Tag: Wicca

Oh, What A Glorious Samhain Morn It Is, My Brothers & Sisters of the Craft!

Samhain Comments & Graphics

THE DRUMS OF SAMHAIN

The drums of Samhain keeping time.
The gates of magic open wide.

A cauldron’s blessings overflow.

The candle flames are dying low.

The witches dance the circle ’round to chant and bring the power down.

Hecate will hear our call
to turn the summer into fall.

The magic veil is growing thin.

The Netherworld is near our own.

We’ll see the sacred fire fed
while witches commune with the dead.

The winds of Autumn call our names.

The driving rhythm slowly calms.

The glowing embers we will tend
until the drums of Samhain end.

 

Wishing You A Very Blessed Samhain & A Prosperous New Year,

Lady Of The Abyss & The WOTC

How Many People Can You Fit Under An Umbrella?

How Many People Can You Fit Under An Umbrella?

Author:   BellaDonna Saberhagen   

What is Paganism? Ask a hundred Pagans and you’ll get a hundred answers. The definitions are vast and mostly vague. Many try to describe it by saying what it is not: “Paganism is a name for the many paths that fall outside the Judeo-Christian or Islamic faiths.” By this definition Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Shinto, and even Scientology all fall under the banner of “Pagan”. Would any of these peoples describe themselves as Pagan? Would they appreciate you lumping them with the neo-Pagan movement? Probably not.

Other definitions are somewhat more descriptive, but are again so vague that they could describe almost any path: “Paganism is earth-centered spirituality” or “we choose what we believe so anyone wanting to call themselves Pagan, may do so.” Some Pagans might not see their path as “earth-centered”, so they might feel cut off from the rest of the community for not subscribing to that definition. The second one is better for the individual Pagan, but it does nothing to actually define Paganism to the non-Pagan.

How about this one? “Paganism is an attempt to recreate the indigenous religions of Europe.” That sounds good, but what if you’re a Kemetic Pagan? Sure, there was a lot of cultural trade between Egypt and Greece, but that doesn’t make Egypt a part of Europe. Or, what if you’re Asatru and prefer to be referred to as a Heathen? Does that remove you from this definition?

The best, so far seems to be, “Paganism is an umbrella term for varying paths that attempt to recreate indigenous forms of religions. It’s an umbrella term in the same way that Christianity is an umbrella term for varying paths that follow Christ.” Sounds good, right? However, there is a major problem with it.

All who take shelter under the umbrella of Christianity, whether Catholic, Baptist, Koptic, or Snake-Handler, have one very big thing in common: Jesus Christ was born, lived and died on the cross for their sins. They might duke it out and think the other ones are wrong and “going to hell” for their wrongness, but at the end of the day, they have this unifying principle. Jesus is their umbrella.

We, as Pagans, don’t have that. We can’t agree on a definition of Pagan. We can’t even agree on the fundamental nature of “deity” (or even if there are deities or if they’re just energetic archetypes to be used for our convenience) . In our attempt to make everyone who wanted to fit under the Pagan umbrella feel comfortable, we threw away the umbrella. Paganism is really more of a “cloud” term. You might say Paganism is closer to how “Abrahamic” describes all faiths descended from Abraham (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) by definition, but we really don’t even have that much in common.

This lack of definition has led to several problems, within the community, when dealing with those outside of it and even with deepening individual spiritual connections.

We’ll look at the major issues within the community first. This largely deals with how individualized we are while still wanting to remain some sort of cohesive unit. The Witches’ Voice is a prime example. Certainly not everyone with a profile on this site is a Witch, but since Wicca (an umbrella term for varying paths unto itself, yet another reason that Paganism can’t be referred to as an umbrella term) is the most prominent form of neo-Paganism and many Wiccans also refer to themselves as Witches, it’s a place where many of differing Pagan faiths can get information and network with other local (and not-so-local) people of (some-what) like-mind. It also used to be a site that posted news articles that were relevant to the Pagan community at large (this has now been moved to its Facebook page) , and this leads to the interesting phenomenon of “Pagans in the media.” Every time there is an article that puts an individual Pagan in an unflattering light (such as a 40 year old Wiccan High Priest deciding it’s a good idea to do a private ritual skyclad with a 15 year old girl) , there’s a plethora of comments that say “He/she’s not Wiccan/Pagan because we all believe A and since he/she did B, there’s no way he/she can be a practicing Wiccan/Pagan.”

It doesn’t even have to be an unflattering article. I’ll give an example. Let’s say a large Hof of Asatru are featured in an article (most likely some fluff/local interest piece that goes Pagan-media-internet viral) about what they believe and how they practice. Now, this particular Hof is on a farm and raises organic/free-range goats that are ritually slaughtered in a humane way and then used in blots to Thor (in which the sacrifice is also eaten by the members of the Hof that they might commune better with Thor) . You are bound to get at least one person who (while supposedly an open-minded Pagan) will say something along the lines of, “Oh My Goddess! How terrible! These people are NOT Pagan! Pagans don’t DO animal sacrifice!” And when other commenters try to inform them that ancient Pagans sacrificed a lot (sometimes even having practiced human/cannibalistic sacrifices- no! not the peaceful Celts!) they either ignore archaeological evidence or give some fluff-bunny reason about why “we” don’t need to do that.

Here’s the thing: if we cannot decide on an actual definition of Paganism that is held up by the ENTIRE community, then we have no right to say that anyone else who refers to themselves as Pagan is not Pagan. We can agree that a murderer calling himself Wiccan is not Wiccan as he did not follow the rule that unifies all of Wicca: “An’ it harm none, do as ye will.” However, if he just claims to be Pagan (remember, Caligula was “pagan” too) we cannot say he is not. We can say that it’s no worse than the guy who claims God or The Devil told him to perform a heinous act and that it does not reflect the actions of the majority of adherents, but we cannot just say “He’s not Pagan!” We would need to be able to have a documented definition as to what about his behavior made him a non-Pagan. And the Rede is only applicable to Wicca, despite what some might prefer to believe. We cannot say we accept anyone while at the same time denying people based on nothing more than gut reaction.

When dealing with non-Pagans, this becomes an issue that leads some to ponder if we’re being discriminated against. Recently, The Pagan Federation has been fighting to gain charitable status (exempted from taxes) . Part of the reason they are being denied is that their religion is “too loosely defined” and the non-Pagans don’t know what they stand for and where their money will be going. Could this be discrimination? Perhaps, but given the definition of their religion, I sort of agree: “love and respect for nature, a positive morality and recognition of the divine.” This could define almost any religion. How “the divine” is envisioned (a major part in most religions) is completely left up for individual interpretation. Which is great, if you’re a practicing Pagan and don’t want to feel “left out” of the local community (as I do from the local Wiccan community, really) , but not so great when dealing with non-Pagans. If you refuse to give them even a hint about what you worship, then why should they believe you worship anything at all? Why should they believe this is a religious organization just because the founders say it is? Even Christians have their tax-evading televangelists, and their supposed beliefs were fully visible for the entire world to see.

Pagan churches have gained tax-exempt status in the past. Most notable is the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. The big difference between The Pagan Federation and the ATC is that the ATC is officially a church of Wicca, which has set rules, rituals and interpretations of “the divine” that can be pulled out and shown to non-Pagans and allows them to say, “This is what we believe, this is what we practice.” Now, the ATC does cater to the broader community and many non-Wiccan Pagans attend services there, however, since their basis is a specific Wiccan tradition, they have the definition that lets the general public feel better about their tax-exempt status (I’m not saying everyone likes it, but at least it “feels” more like a religion to them) . This is the model that I think the Pagan Federation (and others fighting for tax exemption) should try to adopt. Narrow the official focus but add something about catering to other alternative religions that have nowhere else to worship to the by-laws. The organization will seem more legitimate in the public eye and it will still be a place where Pagans of varying faiths can attend to their spiritual needs.

There is also the problem with dealing with the non-Pagan public on slightly more individualized scales. I once went to a meeting of ghost investigators that were having an informational lesson on dealing with Pagans. Our friend, also a Pagan, was part of the group and was very keen for us to meet the “expert” (he was a member of a local coven she was thinking about getting involved with and since has) . The problem was, she invited two very experienced, well read and opinionated Pagans (Barnabus Saberhagen and myself-and if you are shocked that I am opinionated…what have you been reading?) to a talk hosted by an expert that had only been practicing for six years (to put this into perspective, Barnabus and I had easily twice that experience under each of our belts, quite possibly more) and while I have met some who’ve only practiced that long but have managed to learn much and go through all three degrees of Wiccan initiation (within that same Tradition, I might add) , he had only managed to finish first degree (now, I don’t know if he decided he was a Witch/Pagan and didn’t find the coven for a few years but considering his opinion of reading books on Paganism-which I’ll get into later- it doesn’t seem likely) .

The point of this talk was to educate the ghost hunters on not being freaked out by Pagans should they ever investigate a haunting at a Pagan’s house. Most of the ghost hunters were some form of Christian and we all know that some of the tools commonly used have seeped into the Satanic Panic media. This was a fine idea…and then the guy opened his mouth. I’m not sure if his research skills are sub-par or if his teacher gave him incorrect information, but almost everything he said was quite frankly wrong, especially when trying to be as generic as possible. So Barnabus and I began to give counter points and examples from our seats. I suppose I could have left his holiday muddling alone (he claimed Ostara was the feast of Brigid) , it did no real harm (other than grate on my nerves) . However, he also claimed that Aleister Crowley wrote the Satanic Bible.

When I said that was Anton LaVey, the crowd of the uninformed asked that Barnabus and I refrain from commenting anymore because they found it confusing. The problem is, now these normal people are going to get freaked out by every tome written by Crowley because they will automatically associate him with Satanism (and even LaVey’s Satanism isn’t the Christian perversion you imagine when saying Satanism) . Many, many magical folk love Crowley; so this could be potentially damaging if and when they actually investigate a Pagan home. At the end of the discussion, the guy (and some of the crowd) performed a John Edwards style “read” (which I am always leery of, no matter who performs them) and was then approached by someone who wanted to learn more about Paganism. He told her NOT TO READ BOOKS, and to attend open circles to see what it’s about.

I don’t know about you, but the open circles I have been to have not been the deep rituals I sought. They were nice and beautiful in their own right, but sometimes depth of meaning and power is sacrificed in an attempt to be open to all. Also, books. BOOKS. Read them. They are important. His tradition was even started by a prolific Pagan author, so that he did not even recommend her works (as unrecommended by the over-all Pagan community as they might be) was a bit of a surprise.

The point is when the crowd asked us not to comment anymore because they were getting confused. They were getting information from two distinct Pagan traditions that had almost nothing in common aside from being called Paganism. I suppose the best thing to do in these situations is to explain that you only know things as your tradition sees them, so you can only comment on that. We step on each other’s toes quite a bit by trying to be all-encompassing in our rhetoric about our paths. We can’t speak for all Pagans and we need to make that clear.

Now we get to the individual. How is lacking a definition of Paganism hurting the individual Pagan? Well, I think it causes “101 Pagans” that don’t move on beyond it. The Pagan 101 books sell like hot-cakes. In fact, that’s the biggest seller and the most easily obtained form of works on Paganism. They try to be as generic as possible, often reading like Pagan Plug-and-Play or (at their very worst) Pagan Mad-Libs. This leads to new-comers thinking that that’s all they need to know and never seeking anything deeper. They think they can substitute Freya for Aphrodite just because they happen to like amber more than seashells. Or worse, their gods are faceless and unknowable, often either distant or immanent “mother/father energies” and often both at the same time. They have no cultural context for their deities and don’t feel they need to look any further because they can just call themselves Pagan.

Here’s the thing, to move beyond 101, you have to specialize. You have to specialize in technique and you have to specialize into a cultural framework. Without that, you lack the roots that connect you to the ancestors and what they practiced and if Paganism really is an attempt to “reconstruct various indigenous faiths” then you can’t move on without that connection.

But what if Paganism isn’t an attempted reconstruction of indigenous faiths? Well, then, what is it? Without a definition, it’s not an umbrella term, and is barely even a cloud term, really. It’s pretty much meaningless. You have to add another descriptor word to even give people a vague idea what you’re talking about and if you refuse to even narrow your focus that much because “you’re not about labels” then don’t expect to be asked deep questions about your path, because many will assume that it’s not deep and meaningful to you. I use at least three words to describe my unique path (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on with whom I speak) and that is without stating the name of any specific Tradition. The real lesson here is to read books, specialize, and don’t claim to speak for all Pagans, because you just can’t.

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Footnotes:
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1163381/

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121201/NEWS01/712019950#.ULoImKgxv7I.facebook

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/3018295

 

One Voice United

One Voice United

Author:   Lady Fenix   

Wiccan, Pagan, Heathen, Celtic, Shaman, Druid, Witch, etc. The list can go on and on to include different paths within each chosen label. The thing that gives me concern is that we in the community spend so much time defining ourselves that we forget that we are one.

Our goals are the same and each one of us has the same feelings inside us. The reason our path lacks so much understanding from the public is that everyone gives a different explanation as to what the craft is. We (meaning everyone in every path) need to come together and stand as one voice united and proclaim a set of guidelines that thoroughly define the Wiccan faith. (I use the word Wiccan here to encompass all.) Regardless of what path you practice within the religion, we all strictly adhere to the Rede or some form of a code of Ethics.

It is a sad time when our troops cannot get the respect they so richly deserve when it comes to the headstone symbol in a national cemetery. It is also sad that when going to a job interview, a Wiccan removes a ring or necklace that has anything to do with their religion out of fear of not getting the job offer. It is emotionally draining that they have to choke back the desire to speak out against the stereotypes of a witch that are hanging all around their child’s schools during one of our biggest holidays.

We all look back at the persecution of our ancestors and even of people who were not practicing the craft and our hearts ache. Yet we sometimes fail to see the persecution that is still going on all around us today. Why is that we must hide in broom closets when other religious group are not having to hide who they are?

Wiccans are not a threat to society and that is obvious to anyone who has examined Wiccans and Wicca. Yet far too many do not bother to look deeper at the slanderous accusations and merely believe them to be true. The hand fasting I had always wanted never happened due to fear of us casting circles and performing the “forbidden witchcraft” in front of a family that was Christian.

In one man’s words and the best way I have ever heard it put, “Christians have oppressed Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Pagans, and each other throughout their centuries of power, preaching religious intolerance as the word of Jehovah whenever they had the military, political, or economic power to make it stick — and then piously preaching brotherhood, peace, and toleration when they didn’t.” (Isaac Bonewits)

That being said, maybe it is time that we formed an inner faith council. I am not talking just on a local level. I am talking a state council and the head of that state council would sit as a member of National Council. We need lobbyist to talk to people. A council of elders that will ultimately represent our path.

I personally stood in front of a class of my peers in the middle of the Bible belt dressed in full ceremonial garb and gave a power point presentation on Wicca. Many people were relieved after I explained to them what Wicca was and even asked for sachets, soaps and such.

We need to let the public know that we are not a passing “fad religion” and that we are a religion that is here to stay. Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in the U.S. and well, ladies and gents, like it or not, opposition to it is growing as well.

Education and a united front is the only way that our faith will be recognized as such. We need public speakers to go to businesses, colleges, and city councils to educate people about our faith. They do not need to know the inner workings of each faith just be given a broad spectrum of what it is about. Let the public know that we are healers, educators, and friends of all.

Let them know that we do not do evil things and we are not what make things go BUMP in the night. God and Goddess willing we may even be able through hard work to form an alliance with other religions that people know little about and have huge fairs where each religion gets a voice. A fair where the public will be able to openly attend and learn.

We need to allow all to participate in the faith and see that it is truly a religion of love and understanding and that there are consequences for ones actions. We hide in shadows and continually allow Hollywood to make anything that has to do with our faith into something evil. Why are we not screaming at the thought of that?

This turning a blind eye or speaking out against it at home simply will not do. As long as we allow people to portray us this way then the mass society will continue to see us this way.

This is a plea to everyone to finally lay down his or her differences within our faith.

Again to stand as One Voice United.

This is a call to the open leaders of the community, the authors, shop owners, and any other open Wiccan that has a mass audience, to come together. Stop letting our differences give the public a reason to doubt the validity of our faith. Stop allowing the horrendous stereotypes that invoke fear in those that know little or nothing of our faith to go unchallenged.

It would be great to see covens and groups nominate officials for their area and who would all come together and discuss how tomorrow will unfold for our faith. This may not change things for the Wiccans of today, but we need to build a better path for the Wiccans of tomorrow.

This is our chance to leave a legacy that our children can be proud of. A chance to change things so that they do not have to hide in a broom closet…so they can wear their religious jewelry without fear.

I beg all of you please: Lets finally have “ONE VOICE UNITED.”

Foxia Rowan Moon

_____________________________________________

Footnotes:
Christians have oppressed Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Pagans, and each other throughout their centuries of power, preaching religious intolerance as the word of Jehovah whenever they had the military, political, or economic power to make it stick — and then piously preaching brotherhood, peace, and toleration when they didn’t.”  — Isaac Bonewits

Also a website about Wicca..
http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/wicca_defense.html

The Witches Magick for Oct. 30th – Solitary Samhain Ritual

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Solitary Samhain Ritual

Place upon the altar apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, squashes and other late autumn  fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums are fine too.  Write on a piece of paper an aspect of your life which you may wish to be free of; anger, a baneful habit, misplaced feelings, disease. The cauldron or some similar tool must be present  before the altar as well, on a trivet or some other heat-proof surface (if the legs aren’t long enough). A small, flat dish marked with an eight-spoked wheel symbol should also be there. [This is just what it sounds like. On a flat plate or dish, paint a large circle.  Put a dot in the center of this circle and paint eight spokes radiating out from the dot to the larger circle. Thus, you have a wheel symbol  – a symbol of the Sabbats, a symbol of timelessness.]

Prior to ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones who have passed away.  Do not despair. Know that they have gone on to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the  physical isn’t the absolute reality, and souls never die.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones. Recite the Blessing Chant. Invoke the Goddess and God.

Lift one of the pomegranates and, with your freshly-washed Boline, pierce the skin of the  fruit. Remove several seeds and place them on the wheel-marked dish. Raise your wand, face the altar and say:

On this night of Samhain I mark Your passing,
O Sun King, through the sunset into the Land of the Young.
I mark also the passing of all who have gone before,
and all who will go after.
 
O Gracious Goddess, Eternal Mother,
You who gives birth to the fallen,
teach me to know that in the time of
the greatest darkness there is the greatest light.
 

Taste the pomegranate seeds; burst them with your teeth and savour  their sharp, bittersweet flavour. Look down at the eight-spoked symbol on the plate; the Wheel of the Year, the Cycle of the Seasons, the End and Beginning of all Creation.

Light a fire within the cauldron (a candle is fine).  Sit before it, holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flames. Say:

Wise One of the Waning Moon,
Goddess of the Starry Night,
I create this fire within
Your cauldron to transform
that which is plaguing me.
May the energies be reversed:
From the darkness, light!
From bane, good!
From death, birth!

Light the paper in the cauldron’s flames and drop it inside. As it burns, know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves you as it is consumed within the universal fires.  [The cauldron, seen as the Goddess.]

If you wish, you may attempt scrying or some other form of divination, for this is a perfect time to look into the past or future. Try to recall past lives too, if you will.  But leave the dead in peace. Honor them with your memories but do not call them to you. [Many Pagans  do attempt to communicate with their deceased ancestors and friends at this time, but it  seems to me that if we accept the doctrine of reincarnation, this is a rather strange practice. Perhaps the personalities that we knew still exist, but if the soul is currently incarnate in another body, communication would be difficult, to say the least. Thus, it seems best to remember them with peace and love – but do not call them up.] 

Release any pain and sense of loss you may feel into the cauldron’s flames. Works of magick, if necessary, may follow. Celebrate the Simple Feast. The circle is released.

 

A Wonderful, Blessed Tuesday Morn’ to all our family & friends!

halloween kitty

Good morning dear family & friends! I hope you are having a very beautiful Tuesday morn. As you are hurrying around to get ready for Samhain, we have a small gift for you. The gift is something that will set the mood for all your rituals. Guessed what it is yet? It is some Samhain recipes for divination, Scrying and etc. We haven’t found these on the net anywhere. So perhaps you don’t have these recipes. We hope you enjoy them.

Divination Incense for Your Samhain Rituals

 

Divination Incense

2 parts sandalwood
1 part orange
1 part mace
1 part cinnamon
Burn during divination rituals
 

Fire of Azrael Incense

1 part sandalwood
1 part cedar
1 part juniper
½ part saltpeter
Burn prior to divination and Scrying
 

Moonfire Incense

1 part rose
1 part orris
1 part bay
1 part juniper
1 part Dragon’s blood
½ saltpeter
Burn for divination, love and harmony
 

Scrying Incense

1 part mugwort
1 part wormwood
Burn a small amount prior to divination.
 

Witches Sight Incense

1 part of each:
Gum mastic
Juniper
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Cinnamon
Few drops Musk oil
Few drops Ambertris oil
For Tarot readings, crystal balls readings, meditating.

Samhain Ritual Potpourri

Samhain Ritual Potpourri

by Gerina Dunwich

45 drops patchouli oil

1 cup oak moss

2 cups dried apple blossoms

2 cups dried heather flowers

1 cup dried and chopped apple peel

1 cup dried pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup dried and chopped mandrake root

Mix the patchouli oil with the oak moss, and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container.

(The above “Samhain Ritual Potpourri” recipe is from “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes” by Gerina Dunwich, page 164, Citadel Press, Carol Publishing Group Edition, 1995.)

“Samhain Dream”

“Samhain Dream”

by Myria/Brighid

It is Samhain …The Night of Shadows. The Circle is cast around the fire, And through the darkness, we glance, For the veils are thin, in this sacred night! Ancient voices around us, Whispering old and forgotten songs, While we dance the Spiral Dance, To meet Her. And there She comes, The Lady of the Gate! Power and compassion evolving us, As a dark but comforting wave. Beautiful Queen of the Dark Night! With Her mantle of raven’s feathers, And eyes deep with wisdom. Cerridwenn! She opens Her arms, in a welcoming embrace, We feel around us the flow of love, Of Her Eternal Grace. And then we hear Her voice, Melodious and grave, That speaks from inside our soul, As an echo in a cave. Blessed Daughters of My Heart, I hear your prayers from afar. And that is why I came tonight! Do not despair when the times are hard! Do not abandon the Path you found! For time has come for My return, And you, Loved Ones, shall open the way, Singing my name as the ancient bards. I am always with you, do never doubt that! I am the Old and the Young One! I am the Keeper of the Gate! I am the Master of Time! I am the Dark Goddess of Death! I am the Bright Goddess of Dawn! I am The One! I am Cerridwenn!

Samhain Approaches

samhain18

I was about half asleep this morning, drinking my coffee. I was thinking about Samhain and how I looked forward to it each year. To me, it is the most beautiful time of the year.

The Veil is thinning, the energy is rising, you can feel it coursing through your veins. The magick and excitement is building in the atmosphere. For Witches, this is the most magickal time of the Year. We make plans on how we are going to celebrate. What kind of rituals we are going to do? What time should we start them? Any ancestors going to show up this year? Lots to do and little time left to do it.

I know what I am getting ready to say the Elders in the Craft already know and have heard it a thousand times. I just wanted to talk to the new ones to the Craft about what to expect or not. They come to our Religion so full of joy, eager to learn, wanting to do everything just right. Samhain is exciting for the Elders, can you imagine what it is like for the new ones? That is why I am writing this. I love each of you. I never want you to face discouragement or doubt yourself. I just want you to always be prepared. I know we all talk about our Ancestors and doing rituals to bring them back. You know it is breathtaking to have that kind of power.

I know when I did my first ritual to call my Ancestors back, I got very disappointed. No body showed up! I had been a witch for a long time but it was still a blow to the ego. I guess the reason mine don’t show up is because they stop by for a visit all the time. I went about double checking and checking again, what did I do wrong? I always thought it was me, always. Then it hit me, my ancestors might have reincarnated. It wasn’t that they didn’t love me or want to be with me. They had been reincarnated.

All those years, I felt like it was me and that does effect you. Then I realized how selfish I had been. Instead of feeling disappointed and unloved, I ought to have been rejoicing. They had all been reincarnated and they walk this plane as I do. Don’t do as I did. If, after all your preparation, none of your ancestors appear, don’t be sad. Instead rejoice and be proud for they are here with you on this plane. They were given the opportunity to live again.

Celebrate your ancestors, give them the honor and respect they deserve. But if no one appears, don’t be disappointed, you did nothing wrong. Your ancestors have been reincarnated. Now that is something to celebrate. They were given the opportunity to walk this plane with us. Thank the Goddess for giving them the opportunity to be reborn.

I don’t want to dim your hopes, I just want you to be prepared. No one ever told me and I guess the Goddess was the one who finally revealed to me what had happened. I have years when ancestors show up, then I have years when they don’t. But I go ahead and make all the preparations. I invite my ancestors home to visit with me for a while. When they do show up, that makes up for the year no one showed. The experience is indescribable. You have to experience for yourself. Make your preparations,  prepare your rituals and your spells. But please learn from me, if no one shows up, rejoice for their new body and soul they have been given. Rejoice because our Goddess chose them as being worthy enough to reincarnate. Never stop trying to communicate with them, never. Always make preparations for their coming. You have nothing to lose but everything in this great Universe of our to gain.

Samhain might seem like a dark time of the year. A time when death is all around us. But it is also a time to celebrate new life.

Let’s Talk Witch – Has Moved for the Day

hecate4

I have my reasons for moving the “Let’s Talk Witch” section today. It will be after the cartoon today. I am going to write it and you know how I am when I get started, lol!

If you have a moment, stick around or pop back in later and read it. It is going to deal with our Ancestors and rituals that we might be planning on doing. Should be interesting. Because I had never thought of what I am going to write about till this morning, hmm…..

When The Crone Pays A Visit, You’d Better Pay Attention

When The Crone Pays A Visit, You’d Better Pay Attention

Author:   Maire Durkan   

(Samhain 2012) I wake in pre-dawn hours, heart pounding. I’d placed photographs of my beloved dead on my altar, placed a welcome offering of my dad’s favorite candy and whiskey, and lit a candle. I’d asked for a dream—contact with a message—and had expected something like the warm and loving messages I received during Audience With the Ancestors, a Samhain ritual performed by my coven (Grail of the Birch Moon) and member covens of the Assemble of the Sacred Wheel in three locations. I expected a message along the lines of “follow the way of love, ” but the Wise Woman, the Crone, had visited me in the darkness of night, in the waning of the moon, bringing the chill of winter and a stern message.

I have never been a lucid dreamer. So, when I find myself in my very own bedroom confronted by a messenger dressed in black who is–shall we say–brutally frank, I’m pretty freaked out. First, the specter makes sure that I am icy cold (which certainly gets my attention) , then she dissolves the headboard of my bed and tears chunks out of the door to a very real crawl space behind it while my father (who passed in 2008) tells me to “wake up.”

This dream is not a nightmare—but its message is certainly stern. So, I wake to a room not quite as frigid as the astral room. When my heart rate dropped to normal, it was time to figure out my spiritual game plan.

As I’ve said, the crawl space is quite real and exactly where it was in the dream. There are a lot of things in that crawl space—old manuscripts, old books, old clothes, old memories good and not so good—things that I’m not quite ready to part with because they hold a part of me for good or ill.

As the space is behind the very large, very solid oak headboard of a behemoth of a bed, I can’t get at it without putting in a lot of effort. I put them there for a variety of reasons—nostalgia, the hope that they’ll be repurposed, and even (in the case of the manuscript) because I couldn’t bear to look at it but couldn’t bear to throw it away either.

Clearly, it is time for me to do some shadow work. But I don’t want to! That’s why all that stuff is packed away in an almost inaccessible physical space and in an equally inaccessible space inside of me. I have a hunch that the Goddess and my dad expect a New Year’s cleaning that involves more than sorting through the tangible junk that lurks behind that closed door.

As I do a lot when I’m working through “things, ” I take a walk in the woods and farmland around the Brandywine River Valley. Sometimes, the land and the beings that inhabit it, have lessons to teach me and sometimes the process of walking in the quiet countryside helps me find my way to an answer or at least help me pose questions that point me toward more clues.

The woods have turned towards winter. A cold breeze rattles bare limbs and dry leaves spiral down onto damp, cold earth. In the meadow, horses stand in groups, nose to nose. A maple tree felled by Hurricane Sandy lies across the path pressing down the electric wire around the fields of dun colored corn stubble. Its branches are filled with the tight knots of next year’s buds– life and potential that will never be realized in its current form–although it will be transformed and used. Nothing in nature goes to waste.

Near the last unharvested soybean fields migrating robins chirp with alarm, then fall silent as a local red tailed hawk wheels overhead. I’m like the robin, chirping, alarmed. Then, silent…listening…watching.

The woods hold death and danger –felled trees, downed leaves, and the feathers left from a kill; this is a cycle. I must embrace this–for it is my story as much as the tree’s or the bird’s. But it was also full of life. In strong roots that held firm despite Sandy’s fury. In the animals that are foraging or hibernating. In the last red clovers blooming low to the ground. In the Red Tail soaring high above crying its glorious “Keeyerr!” I whisper, “She changes everything She touches and everything She touches changes.”

It’s time for me to touch, to draw out, acknowledge, and change. Nature is filled with harsh truths that I need to apply to my spiritual habitat. I have held on to old grief and hurt too long. I lock them away, unexamined, because they are too painful to acknowledge, but too much a part of me to easily relinquish.

It’s time to ground, center, pray for compassion and take them out of the darkness. It’s time to do the hard work of removing barriers that give false comfort and open the door to that shadowed place within myself.

Shadow work is as painful and healing as the nettle plant. Sometime the sting has to come before healing can begin.

When I get home, I know what I must do. This is my first task of the new year. Mastering my fear, I must open physical and spiritual doors, reach into the darkness, and bring what I’ve stored and hidden into the light to be examined, sorted, kept or discarded.

At fifty-two, (to paraphrase the Bard) , I’m a tree approaching winter. A tree shaped and weathered by many seasonal cycles. My roots are strong, deep, and I can withstand this shadow work. But I am still a vibrant, sexual, life-embracing woman. I acknowledge shadows and darkness and will to examine the things that I have hidden with care…but I will not hide there –I will open the dark door, embrace the Crone and embrace this new and powerful cycle of my life.

The Sacredness of Halloween

The Sacredness of Halloween

Author:   Tut 

One of my Pagan friends has the same admonition for us each October. “Don’t try to contact me on Samhain, ” he informs, “I’ll be busy.” Of course, by “busy” he means that he’ll be deep in the midst of a self-imposed seclusion, fasting, meditating and performing solitary rites from sunup on October 31st to more or less sunup on November 1st. As a fellow Solitary Pagan, albeit of a different path, I can respect that. I also know members of an area coven that observe Samhain communally, going to the cemeteries to clean graves and make offerings or holding a silent supper before observing their Sabbat. I have to applaud them for their efforts as well. Even as an Egyptian Pagan, I consider October 31st a holy day, and I typically observe the Osiris Mysteries as close to that date as possible.

But I find one element of the sacred that still seems overlooked by both Solitaries and covens each October 31st. In our efforts as Pagans to mark the solemnity and sanctity of Samhain, we miss what probably made the day so hallowed and special for so many of us in the first place: dressing up, trick-or-treating, and celebrating all things spooky. In other words, we miss the importance of celebrating Halloween.

As a kid, I loved Halloween. Sure, Christmas was when I got presents and time off from school, but Halloween was a time when my creativity and imagination were allowed to soar. What am I going to be for Halloween? was a question I typically started asking myself around late August or early September, and by the time I was ten I was building my own costumes. Ironically, the Irish in my heritage was perhaps better celebrated through Halloween than it was through Saint Patrick’s Day. As a very young child, my mother told me the story of Jack and his Jack o’ Lantern while we carved pumpkins or colored paper decorations, and on occasion she would share ghost stories that her father had told her. The decorations we put up, combined with my own vivid imaginings of her stories, painted dark yet intriguing mental images of primeval forests stalked by fantastical creatures and lonely moonlit moors traversed by wandering souls.

Whether these images came from some collective inherited subconscious reaching back to our distant forbears in Ireland or from my own super-active brain, I will never know, but I still see them in my mind every October as I watch the sun go down and the full moon rise. Another source of inspiration are the handful of decorations and other items I inherited directly from family members: my uncle’s black light, my mother’s pack of Gypsy Witch Tarot Cards (which by this point must be at least forty years old) , my paternal grandmother’s tabletop decoration of a black cat on a tombstone (I’ve had offers from friends to buy it, but it’s not for sale) , and most especially the cassette dub my late grandfather made for me from his old record of Halloween sound effects, complete with a playlist in his own handwriting. While he was alive, my maternal grandfather instilled in me a love of technical toys, especially recording and sound equipment, which carried over into my Halloween decorations–especially the screaming doormats I became notorious for in college!

From the general Pagan perspective Samhain, of course, is a time of transition when the Corn King dies and enters the Underworld (with variations depending on tradition) . It is a time to honor the dead, and an opportunity for divination because the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. The focus is on death, aging, and mortality, much the antithesis of childhood revelry. But when I think back to those Irish forbears–and probably our Welsh ancestors as well–observing the onset of winter, huddled around a bonfire as darkness closed around them and cries of wild animals echoed through the distant hills, I think of grandparents telling their grandchildren those same stories I heard about Jack with his lantern, the Will o’ the Wisp, the Banshee, and probably more I would never hear.

I think of children wrapping themselves tighter in Grandpa’s cloak, staring with wide eyes of wonder at the curtains of shadows beyond the fire, experiencing for the first time that thrill of a good ghost story, and the eternal question, Oh, that’s not real–is it?. Imagination is a sacred gift from the Gods Themselves, the more so when it is handed down from one generation to the next. The Irish and Anglo-Saxons that travelled from their native lands to North America passed down those stories, those characters, and that love of a good fright, regardless of whether they called it Samhain or Halloween, and that lively spirit lives on in our modern holiday.

Indeed, today Halloween is considered a major “kid” holiday, driving a multi-million-dollar industry fed every year by the young and young at heart. And as we all know, Halloween has no shortage of detractors among the evangelical Christian community who denounce it as a “devil’s holiday”–forgetting, of course, that it has long been celebrated as a Catholic holiday, whence it earned the name All Hallow’s Eve. The Mexican communities who observe Dia De Los Muertes two days later are no less devout in their Catholicism. But as we Pagans strive to reclaim the Samhain heritage of October 31st, establishing its legitimacy as a sacred occasion and not a night of “devil worship”, lost in the debate and dogma is the holiday’s golden opportunity to enhance the bond between generations, something just as spiritual and important as its ritual aspect.

A coven member once told me that children are not allowed at their Samhain rituals, owing to the dark and serious tone required to participate. How, then, are the next generation of Wiccans and Pagans going to identify with Samhain, especially if their Pagan parents are spending all their time observing the Sabbat for themselves? How are kids today to understand trick-or-treating, costumes and other traditions surrounding Halloween–and its Celtic prototype? Are we going to fill their heads with ideas of October 31st as Samhain, the misunderstood holy day they’re expected to defend against ignorant schoolmates but wait until they’re older to participate in; or as Halloween and Samhain, a time of year that has something for everyone to enjoy?

For my own part, I’m already planning how I will decorate for this year’s trick-or-treaters; I had better, considering I’ve gained a neighborhood reputation for having the best candy! I take joy in observing Halloween with the neighborhood kids, regardless of their religious affiliation–besides, if their parents opposed Halloween, chances are they wouldn’t be coming to my door (unless they snuck out to do so, in which case who am I to discourage defiance…?) . By doing so, I contribute a tiny part of my own heritage, passed down through the ages, to the next generation so that it won’t one day die with me.

I will have plenty of time to observe the Osiris Mysteries in private after the trick-or-treaters have all gone to bed. But whenever the time comes that I have others observing the Osiris feast with me, I will make sure that they know ahead of time to pitch in for the trick-or-treating first. A child’s imagination is just as sacred as any service, and it should be celebrated accordingly.

A Samhain Dance

A Samhain Dance

Author: Lady Wolfwind 

The wheel turns. I can feel it. The angle of the light in the morning is different, glowing lower in the sky. The air is cooler. The earth is beginning to give up her heat. The cooler air meeting the warm soil has created a low-lying fog in the meadows. Droplets hang from the long grass. It won’t last long this time of year. Slowly, the rising sun will burn it away. For now it is quiet and it is mine to share with the creatures of the earth. I watch as the squirrels scamper, grabbing nuts and noisily run back up the tree. The birds are busy foraging for their share as well. I see a beautiful red cardinal, his beak full of seeds, land on a nearby tree limb. The yard is alive with activity. Even their frenzied activity tells me that a change is upon us.

This is my favorite time of year. I have anxiously waited for the harvest season. The changing light patterns signal changes in my body. I feel as though I need to prepare for something. Maybe it is an ancestral need to put up supplies for the winter. I feel as though I can take a deep breath, as if the time for rest is near.

Later, in the evening, I return to the yard and it is alive once more. As I sit under the moon, very gradually a vision appears before me. I can see the spirits of my ancestors celebrating around the balefire and they are beckoning for me to join them. The harvest festivals have begun. I hear the drumming and the laughter. I hear the whispered conversations. I see their faces glowing in the firelight. They’re strong, determined faces of people who have know joy and sorrow, of people who have worked hard and the struggle shows in the lines of those faces. I feel their eyes gaze upon me from time to time. They feel my presence as well. They know who I am and they are happy I am here.

Tonight, I sit and I watch. I feel as if I’m an intruder, watching something I shouldn’t. At times I don’t feel it is normal, these glimpses of the past that I am granted. I don’t speak of these things to many people for fear they would think me insane, not even my family. I quietly say a blessing and thank the Goddess for the gifts of insight She has bestowed upon me. I wonder how many people think of their ancestors and all they owe to them.

I sit and contemplate as I watch the dancers celebrate, as I listen to the music quietly suspended in time, meant for my ears to hear. I silently communicate and ask them to tell me about their life as they lived it. I hear snatches quietly whispered in my ear. They tell me of living by the wheel of life. They explain how babies are born and die too soon. They tell me that some years the crops are good and others the crops they rely upon don’t fill the pantries and the cellars. They tell me how it is to be hungry.

Others whisper about good fortunes and fertile cows that they’ve sold for some gold pieces that have increased the family’s standing, about buying more land, and building bigger, better homes for their families. They talk mainly about the harvest and the dark half of the year, of the cold and the boredom and the fear of disease. There is always talk of fear of the dark.

I sit for a while longer and watch. I promise them that I will return on Samhain. I will be ready and we (my children and I) will participate. I’ve always favored Samhain, even before I knew it by its real name or true reason of existence. We will be prepared.

In our home Samhain is a truly special time of year. My daughter and I cook a great assortment of foods. I tell them stories of my family and encourage my husband to do the same. Samhain is a day of feasting and of celebration. Not so much a celebration of the last harvest, but a celebration of our ancestors. I want these people to be remembered, even if it is not by name, but by the fact that they are the reason we are all here today. We build a bonfire and we invite people to our home. They usually are here to celebrate Halloween as they know it, but to us it is nice to have the energy of the living mingling in our midst.

My daughter and I have prepared the names of people who have passed this year and we have woven a grapevine wreath on which to put these names. As the clock tolls midnight we cast the wreath upon the fire and wish those no longer with us safe journeys on the continuation of their paths. We light candles and place them around the yard and the house and invite the wandering souls a quiet, safe place to rest for the night. The quiet, lost souls are always welcome here. I feel them and my daughter sees them from time to time. We both acknowledge their presence and say a welcome to them as long as they don’t cause any trouble.

After all the guests have left, we, as a family, gather together and talk about all we wish to see in the coming year. Samhain is truly the end of this one. I think this year I will speak of my vision and of the departed ones desire for us to participate in their festivities. I think we will throw another log on the fire and dance. We will dance a celebration of life and all that it brings. We will dance to the joys and the sorrows we have faced. We will dance in thankfulness for all that we have and stop longing for all that we think will make our lives better. Most of all, we will dance with all those who have crossed over, one more time. We will not mourn their loss but celebrate all that they have taught us. We will dance in celebration of lives well lived and the gratefulness of having had the opportunity to have crossed paths with these truly special people.

At dawn we will lie in the cool grass and say our farewells and feel overjoyed by the delightful time we have shared with those others have forgotten. The sun will begin to rise and the fire will only be small wisps of smoke. The children and I will look at each other and know that we share a secret, a magical one. We will be hesitant to leave and return to our mundane lives. I think my children have a deeper appreciation of all that it means to be Pagan. We’ve spoken of the Sabbats and we have honored the Goddess at the full moon, but they have never truly been blessed with the presence of the Old Ones reaching out to them. I believe that their lives will be forever changed starting with this new year.

I am thankful for the wisdom I now see in their eyes, wisdom I could never have imparted. They have both been securely set upon their path and I am so ever grateful for this. It gives me a sense of peace that I no longer need to worry about this area of their life. As Pagans I know they will live as kind and compassionate human beings.

Now it is time to look to the future and of the coming year. My children and I will grasp each other’s hands and head into our home to rest. It’s funny how our ancestors have helped strengthen the bond between us. How many people can say something like that? We’ve allowed the long line of family to help build the future. Not only have they helped build our future but also they have helped build it in a positive way.

I hope everyone out there is enjoying this harvest season. It is time to reap what you have sown, may it all be pleasant. If it is not, now is the time to set aside the negativity and allow the positive to flow into your life. A new year and a new start are upon us. You have the power to make this coming year into anything you dream of; you can reach goals you never thought attainable. Take the opportunity of the dark half of the wheel to plan and build your energies, to rest and to prepare yourself to put your plans in place.

I wish you all the greatest Samhain.

Love to all my fellow witches,

Lady Wolfwind

To My Witchlings and Newbie Pagans

To My Witchlings and Newbie Pagans

Author: SonneillonV 

I want to talk about that time period when you first discover magic (or magick, if you prefer, but I don’t use the ‘k’ spelling) is real.

There are a million ways it could happen. There are a million directions it could come from. Perhaps you tried a spell from a book and… something… happened. Something you couldn’t explain, something terrible or wonderful or just plain weird. Perhaps you saw something in the deep woods one day that had no business being there. Perhaps you know a Witch or other practitioner, and they brought something into your life that kept defying your vision of reality until finally you had to adjust it. Perhaps you always knew magic worked, but for reasons philosophical or religious or practical, you denied it to yourself until the lure of it made you cave. Maybe you picked up ‘To Ride A Silver Broomstick’ or a ‘House of Night’ book and suddenly felt like you’d come home. Maybe you’ve been glimpsing ghosts for as long as you can remember, or sensing the spirits that live in the creatures and land around you, and you’ve finally decided to quit turning your face away.

However it happened, wherever you came from, you see it now – the threads that bind us to each other and to the world, the synchronicities and symbolism that run through our lives. The music of the spheres. You realize that the complex interrelations between all the elements of our universe go much deeper than you previously assumed, that there is such a thing as sympathetic reaction, that a rose may not be merely a rose, nor a tree a tree, nor a missing set of keys a missing set of keys; there are layers of meaning, circles upon circles.

And now that you realize it, you’re seeing magic EVERYWHERE.

You may not realize it, but you’re probably annoying the crap out of practitioners or Pagans in your life. They’re saying things like, “The gods are not your imaginary friends, they don’t care what you eat for breakfast, ” or “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything that you tripped and dumped coffee all over yourself today”. They insist that Loki has better things to do than to hide your keys, and that every time it storms, Zeus is not specifically yelling at YOU. When you find an exciting congruence and ask them what it means, you can’t see why they say, “probably nothing” or why they hesitate to give you the benefit of their wisdom regarding correspondences, and why they won’t litanize a run-down of the uses for every weed in your yard.

It’s okay; don’t feel self-conscious. We’ve all been there. Or, at least, I have been there, so I totally understand what you are going through. Everything seems shiny and new, like you’re looking at it through new eyes.

You may suddenly feel connected to your environment in a way you didn’t before, or you may think you sense things from other humans that you never sensed before (clinging astral nasties are particularly popular) . You may start talking about ‘negativity’ with great esteem, as in, “I’ve decided not to hang out with zir anymore, zie was bringing too much negativity into my life”, or “No negativity allowed – we only nurture positive thoughts here!” You’ve come under the conviction that absolutely everything affects absolutely everything else… which it does. But those effects aren’t always significant, and that’s what your fellow practitioners, those who’ve been around a little longer and become a little more jaded (and perhaps a little less jaded…. time can open your eyes to new wonders) have been trying to tell you.

Let me give you a simple example: Some people make a big deal about astrology and about the position of the stars when we are born. The view of the stars at different times of the year is supposed to affect everything from your temperament to your ultimate destiny. Note that I’m not calling astrology a crock of bull because I don’t believe it is, but when you drop a hot pan on your foot, that doesn’t mean the stars are misaligned and out to get you. From a purely physics-centered standpoint the effect of distant stars on human physiology is so small as to not be worth charting – if we calculate the force of Mars’ gravity specifically on you at the time of your birth, if you are an Aries, we find that the force of gravity from the midwife who delivered you would be 150 times greater (source below, read it, it’s fascinating) .

Likewise, the light that may have been shed upon you by the planet Mars IF you were born outside under a clear sky and perfect visibility conditions would still be much less than the fluorescent lights that probably shone down on you when you were delivered indoors, in a hospital. So the question is less, “Can the constellations of the moment of my birth effect me in any way?” and more “Can the constellations at the moment of my birth effect me in any way that would reasonably be noticeable when compared to all the other forces (light, gravity, electricity, heat, friction, ) which were also having effects on me at the time?” You have to find your own answer to that (and if your answer is ‘yes’ the next question is ‘how?’) , but the point is, you have to have some perspective.

Now, perspective is a tough thing to get hold of. Time is the most reliable way – the longer you live, the more things you see, the greater your perspective can grow. But time isn’t the only way of gaining perspective – some people live 110 years and never get their heads out of their own asses, and some people have lived 17 years and passionately try to ease the systemic injustices of the greater, wider world. Exposure helps, having someone who’ll talk to you about how things affect other things and why that matters, or being able to listen to people who are affected talk about their experiences. You can increase your own exposure, and I highly encourage every new witch and Pagan to do this, because you can’t go wrong by listening – just make sure your critical thinking skills are being applied to what you hear.

You should be open-minded, but you don’t have to be credulous.

When someone makes a claim, you should be asking questions: who, what, where, when, why, can this effect be reproduced, can it be controlled, how does it work under other circumstances, can it be reproduced using different techniques. We are talking personal gnosis here, which doesn’t always get along well with rigorous scientific inquiry, but the point is to experiment. Test conclusions. Test techniques. Examine what’s presented to you.

Question your teachers. Question peoples’ claims. Develop your own belief about sympathetic magic and correspondence theories, and whether the innate nature of a thing, whether it’s an herb, a stone, or a person, can override or be subsumed by the forces that thing is subjected to in the course of its life. If a piece of rose quartz is improperly mined using slave labor, does it still resonate with love? If the wedding ring worn by your ancestress and passed down through her finger was worn by her when she died violently, is it ‘clean’ enough to make a reliable pendulum? Will a scrying mirror you buy for a high price in a new age store work as well as one you make with a piece of convex glass and black nail polish? Does it matter as long as you cleanse and dedicate the tool yourself?

You can find out these things by testing them. Until you’ve tested them, don’t make claims. Trust me, if you apply that simple rule to all of your magical practice, your fellow practitioners will be MUCH happier with you. That is, the ones who bother testing claims and examining critically.

This is probably a bright and wonderful time in your life (or, conversely, it may be a terrifying and paranoid time in your life) , and I understand how exciting it is to feel like you can see all kinds of connections that weren’t there before. But another part of having perspective is fitting yourself into the grand scheme of things in a way that isn’t self-aggrandizing, and makes sense.

If you’ve dedicated yourself to Loki and now you think he follows you around hiding your keys and making snarky comments about people in the mall, ask yourself why. Ask yourself, ‘does this really make sense considering who Loki is – not just a mischief-maker and king of sass, but also a DEITY, a JOTUN, someone of immense power who, incidentally, is chained up under the foundations of the earth, whose agony and insanity make it tremble when he’s in pain, who is destined to bring about the greatest catastrophic event in his mythos? Likewise Apollo governs the blazing sun, the source of light and life on our planet, which must rise and set each day for us all to survive. Do you really think he spends his evenings preening in front of your mirror?

I am not saying that gods and spirits never reach out and touch people. I am not saying they never speak to people, maybe sometimes even about inconsequential things. I am not saying they never take an intense personal interest in one individual’s life – the existence of godspouses would prove me wrong. What I am saying is that even today, these deities have thousands of devotees not to mention their traditional responsibilities and/or portfolio, and you are only one worshipper. So, especially when you are starting out, it’s important to keep that in perspective – I am only one worshipper, I am only one witch. There is more going on here than just me. And perhaps most importantly, the greatest actor upon my future and my development as a magical person is myself.

Also, as you explore, you will encounter all kinds of entities from all kinds of cultures… demons, daemons, spirits, kami, faeries, free-range repeaters, and so on. People around you who follow specific cultural paths will use words you don’t understand to describe how they interact with the supernatural or the unseen. It’s wonderful and fascinating to learn about all these new things, but it’s important to keep in mind that aspects of a culture may not be lifted from that culture and appropriated for your use. This is what people mean when they refer to ‘cultural appropriation’ – they mean that it’s inappropriate and disrespectful to take pieces of a culture or mythos you know nothing about and claim to ‘use’ them for your own benefit without understanding the real people who lived in that culture or having their permission to use those elements.

Some traditions are culturally ‘closed’, others are open, so it is important to treat every culture you learn about with respect and examine your practice with discernment. I know everything is new and wonderfully shiny, and you don’t mean any disrespect by dipping your toes in, but some things are not yours to take or to use, and it’s important to be respectful of that. Listen to the people who belong to that culture; seek them out and be respectful when they speak. If they tell you their practices are not for you, back off. If they advise you may practice only after you have participated in cultural immersion and extended study under a reliable teacher, then that is what you must do in order to be respectful. Deities, spirits, and ancestral ghosts that belong to a particular culture do not usually look kindly on someone who does not treat that culture with honor. They will remember someone who is both ignorant and arrogant, and so will the people.

A new Pagan or a new Witchling may attract some attention from forces around them. Spirits may want to get to you before you’ve learned to be cautious. Other entities may want to deceive you into thinking they’re someone else just because they can, and you haven’t learned yet how to tell whether they’re lying. Some entities may just want to whirl around you in a celebratory dance, blow up your skirts, tip over your flowerpots, and maybe hide your keys. The world is a many-splendored place. That’s why reaching out and learning about it is so important – and critically examining what you learn is even more important.

So, rather than attributing every occasion in your life to forces beyond your control, or searching for the meaning in the arrangement of spaghetti-O’s in your bowl, remember that you are just one person moving through a vast and magnificent multi-verse, it’s not all about you, and you have just set out on an adventure, so you had best find some good guides and an even better towel.

 

Footnotes: Neil Degrasse Tyson – http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/1994/05/01/horrorscope

Forging Your Own Path: My Journey

Forging Your Own Path: My Journey

Author:   Bear Stormcrowe 

Ever since I was a wee lad, I knew that I had a special relationship with Mother Earth and the elements around me. I always had this magnetic attraction to all things mystical, offbeat, and natural. I remember quite well the times I used to ‘trick’ my parents into buying trees from the Arbor Day Foundation in order to plant them as an homage to Mother Gaia. I would sit outside and plant them, whispering softly to the planet; “Here you go. Thank you for giving us what you give us.”

When my family finally got the Internet, I remember sneaking onto my computer at night; silently hoping the dial-up connection sounds wouldn’t stir my family. It was there that my journey began. I searched earth-based religions high and low…and I came to the realization: I’m a Witch.

I had always been more mature than others of my age group, and since my epiphany I’ve referred to myself as a Natural Witch. I began seriously pursuing the Well-Worn Path soon after that epiphany and started my path as a solitary practitioner in full force. At the time, I was still green on the subject of Witchcraft, even though I was naturally inclined to it; So, I began researching books from the library and following their paths and their beliefs but something didn’t feel quite right. In any religion, a personal means of practicing helps you get that more personal connection with your deity. In my case, it was multiple deities but namely, Lugh and Danu. It was then I realized that I could forge my own path…my own solitary journey.

Since beginning my own personal journey, following the rules of the Wicca, and showing reverence to my amazing deities, I found my connection and my own personal practice. When it came to Sabbats I followed a loosely based outline but added my own flair in the mix, it all worked just the same if not better because all of my mind, body, and spirit were put into my craft. I came “out of the broom closet”, so to speak, to my friends in high school—then to my friends and professors in college.

After much networking and a twist of fate I owe all to the God and Goddess, I met a woman who is now my fiancée and a group of friends with whom I created a small active coven. They were all well seasoned in the Craft already but I found myself answering their questions with a knowledge I had no idea was hiding deep within me. The advice and techniques I offered proved a success and I realized that I had an even deeper calling: High Priestdom. After meeting and discussing the future of the coven, they all agreed unanimously that they felt I would take the high priest position and honor it well.

So, what’s the point of this story? You ask. In my personal experience I’ve found that crafting your own spells and following the path that your heart and soul vibrates well with yields better results. In my case, a closer connection to the deities I’ve aligned myself with.

How do you find your own path? The simplest way to do it is follow your heart. However, if you are unsure of what your heart is telling you here are some simple techniques that have helped me when the answers my heart had given didn’t really satisfy my spirit.

Meditation: Simple two-step meditation works wonders.

The First Step is to open sacred space. This is the brief equivalent of casting a circle. How I open sacred space is by grounding and centering me then I say:

“By the Grace and Power of the Great Ones, Within and Without, I allow love to enter this space, but keep evil and ill intent out.”

Your sacred space is now open. Feel free to change the invocation of positive energies to something of your liking.

The Second Step is to clear your mind of all things but your question at hand. This takes a lot of practice so do this on a day that has been relatively uneventful if at all possible. Clearing your mind and focusing on your own path and what fits just right for your individual Witchiness should yield some result the first few times you try it.

Scrying: Using a scrying mirror or bowl is another way to get some answers. Be prepared to look deep into the mirror/bowl for some time. As with most divination arts, symbols are left to the diviner to interpret so have a notebook and writing utensil (or computer for those tech-savvy Witches) to record the symbols for interpretation after the scrying session. It’s been my experience to wait until the end of the session to interpret symbols and messages because if you take your focus to one symbol, you may miss other important ones. Once you’ve finished scrying, interpret symbols, make connections, and have fun with it.

To end this article, I’d like to say that if you follow a set path founded by someone else and you feel at home in that path, then by all means continue on the path you are most comfortable with. You may get things from different paths in order to forge your own way. That is perfectly acceptable. It’s all what feels right to each individual witch.

I write this article in the light of Lugh and Danu and with love to all of my fellow Pagans and Earth-Children. May bright blessing and prosperity come your way and as always—Blessed Be.

-Adam Osborne (Sacred Magick)
Eclectic Pagan, High Priest, and Lightworker.

Beyond Wicca 101

Beyond Wicca 101

Author:   Talma Stormphoenix 

One of this month’s topics is Wicca 101 and the complaints about all the books that are about it. The thing is if you’re going to complain about something then you have to know what’s wrong with it. So let’s start at the beginning. What is Wicca 101 and what does it cover. I’m sure everyone knows but just humor me on this and lets get a basic run down of just what Wicca 101 is.

Some of the things you get in some books a smattering of Witch history. You know, the cavemen doing their rituals to ensure the success of the hunt and there is very often a discussion of the burning times. The why behind the Witch burnings and tortures not just the when and who. There is also a discussion about the clothes that you can/need to wear or not wear (depending on the trad) along with a discussion on jewelry that can be worn and what can’t (watches). Another big part of Wicca 101 are your color correspondences. This covers what color your clothing (if you’re wearing any) should be and also the colors of candles and other stuff. We can’t forget the gems because of their vibrational properties and what they are best used for. Herbs can be one of the healing Witch’s best tools. You could go buy them but what about growing them yourself? (hey don’t worry if you don’t have a green thumb just go to the store!) Proper meditation techniques have to include opening up your chakras (of course). And we can’t forget our divination tools and techniques.

There are so many tools to choose from here I could possibly list them all but as we all know some of the best known are the tarot, runes, numerology, palmistry, tea leaves I ching and scrying. That last one includes crystal balls and fire, not necessarily together. We can’t forget sacred space. The place you do ritual can be conductive or destructive to your magickal work so it’s important to have peace and quiet so you won’t be disturbed. Dedications, rituals and circle casting, this could be considered the core of magickal teaching. First you dedicate yourself to the God and/or Goddess then you design your ritual and cast your circle to do ritual. Oh yeah did you pick your pantheon yet? I’m just kidding. As you can see there are many things that are included in Wicca 101 and if you’re like me you have a couple Wicca 101 books and could back in ten minutes to tell me what all I forgot but I’m hoping you see the point I’m trying to make. If Wicca 101 covers so much what on Gaia’s green earth could Wicca 201 cover and who would be experienced enough to write the books?!

The answer is this. The books are already here and written but there are people who are just looking for an easy ride up the Wiccan education ladder. (groaning from the gallery) What, did you think there was some magickal secret that I had? I’m sorry you feel like you got ripped off but if that’s the way you feel then I’m sorry but it’s going to get a whole lot worse for you.

This is how I see it. Wicca 201 is here and has been here. There are folks out there who are already doing Wicca 201 and just haven’t realized it yet. There are others that just want to to jump to the end of the book so to speak so they can talk about what they know to anyone and everyone who will listen. They want to read these books and not do the work that goes into doing magick. The one’s who are trying to get a quick fix are in for a rude awakening because if you thought Wicca 101 was hard you ain’t seen nothing yet! Now don’t get upset and start jumping up and down in your seat now. Hear me out and I’ll explain just why Wicca 201 is already here.

We’ve just taken a glance at some of what makes Wicca 101 so it should really be obvious as to what Wicca 201 is. Okay, if Wicca 101 is like a basic introduction to everything it’s like going to a clothing store and finding the clothes that fit you and look the best. You and your best friends could go out to find a new outfit to wear to the club on Friday but just because you picked out the lime green hip huggers with silver glitter and a matching top doesn’t mean that they’re going to get the same thing. Friend A may not feel that the color just isn’t her and she opts for the pink one with the gold The second friend looks doesn’t go for either. She goes for the basic little black dress. Wicca 101 is the club but the outfits are Wicca 201.

Everyone starts out with basically the same education of magick. You find out just what’s out there and as you learn you find yourself drifting toward certain subjects that appeal to you. You say ‘Hey I like gardening so I’ll be great at using herbs’ but your best friend kills anything green she touches or maybe you were curious and bought a tarot deck and became very good at using it other folks go for the Runes as their tool of choice. The thing is most people have already delved into Wicca 201. All Wicca 201 is are the advanced studies of whatever has become your study of choice. I love the tarot. I have been doing it for almost seven years but if you asked me to use runes I’m going to need the book! I also have a love of plants and am slowly moving into herbs and other plants so my newest books is Cunninghams’s encyclopedia of herbs but I know I won’t be stopping there. I live in the northeast and luckily I live near a park that’s big enough support a nice array of wild life big (mule and white tail deer) and small (moles, squirrels etc.) This is Wicca 201. Working to perfect your skills and come closer to finding deity however you view it.

Samhain Spirit Incense

Samhain Spirit Incense

By , About.com

Spirits In The Smoke

By the time Samhain rolls around, your herb garden is probably looking pretty sad. Now’s the time to take all those goodies you harvested and dried in September, and put them to good use. This incense blend is perfect for a Samhain séance, divination session, or for any other autumn working.

This recipe is for loose incense, but you can adapt it for stick or cone recipes. As you mix and blend your incense, focus on the goal of your work. Do you wish to contact the spirit of a long-dead ancestor? Are you hoping to bring some visions your way in a dream? Or are you maybe looking to enhance your own meditative abilities? Focus your intent as you blend your ingredients.

You’ll need:

 

  • 2 parts Cinnamon
  • 1 part ground cloves
  • 1 part Dragon’s Blood resin
  • 1 part Hyssop
  • 1 part Patchouli
  • 2 parts Rosemary
  • 1 part Sage
  • A dash of sea salt

Add your ingredients to your mixing bowl one at a time. Measure carefully, and if the leaves or blossoms need to be crushed, use your mortar and pestle to do so. As you blend the herbs together, state your intent. You may find it helpful to charge your incense with an incantation. For example, if you were going to use your incense during a seance, you could use this:

The veil has thinned, the moon is bright and I blend this magic on Samhain night. Celebrating life and death and rebirth with these herbs I’ve harvested from the earth. I send my intent by smoke in the air and call on those whose blood I share. I ask my ancestors to guide and watch over me, As I will, so it shall be.

Store your incense in a tightly sealed jar. Make sure you label it with its intent and name, as well as the date you created it. Use within three months, so that it remains charged and fresh.

Samhain Ancestor Meditation

Samhain Ancestor Meditation

Calling Upon the Ancient Ones

By , About.com

A Time of Darkness

Samhain is known as the night when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. It’s a time to sit back and honor the spirit world, and call upon those ancestors who came before us. After all, if not for them, we wouldn’t be here. We owe them something, some gratitude for their ability to survive, their strength, their spirit. Many Wiccans and Pagans choose Samhain as a time to honor their ancestors. If this is something you’d like to do, you can celebrate with a ritual or by hosting a seance or dumb supper in their honor:

In addition to these more formal rituals, you may also want to take some time alone for a quiet meditation. This is a point in the Wheel of the Year when the spirit world is a bit closer than normal, and if you’ve never tried to contact your ancestors before, now is a good time to do it.

When performing an ancestor meditation, people experience different things. You may find yourself meeting a specific person that you are aware of in your family history — maybe you’ve heard the stories about great-uncle Joe who went out west after the Civil War, and now you have the privilege of chatting with him, or perhaps you’ll meet the grandmother who passed away when you were a child. Some people, however, meet their ancestors as archetypes. In other words, it may not be a specific individual you meet, but rather a symbol — instead of adventurous great-uncle Joe, it may be a non-specific Civil War soldier or frontiersman. Either way, understand that meeting these individuals is a gift. Pay attention to what they say and do — it may be that they’re trying to give you a message.

Setting the Mood

Before you perform this meditation, it’s not a bad idea to spend some time with the tangible, physical aspects of your family. Bring out the old photo albums, read through wild Aunt Tillie’s diary from the Great Depression, get out your grandfather’s old pocket watch that almost sank with the Titanic. These are the material things that connect us to our family. They link us, magically and spiritually. Spend time with them, absorbing their energies and thinking of the things they’ve seen, the places they’ve been.

You can perform this ritual anywhere, but if you can do it outside at night it’s even more powerful. Decorate your altar (or if you’re outside, use a flat stone or tree stump) with the symbols of your ancestors — the photos, journals, war medals, watches, jewelry, etc. No candles are necessary for this meditation, but if you’d like to light one, do so. You may also want to burn some Samhain spirit incense.

Claiming Your Birthright

Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Think about who you are, and what you are made of, and know that everything within you is the sum of all your ancestors. From thousands of years ago, generations of people have come together over the centuries to create the person you are now. Think about your own strengths — and weaknesses — and remember that they came from somewhere. This is a time to honor the ancestors who formed you.

Recite your genealogy — aloud if you like — as far back as you can go. As you say each name, describe the person and their life. An example might go something like this:

I am the daughter of James, who fought in Vietnam and returned to tell the tale. James was the son of Eldon and Maggie, who met on the battlefields of France, as she nursed him back to health.    Eldon was the son of Alice, who sailed aboard Titanic and survived. Alice was the daughter of Patrick and Molly, who farmed the soil of Ireland, who raised horses and tatted lace to feed the children…

and so forth. Go back as far as you like, elaborating in as much detail as you choose. Once you can go back no further, end with “those whose blood runs in me, whose names I do not yet know”.

If you happened to meet a certain ancestor, or their archetype, during your meditation, take a moment to thank them for stopping by. Take note of any information they may have given you — even if it doesn’t make sense just now, it may later on when you give it some more thought. Think about all the people you come from, whose genes are part of you. Some were great people — some, not so much, but the point is, they all belong to you. They all have helped shape and create you. Appreciate them for what they were, with no expecations or apologies, and know that they are watching over you.

How To Celebrate the Cycle of Life and Death At Samhain

How To Celebrate the Cycle of Life and Death

By

Samhain is a time like no other, in that we can watch as the earth literally dies for the season. Leaves fall from the trees, the crops have gone brown, and the land once more becomes a desolate place. However, at Samhain, when we take the time to remember the dead, we can take time to contemplate this endless cycle of life, death, and eventual rebirth.

Here’s How:

  1. For this ritual, you’ll want to decorate your altar with symbols of life and death. You’ll want to have on hand a white candle and a black one, as well as black, red, and white ribbon in equal lengths (one set for each participant). Finally, you’ll need a few sprigs of rosemary.

    Perform this rite outside if at all possible. If you normally cast a circle, do so now.

  2. Say:

    Samhain is here, and it is a time of transitions. The winter approaches, and the summer dies. This is the time of the Dark Mother, a time of death and of dying. This is the night of our ancestors and of the Ancient Ones.

    Place the rosemary on the altar. If you are doing this as a group ceremony, pass it around the circle before placing on the altar. Say:

    Rosemary is for remembrance, and tonight we remember those who have lived and died before us, those who have crossed through the veil, those who are no longer with us. We will remember.

  3. Turn to the north, and say:

    The north is a place of cold, and the earth is silent and dark. Spirits of the earth, we welcome you, knowing you will envelope us in death.

    Turn to face the east, and say:

    The east is a land of new beginnings, the place where breath begins. Spirits of air, we call upon you, knowing you will be with us as we depart life.

  4. Face south, saying:

    The south is a land of sunlight and fire, and your flames guide us through the cycles of life. Spirits of fire, we welcome you, knowing you will transform us in death.

    Finally, turn to face the west, and say:

    The west is a place of underground rivers, and the sea is a never-ending, rolling tide. Spirits of water, we welcome you, knowing you will carry us through the ebbs and flows of our life. 

  5. Light the black candle, saying:

    The Wheel of the Year turns once more, and we cycle into darkness.

    Next, light the white candle, and say:

    At the end of that darkness comes light. And when it arrives, we will celebrate once more.

  6. Each person takes a set of ribbons — one white, one black, and one red. Say:

    White for life, black for death, red for rebirth. We bind these strands together remembering those we have lost.

    Each person should then braid or knot their three ribbons together. As you do so, focus on the memories of those you have lost in your life.

  7. While everyone is braiding or knotting, say:

    Please join me in chanting as you work your energy and love into your cords:

As the corn will come from grain,
All that dies will rise again.
As the seeds grow from the earth,
We celebrate life, death and rebirth.

When everyone has finished braiding and chanting, take a moment to meditate on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Is there someone you know who reminds you of a person you’ve lost? Have you ever looked into a baby’s eyes and seen your late grandfather looking back?

Finally, ask everyone to take their knotted ribbons home with them and place them on their personal altar if they have one. That way, they can be reminded of their loved ones each time they pass by.

  1. Finally, ask everyone to take their knotted ribbons home with them and place them on their personal altar if they have one. That way, they can be reminded of their loved ones each time they pass by.

Tips:

  1. Rosemary is used in this rite because although it seems to go dormant over the winter, if you keep it in a pot you’ll get new growth in the spring. If there’s another plant you’d rather use, feel free.

What You Need

  • Ribbon in black, red and white
  • A white candle and a black one
  • Rosemary

Your Charm for October 25th is Pisces The Fish

Your Charm for Today


Today’s Meaning:   

This aspect of your life will be strongly influenced by a person who is imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, kind, selfless, unworldly, intuitive and sympathetic. This person could be merely an acquaintance who has influence with people in your circle.

General Description:

Twelfth sign of the Zodiac, Feb 19th to March 20th. Ruled by the planet Jupiter; correct metal, Tin. Those born under the influence of Pisces were believed to be highly emotional, imaginative, observant, artistic, musical, precise and prudent. The gem for Pisces is the Amethyst, whose occult properties were firmly believed in by the ancients. The Egyptians wore these stones as amulets against witchcraft, and for success in their undertakings. The Amethyst is also called The Bishops Stone from its supposed soothing influence, imparting a pious calm in time of danger. The stone was believed to confer happiness on the newly married.

Let’s Talk Witch – Who’s Who?

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Who’s Who?

By the way, it’s good to remember that a male Witch or Wiccan is not called a warlock. He is a Witch or Wiccan, too. “Warlock” derived from an Old English word for “oath breaker;” later, during the mid-1400’s, the word came to mean liar (whether a person was male or female). So to call a male witch a warlock is a nasty insult.

The words “wizard” and “sorcerer” can be used for a man or a woman. “Wizard” derives from a term meaning “wise,” and “sorcerer” means “witch” or “diviner.” Writers Gerald Gardner and Sir James Frazier are commonly given credit for coining the term Wiccan and kick-starting the modern movement in the 1950s. The word “magician” is also appropriate for both sexes and for both Witches and Wiccans.

Zoroaster, in ancient Persia, taught priests called magi who relied heavily on astrology as an art. The “wise men” mentioned in the Christmas story are sometimes referred to as magi–they gained knowledge of Jesus’s birth by watching the stars. Depending on the cultural setting, magician came to mean people adept in astrology, sorcery, or other magickal arts. Note that the word magick in Witchcraft is spelled with “k” to differentiate it from the stage magick (or sleight of hand).

It should be notes that Wicca and Witchcraft share some of the core concepts and Practitioners use some of the same tools. However, witches come a wide array of schools, belief systems, and traditions of magick that is distinct and unique as they are.