The Wheel Turns to Mabon

Actually the wheel of the year has turned quite a bit since I last wrote in my blog. My last post was just after Imbolc, when pagans celebrate the coming of spring. I am writing this just before Mabon, the second harvest festival of the year. That is about 7 months, much too long to be away.

But I haven't been idle. Mabon, also known as Harvest Home and the Autumn Equinox, is a time to rest from our labors. We harvest the seeds that were sown in the spring and share it with others. We prepare for the winter to come.

So I felt it was fitting to look back on what seeds I have sown and what I have to harvest. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my baskets are overflowing with abundance.

I have spent most of my time creating Squidoo lenses and participating in the community there. I have found it to be the best place to play with my creativity. I have accomplished much.

Our cat, Lady Ghost Whispurr, published her own lens called “Lady Ghost Whispurr Speaks.” I was hired to be her “ghostwriter” and we had a great time together talking about cat stories. I was hoping to get paid, but she told me that her payment is to keep “Daddy” happy. I can't complain about that.

Lady Ghost was proud to have her lens reviewed by the bevspaper at Squidoo Lens Review.

“There are a few humans who have become so in tune with the cat or cats that own them that they communicate in cat speak at a much higher level. Take Grannysage for instance, she is so loved by her cats and so adept at cat speak that her cats Lady Ghost Whispurr and Wileykat convinced her to write their stories and to explain about cat rescue, cat behavior, feral cats, and so much more. You will find her stories humorous, informative, and filled with love. In my opinion, Lady Ghost and Wileykat picked the purrfect woman to share their lives with.”

Because books have always been my friends, I decided to write about my favorites, the series of Oz books by L Frank Baum. I was shocked to learn that many people do not know there is more than one book. They have seen the movie, “The Wizard of Oz” but do not know that Dorothy returns to Oz many times to have more adventures. I have written two chapters of a series on the author and the books and am working on Part 3.

Part One: Following the Yellow Brick Road  On August 17, 2010, Following the Yellow Brick Road was a winner in the Summer Sunshine Award contest, which provided money to both me and my chosen charity, First Book

Part Two: Still Following the Yellow Brick Road.

I was granted a third Lens of the Day award for Woman Who Hobbles After Wolves on July 27, 2010, This is particularly amazing when you stop to think that at the most, only 365 of these awards can be given out each year.

My newest lens was a work in progress for a long time. It was inspired by the movie “Avatar” which I loved very much. It was also the hardest lens I have every written, and many times I wanted to give up because I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. But I had an inner voice, perhaps the voice of Gaia, that would not let me quit. I experienced a lot of synchronicities while writing it, mostly involving webs and spiders showing up in the books I read, shows I watched, and of course, in real life.

Web of Connection, Inspired by Avatar the Movie was finally published to the world and has been very well received. It has received a purple star which is a mark of excellence that used to be only granted to Giant Squids (those who have made more than 50 lenses) but now is open to all lensmasters. As of this writing I have gather 6 other purple stars which is great since purple is my favorite color.

Web of Connection was also reviewed at the Squidoo Lens Reviews by lensmaster bevspaper. This is what she had to say about it.

“Diane goes deep into the meanings of the movie and explains in her sagely way the connection that all things have in life. She tells us in the first paragraph about her comment to her husband as she left the movie. "This is what the mystics and shamans and holy men and women have tried to say for centuries. We are all connected." I was moved by her feeling because it was almost the same thing I said when I saw the movie, too.”

One of my older lenses was also reviewed, this time by lensmaster kimmanleyort

Des Moines, Baryshnikov and Grannysage

“What is a quality Squidoo lens? This is a question that I am always trying to answer and what we are striving to discover on Squidoo Lens Reviews. Since we all perceive things differently, what is quality to me may not be quality to you. However, if an article grabs your attention, keeps you mesmerized, makes you think and you keep remembering it afterwards, then it was quality for you. This is what happened when I first read Grannysage's lens, "Des Moines, Baryshnikov, and Me."

Bright Blessing this Mabon. We give thanks to the Mother for her many gifts. For more information about Mabon, I recommend this lens by lensmaster NanLT.