Police Abuse: Simple Guidelines to Protect Yourself
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
With the rapidly increasing occurrence of the police abusing individuals and ignoring their civil rights, everyone needs to be aware of what their rights are and how to protect them. No longer do the First and Fourth Amendments provide the freedoms and protection the founding fathers intended. Freedom of religion, speech, to gather and engage in peaceful demonstrations are no longer protected rights, nor is the right to be safe from unreasonable searches and seizures in our homes, cars, and places of business. The police no longer consider themselves pubic servants, but public masters who are above the laws. Their motto has been perverted from protect and serve to that of harass and intimate.
As in the cases of the UCLA student who was tazered multiple times by the police to the New York City undercover officers who turned a city street into a shooting gallery, these officers excuse their behavior under the banner of self-defense and expect the public to blindly accept their word in spite of valid physical evidence to the contrary. They are arrogant enough to believe that their word will not or should not be questioned. However, when they are confronted and complaints are filed, they harass and threaten their accusers into silence. Those who have the courage to follow through find the complaint system is skewed in the favor of the officers and against the individual. As with a Florida reporter, who exposed several law enforcement departs refusal accept complaints, was subject legal harassment and unlawful arrests, so it is across the country as law enforcement rallies to protect its own. The blue wall is not a myth or an illusion, but a force that protects renegade officers in shrouds of silence and sheer brutality. In addition, complaints are filed with the supervisor of the offender; it’s like complaining to Don Corleone about one of his lieutenant’s behavior. The members of the Internal Affairs divisions are chosen by the chiefs or commissioners and answer to him or her not to the public. It is in their best interest to follow the lead set by their supervisors and not muddy the waters by questioning the officers or their departments’ ethics. Civil complaint boards are only as effective as their members wish them to be. Going to the media and suing civilly have become the more effective means for victims of police abuse to receive justice. It is only when the public outrages becomes intense that the law enforcement agencies are forced to take appropriate action.
Although the abusive officers are only a small percentage of those on duty, the officers who know about the abuses and do nothing are just as bad. In ignoring, defending or protecting the abusers, they allow the behaviors to continue and to escalate. Their hands are just as bloody as those who do the actual harm. By keeping silent or excusing the abusive behavior, they betray the trust the public has consigned to them and placed themselves in the same category as those who do the harm. It would be in their own selfish best interest to expose the abusers and restore the honor of their departments. In doing so, they would make their jobs easier and safer as they would have the co-operation of the public, instead of the public seeing law enforcement as just another enemy.
The ACLU has released a list of what you should to do or not if you are stopped for questioning by the police. It is not a definitive list, but simple guidelines to help you safely deal with law enforcement.
Police Abuse: What to do if you are stopped while Driving
1. Think carefully. Choose your words and actions with care. Remain calm. Avoid quick movements.
2. Don’t get into an argument or loose your temper. Anything you say or do can be held against you.
3. Don’t run. Don’t touch the officer. It can be used as a reason to arrest you.
4. Don’t resist. Even if you are innocent, resisting alone is a reason to arrest you.
5. Don’t complain. Making a scene or threatening to file a compliant only makes the situation escalate.
6. Do not make any statements regarding the incident. Ask for a lawyer.
7. Write everything down and remember the officer’s name, badge number and patrol car number.
8. Try to find witnesses. Get their name and addresses.
9. If you are injured, document the injuries with medical reports and photographs.
10. If your rights have been violated, file a complaint with the police department’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board.
If you are stopped in your car:
1. Upon request, show them your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. In certain cases, your car can be searched without a warrant as long as the police have probable cause. To protect yourself later, make it clear that you do not consent to the search. It is not lawful for police to arrest you for simply refusing to consent to a search. (From personal experience, I recommend that you drive with your information readily available. I used to drive with my purse in the back seat. When I was stopped, I told the officer that my information was in the back seat; he told me to get it, but when I tried to open the door, he used it as excuse to harass and arrest me. My purse is now on the passenger seat when I drive and all my information is easily accessible.)
2. If you’re given a ticket, you should sign it; otherwise, you can be arrested. You can always fight it in court later.
3. If you are suspected of driving under the influence and refuse to take a blood, urine or breathe test, your driver’s license may be suspended.
If you are arrested and taken to the police station:
1. You have the right to remain silent and to talk to an attorney before you talk to the police. Tell the police nothing except your name and address. Don’t give any explanations, excuses or stories. Make your defense later in court based on what you and your lawyer decides is the best course of action.
2. Ask to see a lawyer immediately. If you can’t pay for one, you have right to free one and should ask the police how the lawyer can be contacted. Don’t say anything without a lawyer.
3. Within a reasonable time after your arrest or booking, you have the right to make a local phone call. The police may not listen to the call to the lawyer.
4. Sometimes you can be released without bail or to have the bail lowered. Have your lawyer ask the judge. You must be taken before the judge on the next court day after the arrest.
If the police come to your home:
1. If the police knock and ask to enter your home, you don’t have to admit them unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.
2. The exception is during an emergency situation. For example if a person is screaming for help inside or if the police are chasing someone and they enter.
3. If you are arrested, the police can search you and the area close to you. If you are in a building, close and mean up to the room you are in.
Everyone is entitled to courteous and respectful treatment by the police. If your rights have been violated, don’t deal with it at the moment. Talk to a lawyer afterwards or file a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Board or Internal Affairs.
Police Abuse: Wiccans Beware–
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
Police ignoring civil rights has become a harsh reality for not only Wiccans and Pagans, but also every other minority. No longer does the First Amendment provide freedom of religion, speech, to gather and engage in peaceful demonstration. No longer does the Fourth Amendment guarantee your home, car or business will not be searched without a warrant signed by a judge. Instead, there are a growing number of law enforcement officers who believe they are above the law; they see themselves not as public servants, but public masters who should not be questioned or criticized. Instead, they should be blindly and meekly obeyed. To do otherwise is to risk being harassed, physically attacked and jailed with little cause.
Under the banner of self-defense, police have used traffic stops to justify warrant less searches. Such was the case of a northern Michigan Wiccan Priestess. Returning home from work, she was stopped. The Deputy initially refused to disclose why she was pulled over. Instead, he ordered her from her vehicle and searched it without her consent. In the bottom of her purse, he found a small athame set–the largest knife was under three inches, but it had a double edged blade. He arrested her; however, he refused to notify her of the reason for the stop or the arrest until they reached the jail. At that time, she was informed she was stopped for swerving twice in the several miles he had followed her, but she arrested and charged for felony-concealed weapon for having daggers in her purse. She did not threaten him, nor was she given an opportunity to explain why she had the athames. Several attempts were made a paying her bond, however the deputies on duty misrepresented the facts and she was held for over fifteen hours. During such time, she was denied medication for her asthma and proper nutrition for her hypoglycemia. Instead, the wheels of justice rolled over her civil rights. Although she had a clean record and the officer had a history of alcohol abuse, lying on the stand and violence against women, her court appointed attorney informed her that she would not win in spite of the illegal search and her religious path. In Michigan, double edge knifes, no matter what size are illegal. The attorney’s stance was that nothing else was pertinent to the case. Eventually the case was settled and the charges dropped to much lesser charge. But justice was far from being served.
Physically an athame is usually a double edge blade of varying sized, frequently with a black handle and a dull blade. However, its magical definition is ritual knife that is use only for the direction of energy. It is used in ritual for creating protective circles and calling the elements. Using it for a mundane purpose would contaminate it and make it unsuitable for ritual work until it had been cleansed and reblessed. A Boline is used for cutting and all other ritual needs. Kitchen witches are an exception to this rule; they believe that by using their tools daily increases their connection to them. Whether an athame or Boline, neither are to be used as a physical weapon. To do so would destroy their positive spiritual quality and attract the negative aspects of the universe.
In the case of the northern Michigan Priestess, if it hadn’t been for the illegal search of her purse, the athames wouldn’t have been an issue. They could have not been produce or used to threaten the officer or anyone else without destroying their religious power. The District Attorney’s office was informed of their religious significance; initially they agreed she had a defense under the First Amendment, however their stance changed without reason, claiming the Priestess told the officer they were for self-defense. By sheer definition of her spiritual beliefs, it is obvious that statement was untrue and the officer lied. Yet, even though he violated her First and Fourth Amendment rights, his word would carry more weigh by the court even though he had a history of deceit and violence against women.
Every state has their own laws pertaining to the legalities of what is considered a weapon. Before carrying your religious tools make you know what the specific requirements of your state are. In some cases, it would be wise to obtain a concealed weapons permit if you will be traveling with your Athame and Boline. By going to http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm you can find an abridge listing of knife laws by state. It is only a starting point and should not be considered definitive legal advice.
Energy Reading for January 2007
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
The energy reading for January 2007 is going to signal the completion of many aspects of our lives. As the year ends, old tasks, behaviors and lifestyles will close like the cover a novel after the last page has been read. It is the turning of the energy tide as it rises up in preparation of 2012. Many will have sad regrets of what was, could have been, or is no longer. To look back in retrospect is a healing way of putting the future into perspective, however to get stuck there is to deny yourself the future possibilities.
As I was shuffling, the Queen of Pentacles jumped out and wanted attention. This is the card of the strong feminine energy that is coming back to the forefront of consciousness. With it comes the balancing of the power between our feminine and masculine halves. No longer will it be acceptable or satisfying to be only half a person. Those who stubbornly insist on living only as a halfling will find themselves alone, no longer accepted by peers and loved ones as they reach for competition within themselves. It is a time of balancing of karma and the bringing of justice. No one will be able to hide from the karmic bill that is coming due.
In the past is the Empress. Strong, fertile and creative this card reveals how many of us have grown out of the struggles we have faced. We have wiggled free from the old snake’s skin to look forward to the new challenges before us. As the butterfly, we have escaped the cocoon, transformed and strengthened by the struggle; we now sit in the sun, waiting for our wings to dry before taking flight. The world is now open to us; we only have to decide which breeze to take to give us liftoff. I see a gathering on a mountain. Not a physical one, but one of the spirit. Many have climbed, flown or descended to the summit. They have one goal–enlightenment for themselves, which in turn awakens all around them. Through the struggles of their awakening, they have come together on this spiritual plane and are now ready to do so on the physical. In the not to distant future, the collaboration will be come a reality to all; in doing so the power shift will be brought to the public and the darkness will be revealed.
In the present is the eight of swords. In many ways we are emotionally torn. There is a great difference between what we feel with our soul and what we are experiencing emotionally and physically. All around we see and experience the power struggles and conflicts. We feel powerless like the fall leaves in a winter wind. Yet these are the last challenges; the last tempering and sharpening of the sword to make it an effective weapon. So we are experiencing the finally cleansing of our souls and spirits. It may not be a good time right now, but once we come out the other side we will be grateful for the wisdom and strength we have been blessed with.
The future is the Star. The fact that there are two major arcana in this reading speaks to how the Divine is intervening in all our lives. The Star says keep your faith, hope and focus on the goals. What is it that you are reaching for? It is closer than you realize. Claim it and it will be yours. Before the first full week’s ending, those who have done the work and allow it to happen will have reached the first of their goals. In doing so, they will be beacons for the rest to follow. By opening up and accepting, without judgment, we give ourselves access to all the knowledge, wisdom and energy of the Divine.
The challenge we will all face is the two of wands. The key words are balance and perseverance. The only limits on your success are the ones you and your imagine place on yourself. As we have come together to find harmony and union, so we will create success for each other and become examples for others to emulate. The material world will now reflect the spiritual beauty within us. Where we walk we will not only plant the seeds of wisdom and respect, but we will nurture them into growth. The awakening has begun.
There are several I speak to directly. Now is not the time to give into the dark path you have walked away from before. It would be so easy to give into the anger and the fear–so easy to do harm in the name of helping one you love. Your challenge is to keep on the path of light and love. Instead of the dark arts, approach the challenge from love. What would it take for someone to change your mind? Use that tack and you will be able to achieve your goal without doing harm to yourself. Soul to soul, speak to the other. Tell it how much you love and wish them to change. Show them that how harming other does not make them stronger, only less respected by those you wish with your whole heart to impress. In this way, you both will heal.
Wheel of the Year: Part Two
Solitary Witch Staff Writer: Agate
Family
INBOX:
To: Artemesia
From: Lovrrgrrl
Where are you, Jilly? I’ll find you. You can’t hide forever.
Devoted Always,
Alia
I had a dream last night I was in a secluded wooded area, like many I have stopped in along the way. I think I was praying, maybe meditating, when Alia caught up with me. Frozen in fear, the next thing I knew my arms and legs stretched out to stakes in the ground. Alia stood over me with an axe in her hand. From somewhere firelight flickered grotesque shadow masks over her face.
“You’re never gonna run away again, my love,” and then she swung the ax.
First, she chopped at my feet, then up to my knees, then my thighs. I screamed and screamed while Alia, tears running down her bright ecstatic face cried, “You made me do this darling, you made me do this!”
I woke up in my car, sitting upright, hitting the steering wheel, my own cries echoing in my ears. Stumbling out, I ran to the river I parked near and splashed icy water on my face. My hands trembled and my empty stomach rolled.
This was the third nightmare this week. Sometimes I felt I would never be free of her.
INBOX:
To: Artemesia
From: Rosemary65
Where are you? Are you okay? My readings say yes, but until I hear from you, I won’t be at ease. Please email me ASAP. I need to hear from you.
Rosemary
Money was on my mind. I wasn’t broke yet, but my meandering journey would soon eat up the rest. Just after Samhain the pendulum began guiding back in a southerly direction, not straight down on the map, but not much forward either. I drove about eight hours a day, sleeping in the car at night, usually just off a side road. I bought only food and gas most of the time, but there were unexpected expenses too, like snow chains when I got caught in a storm, a couple extra blankets and an increase in coffee consumption. Unplanned for since my original plan was that the trip would take only two weeks at most; I was entering month three now. It seemed strange to me that it should take so long, but the advantage was not coming across Alia in all that time. If I could make it to Rosemary’s without meeting up with my ex, then the trip could take all year.
That being said, I was going to need more cash eventually and it would be better to get it before my savings ran out.
The town I stopped in was medium size. Lots of traffic and people, but no buildings over four stories high. It had an old fashioned feel to it, but the modern stucco storefronts and box-like office buildings would soon kill the nostalgia. When I stopped to get gas, I checked the phone book hanging at a payphone; it listed one metaphysical store called Hecate’s Realm. I checked the little local map at the front of the book and was relieved to find out the street was actually big enough to make it onto the map.
I decided to look for work at the metaphysical stores first, see if they had any odd jobs; it was a long shot, but I’d give it a try. If that didn’t work, I’d look in the want ads. You could find short jobs like sign holding, but frankly, I’d rather clean a store, than stand on a corner all day being a portable billboard.
Hecate’s Realm occupied the bottom floor of a large slate blue Victorian house with burgundy and gold accents. The front porch that lead to the store had potted plants around the railings and a little table and chairs. The inside of the store was a soft butter yellow with white moldings, wood floors accented with thick throw rugs, and lots of display space. The building layout remained true to its original intentions and still had separate rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. The store was well stocked with all the little things to make a witch’s wallet catch fire. Good thing I left mine in the car.
There were two women in the store, both wearing long, flowing skirts, though one wore a tailored jacket and her dark hair in a bun. The other looked at me and smiled a look-a-new-customer smile. I guessed she was the owner.
She glided over all rippling material and red hair and greeted me. “Is there anything I can help you find?”
Right, here was the hard part, dashing her potential sales hope and trying to convince her a perfect stranger wanted work and wouldn’t rip her off.
“Actually, I am looking for an odd job for the day.”
Her smile fell. “I don’t really—“
“I know, you don’t know me and probably even if you did you wouldn’t be in the market for a temp, but I’m trying to get cross country in my car and need to earn a little cash along the way. My name is Jillian Connors and I can do whatever menial task you might need done and I’ll even fill out paperwork if you want a record of it.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Connors—“
“Jillian?” The other woman joined us and she sounded like she knew me.
“Um, yeah,” I said put off by her familiarity.
Her smile widened. “I’m Thalia, from the online group.”
Thalia, yeah I remembered the name and returned her smile.
“We’ve been so worried about you.”
“You have?”
“Yes, ever since you started out we’ve all waited for reports from Rosemary, but she hasn’t heard from you in weeks and is nearly frantic.”
“I haven’t found a library with Internet access lately and I don’t want to use my money at a cyber café.”
“You know her?” asked the storeowner.
“As well as you can know someone online. I told you about her.”
“That was months ago, aren’t’ you a little off course?”
“My ex found out and came after me. I’m taking the scenic route in the hope we won’t cross paths.” I really wasn’t eager to talk about it, but I wanted a job if she had one for me. She didn’t look impressed.
“You must come to my house tonight,” said Thalia happily. “You can contact Rosemary, get a good dinner and a place to sleep tonight.”
“I really can’t afford-“
“Nonsense. You are a member of the group. You can tell me all about your journey so far.”
“Um-okay,” I was a little unsure about it, but the idea of sleeping flat rather than in my car’s bucket seat was too good to pass up.
Thalia scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “I don’t live far away, here’s a map and my address. I have to head back to work, but I’ll be home by five.”
“Thanks.”
She turned to the storeowner. “Come on, Cinda, you must have something she can do for a few hours. I’ll vouch for her, and if I’m wrong, I’ll make up for it. Didn’t you say that the back area needed some work done?”
Lucinda looked me over again, not entirely convinced I was worth the risk, but she must like Thalia because she agreed. Thrilled, Thalia practically bounced out the front door.
While Wanda, the owner of the Magic Wand was open and warm to everyone; Lucinda Higgins had a coolness about her that bordered on disapproval. Maybe she’d been burned by an ex employee or maybe she was one of those people who preferred to do everything themselves, maybe it was just me, but I wasn’t feeling the love. Lucinda led me out through a kitchen filled with dried herbs, bottles filled with oils and packaging supplies, and out into a large backyard of damp greenery and statuary.
“This is yours too.”
“The whole building is mine. I live upstairs.”
“Cool.”
She smiled a little. The backyard was overgrown and in desperate need of some hard work and it was going to take a lot of it to get it done by the time the sun went down.
“I hurt my back a couple of months ago and haven’t been able to do any yard work,” she said. “I used to hold esbats and sabbats back here. Do a good job and I’ll pay you $100.
“That’s an awful lot.”
“I’d pay gardeners that or even more for the same amount of work.”
I glanced at the tall grass. “Do you have a lawn mower?”
She pulled a key off her key ring and pointed to a small shed tucked in at the side of the house. “All the tools you need are in there. The garbage cans are outside the gate.”
I nodded, walking over to the shed. There was a large rosemary bush by the edge of the porch. I ran my fingers through the branches, inhaled the rich scent and it reminded me of its namesake. Rosemary in California was worried about me. I was surprised by how nice it was to she was.
I put every ounce of energy I had into cleaning up that yard and was grateful for Thalia’s invite. I was going to need a real shower tonight.
The yard wasn’t big, but the grass was thick and damp from a recent rain, and the mower, not self-propelled, had a bit of trouble going over it, but I finally got it done. Six tall statues of Gods and Goddesses around the fence edge that were in danger of disappearing among overgrown bushes, herbs and weeds. I pulled out what I knew to be weeds and waited to ask Lucinda about anything else; clipped the bushes back and saved whatever herbs I trimmed. When she came out at about 3 pm with iced tea, I handed her the pile of cuttings.
“Good job,” she said as she glanced over the yard.”
“There are a few things I didn’t pull because I’m not sure if they are keepers or not. If you check, I’ll get whatever is left.”
“In a few minutes. Take a break.” She pointed to a bench beside the porch and handed me a glass. It tasted good; peppermint and something floral, I took a long swallow.
“Thanks, I didn’t realize I was so thirsty.”
“I am impressed,” she said, still looking out across the yard. “You got quite a bit done already.
“Just making sure you get your money’s worth.”
“Most people your age wouldn’t try so hard.”
I only shrugged.
“Why would you pick up and move across the country to stay with a stranger?”
“Habit, I guess,” I took a bite of gingersnap cookie.
“What do you mean?”
“Used to be a foster kid.”
“Oh. What happened to your parents?”
“Don’t know,” I avoided her gaze, brushing the cookie crumbs from my muddy jeans. “Don’t care anymore.”
She pondered that answer, but decided not to push it. “Does it worry you, going so far to meet a stranger?”
“It probably should,” I said. “But not really. I’ve decided to go where Goddess leads. I guess its called faith.”
“I’ve lived in this town my entire life, changing houses felt traumatic. I don’t think I could ever do what you are.”
”You could if there wasn’t anything else for you where you were.” I gulped the rest of my tea. “I’d better get back to work.”
She watched me from the porch for a minute before coming down to point out the weeds, and then she returned to her store. I didn’t like talking about my absent parents. Her asking was natural, but that didn’t make it an easy topic to speak about, besides it always felt as though I was feeling sorry for myself.
I threw myself back into the work. When I was growing up, there were always chores to do, no matter what home I lived in. I didn’t mind most of the time, but I preferred the yard work to doing the dishes. The fresh scent of cut grass or newly turned soil, dark and cool in my fingers; flowers, heads heavy with petals, their scents wafting around me; the crackle of fall leaves beneath my feet; birds, bugs, even little critters checking me out as I worked around their homes all made me feel at ease and relaxed. Being a girl though, most people seemed to think I belonged in the kitchen; it was a rare and much cherished time to be sent out to mow and hoe.
It was something I really missed in apartment living. I didn’t seem as capable keeping my indoor plants alive and they lacked all those sensations I found so comforting,
For a few more hours, I lost myself in more weeding, washing of statues, raking and watering. Washing the statues became an almost ritualistic task as I scrubbed mud and moss, bird crap and tree sap from each stone Goddess and God that resided in the yard.
When I was done, I looked at my handiwork with a feeling of satisfaction. The yard was ready for the next full moon.
Lucinda came out, looked about and smiled a real and genuine smile of delight. “It looks wonderful. I didn’t imagine you’d get so much done in so few hours.”
“Thanks.”
“Go ahead, put the tools away. You can wash up in the kitchen, then I’ll pay you.”
So I did just that, locked the shed back up, washed up and laid the key on the counter next to the register she stood behind. She handed me an envelope. I counted six $20 bills.
“You gave me too much.”
“No. You did more than just a job for me; I’ve been longing to have a ritual since I fell. Now I can and much sooner than I thought. I’m glad I listened to Thalia.”
“Me, too.”
“I don’t know when you’re getting back on the road, but stop by on your way out. Good luck, Jillian.”
“Thanks.”
It was five thirty and almost dark when I got back in my car. I opened the envelope to put my earnings with the rest of my cash and saw the business card finally. Lucinda’s email address was underlined and “Keep in touch” was written on the back. Maybe Lucinda wasn’t like Wanda on the outside, but she had the same heart. Tucking the card into my wallet, I followed Thalia’s map to her home.
Thalia lived in a middle class neighborhood of older houses painted white, tan or golden yellow. All had neatly manicured lawns, 2 cars in the driveway and probably had the requisite 2.5 kids running around the interiors; the sort of places I moved in and out of 50 times or so. My enthusiasm began to wane.
Then I saw Thalia’s house, which in this neighborhood of blending in, stood out like a shaved cat.
Her house was a cottage, painted a dark grayish purple with white shutters. Cut glass crystals sparkled in the windows. The path to the porch meandered in long curves across the lawn of tiny plants still speckled with purple and orange wildflowers. A small birdbath brightly mosaic with a sun sat in one curve. Herbs and flowers surrounded the house and hanging on the porch wall was a rust colored metal witch on a broom. No, Thalia’s home was not going to remind me of any past experiences.
As I got out of my car, a head with black braids popped up from behind some tall yellowing flower stalks. The girl was about nine years old; she stared at me a moment then leapt to her feet and into the house calling “Mom”.
I hadn’t considered a family when Thalia asked me to come. I wondered what they would think of an unanticipated guest. I decided if things felt tense, I’d move on after the shower.
For a minute, I wondered if I should bring a bag in now or wait a while until she brought it up. What was the etiquette? I was still deciding when Thalia came bouncing out of the house. She smiled broadly and ran out to me, her feet bare, dark hair hanging free of his previous confines, and a shawl draped over her camisole. She hugged me noticing neither my surprise nor lack of return.
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again all day.”
“Um, Thanks.”
“I’ve been so excited. I want to hear all about you and your travels and oh my, you are dirty, Lucinda worked you hard, well, I hope she paid you well. Go ahead, grab what you need, is this your dirty laundry, good we’ll get that cleaned up too. I told Ana and Gabe, that’s my daughter and husband, all about you and they are eager to meet you. Now don’t you worry about being a bother, our home is yours for however long you decide to stay…”
She talked all the way into the house, one arm draped around me, the other carrying the laundry.
I got the impression she really was glad to see me.
Ana and Gabe, while they lacked Thalia’s exuberance, were genuinely nice to me. A little shy at first, Ana kept her distance, but like any proud mother, Thalia embarrassed the hell out of her, gloating about Ana’s artistic abilities. Reluctantly, the girl showed me some of her drawings, which were very good, and she warmed up to me after I said so.
Gabe, who was stay at home dad, did woodworking in the garage, carving statues and turned bowls, most of which were sold online and at nearby festivals. He only shook my hand, but his smile was warm and welcoming
Apparently, art was a family trait because Thalia also made jewelry, metal pendants that she created and sold.
The house had a well-loved cluttered feel, not dirty or messy, just full of art, books, and other treasures. It was also small and didn’t have spare bedroom, so I would be sleeping on the couch. After two months of sleeping in the car, the couch was the lap of luxury. In fact, the whole evening was turning out luxurious. A real shower that wasn’t run by quarters, soft towels and a home cooked dinner almost ready when I dried off, spreading delicious aromas through the house.
In the dining room, Ana did homework and I could hear machines in the garage, so I guessed Gabe was working. I followed the smells to the kitchen where Thalia was tossing fresh herbs into a pot of soup.
She flashed me a smile. “I’ll bet you feel better now.”
“Yes, thank you. It’s been a long time since I had a real shower.”
“You’ve been very quiet since you got here,” she laughed. “But I suppose that’s my fault. I do tend to prattle on, its one of my greatest faults and—I’ll have to work on it, not talk about it.”
“It’s all right. I’m not really much of a talker anyway. It would be much worse if we were sitting in silence.”
“How has the journey been?”
“Longer than expected.”
“How did you end up here?”
“I let the pendulum decide the direction. With Alia out there somewhere I’ve been too afraid to take a straight line, but sometimes I wonder if I am doing the right thing.”
“It sounds like a wonderful adventure. You should enjoy it.”
“It’s taking so long, I’m worried about running out of money.”
“Why don’t you stay here a little while? Saturday, there’s a winter festival, you could help us with our booth, and we’ll pay you. And maybe I could find you a temp job. You might earn enough not to have to worry for awhile.”
“I don’t know.”
“Just think about it. Yule is in about two weeks; you shouldn’t be out alone on the road. We’re having a party, you should be here.”
“That’s an long time to impose.” Two and a half weeks seemed like a long time to stay in one place. What if I overstayed my welcome or even worse, Alia decided to come this way?
“What imposition? I invited you. Well, at least stay the week and do the festival. We usually do well before Yule, people buying gifts and ritual stuff, we could pay you a decent amount.”
“Okay,” I agreed. Yule with Thalia and her family might be nice, but I would keep an eye out in case they got tired of me.
INBOX:
To Artemesia
From Rosemary65
Oh, I’ve been so worried about you. What a relief to know that you are okay and still headed my way.
I know you are letting the pendulum decide the way, but it’s taking so long. I worry that the longer you are out there alone, the more likely some harm may come to you.
Please be careful
Rosemary.
I didn’t do much working the next two days. Mostly, I helped with chores and Ana’s homework, caught up with my emails, reassuring Rosemary and Wanda I was okay. Gabe taught me what I would need to know for Saturdays’ festival like pricing and bartering. Then there was the problem of the costume. They liked to dress up for festivals and preferred I did so as well. It had to have a ‘magickal’ feel to it. I had no clue. I don’t dress up in costumes, never had much reason, and I didn’t want to spend any money on anything I wouldn’t use again.
My ritual robe was about to do double duty until Friday evening, when a beaming Ana brought out a large box and set it on the coffee table in front of me. My three friends had broad smiles and I was almost afraid a joke was being played on me.
“Open it,” said Ana, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as though trying not to do it herself.
I glanced at Thalia and Gabe. “Go on,” they urged.
Slowly, I opened the box and lifted a piece of crumpled tissue paper. A bundle of red embossed fabric expanded above the confines of the box. I reached out, my fingers sliding across the soft surface.
“What’s this?” I asked, confused.
“You’re costume, or at least part of it. “I’ve got an old black dress, pre-childbirth days, you can wear, maybe a red sash at your waist and this—“ Thalia lifted the gift, shaking it out with flourish.” “Can go over it.”
Air blew over me as the heavy fabric billowed out, becoming a cloak. The red was burgundy at the hem, lightening into an orange-red at the collar. On the back a huge embossed bird rose out of flames.”
“A phoenix.”
“Yes. Lucinda didn’t have a lot left to choose from, but this one just struck me as being perfect for you.”
“You’re giving this to me?” I hadn’t expected it be a gift.
“Yes.”
“It must have been expensive. You—“
“Don’t you dare say I shouldn’t have, Jillian. I wanted to, and that is reason enough. Just think of it as an early Yule gift.”
Ana grabbed my hand and pulled until I stood. “Just say thank you, and try it on already.”
I smiled and did as instructed. The robe felt heavy and warm, not at all like the light robe I used in ritual.
“It’s perfect,” said Thalia, hugging me. “You’ll look wonderful tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Oh and I’ve got one more bit of wonderful news. My boss needs a temp for a week of data entry. Boring work, but if you want it, he’ll pay $10 an hour, 40 hours for the week. You won’t have to worry about money for a little while.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Good. We’ll have the same hours, you can go with me Monday morning.”
Then it was dinnertime.
We arrived at the Winter Festival early in order to set up. Gabe and Thalia moved with practice speed, setting up the awning, tables and shelves as Ana and I unwrapped the merchandise. I was the only one not selling anything today, although, even if I had time to make things I simply didn’t have the talent.
I was beginning to envy Ana her supportive family who encouraged her artistic endeavors with such enthusiasm. I had a feeling she could draw a squiggly line in green Crayon and Thalia would proudly display it as framed art; even my greatest efforts as a child barely rated a ‘that’s nice’ or a spot on the fridge.
I tried not to be jealous.
But I was.
So, I threw myself into the work, greeting customers and selling the artistic works of the three people who treated me so kindly. Halfway through the day Thalia chased me out, ordering me to take a break, so I wandered through the indoor/outdoor festival looking at booths and watched a belly-dancing troupe. Every once in a while I caught sight of the Goth teens with their dark eyeliner, multi-hued hair and wild ‘darkside’ costumes, their moods alternating between cool indifference and childlike glee as they wandered the festival in packs. The crowd was a motley crew of fairies, hairy-legged gods and gypsy women in flowing skirts and caftans that filled the festival. I could imagine what might go through an outsider’s mind, why they might find us weird, but for the first time, dressed like Merlin’s daughter, I fit into the crowd; I belonged, even if I was a total stranger.
I bought a few things too. I wouldn’t have usually, well maybe some incense or something equally inexpensive, but these weren’t for me. I bought a small double edged blade for Gabe to use as a Athame, a burned out velvet shawl for Thalia, and a brightly colored bag with many pockets where I tucked a leather bound blank book for Ana and her art.
I’d surprised myself. I wanted to stay for Yule. They treated me like family, a cousin maybe, a welcome guest they loved; it would be nice to spend Yule like that. Christmases growing up hadn’t been terrible, I always got some sort of a gift, but something was always missing.
So I would stay for a little longer, work at Thalia’s job for the week and maybe have a real holiday this year. And a real holiday meant giving gifts, they had already given me more than I ever expected.
The festival was successful. With most of the stock gone, we lowered what was left to half price for the last hour and sold the rest. All we had to carry back to the car at the end of the day was the “store”. We laughed and talked with others from the festival late into the evening before grabbing some fast food at the drive through and finally heading back to the house. We agreed unanimously to unpack the car in the morning and we walked wearily into the house. Thalia put an arm around my shoulders.
“So have you thought about Yule, Hon?”
“I’d like to stay if you still want me.”
“Yeah,” the family cheered and Thalia hugged me tight.
Thalia was right, the data entry work was mind numbingly boring and I fantasized about mowing a lawn in the rain, but I persevered, after all it was only for the week. The paycheck was well worth it. Between that and my percentage of the festival take, I felt more at ease about money. I spent the last days before Yule at the house, helping with chores, and tending the yard. Gabe taught me a little carving, but my block of wood only resembled a misshapen block of wood when I was finished. I had a little better luck stringing beads with Thalia. I won’t claim my string of multi-colored seed beads was artistic brilliance, but it looked nice with one of Thalia’s small Goddess pendants hanging from it.
It felt like home, that little cottage and I found myself wondering if I should leave. Maybe this was the family I had always wanted; I could find my own place nearby. Sometimes Thalia and Ana spoke as if I was not going to leave.
Then there was Rosemary waiting in California. Part of me was afraid that she would change her mind by the time I did get there. Another part of me was afraid I was doing everything wrong: was that what you call a crisis of faith?
Torn, I did what had often done during my trip; I pulled out my pendulum and asked. Should I stay? It swung a wide and definite no. That settled it; I’d stay until the holiday travelers went home. I’d miss this little family a lot, but families stayed family right? I hope that included extended family because really that was all I’d ever have.
Yule began as a frantic day as we all spent the day getting the house and ourselves ready for the party/ritual. All of my stuff was packed into Ana’s room, decorations put out, a ritual table placed in the center of the room, there was even a new Yule log in the fireplace waiting to be lit.
When hundreds of colored lights sparkled and the house smelled of cinnamon and peppermint, Ana jumped up, shouting, “Present time!”
I handed out my gifts not expecting anything in return. After all, they had let me live with them, fed me, bought me an expensive cape, so I was surprised to discover three packages being handed my way.
Thalia gave me a brooch shaped as a phoenix with a red garnet in its chest, a new design she created just for me “To wear with your new cape.”
Gabe had been busy as well. “I know you might be running out of room in that ritual box of yours, but I thought you might like it.”
Like it? Was he kidding? It was a plaque about 12 inches in diameter with Artemis carved in bas-relief on the face of the moon. Her bow was drawn and pulled forming a crescent moon along the disc’s edge. The pale wood grain showed through a light color wash: a green tunic, gold hair, and the pearlescent white in the background.
“It’s beautiful Gabe, I’ll make room for it. Thank you.”
Ana’s gift was last. I unwrapped a black 8x10 frame with a family portrait drawn with incredible detail by Ana with charcoal pencils. But I was in the portrait, sitting in front of Thalia and Gabe, Ana on one knee, as though I was part of the family: like I was her sister.
“I don’t want you to forget us when you leave,” she said, a sadness in her voice.
I wiped tears from my eyes and smiled at her. “I won’t, thank you. I’ve never been in a family portrait before. I’m honored.”
Ana hugged me. Once more, the thought of staying flashed through my head, but there was little time for that as the doorbell rang and the first Yule guest arrived.
“Do you have to go?” asked Ana, tears shimmering in her eyes.
The day had come to move on. The longer I stayed, the harder it was to leave and the more comfortable I felt. The pendulum said to go and I either had faith or not, that was all there was to it.
“Yes, I do, honey, but I’ll miss you so you send me lots of emails and pictures of your drawings, okay?”
She nodded, not meeting my eyes.
I hugged her. “Bye Ana.”
I stood up and Thalia hugged me tightly. “I won’t ask again, I know Rosemary is waiting for you, but if you don’t find California to be your kind of place, you come back here.”
“Okay.”
Gabe kissed my cheek. “Good luck, Jillian, you’re part of this family now, you keep in touch.”
“I will. I am going to miss you. Maybe I’ll be able to come back and visit again.”
“We’ve been thinking,” said Thalia. “There’s a big festival every year in California, we thought we might attend it, sell some of our stuff. We don’t know when you’ll get to Rosemary’s but we could do the first one you are there for, get together again.”
I opened the car door, though I didn’t want to get in. “I’m going now. Bye.”
We all hugged one more time, and then I left. My last glance back was of them waving goodbye. I waved out the window just before turning the corner.
I was back on the road again.
INBOX:
To Artemesia
From Wanda
How goes the journey, sweetie? I miss you a lot and can’t wait for an update.
I haven’t seen Alia for a long time, but Jason, a friend of hers, says she’s on the road. He tried to talk her out of it, but no luck. Alia is determined to find you.
Be careful, Jillian, the cards still warn of danger. I can’t help but feel you’re going to meet up with her before this is over.
Wanda.
To be continued…
Frankincense and Myrrh
Frankincense
Latin Name: Boswellia carterii
Folk Names: Olibans, Olibanum, Olibanus
Gender: Masculine, Hot
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire
Deities: Ra, Baal
Part Used: Gum
Powers: Protection, Exorcisms, Spirituality, Purifications, Consecrations
Ritual Uses: Burnt at dawn to honour the arising Sun God Ra.
It is included in some of the ritual incenses used by the Catholic Church.
Magickal Uses: When burned uplifts vibrations and energizes but also aids in
driving out ‘evil’ and negativity. It is also burned to assist in meditations
and visulizations [vision quests]. Added to sachets for luck, spiritual growth
and protection.
Myrrh
Latin Name: Commiphora Myrra
Folk Names: Gum Pyrrh, Karah, Mirra Balsom Odendron
Gender: Feminine
Planet: Moon
Element: Water
Deities: Isis, Ra, Adonis, Marion
Part Used: Resin
Powers: Protection, Exorcism, Healing, Spirituality
Ritual Uses: Myyrh was burned for Ra at Noon,
and was also fumed in the Temples of Isis.
Magickal Uses: Myrrh, in combination with Frankincense,
is burned to purify an area, lift the vibrations and create peace.
Myrrh is rarely burned by itself. Myrrh increases the power
and effectiveness of the incense to which it is added.
It is also used in sachets.
Frankincense and Myrrh are often considered two of the gifts
presented to the Baby Christos by the Wise Men of ther East.
It is not known exactly whom these traveling Wise Men were
but since they had - at that time - the rare and valuable spices
Frankincense and Myrrh they could possibly have been
Traders or Monks/Priests from the East - even possibly China.
Many ancient predictions and prophesies were purportedly
fulfilled by the Bethlehem Nativity. Not all of the predictions
and prophedies were Biblical.
References:
1) Cunningham Encyclopeadia of Magickal Herbs
Scott Cunningham
Second Edition
© 1988 Scott Cunningham & 2000 Scott Cunningham Estate
Lewellyn Publications
www.llewellyn.com
Sagittarious Facts
Your spirit is lifted now by wonderful conversations that deepen connections with friends and family. You could get so excited, however, that you get on someone else’s case. Although your intention is not malicious, it may be difficult to back down from a developing confrontation. Self discipline works much better than trying to control anyone else.
Sagittarious Facts
Ninth Sign
Mutable Fire
Body Parts: Hips and Thighs
Ruling Planet: Jupiter
Key Words: Honesty, Exploration, Idealism
Personal Traits
Sagittarians are free spirits with a friendly, independent style. They dislike being tied down and are incurable idealists, always looking to expand their horizons and improve their lot. Optimistic and easy going, they have a love of truth, honesty, and justice that gives them a very philosophical approach to life.
Planets and Other Information
Ruled by the planet Jupiter, they express what is ever on their minds, with an honesty that is startling in its directness. Through their constant need for expansion, they often turn to higher learning and enjoy exploring subjects such as philosophy, religion, travel, and law. Some Sagittarians are more sporty than intellectual an get their excitement from playing the game. Whatever they do, they do in style. Often indulging in the best. Enthusiastic, warm and generous, wearing their hearts on their sleeves, they, like the archer, aim their arrows far into the distance. They know how to enjoy themselves and are eager for the adventure.
Press Release: Volume 2, Living A Magical Life
Comining in March of 2007 by writer Melissa Anderson
Volume 2, Living A Magical Life will be hitting
the market in March 2007. The book is a step by step guide to living that
simple magic life and placing yourself in sphere of magic whereas all things
generate automatically. It includes many ancient recipes for a daily ritual.
Quote by author:
The books I write attempt t remove the pompous rituals of the past and place
the practitioner in a magical life. Of course some of the rituals are
necessary and the rules and spirituality of magic are quite defined.
If you have had the opportunity to read Ancient Rituals you will wish to put the March date on your calendar.
The Pagan and Occult Author Resource Page
The Pagan and Occult Author Resource Page
SEATTLE, WA – November 25, 2006
After several months of updates and design changes, authors Taylor Ellwood and Lupa would like to announce the rebirth of the Pagan and Occult Author Resource Page. Located at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/poarp.html, this is an extensive collection of resources specifically aimed towards writers in the pagan and occult nonfiction genres.
In 2004, Taylor published his first solo book, Pop Culture Magick. In the process, he realized that there was no central resource available to new occult authors navigating the ins and outs of writing, editing, publishing, and promoting nonfiction texts. He collected the resources he had gathered in his own research, arranged them online, and the Occult Author Resource Page was born.
Fast forward to 2006. Taylor and his new wife, friend and fellow author Lupa, decided to revamp the OARP. They moved everything over to their joint site, weeded out the dead links, and spent weeks adding even more essays, tips and links of interest to authors. Because the information was relevant to pagan as well as occult authors, the name was changed, and the OARP became the POARP.
Since then, Taylor and Lupa have been adding to the POARP on a consistent basis. The basics of the OARP have been retained: magazines and other publications for authors to submit their articles and review copies of books to, radio shows and podcasts aimed at pagan and occult listeners, and an ever-growing list of festivals and other events. New features include essays and tips on everything from editing to promotion and publicity, calls for writers, and a variety of links to valuable online communities and other resources.
The look and location may have changed, but the focus is the same: to offer both new and experienced authors in the pagan and occult nonfiction genres the information they need to write, publish and market that book they’ve been working on. New resources and essays are accepted and appreciated. And, as always, the POARP is entirely free of charge.
To find out more about the POARP, visit http://www.thegreenwolf.com/poarp.html.
Press release: WHITE WITCH: A Novel
Press Release:
WHITE WITCH: A Novel
by Laura Stamps
Kittyfeather Press, 2006, paperback, 110 pages……………….$8.98
Ravena Riley is a Wiccan Witch, who successfully approaches her catnip toy business, feral cat rescue, perimenopause, and fibroids with white magick, spellcrafting, holistic healing, and herbs. But when her husband suddenly sinks into the angry depths of a midlife crisis, Ravena realizes she will have to conjure the greatest spells of her life to determine whether her marriage is worth saving.
Every chapter in this novel contains a spell or chant. You’ll also find lots of strategies and tips for catching, taming, and caring for feral cats and feral cat colonies. Plus, plenty of information for women about how to shrink uterine fibroids naturally…even big ones!
Anne K. Edwards, Book Reviewer and Editor of Voice in the Dark says: “Meet Ravena Riley, the White Witch, whose day starts off with a feeling of being followed and finds it might be a blessing in disguise. Or is it? The events of that day heralded a change in Raven’a life, a change that leads her into a new way of living and thinking. And for twenty years her life follows this new direction. Yet again change comes into her life, and she must seek answers before she can resume the even tenor of her days. Written in flowing words by talented poet and author Laura Stamps, you’ll see with new eyes through the lovely and elegant phrasings of this tale. Take a mental walk through a world you’ve never visited before and enjoy a thrilling new outlook on life. I have.”
TO ORDER: Make check or money order payable to LAURA STAMPS. Free shipping in the U.S. If you live in South Carolina please add sales tax.
MAIL TO: Laura Stamps, Kittyfeather Press, P.O. Box 212534, Columbia, SC 29221-2534
Laura Stamps is an award-winning poet and novelist. Over seven hundred of her poems, short stories, and book reviews have appeared in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and broadsides worldwide, including the Louisiana Review, the Pittsburgh Review, Poetry Midwest, The Wheel, Big City Lit, Poesy Magazine, American Writing, and the Chiron Review. Winner of The Muses Prize Best Poet of the Year 2005 and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and six Pushcart Award nominations, she is the author of more than 30 books of poetry and fiction. Her archives are housed at The Poetry/Rare Books Collection of the University Libraries, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, and Special Collections at James B. Duke Library, Furman University, Greenville, SC. More information about books by Laura Stamps can be found at www.KittyfeatherPress.blogspot.com. For a free catalog of poetry books and novels by Laura Stamps email laurastamps@mindspring.com.
December 2006 Energy Reading
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
December will be a turning point for many of us. It will be a time of great healing and growth, as we allow ourselves to release old negative patterns. Physically, emotional, and spiritually, we will be shedding old skins and old challenges to face the calendar New Year with new prospects. The past few months we have been peeling back the layers of the old dead parts of ourselves. It has been painful and many tears have been shed. But like the snake freeing itself from a skin it has out grown or the butterfly that is fighting its way free of the cocoon, it has been necessary to reveal our inner strength, not to the world but to ourselves. It is the time we have come to see ourselves not through our own eyes, but through those of others.
The energy we are carrying forward from the past is the King of Cups. Strong emotions and temptations are carried forward as we are challenge to find a new way of carrying out the business of life. No longer will the old behaviors function. They will not satisfy nor will they be effective. It is a time of emotional change as we look to wiser souls to find new answers to old questions. Yet the external search will be balanced by the inner one as we find comfort inside ourselves. Time alone will no longer be considered a punishment, but a blessing we give ourselves as we take a break from the frantic energy around us. We will find brief moments of peace strung together to give us perspective and grounding. The more proficient we become at centering ourselves, the easier it will be to find safe port no matter what kind of storm rages around us. It will be these flashes that will give us the strength to keep within our centers and to keep moving forward.
December is represented by the Page of Wands. It will be all of our responsibilities to speak the truth and to stand for each other. No longer will we be lone voices in the darkness asking for spiritual awakening and wisdom; as the energy vibration level continues to increase in frequency and power, more individuals are awakened as are their spiritual gifts. Those who were blessed with minor psychic gifts suddenly find they are no longer minor, but active blessings that they can and will use at will. In addition, to the spiritual, many will find their voices and the ability to use them. No longer will they be silenced by fear and the manipulations by others. For as their eyes have opened and they have begun to see just how much ground they have given away in the name of fear. The first reaction will be guilt and anger, leading to an over-reaction. Yet this could be as self-defeating as doing nothing. It’s only by examining each situation and by coming to a just end result that individuals will grow past the negative behaviors. If we give in to the revenge mentality of tit for tat, then the dark side wins and the light in all of us will be diminished.
The energy coming out of December is the Ace of cups. A new emotional strength will radiate from our hearts that will give us a new positive attitude that will reflect upward to our souls and downward into our physical bodies. It will start with cleansing on all levels as we remove the toxins from our lives. Whether they be people, situations or behaviors, they will suddenly disappear from our lives. Those who wish to move forward only have to ask with their hearts for the healing to begin. Be very careful not to ask for specifics, but for the methods and the end results. Claim what is yours, but remember the free will of others. Having an open heart, means accepting others’ challenges as theirs and refusing to take on the responsibility for their decisions. By simply accepting not as a by-stander but as being of light, we see people for who they are, not as we wish them to be. In doing so, we accept ourselves and open our own doors to new energy.
The challenge each of us will face will be the Devil. In many ways, this card is of materialism and the material world. But in this case, it is our darker side that will be our greatest challenge–our fear, anger, ignorance, self-hatred–all that keeps us from seeing the light of our soul and that which shines from others. It is only by embracing and owning it that we can find the true source and heal through it. Owning it doesn’t mean giving it to it, but admitting we it is an issue. It is only by understanding what triggers the response that we learn how to change our behavior. Once we recognize it and admit is part of who we are, the behavior looses power over us and we can grow through it.
Heffalumps and Woozles
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Strange days -
Weird energies -
Long hours -
Cold mornings -
Warming Afternoons -
One morning this working week some energies came by -
Around 10:30 in the AM it was -
Still slowly warming up with frosty mental fuzz -
Song appeared -
‘bangin’ ’round ‘n ’bout in the brain -
“Heffalumps and Woozles”
sung to the music of the old tv series “Addams Family” -
Strange that -
The words and music fit -
So why am I thinking of Cousin Itt? -
Makes no cents -
Perhaps some British pence -
or even a Zloty or two? -
Don’t know ’bout You -
but nothing here seems to fit -
Might be time to give it over to Fester and Itt -
as this Solitaire Greybeard does sit and in these quiet hours observes -
and has the passing thought -
perhaps all of this is a message -
I sent My Dragons out -
Perhaps this is their message -
I know Dragons have a sense of humour -
But “Heffalumpos and Woozles” sing to “Addams Family"?
Ah well -
Dragons -
Huffenstuff and Puff -
and Away We Go!
Tiny Climber
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Tiny little ant -
crawling, crawling -
up, up faux-marble pillar -
where are you going? -
what is there? -
tiny climber?
Sharings - 12, 2006
Time.
Hours.
Days.
Dark to Light to Dark all around the Cycle.
Quiet.
Noisy.
Busy.
Moments of Inner Study,
Understanding and Outward Sharing -
The Solemnis Solitaire Sits -
Observes -
Writes -
Shares.
Black Cat dumpster scrounging -
scramble fast away -
parked by palm -
early morning arrival -
empty lot -
City still asleep -
sleeepy chirp of unseen featherhead -
“Go away. Sun not up yet.”
Suit rides up -
Suit, tie, fighting yawns -
bicycle in locker -
laptop over shoulder -
off to coffeehouse -
newspaper delivered to racks -
lot begins to fill -
first stirrings -
hint of dawn -
this working mondae begins -
slowly.11/20/2006
Hours -
Moments -
Slow rising of the Warming Sun -
The DayFather Arrives -
The NightMother softly slips away -
Sun is up -
Cold concrete slowly warming -
Birdseed offered and served.
Offerings found -
Offerings accepted.
Hungry, Hungry. 11/21/2006
Sounds -
nearly half heard stirrings and rustlings -
the day comes slowly alive -
First Light -
Orange, Blue, & Red -
Slow rising dawn -
Soft rustlings -
Quiet Chirpings in the bushes -
Seed offered and accepted -
Cold Morning -
Slow Flying Bee -
Pauses on sweater -
Resting for a moment -
Little ‘chi-chirup’ -
Offerings found -
offerinbgs again accepted.
Winter’s Coming.
Eat, Eat! 11/22/2006
Sitting at pillar -
Faux-stone -
Watching the little events -
Observing the story beneath Our Human feet -
Small Black Bug -
feelers atwich -
up from concrete’s crack -
seeking, searching, sensing -
gust of wind -
dry, brown leaf -
leaf vs. small black bug -
bug back down concrete’s crack -
leaf blows onward -
silly little bug! -
it was only a brown, dried leaf!12/01/2006
Sitting -
Watching -
Observing -
Remaining not above -
Not seperate and distant -
But a silent, observing paricipant -
One of -
One with -
One belonging.
Time -
Hours -
Moments -
Days.
Light and Dark -
Day and Night -
Around the Endless Cycle -
Moments of Inner Study -
Observing, Learning, Sharing -
Thus it was -
This is is -
Thus it will be -
This Paganus the Greybeard -
This Solemnis Solitaire.
Bearing the Light
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Light.
Of the Light -
From the Light -
Illumination Spirits -
Guide’s of the path -
Agent’s of the ages -
Occult’s Officers -
Mystic Magi -
Magical Muses -
Ancient Ages Wisdom -
Sages from the Aeon’s -
Warrior’s of the way -
Bearing the Light -
Warmth and Healing unto Winter’s Cold
and Despairing Darkness -
Salve the Sorrows -
Repair the Damage -
Heal the Hurts -
Rebuild, Reset, Redo,
For the Hemisphere North -
The Cold, Dark, Depressingly Despairing Months of Doom,
Prepare the Hearth -
Light the Fires -
Stock the Larders.
The Night are long -
The Storms destructive.
The Harvests gathered.
Comes now the long months of Darkening Cold -
Ice and Snow upon the Ground -
Rivers frozen -
The Land lies fallow -
The Goddess carries on Alone -
Her Lord Lies Dead -
A Childe inside Her Grows -
Hope for the Next Year -
Hope for the Coming Spring.
As this Season lies buried under blankets of frozen white -
White not of life -
White of despair, cold and death -
The Land and its People huddle close -
close by the Fires of the Hearth -
waiting -
waiting -
Waiting for the Light.
Light of Life -
Light of Spring.
Bear the Light.
Bear the Life.
Winter is Coming.
Spring is months away.
Hold alight the Light.
Let not Hope of the Coming Spring Die.
Bear the Light into Winter’s Night.
Bear the Light.
{To Be Continued….}
Herb Garden: Onion
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Latin Name: Allium Cepa
Folk Names: Oingum, Onyoun, Unyoun, yn-leac
Gender: Masculine, Hot
Planet: Mars
Deity: Isis
Element: Fire
Parts Used: Bulb, Flowers
Powers: Protection, Purification, Exorcism, Healing, Money, Prophecy, Lust
Ritual Uses:
Reportedly in Ancient Egypt the onion wa worshipped and was invoked while
taking ceremonial oaths. The onion is sacred to the Moon - and is used in Lunar rituals.
Magickal Uses:
A small white onion stuck full of black-headed pins placed in a window will guard the home
and household against the intrusion of evil. The flowers are protective as well as decorative
and can be dried for protective amulets.
Grown in garden pots they also shield against evil.
Halved or quartered onions placed in the home and household will absorb evil,
negativity and disease.
Do not throw onion skins and peelings on the ground.
You are throwing away your prosperity.
Burn them in a fireplace or cookpot to attract riches.
An onion placed beneath the pillow can produce prophetic dreams.
When faced with a decision, scratch your choices and options on an onion.
One option and choice to each onion.
Place them in the dark.
The first one to sprout is the answer.
Magickal knives and swords are purified by rubbing their blades with fresh cut onions.
Healing (Magickal) Uses:
Rub the cut edge of an onion against aflicted part of body - viisualizing affliction going into
the onion. Then burn or bury the onion.
Strings of onions - much like strongs of garlic - hung over doorways guard against infections.
A large red onion tied to the bedpost protects the occupants against sickness and aids in
recovery.
References:
1) Cunningham Encyclopeadia of Magickal Herbs
Scott Cunningham
Second Edition
© 1988 Scott Cunningham & 2000 Scott Cunningham Estate
Lewellyn Publications
www.llewellyn.com
The Burning Times Aren’t Over
Written By: Theresa Chaze
I now know how the women of the Burning Times felt being dragged from their homes in the middle of the night and tortured. I wasn’t dragged from my home nor was I physically tortured, but I was kidnapped and emotionally tortured by the Traverse City Police Department and the Grand Traverse Sheriff Department of Michigan.
After working a ten hour shift at Normic Industries that started at 3:30 pm Tuesday October 17th and ending 2 am on the 18th, I was driving home on South Airport Road. A few minutes after I turned off Park Drive on to South Airport, a car drove up very close behind me. The headlights were lighting the interior of my car and it was making me very uncomfortable because it simply wasn’t safe. If I suddenly had to stop, the other car would have rear-ended me. I turned on my signal and moved into the left lane. The car advanced and I saw it was a police car. I thought he was in a hurry and would pass. Instead, he turned his flashers on. Confused, I turned on my signal and pulled over back in to the right lane, then off to the side of the road, turning off my car and rolling down the window. The officer walked up and I asked “What? What did I do?”
He asked me for my driver’s license and registration.
I told him it was in my purse and pointed to the backseat.
He told me to get it, so I started opening the door. He got angry and slammed it shut. He demanded that I get it by reaching around the other way. There was no way I could reach it. He yanked open the door and ordered me to get out and go to the back of my car. I did what I was told, asking what did I do. He refused to answer. Moments later, he walked around riffling through my purse. He asked me if I had anything sharp that would cut him or a weapon. I have a small atheme that I carry for when I do ritual in the woods. It’s a set of two knives–two inches and one inch. Since most people don’t know what an athame is, I called them knives. I bought them on Ebay for 99 cents. He dug to the bottom of the outside pocket and found them. He again looked through the main pocket, then gave me my purse back and demanded I give him my license and registration. I asked him to hold his flashlight over my purse while I looked for them; it was even a bigger mess than when I gave it to him. After I gave him the forms, I was handcuff and put in the back of the squad car. I kept asking why and neither officer would answer me. I asked to talk to a supervisor and was told he knew, but he was too busy to talk to me. Where the second officer came from I don’t know. I was so overhelmed, I didn’t see if there was a second car. They searched my car without my permission and arranged to have my car towed. They took my keys and drove me to the jail. The handcuffs were so tightened they make my hands numb. Wednesday I woke up with my right wrist hurt and swollen.
After we got to the jail, I was informed that my car was swerving and that is why I was stopped. They arrested me because of my carrying a concealed weapon. I was totally amazed. They took off the handcuffs and I was processed. They took all my jewelry, including my pentacle necklace, and I was searched. During the processing, I was searched twice more, which I didn’t understand. Except for going to the bathroom, I was always in their sight, so why would they continually have to search me? Another person was being given a breathalyzer test. I asked to be given one as well. I wanted it as evidence that was sober and I had never done it before. I asked to talk to a supervisor and again was denied. I asked for an attorney and was denied. They placed me in a hallway. There was a payphone, but I didn’t know who to call and I no longer had any money. The longer I waited, the more nervous, I became. Stress is the main trigger for my asthma. As the attack started, I asked for my inhaler; they refused to give it to me. It turned into a major attack to the point of throwing up and peeing on myself. An officer walked in and told me to stop making myself sick. I told him the best that I could that I have asthma and needed my inhaler. A few minutes later, he allowed me to use it, but it took a little while before I was able to talk. During that time a dark haired officer with a mustache, who claimed he was a supervisor came it. I told him that I could talk yet and to come back in a few minutes. He never came back, but another one did. He said he was the shift sergeant who arrest me and that the other was the supervisor for the jail. I explain to him what had happened and the actual size of the knifes. He didn’t understand why the officer decided to arrest me–that he had the option of not. He also said that the officer contacted him and told him that the knife was three inches long; it was at that point he gave the officer the option of arresting or not. He said at this point there was nothing he could do, but at the 9 am, I would be given my bond hearing and that I would most likely be let go without having to pay a bond. I told him about my asthma, allergies, and hypoglycemia. He said he would make sure that I had access to my inhaler and given something to eat. I told him I would be missing two dozes of my allergy medication because I didn’t carry them with me. There was nothing he could do. I asked for an attorney and why my rights hadn’t been read to me. He said my rights didn’t have to be read to me because they hadn’t asked about the knife, but ignored my request for an attorney. Before he left, he again said he didn’t understand why I was arrested and was sorry that he couldn’t help.
Later I was put into a holding room and bagged lunch with two sandwiches, cookie, juice and an apple were given to me. The juice was high in sugar so it helped bring my blood sugar left back up. The sandwich tasted strange and the bread was all dry. It made me sick. I forced myself to eat half of it because I needed to eat and nibbled on the stale cookie. It was so bad I didn’t know what kind it was. I rationed out the juice to keep my blood sugar up. For the rest of the night, I sat on the mattress and walked the parade of people. Every few hours my chest would start to get tight and I would ask for my inhaler. It was hard to get their attention, but eventually it would be provided. Each time the officers were getting nastier about it. Breakfast was served to the other inmates but I didn’t receive any, nor was I asked if I wanted any.
There weren’t any clocks so I lost track of time. Eventually I was let out to talk to the “magistrate"–the woman who set my bail. I tried to tell her my side; she wouldn’t listen. No one would. She was more interested in my income and what property I owned, than finding out what my history was. I tried to tell her that I had never been arrested; like everyone else, she ignored me. She told me I was to go before the judge at 2pm. My bond was set at five thousand dollars with ten percent down. The only person I could think to call who would have access to that kind of money was my employer. I called him and he said he would see what he could do. Later, I was able to use the phone twice more to get bond. My sister-in-law wasn’t home; my credit card wouldn’t increase my limit. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
No one would give me any information nor help me understand the process. For most of the morning, I sat with my back against the wall, crying. Lunch was served, but by that time I had waited to long to eat. Looking at it make me feel nauseous, eating would only make me vomit. Instead, I curled back up in my corner and drank the Kool-Aid type drink they gave me. I continue to ask for my inhaler regularly. The officers were getting hostile. At one point, they nearly refused, but they gave it to me and told me it was the last time. Another officer mentioned that they should send me to the nurse to be checked out. However that wasn’t done.
It seemed to be getting late. I started asking about the time. I was told I had to appear before the judge at 2pm. I was already in enough trouble already; I didn’t need more by being late. The officers told me not to worry about it; the paperwork wasn’t filled out yet, but it would be soon. There was an announcement made for something at three o’clock. I again told an officer about the 2 pm appointment, he told me the paperwork still wasn’t ready. Later I asked again about the time, the officer said it was nearly four. Another person and I would be arranged before five. The was a problem with the transfer of a person and there was chaos for about 10-15 minutes. The officers had a good time beating up a young man who was being difficult. They laughed and joked about how they wanted to punch him bloody. After things had calmed down, my court appearance had been pushed back to Thursday at 9:45 am but my bond had been posted. They were just waiting to get the receipt. After dinner had been service, I was finally let out of the cell and my paperwork processed. They had taken all the cash I had on hand and deducted cost of my stay, returning the rest in a check. They wouldn’t give me copies of anything bond the receipt of my bond being paid and the check. They allowed me to use the phone. I called my employer to tell him that I had been released. He told me that he had tried to pay the bond earlier, but was told that I would be arraigned at two and that it would be reduced. When he called before three and he found out that I hadn’t been, he made arrangements to pay it before 4. I wasn’t released until after 5pm. It was too late to contact an attorney. By the time, the cab picked me up and the tow driver returned to the lot, it was after 6:30pm. Neither of them would accept a check and I ended up going over my limit on my credit card in order to get myself and my car home.
On Wednesday, I arrived at the courthouse at 9:30. I asked where I need to be and for my paperwork. I was told I didn’t need any and was directed to the courtroom. While I was waiting, I talked to a man who also had been in jail at the same time. He heard the officers joking that my paperwork had been ready for a while, but since I had been a pain they were going to teach me a lesson. It was after 11:30 before I was called before the judge. He finally read me my rights and gave me a phone number to call the next day to get an attorney. I told him I had never been arrested before and he agreed to give me back the ten percent my employer paid. I was able to leave.
I was cooperative from the beginning and through the whole ordeal. I keep asking why, because I wasn’t being given answers. The couple of times in the past, when I had been stopped the first words the officer said was did you know you were speeding. The arresting officer wouldn’t tell me anything. It was as if he was looking for a reason to arrest me and wouldn’t stop until he found one. I didn’t know him and don’t know why he would want to hurt me. I lost two days of work, cost me money I couldn’t afford, and has made me physically ill. I learned we do not have as many rights as we think we do. You can be pulled over and arrested without being told why. The officer and his co-workers refused to give me his name or give me a copy of the police report. You don’t have to be read your rights, given access to an attorney, or receive medical attention. You can be bullied and mocked by the people who are suppose to protect you; if you ask questions you are considered a troublemaker and you are detained longer. I always thought the police were to protect the public, but they are the ones the public needs protection from.
If you feel, that this was an injustice, please contact the below authorites and complain.
The Michigan Attorney General
Mike Cox
Michigan Attorney General
G Mennen Williams Building 7th Floor
525 W. Ottawa Street
Lansing MI 48909
miag@michigan.gov attention criminal division
I don’t know the name of the District Attorney. The address is
Governmental Center
400 Boardman Avenue
Traverse City MI 49685-0592
231-922-4600
The Sheriff’s information is
sheriff@co.grand-traverse.mi.us
851 Woodmere Avenue
Traverse City, MI
Governor Jennifer Granholm
P.o. Box 30013
Lansing MI 48909
517-373-3400
The Wheel of the Year: Death
Written by: The Solitary Witch: Agate
INBOX:
To: Artemesia
From: Rosemary65
Subject: I’m ready when you are
It’s all settled on this end, so come home as soon as you can. I can’t afford to send you the extra money, but if you can get here, I have a place for you.
Come quickly, sister. My readings lately are dark and worrisome. I see danger if you don’t move immediately. I am concerned for your safety.
May Goddess walk with you,
Rosemary
I carefully folded the printed email, along with Rosemary’s address and slipped it into my hip pocket. Since I had a panic attack the last time I flew in an airplane, I would drive. I have $300 saved; I think it will be enough.
There was nothing to hold me here, no family ties of any kind. My last foster family had been kind enough, but I was never really a part of them. Even Alia, whom I’d thought would be family turned out to be anything but.
I was heading to California, to Rosemary and her coven based upon nothing but two years of e-mails and her blog. I was going on faith, it was all I had left, but Goddess had never let me down yet. I could only hope this would not be the first.
~
I took as much and as little as I could. That was no problem; a lifetime of foster home hopping left me used to a gypsy lifestyle, never owning more than could fit into a backpack and a 30-gallon trash bag. Even after two years of living in my own apartment, I still didn’t own very much. I sold my cheap furniture, kitchen stuff, and most of my library at a yard sale. All I had left after that was my clothes, a few CDs and books, some life essentials, and my Wicca paraphernalia. I bought some camping equipment like a stove and lamp; I could sleep in the car.
The only Wiccan stuff I decided to keep was what would fit into the only piece of furniture I still owned. My last foster mom gave me a hand-made chest for my eighteenth birthday. It was something an old boyfriend had given her a decade ago and as she and her husband went through their storage shed, the chest was on the list of unwanted items. It was a work of art. Stained black, it was hand carved with flowers, vines and birds. The lid was rounded and the hinges and lock were a dark brass.
At the time I hoped that the special gift would mean that even as I left the house I would have someone I could call family, but well, you know how things go. Some people don’t get attached: her or me.
Anyway, I packed up the things I use the most in ritual: my favorite candleholders, a couple altar cloths, a small bag of stones and shells, the 12 inch statue of Artemis I bought for my last birthday, a wooden wand, some essential oils, incense and burner, and a four and a half inch diameter dutch oven I used as a cauldron. That filled one side of the chest. The other I filled with about a dozen Wiccan books. Those were the hardest to choose, I owned many and found them to be useful and inspiring. Without them I may never have found my path or realized that no matter what, I really did have a mother who loved me.
After a lot of sitting and staring at a pared down pile, I chose the best of the beginner’s books, an encyclopedia of Goddesses, a book on labyrinths, herbs, crystals, some compilations of Pagan essays, and this year’s and next year’s Magical Almanacs. I also picked out a few of my magazines. I packed the chest after it was in the car; I never could have picked it up on my own. On the top of the pile, I placed my ritual robe, a bag of ritual jewelry and my first Book of Shadows. The BOS marked my progress over the past few years. There was a blank journal in my backpack up front; a new BOS to mark a new life.
I didn’t travel as light as I used to, but I fit it all into my little red hatchback. I was ready to go: the car was oiled and tuned up, filled with gas, and had a new set of tires. I would leave today, but still I had a couple more things to do. First, the landlord promised my deposit would be waiting for me in the manager’s apartment, and then I would make one last trip to The Magic Wand.
~
The Magic Wand was the perfect metaphysics store. It was big, smelled of incense and had everything the eager pagan witch might need. Wanda, the owner, carried a lot of the mass produced stuff, but she also sold local handmade items as well. My Artemis statue was created by a local artist.
It was the kind of place you could sit in the corner for hours looking through books or chatting; peace drifted on the air like incense smoke. Wanda was the type of owner everyone loved and respected; kind, generous, and knowledgeable. More than anything, Wanda was what drew people to her store and her customers were loyal. She knew everyone by name and had a knack for pointing out those things you couldn’t see for yourself. If I had listened to her in the first place, my problems with Alia would never have occurred.
Wanda would be who I missed most when I left today. I was bringing in my excess Wiccan stuff so she could sell it to someone else at a discount. I kept everything in very good condition, so she shouldn’t have any problems finding it all new owners.
For Wanda every day of October was a reason to dress up. She had lots of costumes and themed clothing. Today, she wore a Renaissance wench’s outfit, her breasts cinched to her chin, and her top brown skirt tucked in to the waistband to reveal a dark green one underneath. Her dark hair hung loose around her bare shoulders, flowers tucked into the curls. If I was into older women I would have hated leaving even more.
Practically skipping from behind the counter, Wanda slipped her arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.
“Jillian, I can’t believe the day is already here,” she said helping me put the heavy crate on the counter.
“More reasons to go now than not,” I answered. For the first time I was sad to leave.
“I know sweetie, I’m just worried about you driving all that way by yourself, but it’s the path you must take.” He voice dropped a bit. “Does Alia know?”
“Do you think I’d get out of here if she did?” I answered, bitter and annoyed. I didn’t want to think of Alia today. This was my chance to break free of my past, of all the betrayal, hers especially.
“I’m sorry, but what will you do if she finds out?”
“No one knows how I am getting there with any luck she won’t be able to follow. As far as I know she doesn’t know about this group or Rosemary. You’re the only one here who does.”
“I won’t tell. I’ve never had good feelings about that girl.”
“Told you so, right?”
“That’s not it at all. I never thought she’d turn out to be violent.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Enough of that. This is a happy day, an exciting day. Today you begin your quest.”
“Isn’t that a little over dramatic, Wanda?”
“Not at all. You are leaving one life and going in search of a new one. It’s a quest, the goal is discovering yourself.” She picked up a brightly painted envelope and handed it to me, her grin so wide it nearly split her face in two.
“What’s this?”
“Open it and find out.”
I pulled out a beautiful card with Artemis on the front, wearing her short tunic, barefoot, bow and arrow raised for a shot.
“I’ve never seen this card before.”
“A new one; it came in yesterday. As soon as I saw it I knew it was meant for you.”
I opened it and a $100 bill fell into my hand. “Wanda, I can’t—“
“Don’t say it, of course you can. Gas, food, campsites, whatever, they all cost money. This isn’t a lot, but it will help you get a little closer. Every quest requires tools, in a modern world, cash is one of those tools.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“One more thing,” she held out a small black velvet pouch.
“But—“
“Just take it.”
I took the pouch and held its slight weight in my hand a moment. She’d given me so much already: her friendship, one hundred dollars, she didn’t need to give me more.Blinking away tears I loosened the cord. A bead and gold wire chain slid into my palm. On the end of the chain dangled a wire wrapped white moonstone. Wanda once showed me how to use one and though I seemed to have a knack with them, I never bought any before.
“I made it for you last new moon. It will help you find your way.”
That did it. Tears slid down my cheeks and I hugged her. She held me tightly as she spoke
“I wrote my email address on that card. You keep in touch and let me know how you’re doing. Let me know when you get there. And remember, even though I know this is the right way for you, if it doesn’t work out you can always come back here. I’ll help you deal with Alia if necessary.”
I nodded as she released me, wiping my eyes. “Thanks for everything.”
I hugged her quickly one more time, then ran out to my car before I found more reasons to linger.
Maybe I was wrong about that no family part.
~
My original plan was to take practically a straight line from where I was in Virginia to Rosemary’s house in California. But then, days after leaving, I stopped at a library and checked my email. There was an email from Wanda dated yesterday.
INBOX:
To: Artemesia
From: Wanda
Subject: Warning!!
Sweetie, I hope you see this soon because last night Alia showed up in the store looking for you. I didn’t tell her anything, but she said something about already knowing you were going to California. She must know about that group of yours and your plans. She’s following you. Watch out, because she’s angry.
Goddess be with you,
Wanda
I barely took the time to sign off my account before running out of the library. I hadn’t been going fast and furious on my trip, but Alia would. She’d figure out which way I was going and either catch up or cut me off. Alia was many things and determined topped the list.
Time to change plans.
~
Being gay wasn’t something I thought a lot about while growing up. Life isn’t hard enough without giving all those charitable Christian foster parents any reason to send you away. So it wasn’t until I moved out on my own that I realized and accepted the fact. Not that I intended do anything about it, I was tired of getting attached and being tossed away.
Then I met Alia. She’s a couple years older and a witch to boot. I thought she was beautiful; blond and tall with muscular arms that softened when they wrapped around you. I felt safe and protected around her. She wanted to be with me all the time; I thought it was love.
We had sex in the circle on Beltane, our own version of the Great Rite, I guess. It was a wonderful evening, but the next morning everything was different.
Suddenly, it was as though I wasn’t just her girlfriend anymore: I was hers, like she owned me and having sex some how marked me as property. Okay, in retrospect, it wasn’t so suddenly, but at the time that’s what it felt like.
She started making rules and ordering me around, but I didn’t want my life to be controlled by anyone else anymore. I’d had enough of people interfering with my existence, so I told her no and refused to have sex with her anymore.
The first time she hit me, it was palm open, she begged my forgiveness. The second time it was with her fist and she apologized. The third time, it was with both fists and the toe of her boot in my stomach. She said I either did what I was told or she’d use more force and magic to make sure I never said no again.
The magic part I wasn’t sure about, but I knew force was definite.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been hit and I knew if I didn’t end it right away, I’d be her victim forever. I had the locks in my apartment changed and called the cops when she came pounding. I got a new cell phone number and deleted any Internet accounts she had access to. I didn’t ignore the magic threat though by warding my apartment and strengthened my own personal shield by empowering a small silver pentacle I always wore on a chain around my neck.
I had one group left on a rarely used account that she did not have the password for: I wasn’t so used to sharing that I gave her everything.
With no one else to talk to I began asking advice of these people. Rosemary, who had once been married to an abusive husband, became my best advisor and eventually my ticket away from Alia.
I decided the next time I stopped for Internet access I would warn her about Alia knowing, right now though, I had to run. I had to change my entire travel plan. My careful financial plan went down the toilet; I would run out of money before I was halfway there, which meant I’d have to find work along the way. But which way did I go? How did I stay out of Alia’s sight? I pulled my map from the glove compartment and the pendulum that Wanda gave me. I was going on faith so far, I’d let Goddess choose the direction.
~
After two weeks on the road headed north to try and throw Alia off, it was Samhain. I found a quiet place in the woods to pull off and drove my car into a small niche out of sight of the main road. I wanted privacy and seclusion; Alia may not be my only predator out there and besides it was a holiday. I always did something for the sabbats, I didn’t want to change that now.
It was chilly out, but not too bad. I grabbed some things out of the chest in the back of the car and set an altar up on a nearby fallen log. I kept it simple: altar cloth, tea light, small cauldron and Wanda’s Artemis card. I pulled my loose fitting robe over my clothes. There would be no ritual bath tonight, the wet cloths I wiped down with earlier would have to do until I reached the trucker’s rest stop tomorrow where there would be showers.
Wand in hand, I cast a small circle and kneeled in front of the altar. I stared at Artemis’ picture in the flicker of candlelight. I’d always wanted Her strength and that complete sense of self that She had; to be able to run into the wilderness without fear. Of course She does have the advantage of being a Goddess. I guess that’s the great thing about mythology, all those things that are so difficult in regular life, come quite naturally in myths.
I sang “We all come from the Goddess” a couple times, but then felt somewhat lost. Samhain was a time to honor the dead, but I didn’t think I had anyone to honor. Wait, yes, I did.
I lifted my robe and fished my driver’s license out of my back pocket. I laid it on the cloth in front of the tea light.
The end of one life, Wanda had said.
“I bid farewell to Jillian Connors, daughter of no one, grand-daughter of no one. May she find what she seeks in the next life.”
Believe it or not, I cried. At least I hardly believed it. Was I really mourning the end of that old life where love always turned out to be a double-edged Athame?
A long time ago when I first became a witch and the idea of a secret magical name was exciting, I had chosen Artemesia, after both the Goddess and an Italian artist I read about I had hoped to gain those attributes I admired so much in my Goddess, but eventually it just became a log on name. Then it seemed silly and somewhat arrogant to name myself after a divine figure, so I didn’t tell anyone. Though, I don’t feel the same about it now, I still didn’t want to use that name. It wasn’t the right one. But if I wasn’t Jillian anymore, who was I?
I didn’t figure that part out that night. There was still time for that, my journey was not going to be short after all, I would take the time, figure out exactly who I was and when I showed up at Rosemary’s, I would introduce my new self to her.
~
INBOX:
To: Artemesia
From: Lverrgrrl
Subject: none
You can’t hide from me forever, Jilly. We are bound together by ritual. I will find you.
I promise,
Alia
To be continued…
Energy reading for November 2006
Written By: Theresa Chaze
This energy reading is hitting very close to home for me, but I am not the only one. Many bright lights have found themselves targeted by those whose goal is to spread fear. Although mine started on the physical plane, it reached to challenge me on the spiritual and emotional. So it is with many. Whether it be losing loved ones, economic insecurity, or religious/political issues, we all have been challenged to face our fears and become stronger. No longer are we able to idly stand by and believe it won’t happen to us or that someone else will take care of it. Each of us are now responsible for taking the lead and standing up for what is right. To allow a bully to harm a weaker person is to be just as responsible. For evil to win, good people have to do nothing; however, when they stand together to face the bully, the bully slinks back into the shadows.
The energy we have brought into November from the past is the four of wands. It is a card of peace and harmony from lessons learned and challenged faced. It is an energy of confidence and satisfaction. We are proud of our accomplishments and the rewards we have earned. It is a time of sharing what we have learned and how much progress we have made. In the past, we faced the old fears and reach further into our core to find the true source of what motivates us. What is hidden can be feared, but once it is brought into the light, it can be examined and worked through. We found others who were dealing with the same issues and had the strength to share. In doing so new bonds were formed and more resources were made available.
For the month of November, the energy is represented by the page of swords. Although we come into the month on a positive note, the challenges again rise up. As we are confronted from the outside, we will find ourselves on the defensive. We will feel uncertain of ourselves and our beliefs as we are forced to reevaluate from the inside out. Was what we held close to our hearts an illusion? Was it real? What is real and true? What or who can we depend on? It’s a time of intense growth and clarification. No longer will the shallow explanations be enough. Each of us will be forced to answer the tough questions within ourselves. This energy will force us to define what within ourselves is ego, fear, or power driven. In seeing and releasing the smallness of ourselves, we find the true motivations of our actions and are able to return to the Divineness that is within all of us. In finding our own, we again see the Divine in others.
The energy we will take from November is the page of wands. As we have found our truth, from within we are more able to speak it with others. No longer will we be comfortable with the shallow old relationship or ways of relating. Although it’s still on the horizon and the dawn has yet to break, the fellowship is emerging. As each person finds their own light, so they light the way for others to find their way. For every prayer for peace and wisdom, for every kindness shown, for every bully that is faced and forced to back down, the Divine grows within all of us as each act reinforces the next. No one stands alone when they come from the truth. As each of us faces our fears, we make the whole stronger and we are more able to see family in the faces of strangers.
The challenge we will all be facing is the ace of cups. No matter what challenges crosses our path, we must face it with courage, love and a good sense of humor. It will not be easy, but we will not be alone. As we reach out to strangers, so they will reach back to us, creating new bonds of support and understanding. For many it will mean new starts or the reactivation of old projects. Many who were afraid to speak out will suddenly find their voice. Some have already been pushed with their backs to the wall and have no place else to go but forward. Others have voluntarily left their nest in order to protect it. Although it was painful, they needed to temporarily be relocated to a place where their voice could be heard and their actions draw more attention. They will be the ones who turn on the spotlights and directs them into the heart of the shadows. The time of the truth-bringers have begun. It’s time for all of us to stand together.
Halloween/Samhain 2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Tiu’s Day - October 31st, 2006
Moon Sign: Aquarius
Moon Phase: Second Quarter
Colour: Lavender
Incense: Rose
Again the ghouls, ghosts, gremlins and ghoblins appear on Our doorsteps.
It’s Halloween.
Costume Shops have been busy.
Candy sales are making merchants happy.
For the sake of the tykes, toddlers and other children out
‘trick-or-treating’ - a few simple safety and security precautions
are suggested.
-) Be careful where You go. Stay in Your own neighborhood if possible.
-) Use reflective costumes - if possible.
-) Carry and use a good, bright, long-lasting flashliight if You go out before dark.
-) If possible do not wait until dark when it is harder to see and be seen.
-) Wait until You get home to eat anything handed out. As the the Adult in the
Family and Household - it is up to You to safeguard the children on this night.
One thing You can do is to hold all the treats handed out.
Do not let any of the children eat anything till You are back home.
Once home - carefully inspect everything You have received.
If You have any questions or doubts about anything - do not let the children eat it
or play with it. Take it to either a Fire Station or a Hospital so It can be examined
or X-rayed if necessary.
It is not just Your Children You need to protect.
Keep Your Dogs and Cats inside if at all possible.
This has long been a night of unspeakable cruelty to Dogs and Cats -
especially black cats.
Keep them inside and safgely away from the neighborhood marauders.
This is not just Halloween.
This is also Samhain.
On this night the veil between the realms and realities thins and parts.
That ghost You thought You heard -
You thought You saw -
perhaps You did See and Hear -
Something or Someone.
Or It may have just have been Granpa’ Ned stoppin’ by for a visit?
This is also the day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed His ninety-five (95)
theses to the Wittenburg Castle Church’s door - sparking the Protestant Reformaion.
For the ‘Church’ it is ‘All Saints Day’ on Woden’s Day - November 1st.
On Thor’s Day - November 2nd - it is “All Soul’s Day’.
Cast Your Circle -
Raise Youir Shields.
Let’s Be Careful & Cautious out There.
I am Casting a Circle -
I am Raising Shields -
I am Grounding and Centering -
and staying very, very quiet.
May the only ghosts, ghoblins, saints, ghouls and gremlins I see
are children in costumes.
Take Care out there.
Stay Safe, Secure and Out of Harm’s Way out there.
Keep the Children, Dogs and Cats safe out there.
Do No Harm.
Let No Harm Be Done.
So Mote It Be.
Blessings Be.
THE THREE TAROT CARDS
Written By: Laura Stamps
Spring arrives late in the Blue
Ridge this year. Only the second
week in May, and the soft fur
of buds and new leaves still
covers most of the trees at higher
elevations after an unusually
long, cold winter. At four o’clock
Ravena turns off the Parkway
and drives back to her hotel
along the country road that joins
each mountain town to the next.
Dark storm clouds gather in the
west, and she’s thankful to have
left the mountaintops before the
sky cracks, releasing its barrage
of fire-sticks and silver seeds.
When Ravena returns to the hotel
the thumping of steady rain pummels
her car, but by the time she walks
into her room the deluge stops.
Outside, water puddles pockmark
the courtyard, and a sparrow
jumps in one, fanning its wings,
splattering itself with water. Up
and down it hops and splashes,
until a robin twice its size charges
across the lawn, and the tiny bird
darts beneath a bush. The birds
in Ravena’s backyard bathe in rain
puddles as well, but none to such
a joyous tempo as this tiny sparrow.
Ravena steps out of her wet shoes
and pads across the room to the
bed, where she sits in the middle,
her legs folded neatly beneath
her, rummaging through the bag
of magickal tools for her tarot deck.
She places it in the middle of a
cotton scarf illustrated with runes
and the image of Athena, Goddess
of Wisdom. With her wand Ravena
casts a circle around the bed, calling
upon Athena’s guidance. Then she
closes her eyes, grounds her energy,
and says, “Dearest Athena, Great
Goddess of Wisdom, should I leave
Odell and my marriage?” Ravena
cuts the deck, shuffles three times
to symbolize the phases of the
Moon, divides the deck into three
piles moving left, stacks it again
in the same direction, and then
draws the top card. The Nine of
Swords reversed. A reversed card
always means “No,” this particular
one symbolizing a time of confusion.
“I don’t understand,” Ravena mutters.
“Dear Athena, show me another
card to clarify your answer.” She
props the Nine of Swords against
her magickal tool bag, cuts the deck
again, shuffles, divides, stacks, and
draws The Star this time, a healing
card. “Now I’m really confused,”
she says. “Help me, Athena.”
Setting this card next to the first
one, she goes through her routine
one last time, drawing The World.
“Success and abundance!” she
exclaims, thoroughly frustrated.
“None of this makes any sense to
me,” she sighs, staring at the three
cards as if they could speak, but
hearing no revelation from Athena.
“Not one word,” Ravena mumbles.
Slowly she gathers the cards and
packs them away in her bag, deciding
to try another reading tomorrow
before she leaves town for home.
Restless from her puzzling tarot card
reading, Ravena decides to drive
downtown and explore the neighbor-
hoods clinging to the mountains of
the city. Each narrow street hugs
the curve of a mountain, while drive-
ways shoot up at an angle or plummet
straight down. On the sloping side
of the street, mailboxes rise higher
than the roofs of homes that sprawl
large and spacious, most perched
on stilts, each with a wooden bridge
leading from the front door to the
road. High fences and thick masses
of trees and shrubbery surround the
mansions at the top of the mountains,
some resembling castles carved from
rock, painted in sunny pastel shades.
Winding through these mountain
neighborhoods, Ravena realizes
she must keep her mind focussed
on the last tarot card, The World,
if she hopes to discern its meaning
in her life, to manifest its prophecy
of success and abundance. Quickly
she creates a chant for her intent:
“Wise Athena, thank you for your magick.
Open my eyes, guide this blessed chant.
Abundance and success shall manifest.
The World will bring me only the best.”
Wild onions bow their heads to the
setting sun as Ravena walks back
to her room after dinner, every step
a tonic for cramped muscles after
a long day of driving. Rain curtains
one of the mountains, and the dark
sky reflects the same shade of gray
she chose when painting the deck
last spring. Instantly, clouds part
for the sun, and a rainbow stencils
its bright hoop over the murky sky
in scarlet, tangerine, yellow, green,
blue, indigo, and violet, this looping
spectacle so wide Ravena finds
color variations smudged in between
the usual spectrum. For several
minutes the rainbow towers before
her, a perfect semicircle. One side
closed, the other forever open.
When she walks through the door
of her hotel room the telephone
rings. “I know you’re coming home
tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait,” Odell
says, his voice laden with misery.
“I feel awful.” Sitting on the edge
of the bed, Ravena asks, “Are you
ill?” Odell groans. “No, not really,”
he replies. “It’s just that everything
bothers me.” Ravena smiles, glad
he can’t see her expression. “Could
you do a healing spell for me?” he
asks. “Anything, please, I’m so tired
of this.” Ravena laughs. “It’s not
funny!” Odell shouts, frustrated.
“I know,” she replies, thinking about
The Star. “This reminds me of a
tarot card I drew last night.” She
reaches for her bag of magickal tools
and unzips the top. “I’ll be happy to
cast a healing spell for you, Sweet-
heart,” she says. “Great,” he replies,
and begins to complain about his job
and the cats as he walks into the
kitchen to search the freezer for
a snack. “Honey,” Ravena says,
“we need to cover all the magickal
bases.” She hears him open the
freezer door. “Before leaving for
work tomorrow, go into my office,
open my cabinet of magickal supplies,
and find a short length of red ribbon,”
she says. “All the ribbons in there
have been blessed with holy water.”
Odell pries the top off a cardboard
container of soy ice cream. “Pin it
to your shirt pocket to ward off the
Evil Eye,” Ravena continues. Odell
scrapes the last spoonful of ice cream
from the carton and throws it in the
trash. “Okay,” he replies, smacking
his lips. “I can do that.” Ravena
smiles at his sudden cooperation.
“Then I’ll cast a healing spell for
you tonight, and you’ll feel much
better tomorrow morning,” she says.
“I hope so,” he moans. “Love you.”
And he hangs up. Ravena drags the
tool bag across the bed and turns it
over. She fills a tiny green amulet
pouch with a pinch of dried fennel,
geranium, rosemary, and lavender
for healing. Then adds five beans
and two charms, a silver hand
and a crescent moon, both power-
ful repellents of the Evil Eye.
It worries her that some people
possess the ability to send the Evil
Eye to another without realizing it.
“Odell has been cranky for so long,
who knows how many people
he’s offended?” Ravena mutters,
closing the amulet pouch with
a red cord long enough for Odell
to wear it around his neck, hidden
beneath his dress shirt and vest
every day. She places the amulet
on the bed and casts a sacred
circle, waving her wand over it
three times in a clockwise direction,
seeking the healing magick of Isis.
“I call on the power of Isis,
Great Goddess of Restoration.
Heal Odell’s troubled mind.
End the root of this strife.
Hide him from the Evil Eye.
Under your wings I place him.
Please grant my supplication.”
She thanks the Goddess and opens the
circle. Energized from Odell’s call and
the power she summoned for this spell,
Ravena rolls over on the bedspread,
closes her eyes, and pulls light from the
table lamp into her body, using it to relax
her muscles, until she dissolves into
a river of star-shine, the three tarot
cards dancing upon a mystical horizon.
Leaving this city and the Blue Ridge
never comes easy, but Ravena
will go home tomorrow morning as
planned, because that’s where she
feels she belongs at this moment,
the prophecy of the three tarot
cards already manifesting. “But in
my mind,” she whispers, “I’ll take
the rainbow, the azure mist rolling
across the mountains, and my idea
of the world.” She knows everyone
in life clutches a particular idea of
the world, good or bad, following
that concept, walking a certain road.
“And I will walk mine,” she muses,
“a path following my heart, stepping
not only to an earthly circle, but also
spinning as a planet unto myself,
blessed in the arms of the Goddess.”
* * * * *
Early the next morning Ravena
pulls out of the hotel parking lot
onto the highway leading back
to Columbia, searching for a way
to say goodbye to the mountains,
their image growing smaller in her
rearview mirror with each passing
mile, and only the ringing of her
cell phone interrupts these thoughts.
“On the road yet?” Odell asks.
“Yes,” Ravena answers. “About
three hours away.” Odell mumbles
to his secretary and shuffles the
papers on his desk. “Okay, I’m back,”
Odell says. “Did you do the healing
spell last night?” Ravena wiggles
in her seat, trying to find a more
comfortable position. “I did,” she
responds. “What do you think?”
he asks. “I think it’s a good start,”
she replies. Odell sighs with relief.
“You should get here around noon,”
he says. “If you like, I could come
by the house, and we can go to lunch
at that vegetarian restaurant down-
town.” Three crows swoop over
the highway and disappear in a field
of sun-washed goldenrod. “That
would be nice,” she replies. “It’s a
date.” Odell laughs, and she realizes
it has been months since she’s heard
him sound so carefree and happy.
As they hang up, she glances in the
rearview mirror, the mountains
only a faint lavender ribbon curling
across the horizon. “Merry meet and
merry part,” she whispers, as the sun
lifts its dazzling chin over the Blue
Ridge. “And merry meet again.”
Often called “The Mystic Cat Poet of the Small Press,” Laura Stamps is an award-winning poet and novelist.
Over seven hundred of her poems and short stories have appeared in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and broadsides, including the Louisiana Review, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Poetry Midwest, Big City Lit, The Wheel, Poesy Magazine, American Writing, and the Chiron Review. Winner of the “Muses Prize Best Poet of the Year 2005″ and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and six Pushcart Award nominations, she is the author of more than thirty books and chapbooks of poetry and fiction.
Recent books include “The Year of the Cat: New Poems” (Artemesia Publishing, 2005) and a new series of novels and novellas for Wiccans and Pagans published by Kittyfeather Press: “The Cat Lady: A Novel in Verse” (2006) and “The Tarot Cats: A Novella in Verse” (2006). More information about books by Laura Stamps can be found at Kitty Feather Press
To purchase the Year of the Cat, visit Amazon Books at:
The Year of the Cat
Goddess Letter - Good Fair
By Paganus Greybeard - Staff Writer
It was a good Fair.
For this Paganus it was a good Fair.
I had ‘work’ - such as it was - that got Me out of the Household for
ten (10) days.
I had Challenges to Overcome.
I had Tasks to Accomplish and Ojectives to Achieve.
Goddess - I thank You for all of that.
I had Lessons to learn.
Some I am already learning.
I thank You for the chance to resuce to tiny little kitt.
Finding the lost child was also rewarding.
It was dusty, smelly, draining and exhausting total sensory overload.
I thank You for all of that also.
I thank You also for the unexpected and unwanted challenge of the
‘team leader’. He was not My team’s leader. We had an encounter.
It was quite ugly. His kharma came back and chewed and lunched Him up good.
I am still waiting for My kharma’s verdict.
Aside from the Jury Duty Summons I think I am still clean and clear.
I had the ‘rabbit-totem’ and rescued kitt experiences after that nasty, brief encounter.
I think I might, perhaps have a clue to my kharma’s verdict.
Yes, Goddess.
I thank You even for all of that.
Teaching Moments.
Learning Experiences.
Sharing Moments.
You were tossing basket-full’s of those at Me at Fair.
I probably missed several of Your Lessons and Learning Moments.
I think I might have used a Sharing Moment or three.
It was not so much the ‘work’ - If I can say that with a straight face -
that was so overwhelming. It was the background experience of the
noises, smells, sights and realities of the Fair.
That and the driving home.
That is and was the Big One.
You got Me home every night.
Driving home every night was My biggest challenge of this Fair.
The roads were dark, often not well marked if they were even marked at all,
wet and slippery and in Reche Canyon - narrow and twisty.
Reche Canyon is bad road in the daytime.
At night it is a nightmare.
Even at that it is still better than the Freeway.
Around here almost any road is better than the Freeway.
I am here.
With Your help I made it.
I endured and survived.
I comprehended and understood.
I centered, grounded and shielded.
I succeeded.
This was ‘work’ for ten (10) days.
I need more than this.
If possible - I need it closer.
No more night drives in back-country canyons and hills.
No more gasgging and choking dust.
No more deafeningnoise from ‘Carnivale’ -
“El Toro Huaco” ‘Mexican’ rodeo -
and dirt track motorcycle and sprint and demo derby car races.
Urrggh.
Especailly the last.
I can handle the rodeo.
It’s those dirt-trackers that are a bit much.
For My next paycheck -
and Teaching, Learning and Sharing moments -
Perhaps a nice, quiet office someplace?
I can - at least ask for that?
I can do that - right?
I thank You also for the opportunity to serve the Membership
and Readership of MysticWitch.com.
I thank You for the Mystress. She is a good Editor and Publisher.
She is also a good Teacher and Sharer.
I am lucky to be working with Her.
I also thank You for the Staff of MysticfWitch.
I am lucky to be working with them also.
May tghe baby kitt, baby camel ‘Delilah’ and all of the babies be well tended
and carfed for.
May the 2nd shift ‘dispatch’ be safe anbd secure in Her patrols.
She is a Riverside County Deputy. Not sure how many knew that.
And Yes - Look after “P.". HJe was a pain. Look after Him also.
He pinched his nerves. Perhaps HIs pinched nerves can be a wake-up call
to Him that His Darksider Spirit and Ways is doing as much damage to
Himself as He is to others.
Do No Harm.
Let No Harm Be Done.
Perhaps - in time - even “P.” can learn this.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be.
Do No Harm.
By Thought, Word or Deed -
Intentionally or unintentionally -
By action or inaction -
Let No Harm Be Done -
To Others or Yourself -
Let No Harm Be Done.
Let’s Be Careful & Cautious out there.
Let’s Remain Out of Harm’s Way out there.
So Mote It Be.
Blessings Be.
Paganus Greybeard
Solemnis Solitaire
BardicMagus/Priest-in-Training
Reaching for the Flames
Solitary Witch Writer: Agate
Undulating rhythms flickering in the dark;
Flames burning images into the air;
Igniting my spirit,
warming my soul.
I want to learn how to fire dance! At the harvest festival this year in Fair Oaks, CA, Obsidian Butterfly danced with fire after the sun went down. I’ve seen it before, probably the same group at a past festival, but this year we were closer. Watching these two women was like watching fire goddesses in the flesh. It was amazing and the first time in a while that I felt inspired.
I don’t know if I’ll actually learn how to fire dance, though it would be an adventure to try. There is an element of danger to it, fire is so unpredictable, but maybe that’s what I need in my life: a little unpredictability.
I haven’t been writing as many articles lately because I’ve had nothing to say. I’ve learned nothing new and had little to get excited about. The fire dancers have been the first thing in awhile that felt alive and full of spirit. I looked forward to them from the moment I heard they would be there.
The festival itself was small and not much different from any other festival we attend: lots of vendors, some music and costumed attendees. We went through booths quickly, bought a few things, listened to music, and chatted briefly with a few people we knew. Oh, the ‘we’ is Kindra, her four-year-old daughter Visha, and I. Visha was dressed as a witch complete with pointy black hat and spider web stockings; she was a hit with everyone. In preparation for the day, I finally got around to crocheting a goddess. I was going to make a shirt but didn’t have the time, so I free-form crocheted a Cretan style goddess along with some brown leaves and twigs and sewed them to a shirt, I fit the harvest theme nicely.
We left the festival early to go to coffee and dinner, getting back in plenty of time for the fire dancers. The evening was cool and we sat on the grass enjoying the break in summer heat.
The performance was a ritual in and of itself. After dark, the dancers lined the path to their stage with tea lights. One dancer brought out a small lamp or pot with a large flame that she carried in the palm of her hand, and then the second dancer joined her.
Almost from the beginning, I got the sense of divinity as the first dancer lit her ‘fans’ and began dancing. She also had rods tied to her waist that she eventually lit as well. Belly dancing as the fans floated around her, lit by her own flames, she was woman transformed.
Probably one of the most amazing sights is when they dance with burning balls that they swing about themselves. First, the music was slow and so was their dance, but as the rhythm picked up pace they swung the balls so fast that the eye perceived the flames as a solid circle of light framing the dancers.
Their last dance used tools I’ve never seen before. This time they had rods attached to each finger and they almost looked like long fingernails. In fact, Visha thought they had set their fingernails on fire. These rods could splay out like fans or close tight to a single flame.
At the end of their performance, the audience called for an encore and didn’t move from their seats. Just as we were about to leave, the dancers were in the audience asking for a light. Swinging balls in hand, they danced one more time for us much to our delight.
I think watching the fire dancers reminded me of when I first came to Wicca and it was all very exciting; something new to learn everyday, a new discovery made or even just a sense of specialness about what I was learning.
Lately there’s been no specialness and I’ve been trying to find a way out of stagnation, to light a fire beneath myself and get back that excitement I used to have, not only in my spiritual life, but in the mundane workaday life as well. How appropriate for that first thrill in forever to be fire dancers.
I wasn’t the only one who was thrilled by Obsidian Butterfly; Visha says she wants to be a fire dancer when she grows up.
Obsidian Butterfly- http://featheredserpant.tripod.com/index.html
Libra
It’s all too easy for you to skip right over the details today and then wonder what went wrong. If others seem to be pushing your emotional buttons, don’t push back. Changing your attitude can help recreate the peace, especially if you’ve tried to blame someone else for your misjudgment.
- Seventh Sign
- Cardinal Air
- Ruling Planet: Venus
- Key Words: Balance, Diplomacy, Relationship
Librans are the diplomats of the zodiac. To avoid disharmony they will turn on the charm, flash you a smile, and do everything possible to keep the peace. Affectionate, gracious, and refined, Librans need to be popular. Belonging to an Air sign,they have a lightness about them and are friendly, intellegent, and sociable
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Balance - This is a keyword for Librans. Although genuinely wanting harmony, they are still prone to difficult periods, when their scales are off centered. However, as they work on their self-awareness and inner adjustment, they become more self reliant. This allays their tendency to become dependent on others. Librans need to learn to stand up for thier own beliefs even when it may cause a controversy.
Home Enviroment - Lovers ofbeauty and luxury, the Librans have an eye for color, they need to be surrounded by tasteful and harmonious surroundings or they become unhappy. They usually have an attractive home and are naturally good at artistic expression.
Love and Relationships - With your ability to be charming, you can easily attract friends and partners. As you are a romantic and like emotional stability, you are generally loyal to your partner.
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Energy Reading for October
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
The month of October will continue to be challenging and frustrating. So many people have been asking why does it have to be so hard? Why can’t I move forward on my path? The answer is you will when you are ready. By releasing the old ties that bind you to the past, you open the door to the future, yet some are still afraid to walk through it. Instead they stand the threshold and ask why are the blessing held so far away. In reality, it is us as individuals, who are holding back.
The energy we are bringing forward from the past is the Hanged Man. It is a feeling of being restrained or blocked. However, instead of being on a leash, we are seeking answers and energy on other levels. This energy is releasing tremendous amounts of growth and wisdom. There is much change and expansion happening on every level of existence, however we are simply too involved to see it from where we are standing. Once we reach the pinnacle, we will be able to look back with pride at our achievements. Suddenly this energy will start changing our views. No longer will we see what we can’t do, but all we are capable of accomplishing. This energy will bring rapid and unexpected changes in our lives on all levels.
The energy for October is the two of cups. The simple meanings are partnerships, connections, and free sharing of energy as co-operatives are created. People of like minds will come together to harness their wills, ideas, and support for the good of all. No longer will those who come from love and hope be standing alone. Just as the internet is called the web, so will individuals be linked together around the world. In business, relationships and spiritual paths, the connectiveness will encircle the globe until all those who chose the path of light are working toward the same positive goals. All a person has to do is to stand up to be counted and she or he will find support beyond their imaginings.
The eight of wands will come out of October. Goals will be reached. Individuals will learn from others’ successes and failures. No challenge will be wasted, for each lesson will have meaning to others. The “group mind” will beginning it’s conversion to the Aquarian age as more individuals speed up their spiritual learning process. The only ones left behind are those who expect others to carry them.
Together we will be facing the challenge of the King of Cups. Although some respect him, many more find him to be emotional to the point of irrational. He frequently makes little sense on his own and it’s only through the “wrangling” of others that his outbursts are kept under control. He considers himself to be a religious man, yet he never learned the true meaning behind the spirituality of his faith. Instead of being comforted, his faith is a place he hides from the truth of his life and is a way of avoiding responsibility for his actions. He is only capable of seeing from his point of view and totally lacks empathy for anyone who chooses another life path. His influence will ebb and flow until at last, a majority sees his true face and he will be held accountable.
Moon Tides, Soul Passage
Moon Tides, Soul Passage
Author: Maria Kay Simms
Software: Rique Pottenger
313 Pages
Publishing House: Starcrafts Publishing
Price: $22.95
ISBN Number: 0976242214
Purchase Locations: Amazon, Barnes & Nobel
Personal Site: Maria Kay Simms
Moon Tides, Soul Passage gives a fresh, different look at charting natal charts for those that enjoy gaining more personal knowledge with the usage of Astrology using the moon phases.
A new slant on only utilizing the Moon and the phases thereof gives the user a new perspective on how their lives are intertwined and shaped. Along with the software program it is a snap to have a Moon Natal Chart in minutes.
Ms. Simms, has used easy to understand information that the readers is able to utilize nearly immediately. Can be understood by the novice to the advanced which is unique in using a charting system. Each chapter entails basic information on the how, why and what of the moon phases. Slanting for those that are following the Wiccan path there are rituals that may be put in force for those that wish to utilize rituals along with the moon, solar phases. The rituals are new and slightly unique.
Using the software is smooth and easy. No fancy download hoops to jump through. Simply insert, follow directions and within two minutes (Yes, I timed it) you are on the road to charting your Moon information.
Although I was disappointed that it was lacking a few resources that may have enhanced the software, I was intrigued by the information given. Running the program then looking up the signs giving the reader full and concise information. Once the reader has gone over the information a new look may be given to their present life and changes that may be worked on.
The descriptions give each house along with the placement of the moons phase. There is little doubt as to finding the information you need as it is sectioned by the phases. Taking you through not only the moon phases but the solar as well. Particular interest again was the solar and moon eclipses with the details given.
I especially enjoyed the prenatal information based on the time and moon phases. Giving new insight and thought to before being born. I was impressed with this part as with other programs it is usually not mentioned.
The colored palettes in the book of the art work was a wonderful addition to to the book. These are the art work of Ms. Simms and Molly A. Sullivan, such named as “The Images of the Goddess” and Moon themes. My favorite was the “Disseminating Moon". After seeing the palettes, I must tell you that I surfed over to the site to take a more intense look at the work offered.
Would I recommend this book? For those that wish a new look into their lives by using the moon and phases, I would say yes. The material is light, informational and easy to follow.
Readers will have hours of pleasure and fun preparing their charts due to the refreshing presentation of material.
Sometimes it’s More than the Sniffles
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
I was once again laid off. My first reaction was–great! I’ll be able to catch up on my to-do-list. It sounded really good. But the best laid plans usually make the Divine laugh–and so it was with me. It was my intention to split my time between writing, promoting my writing and working on my gardens. I visualized images of calling bookstores and all them agreeing to carry my novels, while being interview by Oprah and having both novels on the New York Times Best Sellers list–granted lofty and unrealistic objectives, but a woman has to have a goal.
The Divine must have been laughing hard enough for her sides hurt as she said something akin to “You think so huh?” as she whacked me with a kidney infection two days after I was laid off. My health insurance was still effective so I went to the doctor and got meds to clear it up. I understood how it could have happened. For a long time, I had been stretched so thin between the rice bowl job, starting the writing career, and taking care of the business of life. After all, there is just so long you can substitute caffeine for sleep. The break I had a few months earlier during the first lay off wasn’t very restful. I did the final work on the proofs for Awakening the Dragon and Dragon Domain, along with early promotion, the spring yard work, redecorating half my home and starting an ezine. Not bad for two months work. Going back was a mixed blessing. Financially it helped, but I was once again back 70-80 hour work weeks. My stress level was increasing as the demands I placed on myself were becoming more unreasonable. The second lay-off came in time to prevent a mini break down. The kidney infection gave me an excuse to take a week off. It was annoying, but I could live with watching movies, reading and taking long naps–as long as it was just for a week. After a few days, I felt better and I started working a few hours every day.
After a week, I was back up to speed and was promoting my upcoming book signing. An ex-coworker agreed to interview me on his radio show. I contacted several other people I met while working at the TV station. In addition, I sent emails and called other media in Northern Michigan, trying to arrange some publicity. At the time, most of their attention was on the upcoming Traverse City Film Festival, so there wasn’t much left over for an unknown writer. I understood; the festival not only was a very big deal for the area, but it was going to be fun. I had already volunteered to work shifts during the week. Saturday arrived at last. I had done all the promotion I could without spending money. The day of the signing another ex-coworker made an announcement on air during his radio program. I arrived early. However, the owner left me a note, suggesting that I set up in the back; the last book signing she had at her store didn’t do well. She wasn’t there, so I set up in the front window. It was a good choice. Not only did I sell books, but also I planted seeds of interests and met some really wonderful people. The afternoon was exciting and a little stressful. No matter how confident you are, it does raise the stress level when you put yourself up for others to critique. Sunday I worked my final shift for the film festival. Overall, it was a really good week. I had a good time and met wonderful people, including Michael Moore, who was much smaller and quieter than I expected.
Monday I started the day making phone calls to bookstores and answering emails. But I had also made the decision that I needed to start looking for a job. My unemployment was not covering the increasing cost of living. In addition, I didn’t know how secure the rice bowl job was. I pulled together a new resume, including my broadcast experience and education. After I left the last TV station, I thought I would never go back into the industry. The stress of the petty politics and hostile working conditions had given me nightmares and caused me grind my teeth to the point of breaking them. I loved the work, but for years when I thought of going back, the nightmares returned. It had been a while and I thought that maybe I had healed enough to try again. So I did. There were several job openings listed and I applied for them.
Late that afternoon, I worked on the garden. I was a little tired and my environmental allergies were very active, but the weeds were taking over and they were making me crazed. After about an hour, I broke out in hives all over my arms and legs. I didn’t get as much as I wanted done, but I had to stop. Even after cleaning up and taking meds, my skin itched and burned. After soaking in a sea salt and baking soda bath, the redness went away, but my skin was still irritated. Nothing I did seemed to make much of a difference. Gardening had always been healing activity–a way to release stress and relax. I couldn’t understand why suddenly that had changed. In the past, my allergies had stressed out my respiratory system and made my eyes itch, but it was always controllable with meds. Suddenly nothing worked. To make the situation worse, the temp was in the high nineties with a high humidity level; between the two and the lack of air conditioning, I sweated. The salt from my sweat gave me a new definition of pain when it met my already irritated skin. It took four days and many antihistamines later before I began to feel better.
What I didn’t realize was that the antihistamines that I was taking didn’t contain a decongestant. My outside was healing, but my sinuses were infected. It started with a headache mid afternoon on Tuesday. By that evening, my whole face hurt and my ears were ringing louder that usual. I took meds and went to bed early. By the next morning, my face had started to swell and all my teeth hurt; I spend the day on the couch, playing with the remote, sleeping and taking meds. The next morning my right eye was matted shut when I woke up. It had happened before so I knew how to take care of it. Again, I spent the day resting; with all the meds, I had very little choice. It hurt, but that wasn’t what bothered me the most; it was not being able to think. The meds and the fever made me foggy and unable to focus. All I wanted to do is to sink into the couch and leave the world behind. It reminded me of when I worked at the TV station. At the time, I was working two jobs and writing; sleep was a foreign concept. I was airing the show “Golden Girls". In this episode, all the main characters were sick with the flu. I remembered watching it and being jealous of the characters all comfy on the couch. The memory came to mind because I was tucked safely on the couch and wanted nothing more.
On Friday, I called my allergist and she phoned in an antibiotic prescription for me. It wasn’t much of an exaggeration that I looked like the Elephant man. The right side of my face was swollen; my eyes were red and matted. My ears were completely clogged with a high-pitched ringing. I picked up the meds and some food before going home to hide. By the time I pulled into the driveway, I was dizzy and my fever was higher. After three days of doing little more than sleeping on the couch, I felt better and the swelling had started to go down. By the tenth day, I was nearly as good as new except my ears were still clogged.
That’s when I made my mistake. Believing the antibiotics would protect me, I pulled weeds for a few hours again. The next day many of the symptoms had returned. Two days later, I was nearly as ill as the Friday I started the antibiotics; only this time I wouldn’t have access to the prescription meds. Instead, I went over the counter and homeopathic. With all the garlic gels I was taking, I would have killed any vampire who came within a ten yard radius. Making sure I took meds with both an antihistamine and decongestant, I again became a couch jockey. I didn’t get any worse, but I also wasn’t getting much better. I would wake in the morning and my eyes would be sticky. Frustrated, I prayed to the Goddess and asked why. My intuition told me that it was because I refused to feel the sadness and disappointment in my life. For so many years, I had been working toward my goals only to find frustration and betrayal. Instead of taking time to get angry and feel the sadness, I immediately started working on alternative plans. Simply put I created an emotional vapor lock that had started to affect me physically. Feeling sad and crying didn’t mean that I didn’t have hope or other possibilities; emotions simply are. By ignoring them, I was denying myself the release that would have allowed the healing to begin. So I watched a couple of DVDs that always made me cry and I did. Within two hours, my eyes totally cleared.
Unfortunately, I only cleared part of the problem. The infection slid down from the upper sinuses to the lower. For a short time, my ears and throat really hurt; the meds only tempered the problem. The next morning the pain was gone, but the ringing and stuffiness in my ears increased. Nothing I did seemed to heal the problem. It was the worse in the morning; I was nearly deaf when I first woke up. Gradually throughout the day, some of the blockage cleared. Not being able to hear made me feel defensive. There was so much around me that I was missing. The blockage not only limited my ability to physically hear, but to psychically as well. I knew there is a reason. Again, I asked why? I’d gotten the message the Divine sent better if I could have actually heard it. (Note to universe: if you send auditory messages make sure the person is capable of hearing it! Thank you.) I have never been so cut off from the universe. I was very frustrated not to have access to my natural abilities, yet not know if there was a good reason.
The infection healed, but my ears were still stuffed and ringing. I could hear echo of my own heart beat better than the person I was talking to. Sneezing, yawning, and chewing were always followed by various popping sounds. Another med was suggested to me by a friend. Having nothing else left in my own healing bag, I tried it. Although Guaifenesin was technically for chest congestion, it did start loosing the mucus throughout my system, including my chest where I hadn’t realized there was a problem. The meds continued to make me sleepy, so I continued to be a couch jockey. It was great for paying off my slept debt, which made the national debt look like petty cash, but I still had writing to do, books to promote and five tons of pea gravel to spread, not to mention the flourishing weeds that were laughing and saying neer-neer-neer. It was just simply rude.
After a couple of days, I did some research on the net. From the descriptions, I self-diagnosis myself with an inner ear inflammation caused by the sinus infection. According to the information page, the stuffiness would clear up on its own and could take up to six weeks. Six weeks!!! Like me riding the couch for that long was going to happen. Summer was nearly over and I hadn’t accomplished much. The yard was an over grown mess. The five tons of pea gravel still was waiting to be spread. The writing projects were still in note form. To top it off, I need to start looking for at least a part-time job, if not a new full time one, which nearly a full time job in itself.
The magnitude seemed over whelming. Instead of being stymied, I took a step back. The exhaustion I had been feeling for longer than I cared to think about and the illness had been created by scattering my energies and simply ignoring my own needs. Life was no longer about enjoyment, but clicking tasks off a list. Instead of looking at the whole picture and planning for weeks in advance, I restructured my game plan to a day-to-day list. If it rained outside, I worked on the indoor tasks. If the sun shone, I scheduled outdoor work. I threw away the pens and sharpened the pencils. Nothing was written in stone. In addition, I placed limits on what I did and for how long. There was a definite maximum limit, however the minimum was flexible. When I got tired, I took a break; if that didn’t revive me, I stopped no matter how much had been accomplished. I took care of myself and added variety to my schedule. Furthermore, I made the time to go back to the fun stuff–movies, hiking both alone and with others; spending time with other people without it being work related became a priority. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to screw around. One afternoon, I was spreading some of the pea gravel. I’d only been working a little while and I needed to take a break. Getting some water, I sat for the first time at my new outdoor table and chair set. It took over a month to set it up after I brought it home and I never really used it. Snowball, the neighbor’s cat, jumped onto my lap. I scratched. He purred. The breeze blew. There were people walking on the street and children played, but they seemed far away. Birds sang. It was a moment. I never noticed that a couple of my trees had tiny berries on them until then. Maybe that is what best describes my life for the last few years–I never noticed. Two days later, my ears started to heal. In a round about way, the Divine answered my question; it just wasn’t in the way I expected. It wasn’t what I wasn’t suppose to hear or didn‘t want to hear, but the fact that I wasn’t listening when I could hear.
Mabon ap Modron 2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Come One -
Come All -
Gather Here -
Gather ‘Round -
You are Invited Here -
You are Welcomed Here -
In this Solemn, Sacred Place -
In this Solemn, Sacred Space.
We are once again united -
Each on Our own separate path -
United in Our Direction and Goal -
Collected together here -
United and Solitary -
Writers and Editors -
Contributors and Visitors -
we are together in this Space -
Mystic Witch.
Spirit of this Sacred Place -
Spirit of this Sacred Space -
We come here to Honour -
We come here to Celebrate -
Spirit of this Sacred Space -
Spirit of this Sacred Place -
We ask Your Blessing for this Gathering -
We ask Your Blessing for this Working -
May Our Words and Actions find Your Blessing.
We Approach this Sacred Space -
We Approach this Sacred Place
With Hearts and Minds and Flesh and Bone -
Join Us now in Ways of Olde -
We Have Come Home.
Earth Mother, We Honour Your Body -
Earth Mother, We Honour Your Bones -
Earth Mother, We Honour Your Spirit -
Earth Mother, We Honour Your Stones.
GateKeeper -
Open the Portals -
Between the Gods the Mortals -
Power Freely Flows as Our Magick Grows.
Opening Invocations:
Celebrant ‘facing’ East:
DayFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the Eternal, Infinite ALL -
I Honour and Greet You.
Sun of the Day -
Moon of the Night -
I Honour and Greet You.
Sun of the Day who brings Light and Energy and Life to this little blue world -
You are Welcomed Here.
Moon of the Night who brings the Reflected Light of the Sun into Our dark nights -
You are Welcomed Here.
Celebrant ‘facing’ South:
Lord and Lady -
Aspects of the Eternal, Infinite ALL -
I Honour and Greet You.
Lord -
Consort of the Lady -
and Original Image of Male Humanity -
You are Welcomed Here.
Lady -
Companion to the Lord -
and Original Image of Female Humanity -
You are Welcomed Here.
Celebrant ‘facing’ West:
Gaia -
Earth Mother -
Living Spirit of this world -
You are Honoured here -
You are Welcomed Here.
Celebrant ‘facing’ North:
Akasha -
Spiritus Sanctus Aspect of the ALL -
I Honour and Greet You.
Akasha -
who brings the ALL into all Our lives, faiths, beliefs and ‘religions’ -
be it Pagan, Wiccan, Druid, Chaotic, Catholic, Taoist, Protestant,
Baptist, Hindu, Jewish, Lutheran, Shinto, Hebrew, or even humble
Undecided Eclectic -
You are Welcomed Here.
Akasha -
You who - in other faiths - carry other names such as ‘Holy Ghost’, ‘Holy Spirit’, ‘Espiritus
Sancti’ are Sacred to all of Humanity. For without You as the ‘Word’ there would have
been no World. When in the Beginning - When the All - the Original Primal Creator Being - reaches forth across the Heavenly Cosmos and Creation is Created You were the ‘Word’ by which it was done.
You are the ‘Voice of the ALL’.
You are Honoured and Welcomed Here.
Celebrant ‘holding up’ a ‘Cup of Water’:
Water -
Element of Life -
Element of Wisdom from the Wellsprings of the Earth Mother -
You are Honoured and Welcomed Here.
Water -
for whom there Would Not and Could Not be any life here on this little blue world -
You are Honoured here.
Water -
from which all life arose -
We who live upon this little blue world Would Not and Could Not be here without You.
You are Honoured and Welcomed Here.
Celebrant ‘holding up’ a ‘Handful of Earth’:
Earth -
Element of the Very Ground upon which We walk and live -
and the Sacred ‘Flesh’ and ‘Bones’ of the Earth Mother -
You are Honoured and Welcomed here.
Earth -
in and upon which We grow Our foods and build Our homes -
We would have no place to live without You.
You are Honoured and Welcomed Here.
As has been said and sung -
Let now the rocks and stones themselves begin to sing….
Celebrant ‘holding up’ a twig from the Original Primal Tree
{"Yggsradsill"}
Tree -
Element & Representative of all that is Green & Plant upon this
little blue world -
You are Honoured and Welcomed Here.
Tree -
You stand forever tall and majesticly proud.
You offer shade and fruits.
You are home to birds and other small creatures.
You are wood for Our fires and lumber for Our homes and furniture.
You are Tree - an Old and Very Dear Friend.
You who in the ancient Celtic, Druid and Norse traditions connected the
Depths to the Heights of the Heavens -
Who connects the Nine Realms -
Who is the Axis of the Universe -
Be Welcomed Here.
You are very much Welcomed Here.
Celebrant again ‘facing’ East:
Good Morning and Greetings!
DayFather Sun And NightMother Moon I Greet You!
Sun of the Day and Moon of the Night I Greet You!
Element of Air I Honour and Greet you!
Greetings Guides and Guardians of the East!
Spirits of the Air -
Who come on the Winds and Wings of Understanding -
Forever Inquisitive and Curious -
Awaken Our Intuition and Intellect so We may Comprehend and
Understand so that We may Share this Learning with Others so
that They too may Comprehend and Understand.
Be Welcome!
Blessings Be!
Celebrant again ‘facing’ South:
Good Morning and Salutations!
Hawaiian Goddess of Fire Pele I Honour and Greet You!
Element of Fire I Greet & Honour You!
Greetings Guides and Guardians of the South!
Spirits of Fire who come to warm Our hearths and hearts -
who Illuminate and Light Our Lives -
who Heal Our Physical wounds and Emotional and Psychic sorrows -
who Make Us strong -
Aid Us as We give honour and respect
to those of Us who have ‘traveled onward’.
Bring Us warmth - but not so much as We cook Ourselves….
Be Welcome!
Blessings Be!
Celebrant facing West:
Good Morning & Merry Meet!
Sea Nymph Galatea I Honour and Greet You!
Element of Water I Greet & Honour You!
Greetings Guides and Guardians of the West!
Spirits of Water who come to cool Us down on days of heat -
who come to wash away the negative, hurtful and damaging -
who softly and gently salve Our wounds and hurts -
who bring Us cooling in these days of summer.
Be Welcome!
Blessings Be!
Celebrant ‘facing’ North:
Good Morning & Hail & Well Met!
Earth Mother Gaia I Honour and Greet you!
Element of Earth I Greet & Honour You!
Greetings Guides and Guardians of the North!
Spirits of Earth who dwell within this planet -
Friends of Humankind -
Seen and Unseen -
Known and Unknown -
Sons and Daughter’s of Earth Mother Gaia -
who support and uphold Us -
who nurture and sustain the flowers and trees,
who watch out for and protect Us mortals all -
Be Welcomed here.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant Very Slowly turning Clockwise:
Lord and Lady -
Gods and Goddesses -
Aspects of the ALL -
Who was here before Anything & Everything -
Who will still be here after Everything and Anything is long gone -
IF it be Thy Will -
Bless this ‘Working’ with Your presence -
Elements of the Five Directions -
Air of the East -
Fire of the South -
Water of the West -
Earth of the North -
Akasha of the Spirit -
Come in Peace.
Come in Understanding.
Come in Learning, Loving and Sharing.
Air of the East I ask for Your offering of Inspiration and Understanding.
Fire of the South I ask for Your offering of Energy and Power -
to get this ‘Working’ worked - and to just get successfully,
safely, sanely and sensibly through this time of ‘testing’, changes and opportunities.
Water of the West I ask for Your offering of coolness so all of Us
here collected as MysticWitch stay cool and not suffer from Summer’s Heat.
Earth of the North I ask for Your offering of Wisdom and Comprehension.
Akasha of the Spirit I ask for Your offering of Guidance and Direction.
Guide and Direct this humble, mortal Celebrant.
Akasha - Let Your offering of Guidance and Direction be for All and Everyone…..
Celebrant takes ‘atheme’ and ‘faces’ East:
DayFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the All -
IF it be Thy will -
By Your Light -
Original by Day and Reflected at Night -
Out of the Darkness of the Night -
Out of the Depths of Dark Fury and Anger -
Out of the Despair of Emptiness and Loss -
From Yesterday into Today -
Today into Tomorrow -
Tomorrow into Infinite Eternity -
I - Paganus - ask that IF it be by Thy Will -
May no harm be done this day.
No harm by thought, by word or by deed -
Whether by active intent or accident -
Let No Harm Be Done -
By Anyone -
To Anyone -
Themselves included -
For Any Reason.
Let - No - Harm - Be - Done!
DayFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the Infinite, Eternal ALL -
I thank You.
Celebrant at the Altar
We are gathered here to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox.
In Ancient Traditions of the Celts, Druids and Norse -
As well many other Ancient Pan Indio-Asian-European
Traditions and Cultures -
this was the time of the Sacred Second Harvest.
This is the time when the Sun King ‘dies’ and goes into the West -
This is the time when the Goddess is Ascendant -
the God is Descendant -
and We Celebrate and Honour the Harvest.
We have here cinnamon - a spice from the Far East.
We have here Apple - one of the fruits of the Harvest.
Celebrant takes a ‘working knife’ and slices open the Apple.
Inside this Apple -
this Fruit of the Ancients -
We see the Ancient, Sacred Pentagram.
Celebrant removes seeds from Apple.
Celebrant places seeds in small wooden bowl.
Celebrant holds up bowl.
These are the seeds of the Apple.
These are the seeds of the Apple Tree.
In the Spring -
In the Season of Renewal and Rebirth -
These saved seeds will be planted.
Planted to grow and develop into an Apple Tree.
Celebrant takes some of the cinnamon and sprinkles
some on an apple slice.
Fruit of the Earth -
Herb and Spice of the Earth -
Both from the Ancient Sacred Tree -
One an Apple Tree -
One a Cinnamon Tree -
From the Earth -
From the Earth Mother -
We Celebrate and Share this Harvest.
Gaia -
Earth Mother to Us All -
Home World to Us All -
We Honour and Thank You.
Celebrant takes a bite of the cinnamon apple.
Thanks, Gaia.
The apples are good today!
Closing Invocations:
Celebrant ‘facing’ East:
SkyFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the Infinite, Eternal ALL -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this ‘Working’.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant ‘facing’ South:
Lord and Lady -
Consort and Companion -
Aspects of the Eternal, Infinite ALL -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this ‘Working’.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant ‘facing’ West:
Gaia -
Earth Mother -
Living Spirit of this world -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this ‘Working’.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant ‘facing’ North:
Akasha of the Spirit -
Spiritus Sanctus Aspect of the ALL -
You - who are the ‘Voice of the ALL’ -
We thank You for Blessing this ‘Working’ with Your Presence.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant ’slowly turning in a clockwise circle’:
Elements of the Five Directions -
Aspects of the ALL -
Air of the East -
Fire of the South -
Water of the West -
Earth of the North -
Akasha of the Spirit -
You came in Peace, Understanding, Learning, Loving and Sharing.
Air of the East We thank You for Your offering of Inspiration and
Understanding.
With Your help this ‘Working’ was written and ‘worked’ and the
intent and desired result of this ‘Working’ was accomplished.
Fire of the South We thank You for Your offering of Energy and
Power. This ‘Working’ was worked and with Your help We might just
make it through these times of ‘testing’, changes, and opportunities.
This is a time of stress for Us all.
We thank You for Your Power and Energy to help Us through these times.
Water of the West Your offering of Coolness and Healing is greatly
appreciated. The hot days of Summer are a bit easier to survive and endure
with Your help. Your healing ‘washing away’ of Our hurts and troubles is also greatly
appreciated.
Earth of the North We thank You for Your offering of Guidance and
Direction.
Akasha of the Spirit We thank You also for Your offering of Direction and Guidance.
Blessings Be.
Celebrant ‘facing’ North:
Earth Mother Gaia -
Aspect of the ALL -
We thank You for this world upon which We live.
Ancient Tree of the Celts and Norse -
Aspect of the ALL
We thank You for the plants and greenery of this little blue world.
And the apples are still good….
Ancient Element of Fire of the Celts and Norse -
We thank You for all the gifts and benefits Fire has brought humanity.
Fire is Our friend - it can - as can all the elements - be also Our enemy.
Fire can cook our meals and warm Our hearths.
Fire can also burn Our forrests, grasslands and homes.
Ancient Element of Water of the Celts and Norse -
We thank You for all the gifts and benefits Water has brought humanity.
Water is Our friend - it can - as can all the elements - be also Our enemy.
Water can fill Our lakes, rivers and water storage reservoirs.
Water can also flood Our cities and homes and let slide Our homes off the
hillsides in which they so perilously perch.
Ancient Element of Air -
Without You We could not breathe -
We would have nothing to breathe -
We thank You for Your gift of the ‘Breath of Life’.
Air is Our friend - it can - as can all the elements - be also Our enemy.
Air gives us the ‘Breath of Life’.
Air can also - in great storms - blow down Our cities and homes.
Ancient Element of Earth -
Without You We have no ground upon which to live.
Earth is Our friend - it can - as can all the elements - be also Our enemy.
Earth gives us Our ground to live upon.
Earth also takes away that ground in slides and earthquakes.
Fire and Water -
Ancient Elements of the Celts and Norse -
Fire and Water -
Air and Earth -
Ancient Primal Elements of the ALL -
You are seen as both Friend and Enemy to humanity.
You are neither Friend Nor Enemy to humanity.
You are Basic, Primal Elements.
So very often We forget that.
You never let us forget We are but humble mortals upon this lovely little blue world.
We thank You for Your offerings, lessons, reminders and teachings.
We thank You for Blessing this ‘Working’.
DayFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Lord and Lady -
Sea Nymph Galatea -
Earth -
Air -
Fire -
Water -
Akasha of the Spirit -
Tree of the Ancients -
Earth Mother Gaia -
All of You who have Blessed Us during this ‘Working’ -
I know not how to ‘release you’.
How can I release Elements and Aspects of the ALL -
when, as I have Read and Studied -
Learned and Shared -
You are always here with Us at all times anyway?
How do I say -
with a straight face and not giggling in My nicely trimmed up beard
“…thanks for coming by and carry on!…” -
when You are still going to be here with Us at all times?
Perhaps this Celebrant does not quite yet completely ‘get it’.
Or perhaps this Celebrant Does ‘get it’ - in My own humble way…..
Closing Open Benediction to the Mystic Witch Readership:
We who are gathered together here as MysticWitch -
We who are Writers and Editors -
We who are Readers and Occasional Contributors -
We who think, write and work for MysticWitch -
In All the Names of the ALL -
In the Names of All of the Aspects of the ALL -
In All the Names of the DayFather Sun -
In All the Names of the NightMother Moon -
In All the Names of the Directions and Elements -
May Akasha of the Spirit -
the ‘Living Ethereal Embodiment of the Spoken Word of the ALL’ -
be with Us always.
May All of the Aspects of the ALL be with Us Always.
May the Ancient Tree of the Celts and Norse stand silently beside Us always.
May the Ancient Well - Source of the Water’s of Healing and Life -
never run dry.
May the Ancient Cauldron - Source of Fire’s Energy and Power and
Warmth in the Cold Days of the Winter - never go cold.
May the ALL - in All It’s Aspects - be with Us always.
We came in Love, Learning, Peace, Sharing and Understanding.
May We now conclude this ‘Working’ with Love, Learning, Peace,
Sharing and Understanding.
Go now in Love for Your fellow inhabits of this tiny blue world…
Love Your friends and Your ‘lover’s - if You have any.
Love Your cat’s and dogs.
Yes - love even - IF You can - Your neighbor….
Go now in Learning - and Learn something….
Keep Your mind alive.
Keep it growing and seeking and searching.
Yahoo, Ask.com, Mamma and Google are not the only search tools.
Use also the one between Your ears….
Go now in Peace - and help to keep the Peace…
Do not start the Fight - IF there is a Fight - but do not be afraid - IF needed - to finish it.
Go now in Understanding that We need not all be of the same ‘faith’ or ‘belief’.
It it all the same to the ALL. Whether We be Pagan, Protestant, Druid,
Catholic, Jewish, Taoist, Shinto, Shaman, Wiccan, Chaotic, BardicMagus or even
“Eclectic Whatever….” - we are all ‘family’.
We are All of Us Children of the ALL…
Go now in Sharing - and take these humble and inadequate words with You.
For it is in the Sharing that We are Mystic Witch….
Walk with Wisdom -
From this Hallowed Place -
Walk not in Sorrow -
Our Roots shall embrace -
May Strength be Your Brother -
and Honour be Your Kin -
Luck be Your Lover until We meet again.
Remember always -
Be Careful & Cautious out there….
Stay Safe and Secure out there….
Let Your Guides and Guardians Serve, Preserve, Protect & Defend
You out there….
Let the Lord and Lady -
{or personal preference Deity & Divinity of Your choice} -
Bless You and Keep You -
May Their Lights Shine forever about You -
And Give You Their Peace.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be.
So Mote It Be.
Blessings Be.
Addendum #1
Cinnamon
Latin Name: Cinnamomum zeylancium, C. vervum, C. lauracea
Folk Names : Sweet Wood, Ceylon Cinnamon, Cassia
Gender: Masculine, Hot
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire
Deities: Venus, Aphrodite
Part Used: Bark
Powers: Spirituality, Success, Healing, Protection,
Power, Psychic power, Lust, Love
Ritual Uses: Cinnamon was used as an ingredient in an anointing oil by the
Ancient Hebrews. The leaves of the Cinnamon tree were woven into wreaths which
were used to decorate Roman temples. The Egyptians used Cinnamon oil during the
mummification process.
Magickal Uses: Cinnamon - when burned as an incense - raised high spiritual vibrations,
aids healing, draws money, stimulates psychic powers and produces protective vibrations.
Can be used in healing incenses and burned to help stimulate clairvoyance {’far seeing’}.
It is one of the herbs used to stimulate and excite the passions of the male. Can be
added to prosperity mixtures. Can be mixed with myrrh for a good general incense for general magickal workings. Cinnamon is also used in sachets and infusions for these purposes.
Medicinal Uses: Cinnamon is also widely used in treating athlete’s foot, body odor, diabetes, fever, heartburn and nausea. Cinnamon contains at least ten (10) fungicidal chemicals. Cinnamon also contains eleven (11) antibacterial chemicals. Cinnamon is one of the spices that current research indicates may help the body better use insulin more effectively. Simply add a pinch or two to a pot of black tea and steep for ten minutes then let cool. Sprinkling a bit of Cinnamon on your toast may help indigestion and heartburn & nausea.
Kitchen & Cooking uses: Cinnamon is a popular spice used in baking.
It is also used as a spice for yoghurt’s and seasonal eggnog’s.
It is even used in certain teas and other drinks.
Other Uses: Cinnamon has also been used as an insect repellent.
Sprinkle some around the ground perimeter of the structure and
ants and other small bugs should be repelled.
Addendum #2
Apple Names: Pyrus spp.
Folk Names: Fruit of the Gods, Fruit of the Underworld, Silver Branch,
Silver Bough, Tree of Love, Tree of Life, Eden’s Tree
Gender: Feminine & Cold.
Planet: Venus
Deities: Venus, Dionysus, Olwen, Apollo, Hera, Athena, Aphroditie,
Diana, Idura, Hercules, Zeus
Element: Water
Parts Used: Fruit, Cider, Blossoms, Branches {wood}, & Bark.
Seeds used for next season’s planting.
References
1) Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise
© 1982 & 1983 Scott Cunningham.
© 2002 Scott Cunningham estate
3rd edition, 3rd printing
Llewellyn Publishing
www.llewellyn.com
2) Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
© 1985 Scott Cunningham
© 2000 Scott Cunningham estate
2nd edition, 12th printing
Llewellyn Publishing
www.llewellyn.com
3) Green Pharmacy
© James Duke
Rodale Press
4) “Sacred Grove” chant - words by Scott Miller
4a) Druidic Materials - awensbreath@aol.com
Posted on 6/15/2006 at 9:41 pm by Paganus
Revised & Rewritten & Saved to Draft on 09/15/2006 at 16:06 by Paganus
Edited & Saved to Draft on 09/16/2006 at 14:02 by Paganus
Final Edit and Typo Check and Posting on 09/18/2006 by Paganus
Copyright © 2002-2006 Mystic Witch
May the Goddess Bless - A Goddess Letter
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
In Times of Trouble -
May the Goddess Bless.
One of Our Own needs Your help.
One of Your Own needs Your help.
The Father of Our Mistress R. is in hospital.
He knows not himself nor anyone else.
He is alive -
yet -
in a way -
not alive.
He is hanging between the Realms.
He is holding between the Worlds.
The Mistress is facing a nightmare situation
that no Childe prepares or plans for.
This is the Horror and Nightmare
that the Childe most fears.
The Parent is gone -
yet is still here.
The Body is here -
the Mind may be gone.
The Family is in severe emotional
disruption and stress.
They need You and Your Healing.
They need You and Your Help.
You are Needed.
Blessings to the Father.
Blessings to the Family.
Blessings to All.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be.
Blessings Be.
Paganus Greybeard
BardicMagus/Priest-in-Training
Solemnis Solitaire
17:33 [5:33p] {pacific/’california’}
09/14/2006
Away the Swords
By Staff Writer Paganus Greybeard
Home.
Off the Ships -
So long at Sea -
Off the Roads -
So long the Riding and Marching -
I am Home.
The stone walls around me -
courtyard and wall -
common room and kitchens -
My room - my sanctuary - awaits.
Unsaddle the horse -
Wipe down, rub down -
Grain and water -
So trusted and steady -
Honoured, trusted friend & companion -
Again home -
In pasture’s safety -
Run and have a moment away from the Wars.
I hang the tabards, the baldrics, surcoat, doublet,
mailshirt away.
I don again the the pants and tunic.
The Swords again locked away high upon the wall.
The Shields hung also upon the wall.
Retain the Daggers - useful tools.
Slice the bread and cheese -
Core the apples -
Time for lunch -
Here back at home -
Back in this village -
This community -
Where baker knows butcher -
Candlesticks knows weaver -
All know the blacksmith -
My village -
My quiet place -
My home -
Where I serve the Lords & Ladies -
The Lord & Lady -
So pull up a stool or chair -
Gather ’round -
I’ll draw a pint for all -
This Barman has tales to tell!
Energy Reading for September 2006
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
For all of us this year continues to be a time of challenge
and completion. It is a time of facing old challenges to either win
or continue the battle. No one is exempt. No one can hide. The
spotlight is on all of us individually as we are the star of our own
drama. As the harvest is being brought in from the fields, so are
we harvesting the results of our actions.
As I was shuffling the five of cups popped out of the deck,
wanting my attention. It tells of turmoil both within ourselves
and within the world. Relationships are changing. Those that are
built on solid foundations will survive as all involved with learn
and grow together, using each challenge to become stronger. Those
that were built on shifting, unstable sands will find the ground
slipping from beneath their feet without having anyone to save
them. It is time to take an honest accounting of our lives. Will
the final balance be in the black or in the red?
The energy we are carrying forward from the past is the four
of wands. Those who have done the spiritual work are carrying
satisfaction and harmony as they have met the challenges of the
past. They continue to look forward and plan for the future as they
bring in their harvest. They can enjoy what they have earned. New
relationships and partnerships are forming as likeminded people are
drawn together to rebuild and reestablish the structure in their
lives. I see communities of people of light coming together both on
the physical and spiritual planes. Even though distances separate
them, they are connected by the energy they radiate and their
willingness to work toward a single goal.
In the present is the four of cups. Confusion continues
reign supreme as extreme factions fight for dominance. People, who
have raised their traditions from a way of life to icons of worship,
fight to keep the ability to influence and bully others. To them,
change is the enemy that needs to be destroyed before it can
spread. Conflicts spread as the extremism awakens the sleeping
masses out of their self-absorbed dreams, but instead of finding
support, the moderates find their voice and the courage to speak
out. Banding together they search for their own truths and ways of
creating positive changes for both themselves and the country.
Traditions are examined. Those that are found wanting are tossed
aside. Many seek new ways of living that make sense and bring about
a positive end result. Just because it was done it the past, does
not justify continuing a behavior in the future. If it doesn’t
work, it doesn’t work and something new will be tried.
In the future is the ten of swords. It will be a time of
loss and stress as the battle lines continue to be drawn. Extremes
attempt to polarize the people by pointing the finger at those who
attempt to bring about change and call them evil. Social conflicts
reflect the internal ones as individuals struggle to face their
challenges. The image that comes to mind is the Civil War, as the
cultural, spiritual and political climate becomes increasingly
hostile. Lies are exposed. Truths are ignored or excused by those
with agendas and individuals are unwilling to admit their mistakes
or take responsibility for them. The ability to trust others will
start slipping away as honored people are proven to have feet of
clay. In the mist of the chaos, there will be beacons of light who
will be the voices of reason and wisdom. Like lighthouses battered
in a storm, they will continue to shine, lightning the way to safe
harbor. With new ideas and higher standards, they have
opportunities to create positive and lasting change. It will also
make them targets for those who fear and hate change. There is one
who will rise before the end of 2006 who will not reach his
position, instead he will be come a martyr–struck down by an
assassin’s bullet just before he reaches his goal.
The challenge we will all face continues to be the ace of
pentacles. The new energy radiates to and though all of us. No
matter how deep we bury our fears, they will found and brought to
forefront. Success comes to those who turn and face them. Those
who chose to run will not escape; instead, they will only make the
challenges stronger and themselves weaker. Being overly possessive
of people and things will only push them farther away. However, by
objectively accepting what is, new paths will open up to those who
are willing to explore new territory. For those with courage, this
will be a time of exploration and new discovery.
Questions Never End
Written : Mistress Ravenfyre; Editor in Chief
We are a society that question. We question everything from what to eat to who is doing what to whom. Our biggest question is our life and what it is all about. Of course we question ourselves, our friends, companions and our deities and guides.
We have become seekers of the almighty answer. Seeking immediate gratification by receiving answers once asked. Patience has been over come by impatience. The old saying of “All good things take time” seems to be one that is not followed. We need and want those answers-NOW.
It is only human to question. Answers bring knowledge. Calming us, for awhile. Without questions we would not be able expand our lives with new knowledge, insight on us or those around us. We need answers.
Yet what becomes of us when answers are slow or do not come at all? How do we react?
Spiritual Questions
Our spirituality is one of the biggest question we want answered. Asking:
Who
Why
Where
When
How long
Just to name a few.
We ask our guides, guardians and our dieties for answers all the time. Show me a sign! Answer what the purpose is. Kindly clarify the situation I am going through. Tell me what is the use? These are the same questions each of us more time than once ask of our beloved deities.
There are times when these questions seem not to be answered. But maybe they are we just didn’t hear or see the answer that was given
Working on the Answer
Asking the question is easy. Receiving is the hard part. I often wonder if those guides, guardians and deities ever think that we ask to much and never hear them? Do they sit and say out loud “How do I send them the answer this time?” or “Here we go again”. Who answers their questions about us? Surely not us.
Sending the answer is tricky as most are not open to the act and art of seeing and hearing. Becoming deaf and blind to what has been sent to us. Thinking about have you ever had an occurrence of the same thing over and over? You just saw it but it did not sink in till much later in time? After it hit you was the answer all that important or needed as in the beginning? How did you feel when it finally did sink in?
When the answer has not been answered within a reasonable time we ask again. Changing the words and statements as we think that maybe we were not clear in what we asked. Sometimes we make the question more complicated than the first time we asked. We wait.
What is Heard or Seen? Nothing? Something? Everything?
Yet we did not get it at all. Ignored the answer as it did not hit us over the head like a cosmic brick. Acting with anger, exasperation, intolerance and impatience we gave up.
Some walk away or even change paths when answers are not given. Feeling that they no longer believe or maybe a different deity will serve them better. Not long after doing all this there they are again knocking at the door with another of the same question. They know that with the changes made surely an answer is coming. What a shock. Nothing again.
Why the Cold Shoulder?
You may have already been given the answer. Answers may not come instantly. In fact some may never be answered. Leaving us to solve the question on our own. BINGO! Your answer. We have been sent a sign that we must do it on our own. Here we have been assuming that the answer was ignored, it was there all the time. Feeling pretty silly now aren’t you?
The answer was solve it yourself. Taking a look at our past and present may help you with what you need to have answered. Look at the signs you may have received but chose to ignore or over look. Maybe you didn’t like what you were sent so you ignored it continuing to ask away. Were there repeated signs, events or anything that stands out? Might have been in the form of a key word, statement, animal or color just to name a few. Take a long, cool look at those. Once you have you might be able to find your answer within. Repetitive answering is common until we simply “get it". Once we do get it we are able to move along to, well, another question.
Leaving It Up To Us
We have to stand on our own two feet at times. Our deities know this. As Free Will is so very important in our growth as individuals. Having the Free Will in order to make our own mistakes, solving our own problems our way. We learn that we are free will thinkers and our pieties love this about us. They may like our choices, especially when they are bad, but they smile knowing that we will realize our mistakes. Sooner or later that is.
When we are not answered outwardly by our deities they are showing us respect as humans. That is the part of why we are so loved by them and we return that love to them. Respect. Admiration. Trust.
By not answering us they have answered us. No matter how frustrating it is on both the deities and us, we must try on our own. If we do not we become dependent upon them and this is not what they wish us to be. We are independent, creative beings that entertain, anger and give happiness to our jadeites. Being dependent upon them would create unhealthy thoughts and love. I am sure that this would not be something that they would enjoy.
Help Carrying Your Burdens
We place far to much of our burdens on our deities lately. We ask. We request. We demand. With each of the above we give away a little something negative of our selves to them. We are no longer working, striving, loving counterparts. We are greedy, self absorbed, spoiled brats. It is no wonder that our answers at times are so slow or not received.
Have we in our hectic and stressful lives focused these emotions onto our deities as well?
Do they feel the stress? Do they have stress management classes?
Questions never stop. Now do they?
Wanna Make A Bet? Lucky Hand Root
Wanna Make A Bet? Lucky Hand Root
For those that gamble or make their way with placing bets, this is the root of choice to be carried in a Mojo Bag.
The Luck Hand Root or Hand of Power is in fact the female root of orchids. The root is usually around 1″ in size and fits well in small conjure or mojo bags. The Lucky Hand Root resembles a hand hence its name. It is also associated with Five Fingers Grass with its potency. Although it is in no way any association with Five Finger Grass. Lucky Hands are often called Five Finger Root, as it is an inexpensive substitute for Five Finger Grass. Remembering they are not one in the same and nor do they come from the same plants.
This is said to be one of the most powerful additions, to a gamblers or actually anyone that wishes more personal power, to thier Mojo Bag. Carried with them while placing bets or events of winnings this is a potent charm.
Widely used in New Orleans and proclaimed as one of the most powerful magical plants to be had. Marie Laveau was infamous for giving this root to those that wished to win at gambling and winnings. Not to be forgotten she knew the importance of placing this in bags for employment as well. Using this root for gaining and keeping a job. For those that needed luck and success the Lucky hand along with Lodestone dusted with magnetic sand was placed in their conjure bags.
Not limited to gambling alone this root has been claimed to aid against evil spirits and protecting the holder from all types of ills and bad events.
Suggestions for the use of the Lucky Hand Root
Personal Power: In order to gain personal power place the Lucky Hand Root along with John the Conqueror Root in your mojo/conjure bag.
While using Psalm 23 use the root while praying for what you need or wish to obtain.
For those future uses, place a few of the roots in Rose oil and let them soak fermenting. When a root is needed take out of the jar and place in your bag. Generally though one should use this root over their heart for certain desires. For money place one of the roots in your wallet to enable you to receive more.[1]
Easy to use, easy to get.
Other Information:
Gender: Female
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Uses: Protection from evil, money, gambling, travel employment and luck[1]
References and materails used:
[1]Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
Banner
The Political Witch
The Solitary Witch
Staff Writer: Agate
”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech; or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
~First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
~Benjamin Franklin
There are those who believe that religion and politics are two separate entities and must never mix, and in a governmental sphere, this is most assuredly true. But on a personal level, religion is part of who we are and therefore informs our political decisions, and that is okay. While our founding fathers advocated separation of church and state, they also acknowledged the importance of religion in the lives of people.
I am of the opinion that the First Amendment is the most important of the Bill of Rights. My dad might argue that bearing arms, amendment two, is more important, but how can you know to take up arms against oppressors if there is no one who can tell you there might be a need? The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, the press, and of peaceful assembly, all things you will not find in theocracies.
These rights have remained prime, standing against all attempts at censorship and oppression for most of America’s history.
Then came the greatest tragedy in our history—9/11. Suddenly, it seemed our First Amendment rights became dangerous to national security. They were battered down under a barrage of Nationalistic terms such as “America, right or wrong” and Love it or Leave it”; then of course the questionable text of the PATRIOT Act. Americans became a bunch of simpering children hiding from the bogeyman, all too willing to give up guaranteed freedoms in exchange for promises of safety and revenge. Terrorists do not win by killing; they win by destroying what they hate—our way of life. The more we tremble in fear the more we empower those who wished to terrorize us.
Sound harsh? Maybe it is, but I’ve watched much of America roll over and show its soft underbelly to those in government for whom Freedom is a four letter word and a prohibitor of profit. We are told it is a different world we live in now, but it is not that the world has changed—terrorism has always existed, even here in America (think Oklahoma Bombing)—its that we have suddenly been exposed to it by outside forces.
“Remember 9/11” has become a meaningless catchphrase tacked onto the end of political speeches to rouse applause and maybe even a little fear at the memory. Meanwhile the things that made America special and great are trampled under waves of nationalism and loyalist sentiment, neither of which are patriotic in nature.
So why the rant? Why the deviation from my spiritual path to a political one?
Perhaps because I live under a president who has openly stated his belief that my religion is not a real religion.
Perhaps because I see my personal rights being eroded in the name of Patriotism.
Perhaps because more people voted in the last “American Idol” episode than in the last presidential election.
Perhaps because Congress votes itself a raise every year, but thinks $5.15 an hour is too much for the American minimum wage worker to live on.
Perhaps because old men who never fought in a war are sending young people to die in one.
Perhaps because the crazy people have taken over the asylum and the guy who used to put lit firecrackers into the butts of frogs is making the rules.
Do I care if you agree with my political beliefs? Not really. The beauty of the First Amendment is we don’t have to agree to be Americans.
So, remember the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War; remember the abolitionists and the feminists; remember Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Jefferson; remember no one changed the world sitting on their butts in front of the TV or from behind closet doors.
Dissent is the epitome of patriotism, it is what our country was founded on and is protected by law. Dissent is our legacy and our responsibility not only as Americans, but also as Pagans who have had to fight harder than most for our First Amendment rights. We must hold those in power accountable for what they do.
There is no excuse for not voting in the upcoming election and every one afterwards. If you don’t, then you have no right to bitch when we end up with more of the same, or even worse, things continue to deteriorate.
Virgo
| August/September, 2006 | |
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It’s all about communication , Virgo, which is something you know quite a bit about. It’s not what you say, but how you say it that can set off a discussion that turns into a bitter quarrel. Avoid animosity, not by holding your tongue, but by speaking your piece in a noncombative manner. Being kind allows for reconciliation.
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Alone I write: Again as nothing……
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Alone I sit -
quiet in the night -
upright in bed -
light overhead -
paper and pencil -
writing.
Beside Me books -
printed pages bound -
words and images -
knowledge offered -
wisdom shared -
learning enabled.
Clipboard and paper -
pencil in hand -
words in thought -
words by written hand -
images of visions -
sensations of emotions -
feelings of encounters -
sharing of inner self -
fragments of psyche -
captured by mind -
committed to paper -
to be read -
to be shared -
written by One for All.
Quietly I sit -
alone to write -
upright in bed -
quiet in the day -
sunlight through window -
paper and pencil -
writing.
Beside Me piles -
books, papers, boxes -
life in cluttered jumble -
collected here -
where I sit -
where I write -
alone.
This Household is no Monastery -
This Room is no Cloisture -
yet in many ways -
for so many years -
in so many Households -
so many Rooms -
Those roles Household and Room have served.
I am here as surely as if I were locked up.
I cannot leave.
Where to go? -
How to get there?
Cloistured here I am.
I sit here -
I sit here alone -
I write here -
I write here alone -
Who is there to read?
I am here to write.
Who can read if I never leave here?
Here I write.
Here are My words.
Together We are here -
alone.
I am here -
words by hand -
no online -
no phone -
silenced.
Shut-down.
Shut-out.
Solitary.
I have Articles, Forum entries and Poems to write.
They are not written.
Not today are they written.
What is the point -
if in this Cloisture -
I am to remain?
I cannot contribute this way.
I cannot participate this way.
I am not involved this way.
Here -
as Silent Solitary -
I cease to exist as a working and functional
participant and contributor.
Here -
in this Room that is not a Cloisture -
in this Household that is not a Monastery -
I become again as nothing.
Cold stone walls surround Me -
there are physically no stone walls here -
yet I ‘feel’ & ’sense’ them.
Exercises I have been doing -
this is not exercise.
I am in stone -
surrounded by stone -
there is no stone.
I ’see’ the arched covered walkways -
I ’see’ the well & cistern -
the strange patterns of shadow in the courtyard -
I ‘hear’ the slam of the heavy wooden doors -
the soft footsteps down the corridor -
in My Room -
in My Cloisture -
I am -
again as nothing -
writing as by hand -
pausing for a moment -
wondering if any will read the words -
words I write -
not in stone -
but here in Household -
alone.
What ‘test’ is this?
What ‘challenge’ is this?
What ‘lesson to be learned’ is this?
I sit enclosed in a silent and empty
monastery of stone -
a monastery of silent stone that
does not physically exist -
yet I ‘feel’ it -
I ’sense’ it as thought it were existant -
I can almost even ’smell’ it -
dampness and mildew -
not of lath, metal and wood -
but of stone and brick.
I am not a Monk,
So why do I feel that I am?
This is no monk’s cell.
So why do I feel that it is?
This is no stone carved monastery.
Then why do I ‘feel’ the stone so strongly
I can almost touch it?
What experience is this?
I know not.
I am simply sitting here -
clipboard and paper -
Saturn’s Day afternoon -
writing -
alone.
This is no exercise.
This is very, solidly real.
This is happening -
if only inside My mind.
White stone walls.
Dark wooden doors.
Tiny slits of windows.
Cots, tables, desk, closet and chair.
Worn rug upon floor.
None physical.
Yet all so very real.
Another time?
Another place?
Another realm or dimension?
I do not know.
Yet I do know this -
the longer here I sit -
sit writing here -
the more I ’see’, ’sense’, ‘feel’.
How unreal.
Or is it?
Whom to speak with?
Whom to share this with?
Nobody.
Not till Mondae -
If even then….
Will anybody even read this
will anybody even know of this -
I cannot say -
I cannot know.
Perhaps yes.
Perhaps no.
This is far beyond My knowing.
These words - by hand -
were written.
That much I know.
Alone I sit -
Quietly -
upright in bed -
sun through window -
paper and pencil -
writing -
alone.
The Shield
Across the street from Ravena’s
hotel sits a neighborhood of
historic homes renovated as
boutiques, art galleries, specialty
shops, and cafes. The homes
cluster around an old church
designed like an English cottage.
Round red tiles knit the roof,
while wood blackened with age
clothes the body of the church.
Inside, the air sways dark and
cool, laced with the special
fragrance old buildings wear
when they sign a mossy alliance
with the earth. Ravena walks
from room to room in the art
gallery next door, each floor
filled with pottery, paintings, art
prints, handmade furniture, and
jewelry. She’d like to buy a pair
of cat or pentacle earrings to
commemorate her trip, but nothing
whispers to her today. Outside,
the sun swims hot on her skin,
the temperature over eighty
degrees, a heat wave, they
say. She walks past a fine art
clothing boutique and a record
store, stopping to rest on a bench
in front of a men’s shop, facing
a small garden six feet wide
and thirty feet long, each bush
pruned in an Oriental shape.
Large rocks add height to the
garden and support raised beds
awash with tulips. Blooming
herbs, lamb’s ears, and a small
pond entertain lazy bumblebees
and wasps. As a breeze from an
approaching thunderstorm turns
its cool fingers over her arms,
Ravena realizes she’s sunburned.
After a while a young man with a
pleasant face sits on the far end of
the bench. He doesn’t seem to be
a tourist, even though he appears
as hot and moist as everyone else
on the street. “I have a new son
born last night,” the man says
proudly. “Now I have two kids.”
Ravena smiles. “Congratulations,”
she says. “I hope your wife is
doing well.” He shakes his head.
“I’m not married,” he replies.
“And she’s tired, but fine.” He
looks at her hands folded in her
lap, her wedding ring. “How long
have you been married?” Ravena
lifts her hand, the diamond chips
in her gold band crackling beneath
the fiery wink of the sun. “Twenty-
four years,” she replies. “We lived
together for a while, but it didn’t
work out, too much work,” he says.
“Things aren’t the same as when
you were married.” A bumblebee
hovers above the bench for a
moment and then returns to
a marigold. “People are different
now,” he says. “They change.”
The sun slips behind a cloud, kicking
up a breeze washed with the sweet
fragrance of rain. “I have a plan,”
he says. “I’ve got a good job and
some money saved, so my kids
can go to college.” He shrugs.
“I’ve got it all worked out.” He
stands and checks his watch.
“I need to get back to the hospital,”
he says, smiling. “Thanks for
letting me share your bench.”
He shakes her hand and hurries
away. Now the sky, blotched
with storm clouds, begins to spit
rain, each drop skipping along the
pavement like a quarter, as Ravena
hurries through the tiled doorway
of the record store to escape.
Later, as she walks past shops and
boutiques, Ravena wonders if we
all receive a glimpse when we’re
young of who we might become,
an image we flick away like a gnat,
as if it were a frivolous daydream.
Now she realizes the silent woman
resembles the one she dreamt of
as a teenager. Back then she
could only sustain this vision for
a day or two, hovering more like
a shadow than reality. Yet she’s
never forgotten how happy and
calm she felt during those few
shining days when she thought
before she spoke, said little, and
smiled most of the time, a feeling
like no other, the way the right
hand rests in the left. A feeling
of power, a perfect fit. In one
series of Wiccan novels she reads
the Witches cast shields around
themselves for protection against
the destructive auras of others.
These shields rise up like the black
wings of a giant crow. As Odell’s
temper increases, she wishes she
could create a shield like that to
protect her heart from his frequent
fits and the torrent of angry words
flowing from his lips. Suddenly she
realizes the silence she experiences
could be such protection, her lack
of words shielding her from his.
“Thank you, Durga, for your gift,”
she says, awed by the power of
this realization, as she perceives
a pair of dark wings rising up above
her head, surrounding her. She
stops at a creek curling between
the hotel and church, shrouded in
trees and bushes and wild grass,
completely blocking the sun from
the water. Ravena can see only
deep shade when she stoops to
peer in, but she knows it’s a creek
and not a dry one, because she
hears the music the water makes
when it taps the rocks. Bumble-
bees drag heavy bodies in and out
of this spot, and although she can-
not find it, the air cartwheels with
the sweet syrup of honeysuckle,
and she knows pale yellow flowers
thrive there, blooming in the dark.
After dinner she walks to a nearby
organic soda shop for a fruity soy-
shake. The boy who takes her
order looks like a high school
student. He pours soymilk into
a metal cup, adds sliced bananas,
strawberries, pineapple, and blue-
berries, filling it almost to the top.
He holds it under the machine,
controlling the mixer with a foot
petal beneath the counter. Almost
finished, the soyshake begins to
tremble, spewing wildly from his
hands over the counter, across his
shirt, and onto the floor. He pours
the remains into a paper cup and
mops up his mess. Grinning, he
looks back at the machine and
then at Ravena as he hands the
sweet, creamy drink to her. “Do
you do that very often?” she asks.
“All the time,” he replies. “I thought
this might be my first day without
an accident, but I guess not.” He
shrugs his shoulders, takes her
money, and walks over to a mother
and daughter who ask if they can
pay for their desert with a credit
card. His attitude toward the soy-
shake machine reminds Ravena
of a Wiccan friend who allows
stress to roll from her shoulders
like rain from a magnolia leaf.
Naturally impatient as a child, she
began to practice patience and
soon perfected the art of serenity.
So it’s no surprise to Ravena, as
she walks back to her room, sip-
ping her drink, that this soyshake
tastes better than most, saturated
with the boy’s stress-free energy.
Feathered in many colors, the
pigeons here enjoy sharing the
streets with people, and small
groups of birds tend to walk
along with shoppers. Earlier
that day, while Ravena waited
at a street corner for the light
to change, a gray pigeon stood
next to her, its eyes sparkling
a bright shade of fuchsia, a
color she’d never seen in the
eye of another living creature,
and one she’s not likely to
forget. As the sun begins
to dip below the rim of the
highest mountain, she no
longer feels like a feral cat
trapped in a corner with no
avenue of escape. Like a hot-
air balloon, the ropes binding
her soul wriggle from their
stakes, pulling free, one by
one. Ravena lifts the dark
wings of her shield toward the
cloud-lace of the setting sun,
and then wraps them around
her. Power embraces her
body. “Yes,” she whispers
to the tree faeries and the
sylphs of the air. “I’m ready
to spin the wheel of change.”
Often called “The Mystic Cat Poet of the Small Press,” Laura Stamps is an award-winning poet and novelist.
Over seven hundred of her poems and short stories have appeared in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and broadsides, including the Louisiana Review, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Poetry Midwest, Big City Lit, The Wheel, Poesy Magazine, American Writing, and the Chiron Review. Winner of the “Muses Prize Best Poet of the Year 2005″ and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and six Pushcart Award nominations, she is the author of more than thirty books and chapbooks of poetry and fiction.
Recent books include “The Year of the Cat: New Poems” (Artemesia Publishing, 2005) and a new series of novels and novellas for Wiccans and Pagans published by Kittyfeather Press: “The Cat Lady: A Novel in Verse” (2006) and “The Tarot Cats: A Novella in Verse” (2006). More information about books by Laura Stamps can be found at Kitty Feather Press
To purchase the Year of the Cat, visit Amazon Books at:
Year of the Cat
Stealing Dreams
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
I hit the critical mass this past week and had a melt down. It had been coming for a long time. Some of it was my responsibility; some of it was a reaction to others’ behavior. It came together this week when I realized that once again I allowed another to take advantage of me. Like so many writers, I not only dreamed but worked very hard to build a writing career. But I’ve learned over the years that there are many unethical people who make pledges and promises of success, only their words are merely illusions and misdirection; like the carrot before the horse, they never really follow though on their agreements and the promised success remains a fantasy.
Ever since I was eleven years old, I wanted to write. It started with a poem that I wrote as a Mother’s Day gift. It was amazing how the words flowed out and how easy it was to paint images. I submitted it to the magazine Biscuits and Hyacinths. I did everything wrong. It was handwritten with spelling mistakes. But the editor sent me the nicest note. It was a rejection, but it was done in such a way that it kept me writing. Through the decades, the poem has been lost, but I still have fond memories of the editor who toke the time to make a kid feel important. Later in my teens, I turned to short stories with mystical plots and strong women. Just out of high school, I started my first novel. Several chapters in, I realized that I was over my head and went on to college. Majoring in English and later in television production, I learned exactly how little I knew. The only constant was writing. The first novel was set aside and other projects started. Whereas the television classes taught me what it was like to see life more visually; the theatre classes taught me how to project emotions not only on the stage, but how to put them on the page in such a way that others could feel them as well. I earned Bachelor degrees in English and Video Production with a minor in Theatre.
Within a few weeks, I got a job at an independent TV station. A year later, I moved on to another station. Both jobs took a great deal of time and left little for writing, yet I still found time even if I had to give up hours of sleep. The play that I wrote had an adjudicated reading at a local theatre. It received fairly good reviews, but I needed to work on my dialogue. It seemed I was prone to long winded speeches. . My job at the station helped me improve my writing by allowing me to listen to the dialogue others had written. I continued to write short stories and submit them, but the next big project was a screenplay called Eye of Ra. It was quickly followed by Never Can Say Good-bye.
I started looking for an agent. The owner of the Pegasus Agency in Florida answered my query letter. He said he would like to read my work, however there would be a seventy-five dollar reading fee. It hurt the budget but I sent him the check. After a few weeks, he called and wanted to represent it. He also wanted to read the second, but would do so without a second fee. I thought I was in. Weeks passed without a phone call or letter so I contacted him for updates. At first, he did return my phone calls, but he never had any information to give me about where the scripts were sent or who had read them. After about six months and many unreturned phone calls, I finally realized I had been had. But I refused to give up. Instead I started contacting new agents and producers directly.
I saw the movie Stargate. Viveca Lindfors would have been perfect for one character in Eye of Ra. I set out to find her. By contacting many of her co-stars, I eventually made connected with her manager, Joyce Chase. She agreed to read my scripts. Joyce said they were better than most she had read and agreed to show them to Viveca. Unfortunately Viveca died. My search continued.
Eventually I upgraded from a word processor to my first computer; it helped me with my editing problems; it has always been my biggest challenge. I have a tendency, like many writers, to see what is in my head instead of what is on the page. Characterization and plots are easy for me, but finding my own errors has always been difficult. Part of the problem was my perception of reality. I thought that writers wrote and editors edited; it was my belief that it was the combined talents of both that made the work brilliant. It was the reason editors were credited on the inside of the book for the work they had done. However that is an out-dated way of thinking. Writers are expected to do both; what editors now do is a mystery to me.
In the late nineties, a short story about a woman buying a house turned into a novel. Originally titled, Dragon’s New Home, it became story about a woman on a spiritual path being drawn in to a local conflicted. An ebook company contacted me about electronically publishing it after I filed for the US copyright. I didn’t know enough even to be able to ask the right questions. It was the first publishing disaster. The contract was for an indefinite period of time; signing it was not my brightest moments. Ebooks were in their infancy and selling them was an uphill battle. Even Stephan King, with all his fame, couldn’t be successful with his ebook. Part of the problem was my inexperience in marketing and promotion; I didn’t know how to let the world know Dragon’s New Home existed or how they could buy it; the publisher was no help. Eventually we ended our association.
A few months later, Publish America contacted me. They claimed to be a traditional publisher who would be doing line-by-line editing and full promotion to bookstores. The contract was for seven years. Their promises sounded really good. I signed with them. It was another mistake. The editing was non existent and the corrections I made on the proof never made it into the final product. From the beginning, I realized that I would be doing most of the work myself. I contact reviewers and the media. It received good reviews, with the only consistent negative comment being about the bad editing. Even though I contacted hundreds of bookstores and had very good reviews, sales were low because of the price, the non-return policy and stores inability to reach the publisher to place orders. When I complained, PA first ignored me, but when I persisted with my questions they became abusive and hostile. Quickly I learned I was not the only one to be taken in by them. But after two years and many letters to the media and politicians, I was released from the contract after other authors started to winning lawsuits.
While I was attempting to free Dragon’s New Home, I finished the sequel and called it, Dragon Domain. It was a continuation of the story and I realized there was a third yet to be written. My screenplay, Never Can Say Good-bye, made the first cut in the Greenlight Project; it became one of a thousand and received good reviews, however it didn’t go any future. My computer skills also increased, as did my ability to surf the net. Through my past publishing challenges and by working with other authors, I learned how to promote my work more efficiently. I also joined the staff of the ezine, Mystic Witch. I also published many articles and short stories both on and off line.
After Dragon Domain was finished, I returned my attention to Dragon’s New Home. At the time, it was still under contract to Publish America and I decided to re-write it, adding to it and changing the title to Awakening the Dragon. It became a much better book with stronger characters and a more detailed plot. Looking back it should have never been published as it was. Although it was a good story with unique characters, it could have been better. The rewrite added more depth and dimension to both.
When Spiral Publishing offered me a contract for Dragon Domain, I was more prepared. After it was accepted, I started collecting my promotional materials and making contact lists. Spiral set the release date before Christmas; I thought three months was a little quick, but Michele assured me it could be done. The end of November I started asking for the proofs and the cover. They told me both were nearly finished, yet they never sent them to me. In mid-December, a cover was sent. It had nothing to do with the story. It looked like the artist spent five minutes on it. It was a black cover with vague outlines of dragons. I rejected it and was told another would be put together. The Christmas deadline came and went. I called and emailed. Eventually the editor contacted me and reset the release for mid-January. Still they hadn’t sent the proofs, nor did it have a cover. In mid-February, the first sixteen chapters of the proof for Dragon’s Domain was emailed to me. The editing was terrible. I complained about it, however I was ignored. The end of February the rest of the proof arrived. The editing was even worse. The best example is that spurted was changed to spirited, so one of the characters had “blood spirited” from his lip. Again I complained, however my messages and emails went unanswered. I sent certified letters to get my promotional cups and pens returned. The editor told me that all my material had been send to Michelle’s new address in Wisconsin. I only had the Florida business address and he wouldn’t give me her new one. Michelle finally called me; she didn’t like the tone of my emails. By that time I had enough and suggested we a part company. We made arrangements for my promotional material to be returned at my expense. She emailed the release the same day. About a month later, the certified letter I sent to the Florida address was retuned as undeliverable; it seems Michelle never arrange to have the mail forwarded.
Frustrated and angry, I again started looking for another publisher. Through an acquaintance, I was lead to a subsidy publisher, Pagefree. This was different than the others. I would be paying to have my novels available. It was a print on demand publisher, so the cost would be a little higher than a traditional publisher. However, they offered a “special”; if you paid by a certain date the level one edit would be free. A level one edited including punctuation, spelling and grammar. I was hesitant. In the past, my experiences hadn’t been good. However, after reading their contact and with the recommendations of others, I paid to have both novels published.
.About six weeks later, I received the proofs for Dragon Domain. Again there were major editing errors. Some of them were mine; many were punctuation and grammar errors that should have been taken care of by the level one edit. I emailed the corrections. At first they were going to charge me for the additional changes, but they changed their minds. A couple of weeks past and I asked about Awakening the Dragon’s proofs; they told me that they would be sent soon. A few days later, the corrected proof of Dragon Domain was sent. There were many of the same kind of errors. I complained about the editing. The next day Kim sent an updated proof of Dragon Domain, but I was so disheartened and frustrated that I approved it without looking at it.
The next day I printed the Awakening the Dragon proof, but took a couple of days before I started working on it; I needed to regain perspective. Awakening the Dragon had the same kind of errors as did Dragon Domain. Most of them would have been fixed by a simple spell check that included the grammar programming. I sent 133 corrections. Kim claimed that Awakening the Dragon had been run through the spell check and that she had personally fixed many errors. She said they had gone beyond the basic edit and had nearly done a full edit. Yet there were still many basic errors both in the grammar, punctuation and the format of the novel. After much discussion and a little drama, I decided to pull the book and resubmit after it had been re-edited. The first proof had formatting errors; I submitted the corrections. However, when I received the second proof, I only check to see that original mistakes were corrected. They had been and both books finally went onto the art stage. The art looked good first try. A week later, both books were available. I ordered copies so I could send out in promotional packages. When the books arrived, to my shock and dismay Awakening the Dragon again had formatting errors. When Pagefree made the original corrections, they didn’t check to see how it affected the rest of the book. Six chapters had two lines off where the chapter title and one line of text didn’t start at the top of the page. I contacted Pagefree. Their position was that the mistake was mine since I didn’t full check the second proof before approving it. Granted I trusted them to be professional enough to complete the format corrections; that was my mistake. For a fee, they were willing to fix the errors. Even if I had the resources to pay them, who knows what other mistakes would be added in the process. The content is the author’s responsibility; the format is the responsibility of the publisher. The mistakes will make me look bad, but not as much as the publisher.
There were two reasons there were so many errors on my part. I had gotten a new computer with XP inside of ME. I hadn’t realized that the spell checker of the word processing system needed to be altered to include checking the grammar. I thought it was being done, but it wasn’t. It was my responsibility to make sure my system was performing properly, however my lack of computer experience kept me from knowing what to look for. But the major problem was with me; ever since Dragon’s New Home was released I was working 70-80 hours a week between writing, promotion and the rice bowl job. When a person becomes exhausted, it’s harder to focus and you are more prone to making mistakes. These are not excuses, but an explanation of my situation.
However the publishers do not have that excuse for their errors. All three looked for the cheap, easy ways to publish. In some cases, it was simple greed. They were not financially invested so they took no care in what kind of product they released. This is the primary reason that print on demand publishers have such a bad reputation. In many cases, their releases are poorly crafted and of bad quality both in content and printing. They take no care in what they produce, because their only interest is financial. They make fantastic promises, but never carry through on them. They prey on writers’ dreams by making promises only to weasel out of them, leaving the writer disillusioned. In the first to publishers, I was not financially taken, however, Pagefree cost me money.
What I’ve learned over the past few years is that if you don’t believe in your work, no one else will either. This means not only do you have to do your best in writing and editing, but you also have to be willing to fight for it in spite of what others say. If you back down and not accept the best, you give others control over your career. On the other hand, you do need to listen to honest criticism in order to make your work stronger and more creative. It’s the balance that makes a great writer. Depending on others to clean up your mistakes makes you vulnerable; no one cares about your project more than you. Putting the time and effort into making it as strong, clean as possible will make others take you more seriously. Too many technical errors demonstrate that you don’t have enough interest to do the busy work, so why should anyone else put the time in it either. Computer programs are great, but they don’t catch everything. Plot or character mistakes they don’t even acknowledge. Writing partners or groups are a good way to catch the boo-boos on this level. They can also help give support, tissues, and the kick in the butt when needed
Currently, I am doing the promotions for both novels and praying that by the time the reader reaches the error they are so caught up in the story, they won‘t matter. I also have a screenplay up for two competitions and several spec articles out. The new novel is well on the way. I am also doing the research for the third in the Dragon Clan Trilogy. The dream didn’t die, nor was it stolen; it was just going through growing pains. ***
***As a PS I would like to add that Never Can Say Good Bye was one of the winners of the 2006 Gloria Film Festival.
Shadow Boxing
by Cate Cavanagh
There is something inspiring about modern day warriors like boxers. Of course in the older days you had Joe Lewis and James Braddock now made famous by the movie, “Cinderella Man.”
But I think what inspires such respect in me for people who do this is the discipline they have to do the training. They run, they spar, lift weights, punch the punching bag and shadow box. I couldn’t imagine sparring with them, much less getting in the ring for a real fight-unless I could run around like crazy, get on my knees and plea for mercy! Shadows have always intrigued people. The old radio program and more recently, the movie, “The Shadow” testify to our fascination with shadows. There was even a famous old song called, “Me and My Shadow".
The other day I was going shopping with my husband and saw a huge shadow on a lawn as we drove by. We live in a rural area and have seen wild turkeys, hawks, guinea hens and even Bald Eagles! I asked him what huge bird could have made such a big shadow and he reminded me that it didn’t have to be a huge bird at all, just a bird, like a hawk flying very high with the sun hitting him just so that the shadow appeared huge. Of course I had a “duh!” moment but, more importantly, I began to think.
I began to think of how on some days, something irritating happens and suddenly, I am not just battling the irritation but a whole line up of issues making “guest appearances” in the play that is my day.
Like that bird, a small thing can loom so hugely, we are distracted by the deception of a larger than life shadow. Suddenly, we are boxing a shadow that belongs to something that is really quite small but that we allowed to grow under the diminishing spotlight that is our own spirit power. We are in a ring fighting a fight and we never know it. Frankly, there are enough really big monsters with equally large shadows-hunger, disease, war and all types of brutality that, if we are lucky, we have not experienced to the fullest others have. Our daily monsters can be our children not doing as well in school as we would like, an ailing elderly parent, a recent death, the loss of a job and worrying about bills. Life monsters. We all have these monsters but, at least we know their shadows and at least we know what we are boxing.
It’s when we fall to the ground and try to hide among the tall grass when we see what seems to be a huge shadow that we have lost the moment’s battle. Life is not easy for a lot of people and each moment can present a possible battle which we can cower from or choose to look at directly, assess and see that this particular battle will pass and that its shadow has no form, other than that which we give it. When we realize this, we have won that battle and in fact, flexed the inner muscle that is our spirit power.
Flexing muscles. I like other people flexing muscles. But frankly, the flexing of the inner muscle which is the self, the mind and the spirit is harder than pumping iron everyday. The growth and power of the self, mind and spirit demands that every challenge, every heartbreak, every monster in our past and mind be faced down and conquered. Like disciplined boxers, we are running, lifting weights (and carrying them around in the form of worry, guilt and despair), punching the punching bad (or air or pillow or even the wall) and we spar with ourselves! In a ring of power, like boxers, we are fighting ourselves and our own knowingness that we are beings of power! As long as we punch at shadows looming formless we cannot see that for all we have suffered, we have the proof that we are as strong as any boxer. We are our own shadows- our defeated and lost side casts a big shadow and we box with it until we are exhausted whereas, the shadow never gets exhausted as long as we allow the light to remain constant and cast these shadows selves against us. If we were to just put on ALL OF THE LIGHTS, the shadow self and the gruesome shadows it casts, disappears!
While walking in our spiritual and personal truths, why is it that we are always the last we educate? Must we not look at ourselves and our shadows in truth as well? Hmmmm. If we remember to do this everyday our truth will become that we are fit from shadowing boxing things that weren’t there and that wisdom and knowledge is inside of us all the time waiting to be flexed. We just have to turn on all the lights!
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I can be changed by what happens to me but I refuse to be reduced by it. Maya Angelou
Founder: Quantum Spirituality, The Science of Change!
Coming soon: HER GODMOTHER, GRIEF DANCE and QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY!
Mental Illness and the Witch
by Cate Cavanagh
Many who know they are extremely, sad or otherwise watching life by the sidelines do everything except consider their problem as a medical condition. Many of us grew up with the ethics of have a ’stiff upper lip", “be a man", “stand on your own two feet” and even the implied message that women do not have the concerns or responsibilities that men do. But, this is NOW, not back ‘when’. Therefore, denial is the biggest setback to seeking medical or therapeutic help for the very condition that affects so many Americans. So many people are incapacitated by mental disorders they cannot stand on their own two feet, handle responsibilities or just enjoy a sunset. How many, you ask? Try well over 20 million Americans! This figure makes mental illness COMMON, not ‘crazy’!
There are many manifestations of mental illness from clinical and manic depression to post traumatic stress disorder and a whole array in between and you may be wondering why I am writing about mental illness and what this has to do with being a Pagan or Witch. Firstly, as founder of QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change I spent many years reflecting on and trying to determine what makes prayer/spell work effective. Secondly, I suffered many years from manic depression (bi polar disorder) and severe depression. I was fortunate in that as I suffered serious set back episodes, I adamantly knew I did not want to be the person I was when I had emotional setbacks. I know first hand that often even medication is not the panacea for controlling the flare ups of mental illness and through enduring the painful times of relapsing into my illness I decided to enhance my healing with the very tools I was developing as I worked on The Science of Change.
As a quantum metaphysician whose whole discipline requires refusal to define the self as victim, I often chose to call these lapses as my “being squirrelly". Did I do this to deny my affliction? No. Did I do this to laugh at myself? Yes, because until we learn to laugh at even our weaknesses, we are slaves to the weakness. The presence of Coyote in Native Teaching best reflects this theme as coyote is the Loki figure in Native culture and being dogged by coyote means coyote will test your mettle at every turn until you learn to not give into panic and fear by learning to laugh at the oddity of your circumstances. When one learns dark humor and can laugh about the absurdity of one’s life, coyote moves on to the next person in need of a serious wake up call. I have “known” many coyotes in my life and have fought may demons-metaphorical ones, REAL ones and my own inner demons. To call myself “squirrelly” during challenging times is my way of taking lightly my occasional bumps with being manic as humorous. With each episode, I came to know myself that much better and in so knowing am mastering it. My determination to master it is two fold. Firstly, why would I want to suffer long periods of confusion, depression and never ending cycling of the same thoughts over and over again, especially if they not positive and proactive? Secondly I am a bona fide Witch with all the power and energies around me at all times that my mind directs toward healing people and helping people find their truth. My work is helping people move forward into happier lives.
If I am experiencing a painful mental set back, how am I directing all that is around me toward a positively focused outcome? In periods of mental confusion I am no less powerful in my craft so I guard myself carefully in terms of what I think or say because a spell caster (as you are) I can set into motion more fear that will create increasingly fearsome situations until I learn to say “Stop!” and redirect my energies away from fear and insecurity and toward reinvention of the self.
The Science of Change as I teach it demands an awareness of our challenges but never surrendering to them. This is done by learning to redirect all the forceful energy our minds generate (as a result of stressful challenges) and focusing this creative energy on other aspects of the self, especially redirecting our self definition into being a person who is not defined by sorrow, illness and even mental illness. People like me are not nuts but, what makes me and other theological brethren unique is that we are witches- which means we possess great power and the ability to use it whether we wish to or not. This is one reason for The Rede I suppose- to prevent us from using our gifts in ways that might interfere with the Universe’s momentum for others and for ourselves as well.
But, as witches with a mental illness who have the ability to generate immense amounts of energy as spell casters, what spells might we inadvertently be casting upon ourselves if we allow ourselves to free base in a set back in mental illness?
In QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY I teach exactly how quantum physics creates all that is around us for better or for worse. I also teach how to create preferred realities and the discipline of redirection of thought from a victim perspective to that of a champion. As part of developing this science I had to take into consideration all causation factors that justify feelings of victimization and fear. In so doing I examined my own life and my own challenges and learned how my fears perpetuated more circumstances for me to fear. In essence as a gifted Witch my focusing on these challenges worked as a spell and, being the effective Witch that I am, my will was done!
As I worked on the skills I developed that would later become QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change, I addressed in time the disease that was my mental illness. Until a medication regimen is identified, which can take time, mood swings and other symptoms will continue until they are managed with the proper dosage of medication. Even then, life being as it, there will still be pitfall moments but the question is how can these be handled?
Although I discovered The Science of Change I am first and foremost a Witch, a person of deep faith in that which I believe and I am determined to guard my thoughts and speech very carefully while working through a set back.
I also speak with my Goddess all the time and during these “conversations” I learned that She can even stabilize me during challenging moments. If I am feeling fear encroaching upon my sense of serenity, I ask Her to lift my fear and replace it with hope. I will tell her what I do not imposing on my sense of self and what I feel I need in its place and I am never disappointed.
The difficult thing was learning to identify the symptoms of an episode before I became victim to it. With time anyone, especially with the help of a professional, can learn their own warning signs. For me it is one little thing: I begin to look back too often or only on certain aspects of the past. I have learned that I must stop this from progressing before I get a on train that will travel away from who I have the right to be and toward the person of the past that I have redefined.
To me, being a Witch is about empowerment and inner peace. Anything that does not support this state of grace cannot be condoned nor will it be endured. It is a matter of priorities: me or becoming the victim to anything that would strip me of myself.
As a Witch I have a responsibility to myself but I also have a responsibility to others who might suffer the negative impact of the energies I can create within my mind if I am upset or despairing. Energies that “free base” without focus can border closely to Chaos and we all know where that can lead.
Mental illness is a challenge to “designer” emotions but that does not mean mental illness cannot be mastered via medication and therapy and the determination to simply learn how to manage it with proactive and creative tools designed to redirect the mind fallen prey to the occasional erratic disturbance.
The main question is this: as Witches can we afford to wallow in even momentary mental lapses if we are so afflicted? Can the people around us? Should we wallow when our Goddess is there in a moment to help us as we truly work toward a solution to these lapses?
In QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY I focus on the science but never abandon belief as a major factor. Belief is important not only because it helps us maintain hope but because it provides a moral compass that will keep us away from the arena of Chaos- intentionally or unintentionally.
As a Witch with a mental illness diagnosis I chose to not embrace the disease but have allocated it to an awareness that is secondary in nature. I can choose to be that “Mentally ill Witch” or the “Witch with a mental illness” which is a totally different thing. People with heart conditions move onward to do amazing things. Some even run in races.
In today’s society life seems almost orchestrated for stress and challenges but if we are to move forward and fulfill our individual destinies, we must learn to navigate around the challenges and not have the challenges become road blocks. Mental illness is such a challenge- but it does not have to block our lives.
As with any intervention and life coach program, QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY teaches the skills we need to begin helping ourselves by taking on the arduous task of learning how to think, prioritize and abandon all the “isms” we were taught. Know yourself but know you enemy better. Bliss as a result of meditation, devotions and prayer is rare. What does happen is an awareness of the challenge and glimpses of creative problem solving that will lead to freedom from the “you” carried around instead of discovering your true self. All healing takes work but first, if you suffer mental illness at all the first step requires acknowledgement and a commitment to be healed.
Yet Witch or not our first impulse is denial and it is this denial that will leave us victims to an illness we probably inherited from Great Aunt Tess. Denial blocks knowledge and self advocacy. Mental Illness is certainly one enemy but denial, in so far as it prevents people from considering going for help is the worse of the two. Denial will talk us out of treatment, healing and isolate us from those we love. As we tumble in to the marshes of shame we hide our illness out of an archaic desire to not be discovered. In so doing, we are removing allies that can help us heal.
Once the decision is made to be rid of the beast that is your mental illness, the best way to battle an enemy is to KNOW it! Challenged people become champions as they take their mental health ,and other issues,into their own hands and defeat it! But you can only begin to win a battle when you choose to do something about it.
My personal plan which is working for me is morning devotions to Hecate and the to my muse Brigid. I underwent medication therapy with the goal of using its benefits to train my mind to break negative mental habits. I count blessings. I talk to Hecate all the time, out loud, and ask for guidance and help to keep my mind focused. Because my requests are answered, this is where the belief component cannot be overlooked. When we have moments of fear and intense insecurity believing in a deity that can help us will get us through rougher moments. I know. I have been there.
And yet, today after all the strum and drang that was a mentally challenged life, I am incredibly focused writing my message all the time because I believe in my Science of Change. As a person with a physically painful disability for some time, I began to tire of the impact pain was having on my life. In order to address stress I began Thai Chi. T’ai Chi is a wonderful discipline that strengthens the body’s healing abilities while offering exercises that enable the mind to rest. When I started, it just felt good. Doing T’ai Chi became my mental vacation. Then a curious thing began to happen. My pains began to drastically subside. Aside from the ages old school of knowledge T’ai Chi encompasses there is another factor to be considered: My mind relaxed and chose to believe I would benefit from these exercises but I did not decide how. Now, from a quantum point of view a formula arose: relaxed mind seeking tranquility + ages old exercises proven to boost healing through motion (or energy) = decreasing pain exponentially every day.
You see the mind, with the proper discipline and in balance with the spirit self, brings about the final metamorphosis. And that change can be entirely different than expected. As a writer, I faced an increasing possibility that I would not be able to type anymore yet, I am now writing more than ever before.
Since I write from personal experience I truly know how harsh life can be but I also know that learning the skills of redirection and heightened self awareness are the springboards to change. All we have to do is decide on the change we want and be true to ourselves as we work on change. I call this following the quantum trail. This is when you allow yourself to be guided by an idea, a sudden job offer or just to take time for reflection. Change is essential to experiencing a ‘mind shift” and the “mind shift” creates change if we do not resist it. Change will always test our flexibility and resourcefulness and our patience but there are few things worthwhile that were not challenges.
Dealing with mental illness is one of those things that will challenge patience. Knowing your enemy (mental illness) can prevent one from being caught off balance as setback emotions and thoughts creep back into your thoughts. The best way to anticipate and devise redirection skills comes as a result of truly understanding the disease. There are resources offer free information on mental illness. Buttressed with this knowledge you will find the modalities that will help you take back your life.
If you suffer or suspect you may be suffering from mental illness you may get information from the following resources: International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, 60 Revere Drive, suite 500, Northbrook, IL., 60062, (847) 480-9028, www.istss.org ; National Institute of Mental Health, Public Inquiries, 6001 Executive Blvd., room 8184, MSC 9662, Bethesda, MD, 20892-9663, (800)421-4211, www.nimh.nih.gov; Sidran Foundation for Traumatic Stress, 2328 W. Jappa Rd., suite 15, Lutheranville, MD 21093, (888)825-8249, www.sidran.org; Freedom From Fear, 308 Seaview Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10305, (718)351-1717; Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 6000 Executive Blvd, suite 513, Rockville, MD, 20652, (800) 737-3400
Cate is an author, syndicated columnist and founder of QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change. Visit catecavanagh.net where you can see her free book and free books by other authors. Please visit quantumspirituality.tripod.com for information on The Science of Change and her free newsletter, THE NEWSLETTER
The Elements of Change
From QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change
By Cate Cavanagh
Most of us have heard the old adage of how some people see the cup half full and others, half-empty. I have taken it a step further: some of us have to make our own cup. You see there is a way to look at life or rather how life treats you. One person can be an optimist- life has treated them well or at least fairly. There are others (pessimists) that life seems to have passed by or worse yet, dumped on. There are some people who, other than the grief from the inevitable loss of a loved one, live uncompromised lives. Yet, we all know people who, no matter how hard they try, have a rough ride just getting through life with their heads held high. For these people, life is difficult indeed.
Some people seem to gain opportunity just by being in the right place at the right time. Others must work hard, plan strategic moves and learn to know when to take that leap, leave the familiar and expand into a new area. I think most of us have the latter scenario as our journey. The problem is, we often fall short somewhere between planning and knowing when to take that ‘leap’. Most of us prefer the comfortable. The comfortable does not have to be pleasant. It is what is known and familiar. Why else is it so hard for people to decide to move or relocate for a job? It is because change is difficult and frightening.
It is when life holds nothing exciting or enchanting, when we are in a rut we cannot climb out of that it becomes time to make a new cup. Making a new cup is not easy. We only know the cup we had and what was in it. If we truly do not like the old cup or what we were drinking from it, we have to look at ourselves and see how did we brew that drink that made it so bitter? We need to think about what kind of cup do we want now? What kind of new drink could we possibly make and how the heck do we start making a cup? Do we pour out the old drink altogether, do we throw out the cup? They both had their purpose for a long time. Do we want to really part with them?
These may all seem like rhetorical questions but they are not. To bring about change takes conscious effort. After all, we lived in our rut, with our rut and perpetuated (re-created) our rut probably for a long time. We probably had all the reason in world to be in our rut to begin with. Our life path may have been extremely difficult or deprived, giving us every reason to be justified in having the fears we have and remaining with the familiar, even if uncomfortable. But, you know what? Changing is even more uncomfortable, especially if you begin from the standing point of no faith or trust. If you are starting at this standing point, you have to decide whether or not you are going to take a “leap” of the faith you do not yet have. You’re not sure what you believe in anymore, you just hope there is something to believe in because you surely do not believe in yourself. You reflect on your life and decide you really cannot stand another year, week or day of the same old routine so, you decide to work on changing. The beauty of this first decision is that you do not have to change anything about your environment. You don’t have to quit your job, you don’t have to relocate. You simply have to begin with your own package. You are the cup that is to be. You are going to fashion it and decide the stuff that will go into this new vessel.
Congratulations! When you decided to work on change, you embarked on the majickal journey of thought transformation. The beauty of majickal thought is that you do not have to be a Wiccan or Witch. You do not have to be a shaman or priest. You can use the thought principles that go into casting spells or doing ‘work’ and apply them to yourself on a very personal level. The key to right thinking (or contemplation) is to be sure no one is harmed by your goal, that you improve yourself at the cost of no one else (do not demean someone in order to feel more powerful) and to be very, very focused.
As you think, see what it is you want, taste what it is you want and wait. Some people sit quietly and vividly imagine VIVIDLY their desire; some people will write it down. By the way, writing something down then burning it is an effective way to send energies into the Universe! But, there’s more. The flame of the match creates energy, the burning of the paper and the subsequent smoke is all energy. This practice is so successful, anonymous groups use this exercise very successfully to purge anger, rage or sorrow. But, you can use this tool to create change by writing down the things you need, want or desire.
I was in a nowhere job once for far too long. I was highly skilled but grossly underpaid in the social services field. I needed a better paying job but how could one command a higher paying job when your current salary was very low? I was not naive. I knew that no matter what one knew, in order to demand a higher salary you had to at least had to be making a salary that demonstrated your worth. I was just beginning to discover my spiritual path and so, I “sent my need” into the universe. I had a small daughter to support and I was not making it financially. I had not yet met my second husband, so I was on my own completely. Despite my fears and desperation, I reached a state of mind in which I could see and taste a new position with more money. I worked feverishly to complete my work before I lost the concentration.
Within three months, a friend of mine told me about a totally new position with her agency. I called, made an appointment to interview and although the competition was rather stiff, I got the position and had a $25,000 jump in salary!
I have helped others find jobs, collect money due them from people, obtain benefits they were rightly entitled to and meet a soul mate. Now, by meeting a soul mate I mean the right person for them, ahead of a timetable, someone they would have met eventually. This is different from targeting a particular person and deciding he or she is the one for you and doing something to make them desire you. This is wrong! I am talking about a ‘generic’ request to meet a soul mate if that person is destined to meet you in this lifetime. You must, of course, accept the possibility that you are not supposed to meet in this lifetime.
This is where acceptance is so important. We must all be willing to accept karmic areas that may be fixed. We just can’t always know what they are. In thinking properly, it is possible, depending on our skill, to push a timetable up quite a bit. This is why I do not believe in things being fixed. Since we do not know, for the most part, what is and is not fixed, why should we sit on the sidelines deciding this is karma and that is karma? Too many people use karma as an excuse to give up, sit around and feel sorry for themselves. The end-result will be reliving similar-lifetimes until they “get it”.
Jewish wisdom teaches that each life is a blank slate, that no soul has a recollection of its previous knowledge. I say if we allow ourselves to be touched by our own spirit power that is programmed to get us going rather than rationalizing such effort away, we can gain or regain previous knowledge provided we are open minded enough to watch, listen and feel!
Keep in mind that only after redefining ourselves as wonderful, loving, courageous and deserving of joy, can we begin bringing about change in our lives on the quantum level by creating “ripples” in space and time. How quickly something is achieved depends not just on our focusing skills but also on how many years we contributed to the circumstance we wish to change. How many times and for how long did we tell ourselves it could not be done, hence closing ourselves off to opportunities by not just being blind to them but actually preventing them from coming our way by the blockage that was created just by not knowing there was another way?
Let’s look at an example of attracting that which you want. Go to a party and look around. Invariably the person having the most fun will be the person who is dressed neatly, appears to have made an effort in the area of grooming, smiles easily and in general emits an openness to meeting people. Now look for the ‘wallflower’. Wallflowers are not born. They are made. The wallflower will stand to the side and appear as if, not expecting to have a good time, no effort was made into appearance. This goes for men or women. Does a wallflower seem approachable? Probably not. Insecurity is projected as loudly as a scream. So wallflowers in actuality, bring about their own anticipated outcome.
Just like wallflowers, if we continue to wallow on the sidelines better circumstances will deem us unapproachable.
Are you ready to change yet?
Cate is a spiritual life coach and Quantum Metaphysician. Now you can hear her podcast every Tuesday. Her commentary FROM MY SIDE OF THE FENCE can be heard by visiting passionateinternetvoices.com for her political commentaries.
Also visit CateCavanagh.net for information on her first free book, GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, and quantumspirituality.tripod.com for information on QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, The Science of Change.
CateCavanagh.net
quantumspirituality.tripod.com
Get your FREE BOOK now!!!!!
Leo
You have uncovered such powerful feelings that they cannot easily be stuffed back into a neat and tidy container. Whether you choose to jump into the fray or to avoid conflict now, you’ll still need to decide how to work with situations you cannot control. Listen carefully to your inner voice, for the answers must ultimately come from within.
- Fifth Sign
- Fixed Fire
- Ruling Planet: Sun
- Body Part: Heart
- Key Words: Vitality, Confidence, Self-Expression
Warm, loving Leos have big hearts. Their kind and magnanimous gestures come from a love of the dramatic, as Leos love to play to the crowd and feel happiest with an appreciative audience. Luckily, to compensate for the likelihood of grabbing center stage, they can also be attentive of others. They can express bountiful approval of others’ projects and shower them with compliments.
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The Simple Witch
Looking for a publication that fits your daily life? You, the Witch, live a normal life and wish to read about things that are, well, simple.
The Simple Witch is just that. Topics are based for the every day person, male or female.
Each month new and exciting information is delivered to your mailbox. Not to mention there are special issues yearly also.
The Simple Witch will lead you to waiting at your mailbox each month waiting for your issue to be delivered!
St Alban’s Voices #1
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Voices -
A toast -
Spirit invoked -
Elder’s spoken -
Younger’s speak -
Scribe silently scribbles -
in end of table quiet -
Faces and Souls known -
In this Guild -
Where the fun is put back into disfunctional -
Daniel and Sarah -
Married after Festival ‘04 -
Power and Glory -
Truth and Justice -
Love, Honour and Obey?…..
This Scrible is blasted-
Blitzed -
Blown -
and sitting here -
Learning -
Growing -
Being and Becoming -
Becoming and Being….
It’s getting deep here -
Deep it’s getting here -
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be -
Whatever -
However -
Wherever -
Whenever….
I sit here listening -
I sit here learning -
I sit here scribbling…
Around and about -
About and Around -
This scribbling powerless Magus -
Magus without power -
Magus who does not know how to call power -
Power is here -
Even if this blasted and blitzed scribbling scribe cannot describe it -
it is here -
It flows -
It goes -
It is -
In around & about…..
So thus it is -
So thus it was -
So thus it be…..
Original handraft written: 07/25/2004 20:20 [8:20p] {pacific}
Keyboarded & posted to http://www.mysticwitch.com/articles/2006/st-albans-voices-1:
08/04/2006 13:36 [1:36p] {pacific}
Workmen & Patio Transformations #3 - 08/04/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Thumps, rattles, clatters,
Bangs, Clangs, Clunks -
Dog barking -
Cat me-rowing -
People talking -
Workmen day three.
Sitting quietly -
Avoiding contact -
Escaping hassle.
Displaced Cat -
Makeshift enclosure -
Many merow’s of displeasure & complaint.
Escaping hassle -
Handwritern words -
Writer, being.
Sirens on street -
racing up and down -
Rapid quiet -
Many needs served.
Dog quiet -
Out-of-pattern -
No bangs or thumps -
Writer, checking.
Garden room -
New roof -
Re-built -
Hours of Labour -
Days of Disruption -
Cooler room in heat -
Less leaks in rain -
Better room for garden -
Better room for cat -
Upgrade.
Dog baqrking -
Single workman -
redoing a window -
hammer and saw -
all was quiet till workman stepped to inside door -
Brief question asked -
Brief question answered -
Dog erupts.
Writer observes -
Writer records -
Writer retreats.
Project continues…..
Workmen & Patio Transformations #2 - 08/02/2006….
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Second day -
More workmen -
More Noise & Disruption -
More Transormation.
Writer Escapes -
Errands to do -
Administrating to do -
Adminstrating done -
Errands done.
Quiet check upon return -
Site cleaned -
Old replaced -
New look -
New patio roof -
Changes.
Cat still loudly complaining.
Dog still strongly barking.
Writer still Writing…..
Workmen & Patio Transformations #1 - 07/31/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Back Patio -
Back ‘Garden Room’ -
Space of Plants and Cats -
Many plants and cats -
Many windows -
Sunny place.
Hot in Summer -
Leaks in Spring and Winter -
Re-Do Required.
Workmen arrive -
Two Trucks -
Many Tools -
Hammering and Sawing -
Old removed -
Much mess.
Cat moved -
Serena not happy -
Displaced cat -
Much commentary.
Dog Barks -
Strange people -
Much noise -
Dog protective.
Old removed.
Transformation begins.
Writer steps outside -
Images recorded -
Sights seen -
Sights saved -
Writer, Writing……
Household ‘Tendings & Visualizations - #1
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Quiet household -
Family away for day -
Soltary household ‘tending -
Magus-In-Training being mundane…..
Cat crying -
Cat brushed and combed -
Cat purring -
Nap time in chair.
Flowering plant -
Floating hummingbird -
Rapid moving stillness.
Quiet moments of thought -
Unseen options found -
Plans contemplated.
Dog barking -
Noise outside -
Guarding.
Clock ticking -
Eternities drumbeat.
Silent House -
Empty House -
1 cat -
1 dog -
All others gone -
No Companions -
No Familiars -
House slowly winning battle -
House slowly returning to silent and empty -
All who were here and gone dead -
So many gone -
So many dead -
Who is next? -
Who will this House kill next? -
This House does not want anyone here -
This House wants to be alone -
So soon it shall be.
Sitting here -
Thinking and writing here -
Being Magus -
BardicMagus/Priest-in-Training -
Being Solemn Solitary -
Seeking understanding -
Attempting to ‘visualize’ options -
‘Seeing’ only dark nightmare scenarios -
Rejecting & blocking darkside’s waking nightmares -
Not empowering nightmares -
Not giving dark scenarios any existence -
Attempting to focus on simple, basic objective -
‘Self-test’ objective -
Can I ’see’ this objective? -
Can I really do this? -
So far all I get is more static -
More ‘failure-mode’ disruptions -
More disasters and desecrations -
Concentrating & Focusing -
Focusing & Concentrating -
Invocations -
Convocations -
Dedications -
Consecrations -
Forward Upward Light -
Concentrate & Focus -
Focus & Concentrate -
I can do this -
I must do this -
I will do this…..
As I ‘tend My household -
‘Tend My tasks and chores -
I make efort -
Contrated effort -
to accomlish My ’self-test’ ’seeing’ -
Simple enought objective -
What will I find on the MysticWitch Forum boards
when I get there? -
A new entry? -
A new commentary? -
Perhaps even a U2U from somebody? -
Can I ’see’ this? -
I can only do -
There is no try.
Concentrate & Focus -
Focus & Concentrate -
and run the recycle and trash out to the bins -
Do this -
Do this -
Fauggghhh -
Headache and a sneezing fit -
that is what I get -
I am still not good at this…..
I sit here thinking -
Concentrating & Focusing -
Focusing & Concentrating -
Attempting to ‘visualize’ -
Just what do I ’see’? -
Just what is there to ’see’? -
Anything?…..
To - Be - Continued…..
Shieldings - #1
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Moon above -
Dark residence below -
Night hours.
Fitful sleep -
Shattered, skattered dreams -
Awakening jolt -
Solid, dull thud -
Impact sound.
Walk around -
Check about -
Listen, look, sense, feel -
Nothing obvious found.
Standing in hallway -
Senses alert -
Downward shiver -
Energies used -
Shields.
Hours till Dawn -
Must remain quiet -
Must not awaken or disturb family -
Working using Strength -
Writing words -
Banishing -
Securing -
Power.
Original handraft: 07/06/2006 02:30
Keyboarded to MW Forum: 07/06/2006 16:57 {4:57p}{pacific}
Posted to http://www.mysticwitch.com/articles/2006/shieldings-1: 08/04/2006 12:51 {pacific}
Sharings #2 - 06/26/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Doves on ground.
Feeding.
No Hawks nearby.
High Heels -
Lack of Balance -
Walking in Woodchips.
Water falling -
Flat rock -
Loud Splashes.
Pepper Tree -
Leaves -
Rain of Green.
Dog -
Deat Rat -
Crunchy lunch.
Toddler Child -
Falling mist -
Hair Curling damply.
Two Girls -
Walking Faire -
Men all watch.
Parents -
Old Age -
Stress for All….
Lizard -
Damp boards -
Flys on ground -
Easy quick lunch.
‘Pyrate’ ‘Festival’ -
Hot summer days -
no business -
no money earned…..
Paganus sitting in corner -
not really awake -
not really caring -
was anybody?……
Sharings - #1 - 06/23/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Still water -
Garden pond -
Reflections of self.
Lizard climbing tree -
Eating Bugs -
Gardener’s Friend.
Birds flying -
Feathers in flight -
Not so much walking.
Dog -
On Lap -
Sleeping.
Dog -
Scratching -
Lap Shakes.
Storm -
Winds & Rain -
Trees Down -
Survival.
Cat -
Sitting in Window -
Wise eyes watching world.
Turtle -
Slow motion -
Long life.
Thread -
braided into strand -
strand braided into rope -
Rope Strong -
Single thread weak -
Be Rope -
Not Thread……
Scribe -
Writing -
Thoughts shared….
Lines of Support - #5 - 06/20/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Battle is Enjoined…..
Force to Force -
Strength to Strength -
Will to Will -
Contact and Encounter -
Forces Mingled -
Forces Melded -
One inside the Other -
Struggle for Dominance -
Warrior to Warrior -
Individual to Individual -
Hand-to-hand -
Skill to Skill -
Combat on an intimate & personal level -
Challenge offered -
Challenge accepted -
Support offered -
Support provided by Scribe -
Scribe uninvolved -
As by the Ancient ‘Way’ -
‘The Way of Life’ -
‘Tao Te Ching’ in the Ancient Tongue -
And in that Tongue of the Ancients -
‘Wei Wu Wei’ -
“….To do without doing - to act without action….”
This may also mean that -
“….The ‘Wise Man’ does what He must do - for everything and everyone but remains independant of them all…..”
The Scribe observes but takes no direct action.
Words are Written.
Words are made available for Reading, Study & Contemplation.
Thoughts are Thought.
Thoughts are saved as Words.
Words are Shared.
Sharing is Support.
Support is Offering of Words.
Words in Lines.
Lines of Support.
Five (5) Lines.
Five (5) Lines of Support.
Five (5) Arrows.
Five (5) Points of the Star.
Stars.
Points of Lights in Heaven’s Firmament.
Lights of Heaven.
Lights Ascendant.
Ascendant to the Heavens.
As Above - So Below….
May the Lights Hold You -
May the Lights Keep You -
Keep You Safe -
Keep You Secure -
Salve Your Hurts and Wounds -
Give You Peace…..
Benedictus Solemnis Sanctus…..
Lines of Support - #4 - 06/19/2006
By Staff Writer:Paganus Greybeard
Been reading of Spartans and Romans
and some really bloody battles.
The Medes and Persions got into it also.
Let we forget the Egyptians…..
Then there were the English and Scottish
at places like Hastings and Bannockburn……
Wars of Roses they called it.
Pretty name for some really ugly hand-to-hand…..
Stand Tall -
Stand Firm -
Be Bold -
Be Strong -
Remain Resolute -
Bang the Drums -
Sound the Bagpipes and Fifes -
Clang the Shields -
Unsheath the Swords -
Sharpen the Spears and Pikes -
Line Up -
Ranks Be Formed -
Swords, Spears, Pikes -
Hammers, Clubs, Maces -
Bows and TinterBoxes -
Shields to the Fore -
Rank Up -
Form Your Units -
Prepare -
Stay Awake and Alert -
Post Sentries and Guards -
The Battle nears -
The Struggle intensifies -
That which was cast out -
Cast forth -
Removed from Sight -
Removed from Mind -
Reforms in Desecraced Space -
In Perversions of Propriety -
In Ruins of Righteousness -
Darkness regroups -
Resurgent in revulsion -
Rising up from Stygian Abysses -
Disolution and Dissipation -
Desecration and Destruction -
Aspects and Avatars of the Eternal Emptiness -
Return forth to do Battle in Eternal Challenge
of Combat with -
Enlightenments Entourage -
Truth, Justice, Faith, Hope, Charity, Honesty, Ethics.
Hold Fast.
Do Not Weaken or Waver.
Darkness is Rapacious.
It Gives and Honours No Quarter.
Truth against Lies.
Justice against Perfidy.
Faith against Emptiness.
Hope opposing Despair.
Chairity countering Greed.
Honesty combating Deception.
Ethics versus Corruption.
Love to Battle Hate.
Clarity to Overcome Obscurity.
The Ancient Struggle -
The Never-Ending Battle -
Rumbles and Rages forever on…..
Stand Not Alone.
Stand Not as Solitary Warrior on Fields of Battle.
Support is Available.
Encouragement offered -
Back-up is behind You.
You are Not Alone…..
Take up Your Shield -
Take up Your Sword and Spear -
Stand to Your Station -
Your position in the ranks -
Soldiers to the Left of You -
Soldiers to the Right of You -
Soldiers behind You many ranks deep -
Soldier -
Your Time is Now -
You are not Alone -
Together We can do this -
We can Battle this Battle -
Fight this Fight -
Block Darkness’s Advance -
Sending Desolation and Despair -
Desecration and Destruction away
back from whence they came.
Stand Tall.
Stand Firm.
Be Bold.
Be Strong.
Remain Resolute.
Do Not Weaken.
Do Not Waver.
Do Not Falter.
The Enemy approaches -
Battle is Enjoined…..
Lines of Support - #3 - 06/18/2006
By Staff Writer:Paganus Greybeard
Songs of the Mother -
Songs of the Earth -
Songs of the Ancients -
Music of Power -
Music of Strength -
Earth Mother -
We sing to Your Spirit -
We sing to Your Stones -
We sing to Your Flowers, Plants and Trees -
We sing to Your Oceans, Lakes and Seas -
We sing to the life that flies, swims and walks -
We sing to the Gaia -
Home of Us All -
Where the Light Within -
Defeats the Darkness Without -
Consecration Within -
Desecration Without -
Build - Not Destroy -
Salvage - Not Savage -
Sacriment - Not Sacriledge -
Up from Darkness Below -
Rising Upward Enlightenment Above -
Soul Wings Arise -
Spirit Wings Alight -
Sacred Consciousness in Flight -
From mortal bound flesh released -
Soar to Heights Unknown -
Sail to Realms Unexplored -
Seek and Follow the Onward Path -
Towards the Shining Golden Light -
Sanctus Day -
Sanctuary Day -
Sacred Moment -
Sanctified Time -
Moment & Time out of Time & Moment -
Consecrated Hours -
Hours to Study -
Contemplate and Reflect -
Read and Write -
Observe and Learn -
Accept the Bounties, Blessings and Boons
this day offers and provides -
Dawn to Dusk -
Instant to Instant -
Moment by Moment -
Songs of birds in trees -
Quiet purr and mrow of drowsy cat in lap -
Soft snuffle of sleeping dog -
Songs of the Mother -
Songs of the Earth -
Music of Power -
Music of Strength -
Earth Mother -
We sing to Your Spirit -
We sing to Your Stones -
We sing to Your Flowers, Plants and Trees -
We sing to Your Oceans, Lakes and Seas -
We sing to the Life that flies swims and walks -
We sing to the Gaia -
Home of Us All -
Where the Light Within -
Sacred Espiritus Alight -
Sacred Soul Aflight -
Defeats the Darkness Without -
Darkness not to Remain -
Darkness not to Return -
From this Sacred Place -
At this Sacred Time -
Be Gone -
Be Away -
Depart this Place -
Depart this Space -
From this Time -
From this Sanctified Place & Space -
Depart -
To Do No Harm -
To Anyone, anywhere in any way -
To return from whence it came -
To Darken and Despoil Our Sanctus Day No More.
In Dominae Maximus -
In Excelsius Gloria -
The Darkness Is Gone.
Blessings Be.
Lines of Support - #2 - 06/17/2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Candle Light -
Candle Bright -
Tiny Fire -
Tiny Flame -
Light for Sight -
This Day -
This Night -
Light against Darkness -
Pretender’s on the rout -
Come Not Here -
Enter Not Here -
Be and Stay Not Here -
Go Away -
Get Out -
Be Gone from this Time -
Be Gone from this Space -
Ye be not welcome Here -
From this Time -
From this Space -
Ye must go -
Ye must depart -
Away -
Away -
Away….
Born of Stars -
Born of Space -
Born of Mortal -
Born of Man -
Espiritus requested -
Akasha -
As above -
As within -
As below -
As without -
Akasha -
Espiritus Sanctus -
By request -
Never command -
Never demand -
Water -
Clean, cleanse and wash away -
Fire -
Light, heat and burn away -
Earth -
Support, endurance, strength and secure & seal away -
Air -
Wisdom, understanding and blow away -
Any and all Aspects and Avatars of Spirits Malevolent Dark -
From this Time -
From this Space -
This Sacred, Sanctified Place -
Ye must go -
From this Place -
This Sacred, Sanctiified Space -
Depart -
Go -
Leave
From Out of Sight -
From Out of Mind -
Doing No Harm -
To anyone anywhere -
In any Time -
In any Place and Space -
Never to Return -
Here -
There -
or Anywhere…..
Away -
Away -
Away…….
Lines of Support - #1 - 06/16/2006
By Staff Writer:Paganus Greybeard
Greetings, All & EveryOne!
Here are some lines I wrote this day.
Sitting with the pup words came this way…..
Time out of Time -
Moment between Moments -
Place out of Space -
Sacred Place -
Sacred Space -
Hallowed be this Time -
Hallowed be this Space -
In this Moment -
In this Space -
Light unto Darkness -
Light of Illumination -
Light of Enlightenment -
Light to Show the Way -
To Sanctify and Seal -
To Secure and Shield -
Against the Pretenders of Light -
The Imitations -
The Simulations -
The Demons in Angelic Guise -
Sourness and Brimstone -
Flaming Foul Rot -
Desecration’s Champion Despoiler -
Bloody hoofprints -
Stamping, stomping, standing -
Howling in agonized frustration -
Scratching,
Biting,
Smashing,
Kicking all to no avail -
Inside this Space -
Inside this Moment -
Quiet calmness reigns -
Time for contemplation & meditation -
For Family, Friends & Self -
Time to Heal -
Time to re-set the Balance -
Raise the Shields -
Expand the Bubble -
Secure and Shield -
Sanctify and Seal -
This Time out of Time -
This Moment of Moments -
This Place -
This Space -
And for this Day -
And the remainder of this Night -
May the Blessings Be……
GBH/PG
BardicMagus/Priest-in-Training
13:38 {1:38p}{pacific/’california’}
06/16/2006
Energy Reading For August 2006
Written By Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
August will bring us some of the greatest challenges of our lives and I don’t have to be an intuitive to see it. Between the turmoil in the world and rapid, uncontrolled growth in our souls, there doesn’t seem to be a safe harbor anywhere. Yet this is not true. For those who have been taking on the additional responsibilities, the challenge will be to let go and let God. So many of us have been working hard for so long that we have forgotten what it is like to coast to save energy and allow others to do for us. For A-type souls the next few weeks will feel like they are standing still and watching the world go by; however they are not being passed by, the rest of the world is just catching up. For the spiritual slackers, who have road the coat tails of others, will find themselves unceremonially ditched and have to fend for themselves.
The Tarot card, which represents the energy we are bringing in from the past, is the King of Cups. He is man who is very emotional, sometimes to the point of being out of control. At times, he can be very loving and supportive, but when his dark side is in control, he is irrational and judgmental. When he walks the path of light and love, he gives wise council and is a good friend. The problem is you never know in advance which side of his personality will appear. Part of me would like to say this is an individual, yet this person is merely a symptom of a larger problem. As the extremes on both sides, both political and religious, continue to play tug of war with the middle, many people are finding it more difficult finding their grounding core. It is like being stuck in a wind storm where the wind keeps changing direction; it is hard to maintain your balance if there isn’t any consistency.
The card that represents August is the eight of wands. The watch words for the month will be speed and changeability. There will be no rest, no safe harbor to hide from the emotional winds blowing through our souls. It is a time of rebirth and our heads have started to crown. There is no going back. Those who have done the spiritual work won’t be spared but they will be more prepared. Those who depended on others to save them will find themselves alone as the saviors will be busy with their own work. The fears that have given us nightmares in the past will catch up with us this month and there will be no place left to run; we will have to be deal with them. There will not be any other options. This sounds like a dark month spiritually, but it is not. Dealing directly with the fears that have been haunting us is the only way to truly heal and in the healing, the future opens up.
The energy we will take from this month is the four of cups. Spiritual dissatisfaction and stagnation, as many people fight to stay within the bounds of their comfort zone. Fear will keep people from looking beyond the familiar. Keeping with the accustomed ways of life is safe and comforting, but it is also extremely boring. It’s like a watching a favorite childhood movie; it brings back fond memories, but it offers no changes or challenges. For those who are willing to grow, the stagnation will be only temporary as the comfort becomes to confining; angry with rise within them as they rally their energy to break free.
The challenge we will all face will come in the form of the ace of pentacles. Although many see pentacles as money, in reality, pentacles represent energy and money is only one of its forms. We will all be made aware that there is a new energy in town. It is a new old being who has returned to shake up and strengthen the power grid. A new way of reaching spiritual growth and wisdom will be created. The old paths no longer work for the new challenges that each of us will be facing. It’s time to throw out the old rule books and old methods of finding wisdom; look for the unusual and be open to the subtle messages that will guide you to the new roads to ascension. The individual paths are beginning to converge to create great pathways to the Divine light of love and wisdom. As we come together, we will learn co-operation, tolerance and the true definition of unconditional love.
Harvest Approaches
Written By Staff Writer: Agate
Have you touched the Earth lately;
She is heavy with life.
Have you stroked Her rounded belly,
Wondering at the potential within?
When did you last sink your toes in the mud
Or let the grass curl around them?
When did you last listen as the wind
Whipped by whispering secrets;
Or watched the dragonflies swarm
In an early summer morn?
When did you last walk, instead of drive,
Or take the time to recycle voluntarily?
When was the last time the night was dark enough
To see ten billion stars in a blanket of black?
The dirt we tread, the air we breathe,
The water we drink, the plants we eat,
Interconnected
Us to Her
Her to us
Sometimes even we forget
Have you touched the Earth lately,
She is heavy with life.
Goddess Letter #7 - Were You Talking To Me????
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings, Godddess!
Whichever One You are of the ‘Duty Shift’…..
Were You talking to Me yesterday morning?
Had a very strange semi-meditation/dream.
Not exactly sure what it was….
There was a College or University Campus.
Same one I am always ‘visiting’.
I was inside an elevator that goes nowhere that mysteriously
turns into a ‘bucky-ball’ shaped floating chamber that floats
over cities and buildings till I see the Campus.
I land in a Commons - a large grass area the size of a football field
between large Greek & Roman style academic buildings.
Before I was in the floating transcendant elevator I was watching
some kind of very weird female-only sporting event where nudity
was not unexpected. Not sure what the young ladies were doing.
Whatever they were doing they were doing it topless.
How I got from there to the floating elevator I don’t know -
can’t clearly remember that. After the the flying elevator
landed in the soft, green grass of the Campus Commons I
was speaking to one of the ladies. She said for Me not to touch Her.
She said why - I just could not hear what She said.
I then seem to remember somebody saying that I needed to get a
girlfriend. The Young Woman smiled. I then said that -
“….The Goddess will provide. When I am meant to have a gf -
I will have one. The Goddess knows. The Goddess provides….”
The Young Lady nodded. I then awoke to some birds loudly chirping
outside My window.
I know I have been told to meditate.
Was I asleep or in meditation?
I would vote for being asleep.
Yet I remember continually awakening.
Perhaps I was asleep - in some light meditative state?
Not sure where I was.
Not sure what all that was - or meant.
Godddess of the ‘Duty Shift’ -
Were You talking to Me?
I certainly appreciate the message if it was You.
I did ask for clarity in the messages.
I also asked to be able to remember them.
So what could this new message mean?
Semi-dressed lady athletes - an elevator that turns into
a floating ‘buckyball’ - and I speak to Myself with the Words
of the Goddess.
Surely - all of that must mean something……
The topless lady athletes may not be important.
Or they might be. I don’t know about that.
It’s the Campus and the Commons that seems to Me to be what
is important.
The Words of the Goddess are also important.
Both are important.
Yet neither fits well together in this meditation? dream? whatever?
At least I had a message.
At least I remembered enough of it to write it down…..
For this Greybeard that is decided progress…..
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
Blessings Be.
Arrogance.
By Staff Dragon: Draconis
Humans.
Upright Hairless Hominids.
So many of you.
So many who don’t care.
So many that should care - but do not.
So many that do not even know that they should care.
Why ever do I still bother with you?
In the utterly unlikely event there is still anyone serving and working
at that MysticWitch.com online establishment -
I am Ouroboros ‘Rob’ Astorious.
‘Rob’ for those of you with the attention span of a flea.
As you have apparently returned to active service -
I have deigned to continue my efforts at enlightenment.
I am the Staff Dragon.
Shall we begin?
Do pay attention.
This is important.
Arrogance.
The unnatractive and unappealing behavioural trait that says -
“I am better than you because I am better than you.”
In your Human species that is so very common an accurance.
Psychologically that mind-set and attitude is counter-productive
if not outright non-productive. You alienate youself with that
obsequious ‘holier than thou’ attitude.
Here are some Primal Egg level realities:
You are all Human.
You are all the same species.
Skin colour is a less than insignificant outward physical distinction.
You have taken a vanishly minor physical differentiator between
Human genotypes and made sociological and cultural divides.
Yes - Today in middle and lover economic ‘class’ communities and environments
there are some decided differences between what is considered the ‘white’,
‘black’, ‘red’, ‘yellow’ and ‘other’ ‘races’.
There is a highly disruptive and disturbing trend in certain northern U.S.
backcounties and southern U.S. urban areas for a ‘white power’ movement.
No. This is not - and you must clearly know that this is not and never has
been - anything empowering and positive. This is Human vs. Human
primal ‘race hatred’. This is arrogance at its darkest. This has nothing to
do with the work and workings of certain ‘white-lighters’. Calling upon the Primus
and His Lady is far different than the gutteral grunts and chants and occasional burned
cross of the Movement and its philosophical relative - the Klan. Wearing a white robe
while burning a cross on somebody’s front yard was not that uncommon an occurance.
Even today it may still happen.
Arrogance.
It is disruptive.
It is destructive.
It is disrespectful of your fellow Humans -
as if you even care about such a detail…..
It need not always be a burnt cross in a front yard.
It can also be very insidiously subtle.
You have the “Manager” - who because of the title thinks that because of the title
“Manager” things need to be managed.
You have the “Gurus". Let us all never forget where that insanity may lead.
You have the “Celebrity” who becomes famous simply because of being famous.
Child of fame, inheritor of family or corporate wealth it does not matter.
Arrogance is not about being better - it is actually a sign of extreme insecurity and deep personal inadequacy and weakness. It is overcompensation for internal psychological and emotional imbalance and lack of supportive structure.
Arrogance.
It is not pretty.
It is ugly and dangerous.
It is not just a Human trait.
I am a Draconis.
To you Human’s that is a Dragon.
Your Mistress Ravenfyre is quite correct.
So too is your Renegade.
We Draconis are not always likeable.
We are often not likeable at all.
We can often be what you Humans consider ‘evil’.
We are Dragons.
We are Sons & Daughters of the Primal Egg. We have been around for a
very long time. We live in the Shadows and Darker Places. We have seen the
Dark Side. Some of Us tend towards the Lighter Shades. Some of Us are
the Dark Side. It is simply who and what We as Draconis are.
Arrogance is an almost inborn and natural state for a Draconis.
So too is something else. A Mind and Spirit. Some Look towards the Dark.
Some look towards the Light. This is true for you Humans also.
So listen to your Staff Dragon.
Arrogance is ugly and dangerous.
You are not better than anyone else.
No. You are not.
Not unless you have a skill, talent, ability or First Mother given gift.
You are Hunan.
Stop being so Draconian.
I’m the Staff Dragon around here -
You’re Not…..
Wolf’s Bane
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
POISON!
Do not touch or handle without proper protective gloves.
Do not eat.
Wolf’s Bane is a virulent poison.
Latin Names:
Aconitum Napellus, Arnica Latifolia, Arnica Montana
Folk Names:
Aconite, Cupid’s Car, Dumbledore’s Delight,
Leopard’s Bane, Moonshood, Storm Hat,
Thor’s Hat, Wolf’s Hat.
Gender:
Feminine.
Deity:
Hecate.
Element:
Water.
Powers:
Protection & Invisibility
When added to magickal protection sachets,
Wolf’s Bane offers security against vampyres and
werewolves. It is also puportedly used by werewolves
to heal themselves. The seed, when wrapped in a
lizard’s skin, allows magickal invisibility at will.
For further information:
1)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum
2) http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,4075%7CWolf%2527s+Bane,00.html
3) http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/altCareMedShowLfts.asp?fname=00009&title
=Wolf’s+Bane%2C+See+%7CARNICA+%7C+&cid=HTALT
4)
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/aconi007.html
Cunningham Encyclopeadia of Magickal Herbs
Scott Cunningham
Second Edition
© 1988 Scott Cunningham & 2000 Scott Cunningham Estate
Lewellyn Publications
www.lewellyn.com
Are You Really A Teacher?
Written By: Mistress Ravenfyre
Editor in Chief
Hanging up the telephone a sudden thought came to me. How can one call themselves a teacher when they do not know themselves truly?
A teacher or mentor in the spiritual or mystical world should be someone that is balanced, well centered and know who and what they are. As they are giving advice, guiding those that come to them asking for answers. These teachers or mentors should be able to give some reasonable answers. Yet, I am seeing an influx of those that have woke up one day and said to themselves “I am going to mentor or teach”.
Their qualifications may be fleeting. I have seen those that have recently come out of the closet to “know” they should teach. Hearing what they have to say I shudder inside. Coming to the realization that they have not yet achieved the knowing of themselves still struggling with who they are. How can these people offer advice when they are lost and still seeking themselves? Do they offer the correct advice and lead them to path the right way?
Confusion leads to Confusion
I have personally seen these types of self professed teachers/mentors. They have looked at those that have earned the placement through blood, sweat and work as they are qualified also . Seeing as it appears so easy to do. Why shouldn’t they do the same thing? Having psychic ability, visions, divinatory skills, they too can guide.
While they mean no true harm, I fear that some may be harming others without knowing. This is worrisome. I have listened to those self proclaimed teachers/mentors speak. I have listened to how they guide. A few are still struggling with who they are and interject their own personal emotions into the guidance. Not being able to separate the two. They ask questions much like a carnival person at a fair. By the time they give advice, they have all the information from the person. Gypsy trickery. Carney Trickery. Have they given the advice from their inner wisdom or simply relied upon the person answering for their selves?
They are confused about how to guide, teach and give advice. Making up things as they go along. Now, we all depend upon knowing certain facts while we are guiding. Yet, most will use the inner voice, showing the true ability. Those that are confident, saged and learned use the ability that has been given. There is no trickery involved.
Balance VS. Inner Turmoil
While being a teacher or mentor we must seek our own balance inside. If we are not in that balance we should not guide others. For doing so we jade the guidance by our own emotions which has no place in our teaching.
Being a teacher, mentor or spiritual guide is not meant for status. We feel the need to give without being given back to. We do not brag about how many people came to us asking for help. We do not compare ourselves to others in the same field. We give because we have been chosen to do so.
Hearing from a person that has recently decided that they are suitable for teaching and hearing them say “today I had five people ask me to” drives me insane. Is it a competition? And did you give the right advise? I have heard some advise that has been given, some good and some I feel sorry for the person that heard it.
It is not status that leads many to mentoring or teaching. Slowly this has occurred. Many have taken courses along with the inner calling. Using book knowledge along with spiritual insight. Working hard over the years to build a reputation. Maybe this is why I get so angry at those who come to me and say that they are now teachers. I hear their knowledge and see that they have yet faced many of their fears. Some have not even acknowledged who they are to the general public and their families. Hiding in the shadows of their chosen path. How can you teach freely when you have not freed yourself from the inner chains of oppression that binds you?
Confrontation and Arrogance
To often these people that have taken the new title can not take confrontation or criticism . I am speaking of constructive criticism the kind that helps us all learn. If they ask another for their opinion they become defensive, nervous, denying that what they heard could be true or plain angry.
They see it as an attack personally. Not as an insight to help the next time. It is their way or no way. After hearing this I ask them Why did you ask me if you did not wish my opinion? You have wasted both our time. Their attitudes are condescending and patronizing. They are pious and all knowing.
Arrogance. Oh my, arrogance of their knowing and being all. I usually laugh but sometimes I will admit I get extremely annoyed borderline angry. I feel that none of us have the right to be arrogant as to what we do, who we help or how we do it. As there is always someone better than us. We must strive each day to be better, more learned and balanced. I see some of the arrogance in those I am speaking of and I replace it with ignorance. Why? As they are telling me of the numerous students they have taken on, I see that it is ignorance of the guidance. Their self esteem and ego is leading them into a place that may or may not be helping.
Why is it a competition? Why does one have to be the right one? Can you not leave your personal emotions at the door so you will be able to listen and hear? Learn from those that have been teaching for years. You must remember that the true teacher/mentor is always still a student. Still learning. If you can not achieve this in your self, go back and do some soul searching. You need it.
There are many out there that are so confused inside that offering advise helps their self esteem. They are not yet in their comfort zone as to who they are. We all fall prey to this a time or so. What do you do then?
Take Time to Make Time
When a teacher or mentor is at a point of emotional turmoil it is better to take the time to inner soul search. Find out why you are feeling this way. Face your fears, anxiety what ever it is that has you in this darken place. Ask yourself a few questions. I strongly suggest that those that are both new and saged to teaching take a break and not offer any guidance. Those that you turn down when you explain to them that you are not capable at the present time to offer assistance will respect you more than giving them the wrong guidance.
Learn who you are. Is it that important to teach? Or are you doing it because it makes you feel important? If you answered yes to that, take time off to make the time to learn why this is.
Follow your soul to seek the truth. The truth about yourself. Do you know you? If you do not know you how can you know the student?
Not everyone is a teacher or mentor. I have met those that I wished were in the position but they refrain because they are not comfortable with teaching. Their advice, guidance was truly amazing. Those are the teachers I respect the most as they have no need as to status.
On the other side of the coin we have those that want to fit in so badly that they see it as “if he/she can do it so can I”. NO you cant. It is not as easy as it appears nor does it build our egos. Sometimes it is draining, exasperating and a lot of other emotions in between but worth it.
I have been teaching and mentoring for a number of years. I have studied, been ordained the old fashioned way not the internet method of ministry, and accredited. I still am in school learning new techniques to enhance the knowledge and abilities I have.
Do I brag? Rarely if ever. I do not discuss my students with others that are not qualified to offer advise.
Do I have status? No.
Am I arrogant? Yes, at times, as I am human and arrogance enters as a fleeting moment recognized then laughed at.
Personal Advise
My advise is to stop trying to be someone you are not. Seek within to receive the answers why you have decided to teach or mentor. Ask yourself:
Do I know who I am?
Are my reasons selfish?
Am I skilled with knowledge to guide?
Am I centered and balanced in my life?
If you are still feeling that in your practice or path that you are a new comer, I would say pass on the teaching for now, as you have no references or experience as to rely upon to guide as you are still finding yourself. Build your confidence and learn from others that teach/mentor. There is no disgrace in this.
Once you have found who you are and being in a comfort zone you might just be a wonderful teacher or mentor. There is always tomorrow. Remember Rome was not built in a day and neither is a truly good spiritual teacher or mentor.
Take the time to know you before you teach or guide.
Gain Confidence in your skills, knowledge and self.
There is no class or position for Ego or status in teaching. Let Ego and status go.
Can you do this?
Letter to the Godddess - #6 - Eclectic in Chaos?
Hail & Well My Goddess!
{Goddess of the Duty Shift}
I am still here.
My situation - in all major respects -
has not changed.
I am still living with Family.
I am still working at MysticWitch.com for
Mystress RavenFyre.
The Festival Season was good.
I learned much.
I became a better performer.
I also became a better - pagan?
I am slowly starting to question my status as - pagan?
The Mystress has been slowly and ever so carefully been
guiding me and leading me into a new understanding of what
i might actually be.
I might be becoming more Chaotic.
Yes - Dear Goddess.
Chaotic.
I might just be - as once I said - a “Chaotic Eclectic".
An Eclectic in Chaos.
As if I even know what that might be and mean…..
Yes - Goddess.
I have more to study, discover and learn.
And with Your help -
and the help of the Mystress -
I might just discover and learn something…..
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
Paganus Greybeard
BardicMagus/Priest-in-Training
07/07/2006
Letter to the Goddess #5: Breaking the Cycle #2
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings, Goddess.
It is again I -
Your humble, mortal Paganus…..
As Hours follow Minutes -
as Days follow Hours -
as the Moon ceaselessly circles the Earth -
As Earth itself forever tracks around the Sun -
so to do Dreams circle ’round us.
Some Dreams are Positive -
they illuminate, guide, instruct and point-the-way
along the forward path.
Some Dreams are Negative -
they strew thorns and thistles into the path -
and obscure and block the forward path.
In these Dreams -
plotlines and recurrent scenes, settings and characters
inhabit this Dreamtime Theatre.
Our Muses are the Writers & Directors of many - but by no means all -
of these mental theatrics. For as many of the Dreams that are from
your Guides, Guardians and Muses equally as many of the performances
upon the mental stage are products of our own mind with little outside
assistance.
Sometimes a dream is just a dream as a cigar is just a cigar.
Sometimes though that cigar is smoked by a person who should not be in
our dreams. When this happens is it a tossing-up of old unfinished
mental business or a spiritual & occult plane visitation/manifestation?
IF dreams are clearly becoming more than a day’s rehashed and recycled
events you may well be in Dream Cycle. A Cycle that may be of infinite
degree between the Dark and the Light. It it menacing, intimidating
and disturbing enough to infect and affect your waking, working hours
you might well be in the midst and grip of a Dark Dream Cycle.
Breaking the Dark Dream’s Cycle becomes a vital psychological,
emotional, physical and spiritual priority…..
Hand-Drafted:
***{15:27/3:27p}{pacific/’california’}{04/02/2006}***
Dark Dreams.
Unwelcome Visitations & Manifestations.
Lessons being taught -
or Warnings being given?
On a clearing and mild weather day here in Southern California -
thoughts do turn to the 950+ ‘Severe’ weather incidents/reports
in IN/IL/TN. Some of the red triangles {tornadoes} and even some
of the white dots {hail} were far too close to Montpelier and Blackford
County. Perhaps these unwanted ‘Dreamscape’ intrusions of the Mystress
were ‘get out of here while You still can’ Warnings.
Dark Warnings?
Warnings & Alerts as Dark Dreams?
Not being the Dreamer I can only offer -
Perhaps????
Hand-Drafted:
***(08:20)(04/04/2006)***
Birds feeding outside window.
Day may or may not be clearer & dryer. Can’t tell just quite yet…..
Palm Springs and ‘K’burg’ photos available to ‘leathergoddess’.
Guild was looking for photos. Photos on ‘MagickalMystics’
on Google. Might need to post/forward them to ‘leathergoddess’.
Or ‘leathergoddess’ may already have them.
Will know what-is-what this afternoon.
Still no commo. from the Mystress. Was able to post the April 2006
MysticWitch.com deadlines upon Mystic Witch Forums. Might need to
x-post them to the Yahoo & Google Forums.
Might need to work up a notice or series of notices saying I will not
be available & online for my daily work sessions on the weekends
starting April 22nd. Festival Season…..
Hand-Drafted:
***(08:23)(04/05/2006)***
Storms.
Hail.
Wind.
Rain.
Wanted to get out of here yesterday.
Did not go.
Bad day to leave here and go anywhere.
Radios very busy. Had radios on so long had to shut them off
and put them on charge.
Weather map looks better for here tomorrow & Freya’Frid’s Day.
Not all that sure about Montpelier. Yesterday’s Pacific storm is
headed east where it will collide with lower level warm air
and moisture from the Gulf. More red triangles and watch and
warning boxes on the Weather Channel’s weather map.
Damn.
Hope the “Spooky Blue Mansion” is ready for this…..
Hand-Drafted:
***(09:19)(04/06/2006)***
Daylight.
Clear, Quiet - No Rain.
Can’t - yet! - speak for Montpelier.
Have heard from the Mystress.
Email on the 5th.
Found and read it on the 6th.
Wrote up the ‘Daily Business’ and gave a short reply.
Mystress is in an extended and protracted ‘moment of transition’.
So much so I am beginning to consider the possibility of a
‘transformation’. Emotional, Psychological and Spiritual -
all could be up for update & change in this ‘transitional
transformation’. Said She put some of her ‘tools’ away.
That’s very interesting. Just as She is putting Her ‘tools’ away -
I am collecting and ‘activating’ mine. Perhaps - in some
very small-scale and very low-level way a role switch is being played
out here. Might be more from Her today - IF all is stable and
together there….
Mystress asked if the earlier “Goddess Letters” were OK to post &
publish.
I knew from the first it was a possibility She would inquire.
She has the “Green Light” - She has the “Go” to post and publish all,
part or none of the “Letters” as She sees and feels fit to do so.
As has been said before -
While I may not be a Witch -
I do work for One!
I am - for the Mystic Witch Forums -
Site Administrator & Group Moderator.
I keep the traffic moving and clean up the ‘road-hazard’ Spam.
Anticipation.
I need to know what needs to be done -
and as much as possible from my limited end -
do it and get it done.
I am also a Writer and Contributor to MysticWitch.com.
I need to ’see’ the needs of the Membership and Readership and write,
produce and post articles and other materials for that Membership
and Readership. Topical, pertinent and appropriate articles and
other materials.
In time there may even be more tasks, duties, responsibilities.
There is MysticWitch.net with products to promote and sell.
There is RavenOaks.net - the “Community Centre’s” website.
There is MWS - the School. So very many things to tend to -
and there is only one (1) Mystress RavenFyre.
Anticipation.
So just what is next for then the Paganus?
Stay tuned.
We’ll find out together…..
Letter to the Goddess #4: Breaking the Cycle
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Goddess:
It’s sunny & warm here.
At least - for the present moment as I hand-write these
words it’s sunny and warm. {03/13/2006}
{As I sit here and keyboard these words it’s darkly cloudy,
windy and threatening to rain…..}{03/31/2006}
As I handwrite these words {03/13/2006} it’s very cold and
overcast in Montpelier, In. As the Mystress Herself told me -
it was so cold upstairs - in ‘Her’ room - that She had to move
the ‘puter unit downstairs. It was so cold in that house you
could see your breath. That is a very cold house!
Progress was made on Palm Springs Festival.
I was able to go for the final day - on the Sanctus.
It meant a negotiated compromise - but I did manage to
salvage something of the weekend. It was good weekend.
Till - of course - We got to the picking-up/cleaning-up & packing-up.
That was - as it always is - a chore. Very heavy solid oak tables
and benches, chairs and crates. Tents to break down and stow.
Lots of work to be done in a very short amount of time.
But that is why I went down to Palm Springs. I was not really
there for the activities during the day - though I contributed far
more than I did last year. I was there for the labour/work party.
With considerable effort We were packed up and on the road in two hours
and seven minutes. For this Guild - not bad at all…..
Mondae We met back at the the “Koroneburg” site and unloaded and
unpacked everything that stayed there.
That was another two hours of effort and labour.
I thank You, Goddess for the chance to offer My assistance and services
to the Guild.
It was greatly appreciatedby the Guild….
{03/24/2006}
Yes, Goddess - I am better.
I am much better.
My personal & internal ’storms’ have - for the moment - passed.
I know I have used - in earlier Letters - the term ‘Nightmare’ to
describe my ‘life’. I know that for some that that may be a very
inaccurate use of the term. I know, accept and understand this.
‘Nightmare’ may not be - in any real sense - accurate at all for my ‘life’.
Why?
Why is ‘Nightmare’ quite possibly not accurate or proper for my ‘life’?
Let’s examine that briefly for the explanation…..
I am NOT - : Dying of starvation & hunger in Dharfhur.
Poking my helmeted head up out of the bombed-into-rubble
remnants of a Mosque in Iraq or Afghanistan
A ‘political’ prisoner in Chile
An inner-city ill-educated black male youth in the U.S.
Dying of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
A declared ‘apostate’ in Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq
A privately employed ‘Security Officer’ in Southern California.
I am none of these things.
So why then is my ‘life’ - such as it can be considered and described -
described as a ‘Nightmare’?
My ‘life’ - in this family and household - is very slow-motion.
What might take weeks or months to achieve and accomplish for another
might well take Me months and years.
I have no employment.
I have no ‘earned’ income.
I am not living on my own.
I ‘live’ here in the Family Residence.
I am 48 years old.
I am very well aware that in certain societies and cultures this is
not a negative in any possible way. Rather - for some - it is
thought to be a great blessing. I am still at home to aid and assist
the Family. The fact that I would be - in very great measure -
’sacrificing’ My own ‘life’ for what is required by the family is never thought of or even
considered. This is My ‘life’. Where else would I be? What else would I doing?
However - in equally great measure - and with no disrespect to anyone or
any societal, cultural tradition and belief - I cannot and do not see My
situation in that light and in those terms.
I see myself as the youngest child.
I am the youngest child.
The child who did not escape the Family nest.
How then - do I escape this situation?
Money.
I need to earn money.
Money means employment.
Employment means the paycheck.
The paycheck means the missing money.
the employment also means risking my ‘escape’ -
IF It can ever even happen - later…..
It’s a very pedestrian and quite ‘mundane’ situation.
It’s a very ‘mundane’ ‘nightmare’.
Yes - it may not even be - even for ‘mundanian’ situations
much of a ‘nightmare’.
Clearly - I understand, accept and acknowledge that.
My ’storms’ - for the immediate, present moment - have passed.
Such may not be said for the Mystress.
A seriously severe bout of dark and nasty dreams has so unsettled Her
She reportedly is seriously considering chucking it all and -
‘…going mundane….’. For the Mystress to tell Me this -
in strictest, personal confidence - is rather astounding.
It clearly now appears that the ‘problems’ of January have not been
solved and dealt with.
My ‘nightmare’ is quite ‘mundane’. It is not of the psychic, occult and
spiritual realms. A common and very ‘mundane’ ‘paycheck’ will go far to
solving my difficulties.
A ‘mundanian’ ‘paycheck’ will not solve psychic, occult or spiritual
realm difficulties.
Working through a Manager on the temporal, mundane level/realm will
result in a paycheck that will in turn help solve temporal, mundane
realm difficulties.
Working through one’s Guides, Guardians & Muses is required in matters
of the psychic, occult and spiritual realms.
Working with one’s Guides, Guardians and Muses is often complicated,
difficult and confusing. When you deal with your Guides & Guardians
you are dealing with Spirits. Some of these Spirits may be Family
Ancestors. In some societies and cultures this is expected.
Some may be Spectres of future or alternative lives/selves.
Spirits may not all be of and from the ‘Positive-White-Light’.
Some may very easily be - and clearly may well be - of the
‘Negative-Black-Darkness’. Only by experience can one hope to
learn and discern the difference. Sometimes - as mere humble ‘human’
mortals - one cannot tell or know the difference.
Darkness can - and has - masqueraded as the Light. What appears to
be the Light may not always be the Light. The Light - in order to
teach a lesson or make a needed point - can and often does work through
means and methods that can seem and appear to be of the Dark.
Sometimes lessons must be taught.
Lessons must be learned.
Messages must be sent and received.
Even as a mere “Magus-In-Training” I have learned and know that.
Goddess - You made very sure I learned that!
Dreams can be and are a prime mode and means of communication to and
from the Occult Realms. Occult - as I know and use the term - is that of
‘hidden’ or ‘obscured’ or ‘concealed’. The Realm of the Guides,
Guardians and Muses is - for the most part - ‘hidden’ and ‘obscured’
from our mortal view, comprehension and understanding.
Sometimes the lesson taught and the messages communicated are not
pleasant.
Sometimes they are very far from pleasant. I’ve had some very dark and
black dreams. Watching ‘myself’ be killed through the eyes, ears and
perceptions of the ’self’ being killed comes readily to mind. As
shattering and unsettling as that recent dream was - it was dealt with.
I was told what to do to break the cycle of the dream.
I followed the Guidance of my Guides & Guardians.
That dream is now only a rapidly fading memory.
How did I ‘defeat’ the ‘death-dream’?
I reached over and held my pewter & crystal wand. The wand has not left
my presence since that night - and that authentic ‘nightmare’.
Goddess - that is how I ‘defeated’ my dream.
I cannot expect the Mystress to do the same.
Our situations are quite seperate and unique.
I was shaken for a few days afterwards.
That was to be expected.
She is now being shaken - and disrupted - by Her dreams.
How do I help/assist Her in Breaking this Dream Cycle?
For this clearly sounds and feels like a Dream Cycle.
How do I do whatever it is that might needs be done?
I need to ‘listen’ to my Guides, Guardians and Muses.
I need to ‘hear’ their Guidance and instruction.
So I shall ‘listen’ and ‘hear’.
So I shall share what I thusly learn….
{To Be Continued/Completed……}
Letter to the Goddess - #3
Goddess -
I am here for Part #3.
This is from today.
This is today’s entry….
May this find Your favor and acceptance…..
Goddess -
I’m better today.
I’m much better today.
Serena & Sherri are also much better today.
Sitting with them last night helped.
I will sit with them today while the family is out
running and doing errands and whatever…..
It’s Tiu’s Day today. It’s clearer than yesterday.
So far it’s clearer than yesterday. Warmer too!
It’s supposed to be even more clear and warm tomorrow.
I am doing what I said I would have to do.
I am surviving and enduring. The rest of the week still
looks to be empty, pointless and futile.
I can accept that. I have no real choice - now do I?
I also accept that that it may very well change and not be
quite so empty, pointless and futile….
I cannot say.
I do not know…..
I still sit here -
tending the household -
and writing by hand….
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
Letter to the Goddess - #2
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Goddess -
I come here before You with Letter Part #2….
Again - May this find Your acceptance……
Goddess -
I am again here - writing by hand….
The Darkness is lessened.
I cannot say it is gone.
It may never be gone.
It is lessened.
Emotionally My senses and feelings are not nearly as Dark
as they were but a few hours ago.
How this can be I cannot say because I do not know.
I do not understand it. Yet it is real. Quite real.
My situation in this household is in no way changed.
Palm Springs is still a ‘no-go’. As of this moment it is
a ‘no-go’. {20:15}{8:15p}{03/20/2006}
Perhaps something Metaphysical/Spiritual/Ocult has changed.
Perhaps. I cannot say what it is or what it might even be.
I do not know this. This is far, far beyond anything I have
yet read, studied or previously experienced….
I do know that the brief words of the Mystress have helped.
Her words helped. So too did something I may have done.
I stopped pushing so hard to obtain an answer or answers.
Perhaps it really does matter not if I am able to do
Palm Springs Festival. Perhaps I am meant for something else
this week? Or perhaps I am meant to only do what is always done -
My tediously predictable daily and weekly routine?
I cannot say.
I do not know.
I did something else today.
I re-set My own personal ‘production’ ‘deadline’ schedule.
I again told the Mystress My words and writings would come in
on Freya/Frid’s day. I took the “Get it done - Get it done NOW!”
pressure off Myself.
I also admitted that perhaps My only known - at this moment in time -
way out of this never ending nightmare of my ‘life’ in this household
is through survival, endurance and outliving/outlasting my family.
Which is - obviously - also a nightmarish event scenario.
A bad scene no matter how it plays out…..
I also admitted I have questioned why I bother/bothered with any of this.
My head, emotions and psyche have been in a rather darkly-grey and
gloomy place for the past few days. The weather - admittedly! - has not
helped. A dark-black place? No. Merely a middling grey murky gloom.
Think of a cold. foggy day with a slow, drizzling rain. Very sloppy and
messy. Perhaps even dangerous - But it can be dealt with.
By some way -
By some means -
I am writing these words -
and dealing with it…..
Letter to the Goddess - #1
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings, Goddess!
I come before You with this letter.
I have no offering for You save these words and
my thoughts behind these words….
May they be found acceptable…..
This is only the first of a multi-part letter.
There are more parts - from later days.
What begins with this part has not yet ended -
it has not yet played itself out…..
There is much more to yet come……
Everything Changes.
Light to Dark and back again.
In My ‘life’ - IF I am permitted that somewhat fanciful
exaggeration and overstatement -
My options may have just closed down.
Due to the cost of gasoline My participation in the
Palm Springs Renn. Festival is no longer likely.
I can’t go down and stay.
I have no tent and sleeping bag.
I also have no money to go get a tent and sleeping bag.
I have no ’source of earned income’ for the money to go get
a sleeping bag and tent. Rather thourally ’screwed’ am I…..
I may not even be able to go at all even if I did have
money for the tent and sleeping bag.
The car I drive is not in My name.
It is in the Family’s name.
“It’s not Your car. It’s Ours. We can - and We will -
say how and when and where it is used….”
I am even more ’screwed’…..
IF Palm Springs Festival is not to be -
as it appears to not be -
what else is at risk?
Perhaps everything?
The main “Koroneburg” Festival. Though I do have some possible employment there.
Not much earned - but perhaps just enough to ’salvage’ the Festival for me….
My getting out of here for Montpelier.
IF Palm Springs is shut-down {for Me and My participation} then I am
going to be very - inhuman.
The Spring Festivals are when I get My ‘humanity’ back.
Winter is a dark and draining time for Me.
That is - by now - well known.
Painfully well known.
IF I am not able to get My ‘humanity’ back I may be very dangerous
to be around. I may have to shut Myself up in this room and just stay
here. I may have to again seriously question IF I am of the
“White-Light-Path” at all. It is not feeling of “White” I feel at this moment.
It is also not “Dark". It is not even “Grey". It is closer to depressed, angry,
emptiness….
Emptiness.
And a very strong sense of Failure.
Failure because I have no source of Income -
No paychecks in the Bank Account -
I’m being shut down.
Goddess - How do I tell Marcello {GuildMaster} that again it’s a
‘no-go’ because of no money and a car that is not Mine?
Just How do I do that???
Goddess - How do I explain all this to the Mystress?
IF Palm Springs {for Me} does not happen - what else dies with it?
I already knew Montpelier was close to impossible.
That was not news. It was a challenge…..
This may make it beyond even impossible - an even bigger challenge…..
It may even be a sign that even more may - in time - be lost.
I wrote the Mystress that 04/01 might need to be an ‘employed by’ date.
IF Palm Springs does go down {for Me} - and I have to live without it -
04/01 will become a near certain required deadline. In order to ’save’
‘Koroneburg’ I am going to need income. And that might just mess up
whatever the Mystress might possibly have been planning - or is planning.
How do I explain this to Her? So much is starting to come together and to
happen - and I may just not be part of it. IF I don’t start pulling down
some income even email and My online work sessions are at risk.
How do I tell Her that? How?????
How do I tell Her I am being slowly silenced, shut-down and
put-out-of-business by a parental decree - “Get A Job!".
The Mystress is Not well thought of around
here. Not well thought of all all - in any way at all….
‘Liar’, ‘Cheat’, ‘Fraud’, even once ‘Thief’.
‘You cannot believe a single word She tell You…’
‘So what is She - a Witch?’
Not nice words at all.
Not a nice attitude behind the words either.
Yet - these are some of the more diplomatic and discrete words spoken.
There have been many more - many that are much worse.
So IF I am shut-down family might well see it as a ‘victory’ for their
‘morals & values’. Obviously - I cannot and do not see things that way.
Bad attitude from family.
Dark attitude from family.
Goddess - just how do I say to the Mystress that in this household the
‘Dark’ side might just win after all?……
Just how do I say that????
Ostara 2006 Offering/Working
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Including prayers from ‘ A Book of Pagan Prayer’
*by* Ceisiwr Serith
Celebrant:
{Introductory and explanatory comments….}
Ostara.
Easter.
Former is ‘Pagan’ -
Later is ‘Christian’.
Both honour, celebrate and consecrate the Spring.
The ‘elder’ Ostara speaks of the Spiritual, Elemental
and Metaphysical Rebirth of the Land.
The comparatively ‘newer’ Easter speaks of commercial
product sales and Egg Hunts for Children.
There is very little of the Spiritual and Metaphysical
left in the ‘Christian’ Easter save for the
occasional ‘Sunrise Services’. While in the ‘Christian’
modification/adaptation/usurpation of the ‘elder’ ‘Pagan’ Ostara
celebrations celebrates the ‘resurection’ from the Grave & Hades
of the Christos it is still only through the ‘elder’ ‘Pagan’
Ostara celebrations that the Spring and its Rebirth of the Land is
honoured. With that in mind…..
Celebrant:
{Offering & Working}
Goddess, Ostara!
Greetings, Goddess!
Hear my offering of words from the “Book of Pagan Prayer".
I offer You these words of Ceisiwr Serith as well as words
of My own.
May You find these words -
as well as the plant offering -
suitable and acceptable…..
Blessed be Eostre -
Springtime’s Queen -
Blessed in all the signs of warmth’s return -
Blessed in the scent of thawing Earth -
Her own true Incense rising up in Her praise.
Take a small earthenware planting-pot and fill
it halfway with ground soil or a good quality
commercial potting-soil mixture.
The snow sinks back into the Earth -
there to nourish the sleeping life -
that waits patiently for its time to come.
Goddess of Spring -
You have performed this miracle through many ages.
Transform again the frozen white into the pliant vibrant
growing green.
Work again the ancient magic -
and bring Spring to our Land.
Place a plant cutting or seedling in the pot and
cover it with the mixture.
Warm the Earth -
Make the ground soft -
so we may again walk barefoot in the grass
and plant the seeds that will grow all Summer untill the Harvest -
when Your full power will be known -
and eveyone will see what You have done.
But now it is time to begin these great deeds.
Bring us that Spring -
So that together we might produce that harvest.
Warm the Earth -
So that the plants may live and grow so we might
display Your gifts.
Water the newly planted seedling/cutting.
Goddess -
This is Your plant.
This is Your life.
I prepare it here for many years of service to You.
This is the Spring.
You warm the Land - melt the white ice and snow -
and bring back the living, growing green.
Goddess Ostara -
Aspect of the ALL -
I Thank You for this opportunity to serve You with
this Offering of Words and this humble,
newly planted seedling/cutting.
From the ALL came everything.
Blessed be the ALL.
Blessed the the Godess Aspect Ostara.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
So Mote it Be.
Blessings Be…..
Words in boldface from “A Book Of Pagan Prayer".
Ceisiwr Serith
© Ceisiwr Serith
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
ISBN: 1-57863-255-2
www.redwheelweiser.com
Bryony - Working
Bryony - Working
Place the herb - a small gourd - in a small
wooden bowl and place the bowl and gourd near
the front entrance of the residence.
Bowl and gourd should be placed on a moderately high
shelf - such as an upper level bookshelf - because
the herb is considered poisonous….
Goddess:
Greetings!
Hail & Well Met!
Hello Again - My Eternal, Infinite Cosmic Lady!
Accept this herbal offering.
>From the soil and ground of this world this
herb - this gourd - has lived and grown.
This is Your herb - Your gourd.
This is Your world.
These are Your Sons and Daughters.
Hold safe this residence and its inhabitants.
Hold safe Your Children.
Let not anything dark or negative happen here to
this residence or its inhabitants.
May Your Children who live here find safety, security
and prosperity.
May Your Children who live here live long and prosper.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be….
Solemnis Solitaire: #3
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Faith.
Faith and Belief.
Belief in a Being You cannot see, hear or physically sense or detect
in any known way.
Belief in a Being ‘higher’ on the ‘evolutionary’ path than You -
a mortal human.
Belief in an Original Primal Creator Being.
You cannot detect - by any currently developed or known device or
means - ‘God’.
Yet You accept that ‘God’ has, does and will continue to exist.
You ‘believe’ in Your selected Divine Divinity.
You have ‘faith’ in Your ‘God’.
You also - by logical extension - have ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ in the
righteousness of Your chosen clergy. Whether You be Catholic, Protestant, Methodist,
Episcopalian, Buddhist, Taoist, Jewish, Lutheran or even Sikh, Hindu & Muslim - You
are expected to accept and follow the tenets, teachings and precepts of Your ‘religion’. You
are told what to think, how to think it, and when and where to think it by Your ‘church’s’
‘clergy’. You are a member of a congregation. You do as You are told.
You do what the ‘congregational’ group does because You are part of
that group.
You sing the Hymns from the Hymnal. You pass the offering and drop a
dollar a dollar in.
You are a member of Your chosen ‘religion’ and You do what is expected
of You to do.
Sitting in Your pew, listening to the Sunday Services sermon in Your
neighborhood ‘church’,
You are not alone. You are just a single member of a single, ‘local’
congregation. In Your ‘Denomination’ You are Your communities ‘local branch’.
You are part of a very large and diverse ecclesiastical membership.
Membership in such a ‘Denomination’ can be considered as is a
double-edged sword. Such a sword cuts both ways.
You can cut on the forward stroke as well as on the return stroke.
Membership in such a large ‘Denomination’ can be both positive and
negative. Recently, in the newspapers and broadcast news reports,
‘Denominations’ and their ‘Congregations’ have been noteworthy.
There has been the increasing turbulence after political cartoons of
the Muslim Deity Muhammed. According to the news reports, Muhammed
is not to be visually depicted at all.
This has reportedly caused strife and discord. Bombing and burnings
have ensued. Embassies and Consul offices have been attacked and
destroyed. Yet - as has also been repeatedly pointed out and reported
in the media - this are the results of a small, vocal and very
physically and spiritually violent micro-sub-set of the Muslim ‘faith’.
There have also been accounts of ‘heresy’ and ‘criminal abuse &
misuse of authority’ trials. These ‘church’-based ‘trials’ examined a
Catholic Priest in Southern California for what was described as
‘heretical thoughts, actions and teachings’ and a ‘refusal to
accept the ultimate, final temporal authority of the Pope’ .
A female Priest of the Episcopalian ‘Dnomination’
was tried for conducting gay weddings. She was acquitted. The ‘trial’
determined that She was following the guidance and dictates of Her understanding of the
teachings of the ‘Holy Spirit’.
No ecclesiastical ‘crime’ was committed. The Catholic Priest was not
nearly so fortuitous.
He was excommunicated and ‘removed’ from the Church.
These were - and are - Catholics and Episcopalians.
I am neither Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Muslim, Hindu or
Taoist. I am not now - this day - a member of any of these ‘Denominations’.
I am Pagan. I now follow a very much older and somewhat fundamentally
different path and tradition. I have also not always been - or considered myself to be -
Pagan.
I am 48 years old. Somewhere in the hazy mists of semi-forgotten
personal time, space & history I was once very different. Around 25 to
30 years ago I was Lutheran. - Missouri Synod.
This was the time I served as ‘Candle-Lighter’ for my local,
neighborhood church. I last sat in a church pew somewhere between 1976 and 1982.
I have written that my personal change was slow. IF my
Memory is to be even partly trusted it has been a 30 year process.
Faith and Belief in a personal and intimate Deity & Divinity is a matter for the individual alone.
It is not - no matter how many times it is taught and ‘preached’ as being so - fundamental to a congregation. For what is a congregation but a disparate collection of individuals?
‘Churches’ - in and of innumerable sects and denominations - are
critically dependant upon the unity and collective cohesiveness of their assembled congregations.
It is through the congregations that the national and multi-national ‘churches’ exist and survive. It is the mundane political, social and economic power and influence that
ensures their continued survival. IF enough of the ‘faithful’ simply stopped showing up on Sunday and stopped giving/dropping their ‘voluntary contributions’ into the entirely
unsubtle ‘offering bowl’ where would the denominations, sects and
churches be? The money would dry up and the political power and
influence would wither and die away.
‘Church’ and ‘Denominations’ - since their inception thousands of years
ago - are not nearly so much about Deity and Divinity as they are about mundane, temporal
Political, Social and Economic Power. ‘Churches’ are now - and they always have been - multi-national corporations.
Deity and Divinity runs a far distant fourth or fifth place
following Politics, Social Change and Reform and the monthly Profit
Statement. While by law ‘church’s’ can be - and are - classed by
the Revised Tax Codes as exempt non-profits - it is indeed profits that is one of
the twin driving motivators for the development and continued existence of any ‘church’ or ‘denomination’.
For this very much former Lutheran I find the never-ending emphasis
on the Power and Profit motivators disturbing. Even before I last
attended a service I knew ’something’ was wrong.
I was not old enough, well read or experienced in life enough to know
what could be wrong.
I just knew and could very clearly sense that ’something’ was wrong.
Certain theological and ecclesiastical questions were strongly
discouraged. One was - why is it so necessary to be here -
in this building - every Sunday? This is ‘God’s House’. But if God is
God - can’t He be anywhere?
Of Course. He is Omniscient and Omnipresent. Then why can’t I go
commune quietly and personally with Him in the park under My favorite
tree? I never did get much of an answer to that one!
Even as I lit the Candles I was thinking. Thinking My own thoughts
for Myself. In a local ‘congregation’ where ‘you go along to get along’ was constantly spoken
of and acted upon - I was already unknowingly starting to seek, find and walk My own path.
I clearly remember a moment downstairs in the ‘Sunday School’. It was a conversation
concerning ethics. The ‘official line’ was that there was only one (1)
kind of ethics. For all conditions and situations - there was just this one (1) kind,
type, form of ethics. ‘Situational Ethics’ was not only derided - it was described and
coloured as something distinctly ‘evil’ and ‘You do not want to even think of going there’…. Thinking for One’s Self was thusly therefore implicitly, strongly discouraged. ” ‘God’ has the Answers. Just ask ‘God’ ” was the de-facto motto and mantra. Even as a child and later as a teen I had some very severe problems with that kind of non-thinking non-response to Spiritual as well as mundanian, temporal, everyday reality.
I have never been good at taking commands. Direction, Guidance and
Instruction are not only accepted but welcomed and encouraged.
Commands are not. You know the situation.
The Child’s - ‘Why’? The Adults - ‘Because I said so’…. That never
worked well with Me.
It still does not work well with Me. Dealing with an imperious
imperator of an employer is one thing.
Dealing with the ‘Holy, Apostolic, One, True and Only Real’ ‘Church’
makes My skin itch and crawl.
Because life is complicated, confused, conflicted and contradictory
a simple ‘one size fits all’ form of ethics is unmanageable and unworkable.
An at work situation is far different than that of one at home with the family and kids.
A Supervisor to Employee behavioral approach cannot
be expected to work at home when you are mediating brother and sister.
Or the classic one we discussed - and never were able to get a consensus decision on - is the
lifeboat scenario.
There are only supplies and room for 6 people in the boat - there are
seven people to save.
I came up with a solution. One person hangs onto the boat and swims in
the water. And to extend supplies You eat fish. Simple solutions.
Simple, basic, practical, functional ‘real world’ solutions. The Others
were off busy debating the nature of the lifeboat and the ‘moral’ qualities of
the people involved. Are they Catholics, Jews or Buddhists? I had no interest in that
metaphysical trivia. Life is Life. Save them all I did. I did ‘get real’. The Others still
missed the point. At least that’s how I remember it!!
Even as a child and later as a teen in High School I could see that ‘one size fits all’ won’t work. Later - in my very brief and very much abortive mis-adventure at the Seminary - it was so very much worse. I was there - IF memory is even
remotely accurate after 30 years - no more than 5 weeks. It may have been far less than that.
It was clearly not the place for me to be.
‘God’ - for the ‘churches’ and their attendant ‘denominations’ - is not so much a Deity
and Divinity as He is a Product to be marketed and sold. Catholics
light a Candle for prayers. Very fundamentally good idea. Basic candle magick. For the
Candle another of the seemingly endless ‘voluntary contributions’ is required. Remember the
‘Sales of the Indugences’? Many fortunes were raised with that im-pious moneymaker.
There is not a ‘church’ that does not - in some way or form, to some degree - sell ‘God’, ‘Faith’, or
‘Salvation’. It’s a multi-billion dollar a year Business. Even the online ULC does it. Yet the Universal Life Church seems to be a bit more open and straightforward about it. Want or need to do a Wedding? There are packages for that. Counseling? Sure. Packages exist for that too. ID?s,
Credentials and even music, books and proper ‘reverential’ garb is offered. I have no problem with this by the ULC. They are clearly offering a service. A service at a nominal cost. At no time have I read anything saying that not buying something from them will harm your karma or damage your eternal soul. This is quite unlike many of the TV-Evangelicals and even some of the more ‘mainsteam’ ‘’denominations’.
“BUY! GOD! NOW! or Die the most gruesome, hideous death possible"..?
There is a popular bracelet amoung the ‘Christians’ and ‘Evangelicals’ - WWJD?
What Would Jesus Do? It is an excellent question. What would the Christos do?
As early as approximately 50 years after the ‘Death’ and ‘Resurrection’
of the Christos His teachings, have been re-interpreted, re-cast, re-imagined,
re-structured and re-formed into something quite un-’Christian’ and un-recognizable.
He spoke to the individual.
He spoke to small groups. His was an intimate and personal message and
ministry. It was not until the writing of and ‘publishing’ of the ?Acts of the
Apostles? and the Letters of Paul that the nascent ‘Christian’ ‘church’ began to take
shape, find a function and develop a social, political and economic viewpoint. It was - even at
that early date - a ‘Christian’ ‘church’ in promotional name only. In practical,
functional reality it was ?religion? as usual with only a new ‘product’ to produce, market and
sell.
It was not many decades later that ‘God’ was being used as an
‘insurance policy’.
‘Buy Jesus or Die and Go to Hades’. ‘Redemption or Destruction’. Just
how would the Christos feel about being used and sold as the ‘hammer’ in an old-style
‘vigorish’ scam?
While the Sicilian Mafiosi may have earned their darkly deserved image
and reputation for their organized crime Families and Brotherhoods - the ‘organized’,
‘mainstream’ ‘Church’ - irrespective of sect or denomination - makes
their extortive hardball tactics look penny-ante in relative comparison.
The Chistos spoke of love, compassion, hope, faith and charity. In
a certain box - opened by a certain young woman - the last thing in the box was Faith, Hope and Charity. The box - that legend and myth says should never have been opened - was
closed before Faith, Hope and Charity could escape and be lost. The
Christos was a ‘fisher of men’ - not a cheap, hustling, scamming
shyster. I am reminded of the sequence in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
where He cleans out the temple. The ‘Church’ and ‘Religion’
has indeed turned a ‘House of Prayer’ into a ‘Den of Thieves’. {Really
cool song - and really rockingly performed as I recall!} Had Paul - who
once was Saul - known his very personal and intimate letters
to the seven (7) tiny and nascent ‘churches/congregations’ would be
copied, assembled and bound together into a ‘New’ Testament - he might
have had second - or even third thoughts - on writing them
had he known the in-intended and un-forseen uses they would eventually
be put to.
The Temple Lyrics
Artist: Jesus Christ Superstar
Album: Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack
Moneylenders and Merchants
Roll on up – for my price is down
Come on in – for the best in town
Take your pick of the finest wine
Lay your bets on this bird of mine
Name your price I got everything
Come and buy it’s all going fast
Borrow cash on the finest terms
Hurry now while stocks still last
Jesus
My temple should be a house of prayer
But you have made it a den of thieves
Get up, get out
My time
Is almost through
Little left to do
After all
I’ve tried for three years
Seems like thirty
Seems like thirty
Crowd
See my eyes I can hardly see
See me stand I can hardly walk
I believe you can make me whole
See my tongue I can hardly talk
See my skin I’m a mass of blood
See my legs I can hardly stand
I believe you can make me well
See my purse I’m a poor, poor man
Will you touch, will you mend me Christ?
Won’t you touch, will you heal me Christ?
Will you kiss, you can heal me Christ
Won’t you kiss, won’t you pay me Christ?
Jesus
Oh, there’s too many of you, don’t push me
Oh, there’s too little of me, don’t crowd me
Heal yourselves!
Solemnis Solitaire #2
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings.
Salutations.
Hail & Well Met.
Welcome…..
I am a Reader
I am a Writer
I am a Sharer
I Read.
I Write of what I Read.
I Share of what I Learn.
As both a Reader and a Writer I am in a position to not only do my Readings
but to Write of that which I have Read and Learned. It is - in this way -
that the valued and valuable process of Sharing is achieved and
accomplished.
Sharing - whether by physical action or by written word or by recorded
spoken word - is a basic human behavioural trait. Observe a toddler with a favorite
toy or cookie. The toy and cookie will be offered. To the tiny toddler there
is no ‘me & mine’. There is ‘our’. What belongs to one belongs to all.
What is Shared by One is Shared by All. Let us read. Let us learn, discover
and explore. Let us - together - join in a sharing of those readings,
discoveries and explorations…
Let us together share….
In my Readings that I have made so far - a book is often prominently
described and mentioned.
A “Book of Shadows". A Shadow is Dark from the Dark. In the Light of the
Day a Shadow is where the Light shines not. I am not here writing of
where the light is not. I write of the Light from the Light.
I am not whom and what I once was. What then am I?
I am if I can be considered to “be” anything - I might be best considered
an “Eclectic Practical Functionalist". Yeah. A really big mouthful that
does not say much. Boiled down it means - “whatever works".
I have always been an Eclectic. Bit’s of this - Bits of that.
Bit’s of anything and everything from anywhere and everywhere.
Rigid and ritually formalized “Canonical Dogma” does not work with me.
My life changes.
So too must my interactions with Deity.
My life is not in any way rigid and ritually formalized.
Why then should my interactions with Deity be?
My interactions with Deity are as open and free-form as possible.
I remember Sundays when I would sit on a hard wooden pew and “Hear the
Given and Delivered ‘Word’".
I also remember that on those Sundays I would serve as the ‘Candle-Lighter’.
In proper black and white alb and chasuble I would give honour to the
altar then very carefully light the candles on the left side of the altar. I would
then pause at the altar again giving honour then light the right hand set of candles.
You always lit from the outside inwards. After all candles were lit I would pause
for the final time at the altar then extinguish the lighter and step offstage. It was
five or so minutes of ritual and drama. I really enjoyed the brief moment of ritual.
At the end of the Services I would go out and repeat my actions save
this I enxtinguished the candles. At that time that was acceptable. In all things a
foundation must be formed and laid down.
Remember - You cannot build a building from the top down. You build a
building from the bottom up.
Those years of sitting in those pews are and were my formative
foundation of the Deity.
While I no longer sit in a hard wooden pew on a Sanctus - I still do
accept and acknowledge the existence of Deity.
It is just far more personal and direct now. It many even be - according to the
rigidly dogmatic and doctrinaire “mainstream denomination” - a different
Deity!
As an adult I no longer have any desire or need to have the ‘Word’ - in
whatever form it may be “Given and Delivered” - be “Given and Delivered” by an interpretive
middleman.
The ‘Word’ - in whatever form it may be - is mine to discover, explore and share.
The Goddess is important.
The God is equally important.
Neither is more important than the other.
Neither is ’superior’ or ‘inferior’ to the other.
Have I forsaken my earlier Deity learnings? No. Absolutely not.
In no way is my acceptance of Goddess and God a repudiation of what I
was taught - and what I learned earlier. Deity is Deity. It matters not who you send the
messages to.
It matters not at all. It all winds up in the same place. It’s all the
same multi-faceted, multi-formed,
multi-dimensional infinite “Creator” being. It’s all the same thing.
It’s the ALL. {Remember the Creation Mythos?…}
Why are we so concerned about our limited views, comprehension and
understanding of Deity?
We are Humanity.
We are - in no possible way - Deity.
Deity is Deity.
Deity has no restrictions or limitations.
Why then limit and restrict Deity?
Why limit and restict the ALL?
Convenience.
Personal pride and ego.
Human competitiveness instead of human cooperation.
Challenge and Confrontation instead of Cooperation and Coordination.
It all comes down not to the needs of the Divine - but rather the needs
of the Humanly Mundane.
The Humanly Mundane ‘Church’.
It derives from “Religion".
Sociological Power and Control.
Personal interaction with Deity is not based upon Power and Control.
But “organized” “religion” most certainly is. For “organized” “religion”
as it is structured and formulated - cannot exist or operatively function - without Power
and Control over it’s members and adherents. This much is sociologically and historically
proven and documented.
Personal interaction with Deity is private, intimate, instructive,
enlightening and empowering. Enlightenment and Empowerment for the solitary individual is
not a priority nor encouraged with the ‘Church’. It is the ‘congregation’ that matters.
For it is the ‘congregation’ that feeds that ever insatiably greedy golden ‘offering’
bowl.
As a “learner” and most recently an “eclectic” “solitary practioner” of
“whatever works", I find that listening and paying close attention to my “Guides” helps.
Yes. My Guides. Spirit Guides. Guardians. Muses. Good People.
I have no Priestess.
I do have my Editorial Mystress.
She often tells me what to do - and how to do it. This does not count.
She is my Editor/Publisher. Without her guidance and instruction as
to what the Membership and Readership needs - I would be nothing.
There would be nothing written or posted. There would be nothing
at either MysticWitch.com or Mystic Witch Forums.
I have my “Guides".
I have the Goddess/ Earth Mother.
I even have the “God".
Horned God? For me that once was a bit much. That once was too much too
close to my “Demonic Devil"/cosmological ‘Boogy Man’ figure I had waved in front of
me for all those earlier formative years. Is the Horned God the ‘Christian’s’
smelly, dark and nasty ‘Devil’? No. In no way. What then is He? He is the ancient ‘Green Man’
of Northern European Celtic and Nordic cultures. He is the Priest/ess//Shaman wearing the
head and horns of the beast that was killed and slaughterd for food. He is the very deep reverent
honouring of the life and spirit of the beast sacrificed for the survival of the human tribe.
I even had to come to terms with the “pentacle". I knew it as the
“pentagram". I never knew it with the fifth point pointing upwards. It was always pointing downwards.
Even the security officer badge I wore had the point downward not upward.
I could “sense” and “feel” that was wrong.
The badge pointed downwards. That “felt” wrong.I did not know why.
I wore it but it “felt” wrong.
It was only in my Readings of the past few years that I have seen the
“pentacle” and read of its usage and meaning.
So much of what I am Reading and Learning is not so much a denial or
contradiction of that which I was taught and learned earlier, as it is
an amplification and alternative viewpoint. But even so - I will be
open, ethical and honest in this admission - it has been difficult to
“expand” my previous and prior comprehension and understanding to
include and encompass my new “readings and learnings". As was quoted by
one of the writers I read - from Father Loyola:
“Give me your children to the age of seven and I will have them for life".
I have many years of teachings to comprehend and understand in new light.
I therefore, have no interest in Power and Control.
I do have interest in Learning and Guidance.
So too did all those earlier generations. In their books - their Books
of Shadows - They shared.
It was quiet by need and necessity - a book written in and shared in -
the shadows.
It was indeed a “Book of Sharings” but it was done in the safety and
security of the obscuring “shadows".
Sometimes the absence of Light is not a bad thing
When in times of Darkness - The Light is needed
Martyrs and burned books are not needed.
So care and caution were exercised.
So in that context I can accept and understand “Book of Shadows".
Yet - for all of that - these words I am now writing - are part of my
“Book of Sharings".
They are again the same thing - serving the same intent and purpose.
I just like “Sharings” better.
So let us - together - read
So let us - together - learn
So let us - together - share
So thus it was
So thus it is
So thus it be……
So mote it be………
Blessings Be….
Solemnis Solitaire #1
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings.
Hail & Well Met.
Blessings Be….
In the Beginning all was dark, shapeless and without form.
In the Beginning there was no function, point and/or purpose.
In the Beginning there was nothing.
Then the Primal Event occurred -
and came forth the ALL and with the ALL came the Whole of Creation.
The basic, universal Creator and Creation myth.
Myth not because it is fiction phantasia - but because it is
the first story ever told and recorded. Recorded not in a written
form - but in spoken word oral history and tradition.
Oral tradition passed down father to son - mother to daughter,
generation to generation - down through the millennia.
Because this Creation Myth is so ancient - and so primal - it is
found in nearly all of the Major Faith’s, Cultures and Societal
Histories. It even appears - in slightly varied forms - in
indigenous aboriginal peoples myths - including such as the Australian
and North and South American Natives’s. It even appears in the Edda’s of the
ancient Norse and Celtic peoples.
Being originally oral history and tradition the Creation Mythos
was not ‘written’ and ‘recorded’ till around 3000 BCE.
This was not ‘written’ as words on papyrus scrolls.
This was ‘written’ as pre-Egyptian cuneiform of the Sumerian,
Assyrian and Babylonian temple and burial chamber inscriptions and
carvings. While by our current era’s historical and cultural
frame of reference Ancient Egyptian is archaeic - there are and
were vastly older societies and cultures.
In the beginnings of ‘faiths’ and ‘religions’ all peoples were
essentially pagan. There were as many male as female deities and
divinities. Male and female deities and divinities covered the
lands and the cosmos. It was not until after the death and crucifixion
of the Christos that a ‘new’ faith came forth into the chapels and temples
of the land. Formulation of the nascent ‘Christian’ ‘religion & faith’ -
in it’s earliest years - depended extensively upon vastly older
Zoroastrianism from Persia and selected elements from the Egyptian
pantheon as well as other selected elements from the Greeks and Romans. It could,
therefore, be argued - in a limited sense - that in many of its core basics
‘Christianity’ is itself pagan derived.
Writing down the myths, teachings and wisdom of their respective
faiths on papyrus scrolls is - in the long view of human history - a
relatively recent development. Even the oldest of the known scrolls only
date to after the death and crucifixion of the Christos. This is - at
best - circa 1800 to 1950 years old. Well under 2000 years ago.
Some of the oldest of the Persian/Sumerian inscriptions/carvings are
somewhere in the realm of 4 to 6 thousand years older than that - making
them 6 to 8 thousand years old from our present date.
Ancient oral traditions are many multiple millennia older still.
In my own individual and personal beginnings I was not Pagan.
I was a “mainstream denominational". I did the Sunday services.
I attended Sunday School. For a summer I even assisted in Summer School
classes. I graduated from a “denominational” High School in Denver, Co.
After High School I enrolled in - but did not complete - classes
at a church based and operated seminary school. I then enrolled
in and graduated from Metropolitan State in Denver, Co. I last attended
’services’ in the ‘denominational church’ somewhere in the mid
to late 1970’s. I still had my ‘faith’ - I just had no physical ‘church’.
I was open and ready for a drastic and very dramatic change.
A change that was already happening - but since it was
happening so very slowly and incrementally - I never noticed it.
I never knew the ‘change’ was happening.
Time changes everything. Everything changes over the years.
In the 1950 circa years since the ‘birth’ of the so-called
‘Christian’ ‘religion & faith’ many of its integral tenets,
teachings, ritual and ceremonial services and structures and
‘essential’ core beliefs have become ‘official canon’ instead
of the Zoroastrian paganistic ‘borrowings’ they clearly
originally were. So too I am no longer who and what I once
was. Once I sat in a cold, hard, uncomfortable wooden pew
attending Sunday Services hearing the pastorally delivered
‘Word of the Lord’. At that time I also assisted with Sunday
and Summer School classes. Today I sit under a tree - provided
I am sitting anywhere other than at a ‘puter somewhere - quietly
and personally communing with my Guides, Guardians. Muses and
the Lord & Lady. The years have passed. Changes have been
made….
I am nearing the start of my 3rd Year of Readings.
I am starting to read of the Shamans and the Druids.
I am also starting to read “The Supernatural".
It’s a series of Time-Life-like picture & text
books from the 1970’s. I know they may not be
accurate or reliable on many things - but they are
good for what I am going to use them for. I see them as
sign posts to thoughts, topics, ideas and concepts
that may yet be new and as yet unexplored by this Paganus.
New ways - new thoughts - new patterns and forms.
New authors, new readings and new writings.
Moving forward from where We were to where We will be.
Let’s together begin with a simple analogy….
I am building my new life.
I may not yet be a Witch - but I do work for one!
I work for M’lady Mistress Ravenfyre.
I work and serve as Her Site Administrator & Group Moderator
for Her Mystic Witch Forums
I am a Writer and Editor for Her MysticWitch.com.
I am the “Owner” of a Google Group - MagickalMystics.
I am a Guild member of the ‘Science & Arts’ Guild at the
“Koroneburg” Renaissance Festival in Corona, CA.
I also serve and tend this household.
My life is complicated, often confused and contradictory
and emotionally, psychologically and metaphysically busy.
I serve many people in many different ways.
For the Mistress I am Her Paganus - Her Site Administrator
{spam killer!} and Group Moderator {Forum’s ‘traffic cop’}.
I also serve Her as a Writer and Editorial Contributor.
It is in that role that I write and post these thoughts….
I also “own” and “manage” MagickalMystics on Google Groups.
In the ‘physical’ and often quite tediously mundane ‘real’ world
I am this household’s ‘house-tender’. Yes - that does indeed
include some inevitable and inescapable ‘parent-tending’.
I also serve the ‘Science & Arts’ Guild out at the “Koroneburg”
Renaissance Festival. This coming season I am again blessed with
the opportunity to work for Tom & Pat - producers and presenters
of the Festival.
Let us not ever forget I also serve the Lord & Lady.
I serve not only a very masculine God but a very feminine
Goddess.
I am building my ‘new’ life.
In a very real way it quite similar to building a structure.
You first select the site and location for your project.
You clear and prepare the ground.
You take out all the old dead stumps and rocks.
You keep as many of the living tress and shrubs as possible.
You then dig out for the foundation.
A life - nor physical structure - is never built from the
highest level downwards.
A life - as well as all physical structures - is/are built from
the lowest levels upward.
I am ‘building the foundation’.
One digs out for the foundation -
lays in the electrical and plumbing -
and then builds the basement level.
That is what I am doing.
I am gathering materials - the metaphysical & metaphorical
electrical conduit, copper pipe, wood, plaster, concrete and
rebar and other component stuff - and am busy ‘building’ and slowly
‘outfitting’ my ‘basement/foundation’ level.
Shamanism, Druidism, Wicca, Magick and Mysticism are all going
into that Foundation Level.
The process is slow.
It is meant to be slow.
You are not meant to do any of this quickly.
Building Your physical ‘real’ world home may take years.
So too it may take years to ‘build’ and ‘outfit’ Your
metaphysical, metaphorical, spiritual home.
I no longer sit in a wooden, cold and uncomfortable pew
listening to a pastor deliver “God’s Word".
I no longer ‘pass the offering’ down the aisle.
I no longer drop a dollar into that insatiably greedy golden bowl.
I no longer serve as a ‘Candle-Lighter’ for the Sunday Services.
If I light any candles at all it is for my own personal workings.
I can - and do - wear to Renaissance Festival an outfit/costume very
similar to that which I once wore as ‘Candle-Lighter’. I once wore
black and white for ritual and ceremony - I wear shades of tan and brown
now.
I have moved far, far beyond the restrictive and intentionally
limiting constrictures and confines of a “mainstream liturgical
denomination".
I have seen that so very much - if not in a very real way nearly all of
what the ‘mainstreamer’s’ believe in & do on their Sundays - is merely a
‘Christianised’ & ‘De-Paganized’ variant version of what Druids,
Wiccans, Witches do in their circles and in solitude under their favorite
welcoming and sheltering tree.
There is also the real matter of now having a cosmic ‘mother’ as well as
a cosmic ‘father’.
“Mainstream” reduces - if not eliminates - the feminine.
For years I knew something was not in balance.
Something was very much missing.
It is missing no longer.
I serve the God.
I serve the Goddess.
I serve the Lord & Lady.
I serve the Mystress RavenFyre.
I serve the Readership & Membership of both MysticWitch.com but
Mystic Witch Forums.
I serve my family, household and its inhabitants.
I serve myself.
Finally - most importantly - I serve The ALL from which
everything else derives…..
As I do my Readings -
As I gather my Learnings -
I shall Share.
I will Share of the Readings.
I will Share of the Learnings.
I will Share of Questions and Answers.
That is how we Grow & Develop.
That is how we Be & Become - Become & Be.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
In Perfect Love -
In Perfect Trust -
So Mote It Be.
Blessings Be
White Cat Ascendant #2: The Visitation…..
She has Returned.
It had been a long, tiring and draining day.
It was late at night.
Family had gone to bed hours earlier.
I was watching some Olympics from Torino, Italia.
I got up to rinse up and put away my dishes.
I was walking across the carpet.
I heard soft, quiet footfalls.
I looked back.
Obviously there was nothing there.
I went on to the sink.
I felt a unmistakeable rubbing of my leg.
I looked down.
Still there was nothing physical there to be seen.
I rinsed up my cup and dishes.
The Olympics were over.
I shut out the light over the sink.
I walked back over to where I had been sitting.
I shut down the satelite system and shut off the TV.
I felt another very brief leg rubbing.
I gathered up my cell phone and wand.
I shut out the light.
I stood there for a moment.
Something had just happened that I was beginning
to think would not or could not ever happen.
I work for a Witch.
I Work, Write and Edit for Mistress RavenFyre @ MysticWitch.com
I Write and Edit for MysticWitch.com.
I am the Site Administrator / Group Moderator for
Mystic Witch Forums.
I am a Guild member of the ‘Science & Arts’ Guild at the
‘Koroneburg’ Renaissance Festival.
I work for Tom and Pat at the Festival.
I am what I consider to be a ‘Magus-In-Training’.
I have what I would consider some good, solid yet basic
‘qualifications’.
Yet for all of those ‘qualifications’ I have never seen, heard
or sensed in any way a spirit or ghost.
Not untill a few nights ago…..
I stood there in that darkend room and knew She had been there.
Been there - if only for a tiny, fleeting moment.
I knew those footfalls.
I knew those quiet and gentle leg rubs.
The White Cat Ascendant had returned.
If only for the shortest, briefest moment She had returned.
Thank You, Bast.
Thank You, Brighid.
Thanks, Patty…..
Purr On, M’Lady-Cat!
Purr On!
Foundations
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Greetings All & Everyone.
Hail & Well Met.
Be Welcome Here.
Paganus Greybeard here….
I am nearing the start of my 3rd Year of Readings.
I am starting to read of the Shamans and the Druids.
I am also starting to read “The Supernatural".(1)
It’s a series of Time-Life-like picture & text
books from the 1970’s. I know they may not be
accurate or reliable on many things - but they are
good for what I am going to use them for. I see them as
sign posts to thoughts, topics, ideas and concepts
that may yet be new and as yet unexplored by this Paganus.
New ways - new thoughts - new patterns and forms.
New authors, new readings and new writings.
Moving forward from where We were to where We will be.
Let’s together begin with a simple analogy….
I am building my new life.
I may not yet be a Witch - but I do work for one!
I work for M’lady Mistress Ravenfyre.
I work and serve as Her Site Administrator & Group Moderator
for Her Mystic Witch Forums.
I am a Writer and Editor for Her MysticWitch.com.
I am the “Owner” of a Google Group - MagickalMystics.
I am a Guild member of the ‘Science & Arts’ Guild at the
“Koroneburg” Renaissance Festival in Corona, CA.
I also serve and tend this household.
My life is complicated, often confused and contradictory
and emotionally, psychologically and metaphysically busy.
I serve many people in many different ways.
For the Mistress I am Her Paganus - Her Site Administrator
{spam killer!} and Group Moderator {Forum’s ‘traffic cop’}.
I also serve Her as a Writer and Editorial Contributor.
It is in that role that I write and post these thoughts….
I also “own” and “manage” MagickalMystics on Google Groups.
In the ‘physical’ and often quite tediously mundane ‘real’ world
I am this household’s ‘house-tender’. Yes - that does indeed
include some inevitable and inescapable ‘parent-tending’.
I also serve the ‘Science & Arts’ Guild out at the “Koroneburg”
Renaissance Festival. This coming season I am again blessed with
the opportunity to work for Tom & Pat - producers and presenters
of the Festival.
I am building my ‘new’ life.
In a very real way it quite similar to building a structure.
You first select the site and location for your project.
You clear and prepare the ground.
You take out all the old dead stumps and rocks.
You keep as many of the living tress and shrubs as possible.
You then dig out for the foundation.
A life - nor physical structure - is never built from the highest
level downwards.
A life - as well as all physical structures - is/are built from
the lowest levels upward.
I am ‘building the foundation’.
One digs out for the foundation -
lays in the electrical and plumbing -
and then builds the basement level.
That is what I am doing.
I am gathering materials - the metaphysical & metaphorical
electrical conduit, copper pipe, wood, plaster, concrete and rebar
and other component stuff - and am busy ‘building’ and slowly
‘outfitting’ my ‘basement/foundation’ level.
Shamanism, Druidism, Wicca, Magick and Mysticism are all going
into that Foundation Level.
The process is slow.
It is meant to be slow.
You are not meant to do any of this quickly.
Building Your physical ‘real’ world home may take years.
So too it may take years to ‘build’ and ‘outfit’ Your
metaphysical, metaphorical, spiritual home.
As I do my Readings -
As I gather my Learnings -
I shall Share.
I will Share of the Readings.
I will Share of the Learnings.
I will Share of Questions and Answers.
That is how we Grow & Develop.
That is how we Be & Become - Become & Be.
So this was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
Blessings Be
Desert Visions - {Spring Storm Shower}
Desert Visions - {Spring Storm Shower}
Eagle’s path -
Circling around -
Seguaro -
Desert Rain -
Sculptures -
Canyon Lands -
Carlsbad -
White Sands -
Stormlight -
Stormbright -
Lightning’s flash -
Thunder’s crash -
Arroyos’ flush -
Ground level scramble -
Hurry, Climb, Survive -
Groundlings hustle -
Quick shower -
Brief desert torrent -
Up the Seguaro -
Below the arroyo surges full -
Surges past -
Water soaks deep -
Desert’s lifeblood -
Suck it up -
Soak it up -
Life from Nature’s watering can -
Lizard watches -
Perched on cactus limb -
Doing its ‘push-up’ dance -
Waiting for burrow to dry -
As the desert breezes blow -
Cloud’s break -
Sun peeks back out -
Overhead -
Soaring free -
Again the Eagle circles…..
Imbolc
In a small, northern hamlet a childe plays outdoors.
The community is up and about their day. The cooking fires are lit.
The sheep and lambs are milling about in their pens waiting for their
morning feeding.
The men of the hamlet gather their bows and spears. They gather and
pause at the cookfire of the Shaman. Snow still covers the ground.
The Shaman emerges from the hut. Preparations for the ritual blessing
of the hunters begins but is quickly interrupted by the shouts of the children.
Quickly the adults of the hamlet hurry to where the children are clustered about.
The Shaman eases all aside and looks to where one of the children is pointing.
Out of a hillside, in the warming sun, seveal tall green shoots struggle
upwards into the light. Excitedly the adults chatter amoungst themselves.
The Shaman steps back away to make room for others to gaze upon the first new green
growth of Spring. The Shaman glances over at the sheep and lamps. There too signs
of life are to be seen. The first signs of Spring. Spring is not yet here - but
it is coming.
There is hope again…..
Here in the Northern Hemisphere Spring is coming. The deadly grip of Winter
is slowly giving way to Springs healing warmth. In the Southern Hamisphere
Imbolc is celebrated and observed August 1st and 2nd. In the Southern
Hamisphere the seasons are reversed - so we here in thr Northern Hamisphere are
celebrating and observing Imbolc on Feb. 1st and 2nd., int he Southern Hemisphere it’s
Lughnasadh. (1)
By the time of imbolc Winter’s deadly icy grip is slowly loosening. The
days are slowly growing longer and warmer. The annual re-birth and re-growth of the
plants can slowly start to be seen and noticed. Imbolc symbolicly hearalds the first lambs
birth and the ewes (mother lambs) begin to lactate (make milk). This is part of the
ancient connection to the first milking of ther season and year.
This also connects to the Celtic Goddess Brighid. Brighid is the Celtic
version and variant of the ancient Pagan and pre-’Christian’ Triple Goddess. She is the
Maiden, Mother and Crone. She is the Goddess of poetry, Smithcraft and healing. She is even seen by some as a protector and preserver of knowledge. (2)
Farm animals and their milk were exspecially sacred to not only Brighid
but to her Celtic, Irish and Northern Lands peoples. This was the time of the year when new
life and new hope for life was vital to the endurance and survival of the peoples and
cultures. It is for this reason that Brighid ’survived’ the ‘Christian Conversion’. In
Ireland she was made over by the ‘Christians’ into St. Brigid and became the “Foster Mother”
of the young Christos and Mary’s midwife. In many ways it may be thought that Brighid
is the protector, preserver and midwife of Spring. (1)(3)
Here in the U.S. Groundhog Day has come to be celebrated and observed on
the ancient Pagan Sabbat. While much of the original ancient pre-’Christian’ Pagan message
and meaning has been stripped away and ‘lost’ we still do celebrate and observe the
warming of the lands and the coming of the Springs re-birth and renewal.
Other Names:
Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia, Feast of Pan, Snowdrop Festival,
Feastof the Waxing Light,
Brighid’s Day.
Dates Celebrated & Observed:
Feb. 1st and 2nd {Northern Hemisphere}
Aug. 1st and 2nd {Southern Hemisphere}
AltarCloth Colour:
White
Candles:
White, Yellow, Blue
Stones:
Amber, Amazonite {feldspar}, Clear Quartz, Rose Quarts, Citrine
Herbs & Plants for Magickal Workings:
Cedar, Chamomile, Evergreen branches, Rose hips, Sage, Sunflowers
Other Decorations:
A small bowl of seeds for the Altar along with a smal bowl of potting soil.
A Brief Imbolc ‘Working’:
An Acorn or a small collection of seeds.
A planting pot.
Potting Soil.
Water.
Candle or battery-’candle’.
Light candle or battery-’candle’.
Aspect Brighid - We thank You for the Spring.
Place acorn/seeds into planting pot with potting soil.
From this Acorn {these seeds} great growth will come.
From this tiny seed {seeds} will come the future.
Cover acorn/seeds with potting soil.
Out of Winter’s white frozen ground comes Spring’s green growing life.
Water the newly planted acord/seeds.
Aspect Brighid - You watched over, protected and preserved not only the
Plants of Spring but also the new Lambs, Foals and Babies. Spring may
not yet be here -
but it is coming. Hope and promise of Spring’s rebirth and regrowth is
coming.
Place plant pot - with planted and watered acord/seeds - in a wondow
with sunlight.
Thanks Brighid.
Use candle snuffer to extinguish the candle or turn off battery-’candle’.
SOURCES:
(1) Wicca Bible
Ann-Marie Gallagher
Sterling Puiblishing Co., Inc.
New York, N.Y.
© 2005
ISBN: I-4027-3008-X
(2) Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies
Diane Smith
Wiley Publishing Co., Inc.
Hoboken, NJ
© 2005
ISBN-10: 978-0-7645-7834-2
ISBN-13: 0-7645-7834-0
etips.dummies.com
www.dummies.com
(3) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to: Paganism
Carl McColman
Alpha - A member of Penguin Group
Indianapolis, IN
© 2002
ISBN: 0-02-864266-X
www.idiotsguides.com
(4) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to: Wicca & Witchcraft
Denise Zimmerman & Katherine A. Gleason
Alpha.
© 2003 by Ameranth
ISBN: 1-59257-5
www.idiotsguides.com
(5) Wicca - A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Scott Cunningham
© 1988
Llewellyn Publications
ISBN: 0-87542-118-0
www.llewellyn.com
(6) Living Wicca
Scott Cunningham
© 1993
Llewellyn Publications
ISBN: 0-87542-184-9
www.llewellyn.com
(7) Wicca For one - The Path of Solitary Witchcraft
Raymond Buckland
© 2004
Citadel Press/ kensington Publishing Corp.
N.Y./N.Y.
ISBN: 0-8065-2554-1
www.kensingtonbooks.com
New Year’s Midnight Working
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Setting/Set up for Working:
Table/Altar with altar cloth and either a single small candle
or single small battery-’candle’. There is also a small clock.
The atheme and wand are also on the altar - but will not be used
in the working. The altar pentacle is also on the altar below
either the candle or the battery-’candle’.
From one moment to the next -
one hour, day, week, month, year -
time passes -
the Wheel turns….
Hold either candle or battery-’candle’
Facing EAST
East.
Facing SOUTH
South.
Facing WEST
West.
FacingNORTH
North.
Place either the candle or the battery-’candle’
back on the altar.
Four Directions -
Four Guides -
Four Guardians -
Inside this Sacred Space -
This Sacred Physical Place -
This moment of time out-of-time -
the cycle continues….
From Dawn to Dusk -
Sunlight to Moonlight -
Father Sun to Mother Moon -
Day to Night -
The cycle continues…..
One year departs -
One year arrives -
Still the cycle ever continues….
A single small candle or battery-’candle’.
One tiny light.
One tiny candle/’candle’ to light the Darkness
and show the way till Dawn.
Let NOT the Darkness rule forever.
the cycle continues.
One moment to the next.
As it was -
As it is -
As it will be….
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be -
The candle/’candle’ burns on…..
Yuletide’s Lights
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
This is the Season of the Celebration - for the “Christians” of
the “birth” of the “Christ Child". This is - for all practical intents
and purposes - the primary underlaying “religious” reason for this
Winter Season holiday. For the vast mass of modern civilization -
it is the season of sales, shopping and retailer’s worrying about their
“sales figures” and “cash flow bottom lines".
The lights are up on the house here. The tree is up. In fact -
the tree has been up since the day after “Thanksgiving". It is
going to be a very quiet holiday this year - as it has been for
several years.
It’s Sanctus. It was a warm day outside. But the weather
report says that in my part of Southern California we may be getting
some high winds. House is quiet. Nothing is happening. Cat’s are
snugged in together and Penny-pup is in the bean-bag.
This “season” of the “yuletide” is far more than just an excuse
for the wholesalers and retailers to sell their products. It is
an ancient and honourable “religious” holiday.
It is both Pagan and “Christian". The “Christians” - in very large
form and measure - co-opted this holiday for their own purposes. This is
NOT the actual “season” of the “Christ Child’s” birth. The holiday - as we now know
it and celebrate it - was moved to the Pagan’s Winter Solstice holiday to
directly co-opt that celebration. Celebrants of the Eastern Orthodox faith
celebrate on January 6th - the Feast of the Epiphany. Many of the traditional
trappings and seasonal celebratory festivities are directly descended from
ancient Pagan roots such as the tree, wreath, candles and feasts.
Ancient pre-"Christian” Romans celebrated Saturnalia on December 17.
When the Germanic and Celtic tribal cultures blended with the Romanic
cultures the Germanic and Celtic Paganistic traditions of food, fellowship, yule log,
“Christmas” tree and the exchange of gifts were added to the holiday’s
celebration. Even many of the carols that are sung in this season are
very ancient and very pagan. As with the holiday itself - the carols
were co-opted and re-cycled by the early “Christian Church” for their
own uses and purposes.
Who then - in all of this commercialized retail mayhem - is the
symbol of the season? Santa Claus. A fat man in a red suit who
lives at the North Pole with elves. Sounds more than slightly
Pagan to me! How does he travel? Flying reindeer. By whom is
he guided? Rudolph with his “red nose".
But even this has a historical basis. St. Nicholas - or “Sinter
Klaus” in the original Dutch. Nicholas was a fifth century priest
in Asia Minor was said to have performed various “good deeds". Perhaps
the best known of these deeds involved three young women who were about
to be forced into prostitution because of poverty. Nicholas - or so the legend goes
- secretly entered their home through their chimney, and left gold in
their stocking which were left over the fire’s embers to dry. This
“legend” was subsequently brought from Asia Minor to New Amsterdam and
the other Dutch colonies in the New World where they were combined with
ancient Celtic and Nordic legends about a Yuletide gift-giving figure
who would only leave gifts for “good little boys and girls".
As an inevitable result of these inter-cultural and
cross-cultural meldings and blendings there is a gift-giving figure in many
societies and cultures. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland the
figure is known as Christkindl or Kris Kringle. Some of the figures
are blatantly Pagan and decidedly non-Christian as in the Scandinavian
countries were the gift-bearers are a trio of gnomes. Poland
celebrates with a blending of the two traditions - the Star Man, thought to be
called so because of a connection to the Star of Bethlehem. In France the figure
is Pere Noel {Father Noel}, in England it’s Father Christmas, and it’s
Grandfather Frost in Russia. Even into the far-eastern realm of Japan
this figure is found. There the person is their deity Hoteiosho.
The tradition and practice of gift-giving at the Yule is ancient
and apparently very much pre-"Christian". There are written and
confirmed accounts of at least four (4) pre-"Christian” Pagan and
Roman festivals that “Christmas” came to supplant and replace.
Two of these festivals - the Kalends and the Roman “Saturnalia”
were characterized by feasting and revelry. A third festival is
that of Libanius where the focus is upon gift-giving.
The fourth - the Roman festival of Deus Sol Inviticus - was held and
celebrated on December 25th and is often considered to be the
date co-opted by the early “Christians” for their “Christ’s Mass".
So - with all of this in mind - how does this particular Paganus
and Family savor this season? We spend time with each other - as
much we can and as much we can stand each other. We set up the
tree just after “Thanksgiving” and will leave it up till just
after “New Year’s". The lights are up on the house and the the
electric candles are in the window. The “Christmas” cards are on
the mantle over the fireplace.
Blessings Be to All & Every One..
Walking the Gathering Grey
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
In Grey I walk today.
I walk not the Deeping Depths of the Abysal Blinding Dark -
Not do I walk the Soaring Heights of the Infinite Illuminating Light -
I walk the Grey.
I stand between the the Dark and the Light.
Neither Hero nor Villain.
Nor Victim Nor Perpetrator.
I Stand My Place.
What needs to be done I do.
Family is Damaged.
Family is Hurting.
I am not Damaged nor Hurting.
My Physical is quite functional.
It My Psyche and Spirit that is Rattled.
It’s My Spirit and Psyche that is Hammered.
My body is fine -
as well as it ever was.
I do the errands.
I do the chores.
I tend - as well as I can - the household.
Functionally I am the household….
Right Hand -
Left Hand -
Giving Outward -
Taking Inward -
Open and Closed and Guarded -
Balances -
Where once were the Balances -
Balances resetting -
Forward -
Backward -
Upward -
Downward -
Everywhere Onward….
In Grey I walk today -
I Stand My Place -
This Household -
This Place of Residence -
This Moment of Time -
Here I Work -
Here I Walk -
Here I Am -
Here I Stay -
Walking the Grey.
Blessings Be…..
White-Lighter’s Wear Black
I wear Black.
I am NOT the ‘villain’.
I AM the “White-Lighter".
I AM the “White-Lighter” -
or so my Editorial Mistress tells me I am.
I am still seriously working on understanding and accepting
that.
There is still so very much I do not understand.
But there is also much -
that after years of hard learning and experience -
that I do understand…..
It’s only in the older ‘Hollywood’ Westerns and ‘Action’ movies
that the ‘villain’ wears black.
You could always tell who ‘hero’ and the ‘villain’ were by
the color of their clothes and hats.
Well - after many years - that changed.
A Druid wears dark robes.
A Magus wears dark robes.
When I am able to afford robes I will wear dark colors.
Not because of any interest in the ‘Dark Side’ but
rather that I wear black better than white.
I just do not look good in white.
I look good in Dark Blue and Brown.
One of my Cloaks is Brown.
I look good in that.
I feel good in that.
Brown - for me - is the colour of Mother Earth.
I do much of my Faire and Festival work wearing my
brown outfits.
In time - I will add a black outfit.
There are printed - paper - catalogues of “pagan gear”
and some of the robes and cloaks are very appealing.
I would look very good in dark colours.
I would also work well in dark colours.
Most of my workings are done at night or at dawn.
I am NOT of and or from the ‘Dark Side’.
I am - as Mistress RavenFyre said - of the ‘White’.
I am not fully adjusted to that.
But with the help and guidance of my Guides and
Guardians - I may become a better and more
effective “White Lighter".
Festival is coming up in the Spring.
Perhaps by then I’ll have my black Druid/Magus outfit.
I would cetainly madke a good impression at Festival.
I might even be able to do some bigger and better workings….
And that - is the point of the matter…..
Its is not what I wear -
but what I do…..
I could do my ‘Pagan’ ‘Magus’ thing at a local area ‘nudist resort’.
Yes - there is a ‘nudist resort’ in my area.
But would your Paganus be comfortable there?
I’d rather wear my Robes.
At least -
untill I am invited into and join a circle, gove or coven…..
I know I’d look good in brown or black then…..
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be…..
Blessings Be
Serving the Household
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
I serve.
I serve the household.
I do what must - and needs - be done.
I serve also the Goddess as best I can.
At times that may not be very well at all.
I am told that I am a ‘White-Lighter’.
I am doing my inadequate and humble mortal best to
live-up-to and serve in that capacity and role.
But as a mortal I am clearly not always very
much of the ‘White’.
In many ways - so very often - I am still very
much what I consider to be the ‘Grey-Lighter’.
I still have many clashes with my ‘inner darkest demon’.
The ‘anger inside’ is still very much there.
I am constantly ‘on watch’ to keep my ‘inner anger’
from coming out and taking over my personality and life.
I also serve my Editorial Mistress.
I am a Writer/Contributor.
I am the Group Moderator and an Administrator
for the MysticWitch.comn forum.
I serve in many people in many ways.
It is - however - at ‘home’ - in the ‘household’ -
that I find myself at most in service.
My parents are elderly.
Much that they used to be able to do -
they now can no longer do.
I do errands.
I feed the birds at night when I return
‘home’ from here at this ‘cyber-cafe’.
I tend Sherri and Serena - the cats.
I tend Penny-Pup - the dog.
I do ‘mail & errand'’runs’.
I tend to the household in the middle of the night
when that is needed and necessary.
When they are gone for the day I stay at home -
I do not leave until they return.
The ‘household’ is not left untended and unserved.
I serve also by avoiding the anger and fury that
I am so capable of.
Last year - at this time - I had a real battle
with that ‘inner darkest demon’.
That ‘inner darkest demon’ is NOT coming out to visit
this time this year.
I must - at all times - remain in total and complete
control. That ‘inner demon’ is far too dark and deadly
to ever come out for a visit ever again.
So - in a way - I serve the household by something I am not
doing. I am avoiding problems and hassles. This year that
is very critically important. The health of the parents
is delicate - to be diplomatic and discrete.
I cannot afford any hassles.
Therefore - I serve the household by avoiding and preventing hassles.
Another way I serve is in these late afternoon and early evening
‘visits’ to this ‘cybernetic-cafe’. By being here for two hours
per day I am doing two (2) things. I am out of the household
and thusly not there for problems to even begin - and I am here
working for the Mistress & the Goddess. That is also a excellent
way and means to keep that deadly ‘inner darkest demon’ under permanent
control.
I serve the Goddess - in all Her Aspects and Forms - by being the
best possible ‘White-Lighter’ I can be.
I serve the Mistress by being the best Writer/Moderator/Administrator
I can possibly be.
I serve the Household by being the best possible Son to the Parents I
can be.
I am the Paganus.
I am the Greybeard.
I do what I must do.
I serve many in many ways.
Greybeard’s Samhain Midnight
By Staff Writer:Paganus Greybeard
Midnight. The infamous ‘witching’ hour. A moment between moments
between the worlds. This Greybeard prefers to ‘celebrate’ this ‘hour’ from
23:30 /11:30 p. to 00:30 / 12:30 a. Circles are raised and ‘workings’ are
worked. This Greybeard is not hiding anything. Despite what the often
overly excitable ‘evangelicals’ would want you to hear and believe –
doing ‘magick’ or even a simple and basic ‘working’ or ‘sharing’ – in the
quiet hours of the night – is not of the ‘Darkness’ or ‘Evil’. It is
simply a better, quieter time. This Greybeard can concentrate without as
many disruptions or distractions. It is – for me – simply a better time
to work.
One of the more important Nights to do a ‘working’ with as few
distractions and disruptions is Samhain {‘Sow-ween’}. On this Night – in
this moment between moments between the worlds – I did my first ever
‘working’. It was very basic. I was not even working from written, prepared
notes. I was very new to both MysticWitch.com and my ‘Chaotic Eclectic’
status. Chaotic? To be sure. To be very sure!…. Eclectic? That too!
Complicated confusion from many different places and sources.
I had no idea what I was doing. I also knew it did not matter.
I honoured the Living.
I honoured the Departed.
I honoured the Lord & Lady.
It was over and done with in less than three (3) to five (5) minutes.
It was my first ‘working’.
On the 31st of this October month Samhain is again observed and
celebrated. this year I will again – in a moment between moments between
the worlds – honour the Living and the Departed.
I will also honour the Lord & Lady.
We all develop our own personal traditions. As your Paganus GreybeardI
am no different. I will again – for the 2nd time – do the ‘working’
impromptu. No preparation. No planning. I will assemble what is needed –
and do the working. I have no idea what I will be doing. That is part of
my developing tradition that I not know what I am to do much before the
moment of the ‘working’.
I write ‘workings’.
I do ‘workings’.
On this Samhain {‘Sow-ween’} Night I will again do a working
spontaneously. It will be done as my Guides, Guardians and Muses inspire
and direct me to do. As the all the Children of the local neighborhoods wander
throuh the community with their bags and baskets I’ll be spending time
with the Lord and Lady and my recently departed.
I’ll especially be spending time with Patty-Cat.
She who may so very soon be the White Cat Ascendant.
Light the Candles.
Present the Offerings to the Gods and Goddesses.
Honour The Living.
Remember the Departed.
Samhain is the Night of the Ancestors.
I’ll do a simple ‘working’.
Will you?…..
Dawn’s Awakening
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
I sit here.
I scribble.
I scrawl.
I am Awakening in the Dawn…..
Alarm tones in the stillness.
Reaching over –
open the phone –
and silence the noise.
Noise that starts this Greybeard’s day.
I gather myself together.
I greet and honour my ancient and Elderly White Cat.
She so soon to be the White Cat Ascendant.
She waits upon the counter for a spoonful of - something….
I serve her and she purrs her thanks.
I sit at the counter for some toast and yoghurt.
Bags are beside the door - where they were left the night before….
Out of the Household – banging not the door nor gate.
Down the road to the School.
Parked beside the welcoming tree.
After an hour’s quiet awakening I make my bleary eyed way slowly inside
–
to find my place at this keyboard.
Keyboard where these words be written.
I honour the Goddess.
I honour the Lord and Lady.
I honour All whom have departed this Realm of the Living.
I honour the Living still of this Realm.
Blessings Be unto All & Everyone.
Out of the Darkness of the Night comes the Light of the Day.
I am here.
I am still not really awake.
I am still not all that functional.
It’s still far too early in the day.
Yet – for all of that - I am here.
I am not asleep somewhere.
I am here…..
So thus it was –
So thus it is –
So thus it be…..
The Dawn has come.
The Dawn has been Awakened……..
Badges of Office
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
I am the Paganus.
I am the slightly different man in black and brown – occasionally
black, blue or white – sitting quietly in either a quiet corner somewhere or
at a ‘puter unit keyboarding away. Sometimes I wear what I think of as my
‘scholar’s cloak’. Most of the time I wear one of my ‘old’ black
uniform shirts out as a over-shirt. Today – as I sit here in the Student Resource
Center – I am wearing my standard black jeans, brown turtleneck and brown
shirt-jacket. I am as ‘dressed-up’ as I ever am here at San Bernardino City Unified
School’s Adult School.
Since I am the Paganus - and a “Chaotic Eclectic” – I am also wearing
my Celtic Cross, Pentacle, Jewish Six-point Star and a yellow stone
symbolizing the Sky-Father Sun. It all looks matched and coordinated to me but
then – after-all I am a single, adult, male. I am probably a walking sartorial disaster
and do not even know it. Here at School – where I am slowly working my through clerical and
office & administrative skills classes – I have been confronted only
once by anyone who even knew what the pentacle is – and means. Here in
School either nobody is observant enough to notice – or I am quiet and
discreet enough that I am attracting any interest or attention.
I am – here at School – just another student. I do nothing overly
odd, strange or different. I am the “Chaotic Eclectic”. I am an
Eclectic whose life is in nearly total disruption and chaos - hence the
designation. I am – in relationship with and in comparison to – the mass
student body here – quite unremarkable. There is – after-all – a
couple of nuns here in full habits, a Buddhist in his saffron robe, and
students and instructors from all form and manor of sociological, ethnic
and cultural backgrounds in their native cultures attire. Here – in
this ever busy S.R.C. – I am almost part of the background in my jeans,
turtleneck and shirt-jacket. Only my “Badges of Office” are in any way
distinctive.
Take a good look at the badge graphics – IF they
survived and appeared in the posted version of these scrawled scribblings.
Note the ‘marshal’s’ badge. Is that not a pentacle? That is the badge of the
U.S. Marshal of ‘old west’ fame. You have the star within the circle.
The badge is a very old symbol of healing and protective authority updated
to a relatively modern era.
Now take a look at the center-piece graphic of the U.S. Seal.
That is the symbol of the United States Military and Government.
This is the symbol of a Nation State of the modern era.
Finally – there is the Celtic Cross. This is a symbol of an ancient
and proud society, race and culture that wandered, explored, settled
and cultivated much of Europe and South Asia. There are anthropological
and archeological signs and records of ancient semi-pre-historic Celts
as far east as what is now present day India and Bangladesh. This
would mean that those nearly-lost to history Celts possibly had trade and
cultural contact with equally ancient Hindu’s, Arabs, Jews and others of the Middle and
Near South Eastern continent. With that multi-cultural, ethnic and racial
contact and trade aspects of each race and culture would be adapted, adopted and
dispersed throughout the Celts areas of wanderings and settlings.
When the “Church” blundered and bludgeoned its way into the lives and
cultures of the ancient Europeans older symbols and referents were
modified and adapted – if not outright ham-handedly altered –by the
“Church” to fit its ‘view and vision’ of ‘religious reality’. One of the
changes that was made was that of the cross to overlay and overwrite older
indigenous symbols. The ancient Northern Europeans had their “Elder
Gods” – and with these “Elder Gods” – their associated symbologies. Along
then come the priests, friars, brothers and nuns to re-arrange and
re-design everything. The Celts lived and existed for thousands of years
before the invasion of the ‘holy orders’. They had their own ways and
means of doing things and living their lives. The Circle and the Four
Directions were an integral and vital part of these ancient Celtic
lives.
I am the Paganus. I used to wear a ‘badge’ for my ‘security’ work.
I no longer do ‘security’ work – so I no longer carry or wear that
‘badge’. I am – however – the Paganus. I wear the Pentacle and the Celtic Cross.
These are not ‘badges’ for employment and work. They are my ‘badges’
for the Goddess. I work for her and the Mistress now. I don’t carry a
baton anymore. I carry my Celtic wand. I don’t carry the Penal Code anymore.
I carry Scott Cunningham’s ‘Truth About Witchcraft’ and ‘Witches Datebook’ and
‘Planner’.
I am the Paganus.
I am the Pagan “Eclectic Chaotic” quietly keyboarding away in the S.R.C.
Have no fear – the Greybeard’s here…..
Shall we go Raise a Circle?……
Waking the Dragon
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Drums.
Drums playing ‘Call to Quarters’ tattoo.
Drums playing softly in distance then coming ever closer.
Darkness before dawn.
Solitary Figure stands.
No altar. Just a single candle-stand at circle center and at each
station of the circle.
Celebrant steps to candle-stand and with burning taper lights single white
candle.
Drums ever slowly closer….
At North point Celebrant walks slowly the circle.
At each station of the circle Celebrant lights the candles in the
candle-stands. All stations lit. 5 stations lit.
Celebrant now extinguished taper into water filled wooden bucket.
Celebrant stands at circle center.
Circle is enlightened.
Circle is ready.
Circle is waiting.
Drums approach.
Four {4} groups slowly approach the circle each lead by a drummer and a
banner bearer.
There is also a sword-bearer, a scholar/herald and a healer. There
are four {4} groups of five {5}.
One group for each direction, guardian and element.
One: Groups approach from four {4} directions lead
by their drummer and banner-bearer and take station
in the circle.
Two: Groups approach in standard parade order with
N., E., S., W. taking station.
Groups take station.
Banner-bearer’s place – and unfurl – flag-banners into
prepared stands or holes. Each flag-banner is in the
direction’s colour with a symbol of that direction’s
element.
In the distance a fifth {5th} drummer is now heard.
Group- Five {5} now approaches from the parade route.
Lead by a drummer, banner-bearer, flute-player, with the
sword-bearer, scholar/herald, and healer.
Only when the 5th group is in circle centre and on station with Celebrant do
the drummers – all 5 – increase tempo then
after a ‘rufflles and flourishes’ creshendo conclusion -
- stop –
with only the single flute player of group 5 playing.
As the flute player plays Celebrant walks the circle and at each station
stops and taps the ground three {3} times with staff.
Back at circle’s centre Celebrant hands staff to banner-bearer and takes
sword from sword-bearer. Celebrant again walks
circle and stops at each station. Tip of sword is placed
just above each candle’s flame. Sword is held there for
a moment then raised and held vertically in a salute to
the direction, flame, element, guardian and group.
Back at circle’s centre Celebrant returns the sword to the
sword-bearer.
The scholar/herald of the North group opens the book
and begins to read….
In turn from E., S., and W., the scholar/heralds read
from their books….
North’s Reading:
In the beginning there was only Darkness.
Upon the Eternity of Infinity there was only Darkness.
Then – out of that Infinite, Eternal, Empty Darkness –
comes a Flash of Light.
Out of the Infinite and Eternal Darkness of Nothing comes the Creator.
With the Creator comes the Whole of Creation.
Upon the Darkness comes the Light –
and the Creator was well pleased.
Now that Light has moved upon the Infinite and dispelled the
Darkness – The Hand of the Creator passes over the Empty Infinity
and from the Empty Infinity comes worlds and lives upon the
worlds. As the Creator’s Hand continues to move across the
Infinity it pauses over a tiny, unremarkable blue and brown world.
Upon that little blue and brown world – in the oceans and upon
The drying land life appears. Aeons pass upon this little world.
Aeons of civilizations and culture’s rising and falling.
In the fullness of time a Circle is Cast. From each point of the
Circle part of the Story is told. From the North – The Elemental
Guardian of the Earth has spoken…..
South’s Reading:
Upon the Centuries –
when the dry land had appeared and life first walked instead
of swam –
the energies and elemental forces of the little brown and blue
world first began to appear.
The Creator’s Hand continues to move across
the tiny, unremarkable blue and brown world.
Upon that little blue and brown world – in the oceans and upon
the drying land life appears. The Salamanders and the FireDrakes
first make their entrance of fire and flame.
Aeons pass upon this little world.
Aeons of civilizations and culture’s rising and falling.
In the fullness of time a Circle is Cast. From each point of the
Circle part of the Story is told. From the East – The Elemental
Guardian of Fire and Flame has spoken…..
East’s Reading:
Soon after the Beginning –
when the dry land had appeared and life first walked instead
of swam –
the energies and elemental forces of the little brown and blue
world first began to appear.
The Creator’s Hand continues to move across
the tiny, unremarkable blue and brown world.
Upon that little blue and brown world – in the oceans and upon
The drying land life appears. The Sylphs, Zephyrs, and the Fey
first walk and fly across and upon the firmament of this tiny new
world.
Aeons pass upon this little world.
Aeons of civilizations and culture’s rising and falling.
In the fullness of time a Circle is Cast. From each point of the
Circle part of the Story is told. From the East – The Elemental
Guardian of the Air has spoken…..
West’s Reading:
The Centuries pass –
when the dry land had appeared and separates the dry lands from one
another -
the energies and elemental forces of the little brown and blue
world first began to appear.
The Creator’s Hand continues to move across
the tiny, unremarkable blue and brown world.
Upon that little blue and brown world – in the oceans
life appears. The Nymphs, Undines and the Mer-people first make
their aquatic entrance of water and mist..
Aeons pass upon this little world.
Aeons of civilizations and culture’s rising and falling.
In the fullness of time a Circle is Cast. From each point of the
Circle part of the Story is told. From the West – The Elemental
Guardian of Mist and Water has spoken…
End of Part One.
This Working To Be Continued……
The Circle Walks
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
The Circle remains raised.
That is a given for a Circle raised and sent for the Mistress.
That Circle remains raised.
At least – the intent of the protective energies raised and sent to the
Mistress remains.
Whether the Circle that was raised still exists may be
a question. While the intent of the Circle may still exist – does the
Circle itself still exist?
If that Circle – barely only a month old may no longer exist - what of
an earlier Circle I raised for myself?
I am speaking of the Circle I raised at Festival months ago. In my
Readings it is stated that a Circle – once raised – may only last a month.
Does that Circle – raised at Festival – still exist?
This is not just an academic inquiry.
This is a very real-life, practical concern.
My question was – and still is – how do you raise a Circle for yourself
possibly inside an older, earlier Circle you’ve raised for yourself??
IF there is a difference – is it a difference that makes any
difference? As your Paganus I cannot say that it does. A Circle or
Shield is raised and you are protected. You have raised, directed and guided
energies. Inside your Circle you are in – as we are
taught to think of it – a different time and place.
Therefore – any newly raised and formed Circle
I raise for myself may – or may not – be raised and formed inside that
of an older Circle. But it is still a personal Circle. It would be –
so far as I understand my Readings – both Shield and Circle.
Since it would be both Shield and Circle I would be
taking my ‘sacred space’ with me throughout my day
Wherever I would be would be my ‘sacred space’.
I could be here in the S.R.C. or in a classroom.
Inside your Circle you become your own ‘holy place’.
You become your own altar.
You become your own ‘sacred space’.
So thus it was –
raised and sanctified.
So thus it is –
raised and sanctified.
So thus it will be –
raised and sanctified.
The Circle remains raised.
The Circle walks
Beyond the Far: A Working
by
Paganus Greybeard apearing & serving as the BardicMagus/Priest.
Grey foggy murk.
No Light.
No Sound.
A figure enters from the Grey foggy murk.
Paganus Greybeard serving as the BMK {Bardic MagusKnight}
steps to the single table/altar.
BMP uncovers the altar and puts the covering down on the
second shelf/level of the table/altar.
BMP lights the single candle.
BMP: Light. Out of the Darkness comes the Light of the ALL.
Light to dispell the Darkness.
Light to Guide the Way.
Candle and the Candle’s Flame serve as
symbols of the Element of Fire.
Element of Fire - You are Welcome here.
BMP picks up the small wooden bowl of water.
BMP: Water. Source of Life and Healing.
Element of Water you are Welcome here.
BMP picks up the small bowl of Earth,
BMP: Earth. Upon the ground we live.
Element of Earth you are Welcome here.
BMP pours the earth back down upon the ground.
{If indoors another bowl can be used.}.
BMP holds up a small twig of the ‘One Tree’ -
symbol of all plants and ‘green life’.
BMP: Ancient symbolic ‘One Tree’ - representative
of all that is green and growing.
Ancient ‘One Tree’ you are Welcome here.
BMP hold up his empty hands.
BMP: Element’s of Air and Spirit.
I cannot hold you.
But without you we would not be alive here.
There would be no life - as we know life to be -
here on this world.
Elements of Air & Spirit you are Welcome here.
BMP holds up a small model globe.
BMP: This be our world.
This is but a symbolic globe.
Upon this model globe are the lands and nations
we - as humble mortals - live.
From nation to nation -
city to city -
land to land -
we travel and explore.
We travel by air -
by land -
by sea.
Earth Mother Gaea/Gaia we live here upon this living
world.
This is your world - we only just live here for our
short lives.
Mercury - Mesenger of the Gods - keep watch
over all who travel.
{One in espescial particular - this ReaderShip’s & Membership’s}
{Lady ‘Jussi’ as she voyages far across land and sea…}
May the Healers, Guides, Guardians and Muses keep watch
over not only the Traveler’s and Voyager’s but those of us
who travel no further than the Mail Box and the Corner Store.
Some of us work. Keep watch over those of us who commute
to and from work. Keep watch over those of us who simply
travel to class and back home. Keep watch over the instructors
and adminstrators of the schools and colleges. They who teach and
instruct -
and those who simply administrate and assist need your Guidance.
Keep watch over the parents of young children.
Keep watch over the children and their care-givers.
Keep watch over the adult children of elderly parents - they need your
help also.
Upon this world we here do live.
We all need your help.
It’s been a bad couple of months.
Take Care out there.
Stay Safe & Secure out there.
Let the Lord & Lady -
{Or your own preference/choice of Deity/Divinity} -
Bless you and Keep You.
May your Guides, Guardians & Muses keep watch
over you.
BMP: Blessings be to All & Everyone….
BMP snuffs the candle.
BMP covers the Altar and steps back into the
Grey foggy murk…..
Transitions Accelerations….{Pt. One)
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Quiet moment’s thoughts -
Early hours -
A few words written….
Student.
Classroom’s time.
Administrative matters.
Paperwork’s adjustments.
First lesson’s & assignments.
Sharing class with students from Mexico.
Students that have to struggle with the language.
Classes in ‘Adult School’ -
for so many -
in so many ways -
it’s another name for “remedial education".
Education and Training they never had -
and now know they need and must have.
For this Scribbling Scribe it’s a ‘refresher’
on some things - nouns, verbs, adverbs and predicates.
There is also the ‘Computer Skills’ class -
Word processing is taught and learned there.
Keyboarding {typing} was escaped.
Slow though this Scribe may be -
This Scribe can - after a fashion - type!
{Slowly, in My own fumble fingered way…}
For class it’s another ‘new’ textbook for $45.
I did Not plan for that.
It’s also something called a “flash drive memory stick".
That is around $35.
That was also Not planned for in the budget.
Such as it is - it is when one takes classes.
So thus it be -
new things to study -
new things to learn.
Education is not easy -
Education is not cheap.
Education is not -
as such as was re-learned today -
also not stress and hassle free.
What must be done - must be done.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be -
out here in the ‘real world’ -
and not the Cloistered Academe……
Out From the Cloisture’s Cell
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
We open on a Monastery. Not a real, physical Monastery, but a
‘Monastery of the Mind’. A quiet, studious greybearded Magus-Monk
is sitting quietly scribbling in his tiny, bare and spare cell. High
overhead a fire-raven circles. Below the raven a ghostly figure is half-seen waiting
at the gates of the Monastery. The raven lands and shape-changes to a
human Witch. The Witch pauses at the gate of the Monastery to speak to
the ghostly figure - one of her associates. The Witch then walks up to the
gate of the Monastery and the gate opens. She walks into the courtyard
and looks around. She finds the cloisture where the cells are located.
She walks down the long, silent hallway till she comes to the solid oak
door of the Monk’s cell.
“Paganus Greybeard!”
The puzzled Magus-Monk looks up from his scribbling. He thought
he had heard something.
“Paganus!”
Puzzled he gets up and goes to the closed and locked door of his
monastic cell.
“Yes?”
“Paganus Greybeard! Come on out of there!”
The Magus-Monk stands there in total consternation.
“Come on out of there. There is a whole, new and exciting world
out here you are missing.”
The Magus-Monk steps closer to the door.
“M’Lady Mistress - Is that you?”
The Monk hears a soft laugh.
“Whom else, Paganus? You did conjure the raven - did you not?”
The Monk stands at his cell’s door. He looks back at his table, chair,
single dim candle and his papers and inkwell and pen. There is also a
bare cot, and a trunk at the end of the cot. There is a closet with only a
few things on hangers and a staff and sword. It’s an otherwise empty
Monks cell. He turns back to the door, unbolts it and swings it open.
The Mistress Witch steps into the cell and looks around.
She sniffs.
“Cold. Damp. Drafty. Dark.”
The Monk shrugs.
“It’s a Monk’s Cloisture, M’Lady….”
The Witch turns to the Monk.
“You deserve so much more. Come with me. We can do so
much - together….”
The Monk looks around the cell.
“Works for me, M’Lady….”
Together the Witch and Magus-Monk walk down the hallway out of
the cloisture into the courtyard of the Monastery. The Monk stops and
looks back.
“I forgot to -”
The witch shakes her head.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s under control.”
The Monk takes one last look back, pauses as he almost sees
something that is almost there. The Witch sees this and nods.
Together they walk towards the
Monastery’s front gate.
Back in the Monk’s cell a form slowly takes shape. The appartition slowly
looks around the cell. The Spirit sniffs and snorts.
“Pathetic…..”
The Spirit steps over to the where the Monk had been seated and writing.
The Spirit leans over to read the scrawled scribblings of the Magus-Monk.
“Hmnnnnn - not bad. Not bad at all. But nobody does this by written hand
anymore….”
The Spirit steps back from the Monk’s table and again looks
around the cell.
“This place just won’t do. Won’t do at all…..”
“Not for this Magus. Not for this Paganus…..”
Spirit pulls out an ancient whistle and blows it.
A face appears out of the ether.
“Yo?”
“Get the crew together. We have a re-build job.”
Second spirit glances around the cell. His eyes open wide as he realizes
where he is and whose cell this is.
“Paganus?”
The first Spirit nods as the second Spirit pops out. Although he is gone
we can still hear the second Spirit.
“About bloody, damn time. Was beginning to wonder if we’d ever
get the call…..”
First Spirit sits down at the Monk’s table and sighs.
“You and me both……”
Spirit starts reading the Monk’s writings. Slowly the Spirit’s
form changes to that of a slightly older, greyer version of the Magus-Monk.
Spirit reads then fowns. Spirit pauses in thought for a moment. Then the Spirit snaps his
fingers. A large wooden mug appears and hover in mid-air besides the Spirit.
The Spirit reaches for the mug then takes a long draught.
“Ahhh - that’s better. Writing always was thirsty work…..”
He sets the mug down and picks up the quillpen, dips it into the inkwell
and continues the writing……
He looks up - as if directly at the reader -
“Now then, where were we?…..
The Paganus keeps on writing…..
White Cat Ascendant
In the corner you quietly sleep -
curled up -
fur ball of white -
Old Lady of the Household -
Companion of Ancient Days -
Familiar to this Magus -
Dear Friend of this Greybeard -
Fellow Sojourner of the Harte -
You rest quietly in your corner -
Your days are nearly accomplished -
Blessings Be, Honoured Wise One -
You who have lived 20 years -
Long years for a cat -
I sit here -
and remember -
Days long gone -
in a household of a different time and place -
You and your companion The Lady Ginger -
Young you were -
Tiny kits -
Snuggled together -
Happily in my lap -
Ginger ascended a few years ago -
So did Koko, Sandy, Babette, Katie, Brandie,
Sammie, Laddie, Freya, Skipper…..
I know as I sit here I’ve forgotten some names
and faces.
Forgive me.
You outlasted all of your Friends.
Now - at long delayed last - it’s your time…..
Gaea -
One of your daughter’s may soon be coming home.
Bast -
She likes her kibble, meat, and saucers of water and milk.
She likes a quiet lap.
She likes to be brushed and snuggled.
I hold her and she snuggles in my beard.
She learned that from Babette.
Lord & Lady -
a Familiar is going off-duty.
I sit here.
I keyboard here and feel the emptiness already.
I’ve seen this coming for months.
She’s not sick.
She’s not hurt.
She’s just so very, very old.
Old Age kills.
How do you do a protest march against Old Age?
You don’t.
You let Gaea and Bast do what needs to be done.
and you remember -
the little kit -
asleep in your lap……
Travel well, M’Lady Patty-Cat.
Your Tour-Of-Duty is almost over.
You did a very good job, M’Lady.
You have been an exceptionally good Familiar.
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be….
Blessings Be, Patty.
Blessings Be.
You honoured us all by being here.
You Stand Relieved.
Carry On….
G. Brad Harte
-appearing as-
Paganus Greybeard
Rolling the Road {Pt. Two}
Miles upon miles -
Wheel’s rolling ’round -
Another milemarker past -
Hotel and motel for the nightly rest -
Odd meals eaten at odder times in & at oddest places -
Pausing for breaks for gas on the Interstate -
Cities & towns -
Communities and hamlets -
Sea’s of Grass -
Mountains of Stone -
On through -
Up and over -
Down the other side -
Another milemarker in the mirror -
Wheels rolling ’round -
Miles upon miles -
Rolling the Road….
Cosmos attends -
Scribbling Scribe sends -
As it was -
As it is -
As it will be -
Circle Remains Raised.
Blessings Be, Mistress.
Blessings Be….
Rolling the Road {Pt. One}
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Empty House -
Boxes packed, away and gone -
One last time -
In these rooms -
Inside these walls -
Following the Vision -
Vision of a New Life in a New Place -
Yet for this Moment -
A short pause -
A pause for memories & reflection -
The laughter -
Tears -
Joys -
Fears -
Moments of passion -
of distracions -
Sadness & Sorrows -
Resignations & Regrets -
Acceptance and Understanding -
Revolution & Resolution -
Celebration & Exulatation -
All were here -
Within these walls -
This Place of Residence -
This Household of Consequence -
As it was in the Beginning -
So thus it be at the End -
Endings as Beginnings -
Beginnings as Endings -
All windows closed -
All doors locked -
Out the front door -
Locking up behnd you -
Never looking back -
Never going back -
The Past is Behind You -
The Present is with you -
The Future is yet Before You -
You are -
“…On the Road Again…”
The Circle Remains Raised….
“Castle of Boxes” - {Pt. Two}
Desk
Chair -
Table -
Lamp -
Stand -
Wrap and pack in cloth -
Note and label -
Stand in corridor and by doorway -
Ready for the truck -
Waiting for the road….
Map’s read -
Route’s planned -
Vehicle’s checked and ready -
Tires, gas & oil -
Planned station stops -
Journey’s budget set -
Weather’s forecast studied -
Season of Storms -
Wind, Rain & Lightning -
Cloudtops elements dance -
Running for cover -
Shelter’s sanctuary sought -
Miles upon the roads -
Old life behind -
New life before -
As in the Image Held -
The final boxes packed -
Ready for the road….
Circles Remains Raised -
Focused Image -
Cosmos Observing -
Boxes here -
Boxes there -
Boxes everywhere -
Household in cluttered disaray -
Tasks to do -
Checklist’s checked -
Another day done -
Another day down -
Calendar and clock inevitable -
Cosmos observing, knowing -
Image focused -
Cirlce Remains Raised….
“Castle of Boxes” {Pt. Three}
Boxes -
Crates -
Furniture -
‘wares -
Packed -
Stacked -
Assembled -
Ready -
Waiting…
This House -
This Home -
This Household & Hearth -
Residence -
Office -
‘place to hang the hat’s’ -
Where once a family lived -
Now a family departs -
Entire lives uprooted -
Patterns and Forms forever altered -
What was - was -
What is - is -
What will be - will be….
So thus it was -
Where once it was -
When once it was -
In time -
In space -
In a new place -
So thus it is -
So thus it again will be….
Map’s final check -
Vehicles ready -
People ready -
Shutting down system’s -
Computer down -
Mail re-directed -
‘paper’s shut off -
Phone’s off -
All stands waiting -
Ready for the moment -
Truck is loaded -
Vehicles packed -
All is set and done -
Deadline is here -
Out the door the final time -
as once was said by cattle-drover’s years ago -
“Head ‘em Up! - Head ‘em Out!”
Circle Remains Raised -
Guides & Guardians -
Elementals and Muses -
Ethereal All attending -
Power’s Up -
Protective Globe’s Surrounding -
Image Held & Directed -
Ethereals All attending -
Muses & Elementals -
Guardians & Guides -
Blessings from the Cosmos -
Sendings from a Greybeard -
Circle Remains Raised…..
Blessings Be, M’Lady Mistress.
Blessings Be….
“Castle of Boxes” {Pt. One}
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Openings.
Closings.
Changes.
Choices.
Growth.
Development.
A New Life.
Moving Ever Onward….
Flat pack unpacked -
Folded into Shape -
Fastened into Form -
Packing & Moving Boxes -
Boxes ready to be filled….
Kitchen -
Bath -
Bedroom -
Office -
Off the shelves -
Out of the cabinets -
Empty the drawers -
Sort, stack & separate -
Mark and tag the boxes -
Match the box with the inventory list -
Seal and stack the box -
Setting it aside - making room for the next box -
So soon for out the door -
Out the door -
And far, far away -
But not yet this day….
Circle Remains Raised -
Cosmos Attends -
Image focused on ‘Castle of Boxes’ -
Image on ‘Final Days’ of present residence -
New doorway and pathway opening -
Old doorway and pathway closing -
Long hours -
Long days -
Weeks to Days to Hours -
So much to be done -
So much not yet done -
Racing the Deadline -
Image Focused -
Cosmos Attends -
Circle Remains Raised…
Road’s Traveling Far - {For the Mistress}
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Lives.
Visions.
Guidance.
Direction.
Plans.
Options.
Choices.
Chances.
Transitions.
Transformations….
Ordered Chaos.
Normal Distractions.
Expected Disruptions.
Life’s Pattern & Plan Lived.
Comes the Vision & Guidance.
Guidance & Direction.
A New Understanding.
Understanding a New Way….
Closing old doorways & pathways.
Opening new doorways & pathways.
Shutting Down.
Opening Up.
Moving Ever Onward….
Circle Cast & Raised.
Candles Lit.
God’s and Goddess’s -
Guides & Guardians -
Muses & Elements -
Greeted & Welcomed.
Image Focused -
Image Held -
Safe Departure -
Safe Arrival -
Many Roads -
Many Miles -
Roads Traveling & Traveled Far -
From Point of Beginning -
To Point of Completion -
Voyage Safe the Journey.
God’s & Goddess’s -
Guides & Guardians -
Elements & Muses -
Thanked and Honoured.
Candles Extinguished.
Circle -
Remains….
Circle Remains -
Shield of Thought & Power -
Circle of Protection -
By Thought & Intention Sent -
To Hold Safely Secure -
A Family on the Move.
Starting from West -
Moving to East -
Large City to Small Town -
The Mistress Moves….
May the Raven’s Fyre Protect You.
May the Circle -
To Be Cast & Sent -
Remain Unbroken….
Ascend -
Transcend -
Transform…..
So thus it was -
So thus it is -
So thus it be….
Travel Safe & Well , M’Lady….
Rounding the Circle
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
Mist.
A swirling, grey, murky mystic mist.
A Solitary Figure stands in the quiet grey mystic mists.
A Sword and a Staff are held.
A tiny, four legged, square table stands in the altar’s place.
There are several objects on the table/altar covered by a grey cloth.
There are four other small table/altars at the ‘four corners of the
circle’. The Sword is set down beside the table/altar. The Staff
is leaned up against the table/altar. There is a ceremonial
broom/besom leaned up against the lover shelf of the table/altar.
The Figure takes the cloth cover off the table/altar, folds it up
and sets it down below on the second shelf. The Figure lights a
candle on the table/altar.
BMP {BardicMagus/Priest}/{Celebrant}:
“This candle is lit.
This candle is Light unto the Darkness.
May the Darkness be dispelled and dispersed….
May this Circle - this Place, this Space - be Consecrated and
Sanctified.
This Circle is Sacred and Sanctified.
May This Moment between Moments be Consecrated and Sanctified.
This Moment between Moments is Sacred and Sanctified.”
Celebrant takes the candle and lights four more candles on the four
table/altars:
“Candle of the East - Be lit and let Your Light shine into the Darkness.
Candle of the South - Be lit and let Your Light shine into the Darkness.
Candle of the West - Be lit and let Your Light shine into the Darkness.
Candle of the North - Be lit and let Your Light shine into the Darkness.”
Celebrant slowly turns in a clockwise circle:
“Candles of the Four Directions - Be lit and let Your Light shine
into the Darkness. May the Darkness be dispelled and dispersed….
May this Circle - this Place, this Space - be Consecrated and Sanctified.
This Circle is Sacred and Sanctified.
May this Moment between Moments be Consecrated and Sanctified.
This Moment between Moments is Sacred and Sanctified.”
Celebrant sets the candle down and picks up the Staff:
From the Ancient Sacred Tree comes this Staff….
Staff is tapped on ground:
For Truth - Understanding - Learning - Growth & Development.
Staff is tapped on ground:
For Justice - Health & Healing - Strength - Survival & Endurance.
Staff is tapped on ground:
For Honour - Ethics - Faith - Hope - Charity - Love.
Staff is tapped on ground:
From the Lord & Lady Aspects of the Infinite, Eternal ALL.
Staff is tapped on the ground:
From the Guides, Guardians & Ancient Sacred Elements of the Four
Directions.
Staff is tapped upon the ground:
From Akasha - Elemental ‘Word of the Creator’ Aspect of the ALL.
Staff is tapped upon the ground:
From the Ancients whom once were here and still are here….
Staff is tapped upon the ground:
From the Tree, Cauldron & Well of the Ancients.
Staff is tapped one last time upon the ground:
From the Eternal & Infinite ALL. From the ALL in All of the
Names, Aspects and Understandings of All the Religions, Faiths
and Beliefs From All of the Cultures, Societies and Nations from
the Dawn till This Day.
Celebrant sets the Staff back against the table/altar and picks up the
Sword. Celebrant holds the Sword above the candle on the table/altar:
“Out of the Ancient and Eternal Fires of the ALL’s Creation came
the Ancient Sacred Elements - Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Spirit.
Fire for the Light Into and Against the Darkness.
Water for Life and Healing.
Earth for the very world we live in and upon.
Air for the Very Breath of Life.
Spirit for that which is unseen but not unknown.
In the most Ancient and Forgotten of Days The Ancients
learned to make fire. From that first fire came the knowledge of
survival. Some of that survival meant protection and defense
against dangers known and unknown. Protection against dangers seen and
unseen. You could not always hide in the cave. Sometimes you had to
stand your ground and defend yourself. For that moment when action had to be
taken The Ancients were given The Sword and The Staff….”
Celebrant lowers the Sword till it touches the Flame of the Candle:
“Sword of Truth - Justice - Honour.
Sword of the Ancients.
Sword of the Decendants.
In Fire’s Flame You were Born.
In Fire’s Flame You were Consecrated and Sanctified.
In Fire’s Flame You are Greeted and Welcomed.”
Celebrant moves slowly in a clockwise circle with the Sword to each of the four
table/altars. Celebrant moves first to the table/altar of the East:
Candle of the East - Out of the Flames of the Forge came the Sword.
Heated and Forged by The Ancients.
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the South:
Candle of the South - Hammered and Shaped by The Ancients.
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the West where BMK dips the tip of
the Sword into a small Wooden Bowl of Water:
Water of the West - The Sword was Cooled in Your Water.
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the North:
Earth of the North - Out of the Earth came the metals to Forge the
Sword. From the Earth came the Ancients to Forge, Hammer, Shape and Cool The
Sword. From the Earth comes the Spirit and Soul of the Sword. The Sword of the
Ancients. The Sword of Today. The Sword of Tomorrow. The Sword of the
ALL….
Celebrant sets down the Sword and picks up the Staff:
Staff of the Truth - Justice - Honour.
Staff of the Ancients.
Staff of the Decendants.
From the Ancient Tree You were Symbolicly Born.
From the Ancient Tree You were Consecrated and Sanctified.
From the most of Ancient of Days till this Day You are Greeted and
Welcomed.
Celebrant moves slowly in a clockwise circle with the Staff to each of
the four table/altars:
From the Ancient Sacred Tree that links the Realms comes symbolicly
the wood to make this Staff. From You - Ancient Living Symbol and
Element of all that is Living and Green - comes the wood to make
this Staff. This is for Walking - when Walking is difficult. This
is for the Festival’s Parade - when Blessings and Honours are Given
and Shared. This is for Magick & Mystery for the ‘Workings’. This
is the Staff….
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the East:
East - From the Ancient Tree and all that is Green and Living….
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the South:
South - Life and Source of Life on the Mother World….
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the West:
West - Fruits, Vegetables, Roots, Flowers and Herbs for Health,
Healing and Living.
Celebrant moves to the table/altar of the North:
Earth of the North - Out of the Earth came the Ancient Sacred
Tree’s Wood’s to Form the Staff. From the Earth came the Ancients
to Form and Shape the Staff. From the Earth comes the Spirit and
Soul of the Staff. The Staff of the Ancients. The Staff of Today.
The Staff of Tomorrow. The Staff of the ALL….
Celebrant places the Staff back at the table/altar. Celebrant picks up a small
wooden bowl with herbs and vitamins:
“From the Earth -
From the ALL -
The Staff of Life.
Food and Nutrition.
Life, Health and Healing.”
Celebrant sets down the bowl and picks up another with water.
“From the Earth -
From the ALL -
The Water of Life.
Life, Health and Healing.”
Celebrant sets the bowl down on the table/altar.
Celebrant picks up a small wooden whistle & ‘toots’ three times.
Celebrant moves to each of the four directions, pauses at the table/altar
and ‘toots’ three times.
Celebrant sets wooden whistle down on table/altar.
Celebrant picks up small wooden drum.
Celebrant taps drum three times.
Celebrant moves to each of the four directions, pauses
at the table/altar and taps drum three times.
Celebrant sets wooden drum down on table/altar.
Celebrant picks up tambourine.
Celebrant taps tambourine three time.
Celebrant moves to each of the four directions, pauses
at the table/altar and taps tambourine three times.
Celebrant set down tambourine and picks up besom.
Celebrant ’sweeps’ three times first left and then right side of
table/altar.
Celebrant then moves to to each of the four directions, pauses
at the table/altar and then ’sweeps’ three times first left and
then right side of table/altar.
Celebrant sets besom back down and picks up pentacle.
“Four Directions - East, South, West, North.”
“Five Elements - Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Spirit.”
“Life, Health & Healing.”
“Survival and Endurance”
“Knowledge, Learning and Sharing.”
“Serving, Preserving, Protecting, Defending".
“Doing No Harm".
Celebrant sets down pentacle and picks up bell.
Celebrant rings bell three times.
Celebrant moves to each of the four directions, pauses
at the table/altar and rings bell three times.
Celebrant sets down the bell and picks up a wooden cup.
Celebrant pours tiny bit of water into a small wooden bowl.
Celebrant sets the wooden cup down and crumbles up a single salad crouton.
“Food and Water.”
“Life, Health & Healing".
“Of the Earth - Back to the Earth…..”
Celebrant pours water and crumbled crouton back onto the ground. {IF
done indoors a larger wooden bowl with some leaves and dry earth can be
used.}
Celebrant picks up Staff and taps it three times upon the ground.
Celebrant goes counter-clockwise and taps staff three times at each of the
table-altars.
Celebrant sets Staff down and picks up small candle snuffer.
Celebrant goes counter-clockwise from North putting out the candles.
After the four ‘circle’ candles are extinguished Celebrant pauses at the
fifth candle.
“This candle is lit.
This candle is Light unto the Darkness.
May the Darkness be dispelled and dispersed….
This Circle is Sacred and Sanctified.
May This Moment between Moments be Consecrated and Sanctified.
This Moment between Moments is Sacred and Sanctified.”
Celebrant extinguishes the fifth candle.
“This candle is extinguished.
This candle was Light unto the Darkness.
The Darkness was Dispelled and Dispersed.
This Place - This Space remains Sacred and Sanctified.
This Moment between Moments remains Consecrated and Sanctified.
This Moment between Moments is Concluded.”
Celebrant covers the table/altar with the grey cloth.
Celebrant picks up the Staff and the Sword and steps back into the mystic
grey mists….
Life By Timer -An Illustrative & Informative Sharing
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
We humans have this seeming need to think we are in charge of our
lives. In some small ways - in some small things - we may still be.
But for the main things in life - we have set aside our control to
that of the little black or grey box. It may beep - it may not.
It is the timer - and it is in ultimate control of our lives.
You don’t quite believe me? Come with me as I point out a few things
in our daily lives. But first - is the coffee ready yet? Did anybody
set the timer last night?
OK. Now that we have our first cup of inky black caffeine we can
get started. Let’s go get the morning paper. Let’s do avoid the water
in the driveway. The sprinkler’s ran last night. Only two of the
‘papers are here. And do watch out for the rosebush. It’s blossoming.
Pretty isn’t it? But that thorn was a bit sticky - wasn’t it?
Good. We are back inside where we have a cat waiting for us.
She is hungry and patiently waiting for us. She is very old - nearly 20
years in human years - and very set in her ways. She likes her snuggles and
cuddles in the morning. She also wants her morning munch. A spoonful of
something and a handful of dry kibble and she is good for a few hours.
The other two girls are up now. They are also waiting for some attention.
The Penny-Pup is sitting quietly watching all of this. It’s time
for her to go outside for her morning walkies. The birds are in
the feeder and scattering seed everywhere. Delightful little
feathered souls - but such messy eaters. Somewhere off in the
middle distance a crow is heard cawing about something. The owl
that lives around here is also heard. It’s a bit early for the
doves but we don’t want to be out here too long because they can
come early. Penny is snuffling something in the grass.
Something only her nose knows is there.
Back inside we open up the ‘papers and settle in for a few minutes
with the ‘paper and Patty who has decided you really don’t want to
read that article but would rather pay attention to her. You are
at the kitchen counter and you are in her space - her place.
Besides - the toaster just clunked and the microwave just beeped.
Your toast and warmed over whatever from the ‘fridge is ready. You
find a hot pad and set the reheated whatever-it-is out of the
microwave. You go get the toast out of the toaster and return to
find Patty-Cat staring at the re-heated whatever with a strange
look on her face. “You’re NOT really thinking of eating THAT are
You?” She seems to say. Sure. Why Not? Plop some processed
cheese goop on it and it’ll be almost edible. With a decidedly
disgusted flick of her expressive tail she hops down off the
counter with a mournful “Murr-roww…” and has a few bites of kitty
kibble. She’s not only ancient - she’s very vocal and opinionated.
She just does not like cheese goop. Now if it had been sourcream or
mayo - that would have been a very different story. But your
Paganus happens to like cheese goop from the glass jar. It’s good
on nearly everything. Especially leftover whatever’s from the ‘fridge.
Now that we’ve grossed out the Old Lady Cat with our recycled
‘fridge whatever’s we can come back down the hall to where the
computer is set up. It’s not connected to anything. Everything is
done to the floppy disc but it does do basic word processing rather
well. After we move “Little Bear” out of the chair we can sit and
‘boot up’ this beige box. That gives us time to go heat up the
coffee. A few numbers punched in and the microwave is zapping
away. After the beep I have warmed up caffeine. Patty is still
nowhere to be seen. I am back down the hall in time to watch the
icons flash in the little box in the centre of the screen.
Computer’s up and ready. Slip the floppy in and let’s get started….
We’ve typed and re-written and spellchecked. This little bit of
editorial submission is ready. We’re dressed. Disc is in the little leather
planner. But before we leave to go downtown we have a few more tasks here at
home. First we have to go walkies again. Penny knows her schedule. And so
does Patty who has appeared from seclusion. She’s sitting beside her kibble
dish. She’s old and slow and needs help to get to the main kitchen counter.
So a quick ‘lift up’ is in order. That and a fresh spoonful of something
that only be described as smelling like cat-food from the ’small can in the
‘fridge’ and she is happy again. The other two girls are asleep in their chairs.
No need to bother them. It’s time to get downtown and post this week’s writings.
The car is hot. We wait a few moments to let the A/C cool it down.
We are rolling when we are stopped by the first of several stoplights.
Parking lot is empty as we pull into the Downtown Library.
We grab our bag and planner, lock up and head on in.
We punch the button for the elevator and watch the circulation desk
as we wait. Upstairs we find our space and log in. We have only one hour to
get everything done. So we start by calling up the word processing
program and getting the document ready to transmit. We then open up the e-mail
account. After a quick copy, paste and save-to we have our document in
in the e-mail account’s composition folder. After we save it to the
drafts folder and run a last spell-check it’s time for the send button.
We can now check our e-mail. Nothing but ads and scams. Not even any
“aluminum siding’ from Sears or “live nude wives” from Pocatatello,
Idaho. Just not much at all today. We sign-out of the e-mail account and
go check the Forum. Not much there either. One of the Readership has
posted some photos of her cats. It’s a quiet Friday for everybody it seems.
Over on LiveJournal there is not much happening either. A few new
comments from some teen girls on life in general and some responses to an earlier
posting by a lady working long hours at her new job. It’s Friday. There’s just
not much of anything happening….
Except for the timer on the computer. It says I only have 15
minutes left. I quickly move on to a couple more sites for the weekly check. Still
nothing much on either Witches Voice or Mystic Witch’s Forum. I sign
out and go back to the e-mail account. Still nothing there either.
OK. No problem. I see I only have five minutes left anyway and
log-out. I need the time to get back across town.
I gather everything up, check for the disc and head on downstairs
and back out to the car. I again wait for the A/C to cool it down then
head back across town. This time I am headed for my weekly ‘hair’
appointment. I am a male with long hair. Very long hair. I make a very good ‘pagan’
at the Renaissance Festival. So I get it brushed, washed, combed and braided
weekly. On the way back across town I am again slowed down by the red lights.
But it is of no matter - I have time. I find a spot in the parking lot and slip
inside the cool shop. It’s good to get your hair done.
After I ‘hair’ I slip into the “Cybernetic Cafe” that is in the
same shopping center and do a fast 30 minute check of e-mail. Some
things I leave till this second session because they take too long
to do at the timer ruled Library. I again run through my list of
places, sites and accounts I need to check. Still nothing of much
from anybody. That’s good. I can head it on back home then. I
stop for the USA Today newspaper and get it on back in. It’s a hot
day and I do not want to stay out in the heat.
Penny’s waiting for me. We do another quick walkies and get back
in. Patty’s waiting for her ‘lift up’ to the counter. Another spoonful of
her smelly favorite for today and she’s ready for some snuggle and
cuddle time.
After some snuggle with Patty it’s time to get the afternoon
‘running & doing’ done. I don’t really have all that much to do -
just pick up the newspapers and stop by the “CyberCafe” to do a
fast e-mail check. I grab my stuff and slip out the door.
Traffic is quiet at this time of day. I stop first at the UPS Store
where I get most of my mail. As expected on a Friday - nothing there. I slip
on down the road to the “CyberCafe” where I find a short message from
the Mistress!! Cool! Contact is re-established - at least for the
momentary moment. I read she has received a certain package I had mailed
to her. This is very good news. I was more than slightly concerned
because I sent it U.S. Postal instead of UPS. U.S. Postal was better
priced. I send a fast reply and then check the rest of the e-mail.
Nothing much there. So I make a quick stop off at both MysticWitch
and Witches Voice. A few new things on the Voice that I do not have
either time to read or can copy down. I am at the “Cafe".
Can’t do any ’save downs’ at the “Cafe".
So I’ll have to wait till the Public Library.
I do a fast check of my ‘friends list’ on LiveJournal.
It’s Friday and hot in the western U.S.
Not much happening there either!
I make a quick stop at Stater Brothers for something to eat. It’s
summer and I have to really struggle to find anything I might even
want to eat. I find a frozen quiche at $2.39 and I just cannot do it. I like quiche - but
$2.39? Sorry - no can do. I settle for two banana’s and head on down the road.
I find the newspapers and head it on home.
The hour is late and the household is quiet. I am again - save for Patty -
the only one still up and awake. I am sitting in my chair, reading my
‘papers, and thinking. On the bottom of the weather page of the Los Angeles
Times there is the sun and moon dates and times. I note the date of the next
full moon. As sit there I am reminded that for the Ancient Celts, Norse and
the even earlier proto-civilizations there were no clocks, no timers. Not as we
know them anyway. You had the sun - which became Day/SkyFather Sun.
You had the moon which became NightMother Moon. You had the Seasons of
the Year which eventually became the Great Wheel of the Year. You did
have the smaller, more intimate cycles of life such as the growing
plants in the spring, the coming of the rains, and the appearance and
disappearance of certain animals. You had what became known thousands
of years later as the Gaia Cycles. Though at that time in human history
you did not call it Gaia’s Cycles. You were far too busy just staying
alive from day to day and season to season.
Patty comes by and wants a few more moments of snuggle. It’s an
easy request. I’m finished with the ‘paper anyway. On my lap,
curled up and dozing, is one of Life’s best timers. Patty knows
when it’s time to feed her. She knew when I was going off to work.
She would wait for me at the front door and quietly complain. She
would be waiting for me when I returned. She knows the patterns
and timings of this household. She is one of this household’s
familiars. My family does not quite completely understand or
accept that sort of thing - and I do not make an issue of it. But
Patty knows. Penny and the Girls know. After all - they are the
household familiars. And it’s time to go down the hall for the
night. Patty has gotten up and stretched. I get up from the chair
and she hops up into it and curls up into her sleeping ball.
I glance out the window. The moon is up. NightMother Moon is ‘on
duty’ watching over us all. For what it’s been worth - this day is
done and over….
Friday.
Lived by and for the timer.
How many timer’s did you find?
Remember - it’s not always the ticking or electronic clock…..
Anyway - that’s my Friday.
So how was your Friday - lived by the timer?…..
So thus it was - it was.
So thus it is - it is.
So thus it will be - it will be.
Remain Careful and Cautious.
Stay Safe and Secure.
Let the Lord and Lady - {Or Your choice of Deity/Divinity} -
Bless You and Keep You and Shine Their Light about You and Give You Their Peace.
Blessings Be.
Energy Reading for July 2006
Staff Writer: Theresa Chaze
The energy reading for July 2006 will be a little different. Instead of three cards, there will be four–past, present and future with the addition of over-all challenging influence. Many of us are once again facing challenges from the past, because we had refused to deal with them. For the next few months, there will be no hiding or dodging them. Instead, they will be in your face until the root cause has been addressed.
During the shuffle, the four of pentacles jumped out of the deck and wanted to speak. The four is the need for security and being able to hold on to what you have. The impressing I’m getting is that many are holding to tight to the past and many opportunities have slipped by. The physical world has taken up much more of everyone’s attention as they look around only to see uncertainty and growing fear. More and more people have started to see alternative ways to take control over their lives; unfortunately, some of them have reasoned that security is as reason or excuse control others or to force their own agenda.
The card representing the past is the ace of pentacles. More than money, pentacles represent energy on all levels; money is just one form of it. This card is saying that we have received new energy in the past, which has awakened old wisdom and knowledge. This is more than an internal process, but an external one was well. As more souls awaken to respond to the growing need, the hidden caches from the past are being revealed and revived. The ancient markers have been set and restored; once again, they lead the way to the ancient secrets, which have been revealed to those who are aware enough to see them. Only by understanding history can the future be seen. In short, by understanding the past, we understand how we got where we are and how we can break down the barriers that keep us ignorant to the truth.
The card representing July is the Page of Pentacles. Again, energy is the primary message. Like all pages, this card is a messenger. It’s is a time of an awakening as like-minded individuals are drawn together to share wisdom and support. Those who have done the work in the past will find a support system beyond their imagination. Those who have refused to deal with their issues in the past will find themselves alone. No longer will they be able to ride the coat tails of the ones who have done the work. Instead, they will be left behind to either catch up on their own or to wallow in their self created hell. Sympathic ears will be deaf to them, while like minded helpmates will soar ahead. Many will find the old adage “what goes around comes around” has now reached the later part of the message. What you have said, done and caused to happen will determine your life for the next few months.
The energy that will be carried out of July is the Wheel of Fortune. The Fates will be taking an active role in everyone’s lives for good or misfortune. They have read what is written on our hearts–the truth, which lies within in us all, and have judged us on that scale. Our true faces will be shown without a place to hide. Now is not the time to feel sorry for yourself or play the blame game. In order to find new options and possibilities you have to first look to your own heart and read the truth there. Only then can you look outward for explanations. Change will happen in unexpected ways and through unexpected channels. Needed information and resources will be brought at the right time but not from the expected sources. Only by being strong within yourself and being able to be flexible, will you be able reach your highest goals.
The new card representing our challenges is the Six of Pentacles. The card represents a generous heart. The energy we have sent out is what we shall receive; the challenge is how we will accept it. The old saying–bread thrown on water will come back to you applies to July. For those who have had a generous heart, blessings will be returned three fold. All good things are possible for those shared though they had little themselves. The challenge for them will be to accept what is offered. For those, who thought only of themselves, another story will be written. However, the Fates will be the authors of their future stories and destinies.
Notice And Request for July 4th, 2006
Notice and Request for July 4th, 2006
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
It’s nearly July 4th, 2006.
Please – for the sake of Your Dog’s, Cat’s, Horses and other “pet’s” and “animal companions” – keep them inside and under shelter. This is the second (#2) worst day for “bullets” and “firecracker bangs” of the entire year. For Your Furred One’s sakes – Serve Them and Protect Them and Preserve their Peaceful Quiet.
Put the guns away – and leave them put away.
You do not need them.
Put the fireworks away – and leave them put away.
You do not need them.
Set aside the booze – and enjoy a safe, sane, sensible and sober July 4th.
The Medics, Doctors and Surgeons do not need the extra work.
The Firemen do not need the extra work.
The State Police & Patrols and County and Local Sheriff’s and Police most
decidedly do not need the extra work.
Nobody needs the extra hassles, concerns, complications and problems of the
“Shot’s Fired” and “Motor Vehicle Crash” and “Structure’s Burning” – and most
decidedly they do not need – “Subject(s) Down.” They need none of these extras.
Their daily working lives are complicated and busy enough. Don’t give them anything extra.
Lay off the Sauce. You just don’t need it.
Stay Clean. Stay Sober.
Stay Home. Stay Safe.
Keep your Dog’s and Cat’s undercover – and They will sleep quietly at Your feet in Your laps – and You will know a Quiet and Safe and Sane and Sensible July 4th.
Your Cat’s And Dog’s will thank You forever for it.
I was once Security.
This is My State and County and Community.
I live here.
I work here.
I once carried a badge.
I may no longer be in uniform. I may not be in uniform at all.
I am your Magus. I too “Serve – Preserve – Protect – Defend”.
I just do it in a rather different way now.
I also have My tasks to perform.
I have enough to do already.
I don’t need any of this extra July 4th sh*t either.
So don’t give Me any…..
Don’t give anybody any.
Let this be a quiet July 4th.
Let nobody blow their hands off.
Let no Dogs or Cats be scared.
Let no Horses and Cows be terrrified by the loud bangs, bright lights
and possible fires.
Let No Harm Be Done At All.
Calm down.
Chill out.
Watch a fireworks and concert show on TV.
There is nearly always a good one from Boston or Washington, D.C.
Your ‘companions’ and ‘familiars’ as well as Your family and friends
will thank You for it.
Take Care.
Stay Safe.
Remain Care & Cautious.
Remain Out of Harm’s Way.
Blessings Be.
Vision Quest
Written by: Quest
Vision Quest, stands against a pale sky, with only her robes shielding her from the cool breeze and frosty chill of the night.
It is not from the light but from the shadows she sees it. In her trust she has allowed the wolf to see her soul.
Her soul is wild and untamed, yet she needs the company of the pack and a soul mate to survive.
She walks against colors of red, orange and yellows, that which are sunrises and sunsets of our lives.
She runs freely through the meadows and woods, giving thanks to Earth Mother and Father Moon as she starts a new journey.
Remembering My Ancestors
Written by Quest
I stand in the meadow and watch the deer graze
I am Cherokee.
I leave the valley and run to the shore line to watch the whales and dolphins play.
I am Cherokee.
I dig a hole in the ice and drop my line praying for a fish.
I am Cherokee.
I climb out from the depths of darkness, to hear and see the spirits of my ancestors.
I am Cherokee.
Essence of Me
Written By Quest
My words and thoughts are just a gesture-
My words are my smile.
They are the spirit in me.
They are the power of the moon-
They are the strength and light of the sun.
Which is who I was,
Which is who Iam.
They shall be the words of who I will become.
The essence of female is braided in my words.
When you hear them, feel them and touch them you touch me
Sounds and Sights
Sounds and Sights
Written by Quest
Please enjoy my train journey….
-First sound I hear is an announcement system delay due to Draw Bridge.
-Wait, here comes a freight train, as the wheels go clackity clack with each turning motion of the wheels.
-People of different nationalities waiting for a train some patiently and some impatiently.
-I can hear the sounds of cars, trucks and various other autos as the travel on the freeway.
-Wahoo another announcement stand behind yellow line as the train arrives.
-Which track, which track, no announcement have to hurry to track 3 which is on other side of the station.
-You learn to watch people, short, tall; heavy or skinny each shows frustration in different ways.
-Some are dressed in business attire must be a professional Manager or Lawyer reading the New York Times. Wait there are some dressed in shorts casual attire talking about what they will do in San Francisco.
-Here comes a Southern Pacific freight train, 2nd one for today, the railway is busy.
-Deep in thought, there is no interruptions today, car is empty. Just the sounds of the wheels and memories of the passengers from the earlier run.
-Calmness of the morning breeze is a pleasant reminder of today’s journey..
-From Southern Pacific to a Canadian rail ‘never no’ which freight will pass by while waiting.
-Birds come and go-swooping down for handouts of any morsel they can get.
-We go by cars in a parking lot, watching early arrivals fight for a space which might give them afternoon shade.
-Sounds of a tractor preparing for new track installation along the route.
Will this eventually cause a delay for the daily commuters?
-The train was 14 minutes late arriving so daily commuters are hanging around the exist doors.
-Home reveals new items to see and hear….Clackity clack, Clackity clack
as the wheels go round,
-A pile of gravel in a field, which wasn’t there this morning, construction prep must be going on. Where will the animals go?
-The freeway traffic is backed-up for miles, glad not to be driving.
-Passengers are quiet after a hard day at work, and the ride home must be
relaxing.
-I can see the green wild grasses in the fields, makes looking outside seem cool.
-Ducks and cranes are in the ponds, digging and looking for food.
-There is a hawk sitting on the train trellis, it has adapted to civilization hustle and bustle.
-I look up and see a Majestic Oak, who has stood for 100’s of years, the branches reaching out, so dark a color of green, saying look at me appreciate me and my age.
-A homeless person’s camp, unlived in for quite sometime, looks deserted.
-I can see branches in the river along the bank where a tree once stood, there is a family with 4 little kids fishing on the river bank.
-Farmland fields have been plowed and prepared for the summer crops.
-Farm houses are in the distance one reminds me of Big Blue 2 floor with an attic and basement big backyard with a pond…
-I look to the right and see a mockingbird and crow in a fight who will win?
-I am oneness with the train.
ATLAST WE HAVE MADE IT INTO THE DEPOT, HOME AT LAST.
Standing up to Be Counted
Written by Staff Writer:Theresa Chaze
Some people believe that if we stay silent and burn enough candles the bigotry will magically go away. But the last time we ignored the religious intolerance, it was called the Burning Times. It is time to stand up and be counted. Whether you call yourself Wiccan or Pagan, Earth based religions are still under attack by religious bigots. By the year 2010, it is projected we will be the third largest religion in the country, yet there are still the same old misconceptions being spread about us and our rights are not being protected. 2006 is an election year and it is time for our voices to be heard. Usually the