Welcome back. I hope you all are finding this informative and/or 
entertaining. 

Sheila
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~*~

Rip Tide
By The Raven

I have always loved the beach
The warm sand that you can dig your toes into
the gently and rhythmic beating
when the water hits and washes up on the shoreline
There is that splash, that spray, when the water first hits
That almost seems cleansing.

As you stand on the edge between the dry and the wet.
There is a sense of peace serinity, tranquility
It lulls you, sings to you, calls to you
Close your eyes and you can feel it.
You can inhale the salt sea air
clearing out the cobwebs of your mind.

And yet there is the rip tide.
Deadly dangerous, and exciting.
Yes Exciting because it can take you away
Away from it all never to return.
It is sly ,sneaky, slowly luring you
dragging you down, out to the point of no return

It will toss you one way and the other 
Like the confusion, the disillusionment in life?
How easy it would be to stop fighting it.
to allow it to drag you out beyond help
Maybe it would rock you to sleep a babe in her mothers arms?
Take you away from all the daily problems

For now I guess I will sit half on that warm dry sand
and my feet out into the water feeling the pull
leting myself enjoy both the water and the warm sand
Unsure of where I wish to be for now.
hesitating between there and here.
For now content to just enjoy the sea.

~*~

Creating a wand:
By Sheila K Watkins

First off try to find a branch that has fallen or is gifted to you. 
For example snapped off accidentally when you walk past a tree or a 
bush. try to make it no longer then from the tip of your middle 
finger to your elbow. You can also use a wooden dowel or a short 
piece of copper pipe if you feel more comfortable with them. I 
prefer gifted wood though. 

You will also need the items you wish to use to decorate it: feathers 
(domesticated and game birds only any others use at your own risk: 
song bird feathers and any bird that cannot be hunted even if they 
are found feathers are illegal to use), small stones and/or shells, 
if it doesn't bother fur and leather, copper or silver wire, paint 
etc. 

sandpaper
crafter's glue
small saw if the wand is too long
knife for carving / removing bark
a drummel if you wish

You want to begin by getting into a meditative state. Hold the wand 
to be in your hand as you slowly relax. Study it's shape (that's why 
I prefer natural branches to copper tubes or dowels). What do you see 
in it? Are there any holes that you could wedge a stone in? I 
personally prefer to use as little glue as possible. Would a bit of 
paint bring out the animal shape you see in it a bit better or maybe 
a bit of carving would do it? Is there a place that needs a bit of 
copper wire? See the finished wand in your mind's eye.

Now you can remove the bark if you wish. Remember to work with the 
wood though not against it.

Using the sandpaper smooth any rough edges. 

OK now comes the fun part for me, the decorating: Start decorating 
the wand to how you saw it when you were meditating on the wood. You 
will find that it is more special this way then a store bought one.

Copyright (c) 2000 Sheila K. Watson.
All Rights Reserved