Oct 3: First Fearless Friday 2014!

Today is our first Fearless Friday of the Siren's October Extravaganza. We'll have our Crafty Sirens helping you today to prepare for Samhain in a creative way.

We also take each Friday to honor a Pagan who has passed through the veil into the Otherworld (Summerlands, however you see the "after life") through our Forget-Me-Not Friday series. On October 31 this year, we'll be featuring all of your forget-me-nots, so please be sure to send in your tributes to Serena no later than Thursday, October 23.

Tomorrow, we'll have our Craftacular Saturday with Sosanna. Sunday is our Sunday Stew over at Imramma.com. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Winner of yesterday's giveaway from Sandi's Enchanted Garden is....

Paula Lupi!

Remember, every one of your entries is going toward the grand prize at the end of this month!

Forget Me Not Friday

by Kallan Kennedy

Today's tribute is to Margot Adler.
Margot Susanna Adler (April 16, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, radio journalist and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR). Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly in New York City. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler, was a noted Austrian Jewish psychotherapist, collaborator with Sigmund Freud and the founder of the school of individual psychology. Adler authored Drawing Down the Moon,a 1979 book about Neopaganism which was revised in 2006.The book is considered a watershed in American Neopagan circles, as it provided the first comprehensive look at modern nature-based religions in the US. For many years it was the only introductory work about the American Neopagan communities.

Her second book, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler was a Wiccan priestess in the Gardnerian tradition, an elder in the Covenant of the Goddess, and she also participated in the Unitarian Universalist faith community.

Margot was a genuinely kind person. I had the opportunity to interact with her on Facebook for several years. Once, when I was starting a new walking regime, she encouraged me to keep going, as she had to walk 5 miles a day to keep her weight down. Another time, she discovered that I was going to be traveling to Manhattan for a business trip, and invited me to meet her for dinner. Unfortunately, I was unable to make that dinner, as my train left too early. She was always interested in making human connections like that. So many tributes have been made to her this year, and there are so many stories just like mine. She was a truly lovely person and we honor her spirit today.

It is day three and we are just getting started! I have so many fantastic songs for you. Today’s song is from one of my favorite female artists, Siouxsie Sioux.

with D.J. Martin

It’s Friday & the 5 o’clock whistle is blowing somewhere!  Let’s start with a little something to get you into the Samhain/Hallowe’en mood, shall we?
Ghostbuster

1 ounce peach schnapps
1 ounce melon liqueur
3-5 drops Irish Cream

The instructions: Shake schnapps & liqueur with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass & add the Irish Cream drop-by-drop into the center of the glass.

Notes: As you might expect, it’s rather fruity but the Irish Cream gives it a bite. It tastes less disgusting than it looks – and it gets more disgusting-looking the longer it sits because the Irish Cream starts dispersing through the liquor.

Halloween Garland

By Autumn Noel

I love to involve my little one in decorating for the holidays and Sabbats, but at age two, there is only so much she can do! Here I have shown you how to make a Halloween/Samhain garland to use as decoration in your home, centered around the help of a toddler. Crafts like these usually end up decorating my little ones bedroom because let’s be honest…it isn’t the most beautiful thing in the world since it is constructed in part by a toddler. However she is very proud of her artwork, I am proud of her paint brush skills and it is a fun way to have her be involved in the festiveness of the Sabbat.

Materials:

Construction paper or cardstock in Halloween colors (I used orange, purple and green)

Washable paints in Halloween colors (I used black, purple and orange)

Paint Brushes

Lots of baby wipes!!

Stencils of Halloween shapes (I just goggled witch hat, ghost and pumpkin)

Scissors

Hole punch

Ribbon in a Halloween color (I used lime green, because it’s I what I had laying around my house!)

A little one to help

Steps:

1.) Have your little one paint an assortment of construction papers/cardstock in washable paints.  I used purple paint on green paper, black paint on orange paper and orange paint of purple paper. We painted from her highchair, where we could easily clean up the mess with babywipes.

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

2.) Hang the construction paper/cardstock to dry over night.

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

3.) Find the stencils you wish to use… I Googled for images and used what I found online. 

(Hat - Ghost - Pumpkin)

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

4.) Trace your stencils onto the now dried painting, and cut them out.

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

5.) Hole punch two holes into each stenciled painting, set up a pattern to your liking and string the paintings onto your ribbon. 

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

6.) Hang the garland for your little one to admire all season long (even though you did most of the heavy lifting!) 

Photo Credit - Autumn Noel 

I hope that you have a blessed Samhain; Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat!!

-Autumn Noel 

Today's Giveaway comes from Author and Publisher Sam Curtin

Enter for your chance to win a signed copy of Samantha (Sam) Curtin’s horror novel: Summer’s Hollow. Summer’s Hollow follows 17 year old Rylie Bradford as she comes face to face with her town’s legend; journey with her as she learns the truth about the Pascal legend and their dark past. Prepare yourself for a thrilling ride filled with vengeful spirits, bloody apparitions, and mysterious deaths in the small town of Summer’s Hollow. 

Prize value: $8.00

Rules: (READ CAREFULLY)

YOU MUST PROVIDE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS. If you choose not to share it in the comments, please use the contact form at the top of the page to provide your email address. You must provide your email address once per giveaway.

Drawing is held by random number generation and winner will be notified in email (that's why you have to have an email address listed). Announcement will be made on Monday's post.

Note: These giveaways are open to the U.S., Canada and where allowable. Void where prohibited.
Canadian residents, please pay close attention as by law, you have to use a different set of rules. Not to worry, we have you covered :)


CANADIANS READ HERE: You will be given X number of entries for answering the following (remember, we STILL NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS):

What is 2x2?

U.S. Citizens, and others- READ HERE:

1. Go to the Sam Curtin Author Page on Amazon. Peruse her book descriptions and tell us which one you think you'd like best.

EXTRA ENTRIES: (USE SEPARATE COMMENTS. If you throw them all into one comment, it counts as one entry only)

2. Be a follower of this blog. Comment that you are following us.

3. Like the Sirens FB page (come let us know you did in comments)

4. Like Sam's Author FB Page. Let us know you did.

5. Blog about this giveaway (comment with the url for your blog entry)

6. Tweet about this giveaway (come back and give us the url for your tweet)

So, all in all, you get 6 entries for this giveaway! The deadline for entries is midnight eastern time (11 Central, 10 Mountain, 9 Pacific) tonight. Announcement will come on Monday :)

Questions? Email Serena.

See you tomorrow for Craftacular Saturday!