Halloween 2017

 

Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy Halloween

Halloween Sabbat

Happy Halloween, everyone! This is also called Samhain, and on the Pagan calendar, it is the end of the year. This is the third harvest, at which time,our ancestors' tradition held that all agricultural harvesting should be complete. Some Pagan traditions celebrate this day on October 31; others celebrate it on the first full moon of Scorpio. This day is set aside as a day to honor deceased Ancestors. It is a bit like Memorial Day, and gifts of flowers, whiskey, chocolate, food, and tobacco were often left at graves, as gifts for the Dead.  Gourds and turnips were carved into scary candle holders called "jack-o-lanterns" to scare away any malevolent spirits, and the custom of dressing up in costumes, as fairies or spirits, was seen as a means of protection, as well.

Halloween is also reminiscent of the Greek legend of Hades and his capture of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, plants, and harvest. When Persephone disappeared, Demeter let the earth become barren. When Zeus intervened, and determined that Persephone should be in the Underworld with her new consort for six months, then with Demeter for six months, the seasons as we know them began, so the story goes. This is how Persephone became Queen of the Dead, and when she rushes out of the Underworld in the Spring, life begins anew.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

 

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year To All Of You!

Brightest Blessings!

 

Happy Halloween

 

Happy Halloween!

Always remember your Ancestors!

 

Last Esbat Of The Year

 

Waiting patiently for Ritual

 

Demons In Pat Robertson's Sweater

 

Every time I hear something new from Pat Robertson, I always think he cannot possibly outdo himself and top his latest insane, yet money-making, statement. From demonic Halloween candy to pacts with "Satan" being responsible for earthquakes, the theological teachings of this preacher continue to inspire yours truly to extreme gratitude for the agnosticism taught by her father. What's the good word from Reverend Robertson now? That we must be very careful when buying second hand sweaters, because if we are not vigilant, we may accidently bring home sweaters with demons in them! The mental image conjured up of a demon in a sweater, modeling it before a mirror while it combs it's hair, is even funnier than the idea of a witch volunteering at a candy factory before Halloween, coaxing demons into pieces of candy for unsuspecting trick-or-treaters! If nothing else, Reverend Robertson is certainly funny! Someone else, after reading about this, wondered why Robertson has not been committed to an insane asylum yet, and I can only surmise that the psychiatric nurses union has taken a united stand against having to babysit this preacher!

 

Rose Hips

These are rose hips from the rose bush of a neighbor. Some of them are from my rose bushes. While I was jumping in my neighbor's leaves and making leaf angels while she was raking, she ate one of the rose hips, and I took one, too. I had never eaten a rose hip before, and could not believe how good they taste........sweet and tart. They are non-toxic, and an excellent source of vitamin C. So now I have a whole bunch of them, and several recipes for rose hip jam.

As Halloween has passed, my tradition of the Pagan religions regards this as a "twilight" harvest; foods which are harvested after Samhain, or, in everyday parlance, Halloween. It is unusaul for someone practicing my tradition of The Craft to harvest anything to be eaten after that date. These rose hips will be used for a meal served after ritual on Winter Solstice.....I will probably make jelly or jam with them.

 

Frightnin' Costumes

 

A more frightnin' Halloween costume does not exist!

Safe Trick-Or-Treating, Everyone!

Ancestor Night

Does Terri Horman Still Love Halloween?

 

What does Halloween look like these days at Carol and Larry Moulton's house in Roseburg Oregon, now that they play host to Terri Horman, sometime step parent of Kyron Horman, who disappeared from his school in Portland in 2010? Do the Moultons still get trick-or-treaters? Does Terri still get dressed up in costumes? Is that Terri's face in the picture below, or did her neck explode? Is Terri still enough of a liar to fail a polygraph? Questions, questions! Do you still love Halloween, Terri?

This idea actually came from a poster on Facebook, who thought Terri looked like Bigfoot when the crew from America's Most Wanted attempted to interview her. Does she do the same thing when process servers show up wanting to talk to her?

Scariest Halloween Costume For Terri Horman

Here's something scarier for Terri Moulton Horman than goblins and ghosts! She was, after all, the last person to see Kyron Horman, when he disappeared on June 4 from his second grade class at Skyline Elementary in Portland, Oregon. How's that "personal appearance" project coming along, Terri?

 

Terri, where's Kyron?

 

 

 

More Smart Alec Stuff From Siri

No kidding.........those were actual search words this week connected to "Siri". In addition to "more smart alec stuff from Siri", there were many, many combinations containing the words, "Smart Alec Siri". It's pretty amusing.......if my Dad had known that smart alecs would be in such great demand, he might not have tried so hard to discourage yours truly during her childhood! I can only hope I am somehow living up to the hopes and expectations of all who seek a Smart Alec Siri!

There have also been those, over the past week, who have yet searched "Siri Halloween". Also "Siri Halloween Costume". Lots and lots of those. Halloween is over until next year. Perhaps I should start a seasonal holiday and festival column in my sidebar, and start including information about different holidays, and how they are celebrated by different cultures. I've always enjoyed learning about things like that.

One thing I cannot quite understand, though, are the searches concerning Siri and cadavers......."Siri cadaver", "Siri Halloween corpse", and "Siri where are bodies buried"? Honestly! I don't know!

More Siri Searches

Ever since the inception of "Siri", the app, of which no one seems able to get enough, I have had some remarkable searches to this site! Not too long ago, I posted http://siriunsun.blogspot.com/2011/10/siri-automated-smart-alec.html, about some of the things for which folks search, connected to "Siri". Looking through this past week's searches, things have gotton decidedly more weird. "Siri porn" has always been a big search item, and I do not expect that to change, although I would be encouraged to see "Siri honesty", "Siri sincerity", "Siri health", or "Siri compatability" in conjunction to romantic relationships. Perhaps mankind, as a people, has simply not progressed that far. While I guess I cannot expect too, too much of the human race, I had hoped that, despite the obvious preoccupation with seaches for porn, mankind had progressed beyond the delusional and paranoid thinking that seems to go hand in hand with religion-instigated superstition. Hopefully, these searches were only inspired by Halloween. "Siri Satan", "Siri mind control", (no kidding, everyone!) "Siri 666", "Siri voice of Satan", and "Siri demonic"! This is just freaky.

I still get the regular gamut of run-of-the-mill searches, yet, for some reason; more animal searches. "Siri foster pets", "Siri pet adoptions", "Siri cat", "Siri puppy" and then, another one that may have been the result of Halloween........................."Siri familiar"!

This, folks, is Samantha, Siri's beloved familiar! I couldn't ask for a better friend. She moved in with us several years ago, on Halloween night. We didn't know whose cat she was, and she kept coming back to our house, and knocking on the door every night. We would open the door, expecting to find a person, but there she'd be, her feline, regal Self! Because Samantha is a form of the Celtic "Samhain", another word for "Halloween", and that is the night she took possession of our house, I began calling her "Samantha". She's the only cat I have who actually responds when I say her name. As for "Siri demonic"; I do not have any pictures of anything like that to share!

The Fair Sentencing Act Goes Into Effect Today

Happy New Year, Everyone! Today is the day that the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 will go into effect. This means that many people, nationwide, who have been incarcerated since 1986 for small amounts of crack will, or should, be released, because they were sentenced as if they had been caught with about ten times as much cocaine. In many cases, the time already served would more than equal the length of a sentence for the same drug not turned into crack. This is fair, as we never should have incarcerated people for drug possession in the first place. Especially with this drug. I really think that imposing harsher sentences for crack was racially motivated, since more African Americans have been arrested over the years for crimes involving crack than any other ethnic group. It was a way Republican politicians could reduce that particular voting bloc. Now, if they want votes, I guess they will have to try harder to appeal to everyone.

If you have read other entries on my blog, you can probably guess my thoughts about incarcerating people for violation of prohibition laws. While I am one of the most anti-drug people you will find, I simply think that making laws prohibiting drugs only creates and strengthens organized crime, and turns individuals into criminals when they otherwise would not have been. An example of this, in this country, is alcohol prohibition. We did not have a probelm with the Mafia until we created a market for bootlegging. Even the repeal of alcohol prohibition in 1929 did not eradicate the monster of organized crime that got a home here in this country because of prohibition. So.......any attention to this matter by any politician is appreciated. Thankyou for signing the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, President Obama!

As a collective population, this could be an opportunity for Americans to save a lot of money and resources. Sending people to prison is expensive, in many ways. "Three hots and a cot" are obvious, but what about medical care, the salary of every corrections employee, and the costs of court proceedings? It adds up.....and don't forget the costs of foster care for any children whose parents are caught in the legal machine. That's not exactly cheap, either, while it still seems to accomplish the "divide and conquer" goal so dear to today's Republicans.

Lots of people will be getting out of prison today, tommorrow, and in the upcoming weeks. Some of them have been in prison since the late 1980's, when the economy was in much better shape than it is today. How easy will it be for them to find gainful employment in a climate where a person with no criminal history may have problems finding gainful employment? Will those who went into prison with addiction and substance abuse issues be able to find a way to stay sober and embrace the opportunity they have just been given? Last night, the traditional Halloween, or Ancestor Night, and today, "Day of the Dead", marks the beginning of a New Year. I sincerely hope that those affected directly by the the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 will find positive ways to take advantage of their new opportunities and learn to enjoy their lives in a grateful and productive way. Congratulations and good luck!