Tag: Religion and Spirituality

The Nine Principles of the Goddess

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The Nine Principles of the Goddess

1. I acknowledge that there is one Goddess in essence, Creatrix of all existences; Her forms are infinite, She manifests Herself in our love, and we are all Her lovers.

2. Treat all beings with reciprocity, for the Goddess lives in them as well as in us.

3. Tolerate other religions and do not compel others to join the circle of the Goddess: the Goddess will draw those to Her who are ready and hear Her call.

4. Worship Her by restoring balance to Her planet.

5. Eat mostly grains, vegetables and fruits, so that there will be enough food for all; when you eat thank the Goddess, the provider of all energy. It is not forbidden to eat animal flesh in moderation, but when you do so you must thank the animal that you eat as well.

6. In the circle of the Goddess create consensus while respecting diversity of opinion. On the path of the Goddess there are many paths.

7. In your home create a sacred space for the Goddess to please Her. Meditate on the Goddess three times a day, at rising, at noon and at sundown.

8. Sexuality is Her sacrament; enjoy this gift and bless those who you share it with love and affection. Remember that overcoming jealousy is the cause of cessation of the cycle of rebirth.

9. Announce the religion of the Goddess to the world through good works, honest words and selfless acts of beauty and love.

To set out on the path of the Goddess, you need only recite the first principle three times, and say three times ‘blessed be’. The Goddess will enter your heart and you will feel her love, and when that happens you are in the circle of the Goddess.

Book of the Goddess
by Anna Livia Plurabelle at sacred-texts.com

Let's Talk Witch – Finding Power Center

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Let’s Talk Witch – Finding Power Center

Sacred spots exist in every country and region, perhaps in your own backyard. All you have to do to locate them is attune your awareness to pick up the earth’s vibrations. As you seek out places that house special energy, pay attention to these key indicators that tell you you’re standing on holy ground:

Body heat increases (without the sun coming out or other environmental causes).

Dowsing rods or pendulums react positively, as if finding a hit.

The place appears repeatedly in your dreams, usually with something magickal or spiritual taking place there.

An emotional sense of peace and tranquility settles over you like a warm blanket.

You get a feeling that you’re not alone (as if the animals, birds, trees, or other living things are trying to communicate with you through motion, sounds, or symbols).

Hairs on your arms rise, as if you’ve been exposed to a current of energy, or you feel a sudden chill.

There are unusually lush displays of plants uncharacteristic of the region; for example, a streak of bright green grass was once called a faery trail, and these usually follow ley lines.

Your totems and power animals appear there regularly.

You experience a sense of timelessness, as if there is only now.

You can also dowse an area to assess its energy. A pendulum will pick up speed and spin enthusiastically in the presence of a ley line or power center. Dowsing rods tip down toward the ground when they connect with this vibrant earth energy. You can even dowse a map to find a sacred site near your home.

 

Reference

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book (Everything®)
Alexander, Skye (2008-07-01).

Elder's Meditation of the Day – August 28

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – August 28

“With prayer and good intentions, we make our lives sacred and so come to balance.”

–Don Jose Matsua, HUICHOL SIERRA MADRE MEXICO

Only through prayer can we make spiritual changes that are permanent. You have told us that all life is sacred. Today I intend to serve you, my Creator. Allow me to overcome temptation, and if one comes along, let me see the lessons that will give balance. You have told us that all life is sacred. Let me see today with a sacred eye. Let me see beauty in all things.

My Creator, let me know what You would have me be today. Let my intentions be honest, respectful, humble and loving.

August 28 – Daily Feast

August 28 – Daily Feast

Everything that thrives is fed by the light. Lift up a rock, and the seed that sprouted beneath it is bent, stunted and colorless. But after a few hours of filtered light it begins to straighten, and will eventually throw off all the effects of being held down. We need, a li so qui lv di, a weight or a burden, lifted from our shoulders so we can grow and thrive in the light. We have to show willingness to stand on the rock and not beneath it. To see ourselves in better circumstances, to think clearly, is to be free. Little by little we see the possibility of health and order and great prosperity which includes everything we need. To see good and say good will eventually cause good, but our vision and our words must be steady.

~ You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight to our hearts.

~ COCHISE

“A Cherokee Feast of Days” by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Your Tarot Card for August 28th is The World

The World

Wednesday, Aug 28th, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has traditionally been known as the World card points to the presiding intelligence, called “Sophia,” or Wisdom, which upholds life on this and all worlds. A more precise title for this card might be “the Soul of the World,” also applicable as a symbol of personal empowerment and freedom. In most Tarot decks it is a female figure that has become our standard World image. She originates in Hebrew, Gnostic and Alchemical lore, and stands between heaven and earth as the Cosmic Mother of Souls, the Wife of God and our protector from the karmic forces we have set loose upon the Earth in our immaturity and ignorance.

Where the Empress energy secures and fertilizes our terrestrial lives, the goddess of The World invites us into cosmic citizenship — once we come to realize our soul’s potential for it. Just as the Chariot stands for success in achieving a separate Self, and Temperance represents achievement of mental and moral health, the World card announces the awakening of the soul’s Immortal Being, accomplished without the necessity of dying.

This card, like the Sun, is reputed to have no negative meaning no matter where or how it appears. If the Hermetic axiom is “Know Thyself”, this image represents what becomes known when the true nature of Self is followed to creative freedom and its ultimate realization.

Let's Talk Witch – Daily Protection Magick

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Let’s Talk Witch – Daily Protection Magick

Begin each day with protection magick in the form of Words of Power accompanied with visualizations. This will help ground and center you. You may charge yourself and your living space with words such as: “There is one Power. The Power is perfect protection, and I am perfect manifestation of this Power.”

Visualize anyone you wish to be protected as you speak your intention. Raise your power hand and turn clockwise. In your mind’s eye see a white light radiating from you hand. See this light sealing your home within a protective aura.

Throughout the day, if you should encounter any negative situation or person, “see” that same light surrounding you. You’ll be surprised how it will neutralize any negativity near you. This invisible barrier will protect you at a busy mall or as you’re driving in a crowded parking lot. It will even keep you centered if the office gets out of hand after a celebration such as the upcoming Labor Day celebrations that will be going on.

Any positive magick must begin with you. These simple morning meditations will help you deal with holiday stress and provide a psychic shield. Let this be the basis for your magick.

Excerpt from:

“Jingle Bells & Witches’ Spells”
By James Kambos
Llewellyn’s 2013 Witches’ Companion

Let's Talk Witch – Magickal Talents of Each Birth Sign

Let’s Talk Witch – Magickal Talents of Each Birth Sign

 

Some witches examine their birth charts when planning important magickal events such as an initiation or eldership rite. They might also consider how their charts relate to the charts of other members in a spiritual group they wish to join. Each natal chart is unique, with special strengths and weaknesses that affect the individual’s magickal life as well as his mundane life.

Many good books exist that explain the personality traits of the twelve sun signs. The following paragraphs describe some magickal proclivities of people born under each sign. Look for your birth sign and read the generalized description. Does it ring true?

Aries

These independent people often become spiritual leaders and pioneers, seeking enlightenment in their own way rather than following established traditions. They may devise new magickal approaches or explore uncharted territory.

Taurus

People born under this sign love earth-oriented magick and make excellent druids. They also have a knack for expressing magickal ideas through art, food preparation, herbalism, gardening, and healing.

Gemini

These individuals may take an eclectic approach to witchcraft. Their quick minds and communication skills enable them to learn magick quickly and teach it to others. Chanting, incantations, and affirmations are among their favorite magickal practices.

Cancer

Intuitive Cancers frequently possess divination and dowsing skills. Many excel as kitchen witches and healers, for they enjoy nurturing and caring for other people.

Leo

People born under this sign have a strong sense of drama. These natural leaders enjoy performing rituals and may gravitate toward ceremonial magick. They may also turn their talents toward spiritual art or music.

Virgo

Natural healers, Virgos frequently apply their magickal abilities to herbalism and working with the plant kingdom. Let them handle the details of rituals and spellworking. Some are skilled artisans who craft lovely magick tools.

Libra

These sociable people like handling the logistics and atmospheric elements of ritual celebrations and spiritual events, especially the décor. Usually they prefer to work with a magickal partner or coven, rather than solo.

Scorpio

Scorpios are instinctively drawn to occult knowledge and the unseen realms. Many possess keen intuition and divination ability. Their strong wills can help them succeed in all forms of spellworking.

Sagittarius

Spiritual subjects and higher knowledge appeal to Sagittarians, who are often great students of magick as well as teachers. Many enjoy the drama of ritual and make colorful, inspired leaders.

Capricorn

Let the Capricorns in your magickal group handle the money. They also excel at planning, organization, and the practical aspects of the Craft. Prosperity magick, in particular, may appeal to them.

Aquarius

The ideal chaos magicians, Aquarians tend to be unconventional in life and in magick. These innovative people may reject the formality of high magick, preferring to create their own rituals and spells. Many have a natural proclivity for astrology.

Pisces

These sensitive individuals are adept at visualization and usually have highly attuned psychic abilities. Music or art may play a part  in their magickal work.

Although your sun sign is certainly important, it’s only part of your astrological makeup. Other factors in your birth chart will also influence your magickal talents and learnings. Consider the whole chart and all its distinctive features in order to understand the big picture.

Magickal Tip – Spelling on a Budget

Magickal Tip

Spelling on a Budget

As kids stock up on new supplies for back to school time, take advantage of all the broken crayons, old erasers, and short pencils that would otherwise be tossed aside or left on a shelf to collect dust. Melt and recycle broken crayons into customizable effigies and magickal candles to boost energy and creativity, and crumble up old erasers to use in diminishing, curse-breaking, and banishing powders. Keep a few short pencils in your car to use for written spells on the go, or grind the graphite into an energy-boosting dust to use in your wandcraft.

—Melanie Marquis

Crone Chant for Good Judgment

Goddess Comments & Graphics

Crone Chant for Good Judgment

Ancient Hag, Wise Grandmother,
You of Wisdom, like no other,
Help me weigh choices with precision,
To make a good and fair decision
Show me what I need to see,
Shed some light on what should be.
And should I turn a deafened ear
Open it so I can hear
Help me feel what I should know.
Show me now which way to go.    
Guide me in what I just do.
This, Old Crone, I ask of You.

Handfasting and Marriage Broom Lore

HANDFASTING AND MARRIAGE BROOM LORE

As a Priestess and Wiccan Minister, I perform several Handfasting Rites per
year. One of the main things I encourage Wiccan engaged couples to do is to find
a broom together. This is the symbol of hearth and home. Once the broom has been found, then it is anointed as I stated above, then some of the broom brush is pulled from the stem. That brush is then woven together and placed upon the
wedding altar. The broom is present during our counseling sessions and then the
wife-to-be is usually the keeper of the broom until the wedding. This represents
that she is the keeper of the home and keeps peace and harmony while the man
goes out to work. It also means that she is the keeper of the Magickal power of
the home. As it seems in these modern times that this is wrong to have such
sexed roles, this is celtic lore from more than 600 years ago.

The night before the wedding, the couple will dress the broom by weaving 3
strand of colored ribbon around the handle. What this represents is the inter-
twining of their lives and they themselves are no longer individuals but are
part of each other. The broom is then placed either standing by the altar or
placed lying under the altar during the ceremony as the vows are said, the
promises made, that hands fasted. They are pronounced husband and wife and the broom is then put before them as the final test of love. The couple either
steps, or in old tradition, jumps, over the broom. This is the final end of the
ceremony. Then it is recommended that the couple takes the broom home and
makes love with the broom under the bed. This seals the marriage.

Your broom can be your best friend and your magickal ally. Treat your broom with honor, reverence and respect and you will have a life-long companion and ritual tool.

Sweeping Spells and Lore

SWEEPING SPELLS AND LORE

If you feel your life is in chaos, take a look around at your front porch and
front walkway. If the front walk is cluttered with leaves and dirt, then sweep
your walkway and front porch clean with your magickal broom and envision that
your life is in order and that all that comes to your will be clean and cleared.

When you move from one house to another, it’s always good to change your
workaday broom. Either burn your old one, or make sure that it is buried with
honor. Always bring a new broom into the new house, but sweep some dirt from the outside in before you sweep the dirt from the inside out. This is to bring in
good luck from the beginning and not push your luck out the door.

Always hang a broom by the front door for protection. Brooms will keep the bad
things out and the good things in. I have a broom at every door of my home. I
keep it in the corner. Always stand a broom on end with the brush facing up.
This helps the wear and tear on the brush  and it’s also said to bring love from
the earth through the broomstick and given up to the heavens through the brush.

If your broom falls from your hand while you are sweeping or doing other work,
make a wish before you pick it up. It’s also said that if a broom falls from it’s kept place, company is coming and it’s not good news. When you pick up your
broom after something like this happens, sweep the energy out the door and bid
it adue not to return again.

If you or your kin are having recurrent nightmares or night hauntings, sweep the
room clockwise while stating that all that lies between here and the other world
be gone and back whence you came.
Hither, hither, hither gone.
Hither, hither, hither gone
Hither, hither, thither gone
So Mote It Be.

Now stand the broom outside the bedroom door and place a piece of garlic under
the bed.

Elder's Meditation of the Day – August 23

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – August 23

“They also learned, and perhaps this was the most important thing, how to look at things through the eyes of the Higher Powers.”

–Fools Crow, LAKOTA

Our eyes can only see our beliefs. Our beliefs cause us to make assumptions, draw conclusions and cause confusion. Our five senses are very limiting. The Creator has a way of allowing us to see or know in the spiritual world. This is called the Sixth Sense. The Sixth Sense is like a radar system; our personal radar system. It will help us “see” opportunities and help us avoid disaster. This Sixth Sense is controlled by God. We must learn to listen to it. We must learn to trust it. We must learn to act on it even if our head says differently. We must learn to look at things through the eyes of God.

My Creator, guide me today. If my eyes cause confusion, let me close them and see through Your eyes. If my ears
Hear confusion, let me listen to my heart. Let me let You guide me.

Daily OM for August 23 – Going Away to Go Within

Going Away to Go Within

Retreat

by Madisyn Taylor

Going on retreat is a time to cocoon so that we may emerge ready to return to our lives with a new perspective.

 

Occasionally, we need to pause – and step away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. One way to do this is to get away from our daily life and go on retreat. Far more than a vacation, a retreat offers us time to ourselves to rest, heal, reflect, and renew our spirit. It is a time to cocoon so that we may emerge renewed, refreshed, and ready to return to our everyday lives with a new perspective. A retreat gives us time for uninterrupted meditation so that we may go deep within and spend time with ourselves.

A retreat may offer quiet, solitude, and sometimes even silence. Retreats often take place in humble dwellings with simple fare so that our senses may be reawakened to the beauty of unadorned tastes and the sights and sounds of nature. When we spend days in contemplation, we can more easily hear our heart when it speaks to us. We also are able to really listen when a bird sings, deeply breathe in the smell of flowers, grass, or earth, and delight in a soft breeze blowing on our cheek. When we go on retreat we have time to connect to the sacred geometry of a labyrinth, discover epiphanies through asanas, or take a long, reflective walk through the woods where we can give each step our full attention.

Without the pull of deadlines, relationships, the Internet, or other media, we give ourselves time to go deep into our own solitude where we can fully reflect on our joys, sorrows, and fears, owning and releasing them as needed. We may even come to know and understand our life path more deeply. Hopefully, when we return home, we can take a little bit of this time alone back with us and create the space for deep reflection on a daily basis. We also may come back to our life renewed and ready to take on the world. The beauty of going on retreat is that no matter where you go or how long you stay, you’ll always meet yourself when you get there.

Feng Shui News for Aug. 23 – 'Pluto Demoted Day'

I don’t care what anyone says, Pluto will always be a full-fledged planet to me. If you feel the same, then disregard today’s ‘Pluto Demoted Day’ energies and celebrate that power of that planet. One way to invite its powerful energies of into your life is to find an image of Pluto’s glyph and then replicate it in cornmeal on the threshold of your front entryway. If your entry is a part of common property then sweep the cornmeal up after a day but if your front door faces outdoors, then just allow the cornmeal to organically blow away with the wind. This is an ancient and powerful way to invite the power of Pluto into your life.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today's Tarot Card for August 23 is The Devil

The Devil

Friday, Aug 23rd, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has traditionally been known as the Devil card expresses the realm of the Taboo, the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. From its earliest versions, which portrayed a vampire-demon, this card evoked the Church-fueled fear that a person could “lose their soul” to wild and passionate forces.

The image which emerged in the mid-1700’s gives us a more sophisticated rendition — that of the “scapegoated Goddess,” whose esoteric name is Baphomet. Volcanic reserves of passion and primal desire empower her efforts to overcome the pressure of stereotyped roles and experience true freedom of soul. Tavaglione’s highly evolved image (Stella deck) portrays the magical formula for harnessing and transmuting primal and obsessive emotions into transformative energies. As a part of the Gnostic message of Tarot, this fearsome passion and power must be reintegrated into the personality, to fuel the soul’s passage from mortal to immortal.

Witches Magick for August 23rd – Naming the Poppet Ritual

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Naming the Poppet Ritual

Like any of your other tools, the poppet has to be consecrated, given a name and dedicated to the work you intend. Most importantly, tell the poppet who it is they will represent. You can say something simple along these lines “I have made you, and you are Jane Doe,” or whoever you are doing the spell for or want to hex. For a more potent effect you can use this naming ritual.

Little one, I made you and now I give you life

I name you (person’s name)

Their body is your body

Their breath is your breath

Their passion is your passion

Their blood is your blood

Though  separate you were

Now you are one.

So Mote It Be!

Then infuse it with personal energy to bring life to the poppet. Sometime this is done by breathing life into the poppet’s mouth through a straw. This way the poppet takes on a magickal life of its own, which activates the spell or working. Remember to keep any poppet you have made in a safe place. The doll represents the person so you wouldn’t want any harm to happen to the doll.

Conducting a Ouija Session

Conducting a Ouija Session

by Jenni Kosarin

If you do decide to use it, it’s important to have a good reason and have all your questions prepared in advance. Be sure to review the section on conducting séances—all of that information should apply to using the Ouija board, except that you can have fewer than three people participate. Also, make sure that you don’t conduct the Ouija séance over a bed or near the bathroom. (The bed is a personal place and may be inviting to spirits; conducting the séance near the bathroom is bad feng shui.) The best thing to do is use a table.

Be careful when choosing those you invite to participate; overemotional, nervous, fearful, or anxious people should never attempt to use the Ouija board. Love attracts love—the feeling when using the board should be one of projecting love and confidence in order to call and successfully connect with higher spiritual guides. Be sure that everyone is decorous and polite—don’t interrupt each other or shout.

Let the Session Begin

To begin, perform a protection spell or meditation, as previously explained. The people involved should then place their hands lightly on the edge of the planchette, or pointer, which should move freely around the board. Keep in mind that if you’re pressing down on the pointer, or if it makes a sound when moving, you’re probably steering it. If you have successfully contacted a spirit, the planchette should move on its own. You should be barely touching it.

Once the session begins, psychics advise that you ask to communicate with an agreeable spirit who can keep the more confused, wandering ones away. It’s always best to state up front what you are looking for from this contact. (If you don’t know, you shouldn’t be using the board.) Ask each question slowly, one at a time. The answers to the questions are then spelled out by the planchette, which points to letters, numbers, and Yes or No. Don’t just assume a session is over when you feel like it. No one should get up and leave until you officially end the session by pointing to Goodbye (a word on the board).

A Little Humor For Your Day – Signs That You May Be A Bubba Wiccan

Signs That You May Be A Bubba Wiccan

 

You might be practicing Bubba Wicca if …

You are out in the woods and the Horned God appears to you and it takes you more than 30 seconds to put down your deer rifle.

You’ve ever duct-taped an outhouse and called it a sweat lodge.

You run out of candles and then get the emergency flares out of your trunk.

Your altar is made from the hood of an old Chevy pick-up.

You begin your Circle by calling for quarters to be placed in the beer fund jar.

You enter a skyclad circle with the words, In Perfect Love and Perfect Lust.

You close a circle with the words “Hot damn, let’s party!”

You get most of your spiritual wisdom about the cycles of nature from Bill Dance bass fishing shows.

You watch NASCAR for its karmic revelation.

Your ritual robes are made of weatherproof camouflage.

Your revel fire causes the smokejumpers to fly in. The only herb you use has to be planted in the middle of nowhere.

You think “The Reclaiming Collective” is a great name for a used automobile parts business. Before you can use your ritual cauldron, you have to wash out the bones from your fish stew.

Turok’s Cabana

Daily Feng Shui News for Aug. 22nd – 'Be An Angel Day'

On  maybe you’d like to call on one to make your wishes come true. Author and angel historian JoAnn Cornug shares that Angel Xexor is your ally in bringing magic and manifestation to whatever you wish. Be specific with what you want when you call on him and he will answer, especially if you call this way: ‘I am a witness to God’s Miracle every instant of every day.’ Invoke Xexor three times before saying this prayer and then be careful what you wish for, because now it’s coming true.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today's Tarot Card for Aug. 22nd is Temperance

Temperance

Thursday, Aug 22nd, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is traditionally known as the Temperance card is a reference to the Soul. Classically female, she is mixing up a blend of subtle energies for the evolution of the personality. One key to interpreting this card can be found in its title, a play on the process of tempering metals in a forge.

Metals must undergo extremes of temperature, folding and pounding, but the end product is infinitely superior to impure ore mined from the earth. In this image, the soul volunteers the ego for a cleansing and healing experience which may turn the personality inside-out, but which brings out the gold hidden within the heart. (This card is entitled “Art” in the Crowley deck.)