The Nourishing Your Soul Challenge: Days 2 + 3

Hello lovely lovelies!

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. It got late and I was tired and ill and blah, blah, blah. Anyhow, as part of my second day of soul nourishing I decided to cook! I love, love, love to cook. It's a rare treat for me to cook anything I like, living on a student income. And I just love cooking with apples.
Apples are often considered symbols of love and godliness! They taste sweet, light and crisp. I don't know what could be better to nourish my soul (or my stomach) than cooking apple pastries. I felt it only fair to share my recipe!

To make for two people you need:

• 6 ready rolled filo pastry sheets, 3 sheets per person (You can do this with puff pastry and not make parcels. Both ways taste just lovely.)
• 3 cooking apples
• Golden caster sugar
• An egg
• Some salted butter

I also added some seasonal spices to give it a Christmassy edge. These are optional though, the pastries taste just as nice without them:

• A half or whole teaspoon of cinnamon (dependant on personal tastes)
• 2 cloves per apple stewed
• A little bit of ground nutmeg

Ok! So now for the instructions. I'll make them as brief as possible. It really doesn't take as long as it might seem.

• Peel, core and quarter 2 of the apples and plop them into a pan of water and lemon so they don't brown as you go.
• Chop them up a little more and place them in another pan over a high heat with a knob of butter and 2 tablespoons of golden caster sugar.
• Chuck in the cloves now so the flavour soaks into the apple.
• The apples will gradually break down and turn lovely and mushy. Chuck in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add sugar and butter to taste if you like. It's a very experimental recipe and all up to you!
• Peel, core, quarter and thinly slice the last apple. Pop that in the lemon water too for a while.
• Unroll 3 sheets of the pastry and scoop half of the stewed apple into the middle. Lay some of the sliced apples on top and sprinkle with a bit more sugar. 
• Fold one corner over the apple and brush the folded corner with egg. Repeat this for all of the corners and sprinkle the whole thing with a little more sugar.
• Put in the oven at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes then check it. It might need more time in the oven but just keep checking.

Serve with cream and enjoy!!

As for day 3, I've lapsed. I'm baaaaad. I'm not feeling well today so my soul nourishing activity has been to sleep! And sleep I shall.

Lots of love and good night!

xxxx Aria

Here's some pictures!

Nourishing Your Soul Challenge: Day 1

Sun Cards!!
It's Solstice time again and I have a happy tradition of creating Sun/Moon cards on the Winter/Summer solstices!
So today I am making Sun cards to welcome in the increasing hours of wonderful sunlight.

Now for the soul nourishing part! On the back of each card I write a wish for the next 6 months. I ask for all sorts of wonderful from the universe for myself and the ones close. I can cast off previous goals and embrace new ones that might need to be brought to the surface. I guess it's like having a new years resolution but ever 6 months.
One of my ways of coping is to plan ahead so if I can set goals for myself everyday, week, month and 6 months then I find I can focus myself a lot easier!

So to make the cards for the Winter Solstice you need:

• A few sheets of yellow card
• Scissors
• A mug
• A black sharpie
• Little arty bits like glitter, glue, sequins, string and tissue paper
• A long string of ribbon

Cut some large circles out using your cards by placing the mug on the card and drawing around it. You can cut out as many as you like! Then write your wish, desire or goal onto one side. Punch a little hole in the top. Decorate the other side of the cards as much as you like! I'm pulling out some white tissue paper and a couple of felt tip pens. Then string the cards onto your ribbon and hang them up!

One rule with the cards is that you can't look at the wishes again until the next Solstice!!! You've put your intentions out into the world they're out there! Let them be.

Let the magic work!

My soul will feel a little nourished by the time I'm done! I hope you guys give this ago. Let me know how it made you feel. Did you enjoy getting a bit messy?

Lots of love,

Aria xxx

P.S. Look out for pictures tomorrow!
P.P.S.
Strike that! Here's pictures!!

A Pope's Visit

The Pope visited the UK this week. His visit cost £12m to the taxpayer and took up notable time on the television. He 'attempted' to address the issue of paedophile priests (not brilliantly seeing as there was no official apology to those who suffered at the hands of said priests).
I think its lovely that the country's Catholics were able to meet, see, experience the Pope and the Catholic church in a way that they may not ever have been able to before.  I can't imagine the happiness felt, especially by those who would never be able to travel to Italy and experience it that way.

This visit prompted a lot of controversy. Surprisingly, I experienced such controversy on two pagan discussion forums that I frequent. Both discussions followed the exact same path and I found it veeeery interesting.
The discussion starts with giggles and pokes at the Catholic Church, followed up by some anger from pagans to the Catholic Church. Then, in a very round about way, the tables turn. Some pagans feel a sort of guilt for thinking critically of the Church and they turn on the pagans who stick to their convictions and judgements of the Church. They defend a religion on the basis that it's a religion and should be respected.

But when did it become okay to defend a religion that has committed terrible crimes (and continues to do so) simply because it's a religion and should be 'respected'?

People pussyfoot around the bad things religions have done because religion has this weird, exclusive, 'get out of jail free' card when it comes to people questioning the bad stuff.

I would never go out and bash a religion. Like the ordinary Catholics, nothing wrong with them and I've got no issue with them. Most of them are lovely people. I have Catholic friends and they're wonderful (okay, I'm gonna stop with the patronising now).
So I would never bash a religion. I would, however, criticise the Church for allowing priests to continue in their roles of authority when they've abused young children. I would criticise the Church who changed the fabric of history and declared that the Virgin Mary FLEW, yes flew, to Heaven. She didn't die. She just flew. I would also question a Church that tells it's followers not to use contraception when their country is riddled with HIV.

Apparently, it's wrong of me to criticise an organisation that does those things. Apparently, that makes me intolerant. You know what, I am intolerant of people who abuse children and get away with it, who turn fiction into fact and who are narrow-minded enough to deny people safe sex.
That doesn't make me intolerant of Catholics.

What do you guys think?
xxx Aria

Music, thump...meow

Odd title yes?
Well I'm feeling a little odd today, better but still odd.

I moved (kind of) into my new house last week and I love it! I've finally got a double bed and there's even a FIREPLACE in my room. It doesn't work but it sure does look purdy.
I also tested the walking distance from my university library to the house...3 minutes. I'm telling you, I struck gold!
The only bad thing, it's a little creepy at night. The staircase is really steep and the entrance to the attic is a window...so you're walking up stairs and there's this creepy window that's just there...something even creepier might pop out!
Now I'm sure I've just the victim of over active imagination but does anything still scare you? The dark, spiders, y'know...stuff like that? Seriously, what silly little things scare you?
I feel five years old whenever I go near that staircase in the dark hehe. That covers the 'thump' in the title because it's meant as a scary thump.

As for the 'Music', I'm having a very tuneful day :) I've got my playlist going as I get started on my work for next university year. Schizophrenia, very upbeat subject no?
Woops, got distracted and have lost my train of thought. My mother is watching a period drama and forgot to tell me so grr!

I'm sorry this blog has ended up being more about me that paganism but the pagan thing isn't really happening for me right now. There's so much I want to do but it's all getting pushed aside in favour of blooming life angst.

I'm going to start with Esbats I guess :). I've never celebrated an Esbat and I'm not sure what to do exactly. Any help from my dearest readers would be much appreciated on that front.
What do you do for your Esbat celebrations? I may head over to the Pagan Hooligans website because they did a podcast on Esbats :)

So please send some handy hints my way!!
xxx Aria

Connecting with YOUR deity

Hello one and all :D


I know I've been very neglectful with my posting. For this I am sorry. I intend to pick it up a bit more in the coming weeks. I hope you all understand why!


Anyways, here in my little piece of the world it is VEEEERY cold. Like, 'is it winter?' cold. I don't dislike this really...I'm much more of a wintery person. I love the crisp crunch of autumn leaves beneath my sheepskin coated feet and the smell of that white wonderland making stuff, SNOW! So I can't really complain about the snow...coz I has many jumpers!


As many, many of you will know the pagan community lost a great man recently. I hope Isaac Bonewits' passing was calm and easy, and he has found his way to his next chapter. If any of you would be lovely (as I know you all are) enough to send some healing and helping energy to Isaac's family and friends I'm sure your wonderful contribution would be of some help.


Now, I was asking myself quite and important question this week.


How do I view deity?


I know lots of people who view deity as a being, perhaps not a physical being, but a being. Something one can communicate with and which will answer and guide it's worshippers. Of course, this kind of being can come in many forms. Namely (and to be more specicific), Gods. Venus, Zeus, Hecate, Hera, Artemis, Aradia, Anansi, Isis, Horus, Thoth, Thor, Odin...Yea, you can see where I'm going with this haha!
Gods that are born of culture, some current and some ancient, and who have continued in our universe. Most people I know, view deity in this way.


A few pagans I know view deity as one big whole thing. So all of those Gods I just mentioned are part of a whole. I don't think that makes each God less important but it connects them all (whether or not said Gods might want to be connected...ooo controversial hehe).


Some pagans or wiccans I know view deity as a supreme mother and father of all of the universe. I like this as it encompasses all facets of life and all aspects of ourselves as these two great beings are very humanistic. They look human, they act human (are born, live, reproduce and die) so I think lots of people can relate to them.


Ok, nearly there :). Finally, from the people I know of (because the list of 4 I've come up with can't possibly cover everyone!) there is one more view of deity. This might be the one I relate to best. I see deity as everything. Deity and, more importantly, the Divine, is absolutely everywhere. It's in people, it's in rocks, it's in cake. Nature is divine, the sky is divine, the stars, moon and planets are all divine.
They've been made, not for us (us being people) but because that's how the story of the universe has unfolded. Because it's here, because I can see it and touch it and feel it, it is divine. 


Perhaps I've come off a little crazy (oops) but that's not my intention. Think of it this way, some people dedicate their lives to trying to figure out what happens when we die. So much so that they forget to live.


So answer me this lovelies, how do you view your deity? What's you concept of the divine?
I'd love to hear your thoughts :D


xxx Aria

Waiting, wishing, washing.

Hello all!


As the title suggests I am doing 3 things today!
The most mundane and boring being the washing. Not that any of you wonderful peeps really cares that I have a mountain of washing to do but there ya go :D


The waiting refers to a number of things. I am waiting for my nommy, baked sweet potato to be ready so I can totally chow down on it! I am also waiting for aforementioned washing to be done so I can hang it out to dry. 
Aside from that I've gained this crazy sense of empty. I feel like I'm waiting for something to happen. I have plenty to do but with my recent string of, seemingly, bad luck, I can't help but feel a little hopeless.
I've mentioned in my previous posts that I had received an unwelcome diagnosis (though at least I know what's wrong now). I feel comfortable enough to now tell you that I've been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Until they do more tests (going for a scan on Saturday) they won't know how bad it is or how to treat it. There are a lot of implications. The two that have hit me hardest are that I may always have acne and that I may have real difficulties having children.
Whilst the acne appears to pale in comparison to the not having children part, it is something that makes me feel ugly and unattractive. I have low self-esteem as it is and finding out that as I grow up the things that "make" me ugly won't go away has knocked me for six.
As for the having children, I have always wanted a family. I know it's a bridge I'll cross when I come to it but I'll feel like half a woman if I can't have kids!


Sorry this is such a downer post but I really need some loving and holding up. The people who should be supporting my aren't and I'm finding that difficult.


The wishing part...well. I wish the PCOS would go away, I wish my family would be a little kinder, I wish everything would come together nicely.

Just let go. Of inhibitons, fears and expectations.
Allow yourself to just be.

But I've got to take what I can get. I have a wonderful partner and his family are amazing. I have good friends and I have a lovely support network online too.
In fact, here's my latest art entry! It's all about letting go of what holds us back from just being and doing!


I really hope you enjoy it. Love you all
xxx Aria

New Home and Happy Lughnasadh!

Hi everyone!!

I decided the other day that I needed to move the blog. I love wordpress but it's too tricky for me to fiddle with. I know that with blogspot I can alter and shuffle without ruining the whole thing!
Anyways, that's boring. The point is, WELCOME! I hope you like what I've done with the place and continue to be wonderful readers :)

Also, Happy Lughnasadh wherever you are! I hope you have a completely awesome day. Blessings to you, your families and friends. You are all magnificent and deserve a jolly good pat on the back!

So have a mooch about and let me know what you think of the new digs :D
xxx Aria

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