Author: Paula Cas

I write fiction, non-fiction, verbiage for all our websites, and have been publishing my fan fiction on my various sites for many years. https://paulacas.com I am a Spiritual Medium and use Tarot cards as one my primary tools in doing readings. For 30 plus years have been doing readings in settings from my living room to truck stops. I tell you what Spirit wants you know for your betterment, not what you think you need to know. I’ve worked on computers since before there was such a creature as Windows. A Mountain Maryland native, but have spent years spent living in Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Arizona. My husband, Oro Cas, and I spent 10 years driving tractor-trailer across the 48 contiguous states. Oro Cas and I produced and hosted Internet Radio shows on BlogTalk Radio, video productions on KDCL Media and Oro Expeditions YouTube Channels.

Drink to Your Health – Long Winter Months Ahead – Good Witches Homestead

During the long, chilly winter months, our bodies need all the help they can get to fight infection.
Colds, viruses, and the flu lurk at the door and a simple handshake can lay one out for weeks. To build up the immune system and stave off bugs that run rampant in winter, try incorporating herbs like rosemary, sage, and lemon balm to your morning tea or coffee. All three of these herbs promote longevity and aid in strengthening the body’s defenses. Add them directly to the basket of your coffee pot for full infusion. Remember to gently crush the herbs in your hands first to release all of their essential oils. If you’re lucky enough to have a coffee grinder, that works even better. Simply add the sprigs or dried leaves to the beans and grind away. Then dress the drink as you normally would.
Don’t forget to consume fresh juices for more immunity-building in the darker months Reach for 100-percent juice varieties of blueberry, orange, pomegranate, and goji, which ward may ward off everything from the common cold to cancer. Juices are also a great option for flavoring teas, coffee, and punch.
For instance, you might add a shot of noni juice to coffee every morning for an antioxidant boost. Noni fruit is derived from trees found across the Polynesian islands and shows promise in fighting fatigue and combating aging.

Drink to Your Health – Ten Best Winter Drinks.

Beat winter’s cold bite and warm up with these cozy brews.
winter drinks
What better way to celebrate the colder, restful months than with a hot beverage?
Whether you’re looking to cozy up to the fire with a mug of herbal tea or entertain guests with spiced cider, there are dozens of recipes to choose from. For those special occasions with family and friends, reach for ancient recipes like mead or glogg to toast the season. You can enhance a bottle of wine with rich, earthy spices like cinnamon, cloves, star anise, or licorice root. For a warm punch that pleases a crowd, mix wine with liquors like brandy, Schnapps, Cointreau, Grand Mariner, or Galliano. Then jazz it up with stevia, fennel, basil, or woodruff. Most of the recipes found here are non-alcoholic, but suggest a liquor if you want to add a little “spirit.” Double the recipes for a larger crowd and keep the brews warm on the stove or in a crockpot. Garnish with pretty herbal flowers like chamomile, lavender, pineapple sage, and mint. Or use edible stir sticks like licorice root, chicory, cinnamon, or rosemary bark.

Peppermint Patty

 
The Aztecs considered chocolate a food of the gods. Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, purportedly indulged in the drink known as cacahuatl more than 50 times a day. Often, chiles, cinnamon, or anise seeds were added to cut the bitterness of this cocoa-based beverage. It wasn’t until Cortez brought the recipe back to Spain that sugar was included. The addition of peppermint adds a refreshing bite and promotes circulation.
1 tablespoon dried peppermint in a tea ball or cheesecloth
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups {1 quart} milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Suggested liquor: peppermint Schnapps.
In a medium saucepan, combine peppermint and water. Simmer over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil; stir for two minutes. Remove peppermint bundle. Add sugar and cocoa, stirring constantly, and continue boiling. Remove from heat, add milk, and stir. Serves 5.

Hot Buttered Cider

 
Originally, apple cider was a fermented alcoholic beverage manufactured across the world in countries like Spain, France, and England. Early American settlers began making the drink almost as soon as they arrived and it was quite popular in most households. In pagan cultures, the apple was a symbol of immortality and used in many love spells. {For a simple love charm, cut an apple in half, remove the seeds, and share it with the one you adore. Then bury the seeds beneath a full moon for a long and prosperous relationship!}
1 gallon of apple cider
6 whole allspice berries
Half of a nutmeg seed
3 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
4 pats of butter
Chamomile flowers
Suggested liquor: spiced rum
To a large pot, add cider and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a pretty punch bowl and dot with butter. Garnish with chamomile flowers and serve warm. Serves 12.

Warm Mead

 
Thought to have originated in Ireland, mead dates back to ancient times. Brides and grooms toasted with the drink for a month after their wedding. Traditional mead is an ancient fermented beverage made from honey, water, yeast, and spices. The original process is very complicated; this is a simpler, heated version.
1 bottle Chardonnay
6 sprigs of sweet woodruff, washed and dried
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup honey
In a medium saucepan, combine wine, woodruff, vanilla, and honey. Gently heat until honey dissolves. Remove woodruff and vanilla and serve in goblets. Serves 4.

Rosemary Coffee

 
This recipe might seem strange, but if you love rosemary, you’ll enjoy it. And because rosemary stimulates the mind, this caffeinated drink provides a double pick-me-up.
1/4 cup fresh coffee beans or ground coffee
1 sprig rosemary
Water
Grind coffee beans with rosemary sprig and brew. If you don’t have a grinder, chop the sprig first; then add it to the coffee basket before brewing. Serves 10.

Hot Toddy

 
My Irish grandmother used to make this for me when I wasn’t feeling well. It’s great for colds and sore throats and I make it for my husband and myself when we’re under the weather. The honey is soothing while the lemon detoxifies. Add the whiskey to help you sleep.
1 tea bag of orange pekoe, green, or black tea
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon honey
1 wedge of lemon
Suggested liquor: whiskey
Brew tea in water. Remove tea bag and pour into a mug and add honey and lemon. Serves 1.

Winter’s Nap Tea

 
This tea has all the makings to send you to dreamland. Lavender soothes and relaxes while valerian and chamomile promote sleepiness.
1 tablespoon loose-leaf chamomile tea
1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
1 tablespoon dried valerian
Water
Add all ingredients to a coffee basket and brew with water. Or heat in a saucepan and strain before serving. Add honey if desired. Serves 6.

After-Dinner Tea

 
After a big meal, sipping on this tea can help aid digestion and, as a bonus, it tastes great!
1 licorice root grated
1-star anise
1 tablespoon dried orange peel
Small handful anise seeds
Water
Muddle all ingredients together, and place in a tea ball or muslin bag. Gently heat in a medium saucepan filled with water. Remove herbs and spice and pour the liquid into mugs. Serves 2.

Swedish Glogg

 
A mulled wine that originated in the Scandinavian countries, glogg is enjoyed around the holidays and includes warm spices, nuts, and dried fruit. While many recipes call for a sweet wine like port or even sherry, you may find that the drier varieties better complement these ingredients. You can substitute the brandy for a fruity Schnapps like the peach.
1 whole orange
Handful of cloves
1 bottle dry red wine
1 cup blackberry brandy
6 cinnamon sticks
1 handful raisins
1 handful slivered almonds
Wash the orange and pierce it with the cloves. Add all ingredients to a large pot. Gently simmer until warm. Do not strain. Pour into a crock pot to keep warm. Serve in mugs. Serves 6.

N’Orleans-style Latte

 
Cafe Du Monde is a coffee and pastry shop located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They serve pots of chicory-flavored coffee alongside tasty Beignets, fluffy triangle-shaped fried donuts dusted with powdered sugar. Chicory has been used for centuries as a coffee substitute. Is earthy flavor adds a rich, smokey taste to the hot beverage?
1/4 cup coffee beans, or ground coffee
1 chicory root
Milk
stevia powder
Grind coffee beans with chicory root, or grate root and add to the coffee basket. Brew with water. Add milk and stevia to taste. Serves 10.

Morning Power Tonic

 
There has been much chatter in the news lately regarding “power fruits.” Pomegranate, blueberry, goji, and acai berries are said to do everything from boost immunity to combat chronic illnesses. Packed with antioxidants, vitamins, phytochemicals, and anthocyanins, these fruits are the new wave of healthy eating. But age-old lemon balm here is also known to promote longevity. In A Modern Herbal, author Mrs. M. Grieve claims that John Hussey of Sydenham, who lived to the age of 116, drank lemon balm tea daily for 50 years!
1 cup purified water
2 tablespoons dried lemon balm
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup blueberry juice
1/4 cup acai juice
1/4 cup goji juice
Add lemon balm to a tea ball and gently simmer in water for 10 minutes. Remove lemon balm and add juices, simmering for 5 more minutes. Enjoy at the start of your day for an energy boost. Serves 2.

Source: Drink to Your Health – Long Winter Months Ahead – Good Witches Homestead

Crystal of the Week: Ammonite – Holistic Experiment

Ammonite is a very powerful earth healing fossil with a spiral shape that symbolizes continual change and evolution. It is often used for activating kundalini energy and life path energies.

Often put in homes to attract health, prosperity, and success; it draws all of the negative energy and releases them as fresh, positive, and loving life force energy. It’s known as a powerful stone that balances the mental energies and brings higher forms of truth to the physical plane.

This stone can help balance the thoughts and internal communications so that they are both healthy and vivacious. It’s also great for helping the user understand the balances inherent to relationships.

Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Purposes

On a physical level, Ammonite lowers blood pressure, increases vitality and stamina, and heals any problems with the ears, lungs, and degenerative disorders. It’s often used for childbirth to give the mother strength and vitality and can balance body heat, any electrolyte imbalance, restores cellular fluids, and regulates the metabolism.

Ammonite is also used to increase life span and eliminates inside the subtle bodies that are not in perfect alignment due to their lineage. It can be used to purify and restructure the body and promotes the absorption of minerals. This stone also helps reduce pain and swellings as well as inflammations, restores mobility and eases cramps, and lubricates the joints.

On an emotional level, it lifts the heaviness that is sometimes felt during depression, it releases negativity and promotes a successful and positive attitude. This stone lends valor to get out of bad situations and helps the user accept permanent changes which positively affects the user’s lifestyle.

This stone is often used to strengthen the user’s will to live and helps appreciate life in order to live it to the fullest. It brings growth, wisdom, and wealth, and provides stability to its user and encourages their survival’s instincts.

On a spiritual level, Ammonite is a grounding stone that focuses on the Base/Root Chakra as well as the Third Eye Chakra. It’s often used to awaken the Kundalini energy and it is loved by Feng Shui practitioners because it has a positive effect on the flow of Chi or energy, helping its user to cleanse and detoxify the body.

It’s often used to draw off all of the negative energies from the surrounding aura and carries the spirit of change and personal growth.

Disclaimer: Crystal of the Week are a spiritual support to healing and are not prescription or healthcare information.

Source: Crystal of the Week: Ammonite – Holistic Experiment

Witches of America | Alex Mar

“Witches are gathering…”

When most people hear the word “witches,” they think of horror films and Halloween, but to the nearly one million Americans who practice Paganism today, witchcraft is a nature worshipping, polytheistic, and very real religion. So Alex Mar discovers when she sets out to film a documentary and finds herself drawn deep into the world of present-day magic.

Witches of America follows Mar on her immersive five-year trip into the occult, charting modern Paganism from its roots in 1950s England to its current American mecca in the San Francisco Bay Area; from a gathering of more than a thousand witches in the Illinois woods to the New Orleans branch of one of the world’s most influential magical societies. Along the way she takes part in dozens of rituals and becomes involved with a wild array of characters: a government employee who founds a California priesthood dedicated to a Celtic goddess of war; American disciples of Aleister Crowley, whose elaborate ceremonies turn the Catholic mass on its head; second-wave feminist Wiccans who practice a radical separatist witchcraft; a growing “mystery cult” whose initiates trace their rites back to a blind shaman in rural Oregon. This sprawling magical community compels Mar to confront what she believes is possible—or hopes might be.

With keen intelligence and wit, Mar illuminates the world of witchcraft while grappling in fresh and unexpected ways with the question underlying every faith: Why do we choose to believe in anything at all? Whether evangelical Christian, Pagan priestess, or atheist, each of us craves a system of meaning to give structure to our lives. Sometimes we just find it in unexpected places.

Source: Witches of America | Alex Mar

UW, BLM to Begin Controversial and Inhumane Wild Horse Movement Study

Straight from the Horse’s Heart

Source: UWYO.edu

“From the destruction of wild horse’s genitals to the installation of dangerous collars the rogue federal agency, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), continues to enlist the aide of America’s institutions of higher learning to be partners in their crimes.” ~ R.T.

It works on cows

“It works on cows, duuuuuhhhh!”

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the University of Wyoming are beginning a study to learn more about wild horse seasonal use and movements in the Adobe Town herd management area (HMA).

The study will begin with a bait-trap gather and radio collaring of up to 30 wild mares during February. No wild horses will be removed during this nonhelicopter gather.

UW scientists Derek Scasta and Jeff Beck, both in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, are heading the research. Jake Hennig, a Ph.D. student in the department, also will participate. They will use the information gleaned from the radio collars to learn more about how wild horses interact with their environment. Specifically, the researchers will study migration patterns and herd movements in the HMA. The BLM says it will use the study results to ensure wild horse herds continue to thrive on healthy rangelands.

The Wyoming Department of Agriculture has provided $120,000 to start the research. The BLM also has contributed funding.

Bait-trapping involves setting up temporary corrals within the HMA to attract wild horses safely into the corral. When a certain number of horses has entered the pen, the gate to the corral is closed. Once the horses are gathered, trained personnel will load and transport selected mares to the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility. After the horses arrive at the facility, staff from the U.S. Geological Survey will place collars with GPS tracking devices on the horses. The horses will then be returned to the HMA.

The 20-30 mares that BLM will select to wear GPS collars will be 5 years old or older. All other wild horses gathered will be immediately released shortly after the selected mares are sorted and held for collaring. All mares will be released at or near the same location where they were gathered. The selected contractors are in the process of identifying trap site locations and will begin the bait-trapping process soon.

Corrals could be set up in stages over a period of days to allow the horses to grow accustomed to the enclosures. About three to five trap sites are required to distribute radio-collared mares throughout the entire HMA. Bait-trapping is an effective method for capturing small numbers of selected horses.

The number of people in the trap area will be limited to key personnel to ensure a successful and safe gather for the horses.

Public viewing opportunities will be limited. Public viewing is always allowed at the wild horse holding facility overlook in Rock Springs, where the mares will be taken to be collared. Public viewing also will be allowed at the release sites of the collared mares. The BLM will keep a list of people who would like to attend the releasing of the collared mares and notify them at least one day before the releases. Media and interested public can view and photograph the mares being released with the GPS collars. To add your name to the list for public viewing, contact BLM Public Affairs Officer Tony Brown at (307) 352-0215.

The BLM’s Rawlins Field Office released the decision record and finding of no significant impact for the Adobe Town HMA Wild Horse Movements and Habitat Selection Research Gather Environmental Assessment Nov. 9, 2016. The decision was to allow enough wild horses to be gathered by bait trapping, so up to 30 selected mares could be outfitted with GPS collars. The BLM will use two separate contractors to conduct the bait-trapping operations.

Click (HERE) to view BLM Press Release

 

ering contamination from six years ago may have finally been found.

Source: UW, BLM to Begin Controversial and Inhumane Wild Horse Movement Study | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

Japan Declare Crisis As Fukushima Reactor Falls Into Ocean

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in News, US // 18 Comments

Japan declare state of emergency as Fukushima reactor 2 falls into the ocean

Scientists at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan have declared a state of emergency as one of the reactors is on the verge of falling into the ocean. 

Lethal levels of radiation have been detected around the site which scientists say stems from a hole caused by melted nuclear fuel.

Rt.com reports:Radiation levels of up to 530 Sieverts per hour were detected inside an inactive Reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex damaged during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami catastrophe, Japanese media reported on Thursday citing the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

A dose of about 8 Sieverts is considered incurable and fatal.

A hole of no less than one square meter in size has also been discovered beneath the reactor’s pressure vessel, TEPCO said. According to researchers, the apparent opening in the metal grating of one of three reactors that had melted down in 2011, is believed to be have been caused by melted nuclear fuel that fell through the vessel.

The iron scaffolding has a melting point of 1500 degrees, TEPCO said, explaining that there is a possibility the fuel debris has fallen onto it and burnt the hole. Such fuel debris have been discovered on equipment at the bottom of the pressure vessel just above the hole, it added.

The latest findings were released after a recent camera probe inside the reactor, TEPCO said. Using a remote-controlled camera fitted on a long pipe, scientists managed to get images of hard-to-reach places where residual nuclear material remained. The substance there is so toxic that even specially-made robots designed to probe the underwater depths beneath the power plant have previously crumbled and shut down.

However, TEPCO still plans to launch further more detailed assessments at the damaged nuclear facility with the help of self-propelled robots.

Earlier this week, hopes for a more efficient cleanup at Fukushima were high, as the plant operator announced a portion of nuclear fuel debris responsible for a lot of the lingering contamination from six years ago may have finally been found.

Source: Japan Declare Crisis As Fukushima Reactor Falls Into Ocean

Massive Child Sex Ring Busted in California — 474 Arrested, 28 Children Saved. MSM Silent

https://twitter.com/LACoSheriff/status/826493643607269376

Click on image to goto tweet.

  • Massive Child Sex Ring Busted in California — 474 Arrested, 28 Children Saved. MSM Silent
    by Matt Agorist, http://thefreethoughtproject.com/
  • Los Angeles, CA — In a massive statewide operation targeting human traffickers, hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of sexually-exploited children were saved.
    –
    The bust was part of a statewide operation to combat human trafficking, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday. According to KTLA, more than 30 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and task forces, as well as the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, participated in the third annual “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild” enforcement operation, according to a sheriff’s news release.
    –
    The operation resulted in 474 arrests including 142 males on solicitation charges, and 36 males for pimping. It is important to note that some of these arrests included people trying to simply pay another willing adult to have sex with them.
    –
    In the Land of the Free, it is against the law to get paid to have sex, unless that sex is filmed, distributed on DVD, and taxed. One of the least talked about systems of oppression in the US is that of persecuting prostitutes.
    –
    When referencing prostitution, it is critical to point out that we are talking about the mutually beneficial exchange of sexual favors for money by two or more consenting adults; not forced human trafficking.
    –
    That being said, however, during the operation, officers rescued 28 children who were being sexually exploited and offered services to 27 adults they said were victims of sex trafficking. These victims were not part of a voluntary process and instead were bought and sold as commodities to sick individuals without their consent.
    –
    As corporate media writes off talk of ‘pizzagate’ as if it’s some tinfoil conspiracy theory that couldn’t possibly happen, this scenario shatters their claims. In fact, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell says the arrests represent a “very sad commentary on the condition we’re dealing with.”
    –
    “Pretending this issue doesn’t exist only makes us more complicit in it,”     newly elected San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said.
    –
    While it is currently unknown if any of these charges involve high-level government officials or law enforcement, the fact that it existed should not be ignored. Throughout the first and second weeks of December, since the mainstream media first reported that Edgar Maddison Welch, of Salisbury, N.C., fired a shot inside the Comet Ping Pong Pizzaria in Washington, DC, the mainstream media has been declaring the so-called child-sex “Pizzagate” child-sex ring, a false conspiracy theory based on lies.
    –
    Welch was reportedly searching for child-sex slaves inside Comet Ping Pong based on stories he’d read online involving pedophilia and the Washington elite. Ironically, and without any real investigative, Chris Hanson style journalism being conducted, the mainstream media and its pundits have declared all the claims found in the conspiracy theory to be false, lies constructed by “fake news.”
    –
    read more.

Ernest_Bevin_Newspaper_MSM_Amuse_Entertain_Mislead

Jim_Morrison_Whoever_Controls_MSM_Controls_the_Mind

end

Source: Massive Child Sex Ring Busted in California — 474 Arrested, 28 Children Saved. MSM Silent « Socio-Economics History Blog

Jefferson Was Correct – The Road Less Traveled

Jefferson’s Final Warnings (He was right)

In his last years – after a lifetime of learning and experience, Jefferson had one thing preeminently on his mind: the principle of decentralized government.

Rather than saying “centralization,” Jefferson used the word “consolidation,” but they mean the same thing. Here’s his core statement on the subject, from his autobiography, written in 1821:

It is not by the consolidation, or concentration, of powers, but by their distribution, that good government is effected.

This statement put Jefferson at odds with the political leaders of his time and raised difficulties for him, as he writes in a letter to Judge William Johnson in 1823:

I have been blamed for saying, that a prevalence of the doctrines of consolidation would one day call for reformation or revolution.

For the following passage – a letter to William Johnson, written in 1822 – Jefferson’s words are set in italics and explanation/commentary in plain text:

They [a political party] rally to the point which they think next best, a consolidated government.

Here he points out that political parties tend to favor centralization, which they certainly have since.

Their aim is now, therefore, to break down the rights reserved by the Constitution to the States as a bulwark against that consolidation.

This party is trying to steal the power of the individual States and centralize it in one city, and they are willing to alter or bypass the Constitution to do so. The fear of which produced the whole of the opposition to the Constitution at its birth….

Here Jefferson is saying the Anti-Federalists were right and that the Constitution could not prevent the theft of liberties by the national government.

I trust…that the friends of the real Constitution and Union will prevail against consolidation, as they have done against monarchism.

Notice his phrase, “the real Constitution.” Already in 1822, he needed to make this distinction, because the Constitution was already being twisted, overridden, and bypassed. Alternately, he may have been referring to the original Articles of Confederation.

In a letter to William T. Barry in 1822, Jefferson writes this:

The foundations are already deeply laid by their [the Supreme Court Justices’] decisions for the annihilation of constitutional State rights, and the removal of every check, every counterpoise to the engulfing power of which themselves are to make a sovereign part.

Jefferson is likely referring to the Marbury v. Madison decision of 1803, a decision that American schoolchildren are taught to revere. Jefferson, however, considered it a disaster, as he explained in the following:

The question whether the judges are invested with exclusive authority to decide on the constitutionality of a law has been heretofore a subject of consideration with me in the exercise of official duties. Certainly there is not a word in the Constitution which has given that power to them more than to the Executive or Legislative branches.

—Thomas Jefferson to W. H. Torrance, 1815. ME 14:303

But the Chief Justice says, ‘There must be an ultimate arbiter somewhere.’ True, there must; but does that prove it is either party? The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union, assembled by their deputies in convention, at the call of Congress or of two-thirds of the States. Let them decide to which they mean to give an authority claimed by two of their organs. And it has been the peculiar wisdom and felicity of our Constitution, to have provided this peaceable appeal, where that of other nations is at once to force.

—Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 1823. ME 15:451

But, you may ask, if the two departments [i.e., federal and state] should claim each the same subject of power, where is the common umpire to decide ultimately between them? In cases of little importance or urgency, the prudence of both parties will keep them aloof from the questionable ground; but if it can neither be avoided nor compromised, a convention of the States must be called to ascribe the doubtful power to that department which they may think best.

—Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:47

This member of the Government (the Supreme Court) was at first considered as the most harmless and helpless of all its organs. But it has proved that the power of declaring what the law is, ad libitum (at one’s pleasure), by sapping and mining slyly and without alarm the foundations of the Constitution, can do what open force would not dare to attempt.

—Thomas Jefferson to Edward Livingston, 1825. ME 16:114

Clearly, this action by the early Supreme Court was extremely alarming and vexatious to Jefferson. Though, what he couldn’t foresee was the plethora of Supreme Court decisions extending and expanding the unitary power contributing to the destruction of state rights.

Jefferson continues:

If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface.

Lincoln’s Civil War (which enslaved the states to the national government) brought the states under a single government. Washington DC is the seat of the American Empire, and the individual states are minor players. It was supposed to be the other way around. Unfortunately, most people have no real appreciation for the treason of this action. This is precisely where the precipitous decline of this federation of independent states began. This action was immediately reinforced by the passage of the 14th Amendment (Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868), which, among other things, created the heretofore unheard of “United States Citizenship.” It’s instructive to note that this amendment was issued and ratified over a two year period where only a few of the southern states had been readmitted to congress, these re-admissions occurring between 1866 and 1870.

Here is a fragment from Jefferson’s letter to C.W. Gooch in 1826:

…I have little hope that the torrent of consolidation can be withstood….

Finally, a passage from his letter to William B. Giles, in 1825:

I see…with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides with which the federal branch of our government is advancing towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the States, and the consolidation in itself of all powers, foreign and domestic; and that too, by constructions which, if legitimate, leave no limits to their power.

(Adapted and expanded from Jefferson’s Final Warnings http://www.freemansperspective.com/author/freemansperspective/)

Source: Jefferson Was Correct – The Road Less Traveled

196 wild horses died at BLM’s Scott City feedlot (a BLM Aushwitz for wild horses)

IMG_20140823_132107_665

Wild horses next to bison at the Beef Belt Feedyard in Scott City, Kansas in 2014

By Debbie Coffey, V.P. and Dir. of Wild Horse Affairs, Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Copyright 2017   All Rights Reserved.

In the middle of June, 2014, the BLM moved 1,493 wild horses from the Teterville Long Term Holding pastures in Oklahoma to the Beef Belt Feedyard in Scott City, Kansas.  Over 13% of these wild horses died at this feedlot.

191 of the wild horses died in less than a year (7/7/14 – 6/30/15).

In a BLM “news” release dated 8/15/14 (over two years ago), the BLM announced that 57 wild horses had died at the BLM’s Scott City, Kansas “corral.”  In this news release, the BLM stated that it had “launched an investigation” into the cause of deaths, and promised that “Once the investigation is concluded, the team will complete a report that will be made publicly available.”

To date, over two years later, the BLM has not made any report available to the public about the Scott City feedlot deaths.

Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and found out that 196 horses died at the Scott City feedlot from 6/17/14 – 8/2/16.

87 of the 196 wild horses were euthanized.

41 wild horses died of colic.  Many of these deaths were from sand colic.  As late as 4/13/15 (10 months after the wild horses were shipped to this feedlot), local veterinarian Corbin Stevens wrote to BLM’s Joe Stratton “Be sure hay and bunk is free of sand and rocks (try to only throw hay from feed alley into the bunk eliminating road material)” and “A necropsy was performed on one dead horse from pen 2 today and was diagnosed as a colic with small pebbles and sand present in the large colon and cecum.”  However, BLM’s FOIA did not provide WHFF with a necropsy report dated 4/13/15.

14 wild horses died of fractures of the spinal cord (neck and back).  6 horses died of leg or pelvis fractures.  On just one day, 4/3/15, 3 horses died of a brain/head injury and 2 of a broken leg/pelvis.  With the comment “Inspected by Dr. Stevens.  Result of windstorm – ran into fence.”

Timeline:

March 24, 2014 – Long Term Pasture contractor for Teterville in Oklahoma (Robert Hughes), gives short notice to the BLM by informing them he decided to renew his existing 5 year contract, but only for a reduced number of horses.  He informed the BLM that he wanted to remove 1,900 wild horses (about 1,400 mares and 500 geldings) by June 1, 2014.

(The BLM seems to have never thought of or planned for an emergency, so they begin to scramble for a place to put 1,900 wild horses on short notice.  The BLM was able to find space on other Long Term Pastures for the geldings, but not for the wild mares.)

May 28 (or 27) 2014 – Pat Williams, the WH& B State Lead for New Mexico inspected the Scott City, KS, feedlot for NEPA analysis.  Although a working facility with a squeeze (“tilt”) chute was required,  the contractor for Scott City, Phil Jennings, didn’t want to install that infrastructure until the contract was signed.  Phil Jennings, who was going to lease the Beef Belt feedlot for this emergency contract worth over $2 million, is the contractor for the BLM’s Pauls Valley facility in Oklahoma.

June 4, 2014 – BLM signed the contract.  BLM’s Zach Reichold was designated as the COR (Contracting Officer’s Representative).

June 14, 2014 – BLM began moving wild horses from Teterville Off Range Pasture (long term holding) to Scott City, KS.   The BLM crew at Teterville LTH was Scott Fluer, Bea Wade, Richard Williams, Jimmy Galloway and Pat Williams.  3 horses were euthanized before leaving Teterville.  The BLM crew at Scott City was Jerome Fox.

June 22, 2014 – BLM concluded the transfer of mares to Scott City.

July 7, 2014 – Local veterinarian, Dr. Corbin Stevens, states 3 times in a report that less than 2% of horses have a body condition score of 3 or lower.

July 17, 2014 – Dean Bolstad discovered there was no squeeze chute or BLM Project Inspector onsite and discussed the need for this with Zach Reichold (the COR).

July 25, 2014 – Dean Bolstad informed Greg Shoop that there was no squeeze chute or BLM project inspector onsite at Scott City.

July 2014 – 35 wild horses died during this month.

August 5, 2014 – after veterinarian Dr. Stevens met with BLM’s Joe Stratton, Stevens states in a report that 5% of horses were in poor body condition when they arrived at the feedyard. (this differs substantially from the 2% that Stevens claimed several times in his July 7 report)

August 8, 2014 – BLM issues it’s news release.

Aug. 11, 2014 – BLM began “transitioning” Joe Stratton as the COR of Scott City.

Aug. 12, 2014 – BLM’s Pat Williams and Al Kane (USDA APHIS veterinarian) arrive at Scott City to perform an inspection.

Aug. 13, 2014 – Joe Stratton was “to go onsite.”   The squeeze chute was to finally arrive and plans were made for working facilities to start to be made and installed.  (almost 2 months after the horses arrived)

Aug. 28, 2014 – In a KMUW news article, BLM’s Paul McGuire stated “The first full-month report we had from the facilitator operator came at the end of July.  And it was at that time that we saw numbers on the order of about 47 horses had either died or had to be put down during that time.”  (However, the records WHFF received indicate that 35 wild horses died at Scott City during July, 2014, and only 3 horses died the month before.  That totals 38 at the end of July, not 47.  WHFF found several instances of mortality numbers not matching on BLM records in connection with Scott City.)

August 2014 – Another 46 wild horses die by the end of this month.  (total 81)

September 2014 – another 25 horses die by the end of this month.  (total 106)

June 19, 2015 – Dr. Stevens informs Joe Stratton that there is a mare with a vaginal growth that appears to be infected and that Naxcel and surgery may be warranted.  No freezemark number or description was given.

Feb. 2, 16 – Dr. Stevens informs Joe Stratton that a mare with a tumor extruding from vulva needed to be euthanized.  (It is not apparent from any records if this palomino mare was the same mare with the vaginal growth from 6/19/15, that may not have received needed surgery, but since this was the only mention of a vaginal growth, it could be likely.)

May 17, 2016 and May 19, 2016 – About 2 years after horses were shipped to Scott City, even though the Teterville contractor had given the short notice that lead to this crisis, the BLM ships 5 truckloads of horses BACK TO TETERVILLE.  (The BLM started shipping horses out of Scott City after April 25, 2016 (1,311 were there end of month).  By end of May, 2016, 576 were there.  Shipping records from June 2016 show that more horses from Scott City were shipped to other long term holding pastures.  Per BLM’s Dec. 2016 Off Range Facility Reports, Scott City is no longer listed as warehousing any wild horses.

Oct. 14, 2016 – AP reporter Dave Philipps writes an article (that reads like a propoganda piece for the BLM), titled “Success Spoils a U.S. Program to Round Up Wild Horses.”  This article, filled with misinformation, included a photo of Teterville contractor Robert Hughes,  a video of wild horses at Teterville, a quote from BLM’s National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board member, Ben Masters (who voted to kill all the wild horses in holding), and a quote from Dean Bolstad, the Wild Horse & Burro Division Chief, stating that “We’re in a real pickle…”  (No, Dean, the BLM isn’t “in a real pickle,” the wild horses and burros are “in a real pickle.”)  There was no mention in Philipps’ article about what happened to the wild horses from Teterville at Scott City.

There were necropsy reports for 24 horses sent in response to our FOIA request for all necropsy reports.  One of the necropsy reports did not have a date or time on it, and a couple of them didn’t identify the freezemark numbers of the horses.

Excerpts from necropsy reports of wild horses at Scott City:

8/6/14, 5 p.m. – #4805 – atrophy of fat around heart.  Natural causes/old age.  Collected blood prior to euthanasia.

8/6/14, 5 p.m. – #2687 – old age.  Liver failure.

8/6/14, 5 p.m. – #6404 – natural causes/old age.

8/12/14, 5 p.m. – #020937 – small intestine hemorrhage.  Cecum torsion.  Colon enlarged and full of feed.  Died of colic.

8/12/14, 5 p.m. – #945088 – natural causes.  Old age.

8/16/14, 5 p.m. – #6940.  Natural causes.  Collected blood prior to euthanasia.

8/27/14, 6 p.m. – #8737 – cecum enlarged, displaced.  Colic.

9/6/14, 12 p.m. – #05180369 – inflammation around pericardial sac.  Died of heart disease/failure.

9/6/14, 12 p.m. – very large, infected coronary arteries.  Heart failure.

9/12/14, 6 a.m. – #3675 – small intestine inflamed.  Cecum inflamed.  Feed material in abdomen.  Colic.  Ruptured gut.

9/18/14, 5 a.m. – #0041 – colic.

10/20/14, 4:30 p.m. – #7435 – cecum enlarged & hemorrhage (sand).  Colic.  Twisted gut.

10/21/14, 4:30 p.m. – #1062 – cecum enlarged/hemorrhagic/full of sand.  Sand colic.

10/21/14, 4:30 p.m. – #9240 – cecum enlarged/hemorrhagic/full offals.  Colic.  Impaction.

11/12/14, 5 a.m. – #6761 – bloated.  Cecum ½ full of sand.  Died of sand colic.

12/15/14, 6 p.m. – #97175205 – bloated, cecum & colon full of feed.  Colic.  Impaction.

1/13/15, 6 p.m. – “mustang mare” (no ID) – bloated.  Colic.

3/11/15, 6 p.m. – #19964528 – ulcers.  Bleeding ulcer.

4/17/15, 9:30 a.m. – “grey mare” – bloated.  Cecum hemorrhage & inflammation, colon hemorrhage & inflammation – sand.  Died of colic.  Sand in large intestine.

5/11/15, 12:30 p.m. – #2074 – bcs<3.  Unable to maintain weight due to age.

5/18/15, 6 p.m. – #8724 – ulcerations & hemorrhage, bleeding ulcer

5/20/15, 5:20 a.m. – #8513 –  Bloated and cecum full of sand.  Died of sand colic.

5/20/??, 6 p.m. – #6532 – bcs<3.  Unable to maintain condition.

No date or time listed for this necropsy – #3756 – heart enlarged and infarcts.  Heart failure.

By not issuing a report regarding Scott City to the public as promised, or in a timely manner, the BLM seems to just want to sweep what happened at the Scott City feedlot under the rug.  Wild Horse Freedom Federation will not ever forget even one horse that has suffered at the hands of the BLM’s mismanagement.

WILD HORSE FREEDOM FEDERATION HAS POSTED FOIA DOCUMENTATION ON SCOTT CITY ON OUR WHFF WEBSITE DOCUMENTS PAGE – CLICK HERE.

SOURCES:

BLM news release (8/15/14) :  https://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2014/august/NR_08_15_2014.html

KMUV news article:  http://kmuw.org/post/80-mustangs-die-after-move-scott-city

Source: 196 wild horses died at BLM’s Scott City feedlot (a BLM Aushwitz for wild horses) | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

~ Oya – Orisha Of Wind and Change ~

Oya-by-James-C-Lewis

SYNCRETISM: Our Lady of Candlemas, St. Therese, Our Lady of Mount Carmel

PALO COUNTERPART: Centella

AREAS OF INFLUENCE: Storms, wind, lightning, tornadoes, death and the cemetery, the marketplace and business, change, witchcraft, athletics

ATTRIBUTES
The thunderbold, the iruke, cemeteries, a skirt made of nine colors, a rainbow, the flamboyan tree, purple fruits and vegetables, such as eggpants and plums: flowery prints also belong to her and masks.  Her main symbol is a copper crown with nine points, from which hang the working impliments of several of the orishas, especially Oggun and Ochosi. Among her other attributes are an ox cart, a machete and a hammer.

BEVERAGES: Aguardiente, red wine, beer.

COLORS: All colors except black, her main color is wine, she likes flowery prints which her initiates must never wear.

DAYS OF THE WEEK: Friday, which is chosen by the Orishas to inflict punishments on those who have broken the law.

FAVORABLE NUMBERS: 646 387 421

FEAST DAY: February 2

FOODS: White rice with eggplant and small balls made of pigeon peas. Rice with fish, rice with corn, rice with sesame seeds and rice with black beans are also among the favorites food of Oya, as are yams and chocolate pudding.

FRUIT: Papaya, legumes, plums and purple grapes

GARMENTS: Crimson and multi-colored prints

HERBS: Altamisa, cambia voz, yanten, vergonzoza, tamerindo, verbena, espanta muerto, caimito, maravilla, palo rayo, marpacifico, cimarron, palo hacha, palo caja, granada, baria, guasimilla and meloncillo.

MINERALS: Amethyst, Black Opals, Bloodstone, Bronze, Garnet, Labradorite, Tourmaline, Smokey Quartz (red stones)

NECKLACE: Her main necklace is made of red and brown beads with white and black stripes. Among her other necklaces there is one made of violet beads with yellow stripes and another alternating white beads with nine black beads.

NUMBERS: 9

ORIGIN: Celestial

SACRIFICES: She-goats, pigeons, black hens and guiena hens.

SYMBOLS: Graves, Lighting Bolts, Masks, Tornadoes

TABOOS: Rams, Palm Oil, Her initiates wearing floral prints.

TRADITIONAL COLORS: Black, Oranges, Purples and Reds

Oya is the orisha or storms and changes. She is a much feared orisha due to her powers as she can create a storm so powerful that she can destroy towns upon towns. The winds, tornadoes and lighting are at her every command. Oya also known as Xansa, Oya Yansa (Mother of Nine) was the wife of Ogun before Chango took her away from him. Oya is said to be a lovely tall amazonic woman who is dressed in a wine color dress with a belt that holds a grass skirt with 9 different color cloths. Oya is also the owner of the market place where she would go and sell her goods to maintain her children. Oya’s main home or domain is the cemetery. Now a lot of people say or believe that she is the owner of the cemetery. That’s all not true. Oya is the gatekeeper. She stands at the cemetery gates and she lets the dead into the cemetery where her sisters Obba and Yewa tends to the body.

Oya is a great warrior who loves to go to battle alongside her husband Chango. Stories say the Oya would put on a pair of pants and grow a beard just to fight like a man at war. Oya has a younger sister named Ayao who is the orisha that resides in the clouds in the sky. It is Ayao that gives her sister Oya the ability to take the spirits of the dead to go fight alongside her which makes up her powerful army.

Oya has brought down many men, many towns and many lands. But as a warrior she protects her children with a strong look and with her destruction she brings changes. Whenever there is a storm that brings destruction, change is needed to rebuild. Sometimes the land is expanded for new homes or new business. That’s Oya. She has helped all the orishas in one time or another. As well she has feuded with the orishas at one time or another. Oya is the one that convinced Obba to cut her ear to feed to Chango. Oya is the one that brought down Osain’s gourd where he kept most of his secrets of the herbs.

She also had a feud with her sister Yemaya in which she does not eat ram anymore. At one time she did but due to that disagreement she doesn’t anymore. Let me clear something. Oya and Yemaya are not enemies. The only dilemma between them is the ram. It is said that one day Chango was eating with his mother Yemaya and Oya and with his court and Oya saw that he was giving all of his attention to his mother and Oya became very jealous. Oya saw that Chango gave his mother Yemaya first bite of the ram and since that day, Oya said she will never eat it again. One of Oya’s characteristics is the wind that causes hurricanes. Hurricanes come off the coast of Africa where her town is and logically, a hurricane needs the assistance and strength of the ocean to come on shore to bring change.

Pataki of Oya 

Chango was at a party one day having the time of his life. Chango was drinking and dancing like no ever. He was swaying his hips and showing all his sexual masculinity. His crown was kept firm on his head as every moment he did, it did not move. That was to show all that he is truly Chango, a king. Everyone in the party was enjoying Chango and was cheering him on. The great king of Oyo kept on drinking and did not realize that some of his enemies were outside of the party noticing Chango.
The party was dying out and Chango decided to leave the function. He went around the room giving his good bye to everyone. He was eyeing some of his mistresses that were there to see if they would go home with him. Chango staggered to one of the corners of the party where his enemies were hiding. Within a minute, his enemies grabbed him and tied him up. No one in the party saw and Chango was taken to a cell where his enemies kept him.
Days passed by and Chango was no where to be found. Oya who was married to Ogun already had left Ogun and had a fling with Chango. Oya also did not hear anything from Chango. She did notice that Chango had left his pilon (a wooden pillar that Chango sits on) and his mortar (where Chango hides his secrets) in her house. Oya grew very weary and was worried about Chango. But besides her worries Oya was very inquisitive and wondered what was so special about Chango’s pilon and mortar. She moved the red cloth that was covering his pilon and mortar and saw nothing special about it. When she touched the mortar she noticed that it had a gleam to it. Inside the mortar there was some kind of clear liquid that vibrated. She looked closer and an image started to form in the liquid.
In the image in the mortar was the face and body of Chango. Oya saw that Chango was being held captive by his enemies. She saw that he was locked in a cage fit for a dog and his enemies were surrounding the cage making mockery of him. Oya looked harder into the mortar and saw that Chango was in a rage but he couldn’t do anything because he didn’t have his oshé and his powers. Oya grew upset and lighting sparks started to form in her hair. She yelled up in the sky and called for a centella (lighting) to come and help her and she would ride it to find Chango. With that the image of Chango’s face reflected in the liquid and Oya grabbed the liquid and put it to her lips, as in to kiss the face of her loved Chango.
In that instant Oya’s lips and mouth started to burn her furiously. She staggered back and forth wondering where the heat was coming from. She ran outside of her house to where she had a well to grab some water. The water did not do anything to ease the pain. She finally opened her mouth as she could not stand the burning sensation and when she did a huge fireball came from her mouth. Everywhere she turned and screamed out, fire was released from her mouth and everything was burned on fire. At this moment a centella crackled in the sky and fell right to her feet. Oya screamed and stepped onto the centella. The centella rose to the sky and Oya was standing on it and the centella proceeded to take her to where Chango was held captive.

In a second the centella was above the place where Chango was kept and when the centella started to come down, Oya who was riding it screamed a war cry and fire was released from her mouth. Another centella came from the sky that broke the locks that were holding Chango. When Chango’s enemies saw Oya coming down on a centella breathing fire they all ran for cover.
Chango was wondering how was he released and when he ran outside he grabbed his oshé and he saw his mistress Oya standing in the fields surrounded by centellas that crackled around her and that she was breathing fire. Chango was reluctant to run the other way because he never saw Oya in this state. Oya sent another centella to grab Chango and he to was standing on a centella alongside with Oya. Chango started to throw thunderbolts with the help of his oshé while Oya was throwing lighting and fire upon the enemies of Chango as they rose into the sky together.

They both arrived at Oya’s place safe and Chango was still in amazement of Oya’s actions. He told her that the only one who knew the secret of him throwing aiña (fire) was him and that secret was kept with his pilon and mortar. Oya turned to her lover and told him that she looked into his mortar and tasted the secret that he had there. Chango was upset that she discovered his secret but he was grateful that she saved him. From that day when Chango goes into battle, his mistress Oya goes in alongside him fighting.
Oya’s feast day is February 2nd. She is associated with Our Lady Teresa and Our Lady of Candelaria. Her number is 9 and all its association. Her color is maroon or a dark wine. Oya also takes 9 other colors that are her children. Those children make up the rainbow and they live in the skies making the crown of the orisha Ochumare. She is the queen of the dead. Oya is the official secretary of Olofi. She knows when life is being born and when life is dying. She is the air we breathe everyday. Oya stands at the cemetery gates and she marks down every body that comes through the gates of ile iku (cemetery). In the house of the priest, Oya lives in a brown or wine color tureen where her secrets and mysteries are kept. Some houses have her with water and some do not. I believe she shouldn’t be with water. The only time I put water on her is to calm her down when she is upset and to refresh her. She also takes an iruke that she uses to clean the dead and clean new paths.
Her crown is made up of copper in which that is her main metal. All of her tools and weapons are made up of copper. Oya’s sacrificial animals are black female goats, hens, pigeons and guinea hens. Oya’s children are very outgoing and strong willed people. There are very spiritual individuals at they have the gift if used correctly, to communicate with the dead. She is initiated on the heads of her followers in which is a lengthy and mysterious procedure. Her ceremonies are one of the most gorgeous due to all of the many colors that are used. Her zarasa (the throne of the dead) is made up of multiple plates that are placed for the dead. These plates range from 29 all the way to 209 plates of different offerings to the dead of her initiate and the spirits that her initiate collects to walk alongside her.
Oya is the owner of the mask as she at times is wearing one. Some people say that no one can stand to look at the face of Oya because it is too horrific to look at. I don’t believe so. I believe that she is a beautiful woman; she just doesn’t like to be messed with or fooled with. She is good to use to take masks off of people who you believe that are being two faced with you. She is also good to use when one wants change in their lives. She is a good healer but she loves to defend and be at war when war is present.

Ayao 

Ayao is the younger sister of the orisha Oya. Ayao is said to reside high in the clouds of the sky or at the top of the cieba tree. She is said to sit there and help guard the spirits that pass through her clouds to reside at the kingdom of Olofi. Ayao is an orisha that is given to the children of Oya. Now any priest or priestess can receive Ayao. Her secrets are kept in a tureen that is kept high in the house of the priest. This orisha can never touch the ground as her ceremonies are done on top of a table. It is said that when an initiate of Oya is performing their consecrating birth, the spirits that they pick up are tended by Ayao. When Oya is getting ready for battle she calls her sister Ayao who releases those spirits to aide Oya in battle. She is not initiated on the heads of anyone.

 

Source: ~ Oya – Orisha Of Wind and Change ~ – Ye Olde Dark Arts

~ Imbolc – Candlemas – Lupercalia ~

imbolc

Candlemas (Imbolc, Imbolg and Oimelc) is a Major Sabbat that is a celebration to mark the return of the sun and the end of winter. We celebrate the waxing sun and the beginning of Spring. Candlemas is a celebration of hope, the light returns and Spring is just around the corner.

Altar: Candles, Grain Dolly, Sun Cross

Animals: Wolf, Snake, Swan, Vulture, Robin, Burrowing Animals, Sheep, Lamb, and Deer

Birds: Cockerals, Cranes, Crows, Ducks, Eagles, Goose, Owls, Ravens, Swans and Wrens

Colors:  White, red, pink, yellow, blue

Deities: Aradia, Arachne, Arianrhod, Athena, Brighid, Blaize, Branwen, Cupid/Eros, Diancecht, Dumuzi, Februa, Februus, Gaea, Inanna, Lucina, Vesta, and Oya

Foods: Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Poppyseed Cakes, muffins, scones, and breads, all dairy products, Peppers, Onions, Garlic, and Raisins.

Herbs: Angelica, basil, bay Laurel, blackberry, celandine, coltsfoot, heather, iris, myrrh, tansy, violets, and all white or yellow flowers.

Incense: Basil, myrrh, frankincense, wisteria, jasmine, camphor, cinnamon, and lotus.

Oils: Jasmine, Apricot, Carnation, Sweet Pea, Neroli and Olive

Stones: Amethyst, bloodstone, garnet, onyx, ruby, turquoise

Trees: Rowan

Zodiacs: Aquarius and Pisces


Imbolc Traditions and Symbols

Brigid Corn Dolly – a very old custom involved making a “Brigid” corn dolly that can be placed in a “Bride’s bed” to bring fertility and good fortune to the home.  If you made a “Corn Mother” at Lammas, you may simply re-use it.  Dress the Corn Mother as a bride in colors of white, red and or gold, and your Harvest Crone transforms herself into the Brigit Spring Bride. Place the Bride in a “Brigit’s bed” along with a priapic wand to symbolize fertility.  A priapic wand is a be-ribbonned fruit wood wand with a pine cone on the end which symbolizes the God.

Brigid’s Bed – to show your hospitality and to encourage the Goddess to spend the  night at your home, create a “Brigid’s Bed” near the hearth fire.  By inviting Brigid to stay overnight in your home you’re symbolically asking that her powers of fertility, blessing and healing be with your family all year long.  A Brigid’s bed can be a pretty wooden or cardboard box, a wicker basket or anything large enough to hold your Brigit corn dolly.  Be sure to decorate it with ribbons, flowers, herbs etc. and place a comfy blanket on the bottom of the bed. Don’t forget to place the priapic wand in the bed so that the Goddess will not be lonely.

Hearthfire  – the hearthfire is sacred to Brigid and is her altar in every home.  At Candlemas in the depth of winter the fire was more important than ever.  It was not allowed to go out and in the evening the fire was smoored ( covered with ash to preserve the hot coals) by the lady of the house

Brigid’s Crosses – are a form of woven straw or rushes symbolizing the Sun and used as talismans to bring fertility, prosperity and protection to the home.  They would be created at Candlemas and hung on the door, near the hearth, under the eaves or in the barn to bring luck and protection.

Burning the Yule Greens– the evergreens for Yuletide decoration are gathered and burned by Candlemas.  It is a symbolic way to let go of the old year and make way for the new.

Springs and Wells – toss coins in wells springs, fountains or any running water as an offering the the Goddess Brigid

Source: ~ Imbolc – Candlemas – Lupercalia ~ – Ye Olde Dark Arts