Nice title, eh? Well... we have a piano on the back porch that 'came with the house'. We tried to give it away to no avail. We tried to move it to take it to the dump and it is WAY too heavy for the two of us to move. So, there it sits. It serves as shelter for our outside feral cat "Buddy" until we can find a solution to the problem.
Anyhow...
This morning at 0600 I wrote on our Shrine page how I have a person in my life who is a real live Vampire. This person, literally, sucks happy moods from everyone she comes in contact with. I promise I am not being dramatic! For the past two years I just thought I was being overly sensitive BUT in the past two months I have heard it more and more from people, who do not work under her, that she is overly critical and thinks she knows more than they do, even when it is out of her level of expertise.
Well, this week my supervisor was on vacation. She left me in charge. Because of this, I had to work directly with the Vampire. Typically, my boss is there to act as a "buffer" for me. I made sure to cleanse, release, ground and build my shields every morning and every evening. Not necessarily because of her, but because it is a resolution to stay as close to Goddess as I can this year. But every day, by the end of the day, I have been sapped of energy, angry and had feelings of hate that I haven't felt since I decided to pursue my First Degree Priestess certification. My creative streak has been nil, which is quite unusual these days.
So, I declared to my Shrine that I needed to work on building stronger shields. That I needed to figure out how to deflect her negativity. I give her props that she is so strong that she can get through to me, but damn it I really don't want anyone to have that much influence on my psyche. I don't want any human to have that much influence over me, especially when it makes me have negative feelings about myself , and others, when I have been working so hard.
Tonight, I had a new experience. I let the dog out and heard an odd noise in the piano. I called Buddy, my outdoor feral cat (who responds when he is nearby) but he did not come out of the piano. I looked, but I could not see anything in the piano so I went in the house and grabbed a camera. I truly did not expect to find what I found.... a opossum!
My very first thought was 'is that an omen? A message from Goddess?' But, I brushed it off and figured it was just a coincidence. I mean, we do feed a cat out there!
But once I came in the house and messaged my Shriney's of my unique experience, it was suggested that since it was my first thought perhaps it is indeed an omen.
Then, I was off to read about opossum symbolism.
I just 'Googled' it, lol, and found a site that discussed the opossum as a totem animal. Funny thing, I am currently studying Correllian Shamanism. Totem animals are quite important to Shamans. This goes back to the omen thoughts!
So, I of course read more about it. I found
this site which discusses the opossum as a totem animal. The opossum, tells me I need to act in a particular way. That I need to behave or act in a strategic manner. It says that "... sometimes it is necessary to put up a particular front to succeed most easily and effectively." It can also be telling us that "...others are putting up false fronts and deceptions." The opossum has energy that "helps us to use appearances to our greatest benefit and that helps us to recognize when others are creating false impressions." It can "...help us learn to divert attention or to get attention any way we need."
I think the cute little opossum is telling me that I need to appear fearless, despite how I may feel. I think it is telling me to appear a bit aggressive (because I am not good at submission) while also being caring. The Totem Library notes that opossum is the supreme actor and that I need to I need to learn to work with this person. Hmmm... perhaps submission is the lesson?
At the end of the post, the author notes the following:
When opossum shows up as a totem, ask yourself some important questions. Are you acting or about to act in an inappropriate manner? Do you need to strengthen your own appearance? Are others putting up false appearances in front of you? do you need to divert attention away from some activity? Are others trying to divert your attention Is it time to go into your bag of tricks and pull out some new strategy? Learning to pretend and act in ways and with realism is the magic that opossum teaches.
I have thought about these questions. I am not acting in an inappropriate manner, yet (although I must admit, I have been on the verge of doing so). I do need to strengthen my own appearance. I do think others are putting up false appearances. I'm not sure about diverting attention away, but I will continue to think on this. I do think I need to figure out another strategy, which I did declare this morning on my Shrine.
I will work on my ability to "pretend and act in <other> ways and with realism" in order to move past this challenge. I do think this was a clear message from Goddess and that opossum is telling me I need to step back and think about how to approach the situation. My mind is telling me I need to let it go, have fun, step back and say nothing. This means that I need to focus on building my walls stronger and learning how to not let Emotional Vampires get to me!
I just had to share this with you all! Let me know what you think. Am I being ridiculous or is this a very clear answer to my question?
Blessed be!!!
Sea Salt - to protect
I began by cleansing and grounding. Everything was in my ritual area so that I could cast a circle and work this spell. The first step was to cut the fabric in a 4" circle. I used pinking shears to prevent unraveling. I then used the thread to make loose stitches around the circle.
