Why Save Trees?

I think there is even a Battle for the Trees Revolution Ning network somewhere. It is certainly appropos that we should be starting this group at this particular time because for the past month, evergreen trees have been cut down in the flower of their youths so that people can decorate them for the Yuletide season. Artificial trees can be just as festive as the real ones, and if you must have a real tree, pick one in a pot that you can transplant. If you must have a cut tree pick one where the dryad has left it prior to cutting. My friend Lyra has a way of figuring out if the dryad or tree spirit has left the tree. Stephen agrees with me, and feels that this holiday is a waste of trees. The Druids left the trees growing outside, and decorated them in the forest. It took the Christians to cut them down and bring them into the house, where they could die, dry out, and possibly burn the houses down. Stephen says, “These stupid Christian holidays will be the death of this planet.” I reminded him that all the supposedly Christian holidays were once Pagan holidays. Stephen would like to see the trees become animated, and stomp the life out of the Christians.

We would like to know what your favorite tree is. Stephen’s is the oak because of its connection to the Druids. Mine is the nectarine tree because the nectarine is my favorite fruit.

A number of years ago we did a ritual for Sacramento Cross Traditional Circles where we had Ogham tree cards made up, and Dagda did a guided meditation where we became trees..

I know I said this in the post for the first Battle for the Trees Revolution group, but I’ll say it again. Trees are our major source of oxygen on this planet. Trees and algae/seaweed. Can any of you find out whether 5000 acres of the Amazon rain forest are still being destroyed every day and post it here? We’d appreciate it ever so much. A lot of heavyweight actors are working to save the Amazon such as: Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, possibly Alec Baldwin, for sure Ed Begley Jr., the former presidential hopeful Al Gore, and possibly the singer Sting. It certainly seems like this is something he would be involved in, as socially aware as he is. Do you know of any groups that try to stop the whole Yule tree racket?

One thing we can all do is encourage ebooks by buying downloads instead of print books or as they’re often called, “dead-tree books.” to save trees. One thing I’d like to see is hemp legalized and developed as an industrial crop. I’d like to see acid-free hemp paper used for books. Hemp is a sustainable crop. It can grow just about anywhere, in just about any kind of soil. It is rather labor intensive, true, but think of all the jobs it would create. We could have just about full employment. Hemp can be used for a multitude of things: clothing, rope, hemp seed oil, hemp seed bread, awnings and tents, and bio-fuel for energy. Stephen has a hemp cloth hat. He doesn’t know where it is, but he owns one. He uses the hat when he does yard work. Somewhere I have some embroidery floss made from hemp fibers. They could make yarn and crochet/tatting thread from hemp. Hemp clothing wears better than cotton because hemp fibers are longer than cotton fibers. Hemp clothing used to be worn during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It’s what was known as “homespun”, and was worn by the pioneers in their movement west during the empire building portion of our nation’s history. Legalizing hemp and marijuana would not only put an end to the drain on California’s limited financial resources that CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Production) represents, but it also would bring in billions in tax revenues that the state sorely needs. I sorely hope that we don’t have to wait until the stubborn old guard dies off before we can see cannabis legalized. Our esteemed governor, Arnold Schartzenegger is all for it being legalized, since he sees at least the financial benefits our state would reap. It could be controlled the same way that alcohol and tobacco are, with each householder having the choice of whether s/he wanted to buy the household’s supply of cannabis or grow a certain number of plants hirself. Legally the head of a household can produce up to 200 gallons of wine or beer per year. I don’t know about distilled spirits, however. If anyone knows how much distilled spirits are allowed by a householder please post here. This is a very old law allowing this production, which we inherited from the Brits, back when we were British colonies. For them, it goes back at least to Anglo-Saxon times, maybe even back before the Romans invaded Britain back to Celtic times, or Beaker people times.

If you know anyone who wants a fairly cheap housing situation with two congenial Pagan magickal housemates in an ethnically mixed neighborhood in Sacramento, contact me at tezra.reitan@gmail.com or Stephen at abbottsinn_school@yahoo.com or Stephen at his phone number 916-455-2267. Also, we desperately need donations to keep Abbott’s Inn International School of Magick afloat. You can send donations of any size to either Stephen’s Paypal account at abbottsinn@gmail.com or abbottsinn_school@yahoo.com or my Paypal account at tezra.reitan@gmail.com. If it’s for at least $32, you’ll get either a reading or a class from our vast collections of divination decks/methods/tools or for the class, pick a topic from our vast repertoire in the field of magick. For $60, you can actually have both a reading and a class. I don’t have my webcam hooked up yet, or my mic, but with Stephen you can have sound and video on Yahoo IM, Windows Msgr or Skype. With me for a short while, it’ll be just phone or typing on Yahoo IM or Windows Msgr. Thank you for using and disseminating Stephen’s Zodiac referral number 1-800-280-8496. Stephen1580. It helps ever so much when you use it instead of the regular number because you don’t pay any more, but he makes three times as much. We’re both on SSI, thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger drastically cut both of our checks, and Keen isn’t coming up with the paying calls. I haven’t made one cent since signing on with Keen. My clients all demand free five minute readings, and refuse to go over that five minutes for a paid reading. In fact, it’s cost me money to bid so altogether, Keen has been pretty much of a total loss for me. If you need money, kids, mow lawns or babysit, don’t join a psychic reading service, because it’ll just suck in what little money you do have.

Do check out the PaganRadioNetwork.net It’s free, although they certainly do accept donations. Doesn’t everyone? Seems like everyone has his hand out nowadays, and we’re sorry to be part of that, but the situation is dirt. We almost lost our power yesterday. In these times of smaller SSI checks, a bankrupt state, and practically non-existent paying KEEN calls, the prices just seem to be rising all the time for less and less service or quality.

In order to keep his computer alive, or perhaps get a new computer, Stephen needs a new battery and Windows 7, because Vista is just too unreliable. Vista is the worst operating system since 98. But first Stephen has to pay off his rent, and so do I. Don’t buy a Dell or do business with Wells Fargo. They’re both ripoffs.

If you’re ever in Sacramento, look up Walter Rhoads and Julie Maahs. Together they own Gallery 14 at 14th St. and 60th Avenue. We’re promoting them big time. Walter Rhoads has a very interesting and different approach to art. He compares himself to the late great Jackson Pollock but there are two main differences: Rhoads is still drawing breath with a healthy 98.6 degrees temperature (except when he’s sick, in which case it’s somewhat higher) and I think Jackson Pollock was gay, and Rhoads is, like us, hopelessly hetero.

We certainly hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Sorry about my negativity up there, but I’ve been very depressed by this economy lately, and wishing I were with Doc in the Summerland.
Tegwedd ShadowDancer
Stephen Abbott
Inky my BFF (BoyFriend Forever)
Little (Big)Boy
Oreo (the Mouser)
Bailee Beasley Beastly
Frikki & Frakki
Dr. Livingston I. Presume aka Prince Henry the Navigator