Resolutions for a New Year

I hope that each of you and your families had a wonderful Halloween and a blessed Samhain.  Saturday was spent at the zoo and hanging out with friends.  On Sunday, we stuck close to home.  I managed to get some last-minute homework done and snuck in some Halloween artwork.  Mr. Sparrow did a good smudging on our new apartment and some protection work.  Overall, it was a busy, but enjoyable weekend.

As Samhain is known as the Witch’s New Year, my family makes resolutions for the coming magickal year at that time.  We usually write these resolutions down on paper and burn them.  This releases our intentions into the Universe.

My major resolution for this year is to take a trip back to the basics.  Since I have been sitting on the precipice of my 3rd Degree initiation, I have been feeling more spiritually blah than ever.  I’m not sure if it is because I am coming to an end of my “official” training or confusion about where to go from here, but I need something to regain focus.

Another resolution of mine for the year is to write a little every day.  I have wanted to be a professional writer for a while and do quite a bit of it between blogging and writing articles, but it has not been a focus.  Since I began writing somewhat regularly, I have noticed that it is coming easier to me and that I am able to convey my thoughts much more clearly.  I have dreams of writing a Pagan romance and want to be able to make those a reality one day.

In an effort to fulfill both of these resolutions (and because I am a project-aholic) the “366 Days of Magic” was born on my blog, The Balanced Witch.  For the next 366 days, there will be a new post on my blog each day about the basics of Earth-based spirituality and magickal practice.  I just posted the first day and am excited about the next 365!

Did anyone else make any resolutions?

Change Your Life, One Word at a Time

What are you doing to change your life this November?

Four years ago, I would have just had a dumb stare if someone had asked me that question. Now I know that there is a massive writing competition that can "literally" change your life in just 4 weeks - National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

Just like those Army commercials, at the end of the month you are a lean, mean, writing machine. Most importantly you have done something for yourself - you are a novelist.

So any of you who have been putting off that novel until you are wiser or "have more time", this is your chance! Take the plunge and sign up for National Novel Writing Month.

http://www.nanowrimo.org

Throughout the month of October, we will be preparing for this event at the Pagan NaNoWriMo-er's Ning.  Learn more about characterization, plotting, and setting.  We will be sharing tips for getting you out of the way of your writing and making the most of your time.  Chat with other budding novelists as well as the ole' pros.  We want to help you meet your goal!

http://paganwriters.ning.com/

p.s. - Your Muse will love you and your Inner Critic will be angry about the sock in his mouth

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

I don't know about any of you, but half of my anxiety about blogging, comes from 1) just writing to the general public; 2) Creativity and working through "page-fright" and probably the biggest reason; not getting encouragement, wisdom and empathy from fellow bloggers; even though I'm really fortunate to belong to this blog where each of us are really supportive of each other and our whole process.

Mama Kat has a great blog and I just read today about "The Writer's Workshop" which sounds exactly like what I need and I think many of you out there might benefit as well. Here are the directions for writing and being a member of the workshop and by the way, it's open to everyone...

It’s never to late to jump in!! Here is what you must do:

• Choose a prompt that inspires you most from the list of prompts I provide each week and think about what you’re going to write.
• Write.
• Come back Thursday and paste the URL from the workshop post into the Mister Linky that will be up…this way anyone can click on your name and head over to your place to see what you wrote. Likewise, I encourage you to click on at least the three links above your name so that you can read what other people are writing and learn more about them.

She's a former high-school English teacher so knows of what she speaks. I'd love to see your writing and hopefully you'll be a fellow writer at this workshop.

What is a Grimoire Really?

http://www.brahmsbookworks.com/

I have always wanted one of those huge leather books with the iron clasps. A special key of course would be needed to unlock its contents as they were to be viewed by only a few. The pages would have the look of aged paper and each would be colorfully printed in an old English font that gave it the appearance of being handed down through the ages. Drawings of ingredients and what not would also be included. Yet in all honesty this is somewhat impractical. Although it would be a great conversation piece and something that visitors would see sitting on a table closed and die with curiosity to know what it was. It is just not something that is easily used or managed no matter how many movies one may see such a book in.
I don’t think you would call what I have necessarily a Book of Shadows; especially since I have several of them. I have always considered myself somewhat of a journal whore. Early on in my life I started keeping journals of my thoughts and so forth. They have all evolved as time has passed and now I keep several going at the same time. Each one has its purpose and its content.

I have the normal journal for everyday thought and such; the rants that come out as they do and the joys and sorrows also. In my earlier days I guess this is what I would have considered my diary. This probably is what the majority of my journals contain. Yet there are others. I have my poetry books that very much show my life through the years if only in the manner of emotion that may have inspired me at the time. I enjoy reading these every now and then. I have to say at times I surprise myself with what I wrote. I have found these books at times to be more therapeutic than the simple diary.

There are also the ones with the secrets I have discovered or been told throughout time. These are probably the ones I refer to the most. They will probably also be the ones that when I do pass will need to be designated as to who will be granted their possession. They contain such information as cooking tips, gardening pointers, and herbalism info I have learned. Recipes for incense, medicines, and so on are also found throughout many of them.

I will be honest and say that I am not really even sure what is all suppose to be in ones Book of Shadows. I have heard many speak of their books and such and marvel at the intricacy and detail of some. Yet I have also always thought from what many say that such books are a very personal thing. That being said I would think that what works best for one may not necessarily work well for another… Or maybe it is just the way I justify the simplicity of my book. Maybe as time moves on and more time is made for me to dabble in things that are not necessarily a rush, I will be able to have a grand book with beautiful pages and intricately written words. Something that will be passed down to my granddaughter and then to her granddaughter… But then again maybe she will just have to settle with my footlocker full of journals.

Book Review: Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink by Susan Pesznecker

Written by: Susan Pesznecker
Published by: Llewellyn Worldwide LTD
Page Count: 264 pages
ISBN-13: 9780738711454

Blurb:

Write—the Right Way!

The right way to write isn't by following those old rules that bored you in school. The right way is your way—from your heart and expressing exactly what you mean. Here you'll find tools—not rules—that will help you create powerful and expressive rituals, spells, articles, poems, and books. Filled with tips, tricks, clear examples, and wonderful do-it-yourself exercises, this book contains everything you need to make your words sparkle and clearly reflect your ideas. Learn to brainstorm topics, write a rough draft, edit your writing, and come up with a finished work that publishers will want to print and everyone will want to read.

This book is unique because it brings magick into the mix. It reveals secrets of automatic and trance writing that will uncover latent creativity you never knew you had. Once you have unlocked these imaginative forces, you'll also learn how to magickally protect your work. Just about anybody can write words. But if you want to let your creativity explode in new directions, this colorful guide has the magickal and practical keys that will open the locks, break down the blocks, and let the inner writer out. Find out just how much fun writing can be and how good a writer you can become.

Whether you are in the brainstorming phase of the writing process or just need an extra little push to finish your masterpiece, Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink can give you the motivation and inspiration you need to live up to your literary potential.

By using the magickal and professional methods in this book, you can breathe new life into your writing and set yourself on a course towards greatness.

Review:

When I read the blurb for this book, I had to have it!  The idea of combining my magickal studies with my writer’s journey intrigued me.  And since I knew the author from the Grey School of Wizardry, there was no doubt in my mind that Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink was destined to sit on my bookshelf.

From the moment that I cracked open this book, I was hooked.  Pesznecker covers various types of magickal writing in the text.  My personal favorite was the information about journaling, since this is something that I struggle with personally.  Each chapter was followed up by a couple writing exercises to reinforce the chapter and get the creative juices flowing.

If nothing else, this book helped to fuel my passion for writing and made me more eager to jump into my journal each day.