vegan boots

Vegan Shoewear

The following is a guest post by PETA staffer Royale.

Who is the vegan vixen?

She is strong, but compassionate; she is a lover and a fighter; and she is down for the cause and for causing a scene. In a word, she’s a trooper. And this trooper is all about wearing her heart on her feet.

The lace-up combat boot is the perfect look for enemy-engaging, animal-defending dames. It’s coming in hot this fall, and with plenty of vegan options, there’s no excuse for animal casualties. Mid-calf or knee-high or buckled, zipped, or laced, each pair comes with a personality all its own. Just add activist.

So lace up, it’s time to kick some fur-wearing, animal-experimenting, meat-eating derrière, ladies. Don’t like our style, Nuclear Wintour? Tough chic.

And just so you know, the vegan versions are signified by the pink heart!

Be all you can be in boots that are cute and cruelty-free!

source: LivingPeTA.org

Duty Calls!

As The Sun Moves Into Virgo

On August 23, the Sun will move out of royal, radiant, outgoing Leo into sensible, earthy, hard-working Virgo for four weeks. In the Western Hemisphere this is the time of the harvest, reaping the gifts of summer. The astrological glyph for Virgo is a goddess holding the sheaf of corn which will produce food for the time ahead.

Virgo has a reputation for being nit-picky and critical but this meticulous trait is hugely useful when you are separating the wheat from the chaff, storing up the apples, and bringing in the goodness of the year and storing it for winter.

The cosmos and the season demand that this is the time to roll up your sleeves and get cracking. Duty calls and there will be rewards for service, effort and attention to detail. Virgo is not a sign that blows its own trumpet or stands on its dignity. It prefers being understated and just getting on with the job at hand. Taking pride in what you do for its own sake without expectation of fame, success or glory is what works best at this time of year.

On August 24, the new Virgo Sun is opposite or across the zodiac from the Pisces Moon and we have what is known as the Harvest Moon, Corn Moon or Barley Moon. In American Indian folklore this full moon marked the right time to start the harvest and farmers could work late into the night by the light of this Moon which rises early and is very bright.

Full Moons signify a time of culmination, a time to bring plans and a project together. It is also a time of romance, fertilization, relationships, emotions and feelings. Emotions tend to run high during these times and as always, this is a time to find a balance between opposites. On one side, there is Virgo’s earthy common sense energy and on the other side is Pisces’ urge to find spiritual or artistic nourishment. “Man cannot live by bread alone” really is the motto of this Full Moon. There should be time for work and time for inner solace; time to give to others and as well as yourself.
source: Astrology.com

vineroad

From The Grape Vine

vineroad

Celtic Tree Month of Vine begins Thursday September, 2, 2010

Vine corresponds to the Ogham letter muin (muhn) and heralds the time of harvest and completion.
Grapes, though not native to the Celtic regions, became embraced as the most important ingredient in wine-making, and are associated with the smiling, leafy Green Man. The fruits of the vine are integral to celebrations worldwide, and as our crops mature, why not celebrate your prosperity during the harvest season?
grapevine
Pour a glass of wine, or grape juice, and place it within a small grapevine wreath found at a craft store (or in Nature, if its available to you). Light any candle the color of the autumn leaves. List all the good things you’ve harvested in your life this year. When you are done with this celebration, pour the remaining wine on the earth as an offering of thanks.
Raise your glass and before you sip, repeat the following charm:

I raise my glass and make a toast,
The vine month brings a harvest to boast,
My gratefulness for the year’s abundance,
I give my thanks with greatest reverence.”


by Mickie Mueller, Llewellyn Worldwide

Reduce Stress Naturally

Stop and Believe to Let Go of Stress
(a holistic and natural way to reduce stress)
By Shealy Healy

Poor health often is a byproduct of stress. When you accumulate too much stress within your mind and body you are left depleted of healthy rejuvenating every. Your mind becomes ill. Anxiety takes over your body. You get sick.

Anxiety is a crippling disorder that imprints itself upon your energy body but it does not have to ruin your life.

You can learn a life skills method of soothing the anxiety that is trying to control your health and wellbeing. If you suffer from generalized anxiety you might complain of obsessive or uncontrollable chatter running through your mind. Due to the inorganic circumstances of the contemporary world; worry, stress and grief have taken hold of most of our population. People with anxiety disorders present a variety of physical symptoms in addition to non-physical symptoms that characterize the disorders such as excessive, unrealistic worrying.

Many of these symptoms are similar to those exhibited by a person suffering general illness, heart attack, or stroke, and this tends to further increase anxiety. These symptoms of anxiety can be seen from a psychic point of view as stressful metaphysical energies moving over and through your physical body. Your thoughts are powerful forms of energy. If you could see them with your physical eyes you would see floating, bursting, vibrating and scattering energy surrounding your body at every moment.

Early Ayurvedic references to a life force, or prana, go back to the eighth century b.c. In the West, as early as the sixth century b.c., Pythagoras conceived of a life energy, or pneuma, visible in a luminous body.

Both ancient and modern energy practitioners have realized that changing the way you think as well as manipulating the metaphysical energy of your body can help you to heal your anxiety. A modern organic method of energy medicine “Stop-Believe” will help you to heal both your energy body and your obsessive thoughts in order to ease your anxiety. This method teaches you to stop in order to improve your organic abilities to rejuvenate. Stop and you will heal. Stop and you will attract health and spirit.

Stop and you will live a longer and more successful life without the pain of anxiety. It makes good sense to rejuvenate the body-mind energy in order to relieve anxious thoughts. But, it is not always an easy task. You can learn to stop your mind from creating unproductive and damaging thoughts when you follow “Stop-Believe.” “Stop and believe” is a natural like skills method of healing designed to help you replace mind stress with peaceful energy.

This form of meditation has become a favorite method of resting the brain and entire body. When the mind practices a method of discovering its ability to believe and connect with spirit it is able to focus upon one subject, one vision and one thought of belief. During this process your mind will actually fall into a state of trance or sleep that is healing. Meditation relies on the body’s ability to switch to an alpha (resting) or theta (relaxing) brain-wave state, during which the brain’s rhythm slows appreciably, and endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, are released.

Studies have shown that during meditation, metabolism is lowered, resulting in a slower heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and slower breathing. In the seventies, Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist at the Harvard Medical School, formulated the theory of an inborn “relaxation response” that can be cultivated to counteract stress. Eliciting it, he wrote, “can help counteract the effects of repeated insults of stress on the heart and other organs.”

To begin the method first, make a decision to stop the chatter within your mind. Many who suffer from anxiety will find it difficult to agree to practice a method of relieving mind stress that asks them to give up their worry. But, it is necessary to make that agreement in order to heal. When you agree fully to trust a healing method then your anxiety level is more likely to drop.

Healing an indecisive mind is not usually likely. When you feel that you are fully aware that mind chatter is not a value to you then you are ready to begin to stop the chatter. Mind chatter is anxiety and worry and it is always counterproductive. Anxiety and worry do nothing more than attract more worry and anxiety.

To replace anxious thoughts with relaxation it is necessary to reach toward your belief system and your ideal of a higher power. Begin by realizing or catching yourself when in the process of mind chatter. When you find you are day dreaming in a negative manner then stop and switch your thinking to a process of belief. Belief is a powerful tool. The process of belief begins when you ask yourself if you believe that a power greater than yourself exists. If you can answer yes to this question-then you can work toward believing.

The process of belief is a never ending one. You will come to understand belief more deeply with each year you live. If you choose to place your mind upon belief, two glorious things will happen.

You will eventually become aligned with your spiritual self. And, you will relax your mind. At first, you may have to practice this constant meditation method over and over throughout your day. Each time you realize that your mind has begun to chatter you will make a conscious effort to stop and then ponder the process of belief.

When you begin “Stop-Believe” you will catch yourself in the process of mind chatter even after you have made this agreement with self. Be gentle with yourself. Take your time. Eventually you will align with your higher power while practicing this method.

When placing your mind upon belief you will ponder the idea that your higher power is available to you and willing to care for you. Eventually, if you can answer “yes” to these questions of belief your mind will begin to realize that you do not need to work so hard worrying. You can stop and believe that your higher power will take care of you. Just imagine experiencing a moment of freedom from the fear that is imprinted upon your energy.

Like a weight removed from your shoulders, neck and back, the release of fear induced anxiety will scatter. Your body’s intrinsic ability to heal will set in motion an entire process of detoxification. Your mind becomes healthy. Anxiety leaves your body. You are…healed.

source: www.susunweed.com

Moon & Witch Comments & Graphics

August Moon

Moon & Witch Comments & Graphics

New Moon in Leo, Monday, August 9, 2010 11:08 pm

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Full Moon in Pisces, Tuesday August 24, 2010 1:05pm
Corn Moon

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THE CORN MOON

To the Cherokee, August is the Fruit Moon. Some cane berries have a second ripening period at this time. Many tree fruits also ripen in August including peaches, plums, and the earliest “dessert” apples.
In Choctaw tradition, this is the Women’s Moon, a time for femenine mysteries and ceremonies.
The Dakota Sioux refer to this as the Moon When All Things Ripen. Most vegetable that haven’t already matured begin to yield. many wild plants also set their seeds and fruits. The early grains ripen too.
August marks the seasonal shift. Growth slows and changes focus from expansion to condensation as plants and animals prepare for the end of the growing season. Root crops store energy. Animals gorge on abundant food to put on fat for winter. People spend hours harvesting and preserving food.
Rituals in August may acknowledge it as the first of the harvest months, with September and October to follow. Some myths focus on sacrificed gods and grain gods, who die so that others may live (to be re-born again next year). Magically, work spells for good weather and good harvests. Work to strengthen community ties in your coven or other magical/spiritual group/family.source: Elizabeth Barrette, Llewellyn Worldwide

FULL STURGEON MOON

The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon. source: www.farmersalmanac.com

yogi bhajan

Yogi Bhajan’s Birthday Anniversary

The month of August brings to us our beloved teacher’s birthday anniversary. Together we celebrate united as one voice, one heart, to honor his memory for the courage and commitment, and faith in all of us!

Happy Birthday Yogi Bhajan! and Wahe Guru for you!

yogi bhajan

August 15 – August 25: chant of Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru for 31 minutes at any time of the day. Celebrate the spirit and wisdom of Yogi Bhajan with 11 days of meditation leading up to the anniversary of his birth. Join the Global Community in connecting with the spirit of Yogi Bhajan, offering thanks for all the blessings he so generously shared with us.

August 26: beginning at exactly 3:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time we will simultaneously chant: Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru for 11 minutes. It is also traditional to do 2.5 hours of Long Ek Ong Kar at the amrit vela (early morning hours) in your time zone.

Click Here for recordings you may use

3HO Foundation

a pleasant boost!

AUGUST FORECAST
by our friends the Astrology.com Team

After the cosmic squall of the final days of July, and early August, the fiery, sociable Leo Sun will fly along happily for three weeks with only a minor undermining dip from a Neptune opposition before it exits.

“Exploring the unconscious, tapping into your depths, and finding inspiration in strange places is the gift…”

Jupiter in Aries will raise confidence, energy and enthusiasm, possibly even to unrealistic levels on the 3rd and 4th as it meets a powerful square from Pluto, and a reckless opposition to Mars. Be careful of over confidence, since Jupiter-Pluto combination can give rise to a might-makes-right attitude and Mars-Jupiter can sometimes be a reckless gambler. But for most, it’ll just be a pleasant boost.

Venus flits into tactful, elegant overcrowded Libra as well from the August 7. This will have a bumpy start when nothing emotional will be that settled as Venus opposes Uranus, is conjunct Saturn, opposes Jupiter and squares Pluto all within the space of three days. So romance will blow hot, cold, be on and off and back on again. Then Venus will find a more amiable level and spread its’ gentle happiness around for the rest of the month. The Leo New Moon on the 10th is a time of new beginnings with the sexy, seductive Venus Pluto aspect helping it along.

Around mid-month, Uranus retrogrades into Pisces for its last and final few months in this sign sticking around in emotional, creative Pisces till early March next year. Exploring the unconscious, tapping into your depths, and finding inspiration in strange places is the gift of Uranus here.

A rather stern Saturn in Libra opposes Jupiter on August 16, hinting that plans and wild enthusiasms need to be grounded in common sense. This is especially true this month since Saturn then moves onto an austere square to Pluto on the 21st, which is always an indicator of tough times, cutbacks, definitely not a time for frivolities and indulgences. Perseverance pays off when Saturn Pluto aspects are around though with the Sun opposing Neptune on the 20th there’ll also be low energy and muddles.

The Sun then moves from Leo into sensible, hard-working Virgo on the 23rd for four weeks getting everyone back into a more practical rhythm. The Full Moon on August gets a get-it-all-together trine from Pluto on the 26th. A Sun trine Pluto suggests that certain recent problems will be overcome to put you firmly back in the driving seat again.