Tag: Experience

Timely Message for September 27 – Your Emergence from the Chrysalis

Timely Message for September 27 – Your Emergence from the Chrysalis

Shanta Gabriel
a message from Archangel Gabriel channeled by Shanta Gabriel
To read more of Shanta’s insight, please visit her website, Messages from Archangel Gabriel, With Shanta Gabriel – Spiritual Support for New Life Awakening
The Waves of Awakening Lightand – Your Emergence from the Chrysalis

Dear Ones,

You came into this life with a longing for Home. Because of this inner longing of your soul, you may have spent all your life trying to fill the missing pieces. You hold an inner knowing deep within that there was something more, something more meaningful, a deeper connection with a part of your soul.

This activity of your inner spirit is evidence of the awakening at this time. Regardless of where you are on your journey, prepare yourself for a quickening. The energy coming with the eclipse and wave of Light is immense and a true blessing, although so much has been hyped about September 27 that you may be feeling frightened.

The Wave of Divine Love that will be pouring through the hearts of all humanity with the Full Moon Eclipse is the elixir that your soul has longed for, the spark that ignites the awakening consciousness of all those on the cusp of the first wave of ascension.

This is not the Mother Ship taking you away to somewhere else, but a divine experience in your physical form that awakens the deep codes of divinity within your DNA acting as a catalyst for change, new life, and awakening of your higher consciousness.

Stage fright may be the new normal

The most significant aspect of this timing is the large numbers of people that are ready for this powerful shift in consciousness that will occur with the full moon eclipse. Recognize that the feelings in your inner being that some label as fear and anxiety are actually the imaginal cells awakening perfect Divine timing, like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis.

It is as if stage fright, that feeling of butterflies in your stomach, suddenly became the new normal.

Nothing is assured in this wave of awakening light. There will be some who may not notice the difference in their lives immediately. There will be others who can track the changes they are experiencing within. There may be some who have a radical spiritual experience of tremendous power as the wave of Divine Love permeates their being. No matter what your experience is, the illumination of your soul will be able to jump-start your life when you create your intention to work with this energy.

As you use the energy to create your highest good and bless all of humanity, it will calm the over-emotional responses that some are experiencing. Acting from neutrality and non-attachment to outcomes is the name of the game. What God has planned for all humanity is much grander than what can be imagined on a purely human level.

But imagine it anyway. Call forth the highest possible Joy, Love, Wisdom, Success and Abundance. Fill your life with Beauty. Offer your dreams to the forces of the Universe that await your direction, then come into the still point of centered awareness within your heart and let yourself become a vessel for awakening consciousness on Earth.

This activity is what your soul has longed for, for this activity of awakening consciousness you came to Earth in this incarnation. You are here as the bridge between Heaven and Earth. Your presence provides the fertile ground for those not yet aware of the Beauty and Potential of this time.

For those who have been called the first wave of ascension, the shift you will experience in your life will allow a realization that you are indeed a part of something momentous. As you let go of preconceived ideas, the 5th Dimensional energies will bring more magical occurrences into your life.

It is a time of simplicity and gentleness for yourself and all others. The love that is awakening in the hearts of humanity during this wave of Divine Light is unprecedented and will change the consciousness of those on the planet forever.

Along with the master teachers awakening in this new age, more life will be revealed and established as your cellular structure continues to evolve. Never before has the density been so fluid and changeable. You are being blessed in all you do.

As new points of Light are established by Light Bearers all over the world, new levels of being awaken in the hearts of those anchoring new consciousness on Earth. Joining the hearts of all humanity in a circle of Divine Light is not only relevant but potent with potential for new life.

The creation of new levels of consciousness is a process of divinity working in the density of physical reality. Making inroads for new pathways of Light requires Faith in the consciousness of God working in and through all humanity. Whenever one is changed by the Light, hundreds and thousands follow suit until a revelation of mass awakening occurs.

This is the situation breaking open on September 27.

The rewards are imminent. New Focus is revealed. The expansiveness of Divinity working in and through all that you have known is breaking down the walls erected from eons of old power structures. When these walls collapse, the ripple effect across the world will be felt by all humanity. A collective sigh of relief in the heart will be experienced once one has distanced oneself from the emotional upheaval of change.

When you can make friends with change, welcoming new experiences and opportunity, ever more joyous outcomes will prevail. Opening to the Light becomes the tool for transformation. Freedom is at hand. All life awaits the human experiment that is creating divinity in physical earth bodies. As you have moved deeper into the new life in 5D on Earth, profound change has taken place within the DNA of the human form. The so-called junk aspect of the DNA has reformed into the crystalline structures originally intended for people to experience their divinity.

The more we can relax into the flow of the energy of Divine Light, the easier it becomes to know what to do. Please remember that you are exactly where you are supposed to be at this holy moment. Allow yourself to be inspired and blessed and know you are profoundly guided through this process by a Love that never ends. And so it is.

 

Article located on Spiritlibrary.com

Your Inspiration for the Week – Your Inner Spirit Working in Your Life

Inspiration for the Week – Your Inner Spirit Working in Your Life

Shanta Gabriel
a message from Archangel Gabriel channeled by Shanta Gabriel
To read more of Shanta’s insight, please visit her website, Messages from Archangel Gabriel

The Gabriel Message card for this week:

The Inner Spirit working outward in your life is the only place where true Stability can be found.

This message from Archangel Gabriel seemed like the perfect Eclipse message for this September month of incredible change and ascension into greater light frequencies than we have ever known.

It is a time of growth and renewal, a time for breakthroughs into new levels of being. We are in the process of creating the world that responds to the prayers of millions of heart-centered people. It is a time that has never been experienced on the Earth and is jam-packed with awesome potential.

In past centuries, only a few people would have the consciousness to experience their divinity within the human form. Now all of humanity has that potential. We are moving with the power of Divine Light. This allows us each to have the pure alignment to the Source of All Light.

We are here because we chose this time to fulfill the prompting of our Souls to join with millions of others, and bring greater Harmony into all life on the planet. It is a precious choice, and the Heavens are rejoicing in the progress that we have already made. We truly are the ones we have been waiting for.

Divine Presence,
Thank you for the promptings of my heart that have brought me to this time. Please help me to listen more deeply to your guidance and inspiration. May I allow your divine energy to work in and through all my actions, words and thoughts to bring more Love into my life, and into the lives of all humanity.

I ask to be a Beacon of Pure Light in the world, a Harbinger of Peace, and a Vessel of pure Harmony. With every breath I take, may I and each person in the world have a deeper experience of Alignment with the Source of all Light. May there be Compassion within me and within all hearts, now and always. And so it is.
The Gabriel Messages #13
The Inner Spirit working outward in your life is the only place where stability can be found in these changing times.

Dear One,
You have found that your world is speeding up, even a sense of frantic activity without a sense of accomplishment. You have found yourself searching for meaning in all that you are doing when it does not feel like enough.

The truth is that there is an increase in the energy of the Earth’s vibrational field. Because of this, people are experiencing a shift in consciousness that encourages their search for meaning in all that they do. And Universal Consciousness is now more easily available to all who seek than ever before. This increase in energy is also creating great and rapid change in the world around you. Information is more available, tremendous earth changes, such as earthquakes, fires and hurricanes, seem to be occurring with more frequency, and the very fabric of social, political and family life seems to have shifted into unknown areas. All these occurrences are in the world of appearance, the world outside yourself. They point out the fact that you can no longer look to your outside world to bring you a sense of stability. You must come back to yourself and find that still point of peace, harmony and wisdom within. This is the only place of stability in these changing times.

Within you there is a place of such Peace that you can totally relax there and allow it to permeate your being. Within you is found the Truth and Joy and meaning which you have sought in vain from the world outside yourself. Come now and allow yourself to experience this place within, where you can be free just to be. It is as close as your breath. And it is with your breath, and the power of your thoughts and imagination, that you can begin to experience your Higher Self and your connection to the Divine.
Practice
Take a few deep and centering breaths. Bring your attention to the place just below your navel, and imagine that you have found yourself in a very peaceful garden. You can make this garden the most beautiful place you have ever seen. Create flowing brooks and peaceful ponds, flowers and shady trees. Make it a place that you will long to come back to again and again. Allow yourself to relax and absorb the peace and beauty of this garden. Give yourself time to meet with your guardian Angel and with your Higher Self to receive all the wisdom, guidance and love that you need.

It may take a little practice to find this peaceful place within yourself, but after only a few balanced breaths, it won’t be long before you will be able to go there without effort. When you give yourself this time of quiet, you will notice that your outer world will not have the power to pull you away from this still place of Peace. This is true stability. It is from this still point within that you will be able to live in this time of change and not feel alone or abandoned. You will be able to connect deeply with the support you need.

Like a wheel whose spokes appear to revolve very quickly, but whose center has quiet movement connecting all the links around it, this revolution of stillness within you will transform your outer world into one of Harmony, Love and Peace.

Remember to ask for this stillness. Ask for the experience of a peaceful garden. Ask for your personal connection to the Source of all life. It all begins with you, with your thoughts, and with the balanced breath that is your connecting link. It is all there for you if you but give yourself the time.

Remember your message from the Angels today:
The Inner Spirit working outward in your life in the only place where stability can be found in these changing times.

Article located on Spiritlibrary.com

The Journey of a Wild Witch

The Journey of a Wild Witch

Author: Eilan

It has been eight years since I first discovered Witchcraft in a spiritual context. Prior to this Magick was very much alive in my life as I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that understands the spiritual dimension of life. My family also had the insight and experience to see and live this dimension in their everyday. In truth there is no difference between what is conceived to be ‘spiritual’ and that which is apparent and ‘mundane’. It is all one. This is my truth and my wild way.

I am an initiated Witch and Priest of the WildWood Tradition of Witchcraft. This means a great deal to me, as I am also a ‘co-founder’ of the original Mother Coven, based in Brisbane and initiated at Samhain (April 30th) 2006. Our ‘tradition’ and way of living the Craft is deeply interwoven with what many people call ‘shamanism’; derived from the Siberian Tungus word for their medicine people – saman. Mircea Eliade, the late Romanian historian, described shamanism as a “technique of ecstasy” and my coven has come to define Witchcraft as an “ecstasy-driven, Earth-based, mystery tradition”.

Our (and all Witches’) rituals and methods of practice allow us to transcend the illusion of separation and therefore to dissolve the ego and actualize the freedom that lives in the heart of all things. I often call and relate to this ‘All’ as the Great Mystery. The beauty of being a Wild Witch is that nothing is absolute and I have come to realize that all of Life is a holy continuum, which constantly seeks to express itself through diversity. Through expression comes manifestation, which allows us to experience Beauty through Perfection (the world in which we live) and then once more we come to the Wholeness of Unity and the cycle repeats itself.

We are born into a plural world of many and pass into the One only to yearn to divide ourselves once more to grow, deepen and enrich our understandings and experiences of that subtle/overt thing – the Great Mystery.

My coven’s tradition has developed and evolved around this wild-trance-dance-of-wonder. The only consistency between our covens is that we honor and acknowledge our heartland the WildWood, keep holy our covenant with the Sacred Four (the Weaver, the Green Man, the Crescent-Crowned Goddess and the Stag-Horned God) and that we remain open and receptive to personal/group gnosis and to Awen (the divine flow of inspiration) . Other than this there are some structural similarities regarding dedication and priesthood and inner and outer courts.

Essentially however we are wild Witches who fly in the face of authority and seek the wilderness underlying the apparent ‘civilization’ of things. Nothing can be tamed, for the wild is free and the free is divine! As we say in the WildWood – “we have actualized our radness!”

What do Wild Witches do? First and foremost – we live! We breathe, we sleep, we eat, we drink, we sing, we dance, we make love, we scream and we spend time sharing presence and being with our loved ones. ‘Being’ is an important principle to consider. To be is quite simple but so many people find themselves distracted by the “this and that” that they leave ‘being’ behind and pursue illusion instead.

This isn’t the same concept found in various Christian philosophies which espouses a “Satan’s fault!” message when sheep stray from the flock so to speak. Witches understand self-responsibility and are aware of action, reaction and consequence (the Threefold Law) . Why not exist in euphoric awareness of self as Self – the animate Cosmos? You are not only a cell within a larger body of universal wholeness; you are whole and thus a perfect embodiment, expression and reflection of the Great Mystery whose cause, undercurrent and outcome is Life.

When we free ourselves from the illusion of past, present and future and surrender to the Flow of the Continuum (the spirals, the wayward ins and outs, the labyrinthine, serpentine undulations of fate becoming) we make real for ourselves the state of being known commonly as “here and now”. This seems to constitute location and time, however it simply addresses the emphasis of indwelling consciousness regardless of where you are and what frame of time constrains it.

There are moments in my life, which I refer to as ‘Nostalgic Rites’. They are pure, simple, soothing, knowing moments that are like the punctuation points in a flow of sentences. They are the markers and the thresholds that appear along our paths when it is time to pause, reflect and feel. I have them often enough in my life to understand their imminent message of timelessness, peace and overwhelming Love! For what I have learnt above all else thus far is that dwelling within the chaos in the cosmos is the peace which neither subsumes or overrides it, but embraces it and lets it be. Chaos is what happens naturally when the undifferentiated potential becomes “this and that” and peace is the understanding that this is the way of Life. All of this is wild; we dwell in a far-reaching, limitless wilderness.

In a recent priestess training session with two beautiful women from my coven I asked both of them to divulge their feelings and reflections of the journey toward their priestesshood, as they are nearing to the ‘end’ of the beginning – Initiation. One of the women honestly came out and said to us that she feared for us (the other priestess-in-training and I) because we are on the top of the mountain, but because we are risk-takers it is inevitable that we will fall.

I had to stop and wonder in that moment why anyone would not want to fall. In fact I also wondered whether it had occurred to her that surrounding the mountain were vast forests, plains, rivers, deserts, tundra, bushland, seas, oceans and lakes; not to mention all of the beings who inhabit these places.

For me the mountain is not the point. It is part of the whole Great Mystery, but the journey does not lead to a single place; in fact the journey doesn’t really lead anywhere. There is no aim to my wandering, to my blissful dance through the wilderness – I simply embrace every experience because it is worthy of it and I laugh, smile, cry, choke, rage, relax, love, ***, change, grow, and a million other things that I couldn’t possibly articulate or fathom for the purposes of this article.

The other woman, who knows me very well, and is one of my closest friends, then turned to me smiling and said, “You are so glib!” She then went on to explain that it was the “natural, offhand ease and articulate fluency and flow” of how I expressed my truth that made me glib in her opinion.

It wasn’t a criticism on her part, merely an observation. I think it is actually quite accurate. I have such ease and flow in my expression because I don’t have to think too hard about who I am or how I feel because I am and I feel in the “here and the now”. I live and I am, and in my experience Life itself is glib.

To my fellow journeyers of the wild way who know in their hearts that they are heading nowhere, anywhere and everywhere – may you dance the Wander with all you are. My deepest well of love to you all!

The Wanderer

The sages say that samsara is to wander, to pass through,
I say samsara is to know the way and dance it.
To dance is to live, and to live is never “to pass through”;
Dance doll – dance and light up the stage…

Then they came with their wrought-iron weapons
And they pierced my soul, and looked for the mark.
I sang to them to soothe their battered spirits.
They sunk their swords in harder, my heart is in shreds.

The blood ran dry and the old seas heaved
And there in the darkest hour all was forgotten,
And tattered clothes were left in tatters,
And the ashes were left in mounds at the pyres.

Is it a fact that when we are lost we wander?
Is it true that when we are in love we dance?
Or do we dance when we are lost?
And do we wander when in love?

Samsara, O holy wheel of Life,
Keep turning, I want to stay.
I don’t want nirvana in clouds far away
For I feel it already…here.

The Wanderer – the Fool?
I don’t mind, I don’t mind being;
For all the pain and suffering and the attachment to desire
There is a keenness that is not worth losing.

I want to live,
I want to wander if that’s what it takes,
But through all this I will dance
And I will dance because I love.

– Gede Parma, 2007

Your Weekly LightBlast: Freeing the Heart

Weekly LightBlast: Freeing the Heart

a message from Jamye Price
To view more of Jamye’s insight, please visit her website, Crystalline Soul Healing

Dear one, your power is within you. Therefore, it is you that has the power in your life. Your Heart, the core of your power, connects you to All Life through Love. Your free will is your choice to Love or not. Do not confuse Loving with experiencing. You need not have all experiences, merely Love all of Life. Even as you choose not to experience something, you are emanating the gift of Love powerfully into your world – if you choose to Love it. If you have the courage to say no to an experience, you are saying yes to yourself, to your strengthening, to your new path. You are even saying yes to another finding a new path – as you say no to an old path, a harmful path. Love the path anyway, even as you choose to observe it through the distance of time and space. Free your Heart. As it is free to flow, your Love permeates Life ever so much more.

Forgiveness is a powerful tool. It is a key; silent, small, unassuming; yet opening huge doors to new experience. With the smallest of action, a mere shift, the Force of the door is Forged through easily. Blessed Being, as you forgive, you release the locks that hold you back from new experience. You open yourself to an expanse of new creation that you couldn’t see from your previous vantage point. It was behind the door of freedom. Let go of past pain. Let go of present pain. Let go of future fear and choose a new experience. Walk forward. Even if that looks like ‘away’ from one perspective. Free your Heart to flow in a new direction.

As we sit to Blast Freeing the Heart, we are opening the flood gates of forgiveness and finding solid ground on new shores. We are observing the past as the perfect opportunity to strengthen into the present choice. We are Loving Life so powerfully that all experience becomes a starting point for new creation, a new opportunity to Love. We are so Free, that flow is a lovely ride, in its waves of flow, in its quiet moments, even amidst the rocks of resistance. To a loving heart, beauty is everywhere; for potential is visible in the glow of Love. Blast on!

Source:
Spiritlibrary.com

The Solstice: Celebrate the Return to Love

The Solstice: Celebrate the Return to Love

a message from Sanat Kumara channeled by Meredith Murphy

To read more of Meredith’s insight, please visit her website, Expect Wonderful

Greetings Beloved Souls,

I am Sanat Kumara and I am here with you in this communication, to share with you about this time in your world. About the upcoming Solstice alignment. About your lives – what is emerging, what is possible, what is important and what might be the most significant aspect available to you, in your experience now. The experience of the return of love.

Love is returning to Earth in wave upon wave of higher frequencies energies being grounded here. Of course all things are made of divine light energy which is love, but the higher frequencies of love the quality of love that you experience as the emotional experience of love, that is what we speak of when we say, love is returning. Love is returning to Earth as you increasingly are embodying the higher frequency aspects of your being.

This is no small thing. It is making life very sweet that all this is happening.

You are living in an amazing configuration. A sphere of experience in which the arrangements are changing. The correspondence is changing. The ways of translating vibration are changing. The relationship to consciousness is changing. All of this is changing in your experience, in this way, and as it does, love is becoming more available to you and in this experience of knowing more love, you are feeling more alive. More hope is available on the Earth, for the sense of potential within human life is opening up.

This is an extension, a mirroring of the way in which the energetic field of the planet Earth has also opened up. The whole way in which Earth is present in the galaxy energetically, has been transformed and is continuing to change. It is becoming a more uplifted sphere of experience.

Why is this?

For one thing, for some time now there has been a momentum in your world about positive thought. About the value and benefit of positive thinking. This idea, although it has it’s flaws, is fundamentally positive! It is fundamentally beneficial to think positively about life and because you are learning this as a species, you are more aware of the tone of your thoughts. The mood you are in and the way your thoughts might relate to this and how all of this is also affecting your body. The mind-body connection is clearly recognized. This is transforming what it means to be human and what is possible for humanity.

It is important for you to realize that you are living in a time of great change and that your very life is the fulcrum — the pivot point on which this change is being created and experienced. You are the humans with links to the past building bridges into the future. You are setting forth new examples of what it means to be human. There are still on your Earth those who think money and material things are at odds with the spiritual life. There are still those on your Earth who have not awoken to their inner connection and are completely captivated by the sensory experiences. Then there are those of you who are blending and bridging into something very new and expanded. Those of you who are working more unconditionally with the qualities of experience here and letting yourself learn how to be more free.

You are revising your family history, your genetic and soul family lineage as you in embodied form become more free. We have said many of this things to you before and you may be familiar with all of them and yet because you are living in a time of immense transformation and transition, we continue to remind you of these amazing changes you are creating and the context of your experience so as to help you stay focused on the clarity of the experience. We want you to see clearly how much you are revising and how much you are changing. We want you to claim this and to use it to become even more loving and unconditional in relating to yourselves, which you know is such a huge key to the empowerment you are opening up. Self-love is making it all possible.

We greet you too, today, knowing the energies on your planet have been very high pitched lately and the Solstice is this week. It is a time of wonderful possibilities and for you, to use these energies by coming together to feel your connection with the land, with the sky, with the sun, with one another and with all that you are. To live out your blendedness with one another. To open up to the magical experience of conscious multidimensionality, together and to celebrate the shifts and turns of your lives. The Solstice might symbolize for you too, how much light you are letting in. How sometimes it truly ebbs away and other times it’s at such a pitch you cannot imagine holding any more energy. Yet all of it is part of your movement through space. A movement which you are using quite intentionally to temper your energetic capacity and grow your embodiment.

It is amazing and inspiring to behold and we relish each opportunity we have to share with you and celebrate your success.

As we come into this communication, we have one further thing we wish to share at this time and this is perhaps the most important gift we could give you: dear ones, have fun. Let yourselves have fun. Play more. Do what you want, more often. Let yourselves be free. Let yourselves choose to be free and see how it changes your life. See how much more is possible then you grew up believing. Let yourselves make the choices you want whenever you feel ready. Do not consider yourself late to the game, for it is that kind of game you’re in — one which is ripening and changing and you meant for it to be so. That you would continually open up new ways of being and some of that will be reclaiming things you put down long ago, for now you are more whole and can take them up again, with innocence and freshness and without any concerns about anything you might have called aging, or older-ness or whatever.

The ideas that there is a time for things is true and then again, it’s not true at all. It’s poetic to say, “it’s the perfect time.” It’s a wonderful way of being in accord with life. Of being fully present. It is also wonderful to be surprised by the timing of things. To have things return that you thought were gone. To like something you thought you hated. To feel open to something you thought was over. To notice you’re interested in something you never thought “at your age” you would consider. All of this is fresh and alive and for those reasons alone, worth celebrating and enjoying.

Let yourselves have more fun. And all that might mean to you. Fun is important and it is more of a key to living fully than you typically acknowledge and operate from. So why not do that at this Solstice? Declare your intention to be more sunny. More happy. More whole and to get there by having more fun. It’s a valid pathway you know? To all that you are and to all that is. Fun. The effortless way of connection. How is that for an idea?

We love you very much and we celebrate with you, your ongoing return to the fullness of your being, while here — in this most beautiful and abundant world, of so much beauty and such great and continually expanding potential.

I am Sanat Kumara

Source:
Spiritlibrary.com

The Solstice: Celebrate the Return to Love

The Solstice: Celebrate the Return to Love

a message from Sanat Kumara channeled by Meredith Murphy
To read more of Meredith’s insight, visit her website, Expect Wonderful

Greetings Beloved Souls,

I am Sanat Kumara and I am here with you in this communication, to share with you about this time in your world. About the upcoming Solstice alignment. About your lives – what is emerging, what is possible, what is important and what might be the most significant aspect available to you, in your experience now. The experience of the return of love.

Love is returning to Earth in wave upon wave of higher frequencies energies being grounded here. Of course all things are made of divine light energy which is love, but the higher frequencies of love the quality of love that you experience as the emotional experience of love, that is what we speak of when we say, love is returning. Love is returning to Earth as you increasingly are embodying the higher frequency aspects of your being.

This is no small thing. It is making life very sweet that all this is happening.

You are living in an amazing configuration. A sphere of experience in which the arrangements are changing. The correspondence is changing. The ways of translating vibration are changing. The relationship to consciousness is changing. All of this is changing in your experience, in this way, and as it does, love is becoming more available to you and in this experience of knowing more love, you are feeling more alive. More hope is available on the Earth, for the sense of potential within human life is opening up.

This is an extension, a mirroring of the way in which the energetic field of the planet Earth has also opened up. The whole way in which Earth is present in the galaxy energetically, has been transformed and is continuing to change. It is becoming a more uplifted sphere of experience.

Why is this?

For one thing, for some time now there has been a momentum in your world about positive thought. About the value and benefit of positive thinking. This idea, although it has it’s flaws, is fundamentally positive! It is fundamentally beneficial to think positively about life and because you are learning this as a species, you are more aware of the tone of your thoughts. The mood you are in and the way your thoughts might relate to this and how all of this is also affecting your body. The mind-body connection is clearly recognized. This is transforming what it means to be human and what is possible for humanity.

It is important for you to realize that you are living in a time of great change and that your very life is the fulcrum — the pivot point on which this change is being created and experienced. You are the humans with links to the past building bridges into the future. You are setting forth new examples of what it means to be human. There are still on your Earth those who think money and material things are at odds with the spiritual life. There are still those on your Earth who have not awoken to their inner connection and are completely captivated by the sensory experiences. Then there are those of you who are blending and bridging into something very new and expanded. Those of you who are working more unconditionally with the qualities of experience here and letting yourself learn how to be more free.

You are revising your family history, your genetic and soul family lineage as you in embodied form become more free. We have said many of this things to you before and you may be familiar with all of them and yet because you are living in a time of immense transformation and transition, we continue to remind you of these amazing changes you are creating and the context of your experience so as to help you stay focused on the clarity of the experience. We want you to see clearly how much you are revising and how much you are changing. We want you to claim this and to use it to become even more loving and unconditional in relating to yourselves, which you know is such a huge key to the empowerment you are opening up. Self-love is making it all possible.

We greet you too, today, knowing the energies on your planet have been very high pitched lately and the Solstice is this week. It is a time of wonderful possibilities and for you, to use these energies by coming together to feel your connection with the land, with the sky, with the sun, with one another and with all that you are. To live out your blendedness with one another. To open up to the magical experience of conscious multidimensionality, together and to celebrate the shifts and turns of your lives. The Solstice might symbolize for you too, how much light you are letting in. How sometimes it truly ebbs away and other times it’s at such a pitch you cannot imagine holding any more energy. Yet all of it is part of your movement through space. A movement which you are using quite intentionally to temper your energetic capacity and grow your embodiment.

It is amazing and inspiring to behold and we relish each opportunity we have to share with you and celebrate your success.

As we come into this communication, we have one further thing we wish to share at this time and this is perhaps the most important gift we could give you: dear ones, have fun. Let yourselves have fun. Play more. Do what you want, more often. Let yourselves be free. Let yourselves choose to be free and see how it changes your life. See how much more is possible then you grew up believing. Let yourselves make the choices you want whenever you feel ready. Do not consider yourself late to the game, for it is that kind of game you’re in — one which is ripening and changing and you meant for it to be so. That you would continually open up new ways of being and some of that will be reclaiming things you put down long ago, for now you are more whole and can take them up again, with innocence and freshness and without any concerns about anything you might have called aging, or older-ness or whatever.

The ideas that there is a time for things is true and then again, it’s not true at all. It’s poetic to say, “it’s the perfect time.” It’s a wonderful way of being in accord with life. Of being fully present. It is also wonderful to be surprised by the timing of things. To have things return that you thought were gone. To like something you thought you hated. To feel open to something you thought was over. To notice you’re interested in something you never thought “at your age” you would consider. All of this is fresh and alive and for those reasons alone, worth celebrating and enjoying.

Let yourselves have more fun. And all that might mean to you. Fun is important and it is more of a key to living fully than you typically acknowledge and operate from. So why not do that at this Solstice? Declare your intention to be more sunny. More happy. More whole and to get there by having more fun. It’s a valid pathway you know? To all that you are and to all that is. Fun. The effortless way of connection. How is that for an idea?

We love you very much and we celebrate with you, your ongoing return to the fullness of your being, while here — in this most beautiful and abundant world, of so much beauty and such great and continually expanding potential.

I am Sanat Kumara

 

Source:
SpiritLibrary.com

 

 

Bring Lady A Home to Us, Please!

Weekly LightBlast: My Heart and My Love

Weekly LightBlast: My Heart and My Love

a message from Jamye Price

To read more of Jamye’s insight visit her website, Crystalline Soul Healing

Dear One, the power of the heart is your freedom, for it is the vessel of Love’s resonance pulsing through you. This nurturing pulse creates and continues Life. You can not truly separate any aspect of you, yet you can observe its separate functionality in physical form and see clues to the invisible, fully connective realms. There are always clues in the physical leading to your next level of connection. Embrace every aspect of physicality and you open to expansion.

While your expansion is infinite, form is finite. The two Meet in the Middle of your experience; infinity giving way to finite form and finite form melding into infinity. This is so natural, and so invisible, that you often sleep through the connection until the mind begins to understand the invisible nature of life and the heart begins to understand the nature of loving pain into connection. We say loving pain into connection for humanity often resists the transformation of pain, allowing it to stop at the perception of death.

Your power to Love is a game changer in the game of life, but you must understand the rules of conditional experience meeting unconditionality. Condition applies to form, there are external conditions that must be met in order to continue physical expression and expand on Earth. These are the boundary conditions that create your experience. Unconditional is invisible; it is internal and it is where you begin to apply the infinite to the finite of physical form, expanding its boundaries to incorporate the next level of connection into your Earth experience. It is the middle road, expanding out, connecting and expanding further.

Observe what connections, what transformations, you resist and you find where you stop or compartmentalize your expansion. As you Love into Life while honoring your current physical conditions, you expand beyond them into new Love. Your connection with the infinite unites the finite with its invisible opposite, transcending duality into connection.

As we sit to Blast My Heart and My Love, we are releasing pain into the infinite embrace of Love and becoming free to unite with Life. We are expressing the Self through the connection of Love, beginning within and exemplifying out. We are finding a new perspective of transformation available within each experience calling for Love’s embrace. We are forgiving easily, for the touch of the infinite opens the mind to the heart’s connective power. We are nurturing new Life, the future; for its seed is resting in our hearts, awaiting the Light of our Love to call it forth into blossom. Blast on!

Article found on Spiritlibrary.com

 

The Daily OM For May 18th – Finding Our Own Paths

Finding Our Own Paths
Entering Awareness

Entering into our own spirituality is a private journey. Each of us will be drawn to a different gateway to begin on our personal path to awakening to a greater experience of ourselves. Even though we may be taught certain philosophies or beliefs as children, we still need to find our own way of understanding and applying them in our lives. For those who are raised without a spiritual framework, they may not even know their process as a form of spirituality. But at some stage in their lives, whether in youth or adulthood, they are likely to recognize the resonance of their beliefs, the ring of truth in their philosophy, and their dedication to their chosen purpose.

Our inner guidance will lead us, so that we will be drawn to the right doorway for us–a doorway that only we can recognize by the way it makes us feel inside. It could be a picture of an angel or the gift of a crystal. We may meet someone special who shares their experiences with us in a way that we find intriguing. While visiting the home of an admired friend, we may notice a book or statue of a diety, and ask why they chose those tools. Or a word or phrase may catch our attention in a song, or a lecture. For some they may find their way by walking through the experience of illness before they begin the search for what will help them to truly heal, while others may seek physical improvement and stumble across yoga or meditation–only to find that it leads them to an unexpected place beyond the body.

As we awaken to ourselves and to life, we will become more attuned to what is right for us. The universe speaks to all of us through infinite channels, but we each have our own frequency. Others may share what worked for them, but only we can decide what truly makes us feel inspired, awakened, connected, fully conscious, aware and alive. Whatever our path, it is perfect and is meant especially for us.

 

Source:
The Daily OM

In The End, We’re All Solitary

In The End, We’re All Solitary

Author: Chi 

I’m not bashing coven practice here – It’s a wonderful spiritual path and way of learning and it works for lots of people. Those people have my blessings and all my best wishes. There are plenty of teens that someday want to be part of a coven, and there are dozens of adults who warn against teen groups (and even several of articles on Witchvox about it) . But if solitary practice is so wonderful, I have to ask myself why no one advocates it, at least not until asked or provoked. That’s what I will attempt to do, to go over some of the things that solitaries have the opportunity for, and even solitary fundamentals that anyone can use.

After all, you are an individual. In the end, you are solitary. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean it in the most glorious way possible. At the end of the day, the Divinity shines down on YOU and recognizes YOU for what YOU are, and takes you into their arms as their child with your own uniqueness and respects you for every ounce of it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. There are many people who consider themselves to be solitary Wiccans or solitary Witches. I almost want to say there is a majority – but I don’t have the statistics on hand to back that up, just my observation.

Most practitioners consider it a long-term goal to be able to get into a coven or other pagan group. Even though there are sometimes degree systems in place for covens, being a solitary is usually considered being “at the bottom of the food chain”, so to speak.

Some people are solitary because they choose to be, they know it is the best for their learning and they know it is better to study alone then with people that have the potential to delay your spiritual definition. Others are solitary simply because they have to be, there are no covens around, they are too young to join a ‘real’ coven, they do not have enough experience, or what have you.

I personally am some blend of the two. I began really studying and dedicating myself to “this path” a few years ago. I knew that I needed to study; I believed I had to have every rule memorized if I was ever to reach the glorious rank of a coven member.

However, since that time I have come to realize many things. First, I am not only a Wiccan. I am also Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Shinto, and a multitude of other things…so joining a group of strict Wiccans would probably drive several of us mad!

Second, I know how I learn. That’s not to say I do everything right, but being a solitary has taught me a lot of things about how to self teach, how to remember, and how to adapt that I don’t think I would get if I was being taught by another sole person (or group of teachers) .

Third, I don’t fit into a category that any degree system or standardized test can put me into. I consider myself to be very well-rounded in many types of practice; I meditate at least once a day, I am very accomplished in divination, plus some alternative and spiritual healing…but at the same time, I had forgotten what a “boline” was a few weeks ago and had to Google search it. You might find some of these apply to you and you may find they do not.

My point here is that self-exploration is essential to your learning. I have been self-exploring and self-coaching myself for long enough that I think if I were to join a coven, it would have to be very flexible at the least. And that’s fine with me.

However, most solitaries, including myself…no matter how much we love our individual practice, we want some sort of structure, some group or support system. This is not a bad thing, if anything it shows us that we are realistic. I myself have daydreamed about starting a teen Pagan study group (notice I did not say ‘teen coven’) before…leading group meditations and having workshops to carve our own wands and such…sounds glorious doesn’t it? But I know that in the end that is not what a group is for.

I have joined many Pagan forums and websites…some of which are like my own online Grimoire. I say almost nothing to members but comb through hundreds of information pages and topics, completely in awe. On others, I have a group of elders or mentors that I ask for help quite often, whether it’s “Can I use this pretty dish my mom gave me instead of a chalice?” or “Who can tell me in detail the exact workings of the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram?” (And to be fair…some of the websites out there are total B.S.) . Many casual groups have the potential to help you.

This is the first rule of being a solitary. Solitary does not equate to being alone. I like knowing that I can plan my own rituals, or re-schedule a Sabbat, and that I can adapt coven rituals to my practice. But I also know that there are always people I can turn to. I might talk to my non-Wiccan parents about finding spirituality in ‘everyday’, or ‘mundane’ life (as I found out in recent months, my sort-of-ex-hippie Dad and New-Age-Spiritual Mum are great for those kinds of things) . I might go on the Internet if I want to construct my own ritual. I might ask some online Elders for their book recommendations or good websites.

The thing about being a solitary is, instead of having a coven Priest or Priestess as your teacher, the whole world is your teacher. You usually have to ask several people about one question and go through each answer until you can combine the facts you need and get your own. You may find spiritual answers in simple social contacts or in the workings of nature.

Not to say that coven members “miss out” on this, but it is often unrecognized. I suspect that since Covens are a quick resource, that problem solving may not be emphasized as much, especially with limited resources.

One of my mottos that I have come to revisit often is this: everyone has something to teach, everyone has something to learn, and everyone is sacred. So even if you’re in a coven, a solitary might be a good person to ask about making up your own rituals. Maybe that seemingly fluffy teenager over there really does have some good books to lend you. If you have no one teacher, you have to branch out to anyone that has the potential to give you knowledge – that means you have to find that potential in everyone.

There are pros and cons to every kind of practice. If you’re in a coven, you still need to be willing to branch out and seek information from people who don’t have the label of a third degree high priestess. Maybe those with less experience do have things to offer you. If you’re solitary, don’t assume that you’re 100% on your own, there are Pagan festivals and new age shops everywhere that are likely to have people willing to teach you a thing or two, and there are plenty of online communities or websites that list meet ups and moots in your area.

In the end, we all have to do our own self-teaching of a few things. No matter what path we’re on it’s always nice to have some sort of mentor to turn to, but keep in mind in the end it is you who decides what is best for your learning, and you are responsible for comparing and gathering information, and adapting to your learning needs.

A good example is taking a hike in a mountain forest. You can take an experienced Guide, or you can go in with your supplies and a map. If you take a guide, you’ll probably get where you want to be without wasting time, and you’ll learn a lot – maybe you’ll be able to become a guide for someone else someday if it’s really your shtick. However… You might go through the path with your backpack, flashlight, and map. This is riskier, because you have less experience. You have tools at your disposal and you need to know how to use them. You might get turned around. You might take longer than the tour group. But there is a potential for you to learn a lot of things that the tour guide will overlook.

Okay, so you might not get the mountain path right off, and that’s okay. But maybe you can learn a lot more about forests in general. You’ll learn the skills in how to find your way through the thick forests, and you might discover wildlife the guides will walk right past. Maybe you don’t know the mountain path so well, even by the time you’re done with your hike. But, by the end of it, you probably know a lot about finding your way when your lost, telling directions without a compass, using your resources, marking your paths, and you’ll even know your own strengths and weaknesses better.

Not to say that the tour group missed out, I mean hey, they had their fun too, and they get to do all kinds of stuff in groups that you simply don’t have the energy/time/resources for. But ultimately, it depends on what’s best for you.

In keeping with the metaphor, forests can be dangerous. Some more than others. Some places you simply shouldn’t tread without a guide, at least for a while. And never go in alone without supplies in the dark, when no one knows where you are to a place you’ve never been. You can ask a guide every now and then even if you aren’t in a tour group. And there is no reason members of that tour group can’t go on their own hikes.

Back to spiritual paths, that translates to this: go at it alone, if it suits your fancy. You will learn a ton, I guarantee you. You might not learn as much about traditional paths, but you will learn a lot about what your spirituality means. You will have the chance to dissect it, analyze each piece and synthesize it along with the paths of others. But be wary of where you go, and always be safe. You will need to learn to self evaluate, and other life skills.

Coven members may have these skills and they might be better at it than you, but you still have the chance to grow and explore your own self-definition.

I admit whole-heartedly that I have no coven experience to back this up. I have let several coven members read this and give me their thoughts, and I have spoken to many about coven practice. I am not bashing anyone who is in a coven – it is a wonderful way to learn, and I hope to have a similar experience someday. But I feel the need to stress that somewhere along the line we all need to self teach and self-explore. And if you make that self-teaching and solitary practice part of your everyday life, it gives you a lot of potential in the long run. You can learn things in unlikely places, and I think solitaries know that lesson quite well.

Remember:

Everyone has something to learn, everyone has something to teach, and everyone is sacred.

Blessings.

The Journey of a Wild Witch

The Journey of a Wild Witch

Author: Eilan 

It has been eight years since I first discovered Witchcraft in a spiritual context. Prior to this Magick was very much alive in my life as I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that understands the spiritual dimension of life. My family also had the insight and experience to see and live this dimension in their everyday. In truth there is no difference between what is conceived to be ‘spiritual’ and that which is apparent and ‘mundane’. It is all one. This is my truth and my wild way.

I am an initiated Witch and Priest of the WildWood Tradition of Witchcraft. This means a great deal to me, as I am also a ‘co-founder’ of the original Mother Coven, based in Brisbane and initiated at Samhain (April 30th) 2006. Our ‘tradition’ and way of living the Craft is deeply interwoven with what many people call ‘shamanism’; derived from the Siberian Tungus word for their medicine people – saman. Mircea Eliade, the late Romanian historian, described shamanism as a “technique of ecstasy” and my coven has come to define Witchcraft as an “ecstasy-driven, Earth-based, mystery tradition”.

Our (and all Witches’) rituals and methods of practice allow us to transcend the illusion of separation and therefore to dissolve the ego and actualize the freedom that lives in the heart of all things. I often call and relate to this ‘All’ as the Great Mystery. The beauty of being a Wild Witch is that nothing is absolute and I have come to realize that all of Life is a holy continuum, which constantly seeks to express itself through diversity. Through expression comes manifestation, which allows us to experience Beauty through Perfection (the world in which we live) and then once more we come to the Wholeness of Unity and the cycle repeats itself.

We are born into a plural world of many and pass into the One only to yearn to divide ourselves once more to grow, deepen and enrich our understandings and experiences of that subtle/overt thing – the Great Mystery.

My coven’s tradition has developed and evolved around this wild-trance-dance-of-wonder. The only consistency between our covens is that we honor and acknowledge our heartland the WildWood, keep holy our covenant with the Sacred Four (the Weaver, the Green Man, the Crescent-Crowned Goddess and the Stag-Horned God) and that we remain open and receptive to personal/group gnosis and to Awen (the divine flow of inspiration) . Other than this there are some structural similarities regarding dedication and priesthood and inner and outer courts.

Essentially however we are wild Witches who fly in the face of authority and seek the wilderness underlying the apparent ‘civilization’ of things. Nothing can be tamed, for the wild is free and the free is divine! As we say in the WildWood – “we have actualized our radness!”

What do Wild Witches do? First and foremost – we live! We breathe, we sleep, we eat, we drink, we sing, we dance, we make love, we scream and we spend time sharing presence and being with our loved ones. ‘Being’ is an important principle to consider. To be is quite simple but so many people find themselves distracted by the “this and that” that they leave ‘being’ behind and pursue illusion instead.

This isn’t the same concept found in various Christian philosophies which espouses a “Satan’s fault!” message when sheep stray from the flock so to speak. Witches understand self-responsibility and are aware of action, reaction and consequence (the Threefold Law) . Why not exist in euphoric awareness of self as Self – the animate Cosmos? You are not only a cell within a larger body of universal wholeness; you are whole and thus a perfect embodiment, expression and reflection of the Great Mystery whose cause, undercurrent and outcome is Life.

When we free ourselves from the illusion of past, present and future and surrender to the Flow of the Continuum (the spirals, the wayward ins and outs, the labyrinthine, serpentine undulations of fate becoming) we make real for ourselves the state of being known commonly as “here and now”. This seems to constitute location and time, however it simply addresses the emphasis of indwelling consciousness regardless of where you are and what frame of time constrains it.

There are moments in my life, which I refer to as ‘Nostalgic Rites’. They are pure, simple, soothing, knowing moments that are like the punctuation points in a flow of sentences. They are the markers and the thresholds that appear along our paths when it is time to pause, reflect and feel. I have them often enough in my life to understand their imminent message of timelessness, peace and overwhelming Love! For what I have learnt above all else thus far is that dwelling within the chaos in the cosmos is the peace which neither subsumes or overrides it, but embraces it and lets it be. Chaos is what happens naturally when the undifferentiated potential becomes “this and that” and peace is the understanding that this is the way of Life. All of this is wild; we dwell in a far-reaching, limitless wilderness.

In a recent priestess training session with two beautiful women from my coven I asked both of them to divulge their feelings and reflections of the journey toward their priestesshood, as they are nearing to the ‘end’ of the beginning – Initiation. One of the women honestly came out and said to us that she feared for us (the other priestess-in-training and I) because we are on the top of the mountain, but because we are risk-takers it is inevitable that we will fall.

I had to stop and wonder in that moment why anyone would not want to fall. In fact I also wondered whether it had occurred to her that surrounding the mountain were vast forests, plains, rivers, deserts, tundra, bushland, seas, oceans and lakes; not to mention all of the beings who inhabit these places.

For me the mountain is not the point. It is part of the whole Great Mystery, but the journey does not lead to a single place; in fact the journey doesn’t really lead anywhere. There is no aim to my wandering, to my blissful dance through the wilderness – I simply embrace every experience because it is worthy of it and I laugh, smile, cry, choke, rage, relax, love, ***, change, grow, and a million other things that I couldn’t possibly articulate or fathom for the purposes of this article.

The other woman, who knows me very well, and is one of my closest friends, then turned to me smiling and said, “You are so glib!” She then went on to explain that it was the “natural, offhand ease and articulate fluency and flow” of how I expressed my truth that made me glib in her opinion.

It wasn’t a criticism on her part, merely an observation. I think it is actually quite accurate. I have such ease and flow in my expression because I don’t have to think too hard about who I am or how I feel because I am and I feel in the “here and the now”. I live and I am, and in my experience Life itself is glib.

To my fellow journeyers of the wild way who know in their hearts that they are heading nowhere, anywhere and everywhere – may you dance the Wander with all you are. My deepest well of love to you all!

The Wanderer

The sages say that samsara is to wander, to pass through,
I say samsara is to know the way and dance it.
To dance is to live, and to live is never “to pass through”;
Dance doll – dance and light up the stage…

Then they came with their wrought-iron weapons
And they pierced my soul, and looked for the mark.
I sang to them to soothe their battered spirits.
They sunk their swords in harder, my heart is in shreds.

The blood ran dry and the old seas heaved
And there in the darkest hour all was forgotten,
And tattered clothes were left in tatters,
And the ashes were left in mounds at the pyres.

Is it a fact that when we are lost we wander?
Is it true that when we are in love we dance?
Or do we dance when we are lost?
And do we wander when in love?

Samsara, O holy wheel of Life,
Keep turning, I want to stay.
I don’t want nirvana in clouds far away
For I feel it already…here.

The Wanderer – the Fool?
I don’t mind, I don’t mind being;
For all the pain and suffering and the attachment to desire
There is a keenness that is not worth losing.

I want to live,
I want to wander if that’s what it takes,
But through all this I will dance
And I will dance because I love.

– Gede Parma, 2007

Help and Thoughts for Pagans New to the Journey

Help and Thoughts for Pagans New to the Journey

Author: Hallowed Order of Witches Liberated   

The New Year aroused some thoughts in me that I wanted to share; hopefully some will be of use to new Witches or those considering some aspect of Witchcraft or a Pagan path. I would like to minimize the explanation of my own experience to that which is necessary for background of what I am about to share. I am an eclectic practitioner with a strong interest in Feri Witchcraft. I am a member of a coven and I am a college graduate now 37 years old.
Our coven has a presence on Witchvox and we tend to get a moderate number of inquiries concerning membership, general Witchcraft information from folks looking to explore a “new religion”, questions of a “how-to” nature and other interesting things. For the past ten years, our coven has had people come and go: some for better, some of whom we were happy to see leave. What I wanted to offer up for someone who is starting on their journey or considering such an endeavor are some ideas to think about, and some things to think about if looking at working with others.

One thing we have noticed repeatedly is that there are people seeking out our community and membership within our coven who are folks with problems (or who are getting over problems) that are better off not dealt with in a coven setting or are things that need to be dealt with in terms of help by professionals. While religions can be helpful in some areas, I strongly urge those who fall into this category to let religion wait until the problem has been resolved. Understand that this advice is not a one-size-fits-all. I am speaking of problems like exposure to some sort of abuse or violence, drug abuse and/or early recovery stages, domestic issues that have not been resolved, etc… In our short ten years, we have had multitudes of people petition for membership or participate in public events and some who made membership, who seem to be using religion as an outlet for dealing with bigger problems. Perhaps they are using religion to fill a hole.

If one is dealing with issues similar to the ones mentioned, it is generally a better idea to protect others from your issue and have it dealt with professionally with a counselor, medical professional, advocate or so on, rather than take it into a group who may not have the proper background to deal with the root problem. Our group suffered numerous times from people with addiction problems, victims of physical violence and some other issues who came into the group and nearly shut down effective spiritual work because their personal problems were not yet resolved. While our hearts are with these people, religion is often not the answer to a heroin problem, for example. One should deal with the addiction, and then explore the religion after the problem is solved. A victim of domestic violence may be attracted to a small group of empathetic people, but sometimes professional help is needed and the issues that come up following such a terrible experience can eventually become a poison of sorts in a group that works together very closely.

This leads me to my second suggestion: Be ultra-cautious in regards to any person or group you are considering for advice (or with whom you wish to work) who claim to have a million years of experience and a Pagan heritage that is 20 generations deep. Statements of this nature, in my experience, are usually lies. For some reason, Pagans in general — and particularly inexperienced ones — appear to feel a need to cite heaps of years of experience in the Craft in their resumes. The time that passes from the point a person considers her or himself a Witch to the present time does not directly equate to effectiveness in practice. A fisherman with 30 years of experience can lose in a fishing derby to an 8 year-old who is holding a fishing rod for the first time. Ability and level of determination are not directly proportional to “time in service.”

The overwhelming majority of modern Pagans (speaking for U.S. Pagans) are former Christians. That is the truth. If someone is telling you otherwise, it is worth asking (politely) for proof or otherwise substantiating his or her claim of multi-generational and unbroken lineage. It is often the same person who, five years later, is wishing you a happy “Mid-Winter Equinox.” You will figure out who is who as time goes on. There is also nothing wrong with someone who is willing to help you who has been practicing for a year, but feels she has a good footing on a particular subject. Think logically and use good sense.

Suggestion number three: your own thoughts are worth something. Often, especially when coming from other religious (particularly in the U.S.) backgrounds, it is easy for one to fall into a trap of seeking Truth from a book or seemingly credible online source. Print seems like it holds weight. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. What is important to remember is that when you get a feel for what you are doing and are able to perform to some degree on your own, it is quite possibly time to set down the books. Books and online sources are great for general information, starting points, correspondence lists and so on. Remember, though, your experience and your thoughts are important and are ultimately what will be your guide.

I have seen too many Witches fall apart in practice trying to adhere to what someone else has published to not mention this. If standing on your head in bright moonlight on the third Saturday of the month while burning purple candles and copal incense isn’t bringing you in touch with that one Goddess or God you were seeking to work with, then knock it off! Your path will be your path. And remember that when you are working with the next new person.

My last suggestion is that opposition or rejection by a local group does not disqualify you from practicing Witchcraft and there is more to the Craft than sitting in front of a computer. There are certain Pagan practices that require a long and somewhat formalized study period, or certain covens that exist that will want you to follow a degree plan or jump through certain hoops. All of that is fine. However, if it doesn’t suit you, understand that it doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want. Even those members of the most defined and restrictive groups are doing his or her individual thing within those respective groups. If you share your solitary experience with an online group, for example, and several people bock at what you’re doing, keep in mind that those are opinions. Also, it is often worth regarding what the person is saying, even if he or she is not saying tactfully. Sometimes great ideas come from what is hard to hear. And while not all of us have vast landscapes and groves within which to practice our own Crafts, there is more to being a Witch or Pagan than sitting in front of a computer and reading about it or typing about it. In terms of actual spiritual and religious practice, one can make something happen even within the confines of a tiny powder room. Keep your practice real, front and center, and worth your time and effort. It pays off.

In summary, I wanted to throw these few suggestions and ideas out there because, at least in our region, we noticed some trends and felt we had enough time and experience (and numbers of people dealt with) to make some non-professional and generalized observations. These thoughts are certainly not meant to offend and we hope the root of what is being presented is helpful. Enjoy your time in the Craft, make it substantial and, for the sake of the Pagan community in its entirety, please be a thinking and active participant. Look out for the best interest of others with whom you are working and take care to protect them from your own “funk”, if need be. Help will be there from the group, but try to address problems that require professional help prior to engaging a religion (meaning any religion) . Remember, there are tons of people who find religion in a jail cell or hospital bed. That works for some, but keep in mind what of yourself you are introducing into a group. Think, know yourself and practice love.

Finding the Right Coven

Finding the Right Coven

Author: Rowan of Oakmist 

A coven is a group of people who join together to practice the Craft. They make a covenant to follow certain agreed-upon paths.

Traditionally, a coven has thirteen members, but covens often function with any number of people, from three to whatever is comfortable. In my experience, smaller is better than larger. The energy raised by too many people can be difficult to harness and direct. A small group used to working together often is much more powerful than a large group which only meets occasionally. Some covens work with equal numbers of male and female members; others may be more flexible. Still others consist of entirely one gender.

To become a member of a coven, you usually must prove yourself to be trustworthy and determined. Some groups have Rites of Dedication, which may be undertaken once one has been accepted as a prospective member of a coven. Some, after a specified time, traditionally a year and a day, offer initiation in order to become a full-fledged member of the coven.

During the required introductory period, it is common to undergo vigorous training. You must make a serious commitment to attend regular meetings. You must learn to concentrate on the lessons of life, which are going on around you every moment. You must begin to learn to control your mind and your will, and you must learn the first steps in “bending” nature. You must learn about perfect love and perfect trust. You must learn to be a little less independent and to work as a team during ritual.

If you are successfully matched you will feel a strong sense of belonging when meeting with your group. If you don’t feel this way, it does not mean you are not a witch or that you cannot be part of a coven; it simply means that this particular group of people may not be where you belong. Speak with the leaders of the coven and ask them if they can recommend another group where you might feel more comfortable. As a rule, coven leaders in contact with each other, and if you are an earnest student, they are usually happy to introduce you to leaders of more compatible covens in order to help you find your path. Above all else, continue searching.

When I first began studying the Craft, visiting other covens or participating in their rituals was discouraged. Coven secrets were jealously guarded and students were almost cloistered. But today, covens, groves, and circles often meet together for Sabbats and Esbats. They share information and rituals and often form strong bonds, creating the feel of a clan or tribe. This coin has two sides: although It is encouraging to see the result of this phenomenon (many small pieces of a larger puzzle slowly coming together for the good of all) , could we be making a mistake in sacrificing the safety and secrecy so highly prized by our ancestors? This is a decision each witch must make individually.

Supplies are needed to run a coven and members should make unsolicited contributions. The Priest or Priestess should not be expected to furnish the coven with materials. In Oakmist’s training covens, students pay a small materials fee at each meeting. This fee purchases most of the supplies needed to complete the student’s training.

Finding a coven to join can be difficult. One route is through personal contacts. If Wicca is your chosen path, sometimes, there are classes in Wicca available at community colleges. If you are earnestly seeking a coven to join you might consider speaking to the folks in metaphysical bookstores. Pagan and Wiccan festivals are advertised in periodicals or on bulletin boards in occult shops and bookstores. You also could try placing an advertisement in a free press newsletter or periodical. Another good resource is the Internet, and there are many wonderful web pages where contacts are listed. You might think about posting a note on a bulletin board in the bohemian part of town. Something like “NEOPHYTE SEEKING TRAINING IN WICCA.” Chances are, you will get a few responses. Witches are everywhere!

BE CAUTIOUS

There is a difference between being cautious and being paranoid. If you choose to find a coven through advertising, whether you place the ad or answer the ad, it is good practice to be cautious. I would counsel you to open a post office box during your search and receive all mail there instead of at your home. No matter who’s in charge, it always seems somebody wants to feed the lions!

Do not invite a stranger into your house. Do not go to a stranger’s house. When you make a prospective contact, arrange the first two or three meetings in a public place, such as a coffee shop or the public library. Take a friend along for support. A legitimate priestess or priest will not discourage you from bringing a friend along to the meeting place, although the friend may not be invited to sit in on the meeting itself. Your friend should come prepared with something to read or to otherwise keep them busy while you speak confidentially with your contact person. It is acceptable to use a pseudonym when first meeting your contact. Later, however, your priestess or priest will probably expect you to give your legal name.

Be prepared to answer questions about your prior experience, your beliefs, and your ethics. The contact person needs to determine whether or not you will fit comfortably into their coven before they invite you to visit. It is quite permissible for you to question the contact person as well and they should encourage it. It is a good idea to sit down before the meeting and make a list of questions and concerns that you may have, both magical and practical.

If a group chooses not to accept you, don’t let it hurt your feelings. It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. It doesn’t mean they don’t think you are good enough or that your answers to their questions were wrong. It simply means that for one reason or another, they don’t feel things will work well for you and their particular group. If this happens, you should feel free to ask if they know of anyone else who may be accepting students or coven members. A priest or priestess will often know what’s going on in the Craft community and can give you good leads.

After the interview, go home and do some sort of divinatory reading. More important than anything else, listen to your inner voice. If you feel uncomfortable or if it just doesn’t feel right — do not get involved. If you feel any sexual overtones at all, do not get involved. You will never be asked to exchange sexual favors for training by a legitimate teacher. You should never be asked to do anything that compromises your own ethics or morals. If this happens, hit the door as fast as you can and don’t look back.

Remember, the Craft itself is not for sale. There are no fees for initiation. If someone offers to teach you Wicca in exchange for a large sum of money, I would seriously recommend you contemplate looking elsewhere. However, there are those who make their living doing psychic counseling, teaching public classes, or managing correspondence courses These people are allowed to charge a fair fee for their time and labor. Materials required for learning should also be the responsibility of the student. Just bear in mind that if it seems too expensive . . . it is! Don’t haggle, keep looking, and you will find a teacher who will fit your needs.

AGE DOES MATTER!

Most teachers I know will not take students under the age of majority for legal and other magical reasons. Some teachers will take minor students with written parental permission. Never lie about your age to a teacher. You can get them in serious trouble! Laws exist to protect the parent-child relationship from those who would interfere from the outside. The legal system is very supportive of parents. Although I personally gave my children a choice in their religious belief, I would not have responded well to someone sneaking behind my back to indoctrinate my children when they were young. If you think about it carefully, you probably wouldn’t like it either!

If you are looking for a teacher on the Internet, be very cautious. Never give anyone your home address or phone number. Know who you are talking to. Ask for and check references. Never agree to meet anyone alone and never, ever be alone with an adult teacher.

If your parents absolutely refuse to let you search for a teacher or if you cannot find a teacher to take you until you are of age, study on your own until then. Honor your parents. Two of the first things to learn about being a witch are patience and honesty. Your parents’ religion may be the path you chose before coming to this plane of existence or the path the Goddess wishes you to take. There may be a reason; lessons to learn. Trust Her.

BE PATIENT

Read, study, watch nature, and wait patiently until you are of age.
At that time, you will be free to seek a teacher or coven to work with.

Working with a coven can be an enriching experience. Having others to learn from and to share with is wonderful! But it is certainly not the ideal or the only worthwhile experience. Much can be learned by being a solitary witch. While you work alone, the God/dess is just as accessible, if not more so.

Remember the words of the Charge, “If that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without…” Wisdom is found by looking within. One of the primary lessons a witch must learn is to be still… and listen.

May the Goddess lead you on your path to wisdom.
Blessed Be!
Rowan of Oakmist

_______________________________________

Footnotes:
 From “The Secret Door; Oakmist Tradition Training Manual” by Rowan Carvalho

The Path of Wisdom

The Path of Wisdom

Author:   Crick   

As I walk along an unexplored trail through the forest, I take notice that there are no obstructions in my way. There are no brambles waiting to snag me with their thorns. There are no fallen trees to stumble over. There is no wayward stream forcing me to forage across. There is only the solitude of the woods and the associated sounds of woodland life.

Above me in the branches of an old Elm tree are a couple of birds that are singing a morning duet. It is a song about joy and the happiness of life. Could this be a romantic tryst? Up ahead of me a King snake goes slithering quietly across the path. He emanates an indifference to his surroundings as he ponders solitary thoughts. Alas, a creature of stealth and mystery that one is.

In the creek that runs parallel to the path, are shiny black salamanders, gleefully enjoying the gentle currents of cool water. It glides over them, while they undulate like strands of dark grass beneath the surface of the shallow stream. Their thoughts may be minute but their existence is in tune with their surroundings.

As I pass an old Oak tree, I can see the tracks of a raccoon leading to a well-used hole situated in the base of the tree. Without a doubt, this young denizen is nestled deep within the trunk of this abiding oak, lost in a deep slumber. For a moment I wonder what it may be that she is dreaming of.

Suddenly I hear the splash of a small fish as it propels itself out of its natural environment into a momentary altered state of experience. Much like a human who has astral projected for the first time. I wonder if there is a change in its sense of reality as it briefly goes from one element to another. Or is it a fleeting experience that passes by un-noticed?

These thoughts lead me to think of my spiritual path which unlike this forest trail is fraught with obstacles placed by fellow humans. For unlike the many denizens of this quiet forest, humans do not adapt well to the environment in which they live. For as long as I can remember I have walked my personal path as an individual and yet many have been the obstacles placed before me by others who have stumbled across my path. The light glows before them but their eyes remain tightly closed.

Spiritual growth is the unique experience of each who walks such a trail and yet many are those who would insist otherwise. The mysteries of life are an experience that is related to the lessons each individual person requires to move forth. And yet there are many who will posture and claim to know the answers that are hidden from them within the mists. Fear of such unknowns spawns a false sense of arrogance and thus limits the ability to truly experience and thus find the understanding that is there for us all.

A spiritual path requires the freedom of mind and heart and the willpower and desire to achieve it. Empty words cast forth from a mass of humanity, is akin to a lonely sigh on a secluded mountaintop. No one truly hears it for there is none about to listen. For those who speak little but listen much, indeed, they will hear the whisper of wisdom as it goes quietly by like a soft springtime breeze. And yet there are many who would gladly lend their voices to the maddening din of transparent experiences, egos rising like a flock of geese, thus offering naught but another obstacle to one’s spiritual path.

We are each as different as the blades of grass that make up a vast field. Perhaps the sage approach is to listen as we each have a unique tale to tell. Though we may each walk a spiritual path our footfalls will not be exactly identical, each step along the path an experience within itself. But rather then live in synchronicity with each other, each of us striving to attain an awareness and understanding of our purpose in life, we would rather place obstacles one before the other.

And woe, are our bitter fruits, given to us by those who would choose to take shortcuts along the path of life. Such folks as these are the loudest of all who seek to place obstacles before others. And little do they care to be listening as the lessons of life present themselves to each of us whom walk this path. For such folks are spiritually apathetic and as such they continually seek the shortest route.

But as I walk along this unexplored path through the forest, I realize the parallels inherent between this woodland trail and my spiritual path. Knowing not where the shortcuts may lead, would I not prefer to follow the trail in its entirety and thus have the opportunity to absorb the experience of life as a whole?

Would I personally want to chance on missing out on important lessons that may advance my understanding of life and thus my spiritual growth by taking shortcuts? And would I choose to hide my lack of such knowledge gained through such an experience by being loud and boastful and eager to set obstacles before others who may be walking beside me? Or would I choose to be silent and let the sounds of this forest and in essence of life, make their presence known to me?

Alas, if I am to be true to the tenets of being an individual who is walking the path of life, then I can only answer for myself. I cannot pretend to be able to answer for others, for though their life experiences may be similar, they are still unique to that traveler. And the only way for me to learn from the experiences of others is to be silent and willing to listen.

Balancing one’s ego is a difficult task, but then the ego is attached to the earthbound soul and once freed from the path of humanity, it is left behind as the spirit sheds such obstacles and flies freely back home. And so as we travel our spiritual path, each individual must decide which is more important, the short-lived desires of the mundane human existence or the long-term goal of spiritual growth.

And so as I walk the last remaining yards of this forest path free of any obstacles, I know that within my heart I will continue to bypass and overcome the obstacles that my fellow humans will surely present me on the path of humanity.

Will you?

In The End, We’re All Solitary

In The End, We’re All Solitary

Author:   Chi   
 
I’m not bashing coven practice here – It’s a wonderful spiritual path and way of learning and it works for lots of people. Those people have my blessings and all my best wishes. There are plenty of teens that someday want to be part of a coven, and there are dozens of adults who warn against teen groups (and even several of articles on Witchvox about it) . But if solitary practice is so wonderful, I have to ask myself why no one advocates it, at least not until asked or provoked. That’s what I will attempt to do, to go over some of the things that solitaries have the opportunity for, and even solitary fundamentals that anyone can use.

After all, you are an individual. In the end, you are solitary. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean it in the most glorious way possible. At the end of the day, the Divinity shines down on YOU and recognizes YOU for what YOU are, and takes you into their arms as their child with your own uniqueness and respects you for every ounce of it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. There are many people who consider themselves to be solitary Wiccans or solitary Witches. I almost want to say there is a majority – but I don’t have the statistics on hand to back that up, just my observation.

Most practitioners consider it a long-term goal to be able to get into a coven or other pagan group. Even though there are sometimes degree systems in place for covens, being a solitary is usually considered being “at the bottom of the food chain”, so to speak.

Some people are solitary because they choose to be, they know it is the best for their learning and they know it is better to study alone then with people that have the potential to delay your spiritual definition. Others are solitary simply because they have to be, there are no covens around, they are too young to join a ‘real’ coven, they do not have enough experience, or what have you.

I personally am some blend of the two. I began really studying and dedicating myself to “this path” a few years ago. I knew that I needed to study; I believed I had to have every rule memorized if I was ever to reach the glorious rank of a coven member.

However, since that time I have come to realize many things. First, I am not only a Wiccan. I am also Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Shinto, and a multitude of other things…so joining a group of strict Wiccans would probably drive several of us mad!

Second, I know how I learn. That’s not to say I do everything right, but being a solitary has taught me a lot of things about how to self teach, how to remember, and how to adapt that I don’t think I would get if I was being taught by another sole person (or group of teachers) .

Third, I don’t fit into a category that any degree system or standardized test can put me into. I consider myself to be very well-rounded in many types of practice; I meditate at least once a day, I am very accomplished in divination, plus some alternative and spiritual healing…but at the same time, I had forgotten what a “boline” was a few weeks ago and had to Google search it. You might find some of these apply to you and you may find they do not.

My point here is that self-exploration is essential to your learning. I have been self-exploring and self-coaching myself for long enough that I think if I were to join a coven, it would have to be very flexible at the least. And that’s fine with me.

However, most solitaries, including myself…no matter how much we love our individual practice, we want some sort of structure, some group or support system. This is not a bad thing, if anything it shows us that we are realistic. I myself have daydreamed about starting a teen Pagan study group (notice I did not say ‘teen coven’) before…leading group meditations and having workshops to carve our own wands and such…sounds glorious doesn’t it? But I know that in the end that is not what a group is for.

I have joined many Pagan forums and websites…some of which are like my own online Grimoire. I say almost nothing to members but comb through hundreds of information pages and topics, completely in awe. On others, I have a group of elders or mentors that I ask for help quite often, whether it’s “Can I use this pretty dish my mom gave me instead of a chalice?” or “Who can tell me in detail the exact workings of the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram?” (And to be fair…some of the websites out there are total B.S.) . Many casual groups have the potential to help you.

This is the first rule of being a solitary. Solitary does not equate to being alone. I like knowing that I can plan my own rituals, or re-schedule a Sabbat, and that I can adapt coven rituals to my practice. But I also know that there are always people I can turn to. I might talk to my non-Wiccan parents about finding spirituality in ‘everyday’, or ‘mundane’ life (as I found out in recent months, my sort-of-ex-hippie Dad and New-Age-Spiritual Mum are great for those kinds of things) . I might go on the Internet if I want to construct my own ritual. I might ask some online Elders for their book recommendations or good websites.

The thing about being a solitary is, instead of having a coven Priest or Priestess as your teacher, the whole world is your teacher. You usually have to ask several people about one question and go through each answer until you can combine the facts you need and get your own. You may find spiritual answers in simple social contacts or in the workings of nature.

Not to say that coven members “miss out” on this, but it is often unrecognized. I suspect that since Covens are a quick resource, that problem solving may not be emphasized as much, especially with limited resources.

One of my mottos that I have come to revisit often is this: everyone has something to teach, everyone has something to learn, and everyone is sacred. So even if you’re in a coven, a solitary might be a good person to ask about making up your own rituals. Maybe that seemingly fluffy teenager over there really does have some good books to lend you. If you have no one teacher, you have to branch out to anyone that has the potential to give you knowledge – that means you have to find that potential in everyone.

There are pros and cons to every kind of practice. If you’re in a coven, you still need to be willing to branch out and seek information from people who don’t have the label of a third degree high priestess. Maybe those with less experience do have things to offer you. If you’re solitary, don’t assume that you’re 100% on your own, there are Pagan festivals and new age shops everywhere that are likely to have people willing to teach you a thing or two, and there are plenty of online communities or websites that list meet ups and moots in your area.

In the end, we all have to do our own self-teaching of a few things. No matter what path we’re on it’s always nice to have some sort of mentor to turn to, but keep in mind in the end it is you who decides what is best for your learning, and you are responsible for comparing and gathering information, and adapting to your learning needs.

A good example is taking a hike in a mountain forest. You can take an experienced Guide, or you can go in with your supplies and a map. If you take a guide, you’ll probably get where you want to be without wasting time, and you’ll learn a lot – maybe you’ll be able to become a guide for someone else someday if it’s really your shtick. However… You might go through the path with your backpack, flashlight, and map. This is riskier, because you have less experience. You have tools at your disposal and you need to know how to use them. You might get turned around. You might take longer than the tour group. But there is a potential for you to learn a lot of things that the tour guide will overlook.

Okay, so you might not get the mountain path right off, and that’s okay. But maybe you can learn a lot more about forests in general. You’ll learn the skills in how to find your way through the thick forests, and you might discover wildlife the guides will walk right past. Maybe you don’t know the mountain path so well, even by the time you’re done with your hike. But, by the end of it, you probably know a lot about finding your way when your lost, telling directions without a compass, using your resources, marking your paths, and you’ll even know your own strengths and weaknesses better.

Not to say that the tour group missed out, I mean hey, they had their fun too, and they get to do all kinds of stuff in groups that you simply don’t have the energy/time/resources for. But ultimately, it depends on what’s best for you.

In keeping with the metaphor, forests can be dangerous. Some more than others. Some places you simply shouldn’t tread without a guide, at least for a while. And never go in alone without supplies in the dark, when no one knows where you are to a place you’ve never been. You can ask a guide every now and then even if you aren’t in a tour group. And there is no reason members of that tour group can’t go on their own hikes.

Back to spiritual paths, that translates to this: go at it alone, if it suits your fancy. You will learn a ton, I guarantee you. You might not learn as much about traditional paths, but you will learn a lot about what your spirituality means. You will have the chance to dissect it, analyze each piece and synthesize it along with the paths of others. But be wary of where you go, and always be safe. You will need to learn to self evaluate, and other life skills.

Coven members may have these skills and they might be better at it than you, but you still have the chance to grow and explore your own self-definition.

I admit whole-heartedly that I have no coven experience to back this up. I have let several coven members read this and give me their thoughts, and I have spoken to many about coven practice. I am not bashing anyone who is in a coven – it is a wonderful way to learn, and I hope to have a similar experience someday. But I feel the need to stress that somewhere along the line we all need to self teach and self-explore. And if you make that self-teaching and solitary practice part of your everyday life, it gives you a lot of potential in the long run. You can learn things in unlikely places, and I think solitaries know that lesson quite well.

Remember:

Everyone has something to learn, everyone has something to teach, and everyone is sacred.

The Daily OM for Feb. 17th – Connecting with the Divine

Connecting with the Divine
Puja

by Madisyn Taylor

Performing a Hindu puja ritual is a wonderful way to experience direct communication with the divine.

Forging a spiritual connection with the divine is the ultimate goal of many forms of worship. In our devotions, we transcend the limitations of our humanity using prayers, rituals, and invocations, or we seek the celestial in sacred items such as statuary, imagery, or natural objects. In the Hindu tradition, worshipers bond with the divine through the puja ritual. The purpose of the ritual is to create an atmosphere in which humans and spiritual beings can enjoy communion with one another. Though participants show reverence for their chosen deities, puja serves to bring the former and the latter together on an energetic level. Performing a puja ritual is thus a wonderful way to experience direct communication with the divine.

There are no limits as to whom may serve as the focal point of your puja. You need only choose a spirit guide to commune with and an object to represent them. Preparing for the puja ritual, however, can take some time, depending on the number of devotional acts you will perform. A classic puja includes 16 acts, including meditation, chanting, the reading of sacred texts, offerings of food and drink, and cleansing. You may also wish to present gifts of incense, flowers, and jewelry during the ritual. An altar or table covered by an altar cloth provides space for the representation of the divine and the seat of the puja. To begin, prepare your offerings and place them to the right of the altar. Then center yourself and release any stress you may feel—the puja is meant to be a joyful experience. Typically, the ritual begins with the ringing of a bell and an invitation, and progresses from chanting to the cleansing and dressing of the deity to the offerings to meditation. You can modify your puja in any way you wish.

Though the elaborate puja rituals performed in Hindu temples take place at sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight, puja performed in the home primarily takes place in the mornings and evenings. When your intention is to invite your spiritual guides into your home and heart, however, the time of day matters little. With practice, you will create a direct path to spiritual oneness that allows you to experience an amazing sense of closeness that reinforces your connection with the divine.

The Daily OM

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The Solitary Road and Personal Power

The Solitary Road and Personal Power

Author:   Crystal Blanton  

When I came to this path I had been looking for my spiritual self for some time. A new friend introduced me to Wicca, sparking something in me. I read so much information in such a short period of time my brain was overloaded with various traditions, beliefs, gods, goddesses and a host of other things.

I had a fear of joining a coven yet wanted more. I thought that, without a coven, I would not be able to advance and learn. So many books made references to studying in a coven and listed solitary as if it was a last resort. After much internal debate, speaking with my friend and overcoming the fear, I set out to find a group. And I found one.

Recently, after more than a year of study in this group, I decided to leave for many different reasons.

In reflection of my experience in a coven I have realized that I have learned many things, but not specifically about the Craft. I have learned a lot about group dynamics, honesty, integrity and the ability to trust my own instincts.

My experience in a coven, however, isn’t all negative as it has brought me to my own understanding and feelings about being a solitary practitioner. To be solitary is to trust myself, my knowledge and my judgment. To be solitary means that I am responsible for myself and my own karmic return.

It is the realization that it’s not about how much you know or the right or wrong way to do something. It is about my individual connection to the earth, the universe and the Lord & Lady. It is about what feels right to me and not necessarily how others interpret my spiritual growth.

As I am approaching this place in my journey, I feel empowered in knowing that I have the answers inside of me. It doesn’t matter which degree I have or any of the other aspects I consider to be religious politics. It only matters how I feel about my spiritual connections in my life.

So often we are conditioned to believe that everything in life is in black and white, right or wrong. And, with that ingrained in us, we seek outside people to “show” us for fear that we may do it wrong. What we sometimes fail to understand is that right and wrong is a concept. It is a box of morals and rules that are subject to everyone’s individual interpretations. So, in reality, nothing can be black and white because as humans we are all different shades of grey.

This is not to say that covens, groups or teachers are bad things. I think that everything has its place in my learning experience. But it is to say that, when we as pagans go into the world looking for spiritual leaders and/or covens, we should keep things in perspective.

Everyone holds the power inside themselves. Everyone’s journey is different. Everyone has knowledge inside.

A group should enhance and add to your experience, but it is still your experience. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting in circle alone or with the highest of High Priestesses, your connection with the Divine is a very personal one; a connection that no one else can replace or give you.

As a solitary I am relearning how to celebrate alone. When I began thinking about leaving the group I was in, I had the same fears of going solitary as the fears I had in the beginning of joining a group. It is truly amazing how things go full circle.

As a solitary I have really discovered that my attention needs be focused around my connections with the universe and the spirit and away from structure. The freedom in realizing that I can do whatever feels right to celebrate the Sabbats or Esbats is indescribable. Whether a ritual, feast, meditation, prayer, bike ride or walk outside in the elements, anything can be an act of honoring the Lord and Lady and the turn of the wheel.

Personal power is something that everyone has but is so easily given away. In making a decision to be solitary I have decided to keep mine.

When I first began this path I was afraid to do any magical work without guidance. I celebrated the Sabbats and began meditating but didn’t feel that was enough. I realize that I didn’t have the confidence in my spiritual self but that has changed some in the last 2 years and is continuing to grow more solid everyday.

Once I got that I held the power within myself; rituals, meditations and celebratory activities gained more power. I am finding that the key to feeling power and raising energy as a solitary is confidence. The difference in my personal power today versus a year ago has grown and shows itself in my work.

When exiting the coven I was in, I didn’t exactly understand that. It became apparent to me the minute I did some work as a solitary. “In perfect love and perfect trust” doesn’t just apply in a coven setting. It applies in our relationship with the Lord and Lady, the universe and most importantly within ourselves. I am learning to have perfect love and perfect trust with my spiritual self and my own personal power.

I have a nice group of solitary friends that I hang out with for friendship and spiritual connections. Today when I connect with friends for magical purposes, I come as myself, as my own high priestess. And my journey continues… .

There is this saying that says, “Wherever you go, there you are”. I say that to others in my job on a weekly basis but never applied it to myself.

Whether I am solitary or in a coven, it is my energy, power, knowledge, strength and hope that I take with me. What an empowering thought! I now understand that the power I experienced as a part of the coven was mine.

I am a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a heart, a human. I am powerful, strong, knowledgeable, spiritual… … … I am a Pagan, I am a Witch, I am a Solitary.

Total Protection Incense

Experiences We Don’t Understand
Hidden Gems

by Madisyn Taylor

All of the events in our lives lead to other events, they are all connected.

Sometimes we have an experience that we don’t understand, but if we look deeply, or wait long enough, a reason for that experience will usually reveal itself. All the events in our lives lead to other events, and all that we have manifested in this present moment is the result of past events and experiences. We cannot easily tease apart the many threads that have been woven together to create our current reality. Experiences that don’t make sense, as well as any that we regret, are just as responsible for the good things in our lives as the experiences we do understand or label as “good.”

This is especially important to remember at times when we feel directionless or unsure of what to do. It is often at times like these that we take a job or move to a place without really knowing if it’s the right thing to do. We may ultimately end up leaving the job or the place, but often during that time we will have met someone who becomes an important friend, or we may have an experience that changes us in a profound way. When all the pieces of our life don’t quite make sense, we can remember that there may be some hidden gem of a reason that we are where we are having the experiences we are having.

It’s fun to look back on past experiences with an eye to uncovering those gems—the dreadful temporary job in a bland office building that introduced you to the love of your life; the roommate you couldn’t tolerate who gave you a book that changed your life; the time spent living in a city you didn’t like that led you into a deeper relationship with yourself. Remembering these past experiences can restore our faith in the present. Life is full of buried treasures. Chances are, you’re sitting on some right now.

Daily OM

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Your Ancient Symbol Card for Jan. 20th is Wisdom

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

Wisdom

A very, very few of us are fortunate to be born wise. For most of us our Wisdom evolves, grows as we move through life gathering experience and knowledge. Wisdom denotes your thoughts and feelings derived from the melding of your life experiences with all that you have learned. Our Wisdom can get us through the difficult  moments in our lives as well as provide the mental and spiritual tools we need to succeed.

As a daily card, Wisdom indicates a time when you should rely heavily on past experiences and knowledge attained to make important decisions in your life. This is a time where reflection and planning should guide your actions. To act rashly, on impulse at this time may well cost you in the future. Go slow, think things out, weigh all of your options carefully and then proceed.

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A Shaman Perspective

A Shaman Perspective

Author:   Crick   

Have you ever found yourself walking on a single thread across the abyss of your mind?

And then falling off into the depths of your spirit?

This is a common event for a shaman.

For the most part, those who hear the calling of the wounded healer will have experienced a near-death experience at some point in their lives. I personally believe that such an experience ignites a deep insatiable curiosity to seek out answers not readily available within the mundane world.

As a student of shamanism, a journey that began in 1999, I also believe that many of the Great Mysteries of life reside within the depths of our being. It is this belief that lends itself to seeking out the answers to such mysteries through deep and personal introspection.

In essence, a shaman is a spiritual healer. But before one can begin to heal others, you must first attempt to heal yourself. And since such a healing is never a complete success, the term ‘wounded healer’ comes into play.

During this healing process of the individual spirit, one must be prepared to undergo a complete change in personality. Ones emotional and mental outlook will be altered for life. During this journey inward you will be expected to embrace your Shadow Self.

Carl Jung, a noted psychologist once said, “That when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce act out the conflict and are torn into opposing halves.”

So it is with those who follow the path of the shaman. The shadow self is a collection of feelings, thoughts and experiences that are dark and negative and are stored deep within the psyche.

To become a spiritual healer, one must be willing to take a perilous journey inwards. And once there, to have the courage to face the shadow self and to come to understand and to embrace it. This lends itself to a balance within the soul.

When we try to balance the scales too far one way or the other then physical, emotional and mental illness are the result. A shaman learns to harness the dark energy projected by the shadow self and to balance it with the light energy that is projected by the ego or conscious state.

In order to do a healing, a shaman will follow a single thread of energy back into the abyss to see what is at the other end. Once there they can see what caused the problem to begin with and begin the healing process.

I would like to point out that one of the side effects of traveling the path of the Shaman is that it tends to make one extremely honest with oneself and those around them. Some folks may think that this is a very positive result. However it is not always so. We live in a society where subterfuge and dishonesty are the norm.

For instance how many of you have grown up with the adage “if you can’t say something nice to someone, then don’t say nothing at all”? This may seem like good advice but in all honesty (grin) it takes away from the polarity of life. Life is not all sugar and cream and to better appreciate life and indeed to grow spiritually we must be aware of this fact.

This brings us back to the lessons of how to balance the Shadow self.

There are many tools available to one who follows the path of the shaman. One of these is called a Soul Retrieval. This is where it is believed that due to a traumatic experience of either a physical and/or emotional event, which a part of the soul has broken away and is floating around either in this realm or perhaps in an alternate realm. The departure of this piece of the soul can once again lead to physical, emotional and/or mental deficiencies.

And so either the Shaman or in some cases the patient, seeks out and attempts to encourage the missing piece to return. I say, “encourage” because we cannot force the missing piece to return. The events that caused this event to occur must be addressed as part of the over all treatment.

An example may be that one was sexually abused as a child and a piece of the soul broke away. The trauma associated with the abuse must be addressed as part of the Soul Retrieval or the missing piece may refuse to return to its original place within the soul.

An alternative to this practice is called energy extraction. Sometimes a profound experience will leave a residue of energy within our soul that is not in tune with the rest of our spirit. A shaman performing an extraction will connect with their spirit guides or their animal totems and isolate and then remove the opposing energy. This operation allows for ones spiritual balance to return and thus lends to a healthier life both physically and spiritually.

Another tool or experience used by the Shaman is the Vision quest. This is a very personal experience where one seeks out a vision that is specific to the individual. This seeking is done through a variety of methods such as fasting, ingestion of certain herbs, physical deprivation, mental/emotional preparation and so forth.

During my first Vision quest, the spirit of my second son who had passed at birth appeared in a very vivid way. But he appeared as the age he would have been had he still been living within this realm. I won’t go into details of course, but the experience had a profound effect on my thoughts and emotions. I have never had such a lucid connection as I did during that quest. My personal understanding of what we know as life and death was expanded beyond my wildest dreams. As already mentioned, a Vision quest is a very unique and personal experience and will be so for each individual who undergoes such a trial.

Of course the path of the Shaman is not for everyone, even less so then the path of Witchcraft being open to all who seek it. But for those few who are able to withstand and indeed embrace the rigors of such a life, well, there is little that I can say, for you already aware of the spiritual rewards that await you within the abyss.

Amongst these gifts is the ability to connect with the spirits of plants and animals. Such ability is invaluable to one who seeks to become a spiritual healer. For many lessons are learned through such connections. A belief in animism is a basic tenet of shamanism.
There is also the ability to travel the threads of life to alternate realms. Within these realms one encounters wise teachers who are willing to impart their wisdom to such a seeker as a shaman.

There is much, much more to walking the path of the wounded healer, but I hope that this brief look into such an exciting path may inspire someone to seek what may be the path for him or herself.

Blessings

Crick

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Walking in a Wiccan Wonderland

Walking in a Wiccan Wonderland

Author:   Janice Van Cleve   

The market is full of all kinds of books on Wicca. They speak of Sabbats and spells, recipes and charms, and a few even go so far as to address correspondences and history. Yet rarely do they really investigate the deeper religion and mindset of Wicca. It is important, therefore, to touch if ever so briefly, on some basic concepts that underpin walking in a Wiccan Wonderland.

The human species, by its inherent nature, seems to have a proclivity for creating religions. There is something about consciousness that wants to connect to the realm of the spirit. Some say that our consciousness remembers a prior existence in a spiritual realm. Others say that our essence is spirit and our consciousness yearns to be freed from its temporary attachment to a material body. Still others say that our consciousness is aware of a spiritual plane beyond the material and that it seeks connection to it. Whatever is the impulse for creating religions, they generally fall into two groups: the supernatural and the natural.

Supernatural religions reach beyond the natural world and fabricate nonsense (literally not of the senses) , which cannot be reached by either sensory or rational means. Supernatural religions are faith based religions because the doctrines they propose often fly in the face of what our senses and reason tell us. The only way one can follow a supernatural religion is by making a leap of faith to believe in things that cannot be proven by natural means. Supernatural religions often propose a deity and a moral code of behavior. They often attempt to encompass the whole universe to answer questions such as creation, the meaning of life, and life after death and base their beliefs on a sacred scripture.

Natural religions, on the other hand, remain solidly rooted in the natural world and they are informed completely by the senses and by mental analysis. Natural religions are experience based because they depend on individual and group experiences. For this reason they are often lacking in doctrines, rigid moral codes, and answers to ineffable questions. Practices and concepts that are similar or held in common are most often based upon mutual agreement rather than upon strict hierarchical demands by some authority.

Natural religions by and large tolerate diversity because they see diversity all around them in nature and they understand that each person’s experience of nature is different. Supernatural religions, on the other hand, generally do not tolerate diversity because faith in one belief is by definition “one size fits all”. It is for this reason that supernatural religions are driven to proselytize or persecute while natural religions live and let live.

The caveat should be made here that assigning specific religions totally to either the supernatural or the natural category from their beginnings to the present day would be stretching the point. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, and a host of other religions and philosophies have displayed aspects of both categories through history, sometimes even simultaneously. However, as a generalization, understanding these two groupings is a helpful heuristic is finding the Wiccan Wonderland.

Wicca is a branch of Western European Paganism, which is a natural religion. The word “Wicca” is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning wisdom. Wiccans or witches (both come from the same root) are the wise ones. They study and explore and experience nature to develop their knowledge. They may specialize in herb lore, astrology, spells, counseling, science, philosophy, or any other branch of knowledge. That is why Wicca is sometimes called “The Craft.” It is a learned body of knowledge and skills.

Wiccans do not “believe” in their religion. They work at it and learn it until they know it. The more obscure questions of creation, the meaning of life, etc., are well outside the Wiccan experience and they are generally content to leave them there and not to offer any hypotheses about them.

One part, therefore, of walking in a Wiccan Wonderland is the constant thirst for knowledge. For this reason Wiccans are not called “the chosen people”, “the elect”, or “the saved”. Rather they are called “seekers” because they continue to seek for knowledge and to perfect their skills. Some find satisfaction in accumulating this knowledge for its own sake or in teaching it; but for many Wiccans, the purpose of knowledge and skills is to use them.

Knowledge helps us make informed choices. Living by choice is a significant part of walking in a Wiccan Wonderland. It is amazing how many things over which we really have a choice once we think about it.

For example: Nobody makes us happy or makes us sad. These reactions are how we choose to respond to a situation. Likewise we don’t have to go to this meeting or that party, eat up all our food, or send a card for a birthday or buy a gift. We can choose not to do these things. All the social rules of etiquette and manners, as well as ethics and morals, are culturally learned behaviors. A Wiccan’s only guide, besides her own experience, is the Wiccan Law, which is variously expressed as “And ye harm none, do what ye will.”

This does not, to be sure, give Wiccans free license to run riot. Choice bears consequences. We are free to choose not to go in to the office, but the boss is then empowered by our choice to fire us. We are free to drive over the speed limit, but the officer is then empowered by our choice to pull us over. We learn from our mistakes and add the knowledge gained to our experience. Of course we don’t have to reinvent the wheel by learning everything from personal experience. More often than not, we choose to go along with laws, manners, and other culturally learned behaviors because these are usually the result of the learned experience of others or they make rational sense.

As children parents and peers, pastors and professors condition us, to follow a whole laundry list of rules. Later as we grow up and are exposed to a broader set of experiences, we begin to question some of the things we were taught and we begin to make up our own minds. When we decide that something we were taught is not true or no longer serves us, we intentionally get rid of it.

Conversely, when we figure out something new that does seem to serve us, we intentionally adopt it. By the same token, when a Wiccan finds a practical application of Wicca in her life that suits her needs, she dumps old mindsets and habits that get in the way and adopts the new application.

One of the basic new applications made by Wiccans is the rearrangement of time. Time is an artificial construct. Hours, days, and months are completely arbitrary. The natural structure of time is the seasons. So another part of walking in a Wiccan Wonderland is structuring our lives around the seasonal calendar.

This is a tough one because schools, jobs, and modern social institutions are formed around measuring time by clocks and Gregorian calendars. But let’s think about it. The most holy Christian holiday is Easter but Roman and Orthodox Catholics celebrate it on two different days. The Jews have Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Passover and a whole host of other holidays that the mainstream does not. Professions have their own calendars, too.

Politicians follow three seasons of the year – legislating, blaming, and fund raising. Accountants have four seasons, which correspond to their quarterly reports. If all these people can rearrange time according to their needs, certainly Wiccans can organize their time around the eight Sabbats of the year.

If a Wiccan seriously applies the eight Sabbats to her daily life, she goes a long way toward walking in a Wiccan Wonderland. The eight Sabbats occur in the natural world. We feel the quickening of spring at Candlemas and we see the daffodils at Spring Equinox. We know the warming of Beltane in our hearts and all around us. We experience the long light of Summer Solstice, the late summer flowers at Lammas, and the falling leaves at Autumn Equinox. At Samhain we feel the nip and chill of winter and at Winter Solstice we rest in quiet peace – to the degree we can escape the commercial madness artificially created by the American material culture around us.

The natural seasons reflect the accomplishment of our wills – our intentions. We set our intentions each year at Candlemas. Through the year, we grow in our enjoyment of life, our appreciation of new sensations, filling our seeking with new knowledge, and intentionally pursuing our goals. Then in autumn we take stock, fulfill our debts, forgive our injuries, and look back in satisfaction at what we accomplished even if we did not complete all the grand plans we made.

Then at Samhain we release it all. We die. We surrender to the inevitable ending of all things. We close the book. We put away the score sheet. That tally is done. We empty ourselves and become completely free. In winter we lie in quiet and peace, carrying no baggage from the past nor imposing any requirements on the future. We don’t have to. We know – as opposed to having faith – we know as Wiccans that we will be reborn and that new possibilities and opportunities await us when Candlemas comes round again. We know that we will grow in the Craft from new knowledge and new skills.

Christians speak of new life, new zest, and new possibilities when they are “born again” – and they only get born again once! We Pagans get to do it every year!

Wiccans bring home this cycle of the year with daily prayer. Daily prayer is key to walking in a Wiccan Wonderland. We begin by grounding and centering ourselves in alignment with the four elementals – Air, Fire, Water, and Earth – and their corresponding directions – East, South, West, and North. This in itself is a powerful renewing and rewarding practice. It is a statement that we are here and we know where we are. It is a statement that we intentionally take a position in the spiritual realm and in that position we claim access to the forces of spirit that operate there.

After grounding and centering, it is useful to express first gratitude for the blessings and accomplishments appropriate to that direction. For example, I am a writer. I thank the East for any writing I accomplished the day before, for ideas that popped into my head, for emails that I wrote, letters to the editor or to legislatures that I sent. In the South, I express gratitude for the instances in which I showed courage, where I stood my ground, or for journeys I made safely. In the West, I am thankful for friends and relationships, for a date the night before, and for nice things people have said to me. In the North, I am thankful for healing of the various aches and pains that my aging body seems to acquire in increasing frequency, for money that has come to me, and for the material things that provide me comfort and enjoyment. Many of these thank you’s are for things I asked for in prayers the day before. After thanking, I ask for things I want this day. Asking – receiving – thanking is a daily loop that helps me remain conscious of the spirit realm while I am working in this material realm. This daily loop also replicates in a micro way the macro pattern of the seasons.

In conclusion, walking in a Wiccan Wonderland can be summarized as living intentionally, full in the knowledge of who we are, of what we want, of what we’re doing, and of what is happening around us. Walking in a Wiccan Wonderland is making conscious choices and taking full responsibility for them. It is a land of ever renewing seasons – ever knowing, ever growing, ever changing, ever lasting.

Blessed Be!