Messages In This Digest (25 Messages)

1.: Rainbow Reclamation Project to perform at Harvest Rhythm

Posted by: "All World Acres" awa@healingtoday.com allworldent2000

Sun Sep 4, 2011 5:54 am (PDT)

The music group, Rainbow Reclamation Project, will be performing some 60's cover tunes for the Psychedelic 60's Party at Harvest Rhythm. This will be on Saturday night at the event in the coffee house.

Earlier in the evening, Brian Morse of Treblehawk will perform at the courtyard stage.

The Hudson Spiral Scouts Troop, Magikal Lightning, will open the evening with their show.

Harvest Rhythm on October 6-9, 2011 at All World Acres in the Tampa Bay area.
For info and registration;
http://healingtoday.com/HarvestRhythm.htm

All World Acres is a not for profit sanctuary that is operated and supported by the community it serves.

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2a.: Stop smoking spells???

Posted by: "Reene Hopkins" reenehopkins@yahoo.com reenehopkins

Sun Sep 4, 2011 8:30 am (PDT)

I am trying to help a friend who wants me to do a spell to help him stop smoking. Is there a spell for that in particular, or would it be a spell to end bad habits?

Blessed Be
Raven

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2b.: Re: Stop smoking spells???

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 8:53 am (PDT)

I am trying to help a friend who wants me to do a spell to help him stop smoking. Is there a spell for that in particular, or would it be a spell to end bad habits?

Blessed Be
Raven

Quit Smoking Spell
Also works for Drinking and Drugs
On the night of a full moon (preferably) or during the Waning Moon, make a quit-smoking gemstone candle. Empower three or more small pieces of amethyst and three or more large pieces of amethyst with the power to remove your addiction to cigarettes. Now make a black candle (this can be done easily by melting those cute little black six-inch household candles over low heat, and then pouring the melted wax into a glass container (which you have prepared with metal tab and wick). Now add the three or more small pieces of amethyst to the melted wax in the glass container. You may also wish to add an appropriate oil, such as Patchouli, to the melted wax, to give it added power. Allow the candle to cool. You may wish to reserve a small amount of wax to "top off" the candle in case it caves in while cooling. Once the candle is ready, you may begin the spell. Place the candle on your altar and ring it with the three large pieces of amethyst. Light the candle and gaze into its flame. Visualize yourself being free from the addiction to cigarettes. Visualize your cravings dissipating. Visualize the toxins in your body being removed.
Hold this visualization for as long as possible.
Now allow the candle to burn down completely. You may wish to repeat this spell for added strength. You may make more candles, or simply use a black candle, ringed with amethyst stones.
When the Waxing Moon period begins, this spell may be reinforced by empowering your amethyst stones with the power to keep you free from cigarettes and using them to circle a white candle.
You may also wish to carry one of your amethyst stones with you to strengthen your magical intention. When a craving starts, simply take the stone out of your pocket and rub it until the craving stops. Remember that magic tends to build upon itself...it grows stronger with repetition... don't be discouraged if you have to repeat this spell several times...it CAN and WILL work…

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

-----Original Message-----
From: Reene Hopkins <reenehopkins@yahoo.com>
To: 13Witches <13Witches@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 4, 2011 11:30 am
Subject: [13Witches] Stop smoking spells???

I am trying to help a friend who wants me to do a spell to help him stop smoking. Is there a spell for that in particular, or would it be a spell to end bad habits?

Blessed Be
Raven

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2c.: Re: Stop smoking spells???

Posted by: "Raven )O(" reenehopkins@yahoo.com reenehopkins

Sun Sep 4, 2011 10:47 am (PDT)

Thanks Lady N!!! This is the one I came across first! I think this person who is wanting this is going to have to take an active role and participate! Some people seem to think we witches can do absolutely anything with no help at all! I have forwarded this spell on to the person requesting it. I feel with bad habits that you have to "want" to quit!

I was wondering too about maybe a freezing spell. I told him to send me the last cigarette in his pack along with the pack its in! And between now and then I will work on a freezing spell for it! I will share with the group how I go about this as well as any results that come about!

Thanks a bunch!!!

Blessed Be
Raven

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3.: witches rule

Posted by: "Gary Reese" hyperreal69@yahoo.com hyperreal69

Sun Sep 4, 2011 10:40 am (PDT)

Do not drink, but if u do do it to the fullest!!!
Happy Holiday,
Gae

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4a.: Autumnal Equinox

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 1:23 pm (PDT)

Autumnal Equinox

Autumnal Equinox, also known as the Fall Sabbat, Alban Elfed, Mabon, Harvest Home, and the Second Festival of Harvest, is celebrated on the first day of fall.

The Autumnal Equinox marks the commencement of thanksgiving and joy as the second harvest begins. Altars are decorated with acorns, wheat stalks, oat sprigs, pine-and cypress cones, vines, garlands of greenery and apples, and other fall fruit, flowers, and grain. This is the time for meditation and introspection. As the days become longer and darker, the Autumnal Equinox offers us the opportunity to explore those facets of our being that we seldom honor, much less acknowledge. Like the rest of nature, we are moving into the darkness before creation. In soul and spirit, we are invited to travel down to our roots for nurturing, where we can gather strength and energy for yet another season of growing. But just as black contains all the colors of the rainbow, the darkness grants us a window into all aspects of our nature. We can make friends with our shadow selves, discover answers to questions only we can unravel, or just sit quietly in the stillness. Visiting the unknown can be a scary path, but it is only through the night that we reach the brilliance of another day. The journey is well worth the effort!

The Autumnal Equinox celebrates the sun child known as Mabon, a Welsh god who symbolizes the essence of the male aspect needed for fertility. We pursue the sacred stag as a representation of seeking that spirit of male energy. Once garnered, that male essence, the very spirit of the field, will be used for future crops. The theory is akin to saving seeds from plants and annual flowers and planting those seeds the next year. The idea is that by building on thriving vegetation, the subsequent harvests will be stronger and even more abundant.

Some believe Mabon is the counterpart to Persephone, daughter of Demeter, the goddess of all growing things, especially because both Mabon and Persephone were separated from their mothers and lived in a world without light. According to legend, the ground opened, forming a huge chasm when Persephone plucked a solitary flower. The girl ventured into the dark Underworld until she came upon Hades, lord of this dismal place. He offered her a handful of pomegranate seeds, from which she ate six ruby-red seeds. Because she ate the food from the Underworld, she had to live there for one month per seed. Demeter mourned her daughter so intensely that during her absence she would not allow anything to grow; this marks our scarce seasons of all and winter. Together, both Mabon and Persephone provide the bridge between the living and the dead. They remind the living there is death to they will live a full life, and they show the dead the way to rebirth.

Other traditions that celebrate this sabbat include making horns of plenty and rattles, placing multicolored leaves in baskets, taking meditative walks, gathering seedpods and dried plants, and quilting.

Herbs and flowers associated with the Autumnal Equinox include acorn, aster, aspen, benzoin, cypress, fern, hazel, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, chrysanthemum, myrrh, oak leaves, passionflower, pine, rose, sage, Solomon's seal, thistle, and wheat stalks.

Traditional foods of Autumn Equinox include underground vegetables (such as carrots, onions, and potatoes), corn and wheat products, bread, nuts, apples, cider, harvest gleanings, corn bread, beans, baked squash, and pomegranates.

by Jamie Wood and Tara Seefeldt,
copyright 2000

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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5.: Can You Say 'Apple?'

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 1:23 pm (PDT)

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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6a.: The Power of Words

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 1:24 pm (PDT)

The Power of Words

The spoken word is a great magical power. Words become living things. When
created and given life by your will, and sent forth by being spoken into the
ethers, words are vessels of intent, carriers of energy, and tools that shape
perception and experience. Words are powerful, subtle, magical things.

Words can hurt or they can heal. Unaware of what they are doing, many people
spew thoughtless, careless, hurtful words out into the midst of their lives,
like verbal pollution. People respond. Do you really know what you've been
saying? Take some time and think over the things you have said today, either out
loud, or just to yourself. What you discover may prove enlightening.

Words are the way we communicate on a conscious level, but they can, and do,
reach down to deeper levels. Salesmen and prophets, poets, and politicians all
use words to get what they want by manipulating their words to create, shape,
and guide their victims' responses. The trick is in knowing what sort of
message to send with your words. Tell yourself that you can't do something, and
you probably won't; tell yourself that you can, and you just might. It's not a
lot of hokey feel-good crap--it works. Find something to replace the negative
messages you tell yourself over the course of your day. You just have to dare
to make a conscious change in how you program yourself by your choice of words.

It is important to select the appropriate words for any given situation. Be
aware of what you are saying whenever you call on a deity, or invite elementals
to play in your kitchen. Know what your words mean, and the context from
which they have been drawn if they are not your own words. Don't just piece
together a ritual from cool- sounding bits you've lifted. Take that extra step and
make the words work together in a coherent fashion. Better yet, rewrite them in
your own words to suit your own will. You'll get better results, and learn a
bit in the process as well.
by Jim Garrison

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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6b.: Re: The Power of Words

Posted by: "Lady ckrystal Hawk" ladyckrystalhawk@yahoo.com ladyckrystalhawk

Sun Sep 4, 2011 2:46 pm (PDT)

Merry Meet,
Thanks for sharing this. I am surrounded by verbal pollution and manipulating words. I have explained to others that you can say things in a negative verbal way or a positive verbal way. We interpret sayings by our tone of voice and gestures. In writing people tend to interpret by their own choice and not by the writers.
Choices of words are so important. People tend to exagerate or as I say stretch and change the story. I don't like second hand information because in the past by the time the information got to me, it was a lie.
I have heard the word SORRY so many times from some and I have said to some SORRY is just a 5 letter word. There are trusting people and there are none trusting people. I find the people I am around who constantly tell me they are sorry are none trusting people. Some believe their own lies. You yourself need to make a decision on the positive ways. Open your eyes, ears and heart and think of negative ways as a positive way. I have weighed negative pollution and positive ways and sometimes the negative is not negative at all. I always keep in mind, what I hear is something that I have heard. I am not a forgiving person due to other peoples words.
It is important for our deities to know who you are, what kind of person are you and words are very important.
Thank you for sharing your post.
Blessed Be
Lady Ckrystal Hawk

Someday
We will look back
Be humble like a Hawk
Stretch your Golden Wings
Fly high
To the Sky Above

From: Lady Nightshayde <LadyNightshayde9@aol.com>
To: 13Witches@yahoogroups.com; whisperingwitches@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, September 4, 2011 10:24 AM
Subject: [13Witches] The Power of Words

                     The Power of Words

The spoken word is a great magical power. Words become living things. When
created and given life by your will, and sent forth by being spoken into the
ethers, words are vessels of intent, carriers of energy, and tools that shape
perception and experience. Words are powerful, subtle, magical things.

Words can hurt or they can heal. Unaware of what they are doing, many people
spew thoughtless, careless, hurtful words out into the midst of their lives,
like verbal pollution. People respond. Do you really know what you've been
saying? Take some time and think over the things you have said today, either out
loud, or just to yourself. What you discover may prove enlightening.

Words are the way we communicate on a conscious level, but they can, and do,
reach down to deeper levels. Salesmen and prophets, poets, and politicians all
use words to get what they want by manipulating their words to create, shape,
and guide their victims' responses. The trick is in knowing what sort of
message to send with your words. Tell yourself that you can't do something, and
you probably won't; tell yourself that you can, and you just might. It's not a
lot of hokey feel-good crap--it works. Find something to replace the negative
messages you tell yourself over the course of your day. You just have to dare
to make a conscious change in how you program yourself by your choice of words.

It is important to select the appropriate words for any given situation. Be
aware of what you are saying whenever you call on a deity, or invite elementals
to play in your kitchen. Know what your words mean, and the context from
which they have been drawn if they are not your own words. Don't just piece
together a ritual from cool- sounding bits you've lifted. Take that extra step and
make the words work together in a coherent fashion. Better yet, rewrite them in
your own words to suit your own will. You'll get better results, and learn a
bit in the process as well.
by Jim Garrison

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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6c.: Re: The Power of Words

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:14 pm (PDT)

have heard the word SORRY so many times from some and I have said to some SORRY is just a 5 letter word. There are trusting people and there are none trusting people. I find the people I am around who constantly tell me they are sorry are none trusting people. Some believe their own lies. You yourself need to make a decision on the positive ways. Open your eyes, ears and heart and think of negative ways as a positive way. I have weighed negative pollution and positive ways and sometimes the negative is not negative at all. I always keep in mind, what I hear is something that I have heard. I am not a forgiving person due to other peoples words.

I totally agree with what you are saying. Sometimes the person saying "sorry" pronounces it "sorr-eeee," which means they are not sorry at all. It is hard to accept an apology that is not really one at all.

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

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7.1.: Today's Quote

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 1:48 pm (PDT)

Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.
--Benjamin Franklin

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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8.: The Modern Eclectic Coven

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 2:03 pm (PDT)

The Modern Eclectic Coven

Modern Witchcraft may have its roots deeply in ancient times, but the religion we practice today is actually a very young creation, still growing and changing with every passing year. Because of this, the modern coven often bears very little resemblance to the circles in which Witches gathered as recently as ten or twenty years ago.

This gives rise to a number of questions, and the answers will affect the shape of Witchcraft in the years to come. As covens transform to adapt to the shifting needs of today's Witches, what has changed, and what has stayed the same? What does the modern Witch want in a coven? What are the benefits and drawbacks of being a group Witch? Where are we headed from here, and will these changes be good for the magickal community and the individual Witch?

What do we mean when we talk about a coven? Historically, a coven was said to have been made up of thirteen Witches, who met in secret to practice the Craft. Unfortunately, this need for secrecy means that we know very little of the makeup and methods of traditional covens, and much of what we do know tends to be inaccurate, unsubstantiated, and much debated over.

Because of this, when we talk about the traditional coven, we are usually referring to the type of group formed by Gerald Gardner, who originated modern Wicca, as well as those who followed him, such as Alex Sanders (Alexandrian Wicca), Janet and Stewart Farrar, and Raymond Buckland.

These traditional covens vary somewhat in their rules and practices, but they all tend to follow these general guidelines:

*The coven is lead by a high priest and a high priestess.

*The coven follows a three-tiered degree system, involving differing levels of learning and commitment to the Craft. First-degree initiates are usually called "priest" or "Witch" of the Goddess, second-degree initiates are called "mages" or "Witch Queen," and third-degree initiates carry the title of "High Priest" or "High Priestess." There is also sometimes a "maiden" who acts as assistant to the high priestess, and a "summoner" or "guardian" who acts as assistant to the high priest.

The coven practices are often complicated and dictated by the specific rules that must be adhered to strictly and very ceremoniously. A high priest and high priestess are often approached in a formal and respectful manner, with those lower in degree kissing their hands or their feet.

*The coven members often use practices such as scourging (symbolic beating with a scourge or whip), binding, and blindfolding to demonstrate subservience to the coven elders and a willingness to trust blindly.

*Rituals are usually done skyclad (naked) or in ceremonial robes.

*Advanced initiation may be accompanied by The Great Rite, an act of ritual lovemaking, which is always heterosexual--that is to say, the high priest would initiate a female covener or the high priestess would initiate a male covener.

*Once group members achieve the rank of high priest or high priestess (third degree) they may leave and form their own group, an act known as "hiving off."

*Ritual tools include the athame, a wand and/or staff, a cauldron, a Witch's garter (a scarlet cord), a pentacle, a scourge, and a Book of Shadows that contains the rituals belonging to that coven.

*The coven activities are kept a strict secret, and outsiders are rarely if ever allowed to attend a ritual.

*The coven will usually meet for New Moons, Full Moons, and the eight sabbats of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, as well as dedication ceremonies and the like.

*The coven will be made up of thirteen members, if possible, but numbers may vary.

*Worship is dedicated to both the God and the Goddess.

The modern coven, on the other hand, is a little harder to pin down, because it can very widely from group to group. For instance, Dianic Witches only allow women in their covens, and they worship the Goddess in her many forms (and not the god). Some groups focus on a particular culture, and the pantheon of gods that goes with it, such as Celtic or Egyptian gods. Those covens will bear very little resemblance to covens that emphasize a different culture. This is one of the reasons that many modern covens are referred to as "eclectic," since they tend to be as idiosyncratic and diverse as the multiple thousands of individual Witches who have been drawn to neoPaganism over the last twenty years or so.

There are some traits that most modern covens share, however, even if only in contrast to the more traditional coven:

*They are often led by only a High Priestess, although they may still have both high priestess and high priest or just a high priest. Some modern covens have no leader at all, with the responsibilities shared among the members of the group or taken in turn.

*There is often no degree system, although, again, that can very widely. Many groups have simply the person or persons who lead (often in a fairly egalitarian manner) and everybody else. Some groups have an inner circle and an outer circle to allow for the differing amounts of experience and dedication. This may involve a "year and a day" of study to move from outer to inner level of the group.

*Coven practices may be quite simple, although many still cast a formal circle, call the quarters, and invoke the god and goddess.

*Few modern covens use the scourge or other old-fashioned tools, and many of them no longer insist on secrecy (except for whatever is necessary to protect their members who are still in the broom closet).

*Rituals are usually performed clad, although many Witches still wear some kind of garb that they keep for ceremonial use only (and maybe the occasional Renaissance Faire).

*Ritual sex has been replaced by the symbolic act of placing an athame in a chalice during cakes and ale or done away with altogether.

*Modern covens are less likely to be completely heterosexual in orientation, depending upon the needs and inclinations of the members.

*The ritual tools remain much the same, with the exception of a few that are rarely used in modern covens, such as the scourge and the garter.

*Covens usually meet for New Moons, Full Moons, and the eight sabbats.

*They often put little importance on the number of people in the group, and it may be made up of as few as three members or as many as twenty.

*Most groups worship both goddess and god, but as previously stated, there are some that are dedicated to the goddess alone.

As you can see from these lists, the primary difference between the traditional coven and the modern coven is the degree of formality and the adherence to strict rules and organization. Many of the best practices, such as creating sacred space for ritual, are still the same, although the methods used may be somewhat different.

The biggest change is that today's eclectic coven is often truly that--eclectic. My coven, Blue Moon Circle, for instance, is made up of women who come from very different magickal backgrounds. There are only one or two of us who actually refer to ourselves as Wiccans, while the others are more likely to self-identify as a Witch or Pagan. There is some variation in the way we each view the gods and the practice of magick.

Despite our differences, however, there is much we have in common, and we have no problem working together toward our shared magickal and spiritual goals.

This is a widespread occurrence in today's Pagan world. It has come about, in part, because there are now so many paths to the neoPagan experience that it is almost impossible to find any two Witches who have exactly the same beliefs and practices. In addition, there are very few areas of the country where there are so many covens available that an individual can choose a group that perfectly matches his or her own chosen path.

Instead, a Green Witch, a Celtic Witch, and a couple of Wiccans may end up practicing together because their approach to magick and spirituality are all relatively close.

So what does the modern Witch want from a group practice? Of course, this is a pretty broad question, but in general, I believe that today's Witch is looking for a group with a reasonably similar view of the God and Goddess, a magickal practice he or she can be comfortable with, and a willingness to be open to the wishes of all its members.

While there are still Witches who are interested in the more formal and hierarchical, traditional covens, many of us prefer a more free-flowing and informal approach to magick. Neither style is better or more correct. There is no right or wrong here, only what works for each group and the individuals within it.

It is important to be aware of what you want to get out of being in a coven, and what aspects of group practice you are and aren't willing to follow. For instance, if you are looking for a coven to join and you know that you wouldn't be comfortable practicing naked, make sure that the coven you are interested in doesn't have a rule about practicing skyclad. And if it is important for you to worship the God and Goddess as Isis and Osiris, don't join a coven that is based on Celtic traditions.

Open and honest communication is an even more important component than ever for the modern eclectic coven. In the traditional coven, there was usually a strict set of rules that each initiate was schooled in upon joining and which the high priestess and high priest enforced rigorously. Today, many groups don't have formal rules or even a handout covering group "do's" and "don'ts," which can easily lead to misunderstandings and arguments if coven members assumptions of acceptable behavior turn out not to match.

I strongly recommend that covens take the time to establish a few basic ground rules (often called a "compact") when starting out and that each new member be informed of these rules when he or she joins. The compact would cover such issues as when and how often the group meets, whether or not regular attendance is mandatory, and what behavior is expected from members. If everyone is to take a turn providing cakes and ale or a place for the group to meet, it is better to be clear about that from the beginning.

It can be tough to keep a coven working smoothly. After all, it is made up of a group of Pagans, most of whom tend to be passionate (and sometimes eccentric) individualists. Leaders can be hard to find, and some might take advantage of their positions or simply be inept at running a group. Eventually, you will probably run into conflict within the group, and sometimes that conflict may be so bad that the coven simply gives up and disbands. Like a family, your coven will probably not be perfect, no matter how much you love it.

So why choose to practice with a group at all? After all, many modern Witches are solitaries, who practice their magick on their own (either through choice or because there is no group available to them). There can clearly be disadvantages to being in a group: you have to coordinate times and places, compromise when there is disagreement, and deal with the quirks of all the individuals involved.

On the other hand, there are a number of advantages to being part of a coven (besides not always having to be the one to make the cakes). For one thing, a group of Witches working together on a common goal can raise an incredible amount of power. I do some pretty effective magick on my own, but when Blue Moon Circle focuses on a magickal task in unison, the end results often amaze me.

More often than the magickal boost, though, is the emotional boost that comes from sharing your spiritual beliefs with others of like mind. Some of the most powerful moments I have ever felt have taken place in circle, surrounded by the love and faith of a bunch of other Witches. It is because of this feeling of joyful communion that I have chosen to be part of an eclectic coven, rather than to practice on my own.

Which brings us to the question of whether the changes we have seen are good for the magickal community or not and where we will go from here.

It can be hard letting go of traditions, especially in a young religion that is still finding its way (even one like ours with old, old roots). But I have to believe that the modern eclectic coven is a good development in our continuing pattern of growth and change. It allows for more variety and satisfies the needs of the many members of our community for whom the traditional coven is simply not a good fit.

As for where we go from here, I suspect that only the gods know for sure, but as more and more people find their way to Wicca, Witchcraft, and Paganism, I hope that we will continue to be flexible and to flow with the needs of all the members of our community, melding the old and new together in the great cauldron that is the modern eclectic coven.
by Deborah Blake

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

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9a.: Re: any help please

Posted by: "Jan Malone" magikalwitch@yahoo.co.uk magikalwitch

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:27 pm (PDT)

Thank you for your reply I will take notes on what you have said I do have some of these books and i have read alot on the net so again thank you for your input I really appreciate it.

________________________________
From: Fran Wolfe-Johnson <tygermoonfoxx@gmail.com>
To: 13Witches@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, 4 September 2011, 2:53
Subject: Re: [13Witches] any help please

Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself is to read books across a wide variety of subjects from different publishers (in other words, do not just stick with Llewellyn or the other major pagan publishers). Pick an area which interests you and go with it, all the information you can hold and any book which deals with the subject. Attend museums and look through art. Read your favorite fiction and see if anything speaks to you. Take time to observe around you, even if you're in a city, and see what things you might be missing (even if it's a 'weed' coming up through the pavement or a pigeon nesting on a building). Take a meditation or tai chi or yoga class. Commit to a short walk or baking something or playing with a pet every day.

Get a notebook, get several. Write your reactions, quotes, and observations down. It might take a while, but eventually you might see a pattern in the things you do and the things you notice which speaks to a deeper part of you.

Don't practice, don't try to adopt new moral guides until you're certain what motivates you: what you're willing to tolerate, what you absolutely can't stand, what you believe on key political, environmental, or social issues.

For books, these are good starters (even if you're not Wiccan):

"Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham
"Living Wicca" by Scott Cunningham
"The Magical Household" by Scott Cunningham
"To Ride a Silver Boomstick" by Silver Ravenwolf
"To Stir a Magic Cauldron" by Silver Ravenwolf
"Solitary Witch" by Silver Ravenwolf
"Green Witchcraft" by Ann Moura (there are three books and a grimoire in this series, all good)

The works of Joseph Campbell, Isaac Bonewits, Yung, Freud, Robert Graves, James Frazer, and even Robert Heinlein are good supplementary reading.

Just get a feel for yourself and what you want out of your path before you start trying to practice anything. After that, look at some simple grounding, centering, and shielding. Simple spell work (self improvement or household improvement spells or kitchen magic are good).

Above all, record your efforts. Otherwise you have no idea what works and what doesn't for you...or why...or where you found it.

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 3:22 PM, Jan Malone <magikalwitch@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>
>
> Merry meet everyone, I am new to the craft an I am looking for some help on actually getting started,
>I am the kind of person who works on their own with anything and so I would like some step by step instructions on how I can start my path that I have choosen
--
"Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy."

-- Hamlin Garland

Fran Wolfe-Johnson (WalkerTXKitty)
FoxHeart Acres, FL

http://www.myhappytrails.net

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9b.: Re: any help please

Posted by: "Jan Malone" magikalwitch@yahoo.co.uk magikalwitch

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:28 pm (PDT)

Thank you so much Lady Nightshayde your replies have opened my eyes and yes it is the fear of actually getting involved, I was guided on my new path by my guides and I have not jumped into this because I brought some books quite a few years ago but I was unable to read them as I was not ready for it, but I now know this is my way. I'm wanting to do the spells as I know there is more to it then these and i need to learn the protection side of things.

Thank you again and I will now start my journey taking everything in that you have said.

________________________________
From: Lady Nightshayde <LadyNightshayde9@aol.com>
To: 13Witches@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 3 September 2011, 22:13
Subject: Re: [13Witches] any help please

I am the kind of person who works on their own with anything and so I would like some step by step instructions on how I can start my path that I have choosen but I am a little nervous that I may do something wrong I have most of the items needed for doing rituals, spells etc but I think I need a little support from others from the group.
>

This may help:

Facing Your Fear

You have your candles picked out and a place away from distractions. You have your book of ritual. You're ready to go except for one little thing that keeps gumming up the works: you haven't dealt with your fear.

Fear is the emotion that made you wait six months until you felt comfortable buying a black candle. Fear made you hide all your altar materials, even though you live alone and only entertain your cat and your goldfish. Fear led you to store your Tarot cards in the freezer.

Since this article assumes you're new to experiments in spiritual development, we'll also assume that you haven't crossed the maxim "let it flow and let it go" when dealing with any really strong motivating or un-motivating emotion.

This essay isn't about psychology and facing old resentments toward parents--leave that to professionals. This is about finding a way to ease into ritual so that you can start experimenting within your chosen path. Reading about magic and earth worship is all fine and well, but if you don't add experience, a lot of that learning can go for naught.

Fear can prevent you from exploring rituals. For some, it even prevents reading about Paganism for fear of "going to hell" for witnessing "forbidden" information. Fear can prevent people from finishing rituals in process. Worst of all, it can prevent you from working through a valid learning experience.

The reason why this happens is similar to the reasons most of us survive a bedwetting phase as children. We're afraid of the unknown; crossing into ritual practice means possibly raising the monster that used to live under our beds--and he doesn't just want toenail clippings anymore. We fear failure: what if disaster happens when we mispronounce a syllable? Will the cat turn into a puma and the house burn down? Will we have to face the embarrassment of doing this silly ritual only to find it doesn't work, and end up feeling even more foolish? These fears can't be blamed on all the times we had to wake our parents to change the sheets--they can be roundly and cheerfully blamed on society. Once you're finished blaming your favorite targets and feel better, go on to the next paragraph.

Getting rid of fear doesn't do much good. Facing and conquering fear or ignoring it like the pestiferous child it is probably creates more productive results, magically speaking.

Examine your fears and choose a method of coping. The methods generally involve emotional management. For example, when I first started practicing, my fear came from the strange sensations I felt from the energies I raised. I had to develop a way to find out if these energies were normal or something that I should, as a matter of self-preservation, avoid.

I handled my problem by practicing circle casting. I got to the point where I can meditate on the type of circle I want surrounding me and the same energy sensation that used to spook me surrounds and satisfies me, since it's exactly what I want.

Other methods of handling fear of performing rituals involve slow immersion, short rituals, and protection spells. The method depends on the person. If adjusting to energy sensations is the problem, try shorter rituals--even just casting a circle, calling the quarters, and promptly dismissing them. Once you are more comfortable, move onto actually "doing something" while in the circle. If you feel you have to do a ritual because some emergency arises where you have a driving need to use magic, a protection spell as a preliminary is the best "quickie" way to conquer fear available. Many protection spells are easily located both on the Internet and in Pagan material published. A protection spell gives assurance to the subconscious mind that what you are doing is safe, and reinforces, too, that you have made it safe for yourself.

If these suggestions don't give you the motivation you need to take that first step, then commune with your deity to face this problem, or in the words of a beloved pugnacious three year old, "Get over it!" Ritual involves experience. Experience includes fear. To grow spiritually and psychically, you must experience fear and somehow work with it. Ritual could be the first step.
by Diana Olsen,
copyright 2000

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

-----Original Message-----
From: Jan Malone <magikalwitch@yahoo.co.uk>
To: 13Witches <13Witches@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Fri, Sep 2, 2011 3:26 pm
Subject: [13Witches] any help please

Merry meet everyone, I am new to the craft an I am looking for some help on actually getting started,
I am the kind of person who works on their own with anything and so I would like some step by step instructions on how I can start my path that I have choosen but I am a little nervous that I may do something wrong I have most of the items needed for doing rituals, spells etc but I think I need a little support from others from the group.
I would lso like to thank everyone for the posts that have been posted as I have enjoyed reading them all and there are some really fantastic posts that have been very interesting, anyway I would be very great if anyone is prepared to help me get myself going, but I need to go back to the basics again because i think I've jumped ahead of myself
Thank you very much for your time i would be very grateful
Blessed Be everyone
magikalwitch

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10.: Wind

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:43 pm (PDT)

Wind

The magic of wind has long been revered. Invisible, powerful, and unpredictable, wind has inspired poetry, music, and prayer. Wind stokes fires, rips away rooftops, and dries flooded fields. An invisible force in our everyday lives, wind can awaken awe and wonder.

I became fascinated with the wind when I was invited to go sailing with a friend. Being silently spirited across the bay with nothing but air powering us, I found myself curious about humankind's relationship with wind and realized I hadn't fully appreciated its complexity. I also realized that my daily practice of honoring the Earth had neglected to include this beautiful natural force.

Waking to the Wind

I am indebted to the art of sailing for awakening my senses to the wonder of wind. At the top of the mast of most sailboats is a small swiveling arrow that points in the direction from which the wind is coming. This, I discovered, was essential information to navigate the boat. I became fascinated with trying to "feel" where the wind was coming from before I looked to the arrow and soon became conscious of sudden shifts in wind direction. I learned that wind in our little bay typically comes from the west, and drops in strength around dusk. When the wind shifts to come from the east, stormy weather is on its way.

I noticed that despite the invisibility of wind, it could paint its course upon the water and you could see gusts of wind in the waves before it filled your sails. I learned that for centuries, sailors have used ritual, prayer, and song to invoke the winds. Knots would be ritualistically untied to unleash winds when ships floated motionless on still oceans. Offerings would be given to the sea in hopes that damaging gales would be averted. It wasn't long before my adventures in sailing led to further musings about the wind.

Winds Personified

Wind has long been seen as having spiritual, supernatural, and human attributes. In Greek mythology, winds originated from each of the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) and each was believed to have a distinct personality. These winds were called the Anemoi, and they were also associated with the season they most often appeared in. Sometimes they were personified as gods or goddesses. In Roman mythology, the gods of the wind were called the Venti. Although they had different names, they were similar in attributes to the Greek gods.

The west wind was referred to as Zephyrus and was associated with gentleness, spring breezes, and mild weather. Sometimes the word zephyr is used as a synonym for gentle breeze. The north wind was known as Boreas. He was the god of winter and was said to reside in the cold mountains of Thrake. The ancient Greeks were fond of stories in which Boreas and Zephyrus coupled with mares in early spring, coming to them in the form of wind-formed stallions. The offspring of these couplings were believed to be the fastest of all horses. Boreas was usually depicted in Greek art as a strong winged god, sometimes with ice in his hair or beard. Sometimes he is shown as a face with puffed up cheeks, blowing air into the clouds. Notus was the south wind, associated with summer and autumn rains. Eurus was the west wind. He was usually associated with the autumn, and thought to live in the east, near the Sun god Helios.

Wind Attributes

From a practical perspective, it is helpful to look to the attributes of wind as you explore ways to integrate wind magic into your daily spiritual practice. As each wind has associations with a direction and a season (which sometimes varied depending on a culture's location and weather patterns), pairing wind ritual with the attributes of the cardinal direction makes magical sense.

Prayers or rituals honoring the east wind are helpful when you wish to embrace rebirth, change, or problem solving. This is because the east wind is associated with spring and the arrival of cleansing rains. Use east wind magic from the Spring Equinox until the Summer Solstice.

The west wind is associated with autumn and with the period of time from the Autumn Equinox until the Winter Solstice. This is a time of fruition and harvest, and wind magic during this period is particularly useful for addressing love and friendship.

The north wind is an active force from the Winter Solstice until the Spring Equinox. North winds herald winter, a perfect time to retreat to the inner world, to work on issues that have been presenting themselves through the year, and to banish bad habits and ways of thinking that have not been useful or fruitful for you.

The south wind heralds summer and is active from the Summer Solstice until the Autumn Equinox. This is a wonderful time for rituals related to growth, realization, and action. It is also a time of abundance, so money rituals are recommended.

Everyday Wind Magic

You don't need to be a scholar of Greek mythology or a skilled sailor to practice wind magic. There are countless ways to bring the power of the wind into your everyday life. If your magical rituals involve invocation of the cardinal directions, simply begin by including reference to the winds of each direction as well. This will raise your consciousness and enhance your ritual.

If you practice outdoors, consider the location of your altar or circle. It is in an open area where wind direction and speed are easily felt? If you prefer a more sheltered area for your rituals, perhaps you could find a separate location for wind rituals and venture there on special occasions. Hilltops and open fields clear of buildings or groves are excellent locations to commune with the winds. Stand for a moment in your special location and feel the wind on your face and in your hair. Close your eyes and listen for the wind in nearby trees or passing over the water. Note the rustling of leaves, the whistling of wind through branches, and the lapping of waves--all signs that trees and water have been kissed by the wind. If you are able to tell the wind direction, call it by name and thank it for its presence. Reflect on what is happening in your life and in your inner world, and ask for assistance with meeting the challenges you are facing. Some people find it rewarding to wear flowing clothing that moves in the wind during such rituals.

Consider, too, everyday tasks that might require wind, such as laundry. If you are not already taking advantage of Mother Nature's clothes dryer, consider putting up a clothesline. I didn't realize the beautiful scent of the wind until I began hanging clothes on a line. Don't be shy about asking the wind to bless articles of clothing you plan to wear for special occasions. For instance, hang clothes you are wearing to a job interview in a strong east wind (before the rain comes!) and ask the power of change to infuse the clothing.

Seeing the Wind

Flags and windsocks are wonderful additions to your practice and can be a visible reminder of the presence of a wind spirit. Any purchased flag or windsock will do, but creating your own can add magical meaning. They can be painted or decorated using colors or symbols that are meaningful to you and your magical tradition. If you have a flagpole in your outdoor ritual space, you may design a flag for each wind direction, and hang them as appropriate to weather or ritual.

The addition of flags or windsocks to your outdoor ritual space (or simply in your garden, on your balcony, or in your yard) will remind you of the constant movement of wind around you and the many ways it can bless your life. You can even enjoy such reminders when you are on the road by tying a small piece of cloth (about four inches long and the thickness of a piece of tape) to the antenna of your car. When parked, it will serve as a subtle indicator of the winds that are blowing. If you live in an apartment, or if health or mobility keeps you indoors, you can also fashion a small flag and use a household fan to move air from the desired direction!

Wind chimes, whirl-a-gigs, and simple bubble blowers (the kind that children play with) can also be incorporated into ritual to bring the power of wind into your consciousness. Bubbles carrying loving wishes to friends and family can be blown into a west wind, or into an east wind if we have a desire for change.

Prayer flags have been used for centuries throughout Tibet, China, Persia, and India. These flags were hung, usually along long pieces of rope strung between trees, over doorways, or in sacred places. They were often fashioned in colors corresponding to the elements, or healing words or mantras were written upon them. The flag's energy was awakened as the wind passed over it, and healing vibrations were carried through the area. Some prayer flags were made with materials designed to disintegrate as the wind and other elements touched them over time. The slow disappearance of the words on the flag and the eventual wearing away of the material symbolized the way in which our intentions become one with the world around us.

May the healing winds of change bless you as you find ways to honor this force in your everyday life.
by Harmony Usher

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
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11a.: Herbs

Posted by: "hrokr8" hrokr8@yahoo.com hrokr8

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:44 pm (PDT)

I got a question. What herbs are good for enhancing (stimulating, etc.), nasal decongestant? I'm particularly interested in finding herbs that might help with a stuffed up head - nose ears and throat in particular. I have a couple ideas, but would definitely be grateful for some ideas!

I've been sick this last week. Too much MUCUS!

Blessed Be,

Merletta Rut

(P.S. I don't have insurance, and I don't have a family doctor, i.e., no money... I went to talk to a pharmacists - they are great at helping people in the community at no cost. However, I really want a grasp on what herbs would be useful. I've always had sinus problems, since... age 5!...)

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11b.: Re: Herbs

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 5:29 pm (PDT)

I got a question. What herbs are good for enhancing (stimulating, etc.), nasal decongestant? I'm particularly interested in finding herbs that might help with a stuffed up head - nose ears and throat in particular. I have a couple ideas, but would definitely be grateful for some ideas!

Onions
Although not an herb, raw onions are a well known decongestant. They are so strong that even the act of cutting them up can help to loosen up nasal congestion.

Anything Hot and Spicy

Once again, no surprise here. If you have ever eaten at an authentic Southern, Mexican, or Far Eastern restaurant, you know how much spicy food can make you sniff and sweat. Any hot pepper, or even wasabi. If it burns, it should clear you up!

Other Decongestant Herbs and Supplements

Tea made from herbs like fresh ginger and peppermint
Vitamin C
Marshmallow Root
Mullein
Eyebright

Here is an Indian remedy that I ran across. I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Add 2 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of turmuric powder to a mug of warm milk. Have this at least 2-3 times a day.

Non-Food Decongestants

An old and effective treatment for congestion is to use steam. Take a hot shower. Boil a pot of water with a little Eucalyptus added to it. Or even put your face over a steaming hot pan of water and make a tent over your head with a towel. (Be careful that you don't burn yourself.)

Inhaling salt water is also a natural decongestant, and it probably works really well. Not my preferred method though.

It's interesting to note that most of the natural decongestant treatments can also be used as a form of mild torture. Kind of a frying pan into the fire thing.

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhisperingWitches/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagickalMeals/
http://groups.yahoo/group/NightshaydesNews

-----Original Message-----
From: hrokr8 <hrokr8@yahoo.com>
To: 13Witches <13Witches@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 4, 2011 6:44 pm
Subject: [13Witches] Herbs

I got a question. What herbs are good for enhancing (stimulating, etc.), nasal decongestant? I'm particularly interested in finding herbs that might help with a stuffed up head - nose ears and throat in particular. I have a couple ideas, but would definitely be grateful for some ideas!

I've been sick this last week. Too much MUCUS!

Blessed Be,

Merletta Rut

(P.S. I don't have insurance, and I don't have a family doctor, i.e., no money... I went to talk to a pharmacists - they are great at helping people in the community at no cost. However, I really want a grasp on what herbs would be useful. I've always had sinus problems, since... age 5!...)

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12.: I loved this one...

Posted by: "hrokr8" hrokr8@yahoo.com hrokr8

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:44 pm (PDT)

It was at the end of one of the lists of what tools a witch needs.... It made me laugh, i.e., a bit of whimsy, yet how wonderfully practical. It is so easy to get distracted by things on the physical plane, like a car outside, a phone ringing or ... the cold! Great one!

SOCKS

In Minnesota where I live, it can get really cold, and running around
on a chilly wood floor with bare feet is far from pleasant. A warm pair
of wool ritual socks can be prepared by simply purifying them with incense and salt water, and maybe a touch of oil from the altar setup.

:)
Merletta Rut

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13.1.: Elder's Meditation of the Day

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:06 pm (PDT)

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"Once you have achieved this oneness, when you talk, God talks; when you act, God acts."

-- Chuck Ross, LAKOTA

In my innermost self, I know this to be true. I know of this oneness. The more I am free of doubt, jealousy, judgment, selfishness, anger, the closer I am to this oneness. When I am right with the Creator, nothing can touch me. When I am right with the Creator I always say the right things. When I am right with the Creator, my thoughts are always good. When I am right with the Creator, my actions are always good.

Great Spirit, remove from me those things that block me from You. Allow me this day to experience the oneness.
from www.whitebison.org

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
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14a.: Hermes the Traveler Spell

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:17 pm (PDT)

Hermes the Traveler Spell

To protect someone traveling to you, burn a red candle to promote strength, good health, and protection. Anoint the candle with sandalwood oil for focus and protection and clove oil for extra protection each day they are on the road. Say: "As my loved one travels night and day, Hermes protect him (or her) on the way!"

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
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15a.: Draining Negativity Spell

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:17 pm (PDT)

Draining Negativity Spell

To rid yourself of excess negativity, pour a cup of dark, old liquid such as stale coffee or tea into an old paper cup. Send all that's bothering you into the cup, visualizing the bad energy leaving you and flowing into the liquid. Turn on the faucet at the sink, and pour the liquid into the drain. Say these or similar words:

Drain, drain, drain away,
All my pain and strain leaves today.

Watch it swirl away, out of your house and out of your life. Let the water run for a while, then toss a pinch of salt into the drain to purify it. Burn or throw away the paper cup. This spell is best done on the dark of the Moon, but is effective anytime.

by deTraci Regula

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

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16.: I Wish!!!

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:17 pm (PDT)

If only they really made these for my chronic insomnia!

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
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17a.: Autumn

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:18 pm (PDT)

Autumn

Harvest

Bring it in
Bring it home
Crunchy cackling ghosty shadows
Sort the seeds and berries
Gather what the witches love
Leave a little by the bush
To feed the Forest Faeries

The Autumn Equinox heralds the "Season of the Witch." A time when the life-force energy is returning to the roots in preparation for the deliciously inner recesses of Winter. In our human lives Autumn signals a time to clarify and integrate what we gathered from our Summer experiences, determining what is valuable, wise, wondrous and useful, as well as learning to let go of what is not.

Using your journal, explore what's going on in your life at this time, judging and acting on your own behalf--your own be-wholing, what is best for you!

The following is a good, simple recipe-ritual for letting go. Gather lengths of natural fiber rope, thick and thin, long and short, each one corresponding to a particular issue that you are addressing and releasing. Be specific. Do not use a person's name, but name what it is that binds you to that person, speaking strongly and assuredly aloud. Then, one by one, with a pair of scissors, cut each length into smaller and smaller pieces until you can't recognize it as rope.

As you cut, say what it is you are releasing or disconnecting from. For example: "My past holds no power over me. I disconnect easily from the haunting and hurt. I no longer need to linger on it." When you are finished, bury the cut-up pieces along with your favorite flower bulbs: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc. If you live in an apartment, find a wooded place or an empty lot. Wait to see what blossoms anew in the Spring.

by Nancy Blair,
Goddesses for Every Season

Blessed Be,
Lady Nightshayde

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/13Witches/
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18a.: Who Was Mabon?

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:19 pm (PDT)

Who Was Mabon?

We modern Pagans often celebrate the Autumn Equinox by the name Mabon. Unlike most of our Celtic names for Sabbats, Mabon is Welsh, meaning simply, Son. So Mabon is someone's name: in full, Mabon ap Modron, Son, son of Mother.

H.R. Ellis-Davidson quotes the Venerable Bede, who translates Modron as the Mothers -- plural. Modern translators give it as the Mother -- singular. Linguistic evidence may well support the plural interpretation, for although Mabon ap is unequivocally Welsh, Modron may not be: in Saxon, the singular of Modron becomes Modr -- recognizably mother. Suddenly we have, not as was always believed a corruption of the Latin Matrona, but good Germanic. All very scholarly, but it doesn't tell us much about Mabon, does it?

Actually, it does. The first thing it tells us is that he (more likely, He) is old, so old he's the son of a Mother, rather than a Father. Mabon may be from a matrilineal culture as we know pre-Christian Wales to have been. If the Saxon connection holds up, He may be the result of a cultural fusion, indicating more borrowing between the British Celts and the Saxon invaders than has previously been assumed. And He bears many of the signs of a sacred king, losing whatever mortal name he had to become only the Mother's Son, ruling and dying in Her name alone.

Well into the Christian period, the Mothers referred collectively to the female land spirits known to the Norse as Disir and elsewhere by many, mostly now lost, other names. Up through the 19th century they were often called White Ladies. The plural name recognized the multiplicity of that energy/entity/being we now call the Great Mother.

The Mothers were conceived-of as a kind of pool of feminine ancestral energy, not in the same category as the "high" Gods, the ones in Asgard, or at Tara or the Court of Don, but deeper, older, and to most people actually more important.

The Mothers' function was to give life-energy to a particular place, and to keep that energy flowing in a form helpful to human endeavor. A particular Mother would be worshipped by name by those living in Her district, but most people recognized that their local Modr was in fact one of many Modron.

The only myth we have about Mabon says that within minutes of his birth, he was stolen from between his mother's side and the wall next to which she lay. By whom, is not known. He was imprisoned in a castle, on an island in a lake, until his uncle, King Arthur, obeying a prophecy, freed him to participate in the adventure called The Wooing of Olwen.

It appears that the interval between the abduction and the rescue of Mabon may have been only a few years, or even as little as a few months, yet Arthur rescued not an infant but a young man. After which Mabon vanishes from the body of myth.

Apparently, the only elements of Mabon's life that were important enough to be passed on were his birth, abduction, and rescue; even his exploits (if any) during the Wooing were not recorded. Yet it is these elements which tell us who he may have been.

There is another divine Son in Welsh mythology with a remarkably similar tale. And this tale names Names.

The Tale of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, from Lady Guest's translation of the Mabinogi, is the story of a semi-divine King or Prince of North Wales. Single and without an heir, he spends the night on top of a sacred mound, hoping to "see a wonder" that may guide him in his search for the wife his people beg for and his counselors continually urge on him.

There he encounters a beautiful faery horsewoman whom, after many trials that aren't germane here, he marries. They live entirely as mortals, and eventually conceive a child, to the great rejoicing of the people.

In the meantime, one of Pwyll's vassal knights has a strange problem: every November eve his best mare foals, and every year the foal vanishes before morning. This year he decides that's not acceptable. He sits up all night in the stable, and shortly after midnight a monstrous claw comes in through the window, seizes the foal, and begins to withdraw. The good knight, Teirnyon, takes his sword and severs the claw. He then discovers within the claw not only his foal, but a baby boy.

He and his wife, childless, decide to raise the boy as their own, and to give him the foal to break when he's old enough. To their shock, though, the boy grows at the same rate as the foal. By the next autumn, he's a strapping youth who can easily keep up with the yearling horse. And his foster parents begin to notice how much he looks like their Prince. Their consciences begin to bother them about keeping him, and they travel to the palace to show him to Pwyll.

The situation at the palace is anything but normal. The Queen has been condemned to stand at the mounting-block, offering to carry all visitors into the palace on her back. The crime for which she endures this bizarre punishment is infanticide: she was accused -- unanimously -- by her ladies in waiting of giving birth to a son and then eating him. Her story was that shortly after she gave birth, last November eve, a monstrous claw came through the window, seized the baby from between her side and the wall next to which she lay, and withdrew. The counselors of the court found this rather unbelievable, accepted the ladies' story, and sentenced her, since she had done something only animals do by eating her own young, to function not just as an animal but as a beast of burden.

When Teirnyon and his retinue arrive, all is made clear. Pwyll and his Queen acknowledge the boy as their own. His mother gives him a name: Pryderi. Taken from the words she spoke when she learned the truth, it means, roughly, Sorrow's End. Pwyll and the Queen commend and richly reward the knight for his care of their son, and send them all home again, this time to raise not just a foundling but the royal fosterling.

So we have a name for the Mabon. And by now the reader knows the Modron's as well.

In Celtic countries, the custom was that children inherited from whichever parent was of the higher rank. A Goddess definitely outranks a king. Mabon ap Modron is none other than Prideri son of Rhiannon, lady of the singing birds. And Rhiannnon is Herself an aspect of the Lady of Sovereignty, Epona. Her name in turn relates to "hippos," horse, and explains both the way in which Pwyll met Her and the form Her punishment took, to bear guests on Her back. It also makes it possible to connect Her myth to those of other Horse-Goddesses of the British Isles, such as Macha.

The human-child and the foal are presented as virtual brothers, growing at the same rate, both great runners. Possibility certainly exists for an older version of the myth in which they were actually twins, both sons of Rhiannon. Such human/animal twinnings are common in myths world-wide, and always indicate a powerful totem.

All this makes one curious about the venerable White Horse of Uffington. How old is it? Who drew it on the chalk, and is it an icon of Rhiannon?

It is known that the down-lands around the White Horse effigy were once the stronghold of several inter-related tribes of Britons who lived by horse-herding and raiding. They lived in palisaded forts, practicing no agriculture, not because it was unknown to them but because they held farmers in contempt. Though greatly feared by their lowlands neighbors, their wild, undisciplined fighting style was no match for the Roman cavalry, and they were destroyed. There is some evidence that the mysterious and stubbornly primitive fenlanders (conjectural source of Tolkien's mewlips), who survived among England's fens and bogs until the great drainages of the last 200 years, may have been refugees from these tribes. It has long been believed that the White Horse was carved into the chalk by these great horsemen.

But the White Horse may equally be no older than the Saxons. History tells us that the Saxon invasions were led by two brothers, Hengist and Horsa. Their names mean stallion and mare, and some historians believe that they were co-priests of the powerful Saxon horse-cult. They may have been "brothers" not in the sense of sons of the same mother, but by affinity and/or oath, and given the gender difference of their names, ritual homosexuality may have been a feature of their priesthood.

Folk-legend around the White Horse makes it a place to go for supernatural help, like the Cerne Giant, when one wishes to conceive. The procedure varies from mere touching of the chalk to having sex within the figure. (N.B. Considering how very visible a pair of dark figures would be against the white chalk, they would have to be pretty desperate!)

This returns us to the myth of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and its repeated theme of the demands of the people and counselors that the Prince produce an heir.

It was the need for an heir and thus a wife which sent Pwyll to the fairy mound in search of "a wonder", this need which made his counselors urge Pwyll to set Rhiannon aside when she did not conceive immediately, this need which made her ladies, in fear for their own lives, accuse her of cannibalism. The very fertility of the land depended on the demonstrated potency of the King, the fecundity of the Queen. It was especially urgent that a good king, a wise ruler as Pwyll was said to be, consolidate his right to rule by getting an heir on the Queen, since it was through her connection to the land, the living embodiment of the Modr, that he ruled at all.

Our Mabon is a harvest festival, centering around the apple harvest. Though like other harvest rites it centers around a God, it is the only one in which the theme does not include ritual sacrifice or death. Even the wrongly-accused mother was not condemned to death, as surely must have been the sentence for such a heinous act, but to atonement through an onerous and symbolic punishment.

Unlike cereal grains, or for that matter most plants, a fruit tree need not die in order to make seed. Like humans and other land-animals, fruit trees bear "young" without apparent harm. Humans can eat fruit entirely without guilt, indeed, our eating the fruit and spitting out the seeds helps the tree reproduce.

John Barleycorn must be propitiated; Mabon needs only liberation. And that may be His mystery.

It is Mabon's connection to the apple which re-connects him with Arthur, and with the Mothers-plural. Much of the Arthurian myth takes place in and around Glastonbury, strongly identified with Avalon -- the Isle of Apples and of otherworldly women. Arthur's sword came from the Lady of the Lake, identified as the Welsh Goddess Angharad, who dwelt on an island which seemed to -- or perhaps did -- move around, disappearing whenever mortals would intrude. The real-life Glastonbury Tor is itself the magically disappearing island, since in Spring the lowlands around it flood, leaving the hill an island, then gradually drain away during the Summer. By September the land is bone dry and one can walk to the Tor. It is to Avalon that Arthur's Queens -- the fairy women who guided his destiny -- carried him at his death.

It is difficult at first to find a connection between the apple and the horse except for the well known equine love of eating them. But we've established the connection between apples and water above, and the connection in what we could call the pan European mythos between the horse and water is equally strongly established. From Poseidon ("Spouse of the Goddess"), the earth-quaking sea-god who took the form of a horse, to the name "white horses" for the waves kicked up wind, the horse and the sea are linked. In Celtic myth, a kind of water spirit called a kelpie could appear either in fresh or salt water -- more often fresh -- as a small, beautiful horse which carried off children. As previously mentioned, the name Epona has the same root as Hippos (and Hippolita, horsewoman); it is my belief that there may also be a connection with Despoina, the feminine form of despot, which originally meant not tyrant but ruler. It is usually translated Mistress. The Despoina appears to have been the title of the Cretan priestess of Persephone/Hecate, who also could take the form of a horse and to whom horse-sacrifices were offered.

So the connection between apples and horses is through their function as revealers of the mysteries of the Modron, the Earth Mother(s). Both horse and apple are also connected with water, with its ability to both guard the mystery -- Mabon on the island -- and grant limited access to it, as at Glastonbury.

Who was Mabon? Not Whose son was Mabon? but who was He in his own right?

Out of apples and horses and mystical islands, out of travelers between the worlds and Mothers nine or thirteen or nine-times-nine, an answer forms. And I am reminded of all those stone age petroglyphs of the single male figure surrounded by women. I have to conclude that Mabon had a much more extensive and influential role in his world than that of mere abductee or sacred prisoner. He may even have had a title we would recognize today, that of the Black Man. In The Old Straight Track, Alfred Watkins makes a strong case for Black Man as the title of the priests of the culture that designed the leys, the sacred pathways across country.

Who was Mabon? He was the child of the Earth and the Otherworld, hereditary priest of the Mothers and King of Avalon.
by Dana Corby
copyright 1997, Rantin' Raven Pamphleteers

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Lady Nightshayde

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19.1.: Aromatherapy Tip

Posted by: "Lady Nightshayde" LadyNightshayde9@aol.com nightshayde99

Sun Sep 4, 2011 7:22 pm (PDT)

Germ Buster Wipes
Try this germ fighting blend.
Mix equal parts of Lavender, Thyme and Eucalyptus. Use in a spray
bottle to wipe down surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom.
Moisten paper towels with this blend and wipe over surfaces.
from www.aromathyme.com

The light of a hundred stars cannot equal the light of the Moon.

Love Each Day,
Lady Nightshayde

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duminică, 4 septembrie 2011

[13Witches] Digest Number 7555

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