Keep Burning Those Black Candles

"Priestess of the Autumn Lake" by me

I don’t even know where to begin. It’s been absolutely crazy lately, and I don’t even mean crazy-busy (although that is, as ever, true). There’s been some bad-juju floating around here lately, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s invading my otherwise peaceful dreamland, so I’ve taken to sleeping with not only my dream catcher, but my black obsidian arrowhead and some other bad-juju-absorbing trinkets as well. With all the negativity floating around, however, I’m not sure how long that will even be effective. As I write this, I’ve got a protection candle burning with a bracelet of carnelian (for courage) around it. Even the dancing flame, burning erratically despite the windless interior of my room, seems to reflect the strangeness around here in recent days.

Nevertheless, I’ve been tapping into my multi-purpose artistry rather successfully this past week. I shook the dust off my guitar strings and my gig boots (a pair of rather bold and intimidating black pleather, lace-up, knee-high punk rocker boots with slight, clunky heels, which I have worn every time I’ve ever played a gig since sophomore year of high school) last Thursday to perform at a local club. It was for a talent show, so I only got to play one song, but it’s the first time in about four years since I’ve played for a group larger than a handful, and after a standing ovation and about 20 people asking me for a copy of my latest CD, I was asked if I wanted to actually play there again sometime. Naturally, I accepted. I now have extra motivation to keep those guitar strings frequently dusted.

I also dusted off the colored pencils Saturday morning and drew the picture that now decorates my profiles here and on Witchvox. I titled the finished product “Priestess of the Autumn Lake,” and it was inspired by my locating my Mists of Avalon DVD (note: the thin crescent on her forehead and watery attire) and a general desire to consecrate my black stone scrying bowl with a use. Eventually. There still hasn’t been a good time to entrench myself in ritual, but in all honesty—will there ever be?

In other my-random-life news: this time next year, I’ll be living in Texas. I’m pretty excited about moving further south, if only because I’m so goshdarn sick of snow and cold and this terrible New York weather. Texas isn’t Virginia, obviously, but it’s warm, so I’ll take it. I’ll be taking a stop through Missouri for a few months first, but then it’s on to good food, lots of sunshine, and shorts in wintertime. Can’t wait!

I think I’ll be spending the rest of my afternoon watching Mists of Avalon (beautiful book, as well) while one of my roommates takes a nap, and then hunting for apartments in Texas. Maybe dinner will sneak it’s way in there, but who knows? We’ll see. Hope you enjoy the new blogger profile picture, and that the bad-juju tainting the air here doesn’t touch your life. Blessed be.