ARETIAS - Warrior Women!'s topics - tribe.net

Want this!

darkgypsy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:01:30 GMT

If i can't find this or something similiar at pennsic, where else can i get this outfit? thank you!

http://gap4design.com/photos/20041009/IMG_0570_s.jpg

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Hello

Michy ~ Phoenix of the Flames — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:46:58 GMT

Hi There, Everyone!

I'm a new member, as Epona told me about this tribe I felt the urge to join when I'd had a look. As I am a true Celt I should feel at home, as the Celts were ruled mostly by Warrior Queens, so what better tribe to join as a Celt?! I look forward to being a member and making new friends here. Epona, You Rock!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 11 replies

Trees!

Michy ~ Phoenix of the Flames — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:06 GMT

Doe mentioned on her tribe, about the need to plant trees as a part of the battle against global warming. As we are warrior women and love and respect nature I thought I'd mention it here, as I will be planting trees and hope you will also feel moved to do so.

Peace, love and blessings to all of you, Michy

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

For Leah!

bard — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:34:36 GMT

DANCING, BUT NOT IN DARKNESS!

I dance the eternal dance
It is of life, it is of death
I live in the darkness
I live in the light
I dance the eternal dance
Day and night
With my cloak of feathers
Around my shoulders
Resting upon my back
I am the Horned One
Through time I have come
Through all time I have been
I dance to the old song
But with a brand new beat
I clap my hands
I dance with my drum
Cloven hooves as nimble as ever
I will continue on
Even if no one listens to my call
The pipes are still clear
They call one, they call all
Through the stones I go
Other shapes follow me
We shall dance on
To the next realm
On and on into the night

Danu is on her way
She will shine down upon us all
Shortest day, longest night
I sing the old songs
With all my might
Never will I let go, my cape of feathers
Flowing as I go

She is here, it is her
She casts such a silvery light
No longer darkness, it is half light
I bow to her, she is my love
She is my Soul
She goes with me
Wherever I may go
The song sings of deeds
Of so long ago
Not many see us now
Let us hope that is
Not always so

On for evermore
It is time to walk through
That Big Old Oak Door
To be free in the land
That is a complete other reality
Where all creatures run free
One day we shall be back
When that need be!

(c) 2008 ...bard

I hope that you all like it

1

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 6 replies

Bitch from Hell

Epona-of-Aretias — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:11:19 GMT

I got this from the dark Goddesses tribe. I think it fits well here too. It expresses our own inner warriors Goddesses that need to lash out and scream. Please click on the link below for it gives great life examples entitled - Bitch Contents. Great info - Love it!

I'm the bitch from hell.

I think you know me well.

I am the dark goddess

kali, hecate, lilith, morrigan, ereshkigal

These faces of the feminine are much less easily acceptable than those of Aphrodite the Goddess of Love or Demeter the Great Mother. But it is in the energy of the dark goddesses that a vast store of feminine power lies.

kali is the creator and the destroyer. She is depicted as one who cuts off the heads of men. Scary stuff! But this is a symbolic representation, it is not actually their Life she is after, simply their Ego.

The dark goddess lives in us all. Often suppressed and denied she will eventually leak out in hostility and sarcasm, with sly cutting digs, nagging, gossip and put downs. She reveals herself at her most ugly in our closest relationships. Liz Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe" plays her out admirably. Jung calls her the 'animus suppressed'. She is everything that nice girls are not. Suppressed too far she turns her destructive energy inwards and creates depression and disease.

The energy of the dark goddess brews and bubbles in the belly. Suppressing her simply adds bite to her words when they do manage to escape. If the energy of fermentation in a bottle of rich wine starts to become more than the cork can contain the wine will ooze out. If we ignore this and shove the cork back down harder the build up will become greater and next time the leaks will become spurts. Finally the pressure will shoot the cork off completely and the precious liquid will be lost. This is the path of denial, of refusing to acknowledge the truth that needs to be spoken. The alternative is to appreciate that bottle, to nurture the rich gift that is brewing, turn it and tend to it and to choose when the cork should be removed and the sweet dark flavour be offered to the world.

Accepted and celebrated the dark goddesses give us the strength to overcome the fear of rejection and to dare to stand in our truth and tell it how we see it. This is an enormously empowering experience.

http://www.yoni.com/bitch.shtml

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 3 replies

Happy Summer Solstice!!!

Epona-of-Aretias — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:26:43 GMT

I wish all of you a blessed and merry Summer Solstice! The world is changing and let this Summer's light rays brighten our hearts with joy! We are all becoming uplifted as a beautiful light is shining brightly and awakening through us all as a the one Universal Consciousness!
Blessed Be!!!

LITHA - Summer Solstice June 20-21

Let the light shine……
During the summer solstice the sun sits highest in the sky. This is the longest day of the year and the beginning of the summer season.

We feel the solar energy pouring down upon the Earth, vitalizing and strengthening us. Even as we revel in the light we prepare for the next season of growth, the return of the dark, as we now move towards winter Solstice.
Druids celebrated the Summer Solstice as the wedding of Heaven and Earth. The Goddess manifests as Mother Earth and God as Sun King. Many traditions throughout time have celebrated the Solstices, Ancient Egypt, and Aztecs of Mexico, Chinese, Chumash Indians of California, Indigenous Europeans. In present time you will find the Solstices celebrated by neo-pagan, Western Mystery tradition, Wiccan, Native American and the Catholic tradition as the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

Bonfires were lit to celebrate the Sun at its height of power and to ask the Sun not to withdraw into winter darkness. Midsummer Eve festivals in the countryside of Cornwall, England would have firelight shinning from every hill and peak. Bright bonfires with dancers adorned in garlands and flowers and young men jumping through the tall flames. This ancient Cornwall Summer Bonfire tradition has been revived during the 1920’s and is still a popular festival. The spiral is a symbol associated with the Solstices. Ancient dances would follow the Sun’s movement like a spiral, people joined hands weaving through the streets, winding into a decreasing spiral into the middle then unwinding back out again. The Sun moving from contraction at the center of the spiral at winter solstice to expansion at Summer Solstice and back again. Midsummer’s Eve is one of the three spirit nights of the year, when the veils are thin between the worlds. The others are Beltaine (May Day) and Samhain (October, Celtic New Year). At the great stone circle, Stonehenge, England, the sun rises over the heel stone. Only one heel stone stands now, though there is consideration that there was another heel stone, the sun would rise between the two pillars. There are many stone sites in the world that are aligned to the Sun’s yearly travel.

The Summer Solstice is a time to reflect on the growth of the season. Seeds planted in the Earth as well as are own seeds of our souls. A time of cleansing and renewal. A time of joyous Love and growth.
Some ways to celebrate Summer Solstice:

Gathering of magical plants and healing herbs, as they are at their most potent. Five common Celtic sacred plants associated with Midsummer are St. John’s Wort, Vervain, Yarrow, Fern, and Mugwort.

Gather with others creating a festival of common sharing and service.
Keep a sacred fire burning.
Burn your winter Yule wreath at the summer bonfire.
Exchange songs, stories, and poems with others.
Dance, drum
Make an agreement of something that you will do to improve life, bring light and love into this world in your own creative way and begin to carry it out.
Bright Blessings

Summer Solstice

Brown earth lay blanketed beneath
the weight of white snow
People hold within their heart
the promise of light
Light that overcomes the night
Igniting fire
That burns a hole
all the way to the hot dry summer fields
The hope that the light holds in winter
becomes in summer
the knowing of the sun’s pathway back again
We poise on the edge of these great turnings
Balanced night and day
Ah for a moment……
By: Cheryl Ban © 1998

http://avalonvisions.com/solstice_s.html

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 3 replies

MECDA Fall Festival of Music & Dance Nov. 1st

Mahin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:14:35 GMT

Hello Dancers,

The MECDA chapter is now taking reservations for performance spots on the festival stage. We will have ongoing entertainment from 10:30am to 5:00pm - that's a lot of dancing - come be part of it!

Soloists 5 minutes
Duet/Trio 10 minutes
Troupes 4+ 15 minutes

There will also be 7 drop-in workshops presented by instructors from throughout the state. Please check here for more info:
www.levantalsonora.com

We also need people to volunteer to help with admissions, stage managing and workshop helpers - this can be just a 1 or 2 hour stint during your day and will be greatly appreciated. It takes a LOT more than the 4 members of the MECDA chapter board to run an event like this!

To reserve a spot and/or volunteer please email president@levantalsonora.com.

Thanks,

Mahin

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Happy Beltane!

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:35:08 GMT

May we all consider our Mother Earth this Beltane and become women warriors by defending her precious resources on a Universal Consciousness scale! Become Earth friendly :) She is our only home and deserves our love!
Blessed Be the Goddess!
Have a glorious Beltane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Return of the Sun

Beltaine is an anglicization of the Irish "Bealtaine" or the Scottish "Bealtuinn." While "tene" clearly means "fire," nobody really knows whether Bel refers to Belenus, a pastoral god of the Gauls, or is from "bel," simply meaning "brilliant." It might even derive from "bil tene" or "lucky fire" because to jump between two Beltane fires was sure to bring good fortune, health to your livestock, and prosperity.

When the Druids and their successors raised the Beltaine fires on hilltops throughout the British Isles on May Eve, they were performing a real act of magic, for the fires were lit in order to bring the sun’s light down to earth. In Scotland, every fire in the household was extinguished, and the great fires were lit from the need-fire which was kindled by 3 times 3 men using wood from the nine sacred trees. When the wood burst into flames, it proclaimed the triumph of the light over the dark half of the year.

Then the whole hillside came alive as people thrust brands into the newly roaring flames and whirled them about their heads in imitation of the circling of the sun. If any man there was planning a long journey or dangerous undertaking, he leaped backwards and forwards three times through the fire for luck. As the fire sunk low, the girls jumped across it to procure good husbands; pregnant women stepped through it to ensure an easy birth, and children were also carried across the smoldering ashes. When the fire died down, the embers were thrown among the sprouting crops to protect them, while each household carried some back to kindle a new fire in their hearth. When the sun rose that dawn, those who had stayed up to watch it might see it whirl three times upon the horizon before leaping up in all its summer glory.

The Rites of Spring
Beltaine was a time of fertility and unbridled merrymaking, when young and old would spend the night making love in the Greenwood. In the morning, they would return to the village bearing huge budding boughs of hawthorn (the may-tree) and other spring flowers with which to bedeck themselves, their families, and their houses. They would process back home, stopping at each house to leave flowers, and enjoy the best of food and drink that the home had to offer. In every village, the maypole—usually a birch or ash pole—was raised, and dancing and feasting began. Festivities were led by the May Queen and her consort, the King who was sometimes Jack-in-the-Green, or the Green Man, the old god of the wildwood. They were borne in state through the village in a cart covered with flowers and enthroned in a leafy arbor as the divine couple whose unity symbolized the sacred marriage of earth and sun.

To Celebrate Beltaine Today
Arise at dawn and wash in the morning dew: the woman who washes her face in it will be beautiful; the man who washes his hands will be skilled with knots and nets.

If you live near water, make a garland or posy of spring flowers and cast it into stream, lake or river to bless the water spirits.

Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill, then give it to one in need of caring, such as an elderly friend.

Beltaine is one of the three "spirit-nights" of the year when the faeries can be seen. At dusk, twist a rowan sprig into a ring and look through it, and you may see them.

Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck—but make sure you tie up long skirts first!

Make a May bowl —wine or punch in which the flowers of sweet woodruff or other fragrant blossoms are soaked—and drink with the one you love.
www.chalicecentre.net/beltaine.htm

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Happy Spring Equinox ~ Blessed Ostara :)

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:08:25 GMT

I found this interesting article on the symbolism of Modern Easter traditions. It's a long read but very interesting.
Happy Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You Call It Easter, We Call It Ostara

Author: Peg Aloi
Posted: April 7th. 1997
Times Viewed: 163,531

(originally posted 5/1/1997) Try this sometime with your children or a young niece, nephew or cousin: on the day of the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox, just a few moments before the exact moment of the equinox, go outside with a raw egg. Find a reasonably level place on the sidewalk or driveway. For a few moments just before and just after the equinox, you can balance the egg upright (wider end down) by simply setting it down on the ground. No kidding! It will stand up all by itself. Kids love this, and most adults are amazed and delighted, too.

This little "trick" brings together two of the most potent aspects of this holiday: the balancing of the earth's gravity midway between the extremes of light and dark at Winter and Summer Solstice; and the symbolism of the egg. The egg is one of the most notable symbols of Easter, but, as someone who was raised Catholic and who was never told exactly why we colored eggs at Easter, or why there was a bunny who delivered candy to us, or why it was traditional to buy new clothes to wear for church on Easter Sunday, I always wondered about this holiday. As with many of the seemingly unrelated secular symbols and traditions of Christmas (what do evergreen trees, mistletoe, reindeer and lights have to do with the birth of Christ? You might wanna read "You Call It Christmas, We Call It Yule" for an exploration of these connections), Easter too has adapted many ancient pagan symbols and customs in its observance.

Easter gets its name from the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled Oestre or Eastre (the origin of the word "east" comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine"). Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling "Ostara" which honors this goddess as our word for the Vernal Equinox. The 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary defines Easter thus: "orig., name of pagan vernal festival almost coincident in date with paschal festival of the church; Eastre, dawn goddess; 1. An annual Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21." The Vernal Equinox usually falls somewhere between March 19th and 22nd (note that the dictionary only mentions March 21st, as opposed to the date of the actual Equinox), and depending upon when the first full moon on or after the Equinox occurs, Easter falls sometime between late-March and mid-April.

Because the Equinox and Easter are so close, many Catholics and others who celebrate Easter often see this holiday (which observes Christ's resurrection from the dead after his death on Good Friday) as being synonymous with rebirth and rejuvenation: the symbolic resurrection of Christ is echoed in the awakening of the plant and animal life around us. But if we look more closely at some of these Easter customs, we will see that the origins are surprisingly, well, pagan! Eggs, bunnies, candy, Easter baskets, new clothes, all these "traditions" have their origin in practices which may have little or nothing to do with the Christian holiday.

For example, the traditional coloring and giving of eggs at Easter has very pagan associations. For eggs are clearly one of the most potent symbols of fertility, and spring is the season when animals begin to mate and flowers and trees pollinate and reproduce. In England and Northern Europe, eggs were often employed in folk magic when women wanted to be blessed with children. There is a great scene in the film The Wicker Man where a woman sits upon a tombstone in the cemetery, holding a child against her bared breasts with one hand, and holding up an egg in the other, rocking back and forth as she stares at the scandalized (and very uptight!) Sargent Howie. Many cultures have a strong tradition of egg coloring; among Greeks, eggs are traditionally dyed dark red and given as gifts.

As for the Easter egg hunt, a fun game for kids, I have heard at least one pagan teacher say that there is a rather scary history to this. As with many elements of our "ancient history, " there is little or no factual documentation to back this up. But the story goes like this: Eggs were decorated and offered as gifts and to bring blessings of prosperity and abundance in the coming year; this was common in Old Europe. As Christianity rose and the ways of the "Old Religion" were shunned, people took to hiding the eggs and having children make a game out of finding them. This would take place with all the children of the village looking at the same time in everyone's gardens and beneath fences and other spots.

It is said, however, that those people who sought to seek out heathens and heretics would bribe children with coins or threats, and once those children uncovered eggs on someone's property, that person was then accused of practicing the old ways. I have never read any historical account of this, so I cannot offer a source for this story (though I assume the person who first told me found it somewhere); when I find one, I will let you know! When I first heard it, I was eerily reminded of the way my own family conducted such egg hunts: our parents hid money inside colorful plastic eggs that could be opened and closed up again; some eggs contained pennies, some quarters and dimes and nickels, and some lucky kids would find a fifty-cent piece or silver dollar! In our mad scramble for pocket change, were my siblings and cousins and I mimicking the treacherous activities of children so long ago?

Traditional foods play a part in this holiday, as with so many others. Ham is the traditional main course served in many families on Easter Sunday, and the reason for this probably has to do with the agricultural way of life in old Europe. In late fall, usually in October, also known as the month of the Blood Moon, because it referred to the last time animals were slaughtered before winter, meats were salted and cured so they would last through the winter. Poorer people, who subsisted on farming and hunting, would often eat very sparingly in winter to assure their food supply would last. With the arrival of spring, there was less worry, and to celebrate the arrival of spring and of renewed abundance, they would serve the tastiest remaining cured meats, including hams. This also marked a seasonal end to eating cured foods and a return to eating fresh game (as animals emerged from hibernation looking for food), and no longer relying on stored root vegetables, but eating the young green plants so full of the vitamins and minerals that all living beings need to replenish their bodies in spring.

Modern pagans can observe these same customs by eating the fresh greens and early vegetables abundant now: dandelion greens, nettles, asparagus, and the like. There are some Witches who believe that fasting at the Equinox is very healthy and magical: it clears away all the toxins stored over winter, when we eat heavier foods to keep warm, and can create an altered state of consciousness for doing Equinox magic. By eliminating all the "poisons" from our diets for a few days (including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, red meats, dairy products, refined foods), and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, we not only can shed a few pounds and improve the appearance of our hair and skin, but also improve our health over the long term. The overall benefit to health from an occasional cleansing fast helps strengthen our immune system, making our bodies more resistant to illness, and help us feel more alert and energetic. Try it! Be sure to "break" your fast slowly, reintroducing your normal foods one at a time, instead of going from several days of fruits, grains and herbal tea to a feast of steak, potatoes and chocolate cake! The breaking of the fast can be incorporated into the cakes and wine portion of your ritual, or at the feast many Witches have afterwards.

Speaking of food, another favorite part of Easter for kids, no doubt, is that basket of treats! Nestled in plastic "grass" colored pink or green, we'd find foil-wrapped candy eggs, hollow chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, marshmallow chicks (in pink, yellow or lavender!), fancy peanut butter or coconut eggs from Russell Stover, and of course our Mom always included one of the beautiful ceramic eggs she painted by hand. Like that other holiday where children are inundated with sugar (Hallowe'en), no one seems to know precisely where, when or how this custom began. And why are the baskets supposedly brought by a bunny???

There are some modern Witches and pagans who follow traditions that integrate the faery lore of the Celtic countries. It is customary to leave food and drink out for the fairies on the nights of our festivals, and it is believed that if the fairies are not honored with gifts at these times, they will work mischief in our lives. Certain holidays call for particular "fairy favorites." At Imbolc/Oimelc (February 2nd), for example, we leave gifts of dairy origin, like cheese, butter or fresh cream. At Lammas/Lughnasa (August 1st) we leave fresh grains or newly-baked bread. At Samhain, nuts and apples are traditional. And at Ostara, it is customary to leave something sweet (honey, or mead, or candy)--could this be connected to the Easter basket tradition? Perhaps a gift of sweets corresponds to the sweet nectar gathering in new spring flowers?

To refer again to The Wicker Man, the post office/candy shop where May Morrison works (she is the mother of Rowan Morrison, the young girl who is supposedly missing and who Sargent Howie has come to Summerisle to find) offers a large selection of candies shaped like animals. When Sargent Howie says "I like your rabbits" Mrs. Morrison scolds him saying "Those are hares! Lovely March hares, not silly old rabbits!" And when Howie goes to dig up the grave of Rowan Morrison (who it turns out is neither dead nor missing) he finds the carcass of a hare, and Lord Summerisle tries to convince him that Rowan was transformed into a hare upon her death. Clearly this is an illustration of the powerful association with animals that many ancient cultures have (Summerisle being a place where time has seemingly stood still and where the pagan pursuit of pleasure and simple agricultural ways define the way of life). The forming of candy into the shape of rabbits or chicks is a way to acknowledge them as symbols; by eating them, we take on their characteristics, and enhance our own fertility, growth and vitality.

For clearly the association of rabbits with Easter has something to do with fertility magic. Anyone who has kept rabbits as pets or knows anything about their biology has no question about the origin of the phrase "f*** like a bunny." These cute furry creatures reproduce rapidly, and often! Same with chicks, who emerge wobbly and slimy from their eggs only to become fluffy, yellow and cute within a few hours. The Easter Bunny may well have its origin in the honoring of rabbits in spring as an animal sacred to the goddess Eastre, much as horses are sacred to the Celtic Epona, and the crow is sacred to the Morrigan. As a goddess of spring, she presides over the realm of the conception and birth of babies, both animal and human, and of the pollination, flowering and ripening of fruits in the plant kingdom. Sexual activity is the root of all of life: to honor this activity is to honor our most direct connection to nature.

At Beltane (April 31st-May 1st), pagans and Witches honor the sexual union of the god and goddess amid the flowers and fruits that have begun to cover the land; but prior to that, at Ostara, we welcome the return of the spring goddess from her long season of dormant sleep. The sap begins to flow, the trees are budding, the ground softens, ice melts, and everywhere the fragrance and color of spring slowly awakens and rejuvenates our own life force.

I have always thought this had a lot to do with the tradition of wearing newly-bought or made clothes at Easter, in pastel spring colors. Wearing such colors we echo the flowering plants, crocus, lilac, forsythia, bluebells, violets and new clothes allow us to feel we are renewing our persona. How many of us feel sort of "blah" after winter ends? Along with the fasting practice mentioned earlier, this is a time for many of us to create new beginnings in our lives: this can apply to jobs, relationships, living situations, lifestyle choices. But since the Equinox is such a potent time magically, and often (as it does this year) falls in the period when Mercury is Retrograde, starting a new endeavor at this time can be problematic if we do not take care. One good way to avoid catastrophe is to engage in small, personally-oriented rites or activities: a new haircut, a new clothing style or make-up, a new exercise program, the grand old tradition of spring cleaning, a new course of study: all of these are relatively "safe" ways to begin anew without risking the weirdness and unpredictability of Mercury Retrograde.

This is a very powerful time to do magic, not only because of the balancing of the earth's energies, but because of the way our own beings echo the earth's changes. We are literally reborn as we emerge from our winter sleep, ready to partake of all the pleasures of the earth, and to meet the challenges we will face as the world changes around us daily. As we greet and celebrate with our pagans brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere (for whom the Vernal Equinox more closely resembles the beginning of autumn, in physical terms!), we remember that Spring is not only a season; it is a state of mind.

Blessed Be in the Season of Spring! Go Forth and Flower!

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=holidays&id=1991

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Belly Dance Gathering March 14

bellydancecostumesbytc — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:26:39 GMT

A Night Out In Downtown Mesa

Belly Dance Gathering

When: March 14, 2008

Where: Inside the Bungalow Coffee House

48 North Robson Mesa, AZ 85201

Time: 7pm

Admission: free, but please support our host and have a cup of coffee

Dancers to Perform

Yasmina, Hipnotic Hips, Amira, Demi Faraday, Miss Neena Nour, Zadia, Qadesh, Kalista, Nissa, Latifah, Kaci, Samantha, Summer, Epona, Ankestamen with Raks Al Baladi, Levana, Enshallah, Samra, Pythias, Nai’lah, Grasha, Jemula, Sascha, Leila Sa’ida, Aashiyana Dance company, Bella Luna MaKara, Renee’ Mikael, and TC

Please Join us
Also you may want to bring your own folding lawn chair and a stadium blanket in case there is a chill in the air.

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Poi Workshops at the Mystic Jewell with Alien Jon!!!

Tricia — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:20:54 GMT

I highly recommend taking this workshop. Jon is an incredible prop artist and AZ is very fortunate to have him here willing to pass on his knowledge of poi!

Friday, March 7 - w/Alien Jon & assistant Tricia: $40 covers both classes
• 6-7:00 Fundamental forms of modern poi $20 - Covers fundamental poi concepts, exercises, and poi scales. Indispensable for the beginner, fill in holes for intermediate spinners, and give advanced spinners a chance to delve deeply into the foundation that makes all advanced moves easy to learn and flow with.
• 7-8:00 Advanced Poi and technical concepts $30 - Covers an advanced model and understanding of the spin zones around the human body so that you can spin anywhere in any orientation including behind the head and back or under the legs. This also includes inside planes and inswings in between the arms all around the body. Further exploration in the body and poi relationships as time sculpture: tracing geometry through time. This yields incredible feelings and unbelievable visual effects for your audience. For the uber-advanced we can cover 'Composite' spinning: pattern construction using independent control of each hand/poi. For example advanced hybrids.

Call the Mystic Jewell, Alien Jon, or Tricia to reserve your spot!
Mystic Jewell (480) 894-8777
Jon Everett (720) 935-3822
Tricia Moore (480) 233-6706

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The Amazon Garb

darkgypsy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:39:09 GMT

Allo all. Im in the verge of researching for amazon garb for upcoming events and fighting matches (Darkon). I wanted to know if you make your own outfits or do you go to a store or online site to order? I already know about Leatherlore.com, in which im planning to get stuff from there but are there any other stores i can check out? Donkishun all.

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

To all my warrior women on Valentines Day :)

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:11:04 GMT

This is the day to honor our true love. Of course with our special loved one it can be a loving and sensuous day. Whether we are single or taken, I think the most important love should be within ourselves. I got this quote from a beautiful friend from Myspace. I thought it was beautiful. Love you all!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Your true love was staring you right in your eyes...When you looked in the mirror! "Smile's"
You never have to feel lonely, your never alone!
You are never apart from your creator!
Love..well, is always there, each time you open your eyes in the morning.

True, it is nice to have a companion to reflect the kindness, laughter and beauty we so often forget is all within self!

We don't know how much time we have here on this plain...We can only be the best we can in the time we have!
Live life the best you can, and maybe, just maybe..someone may learn a lesson or two.

By, Bea Vega (my best friend forever and ever)
NATIVE WARRIOR WOMEN

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Blessed and Merry Imbolc!

Epona-of-Aretias — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:51:03 GMT

The First of February belongs to Brigid, (Brighid, Brigit, Bride,) the Celtic goddess who in later times became revered as a Christian saint. Originally, her festival on February 1 was known as Imbolc or Oimelc, two names which refer to the lactation of the ewes, the flow of milk that heralds the return of the life-giving forces of spring. Later, the Catholic Church replaced this festival with Candlemas Day on February 2, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and features candlelight processions. The powerful figure of Brigid the Light-Bringer overlights both pagan and Christian celebrations.

In most parts of the British Isles, February is a harsh and bitter month. In old Scotland, the month fell in the middle of the period known as Faoilleach, the Wolf-month; it was also known as a’ marbh mhiòs, the Dead-month. But although this season was so cold and drear, small but sturdy signs of new life began to appear: Lambs were born and soft rain brought new grass. Ravens begin to build their nests and larks were said to sing with a clearer voice.

In Ireland, the land was prepared to receive the new seed with spade and plough; calves were born, and fishermen looked eagerly for the end of winter storms and rough seas to launch their boats again. In Scotland, the Old Woman of winter, the Cailleach, is reborn as Bride, Young Maiden of Spring, fragile yet growing stronger each day as the sun rekindles its fire, turning scarcity into abundance. Of her, Alexander Carmichael wrote:

Bride with her white wand is said to breathe life into the mouth of the dead Winter and to bring him to open his eyes to the tears and the smiles, the sighs and the laughter of Spring. The venom of the cold is said to tremble for its safety on Bride’s Day, and to flee for its life on Patrick’s Day.

THE EXALTED ONE
…woman of wisdom…a goddess whom poets adored…— Cormac’s Glossary

It is tempting to view this tender goddess of the early Spring only as she is pictured in Scottish artist John Duncan’s famous picture, The Coming of Bride: a wide-eyed, golden-haired girl, encircled by children. But behind her girlish innocence is the power of a once-great ancestral deity, Brigid, whose name means “The Exalted One,” queen and mother goddess of many European tribes. She is also known as Brigid, Bridget, Brighid, Brighde, Brig or Bride and some scholars consider her name originated with the Vedic Sanskrit word brihati, an epithet of the divine.

The 10th century Cormac’s Glossary describes her as the daughter of the Daghda, the “Great God” of the Tuatha de Danaan. He calls her a “woman of wisdom…a goddess whom poets adored, because her protection was very great and very famous." Since the discipline of poetry, filidhect, was interwoven with seership, Brigid was seen as the great inspiration behind divination and prophecy, the source of oracles.

She is said to have had two sisters: Brigid the Physician and Brigid the Smith, but it is generally thought that all three were aspects of the one goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. Elsewhere she is described as the patron of other vital crafts of early Celtic society: dying, weaving and brewing. A goddess of regeneration and abundance, she was greatly beloved as a provider of plenty who brought forth the bounties of the natural world for the good of the people. She is closely connected with livestock and domesticated animals. She had two oxen called Fea and Feimhean who gave their names to a plain in Co. Carlow and one in Tipperary. She was also the guardian of Torc Triath, king of the wild boar, who gave his name to Treithirne, a plain in West Tipperary. These three totem animals used to raise a warning cry if Ireland was in danger.

Some Irish rivers bear her name, as do places as far apart as Breconshire in Wales, Brechin in Scotland and Bregenz in Austria, which was once the capital of the Brigantii tribe. This tribe was under the tutelage of the goddess Brigantia, who is thought to be another aspect of Brigid. The most powerful political unit of Celtic-speaking Britain, the Brigantii mostly held sway in Northern England, where place-names and rock-carvings still echo the presence of their mother-goddess.

SAINT OF THE FLAME
…she shall arise like a shining sun… — Lives of Saints, The Book of Lismore

With the coming of Christianity, the powerful energy of the pagan goddess was transmuted into Ireland’s much-loved saint, second only to Patrick himself. Her transformation happened almost literally in Drumeague, County Cavan, at a place called “The Mountain of the Three Gods.” Here a stone head of Brigid was worshipped as a triple deity, but with the coming of Christianity, it was hidden in a Neolithic tomb. Later it was recovered from its burial-place and mounted on a local church where it was popularly canonized as “St. Bride of Knockbridge.” [iii]Though many legends are attached to her, there is certainly no firm evidence of her as a historical figure. Accounts of the saint’s life reveal what Sir James Frazer once called her: “a goddess in a threadbare cloak.”

Saint Brigid was said to be the daughter of a druid who had a vision that she was to be named after a great goddess. She was born at sunrise while her mother was walking over a threshold, and so "was neither within nor without." This is the state known as liminality, from the Latin, limen: a threshold – the state of being “in between” places and times. In Celtic tradition this is a sacred time when the doors between the worlds are open and magical events can occur.

Another legend tells how her mother was carrying a pitcher of milk at the time, with which she bathed her new-born child. As a child, Brigid was unable to eat ordinary food, and was reared on the milk of a special white red-eared cow. White animals with red ears are frequently found in Celtic mythology as beasts of the Otherworld. We have also seen how the pagan goddess owned two magical oxen. In Celtic society, cattle were the most highly valued of all animals, revered as symbols of plenty, and Saint Brigid was very closely associated with livestock in general, and dairy cows in particular. As an adult, she was accompanied by a cow who also supplied her with all the milk she needed.

When she became abbess of Kildare, she miraculously increased the milk and butter yield of the abbey cows; some accounts say that her cows produced a whole lake of milk three times a day, and one churning filled hundreds of baskets with butter. When Saint Brigid died, her skull was kept at Kildare after the pre-Christian custom of revering the head as sacred. Norman soldiers were supposed to have stolen it from the abbey and taken it to Portugal. Here it played its part in a spring ceremony where cattle were driven past it. In Scotland she was invoked as “Milkmaid Bride,” or “Golden-haired Bride of the kine,” patroness of cattle and dairy work. Medieval Christian art often depicts her as holding a cow, or carrying a pair of milk-pails.

She also provided abundant ale-harvests: At one Easter-time, one measure of her malt provided ale for seventeen churches. Her miraculous powers changed water into ale and stone into salt. With boundless generosity she fed birds, animals, and the poor, and they all loved her in return. The bountiful mother goddess of the fruitful earth shines through the generosity of the Christian saint.

Early writers believed Brigid’s name stemmed from breo-aigit: “fiery arrow,” a false but somehow very fitting etymology for a goddess of smithcraft, and one who kindles the fires of creativity and regeneration. Her association with fire and the sun continues into the folk-lore of the Christian saint. In one version of her life from the Book of Lismore, a druid prophesies that she will be “a daughter conspicuous and radiant, who will shine like the sun among the stars of heaven.” As a child, a fire was seen rising from the house where she and her mother were asleep. Yet it did not burn the house, but glowed like the burning bush of the Old Testament. When she first began to pray to God, a column of flame was seen rising from the house. She emerged unharmed, but “full of the grace of the Holy Spirit,” a reference to the Pentecostal flames. A charming story tells how stories of Brigid’s deeds drew the attention of the famous Saint Brendan who stopped by on an unannounced visit. She had been out working in the fields on a showery day, and was so surprised to see the great man in her house, that she flung off her rain-cloak without bothering to hang it up. The cloak caught on a sunbeam and to the older saint’s astonishment, hung there till it dried.

Like the rising sun, she belonged to the East, where her influence radiated out from her convent at Kildare in the heart of Leinster. Within the convent burned a perennial flame which became known as one of the three inextinguishable fires of the Irish monasteries. Stories about the flame's miraculous properties told that it stayed alight through the grace of God while the ashes from the burnt wood never increased even though it burned for a thousand years, from the 5th to the 16th centuries. Gerald of Wales wrote about it when he visited the convent sometime in the twelfth century. He tells that there used to be twenty nuns keeping watch over the flame during Brigid's lifetime; since her death, nineteen took turns, one each night, in guarding the fire. When the twentieth night came, the nineteenth nun put the logs beside the fire and said:

“Brigid, guard your fire. This is your night.”

In the morning, the wood was found burned and the fire still alight.

Brigid's flame was housed within a sacred enclosure, surrounded by a withy hedge which, Gerald reports, "no male may cross." A terrible fate awaited any man who tried, although the nature of the punishment was not specified. It seems probable that Kildare was once a pagan sanctuary attended by priestesses, similar to the Vestal Virgins of Roman tradition. Some scholars have seen a connection between Brigid and Sulis Minerva whose sacred fire burned at Aquae Sulis (Bath) in the 3rd century. Elsewhere only nine maidens are described as guarding the Brigid’s flame, a scene reminiscent of the nine maidens in the Welsh poem, The Spoils of Annwn, whose breath warmed the magical cauldron of the Underworld. Goddess of the Sun and Christian saint of the Eternal Fire are equally invoked in the beautiful invocation known as Brighid's Arrow:

Most Holy Brighid, Excellent Woman, Bright Arrow, Sudden Flame;
May your bright fiery Sun take us swiftly to your lasting kingdom.

Like the goddess of old, Saint Brigid was renowned for her gift of healing. She wove the first piece of cloth in Ireland and wove into it healing threads which kept their power for centuries. Many healing wells and springs were named after her. Earlier this century, an old woman recounted her experiences at a well of Brigid’s on the west coast – one of many that are still active today.

“I had a pearl in my eye one time, and I went to Saint Brigit’s well on the cliffs. Scores of people there were in it, looking for cures, and some got them and some did not get them. And I went down the four steps to the well and I was looking into it, and I saw a little fish no longer than your finger coming from a stone under the water. Three spots it had on the one side and three on the other side, red spots and a little green with the red, and it was very civil coming hither to me and very pleasant wagging its tail. And it stopped and looked up at me and gave three wags of its back, and walked off again and went in under the stone….And in three days I had the sight of my eye again. It was surely Saint Brigit I saw that time; who else would it be?”

At Kildare her well stands just outside the town, and was refurbished by the local nuns in 1984. Near the spring, an upright stone tablet bears two crosses on either side. One is a Christian cross, the other is the cross of Saint Brigit, the fiery sun-wheel turning.

TO CELEBRATE IMBOLC TODAY . . .

This is traditionally a time of purification — clean your house!
If you have any Christmas greenery lingering, burn it now.

Make your own Brighid’s crosses and hang them up,
especially in the kitchen where her influence can bless your food.

Put out food — cake, buttered bread and milk will do — outside your door:
Brighid and her cow walk through the neighborhood tonight, and will appreciate your offering.

Leave a silk ribbon on your doorstep for Brighid to bless:
It can then be used for healing purposes.

Meditate upon what you would like to see grow in health and strength this year:
for yourself, your family, your community, the Earth,
and ask for Bride's blessing upon your prayers.

this article has more info, go to: http://www.chalicecentre.net/imbolc.htm

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

ARETIAS - Warrior Women performance video ;-)

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:21:13 GMT

I finally got a small sample of one of my productions on You Tube YAY! You all will be the first to see it. It is Nissa, Levana, and myself doing a dance with staffs. This show was back in April, 2007 at the first Phoenix Faerie festival. Enjoy! We sure had fun doing it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BokgBr6DU6o

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

I have a performance video

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:56:39 GMT

It's on my Myspace profile right now.
http://myspace.com/epona_of_aretias

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 4 replies

Make a wish for 2008 ;-)

Epona-of-Aretias — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:59:56 GMT

I just wanted to wish you all a FABULOUS and beautiful New Year. I hope you all get what you want in the upcoming year. May your spirit be your guide and bless your path with abundance and joy.
Blessed Be!
Epona

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Merry Yule in this Blessed Winter Solstice!

Epona-of-Aretias — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:08:03 GMT

All hail ye birth to the blessed sun!

Winter Solstice marks the time of the year when the light returns as the sun shifts and starts to move northward again. In Europe, the
tradition of the yule log is celebrated on Winter Solstice. A special log is brought in and placed on the hearth where it glows for the twelve nights of the holiday season. After that, it is kept in the house all year to protect the home and its inhabitants from illness and any adverse condition. The yule log is the counterpart of the midsummer bonfires, which are held outdoors on Summer Solstice to celebrate the shortest night of the year. It is also customary to place mistletoe around the fire, which is the plant that grew on the oak tree, sacred to the Druids, the priests of the old Celts. Among other uses, mistletoe is thought to help women conceive. The Christmas tree also dates from old European or pagan rituals. It was the time to celebrate the renewal of the earth, and greens were used as the symbol. Branches of pine, cedar, and juniper commonly used brings wonderful fragrance into the home. Red candles are used to symbolize the fire and heat of the returning sun as the days begin to lengthen. http://www.mindspring.com/~stardancer/winsols.htm

This is also an interesting article regarding this season ancient origins - http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html

Blessings, Epona

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Being strong for you and me

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:25:11 GMT

Some might have heard the phrase that strength comes from within. This time of year is rough for some of us and strength is needed to get through it. We all need to be strong in our hearts in order to overcome negative emotions and feelings of lack. The holiday season is probably the most powerful time of feeling lack - lack of abundance, lack of family, lack of friends, and being overly stressed. It's normal for all of us to feel this way at one point or another.

I say that it is possible to shift our awareness and feel good right now no matter where we are at, within this moment. Think of your pet or a beloved friend. Think of sending a loved one a gift of healing or a feeling of love to them within your heart. It doesn't need to be done with them present in front of you. One can do this just by thinking about it. Think of healing and light within yourself. Feeling down? Give yourself a gift right now. Take a deep breath, do a short meditation, take a cleansing bath, make yourself a wonderful dinner, go for a walk in Nature, or just think about all of the 'GOOD' things within your life you have to be grateful for. These little things can shift how we feel and help us to feel better NOW.

Strength comes from within. Be good to yourself and you will find strength. Be kind and helpful to others and you will help give them the greatest gift they can receive this Holiday Season, the inspiration to find their own strength.

Hope you are all well and prosperous within your hearts!
Happy Holidays!

Blessings, Epona

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

Holiday poem - repost

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:03:44 GMT

Love it :) Enjoy!

"A Viking Christmas Poem"

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Hall
Not a creature was stirring, not warrior nor thrall.
And I in my armor, my shield and my helm
Was drunker than anyone else in the Realm.
I staggered upstairs and fell into bed
While four quarts of mead were ablaze in my head.
Then up from below came the sounds of a brawl
So I grabbed up my axe and ran down to the Hall.
I missed the last step and crashed down in a heap
Thinking, "Why can't those low-lifes downstairs go to sleep!"
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But two brawny strangers, wielding mallet and spear.
I said to myself, "We'll soon have them beat!"
Then I noticed ten warriors laid out at their feet.
I gave out a yell and leapt into the fray...
I'll always regret my poor choice of that day.
For the one laid his hammer to the side of my nose
And up, up, up to the rafters I rose.
Then came a lone frightened voice from the floor,
"Those are no mortal warriors -- that's Odin and Thor!"
Then they looked at each other and they said, "Battle's done.
Now they know who we are, it no longer is fun."
Then Thor raised his hammer, and his elbow he bent,
And with a loud crash, through the ceiling they went.
I crawled through the Hall and flung open the door,
Not really sure that I'd seen them before.
The snow bathed in starlight, the moon like a glede,
I saw them ride off on an eight-legged steed.
And I heard them exclaim, 'ere they flew out of sight,
"TO HELA WITH CHRISTMAS, WE JUST LOVE A GOOD FIGHT!"

author unknown~

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Happy Thanks Giving!

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:10:41 GMT

Hope you are all well and happy this Thanksgiving. This is the time of giving thanks for all that we have. I have so much to be grateful for and am honored to share this with you. Blessed Be!
http://people.tribe.net/epona-of-aretias/blog/1f02c317-bc7d-4354-850a-ac65a1e4f478

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Happy Samhain!

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:22:06 GMT

In the ancient days, the Celtic tribes were the creators of the Holiday we know as Halloween. With the harvest and the coming of winter, Mother Nature symbolized the coming of death with the days getting shorter. This is a time to honor our ancestors and those who have passed. Death is but another journey and Halloween or Samhain is the one day of the year the veil is thin, which makes it the most honorable time to communicate with those loved ones we have lost. A time to celebrate and honor death. It is also a time to play and partake in the festivities of spooky gouls, vampires, ghosts, and monsters. I love Halloween! It's my favorite time of year ;-)
Blessed Be!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Hey gouls and goblins!

Epona-of-Aretias — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:59:53 GMT

Just wanted to wish everyone a fun and safe Halloween weekend. Go wild and be whatever you want to be. I know I will ;-)
Blessings, Epona

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Open Drum & Dance!!

gypsydrum — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:02:30 GMT

The Nadastati Kumpania Gypsies will be drumming and dancing this Thurs. night (10/25/07) at Trick Shot Pool Hall. Trick Shot is located on the Southwest corner of 43rd Ave. and Cactus Road in Phoenix, AZ. The fun starts at 7:30pm, all are welcome!

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Midnight Caravan Live Music and Dance Extravaganza!

elissa — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:33:37 GMT

Phoenix, Arizona October 6th-7th

Midnight Caravan – Souhail Kaspar Near East Ensemble with Guest Artists Naser Musa, Georges Lammam, and the fabulous Dahlena!

Get ready for some of the best live Middle Eastern music to hit the valley in ages! Souhail Kaspar Near East Ensemble will be in Phoenix on October 6th and 7th with a series of percussion, music, and dance workshops and a spectacular show with a stellar lineup. Guest artists include the multi-talented musicians Naser Musa and Georges Lammam, and the legendary dancer/insructor Dahlena. Come see live music that is sizzling, energizing, passionate and unforgettable! The band includes the mesmerizing vocal and instrumental stylings of Naser Musa and Georges Lammam with a rocking percussion section including master percussionist Souhail Kaspar, Majdi Kurd, Elissa, and Joe Borik. Special dance performances by Dahlena, Carrie Konyha, and some surprises!

Visit www.phoenixhafla.com to see Georges, Naser, Souhail and Majdi performing at Mendocino Music Camp with some other notable performers.

Doors open at 9:00 pm, Saturday October 6th. Come mingle, eat, dance, and enjoy the fantastic music! This is a concert and a party. Some food will be provided. Bring a potluck dish and you will be worshipped and adored!

Admission is $20 in advance/$25 at the door. Register early – the last hafla sold out!

Concert and workshops located at:

Metropolitan Arts Institute, 1700 N 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ on 7th Ave just north of McDowell.

For concert and workshop registration, visit: www.phoenixhafla.com

Workshop Schedule - October 6th and 7th

Workshops with Souhail:
Drum Solo for Dancers, all skill levels: Saturday 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. $45
Egyptian tabla (doumbek) fundamentals: Sunday 10:00 to 12:00 $40
Intermediate/advanced: Sunday 1:00 to 3:00 $40
Riqq (tambourine), all levels: Sunday 3:30 to 5:00 $35

Workshops with Naser:
Arabic Instrumental Ensemble: Saturday, October 6th, 10:00 to 12:00 $40

Workshops with Georges:
Arabic Singing: Saturday, October 6th, 12:30 to 2:30 $40

Workshops with Dahlena:
Egyptian Oriental Dance: Sunday, October 7th, 12:00 to 3:00 $60

Full class descriptions, package discounts, and contact information can be found here: www.phoenixhafla.com

Any questions, message me through Tribe or any of the contact info on the website.

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 5 replies

The Halloween Witch

Epona-of-Aretias — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:38:45 GMT

I posted this last year. I thought it was a touching point of view of how one sees the Halloween Witch.

Halloween Witch
~Author Unknown

Each year they parade her about, the traditional Halloween Witch. Misshapen green face, stringy scraps of hair, a toothless mouth beneath her deformed nose. Gnarled knobby fingers twisted into a claw protracting from a bent and twisted torso that lurches about on wobbly legs. Most think this abject image to be the creation of a prejudiced mind or merely a Halloween caricature. I disagree, I
believe this to be how Witches were really seen.

Consider that most Witches were women, were abducted in the night, and smuggled into dungeons or prisons under the secrecy of darkness to be presented by light of day as a confessed Witch. Few if any saw a frightened normal looking woman being dragged into a secret room filled with instruments of torture, to be questioned until she confessed to anything suggested to her and to give names or what ever would stop the questions.

Crowds saw the aberration denounced to the world as a self-proclaimed Witch. As the Witch was paraded through town en route to be burned, hanged, drowned, stoned or disposed of in various other forms of Christian love all created to free and save her soul from her depraved body, the jeering crowds viewed the results of hours of torture. The face bruised and broken by countless blows bore a hue of
sickly green. The once warm and loving smile gone replaced by a grimace of broken teeth and torn gums that leers beneath a battered disfigured nose. The disheveled hair conceals bleeding gaps of torn scalp from whence cruel hands had torn away the lovely tresses. Broken twisted hands clutched the wagon for support, fractured
fingers with nails torn away locked like groping claws to steady her broken body. All semblance of humanity gone this was truly a demon, a bride of Satan, a Witch.

I revere this Halloween Crone and hold her sacred above all. I honor her courage and listen to her warnings of the dark side of man. Each year I shed tears of respect when the mundane exhibit their symbol of Christian love.

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Faerie Festival Fund Raiser Show this Saturday

Rowan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:05:41 GMT

I'm very excited to announce that the Soul Invictus Gallery will host a Galla Faerie Festival Fund Raiser Show Saturday October 13th 2007.

Soul Invictus is located at
1022 N.W. Grand Ave
Phoenix AZ

The all ages show will include a
*Fantasy Artist's Showing
*Raffle
*Live Music and Dancers
Including performances by;
*Stage 6 Productions
*Anaya Tribal Dance
*Joe Bethancourt
*Zina BintBadia
*Jasmine
*Wyllow Ravenscroft
*Epona

Great Raffle Donations From:

Sylvan Woods

Fetish Falls

the Root Seller Gallery

Gypsy Faerie

Anaya Tribal

PF Chang's China Bistro

Anna's Devious Wigs

Bronwynn Torgerson & Dan Poland
AND MORE

Come Out and Show Your Support
Time 7pm - Doors Open at 6pm
Tickets $10 ea (Cash Only) Children Under 6yrs FREE

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Epona You ROCK !

Colleen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:19:43 GMT

Your performance at First Friday Artwalk was Beautiful...Thank you for sharing it with us...I had goosebumps...and hey you have a seriously scary Sword woman.........

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

New Photos

Epona-of-Aretias — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 23:54:32 GMT

Merry Autumn! I went North to the woods to take some new pics this past weekend. These pics have a spiritually symbolic meaning to me. If one would like the story in depth, feel free to read my blog.
Blessings, Epona
http://people.tribe.net/epona-of-aretias/blog/671c0b94-f62b-41f1-920b-038863ab5360

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

Pagan Pride Day :)

Epona-of-Aretias — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:03:58 GMT

Hello all, I just had the wonderful opportunity to perform my warrior woman dance piece at Phoenix's Pagan Pride yesterday. I can't say enough how nice it was set up with the vendors, artists, rituals, and healers. This is my kind of place to do what I do. I felt such a wonderful energy. The people were so supportive and it just reminded me of how we need more places like this to dance. I was thrilled to get to see the other ladies belly dance with the beautiful Zina Bint Badia, who set up the opportunity for me to perform there. Thank you girl :)

It was just a beautiful day and I left feeling peaceful and honored to be part of it. I am going to focus on more opportunities similar to this in Phoenix. I'm a warrior belly dancer, not traditional. I wear warrior costumes and almost always do some sort of weaponry within my dance. My goal is to strive for the feeling of women empowerment. I love this so and it's what I do :) I just need more places to do it ;-)

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Goddess of Halloween

Epona-of-Aretias — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:39:12 GMT

It's that time of year again folks. I'm featuring my favorite hostess of Movie Macabre, the ever so enchanting Elivira, Mistress of the dark.
I just love her! My best friend of 17 years, my feline familiar, who passed away Halloween of 05 was named Elvira. She had those seductriss haunting eyes and Halloween orange, black and white colors. Although her beautiful spirit is still with me, I miss her so.

I ever so adore the entertainer extraordinaire Goddess of Halloween, Elvira. I hear she has a fox reality show coming up this month as well. So, look out for it.
Unpleasant Dreams...............

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

Wednesday, October 3rd - "Cyrcle - The Drummers Groove" Drum, Music and Dance Energy Exchange Circle

DaveFrankus — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:31:35 GMT

Wednesday, October 3rd - "Cyrcle - The Drummers Groove" Drum, Music and Dance Energy Exchange Circle

at

Bookmans Entertainment Exchange
8034 N. 19th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85021
(602) 433-0255

From 7:00 to 9:00
Wednesday, October 3rd

Come and share the love and communal spirit of this wonderful event. The lights are low and there is magic in the air. Loose yourself in the moment while you give and receive revitalizing energy. It's all about the love and your individual expression of it. Just let yourself go.....oh yes...and there will be group hugs.
Dancers of all types and skill levels are welcome!
Musicians, bring your melodic instruments, drums and or light percussion..
This is an exchange of energy "Cyrcle" so please come and share!!!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

belly dance gathering Oct 5th Paper Heart Art Gallery

bellydancecostumesbytc — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:54:30 GMT

PHX ART WALK
1st Friday
Belly Dance Gathering
RAQ THE CASBAH!!!!!!!!!

WHEN: FRIDAY OCT 5, 2007

WHERE: THE PAPER HEART ART GALLERY 750 NW GRAND AVENUE PHX AZ

TIME: 7:OO PM ISH

ADDMISSION; FREE BUT PLEASE SUPPORT OUR HOST AND HAVE A COFFEE, TEA, SNACK OR BUY A PAINTING

VENDING BY MADAME HABIB WWW.MADAMHABIB.COM

OPEN DANCING SO BRING A HIP SASH
THIS EVENT WILL BE OUTSIDE SO YOU MAY NEED A SWEATER WILL HAVE SOME CHAIRS BUT IF YOU HAVE AN EXTRA FOLDING CHAIR YOU MAY WANT TO BRING IT OR BLANKETS AND PILLOWS FOR GROUND SEATING

Performers schedule to dance: Madam Habib, Nissa, Bella Luna, Rakalaya, Bene Gesserit, Renee, Kali, Paulina, Lanna, Tanith,Kasmina,Diabolique Unconvebtional Entertainment funk Fusion and Fire Dance, Raja, Athene Nashea, Paula, Desert Flowers, Susana, Epona, Alleyha, Levana, Azhie, Lara, Mara Featuring An Noujoum, Eiledon, Zahari, Sundia, Enshallah, TC, Shan and Francis, Satori Sunrise, Summer, and Sword and Veil

ALSO CHECK OUT MY COSTUME WEBSITE WWW.BELLYDANCECOSTUMESBYTC.COM
also
http://www.myspace.com/tccostumes
http://people.tribe.net/bellydancecostumesbytc

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Female pirates

Epona-of-Aretias — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:04:03 GMT

With all of the interest with pirate reenactment, as of late, I thought I list a story about a pirate warrior woman.

Anne Bonny (nï¿½e Cormac) was born March 8, 1700, in County Cork, Ireland, the illegitimate daughter of a prominent lawyer and his wife's maid. The ensuing scandal forced him to flee Ireland with his lover and daughter in disgrace, but the little family found refuge in the Carolinas. There Cormac amassed a fortune and bought a large plantation.

When Anne was sixteen, a ne'er-do-well sailor named James Bonny married Anne in an attempt to steal the plantation, but Anne's father instead disowned her. Bonny then took Anne to the pirate lair of New Providence in the Bahamas, where he turned stoolpigeon to Governor Woodes Rogers, accusing any sailor he didn't like of piracy for a handsome reward.

Anne grew to dislike her spineless husband and spent most of her time with the pirate elite. Her best friends consisted of the pirates' paramours and of Pierre, the most celebrated homosexual on the island, who ran a popular ladies' establishment--- and with whom Anne had a teasing rivalry for the favors of the male population.

Anne first managed to capture the attentions of Chidley Bayard, one of the richest men in the Carribean--- although in order to keep him she had to duel his current lover, a violent Spanish beauty named Maria (Vargas or Reynaldi--- I've heard two versions) (who, it was rumored, had once decapitated a child who had inadvertantly dirtied her skirts), in a fight to the death. (It was rumored that in her youth, Anne had killed a servant woman with a carving knife because the servant made her mad. However, one story suggests that the servant attacked Anne, who was forced to defend herself). She enjoyed spending his money, and travelled with him everywhere--- until, at a ball, she met up with the spiteful sister-in-law of Governor Lawes of Jamaica. When the woman, after asking Anne catty questions about her position in Bayard's life, rudely told Anne that she didn't consider Anne worth knowing and to keep her distance. Anne cheerfully told her she'd make sure there was quite a bit of distance between them--- and promptly punched the woman in the mouth, knocking out two of her teeth in the process.

Anne was nearly hauled off to jail, but Bayard's great power managed to keep her free. However, he could no longer take her with him on his business trips, and so his use for her diminished.

With Bayard away for much of the time, Anne tired of him before long, and quickly caught the eye of one Calico Jack Rackham, a pirate of some renown. Governor Rogers had recently passed an amnesty for pirates which left Bonny out of work. The attraction between Anne and Jack was mutual. Calico Jack was a handsome rogue who knew how to spend money as well as steal it. Anne was a well-endowed lass with a fiery spirit and a temper to match.

Many of the ex-pirates were getting bored with the humdrum life on shore, and Jack was no different. He decided to go back to sea with another pirate, Captain Charles Vane, but when he announced his plans to Anne, she refused to stay ashore and wait for him. She would go a-pirating, too. And so they began a life of piracy together.

Anne often wore men's clothing, and was an expert with pistol and rapier, proving herself to be as dangerous as any male pirate. Fearless in battle, she was often a member of the boarding party when a prize was about to be taken.

Not long after they went to sea, Anne discovered she was pregnant. At first dismayed at the prospect of becoming a mother, she pleaded with Jack to keep the secret, and stayed on the ship until her condition became obvious, at which time she went ashore for the remainder of her pregnancy.

By the time she went ashore, Anne looked forward to the baby's arrival, even hoping that she might have a girl, a sign that perhaps she was ready to settle down. But the baby, a girl just as Anne had hoped, was born two months premature, and died within an hour of her birth.

Anne was devastated. She wept bitter tears, convinced that she had caused the death of her tiny daughter. To her, life had lost its flavor. When Jack came back to retrieve his lady, he was shocked at her condition, and took her back to New Providence to recover. The amnesty had been extended for another year, and Jack intended to take advantage of it.

Shortly after their return, Anne learned through her old friend Pierre of a plot to kill Governor Rogers, and relayed the information to the governor, saving his life. Governor Rogers was naturally extremely grateful. But Anne's husband, James, who was still on the island, was determined to get even with Anne and Jack for openly flaunting their affair under his nose. He had them arrested in the middle of the night and brought before Governor Rogers as quickly as the soldiers could drag the lovers. Jack offered to buy Anne from Bonny, but Bonny, knowing his wife's temper, refused, saying, "She'll kill me if she's set free!" Dryly Governor Rogers asked, "Then she'll hang for murder. Are you so afraid of her, then?" The answer was obvious to all.

Governor Rogers, remembering the favor Anne had done him recently, waived the standard punishment for the crime--- temporarily. He said that unless Jack could persuade Bonny to a divorce-by-sale, the pair must give up their consorting, or Anne was to be flogged--- by Jack himself---and returned to her husband. Anne was furious that anyone could even consider selling her like an animal. Refusing to be dictated to, Jack and Anne slipped out to the harbor the next night, stole a sloop and took up pirating again.

In October of 1720, retribution was close at hand. Governor Lawes of Jamaica, hearing of Jack's presence, sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture the Captain and crew. Jack and Anne were aboard the Providence, a sloop newly-captured by Mary Read, another female pirate. Having just captured a fishing boat the day before, the pirates were making merry with the fishermen's rum. The Providence was caught by surprise, the male pirates being drunk at the time, and much to Anne's dismay, instead of fighting, the men hid in the hold and were taken far too easily. Anne and Mary Read were also captured, but confessed their true gender. At their trial, when asked if they had any words to say before they were sentenced, Anne spoke up for both of them: "We plead our bellies, sir!" Both women were pregnant at the time. They received separate trials from the men, but were sentenced to hang after the birth of their babies. When Calico Jack, who at his trial had pleaded for mercy on behalf of the women, was granted a special favor to see Anne on the day he was to hang, Anne's words to him were, "I'm sorry, Jack. But if you had fought like a man, you would not now be about to die like a dog. Do straighten yourself up!"

Mary Read escaped the hangman by dying from fever while in jail, her unborn babe dying with her.

Anne, however, received several stays of execution before mysteriously vanishing from official records. The most common story is that her father, who had contacts in the island, forgave his daughter for her acts and ransomed her back to the Carolinas, where she assumed a new name and a new life. She was twenty years old.

However, according to the book Mistress of the Seas, by John Carlova, Anne, whose unborn child was fathered not by Jack but by a Dr. Michael Radcliffe, a man whose life Anne had saved and who dearly loved her and vowed to save her from the hangman's noose, was granted a pardon by Governor Lawes on the condition that she leave the West Indies and never return. (Rumor also had it that another pirate, a Captain Roberts, sent a letter to Governor Lawes, "telling him to let Anne Bonny go or feel the thunder of his pirate guns from Port Royal to Kingston and back again.") She and Michael were then married (Anne was now a widow, her previous husband, James Bonny, who had become a turtler, having drowned in a hurricane in the Bahamas), and two days later they boarded a trading sloop bound for Norfolk, Virginia. There they were known to have joined a party of pioneers heading westward... and there is where Anne's known trail ends.
This came from the URL below, click for more female pirates stories.
http://www.katyberry.com/Dorianne/pirates.html

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 5 replies

Bionic Woman

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:06:36 GMT

Anybody watch it? I did and I'm extremely intrigued. I love the fact that they are bringing back a strong (non-bimbo type) female character back to TV. Anybody got any opinions on their view of the show? I'd love to hear it :)

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Hello everyone

Barb — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:16:51 GMT

Hello,
I happened to stumble across this group and decided to join b/c it seems quite rare to find a group of women with such strong ties to the beautiful warrior side of the femine. Anyways, my name is Barb and I look forward to meeting/talking to you all!

Have a great weekend, -Barb

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 4 replies

Phoenix Faerie Festival October Fund Raiser

Rowan — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:53:43 GMT

Mark You Calendars!

I'm very excited to announce that the Soul Invictus Gallery will host a Galla Faerie Festival Fund Raiser Show Saturday October 13th 2007.

Soul Invictus is located at
1022 N.W. Grand Ave
Phoenix AZ

The all ages show will include a
*Fantasy Artist's Showing
*Raffle and Auction
*Door Prizes
*Live Music and Dancers
Including performances by;
*Stage 6 Productions Fire Art for the Urban Masses
*Syren Tribal Dance
*Joe Bethancourt
*Zina BintBadia
*Wyllow Ravenscroft
*Oceans Apart
*Epona

Check back for updates
Come Out and Show Your Support
Time 7pm - Doors Open at 6pm
Tickets $10 ea (Cash Only)

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

A note from your moderator :)

Epona-of-Aretias — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:55:40 GMT

As noted in the description, this tribe is dedicated to the dance production Aretias -Warrior Women, but I love posting about anything to do with Goddess Empowerment, Belly Dance, Warrior Women - of all genres, Fantasy, and the like. All of these topics were an inspiration in the creation process of Aretias. So, please feel free to post something if anyone comes across a neat topic they would like to share. I will continue to post information when I come across new topics or if need be revive the old ones.
Blessed Be!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Women of Witchcraft Tribute

Epona-of-Aretias — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:44:07 GMT

This is beautiful! An honor to our sisters of the craft.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wthI_qP_YZg

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 3 replies

Natium's Spring Natyam II

kahlea — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:51:53 GMT

Save the date!

NATIUM World Dance will be hosting it 2nd Spring Natyam in 2008!
March 29 2008, please save the date for the bellydance, world fusion showdown of the year in Phoenix Arizona.
From student performers to professional troupes and dancers, this is surely going to be entertaining and fun.
More detail will follow, but for now, please save the date for March 29 2007!
Both Natium (our troupe's namesake) and Natyam (The Indian term) mean dance. Please join us for our spring dance to welcome fertility, prosperity and auspiciousness in our lives.
Studnets, this will be your chance to shine and show off all of your hard work in classes!
Kahlea

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Lughnassah

Epona-of-Aretias — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 21:22:29 GMT

Today marks the Celtic holiday that represents the first grain of the harvest. August 1st is Lughnassah.

The Great Rite at Lughnassah

This tale probably reworks a more ancient one forgotten by later generations. Funk and Wagnalls notes that "nasad" seems related to words meaning "to give in marriage." Telltown fair featured a marriage market; as the men stood on one side, the women on the other, their parents settled marriage contracts between them. Tradition tells that at the nearby "Hollow of the Fair," couples made handfastings in pagan times, and in the 19th century couples still arranged trial marriages there, only later to have them sanctified by the Church. Presumably the leafy hollow, shaded by new haystacks, gave the newly bonded a consummation bed.

This tradition of Lughnassah marriages seems to echo an older tradition, where at Lughnassah the king of Ireland was ritually married to the land. Just so in ancient Akkad did the high priestess of Ishtar perform the Great Rite with the king, marrying him to the earth. A late medieval manuscript says that at Taillne, presumably Telltown, Lug Schimaig made the great feast for Lug mac Ethne to celebrate his marriage to the Goddess of the Land. It's worth noting that August 1 is nine months before Beltaine, the beginning of summer; at this point Lugh impregnated the land with the following summer.

In a related myth, the great Irish king Conn of a Hundred Battles affirms his sovereignty by means of Telltown festival, according to The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom by Caitlin and John Matthews. One day at Tara, Conn mounted the ramparts with his three druids to check for enemies approaching from afar. Doing so, he trod upon a stone that screamed so loudly it was heard all over Tara. Conn asked one of his druids why the stone screamed and what kind of stone it was. After pondering fifty days and three, the druid by divination answered that the stone's name was Fal, or fo-all ("under rock"), that it had come to Tara from Inis Fail and that it yearly went to Telltown for the fair. Any king who did not find this stone on the last day of Telltown Fair would die within the year. The number of shrieks the stone made underfoot equaled the number of kings of Conn's line who would rule Ireland.

Fal thus shows itself a stone of sovereignty, like the Scottish Stone of Scone, now ensconced below the ceremonial throne of British royalty. Fal's shrieks are the voice of the land, speaking the relationship between the king and the Irish Earth Goddess.

At this point in the myth, a mist drifted over, and Conn and his druids lost their way. A horseman met them and, after making three casts against them, welcomed them to his home, a structure 30 feet long with a ridgepole of white gold. In it sat a girl in a seat of crystal, wearing a golden crown. Before her stood a silver vat with gold corners, a vessel of gold, and a golden cup, and on a throne nearby sat a phantom.

The phantom spoke to Conn and his druids, announcing himself as Lug mac Ethne. The girl in the crystal seat proved to be the Sovereignty of Ireland, the living goddess of the Irish land, and she gave symbolic food and drink to Conn, the ribs of a giant ox and a giant hog and also red ale. Lugh meanwhile told Conn of his rule and that of his sons. Then all disappeared.

Thus Telltown Fair, in other words Lughnassah, celebrates marriage not only of mortal to mortal but of the king to the Goddess of Earth, here the girl in the crystal chair. Just as the nu gig priestess of Akkad, symbolizing Ishtar and the land, married the Akkadian king, symbolizing Tammuz, so too at early Lughnassahs a priestess of the earth may have married the Irish king, symbolizing Lugh. The tales definitely make Lughnassah Lugh's marriage feast, and the feast is also said to be his wake. At Lughnassah, Lugh fertilizes the Goddess and dies, as we ask for harvest.

Lugh of the many talents

Lugh was beloved of the Celts, who raised more inscriptions and statues to him than to any other deity, according to R.J. Stewart in Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses. The Romans associated him with Mercury, and like Mercury he was a patron of the arts and of all crafts and skills, of traveling and money and commerce. He also was a war god, the Celts regarding battle as an art; by Roman times their wars had become mainly ritual contests between champions, or conflicts to be settled by druidic decision, a civilized approach the Romans did not follow. As the battle god Lugh of the Long Arm, Lugh's chief weapons were the magickal sling and spear, giving him the power of killing at a distance - hence the "long arm." Such attributes seem appropriate to a god of light, who shines from far away.

Romano-Celtic images of Lugh show a young, handsome man, carrying the symbols of the caduceus and purse, his totems the ram, cock and tortoise. He also appears as bearded and mature, and he's frequently accompanied by the goddess Rosmerta or Maia, representing wealth and material benefit. Such companionship parallels the marriage of the king to the material goddess of the land.

Lugh possesses skills in many arts simultaneously. In the Irish tale of the Battle of Magh Tuiredh, those in the royal hall of Tara began by refusing Lugh entrance, because though he claimed skills as a wheelwright, metal-worker, warrior, bard, magician, doctor, cupbearer and more, the inhabitants of Tara already boasted those skills. Lugh's Welsh cognate Llew was also known as a shoemaker, and an inscription from Romano-Celtic times in Osma, Spain, notes the Guild of Shoemakers' dedication of a statue to the Lugoves, a triple version of Lugh. The people of Tara finally conceded that only Lugh combined all the skills mentioned, so at last they admitted Him.

The Celts also credited Lugh with the invention of ball games, horsemanship and fidchell, a symbolic board game like chess. As Stewart notes, the Celts regarded these three games as having a ritual, magickal significance.
http://www.widdershins.org/vol3iss3/l9704.htm

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Fantasy?

Epona-of-Aretias — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 21:51:46 GMT

Fantasy?

I think the art or "genre" of Fantasy generally gets a bad rap. One can say, if it's fantasy it isn't "real". Maybe to people with no knowledge of other realms of existence. You see, I believe that if something is created from one's imagination, like a drawing of a dragon, faerie, or warrior woman, this thought had to come from somewhere. It didn't just "appear".It existed or exists somewhere or it wouldn't have been a thought.

Some might think these things cannot be real and can only exist in an imaginary world of fantasy. Well, I cannot speak for those who believe this way, for I am one of those "crazy people" who believe they are real and know they exist! Can I prove this? I don't feel I have to prove it. If one feels they have to prove something to others, it means they need confirmation from others to confirm their beliefs, meaning they do not have 100% faith within their own self.

I love fantasy in all it's many forms. Paintings, sculpture, costuming, books, movies, TV programs. I think it is very healthy to take a break from this every day "illusion" and every so often dwell in the realm of fantasy (my fellow sister and brother pagans would perhaps like to call it the realm of faerie ;-) . Focusing on today's run of the mill crap can get so old. And believe it or not, it programs your mind! Yes my friends! Continuous focus on the media of today can be very unhealthy. It creates paranoia, depression, feelings of lack and self doubt, and did I say FEAR?
Oh yes, fear of not being this or that, not having a perfect physique (bite me all of you Paris Hiltons of the world) or having the new fads, like an I phone, which, trust me, will probably be on the shelf of Big Lots in about 2 years. Does all of this crap really matter?

OK, this may be a personal rant, but I just wanted to express my love for FANTASY! I'm off now to take a ride on my flying dragon companion to the world of Tir Nan Og. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 5 replies

belly dance gathering Oct 5th Paper heart Art Gallery

bellydancecostumesbytc — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 04:04:13 GMT

Raq The Casbah!!!!!!
Phx Art Walk
1st Friday
Belly Dance Gathering

When: Friday Oct 5th, 2007
Where: The Paper Heart Art Gallery 750 NW Grand Ave Phx, AZ
Time 7:00 pm-ish
Admission Free!!! But please support our house and have a cup of coffee, tea,light snack, or even buy a painting.
Exhibit for the month of Oct. will be The 3rd Annual "Jornada del Muertto"
(journey of Death)
more info call or e-mail me @ tcsdance@aol.com or 480 831-1320
This will be an outdoor event so bring a lawn chair in case we run out and a jacket in case there is a chill in the air.
Please Join us for a fun event and there will be some open dancing !!!!!!
Dancers Needed, any style or performance art welcome
call or email to sign up!!!!!!
NEED A COSTUME?
check out my website www.bellydancecostumesbytc.com
my space http://www.myspace.com/tccostumes
Tribe http://people.tribe.net/bellydancecostumesbytc (look in pics)

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

Open Dance Night

Mahin — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:27:00 GMT

Come on out - Epona's doing a solo at Open Dance Night - woo hoo!
Open dance floor for everyone between performances.

Thursday, July 26th 7:30pm
Oasis 2 Cafe
SW corner of Broadway & McClintock in Tempe
$2.00 admission at the door

Come early - we filled the house and ran out of seats last time!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 1 reply

Phoenix Area Kitty Needs Good Home

Rowan — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:18:44 GMT

Homeless Kitty: beautiful Calico Colors!!!

Female, She has had her shots and is ready for a loving home.

Already have a spayed male in the house who is unhappy with the addition, and don’t want to have to put “Snickers” back out in the Arizona Summer heat.

Please Contact:

samnchezni@msn.com
Will supply Photo

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 0 replies

We are in The College Times!

Epona-of-Aretias — Sun, 06 May 2007 01:08:55 GMT

Yay, I just saw the add for TROUPALOOZA. I will try to download the pic ASAP. Until then, pick one up. It's really AWESOME.
HELL YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 4 replies

Happy Summer Solstice!

Epona-of-Aretias — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:33:16 GMT

It is a wonderful time of year! We shall honor the Sun and celebrate the longest day of the year with the balance of light and dark.
I thought I'd share this ;-)

Let the light shine……
During the summer solstice the sun sits highest in the sky. This is the longest day of the year and the beginning of the summer season.

We feel the solar energy pouring down upon the Earth, vitalizing and strengthening us. Even as we revel in the light we prepare for the next season of growth, the return of the dark, as we now move towards winter Solstice.
Druids celebrated the Summer Solstice as the wedding of Heaven and Earth. The Goddess manifests as Mother Earth and God as Sun King. Many traditions throughout time have celebrated the Solstices, Ancient Egypt, and Aztecs of Mexico, Chinese, Chumash Indians of California, Indigenous Europeans. In present time you will find the Solstices celebrated by neo-pagan, Western Mystery tradition, Wiccan, Native American and the Catholic tradition as the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

Bonfires were lit to celebrate the Sun at its height of power and to ask the Sun not to withdraw into winter darkness. Midsummer Eve festivals in the countryside of Cornwall, England would have firelight shinning from every hill and peak. Bright bonfires with dancers adorned in garlands and flowers and young men jumping through the tall flames. This ancient Cornwall Summer Bonfire tradition has been revived during the 1920’s and is still a popular festival. The spiral is a symbol associated with the Solstices. Ancient dances would follow the Sun’s movement like a spiral, people joined hands weaving through the streets, winding into a decreasing spiral into the middle then unwinding back out again. The Sun moving from contraction at the center of the spiral at winter solstice to expansion at Summer Solstice and back again. Midsummer’s Eve is one of the three spirit nights of the year, when the veils are thin between the worlds. The others are Beltaine (May Day) and Samhain (October, Celtic New Year). At the great stone circle, Stonehenge, England, the sun rises over the heel stone. Only one heel stone stands now, though there is consideration that there was another heel stone, the sun would rise between the two pillars. There are many stone sites in the world that are aligned to the Sun’s yearly travel.

The Summer Solstice is a time to reflect on the growth of the season. Seeds planted in the Earth as well as are own seeds of our souls. A time of cleansing and renewal. A time of joyous Love and growth.
Some ways to celebrate Summer Solstice:

Gathering of magical plants and healing herbs, as they are at their most potent. Five common Celtic sacred plants associated with Midsummer are St. John’s Wort, Vervain, Yarrow, Fern, and Mugwort.

Gather with others creating a festival of common sharing and service.
Keep a sacred fire burning.
Burn your winter Yule wreath at the summer bonfire.
Exchange songs, stories, and poems with others.
Dance, drum
Make an agreement of something that you will do to improve life, bring light and love into this world in your own creative way and begin to carry it out.
Bright Blessings

Summer Solstice

Brown earth lay blanketed beneath
the weight of white snow
People hold within their heart
the promise of light
Light that overcomes the night
Igniting fire
That burns a hole
all the way to the hot dry summer fields
The hope that the light holds in winter
becomes in summer
the knowing of the sun’s pathway back again
We poise on the edge of these great turnings
Balanced night and day
Ah for a moment……
By: Cheryl Ban © 1998
http://www.avalonvisions.com/solstice_s.html

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 2 replies

Vision board

Epona-of-Aretias — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:08:50 GMT

Hello, sorry if I've been a little quite. I've been doing a lot of soul searching and during Arizona Summers, it's easy to take a break from stress. Too hot to get involved with too many activities. I found this on myspace. I know, not Tribe, but I thought I'd show it here too. I created a virtual vision board ;-) It's a great way to set one's goals to manifest into reality. One can do this at home with magazine pics and cardboard, but it was easy and fun to create this one too. if you have a myspace account you can do this on your own profile. Check it out!
www.myspace.com/epona_of_aretias

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 8 replies

A Guy Question for the Warrior Women Here

tron-ee — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:42:40 GMT

Ok, so, let me introduce myself a'fore yah wanna cut my __________ off (what ever you wanna put in the blank). I was reared by a warrior Mom. She was the most capable person I have met in life. She could do absolutely anything she set her mind to do. In a man's, so-to-speak,
she competed one to one. The only things she could not do, were physical strength related, although she was quite capable in solving physical problems that left most men at odds. It is a myth that women are generally inferior, in my opinion.

My Mother could weld, wire (electrician..how I got my start in engineering), was a capable auto-mechanic, an off-shoot of her motorcycle racing days in her youth, an artist, pen & ink, sculpting, building, hammering and sawing (built our first home with her own hands the only thing she did do herself was pour the concrete). And she was a US Ferry Command pilot, sat in the left seat (Captain's chair), flying heavy four engine bombers to the rear-lines in WW-II.

So, with this as a back drop, Who here considers themselves to be a successful Warrior Woman? and Why? What constitutes a Warrior Woman? Can a Warrior Woman be feminem and still be...?...manly....?

Love

walt
Empaths, Telepaths, and Mystical Qabalists moderator

posted in ARETIAS - Warrior Women! - 3 replies