Blessings for the New Year

I was taking a walk near the laguna.  I love this area and it is a great place to go after work to clear my head.  I was enjoying the stark landscape of winter and noticing the hint of green carpet starting to sprout from recent rain.  I came upon a small group of wild felines, gazing at me and but not coming toward me.  I stopped to watch them and noticed a women up ahead of me moving her arms up, down, around and talking out loud.  I wasn't even sure what she was doing, but as I have stated before - after you have lived in Sebastopol for a while, you are unfazed by these things.  She came closer but I wasn't sure she saw me.
After a minute or two, she stopped and looked in my direction.  "We are starting a new year's ritual."
There was no one else around.  I did not know who she meant by "we."  For a few seconds I actually thought she meant her and the feral cats.  But she stepped in the opposite direction of the cats, and I concluded she meant her and the trees.  Or maybe her and the water fairies.  I wasn't sure.
A moment later two men came around the bend and I realized the three of them were together.  I must admit, I shifted from innocent stroller to trolling blogger.
"What would you like to manifest for the new year?" the woman asked me.  (In this part of the world, people talk a lot about manifesting.)
"Oh, leave her alone," one of the men said in a friendly voice.  "She is just out taking a walk."
I asked what they wanted to manifest.  We chatted about new year's resolutions which included meditation goals, healthy eating and spending less time on the computer.  The most memorable was one of the men saying during 2014 he wanted to ecstatic dance in every major city on the west coast. 
As I went to continue on my walk, one of them said, "Blessings for a prosperous New Year.  And by the way, we lost our friend on stilts."
I half-laughed, as I thought he was joking.  Then I realized they were serious.  "You lost him?"
"We don't know where he went off to.  If you see him, tell him we are over this way," the woman requested.
"All right," I replied.  "No problem."
"He has blond hair and a shirt with a picture of an eagle on it."
"Okay."  I nodded.  "But I believe the stilts will give him away."


Guest contributor, Jennifer, performing at the Goddess Crafts Fair:
"We performed an act as Orishas.  I was the Orisha Oya.  The Orisha of change, hurricanes and tornadoes. When it was my turn to do a solo I danced with a whisk.  I turned in circles and screamed at the top of my lungs.  Yes, I scared the children of Sebastopol."

Favorite line of the week:
"I'm sorry, did you say you needed more chi?  Or more chai?"

Holidaze

"Merry Christmas.  Happy solstice.  Happy Kwanza.  You really have to name off everything around here!"
Woman (wearing a pentagram and moon pendant):  "I like saying Merry Christmas.  I know in Sebastopol that is kind of a rebellious thing, but it's nice to just say Merry Christmas!  I hope I don't offend too many locals."

"I like coming over to Sebastopol.  The shops are crowded and people are stressed out buying last minute presents, but everyone is so nice and polite about it."

"I don't know what to get her.  She is getting back from a seven day vision quest thing.  I'm like, here have some earrings after you've been sitting outside for four days and nights with vultures and wild coyotes."
"She sat outside for four days?"
"Yes, that's what a vision quest is.  You sit by yourself by a tree or something and don't eat for four days and think about your life."
"And why would anyone go do that to themselves?"

In line at the post office:  "I'm sending holiday cards to Christians, atheists and pagans.  It was hard enough finding mellow cards that I could send to everyone - I don't know what kind of stamps to get!  Being p.c. takes a lot of work."

"All this Christmas music is stressing me out.  Can I please just go home and do shavasana until January second?" *


Favorite line of the week...
Young dude in front of a crystal shop:  "Would you like to put on these special glasses and see lots of multi-colored rainbows?"
Me:  "No, thanks, I'm late meeting someone."  And thinking to myself, isn't it a given that rainbows are multi-colored?



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* Shavasana, for those who do not do yoga or live in an area surrounded by yoga studios, is the final resting pose at the end of a yoga session. 

What's in the cards for today?

I was sitting in the back corner of Milk and Honey (a gift shop with a strong female identity) where there are some comfortable seats and a table with many decks of cards to draw from (tarot, goddess, self-care, animal cards among others).  A woman was standing reading the bulletin board, viewing the many fliers for yoga classes and local workshops.  (See On Any Given Weekend, previous blog.)  She inhaled deeply and said to no one in particular, "This is great.  I haven't had a good scented candle fix for a while."
A person meandering close by came and sat down on the couch by me, and invited the woman on the olfactory high to come draw a card.  Apparently, from their comments, they had just been in a qi gong class together.
One drew from an angel deck and showed us the card.  It was "Children."
"I just got a two hour break from my kids going to qi gong!  Why does that mean, to draw a card about children?"
"There are different meanings.  You should read what the card means," her fellow classmate said.
The Mom on a Break picked up the small booklet.  After reading the blurb, she stated, "I want to draw another card."
The other woman chose a card from a goddess deck, drawing a goddess none of us had heard of.  She read what this goddess symbolizes which had to do with using one's voice and/or creativity.  She sighed.  "Truth be told, I'd rather draw a card that says I'm going to make more money."
"Well, that would be Lakshmi," I informed her.
They both stared at me.  "Seriously," I said.  Lakshmi is well-known for prosperity and abundance, and I had recently been in a small business where I noticed the owner had place a Lakshmi statue near the cash register.  (And, I should point out, this was actually in Santa Rosa even.)
"Do they have any prints of her here?" the woman asked.
"Definitely."  There is never a shortage of Lakshmi statues, cards and pictures at Milk and Honey. 
She got up to look around.  The other woman seemed to be contemplating something.  She said to me after a moment:  "There are so many divination card decks now.  I can't believe nobody has made one with Super Heroes."
I laughed.  "I like that idea." 
"If you knew it was going to be a hard day at work, how great would it be to draw the Incredible Hulk over your morning cup of coffee?"
"I think you are on to something."
I pictured a line of divination cards on one of the Milk and Honey shelves:  The Magician (tarot) card, Athena from the goddess deck, Inspiration from the Angel deck and WONDER WOMAN. 


Favorite line of the week:
Regarding the Milk and Honey window:  "There is a cauldron full of sao paolo sticks, and around the sao paolo is a circle of goddesses."