Now this is a secret I’ve never really told anyone, I fully believed a Phoenix was a real bird until I was easily ten years old.  I didn’t understand why my zoo was so lame as to not even have one. I figured maybe they weren’t allowed due to being a fire hazard.  However, even upon learning that they were a myth, my heart still ached to know one.  They have always fascinated me, and who knows, one day someone in the rainforest of ‘I don’t know where’ stumbles on a baby bird covered in ashes. 

Stranger things have happened.

In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with colorful feathers and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1000 year life span, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its prior self.

The phoenix has become a powerful symbol of steadfastness, survival, and rebirth.  The phoenix legends and symbolism are alive all around us, aside from clothing and tattoo designs, writers such as William Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath, C.S. Lewis, among many others have all written of a phoenix.

And it should be pointed out…Dumbledore has one named Fawkes.

The Ouija board also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a round board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" (occasionally), and "goodbye", along with various symbols and graphics. Currently it is a registered trademark of Hasbro Inc. which markets and distributes the Ouija Board as part of its line of board games. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood) or movable indicator to indicate the spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance. Participants place their fingers on the planchette and it is moved about the board to spell out words.

Spirit boards were a common sight during the spiritualist movement.  Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, based on the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living.

Spiritualism developed and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s.

However, it’s not all fun and games. Mainstream religions and some occultists have associated use of an Ouija board with the threat of demonic possession, and some have cautioned their followers not to use an Ouija board.

Some pagan sects warn against using the Ouija board outside of a sacred circle, or without blessing it beforehand. 

I’ve had mine for years, however it’s never yielded any type of successful result.  Although it does bear an Enochian sigil of blessing to ward away harmful spirits.

What are your experiences with spirit boards?

Not what I expected.  I wrote up a post on the Nazca Lines, but it didn’t feel right posting it today, acting as if yesterday’s tragedy didn’t happen.  So, I decided to be honest,
and I encourage you to be as well in the comments.

It’s the middle of the night and I honestly don’t know what to post.  Should I post how pissed I am?  That every time I see #PrayForBoston on my twitter dash, I want to rip my hair out just as I did with #PrayForNewton.  Pray for them?  To whom should I pray? To the Gods that let children be shot or blown up? I’m beginning to feel more like prey!  I send Boston love, and I hope they are strong, but that is a less catchy hashtag I suppose.

Should I talk about how this one act will alter the lives of thousands of people?  Some were physically shattered, others will never feel safe again, and as I write this three people who should be in this world aren’t.  My head screams the reminder, they were all someone’s child!

Should I talk about what loss can do to people?  How it tears them in half. How they will always be a ‘before and after’ version of themselves.  That I’ve felt the agony of wondering how your world can be demolished, and yet the sun has the audacity to shine, the birds have the nerve to sing.  Of learning a universal truth, although we may share a loss we ultimately suffer alone. 

I want to talk about how this is never ok.  It’s not ok that when the news broke into my Dr. Phil episode, I was not surprised.  I was not shocked by the evil of men.  As a species, we’ve seen that much violence.  I think how debates are so incredibly useless. Gun violence is the flavor of the year, yet here we sit, guns didn’t cause yesterday’s massacre.  It’s not a pro-gun example.  It’s an example of the ingenuity and fortitude of evil men to do evil things.  Take away guns, bombs, knives, it doesn’t matter, they will find a way. 

Last time it was planes.

I want to say this is the world.  The new world.  It’s bloodier and more violent than it used to be as recently as twenty years ago.  I want to prove to myself it’s not as hopeless as it seems, so I rewatch the footage of the explosions and I count the people running toward disaster not away.  The people who wanted to help others they didn’t know, in an unknown and dangerous arena.  I want to see the puzzle, the pattern, something that will make another tragedy seem logical or necessary. 

But I count until my eyes are tired and the screen is blurred. 

I guess I want to say, let’s all try to be better.  Let’s attempt to live in a world where a Monday afternoon massacre is incomprehensible.  Don’t be a saint, just leave places better when you walk away.  We have to fix this, eachother, we have to adopt the resilience of evil men.  We need to find our own way, but we can’t make it on our own.  We need one another.

I guess I need to say that in the end there will be more moments of joy than heartache.

I will say it to myself and to you.

Until at least one of us believes it.

A Memento Mori (Latin 'remember that you will die') is an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. 

The most obvious places to look for Memento Mori are in funeral art and architecture. Perhaps the most striking to contemporary minds is the transi, or cadaver tomb, a tomb that depicts the decayed corpse of the deceased. This became a fashion in the tombs of the wealthy in the fifteenth century, and surviving examples still create a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches.

Another example of Memento Mori is provided by the chapels of bones, such as the Capela dos Ossos in Évora or the Capuchin Crypt in Rome. These are chapels where the walls are totally or partially covered by human remains, mostly bones. The entrance to the former has the sentence "We bones, lying here bare, await for yours."

Capela dos Ossos in Évora

Capuchin Crypt

After the invention of photography, many people had photographs taken of recently dead family members. It was quite normal for children to be the main subject of Memento Mori, and often it would be the only picture the parents would ever have of their child.  Given the technical limitations of daguerreotype photography, which required long exposure times, this was one situation where the subject was ideal…since they wouldn't move.

Today’s post is all about life, and you. 

Here are some of the truths about life that I believe in. 

What are some of yours?

Tell us in the comments below!

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"~Mary Oliver

"Grief lasts longer than sympathy, which is one of the tragedies of the grieving."~Elizabeth McCracken

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”~Mae West

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ~Oscar Wilde

“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.”~Groucho Marx

You will need:

One 9-inch Springform pan

1 ½ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

6 Tablespoons Melted Butter

24 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon Grated Lime Zest

2/3 Cup Key Lime Juice

1. Combine cookie or graham cracker crumbs with butter or margarine. Press into bottom and partially up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
2. In a large bowl, beat with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime peel, and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending just until smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low. Finish mixing by hand. Do not overbeat, or cake will crack during baking. Pour batter into prepared crust.
3. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes, or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower rack during baking.
4. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with the door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight, and up to three days.

The jinn are spirits mentioned in the Qur’ān and Islamic theology who inhabit an unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe of humans. Although they bear little resemblance to their Western counterparts genies.  Together, the jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of God. The Qur’an mentions that the jinn are made of a smokeless and scorching fire and they can become corporeal. Like human beings, the jinn can also be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have freewill like humans, but unlike angels.  The jinn are mentioned frequently in the Qurʾan in many different forms.

The jinn are usually invisible to humans, and humans do not appear clearly to them. Jinn have the power to travel large distances at extreme speeds and are thought to live in remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. Like humans, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgment and will be sent to Paradise or Hell according to their deeds.

A related belief is that every person is assigned one's own special jinn, also called a qarin, of the jinn and if the qarin is evil it could whisper to people's souls and tell them to submit to evil desires.

There is no lamp to rub, or wishes to be made.  In the Muslim faith, the jinn are simply another being.  Their ability to help or harm has nothing to do with a wish of fortune or folly. It only has to do with the jinn's will.

The story of Icarus has been a favorite of mine since I was little.  I have always considered it a cautionary tale.  Just because something seems bright and welcoming, doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.  For those of you unfamiliar with the tale, here is a short telling.

Daedalus was an artisan and was commissioned by King Minos of Crete to create a labyrinth for the Kings enemies.  Daedalus eventually told one of Minos’s victims how to escape his maze unharmed.  Due to his treason, he and his son Icarus were forced to flee.

In Greek myth fashion, Daedalus makes two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Daedalus tried his wings first, but before taking off from the island, warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea, but to follow his path of flight. Overcome by the giddiness that flying lent him, Icarus soared through the sky curiously, but in the process, he came too close to the sun, which melted the wax. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms and so Icarus fell into the sea dead in the area which today bears his name, the Icarian Sea.

Horror movies have been my favorite genre since I was a little girl.  No Nick Sparks for me thank you very much.  Purely gory flicks won’t make this list, because if you have a well written story, you don’t need it.  Instead of blood, I want to see the turmoil within the characters.  Do you run?  Do you fight? Do you leave others behind?  Can you hunt if you are also the hunted?  Can you be clever when the world is collapsing around you?

Here are my top 5 Horror Picks.  They make you think, they make your heart race, and they stay with you long after they are over.  If you haven’t seen all of these movies, I urge you to do so at once.  You won’t regret it!

5. Cabin in the Woods

Five friends go on spring break to a Cabin in the Woods.  Sure, you think you know where I’m going with this, but you actually don’t. The blonde isn’t a ditz, the jock is a sociology major, and the stoner has it all figured out. Finely crafted by Joss Whedon, the man who brought you Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse among many others, all you can really count on is the unexpected and superb wit.  With characters you genuinely don’t want to see die, you are holding your breath as the gang realizes they aren’t just being stalked in the woods, they are a part of something much more complex.  Save the world, save your friends, save your own behind, so many decisions to make.  Cabin in the Woods is a truly satisfying movie with an awesome ending that will leave you scavenging for another person to discuss it with!

4. Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 black-and-white American independent horror film directed by George A. Romero and was shot in my hometown! The story follows characters Ben, Barbra, and five others trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania, which is attacked by unnamed "living dead" monsters.  Night of the Living Dead is often referred to as the birthplace of zombies in pop culture today.  Despite controversy surrounding violence in the movie, as well as the male lead being African American (unheard of even in the late 60’s), the movie is still one of the highest grossing horror films of all time.  If you live for The Walking Dead, or you like your zombies a bit slower, rent this next movie night. 

3.  The Fourth Kind

Easily one of the most disturbing movies of all time. The Fourth Kind, told in a documentary format, tells the story of psychiatrist Abbey Tyler.  After the death of her husband, Abbey continues his research into the insomnia that seems to be plaguing the residents of their home in Nome, Alaska.  What she finds is the unnatural commonalities between all the patients. They think they are sleeping, they dream of a Snow Owl, and then they remember nothing.  Abbey decides to take her research a step further and use hypnosis to get to the truth.  What she finds is downright horrifying.  The residents are being abducted from their beds.  However, the deeper she pushes her research the larger the target on her back grows.   The creepiest aspect to this film?  The similarities it shares with real-life documented cases in Alaska and around the world.  The idea of being taken from your home by monsters you can’t understand or fight is truly frightening.  By the end of the film, you will be yearning for a regular old serial killer!

2. Halloween

Halloween is the father of the horror genre. I’ve been asked many times why it is a must see.   It was a simple premise for a movie.  A young boy, Michael Myers, murders his sister in cold blood.  Seventeen years later, he reemerges to kill his other sister.  It set the standard for suspense and pacing that left you glued to the edge of your seat.  With a psychopath on a murderous rampage, only one scene actually contains any blood at all.  The atmosphere and a one-song soundtrack establishes the fear from the very beginning without the gratuitous gore that seems so prevalent in today’s horror flicks. Why should you see it?  The fear and anxiety comes purely from a well-developed plot and great actors.  As Michael races to find his sister, and his Doctor races to stop him, the action is intense. Halloween exploded into not only a franchise, but also resurgence of the horror genre, and for that, we thank it.

1.  Lake Mungo

Shot in the new fad of documentary filming, the movie begins with the untimely death of 16 year old Alice Palmer. She drowns in a dam while on vacation with her family. My first instinct was an annoyed "oh great an Aussie Paranormal Activity" but I was pleasantly surprised this wasn't the case.

Sure, it begins as a ghost story. Alice's brother sets up cameras around the home hoping to capture an image of the beautiful girl the entire family is devastated without. The family is what makes this whole movie work. With genuine sadness, Alice's mother confesses that she never allowed herself to be close to her only daughter. Her brother portrays very believable regret at never fully taking the time to get to know his sister. Finally, it is Alice's father that is most convincing. Taking on the very realistic role of a father who throws himself into his work to escape his sadness, and his family’s grief.

You come to care deeply about this family, especially once you realize as the viewer this is more than just a ghost story. As psychics and friends, family and neighbors are interviewed, you desperately want to know, what DID happen to Alice? You will begin to search the screen for the smallest glimpse of Alice, as you are hit with the realization that every ghost lived a whole life beforehand. As Alice's back-story unfolds secrets come to light, and just when you think you have the movie pegged, it changes gears entirely. As an avid horror buff, this movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire running time.

I can't reveal too much more. This movie was like peeling an onion, layer by layer. However by the end of this movie not only will the characters and stories stick with you. You will look around and begin to wonder what horrifying secrets those around you are keeping, and plan to take to the grave.
Just like Alice.

What do you fear when things go bump in the night? 
What is your favorite scary movie?

Goofer dust is a traditional hexing material and practice of the African American tradition of hoodoo from the South Eastern Region of the United States of America. 

It can generically refer to any powder used to cast a spell, especially if harmful in nature, but specifically refers to a concoction of natural ingredients that can be used to cause harm, trouble or even kill an enemy.  Often it is substituted with graveyard dirt.

In practice, it was often used to create illness in victims, such as swelling of the legs or blindness. Recipes for making it vary, but primarily include graveyard dirt and snakeskin. Other ingredients may include ash, powdered sulfur, salt, powdered bones, and powdered insects. 

As late as the 1930s, goofering was a regional synonym for voodooing, and in North Carolina at least, the meaning of the term was broadened beyond spells of damage, illness, and death to include love spells cast with dominating intent.

Another word for goofering is "poisoning," which in this context does not refer to a physical poison but to a physical agent that, through magical means, brings about an "unnatural illness" or the death of the victim.

Hoodoo and Voodoo can be subjective.  Some think that the powers of a conjurer can only harm you if you believe, most however dismiss this theory.  It is widely believed that the complete faith of the conjurer is required for the spell to work.

Even then, one must be careful what they wish for, lest karma rebounds onto you.  A skilled practitioner would have safeguards to protect themselves from this possibility.

Goofer Dust was a popular lyrical addition to African American blues music, as the knowledge of hoodoo was a large part of that culture. 
Check out Goofer Dust by Big Lucky Carter.