Leo is depicted as a male lion, a creature used in heraldry to represent kingship and majesty. The ruler of Leo is the Sun, the center of our solar system, and the point around which all the other planets rotate. Leo is a fixed, Fire sign. It is self-confident, generous, warm-hearted, dramatic, a powerful leader. It can also be proud, vain, extravagant and arrogant.

The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke:

Q. How many Leos does it take to change a light bulb?

A  Leos don't change light bulbs, although sometimes their agent will get a Virgo in to do the job for them while they're out.

Inga's Celebration Calendar

July 22^nd - The Sun Enters Leo: Happy Birthday to all you Leos!

August 1^st is:

• Lughnassad (Northern Hemisphere) - Wicca/Neo Pagan

• Oimelc / Brigid (Southern Hemisphere) - Wicca/Neo Pagan

• Lammas - Christian

• Fast in honor of Holy Mother of Lord Jesus - Orthodox Christian

See the Our Lady of the Prairie website for more information. (I like how she uses all Mucha art!)

August 4^th is a New Moon in Leo: To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library.

August 5^th is the First Friday of the month and the Dunthor Open House! Click here to see details below.

August 19^th is a Full Moon in Aquarius: Names for the August Moons include Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Dispute Moon, Weodmonath (Vegetation Month), Harvest Moon, and Moon When Cherries Turn Black. To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library.

Stone of the Sign - Tiger Eye

I found this beautiful and unusually dark banded tiger-eye cabochon and wrapped it in sterling silver wire. The funky curly setting is my favorite style to wrap. According to tradition, tiger eye resonates with Leo and wearing it can help to support growth in the areas of positive self-image, responsibility & generosity. Tiger-eye helps you to present yourself in the most appropriate light for any given situation. Silver is a conductor of energy, is said to aid in communication and improves the transmission of nerve impulses. According to tradition, it is a good metal for healing purposes because it is in tune with the body. Silver can reduce anxiety and help you to relax when solving problems. It is believed to help conduct the energy of stones into your body and auric field.

This month: 55.00 USD

To learn more about how to use Gemstones in your daily life, see "What Gemstones Should I Wear?" guide in our Library.
 

Inga's Space

We had two firsts for the garden this year! I finally got both Foxgloves and Shasta Daisies. The only downside of having so many birds in the yard is that they eat any seeds, even if they are buried. These were the sole surviving seedlings of several packets of seeds I put out.

Meanwhile, check out this fun website:

Here is Freddy in his favorite spot during his recent Summer visit to Camp Duncan. Yes, he is sitting on Scott’s laptop on the kitchen table!

v     On a different note, I ALWAYS respond to email. Due to the enormous amount of spam I receive, I am forced to use a spam filter and sometimes, legitimate email requests and inquiries get filtered out. If you have tried contacting me and I have not replied with 3 days, please try again or feel free to call me by telephone: 206-459-6963. My number is also at the bottom of every page on our website.

v     My quotation for the month: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." ~ Hunter S. Thompson - 1937-2005

v     I can’t even count how many emails I have gotten titled “The Red Planet is about to be spectacular”. This is the one with the gorgeous picture of Mars and the Moon that says Mars will appear as large as the full moon on August 27^th. Honestly, I don’t know who starts these things but I really can’t figure why they just keep getting forwarded around unchecked. Here is what NASA has to says about it: Beware the Mars Hoax!. And here is what the Urban Legend Reference Pages has to say about it. -- Inga Duncan Thornell >^..^<

Letters from our Readers

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in be it Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc., as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions!

From Scott:

"Believe that you have it, my friend, and you shall have it." -- Old Farmers' Almanac

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." -- Mark Twain

From Ralph:

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

1. Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?

2. Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.

3. Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!

4. Rottweiler: Make me.

5. Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.

6. Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!

7. German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.

8. Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.

9. Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb!

10. Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.

11. Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. Or "We don't need no stinking light bulb."

12. Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?

13. Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...

14. Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

How many cats does it take to change a light bulb?

The Cat's Answer:

Cats do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. The real question is:

"How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?"

The Monthly Dunthor Open House

Please come join in the community that has been created over the years with the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic. You'll find insight, sharing, healing and fellowship and you are most welcome. 

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. Please join us for dinner. We start eating around 7 PM. Or join us for dessert later on!
• Where: Our place (click on LIBRARY in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and then MAP ROOM for directions)
• What to bring: Just your enthusiasm and love! There's a big pot of pasta on the stove, salad, bread and plenty of microbrews and red wine. If you have specific preferences, please bring whatever you'd like.
• How long: Until the good conversation ends! If you'd like, you can spend the night on one of the couches with the kitties or bring your sleeping bag and mat and camp out on the floor of Inga's office.
• RSVP: Just let us know in advance via e-mail or phone if you are coming and if you are bringing guests so we don't run out of food or beer!

Just for fun, we've begun offering an astrological quiz based on the newsletter at our monthly parties. Our first one was for Cancer 2004. Click here to try your hand.

The Duncan Domain

It was just a matter of time before the subject of riding a motorcycle to Alaska came up for consideration. For those of us who do motorcycle touring, it's the equivalent of climbing Mt. Rainier due to the distances involved, the poor road conditions on the Alaska Highway, the remoteness, the weather, the mosquitoes, etc. I think few people call climbing Rainier fun. They do it for the experience, the adventure, the sense of accomplishment and the stories they get to tell afterwards. If they have fun along the way, that's icing on the cake. Riding to Alaska is much the same. You have to have a high adventure drive, a good sense of humor and the ability to be flexible. So after months of research and planning with my brother, Paul, we pack up and take off with two of our riding buddies, Jeff and Trevor.

Instead of riding the 1,500 mile Alaska Highway there and back, we opt to take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Haines, Alaska up the Inside Passage along the British Columbia and Alaska coastlines. Our 3 days and 3 nights, 900 mile journey turns out to be an amazingly delightful way to start the trip. For starters, the scenery is superb: the ocean water, the fir forests, the mountains, the glaciers, the skies, the sunsets, the whales, the bald eagles. Then add the novelty of the ship itself. This is a true working vessel transporting people home or to new jobs or to vacations. The hold is packed with semi trucks, cars, campers, SUVs and motorbikes. But there are enough amenities and activities to make the trip comfortable and enjoyable. Add a real cast of characters, with a capital C, consisting of passengers, crew, and yours truly for a semi-wacky and cheerful atmosphere. One motorcyclist has a Buddha glued to his front fender and never leaves home without it. A lumberjack named Chain Saw Chuck skillfully plays "Locomotive Breath" and other rock tunes on an acoustic guitar in the ferry cocktail lounge. Some early twenty-somethings from New Jersey are gleefully roaming the streets of Ketchikan, Alaska during a port stop looking to buy some legendary, homegrown, Alaskan agricultural products. But, best of all, is the dawning realization that there is nothing to really do but relax and enjoy the ride. Yes, this is rather novel for me since my vacations always involve lots of effort, schedules, a high degree of concentration and skill, organization, teamwork.....hey, wait a minute! That sounds exactly like work! Doh!

To make a long story short, we emerge from the ferry's belly on our bikes, thoroughly rested and smiling, ready to ride. We've made new friends, traded stories and concocted new ones, taken lots of naps and slowed down enough to marvel at the world we live in as we sailed through it. Over the next ten days, we will ride 3,700 miles through Alaska, the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, and traverse the entire length of the Alaska Highway before returning to Seattle. We will ride through one rainstorm after the next, every day, during the ten day ride. We will ride through gravel, mud, dust, hail and fog. We will see mountains and glacier on a scale that boggles the mind. (I always thought Mt Rainier was mighty impressive until I saw three such volcanoes side by side!) We'll meet other intrepid adventurers along the way including a guy from Japan who was riding a Honda Super Cub 50 scooter from the southern tip of South America to the Arctic Ocean. (And we thought we were rugged he-man motorcyclists!)

As many of you have read over the years, my prior motorcycling adventures have had a strong vision quest component to them and usually involved a fair amount of pain, discomfort and healing. This trip, on the other hand, turns out to be very gentle; no scarred up chakras or past life wounds to heal. That's okay with me and I just focus on soaking up the natural beauty all around me. By the time we reach Denali National Park, I'm ready for some quiet interaction with the Elementals.

My fellow riders have gone to bed. It's midnight but due to being so far North, the sky doesn't darken. I go for a walk around the campground as is my "nightly" ritual. I notice a trail heading off through the forest toward the sound of running water. We've been warned about bears, wolves and moose. I stop and ask my heart if it is safe. I see that no harm will befall me so I step into the woods and after a short walk, I reach a river. The light in the sky is lovely. The sound of the water is music. I sit on a large boulder in the river and let the energy of the place flow through me. My great affection for Mother Earth and all of her non-human inhabitants wells up in me. I reflect on the Shaman path I've been walking these past few years and I reaffirm my dedication to it.

I lie down and put my cheek on the rock's surface. The rock is absolutely alive. It feels like I'm riding on the back of a whale. I marvel at the bond we are sharing. As a physical creature, I'm a mere 46 years old while the rock is ancient. I'm so temporary in this world and my new friend here will be here long after I'm gone. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of the sacred portal that has formed around this rock, in this place, at this time. Adding my mortal intent completes the alignment of body, mind, Spirit, Earth and Universe. I'm asked if I am willing to leave something in this magical place. I am. I take off my silver Kokopelli ring and flood it with the energy that is flowing through me. As I drop it into the milky, glacial silt laden water, I see the ring of the many spirits surrounding me and feel their loving energy. This place will now always be a part of me on many levels.

I take one last look upstream and I become deeply aware of my profound, deeply spiritual link with Inga and Freya. Their higher selves are always with me but I can't help but miss their physical contact, their friendship, and the wonderful, brief, mortal lifetime we are sharing. I'm so ready to go home and tomorrow, we head for the Alaska Highway to do just that. Perfect. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

New and Updated Pages on our Website

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