Dark Night of the Soul

Dark Night of the Soul

Author: caity

Often, sinking as low as I can sink comforts me. Hitting the bottom. If I can feel the floor, then at least I know that’s as low as I’ll ever go, and I do not have to fear falling down or sinking any deeper than this. It’s a sobering, numbing, and leveling feeling. I have found myself curled up in fetal position upon the black depths of the ocean floor more than a few times. I am safe there, because I know that I can go no lower. I can sleep there, because I am not filled with hopes or expectations to distract me or fill my mind with the fear of not attaining them. My nerves can rest, because once living in the state of my fear and dread confirmed, I have nothing to fear any longer.

Some have said that I needed medication or therapy for depression at these times. I used to try both until I realized that, despite what society believes, my soul needed these experiences. Now, I gladly choose depression, if that is the direction my heart is taking at a given time. When it wants to come back to me, I open the door, and say, “Welcome back, old friend. Come in, and sit with me. Teach me something new.” For one who walks in the dark gains excellent night vision, and can navigate through darkness much more easily than one who only goes out in daylight. So I’ll let the sad or dark times tether me down to the floor for at least a little while. If I can make it to the floor without drowning, then I shall never drown.

The dark night of the soul must come upon all of us, especially those of us who are deeply aware of our own spiritual quests. For how can we live in true, natural balance if we have not had our own personal struggles, sufferings, and sorrows? If we are never faced with total aloneness or even neglect, how and when will we ever learn to introspect and look solely to our own selves (or Higher Self) for comfort, love, wisdom, and guidance?

I am grateful for the era of the dark night in my life, for it was in this time that I discovered Wicca. Without the dark night of the soul, I would have never wanted to look deeper. Without the dark night, I may never have felt the need to seek for answers. Without my aloneness, I would have had others to look to, and would have never had to face myself, to look to my own heart, and learn to introspect and find my true spirit. My true face would not have shown its light to guide me through. And I’d still be living on the surface, trying desperately to block out fear of the unknown depths of the ocean, never finding my true face at the floor of my spirit, nor discovering my own capabilities and potential.

The dark night of the soul taught me how to hold and soothe my own self. And perhaps most significantly, the dark experiences of my past made me who I am today. Truly, I would not be half the person I have become if it was not for my wounds and sorrows. This realization has taught me to believe that every experience, even what we perceive as the darkest or most negative, is actually yet another learning experience, an experiment of our existence, and something through which we can gain knowledge and wisdom. There is truly no such thing as objective negativity; all is subjective.

In the Christian theology, and indeed within our mainstream society, we must never transgress over into darkness, for darkness is always “evil.” But to me, and to most practitioners of Earth-based spirituality, darkness is just as necessary as light, and is a healthy, natural, and educational component of the human experience. As well, balance and moderation are the keys to enlightenment. The dark is there to balance the light, not necessarily to be at war with it, thus the dark itself can still bring about enlightenment. And besides, in every great tale of mythology or lore, the great hero’s journey always includes descending into the underworld. It is my belief that we all must descend into our own underworld in order to get the most out of our journey here. I truly believe that darkness and pain is not an evil monster or devil to be feared, but instead a force that has an alternate method of helping us, of blessing us, and of teaching us some of life’s most important lessons.

And strangely, I have even found now, after my journey through deeper waters, that even though I have come out and into bright light again, and all is fairly well in my life, I somehow still seek aloneness. I somehow still wish to retreat to myself, to remember my sorrows, and to find my bed in darkness. I want to curl up in the fetal position on the lowest, most numbing floor of my pain, deep down where I am entirely by myself, just to feel and remember the sensations of sadness. Sadness is a universally shared aspect of existence and humanity, thus I will embrace it as a testament to my aliveness. And when I see it this way, it actually feels good to me when I hit rock bottom. It’s comforting to level myself with the lowest of sorrows and wallow in them for a while. It is part of the natural range of human emotions, part of the human experience. It even gives me a strangely sickening feeling, which somehow paradoxically alleviates my fears by confirming them.

I once read that to be a Witch is to be alone. Indeed, my loneliest times were when I was most attracted to the idea of being a Witch, and the most involved in seeking my own spirituality through Wicca. I find Wicca and Paganism so refreshing for their non-resistance to the range in human emotions, including the ones that may not feel as “good, ” with the understanding that aliveness and life itself is to be embraced and felt with the senses, and for their stressing of natural objective balance over subjective human judgment. A Witch understands that experiences are not objectively “good” or “bad, ” but depend upon one’s perspective. Both sides of all dualities (light and dark, yin and yang, male and female) are equal and necessary, not to be fought against one another nor made into a “versus.” I could not agree with this philosophy more.

In conclusion, I believe that dualities can, do, and must coexist… and that we can learn to not only deal with, but also be comfortable with and even benefit from both sides of every coin, both ends of any spectrum. So while although the light is usually seen as what’s “good, ” this does not make darkness “bad” by default; darkness is simply a necessary part of one’s spiritual journey, a balancer to the light. Like everything, it can be used for positive growth and for drawing inner-strength and spiritual enlightenment in an entirely new, different, and challenging way.

This is what the dark night of the soul has taught me… because I did not fight it, I let it in, and I let it teach me. What has the dark night of your soul taught you?

Knowing Right and Wrong

Knowing Right and Wrong

Author: Stewart Bitkoff

On one level people want simple answers and to be told what to do. On another they want freedom to choose and make their own decisions. People are multi-level and have the capacity to make their own choices as well as accept direction from others. Discordance sets in when the guidance from others or authority does not fit what the individual wants or feels is right for them. In this case, the individual is in conflict and looks for something else.

Most people are taught a philosophy of ‘right and wrong.’ At an early age aspects of this protective mechanism are projected into daily life and are part of social and religious training. For example, if you do not get-up on time and arrive timely at school this is bad. As an adult, being late will eventually result in loss of job. Or as a youth, if you take street drugs, this will lead to personal problems and addiction.

It is difficult to disagree with these two maxims about daily life. Get places on time and do not take potentially damaging street drugs. However, to complicate matters other factors may be at play. Perhaps the individual is getting to work late because of an inner, hidden unease with this type of work. In time, after warnings by the supervisor, the worker realizes this and moves on. Or the youth experimenting with recreational drugs uses this learning in a future career in brain chemistry. Or in a more damaging scenario, after years of addiction the person sobers up and becomes a drug counselor who, because of personal experience, helps dozens of others.

From a higher perspective, looking at events: travelers are taught to take a more longitudinal and holistic view of the effect of specific actions. In real life, often it is not a simple matter of an action being ‘right or wrong.’ Actions are complex and involve others, having both a collective and individual effect. Before making many decisions it is wise to consider their long term and multi-level effect.

As an example, how about the common situation where your beloved asks- do you think I have put on a few pounds? Does this dress/suit make me look heavy? Sometimes telling the truth can be unnecessarily hurtful, particularly if the individual has been struggling with their weight. In this situation, I’ll leave it to you to figure out what is right or wrong; in most things, we are free to pick and choose.

Further when viewing the effect of personal action, it is impossible to know all the variables involved; particularly over a long period of time and actions that affect countless others. However, for the spiritual traveler, it is possible to know some of this and begins by asking the question: will this action bring me closer or distance me from my higher destiny?

The answer to this question may be thought out as well as perceived. First, we rationally consider and list the effects using what we term our common sense. Next, we use our intuition, requesting if the action will bring us closer or distance us from our higher self. Perception is intuitive knowledge that emerges from our collective consciousness. By turning inward, the traveler unlocks this holistic awareness and uses this answer along with their rational thought to arrive at an action.

At an early age, it is important to learn about the difference between right and wrong. It is important to learn some things are good for us and some things are not. Yet, spiritual teaching must go deeper, illustrating and considering the aspect of longitudinal effect and destiny. While one piece of chocolate may be tasty and even nutritious, twenty is not, particularly, if we are diabetic or prone to dental problems.

Most spiritual training programs teach the traveler to pray, or turn inward in some fashion or another before taking an important action. Within each person, there is an inner voice or capacity to know if an action will bring us closer to our own higher self and the higher destiny of the universe. Most people have forgotten to develop and listen to their own inner voice and have relied upon others to teach them about right and wrong.

This original social, moral and religious teaching, about what is useful in life, was intended as a beginning; and the traveler, as they matured was to be instructed on how to make their own more complex, intuitive decisions. For many, this has been omitted from their training and they continue to rely upon limited and simplistic learning constructs.

Many of which have been tied to a hidden and sometimes not so hidden ‘fear and reward’ system. In a sense, for these travelers, their thoughts on certain subjects have become fixed, often engineered by others.

*
Humanity is conscious energy
Burning like sunlight.
By reflecting the Light into this world
Humanity neutralizes personal spiritual darkness.

Embrace your own inner beliefs
And then travel beyond them.
Embrace higher knowledge
And as the Source Wills
You will become a sun unto yourself:
Knowing right from wrong,
Dissipating your own lower needs and desires.

*
What some call religious training and tradition:
Often is based upon historical and no longer accurate,
Incomplete information; also, in some presentations
There is tendency to misapply traditional exercises to this culture.
Further, many sacred books include
Selective reportage by believers and historians;
With altered teachings to control desired behaviors
Which were insisted upon by the ruling entity or clergy.

Remember many cherished religious traditions and behaviors no longer serve any real or spiritual function. However, they do increase people’s feelings of comfort/tradition and need to be viewed within their emotional framework.
*

The Law

Traveler: Holy One, tell me of the Law

Master: The Law is Inscribed on the heart of each person. Beneath the layers of dust- from selfish living- that surround each heart, is the Golden Rule. The Law is also Written in the Books and is known to all. It is written: That which brings you closer to your higher self and the Beloved is the Measure.

Travelers know what is right; yet, allow themselves to be deceived by their desires. If a traveler would ask their Higher Self or The Light to help make their decision- each would correctly and reach higher.

If you will pray, the Light will cleanse your heart and The Law will be inscribed upon it- Lighting the Darkness. SB

Living Your Religion Every Day

Living Your Religion Every Day

Author: James Bulls

This story is neither about high ceremony nor exotic sorcery; it is not about the alchemical secret to eternal life but the simple secret to everyday life. To preface this simple secret, consider the words of Johann von Goethe who said, “Out of moderation a pure happiness springs.” There are some who would disagree with that statement, but consider its merits on a day-to-day basis. For contrast, consider James Dean’s statement, “Dream as if you’ll live forever; live as if you’ll die today.” You may certainly choose to live each day under the dictates of extremity, but such a lifestyle relies on black-and-white dichotomies quite incompatible with a harmonious lifestyle and a society that requires those members who wish to live successfully the ability to distinguish subtleties, nuance, and shades of grey.

To return to Goethe’s statement that moderation brings happiness, one must look at each day not as a singular opportunity to figuratively explode like James Dean but to burn a low, steady flame. Extremists who make dramatic resolutions toward religious expression attract much attention, but after the noise is finished what remains is a spiritual model incompatible with modern life. As it concerns living your religion everyday, the loud dramatists advocate set rules and habits for life: meditate for an hour every day; read cards every day; exercise every day; never eat this; never drink that; always perform the quarter, cross-quarter, full-Moon, and dark-Moon rituals; and so on. And so the misguided accept one absolute after another into their spiritual devotions until all their time and energy is devoted to planning for the next event.

The trouble with living your religion in terms of absolutes is that each of us is fallible and will fail to satisfy an artificial schedule and arbitrary definition of “spiritual perfection.” Absolutes invite failure, failure invites discouragement, discouragement invites dissatisfaction, and dissatisfaction invites mediocrity. This “mediocrity” of which I speak is the ball-and-chain, which prohibits daily expression of one’s religion – it is the intangible obstacle that stands between the spiritually dead and the sublime angels!

Living moderately provides room for failure and permits one to find as much satisfaction in the loving preparation of afternoon tea as another might find in an elaborate Spring Equinox celebration. Moderation permits one to say “I forgive myself for my weaknesses, ” and “This is enough for today.” Living your religion on a daily basis is determined in neither quantity nor quality, but in the process and your ability to find satisfaction in it.

Much of the spiritual insight commonly taught in the New Thought, New Age, Wiccan, and Occult communities is imported from the East, but there is much of value in the West that gets overlooked. With respect to living one’s religion every day and the importance of moderation I set out at the beginning, consider the Religious Society of Friends, also called the Quakers. The Friends believe in moderation, modesty, and (not unlike the Zen Buddhists) a direct experience of God outside of material limitations. The Friends live their faith every day not necessarily through dictated prayer times and worship services, but through quiet appreciation for the Divine and making common-sense choices to live modestly which not only prevent egoic obstacles to spiritual growth but also provide more time for to focus on their friends and family members, community, and simple acts of devotion.

Living moderately (and dare I say modestly) is not a sexy adventure for bold heroes but the source of pure happiness. Living one’s religion every day isn’t a matter of selecting specific rituals, adopting absolute views in the name of simplicity, or making loud declarations for the sake of consistency – it is in fact a broad, consistent expression of your core values. For example, consider Pantheism, a path whose travellers see the very world in which they live as the body of the Divine and who value the environment, wildlife, and the needs of their kin and neighbours. Pantheists may have specific rituals they practice for spiritual edification such as cartomancy, theurgy, and folk medicine (Qi gong, Reiki, etc.) , but it is putting the carriage before the horse to say that the rituals are the religion – a religion is the sum of the core values and ultimate goals!

To live their religion every day, Pantheists may choose activities or make simple changes which support their beliefs such as: turning off a light when they leave the room; taking the time and effort to recycle paper, glass, and plastic; collect litter in their neighbourhood or at the local park; volunteer once or twice a month at the animal shelter; donate their time to Habitat for Humanity; making a meal for a friend or inviting a friend to a meal; walking or riding a bike when a vehicle isn’t needed; using cloth shopping bags; turning off the TV or computer to spend more time with your spouse and children; or even just smiling and saying hello to strangers on the street. None of these actions are as sexy and exciting as high ceremony or deep meditation, but they are all easily adopted into one’s everyday life and each of them supports the religious expression of the Pantheist.

Moderation is the simple secret to daily expression of one’s religion; you will not find happiness in strict adherence to daily religious ritual but in the small, simple activities and choices, which are the mundane foundation of your religious philosophy. If you worship the Earth, make choices, which protect the environment. If you revere the sacred feminine, make choices that would lead others to respect femininity. If you believe that your spiritual purpose is to serve your fellows, be friendly and willing to help. But if you want to live your religion every day, don’t obligate yourself to an arbitrary schedule of worship or you’ll only become a slave to your faith. Remember you values and you’ll immediately change from an event-based religion to a day-to-day expression of faith.

Doing What the Book Says: A Cautionary Tale

Doing What the Book Says: A Cautionary Tale

Author: Bronwen Forbes

I was young, I was a shiny new Pagan, the Internet – which made contacting my fellow religionists as easy as calling my mom – was about ten years away from being invented, and by gosh I was going to perform this solitary sabbat exactly as The Book told me to! (And no, I’m not going to tell you which “The Book” it was. It would only embarrass me further and wouldn’t do the now-deceased author’s reputation any good. Okay, okay I’ll give you a hint somewhere below) : By the time I’d finished my ritual, I’d nearly burned the house down – a house that included my dog, four cats, and my born again Christian (now ex) husband.

But I learned a valuable lesson that night, a lesson that I see more and more new Pagans ignoring these days:

Books (and now the Internet) are no substitute for practical, hands-on experience with a group of like-minded people. But allow me to continue my illustration:

The Book said I needed a cauldron for this ritual, so I found a really cute brass one at Pier One – it even had soldered-on brass feet which I thought was particularly important – it’d be up off the hideous pumpkin orange shag carpet in my den because Gods forbid I scorch the hideous pumpkin orange shag carpet. The Book said to pour about an inch and a half of rubbing alcohol into the cauldron. And light it.

And, Gods help me and my now ex-husband who was sleeping – oblivious to the ritual and the fire – in the next room and the dog and the cats, I lit it.

The Book didn’t say (or maybe I missed that part) that this ritual had been designed to be performed outside. Outside where, theoretically, a six-foot column of flame shooting out of a brass cauldron wouldn’t be quite so much of an issue. Naturally, The Book didn’t say anything about having a pot lid or sand nearby to smother the flames, so I had no way to douse the tall bonfire that was pretty much the same shade as the hideous pumpkin orange shag carpet.

The Book also didn’t say that the cauldron would, ideally, be cast iron, and not soldered brass bits. Any intelligent, experienced ritualist could have told me that, but I didn’t know any other ritualists yet – intelligent or otherwise – so I was on my own. And it finally dawned on me that I was in big trouble when the solder attaching one of the cauldron legs melted from the heat, causing the pot to tip sideways.

I now had about four feet of flame at about a forty to forty-five degree angle from the floor. I’m just damn lucky it didn’t tip so far that the alcohol poured out onto the aforementioned lovely orange shag carpet. As it was, some of the individual threads were a little black and crunchy if you examined them too closely.

Eventually, the inch and a half of rubbing alcohol burned itself out. Subdued, I finished the rest of the ritual as quickly as possible, put my things away, and crawled into bed beside my still-sleeping spouse. All that was left to deal with was the interesting conversation the next day.

Him: How did that black stuff get on the ceiling in the den? It looks like soot.

Me: I have no idea, dear.

Him: And the carpet looks like it’s singed or something.

Me: Really? I hadn’t noticed.

Funny? Yes. Stupid and potentially lethal? You betcha. However, the incident made me understand the contemporary wisdom of the old phrase, “You cannot be a witch alone” and I started circling and studying with the nearest group before the next sabbat. (Nice to know I’m not as dumb as I look!)

I am not saying that being a solitary practitioner is a bad thing. Far from it, whether you choose to be so for personal or geographical reasons. I am saying, don’t leave your common sense in the back pocket of your other pants whenever you open a book of Pagan rituals or click on a Pagan how-to website. It’s not common sense to wear a short, sleeveless tunic at an outdoor ritual in January. In Wisconsin. It’s not common sense to fast if you have any sort of blood sugar issue. And it’s sure not common sense to try to set your den on fire just because The Book said to do something a certain way. If I’d been thinking, instead of slavishly following, I’d have had one heck of a less exciting evening – to my benefit. And yes, these are all examples of bad advice I’ve seen in books and online.

If some faceless Pagan authority (me included) writes that you should do something and your gut tells you it’s a bad idea, listen to your gut. Better yet, go find someone who’s actually been in ritual with other people and ask them – and their friends. If, through Witchvox, you can’t find someone in your neighborhood, well, it’s better to go online and ask around rather than suffer frostbite – or burn your house down. Better yet, see if you can spend a few holidays in ritual with them, ask questions, learn how rituals are — and are not — supposed to go.

I’m on a lot of online Pagan forums, and I can’t even begin to count how many posts go something like, “I tried this ritual with my friends last night and now I feel sick and I have the worst headache. What did I do wrong?” Well, did you ground and center beforehand? “No, the ritual didn’t say to.” Did you check to see if you might be allergic to whatever you burned as incense? “Um, no.” Did you eat anything beforehand? “Um, no.” Five minutes asking about these sorts of basics beforehand, either online or at a local Pagan meet up would stop most, if not all, of these sad posts.

I’m also a print journalism major, and my professors are always cautioning me that if something, no matter how preposterous, is written down, people will believe it. This includes you. So we future newspaper reporters need to be extra careful about making sure our stories are as accurate as possible. How do we do that? We confirm through other sources anything we’re told as “fact.”

I cannot advise you too strongly to do the same.

Breaking Ground With Other Faiths

Breaking Ground With Other Faiths

Author: Draconis Wierinsan Kinthasil

I was working on my garden the other day, we had turned the soil over last week and I saw the small lumps of dirt that the Rota tiller had left behind. It reminded me of what we must do as Pagans.

Out in the larger world are folks who have different beliefs. Sometimes they think that we are bad people or do bad things because of what they think we belief. This is what I call breaking ground; they need to know that they may be wrong on a number of points. I’m not saying you should preach at them but explain to them that you think differently. The better folks (like a Catholic Friend of mine who was Wiccan for a while) will listen to your thoughts on your beliefs with an open mind.

Other times they might pretend to be listening so that they can jump down your throat with the whole “You will burn in Hell Witch!” bit. Thank the Gods I haven’t met these sort (yet) . And the rest will be the kind who will ask the stupid “If you’re a Witch where is your black hat and broom and why are you out when it isn’t Halloween?”

The thing is some of the time most folks just don’t give a horse’s rump how you believe. If you aren’t a Christian you must be converted. I saw the article on Witchvox about most folks not wanting to vote for a person who is Pagan for President. Well la de da! This is a free country (or at least is supposed to be!) and I’m Pagan and I think that it is time for a change.

I will run for President in 2024, won’t that make headlines! “Disabled Pagan for President” I can hear the churches ranting now.

Well I’m sorry that this country is so messed up but maybe if we would stop building a bridge to nowhere and sending food and clothes to foreign countries when we can’t even feed our own people maybe we could improve our country. Sorry a little off topic but look at it this way. If every Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist and everybody else would just give five bucks then think what we would have.

That’s the point of this article, Pagans: When you hear the “Devil Worshipper” crap. Be the bigger man! Walk away.

Christians remember the Golden rule I quote “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” King James Version Holy Bible. To Muslims remember always to keep an open mind and that goes for the rest of you too! United shall we stand, divided we fall, Alone will we break, together we are unbreakable.

If we spent half the time we spend on fighting over whose way is better on loving our neighbor and practicing what we preach, then think how much better off we would be. If we would look for the things that tie us together instead of tearing each other apart we could see that we are more alike then we think.

My vision for all faiths is that one day you will see a father take his kids outside to cast a circle at the White house and as folks go by they say “Good Morning, Mr. President” as he communes with his Gods. Then he stands up and sweeps his hair out of his eyes, pats the pentacle pinned to his lapel and goes to work in the Oval Office. As he greets people he will say “Blessed Be Brother/Sister” as he goes about his day for all Americans are his family.

Then at the end of the day he goes to a ritual with his son who is a mirror image of his father and teaches him the old ways. And on Monday nights they go to Boy scouts and a Pagan father stands proud as his son earns his religious emblem along with everybody else and the boys ask the Pagan scout What the silver pentacle on the red, white, and blue ribbon means and the Pagan scout smiles and explains the meaning of his emblem, that is so much simpler and for that reason so much more meaningful.

And when he tucks his son in that night he says “Sleep well my son, may Sabdh cradle you in her arms this night and Wierin guard you as you sleep” and the boy smiles and replies “Goddess bless, Daddy.”

The President smiles and says “Goddess Bless son sleep well” and turns on the crescent moon nightlight and goes to bed and he and his wife curl up to sleep. As he drifts off his last words are “Now as I lay down to sleep I pray the Gods my soul to keep and should I pass before I wake To Summerland my soul shall take” and he smiles and drops off.

I would sure like to see the meanness and hatred that people throw at each other become a thing of the past and that religious labels like Pagan and Christian become terms of respect and are not spoken like a curse.

I know this may never come to pass in my lifetime but if we young people of all faiths don’t work to find some common ground then I predict a time not so far away when this, the greatest country in the world becomes a theocracy and that the government dispenses with the bit about “no law establishing religion or preventing the free exercise of” and makes on faith supreme to the exclusion of all others.

Please in The Stag-Lord’s name join me in working against this terrible vision! Let us not return to The Burning Times! Let us as Americans — not as Pagans or Christians but as Americans, as members of the human race — work together. Think of what we can do if we learn from each other and treat each other with respect.

In this regard let go of those prejudices that you have. Stop hating someone because they are different or because of their skin color! We are all the children of the Gods. We are not different races! We are all of us members of the human race. The only difference is that in Their wisdom the Gods made us different. For if we were all the same we would all think, feel and believe the same way.

You wouldn’t need to ask an opinion because you would already know the answer. Fat chance of that ever happening.

Who Is A Real Witch Anyway?

Who Is A Real Witch Anyway?

Author: Amergin Aradia

It seems that the debate about who is and who is not a “real Witch” is coming to a head. Is this sect real as opposed to that sect? Are those in covens real Witches as opposed to solitaries’. And on and on it goes. It’s beginning to sound like the fight between factions of the Christian religion or between organized religions as a whole. That’s probably the way they began too.

This silly useless debate is pulling our community apart as well. The truth is, are any of us real Witches. And how do you define a real Witch? By whose standards and rules?

As an illustration of my point I’ll tell you my story. I have always known that I was a Witch, even before I really knew what that was. When I was very young (grade school) I had certain abilities and interests that other kids didn’t. I practiced raising energy, practiced ESP (as it was called then) , I astral projected, and I cast spells. I was drawn to the night, the moon and stars, and I identified with all things “magical.”

I wasn’t trained by anyone because there was no one to train me. I had to figure it out for myself and that was in the 1950’s so you know there were very few references to rely on even if I knew where to look. As I grew up I did what everyone else did then, got a job and tried to live what was considered a “normal” life, as unsatisfying as that was.

I maintained my interests and practices over the years as best I could, if only peripherally. There may have been one or two occult bookstores in the area but you really had to search them out and I only managed to get to one every so often and then only to browse because I didn’t know what I was looking for. You didn’t just walk up to someone and tell him or her you were a Witch and wanted to join a coven. And people didn’t come out of the woodwork to invite you to join one, even if you knew where to look.

So I dabbled, training myself the best way I could using instinct as my guide. At the time I would have loved to have found someone to train me and I would have loved to have found a coven to join so that I wouldn’t feel so alone. But they didn’t exactly advertise. And there was no Internet in those days to bring us all together.

So unless you were lucky, you were on your own. Like it or not.

Now that we have all these books, magazines, and web sites to fill in the gaps I find that my instincts did very well by me. Everything that I taught myself way back then is now being touted as the way to do it by the “experts.” I have since collected an entire library of books hoping to find information that would help me advance my practice but with the exception of a few interesting bits that I’ve added here and there, I have been disappointed.

I have also attended classes, open groves, and ceremonies, and while the people that I met were very nice it just didn’t feel right for me. I’ve also become very disillusioned with the influx of the newest brick and mortar shops. They seem to have become havens of self-help, yoga, meditation, and coffee and music.

And while I practice yoga and meditation myself I don’t want to go to my local Craft shop to pick up a yoga mat, balance ball, or a book by Dr. Phil. I want to pick up the tools for my ceremonies and spell crafting and, unfortunately, the kind of shop I want seems to be few and far between (except on line.) It feels as though the craft as I remember it is being homogenized and made so “acceptable” in the eyes of the general public that it is becoming useless to serious practitioners. But I digress here.

So to sum up this article, does it mean that I am not a real Witch because I had no one to “lead the way” or no coven to adopt me and teach me “their right way”? Quite frankly I think that makes me an even better real Witch because I had to figure it out for myself. And because of that my understanding and beliefs don’t quite fit into any prescribed dogma. So that is why I stay a solitary practitioner and that is why I have stepped back from the community as a whole.

But then I don’t look at being a Witch as a religion, with all of its implied rules and regulations and dogma. I look at being a Witch in the same way that the old village Witches looked at it. I revere the earth and heavens and do my best to respect and tread lightly on her.

I try to live a spiritual life without bowing to or begging the acceptance of any one archetypal being. I look at the Goddess and Gods as a representation on this plane of the source of all energy and power. I cast spells for my own benefit, and mine alone, as I don’t believe I have the right to manipulate anyone else’s life. And I believe that Karma will out eventually.

I believe that being a Witch is as simple as that. It’s in your heart, it’s in your soul, and it’s who YOU know you really are. Not because someone gives you permission to be one simply because you read and adhere to someone else’s views as written down and published. Or because you attend meetings once a week, or once a month, or even once a quarter.

But because YOU know you are. And whether you are solitary or a member of a group, no matter what that group represents, you are really on your own. You must practice, practice, practice, and hold that knowing in your own heart…alone.

That’s what makes you a “real Witch.”

Are We a Christian Nation?

Are We a Christian Nation?

Author: Disciple of Oghma

“Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation, ” then-candidate Barack Obama said during a June 2007 speech. “At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.” This speech stirred a great deal of dust in the religious, markedly Christian, circles. Are we a Christian Nation? Well let’s look at the Constitution, the framework for our Great Nation.

In response to widespread sentiment that to survive the United States needed a stronger federal government, a convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 and on September 17 adopted the Constitution of the United States. Aside from Article VI, which stated that “no religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification” for federal office holders, the Constitution said little about religion. Its reserve troubled two groups of Americans–those who wanted the new instrument of government to give faith a larger role and those who feared that it would do so. This latter group, worried that the Constitution did not prohibit the kind of state-supported religion that had flourished in some colonies, exerted pressure on the members of the First Federal Congress. In September 1789 the Congress adopted the First Amendment to the Constitution, which, when ratified by the required number of states in December 1791, forbade Congress to make any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”

The first two Presidents of the United States were patrons of religion–George Washington was an Episcopal vestryman, and John Adams described himself as “a church going animal.” Both offered strong rhetorical support for religion. In his Farewell Address of September 1796, Washington called religion, as the source of morality, “a necessary spring of popular government, ” while Adams claimed that statesmen “may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand.”

Many Americans were disappointed that the Constitution did not contain a bill of rights that would explicitly enumerate the rights of American citizens and enable courts and public opinion to protect these rights from an oppressive government. Supporters of a bill of rights permitted the Constitution to be adopted with the understanding that the first Congress under the new government would attempt to add a bill of rights. James Madison took the lead in steering such a bill through the First Federal Congress, which convened in the spring of 1789. The Virginia Ratifying Convention and Madison’s constituents, among whom were large numbers of Baptists who wanted freedom of religion secured, expected him to push for a bill of rights.

On September 28, 1789, both houses of Congress voted to send twelve amendments to the states. In December 1791, those ratified by the requisite three fourths of the states became the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Religion was addressed in the First Amendment in the following familiar words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In notes for his June 8, 1789, speech introducing the Bill of Rights, Madison indicated his opposition to a “national” religion. Most Americans agreed that the federal government must not pick out one religion and give it exclusive financial and legal support.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the third and fourth presidents were less hospitable toward religion than their predecessors. Thomas Jefferson, in fact, was fiercely anti-church. In a letter to Horatio Spafford in 1814, Jefferson said, “In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them, and to effect this, they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer for their purposes” (George Seldes, The Great Quotations, Secaucus, New Jersey Citadel Press, 1983, p. 371) . In a letter to Mrs. Harrison Smith, he wrote, “It is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be read. By the same test the world must judge me. But this does not satisfy the priesthood. They must have a positive, a declared assent to all their interested absurdities. My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest” (August 6, 1816) .

James Madison, Jefferson’s close friend and political ally, was just as vigorously opposed to religious intrusions into civil affairs as Jefferson was. In 1785, when the Commonwealth of Virginia was considering passage of a bill “establishing a provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion, ” Madison wrote his famous “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments” in which he presented fifteen reasons why government should not be come involved in the support of any religion. This paper, long considered a landmark document in political philosophy, was also cited in the majority opinion in Lee vs. Weisman.

The views of Madison and Jefferson prevailed in the Virginia Assembly, and in 1786, the Assembly adopted the statute of religious freedom of which Jefferson and Madison were the principal architects. The preamble to this bill said that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” The statute itself was much more specific than the establishment clause of the U. S. Constitution “Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in nowise [sic] diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities”.

Realizing that whatever legislation an elected assembly passed can be later repealed, Jefferson ended the statute with a statement of contempt for any legislative body that would be so presumptuous “And though we well know this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding assemblies, constituted with the powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable, would be of no effect in law, yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right” (emphasis added) .

On Final note; Signed and sealed at Algiers, January 1797, America made a treaty with Tripoli. In article 11 of that Treaty declares that “the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.” This reassurance to Islam was written under Washington’s presidency, and approved by the Senate under John Adams.

I have come to the determination that we are neither a Christian Nation, nor are we an Anti-Christian Nation. In the architecture of the Constitution, the founding fathers made safeguards to ensure the free growth of personal religious freedoms by basing the nation’s framework on a secular foundation. In this way the rights and responsibilities of the people shall neither be shaped nor suspended by the popular religious Idea of the day. Ensuring the stability and nurturing the potential of our Great Nation. So while Christianity may be a largely accepted, popular, mainstream faith it is not the established faith of this nation. Therefore we are not a Christian Nation, but a nation of People.

Footnotes:
Thanks to Alyson Grace (Profile ID: 275132) for the inspiration to write this article.

How Do You Order Up Your Pagan Group?

How Do You Order Up Your Pagan Group?

Author: Greenbridge (Ellen Bergstrom)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Turning the channel now.

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

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

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

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

Finding a Good Fit

Finding a Good Fit

Author: Orius

Being part of the leadership of a Wiccan Circle is an interesting thing. Not only are you in service to the God and Goddess, you are in service to your other Circle members and most importantly to yourself. For both the Circle that I am involved with now and the one before it, we have had a listing on Witchvox. We do this for a few different reasons. One of them is that we are proud of who we are. Another is so that those seeking a group or a path are able to get in contact with us. This leads me on to the theme of this short little article.

Our group gets all kinds of people who contact us through our listing on Witchvox, and through our groups Facebook page. Some of these folks are just people looking for help on their spiritual path, some of them are just curious about Wicca or Paganism, and some are truly seeking a group to circle with, and to become a part of. It is these latter folks I would like to address.

It never ceases to amaze me when we get a first contact from people saying they would love to become a part of our family. I think “seriously, you have read a very brief description of our group, not to mention you don’t know us, you don’t know how we circle or what we are about for that matter. Yet you blindly would love to join our family and circle with us”. Not to mention the fact we don’t know you or what you are about. But it is ok because we are all good trusting Pagans and we will welcome you with open arms.

Well my friends, it just does not work that way.

Here are a few tips I would like to give, not only for folks looking for a group to circle with, but for groups interested in new people.

First of all, if you are seeking out a group and do so via an ad on Witchvox or some other similar way, don’t be surprised if it takes a few days to get a response back. Remember that the folks who are running the group or circle more than likely have a real life just like you do, and while the group that they are involved with may be a huge part of their life, it is probably not the only thing they are doing.

Secondly do not be surprised if you exchange much e-mail with a group you’re interested in before they ever invite you to meet with them. If you’re a seeker of a group and they invite you to come circle with them before ever meeting you in person, in my opinion that should throw up a red flag for you. Always meet a prospective group or member before circling with them.

Thirdly, and this should go without saying – meet them in a public place like a coffee shop. It is just not a smart idea as a group to invite someone you do not know to meet you in your own home. By that same logic, as an individual never go to someone’s home that you do not know. My Priestess and I often will meet new people interested in our Circle at a Starbucks or at one of the Pagan Picnics that happen here locally. Do not be surprised if, much like the e-mails, a group wants to meet with you several times in person before ever inviting you to attend one of their Circles.

Ask questions when meeting new folks. This goes not only for individuals but groups as well. We always ask new people that are interested in our Circle, even if they claim to have been on a Wiccan path for years, what they know or think they know about Wicca? What books have they read on Wicca and Paganism? How did they come to be on this path? What groups if any have they been a part of before? What is their personal practice like?

If you are an individual seeking a group to Circle with ask about the group’s practice. What is expected of members? How often do they meet? Do they circle skyclad, or robed? Do they have teaching Circles outside of ritual? If you are gay or lesbian ask about the group’s feelings toward gay and lesbian people. You may think in this day and age of enlightenment that it should not make a difference what one’s sexual orientation is, but I know that there are still Circles out there that will not admit gay and lesbian people to their ranks. They prefer male-female couples that are already partners, or are willing to find a working partner. Same goes if you are transgendered or transsexed, ask about the group’s feelings and way of working.

As a seeker to a group you should never feel like the group is trying to give you a “hard sell” to join. That should send up a red flag for you too, or at least it would for me. Also if you get to the meeting stage with a group and feel things are not right, you do NOT have to join that group even thou they may ask you too. Also remember that a group may meet with you many times, invite you to attend one of their Circles and still not ask you to join their ranks. If this happens don’t be disappointed, and remember that it probably happened for a reason that is not personal. When you find the right group that is a fit for you, you and the group will know.

Of course these are only a few of the questions that you can and should ask, and there are many more dynamics to finding a group to Circle with, and to groups finding individuals, than I have covered in this brief article. Most often times personal chemistry is the final determining factor for what ever the end result of a search may be.

My point with this post was to educate, and I hope that I have a little. Remember when you do enter the Circle, be it with a group of seekers or by yourself, you enter it in perfect love and perfect trust. Make sure you can do that with those whom you choose to Circle with.

Is There a Right Time to Curse?

Is There a Right Time to Curse?

Author: Sleeping Moon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hekate: A Devotee’s View

Hekate: A Devotee’s View

Author: Alorer

Hekate (Hecate is the Latin spelling and being Greek I prefer the Greek one) is perhaps one of the most misinterpreted and misrepresented deities in modern Paganism. From being given the Crone aspect when no historical or mythological source supports it verifiably (and because Neo-Paganism tends to cater to stereotypes heavily) to the misinterpretation of Her triplicity to unfounded overemphasizing of Her darker traits to virtually anything you can imagine.

Hekate has been misconstrued by many Neo-Pagans, mainly due to the lack of research and study of reputed sources (Hesiod’s Theogony comes to mind as a very basic and vital work on the mythology of the Gods) but also due to the overwhelming sense of “being special” that many Neo-Pagans seem to have. Note that this isn’t a blog on poking the – admittedly big – portion of the “bad apples” in our big community tree. This is a post attempting to educate somewhat regarding a well-known but also exploited deity. However, in order to do so, one needs to shed light upon the shadows of ignorance and misinformation that cloud Hekate’s image.

Before I delve deeper into Hekate’s case, let me share some information on Her.

Hekate is the daughter and only child of the Titans Perses and Asteria. She inherited power over the earth, sea and sky from Her parents. Hekate is one of the very few Titans to have survived the Titanomachy and the Olympian reign “unscathed” (which is an allegoric/mythological way to portray the survival of Her cults and worship as opposed to that of most other Titans) as well as the only Titan to be praised equally to the Olympians. In the Theogony, Hesiod notes how Zeus praised Her above all others, did not take anything from Her power and even gave Her a share in the dominion of most other Gods. She is the one He often went to for advice.

Hekate is a Goddess of liminal places and times, key and torch bearing maiden, guide, psycho pomp and “opener of ways”. She is a counselor and companion of those in need and protectress from and against witchcraft. At the same time She is the governor of all magical acts and believed to have invented theurgy. That is also why Hekate, alongside Hermes and/or Iris, was to be appeased and petitioned before any ritual act for the Gods, as She was the one (or rather one of those) responsible for and permitting the mortals to reach out for the Gods. Should Hekate refuse to aid you, your calls will remain unanswered and fall to deaf ears.

Hekate is also a Goddess related to the Moon (especially with the Dark/New Moon) , childbirth (or more appropriately, child-nurturing) and crossroads. She is one of the minor household deities, a protectress of the home and household from outside perils, alongside Hermes. Note that she only has a connection to the moon. The only Moon Goddess (and that is understood as the one presiding over, embodying and ruling the Moon) in Greek mythology and theology is Selene.

She presides over the darker side of the self as well as the inner one. She governs intuition, divination and insight. Hekate is the Goddess-In-The-Shadows but also the one who can pierce the shadows. She is a “dark Goddess” in the sense that She is Queen of the Unseen but not in the sense of negativity or “evil”. Gods are beyond such human concepts.

She is a maiden Goddess and not a crone contrary to popular (mis) belief. Most mythological-related texts consider Her a virgin as well although some have her double as the mother of Skylla (by Phorkys – in the works of Apollonius Rhodius) or as the mother of Circe, Medea and Aigialeus (by Aeetes – in the works of Diodorus Siculus) . Personally, I prefer the virgin Goddess theory since the rest conflict with the other mythological family trees.

Hekate is often portrayed as a crone due to Her association with Magic. In medieval times, the image of Hekate merged with the stereotypical image of an elderly, scary-looking woman over a cauldron. From that, as well as Her, somewhat “grim” duties, spawned the image of a physically old Hekate, which is, of course, mistaken.

Another “faulty” interpretation of Hekate is Her triplicity. Due to the popularity of the Wiccan/Neo-Wiccan tenet of a Triple Goddess, other “Triple” Goddesses were misappropriated and deemed as being “triple” in the same manner. That is also incorrect. Hekate is triple in a literal sense. Being associated with crossroads and liminal places, Hekate is literally a “three-headed/formed figure”, seeing in all directions. The Triple Goddess tenet of modern Paganism (specifically Wicca) is allegoric in the sense that it’s related to aspects and periods as opposed to a literal, physical figure. In addition, Hekate was also portrayed often as a single person or as having three distinct bodies.

Finally, Hekate is a strict and stern Goddess. She can be very loving, warm and intimate with Her followers, especially those that praise and satisfy Her but She is also not as forgiving as other deities as well as intolerant of many vices, in a greater degree than most deities. A bright example is how She can be quick to remove (at least temporarily or until reformation occurs) Her favor and aid from even a devoted follower of Hers, should he/she stray from the path and fail to meet the requirements and standards set, not so much by the Goddess Herself, as much as by the person. Unlike other deities, Hekate is less direct and more influential, meaning She works in more subtle and indirect ways as well as more affecting ones, since She approaches you in a gentle fashion as opposed to a strong, straightforward manner.

If Hekate calls to you, don’t freak out. She can be strict but also very rewarding. As Hesiod says: “He who has her favor will be showered with riches, for it is within her power.” (paraphrased) . However, be wary. She won’t tolerate the unworthy.

Footnotes:
Hekate: Her Sacred Fires, edited by Sorita D’Este

the Theoi (dot) com website

My Gods and Yours Are Not The Same

My Gods and Yours Are Not The Same

Author: Ailyn

In A Wrinkle In Time, author Madeleine L’Engle gave us fantastical “beasts” without eyes or ears, creatures with soft muted fur and long waving tentacles, beings almost too horrible to look upon. Yet these beings possessed a characteristic that the humans in the book, and I feel humans in general, are sorely lacking. These beasts are able to “feel” they way things truly are, the essence of what makes an object that object, a plant a plant, the soul of things.

In the story, one of the main characters, Meg, is asked by Aunt Beast to describe the sun and light and color. Meg tries, but realizes that to describe what we sense to something lacking those senses is impossibility, and a limitation on how we interact with the universe. While Meg, and humans in general, can describe what we see or touch, we very rarely can grasp the way things truly are, what makes the individual an individual, and not just something that fits into a scientific sort of classification system where we are merely defined by our physical characteristics. The ability that the beasts had allowed them to interact on a deeper level with the cosmos, moving past the physical, which is how we are, into the soul, which is who we are.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with our different Gods. For many Pagans, we view our Gods as existing on a more spiritual than physical level, and developing a sense that allows us to interact with the spiritual is one of the more important ways we connect to our Gods, let alone any other spiritual, magical, or mythical being one may believe in. It is a sense many of us seek to discover within ourselves, a journey that may take us weeks or years. In developing this sense, we come to know the world in a completely different way. And we come to know our Gods.

You would not believe how many times during a conversation about deities on a personal level, I’ve heard something along the lines of, “We both worship (deity) , just different aspects of (deity) , ” or, “Well, that’s how the enemies of (culture) portrayed (deity) . All that bad is really only propaganda; I can’t believe you fell for it, ” even, “That’s how (deity) used to be. He/She really isn’t that way anymore.”

No, no, no! Statements like this just make me want to bash my head against the wall. I realize that we all believe in our Gods in very different ways, and I completely respect that, but when I am being told in no uncertain terms that I am wrong, that I am falling for centuries old propaganda, or that somehow the person I am speaking to has a relationship with a God that is more valid and correct than my own, I tend to get fairly annoyed. And that is why I’m writing this. Because I’m tired of people assuming things about my beliefs, when I’ve usually stated how and what it is I believe. I work hard to develop and maintain relationships, with people and Gods, and since there is no human that has the inherent ability of the beasts to sense the true nature of things, I am resentful when I am told ‘we worship the same Gods’.

I am a fairly strict polytheist, so anything somewhat resembling pantheism or duotheism has no place in my belief system. It’s usually one of the first things people will find out about me when beginning some sort of religious conversation: yes, I believe in lots of Gods, and They are all different. I feel that there could be two separate deities that share the same name, and the same cultural context, and still be different entities. This is what I feel happens when the God I am worshipping and the God someone else is worshipping have completely different personas and traits.

And I am fine with this belief; it makes sense to me. I do not force the other person to follow my view that we are worshipping different Gods. I will explain to them that is what I believe about it, and move forward in the conversation. This usually works, and no hard feelings. But sometimes there is that one person who doesn’t accept a point of view different from his or her own.

You find this with any spirituality; Christianity, Hinduism, Wicca… it’s a human characteristic, not a religious one, this need to be correct and have others acknowledge our correctness. I try quite hard to respect that others view the Gods in different ways than I, and I realize others do too, but sometimes it’s just so hard to deal with those people who are so sure of their rightness, that no other way is recognized, let alone accepted. Acceptance doesn’t mean agreement; I disagree with pantheism, but I accept that many view it as the most rational way.

Obviously I view my way as correct, otherwise I wouldn’t be following it, but just because it’s right and rational to me doesn’t make it so for another. This attitude seems to upset many Pagans, who view it as intolerance, but I would disagree. I am tolerant. I just feel that it would dishonor my Gods for me to treat Them with any less respect than They deserve as the individuals They have revealed Themselves to be.

We humans are limited in our senses, our eyes do not always see well or far enough, our ears don’t always hear like they should, and our ability to “feel” the world around us is dormant nigh unto dying. Yet this feeling is so important to our spiritual selves in connecting to and defining those things and beings that we cannot, or rarely, sense with our physical senses.

If we possessed the inherent sense of Aunt Beast and her kind, we would be able to better know and understand our Gods, and those Gods that aren’t ours, and Gods who we have never even heard of. Because this sense is one that lets us see the reality of the world around us, on a deeper level than what we use right now. Instead, it seems we are merely stumbling along through the darkness and very rarely seeing the stars.

Footnotes:
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Discipline and Will

Discipline and Will

Author: Maggi Setti

In laziness, in turning away from divine Will, there is turmoil, confusion and slavery. In service to truth and freedom and Will, there is fluidity, satisfaction, and fulfillment. There is growth and abundance in these actions.

Isn’t it funny how there is such a paradox is freedom, free will, and following your divine destiny or your true Will? Whose will do you serve? To whose will are you a slave? Are you a slave to fear? Inertia? What about greed?

Something I consider both necessary and a struggle is the discipline of a daily practice. Just like we all know regular exercise is good for us but we have trouble doing it, I have the same struggle with daily practice. The inertia of the bed had been too much of a lure. Yet, daily practice is how we start our day in tune with our selves, our will, our Higher Self. Without it, we are madly dashing around not following our own will, but the sleep walking, insane flow of modern society.

This year I’ve found myself teaching, leading a study group, and in a college course. I am weaning myself back into the model of college student and find myself picking up old study habits. I have a lot of trouble concentrating at night to read and retain dry textbooks. When I was in school, I would wake at 5 in the morning, when it was quiet to study with the dawn chorus and my cats. Slowly I’m setting the clock earlier and earlier to use the quiet hours in study rather than feeling guilty at night that I don’t have the energy. I plan on using those hours even when my study for the week is complete, in meditation, journaling, and going to the gym. My contemplative, practice hours have returned. The funny thing is the impetus for this change has been out of necessity, but at the same time, the lethargy of wanting to stay in bed is fading. I want to get up, I want to start the day, and I am less tired now that I am busier. Within all that movement is more time, and a stillness and strength fueling me from within. This still flame, burning within my belly, heart, and mind is the fire of Will, of progress, and desire.

I have come to a point where a lot of my work will be patient practice. My lessons that I need to work on are mostly not in books right now. Meditation, disciplined sitting, just coming to the altar daily, and personal development in an internal alchemical way are my current tasks. I remember when I first joined my coven, my HPS was adamant about the importance of daily practice. She mentioned that those who know could tell when a person has the discipline and strength of daily practice. I have on occasion help such a practice for a while and always needed to rededicate myself to the practice. I admired her unyielding steadfastness.

I am also learning the value of resiliency and flexibility. Having a strong core implies that there is also not the brittleness that comes with being immobile.

Great, strong trees bend wildly in storms. In 2003, I witnessed a mild hurricane. I sat in my house, dry and quiet in the lack of electricity. The wind and rain whipped around the house and the trees danced and thrashed. The storm itself smelled of the ocean gone ashore and the energy was wild. Within the safety of my house I did not feel fear, but awe. The trees were what got me. Even the ones that fell or broke did so like a jump of faith off a cliff into the future or into death. No fear, just grace and acceptance. It was a great wisdom the trees gave me then, and I have tried ever since then to adopt that faith and fearlessness into my own life.

Fear can also be the cause our inertia. Fear is an illusion, fear is also a cleanser, and fear can be a guardian at the gate of the threshold of newness and of the unknown. From where does fear and panic originate? What shadow memory does it herald? When we choose what causes us pain and fear and instead trust and have faith in the process over the paths of our lives, fear becomes our teacher and guide.

The more you follow your Will, in faith and in joy, the easier life gets. The challenges become growth moments and sign posts along the journey of the Path instead of unending pools of pain and suffering. You are guided and the universe responds to you. When you know your true Will, choices become easier, the big picture appears for you, and you are less likely to sabotage yourself. Connecting with this Will and staying in the moment is a state of grace. It is a state of grace not just with yourself, but also with the Divine in the universe. You sync with time rather than racing the clock. Opportunities arise for you because you look for them in faith rather than cowering away from possibilities in fear. In fact, when you do momentarily lose your focus, make mistakes, or fall into old, obsolete patterns, you are more likely to bounce back onto the right path and keep going. One of the awesome things about the magickal path is that without guilt, there is no reason to wallow in regrets. To follow one’s will is to move ever forward and onward toward evolution and wholeness.

What modus operandi do you choose? Fear, ignorance, and the many limitations of the normal life or do you choose the path of the Cunning and the path of the Witch? This path is of awareness, responsibility, of Will, and of sight. On this path, things happen when you wish them for good or for ill. You have control over the outcome and what happens to you. This is my path; I couldn’t abide any other. Join me. It may be a hard one, dusty, and dark, but along this path is the starry road leading up to the moon, to the heavens, and to your True Self.

We Can Change The World

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.

Finding Your Soulmate: A Highly Overrated Concept

Finding Your Soulmate: A Highly Overrated Concept

Author: Bronwen Forbes

I don’t talk about it much in Pagan or non-Pagan public, but I do have a soulmate. We know we’ve shared several lifetimes in which we were, respectively, husband and wife, brother and sister, and governess and charge, just to name a few. My soulmate has been part of my life (this life) for nearly three decades, is always there when I need him, and I cannot imagine my life without him.

My husband is a good man; I love him dearly. He is more than I could ask for in his roles as supportive husband, great father to our daughter, and my ritual working partner. Without getting nearly as mushy and over-the-top as I could when describing my relationship with him, suffice to say that I am genuinely and truly blessed to have him in my life.

Would it surprise you to know that my husband and my soulmate are not the same person? And that my soulmate is, in fact, also married? And that I’m perfectly okay with that?

We’re taught – and not just in the Pagan community – that finding and settling down happily ever after with our soulmate is the only way we can truly be happy. For those of you who are making yourselves utterly miserable because you can’t find your soulmate, let me be the one to reassure you that not only does this almost never happen, but that you can be perfectly happy in a lifelong relationship with someone who isn’t your soulmate. Even Richard Bach, author of the ultimate soulmate quest tome The Bridge Across Forever, eventually divorced the woman he swore in the book was the other half of his soul.

Clearly, this soulmate thingy is completely overrated.

Where did this whole idea of a soulmate come from, anyway? Ancient Greece by way of Plato, actually, when Plato wrote down some things the playwright Aristophanes allegedly said one night at a dinner party. According to Aristophanes, humans at one time had two heads, four legs and four arms – each. In other words, humans were two people joined together in one perfect (if slightly impractical) whole. However, being human (i.e. not always bright about what the best course of action is when dealing with Deity) , we became proud and comfortable in our wholeness and decided the Gods did not need us to worship them any more. Zeus, true to his nature, was not happy with this state of affairs and as punishment divided all of us happy and complete two-headed, four-armed and four-legged humans in two. We’ve all been looking for our missing halves ever since.

So what happens when you do find your missing half? Well, if you’re lucky, you are compatible in all ways and can, metaphorically speaking, reforge yourselves into a whole person for the rest of your lives. If you’re not so lucky –or if you’re mature enough to be realistic about your and your soulmate’s incompatibility – you find a way to function with your other half in your life somewhere and enter a bonded relationship with someone else.

My soulmate is a gay man; I am a bisexual woman. Therefore there are some obvious basic incompatibilities should we ever have even discussed marriage – we didn’t, although at one point before my own marriage I did offer to marry his Canadian citizen husband of thirteen years (as of this writing) if needed to keep the husband in the States (he got a green card instead, but the offer was seriously considered.) . I did share a house with my soulmate and his husband for about three and a half years, during which we found even more incompatibilities for a long-term relationship besides sexual mismatch-ness.

I am an animal lover to the point that I *must* have at least one pet to be happy – to be *me*; he has asthma on top of pet fur allergies. I am monogamous; I’m not sure my soulmate knows exactly what that word means. We’re both housekeeping-challenged, which means the house (before his husband moved in and wisely hired a cleaning service) was always a royal mess. I am very obviously and actively Pagan; my soulmate is sort of Pagan but not very active or devout in any way I know of. He loves living and working in the big East Coast city he was born near; I’m a small-town Midwesterner by birth and have happily chosen to live my adult life – you guessed it – in a small town in the Midwest.

With my spouse, I can have the monogamous, pet-filled, child-enhanced, mostly tidy, Pagan-active Midwestern life I need in order to be myself. I love it, and I love him for making it possible for me to have it. If my soulmate is akin to a fine steak dinner, life with my husband could be compared to an old-fashioned barbecue: Different, yes, but equally satisfying and in no way “less than” the steak.

And yet, we continue to waste time, energy, ritual space, spell ingredients and pleas to the Gods all in an attempt to find that elusive soulmate. I know; I did it for far too long, all the while not noticing what a great match my husband (then just a really good friend) and I could be, and not realizing that I also had a soulmate who was not in any way good husband material for me.

If you’ve done everything, magickally speaking, to find your soulmate and you haven’t, maybe there’s a message there for you: either you don’t have one, the Gods have decided you’re not compatible (maybe he’s a convicted bank robber) , or you’re just not ready for your soulmate to come into your life.

Sometimes I’m embarrassed to admit, even in Pagan company, that I have a soulmate. It just sounds too fluffy and/or too ‘New Agey’ for me. I tend to refer to him as my brother (which really confuses the heck out of people when they later find out that I am, biologically-speaking, an only child) , and his husbands (they added a third to their relationship not too long ago) as my brothers-in-law. My husband considers them his brothers-in-law as well.

My daughter knows about her uncles. There is a picture of the three of them together in our family portrait collection that hangs on the dining room wall, which we call our Hall of the Ancestors. They are, after all, family.

You don’t need a soulmate. There. I said it. You don’t *need* one in order to be in a fulfilling long-term relationship. I’m glad I have mine – he is an invaluable source of support and we share a history that even my husband wasn’t there for (because I hadn’t met him yet) . So put down the steak knife. Sometimes down-home barbecue is what you need to be happy, if you just give it a chance.

My Goddess in My Life

My Goddess in My Life

Author: Frostig

My eyes wander up to the sky and back to the earth, my mind drifting as my body slows. I feel her around me. My heart quickens. A light sweat forms on my brow but still knowing she is near calms my muscles. All at once, I am ready to move or ready to relax. I know she helps guide my path in this world. I asked her to help me make decision with me, not for me.

She is Freya, the Goddess whom I love with all of me. By profession, I am a soldier and have been for 18 years, but I enjoy a softer side of life as well in writing and poetry. She is my muse; she is a lover and a warrior, a strong woman who knows what she wants and is willing to make sacrifices to meet her goals, inspiring me to do the same: to look at the world through another’s eyes, from a different point of view, to see things with a glowing halo of light.

I feel her presence in the love of my wife. The tender care she gives me. Her understated strength; I can feel it in her words. She helps me and guides me. We are a team and accomplish things as one.

I have written before here and some of you may remember that this is my third tour in Iraq. I have never asked to given anything from her, but for advice and guidance only. I ask for safe journeys and if I must fight that, I do so with honor and integrity. That if I die it is on my own terms and that I may do so with respect and honor and in the aid my friends.

In my life, I have always felt the strength in a feminine power. A mother watching over me keeping me safe, a lover holding me in her arms letting my soul rest in her tender hold. In the presence of women I feel refreshed.

When I feel the presence of my Goddess near I feel as if the world will bow to me. I ask her to guide me and help the things in my life have fall into place. I trust in her and knowing that as long as I uphold the promises I have made, not only to myself but to her as well.

The devotion I have for my Goddess feels more like a relationship than worshipping. We seem to have a give and take. Sometimes if I get too full of myself she lets me stubble a bit to remind me I need to have humility.

When I am living clean and doing the right thing, I have found that for no reason things fall into my lap and gifts both mental and physical appear in my path for me. I know at that time I need to share them, not hold them all for me. True gifts are not yours to keep they are yours to share; it is a great responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. Even if the gift is a part of you, we must learn to give our time and our knowledge to help others.

I carry with me a few things at all times. One is a copy of the Nine Noble Virtues the other is a picture with a memorial poem of a friend, killed last year by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. The virtues are a constant reminder to me of the guidelines I work to live by each day. The picture of my friend reminds me that we can be taken at anytime and to live your life by touching and enriching the lives of others.

So here I sit, the middle of Iraq again. I know I am here for a reason; something started but left undone. I have begun by strengthening the position of the Pagan Open Circle here and with the help of other friends’ state side I am working towards a higher level of religious awareness in the military. I know if I trust in her and make sound decisions our goals will be met, together.

I know she will not do everything for me, I would never ask that, if she did the goals that are met would not feel as sweet and I would feel a lacking inside of me. I need to earn my accomplishments.

I have learned that you must have honesty with yourself before you can have a trusting relationship with anyone else. Feel the honesty deep with in your soul. When I first felt it, I was scared, scared because of the raw truth I told myself. I instantly had to be with others; solitude was not what I felt I needed.

Nevertheless, it is exactly what I needed, the time to go over things in my mind to see that this is what I needed; it was the truth in my soul.

This is when I first felt her with me, I did not know who “She” was it was my first time with this emotion, this feeling, this presence. I started asking questions in the dim light of a campfire, seen flickering through the nylon of a tent. Speaking with a woman, a Goddess in her own right, her answers led me to more questions. I began reading and reading and reading.

Then a day came while reading, I saw her name and it felt good inside me when I said it, I know now it was her. She came to lift me up, to show me who I could become; the man I was meant to be. I thank her everyday for holding me safe for all these years, always there holding me but never wanting me to know she was there.

Now I’ve seen her in my heart and I feel her smile upon me.

By living a good life, acknowledging my weaknesses and my strengths, knowing my limitations, and pushing them a little further everyday, this is how I honor her. To show I am worthy of her graces, this is how I live. I thank her and every woman who has the Goddess in her — you know who you are –

You have touched my life and prepared me to be the man I am to become.

Stumbling Blocks to Following Your Own Path

Stumbling Blocks to Following Your Own Path

Author: Alfred Willowhawk, MMsc, RMT, CTM, Shaman

Introduction:

In my last article I spoke on how to choose and began the discussion on following one’s chosen path. As we defined this earlier a spiritual path is one where an individual is taking a route whether physically or metaphysically that pertains to the non-physical being of a person. The most important part of such a path is that the individual grows, learns, and expands and comes to reconciliation with their understanding of the metaphysical realms and their understanding of Deity (s) .

Stumbling Blocks to Spiritual Growth

As one researches, and gets in tune with their path they may find some stumbling blocks to their growth. Dictionary.com defines a stumbling block as: “an obstacle or hindrance to progress, belief, or understanding”. In other words, something that stops the movement on a particular path. These blocks are usually temporary unless an individual chooses to make them permanent.

These stumbling blocks may be in the form of lack of understanding, fear, abandonment, (by friends and family) , rejection, (personal, or societal) , pressure to be normal, or even unfortunately, pressure from people in the Business of Paganism, to keep people to themselves. Take this example:

Research

An individual feels a connection with Kali. A cursory search of the literature shows Kali as a terrible aspect of a goddess. In fact some say that she is actually a demon that eats people alive. Interestingly enough, in the definitive work, The Magic of Kali, translated by Michael Magee, it states that this interpretation of Kali comes from the suppression of a group called the Thuggies, who were such a problem for the British during the empire days. In fact, Kali or Mahaprakrti, is “ the destroyer of anxiety, giving boons, seated on a corpse, and gives all desires.”

Similarly, the Morrigan, of Irish repute, is sometimes considered a “Battle field Goddess” when instead she is actually a Goddess of prosperity and peace after war, and according to some other traditions, while she may indeed release the two ravens that are depicted with her to her followers, she morns and guides the dead of BOTH sides to the Summerlands.

As you can see, this could become a stumbling block to an individual who has neither the time nor the inclination to do proper research.

Fear, Abandonment, and rejection

Fear, abandonment, rejection and pressure to be normal are related to our culture and society. In the first article in this series (Choosing and Following Your Own Path) I stated that we are social creatures that desire acceptance. As the nature of a personal spiritual path is not necessarily the same as those around us, these pressures can be intense. It is only by being truly grounded and committed to our own path that one can stand up to these pressures. In my time as a Spiritual Coach one thing is constant. In the beginning parents, friends, relatives, and spouses can be frightened by, (what they perceive) , as a rejection of their values and ideals. Sometimes these loved ones exhibit psychological projection.

As cited in The Language of Psychology, (a psychology dictionary) : Psychological projection (or projection bias) can be defined as unconsciously assuming that others have the same or similar thoughts, beliefs, values, or positions on any given subject as oneself.

According to the theories of Sigmund Freud, it is a psychological defense mechanism whereby one “projects” one’s own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, feelings—basically parts of oneself—onto someone else (usually another person, but psychological projection onto animals and inanimate objects also occurs) .

In this particular example, a loved one projects their own fears, abandonment issues, and rejection onto the individual who has chosen another belief or spiritual path than what they perceive is acceptable. In most of my clients, over time, these same loved ones come to realize that the person in question becomes more peaceful, happy, and balanced as they settle into their own spiritual path.

The Business of Spiritual Growth

As for those who are “in the business”, this is unfortunately what happens to spirituality, when it is replaced with business. In my personal opinion, jealousy, prosperity, (monetary) , and mean spiritedness has no place in ANY business. As a facilitator of spiritual paths, I have no investment, or agenda, that I am following, and neither does ANY spiritual coach, facilitator, reader, shaman, or other worker in the field, who is truly following a Spiritual Path.

According to the Ethics Research Center, in 2005, 75% of those polled said they saw NO unethical behaviors in their workplaces. It is incumbent upon us as individuals to understand that ethical behavior is generally demonstrated in the workplace. Unethical behavior, when demonstrated is more easily spoken. Individuals who have been mis-treated by business people are more likely to share their stories than those who are treated well. Any competent businessperson will tell you that their employees are trained to be pleasant to customers. This is true in the business of Spiritual Growth as well.

First, investigate a potential spiritual guide with individuals who have actually worked with the individual, who can honestly evaluate if this person is worth perusing as a potential coach. Remember that not everyone is happy with the messages they receive from a spiritual worker. Your best choice is to speak to as many people as possible who have worked with that individual. One source of this type of information is testimonials from these actual clients.
Secondly, be cautious of individuals who are susceptible to gossip, or rumors, as these individuals tend to exacerbate and exaggerate issues that may or may not be present. After all, most individuals who facilitate spiritual paths that are not in the mainstream religions/spirituality don’t fit the traditional mold of a leader.

Thirdly, listen to your own guides and intuition. These are your BEST guides for YOUR path.

Each individual that truly facilitates or teaches within this discipline knows that bringing together individuals of diverse backgrounds, and paths to bring about the individual’s highest spiritual enlightenment doesn’t waste time bashing other workers. Many of my associates, follow Wiccan, Christian, Hindu, and First Peoples, (Native American) , paths and we all work together, as there is room for all. After all, since a person’s path is INDIVIDUAL, a particular facilitator cannot help everyone.

Financial Remuneration

Everyone has financial needs in this society. In tribal societies, the shaman, or spiritual worker is cared for by the community he or she serves. However, the individual in question is not doing this work as a JOB. Most of us, have been called to do this work, and are happy and honored to be able to facilitate other people’s paths. This isn’t to say, that a spiritual coach, teacher, or facilitator, should never accept support from their clients. It is all about intent. If the remuneration is paramount, then the work is secondary. I for one, and all those I work with, while we accept the funds that are offered, we don’t turn our backs on individuals who are guided to us, who do not have the financial wherewithal to “support” our work.

As one progresses in their particular path, they find various combinations of these and other stumbling blocks. Remember, it is YOUR choice what you follow.

Enjoy your Journey.

Bright Blessing,

Alfred Willowhawk

Solitaires Are Pagan Too!

Solitaires Are Pagan Too!

Author: Crick

Guess what, folks? Solitaires are pagans too!

Over the years I have personally visited many a different gathering, have been a participant in many divergent conversations and have been a member of numerous chat groups. And there seems to a divisive undercurrent in certain parts of the pagan community that solitaires are less pagan than anyone else. Good grief, do we really need this kind of elitist nonsense?

Neo paganism as it is today has to vie for acceptance in the general community at large because of misguided stereotypes. Because of the modern mind-set where everything has to fall under instant gratification or risk losing ones attention, there is a serious lack of will and discipline when it comes to learning the ages old principles of the Craft.

Add to that the proliferation of Christian concepts into paganism due to the influx of former members of that particular religion; and at the end of the day, neo paganism has more then its share of internal problems. Do we really want to ostracize folks simply because they want to pursue their spiritual path as individuals without a membership in a coven or similar gathering?

Does this attitude really make a particular gathering and/or person more pagan, then others? I personally have spent half of my pagan related journey involved with a family clan and covens and half as a solitaire. Does this make me only half as good a witch as I could be?

There seems to be one group in particular that has a problem with solitaires, which is something that I don’t understand at all. Please understand that this is not about singling out and pummeling any particular group, just a pragmatic view at issues which affect us all as pagans.
As such, the Wicca seems to be the one group that solitaires consistently cite as having divisive issues with. How the Wicca set up and run their gathering is no ones business but their own, but there are a few questions in general that begs an answer.

The Wicca has a well-known tenet that “all Wicca are witches but not all witches are Wicca”. It has been explained to me by various Wicca that one is not a true witch unless they have been initiated as a Wicca. For without such initiation one cannot be validated through lineage. This particular mindset would certainly leave out solitaires for such folks are usually self-initiated.
And any witch who came before 1954 and/or since who is not a Wicca would also be excluded under such narrow tenets.

Yet, unless I am missing the mark, paganism in general and witchcraft in particular did not begin in 1954 CE. And so such views leave the taint of elitism in the air.

So lets look at this viewpoint from that of a solitaire.

First of all, one could question what in the world does lineage have to do with the Craft?
Regardless of who from the mid 1950’s till now is in ones learning tree, it is the individual who is responsible for ones own spiritual growth and the way that one engages in acts of energy and other aspects of the Craft. If I may use an analogy, one can pay an instructor to teach them to be a black belt in karate; however the belt is only as good as the person that is wearing it at the time.

I realize that folks like to have a family tree or “lineage” as is the case here, to present to their peers, for bragging rights. But for all intents and purposes, it has little if any practical value in the Craft. When it comes to working with energy, even covens are made up of individuals who come together to weave their energy into a tapestry made up of their individual wills. So why solitaires should be disparaged for doing what is natural to them is a mystery unto itself.

Perhaps such thoughts present themselves within Wicca because in part, Wicca is fashioned off of the ideals of the Masonic Order. And those folks place a heavy emphasis on lineage. And yet another point to this concept that is confusing is that Cunningham was a self declared solitaire even though he was associated with the Wicca movement. Does the Wicca think less of an author who played a huge part in bringing them to the public eye even though he saw himself as a solitaire?

When Cunningham wrote and published his book Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, was there any attempt by the Wicca to block such a hugely popular book? And were the proceeds from this book turned away because they were predicated upon unacceptable concepts as endorsed by the Wicca?

One cannot have it both ways. A group cannot accept the vehicle that brings them their greatest source of recognition and then denounce the folks who follow the precepts that such a vehicle was created from. That is commonly referred to as hypocrisy.

And this brings me to my next thought.

If such a well-known advocate of Wicca is given the nod to write a book for solitaires based upon Wicca tenets, even if it was a tacit nod. And then there is a ground surge of interest in Wicca because of said author, couldn’t one assume that there will be folks who will want to identify with Wicca without becoming a formal member of a Wicca coven?

Should such an interest and desire be used as a platform to snub folks in order for those doing the snubbing to feel more important about themselves? Is that what paganism is about?

Another tenet held forth by the Wicca is acceptance of others beliefs and the idea of diversity. Where do solitaires fit into these grand ideals or are such ideals, simply superficial window dressing for something else all together?

If it was okay to lure such folks into the fold when a profit was being made, should they be shunted aside now that they no longer serve such a purpose?

Paganism in general is considered a minority belief system because of the very successful propaganda put forth by the three main organized religions. Do we as a perceived religious/spiritual minority really want to turn away solitaires who are just as devoted to their spiritual journeys as are any other kind of pagan?

At the end of the day, there is no pagan group or gathering that is loftier then any other. For every gathering is the sum of its members. And even if that gathering happens to number only one member, they still count.

It would be a real act of maturity and growth if the pagan community as a whole would spend less energy on the “my pop is bigger then your pop mentality” and concentrate instead on the issues that “really” matter in a magickal and nature based belief system.

I’m sure that Mother Earth would appreciate a bit more attention.

Neo paganism in general seems to be wrapped up in convincing others of our ilk, of a perceived self-importance and level of ability, which in all reality so few have actually taken the time to cultivate. The rest of the time is taken up in trying to convince society in general which consists of the conquerors that we are a valid belief system, though paganism has been just that, for eons.

What causes such insecurities one may ask? And what causes one pagan associated group to feel that it is necessary to diminish those such as the solitaires, in order to elevate themselves to a dubious standing?

In my personal life I have served for a number of years as a HP of a very active witchcraft coven and yet as a student of shamanism, I practice as a solitaire. Does that make my glass half full or half empty? Or does it really matter?

At the end of the day, all of us, whether we practice as a solitaire or not, still have to answer to our chosen Deity in regards to our spiritual growth as individuals. And so in essence we are all solitaires at heart. Let’s put to rest the hypocrisy and antipathy over solitaires for they are our brothers and sisters walking a common ground.

Besides, elitism is nothing more then a façade that is devoid of any real substance.

And so in closing, yes, solitaires can be witches too!

Simple Thoughts on Churches and Personal Spirituality

Simple Thoughts on Churches and Personal Spirituality

Author: Disciple of Oghma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So we create a system of “Absolute Truths”.

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

So then what do we do?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personal Growth and Responsibility

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Origin of Magick

The Origin of Magick

Author: Crick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where does this fear of the unknown come from?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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