Sorry to shout. I'm usually far more reserved but I just HAVE to tell someone about this and this seemed like the right place to shout from the rooftops.

As of yesterday, I have a new favorite author (though it feels more like having a new best friend). I wandered into the little bookshop by my worksite and looked over their "New Age" table. They have loads of Wiccan handbooks, neo-Pagan texts and books on the Tarot, but a little black book caught my eye. I gave it my typical once over and it spoke right to me. I turned to the page where the author discussed the exact topic I'd been meditating on earlier that morning, and NAILED my feelings on the issue.

The book is called The Circle Within by Dianne Sylvan. Anyone familiar with it?

Google books has a lot of the text at the link above, if you're interested.

Anyway, the chapter I browsed was on the wheel of the year and how the seasons we experience don't necessarily match the traditional calender and what we can do to rectify the gap. I picked up the book to browse further and saw another interesting book on the table "The Body Sacred", a book on overcoming a poor body image in a Wiccan/ritual based way. Guess who the author was?

Yup. I browsed this book too and it too spoke to me, so I bought it as well. 

So far, I'm not quite halfway through "The Circle Within" but it's WONDERFUL!!!

My sister always talks about people "from her planet" and how great it is to connect with people who "get her" and how rare they are. Well, aside from my sister, I know very few people from "my planet". Even my sister is merely from the same system, not really "getting" my spiritual beliefs. Dianne Sylvan is the first Pagan author I've found who is definitely from MY planet, possibly even my village. This book just resonates so deeply with the spiritual issues I've been processing lately. Finally a book that doesn't tell me what herbs, colors and astrological positions to use to get a boyfriend, but discusses my relationship to the divine around me and how to enhance and celebrate it in my OWN WAY. I don't know about you, but I find it so refreshing!!

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Well, I didn't realize I was ready and I didn't expect the teacher to be in book form, but that's the experience I'm having and I am SO GRATEFUL for it!!

Back to reading! Check out the link and tell me what you think!

Wow, it's been a while since my last post here.  I'm still enjoying life and keeping myself active here.  Not so many weddings during the cold winter months, but I've done a few here and there and all the couples who got engaged over the holidays are starting to request to meet with me, so we're back into the active part of the cycle again.

The holidays were fun and interesting.  We're still transitioning between celebrating Christmas as my parents did (and do) and just celebrating Yule.  We brought the Christmas decorations out of the attic for the first time since my husband left us and threw out a number of things that just didn't work for us anymore; Santas and a nativity scene, lots of decorations.  It was a very healthy purge and we enjoyed the holidays so much more for having rid ourselves of so much old baggage.

I've never been one for resolutions, but I came up with some goals for the New Year.  One involves my new ministry; The Sacred Voices Circle.  A group meeting once a month to learn, teach and sing sacred chants and songs of the Earth, the Goddess and Love.  I intend to host one each month for 2008.

More personal goals include dropping a dress size (of course) and becoming more active in my community.

I fully intend to enjoy 2008 and I hope all of you do too!

Whew!  Well, I survived the big day.  7/7/07, the "lucky" date of the century brought me three wedding bookings.

The first was a simple, sweet second wedding blending two parents and their 6 children into a single family unit.  I was asked to read a poem for the main body of the ceremony while they looked into each other's eyes.  So heartwarming!  Lots of smiles and hugs and happy tears before, during and after this one!

The second was a beautiful garden wedding for a lovely couple and a full wedding party of their family and friends.  The ceremony included the blending of the sands and vows written by the couple.  I'm afraid not all of the guests got to hear the words they spoke (no PA for sound), but I did and they were so sweet!  Just a lovely event for an equally lovely couple.

The third wedding was pure country.  Plain folks getting married in their front yard while a load of kin looked on.  I heard a rumor that there was going to be a surprise when they shared the kiss, so I waited and, sure enough, FIREWORKS!!  Real ones set off in the field behind the barn.  Fun, fun, fun!

Then today was spent at the park celebrating a friend's graduation from high school and catching up with the people I love!  What could be better?

Coming up this week:  I meet a new couple for a wedding consult tomorrow, take the kids to the county fair on Tuesday and on Wednesday...Weird Al in concert!!  Life just gets better and better here! 

Just wanted to share a pic of the beautiful handfasting I was honored to perform last week.

The bride had been changing plans on me for a while but the date remained constant, July 4th.  Well, on June 26th (Tuesday) at a bout 10pm, I got a call from her saying they wanted to come over and have the ceremony right then.

So, I performed my first handfasting ceremony on my back porch (I've married folks in my living room before, but being outdoors was "right" for this amazing couple).

You can see the cord they braided together for the ceremony at the bottom of this pic.  Black, white and red for the yin, the yang and the passion.  Very cool!  

Yup. I did.

Drove out to Milan yesterday and performed the ceremony that made my sister Mrs. White (she's been with Mr. White for 6 years now, so it was about time).

It was a very cool day all in all. Partly because I almost never attend receptions after my weddings, so I never get to hear any compliments on my ceremonies. Yesterday I had a number of folks complimenting me, always fun!

Also, my parents got to see me "in action" for the first time. Also fun!

Then we drove to Marshall on the way home and took in the first fireworks show of the season. We got there just as the show began and found some of the best seats in the house. We were able to watch the folks on the ground lighting the fireworks, I don't think I've ever watched that before. Nice show too.

I've got another wedding today, then we're going to head to Lake Odessa and see if we can't catch another fireworks display tonight.