“I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” ~from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar Today, I didn't blindly pull the Sylvia Plath card. I took out my Poet Tarot deck and she was on top. Of course, she was. I placed her there …
My mother and I had those topics we returned to again and again. One was the role of ritual in our daily lives. Questions we tried to answer: Was ritual (or spiritual practice or tradition) necessary? What was ritual for? Did ritual make a person happier? Healthier? Was the lack of ritual a contributor to …
Do you remember the first time you heard about witches? From a children's book, a movie, or a family member? Something else? I don't remember specifically, but most likely I learned about witches from the fairytales my father read to me. Perhaps the witch who locked Rapunzel in her tower. Or maybe from the Let's …
When I was little, my dad used to nod at an abandoned shack tucked back in a wooded area along our two-mile long, winding road and say, "A witch lives there." My dad liked convincing me of fantastical things--a witch lived in the shack, Indians lived on the other side of the lake, Santa's elves …
I don't believe in horoscopes, but I read some of them anyway. Recently, I read this one: In accordance with the astrological omens, I encourage you to move the furniture around. If you feel inspired, you might even want to move some of that old stuff right out the door and haul it to the …
No resolutions here. I'm keeping them tucked away in my head for they are small, easily felled creatures. And really, they can be set loose any day. Of course, calendars are rather arbitrary things, aren't they? We take our calendar for granted, but other places measure time differently. Apparently there are seven different calendars in …
Warning! Long post alert! Have you seen the new movie The Greatest Showman? It looks like a visual treat. There isn't just dancing, there's dancing in the air on the trapeze! There are beautiful costumes and misfit characters! I love all these things! I love musicals! I've loved lots of movies that are not historically …
The angel rarely sleeps. She sleeps only when she needs a dream or two or wishes to shut out the loud and screaming world. On this winter night (winter in the northern half of the planet that is), after the many souls have gone to bed and the stars shine at their best, she stops …
No one will ever accuse me of being decisive. Even the simple question of what I want for dinner can send me into a mental tailspin. Things to consider: what I'm in the mood for, what I had for lunch, what I had for the dinner the day before, what might be for dinner tomorrow, …
I love Carrie Fisher and am sorry she's no longer traveling with us on this planet. I loved her sass. She was funny. She big hearted and funny and fully herself. Sometimes she was a mess. There's no doubt, but she found humor in her train wrecks, and that is something I always admire. We …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 