marți, 26 octombrie 2010

[Earthwise] Digest Number 2448

Messages In This Digest (10 Messages)

Messages

1a.

Family Ideas for Samhain

Posted by: "Silver Fox" silverfox_57@hotmail.com   trickster9993

Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:55 am (PDT)




For those with Little ones....

Family Ideas for Samhain
By Heather Evenstar Osterman

Let's face it; Halloween is a major commercialized holiday. So how do you find something meaningful to pull out of all the mainstream commercialism for your Sabbat celebrations? What do you do when most of the people around your family don't understand the ancient traditions they unconsciously uphold?

Take a close look at the history behind the holiday, then create new traditions for your family to enjoy year after year. You don't have to reject the mainstream; just teach your children why modern practices exist.

Samhain (also known as the Festival of the Dead or All Hallows' Eve) is a time for us to release the spirits of those who have died during the previous year and for us to honor our ancestors. It is customary to set an extra place at your supper table on Samhain Eve in honor of the departed. This is not a scary time, rather a time when the veil is thin and we can spend time with the spirits in warmth and love. Here are some activities to try out with your family:

1.Volunteer to talk to your child's class about the origins of Halloween and how Wiccans really celebrate Samhain.

2.Together as a family, create an altar honoring your family's beloved dead (including pets). Use photos, mementos, keepsakes or anything that seems right.

3.Make candleholders out of apples, turnips, gourds and small pumpkins by hollowing out deep holes in the tops. Make sure the candles are well-secured in the bases.

4.Put candles in the windows to guide spirit travelers on their way. Eat dinner by candlelight, setting a place at the table for your beloved dead. If your children are older, try having a Dumb Supper where the meal is eaten in silence so the spirits are not frightened away.

5.Bob for apples in your cauldron!

6.Carve jack-o-lanterns to protect your home from malicious spirits. Have your children help make up a spell of protection to enforce the scary jack-o-lantern faces.

7.Plant flower bulbs in your yard or somewhere special. Think of this as a special promise for spring, a secret the earth will keep.

8.Take a walk and observe animals (like squirrels and geese) prepare for winter. At home, prepare for winter in your own way.

9.Make a family tree on poster board. Let the kids draw pictures of each of the people on your tree.

10.Snack on seeds and nuts (try toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds). Or try making skull-shaped popcorn balls.

11.Tell your children stories of when they where younger. Then encourage them to make up stories of their lives in the future. Why should kids have all the fun?

12.The whole family should make costumes and go trick-or-treating!

Heather Osterman is the family services coordinator for the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC).

Copyright © 2004 by the article's author

Silver Fox

"It is all true, it is not true. The more I tell you, the more I shall lie. What is story but jesting Pilate's cry. I am not paid to tell you the truth."
Jane Yolen; The Storyteller

1b.

Bowynn Samhain (Thenohen) Traditions part 2

Posted by: "Jess Quinn" the_sagebrush_kid@yahoo.com   the_sagebrush_kid

Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:09 pm (PDT)



Some other Bowynn traditions I forgot to mention.
 
Along with garlands, ribbons and fillets drapped about the ceremony and feast area, Strings of Horse Chestnuts are hung from the trees and about the home. Sometimes these are carved with Bowynn runes of protection and peace.
 
Gifts are given on Thenohen like one would give at christmas/yule. They do not need be wrapped but it does add to the fun. Traditional Thenohen gifts are foods or warm cloths like scaves, sweaters and mits. I know some people will give quilts on Thenohen. For kids that just do not appreciate such gifts, a toy can be given.
 
Thenohen is a great time to display new gourd carvings and paints. I know two families that actually use these decorated gourds as gifts or to place gifts in.
 
Traditionally the person holding the feast in his hoe does NOT supply the food. Guests bring the food instead. Sort of a Cauldron/Pot-Luck.
 
Some homes hold a special round-about story telling. For this a tiny pumkin is mounted on a stick and the stick is wrapped with ribbons. On the end of each ribbon is a sweet. When its time for someone to take over the story, the stick is passed over and they can take one sweet. I know some homes do the same thing with a plate of cinnamon cakes. When it is time for a child to take over the story, the plate is passed to him/her and they can take one cake. But they can not eat it till they are done with ther part of the tale.
 
Trick or Treating is NOT a Bowynn tradition. Dressing kids up like ghouls and demons is profane for the Bowynn. If your kids insist on joining other kids in Tricks or treats, its more wise to let kids dress up as a animals or fae folk (Kii), be it Jak, Golderay, Bree, Unuth, Hern and so on. I know some families dress the kids up as Greenmen,Nymphs and Satyrs. Dressing up as a witch/wizard is sort of disrespectful. 
 
During the festival kids get to have more fun in an attempt to fill their stash: A great branch decked with autumn leaves is used to hang small sacks of toys and candy from. An adult waves the branch over the kids as they one by one leap up to catch the dangling goodies. Games are held in which a huge basket of fruit or cakes is given as a prize.
 
 

1c.

Bowynn Samhain (Thenohen) traditions

Posted by: "Jess Quinn" the_sagebrush_kid@yahoo.com   the_sagebrush_kid

Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:09 pm (PDT)



Even these are Bowynn traditions you are free to incorperate them into your own Sanhain traditions as you please.
 
For Bowynn folk, Halloween/Samhain which in Bowynn is "Thenohen" is not the last day of the year. is reserved for the last day of Summer. Thenohen means "Autumn Time" it is the time when the goddess of Autumn graces the earth with the last harvest. With her touch on the earth, all foods are fully grown and ripe, ready for the last taking. Thenohen is also the day when our lord of the sun departs the earth, giving his body up so all mortals will survive the winter without the lack of food. Because of this the sun backs away from the earth and the days grow cold. The Great Goddess Morrighynn weeps for her love this night.
 
Thenohen is a 3 day festival, October 30th, 31st and November 1st. The 30th is the day of preperation followed by frivolity with the opening of a special bottle of wine. First and for most there is not hunting what-so-ever on this holy day in respects for his lordship. nor are any meats allowed to be ate. Therefore the feast is made up with the foods of the earth: vegatables, fruits, corn, rice, breads, soups, stews and fish. Some Thenohen special foods are stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms, roasted eggplant and recipes made with squash. And of course pumpkin.
 
During the morning of the 31st there is a procession to the temple/circle where there is a mass held in honor of the God and The Goddess. It lasts for about 2 hour2. During which, the statue of The God is veiled with a white cloth, representing his death. At the end of the mass the statue is removed from the altar. There is a procession out of the temple with the statue carried, and placed in a cave or hole in the ground in the woods. it is from this cave that the God will be reborn from Mother Earth in the spring. During the procession there is a special hymn of mourning sung by the women and autumn leaves are scattered about the procession route. The burial of the statue is handled most solomely as any other burial would be. In Bowynn tradition, The Heron is a symbol of the god who is the guardian of tombs and souls as they depart to the west. So a image of the heron is placed at the cave to protect the soul and body of the God. Just as well,
sealed pottery of food and spices is placed in the cave as well as last offerings and meals.
 
By noon the Bowynn festivities pick up and become more joyous. there is decorating to be done. Pumpkins are carved as guardians of the festival and the home. Candles are placed in them and leave burning all night to light the place for The God to see, in his memory. Fae or Kii are attracted to these lights as well and one sort of Kii called Jakk love to dash and jump over these gourd flames. So is the candle in the pumpkin goes out, it means a Jak touched the flame as he jumped it and dowsed it.
 
Ribbons of autumn colors are strung about the festival area and well as autumn leaves and flowers of the same colors. In the center is a tall pole with a platform on top. On the plateform is a pumpkin and from it fillets are hung down, also of autumn colors and tied to leaves on the end.  Its is about this pole that Round, Heron and Garland dances are performed. There is no attachment with death at the festival at all so to decorate with skulls, vampires and demons is profane and considered sacriligeous. There is a special layered Rum cake made for all to take from called "Sholkraul." You can make it a pumpkin cake instead. Sweets are not traditional in the Bowynn tradition but homemade candies and cakes made from honey can be given to kids, if they are use to getting treats. During the dinner hours, its tradition not to eat yet. However drinks are given out of ciders and wine and there is traditionally a round of festive songs sung about the
table. In some way these are drinking songs but done all in good taste involving everyone including the kids. The songs are blessings, encouraging blessings, happiness and fortune.
 
Once the punch bowl is drained it is time for the second trip to the temple. This time its dark out and the people of the procession carry small lanterns as they travel, humming hymns. These lantrens will be used to light the temple during the ceremonies.
 
After the mass the procession breaks up. Kids now sing Autumn Carols (Thenocarlu) as they go from house to house. The hymns are devoted to the Gods, reminding everyone what this night is about. The eldest in the group carries a lantern. From the light of the lantren the people of the house light a match to light a special "Autumn Candle." In turn the children are given a treat, often a tidbit of food like a bit of cake, sip of soup or spare change. The Autumn Candle (Theno Kalune) is a special blessed candle, of autumn color decorated with leaves and flowers. Its blessed by the woman of the house traditionally but everyone in the house gets to hold the candle and give it a charge of good will. Its sits in the house on a special small round table reserved just for these seasonal candles. This candle will burn all night.
 
After caroling the real feast begins, great food and games, music and dances. Traditionally this will go past midnight. At the midnight hour, the woman of the house gathers everyone about to tell a special autumn tale or hold divination if she is learned in such arts.
 
 The 1st is devoted strictly for religious ceremony with prayers in temple held all day. It is on the 1st that only soup and bread is ate, in respects for The God and the poor.  

2a.

Guided Meditation For Samhain

Posted by: "Silver Fox" silverfox_57@hotmail.com   trickster9993

Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:57 am (PDT)




Guided Meditation For Samhain

Contrary to popular belief, Halloween is not just about costumes and candy. Samhain, as this holiday is known to pagans, is a time for remembering our loved ones who have passed over into the Summerlands—a peaceful place where souls can meet long-lost acquaintances, and recharge before returning to the world in another form.

This is a scary time of year: Summer has ended, the days are getting shorter and the nights longer. We are afraid of the things that go bump in the night. So dressing up as them is a cathartic way to face those fears, and move onward.

Samhain is also the pagan New Year. The old year dies, and the new year begins. It's a good time for working magic, whether by yourself or with a coven, and also a good time for divination. Break out those runes, Tarot cards, and scrying bowls, and see what you will see.

Here is a guided meditation used during a virtual ritual I conducted when I was the About.com Guide to Pagan/Wiccan Religion. Find a quiet space where you can be undisturbed before you begin.

I want to leave you with a meditation that you can perform at home, in a quiet space. If you have an altar, I suggest you do it there. First, relax your body. Do this by first concentrating on your breath, and then on a line of relaxation that moves up your body and spills over, until you are completely relaxed.

Go back to your breath. Go inside your breathing. Inside, you will find a dark wood, with most of the leaves already fallen from the trees. It is a dark, moonless night. You can hardly see. It is cold, and you do not have a coat. You move through the trees shivering, frightened of the dark, until you come to a clearing.

In it is a cheery house, and a garden that has just been cleared of the last fruits of the summer. You knock on the door, and a woman answers. She is not ancient, but her face has begun to sag.

She brightens when she sees you, and invites you in.

She is the Crone, and she has something to tell you, something about the year that has passed and the year that is before you. Listen to her.

What does she say to you?

© 2003 Frances Donovan

http://www.gardenofwords.com/craft/samhain_meditation.html

Silver Fox

"It is all true, it is not true. The more I tell you, the more I shall lie. What is story but jesting Pilate's cry. I am not paid to tell you the truth."
Jane Yolen; The Storyteller

3a.

Halloween Chant

Posted by: "Silver Fox" silverfox_57@hotmail.com   trickster9993

Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:00 am (PDT)




Halloween Chant
Source: Anon

This chant can be outdoors around a bonfire or inside around an extra large altar candle.

Fire red, summer's dead,
Yet shall it return.
Clear and bright in the night,
Burn, fire, burn!

Dance the ring , luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire glow, vision show
Of the heart's desire,
When the spell's chanted well
Of the witching fire.

Dance the ring , luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire spark, when nights are dark,
Makes our winter's mirth.
Red leaves fall, earth takes all,
Brings them to rebirth.

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire fair, earth and air,
And the heaven's rain,
And blessed be, and so may we,
At Hallowstide again.

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Silver Fox

"It is all true, it is not true. The more I tell you, the more I shall lie. What is story but jesting Pilate's cry. I am not paid to tell you the truth."
Jane Yolen; The Storyteller

4.

Halloween "Nutcrack" Night

Posted by: "Silver Fox" silverfox_57@hotmail.com   trickster9993

Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:00 am (PDT)




Halloween "Nutcrack" Night
Source: Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes

Supposedly, Halloween was once nicknamed and called "Nutcrack Night" in Great Britian; this spell is supposed to echo the old name.


Find a matched pair of chestnuts; designate one for yourself, the other for the other party.


Place them side-by-side in the burning fireplace.


Keep an eye on your beloved: if it burns bright, so does his or her love. If the nut cracks and jumps, it signals infidelity, inconstancy, nervous, unsure or untrue intentions. If the nut doesn't burn, his or her heart is cold towards you. However, if both nuts burn together at a harmonious, steady pace, this relationship could be a keeper.

Silver Fox

"It is all true, it is not true. The more I tell you, the more I shall lie. What is story but jesting Pilate's cry. I am not paid to tell you the truth."
Jane Yolen; The Storyteller

5.

transformation spells

Posted by: "Martin A" derriereupgrade@yahoo.com   derriereupgrade

Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:09 pm (PDT)



ARE transformation spels part of your retinue, please?

6a.

Fundamentals of Witchcraft Class - Presented by New Pagan Journeys

Posted by: "New Pagan Journeys" friends@newpaganjourneys.com   new_pagan_journeys

Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:09 pm (PDT)



Hello Earth Wise,

New Pagan Journeys would like to take the opportunity to invite those in our
community who would like to learn more about Witchcraft, to join our
Fundamentals of Witchcraft Class.

This 9 week course teaches the fundamentals of Witchcraft. Get to know what
Witch Craft is and what it is not. What the differences are between Wicca
and Witchcraft, who can call themselves witches? You will also get to learn
some popular folklore, spell crafting, affirmations and exercises.

Donation: $125.00 for 9 week session

Registration Starts Now

Please call 503-488-5486 to register or come and walk on in .

Learning Objectives:

. What is a witch, and what a witch is not- debunking those age old
stereotypes

. History, Theology, and the Burning times

. The difference between Witchcraft, Wicca, and Magicians-what's the
difference?

. Energy Play

. Folklore and Herb Craft

. Magick, Spell Crafting and Meditation- The law of attraction.

. Cleansing and Consecration

. Divination and Chakras

. Creating a Book of Shadows, or Grimoir

. Casting a protective Circle

Private Tutoring Only, Groups and couples welcomed! All classes will be
about 2 hours long. Course Material will be available for purchase on NPJ
Online Store.

For more information about this class, please feel free to contact Lilith
Silverkrow at: <mailto:lilithsilverkrow@newpaganjourneys.com>
lilithsilverkrow@newpaganjourneys.com, or you can stop by our local shop in
Tigard or you can give us a call! We'll be happy to fill you in on the
details. Space is limited to 15 people, and classes are filling up fast.

Lilith Silverkrow

Owner, Shamanic Soul Coach

<mailto:LilithSilverkrow@newpaganjourneys.com>
LilithSilverkrow@newpaganjourneys.com

<http://www.newpaganjourneys.com> http://www.newpaganjourneys.com

New Pagan Journeys

11945 SW Pacific Highway, Suite 306

Tigard, Oregon 97223

(503)488-5486

7.

Dream Catcher Class - Sat, October 30, 2010 at New Pagan Journeys

Posted by: "New Pagan Journeys" friends@newpaganjourneys.com   new_pagan_journeys

Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:10 pm (PDT)



Dream Catcher Class

Come join the awesome Rev. Jennifer Brown-Nashoba, a Member of the Choctaw
Nation of Oklahoma, who will be teaching this wonderful class on how to make
Dream Catchers.

When: Saturday, October 30, 2010

Time: 12:00pm


<mailto:contact@newpaganjourneys.com> Where:
New Pagan Journeys
11945 SW Pacific Highway, Suite 306
Tigard, Oregon 97223
(503) 488-5486
contact@newpaganjourneys.com



Pricing: $70 fee inclusive of materials

Dream Catchers Class with Rev. Jenn Nashoba

-They are seen all over the place; car mirrors, walls, swap meets, and
cheesy giftshops (with the "Made in Taiwan" sticker carefully placed) ...
you name it...

-But what are they, who started making them, what is the surrounding lore,
why do they catch dreams, and what are we supposed to do with our caught
dreams?

-Most of all, how do we make them?
That's exactly what we will do. We will be making dreamcatchers with
(mostly) traditional materials.

-Once you make one, you can use the technique in several ways. Dreamcatchers
come in any size--from large centerpieces in company lobbies to tiny
earring/necklace charms. The materials are only limited to the imagination;
driftwood, cedar boughs, or metal.

**Tuition is $15** ( (free to those registered for the Drum Making II class,
which is held directly after.) )
NOTE: BRING A BEAD OR CHARM WITH SPECIAL MEANING TO YOU.

Event Location: 11945 SW Pacific Highway, Suite 306 in Tigard
Event TIME Details: 12pm

Directions: On Highway 99W & Hall, in the Tigard Plaza. One block west of
Highway 217, and one mile west of Interstate 5. We are to the left of the
Dollar Tree, and up the stairs.

Phone: (503) 488-5486

Website: http://NewPaganJourneys.com
Website II: http://Shop.NewPaganJourneys.com

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

8.

Shamanism, Apollonian and Dionysian

Posted by: "Kenaz Filan" kenazfilan@gmail.com   houngancoquilledumer

Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:57 pm (PDT)



[from http://kenazfilan.blogspot.com]

Much modern Shamanism celebrates the primitive. By taking on the titles and
ceremonial rites of hunter-gatherers or subsistence farmers, we hope to rid
ourselves of civilization's blinders and break through our conditioning. We
free ourselves of logic through entheogens and free ourselves of inhibition
through revelry. Our approach toward the shamanic experience evokes Friedrich
Nietzsche<http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=kenfil-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Friedrich%20Nietzsche>'s
description of the Dionysian
influence<http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/tragedy_all.htm>:

*[H]e has forgotten how to walk and talk and is on the verge of flying up
into the air as he dances. The enchantment speaks out in his gestures. Just
as the animals now speak and the earth gives milk and honey, so something
supernatural also echoes out of him: he feels himself a god; he himself now
moves in as lofty and ecstatic a way as he saw the gods move in his dream.
The man is no longer an artist; he has become a work of art: the artistic
power of all of nature, to the highest rhapsodic satisfaction of the
primordial unity, reveals itself here in the transports of intoxication. *

Putting aside issues of
exoticism<http://www.amazon.com/Essay-Exoticism-Aesthetics-Post-Contemporary-Interventions/dp/0822328224?ie=UTF8&tag=kenfil-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969>and
cultural
appropriation<http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=kenfil-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=cultural%20appropriation>,
this is also a misleading view of the role traditional shamans play in their
community. One undertakes the spirit journey not for intoxication but for
clarity. The shaman's world is not a free and unbounded one. On the
contrary, it is one which is constrained on all sides by restrictions and
taboos. His practices are not a "return to nature." Rather, they attempt to
make sense of nature, to intercede with the shadowy and often hostile forces
which threaten him and his community. Far from escaping order and rule,
they help to establish it: they escape their society only so they can work
for it as intercessors and arbitrators between the various realms.

Eliade<http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=kenfil-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Eliade>was
on to something when he called shamans "technicians" of the sacred.
Today our world is described by the priests of Science. Shamans fill a
similar role in their societies: they provide a framework by which their
fellows can understand the various phenomena which shape their lives. Their
stories preserve ancestral knowledge and help ensure the survival of the
next generation: they serve as boundary-markers between the village and the
wild places, between the tribe and the outlanders, between the living and
the dead. While they may seem charming and primitive to us more civilized
types, we might do well to consider another observation by ol' Friedrich:

*Wherever we encounter the "naive" in art, we have to recognize the highest
effect of Apollonian culture, which always first has to overthrow the
kingdom of the Titans and to kill monsters and, through powerfully deluding
images and joyful illusions, has to emerge victorious over the horrific
depth of what we observe in the world and the most sensitive capacity for
suffering.*

--
kenaz filan
kenazfilan @ gmail.com | 917 267 7469
kenazfilan.blogspot.com | www.kenazfilan.com
author:
the haitian vodou handbook
vodou love magic
drawing down the spirits (w/raven kaldera)
vodou money magic
the power of the poppy (forthcoming)
the new orleans voodoo handbook (forthcoming)
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