Volume II, Issue 3, January 19, 2001 The cold of winter has come back although not nearly as bitterly cold as it was a few weeks ago. Still after a couple weeks of melting snow, it's very cold. I am so looking forward to spring when things start getting green and smelling fresh and earthy. Yes I am starting to get a bad case of cabin fever. Two days ago I dragged in several small flower pots, the kind that that I have been buying herb plants in over the last couple of years. I filled them with potting soil and planted some rosemary seed. Last fall I procrastinated in digging up the ones I had in the garden and bringing them inside where they at least had a chance of surviving the winter until after a killer frost hit so I had to start more. My herb garden isn't huge but it takes most of our tiny back yard. It's somewhat weedy when the temperature hit over 100 I quit weeding as regularly and I wasn't militant about weeds before it got so hot. I have studied enough on herbs to know some "weeds" are highly magical. It's the place of ritual and magick for me so when the weather gets to the point that that I can stand outside without risk of frostbite I am out there for rituals or a bit of peace. Last year, my husband and I built a stone circle out there. Not a fancy one but there are stones at the quarters and cross quarters, either alone or in small groups. Some are small enough that I could move then by myself and place then others I had to have my husband do so. In the center is an altar stone, basically flat with a slope up the side that gives the impression of steps. For a Goddess symbol I have a fist sized basically round holey stone and for the God a stone that is very roughly shaped like a phallus, and I will be the first to admit it's a very rough likeness. All this is in a small Iowa town where I am semi in the broom closet. This is where the title of my newsletter came from, a herb garden with a magickal stone circle around it. Named for a place where I hear a whisper in the winds and from the plants and rocks and I hope you enjoyed the brief glimpse of it. Sheila K. Watkins Web page: Subscription & unsubscription information: Submissions: Zeliziw@n... ~*~*~*~ You might be Pagan if... By Anthony S. Clifton, clifton@i... Editor American Witch and Pagan, 1. You stop to smell the roses...and the marigolds and the peonies and the thyme and the sage and the chives and the evergreens and the peppermint and... 2. You can say to a very ugly person, "You're beautiful." because, when you look into their eyes, you see the Goddess and the God smiling back. 3. You don't just say grace at meals. You give thanks for every breath and moment you're privileged to experience. 4. You always get to see animals when you walk in the woods because you treat them as equals and they know it. 5. You stop traffic on a two-lane highway to escort a young deer back to the woods so it doesn't wander into the road and get hit by a car. 6. You sit in your car for twenty minutes afterward to make sure the deer doesn't wander back. 7. You cry during "Amazing Rescue" TV programs because you know that heroism, not greed, is humanity's natural state. You feel angry that nobody else understands this. 8. You use every horizontal surface in your home as a bookshelf. 9. You don't have to ask what sign someone is. You already know it within five minutes of meeting them. 10. You hold on to your dreams...not because they are pleasant fantasies but because they are more real than the illusions created by media, politics and society. You know that dreams are the reality you can perceive at the very core of daily life. ~*~*~*~ Cool Link of the week Aon Celtic Art is Celtic Clipart they even have a section that is free to use for non-profit ~*~*~*~ Landblood by Sheila K Watkins Smoke filled room Is it real or a dream? Spirits close yet still unseen Bloody marks on each cheek Four more marks the chest Blood flowing from the hands Surprised glance at the wounds Otherworldly hands on the back Power flowing from within Ancient eyes looking waiting Testing asking are you ready? Hands lifted pointing outward Landblood flowing, as it should Power rushing, hands supporting Ancient one nods approving Now the landblood in the veins Flowing where it longs to be. ~*~*~*~ All articles, poems, etc are copyrighted by the writers of said items and are used with permission. They are not tp be republished without the express permission of the writers except for personal use. Contact information may be obtained by contacting the editor of Whispers of A Stone Circle at Zeliziw@n... Sheila K Watkins Copyright (c) 2001 Sheila K. Watson. All Rights Reserved