Day: March 3, 2012

Revive Your Magickal Powers

Revive Your Magickal Powers　

On the night of the full moon, anoint a purple candle with vanilla oil. While anointing raise energy and focus it into the candle. See it glow with magick. Light the candle and go outside (if possible) or near a window where you can see the moon. Place the candle on the ground or windowsill. Reach your arms out to the moon and say:

“I ask for your power on this night,

By the powers of the stars above me.

So Shall It Be!” 

Visualize your arms and hands soaking up the powers of the moon and into your body. Put out the candle and leave it on your altar overnight. The next morning, repeat the spell with this chant. 

“Oh dear Lord of sky and sea,

Lead your magick into me,

By soil, wind, flame and sea,

This is my will.

So Mote It Be!” 

Soak up the powers of the Sun. Go to your altar and light the purple candle from the night before and meditate on it until it burns out.

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

To so many, getting up in the morning is the worst way to begin a day. To them every morning is the morning after, a time to feel nervous anxiety and regret in the deepest sense, while to others morning is a new world. Yesterday ceased to be with sleep last night.

How much better off we’d be if only for a few hours we could put out of our minds every painful thought and every unpleasant person until the mind and body could find enough new life to begin again.

“The early morning hath gold in its mouth,” wrote Franklin. But it has things more precious than gold. It has life as fresh and sweet as the shimmering, clinging dewdrops in the first rays of golden sunlight. It has the grace of mimosa leaves rippling in the gentlest breeze. It has the songs of the birds and the love of a new awakening.

And in this breathless creation is something more. A new opportunity, another chance, a challenge to walk on, more strong, more forgiving, more loving.

Sleep deep and rest sweet, but rise glad. Don’t let one joyful second be lost in dead oblivion. This is a vision of newness awaiting even the least to arise and accept the best – a new beginning.

Morning need not be a jury trial for oneself. Dawn and sleep can be a miraculous cleansing to set us out on our feet ready to begin again and in a friendlier atmosphere. We must feel friendly toward ourselves before we can possibly find morning good to anyone else.

An unknown writer once wrote, “Every morning lean thine arms awhile upon the window sill of heaven, and gaze upon thy Lord, then, with the vision in they heart, turn strong to meet thy day.”

We need to be strong to meet the day with self control, to find our reason and purpose, but, more important, to leave behind us the heavy and darkened thoughts that kept us from seeing the breathtaking beauty of the most important time – this morning.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 3

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 3

“For me writing has become prayers that say, `Great Spirit, return to us our freedom, our land, and our lives. We are thankful for the present from which to learn how to be thankful for the past, and how to be hopeful for the future.”

–Barney Bush, SHAWNEE

We Native people have really been tested. This testing is having our land taken from us, our culture challenged, and our way of living altered. Gratefully, we have not lost our spirituality. Our spirituality has been the key for our people making it through all of these tests. Our prayers are strong. Indian people have also been able to adjust to change and still keep their culture and spirituality. Today, we should be grateful to the Creator for the present, and for the lessons of the past. May our future be guided by the Great Spirit.

Great Spirit, thank You for Mother Earth and Father Sky. Thank You for my life.

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March 3 – Daily Feast

March 3 – Daily Feast

A great man once said that a human soul may be thought of as seeking a creative outlet. If that outlet is clear and free, all is well. But if the channel is clogged with fuss and worry, we can forget the creativity. Even in quiet, we can be in a frenzy. Quiet desperation, Thoreau called it. True silence comes from directing thought to quiet places and still waters. If we allow our minds to drift toward something that could go wrong, then it steals our peace and clogs our creative capacity. Sit quietly and think of softly flowing water, gentle breezes, and the call of the whippoorwill. Reflect on the joy of thinking freely, of unlimited vitality – and don’t tell yourself that it couldn’t possibly happen.

~ The American Indian is skillfully artistic, a refined sense that springs from deep wells of ancient vision. ~

MURPHY

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Daily OM for March 3rd – Our Earthly Origins

Our Earthly Origins
Reclaiming Our Roots

 

 

As we begin to see more clearly the people we come from, we can begin to alter our perception of who we are now. 

 

Some cultures are more rooted to the earth and connected to their inherent spirituality. But every one of us, even those of us who have been disconnected from our roots for hundreds of years, comes from a place that was once inhabited by people who worshipped and honored the earth on which they lived. In other words, we can all claim this wisdom as an essential part of who we are.

One way we can begin to rediscover our roots is to explore the early earth-based religions practiced in the parts of the world that birthed our ancestors. If we explore the ancient spiritual practices of our ancestors, we will find that their practices and beliefs share many elements with Native American, African, and aboriginal religious traditions. People who are connected to the earth and honor her share a fundamental philosophy that we can claim as our own because we too are of the earth. Many of us have become so disconnected from the earth that it feels foreign and awkward to imagine communing with her or performing a ritual for her. If we are honest, though, we will find within ourselves a yearning to feel more connected, more grounded, and more at home in this world. This yearning can lead us back to our disowned roots, which, of course, leads us right into the heart of the earth.

As we begin to see more clearly the people we come from, we can begin to alter our perception of who we are now, laying claim to our inherent relatedness to the earth. We might celebrate this by observing the ancient calendar of solstices and equinoxes, celebrating and honoring the cycle of the seasons as our ancestors did, or we might explore any one of the many earth-based practices through reading or participating in ritual. When we do these things, we tap back into our roots, finding nourishment at the wellspring of our earthly origins, the source we share with all of humanity.

 

WOTC’s Spell of the Day for March 3rd – Spell To Know The Truth

Spell To Know The Truth 

Take a fresh banana, red ribbon and a piece of parchment, and reflect upon that which you seek the truth about.

Light a white candle, and clear your mind. Then, on the parchment, write that which you want to know. Fold the paper towards you three times. Then, slice the banana open near the middle, and push the paper into it. Tie the ribbon around the banana to seal it up, and make sure to have a longer strand attached, so you can hang the banana. Say out loud:

“The truth will be shown to me, as I will – So Mote It Be!” 

Hang the banana outside, on a tree – or on a nail outside your front door. When the banana has spoiled, you will know the truth in the matter.

Herb of the Day for March 3rd – HYSSOP

Herb of the Day

Hyssop

The use of hyssop as an herbal remedy dates back to Biblical times. It is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible as a cleansing agent (although these references may be to other species of hyssop, such as Origanum aegypticum or Origanum syriacum, rather than Hyssopus officinalis).

Hyssop has been prescribed for a multitude of medical conditions, although there are few high-quality human trials researching these uses. It has been used traditionally as an antispasmodic, expectorant, emmenagogue (stimulates menstruation), stimulant, carminative (digestive aid), peripheral vasodilator, anti-inflammatory, anticatarrhal, antispasmodic, tonic and sweat-inducer. However, both the alcoholic extract and decoction have been used to inhibit sweating. Hyssop is used specifically for cough, bronchitis and chronic catarrh, and also for its tonic effects on the digestive, urinary, nervous and bronchial systems. Hot hyssop decoction vapors have also been used to treat inflammation and tinnitus.

Many complementary techniques are practiced by healthcare professionals with formal training, in accordance with the standards of national organizations. However, this is not universally the case, and adverse effects are possible. Due to limited research, in some cases only limited safety information is available.

Allergies

Avoid in individuals with a known allergy or hypersensitivity to hyssop, any of its constituents or any related plants in the Lamiaceae family.

Side Effects and Warnings

Hyssop has been reported to cause vomiting and seizures, especially at high doses. The essential oil contains the ketone pino-camphone, which is known to cause convulsions. Avoid in patients with epilepsy, fever, hypertension (high blood pressure) or pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Hyssop is not recommended in pregnant or breastfeeding women due to a lack of available scientific evidence.

Crystal of the Day for March 3rd – KYANITE

Crystal of the Day

 

Kyanite 

Spiritual and Healing Properties of Kyanite:

Kyanite opens and clears the body’s communication centers. For channeling or meditation purposes it works best when it is worn near the throat chakra. Kyanite never needs cleaned or charged because it is self-caring, self-sustaining. It carries a very “light” energy that attracts light beings (angels, spirit guides, extraterresterials). Wonderful manifesting stone.

Remedy Benefits of Kyanite:

  • Balances chakras
  • Aids communication
  • Promotes telepathy
  • Brings tranquility
  • Boosts immune system
  • Manifesting properties
  • Induces dream recall

Deity of the Day for March 3rd is PSYCHE

Deity of the Day

Psyche

Personification of the Soul, Goddess of Beauty and wife of EROS.

Princess PSYCHE was the most amazingly beautiful mortal ever. She was almost as beautiful as APHRODITE with chickenpox on a bad hair day. People were known to forget their own names and swoon at her feet.

Although not usually a malicious Goddess, APHRODITE wanted the princess out of the way. Her temples were being neglected by PSYCHE fans and it just wasn’t on. So she conspired with EROS to make the princess fall in love with the ugliest man they could find. That would soon get her out of the public eye.

EROS fluttered off and got ready to launch an Arrow of Love at the innocent PSYCHE. But by chance, he pricked his finger on that very arrow and fell hopelessly in love with her himself. This caused all kinds of problems for all concerned, and eventually PSYCHE found herself cut off from mortals and Gods alike as APHRODITE’s wrath pursued her.

She contemplated suicide by drowning, but even the waves refused to take her. The only way to salvation was by passing APHRODITE’s cruel and unusual tests. Forget sorting poppy seeds from lentils before daybreak or grabbing a cup of water from a mountain monster — the ultimate challenge was this: Go down to the Underworld and steal PERSEPHONE’s beauty cream.

Her heart quailed, but Princess PSYCHE made her radiant way down the gloomy steps. Seeing the approach of loveliness, CERBERUS, the ill-tempered Hound of Hell, rolled over like a puppy. One sweetie from her maidenly hand and he was friends for life. And grim CHARON, taking one look at her youthful beauty, blushed to his boots and gave her free passage. So finally she arrived at the throne room of HADES himself.

Now HADES is very proud of his domain, and doesn’t tolerate the living turning up. It spoils the atmosphere of gloom and despair. So he would’ve killed PSYCHE there and then, but his wife PERSEPHONE saw this was no ordinary interloper and asked why she’d come.

As the story unfolded, PERSEPHONE took pity on PSYCHE and gave her a big jar of her finest beauty cream. HADES sighed and allowed her to return, making a mental note to cancel CERBERUS’s doggie chocs for the next hundred years.

PSYCHE struggled back to the land of the living with the jar of beauty cream. What did APHRODITE want with beauty cream anyway? she wondered. It must be something really potent and special. Surely a little dab on her cheek wouldn’t do any harm?

So PSYCHE opened the jar, poked her finger inside, and instantly fainted away. It was very powerful beauty cream indeed. In fact it could have transformed MEDUSA, ugliest of the GORGONS, into a chart-busting sex kitten with the three GRAEAE sisters on backing vocals.

PSYCHE was about to wither away under the influence when EROS turned up and whisked her off to Olympus. With ZEUS’s blessing, they were at last married. APHRODITE didn’t mind too much as she now had a goodly supply of face cream to play with.

Special Kitty of the Day for March 3rd

Squirt, the Cat of the Day
Name: Squirt
 Age: Seven years old
Gender: Male
 Kind: Tabby
Home: Seabrook, Texas, USA
Hello, my name is Squirt, but my family sometimes calls me Squishy (they’re really silly, huh?) As you can see from my pictures I’m a really sweet boy…when I want to be. I love to be petted and sit in my human’s lap, but only on my terms. If they try to touch me any other time, I like to hiss at them to show my dissatisfaction at being touched without my permission. My family accepted a stray into the house last year!! (And they did not even consult me first!). I like her now, but she really got on my nerves at first. Kittens, HMPF!!! My Mom grows Cat Nip for us, and we just love rolling in it. We have a very Zen day when she gives us some.

Mom here. Our little Squirtzie boy is truly a sweetie, he’s just too “cat-ly” to admit it. He likes to spend a lot of time outside, but wants someone to be outside with him. He’s definitely a social kitty. He’s even starting to warm to our other female cat, a stray we named Zebra. I can tell they secretly love each other. We love Squirt to pieces, even when he’s hissing at us!

Dog-gone Doggie of the Day for March 3rd

Nelson, the Dog of the Day
Name: Nelson
 Age: Eight months old
Gender: Male Breed: Toy Poodle
Home: Rochester, New York, USA
After our eighteen year old poodle died I thought I could never love another dog. A few months later I was browsing on the internet and saw an ad for a Toy Poodle puppy. Even though I didn’t want another dog I kept looking at that ad. Finally I decided I had to meet this little puppy. Well I took one look at that adorable face and immediately fell in love. We’ve had Nelson for six months and he has brought so much joy into our lives. He loves to snuggle with me on the couch and there is never a shortage of kisses. When we come home he is always waiting at the door to greet us with a wagging tail and and a happy howl. Even though Nelson is only 5 1/2 pounds he’s a terrific watchdog and protects our yard from pesky squirrels. He has also become a wonderful big brother to our Dusky Conure Rocky. Nelson has proven that a house really is not a home without a Toy Poodle!

We have a web site at A Conure, A Poodle, and Two Parakeets! with more pictures!

Simple Thoughts on Churches and Personal Spirituality

Simple Thoughts on Churches and Personal Spirituality

Author: Disciple of Oghma

I left the Christian faith this last year. After 25 years, I had became everything one seeks to become in a Christian (I still had my issues, but who doesn’t?). But I met a balanced person who gave a thought provoking life testimony. I nearly flipped when I found out this person was a dark pagan. I started rethinking my whole world.

Now I am on a new personal path with a much greater respect for others.

Once I had left Christianity, I started seeing clearly a lot of the odd misconceptions that it promotes… such as the twisted definition of ‘love’ among other things.

If a Christian’s relationship with his or her God could be put in the context of human marriage terms, then the Christian should get a restraining order on God, change his or her name and leave. A funny thought unless you find truth in it.

Anyway… after a year of thought, I have realigned my perspective of the Path.

When I first left the Christian religion, I realized all the hate and rage and condemnation that I was throwing around in the name of ‘love’. In an attempt to decide if that was ‘just me’ or the teachings of the church, I have studied the faith from a different angle.

At first, I drew the conclusion it was a parasitic organism that has been using its popularity and influence to corrupt the nations.
But an idea struck me and I no longer think Christianity is to blame for the problems with people.

I think the Christian church is a symptom of the underlying weaknesses of people not the illness itself. It’s all about our desire to have a set of black-and-white fatalistic standards to use as a system of measurement to understand our world.

So we create a system of “Absolute Truths”.

Then we create a control-based system to ‘run it’ so that we can take advantage of our own desire not to take responsibility for ourselves and to enrich ourselves at the cost of others all… the while feeling pride at our ‘humble spirituality’.

So then what do we do?

We build a large comfortable plush little shrine to an image of human perfection and greatness. The average church, not including all the zoning permits, costs an average of $3-$5 million to build. (I Googled the “cost of church building” and plucked a few sums. It isn’t an absolute number but it gives a good idea to the cost.)

Then we throw our individual responsibilities at it, pray, and ask it to do everything for us. Our only real ‘job’, it would seem, is to use it as an excuse to hate, kill, steal, and harm any whom disagree with us and our god.

Jehovah is the icon of what the average selfish lazy person would be if he or she was a god:

“Let there be “less of you more of me in your life.”

“Give me the upper 10% of your prosperity.”

“I love you if you sing my praises and enslave yourself to me.”

“I’ll help if it suits me and if I don’t, it will work to your benefit”.

(These are beliefs that were generally promoted to me in my churches. I have been through four branches of Protestantism and studied several of the “spinoff faiths of Judaism.” So if you find this inaccurate, I only mean to explain the background from which I draw my current musings).

It is possible for any faith to become in every way as ‘dark’ as we have often accused the Judeo-Christian belief and all its related spin-offs (Mormon, Judaism, Catholic, Jehovah witness, Satanism, protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, etc.) as being.

It seems the only way to avoid this path is to cut the problem off at the roots.

Personal Growth and Responsibility

It seems when we face ourselves, we very often discover that all the roots of our problems stem from either bad reactions to outside stimuli or a passive/active bad decision on our part.

This includes a new growing trend I am seeing in “disorganized religion” as well: The pop up Wicca/Pagan Sunday schools and the adoption of opposing religious practices like Wiccan “CHRISTenings”.

There is a great freedom in disorganized paths but people who seeks any sort of power should exercise a measure of discretion and be assured that they are grounded. Power without responsibility is dangerous, no matter what badge one wears.

Also we must accept ourselves entirely. We must accept all of our darkness as well as all of our light. To do otherwise is to dwarf one’s growth as well as grant power to the darkness, thus leaving it unchecked.

All of the dark aspects of ourselves, in proper controlled amounts, are actually healthy things. Greed, sloth, envy, pride, etc. Without any of these things, we would never strive, never seek to achieve or grow. They are integral parts of ourselves.

It is as unbalanced to applaud tendencies of light while divorcing ones of darkness just as it is to believe only in a female or only in a male creator.

We don’t have to be destructive either. To find balance and growth, one should simply accept both the inner darkness and inner light to be whole. If you are not whole, how can you grow and stand?

When we recognize our weakness, we master it and find balance. Otherwise it doesn’t matter what the name of your faith is or what you call yourself. You will simply continue to commit acts of cruelty, ignorance, sloth, malice, strife, theft, condemnation, and pride.

If we all would seize the opportunity to take responsibility, accept ourselves, correct our own errors, love and respect everyone – including respecting their rights to their own paths and their own views — and stop trying to make a black-and-white standard in this colorful world, perhaps we can be a better people and encourage growth in a better world.

The Origin of Magick

The Origin of Magick

Author: Crick

Have you ever wondered about the origins of magick?
By magick I am not referring to the stage tricks employed by various entertainers for our amusement, but rather the energy which numerous cultures and belief systems have tapped into in order to manifest their various objectives.

This universal gift is known by many different names depending on which culture/belief system one looks at. It may be known simply as magick, prayers, miracles, life force, juju, karma and so forth.
For the purpose of this article it will be referred to as energy.

Have you ever wondered if such energy was a latent presence here on earth prior to the arrival of humankind? Residing here as an ancient primordial force, which was patiently waiting for sentient beings to discover its presence and purpose.

And if it was here prior to the arrival of human beings, did it serve an active purpose in the shaping of life and/or the creation of events that allowed for said life to begin? Was this primordial energy an essence that was introduced by Deity by way of a direct involvement with what we know as life? Or was it a side effect that formed as a result of actions taken by Deity during the course of said activities?

Or perhaps it is a development that manifested itself with the advent of humans? Could it be that the life force that we know as spirit introduced this energy into the life process in order to provide us with opportunities to expand our spiritual awareness and/or connection with alternate realms?

And if this is the case, why do you suppose that such a tool for growth and/or communication is so under utilized?

I say this because in society today, folks tend to become less connected with the world around them and more absorbed with the part of the self that is influenced by the individual ego.

And if this is a tool for growth and communication, why is it that those folks who actually use this energy for this purpose are spurned and looked upon with suspicion and in many cases with outright disdain by others in society? Witchcraft in essence, embodies the concepts and principals in the use of such energy.

And yet the word “witch” brings out and runs the gauntlet of emotions and perceptions of humanity as a whole. And depending on which side of the fence one stands, a witch is either an evil and vile creature or a person who is in touch with and resonates with the universal energies of which magick is a major part of.

Where does this fear of the unknown come from?

Was the ego installed into our souls as a balance to such a powerful tool? Has the balance shifted too far to one side of our souls?

As humans we readily employ magick in our various endeavors, but do we really understand its origins and what exactly is that we are using as a tool? Could the ego be a safety mechanism that has been allowed for whatever reasons, to exceed its purpose?

In some cultures, magick known as prayers is used as a means of communication with Deity. Does magick have but one specific intended use? And if so, are all other uses of such energy but an abuse of its original intended use?

Within these same cultures, when an event that is normally beyond the capacity of mere mortals, occurs, it is called a miracle.

Are these so called miracles really but a form of the same energy that others would call magick? Can we as humans in fact manifest these miracles by employing this energy? Or should such manifestations be the sole province of deity?

And while we are on the subject, does this energy have a shelf life?

Does it become stronger with use, opening even more avenues of discovery and power as one venture along the path, or does it weaken from non-use and/or the cultural disbelief in such a power?

Or is it simply a neutral tool offered by the powers to be, with many different attachments waiting to be realized by humanity.

Regardless of what name we call this energy or by what concept we use to identify with it, this gift has surpassed all boundaries of cultural, religious and societal beliefs. It is found in all aspects and fiber of this existence that we call life. It is a dominant force, often in a passive way, in basically everything that we do as humans. As such we may most likely only achieve but a peripheral understanding of such a complicated and diverse force.

Perhaps one day when we become as one with deity, a more comprehensive understanding of such a gift will be made known to us. But until such a revelation is proffered by the powers that be, we should always strive to understand as much as we are able to in order to effectively use such energy in a way that is both constructive and meaningful to our personal lives and not only our personal lives but to those around us as well.

As members of a diverse community, we have a responsibility to contribute to the health and well being of our community. Because of the diversity of society, there will always be divergent views as to what this energy is or in how it is to be used. But at the end of the day, how we use such energy is still an individual decision.

There are certain pagans, in particular Wiccans, who believe that whatever energy is sent out will return to the originator threefold.
As a traditional witch, I personally am not so sure that such a transfer is so cut and dry, but in general such a concept is a good yardstick or learning curve to adhere to.

I personally do not consider myself a master for I do not believe in such a being outside of deity. Rather I am a student of life with lots of questions. For without such questions there are no answers.
And quite frankly I don’t have answers to many of the questions that I have asked here. What few answers I may have are based upon my personal life experiences.

As pagans we are each individual and thus should answer such questions as they pertain to each person in regards to ones own beliefs and practices…