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pic
For
the record....I am a huge Pinhead/HellRaiser/Clive Barker
fan
Clive Barker
frequented a 90's gay alternative club called Sin-A-Matic
It has been rumored in L.A. that some of Barker's characters may
have
been inspired by Sin-A-Matic patrons. Lots of leather, rubber,
whips, chains.
I met Clive Barker twice at Sin-A-Matic.
Both times he was very friendly, but oh what a queen he
is.
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pic
This
is one of my favorite scenes in Hellraiser
Pinhead at his best.....
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When I was a child,
my favorite grandmother would give my sister and I an advent
calendar each December 1st. You remember advent calendars? All the
December dates leading up to Christmas day on a piece of cardboard.
Each date was either a door or little window that had a surprise
behind it. It was usually a small toy or candy.
So a few years ago I decided to make an advent calendar for the
days leading up to Winter Solstice. Hey, I am a Wiccan. Not that I
do not celebrate Christmas. If you want to see the Winter Solstice
advent calendar it is in the artwork section of this blog.
Well...now I have created an advent calendar for Halloween. Each
day I will post a new "door" as the days lead up to Halloween. I am
a total dope and forgot to post October 1st last night so you will
get a double door day on this post.
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And of course...who can forget Silver Shamrock.
You can click the images below for higher resolution pics.
Sophia - Goddess
of Wisdom
Well
of Yesterdays Dreams
Red
Buddha
Alien
Intelligence Mandala
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for higher resolution pic
"The visualization and
concretization of the mandala concept is one of the most significant
contributions of Buddhism to religious psychology. Mandalas are
seen as sacred places which, by their very presence in the world,
remind a viewer of the immanence of sanctity in the universe and
its potential in his or her self. In the context of the Buddhist
path the purpose of a mandala is to put an end to human suffering,
to attain enlightenment and to attain a correct view of
Reality. It is a means to
discover divinity by the realization that it resides within one's
own self."
My
Christmas Wish This Year
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Merry Christmas
Everyone! Special Christmas wishes from your favorite Wiccan to all
the playas at the Freak Network
Network,
The Rainbow
Podsquad, and
anyone else I might have forgotten.
I hope that Santa brought everyone of you something
special.
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"The solstice (from old
English meaning "sun-standing-still") is the time of turning, when
the days change from shortening to lengthening. Many cultures
around the world perform solstice ceremonies. At their root was an
ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless
humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration.
Once it could be seen that the days were lengthening, there would
be much celebration; the light is coming back, spring would soon be
on its way. Christmas, on the 25th December, was originally a pagan
festival which was the first day that our ancestors could be sure
that the days were indeed getting longer and that the wheel had
turned. It is no coincidence that, at this time, Pagans celebrate
the re-birth of the sun and Christians celebrate the re-birth of
the son of God, bringing spiritual light into the world.
Around the Solstice cluster symbols which give physical presence to
the powerful energies which visit this time each year. The Yule log
is a pagan bonfire brought indoors. A Christmas tree is a
contemporary symbol of the World Tree and is often decorated with
an angel, a symbol of the Goddess."
taken
from: http://www.greenspirit.org.uk
I am wishing all of you a
very Happy Winter Solstice.
I hope that in the coming year you find yourself full of light,
harmony and good health.
Blessings
Be to the God & Goddess
So mote it be
The Green
Man
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"...There
are legends of him (Al-Khidr) in which, like
Osiris, he is dismembered and
reborn; and prophecies connecting him, like the Green Man, with the
end of time. His name means the Green One or Verdant One, he is the
voice of inspiration to the aspirant and committed artist. He can
come as a white light or the gleam on a blade of grass, but more
often as an inner mood. The sign of his presence is the ability to
work or experience with tireless enthusiasm beyond one's normal
capacities. In this there may be a link across cultures, ... one
reason for the enthusiasm of the medieval sculptors for the Green
Man may be that he was the source of
inspiration."
—
William Anderson, "Green Man: The Archetype of our Oneness with the
Earth"
Well, Who was really
better, the fiery and very flamboyant, Heat
Miser, or was it
the cool "caddy of a queen", Snow
Miser?
I really don't know? Both have some very unique attributes. Were
they both meant to be equals?, Mother
Nature being all
powerful in the end?
If you don't know what I am talking about, I am describing two
characters in Rankin
& Bass holiday classic, The Year Without A Santa
Claus.
Which happens to be my favorite Christmas show.
The Year
Without A Santa Claus, debuted on national TV in 1974. I was
six years old, discovering all these new Christmas shows that would
be later become fond memories. At six, I liked the shows because it
was neat and cool. As I got older, I pondered why the show has
remained my favorite.
The Year
Without A Santa Claus was a little different from the others.
It had some unique characters. I also saw a lot of pagan
representations in it.
A quick synopsis for those who have forgotten. The show starts off
with a somewhat depressed and spiritually low Santa
Claus. Why is
Santa sick? Because there is no more Christmas cheer in the world.
He cancels Christmas. Two of Santa's elves, at Mrs. Santa
Claus request,
decide to take action and travel to the town called, Summertown. It
never snows in Summertown because it is warm all the time. The
elves wonder if the absence of snow is why there is no Christmas
cheer. They need Mrs. Claus' help, and decide to go back to
the North
Pole. Tragedy
strikes when the elves' reindeer is mistakenly taken for a dog and
sent the pound. Mrs Claus to the rescue collecting the elves and
going back, but not to the North Pole, the trio makes a visit to
the Heat Miser and Snow Miser lairs asking both for a favor.
Favor 1 - Can it snow in Summertown, Heat Miser?
Favor 2 Can the North Pole have a warm sunny day, Cold Miser?
Initially both say no, but their mother, who happens to be Mother
Nature, intervenes as smoothes the whole matter out, both brothers
reconciling to bid their favors. Both favors are granted, and
Christmas cheer, along with a better Santa Claus are equally
restored. This would not be the year without a Santa Claus.
I saw a lot of pagan elements at play within the context of The
Year Without A Santa Claus. Most noticeable are the two characters,
Snow Miser and Heat Miser. Both represent elements in Wiccan terms.
Heat Miser is clearly the element of Fire.
Snow Miser representing the element of Water. Heat Miser is shown in red,
representing the direction of South. Cold Miser's color of blue
representing the direction of the West.
Water. Remember the Wicked With Of The West in the movie Wizard of
Oz? She was destroyed by water. She was the Wicked Witch of
the West.
Seasons, Winter and Summer, are represented by the North Pole and
the village named Summertown. Colors blue and yellow, Water and
Air. West and East.
The Goddess makes her entrance in a familiar way,
as Mother Nature. Heat Miser, Snow Miser and Mother nature form a
divine trinity. A triad, or triangle is a symbol that represents strength
with compassion. More importantly, the triangle represents the
Goddess, or the Divine Feminine. This is the element of Earth.
Mother Earth.
The element of Air makes the entrance a little more subtly. Air
represents communication and information. Remember what Santa Claus
received during his convalescence? Letters. Letter from sad
children all over the globe wishing him well, and to let him know
that he will be greatly missed this year. This was the element
of Air
at play.
When Santa Claus reads the letters from the sad children, marks the
arrival of the fifth and final element, Spirit. Santa exclaims loudly, "God bless my
soul", as he finally realizes that love never left the World. The
children sent Santa love, and he understood that
Love,
or Spirit, is the greatest gift of all. Clearly, this represents
the element of Spirit.
Whether any of this is really true? I don't know. This is just one
episode of how my mind deciphers things.
Well now....I wanna know who was better. Heat Miser? or Snow
Miser?
I have made two viewing rooms of our beauty pageant contestants.
Each room is a Quicktime video of both singing their signature
songs proclaiming their existence. I do apologize, Heat Miser's
movie is a little pixellated. It was the only video I could find on
You Tube. Sorry... 
..............................
Take
Me To Snow Miser.........................Take Me to Heat
Miser
Vote for your favorite in the comments.
Winter Solstice,
or Yule
is celebrated on the
Winter
Solstice (Dec
21). Yule has been celebrated for centuries, predating
Christianity. Many traditional "Christmas" symbols, such as the
Christmas tree, hanging of boughs, eating of ham,
holly, mistletoe, and (of course), the
Yule
log, are
actually derived from traditional northern European pagan
celebrations.
As I did with Halloween cards, I am going to post various art
images that I have created in years past in celebration of Winter
Solstice.
I hope you enjoy them.
This first print is one that I created new for this
year.
Click Image To Enter Gallery
Last Saturday was the seventh annual Los Angeles Dia De Los Muertos Festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
20,000 people made their way into the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to gaze upon some of the most creative and beautiful altars dedicated to deceased loved ones. Frankincense and purple sage resins filled the air with a sweet smoke. This year's festival had more altars than years past. I saw more creative altars. The festival attendance grows substantially larger each year. It has become very popular with the L.A. gay community. One bummer this year was the banning of open flame of any kind. Every "light" you saw was a small LED light posing as a candle. Evidently, last year a small child got hurt in some way because of an open flame. It is too bad, the flickering lights from the candles had such a beautiful and tranquil effect.
The girl in the image above stood there for a long time. One was encouraged to go up to the angel, write down one's biggest wish, and then she would read it out loud to the audience. She was pretty cute, as well. She reminded me of Bjork.
Ghost
This picture was taken 2 yrs ago
at the Los Angeles Dia De Los Muertos Festival. The head is really
a 12 ft statue, along with 12 others that line the main hall in the
Mausoleum at the Hollywood Cemetery. His facial expression caught
my eye. He seems on the verge of weeping.
There he stands, quietly and motionless, in the Hall of The Dead
gazing into the abyss.
The Ghost.
Lucky
Number
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resolution pic)
One of the great
things about living in Los Angeles is all the different cultural
festivals that you get to attend throughout the year. Let's face
it, Los Angeles is one great big international melting pot.
One festival that I never miss is the Los Angeles Dia De
Los Muertos Festival held each year in Hollywood
Forever Cemetery. Dia
De Los Muertos, or in english, Day of The Dead
is a celebration held each year on All
Saints Day,
either November 1st or 2nd.
The
Hollywood Forever
Cemetery hosts this annual event on the
weekend before Halloween. The festival is held in the
cemetery at night. At least 200 handmade altars to deceased loved
ones line the small roads in the cemetery. Original Day of the Dead
art is projected on to walls of massive crypts. The mausoleum is
the location of a Dia De Los Muertos art show. There is so much
traditional mexican food served, you won't go hungry. Lots
of roasted corn...yummy! You can even get
grasshopper tamales (no..I have never tried them). Day of The Dead
is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have departed this
world. There is a large row of vendors and artists selling their
goods. This festival has gotten very popular in the last few
years...over 3000 people crammed into the cemetery at last year's
celebration.
Since I have been attending the Dia De Los Muertos festival, I
kinda see it as my traditional Halloween activity. I have such a
great time every year.
Tortured
Souls
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Well, it is my favorite time of
the year. Autumn. In the spirit of Fall, I have decided to post
some past Halloween artwork that I have created over the years.
Throughout the month of October I will post some examples of my
digital artwork. I hope everyone enjoys them.
The first
posting is titled, Tortured Souls. I created this image a couple of
years ago in the midst of a very hard major depression episode.
Much of the imagery of this piece is a visual representation of the
horrors of living with the disease of depression. Depression makes
you feel like a trapped and tortured soul. Funny though...I have
created some of my best art pieces when I was really
depressed.
(All digital art
pieces were created using Adobe Photoshop CS and Corel Painter
8.0.)
Featured solar deity - Greek's
Apollo God of
the Sun
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image
I have always associated the
dragonfly with
solar deities.
The beautiful colors that reflect off the dragonfly's wings when
the sun strikes is so beautiful.
Featured Solar Deity - Celtic
god Lugh
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