The Desert Path

The Dusty Ramblings of a Desert Pagan

Cat’s Morning Bits for August 21, 2020

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Cat

Cat’s Morning Bits for August 21, 2020

Good Morning Beautiful Souls, grab a cup of your favorite morning brew and start things off with “Today’s Inspirations”. I hope you find something here that will make you feel good or help you on your path today.

Blessings, Cat

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August Events & Holidays

Aug 10 Moon enters Taurus

Aug 11 3rd Qtr Moon 9:44 am PST/ 10:44 am MST/ 12:44 pm EST

Aug 12 Moon enters Gemini

Aug 14 National Navajo Code Talkers Day

Aug 14 Moon enters Cancer

Aug 17 Moon enters Leo

Aug 18 New Moon 7:41 pm PST/ 8:41 pm MST/ 10:41 pm EST

Aug 19 Moon enters Virgo

Aug 21 Moon enters Libra

Aug 23 Sun enters Virgo / Moon enters Scorpio

Aug 25 1st Qtr Moon 10:57 am PST/ 11:57 am MST/ 1:57 am EST

Aug 27 Moon enters Capricorn

Aug 30 Moon enters Aquarius

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Hence, let me haste into the mid wood shade,
Where scarce a sunbeam wanders through the gloom.
-James Thompson (1700-48)

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Spirit Library: New Moon (a message from Kate Spreckley)

If we are to establish a new way of being and a new reality the old structures and programs, which have upheld our reality need to be dismantled.

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Yeyeo Botanica: Aloe Vera for Protection & Luck

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Moon enters Libra

Moon enters Libra Description: The Moon in Libra This is a time for seeking out balance, harmony, and peace. It’s also a time to express emotions gracefully, diplomatically, and considerately.

cafeastrology.com

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ThoughtCo: Mabon History: The Second Harvest

Two days a year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. Not only that, each receives the same amount of light as they do dark—this is because the earth is tilted at a right angle to the sun, and the sun is directly over the equator. In Latin, the word equinox translates to “equal night.”

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MBG: Can’t Remember Your Dreams? We Asked Experts Why & What You Can Do

Dreams are as fascinating as they are mysterious, especially if you’re someone who struggles to remember them. It turns out, there are lots of factors that influence both the quality of your REM sleep—the sleep stage in which dreams happen—and your ability to remember those dreams once you wake up.

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Treehugger: World’s Most Endangered Zebras Born at Florida Wildlife Refuge

Four new Grevy’s zebra foals are trotting around White Oak Conservation in northeastern Florida, likely oblivious to the impact they’re making on the species.

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EarthSky News: Sun, Regulus in conjunction August 23

Today – August 23, 2020 – the sun is in conjunction with Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. You won’t see Regulus today because this 1st-magnitude star rises with the sun, climbs highest up for the day with the sun at solar noon, and sets with the sun. Every year, the sun meets up Regulus on or near August 23

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Patheos-Pagan: Folklore, Fiction, Scripture, and Myth: Know the Differences!

I have a love-hate relationship with pop culture. On one hand, much of it is entertaining and some of it is inspiring. On the other hand, much of it is also trite, simplistic, and at times appropriative of traditions that are sacred to me and to other Pagans.

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Pagan Playlist: En el Cielo – Pacha Mama – Nessi Gomes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN_uxhDAYrY

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Inner Journey: REFLECTIONS ON EFFORT

The anxious student asked the Zen master how long to enlightenment. The Zen Master answered a long time, at least 10 years. The student said, “Well I will work twice as hard.” The Zen master said, “Then it will take 20 years.” “No!” said the committed student, “I will work three times as hard.” “Well then,” said the Zen master, “it will take 30 years.”

Do you need to work at being spiritual? No. You already are spiritual. Do you need to work at being human? No. That’s just who you are.

The spiritual path doesn’t require us to get anything. It’s a process of opening to new dimensions of who we already are. It’s a process of awakening to our own truth. It’s a process of allowing ourselves to be authentic.

“It is not by your actions that you will be saved, but by your being.”
— Meister Eckhart

“People ask what must they become to be loving. The answer is ‘nothing.’ It is a process of letting go of what you thought you had become and allowing your true nature to float to the surface naturally.”
— Stephen Levine

higherawareness.com

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A Note from the Universe

Every enlightened master knows that it’s not what you do that brings about a miracle, but that you do something, consistently, with an unwavering expectation that thy will shall be done.

Because when you do something, with intention, every day, almost anything, in the direction of your dreams, that’s all I’ll need to reach you, connect a few dots, and drop a few jaws.

We takin’ over,

The Universe

tut.com

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Today’s Recipe: Grilled Balsamic Chicken Breast

A delicious and easy way to make honey-balsamic grilled chicken breasts. It is perfect to add to your favorite salad or by itself with your favorite sides.

Cat’s Morning Bits for June 19, 2020 “Midsummer/Litha Edtion”

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Cat

Blessings, Cat

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June Events and Holidays

June 20: Mid Summer/ Summer Solstice

June 20: New Moon at 11:41 pm PST

June 21: New Moon at 12:41 am MST/ 2:41 am EST

June 21 Father’s Day

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“O most honored Greening Force,

You who roots in the Sun;
You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
that earthly excellence fails to comprehend.

You are enfolded
in the weaving of divine mysteries.

You redden like the dawn
and You burn: flame of the Sun.”
– Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), Viriditas

gardendigest.com

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Spirit Library: Magic Is Afoot (a message from Kate Spreckley)

In the past few weeks the incoming energies have been gaining in power and strength as they are working to cleanse, clear and purge us of all that is no longer required both individually and collectively. As a result, we are in a cycle of intense self-reflection which is preparing us for this weekends New Moon Solstice Solar Eclipse.

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Oak & Olive: A Midsummer Fairy Celebration

Midsummer always brings thoughts of fairies. Why not celebrate the solstice with your children, or other adults, by creating a fairy altar nearby. It’s a joyful, playful way to celebrate the day. For cakes and ale, break out the milk or honey sweetened tea, and perhaps back some sweet cakes. Strawberry shortcake would be marvelous, as would anything summery.

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Pagan Library: Fairy Poem by William Allingham
When you feel a little breeze,
or notice a tickle, or need to sneeze
or find your things are rearranged
or something seems a little strange
Look very closely and you might see
sparkly dust, or a buzzing bee:
Behold! a fairy with gossamer wings
has come to show you wondrous things!

https://paganlibrary.com/music_poetry/fairy_poem.php

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Witches Sabbats: A MID-SUMMER CELEBRATION by Mike Nichols

The young maid stole through the cottage door,
And blushed as she sought the Plant of pow’r; —
“Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light,
I must gather the mystic St. John’s wort tonight,
The wonderful herb, whose leaf will decide
If the coming year shall make me a bride.”

In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four “quarter days” of the year, and modern Witches call them the four “Lesser Sabbats”, or the four “Low Holidays”. The summer solstice is one of them.

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“See what delights in sylvan scenes appear!
Descending Gods have found Elysium here.
In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray’d,
And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade.
Come lovely nymph, and bless the silent hours,
When swains from shearing seek their nightly bow’rs;
When weary reapers quit the sultry field,
And crown’d with corn, their thanks to Ceres yield.
This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,
But in my breast the serpent Love abides.
Here bees from blossoms sip the rosy dew,
But your Alexis knows no sweets but you.
Oh deign to visit our forsaken seats,
The mossy fountains, and the green retreats!
Where-e’er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade,
Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade,
Where-e’er you tread, the blushing flow’rs shall rise,
And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.”
– Alexander Pope, Summer

gardendigest.com

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“Litha” Celebration of the Summer Solstice/Litha

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Elephant Journal: A Ritual for Peace & New Beginnings a Summer Solstice.

No matter where we stand, it’s clear: powerful shifts are taking place in the world right now.
Many of us find comfort and guidance by looking to the wisdom of the earth and the heavens at times of change and challenge.

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EarthSky News: Happy solstice, everyone!

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice is your signal to celebrate summer. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, winter starts at this solstice. This 2020 June solstice takes place on June 20 at 21:44 UTC; translate UTC to your time. In North America and U.S. time zones, that’s June 20 at 6:44 p.m. ADT, 5:44 p.m. EDT, 4:44 p.m. CDT, 3:44 p.m. MDT, 2:44 p.m. PDT, 1:44 p.m. AKDT (Alaskan Daylight Time) and 11:44 a.m. HAST (Hawaiian-Aleutian Standard Time).

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Patheos-Pagan: The DruWitch Way: The Bells, The Bells – A Solstice Faerie Rite

Bells and their use in ritual are a world-wide phenomenon. Shinto temples use bells to call to the Gods and to protect against evil. The Catholic church performs their rite of excommunication with 12 candles and a bell.

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Pagan Playlist: Lisa Thiel – Litha (Summer Solstice Song)

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Inner Journey:

MAKE TIME TO PLAY

“If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul, life ceases to have meaning…. The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worthliving.”
— Marion Woodman

Stress, fear, negativity, too much to do and doing things for others at the expense of our own needs — these all stifle our innate creativity. Relaxation, fun, meditation, and going after our dreams all get the creative juices flowing. Soul is always creative,always fresh and new.

How can you create more space in your life to allow the soul’s energy out to play?

“I learned… that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic, striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.”
— Brenda Ueland

“I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
— Albert Einstein

higherawareness.com
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Today’s Recipe: A Delicious Little Bite of Summer: Apple & Pecan Cake. {Gluten-Free Recipe}

We all want to have a treat at some point, regardless of our lifestyle or diet choices.
I’ve recently switched my food choices to gluten-free and have been watching my waistline—and I figured that if I feel like I’m missing out a little, surely there are many others out there who are in the same boat.

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