Category: Spirituality

  • To my soulmate…..

    Hello,

    I came across this article just yesterday online. It addresses something which Mambo Sam has said, well, forever, which is this more than one person (some call it soul mates) for each of us.  I believe many of us have experienced that strong moment of recognition of another person that is almost indescribable. You feel as if you know them, I mean really know them, and yet how can that logically be when your first glimpse of him/her was just a moment ago?

    Imagine if there were truly only one person we were supposed to meet up with while here on Earth. How long would the odds be that first, we would actually find them… it is a big planet, after all. And then if we do find them, that they are available? And that we are also available? And then that there is no cultural or economic or other issue which is not getting in the way? See where this is going?

    With that in mind, it makes sense to me that we have multiple opportunities to love in this life. Because, as the author sums up so well…

    "It is powerful to acknowledge these soulmates and thank them for the small reminder that in this massive, swallowing world we are never without the possibility of love."

    Hope you enjoy the article!

    Love,

    Sister Bridget

     

    Begin article:

    To my Soulmate which I choose not to love

    by Janne Robinson

    I have a theory that we have multiple “ones.”

    That there is not just one soul reserved for us to love, learn and go deep with.

    This was a hard lesson to learn, meeting my first soulmate, one—what have you, and realizing I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life with him.

    I remember grieving the day he got engaged, because in a hopeful, stubborn way part of my heart had refused—until that moment—to believe he wasn’t my forever person.

    He was on the wishful back burner of my heart.

    I called my mother, in tears and she told me that he still was my person. He still was a one. He was still my soul mate.

    I realized that just because he wasn’t my forever didn’t invalidate his importance in my life and our connection.

    Our connection has remained something incredibly significant, something I fall back upon in my heart when I need to.

    When I need to remember exactly what I want in a partner, I remember what a staggering soul he is—and I wait.

    I want to talk today about the other “ones,” the soulmates we may meet while we are single or in a relationship that we don’t end up with.

    That we have a sure fire connection with, real as any—but because of timing we don’t always go deep with.

    I think it is incredibly mature to, without shame, acknowledge that in our lifespan we will bump into handfuls of succulent souls we want to take a bite out of.

    Whether we are single, in a relationship, engaged or married we will run into other ones.

    I also don’t think acknowledging these connections means we love our partners or want to be in our relationship less—it just means there’s a f*ck ton of souls/lovers on this planet we could dance with/learn from.

    They are the ones we meet in a coffee line-up, the one beside us in our yoga class, the guy at the bbq who’s engaged.

    It’s the ones we meet and feel an undeniably powerful connection.

    A connection that leaves us wanting to know more.

    I think we make a choice, whether we engage in these connections.

    These words are for the ones we meet and don’t explore. 

    The ones we love fully but don’t spend the rest of our lives with.

    Those we run into at the grocery store and never see again.

    The lovers we never take apart with our lips.

    The partners we don’t open to and go deep with.

    The people we don’t have a chance to have a first soul dip with.

    The soul mates we skip coffee with, and look over our shoulder—for just a slight moment and wonder about.

    The connections that exist that are missed, by choice.

    Because we are involved, because they are unavailable, because one is simply not ready for love.

    These ones are just as important as the forever–for we are here to connect, and what a gift to know that there are endless humans to open our hearts to and dance with.

    What a treat to grow with multiple souls in a lifespan, or to simply know there are others out there who want to grow with us.

    It is powerful to acknowledge these soulmates and thank them for the small reminder that in this massive, swallowing world we are never without the possibility of love.

     

  • A new look at Ancestor Service.

    As Vodouisants, calling on, feeding, and honoring our ancestors is something we are very familiar with. Our Ancestors are a part of us; they are with us and around us always. Ancestors can be called on as a group, or individually. It is fairly traditional to hold an Ancestor service one a year, but they can be held anytime at all. Just yesterday I was at one of my favorite spots in a local cemetery, and came across this site***

    Partygrave1

      Partygrave2 copy

    The family and friends of this departed little boy had held his tenth birthday party for him. At first, a wave of sadness passed through me. But after a moment, I realized the people at this party were far from sad. I could see them decorating with streamers, laughing and joking, sharing stories about their little one, but also telling stories to him. I am certain there was a cake with candles, balloons, presents (which were left here with him) and punch. He was very much a participant in his own celebration. 

    Even though this young person passed before many of those in his family, he is still of their blood, and thus, now an Ancestor. The openness and joy in this birthday party was, for me, very moving.  It has given me much to consider (or reconsider) about the “routine” my own service has fallen into. I plan on shaking things up a bit next time around! 

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

    (***Names and dates have been photoshopped out)

     

  • Words of Wisdom from Mambo !

    Hi there-

    As I was hunting through some old files just now, looking for something completely different, I ran across this post by Mambo Sam from back on the old Yahoo! forum! (Remember when….. hee hee) Anyhow, it seemed relevent to a few folks I have spoken to this week, so I decided to dust it off and repost it 🙂

    Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some warm summer sun!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

    Begin post:

    JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS, SELF SABOTAGE, AND MORE
     
    Hello everyone,
    I wanted to post a few words here (which I have done before) about
    certain people immediately jumping to conclusions about their heart's
    desire, self-sabotaging their own work, and not giving spell work its
    due time.
     
    Sorry, (Yahoo! forum name redacted!)  you get to be my guinea pig for this post, but
    believe me you are in excellent company! :-)
     
    So you saw your HD's car at her current boyfriend's house, or his at
    her's or whatever: So the immediate conclusion is that the spells
    aren't working (which are barely finished, by the way), they MUST be
    getting closer, I'm going to tell her off/cut her off from the one
    real contact I have with her (really bad idea), etc., etc. Folks,
    this is so common of a reaction that it isn't even funny anymore.
     
    I have posted many times about how spell work ebbs and flows, how the
    target of the spell work has to come to some conclusions on their
    own, how sometimes the couple you are trying to break up seems to get
    closer - because that is what needs to happen for them to see just
    how bad they are for each other.
     
    When you choose the path of spell work, you are choosing to do
    something proactive in your case. Additionally, you now carry the
    burden of knowledge and patience. YOU know about they spell work,
    THEY don't (hopefully, right?). With this knowledge comes
    responsibility of allowing the process to happen in the way that is
    best for all involved. This is a SPIRITUAL path, most of the rules
    of the PHYSICAL world no longer apply. Yes, I said "most" - because
    obviously some still do apply - we still live in the physical world,
    after all.
     
    However, too many of you are just very willing to shoot yourself in
    the foot! If you are lucky enough to have any kind of cordial
    contact with your heart's desire, why would you want to cut that off?
    Because it is too "painful" for you? Well, obviously it was too
    painful to be without them, thus you have embarked on a spiritual
    path to your goal. This brings the responsibility of being the
    bigger person. Spell work is not without responsibility to the spell
    caster. This means that you have chosen to do both the spiritual
    work and the physical work to try to obtain your goal.
     
    Is there the possibility of failure? Yes, of course. But this is
    true with any worthwhile endeavor - there is always the possibility
    of failure. But failure after having tried your best is no shame;
    with anything, if you have to walk away from it and you tried all you
    knew to do, then you have not really failed at all. You made the
    supreme effort.
     
    Therefore, if you were willing to make the supreme effort, please be
    willing to see it through. There is so much hyseteria over little
    things lately that I wonder what some of you are thinking. I have
    posted over and over again that there are ups and downs, there are
    times when things seem to regress, this is a natural part of the
    progress. Of course, it is normal to be disheartened or to feel
    bad, but some of you seem to allow that to permeate your very soul.
    Negativity is a very strong energy and as human beings, for whatever
    reason, we seem to gravitate to it more readily than we do to
    positive energy.
     
    It's like I have told a couple of you during consultations, humans
    will embrace the least little negative thing: Let's say you have a
    new outfit and go to a party wearing it. 19 people tell you that you
    look great in it; the 20th person you talk to says you look terrible
    in the outfit. You will never wear it again. The 19 peoples' good
    opinions are out the window; the 20th person's bad opinion sticks in
    your head. So, negative energy is easy to embrace and we all do it;
    it is a fight to embrace and stay positive. But, it is something you
    should all strive to do. Quit being so ready to sabotage yourself at
    every turn. Please.
     
    Love,
    Mambo Sam


    END POST!

     

  • Rutt Rowe and other things….

    Hello!

    For a while now, I have been following Mike Rowe on Facebook.  You may remember Mike from the TV show Dirty Jobs, or recognise his voice from the Deadliest Catch.  Mike is a smart guy, and has alot of interesting things to say.  He is not political. He is not irrational. He is well read, realistic and very well spoken.  He has a foundation in which he is working hard to create well trained workers to fill the many open job opportunities here in America. His posts can be very entertaining (see the ones about the contest to name his new puppy – Fred won, but I was so rooting for Rutt!). Today, tho, I read some words from Mike that fully stopped me in my tracks…..

    "What you do, who you’re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you."

    Seems simple at first glance, right? Obvious, even. Then sit with it a while and see what questions come up for you.  Do you begin to notice some icky little demons pop out of the closet in your mind? Boundary issues?  Empowerment struggles? Self doubt? I know I did!

    It is worth a little time to sit with these words and examine what in you is holding you back from being happy. Happy in your relationships, Happy in your job, Happy in your head – The choice is ours. It always  has been.

    Love,

    Sister Bridget

    PS Thanks, Mike. And if you ever do decide to run for President, you have my vote!

    Mike rowe

     

     

     

  • Freya, a May Queen.

     

    “With a crown of the lilies of light —

    For a maiden they crowned her in May,
     For the Queen of the Daughters of Day
     That are flowers of the forest of Night.”

    ~~~May Queen by Aleister Crowley

     

    Freya, a May Queen.

    Yesterday, during our Family Beltaine/ May Day activities, I played the role of the May Queen.  Mambo Sam spoke about the holiday and its significance, and how it is celebrated in many cultures across the world. Today, I was doing some reading about the May Queen and how she is represented in other places and times. I found myself drawn to some information about Freya, an important Germanic Goddess.  Her main festival is May Day.  Walpurgisnacht ‘Walpurga’s Night,’ when the festival actually begins, is April 30, the evening before May Day is named for Freya.  This time of year coincides loosely with the first dew fall, that is the time of year when frost no longer forms at night, but rather the temperature remains above freezing at least for some of the nights. This change in the weather allows the growth of green things and the blooming of all the flowers. This in turn allows for the cattle to be turned out of their winter quarters and released to  graze on the new grass which increases the amount and quality of milk available to humans.

    Walpurgisnacht is not named after St. Walburga, as is commonly said. However, the saint’s name became attached to the festival as a way of “explaining” the meaning of the name of the holiday. St. Walburga’s feast day is set to May 1st because that was already the name of a major festival of Freya. The pretense that the festival of Walpurgisnacht is named for St. Walburga provides a convenient way of obscuring the festival’s older Pagan origin.

    Freya’s domain is the garden, especially a walled garden with fruit trees, properly an orchard with a spring or well. She is responsible for making the flowers bloom and she is always associated with flowers especially flowering trees. As a Goddess of spring time, she is especially associated with romantic love among human beings. Songs of love are well-pleasing to her; it is good to call on her for furtherance in love.

    An important event in the changing of the seasons was the moving of livestock from their winter pastures to summer pastures, and vice versa.  In some areas of Europe, as the weather permitted, cattle were moved to summer pastures during the May Day/ Walpurgis/ Spring  time festivities and Freya was invoked for their protection and fertility.

    The following Middle High German charm is to protect cows when they are turned out into the forest, as they were in spring in northern Europe. The exact date would depend on the climate and when the grass was sufficient to support the cattle, though some traditions closely associate this prayer with May Day and associated festivities. “Lady” may refer to the Goddess Freya, the Virgin Mary, or to any unspecified but highly respected woman. The ambiguity may be intentional, and possibly life-saving, since people could ask for assistance from the Goddess while pretending to refer to one of the Christian deities.

    Herdsman’s Charm to Protect Cows

    Today my herd I drove into our Lady’s grove,
    Into Abraham’s garden; Be, good St. Martin,
    this day my pledge and warden,
    and good St. Wolfgang, good St. Peter,
    (whose key can heaven unlock),
    throat of wolf and vixen block,
    against blood shedding, and bone shredding.
    Help me, holy one, who ill hath never done,
    and [by] his five holy wounds;
    keep my herd from all wood-hounds!
    [Say] 5 Pater Nosters (Our Fathers) and 5 Hail Marys

    StampIMG_0345v2

     

    Hope you enjoyed reading about this as much as I did!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

     

     

     

  • New video with Mambo Sam.

     Hello!

    Many clients ask us what happens during the spell casting process. What happens before, during and after? Well, we can not show *everything* but there are some things we can share! In this video by Mambo Sam, Mambo explains about the end of the casting process – what is involved, where it takes place, what offerings are made, what some of the closing prayers are. It may seem strange to begin at the end, BUT endings really are not endings, are they? Especially where spellwork is concerned!

    Hope you enjoy!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

  • On the death of a Beloved.

    Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Sister Candelaria.  To me, these past few weeks seem quite surreal. I am very grateful that Sister's suffering is no more, and that she is in the arms of other departed loved ones. Still, the hole left is a great one. Words are very difficult at this time. I feel the poem below begins to say a bit how things are feeling now. In the days to come, there will be celebrations of Sister's life and tears for her loss. For now, rest well, Sweet Sister.

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

    On the Loss of a Beloved by John O'Donoghue

    Though we need to weep your loss,
    You dwell in that safe place in our hearts,
    Where no storm or might or pain can reach you.

    Your love was like the dawn
    Brightening over our lives
    Awakening beneath the dark
    A further adventure of colour.

    The sound of your voice
    Found for us
    A new music
    That brightened everything.

    Whatever you enfolded in your gaze
    Quickened in the joy of its being;
    You placed smiles like flowers
    On the altar of the heart.
    Your mind always sparkled
    With wonder at things.

    Though your days here were brief,
    Your spirit was live, awake, complete.

    We look towards each other no longer
    From the old distance of our names;
    Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,
    As close to us as we are to ourselves.

    Though we cannot see you with outward eyes,
    We know our soul's gaze is upon your face,
    Smiling back at us from within everything
    To which we bring our best refinement.

    Let us not look for you only in memory,
    Where we would grow lonely without you.
    You would want us to find you in presence,
    Beside us when beauty brightens,
    When kindness glows
    And music echoes eternal tones.

    When orchids brighten the earth,
    Darkest winter has turned to spring;
    May this dark grief flower with hope
    In every heart that loves you.

    May you continue to inspire us:

    To enter each day with a generous heart.
    To serve the call of courage and love
    Until we see your beautiful face again
    In that land where there is no more separation,
    Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,
    And where we will never lose you again.

  • Voodoo and Rock & Roll.

    Hello!

    I hope you all are doing well, and are enjoying the last few weeks of summer! I spent a truly perfect, late summer evening recently at a Bruce Springsteen concert. The weather was perfect, the show was awesome! Really, truly a night to remember.

    During the show, Bruce spent a few minutes remembering band members who were no longer with him, but were very present in Spirit. During the introduction to “My City of Ruin” he explained how he wrote this song with Ghosts in mind. Bruce talked about how, when we are young, we are made to be afraid of ghosts. That ghosts are about unknown and frightening things. Things we feared in the dark, and wished would go away. Now, as we are older, we find the ghosts that walk with us to be comforting, familiar, and a rememberance of good times, love, and how precious every moment of life is. How we welcome the ghosts of our past, and welcome them to walk along side us.

    I hope you enjoy this video of Bruce singing City of Ruins.

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

     

     

    Lyrics – My City of Ruins

    There’s a blood red circle

    on the cold dark ground

    and the rain is falling down

    The church doors blown open

    I can hear the organ’s song

    But the congregation’s gone

    My city of ruins

    My city of ruins

    Now the sweet veils of mercy

    drift through the evening trees

    Young men on the corner

    like scattered leaves

    The boarded up windows

    The hustlers and thieves

    While my brother’s down on his knees

    My city of ruins

    My city of ruins

    Come on rise up!

    Come on rise up!

    Now there’s tears on the pillow

    darling where we slept

    and you took my heart when you left

    without your sweet kiss

    my soul is lost, my friend

    Now tell me how do I begin again?

    My city’s in ruins

    My city’s in ruins

    Now with these hands

    I pray Lord

    with these hands

    for the strength Lord

    with these hands

    for the faith Lord

    with these hands

    I pray Lord

    with these hands

    for the strength Lord

    with these hands

    for the faith Lord

    with these hands

    Come on rise up!

    Come on rise up!

    Rise up

  • Healing by Danna Faulds

    Healing

    by Danna Faulds

    There is healing in the laying on of hands;
    in the letting go of fear, in asking for help,
    in silence, celebration, prayer. There is
    healing in speaking the truth and in keeping
    still, in seeking sunlight and not shunning
    struggle. Laughter and the affirmation of
    wholeness hold their own healing.  When
    the soul dances, when the day begins in
    delight, when love grows and cannot be
    contained, when life flows from moment
    to moment, healing happens in the space
    between thoughts, and the breath before
    the first sung note.  Healing is a birthright
    and a grace.   When we dare to be open to
    the unknown, when we extend ourselves
    in caring, when we welcome in the vast
    expanse of life, healing comes from the
    heart, and blossoms from the inside out.

    Butterfly (2)

  • At the Crossroads…..

    Hi there-

    I found this lovely poem the otherday by happenstance (um….NOT!) and read it during a ritual to Papa Legba.  It felt really good when I read it, and I believe I will be using it again. I wanted to share it with you, incase it appeals to you as well. To me, this poem really grabs the heart of what Lebga is about- showing us the way to success and happiness 😉
    Love,

    Sister Bridget

    At the Crossroads  ~~by Sadie Tiller Crawley

    He stood at the crossroads all alone,
    The sunlight in his face;
    He had no thought for an evil course,
    He was set for a manly race.
    But the road stretched east and the
    road stretched west,
    And he did not know which road
    was the best;
    So he took the wrong road and it lead
    him down,
    And he lost the race and the
    victor's crown.
    He was caught at last in an
    angry snare
    Because no one stood at the
    crossroads there
    To show him the better road.
    Another day at the self-same place
    A boy with high hopes stood;
    He, too, was set for a manly race
    He was seeking the things that
    were good.
    And one was there who the roads
    did know,
    And that one showed him the
    way to go;
    So he turned away from the road
    leading down,
    And he won the race and the
    victor's crown;
    He walks today on the highways fair
    Because one stood at the
    crossroads there
    To show him a better road.

     

    Papa-Legba