APHRODISIA: A Passion Drink
1 pinch Rosemary
2 pinches Thyme
2 tsp. Black Tea
1 pinch Coriander
3 fresh Mint leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
5 fresh Rosebud petals (or 1 tsp. dried)
5 fresh Lemon tree leaves (1 tsp. dried lemon peel)
3 pinches Nutmeg
3 pieces Orange peel
Place all ingredients into teapot. Boil three cups or so of water & add to the pot.
Sweeten with honey, if desired. Serve hot.
WINTER PUNCH (body balancer)
4 tart apples
2 lemons
5c. water
4t. honey
4t. apple brandy or cider
Quarter apples and lemons. Put in a glass pot add water and bring to a boil leave the heat immediately.
Simmer for about 10 min. Strain add honey and cider or brandy.
PEPPERMINT-ALFALFA TEA (purifier)
1c. peppermint or spearmint or beebalm leaves
1c. dried alfalfa leaves
Mix as a tea.
LEMON MINT BLEND (digestive and or cold aid)
1/2 c. dried peppermint leaves
1c. dried alfalfa leaves
3t. dried lemon balm leaves
3t. dried, grated organic lemon rind.
Mix as a tea.
CLOVER TEA BLEND (detoxifier)
2c. clover blossoms
2 thin sticks cinnamon, bruised
1tsp. grated dried orange rind
Steep for 5 minutes or until able to drink if you want it hot or chill. Which ever you prefer.
Four Thieves Vinegar
2 quarts of vinegar
2 tablespoons each:
Soak and shake all of the herbs for two weeks and strain.
Legend has it that during the bubonic plague four thieves were caught stealing from houses where everyone had died from the plague. When the judge asked them how they were able to do this without contracting the plague, they claimed they drank and washed with this vinegar every few hours. In return for the recipe, the thieves got their freedom.
Take some 4 Thieves Vinegar and put it in a small bottle. Write the name of the person you want out of your life on a piece of paper and put it in the bottle with the vinegar. Seal the bottle tight and then throw the bottle into “moving” water (river or??) where it will be carried away from you.
As you throw it in the water, visualize the person moving out of your life and far away from you.
Sacred Disposal — Diana Olsen
There’s always one detail left over after executing the perfect ritual:
what to do with the residue–the wax that melted on your altar cloth,
the ash left from the incense, the bits of salt either in a bowl or
sprinkled at the perimeter of the circle. All of these may remind you of
a ritual well done, but they do present a problem, both energetically
and physically, when you wish to move on to your next magical act. Few
books really say how to dispose of these items beyond a vague suggestion
to bury them. Since burial may not always prove Earth-friendly, please
consider the following options for disposing of used ritual items.
Convenient Methods
These methods require me to use more than one “sacred vessel” to sort out my
disposal needs. A flowerpot sits on my altar, serving as a ritual litter
basket. In case of overflow, I keep the empty glass holder for a
seven-day candle next to the altar after cleansing it with a salt-water
solution.
I sort the physical debris from ritual into three categories: the
recyclable, the nonrecyclable, and the biodegradable. For those
interested in conserving matter or cost, most items can be reused. I
advocate cleansing and reusing whatever possible as a courtesy to Mother
Earth. Some other occultists may argue that this practice leads to
frustrating energy buildups, but I have never had a problem in my
personal practices.
Among conservation methods, you can try melting down
wax from old candles and reusing the wax to make new candles or figures.
Also, I always save and cleanse my stones unless I am using them for an
offering, in which case I always bury them or offer them in a body of
running water.
I always take time to sort my ritual debris. I usually place recyclable
items, such as certain types of plastic used for wrapping, in the glass
candle container. After the jar is full, I sort out the items into
pieces to send to the recycling plant and pieces to cleanse and reuse.
Fortunately, few of the standard ritual items that I know of are
non-recyclable. Those rare items that are nonrecyclable, usually residue
from package wrappings and so on, I place in a box or garbage bag and
send with reservations to the landfill. A quick sprinkling of salt water
seems to clear any psychic residue I might send along, and I also mutter
a prayer that the items reach sunlight so they have a better chance of
biodegrading.
I think the only items that have ever significantly caused
me this problem was the plastic wrap from candles, but with recent
changes in recycling technology even those plastics now go to the
recycling bin.
Biodegradable items, as much as possible, go in the flower pot on my
altar. I take leftover wax, wet and dry herbs, and even incense dust and
put it in the compost heap in the back of the property where I live.
This way their remains can break down, and they can reincarnate as new
life.
Remaining salt, juice, and wine are tricky as each has a chemical
composition that can damage some plants. These byproducts I try to
consume myself, or else I offer them at some dirt crossroads.
In the process of determining how to handle my ritual byproducts I’ve
also learned how to manage typical household damage from ritual
products.
My favorite technique for removing candle wax from clothing,
cloth, and carpet is to place a paper towel over the stain and then set
an iron on low over the paper towel. After a few moments, the wax melts
into the paper towel and is nicely removed from the inappropriate area.
Red or white wine stains come out nicely with a mild solution of sea
salt, water, and lemon juice.
Burns do not come out well, ever.
Cleansing
After an intense ritual, I don’t always have the energy to give my altar
the immediate cleansing it deserves. In these cases, I have learned to
apply a “three day rule.” I clean my altar within three days of the
ritual, giving it a good cleansing with salt water, sage, and sometimes
a candle blessing as soon as I’ve completely wiped off all the dust.
There are exceptions to this rule:
If the energy from a ritual was particularly intense or volatile,
I try to have it cleaned by the next day at the latest. Ideally, after such an intense ritual, cleaning
should occur within two hours.
Cleaning up can usually take a small delay, but it is still important
magical maintenance, just as crucial as house cleansings. Energy builds
in all the magical workings you do. By cleaning out ritual byproducts
regularly and promptly, you can better control the type of energy that
surrounds you.
In extreme cases of neglected “housekeeping, ” the buildup
can lead spells astray and make room for some poltergeist activity. In
milder and much more common cases, the energetic “gunk” acts as a
demotivator, leading to a feeling of lethargy or disinterest for the
more psychically sensitive in a living area.
When this occasionally hits
me, I’ve always found a good, old-fashioned house cleansing sets me back
in the mood to do my work. By giving my altar a good scrub, I can
further motivate myself to return to my magical practices.
Don’t limit your cleaning to ritual tools and your altar. I admit that I
personally am a lousy housekeeper, but even then, once a month (New Moon
is a good time for this) I do my best to clean up flat surfaces, dust a
bit, and bring some order to my natural entropic state. Although the
process itself can be exhausting, it eventually rewards me with energy
and a positive outlook. The physical cleanliness will reflect itself in
the astral and make house cleanings and blessings a quicker and more
rewarding process as well.
If you need to clean your altar immediately, a simple solution of water
and sea salt that has been blessed will work. I’ve used this solution in
plastic spray bottles, sometimes enhanced with essential oils like
cedarwood for purification or sandalwood for psychic energy. If I have a
need to perform ritual two days in a row, a quick spritz across the
altar prepares the space for me so I can start on my work before giving
the space the intensive cleaning and attention it deserves.
For full ritual closure, you might want to offer a prayer to an
appropriate underworld, Earth, or reincarnation deity. Here is a simple
prayer that you might want to use:
“Blessed Gaea, all giving Mother
I return these children to you.
Hold them, love them, consume them.
Until again, they are ready for the world.
”
All things, even disposal, should be done with reverence. Humor is
appropriate, too, but keep in mind that these objects served your higher
purpose well and deserve to be honored for that service. All ritual acts
are sacred–even the ritual act of disposing.
Healing & Uplifting Body Soak
2 cups dead sea salt (can improvise with sea salt)
2 cups of fine sea salt (crushed not the large granules)
2 cups epsom salt
1/8 cup pulverized orange rinds
1/4 cup crumbled peppermint (the leaves not the candy)
2 tbsp of these: Myrrh, sweet orange, and sandlewood essential oils (easy to get and pretty cheap)
Begin on a Friday during the waning moon. Mix salts in large nonreactive bowl. Recite:
“Precious gift from the Mothers of river and sea,”
Grind orange rinds and say:
“Uplift my spirits with your blessed fruit.”
Add to salts and mix well. Stir in crushed peppermint saying:
“In honor of Mother Earth, please hear my plea.”
In seperate bowl blend essential oils, then pour over salt mixture. Put into a screw top container, mixing well. Shake all ingrediants for three days, mixing them well. Do you have a crystal ball or something like one? Try to find something to concentrate on, a mirror, or maybe a shiny object. Focus intently on conjuring up healing power as you mix the soak.
Use two cups per bath. Use cool water. If possible place a gardinia petal or plant on silver or white silk cloth by window or table. Take bath in the evening of the Friday of a waning moon. Burn soothing incense in a sea shell over a hot charcoal.
Now, open your spirit and release your grief, sorrow, despair, whatever you are feeling into the water and into the smoke. As you watch the tub drain when finished, visualize your anguish, pain, sorrow leaving along with the water.
‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Life offers us a great deal of stormy weather. In the beginning we are quite strong about it, taking things in stride and moving confidently along. The things that test us seem to give us extra strength we didn’t know belonged to us. And quite suddenly there is an awareness that enough is enough. But life doesn’t know it, and the storm goes on and so do we.
Even though we are quite willing to give as long as we have to give, there seems to be no more stretch to the strength, either spiritually, mentally, or physically. We question how much longer, how many more times we shall be able to reach into our bag of reserves to borrow another ounce of strength.
Of course, the first thing we must do is take our minds off the thing as we do not want it, and begin to think steadily about how we do want it. It allows our creative minds to find the answers. It may mean we will have to wait a while in the dark, but when the light comes, it is radiant.
There are many things that stay our feet along the way, but faith that this too will pass can make that way serene.
Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.
Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet:
http://www.hifler.comElder’s Meditation of the Day – March 26
“In our modern world today, we may seem like drowning men because of the loss of much of our spiritual tradition.”
–Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
Our spiritual tradition shows us the way to live in harmony, balance and respect. The tradition taught us how to behave and how to conduct ourselves. The spiritual way taught us to pray and to purify ourselves. Handed down from generation to generation were the teachings about a way of life. Our relationship to Mother Earth and to each other was very clear. The Modern World does not relate to spirituality but to materialism. If we do not allow spirituality to guide our lives, we will be lost, unhappy and without direction. We are spiritual beings trying to be human, not human beings trying to be spiritual. It is said, Know thyself.
Grandfather, lead me to spirituality.
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March 26 – Daily Feast
To be convinced that we are not alone in whatever place or situation we find ourselves is to have wisdom – exceptional wisdom. But when that wisdom is there and nothing can shake it, a need to share is strong. Everybody doesn’t have the gift because everyone doesn’t want it. Some can’t even believe that anyone else has it. So, we should never try to convince them. If we are convinced, then, that is sufficient evidence, and other things will add to it as we go along. The Great Spirit speaks to us in sweet languages, so unique we cannot miss the import of what is said. To receive such a gift can change a situation from deep fear to one of total contentment and love.
~ I heard the mockingbird singing in the moonlight. I knew that moment that I would get well. ~
LONE WOLF
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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On the other side of the challenge is value. Get through it, and get the value.
Though the effort makes you weary, it also makes you strong. Get through it, and enjoy the full benefit of that strength.
You’ve already made it this far, and you’ve already established some good momentum. To get through it, just keep going.
Keep going, though the urge to quit may be strong. Keep going, get through it and get the rewards you’ve earned.
Get through it, not by fighting but by accepting and persisting in each moment. Get through it, not with resentment for what you must do but with gratitude for what you can accomplish.
You have what it takes, because what it takes is simply making one step, and then the next, and then the next. Step forward, get through it, and bring your own unique value more fully to life.
— Ralph Marston
Softening and Expanding
Being Receptive to What You Want
In a world of harshness, it is time to soften and expand how we go about our life.
In order to get what we want in life, we have to be willing to receive it when it appears, and in order to do that we have to be open. Often we go through life with defenses we developed early on in order to protect ourselves. These defenses act as barriers, walls we needed at one time to feel safe, but that now serve to shut out desired influences, like intimacy or love. So an essential part of being receptive to what we want is to soften these barriers enough to let those things in when they show up. For example, we may spend a lot of time alone as a way to protect ourselves from being hurt by other people, but we can see how this is now preventing us from meeting new friends.
Another obstacle to our receptivity can be our tendency to believe that we have to act aggressively in order to achieve our desired goal. This can cause us to become mono-focused and to fail to see, and be open to, opportunities on the periphery of our vision. So becoming receptive involves a softening of our defenses and a willingness to remain open to possibilities outside our immediate realm of vision. If we are looking for love or friendship, it means first looking within ourselves to see where we are shut down, and second, not getting too fixated on where we might find the love we want. In this way, we become more open as individuals and more expansive in terms of what we see as possible.
Often, the things and people we want to draw into our lives elude us because we are unconsciously blocking them out, either with our defenses, or with tunnel vision that causes us to not see them when they appear. When this is the case, we can take action by exploring and softening our barriers, and expanding our vision to encompass new possibilities. These actions are the essence of receptivity.
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| Name: | Holly |
Age: | Thirteen years old |
| Gender: | Female |
Kind: | Tabby |
| Home: | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
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After losing my first cat to cancer at the young age of nine, I was devastated. That same year my brother gifted me with this kitten for Christmas, hence her name Holly.
She is so special because when I talk to her she talks back to me. We can have conversations that goes on for minutes sometimes. What makes her unique is she also has two mittens that she plays with during the day. However, every night when I go to bed she goes off to find her mittens and picks them up in her mouth like they were her babies and meows while carrying each of them separately to the bedroom before climbing into bed with me and going to sleep. I have also taught her to kiss me when I ask for one and I have a special whistle that will make her come immediately upon hearing it. She is very smart and very loving but hides when other people come over. To say she is my Angel on Earth is an understatement and I love her to death. She is my Cat of the Day every day! |
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| Name: | Bebe |
Age: | Three years old |
| Gender: | Female | Breed: | Border collie mix |
| Home: | Florida, USA | ||
| This is my dog Bebe, and she was originally my boyfriends grandmas dog. She is a Border collie mix. A funny part of this story is her name is Bebe. We found a lump on her ear, so we took her to the vet and he said it was a bb. Then he asked Is that why you named her that? How ironic. We had no idea that was there when we named her.She will be four in September and is a very sweet thing. When we come home she jumps on us and puts her paws around our necks and gives us a hug. One of her favorite thing is when the ice cream truck comes around she goes crazy and wants her frosty paws. We are lucky the ice cream truck carries it! Well … she deserves it anyhow. We love her very much.
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Lessons From The Gods
Author: Sinister Ang
The Gods have many things to teach us. This has become abundantly clear throughout my years of learning as I studied my Pagan path, forging my personal relationships with deity. Some of these lessons have been small, something learned through a dream or through some intuition that cannot be described in words. Other lessons have been far more concrete.
I follow a Norse path, which probably has no relevance to the way in which the divine chooses to make their wants and needs known. To each his own, and while I’m still unsure as to who orchestrated the most recent of the lessons I needed to learn, I have no question in my mind that it was indeed the divine attempting to show me something I need to know. While I think the gods usually take a more objective interest in the day-to-day affairs of humans, sometimes in order to instill a particular point or lesson in their followers, they need to be more hands-on. Christians may call these “miracles” or “seeing the light, ” but for most Pagans, these come as no surprise; the Gods truly do work in mysterious ways, until we figure out their reasons. Take, for instance, my most recent brush with divinity.
As I walked down the stairs outside my house one day, talking over my shoulder to my husband on my way to feed the dog, impatient about getting home late from work and wanting to get to the many chores that needed to be done before bed, I stepped onto one of the loose, springy boards that make up the deck outside my house. This was, in itself, not an unusual occurrence, but this particular step decided to dump my ungrateful posterior unceremoniously to the ground, and when this happened, I twisted my ankle around. By the time I had landed, on my back and staring up into the darkening sky, my ankle was throbbing in pain and my concerned spouse was standing over me, asking if I was all right. I tried to roll over, and more pain shot through the leg and foot, and the ankle had already swollen to twice its normal width.
My husband helped me up and back into the house, put ice on the ankle, and ran off to tell my sister and father, who live next door, that we would need them to watch the children while he ran me into the hospital to have the leg checked. My five-year-old stood watch over me as I waited for him to return, asking me why I was crying in that way that five-year-olds do, and reassured me that I was going to be okay. (Yes, my daughter was trying to make ME, the mother, feel better. I fully understand the humorous implications in this!)
To make a long story short, after a drive to the hospital emergency room and an hour’s worth of X-rays and bracing the leg, it was decided that I had sprained the ankle, and broken one of the bones in my little toe, for which I would eventually be outfitted with a CAM-walker boot. At least it wasn’t a broken ankle, as I had originally feared, but it did put a hindrance on my ability to perform many of my daily household tasks. I discovered the joys (or disgust, depending on point of view) of using crutches, and was nearly confined to bed for a week before returning to work part time and eventually full time.
What lesson was I meant to learn in this? The gods wished for me to learn patience, to step away from the hum-drum of my daily life and breathe, to stop and smell the roses, and to realize that the world will not stop turning if I am not there to see to its every need. It took me several days curled up in bed in the blissful embrace of painkillers to realize that there was any lesson whatsoever to be learned from the experience, and many more still to learn what it was. Even then, I couldn’t for the life of me determine just why there was a lesson to be learned in the first place. The answer, it seems, took a few more weeks to fully sink in.
I was back to work when a call from home reminded me that some things are more important than paychecks. My daughter, the five-year-old previously mentioned, had acted up in school and needed to be picked up so she wouldn’t cause any harm to herself or her classmates. A meeting with her principal and talking to a few specialists and other parents led me to the conclusion that my daughter was dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The more I read, the more I realized that if my husband and I were going to get through this with our daughter, we were going to need to be patient and firm with her, set guidelines and schedules to keep her from acting out and causing a disturbance with her classmates.
While we still await a full diagnosis of my daughter’s social and behavioral issues, we understand that patience will be key to dealing with it, and it becomes obvious to myself that the gods knew that I would require the lessons in patience so that I would be better prepared to deal with my overly-active daughter. Would I have been as prepared without the lesson? Perhaps, but I also have enough faith and trust in the gods to know that they are far more knowledgeable than I am about these things, and if they thought I needed the extra boost, they were fully justified in giving it to me.
Not all lessons from the gods come this way, but many do. We’ve all known someone who lost a loved one and learned that heartbreak doesn’t last forever, or someone who lost a job and had to learn the valuable lesson that money isn’t everything. Perhaps it wasn’t a friend, but you, as the reader, who has had some kind of lesson given to you in the past that taught you something very valuable about yourself and the world you live in. Many times we do not recognize these teachings for what they are at the time, but only after reflecting on the events in ones past do we truly recognize the god’s teachings. We can call them life experiences or trials or whatever else we wish, but truly they are important lessons from our gods that we need to learn in order to reach our full potential and be truly happy. Some are harder lessons to learn than others, and if we don’t learn the first time, deity may find it necessary to teach the lesson again, or for longer than originally intended. What matters is that we learn from it, and grow spiritually and emotionally from the experiences given to us.
Like many Pagans today, I was drawn here by another personal experience meant to teach me a lesson: the death of a close loved one. My mother’s death rocked me, made me question what I hoped to get out of religion, and I finally understood that it wasn’t what I was currently getting. I spent years shopping around, joining the campus Christian coalition in an effort to find the kind of religious experience that I hoped and longed for, a personal connection to deity that was lacking, a sign that there truly was some divine being out there who had a personal interest in the pain I was going through. Much to my own surprise, my solace came when I sat beneath the trees of the amphitheater at the college I was attending, when I listened to the rush of the river nearby and listened to the birds chirping in the trees. It took losing my mother to find Paganism, a personal connection to the very real driving present in all of nature. Without that not-so-subtle push, I would probably have never seen the forest for the trees, would have blindly flailed through life with a spirituality that didn’t make sense to me and offered nothing back. Again, another painful lesson, but one I needed to learn to get to the point I am today, of truly feeling harmony with the world around me and the creatures in it.
The lessons that I have learned, while exclusive to me, are echoed around the world with other Pagans, with people of every religion, every day. They come in all shapes and sizes, these lessons, and have since the dawn of time. For every action, a reaction. It’s not just a law of physics anymore.
I truly hope that I have learned patience from this most recent experience, of having to have others do things for me that I could no longer do myself, of having to slow down and think about each step, to think about what I was doing and where I was going. My sincerest wish is to implement their teachings in my daily life, and to not get worked up over things I cannot change, to go with the flow and take things in stride, as they come.
Because I really hope they don’t decide to break the other foot if I haven’t.
We Can Change The World
Author: Lady Wolfwind
I am growing older. That’s a fact. I’m still in the Mother stage of my life, but I am fast approaching Crone. I am okay with this. More than most people, I would guess. I’ve learned that part of my contribution to society, as a Crone, is to provide wisdom and guidance to those seekers who ask. I’ve fit into this role flawlessly. Most people don’t want to hear what you have to say and if they do, they don’t listen anyway. I’m sure this is just a natural part of life. I never listened to my elders either. I look back on it now and I remember their words. How I wish I’d heeded their advice. The road would have been so much easier and I would have traveled so much farther.
I think that we’ve all learned some hard lessons on our journey. I believe that it’s what life is all about. I believe that our lessons and experiences have shaped who we are and what we believe to be true today. I wonder what experiences have led all of you to the Goddess’s path? What made us choose to be so different than mainstream society and their beliefs?
I was talking to my husband this morning. He is not Pagan, but he respects me for who I am. I had had a conversation with our daughter the previous night and there were some things that were said that bothered me. It seems that in talking to my children, they expect me to “be” a certain way. They have expectations of who I should be and how I should be living my life and even what I should believe. They are grown and out of all the people in my life, they are the ones I feel pressure from to live the way society says I should. To put on a false face to please them and the world. They don’t live near me so there is no embarrassment that Mom is a Pagan. Most time I don’t think they know what it truly means and they don’t care to ask or to listen. They are caught up in living their lives and making a living.
As children, I put aside dealing with my own life and figuring out what I wanted for my future to raise them. I didn’t let my past life experiences determine how I would make decisions regarding them. I have come to realize, now that they are older, I’ve grown into the woman I was meant to become. All of my life experiences have made me who I am. They don’t seem to understand that I had past experiences before they were born. They don’t understand that I am living my life exactly the way I want to. They don’t’ seem to understand that it’s a person’s choice to not fit in. It’s the way it has to be. They talk about their past experiences and lessons and think that if it is so with them, it must be so with me. I can never be the person they think I should be.
My husband feels that this is a lesson for them to learn. That it takes years of wisdom before you understand what I’m trying to say. I’m so afraid that even he doesn’t understand what I’m trying to say. Maybe he feels that I should live like everyone else as well. He is younger than me. He set my fears at rest when he looked me in the eyes and told me, “ There are not many people who have the courage to live as you do.” I knew then that he understands me. He said it with such a deep feeling of respect and love that it brought tears to my eyes.
I am afraid that my children will wish they’d gotten to know me after I pass to the other side. Isn’t that the way it usually is? Don’t we all stand back and wish we’d said this or that? Don’t we wish we’d listened to one more story or just sat a few moments longer? Is there a time when we have that “ah ha” moment when it all becomes crystal clear and we finally put the final piece of the puzzle in place and understand the whole picture we’ve struggled with for so long? It is a sad realization that we never took the time to get to know the ones we love the most. Why do they feel the way they do? Why do they believe what they believe? Why is Mom so quiet? Why does Aunt Mary not cry? Do we know? Do we care? Wouldn’t it be nice to figure it all out while you’re sitting with them, looking into their eyes?
This is one of those lessons that I know will have to be learned the hard way. One day they will realize that I had a life before they were born. One day they will honor my strength for overcoming the obstacles that could have stood in the way of me being a good mother to them. One day, they will understand what it means to be Pagan and they will honor me for my courage to walk a different path. One day, they will realize how much I love them. One day, I will not be here. I want them to know me and understand me before that time comes. I don’t think it will work out that way. I think we all walk around with the wounds of “what if.” I don’t think it has to be that way. I think we need to take more time with the ones we love. We get so caught up in the daily grind. We get angry at each other for things that don’t even really matter. We need to learn to listen, not just hear. We need to listen to their body language, and we need to listen to the voice inflections. We need to listen to the subtle clues that vibrate through the air currents, which tell us about the other person. We need to take a moment each day and consciously decide to learn one thing about another person. Take the time to tell the ones you love how you feel about them.
I think if we would take a few moments each morning, instead of running out the door, to make a decision to slow down for a little while each day. If we would make the choice to not keep procrastinating about visiting our aging mother who tells the same stories over and over, to sit with our child and understand how their understanding the world around them, we would become better people for it. I believe it would change not only the ones we’ve taken the time with, but also ourselves. We have to stop letting life get in the way. I think we would understand how we all became to be the people we are and how the ones around us became the people they are. I think all of us would be able to let things go easier.
I believe, as a society, we have lost the course we were supposed to be on. Somewhere, we allowed money and instant gratification to become more important than even the ones that are supposed to mean the most to us. I think, as a Pagan community, we need to be different than that. I think we need to set the standards and set them high. I think we should start living as we talk, to be the example of change in our world. One person can make a difference. I feel that our time is coming. We need to be united and to send a message to the world. We need to slow down and let the message come through loud and strong. Pagans are about love and about doing what is right. We’re about caring about each other, even others of different races and beliefs. We have to start at home.
Tonight, call someone you haven’t talked to in awhile and tell them how much you’ve missed them. Reach out to someone who’s made you angry and tell them that you have forgiven them, set up a date with your spouse, dinner with your parents, a movie with your kids. Don’t worry about how much it will cost. It will cost you much more to not do these things. Don’t worry about what others will think. It is up to us to be the example. Today is the time to take the first steps toward a new world; one we all know is possible. I don’t believe we can put it off any longer.
Love to all my fellow witches,
Lady Wolfwind
Pagans: Loved, Yet Misunderstood
Author: Davina Sullivan
“We are loved, yet misunderstood.”
Within the last few months, I have recently explained to my friends and family that I am a Pagan, and more than proud to say so. I have been asked so many questions sense then, it’s unbelievable. However, I’m glad that they asked because I’ve realized that many people in general has such a high misunderstanding, that we Pagan’s are judged unfairly. I have the opportunity to be able to help others understand and not judge us based on the word of others.
I was raised in a Baptist family, therefore, a great many of my relatives were upset, confused, hurt, or a combination of all three. My mother particularly, believed that being a Pagan was the devil’s way of tricking us into worshipping him, specifically because of the pentagram. I calmly explained to her that yes, the five-point star originated from the Pagan religion. After, that same star also became the Star of Bethlehem, which represents Jesus’ birth and carnation in the Christian religion. The bible explains this in the book of Matthews in chapter two. Lastly, Satanists took the five-point star and turned it upside down to claim as their own.
The image of the devil was the most difficult questions to answer. Even though I had explained that the image of Satan also originated from a Greek God, the Horned God named Pan. He has horns as well as hooves and carries a flute. That is where Satan’s image originated. Many didn’t want to hear my explanations or did not believe it to be so. Of course, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I only talk of the questions that people ask.
Another explanation that was quite interesting to give was the use of magic. I was asked questions such as, “How do you do magic?” “Why do you think magic is real?” “Don’t you think that God is the only one that can bring magic?” There was one question that I found very surprising, which was, “Will you teach me to do magic?”
When I was asked how to do magic, I simply explained that magic is just channeling what is already there. You are working as one with the elements of the earth to bring the God’s and Goddesses into your heart and soul to walk together into the Divine. This also brought questions about. However, I truly believe that no one can answer what the Divine is but you, and only when you feel it.
Those that has asked me why I believe magic to be real, this was the easiest explanation of all. Every time I answer this question, I smile and reply, “Because I’ve felt it. I’ve been there. I’ve become one with magic and have become one with The Divine.” Some are confused at this point, but the answer to this specific question is something only you can answer for yourself.
Many were respectful, many horrified at my response to God being the only one that can bring magic into my life. I respect those that live by the bible and God’s word. Though, I truly feel the connection with the Pagan God’s and Goddesses. My personal Goddess, Isis, has brought a light and a great sense of fulfillment into my life. I call upon her often and the magic that I have done and experienced is unexplainable. For someone who does not believe magic to be true, it will sound like nonsense to them. Until they experience magic for themselves and can answer that same question for me, there is nothing that I could say to them about working with Earth Mother to do magic.
There was one person and one person only who asked me to teach her magic. She is a very good friend of mine. I explained a few basics of my religion, and explained to her that being a witch and learning of magic by doing your own personal studies and research is the first step. Being a witch is something to be taken very seriously and to understand every aspect of everything or any spell before attempting to actually performing one. I also explained that I have seen those dabble in black magic, and that is something that will bring you sorrow and pain in the long run. ‘An ye’ harm none, do as ye’ will.’ I most defiantly expressed how important it is to keep the Three Fold Law in mind.
The purpose for me writing this paper is to express to anyone that is willing to listen that you should always be proud of who and what you are. It has taken me 24 years to find my path because it is sometimes difficult to step away from what you are so accustomed to and be able to search for your true self.
Religion, regardless of what it may be is a big part of every one person’s life. To lie and hide from your self is the most painful lie that anyone could tell. To be a witch is hard, it is difficult, it can be stressful and it can seem almost impossible to be accepted by society at times. In today’s world, yes, we need to be in society in some way, shape or form. Just remember, we are no better, nor are we any worse than any other person that may walk this glorious earth. Paganism is rejected by many, but accepted and loved by so many more. We have support and family to help us through these times.
Today, we have the wonderful world of technology! Take advantage of it. Witchvox.com is only the start. Wiccantogether.com is a lot like a myspace.com page for Wiccans. There’s plenty of ways on the Internet, not to mention the people around you that you have no idea are even there to help you.
I cannot express enough how strongly I believe that there are many that are afraid to be their true selves because of societies opinions of our religion. Be strong, stand tall, and be proud of who you are. Please, help, love and support those who need us.
In conclusion, we are loved, yet misunderstood. This is not our fault; this is our pride. I’m more than willing to help those who are misunderstood to understand. No matter the outcome may be, I am who I am. I’m being true to myself, and that is what is most important in my opinion.
Dear Wicca, Thank You.
Author: Selena Rose
I began to research Wicca when I was eleven or twelve years old. I – obviously – was not extremely serious about it at that point, and the interest came and went for a year or two. I always loved the idea of the religion, but I didn’t seriously start studying until I was about thirteen. And I studied for almost a solid two years before I started to practice. I know that it was still very young and, looking back, maybe it was too young. But I don’t regret starting early because it just gave me more time to develop into the kind of spiritual person that I wanted to become.
When I was sixteen I developed Anorexia Nervosa. During the year and a half battle, I dropped over twenty pounds, yo-yoed between weights, dealt with depression, anxiety, and a number of other “issues”. Twenty pounds is not nearly as serious as it could have become, I know. I got lucky that it didn’t get worse. Physically, I was not that ill. The illness was completely and entirely mental. I was dealing with self-hatred, feeling worthless, like I was created wrong.
Over the December holidays, I was shopping for gifts with my family. We celebrate a very secular Christmas and I celebrate Yule in my own ways on my own. I was seventeen at this point, a senior in high school. I decided to buy myself a Yule gift while I was at Borders and headed back to the religion section of the store.
There were a few titles I was familiar with but never purchased, a few I owned. I ran my hands over the spines, trying to get some kind of idea of what to purchase. My body and mind stopped on a thin, black binding. I bought the book and took it home. Literally, that night, my life changed.
The book was The Circle Within by Dianne Sylvan. If you’ve ever read it, you should realize how beautiful it was to me. It opened my eyes to parts of Wicca and Witchcraft that I never knew existed and somehow, I wanted them in my life. I can’t point out a specific passage that changed everything. It was everything at once. I finished the book in less than twenty-four hours. And I started my own journey toward recovery of my eating disorder.
Yes, one book did all that. I brought that book to school. I underlined and starred passages that I needed to remember. I kept it in my mind all the time as I tried to work my way up to a semi-normal number of calories a day. And it worked. I ended up purchasing Sylvan’s other book, The Body Sacred. That was probably one of the greatest purchases of my life, as well. I kind of owe everything to her. After that, I began to read more about the spirituality of Wicca, and created my own bond with the God and Goddess that was one of the most beautiful feelings I have ever felt in my life. I felt genuine and I felt new.
For several months, I was deep into my spirituality and practice. For that summer I worked at a very Zen coffee house where incense was always burning and Bob Marley was constantly on the sound system. Everything was organic and healthy and I felt extremely at peace for a whole summer as I prepared to go away to college. I had a wonderful therapist helping me with my “launching phase” who helped me heal my relationship with my mother (that was always a troubling spot for me) . I was in the good place in my life. And I went away to college and my life did a tailspin again.
In college, I gained a good eight or ten pounds. I didn’t really mind too much at first. I was okay. I just started to go to the gym a little more often and I paid more attention to what I was eating. It’s difficult in the dining hall because you don’t exactly know what you’re getting on your plate. Around October, I noticed one of my roommates acting strange. I noticed classic symptoms of Anorexia in her. I saw myself. She was dropping weight like crazy, sleeping way too often, spending hours at the gym and becoming very secluded. It took me two times of addressing the situation to her to get her to fess up.
Meanwhile, I retreated back into my old bad habits, turning to Anorexia as a crutch when I was stressed out about school, friends, or relationships. In just about a month I dropped over ten pounds. I lost all the weight I gained when I arrived, and then some. I was becoming happier with my body, but worse about my soul. I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t stop it. I was afraid to lose it. I had just started talking to a guy that I seriously liked and he liked me and I wanted to be lovely.
During this year I also stopped practicing Wicca. I still considered it my religion, but I was not as active as I could have been. I would pray once in a while to try and figure out my life, but it was difficult to keep focused on it. A few days ago, things changed again.
I opened up to one of my friends about my eating disorder. She then told me that she had similar problems, only on the Bulimia side. She had been in and out of treatment and offered to help me any way she could. I told her that I didn’t want help right now. And I lost two more pounds the next day. Losing weight made me feel secure, but it also scared me. I felt a bit out of control when the number kept dropping lower, lower. I was starting to get very worried and unhappy. I would go on drinking binges because I knew that it would make me weight less in the morning. (FYI – NOT a reason to have a drink, especially if you’re underage. I do NOT condone drinking to excess.) I had become reckless. I was scared. I had a breakdown in the shower after going to the gym one day and asked myself – when will I be happy? When will I become complete again? I thought it was about the number, but there was another voice in my head telling me that there was something more out there for me. I had to learn that I was more than my eating disorder.
Somewhere along the way, I tried to eat a little more. Mostly it was to appease everyone else who was worried: my friends, my sister, and somewhere deep in me, myself. Then my second roommate found a great website with a ton of yoga and some meditation. I had completely stopped doing yoga and meditating and I needed that. So I decided to try again and be serious about it. I also pulled out my good ‘ol Dianne Sylvan book again. I wanted to get back to the girl I used to be. I was happiest when I was greeting Divinity each morning and saying goodnight before bed. I was happiest when I could sit outside for hours just staring at the trees and feeling the Earth breathe beneath me. I was happiest when I could fully be myself, in my own skin. Every time a Sabbat comes around, I remember how this religion is Me. Because I always miss celebrating one to the fullest extent that I can because of the completeness that celebration always brings to me.
The beauty of Wicca is seeing the beauty in everything and feeling the magic pulse within yourself and all around you. If I’m not living, I can’t feel that. If I’m not being alive to the greatest extent that I can, there is no point. We are all a part of the Divine. The Divine is not ugly, or fat, or useless. And through learning this, I have to learn to respect myself.
If you’re struggling in any of the same ways that I did – I am feeling your pain. It is a meal-to-meal struggle. And that’s sad because food is one of the most magical pieces of art in the entire world. But it is possible to survive, and spirituality can help. It is not the only tool; you have to want to get better. I was not sure that I wanted to get better, and then I realized that not only did I want to – I needed to. In order to feel the beauty of the world around us, we have to be alive. I’m used to being completely dead inside because of this disease and for the last few days I’ve felt alive. Not completely – but much more than I have in a while.
Recovery is one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. And now I’m doing it for the second time. It is damn scary and I’m afraid for every day. Yet I continue to try. Some days are worse than others, but I still keep on, and I hope to continue to keep on until I have a healthy relationship with food again.
Do something scary and live. Because I firmly believe that it is worth it. Especially as Pagans, we have the ability to see the world in a way that not everyone can. We have different ways of appreciating the unbelievable qualities all around us. So appreciate it, and live. It’s what I’m trying to do.
For the next two days, the universe conceives of its version of Easy Street to give earth dwellers a chance to lick their wounds after many days and weeks of perpetual cosmic bombardment. New ideas are proliferating throughout human consciousness as Mercury parallels Uranus (5:06AM PDT). Even though Mercury is in retrograde motion, its fundamental affiliation with higher-guardian planet Uranus can open the gateway to revelations coming from the Great Beyond. The Moon in Taurus – an exalted placement all on its own – unites with Venus (12:27PM PDT) to promote a creative, magnetic and joyful energy-field. Treat a loved one to lunch at a trendy restaurant and visit a popular art gallery. Don’t stub your toe on the communication and business fronts as Mercury makes a frictional, 45-degree tie to Jupiter (2:35PM PDT). Keep in mind that these two planets are the traditional ruling bodies of the four mutable signs (Gemini; Virgo; Sagittarius; Pisces), and therefore have much to do with verbal exchanges and travel plans. Thus, when Mercury is in conflict with Jupiter, you should anticipate a variety of delays, frustrations or blocks that might upset previously established plans. Fortunately, as you approach tonight’s Moon-Mercury supportive, 60-degree liaison (9:36PM PDT), there can be a softening of any blows that may have occurred when Mercury and Jupiter were unhappy campers 7 hours earlier. On the other hand, the Moon-Mercury aspect also starts a void lunar uncertainty zone that lasts until 3:44AM PDT tomorrow (when the Moon enters airy Gemini).
Witches Of The Craft® 
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