Tag: Wicca

Put The Book Down!

Put The Book Down!

Author: Siantia

I quarrel about the meaning of the term ‘Wicca’ or ‘Pagan’. I argue over the rules and structures of the various ‘Wiccan paths’. I label myself with the correct label for my position in the craft and demand others do the same. I adhere to set structures and rituals and judge those that do not. I look to occult figures to gather my instructions on how to worship my Goddess and God. I rely on another human being to give me permission to have a spiritual identity. Does this sound like you? If you have ticked any of the ‘boxes’ above then I urge you to read this article. But I’m warning you – there are no labels here for you. No man/woman to tell you the rules of your religion and no words given to you to describe what you are.

How many books on Wicca/Witchcraft/Paganism and any others of a similar nature do you own?

How many of these books have rituals for you to follow, incantations for you to recite and sabbats for you to adhere to?

How many people do you know that say you MUST be in a coven, or you MUST do that or you HAVE TO think this way?

How often, when engaging in a Wiccan/Magickal discussion or argument have you opened your most prestigious Wiccan book to read the answer and then quoted it and sat back happily knowing you must have won the argument because you used the words of an occult icon?

Quarrels about rules and words feature so strongly in Wicca/Witchcraft, everyone has their own opinion and everyone seems to have their biography of Gerald Gardner or Alex Sanders at the ready to use if the argument gets tough. But I ask you – where is your Goddess and God when you are debating this and arguing about that and proclaiming you know more than this person about that subject?

How many times do you put your book down, step away from the laws of your coven, stop listening to the ‘more experienced’ Witch and look inside your heart to talk to your Mother and Father? What do you think they would tell you about all these rules, paths and words?

“Quarrelling about words only serves to ruin those who listen to them” is one of my favorite quotes, and one I read often when I find myself almost getting involved in an argument. There is no piece of information so grand that you need to quarrel and argue over it. There is no right so right that has not come directly from The Goddess and God. I urge people to put their books down and to talk to the source that can give them all the knowledge they’re looking for. It starts by looking inside yourself and not at your favorite author; once you have looked inside yourself you find the Goddess and the God were there all along.

When you next meet someone that refers to him/herself using certain labels, or when you next are involved in a conversation about the rules of a Wiccan ritual ask the goddess and the god to show you the truth of these man-made creations. Listen and feel what you receive. What do you think your Goddess and God would say to the people arguing over the exact meaning of the term Wiccan? What do you think they would say to the couple trying to win the argument about the importance of initiation? Do you think our loving Mother and Father would see the relevance or importance of any of this?

When you feel afraid that something you are doing is not correct, who are you afraid of? The person who wrote the book you are following? The high priestess of the coven you have just joined? Or the judgmental ‘experienced’ witches you socialize with? Out of all the people you are afraid will judge you if you are not adhering to the label you have been given (or have given yourself) do you think any of them have the authority or power to say anything? Do you believe a man or a woman has more knowledge about The Goddess and The God than the Goddess and The God themselves? And do you believe that anyone but yourself can find the right answer to your problems?

Put the book down, and while you’re at it socialize with less rigid people. We are our own masters, because all of us are children of our Mother and Father. No matter what words you read in books, no matter what ‘high’ priest/ess tells you – no being knows more than The Goddess and God. It is to them you should talk, not to ‘man’.

Religion can be a beautiful life choice that makes your incarnation more colorful and interesting; a way of life that inspires you and makes you feel fulfilled as a human experiencing the Earth, knowing deep inside that it is a creation of man and that simple love of your creators will always triumph. Is this you? Or have you become so consumed with your chosen label, so consumed with the words and their meanings that you have forgotten the simplicity of the universe? What is it they say we have here? Ah yes – free will.

Perhaps you feel your religion and structure, fine details and correct interpretation of words are still important to you? Perhaps you feel that the Goddess and God are with you on that, and they wouldn’t like you to throw away labels and boxes? Then, debate away. Open your forum and join with everyone else that wants words to be important. Words have power after all!

I will go and sit beside the Goddess and The God and we shall watch you in your hall of right and wrong. When you are ready…put the book down, and see what the Goddess and God has to discuss with you.

Merry Meet to all the masters of themselves.

 

Footnotes:
*This article is intended for thought provoking and not direct insult. The opinions expressed are my own and so of course are not being imposed or ordered onto anyone else. Live and let live after all.

Lady A’s Spell of the Day for Oct. 4th – Clear The Air

Clear The Air Ritual

An argument or upsetting experience has left bad vibes in your living space. To rid your home of disruptive energy, perform this cleansing ritual.

What you will need:

  • A broom
  • A bowl
  • Water
  • Sea salt
  • Sage (bundled, loose or incense)
  • A fireproof holder that you can carry easily
  • Matches

Best time to perform this ritual: Any time

If possible, open the windows and doors. Start sweeping your home with a broom – not just the floor, but the air as well. Wave the broom through the entire area, side to side, up and down, until you feel you’ve whisked away the emotional dirt. Sprinkle a little in each corner of your home, then flick some water in the center of each room.

Finally, put the sage into the holder and light it. Blow out the flames and let it smoke. Carry the burning sage from room to room, allowing its cleansing smoke to clear the air and restore peace to your home.

Encounter with an Ancient God

Encounter with an Ancient God

 

by Janice Van Cleve

As Samhain night approaches, our Women of the Goddess circle quickens into high gear. We collect old mattresses, blankets and cushions. We buy cases of garbage bags and rolls of duct tape. Don’t forget the red candles! We haul, we clean, we make architectural decisions on the fly. For this is the time of the year when we transform a simple basement into the Underworld.

We are so excited! On Samhain night we gather in silence, black-robed and -caped, in the living room. No lights shine nor music plays. No conversation passes between us. One candle only illuminates the room as we wait in nervous anticipation. At the stroke of the hour, the hostess rises to lock the door. Then she bids us line up at the head of the stairs and descend, one by one, as we are called.

Save for flickering votives in colored glass strategically placed here or there, the narrow passages of the Underworld are pitch black. Garbage bags by day become unearthly living walls at night. As we carefully feel our way through the maze, we encounter the Dark Goddess in several of her forms. She may appear to us as Hecate, Kali, Baba Yaga or Erishkigal. She may appear as the Fates, the Norns or as sorceresses and witches. Each challenges us before she admits us past her portal. At last, we all arrive in the Underworld chamber and conduct our rites, thankful for the cushions and other items that give us some comfort from the cold stone floor.

I am as excited as the rest, but my appreciation of the Samhain rites this year will be undeniably affected by an encounter I had in another underworld last month in faraway Peru. I was in Peru for an archeological expedition to various Inca and pre-Inca sites. One of many we visited was Chavin de Huantar, a mysterious temple complex hidden in a steep valley on the Amazon side of the Andes. The Chavin culture exerted enormous influence throughout the region of Peru about 400 BCE, around the time that Rome was just beginning. In the Americas, the Chavin invented the weaving of cotton and wool, engineering with stone and massive architecture. The complex itself is a combination of huge three-story block buildings and large sunken courtyards. The exterior of the buildings was originally decorated with carved heads and painted red. However, it was the interiors that I found most fascinating.

Inside the solid mass of stone were corridors, passageways and rooms in a series of underworld labyrinths. They were ingeniously constructed so that water was drained out and fresh air circulated in through small vents that tunneled through the rock to the outside wall. Linking the rooms were galleries with modern fanciful names such as Gallery of the Captives, Gallery of the Bats and Gallery of the Madman. Just enough electric lighting is installed to present the outlines of the chambers without taking away from their shadowy quality. It was in one of these underworld corridors that I encountered The Lanzon.

The Lanzon is an imposing idol of carved stone some 15 feet tall. It stands in a narrow chamber barely large enough to hold it. Passages less high extend in all four directions from the midpoint of this chamber so the viewer can see only the head and midsection of the idol. A gate prevents visitors from approaching too close. Light filters in from cleverly contrived roof openings above the statue, bathing it in a surreal glow.

The idol itself is a curiously rendered icon, etched into a smooth, wedge-shaped granite prism whose angle faces the viewer. The figure is of an anthropoid being with snakes for hair and fat smiling lips that display a proud set of finely spaced teeth and two fanged incisors. Long sharp fingernails grace its hands; the left one hanging at its side and the right raised as if in greeting. On its head is a tall crown of feline heads, and from its ears hang huge round pendants. Set edge-on to the visitor, the whole work cannot be appreciated at once, but only the portion in view from the corridor. From that position, one or other of the idol’s baleful eyes looks directly at you.

“It’s just an old stone,” I said to myself. But it wasn’t. It was a real idol. To it had been sacrificed human lives, their blood splattered all over the corridor where I stood. Into it had been fused human energy and power, and these I could still feel from it even after all the intervening centuries. It was strange and eerie to be aware of this undead presence, to acknowledge it and yet not be part of it. The Lanzon was the god of a people long past, not my god, yet worthy and real for the human potency with which they imbued it. It disquieted me, yet I felt a respect for it that was different from my own traditions, but for all that no less valid.

So as I approach this Samhain and prepare to enter the Underworld we will create, I am a bit more aware that there are deities and beings in the darkness beyond my ken. They are different. I don’t understand them. I don’t even know them. Yet they do exist, and as the veil between the worlds draws thin this night, I realize my view must be broader and open to the unexpected. No matter how many times I celebrate these rituals and how many roles I take, they still present a mystery. And now, because of my encounter with The Lanzon in its own underworld, I can appreciate the mystery of my own that much more.

Bring Out Your Dead: Celebrate and Grieve at Samhain

Bring Out Your Dead: Celebrate and Grieve at Samhain

by Freya Ray

Sometimes it seems the past is this great labyrinthine thing, infecting, affecting, even overshadowing the present. When you’re “doing your work,” it’s easy to get stuck in process hell, reliving the painful events of your past. If, on the other hand, you’re busily pretending your past is no longer affecting you, the serpentine tentacles of old behaviors and fears reach out from your subconscious, pushing you to recreate your pain until it can finally be healed.

Quite frankly, both of these extremes suck.

We all have pasts, we all have old pain that needs to be healed. We have all lost friends, loved ones, cherished places and times. We have all had things that brought us joy that are no longer part of our lives. All of us.

Bring out your dead!

There is a middle ground. I don’t mean “therapy light,” or giving lip service to your “issues.” I mean truly honoring and grieving the things you have lost, in their time, and then moving on.

There is a saying that I’m going to mangle, something to the effect that the deeper our pain, the deeper it carves the channels for our joy. Samhain is not the time of year that encourages you to continue in a shallow, placid existence. Samhain is not big on denial or avoidance. Samhain is the time of the dead. The time when the doors between the worlds open.

This is not a trivial moment! It is a spectacular opportunity to bring out your dead. Bring them out! Celebrate their lives, their passings. Honor the good and the bad of what there was. Grieve, rage, and celebrate. All together.

For the worlds are mingling on All Hallows Eve. The worlds are closer, all this month.

Feel the presence of those who have gone, and take this moment to celebrate their passage through your life.

Celebrate.

Grieve.

It is all one; both are the path to truth and beauty. You must explore both of these extremes to be at peace with your past.

To be at peace with what has gone.

Your dead need not be physically dead. They can be dead to you, the relationship shattered. They can be an active part of your life, but some aspect of your relationship is no longer possible. When you think of what you have lost, it may be your innocence, or your childhood home, your first love, your soulmate you’ve never met, the eighties, dependence or independence, being part of a family or a lost pet.

No matter. We have all lost things that were precious.

We move through our lives, full of “I’m fine” and “No big deal.” Or we relive it over and over, complaining about it to anyone who will listen, paying therapists to be our guaranteed audience.

Three things must happen: grieving, celebrating and moving on.

Leave out one of this magical trinity, and it loses its power. You must admit the feelings of pain and loss to get them out of your body. Unshed tears form a wall around your heart like a moat. I can see them when I look at people’s auras. They stay there until you move them out of your body, flowing toward release on your tears.

Celebration cannot be neglected. If you don’t honor the good things brought to your life by something gone, you cannot understand the pain. You cannot embrace the experience as a gift, a lesson. You disempower yourself if you choose to ignore the gifts of any experience in your life. “Poor me, that sucked” is a weak stance. “Yes, that hurt, what a pain in the ass that I had to go through that loss, and yes at the same time I am grateful for the gifts the experience has brought me” is a powerful stance.

“It was my experience, you cannot take it from me. You cannot convince me that I am a lesser person for having lost that thing I cherished. I made no mistakes. I chose my path, as the best path for my growth.”

And then moving on. That’s why we have the seasons, the cyclic energies of the planet. The larger forces that surround us are here to aid us in releasing that which no longer serves us. The energies will be building, coming to a peak. October 31 is a beautiful night for ritual, for honoring, grieving and releasing that which is gone. That which is dead.

Bring out your dead.

Bring them out! Create an altar honoring those who are gone. Put pictures or mementos of your ancestors on it. Arrange photos of family or friends who have passed. Draw representations of things you have lost — pictures of your feelings about hope vanished, possibility eradicated, love lost, opportunities gone. Bring it all up, let it all out. Put it all there, together, where you can see it.

When you’re done crying…

Stand there and love it. Love it! Love them all, all the things you’ve let go of. Love yourself for being a living, breathing being standing there loving what’s gone. Love the gifts of memory that allow you to cherish beings who no longer have physical form. Love all of life, which teaches us with pain as well as joy.

Love. Decorate your altar with offerings. Choose items from your heritage to honor your ancestors, or borrow freely if you resonate more with another culture. Burn sage, offer pollen or cornmeal, put out cups of whiskey or tea, light a cigar, give chocolate or rice or sweet cakes or honey, arrange fresh flowers.

Allow this altar to be a part of your life for a few days, bringing the lost into your consciousness.

When it is time, let it go. Burn offerings or painful reminders. Burn your drawings of your pain. Send prayers of gratitude and good wishes for the departed off wherever prayers go. Send your ex your blessings.

Release, release, release.

When your tears are done, when the time of grieving and celebrating the past is done, let it go. Dismantle your altar, putting photos back where they belong, giving the offerings to the earth, getting rid of that which no longer serves you.

Release, release, release.

Then bring your attention back to you. Still standing, you. Still breathing, you. Still loving. Take your attention and your power back inside your own body, and embrace this moment. This one moment, when all power is yours. When all choice is yours.

And move forward with the living.

Freya Ray is a professional psychic, shaman, writer, and teacher.

Cellphone Magick

In today’s world, it might seem strange to think of someone not owning a cell phone, and it probably seems equally bizarre for a phone to be associated with magick and casting spells? So it may surprise some people to learn that high-tech gadgets and gizmos do have a very important place in a modern witch’s toolbox.

Although there are some eccentric witches out there who still brew steaming potions in remote corners of forests, they really are quite a rare sight these days. We’ve gone mainstream, and most of us have cell phones. I remember when I purchased my first mobile phone some years ago, even before I’d figured out how to call someone, I was seeking ways in which I could use the device magickally. It didn’t take me long to figure out that by transmitting my desires over the cellular network, I could turn all of my wishes into reality.

I can’t take all the credit for this new way of spell-making. My trusted friend and coauthor, Shawn, helped me to try out many different ways of weaving together these contemporary spells, and after a few months of experimenting we figure out how to make the cell phone work to our advantage.

It’s all in the power and intent of the message. We know, for example, that by sending a thought to the universe, we attract the things we desire. Writing spells with pen and paper is a quick and easy way of getting what you want, but because of the energy that powers cell-phone towers and the speed with which we can send and receive texts, sending spells as text messages takes them to the next level.

Another easy aspect of spell texting is that you don’t need candles or any other objects. All you needs is a companion, preferably one who also owns a cell phone and who knows you well enough to recognize that you are not completely mad! This person doesn’t necessarily have to have any magickal know-how, just as long as they are open-minded and eager to experiment. In the past, I have known some witches wo do this process alone by using two mobile devices, but in my opinion the spells work best if you actually enlist the help of another person.

A Modern-Day White Witch’s Guide
Wiccapedia
Shawn Robbins & Leanna Greenaway

Neo-Paganism: What is it?

Neo-Paganism: What is it?

Author: Crick

Neo-Paganism. What is it?

There is an old adage that no one is an island unto himself or herself. Which I believe is a prelude to the adage that misery loves company.

As a witch I walk this world as one who truly feels alone. Am I an island? Absolutely not, just a tired old soul who sees the world as it truly is.

I see the same level of hypocrisy within the pagan community as I see in the organized religions perhaps because so many who call themselves pagan today were members of those organized religions yesterday. Or perhaps it’s just because people in general tend to be apathetic when it comes to any real effort to grow spiritually.

I see the same insecurities in folks regardless of their chosen beliefs. By insecurities I refer to the way that folks claim to be individuals and yet they live and die each day by what others are doing and/or say. Such folks spend more of their time making judgments about others then they do asking how they can better themselves spiritually.

And so in general, we as a species continue to mouth the words and yet do just the opposite.
There are those who claim to be pagan and yet spend most of their time increasing the artificial lifestyle they have created for themselves. They do this knowing full well that such an artificial lifestyle comes at the expense of Mother Gaia. Raping and pillaging Mother Gaia is something that the human species is very adept at. If only so much time and effort were directed at improving the condition of our world. But then to do that we as a species would have to stop being so self centered and selfish and actually live up to the values that we claim to engage.
And so exactly what defines Neo-Paganism in today’s world?

Is it simply a way of being different in ones mind and yet the same in ones actions? Much like the teenager of every single generation who seeks to establish an individual identity even though in all reality they are following the same trail already unfolded before them.

Is Neo-Paganism, which in all reality is a revival of that which existed openly before the advent of organized religion, a true attempt to break away from the established mode of society as it presents itself today?

Do those who call themselves pagan in today’s world have the desire and discipline to break away from the established mindset?

After all, such folks come from a society where no one is to blame, unless it is the other guy who is at fault. They come from a world where the ego seems to reign supreme over human humility. Even though such displays of egotism is simply an acknowledgement of ones personal insecurities.

In some parts of the pagan community, paganism is used to control the hearts and minds of others in much the same way that organized religions attempt to do so. There are certain pagan groups who seek to set themselves as above others who reside under the same pagan umbrella. Is such personal control over others and elitism the definition of Neo-Paganism?

Do folks in today’s mystical society have any established concept of what it is that they believe in as pagans?

Judging from all of the maneuvering to be seen as the “master” by so many who really have no clue, and judging from all of the infighting amongst various pagan individuals and groups, one has to wonder if there is any coherent concept that one could apply to the description; Neo-Pagan.

Such a general concept should apply not only in description but in action as well. Granted there are “individuals” who walk the walk, but these folks are often set upon by those who claim to follow the same tenets as they apply to the general parameters of paganism. And so the hypocrisy continues unabated, for these folks are within the minority of a minority belief system.

And so one has to wonder if Neo-Paganism is truly an effort to establish a nature based belief system which is empowered by a people who actually put forth effort to acquire a higher sense of self. Or is it just a continuation of the same lack of principles and personal discipline that defines modern society, albeit under a different title.

I personally believe that the jury is still out on this last musing. In my personal opinion, if one is to follow the path of paganism in whatever form, then one needs to develop a sense of unbiased honesty. For in my mind, true paganism begins with one’s own spirit. There are no masters in this weary world of ours. We are all simply students of life, each seeking the lessons that befit them. Perhaps once we realize this we can begin the real work of identifying our own faults and worry less about the faults of others. Only then will we be able to separate ourselves from the status quo of today’s world and perhaps then we can add a real meaning to the definition of Neo-Paganism.

Are you one of those who believe that Neo-Paganism is all about Light and Love? Are you being realistic to yourself? For in all reality our pagan ancestors were quite adept at mayhem and war. One has to realize that there has to be dark in order for there to be light. This is polarity in its truest form. And even the various pantheons around the world contain those who were of an unsavory nature. It is how we balance these two aspects that define our lives regardless of which path we choose to follow. But one without the other is simply an empty facade.

In closing, how many hours this past week did you sit in front of a TV or a computer? How many hours this past week did you walk amongst the trees and listen to the birds sing or gaze up at the moon at night with unadulterated love? It is by these simple actions that we as “individuals” contribute to the definition of Neo-Paganism.

Are you content with your contribution?

Samhain Verse

Samhain Verse

Dionysus
by Pat Califia

The grapes must be cut down
Or no one but the bees
Will be drunk next summer.
They are full of juice,
Tight-skinned like the testicles
Of a boy with his first shadowed chin.

The harvesters move, row by row,
Unburdening the vines
And making the bees angry.
The grapes are trampled, then put away
While the darkness works its magic.

Not all harvests are so orderly
Comes a day when chaos pours out
Along with the blood of the grape.
Threshing ground and trampling vat
Are abandoned for a wilder dance
In the green meadows, high on the hills.
Where the elder trees of the forest
Still remember their sisters,
Who once cast their leaves and shadows
Upon the floor of the valley.
The plow may subdue the earth, for now.
But the wilderness remembers its ancient boundaries.

And as the sun goes down, Dionysus appears
To dance among his feral women,
His own life safe
Only as long as they can sieze and rend
Anything else athwart their path –
And the wine holds out.
The dance as if they were trampling
The fruit of the vine,
But the red stain has crept
Much higher than their ankles.
They wear golden bells and the skins of leopards.
The hunt has made them happy at last.

If the women cannot kill the god
Who pretends to direct them,
They will take the head of any man
Who struggles to remain upright
When madness has become a virtue
And everything forbidden is permitted.
Backs straight as if they had forgotten.

A lifetime of toiling over field and stove,
The prancing shrieking women dress
Their fores in ivy and demand
They bend their knees or hit the ground
To service what can never be tamed altogether.

The darkness works its magic.
The grapes must be cut down.
A plowshare may be hammered
From a sword,
And just as easily turned
Once more into a weapon
With enough force, enough heat, and
Hard punches from a hammer.
Women are so dangerous
When they become overheated.

Only the profligate might survive this night
And waken eager to drink
Still more of the grape god’s blood,
To help them forget the fences
That were so easily trampled down
Within the walls of this temperate town.

(Reprinted with permission from Pat Califia’s newest book, Diesel Fuel. Pat Califia’s WWW page address is http://www.patcalifia.com)

The Broom Closet

The Broom Closet
By Ezevia Rose

My friends have brooms
I have one too
They sweep with theirs
I do too

My friends have knives
I have one too
They use it to cut
I do too

My friends have goblets
I have one too
They drink their wine
I do too

My friends have tables
I have one too
They gather round
As I do too

Now they wonder what makes me different?
If they only knew!

My broom’s a besom
My knife an athame
My goblet a chalice
My table an altar

I use them for ritual
I use them each day
I pray to Goddess
Every day

Now you know I am a Witch
They do not
Can they accept it?
Sometimes I fear not

I wish they would
Let me sweep my own way
And say prayers the Matriarch way
The Earth could be happy
And we could be too
This Samhain Night
I pray for them too

By Ezevia Rose

About the Author: Ezevia Rose, 51 is a wife of 28 years, mother of a son 24 and daughter 26 and a grandmother of a 7 1/2 year old, who she says is the spark of her life as are her children. She is also a teacher of young children and owns her own school,(23 years in business and growing) which, she says is not only her livelihood but her life. She is also a singer and an artist, with a B.A. degree in Elem. Ed and Art Ed., she loves animals, reading and gardening, and says musical instruments and books are her vices.

Living a Magickal Life

I ran across the following article several days ago. I have been aiming to share it with you but got busy updating the blog. The article first caught my eye, which is unusual because I seldom read short ones. Then I got to reading it, the article really touched my heart and soul as Samhain approaches. I hope you enjoy it……..

Living a Magickal Life
By Lotus Moonwise

It might seem strange to tell a story about Beltane in an issue about Samhain, but the two go hand in hand. Beltane is about manifesting the Goddess externally, through union with others and the World around us. Samhain is about manifesting Her internally, by going within, connecting with the deepest parts of yourself, and allowing Her messages to come to you
from across the thin veil.

Last Beltane, I was just coming down from an intense “expansion” phase, working hard, making major changes in my life and was feeling uncentered, caught up in a frantic, unnatural pace. I felt like I was going around and around in circles in my mind, feeling so overwhelmed with all I had to get done that I couldn’t get anything done and was beginning to feel more and
more paralyzed and disconnected from my Spirit. I wondered how I was going to find the energy to organize a big Beltane celebration, like I do every year. The more I thought about it, the more I felt sure, I just didn’t have it in me this year. So I threw my hands up in surrender and made the decision to “skip” the Sabbat.

On the Thursday afternoon before the weekend of Beltane, my husband came home and told me he’d gotten a surprise bonus at work. That same day, my friend called and said she was in a jam and needed some money and offered to watch my three kids for the weekend in exchange for the cash she needed. Everything was suddenly in place for a quiet weekend away.

I wanted something in the mountains, near a river. I found this place that looked perfect and I called up the reservation company. It was booked, but they had just had someone call earlier that day to cancel, so had an opening for another house. It was in the mountains, down a dead end dirt road, at the point where two rivers meet. They call it Two Rivers Cottage. We booked it on the spot. What followed was two days and nights of intense, deep quiet, cradled by the one I love with the forest surrounding us like a blanket. We made love by the huge stone hearth, cooked a feast for two, and enjoyed the fullness of silence, together.

As I sat near the hearth, with my tarot cards laid out, Hecate kept coming up – showing me the crossroads. And it hit me when I looked at the image. The two roads… the two rivers….they were just outside my door. I put on my coat and walked outside. I stood at the point where the two rivers converge into one, and heard the message She whispered in my ear : it doesn’t matter which path you choose, it’s all leading you home. I heard the words of a song flow through my heart…”there’s no need for turning back, for all roads lead to where we stand, and I believe we walk them all, no matter what we may have planned.” I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I could relax. I didn’t have to figure everything out right now. It was enough to just be here, in this space with Her, loving myself and loving the moment.

The weekend was magickal. And even though I hadn’t planned anything for this holy day –the Goddess had planned something for me. A weekend of pure, loving union between the God and Goddess, embodied within us and expressed through us in the most natural and effortless way possible.

As Samhain approaches, I reflect on the magick in my life, the gifts from the Goddess, and the sense of trust and allowing that has become the cornerstone of my faith. This time of year, especially, I am reminded how to live a magickal life, day in and day out. Living a magickal life is about allowing the Universe to express itself through you. As you pay attention to the subtle clues She leaves along the way, a path of possibilities is paved. Every question is answered before it’s asked. In the moment of need, all things are already there, in your life, placed there by your Goddess self before you even knew you needed them.

Blessed Samhain to all…….

(Song lyrics by Don McLean)

About The Author: Lotus Moonwise is a High Priestess and leader of a small family circle. She walks a wise woman path, recognizing the union of the spiritual world with the physical. She considers herself an eclectic hearth witch, honoring her home, family and circle of community as the central focus of her service to the Goddess. She is a massage therapist, Reiki
master, writer, and artist and lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, three children and three cats.

Beyond the Fluff

Beyond the Fluff

Author: Maggi Setti

I’ve been struggling with not feeling that I want to call myself a Pagan; that somehow I missed the cultural boat. This boat feels like something I will never understand nor connect with. Yet, my religion is Wicca, and I am a Qabalist, ritualist, and magick worker. I never towed the feminist political line enough for the Goddess community, wasn’t political enough for others communities either. I’ve always been missing the Pagan cultural “norm” boat!

I have finally come to a resolution for why I go into culture shock every time I go to a festival. I don’t see Wicca, my religion, as a game and its certainly not something to mock or laugh at. Yet time and time again I meet Pagans with the audacity to laugh and sneer in the face of the Gods. I meet people who introduce themselves as Lady Twinkle Toes and are dressed like clowns. There seems to be acceptance in flamboyant, attention seeking behavior that to the rest of the world makes us look like we weren’t allowed to play dress-up as kids.

I want our government to take my religion seriously. I want a respect and understanding among the families, Friends, park owners, co-workers, Masons, and neighbors in my community. I want the seats we seek on the Parliament of World Religions to be seats that are respected, and be positions with voice and gravity. How can our society take us seriously if we persist in presenting to the rest of the world like a joke and don’t even take ourselves seriously? I don’t even need to mention witches on reality TV shows.

On the surface, Paganism is freedom, freedom from guilt, sin, the strict confines of the mindless ranks of conservative society. So why not throw care unto the wind? Drink until you win an award for the most gruesome vomit! Leave all your regular medication at home so that you’ll have the conscientious EMT’s rushing you to the ER when you start having a major medical emergency. Don’t eat, don’t hydrate, and for Gods’ sake run around naked all day in your Celtic-skinned red-headedness without sunscreen! It would but funny, only if I actually were exaggerating.

We say that we are a religion that lives the value of personal responsibility. We say that we seek balance and the mastery and integration of the parts of our being. How can it be that we are so bored, suppressed, or alone in our every day lives that we must make cartoonish spectacles of ourselves when we get together to learn and worship?

I like a raucous party as much as the next person. When it’s time to party, I let my hair down and pull the stops out. But my point is that worshipping, doing important magickal work, and studying, is not the same thing or the same time as a party. “What is your intent” is the constantly echoed question for planning ritual. If my intent is to party, then I should throw a party, not have a ritual. When I plan a ritual, it’s time to get some magickal work done.

I meet people that insist on wearing all black and gigantic pentacles to their jobs run by conservative religious groups (other religions mind you) , preach forced “acceptance” of their religion as part of their freedom of religion. These same people are flabbergasted when they are disliked at their jobs and are then fired. If we create a hostile work environment and scare people, what do we suspect?

Our religion may be in its early stages, but it’s time for each one of us to grow up and think about our actions. My religion is not a game, not a circus, and I do not want to be seen like a clown. I worry about grouping myself with the same label with people who, because they are more colorful and flamboyant, are more seen by the media and the greater society. Those same people wind up being spokespeople for the whole community. The result is that society doesn’t take us seriously or outright disrespects us because they wind up with no common ground for understanding.

Is there a solution to this labeling issue? I don’t know. It makes it harder and harder as this movement grows for serious seekers to find the heart of the real stuff past the layers and layers of sugarcoated fluff. I fear a dilution of the availability of magickal training opportunities as time progresses. I am led back to a qabalistic image of the shining spark concealed within and hidden. This means several things, foremost that the eternal spark of spirit within every person’s mortal, physical body. In this instance though, I think it could shed some light that the spark of truth and real magick is buried beneath the extraneous layers of fluff and distraction. Even the meaning of esoteric is hidden.

To those wondering if there is more, there is. Follow your nose and keep searching. You’ll find it in connection beyond words. You’ll find it in your own cry out to the Gods. You’ll find it in the exact moment of the solstices and equinoxes. You’ll find it in the voice of that hidden spark calling to you in the dark of the moon.

Such part of me that wishes for decorum and for actions and interactions to makes sense wants to go underground. My coven could work quietly in hiding to the betterment of the individuals within our small population. We won’t though for we are all ready hidden within the meaningless hullabaloo swarming about already.

What is your intent? What are you seeking? A party? A club? Experiences? What about magick, wholeness, power, gnosis, connection, life purpose? It’s all there. Know your intent and stay true to that which you seek. You will find it, hidden and tarnished, water stained, and rusted beneath the layers of fluff. A little bit of polish will let that spark of truth and magick shine through. Don’t give up. You’re not alone out there.

The Responsibility of the Witch in the Modern World

The Responsibility of the Witch in the Modern World

Author: wolf witch

In ancient times, the person most gifted in reading nature’s sign and in maintaining the health and well-being of the tribe became, essentially, the wise one or witch of that tribe. Through the periodic exchange of information with others of such kind and the constant study of herbs, natural phenomena, and basic human nature, such individuals gained an encyclopedic knowledge that vastly raised the survivability of the tribe existing in a harsh environment, providing an important barrier against human extinction.

Witches took responsibility for healing the sick, predicting the weather, determining the best times for planting and harvest, animal husbandry, finding the best places to live, and generally developing the circumstances under which a community could flourish. Lately, tremendous academic effort goes into delineating shamanism from witchcraft, and those individuals intent on proper nomenclature deny one in favor of another, but reality removes any doubt that function within a society belies any title. That the individual with a demonstrated talent for providing the tribe with information and service outside the practical efforts of hunting and gathering had significant value deserving of some distinction from the average person is all that mattered.

The progression of human development over time reduced the apparent need for these talented people, and the final blow to their overt existence came with the rise of organized religion and its dread of any source of spiritual power other than its own as an influence upon humanity. Culminating in the “burning times”, the position of village wise one was erased throughout most of the civilized world. The very capabilities that gave them note resulted in their demise, and the fact that the deaths of ten ordinary folk for every witch (counting those people accused of heresy and other such nefarious crimes among the ten) mattered little to an organization bent on control of human destiny in the name of its particular god.

One terrible consequence of those persecutions was the abandonment by the truly wise of humanity to its own devices. Spurned and burned, tortured and cursed, those who once directed the fate of entire communities retired almost completely from any participation in society, in part driven away by fear and, once the burning times ended, kept distant by the conviction that Man was no longer in need of their talents.

Currently a new openness and the removal of oppression from significant portions of modern society is allowing paganism to flourish and has removed most of the dangers associated with being publicly acknowledged as being a witch.

Unfortunately, the new witch is more dedicated to personal spiritual development that to helping humanity to survive in these trying times. There can be no faulting found for witches taking this direction. Hundreds of years of repression coupled with the present crop of very vocal fundamentalists determined to link the Craft to whatever devil they happen to fear go a long way toward pushing the average solitary practitioner back into the closet.

Exclusivity has always been a part of the Craft as well, so the IT revolution that has opened communications globally to anyone who can work a keyboard has actually increased the closed tribal nature of people within the Craft birthing a tremendous number of web sites each proclaiming itself and its owners the one true way to achieve whatever spiritual goal one desires. Forums are full of backbiting based on everything from the “true” names of the gods to the simple linguistics of “Wicca” and “witch”.

Considering that we live in a time when the errant acts of man, whether they be the push of a little red button launching a nuclear nightmare or the endless denuding of the planet to strip its resources at the expense of the very environment that sustains human life, witches have far more important matters at hand than debating what name best applies to the craft of the wise.

Not all of us are equipped to dedicate resources to organizations designed to provide help to those who are in need, but each of us can write to those in government responsible for the allocation of such resources. Our most valuable asset has always been our ability to persuade those responsible for some aspect of human existence to follow the wise way as determined by our talents for divination, conversing with the Otherworld, and understanding the special needs of nature as it applies to human existence. We are more than a lobbying group and much more than a political party.

We carry a tradition of aiding in the survival of humanity, and we cannot abandon that responsibility now or ever if we intend to live up to our calling.

Some of us have very little free time, but each of us can buy an extra can of food for the collection bin at the supermarket door.

All of us can ask those who have what others need to donate what may be no longer needed there to someplace where the need is great. One country in Africa has only a single working dialysis machine. A letter to major hospitals and regional dialysis centers asking them to donate replaced machines that still have a working life takes minutes, and email makes the whole process faster, it will cover more ground than any old fashioned conventional mail-out.

Many witches are already involved in charitable programs and deserve the highest accolade for understanding our real, historic place in society, but there are still a great number who are not involved and must become so if humanity is ever to find its true calling as a unified species dedicated to the well-being of each member of the species and the preservation of our greatest treasure, the planet upon which we rely for our survival.

The tribe is no longer a few isolated individuals in a tiny ecosystem. We are globally united, a genuine tribe of Man. The responsibility of the wise one is no longer the survival of a handful but of entirety of humanity.

We, as witches, must accept this responsibility, fir it is the single most essential element to our spiritual development and maturity.

Relationships: When Only One of You is Pagan

Relationships: When Only One of You is Pagan

Author: Ryan Hatcher
I’ve been in my current relationship for about a year and a quarter and like any relationship, we have our ups and downs. One thing that tends to pop up regularly, whether in jest or debate and sometimes a jibe, is the subject of my being a Pagan, because my partner isn’t and this will sometimes cause conflict.

And so, I thought it would be interesting to write about what it’s like to be in a relationship with a Pagan when you aren’t one. And the best way I could think of doing that would be to do a sort of interview with my other half. And that’s exactly what I did! I’ve also included my side of the response so it gives both perspectives (a Pagan with a non-Pagan partner and vice versa) .

[Begin interview]

How would you define your personal spiritual or religious standpoint?

Chris: I don’t really have a religion and I wouldn’t really class myself as being particularly spiritual, I feel there’s no physical presence [of divinity] but we enlighten ourselves through our interaction with nature and natural forces. I see nature and natural forces as the spiritual essence of the planet.

Ryan: If I was to label myself, I would say I was a Witch of my own tradition, though mostly I use the term Pagan first. I see nature and the forces of nature personified through my Gods.

Have you ever had any experience with paganism prior to meeting your partner? (If so, what did you make of it?)

Chris: [lengthy pause]…Charmed, Buffy, The Craft…media images! I bought a couple of books from a local ‘witchy shop’ when I was younger to see if it took me to a place where I wanted to be. Experimenting with the spells wasn’t what I expected. I expected there would be more obvious results.

Has your perspective or any preconceptions of paganism been changed or confirmed? How do you perceive paganism now?

Chris: I see paganism now as any other form of religion/worship, etc. with its own set of beliefs, which I respect even if though I’m not pagan.

What do you find are the difficulties of being in a partnership when one of you is Pagan?

Chris: Finding space for the paraphernalia mostly! Such as trying to find areas for some things to be on display while not imposing on the rest of the house! I’m not too keen on ritual clothing; robes and stuff makes it seem much more like dressing up, like a play or pretending. It makes it seem more ‘out there’ to me.

I find it difficult trying to understand his need and want to practice Paganism. It makes me think that he must feel there’s something lacking in his life or in himself… as if he’s not enough of a person as he is, like he needs some extra support. Does he lack a self-belief to be able to go out there and do things himself? Maybe he needs to work behind closed doors using spells to get a result instead of going out there and grabbing the bull by the horns?

Ryan: It’s kind of hard trying to get him to understand the point behind my beliefs and practices. The religious and spiritual side of paganism is easier to understand, as it’s not that dissimilar to Chris’ own point of view, though perhaps I take it to another level. The hard part is trying to explain magic and spell work. It ranges from trying to quantify the ‘how’ of magic to justifying reasons why. I think it gets taken out of perspective sometimes and he thinks I work a spell for everything I want in life, when it’s really only for things I can’t physically influence in the world.

Sometimes I think he feels embarrassed as well. I like to have some things on display, for a mixture of aesthetic value and providing a sense of spiritual connection to our home. It may be that he is worried whether people will think we’re/I’m odd and not want to get involved any more, or more likely it’s because I’ve gathered so much stuff over the last 10 years he’s worried about clutter!

I think the hardest thing, though, is that I’ve got someone to share my life with, yet I can’t share all of it as he’s not interested, or embarrassed. It just means ritual has to still be done alone, but when he’s out of the house, just in case he thinks I’m being weird!

Are there any advantages or things you enjoy about only one of you being Pagan?

Chris: I don’t think there are any advantages or anything I enjoy that is different to having a non-pagan partner.

Ryan: Not really. I guess there are no arguments on the right way to do ritual and things like that, but apart from that, there are the same basic dynamics as in any other relationship.

Have you ever been involved in ritual together and what did you make of it?

Chris: Yes. I don’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t like I expected. I expected to be able to feel presences and energies, which, unfortunately I did not. I understand the concepts of ritual and offerings, but it’s not for me. I don’t feel it achieves much for me.

Ryan: It did feel a bit awkward as, admittedly, I spent a lot of the time wondering what he thought of it and whether he was put off me! I was also kind of embarrassed with saying ritual words and what he’d think of the idea of chanting. Turns out chanting wasn’t taken to all that well, so we didn’t bother so much. Sad though it is, I can safely say I’ve had better solo rituals.

Would you ever consider reading or studying some Pagan introductory books to learn and understand your partner’s spirituality and religion better?

Chris: Not really if I’m honest, unless I had a specific interest in it to begin with and then I’d want to read up on the subject anyway.

Ryan: I’d like him to, as I feel it would give him a better perspective rather than it just coming from me. Authors are generally better at explaining things clearly and in a way for people with no Pagan background to be able to understand.

[End interview]

I just hope this essay provides a different perspective on Pagan life, and maybe strikes a chord with people in a similar situation. It may seem like a public therapy session, but sometimes it’s nice to share experiences that could be just as valid to someone else. I hope you stuck with it and it gave you a little bit of food for thought.

Thanks for reading!

Blessed Be!

The Way We Were vs The Way We Are

The Way We Were vs The Way We Are

Author: Ryan Hatcher

 

If we are to look back to the inception of modern paganism and the people who were the force behind it and were to observe how they practiced, worshipped and worked magic and compared it to how we practice, worship and work magic in modern times, while there is guaranteed to be a great deal of difference, the basic, core values should have remained the same.

I was in Norwich yesterday, a city with a strong pagan undercurrent of its own, for a brief look around the shops to pass some time while my partner enjoyed a 2-hour birthday massage, because of which my wallet had experienced a mass weight loss. So window-shopping it was. On my journey around the city I ventured into a Waterstones bookshop to have a look at their MBS section and had a skim through some of the material. Now, 90% of these books were paganism 101, which is fair enough for a standard mainstream bookshop, but reading through some of these 101 books — some of them recently published — it got me to reflecting: what is taught and considered western paganism now is much different than what it would have been considered to be 60-70 years ago.

What do I mean by this? Well, much of my personal pagan practice is inspired by these ‘old school’ methods with a touch of the modern for flavor (I’m talking about Doreen Valiente and Kevin Cochrane for the older styles, particularly Valiente; the Farrars (Stewart and Janet) represent an in-between period. Kate West and Christopher Penczack add the modern flare.) as I feel their values and ideas resonate with me. Now, keeping Valiente and Cochrane’s ideals in mind (again, more Valiente than Cochrane) , compare them to a lot of Penczack’s work and the work of similar contemporary styles and you’ll see what I’m trying to get at.

The styles and traditions of Valiente and Cochrane (hereon called the ‘older styles’) focus more on the earth-based worship side of paganism: seeing their Gods as personified manifestations of the forces of Life, Love, Death and Rebirth as well as the forces of nature in all it’s guises (be this as the four elements or simply as the grass in your lawn) . I also feel that animism in a subtler form was still there, if only felt and respected rather than overtly expressed.

The crafting of magic seems to have been simpler, as was the training (which doesn’t mean it was by any means easier than today; I’m inclined to say it was harder) . Metaphysical ideas such as energy centres, auras and layers of existence appear to have been acknowledged but were not the priority. The same for ‘the mysteries’ of the craft such as hypnosis, astral projection/trance journeying and psychism in all its forms. The works of the older styles show that they were an important part of their practice along with magic, but they were not the primary focus. I feel they were considered tools and techniques that developed along with the witch as he or she progressed down the spiritual path and was able to understand themselves and their developing abilities better and learn to control, focus and use them.

In contrast, the works of Penczack and his contemporaries (hereon called the ‘newer styles’) seem to focus more on the metaphysical ideas of paganism (energy centres, auras and layers of existence) , ‘the mysteries’ of the craft and magic as being of primary importance and therefore many chapters are devoted to these concepts. Now, I’m not saying this is strictly a bad thing; it may well suit many a new student to paganism, but when it comes to the core values about the spiritual and worship side of paganism, we start to enter the world of ‘love, light and blessed be’.

The realm of the FB, and those big furry ears seem to be cropping up more frequently in pagan literature. The spirituality of the newer styles appears to see the Old Gods as playmates: happy, fun, smiley and They do anything their precious ‘hidden children’ ask for. And unfortunately kids, you just have to look at the global history of paganism and myths of the world to now that is definitely not true. The honouring of nature and the earth extends as far as litter picking and recycling, which are very, very good ideas, and more is being suggested such as planting new trees, getting involved with wildlife protection trusts etc. Unfortunately, I feel many of the witches of the older styles, though some did get involved in these things, chose not to, possibly considering ritual devotion to be sufficient.

Ritual then is the moot point of both the old and new styles. As we are all aware, spiritual practice is a subjective thing, especially when it comes to ritual. Both new and old styles of witchcraft and paganism have placed varying levels of focus on ritual, and all have varying styles and methods in ritual that meets with their needs and the ideals of their respective traditions. However (there had to be a however) , and this goes for both old and new styles of paganism, whatever happened to just going out there and communing with nature face-to-face? No pomp and ceremony, no matter how elaborate or simple, just getting out there and being in the presence of the forces that we as pagans honour and worship.

I say, if you’re in a situation where celebrating a sabbat or an esbat with formal ritual isn’t an option, but you are within distance of a beautiful woodland, then screw it! Go for a walk in the woodland, sit under a tree and meditate! Commune with the spirits of the natural world around you and feel the power of the Old Gods, the powers of life, love, death and rebirth and pour your heart out in gratitude for all you have and for all that it means to be alive.

Wrapping it up: to me, the older styles and the newer styles and those of the styles in-between all have their good points and their bad points. The older styles are more grounded, simple and earthly. The newer styles are more flighty, ‘new-age’, hippy-esque and spiritual (in the modern concept of the word) . I’m sure you can see we have a Yin-Yang situation. And like the Yin and Yang, symbols of the older and newer styles do have parts of the other within them, but what we need to achieve is a balance between the two.

Paganism is a living and growing spiritual path and naturally changes with time, but it shouldn’t lose its heart. If we can bring together old and new, Yin and Yang, then we might be able to evolve paganism further, making it stronger, more refined and give us a definitive direction for us to aim for.

I hope that this essay will encourage pagans, both old hands and new, to review their beliefs, practices and crafts… to look back at the old, and freely explore the new and therein decide what is the best way forward in their spiritual path.


Footnotes:
Witchcraft for Tomorrow – Doreen Valiente

Witchcraft a Tradition Renewed – Evan John Jones with Doreen Valiente

The Witches’ Bible – Janet and Stuart Farrar

The Real Witches’ Handbook – Kate West

Gay Witchcraft – Christopher Penczack

Instant Magick – Christopher Penczack

Accepting The Magick

Accepting The Magick

Author: Lady Abigail

Recently a dear, young Witchlet friend of mind called me on the phone in tears. She was upset and feeling as if she was being driven to the edge off a spiritual cliff. Trying to do it all and be all she believed she should be as the perfect wife, lover, mother and Witch. We have all been there, between children, husband, job, home, money, life and kids, and not to mention schools starting again, she was becoming frayed on both ends. Her temper was running on hot and her patience toward the world pretty much gone.

I think we have all been in that place in our lives, magick or not when the mundane world seems to be overtaking our spiritual lives.

I got married very young. I had just turned 18 years old; I was in love and in love with the idea of what love and marriage should be. By the time I was 25 years I had two beautiful children, a home and a job. Being born in the 1950’s I had also been brain washed by those nasty TV programs like Ozzie and Harriet. You know the ones that told us we had to be perfect, look perfect and act perfect.

I was also a Witch and trying to keep that part of my life in the closet. I believed that could I handle it all. Plus I thought I knew it all so I was going to be the perfect everything. But life or the Fates, have a way of slapping us back into reality when needed.
By the time my youngest was 4 years old I had decided that the school systems where we lived were not safe for our children. So I began home schooling them, I had the credentials and had been subbing at local schools so what was one more job in my perfect little world. So I quit my job to stay home and be the perfect mom.

I think I was the only one that believed I could do it all. Some things had slide, so magick and my life as a Witch got put deeper and deeper into the closet. But still I was not able to handle everything perfectly the way I believed I should. I mean the wives and mothers on those TV shows never had these problems. Heck, even Lucy for all her funny mishaps still kept a perfect home and had perfect children.

My stress level was off the charts. My perfect children were driving me crazy. I didn’t realize they were just being children the way normal children were. I was working twice the hours as before trying to keep the house perfect, being up until 2 am at times trying to catch up or get ahead for the next day. Nothing was working, I was not able to keep my perfect world perfect and I was beginning to lose my patience with the world.

I decided I needed a little metaphysical and spiritual assistance. So I pulled my dusty Witches Trunk out from the back of the closet. I took out the tools I needed, the herbs and some stones for offerings. I wrote a chant I believed would help me step back and calm down so I could get control of my extremely hectic world.

I wanted to learn to be more patience with my family and children. So I wrote a spell to teach me patience and in this, bring the ability to be the perfect whatever.
That evening once everyone had gone off to bed and the children had their 12 drinks of water and so on, I went out into our small yard in Texas and formed a circle with my candles, put a light a small fire in my cauldron and worked my spell with all the energy and power I could gather.

As I careful hid everything thing back into my closet, I went to bed assured that the Goddess had heard my request and that my life would be changing for the better.
The next week was absolute hell. I mean it was like watching a hen that caught her tail feathers a fire. I was running like mad and the more I did the more fires keep popping up. I could not believe my spell had backfired in such a manner. I had been working magick since I was a child. I knew all the right tools, the right herbs so what had happened.

Not wanting to ask for help, perfect people don’t have to ask for help, I gave up. I put the kids in the car and drove to my Great Grandmother and asked her to please help me. That evening, as the children were sleeping, we sat down in my Great Grandmother’s kitchen at the small table. I looked around as thousands of memories flooded my mind from my childhood and how many talks had taken place over that table and began to cry.

I told her everything, how I was trying so hard to be perfect, how I couldn’t seem to get anything right, how everyone was driving me crazy and I had no patience for anyone or anything. What was wrong with me? I couldn’t even work a simple spell anymore.
My Great Grandmother hugged me and then we talked. For hours we just talked. She reminded me of how silly I was for even trying to be any kind of perfect, since perfect was not possible and to try to reach something unobtainable always makes you feel less than who we are.

I handed her the spell I had so carefully written and as she read over my spell she begin to laugh. “What is it?” I asked. Still laughing she said, “Honey, your spell is perfect and you got just what you asked for.” Shocked I said to her, “No I didn’t, I asked for patience and to learn to be more patience toward my family.” Smiling at me and shaking her head she explained. “Little one, you asked to learn patience. The only way one can learn patience by experiencing all those things that drive you crazy; all those things that cause you to be annoyed, irritated and impatient. That is how you learn to accept what life gives you. You learn from the experience. You are learning, though it may not be how you expected it to come. It is what you asked for.”

After that I calmed within my spirit and begin to laugh and cry until nothing but laugher was left. I learned a lot that weekend. I learned I had to be me and it was okay not to be perfect. I also learned to be careful what and how I asked for things within my spell work. The Mother of All is wise in her teachings. We learn as and what we need to according to her timing not ours. To think we can quicken the lessons may not be the experience or answer we desire, but it will be what we need.

Blessing to all,
Lady Abigail
Copyright © 08242011

Learning to be a Pagan

Learning to be a Pagan

Author: Lanterna

I don’t call myself a Wiccan. And I don’t consider myself a Witch either, because I’ve just started walking the path of the Ancient Gods, though I have nurtured the love for magick since I was 11 or 12. It was on Samhain (I called it Halloween at the time) afternoon, and I felt like a huge, powerful, green energy filling my body and soul. I had no religion at the time, and I did not want to belong to any religious group: too many “must dos” and taboos and guilt feelings and intolerance. But an interest in spirituality grew and I got involved in a more or less spiritual movement that proved to be quite disastrous for my mental health. But I did not give up my “quest”.

I’m scared of labels. I’m scared of spiritual masters. I had a bad experience with one of them once. But, honestly, I don’t know how to become a “good” Pagan, if there are any ‘good’ or ‘wrong’ ways to be a Pagan. I just know I am honestly in love with the Earth. I like the divine breeze I can breathe in when I open my window at night, the magick of the roses and the grass in that moment, when everything is quiet, when there is none or very little human activity.

It would be presumptuous of me to say I’m a Witch. Do I serve the Gods well? Do I respect the Earth enough? Do I use my magic tools well enough? I’d like to meet guides but I’m leery of meeting people who are shallow or intolerant or manipulative. I’m tempted to learn on my own, through books (I would not believe everything that is written; I would think carefully about it first) , through Pagan forums or websites.

I think what matters most is the genuine love you feel for the Gods. Nobody can tell you what is the best way to serve Them, worship Them, or how to be an Authentic Pagan. Where there is a will, there is a way, and I’m sure Magick will show me the best path. Maybe I will make wonderful encounters here or somewhere else.

I’m sure some of you who read this article will think that I’m not an “Authentic Pagan” or that it’s just a fad or I do not truly want to get involved in Magick. It’s not true. As I said before, I am genuine. I’m just careful about spiritual movements: I don’t know everything about Paganism, and maybe there are, let’s say, dogmas, opinions, beliefs that I don’t agree with in my very core. I will have to find out.

One of the things that attracted me at first, in Paganism, is that it seems that followers are not judgmental of other faiths. “An’ Ye harm none, do what Ye wilt”. That sounds very wise to me. I try not to harm anyone, and I even try to help and / or comfort people when I can. And yet I am always doubting myself: in what way am I really a Pagan / a Witch? Do you ask yourself the same question? Do you sometimes look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself: Do I deserve to call myself a Witch?

What does it mean to be a Witch?

This is why I have a hard time labeling myself, getting involved in a movement, belonging to a Coven or whatever. I’m a Truth seeker, and I want to be authentic. I am afraid of people telling me, “You’re doing it the wrong way” or “that’s not what a Pagan should do”. I am afraid of narrow-mindedness or people leading me on a dangerous path, as this happened once before.

Don’t get me wrong, if I spend a lot of time reading, thinking, and experimenting before calling myself a Witch and getting involved in Magick 100%. I think that’s what we should do in all religions: read, think over, experiment and then finally decide. We should also trust the signs when they are very strong: like that huge, powerful energy I felt on Halloween day 15 years ago. Or the bliss induced by a Pagan song. Where there is positive energy, bliss, ecstasy, there must be some truth. And it is likely the same thing when we sense that we have “abilities”. It is surely a sign.

I am also sure that when the Gods want something from us, they know how to get our attention. That’s why I try to be very attentive when I perform a ritual, when I pray, or simply when I feel the presence of the Divine sometime in the day.

So to sum up, I think it is not safe to call yourself a Wiccan or a Witch when you have not had a long experience of being into Paganism BUT it does not mean you’re not trying your best to be a genuine, faithful Pagan. It just means you need to take your time, to think this it over, to ask yourself if you are, or can be, a good Pagan before considering calling yourself something as solemn and serious as Witch.

But if you feel strongly attracted to Paganism, if you feel like you are “being called”, it sure means you have to dig in that way before you eventually realize you are (or are not) fit for this spiritual way of life. It’s not like getting a new haircut or getting a tattoo; it is something that will make you rethink your life and it demands involvement and honesty. You want to be sure you understand everything being a Witch implies so that you can walk the path with honor.

My Pentacle Is Bigger Than Yours!

My Pentacle Is Bigger Than Yours!

Author: Devon, The Maid Of Epona

I’ve been a practicing solitary witch for a little more than ten years. I have just recently decided to wear my pentacle openly.

Does that mean I’m out of the broom closet? Heavens no! I like to describe myself as having one foot in and the other out of the proverbial broom closet. I believe this to be the smart way to be, living where I live. Hey! Pennsylvania isn’t California!

I’m not a militant pagan although I do have a serious warrior’s streak. But being a warrior also means picking and choosing your fights. I work in the small animal business in one job and in the horse business in the other.

When working in the horse business, keeping your mouth shut about what faith you are, especially if it is an alternative faith that is greatly misunderstood by others, is the wiser way to go.

If I were to be open to everyone about my faith, it would have a detrimental effect on my career. People in the horse business would immediately assume that I was one of those “tree hugging, wackos” and I suddenly wouldn’t get hired or be able to buy or sell horses because gossip runs rampant in stables and sometimes is taken to be truer than the Bible! I also deal with many of the Amish community and I hide my pentacle out of deference to their beliefs.

So I pick and choose when and where to display my symbol of faith openly. I have also made an agreement with myself that, when I wear my pentacle openly, and someone questions my faith, then I must answer truthfully and intelligently.

I tell them that my pentacle stands for the four elements and the element of spirit. I tell them that it is a symbol of wholeness and balance, not of negativity and hatred. And its meaning cannot be twisted by reversing its direction, at least not in my eyes!

The first day I wore my pentacle, I walked about with a heightened sense of awareness, waiting for everybody to judge me. I guess I was expecting the whole world to gasp, point their fingers and declare me a witch in that tone of voice that meant nothing good. The actual reaction of people was much more subdued and confused.

Instead, the only question I had to deal with was, “I didn’t know you’re Jewish!”

Do you know how hard it is not to roll your eyes at someone and exclaim, “What? Can’t you count”?

I took a real risk this past Christmas. My husband had given me two gifts I picked out from our favorite knife catalog; an unusual knife and a pentacle decorated with red gems that I thought was pretty. So what it wasn’t silver!

Well pictures in catalogs can be deceiving!

I thought the pentacle to be modestly sized and the knife to be around the size of a Bowie knife. Well the truth was things were reversed.

The knife was the size of a pocketknife. The pentacle was big. REALLY BIG!

Try a pentacle with some serious attitude and lots of bling to the red gems on it. There was no mistaking it when I chose to wear out. It just reeled you in. Ooooh boy!

Then I decided to wear it out and obvious to a family function. Hey! It was a Christmas gift from my hubby that I still really liked in spite of the size. I wanted to show off my sparkly!

Now, not all of my family knows my religious denomination but most are aware. My parents are a blessing from the Goddess! They approve as long as I don’t go around trying to convert everybody. My brother and sister know and are open minded enough to not make a big deal about such things. My cousins even know and are cool with it.

My uncle? Well, lets just say his religious views scare me! He attends an ultra conservative church that has several ministers, several auditorium sized rooms for worship and boasts an attendance of several thousand people.

I was told to never tell my uncle what religion I was.

He was coming to the party as well.

I probably should NOT have worn the pentacle. But I did.

I also chose to disguise it with my new fashion statement, which was to wear cowboy clothes. You see, in the western horse show world, they have this design that is called a Texas star. It’s like a sheriff’s badge. Hmmm. Guess what? That’s a pentacle!

So I immediately went out and got my western show attire decorated in “Texas Stars”. I’ve got them on my hat and even my horse’s saddle and bridle sport little “pentacles”. No, I won’t wear ten million pentacles on myself but I’ll completely festoon my poor, long suffering horse with them!

Anyway, I showed up at the party with my hunka, big, new pentacle and my “Texas Star” hat. And my uncle showed up later. He looked directly at my new pentacle and then me and my newly dyed, black hair.

And then he asked if I’d had any of the steamed shrimp he brought.

I felt like I had had the rug pulled out from under me. I tried not to laugh my relief.

The pentacle was a big hit though.

Two people asked about it and my religious persuasion. I found out that they also were open-minded and we had a lovely evening chatting about esoteric things. Those conversations would have probably never happened if I hadn’t been daring enough to chance wearing it out.

But the real point of the matter is this: A pentacle, or a cross, or a Jewish star, or whatever symbol you choose to wear is nothing but a piece of jewelry unless the belief is behind it to make it more.

Those Wiccans that chose not to wear a pentacle or any other symbol of faith, does that make them any less of a Wiccan? No.

Sometimes I wear my pentacle and sometimes I wear my favorite jade horse pendant. They are both symbols of faith in my opinion and are as important to me as the cross is to someone else.

But I am not a Wiccan because I choose to wear a pentacle. I am Wiccan because that is what language my heart sings.

And no one can change what you feel in your heart. You can only choose whether or not to speak it.

Do you wear your pentacle on your skin or in your heart?

Devon, the Maid of Epona

Can a Christian Practice Magick?

Can a Christian Practice Magick?

Author: Belenus

For many years, I struggled with a personal conflict. You see, my Christian upbringing didn’t seem to fit in with what I call my “mystic callings, ” that is, my other path of mystery and magick. I kept my magikal pursuits separate from my religious activities. I began my magickal journey more than twenty years ago by studying astrology, because the notion of predicting the future and getting a better handle on my own personality and relationships with others appealed to me. I must admit that my romantic urges were a major driving force in all this investigation and revelation, as were my materialistic ambitions.

So, although I didn’t keep my Astrological studies from my close friends and family, I didn’t advertise it to those in my religious community. When I did divulge to a very select few, it was with a real sense of insecurity and fear that I was being negatively judged. When my Mystic interests branched out into the areas of Magick and Paganism, I did indeed keep it almost exclusively to myself, as I felt that this was even more off the beaten path and frowned upon by society in general and particularly so by my Christian family and community.

Now I am both a mage and a Christian, and I do not feel particularly conflicted about it. Just a fleeting guilt feeling now and again, usually brought about by some external reminder that there are Christians who do indeed condemn such activities. That even sounds funny in the same sentence, you know, Christian and condemning? And although I don’t go shouting my Magickal activities off roof tops, I am comfortable within myself that I am on the right path for me, and have integrated Magick into the other areas of my life, including my religion. I feel actually compelled to follow this duel path and even though I see some inconsistencies, I am confident that this is my calling for now.

I go to Catholic Mass and see many of its rituals and methods to be similar to Magickal rituals and methods. For example, the burning of incense in the Mass parallels Magickal rituals that use incense as a way to carry intentions to higher forces, be they Gods or Goddesses or what ever. The Catholic Mass is full of symbolism and what some would call Magic. Symbols are also a large component in Wicca, Paganism and are used in working Magick. Chanting and singing are other examples of techniques used in both Christian and Pagan rituals and rites.

One major difference I see between Christian prayers and working Magick is that with prayer, a person asks for something and then passively waits and hopes that it is answered in a way that satisfies a need. This is quite different from the Magician who inserts her or his own power and will into the work. Rather than hoping for something to change, the Magician “wills” the change to come about.

I feel that as a Christian Mystic, I have an advantage in many ways. I get to combine both prayer and magick in my rituals. Intuition dictates that with this combination, I should have even better results. I am not too concerned with this for now though. I am just answering the two callings I have in a way that helps me thrive spiritually. I use rituals that incorporate both some standard Wiccan magickal tools, such as a wand and an athame, but also include prayer and a chalice filled with blessed, Holy water from my local parish.

I like to think that I am the kind of person who accepts people from all walks of life and faith, or even no faith. This is not always easy in a world that has people of different faiths and paths, drawing lines and grabbing at power and control, but I think I do it as well as just about anybody. The key has been to nurture an open mind and often examine myself and my motives. Over time, this has lead to a level of self-awareness that allows me to be true to self, and at the same time, let others be as they are.

I remember a small event that took place several years ago, which let me know I was making progress. I realized as I watched a political debate on the television that I wasn’t getting angry with the commentator who was espousing what I felt was the wrong side of the argument. I told my wife that in the past, I would have turned off the T.V. in anger and disgust, unable to handle emotionally my own internal conflict that watching the show produced.

Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t too long ago that the very sight of a Pentagram made me cringe. In case you don’t know, the sight of a Pentagram can send shivers down the spine of many Christians who don’t know better; that it is not a symbol of evil, but of things that are life affirming and good. I look back on this now, and chuckle at my own built in sense of prejudice, especially now, knowing that much of what the Christians practice, borrow from Pagan traditions.

I personally believe that most religions have it wrong in the sense that they tend to foster a kind of ‘us and them’ attitude among their members. I believe, as did Gandhi and many others, that the idea of being separate from each other and even with the natural world is an illusion. We are all one and need to start acting that way. I look at it such that each being is like an individual cell that is part of a greater living being, and when one of us is deprived, sick or in trouble, we are all effected.

The Catholic Church systematically adopted many of the old ways and gave them a new twist, in order to bring more souls into the Christian fold. I think that after some analysis, one will find more similarities between Paganism and Christianity than differences.

I’ve recently begun investigating Hoodoo traditions and have learned how they are interrelated with the Catholic Church. I am excited to follow that path farther to see where it takes me. It is interesting to me that each Catholic Saint is attributed with special powers to help those who petition them with prayer requests. How is this different from one Wiccan praying to Odin and another praying to Diana?

I subscribe to the tenet that all Gods are one God, and that Love is the highest law. But, while I am here on this good earth, I expect that struggle and conflict, whether from external sources, or from internal issues, will always be a part of life for me, just less so as the years go by.

What in Hades Has Happened to Our Traditional Roots?

What in Hades Has Happened to Our Traditional Roots?

Author: Jon “Athrawon” Edens

What in the world are new Wiccans and Pagans learning?

Why are newbies teaching newbies? and where are the ones with even a little bit of experience to help guide the new seekers?

While these questions may appear confrontational to confusing, they are something that we in the Wiccan/Witch/Pagan community need to really look at.

Traditionalism could be seen as unmoving and unyielding, but it really is not. I personally have no problem with eclecticism in the Wiccan community because we do need to grow and adjust according to the culture, area, or even household so we can experience that connection with the Divine. The problem lies with those who are new seekers or those who claim to have been practicing for some time but have no idea or desire to learn, experience or teach the basics of the Wiccan religion that are traditional and form the very foundation of the belief system.

We, as a community, are forgetting that Wicca, no matter what path you follow, is a Mystery religion. We must seek and learn the Mysteries as part of the practice of Wicca. Now granted there are many Mysteries that are geared for and meant for the individual seeker, but there are many that are universal no matter what path you follow or how long you have been practicing.

We give lip service to the fact that there is a balance within the Universe of a female AND male divine being. A Goddess AND a God. When was the last time you have actually honoured the God? When was the last time you did a sunrise ritual to align yourself with the male energy of the Universe? We easily recognize the Goddess in all beings but we just as easily dismiss the role of the God in all things because it smells too much like Christianity.

Remember folks, you cannot have creation or procreation without a male and female energy, sperm and egg, mother and father, Goddess AND God. Folks, this is one of the Mysteries you must learn… It may seem obvious but until it really clicks in your brain you do not have that deeper understanding that occurs in those “Ah-Ha!” moments.

Most of the Mysteries are just as obvious

Along with learning Mysteries you should use the proper terminologies. I am sorry but someone who is non-magical or non-Wiccan is not a friggin muggle! They are called “cowan” in the proper terminology, or at the very least you call them “mundane.” We do NOT live with Harry Potter in a world of fiction. Get it through your pea brains folks!

Also, athame is not pronounced “a-thay-mee.” It is “a-thugh-may.” Deosil is not pronounced “dee-oh-sill” it is pronounced “jess-sill.”

A bolin is a working knife. A besom is the broom. A baculum is your wand. Invoke means to bring within yourself and evoke means to bring before you. A dagdyn is a magical sewing needle. A thurible is an incense burner. Cingula are the cords a Wiccan wears, and to top it all off a warlock is NOT a male Witch or a wizard but an oath breaker, a liar, a fraud. If you call yourself a warlock you are announcing to the community that you should not be trusted nor even really allowed in their presences. Hell, in some older traditions you would be killed on the spot.

People, learn your path and your beliefs and experience even a little bit before you start proclaiming what you are to the entire world.

This brings me up to the next two questions… What are newbies learning and the answer to that is based on the fact that newbies are teaching newbies. Would you want a brand new physician with no real experience teaching in a medical school? How about allowing a 16-year-old drive the school bus your kids go to school on?

When you are talking about learning a new religion and one that promotes the fact that each practitioner is a member of clergy, well, would you leave the role of a true clergy up to a 17-year-old high priestess of the Dragon Crap Clan? Or even a 14 year old? Or how about a 35-year-old techno geek who picked up a Mistress Witch Leaf Blower book last week?

Those who have practiced, and I mean legitimately practiced, should take the reins and step up to help guide those who are seeking our chosen path. We have traveled this path for some time and are familiar with all the potholes, poison ivy, tree roots that cause us to stumble and sometimes fall down as well as all the dead ends that branch off our path. We need to help guide these seekers as they learn the path and all of its pitfalls as well as all the beauty that exists along it.

And a final note… I am so tired… More specifically:

I am tired of being so politically correct that we are afraid of calling out those who present themselves as elders of the community and they have absolutely no idea what that entails.

I am tired of people claiming to be clergy and when you look at their Book of Shadows it is filled strictly with pages printed off from the Internet.

I am tired of sitting in on classes and the instructor hands those very same pages from the Internet out to the students.

I am tired of those who think they are Pagan because they can drink, party, sleep around, and watch naked women romp around the balefire but they have no idea what it is like to truly commune with the Gods, to truly follow the Sabbats and Esbats, to truly try to learn the Mysteries.

I am tired of Pagans thinking they have to look like hippies with ratty hair and covering their lack of hygiene with tons of patchouli oil. I am not saying this is a bad thing if that person wishes to live this way (the live and let live thing) but if you are trying to present yourself to the cowan community this is definitely a way to get noticed but not a way to build trust or to gain respect from them.

I am tired of Pagans feeling like they have to remain in the “broom closet” because of their beliefs. I work in a very conservative field that is largely overrun with evangelical Christians and I have been out for more than 20 years with no retaliation or retribution. Why is this? Why have I not suffered at the hands of the conservative evangelicals? Because I refuse to do any of what I have outlined above and because I present myself as a knowledgeable, intelligent and caring person. Yes, I have long hair and yes, I have a beard, but I present myself in a professional manner at all times.

And most of all, I am simply tired.

I am tired of the fight, of trying to get Pagans to wake up, and tired of trying to organize those who feel organization is a Christian idea and therefore wrong. I am tired of all the in-fighting within the Pagan community over who is the biggest, baddest and most powerful among them. And I am tired of trying to get some of these people who have stagnated but continue to call themselves “elders” to step out of their comfort zone to truly learn the Mysteries and become true leaders.

You know, I have actually had more luck educating the cowan to the true beliefs and practices than I have been able to teach the Pagan community itself. There is something wrong with that, don’t you think?

The Journey of a Wild Witch

The Journey of a Wild Witch

Author: Eilan

It has been eight years since I first discovered Witchcraft in a spiritual context. Prior to this Magick was very much alive in my life as I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that understands the spiritual dimension of life. My family also had the insight and experience to see and live this dimension in their everyday. In truth there is no difference between what is conceived to be ‘spiritual’ and that which is apparent and ‘mundane’. It is all one. This is my truth and my wild way.

I am an initiated Witch and Priest of the WildWood Tradition of Witchcraft. This means a great deal to me, as I am also a ‘co-founder’ of the original Mother Coven, based in Brisbane and initiated at Samhain (April 30th) 2006. Our ‘tradition’ and way of living the Craft is deeply interwoven with what many people call ‘shamanism’; derived from the Siberian Tungus word for their medicine people – saman. Mircea Eliade, the late Romanian historian, described shamanism as a “technique of ecstasy” and my coven has come to define Witchcraft as an “ecstasy-driven, Earth-based, mystery tradition”.

Our (and all Witches’) rituals and methods of practice allow us to transcend the illusion of separation and therefore to dissolve the ego and actualize the freedom that lives in the heart of all things. I often call and relate to this ‘All’ as the Great Mystery. The beauty of being a Wild Witch is that nothing is absolute and I have come to realize that all of Life is a holy continuum, which constantly seeks to express itself through diversity. Through expression comes manifestation, which allows us to experience Beauty through Perfection (the world in which we live) and then once more we come to the Wholeness of Unity and the cycle repeats itself.

We are born into a plural world of many and pass into the One only to yearn to divide ourselves once more to grow, deepen and enrich our understandings and experiences of that subtle/overt thing – the Great Mystery.

My coven’s tradition has developed and evolved around this wild-trance-dance-of-wonder. The only consistency between our covens is that we honor and acknowledge our heartland the WildWood, keep holy our covenant with the Sacred Four (the Weaver, the Green Man, the Crescent-Crowned Goddess and the Stag-Horned God) and that we remain open and receptive to personal/group gnosis and to Awen (the divine flow of inspiration) . Other than this there are some structural similarities regarding dedication and priesthood and inner and outer courts.

Essentially however we are wild Witches who fly in the face of authority and seek the wilderness underlying the apparent ‘civilization’ of things. Nothing can be tamed, for the wild is free and the free is divine! As we say in the WildWood – “we have actualized our radness!”

What do Wild Witches do? First and foremost – we live! We breathe, we sleep, we eat, we drink, we sing, we dance, we make love, we scream and we spend time sharing presence and being with our loved ones. ‘Being’ is an important principle to consider. To be is quite simple but so many people find themselves distracted by the “this and that” that they leave ‘being’ behind and pursue illusion instead.

This isn’t the same concept found in various Christian philosophies which espouses a “Satan’s fault!” message when sheep stray from the flock so to speak. Witches understand self-responsibility and are aware of action, reaction and consequence (the Threefold Law) . Why not exist in euphoric awareness of self as Self – the animate Cosmos? You are not only a cell within a larger body of universal wholeness; you are whole and thus a perfect embodiment, expression and reflection of the Great Mystery whose cause, undercurrent and outcome is Life.

When we free ourselves from the illusion of past, present and future and surrender to the Flow of the Continuum (the spirals, the wayward ins and outs, the labyrinthine, serpentine undulations of fate becoming) we make real for ourselves the state of being known commonly as “here and now”. This seems to constitute location and time, however it simply addresses the emphasis of indwelling consciousness regardless of where you are and what frame of time constrains it.

There are moments in my life, which I refer to as ‘Nostalgic Rites’. They are pure, simple, soothing, knowing moments that are like the punctuation points in a flow of sentences. They are the markers and the thresholds that appear along our paths when it is time to pause, reflect and feel. I have them often enough in my life to understand their imminent message of timelessness, peace and overwhelming Love! For what I have learnt above all else thus far is that dwelling within the chaos in the cosmos is the peace which neither subsumes or overrides it, but embraces it and lets it be. Chaos is what happens naturally when the undifferentiated potential becomes “this and that” and peace is the understanding that this is the way of Life. All of this is wild; we dwell in a far-reaching, limitless wilderness.

In a recent priestess training session with two beautiful women from my coven I asked both of them to divulge their feelings and reflections of the journey toward their priestesshood, as they are nearing to the ‘end’ of the beginning – Initiation. One of the women honestly came out and said to us that she feared for us (the other priestess-in-training and I) because we are on the top of the mountain, but because we are risk-takers it is inevitable that we will fall.

I had to stop and wonder in that moment why anyone would not want to fall. In fact I also wondered whether it had occurred to her that surrounding the mountain were vast forests, plains, rivers, deserts, tundra, bushland, seas, oceans and lakes; not to mention all of the beings who inhabit these places.

For me the mountain is not the point. It is part of the whole Great Mystery, but the journey does not lead to a single place; in fact the journey doesn’t really lead anywhere. There is no aim to my wandering, to my blissful dance through the wilderness – I simply embrace every experience because it is worthy of it and I laugh, smile, cry, choke, rage, relax, love, ***, change, grow, and a million other things that I couldn’t possibly articulate or fathom for the purposes of this article.

The other woman, who knows me very well, and is one of my closest friends, then turned to me smiling and said, “You are so glib!” She then went on to explain that it was the “natural, offhand ease and articulate fluency and flow” of how I expressed my truth that made me glib in her opinion.

It wasn’t a criticism on her part, merely an observation. I think it is actually quite accurate. I have such ease and flow in my expression because I don’t have to think too hard about who I am or how I feel because I am and I feel in the “here and the now”. I live and I am, and in my experience Life itself is glib.

To my fellow journeyers of the wild way who know in their hearts that they are heading nowhere, anywhere and everywhere – may you dance the Wander with all you are. My deepest well of love to you all!

The Wanderer

The sages say that samsara is to wander, to pass through,
I say samsara is to know the way and dance it.
To dance is to live, and to live is never “to pass through”;
Dance doll – dance and light up the stage…

Then they came with their wrought-iron weapons
And they pierced my soul, and looked for the mark.
I sang to them to soothe their battered spirits.
They sunk their swords in harder, my heart is in shreds.

The blood ran dry and the old seas heaved
And there in the darkest hour all was forgotten,
And tattered clothes were left in tatters,
And the ashes were left in mounds at the pyres.

Is it a fact that when we are lost we wander?
Is it true that when we are in love we dance?
Or do we dance when we are lost?
And do we wander when in love?

Samsara, O holy wheel of Life,
Keep turning, I want to stay.
I don’t want nirvana in clouds far away
For I feel it already…here.

The Wanderer – the Fool?
I don’t mind, I don’t mind being;
For all the pain and suffering and the attachment to desire
There is a keenness that is not worth losing.

I want to live,
I want to wander if that’s what it takes,
But through all this I will dance
And I will dance because I love.

– Gede Parma, 2007

ABOUT…

Eilan

Location: Brisbane, Queensland

Website: http://www.gedeparma.com

Author’s Profile: To learn more about Eilan – Click HERE

Bio: Gede Parma is a Witch and initiated Priest of the WildWood Tradition of Witchcraft, Brisbane, Australia. He is the author of Spirited: Taking Paganism Beyond the Circle (Llewellyn Publications) and is the compiler and editor of the forthcoming Conjunction Press ‘Pagan Community Anthology’. He is a feature writer for Australia’s premier Pagan magazine ‘Spellcraft’ and is also a staff-writer for Gwinevere Rain’s popular youth Pagan e-zine ‘Copper Moon’. Visit Gede at http://www.gedeparma.com

 

Wicca, what is it ?

Wicca, what is it ?

Melicia CrowSpirit

In our search for enlightenment each person searches for the one true religion. They pass over ones that do not appeal to them and other religions they have been taught were devil worship. Wicca is one of those misunderstood religions. Over time, Christian based religions, because of lack of understanding or out of fear, have classified Wicca as a devil worshipping religion. Wicca is not devil worship at all. The Devil, Satan or whatever one wants to call him is purely a Christian based deity.

Most dogmatic religions have to have some deity that they can use as a scare tactic on their followers so that they will be “good” followers and the devil is one such deity. Little children are often told when they are bad that if they are not going to change their ways the Devil will get them. This is scary for a child. The image of a horned goat headed half man half goat that ate little children, drank blood and sat around seeing what bad deeds he could get the Christian followers to do is what the devil is said to be. He has followers that dance around a fire, having orgies and doing other deeds that are unthinkable to even the people with a vivid imagination. From where did this image of the Devil come? This image of the devil came from the crusader times.

As the crusaders marched throughout England and other lands trying to bring the pagan/heathen-believing people a new civilized religion they happened on a temple of Pan. Pan is the little mischief-making flute playing half man and half goat deity of the Greeks and Celts. The crusaders believed that they needed something scary to manipulate the people who had believed in the many Gods and Goddesses that they had worshipped for generations. The deities had been the ones they prayed to for a good harvest, to protect a new baby that was born, who blessed their food before they ate and even helped them have a good hunt. The crusaders wanted these people to give up all their Gods and Goddesses for one God.

How could this one God do what their many could do? This is where the devil came in. The crusaders used the image of this horrible Devil thing that would cruse them and make things hard for the ones that did not except the one ”True” God. After many bloodshed and many more loved ones dying most people gave in to the crusaders to save themselves and their loved ones. Over the years there have been many people who gave their lives to have the freedom of worship of the one true god of their heart and soul. This god could be any number of gods and goddesses, any number of traditions and under any name of religion. Wicca is one of those any numbers of religions and traditions. The people who follow Wicca call themselves Pagan.

Edain McCoy is a writer of Wiccan books and she is also a Pagan/Wiccan. She has made comments about being Pagan and what it means to be Pagan.
Edain McCoy states it best when she said “When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation.”
Some call what they follow Paganism and others have called it witchcraft. What some believe is actually called Wicca. Some feel that Wicca and witchcraft cannot be used interchangeably. Wicca is the practice of the Magick and the beliefs of the religion, which gives honor to the God and the Goddess. Witchcraft is the practice of magick without the religious beliefs. Wicca is the practice of the religion and the use of witchcraft (magick) whereas witchcraft is the practice of magick without the religion.

The crusaders and the ones bringing the one true religion to these pagan people found that the pagan people had a hard time observing the holidays and went back to observing the holidays they had observed for years. They found that if they set the Christian holidays around the Pagan ones the people did not have trouble with the observation of them and leaving their old ways behind in exchange for the new ones that Christianity offered.