Remember Remember...

Remember remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot
I can think of no reason the Gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

...

V for Vendetta, a very powerful movie, a very powerful and relevant story. I suggest to anyone who hasn't seen it to go out and rent it immediately. It is a story of people, it is a story of times turning dark and amidst the fear and uncertainty that only tragedy can bring, the public, the people surrendering their power, their unalienable rights. And for what? For the veneer of safety covering the shackles of tyranny?

It's about the silence of consent of the people, and the reawakening of public. The rise of revolution.

A little rebellion now and then...is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.
- Thomas Jefferson

Why am I bringing this up? Because the parallels are beyond coincident, we as a country are heading down a traveled trail to a government that is fundamentally against everything our forefathers stood for.

A tragedy struck, 9/11 shook the foundation of our society. It was unlike anything that had been experienced in lifetimes. It was something that I will never forget and impressed itself on the very fabric of my soul. Many people say this, and many people like myself go on to say that we shouldn't allow the fear of that day of that moment to rule our goodsense and rob us of that which we worked so hard for.

In response I have many a time been told, that I didn't understand. The rest of the country didn't get the real fear of the act. And perhaps that is true, but will say I understand better than most.

On the day of 9/11 my and my family were stationed on Camp Pendleton, the largest military base on the west coast and one of the largest military bases of the country. It's not a topic that I speak of often, but to better understand why I feel how I feel, this must be shared. Though we were across the country of the attacks I can say that it struck to the core of everyone stationed on that base. America was under attack, war would dictate that an attack on the largest military base of the country not out of the question. School was pandemonium, would we be allowed back on base, back to our families, never before had I.D. cards seemed so important. Jets flew overhead, usually an uneventful sight, now full of fear and wonder, "Are they friend or foe?"

It was one thing to live on a base, full of tanks and M.P.'s with M-16's and another to see them go from sedentary statues of symbolism to being moving machines of war. Being 16 and sitting on a school bus wringing our hands with worry, kicking yourself for living your I.D. card at home. Seeing those guards search the bus, search our bookbags, one by one, realizing for the first time that those M-16 were fully loaded. Rushing home to a mother half-hysterical with worry. Dad hadn't called, and there was no getting through the base was on lock down.

What did it mean?
Was this the beginning of War?

Dad had just put in his retirement papers, after 22 years of service time had been sneaking up on him. Would they be denied? Would I actually have to see my father go off to war? My brothers? Myself?

It was all too much, too surreal, and world shattering. I understand that.

I find what is happening now equally shattering, surreal, and disturbing.

Our economy is sinking deeper and deeper into a Depression state, banks are collapsing, unemployment is rising. We are still Dependant on oil in a way that is just unacceptable.

But more than that, in the last eight years our Constitution has suffered in ways that make the skin crawl. The Patriot Act, The Military Defense Act, The warrant less wire-tapping, are just a few of the transgressions which SHOULD have EVERY American in this country calling out for justice and change in government. But no. All this has passed in silence, we have allowed it and moved on with our lives, trusting the government to do "What's best"

And now we move further down the rabbit hole to fascism and world of V.

Now Military troops are deployed on U.S. soil. Our ancestors are crying out in RAGE and no one is listening!

How can we just stand here and let this happen? How can not a single national news station pick up this story, people should be nashing their teeth and massing at the door of their politicians with demands for reforms, with battle cries of revolt if things are not put to right.

I feel a deep need to DO something, so I'm going to write. As passive as that seems, it's all I can think of. I will write a letter for every week this atrocity to the American Ideal continues. I will write to everyone I can think of, starting with my CA representatives, all the way up to Mr. Bush himself. Maybe it will do nothing, maybe no one will read a single letter, but I can't let it go by without a word, without a cry.

I encourage everyone of my brother and sisters to do the same. I would hope that every American citizen would do the same.

There has been a lot of jib remarks of fleeing the country, of leaving these troubled waters behind us. And while I can see the wisdom in this...and indeed see the appeal of this in face of the storm clouds ahead. But I cannot imagine myself being able to abandon this country to the deviants that wish to pervert the integrity it once stood for. Some things are worth fighting for, and I believe America is one of them.

May the Gods Bless this Country,

Branwen

Autumn in the Wind

I love this time of year.

I was walking to school yesterday with my ipod on my awesome new CD of Pagan Bluegrass. That's right you heard me Pagan Bluegrass, and by the gods it's awesome check it out.

And I couldn't help but smile as this wave of happiness just lapped upon me. The sky was clear and that crisp cornflower blue that only seems to appear in the fall. The wind had the first chills tickling at your skin and I was able to wear a sweater and walk without oppression. The sunlight just seems particularly clearer in the fall, change is on the wind, and I just get excited!

Made me want to go up to the mountains where the leaves are turning their amazing colors and the scent of smoke wafts through the air of fireplaces being lit. Fall is the start of so many things I love so, Halloween, yummy soul warming food and drink, X-mas, it's just a warm exciting time to me.

Fall just exudes magic to me, I can almost see the Wild Hunt on the winds blustering around, you can just hear drums in the distance.

It's funny, Rabbit told me at our meeting that she felt I was an autumn/spring type of person, I was little taken by that, I'd never given it much thought really. But as usual I think she hit the nail on the head lol, summer can get sooo stressful and drawn, the sun can just soak all your energy out of you. And while winter has many wonderous sites, it can stick around too long and freezing all the active thoughts. For me I feel truly energized in autumn and spring.

So what's on the agenda this fall?

Today I think I'll clean and do some home warding, it seems like the right time to do so. I have an idea of using runes on the top of my front of my door, been having some issues with the neighbors and I'd rather not have their energy seeping into the house I worked soooo hard to rid of negativity.

This weekend I will be working on my Samhain outfit, along with others and their various projects.

I hope to have the house decorated for Halloween, we bought this really awesome skull fogger and I just want to continue farther and have the whole house jazzed up like my mom use to do.

Bake, Cook, and Eat! Lots of tasty tasty food. lol

Start X-mas shopping/construction, I have a very good idea of what I want to make for my mother and I want it to be made well magically and otherwise so I need to get kicking on that.

And I'd like to go camping before it get too cold.

So there a nice respectable list of things all well within the realms of possibility.

Go outside and enjoy the magic!

Branwen

Life is going from one crisis to the next.

That's what my grandmother said.

Seemed somewhat pessimistic and jaded coming from her time worn lips. She'd seen the days when money was scarce and jobs where precious, when fruits were given as treasures and everything had to be stretched. It scarred her, those days of the depression, it made a mark that would stay with her the rest of her life.

A mark that was made deeper by the years following, when the World took to War. No one was safe, there were new dangers around every corner. Her whole world became one of survival. She did that for the rest of her life, surviving. It was like pulling teeth to get her to enjoy herself, she would shake her head in wonderment at my purchases that did nothing but entertain. My habit of going to the movies every month seemed astonishing. She was always looking, always waiting for the bottom to fall out. The pantries were always over stocked, at least 2 spare of everything. We could eat off that pantry for at least two weeks.

I wonder what sort of scars time is leaving on me.

Morbid thing to ponder I know, but mortality seems to my constant companion lately. I saw the last years of my grandmother's life, up close and in 3D. I was the one she called when she needed to go to the hospital, when my uncle has taken to the bottle again, when the garbage needed to be taken out. When the chips were down and her age took precedent over her spirit she leaned on me. And yet...when the crisis was over, and the dust had settled I was just a kid a again and was helpless to make the changes needed.

There were a lot of things that I would have done differently in those last years, to make her life better, and more than just survival. If only they had let me have the power.

What's done is done I suppose.

But now the wheel turns and now I am faced with the death of my grandfather. He is dieing, and his time is short. I become the ban sidhe of my own family, ironic. Unlike my grandmother, I have no real relationship with my mother's father, other than blood and the love she has for him, which in itself is enough.

Once again I see the paralysis take hold of one of my parents, becoming a child herself. Unable to come to terms with the changing wheel. Not wanting to see the withering man that exists now, the psychological hold of the parent-child relationship is too strong to confront.

Maybe it would be different if she was there to see the struggle to get down the stairs, to realize the strain of obligation towards others drag on him so he relinquishes all thought of his own comfort. Would that help her see what she needs to do and take action?

I worry. My Grandfather will die. And my mother will see these...sad circumstances when it's too let, when there is no longer anything she can do. And it will haunt her. The same way her mother's death still haunts her. I know the voices that plague her... If she had stayed just a few days longer, she wouldn't have had to die alone in a place she did not recognize... I don't know if my mother is strong enough to live with such guilt twice over.

But she will not move, she fears his death and fears his disapproval.

Once again I am helpless, I can't reason with my Grandfather, he is little more than a stranger to me. And with every passing of the wheel I fear his grasp of sensibility gets looser and looser. My last chance to make my only surviving Grand-anything's final days the happy and comfortable ones he deserves lays in my Brother's hands.

I pray to the Dadga he has the strength and the wisdom to do what need be done. To see that someone must intercede on Grandfather's behalf and remove him from the life of servitude to progeny that never learned to care for themselves. A man of his age, of his health should not be working janitorial labor full time to support fully able bodied people. He should be surrounded by family who love him and will care for him, fishing with his grandson, and gambling the night away with his daughter.

I have born witness to the sorrow that not confronting the mortality of a parent can bring, and will bare the mark of those lessons learned. When the time comes and my own parents reach their twilight years, may my heart and mind be as clear as it is now, for no good can come of the denial of Death's hands.

Adventures with the wee beasties

Due to the aspecting preparation I have been doing lately. The sidhe have officially taken up residence at my house lol. I don't know that any of the other residence notice anything but I sure do. An influx of cats showing up on my porch and following me around, and in my experience's animals are almost always drawn to the fairy folk. The faint sounds of bells in the house , and most recently (and most evident in my mind) my glasses up and disappearing.

A few days ago I realized that I couldn't find my house glasses (i.e. the pair of glasses I usually leave by the computer to wear around the house so that I don't have to check my purse to see if I put glasses in it when I go out.) Searched high and low to no avail. They simply could not be found.

I wasn't panicked, I hadn't worn them out so the simply must have been in the house. My darling man joked that perhaps the goblins had discovered they were "head-bigger-makers" and had carted them off. I'm convinced he wasn't far off, the bells that I kept hearing in the house and my general penchance to talk about goblins made it entirely possible that they or the fairies had indeed found my glasses delightful.

After being annoyed for several days about the inconvenience of it all I decided to take matters into my own hands.

One of my lovely coven sisters directed me towards this charming chant:

Keeper of what disappears,
Hear me now -- open your ears.
Find for me what I now seek,
By Moon, Sun, Earth, Air, Fire and Sea.

I liked that as a starting point and made up a little plate of fresh baked cornbread covered in honey and a shot glass of milk. Went to my altar and lit my three wick candle (By the Sky, By the Sea, By the Land) centered and grounded myself and starting off with the first three lines of that chant entreated the goblins and fairies to return my glasses, offering up the libation and promising more for my item returned (in whole and working order) to me.

Went about my day of housecleaning not thinking much of anything, and then had to hurry to get ready to class. As I was about to rush out the door I thought I might need a jacket of somekind, my leather would be too hot. But I had a flash of imagery that I'd seen the corner of a sweatshirt at the bottom of my closet.

I rush in to grab and as my hand grasps the corner of that jacket what do I feel?

My glasses!!

Happy day, happy day!
Blessed are the sidhe and wee beasties!

Needless to say I can't recall the last time I wore that sweatshirt. I'm not really a sweatshirt kinda gal, but there they were right where I could find them.

Gotta think of something extra tasty to thank them for being such good little sidhe.

Blessing upon the sidhe!

Branwen