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Sunday, July 24, 2016

CAYA Coven Co-Sponsors San Francisco Trans March

The Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe, a Mxgender Mxtery Tradition within CAYA Coven, joined Planned Parenthood, Good Vibrations and others to sponsor the 2016 San Francisco Trans March. Priest/ess/xes provided marchers a chance to meet the queer, transgender, mxgender, non-binary witches next door and get a taste of what CAYA Coven has to offer.

CAYA members offered blessings for good health, love, home, abundance, and tarot readings on the spot. Marchers were also given protection charms, handmade and blessed by CAYA members.

“People were curious and a bit shy in coming up to the booth, but once they saw that we were just part of the community, all of us are queer, non-binary, and/or trans, they were really interested in what we had to offer. This may the first time many of these folks have been in contact with priest/ess/exes from a tradition that fully embraces and celebrates them,” says Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe Dedicant Root. “Blessing people with glitter was magical and very queer,” adds founder and Initiate Melissa ra Karit, referring to one of five blessings offered that day. Blessings of health, prosperity, love, home, and - the glitter blessing - a blessing to shine with your own inner sparkliness, were all on tap for Trans March attendees.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

'Tis the Season of Juiciness in the Land of the Divine Spiralling Rainbow Tribe ...

You’re going to need something to clean up with, because the next couple of months are sure to be sweaty, sticky and sweet.

ASTRO OUTLOOK


VENUS IN LEO
13 July ~ 5 August

Hot, sticky, dripping, juicy, wet Venus in Leo spraying drama and romance all over July and August. Romantic Venus is now happily prancing through lively Leo until 5 August. We're eager for some fun of our own (aided by Mercury now in Leo). Love becomes larger than life with incredible romantic opportunities. During this time, romance is going to go into overdrive as Venus moves into Leo.

MERCURY IN LEO
13 July  ~ 30 July

You'll speak with such flair that no one will be able to resist your words. Mercury in Leo is about self-expression and self-promotion. Mercury and Venus now in Leo bring out our inner diva, we want to give attention and receive attention, share what we know, but may have a harder time than usual getting out of our own perspective and walking in another shoes. The Leo can bring us out of our shell, we just have to decide if we want to reach out for personal grandstanding, or the collective good. Mercury in Leo is about putting our best self forward, facing life's challenges with a positive attitude, and making your own creative contribution known.

SATURN RETROGRADE
ends 13 August

Since this retrograde came into effect on 25 March, we've been dealt some blows and had called into stark reality, perhaps in unpleasant if not downright dark and violent ways, areas of ourselves and our lives (and our world, especially with regards to power structures and authority figures) that demand change, which can only come about through arduous, hard work. As it goes direct in August, we begin to pick up the pieces and go about the process of (re)establishing the order and structure and sense that is needed for the future. We also begin to (re)claim our own personal sense of sovereignty, power and authority over our own lives, refusing to hand that over any longer to anyone or anything that is not in alignment with our highest good.

NEPTUNE RETROGRADE
through 17 November


Reading between the lines gets easier with Neptune retrograde. You might have a heightened intuitive awareness now, but it could not be so easy to trust it at first. Allow yourself time to meditate or just sit with your hunches and honor what is flowing through your mind. The fogginess is a tool Neptune uses to help us move beyond our attachment to the physical realm, and into a more elevated space. Neptune retrograde is often very positive because the clouds of confusion often pull away allowing us to see things clearly.



We are more introspective and more receptive to our inner voice now. We may also feel more emotionally vulnerable. It is common to feel a greater need for seclusion and privacy when Neptune's influence is strong. Neptune also opens our hearts in compassion and understanding, which helps us see our commonalities more than our differences. As we absorb Neptune's wisdom, we begin to accept the truth of oneness and the interconnectedness of all that exists.

Since Neptune is in the sign of Pisces, whose co-ruler is Jupiter in Virgo, expect a new dose of clarity when it comes to your day to day habits and your job. Take note of any insight you receive as it may have seriously implications in the future.

TAROT for the SEASON OF JUICINESS

The Yoga Tarot
CARD FOR JULY : 3 of Pentacles Reversed

Ponder this ...
• Am I expressing or pursuing my desires in the right way ?
• Am I missing what the moment has to offer because I’m so worried about wha’t supposed to last ?
• Am I cultivating the right kind of reputation ?

« Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear. » ~ Socrates

Reputations are on the line this month. Our reputation could get tarnished if we find ourselves associating or associated with the wrong crowd. We can also do ourselves a disservice if we give in to bragging or indiscretion. What we do over the next few weeks is going to have lasting repercussions to how others perceive us, with misperceptions likely to develop … so conscientiousness is key.

But remember … reputation is pretty much in the hands of others because it’s their perception of you. Little control we have over that. What we do have control over is our character. So it will be the character we live by this month that the reputation will follow. Only invest in that which enriches your character.

There are questions and assessments needed regarding the makeup of who we’re working with, how we’re collaborating, and whether it may be time for us to go it on our own. 

Let work take a holiday. Be intentional in making time for fun, frolic and play. Don’t just wait for the week-end, or plan things that are fun, creative, distracting then. At least one day a week (fi not more) over the next four weeks, carve out a portion of a workday to go off and do something non-work related.

Recent studies have shown that our creativity and productivity are far more greatly enhanced when we breakup our periods of intense focus rather than the more traditionally agreed on approach of just buckling down and getting the job done. It’s recommended that we spend no more than about an hour intensely focused on any one activity or task. Our brains need time to daydream, to drift, to relax and process, to recharge. So, for example, an hour of really diving in to that project followed by a period of time of something that doesn’t demand so much brain power, like cleaning out that desk drawer or going and sitting outside to just chill, observe, capture a Pokémon gym.

For our Venus in Leo suggestions, we turn to the Tarot Sutra by Patricia Canova, MSC :

• Purchase erotic sculpture, art or books
• Drop hints of amorous affection
• Subtly suggest rather than offering up details
• Cultivate curiosity, envy, a lust for more
• Experiment with things that are ephemeral, in the moment, here today and gone tomorrow (it’s not meant to last)


Cosmic Tribe Tarot
CARD FOR AUGUST : 3 of Wands Reversed



Ponder this ...
• Do I keep looking for « the other » when what I've been looking for has been right here all along ?
• Am I letting fear of intimacy and vulnerability cause me to withdraw and cut myself off from the outside world ?
• Am I trying to do too much, too fast ?
• Who/What/Where is my safe harbour ?

« The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. » ~ Augustine of Hippo

We can be feeling extra sensitive and less than generous. But this is likely rooted in issues, fears, unresolved traumas related to intimacy. We're tending to pull in and away rather than be open and welcome ... fear of vulnerability.

We can get so caught up in thinking and then believing that we seek, what we need, what will make us happy, lies somewhere « out there » in the hands and power of « the other. » 
When we feel we have no safe harbour, let us return to the one that we carry within.

But we are reminded this month of August that what we seek, what we need, can be found right in our own backyard. Instead of looking out, look in. Happiness, peace, joy, serenity, saitsfaction, fulfilment all reside at the very core of ourselves. Let us work to move past making those things dependent on external forces and influences.

We may have a tendency to go overboard this month. Be careful not to over indulge, do too much (too fast) ... or, to give in to the temptation of shutting down, shutting out.

Isolationism and xenophobia may be strong currents during the month. Let's make sure we don't allow ourselves to get swept away by those currents, seeing the adventure of what lies beyond rather than the fear of the foreign.

For our Venus in Leo suggestions, we turn to the Tarot Sutra by Patricia Canova, MSC :

• Take comfort in the desires, fetishes, activities that are proven to turn us on and get us off rather than venturing into the land of experimentation with the new right now
• Take your shoes off and explore the sensations of the feet as often as possible (foot massage, reflexology, tickling, toe sucking)
• Don't spend the night ... leave them longing for your presence along with a surprise gift as a reminder you were there (and making them remember what you just experienced together)
• Let your lover have some space in the closet, or a drawer, or the medicine cabinet to leave something of theirs (and/or you ask to be able to do so at their place)


Roots of Asia Tarot
CARD FOR SEPTEMBER : XVIII The Moon Reversed



Ponder this ...
• What is being revealed that I need to take heed of ?
• What do I see now that the fog is lifting, the veil is parting ?
• Am I keeping a secret thinking that it will never be discovered ?
• Can I look on the bright side rather than giving in and giving up to the darkness ?

« And when I wake up it's wonderful, like I've been carried quietly onto a calm, peaceful shore, and the dream, and its meaning, has broken over me like a wave and is ebbing away now, leaving me with a single, solid certainty. I know now. » ~ Lauren Oliver

On the one hand, the Moon reversed suggests that September will be a month of insight and clarity (the peaking energy of the Neptune retrograde). Things reveal themselves that allows us to understand or move forward with determination and lack of doubt. This may also be a time when things we have been trying to keep hidden or under wraps are revealed ... let's make sure we stay ahead of that rather than thinking we can keep up the illusion or deception forever and then suffering the fallout of consequences.

On the other hand, we can be quite prone to giving in to the darker emotions. This could signal a period of deep depression. Or, it could be a time when we feel the haze is lifting and the emotional waters are parting to allow us to finally feel as if we are moving forward in our healing process.

The choice will be up to us as to whether we are willing to accept things as they are being shown to be, or dive ever deeper into despair and illusion in order to cling desperately onto a narrative and defining of the self that we need to have be real.

We're moving towards a brighter, more optimistic period (just wait until Nov/Dec with the Saturn trine Uranus that is coming ;D ). How to move into that brighter, sunnier space will become more and more clear over the next couple of months.

So don't despair ... don't give up ... don't give in to the dark side ... it gets better.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Merry Meetups and Mxgender Mixers

Before taking my first formal steps onto this Pagan Priestx path, my non-binary/mxgender/metagender/queer gender identity was very private and personal, and mostly unknown and unrecognized by the people in my life. Because I have the privileges accorded to people who navigate the world perceived as cisgender (along with many other privileges), I have rarely experienced any form of persecution or oppression based on my transgressive gender identity. Because I have struggled with self-esteem issues my whole life (partly due to a sense of not having earned any of my privileges), I never challenged anyones presumptions about my gender. Because I wanted to feel a sense of belonging in a community, I entered "women only" spaces that excluded many of my Trans sisters. I felt entirely entitled, because I had never been challenged.

Being ordained in CAYA Coven's pangender Wildflower Tradition finally confronted me with that challenge.

The name of our coven is Come As You Are, and our clergy serve as public Priest/ess/xes. In other words, we stand up and speak out and serve our community and the world from a place of relentless authenticity. Anyone who cannot bear the discomfort this brings tends to drop out quickly. It takes Perfect Love and Perfect Trust to move through the fears, and to be accountable for the commitments we've made. It takes a daily practice of devotion to the Divine. The rewards of joyful service are rich and abundant, and earned through the simple practice of continuing to show up and do the work. The delight is from the "we get to do this!" revelations when we realize how possible it is to make our dreams and wishes come true.

So I assumed the mantel of the Priest/ess/xhood. I began to stand up and speak out and serve the needs of my community of Pagans who do not identify as cisgender men or women. I came out as a Trans person, as non-binary, as someone with pronouns that are very unfamiliar to most people. It is my daily resistance to correcting people about my pronouns—and the feelings of shame and failure that torment me when I fail to stand up and speak out and serve joyfully— that has begun to give me the slightest tiniest clue as to what most of my Trans brothers, sisters and siblings experience so relentlessly. It sometimes looks very alluring to just give up and return to my cozy place of privilege. I could do it in a heartbeat. Who would even notice?


Yes, of course, I would notice. I can never forget what I have learned in this short time of public service. I would spend the rest of my life with the ache of this knowledge. The ache so many countless closeted people have suffered. A few folks in the Pagan community might notice—the friends I've made the past couple of years at PCon and through the Rainbow Moon Circles. The ones who work so hard for gender diversity. My deities would notice, especially those glorious Trans deities of the Tetrad++, who have inspired and sustained me with such All-encompassing Love and Acceptance.

Yet the most poignant realization for me is that my covenmates would notice. And they'd care— without derision or condemnation. I would be so instantly held in a circle of loving, supportive concern. These kind people of various genders—though mainly cisgender and binary-oriented women and men—who have so respectfully acknowledged my truest self with the most exemplary use of correct pronouns, who have attended Rainbow Moon Circles to support our fledgling efforts, who help us amplify the words and actions of the sprouting Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe. My dear, sweet, fierce, geeky, profoundly wise and relentlessly(!) loving covenmates. This love infuses me with the courage to perservere, even when I feel exhausted and futile. I found "the sense of belonging in a community" I had craved and sought so long ago, and I can be here, As I Am.


And thus revved and sparkling with this joy, I continue to explore ways to create and nurture spaces that extend the Perfect Love and Perfect Trust that I have found. There are the Rainbow Moon Circles, indeed (I hope to see folks at The Fury Moon on Saturday), and I have just submitted a proposal to PCon to offer a Rainbow Moon Circle next year (!!!), yet my desire to connect with Pagans of deliciously diverse genders is not assuaged,

and so I have established a Meetup group:
Trans, Non-Binary and Mxgender Pagans—Bay Area & Beyond!


I invite you to check out this Meetup and if you are in the SF Bay Area, I hope you will sign on as a Beautiful Creature, and suggest some wonderful encounters for us to enjoy one another's company. I am thinking of such possibilities as meeting for pie and ice cream before heading over to Qulture Collective for their monthly first Friday Reel Queer movie night, field trips to lovely places in nature, spell-crafting parties, meetings to plan fundraisers for TransLifeline, and anything else that catches our fancy.

When I began composing this post, I thought I was simply going to share about the Meetups. With gratitude, I acknowledge all of the support that even brought me to this moment in the Eternal Now.

xoxox Baba Bee

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Rainbow Moon Circle's Fury Moon 07/16

Come As You Are To…

The Rainbow Moon Circle’s Fury Moon A Full Moon Circle Honoring and Celebrating Gender Diversity






Saturday, July 16, 7:00PM
Doors open at 7:00PM, circle is cast at 7:15PM
Please arrive on time, no one is admitted after the circle is cast.


Qulture Collective, 1714 Franklin Street, Oakland

$10-$20 donation accepted, no one turned away for lack of funds

Fury Moon: What is worth fighting for or defending in our lives? What is worth our blood/sweat/tears? How do I stand up/speak out for what I believe in?

The
mxgender Priestxes of Come As You Are Pagan Congregation invite people of any and all genders - or none - to join us in harnessing the power of our rage.

We will be calling in the formidable Genderqueer deity, Pancrates - All-Power, of the
Tetrad++; a transgender pantheon. Honored Ancestors and Transxstors will include Leslie Feinberg and the 49 LGBTQIA+ comrades who fell in Orlando, transforming the furious power of our grief into a laser beam that creates real change, right Now.

If you wish, you may bring a special item or sacred tool to charge on our altar, and a snack to share for cakes and ale after we open the circle.

Our Mission:
The Rainbow Moon Circle is a safe and sacred space for all to explore the spectra of gender and identity. We honor the holistic experience of self-determined identity and its infinite intersections. We celebrate the glittering prism of Divine existence that is powerful, delightful, enthusiastic, playful, transformative, magickal, compassionate, and reverent. Live the Spectra!

Join us on Facebook or G+