Tag: Mother goddess

I Walk My Own Path

I Walk My Own Path

Author: Melody BlueMoon

When I was younger, I never really felt a connection to my parents’ Christian God. I liked to hear the beautiful stories, but I just never felt like any of it was real for me.

As I grew up, I became almost irritated with my parents’ religion and started to act out spiritually. I watched The Craft, got obsessed with Charmed, and stole my sister’s copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I started visiting websites about Black Magic, though the most I ever did was look at pictures and I cast one spell to make it rain and another to lose a few pounds. Neither worked.

When I got into middle school, I started to pay closer attention to Charmed and noticed a reoccurring word throughout the series: Wiccan. And being the internet-savvy child of the 90’s that I was, I Googled it.

I was intrigued. This wasn’t the dark, almost evil magic that I had dabbled with online. This was a rather beautiful religion, talking about things like The Goddess and ‘Harm none.’ I started looking up everything I could about this and other Pagan Paths.

I never did any rituals, or cast any spells, but I did discover that my sister was into similar things. My sister told me that my brother dabbles with Tarot cards, my great-aunts work with crystals, and my aunt believes in reincarnation…and that my very devout Catholic grandmother didn’t care what you believed in, as long as you truly believed in it. She also mentioned that the women of our family may or may not have some psychic ability, however small it was.

While Wicca had seemed attractive to me, after a year or two of researching and learning about this particular Path, I realized it simply wasn’t for me. I simply classified myself as an Eclectic Pagan for a while. I never felt quite right with any of the various established Paths, so I eventually gave up on finding a specific one. I had nothing against being Eclectic; I just wished I had something more definite.

Then, I discovered my own Path.

It came about because of a writing assignment for a mythology class. We had to create a culture and that culture’s mythology, its Creation Story, at least two of its heroes, and the creation of Man. As a writer, I wanted to make it perfect. I created so many gods and goddesses, worked so hard on the myths that I ended up handing it in late.

But the main thing is that while I worked on all this, I felt much more spiritual than any other time in my life, more connected, more like something was right. And while I don’t worship the Gods and Goddesses of that particular pantheon, it did inspire me to create my own personal mythology, my own personal religion. And so I set forth on My Path.

I looked at other mythologies, other religions to see what I wanted My Path to be like.

I read up on the Greek and Roman myths I had loved as a child. I reread my Children’s Bible and the Bible my mother bought me when I became a teenaged girl. I read the stories of the Native Americans and asked my Native friends for more. I bought mythology books, New Age books; I even bought a few books about angels and fairies. My sister took me to a psychic and I got a reading done. (And discovered my Power Animals: an Armadillo and a canine that she was unable to identify.) I looked to Africa, to Japan, to India. I looked at the Norse Gods of my Viking ancestors on my father’s side. I looked to the Celtic ones on my mother’s. I looked to Islam, to Judaism, to Buddhism, to Taoism. You give me an -ism, I probably looked into it.

I liked the idea of the Triple Goddess, but felt that the Crone wasn’t quite what I wanted. Nothing against her, but she didn’t fit. Maybe later on, but not yet. I liked the idea of a Mother Goddess, but didn’t want Her to just be Mother Earth; I wanted Her to be Mother Sky as well. I wanted Her to be a Goddess of the Moon, the Stars. I wanted a Goddess of Lust, Desire, Love. And I wanted her to be a little Dark. Not evil, but not exactly good either. (My first image of her involves her holding a heart and a dagger to stab it with.) She actually appeared in the mythology assignment, and has changed little from that first appearance. She even has the same name. Fire was always hers. I wanted someone to preside over Karma and/or Reincarnation. I wanted this god or goddess to be almost perfectly neutral, and to also preside, in some way, over knowledge.

And so I came across M, L, and S on My Path. (And at one point there was a J, but he moved on to another part of My Path, and received a new name.)

I discovered that M was to be a dark-skinned female with white or silver hair, to denote her connection to the Moon and the Night Sky. I’ll admit, the way I imagine the Goddess looks a bit like Storm of the X-Men. I discovered that L liked to change her appearance, but primarily had very pale skin and yellow eyes, her hair either deep red or black. I discovered that I couldn’t quite get a fix on what S looked like, but he wore Greek and Roman togas and cloaks.

I’ve always believed in reincarnation, at least a little. I liked the thought of a place between lives, not quite an afterlife, but a place to go after your life is over, and before it begins again.

And so I found Home.

As I worked with the Three Gods, I also came across Eight Sacred Warriors, four male, four female. I also discovered that they were the first to find Home and to inhabit it.

I’ll admit, that the purpose of this essay was a bit selfish; I don’t want to be alone. I want others to know some of my beliefs. I hope that someday I’ll be able to share them with another, perhaps a significant other, or my children. But the main point was to inform others who, while they have found Pagan Paths that seemed very attractive to them they just weren’t for them, that they can make Their Own Path, just as I have made My Path.

If there isn’t any particular religious Path that works for you, you can work on your own. After all, nearly every religious Path in existence today started out similarly. I’m not delusional enough to think that My Path will someday become a major religion, or even one that anyone other than myself follows. But it is mine, and I shall always think of it fondly, even if on My Path, I find another that suits better.

The downside of walking my own Path is that while I have a set of beliefs personally tailored to fit me, there’s really no one out there to talk to about them, as I’m the first to have these specific beliefs. I’ll never be able to walk around a Pagan event and stumble across a booth about my Path. Well, not unless it’s my booth. I can’t look on the web for a group for my Path.

But I Walk My Own Path, and you too can walk your own, if you truly wish it.

If you are Eclectic, but wish for something more definite as I did, you can do as I did. Again, nothing against Eclectic Practitioner, as I still refer to myself as an Eclectic Solitary Practitioner. What else can you call yourself when you walk a Path no one else does?

Blessed Be.

The Goddess’ Prayer

Goddess Comments & Graphics
The Goddess’ Prayer 

Gracious Goddess

Who art Maiden, Mother, and Crone,

Celebrated be Your Name.

Help me to live in peace

Upon Your EarthAnd grant me safety in

 Your arms.Guide me along my chosen path

And show me Your great eternal love

As I strive to be kind to those

Who don’t understand Your ways

And lead me safely to Your Cauldron of Rebirth

For it is Your Spirit that lives within me

And protects me

Forever and ever.

So Mote It Be.

 

  ~Magickal Graphics~

Feeling the Earth

Feeling the Earth

by Erika Ginnis

The energy of the earth is an amazing and powerful thing. I use it in my daily meditations as well as in any sort of healing or reading work that I do. When you open yourself up to this support and power, you will find a potent and very real ally in your personal and magical work. It may also change the way you think about and relate to the planet.

There are many different ways to interact with this energy. I will be drawing from what I teach in my private practice and classes. It is a very simple way of working and will give you an opportunity to recognize and experience this energy consciously. In this way you can have access to your connection to the planet when you are at work on the 10th floor of your office building, as well as when you are walking along a beach at sunset.

The reality is – that we are interconnected and a part of this planet regardless of where we are or what we are doing. It is our larger body. It is my belief that the more awareness we have of this, the more our actions will reflect that awareness.

This way of working teaches that there are certain main pathways that the earth energy flows through in the body. Consciously moving this energy through these pathways (called channels) can be very powerful. The following meditation will give you an opportunity to experience and connect with earth energy as a healing and primal force.

Earth Energy Meditation

First close your eyes, and take three slow, deep breaths.

Create a grounding cord for yourself by allowing a flow of energy to cascade down from the area near the base of your spine (your first chakra), to the center of the earth, the heart of the mother. Allow your grounding to be securely attached at both your first chakra and at the center of the earth.

Then take a moment and feel your connection, notice how it brings you into yourself and gives you access to your personal power and awareness.

Be sure to keep breathing and release energy down your grounding by simply relaxing and letting go. Let go of any tension or discomfort.

Allow your attention to settle comfortably behind your eyes and back a bit. This is an area that is called the center of your head and is related to seeing and non-judgment. It is one way to center your energy in your body.

Continue to breath and permit your energy to adjust. Continue to let go of tension or discomfort down your grounding.

While keeping you attention focused in the center of your head, be aware of your feet. Say hello to them. Allow the energy of the planet (earth energy) to begin to gently flow into the arches of your feet. Experience it as it flows up through your feet, and then moves slowly into your calves and thighs. Feel this current of energy: it may be warm or cool, or it may be simply an awareness. Let the energy flow into your hips and through that area near the base of your spine called the first chakra, and then cascade back down your grounding. This stream of energy will strengthen your grounding and cleanse it as it flows.

Notice how the energy moves like a circuit. Up through the feet, moving though your leg channels flowing into the first chakra and then down your grounding.

This is Earth energy, the force of the planet. It is the energy that our bodies are made from. It is a very powerful and validating energy for our bodies to experience. It can be very healing when we consciously move it through the legs channels in a gentle and cleansing manner.

Now take a moment and simply allow your experience to unfold. Breath.

Next, bring to your mind images of the earth. Be aware of the great oceans and the stretches of sand, the mountains and trees. See the green grasses, and smell the rich soil. Tune yourself to the natural cycles, the dance of creation and destruction that Mother Earth demonstrates each year with the seasons.

The new shoot pushing its way up through the rich brown field, the full flower and heady power of the plants in their full growth, the ripe fruit and grain of the harvest, the empty field resting after the grain is cut…death awaiting rebirth.

Allow all the colors of the rainbow to come to you and remember all of the flowers you have seen. Notice how they look with dew on their petals. Bring to mind the deserts and intense colors, the sky that goes on forever. Or the sheer cliffs of canyons, the strata of the earth pushed up into mountains, the gentle depth of the forest floor.

Perceive and respect the power of this planet, this our larger body. The tornadoes, the floods, the earthquakes, the volcanoes, the wind and rain and snow.

Let go of the idea that you can take the earth for granted. Know her to be the powerful and sentient being that she is. Honor her and give her respect, know yourself to be made from her, she is the Mother. Gaia.

Contact your love for her, and pour it forth. Let it flow from you and nourish her, as she nourishes you with the bounty of her harvest. Begin to give back to the Mother.

Finally…say hello. In the silence of your own mind, in your heart of hearts, say hello to Gaia, to Mother Earth. And then listen…allow yourself to receive a hello back from her…take the time to ask and then hear. Ask her for simple things that you can personally do to aid her and be in harmony with her. Listen, she will tell you. Commune for as long as you wish, and then when you are done thank her. Thank her for all she gives to you, for her support, for her love, for her patience. Give yourself permission to be open to this wisdom in your daily life. Let her teach you and your life will change.

Lastly, breathe and release energy, bend forward and touch your hands to the ground, letting your neck relax and your head drop. Release any excess energy back into the earth. Sit back up, open your eyes and stretch. See the world in a new way.

Pagans: Loved, Yet Misunderstood

Pagans: Loved, Yet Misunderstood

Author: Davina Sullivan

“We are loved, yet misunderstood.”

Within the last few months, I have recently explained to my friends and family that I am a Pagan, and more than proud to say so. I have been asked so many questions sense then, it’s unbelievable. However, I’m glad that they asked because I’ve realized that many people in general has such a high misunderstanding, that we Pagan’s are judged unfairly. I have the opportunity to be able to help others understand and not judge us based on the word of others.

I was raised in a Baptist family, therefore, a great many of my relatives were upset, confused, hurt, or a combination of all three. My mother particularly, believed that being a Pagan was the devil’s way of tricking us into worshipping him, specifically because of the pentagram. I calmly explained to her that yes, the five-point star originated from the Pagan religion. After, that same star also became the Star of Bethlehem, which represents Jesus’ birth and carnation in the Christian religion. The bible explains this in the book of Matthews in chapter two. Lastly, Satanists took the five-point star and turned it upside down to claim as their own.

The image of the devil was the most difficult questions to answer. Even though I had explained that the image of Satan also originated from a Greek God, the Horned God named Pan. He has horns as well as hooves and carries a flute. That is where Satan’s image originated. Many didn’t want to hear my explanations or did not believe it to be so. Of course, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I only talk of the questions that people ask.

Another explanation that was quite interesting to give was the use of magic. I was asked questions such as, “How do you do magic?” “Why do you think magic is real?” “Don’t you think that God is the only one that can bring magic?” There was one question that I found very surprising, which was, “Will you teach me to do magic?”

When I was asked how to do magic, I simply explained that magic is just channeling what is already there. You are working as one with the elements of the earth to bring the God’s and Goddesses into your heart and soul to walk together into the Divine. This also brought questions about. However, I truly believe that no one can answer what the Divine is but you, and only when you feel it.

Those that has asked me why I believe magic to be real, this was the easiest explanation of all. Every time I answer this question, I smile and reply, “Because I’ve felt it. I’ve been there. I’ve become one with magic and have become one with The Divine.” Some are confused at this point, but the answer to this specific question is something only you can answer for yourself.

Many were respectful, many horrified at my response to God being the only one that can bring magic into my life. I respect those that live by the bible and God’s word. Though, I truly feel the connection with the Pagan God’s and Goddesses. My personal Goddess, Isis, has brought a light and a great sense of fulfillment into my life. I call upon her often and the magic that I have done and experienced is unexplainable. For someone who does not believe magic to be true, it will sound like nonsense to them. Until they experience magic for themselves and can answer that same question for me, there is nothing that I could say to them about working with Earth Mother to do magic.

There was one person and one person only who asked me to teach her magic. She is a very good friend of mine. I explained a few basics of my religion, and explained to her that being a witch and learning of magic by doing your own personal studies and research is the first step. Being a witch is something to be taken very seriously and to understand every aspect of everything or any spell before attempting to actually performing one. I also explained that I have seen those dabble in black magic, and that is something that will bring you sorrow and pain in the long run. ‘An ye’ harm none, do as ye’ will.’ I most defiantly expressed how important it is to keep the Three Fold Law in mind.

The purpose for me writing this paper is to express to anyone that is willing to listen that you should always be proud of who and what you are. It has taken me 24 years to find my path because it is sometimes difficult to step away from what you are so accustomed to and be able to search for your true self.

Religion, regardless of what it may be is a big part of every one person’s life. To lie and hide from your self is the most painful lie that anyone could tell. To be a witch is hard, it is difficult, it can be stressful and it can seem almost impossible to be accepted by society at times. In today’s world, yes, we need to be in society in some way, shape or form. Just remember, we are no better, nor are we any worse than any other person that may walk this glorious earth. Paganism is rejected by many, but accepted and loved by so many more. We have support and family to help us through these times.

Today, we have the wonderful world of technology! Take advantage of it. Witchvox.com is only the start. Wiccantogether.com is a lot like a myspace.com page for Wiccans. There’s plenty of ways on the Internet, not to mention the people around you that you have no idea are even there to help you.

I cannot express enough how strongly I believe that there are many that are afraid to be their true selves because of societies opinions of our religion. Be strong, stand tall, and be proud of who you are. Please, help, love and support those who need us.

In conclusion, we are loved, yet misunderstood. This is not our fault; this is our pride. I’m more than willing to help those who are misunderstood to understand. No matter the outcome may be, I am who I am. I’m being true to myself, and that is what is most important in my opinion.

The Wicca Book of Days for March 26th – The Fiery Personality

The Wicca Book of Days for March 26th

The Fiery Personality

March 26th is an Arien day, which means that the element that dominates it, according to astrological belief, is Fire. Like the other three elements, Fire is said to have a profound effect on the personality, fiery people being characterized as warm-hearted and passionate, creative and experimental, attention-seeking and exuberant, but also headstrong, fiery, domineering and destructive if they become carried away. According to Jungian theory, Fire is also associated with the intuitive personality type, which means that fire-influenced individuals tend to rely on their gut instincts, rather than rational evaluation, when it comes to gaining insight into a situation or deciding on a course of action.

 

Solitude Day

Many Wiccans observe Solitude Day today. If you can, take some time to yourself, be it for quiet contemplation, meditation or a healing respite from the demands of everyday life.

The Wicca Book of Days for March 15th – Of Ides and Attis

The Wicca Book of Days for March 15th

Of Ides and Attis

Julius Caesar by Paul Helm

The Romans knew March 15 as the “ides of March,” and this date, has since been regarded as unlucky or dangerous because it is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 bc. Ides (derived from the Latin verb, iduare, which means “to divide”) occurred in the middle of every month and were once synchronized with the full moon. In Roman times, March 15 was also the start of a festival recalling the story of the doomed love affair between the Phrygian mother goddess Cybele and Attis, a young shepherd. During Canna Intrat (“Entry of the Reed”). The baby Attiss’s abandonment amid needs by the River Gallus was commemorated.

The Chaste Moon

Many Wiccans dedicate the March esbat to the Goddess in her springtime guise as a young maiden of budding beauty, whose imminent sexual awakening and flowering will mirror that of nature. Incorporate symbols of chastity in your rituals, such as tightly furled buds.

WOTC’s Spell of the Day for March 4th: Familiar Consecration Spell

Familiar Consecration Spell　

To cement and/or formalize the psychic bonds between you and your familiar:

1.  Cast a circle large enough to hold you and your familiar, and any psychic tool you wish to use.

2.  Burn frankincense on the periphery of the circle.

3.  Sit within the circle, with your familiar, until you feel that it is time to come out.

4.  Repeat as needed.

Revive Your Magickal Powers

Revive Your Magickal Powers　

On the night of the full moon, anoint a purple candle with vanilla oil. While anointing raise energy and focus it into the candle. See it glow with magick. Light the candle and go outside (if possible) or near a window where you can see the moon. Place the candle on the ground or windowsill. Reach your arms out to the moon and say:

“I ask for your power on this night,

By the powers of the stars above me.

So Shall It Be!” 

Visualize your arms and hands soaking up the powers of the moon and into your body. Put out the candle and leave it on your altar overnight. The next morning, repeat the spell with this chant. 

“Oh dear Lord of sky and sea,

Lead your magick into me,

By soil, wind, flame and sea,

This is my will.

So Mote It Be!” 

Soak up the powers of the Sun. Go to your altar and light the purple candle from the night before and meditate on it until it burns out.

The Wicca Book of Days for February 24th – Going with the Flow

The Wicca Book of Days for February 24th

Going with the Flow

There is so much methane in Neptune’s atmosphere that the planet appears to be blue, which is one of the reasons why it was named for the Roman god of the oceans, seas and rivers. Because water was said to obey this God’s command, it may be worth invoking Neptune in your rituals if your life is frequently made uncomfortable by water retention (especially if it has nothing to do with your menstrual cycle). There are certain step that you can take to alleviate temporary bloating, too, like steering clear of salty foods, but remember that you must never limit your fluid intake – indeed, drinking more water helps to flush salt out of your system.

Grasp the Nettle

The stinging nettle is packed with nourishing and healing nutrients, including sodium reducing potassium and iron. Infuse some of the dried leaves, or else in a herbal teabag, in boiling water for up to 10 minutes before drinking.

The Wicca Book of Days for February 23 – Blessing the Boundaries

The Wicca Book of Days for February 23

Blessing the Boundaries

February 23 was once dedicated to Terminus, the Roman Supreme God of boundary markers, and to the termini, the individual spirits that were associated with each boundary stone. During the Terminalia, as the festival that honored these deities was called, Terminus would be worshiped in Rome at the stone that embodied him in the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the Capitoline Hill, and also at the sixth milestone of the Via Laurentia. The boundary stones that represented the lesser termini, in fields and elsewhere, were anointed with aromatic oil and garlanded with fragrant flowers, and animals were sacrificed to them.

 

Amazing Amethyst

The ancient Greeks – believed that February’s birthstone, amethyst, has the power to prevent intoxication, so if you are attending a function where it would be rude to refuse an alcoholic drink, but want to remain sober, wear a piece of amethyst jewelry. 

Dragon Fire

Dragon Fire

 
 
Almost all dragons breathe out a type of energy we humans call fire. This fire-breathing from the nose and mouth was and is usually employed as a warning or a protective measure. However, there are a number of stories of dragons who, after being hunted and/or provoked to extremes, burned up all the houses and crops of a town as punishment and a warning to leave them alone.
 
A great many dragons are attracted by physical fire, which produces a form of energy. Burning candles in a ritual way is certain to attract dragons. If the magician does not have the time, opportunity or energy to perform a complete dragon ritual, candle burning is a quick, effective form of magick. It is the quickest ritual to learn and to do.
 
Do not become lazy, however, and substitute candle burning for every magickal occasion. If you are new to the field of magick, begin with candle burning and work up to the other, more involved rituals. A good magician constantly seeks to expand his/her field of knowledge and expertise.
 
This is a candle burning ritual using dragon magick. To increase the potency of the candle, time the burning to the correct lunar and/or solar phases. For increasing and obtaining desires, burn during daylight or the waxing Moon (from after the New Moon until the Full Moon), with the Full Moon being strongest. For banishing or cursing, burn during evening hours of the waning Moon (from after the Fulll Moon until the New Moon), with the New Moon being strongest.
 
A cast circle is not imperative with this ritual. Choose appropriately colored stones to draw the attention of the dragons with which you desire to work: arrange them about the altar. With your ritual dagger, carve your exact wishes on the candle. Dragon script is very good for this, but if it proves too difficult to carve into the wax, use your ordinary language. Then anoint the candle with an appropriate oil. For moving something away from you, anoint from the end up to the wick. For obtaining something, anoint from the wick down to the end. To further strengthen the spell, roll the candle in crushed herbs chosen to further correspond to the spellworking. Either tapers or votive candles can be used.
 
To further concentrate the appropriate power into a candle burning, make a wide circle of your robe-cord around the candle on the altar. For safety, choose a metal or non-flammable holder and set it in a safe place.
 
With your wand, circle the candle three times clockwise for increasing magick (three times counterclockwise for decreasing magick). Hold the dragon pentacle facing the candle and say:
 
Draconis! Draconis!Draconis! Hear my call.
Three times I hail You, Listen, All!
This candle’s flame is like Your fire.
Dragons, bring my heart’s desire.
Dragon Power, come to me!
Hear my words. So Mote It Be.
Draconis! Draconis!Draconis!
 
If you have been given a dragon’s name and particularly want to call upon him/her, use this name instead of the word “Draconis” at the end of the Call in this ritual.
 
Visualize the dragon power and fire streaming from the dragon pentacle and entering the candle. After several moments, light the candle. For the fullest benefit, the candle should be allowed to burn completely out after the ritual is ended.

On Becoming a Crone

On Becoming a Crone

Author: Belladonna SilverRayne

Why is it so hard to admit we’re growing older? Why do we fight it tooth and nail? Society and the media as a whole, wants to show aging as something to be fought against, to be put off as long as possible. Why? Look at any sit-com, news broadcast, music video…. it’s all about being young and “beautiful”. Youth is made out to be the epitome of what we all want to be. Who wants to get old, right? Wrong!

I will be 45 on my next birthday. A fact that, when said out loud at first, made me mentally cringe. “Me? 45?? That means only 5 more years till I’m 50!!” After I said it aloud several times, and really thought about it, I could say it with confidence. Yes. Me. 45 going onto 50.

And I love it! I am moving into the Crone stage of my life, and enjoying every minute of it!

I loved the Maiden stage, when I was young, supple, carefree, and self-indulgent. Who among us didn’t? Life seemed so simple, so easy to handle. And it was. My biggest worry was what outfit I’d wear out to the club to dance and make merry with friends.

I sowed my oats, looked out for number one (me, of course) and just basically did my own thing. I moved at the speed of light, never really stopping to appreciate the things around me, never really taking anything in. Just “doing”. As I got a little older, I met the person that would become my husband and the father of my kids and we began our life together.

And I grew.

Then came Mother-hood. My body showed great evidence of the birthing of my children, as did my energy levels, emotional (in) stability, and newfound patience. I now had three other human beings, put on this Earth by me, all looking TO me to provide, nourish, teach, and love. Wow! As they grew, learned, made mistakes, and matured, I did as well. I managed to learn along the way to slow down a bit, to really notice things as they happened around me. I watched and listened a little more carefully now. I loved every moment, good and not so good, watching these amazing people who were once actual, living parts of my own body, turn into individuals, all truly unique within themselves, seeing them overcome hurdle after hurdle. Such a reward in life I will never receive again. Or will I?

I divorced my husband, and watched my kids growing older, going out on their own, and beginning their lives as young adults.

And I grew.

When I first began my Pagan path, I was still in what is considered the Mother stage, my kids were still relatively young and “needed” me in a mommy way. I was still very fertile, and the idea of having another baby sometime was not out of the question. Time passed and that idea faded, along with my monthly menses. (Can’t say I miss them much!)

It took me quite awhile to realize that I was no longer in that stage once the Croning period began. I wanted to fight it, to deny it, all for vain reasons, I’m sorry to say. I wanted to cling to that youth, or at least the image of it. Or so I thought. Now, after having met, gotten to know, and come to love, many admirable women, all in the Crone cycle of life, I am fully aware that I too am at that stage. And come to find out, it’s not so bad after all!

As I move into my Croning time, I don’t look at it as an ending, but a beginning, very akin to giving birth (only this time, I don’t think I’ll need all the medications!) . I will be giving birth to my Self. I can allow my Self to now grow, learn, and experience life, as I once allowed my children to do these things.

I am eager to gain more wisdom as time goes by, as the Great Wheel turns, and as season drifts into season.

I am learning to cherish the lines on my face, as each one stands for some lesson learned, some path walked down, perhaps a hardship suffered and come through stronger because of it.

I have begun to admire my stretch marks as battle scars, won not on the field of some war, but fighting to bring life into this world, one wonderful child at a time.

I now embrace the fullness of my softened body, knowing that even though it may not bring life into this world any longer, or be as taut and supple as it was two decades ago, it can still allow for pleasures, for physical support, and for living life in a healthy, Goddess-filled way!

I am now allowing my mature mind to expand and create in ways that it could not in the past.

I enjoy the younger ones coming to me, asking for my opinion, needing a particular sort of comfort that only someone my age can offer.

I am now ready to walk towards the end of my path in this particular life, knowing that even though it comes towards me quicker than ever, there is still much to gather, much to pass on, but still much MORE to learn and take in.

In Pagan societies (as well as many others) Elders are looked to for advice, comfort, wisdom, and as examples. Who better to follow than a grand Crone or Sage, not past their prime, but fully embracing it, fully aware of themselves as human beings? I so hope to be such an example, to my children, my Pagan brothers and sisters, and non-Pagan friends, alike. I want to show what it is to age gracefully, to accept that life is a never-ending cycle of birth, growth, death, and re-birth, in so many ways. I want everyone to see that while youth has it’s merits and perks, so does growing older and wiser.

Whatever stage of life you may be in as a woman. Maiden, Mother, or Crone, realize the absolute beauty of the moment, embrace it for all it is worth, and live each cycle to the fullest. Know that you have earned all that you are made up of, inside and out. And fear not, for Crone is not the end of the line, it is the goal we, as women, all strive to attain.

Calendar of the Sun for February 18th

Calendar of the Sun
18 Solmonath

Ishtar’s Day

Color: Pottery red, terra cotta
Element: Earth
Altar: Set with a cloth of earthy red, and on it place a pitcher of milk and another of wine, bowls of wood and clay filled with grains, olives, figs, and dates, a star, and the figure of a lioness.
Offerings: Grains. Stars. Give food to those who need it.
Daily Meal: Wholegrain bread. Cooked grains. Milk and dairy products.

Ishtar Invocation

I beseech thee, Lady of Ladies,
Goddess of Goddesses,
Ishtar, queen of all cities,
Leader of all men.
Thou art the light of the world,
Thou art the light of heaven.
At thy name the earth and the heavens shake,
And the gods they tremble;
The spirits of heaven tremble at thy name
And the men hold it in awe.
Where thou glancest the dead come to life,
And the sick rise and walk;
And the mind that is distressed is healed
When it looks upon thy face.

Call and response:
For lo, I am the Keeper of the Storehouse
And I am generous to all men!
From my breasts nourishment spills
From my hands nourishment flows
From my heart nourishment streams
I am the Morning Star
I am the Evening Star
I am the Star of Heaven
And I give unto all humanity.

(After this, all should being the work of inventorying all the resources of the house, in Ishtar’s name, so that they may be used more efficiently and that it can be known what can be given to others out of generosity.)

The First Direction Of Divine Creation

The First Direction Of Divine Creation

Author: Erik Stearns

I have a question for you. How does each of us, when we experience our paths, our own experiences, our own belief systems, and our own spirituality, create our own mythos? What is mythos? Here’s one way to explain it. If one looks at the story telling traditions of many cultures, we see that this art is based on stories illustrating how the culture sees itself as part of and in relation to creation, connection to the divine, connection that spans its citizens, and ways of looking at things that represent the perceived unknown, and the exploration of the mysterious, and resultant rediscovery and insight into itself.

Buffalo Thunder, a fellow Shaman, friend, and somebody whom I consider as a spiritual brother and elder, shared a very interesting story in a conversation we had based on this very topic.

Long ago, there was a nation torn apart by warriors who were fighting with each other, and who had divided the clans against themselves; family member against relative, friend against friend, and individuals against themselves. In addition to threatening the end of their society and culture, it threatened the very survival and existence of the people.

So the Elders and the chief got together in an emergency meeting. The anxious consensus was that something had to be done and now! So the chief was consulted and he asked what the argument was about.

“It’s the warriors, Grandfather, ” said one of the elders. “They’re fighting over which creation story is best or even worse, whose is true.”

The chief, listening in his quiet strength, thought about it and nodded his head sagely. “Call a talking council. We will sit down and each person will tell their story and all will listen.”

Later, the council was convened amid grumblings, accusations, and a more than a few thinly veiled threats that traversed clan boundaries. Seeing his people in this state required that every part of his essence had to come from the quiet inner strength that walked with him on his quest to be as he was.

“I’ve called this council so that we might share what it is that some of you have found a difference worthy enough to divide you. It seems that you wish to war with each other and destroy what seven generations back and beyond have worked so hard to build. What is it that is so valuable to you that you must use it as an excuse to hurt each other and yourselves?”

One of the young warriors stepped forward in defiance of the fact that the elders had such interest in their affairs and worse yet, wanted to mettle in their battle. “It’s the creation story, Grandfather! The other clans have different stories that don’t tell the truth of what really happened! They are wrong! We tried to tell them so, but they accuse us of blaspheming the stories given to us through generations by saying that we’re wrong!”

The whole tribe erupted in passionate and defiant cheers, shouts, accusations, and threats directed to their unwanted spokesman and at each other; a scene that left the elders to shake their heads in dismay. How could they do such a thing? These people were family, friends, teachers, and students! Had they not learned anything? Or was there something even more sinister at work here? Had the teachings and wisdoms of so many generations been lost? Did they not pay attention to the stories of the different worlds and transitions from one to another? Did they not remember what the wisdoms taught to those who would listen of how to traverse the changes?

The piercing hunting cry of Eagle Spirit swooped in on the den of anger and immediately silenced the self-righteous insurrection. But it didn’t come from outside the lodge. All Eyes turned to the center where their leader gazed at each and every soul in that space at that moment with the glance that would have made any adept at the “I dare you” skunk medicine, proud. His eyes were clear and sharp like Eagle, inviting anyone to speak out of turn, much less in anger. He knew where the respect, at least for now still resided. If they wouldn’t listen to each other, then they would listen to him.

When he completed his tour of looking into each person’s heart, he produced the talking stick and held it for all to see. “Each person will say their piece. We will hear each of these stories. Respect and honor will be given and no one will speak unless he or she holds the stick. You will keep silent until the time comes that you do hold it.” The people knew It wasn’t presented as an option at all. The opportunity and the ground rules had been given, and the choice in their immediate destiny was theirs to make. He stepped forward and handed the stick over to the first presenter.

It was a tale of Ictoma, Spider who fed upon the Great Void or Great Mystery to spin her web, traveling through the cosmos, each step another thread spun and how she traversed existence, back and forth, in all directions, weaving and joining together everything that is, was and shall be. It told of her making places in father sky the paths and homes for the stars, and how she hung Grandmother Moon and Grandfather Sun in the heavens so they could watch upon Earth Mother’s and Father Sky’s children.

The end of the legend was greeted by a nod from the chief as he said, “And so it is.” Of course this didn’t sit well with the others as a tide of grumbling and harsh comments were hurled.

“How can you accept this story when you heard none of the others?” asked one of the disgruntled participants.

“Would you like to be escorted out by the guardians?” The chief asked in response. The dissenters backed down. No one would show anger to the children who stood as council guardians.

With peace somewhat established, the second warrior was offered the talking stick and the crowd was regaled with the story of how Turtle with her shell helped to shape the mountains, canyons, valleys, hills and oceans of Earth Mother and how Turtle’s shell carried Grandmother Moon and grandfather Sun and the Star Brothers and Sisters to their homes in Father Sky.

The chief nodded again and said, “And so it is.” The same cycle happened again and again with each succeeding story, but each time with less unrest until everyone had his or her say. At the end, he spoke. “Now you see that each one of us has our own perspective; our own story.”

“How can you say this?” raised the protests, “when you know what the story of creation is? It’s not the one you told a while back.” Shouts of agreement punctuated the statement.

“It’s okay that each one of us has our own creation story, ” said the chief. “You see, our elders teach us that creation is an infinite number of possibilities that arise from the Great Mystery. We know creation as a process that gives birth to each moment that we experience. Each created moment is different, but all the instances come together as one to relate to one another and therefore each of their influences is passed on. This makes the tapestry of the cosmos. So therefore, we are of one creation.”

More uneasy grumbling arose. “Should we call council and have this man removed? Has he lost his mind?” But that was replaced with a realization that he was right. It explained the path, to and of all our relations to a tee. So from then on, more stories were shared and passed on. Aho metaque yoyassin.

Each of us has our own story and we, being reflections of one another are each other’s storytellers. Whether it comes from the Native American traditions and the stories of Kokopelli, or the story of Shaha, the storyteller of the African nations, we are shown in legends that every time they are invited in on a council meeting to hear the decisions of a group or an individual, and are asked what they should do, the storytellers would always say, “It’s your story. I’m just your storyteller. I only speak the truth of what is. How do you want it to be created?”

From that point on, I began to realize that what we say, think and what we do manifests what we want. Even though we think that we don’t want it, we eventually realize at some level, that yes, we did need or want this. We took the journey to learn the lesson.

I was studying with a couple of Pagan, specifically Wicca High Priestesses, and I was told about the Law of Three or the Law of Ten. What we do is returned to us three or even ten-fold, depending on what you do or what you believe. But this came across as baffling to me. If classical physics says that you have an equal and opposite reaction to every action, the conservation of energy, etc., how can this be? How do we get three times as much energy as what we put in? There has to be an equal and opposite reaction, right?

This also came at a time when in meditation, I saw these two snakes forming this perfect circle by swallowing each other’s tail. Neither snake would swallow more than what had been swallowed of them, preserving the balance of the circle. So how does what I was being shown and what I was being told equate to one another? When I asked about this, they didn’t know. They had just accepted the laws as being “as is”. Personally, that strikes me as being dangerous, because in that sense, we give in to blind faith by surrendering our power.

I was at a paradox in my search until I realized that there was more to the symbol than I realized. A subsequent vision appeared to me where the circle became greater and then smaller and greater again, all the while, the serpents being in perfect balance with each other. The way that this balance is maintained is that the circle has infinite amount of room to grow and shrink, as it needs to. The balance is ensured by the great potential. Needless to say, I was amazed and awed at what I found. Now, what amplifies the returning energy? Thus what is also behind the attractor energy or the cause? There are a couple of things. First is the energetic impact, this can manifest in any variety of ways such as: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, etc. Then at the same time, the universe always seems to have this consistent way of measuring how much of what we need and can handle, and most fascinating: what we need in that moment! Energy through the auspices of the vast potential of “what is” is infinite, therefore automatically conserving energy. Nothing is lost. It allows for things like the Law of Three and the circle of serpents to coexist without conflict.

There was more to it though. When I was receiving my Reiki Master’s attunement, I was taken through a meditation to where I would journey through the great void to the Cosmic Inipi, the sweat lodge where the Star Elders and the others who exist beyond the worldly veils reside. It was the journey that showed me that this void is the playground of creation. Some would call it God/Goddess’s playground. This is our playground. We are all iterations of this creative consciousness. So are the rocks, blades of grass, clouds that float, and drift, the hairs on our heads are all born of sentient thought.

Consequently, we being self-aware, we too have a hand in creating Creation. This void is exactly what the Buddhists talk about. It’s the “no-thing-ness” that the Buddhists would refer to. What’s more, the most astonishing thing one might find in witnessing my journey, was that I went inside, not anywhere else.

Now the inside is referred to as the “seventh direction” of the medicine wheel. The other six being East, South, West, North, Earth, and Sky, with the seventh being the inside of one’s self – the direction of divine connection. So I got this wild hair up a certain area of my body and decided to do an experiment. Next time I do ceremony, why not honor the inside direction first? That would indeed prove to be a hard habit to break considering I’ve done it the other way so many times before.

But upon doing that, I realized that here’s where the power resides, because I’m honoring the fact that I’m a part of creation and that creation is a part of me. It is all one. Because I did this, I was able to draw the power that I needed. I plugged in the wiring first, rather than last. Because of this, I saw that we could be so powerful; because we realize who and what we are created as, and the vast potential that is there for us to be.

In my subsequent celebration, Spirit put a hand on my shoulder and asked, “What is your story?” Now I needed to think I’ve studied many things from different religions, philosophies, shamanism, science, quantum physics; I must have touched it all at one point or another. But I still needed to think about it. So I took the dive and went deep within to the time when there was no thing and no time.

There was only the vast potential. Nothing yet had existed thus far. The first thing that I saw was an empty cup. It was full of nothing. I could put anything in it such as water, wine, stones, pens… hell, Lagos for that matter. Whatever I wanted in there could be put in that cup. It was also something my Aikido and Kung Fu Sensei was showing me at one time while teaching me how to tap my center as a power source.

I had studied many traditions from Christianity, to Buddhism, many forms of Paganism, including Shamanism, to the sciences, including cosmology and quantum physics. Nothing that I had studied though prepared me for the pure astonishment of this confirmation I was about to experience.

So Spirit comes back to me and says, “Now you know what to do.” I stilled myself and thought and thought about it. It was then that I saw this little tiny essence in this great vastness. It then extended itself into a random direction and immediately found that it could extend in the opposite direction. Thus it became a line and the first dimension was born. The line realized that it could grow in another direction and yet another and became an infinite plane, then expanded in another, forming space which could give birth to geometries and shapes and such, then expanded again in another direction and another producing more dimensions. Consequently other essences did the same thing.

This produced infinite number of collisions between dimensions producing moments in creation, all instances. Thus abundance of possibilities and causalities were created. Every little decision and its possible results came into existence all at once. Albert Einstein said, “All times, all possibilities exist all at once.” He was right based on what I was experiencing.

So I began to move through all these instances of people’s lives and mine. I saw the effects of my actions on myself and that of other people’s lives, and their actions upon mine. I realized then that I can move anywhere in this cosmos of ours. I can experience anything I want to. I can move anywhere in this grand tapestry as long as I believe in it. Give it the voice and let the potential carry it. It’s there. That’s how we manifest it.

I literally fell out of the meditation with this feeling of “Holy Smokes!” It was an “Oh my god” moment! We have all the potentials and thus all these creation stories. This one was mine. Therefore as a result, that story became my mythos or my story. “My-thos”, just like everyone has his or her “thos” or their story.

So when we realize the vast potential of what we can be and what others can be, we realize that we are infinite in our power. Why? Because we are parts of the same creation and that creation is always a part of us. What is your story and how do you create it?

One way we can think about this is in the way we pray. Just as there are any number of ways for a story or what we consider reality is created, so too are the number of ways that prayer is offered. Essentially when we pray, we are focusing on a certain action to happen. We are focused on a specific manifestation with at least varying forms of results and successes. We attract that focused upon target to be present in our experience. So how do we do this? Pray that whatever you intend, is. Don’t pray “for” it. If you do that, you are focusing on the lack and therefore that vibration or energy is sent out and thus, that is what is echoed back. Pray that it is. For instance, instead of praying for rain, pray rain. Don’t pray for healing; pray healing. The same goes for peace or whatever you wish attracted to you in that moment.

One person I’d love to meet and just “talk shop” with is author and consciousness researcher Greg Braden. He relayed this story during a recent interview on “Coast to Coast AM”.

A group of researches was investigating prayer, so they went all over the world to talk with various religious people and spiritual practitioners about how they prayed and what the process behind it was, and generally, what the secret was to prayer and how it was made successful. One day these researchers visited this Pueblo village and during their stay, a shaman decided to invite the scientists to witness a rain ceremony. Now to give a little background to this story, there was no forecast for rain, just like so long before, and by meteorological observations, conditions weren’t going to change any time soon.

The researchers took the shaman up on his offer and they headed out to a nearby place in the dessert. The shaman quietly sat for a minute and meditated to get himself centered and connected with his surroundings. Then he called in the directions and stated his intention for rain. After performing what seemed to be preparation of the sacred space, the medicine man quietly sat with his eyes closed for a few minutes.

Suddenly he opens them and says to his audience, “I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.”

The scientists looked at each other and then back at him and asked, “That’s it? You’re not going to do a dance of some kind or anything like that?”

“No, ” he replied. “I’ve already let Great Spirit know what it is that I wish to happen.”

After the food was eaten and appetites satisfied, the shaman took his charges back to the village where a nice big and dark rain cloud had formed overhead and had begun to pour. The researchers in stunned amazement asked their subject what he did.

“It was simple, ” he said with casual aplomb. “When you were observing me meditate, I created the experience in my mind, right down to the way the rain sounds when it hits the ground, how it looks when it falls from the sky and how it splatters on the ground and village walls. I could smell the earth after being watered for the first time in a while. I could see the flash of lightning; hear the roll of the thunder as it echoed the truth of what is. I felt the raindrops on my skin. I could even feel the energy of Father Sky as he gives his gift to Mother Earth. I could taste the renewed sweetness of the air, and so on.”

His audience listened as he continued. “I paid attention to all my senses and created the story around what my senses would tell me, living the experience, and in doing so, I created a vibration that would happen in return. I was very specific in what I was creating so there was no doubt or question of what I had in mind could exist. As you can see, this is the result. This is how it is brought into our present tense.”

So this begs the question: Why do we live in a world where we focus on the illusion of separation, when the answer is so simple?

So what I’ve given you today is a couple of great secrets in experiencing ones own personal magick. No, this is not ‘magic’ that is based primarily on illusion, but that of co-creation, because that’s really what it is. When we help the creator create something out of seeming nothingness, or even if it’s a linear or logical impossibility, if we believe it, we have faith in it, and we know that it is; there is nothing that we can’t manifest. There is nothing whether you consider positive or negative or right or left or whatever; there is nothing that you can’t manifest. If you believe it, and you want it, and you pray that it is, then it is. You are connecting to that divine source within, not within your body but within your soul or spirit – that little essence that is you.

When we incarnate into different densities; such this physical dimension, we come deep from within Source. We come deep from within Spirit’s heart because of the fact that our hearts are resonant or “in rhythm with Mother Drum”.

I find this to be true. Our hearts beat the same beat. Our hearts beat the same rhythm so why can’t we create? Well, we can. There is no such thing as “can’t” as far as the cosmos is concerned. If the universe doesn’t know the definition of the word “no”, then why should we when we, when we are the architects of our lives? And so therefore, why should we fear anything – especially that of lack or something that may seem different or strange to us?

We know who we are and so therefore, we can respect and love one other in one peaceful creation and this gives credence to the phrase that becomes the heart of my path: known as “Aho Metaque yoyassin!” Roughly translated, that means “To and of our relations.” This includes our relations to each other, our relations to Spirit, our relations to everything that is, and our relation to ourselves, because all time really exists at the same time.

So when you realize that, you begin to walk in your own power and nobody can take that away from you. You have discovered your own divine right. When you have discovered your own divine right, then you take your rightful place in creation and move on from there.

So what is your story that you create?

Footnotes:
Adapted from the speech given at the First Spiritualist Church of Austin July 9, 2006

Dragon Magick

Dragon Magick

 
 
Western and Eastern European and Scandinavian dragons are the true fire dragons. They are primarily guardians of gold, described as the life blood of the earth, and live in caves. The Oriental dragons are mainly air and water dragons, associated with life-giving rain, with winds and storms and with gems and pearls, through there are the fiery kinds as well, as seen in processions.
 
Dragon magick uses the spiritual power associated with fire-breathing dragons to protect your own particular treasures. These treasures might be tangible ones like your home or your family. Less tangibly, treasure to you might represent speaking the truth or receiving honesty from others, the power to develop your career or heaing powers, or the ability to love or gain knowledge. Dragon magick is also good way of manifesting prosperity in your life, not for its own sake but in order to have the resources to do all the things you want to – and so that you don’t need to worry and can bring happiness to others.
 
For despite their bad press in Christian times as symbols of the earth mother, dragons are essentially wise and noble. Of course, physical dragons don’t exist. By means of visualization however, you can build up a connection the huge energy field of the dragon that exist spiritually, the same way the love and altruism are real.
 
Fire dragons are variously described as possessing all or some of the following: eagles’ feet, bat-like wings, the front legs of a lion, a reptile or dinosaur’s head with a huge mouth and teeth from which smoke and fire pours, huge scales, the horns of an antelope, a soft underbelly and a spade-like snake or lizard-like tail that may being close to the head.
 
Smaller fire drakes, found in the myths of France and Germany, don’t have wings, but are red and have fiery breath. They live in caves with their great hoards, the riches of the earth.
 
According to Bulgarian dragon lore, the male dragon is the fiery one and is a benign protector of humans and the crops, in contrast to his watery and less well-disposed sister. In this tradition, dragons have three heads and wings.
 
The ruler of the fire dragons is called Fafnir, whose name comes from the Norse and German culture. He was once a dwarf but was transformed into a dragon because of his love of the treasures he created and the metals he forged. He was killed by Sigrid Volsungr or Siegfried who burned himself, licked his fingers and so absorbed the dragon’s power to commune with the birds.
 
This isn’t a straightforward legend and has a lot to do with the overcoming of the earlier earth goddess power as typified by the dragons. Therefore, Fafnir shouldn’t be thought of as a greedy dwarf who became a dragon to be slain, as in the patriarchal, monk-recorded legends. Rather, Fafnir is lord of the dragons, who guards from the greedy and insensitive the power of the hidden treasures, whether these be of the goddess or your own potential. So if you do include Fafnir in your dragon chants recall his wonderful craftsmanship and how he conserves the minerals of the earth – not a bad lesson for modern times.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

 

Staging 5: Moving to a conclusion – grounding or internalizing the power

If you would like to incorporate cakes and ale into a spell or ritual, this would be the point at which you would first take the cakes on the dish. When you are working alone, this is a lovely part of a spell or ritual to help to connect you with the love all round you.

Raise the cakes on their plate (one for you and one for the birds if working alone) skywards away from the altar.

Then lower them to waist height in front of you, saying:

“May the abundance of the Mother and the bountifulness of the Father bless and nourish, sustain and protect me/you/us all my/your/our days.”

 

You can, if more than one person is present, choose one to hold the dish and another to bless the cakes by making either a pentagram or a cross over the dish as the words are spoken. You can, of course, do this alone with your power hand.

Put the plate in the center of the altar.

Now take the chalice or goblet in your receptive hand and your wand in your power hand and gently lower the tip of the wand so it almost touches the surface of the wine or juice. Say:

“As male to female, god to goddess, so in this wine/juice is joined power and love, strength and compassion, striving and acceptance.”

 

Return it to the center of the altar.

If more than one person is present, one can bless the cakes and another can bless the wine. The same people are usually chosen to carry out the blessings, but you may prefer to share the duties. Often the wand is held by a female and the cup by a male for the crossing of energies, but two women or men can carry out the ceremony.

You should then take the cakes, scatter a few crumbs on the ground (or in a dish indoors) and say:

“I return the gift to the earth mother in thanks for blessings received. Blessings be.”

 

After the ceremony feed the rest of this cake to the birds.

At this point if there were two people involved, you can offer each other a cake and then pass them round to anyone else present. Each person can say:

“Blessed be.”

 

Or add a blessing before eating.

You should then return the plate to the altar and take the wine, pouring a little on the ground and thanking mother earth again for her blessings. (Pour this offering into a dish if indoors and you can put the crumbs and liquid outside after the ceremony.)

Now drink or offer the drink to the other person who blessed the chalice. He or she will take a sip and offer it to you and to the other person who carried out the blessings, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

If others are present, pass the cup round so each can take a sip, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

And perhaps adding a blessing before passing it on.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

 

Stage 3: Raising or increasing the power

This is the most active and powerful part of the spell, and involves building up the speed and intensity of the action you started in stage 2.

Raising the power is especially easy out of doors as you connect, especially if barefoot or wearing thin-soled shoes, with the natural spiraling energies or straighter ley flows beneath the earth.

Grass or sand near a river or seashore is also energized by the water flow, especially around the week of the new and full moons. On a safe beach you can dance through the shallows.

There are many ways of raising power, limited only by your imagination. When working alone and in a potent natural setting, perhaps at a power time like sunrise, you will sing, away or move quite without prompting or run along the beach or through long grass round in circles or spirals like a dog let off the leash. Watch children playing for inspiration.

Most effective is a combination of words or sound and movement in such a way that your conscious mind is carried along by the power, like riding a carousel when everything blues except for the music. The purpose of this stage is not only to empower the symbol but also to empower yourself, since you are the vehicle to carry the magickal energies from the thought (mental) and spiritual (astral) planes to actuality (earth). This is the same process used by shamans to trigger their out-of-body or out-of-everyday consciousness.

Enchant the symbol with a pair of lighted incense sticks, one held in each hand, a few centimeters/an inch above the symbol. Move the right one clockwise and the left on anticlockwise. Move them faster and faster and chant faster and faster in order to draw in all four elemental powers.

Increase the speed and intensity so the incense sticks cross and uncross over the symbol. As you move the sticks rhythmically, recite your elemental chant continuously.

Alternatively you can move your wand clockwise in flourishes or a spiral, a smudge stick in your power hand in huge circles allowing it to dictate its own pathway and shapes. You can move the other hand anticlockwise in rhythm if you want.

A very simple chant is:

Air, water, fire earth,

Bring, I ask, this wish to birth.

 

You can continue over and over again at increasing intensity and speed, adding variants or weaving your own simple four- or five-word chants, around the natural surroundings and the elemental associations.

Other spells chant include goddess names, the most popular being Isis, Astarte (Ass tart-ay), Diana, Hecate (Hekart tay), Demeter (Dem eat-er), Kali (Karly) and Innana (In-arn-a).

Isis is the Ancient Egyptian mother Goddess; Astarte is the supreme female divinity of the Phoenicians, Goddess of love and fertility, associate with the moon and all nature; Diana, the Graeco-Roman Goddess of the moon and hunt and queen of the witches; Hecate, the Ancient Greek Crone Goddess of the underworld and waning moon; Demeter, the Ancient Gree Corn mother; Kali, the Hindu creatrix/destroyer Goddess and Innana, the Sumerian fertility Queen of Heaven and Earth Goddess in the Middle East area of modern Iraq. Feel free to substitute your own goddesses/gods.

You could instead move round and round the altar or circle, chanting and clapping, while stepping, stamping or whirling and twirling. Sufi spiritual whirling dancing has been eagerly adopted by the New Age as a way of altering consciousness. Trust your feet to follow the spirals of the Earth energies.

You can add the beat of a hand drum using your hand or a striker or use a tambourine. We can all play these, without training or a natural ear for more formal music. Just let your hands and feet set the beat and if you chant along they all harmonize. The simpler and more repetitive words and actions, the better.

Move and chant until you feel that the power has reached its height, like revving a car with the hand brake on or a plane whose wheels are starting to life off the tarmac.

Through visualization, individuals and groups can create a cone of power with the circle as the base, picturing a mass of stars or swirls of rainbow light collecting a light cone above you. Imagine the cone getting higher and brighter as the apex gets taller and the cone denser with rainbow light. As you swirl you may even see it.

When the psychic power peaks in intensity it is released through the apex as shooting stars. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a firework display.

“Candlemas’ is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course. The older Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. ‘Imbolc’ means, literally, ‘in the belly’ (of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows. ‘Oimelc’ means ‘milk of ewes’, for it is also lambing season. The holiday is also called ‘Brigit’s Day’, in honor of the great Irish Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing (especially the healing touch of
midwifery).”
– Daven’s Journal – Imbolic

Candlemas: The Light Returns

Candlemas: The Light Returns
by Mike Nichols

It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered the beginning of Spring. Here in the Heartland, February 2nd may see a blanket of snow mantling the Mother. Or, if the snows have gone, you may be sure the days are filled with drizzle, slush, and steel-grey skies — the dreariest weather of the year. In short, the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights. And as for Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring runs its course to Beltane.

‘Candlemas’ is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course. The older Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. ‘Imbolc’ means, literally, ‘in the belly’ (of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows. ‘Oimelc’ means ‘milk of ewes’, for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called ‘Brigit’s Day’, in honor of the great Irish Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing (especially the healing touch of midwifery). This tripartite symbolism was occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named Brigit. (Incidentally, another form of the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus She bestows her special patronage on any woman about to be married or handfasted, the woman being called ‘bride’ in her honor.)

The Roman Catholic Church could not very easily call the Great Goddess of Ireland a demon, so they canonized her instead. Henceforth, she would be ‘Saint’ Brigit, patron SAINT of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. They ‘explained’ this by telling the Irish peasants that Brigit was ‘really’ an early Christian missionary sent to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed there ‘misled’ the common people into believing that she was a goddess. For some reason, the Irish swallowed this. (There is no limit to what the Irish imagination can convince itself of. For example, they also came to believe that Brigit was the ‘foster-mother’ of Jesus, giving no thought to the implausibility of Jesus having spent his boyhood in Ireland!)

Brigit’s holiday was chiefly marked by the kindling of sacred fires, since she symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge, and the fire of poetic inspiration. Bonfires were lighted on the beacon tors, and chandlers celebrated their special holiday. The Roman Church was quick to confiscate this symbolism as well, using ‘Candlemas’ as the day to bless all the church candles that would be used for the coming liturgical year. (Catholics will be reminded that the following day, St. Blaise’s Day, is remembered for using the newly-blessed candles to bless the throats of parishioners, keeping them from colds, flu, sore throats, etc.)

The Catholic Church, never one to refrain from piling holiday upon holiday, also called it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (It is surprising how many of the old Pagan holidays were converted to Maryan Feasts.) The symbol of the Purification may seem a little obscure to modern readers, but it has to do with the old custom of ‘churching women’. It was believed that women were impure for six weeks after giving birth. And since Mary gave birth at the winter solstice, she wouldn’t be purified until February 2nd. In Pagan symbolism, this might be re-translated as when the Great Mother once again becomes the Young Maiden Goddess.

Today, this holiday is chiefly connected to weather lore. Even our American folk-calendar keeps the tradition of ‘Groundhog’s Day’, a day to predict the coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog sees his shadow, there will be ‘six more weeks’ of bad weather (i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady Day). This custom is ancient. An old British rhyme tells us that ‘If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.’ Actually, all of the cross-quarter days can be used as ‘inverse’ weather predictors, whereas the quarter-days are used as ‘direct’ weather predictors.

Like the other High Holidays or Great Sabbats of the Witches’ year, Candlemas is sometimes celebrated on it’s alternate date, astrologically determined by the sun’s reaching 15-degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old Style (in 1988, February 3rd, at 9:03 am CST). Another holiday that gets mixed up in this is Valentine’s Day. Ozark folklorist Vance Randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the old-timers used to celebrate Groundhog’s Day on February 14th. This same displacement is evident in Eastern Orthodox Christianity as well. Their habit of celebrating the birth of Jesus on January 6th, with a similar post-dated shift in the six-week period that follows it, puts the Feast of the Purification of Mary on February 14th. It is amazing to think that the same confusion and lateral displacement of one of the old folk holidays can be seen from the Russian steppes to the Ozark hills, but such seems to be the case!

Incidentally, there is speculation among linguistic scholars that the vary name of ‘Valentine’ has Pagan origins. It seems that it was customary for French peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a ‘g’ as a ‘v’. Consequently, the original term may have been the French ‘galantine’, which yields the English word ‘gallant’. The word originally refers to a dashing young man known for his ‘affaires d’amour’, a true galaunt. The usual associations of V(G)alantine’s Day make much more sense in this light than their vague connection to a legendary ‘St. Valentine’ can produce. Indeed, the Church has always found it rather difficult to explain this nebulous saint’s connection to the secular pleasures of flirtation and courtly love.

For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version of Valentine’s Day, with a de-emphasis of ‘hearts and flowers’ and an appropriate re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity. This also re-aligns the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held at this time, in which the priests of Pan ran through the streets of Rome whacking young women with goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The women seemed to enjoy the attention and often stripped in order to afford better targets.

One of the nicest folk-customs still practiced in many countries, and especially by Witches in the British Isles and parts of the U.S., is to place a lighted candle in each and every window of the house, beginning at sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1st), allowing them to continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby curtains, etc. What a cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary night to see house after house with candle-lit windows! And, of course, if you are your Coven’s chandler, or if you just happen to like making candles, Candlemas Day is THE day for doing it. Some Covens hold candle-making parties and try to make and bless all the candles they’ll be using for the whole year on this day.

Other customs of the holiday include weaving ‘Brigit’s crosses’ from straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing rites of spiritual cleansing and purification, making ‘Brigit’s beds’ to ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body, if desired), and making Crowns of Light (i.e. of candles) for the High Priestess to wear for the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn on St. Lucy’s Day in Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan Festival of Lights, sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the most beautiful and poetic of the year.

Today We Honor The Goddess Danu

The Goddess Danu

As the mother of the gods, Danu has strong parallels with the Welsh literary figure (or goddess) Dôn, who is the mother figure of the medieval tales in the Mabinogion.

Danu was considered as the mythic mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Celtic tribes that first invaded Ireland. The Celts, also on the continent, had several goddesses, also of war. “Apart from these goddesses of war, there were other Amazonian figures who led armies into battle. Often they were also endowed with legendary sexual prowess…” “The Celts included the cult of the mother goddess in their rites, as archeological evidence testifies. Indeed, the Tuatha Dé were the descendants of the goddess Danu, and in some local instances, the ruler of the otherworld was a goddess, rather than a god, just as some folktales represented the otherworld as ‘the Land of Women’. Danu may be connected with Bridget, daughter of Kildare and of learning, culture and skills. She was known as Brigantia in northern England, and survived as St Bride in Christianity”