Phoenix Pendant

Rommy, check out the pic below. I had my painting of a Phoenix laser-engraved on wood, to make a pendant.

This is not something I will sell. I wanted to wear my painting as a pendant for so long, but couldn’t find an economically viable way that was also aesthetically pleasing. Finally found Deborah Ross, who did this custom work for me, beautifully and affordably.

You’ve said you love this painting of mine so many times that I had a second pendant made, in case you want it. It would be a gift, not a purchase.

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I want this pendant going to the right person. So let me know if you feels like it’s “yours.” If not, I won’t be offended. I’ll just know it belongs to someone else. And I’ll give you a gift someday that suits you better, LOL!

If you’re not good at crafts, so can’t do it yourself, I’ll make a pretty metal loopy thing that I’ll put through the hole at the top of the pendant, so you can hang it on a chain, leather cord, or whatever you prefer.

The bird is patterned on two traditionally painted wooden boxes that, during my childhood, were possibly some of my favorite things in the whole house: their sincere and evocative beauty stood out in a decor that, in a lot of ways, was 1950s bland. As far as I know, my father brought them back after World War II. I don’t know where he got them, perhaps Germany. There were birds on the boxes.

Blessed be.

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Try the Doors

TryDoorsMore about my recovery from falling down the hole: Phoenix Rebirth at http://stardrenched.com/2014/02/05/phoenix-resurrection/

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If you cannot view the above graphics:

Long term trauma, shamanism, bodhisattvas. Alice down the rabbit hole sees a tiny door. Hear me when I say, “You will triumph.”

If trauma is the door to shamanism, can long-term trauma make you a bodhisattva?

Yes, I made a joke. But not entirely.

What doors do you neglect?

What door is in front of you right this second?

If it is inaccessibly small, like the wee door Alice found after tumbling down the rabbit hole, search for a way through it.

No matter what’s happening, I urge you, do what you can, even if that is simply holding on for dear life, despite hopelessness. Holding on is a door.

If you try many doors, you will get through enough of them, and you will triumph. Hear those word: You will triumph.

I know this because I fell down the rabbit hole.———————————————————————————————

I hope you sign up for my newsletter, because I am all about sharing the journey with fellow star-dusted travelers. Yes! Here is the link: https://www.outlawbunny.com/newsletter/

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Pagan Arrogance?

There is immense spiritual arrogance in mainstream religion. Embraced by the reassuring comfort of a religion endorsed by millions, mainstream adherents can easily think they know the one true way. That same comfortable situation can cause their clergy to disdain alternative priesthood.

But enormous spiritual arrogance can happen almost as easily when you’re in an alternative religion or have your own unique spiritual path.

For example, developing psychic gifts can be so powerful and freeing that it might seem no one else could possibly have such an extreme or stunningly beautiful experience. That can be a jumping off point for feeling superior to others. I’ve seen a lot of people talk down to friends and otherwise become pompous after developing otherworldly talents.

When I was younger, I fell prey to it myself. Youthful arrogance!

Now I feel differently. And while I’m not proposing to be a perfect role model, it helps us when we tell each other what attitudes have worked for us. So here’s one:

I give what I call shamanic treatments. In other words, I send you a healing and empowerment of your body and of your spirit.

I do not give shamanic treatments from the perspective of “I am so much better than everybody else, me on high, deigning to send you blessing.”

Instead. I know treatments are not something I do, but something that comes through me. I do not know why the Gods chose me for this. After all, I am just me, not somebody superior to others.

Also, during a treatment, hard work regarding my own spiritual growth might be required. This helps keep me from thinking I’m better than other people. In other words, being willing to face one’s faults can mitigate arrogance.

It is also useful to recognize if you are lacking self confidence or self esteem, because when we do not have a healthy ego, we might overcompensate with unhealthy ego.

It is sad when seekers fall for counselors, teachers, or other guides whose message is, “I’m better than you. But if you let me dominate you, I’ll teach you how to be superior to everyone else.”

Of course, it’s not worded that overtly. Instead, you might see sly attempts to make other guides appear mediocre, through remarks like, “They do not have any real power, come to me for the real thing.”

An arrogant practitioner, perhaps without even realizing it, might also make a sales pitch that subtly caters to poor self-worth. For example, their words might imply you’re pitiful and damaged, needing the help of a superior being.

As a young shaman, I did feel superior to my clients, in some ways. That pomposity was isolating. It kept me from receiving the endless blessings I now receive from my clients.

Lucky for me, I was always somewhat aware that my clients are my peers and amazing fellow seekers. Luckier still, now that I recognize that camaraderie better, I get as much from them as they do from me.

Arrogance can be subtle, making it difficult to spot not just in others but also in ourselves. Example: having shrunken your swollen head to a fair degree can make you miss your remaining way-too-big hat size.

But if we pray or affirm, “May I recognize my arrogance. May it be replaced with self-worth,” and we continue self-examination, as well as working on self-worth, we can lessen our haughtiness.

I adore alternative spiritual communities. Our loving, new approaches can shift the cosmos. If we each look inside for our own arrogance, and not fall for marketing that caters to our insecurities, we can make a better world.

For more info about my shamanic treatments, go here.

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Giveaway Blanket

Update on the post below: Someone claimed the Graven Images deck. But I’ll keep posting giveaway blankets, each with a Tarot, Lenormand, or other divination deck, whenever I have time to photograph a deck, til all the decks are spoken for. So the next few months, watch both my sites’ blogs for the giveaways: new blogs appear at http://stardrenched.com , and at https://www.outlawbunny.com/blog/

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Welcome! Here’s the second item on my giveaway blanket:

If you missed my previous post: I was gifted a lot of Tarot, Lenormand, and other divination decks, and am giving away a handful of decks that don’t suit me.

The first deck was claimed, so now the deck on the blanket is the Graven Images Oracle. It’s in excellent condition, unboxed, and has an instruction booklet. I suspect the deck’s been used only a little.

I didn’t check whether all the cards are there, though I imagine they are. But then, I’m happy to read with an incomplete set, because it makes the deck unique.

It’s a wonderful deck, so I’m not sure why it’s not right for me. Someone’s going to love working with it.

The following photo shows a few cards, the cards’ back, and the book:

GravenImages

BTW, if you do a Google search, using “Graven Images Oracle” as the parameters, you can learn more about the deck, to better help you decide if this is a deck for you.

I want to spread the bounty by only giving one deck per person.

Do you want this deck? Here are instructions:

1) In the comment field below, write the name of the deck: Graven Images Oracle
2) Email me a postal address (U. S. non-military address only) to which I can ship the deck. I will pay for shipping; I really want this to be a complete giveaway.
3) Include your phone number in the email, in case I have trouble shipping. My email address is outlawbunny at outlawbunny.com
4) Put “Graven Images Oracle” in the subject field of the email.

Important: First person to do all four steps of the instructions receives the deck. If someone’s already written the name of the deck in a comment field, it’s not necessarily too late for you. Often, people will do part one of the instructions, then forget to do the rest.

I’ll update this post to let everyone know when the deck’s been claimed.

I’ll blog more “blankets,” each with a deck, whenever I have the chance to photograph a deck and write a description of it. So the next few months, stay tuned to both my sites’ blogs for the giveaways: this site’s new blogs always appear at http://stardrenched.com , and my other site’s blogs at https://www.outlawbunny.com/blog/

Heh, if you claim a deck, you do me a favor, by helping me spread the bounty that was given me. Otherwise, I’d be like a miserable miserly Dragon, selfishly coiled around decks I would never use. Ooh, must insert word play: When we are selfish we actually lose the self, heh, heh, heh. Blessed be!

BotmBevldNwslter

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DIY Luxury

Look at my new bag for one of my Lenormand decks! I have to share it with you, because I am so happy with it. It’s my first lavish pouch:

LenormandBag

Constructing it was an act of self-love: beauty’s important to me spiritually, and this bag tickles my eyes.

In addition, I wanted something that made me feel “posh,” as a mega-abundance ritual. Every time I see the bag, I feel quite the Grande Dame.

I used the process of creating the bag’s design to conjure self-love and abundance, which envelop me whenever I draw my deck from the bag.

Here’s how I made it:

I started with one of those cheap muslin bags, the sort you put bath herbs in. I replaced its drawstring with something sturdier and pretty.

Then I covered the bag with lace. If you’re like me—not a great seamstress—don’t worry, I don’t think it matters much. Anyone who’d look that closely and critically at your stitches is probably too stuck up for you to risk showing them your precious mystical possessions, anyway.

The cream lace was stained—I’m big at upcycling—so I painted it with Lumiere paint from Jacquard.

Kathleen, recognize the lavender lace? It’s that fabulous stuff you passed onto me, I’ve hungered for a way to use it til now.

The last step was bejeweling the bag. I stitched the ornamentation on. The vintage style brass findings were purchased from http://vintagejewelrysupplies.com.

As I said, this is my first lavish bag for cards. I tend to store a deck in a wooden box and/or simple bag, or just wrap a Tarot deck in an old silk cloth. I’ve found those are great containers for divination cards, over the 30 years I’ve been a professional reader. Simple is good! But I’ve made a few pouches that are “fahncy.” 🙂 I want my life to balance simplicity and extravagance. This week, I felt compelled to make something more elaborate and opulent looking than what I’ve made before, because luxury can feed the soul. Now I’m fed!

When constructing the pouch, I played around with ideas to make it even more ornate, but nothing I tried looked right. But someday…

Photos of other bags:

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If this post inspires you to make your own bag, or find your own way to balance simplicity with extravagance, or use creativity as ritual, please tell me about it. Hearing about your journey is a blessing.

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Click here to learn about the Faerie Ritual Set: https://www.outlawbunny.com/2014/06/11/frs

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Santa’s Unconditional Love

BelovedYuleElf

Santa’s Unconditional Love

Updated November 2021. Originally posted December 2014.

Summary: Santa is a Pagan God, so wants to make everyone happy and give them gifts. Being Pagan, His idea of happiness includes material abundance. His unconditional, magical love helps create the transformative power of the Yule season. Below is a simple, quick ritual to let in His love, that it might lift your spirits, grant you bounty, and help you overcome challenges. His love is constant, so you can use this ritual any time of year.

Santa is a Pagan God

While documentation demonstrating the Pagan roots of Santa Claus exists, lack of acquaintance with this history does not keep some individuals from the certainty that Santa is a Pagan God or from understanding Pagan Santa quite well.

There are different types of knowledge and different routes to them, to suit different people. The personal revelation of Santa as a Pagan God was more powerful to me than an academic exposition on the topic would have been; my imagination, common sense, and otherworldly experiences of Santa imbue my cells—as opposed to just my mind—with the awareness of this loving, kind, generous God’s actual presence in my life.

If you’ve posted a blog outlining the historical roots of Santa Claus as a Pagan myth, do post the URL in the comment field below. Thank you.

Pagan Santa Claus

Let’s look at a bit of my Gnosis regarding Santa. (For our purposes here, we can define Gnosis as knowledge of the Divine acquired through personal experience of it.) Here’s an example of where otherworldly experience (as well as imagination and common sense) led me: the following is a vision I had. It is not just words on the page but was my experience.

Lest you be confused by my mentioning later in this post my having made snowflakes: in the vision, the snowflakes are not ones I’ve made, but ones Santa made Himself.

A Vision of Unconditional Love
and Enthusiastic Generosity

In winter darkness, comes the bright snow,
every snowflake a mandala,
every snowflake made unique
because God Santa is endlessly enthusiastic
in His ceaseless generosity.
Such abundance—thousands of mandalas pouring down,
kissing you, blessing you.
Santa is not a God who withholds from you,
Santa is a God willing to bless you
and bless you and bless you,
thousands of snowflakes,
each a mandala filling you
with wisdom,
or filling you with joy, or granting you fortitude,
or giving you trust in magic.
Giving you trust in your own magic.
Every snowflake a mandala of goodness and hope,
such abundance!

Endless love.
Santa’s bag is never empty,
though he never stops emptying it, gift-giving
while chuckling in delight.

The above vision and my other experiences show me that Santa wants us to be happy and gives us presents all year. His love is unconditional and constant.

I find Him to truly be a jolly old elf, to borrow the phrase from The Night Before Christmas. He’s always looking for ways to bring me happiness, and not just on Yule, but the whole Yule season and the whole year.

Common Sense and Mystic Revelations

Plain ol’ common sense can cause a revelation. Too many people think revelation has to be airy, ungrounded, so high up in the sky that it is unreachable—unachievable for all but a few lofty, superior beings. Ick! Here’s an example of common sense leading to revelation: Santa’s jolliness, His gift-giving to all, His elvish smile—that adds up to being utterly Pagan!

What Is Yule?

Yule is one of eight annual Pagan festivals—also called Sabbats. These are days during which great magical power comes forward every year.

Yule is another name for the winter solstice. It occurs in late December, on whichever date is the longest night of the year. Next morning, the rising solstice sun embodies the birth of the Sun King, a solar Deity. He matures and grows stronger as the days become longer and warmer, while the Winter King, who rules in the year’s darkest months, wanes.

The Transformative Power of the Yule Season

I don’t just celebrate the one day of Yule. I cherish the whole winter season.

For one thing, it is filled with magic. An example: if I surrender to the dark of the weather, I feel a stillness—a safe darkness, like being tucked into bed at night by a loving mother, a safe darkness underlying all the moments of a winter day, an underlying safe, joyful darkness, an underlying safe, joyful, peaceful darkness. I rest in it to be rejuvenated and empowered.

That’s only one winter magic I adore. The transformative and other enchantments of the Yule season are many.

Santa’s magic helps create this transformative power and other wintry magics. Here’s a simple, quick ritual to let in His unconditional love, that it might lift your spirits, grant you bounty, and help you overcome challenges.

Knowing just the wee bit of information in the next three paragraphs will add magic to the rite:

You might be one of Santa’s elves if you spread happiness, hope, and peace during the holiday season. Every elf has their own way of doing it.

In 2013, one of my jobs as a Yule elf was making snow. I had a blast painting about one-hundred unique snowflakes. (Click here, if you want more info about that job, but it’s not necessary for the ritual.)

My painting that kicks off this post portrays my receiving Santa’s love, sent to me through some of the snowflakes I made: He imbued the snowflakes with His unconditional love as a way to send it to me in a snowfall. He does this with all snowflakes, and not just for His elves, but for everyone. And with that, here’s the rite.

Unconditional Love Ritual

Spend about 60 seconds (or far longer if you want) with your head raised to the sky, whether it’s snowing or not, while God’s love tumbles down and kisses you.

If lifting your head skyward is problematic, instead take deep breaths for 60 seconds, during which God’s love will tumble down and kiss you. No fancy breathing needed, just deep, natural breaths.

Try doing the ritual three times a week for a few weeks, as an experiment to see how you and your life change.

His love is constant, so you can do this ritual any time of the year.

Instead of this ritual, or in addition to it, you can invite unconditional love in by meditating on my painting for 60 seconds (or far longer if you want).

Santa Magic Is Powerful

Once, after experiencing Santa in a ritual, I felt so yummy that I understood why Yule elves wear curly-toed shoes. It’s because Santa’s energy is so good that it just curls your toes. My feet almost felt tickled. And they woke up from some deadening caused by a medical problem—winter magic is powerful indeed.

You Are Invited to Free Yule Rituals.

There will be two rites to choose from, or attend both. Both will draw on the transformative power and other magics of the Yule season. One ceremony will be in my new home in San Francisco. The other will meet via teleseminar aka group phone call.

Further details will be in my newsletter. Click the banner below to subscribe.

Click here for newsletter. Fairy freebies, upcoming events, and stardust

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Gratitude

It would not be a Faerie Thanksgiving unless there was some out and out mysticism to stoke the embers of our fey souls.Gratitude

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Gratitude

My generous Gods, thank you.

The colors in outer space
always take my breath away;
they sing to my fey soul.

The colors in outer space
are my palette (and palate).
With it, I can paint
the entire cosmos,
all my cells,
and my cherished Gods.

May my paintings and poems be honest.
________________________

Click here to learn about the Faerie Ritual Set: https://www.outlawbunny.com/2014/06/11/frs

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Centered!

Finding the Spiritual Center of My Art
AKA I’m Giving Up Fabric Painting

The past four years have been an amazing journey for me as an artist. It’s been a time of exploration and finding the spiritual center of my art.

BeautyMoi2OB2010, I found out I can draw ‘n’ paint, and started painting on cloth. (Click here for that story.)

Previously, I’d enjoyed making talismanic jewelry, but decided to paint instead, because I enjoyed it even more.

For me, it’s important that art is functional. Talisman jewelry fit the bill. Then fabric art did too; for example, I made altar cloths.

So why am I moving away from fabric painting?

My art studio was without heat during a long freezing winter. That was the tip of a synchronistic iceberg. Long story short, my Gods made it clear, through one mind boggling event after another, that it was time to do something different as an artist.

I am blessed that my fabric art sells. In this economy, it’s hard to leave behind that source of income. But, if I forged on with it, I know the income from it would evaporate, as further reinforcement of my Gods’ message that I should move onto my next creative stage. Heh, my Gods communicate in an utterly clear way when I get stubborn.

2ndYuleWrth1EditedOBI have no regrets about doing fabric art for four years. It was a joyful way to learn to draw and paint. I made myself and other people beautiful items that have spiritual meaning. For four years, I joyfully experienced meditative immersion in paints, dyes, and silks. But self-expression requires admitting when an art form is no longer working.

The freezing studio and other road blocks to fabric painting affirmed a longing that had been growing in me a long time:

I want my painting to be more closely aligned with the rest of my shamanic work. Yes, my fabric art and jewelry, etc., are expressions of my shamanism—e.g., I transmit blessings by making an altar cloth or wearable talismanic art. But I want to tie it ALL together—the blessings, my teaching, my counseling, my art. Digital art suits this to a T, at least for me.

So now I’m focusing on digital art, which I’d started shortly after fabric art. Even when I first tried digital art, I found it organically integrated directly into all the rest of my shamanism. Now I want to focus on that!

One of my first ways to integrate it all together is the Faerie Ritual Set: For Spells, Divination, Soul Journeying, and More. E.g., The set has a magical training in it, along with prints of my digital art that are central to the magic.

Sampler of art by Francesca De Grandis,  from the Book of Shadows in the Faerie Rifual Set

To see details, click on this sampler of Francesca De Grandis’s art from the Faerie Ritual Set Book of Shadows.

The Faerie Ritual Set proved to me how much I want all expressions of my shamanism together, in the strongest possible weave. Creating the set made my heart sing, and using the set myself curls my toes! 🙂

I’m grateful my Gods gave such clear guidance, so fabric art does not distract me from this more integrative process. Following my heart is improving how I serve my wonderful community as a shaman.

That wraps up my discussion about finding the spiritual center of my art, but I want you to know that important pieces of my fabric art and talismanic jewelry are still available. If you liked that phase of my art, it’s not too late to acquire pieces.

Some of the remaining items are in my shop, and I’ll add another one every day: https://www.etsy.com/shop/outlawbunny. Check daily for these shamanic artifacts, while they last, because they support your unique journey. Blessed be.

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Artists Like Money

Artists$

SMI Button

Artists like money.

We’re different from other people, who are above such minor considerations.

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Crazy like a fox? Share my insanity. Click here.

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Creativity and Trust

Trusting the creative process, with all its starts and halts, confusions and contusions, is challenging. But it is needed to make visions come true.

We embody that trust by going with the flow; it pours from Divine Source, ensuring our creativity bear fruit. This lesson was brought home to me recently, while working on two major projects simultaneously.

This was a big undertaking. The last time I’d focused on two major (non-oral-tradition) projects simultaneously was 1998, releasing Be a Goddess! and my music album within a year of each other.

One of the new projects is a book, yet to be released. The other is the Faerie Ritual Set. My hope was to release both within six months of each other.

I’d gone back-and-forth between the two projects for a long time. When I needed a break from one of them, or one was with a friend for a critique, or whatever, I switched. I often worked on one in the background while truly focusing on the other.

Then I got a bad cold for a whole month, at a critical time—close to the book’s holiday release date. (Originally, the book was going to be released before the Faerie Ritual Set.) The month delay made a holiday release impossible. I decided an early spring release would still be ok.

So then I finished the book’s close-to-final-draft, and sent it to someone for pivotal final feedback. The project got delayed with him. Here is where I learned my lesson.

FRS_DetailAt first, his delay gave me the chance to catch up on rest and tidy my office. But continuing to wait would have created too long an empty time. Of course, emptiness can be awesome. Sometimes, the Universe halts our plans because we need to face the void or get rest or play with our pets or … (those are all part of the creative process). But this was not one of those times: My gut wisdom told me I had to move ahead.

But I couldn’t work on the Faerie Ritual Set, because it was in final stages, the immense creative elements of which I could not wrap my brain around while still mentally holding details about the impending final push on the book. A brain can only hold so much.

Argh, the book was almost done! It was my precious baby—the thought of stopping right at the finish line ripped at my heart.

I faced a choice. Should I whine and shake my fist at the sky, while stomping about in the remains of ruined plans? Should I continue to wait and waste months of my life?

Or should I trust the creative process, and go with the flow? Should I embody that trust—and flow—by finding a way to be productive, serving community instead of feeling miserably blocked, impaled by my navel-gazing about the trials of a creative personality?

It is easy to get lost in frustration, because creating is difficult in many ways. But all my hard work was no excuse for moping around waiting for the impossible! I temporarily forsook the book and finished up the Faerie Ritual Set.

It was just released. It exists, it is spectacular, and it is helping people. None of that would be true, if I had railed against the flow endlessly. The Faerie Ritual Set, too, is my baby—it wanted my attention, and it is thriving.

Yup, going with the flow embodies trust in the creative process. But we have to know what that actually look like in real life. Well, it can manifest in many (contradictory) ways. My tale illustrates three:

1) We might need to plow on, producing something useful to our community.

2) We might need to stop work for self-care, e.g., naps to get over a cold (or a vid binge when our brains stop functioning, LOL).

3) We might need to stick to a project over the longterm, which allows us to back away now and then: The book may be delayed until 2016. I’ve decided to move back to California. All the work of moving, along with my wonderfully full schedule of clients and students, are enough on my plate, for now. But the notes needed to finish the book are ready, and I will be too.

Naps. Hard work. Vid binges. A moratorium on moping. Getting work done when other work was not possible. These acts allowed me to feel incredible fulfillment through creating the Faerie Ritual Set. I will birth the book too, when its time comes.

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