Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in queenofillusion's LiveJournal:

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Friday, October 3rd, 2008
3:24 pm	Pagan Pride 2008 is this Saturday and Sunday. It starts at 10 am on Saturday and 11 am on Sunday. I've enjoyed every PP I've gone to so far and think this one will be no exception. It's at the Sabathani Center in S. Mpls. We (Janus and myself) will be doing an open ritual on Saturday and a discussion on ritual possession/channeling/"drawing down" on Sunday. The discussion will include on how to write a good invocation, how to get yourself to open up the experience, and what to do if you or those around you have doubts. The ritual will be our Sorgitzak ritual and will include dancing and the chance to interact with one of the Sorgae Gods and Goddesses. Busy, busy, busy... Current Mood: bouncy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
12:10 pm	To Daydream or Not to Daydream I saw this program last night on PBS about stress and how bad it is for you. The program talked about how we react all the time as though in danger of our lives when its coming from our heads (our bodies react as though to a real and actual physical threat, even when its just traffic and deadlines at work, our boss yelling at us, etc, that is making us nuts and not a lion trying to chase us down and eat us). I knew a lot of this already, of course, but this was very interesting because it was based off of research with baboons and British civil servants and how the pecking order affected the health of the two in exactly the same way. Those in charge had less health issues and those below had more, and that was because they were way way more stressed out on a regular basis. We are just not meant to live in constant stress...but the problem is that we perceive danger where there really isn't an immediate danger the vast majority of the time and the danger is often not even a physical one. But our bodies don't know that. So...today I tried to drive to work all the time envisoning I was actually by the ocean, lying down beneath the hot sun, good friends relaxing next to me, nothing else in the world to do or to go, and a big old fruity "girlie" drink close at hand and, what do you know, it worked. I felt calm, disassociated almost, and drove to work without getting worked up or angry or worrying about the time. Of course, you have to be paying enough attention to be able to drive safely, but it was a much nicer commute. Daydreaming for stress reduction! I think I will keep at this and see how it goes. Put all those years of visualization techniques to good use outside of the normal ritual context. The other thing the program stated was that you can heal your body of the damage caused by constant stress. The key is socialization--having good friends to talk to about your life and concerns, touch and laughter, all those good things. Having a good social support network keeps you young, in essence. Certainly, it helps in keeping you healthy. Current Mood: enthralled (Comment on this)
10:31 am	Missed out on the Nordic Roots Festival. For some odd reason, I thought it was going to be the end of October and not the end of September. (sigh) I really really wanted to see Hedningarna. Ah well, that leaves the weekend of October 25-26 for me to buckle down and get some serious writing done. Hoohah! Maybe, I should think about doing that B&B weekend somewhere...hm... Current Mood: disappointed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
2:29 pm	Workshop OMG! Spent Friday night working out the discussion for the up-coming Pagan Pride and running through the changes made in the circle script and what we need to bring, etc. Saturday...OMG, Saturday was spent in the Donald Maass Novel Intensive and they weren't kidding. Intensive, definitely. Okay, more like overwhelming. My brain was spinning by the afternoon and I felt both excited and discouraged at the same time. However, by that evening, I was working my way through it and hope to have it stew in my mind and much improve my fiction in future. The workshop has given me many ideas, both general ones and ones specific to current fiction writing in progress. Sunday we hit the RenFest and had a good time, though my feet did not thank me for it by the end of the day. Dance at the drumjam? OMG, no...but couldn't resist all the same. Am about a quarter or more of the way into a re-write on the next book. Yeehah! Current Mood: creative (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
3:06 pm	Too Dern Busy Every weekend in September was booked and now October is going much the same way. Dang it, much as I love having people to see and things to do (fun stuff even!) I NEED to get my second book done... Okay, so that was snarly. I guess it just means I need to buckle down (something) and bite the (something) and set aside a couple of weekday nights to work on it. As well as on the article for the anthology with the Nov 1st deadline. I needs a nice iced drinkie about now. Current Mood: frustrated (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
3:32 pm	Oh Most Yummy Dark Chocolate Saw a new European study has come out that says that having dark chocolate (about 2-3 smallish pieces a week) is good for your heart and has beneficial effects on inflammation and so on. Hm...what a horrid thing to HAVE to consume a little bit of good dark chocolate each and every week. Sad thing is, though, that eating more than that doesn't do much for you. Well, at least, for your physicial health. Mental health...??? Anyone for a smallish glass of red wine and smallish piece of dark chocolate several times a week??!?!?! Current Mood: hungry (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
2:04 pm	Enjoying a piece of some really good apple and pear cobbler. Now, if I only could find more time to do some revision on the 2nd book all would be right with the world... Well, and if Johnny Depp was waiting on my doorstep when I got home today. Current Mood: hungry (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
3:02 pm	Back in Minnesota Had a nice week off from work and visiting relatives. We went to Galena IL, an old town with great tall Victorian buildings that house loads of cool shops nowadays. We spent hours there and didn't even to half of them. That was followed by a shopping trip to Davenport with my sister-in-law and an auction with my mother. The auction was fun. It was on an old farmstead where the lady who was leaving was 98 years old and had been living there since 1917. The house still had no running water and she was carrying her water in even now. The last weekend, I went camping with my aunt and uncle and loads of cousins. It was sure chilly, though. Good thing I managed to get a new hooded sweatshirt. I never would have thought it would turn that cold because it was so hot when I left. I didn't manage to get too much writing done, sadly, just some bits here and there. Am plugging away at the 2nd draft of the next book, though...as well as identifying what bits need to be moved/edited out/added to. Did pick up some wine and honey in Iowa, as well as some home grown and canned pickles and jam at one of the two town picnics I attended. Haven't broken into those yet, but...yummmm.... Current Mood: grateful (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
4:50 pm	I know that technically its not as good as being #1, but still being #13 in pagan books on Amazon has this extra tingle, yah know? Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #13 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Paganism #81 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Wicca Still, it's nice to see that the book is doing well...flipping around on Amazon so that sometimes it's even #2 or #7 in pagan books and sometimes not. Either way, I'm glad that people are getting it and, better still, getting something out of it. I've seen several quotes and comments online, including a recent one from Australia. :) I've been scribbling up some stuff for the follow-up work. Of course, when we talk with the Gods of this Path quite often They give us more info which requires thought, speculation, and research. Questions lead to yet more questions, which is exactly how it should often be. It's an on-going process and a mystery all at the same time. Still considering Pantheacon. I've done some asking around and most folks who have gone recommend it. Current Mood: chipper (2 Comments |Comment on this)
3:34 pm	Short Week--Very Busy Crazy busy weekend. Went down to Ground Zero and had a great time as always. Was hungry afterwards and the only thing open was Perkins, sad to say. :( Why can't there be a decent place to go after 2 in the am? Finished the next article for The Crooked Path and emailed it off. Have begun the next piece for the anthology on totemism/animism. I will be concentrating on that and on the 2nd draft of the book for at least a month. Then it will be October and I want to take another trip down to Red Wing for the weekend and relax some before winter sets in. Am thinking about what talks I might do if I go down to Sacred Harvest again. Definitely, one about Sorgae and then one about Dancing the Blood/ecstatic dance and movement in order to achieve trance states and heightened states of awareness. Perhaps, one about the Fey and other elemental spirits? Hm... Perhaps, the Dance one should be more of a workshop than a talk. When we danced at Eye of Horus for the ritual in June that was great, though the place was a bit too small actually for what we wanted to do. Or, rather, there were too many people in too small a space. Luckily, only one candlestand got knocked over that time. The ritual we want to do in September will be limited to about a dozen people so that will make it easier. And, if we get called to do a ritual at Pagan Pride, I know that space is much larger, even if there are other constraints and problems to work around at the location. Current Mood: geeky (Comment on this)
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
3:26 pm	In A Muddle, But Unmuddling Dropped by Eye of Horus last night and had a Tarot reading while I was waiting for a friend to come and join me for dinner. Just a quickie, but it repeated that old mantra I got a year or more ago about not taking on too much at one time. Not only does it mean you stress out more, but you actually end up finishing less things. The vision I had about this was that of a rosebush and that, in order to make a few blossoms flower to the best of their ability, you had to trim back the rest. I decided then that each year I would pick just three things to concentrate on finishing and I couldn't pick another thing until one of those was actually completed. It could be writing projects or it could be other necessary things which take time, such as moving, etc. This year, I chose to finish my second book, to get my stories done for the proposed anthology idea, and to finish working on some material needed for the follow-up to Sorgitzak. Sadly, I sort of got sidetracked by writing more articles for various publications. Which is all to the good, but I can't let it distract me from finishing the other things. Okay...so that means that I need to get down to work on the 2nd draft of the book I'm working on now, finish the second story for the anthology and start writing the pitch, and get together more to work on the follow-up book material. However, I've begun to realize that it will probably take longer than the end of this year to get that particular material in order. So, what does that mean for my schedule? Hm... The rest of the time I work, I exercise, I socialize--all of which is necessary. I also do want to keep up writing things for The Crooked Path...so I guess the third item on my list needs to be extended and not be part of something I expect to actually finish in 2008. So, revise, revise, revise: 1. Finish 2nd book and aim to sell by year's end 2. Finish 2nd story in anthology and create pitch letter 3. Write one more article for The Crooked Path for this year (already in the works actually) Then, once one of those is off the table, I can add something. Okay, feel much better now. :) The only question is, then, what do I bring to the Novel Writing Workshop? Current Mood: drained (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
2:36 pm	To Be or Not to Be, That Wasn't the Question Attended the Old Craft discussion last night at Eye of Horus. We started off with a song (veddy nice) and then went into the topic, which was the Others, the Gentry, the Sidhe, the Faery, etc. Well...that's what it was supposed to be, but after a bit we kinda wandered (a lot). We didn't really chat all that much re the Fey, as the conversation drifted quite quickly into other things such as proving or not being able to prove that the spirit/soul has a physical weight (!?!?!?!) and subjective versus objective "proof" and what is the Nature of Real Reality anyhoo... Eesh. I would have much preferred to chat re Faery, but after a couple of comments by a few other attendees and myself, it went far afield from that. I wonder if it wasn't just a coincidence? Many there had experiences with those you might call land spirits, the Others, the Fey (I've had a lot, actually, since I was a kid), but trying to talk about whether personal experience is something you can say proves anything is what seems to have led us astray. Still, all we have is our personal experience and when it comes to what most folks call normal or reality, that tends to simply be the consensus of the majority (even over what is considered functionally normal). Eesh again. Maybe, I need to do a class on the Fey? Now, there's a thought... Getting the nod of approval for that one. ;) Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
1:42 pm	Didn't get much writing done over the weekend, but arrived at pottery class early and scribbed a couple of pages. It's mostly snippets that will end up in the totemism article, but I know that eventually the snippets come together and I will have a rough draft to work with. This was the last pottery class for 2 weeks and then it will start up again. When I come back, I'll have a big scrying bowl to glaze and a couple of vases. Tonight, I'll be attending the Old Craft discussion at Eye of Horus. I'll have to get there in time to pick up some coffee first next door at the biker coffeeshop. Interesting company. Good coffee. :) Then, the rest of this week, I'll be either reading or writing--two more articles and chipping away at the 2nd draft of the next book. Take this out, move this, add this there, have a drink, move more stuff, take a walk, edit, edit, edit, re-write... The State Fair starts this week, but I don't think I'll go this year. Instead, I think I'll head out to the Renfest sometime in Sept. Though, I will miss the food at the Fair more than the food at Fest. Very Special Mini Rant Below: And the special word for the day, boys and girls, is: projection. As in projecting your own issues onto someone else. Can we say "projection?" I know we could... Current Mood: groggy (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
4:12 pm	Hanging out in Wisconsin, relaxing and playing on the computer. Found some new icons--yeah! Thanks to the icon-makers, who seem to get better and better. I've made some in the past, but haven't had time lately. Thought, I will likely need to do some art for the next book. Doing art is so nice and relaxing. Current Mood: impressed (Comment on this)
2:02 am	Up way too late. Should be sleeping. Had too much fun talking. BBQ tomorrow, plus more talking and mutual hanging out. Do you think I'll do some book re-write tonight yet? Naw... Happy happy 2 in the morning everyone!!!! Current Mood: sleepy (Comment on this)
Friday, August 15th, 2008
1:01 pm	Scribbling Away... Projects, projects, projects. Just sent off an article to newWitch that I hope they will like. The next piece is for The Crooked Path, followed by the one for submission to the shamanism/animism/totemism anthology. I have some written and started work on the intro paragraph this week. Deadline--Nov 1st! After that, must concentrate on 2nd draft of nonfic book, plus the novel I need to have more written (at least another 50 pgs most like) in time for the workshop this Sept. Plus, write a proposal or two, also for submission. Can we say, where has the summer gone and where does it look like the autumn is going? Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
6:55 pm	Strange New Website Now this is strange, but I stumbled across this webpage where they quoted whole chunks from "Sorgitzak" intermixed with a story. I guess its a website for some sort of gaming. Weird, huh? http://www.ravenmourne.com/anjeney/anjeney.html At least the pictures they put with it are nice and its kind of cool to see the words put in the context of a story...whether the words are mine or those of the Gods. Still...is unnerving. Current Mood: contemplative (1 Comment |Comment on this)
2:05 pm	Overview of Sacred Harvest Fest 08 So, anyway...it was a last minute thing and thanks to the kindness of a friend that I ended up going to Sacred Harvest Fest this past Friday. I didn't really know what to expect, never having been there before, but it was fun overall. The campsite is in a huge grove of old oak trees and they lit tiki torches along the roadways every night and by the port a potties. Down the center of the camp was "Diagon Alley" where the vendors set up, also lit by tiki torches. They had several spots designated for the discussions and rituals that took place during the day and into the night. We got there just as it was getting dark and managed to set the tent up before it was fully dark. We nabbed some food, but it was too late to see what was for sale. That night, we went to the ritual, which involved a dance on a pattern made up of colored flour and seed. It went on for about 4 hours, or until it started raining. The next day it was damp and cool and I managed to make 3 discussions, one by one of the guest authors, Don Michael Craig. I also checked out the vendors and walked away with a neat multicolored hoodie (I needed it, as I hadn't brought warm stuff along) and a couple of stones. That evening, they did a procession following a snake carried by several people all along a path that ambled back and forth. Along the path, there were people dressed up as the major arcana of the Tarot and they said things relevent to their cards. You were meant to catch bits and pieces of it as you walked past. After that, we all did a huge spiral dance and sang together. It was dark by then and the whole ritual had a wonderful feel to it. Afterwards, we stayed up way late and listened to drumming and this cool accordian player. Sunday morning, we packed up and hit the Applebee's in Owatonna and it rounded out the weekend as being served hot food was just what we needed after a weekend of mostly cold stuff and stuff heated up with water. On the way home, we did a detour to get coffee and a stop at Barnes and Noble. :) All in all, I would like to go again...but for longer than a weekend next time if at all possible. Also, I would bring more things to be able to cook over the fire. I have plenty of cast iron cookware if I can persuade someone to bring a rack or tripod for the firepit. Of course, next year, when I will likely have 2 books out I might be able to swing being a guest author...who knows? That would be keen. Speaking of which, my article for submission to NewWitch is pretty much done and I've got the next piece of The Crooked Path mostly done in first draft. I started in on a piece on totems then for the next anthology from Immanion Press. After all that is done, then I have to concentrate on the 2nd draft of my next book and on writing more on the novel I want to bring along to the writer's workshop this Sept. Whew. Current Mood: busy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
5:30 pm	Back from the Northwoods Lovely weekend, even I got way too little sleep and worked way too hard. Didn't get a chance to attend any rituals as I was either working or too tired...still, the weekend was fun. :) Bought a t-shirt (Gotham City Forensics!!!) and did a discussion on Sorgae material and people were very interested and wanted to know more. I steered them towards the book. I sold one piece of pottery, which is more than I expected to. Maybe, a year's worth of work is finally paying off and my stuff is getting up to the marketable point (at least, to friends). It was a vase that I'd just done, very earthy. Now that I'm back I guess I need to do the final fiddling with the article for NewWitch and send it off. Then I will finish up the piece for The Crooked Path and...hm...after that, since I signed up for a novel intensive workship this Sept, I guess I need to work some on it so that I can bring it along. We are supposed to have a completed manuscript or a partial one with us when we go. But, tonight, it is relax more, swim some, have a nice leisurely dinner and...whew. Still sleepy. Current Mood: exhausted (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
3:37 pm	Off to the Woods Well, big weekend...have a Gather to attend in the cool (I hope big time) deep dark woods of Minnesota. Several rituals, many discussions and workshops, and a nice pond to go swimming in. It's not as big as many Gathers, but that makes it easier to chat with everyone over the course of the weekend. I'm bringing along some books to sell as I'll be doing a talk on the book and the material in the book, along with a ritual. Hopefully, I'll sell these out and get people interested in going home and buying more copies. We've also got a ritual planned for Eye of Horus in September now and are waiting to hear back from Pagan Pride regarding their event on the first weekend in October. Planning on writing a piece for submitting to another anthology, but first I need to do the final final re-write on the one for NewWitch I want to send in. After that, it's a piece for The Crooked Path. Speaking of which, I got my copy of issue 2 in the mail and it's very good. I especially liked the articles regarding the Craft in Eastern Europe...which makes me look forward all the more to getting a copy of the Balkan Witchcraft book when it comes out. I signed up for an intensive writing day here in the Cities. You're supposed to bring along a finished or unfinished novel. I guess that means before the end of Sept I need to figure out which one to bring and see how much I have of it and perhaps do some more writing, at least plot more of it out, an outline, all that. Current Mood: busy (2 Comments |Comment on this)