Category: Articles

Embraced by the Goddess

Embraced by the Goddess
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Author: Elwin Shadowstrider

Originally I was planning to place this in my Book of Mirrors, as you see; I changed my mind for many reasons. Some were to let others know of a beautiful life-changing event that forever changed me. I felt that to some it may help, for others maybe just to remind them of when they first set their own two feet on their Path.

Without a short background some of this will not make any sense at all, I will not go into gory detail. Some things are very tragic, some of those things I draw a great deal of strength from. However, my childhood was beyond horrible, abuse was prevalent, both physical and mental abuse. A great deal seems to come from Stephen King’s worst nightmares.

I have been asked many times by those who know me well how I did not become badly damaged goods…I attribute that to strength of will. I refuse to give up, especially when I know there are greater things out there than what I have to experience at that moment in time then. In time, I proved myself right, as you will see.

I was forced as a child to attend church; I really had no interest in going. They never could answer my questions to my satisfaction. The usual Cain slew Abel, then where did his wife come from if there were only four people on this planet at that time? Many explained that it was more than likely his sister, which I went up in flames then. Letting them know that only last week we were told that was forbidden to lie with your sister or brother. Or was it just holier then than it is now? You get the picture; I was seven when this took place.

My parents were begged not to bring me back to Sunday school. They said that I asked questions that no normal seven year old should ask, and that I should take more on “faith” and to be still and be quiet when the teacher was talking. I felt they were legitimate questions and still do, no pastor or otherwise could ever answer what I asked.

Many referred me to so and so apologetic pastor or seminary college since I was so questioning within the “faith”. Faith, no, I wanted clear concise answers as to WHY these things I was to take on “faith” had to not be asked. Too many holes within their stories and parables, I wanted straight facts that they were not equipped to give.

My teen years were pretty much the same; I was honestly kept as a house slave or servant, I was allowed no bed of my own, any furniture, and the least expensive clothes they could find and was told that it was “good” for my soul.

That got really old really quick, I grew up in Miami, Florida, and I had no air conditioning in my room either. The rest of the household had everything; this is just to give you an idea. By now, I had finally begged and cried to this “god” for deliverance, anything, just I wanted out of this household.

I begged for many years, all I got in return was silence…no answers.

I thought at first maybe I was “imperfect”, a “sinner” and god wanted nothing to do with me; just like everyone else in my life then. My despair began to grow to stellar heights, just what was I supposed to do? I left my Dad’s house when I was sixteen; I refused to put up with it any longer.

As the years passed as years will, I occasionally begged “god” for help, by now, I have been begging for years, still, no answer. I sought “help” from pastors; I got the usual praying over, and one even suggested performing an exorcism on me to cast out any “evil spirits” that might have taken up residence within.

Being that my family is from central Ireland we were brought up to trust and believe the clergy. Mostly Catholics, a few Protestants, was what ran in my family. I never could understand just how they could take so much on faith and let it go at that.

I was the one who always read everything, but my favorites still to this day is the “Sword and Sorcery” type epics that I learned so much from. I was the cast off, the one who believed that the Elves still existed and Dragons were around the next corner; during what free time I could steal away I walked the woods, searching for something, just what I never knew then.

What I didn’t know was that our beloved Green Man was whispering to me all that time. There were days I could almost hear what He was saying, almost; but not quite getting it.

Often, I just shrugged my shoulders and continued on, learning what so many just didn’t see. To learn of beauty, to know some small peace in my life. To see animals as more of my friends than Man, to know trees, to breathe in what I needed. In these times I didn’t feel lost at all, I felt at home then.

Here I will leave the past behind, these memories are very painful in ways, but I learned how to be what many never do, Human. To know the fullness of sorrow, anger, and hatred is something I do not recommend to anyone. Better to not know the fullness of what those emotions can do to a person, the hardness in can put in place of what should be someone’s heart.

This is when I looked back on my life, and wanted to know why, just why, “god” never answered me. Why my life was, so far, was so cold inside, why can’t I be happy like so many others here in this world?

Despair grew yet again, yet despair this time was very deep. It lasted for many months instead of just a few days.

I once again went to begging “god” for answers, help, anything; just one answer is all I required, just one. It never came, that answer. Finally, I broke down, after thirty-six years of fighting I broke down.

I gave up, entirely. I had nothing else to believe in.

Yes, I do have a wife and son; I do have family of my own. I love them both very dearly. I wanted faith. I wanted faith to believe in myself, to believe that when this path here on earth is over there is something other than nothing. As I said, I broke down, I wanted nothing anymore, and I gave up.

With that, I began the soul wrenching crying that signified total defeat; “god” wasn’t there. I was truly lost, and that’s what broke my heart more than anything. I was lost.

During this time of defeat, a PRESCENSE is the only way I could begin to describe it. Something unbelievably beyond me, something that radiated Love, I really gave in then. I felt as if I should know who this was, but for some reason I didn’t.

Then in a voice that was VERY female, soft, full of understanding and infinite Love spoke to me, ” Why do you weep? Why is your heart so heavy within your breast? Where is the laughter that I love to hear from you? Where are your smiles?”

I was dumbfounded, I could only answer, “I am lost, god doesn’t answer me, I am alone here, and I want faith in the universe around me.”

She laughed, not a mocking laughter, one full of understanding, and Love. “I have known your ancestors, the Celts, I know you. Why is it you don’t know me?”

I answered, ” My lady, I don’t know you I wish I did, I am tired of not knowing anything.”

She answered, ” So you shall, you are my child, none other’s, you are my son. Love shall be yours.”

At that moment, all the years of hatred, anger, sorrow, animosity, and narrow-minded beliefs fell away, replaced by Love. I fell to crying out of sheer joy and happiness.

At that, she laughed again, full of mirth, and joy that I did remember who She was at last. As I lay there my Goddess embraced me, not in the spiritual sense, it was very physical, yet I couldn’t see Her.

Her embrace was like nothing I have ever known in my life, for just one moment here on this plane of existence, I knew what it was like to Love all, to realize that Love was all my Goddess wanted from me; that and my laughter, my happiness.

Since that day, the Wiccan Rede is indelible upon me. I will harm NONE. I became a vegetarian; I refuse to harm anything, even so much as a bug outside.

My son (Goddess Bless him) came to me not two weeks ago and asked what was making me so happy, why I laughed at nearly everything now. I want to tell him, he’s only eleven, and I won’t alter his Path in life. When he gets a little older and he asks again, then I will tell him.

Just three days later, flying in the face of tradition, I gave myself to my Goddess. It’s been only five weeks from that wonderful day. I oath bound myself to Her, and laughed with Her when she accepted me as her child.

After the turn of events in the beginning of my life I had indeed proven myself right, that there are greater things out there. You just have to look in the right place sometimes.

There may be a few others out there who may have experienced something like this. I do not know, I do not claim to know. I know what gift was given to me, and that gift will be cherished until I see my Goddess yet again.

Please understand I have no hatred for the Christian religion. I have left hatred behind, and that is no longer who I am. I have many friends who are Christians; they know that I am a Witch, a Wiccan. They also know that I will never turn away from my Goddess; they know I will lovingly tell them that I have found my Path if they begin to preach at me.

I have also lost a great deal of friends who were too judgmental and walked away from me. Some of those were indeed painful, many were very good friends. Their children played with my son quite often, now I have yet to see them again.

I am at Peace with their choice; they too have a Path they must follow. As any Pagan, I just send them my Love from time to time. Many of my relatives also have nothing to do with me now, that too I have taken in Peace.

It is somewhat difficult to convey what exactly has happened to me. My life was filled with so much negative energies that I never believed that something such as this could really happen. Life has truly begun for me, to feel Love as never before, to Love all that I see. To feel the sense of the Spirit’s whisperings in all that is around me, to know and see indescribable beauty in all that my eyes behold.

The most fun part is to finally hear the Green Man’s laughter, to hear His dancing steps, to know His Love for all things that grow. I know who He is as well, no longer just whispers that I can’t quite catch, to hear His voice is truly wonderful. To also hear God’s voice in laughter with the Goddess’ laughter as I take my first tentative steps in Life, my heart is full.

There are days I wonder if I can really Love more than the day before, the answer is yes. Goddess, YES! Tears of true joy fall these days; the Goddess has embraced me. I have just scratched the surface of what I will know before I must return to Summerland.

I also no longer fear to die, I actually look forward to the day when I can return to all that knows me, to see those whom I know. To find so many there waiting for my return. I will also state I don’t think I will return to Mother Earth, I will stay in Summerland.

I know that I may return if I wish, however; I will stay. There is work to do there as well.

In closing, yes, I am indeed VERY new to Wicca; I have learned what Wiccan Pride is truly all about. I have learned what Love really is, what Peace, true Peace really is.

I have also learned what Magick is all about. Magick in one word, WOW! I had no real idea of what can be done; it’s real, and its mind blowing of what we can do with it.

I will leave you Sisters and Brothers here, know that one more Wiccan has joined your ranks. Thanks for taking the time to read of my experience with the Goddess. Know that She Loves us all; no matter what Path we take.
       

Banishing and Protection

Banishing and Protection
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Author: Chirotus Infinitum

The city of Lawrence, KS, is truly a magical place — the sidewalks generate force fields that repel pedestrians, and stop signs become invisible to anyone who sits on a bicycle seat. Lawrence is a typical progressive college town in a typical conservative mid-western state, and as with most locales which celebrate progressive thought and liberal ideology, it is full of people who see most rules and social restrictions as unnecessary limitations.

Unfortunately, while ignoring rules and social codes just may be a liberating experience, it can also get you hit by a car. Sometimes, rules are there for a reason, and it is in one’s interest to fully understand those reasons before opting to disregard those rules. This holds just as true whether you are a bicyclist or a magician.

Whether dealing with traffic, social interactions, or magical practices, most rules can be reduced to one simple principle: the establishment and maintenance of boundaries. In traffic, boundaries serve to keep one vehicle from occupying the same space as another vehicle, which makes good sense.

In social settings, boundaries help people interact more smoothly by allowing individuals to establish what amount of intimacy they are comfortable with from others. In a magical sense, boundaries usually serve to separate the magician from energies that he does not wish to have influence him or his work, whether these energies are simply background interference or malevolent in some way.

Unfortunately, the importance of establishing these boundaries, and the methods to do so – banishing rituals and protective magic – are often neglected by many practitioner of magic.

One example is the number of young eclectic magic users who regard banishing rituals as nothing more than traditional pomp and don’t bother with them. In many cases rituals such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram utilized by the Golden Dawn do contain a substantial among of traditional and dramatic content, but his is often intentional.

The pomp of ceremony is an important element to Golden Dawn magic (obviously, as they are referred to as ceremonial magicians), and the symbols in such rituals play to that. However, eager young magicians in a hurry to enchant their way to the top of the Universe may easily neglect to notice that while they do not adhere to the symbolic system of the Golden Dawn, the basic function of the LBRP — to center the magician in the mythic Universe and establish a suitable space for magic — is still a valuable procedure for their own work.

Even in belief systems that do not posit the existence of malignant entities that may interfere with enchantments, a “cleaning up” proves useful, if not vital, for successful magical working. You’re likely to experience a bit of bleed through in your world peace ritual if you don’t tidy up psychically after the big argument that took place at the ritual site.

The primary argument I have heard against this type of cleansing — that it isolates the magician from the energy he hopes to utilize — doesn’t seem to make much sense, as it’s difficult to utilize any natural energy when you are immersed in a chaotic tangle of conflicting energies. It’s more difficult to bake cookies if your countertop is full of dirty dishes, and your baking sheets are at the bottom of the pile.

Focusing on outside influences also ignores another vital role of banishing rituals — to center the magician in the mythic Universe. Most magic is performed with the assumption that the magician is at the center of the axis mundi and able to influence all reaches of it. Without establishing the nature of the axis mundi, it is very difficult to exert universal influence, especially if your “relative position” is low on the totem pole.

Banishing helps establish the mindset that the magician is in a position where he can contact and direct the powers he wishes to influence, which aids in the success of any magical work.

Another aspect of magical practice that is frequently downplayed is that of protective and defensive magic. If shielding and warding are taught, they are typically minimized, with emphasis given to basic visualizations featuring bubbles or ribbons of light.

Recently it was brought to my attention that an increasing number of groups and individuals reject even these basic precautions, adopting the attitude that negative energy — and sometimes even magic in general — cannot affect those who refuse to acknowledge it.

While philosophically these notions of ignoring the unpleasantness that shielding and warding are meant to protect us from can help to paint the world in a more positive light, it often ends up leaving novice magicians in trouble, as they find themselves ill-equipped to deal with energies and situations they encounter.

As mentioned above, one argument against magical protection is that what a magician does not empower by acknowledging cannot affect him. This mindset is the magical equivalent of the famous cartoon coyote that doesn’t fall into the canyon until he looks down.

It would appear to be the result of a psychological model of magic mixed with a liberal dose of fluffy denial, but needless to say, this theory has the same shortcomings that a purely psychological model of magic has on its own – people who don’t believe in magic, and don’t even know they are targets, are still affected by spells.

Just as refusing to believe electricity is dangerous won’t keep you safe if you take a bath with a toaster, pretending that negative energy won’t have an effect on you by virtue of positive thinking doesn’t seem reliable either.

One of the more interesting arguments against protective magic is that shields will actually attract the very negative energies you wish to keep away. According to this theory, a spell for protect you can’t work if there is nothing to protect you from, and hence can actually be the agent that attracts a malicious force.

This kind of backward thinking would lead one to believe that locking your car door makes thieves more likely to break in to your car, as they suspect that you have something more valuable to protect, and it simply doesn’t make sense.

The minor energies that such shields will filter out are likely to be present anyway, and anything more significant that is attracted to the energy of your shield will most certainly be attracted by the energy that a magical practitioner generates anyway.

In addition to this, many protective measures exist that do not attract such attention.

Magical protection is not just for deflecting random negative energies, either. There are entities, spirits, and demons that can and will cause harm, to magicians and mundanes alike. “Psychic vampires” and other people or entities may drain energy from an unshielded individual.

And while it is usually a very rare occurrence, curses are occasionally cast, and contrary to popular belief they are not limited to young, impotent novices who haven’t learned better yet, and can be cast by magicians who have the knowledge and ability to make them work.

While it isn’t often cost effective to project full-scale magical shields for a very rare occurrence, small protective measures are often very effective in hindering such infringements.

With banishing rituals, the key is to find one that is relatively simple and to practice it regularly, although learning some more advanced rituals for more selective use is always practical. Most banishing rituals also have the benefit of strengthening natural psychic shielding.

Magical shields can be learned to the point where they can be erected easily, usually through visualization, or can be established more permanently. Protective amulets can also be constructed with relative ease, and more complex and powerful protections and wards can be placed around homes or into charms and recharged on a regular basis, if that suits the practitioner’s needs better.

Any of these techniques, if regularly employed, can greatly increase both the magical efficacy and clarity of mind of the magician. The boundaries established by banishing and protective magic can be of great help to anyone dealing with the magical arts, no matter their goal, by providing clarity and focus, and keeping unwanted influences away.

Your Home as Your Temple

Your Home as Your Temple
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Author: Kestryl Angell

When you are seeking to make your life a magickal one in every sense of the word and every place you can, the first place to look at in your external environment to be influenced is your home. Therefore, let’s look at how the rooms of the home equate to the “rooms” of our internal landscape and parts of our own life’s expression to others and to our selves.

This practice will help us to recognize not only where we feel most comfortable, but also where we need the most work as well in tuning into our own personal expressions and needs.

Interestingly, you will find that sacred symbolism within your home/temple exists…wherever you put it!

Your yard is the first impression that people see of how you live. It doesn’t have to be “fancy” or professionally landscaped to make a good impression of someone who cares about the home they have worked so hard to gain.

A neatly manicured lawn and trimmed hedges simply shows you care enough to give the neighbors something pleasant to glance across as they drive through the neighborhood.

It is often, as well, a good first step toward making good neighbors you can rely on in emergencies, and can also therefore be a “good will ambassador” of sorts that lets people know you community minded. It is Earth to the Home.

Your foyer and living room, usually the first rooms to be entered in the home, are your own personal “first impression” to the world. This is where you can show yourself to either be a well-organized, homey sort of person or whatever sort of person you are. It is the “face” you show most of the world, usually, though on a more intimate front than say your office space would be.

If your home only has a living room then it is also often the place where you relax and enjoy your family and friends. If you have a home that also has a den, then the living room is often a more formal view on the world, where the den is kept for family and friends time. It is Air to the Home, and often an Earthy grounding influence as well. Coming home should always be a “breathe of fresh air.”

The kitchen is the hearth and heart of the home. It is where you feed yourself and those you love and where you place the basic foundation blocks of how you nourish yourself and those you love most.

A well-organized and tidy kitchen shows a caring heart and one that extends easily past its own needs. Someone whose kitchen is nearly always untidy and unkempt can usually be seen to have rather slovenly in other areas of life that pertain to the heart-such as selfishness, a disregard for solid boundaries or laziness.

Along this same line of thinking, those that keep a barren kitchen and only tend to bring in fast food or refuse to cook for themselves are those that expect their physical and emotional needs for nourishment of all kinds to come from other sources than their own work and instead, wait for it to be satisfied by those around them. It is the Fire of the Home, in the nurturing sense.

Your bathroom is where you clean up the messes in life. It is where we improve on what nature gave us by taking care of our hair, nails, body’s various needs and forms of cleansing and where we soak away the world’s worries and stress. As well, it can be a part of our healing process as well in times when things like flu keep us close to the “porcelain god.” It is the Watery Chalice and Cauldron of the Home.

Your bedroom is both a place of peaceful rest, of relationship’s harmony and intimacy to be shared and a place to heal body, mind and heart. The bedroom is the retreat of the home and should be treated with the most protective instinct, for it is where we reveal our most intimate selves. It is as sacred in its way as our temple space itself, if you are lucky enough to have a home that bears its own temple space and often, when in smaller living quarters, people choose to keep their altars active in their bedroom as a first instinct, for this is where they feel most comfortable being naked in every sense of the word.

Often, therefore, you will see the bedroom as a mix of the heart and spirit of the home. It is where our dreams begin and, for many, where the planning stages of the best things in life begin.

The closets in your home are those little nooks and crannies within yourself that you “stash” things. When company is coming, when family is too close to something intimate in your life, when you feel you don’t have appropriate time to “clean properly, ” the closets are where we toss all those things we plan to “get around to later.”

Therefore, if you’re one of those people that packrats everything into their closets and only cleans them out about once a year-if that-then likely you are one that has trouble letting go of things in life. It can also indicate someone that feels they have things to hide, or someone that feels they won’t be fully accepted if those closets fall onto the head of someone that happens across them.

Likewise, those with stuffed closets and disorganized hidey-holes tend to be ones that leave issues and tasks unfinished or only roughly so. They may start projects well but have trouble finishing them and can even perhaps be this way in relationship to others.

In any part of the home temple, the places where things tend to collect, remain disorganized and cluttered, these are often reflections to us of places on our internal landscape that need work. As well, if you are one that finds you feel disorganized all the time on an inside plane, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, you will often manifest moments where keeping your home in a state of clean tidiness will help you retain your sanity.

Taken to the extreme, however, a person that is a complete anal retentive when it comes to cleanliness around the home and can’t stand even the slightest signs that their home is occupied by actual human beings…these folk tend to have serious issues with self control and control their environments in order to feel more stable on a personal level.

The home should most definitely be cared for as well or better than you would treat any other sacred tool on your altar. It should be cleansed and blessed when you first rent or buy it and should be cleaned regularly, with the cycles of the moon and with intent on all levels pointed toward imbuing it as a safe haven in which to love, live, grow, heal and manifest your life.

That is not to say that it should be kept like a museum or architectural wonder, but simply that it should be cared for with the same Love and Pride you feel at being a child of the Gods.

Even within each room, I have learned that many witches keep small “altars” pointed toward specific purposes set in each room. What do you think “witchy knickknacks” are for?!

For instance, protection filters and grounding influences set in crystals and other items in the front room as you enter the house so that any negativity picked up from our travels throughout life outside our home does not influence the peaceful serenity within it.

Another example is to have healing magicks quietly setup within the little corners of the kitchen and bathrooms of the home to see to it that all things created, entering and leaving the body are as wholesome to our health and overall purpose as they can be.

My own children, once taught that the kitchen is one of the places where a Mother puts Love into her family, they would often ask in that child’s manner, “Mom, did you put the Love in?”

The answer, of course, was “Always, baby. Always! That goes in even before and with every ingredient in the pot!”

This is most definitely the case if, with every pot or pan that comes into your home, you take an extra few moments to cleanse it with intent, charge it even as you would wine and cakes in circle space, and see to it that all things entering the pot and the collective product of the ingredients is filled with loving, healthful intent and energy.

How much extra time does this take to a meal? The answer is…as much or as little as you choose to put into it, but these are the little everyday “religious experiences” that can truly attune and more strongly align a witch within his or her everyday home and family environment. But at the very least, you will find some very basic guidelines I use given below.

Feel free to use or adjust them as you may to your own space, likes and dislikes, needs and wants, because this is not a hard and fast “ritual.” This is a set of guidelines for living magickally and helping to assist your self into a more centered frame of baseline for living in a well and balanced way.

Setting the protective Circle outside the home is as simple as casting circle at the borders of your yard. You simply create the sacred space with a doorway and filters provided for well-meaning assistants and spiritual guides, as well as your human guests, family and friends. This is something that should be taken down, the yard cleansed and smudged and the Circle re-erected at least once a month, preferably during the three days influence on and on either side of the new/dark moon.

At this time, it is also good to make certain at the preparation celebrations for the dark months holidays-Fall Equinox, Samhein and Yuletide celebrations-that any charms made for the protection of the home are taken down, taken apart, their essential herbal pieces burned and/or buried near running water so that all the negatives they’ve absorbed can be taken back into the mother’s womb to be reborn as something positive in the future.

A great family activity is the making of these charms and the picking up, throughout the year, the little magickal pieces of wortcunning that go into these charms. Herbs, flowers, charms, beads, ribbons, colored threads, bits of bright cloth, shells, leaves, bits of ivy…anything that you feel works best for your needs. Kids can begin with the door to their bedrooms as their first work at learning to keep the good in and the bad out.

For children that have nightmares, this can be a very empowering exercise, if they are taught about the herbs and pieces of their charm as they build it and ask the Gods to use its power to protect him or her.

When washing your windows, see to it that a small amount of cider vinegar is in your solution to cleanse away the negative viewpoints, both from you and toward you and your home. Likewise with floors to see to it that anything trodden in upon the feet of those you love-especially unwitting younglings that often forget to wipe their feet at the door and rarely realize what they’ve been walking in until its too late-be it physically or spiritually.

Smudge the home whenever there has been stress in the house, for it only takes a moment to open a window or door for a brief few minutes, ask some air in to cleanse the thoughts and bring peaceful flow to the home again, and assisting whatever may be tempted to get “sticky” in the home toward a more positive end than remaining to stress your world.

I smudge my home at least once per week…more when the week has been rough and the world has been tough to handle. Many Native American women smudge their family’s feet nearly every time they come in from a day of work. Again, the practice can be taken to whatever degree you find most useful and comforting.

Every day, in a home blessed regularly and cleansed with intent regularly, you will find it far easier to wake up grateful for your life and happy with the space it takes place in. If there are things you don’t like or that you wish to change, then apply yourself and the magick and make it happen! But always be grateful for each stage on the path to that dream home or that dream life.

When you bring your pride in ownership into your life more fully, you show the Universe that you care deeply for the fruits of blessing it has already gifted your life with and if you do not take care of it…likewise you show the Universe that you don’t give a really good damn what the Gods present to you.

This kind of uncaring slovenliness can often bring a reaction from the Universe that you don’t want.

For after all, do you keep giving gifts to someone that consistently abuses, neglects, tosses aside and breaks the gifts you spend your hard earned energy to buy or make for them? Of course not, it’s wasteful and rather silly.

Likewise, the Gods do not take kindly to having the gifts They bestow looked upon as “spoils of war” to be used and abused “any damn way we want to!”

Like the hardship of quitting any bad habit, making our lazy human selves get up out of that chair and tidy our home after a long week is sometimes a difficult task. But even the task of cleaning and ordering the home becomes a dancing ritual if you make it so.

Have FUN with it; fill your home with laughter and joy as you clean-put on a comedy DVD! But however you need to do it, light the incense, perhaps a candle or two and get to work!

The rewards are definitely worth it!!!

Step-Parenting (It’s Not For Wimps!)

Step-Parenting (It’s Not For Wimps!)
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Author: Rune Fox

Everyone comes about becoming a parent for the first time in different ways. Most have children born to them, while others adopt. No matter what, any woman may have maternal instincts inside her that loves and protects. Perhaps it is the Goddess in all of us.

My children came to me in a most unexpected way. I fell in love. I met Jim at the end of last summer. Having a string of bad relationships, being sexually assaulted, and a bitter broken engagement in the past, I had stayed single for a few years. I gave up all hope of having a life of my own. I met Jim through a blind date. Not expecting much of anything, Jim and I instantly clicked. I know it sounds corny, but I think there was love at first sight. It just so happens that Jim is a divorced father with primary custody.

Now, I’m blessed to have two beautiful children in my life, along with my soulmate, Jim. They are my stepdaughter Ariel, who is 9 and a half, and my stepson Taylor, who is 13.

Having been previously single with no children of my own before, I’d say my new family has adjusted well. I love my stepchildren as if they were my own flesh and blood, and they return their love to me and have accepted me as a parent figure. A person could not ask for more wonderful stepchildren. They really are a dream come true!

The only problem is that Jim’s ex-wife hates me so much, she would speak ill about me around the children. I just don’t understand why she hates me, without even knowing me. She is a so-called “Born -again Christian”. Bear in mind, I have many Christian friends whom I love dearly, so I know full well that hate is NOT a Christian trait. (Or at least it shouldn’t be!)

The biological mother treats the children as if they were her possessions, not as human beings. She has anger management issues, and was court-ordered to seek help. She failed to do so, and does everything she can to make life a living nightmare for everyone involved. There are the unfortunate pawns in her childish games.

It would be nice if someday, Jim’s ex-wife will wake up and realize that she is not doing herself or her children any favors by being hateful. I am really not trying to say that I’m better than her, or that she has no place in their lives at all. That fact remains that she is their birth mother. Nothing will ever change that fact. Removing her from their lives completely would probably do more harm than good to the children, even if it would make life easier for Jim and I.

Jim and I try to be the voice of reason in the children’s lives. Hey, we may not be perfect, but at least we’re stable. Ariel seems to be most bothered by her mother’s hurtful behavior the most. I try to assure her that it doesn’t bother me. After all, I am a U.S. Army veteran, having served in Iraq. There isn’t much that will shake MY tree!

It does hurt me to see Ariel become someone else when she has tantrum-like trances out of frustration. After she comes out of them, she is very apologetic and embarrassed. All I can do is hold her while she cries while she cools down.

Both of the children are in counseling. However, while their mother is in the picture, they don’t seem to be making much progress. I have to remind myself that it is a long, painful process, and all I can do is be patient.

I’d be lying if tell you that I haven’t thought to myself “why am I here? Life was sooooo much simpler on my own! Why not just walk away from it all?

I just can’t walk away, because those kids need me, and I need them. They are what make life worth living! When Ariel looks up at me, smiles, and says “I want to be just like you when I grow up!” and then gives me a huge hug. We go for walks in the woods and build fairy houses.

Taylor is an extremely bright young man who tends to take in frustration rather than act it out. He his smarter than many adults I know. Even so, he is on the way to failing the seventh grade. It breaks my heart when he calls himself stupid.

Even though it is well known that teenagers can be difficult to relate to, Taylor will become bubbly and silly. He will often ask me to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons with him, or ask to go on a hike or go surfing with me. Of course, I think it is just wonderful, because it gets him away from the computer, video games, and television.

I’m sure you’ve heard that saying “It takes a real man to be a father!” The same holds true for motherhood.

I have not yet experienced the joy of being pregnant or the pain of giving birth. I watch women and have been there when some of my friends have enjoyed being pregnant. Even though it sounds terrible, I just couldn’t help but feel envious! Life is itself is such a gift. How wonderful it must be to give life?

Having traveled around the world and seeing the worst that human nature has to offer, I have seen my share of pain, in others and myself. I was once a victim of rape. Needless to say, I had trust issues with men for a long time, as well as people in general. This is probably why I stayed single for quite some time. Now, I’m not looking for pity. Somehow, through professional help and personal strength, I am now a more wary individual. I still believe everything happens for a reason.

Jim and I have decided to try for a child between the both of us. Ariel has already “put in her order for a baby sister.” Now, if that’s not cute, I don’t know what is! We may allow Taylor and Ariel help name the child, once we know when or if we become blessed with another. I will make it very clear form the start that I will always love both them just as much a new baby.

Being a stepmother has prepared me for the next step, if it comes. It has healed my spirit and gave me the strength to take whatever life has to dish out. I am prepared to give my life to my stepchildren, if anyone dares to try hurting them.

There is no love like the love for a child. It is love in its purist form, no matter where it comes from.

Raising Children As a Pagan Parent

Raising Children As a Pagan Parent
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Author: Josie

Because my beliefs are not the norm for my culture, I often wonder if I am raising my children well. I wandered into the path of Witchcraft when my oldest child was 2 years old. There was never the awkward moment of having to tell them that mommy was a witch and what that means. They grew up with the chants of the Pagan group Libana as their lullabies: “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water, return, return, return, return. . .” In my arms, they watched me cast spells before they could speak or walk. Crystals, herbs, candles constantly burning, my creations of essential oils, Books of Shadows and ceremonial robes, swords, wands, staves, and chalices were their mundane world.

My children will never be like ordinary children at any point in their lives, and, I suppose, in many ways this is good. They will never wonder about being good enough to get into heaven. They will never fear “God’s Wrath.” They will not tally up the “sins” they’ve committed and worry about being saved. They will never feel that sex is evil and have extreme guilt for “doing it.” There is so much they won’t beat themselves up about, but there are also ways in which they may lose out.

Have you ever noticed that if someone meets a devout Christian, who is raising his children to be devout Christians, he is applauded for rearing his children with a belief system and a faith in this “faithless society”? But if you say that you are Wiccan, Pagan, Druid or another non-mainstream religion (after you’ve explained to them what you’re talking about) , they ask if you are giving them exposure to Christianity and giving them the option to be Christian.

At first my reaction is, “Why would we have to do that? Do you expose your children to other religions and give them the option to follow other beliefs? Have you taken your son to a Buddhist temple or a Wiccan circle to give him that experience?”

But in a way they are right – not about the religious part, but about the exposure. Imagine your child going to college and having to examine William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence” or Shakespeare’s “Henry V” and not knowing anything about Christian doctrine. It would be the same as studying Chinese poetry without knowing anything about Taoism or Confucianism.

But how much exposure to Christianity do our children need? How much leeway do we give them for their own beliefs?

I was raised in a fairly non-religious house, which, in this culture, means that we did not go to church, but we were still Christian. In fact, years ago when I told my parents I was Pagan, for the first time in their lives, they wanted to “save me.” “I already saved myself, thank you.” My mother was so disturbed that any “New-Age” music, including Enya, instantly gave her a migraine simply because she associated it with Paganism. It took them years to understand my beliefs and still more before they accepted them. I am sure that during those years they asked themselves, “Where did we go wrong?”

As Pagan parents, should we feel obligated to raise our children to believe only what we believe? Or should we expose them to our culture’s mainstream beliefs so they are not so shocked when they enter school or meet other children? In these days when Child Protective Services can take your children from you before they prove you are endangering them, are we afraid to let our children be open about what we practice? Can you imagine the commotion your child would create if he goes to school with the symbol of the Horned-one on his t-shirt?

In truth, I do not have simple answers to these questions. Everyone’s circumstances are different. Some of us can be more open without fear; other cannot. I can tell you what I’ve done and what I’ve learned, and I hope that my lessons may guide you in your and your children’s journey.

I’ve learned never to cling to any dogma so tight that if it shatters, chunks of me go with it. I constantly write down my ideas, not so that they are written in stone, but so that I won’t forget them and I can see how they and I have changed and grown. What I believed fifteen years ago is vastly different from what I believe today. What I believed last year is different from what I believe today. I constantly experiment, ask questions, read new topics and theories in order to learn more and test my ideas and beliefs. I never say, “So I’ve reach enlightenment now and this is the truth.”

So then what do I teach my children as “the truth” if “my truth” constantly changes? What do I teach them if my only stable ideal is that of learning and a willingness to change my beliefs if new evidence arises and new epiphanies are had?

Well, that is a good place to start. Teach them to read everything that interests them. Teach them that although you do not know what the truth of life, the universe and everything actually is, that you search for it, that you have theories, and that you are open to new ideas, and they should be too. Tell them your theories on everything from creation to the Gods. When you struggle with the validity of your beliefs, let them know what these struggles are. After you’ve reached new conclusions tell them about it. Have you ever thought of asking your children, “What is God?” Maybe their answers will surprise you.

Next, teach them some of the fundamentals of our beliefs that are less likely to change.

Revere the Earth for She is our Mother as well as our Home. The more we do to protect Her, the better our future will be. The more we neglect or harm her, the worse our future will be. Some may call Her Gaia or Mother Earth, but She is a constant in nearly all Pagan belief systems. With this reverence, speak to them the mantra of recycle, reduce, reuse, so that we may harm Her less than past generations did.

Teach them to understand the Wheel of the Year as a beautiful, never ending dance that celebrates nature in all its phases. It does not matter whether we call it Beltane or someone else calls it May Day; it is the principles behind the holidays that are important: a celebration of life, a celebration of change, and a celebration of the natural world.

Show them how the Moon, La Luna, in Her many guises represents our own lives and the stages through which we go. We all share the experience of going through waxing, mature, waning and dark phases in our lives, and She is our nightly reminder of this fact. Her monthly journey mirrors our own.

Encourage them to do Magick on their own. The skills we initially strive to learn when we start out on the Path (meditation and visualization) , children have not yet forgotten – they just call it daydreaming and imagination. Children are naturally more creative and Magickal than adults. They may surprise you by their ability. Teach them to cast spells in a very natural way. There is no need for ritual even as an adult, so teach them simple chants and spells.

I have had wonderful success with all children over four years old, whom I have taught to do simple meditations and spells. Teaching them to utilize these skills before they lose them will mean that they won’t struggle with re-learning them as many of us did.

Let your children figure out whom the Gods are for themselves, for if the adults were not sure, why would we expect them to know. Even in our own Pagan culture we call Divinity by many different names and we see a myriad of Its faces. Imparting a simple openness to the idea that everyone sees the Divine in a different way will negate the fear of exploration of your children’s own spirituality.

I spent most of my childhood communing with nature. I was the youngest of six children, and my closest sibling was five years older than I was. I grew up in the country with no one my age living nearby. I spent many a day buried in a pit of dry oak leaves melding with the natural world. My playmates were chickens and dogs. Even at a young age, I had a unique concept of God. I am very glad my parents did not try to supplant that with their own vision (even if it was through laziness) . It allowed me to grow at a natural pace.

Give to them that love of all things natural. Show them the magic of sitting under a tree, watching the clouds, and growing things in the ground. Even if some of us are not outdoorsy types, who among us does not feel uplifted by the first crisp fall morning or the first sweet drops of snow in winter, the smell of the ocean breeze or the brilliant colors of the first spring flowers.

Tell them to respect other people. For everyone, no matter his or her age or intelligence or belief system has something to teach you. Everyone has a unique perspective – this is the gift of diversity.

Demonstrate the courage, that although we may not advertise our beliefs, it is okay to be different and it is fine to believe things that not many others believe. To find the courage to hold our own in the face negative reactions and the desire to fit in is difficult, but we can be that example to educate our children to find it within themselves.

As far as what they should or should not tell others, use your judgment. Your situation may be different than mine. I homeschool my children, so I do not have to worry about what they say in school, because for us school is the playroom. But even so, there are people with whom we are comfortable telling all and there are people with whom we are not. It would be a wonderful world if all diversity was accepted, but it is not so. I feel that as long as I give them love and teach them acceptance of their ideas, they will be fine.

We’re Not Like Other Families

We’re Not Like Other Families
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Author: RedBeanSidhe

Have you ever found yourself saying this to your kids? “We’re not like most other families. We’re different.” How do you feel when you say those words?

I know how I felt having to say that to my kids. My heart sank when I heard the words roll out of my mouth. I felt like I was setting my kids up for a harder life. I felt as if I was alone in a large uncaring society, and leading my kids to learn to feel the same way as I did when those words came out of my mouth.

I debated for a long time over it. Even made up ‘pro and con lists’ in my head just to try and figure out what, if anything, I was doing wrong.

I am a pagan mother of seven boys. Then to top that off I have an extended large family. I still have yet to find another large pagan family such as ours. AND… I home school. I am happy homeschooling, and I believe my kids are too, but sometimes looking at everything I am shocked at what a large load I have put on my kids. It is a lot to take in if you were not the one experiencing it. Could you imagine?

So after all the worrying and debating I asked my oldest, “How does it feel to be different?”

Then this 12-year-old son of mine answered me the way only a kid could.

“What do you mean different? I don’t feel any different. I feel like myself.”

I smiled and then felt put in my place. We’re not really different. When I asked him how he felt about our family, he said, “Well, our family is extraordinary.”

Overall, when you really get down to thinking about things, and how some things might appear to be different, just put things into perspective. Perhaps you aren’t all that different. Maybe it’s just the way you think about things. The ‘burden’ I thought I was giving my kids was actually just my desire for them to have an open mind and a different perspective on how our family exists.

See, I think my perspective comes from how I was raised. I was raised very Christian. I was in the church nursery as a baby. My mom was the Sunday school teacher when I got older. I knew the Bible, and it was a contest between the preacher’s son and me as to who knew all the answers in class.

We had weekly dinners with the preacher and his family. I went to youth service on Wednesdays, as I got older. I had a lot of questions though, and as my mom said, good Christians don’t have questions. they just have faith. So I knew I had problems because I couldn’t stop asking questions.

I wasn’t a good Christian. I couldn’t just believe. I had too many conflicts. I tried to talk to my mom, and I told her I didn’t like having a God I was afraid of. I explained that it’s not right when you fear God.

In response, I was told, you should fear God. It makes you a better Christian to know you will be punished if you don’t accept him and Jesus.

I just couldn’t win. I tried to talk to the preacher, who told me my mom could explain things to me. And when I talked to my mom, I got no answers.

I swore that growing up my children would not have to face the things I did. I found Paganism when I was younger.

I told my mom, “Those people who were hugging the tree looked so happy”.

My mom said, “They should be. They are all going to hell.”

I said, “Well, if all the people at our church are going to heaven, why are they all so sad?”

She replied. “Life is hard. There is nothing easy about it.”

I got books and read in private, figuring out my religion. When we had children we agreed that they would be able to pick their religion and they would be educated.

When my 12-year-old son had done some research and told me he chose Paganism, I must admit, my heart skipped a beat. But what he doesn’t know, he wasn’t raised to know, are the hardships involved. It’s both a blessing and a curse for him.

I have explained the secrets he will have to keep from his grandma. Some people won’t agree with his choice and he will have to either keep his faith secret or deal with this.

Overall though, still he doesn’t see us as different. It’s a wonderful thing that he doesn’t take to heart all the hardships. He doesn’t see us as different because he was not raised to see anyone differently. I figured by his age these things would have come into perspective for him, but they haven’t.

What a wonderful experience, not being different! Having a large family, and being Pagan is just natural for my child. Maybe for other children of mine too, someday. I believe some will be Christian, some will be pagan, and maybe some will venture beyond these boundaries and dive headfirst into their own religious freedom to choose something totally different.

I will take them to the local Hindu temple. They go to church on occasion. We have been to two local Universal Unitarian churches. In the words, being ‘different’ is good because everyone is ‘different’. If we were all the same, the world would just be boring.

It’s true. Everyone is different. It’s just something we deal with throughout life. Maybe it’s not such a horrible thing to be ‘different’ and some of our children don’t even think we’re ‘different’ at all. It really puts things into perspective to believe that any religion, sincerely held and practiced, is just fine.

If you are not taught to believe that ‘different’ religions are bad, then they aren’t.

Giving Thanks to the Goddess

Giving Thanks to the Goddess

 

When I ponder what you have done for me, in me, and what you are doing and will; I could thank you continuously and eternally but the words would fall so insignificantly off the edge of space – for they do not even begin to
describe the bliss you bring with even your slightest of blessings – truly the slightest thought of you.

“I Love You” is the reflex that pours forth from my lips whenever you draw my attention – truly when I give you my thanks, for my love for you envelops
my gratitude – but even in this the language is less than a shadow, as
insignificant as three grains of sand to the bottom of the ocean compared to
the depth, fullness, and power of my absolute devotion, dedication,
affection, and awe for you; and I am ever grateful that you, my magnificent
All, have shown me how to express it to you in ways that language cannot.

For I am consumed with you, M’Lady. My every thought of you brings me great joy, more than most can fathom; and your bliss grows sweeter every day. I am ecstatic as I sit in your presence, bask in your beauty, your glory and love – ever dazzled by the mere thought that one could find himself in the
presence of such a splendid Goddess as you, that you could even exist in
such splendor, and that you would be my Goddess and shower such favor upon me.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for it all. Every moment, every smile,
every blessing, every lesson, every meet, and your every touch is the very
essence of love to me. You are my heart and soul. May my life, now and
forevermore, be a delight to you.

Guide To The Goddesses

Guide To The Goddesses

A
APHRODITE: She is the Greek Goddess of sexual love. She was born from the bloody foam of the sea where Cronus threw the genitals of his father Uranus after castrating him.

ARACHNE: She is the Greek spider goddess. She was skilled in weaving and challenged Athene to compete with her. The contest was held and Arachne’s weave was flawless. Enraged, Athene turned her into a spider, doomed to eternally spin thread. She represents the spinning and weaving pattern of destiny.

ARADIA: She is the Italian goddess born from Diana and Lucifer. She came to earth to teach the witches her mother’s magick.

ARANI: Hindu Goddess of Fire, including female sexual fire. Her symbol is the firewheel. Her rituals include female masturbatory and/or lesbian practices.

ARIADNE: She is Cretan and Greek. Her festival is December 26th.

ARIANRHOD: She is a major Welsh Goddess. Is sometimes considered the goddess of the stars, to which souls withdraw between incarnations. She is the goddess of reincarnation. She is honored at the Full Moon.

ARTEMIS: She is the Greek Nature and Moon Goddess. Her name means “High Source of Water” which means she is the ruler of all waters, oceanic,psychic, and menstrual tides. She is invoked by women in childbirth. She is the protectress of youth, especially young women. She is also invoked by travelers to bring good weather.

ARIEL: European goddess fairy/queen linked to the magickal power of the moon.

ASTARTE: She is a fertility goddess. She is associated with the planet Venus.

ATHENA: She is the Greek Warrior Goddess. She is also the goddess of intelligence, war, and the art of peace. She is the protector of towns, heroes, and patroness of architects, sculptors, spinners and weavers.

ATHTOR: Egyptian Goddess. She is the personification of Mother Night, the element covering the infinite abyss.

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B
BAST: Egyptian cat Goddess. She represented the beneficent power of the Sun in contrast to Sekhamet who represented the destructive powers of the Sun. She is a kind goddess of joy, music, and dancing. She also protected men from contagious diseases and evil spirits.

BEAN-NIGHE: Scottish and Irish Goddess that haunts lonely streams washing the bloodstained garments of those about to die. A Bean-Nighe is said to be the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth, and fated to act this way until the day she was supposed to die.

BEFANA: The Italian witch-fairy who flies her broomstick on Twelfth Night to come down chimneys and bring presents to children.

BRIGHID: She is the Irish Goddess of fertility and inspiration.

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C
CALLISTO: The Greek Moon Goddess.

CERRIDWEN: She is the Welsh Goddess of the moon and grain, the giver of inspiration and knowledge. She is famous for her cauldron of wisdom.

CYBELE: Greek Goddess of caverns, the Earth in its primitive state, and worshipped on mountaintops. She ruled over wild beasts, and bees.

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D
DARK MAID, The: The Chinese Goddess who sends frost and snow.

DEMETER: The Greek Goddess of the fruitful Earth. She is the mother of Persephone.

DEVI: Hindu mother goddess. She embraces all things from a pure spirit. She is the goddess of Intelligence, the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water. She embodies the creative love and motherly love.

DIANA: Roman Goddess equivelent to Artemis. She is the Goddess of light, mountains, woods, and the Goddess of witches. She is invoked to protect the harvest against storms. She is also the Goddess of the Moon.

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E
EDAIN: Irish Goddess of reincarnation.

ERZULIE: Haitian voodoo goddess of love. She expresses the worshippers dreams of luxury and wealth.

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F
FAUNA: Roman Goddess of the Earth and fields.

FLORA: Roman Goddess of everything that flourishes, i.e. budding springtime, fruit trees, flowers, and the vine.

FREYA: Teutonic Goddess. She protected marriages and made them fruitful.

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G
GAIA: The Greek Earth Mother, the first to emerge from Chaos. She created the Universe, the first race of gods, and mankind. She presides over marriages, was invoked in oaths, and offered the first of fruit and grain.

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H
HATHOR: Egyptian goddess of the sky. She is the goddess of pleasure, joy, love, makeup, music, and dancing. She is the protectress of women.

HECATE: Greek Goddess of the Moon, Underworld, and magick. She is associated with the Crossroads, and is the Crone.

HEKET: Egyptian Goddess of childbirth and resurrection. She is the midwife of kings and queens, and also of the sun every morning.

HERA: Greek Goddess of marriage and maternity.

HESTIA: Greek Goddess of the domestic fire and of the home.

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I
INANNA: The Sumerian Queen of Heaven. She is the mother goddess, associated with Earth, love, grain, oracles, battles, weaving, and wine. She is also the goddess of sovereignty.

ISHTAR: She is the Assyro-Babylonian mother goddess. She is the goddess of Earth, fertility, love, battles, storms, marriage, the moon, and divination. She is honored on the Full Moon.

ISIS: Egyptian Goddess of reincarnation, rebirth, etc. She has a very rich history and the mythology stories about her are fascinating but lengthy.

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J
JANA: Roman Goddess, guardian of doors and of the turn of the year. January was named after her.

JUNO: Roman Goddess of the new moon and sky.

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K
KALI: Hindu Goddess, one of the DEVI. She is often called Kali Ma, which means “the black mother.” She is the goddess of demons, the creative force, she is a terrible but necessary destroyer.

KUNDALINI: Hindu Goddess, she is the universal life force.

KWAN-YIN: Chinese/Buddhist Goddess of healing and children. Her image is of sitting on a lotus flower and a child in her arms. She is a magician, a teacher of magick, sometimes a prostitute.

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L
LAKSHMI: Hindu Goddess of good fortune and beauty. She was an early mother and earth goddess.

LI: Chinese Goddess of solar feminine aspects, fire, the middle daughter, the lucid, the bride. She is associated with Mid-summer and noon.

LILITH: Hebrew goddess, Adam’s first wife. She would not subordinate herself to him and was thus turned into a demoness.

LILITU: Sumerian goddess that brought nightmares and other nocturnal menaces. She was also a storm goddess and the name is often associated with Lilith.

LUNA: Roman Moon Goddess, identified with Diana and the Greek Selene.

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M
MA’AT: Egyptian Goddess of justice, truth, law, and the divine order, the natural and inevitable order of the universe rather than artificially imposed rules. She played an important part in the judgement of the dead.

MAYA: Hindu Goddess of nature, she is the universal creatress. She is associated with magick, witches, and knowledge.

MESHKENT: Egyptian goddess of childbirth.

MINERVA: Roman Goddess of industry, commerce, and education. She was also a war goddess.

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N
NEMESIS: Greek Goddess of divine anger, against mortals who offended the moral law, broke taboos, or achieved too much happiness and wealth.

NEPHTHYS: Egyptian Goddess of the desert. She was a mourner with Isis and also guardian of the dead. She stood at the head of the coffin, Isis stood at the foot.

NIKE: Greek goddess of victory.

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O
None at this time.

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P
PANDORA: Greek Goddess. Each God and Goddess gave her a gift, Zeus put it in a box and gave it to her, instructing her not to open it. She did anyways and all the evils that plague mankind came out of it. All that was left at the bottom was Hope.

PARVATI: Hindu Goddess of love, metaphysics, and power.

PERSEPHONE: Greek Goddess, daughter of Demeter. She is an Underworld goddess, and a corn-seed goddess. Her attribute is the pomegranate.

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Q
None at this time.

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R
RHIANNON: Welsh Goddess of fertility, otherworld, horses, night, death, and the moon.

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S
SARASVATI: Hindu goddess of speech, music, wisdom, knowledge, and the arts. She was originally a river goddess.

SEKHMET: Egyptian goddess of war, the destructive power of the Sun, and also the defence of the divine order.

SELENE: Greek Moon goddess.

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T
TARA: Hindu star goddess, teacher of the gods, the founder of the lunar dynasties.

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U
UMA: Hindu Goddess of light and beauty, called the Golden Goddess.

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V
VENUS: Roman goddess of spring, protectress of vegetation and gardens, goddess of love.

VESTA: Roman goddess of fire both domestic and ritual. Her name means torch or candle.

VICTORIA: Roman goddess of military success, protectress of fields and woods.

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W
None at this time.

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X
XOCHHIQUETZAL: Aztec goddess of the moon and magick, the deity of flowers, spring, sex, love, and marriage.

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Y
None at this time.

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Z
None at this time.

Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions

The most common times to perform sacred devotions are:

Upon rising
Noon
Sunset
Before sleep
Before meals
Before a magickal working
Before a ritual
OR simply, when you feel the time is right

Although for many people it is not possible to spend hours a day on daily devotions, on the other hand they are not a quick kneel, blab a quick verse and then race off. Brief they may be but must include enough time for you to ground, centre, perform the devotion, ground and centre again.

These are some suggestions for grounding yourself:

A. Place palms of hands flat down on the floor or ground and visualize the energy flowing into the earth.
B. Imagine the energy draining from your body, through your feet and into the earth.
C. Send the excess energy into the Universe for peace, or healing, or to form a reservoir of positive energy for the Good of All.
D. Send the excess energy into your tools or into your altar.
E. Hold a piece of hematite in your hand.
F. Run cold water over your hands.
G. Eat or drink something.

Remember, a devotion should always raise your energy level and leave you feeling refreshed.

Calendar of the Moon for October 14th

Calendar of the Moon

 
14 Muin/Boedromion

Day of Hades

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth set several black candles; incense of vervain, agrimony, and rue; a chalice of red wine, a jewel, and a life-size skull.
Offerings: Drops of blood. Tend to the dead in some way.
Daily Meal: Red meat.

Invocation to Hades

Dark Lord of the Underworld,
We stand trembling at your approach.
King of the uncounted legions of the dead,
Ruler of the hidden wealth
That bejewels the caverns beneath
The Earth our Mother’s skin,
Darkened by the ashes
Of a thousand cremations,
Invisible One, passing through
The chaos of humanity unseen
In your helm of obscurity,
You see us from a more distant place,
A world of ephemeral life.
We come and go, but you, Lord,
Are eternal in your watching.
Help us to see the darkness
Of endings as part of the cycle,
And to mourn our losses
In a way that does them honor.
And should we journey to your dark realm,
In life or after it,
Do not keep us past our endurance
But give us gracious passage
Out into our new lives.

Chant: Pluto Dominum Pluto Dominum

(Pour out the wine as a libation. Let all come forth and sit around the altar and meditate on Death, and let the candles be put out one by one until the room is in darkness, and one candle only be carried to light the way to the door.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Simple Tips to Bring Prosperity To You

Simple Tips to Bring Prosperity To You

 

These are some good things to add to your spells, they are suggested to be used as add-ons for your work. You can do some of these with your spell if you would like.

Place four pennies, heads up, hidden near the busiest place in your home (front door, hallway, etc).

Anoint your windows with Money Mist Oil, or Basil Oil to bring luck.

Make sure your house is Feng Shui! – Place objects or furniture in the corners of your home to allow energy to flow. Make sure your toilet lids are covered! Energy escapes through the lids and so does prosperity.

Place Five Finger Grass, or cinquefoil in your wallet, purse, or anywhere you keep money to bring prosperity.

Carry a Malachite stone in your pocket to bring good luck.

At home keep your loose change in small bowls in your home, as offerings that are exchanged and shared with the fairies for prosperity. Place toy jewelry in there and glitter also.

Leave offerings of bananas outside for the Elements and Elementals – asking them to grant you prosperity.

Hang Irish moss above your door, to increase the flow of cash into

Life As The Witch – Protection While Working Magick, Using Crystals


Witchy Comments

Protection While Working Magick

Using Crystals

 

Using crystals for protective work is very similar to sympathetic magick. It works best as a technique for permanently protecting a space and for restoring balance to energies where there has been a disturbance.

The best crystals to use are unpolished, plain white quartz. You will need four crystals, one for each point of the compass. They should be cleaned first. You can do this by leaving them out in the Sun on a windowsill for a few days, putting them in a glass and leaving them in running water for ten minutes or by smudging.

When you have your cleansed crystals, you need to charge them up to be protective. Find a safe space to sit down where you won’t be disturbed. You might like to use some of the other techniques to ensure the space is clear—the aura exercise works particularly well in this case. Or you could charge your crystals away from the area you want to protect.

When you are settled and relaxed, hold the crystals cupped in your hands. As you breathe in, imagine you are breathing in golden energy. This energy, once you’ve breathed it in, flows out down your arms and into your hands. Here it surrounds the crystals in golden light. While you’re visualizing this, imagine feelings of safety and security. It’s important to keep your thoughts positive—focus on cleanliness and purity, not on the negativity that you want to keep out. After a couple of minutes, very gently lay the crystals aside, let your breathing return to normal, and repeat the aura exercise. Have something to eat and drink, and keep the crystals in a bag made of natural material until you need to use them.

When in use, they should be hidden, either just underground, under a lifted carpet, or behind a cupboard, as near the four cardinal compass points around the edge of the area as you can. As with all protections, work in a clockwise direction with knowledge and intent of what you are doing.

Reference:

Excerpt from:

Protection While Working Magick – Crystals
By Graham Miller
Llewellyn’s 2012 Witches Almanac for Everyday Living

~Magickal Graphics~

Calendar of the Moon for October 10

Calendar of the Moon

10 Muin/Boedromion

Day of the Three Brothers of the Forge

Colors: Black, Bronze, Brown
Elements: Earth and Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of brown set three cups of ale, an anvil, a hammer, and other tools of metalworking, three red candles, woodworking tools, and things of wood and wrought metal.
Offerings: Repair things around the House.
Daily Meal: Sandwiches

Invocation to the Three Brothers

(One stands forth with the first cup of ale and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Goibniu, Smith of the Tuatha!
The stars are the sparks from your anvil,
The weapons you forge are always deadly,
Your brew intoxicates the warrior
And makes him afraid of nothing!

(They pour out the ale as a libation. Another stands forth with the second cup and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Creidhne, goldsmith of the Tuatha!
Worker in bronze, worker in brass,
Worker in silver and gold,
Your skilled hands fill the hall with beauty
And create wonder in our eyes.

(They pour out the ale as a libation. Another stands forth with the third cup and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Luchtaine, carpenter of the Tuatha!
You who build the hall, the chair, the fine things
We live on, who sees the magic in the grain of wood,
Maker of wheels and wagons, carver of temple pillars,
Our hands cannot help but reach for your work.

(They pour out the ale as a libation. All go forth and strike one blow with the hammer on the anvil, asking for the blessing of the Brothers.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Living Life As The Witch – Fixing The Mother Of All Screw Ups

Witchy Comments=

Fixing The Mother Of All Screw Ups

 

No Matter how well we research our facts nor how careful we try to be, we’re eventually going to screw up. It’s just a part of the human condition. And there’s no place our screw-ups shine more brightly than in the hexes and curses arena.

That’s because standing up for ourselves doesn’t always come easily. Most of us really do take an awful lot of crap before finally deciding to do something about it. And even then, we don’t get in a hurry. We go about our business, gathering the facts and exploring our options. We peruse the details with the same sort of attention we might exhaust on a multi-million dollar business venture. And then, when we’re sure that everything’s in order, we start the magickal process, feeling absolutely safe in the fact that we’re completely justified in our actions and that our target (damn his rotten bananas!) deserves every shred we’re doling out, and then some. If we weren’t and he didn’t, things would never have gotten to this point. So, we do our thing and go on along our merry ways, never giving it a second thought.

But then one day, it happens. An ugly head breaks through the muck, stares us right in the face, and blinks. And we—those same folks who felt completely justified in damning that target’s rotten bananas—can barely catch our collective breath as we gasp in horror. For there, right in the eyes of the beast, we see our mistake:  The target was undeniably innocent. He was never even involved in the fiasco that damned near ruined our lives. Instead, he was just another innocent bystander; just some good old Joe who was in the wrong place at the right time. A good, old Joe who we forced to pay for someone else’s infractions with a close encounter of the very worst kind. And there we sit, shivering and shaking and wracking our brains, in a desperate search of some way to fix things, wondering how in the hell we could’ve been so wrong.

To start with, today’s world is an interesting place. With its high-flung technology and far-flung virtual realities, some might even say that it’s nothing short of amazing. But living in such a world also has complications, the most problematical being that because things are seldom as they appear, it become increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. Now take that problem and factor in a fact-finding mission, a little logic, and a few rounds of he-said-she-said and add them all together. I can nearly guarantee that the sum of those components isn’t going to be at all within the scope of reason. Reasonable or not though, it appears to be truth. And because it appears as such, we on it as such–only to discover later that  it was the most wretched mistake we ever made.

While that takes care of how easy it is to screw up—and hopefully, has illustrated just how important it is to factor in gut instinct as well as the facts—we still have a problem on our hands: How in the hell do we fix the mess we made? More to the point, though, it is even possible?

Fortunately, it is. Please understand though, that it won’t be easy, regardless of how simple the instructions appear. There’s absolutely no way to convey the degree of difficulty involved in rectifying something line this. So, just be prepared to work long and hard, and as some effects can never be truly erased, be willing to repeat some steps you’ve already taken over and over to ease the problem is the need arises.

References:

“Utterly Wicked
Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions”
Dorothy Morrison

~Magickal Graphics~

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for October 8

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Isn’t it true that when someone says something is wrong, our first thought is, “What have I done wrong now?” That constant fear of having a finger of accusation pointed in our direction – that guilt complex that can plague us into admitting guilt when it isn’t ours.

Shakespeare wrote, “The mind of guilt is full of scorpions.” And surely it is. For we often take more on with a feeling of guilt than is required of us. It is more often a feeling of fear, fear of being ridiculed, blamed, or even threatened.

A guilt complex can be erased. Not in a day, and maybe not completely, unless we are dedicated to keeping it out of our minds. We are so prone to throw fuel on the fire that we must always be completely aware of the thoughts we entertain.

But certainly, with turning to our innate faith and wisdom we can find enough courage to recognize the ghosts of guilt and see them for what they are.

Perhaps in the final analysis we find we were not guilty at all. We feel relieved, but if we were guilty, the relief of admitting mistakes is just as great.

*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*

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.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – October 8

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – October 8

“I think there was a big mistake made (when) people separated religion and the government. That was one of the big mistakes that was made, because when they did that, then they removed the Creator from their life – or at least from half to three-quarters of their life.”

–Tom Porter, MOHAWK

The Elders tell us that every thing the Creator made is interconnected. Nothing can be separated. The Elders say we should pray before we do anything. We should ask the Creator, what do You want us to do? We are put on the Earth to do the will of God. If we run our governments, communities, families or ourselves without the spiritual we are doomed to failure.

My Creator, guide my life to include the spiritual in everything I do.

October 8 – Daily Feast

October 8 – Daily Feast

St. James says to keep quiet, control your tongue – though no one ever has. Your boat may be huge, but your little tongue is a rudder that can turn a very big ship in the wrong direction. The tongue is like kindling wood that can set a whole woods on fire. Keep your tongue quiet, very quiet. And then St. Mark says to speak – speak to the mountain and tell it to be gone. Not only be gone but sink into the sea. A mountain of trouble needs us to use our tongues. Speak what you want and need, not what you do not want. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence. These are the times that make us who we are, what we are, and what we will have. Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

~ You say you are right and we are wrong. How do you know this to be true? ~

RED JACKET – SENECA, 1800s

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

Daily Motivator for Oct. 8 – Rewarding action

Rewarding action

When you don’t feel like making the effort, that’s when making the effort  will make the biggest difference for you. Instead of giving in to negative  momentum, interrupt it.

The best way to feel like doing it, is to do it. Step beyond your negative  feelings and reward yourself with some positive action.

Feeling sorry for yourself will just give you more reasons to feel sorry for  yourself. Ignore the temptation for self pity and embrace the opportunities for  immediate self improvement.

Your attitude is not somebody else’s fault. Your attitude is yours to choose,  so choose an attitude that will empower and propel you.

The way to feel better is to do better. The way to do better is with  positive, effective action.

Pay attention to your feelings, but don’t use them as excuses. Be effective,  get it done, and see how great you feel.

— Ralph Marston

The Daily Motivator

Daily OM for October 8 – Centered Silliness

Centered Silliness

Laughing Meditation

by Madisyn Taylor

When we laugh, we give ourselves over to the immediacy of the present moment and transcend stress.

Many people might be surprised to think of laughter as a form of meditation. Yet not only is laughing meditation one of the simplest forms of meditation, but also it is a very powerful one. The physical act of laughing is one of the few actions involving the body, emotions, and the soul. When we laugh, we give ourselves over to the immediacy of the present moment. We also are able to momentarily transcend minor physical and mental stresses. Practiced in the morning, laughing meditation can lend a joyful quality to the entire day. Practiced in the evening, laughing meditation is a potent relaxant that has been known to inspire pleasant dreams. Laughter also can help open our eyes to previously unnoticed absurdities that can make life seem less serious.

There are three stages to mindful laughter. Each stage can last anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. The first stage involves stretching your body like a cat and breathing deeply. Your stretch should start at the hands and feet before you move through the rest of your body. Stretch out the muscles in your face by yawning and making silly faces. The second stage of the meditation is pure laughter. Imagine a humorous situation, remember funny jokes, or think about how odd it is to be laughing by yourself. When the giggles start to rise, let them. Let the laughter ripple through your belly and down into the soles of your feet. Let the laughter lead to physical movement. Roll on the floor, if you have to, and keep on laughing until you stop. The final stage of the meditation is one of silence. Sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breath.

Laughter brings with it a host of positive effects that operate on both the physical and mental levels. It is also fun, expressive, and a way to release tension. Learn to laugh in the present moment, and you’ll find that joy is always there.