I graduated yesterday. Done with a milestone. In the fall it begins again.

I saw The Forbidden Kingdom last night. It was a very entertaining film with stunning visuals and a fun plot, but it was a quote from one of the characters that stood out the most for me. I believe it was Jet Li's character, but the quote was, "Learn the way, then find your own way."

This quote stuck with me because I could relate it to Paganism and my spiritual path. I feel like that's what I'm doing right now. I'm learning all that I can from books, the internet, and other Pagans before making up my mind on a path to follow. Just my luck, I would decide a tradition too soon and then I'd find another tradition that interests me more.

For now, I'll just keep learning and wait for the right tradition to look me right in the face and scream, "PICK ME!"

So, I don't know what you actually call them, but I went into a "wicca store" for the first time on Saturday. This one is called The Crystal Voyage and it was interesting. Sadly, I came at a time when the store had become more commercial and didn't carry just Pagan goods but also Christian and Islamic goods. No Jewish goods, though. I was disappointed a bit, but it was nice to finally go into a store like that. The closest I'd been earlier was the holistic section of an organic grocery store from where I love to buy vegan curry.

According to the friend I was with, the store used to be much more concentrated on Wicca and witchcraft, but became commercial and branched out to become more appealing to the customers in the area. I wouldn't mind taking one of the classes they offer there. They do a few kinds of classes and I think it would be interesting. Maybe they have a website or something.

Any similar or different experiences in the same general area (by area I mean "wicca shops").

I think I had a personal triumph today. Maybe even two.

I'll be honest, I'm not really out of the broom closet about being Pagan. I mention it in passing sometimes and can be seen reading different books and such, but I don't wear jewelry or funny paganesque shirts or blatantly advertise my spiritual being.

With that being said, today I mentioned my spiritual preference in my government class. We do this thing called "Weekend Update" (yes, modeled after the SNL sketch) and since Ostara was yesterday, I felt confident enough to mention it. I explained what it was and what my mediocre plans were and as soon as I used the word "ritual" (when explaining what most people tend to do on those holidays; I didn't do a ritual, I just stayed outside among the flowers and grass while reading some books) one of the smartasses in my class was like, "So, do your neighbours still have their cats and dogs? Are they alive and well and not splayed across your altar and their blood all over the walls of your house?"

This was the point at which I just turned to him and glared. Not the most witty of my retorts, but it did the trick. Then my best friend and the teacher told him off.

I think I'm going to count this as two personal triumphs. 1) Talking about my spiritual preference in a politically charged class. 2) Not crying at that student's attempt at an insult.

There is something about rainbows that makes me feel like everything is going to be perfectly fine in the end. They just make me feel so optimistic, even in the most pessimistic moments of my life. (Those pictures were taken by me on March 21, 2008.)

I made this salad as part of a dinner I made when my best friend came over this past Friday. The other parts to the dinner were potato pancakes and chicken. (I didn't partake in the chicken but I definitely scarfed on that salad and the pancakes.)