Currently Reading

I've always been big on reading.  However, I went and slacked off in the last few years.  Shamefully, I only read like a small handful of books (like, less than 5, probably) within the last several years.  And that's just not me!  So, I've set a goal to read 33 books total this year.  And I have already read 16!  Yeah!  Go me!  ^_^

For some strange reason, I'm one of those people that entertains a few books at a time--dunno why.  Sometimes the plot of one moves slowly or something.  I know with the non-fiction I read, occasionally I must take my time to chew and swallow it, then give it some time to digest.  I try not to be reading more than 3 books at a time, however, because that sets of my weird procrastination spirals.  @_@  And I'm really trying to be better than that!

Anyway, here's my current reading list:

1. Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson -- I'm on page 207 0f 300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Beauty's Punishment by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) -- on page 73 of 233

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley -- just started (okay, page 8 of 876)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A small smattering of my thoughts thus far:

I enjoyed the first Beauty book, but I'm sorta struggling through Prince Alexi's bit in the village.  He interested me in the first one, but not so much in this second installment.  I really just want to get back to Beauty, but I can't just skip Alexi's portion as his journey here is probably important to his character development.  *le sigh*

On the "self-help" book, Hold Me Tight, it's frickin fantastic!  It's a super book.  It is so helpful.  It's nearly unbelievable how amazingly helpful it is.  I recommend it to anyone in a relationship as it just helps foster better communication and deeper understanding between you and your partner.  It's such a relief, honestly.  And FYI, your relationship doesn't have to be in turmoil for it to help.  I do get the Beatles' song of the same name stuck in my head every time I look at the cover (which is annoyingly frequent as it sits on my bedside table) but that's really not the book's fault (hint: it's my brain's).  I'm moving slowly through it only because I've really been taking my time to put the exercises into practice with my partner, ensuring that I integrate these teachings into the depths of my being.

As for Mists, yes, I am aware of the controversy surrounding MZB now, but honestly that's part of the fun of reading books.  I really don't think anyone can be truly "morally pure", otherwise they'd just be sitting around in a white jumpsuit in a white room drinking tepid tea with their pinky and nose in the air trying to keep their mind totally blank.  And while that may be safe from "bad associations", that's just not living.  But anyway, so far I really am enjoying the stylistic voice MZB writes in.  I'm barely into the story, but it's very rich, descriptive, and sensuous prose.  I look forward to getting deeper into it.

I'll be sure to post some more in-depth book reviews once I've finished these.  I'm also on Goodreads, so if you'd like, you can track me there as well.

May black light guide you <3

~Teresea Fae Ghouleh

Be yourself

Just be yourself.  Let people see the real imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful and magical person you are.

- Unknown

Short Story - Inner Journey

Title: Inner Journey
Word count: 1,783
Rating: T/PG-13 (for mild swearing)
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Fiction
Background: Written in 2007/2008 and edited within the last year and a half, posted here now for enjoyment. This story came to me in the middle of the night out of nowhere; it's kind of cute, kind of strange, it's definitely got fey and also references the popular children's rhyme "Little Bunny Foo-Foo".
Link to the Short Story - Inner Journey

Inner Journey, by Kelsey Teresea

“I swear to god it was here yesterday!”  Victor shouted as he stood on the sidewalk, arms dangling by his side, mouth hanging open, with frown lines creasing his forehead.  He turned to the girl standing beside him, letting loose a sigh of agitation.  

“Summer, you have to believe me! I was in that shop,” he practically shouted as he pointed to the dilapidated store front, “that shop, talking to a guy, just yesterday afternoon!”  His worry lines deepened on his forehead; they made him appear at least four years older than he was, and he was fairly young.

Summer fished around in her little painted canvas bag, peering with feigned interest over Victor’s shoulder at the broken windows and the dark interior of the shop.  Its dark blue banner still hung over the door - Inner Journey: Metaphysics, Magic, and Answers.

Festive Mushroom

A very festive mushroom I found while heading back home from the grocer's the other morning! So pretty! I love mushrooms. I've been contemplating a journey recently...perhaps this is a sign...hmmm...

Some Sketches

A couple of sketches of mine form recently. First image in graphite with wine stains. Second image also in graphite but with magenta-coloured marker.

More of my work can be seen at: Strange Art by Teresea

Portfolio!

I have a new home for my art!

Strange Art by Teresea

You can view my paintings (ex. first image), drawings (ex. second image), mixed media pieces (ex. third image), and some current works in progress. Come check it out - just follow the link above!












All three of these images and more can be seen at my new portfolio.

Strange Art by Teresea

♥♥♥

Solar Eclipse, continued

Good places to view the solar eclipse in Cali

Here's an article on where you can view the solar eclipse if you're in California (from our view it will only seem partial, but it will be awesome none-the-less).

As I said in my previous post, the eclipse is in 0 degrees Gemini & shall have great impact over mind at large. I believe we are entering a New Age - Aleister Crowley talks about the aeon of the Child or Ra-Hoor-Khuit (See the Book of the Law).

The moon (the child) shall dwarf the father (sun).

Speaking of Mr. Crowley, I found this passage from The Book of Lies:

37
Dragons

Thought is the shadow of the eclipse of Luna.
Samadhi is the shadow of the eclipse of Sol.
The moon and the earth are the non-ego and the ego: the sun is THAT.
Both eclipses are darkness; both are exceeding rare; the Universe itself is Light.

Book Review

Those that know me well will know that I am an avid bookworm (back when I worked in child development, my nickname was, no surprise, The Bookworm). I pretty much read instead of watching any sort of television (save for some movies & things on Netflix sometimes or currently Game of Thrones...but that doesn't really count because I read the A Song of Ice & Fire Series first). Because I have been reading since I can remember (I was reading before I was walking but I'm also told I was running & climbing before I was walking...hmm) I often challenge myself by visiting a library & wandering the isles until I find something strange & appealing in a slightly esoteric way & then I attempt reading it.

This is exactly what I did down at the Santa Clara City Library the other day - & then this book found me:

My first thought was that the cover really did not remind me of Merlin but, in fact, Severus Snape. I mean, look at it: lank greasy hair, hooked nose, slouching posture, worn robes sitting amidst a myriad of woodland flora. This is obviously our favorite Potions Master in disguise. Titillated, I was immediately drawn to the book (being the big, fat, steaming Snape fantwat I am) and I decided that I would find somewhere to sit & peruse the first few sentences.

The sentences turned into paragraphs, the paragraphs to chapters, & before I rightly knew, I was halfway through the book.

Apparently I had been waiting for this book my whole life & I didn't even know it.

But that's the beauty of it, really - I believe we are meant to read the exact books we read throughout our lives, in the exact order we happen to choose because we've already decided the things we would learn in this incarnation & the knowledge from certain books from certain authors is crucial, not only because is it expanding the current trail of knowledge crucial to our development at this point, but also because the authors we gravitate towards are part of our own incarnational timeline - we are all connected.

I felt immediately connected to Robert Nye's Merlin; it was an amalgamation of many other works I had read previously, almost like I had read all those things years ago to prepare for this novel. Merlin is a raunchy esoteric retelling of the tale of Merlin & the Knights & Ladies of the Round Table riddled with blackest of the black humour, which is only really funny if you're familiar with things like The Key of Solomon the King, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King, anything by Aleister Crowley & Freud, The Necronomicon, The Kybalion, anything at all about ritual magick, every tale about King Arthur & Merlin ever, works by H.P. Lovecraft & Drunvalo Melchizedek, creation myths, and, but not excluded to, religion & the false dichotomies propagated by religion. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart, those who can't laugh at indecent japes made at religion, those who feel uncomfortable with gratuitous sex & mentions of drug use, & those that do not understand the finer points of alchemy & transformations. It was the perfect book for me.

Nye's style is very poetic - the lines on the page look more like meter with rhyme than prose, but prose it is none-the-less; poetic prose as well as darkly snarky. He uses a lot of short sentences & sentence fragments to keep you in the now of the book, in Merlin's head but also outside of it (as Merlin himself is). The story seems to be written as the events are taking place but also after the fact - time is really an illusion for the reader just as it is for Merlin. The story weaves in and out of Merlin's life - from birth to imprisonment in his crystal cave - with a great cast of characters that most are intimately familiar with: Merlin, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Uther Pendragon, King Arthur, Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Morgan le Fay, etc. The story is broken down into four parts or "books" - Black, White, Red, Gold - signifying the alchemical process of changing base matter into gold, which is, ultimately, what Merlin is seeking to accomplish through the exploration & manipulation of the human psyche & shadow.

Needless to say, I finished it in two days. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during the reading of a book in a long while and I'll certainly be thinking about this for some time, such was its impact on me. I would give Robert Nye's Merlin not just a five-star-rating, but a five-pentacle-rating with the pentacles covered in glitter & arranged in a pentagram formation at the bottom of a pig-stye (the pig-stye where the spider Charlotte spins her web at least) - that's how awesome this was. A diamond in the rough. A bejeweled needle in a haystack.

PBR Painting

My submission for PBR Art, currently residing on the wall of Jack's Bar & Lounge in San Jose. Title: "Everything is Perfect". Oil on canvas

Spring Nostalgia

An old drawing I did; the spring-time weather is nostalgic, though, oh yes.

Good Vibes

It's a good day today. This picture reminds me of the trees dancing in the wind outside.