Day: November 3, 2011

The Sacred Household: Rites and Mysteries

The Sacred Household: Rites and Mysteries

Author: Ian Elliott
To Joseph Brazauskas, a true pagan

The Threshold

The sacred household in ancient and more recent indigenous cultures bears certain analogies to the human body. The front door is similar to the eyes, the hearth to the heart or solar plexus, and the central supporting pillar to the spine. Shrines or altars at these locations were guarded by spirits who were linked with internal spirits in each family resident, and the proper worship of the household guardians involved being on familiar terms with their inner analogues and tending their inner shrines.

This study of the sacred household uses the names of Roman household spirits, but it is based more broadly on a number of other cultures. We no longer live in Roman houses, so some latitude must be taken in locating household shrines; and we are not all of Roman descent, so some attention must be paid to the forms of piety practiced by our ancestors from other lands.

It is not enough to study household rites and set up modern versions of ancient shrines. Our early conditioning separates us from some pre-verbal modes of awareness, by teaching us to ignore certain readily available perceptions; these must be recovered if we are to properly install our internal shrines and so link them with those of the household. I have called practices that open up these perceptions ‘mysteries, ’ because having been forgotten they have become secret things.

The Roman god of the threshold was Janus, who has two faces, one looking outside and the other inside the home, as well as forward and backward in time. To enter a house, as H.J. Rose pointed out in Religion in Greece and Rome, is to begin something, and so household piety always began by honoring Janus at the threshold. His annual festival was on January 9th, and offerings at his shrine were made on the Calends (the day after the dark moon of the lunar calendar) , as well at the beginning of any endeavor, such as a journey; also on one’s birthday.

The Romans, even after they came under Greek influence, were by preference an aniconic people; that is, they preferred worship without images. Perhaps this was because they focused on the link between the inner and outer shrines and found external images a distraction. I keep my own threshold shrine simple, hanging a god-face about a foot and a half above a small offering shelf, the shelf set next to the front door a little above eye-level. On the shelf is a candle, a stick incense holder, toy-sized dishes for water and salted grain.

Upon crossing the threshold one always steps over it, never on it, and one should touch the doorpost as an acknowledgement of the threshold guardian and to receive his numen. We can tentatively define numen as liberating and empowering energy that is unknown or at least unfamiliar.

My prayer when offering to Janus is the same as the one I used when setting up his shrine:

Honor and thanks to you, O Janus,
for guarding the threshold of my home.
May only harmonious beings enter here,
and may the discordant depart!
Please accept these offerings of salted grain, water, light and scent,
Open this week [month, journey, etc.] for me on blessings,
and teach me to look out and in at once as you do,
so I may guard the threshold of my inner home;
for I, too, am a threshold guardian.

The god-face for Janus looks straight in, as I prefer to imagine his head imbedded in the wall, with his outer face guarding the outside of my doorway.

The Inner Threshold

This ability to look out and in at the same time holds the clue to Janus’ mysteries, to the pre-verbal mode of perception that will give us the ability to look in the same manner, outward and inward simultaneously. To do this we must ‘stand in the doorway, ’ and Douglas Harding provided the best description of this in his important little book On Having No Head. Harding was hiking in the Himalayas and one morning he suddenly saw the world differently:

“…I stopped thinking…Past and future dropped away. There existed only the Now, that present moment and all that was given in it. To look was enough. And what I found was khaki trouserlegs terminating downwards in a pair of brown shoes, khaki sleeves terminating sideways in a pair of pink hands, and a khaki shirtfront terminating upwards in – absolutely nothing whatever! Certainly not in a head.”

This nothing, however, was filled with everything: mountains, sky, valleys below, extending to the horizon. Harding felt light and liberated. He had ceased to ignore the sensations of his own headlessness, ending a habit acquired in infancy when told that ‘the baby in the mirror’ was merely his own reflection. In addition to his headlessness, he was now attending to the limits of his perceptual field. Consequently, he wasn’t tracking on this or that object, as we spend so much of our time doing, using our eyes as searchlights for our impulses and desires. Instead, he was looking at his whole visual field at once, and the lightness he felt resulted from dropping the burden of his eyes from incessant tracking, and of his mind from incessant thinking.

Indigenous peoples are aware of the difference between these two ways of looking at the world. When the psychologist C. G. Jung visited an Indian pueblo in the American Southwest years ago, he had a conversation with the local chief, Ochwiay Biano (his name means Mountain Lake) .

“The white man’s eyes are always restless, ” the chief told Jung. “He is always looking for something. We think he is mad.”
Jung asked him why they thought that.
“He says that he thinks with his head.”
“Why of course, ” answered Jung. “What do you think with?”
“We think here, ” he answered, indicating his chest.

There are two potential errors in assessing what Ochwiay Biano said. One is to take his words sentimentally, as if he were merely speaking of ‘heartfelt thinking.’ The other error would be to dismiss his words as expressions of a primitive, pre-scientific physiology. The Pueblo chief would not have been troubled to learn that Western science has determined through experiments that we think with our brains. This would have seemed to him irrelevant to what he was talking about, namely the sensation of where the thinker seems to be located in the body. We feel we are located in our heads because of certain muscular tensions around the eyes from tracking, and in our foreheads from ‘knitting our brows, ’ and performing other social cues indicative of taking thought. But these external muscular contractions, though spatially closer to the brain, are nevertheless external to it and involve muscles on the outside of the head. The feeling we get from them of being ‘in our heads, ’ therefore, is no more scientific than the feeling the Pueblo chief evidently got of being in his chest.

When we look at our headlessness, our chests come into view as the closest part of the body that is completely visible; and when mental talk quiets down as a result of tracking being replaced by restful awareness of the whole available visual field, words are employed only as and when necessary for external communication. The rest of the time one simply looks, listens and understands, and this quieter form of awareness allows feelings to come to the fore since they are no longer drowned out by incessant mental chatter. For these reasons, Ochwiay Biano felt that he thought in his chest, or solar plexus.

The Hearth

The ancients associated this part of the body, including the heart, with the hearth, and regarded it as the seat of memory. The hearth was the center of the home as well as the place of contact with ancestors. It was the place where the family gathered and traded experiences of the day, recalling in the process the words and deeds of the past. Without memory there is no family, even if the people living together are all related, as we know now that the hearth has been replaced by the television or computer as the central focus of the house, especially if meals are taken individually in the living room.

In the old days, the hearth gave heat and light to the home and was also where food was cooked. Nowadays some are fortunate enough to own a house with a fireplace, but they usually have a stove as well, so that the functions of the ancient hearth have become divided, and it is difficult to decide where to place the hearth shrine.

I have no fireplace where I live now, so my hearth shrine is near my stove. My stove is electric, but I keep a large candle in the shrine and light that, together with stick incense, when I want to awaken the hearth guardian. Additionally, I keep there somewhat larger versions of the offering dishes described above for the threshold shrine.

The hearth guardian is both a goddess and the hearth fire itself. In ancient Latium she was called Vesta. She accepts offerings for herself and also passes on some of them to the ancestors, godlings and blessed immortals. Because I cannot maintain a perpetual flame, I have a picture of her in my shrine, and close to her picture is a statuette of my family lar. The lar familiaris is an ithyphallic youth pouring wine from a wineskin into a chalice. He symbolizes the vigor and luck of my family line, and as such forms a link back to the ancestors, and onward to posterity. If I want to honor and pray to another deity, I can conveniently place his or her statue in the shrine for the occasion. This saves on shrines.

At the shrine or close by are photos of my parents and maternal grandmother. These are the ancestors who were my caregivers when I was small, and with whom I still share a bond of love. The Romans and other ancient peoples represented their ancestors by small clay figurines on the altar, as seen in some recent films.

When my offerings are laid out, I light the candle saying “Honor to fire, honor to Vesta, honor to the hearth.” Then I light the incense. Then I pray: “Holy Lady, please accept these offerings of salted grain and pure water, light and scent for thine own dear self, and pass on some to the lares and penates, the di manes, daimones and blessed gods, thanking them for their good regard for me and my family, and asking for a continuance of their favor.” To this basic prayer I add anything special for other deities.

While the fire is lit in the shrine, I call on my ancestors and talk to them. I let them know how things are going in the family with me, my sons and grandson, our concerns, blessings, problems and plans, just as I would if they were still in the flesh. If any of them has appeared recently in a dream, I thank him or her for the visit.

At the close of the rite, I bid farewell to ancestors and deities and extinguish the candle, letting the incense burn down. I say the opening prayer in reverse order, ending with “Honor to the hearth, honor to Vesta, honor to fire.” In Roman houses the hearth shrine was decorated with fresh flowers and offerings made at least three times in the lunar month: on the Calends, that is, the day after the dark moon; on the Nones, the ninth day before the full moon; and on the Ides or full moon itself. In Caesar’s solar calendar the Ides was regularized as the fifteenth of each month, which would place the Nones on the seventh.

The Inner Hearth

When we practice ‘standing in the doorway, ’ we naturally do not do so all the time, and this provides us with a contrast between the two modes of experience, so that we begin noticing things that were formerly invisible to us because they were constant. Some of these things are external to our minds, such as shadows and clouds, and some are internal. One of the internal things is the synopsis or background summary we take to experience, the mental account we refer to offhand when answering the common question “How is it going?” The synopsis is more readily observed in dreams, because it is different for each dream-story or sequence, whereas in waking life it is ongoing and only changes gradually except in moments of crisis.

When we enter a dream-story we generally enter in the middle of it, provided with a ready-made background that tells us where we are and what we are supposed to be doing. We are provided with dream-memories, sometimes selected from previous dreams (as in recurring dreams) , and unless we become aware we are dreaming, we do not question it or the actions of other dream-figures.

Similarly, in waking life we are generally absorbed by the problems and affairs of the moment, as supplied by an ongoing mental summary or synopsis. From this we derive our sense of who we are in the present and what we need to do. The synopsis is based on a selection of memories, and these change gradually unless we are in the throes of a crisis, in which case we need to revise our orientation, sometimes on the basis of earlier memories, in order to cope with the situation. At times our synopsis can become so obsessive that we throw it over in a breakdown and temporarily become disoriented.

Standing in the doorway provides a milder sort of disorientation, as the contrast between it and our usual awareness brings the operation of the synopsis to the forefront of attention. Then, as in the onset of lucid dreaming (when we suddenly realize we are dreaming) , we become free to question who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to be doing in the present moment. The process of interpreting present experience in terms of our usual selection of memories is suspended, and earlier memories are able to surface, bringing with them earlier feelings of ourselves and of life, derived from past synopses. This is a familiar experience when we go on a trip, especially if we visit old neighborhoods we haven’t seen in many years, and perhaps explains why we like to take such trips after surmounting a difficult crisis.

Vesta’s power to call up the ancestors from old memories works in a similar way, and when our focus of awareness has moved to the chest or solar plexus, continual standing in the doorway can help her to perform the same feat for us at our inner hearth, especially if we augment our headless attention with another pre-verbal mode of awareness involving sound.

The first stage is to listen to all the sounds around us, without dividing them into ‘background’ and ‘foreground’. This comes about naturally once our visual attention rests on the limits of the visual field instead of tracking on this or that object. It is easy for the attention to waver, however, so the focus on sounds must be augmented by mentally copying sounds just heard.

Small children learn to speak by mentally copying sounds, and there is reason to believe that animals do something similar. Mentally copying sounds and associating them with specific situations would seem to have been a major part of humanity’s pre-verbal thought processes.

Once we learn to speak, and to speak to ourselves, mental mimicry of sounds is relegated to a minor role and generally limited to copying sounds for which we have words. When we begin ‘thinking with the chest, ’ like Ochwiay Biano, our minds become quieter and we become aware of feelings and images for which we have no words, not because they are ineffable, but simply because no words have yet been assigned to those experiences. Consider smells, for instance. We have many words for colors and quite a few for sounds, but our olfactory vocabulary is very limited. If a dog could be taught to speak, he would find himself at a loss to describe the many odors in his daily experience. If he invented words for the many different odors, we would find it hard to understand him, lacking referents because we are purblind in our noses.

In the same way, this particular sound I have just heard has no precise word describing it. We can say, ‘that is the sound of a car engine, ’ as we say ‘that is a tree, ’ and ignore sensory detail in either case. Our everyday minds can deal with such thumbnail descriptions without having to disturb the selection of memories forming a background to our moment-to-moment synopsis. But if we mentally repeat the precise sound of that car that just went by, our memory background is rendered more porous, as it would become in a crisis, so that feelings and images from past memories are able to emerge.

I tried mentally echoing sounds just heard as an experiment in 1972, while walking along a busy street in Encanto, California. I was also keeping my sunglass frames in view, an earlier version of ‘standing in the doorway’. I did this for an hour or more, and recorded the results in a journal:

“The result of this double exercise was three full days, not counting sleep, in silent awareness of total sensation…At one point the feeling of lightness became like a breeze flowing through my body from back to front. Everything seemed to take on a bluish tinge…By the third day, the breeze had risen to a light wind and was blowing through my memories. My personal history, the sense of who I am, was being shuffled like a deck of cards…By the end of the third day the wind set me down somewhere else in myself; that is, my store of familiar memories was completely revised and my feeling of myself permanently changed from that point on.”

After this experience, my dead grandmother began visiting me regularly in my dreams. I noticed that in many of these dreams I appeared to be younger, and to feel as I did when she was still alive, but my understanding was linked to the present. It was common to realize at the time that I was dreaming, if not at first then as the dream progressed, for I would remember that she had died. These earlier feelings of myself, and of my grandmother when she was alive, enhanced a feeling of harmony with her and allowed us to converse in close intimacy. However, as I had no unresolved issues with her, there was nothing specific to work through. I usually asked her how she was, and she said fine, but she felt tired a lot, and this probably came from memories of her as she was towards the end of her life.

My practices of the threshold and hearth continued over the next several years, and long after my father died I did have some serious issues to work through with him. This took about three years to get through, during which time I was periodically out of work (I was doing contract programming and moving around a lot) . In both dream and waking I agreed with my father to resolve certain problems for good with him in exchange for obtaining help in finding employment. On each of three occasions, I received job offers within twenty-four hours of these conversations. Skeptics may make of this what they will; but taking the view that I was in contact with the spirits of my ancestors, it makes sense that they would find it easier to relate to me after I had recovered earlier feelings of myself and of them, which I had when, they were still alive.

The Pillar

Before chimneys came into general use in the Renaissance, the old-style hearth was usually located centrally under the smoke-hole in the roof, and the central supporting pillar or pillars were set close to it. The main pillar in pagan times corresponded to the World Pillar, round which the heavens appear to revolve and which links the Underworld, Middle-Earth, and the heavenly realms of the cosmos together. It also corresponds to the human spine, and the subtle passage therein known to yogis as the sushumna. An upright person has a straight spine and thus a direct link to the vigor of the ancestors. He or she can stand before the ancestors unashamed, with a record of honorable conduct.

In the old Roman religion, every man was born with a guiding spirit called his genius, and every woman a similar spirit called her juno. These were inner spirits, with a meaning originally connected in some way with sexual vigor, but later they became mixed with the Greek notion of a personal daimon who guided one through life. The connection of the genius with sleep and dream is suggested by the lectus genialis, located in the atrium just opposite the entrance-door. Rose conjectures that in the days of one-room houses it probably served as the marriage bed, hence its sexual significance; but in later times it persisted as a sacred furnishing that was reserved for the genius of the paterfamilias and never used by the house’s human occupants. Presumably the lady of the house had a similar place in the women’s quarters dedicated to her juno.

While we must do without a pillar in modern houses, we can set aside a special area in the home for meditation, and include a shrine to a personal guiding deity, giving external form to our indwelling genius or juno in the shape of an image if we prefer. A staff can be set up in a nearby corner to represent the pillar, perhaps with alternate red and white bands spiraling clockwise around it from the top to the bottom, like a Maypole. The main thing, of course, is to sit there with an erect spine, the seat being raised by one or two cushions.

If you offer to your patron or patroness (or directly to the genius or juno) as at the other shrines, ask for guidance or wisdom in both dreams and waking life. It is also good to do this before going to sleep. If you remember your dreams on awakening, take a few moments to ponder them and try to determine what the deity was saying to you. Even seemingly trivial dreams often contain a message if we take the time to examine them.

The Inner Pillar

As the World Pillar is the link between the realms of our cosmos and thus with the ancestors, so the inner pillar is our own personal link with them through memory. As we have seen, memory contains more than the record of events: Vesta at our inner hearth can recall past versions of ourselves, our feelings and impressions, our viewpoints, joys and fears, all the way back to birth, as well as that strange kind of nostalgia, with phantom images, associated with the distant past which we call far memory. Like the rings on a tree-trunk, these vital memories represent different stages of our growth-journey from the realm of the ancestors, and each is vitally available to the present moment.

It will come as no surprise, then, to learn that each man’s genius and each woman’s juno resides in the inner pillar of memory and has the job of guiding, not just our present selves, but each of these versions of ourselves, guiding all of them together. Thus, as Vesta calls back our previous selves and integrates them with our current self, the genius or juno shows us the path linking them, the plan our life has been following, and the living form of our self through time, of which our current self is the growing tip. For whereas the ancestors are concerned to help that growing tip, our current selves, with advice and vigor, our indwelling genius and juno are concerned with the growth of the whole plant, clear down to the roots. The journey down the inner pillar of memory, taken by the silent, inward-looking self, is not like a train-journey, which leaves behind each station as it travels to the next one. It is rather a projection of awareness from the present back through the past, uniting with the whole trunk of memory as it goes. As such, it is a preparation for the fuller integration that will take place in the Underworld after the death of the body.

In the Underworld the integrated soul will undergo further integration with its selves from previous lives. Thus, the answer to the question, “What age shall I be on the Other Side?” is “All ages to which you have attained.” This is expressed beautifully in the Lakota (Sioux) myth of Falling Star. It seems long ago there were two sisters who wished to marry stars when they grew up. Then, when they were about to go to bed, two men appeared outside the flap of their tepee:

“They were men, but they were not like other men, for they made the light they lived in, and there was no shadow where they stood. This light was soft and kind, and when the two men smiled, it spread about the sisters so that they were not afraid at all. Then they saw that one man was young and one was very old. The younger one was taller than any man the girls had ever seen; but the older one was even taller. I think he stood above the other like a tree, and the light which he made was that much brighter. He was old, old; but he was young too. I think he was older than the other because he had been young so much longer.”

Journeys down the inner pillar can take place in lucid dreams or in waking moments when inner silence begins to deepen on its own, spontaneously. The latter experience feels like being in an old elevator that has suddenly slipped its cable a little. There is a feeling of being lowered into deeper silence. Present sensations continue, but new senses open up, or perhaps feelings, for which we have no descriptions. These seem to be showing through the current landscape, if we are outside, that is. Time undergoes subtle changes as well, with the mind taking in more rapid details occurring, as it were, between successive instants of time. This continues until one has had enough and decides to re-surface into the everyday present.

Standing in the doorway and mentally echoing sounds just heard help to set up lucid dreaming. Additionally, after closing your eyes at night, instead of becoming immersed in thoughts, watch your phosphenes, the lights and shapes created by the pressure of the eyelids on the optic nerve. As we fall asleep, dream images will naturally become superimposed on our phosphenes; but if we fall asleep while watching instead of thinking, we shall watch the images in our dreams afterwards and be less caught up in the words of the dream-synopsis. When dream images become superimposed on phosphenes, it is like a door opening, and when it is fully open we are asleep and immersed in a dream. If we have watched our phosphenes change into dream-images, it is only a step further to realizing we are in a dream, when the journey down the inner pillar can commence.

Footnotes:
Bibliography

BERNSTEIN, Frances, Classical Living, San Francisco, Harper Collins, 2000.
ELIADE, Mircea, Shamanism; Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, New Jersey,
Princeton University Press, 1964.
HARDING, Douglas, On Having No Head, London and New York, Arkana , 1986.
JUNG, C. G., Memories, Dreams, Reflections, New York, Vintage Books, 1963.
NEIHARDT, John G., When the Tree Flowered, New York, Pocket Books, 1974.
OVID, Fasti, transl. by A. J. Boyle and R. D. Woodard, New York, Penguin Books,
2000.
ROSE, H. J., Religion in Greece and Rome, New York, Harper and Rowe, 1959.

Druidic Wicca: A Deeper Exploration

Druidic Wicca: A Deeper Exploration

Author: Anamastia Coven

Human beings are drawn naturally toward the mystical. Perhaps it is the Divine seed within us that whispers to our spirits and beckons scholars and skeptics alike to contemplate the timeless message of the Druid tradition.

What would the world look like if seen through a Druid’s eyes? Nature would be elevated, once again, into a position of noble equality. It would be revered and protected as a sentient living and Divine presence. It would no longer be seen as something to simply dominate and exploit for wealth, entertainment or power. The mystery of nature would reemerge and we would suddenly be filled with wonder.

Within the wonder and mystery of nature is the flame of hope for mankind. Druids kindle and tend that flame with great care, full in the knowledge that what good is performed today, shall forever be felt in the years and generations to come. Humankind must not remain alienated from the very home of our spirit, but return to it, love it and celebrate that union, found in the gentle rhythms of the world of Druids.

Why The Druid Path?

Druids receive Divine inspiration or “Awen, ” which manifests itself in a variety of ways. Inwardly, the changes are subtle ones. Our conscious minds are opened to the greater possibilities of the world and awaken, thirsting for knowledge. Our subconscious minds are opened and the mystery within pours forth and awakens in us senses, long asleep, and we are suddenly aware of the unseen world. These gifts enable us to grow and continue our journey toward enlightenment, gathering in the knowledge and wisdom of those who journey with us now, and all those who have traveled this way before us. We together — past, present and future — shall converge in the center of all that is and find the source of Awen, which is Truth.

Druid spirituality is simplistic: Nature is Divine. There is nothing to divide you from your Gods, for They are manifest in everything! They speak in the soft whisper of wind stirring the trees. They sing with the water rushing in the streambed. They sprint through the forest, wing breathlessly skyward or remain as still as stone. Our hearts cannot escape Their gentle touch and neither shall They remain untouched by the love we give Them in return.

But Druid spirituality is also complex. We honor simplicity yet highly value the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The exploration and quest for truth becomes one of such intensity as to almost define a person’s soul. We explore the concept of reality and existence and its impact on the trinity of body, mind and spirit. We find ourselves provoked to deeper thought and further exploration and interpretation of life experiences. So too do we engage in conscious devotion to spiritual pursuits and the soulful exploration of our higher self. We seek the love, comfort and affirmation of communion with the Divine.

The term “spiritual progression” can probably best be defined as a labyrinth, in which we slowly, through the course of many lifetimes, achieve a greater understanding and awareness of our spiritual self, as well as the universe and the nature of all existences. This journey takes place on the plane of “Anwynn” or “place of rebirth.” It is here that our energy consummates its eternal longing for the Divine creator. This is the place of soul rest where healing and compassionate understanding is a sweet cup from which we drink. As we traverse the wheel time and again through the natural process of birth and death and rebirth, we attain spiritual progression. The purpose of spiritual progression is to bring the soul to a level that Buddhists might characterize as “total enlightenment.” This level of achievement is marked by a shift in awareness to embrace, with total understanding, the mysteries of the universe. Without further need to experience the mortal plane, the spirit moves away from the process of rebirth and goes to its ultimate reward, union with the Divine.

A Druid better understands these mysteries by mapping the soul’s journey through time. The Druid calendar is divided into an eight-fold year. Each holiday represents an event in time, the changing of seasons and celebration of the fertility and abundance of this our Earth Mother. There are four solar festivals, which celebrate the equinoxes and solstices dividing the year into four equal parts. There are four fire festivals that commemorate historical events as well as the passage of time.
Upon this wheel of the year we can plot the course of a human lifetime: birth, coming of age, young adulthood, middle age, elder years and finally death. This is a gentle and comforting wisdom that instills in us the natural cycle of our existence, which is in harmony with the cycle of all creation. We discover our own mortality and also the promise of immortality secure in the knowledge that the circle of life is indeed a circle.

We often find ourselves filled to brimming with the knowledge we gain as we traverse the wheel. We seek out means by which we can express and/or illustrate these events making them available to others. We reach into our own center to find wisdom and embrace the sacredness of life. Through artistic expression, esoteric knowledge, divination, natural philosophy and other means, we share what we have learned, as we walk the paths of the Bard, the Ovate and the Druid.

Contemporary Druids hold as truth that the mortal soul is not limited unto itself, but enjoys a greater communion with the energy of all living things and indeed the Divine source. When we come fully into this awareness there is within us a startling metamorphosis. We begin to see clearly our connection with all life and know that all life is sacred. That sacredness not only forms the foundation of all life, but is the root of Druid philosophy.

Chris Travers in his 1996 essay, Who were the Druids writes, “The picture that emerges of a druid is one of a thoughtful philosopher and magician, schooled in the lore of the traditions, and in charge of the education of the chieftains as well as those who sought esoteric knowledge. A druid is a knower of truth.”

So we see that from both historical and contemporary perspectives, Druid philosophy, though shrouded in mythological beginnings, has a poignant relevance in today’s world. Druidry is the wellspring from which human beings will begin to once again recognize and accept our role in the circle of life, rather than trying to dominate or change it. We will begin to honor and love all creation, for it is the embodiment of the Divine. We shall honor our ancestors and harken to their voices and their spirit. We will not be afraid of the wildness of our own spirit that beckons us to explore and renew our connection with the blessed land and with the Gods. We will walk with dignity these modern times, and live the Elder Ways not only for the betterment of self, but for the benefit of all.

The Harmony of Wicca and Druidry

“While the cunning folk (Witches) worked alone or in small groups, and were the local wise people and healers in rural communities, the Druids were an organized elite, exempt from warfare and paying taxes, and they acted as judges, teachers, philosophers and advisors to chieftains, kings and queens. They appear very different to the image that we hold of Witches, until we examine them in more detail.”

— Excerpt from Druidcraft: the Magic of Wicca and Druidry by Philip Carr-Gomm

From the writings of the earliest historians of the period, we have come to know that Druidry as an ancient practice was divided into three areas of specialization: Bard, Ovate and Druid. The Druids were priests, teachers, philosophers, and in many cases, as experts in the law, would preside as judges and mediators. The Bards were poets, musicians, storytellers, keepers of lore and myth; they were enchanters, as easily able to bewitch as to entertain. But of these specializations, it was the Ovates—the seers and diviners, healers and herbalists—that are most akin to what we would describe as “witches.”

With the coming of Christianity to Western Europe around the sixth century C.E., the Druids had been assimilated as part of the professional elite in the new social order. Their assimilation was both professional and religious; they were compelled to embrace the new faith and apply their expertise toward building a society ruled by the church. On the other hand, the Bardic profession continued to flourish, although its religious emphasis (being pre-Christian) became somewhat diminished. Bardic schools continued to exist in Ireland, Scotland and Wales even into the seventeenth century. The Ovates, however, seemed to disappear from all record.

What this suggests however is not that the Ovatic stream died off—much to the contrary in fact—rather that it went underground. The teachings though less formal than before, became passed from generation to generation in a largely oral tradition. Evidence suggests that over the generations that came after them, the Ovates eventually became known, in close-knit circles, as “cunning folk, ” or “Wicca, ” meaning “wise ones.” It is from this meaning that the modern term “Wicca” finds its place in contemporary Paganism.

In the same chapter of the book Druidcraft as is quoted above, author Philip Carr Gomm goes on to say, “When the two worlds of Witchcraft and Druidry are brought together, we find at the place of their meeting the figure of the ‘Ovate-Witch’ who presides over a knowledge of the mysteries of Life and Death, whose cauldron offers the wisdom that is known in Druidry as ‘Bright Knowledge.'”

It is easy to see then where the harmony between Wicca and Druidry lies; for indeed Wicca owes its origins to Druidry, and Druidry, in no small way owes its survival to the Wicca, who in generations before them were the Ovates of the ancient world. It was these “wise ones” who passed on their teachings through the generations, keeping their folk magick alive long enough to be re-discovered, revived and re-invented by scholars and visionaries like Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols.

A modern embrace of Druidry and Wicca together as a way of life may involve a study of folk magick and metaphysics, respecting certain ceremonial rites and liturgies of worship, while also exploring the disciplines of philosophy, sciences and the arts, and culminate in an endless pursuit of knowledge, both spiritual and scientific. At the core of Celtic spirituality is the belief that all things are connected. It is a concept expressed in the earliest examples of Celtic art and literature, and remains a part of our spiritual heritage. And it is profoundly at the heart of what we mean by “the harmony of Wicca and Druidry;” that each tradition compliments the other, and can powerfully enrich the life of any Pagan.

In the Fellowship of Anamastia, we seek that enrichment through scholarship and well-founded liturgical expression that brings into our worship a marriage of the best aspects of both traditions. It is that which both illuminates the past and shapes our understanding of how to build a better future for the Earth and all the creatures that live upon Her. For more information visit us on the web at http://anamastia.webs.com.


Footnotes:
Nichols, Ross. The Book of Druidry. London: Thorsons, 1990.

Carr-Gomm, Philip, et. al. The Druid Renaissance: The Voice of Druidry Today. London: Thorsons, 1996.

Orr, Emma Restall. Principles of Druidry. London: Thorsons, 1999.

Rutherford, Ward. Celtic Lore: The History of the Druids and Their Timeless Traditions. London: Thorsons, 1993.

Carr-Gomm, Philip. Druidcraft: The Magic of Wicca and Druidry. London: Thorsons, 2002.

Buckland, Raymond. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1986.

Travers, Chris. Who Were the Druids?. accessnewage.com. 1996.

2012- A Witches View of Life and the ‘End’

2012- A Witches View of Life and the ‘End’

Author: Fayte Ravencraft
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have undoubtedly heard of the phenomenon that is 2012. The calendar of the ancient Mayan civilization ends on December 21, 2012, and many believe that it spells out disaster for our planet. Others think that it will be a time of transformation and spiritual rebirth. Here is the opinion of one humble Witch:

I won’t lie and say that the whole ‘2012 hysteria isn’t a little scary. I mean we have several extremely rare celestial occurrences, which also coincide with this exact date, which seem to add to the possibility of strange or catastrophic events occurring. The Earth and the Sun will be perfectly aligned with the ‘Great Rift, in the center of our galaxy, and this alignment is said to occur only every 21, 000 years or so. The Sun will also reach its solar maximum, the peak in its level of sunspot activity. Scientists have noticed recently that the Sun has been alarmingly weak for this point in the cycle — the lowest in over one-hundred years according to one article—, which may mean, in my own opinion, that when the Sun activity does pick up, it may cause a little trouble here on Earth.

The Sun’s own magnetic poles are supposed to switch in 2012 as well, which may cause further issues here on earth. These are simply the facts. Not even the most brilliant among us can truly say what they mean because it has never happened before in recorded history, and all theories are just that: theories. I encourage you to do your own research before coming to any assumption, and do not panic about the ‘approaching disaster, ” because there is not necessarily anything to be worried about. You do, I’m sure, remember the same mass hysteria about the supposed apocalypse in 2000, which never occurred.

I say all this simply so that you, the reader, may come to your own conclusions as to what the future may hold, and so that you know just what everyone is causing all the commotion about. I have listed as many Internet sources as possible so that you may further research them if you wish.

It is my personal feeling that December 21, 2012 will be a time of extraordinary power, a time when the veil between the worlds will be at its absolute thinnest. The Great Rift in the center of our galaxy has always been symbolic of the creative power of the Goddess, the ‘Great Womb, so to speak. The fact that the Sun, the symbol of the Lord, The Great Rift, a symbol of the Lady, and our Earth will be aligned will have a significant meaning magickally. There will never be a better time in our lives to perform magick of all types especially that of the divinatory type.

I do feel like it is a significant milestone in the history of human kind, and that, for those of us who are enlightened and willing, it is the perfect time to reach the maximum of our potential. Being a time of great power, it is also a time when we can make a powerful commitment to change things, both within and without, and to decided just where it is we want to go with our lives. Any energies set to work during this rare alignment are going to have extraordinary results, so why not use this as a time to heal the Earth, and with it, all of mankind. The Maya knew that this would be a time of immense power, and both feared and respected it.

We have a great thing here on our planet, and we too often take even the air we breathe for granted. The gifts we have received from the Universe have been greater than we could ever ask for, and it is time now to realize that. I am not convinced that 2012 marks the end of our world, but I certainly hope it marks a great change within the heart of mankind. We must learn to be grateful for all that we have; our lives and this astoundingly beautiful planet, or we might as well have never been here. I hate to say it, but if by some chance the world truly does end in 2012, I am just glad that I’ve had the blessing of spending this life on this beautiful planet. If it doesn’t end, I hope we all do our very best to be more appreciative; we have a good thing going on here, and we get too caught up in the daily grind of things to realize it sometimes.

While I do not feel that the world is truly about to end, I do think that we need to start living as though the end of the world were today, because it very well could be. We have never been guaranteed any amount of time here, and should view every second, the good and bad, as a gift. If we could truly follow ‘In perfect love and perfect trust, ” and have that love and trust towards ourselves and our fellow man, we would truly be making the absolute best of our time here.

As the great Henry David Thoreau said:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

Let us learn all that we can in this life so that when the end comes, we will have the satisfaction of knowing that we have done something that few ever have: Truly lived. If we can say in all honesty that we have lived a full life, then we cannot possibly grieve at its ending. We were lucky even to have one day here, let alone an entire life of loving, laughing and learning! The Great Cycle will continue eternally and we are all but small parts of the infinite cycle. When we embrace the entire cycle, life, death, and rebirth, then there is absolutely nothing to fear.

Nothing is ever truly destroyed, simply changed; and change, my friends, is a very good thing. Embracing change is embracing life.

Blessed Be,
Fayte Ravencraft

Footnotes:
Interview with NASA Solar Scientist

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/sthttp://www.witchvox.com/vu/fms/farticle.htmlory.php?storyId=128268488

http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/2012-interesting-facts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4JuoBD56HQ

How Do You Order Up Your Pagan Group?

How Do You Order Up Your Pagan Group?

Author: Greenbridge (Ellen Bergstrom)

Would you call it bold and spicy? Or is it more like creamy and smooth? My guess is that it is more like the former, bold and spicy…and perhaps even outrageous, loud, and obnoxious, angry, or even destructive. Hopefully it has not gotten to the physically violent level as yet, but hey, give it time.

Am I being a bit sarcastic here? Well, yes, but there is a lot of accuracy in what I say. Pagans are often obnoxious, loud, angry, and even attacking each other. What’s wrong with that you say? Don’t like the “fluffy bunny” approach? Well okay then, you violent ones, why don’t you all stick together. Perhaps you will all destroy each other eventually or else mellow out to realize you really don’t want your children, your grandchildren, and continuing generations to be as mean and nasty a bunch that you were.

Perhaps as you reach your elder years, become sick and frail and unable to care for yourselves that you’ll really begin to appreciate those “fluffy bunnies” that signed up to care for people like you. Perhaps so but if you get a caretaker like you, a mean one, what will they do to frail ole you when no one is watching. Perhaps it will only be then. Or maybe not even then. Maybe you will say you are tough enough to put up with the abuse, abuse that you yourself have given to others during your life of eating fluffy bunnies for snacks and fun. You may have to only realize it on your deathbed when you finally figure it out. Perhaps you would have lived longer, or perhaps even recovered from this elder illness you had but alas none of the fluffy bunnies survived to care for you.

Well now. Obviously I am not the obnoxious mean type of pagan I talk about (but I used to be, I’m in recovery I guess you would say.) Or you may think I am what you may consider to be a fluffy bunny or at least advocating that kind of thing. Think again. Actually, the term “fluffy bunny” was invented by those who are perhaps arrogant and self-involved to the extent that they wish not to consider the needs of others except when they are being patronizing. Patronizing is a lot like the “trickle down” stuff. Give a few crumbs to the peasants to keep them quiet and get credit for being generous.

The real fluffy bunnies are infants and small children who are being raised in love and kindness. They are still naive, of course, they are children, and are filled with love and hope. They want to spend their days discovering new things and having lots of fun. They think kindly of others and want to help those in need and it comes from their hearts. Few of us adults have been able to retain that kind of spirit. Too many of us have become tainted, rebellious, and skeptical. Or perhaps we were spoiled rotten and never learned to think of others except for “our own.” Others of us harbor hate in our hearts and will destroy others when given the chance.

Some of the greatest people among us are those who have been deprived of the necessary love and kindness that all children should have received yet discover that the hateful way they were treated is not the life they chose. These people have learned that love and kindness is strength not a weakness. They realize the worldview is upside down. Strength means kindness not meanness. They have learned that being kind to others often will bring that back to them. In fact they have learned that true respect of others is only respect for the self. They discovered what is perhaps one of the greatest secrets of all: that we are all connected. And since we are all connected, hurting others is like one hand trying to harm the other. In short we all hurt.

I have a theory why so many Pagans are so mean to others and even to other Pagans. I think it is because so many of us have been forced to follow old fundamentalist ideas like those of the Fundamentalist Protestant and the Catholic Church. We learned that to be considered “good” we follow what we are taught to do but not necessarily what the others do who taught us. We learned that life is mean, tough and competitive as we grew up with it. We learned to rebel against these awful ideas as young people since we have a brain. But then instead of joyfully entering Paganism, some of us bring that anger and hate right to the place we thought would be the best for us. Think of it. Bringing your hatefully past to a place you think will bring you to some kind of happiness in life.

Some of us never learned how to love and kind to others. Some of us never learned what joy that kindness brings into your life. Instead we were taught that it was a sign of weakness. We learned we had to fight and compete. Or perhaps we were so spoiled and rotten we never learned to even consider the needs of others.

Perhaps we learned we had to talk loud and take over the discussion, not allowing others to talk. Perhaps even we were taught to belittle others who have ideas different from ours. Perhaps even we were taught physical destruction against the property of others or even violence such as hitting, etc. Those who continue to be nasty perhaps have never learned the skills of kindness or the understanding of the strength it takes to be kind. These are just simple social skills that anyone can do to show respect for another human being. The strength comes in when they are practiced.

Turning the channel now.

Aaaahhhhh. Now I enter thoughts of love, kindness and peace. As I do so, I leave behind the abusive parents I had, the mean teachers, the hypocrites from the church I grew up in, the bully kids at school, the bullies at work. And those bullies at the last Pagan gathering I went to. I relax by myself and with others who are like me interested in having a loving and peaceful world. I know that is the only way I can fully develop all my talents and abilities and create the life I want.

There are many of us Pagans, those of us that want love and peace. We are not “fluffy bunnies.” Many of us are still full of piss and vinegar…spicy as all get out! We are very strong women and men who despite all the meanness and destruction in the world around us are strong enough to be kind to others. We care lovingly for those who need our help. And we care lovingly for our loved ones and for ourselves. We have known how easy it is to be mean and nasty to others…we did it ourselves. After all, that is how we were brought up too! But we realized it was the cowardly way out. We decided we did not want to be cowards.

We found out that after all it is the harder life to have in the long run though it “seems” to be easier. We discovered that it just seemed easier because it was something we were accustomed to doing and thus it was an automatic response. Being kind… that was hard because we never did it before. But when we started doing it, it turned out to be a happier life after all. We found out that it is a far easier, better, and more enjoyable life to simply be kind to others. We found that we could be kind to everyone, not just “our own.” When will you find that out, now, or will you wait till the moments before your death.

Oh and about that “bold and spicy” as opposed to “smooth and creamy”, I’ve decided that I don’t have to chose either one. I can have one of them today and perhaps the other tomorrow. I can have them both! I also discovered that I could add and subtract from things, juggle them around and make them the way I like. I choose to add kindness to the “bold and spicy” label but I delete out the mean part. Think I’ll create just that. Care to join me? Why not have it all together? What would you create? Let me know? I promise, I’ll be kind.

Is There a Right Time to Curse?

Is There a Right Time to Curse?

Author: Sleeping Moon

 First off, I want to get something straight that even pagans seem to misunderstand. Or have been misguided into believing. (Not all, mind you, but most.) Hexes are NOT curses! Hexes are painted signs posted on barns down in the south to promote positive influences over the property and those that live there.

Curses are quite different. From the Wikipedia (on-line dictionary) the definition is: A curse (also called execration) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, “curse” may refer to a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force, or a spirit. In many belief systems, the curse itself (or accompanying ritual) is considered to have some causative force in the result.

They claim that a curse holds no power unless the recipient believes in it. I don’t believe that’s necessarily true. A curse has merit no matter what. It’s a solid form of magick just as a spell is. It has its purpose and has a place. They exist for a reason and if used correctly, they can be a force of nature to be reckoned with.

There are a few pagans who have called a dark deity as their matron/patron. Kali, The Morrigan, Calliach, Hecate, Badb, Skatha, Nemisis, Morgana, Innana and Lilith, Hades, Anubis, Setesh, Hoder, just to name a few.

What’s the difference with calling one of these dark deities and a curse? There are many forms of magic to use in calling forth the dark deities, but all in all, the dark deities are: Dark. You wouldn’t call on Kali or The Morrigan to cast a love spell. They are more for revenge and war than love and laughter.

In the beginning I would never have even thought about cursing any one. For any reason whatsoever. Many years later, my logic has changed.

I feel that there is a time to curse and a time to use another approach. If harm befell upon your loved one, for example if he/she was raped, shot, or killed, (these being the more serious offenses) , I can agree that a curse is more of an appropriate form of magick than to send that person ‘peace and love’. The damage has been done and is irrevocable so in my opinion, a curse is warranted and justifiable. Surrounding yourself with protection and that loved one (whether living or not) is always a positive take, but you would want to see that person get the justice he/she deserves. Right? You wouldn’t want that person to be able to harm other folk, right? You’d do every thing with in your capable means (with in the law) to get what they deserve.
So why not a curse?

I understand that Wiccans, the traditional ones, wouldn’t condone such a notion because of the three-fold law. But, as I stated beforehand, the damage HAS been done, so there is no further harm. Every thing in life has a good and bad side to it, just as it does in magick. No matter what we do in magick, we are taking something from some one else. That extra energy we use to cast a spell could be used for some one fighting a serious illness. In the air we breathe, we are taking that air from some one else. We use a candle to focus. We use that source of light from some one that may need it during a power outage or in a third world country that has no power what so ever. The list could go on and on. It’s a nice rule, but it’s an oxy moron. It doesn’t fit. Not technically.
Of course I would never agree to a curse just because I didn’t like some one. The damage that would warrant a curse from me would have to be severe.

Curses have a long history. It dates back to ancient Egyptian times. Probably dates back to the cave men, but for theory’s use, I will stick to then.

In Haiti, curses are called getting “crossed”. In Voodoo it’s called a jinx as well as a form of foot track magic. The “evil eye” is thought to stem from the Middle Eastern and the Mediterranean areas.

In Greece they are called katadesmoi and in Rome, tabulae defixiones. In Ireland there are many known forms of curses such as curse stones or egg curses, New Year curses and milk curses. Chinese peoples have them. The Indonesians, the Indians (not with the feather!) the Europeans, the Brits and the Scottish people have curses in their history. Even Native Americans.

The Native American people of the southern plains called these types of witches Skin Walkers. Skin Walkers where as nasty as one witch or wizard could possible get with the use of black magick. These beings are supposed to be able to extract revenge upon the help less victim by placing an animal skin over their human bodies and thus shape shifting into the form of that animal. While in the guise of the animal they choose, they can wreck havoc upon the poor soul they choose to victimize.

Even in the bible there are curses hidden within. God himself placed a curse upon the snake “You are cursed more than all cattle”, (Genesis 3:14) . As a result of Adam and Eve disobeying God, the ground is also cursed: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” (3:17) . Cain is cursed from the earth, “So now you are cursed from the earth”, (4:11) . In the New Testament Paul sees curses as central to the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion. In Galatians 3:13 he says: “Christ redeems us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…”. He refers to Deuteronomy: ” anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (21:23 RAEDM)

So if even God himself used them, they are credited aren’t they? Why can’t we use them if the damage has been done?

I wish the world were all frilly and white. But, it’s not. There are lines of grey that border on crossing over to black; there are lines of grey that border on crossing over to the lines of white. That’s the way life works. It’s the way Nature lives and the way humans are bred. Nature is neither cruel nor loving, it just is. And magick is the same, in my book.

Again, if the damage has been done, why can’t a curse be warranted?

Earth Science Pic for November 3rd

Balloon Flight Over Central Italy with Blue and Black Sky

November 03, 2011

Stratospera3-highest-small (2)

Image Created By: Francesco Bonomi; Francesco’s Web site
Summary Author: Paolo Amoroso; Jim Foster

The photo above was taken onboard a high-altitude balloon flight (StratoSpera 3 — the Italian StratoSpera Project) above Tuscany, Italy on September 10, 2011. The altitude is 129,892 ft (39,591 m). This photo is perhaps the highest ever captured from a non-scientific balloon. The view here is toward the south – the Tyrrhenian Sea is at top center and Lake Bolsena is at the upper left.

Note the blue color of the sky along the Earth’s limb and the black above it. This blue color is due to scattering of white sunlight – Rayleigh scattering. Scattering by very small particles (molecules of air) is greater at the violet end of the electromagnetic spectrum than at the yellow or red portions of the spectrum. Because our eyes aren’t as sensitive to the violet wavelengths as they are to blue colors, the sky takes on a bluish hue. At sufficiently high altitudes there are simply too few air molecules to effectively scatter sunlight and the sky is therefore mostly devoid of color. Passengers riding in the Concorde, altitude of 60,000 ft or (18,000 m), were able to observe a mostly black sky during daytime trans-Atlantic crossings.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for November 3rd

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Tails of Comet Garradd
Image Credit & Copyright: Gregg Ruppel 

 

Explanation: A good target for binoculars and small telescopes, Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1) now shines in planet Earth’s evening skies, a steady performer but just below naked-eye visibility. Telescopic images like this composite from October 15 can find the comet with a lovely green coma, sporting multiple tails, and lingering against a background of faint stars. The field of view spans over 1 degree or about 2 full moons within the southern boundaries of the constellation Hercules. Now around 16 light minutes (2 astronomical units) away, P1 Garradd is an intrinsically large comet, but will never make a very close approach to Earth or the Sun while sweeping through the inner solar system. As a result, the comet will likely stay a sight for telescopic eyes only, moving slowly through the sky and remaining in Hercules during the coming months.

Feng Shui Tip of the Day for November 3rd

A plethora of energies intertwine to allow me to offer some magically delicious advice today. First, it’s ‘National Men Make Dinner Day’ and ‘Sandwich Day,’ so maybe you can smell what I’m cooking up here. I thought I might offer a recipe for a Yam and Acorn Squash soup that’s not only easy to make but tasty as well. But let’s start with the magical promise of my original premise. Legend tells that the acorn squash got its name because of its similarity in appearance to actual acorns. There is a myth about the acorn people who live in the ancient oak tree. It says that everyone in this magical community from the ages of five to sixty-five wears a watch the flashes one word: now. Each acorn person has a unique and special gift to bring to the world, and they love unconditionally. Therefore, they have scattered their acorns to the winds in the hopes of bringing their unconditional love to the entire world. And love is the main ingredient of this lovely acorn squash soup. Heat some vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add one large chopped onion. Sautee until golden and add five cups peeled and cubed yams and one small peeled and cubed acorn squash. Add two cups of chicken broth, decrease the heat and simmer for thirty minutes. Let cool and place the mix in a blender with a half-cup of plain yogurt. Blend until smooth. Return the blend to the saucepan and add two tablespoons pumpkin seeds and a quarter cup of whole milk. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Forget about that old sandwich and make this soup to the strains of delight! They’ll love you for it!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Daily Number for November 3rd: 5

Work-related travel is possible today, and good long term connections are likely to be made. You may dream up some very worthy money saving ideas, but hold off on sharing them with others until later. Today is an excellent day to focus on business.

Fast Facts

About the Number 5

Theme: Resourceful, Adventure, Speculation, Travel
Astro Association: Taurus
Tarot Association: Hierophant

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for November 3rd is 27: Nourishment

27: Nourishment

Hexagram 27

General Meaning: Nourishment refers to more than a healthy diet. It is the care-giving function. Eating properly implies care for oneself; providing healthy meals in the home is a sign of caring for the family. The writer of a great book or composer of an inspiring piece of music also provides nourishment, by caring deeply about the quality of his or her work and offering it to the world.

We can know others by observing what they choose to nourish in their lives. Do they properly feed and develop their bodies? Do they cultivate their spirits, their intellects, their moral values? Do they nourish and care for those around them? If so, to whom do they devote their energies? The most successful people are temperate in eating and drinking, thinking and dreaming. They strengthen the world by nurturing everyone’s higher nature.

Pay heed to your thoughts and impulses, ignoring those that undermine a healthy and persevering attitude. A wise person is temperate in the consumption of food and drink, because to be otherwise only leads to discomfort; the fact that temporary pleasure may precede the discomfort does not influence the person of mature character. In the same way, be discriminating in your words and actions, lest a desire for temporary advantage lead you to cause pain for yourself or others. Enrich your character and you will naturally nourish everyone around you.

Today’s Runes for November 3rd is Laguz

Today’s Runes

Stone Runes are most commonly used for questions about the natural world and things beyond human control. Laguz is the most strongly feminine of runes, representing water. Deep sexuality is suggested by this rune. Through Laguz, water is seen as the ocean – vast, uncontrollable, ever-changing, and vital. When interpreted as the returning tide, Laguz can also predict the inevitable return from a long journey.

Today’s Tarot Card for November 3rd is The Lovers

The Lovers

This Tarot Deck: African Tarot

General Meaning: Although it has taken on a strictly romantic revision of meaning in some modern decks, traditionally the Lovers card of Tarot reflected the challenges of choosing a partner. At a crossroads, one cannot take both paths. The images on this card in different decks have varied more than most, because we have had so many ways of looking at sex and relationships across cultures and centuries.

Classically, the energy of this card reminded us of the real challenges posed by romantic relationships, with the protagonist often shown in the act of making an either-or choice. To partake of a higher ideal often requires sacrificing the lesser option. The path of pleasure eventually leads to distraction from spiritual growth. The gratification of the personality eventually gives way to a call from spirit as the soul matures.

Modern decks tend to portray the feeling of romantic love with this card, showing Adam and Eve at the gates of Eden when everything was still perfect. This interpretation portrays humanity before the Fall, and can be thought to imply a different sort of choice — the choice of evolution over perfection, or the choice of personal growth through relationship — instead of a fantasy where everything falls into place perfectly and is taken care of without effort.

Your Daily Horoscopes for November 3rd

Today’s ingenious Aquarius Moon can make us so clever that we end up fooling ourselves. Flirty Venus and mischievous Mercury are a charming planetary pair in fiery Sagittarius and their exciting trines to electric Uranus galvanize our senses and attract us toward unconventional expressions of love. The Moon’s midday trine to cautious Saturn temporarily stabilizes things, but her evening opposition to Mars might stir up an unnecessary conflict.

 

Aries Horoscope
Aries Horoscope (Mar 21 – Apr 19)

You may be lured close to the edge of an emotional cliff today, yet you’re probably ready to jump even if you recognize the potential danger. Fortunately, you have a bit of magic working in your favor now and gravity might not send you crashing toward the ground. Take a risk by sharing your thoughts or feelings with someone you trust. You could be pleasantly surprised by where the conversation leads.

Taurus Horoscope
Taurus Horoscope (Apr 20 – May 20)

Typically, you take a practical approach to love, but today your mind is enticing you to explore some unconventional possibilities that are very exciting. Luckily, you’re in an experimental mood and are eager to connect with someone in a completely different way. But don’t venture too far too fast unless you’re sure that you really want to go there.

Gemini Horoscope
Gemini Horoscope (May 21 – Jun 20)

You can fall in love with a weird idea or an unusual person today, even if you find yourself somewhere you’ve never been before. You don’t get to recycle your same old fantasies now; familiar territory just won’t hold your attention. Enjoy playing on a new social playground, but pay attention or you might find it difficult to find your way home later on.

Cancer Horoscope
Cancer Horoscope (June 21 – Jul 22)

Although you have high hopes about accomplishing a lot at work today, save the self-judgment for another day if you don’t reach your goals. Rather than setting yourself up for disappointment, consider declaring the day a personal holiday, instead. Anything you can do to stir up excitement is a good idea. Remember, you can always fulfill your responsibilities tomorrow.

Leo Horoscope
Leo Horoscope (Jul 23 – Aug 22)

It begins to dawn on you today that your newfound freedom isn’t just some passing phase; it’s your life. Although you might have twinges of nostalgia, your future looks brighter than your past. An unconventional person may be encouraging you to take a risk by embarking on an adventure. But even if there’s travel in your future, the real journey comes from opening your heart to the idea of something new and different.

Virgo Horoscope
Virgo Horoscope (Aug 23 – Sep 22)

Your emotions may conflict with your logic now that the Moon is visiting your 6th House of Details. But attempts at resolving the tension won’t bring you happiness, for you’re being pulled in two directions today. Trust your instincts and take a chance on following your gut reaction. You can always reconsider your priorities in a couple of days when your cool-headed analysis kicks back in.

Libra Horoscope
Libra Horoscope (Sep 23 – Oct 22)

You want to believe what others tell you, but you might realize that someone is stretching the truth today. Ironically, this doesn’t bother you much as long as you like what you’re being told. Anyway, you might try to hide your feelings now because you’re attracted to something unusual. Nevertheless, Venus harmonizes with quirky Uranus, so taking the extra step and sharing your fantasy can be fun. Nearly anything is possible if you aren’t overly attached to the outcome.

Scorpio Horoscope
Scorpio Horoscope (Oct 23 – Nov 21)

You may feel very confident about your finances today, even if reality doesn’t fully support your conclusions. Nevertheless, you’re able to break out of the mold you placed yourself in by imagining your life very different than it is now. Although you might want to be in a new situation right away, it’s going to take time. Instead of feeling frustrated, give yourself permission to envision everything just as you want it. Remember, the next phase of your journey is just beginning.

Sagittarius Horoscope
Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Ironically, when your fantasies grow more real, they can also become less tempting. Your current desires may lead you down a totally unfamiliar path, and the closer you get to the end, the more uncertain you are about your choice. There is a delicate line between your unbridled imagination and what’s actually possible now. Fortunately, if you’re willing to take a risk, you can make an impossible dream come true.

Capricorn Horoscope
Capricorn Horoscope (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

You are known for your down-to-earth practicality, and normally you can manage the details of your life as needed. But now you’re more likely to dream about having fun than taking care of the business at hand. Although you’re not sure about just abandoning all your responsibilities, you should be able to get away with letting some things slide today as long as you commit to catching up with your work later on.

Aquarius Horoscope
Aquarius Horoscope (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

This can be a perfect day to fall in love, whether or not you’re on the lookout for romance. Venus and Mercury harmonize with your key planet, Uranus, charging your system with natural charisma and irrepressible desire. There’s no need to worry about stability now; it’s the possible thrill that grabs your attention. However, just because you are attracted to an unusual situation, it’s still not wise to act on every impulse. Consider the consequences before doing anything you might later regret.

Pisces Horoscope
Pisces Horoscope (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

If you could quietly slip into another dimension, every color would be perfectly matched while your favorite music was playing. Fortunately, there’s no need to travel to a parallel universe today, for everything desirable seems as if it’s right around the next corner, even if you never get there. Instead of trying to make all your dreams come true, pick one and strive to make it real.

the daily humorscopes for thursday, november 3rd

the daily humorscope 

Thursday, November 03, 2011

 
Aries (March 21 – April 19)
An odd smell, probably like that of chocolate milk drying on a linoleum floor, will bring back a flood of childhood memories. You will remember your locker combination from seventh grade, for example. Ironically, this will happen during a boring yet important meeting, and you will disgrace yourself by calling someone “booger-face.”
Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
Excellent day for a bubble bath. If you don’t have a little yellow rubber duckie, you’ll need to get that first, of course.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
You’ll go out to dinner with a new person, soon. Remember the advice of my old Uncle Stonebender, though: “It’s fine if someone eats like a bird, as long as they don’t have kids.”
Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
It’s time to stop beating around the bush. Move on to beating around the ornamental shrubbery.
Leo (July 23 – August 22)
You will be “on the move”, soon. Especially movements of a gastrointestinal nature, as it turns out. Good day to stay close to home.
Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
Today you will discover Pablo Picasso’s secret. He didn’t deliberately invent cubist art. He just liked painting accident victims.
Libra (September 23 – October 22)
Today you will receive an odd postcard from a long lost relative in Peru. He will invite you to come explore an ancient Incan ruin which he has discovered. Try not to be too impulsive — a better offer will soon arrive from a an old high school friend who is hiding out in a Burmese monastery.
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
Someone will stop you today, to ask directions. Tell them to take the second star to the right, and go straight on till morning. (I personally never ask for directions, since I find it’s always much more effective to find someone who looks like they know where they’re going, and follow them. I also always tell people that my name is “Svlad”. It’s something to do.)
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
A man wearing two left shoes and a shirt with only one sleeve will approach you today, and try to interest you in a no-load mutual fund. Trust him — he knows what he’s doing.
Capricorn (December 22 – January 20)
Today you will discover that you are capable of “channelling”, when you start spouting ancient sumerian curses at a short little dweeb who cuts you off in traffic. You will start taking notes in cuneiform.
Aquarius (January 21 – February 18)
You will go into business making those little sugar packets that restaurants use, and make a fortune. The restaurants will have to use fewer of yours than anyone elses. Is it due to the pictures on the packets, of really fat people? Who knows.
Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
Nobody knows the trouble you’ve seen. Except for Bob, that is. You know – the quiet neighbor, with the binoculars?

Thought of the Day for November 3rd

Witchy Comments & Graphics

Thought of the Day

By Jolinda Hackett, About.com Guide

Today’s thought of the day comes from Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw(1856 – 1950), who was obviously way ahead of his time. A vegetarian since the age of 25, Shaw was better known for his criticism of class structure and the defense of working-class poor, and perhaps less well known for his humility, as he claimed that “a man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses”. Well, George, I’m not one to judge! Here’s today’s thought of the day:

 

Animals are my friends…and I don’t eat my friends.
–George Bernard Shaw 
~Magickal Graphics~

The Power of Affirmations

Reversing Ours Fears and Negativity

From Gail Bell,

Affirmations are words or phrases which are said over and over to AFFIRM a single thought about yourself or other people. This is the way you have formed negative and positive programming through out your lifetime, saying things to yourself, about yourself, over and over. After thoughts are repeated, they soon become a BELIEF, and then we think this belief is our reality. In this way we form fears of poverty, health, weight and relationships and the emotions connected with these beliefs can even become our comfort zone, no matter how negative they might be.

Since we created these beliefs we can also change them. This is where real freedom comes from. Focused affirmations are a great way to start your new tomorrows. When you feel tension, stress, or any type of anxiety, an affirmation which makes you feel good is where you need to go. My favorite is: I AM POWERFUL. It makes me feel so good! However, for the affirmations to work you must not only say something which makes you feel better you have to FEEL the words. So, say whatever makes you feel good, then see yourself in a happy scenario doing or being your desire. See it, feel it, even taste it! The more emotion you have the faster you will draw it to you. Here are some affirmations you might use, but the best ones are ones you make up yourself:

  • I AM POWERFUL
  • MONEY (LOVE, GOOD HEALTH, PERFECT WEIGHT, ETC.) COMES TO ME EASILY AND EFFORTLESSLY
  • I AM ALWAYS BALANCED AND CENTERED
  • I AM IN PERFECT HEALTH
  • I GIVE AND RECEIVE LOVE ALL THE TIME
  • I AM JOYFUL
  • I LOOK AND FEEL WONDERFUL If it takes saying them over and over a thousand things a day, then do it. If you say an affirmation when you are feeling really down, and you don’t think it’s doing anything for you, just keep on. Every time you say something positive you will bit by bit feel better. A little bit of feeling better is better than lots of feeling depressed.

Go for it, and live in Love, Peace and Joy

About this Contributor: Gail Bell is a powerful healer who is a graduate of the Silva Mind Control Method and Transcendental Meditation. From her many studies, she quickly realized most methods for inner peace were too complex, and she soon began to discover easy to use methods for everyday life. Throughout her journey, she has guided and enhanced the lives of many individuals as a personal counselor.

Happy Thursday, dear friends! It seems like forever….

Days Of The Week Comments
…..that I have talked to you all. As you can tell I have been a busy little bee. I hope you like the look of the blog. I never realized I had made so much work for myself, lol! Anyway, it is for your enjoyment and I hope you do. Now on with today’s topic…… 

Thursday is ruled by Jupiter

 Archangel:  Sachiel

Candle colour:  Blue

Incenses:  Sandalwood or sage

Crystals:  Lapis lazuli or turquoise

Use Thursdays for spells for career, justice, prosperity, leadership, creativity, marriage and all partnerships, whether love or business, and for male potency. 

Where possible, work on a hillside, moorland or near a natural sacred site.

Magickal Graphics