YULE MAGIC blog party-edited to include a giveaway for non-americans

***I need help, if you have time please see the post below this***

***** This post is a bit long, but well worth the read, as I am sharing some real magic that happened recently, so that is my gift, as well as having a giveaway....Visit the facilities and grab a beverage*****

Please click above to visit all the blogs in this party

My grateful Thanks to the Village Witch for hosting this party!

First, I'd like to say that is you wish to see pictures of my alter scroll down a couple of posts, or come back later tonight when I will add ones to this post with my candles lit.

I am 51, I have been on this new spiritual path, an awakening, and an education if you will for a  bit over a year now. I made my first Alter for mabon of this year. This is my first YULE.

I am was a disenchanted, disheartened, and dislodged Christian.  I am sure, if I told the ways, reasons etc. there would be several of you nodding your head. So I won't do that.

I will tell you that as far back as I can remember I knew the name ISIS. If my memory serves me correctly I knew the name ISIS before learning about Egypt in school. As far back as I remember I always enjoyed being in the woods, hiking, walking alongside streams etc. I live at the shore, and I have since being 13. I prefer the mountains.  I am IN PART Native American, and unlike my siblings, I am most proud of this heritage, and am most interested in finding out my ancestry there. Funny thing is, I resembled more my Mom, than my Dad. They resembled more my Dad. I was fair, they were darker. they used to tease me that the INDIANS dropped me off on the doorstep.  The Family grapevine, says there is NA blood in both families, but in much larger proportions  from my Mom.

Mom's heritage:  Scotch-Irish, English (a bit), Native American and French

Dad's heritage: French, German, a bit of Dutch (Pennsylvanian), and Native American (a bit)

So, when reading and discovering, I immediately knew that Isis would be my main Goddess. I also knew, that I wanted to follow as best I could the Native American path, I feel a strong pull towards Shamanism.

Taking all of this into account, I knew right away what my Magical name should be; ForestIsis.

Once, I made this strong commitment. I prayed to the Great spirit, and "spoke with" Isis on a nightly basis upon laying down to sleep. I spoke of many things. I asked for guidance sometimes, or signs and answers.

One night back in the end of September, I spoke to Isis about my small gift of divination, and how best to nurture it, and what tool would be best for me to work with. I was taught how to read a regular deck of cards when I was 16, by a friend's Italian grandmother...It was my birthday gift to have her read my cards, as she will not read anyone's cards under the age of 16. Well, part way through my reading she got up and made my friend leave the room (she was only 14), she closed the door telling her grand daughter; "your friend has the gift".  She came back to the table, and repeated to me, "you have the gift, so I will teach you."

So she did. I also have had daydreams-visions and sleeping dreams that themselves come true, or they are metaphorical for things that then happen.

As I said, I was asking Isis for guidance in this matter. the very next day, there was a comment on a post on my blog, by an art and blog acquaintance that I hadn't spoken to in a very long time. in this comment, she invited me to come visit her blog, as she was giving away a set of Oracle tarot cards! MY JAW HIT THE FLOOR!  I immediately emailed her and told her about my "conversation with Isis" and how I was asking her to show me, what form I should be studying and practicing, and then THIS HAPPENED!

TRULY it was MAGIC worked by ISIS through ME!  I KNEW it, I FELT it! When I told Kim she felt it too!  I entered her giveaway, but I also explained to her how I did not own any tarot cards, and that I never even had a tarot reading. She seemed quite surprised and explained to me how she had MANY decks, and that she felt compelled to send me one. We both agreed it was still magic being worked by Isis.

Kim asked me to tell her some of my interests as far as decks go. I told her since Isis seemed to be moving us, to let her guide Kim to the deck that she was meant to send me.  I was so excited...i told my son (he is Wiccan, he agreed it was probably magic but since Isis, wasn't "his" Goddess, he couldn't be 100% sure) I told his GF also Wiccan, she was like "I LOVE WHEN STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS! Of course it is magic!"

On October 8, Kim emailed me and told me my package was postal! on Monday the 10th it was in my mailbox, it was a LARGE box for just a deck of cards....I was so excited!

Well Kim was sooo very thoughtful and generous, and sent me much more than a tarot deck.

Shortly after receiving this wonderful gift I won 2 other giveaways in blogland but not the oracle deck...so I knew Isis picked the right deck for me. However there was a LOT of BAD and Time consuming, Depressive stuff going on in my life at that very time. Each time I wanted to take the time to photograph everything and share it with you all on the blog. It never seemed to happen or it wasn't right. I finally got the pictures taken just after Halloween.

I kept waiting for and looking for the right time to post about this wonderfully magical happening in my life.  I even kept telling people to be on the lookout for a magical post on my blog. Each time I started to do it, something stopped me.   

Time went by and I came across the button for this YULE MAGIC blog party. Like a bolt from the blue, I knew this was my gift to you all, to share this true magic that happened. (to give you hope, to show that magic does happen, it is real)

Here now I share the WONDERFUL, THOUGHTFUL and GENEROUS gift that Kim sent me. I have NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER, that ISIS touched her hand and guided her as to what to send me.

 Tarot deck bag, Card, and she made me a vial of "Isis" oil and a crystal

 close-ups

 Spiral tarot, deck, pamphlet on tarot (directions in the box), plus a companion book

As if that wasn't enough already, Kim truly pampered me!

 Kim also sent this FABULOUS book!

 I just chose some pages at random

 Easy explanations

 Beautiful artwork and colors

 The sections are all color coded

Isn't this such a wonderful gift?

Guess what, Kim wasn't finished yet!

 This is a bad picture, sorry (I took all these outside with the sun behind me)

 Crone Stones!

VERY COOL indeed!

Not only is this Magic, it is a blessing! Kim is a blessing to me, and I wish we were in contact more!

NOW, if this wasn't a SIGN  from ISIS enough, that I should be studying TAROT. about 1.5 months later I won this from Lyn's Blog

So, IF I had been skeptical of the magic performed by Isis and I, through Kim, then this would have been the final bit of evidence. However I knew, I knew as soon as I read the comment from Kim, after not hearing from her for so long, asking me to enter her tarot giveaway!

I hope you enjoyed my gift of TRUE MAGIC, and if you come back way later(or tomorrow) I hope to have pictures of my LIT ALTER. However as I said earlier you can see it, a few posts down.

NOW, lastly I offer up to one lucky Magical person a real gift.

The WITCH's BREW mug shown at the top of this post.

and 2 awesome teas from Trulyunique

"Old Crones Tea" (which I LOVE) and

"Psychic and Meditation Tea"...which I just recently tried, not bad! and I'm including 2 reusable muslin tea bags to use with these.

HOW DO YOU WIN???

*** you MUST be  follower

*** you MUST comment on THIS post, a REAL comment pertaining to this post...not just "Please count me in etc"

*** You MUST, MUST, MUST include your email in the body of your comment, I suggest something like this format: sallyjo AT chart DOT net.....no email in your comment, you will not be included in the drawing.  This will not be mailed until after the holidays.  I am sorry, but You must live in the continental USA to be eligible.

************HOWEVER...I am offering a 2nd giveaway to anyone who follows the above, but lives outside the continental USA, this giveaway will be 12 home made greeting cards from me, 6 for the winter holidays (if you would like to specify, I'll make them Christian or non, or yule)  2 Birthday (1 male, 1 female) 2 get well cards,  1 sympathy and 1 thinking of you

**Giveaways open until 12/31 midnight (in other words if you get here on 1/1/12, you're too late)