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 Radio1 - The Body
Provided By: Achriel
Composer: ABBA
Title: Chiquitita
Radio2 - The Mind
Radio3 - The Soul
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Don't blow smoke up my ass, it will ruin my autopsy.
-- William Parrish (Meet joe Black)
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· Using Witchvox – a walkthrough
(Sep 02, 2009)
· Nutritionist Stephen Heuer Arrested in FDA Raid
(Jan 19, 2009)
· Spelling it like it isn't
(Aug 09, 2008)
· Funding the pagans
(Mar 08, 2008)
· Giuliani gets Robertson Endorsement
(Nov 12, 2007)
· The Dangers Of Feminism
(Aug 30, 2007)
· The secrets behind crazy airfare prices
(Aug 27, 2007)
· Petition To Rename Stretch Of 401 'Highway Of Heroes'
(Aug 24, 2007)
· Mummified Toronto child a newborn boy
(Jul 27, 2007)
· Quick Summer Meals without all the heat!
(Jul 18, 2007)
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 Topic: Basic Info & Pagan Introduction
The new items published under this topic are as follows.
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On Staves
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 12:00 PM
162 Reads
By Sarah
It took me four years to realize that as a wand maker and writer, I have never written a piece on wands before. I would like to start with a disambiguation as there is much modern fakelore out there about wands; wands were not invented by Gerald Gardner, they were not invented by new agers, nor are they a modern ritual tool. Staves, (referring to wooden staffs, wands, and other rods) are a very ancient magical tool stemming from our Animistic ancestors stretching further back than the stone age. As wood does not preserve well over millennia, researchers must look to documented historical uses of wooden staves, similar ritual tools made of metal, bone or stone in later ages as well as the use of wooden staves by untouched animistic tribes in the last two centuries. Do such examples exist? Indeed they do –in spades and spanning across cultures and continents.
Introduction
I have met many neoPagans and traditional witches alike who use staves but really have no idea what their history and purpose is or how to use them in magic. I hope to remedy that in this article with my research and own experience as a ritual tool maker and tree worshipper. My god is the World Tree and he has been hung upon it both willingly and unwillingly throughout myths bringing back the mystical knowledge of trees; of their medicine as well as staves, runes, and charms carved from their wood. Each year he cuts himself down with his sharp axe in sacrifice so that each year the tree, representing this time the fertile greenmantle of the earth, can be reborn growing out of the mineral rich decay of the previous dead tree. Within the lore of staves are the rich and ancient mysteries of the Forest — the Earth when it was wild and we were but babes just opening our eyes laying on the ground like fallen fruit beneath the great World Tree.
Read the complete article: The Witch of Forest Grove
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The Mind’s Eye
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 10:00 AM
175 Reads
By Rowan Pendragon
We talk about ritual tools quite a bit, especially when we’re getting started with magick and ritual. Everyone is looking for the perfect wand or athame, but the most important of all ritual items is something that we all possess already and which costs no money at all, but certainly needs some polishing and preparation before we can really put it to use. Our mind’s eye. It’s arguably the most important of all tools a Witch has because without it, the true power behind our work may not be harnessed. And let’s face it, no wand in the world can make up for the lack of ability to ground, focus and visualize our intent and send energy to our goal.
When you’re just getting started you hear a lot in books about the mind’s eye. You’ll see a lot of phrases like “Visualize your desire in your mind’s eye” or “See the elements in your mind’s eye”. A lot of people get a little confused, unsure of what and where the information that the mind’s eye calls on is going to come from. In the simplest of terms, the mind’s eye is your imagination. When we work in meditation, trying to envision something coming to us, or something happening to us, we are working to “see” with “eye” in our mind (aka the mind’s eye). For some people it can help to have almost a physical place to focus on when doing this; if you’re one of those people imagine that the there is a large movie screen or white board in your mind right around where your third eye is located. When you’re eyes are closed, imagine that this eye then opens, and when it does you can now see this screen or board through this eye. This is where you can call up any image or any energy you desire.
Read the complete article: Within the Sacred Mists
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You Call It Easter, We Call It Ostara
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 08:00 AM
171 Reads
By Peg Aloi
Try this sometime with your children or a young niece, nephew or cousin: on the day of the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox, just a few moments before the exact moment of the equinox, go outside with a raw egg. Find a reasonably level place on the sidewalk or driveway. For a few moments just before and just after the equinox, you can balance the egg upright (wider end down) by simply setting it down on the ground. No kidding! It will stand up all by itself. Kids love this, and most adults are amazed and delighted, too.
This little "trick" brings together two of the most potent aspects of this holiday: the balancing of the earth's gravity midway between the extremes of light and dark at Winter and Summer Solstice; and the symbolism of the egg. The egg is one of the most notable symbols of Easter, but, as someone who was raised Catholic and who was never told exactly why we colored eggs at Easter, or why there was a bunny who delivered candy to us, or why it was traditional to buy new clothes to wear for church on Easter Sunday, I always wondered about this holiday. As with many of the seemingly unrelated secular symbols and traditions of Christmas (what do evergreen trees, mistletoe, reindeer and lights have to do with the birth of Christ? You might wanna read "You Call It Christmas, We Call It Yule" for an exploration of these connections), Easter too has adapted many ancient pagan symbols and customs in its observance.
Easter gets its name from the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled Oestre or Eastre (the origin of the word "east" comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine"). Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling "Ostara" which honors this goddess as our word for the Vernal Equinox. The 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary defines Easter thus: "orig., name of pagan vernal festival almost coincident in date with paschal festival of the church; Eastre, dawn goddess; 1. An annual Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21." The Vernal Equinox usually falls somewhere between March 19th and 22nd (note that the dictionary only mentions March 21st, as opposed to the date of the actual Equinox), and depending upon when the first full moon on or after the Equinox occurs, Easter falls sometime between late-March and mid-April.
Read the complete article: Witchvox
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By Chalice and Blade: The Great Rite (part 2)
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Posted by: Makarios on Friday, March 12, 2010 - 08:00 AM
149 Reads
By Rowan Pendragon
The Great Rite, as we have seen, can truly been seen as “great” as it helps us to tap into and unlock some of the Great Mysteries within Wicca. We touch on the power of birth and creation through this ritual act and have the ability to feel the power of the God and Goddess in union when we fully engage ourselves in the rite. A problem that faces many practitioners today, especially those on a solitary path, is understanding the different ways the rite is done and understanding the deeper meanings of the rite itself. In truth, because it’s a key to the Mysteries and the Mysteries cannot be taught and can only be experienced, there is only so much anyone can learn from another, be it from a blog, a book, or even another individual acting as a teacher. This is why it becomes so important to truly live your path if you wish to experience and unlock those deeper spiritual elements that make Wicca what it truly is. This is why it’s important to start with understanding what The Great Rite is (think of it as the “To Know” part of The Witch’s Pyramid in relation to this rite) but then you must come to experience it (“To Dare”) before you can go further.
So as we’ve talked about, The Great Rite is the union of the God and Goddess in the sacred marriage. The ritual itself pulls from many ancient cultural and their various acts of sympathetic magick to honor the union of the God and Goddess to ensure fertility. It is an act that can either be done in actuality (also called “in truth”) or in token, and is considered one of the most important and most sacred of Wiccan rituals as it truly does embody the core essence of Wicca, the joining of the God and Goddess. The rite is often performed by the High Priest and High Priestess of the coven, or it can be enacted by another couple deemed fit by the group, and it is also part of the Third Degree initiation in many Wiccan traditions when the initiate is brought into the Mysteries of this degree by participating in this rite. When performed in truth the rite is performed, in private sacred space, by the High Priest and High Priestess, while when done it token it is often performed with all members of the coven participating to lend their energy and blessings as well. This ritual, as we’ll be talking about today, is Wiccan in nature though it is thought its roots can be found in some of the OTO rituals and the Gnostic Mass.
Read the complete article: Within the Sacred Mists
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Round in a Circle
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Posted by: Makarios on Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 12:00 PM
157 Reads
By PostalPagan
One of the most difficult concepts for me to understand when I was new to Wicca was the casting of a circle. Most religions have a designated place, usually a building, set aside for worship, but we have the ability to create our own. Some books tell you to cast a circle and how to do it, but do not always explain how to move the necessary energy. Some Wiccans don’t cast a circle and still have meaningful rituals and effective magick. Like many other elements of our practice, there are aspects that are standard and those that reflect personal tastes and spiritual path. Let’s put aside any confusion and look at what a circle is, how it is set up and taken down and what it does.
A circle is a magickal space created by the witch or coven in which ritual takes place. By this act, we are effectively erecting our own sanctuary and taking it down when we are finished. We start fresh every time, yet as with other workings, there is a residual energy left which can enhance future workings. A circle is more properly a sphere or bubble. When created, it touches the ground or floor in a circle but the web of its energy arcs above us like a dome. It is also a place where we can meet the gods and goddesses and other magickal beings. It is said to be a place out of space and time. By that, I do not mean that it is some kind of fourth dimension, but it is a place where we leave our worries and mundane life at the door, instead concentrating on our spiritual life and being at ease. It is a sort of transparent curtain; marking off a place for ritual, but not cutting us off from the world. The physical process of creating the circle shifts our mood into our working so that we mentally and emotionally put behind the day to day routine and stress, giving us a break and enabling us to better focus on what we are doing in the circle.
Read the complete article: Pagan Pages
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By Chalice and Blade: The Great Rite (part 1)
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Posted by: Makarios on Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 10:00 AM
175 Reads
By Rowan Pendragon
<snip> One of the rituals that once took center stage in many Wiccan traditions has today become a somewhat misunderstood and even forgotten practice, especially among many neo-Wiccans and solitary practitioners. While many may go through the motions of The Great Rite it is far more than just a blessing before cakes and ale in ritual; it is the sacred act of celebrating the union of the Goddess and God, the union of the creative polarities, and the celebration of divine creation itself. It is a key to understanding some of the great Mysteries of this path.
The Great Rite is related to the hieros gamos, Greek for “holy marriage” and is such also known by the name The Sacred Marriage. Hierogamy is the union of a Goddess and God in ritual, specifically through a symbolic act, often one that takes place with two representative elements such as a male enacting the role of the God and a female enacting the role of Goddess. In Wicca these roles are often held by the High Priest and High Priestess though in circles and covens where there is no traditional hierarchy any male or female member who is deemed to be spiritually fit for such an act may perform the rite. In some Traditional Wiccan covens, such as those practicing the British traditions, the act of participating in The Great Rite for the first time can be part of the Third Degree initiation as it is seen as being an introduction into the great Mystery of creation and the Mystery of birth and even death.
Read the complete article: Within the Sacred Mists
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The Realms of Consciousness
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Posted by: Makarios on Friday, March 05, 2010 - 02:00 PM
214 Reads
Ancient Hindu yogis and Tibetan Buddhist monks categorized seven stages of human consciousness, and referred to them as the "seven bodies." I would like to describe these "bodies" as realms of consciousness, because I feel the evidence strongly suggests that they are all stages of awareness in the purely physical human brain. [See Scans show meditation alters the brain.] This is my opinion, and traditionalists may disagree, so be aware that you are reading one man's views of ancient teaching that are not written in stone. I am trying to bring science and the Eastern traditions into harmony in order to express the actual facts, rather than just restating ancient myths. This marriage of science and meditative states of consciousness may be awkward at first, as the combination is very new.
All should be aware that an overly serious discussion of higher realms of consciousness can lead to a form of pseudo-spiritual fascism. Fixation with categorizing different levels of consciousness tarnished the image of the Theosophical movement in the early 20th century, as it led to a foolish competition among members. A few Theosophists claimed to be on a higher level of consciousness than the rest of the group, and felt this made them superior and of greater value as human beings.
Read the complete article: Circle of the Silver Moon
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For Those Interested in the Craft
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Posted by: Makarios on Thursday, March 04, 2010 - 04:00 PM
209 Reads
by Lady Cattra Shadow
I outlined these steps for those who are interested in becoming Witches, but just don't know where to start. You'll notice I don't mention anything about covens or groups until the last step. That's because I strongly believe all Witches should start out as solitaries. Learning about Witchcraft and practicing magick by yourself will teach you what works for you and what feels right to you. Once you figure that out, you can find others that you are comfortable circling with.
Step One - Discovering your Path
Read and study. Read everything you can get your hands on that will tell you more about beliefs of Witchcraft, such as books, web pages or online magazines. Only by learning as much as you can about the basic beliefs and tenets of Witchcraft can you decide if the religion is the right path for you. While reading books and studying the written word are highly beneficial, Pagan Witchcraft, Goddess, Druid, Wicca and other forms of the Craft are nature religions. Get outside and experience the Divine's creation. Go camping. Take hikes through the mountains. Swim in ponds and lakes. Bask in the glow of the sun and moon. Watch birds. Go stargazing. Learn all you can about the Earth and Sky, which are the bodies of the God and Goddess.
Read the complete article: Cattras Magickal World
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The Power of Words
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Posted by: Makarios on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 10:00 AM
193 Reads
By Rowan Pendragon
Most of us know that words hold power. A single word in a conversation with someone can change everything about how we feel about that person, how we perceive ourselves or how we handle a situation. Most of us would agree that picking and choosing words carefully, especially in emotional situations with another person, is a key component to how we manage our relationships. But one surprising place that many people aren’t always as careful is in sacred space using words in magick, spells and ritual. This, above all other times, should be a place where picking our words and the kinds of words we wish to use should be of extreme importance.
The use of words in ritual and the power they hold are reflected in the Hermetic Principle of Vibration which tells us that nothing rests, everything moves and everything vibrates. Our words and the energy we place within them vibrates on this plane and in the astral plane and helps to create the change we seek through working with magick. However when we use words who’s vibrations might not truly be ones that we wish to put out into the Universe, we are only detracting from our work. Sometimes the words, and the combination of words, may look good on paper and sound good when spoken, but does their true essence, their vibration, honestly reflect what we desire?
Many people when they first come to the Craft want to jump into spells and ritual right away. It’s the “fun part” of being a Witch and it’s the thing that often draws people to this path in the first place. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the problem often comes from the approach that some which is held in the idea that these words written by someone else are the key, not fully understanding that it’s the intention and the vibration behind the words that are the real key.
Read the complete article: Within the Sacred Mists
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Altared States
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, February 15, 2010 - 10:00 AM
214 Reads
By PostalPagan
<snip> On the surface, an altar may appear to be nothing more than a place to leave your tools and photos of them may look to you like something from an antique shop. As with tools, there are reasons to have an altar as well as a system behind their use and arrangement.
The basic reason for an altar is to have a location to place your tools in a functional way. Secondly, it also serves as a place of focus, a trigger for the emotional state for ritual, a way to honor deities and ancestors as well as an expression of both your individuality and magickal path. Over time, with repeated use, it will become a place of power; the physical focus of your magick and ritual.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding the size, shape or placement of an altar. It does need to be large enough to accommodate tools and other items you would normally use such as representations of deity, candles and possibly your book of shadows without being cluttered.
Read the complete article: Pagan Pages
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The Magickal Journal
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Posted by: Makarios on Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 12:00 PM
252 Reads
By Sitara Haye
When I’m teaching the Craft to a person, I ask them to begin a Magickal Journal. In this journal, I ask them to begin making notes about anything that is related to their spiritual path. A 3-ring binder is standard, as are dividers. Labels I commonly suggest for a magickal journal are:
• Daily Journal — Record your daily thoughts, insights, meditations, and other information of a general nature.
• Dreams — Record your dreams and your interpretations of your dreams. Include the date, time, and moon sign and phase in your record.
• Notes — Record information from your research, classes, seminars, workshops, or websites.
• Tarot & Divination — Record readings, divination research and study, signs, omens, and other psychic occurrences.
• Pathwork — Record information that is special to you (ie, totems, Gods or Goddesses, affinities for certain abilities, how you got your magickal name, etc).
• Rituals — Record rituals done, their purposes, your experiences and results achieved.
• Spells — Record spells learned or performed, your experiences and the results achieved.
• Wiccan Ways — Record information primarily pertaining to the practice of Wicca, such as the Wheel of the Year, Tables of Correspondence, Invocations, The Wiccan Rede, The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief, The Witches’ Pyramid, The Laws of the Craft, etc.
Read the complete article: Sitara Haye
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Ritual Garb
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Posted by: Makarios on Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 10:00 AM
254 Reads
By Josh Whitney
Ritual garments have been worn in almost all traditions from the beginning of time. We’ve read about this in books, we’ve seen this in movies, and we’ve pictured it when we think about magicians cloaked in blue velvet. The question that I pose is, “What purpose do these ‘magickal’ clothes have?” There are a variety of perspectives to look at the purpose in this common tradition, and from these perspectives we can gain an insight into how we can alter and improve upon our current magickal clothing.
Thinking about it from a psychological viewpoint, it is clear that these ritual garments are like any other ritual tool in that they bring about a shift in perception of the world. When you don your magickal cloak, you are the magician, the witch, the walker between the realms; you are not the accountant that shows up to work every day to do tedious mathematics at a job you hate, you are not the father or mother that has to worry about three children, you do not have bills to pay, you do not have any worries. As far as this perspective is concerned, the more ‘magickal’ the clothing’s appearance, the better it is at altering the mind state to that of a magickal nature. This shift in perspectives is key to any magickal working, and if for no other reason, is a valid reason for ritual garb.
Read the complete article: Pagan Pages
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Apparently, That’s Not Mine…
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Posted by: Makarios on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 02:00 PM
271 Reads
By Jamie Freeman
My tradition, when you begin to study, is rather tool-heavy. That is, we use a wide variety of ritual tools during our Esbats and Sabbats–besoms, swords, candles, anointing oil, etc. If you read my article awhile ago about ritual tools, you’ll remember that we learn to work without them almost before we get really proficient with them. I love the tools. Finding and collecting them is a very good time. I love going into a shop and finding just the right thing that is “totally me”.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that just because you buy something does not mean it belongs to you…
The Fey
Call them Fairies, Fey, Kami-sama, the Lares, goblins, gnomes, elves, brownies…whatever cultural name they go by, it is hard to deny their existence once you know they are there (and a little rude to deny it too!). They are small, often invisible beings that live in our homes, in the garden, and generally out in nature. They help our plants grow, change the weather, put dew drops on spiderwebs and, I suspect, mock us humans. Plus, they move your car keys, steal your left socks from the dryer, and will totally take shiny things that appeal to them (that one necklace, for example). They can also take your ritual tools. If you find yourself distinctly remembering where you put something, and finding it not there or anywhere near there, it is possible you have been visited by the Fey!
Read the complete article: Witchful Thinking
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What You Need to Know about Skyclad
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, February 08, 2010 - 12:00 PM
269 Reads
By Jamie Freeman
You know when people ask nervously if Witches dance naked under the pale moonlight? I always laugh and say no, but then correct myself and say that, well, some of us do.
Truth is, the founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner, was a what they called back then a naturalist, which means he enjoyed being in the nude as often as possible. He incorporated nudity in his rites, and even the Charge of the Goddess says “and as a sign that you truly be free, you shall be naked in your rites”. Over the years, many covens have broken away and chosen not to practice skyclad, as the ritual nudity has come to be known.
Originally, skyclad rituals were meant to feel more natural and comfortable in the skins the Gods gave us. Some believe that clothing interferes with the magic you are building up. But also to remove any trace of rank, so that all present would be in the company of equals. Of course, there is a sexual element to it–not to gawk at each other, but to be comfortable around the nudity of others. After all, our bodies can give us pleasure, and there is no theological reason for us to not enjoy them. Working skyclad creates intimacy, and allows the participants to accept others as they are. Personally, I enjoy the wonderful variety of shapes and sizes, and seeing real people, not airbrushed models, makes me feel better about my own body. Not only that, but the sexuality of seeing someone naked wears off, which helps me to enjoy my partner more deeply later. After awhile, you get comfortable seeing people in the nude and wonder why people outside the ritual are wearing all those clothes!
Read the complete article: Witchful Thinking
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The Study of Magic – The Amoebic Cabala
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Posted by: Makarios on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 02:00 PM
320 Reads
By Patrick Dunn
<snip> The primary utility of the Cabala is as a system of classification, which might sounds rather lame — a Dewey decimal system for magic? — but is in reality foundational. The Cabala offers a system of symbols that interlock coherently. Obviously, any system of symbols could work, but just as one individual might find it hard to invent his or her own language (not impossible, mind you, but hard), so an individual might find it hard to invent a symbol system of such richness. If I take any two symbols from any two domains, I can relate them together in the cabala and figure out which shape in Plato’s cave they ultimately point to.
Think about the implications of that. Take a planet, a big gassy one with rings, orbiting out there at about the limit of our ability to see it. Take an herb, bitter, astringent — a gum actually, used as an embalming agent. Take a metal, dark, heavy, often used to seal containers in ancient times because of its low melting point. Take a grave. Take a womb. The Cabala tells us that all of these things are connected, that they all are reflections of the same shadowy shape in Plato’s cave of images: specifically, one named Binah. These are things that mark limits: the limit of our sight, the boundaries of life and death, the inside and outside of containers. Binah is about limits and boundaries. This Binah manifests in the world in numerous ways, but each shares some of that essence of limiting, and each is touching all the others in the world of ideas.
Read the complete article: Rending the Veil
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