
Nine Noble Virtues: Perseverance
I started welding classes this week. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I turned up the pressure on oxygen and acetylene tanks, cracked the acetylene on the torch, and lit it with a striker. For me, sticking my hand that close to an instrument that was about to shoot a 6000 degree Fahrenheit...

A Disciplined Goddess
**My apologies for the late post! I’ve been having some technical difficulties. The irony that I’m late with a post about discipline is not lost on me…** It might be hard to tell from my spotty posting in April, but in my on-blog life, I’ve been pretty disciplined! I’ve submitted a book, gotten my taxes...

The Nine Noble Virtues: Discipline
Last week I said I was going to focus on discipline (one of the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) of Heathenry) for the month of April, and as I’ve got a lot of changes coming up on the horizon, I think it’s going to be a really good one to start with. Discipline is a challenging...

Soap Labels: The Good, the Bad and the Dirty
Before soap labels can make sense, the distinction between soap and detergent must be made. Soap and detergent are the two main category of cleaners we use, both in home cleaning products and on our bodies. I have a natural “soap good, detergent bad!†prejudice when it comes to my skin. I decided to do...

Introduction to Label Reading on Cosmetics and Food
One of the things I’ve had to learn how to do over the past few years is read ingredients labels, and I started with packaged food. For people with sensitive systems (like me) it’s important to monitor what we consume. I’ve also had to accept that the things I put onto my body, like lotion,...

The Naming of Norse Folk
The naming of kids is a difficult matter. It isn’t just one of your holiday games… ~ T.S. Eliot’s A Practical Book of Cats (sort of) I’m so excited! Our illustrious webmistress and esteemed friend had a baby this weekend! Pass the Topo Chico! Mom and son are in perfect health and everything is looking...

DIY Destressers
I’ve had STRESS this week–the kind that makes you see red and feel blue all at once. I apologize for being unable to discuss the whys; other people’s business is not for me to air on the interwebs. But I have literally broken out into an itchy mess over it. Not okay! What’s a princess...

Jax Makes Soap!
Interesting things I’ve learned about soap… Soap is what happens when you mix melted fat (animal or plant) and lye (either sodium or potassium hydroxide). The original lye used in soapmaking was ashes from a hardwood tree (although I’m guessing what you buy at the store isn’t made that way anymore). If you make soap...

Poppin’ Tags Like a Princess
I love thrift store shopping. I’ll get back to that in a moment. As part of my quest for detoxing my house and gorgeous routines (some people may have beauty routines, but as a princess, I have a gorgeous one 😉 I’m learning how to make my own soap. As a side note, if you...

Jax’s Detox Home Challenge
I’ve decided to try phasing out new-fangled (20th Century and later) chemicals in my house by replacing my cleaners and personal care items with homemade equivalents. I want to do this both as an environmental and health measure, but as a cost saving measure as well. For quite a while now we’ve been exchanging hard-core...

Herbal Remedies–St John’s Wort
Disclaimer: I am not in any way suggesting a medical course of action for anyone. I am not a doctor. I am writing about my personal experience. Like a lot of other Pagans, I’m not a huge fan of pharmaceuticals. Not that I never take them–sometimes that pulsing pain in my head just needs an...

Frigg vs Freyja: What Does It Mean to Be a Strong Woman?
Note: This article is intended as personal reflection and not scholarship. While I don’t intentionally mislead or make incorrect assertions, I freely include my own ideas and opinions. Please take it as such. 🙂 Frigg, daughter of Earth (Fjörgynn) and Lady of the Æsir, stays at home while her husband, Odin, travels the nine realms....