Snails

Okay, let’s be honest here: snails are icky looking.

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t powerful totems. Snails are all about in the inner child and wonder.

You can read my full post on snails at my:
Pagan Website
or Writing Blog

Ostara Information

I have missed it here!
Summary of what happened: I had a crisis of faith. But, today I got inspired.

According to Wiccans, Ostara is the time when the Goddess is a young maiden, and the God is a young man going out to find his love. This is the start of the fertile season. We see animals being born, and plants beginning to grow after a long winter. This is the time where planting can begin and when marriages tend to take place.

You can read my entire Ostara post at my Pagan website here
Or over at my writing blog here

Feeling like a Bad Pagan

(Cross-posted to my writing blog, so I'm sorry if you see this twice)
I’ve been reading the FANTASTIC book called Pillars of the Earth. There was a mini-series this summer about it, and I’m pretty sure I fell in love with all the characters, the story, everything.
Pillars of the Earth is about the 12th century England. There is the battle for the Throne between the EPIC Queen Maud and some guy named Stephen who I didn’t pay a lot of attention too. The other part of the plot, the one I’m more focused on, is about the building of a grand cathedral.
Okay, this is where the post gets interesting.

In Pillars of the Earth, being that it’s set in the 12th century, everyone is Catholic (except for the one woman, Ellen, who I think is more like a Christian Witch. I don’t think she’s a Pagan, but she’s a midwife, a healer, and she dislikes the hierarchy of the Church. Read the damn book, or watch the mini-series, if you want to know why). Now, I know some Catholics. My dad was Catholic, my Womb Buddy is Catholic. These are the cool Catholics.

I once met a Bishop. Funny story about that...
It was my Womb Buddy’s confirmation. I was fourteen. He had such a pimpin’ hat. Anyway, he was talking about how we can launch satellites into space, and then he was like “It’s God that holds Mars there”. I giggle!snorted, and people turned to glare at me. I hadn’t meant to giggle!snort, but I found it funny.

Moving on.
The Catholics in Pillars of the Earth are obviously...uh...not like modern Catholics. Now, we aren’t talking a lot about the Catholic hierarchy in the book/series, I believe the highest level we ever get to is Bishop, and that’s right near the end.

But, I’m reading this book, enjoying it, but I’m feeling like such a bad Pagan. Not because I’m reading it, but because of the Renos from Hell, I haven’t even wanted to bother to keep my altars clean. I had to use my room as a dumping ground for most of the summer, and I just haven’t felt motivated enough to clean it back up. I keep meaning too, and I’d like to get everything that shouldn’t be in my room—the cross-stitching, the sewing stuff—out and my life back. I was looking at my gemstones over the last week and they weren’t dusty, but they were clearly neglected. I felt so bad for letting the Recons get to me:
My mistake was Googling up some other Mesoamerican Pagans. Oh, I found them. They are all recons though, meaning they are trying to recreate the ancient religion. Basically, they are these elite little cliques and unless you’re exactly like them, you can’t have any opinions.
Yay for middle school flashbacks...

Anyway, I have no issues being called “Eclectic”, though in some Pagan and Wiccan circles, eclectic is another word for “flake”. I would rather be eclectic and be able to help Pagans and Wiccans of any persuasion than limit myself to being a Recon and only helping other Mesoamericans. Being a spiritual counsellor, I need to be able to address a variety of religious sects. In fact, with enough research, I could really attempt to help anyone in any faith.

The problem is, reading these blogs and sites be the recons make me feel so...unworthy. Like, they make me feel like I’m just a Fluffy Bunny Wiccan who has given the two deities of Wicca (The God and the Goddess) a Mesoamerican (and slash-tastic) face.

I’m slowly overcoming this, but it’s so hard. I want to feel spiritual again.

Craft Name

I've cycled through a LOT of magical names over the years. I started with Spawn of Dracula, which is my screen-name for some of my older accounts like Livejournal and Deviantart and since I had used that for such a long time, I thought it was my craft name.

Then I went for Hetshepsit, after the Egyptian female pharoah. Again, logical, being an Egyptian Pagan.

When I started to get into Mesoamerican Paganism, I added "Quetzalxochitl" to Hetshepsit. Quetzalxochitl means "Precious Flower" or "Queen". For a time, I was "Hetshepsit Quetzalxochitl".

In Driver's Ed, I was so bored I started mindlessly writing a lame-ass story about a 24 year old adopted Belize girl who was in training to be a Mayan Shaman, after being rasined in Mesoamerican paganism, with her adopted parents, two men who were incarnations of Quetzalcoatl and Cama Zotz. Her name is Quetzal, but her last name is just a common Spanish name. During her vision quest, Cama Zotz tells her about her parents, and she adopts the name Quetzalxochitl Zotz.

This is the name I've adopted now. And, I can honestly say, it's suiting me more than my birth name. Quetzal is now a screen-name of mine.

I did a quick numerology test with my new name and my birthday. None of my other names have ever added up. My birthdate adds up to 11, or 2 if you wanted.
Quetzalxochitl Zotz also adds up to 11 or 2.

Yeah, I'm excited :P

USBling-Salt Lamp

Today I was at my local New Age shop and Reiki training ground to pick up some things. Everyone in my family was born between now and the end of September, so I picked up some presents, handed in my Reiki I case studies and went on a bit of a shopping spree (because saving money is for LOSERS).

I got some USB bling. You know, useless devices that plug into your computer? I got some USBling!

See, my computer is secretly evil. It also hits on me, but that's another story. I've named my computer HAL, after the HAL-9000 computer from the movie 2001, because my computer is evil like HAL, but I love him anyway.

So, I got HAL some bling! It's a salt lamp. A Himalayan salt lamp. I had wanted one of these suckers for ever, but I'm poor and the USB one was cheap :P

If you don't know about salt lamps, they are basicall all-natural ionizers. The heat from the lamp releases negative ions (I think), and get rid of the free-floating positive ones. I actually don't know if they work, but they look really cool.