Category: Articles

Deity of the Day for December 23rd – Odin

Odin – Ruler of the Norse Gods

By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide

In the Norse pantheon, Asgard was the home of the gods, and it was the place where one could find Odin, the supreme deity of them all. Connected to his Germanic ancestor Woden or Wodan, Odin was the god of kings and the mentor of young heroes, to whom he often gave magical gifts.

In addition to being a king himself, Odin was a shapeshifter, and frequently roamed the world in disguise. One of his favorite manifestations was that of a one-eyed old man; in the Norse Eddas, the one-eyed man appears regularly as a bringer of wisdom and knowledge to heroes. He pops up in everything from the saga of the Volsungs to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. He was typically accompanied by a pack of wolves and ravens, and rode on a magic horse named Sleipnir. Odin is associated with the concept of the wild hunt, and leads a noisy hoarde of fallen warriors across the sky.

Odin was said to summon dead heroes and kings to Valhalla, which they entered accompanied by the host of Valkyries. Once in Valhalla, the fallen engaged in feasting and combat, always ready to defend Asgard from its enemies. Odin’s warrior followers, the Berserkers, wore the pelts of a wolf or bear in battle, and worked themselves up into an ecstatic frenzy that made them oblivious to the pain of their wounds.

As a young man Odin hung on the world tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days while pierced by his own javelin, in order to obtain the wisdom of the nine worlds. This enabled him to learn the magic of the runes. Nine is a significant number in the Norse sagas, and appears frequently.

Odin continues to maintain a strong following, particularly amongst members of the Asatru community.

Earth Science Pic of the Day for December 23

Tibetan Fogbow

December 23, 2011

Tibet Nepal fogbow(603) resize

Photographer: Alan Millar
Summary Author: Alan Millar; Jim Foster

The eye-catching fogbow shown above was observed while trying to get a glimpse of Mt. Everest when I visited the Tibet Plateau in China. Fogbows, also known as cloudbows, are colorless (or nearly so) cousins of rainbows. It’s the small fog droplets rather than falling raindrops that are responsible for the wan color and broader arch of a fogbow compared to the more showy rainbows. Actually, as long as the drop size is greater than about one millimeter in diameter, faint coloration is usually present. In spite of the long shadows noticeable in the picture, the photo was taken just after noon, on October 29, 2011.

Is it possible to see a rainbow or fogbow near noontime in the middle latitudes? Well, evidently the short answer is “yes,” but the answer should be “no.” Because the minimum angle of deviation of light rays in a spherical drop of water is 42 degrees, a rainbow can only be observed when the Sun is higher than 42 degrees above the horizon. This is why these bows are typically appreciated in the late afternoon or early evening. However, this classic fogbow was captured 37 minutes past noon. China stretches from about 135 east longitude into central Asia at a longitude of about 75 east, a distance of nearly 3,000 mi (4,828 km). The U.S. extends about the same distance and carries four time zones. Nonetheless, there’s only one time zone for all of China: when it’s noon in Shanghai, it’s also noon in western Tibet. During fall and winter, while the Sun is relatively high in the sky at noon time in Shanghai, it’s still clutching the horizon in western China. Thus, it’s at least technically possible to see a mid-day bow in the mid-latitudes.

Note how well the red parka stands out in this foggy landscape. Is it any wonder Rudolph leads Santa’s sleigh on those gloomy Christmas Eves.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 23rd

Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

2011 December 23
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Shell Galaxy NGC 7600
Image Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford (Rancho Del Sol Observatory)
Collaboration: Andrew Cooper (MPA), Carlos Frenk, John Helly, Shaun Cole (Institute for Computational Cosmology),David Martinez-Delgado (MPIA), Star Stream Pilot Survey Group 

Explanation: Similar in size to the Milky Way, elliptical galaxy NGC 7600 is about 160 million light-years distant. In this deep image, spanning about 1/2 degree on the sky toward the constellation Aquarius, NGC 7600 sports a remarkable outer halo of nested shells and broad circumgalactic structures. The tantalizing features can be explained by the accretion of dark matter and stars on a cosmic timescale. In fact, a movie generated by simulating galaxy formation using a cosmological model with cold dark matter for the halos of merging galaxies reproduces the appearance of NGC 7600 in amazing detail. The remarkable simulation movie is available here on Vimeo and here in other formats. It presents compelling evidence that detailed features of galaxy mergers observed with small, wide field telescopes on planet Earth, are natural consequences of galaxy formation and fundamental properties of dark matter.

Goddesses for Winter Solstice: Eos and Aurora

Goddess Comments & Graphics
Goddesses for Winter Solstice: Eos and AuroraAuthor Unknown  

For the winter solstice I chose Eos and Aurora to represent the goddess. This is the time of beginning light. As the wheel of year turns, the light begins to return. This is a special time of year for me. I was born in December and my name is Dawn. It is appropriate for me to celebrate with these goddesses.

 

Eos is the Greek goddess of dawn. She was the daughter of two early light deities, Hyperion and Thea. The lovely winged creature drove a chariot hitched to four swift steeds, dragging light across the sky; she changed at midday into another goddess, Hemera (“light of day”), and later into sunset goddess Hesperide. Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn and has similar stories as of the Greek Eos; her name means“light.”

 

She had a strong sexual appetite, similar to that of Aphrodite, and had many lovers. Sometimes she would kidnap handsome men to serve her needs. There is a story relating to the gigantic Orion. When he was mortal he mistreated his wife Merope. He was blinded by Merope’s father and by the wine god Dionysus. In order to restore his sight, Orion was told to bathe his face in Eos’ rays. He stood on a hilltop looking towards the sky. Not only did she restore Orion’s sight, she kidnapped him to serve as her lover. Orion still had a violent nature and eventually was sent to the stars for an offense against Artemis.

 

Eros had another mortal lover, Tithonus. Eos was so attracted to him she wanted immortality for him. Unfortunately Eos did not ask for eternal youth. Tithonus slowly aged and Eos’love faded. She left him, but took kindness on him. She turned him into a cricket and placed him in a cage near her door. This way he could say good-bye to her as she left on her day’s journey

 

 

Preparation: Dark blue, silver or white altar cloth, one white candle. The ritual will take place at sunset or after dark.

 

Prayer: O dear Goddesses of light, we honor you on this dark day as we wait for the sun to be reborn. We have been traveling in the dark with the hope for the return of the light. We ask you Eos and Aurora to join us tonight as we welcome this day. This is a new beginning for us me as we look ahead to the New Year. Thank you for bringing the warmth of light. Blessed Be.

   
~Magickal Graphics~

Grandma’s House

Grandma’s House

by Amanda Silvers

 

I come from an ample extended family who, when I was younger, all got together to celebrate holidays, birthdays, weddings – any excuse for a party.

The winter holidays were always a frenzy of commotion, with 30-40 people taking part. The children were abundant: my mother had six, my aunt had four and my uncle had five. In addition there were other cousins, aunts, uncles, step siblings, ex-husbands, great aunts and second and third cousins.

My family, particularly my grandmother on my mother’s side, at whose household we held the holiday celebrations, enjoyed many traditions and superstitions about all sorts of things, especially Christmas and the New Year.

For instance, she said: if you don’t hang mistletoe above your front door, you’ll have bad luck. And if you do not kiss the person standing under the mistletoe, people will gossip about you. If you stand beneath the mistletoe and no one kisses you, you will not have a lover for a year.

If an unattached young man wanted to date a young woman, he could begin with a kiss under the mistletoe, and all would know his intentions were honorable. You were then considered an “item” and it was regarded almost an engagement.

The mistletoe customs were a fun and enlivening part of our holiday festivities; even when we were very young, we plotted when to get under it – trying to get the object of our desire to kiss us. This very seldom worked, because most of the time our dad or grandpa or some equally boring adult would kiss us before the inept young men got up the nerve.

Another great kissing practice is the “friendship ball,” generally made with a lemon, orange or lime and studded in some interesting and attractive manner with whole cloves.

The idea is to offer the ball to a person that you want to kiss, who then takes it, pulls out a clove with their teeth, chews it and then kisses the person who gave it to them. Then the one with the ball has the option to return it to the person that initially gave it to them, with another kiss, of course or to pass it on to another person and kiss them.

If someone offered you the kissing ball and you refused to kiss them, no one else would offer you one for the rest of the evening.

This game was fun, but more than a few conflicts were initiated when people had a tiny bit too much to drink and an individual kissed someone else’s wife or husband a few too many times or too passionately. The sparring individuals would ordinarily leave in a huff over that, but the kids found it a perfect way to emulate the “adult game” of kissing.

The New Year’s customs were regarded even more earnestly, if that were possible. We always had a special meal on New Year’s day, a sumptuous, extravagant meal, said to insure that we’d eat well the rest of the year. We toasted in the New Year together, as a family, lest one of us die during the year. We, even the kids, had champagne with strawberries, said to please the small folk into aiding us in accomplishing our desires. We toasted one another’s health, prosperity, good nature, marriage, etc. To shower good wishes on one another was necessary to insure that we’d prosper during the coming year. It has only been in the last few years that I no longer call my whole family long distance on New Year’s eve to carry on the tradition, it was that strongly ingrained in me.

More customs included that the last person to finish the meal on New Year’s day was going to get fat, or have a baby, depending on whether it was a man or woman. The first person to leave the house on New Year’s Day was supposed to kiss everyone in the house and they were to say “See ya later, alligator” before leaving the house. If one person was still asleep, or in the shower or something, the person leaving was to wait.

My grandmother, Ma Mère, was the one who was the fanatic about superstitions, and they carried over into everything, but the Christmas and New Year’s holidays customs were clearly the best. I endeavor to begin an amusing new tradition each year. You may want to use some of these or think of a festive new one for this year, and don’t forget the mistletoe!

A Celtic Flavor

A Celtic Flavor

 
 
The most common way to say Merry Christmas in Irish is “Nollaig Shona Duit.”
(Nullug Shunna it). This would be used if addressing one other person.
If you were addressing more than one person you would say “Nollaig Shona
Daoibh.” (Nullug-nuh JEEV). This literally means “You have a Happy
Christmas.” A common response to this would be “Nollaig Mbaith Chugat”
(Nullug WyHU-gut), which literally means “A good Christmas to you.”

For a Happy New Year one would say “Athbhliainfaoi Mhaise Duit.”(AH-vlee-ihn fwee WAH-shuh it) for the singular;

and the plural would be: “Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh.”(AH-vlee-ihn fweeWAH-shuh HEEV).
The literal translation would be “You have a Prosperous New Year.”

Just as in English the two expressions are often combined to say Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year, “Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise
Duit.” (Nullug shunna AH-guhs AH-vlee-ihn fweeWAH-shuh it). The plural would be:

 
“Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliainfaoi Mhaise Daoibh.” (Nullug shunna AH-guhs AH-vlee-ihn fwee WAH-shuhHEEV).
For the all of the above greetings a common responseis; “Go mba hé duit” (guh may hay it) which means:
“The same to you.”

Note: To pronounce duit. “it” Hold the “t” longer than you do in English.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful in Irish

Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Téarnaigh in Eineacht

Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Téarnaigh in Eineacht
“Tear knee in Ain nocht”

Téarnaigh in éineacht, téarnaimis go haerach
“Tear knee in Ain nocht, tear nah mish go hair ock”

téarnaigh, ó téarnaigh go mBeithil Thoir
“Tear knee, o tear knee, go meh hill hoar”

Chífimid an Nai ann, Rí na naingeal, losa
“chee fee midge an neh ow-n, Re nah nangle, Ee-sah”

Umhlóimid sios Dó
“Oh loy midge shes dough”

Umhlóimid sios Dó
Umhlóimid sios Dó
Is glóire Dó
“iss glor-ah dough”

Seinnidh, a Shlóite, Aingeal, suas bhur gceolta
“Shay knee, a hloyta, angle. sues were key ol ta”

Freagraidh, a chomhachta, a gceoltasan
“Frag rah, a co och ta, a key ol ta san”

Glóire gan teora, do theacht am tSlanathóra
“Glora gone chore ah, dough yhack ah-m teh slaw nah hoar ah”

Umhlóimid sios Dó
Umhlóimid sios Dó
Umhlóimid sios Dó
Is glóire Dó

 

Creating Healing Traditions

Creating Healing Traditions

  • Wendy Strgar

“Of one thing I am certain, the body is not the measure of healing – peace is the measure.” ~George Melton

As a child I dreaded the holidays. Weeks of uninterrupted solid family dysfunction were made unbearable by what seemed like everyone else having the best time of the year. I remember one year buying a tiny plastic tree and decorating it with cheap lights and tinsel so I could have some holiday spirit, too. I got sick a lot during those vacations and, sitting feverish in front of the holiday film reruns and advertising, only made me feel worse. I know from being married to a doctor for the last three decades that the holidays are a peak time for illness and emotional breakdowns.

Everyone is carrying around a sack full of something, and for many, it is an emptiness that only seems to get heavier through the years. It is easy to believe that with all the media messages around that we can purchase the fullness we all want to feel. It only took a couple of years of gorging on stuff to realize that stuff never satisfied anyone. Instead, over the years I created our holiday traditions around healing rituals that not only helped me to heal my own past, but have also given my kids a chance to make their own meaning in this time.

We had a lot to work with as our mixed religious backgrounds gave us many holiday choices to reinvent. The Hanukkah ritual is a favorite and it can be adapted to any other holiday or even just used at winter solstice. A celebration of light, for us it became a celebration of recognizing the light of gratitude and wonder in our own lives. Each night we take turns lighting candles and sharing the light of all the many things we have to be grateful for. My children have been profound teachers in this ritual, each with remarkable insights into the beauty and wonder of the world.

Training one’s mind in gratitude is perhaps one’s most worthy pursuit and guaranteed to heal one’s holiday emptiness. In fact, there is no other single human emotional quality that has the power to completely reinvent how you perceive your life and open a door to contentment and abundance. Many of the oldest secret societies in the world have gratitude built into their foundational belief systems. It takes practice if you are not accustomed, but gratitude is how happiness feels when it is imbued with wonder.

The most meaningful gifts at this time of year can’t be bought or even given; they are the transformation that happens in us when we are open to receiving. As a chronic giver, this ability to receive is a fledgling chick just learning to fly in me, but I now understand that letting go of how I think things should be and listening deeply to what is right in front of me is almost always a gift that I would have entirely missed in the past. When we get stuck on how life’s offerings (and you can expand that to include people and stuff) don’t match our expectations, we literally turn away from the love and pleasure that is ours. I see it happen every day; we refuse to be loved when it doesn’t look the way we want it to. Celebrate life this holiday season by allowing and receiving life’s gifts in front of you. Practice releasing your thoughts and preconceived ideas when you open a gift and listen for what might be deeply hidden in the gift in front of you.

All of this healing might make you bold enough to attempt the deepest giving of all- Forgiving. This is when we accept that we won’t get a better past and when we finally understand that the only one being harmed by the grudges we hold are ourselves. Forgiveness, in many ways, is the ultimate act of receiving. You finally free yourself from carrying around the baggage of emptiness filled with justifiable injury and disrespect that might never get proper acknowledgement. Forgiveness is a chance to see beyond what we have always known and create room to get a glimpse of a universe still unknown to us. In these moments, we can drop the stories that have defined our holiday memories for so long.

It is a bold step, creating rituals to heal the holidays; you will be astonished at how it transforms the New Year.

3 Holiday Gifts Just for You

3 Holiday Gifts Just for You

  • Sara, from Institute of HeartMath

Deborah, I and all of us at HeartMath wish all of you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and wonderful new year. Remember to take some time to connect with your heart during the hustle and bustle and to breathe and flow with ease.

As you scurry from shop to shop in search of the perfect gifts for friends, loved ones and colleagues, it’s nice to know that relying on your intuition and a little heart coherence will guide you in the right direction. Before setting out to shop, give yourself the first gift.

#1 -Prevent the Frazzle

Take a few moments to calm and center yourself. You can use HeartMath’s Inner-Ease™ Technique; and when you are out and about you use the 30-second Quick Coherence® Technique – anywhere – to put things in their proper perspective.

#2 – Replace Something Old With Something New

How about giving you a unique holiday gift that will also prepare you for the new year by replacing something old with something new – within.

Begin by asking your heart’s intuition to make you aware of some emotional habit pattern or behavior that you would like to change. Here are some examples:

  • Procrastination –- Putting off medical check-ups, exercise, other healthy commitments, etc.
  • Vulnerable Communication — Maybe you need to communicate your feelings more often when something bothers you; this prevents storing up judgments and hurt which create energy drain and separation.

These are two examples that most of us experience at times. Ask your intuition to reveal a non-effective habit that you could change and replace with a positive strength. Give it time and your intuitive feelings will alert you when the “just right situation” pops up.

Once you decide what emotional pattern you want to change; then write it down. Also write down your new replacement intention — such as replacing impatience with patience. Make the process fun — like an experiment. This keeps the drama and heaviness out of the practice, making it much easier to succeed.

#3 Don’t Make it a Big Deal

When you catch yourself repeating a pattern you want to change, just acknowledge it and breathe the feeling of ease for a while. This will calm the mental and emotional vibration of the pattern. Then, from your genuine heart, shift into the new replacement attitude or behavior that you chose. Repeat the process each time the old pattern pops up. Be patient and respect that some emotional habits take longer to change but you will see progress — as your heart commitment strengthens.

Important Note:

At times if it seems too hard to shift the old patterns or feelings — don’t stress over it or judge yourself – don’t make it a big deal. Just acknowledge it, then move on and visit it later when the energy has subsided. It soon becomes easier to identify unwanted feelings and attitudes and replace them. Remember it’s a gift you are giving to you, but your friends and loved ones also will benefit.

We hope you will gain as much from opening these gifts for you as Deborah and I have gained from using them. Sharing your comments and stories will be a holiday gift to others and inspiration for the new year.

The Most Wanted Gift (and It’s Free!)

The Most Wanted Gift (and It’s Free!)

  • Robert Pagliarini

 

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve written how you can save money this Christmas and even shared 10 free Christmas gift ideas. If you follow those tips, you’ll make the people on your list quite happy. But if “happy” just isn’t good enough for the most special people in your life, you can give them a gift they will never forget . . .

I was at a party the other night, and after the other guests had left, the host and I sat around the kitchen table and just talked. I mean we really talked — something much deeper and more meaningful than the surface-level chit-chat that occupied most of the evening’s conversations.

What I heard touched me. The host, a neighbor I just met this year, opened up and told me how much he valued our friendship. He said I was an inspiration. I shot back, “I don’t know about that…” but he stopped me. He looked at me thoughtfully and slowly said, “Robert, you really have been.” He then went on to give me very specific events and interactions over the last 12 months of how I impacted his life and why he was grateful we met.

A few things struck me about this conversation. First, I immediately felt overwhelming gratitude. It was an amazing feeling to have someone tell me how much my friendship meant. Nothing feels better than to hear someone tell you how much you mean to them and the impact you’ve made on their life.

Second, whether you are cognizant of it or not, you have had and are having an impact on others — your co-workers, your neighbors, your clients, your family, and your friends. And if you think very long about it, you’ll realize they have had an impact on you.

Third, for a lesser man (or woman), these heart-to-heart conversations don’t just roll off the tongue. They take courage. They also require details. It’s one thing for someone to tell you in glib Hallmark fashion how much you mean to them, but it is a completely different and more profound experience to hear the smallest of details that you thought went unnoticed.

Fourth, there is usually a large disparity between how we see ourselves and how others see us. It can be fascinating and eye-opening to hear how others experience us. And lastly, the feeling that has developed since that night is the desire — maybe more aptly described as a need — to share with those around me how they have impacted my life.

Maybe you’re already good at sharing your feelings. You may argue that throughout the year you tell your friends and loved ones what they mean to you so there’s no need to do it again. Maybe you’re afraid this kind of conversation would make your friend or family member feel uncomfortable. Or more likely, you may be hesitant because it would make you uncomfortable.

Whatever your excuse, I’m going to make it easy for you. Use these questions as your guide. If one-on-one isn’t your thing, write your answers in a letter or card, send them an email, or post the questions and answers to their Facebook wall.

  • What do you appreciate about me the most?
  • What have I done this year that made your 2011 special?
  • How would your life be different if I wasn’t in it?
  • What did I do this year for which you are most proud?
  • What are my best qualities?
  • What traits do I have that you wished you had?
  • How do you experience me?
  • What do you know about me that I probably don’t?

This is your fast track to move beyond pleasantries and platitudes. It will touch the lives of all those you send this to in a powerful and meaningful way. They won’t look at you or the relationship the same. And if that’s not enough, this is one gift you can give and avoid the malls, the lines, and the debt this Christmas. Now that’s something to be grateful for!

Prayer Bowls

Prayer Bowls
 
What is a prayer bowl? A Prayer bowl is used to listen to your prayers, wishes, and thoughts, and carry
them into the other dimensions (the astral). They can be used to make any room more spiritual, without
causing to much attention. They are good for the workplace, because to co-workers, it is just a decoration,
and for you, it is a magical tool. The feather would be one that means something to you, perhaps a feather
of your power animal, and a feather of a power animal that you relate to. The crystals can be anything, from
clear quartz for focusing energy, to hematite for healing. These things can be looked up in various books.
A Prayer bowl is a fairly simple object to make. Take a small bowl that you like, a feather that means
something to you, some crystals, and some dirt. Put the dirt into the bowl, put the crystals on the dirt,
and place a feather in it.
After it is put together, empower it to listen to your prayers. In a dim light room, preferably candle lit, gaze
into the feather. Concentrate on what this prayer bowl is going to do for you. Think about the bird that it came
from, the views of the world that it must have seen. Thank that bird for giving of itself so that you may have this
prayer bowl. Next, think about the crystals, and what they mean for you. Visualize them in there natural
environment, deep in the Earth, and thank them for coming to you for this prayer bowl. In the Americas, they
are known as “stone people”.
After it is empowered, place it in an appropriate spot. I like to have mine near a window, so as they get a little
sun now and again. Also, the feather can hear the calls of the birds.
 
Pagan Hearth Recipes

The Pagan Roots Of Christmas

The Pagan Roots Of Christmas

The early Christians quite consciously chose the pagan sun holiday for the celebration of their Son-god’s birth.
Christmas falls during the Roman Saturnalia and at the birth of the Mithraic sun god. According to
“A Witches Bible Compleat”, by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Archbishop of Constantinople wrote that
church fathers fixed the Nativity during the pagan holidays because “while the heathen were busied with
their profane rites, the Christian might perform their holy ones without disturbance.”
Other Christians accused those who kept Christmas at the solstice of performing sun worship. Armenians,
who celebrate Christmas on January 6, elsewhere Epiphany, called Roman Christians idolaters, according to Funk
and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. Similarly, under the Puritans in 1644,
the English Parliament expressly forbade observing Christmas. Augustine admitted that putting Christmas at
the winter solstice was a conscious identification of the Son with the sun but defended the symbolism.

The Christmas most Americans know as children mixes a celebration of the birth of Christ with traditions

from the Roman Saturnalia, the Northern European Yule, and the Celtic Solstice.
 
GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast

Beat Holiday Blues with Feng Shui

Beat Holiday Blues with Feng Shui

  • Erica Sofrina

One of my favorite fall rituals is to fill my trunk with an abundance of the multicolored, unusually shaped pumpkins and gourds that richly grace the Half Moon Bay, N. California coast side where I reside. I especially love the lime- green and tangerine ones with exotic curly handles. I throw in handfuls of dry, crackly autumn-colored corn and drive happily home where I arrange them artfully around a haystack on my front porch.

Inside I arrange a bountiful ‘horn of plenty’ with the smaller multicolored gourds and mini-pumpkins along with the acorns, dry corn and colorful autumn leaves I have collected.

This is my celebration into fall. I don’t really feel it has arrived until I greedily scoop up nature and feature it prominently in my home.

The Chinese art of Feng Shui emphasizes the importance of bringing nature into our living space, which is called the Five Elements Theory. This is the part of Feng Shui that I have found the most powerful when working with my clients, and the part that I most enjoy teaching to my students. I think it must be because this teaching is so intuitive and simple, yet transformational.

As human beings we are connected to 100,000 generations of ancestors who lived in the natural world. It is embedded into our DNA to feel a deep sense of balance and well being in nature. Studies have shown that people become depressed, lethargic and unproductive when deprived of it. We don’t need science to prove the joyousness we feel sinking our feet into white sands while watching a magnificent sunset. We experience it healing our soul and nurturing our spirit.

 

One powerful way to remedy winter blues is to work with balancing the elements that begin to diminish during the fall and winter seasons. In working with the Feng Shui five elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood, we work with the controlling and the nurturing cycles. When we have too much of an element we control it by bringing in the element that is stronger. An example would be the element of earth which we would enhance in order to control the element of water. When we have too little of an element we can nurture it with the element that feeds it, such as the element of wood which will strengthen and feed the element of fire.

By bringing into our homes more of the elements of fire (red), wood (green) and earth (gold) during the colder months, we overcome the abundance of the water element and bring them back into balance. Because we are deeply affected by our physical surroundings, our physical bodies come back into balance as well. As a result depression and lethargy often naturally lifts.

It was no surprise to me to discover that our ancestors had been decorating in this same fashion for centuries. As creatures of comfort we will always try to bring our environment into alignment. In so doing they were naturally balancing these seasonal imbalances.

My favorite winter ritual is to fill my trunk with large branches from the unclaimed fir trees and berry bushes around my home. I give them their seasonal ‘haircut’ and into my trunk they go. That evening, I put on my favorite holiday music and immerse myself in the creative process of adorning my home with these bountiful earthy treasures.

Always preferring to save a Christmas tree, I create my own ‘greener’ recycled version and adorn a tall vase with pine boughs with twinkly white lights, shiny gold balls, strings of red cranberries and my collection of small unique ornaments. I cover the mantle with pungent greens, red poinsettias, strands of magical white lights and shimmering silver and gold ribbons. A cherished Angel holds the place of honor at the center Every tabletop gets a unique variation on this theme creating a sense of interest and visual surprise everywhere the eye rests.

I encourage you to play, create, feel and experience the objects, textures, smells and magic of nature. Bring it into your homes in abundance during this time and especially emphasize the more earthy, woody and fiery aspects. It will replenish your soul and create a deep sense of joy and well being within you, making the fall and winter a magical cozy and happy time to be in your home.

Your comments are always welcome. Tell me how you bring nature into your home during the holidays.

Enjoy!

The Language of the Stars

The Language of the Stars

Author: Radko Vacek

Having listened to the language of the stars closely, I do think it is spiritual, and in accord with the properties of – our own minds! To realize that their language, in all its heavenly grandeur, shares our own mental properties helps us feel better about ourselves. To think that we, in spite of all our flaws, are in the image of the heavenly and the Divine gives us the confidence and the hope to resume reaching for the unreachable star!

I do think that astrologers have been right all along! The language of the heavenly bodies does seem to reflect the events of our daily lives, which highlight that spiritual, divine aspect of life so easily overlooked. This makes the language of the stars, astrology, spiritual! I agree with you: astrology communicates mostly nonsense, but that is if we equate astrology with sun sign and newspaper horoscopes. But if we learn the language as it is meant to be understood, it becomes truly spiritual. How great this is, because as a spiritual language, it is very relevant to us as human beings concerned about our welfare.

To speak of spirituality to one another can have a great impact on our well-being, even turn our whole lives around. In the Introduction to his 2007 book, Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy, Dr. Kenneth Pargament began by describing his work doing psychotherapy with a client named Alice. She struggled for decades with manic depression. He described Alice’s turning point towards recovery, when she was describing how, when she was first hospitalized, she felt terrified while lying on her bed. She went on to share how then she felt something warm in the center of her chest, how the feeling spread through the rest of her body. She said that through this feeling, she knew God was with her, telling her He always would be with her.

Why was she depressed? Maybe she hated herself. Do you sometimes hate yourself too? Each of us can feel better about ourselves and be empowered, by experiencing Divinity in our lives and sharing that experience with each other, as people receptive to spirituality being a very important aspect of life. Knowing that the relationships of the very heavenly bodies, in all their awesome grandeur, are reflected in the events of our lives, which seem so short and trivial in comparison, why would we not be open to spirituality? Knowing that, no longer does it seem hard to believe that a power so great, underlying the whole of this vast universe, could be felt by us on our lowly level as this personal Deity. In this sense, spirituality becomes a value to embrace as a very important aspect of our daily lives. So, the language of the stars is spiritual in the sense of giving us this vital message about our spiritual nature.

I do think that the language of the stars also is a human language, in accord with the properties and the powers of our minds. You might not want to embrace this idea, preferring to think of theirs as like a tongue of angels, or whatever celestial beings you believe in. Take consolation in this: things could be worse. The stellar language could be computer like!

What exactly are the properties shared by our languages and, more generally, the properties of our minds? Considering that we are around people much of the time, and cannot help but live with ourselves all the time, you would think these are easy questions. Actually, they have been the topics of much debate for thousands of years! On the one hand were those who thought of human language as being atomistic, in the sense of being reducible to the words from which sentences are composed. On the other hand were those who thought of it as being holistic, in the sense of being functional and implying sentences from the very beginning. That is, if a toddler says, “wawa”, the whole sentence, ‘I want a drink of water’, is implied, according to this school of thought. In fact, rarely does a toddler, according to them, say a word just for the sense of mastery in saying it; rather, they thought that language usually is inherently functional.

Whatever theory a person had about the nature of human language usually went hand in hand with a theory of the nature of the human mind in general. Those who had an atomistic model of language tended to think of the mind as more like a blank slate. They argued that the environment is more influential, with people acquiring language and other complex behaviors in bits, put together through learning in step-by-step approximations. Those who had a holistic model of language tended to think of the person as being born with a mind already prepared to organize bits into some type of whole, and therefore from the very beginning responding to roughly holistic perceptions in roughly holistic ways.

The verdict finally is in and, based on the evidence, the vote of the scientific community favors the holistic model of human language and its acquisition, as well as a holistic model of how the human mind, from birth, tends to perceive the environment and respond. Linguistic ability definitely appears to be stored in the human brain as a set of unconscious patterns of mental grammar, which is inborn. Of course, nothing is the result of nature alone. The environment always affects the unfolding of the natural potentials of any organism. In the case of children, they learn the specifics of their particular language through interactions with other people, but always, that learning occurs in the contexts of a genetically encoded “Universal Grammar” which provides the framework for all human languages. In fact, many other human abilities appear to be made possible through such inborn, mental organization. (See Ray Jackendoff, 1994, Patterns in the Mind.) It does appear, from the evidence that the mechanisms of human language serve as an effective model for understanding the way we are.

This has crucial implications for astrology as a helping profession and a body of knowledge. This is great news for those who worry about science disproving astrology. Astrology is most fundamentally a theory for understanding the way we are. It is not quite a science yet, for the lack of scientifically rigorous research confirming so many of its beliefs, but still, I do think it is a metaphysics, based on the pondering, from personal experiences, of many intelligent people over thousands of years. Definitely, it is more about understanding the way we are, than about what we are in the process of becoming. Like psycholinguists, astrologers recognize how the environment always affects the unfolding of the natural potentials of people, but always, like psycholinguists, astrologers emphasize the eternal influence, in the background, of a framework for empowering learning, with which people are born. Psycholinguists speak of “Universal Grammar”; astrologers speak of the natal chart with equal enthusiasm. Both, addressing natal factors, propose ways of understanding the way we are.

Given that astrologers and psycholinguists have all this in common, it behooves astrologers to teach and to practice their art more in accord with psycholinguistic findings. They teach the art in an atomistic way, in introducing the planets first, like words, then putting them in the contexts of signs and houses, but still in a way isolated from the rest of the planets and the natal configuration as a whole. Finally, the aspects between these planets, like sentences, are introduced. It is believed that this approach makes learning astrology easier, but does it? There is much evidence in the brain sciences, that people naturally perceive and interpret new stimuli in holistic ways, which perhaps also applies to the natal chart.

Astrologers want to get away from a fortunetelling model, in which events are fated by the stars, in favor of a counseling model of helping clients make informed decisions. This is understandable, in that the latter seems to be a more promising way of helping people. In doing so, however, many astrologers perhaps lose sight of the foundations of their art, definitely most fundamentally a means to understand the way we are, and secondarily, although importantly, to understand what we are in the process of becoming. No interpretation of transits or progressions can be made without the contexts set by the natal chart, as a reflection of the way the person is. Surely progressions and transits can reflect the changes a person undergoes, but the nature and the extent of change is always in astrology put in terms of the constraints set by the way the person naturally is, as reflected by the natal chart.

For instance, a person may be born when Mars is in Libra. Mars traditionally is said to represent the vital drive, which can manifest in either a good or a bad way. The good way is through assertiveness, and the bad through aggression. Libra traditionally is said to represent the quest of the person to unite with one’s other half, in marriage or some intense relationship. Some astrologers suggest that, if the person chooses not to gratify this Martian desire, the Martian aspect of the person becomes bad in discharging its drive through aggression. As much as the exercise of your freedom of choice is to be encouraged, I think that this interpretation of Mars is inconsistent with astrology as a nativist theory and unrealistic in its optimism about the extent of human free will. A sounder interpretation of Mars is to interpret it in contexts of the distance it is from other heavenly bodies and aspects it makes to them in the natal chart. Depending on these factors, Mars may tend to be either a predominantly aggressive or an assertive influence throughout the person’s life.

It sounds tragic; it surely can be a very dark cloud. Yet, I think it does have a silver lining, two in fact! One, Mars may reflect a force with which you must grapple for the rest of your life, but there is as well a chance of other, friendly forces accompanying you throughout your life. Two, grappling is not necessarily such a hostile activity! When I was a child, I did judo, of which grappling, much like wrestling, was a part. It was a mock adversity, because really it was friendly; we were strengthening each other through the struggle. Judo is respected by most people, but boxing? I have heard some call it barbaric. This is, however, a matter of the attitude you choose to take, as is the status of Mars in what is considered to reflect a predominantly aggressive force in your life. If you develop into a skilled boxer, then, in spite of the suffering you and others may face, you have allowed that something, which is a part of your nature no less than everything else, to manifest. Without doing so, you would not have been all that can be. In a similar way, regardless of what others say, letting that predominantly aggressive, Martian force have expression could let you be all that you can be. The choice still is yours, whether or not you want to pay the price of the suffering you and others may face.

The message of astrology is that, although we are constrained by our natal charts from becoming whatever we would like, nevertheless we can choose whether or not the way we are is an actualization of all that we can be. We do have some freedom after all! If you choose that path, then you might find your starlink.

Oh no! Is it real? It is the morning after!
What happened to all the causes for the laughter?
The Hell is in the living
With the unbelievable things which I have done!
The humanness is in the grieving
For all that I have lost, the beautiful now gone!
The enchantment is in the believing
In the resurrection, the reincarnation,
The cause that makes life go on.
The hope is in the reaching
For the unreachable star.

 

Get in Tune With the Moon

Get in Tune With the Moon

Author: Jess

The modern age has led us to believe that we are better than nature. We have calendars that help us count the days and clocks to tell time for us. There is just one problem with that: it’s incorrect. How is it that our months have different numbers of days? Or that we have to adjust our calendar every four years to make up for our current systems inadequacies?

These are simple issues that all lead back to our ancestors and how their primeval ways were sometimes more advanced than our own. Humans of the past followed the moon’s cycle, a simple and natural way to connect with our planet and its time.

Following the moon’s cycle can help people to better understand their own internal clocks, especially women. There is a reason that the female body has a twenty-eight day cycle, and that females have such a passionate range of emotions.

The moon has much more power over us than a lot of people seem to believe. But we Pagans have a leg up on most people in that department. We acknowledge the moon and its stages along with the Goddess. So how much do we really connect with our beliefs in that regard? The moon helps women’s bodies change, sways our emotions, and even allows us to experience more enlightenment when the time is right.

No one can argue against the moon’s connection with women’s bodies. We wax and wane along with this bright beacon in the night’s sky. At our fullest we are fertile and I have met many a man who finds women more attractive during this time. It’s only natural.

Unfortunately, nowadays many women take oral contraceptives. And with good reason, of course. The world is overpopulated, and having a child is a big responsibility. But by masking our natural connection with the moon, women hinder the bonds with the Mother Goddess. That makes it harder to feel at peace with oneself.

My husband and I learned this when I stopped taking birth control pills to conceive our first child. Since then I have been much more in tune with my body, nature, and the Gods. After my daughter was born, I did the natural thing and breastfed her. While doing so I did not have my cycle. Its nature’s way of allowing your current baby the nourishment and care it needs.
Now that my daughter is a toddler and weaned, I do not wish to get back on any form of hormonal birth control. Since I have been off of the pill I have had less mood swings, and am much more in tune with my body. And there are so many other options of non-hormonal birth control.

Our hormones drive us to do what is natural, especially women. So when healthy women are taking unnatural doses of these chemicals to keep from getting pregnant, they alter their natural behaviors. This is not to say that I am against birth control in any way, but I have found that there are so many options out there that hormonal options are not always best.

Now that I am no longer on the pill I feel more connected to my body, and have found that following the moon’s cycle prepares me for what is coming next. I am more aware of when my mood may be more sensitive than others. And my husband is thankful that he can follow the moon in order to better understand how I may be feeling.

Next, there is no doubt that people have more energy when the moon is waxing, and that surge of energy is often able to contribute to success as opposed to the new moon stage, when a lot of people often feel drained or downtrodden.

I call this nature’s way of forcing us to slow down and take it easy. But many people fight these feelings in our fast paced society, creating adverse effects like depression or anger issues. A lot of us experience pressure to do better in the workplace or at school. But you cannot do more when you are feeling like less of a person.

Then there is the last and most intriguing of the moon’s direct effect on people. When we adhere to the moon’s cycle, it is possible to reach higher heights. Certain meditations are best done at specific days and times that coincide with the moon’s stage that best suits the practice.
This is where the gods come in. Being that the moon represents the Goddess and the sun represents the God, these spiritual high times are when the presence of the gods can be felt at a stronger and more intimate level. Nature is our direct link to the gods.

And nature’s clock is the sun and the moon; there is no sleep button, no loud buzzing alarm to set. Taking the time to listen to the moon and perform rituals and spells accordingly will help your practices be more effective. This is also more helpful in finding enlightenment or even simple piece of mind.

The full moon has always been the greatest time to have an out of body experience for myself. And when mastered, a knowledgeable spirit can glance into the Summerlands. There is so much more to life than what the technological world offers. Sure technology is great if used as just another tool, but the natural world is much more substantial.

Connecting with nature and understanding the moon helps people to live better lives. It allows us to be more conscious of the world around us and inside of us, just as following the sun helps people to draw on the elements. And by following the different stages of the moon, humans can better understand each other.

Men can better understand why women may be a bit more emotional during certain times and to be more understanding when emotions run a bit hot. Whereas women can be more in tune with their bodies, their emotions, and we can all experience more enlightenment. Following the moon’s cycle helps people to have a better grasp on the world around them. You don’t need a computer to tell you that.

Five Elements of Magick

Five Elements of Magick

Author: Taliesin McKnight

In several forms of magick such as Wicca and ceremonial magick, there are five Elemental powers that are invoked, directed, and utilized. These are the Elements of Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit. The Fifth Element of Spirit (and this is very important) is not really an Element unto itself, but this will be dealt with shortly. These Elemental powers are called upon in ritual to stand guard over sacred space and to protect the practicing magician or witch from hostile entities and energies. It is for this reason that they are often referred to as the “Guardians.”

The very fact that many systems of magick utilize the powers of the Elements reveals that magick has its basis and foundation in the world of nature: the wind, the sun and moon, the oceans, the passage of the seasons, and mighty storms is truly the treasure house of magick. To be a student of witchcraft is to be a student of nature, regardless of what form of magick one chooses to delve into.

The Element of Earth represents the material world. It governs such things as finances, prosperity, good luck, success in business, fertility, harvests, and other such things. Earth also represents the state of solidity in alchemical lore. Earth is the starting place where we begin our journey. To deny the body and the material world in which we live is to live in denial and poverty. Earth is what grounds us and brings us back to the world of the senses. The Element of Earth stands guard and protects the northern section of the magick circle, in which magick is performed. It its the guardian of the north.

Air represents the world of mind. It is thought and logic. Air, therefore, encompasses such things as knowledge, education, learning, communication, popularity, and philosophy. The witch will invoke the forces of wind and Air in order to gain hidden knowledge. Thus, Air also rules over divination. The mind can, indeed, be likened to the sky. Thoughts pass through the mind as clouds. Sometimes our thoughts are sunny and enlightened. Other times the mind is filled with darkness and dreary thoughts.

It is thought which vitalizes and manifests reality. Without the force of reason our civilization would be as nothing. Think of the Element of Air to represent the Great Mind of Nature, whilst the powers also represent the faculty of thought within the microcosm: Man. The witch calls down the forces of wind to gain knowledge of the unknown and to advance in education. It also protects and stands guard over the eastern quarter of the magick circle. In alchemical language Air represents gas.

Water is the realm of emotion. Love, compassion, depression, empathy, and other such emotions are within its domain. Water is also connected to the moon. Emotions are like the tides of the ocean: ebbing and flowing, and always in a state of motion and change. Sometimes the seas of emotion are stormy, while at others it is calm and placid. Water also rules over intuition, artistic inspiration, dreams, romantic love, and psychic ability. It is the realm of the subconscious mind. The forces of Water govern and protect the western part of the magick circle. It represents fluidity in the art of chemistry.

Fire is also emotion, but represents more fiery emotions such as anger, lust, ambition, and zeal. It can be said that it represents passion more than emotion. Fire is also the destructive Element. It burns away the old and destroys. It is also the Great Transmuter, causing matter to transform from one state into another. In this way, it is the philosophers’ stone of alchemy. Fire also represents the spiritual element in Man. Without light (brought by Fire) , we cannot see. But bring forth the fiery light and we see reality as it truly is.

Thus, Fire represents spirituality, enlightenment, passion, and destruction. It is called upon by the witch to destroy enemies (however unethical this may be) and to bring protection. Fire is the guardian of the southern section of the circle wherein magick is done.

The Element of Spirit is not really an Element unto itself. It is more like the primordial essence from which the other four Elements (Earth, Air, Water, and Fire) draws its being. The Element of Spirit encompasses and transcends the other Elements. It is symbolized by the center of the circle. Spirit is called by many names by various traditions and magicians. Some call it the Divine Element, whilst others prefer the more Hindu sounding name of “Akasha.” It can truly be said that the other four Elements are merely manifestations of spirit, or that the other Elements act as intermediaries in which Man may ponder and contemplate the fathomless essence of which Spirit is. It is truly beyond mortal comprehension.

Do these Elements really reside within physical fire, water, air, and earth? This is highly debated within the occult community. Some will say yes, and that these are merely the astral or spiritual counterparts of the physical elements themselves. Others, however, will claim, just as strongly, that the physical elements are only symbols in the mind of Man. However, even if they are just “symbols”, the powers are still linked to the physical symbols themselves. Thus, whatever the case may be, the Elements are linked to their physical counterparts.

Now that this is understood, one may grow to grasp the deeper mysteries of magick. One should always keep in mind, however, that the true mysteries or “secrets” have never been written down. They are the secret and unutterable doctrine of occult science. Speaking them to the profane has been forbidden since the beginning of time. Even if one wished to communicate them, they are unable to be expressed into words, as they transcend human language.

These four Elements will guard and protect you in ritual. They will bend and bring to you your every desire. The Elements will take care of you if you let them. Allow their powers to manifest in your life.

Doing The Work: Building a Spiritual Practice

Doing The Work: Building a Spiritual Practice

Author: Faye Dewell

What defines a Pagan? Is it just the belief in the old Gods and Goddesses? Is it doing Ritual work? Do you even have to believe in Magic to be a Pagan? At this point in time, it often seems like anything goes. And while I agree with the general premise that we should be careful about how we limit who and what we define as Pagan, because it can have detrimental effects on our community, I also believe that we need to have a clear look at what we define as being a practicing Pagan versus holding Pagan beliefs. Because I think there is a difference.

While there is no such thing as being “Pagan enough” there is something to be said in terms of qualifying our practice in regards to Sunday or Holiday Paganism (to borrow a Christian term) or Armchair Paganism (to take from Pop Culture) . There’s nothing wrong with being an Armchair Pagan if that’s what you want from this path. And if you only want to sign up for public rituals, so be it. I’m not here to judge those choices.

However, the fact of the matter is, whether you’re a 101 or 1001 Pagan, if you’re still stuck in your armchair, you’re not going to get as much from your craft as you could be. And that’s a choice you have to make for yourself: What do you want from your spirituality? Is Paganism even about spirituality for you? Or is Paganism a set of beliefs that help you understand the world, but nothing more?

We bandy about terms like Priest and Priestess, identifying Pagan practitioners (often, not always) as being Priesthood holders. But what does it mean to be the person responsible for your own faith, your own spiritual path?

Well, in a very literal sense, I suppose it could mean whatever you want it to mean. It could simply mean holding a certain set of beliefs. For example, it could mean believing in Lugh, Brighid and Tuatha de Danann without actually doing any more than praying to the Deities within that pantheon. Is that Pagan enough? For some it might be and I’m not in a position to judge that as being wrong. If it works for you and defines the space spirituality takes in your life, all the more power to you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that if that’s what you are looking for from your Paganism.

However, I would argue that there is a great difference between holding Pagan beliefs and carving out a Pagan lifestyle. Wherever we are on our path, and however we define the nature of our path, I think it’s important that we make the effort to understand what our pathwork entails and then hold ourselves up to that level of commitment. And even within the ways we carve out our Paganism, there may be vast differences that can lead to arguments between members of the community in terms of what is “right” and “wrong.” I’m not here to look at that. I’m here to think about what it means to you (and me) to do the work if the work itself is something that interests you. For me, that means making an effort to actually claim my path, do the work, develop a practice, and make it mine, which is very different than Sunday (or Ritual) Paganism.

After all, how in Hades are we ever going to be any good at things like magic if we don’t take the time to hone our skills? Or have a relationship with the Divine if we don’t take the time to get to know them? How will we know ourselves enough to live a life of spiritual intention if we don’t spend time getting to know ourselves and contemplating what our spiritual intentions are?

Seriously.

I’m not asking the question to be rude or confrontational. Because honestly, these are questions that I ask myself on a regular basis, every time I fall off the wagon and let every day mundane (muggle) life draw me away from my practice. And it’s harsh but honest, and it keeps me in check. These questions keep me doing the stuff and developing the path that I am committed to following.

Every week I create new prompts for a 52 weeks of Pagan Art Journaling project I’m hosting, and in this week’s art journal prompt, I asked: what do you want people to know about your path? And my answer was this: that it requires serious levels of commitment and self-discipline. It requires that I do the work. Often without support systems, often at odds with the materialism in the world around me, often despite my own personal laziness and apathy. Because more often than not, I am my own worst enemy and as a member of a “fringe” religion, I don’t have the benefit of mainstream culture keeping me accountable or reinforcing the value system I’ve “created” for myself. (Which sounds like a lot of big pompous words to just say that sometimes this path is a bit more challenging because it isn’t necessarily aligned with what the world around us is doing and how our society is encouraging us to live) .

But more importantly, a Mystery Tradition, by its very nature requires a great deal of inner work in order to understand it. No one expects a yogi to reach enlightenment without yoga and meditation. So why do so many modern Pagans expect to being able to do magic and understand the Divine without doing the “Pagan variation” of the same things? Exercise and contemplation (or rather, if you will, practice and meditation) . If we can’t discipline our minds enough to focus our will on the intent of a spell, how will we actually create strong and effective spell work?

And more importantly, beyond the magic, how do we complete the “Great Work” of our Mystery Traditions if we don’t understand what the hell that means?

Don’t just take my word for it. Pick an area and focus on it, work it. Get to know the feel and shape of it. Study it like you’d study a university subject. Be dedicated to learning your craft on a daily basis (or at least somewhat regular basis) , be it doing the Sabbats and Moons, or meditating daily, or taking time to observe the lunar cycles. Start small and build up. Don’t try to do it all at once because that’s a recipe for failure. But pick one thing, get that down, and then add another.

At this point in my practice (in loose, ambiguous terms that you can read between the lines of) , this is what my daily practice includes:

Meditation
Exercises
Dream keeping
Study
Weekly Classes
Journaling (art and written) reactions, thoughts, questions, emotions, etc
Tarot Work

On average, I spend at least 30 minutes a day devoted to my practice, if not double or triple that. If you’d asked me at the start of this work if I’d be capable of that, I would have emphatically denied my ability to be that self-disciplined. I am not good at self-discipline and never have been. But I started slowly. I have a buddy system. I am accountable to others when I fall off the wagon. And all of these things are things that help me stay focused. And it’s been worth it. Because trust me, if you don’t know it already, this path is amazing in terms of what it can bring into your life.

My practice has turned my world upside down and inside out, but the things that I have learned about people and myself have been phenomenal. I returned to this path after years in academia feeling jaded and wanting to believe but having a hard time reconnecting. Now I don’t just believe. I know again.

And knowing is half the battle!

How to Pet-Proof Your Christmas Tree

How to Pet-Proof Your Christmas Tree

  • Nicolas, selected from petMD

Winter holidays are especially exciting, with all the sparkly lights and streamers, delicate ornaments and brightly colored garland, and don’t get us started on the candies and treats! All of these things are great fun, and no less so for our pets. So, before you start taking out the decorations, take a few minutes to consider how their placement will affect your pets.

Ornaments

Just to protect your pet and yourself from excitable accidents, hang your delicate and treasured ornaments on the uppermost branches of the tree, and secure them to the branches tightly. In general, it is easier on the whole household if you select tree ornaments that are not likely to shatter. For delicate, glass or treasured ornaments, you might consider creating an area where they can be displayed that is out of reach for your dog or cat, such as from a garland that is hung across a mantel or window. Tinsel, for all its glittery prettiness, is one of the most dangerous tree decorations you can choose. If your pet ingests even a few strands of tinsel — and pets do this more often than you might guess — she is highly likely to suffer the ill, and even deadly effects of an intestinal obstruction. Same goes for edible ornaments, such as popcorn and cranberry strings and candy canes. Leave these things off your tree or your pet will be climbing the tree to get to them.

 

Lights, Plants and More

Christmas lights should be positioned away from the very bottom of the tree unless you are sure that your pet has been successfully trained not to chew on the cords. Electric cord injuries are very damaging to the mouth tissue and can lead to long term problems with eating, amongst other issues. Check the electric light cords frequently for signs of chewing.

Other tree decorations that can be hazardous to pets (and children, for that matter) include angel hair — a spun glass or pvc decoration, garland, lit candles, mistletoe, poinsettia plants, and holly berries. Decorations that are not a part of tree trimming, but that are also worth mentioning are advent calendars, in which candy is placed in the small numbered cubbies; and liquid potpourri, which can be spilled or ingested.

It is safest to stick to artificial plants and plastic or unbreakable ornaments, just to be on the safe side. When you can rest in the knowledge that you have done everything to make sure your pet cannot be harmed, then everyone can share in a happy, healthy holiday season together.

 

More Christmas Tree Tips

It can be very difficult to keep a young, still-in-training pet away from the Christmas tree, particularly if this is his or her’s first Christmas. Even for an older pet, who may have learned not to jump on the tree — either because it fell on him last year or because your admonitions worked — you will still need to be cautious with the ornaments you place within his reach.

A live tree can be especially hazardous. Dogs and cats like to chew on sticks (i.e., limbs) and greenery, and the fir tree oils can be irritating to the mouth tissue causing such symptoms as drooling and vomiting. Also, if your pet is chewing on the branches, there is a good chance he is also swallowing some of the needles. If enough needles are swallowed they can get caught in the intestinal tract, puncturing the lining or bunching together and causing obstruction. Both can have deadly consequences.

A popular tree decoration called flocking, an imitation snow product, can also cause serious problems when significant amounts of it are swallowed. If you are going to have a tree in your home, it is best to at least get a non-flocked tree.

In addition, some trees are treated with chemical preservatives to keep them fresh longer. These chemicals leach into the water in the feeding dish, making the water poisonous to drink — which pets will do if the water is left uncovered. If you do not have a tree skirt to cover the water dish with, you can use towel, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil.

Safe, Fun & Healthy Holidays for Cats

Safe, Fun & Healthy Holidays for Cats

  • Nicolas, selected from petMD

By Dr. Laurie Huston, PetMD

The holidays bring with them decorations, gifts, good foods, and lots of activity as people visit friends and family to spread the good cheer. But to our cats these things translate into new “toys” to play with that may not be entirely safe, foods that probably shouldn’t be shared, and strange people coming into our territory.

What can you do to help make the holidays safer and more enjoyable for your cat?

  • Remember that ribbons and tinsel are tempting toys for a curious feline. But if your cat swallows these objects, they can cause serious problems if they get “stuck” in the intestinal tract or wrapped around your cat’s tongue. Keep these types of decorations out of the reach of your cat.
  • If you put up a Christmas tree for the holidays, your cat may be tempted to taste the water at its base. Unfortunately, that same water may be stagnant or filled with fertilizers, preservatives, or other chemicals which are unsafe for your cat.
  • Many of the holiday plants that are popular this time of year are dangerous for our cats. Though poinsettias are generally over-rated in terms of their potential for toxicity, they can still cause mild intestinal upset for your cat. More importantly, holly can be very toxic, as can some types of mistletoe. In addition, lilies can be deadly for your cat and are often found in holiday flower arrangements. Do not leave these plants where your cat can chew on them.
    • Be careful about sharing your favorite holiday treats with your cat. Chocolate and many other types of foods can be dangerous.
    • Scented candles and potpourri are popular holiday decorations as well. Though they make our homes smell wonderful, they may be dangerous for curious cats. Even worse, an open flame can easily become a fire hazard if knocked over by your cat.
    • Many of the decorations we enjoy during the holidays are electric, and the cords can become a target for a playful cat. Biting into an electrical cord can pose an electrocution threat for your cat. Be cautious of dangling cords and place them where your cat cannot access them.
    • Be sure to spend a little extra time with your feline friend during the holidays. A little extra attention from you may help ease some of the tension of the holidays for your cat.
    • Make certain your cat has a place to retreat when company arrives if he feels the need. Your cat’s safe place should have a litter box, a food and water station, and a soft comfortable place to rest. It should be a private area where guests are not allowed.
    • Paying attention to small details can make a big difference in keeping your cat safe and healthy during the holidays, and will help both you and your cat weather the holiday season and start the new year on a happy note.

Cobwebs

Cobwebs

Author: Brewan Blacksmith

A little while back, while driving around with, a friend I asked a simple question. “Is an artist still an artist if she loses her hands?” After a brief moment of pause she replied, “Yes.” I knew this was to be her answer and it was the same for me when the question first arose in my mind a while ago. It was easy for the both of us to answer being we are both artists. We understand that the underlying beauty in an artist is what resides in her mind and heart. At the same time, we both thought of the hardships that would come should an artist lose their outlet of expression. Painters paint and sculptures sculpt, but what if they no longer did? They would still see and think as they once had, but without physically doing what calls to them, what kind of an artist would they actually be?

For me, the thought later crossed over into another subject matter. “Is a Pagan still a Pagan if he no longer practices?” I asked myself. It was uncomfortable to think about as it pertained specifically to how my life hit me. For ten years I have been a Pagan, but since the recent recession a few years ago, day-to-day living removed the comforts of past practices. I wasn’t celebrating lunar rites, esbats, or sabbats like I used to. What once were coven celebrations amongst friends were now a lit candle and a prayer of thanks at best.

No more smudging, no more spell casting, no more divining and no more creating sacred circles for me. Good jobs became very sparse, living conditions changed, and disposable income disappeared. The time I once had for sharing with my coveners was removed, and all I was able to do was keep in connection with my gods through short prayers and silent conversations. The old ways of practicing the Old Ways were gone. The same held true for my coven friends.

While in this state of staleness I pondered briefly a few scenarios in which I wouldn’t be affected as much by these sudden changes in the way I lived my new life. Perhaps if I were a materialist I could cope by buying new things. Or maybe if I were of a more mainstream religious belief it would be easier as society makes time for it. If I were working a job that actually paid well, that would solve most of my problems. But, I’m no materialist, I’m devout Pagan until the end, and my job was a dead end. I always kept in mind that many people have it worse. I always kept in mind the beauty of my family and the smiles that they bring. But still, there was a void inside me. A great part of me remained dormant without my coven and all the great things we did. Within me there was a shadow, a lack of motion, a death.

Death, however, is often a misunderstood thing. People fear death because it is a physical end to what they know to be true. Death is a removal of what we see and that with which we are familiar. It is change, and it is inevitable and because of these it is something feared. Yet if you truly think upon death, which can be perceived as a lack of growth or motion, you will find that even in this state of stillness there is a spiraling of energy. Like the winter months when the trees shed their leaves and cold blankets the soil, beneath the snow there is life. In shadow there is gestation, evolution, transformation, and change. All of the energy witnessed during the warmer parts of the year trickle down the roots of the trees and plants and gather in the dark earth below.

The caverns of the Underworlds are filled with this energy. The realms of shadows and death are filled to the brim this time of year with the same energy the spurs us along when the sun is bright in the warm sky. So in death there is life, and also change.

When a mythic hero would die and enter into the Underworld, a place where one would never return, he in fact would eventually return. How is this so? The hero would escape death by embracing change. Through transformation he evades the clutches of death, but upon his return he is no longer the same person. He returns to the realm of the living, but at the same time he does not. Had he accepted his new place in dreary shadows in a void of timelessness? Only then would he truly have died.

It was this lesson that I learned during my college years that helped me get through a couple somber periods of my life, including this recent recession. At some point my inner, Sagittarian optimist took hold of it and I was altered by these life changes. Whether it’s making lemonade out of lemons, or always doing the best you can with what you have, death is not an enemy but a teacher about living. It is about transforming who you are to move unhindered with the ebb and flow of each incarnation.

We are given but a few decades with which to learn as much as we possibly can before we must start over again. Yet even within the span of a single life we can experience minor “deaths” which we can either submit to and become lethargic, or emerge from and become something more than we originally were. Within in each life we can mimic the life-death-rebirth cycle much like one year of Sabbats symbolizes the life’s journey of the Goddess and God. These murky times that shall strike our stable existences over and over are cosmic challenges, or tests, that help forge who we become. They bring sadness, depression, struggle, fear, and often hopelessness. But through them we become great, and that is one of the tasks this Earth is designed to do for us. So long as you do not succumb to stagnation and ignorance, even the darkest moments can strengthen you on your journey through each life.

It is through this wisdom that I tread forward. I feel no guilt any longer when I brush the dust off my old texts on Paganism. The cobwebs that have gathered on my robes and oils and tarot cards are wiped away free of sadness. I have missed my old tools that have gone years without use. But here they are now awaiting me once again. Little by little I get back into the habit of practicing as I once did. Yet every act now is different, improved, changed from my changed perspective.

I spent the last few years with my hands cut off. No Arte did I make. Yet within my inactivity my mind still churned, and many lessons were learned. And in many cases, epiphanies pertaining to Paganism came to me only through temporarily leaving behind my familiar Pagan rituals. Various mysteries are solved beyond texts and temples. Many require you to step outside your comfort zone and take with you only what you once knew.

It may seem through this that sometimes the Path of the Wise trails beyond our sights or that we lose our footing. But often it remains right under our feet as we walk upon it the entire time despite feeling otherwise. Rites and spells may be what a Pagan does, but in the mind and heart is where a Pagan resides. In my humble opinion I believe this as true, and with this I eternally move forward through every obstacle without regretting facets of the past. So long as I change for the better from every dark struggle, I can never consider those moments a waste of time. Learning keeps you moving forward no matter which direction life takes you.

My hope is that these words can bring a little comfort and understanding to those who have gone through recent hardship.

Atho: The Horned God of the Witches

Atho: The Horned God of the Witches

Author: WiLL

In the early 1960’s a man named Raymond Howard offered a correspondence course called “The Coven of Atho”. The first lesson begins by telling the reader they are going to be taught about the symbolism and rites of a “clan of White Witches” that is known as “The Coven of Atho”. It was taught, “ATHO is the name of the Horned God of Witchcraft.” But going back just a bit further Raymond Howard became the handyman of a Charles Cardell in 1959 that had started to teach people in 1958 about this same God named Atho. Both of these men had their own version of a story where they learned about Witchcraft and the God Atho. The one thing they had in common was this was an ancient God that had some sort of connection to Atlantis.

One witch named Doreen Valiente wrote about Atho in her book An ABC of Witchcraft. She made a drawing of it and included it next to the well-known image of Baphomet “the god of the knights Templars” drawn by Elphas Levi. She writes a good bit about her personal observations of this wooden head that was carved from single piece of dark oak. The horns were decorated with the signs of the zodiac and in the center of the head were five circles, which stood for the five different types of circles cast by a witch. Some symbols are a bit harder to notice like the nose in the shape of a chalice.

There are only a handful of known photos of this wooden head and one was shown in the book Dancing with Witches by Lois Bourne. She saw the head in 1964 while on vacation in Crantock, Cornwall in the UK. The last known photograph ever taken was published in the “Eastern Daily Press” on March 6th, 1967. Shortly after that article came out the head was stolen. Searching through Doreen’s personal journals she did give a hint about who stole this head and where it currently resides. She pondered why Charles Cardell would steal the head from Raymond Howard if the head were a fake. She later noted that the head was buried in Charlwood in the county of Surrey in the UK.

It was reported to a few people that the son of Mr. Raymond Howard recalls observing his dad work on the head. This has made some to believe the head was a fake. In a brief correspondence in 2009 the son of Raymond Howard told me that while he did recall observing his dad work on the head of Atho he could not be positive he recalls him starting it from the beginning. Mr. and Mrs. Cardell hired Mr. Raymond Howard as their ‘handyman’ in 1959 but they had already were teaching witches in 1958 and corresponding with witches like Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente in 1958. Also in 1958 Mr. Cardell published in a magazine called “Light” an article entitled “The Craft of the Wiccens”.

In one of Doreen Valiente’s journals I borrowed and transcribed from, there were some descriptions of various photos and in one was the head of Atho at Stonehenge “with two cloaked figures kneeling on either side of stone altar, on which is Head of Atho” was placed. In the Coven of Atho books I studied were a list of ‘witch words’ it included the word “Atho – The God or visual image”. A similar list of ‘witch words’ was shared with Jack Bracelin by Gerald Gardner that also contained the word ‘Atho’. It is still possible Raymond Howard was commissioned by Charles Cardell to carve this head of Atho. It is also possible the head of Atho was first created by Charles Cardell and was later handed over to Raymond Howard to make further modifications. But I’m quite certain the word ‘Atho’ was in use by Mr. Cardell before Mr. Raymond Howard was ever hired as the handyman in 1959.

It was Doreen Valiente who wrote down in one of her smaller diaries “ATHO=Welsh Addhu or Arddhu. (Look this up in Welsh Dictionary) .” Later she would publish in An ABC of Witchcraft that the name “Atho is evidently a Sassenach version of the Old Welsh Arddhu, ‘The Dark One’. She wrote that ‘dd’ in Welsh is pronounced as ‘th’. So this would give us ‘athu’ and arthu’. These are quite close to the word Atho and yet there is nothing else Welsh about the Atho material I studied and transcribed. It has closer ties to Greco and Roman Paganism with stories of Atlantis, and the Gods Mercury and Diana. So I wondered why would some Welsh God get paired up with the Goddess Diana who is the Goddess worshiped in the Coven of Atho.

I came across one reference in the book The Mothers by Robert Briffault and in Volume III he wrote that “ ’Arthur, ’ that is to say, ‘the Black One’ (ardu = ‘black’) …”. Doreen is possibly correct that these two words ‘addhu’ and ‘arddhu’ might have something to do with the color black. In using an online Welsh dictionary I did get ‘âr = ploughed land” and ‘du = black’ which came out to be “black plough”. If it were ‘yr du’ it would be ‘the black’. Another similar word in Welsh could be ‘aradr’ which is the plough but it does not have the ‘th’ sound in it. In Gaulish ‘art’ means ‘Bear’ and this is close to the Welsh word ‘arth’ for bear and in Irish it is also ‘art’. Some researchers have speculated that this might be the root of the modern name Arthur. There might possibly be some sort of connection between the God Atho with Arthur, or the color black, or the plough or even all of them. While this may not seem relevant Doreen seemed to think there might be a connection because she wrote a good bit about the constellation “The Plough” which consists of Seven Stars which is also called “the Great Bear”. This had even some deeper meanings to even more symbols found in the Coven of Atho.

One of the symbols of Atho was the trident but another symbol used for Atho was an old symbol for Mercury and was called the “Monogram of ATHO”. In a drawing of the eight paths of magick in the Coven of Atho a better known image for the symbol of mercury was used which stood for “Atho, The Horned God of Witchcraft. This is the study of all the Arts and Teachings of our Order and it is only the Initiated Members of the Coven of Atho who can learn all these things.”

Yet another symbol used for this God Atho written about in the Atho material I studied is the Monas Hieroglyphica first drawn by Dr. John Dee in 1564. Again there is nothing Welsh about the symbols associated with the God Atho and it is wrong to just state Atho is a ‘horned god’. In many ways he is a guardian of the mysteries of magick. He is a mystery to be solved through communion and gnosis. While the symbols all used are quite complex they only tough the surface for the deeper Mysteries of Atho.

Since the head of Atho is sort of frightening looking with big horns it made me think more of the Minotaur at the center of the maze. Even in Mr. Raymond Howard’s lesson he wrote that the head is “a rather frightening thing.” Lois Bourne wrote in Dancing with Witches that the head of Atho was “most curious and slightly repellent”. Doreen wrote in An ABC of Witchcraft that the head was “very impressive carving, having a crude strength and power”. When I was first shown a drawing of the Head of Atho by Raymond Howard I must admit my first impression of Atho was repulsive and yet there was this strong strength in him.

This year in reading about the God Mercury I came across a reference by a Dr. Miranda Green who wrote some about an epithet that has the words “Mercvrio Avg Artaio” on it. She believes this ‘Mercury Artaius” to be a “bear-god”. Besides the lore Doreen transcribed between 1958 and 1963 from first Charles Cardell and later from Raymond Howard this is the first actually historic reference I’ve come across that link the Gaulish word ‘artos’ or bear with the God Mercury. There apparently was some sort of Romano-Celtic period of influence.

During one of the first meetings Doreen Valiente had with Charles Cardell in 1958, he had tried to pass off a statue of Thor as a Celtic Horned God. Doreen had to tell him he was very wrong. So I do wonder how could he have known or guessed that Atho was maybe an old Welsh word and yet also have known about this Celtic-Romano period and have included a lot of teachings from the Mediterranean Mystery schools.

Doreen wrote in one of her journals that it was Charles Cardell who stole back the head of Atho from Raymond Howard. She wondered why he would steal back the head if it were a fake. Later in her personal diaries she would write the location of the head of Atho is buried in Charlwood which is a particularly large 1, 000 acre wood in the UK close to where both Raymond Howard and Charles Cardell lived in Surrey.

Doreen made one comment about some of the material in the Coven of Atho to being much more complex than it first appears. Atho is one of those complexities and is not just a simple “horned God of the Witches”, but then is any God really all that simple? Atho is if anything a reflection of the complexities of our own minds and imaginations and yet as a Priest and Witch in BTW and now a follower of Atho I’ve come to see this God as independent of me. He is a harsh teacher of the Mysteries of Magick and a guardian to it as well.

Atho was worshiped by a few who called themselves Witches and if anything Atho is quite similar to the God Baphomet. They are both a mass of symbolism and have many facets of light and dark to them. The first response many get when seeing this Horned God might be repulsion and I suspect many will then turn away. It takes a bit of understanding and wisdom to see the light in the dark. Atho is only half the Mystery.

I would like to end with giving a great deal of credit and thanks to The Centre For Pagan Studies and to Doreen Valiente’s last High Priest John Belham-Payne who graciously lent to me a few of Doreen’s journals and notebooks containing her writings on The Coven of Atho. I also would like to thank Doreen Valiente for sharing her insight into the Craft and the Arts and sharing her research into magick and witchcraft.

Seven words of blessing to remember given by a member of The Coven of Atho are “Blessed Be They Who Worship The Goddess”