Magical Moment - Diana in Las Vegas

I love taking a mundane meander through the world only to encounter one of the "old" Goddesses.  They never left us.  They just had to find another way to share their stories with us.  And if their messages were no longer relevant, I don't think I'd find them so often.

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Magical Moment - Hello Sister!

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Magical Moment - Hello Sister!

From left to right:  My son, me, MY SISTER! and my brother

While one of my three brothers and I are fairly close, we just don't call one another.  We have a hang up about using the phone...it's a thing.  So when he called me out of the blue one morning I answered in a rushed panic, "Who died?"

"Well," he said, "nobody died...somebody was born...in 1952."

My brother then began to explain that he had taken an Ancestry.com DNA test.  It was mostly for fun, because he already knew a great deal about his genetic profile.  In addition to our large family stretching over multiple generations, I have done some extensive research on our family linking us directly to Captain Myles Standish of the Mayflower.  There is also a book written about the Peck branch of our family which can be purchased on Amazon.com.  So when my brother released his DNA for research and gave his consent to be linked to relatives, he was fairly certain he would know everyone he connected to, even the 3rd and 4th cousins.  And he did know the connections for the most part...

Except...a woman in Hawaii had also released her DNA for research and she had given her consent to be linked to relatives.  She certainly wasn't a 3rd or 4th cousin, no, she shared more DNA with my brother than our niece (she'd taken an Ancestry DNA test too).  What did this mean?

I consulted my research on Ancestry.com which has linked census records and military records.  There were two men on my mother's side.  Census records placed her father in Missouri and her brother in Michigan in 1951. 

There were five men on my father's side.  Poor farmers from Iowa did not generally fly off to Hawaii in the 50's not to mention that the Korean War would have made travel even more challenging.  I could easily account for 4 of those five men - they were of course in Iowa.  In addition to census records though, I had access to military records.  My brother and I knew that our father had served in the Navy during the Korean War.  I even had the name of his ship PC-1172 (it wasn't given a "name" until after the Korean War).  Well, it just so happened PC-1172 spent a great deal of time in Hawaii in 1951.

What did this mean?  That much of a DNA match might mean niece, but the lovely lady in Hawaii was older than my brother and I.  That much of a DNA match might mean Aunt but the two grandfather's were accounted for.  That could only leave one possibility, our Korean War veteran father must also be her father.  I stalked her Facebook page and one click was all it took for me to see the resemblance.   If you look at the picture above you will see matching jaw lines, identical noses and similar eyes.  There can be no denying that we are all significantly related.  Even strangers who encountered us as we gallivanted around Las Vegas this September were sure we were family.   They had no idea that we had just met!  We felt an instant connection.  We just all clicked, like little cogs on a mystical machine falling into place. 

One memorable highlight from our interaction was that I admitted that I don't really answer to my name of Amy Alice because my brothers and my parents always called me "Sister."  What a coincidence to discover that her brothers in Hawaii also called her "Sister" and she doesn't really answer to her given name either!

And she doesn't like talking on the phone...so random...

DNA is science but what stops it from being magical?  Especially when it offers the chance to give you the gift of a sister?  It's a rhetorical question of course, but if you must have the answer, then it is nothing.  Nothing stops science from being magical.  Magic is simply those unseen connections that simply exist whether or not we know they are there.  Sounds a lot like the science of DNA to me.

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Have you had a DNA Magical Moment?  I hope you will share your experience in the comments.

Magical Moment - Dance of the Trees

The leaves are starting to turn.  I think that's my favorite part of fall.

When my son was little, I made up our own little myth about why the leaves change color in the fall.

Dance of the Trees

Before the trees take their winter rest 

They get dressed in their very best 

With a curtsy to the wind they take this chance 

To dance 

Down the street, across the lawn 

They dance until their leaves are gone 

Leaving us to rake their messes 

The traces of their lovely dresses 

The apple dons a cheerful yellow 

With pleasing fruit she flirts with fellows 

She’s as light as a sprite 

Her dance a delight 

But beware 

Do take care 

She might have a sour bite 

Sassafras prefers hers pink 

She’ll turn your head with a sassy wink 

Her steps are sharp and precise 

Her twirls will entice 

There she goes 

Tickling your nose 

But it’s so nice your let her do it twice 

Before the trees take their winter rest 

They get dressed in their very best 

With a curtsy to the wind they take this chance 

To dance 

Down the street, across the lawn 

They dance until their leaves are gone 

Leaving us to rake their messes 

The traces of their lovely dresses 

Maple’s choice, a pretty coral 

She claims her space with her ample laurel 

She a sight to be seen 

With her lovely careen 

I believe She’ll be the last to leave 

Not keen to convene the scene 

The Oak’s gown, a majestic scarlet 

She’s the most adored, a regal starlet 

She’s the belle of the ball 

The Queen of them all 

Let her dreams be sweet 

When the dance completes

She'll enthrall us all next fall

Before the trees take their winter rest 

They get dressed in their very best 

With a curtsy to the wind they take this chance 

To dance Down the street, across the lawn 

They dance until their leaves are gone 

Leaving us to rake their messes 

The traces of their lovely dresses

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Magical Moment - The Goddess of Agriculture and Industry

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Magical Moment - The Goddesses of Agriculture and Industry

I had the opportunity to be walking downtown in my home city of Chicago just recently.  Although I've been a resident for two decades now, I was struck that day, with awe and appreciation for the beauty of my city. 

My attention was captured by the statues devoted to Agriculture and Industry which hold vigil near the Chicago Board of Trade.

The statues demonstrated so aptly for me that the Goddesses of old never left humanity.  They continue to guard us and care for us even if we fail to recognize Their divinity.  They are content to live as stories and as art.  Our belief is of less importance than Their presence. 

Magical Moments - Crowley Cat

I am a near hysterical fan of the TV Show Supernatural.  I had originally turned my nose up at the 13 season show, so arrogantly sure that it had all the occult lore wrong.  But my son talked me into watching it on Netflix and...we binged it... Lore aside (although they weren't that far off actually), it was a great piece of television.

This show gave me hope when I thought I had lost it.  I had the opportunity to tell Jared Padelecki, (the actor who plays my favorite character Sam Winchester) just that at a fan convention in the summer of 2017. 

The next day after that convention, I came across a little being who needed me to be her hero.  But I think I might have needed her even more than she needed me.  She helped me discover even more hope and reminded me of the things I really felt were important.

And, one of my Animal Spirit Guides is a black spirit cat named Trickster.  I wanted his partner in my physical world - a black cat to be my...cliche.  Crowley is all black, except for a small tuft of white fur on her chest.  That incidentally is the description of the Cait Sith a fairy cat from Ireland.  Even better, a fairy cat for a fairy woman. 

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Magical Moment - Deer in Daylight

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Magical Moment - Deer in Daylight

A little while ago, I was on my way to work when I randomly turned down a street that was not on my usual route.  At first I was really annoyed with myself and I scolded myself for not paying attention.  How silly I was to turn onto the wrong street when I've been going to work on the same route for years!

But then, I saw this beautiful graceful deer wandering down the road.  She didn't look stressed or lost, she just seemed like she was exploring this human street while there were few humans around to spook her off her adventure.

I began to wonder if perhaps my accidental turn off routine was not an accident after all.  I wondered if maybe the universe thought that I needed to see this deer having her adventure.  Maybe I was so lost in my routine I was missing hidden beauties that were just a small turn off my rutted path.  I was so grateful I had this opportunity to share a moment of this brave deer's adventure.