Tag: Religion and Spirituality

Ostara (Poem)

Ostara
Raven Spirit

Pink and green, yellow and light blue
These are the colors of the Springtime hues

The light returns to a frozen Earth
The Lord and Lady court in lusty mirth

He brushes her face
She brushes his horns
Tis not a thing to shun or scorn

Look there is a songbird
And over there is a hare

Excitement in our souls so sacred and fare

The signs that are given of a promise fulfilled
The rebirth of all nature
Flowers in the fields

But this is a beginning
Your goals don’t forsake
We must continue to water, continue to rake

To nurture and care for the still fragile seeds
Till they grow strong in to our magickal deeds

To pull the weeds and nurture with care
And watch your goals manifest
As we Will, stay Silent, and Dare

So salute the Lord and the Lady
As they explore and make marry
For your life will be prosperous
With strength, hope, and caring

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 9

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 9

“In the life of the Indian there was only one inevitable duty, the duty of prayer, the daily recognition of the Unseen and Eternal. His daily devotions were more necessary to him than daily food.”

–Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa), SANTEE SIOUX

The most important habit one can develop is the daily act of prayer. Prayer is our eyes, our ears, our feelings, our success, our guidance, our life, our duty, our goal. There really is only prayer and meditation. We can only help others through prayer. We can only help ourselves through prayer. You can never become an Elder unless you pray. You can never stay an Elder unless you pray. You never get wisdom unless you pray. You never understand unless you pray.

Great Spirit, today, teach me to pray.

*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*

The Wicca Book of Days for March 9th – Watery Depths

The Wicca Book of Days for March 9th

Watery Depth

Like each of the other elements that play such an important role in astrology, today’s element, Water, has many symbolic correspondences, not east with the moon and the feminine principle, as well as with profound emotions, creativity, sensitivity, and insecurity. This is also the element that is equated with cups, the category of minor-arcana Tarot cards that corresponds to the hearts sit of playing cards. And according to the alchemical thought, the elemental spirits that symbolized water (comprising cold and moist qualities), were the undines, whom some likened to mermaids and mermen, and others to seahorses with human faces.

Spiritual Solidarity

Light a candle in solidarity with the Buddhist people of Tibet, whose Butter Lamp Festival (Chunga Choepa) is held around now. Yak butter is used to fuel lamps, which are lit to scare off demons, and butter sculptures of auspicious figures and symbols are also displayed.

Yahoo! IT’S FRIDAY! TGIF! Wishing you a very happy & blessed Friday!

Days Of The Week Comments
Today’s Affirmation for Friday, March 9th

 I will ride the events in my life. I have no wish to tame the laws of Nature, only to show that I can stay in the saddle when my steed becomes unruly.  

 

Today’s Thought for Friday, March 9th

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”

Confucius (551-479BCE)  

 

Today’s Meditation for Friday, March 9th 

Emotional Squalls

On your journey through life there will be times when troubled feelings threaten to blow you off course. At such times sit quietly in meditation and be aware of the storm. Watch the waves of negative thoughts and feelings as they wash over you. Accept their presence rather than trying to avoid them. By observing the turbulence, rather than identifying with you, you move into the eye of the storm – the stillness at its centre. From this vantage point, watch the storm gradually die down, replaced by the clear blue skies of a relaxed mind.

 
Magickal Graphics

The Festival of Oestre – March 21

The Festival of Oestre

The festival of Oestre or Spring Equinox, takes place on the day when the hours of light and dark art of equal length. Oestre was the Goddess of Spring, signifying all that was new and fresh. In the past, only fires were extinguished and the grates were cleaned. Only then could new fires be lit. This is where our tradition of “spring cleaning” originates. Today’s use of eggs, rabbits and hot crossed buns are rooted in ancient Pagan customs.

Knowing Right and Wrong

Knowing Right and Wrong

Author: Stewart Bitkoff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Law

Traveler: Holy One, tell me of the Law

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

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

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

Good Thursday Morning to you, my dear friends!

Witchy Comments & Graphics 

Today’s Affirmation for Thursday, March 8th

 When I look into the future, I see a vista of challenge and resolution. I venture forth with strength, hope and faith. 

 

Today’s Thought for Thursday, March 8th

 Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

Anonymous  

 

Today’s Meditation for Thursday, March 8th 

Welcoming the Dawn

 In many spiritual traditions dawn – when the world is at its most peaceful – is regarded as an ideal time for meditation.  Just before dawn go outside and find a place to sit and watch the sunrise.  As the sun emerges above the horizon, fill your awareness with the brightening hues of the sky and rejoice in the beauty of the new day. Feel the golden rays of the sun warm your face and allow hope to fill your heart and refresh your spirit. You have started the day well.

 If the weather is poor or you are unable to get a clear view of the sunrise, visualize the dawn instead.

  
~Magickal Graphics~

Breaking Ground With Other Faiths

Breaking Ground With Other Faiths

Author: Draconis Wierinsan Kinthasil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finding a Good Fit

Finding a Good Fit

Author: Orius

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily OM for Monday, March 5th – Little Gurus

Little Gurus
Learning to Follow

 

When we approach children with the awareness that they can teach us, we automatically become more present ourselves.

As grown-ups, we often approach children with ideas about what we can teach them about this life to which they have so recently arrived. It’s true that we have important information to convey, but children are here to teach us just as much as we are here to teach them. They are so new to the world and far less burdened with preconceived notions about the people, situations, and objects they encounter. They do not avoid people on the basis of appearance, nor do they regard shoes as having only one function. They can be fascinated for half an hour with a pot and a lid, and they are utterly unself-conscious in their emotional expressions. They live their lives fully immersed in the present moment, seeing everything with the open-mindedness born of unknowing. This enables them to inhabit a state of spontaneity, curiosity, and pure excitement about the world that we, as adults, have a hard time accessing. Yet almost every spiritual path calls us to rediscover this way of seeing. In this sense, children are truly our gurus.

When we approach children with the awareness that they are our teachers, we automatically become more present ourselves. We have to be more present when we follow, looking and listening, responding to their lead. We don’t lapse so easily into the role of the director of activities, surrendering instead to having no agenda at all. As we allow our children to determine the flow of play, they pull us deeper into the mystery of the present moment. In this magical place, we become innocent again, not knowing what will happen next and remembering how to let go and flow.

Since we must also embody the role of loving guide to our children, they teach us how to transition gracefully from following to leading and back again. In doing so, we learn to dance with our children in the present moment, shifting and adjusting as we direct the flow from pretending to be kittens wearing shoes on our heads to making sure everyone is fed and bathed.

My Gods and Yours Are Not The Same

My Gods and Yours Are Not The Same

Author: Ailyn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Footnotes:
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Discipline and Will

Discipline and Will

Author: Maggi Setti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wicca Book of Days for March 5th – The Ship of Isis

The Wicca Book of Days for March 5th

The Ship of Isis

March 5 marked the start of the sailing season in ancient Greece and Rome. The return of ships to the sea after their dry-dock overwintering was celebrated with a festival dedicated to Isis Pelagia (“Isis of the Open Sea”), the Egyptian goddess in her capacity as the protector of sailors. The high point of the Navigium Isidis (“Ship of Isis”) ceremony was a procession led by the priests of Isis bearing items sacred to her, the focal point being a cart carrying an ornately decorated model ship. When the company arrived at the shore, this ship of Isis was launched as a placatory offering to the goddess in the hope that she would avert disasters at sea.

 

Treat Your Tresses!

Being ruled by Pisces, March 5’s polarity is feminine, so take advantage of ts womanly vibes. Women enacted smoothing Isis’s hair with ivory combs during the Navigium Isidis, so why not splash out on a top-quality hairbrush or deep-condition your locks?

Solitaires Are Pagan Too!

Solitaires Are Pagan Too!

Author: Crick

Guess what, folks? Solitaires are pagans too!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And this brings me to my next thought.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily OM for March 3rd – Our Earthly Origins

Our Earthly Origins
Reclaiming Our Roots

 

 

As we begin to see more clearly the people we come from, we can begin to alter our perception of who we are now. 

 

Some cultures are more rooted to the earth and connected to their inherent spirituality. But every one of us, even those of us who have been disconnected from our roots for hundreds of years, comes from a place that was once inhabited by people who worshipped and honored the earth on which they lived. In other words, we can all claim this wisdom as an essential part of who we are.

One way we can begin to rediscover our roots is to explore the early earth-based religions practiced in the parts of the world that birthed our ancestors. If we explore the ancient spiritual practices of our ancestors, we will find that their practices and beliefs share many elements with Native American, African, and aboriginal religious traditions. People who are connected to the earth and honor her share a fundamental philosophy that we can claim as our own because we too are of the earth. Many of us have become so disconnected from the earth that it feels foreign and awkward to imagine communing with her or performing a ritual for her. If we are honest, though, we will find within ourselves a yearning to feel more connected, more grounded, and more at home in this world. This yearning can lead us back to our disowned roots, which, of course, leads us right into the heart of the earth.

As we begin to see more clearly the people we come from, we can begin to alter our perception of who we are now, laying claim to our inherent relatedness to the earth. We might celebrate this by observing the ancient calendar of solstices and equinoxes, celebrating and honoring the cycle of the seasons as our ancestors did, or we might explore any one of the many earth-based practices through reading or participating in ritual. When we do these things, we tap back into our roots, finding nourishment at the wellspring of our earthly origins, the source we share with all of humanity.

 

Simple Exercise to Familiarize Yourself with the Elements

Simple Exercise to Familiarize Yourself with the Elements

To better feel and understand how these elements affect us, do this simple exercise:

Collect four items, one to represent each element and locate a compass. Weather permitting, find a spot outside – if not indoors will do.

Choose a spot where you will not be disturbed. Have your journal and something to write with.

Find north on the compass…and face that direction. If you are seated in a chair, move to face that direction.

First close your eyes and gather impressions about the compass point. After a few minutes, write down your impressions.

Now, hold the element you chose for Earth and the North, and close your eyes. Open your mind and feel the impressions of this element and how it relates to compass point. Think about how it corresponds to you and the Universe.

When you have finished write down your thoughts.

Continue through each element, facing the compass point that corresponds to the element…and finish by writing your feelings and thoughts on each one.

With the element of Spirit – focus on a golden light coming down from the heavens and filling you to the brim. When you have completed this, write down again, your thought and feelings.

Compare your notes with the properties of those elements described above. Were you connected to one or more of them? Did you feel more power in one direction? This will help you become attuned and more apart of the universe  you are apart of. Do this as a meditation every now and then also; to remind yourself to simplify.

　

Spellbound’s

Book of Spells

A Collection of Simple Spells

Volume 1

Kelli James Klymenko

Tuesday, February 28th Affirmation, Thought & Meditation

Tuesday Pictures, Comments, Graphics, Cards
Today’s Affirmation

I rejoice in the spirit, which is changeless. I am happy in my loving independence of the material world.

 

Today’s Thought

Pain creates new territory for the spirit. We are all pioneers of pain. Our lives on the frontier are the history of our people.

 

Today’s Meditation

Your Inner Sanctuary

This is a place inside where you can go to reconnect with your spirit. Closed your eyes and visualize a tranquil landscape. In this place, imagine building a sanctuary that reflects the beauty of your spirit. The materials you require appear as if by magick. Once you have built, decorated and finished your sanctuary, sit for a few moments inside. Feel peace descend as you connect peace descend as you connect with yourself once more.

Guide To The Universe – Neptune in Pisces

Neptune in Pisces

Boundlessness

By Molly Hall

Neptune is in the sign it rules, Pisces, from April 4 to August 4th, 2011 AND Feb 3, 2012 to Jan 27, 2026. The archetype of Neptune, as one

of unveiling, merging, mesmerizing, heightens the sense of life as a dream. It initiates

 

a fluid time, of understanding our role to play as souls, and slipping out of limiting masks and beliefs, in favor of more inclusive ones.

Themes: end of time (as we know it), multi-dimensionality, spiritual devotion, first-hand connection to God/Goddess, miracles of healing,

 forgiveness, telepathy, remote viewing, actively dreaming the future, parallel realities, changing the present, by changing the past, higher states of consciousness, third-eye, soul contracts, unity consciousness.

Fascinations: healing wounds of time, unveilings (apocalypse), perceiving dimensions, life as dream or nightmare, love across time, the Feminine, reconciliation, profound healing, artistic renaissance, immense power of the imagination, the tyranny of belief, subtle energies, stargates, time travel, galactic family, color and sound, mythos, mysticism.

Fanaticisms:Cults, subliminal messages, political stagecraft, masked or stolen identities, grand deception, faked news, masters of illusion, savior or destroyer, victims and victimizers.

Neptune is one of the transpersonal planets, that is a big player in the longer human story. We find it in our lives, where we meet the mystery and a sense of oneness. It’s messages are delivered on the big screen (cinema), art, music, symbols we see everyday, in mass hysteria or ecstasy, or shared experiences that border on the supernatural.

Neptune is in its own sign Pisces relatively briefly in 2011 (April 4 to August 4), giving us a taste of what’s to come with this long transit. Neptune will go back into Pisces from February 3, 2012 to January 27th, 2026. We’ll all be swimming in the Neptunian depths for a long time.

Urge to Merge

Neptune is completing a cycle in Pisces, with all that’s been swirling across time rising and returning to the ocean of consciousness. We become more aware of the timeless soul, and the multi-dimensional nature of reality.

Neptune dissolves, so much can be healed, like past historic traumas and victimizations. From the most forsaken lows to euphoric highs, Neptune’s higher wisdom helps us move through and evolve.

Pisces is a sign of compassion, empathy, and excluding no person or living thing outside the web of life. This can be a time of great changes of heart, where enemies become friends, and we come to the aid of the suffering.

We search for higher love, that’s right for the soul’s purpose. It can be a time of updating soul contracts of all kinds.

Sans Frontiers

The boundaries between us are more permeable, with Neptune in Pisces. This makes it easier to empathize, though at times we may feel we’re aching for the whole world. The experience of oneness in crisis, or bliss, is a wave that can transform what’s been built up over centuries.

It’s a time to be aware of interdimensional influences, and possibly begin seeing what was not visible before. And experiencing the shimmering energy in matter, and the soul in nature.

The physicist David Bohm said, “all matter is frozen light.” And during this transit, there can be unexplained events, apparitions, disappearances, where what was seemingly solid dissolves. At the same time, this transit brings in curious events of bleed-through from other times, seeing structures from other eras, discovering underwater civilizations.

Big Love

Neptune’s evolutionary current is a stretching to accept everything as part of life, both light and shadow. Just when we think we’ve hit a wall with what we can forgive, a higher force shows us how to embrace more, and love more unconditionally. We will see acts of selflessness in service to love that bring tears to the eyes.

There was a global hush after September 11th, with the spirit of empathy and awareness of humanity’s oneness palpably felt for days. Look for more times like that on a small and grand scale, where the silence is full, and the sense of union enough to evoke a sense of real awe and wonder.

Today’s Affirmation, Thought & Meditation for February 27th

Monday Pictures, Images, Comments, Graphics
Today’s Affirmation

As I begin to explore new territories of the self, the shell of my false self-image begins to fracture under the pressure of my growth. I emerge – newly hatched chick. I look forward to the adventure of learning.

 

Thought of the Day

The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book is he world; the best friend is the Goddess.

 

Today’s Meditation

The Living Library

Meditate on a vast library. It is a monument to the greatest minds that have ever existed – for books are living things, which immortalize the most profound thinking of humanity. Even the littlest book earns its place there, because the library welcomes all books that are well-intentioned. Imagine your own best thoughts living on in the memories of the friends and family to whom you have expressed them. Your words have seeded, rooted and flowered in happy recollections.

Conception of God

Conception of God

Author: Katie Koumatos

“How do you envision God?”
“As a witch, do you believe in God? In Jesus?”
“How can you have multiple Gods?”

When I talk to non-pagans about my spiritual beliefs, I get these questions a lot. I imagine this will only increase as I begin my time as a seminary student. While the community at Pacific School of Religion is open minded and welcoming to pagans, I imagine that there is still a lot of ignorance about pagan practices. Even within our community, there are a lot of discussions about how to approach the conceptualization of the divine. So let me share with you my own approach. After many years of searching, I found a beautiful metaphor that describes it perfectly.

Consider the ocean. For any of you who are lucky to have lived in a coastal town, it isn’t easy to imagine that we know the ocean. Growing up in San Diego, I spent many childhood days playing at the foot of the Great Pacific Ocean. As I learned how to spell and do long division, I also learned how to negotiate the fickle nature of the ocean, survive the rising tides and avoid the hidden dangers.

So it is easy to say I know the ocean. But what I actually know is one small piece. I have come to know the Pacific Ocean through half a dozen spots where it comes into contact with the land up and down the California Coast. I know the ocean at its boundaries, its borders. And even then, I only know THIS ocean and I only know it at THESE boundaries.

Every time I go to the ocean, even if I go to the very same beach, it is always a different ocean. Each wave falls differently along the sand, making small but powerful changes in the shape of the land. For me growing up in San Diego, the ocean was blue and relatively warm, playing along long flat beaches filled with sun worshiping beach-goers. The ocean of my adulthood is a colder ocean, breaking against the picturesque rocks of the Northern California coast. Up here the ocean is a grey and windy creature, with swirling and powerful tides. Up here I sit far above the ocean’s break, enjoying the view and the spray but rarely submerging myself in the water.

After many years, I have finally realized that God is like this.

The ocean is truly unknowable. We can list facts and send boats out to gather bits and return. But no human being will ever fully know the ocean. It is simply too vast, constantly changing, and so very deep. However, while the full ocean is unknowable, human beings from the beginning of time have had complex and important relationships with the ocean. We know her in our own spaces, at the boundaries of where she meets the land upon which we live.

Each human being who reaches out into the void seeking the divine cannot ever expect to understand the wholeness of God / Goddess / Universe / Great Spirit / the All. But in our little space, at the boundary between our short, incarnate existence and the vast eternity of divine energy, we find our face of God. Like the ocean, it changes over time, waves shifting the shape of our lives as we adjust and grow in our relationship. And while many people may gather at the same beach, but have different experiences of the ocean, so too may many people gather together in fellowship and yet remain separated by the different faces they see in God.

People can shape God as well, just as humans can shift the land where the ocean meets them. We shape the stories and the perceptions, the expectations and visual imagery. Over time this shaping can become powerful and deeply ingrained. But they are still open to interpretation.

We need these interpretations. The immensity of the divine energy is just too big to engage and feel the comfort and solace that religion offers. Having a personal relationship with God is only possible when God is squeezed down a bit, into a form that we can conceptualize having a personal relationship with. So we humanize the divine energy. Some religions are monotheistic, and give one face of God their full attention. While others simply spread out the realms of symbolic control, creating multiple faces and personalities for us to engage.

Whether your face of the divine is a multi-armed Hindu deity, the kami of the stream near your home, the Virgin of Guadalupe, or your own higher spirit, we are all just seeking a personified form to engage with. As we are made by divine energy, the worship and energy of human beings creates a real and tangible presence for the forms and faces that we have created for the divine. These faces of God are not stagnant, but they can and do exist separately and distinctly from our own personal experience because they are and have been conceived of by other human beings. With each ritual calling, we are making and remaking our Gods just as they are making and remaking us.

In the end, I believe that divine energy is the sum of all of us, along with all the animals and the plants and the whole wide universe. It is the spark of distant stars and the reproduction of the smallest bacteria. It is life and death and the shifting movement of existence here and everywhere, in this moment and in all moments before and after it. I believe that this whole is greater than the sum of these little parts and that collectively, we are conscious. I believe in a pattern, a tapestry of life in which we all play our part. We can make choices in this, but we have a part to play and there are pieces in our lives that guide us. And in all of this, different Gods are just convenient faces, ways to engage an unknowable energy.

The way I see it, God doesn’t care or even acknowledge the differences in our practices. Only human beings, with our limited sight and infinite distractions, could come up with a way to make such a small difference into a reason for centuries of war, dominance, and animosity.