Public Education System

~It can be a good thing~

My daughter attends a public school, and her first year was wonderful.  She had an experienced teacher, challenging curriculum, and a good disposition.  We had a wonderful summer filled with science experiments and water balloon fights.

So when the time came for her to start First Grade, she was so excited!  She met her teacher, a wonderful woman who came out of retirement to fill the first grade position.  But this is where the good part of the story ends.

Mrs. Kind (real name withheld) had health issues, so she was not able to continue teaching.  Over the next 6 weeks a parade of 9 teachers (at my last count) came and left in sub positions so that the children would receive instruction.  Most of the subs didn't grade papers, sent nothing home, and one was banned from subbing in the school again for screaming (literally) at the students.  So many parents complained that the principal took action.

Full Time Teacher

By the time a full time teacher became available, many of the students were acting out, not doing work, and not asking permission to leave the room for drinks and restroom breaks.  I really felt for the teacher, Mrs. Brick (real name withheld).

She walked into an undisciplined class, had no teaching experience, and could show nothing to the parents during conference time because the subs didn't take up work.

This is where the problems began.
My daughter had already been bullied, pushed around, and at yelled at.  She didn't know what to make of this new teacher, but she kept an open mind.    She gave the teacher a chance.
Mrs. Brick abused that chance.

When is Enough, Enough?

• Is it when my daughter comes home and says Mrs. Brick withheld snack from her because of bad behavior, and makes her watch everyone else eat?
• Is it when the the teacher denies restroom breaks and she starts having "accidents" that she hides because she's ashamed?
• Is it when I find out her desk was placed behind of the teacher so she had to turn around in her seat and look at the teacher's backside to pay attention during instructions?
• Or is it when I find out that an IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting has been made and I have no behavior reports telling what is wrong?

Please, listen to your children~ you know your child better than anyone else.  If you think something is wrong, it probably is.  Don't let your child suffer.  I've ran into a wall with what to do next.  If they will release her behavior reports to me (I still haven't received any word back on that) I could send a letter to the school board, but the only documentation I have is one letter.

What Happens Now?

I have scheduled conferences with Mrs. Brick, only to be told she's unavailable.
I have written letters, talked to the guidence counseler, and am trying to meet with the principal.

I am receiving no satisfaction.

We are lucky enough, especially with tax time, to be able to send her to a private school.  We've already been through the testing phase, and she is very excited.

My daughter told me that the best thing about the new school will be she won't get screamed at for a wrong answer.

Am I happy that she's excited about private school, or sad that she had such a horrid experience in public school?
A little of both.

Counting my blessings

I have so many...
A wonderful, bright, vibrant, and healthy daughter,
A wonderful husband who works hard every day and gives us lots of love,
Three (sometimes) wonderful teenagers who visit on the weekend,
My health,
My shop,
A home that is paid for,
A car that runs,
money to pay bills,
groceries in the kitchen,
pets,
pretty things,
money for extras like cable and a cell phone.

From family to material things, I do have many blessings.

Voodoo Violence and Accustions hits Close to Home

 Dolls are just Dolls, right?

The answer is yes and no.  As a girl my mother and I would often make Dolls for fun.  They allowed us to spend time together and help to build the foundation for much of the crafting I do now.  As I have gotten older I have read up on different religions and discovered a much different kind of doll- a Voodoo doll.

While Voodoo, and it's close cousin Hoodoo, use dolls called poppets in many magical ways it is not something that should be frightening.  For example, suppose that you would like to have more money.  You could make a prosperity poppet out of green fabric filled with chamomile, ginger, cinnamon, clover, and a stone such as snowflake obsidian or sodalite.  Sounds kind of interesting?  Most people think so.  Often the misconception that magic and pagan rituals are silly or dangerous is perpetuated through misinformation and not having knowledge or an open mind.

Violence in the Name of Voodoo

On Sunday, October 19th in Ohio, the Martin family blamed Voodoo for their misfortunes.  Patrica was in a car accident, her son was charged with attempted murder, and her grandchild's living conditions are being investigated by the local Child Welfare Services.  All of this because she found voodoo dolls in her yard.  She says that a neighbor (whom she has a longstanding feud with) makes and sells them. While the maker of the dolls denies responsibility, Patricia Martin feels otherwise.

In Bainbridge Georgia on October 9th, a man Bellsouth telephone worker was shot at by Cecil Thornton who believed that voodoo and black magic was placed in front of his house by the worker.

In Pittsfield, Massachusetts Fofana attacked a woman in a grocery store because she believed the other woman was practicing voodoo against her.

Surely it Couldn't Happen Here...

In Nitro, WV on October 17th, Anthony Harrah woke to the sound of gunshots at his home on 3rd Avenue.  The police investigated and discovered Joel Marshall Turley had shot at Harrah's home in self-defense because Harrah was practicing Voodoo and Witchcraft against him.

You can watch the news clip here.

While the shooter is said to have some mental issues, it is still very disturbing.  For one, I don't remember voodoo ever making the news before unless it was in connection with a business name.  There is some story about a celebrity wanting a voodoo wedding, but you know how it is with celebrity news-best taken with a grain of salt.

The second reason that I find it all so disturbing is Nitro is my backyard.  My children attend the local school.  I shop here.  I live here.  Should I be worried, and more importantly, should you?

We all need to help educate the public on our beliefs.  Just because my church is the woods and my pastor the nature around me does not make me, or anyone who is not of a traditional faith, dangerous. 

Let us hope that these are just isolated incidents that do not continue.  May the God/dess be with you.  Blessings.

Looking for books?

Greetings, everyone!

Over the course of the last few months I have been reading about religion and spirituality. A good friend gave me some books to borrow, and after I finished I decided that I would purchase them myself. I looked everywhere I could locally, but did not find very much (I'm sure that many of you reading this understand exactly where I'm coming from). I could only find them online, and I really don't like to buy books online for myself. My friends and I often share books to help defray the cost, and to keep a good circle of information going. Thats when I realized that having books available in the shop could be really great! The only problem is, some of the books can be pretty expensive and money's tight for everyone right now. There are a ton of books that I would love to buy right now, but finding extra cash for books isn't always easy. And there's nothing worse than buying a book for $30 only to find that you really don't like it...

Thats why Rising Goddess Goods is going to carry a Literary Works Section, with something special just for you!

And this is how it works...

You buy a book for $20.00, and decide after reading it, you would rather get something else. So, bring it back to the store and get store credit towards your next purchase!

New books are listed at cover price.

Used books are listed at 1/2 cover price.

You receive store credit at 1/4 cover price.

Use your store credit on your next used book purchase!

Let's say Bob brings in a book and recieves $10 in store credit ($40 cover price). He wants to buy a used book listed for $12.50. Because he has $10 in store credit, he only pays $2.50 for this book! But what if he decides that he would rather buy a used book listed at $5.00? Then he brings it to the counter, shows me his membership card, and walks out with his book and still has $5 in store credit!

Do you have books collecting dust in your bookcase that you never read? Bring them in! If it is a is a spiritual, metaphysical, or herbal book, you could earn store credit too! Please understand that store credit is good for any used book in the shop, but new books can only be purchased with cash.

If you have any questions, let me know! I'm always happy to help.

Brightest Blessings!

The Cost of Being Different

Have You Heard Stories About Religious Intolerance?

Yeah, they are all over the news.

How about when the religion isn't Christianity or Muslim?

Not quite as much, is it?

I think that is because others tend to keep their thoughts on religion and their beliefs secret for fear of ridicule, or worse. This is something that has recently hit home for my family. So, I went looking for anything I could find and most everything was very high profile (military stories), or small posts online because virtually all of the stories are available only on the internet. Here is one of the stories I found that could be traced to print.

Where Religious Intolerance Lives

In Connecticut, Gina Uberti wanted to take time off for Samhain, and approved the time off one year in advance. When a asked why she took off Halloween week by a new regional manager, Gina told her of her religious beliefs, and was fired, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune.

Here is a story that I cannot find in newspapers, only on pagan sites such as witchvox. A school in Detroit, Michigan tries to ban pentacles as part of the dress code because they are afraid of gang activity.

Many other stories that I have found are older, mainly because Wiccans and their children pretty much stay in the broom closet so that they do not feel the sting of harassment...after all, schools hard enough without adding religious harassment to the mix. But what happens when it isn't Wicca, or Buddhism? What happens when it is just the beginnings of finding a religion to call your own?

It Can't Happen To Me,...Right?

It started a couple of weeks ago a friend and I were talking. We'll call her Sarah, because she would rather be unnamed. Here's what happened...

Her daughter "Ann" began asking questions about what religion the family practiced. Sarah and her husband talked about it, and decided what they were going to tell her. However, these were not just random questions as she had a school report due with the topic of "What is important to you?"

Sarah and her husband claimed the general title of "spiritual" , fearing that saying more could influence what Ann believed or lead to teasing at school if she told her friends. So only the basics of what they believed were divulged "There is something out there, that we are all part of nature and part of a higher power, and that you need morals and values to keep you on the right path."

It was after talking to her parents, her friends, and some parents of her friends that she decided she was agnostic. She believes in a higher power, and though she doesn't follow the bible, she understands why others do. She also wrote that she didn't think that other religions were wrong, but that there was just too much information for her to decide right now. She also believes that whatever religion others choose to follow is a good thing as long as it feels right to them.

After getting her paper back, she told Sarah why she had asked about religion and showed her the paper. She received a B and thought that was the end of it. Sarah was proud see her take all this information, and draw her own ideas and beliefs from it because it showed independent thought. Little did she know what it would cost her.

The Cost Of Being Different

On Monday, the entire class was asked to stand up and read their reports. She wasn't nervous about her topic, just nervous about reading aloud, never suspecting what would follow. During her oral report her classmates started interrupting her and asking if she worshiped the devil, and things of that nature. By the end of the day just about everyone in her school heard about her report. For the next four days she was harassed in the hallways, being told that she was going to hell, and that she must be a Satan-worshiper if she didn't go to church on Sundays. Not once during those four days did anyone say anything to the other children. Sarah didn't know about the harassment until another parent spoke to her about it.

After Ann told her parents everything( including how she didn't want to go back to school because of the harassment), Sarah spoke to the teacher about her concerns and wanted to know what could be done. The teacher decided to have a talk with the class over the harassment. What was interesting, is after he lectured on being nice to others, and how one person's religion should never be ridiculed, he said (as Ann quotes it) "acting like that just isn't very christian of you." While, if the large majority of the children were christian (which they probably are), at least one of them obviously wasn't, and it really made Ann uncomfortable.

Though the lecture didn't help much, it did help some, though now the ridicule mostly goes on outside the hearing range of the teachers. What hurts her the most is the fact that she is made fun of and belittled by some of the people she believed to be friends.

No matter a persons religion, or lack thereof, it is not a reason to ostracize or belittle them. Everyone should be free to hold their own beliefs without fear of what might be said or done. Sarah has tried her best to see that the ridicule stops but as the teachers don't hear it,...it doesn't happen.

I have waited until now to post this story because Ann has just started high school. Sarah's husband was offered a job in another county and he took it so Ann could start over in a new school. After moving , she became less depressed and her grades are looking better than they were.

Newsletter for July 20, 2010

Rising Goddess Spiritual News, Events, and Words of Wisdom.

Greetings, everyone! This newsletter edition is dedicated to the upcoming holiday Lammas, or Lughnasadh as it is sometimes called. As July comes to an end, and harvest season begins with the promise of fall lying ahead, let’s learn a little about the upcoming holiday.

Lammas

Lammas is celebrated on August 1, though in older cultures it was typically celebrated when the sun reached 15 degrees Leo around August 5th. It a festival that celebrates the first harvest, the God Lugh, and the cycle of birth, life, and death.

Lammas itself means “loaf-mass” (from the old english hlaf-maesse) and was called such when the church assimilated Lughnasadh into their religious holiday calender. Typically the first loafs of bread of the season were blessed by the Church. Before that the harvest festival was called “Lughnasadh”, meaning “the Funeral Games of Lugh”, in honor of the God Lugh.

The importance of the holiday may be lost on many in the current day and age because we live in a different time. Today, the harvest may be important for those who have a garden, though not in the same way as those who lived off the land because they had to. When we need a loaf of bread, or the corn does not grow well, we drive to the local market and buy what we need. In times past harvest time was crucial to survival. In Ireland, to harvest before Lughnasadh meant the harvest was poor, while harvesting on the holiday meant the harvest was plentiful and there would be food enough for the winter months ahead.

Many cultures held festivals and performed rituals symbolizing the cycle of life. The birth of the crops (beltain/spring) the maturing of the crops (Litha/summer solstice) and the harvest of the crops (Lughnasadh/Autumn). During Lughnasadh, it was customary to reflect on the bounty of life and a plentiful harvest by making corn husk dolls, celebrate talents and craftsmanship, and have symbolic sacrifice of grains and bread.

The God Lugh

It is said that Lugh is the God of Light and the Harvest, master of all arts and crafts, a Druid, and a Warrior. His sacred month is August, It is believed that he dedicated this festival to his foster mother who perished clearing a great woodland area so that they could grow crops. When the people of Ireland gathered around her deathbed, she said that as long as they held funeral games in her honor that Ireland would never be without song. Her name,Tailtiu, means "The Great One of the Earth," and it is believed that she was the personification of the Earth herself. The holiday’s name Lughnassadh also comes from one much older, Brón Trogain, meaning painful childbirth, and personifies the Earth giving birth to the fruits of the land so that we, her children, may live.

Celebrate Lughnassadh!

Let us honor our ancestors this holiday! Be thankful for what you have and reflect on the bounty life has bestowed upon you. Whether you celebrate the harvest aspect or the God Lugh, remember the difficulties of our ancestors past, be thankful of the food on your table, reflect on the bounty that life has bestowed upon you, and share your bounty with others.

What's New at Rising Goddess Goods?

We have a few new items for you, including:
Tarot
Decorative resin journals to use in spells/BOS
smudge wands
Spiritual Artwork by Local Artists
Reversed Glass Artwork by local artist
Electric Oil Warmers (marble style glass!)

General News

In the beginning of our spiritual venture, we envisioned opening a shop for like-minded people. A comfortable place to converse and feel at ease. A place to make friends. We believed at that time that we needed to offer our products online as well as in the shop in order to succeed. After all, we live in a time when anything can be found online, even canned fart spray...

After some discussion and contemplation, we have decided to not sell our goods online at this time. It simply doesn’t fit in with what we believe the shop needs to be. We greatly enjoy meeting you! Those who have visited the shop have enriched our lives. So many new beliefs, ideas, and different ways of seeing our world have allowed us to continue to grow. It is fulfilling to know that we all share a common link no matter which path we follow.

So, to make a long story short, we will be selling primarily in our shop: however, the etched glass and a few other handcrafted wares may be added to Etsy from time to time. If you are unable to make it to the shop, let us know. We would be happy to help! Let us know what you are looking for, and we will try to find the item and work out the shipping.

You can visit our website at http://risinggoddess.webnode.com/, or visit our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rising-Goddess-Goods/176232332925

Brightest Blessings to You and Yours!

The Rising Goddess

Apple Candleholders! Why not dress up your candles this Lammas? Any fresh, firm fruit will do, Red apples, early acorn squash, even eggplants, apples just seem to last longer. Wash and dry the fruit thoroughly, then shine it until it gleams. Set the fruit on its bottom, then take a knife where the stem is and start carving it out. You’ll want to go about halfway down inside the fruit to give the candle plenty of support. Widen the hole until it is the same diameter as the candle. Once the hole is finished, pour some lemon juice in and let it set for about 10 minutes. This will keep the apple from browning and turning mushy. After time is up, pour out the lemon juice, dry thoroughly, and place a sprig of your favorite fresh herb in the hole. Add a small amount of wax to the hole to anchor your taper candle, and you’re done! What a lovely way to dress up your altar. (photo and craft can be found at http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lammas/a/AllAboutLammas.htm. Visit for more holiday rituals, craft ideas, and pagan information.)

Ritual Cakes and Feast Ideas Something you can do to celebrate Lammas is to bake bread in the shape of a man-as this allows the spirit of the grain-god to live through us. You can make your own, or choose to use store-bought if baking is not your strong suit. (paganwiccan.about.com) Corn cakes can be baked in a pan to make them look like ears of corn. These make great ritual cakes. The pans can be hard to find, though they can be found at antique markets and on ebay. New ones can be bought online for around $10 to $20.

So many ideas can be found online. My favorite sites include: All About Lammas on about.com and Magic Spells on magicspells.in

Goddess News

Merry Meet!

It has been quite a while since my last blog post, so I have tons of news!

The Rising Goddess Goods shoppe has MOVED!

Come find us at the Milton Flea Market in Milton, WV. The shoppe is larger, and we have started to carry new items. Copper Bracelets, Tarot Cards, OOAK Spiritual Artwork by Local Artists, and much more! Hand Etched Wedding Glass Sets will no longer be offered on commission, though etched glass for sale can be personalized for a small fee and a one week waiting time.

We are open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., so come and visit us! We can open on Fridays if needed. Give us a call or drop us a line if you can only show up on a Friday and we'll work something out.

Our Newsletter is being sent out this week, so don't forget to sign up on the Rising Goddess Website!

Brightest Blessings!