Crazy lady with plants!

Greetings blogfriends. How are all of you today? I am great. Yesterday two new additions to our small family were made(no, i did n't get more pets, i am not completely insane!). They were a pomeganade and a mandarine tree. They are huge. We had to bring them here with my car's top down. For about a mile and a half we were driving with two gigantic trees on the back seat. Now i can officially say that i have plants for all my balconies. That was also true before the new additions, but i did n't want to split my "balcony garden", now it is absolutely and beyond any doubt necessary. More than half of the balcony is occupied by plants. I have trouble going through them to water them. So, i have to split them. The upside is that now i will have room for more plants(i am helpless, i know).
In my "garden" there is rosemary(no surprise there, huh?), lavender, mint, ivy, spearmint, basil, bougainvillea, a spider, jasmin, a bay tree, a lemon tree, two pomegranade trees, rue, a ficus, two brackens, an azalea, a rose,a rhododendron, four tea roses,two orchids and a bunch of trees and plants i do not know their names. I love them all. I talk to them i sing to them, i take care of them and i try to keep Shadow of them(that cat loves to sleep, play and "make" in my plants). In return they purify the air, keep some noise out, bring joy and fend off negativity. When the time is right i trim them and with the residues i make smudges and incenses.
Did you know that rue is supposed to absorb all the negative energy of a house (the bad smell and the bitter taste are considered the results of its ability)? What are you waiting? Grab a pot!
As a kid i loved to play with the mud. As a teen witch i loved my herbs. But as a not-so-grown-up witch i got obsessed with the green world. Do you have a garden, a balcony one or a real one? Do you connect with plants?
"Green" hugs to each and every one of you!
Georgina.

Out goes the stress...

Greetings blogfriends. I missed you all. I have been busy with chores, work, organising and trying not to let stress into my life again. I keep trying. This is hard work. I used to be(that's right, past tense) one of those people that are constantly in a state of anxiety, worrying about every little thing. Lately i have been better. I rarely freak out and it is always for a good reason. But the moon is waning and it is perfect to chase it out of my life for good.
Long baths, meditation, herbal teas are all fine but they are temporary solutions. It takes deep changes to get rid of stress. I realised that all i had to do was listen to myself and try to find serenity inside me, not in the external reality. This is my way to alleviate stress. I do not let myself panic. I am sure some of you are saying, yeah right, how did n't i think of this? But optimism is how i got through this. I am still not the calmest person in the world, but everything feels different.
My life has changed a lot. I am taking better care of myself. I am on a more wholesome diet. I even started working out, although i ingured myself and i have to wait for the pain to go away until i try again. My lack of grace is embarrassing. The athlete i am, after only three weeks of working out, i twisted my knee! At least i remembered how much i enjoy kick boxing. The only downside is that i do not have a partner. Someone who likes kick boxing too, so we can work out together.
So, now that i understand how important thi is, i will not let myself stress over conservatory exams, work, my car, the wedding, vacations and other people's problems. I will handle everything with calmness. I will stay cool and i will not push myself beyond my limits. Until this crazy period is over i will burn rose-lavender insence, drink camomile tea, sleep a lot, and provide doable solutions.
Negativity out, love and light in.
How do you handle stressful situations?














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This is not another post about Litha

Hello blogland.
I woke up today and as yesterday and the day before that, the anticipation of the Summer Soltice has grown inside me. I find Solstices and Equinoxes inspiring because they represent the balance and harmony in the world(broken record alert!) and because the turning of the Wheel is so obvious. They make it so easy for all of us to become attuned with Mother Nature and the Wheel. But i am not going to make yet another post on Litha, at least for now... lol
Today it is Thursday, ruled by Jupiter so you can work with money, luck, health and legal matters. Since the moon is waning, use its energy to banish negativity, bad health(a disease or condition), bad luck and expenses. It is time to smudge your house, take a cleansing relaxing bath and meditate.
For today i am going to make a smudge with pine needles, rosemary, sage, laurel leaves and a bit of rosemary essential oil. Mmm, i can almost smell it.
Love and light,
Georgina.

I am so excited!

Greetings blogfriends. I am so excited these days. Although it is twenty days till Litha, i am making smudges, preparing myself and people who are interested in it, and i am giving magical gifts to friends, clients and family. I love everything about this holiday. I love the symbolism behind it, the high temperatures and the opportunity for balance it enholds along with the fact that all people in both hemispheres can pursue harmony during that day, which is also called "sunblessing"(and is a blessing indeed).
My wonderful friend Jaz from Octoberfarm has sent me a while ago a package full of goodies. In it there were a coupple of candles (one for harmony and one for balance). I have been keeping them for this day for so long and i am going to finally burn them. Plus, it will probably be the day of my civil wedding(here in Greece handfastings are not considered real weddings). I can think of a million reasons why i can't wait for Litha, but i am not going to bore you with them. Although, i am going to tell you that it is a great day for fairy magic. So, flower circles, flower insences, walks in nature and magic of love and light are in order. Yippi!!
Are you getting ready for Litha yet, or am i the only crazy witch?
Brightest blessings,
Georgina.

To come out or not?

Good evening fellow bloggers. After a comment i received i realised i may have offended some people. It made me re-read my previous post and i saw that it could be misinterpreted. I do understand why some people stay inside the closet. I have even advised people to do that in the past. It has to do with the given circumstances and of course the personality of each and every pagan.
What i meant, that was probably understood by most of you who follow my blog, but not from the rest of my readers, is that it is MY OWN personal path to be open about my practices. Since it is something i have talked in the past, i believed in and came from my heart I felt "hypocritical, like a liar and of course shameful". I did n't mean, in any case that it is shameful to hide your spiritual path. On the contrary, someone's choice to come out, is not something to be taken lightly. There will be concequences. It is inevitable to get a little bit hurt by someone's reaction.
That being told, it has a lot of advantages. There is a feeling of unique freedom when you do not have to supress yourself anymore. And also you learn a lot about those close to you and they learn a lot from you.
In my case, it was easier than i thought. It felt good, natural and i realised i was finally on my path. MY OWN path. I feel like i have to break as much the superstitions around witchcraft as possible. I do not believe everyone should , or could do it for that matter. It feels TO ME a noble cause. There have been some hardships for me also. But there were many that surprised me in a wonderful way. I realised that people would love me for who i really was and if they could n't, their love was n't real after all. That is the hardest lesson of a "coming out" pagan.
Despite those discouraging things, i certainly believe that coming out helps us grow as witches. I am saying that from personal experience and from what i heard from others. But everything i said makes sense only for people in liberal countries with religious freedom(someone mentioned something about getting physically hurt).
So, here are some tips if you decide that:
1. Do it slowly. Try coming out to just one person and see how it goes, how it makes you feel and how it makes them feel.
2. Find a person that seems "open" to "confess" for the first time.
3. Explain everything. Some things that you consider simple might indeed be completely new for someone else.
4. Remember and remind them that you are still the same person. They are just discovering a new side of you.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Brightest blessings,
Georgina

A witch's pride and Touched by Pagan Culture

Good morning fellow witches. It is a cloudy day here in Athens. I guess this should teach everyone who complained about the early summer. I have a confession to make and i hope you will all cut me some slack. Here is the whole story.
I have been with a friend this Saturday who is having a party this Friday. She is a lovely girl who has a weird dad. When she invited me to her party she asked me not to tell anyone about my work, because the information could somehow reach her dad. This means to lie about being a psychic and of course about being a witch. I was caught of guard and i said yes. By this point whoever is calling me names such as hypocrite, liar, shameful etc should remember to cut me some slack! I have always being out and about but i did n't want to hurt her feelings. Although my whole attitude towards life is to honestly talk about my spirituality so i can fight prejudice in all its forms, i found myself considering the possibility.
I am proud of being a witch. I will not lie about it, for anyone 's shake. If the only sacrifice i have to make is to not attend a party, great. I have made much bigger sacrifices till now. But i can't get rid of all the guilt for not instantly making that decision. I keep asking myself, what is wrong with me. Where did my morals go? Next thing you know i will hide my pentagramm inside my blouse. I might be overreacting(do n't you Pah-hah me!), but this situation affected me deeply. I am not hurt, because i have had to deal with so many different reactions in the past that taught me to be cool about it.
So, religious fanatics, curious strangers, friends with issues bring them on. I will never-ever hide my identity. I appreciate this valuable lesson and i will let this experience help me grow as a witch and most importantly as a person.
In an attempt to redeem myself i am making a list of the top five reasons i am proud of being a witch.
1.Paganism brought me closer to nature and gave me perspective on what's important. It led to me to being attuned with the cycles of life through my love for the Goddess.
2.It is in my blood. It is my legacy. It is the very thing that tighs me with my ancestors(well at least from my mother's side).It gave a sense of being part of something greater than me.
3.Wicca gave a moral campus not just for witchcraft but for life in general. The ways you can "translate" the Rede are infinite.
4.Witchcraft helped me improve my life and consider growing as an ongoing process for as i long as i live this life and those that follow.
5.Magic. The wonders, the beauty, the love and the light magic brings in my everyday life transform the mundane into the extraordinary. Magic brings me everytime a step closer to my inner truth.The chase of a rainbow.
What are your reasons of pagan pride?
Bightest blessings,
Georgina.
Ps. I would also like to welcome all the new readers from PaganCulture. I hope all the fellow Wicked Darlings will love it here. Thank you Magaly for this honour. I am touched(pun intended)! Whoever has n't already, should visit Magaly's blog right away(once again i failed in inserting a link so here is the URL http://pagan-culture.blogspot.com). She is great.

Keeping the light alive...

Last night was a very windy night. It was the new moon and i slept listening to the beautiful sounds of my wind chimes(i have about a hundred). I felt relaxed, calm, centered and grounded. The wonderful breeze was coming from my open window and it felt as if She was keeping me into Her arms. They are weird the things that help you connect.
Right now it feels like it is about to rain. The air smells like rain and i am experiencing the sensation of a storm that is about to come. An ugly thought tried to make its way to my heart, but i stopped it. There is no room there right now for stress. I know everything is going to be okay and work itself out.
I am just going to keep listening to the sounds of my wind chimes and feel again that i am into Her arms. And if a storm comes a real or a metaphoric one i will deal with it. Because now i know that strenth does not come from enduring difficulties but from retaining the ability to love during those hardships. Keeping the light alive during darkness.
I was just thinking that from just one word i made into my mind a whole catastrophic scenario. You got to admit it is some sort of talent. In a split second to see the worst possible way things could advance. But you know what, i am an optimist. It is easy to be brave and positive when you can't see the difficulties that may appear. It is far more difficult to take a deep breath and "believe".
Since it is a windy day and the moon is waxing i think it is time for the leaf. I will cut a big, beautiful leaf and write on it the things i want for me in the immediate future. Then i will let it fly away from me. I will do it during the night. I will have a burning candle on my side and love into my heart.
I hope you will do it too. And who knows? Maybe our leaves will meet into the air and travel the road to heaven.
Brightest blessings,
Georgina.