So this is my blog. 

I'm calling myself Starcraze here... it just came to me.  I've gone by various other names on the web and I have nothing to hide: Carnelian Ember, Amethyst, Magicklynxx, the Preacher's Pagan Daugher, Pagan Daughter, and Ailsidhe.

I'm a mom of a 3 year old girl, engaged to a heretical Catholic, the daughter of a Baptist minister, and an employee of a subcontractor of an evil corporation. 

I'm a Pagan Wich, selected Other, because I'm not simply ecclectic.... I'm very picky in what I include in my path.  I'm basically Wiccan, with some Druidry, Shamanism, armchair Thelema, and a side of Chaos.  I'm a soft-polytheist, believing both in the actuality of the gods, but also in the gods as archetypes.  I am Celtic, but also borrow from pretty much any pantheon that interests me, and Isis claims me as hers and I honor Her. Cernunos and Habondia are my patrons, however.  So yeah, if you want to say ecclectic, fine... you won't catch me paying much attention. 

I am very nature based... my religious inspiration is Nature, living things, land, sea, and sky, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I actually go outside and walk in the woods, climb trees, cross creeks, follow animal tracks, and often come back covered in mud and grassy things.  Some Pagans don't go for that.  They're afraid of bugs, or don't want to get their shoes dirty, or whatever.  I like to camp when I can, but it has been a long while since I've had the chance. This year I'm gardening.  I've got the seeds sprouted.  Naturey that I am, I sometimes forget to water plants.

I have two cats.  One is a big fluffy black thing that has gotten way too fat, but she insists that she's just well-fed.  The other is a gray and white rascally girl who goes through mood swings and has been known to use claws on laps to spring herself into the air at a moment's notice.  Both are hopeless catnip junkies.

My spirit animals are hawk, dove, panther, fox, coyote, grackle, crow, and black squirrel.  Yes, I see them in real life once in a while... they live around my neck of the woods.  Grackles and doves visited me when I lived in the city.  I prefer to have options.

I like technology though.  I lived without cable or even a TV reception on my rabbit ears for almost two years and without a computer for nearly a year.  Although I made it through without them, I'd really not like to go through that hell again.  I once had to live without a microwave... a life without microwave popcorn is not a life worth living, in my opinion. 

I really dislike hot weather and cold weather, which sucks because I live in Texas.  But the spring and the fall really make it worth it for me.  I'm so looking forward to seeing the bluebonnets and the Indian paintbrushes, the red clover, and the pink evening primrose growing on the roadsides. I like rain and thunderstorms, but I'm scared to death of tornados.  My ex and my parents all like to chase the stupid things.  I like to watch lightning too, but I am afraid of getting struck.  The land I live on is prone to lightning strikes and I was struck by a power surge coming through the outlets when lightning struck near my childhood home when I was four.  I have no memory of this, but my mother does... she and I were knocked across the room and my mom lost conciousness for a minute or two and she awoke to find me just staring as if I was in shock.

I have a few psychic abilities.  I have given psychic readings for people on the web with success that was surprising to me... I started out with tarot, but just set it aside one night and was amazed that I was found to be accurate.  I have seen bright colorful auras on people occasionally, but I don't put much emphasis in auras. They are just the mind's interpretation of energy fields and every book on the subject I've read seems to try to oversimplify the meanings behind the colors.  I have seen ghosts and spirit entities in the past, but not so much anymore.  It was very strong when I was a child and for almost four years after I started on the Pagan path, but I haven't seen much of anything for quite some time.  I also have out of body experiences and somewhat experienced in Astral travel.  I'd like to get better, however.

One of the things I need to work on is healing.  For most of my life, I rarely ever got sick, so healing has never really been of much importance to me.  In the past few years, however, my allergies have gotten worse, I've developed asthma and suffer occasional attacks, and have had ear infections. My daughter also gets sick pretty often. My fiance smokes, but not around us, so I am not sure where all the upper respiratory problems are coming from.  I'm concentrating on nutrition and herbal supplements for now, and perhaps I will get into energy healing or take a Reiki course in the future.  

I work with gemstones and crystals.  How very new-agey of me?  Oh well.  I have always been interested in rocks, minerals, and crystals, and I love to use them in my magickal work.  I may write some more about this interest of mine in on this blog, so if you share this interest, stay tuned.

I love Pagan podcasts.  My favorites are found at the following URLs: www.crookedpath.org, www.lanceandgraal.com, and www.deos-shadow.com.  If I had the know how and equipment, I'd do a podcast. But I have enough on my plate at this point, and not enough time and energy to get something like that together.  I wouldn't want something mediocre either, so I'll just listen to the really good podcasts that already exist. 

I also like to visit forums.  Right now, I am visiting a lot at www.ecauldron.com, but I also have just visited http://forums.about.com/ab-paganwiccan. Back in the day, PW was overrun by newbies, teen witches, and fluff, but it has gotten much better.  I use to visit the Witches' Thicket at www.delphiforums.com, and have just started visiting it again.

If anyone knows of any other great Pagan podcasts or Pagan forums or can suggest websites you think I might be interested in, please drop me a line. 

 I'm very interested in meeting all kinds of Pagans, so long as they are cool with using their brains and aren't all sitting atop their high horse... it's ok if you are smart and you know it, but if you're a dumbass and think you're the shit, well... I reserve the right to help you show the world how stupid you really are. 

Most Pagans I've met are decent people.  I don't always agree with other Pagans, but I respect them if they give me respect.  I'm pretty good at putting myself in another's shoes, or seeing their point of view. 

The Universe is huge, and our puny ideas about reality are just scratching the surface.  Most of our belief systems are full of holes and it's ok to point those holes out.  Sometimes you gotta live with the holes until you can fill them in with something substantial, but still... there's a lot of room for error in belief.  No one's got a trademark on truth, not even those who think they have all the facts.  On the other hand, there's a million and one ways to do something incorrectly, and we should be able to point these things out to each other and ourselves and not be afraid of changing what doesn't work.  We should also not be afraid to admit when we are just plain wrong. 

That's it for now.  Looking forward to hearing from ya'll.  (I'm Texan, get use to it.) Peace ya'll.

Starcraze