.  I grabbed my camera and went outside very quietly to try and get some pictures (meanwhile Orion was going crazy barking) and saw the Mama sitting on the wall right behind the house.  I made a mad dash for the house and took the camera into the bathroom and there was the Mama, within reach if the window hadn’t been in the way.  I clicked a picture and the flash scared her and she took off for the woods.  I waited a little bit and then crept out onto the deck and snapped a few pictures of the babies as they came down the tree and scampered after Mama. I’m not sure the pictures actually came out very well.  It was getting dark and I’m not sure the flash really helped.  I’ll try and download them tomorrow and hopefully get them on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SoulJourney).

What a couple of days it’s been!