Taurus, like Spring itself, represents productivity and growth. The symbol of Taurus is the bull or cow, an animal long sacred to the Goddess. Cattle have had religious significance all over the ancient world dating back at least to the last Ice Age. They have commonly been used as a sacrifice by many cultures. The horns of cattle are symbolic of the moon in Eastern art. The cow's milk exemplifies motherhood and nurture. The Milky Way of the heavens was mythically derived from the milk of the Egyptian cow goddess or from the milk of the Greek goddess Hera as she suckled Heracles in the heavens.

Q: How many Taureans does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: One, but just try to convince them that the burned-out bulb is useless and should be thrown away.

April 20th - The Sun enters the Constellation of Taurus. Gardenwise: This is when I plant-out the seedlings I started at the beginning of Aries.  The Earth is warming up and we are beginning the projects we planned and maybe practiced a bit in Aries.

April 22^nd is Earth Day. There are many Earth day events during the month.

Read about events in your area at the official Earth Day website.

April 22^nd to 28^th is TV Turnoff Week. See the Adbusters website for more information.

April 23^rd is St George’s Day. He is the Patron Saint of England.

April 24^th is National Administrative Professionals Day. This used to be known as Secretaries Day

April 26^th is National Arbor Day and a Full Moon. The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration.

May 1^st is Beltane and May Day

This is the holiday associated with the Maypole in Europe. The maypole is a 30- to 40-foot pole, planted the ground. Attached to the top of the pole are alternating red and white colored ribbons, one per person and usually 50 feet long. The men take up the red ribbons and the women take up the white ribbons. They dance around the pole, the males all moving widdershins (counterclockwise), and the females all moving deosil (clockwise). This causes the ribbons to become interwoven about the pole. In some traditions a large wreath is held at the top of the pole by the outstretched ribbons and moves its way down as the pole becomes wrapped.

Another tradition is the Bel-fire. This is a bonfire into which all discarded, cursed or worn out amulets or symbolic objects are to be cast. Then, as the party went on into the night people would run and jump over the flames.

To celebrate Beltane you could build a bonfire or light a fire in a small charcoal grill, or even a candle placed in a cauldron... Write the name of a habit you wish to end or choose something to symbolize a problem to want to rid yourself of and cast it into the fire. Then, visualize, chant, say, and/or write down the things you wish to nurture in this new season.  

You could also decorate a tree in your yard with red and white ribbons.

Weave a garland or wreath of fresh flowers and aromatic herbs while visualizing what you want to weave into your life. Then hang it on your door, or keep it on your dining table, or on your altar. As the flowers dry you can use them for magical potpourri or sachet.

May Day is Labor Day in most of the rest of the world. It celebrates the Haymarket Riots in Chicago on May 1^st 1886. Workers organized a city wide strike to bring attention to the need for an eight hour day.

Click here to read more about the Haymarket martyrs here.

May 3^rd is Orthodox Good Friday and the 1^st Friday of the Month Get-Together! See below for more information.

May 5^th is Orthodox Easter and Cinco de Mayo.

May 11^th from 10am to 4pm is the 3^rd Annual Backyard Wildlife Fair in Tukwila, WA. This event has products, workshops and demos on gardening for Birds and Butterflies. Even if you only have a balcony you can and should use some of these ideas. People need infrastructure such as electricity and roads. Animals need infrastructure too; they need food, water and safe places to nest especially in our cities. Read about getting NWF certification for your yard, balcony or common area as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

This is the website for more information on the fair: www.tbwfair.org

Click here for more information on certification and creating habitat. 

May 12^th is a New Moon and Mother’s Day. The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision.

Aventurine is a perfect amulet to program for starting a new cycle of your life or for supporting new growth. Wear aventurine when you work on building, whether it is a garden, a job or project. Wear it when you work out or build your body or improve your health.

Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic Jewelry.

It's All In Your Head: How To Use Your Right Brain To Do Just About Anything - By Marilyn Grey & Betty Bender

This is a favorite of mine. I bought this book after hearing Marilyn speak at a convention I attended. She is concise, creative and hilarious. The book begins with an exploration of the Right and Left brain hemispheres. She discusses what each does and how our unconscious internal programming can cause them to work at cross-purposes in our lives.

From the book: “With the help of Brain One, Theodore sent for college applications and dutifully recorded his vital statistics and grades and goals.

However, Brain Two wasn’t just swinging in a hammock up there. Since there was no college of its choice, Two grabbed control of those little typing fingers and created an error rate inconsistent with Theodore’s A in typing. College tuition would use up all of Brain Two’s motorcycle money, so college was a no-no.

The next day, when it was time to leave for school: ‘Aaaaaaargh!!!!’  Theodore had misplaced his applications! Where could they be? ‘I know I put them someplace where I would be sure to see them – where was that? I’ve got to retrace my steps,’ Brain One worried.

Brain Two smiled, got out a copy of Backroads USA and tucked a picture of a Honda CBR 600 in Theo’s notebook.

But, through logic and persistence, Theodore found and mailed the elusive applications and eventually was accepted at Harvard.

Brain One was pleased with his progress. Two wasn’t so sure.”

The authors then spend the rest of the book teaching you how to re-program your mind by getting Brain Two involved in your program. They lead you through the varied techniques of Affirmations, Treasure-mapping, Visualization, Daydreaming, Hypnosis, Subliminal tapes and Contrived experience. This book is peppered with quotes and pictures to illustrate the techniques and to help them stick in your right brain. Personally, I like the hemispheres model of the brain and find it to be as useful for me as the conscious/unconscious model. Read this book and you will never approach a new subject, sport or study in the same old way. 

You can order this book directly from the author’s website - Price $14.95.

Stewart and Scott are the only ones who answered the survey from Pisces! I would like to know so:

• Should I redo the questions as a web page survey with graphics and clickable boxes?

• Do you need to read why an altar is beneficial and how to create one? If so, click here to read about it.

I'll save Scott's answers and altar photo for ne xt month. Here are Stew's answers:

• Do you use an altar? Yes.

• Is it a permanent or temporary space? Temporary.

• Do you use it for ritual, meditation or both? Meditation.

• How does your altar change, or does it change? Everywhere I go now I watch for some bit, usually a leaf, seed, stick, and any little small thing of life that catches and holds me for a moment.

• What do you have on your altar? Leaves, acorns, seeds, sticks, rocks, etc.

Thanks Stew! -- Inga Duncan Thornell >^..^<

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 Erika

Hamlet's Cat's Soliloquy)

To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question
Whether 'tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That Nature rains on those who roam abroad,
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet,
And so by dozing melt the solid hours
That clog the clock's bright gears with sullen time
And stall the dinner bell. To sit, to stare
Outdoors, and by a stare to seem to state
A wish to venture forth without delay,
Then when the portal's opened up, to stand
As if transfixed by doubt. To prowl; to sleep;
To choose not knowing when we may once more
Our readmittance gain: aye, there's the hairball;
For if a paw were shaped to turn a knob,
Or work a lock or slip a window-catch,
And going out and coming in were made
As simple as the breaking of a bowl,
What cat would bear the household's petty plagues,
The cook's well-practiced kicks, the butler's broom,
The infant's careless pokes, the tickled ears,
The trampled tail, and all the daily shocks
That fur is heir to, when, of his own free will,
He might his exodus or entrance make
With a mere mitten? Who would spaniels fear,
Or strays trespassing from a neighbor's yard,
But that the dread of our unheeded cries
And scratches at a barricaded door
No claw can open up, dispels our nerve
And makes us rather bear our human's faults
Than run away to unguessed miseries?
Thus caution doth make house cats of us all;
And thus the bristling hair of resolution
Is softened up with the pale brush of thought,
And since our choices hinge on weighty things,
We pause upon the threshold of decision.

-Shakespaw

From Kim

Hi everyone! There is an artist in San Francisco who is making a ball out of bras.  her goal is to make it 5'4" high- as tall as the average American woman.  There's quite a story behind the project. Please go to her web site at www.braball.com and be sure to read the story on the story page.  And then, send her your old bras!  I'm proud to say that I have 3 bras in the Bra Ball! :) Kim 

From Julie

"The Four Agreements" have only just come to my attention!   They offer TREMENDOUS insight and guidance into achievable and practical personal freedom.   As a book of Toltec wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz, these tenets with their clear and simple presentation are devoted to everyone’s potential and soaring.

* Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity.  Say only what you mean.  AVOID using the word to
speak against yourself or to gossip about others.  Use the power of your
word in the direction of truth and love.  ("Impeccable" is from two Latin
derivatives ... literally meaning literally "not sinful."   "Sin" is
anything that you do that goes against yourself.)

* Don't Take Anything Personally
NOTHING others do is because of you.  What others say and do is a projection
of their own reality, their own dream.  When you are immune to the opinions
and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

* Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you REALLY want.
Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings,
sadness, and drama.  With just this one agreement, you can completely
transform your life.

* Always Do Your Best
Your best will change from moment to moment.  It will be different when you
are healthy as opposed to sick.  Under ANY circumstance, simply do your best
(not less OR more) and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book
by Miguel Ruiz, Don Miguel Ruiz

Click here to learn more about this book at Amazon.com. 

From Stewart

Some good underwater orca shots at  www.orcacam.com.

From Anna

She is my muse
I brought her here you see
She cannot be trapped by practicalities
She is the soul that must be heard
Inconvenience has no place for her voice
She must be heard
Trip you up she will

Forcing you to listen
Her beauty is life's breath
She is what makes the flowers bloom
She must be heard
No walls can encase her
No death can silence her
It is her soul that lives within me
I brought her here you see
Her light is what the faeries swim in

Her song is what the wind sings for
I brought her here and now I am powerless to stop her
She must be heard and now I must listen  

From Ginny

Mud Puddles And Dandelions
-----------------------------------------

Author - Unknown

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that
are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and
blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a person
who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone
smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't
have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel
the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't
know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it
messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close
their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to
the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please
keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to
Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and
dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers
to cross and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given children to teach or to learn from? No
wonder God loves the little children!!

"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back
and realize they were the big things. Just a reminder about the
important things in life.

I wish you mud puddles and dandelions.

We've always wondered what would happen if we got the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic (IEM) into a room together. Why? Because every one of us has a unique gift to offer to the world. And if we get enough of us in one place at the same time, something magical is bound to occur.

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. Please join us for dinner. We start eating around 6:30 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!

“I’m not sure I can be hypnotized.” Inga and I hear that a lot and that intrigues us because as we’ve explored the astral and spirit realms, we’ve come to think of the reality of the conscious, logical mind as the “trance” or hypnotic state. Why?  

q       What else would you call a state of mind filled with limitations caused by fear?

q       Why else would we believe that the extent of our world is contained within what our waking mind can grasp?

q       How else can we be lulled into thinking that we are solitary beings that have to exert ourselves to reach out to others, to find common ground, to achieve the simplest of alignments?

Even if we are generally happy and content in life, I believe we are living off mere scraps of what is truly possible to experience. And again, our waking mind convinces us that it is a banquet and that there is no need to look further. We feel secure, our needs our being met, we read a self-help book now and then and we think positively. Life is good. (I smell a conspiracy!)

If all this is indeed the case, then I think the real meaning behind the opening statement above is, “I’m not sure I can break out of the trance state into the Light.” But Inga has shown those of us who have worked with her, we can easily break the trance of our reductionist, logical minds and enter a magical and mysterious state of existence. In that state of expanded consciousness, I’ve discovered that I am never alone and I’m always connected to everyone and everything around us, just the opposite of what I’ve experienced in “normal” consciousness. I’ve always suspected this was true and yearned for it. I could achieve it momentarily or for short periods of time but I did not know how to sustain it. What I've learned, though, is that just like exercising our physical muscles and increasing their strength, my frequent consciousness stretching exercises have enabled me to maintain that feeling of connectedness during normal consciousness. This in turn elevates my sense of wholeness and peace while opening up synchronistic doorways of creativity, Light and Love. As a result, my life has become more balanced and powerful as I learn to be fully present in the moment and create a sphere of clarity in the midst of the hypnotic state. As I maintain the integrity of that sphere, I am transformed, as is the world and those around me, by Love.

A friend and coworker of mine is just starting her journey of exploring expanded consciousness and her first guided session with Inga was rich with colorful images, feelings, sounds, thoughts and conversations even though my friend was not fully conscious of it all during the session. This is why Inga always encourages us to journal our sessions as it enables more of the experience to come forth in other ways. It never occurs to me do to anything but write about my journeys so I was really amazed when my friend shared how she journaled.

I have always struggled with seeing images as I astral travel and Inga says that’s because my conscious mind is filtering anything that it can’t control or explain. When I journal later, I describe all kinds of vivid images using words. My friend reported difficulty seeing as she explored the astral realm but afterward she was able to draw these colorful scenes.

The first drawing is the garden she found as she went through an archway that Inga led her to. Click on the image to expand it to full size and you’ll see the notes I asked her to include.

The next image is that of a forest. Again, click it to see it full size and read her notes about this place.

And the last image was the one that really set off an alarm in my head as I held it in my hands and looked at it. I asked her, “What’s up with this place?” She described it as a very scary, emotional place that she didn’t want to be in unlike the two previous places of well-being. I suggested that when she was ready, she’d return there to heal that place, to bring Love and Light where it was lacking. Click on it to see the full image and read her notes.

Inga explains that my friend’s subconscious and her guides are taking full advantage of using this open, creative channel to communicate to her conscious mind. These images are very powerful for her and even for those of us that she shared them with just as my words are powerful for me and can be for those that I share them with. (Sounds like we’re all deeply connected, doesn’t it?)

As we journey deep into our inner worlds and heal the wounds we find there, we step by step become whole as our body, mind and spirit come into alignment. Another friend at work was asking me the other day what is going to happen as she achieves this alignment in the physical realm. I suggested that this might be the first time that she’s ever so pro-actively and consciously achieved this state of existence during a physical lifetime. I also surmised that so much energy is put forth by so many in the physical and spiritual realms to just get us to this enlightened state that very few of us have spent any time imagining what might be possible once we achieve it. 

What will happen as more and more of us emerge from the hypnotic state and achieve a critical mass of consciousness? I suspect that the storms of fear and pain that sweep the planet will abate as the bright light of Love breaks through the hypnotic mortal trance. – Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

• Glacier National Park Tour 2001 - A trip journal of Scott's motorcycle adventure last year

• Inga and the Honda 2002 Silver Wing - Check out Inga's new "Future Sport Commuter" motorbike!

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