Mabon 2008
The Year continues, The Wheel turns, the Seasons change. It is time for the second harvesting. It is the time of the Autumnal Equinox.
For those honour and follow the Lord and Lady - or even their own personal deities and divinities - this is the seasonal moment when the ‘dying’ “Sun God” begins his slowly sollemn sojurn toward Samhain’s Land of the Dead. For some this is but mythological fantasy. For others - especially those of the Northern and Nordic paths and traditions - this is a very real - if spiritual and metaphysical - event. If Yule can be seen as the year’s midnight, Mabon ap Modron could be seen as the year’s sunset. The ceremonial year is closing. The Wheel of the Year continues to turn, the cycle continues.
Globus Securitas / Scutum, Pt. I
The navies of this world have known it for years. When in a situation of high risk and danger evasion and escape is often necessary. For the navies this has been known since the mid to late 1800’s when the first known navel submersible, the C.S.S. Hunley, made its combat appearance. This strategy has become known as ‘run silent, run deep’.
Sic Fiat Luxe
Nox.
Nothing and Nothingness.
Emptiness and Oblivion.
In the absolute very beginning there was not even nothingness and oblivion. There was not even nothing.
Then a Voice spoke -
“Sic Fiat Luxe".
Chakra Ear-Cuffs website review
It matters little how good a service or product you have if you do not have
a useful, practical and functional means to inform your potential customers or clients
of your service or product. Multiple forms of advertising have been developed over
human history from carved stones in the Greco-Roman era up to the most modern
of communications modes - the Internet. In our modern information & cybernetic age
a website is a new and efficient way to both market and sell your service, product
or product service.
Closing Benedictions 2008
SkyFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the Infinite, Eternal ALL -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this Working.
Blessings Be.
Lord and Lady
Consort and Companion -
Aspects of the Eternal, Infinite ALL -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this Working - and this day.
Blessings Be.
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 - and this day - with Your Presence.
Blessings Be.
Opening Invocations 2008
DayFatherSun -
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.
Little Bird Home
Little voice
Little bird
Safe in nest
Chirping for affection
Growing ever stronger
Soon
Perhaps too soon?
To flap your wings
One day to quietly fly away
Long flight
Fledgling’s flight
Soaring high, Winging low
Weaving Samhain’s Circle
Quickly, Quickly come
The Circle is forming
Children from Elders
Fathers with Mothers
Sisters and Brothers
Come quickly
round the Fire gather
Gathering Mabon’s Harvest
It is the Harvest.
It is the Gathering of the Harvest.
From the Earth We gather the Foods We will need for the
dark and cold Winter.
This is the Fall Equinox.
“Charge of the Parents”
I am Your Mother.
I am Your Father.
We have been with You always.
Remember Us.
Return to Us.
Come home to Us.
Earth Mother Awakenings
In the Germanic countries it’s Walpurgisnacht.
In the modern Irish it is Mi na Bealtaine {"month of Bealtaine"}.
In the English countries it’s May Day.
For Celts, Druids, Wiccans and assorted Pagans it is simply Beltane.
Resurections #1
Under the Tree -
Beside the Path
Sitting
Meditating.
Reading.
Writing.
Learning.
Growing.
Grounding.
Centering .
Balancing.
Zoom - Zoom
Face-in-the-Miror -
Be aware.
I am here.
Very little sleep.
Many hours awake.
I just keep pushing forever forward, onward..
Triplus Poema
Alone I stand -
Alone I walk -
Alone I am.
Here
There
Beyond
Stepping Forward -
Walking Forward -
Standing Still -
Stepping Beyond.
Step Walking.
Book of Ganesha
This is an excellent book on Ganesha.
It may not be all that easily found - even at Barnes & Noble.
My finding it was a bit magickal and serendipitous.
There is - however - the online URL for Penguin Books India.
You might be able to access and find the book that way.
Frankincense and Myrrh
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 travelking 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 prediction and prophesies were purportedly
fulfilled by the Bethlehem Nativity. Not all of the predictions
and prophedies were Biblical.
Heffalumps and Woozles
Strange days -
Weird energies -
Long hours -
Cold mornings -
Warming Afternoons -
Song appeared -
‘bangin’ ’round ‘n ’bout in the brain -
“Heffalumps and Woozles”
sung to the music of the olf tv series “Addams Family” -
Strange that -
Tiny Climber
what is there -
tiny climber?
Sharings - 12, 2006
Time.
Hours.
Days.
Dark to Light to Dark all around the Cycle.
Quiet.
Noisy.
Busy.
Momdents of Inner Study,
Understanding and Outward Sharing -
The Solemnis Solitaire Sits -
Observes -
Writes -
Shares.
Bearing the Light
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 -
Herb Garden: Onion
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.
Halloween/Samhain 2006
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 ferw 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.
Goddess Letter - Good Fair
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.
Mabon ap Modron 2006
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.
May the Goddess Bless - A Goddess Letter
In Times of Trouble -
May the Goddess Bless.
Away the Swords
Home.
Off the Ships -
So long at Sea -
Off the Roads -
So long the Riding and Marching -
I am Home.
Alone I write: Again as nothing……
Alone I sit -
quiet in the night -
upright in bed -
light overhead -
paper and pencil -
writing.
St Alban’s Voices #1
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 -
Workmen & Patio Transformations #3 - 08/04/2006
Thumps, rattles, clatters,
Bangs, Clangs, Clunks -
Dog barking -
Cat me-rowing -
People talking -
Workmen day three.
Workmen & Patio Transformations #2 - 08/02/2006….
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.
Workmen & Patio Transformations #1 - 07/31/2006
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.
Household ‘Tendings & Visualizations - #1
Quiet household -
Family away for day -
Soltary household ‘tending -
Magus-In-Training being mundane…..
Shieldings - #1
Moon above -
Dark residence below -
Night hours.
Sharings #2 - 06/26/2006
Doves on ground.
Feeding.
No Hawks nearby.
High Heels -
Lack of Balance -
Walking in Woodchips.
Water falling -
Flat rock -
Loud Splashes.
Sharings - #1 - 06/23/2006
Still water -
Garden pond -
Reflections of self.
Lines of Support - #5 - 06/20/2006
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 -
Lines of Support - #4 - 06/19/2006
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…..
Lines of Support - #3 - 06/18/2006
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 -
Lines of Support - #2 - 06/17/2006
Candle Light -
Candle Bright -
Tiny Fire -
Tiny Flame -
Light for Sight -
This Day -
This Night -
Light against Darkness -
Lines of Support - #1 - 06/16/2006
Here are some lines I wrote this day.
Sitting with the pup words came this way…..
Goddess Letter #7 - Were You Talking To Me????
Were You talking to Me yesterday morning?
Had a very strange semi-meditation/dream.
Not exactly sure what it was….
Wolf’s Bane
POISON!
Do not touch or handle without proper protective gloves.
Do not eat.
Wolf’s Bane is a virulent poison.
Letter to the Godddess - #6 - Eclectic in Chaos?
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.
Letter to the Goddess #5: Breaking the Cycle #2
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.
Letter to the Goddess #4: Breaking the Cycle
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.
Letter to the Goddess - #3
I am here for Part #3.
This is from today.
This is today’s entry….
May this find Your favor and acceptance…..
Letter to the Goddess - #2
Goddess -
I come here before You with Letter Part #2….
Again - May this find Your acceptance……
Letter to the Goddess - #1
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…..
Ostara 2006 Offering/Working
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…..
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….
Solemnis Solitaire: #3
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’.
Solemnis Solitaire #2
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….
Solemnis Solitaire #1
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.
White Cat Ascendant #2: The Visitation…..
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.
Foundations
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….
Desert Visions - {Spring Storm Shower}
Eagle’s path -
Circling around -
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.
New Year’s Midnight Working
From one moment to the next -
one hour, day, week, month, year -
time passes -
the Wheel turns….
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 …
Walking the Gathering Grey
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….
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…..
Serving the Household
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’.
Greybeards Samhain Midnight
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.
Dawns Awakening
I sit here.
I scribble.
I scrawl.
I am Awakening in the Dawn..
Badges of Office
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
scholars 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
Schools Adult School.
Waking the Dragon
Waking the Dragon
-OR-
Harlequins Dawn
-A Protective Working-
OR
-Renaissance Festival/Faire Performance Theatrical
The Circle Walks
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?
Beyond the Far: A Working
Grey foggy murk.
No Light.
No Sound.
A figure enters from the Grey foggy murk.
Paganus Greybeard serving as the BMP {Bardic Magus/Priest}
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.
Transitions Accelerations….{Pt. One)
Quiet moment’s thoughts -
Early hours -
A few words written….
Out From the Cloisture’s Cell
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!”
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…..
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….
Rolling the Road {Pt. One}
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 -
“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….
“Castle of Boxes” {Pt. One}
Openings.
Closings.
Changes.
Choices.
Growth.
Development.
A New Life.
Moving Ever Onward….
Road’s Traveling Far - {For the Mistress}
Lives.
Visions.
Guidance.
Direction.
Plans.
Options.
Choices.
Chances.
Transitions.
Transformations….
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 …
Life By Timer -An Illustrative & Informative Sharing
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?
Notice And Request for July 4th, 2006
Its nearly July 4th, 2006.
Please for the sake of Your Dogs, Cats, Horses and other pets 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 Ones 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.
Shared Working
We are here -
Solitary and United -
each in Our own time -
each in Our own place & space -
each in Our own personal way -
Together.
We are the Writers, Contributors, Editors, Staff
and Visitors of, by and for MysticWitch.
Again We meet here in this ‘cybernetic space’ -
this ‘cybernetic place -
of electrons -
of photons -
Motherboards -
and Microchips.
We are again assembled here -
each in Our own physical place & space -
each in Our own time -
each in Our own way.
We are assembled here for this brief moment -
this instant of time -
when We all come together and share -
in this ‘Shared’ ‘Working’.
We are United and Unified Here -
Here in this ‘Shared’ ‘Working’ -
so that Together Our Energies -
Our Thoughts -
Our Words -
might accomplish -
as One Voice -
accomplish what One single Voice cannot….
We are MysticWitch.
This is Our Strength.
This is Our Power.
This is Our ‘Working’…..
July 7th ‘Working’ -Three Days After - 2005
We are here again assembled in this ‘cybernetic space -
this ‘cybernetic place….
We are here -
Solitary and United -
each in Our own time -
each in Our own place & space -
each in Our own personal way -
Together -
We are assembled here for this brief moment -
this instant of time -
when We all come together and share -
in this ‘Working’ -
This ‘Working’ for Three Days After….
Darkness’s’ Masquerade: Driving Out Demons?
Darkness of the Eternal Night.
Darkness of the Infinite Eternity.
Darkness of the Immortal Incarnate Soul.
Darkness from the Deepest Depths of the ‘Demonic Realm’.
Darkness against the Light.
Even without a Hell - as Pagan’s of types seem to say they do not
believe in - there is still an Eternally Destructive Darkness in the
Physical and Ethereal Cosmos. Whether there is a ‘Devil’ can be
endlessly debated. What cannot be so easily dismissed is that the
Darkness does masquerade as the Light. It has done so very recently.
It does so very frequently. It can - and will - do so again….
Beware the Darkness. It DOES Exist….
Subservience, Silence and Seclusion
On a recent Friday night a young woman goes to service.
She wears a pink veil and a long coat. She is a single, working,
mother with a son. She entered the main section of the mosque,
sat down with the men and began to pray. She triggered an immediate
negative reaction. The mosque was the Islamic Centre of Southern
California.
What did she do that was so terrible? She stepped across a low
partition in the mosque that separated the men from the children and women.
Litha’s Moon
Greetings!
Salutations!
Hail & Well Met!
Again we meet here in this ‘cybernetic space’ -
this ‘cybernetic place’….
We are again assembled here -
each in our own physical place & space -
each in our own time -
each in our own way -
we are the Writers, Contributors, Editors, Staff
and Visitors of, by and for MysticWitch;
LiveJournal;
AwensBreath;
and the Witches Voice….
Opening Invocations:
Readings - Year Two: In the Beginning’s
I am a Reader.
I am a Writer.
To be a good Writer you need to be a good Reader.
To be a good Reader it helps if you are a good Writer.
They compliment and balance each other. The words that
you Read and the words that you Write - even if all you ever
regularly write is a weekly shopping list - share the same
basic source of inspiration. They are products of our
thoughts and inner personal mental realities. Reading is a
quiet solitary activity. So too - for this Paganus - is Writing.
But the inspiration for the Writing - and the Reading - is not
always quiet nor solitary. Inspiration can be a song you hear -
a comment overheard - or something you read on the ‘net or observe
in your daily mundanian life. Life happens. Inspiration happens.
You are both Writer and Reader.
Honouring the Badge
I was a good Officer. I did what I needed to do. I walked my job-sites,
drove my patrol beats, and wrote my reports. I never came close to a
physical encounter or confrontation. I had more heated encounters with my own
supervisors than I ever did with the public. As I explained in “Walking
the Line” much of the time there was no supervision of any significance. You were
- for all practical intents and purposes - your own supervisor. For some
Officers this could - and did lead - to some problems. The most frequent was
sleeping on the job. It’s 03:30 in the AM and nothing is happening. You sit in your
vehicle and rest your feet. Next thing you know it’s 45 minutes later and -
blessing’s be - it’s still quiet. I know. I’ve done it. So you get up - and do
another ‘walk-about’. It’s just what you do. Have you ‘dishonoured’ the Badge?
No. I have even ’salvaged’ some ‘materials’ from the trash at sites.
Theft? No. Salvage. It was in the trash or headed for the trash.
Is even this ‘dishonouring’ the Badge? No.
Neither of these is ‘dishonouring’ the Badge.
From Far Beyond
We are Mortal. We are not Gods, Guides, Guardians, Elements or Spirits.
We are humble Mortals made from the clay, twigs and water of the Ground.
Made from the Ground we live through the ‘Breath of Life’ from the Gods.
We Mortals are not Gods. We are the created Children of the Gods.
Closing Invocations and Benediction
SkyFather Sun -
NightMother Moon -
Aspects of the Infinite, Eternal ALL -
We thank You for blessing Us with Your presence during this
‘Working’.
Blessings Be.
Opening Open Call to the Mystic Witch Readership
Come One -
Come All -
Gather Here -
Gather ‘Round -
You are Invited Here -
You are Welcomed Here -
In this ‘Cybernetic Place -
In this ‘Cybernetic Space -
Here at our CRT’s -
Each at our own time -
Each in our own physical place and 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…..
Walking the Line: An Instructional Sharing
Serve. Preserve. Protect. Defend. Four simple words. Four simple, basic
words.
A Blessing’s Chant
The Gods have Spoken - They have Spoken;
The Directions have Directed - They have Directed;
The Elements have Provided - They have Provided;
The Guides have Guided - They have Guided;
The Guardians have Guarded - They have Guarded;
We thank Them for Their Work - Their Work;
We thank Them for Their Care and Devotion - Care and Devotion;
We thank Them for Their Directions and Guidance - Directions and
Guidance;
We thank Them for Their Protection - their Protection;
We thank Them;
We thank Them;
We thank Them….
Blessings for the Dancer
Day shift.
Sanctus.
Very quiet.
‘Tender waiting for the drinks
Dancer’s waiting for some
men to sit
men to pay
men with whom to play -
games of ‘couch dance’ -
and ‘visit to the VIP Suite’ -
where other games are played…
A Childe Cries
Pain is Real.
Despair is Real.
Innocence is Lost.
Faith is Shattered.
Hope is Destroyed.
Somewhere this Day
Somewhere this Night
A Childe Cries.
In Memento Mori: Closing Ritual
Greetings, My Guides and Guardians.
I am here today. At least - I think I am here today.
hope to be here today to do this and say these words….}
In Memento Mori: Opening Ritual
Early Morning. Sun is just peeking over the ridgeline to the East. The
rabbits are hopping and scurrying about. {These sloppy and clumsy tall
two-legs must have dropped something good for us to eat. They always do!…}
The lizards are still drowsing in the rapidly fading darkness of the
night. Birds are starting to fly. In the village the inhabitants are
starting to awaken to a new day. At one of the more permanent encampment
sites a figure stands quietly watching the rabbits and birds. A figure
standing quietly facing East. He has just dropped off his ‘traveling
bags’ at his Guild’s site. The hour is early - and there is much mundane
physical work to be done - but this Paganus knows there might still be a
few moments to do a simple, basic working. This is - finally! - the
Memorial Day Weekend - and there are going to be - so all hope - many
visitors to the little ‘village’ and much business for the Artisans,
Merchants and Guilds.
The Paganus closes his eyes for a moment then opens them. He is as
ready as he will ever be for this ‘Working’…..
Sharing, Not Working
Pay Attention!
I have Important and Valuable Learnings to Share this Day!
Form a three-quarter circle.
Come on!
I am here.
Attend me.
13 Friday
Sitting here
Typing here
I have time to sit and think here
type and think
think and type
clatter - clatter - clatter
backspace - clatter - shift - clunk
as I ‘work’ my ‘working’
the only ‘real’ ‘magick’ this Paganus knows
the only ‘real’ ‘magick’ this Paganus does
I notice the date
today’s date
and what that mean’s tomorrow’s date is
and I stop clattering and clunking upon the keyboard
and think - as best this Paganus can
upon the date upon the calendar’s page……
Closing the Magick…..
I am again Departing
I have Leaving
Walking long & walking far
Off to Festival
Sights to see
Stories to hear
Memories to Share
Your Bard is will be back
I will return
I will return
Dragon the Wagon
So thus it was that this was our ‘Mother’s Day’ weekend. I was again
ready both nights before and I again just slipped everything out to the
car and eased it on down the road. The site was again very still and
quiet when I got there. Saturday it was cool but Sanctus it was cool and
very foggy. It made for a very ethereal drive across the Santa Anna
River Bridge and into the site off of River Road. I parked the Taurus,
grabbed the bad-wheel green wagon and unloaded into the wagon. I eased
the wagon through the ‘worker’s’ gate and parked the Taurus under a nice
shady tree.
Beltane’s Bells - Dancing ’round the Maypole
Your wandering - and hard-working//hard-’working’ - Paganus has
returned. I am back in from my entirely unexpectedly - and wildly
succesfull - ‘running & doing’ this ‘Mundane’ Mondae day.
On the way back home I stopped at a Thrift Shop.
Found some wooden bowls for use at the Guild Site. Need to clean
them up and wash them up first before using them but that’s absolutely
no biggie. Also found two (2) small handwoven hand brooms. Eh? Brooms?
Even a small handwoven broom? Yeah - ok? So what? To other’s in the
world - to ‘mundane’s’ everywhere - all that would be seen is a funny
looking broom.
Being the Paganus: Part 2
From inside His sanctified sanctuary the Clergyman writes His doctrinal
disseminations. He speaks His words to His ‘faithful’ on any given
Sanctus. He is delivering the ‘Word of God’. In many - if not all of the
‘mainstream denominational’ this ‘Word of God’ has become - over the
centuries - a form of dogmatic doctrine. It is to be accepted and
believed because it comes from the ‘Church’. Leave it in service -
without changes long enough - and it becomes a rigid, unyealding
theocratic dogma. “We are the ‘Church’. We are Right. We are Right
because We are the ‘Church’.”
Sort of goes circularly nowhere - does it not?
Being the Paganus: Lesson’s Lived & Learned & Shared
I am Paganus.
Paganus Greybeard.
I am a “Solitary Learner".
I am the “Magus-in-Training".
I am a performing participant at my local
Renaissance Festival. I am a Reader. I am a Writer. I am a Staff Writer
for my Editorial Mistress here on http://www.MysticWitch.com. I have my
own section and column. I also contribute occasional poems and articles
to the MysticWitch.com forum.
It’s Hell to be a Vampyre - Or: Cup of Blood
A Scribe quietly sits
hunched over his table
light over his shoulder
fingers working to get the words written down
words half-heard in his head
words half-read on rumpled paper
too many old novels
too many old movies
too much
too many
nightmare’s fantasia.
Tap - tap - tap -
Scritch
Scratch
The Scribe scribbles on…..
Habemus Papum
The process is ancient and steeped in secrecy and ritual. While much of
what happens around the Conclave is known, what happens inside the
Sistine Chapel when the Cardinals are voting and what has been happening
during the nine days of the memorial services is not known. There is
only informed speculation as to what the Cardinals are doing and how
they are doing it. This is - for Catholics - a sacred ritualistic rite
to select their next Holy Father.
Way of the Old Lady Cat
Quietly She sits -
eyes closed -
stillness in a pool of sunshne -
ears alert -
resting.
Dress Rehearsal Weekend
I am here.
I was not here this weekend.
Not very much anyway….
I have just done my first ever - as a ‘performing participant’ - ‘Dress
Rehearsal Weekend’. It was a very good weekend.
Nunc Dimittis
He was the youngest Cardinal elected to the Papacy in over 100 years. He
was the most widely and often travelled Pontiff in history. He was an
actor and a writer. He was the author of 14 Papal Encyclicals -
documents of ecclesiastical guidance for the Roman Catholic Church,
several books and tens of thousands of homilies {sermons}. He was born
in Poland during a time of conflict and strife. Most of his family of
birth was killed during World War II. He was the 3rd longest serving
Pontiff at 26 years. He came to Rome as a Cardinal twice in 1978 - the
Year of Three Popes. He came first for the Funeral Mass for Paul XI and
the election of John Paul I. He came back after John Paul I very
unexpectedly died after only 33 days in the Seat of St. Peter. He came
back and this time he was elected Pope. He was the first non-Italian
Pontiff in 456 years. He came to Rome as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of
Poland. He stayed in Rome as John Paul II. His time is over.
Sede Vacante
Sede Vacante - The Seat is Vacant.
Pope John Paul II has died.
Being the Learner: Part 3
Once upon a time there was a Festival. It was a Renaissance Re-Enactment
Festival. Once upon the same time there was the Magus Paganus. He liked
Participating in the Renaissance Re-Enactment Faires & Festivals. But he
had a problem - he had a car that would not work reliably. But then came
word that perhaps - If he was a good little Magus - something might be
done about that. So he was a good little Magus. And something was done….
Way of the Late Night Cat
Knight’s Night -
Sitting here -
Concrete bench and table -
Trucks rolling past me -
Trains behind me -
Just off this guarded property -
As I watch -
As I observe -
As I don’t do much of anything -
Slow freight -
Creaking & groaning -
Slowing almost to a stop -
As I watch -
and wait -
for the little dark grey cat -
that skittered through here -
to appear again.
But it won’t -
not for a while.
It’s too scared and skittish -
living and hiding in the shadows.
I have food.
I have water.
We peek from around the corner.
We dash from shadow to shadow.
We see and smell the food -
but away we slink -
back quietly into the silent safe shadows.
I sit quietly and wait.
Then -
here come’s the Mamma Cat.
I ask if we wanted some food.
We just slipped off around the corner again.
This is not really a good place for cats.
Not really such a good place for this scribbling Paganus either -
but I am here -
working….
Being the Learner: Part 2
Years ago - in so many ways - I was a very different person. I was
younger, had very much shorter hair, had no beard and was almost totally
unaware of the God & Goddess. I was not even much aware of Renaissance
Faires & Festivals. I did not have a favorite ‘watering hole’ where I
could get my occasional beer. I did not even drive - I rode the
city/county public bus. But as the years passed - and my hair grew out
and my beard {as much as it did} grew in - I changed. I became aware of
the Renaissance Faire. I attended - not as a performer - but as a
visitor. I walked around and talked and learned. I even started buying a
few things such as the occasional sword and short blade
Being the Learner: Part 1
Greetings!
Salutations!
Merry Meet!
Hail & Well Met!
Hello, Again!
I am a Solitary Learner. I have no group, coven or grove. I do have my
“Guild” - but that is not really the same sort of thing. I also have the
very much occasional classes at my favorite Inland Empire “historical
store” Dragonmarsh. I have - in essence - no living, physical
instructor. That is not to say that I do not have an instructor. I do.
It is not just a physical, human instructor.
Ostara’s Eggs
Spring is here.
For the most part Winter is gone. Imbolc has been observed and
celebrated.
Judas - Villain or Victim?
History.
Is it what happened in the past -
or is it what we are told by the archaeologists,
paleontologists, geologists, anthropologists
and other scientists, researchers and historians
of the past?
Learner and Sharer of Magick
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. In the “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 write also a book-of which this be a part, That book-my book- is my “Book of Sharings".
Dawn Flight
Wings -.
Cycles -.
Feathered Souls.
Cold mornings -
Dawn’s pink light -
A new day’s born.
Consecrations & Desecrations -OR- Another Night - Another Church
This one is only being built. Much of the work is completed. I am sitting here in the construction trailer, at the “site super’s” desk - writing again by hand. It is a moderately large sized church building. It is certainly a large parking lot. It is still very much a dry and dusty dirt lot. There are signs of where future plantings are going to be. This is to be a “Baptist” church. But as I sit here it is just a building under construction, with this scribbling Security Officer keeping watch over it by night.
Do No Harm?
We are NOT alone. WE never have been. We - as Homo Sapiens Sapiens - have this overweening ego-trip that as H.S.S. we ARE Alone. We are not.
There are multitudes of others sharing this small blue water world
with us. “In the Beginning” there was an act of creation.
After the Cleansing
My robes, vestments and cloaks are back. I took them to the Cleaners. They have not been cleaned for several years. They came back bagged, tagged and clean. I needed them tidied up because the Renaissance Festival I attend is coming up in April. I am a “newbie provisional” member of a Guild. The Guild performs at the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival in Corona, CA.