A Witch and Two Miko, in Teacups

I just had to share this picture... IT'S SOOOO CUUUTE!!!! On the left is Kirisame Marisa (a witch), on the right is Hakurei Reimu (a Miko), and in the middle is Kochiya Sanae (Miko and descendent of a Kami). They're from the Touhou series of games by Team Shanghai Alice (Zun being the primary and sometimes only member of that Doujinshi circle). Due to the obsessive tendencies of Touhou fandom (We're called Touhoufags); there is now a massive Shared Universe of Touhou themed Media by thousands of artists, writers, and musicians. Zun might as well be an Arahitogami as far as the Touhoufags are concerned...

The Christians and The Pagans....

So . . .  I went over to Mum's house for Thanksgiving . . .  And she didn't figure out that I was pagan when I failed to say "Amen" at the meal's grace. Good. I can save it for later. She and her husband are Evangelical Christians. They flipped out really bad when they found out I was Transgender. I don't want that event to repeat itself. They made a huge deal out of it and were saying I was an "idolator" and stuff just because I want a sex change. Brianna isn't my legal or birth name. It's what I go by. When I stayed the night, they had me sleep on a separate floor of their house so my queerness wouldn't infect anyone. Nevermind that I'm also Pansexual. That part went right over their heads. I'd rather them not know that I'm not Christian anymore. They'll find out eventually, but I'd like it to be in a few years rather than soon.

Bri's Cauldron I

Being an Eastern style Pagan, I only use my cauldron for cooking... So um. The sections entitled "Bri's Cauldron" will be cooking stuff... Here's a few things for Thanksgiving:

The Fire God's Green Beans

fry 1/4 lb chopped bacon until crisp, remove from oil, saute 3 cans of drained french-style green beans in the bacon grease, add 3 tbs shiracha chili paste and 2 tbs minced fresh garlic, saute until the beans are well blended and hot, serve with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds


Bri's Blackeyed Peas

cube and fry 1 cup lean ham in a little bacon grease until browned, add 2 lbs of frozen or fresh blackeyed peas, saute for 5 minutes on medium heat, add 2 cups of beef stock and simmer on low for an hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with a little chili vinegar (recipe below)


Calcifer's Chili Vinegar
(Yes, I did just name a condiment after a fictional Fire Demon from Welsh literature...)

in a 8 oz bottle combine 3" (skinny) or 1" (thick) of lemon grass, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 pepper corns or 1/4 tsp green pepper (Sansho), a sprog of rosemary, 2 basil leaves, 20 or so each of Japones (aka Yatsufusa) peppers and d'Arbol peppers, add vinegar slowly so that it trickles down. when the bottle is full, put the lid on tightly and give it a thorough shaking and let rest until it's time to use it. The loger it sits, the better it gets. good on greens, beans, salads, seafood, fries, and roast pork. You can just top off the vinegar after each use for years of herbal vinegar awesomeness.

Last Year's Thanksgiving Dinner: Hot German Potato Salad, Tea Roll, The Fire God's Green Beans, and Roast' Turkey.

Origins of the Shinto Pantheon

I'd like to explain something about the Shinto Pantheon. There were 3 genderless Gods. One was the first and always existed. The other two came from the first. These two created the Earth. They also created the first male deity. From the first male deity, the first female was born. The Male was Izanagi no Mikoto, the Female was Izanami no Mikoto. Together, they created the first humans and the first Kami. Izanami died in childbirth when giving birth to the fire Kami. Izanagi killed the Fire Kami and went to the underworld (Yomi no Kuni) to retrieve his wife. However, she had rotted considerably and he was frightened away and closed the entry to the underworld with a large stone. She was hurt emotionally by this and cursed humans to die. Before then, we had been immortal. Izanagi then declared that for every 1000 that die, he will see that 1500 are birthed.

As Izanagi washed himself free of impurities from the underworld, the water and scrubbing also released 8 million Kami. The Sun Kami, Amaterasu Omikami came from his right eye. The Moon Kami, Tsukiyomi no Mikoto came from his left eye. The Kami of Storms, Susano'o no Mikoto came from his nose.

Thus, the vast myriads of divine essences came into being. The Kami from the body if Izanagi washed down the river into every part of the world... And more are created in the natural world and by human actions of propagation (Bunrei) all the time.

Cool Things and a Yule Mixtape

Alrighty, cool things first. 

I found out that I have clairsentience powers yesterday. Yeah, cool huh. That means I'm an Empath. It freaked me the crap out. It was like a gut feeling... I resonated with this lady and could feel her emotions. It was kinda crazy. I really shouldn't be surprised. I already have prophetic dreams and can see ghosts and talk to gods and spirits... but I've never read someone's mood on purpose before...  That was just so.... Incredible. 

Yule Mixtape

My great-grandparents were the last in my family to celebrate Yule, but I'm gonna restart the tradition. We're planning a yuletide dinner of German Pork Stew with seared pork, crispy bacon, potatoes, onions, cream, turmeric, and garlic... Also gonna have homemade mead, English Ale, cheese, homemade bread, and probably my garlicky pickles (cucumbers, salt, and garlic in the fridge in a baggy overnight). Probably with Apple pie or cobbler for dessert.

So, I was thinking I'd make a Mixtape (on CD though) for Yule with a bunch of awesome Western Pagan music...

...and you can see where this is going...

There's something so awesome I have to put it in though. The Dragonborn Comes from Skyrm... Yeah. 

but there's another version I've considered...

either way, it's gonna be awesome...

Poetry in the Morning~

 A Tree Song
by Sir Rudyard Kipling

OF all the trees that grow so fair,
Old England to adorn,
Greater are none beneath the Sun,
Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs,
(All of a Midsummer morn!)
Surely we sing no little thing,
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!

Oak of the Clay lived many a day,
Or ever AEneas began.
Ash of the Loam was a lady at home,
When Brut was an outlaw man.
Thorn of the Down saw New Troy Town
(From which was London born);
Witness hereby the ancientry
Of Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!

Yew that is old in churchyard-mould,
He breedeth a mighty bow.
Alder for shoes do wise men choose,
And beech for cups also.
But when ye have killed, and your bowl is spilled,
And your shoes are clean outworn,
Back ye must speed for all that ye need,
To Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!

Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth
Till every gust be laid,
To drop a limb on the head of him
That anyway trusts her shade:
But whether a lad be sober or sad,
Or mellow with ale from the horn,
He will take no wrong when he lieth along
'Neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!

Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight,
Or he would call it a sin;
But - we have been out in the woods all night,
A-conjuring Summer in!
And we bring you news by word of mouth

Good news for cattle and corn-
Now is the Sun come up from the South,
With Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
(All of a Midsummer morn):
England shall bide ti11 Judgment Tide,
By Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!

Return of the Sun
by Brianna Lynne

She hid in the cave.
In Hiding from her brother,
The World grew dark.

There was fear at first.
Jewels, Mirror, on a tree,
Dancing and Laughter,

Interest Piqued,
The Kami came from the cave,
The Jewels sparkled.

Mirror gleaming bright,
And she saw her reflection,
Solar Radiance.

The cave was sealed.
Storm's deed had put her away,
but now she shined.

Returned into the sky;
Amaterasu-sama.
======
This poem is about Amaterasu Omikami,, but it's dedicated to two Kami. Amaterasu Omikami, and Ama no Uzume no Mikoto, whose cleaver idea and improvisation resulted in the dawn we enjoy each morning. Although the Latter Kami is not mentioned by name in the poem, she is the one who hung the jewels and mirror and then danced the first Kagura. This interested the Sun Kami and enticed her to come out of hiding.

On mornings like this, when I' up early... or late as it were... As Amaterasu Omikami comes from the East and brings light to the world... I bow twice at the waist at a nearly 90 degree angle clap twice, holding my hands together on the last one, I bow a third time and thank the Sun goddess for her warmth and light in my life. Often with a tear of joy, I return to my morning business feeling refreshed and content.

Here's why We have a Sun Kami(Femmale) and a Moon Kami(Male) in Shinto: "Formerly it was the female luminary that came out at night. But she was so greatly shocked at the immoralities which she saw going on out of doors among the grass, that she exchanged with the male luminary, who, being a man, did not care so much. So now the sun is a female deity, and the moon is a male deity. But surely the sun must be often shocked at what she sees going on even in the daytime, when the young people are in the open among the grass."—Written down from memory by Basil Hall Chamberlain. Told by Ishanashte (an Ainu), November, 1886.

*sigh of contentment*

Alright, back to business: The best way to encrypt written data (Like your Magick journal or a Grimoire for example) is to write it in a language or script you've created... My Grimoire is written in 3 different scripts and several languages to guard it from misuse by the uninitiated and to protect me from people who might hurt me if they knew I was pagan...

This is an excellent example of how you can encrypt data that's written: http://www.frathwiki.com/Altherkin_Itak

 I've made my own too. Here's a sample of one of my seriously cryptic writing: