Tag: Wicca

Seasons Of The Witch – Ancient Holidays (and some not so ancient!).

Seasons Of The Witch – Ancient Holidays (and some not so ancient!).
 
Synoikia -On the 16th day of Hecatombion, and two days after the full moon, the Athenians honored Eirene or peace.

Norwegian Midsummer Day -According to an ancient calendar stick, this was the midpoint of the summer season in Norway

BASTILLE DAY: Tremendous festivity throughout France. Paris dances all night along the Seine & in the streets

DADA DAY. First Dada soirée: “… in the presence of a compact crowd Tzara demonstrates, we demand we demand we demand the right to piss in different colours”.

PANDEMONIUM DAY. Sounds like most every other day of the week.

HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL: On this day, Buddhists feed the spirits of those who lived lives of hard-hearted greed & envy. They burn fake money & clothes for the use of the spirits.

Remember the ancient ways and keep them sacred!

‘The Magic is Real!’ (Sometimes We Just Need To Be Reminded.)

‘The Magic is Real!’ (Sometimes We Just Need To Be Reminded.)

Author: Lodestone & Lady’s Mantle

Do you remember the day when you forgot? What was it? Was it when you felt like the last person to learn there wasn’t a Santa Claus? Was it that one day the magic failed? Was it even a single moment? Did you just stop seeing “Them”? Be it ghosts, fairies, elementals, or that invisible friend that faded after countless therapy sessions, it’s one of the biggest stumbling blocks I’ve discovered with the modern practitioner.

We’ve forgotten.

We embrace the religion and forget that what it stands for is even there: The Magic is Real. We pray when in need, we dance under the moon when the space allows, and we burn our candles, but when was the last time you saw the magic working? We celebrate the festivals, we check our astrological charts, we burn incense or sage and sweet grass, but there’s something missing for so many that something needs must be said.

The Magic is Real.

There’s probably three people in our community that haven’t seen “What the Bleep” or that ‘secret’ movie, but the rest of us can see how even science is telling us it exists. It may be wrapped in reduced expectations of magic, but it’s still there. Jung theorized it, with the Collective Unconscious. Kirlian photography has given us pictures of it. Bad ghost-hunting television programs have taken miles of footage of it.

The “One Decimal Point”* is coalescing all of this data (and making-up even more than that) ‘where witches fear to tread’. They hold INATS, and other conventions, to sell us “Aura Photos”, and crystal bowls, but we don’t find the magic there, either. Weekend Yoga supplants Open Circles, Reiki replaces Spellcasting, and chanting dispossesses invocations, but it’s still the “Same Shinola, Different Wrapper”. Going through the motions isn’t Magic. Magic is about Life, and not simply little pieces of life. To truly live in Magic one needs to enfold their life within it.

We cast, we wait, we see results, we get what we want, and we stop. …and we forget. We forget it works. We forget it’s Real. If we wait too long, we have to remind ourselves again. It’s not your fault. A LOT of time and effort went into teaching you that it wasn’t real. It was in every classroom. It was behind every disapproving scowl, inferred in between every-other word in every book we’ve read. It’s left out of our day-to-day jobs, and rarely mentioned in commercial radio. There’s a lot of momentum to over-come.

I have three suggestions: See! Do! Remember!

1-See:

Have you ever seen an Aura? Not that retina after-image of someone you’ve stared at for too long, but a real aura. Once you can see those, it includes every metaphysical manifestation, from seeing the wind, to spotting ghosts. You used to see them long ago, as a child, but were taught they weren’t there, so you developed a Blind Spot to them. Now you need to overcome that Blind Spot. It’s not as hard as you would think. Let’s help you out…

A) Take an Orange sheet and hang it on the wall. I know you probably don’t simply have anything big and orange lying around, so this may mean a trip to a hobby store. Since demand is low, it shouldn’t be too hard or costly. I’m afraid it does have to be orange, though: Sorry.

B) Place a brightly burning candle in front of the orange sheet. Don’t start a fire! We need to reflect back-lighting from the orange sheet, when we…

C) Place a Living Subject in front of the candles, and dim the lights. This gives a clearer contrast to the Aura and therefore an easier target. Next, the Eyes…

D) Work with hard and soft focus of the eyes.
The hard-focus is the left-to-right eye coordination of the two eyes. We play with it when we flip through those old “Magic Eye” books from the 90’s. Staring out to the horizon spreads them apart. Trying to thread a needle brings them together. Know these extremes.

Next, Soft-Focus: This is the thickening and thinning of the shape of the lens of the eye. The closer the object in front of your eye, the thicker the lens becomes, as we try to, say, focus on our fingerprints.

The room and subject are all set up. Stare through the subject, and off into the horizon, past the wall behind them. As you adjust your eyes, always be aware of the subject. Bring your focus in, closer and closer, until (with the aid of your finger) you are focused in to an inch from your eye. Stay Aware of The Subject! Your body will respond to the objects you focus on, but your mind needs to remain aware of the Subject before the Orange sheet. This exercise is about getting past the Blind Spot you’ve developed.

The effect can be dramatic, so be prepared. You may choose to reject it, so it pops in and out, as you ‘keep loosing it’. Stay resolute.

Now that you can ‘See!’ …

2-Do!

A) Gain control of your aura, now that you can see it. Change its shape, modify its thickness, or even generate energy-forms. See what you can do with it, like a child with crayons or play-dough. In the safety of your own home, it’s okay to play with it.

B) Cast spells! Not the huge “Life-Changing, Will-Dominating, Karma-Will-Get-You” kind of spells. Just cast the little ones. Summon things into your day, like having a specific vintage automobile drive by, or a woman out walking a bizarre pet (leaving it to chance as to the breed) , or seeing a little farther into the future. Send telepathic messages to a compatriot, provided you’re both okay with the exercise. “Keep Your Hand In”, as they say. Magic begets Magic. It’s like a muscle: Use it or loose it.

3-Remember!

Keep a journal: It makes no difference what you call it. Even scientists keep logs of their results. If you want to keep doubt at bay, nothing breeds certainty like good solid proof! Your journal can do that for you. Whether it’s a Book of Shadows, Book of Secrets, pebble-notes, text-file, or even video-log, make sure you can look and see that you cast for it, and you got it! Record The Results, as well as the Attempts. You need to remember that both took place.

You’ll be surprised at how these simple little things can bring dramatic effects back into Life. It doesn’t just affect your life, but also the community at large, as the paradigm is nurtured, and Magic gains momentum. The more we each recognize this, the more and stronger results we all realize. The more we manifest things, the more dramatic the manifestations become, as each practitioner ‘pushes the envelope’ a little further.

If you can’t remember, you forget to do. If you don’t do, you forget to see.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

The Magic is Real!


Footnotes:
*-“The difference between Pagan and New Age is one decimal point” — From Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today, by Margot Adler (Courtesy of “Pagan Confederation Canada” website)

How Do You Know A Magical Working “Took”?

How Do You Know A Magical Working “Took”?

Author: Bronwen Forbes

I ran across this question on a Pagan forum the other day, and it got me thinking back to when I was new at all this ritual and magic and witchcraft stuff – was that really half a lifetime ago? – and so unsure of my ability to do even a basic working. Fortunately for me, the Gods I chose to invoke were kind, patient, and tolerant of my novice fumbling, as were my teachers and fellow students.

There are actually several ways to know whether or not a ritual or a magical working “worked” or “took.” Some are immediate; some are long-term. In general, sabbat observances and celebrations don’t have the success bar set very high. If you feel like you’ve “done” Litha, or Mabon, then that’s good enough — whether you’ve participated in a three-hour ritual or simply prepared a satisfying barbecue in the back yard for your friends and family.

The first (and sometimes only) indication you have that your spell or ritual was a success is to ask yourself: How do I feel? Do you feel better than you did before the ritual started, or do you feel worse? If you feel better, i.e. less worried, less frightened, more confident, more energetic, calmer, happier or whatever then, at least on some level, the magical working was a success (I’m assuming no one is stupid enough to actually do a working to increase worry, fear, low self-esteem, lethargy, nerves, or sadness) .

Paganism and Witchcraft do have one thing in common with all other religions, and that is to offer comfort and a life raft to the practitioner in times of troubled waters. So if you’re done with your spell or ritual and you feel better, that should that tell you something.

Also, sometimes you just know. There’s almost an audible “click” that means, “Message received. Action forthcoming.” In fact, it sounds a lot like the “click” you hear when you meet someone for the first time and then say to an old friend, “I don’t know, we just clicked!” That click.

If you aren’t already, you should start keeping an informal log or journal of what magic and rituals you do when, and what result (s) you hope to achieve. For one thing, it’s a good idea to keep track of what happens. Say you do a magical working for an easing of financial difficulties. You write it down in your log and forget about it.

Three months later you look back and realize that, since you did that working, you’ve gotten a small raise at work, a nice tax refund from the federal government, and all of your Pagan 101 books that you posted for sale on amazon.com have actually sold! Does that sound like your spell was successful? It does to me!

Another good reason to keep a log or journal of the specifics of your workings is that, if the rite is a good one, and it works — two or three months down the road — you can re-create the working years in the future, if you find yourself in the same situation. Even better, you can share the basics with a friend who might, say, be in a dire financial situation just like you were and isn’t sure what to do, magically speaking, to fix it.

Sometimes, though, with big workings on big issues like, “I want to move to another part of the country, ” or “I want a child, ” one ritual or one spellcasting just isn’t going to have enough “oomph” to help you accomplish what you want. You may need to wait a few weeks (one lunar cycle is good) and do another one. And another one on the next major holiday. And another one on the next holiday after that…

For a big working, I suggest you vary the details slightly in order to cover all the different aspects of the issue. For example, if you want to move across the country, try doing one working to choose your new location wisely and help you get yourself and your stuff there safely, another working to get a job that will take you there (or be waiting for you when you get there) , and still another working to help you find good friends and a congenial community once you arrive. They are all rituals to help you move across the country, but each one focuses on a different aspect of the moving process.

How do you know whether or not you need to repeat the working more than once? Same way you get to perform on stage at Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.

Unfortunately, when you’re talking about magic and ritual, there is no box you can check like there is on your email to indicate message received and read. And it really doesn’t matter how carefully you prepare and how well you execute your working. Some things just aren’t to be – at least right now. Does this mean that your time and effort and energy were for nothing? No. It just means that energy has been “banked” somewhere, and is waiting for more favorable conditions to act.

Patience is more than a virtue, here. It’s a necessity.

Let me give you an example: ten years ago, I was doing regular intense workings in order to find love, or for love to find me. But no matter how many losers I hopefully dated, the time was not yet right. But the day I woke up (and I don’t mean in the morning) and realized that one of my oldest friends was Mr. Right, all that energy that I’d sent out and the Gods had stored for me fueled one heck of an intense courtship!

Within 3 months I packed up and moved to where he was currently living. A year later we were married. As of this writing, we’ve been happily wed for over eight years.

When the time is right for the working to “take” – be assured, it will!

It’s Elemental My Dear Wiccan: Power and Energy

It’s Elemental My Dear Wiccan: Power and Energy

Author: Marty Couch

Let’s start with a scenario. You are driving in the country. You can see clearly for miles around. You are coming up to an intersection. There are no other cars to be seen. The light is red. Do you stop?

You may be inclined to answer “no, not me”, but really think about it. If you are like most people you will stop. Even if you will drive through after stopping, almost everyone will stop first. Why?

What does this red light mean to you? How is it that this symbol of a red disc glowing can stop a vehicle? By all logic, no damage would happen. If there are no other cars to be seen, there is no chance of an accident or ticket. So, what gives a red light so much power?

Let’s take a look at another example. How much money do you have in the bank right now? How much do you have on you? How much do you make an hour? How do you feel when you receive unexpected money? How about when you are broke? So, what is this money that has such power over our lives, our thoughts and our feelings? At the core its just paper with pictures. Merely symbols for us to look at. How do these symbols gain such power?

And how about this one? What time did you get up this morning? What time is your favorite TV show on? What time is it? Time, what is it? Do you see how the change in wording seeks to find out why something that has no actual physical manifestation can have such power over our lives?

So, what gives so much power to these and many other things? How do these seemingly unimportant items gain such control over us? Well, in all these cases, thousands (if not millions) of people over the course of time have put energy plus intent toward their meanings.

The formula is simple.

ENERGY + INTENT = POWER

This is at the core of all we do in ritual. We raise energy, state intent and release it as power. What we do in a specific ritualistic way is what society does every day without realizing it. Intent is added to energy and the result is power. Sometimes this power is for the good. Sometimes it has devastating effects. The formula however stays constant.

So, let’s take a look at each of these items.

ENERGY: According to TheFreeDictionary.com energy is “the capacity to do work”. So, how much capacity do we posses? Let’s take a look at (probably) the most famous formula for energy:

E = mc (squared)

Now, for those who have had a few years elapse since physics class, energy equals mass times the speed of light square. In this famous formula by Albert Einstein, energy is measured in joules, mass in kilograms and the speed of light is 299, 792, 458 meters per second (and in the formula this gets multiplied by itself) . (Source: Wikipedia.com)

So, let’s break this down a little. For those reading in the US, we’ll start with pounds. Someone who weighs 180 pounds is about 82 kilograms. So, 82 X 299, 792, 458 X 299, 792, 458 = 7, 369, 792, 465, 641, 904, 000.00 joules. So, if we consider it takes only 1 joule to lift an apple a couple feet, think of the actual energy we posses. Remember, in Einstein’s formula was the key to the first atomic bomb. The energy released from 1 atom was enough to level cities.

Of course this is only the scientific way of thinking about energy. Let’s go a bit further in discussing energy from a spiritual point of view. In “The Creative Process in the Individual”, Thomas Troward states about the creation of the universe “At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for both imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement of Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and space from our conception of Spirit’s initial Self-contemplation.

This being so, Spirit’s primary contemplation of itself as simply Being necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently, paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it present throughout all Time and Space.”

What Mr. Troward is saying is that as Spirit (or God and Goddess, or Elemental Spirit) was creating our Universe, there was no concept of time or space, as there was nothing to measure it against. So this power that created all there is, is present in each and every molecule of our Universe IN IT’S ENTIRETY.

This is huge. The power that brought about the whole of creation exists in every cell in our body. Not a part of this energy, but THE WHOLE OF IT. Think about this for a second. All the energy that exists is within us. Not simply a part of it but all of it. Quite simply, our source of energy is infinite.

So, if we have infinite energy, why don’t we have whatever we want? The answer is in the other part of the equation, intent.

So, let’s look at intent. Intent is defined as “an aim or purpose…firmly fixed” (source: thefreedictionary.com) . So, our intent is our aim or purpose that is firmly fixed (as an idea) in ritual. All that we do in ritual is used to support this intent. When we choose the candle, oils, incense, herbs, symbols, quarter calls, deities, tools, etc. it is all to support this intent. Intent however is the variable in the equation. So, if we have everything, where does the formula go wrong? Why don’t we have infinite power to do what we want?

Well, we may have all the correctly colored candles, the proper herbs and oils, the full moons energy, but if we start our ritual by thinking, “This will never work” or even “I hope this works” then the intent we put in to it is doubt. So, all this energy at our disposal goes toward our ritual not working.

Think of a child. Have you ever turned your back on a child for a second and when you turn to them, they have climbed half way up a shelving unit to get to something? They have no limits. They know they can do anything. And our first reaction is to say, “No, you can’t do that”. What happens when they hear that? Usually that is the moment they fall and hurt themselves.

They were doing fine until we told them they did not have the ability to accomplish what they set out to do. This is what builds up over time and begins more and more to limit our abilities. We start out in life as infinite possibilities and almost immediately start excepting limitations.

So, let’s look at the third part of the equation. Power. Power is “the ability or official capacity to exercise control” (source: thefreedictionary.com) . So, what we are working toward in ritual is the ability to gain control over a situation. This power comes from infinite energy and our intent. If our intent knows no limits, our power to control situations (our lives, careers, health, etc) is also infinite.

How do we avoid limitations? How to make our ritual practice more powerful? How do we tap in to and release this infinite energy that we posses? Well, how we undo the limitations we have acquired through the course of our lives is not something that can be answered in just a paragraph or two. As we travel through these future articles together we will discover how to remove these blocks and begin to fulfill our infinite purpose.

Footnotes:
wikipedia.com
thefreedictionary.com
“The Creative Process in the Individual” by Thomas Troward

We Must Hide No Longer

We Must Hide No Longer

Author: Ryan Smith

Welcome to America, the self-proclaimed land of the free and home of the brave. The country where, at least in theory, one can practice any faith one wishes and can fully exercise as the Founding Fathers put it the “freedom of conscience.”

The First Amendment, which starts with “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, ” while plain on its face has had a lot of footnotes attached to it over the years by the Christian supermajority. Freedom of religion as long as your faith is Abrahamic in origin. Freedom from persecution as long as you kneel before the Cross. Freedom to worship openly and unhindered only if your faith is one that was thrust on your ancestors by foreign missionaries who claimed to have their best interests at heart.

As a member of what is America’s Invisible Minority, I am no stranger to what happens to Pagans when one is ‘outed’. While I have not been physically assaulted or fired because of my faith I do know what it is for people to go oddly silent when I offer a blessing. I know what it is to be mocked as “insane” and/or labeled a “devil-worshiper”. And of course, I have heard the ever-popular chastisement of, “You’re going to Hell.” I’m fairly sure that anyone whom is not Christian reading this knows what I’m talking about. I’m also fairly sure most people reading this, if they personally have not been the victims of it, at least know someone who lost their job shortly after being outed for “personality issues” or because “didn’t quite work out” or because “we no longer have need of your services.”

Then we have the worst examples: Brandi Blackbear, who was suspended from school for fifteen days in Oklahoma due to accusations of witchcraft (1) . In 1999 Tempest Smith of Michigan who, after school administrators washed their hands of the ongoing harassment by Christian students at her school, hung herself rather than deal with it any longer in 2001 (2) .

Palmdale, California, the state that is seen by many and prided as the most forward-thinking in the country, in 2002 had a local Christian group invade a Pagan store and harass, browbeat, intimidate, and threaten patrons who were honoring Ostara. The best part was when the Sheriff’s Department refused to investigate because, oh by the way, a volunteer department chaplain was at the attack and helped organize it (3) .

2004 in South Carolina saw local prosecutors state that a man accused of murder did so because he was Wiccan (4) . There is of course the infamous case of the Wiccan Nevada National Guardsman denied a pentacle on his headstone by the US government (5) .

In 2007 an Army Chaplain, in spite of his stellar record as a soldier and Chaplain, was not only denied his request to serve as a Wiccan Chaplain but also removed from the Chaplain’s Corps (6) . I’m sure there are plenty of other incidents like these that are as bad, possibly worse, that have not been mentioned here.

So what, you may be wondering, is the point of all this? The point is simple: we as a diverse group of Earth-based faith traditions are routinely disrespected and disregarded by American society as a whole.

Now I know a lot of Pagans are likely thinking to themselves, “Why should we care what a bunch of superficial ‘sheeple’ think? We’re free spirits who dance to the beat of our own drums and don’t care what other people say about us!” There is a very serious problem with that kind of thinking.

In the United States of America today there are about 300 million people (7) . Of that 300 million it is estimated only 1.3 million are Pagans of some kind or another (8) . As much as our independent spirit and willingness to question convention is probably our greatest strength it cannot be ignored that we are a tiny minority in an overwhelmingly Christian nation.

What would happen if, for example, the good people at Operation Rescue who had regularly targeted Dr. Tiller’s clinic in Kansas for protest (9) were very directly confronted in the national media and asked if their accusations of him being a mass-murderer (10) were responsible in some fashion for his cold-blooded assassination inside his own church? You would have wall-to-wall coverage of pundits, preachers, and politicians tearing their hair out and wailing about “persecution.”

Now what happens if, say, a Druid Grove is accused of human sacrifice? First off you probably wouldn’t see any media attention given to such a story unless someone decides to go and actually do something about “those dangerous cultists.” You would probably also see outrage and condemnation on the web on Pagan blogs. And just like many other instances of persecution after we as a whole vow “Never Again” and some group or foundation takes up the incident as their championed cause, it sinks back into the morass of apathy.

Why does this happen? Are we not devoted enough to our own dignity? The answer is rather more elementary than Pagans being undeserving or incapable of organizing or any of the other excuses bandied about.

With only a small handful of real victories against our persecutors and attackers, any move to do something about it is already seen by many as doomed to fail. Too many Pagans give our independent nature and notorious difficulty in being organized in any meaningful fashion as cop-outs to really having an impact on society and improving our standing in it. It is, sadly, understandable why many would do so.

Who wants to exhaust their time, money, and energy fighting for a cause pre-determined in the minds of their colleagues as lost? Everyone wants to be the hero riding over the hill; no one wants to be the person who makes the glorious last stand for a greater moral victory. Far better, it would be argued, to think small.

Better to gain a seat on an Interfaith Council or use of a Unitarian Church than to run for public office. Better to make small, easy victories than to organize, mobilize, and take the fight to where it matters most: the public square. Better to cede the debate to people who do not understand us and in many cases are actively hostile to us.

To take such an approach is to sacrifice the future of our faith, of our community, and of the next generation of Pagans for the sake of questionable comfort and unsteady safety in the immediate present. As Ben Franklin once said, “He who would give up a little liberty for a little security will gain neither and lose both.”

We cannot continue to “wait and see” or “let our moment come” or “try not to upset people.” We upset a sizable fraction of the population simply by breathing; staying quiet and walking small will not change that. I see no reason why we, a community that wears our free spirits as a badge of honor and believe in the importance of personal responsibility, should be afraid of standing up for what we believe. Every other group striving for rights and dignity in American history has been told the same thing when they began their push.

If all the other groups had listened then we probably would still have slavery in the South, women as property of their husbands, and only those with land of their own having the right to vote. Discretion is said to be the better part of valor, but when discretion is forced by circumstance then it is no longer a guardrail against madness but a straightjacket for the soul.

So long as we allow inaction we will remain the Invisible Minority. So long as we act in reaction to fear Pagans will continue to be harassed, attacked, fired, and forgotten. The promise of the Declaration of Independence of, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” will remain unfulfilled for all of us. The effort will be long. It will be hard. Only a fool would promise that it would be easy. But America now is no longer the America where the Religious Right stood unchallenged in their agenda by the masses.

The time is now. We stand at a vital crossroads in history. With the power of the social conservatives, at least for now, broken and our numbers on the rise we must seize the moment and begin the long journey to respect and acceptance. In so doing we must remember, for all who join us in the cause, that we do not just do so for ourselves. We fight for each other, our fellow Kin regardless of Tradition.

Most importantly, we are fighting for the future. The future of our Traditions. The future of our community as a whole and the health, vitality, and success of our local communities in particular. Most vitally we are struggling for the next generation. We must take up the cause to demand respect and dignity and work long and hard now so that when the next generation comes of age they will not know the fear, uncertainty, loneliness, and hardship that many of us have been forced to live with.

We begin today so tomorrow we may openly stand on the mountaintops and in the public square with each other, our children, and our fellow Americans and have no fear anywhere in this nation, from Seattle to Atlanta, from San Francisco to San Antonio, from New York to New Orleans there will be no place where we must hide the truth of who we are for the sake of survival or propriety.

We must take up the cause of liberation. We can no longer let fear instilled by our attackers to keep us shoved into the shadows. We must stand up and get involved in our local communities. We need to actively participate in local, state, and federal politics whether or not it is directly Pagan related or not. To give us a voice in public offices, we need to cultivate, assist and support people to run for these offices including those within the existing two major parties.

We must aggressively dispel the lies perpetrated by our foes by coming out to the public where it is safe to do so as a Pagan, as a Druid, as a Witch, as a Heathen so they know we are not some mysterious dark cult but real people they know. We must do this for what are our natural rights as human beings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness on our terms according to what we believe not what others say we must believe.

We have no time to wait, no time to allow our moment to come. Our time is here.

Every act we take, great or small, alone or in a group, which is one made for the good of our greater community is one worth doing. Every act no matter its impact is one more step on the road to victory.

We cannot wait for heroes to come riding down from on high to our rescue. We must answer the call and rise to the challenge that we all face.


Footnotes:
1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_9_32/ai_70461580/
2. http://community-2.webtv.net/FullMoonCircle/TempestSmith/
3. Rich Breault, “Wiccagate: What do Witches Grove protesters have to hide?, ” Valley Press, 2002-APR-8.
4. http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2347141 and nav=0RaPRIlo
5. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2007/feb/08/news/chi-0702080027feb08
6. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/2007/032907WitchTrials.html
7. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/US.html
8. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf
9. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/tiller3.htm
10. http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8967610531.html

From Pagan to Christian to Angry Ex-Christian to Pagan

From Pagan to Christian to Angry Ex-Christian to Pagan

Author: Sister Services

As a child I sat in the presence of the spirits of my universe. I was instructed by the old citrus tree that held my tree house, by the brown/red dirt and the rain in which I was anointed during the monsoon of each year.

I was blessed with the wisdom of the prickly pear, the quince, the mulberry, peppermint, chaste berry, desert willow and each of the native herbs that sprung up in the spring. Into my ear the desert wind whispered secrets of wild spirits, and the fellowship of beings that dwell in the unseen realms.

In the embrace of this universe I was young and I was wise. I knew my place in this scheme and born in me was an understanding of keeping the balance of my internal and external landscapes. In the years of their lord and during the presidency of Reagan this balance was unsafe and invariably, was attacked.

To Me
God to me
A bug to me
The world to me
Humanity
The ocean
To tears
Forever
To years
My fears
A tree to me
A cell to me
They tell to me
Reality
Paper for ink
A mind to think
Love and hate
The worlds
To Great
For me

In the budding of my youth I was introduced to the building, the names and the rules that would withhold the personal power of my birthright. It was in the church that I would come to learn that all of the aspects of myself that spoke of wisdom, timelessness, the greatness of self and reality were considered beyond evil, they were wrong and for having held these beliefs I, fundamentally, was also wrong.

Feeling betrayed by the universe I turned my back on it. I closed my third eye and blocked the voice of spirit and of the great Mother and the great Father. I was poor, Mexican, fatherless, dumb, a woman, a sinner and now worse than all of these, I was alone.

So frightened, confused and painfully alone.

Godless Alone
I cry out to the savior
My childhood has known
Speak to my tears
Then tell me to pray
Interior emptiness growing
Alone
Silent heavenly being
A fatherless child cries
Talk to my fears
Tell them your there
The crying that echoes within
Coldly dies- alone
I receive no reply
From the empty night sky
Why should I bother
With another absent father?
So I talk to my loneliness
And lean on regret
Childhood prayers you to soon forget
I cry into my hallow
It’s stable and is known
Gathering dust
On forgotten tears
My reflection is sad
Godless, alone
Through the years
Iv’ grown to see
What time and pain have shown
Relentless strength
Is company
My only and my own

Fear taught is fear lived. I was wounded and afraid and not wanting to be perceived as weak I covered my fear with anger. Having been given the gifts of observation and thinking I soon discovered that they who would condemn the most precious and colorfully beautiful parts of me were the actualization of the evil they preached. They each embodied the fears and failings of humanity, the very challenges they considered to be the signs of a demonic presence in a person’s life.

“Bethy, those feelings are only the devil trying to get at you! Don’t let the devil win- fight the devil Bethy! By the power of Jesus tell satin to be gone. By the blood of the lamb be gone from the thoughts of this child of god!” said my pastor, youth leader, church elders, grandmother, government, television and school.

I soon grew to mistrust my church, family, community and worst of all- myself.

Is God…?
Her religion is a figurehead for politics to handle
My religion is the source of laundering and scandal
Religions the excuse for war that none can equal
Religious symbols carved or stamped on graves of tortured people
Americas a melting pot, the world a Caesar salad
Religion is the hovering fork before we’re all devoured
An absent god is sought in vain through a constant upward stare
Anxious souls heaven bound arrive to waiting air
Pious zealots spend their lives in holy chant and prayer
Timeless bible verses read aloud in great despair
A life was laid upon the path that holy men have trod
Religion has me wondering if there ever was a god

And then came the break. I left the building, names and rules that had stripped me of my confidence and shaken my foundations. I drifted in a sea of confused and soul stripped people. Each of us had been born with our sacred temple at the center of ourselves and the followers of the Christ had burned and pillaged the temple and raped the sovereignty of mind. We were naked and exposed to the elements believing that the elements were outside of us, acting on us without our consent, participation or design.

This was the beginning of the search for solid ground. I soon learned that I could depend upon myself for comfort, protection and stability. I had found something to again have faith in- myself. The fire of disillusionment burned and I welcomed its cleansing flames, inviting them to devour all that remained of my fearful, weak and sinful self. Let the light of my sacred flame illuminate my eternal soul- amen.

Fade Away/Fly Away
There was a day I leapt into the sunlight and was blinded by the joy that I’d rejoiced in
I’d lived so long I couldn’t tell that I had walked among the edges of the jumps I should have made.
I cannot stay. I cannot see.
I cannot see the wings I feel have grown among the daises of my brain
I will not go, I will not flee.
I will not see, although the sun has dazzled me awake.
I feel the light
I want to go
I feel the heat
I want to shine
I feel the passion as it’s fizzled out in pain- its mine.
When is the time?
When will I teach my wings to stretch and reach the sky?
Why must I stay?
Hold up my hands and watch the sunlight turn to gray.
Fade away

It’s only now that I can feel the breeze that s blowing through my brain.
It’s only now that I can see I’m not the same.
Now is the time! Now is the day!
Now is when I stretch my wings into imagination,
Fly away.

At the close of a century that held my lessons in ignorance, anger and forgiveness, I was 18 when I saw Phyllis Curott on the Rosanne Bar talk show. It was 1998 in the Halloween episode she, Rosanne and two other priestesses held hands and sang:

“We all come from the goddess,
And to her we shall return
Like a drop of rain,
Flowing to the ocean”.

Their voices were the moon calling up the oceans of my soul. I opened and wept the tears of a child who had heard her mother’s voice calling her home from the storm. I heard the voice of the mother in the voices of those women and I followed it home.

Renegade’s Ride
Renegade religion
And I upon a steed
Flight into the holy
Mother’s mystery
Sound and speed unending
Speed and sound combined
Flight beyond travails
And I who seek- shall find
Find the darksome mother
Nude by dark and light
Light and dark unending
Then eyes of second sight
Second sight unending
I see the other side
I see regenerating
This unending ride.

In 2008 I am 28 and have been trained as priestess, practiced in a coven and now practice as a solitary, occasionally seeking circles and holiday celebrations. In the studio apartment that serves as my temple I am instructed in solidarity by the wood floor, I am blessed by light and the wind that pour into my east facing windows, I am filled with the sounds of waves ebbing and flowing on the shores of my heart and I continue to burn in the light that shines the brilliance of the names which are above all names and the name of the god I am.
I have come home.

No Easy Answers
I wonder with a force
That questions time and space
And I’m wondering what lies
Just beyond this place
And I’m wondering of people
Of their souls and everlasting
And I’m feeling that the answers
Are all there for the asking
I am filling with the sound of a call from deep inside
And the meanings that eluded me
Now with me reside
And these questions and their answers
That froth about my mind
Know that questions are the answer
Know that truth,
Is undefined.


Footnotes:
All original material written by E. B. Rodriguez

Ten Commandments of Witches

I know there is always an argument when it comes to Witches having Laws or Commandments.  When you get right down to it Witches don’t have anyone at all to answer too. They answer to theirselves and no one else. But there are little Guidelines, Laws, Commandment and so on, that give Witches the ideas how they are supposed to conduct theirselves. White witches follow these types of Commandments almost to the tee. Everyone occasionally strays that is just part of being human.

I would like to point out something. I don’t want anyone thinking that the witch that answers to no one but herself is a bad witch. That is the furthest from the true. A witch like this has been practicing magick a long time. She knows she contains the power within herself. She also know deep down right from wrong. She is very knowledgeable, very skilled, very sure of herself  and will always try to do right. 

If you are new to Witchcraft, you will soon learn  there are lines that we walk every day. There are three of them: First one is white, the middle one is gray, and the last one is black. These lines determine what kind of witch you will be. You decide to be a White Witch (which I do), you will walk the white line. Choose the black line, you will be a black witch.  Are you can do as my friends and I do walk the gray line. Gray witches are not bad witches at all. Being a gray witch I look at this way, I am ready for any magickal havoc that may arise. I can also slip for side to side if need be. I don’t like to slip to the black side but if a friend needs help or there is a problem I will. I think most witches become gray is because they can add any intent they would like to their spells and rituals. Remember intent makes the magick. Also remember a true Witch answers to no one but their self.

Well enough of that, I have intentions of personally going over the Gray, White, and Black issues in Witchcraft. But let’s get to those Commandments (oh if you have a printer you might want to print them out for your Journal or BOS)……..

Ten Commandment of Witchcraft

  1.  Always ensure that no other person will be harmed as a result of your magickTo call yourself a witch means that you will always endeavor to do the right thing and send out only love and kindness. Think about The Wizard of Oz and strive to be like the Good Witch of the North Glinda managed it, and so can you!

  2. Keep your thoughts free of negativity — remember the rebound effect. Keep in mind that every thought you send out can just as easily bounce off the receiver and be hurled back at you at the speed of light. You created the negative fog, so it belongs to you!

  3. Never cast a spell when you are upset or unhealthy. Funny as it may seem, our thoughts projections can go haywire if we are cross, unhappy or sick. Spells may fail to work or the results may be confusing. Therefore it’s imperative that we be in the right frame of mind and physically healing before we begin any magick.

  4. Think positively. If you smile, then you are more likely to be happy. Every time a miserable thought pops into your head, shake it away and try to think about something nice. Your aura is a magnetic energy field and if it’s drab or gloomy you will attract disruptive and depressing situations.

  5. Create a peaceful, calm environment for your spell casting. Make your space as lovely as possible with candles, soft music, and lots of salt at hand to ward old negativity. Keep your home free of clutter and clean house regularly.

  6. Call upon your Angels/Guides to assist you. Your angels/guides are never far away, and they will gladly help and support you when you are trying to change  a situation.  Before casting your spell, say a silent prayer to the to the angelic forces for protection and you’ll ge sure to envelop yourself in their influence.

  7. Respect everything. There is no need to be obsessive, especially if you are feeling the financial pinch, but try as hard as you can to eat all the right foods.  Food is fuel and it affects your aura, so be as organic as you can. Eat badly and you’ll feel bad. Bear in mind that every animal, vegetable, and leaf has a spirit, so treat everything with the respect it deserves.

  8. Wish for money by be careful of greed. If you need to cast spells for material gain, then make sure that when you receive money as a result of magick, you give a little away to keep the cycle of good fortune going. A dollar in a charity box is quite enough; as long as you spread the wealth, your karma will stay positive.

  9. Never influence a person’s mind with magick.  Everyone deserves the right to free will, so never cast a spell to influence a person’s decisions. Doing so has drastic consequences. You could indirectly take that person off the path they are destined to travel and deprive them of lessons they need to learn. If you cast a spell to win back an ex, for example,  it may ge that you’ve derailed their fated union with somebody else in the future. If you’ve reeled them back  in, you have interfered with their karma, and you could get your karmic wrist slapped when you eventually pass over into spirit.

  10. Believe in yourself. No amount of magick will  work unless you have faith in yourself, so make sure that  you truly believe in your spells. Then success will be yours.

Lady A’s Spell of the Day for June 30 is Summer Ritual for a Sunny Will

Adapted from Witch in the Kitchen, by Cait Johnson.Good will is certainly a concept to ponder. How many of us can truly say we have it?

Now, as warm colors and blazing vitality evoke the power of the will, we can align ourselves with our deepest, best selves with this simple, ancient ritual. After all, summer invites us to think of ways we can harness our immense fiery will in order to give something unique and meaningful to the world, knowing that when we do the things we most love to do we nourish ourselves and others, for the good of all.

This just takes a sunny day and a little birdseed. And it is such a joyful way to celebrate the sun and our own capacity for a truly good will:

Go to a place where wild birds are known to congregate (if you’re a city-dweller, pigeons will do just fine). Stand facing the sun. Close your eyes and imagine that the golden sunlight is streaming into your solar plexus, your will center. Now visualize that you are beaming that golden light back to the sun as you say:

I will to will Thy will.

Now, carefully sprinkle the birdseed around yourself in as perfect a circle as you can, and say:

May my will grow lighter, to feed the world. Now it is done.

Step outside the circle and find a place to sit quietly and observe. Watch as the birds discover and feed themselves with your gift. As each bird takes flight after its meal, visualize your will center growing more light and generous and warm.

Lady A’s Spell of the Day for 6/29: Bloodroot Cleansing Spell

Bloodroot Cleansing Spell

 
 
1. Powder bloodroot with a mortar and pestle.
 
2. Burn some of the powder for seven consecutive nights at midnight.
 
3. Conclude the ritual by sprinkling the ashes in an unbroken circle around your home to prevent the approach of evil spirits and malevolent magick

Herb of the Day for June 29th is Witch Grass

Herb of the Day

Witch Grass

Folk Names: Couch Grass, Dog Grass, Quick Grass, Witches Grass

Gender:  Masculine

Planet:  Jupiter

Powers:  Happiness, Lust, Love, Exorcism

Magickal Uses:  Witch grass carried or sprinkled under the bed attracts new lovers. Witch grass is also used in all manner of unhexing and uncrossing rituals, the infusion is sprinkled around the premises to disperse entities, and when worn it dispels depression.