Divine Messages and Careful Samhain Shopping

I've had a few interesting "coincidences" lately. Started back at work and my room has just had a major cleaning. Walked in and found a straw broom and a black hat (unfortunately not a witch's hat but quite similar) on my piano!! Coincidence? I'm not really "out" as a Wiccan and I'm not sure my cleaning staff have figured it out. Hmmm . . .

Today a young Caribbean girl comes into my life. Her name is Mariam and it turns out she's pregnant. I want to be supportive of her because she can't be more than 17. I ask her when she's due . . . she says "Christmas Eve." Well, anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I honour Mary as one form of the Goddess . . . and she plays a central role in my life. So again . . . coincidence? I will be seeing a lot of her over the next few months.

Just an aside . . . I'm reading a lot about people picking up stuff for their altars at Dollar Stores and Department Stores just before Samhain. I think it's funny that we do this . . . but then again, I'm Irish and I have to wait to St. Patrick's Day before I can pick up some of the Irish stuff I like. I'm reading on blogs and Facebook about Pagans shopping at Walmart, Target and other stores but I hope that we are all being socially conscious before we run out and shop.

There was a letter published recently on Inciting a Riot's Blog about how suburban people can't be Pagans because they couldn't understand the faith and way of life. I don't agree with this line of thinking and think the guys is way off, however, I do think suburban (and urban) Pagans can make some un-wise decisions in their shopping, especially in the name of their faith, which help to support large corporations who might support some ideals that we aren't in favour of. I know it's not always easy or efficient but I hope we shop wisely and make good decisions which help everyone in our large communities. Remember that every time you buy something, you making a "vote" about what should be stocked in our stores and which stores should stock things or even remain open . . . simple rules of supply and demand.
Blessed Be! :)

Mystical Purchases

I've bought two new purchases within the last few weeks that I thought I would share with you. I love when I find Pagan/Wiccan items that I like because I usually have to search far and wide for them. Sometimes I never find what I'm looking for at all. For example, I have a friend who worships Kali, especially when she's going through changes in her life. If you don't know, Kali is the mover of obstacles and kills things you don't need on your path. Her image can be grotesque but what do you expect from a mover of obstacles? Anyways, I wanted to buy a statue of her for my friend but I can't find a nice one anywhere. I was excited to see one on a Wiccan website yesterday but it didn't look good. She looked too nice . . . lol! Even the Hindu stores around here don't seem to have her.

When I was in Halifax I visited the store Little Mysteries and found this candle stand of the Goddess that I thought was simply amazing. I love that She is a womanly figure without any distinctions other than She is made of nature (i.e., grass and flowers). As much as I talk about Mary or Kali or any other form of the God/Goddess, there's a part of me that thinks it's way beyond our comprehension. That's why I love this indistinct nature figure that holds a flame over her head. I've put her on a second altar in my living room so that I can see while I work. She keeps company with Kwan Yin and an African statue of Mary.

A couple days ago I went into a Chinese stone store. I had the idea that I wanted to buy a crystal ball but never thought I could afford it. It turns out that they were having a sale! A small-ish crystal ball (not too small) was going for $35! I couldn't turn it up. I'm very interested in scrying and I've never tried it. I'll need to learn more soon :)

Divine Shopping Intervention

Ever walk into a store and find something unique and figure that it was put there just for you? I was shocked to walk into one of my favourite spiritual stores in the Annex, Toronto and find a pentacle, surrounded by Celtic knots and the Tibetan Buddhist endless knots in the centre. Now, if you don't know anything about me, being a Irish Wiccan that has studied and incorporates a lot of Buddhist thinking and works with a lot of Tibetans, I very much appreciated this. This is the kind of intercultural-interfaith mixing that makes me excited! I like pulling meaningful ideas and concepts from various traditions and combining them. It was apparently made by a Toronto artist.

I've put it together with other Buddhist, Christian and Wiccan items in my living room . . . including one of my favourite statues of Buddha in, what I like to call, the "Jesus pose." Nice to see him with his hand open on a lotus, rather than meditating, reclining, or decapitated.

Do you have any unique items that you feel were left for you to see, pick up or buy?