When I was a kid, my parents used to take us for mountain drives every year in the fall. The Blue Ridge Parkway was only a couple hours away, so we’d spend all day driving up… and then driving back down. There was this one particular pile of rocks that we’d stop at each time and take a family picture. Somewhere, I can almost assure you there are at least a dozen photos of me standing on those rocks, all taken during different years of my life.
I hated those trips.
And for the most part, that was my perception and opinion of the mountains.
This opinion has since changed. Selene and I have traveled far and wide… even to the peaks of…
Wait, no… that’s not a real mountain. That’s from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
But these next ones are real…
And now we’ve got a strong desire to return to the mountains whenever we can.
But you can’t ask me to choose between mountains or beach. That’s not a fair choice. I love them both.
Good morning and happy Monday, friends!
It’s been another busy week filled with projects, but most of my attention has been focused on my book. I’ve got about one month left and then my draft will have to be sent off to the publisher! This is simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
Last week, I started the StaarCon 5 spotlight series with Mitchell Osborn. I also posted an article on consecrating the elements. I think I’ll continue in that vein until I’ve put out some writing on all of the individual aspects of a Wiccan ritual.
Selene and I stopped by the Rust Market on Saturday, which is kind of like a big community garage sale. You’ll see some similar vendors as you would at a farmer’s market, but with less food, and more… well, how shall I say this? More junk — things that have been collecting rust. There were a couple cheap guitars with heavily rusted strings, some candelabras with a strong patina, and some Hot Wheels toy cars that looked like they had been in someone’s basement for the last 40 years. But there’s also new stuff like crafts, pottery, and tie-dye shirts. It’s an interesting mix.
Anyhow, we found a table where a lady had a bunch of crystals set out for sale with a big bowl of decently-sized crystal eggs. Selene found a pretty one, so I asked the lady how much she wanted for it. We then had a conversation like this:
“Why don’t you just make me an offer and take all of them?”
“Well… because I only want one… how much for just one?”
“How about you just give me $20 for all of them?”
“Wait… are these cursed or something?”
So yeah, we own a bunch of eggs now. She wrapped everything up in a black tablecloth and stuffed it into a big Victoria’s Secret box. But I trust nothing, so all of the eggs are currently sitting on a selenite plate and are covered in salt and were sprayed with a purification spray I made a few months ago. That should knock out any weird juju, right?
After the Rust Market, we went out for brunch. Then we out out to a hot pot place later in the evening with some new friends. All in all, it was a rather pleasant weekend.
Earlier last week, I had a really cool conversation with Ellen Evert Hopman. You can check out the raw interview footage on Patreon right now… or wait a couple months and it’ll all be the final episode of this season of M3. This week, you can look forward to Laura Perry’s interview highlights being released in written form. And in a couple weeks, I’ll have DuQuette’s interview out!
I’m still waiting for the head of one of my other sunflower to drop so that I can harvest the seeds. Once I get those, I’ll be able to start a new round of planting.
We’ve also started a new round of Wicca 101 classes in our coven. The cycle continues!
That’s all for now, but stay tuned for more soon!
Aerik Arkadian 
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