My Obsession with the Perfect Sleep Mask - 2 or swords

I've slept with an eye mask since I was 17 years old. I've been pathetically eye mask dependent ever since. Like it's not a game! I am *not* playing about an eye mask, do you hear me!? I'm as serious about it as the figure on the 2 of swords is about her blindfold. It's important to have assistance to walk the line between realms of the alert beta waves of the waking realm and the moonlight realm of the dreamscape. I usually have one that never leaves my suitcase and one that remains under my pillow upon waking and making my bed. That way I won't have to waste time in full freak out mode because I'm crawling into bed and cannot find it. Ohhh the slew of colorful words that will fly out of my face is astonishing even to me. And I'm picky about my eye masks let me tell ya. I mean, the thing is not just on your face but over your eyes and the whole point is to help sooth you to sleep. So it's gotta be just right. I've purchased many a mask over the years. I even used to make them by hand with my dear friend Laura who I also got completely addicted to them. But none can compare to the gem of a mask I just purchased from a brilliant online boutique called the Marigny Boudoir.

I first came to know of the shop because of the extremely talented traveling burlesque doll May Hemmer. She made a post on Instagram of herself getting settled on a flight wearing the most beautiful satin confection across her face in her signature shade of scintillating Barbie pink. I saw it and immediately had to follow her hashtags to find out where I could get one of these babies in my hot little hands! And that led me to the wonderful Etsy shop of proprietress of the beautiful Mariana Howard. As a scrolled through the selection of masks I became more and more intrigued. Not only because of the beautiful masks, but as much because of the thought behind each one. Mariana splits her time between NYC and New Orleans. She is completely enraptured by the Crescent City, hence the name of her shop. The Marigny (pronounced Mar-in-ee) is a neighborhood just outside of the French Quarter. Each of her masks has a story and very specifically chosen name, some of them are even part of specific collections. Given my love for anything involving mermaids, as soon as I feasted my eyes upon the teal delight named "Sirene" I was sold! So much so that I purchased one for myself and one as a gift for my beloved friend in DC , Suzette, another eye mask convert of mine, and they arrived in perfect time with my arrival. Let's talk specifics as to why these I love these masks:

• Very well constructed - though they are beautiful, I use this on a nightly basis. It's *got* to stand up to that.
• Handmade 
• Attention to detail in every single way 
• Excellent at blocking out all light completely! 
• Divinely soft silk charmeuse that feels like a dream on the delicate skin of the eye area 
• Unique band to hold it securely in place is not only pretty but very comfortable (this is super important in a mask - if it's too tight it is very uncomfortable, hurts your ears, your eyeballs, smush your eyelashes, and cause headaches -  if it's too loose it slides out of place and lets light in)
• Each mask has its own name and story
• Wrapped in beautiful, frangranced tissue paper
• Option for a personalized note, but discretion of billing details when sent as a gift
• Ships quickly
• Timely communication from seller

I fell in love with my mask upon sight, but even more so when I read her biography. Mariana specifically named her after my most beloved Lwa, LaSirene! If you know me personally, I ain't really gotta say no more! She is the embodiment of the ocean itself depicted as a mermaid. The beautiful rosettes call to mind the endless waves of the sea. While I chose the marine-like shade of a London blue topaz for myself, I chose one of the beautiful burgundy of "Madame" for Suzette. It is a crimson shade of satin covered in seductive black fishnet lace and a sheer black ruffle trim. Her biography explained that she is part of the Storyville collection. Storyville was the red light district in the late 1800's just outside of the French Quarter. Suzette was quite pleased when she opened the box but given the amount of light that comes into her apartment she was delighted after her first night of sleeping with "Madame". It's been over a month and she is still passionately taken with this garnet lady of the evening.

After leaving The District, I was off to the UK. I had the extreme pleasure of business class en route to Heathrow. I really should write a post about what a wonderful experience that was, but the point of mentioning it here is to speak to what a wonderful mask this is in any situation. Anyone who has been exhausted while flying and definitely anyone who has flown a redeye or overseas can tell you what a must-have item an eye mask is. Be it the cold, hard pain of florescent cabin lighting abruptly turned on during a night flight or the blinding intensity of the blazing sun stabbing your optic nerve when window shades are opened for an arrival service, an eye mask can be a true lifesaver when traveling. Though one is given an amenity kit during boarding, trust me when I say to you my cerulean dream "Sirene" was the envy of my fellow passengers flying in posh accommodations! I even had two separate gentlemen compliment me on her. 

So if your a person who enjoys a sleep mask or have contemplated using one, I can't say enough good things about the ones from Marigny Boudoir. If you want a functional  product but also have a desire to indulge in a luxurious experience, go ahead and embrace your inner ZsaZsa Gabore. The only thing that could make me love these masks even more than I clearly do is having had the extreme pleasure of having sat down to enjoy coffee and conversation in person with the beautiful Mariana at Who Dat Cafe, a favorite spot in the Marigny for many of us locals. She is not only a class act, but an incredibly kind, sincere and delightful lady I look forward to spend more time with when we both return to New Orleans. And I've already chosen my next mask. Or three..

 *this post was brought to you by the 2 of swords from the Pagan Cats Tarot, published by LoScarabeo

Endangered Sharks

I just tripped over something that Arwen reTweeted and even though I just made a post 15 min ago I had to make another one with regard to this topic. It is about a victory for 5 shark species winning protection from be being slaughtered for shark fin soup. So I grabbed my beloved Tarot of Vampyres deck to ask LaSirene, the Lwa (spirit) who embodies the ocean how she felt about this. She once appeared to me as a hammer head when I needed protection. She had me to shuffle and intentionally look for not just one but two of her significators and the three cards that followed. Her answer was quite clear both times.

As the Queen of Cups - Elementally, I notice that there are 2 water (the sea) and 1 earth (the animals that live in it)

5 of Skulls (Pentacles) - Of all decks, this one really speaks to the gravity of the situation of the 5of P. Look at how this beautiful creature lays there bleeding out after being savagely mauled!

Ace of Grails (cups) - A perfect representation of the ocean and her love for her domain and all of its creatures.

7 of Grails (cups) - Looking at the card it feels like the entire scene is under water. It is as if this is LaSirene conducting a ritual to ensure their protection, possibly even to ensure accountability for those responsible for harming her children.

 

As the Daughter of Grails -

Ace of Knives - Holy crap, if this doesn't speak volumes in reference to their fins being cut off their bodies!

6 of Scepters (wands) - the victory card!

4 of Chalices - Though a small victory was won, there is so much sorrow for the loss of her children. This shows how the sharks are discarded and left to bleed out and die a horrible death after being captured long enough dismembered and tortured.

I can only pray that efforts to protect ocean and all wildlife continues and we do not completely eliminate beings that have existed for millions of years.

 

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Deepening My Spiritual Awareness

I've been working a lot lately to deepen my spirtual awareness and expand my abilities with regard to communicating with Spirit. Of course my beloved LaSirene is right there to help guide me. Tonight Holly DeFount's version of the High Priestess from her Incidental Tarot spoke to me after tending to LaSirene's altars and then meditating. I did 22 min tonight which for me is a huge improvement from 7 min. As I look at the card, she appears to be in a blissfully meditative state. Completely at peace, she hovers between the realms of the conscious, mundane world and the watery world of subconscious mind. In her solitude she is able to disconnect from everything else to hear the messages that the moon chooses to convey by listening to what she is feeling. She has quieted her doubtful thoughts that once came from insecurity and caused her to question her capabilities. Her hands are open to confidently grasp, collect and offer information that was hiding in plain sight just beneath the surface.

 

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Sirene of the Sea

I have worked with quite a few of the Orishas (African spirits) as well as the Lwa (Haitian spirits) and have developed very special bonds with them. But one relationship in particular that is extremely sacred is the one I have with the Lwa LaSirene, which literally translates into "the Siren" or "the mermaid". There are several tarot cards I associate with her. She is, like all of these spirits, a very powerful and complex lady. Just like the ocean in which she resides, she represents life's constant state of flux and teaches us to how to stop resisting change and to go with the flow of life's many ups and downs through the process of self-reflection. She can be playful, inspiring, and adventerous like a dolphin. She can be very loving and nurturing, like a manatee. She can be seductive and enticing like a mermaid. But don't get it twisted, because she can be very protective and cruel like a shark, which I once saw very clearly while walking The Quarter in the wee hours of the morning. I never saw anyone, but I know danger was not far from me. It looked like the entire area was completely under water as I walked the 3 blocks to my destination. (Oddly enough to visit a child of Ezili Danto. I almost feel sorry for anyone who had even thought about bringing harm to me with Danto, a child of hers, and LaSirene around me!) I then saw as plain as day, not just from my third eye but with my human eyes, a massive hammer head shark swimming ahead of me, head turning side to side as it wove back and forth, then circled around behind me and then swam ahead to do surveillance. It was like she was making herself known to whomever would have tried to harm me. Like they may have had no idea why, but jsut decided against whatever harm they had planned. Another time I encountered her was at the Fête Kongo we had in January. When she came into possession and I went up to ask for her blessing, it was one of the most magickal and special moments of my life. The elusive mermaid recognized me and interacted with me in a way which I'm told very few get to experience. My heart still swells with joy, gratitude and love when I think of it.

LaSirene is known for her long, flowing hair and the intoxicating beauty of her face and well as her voice. She heals all wounds with the salty waters of her home, the sea. She brings wealth and prosperity from the many treasures of the ocean. It is said that she carries a comb for her gorgeous hair in one hand a a mirror in the other. This is not about vanity. It is about self-actualization, love, respect. Truly seeing into the depths of your being and learning to love what we see. She makes us face the things that we have tried to bury so we don't have to deal with them and teaches us how to do so in healthy ways. Not always pleasant mind you, but necessary for our spiritual and emotional evolution. She teaches us to listen to our intuition and have the confidence to trust and follow its advice. Working with LaSirene means having the courage to look into your own eyes and climb through the window to your soul.

To honor LaSirene I created an alter with the things sacred to her. Well, actually, we are up to two alters and my counter is kinda becoming a third! Like the sea that is her domain, her areas in my home seem to be spreading lol! In general, her colors are blue, white, silver, gold, and aqua. She is associated with Our Lady Star of the Sea/La Riena del Mar. For me, she presents herself in turquoise, sea-foam green, silver, and sometimes gold. Some of the items on her alters include: a plain mirror as well as the prettiest little turquoise glitter one, a beautiful little purse made of shells and blue and iridescent sequins, an abalone shell, a starfish, a fresh coconut as well as a can of coconut milk, a chalice of salt water, a selenite wand, Lindt milk chocolate and coconut, a spirit bottle I made for her with the vevé (calling card, direct line. Kinda like the Bat-signal) that she gave to me specifically, and her beautiful picture. Everyday at 7PM I say a prayer to her and on Saturday's at 7 I devote at least 5-10 min connecting with her. It cracks me up how often it ends up bring exactly 7 min lol. It feels like a melodic trance, floating just at the surface of my consciousness.

I could go on and on about LaSirene. I know our bond will only strengthen as I continue to work with her. I treasure my relationship with her and thank her everyday for the many blessings she has given me.

 

 

 

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