tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77795837978415757602024-02-21T03:19:30.636-05:00Love is Stronger than DeathAepril SchaileAeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-19125742560684940882014-01-08T16:57:00.004-05:002014-01-08T16:58:47.954-05:00Winter's Gifts
I am not complaining about Winter. I love it.I know that most assume that I am an extrovert, but no, I am not. I am a performer. This is different. I am an "introverted exhibitionist".Winter gives me a wonderful opportunity to go within even further, without the demands of too much "people time". Don't get me wrong--I'm not generally a misanthrope. I do care for other people. I just need Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-67687699038333492032013-02-10T09:31:00.003-05:002013-02-10T18:18:55.929-05:00Shadow Shadow work is everywhere right now. I see its efforts and effects in friends I've known for years, and in people who are now beginning to take a more prominent role in my life. These relationships we have with one another--poking and prodding the wounded places, offering good medicine and healing, sometimes less then consciously. Ouch! Ooops, I did I bump you? I didn't mean to hit that nerve. I Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-11064781688852406642012-12-20T18:22:00.003-05:002012-12-21T12:22:02.162-05:00Happy Winter Solstice!
Wishing all a very merry Yule, and a happy, healthy rebirth of the Light!
A Leaf From The Tree of Songs
By Adam Christianson
When harpers once in wooden hallA shining chord would strikeTheir songs like arrows pierced the soulOf great and low alike
Aglow by hearth and candleflameFrom burning branch ot emberThe mist of all their music sangAs if to ask in wonder
Is there a moment Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-63723546021329273662012-05-25T19:14:00.000-04:002012-05-26T08:51:56.659-04:00"K" is for Kabbalah
I have begun a study of Kabbalah. Or maybe, more accurately,
Qabalah with a "Q", as it is the hermetic form of Kabbalah that
interests me most.
As I am merely a beginning student (and will probably consider myself so even after years of study), I don't have many words of wisdom to impart! So instead, for this week's Pagan Blog Project entry, I post a few images of Kabbalah that Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-73148008637702210372012-05-18T11:57:00.000-04:002012-05-18T17:25:43.602-04:00"J" is for: Is it My Job?
I’ve received many responses to my post A Witch Who Cannot Hex, Cannot Heal, (“H” for the Pagan Blog Project). The majority have been supportive and
positive. Some people have even said that they have felt liberated by what I said.
Wow! Other people have disagreed, and that’s fine. Not everyone is going to be
comfortable with the ideas in the post.
But one argument stands outAeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-41534397928302566772012-05-01T11:51:00.001-04:002012-05-01T11:51:52.648-04:00Happy May Day! A Blessed Beltaine to you!!!Blessed Beltaine to all my friends near and far! And a very blessed Samhain to my friends in the southern half of Gaia.
I am loving this video slideshow of the Betaine Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I intend to make it my business to be there next year!
Love and Eros,
Aepril
Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-62574010639044620862012-04-26T13:30:00.001-04:002012-04-26T13:30:39.488-04:00serpent moonPlease visit my dance and health diary, serpent moon. I write for one cycle of the moon, new moon to new moon, to create better habits and authentically chronicle my practice.
serpent moon:
http://serpentmoondance.blogspot.com/
Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-16029370746750410522012-04-20T20:12:00.002-04:002012-04-21T13:54:40.626-04:00Hekate, and Aiming Above Morality
Tonight is the Dark of the Moon. It is Hekate's time.
I work with Hekate tonight. She has called me to that. Her call is unmistakable to me, like the time at Winter Solstice 2011 when I stood outside at the crossroads, the liminal space where all is possible and ghosts dwell. Here in Salem, there was an odd winter thunderstorm, and the thunder clapped and boomed, and lightning flashed. Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-23812403888803493612012-04-13T19:27:00.000-04:002012-04-14T00:44:38.377-04:00A Witch Who Cannot Hex, Cannot Heal ("H" is for Hexing and Healing)“A Witch who Cannot Hex, Cannot Heal…”.
This statement is often met with a sharp intake of breath, as though the utterance of the statement is in itself a curse.
But don’t you know about the threefold law?
I do know that some people believe in that law, but I do not. Experience has shown me that there are laws in Nature of cause and effect, that there is the power of intention and Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-41774603959381199382012-04-07T03:35:00.000-04:002012-04-07T03:35:28.105-04:00"G" is for Gwyddion the magick dog
Photo by Pamela Joye
Gwyddion has been a part of our family now for over 6 weeks. A rescue dog from Arkansas, Gwyddie has taken to his New England digs like a fish to water.
A slippery fish at that! Gwyddion was aptly named for the Welsh Trickster-Magician-Hero of Welsh mythology. He is a tricky little fellow, part Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) and, we think, part Pointer. He is Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-18068594088464563002012-04-04T13:15:00.000-04:002012-04-04T16:04:42.801-04:00What is Theatrical Bellydance?
I've been involved in many a discussion about what makes Bellydance "Theatrical".
Let me put forth the Wikipedia definition of theatre, and go from there:
"Theatre (in American English usually theater[1]) is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-44253402022922893812012-03-23T11:44:00.001-04:002012-03-23T11:48:05.611-04:00“F” is for the Goddess Flora, and Flowers.
Spring has come early to Salem, MA. Its only March, and
we’ve had many summery days already.
Next week I will be having artist Sharonn Bradbury of Witch
City Ink complete my tattoo of flowers along both side of my hips and belly. We
chose to do Lilies, a flower of remembrance, grieving, beauty, and also of the
Goddess Lilith.
Last fall, my sister died. Not long after that, my friend
and Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-56107352620977526382012-03-16T17:35:00.001-04:002012-03-16T20:51:59.286-04:00“F” is for Forest Witch
The clearest
way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
I am a Shamanic Witch, and my love is the Forest.
The Forest is symbolic of the unconscious and its mysteries. It is an entryway into the Lower world, the world of shadow and transformation. In fairytales, the heroic Princess often has to travel the forest to transform herself. She meets Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-90565545038747874842012-03-02T18:24:00.003-05:002012-03-02T22:41:57.675-05:00E is for ErisEris is known in mythology as Goddess of Strife and Discord.
She opposes Harmonia (harmony) and stirs things up, making gods and humans
alike very...well...upset.
But Eris does not show up for no reason. She is a goddess,
after all, and therefore Her functions are sacred. But she is dark, and She
could be thought of as the darkest goddess of all.
She causes discord when She is left out, Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-5830394755241385102012-01-25T13:59:00.002-05:002012-01-25T14:03:59.448-05:00The Grey and the Shadow
I am a Wolf mother. And I am pissed.
I just heard today about the release of a movie called The Grey. It stars Liam Neeson and is about a group of men who brave the Alaska wilderness and are attacked by a pack of Grey Wolves.
I understand that like all fictional movies, it is supposed to be fantasy. So here is what I have to say about this particular fantasy: it sucks.
Over the last few Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-35191887791874814382011-11-13T12:20:00.001-05:002011-11-13T13:08:47.563-05:00Germany and Rome Travels: Part One
I am having such an INTENSE time!!!Where do I start?
Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning.…
My arrival in Strasbourg, France (right across the border from Germany) was at 10:40 AM Europe time, so to me it felt like 4:40 AM. Yet, even after a long flight across the pond, and having to ride two buses to get to my plane in Paris that would take me to Strasbourg, I was wide awake when IAeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-58064313864786097852011-10-21T13:30:00.001-04:002011-10-21T13:43:24.623-04:00Samhain Travels!I am getting ready. I am simultaneously getting ready for my DVD pre-release party, and for my trip to Europe for two Bellydance festivals.
I am both excited and melancholy. While the DVD did not get packaged in time for the party tonight--or the travels--I am still excited about its pending release. Theatre of the Dark Goddess has been a great labor of love, indeed. I am excited to be Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-21498319991532953432011-09-20T19:45:00.000-04:002011-09-20T19:46:29.130-04:00"Shamanic Bellydance" article"Shamanic Bellydance" In Belly Dance New England - Featured Articles
My article "Shamanic Bellydance" has been published! Please read. Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-90649815910460002732011-09-02T21:28:00.000-04:002011-09-02T23:01:32.527-04:004 years ago, Coda became spiritToday is a special day. It's the four-year anniversary of Coda's passing into the world of spirit.
This is always a very emotionally charged day for me. Coda's passing was difficult. Yet each anniversary I feel in awe of the powers of Nature, the beauty of impermanence, the importance of being here in the Now, like Coda was.
Mike and I spend the night of September 1 with the candles on Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-65486112471366736532011-08-29T15:40:00.005-04:002011-08-29T19:42:58.249-04:00The Dead Sea: ButohAn audience member at a show I once performed at told me that my dance performance remided her of the Japanese art of Butoh.
Knowing little about Butoh, I decided to learn more. A few months back I found this beautiful video of the artist Kazuo Ono who was at least in his 80's at the time.
Info from "bobdena" on YouTube:
A short clip of butoh's co-founder Kazuo Ono dancing. Date unknown, Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-63335317559066012962011-08-11T18:36:00.001-04:002011-08-11T18:36:58.088-04:00Witch DanceI love this piece Witch Dance, the one for which Mary Wigman is of course most famous. The German Expressionists certainly knew how to do shadow material!
Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-21818415679702010332011-08-08T17:44:00.005-04:002011-08-09T18:21:53.028-04:00Spiritual DanceI was recently asked by a friend over tea: (paraphrased) How does your spirituality influence your bellydancing?
I answer this question differently every time I'm asked, revealing its complex and fluid nature. And it's a subject that is of great import to me.
My forthcoming Bellydance DVD, Theatre of the Dark Goddess, deals with many threads involved in the relationship Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-80687037860490137672011-07-31T12:07:00.010-04:002011-07-31T13:39:35.504-04:00Winslow Farm Animal SanctuaryOn Friday, Mike and I went to Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary.
I've wanted to visit ever since I saw a spotlight on the place on NECN; it showed a peaceful place full of love for the rescued animals that resided there. Located in Norton, MA, Winslow cares for goats, horses, cats, dogs, peacocks, pigs, geese, doves, chickens, turtles, donkeys, lamas, alpacas, sheep, emus---all Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com0Norton, Massachusetts, USA41.936144 -71.16504099999997441.596658999999995 -71.479678999999976 42.275629 -70.850402999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-70058930505478925782011-07-25T11:18:00.002-04:002011-07-25T12:07:51.993-04:00I miss being a forest witchI miss being a forest witch!
(Right after I wrote the above statement, a cacophony of crows and jays began calling! I love corvids!)
I love Salem, don't get me wrong. Witch City, indeed! But it's a suburb. I am wishing for more breathing room again. I would love more isolation, more room to be with the forest, listening and working and playing in it.
I've lived like this beforeAeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7779583797841575760.post-28766832023402836262011-07-19T17:08:00.009-04:002011-07-25T22:12:22.839-04:00Prayer of St Francis, Patron saint of animals, nature, and the environmentI was reminded of The Prayer of St Francis as Mike and I stood by a statue of St Francis last night. It was a beautiful summer night, and our thoughts, as they often do, turned to Coda. Standing next to the Protector of animals and nature, my thoughts also turned to the animal sanctuary I hope to create someday.
The Prayer of St Francis was a consolation to me when Coda Aeprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00474421407970763721noreply@blogger.com5