Tag: Spirituality

How to Pull Off a Mixed Faith Handfasting Without Losing Your Mind

How to Pull Off a Mixed Faith Handfasting Without Losing Your Mind

by L. Lisa Lawrence

The scent of blooming flowers fills the air as warm gentle breezes caress her face. As she gazes around the circle, she sees the loving faces of her family, friends and circle members smiling with approval. After sipping mead from the same chalice, she and her groom receive a blessing and together they jump the broomstick, symbolizing their moving forward into their new life together. Then they share a passionate kiss while everyone cheers. As the couple head off to a special place created in the woods just for them to consummate their vows, the guests feast, joke and marvel at how perfectly everything went and how the Goddess blessed them with glorious, sunny weather for their Beltaine nuptials.

In the real world, more often it goes like this:

It’s pouring cold, freezing, horizontal rain, even though the forecast called for dry weather with sun breaks. Her family and covenmates are inside the circle, and members of the groom’s family (those who didn’t refuse to show up at all) are standing on the outskirts. Some are uncomfortable; others are downright disapproving, especially after seeing that strangely dressed man with the sword that they just know is used for ritual sacrifice. Some are still appalled at the fact that the “marriage” is only for a year and a day and can be renewed and formalized with all the legalities (or not) next year. She’s just discovered that the material she made her gown from is transparent when wet, guests are shivering, and the wind keeps blowing the candles out.

This second scenario demonstrates how mixed faith handfastings often turn out, but it doesn’t even begin to describe the controversy and stress involved in the planning that leads up to the event. One of my more memorable events as clergy involved a bride-to-be calling me three days before the wedding in tears, relating the tale of how she’s not sure she wants to marry the “worst man in the world” because his parents badgered him into putting the word God (and we’re not talking about one that wears horns) into the wedding vows.

Maggie came from a pagan family but didn’t want any religion at all in the wedding. Mark agreed to a nonreligious ceremony with pagan elements at the time the wedding was planned but caved in to pressure from his fundamentalist Christian parents at the last minute. Neither of them was willing to budge on their position.

I told Maggie, “You two can use different words. He can say `God,’ and you can say `community.'”

She stopped crying and said, “Really? We can do that?”

“Yes, dear, you can,” I replied calmly. “It’s your wedding, and you don’t have to say anything that you don’t want to.” Mark agreed and the wedding was back on. This was a warning, however, that once both families got together, things could get ugly.

What do you do when the bride comes from a nice pagan family and the groom’s parents are fundamentalist Christians? Aside from eloping, it’s not easy. Weddings are stressful in and of themselves, but when one side of the family has a deep rooted fear of the faith of the other, things need to be handled delicately.

Even for couples who share a spiritual path or philosophy, bringing two families together can be a disaster waiting to happen. I jokingly say that my specialty is the Dharma and Greg wedding, in which the spiritual paths, life experiences and values of each family appear to be diametrically opposed, and the in-laws have nothing in common and may even dislike, fear and mistrust each other. For those who aren’t familiar with the television show Dharma and Greg, it features an unlikely couple who got married after only knowing each other a few hours. She is a New Age Buddhist with pagan tendencies whose parents are hippies, and he is an attorney from a wealthy, conservative, uptight family. It makes good television for a reason, because nothing is ever going to run smoothly when two families like this are brought together.

There are several ways to approach the mixed faith handfasting, once you have gotten over the urge to avoid the whole potential fiasco by eloping:

  • The couple can hold two ceremonies, one for each of the families.
  • They can get married at the county courthouse and then host a reception.
  • The couple can say, “This is our faith, and if you don’t like it then you can just stay home.”
  • They can do their best to combine the elements that are important to them into one ceremony that will be meaningful and nonthreatening to all. If you’re bringing two families from very different backgrounds together, this last approach lays some excellent groundwork for all those holiday celebrations that are going to come up over the years.

When planning a handfasting of the last type, one of the first things I try to do is to find out what word the couple wants to use (or not use) for deity or greater power. It’s amazing the number of couples who agree on everything but this, so it’s best to get it out of the way. Many words can be used if a couple wishes to avoid religious arguments or offending anyone: Great Spirit, Great Mystery, Universe and Community are just a few examples. For those who wish to appease religious family members, “Mother-Father God” is often less threatening than “Goddess.” In Maggie and Mark’s wedding, they each used a word that was comfortable for them.

The next thing I ask the couple to think about is what elements of the ceremony are most important to them. There are many elements that can be included in a mixed faith ceremony, including binding the hands, exchanging rings, lighting a unity candle, sharing wine, mead or juice from a chalice and jumping a broomstick or bonfire — walking around the fire rather than jumping is recommended if the bride is wearing a long dress with a train.

Most of these elements can be explained as an “ancient tradition” from whatever part of the world the family is from. If any of us goes back far enough into our ancestry, we can find a pagan tradition to cite. For families of Celtic descent, there is always movie Braveheart, in which Mel Gibson and his bride had their hands bound together by a priest in front of a Celtic cross. If you need to, invoke Mel and say, “That’s the way Braveheart did it.”

Another good way to explain pagan elements is to say that they are Native American-styled. It’s funny, but for some people an action is threatening if a white person does it, but if it’s from another culture, it’s okay, especially if they’ve seen Dances With Wolves or other similar movies that show the beauty and spirituality of other cultures. Many fabulous earth-centered prayers and blessings are attributed to Native American cultures and can fit quite nicely into pagan or mixed faith weddings. Two important things to remember if you are borrowing something from another culture are not to claim the element as your own and to be respectful of it.

Once we get past the parts that are easy to explain or pass off as something other than overtly pagan, some others need to be considered. Most people are perfectly willing to stand in a circle and may even think it’s charming. But truly casting a circle may require some creativity. No matter what tradition the bride and groom may share, it’s likely that there are those who would be uncomfortable with a member of the wedding party walking around with an athamé to cast the circle (to them, it’s not a sacred tool, it’s a big scary dagger). A circle can be cast by spreading rose petals, corn meal or any other organic material. If the family that might be uncomfortable is from a Catholic background, all you need is some incense and candles and the circle can be cast by ritual procession.

The use of quarter altars and the calling of directions can often avoid threatening even the most conservative grandparents if you do it correctly. Having a woman in a flowing gown hold up a seashell towards the Puget Sound and wish the couple “all the blessings and bounty of the sea” is going to go over better with someone’s Southern Baptist grandmother than invoking the “guardians of the watchtowers of the west.” In one handfasting ceremony I facilitated, the couple went to each of the four directions, where a friend or family member stood and read something written to help guide them in their married life. The elements were there, but not overtly.

Believe it or not, even in this day and age, some people expect a “minister” to be a middle-aged or older male, not a couple or a woman. At Maggie and Mark’s wedding, people who thought I was a guest were laughing and joking with me before the final run-through. When I was introduced as the “minister,” more than one person was visibly shocked. As I stood there with my long red hair, long black robe (which didn’t look like the one the minister in the Methodist church I grew up in wore) and tree-of-life necklace, which I thought was conservative enough for this wedding, I wondered if they could tell what I was.

While the bride’s family and I stood there holding our breath, waiting for her to finish her thought, one woman began, “But you look so…” She finished: “…young to be a minister.” I laughed and sighed with relief. I had just turned 39 at the time and to be considered too young to perform a wedding was quite a compliment. Once she was assured that I was legally ordained and had done this many times before, everything was fine.

If their families are very fundamentalist, some couples will choose to veil the pagan aspects of the ceremony as much as possible to avoid any discomfort. Others will turn the event into a chance to educate the nonpagans in the group. If the pagan elements are very open, it’s a good idea for the couple to provide a small, printed guide that explains how and why things will be happening a certain way, such as: “We will be casting a circle to create sacred space.” “We will call upon the blessings and lessons of the four directions.” “We will be calling upon the masculine and feminine aspect of the divine to bless this union.” A little education goes a long way. If you think a specific family member might have difficulty, this guide can be mailed to them ahead of time with an invitation to call if they have any questions or concerns. The idea is to try to make everyone as comfortable as possible before the ceremony starts.

Making the guests physically comfortable is important as well. Make certain that chairs are available to elderly or disabled guests. If quarter altars are to be used, a chair can be placed on both sides of each altar. This not only provides seating that doesn’t impede ritual movement but can keep candles and other ritual tools from getting knocked off the altar. If you are holding an indoor ceremony and want to use sage instead of light incense, it is a good idea to check to see if any of the guests have allergies so that you don’t trigger an asthma attack.

Maggie and Mark’s ceremony concluded with them walking around the bonfire “in an ancient Celtic tradition symbolizing their leaving one life and entering into their new one together.” One of the older, conservative relatives came up to me afterward and said, “That was one of the most beautiful, meaningful weddings I’ve ever attended,” completely clueless to the fact that she had just participated in a pagan ritual performed by a witch. As the woman walked away, one of the bridesmaids winked at me knowingly, her pentacle barely peeking out from the neckline of her dress.

Both families were happy, and no one who would have been offended was any the wiser. The rain that fell before the wedding had moved on, and we marveled at how perfect the day was as we watched bubbles the guests had blown to celebrate the event float toward a spectacular sunset.

Living Life As The Witch – Even Witches Get The Blues

Witchy Comments~Magickal Graphics~

The Blues

Everybody gets the blues. A feeling of low energy, listlessness, and disinterest, a touch of sadness., betrayal, or even a broken heart can make us feel like retreating from life a little. It’s not just emotional situations that can cause the blues, but physical, mental spiritual and environmental situations.

Physical reason for feeling blue can include minor illnesses or imbalance, overindulgence in alcohol drugs or candy, a lack of sleep or downtime and extreme physical wear and tear caused by over.

Mentally periods of low self-esteem, social isolation, worry and indecision can cause the blues. Over thinking, over analyzing and over eating can all send us spiraling down,

Spirituality, a crisis of faith, feeling disconnected from the Sprit or higher power, and even deep-rooted questions about good and evil in the universe create chaos. Blues that come from spiritual sources can shake on to our roots.

Almost everyone experience the blues with the change of seasons, we say goodbye to summer friends, return to school or work and change out hobbies, activities and routines. Seasonal change is a well-known environmental factor affecting mood, especially the shift from  summer to winter when we feel the effect of dwindling daylight. It causes low energy, a reticence to go outdoors and sometimes a desire to stay curled up on the couch. Environmentally induced blues are not to be confused with SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a profound medical depression associated with the lack of light.

Other environmental blues could included the heaviness that comes  from working in a poor lit conditions with little ventilation of fresh air, around a lot of electromagnetic energy, or even being around a bunch of people who are themselves very negative and heavy.

Reference:

Excerpt from “Banishing the Blues”

By Dallas Jennifer Cobb

Llewellyn’s 2013 Magical Almanac

A Synopsis of Evil

A Synopsis of Evil

Author:   Bryce 

Within the Pagan community, we tend to avoid discussing the topic of evil. While many of us accept the idea of at least some form of karma or retribution, we do not generally dwell in depth on it. Indeed many of us were raised within the “mainstream” religions that focused all too much on the topics of sin and Satan. Thus we try to stray from these concepts and instead focus on the “brighter” side of things.

Yet as human beings, we cannot deny that there is a certain level of evil and negativity in our world. We also cannot reject the simple truth that we ourselves often take part in such acts. So how do we, as Pagans, react to this concept? How can we come to understand it and combat it?

Now I cannot and would never tell you what to believe. Spirituality is a journey, and we must come to accept it and understand it on our own terms. Thus what I have provided here is my understanding of evil. If you agree with it, that is wonderful. If you cannot quite accept it, that is just as well. Either way it is my intention that this perspective will give you new-found strength in dealing with and understanding evil in your own life.

What Is Evil?

Over the millennia, evil as accrued many different titles, the most popular of which among the Western World is sin. However no matter by which name you call evil, its nature is the same. Evil is the conscious choice to turn ourselves away from the Divine. We hear this a lot in Christianity under the summary that “sin separates us from God.” While this is true, for Pagans it is not quite the whole of it.

Many Pagans view the Divine as being within Creation. Thus the Creator and its Creation are one. In this light, then, the meaning of evil begins to take on a new identity for Pagans. While evil separates us from the Divine, it moreover separates us from our Divine-selves. This self is the Divine spark that lies within us and connects us to the great All. Thus in choosing to commit evil, to act so that we go against this notion of solidarity, we cut ourselves off from the Divinity within us.

In accordance with this, we now have a Pagan understanding of evil: a choice that fails to recognize our Oneness and thus separates us from our Divine-selves.

How Does Evil Exist?

If we can accept that the Creator is within its Creation, therefore making it one, we encounter another puzzling question: If the Divine is perfection and the perfection is here, how can evil exist within it? In truth, the answer to this question is the same as what prompted it.

The Divine is within everything, including us. As such, the Divine seeks to work through us that we and others may come to experience it. Thus we, and all other life, are co-creators of our own reality. However we are different from other life on this planet in that we are reasoning beings; as humans we have the ability to decipher what is right and wrong.

This gives us options: we can choose to work for the betterment of Creation, or we can choose to work only for ourselves. It is when we choose the latter that we allow evil into our lives, for no longer are we working for the Whole but only the singular.

What Prompts Evil?

Only we can ultimately decide to allow evil into our lives and our world. Yet we know that there is a certain prompting, a certain push toward evil that is often involved in our choices. Like evil, this too has been known by many titles, such as Satan and demons. However I would like to present a revised understanding of this concept, one that does not view it as a being but rather as a natural human condition.

In the natural world, both energy and matter flow through the path of least resistance. The human psyche seeks to do the same. It wishes to follow by the easiest path in order to get what it desires. However this route is not always the best, and we may end up harming others. Therefore, while we are provoked to do what is most convenient, we must remember that we are reasoning beings. We must do what is right rather than what is easy. If we fail in this, then we allow evil to enter our lives.

For example, while it may be easier to steal the apple rather than paying for it, we must use our reasoning abilities to discern what the just path is.

How Is Evil Combated?

This is a question that has been tried and tested over many thousands of years. From confessing your sins to a priest to allowing an aesthetic Yogi to pay for your wrongs, religions the world over have found their own ways to eradicate their practitioners’ evil. Yet what about in Paganism? What do we have that allows us to move beyond this state and back into alignment with our Divine-selves?

Most of us would say that we have some understanding of karma and that we will pay for our evil acts. However, while this may help us recognize them, it does not necessarily get us to move beyond these actions. To do that, I believe that we must look again at a reoccurring theme in this essay: Oneness.

If we accept that the Divine is within Creation, we must accept that it is also within evil. To absolve evil from us and from our world, then, we must seek the Divine within it. If we allow ourselves to revisit our acts and instances of wrongdoing, we can invite the Divine into these experiences and look for its messages and teachings.

There is something to be learned in everything, even the most heinous of crimes. If we open ourselves up to these Divine lessons, we can pass them on not only to ourselves but to others as well; thus we can help prevent the same evil from being reintroduced into our world. And it is in this act that we leave behind our evil, our sin – for we have turned it from selfish evil to love that will benefit the Whole.

The Great Irony

There is a great irony in all of this, of course. While evil may be done, it can never prevail. Energy spent on evil is useless, for it ultimately benefits no one. As we can tell from the natural world, Creation abhors anything useless and therefore makes it useful, whether it is through the decaying of dead organisms or the evolution of a species. Thus it is with evil. It is useless, but the Divine may make it useful in the form of lessons and teachings. Therefore the only way that evil can ever win is if we, the reasoning co-creators of our reality, let it.

My Advice

What I have presented here is a summary of my thoughts on and reasoning behind the concept of evil. Whether you accept all or any of it is up to you. However, this is my hope for you: take your negatives and create them into positives. Live life not by what you have done but rather by what you have learned. Above all remember that in the Divine—no matter how you perceive it—all things are possible.

Slán leat

Intolerance: A Curable Disease

Intolerance: A Curable Disease

Author:   Kestryl Angell 

For some years now, I have been in solitary practice and have purposely placed myself in a position that allows me to observe the growth of the modern Pagan movement in the United States. One very significant thing has come to bother me through those observations. One that leaves me, to say the least, perturbed with my fellow human beings of every belief system, but assuredly of some that call themselves Pagan, as well.

Now, I realize that everyone on this planet is here for his or her own reasons, as well as for cosmic ones. I also realize that everyone grows, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually at his/her own individual pace. But some things, to my mind, are basic points of human respect and are sadly and sorely missing from a society that is supposed to be “the most advanced society history has ever known, ” as some would phrase it.

Though there are many points of human weakness that are causing overall weakening ripples throughout the newer generations when it comes to ethics, I feel that there are a few that are particularly problematic and need to be addressed at every opportunity. I hope to write about several of these in the coming weeks, as I feel that discourse is where all solutions may be found. With that in mind, I’d like to begin with a personal favorite.

Let’s begin with intolerance.

What, really, is the point of going through a life-changing, spiritual awakening, a “rebirth” as many coming to their Paganism as adults from other more mainstream backgrounds often state they go through, if all they come to be is not Pagan at all, but really could be better characterized as “anti-Christian?”

Coming to a new spiritual path does not automatically make the one you came from innately “wrong.” It simply makes it wrong for you.

Perhaps you did have experiences with the darker side of human nature packaged as harmful behavior, selfishness, egotistical preaching, the use of fear as a control and all the bad things that are written about in the news every day. That does not automatically make every single person that practices that belief system wrong, evil, awful, stupid or deluded.

Therefore, it is just as wrong to condemn others in a blanket fashion as it was for them to condemn the various Pagan paths throughout the course of history. In other words, coming to Paganism just so you can feel justified in Christian- (or other belief systems including alternate paths of Paganism from your own) -bashing is as hypocritical as the day is long! Get real and lose the excuses!

Allowing something to exist and realizing it is different from yourself doesn’t give you the right to pass judgment on it’s correctness for another soul’s growth or it’s validity in the Universal scheme of things! You are not their Creator/Creatrix. You are not here to live their path. In fact, you have no idea what is going on in their karmic path, in their personal development that might be assisting them to be learning lessons you don’t even have the strength to recognize, much less deal with yourself.

If you consider those who follow “younger” faiths than your own to be “deluded, ” it is you that does not understand the growth of the soul. It is you that is still struggling with the idea that the Universe has bigger plans than your little human eyes and mind can fully comprehend and it is you that is making a fool of yourself by stomping your proverbial feet and saying you KNOW better!

For yourself, yes – you may know that what you left behind isn’t what you need. For others? That is theirs to choose and theirs to choose free from your judgment and condemnation of that choice – just as your choice to become Pagan was your own and was equally as worthy of not being judged negatively by their fears or ignorance.

Just because you yourself happen to be in “spiritual middle school” doesn’t mean you have the right to pick on the “spiritual kindergartners.”

Furthermore, spiritual middle-schoolers don’t have anything on the spiritual college students and PhD s, but nearly every single time you will see them shining loudly in their personal struggle with their own ego by the way they attempt to play children’s one-upsmanship-games with their Elders, while showing glaring examples of their own ignorance by their complete lack of basic respect for the efforts, knowledge base and wisdom of the Elders they’ve been honored to come to know and learn from.

They would rather argue entomology of a specific word of a specific dialect than seek out the fullness of all meanings of the given word to more fully explore its meanings before making a decision as it applies to their own cause.

They would rather see other’s ignorance as “proof” of their own self-proclaimed greatness while never realizing that those things greatest in this world don’t need human declarations to make them great.

It was said by the writer, John G. Neihardt, “Humility is bowing before Truth. Humiliation is bowing before people.” Humility, Tolerance and Compassion are the internal partnership that should come to a truly spiritually awakened being – not their old set of personal and world grievances packaged in a new dogmatic format.

There are those under the Pagan umbrella who will say, “Well, I don’t believe in karma like that.” or “Respect is earned, not just given willy-nilly.” or “Well, in my belief system the world runs on the eye for an eye principle so if someone screws me over or makes me feel stupid, I can do whatever it takes to level that playing field.”

You don’t have to believe in karma to understand that what goes around comes around.

Universal principles exist and show themselves, with or without your belief in them or your petty arguments on terminology for said events. The seasons, the life/death cycle, “acts of God” weather and other Universal events will soon show you differently if you truly feel you’re the one in control of the entire world’s development!

The only thing that glaringly, embarrassingly shows, like a run in your brand new stockings, is your own overblown ego if you refuse to understand there are forces larger than yourself at work in the Universe as a whole.

Respect should indeed be earned within specific arenas such as professions and education, to name but a few. However, there should also be a basic, human respect of one living being to another, without the need to prove anything other than that they too are a person living on this planet with the same basic needs and desires as every other human being on the planet – good, nutritional food, clean water, community, family and the like. Even if their needs and desires don’t immediately meet or match your own doesn’t make yours or theirs any more or less vital or valid than the other.

As for the “eye for an eye” folks, all that happens when you take out the eye of another based on that principle is that you end up going blind, in one way or another, yourself.

I am not saying forgiveness is always the answer or that “turn the other cheek” is the answer in all situations either. But more often than not, when a human being thinks his or her own bruised ego, knee-jerk, forceful, violent ways are the answer; it is the opposite answer that is usually the one that would actually solve the problem for good.

Differences in personal dogma have been call and cause for the culling of our world populations for centuries, since the beginning of known, current history. Do we really need to continue to prove to ourselves that human beings can find constantly new and more awful ways to be horrendous to one another?

Furthermore, why are we still actually entertained by such violence or allow something as petty as big business concerns to be the reason our fellow human beings proudly go off to die by the hundreds of thousands in service to their country – with a very few that make it home alive only to find that they have no home to come back to?

This is not to say that I am all the “Light, Love and Happiness, Rainbows and Pretty Unicorns All Day Every Day!” kind of dreamer. I simply feel that the Universe itself already has chaos and death and violence in its own makeup without human beings adding to the mix out of basic ignorance, ego, selfishness and intolerance.

Mother Nature has that whole destruction thing down pat, people! She doesn’t need our scum covered little human toddler hands muddling up the works by trying to “help!”

Like kids in the playground sandbox, we’re still caught up, after all these centuries in basic Intolerance-based border skirmishes! Pagan communities are just as guilty of this issue as many Christian organizations and many of the “problems” that I hear bantered about in mainstream organizations are just as rampant in Pagan ones because we still aren’t addressing Intolerance actively as individuals, much less as a community! You cannot claim to be better than the thing you abhor and left behind if you’re guilty of the same crimes against humanity after you change sides.

Border skirmishes based on differences of dogma were a good portion of the basis of the Middle Eastern conflict since long before the US ever became interested enough in the business aspects that finally rooted our entry into the wars in the Middle East.

Border skirmishes based on intolerance, racial differences, religious differences are at the root basis of much of the gang violence rampant in Los Angeles and many other parts of the US and have even gone so far as to spawn their own subculture out of the necessities of their living circumstances rather than strengthening as a community to truly fight the issues that took them to that point of de-evolution that effects gang neighborhoods.

Border skirmishes based on Intolerance, lies and violence were what displaced every Native American in this country when the English, French, Spanish and others all came to a land the Natives had already figured out how to live harmoniously upon.

Did those people who were new here listen to those that had lived there for generations?

Oh no, they were seen as “ignorant savages” who knew nothing of community elderly and child care, community health care, balanced inter-tribal politics and trade or even the simplest necessities for making it through the winter alive.

Yet, here we are still stuck in wars where body counts, gun counts, missile counts and cash numbers, advertising and fear tactics, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction threaten the supposedly “enlightened” peoples of this day and age? Seriously?

Can’t we just get out of the sand box, stop fighting over who brought the coolest toys or who can do the most damage and have some dang milk and cookies like good little spiritual brothers and sisters here?

Intolerance should have no place in the modern human mind.

Look to the simpler, tribal times of our ancient ancestors and to those who are still living in those harmonious ways in many places in the world today that we spoiled Americans call “third world, undeveloped” countries. Perhaps they don’t have our amenities in their homes, our advertising and fast and un-nutritious foods on every corner of their city streets or even have motorized vehicles.

But when women group together to gather the water for entire streets and neighborhoods while singing, serving more than just their own family’s needs every single day, it is we who could learn something from their joyful song and service.

When villages in South America that have disagreed for generations can work together to build pipelines for water for both villages’ benefit, we have something to learn from those “savages.”

When doctors and shamans in Tibet still ride donkeys or walk, sometimes for days, to treat the ill in body, mind and spirit and the community comes together to see to the needs of that doctor if the patient cannot pay for services themselves, it is our “modern physicians” and spiritual healers that could learn something about true caring compassionate healing for a patient and our community’s selfishly spoiled upper crust could learn what it means to make sure that all are cared for instead of arguing over whether or not our individual choices can remain as cushy as we’re selfishly accustomed to as we begin to explore a National Health care system in the US.

Get a clue, people! In the United States, our biggest sign of malnutrition is the over 65% of our citizens suffering from obesity! There are currently over 154, 000 US veterans – those that fought for our right to be this freely spoiled rotten – living on the streets, homeless!

Our ignorance, gluttony and selfishness is written all over us in our own fat flesh and high blood pressure ratings while these other “uncivilized” peoples starve from lack of food and clean water, but have us completely beaten on how to treat each other as human beings!

How can that be acceptable to educated, aware, community members? ANY community, much less ones who supposedly WORSHIP Nature’s balance and bounty?

Let’s also be keeping in mind that most of the other major countries of the world have already gotten some of these questions, such as National Health care, answered successfully decades ago and it is the US that is catching up and griping all the way about rises in taxes to help the overall common good of all Americans, top to bottom of the food chain.

Canadians are thrilled to only be paying 10% taxes right now, down from the 18-20% its been in the past to help pay for their health care system and other social amenities currently underdeveloped and desperately needed in the US.

Those in the UK have paid the English equivalent of anywhere from $10-20 per gallon for gasoline for years and yet Americans were having fits over gas hitting $4 per gallon within the last year? Who is it really that needs to get real, learn some Tolerance for people and for change and learn to attune as citizens of the world’s needs instead of for their own selfish, individualized gains and stunted, silent caste systems of bigoted intolerance so obviously still active in many places in our country?

How can it not be seen that intolerance is at the root of all of these issues…and that it is a curable state of being that, if taken on by the whole of a community, doesn’t really weigh all that hard on the individual?

As a student of the Universe, I do not look for a time when all people will “believe as one.” I do not believe that Harmony requires everything be alike, as that in itself would also be an imbalance. Diversity is a necessity of life. If sameness were the truth of how things should be, music wouldn’t have different notes that make up the chords that sing the songs of the Universe through orchestrations. Harmony is created when notes co-exist on different lines for their own sake and in their own timing to a rhythm that is greater than each individual note.

Therefore, what I look forward to is the day when individuals can learn from and about other’s beliefs without their own being threatened in any way, without fear or disgust. I look forward to the day when those that do not believe the same way can simply agree to disagree and still work for the common good of all living beings on the planet. I look forward to the time when tolerance and compassion is as common a pair of qualities in human beings as ego, laziness, selfishness and desire.

I look forward to the awakening of human beings to the idea that tolerance is not acceptance nor is it automatically an admission of support of the differing idea or practice presented. I look forward to the day humans sing in beautiful, diversified harmony, the song of the planet’s common good.

Tolerance is simply the ability to allow all things to exist, as the Universe would have them, not as you would have them. Tolerance means allowing even those things that you do not agree with personally to exist for those who do believe in them.

Tolerance is difficult, however, as it requires a type of fearful and fearless faith in the patterns of the Universe to be “correct, ” whether we human beings see that correctness, the fullness of the pattern or not. This is not a concept that many human beings find easy to comprehend, much less practice inside themselves or in their daily lives. However, if goals such as this were easy, there would be no need for the inner battles that make each of us better people.

I believe Tolerance is a worthy and attainable goal for every individual that can have the bettering ripple effect of creating a harmony as yet unseen by modern history.

Care to join the experiment?

Living Life As The Witch – Dealing With Grief: Let the Healing Begin

Blessed Be Comments

Let the Healing Begin

 

The hardest part in overcoming grief is taking the first step because you’ll have an “I don’t care” attitude. Along with pain, you feel a great apathy toward life. That is typical. The first spell work I performed–and still perform–to relieve myself of grief and depression is speaking an affirmation or a devotional daily.

It doesn’t need to be lengthy. Just saying out loud that you’re not alone and that your loved one is still with you in some way is a great help. Whether they have passed on or simply passed out of your life, the part they’ve had in making you the person you are today will never go away. Now is also a good time to thank your Guardian Spirits for their help. If you’re up to it, light a candle on your altar as you do this. At night, thank the Divine Spirit for returning you home safely. If you’re mourning the passing of a loved one, don’t be surprised if you feel a gentle touch at this time. They are close to you.

Dreams can also be important now, although they’re not easy for us to control. However, a deceased loved one will most likely contact you during a dream. This can be most comforting. Try to remember the details of the dream because they may contain messages.

Receiving Help

Since many witches belong to covens, the coven would be an ideal place to start if you feel the need of a support group. And if professional help is needed, you can begin by talking to your doctor. He or she will often be able to recommend a local therapist or counselor who specializes in grief or in the specific situation you are facing.

A note on giving help: If you know someone who is grieving and you’re both part of the magickal community, please don’t do any type of spell work without being asked. This could cause bad karma.

References:

Excerpt from:
The Sun Also Rises:
Dealing with Grief
James Kambos

~Magickal Graphics~

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Dec. 14th is Moon

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Today

moonCardMED

The Moon

Although men have stepped upon the moon and scientists have analyzed it almost endlessly, there remains in our collective unconscious a vision of the moon that shrouds it in mystery. And why wouldn’t there be? Being earth’s closest neighbor, having a clear influence on many of earth’s cycles and constantly changing in appearance, it is only fitting that our ancestors endlessly pondered and speculated on our magnificent moon’s powers. The Moon represents the pure feminine nature and the gateway to understanding the mystical world that cannot be explained by science. Its soft glow provides a gentle light in the darkness of night. Metaphorically, the powers associated with the moon supply the seeker with a light to explore the mystical aspects of our world. It empowers the sense of wonder in those open to psychic adventures.

As a daily card, The Moon is indicative of a time when your feminine side and connection to the spiritual world is very strong. Essentially you are “tuned in” spiritually which makes this an ideal time for you to investigate your place in our mystical world.

Calendar of the Sun for December 14th

Calendar of the Sun

14 Yulmonath

Day of Iuventas and Hebe

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of red place figures of male and female youths, bedecked with flowers and candles of many colors, and two cups of spring water. Let youths from the community come forth to be blessed on this day, and process in with the folk of the House, and stand before the altar.
Offerings: Give aid to youths who have just come of age.
Daily Meal: Anything that the youths wish, within the strictures of the House.

Invocation to Iuventas and Hebe

Call: Let the children come to us who are no longer children.
Response: Let them come forth, those on the brink of manhood and womanhood.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with health, in the name of Hebe.
Response: May Hebe bless them with strong bodies and long lives.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with vitality, in the name of Iuventas.
Response: May Iuventas bless them with brightness and joy.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with minds sharp as blades.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with hearts full of courage.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with hands full of compassion.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with good judgment.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with new worlds to explore.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with faith in the Universe.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with knowledge of the Gods.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with peace in their souls.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let us lift up our eyes to them in hope, for they are the future.
Response: Our blessing on them all.
Call: Let us lift up our voices to Iuventas and Hebe in praise!
Response: Hail Iuventas and Hebe!

(The cups of water are poured out as a libation. The rest of Sponde is spent with the youths, teaching them and giving them what wisdom can be given in this short time.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

The Gems of Yule, Alexandrite

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is a centering stone. Use this stone for stress or in other situations requiring you to be calm. This stone will allow you to become centered and balanced and will bring together the important aspects of  your life. For healing, use this stone for the brain and central nervous       system. It can also help when in a rut for it provides higher self-esteem and gives a feeling of purpose. In conjunction, it will help you achieve your goals.

Calendar of the Sun for November 23rd

Calendar of the Sun

23 Blutmonath

Chiron’s Day

Color: Grey
Element: Air
Altar: On a grey cloth set a pile of books, a flute, a pot of salve, and a chalice of Greek wine.
Offerings: Votive candles. Offer to teach or mentor someone.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Invocation to Chiron

Tutor of the children of Gods,
Mentor of heroes,
Teacher of legends,
Wild centaur nurtured
By light of Sun and Moon
Into something more than
Mere wildness and savagery.
Someone had to teach them,
These half-powerful youths,
And who better than the one
Who is half sage and half beast?
Wounded by your own student,
Doomed to an immortality
Of pain and suffering,
You cheated your fate
By gifting life on one
Reviled by the powerful
And loved by the weak.
Chiron, Teacher, Wise One,
You who always knew
The right thing to do,
Share with us this certainty
And mentor us in our confusion.

Chant:
In your hands the flame of learning
In your flesh the fire of burning
In your eyes the force of sorrow
Give us insight for tomorrow.

(Pour out the libation for Chiron, sit around the altar with votive candles, and meditate on doing the just and right thing in every circumstance, no matter how painful.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Today’s Tarot Card for November 21 is The Hierophant

The Hierophant

Wednesday, Nov 21st, 2012

Traditionally known as the Hierophant, this card refers to a Master and the learning of practical lessons from the study of Natural Law. This energy of this card points to some agent or resource that can reveal the secrets of life, the cycles of the moon and tides, the links between human beings and the heavens.

Because monasteries were the only places a person could learn to read and write in the middle ages, a Hierophant was one to whom a student would petition for entry. He was the one to set the curriculum for the neophyte’s course of study.

Often pictured with the right hand raised in blessing, the Hierophant is linked with the ancient lineage of Melchezidek, initiator of the Hebrew priestly tradition, the one who passes on the teachings. All shamans of any tradition draw upon this archetype.

Daily OM for November 20 – Progressing with Patience

Progressing with Patience

Doing the Best You Can

by Madisyn Taylor

Try not to expect perfection when starting out on a spiritual path or attaining inner peace.

 

 

It isn’t always easy to meet the expectations we hold ourselves to. We may find ourselves in a situation such as just finishing a relaxing yoga class or meditation retreat, a serene session of deep breathing, or listening to some calming, soul-stirring music, yet we have difficulty retaining our sense of peace. A long line at the store, slow-moving traffic, or another stressful situation can unnerve you and leave you wondering why the tranquility and spiritual equilibrium you cultivate is so quick to dissipate in the face of certain stressors. You may feel guilty and angry at yourself or even feel like a hypocrite for not being able to maintain control after practicing being centered. However, being patient with yourself will help you more in your soul’s journey than frustration at your perceived lack of progress. Doing the best you can in your quest for spiritual growth is vastly more important than striving for perfection.

Just because you are devoted to following a spiritual path, attaining inner peace, or living a specific ideology doesn’t mean you should expect to achieve perfection. When you approach your personal evolution mindfully, you can experience intense emotions such as anger without feeling that you have somehow failed. Simply by being aware of what you are experiencing and recognizing that your feelings are temporary, you have begun taking the necessary steps to regaining your internal balance. Accepting that difficult situations will arise from time to time and treating your reaction to them as if they are passing events rather than a part of who you are can help you move past them. Practicing this form of acceptance and paying attention to your reactions in order to learn from them will make it easier for you to return to your center more quickly in the future.

Since your experiences won’t be similar to others’ and your behavior will be shaped by those experiences, you may never stop reacting strongly to the challenging situations you encounter. Even if you are able to do nothing more than acknowledge what you are feeling and that there is little you can do to affect your current circumstances, in time you’ll alter your reaction to such circumstances. You can learn gradually to let negative thoughts come into your mind, recognize them, and then let them go. You may never reach a place of perfect peace, but you’ll find serenity in having done your best.

Calendar of the Sun for November 20

Calendar of the Sun

 

 

Carista – Day of Peace in the Family

Color: Lavender
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a lavender cloth set a tray of cakes shaped like clasping hands, and many cups full of hot tea.
Offerings: Promise to attempt to be more considerate of those you live with.
Daily Meal: Any food, but it must be served from one great plate for every table, and it should not be in separate portions.

Carista Invocation

May there be Peace in this house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Peace can be a hard mistress.
The daily round of the ordinary,
The simple turn of day and night and day
The presence of the same souls
Can come to be like a shadow on the sun,
And yet Peace still demands
That we find a way to move past
That ordinariness
And all the thousand thorns and briars
And bring Peace into the house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Take the hand of your sister, your brother,
The one who shares your roof, your table,
The ground you walk on,
Whose feet know the boards as well as your own,
And swear to find a way
To bring peace into the space between you.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)

Chant:

My brother, my heart, my sister, my soul;
My family, my life, come in from the cold;
My sister, my heart, my brother, my soul;
My family, my life, that makes this life whole.

(Instead of a ritual, this period of time should be used to mediate and address problems between members of the community, with emphasis on peacemaking and compromise and useful solutions. At the end of the meeting, all share cakes and tea.)

 

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Birth Totems – The Red Hawk (Mar. 21 – Apr. 19)

The Red Hawk

March 21 – April 19
Moon: Budding Trees Moon
Season: The Awakening Time
Wind: East Winds
Direction: North-East
Element: Fire
Elemental Clan: Hawk Clan
Plant: Dandelion
Mineral: Opal
Polarity With: Falcon
Color: Yellow/Green
Musical Vibration: C Sharp
Personality: Active.
Spiritual Energy: Feminine energies
Emotions: Quickly aroused
Positive Traits: Pioneering spirit
Negative Traits: Impatient, selfish and often times egotistical.
Compatibilities: Salmon and Owls
Conscious Desire: To lead, manage head the adventure.
Subconscious Desire: Learning through experience.
Spiritual Path: Expanding the individual through discernment
Strengths: Persistence and patience with others
Weakness: Conceit and intolerance.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – November 1

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – November 1

“Times change but principles don’t. Times change but lands do not. Times change but our culture and our language remain the same. And that’s what you have to keep intact. It’s not what you wear – it’s what’s in your heart.”

–Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA

Going back to the old ways doesn’t mean giving up electricity, homes and cars. It means living by the same principles, laws and values that our ancestors lived by. This will allow us to live successfully in today’s world. The spirituality our ancestors lived is the same spirituality we need in these modern times. There are too many influences from TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and negative role models that are guiding our lives in a bad way. Our stability is in the laws, principles and values that our ancestors were given and that our Elders teach us.

Great Spirit, let me live my life in a spiritual way.

Your Ancient Symbols Card for October 3 is The Journey

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Today

The Journey

While physical travel may be involved, The Journey represents an individual’s spiritual trek from one point to another. The Journey is represented by a sailboat gliding across an open sea. Like those traversing the ocean The Journey requires that we move off the firm ground of our present state and strike out for a new destination. The trip itself may well be full of adventure and challenges. There may be times when we lose sight of where we came from and possibly not even know where we’re going. Storms may crop up without warning. Diversions may slow our progress to our destination down. While it’s good to have an idea of where you want to go, it’s equally important to remember that often it’s the getting there and not the destination that is the most rewarding. To take such a spiritual voyage takes courage and conviction that direction in which your are moving is right for you.

As a daily card, The Journey indicates a time in which you are likely to derive insight and spiritual growth by moving off your everyday path. Although the time span is short, this movement may have a profound and enduring effect on your life. Indeed you may be on the verge of experiencing a revelation, or enjoying a period of self actualization. Be open to new paths and you may well end up with some very positive changes in your life.

Full Moon in Pisces

Full Moon in Pisces

Find compassion with the August Full Moon

Get ready for a very special Full Moon! Not only is the Full Moon in Pisces on August 31 about compassion and spirituality, but it’s also a Blue Moon — which only happens every, well, once in a Blue Moon.

This Full Blue Moon in Pisces is special because of its ability to melt boundaries between people. It’s all about compassion and feeling empathy for others, and it’s a time when we are connected with many unseen spiritual forces.

Now is a time to forgive people, let go of worry and grudges, step back from the pressures of your daily routine and tap into something larger than you. Imagination will be heightened now, so use it to find your own sense of peace.

It’s important to note this Full Moon in Pisces is also forming an opposition aspect to the Virgo Sun, which could add a critical element to the Full Moon’s energy.

Virgo is very precise and detail oriented, where Pisces is more dreamy and abstract. Therefore, this opposition could pit compassion against criticism, free-flowing thoughts against particular details, and going with the flow vs. over-analyzing everything.

That could create some friction, but if you can remember to just go with the flow around this Full Moon, there will be no limits when it comes to putting your feelings and faith into action.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for August 21 is The Lotus

Your Ancient Symbol Card for August 21

The Lotus

The Lotus represents the spiritual self in its purest form. It reminds us that for most achieving a well developed spirituality is a journey which can be long and arduous. The spirit of the Lotus is not of our secular world, and the presence of The Lotus suggests that what is needed can be found by exploring your relationship with the Universe not as a physical entity pursuing material gain, but as a divine soul in need of celestial sustenance.

As a daily card, The Lotus is indicative of a period in which your energies should be focused on your spiritual self. This doesn’t mean you should forsake your possessions or place in our secular world. It simply implies you might be well served by reaffirming or further developing your spiritual self at this time.

Our Inclusiveness Is Our Strength

Our Inclusiveness Is Our Strength

Author:   Carissa Stormbringer 

If I had to pick one thing that I love most about Pagan culture, it would be the fact that we allow diversity of opinion and practice. I get amused at how much it shocks people when they see a pentacle around my neck. I don’t fit the stereotype of a Witch that most people have in their mind. What people don’t seem to realize is that there isn’t just one type of Pagan. We’re a mixture of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. I’m a middle-aged, professional woman, and one of my best friends in the Pagan community is a college-aged Goth. I’ve circled with feminists, gays and lesbians, Marines, Shamans, Jewish Mystics, Esoteric Christians, Police Officers…all kinds of people. I’ve seen Druidic rituals, Shamanistic rituals, Wiccan rituals. I’ve heard Hebrew, Cherokee, Enochian, and Greek spoken in rituals, and I speak Latin in my own. The rituals of different Pagan paths are all different, but each is a beauty to behold. I walk away from every Sabbat with a new piece of knowledge under my belt. There is always something to learn from each new path I encounter. We’re all on different roads, but our destination is exactly the same. We are all holding hands as we walk through this life. Every one of us is an important part of the whole, and each of us has something good to contribute.

We are thinkers as well as mystics. We question, we ponder, and we allow our fellows to do the same. Some of my very best friends are people who I don’t agree with on a lot of issues. Why? Because I realize that a difference of opinion should never interfere with loving another human being. If I have to treat someone bad in order to make myself feel good about the path I’m on, then I’m no more than a sadist using religion to try and get away with causing others pain. Most Pagans I have met agree with this whole heartedly, and more importantly, they practice it! At any given festival, you’ll see so many different people around the fire, and in circle so many different rituals. It’s truly a wonderful feeling to see all these different people be together in love and unity. We’re all unique, but we walk through this world with our hands joined.

I know that tolerance isn’t always easy, and we Pagans are no more or less human than any other faith community. We make an effort, however, to make everyone feel welcome. We do not publicly exclude any positive path, nor do we say that there is only one way to worship the Divine. True spirituality isn’t about controlling others. It’s about having a sincere, heartfelt connection with Divinity. As a whole, we realize that people need to build this connection in their own way. What works for me isn’t going to work for another Pagan. I will not stand by and tell anyone that they must worship in exactly the way that I do, or they are evil. The very thought it ludicrous to me, as it is to most other Pagans as well. We believe that all people should be free to express their spirituality in whatever way appeals to them. This elevates the human spirit, and allows for future change if we are faced with new facts about the Universe. We can sit and talk with one another, circle together, and appreciate what each path has to offer. This is a far cry from the exclusiveness of fundamentalist Christianity.

I’ve studied many mystical things from many different paths. All of them are beautiful. I love Runes for their power, eclectic water spells for their beauty, ceremonial rites for their attention to detail, and Shamanic journeys for the amazing insight they give. Each path I learn about has something wonderful to teach me. It pains me deeply that anyone would deny another human being the right to explore the spiritual realm and make up their own minds about things. In my opinion, those who do this are committing a gross crime against their fellow man. I don’t want to live in a world where there are no choices, no freedom of thought, no room for growth and change. This isn’t what the Lady meant for us. She meant for each of us to come to Her and the Lord in our own special way. The form your worship takes doesn’t matter. As long as you are sincere and do no harm to innocent people, you will be accepted with open arms into the Pagan community. We will let you be who you are. We will not try to own you. You can think, question, and be treated with respect and dignity in our fold. You can see Deity in whatever form you please. I think our inclusiveness is truly the shining jewel we possess as a community. By the Lady’s grace, I hope we never lose it.

It’s a big Universe out there. If we are going to someday accept beings that will likely be very different than us, we must first learn to accept our fellow man. Tolerance starts here, with us, in our community. I’m very proud of the acceptance and inclusiveness I see in the Pagan community. This is one reason why our faith is growing in leaps and bounds. People are hungry for what we have to offer. They’re tired of being told what to think and how to worship. They’re tired of the dogma, the disrespect of women, and the narrow-mindedness of most mainstream religions. People want choices, not chains! They want a relationship with Deity and common sense morality, not repressive rules and psychological tyranny. Intolerance has hurt our world in so many ways. It has cost countless innocent lives in religious wars and persecutions, and time after time it has been used as a political tool by corrupt leaders and greedy clergy. It’s time to put this monster to rest, my friends. It’s done too much damage to be allowed to live any longer. May we all share this world together in peace, and may the Lady’s blessing be upon us all, regardless of our spiritual path.

The Wicca Book of Days for Aug. 3 – Enlightening Eyebright

The Wicca Book of Days for Aug. 3

Enlightening Eyebright

 

The Sun, this Leonian day’s “planetary” ruler, has always been associated with vision, for without artificial light, we can only see when it is shining, while many cultures have regarded the solar disk as the eye of a solar divinity, or  of an all-seeing deity (Christianity’s God may be symbolized by the sun, for instance). Another aid to eyesight is the plant known as eyebright, or euphrasy, whose astringency is such that it is still used to treat weeping or infected eyes. Eyebright is furthermore said to sharpen one’s insight, leading to intellectual or spiritual illumination.

Weeding Out

Writing in the eighth century, the English monk and historian the Venerable Bede tells us that the Anglo-Saxon name for the eighth month of the year was Weodmonath, or “weed month.” Perhaps you should get rid of any unwanted plants today!

Elder’s Meditation of the Day July 24

Elder’s Meditation of the Day July 24

“Life is like a path…and we all have to walk the path… As we walk…we’ll find experiences like little scraps of paper in front of us along the way. We must pick up those pieces of scrap paper and put them in our pocket… Then, one day, we will have enough scraps of papers to put together and see what they say… Read the information and take it to heart.”

–Uncle Frank Davis (quoting his mother), PAWNEE

The Creator designed us to learn by trial and error. The path of life we walk is very wide. Everything on the path is sacred – what we do right is sacred – but our mistakes are also sacred. This is the Creator’s way of teaching spiritual people. To criticize ourselves when we make mistakes is not part of the spiritual path. To criticize mistakes is not the Indian way. To learn from our mistakes is the Indian way. The definition of a spiritual person is someone who makes 30-50 mistakes each day and talks to the Creator after each one to see what to do next time. This is the way of the Warrior.

Today let me see my mistakes as a positive process. Let me learn the aha’s of life… Awaken my awareness so I can see the great learning that You, my Creator, have designed for my life.