I'm back from China! It was amazing and I'm going to save it for a series of posts in the future. Let's just say that I enjoyed it so much that I'm considering moving there for a short period of time . . . but one thing at a time.

So, Eat, Pray, Love is going to become a movie. Usually when a book gets as much hype as this one has, I ignore it. I generally assume that the general public does not have the same taste as I do. This book would not leave me alone though. The title kept getting tossed around by friends and then the movie commercials came out and I thought, "fine, I give in."

I loved every minute of this book! Having gone through a divorce myself, I completely understood Elizabeth Gilbert's feelings and having burned out of my career several years ago, I understood the restlessness. Did I go off traveling around the world having spiritual insights? No, I played it safe and went back to school to start a career that I had quite a lot of success with at first and then quit and went back to my first career. Should I have traveled around the world finding myself? Probably. What makes this book so enjoyable is not so much the places she goes in the physical world but her adventures and insights into her mind. She doesn't hold much back in what she's thinking. She even discusses "taboo" subjects like masturbation when she needs to make a point and she paints the true and often raw expression of her soul.

As a Wiccan, the part that struck home with me most was her insight into ritual. Having gone through a messy divorce Gilbert says that it is so difficult to find closure because she was longing for that conversation with her ex-husband where they set everything straight and move on. Because it was so messy, that wasn't going to happen. She had to rectify her emotions and spirit through ritual. I won't tell you how exactly because that would give away too much of the book but she does say:

We do spiritual ceremonies as human beings in order to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma, so that we don't have to haul those feelings around with us forever, weighing us down. We all need such places of ritual safekeeping. And I do believe that if your culture or tradition doesn't have the specific ritual you're craving, then you are absolutely permitted to make up a ceremony of your own devising, fixing your own broken-down emotional systems with all the do-it-yourself resourcefulness of a generous plumber/poet. If you bring the right earnestness to your homemade ceremony, God will prove the grace. And that is why we need God.

Developing ritual through Wicca is one of the most empowering part of the craft! I spend a great deal of time finding and writing what I find meaningful, rather than using or copying other people's leads because that is what I'm "supposed to do." I'm going to share some of those ideas in the future posts.

Will the movie do the book justice? Julia Roberts is a good start . . . but we'll see!

Beltane Celebrations

As a solitary witch I enjoy my meditation practice and my solo circle casting but at feast celebrations like Beltane I like to step it up a bit. This year I invited another "witchy"friend over and we celebrated together. For the evening I came up with a series of rituals and activities that we could participate in. We also included my partner, who is not a Wiccan but I wanted to share this with him.

Not being tied to any particular tradition, I developed my own ideas based on research and suggestions from other online witches. I built my altar on my circular dining room table with Mary (my main Goddess) at the centre. More to come on Mary in future blogs. I bought two bouquets of flowers and set out a circle of candles with a few green candles for growth and healing in larger holders. We started the evening by baking Beltane cookies that are meant to awaken your passions after the long winter. The recipe for Beltane Passion Cookies was found on the web and I highly suggest them. When I make them again I will add more crystallized ginger and stir it well so that it is evenly distributed.

We then coloured eggs with crayons and dyed them in food colouring. I haven't done this type of activity since I was a kid for Easter . . . but it was so much more liberating to draw pentacles and the sign of the Goddess on them! We did this all while listening to some brilliant Pagan/Wiccan music that I downloaded of iTunes. Then we planted sunflower and chive seeds. You can't do Beltane without getting your hands dirty in the soil.

To end our ritual we wrote our intentions and wishes for this new season on paper and burned them in the cauldron in front of the Goddess. We hope She helps us find new inspirations in this blooming new season! The evening ended with some fresh fruit, wine, and tarot card reading.

Having grown up with very prescribed Christian traditions, I must say that developing your own Wiccan rituals and activities based on the intentions of the season is more meaningful and satisfying to the soul.