April 2012

[Blessed_Scribe]

Blessed_Scribe

Abilities, Advanced Practitioners, Astral Projection, Author of the Month, Beginner's Section, Book Review, Comics, Crystals and Gemstones, Current Affairs, Elements, Gods and Goddesses, Herb Garden, Kitchen Witches, Meditation, Mythical Creatures, Mythology, Pagan Art, Pagan Humor, Spells

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It's a paying job (Gaia gold only), so it's well worth it! biggrin

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If you've enjoyed this issue of the newsletter, or have any suggestions, please feel free to post some feedback!

Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Guild Happenings
- Member's Section
- Classified Ads
- Animal Totems
- Astrology
- Kitchen Witches  

[Blessed_Scribe]

- We celebrated Imbolc/Lammas!

- We have two new crew members, kaguya-kimimaro1 and The Goddess of Earth!

- We're currently celebrating Ostara/Mabon!

- Our guild is 6 years old on April 17th! The anniversary party will be held from April 1st to April 30th!  

[Blessed_Scribe]

Please welcome our new members!

Devetaki, Yong JjinJa, Gwendolyn Barrett, broken_bleeding_angel, ThatBandGirl, StateAlchemist Natsu, Bloody Rosen Knight, Wilhelm Von Cyanide, Kikyo-Higurashii, xKeiriinx

Please wish these members a happy birthday for the months of April and May!

April 1st - - Insanity_Of_The_loveless
April 4th - - Shearaha
April 9th - - Star Nightshade
April 10th - - DevilDude585 and XxWrecklessIntentionsxX
April 16th - - The guild's birthday!!
April 20th - - KillerQueen Bash and Teayo
April 21st - - FlyingPinkElefantSaysMeow
April 23rd - - oceantail

May 1st - - Vix_Punk
May 4th - - Mira Moon Darling
May 7th - - Wilhelm Von Cyanide
May 15th - - Materu Shioni
May 24th - - Raven_Lovely_452
May 26th - - Hellsing_Demon
May 30th - - NiennaSayyadina

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Member's Art

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(Art is defined as poetry, short stories, excerpts from a novel, photography, sculptures, graphic design, painting, drawings, collages, etc).  

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This is the spot where you can advertise just about anything you want.

Want to advertise your quest? Do you want to advertise something you're trying to sell? Or maybe you're looking for a mentor.

Whatever it may be, this is the place to do it!

It's completely free. All you have to do is send a PM to me, Blessed_Scribe, with your ad and which months issue you'd like it to be in. It can be as many months as you'd like, not just one.

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Blessed_Scribe

Abilities, Advanced Practitioners, Astral Projection, Author of the Month, Beginner's Section, Book Review, Comics, Crystals and Gemstones, Current Affairs, Elements, Gods and Goddesses, Herb Garden, Kitchen Witches, Meditation, Mythical Creatures, Mythology, Pagan Art, Pagan Humor, Spells

If you're interested, please head on over to this thread to pick up the application. Once you've filled it out, please send it to Blessed_Scribe.

It's a paying job (Gaia gold only), so it's well worth it! biggrin

Blessed Scribe

If you've enjoyed this issue of the newsletter, or have any suggestions, please feel free to post some feedback!

 

[Blessed_Scribe]

Animal Totems - The Coyote
Written by SlaineWildfire

The Coyote has been a respected animal totem for a very long time. There are many different Native American peoples that respect Coyote for his trickster ways and shapeshifting capabilities.

Navajo believe that they should never kill a Coyote, since he escorted the very first man and woman into the physical world. Another story tells that Coyote thought very hard and created the humans in an attempt to create a clever creature.

Coyotes are also highly intuitive and instinctual, capable of getting out of the most difficult situations. Very frequently, Coyote encourages us to have a sense of humor about things; we should be just as willing to roll with the punches and adapt to varied circumstances as a Coyote is. Ultimately, even if we make mistakes, Coyote teaches us to laugh them off and take them as a learning experience. One may never learn the lesson if one wallows in shame.

The final lesson of Coyote is to learn to work in teams, while retaining your own individual spirit. Coyotes will frequently hunt together and accomplish things that they could never have done on their own. Remember that just because you work with a partner or a group, you do not have to completely lose sight of who you are or what you believe in. Coyote teaches us that every member of the group has worth, even the practical jokers.

Sources:
Animal Symbolism of the Coyote
Coyote Medicine
Coyote Totem  

[Blessed_Scribe]

Astrology - April
Written by LacrymosaVampiress22

April is known for the rain, which helps give life to the earth. It is also known for spring, fertility, and The Aries and Taurus. Yes, both strong animals rule the month of April. For this entry I will give you a bit about each sign for this month.

Aries falls from the 1st of April through the 19th. They are represented by the Ram, which is known for its male fertility, aggression, and courage. Throughout history rams have been a symbol of leadership.

Taurus falls between April 19th and May 20th. Unlike the leadership role of Aries, the Taurus would have to be the follower, thus being the second sign in the month for its head-butting nature after it has been angered. The Taurus are known for their strength, tenacity, virility, and power but also their anger.

http://www.cafeastrology.com/index.html  

[Blessed_Scribe]

Asparagus and Bananas
Provided by koudelkaW

I've decided to post a vegetable and fruit that should be in season now so you can try yummy recipes!

Please note that of course these do vary by what country you're from. Also most supermarkets do now have many fruits and vegetables all year around instead of just their seasons.

Asparagus and Broad Bean Risotto

• 80g unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 stick celery
• 1.5 litres vegetable stock
• 350g risotto rice
• 1 branch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into short lengths
• 150g broad beans, blanched and double podded
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 80g parmesan, grated

1. Melt half the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a low heat. Add the onion and celery, and let it soften and become silky without colouring.

2. Stir in the rice, coating the grains in the buttery mixture, and cook for a couple of minutes until the grains become translucent.

3. Heat the stock in another saucepan, keeping it at simmering point.

4. Turn up the heat under the risotto and add the white wine. Allow it to bubble up, stirring the rice until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the chopped asparagus and a ladleful of the hot stock.

5. Stir the rice until all of the stock has been absorbed, then add another ladleful of stock and carry on stirring. Continue doing this until the rice is creamy and tender but still has a little bite to it, this will take about 20 minutes. You may not need all of the stock, but equally you may have to top it up with some hot water.

6. After 15 minutes of cooking and stirring, add the blanched broad beans to the pan.

7. When the risotto is cooked, take the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, parmesan and remaining butter. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cover and leave to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

Taken from here.

Banana Muffins

• 200g (7 oz) plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 150g (5 oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt; set aside.

3. Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth.

4. Spoon evenly into baking cases in muffin tin.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

Taken from here.