We are all moved in to the new place. So many people helped make it possible I am truly grateful for having such a great and caring community. Now that the boxes are nearly all unpacked, the books have found their shelves and the dishes their cabinets it is time to hunker down and get back to the work of temple building. In the coming weeks there is much paper work to be dealt with, updates and changes that need to be accomplished. I look forward to keeping this site updated with all the news- good and bad- of this process.
10K Sanctuary will have an information booth at Austin Pagan Pride in September which will require me to create and print informational handouts about our vision and mission. What it is, exactly, that 10K Sanctuary hopes to accomplish and how we hope to accomplish it.
I hope to be able to present at Pantheacon 2015 and bring the attention of a wider audience to 10K Sanctuary. I feel the importance of providing a place for our elders to grow old in comfort and safety in addition to a physical place in which to honor and worship the Female Divine can not be overestimated! These are just a few of the things on the agenda. Please feel free to leave comments on the 10K Sanctuary facebook page. If you are not a facebooker, feel free to send an email via this website to Liona Rowan.

We have finally completed what has felt like the never ending move. Most of the boxes have been unpacked, although my paperclips are still eluding me. The new house is pleasant and homey. My son has decorated his room with the appropriate Godzilla accoutrements and is settling in. We can finally operate in the kitchen as if we live here. WHEW! I realized today that I need to go through all of my online presence and update and change as needed and then get back to the work of temple building. This site is no exception! There will be some minor changes and, hopefully, some major updates in the coming weeks. Foremost on my agenda is figuring out how to make money in the mundane world while creating something out of nothing.
Not getting the land (well, getting it and not being able to afford to make the changes needed to make the home habitable and having to exercise our option to opt out) really knocked the wind out of my sails. I know, I know, it wasn’t time or it wasn’t the right land… I know that if it was meant to be it would have happened, however, it still knocked the wind out of me. Now that I have had the opportunity to work really hard at getting THIS place habitable, I think I have purged the feelings of disappointment enough to begin again in earnest.
I have begun to feel the urge to write again after many years. I have the energy to wade through the many bureaucratic challenges in my immediate future. But for today, I am taking my son to the pool.

Whew! life has been happening in abundance!

We are introducing a new page on the 10K Sanctuary website called Flamboyan’s Fancies. Cristina Ayala, a priestess, herbalist and diviner extraordinaire will be writing the page. She lives locally and is an active member in the Pagan community in Central Texas. We are honored to have her here!
Since the original land deal fell through due to FAR too many improvements needed for habitation we have been furiously looking for someplace to live. We are renters and the owners are selling our house. So while the search for land continues, we still needed someplace to BE. We have finally found a house that will meet our needs. The house needs little work and is affordable enough to allow the search for land to continue. Our hope is to find land before the year is out for the temple space.
In addition to moving I have also started a new job. It is quite a boon to have more money coming in. Like most things in life there is a tradeoff, I will have less free time. I am not complaining! I still have 4 free days a week in which to develop this webpage, 10K Sanctuary and most importantly, spend time with my family and friends.
The big trick will be deciding for lots of land a little further out or less land closer in. Ultimately it will be cost that decides. The pluses of further out are an increase in the amount of land giving 10K Sanctuary options to expand both the number of residences and other services provided by 10K. The minuses are that there is usually no water or electricity on the land so a well, telephone poles to afford access to electricity and septic systems must be introduced. Land closer in is more expensive but usually has access to water and electricity… Decisions, decisions!
In other news, the art show fundraiser for 10K Sanctuary has been postponed. Six weeks is simply not enough time to herd cats, I mean artists, to be in my hurry. This has increased the ability to collect donations of art and organize effectively AND seriously decrease my stress level. I will have an update soon on where and when the art exhibit will occur as I firm up the details. Many, many thanks to the amazing artists that have generously donated already!

10K Sanctuary is having its first fundraiser! The fundraiser will be held at La Pena Art Gallery in Austin Texas for the month of June. Opening night will be June 6, 2014. 10K Sanctuary is actively seeking donations of art. If you are interested in helping 10K Sanctuary manifest into a physical place please see the invitation below.

10K Sanctuary fundraiser at La Pena art gallery for the month of June 2014

Hello!
I am officially soliciting art for the 10 Sanctuary Goddess Temple and Retirement community fund raiser at La Pena art gallery ( http://www.lapena-austin.org). The title of the show is being worked on The artwork can be any medium/any subject.
Should you choose to donate art (and we hope that you will consider it) we will need the artwork to arrive at:
10K Sanctuary
% 4301 S. Summercrest Loop
Round Rock
Texas, 78681
by the last week in May. In addition to your donation we will need a short biography of you, a photograph of your work and of you as soon as possible sent to lionarow@gmail.com (I know this is ridiculously short notice but the opportunity presented itself and we decided to jump on it!) for the evites, paper invites and the brochure and also what you would have charged for the work you have donated.

The show is curated by the gallery. I cannot guarantee that the artwork will be in the show, however, I CAN guarantee that the artwork will be displayed and be for sale once there is a physical space for 10K Sanctuary. In addition there will be a page on www.10KSanctuary.com that will have photographs of your artwork and be available for purchase/donation.

If you are in the Austin area we would be honored for you to attend the opening on Friday June 6, 2014.

Thank you!

Liona Rowan
Founder/Priestess 10K Sanctuary
www.10KSanctuary.com

These past few weeks have been a little overwhelming. We made an offer on land, it was accepted, then we reduced it because the house on the land required SO much work to make it habitable (new septic, new roof, new foundation…) they rejected our new offer. Then I made a new offer and offered my extensive Fiestaware collection in trade in addition to our offer (making it worth more than our original offer) but this was rejected also. Then the property was taken off the market for reasons unknown. It could have been sold or the owners may have decided to do some repairs before attempting to sell again. Either way, my spirit guides and the guides of a trusted friend have been saying that we will get this land.
May first is the deadline for us to be able to accept should they offer the land to us again (I made it clear that if any offer falls through we are still interested). We must be out of our rental by June 30th. So no pressure. Last night I dreamed I lost my shoes or I was losing my shoes. They were red and used though not totally worn out. I woke up anxious and restless. I tried to find out the meaning of a dream like this… either I am throwing away an old way of being or living my life (a good sign?) or I’ve lost my way. Either way it lead me to really examine where I am right now.
Two things came up, one an experience I had many years ago when I was so depressed and nearly suicidal. I had asked-begged Goddess to help me remember what it felt like to be happy. I didn’t ask to be happy just to remember what it felt like. A few moments later a bright light flooded my room and me and filled me with complete and total unconditional love and acceptance. It was amazing. Not only did I feel happy I felt the Divine flood through my body and soul. I got up out of my bed and literally changed my life for the better in a week. I moved out of my home into the perfect apartment in the perfect location with a fireplace AND a washer dryer hookup and no credit check. My student aid came through that day(when earlier in the day they had said it would take weeks). It was amazing to say the least and so much more profound than I can express in words.
The other experience was when I first moved here from California. Someone from California had asked me to do a prosperity spell before I moved . I don’t usually do that sort of thing for others but I said I would so I did. As I was casting the circle I felt a rush of power that frightened me. I was still so wounded from a series of events that culminated in me leaving my chosen home… Anyway, I had blocked that power because I knew at that time I was not ready or able (or maybe I was just scared) to handle it. I did the prosperity spell, which this woman complained about because she would actually have to DO something (hello?! prosperity involves involvement!). That was four years ago.
This morning I went outside to listen to the trees and the birds. I realized that if I can live in that place of love and power and use the power of love in all things that it will all fall into place. I do not know what the next few days will hold in relation to the possibility of land. I DO know that I have lots of paperwork to complete before Friday for the completion of the non-profit status. I also have lots of work to do in relationship to the fundraiser at La Pena. Collecting the donated art, gathering information for the invites, opening etc. I know that I will have lots of help and prosperity involves involvement!
I can see 10K Sanctuary; the entire dream in my head so clearly, so clearly. Recently I was at a gathering and I was talking about my frustrations and several people at the gathering reminded me that it is not just my dream. It is the dream of a community and that I am not alone. Sometimes I have trouble remembering that. Of all the encouraging things that have ever been said to me that was one of the most helpful.
It is not just my dream. It is OUR dream.

The last 24 hours have held at least 6 weeks worth of information and change! My head is spinning! Sunday morning, yesterday, we looked at a property for 10K Sanctuary. The house on the property, in which my family and I will live, leaves MUCH to be desired and will require quite a bit of love and money to get it habitable. The 24 acres on which the house sits is amazing! So we made an offer today.
Sunday evening I went to an event at Cristina Ayala’s home where I met some amazing new people and got re-acquainted with some friends that I don’t get to see often enough. By the end of the evening after learning a lot about tarot and some serious ritual singing occurred, we got to talking. Before I knew it a fundraiser for 10K Sanctuary was manifesting before my eyes! MAGIC PEOPLE!! Pure Magic! As none of the details are nailed down yet I will only mention that by the end of the week there will be details that will involve a call for donations of art around the theme of The 10,000 faces of the Divine Female! As I have a date and a location I will send out a more formal request.
My head is spinning with the depth and breadth of support for my dream of a physical space to worship and honor the Divine Mother. I was reminded that it is not just my dream. Breathing deeply…It is not just my dream… I am filled to the brim with gratitude for the Divine affirmation in the form of human angels!
By this time tomorrow I will know if our offer has been accepted or refused. There is a plan B should this not work out, but so far, all signs point to yes.

It’s kind of scary, a dream coming true. A good kind of scary, but still, scary. 10K Sanctuary has been baby stepping to manifestation for just over four years. The idea, my resistance, the planning, the paperwork, the 501c3, creating a board, sharing the vision; all baby steps that each felt like giant steps. Now the real giant steps have begun. Randy and I have secured a loan and the search has begun for land. So far we have seen one property, that while beautiful, has a road that went through the property of someone else and that is prohibitive given there will be times of lots of traffic and other times of less traffic. Still, we want our neighbors to like us being there and people coming and going all hours of the day and night does not a good neighbor make!
It feels as if much of my time is taken up searching on line for land that would be appropriate and that we can afford…but only because it is. It is starting to feel real and events and fundraisers have begun to form in my head as well as lists of needed items. The house we live in is rented and the owners will be putting it on the market June 1st so we must find someplace to move to by June 30th. We have decided that this is the push we need to get ourselves in gear. It is a lot of change. But it feels right. There have been many positive omens (hawks, cats, vultures…). I will, of course, keep this site updated as change occurs and when land is purchased! Once the land has been purchased there will be an exceptional amount of work going on behind the scenes that will, hopefully, manifest as a physical temple and retirement community by next year! Even if it does not manifest as a building the land will be there for ritual and other events. I’m feeling excited and nervous just typing that!
HA! I just noticed that this is April Fools day! This is NOT a trick! 😀

10K update 2/17/14

To say this is overdue is an understatement. While updates have been lagging progress has not. So many changes! The house we have been renting is going to be put on the market for sale on June 1st forcing a rethinking and re-imagining of our time line regarding the purchase of land for 10K Sanctuary. From the beginning the plan has been for Randy and I to purchase the land for 10K Sanctuary. However, due to a series of events, I have resigned from my full time job as the general manager of a local honey company eliminating one of our incomes. I am still picking up work as a server for a friends catering company. Swarm season will be starting soon and will bring with it opportunity for bee removals and free bees, however, neither of these options is a full time income.

Another opportunity for growth (!) is the fact that our son will be entering middle school in the fall. We have applied to two charter schools for him. Both schools fill openings via a blind lottery. One school does the lottery in March and one in April. Both schools have residential requirements… different residential requirements with only a small area of overlap. If he is chosen for either of the schools in the original lottery, YAY for us! The decision of where to look for property will be significantly easier. However, if he does not get into either school, then we will have to stay in his current school district so he can attend the middle school his friends will be going to. In addition we will have to stay in the small over lap area so that should either school pull his name during the school year he can attend. So, do we buy or do we rent a cheaper house and buy land wherever we want knowing we can build later.

To make the situation even more exciting (another character building exercise!), because we do not own property now, we owe taxes and that pretty much wipes out our savings. There is good(ish) news though. We have a 401k that we can borrow against for a down payment and pay ourselves back at a low interest rate and we qualify for a FHA loan. However, none of this can happen until we know which school our son will go to but must happen before June. All of that to say there is a very good chance that land will be purchased for 10K Sanctuary by June!

After assessing our needs for the Temple space, community center and retirement homes it appears we will need more than 10 acres. The good news, there is actually land available for prices we can afford in an area that we want to be in. We are hoping for 20 or more acres in an ideal world 30 or more.

While all of the stuff above has been going on I have been being challenged in my spiritual life as well as my mundane life (remind me again exactly how much character one person needs?). I have been healing from a particularly difficult time since moving to Texas. I have been being prodded by Goddess in my dreams and waking thoughts to begin building community. I have been resistant to doing this for a variety of reasons (excuses?). In addition not one but two powerful priestesses called me out of the blue in the same week to remind me who I am and what I know.

In response I have created a Meetup group called Eclectic Pagans in Diaspora. We meet on the second Thursday of every month. Our first meeting was held on February 14th at The Gold Coat Inn on Sam Bass Road/175 in Leander. My goals in creating the group were stated and it feels like interest is growing.

Winter has arrived in Central Texas. It was 86 degrees 3 days ago and 34 degrees today, winter storm warnings are in effect for tomorrow and Monday with snow in the forecast! The days are shorter and feel even shorter than they are with daylight savings in effect.  Truly it is time to go into the dark.

For me this has manifested with a real fear facing episode.  Things that normally creep other people out don’t phase me.  I am a beekeeper. I used to have snakes. I have three truly irrational fears, the dentist, roaches and rats.  A week ago rats decided to scout out my attic. yep, rats.  I. lost. my. shit.  Thankfully our friends with a B&B allowed us to spend the night at their place on Monday.  Honestly I don’t know how I would have managed, I’m sure I would have somehow, but I was jumping out of my skin at just the thought of staying in our house with rats.

It took me several days to realize it, I am sad to say, but I finally did.  Rats are a power animal.  It is very easy to see in other people how their fear of certain animals directly correlates to places they need to grow in their lives…  But when it is ones OWN irrational fear, it seems quite different!  Our friends said we could spend another night at their place, but I realized that I really just had to deal with it.  We had already called the exterminators (who said that they were just storing nuts and had not yet taken up residence in our attic-they may have been telling me anything but I chose to believe them).  There was nothing I could do except wait for them to do their job.

When I finally calmed down enough to think even semi-rationally I started to do what I normally do when Goddess is screaming at me to pay attention, I researched and looked inward.  I began to deconstruct what it was that freaked me out so much about rats… 1.They are smart. 2. They are cunning. 3. They can get into and out of nearly any sticky situation. 4. They are prolific breeders. 5. I watched Ben and Willard when I was a kid and Ratatouille as an adult- all I could think of was thousands of rats falling on my head when I was sleeping. 6. They wring their little hands like they are plotting…  Like I said, irrational…

Once I emotionally stepped back I realized that rat was trying to tell me something.  I found this http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/rat.htm and this  http://books.google.com/books?id=UuQsC9N1O2EC&pg=PA319&lpg=PA319&dq=rat+as+spirit+guide&source=bl&ots=lwbex-zIvU&sig=GFYXUJs-gHW-oTzqlZ2nFpoadr8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MgKRUsKfK8rE2QXXuoCgCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CHoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=rat%20as%20spirit%20guide&f=false  and many more links.  Due to circumstances in both my personal and professional life this all makes perfect sense to me.  Rat has shown up in my life telling me to pay attention and to give me an affirmation and a caution. The affirmation is that projects that I am involved in, such as 10K Sanctuary, will be successful. Rat has also shown up in my life to warn me against excess.

While I am still digesting this idea of rat as a teacher while facing my fear/phobia of them, I have decided to sit with the discomfort.  To just be in it.  As one might have surmised, this is not comfortable or easy.  My anxiety disorder has been triggered, my emotional “skin” is not easy to be in.  On the first night, the night we stayed in the B&B, I drank too much trying to mask it.  The next day my anxiety seemed to ward off a  hangover but my discomfort was still great. After work I came home and saw how much I was resisting this message/lesson from the Divine… As I said, it is easy to see the correlation in other people’s lives, not so much when it is ones own resistance.  I laughed at myself when I saw what would have been obvious to me were I someone else.  Humility, yet another lesson.  Heavy sigh.  I am not yet through this process.  I am still uncomfortable, still in the shadow/darkness.  I may never be “OK’ with rats, but at least I can see that rat has arrived in my life for a reason.

The exterminator has just left after closing all possible routes into the house. He did not find any rats in the traps.  Hopefully the rats will stay outside and there were none in the house when it was sealed up.  I haven’t heard any scratching or gnawing (just typing this word makes me all skin crawly) for days.

Goddess whispers, then She talks, then She screams, then She hits you upside the head with a 2×4, then She drops an anvil on your head.  I am hoping I am learning this lesson soon enough to avoid the 2×4.  I am paying attention now.  While resistance is possible, it is futile and not recommended.  I am doing my shadow work now, before it does me.

I am not a web designer…or I should say, I was not a web page designer until now.  I finally figured out how to add the resources page and it is, in fact, up and working!  Not such a big accomplishment for those of you that are savvy with the web design, but for me it is a HUGE accomplishment.  Luckily for me I have great support.  I have begun to add content to the resources page and would love to have help in that endeavor. If you know of a great webpage that is an asset to Goddess worshipers or Pagans please let me know.  I have requests out to link to several more Goddess Temples and am waiting for their permission.

While we are incorporated as a 501c3 in Texas, we have not yet completed the process for federal non-profit status.  Apparently Goddess has decided I need more opportunities to practice patience.  I am reminded yet again that I am a spiritual person having a human experience.  (Which really is a very spiritual bypassing kinda way of saying I’m angry at others being misleading and trying not to spew-but I digress).

I learn so much about so many things everyday in this process.  One of the things I have learned is this- everything takes longer than I want it to AND it happens exactly in the right amount of time needed for me to learn what I need to learn to make the next step happen.  As 2014 approaches and the reality of land shopping becomes real I find myself thinking more of classes we can offer, how to secure architectural plans once the land is purchased and about fundraising overall.  I am feeling excited and overwhelmed at the same time.  As I have said many times in real life, so many things I thought were insurmountable have already been accomplished.  If I keep putting one foot in front of the  other and keep doing the work I can’t not do, the obstacles seem to disappear.

Blessings!