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Halloween. Best. Day. Ever.

Why is Halloween my favorite Holiday?


This is when the freaks of the world are accepted.
 You can embrace the unusual, the bizarre.

You get to be whoever you want to be.

However, I challenge you to 
be whoever you want to be every day.
Why not?


Celebrate Halloween every single day.

Some Halloween/Samhain information...

Samhain Affirmation
I am the whisper of everything unspoken. I am the wisdom carried in by the wind, and the prophecy it foretells. I hold within me the memory of all that I have ever been, and have the courage to use that knowledge rightly. I am the end. And so in death, shall I begin again. Blessed Be.

Significance
This is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds draws thin. It is a good time to honor those who have passed on.

Magickal Energies:
heightened psychic awareness, mystery, banishing, transformation

Symbols:
acorns, apples, cats, cauldrons, crystal balls, gourds, masks, pumpkins, scarecrows

Colors:
black, orange, purple, silver

Trees
apple, yew

Flowers:
nightshade

Herbs & Oils:
apple, broom, hemlock, mugwort, mullein, mushrooms, pine needles, rosemary, sage, vervain, wormwood

Stones:
amber, bloodstone, garnet, hematite, obsidian, onyx

Animals:
bat, cat, crow, owl, raven, scorpion, spider

Beverages:
hot apple cider, dark red wine, hot cocoa, pumpkin spice lattes

Foods:
candy apples, cornbread, meat dishes, pomegranates, all pumpkin dishes 
Spider Fairy 2005

Samhain information taken from Wheel of the Year classes 
at Avalon in Orlando, FL 2001.


Peace, Inspiration, & Love,
 ~Amy
 The Magick Muse

Oracle of the Week~Goddess~Changing Woman

Changing Woman
Cycles

Illustrated by Hrana Janto 

I am what comes round again and again

what can never die

I renew myself in the seasons

in the cycle of time

the great round

I bleed yet do no die

I keep my blood within and become wise

I dance the spiral

and keep changing

**********************************

Changing Woman is also called "Self-Renewing One".

She can change her age merely by walking into the horizon.

As the seasons change, so does the color of her dress.

Changing Woman comes spinning into your life to tell you the way to wholeness lies in honoring your cycles.

Honoring your cycles means honoring your own unique process, your own unique path in life.

You may be in the midst of a particular life cycle that 
you need to surrender to and honor.

Changing Woman says that wholeness is nurtured when 
we reclaim the power of our cycles by 
paying attention to them and celebrating them. 

By celebrating our cycles, we celebrate ourselves as women.

**********************************
The cards never lie.

The last few weeks all of the cards I've chosen 
have been dead on.

Amazing.

I feel another change brewing within me.

I feel a whole new life cycle emerging. 

I'm doing research on it now...but...I feel it's what I need to bring all of my talents together. 

I believe I have found my calling.

More on that later...


Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

This Week in The Spirit Dancer


This Week in 
The Spirit Dancer

Reading: The PDF of my Flying Lessons course


Listening to: Halloween music!


Watching: Watched the first episode of "Breaking Bad" last night after hearing tons of folk say, "You should watch Breaking Bad." I've also been watching "Smallville". I used to catch episodes here and there, but I never watched the whole show through. I'm loving it. 


Thinking about: a new career move


Learning: That there is no possible way for me to do everything I want to do in a weekend. I need time in the week, too.


Doing: Re-evaluating


Pet Peeves: - - -


Happy Thoughts: Spending time with Chris, mountain adventures, cooler weather, and this is Halloween week!


Best Quote: "I plan on being great all by myself." ~Lex Luthor



Looking forward to: Halloween!


Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

Misty Mountain Top

I am completely in love with Max Patch.

It is a bald mountain...4616 ft elevation and 
you feel on top of the world. 
It's so "Sound of Music" with a 360 degree view 
surrounded by mountains. 

I've been there several times, 
even spent the night once with my boyfriend. 
It was one of the most incredible night's ever...
like we were on our own planet. 

Max Patch has been calling my name lately...so I had to go. 
I was super excited to go by myself. 

I was in great need of an Amy Adventure. 

I sought out to do some soul searching in 
one of the most magical places I know.

It turned out quite different than I had intended.

For one...it usually looks like this...

Max Patch November 2009


Yesterday, I got this view...
Max Patch October 2012
From my personal journal yesterday...


October 27, 2012

On top of the world and I can't see a thing.

This reeks of faery.

A faery lesson, I'm sure of it.

Sometimes as much as we want to see, we just can't.

I came to Max Patch today full of strength, full of anticipation, anxious to have some deep profound thinking on my life.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

The question beckons, lately the question has actually been SCREAMING, 

"Amy! WTF!?! You are here! You are there! What are you? A jeweler, a candle maker, an herbalist, a healer, a crafter, a fairy, a muse, a witch, a goddess, a friend, a girlfriend, a daughter, a sister, a writer, a dreamer, etc."

Too many things!

Yet, I am all of these. 

My question for the Universe is, "How can I bring all of my talents together and make them work for me as a career generating my own income?"

I came up here, 4600 feet on top of Sound of Music mountain for clarity and I can't see past 15 feet in front of me.

How do we find clarity in the mists?

My hair is super damp with fog. Everything is getting wet. 

However, I still feel the magic here.

Max Patch has a special energy to it. I always feel more alive here.

Rejuvenated. 

I love this place, no matter what.

Yes, I do wish I could see the breathtaking 360 degree view of surrounding mountains, but...I can't.

I wish I could see the missing link in my career path, but..I can't.

Deep breath.

I let go.

I trust all will be revealed as it should.

For now, I'm going to digest this misty mountain air and just breathe.


Found this example of balance on my way back down the mountain.

Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

New Journal~Focused Goals & Thoughts

I'm really gonna try hard to be a 
one notebook kind of girl. 

I have journals, notebooks, and sticky notes EVERYWHERE...
all the freakin' time.

I am starting a new journal. It is a nice large size with lined paper. I love writing on lines. I also like the size of this journal. When I have tiny journals, I don't write in them. 

Size does matter.

And my thoughts...my ideas...are just 
too large for a small notebook.

Of course, I had to totally decoupage it, 
using pictures that inspire me.

Here it is...just begging to be written in!
The Spirit Dancer's New Journal

I plan on using it for all of my thoughts, my inspirations, my to-do lists, my budget...my life.

I can do this. No more sticky notes everywhere, no more carrying 4 notebooks with me wherever I wander. 
No, no, no.

One journal to save them all! 



Peace, Inspiration, & Love,
 ~Amy
 The Spirit Dancer

Oracle of the Week~Faery~Prick Up Your Ears

Prick Up Your Ears by Brian Froud
Prick Up Your Ears

~Jumping to Conclusions~

  ~Listening with Clarity~

~Appropriate Meaning~

This lovely faerie is 
all ears.

From The Heart of 


It is very easy to listen 
without really hearing and to hear without really understanding.

Often things are said that are perceived as hurtful or critical, when perhaps listening more carefully or in a different way would have informed you that wasn't the intention at all.

Rabbits and hares have very sensitive hearing. They jump and start at any unfamiliar noise, running for safety before they see what made the noise in the first place. 
They literally jump to conclusions before getting the full picture.
Now in a rabbit's case this is probably wise, since hanging around can often lead to a very short life, but as a human, it is important to take the time to really prick up your ears and listen to what is being said, and not only to what is being said, but to what is actually means.

You may be surprised at how often a meaning is quite different from what you first supposed.

*******************************
Looks like my goal this week is to really, really listen.
I will try to refrain from jumping to conclusions.
I pause, prick up my ears, and open my mind.



Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

This Week in The Spirit Dancer


This Week in 
The Spirit Dancer

Reading: Not really reading much this week...hope to get back into Mists of Avalon soon.


Listening to: Vampire Weekend Pandora station


Watching: Seems like everything! I haven't had cable for many, many years...but now it feels like I do. You can watch pretty much anything with the help of the internet. No more waiting for an entire season to come out on DVD. So, now it's TV season! All new episodes of Walking Dead, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, How I Met  Your Mother, and American Horror Story. Damn, I love American Horror Story. Plus I'm all caught up with Once Upon a Time...so magical.


Thinking about: Autumn...how the mountains are so much more beautiful this time of  year. I want to hop from mountain top to mountain top.


Learning: The never ending lesson of time management.


Doing: Enjoying October!


Pet Peeves: Rude people.


Happy Thoughts: Corn mazes, pumpkins, friends, autumn leaves, the crisp morning air, and Halloween is just around the corner.


Best Quote: "I'll always win against the patriarchal male." ~Sister Jude

Looking forward to: Pinhead's Graveyard!


Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

Impromptu Goal Post

My Flying Lessons course from Kelly Rae Roberts 
is coming to an end. 
I was super excited to take this class and 
now I'm even more inspired than before!

The class is almost like a vacation where you over-do things. 
You want to soak in every possible second 
exploring new territory.

My head is spinning. My heart it fluttering. My brain keeps saying, "Oh, I should do that, I want to do that, oh let's do that!"

Fresh ideas abound.

So, I'm compiling my new list of 

  1. Design my own website.  
  2. Re-work my blog.
  3. Aim higher with craft shows...apply for juried shows.
  4. Organize my own craft show with my super talented friends.
  5. Take better pictures of my wares.
  6. Find an online handmade store to sell my crafts and get rid of Etsy.
  7. Teach e-courses. (anything from herbs to tapping in to your higher power)
  8. Attain the square.
  9. Plot and plan a retreat somewhere in the North Carolina mountains for about 10 artists to get together and inspire each other.
  10. Practice good time management skills allowing myself relax time and a reasonable amount of time to implement my goals.
Let's fly!

Peace, Inspiration, & Love,
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer

Oracle of the Week~Faery~A Clockwork Pumpkin

A Clockwork Pumpkin
A wonderful idea, the aha moment!

Guidebook by Lucy Cavendish


You are about to have an amazing moment, 
a brilliant insight, and a very illuminating idea!

Action must be taken immediately, 
while the idea is fresh and new.

You must put the steps in place one after the other, 
almost like clockwork.

No more procrastination---follow the aha moment with action, 
and watch amazing change in the form of abundance, 
creativity, and satisfaction take place in your life!

******************************

The Clockwork Pumpkin says, "I may look like a strange muse, a clockwork pumpkin accompanied by a beautiful girl, but have no doubt: I am the new idea, the epiphany, the moment of clarity when the seeming chaos of life suddenly rearranges itself into a brilliant opportunity. You are about to be presented with such a golden idea that 
I want you to be ready.

It may come from within you, or it may come from outside of you, but you have drawn it to you with the power of attraction and manifestation, and it is an idea that will bring you 
great riches of body, mind, and spirit.

It is time to activate your own brilliant abilities and become the abundant, enriched being you were born to be!

We are so pleased we have found you---we have waited for exactly the right being to take on this idea and 
bring it to life within the world.

It has evolved out of time, out of space, and is perfect for you.

It may be a song, a project, a new job, a relationship---its form is fluid, but its time is now, 
and you are the person chosen to bring it through.

Cosmic duty it may be, but joy and love it will bring, as well as abundance and true happiness!

******************************
Whoa. This card is absolutely amazing and 
fills me with radiant energy.
I am ready for inspiration Universe.
Hit me with it and I will answer my calling. 



Peace, Inspiration, & Love, 
 ~Amy 
 The Spirit Dancer