Brid's Closet "Random Thoughts"

Book signing, workshops & readings w/Raven and Stephanie Grimassi

2011-10-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

	The latest newsletter!! October 6, 2011

Book signing, workshop & reading w/Raven & Stephanie Grimassi! Oct.7 & 8th

at Brid's Closet

296 Main street

Cornwall NY 12518 (845) 458-8726

bernadette@bridscloset.com

http://www.bridscloset.com

Friday's events!

Oct. 7th, 2011

Brid's Closet

1PM until 6PM

Readings by appointment

$45 per reading, per person

Book signing for Raven's new Book "Old World Witchcraft"

We are offering for those who purchase a book the day of the signing, a limited edition poster-free with each book sold. The catch is you have to be present and purchase a book from Brid's Closet!

Wine, cheese and snacks throughout the day!

Saturday's events!

October 8th, 2011

Brid's Closet

Readings from 11am until 2PM

WORKSHOP-OLD WORLD WITCHCRAFT

4 to 6 PM

$35 per person for a 2 hour workshop

FULL MOON CELEBRATION

@Palaia Vineyards

10 Sweet Clover Road

Highland Mills 10930

Open to all $5 per person, pot luck.

If you bring food, please remember that you must take any leftovers home. There is no place to store any food.

Raven will be signing his new book

OLD WORLD WITCHCRAFT

which will be available at the store!

Don't hesitate to call us for more information at 845-458-8726.

We are happy to help-I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Bernadette Montana

Brid's Closet

Readings are by appointment only. Please contact me for details!

Bernadette@bridscloset.com

(845) 458-8726

Old World Witchcraft

Workshop

Do you long to know the hidden ways from days of old? Come and learn about the soul of the Old World Witch, a mentality of primal magic and awareness.

Discover the meaning of the "Thorn-blooded Witch" and how this intimately connects with the Plant Kingdom and its spirits.

Through this class you will learn about the magical and spiritual tradition of the witch with deep roots in the Spirit of the Land.

Doorways are explored that lie hidden in the concept of the primal forest, sacred trees, and a mystical center known as the Hallow. Included in this workshop is the

teaching of "She of the White Round" and "He of the Deep Wooded Places" - early ideas about the Divine

This is a 2 hour workshop with a 10 minute break, and time for Q & A

My thoughts on 9/11-an update 2011

2011-09-10T15:29:00.000-04:00

Ground Zero today 2011

My thoughts on 9/11-an update on my original posting, 3 years later

The World Trade center being built

I originally posted this three years ago. This posting has been edited and updated.

My thoughts on 9/11
I was watching CNN with my oldest son (Jonathon) that day. I made him a bowl of cereal, made myself a cup of tea, and sat down to watch the television. I then went into the bedroom where I was listening to Howard Stern on the radio (Yes-I’m a female that likes Stern), when he (Howard Stern) mentioned that an airplane hit the World Trade Center and that he thought it could possibly be a joke. My son yelled to me to go into the kitchen (where we were watching TV), and the announcers were yelling and trying to confirm an explosion at WTC building 1. All we could do is to watch. It felt as if we were in a nightmare. I kept trying to call a girlfriend of mine who I knew worked at building 7. My son and I cried and held each other throughout much of that day.
My friend survived, but she (all of us) are not the same. The horrors that she saw, the pain in her face, the bodies she saw falling, the women who had to run on shattered glass, because they couldn’t run in heels, the body part she saw falling through the front window of the car she and her co-workers were going to use to drive away.
I saw her for maybe month after 9/11, and I never saw her again. She told me she was going away, taking a break, getting counseling…

I never forgot her..Carol

I will never forget an old friend named Ricardo Quinn how was a volunteer EMS, who died that day
and I will ever forget holding onto my son… guess we now know what’s important in life!

Yep-I was born and raised in Manhattan. When the World Trade Center was being built, I would go with my dad to have a bag lunch and to watch it’s progress as it grew to be the the “biggest building” in the US. That was a good memory. Taking the train to the World Trade Center with my sons in tow to go to the observatory or to take the Path train to Jersey City. Those where good times as well. The picture that I chose is one of the WTC being built. Guess this is what I would prefer to see and to remember.

It is now two years later. There are memorials on site and the area looks totally different. It saddens me to think that some people still think that hatred is the way to go. There was a news article that I read about some fool wanting to burn the Koran on September 11. He says that felt that WE needed to stand up for ourselves. This attack had NOTHING to do with religion! It was ALL about money and the hatred that we should let go of. After this horrendous day, I saw people really trying to help other recover from what had happened. How many people, of all different religions-Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and more, died that day? New York and the rest of the world suffered that day. We suffered because of our losses as human beings and the hatred of ignorant people. Burning the Koran will only incite anger. Anger is something that we all can do without.

Three years have gone by since my original posting. The thought of this day still gives me the chills! There are certain things that I feel needs to be addressed on the this, the 10th year anniversary of 9/11. For this years memorial, the mayor of NYC has issues a statement where he has "asked" that first responders need not come to this event. He state's that there is not enough space to accommodate everyone, and that the this event should be for the families of the victims. I am a little confused by this. The first responders are our heroes! The police, EMS, the firefighters risked their lives to save the people that they did. These people should be honored! Why are they NOT recognized? I am quite confused by this.

Give a kiss or do something nice for someone that you love on 9/11. That would be a great way to honor this day!

Blessings to everyone here!

Bernadette

Classes for Solitary witches

2011-09-09T12:44:00.000-04:00

I have been getting a lot of requests from individuals who want a chance to study the craft but really have no time to devote, to being in a coven. This is due to lack of time, children, work etc.

What I will be doing for this community, is to have a correspondence course, that will be backed up with bi-weekly video conferencing! I am really excited about doing this! I have spoken to many in my community here, many of our elders, and other authors about this, and all seems to really like this idea and will be watching to see how this pans out!

This is what I have so far...

Each student will sign up for a year and a day. A curriculum will be provided, as well as homework. We will go over each lesson in a bi-weekly class. Each class can have up to 12 students (as that is what my video conferencing program is capable of). With each "video" class, we will go over homework and the lessons based on suggested reading, and research. Each class will be scheduled ahead of time.

We will also have guest teachers who will give special lectures, again by appointment. These people may be other authors, elders in our community and/or initiated members of The coven of The Star and Crescent Moon.

The tradition that I belong to, has a 3 degree system. 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree. The course will bring you up to "self-dedication."
Self dedication" means that you have dedicated yourself to the study of Wiccan and the God and Goddess.

If the individual student wants to achieve their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree, then I take that off-line, with that student and we can make private arrangements for that ceremony, from there. I do not give out initiations on-line. Once this first series of classes is done, the next series will begin, and then each student will given first choice (remember-only 12 students per session) if they would like to continue their studies.

Cost will be $240 for each "year and a day" course.
This is some (and not limited to) of what will covered in this class:
Required books with homework
History
Ethics
Carl Jung (psychology)
Joseph Cambell
The wheel of the year
The elements
Structure of a Coven
Tarot
Mythology..The Goddess & Gods
Our Elders

$120 (1/2 to be paid up front to reserve your space) then the remaining $120 to be paid by the first class. No exceptions! No refunds for any missed classes, but all classes will be archived so each student can refer to them afterwards! Only 12 students per session.

I would like to start this class on November 1st!

Pagan communty

2011-09-06T14:29:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about our community today (and when am not), and thinking about how it has changed and evolved over these many years.
Wicca and Paganism has evolved in such a way, that it's changing with the needs of our community. It "tries" not to be stagnant. I am blessed with the fact that I can speak with many of our elders in our community and as a result, the ability to really get a good background as to "what was" witchcraft in the 50's, 60's and 70's. This is fantastic! I started on my path in the 80's and it continues to this day!

One of the biggest changes that I see is how "open" Wicca & witchcraft has become. When I was younger, still living in NYC, I would go and visit all the various shops and try to learn all I could about the craft. There really was no internet to speak of, so bookshops and Occult shops where the way to go. Going to open rituals was another way for me to network and learn from others.
Now all a curious person has to do, is go turn on your computer, type a question or a term into "Google", and you've got an answer! There are many more shops now, tons of pagan festivals, meetup groups and now-online covens! Over the years, I have been interviewed for shows on the television, the newspapers, and podcasts!

Todays witch has to be well educated. One should study the works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. Take courses and study the theology of other religions. It would help to have at least a basic understanding of psychology and have a millions books of mythology! Understanding the history of various cultures is very helpful. Having a computer is a must these days. I always ask my students and others that are just "searching" to do the research..not to just take "my word" but to question and come up with the answers needed.

I am now working with video conferencing for my "solitary" students, so I can help them with their studies! Not everyone can be in a coven or a grove. Some prefer to be on their own, or have too many responsibilities to make it to a class or meeting. Video conferencing helps me to keep in contact with others all over the world!

Imagine that! Did you ever think this was going to happen "back in the day?" How exciting! Just imagine what will be happening in the years to come!

Hurricane Irene, Brid's Closet and me!

2011-09-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

I am totally exhausted today. The three days of cleaning up after the hurricane has really taken a toll on me. Drinking lots of tea...well...isn't doing for me anymore!
In the long run, I really can't complain. The store suffered minimal, if any damage! The carpets where soaked with muddy water which had to be vacuumed dry. This took about 3 days of constant work. Then comes the shampooing AND using the wet/dry vacuum-again and again until the smell is gone! Many of my community came to help! Pizza was supplied to anyone who would help out on the first day (Monday) that I was allowed back into the store.
Let me tell/show you why I feel so blessed!
Cornwall is a little town about 1 1/2 hours from NYC. There are a few mountain ranges around here, the Hudson river runs through here, and tons of small creeks, streams and ponds.
The storm started to hit around 8 or 9 in the evening (Friday night), so I went to stay with my kids in Goshen NY (another small town, about 1/2 from Brid's Closet), in case the lights went out, check on my animals and to basically be the protector (yes-my sons are all adults..BUT..fill in the blanks as you see fit) in case anything goes wrong.
The rain was torrential, but in the part of Goshen that the house is in, we had not real repercussions. The lights stayed on...the internet and cable stayed on. The only thing that was lost was cell phone service.
That was NOT the case for Cornwall...
That morning, people started to send me images through email, of the store and of Main street, where my store resides. It seems that the Canterbury creek-which is about 1 block for me, crested and overflowed it's banks. The force of the water actually moved cars! One police car was turned totally around, and lots of debris was sent down Main street. The driveway right next to me was washed away, and the water came to my door-front, washed away the plants and other items that where not bolted down, and entered my store by making its way under my door.
Many places where severely damaged by the water. One business had soo much water enter the basement, that it rose into the first floor ruining all the equipment that they had. One family was left homeless. Bridges where totally wiped out..some roads are gone..permanently! In the pictures below, the blue building is where my store is.
I am truly blessed! I can deal with hard work and wet carpets! Makes one humble at times...makes this witch think....

Breakfast with Raymond Buckland!

2011-07-28T07:17:00.001-04:00

On July 20th, I had the pleasure of meeting Raymond Buckland at the beautiful town of Lily Dale!
About two months ago, I was able to do an interview with Raymond. In conversation, I mentioned that I was going up to a festival (Summerfest) with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone. The Summerfest festival is only about 20 minutes away from Lily Dale where Raymond was teaching classes and conducting seances.
I went to Lily Dale with some of the most wonderful ladies/ friends anyone could ever have! Miriam did the driving, and the rest of us (Courtney, Lisa, and me) did the talking and laughing!
First-I have to say just how beautiful Lily Dale is! The whole town (which is quite small) is immaculate and quaint!
We met Raymond at The Maple Wood hotel. Raymond waited for us on the front porch.
We all met and introduced ourselves, and walked over to a restaurant for some breakfast. Poor Raymond had to deal with many questions from all of us witches! Everything from "how was witchcraft practiced in it's early days" to "what direction do you see witchcraft going to today?"
Afterwards, we took time together to take pictures, both inside the restaurant and outside on the lawn.
It was an honor to have breakfast with Raymond. To meet with an elder is something I would never take for granted! It was also an honor to be there with such fantastic ladies and fellow witches!
Blessings! )0(
Bernadette

The Sundance channel

2011-07-14T09:29:00.001-04:00

On July 12th, 2011 the Sundance channel aired an episode called "the paranormal" from a show called "Love/lust". It's a show that focuses on what's trendy or fashionable in New York.
I was interviewed for this show, a few weeks ago. The producers/directors found me thru the Internet and thru their own searches for witches.
They treated me well and the questions asked where very good, which is unusual these days. They interviewed me for approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Being that I've been in media, I have to admit that I was nervous about how they where going to edit the footage and how I was going to be portrayed.
I was pleasantly surprised! The show itself could have been better because they still went with the glam angle with some of the witches that where interviewed, or with some of the scenes from "rituals" that where shot.
It was great that they didn't make me look bad, and overall-I was happy with the footage of my interview. Only 5-8 minutes of the interview was used-but I was ok with that. You can download the interview on iTunes. The show is "love lust" episode "the paranormal"
Here's to the next interview!

The Ramones, The Misfits & syncronicity!

2011-07-10T08:35:00.001-04:00

Its strange how things work out. I've always been a huge fan of the Ramones and the Misfits. Grew up listening to them. Hung out with the Ramones (just casually-hey how are you-when's the next show stuff). Saw both bands more times then I care to remember (many a bruise from being in the mosh pit) and have just been a part of this scene forever. I've also interviewed Johnny Ramone in the past and spoken to all of them at various events since the '80s. The misfits where not as available as I am from manhattan and did not hang out with them, tho I must have seen the Misfits perform around 10 times or so (yes-Even when Danzig and Graves performed)!
I knew many families growing up. In manhattan, you grow up to know lots of people. One of those families where the Brennens. My parents knew them-I knew them...etc.
Johnny Brennan's sister married a person named Dennis weir. Had a few kids and divorced. Dennis married my sister-so now those children became part of the Montana ( my family) by default. Johnny and Brett Weir where great friends. Brett married another sister of mine (I have 3 younger sisters and one older brother). They had kids...divorced many years later.
Brett and Johnny used to always bring in these tapes that where hysterical! All different characters making prank calls! We all loved them! These where the original jerky boys tapes. They decided to have a phone line where people could call in and hear these calls-great ideas!
Long story short-Howard Stern heard about this and the rest is history!
I recently started doing some work for West West side studios. The owner mentioned to me that the person who manages the estates of the Ramones and the Misfits was coming up. This person worked with Johnny Brennan in the past in a movie by the Insane Clown Posse.
I wrote to Johnny asking if he wanted to meet this person (John C). He absolutely wanted see him again because they both lost touch with one another, and Johnny has been trying to meetup with him for ages!
Johnny and I went to the studios and talked with Alan (owner of said studios) and waited for John C. To show up ( it was to be a surprise!)
It was a great meeting to say the least! I was happy to see friends re-connect. Just strange to how things happen....still mulling it over!

The 'Hymn to Bridget'

2011-07-03T21:02:00.000-04:00

I was thinking of Isaac Bonewits today. I am working on a workshop for the Goddess Brid today and she was very special to Isaac. He's be soo happy about me doing this workshop..so Isaac..this video is for you!

Brid's Closet "The Messenger" Happy 4th of July Issue!

2011-07-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

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Brid's Closet "The Messenger"
Happy 4th of July Issue!

What's new and exciting in our community!

July 2011

In This Issue

Thoughts...

Tarot readings and Healing sessions by Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone! July 15th and 17th

Trance-Prophesy One Day Intensive Workshop with Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone!

The ethics of spells or, I wanna get what I want and I want it now! by Bernadette Montana
Ok, so I am being a bit silly here, but doesn't this ring true on some level?
I wanted to talk about ethics today. Why ethics? Because it is essential that you understand just how important it is to know, that what you do with magic, or spell-work, will affect others. Many people would call this the law of three. It's kind of like that saying "what goes around, comes around".
Understanding this principle will help you to understand how spell crafting works. Intention is another principle. In order to perform a proper spell, you have to know exactly what you need or what it is that you want.
What is your intention?
What is your state of mind?
What is needed?
What will happen as a result of your actions?
Intention: An 's intention in performing an action is his or her specific purpose in doing so, the end or goal that is aimed at, or intended to accomplish. Whether an action is successful or unsuccessful depends at least on whether the intended result was brought about. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intention
What is YOUR intention? Think this one out carefully. Be direct and straight to the point. Know what it is that you want from the spell or working.
So-let's formulate your need or want. If it is a job that you want, have you thought it out? Why do you want it? Is it really the one for you? Are you qualified for this position? Are you able to carry out all of the responsibilities that this job requires?
State of mind-think about this one. Are you angry? Can someone be hurt by this spell? Here is a good example of what I mean: You do a spell for a job that you really want, but will someone have to loose THEIR job in order for you to get it! Where you emotional when thinking of what you wanted?
What is needed: Do you have what is needed? Again, if you want a specific job, do you have the means to get there? Do you have the skills? If the spell is about love, are you able to handle the commitment?
What will happen as a result of your actions: Will anyone get hurt? If you do a love spell on a particular person, will it be changing their will? Remember the law of three here, if you change the will of another, will you be affecting your own will? Karma can be tough at times. Do you want to achieve something in order to "spite" someone? Kind of like this phrase "I'll show you"!
We touched a bit on love spells in my last article. Asking for the right one to come into your life, is far more "ethical" than changing the will of another. Let's look at a money/job spell.
Items needed:
Green candle
small piece of paper
prosperity incense
prosperity oil
The perfect job spell
Find a quiet space, cleanse this area (sage, Florida water, salt & water, or whatever you normally use.)
Write the spell on the paper.
Write on a green candle the kind of job you want and burn the candle saying:
"Do for me this important deed, the perfect job is what I need"
To use my skills and be sure to succeed
My this harm none, so mote it be!
Burn the paper, lighting it from the flame of the candle.
Let the candle burn out.
Be sure that you burn the candle in a heat proof container. Never leave any candle unattended.
Take any leftover candle wax and ashes, and bury them outside.
I hope that helps you in understanding how to work with spells. Please feel free to contact me here.! I would love to hear your comments, and your questions!
Blessings
Bernadette

Thoughts...
I wanted to take this time to say a few words about our community-what community is-and what it means to me. There are a lot of festivals going on (Our Beltane Festival is just one example), and there are some that shine above the rest. WHY? Not because of a big name being featured, or because the organizer has big bucks to do this, but because of the drive to a cause. This is what is important. Why is this happening? What is the goal? This is why I wanted to say a little something about The Odyssey Ridge Center for Inclusive Sacred Experience. This organization is run by Renee D'amoiselle. This is an example of what's right. Thank you to Renee for having heart and dedication to put on something like this. For the love and devotion for your cause and goal! CHEERS!

Tarot readings and Healing sessions by Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone! July 15th and 17th

Janet Farrar will be giving tarot readings at the store! We will be taking reservations for each reading. $50

Gavin Bone will be offering healing sessions for us! I will also be taking reservations for each session starting at 2 PM. $50

Cash Please...no credit cards accepted for these sessions

Available times for Janet and Gavin's sessions are as follows:

Please call to make a reservation for your session-I do expect to fill up quickly! We will have Janet & Gavin's many books at the store-they will love to autograph one for you!

Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone

For all those who don't know who we are, we are practising Wiccans (modern witches) and authors who publish books on the subjects of Paganism, Magick and Witchcraft. Prior to Stewart's death on the 7th February 2000, Janet and Stewart had published their works since 1971, and are recognised as experts on Witchcraft and the Occult. Gavin joined them in 1993, and have since worked with them on The Pagan Path, a study of Paganism worldwide, The Healing Craft, a healer's worksbook for Pagans, The Complete Dictionary of European God and Goddesses, and our most recent Progressive Witchcraft. To date, we have had eleven books between us, on the subjects mention, published in the United States, Britain and as far afield as Brazil, Japan and the Czech Republic.

Trance-Prophesy One Day Intensive Workshop with Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone! July 16th at Palaia Vineyards-10 sweet Clover Rd. Highland Mills

This cost of this full day class is $100-no exceptions! The store will be closed in order to be able to facilitate this class! Please bring a paper bag lunch with you as there are no stores nearby! This class will be held at the winery which is stunningly beautiful! We will have this class under a tent!

Introduction

Thank you for signing up for our Trance-Prophesy Intensive Workshop. We have been running this workshop now for the last four years. Originally it was a three-hour workshop but we found that this was not enough time to cover what is an advanced skill, so we went to a full day so everyone could be involved in the experience of Trance-Prophesy.

The schedule we have attached should be considered to be a guideline to the days activities. Because of the practical nature of this workshop, some aspects may end up taking longer that others. For this reason you will see that there is an optional element to the evening component of the workshop. If we have not completed the practical aspects of the workshop by 5.30pm then we will come back at 7.30pm to complete them, otherwise we will be running a Full Trance- Prophesy Ritual for those who wish to attend.

Even a whole day is really not enough to cover what is a very large subject, so we do recommend that if you can, you try to research the following subjects. This will help you considerably when it comes to understanding the content of the workshop and the techniques we employ:

Drawing Down the Moon in Wicca.

Jungian Psychology, particularly regarding Animal, Animus and Shadow.

Cosmology - Norse and Celtic world views: Particularly information regarding the Norse Yggdrasil (The Voluspa) and Druidic Cosmological thinking (Annwn, Abred, Ceugant etc)

The Chakras and Aura: The Structure of the bodies energy fields and centres.

Trance in Shamanism, Voudon and Santeria (being 'ridden' by the Loa)

Mediumship in Spiritualism and the techniques they use.

If you are unable to find material on all these subjects don't worry, as we will be providing handouts.

We do recommend you wear light comfortable clothing for the day, and if you have ritual robes bring them for the evening.

Blessed Be

Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone

Ritual

Janet and Gavin will be doing a full blown Dionysian ritual for us! How perfect as we will be this class at a winery surrounded by grape vines! We are all being asked to bring togas, capes and a headdress for this ritual! Do not go into this ritual with ANY pre-conceived ideas as to how this will be performed (as per Gavin!) Ecstatic dance will be a part of ritual!

Contact me at bernadette@bridscloset.com if you have any questions in regards to this workshop

4th of July at Brid's Closet!

I hope that everyone has a most wonderful 4th of July holiday! It always winds up to be a fun day at the store..people come to hang out for the day, bring cold drinks, bring snacks and a lawn chair in order to watch the parade! If you have going to stop by-please remember that no street parking is allowed so I do recommend parking at the strip mall and walking to Brid's Closet. Let me know if you're coming by! Please be carefull-don't drink and drive!

Upcoming Events

CraftWise College

July 18th - 24th, 2011
Brushwood Folklore Center, Sherman, NY presented during SummerFest-Featuring:Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone Donata Ahern ,Gretchen Schork-Stone Carver-Zimra Cat McGowan-Carole Callen -Courtney Weber -Yust Lundberg- Bernadette Montana-Claudia Messier

http://www.craftwisecollegeevents.com/offered-classes-2011.html

Community Celebration Event

7:00 PM August 20 2008

and in closing... Thank you to all who have contributed much to out community! Please send in your submissions and stories, your events and items that you would like seen in this newsletter! If you would like to advertise here...the cost is $10 for a link and a small graphic.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl Jung

Contact Info

Bernadette Montana
845-458-8726
www.bridscloset.com
bernadette@bridscloset.com
Join our Meetup group!

http://www.meetup.com/thenewburghandcornwallwitchesmeetup/
Our Social network!
http://www.bridscloset.ning.com
Our Blog!
http://bridscloset-randomthoughts.blogspot.com

Transprophesy workshop

Tarot reading w/Janet Farrar-Healing session w/Gavin Bone

Save 5% 5% off of all tarot readings & Reiki Sessions!
Offer Expires: July 30th, 2011

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Brid's Closet | 296 Main Street | Cornwall | NY | 12518

Thoughts

2011-06-16T09:36:00.001-04:00

What do you do when people write to you for advice but the issue at hand is a very personal one AND can cause problems for you on a political end? How would you handle this?
I received an email today asking for help with a terrible situation that involves another "spiritual" leader. Mind you-I am using that term VERY lightly!
My thoughts are to tread lightly and reiterate what it means to be Wiccan and a Witch! If I am grasping this situation correctly, then the unethical person IS NOT a Wiccan and has no concept of the law of three-no matter how you interpret it! Any ideas out there?

2011-06-12T22:32:00.001-04:00

Figuring out new ideas for a new blog that I want to start. I would like to blog about the music business that I am now a part of. I have worked in media for many years now. In the 80's I hung out in the village when the punk/hardcore scene started. The bands that I would see/promote-be friends where many...from the Ramones to The Misfits to Agnostic Front. From there I started to work at ABC and then ran a small "punk" radio show in the 80's. Worked with the Robert Klien radio show until I moved away from the city to Orange county NY. This is when I started working at Rock Fantasy and writing for a now defunct Rock magazine called Rock the Nation. When that ended, I started booking hardcore/punk bands all over the county. I did this for many years until the scene died down in this part of NY. I am now the projects coordinator for West West Side music, while still maintaining my business as a very busy witch who owns a very busy metaphysical store called Brid's Closet! More to come!

An Interview with Judika Illes by Bernadette Montana

2011-05-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

An Interview with Judika Illes!

May 10th, 2011 | Author: Bernadette-Montana

Next in out series of interviews is the very prolific author, Judika Illes! In today’s interview, Judika talks about her love of magic, her many books and her diverse background.

Bernadette:
We would love to hear a little bit about your background Judika! Many of your books deal with magic from many different backgrounds and cultures, so I’d love to hear about your background and influences!
Judika:
Well, I’m from Queens, one of New York City’s outer boroughs, which partially explains my comfort and familiarity with different cultures. Queens is reputedly the most ethnically-diverse place on Earth. I come from a fairly international family—I have relatives all over the place. I was the first person in my family to be born in the United States. I grew up with people from lots of different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and spiritual traditions, so I was raised to be tolerant and not make assumptions about people.
I think that personally I am a fairly good example of an urban magical practitioner. Magical practitioners from major urban centers like New York are constantly learning from each other, trading and sharing information, and evolving new traditions. The traditions I learned at home were mainly Central and Eastern European, but I was also heavily influenced by people who taught me African-American, Latin-American, Caribbean, North African, and East Asian traditions. Other influences on me include the great occult stores that flourished in New York City during my youth, before rising rents drove them out of business—great stores like Samuel Weiser’s Books and Magickal Childe, and all the botanicas and wonderful herb stores like Aphrodisia, which just closed recently. Growing up, there was also an unofficial but strong and distinct local New York style of magic, mainly an amalgamation of Western occultism and Puerto Rican traditions, especially Espiritismo—I’m very much a product of my background.
Bernadette:
Tell us about what inspires you to write Judika. Your books are great sources of information for anyone interested in metaphysics. How do you go about compiling and researching all information that needed to complete the books that you write?
Judika:
What inspires me to write is my love for my topics. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to write about subjects I love, like spells and witchcraft, saints and spirits. I enjoy the researching process- that part is fun and I would do it for myself, whether I was published or not.
Writing itself is difficult, but I feel an obligation to my material, to preserve it and also to present it in the clearest possible way, so that readers can share in my passions. I love divination, for instance, and I want other people to love it, too. My motivations aren’t entirely unselfish—I think that there’s greater safety for my community of magical practitioners and fortune-tellers if the greater public really understands what it is that we do. Historically, it has been dangerous to practice these arts, as it still is in some places today. I hope that my writing helps dispel fear and misinformation.
My research derives from a combination of personal exploration, learning from books and learning from other people. By nature, I’m a fairly shy person, but I’m a fearless researcher. I contact perfect strangers, if I perceive that they have information needed for one of my books or if I need someone to teach me something or explain something to me—I’ve made some wonderful friends this way.
Bernadette:
Do you have “other” interests or hobbies?
Judika:
Oh, yeah, lots—although whether I have time to devote to them depends on my writing schedule. I love beading and cooking. I read a lot just for my own pleasure: history, mysteries, comic books, art books. I love music. I like to watch movies. I tend to accumulate stuff- I’m an avid collector, especially of witchcraft-themed items like postcards and dolls. I love traveling. Given the opportunity, I’d do all my own field research, if I could.
Bernadette:
What’s in the future for Judika? What projects do you have coming up?
Judika:
My next book, The Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saint, and Sages will be published in November 2011. It’s another thousand-page encyclopedia, this one exploring saints, holy people, and miracle-workers from many spiritual traditions. It’s a practical work, similar to my Encyclopedia of Spirits, containing information regarding how to venerate and communicate with a wide variety of saints, as well as information on how to determine which saints are most compatible with you and helpful for your own particular problems and issues. I’m also in the process of updating my website and, hopefully, doing some more teaching. Having spent much of the last ten years alone in a room writing, I really appreciate opportunities for personal contact. I have some new classes in the works that I’m very excited about.
Bernadette:
Is there a book that you would like to write, but haven’t done so yet?

Judika:
I would actually like to write some fiction someday—I have a few novels turning around in my head that haven’t made it onto paper yet. I also have several half-completed books. The Encyclopedia of Spirits was initially going to incorporate saints and angels alongside Pagan spirits but the manuscript grew too big. The easiest way to trim it was to delete these categories with the hope that someday they would have their own books. The Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints, and Sages will be published in November and hopefully the angels will one day have their own encyclopedia, too.
I began my writing career with a large work on fertility that remains unpublished. That manuscript contains a chapter of magic spells. A publisher rejected the book, but liked that chapter, which evolved into my first published work, Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting. I would very much like to eventually publish my fertility book.
Bernadette:
I wanted to let people know about your musical background..can you tell us a little about that?
Judika:
I know that’s something we share, Bernadette! My first true loves were music, magic spells, and divination and they remain so today. Some of my earliest memories involve listening to music on the radio and eventually I became a disc jockey. I started off hosting a blues show, but also did standard rock programs and would sometimes fill in for the country and jazz hosts. My taste is eclectic. As with the magical arts, I love and appreciate many styles of music. I was the first female music director of WRSU-FM, the radio station affiliated with Rutgers University. In terms of the craft of writing, the writers who have influenced me the most are the music journalists of the ‘70s, who wrote with clarity and humor and were not afraid to wear their passions on their respective sleeves. When I was eighteen, my career plans involved these musically-oriented paths, but free-form radio was in its death-throes, as was that sort of music journalism, so I ended up on different paths, although, who knows? Radio has evolved and I may return to it someday. The urge to share music with other people spills out of me on facebook, where I’m constantly posting music news and sharing youtube videos.
Bernadette:
How do you feel about the pagan community today?
Judika:
I try to approach people as individuals, regardless of their background. I think that we are blessed to live in a spiritual renaissance and that we should be ever-vigilant to preserve hard-won liberties. I think that it’s crucial that we cultivate tolerance for each other.
Bernadette:
Any advice for aspiring pagan writers?
Judika:
People are constantly writing to me, telling me what book they think I should write next—sometimes describing these books in great detail. And what I always tell them is that if you can “see” a book that doesn’t yet exist, then maybe you’re meant to be the one that writes it. That’s how I began my career—I perceived a need for a book and I could “see” the book that would fulfill that need. If you can see it, then you can write it. This is a good time for spiritual publishing, so don’t wait. If you have a book in your head, put it down on paper. Just write it— it’s easier to fix or embellish something that already exists, rather than agonize over words in your head. My other word of advice is to consider the format in which you would like to present your work. If you hope to actually publish something in book form—whether in a traditional book or an e-book—then don’t post too much of the actual work on the internet: save it for the book itself.
This interview was such a pleasure to do! Judika’s books have become the”mainstay” of anyone who is interested in the study of spells and magic. I refer to her books on a daily basis!
Here are just some of her many books:

http://www.judikaIlles.com

Brid's Closet News-Beltane Festival news!

2011-04-21T17:48:00.000-04:00

Brid's Closet News-Beltane Festival news!

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Brid's Closet Newsletter	Beltane festival News! Apri 21 2011

in this issue

:: Beltane stuff-UPDATES

:: New Tarot class

:: Get yer Raffles here!

:: Articles & Submissions-NEW ARTICLE

Beltane blessings from Brid's Closet!

We have only 9 days to go for our Beltane Festival! Our Vendors this year will surly please! Handmade Jewelry, Handcrafted pottery, Photo ID's for kids, Stand Glass art, Oil's, incense and much more!
We will have Carolyn Turgeon reading from her brand new book called "Mermaid". Stop by to have your book autographed and have a chat with her! And don't forget-We have many workshops to choose from!
The festival was featured in two articles since our last newsletter. One was on Cornwall and Cornwall on Hudson news, and-The Sentinel. The word is getting out!

We are asking for as many people as possible to pre-register! It really helps out to have you lovely folks to pre-register!

$25 per person-under 12 free! The $25 fee includes all workshops-entertainment AND parking!
We have a full staff to answer any questions that you may have while you are enjoying your time with us! Just look for anyone wearing a Brid's Closet badge!
This picture is from last year's event!

Beltane Festival 2011

Bernadette
Brid's Closet
Bernadette@bridscloset.com

Beltane Stuff!
Info-entertainment-workshops $25 per person-under 12 free! All workshops, parking & entertainment are included. Lots of vendors for shopping!
This years line-up will be as follows:

Raven Grimassi & Stephanie Taylor

Magic and Its Ritual Tools : Work with and learn how to prepare, empower, and use ritual tools. The focus of this talk is upon the pentacle, wand, dagger, and chalice as tools in the Art of Witchcraft.

Developing a Personal Magical Consciousness: Create and work with the "magical persona" as a means of empowering your magical and ritual abilities. This talk focuses on the development of a magical consciousness that can be invoked for a variety of purposes. The two primary intentions are to empower or enhance the practitioners magical abilities, and for protection against negative energies or entities.

Kellianna!

Kellianna is an American pagan artist internationally performing song and chant inspired by myth, magic, sacred places & ancient times. With guitar and vocals she brings to life the stories and sagas of the Gods and Goddesses.
With Native American frame drum and chant she honors the Earth and the Ancestors using primal drumming and powerful vocals.
Discography:
Lady Moon 2004
I Walk with the Goddess 2007
Elemental 2010
Voice of the Goddess Vol. 1 2009 -
compilation by Run Wild Records
www.kellianna.com
kellianna@kellianna.com

Elizabeth Muise & Shane Chickles

Elizabeth Muise, Sarah Jezebel Wood will be belly dancing & Shane Chikeles

Boom Boom Shake

A collaboration of Sarah Jezebel Wood, Elizabeth Muise and Shane Chikeles

Beguiling bellydancers sweep your hearts and minds away as pulsating rhythms of the doumbek played by Shane mesmerize. Sure to entrance, these sassy ladies and classy gent bring a good time in hips, heels and hands.

Blending the ancient with the contemporary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Shane bring you a timeless encounter that is sure to entertain and inspire! These gypsy's make a living, living art. Savoring the ephemeral and celebrating that which is soulful and passionate as they deliver a show that is mysterious, powerful and intelligent. Mixing modern sensibilities with archaic visions, they bring you an experience that plays the wide range of human emotions from the silly to the heartfelt, the dark to the light.

Raquy and the Cavemen

will be performing their unique brand of middle eastern/Rock music!
Workshops on tap will be:
Elizabeth Muise & Shane Chikeles-Belly dancing & drumming
Bear OneFlower: Magickal Defense
Chuck Finfrock: Magickal ethics & Elemental Spirits.
Heather Killian: Faces of the Morrigu
Arthur Mitchell: Partner Yoga
George Courtney: Astrology
Lisa Vasquez: Magickal Baths and cleansing
Chandra Concepcion: Elemental Psychic Defense

Beltane Festival 2011

Links-friends & cool people/businesses!
Our Social Network!
http://bridscloset.ning.com/

Brid's Closet Meetup Group!
http://www.meetup.com/thenewburghandcornwallwitchesmeetup/

Suzanne Rae Deshchidn - freelance editor
www.srdediting..com

Christopher Penczak
http://www.christopherpenczak.com/

Judika Illes
Http://www.judikailles.com

Elizabeth Muise - Belly Dance, artist, teacher
www.redmuise.com

The Frenchy and the Punk (formally know as The Gypsy Nomads)
http://www.frenchyandthepunk.com/

Raquy and the Cavemen
www.raquyandthecavemen.com

Kellianna
www.kelliana.com

Raven & Stephanie Grimassi
www.ravengrimassi.net

Breaking the Chains Podcast
www.breakingthechainspodcast.com

Sacred Mists Online Wiccan College
www.workingwitches.com

Our meetup group!
http://www.meetup.com/thenewburghandcornwallwitchesmeetup/

Our Social Network!
www.bridscloset.ning.com

Tarot of the boroughs
http://www.tarotoftheboroughs.com/index.html

Palaia Vineyards
http://palaiavineyards.com/

2 Alices
http://www.2alicescoffee.com/2_Alices_Coffee_Lounge/index.html.html

Pagans world
http://www.pagansworld.org/

A Touch of glass and...then some!
http://www.atouchofglassand.com/

Satori Nation
http://satorination.com

If you would like your link to be included in this section-please contact me at:

bernadette@bridscloset.com

$10 for a link & a graphic

$5 for a link

That's it for now! I hope all is well with you! Please feel free to forward this newsletter! If you have any questions about any of our event's or classes, please contact me at:
bernadette@bridscloset.com

Bernadette Montana
Brid's Closet

Save 15% off of any of our herbs. Normally $3.00 per ounce
Offer Expires: 4/30/2011

Get Yer' Raffles!
Raffles-prizes-door prizes!

We are selling raffles in order to raise the money needed to put on such a large event! Everything from the rental of tents, space, tents, entertainment, insurance and advertisement cost money. In order to keep going with such an event for our community, we decided to sell raffles! Each raffle is $10. Only 1,500 will be sold!
1st prize is $1,500, 2nd prize is $1,000, 3rd prize is $500. Hourly door prizes will also be awarded!

Articles and Submissions!
Send in your articles, poems, news, upcoming events!
This is an article that I found about Beltane and how it is celebrated by the Celts-Enjoy!

Beltane

Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' (Bel was a Celtic deity). It is a fire festival that celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year.

Celtic festivals often tied in with the needs of the community. In spring time, at the beginning of the farming calendar, everybody would be hoping for a fruitful year for their families and fields.

Beltane rituals would often include courting: for example, young men and women collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires in the evening. These rituals would often lead to matches and marriages, either immediately in the coming summer or autumn.

Other festivities involved fire which was thought to cleanse, purify and increase fertility. Cattle were often passed between two fires and the properties of the flame and the smoke were seen to ensure the fertility of the herd.

Today Pagans believe that at Beltane the God (to whom the Goddess gave birth at the Winter Solstice) achieves the strength and maturity to court and become lover to the Goddess. So although what happens in the fields has lost its significance for most Pagans today, the creation of fertility is still an important issue.

Emma Restall Orr, a modern day Druid, speaks of the 'fertility of our personal creativity'. (Spirits of the Sacred Grove, pub. Thorsons, 1998, pg.110). She is referring to the need for active and creative lives. We need fertile minds for our work, our families and our interests.

Fire is still the most important element of most Beltane celebrations and there are many traditions associated with it. It is seen to have purifying qualities which cleanse and revitalise. People leap over the Beltane fire to bring good fortune, fertility (of mind, body and spirit) and happiness through the coming year.

The tradition of dancing round the maypole contains sexual imagery and is still very popular with modern Pagans.

The largest Beltane celebrations in the UK are held in Edinburgh. Fires are lit at night and festivities carry on until dawn. All around the UK fires are lit and private celebrations are held amongst covens and groves (groups of Pagans) to mark the start of the summer.

Brid's Closet Tarot course!
We will be offering our complete course again at Brid's Closet! This 10 week course will take you from the beginning to advanced! Starting in May (after the Beltane festival Tuesday evenings. I you have taken this class from me before-now is a good time to refresh your skills! More info to come!

MORE LINKS to our vendors/sponsors who will be at our festival!

http://iamamermaid.com/

www.tarotoftheboroughs.com

www.facebook.com/PaulFKorker.photographer

http://www.DeadlyThreads.com

http://www.upstateblacknblue.com/

The Steam Punk Worlds Faire

Scrying Mirrors, readings

http://www.diviningdamoiselle.com/

email: dianastjohn@live.com
www.diana.stjohn@prudentialserls.com

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Brid's Closet | 296 Main Street | Cornwall | NY | 12518

Bookseller Profile – Bernadette Montana of Brid’s Closet

2011-03-29T11:43:00.001-04:00

Bookseller Profile – Bernadette Montana of Brid’s Closet

I am going to state this as plainly as I can – we need booksellers. We need the local independents, the Mom and Pop stores, the funky used paperback vendors, and yes, even the local mega-chains. We need them because they are owned and run by people who live for books. You can walk into a bookstore with only a vague yearning for something that will fill a few hours on a plane and leave with the literary love of your life - courtesy of an informed and insightful bookseller.

This is particularly true of specialty bookstores – run by individuals who sacrifice free time and financial security in support of small publishers, unknown authors and under-appreciated genres. They run on enthusiasm and a keen insight into their customer base – and they deserve our support.

So in honor of these heroes of the literary world, Ankhie is offering up a series of Bookseller Profiles – a spot in the blogosphere for these frontline warriors to speak for themselves about the dangers and delights of a threatened profession.

To start things off, I asked Bernadette Montana, the proprietress of Brid’s Closet in Cornwall New York to write about a day in the life of a metaphysical bookstore owner. It’s a fantasy that I know a lot of us share. What could be better than running your own business, surrounded by esoteric books, magickal tools and mysterious oils, unguents and herbs? I think that Bernadette would tell you that nothing is better – which is part of why her shop is so successful and so well beloved by all members of the occult community. Read on, and enjoy A Day in the Life of Brid’s Closet!

From the minute I open the store, people are waiting for me. Not necessarily to buy product, but to talk. While this is going on, I am trying to answer maybe 300 emails a day. Half of these emails come from students of my intuitive tarot class or from the social networks that I belong to. The other half come from my coven mates, the pagan community, and others that I network with. After I TRY to do this, I read the tarot for my customers, sell product for the shop, book appointments for readings and make plans for any weddings or handfastings that I need to perform, and then prepare for evening classes. And while doing all this, our festival is being planned!

In regards to the store, I make my own magickal oils and herbal preparations. When someone comes in with a special need, I will do the research needed and then make what that person needs.There are also medicinal needs as well. Colds, stomach aches, cuts and headaches all need tending to! People come to me for blessings and counsel.

I network quite a bit. It’s the best way to get the word out for any business. It may not sound very magickal but I still run a small business and have to do what I can so the business can make the bills. Whether it is donating to the public library for raffles or filming a short clip with Monster TV. The networking aspect is the way any modern pagan can find other communities to practice with. We have the largest pagan Meetup group in Orange County NY. In doing this, it is vitally important that I keep in contact with many in the community! Hosting authors and musicians for our festival and ceremonies are an important part of why I network.

Brid’s Closet also holds many events for this large and growing community! We hold open Full Moon and Holiday celebrations that are open to all! The Ostara ritual had 46 people. Beltane is huge for us! This year Raven and Stephanie Grimassi will be at our festival. Last year we had Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone. I hold a festival that is getting a little bigger every year. The planning involved is enough to keep anyone up for a month! From stage building and logistics, to printing the brochure and determining the entertainment schedule, the Beltane festival is always on my mind. Planning is done on a daily basis as this festival is so big, that it takes approximately one year to plan. Once the festival is held, the next one is already in the works!

Tarot is a big part of what I do during the day. These sessions tend to be very deep. There are times when it turns into a counseling session rather than just a tarot reading. Learning how to deal with a person’s issues is essential. It can be a very emotional time for both the customer and myself. I try to be sensitive to their needs if they are sitting in front of me or on the phone or online.

Most evenings I teach classes. The topics vary from Wicca, herbs, oils, tarot, to those requested by the community. I also teach the tarot and write articles/interview elders, authors, and teachers for an online Wiccan College called Sacred Mists. With the intuitive tarot class, I grade homework and attend their online forums. Every Wednesday is coven night. The group here consists of the inner circle and a very large “outer” circle group. Finding a balance between the needs of the pagan community at large and the coven is something I work at every day. We also have many authors and teachers come to the store to do readings and workshops for us. Some of these names are Judika Illes, Isaac and Phaedra Bonewits, Raven & Stephanie Grimassi, Dorothy Morrison, Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone and Lilith Dorsey.

I guess I never really realized just how much goes on in this store! Actually, Brid’s Closet is not just a store. It’s a home, a spiritual meeting place, a church. A place for most to relax. I am blessed to have this place and blessed to love what I do.

Blessings,

Bernadette

Brid’s Closet

Brid’s Closet is located in lovely Cornwall New York, and definitely worth a trip.

Bernadette can be contacted there or through:

Brid’s Closet “Random Thoughts” Blog and Podcast

Facebook

and Brid’s Closet Spiritual Circle

An Interview with Christopher Penczak by Bernadette Montana

2011-03-21T17:25:00.001-04:00

An Interview with Christopher Penczak by Bernadette Montana
March 21st, 2011 | Author: Bernadette-Montana

Christopher Penczak

We now continue with our series of interviews with noted author Christopher Penczak!

Bernadette:

Many of the celebrations of the Wheel of the Year were originally created and celebrated by a culture that were no longer a hunter-gatherer society but were an agricultural society.
Many of us today are not following an agricultural lifestyle, though we receive the benefits of such.

Does this cultural change of today’s times warrant today’s pagans to reassess our magical celebrations?

Christopher:

While we’re not involved in an agricultural lifestyle, one could argue in terms of food, we still an agricultural society. Even when you don’t live on a farm, the markers of the season are important touchstones to the cycle of life in the course of a single year. The outer signs, such as the first flowers, the changing of the leaves or the rise and fall in sunlight indicate tides of life force that flow in our world, and its important as magickal people to be in touch with those tides. They influence our health, mood and magick. I think they are particularly important for those of us who are not living on a farm, to keep in touch with the lifetides that feed and support us.

I’m also a big advocate of the astrological markers of the Wheel of the Year, and many of my personal rituals and with my private magickal groups are star and underworld based, looking at the flow of the sun through the signs, and the alchemy that embodies. The fire festivals are always in a fixed sign, while the solar festivals are the transition between mutable and cardinal signs. Looking at the signs involved, and their shadow opposites, for example Taurus and Scorpio for Beltane and Samhain, give us a lot to work with magickally. The cycle is one of sovereignty in the inner mysteries, the cycle of the royal king and queen within us all, just as much as it is the agriculture itself. So my own adaption in the modern world is to focus on this aspect of the Wheel, and to ever go deeper in our connection to spirit through the living land.

Bernadette:

How much has Wicca changed, in the terms of what you have taught over the years. And do you find that the changes have been for the betterment or the detriment of the Craft.

Christopher:

Well, to quite a wise priestess in my life, everything serves the Goddess. I think all these changes, for good and ill, serve in the evolution of our Craft. Some break things down and some build them up. Both are needed. I think even the words we use have changed a lot. When I got involved in the Craft, which comparatively wasn’t that long ago, less than twenty years, we introduced ourselves to new people as practitioners of Earth Religions. Then used the term Pagan. Then used the term Wicca because no one knew what it meant and then got to the word Witchcraft. While the divide was still there between modern eclectic and solitary Wicca, and British Traditional Wicca, it wasn’t as public. Most people didn’t mean BTW unless they specifically said Traditional Wicca. I got my eyes opened when visiting the UK for the first time, and the divide was very evident and vocal. I had fun with both sides, but it was a bit weird. I think that has come to American now more fervently, and has been confused even more with the rise in popularity of British Traditional Witchcraft, separate from Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca. Those using that term today are more in the vein of Robert Cochrane, though many Alexandrians and Gardnerians use the term British Traditional Witchcraft rather than British Traditional Wicca. Confused yet? That’s why I tend to call myself a modern Witch, or perhaps it should be post modern Witch. I draw from all of these things which have influenced me, but not limited to any one of them.

I think in general the more shamanic elements have expanded in the Craft. When I began, Totemic Animals were something you knew about, but few taught you how to work with them directly in spirit. It was more like “hey what’s your sign?” but instead “hey what’s your totem?” The idea of reciprocity with the spirit world has certainly grown. I think at one time gods and spirits were like ingredients to a spell, rather than partners. There’s a lot more emphasis on the green world these days, beyond spells. Medicine, gardens and living relationships are keys which were not emphasized when I learned. I also think more independents and solitaries are talking about, and seeking the Mysteries, often by incorporating complimentary practices and traditions to a core of Witchcraft. The expansion of our understanding of the soul, and consciousness has grown, and I applaud that change.

I think the pagan reconstructionist revival has done a lot to add more traditional lore and culture to modern paganism and Wicca, though it’s also done some work to divorce it from the occult revival which I have a hard time accepting. While I suppose you can practice these things in a purely religious reconstructed context, it’s hard not to think of it as part of the British Occult Revival. Would we have general paganism without occultism? I’m not sure. Lots of things that were pretty standard to be exposed to when I started out are unknown among many new witches. I find that rather weird.

Right now I think we’re in an interesting dynamic pulling some back to traditional orthodoxies and others to push the edges in terms of exactly what Witchcraft is. I find the struggle interesting, and my role in it rather fun. Many modern practitioners see me as very modern, while some of the most traditional folk see me as more traditional than they might have previously thought. Of course, many are the exact opposite. I”m one for being grounded in tradition, but not being afraid to change, to ask questions and to reach to new things and new terminology if it brings us deeper.

Bernadette:

What do you think of the evolution of the public’s acceptance of Wicca ?

Christopher:

It’s quite amazing, isn’t it? Though at the same time, as it becomes more public, I wonder if it will lose a little of its allure. It is a mystery training for the soul and by nature, a bit taboo. Though the opportunity for interfaith education and out reach is greater than before and I’ve done a lot of interfaith work. I guess I’m rather mixed on the public acceptance. But I am a firm believer that in the coming aeon we as Witches, need to bring our own wisdom, mysteries and magick to the global table of religions as we move forward. I see us a balance point between the Earth and Star mysteries, and this balance is lacking in religious thought. At the same time, we need to be deepening and expanding our own theology and culture, as our modern movement has just been around for a little over sixty years.

Bernadette:

What made you decide to self publish? What titles will you be publishing?

Christopher:

I’ve had great experiences with major publishers and plan on continuing those experiences with future work that has more of a mainstream reach. My next Llewellyn book is the Witch’s Heart, which comes out in May of 2011. But some of my work was taking me in a more esoteric, grimoire like direction. I’ve been influenced in the last few years a lot more by Trad Craft groups and grimoires, as their imagery and poetry has matched some of my own personal experience. I saw my books having more art, poetry and in general being less linear and for lack of a better word, marketable. Rather than have a publishing committee ask me to change any of my art in terms of commerce, I decided to retain control and do it my own way. I still have incredible editors and production people who keep me in check in terms of good publishing, but my more unusual theological ideas, like those expressed in the Three Rays of Witchcraft work best without input from a corporation. Our second book, just released, is The Plant Spirit Familiar, with some unusual ideas about working with plants as you would a totem animal. Our third planned release is on trance techniques in Witchcraft, called The Gates of Witchcraft. We have a few other possible titles in the works for 2012, including some fund raising compilations for the Temple of Witchcraft, as well as a grimoire on the Morrighan and a multifaith look at Buddhism, Christianity and Paganism. After those are set, the Faeries have said its time for their book, so I must keep the Faeries happy.

Bernadette:

Describe what The Temple of Witchcraft is and it’s goals for the future?

Christopher:

The Temple of Witchcraft grew out of my work and classes. It started as a monthly meditation group that evolved into the first Inner Temple class. As they progressed, I worked on a five level system of training, involving five mysteries. They roughly break down to the oracular, fertility, ecstatic, gnostic and resurrection mysteries. The class hand outs get getting bigger and bigger, and eventually turned into the books and CDs, and my full time career. Over the years, though I didn’t intend it, a community and identity grew out of the classes and the sabbats some of us would put on. Many were looking for an identity, like those who specifically identify as Gardnerian, Feri, Cabot or Blue Star. Some even jokingly (and not so jokingly) referred to themselves as Christopherians and Penczakians. While I honor all those who have named traditions for what they have contributed, I feel that we don’t need any more traditions named after one person, as many people have been involved in the evolution of the teachings and community. A few years ago, the idea of an organization, then a nonprofit church, was introduced, to create something that would outlast any one individual and help organize education and community gatherings. We’ve been legally together for about two years, those the seeds for this all started back in 1998 or so.

We’ve obtained our 501c3e non profit status with the Federal Government, established a Mystery School, Seminary and Ministerial Church for the body of the community, with twelve areas of service based upon the twelve zodiac signs. Our idea is not a hierarchical system, but a network like a web, with the founders and board of directors guiding in the center, but each ministry having some autonomy. Our plans include a yearly festival, starting in June 2011, Templefest and an eventual indoor convention as well as the outdoor festival. We plan to raise money to purchase an area of land for our physical mystery school and seminary retreats, as well as to be able to provide public sabbats and other training and events. Currently we rent space for individual events but have sabbats, esbats, women’s group, educational series, healing circles and ministerial services. We’re based out of New Hampshire, but hope to expand to have more of a national presence once our base of operations is in a permanent NH location.

Bernadette:

What drives you to all that you do? Between all the writing that you do, teaching the online classes, running the temple and finding the time to go on the road to do all the workshops that you do-how do you find the time to fit it all in?

Christopher:

In the end it is about union with True Will for me. Once you have a sense of your purpose and mission, you move towards that continually. As you do, you are supported. I never would have consciously chosen this as my path ten or twenty years ago. I was a musician with aspirations of being a rock star. But regular spiritual and magickal work puts you in touch with your soul’s purpose, and things start to flow. Yes, times it’s very difficult and frustrating, but for the most part, it’s a joy. I’m very blessed to spend the majority of my time on magickal projects. I enjoy connecting to magickal people and hopefully inspiring, and in turn, learning from those whom I meet in classes and at events. Part of my success is good management skills from my life in an office before… blocking out time for work and play makes more effective time for everything. If I don’t book time off, it doesn’t happen. A friend said being self employed is great, you just work half days. Pick any twelve hours a day and work them. Also when you are self employed, not eating is a great motivation for getting things done. But when you love it, it doesn’t seem like work. When I’m on a roll for a book, rather than watch tv, I’ll continue writing because I”m in love with the process. I’ve found that most people who find that sense of true purpose have abundant energy to go forward and do it, and the universe supports them.

Bernadette:

Tell us more about your upcoming plans!

Christopher:

I think we’ve hit most of my major plans. I will be offering more of the online Witchcraft classes, as well as possibly starting a class on astrology, tarot and maybe angels. I have a few more ideas in mind for books, including a book on the Faery Folk from my own perspective. I want to continue to deepen the continuing education courses for the Temple, both seminary classes that teach the “soft skills” in leadership, management, mediation and communication, where I’m getting a lot of professional help from other Temple members, but also deepening the mysteries as I go deeper in my relationship with spirit. We plan on an advanced Dark Moon study group for Temple Ministers. On a personal note, I’ve been exploring Enochian (Thanks to the wonderful writings of Lon Milo DuQuette) and having a great time.

Bernadette:

I wanted to take this time to thank Christopher for taking the time to do this interview for us! I realize that this one person’s opinion, but I highly recommend reading his many books. The information is priceless! The subjects range from Witchcraft and magick to Reiki and mysticism. A must for anyone magickal library!
Christopher Penczak-Bio

Christopher Penczak is an award-winning author, teacher, and healing practitioner. He has studied extensively with witches, mystics, shamans, and healers in a variety of traditions from around the world to synthesize his own practice of magick and healing.

Formerly based in the music industry, Christopher was empowered by his spiritual experiences to live a magickal life, and began a full-time practice of teaching, writing, and seeing clients. He is the author of the award-winning Temple of Witchcraft series: The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, The Outer Temple of Witchcraft, The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, and The Living Temple of Witchcraft Volumes 1 and 2.

His other books include City Magick (Red Wheel/Weiser), Spirit Allies (Red Wheel/Weiser), Gay Witchcraft (Red Wheel/Weiser), Magick of Reiki, Sons of the Goddess, Ascension Magick, Instant Magick, The Mystic Foundation, The Witch’s Shield, The Witch’s Coin, and the forthcoming The Witch’s Heart. Christopher Penczak resides in New Hampshire. Visit him online at
www.christopherpenczak.com
www.templeofwitchcraft.org
www.coppercauldronpublishing.com
3 rays of Witchcraftreiki-penczakthe witches shield

An interview by Raymond Buckland by Bernadette Montana

2011-03-06T14:17:00.001-05:00

An interview by Raymond Buckland by Bernadette Montana
March 6th, 2011 | Author: Bernadette Montana

It is with great pleasure that I post this interview today! Raymond Buckland has always been a huge influence on me, and is someone who has helped to shape our wiccan community today.

Bernadette:

What inspired you to write The Chronicles of Kernow?

Raymond:

I think it was Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, though I have always loved fantasy and have played around with the idea of writing one for many years. I actually started on “Kernow” around 1980 but had to keep shelving it as other books became more necessary.

Bernadette:

Tell us more about the characters in your latest book The Torque of Kernow. Are Shyre, Sannungor, Keyran, Ozal, Yost, Lemal and Tage based on specific people? What is the basis of the story?

Raymond:

They are not based on specific people; just characters that came to me as a wide sampling of different types of people who would inhabit such a world. The basis of the story is that Kernow has been without a ruler for many years, due to an early king losing the Torque; the symbolic neck-piece without which no one can rule. The Torque had originally been presented to the people of Kernow by the giants of Albra. When an evil magician starts to invade the country a small group of “heroes” get together to fight back and they stumble upon clues that lead to the resting place of the Torque. There is great excitement at the possibility of Kernow once again having a ruler and so the search begins. It is a long and arduous trail and ends in a surprising victory for the people of Kernow.

Bernadette:

Can you tell us a bit about The Dragon’s Return and Wizards’ War?

Raymond:

I didn’t want to make this a trilogy. I wanted to write a number of stories about Kernow but each standing on its own. However, I did want to have a connecting link. In “The Dragons Return to Kernow”, therefore, the history picks up with Tele, who in the first book was a minor character, ten-year-old brother to the hero Shyre, now in his early twenties. He becomes involved with a young wizard (female wizard) in her desperate search for a stolen jewel which, if not returned, could lead to the destruction of Kernow. “Wizards’ War” just seemed like a great title for the third book in the series but, quite honestly, I haven’t been able to give a lot of thought to it yet!

Bernadette:

Will there be more titles that take place in the world of Kernow?

Raymond:

Hopefully, yes. Since each title is a stand-alone, then I would like to think that it could be an on-going series, virtually without end!

Bernadette:

Tell us about Raymond Buckland, the fiction writer…what is in store for us in the future?

Raymond:

I have been severely bitten by the Victorian mystery bug! I have just published my first, which is a mystery-thriller (it has been described as “Like the finest Dan Brown novel set in the age of Queen Victoria”), set in London in 1899. Now I am working on a more cozy-type series, set in 1886. This, again, I hope will be an on-going series. I have written the first three of these books — “The Penny Court Enquirers” — and my agent is presently negotiating with a publisher. But for my future writing as a whole, it is definitely in fiction and almost certainly in fantasies and mysteries.

I would like to hear their thoughts on where they see the Craft and overall Paganism going. In particular, what can we contribute to our world and how they see we can start doing that.

I have just returned from being a guest lecturer at an Ohio college, in a class on Witchcraft and Paganism (they use my “Big Blue” book as one of the text books) and see this as a wonderful indication of the progress of the Craft and Paganism. The Old Religion is definitely being taken seriously, with college and university studies. The Old Religion is now accepted in the armed forces, in penitentiaries, in hospitals. The pentagram has been endorsed as an acceptable symbol on the gravestones of veterans. The best thing we can all do is what we have, hopefully, been doing all along: to educate as much as we can on what constitutes Witchcraft and Paganism. To stand up for our rights. To not degrade any other religion nor to proselytize, but simply to show that we are sincere, dedicated followers of our beliefs.

Bernadette:

How much has Wicca changed, in the terms of what you have taught over the years. And do you find that the changes have been for the betterment or the detriment of the Craft.

Raymond:

There have been tremendous changes in that in the early days of Wicca in the U.S. there was really only the Gardnerian tradition visible. This was good to get the Craft established but the situation did need to change by offering greater variety of pagan religious experience. Over the years many other traditions have evolved and now I feel there is a healthy balance in that we – as a country of vastly different peoples – have a choice of traditions. We are all different and have different needs when it comes to worship and practice. However, as in all things, not all change has been for the best. Whether due to the proliferation of witchcraft and pagan misinformation in the media, or for whatever reason, we do have a tremendous movement of what is sometimes termed “fluffy bunny witches” — those who are just playing at it because it seems a fun thing to do! This is, within a certain element, a focus on “casting spells and working magic”, as though that were all that witchcraft was about. Happily I think there are enough serious, dedicated Witches and Pagans that the solid nucleus will continue, but there is a lot presented under the name banner which is really to the detriment of the Craft.

Bernadette:

What do they think of the evolution of the public’s acceptance of Wicca ?

Raymond:

I think it is wonderful. There are still many pockets of people who will never accept anything other than Christianity (for example), but that is to be expected. Speaking generally, I think the public has accepted Wicca for what it is — just another religion.

Bernadette:

Any thoughts on youth and Wicca/witchcraft/pagan/druid up bringing?

Raymond:

I think all pagan-oriented youth movement should be encouraged. The only caveat it to ensure that those teaching are fully qualified to do so.

Bernadette:

Many books today talk about how one partakes in ritual but they don’t address what it mean to be a Wiccan? So, what does it mean to be a Wiccan?

Raymond:

It means to acknowledge Nature in all its forms; to believe in the deities of old, by whatever names you may recognize them; to observe the rites that bring you into contact with those deities; to protect life in all its forms and to do harm to none.

Bernadette:

What brought you to this path? What inspired you to write the complete book of witchcraft? This book has become a standard for most people who study the path. Would you add anything/ or change anything today?

Raymond:

I don’t think I would change anything or add anything (Incidentally, later this year Llewellyn will be bringing out a special 25th anniversary edition of “Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft”). I was originally brought to this path by my background (half-blood Romany), my up-bringing, and more specifically by reading and studying the works of Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner, which led me to contacting Gardner with a desire to become a part of the Old Religion. I was inspired to write the book when I found, at that time, such a proliferation of misinformation which could mislead those serious seekers. I wanted to put out a basic foundation of what Witchcraft really is so that there would be something solid on which people could build.

Bernadette:

Do you feel that it “easier” to practice witchcraft today?

Raymond:

In many ways it is simply because there is so much more information readily to hand today. There are dozens (probably hundreds) of books on all possible paths, there are thousands of supply houses; there are multitude study groups/schools/courses. But it still all comes down to how serious and dedicated the individual is.

Bernadette:

How has the role of men in the craft changed over the years?

Raymond:

I think it has basically stayed the same in that the sort of men who are drawn to the Craft are the sort of men who honor and will always honor the feminine. Obviously there are exceptions, but the majority of men in the Craft accept the Goddess as the more prominent of the deities in the same way that a mother is seen as more important than the father (I hope this doesn’t start a battle of the sexes!). Obviously the father is essential, yet it is the mother who actually “brings forth” and so is more visibly connected to birth. In the same way I think the female deity is viewed as slightly more “important” than the male, though both are necessary. As I say, I think men in the Craft are more comfortable with this than are those who follow a patriarchal religion.

Bernadette:

I would love to hear more about your own Practice Raymond. How do you practice the craft? What do you do to celebrate the esbats and sabbats?

Raymond:

I spent so many years – about 45, I think – teaching and leading covens that when my wife and I finally moved to the mid-west we decided to adopt the Solitary route. We have followed that to the point where we have settled into our own individual practices. Personally I do very little in the way of ritual today, working more on a mental plane. I have my altar, burn incense, say prayers, observe the sabbats, but on a very intimate level. In many ways this has led me to a closer attunement with the lord and the Lady.

Links: www.raybuckland.com; www.chroniclesofkernow.com; www’goldenilluminati.com; Facebook – both personal and Fan Page.

Raymond Buckland

Kernow book

Brid's Closet-The Messenger! Our Imbolc edition!

2011-02-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

Brid's Closet "The Messenger" Imbolc edition!
What's new Brid's Closet & the community!
Feb. 2nd, 2011
In This Issue
What's new!
Message
Raven Gramassi & Stephanie Taylor
Upcoming classes and events at Brid's Closet
Beltane Festival and Raffle
Submissions for articles

Advertising with Brid's Closet!

We are now accepting advertisments for our newletter. The newsletter reaches approx. 600 people in any one emailing. If you are interested in advertising or have a link that you would to be included in our monthly newsletter, please contact me at bernadette@bridscloset.com
Links : $10
Ads: $40
per monthly email newsletter.

We will also be taking ad submissions for our Beltane festival booklet! All ads $40

Quick Links

Find us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our videos on YouTubeBrid's Closet Spiritual Circle

Imbolc Blessings to you!

Brigit's Cross - Happy Imbolc / Candlemas / St. Brigid's day

Happy Imbolc Everyone!

What is Imbolc? (January 31st, February 1st or February 2nd depending on the region and which version is celebrated)

Well - essentially it is a pre-christian festival celebrating lactating sheep and the increasing power of the Sun as the Winter season begins to change to Spring.

In ancient times Imbolc was especially important as it meant heard animals had just given birth their first offspring of the year or had just begun lactating providing milk to the people. From the earliest times, Imbolc has been associated with the goddess "Brigit" - a Celtic fire goddess. Imbolc celebrations often include large bonfires, or large quantities of candles light throughout the home. Meals served on this day are often heavy with cream.

Later as Roman Catholic control took over England, Ireland and Scotland - the church created St. Brigid's Day - so that they could more easily fit the Christian faith into the daily lives and traditions of the Pagan people. Some Catholics today have carried the pagan traditions of lighting numerous candles into what is called "Candlemas".

Celtic Pagans would create solar wheels out of rushes or straw by continually folding them around a single shaft in a counter clockwise fashion and then tieing the ends of the cross. It was done to honor the Goddess Brigit/Brid and the increasing power of the sun as Spring began. Later Christians associated the custom with S. Brigid of Kildare who is venerated as one of the patron saints of Ireland. It is said that she wove one of these crosses at the deathbed of her Pagan Lord and told him the story of Christ and the symbolism of the cross. Upon hearing of the meaning, he asked to be baptized and died shortly after.

Pagans believe the solar wheel or "Brigit's Cross" will provide protection if hung in their home. Neo-Pagans also use the cross to invoke the goddess brigit when calling upon her for help or honoring her in ceremony.

The modern day odd celebration of Groundhog's Day is also linked to Imbolc - as the groundhog supposedly determines the start of spring based on the appearance of his shadow or not.

Raven Gramassi & Stephanie Taylor at Brid's Closet Raven Gramassi & Stephanie Taylor at Brid's Closet!

Sat. Feb 12

Readings by Raven Gramassi and Stephanie Taylor!
Raven Grimassi and Stephanie Taylor will be giving readings throughout the day today! Raven and Stephanie do all their readings together!
They will offer readings on Saturday from 12-6 pm. Fee is $45/half hour. Please call to reserve your place!

Wine and cheese will be provided so come by for a reading or just to visit us!

Sun. Feb 13th

MAGIC AND ITS RITUAL TOOLS - Work with and learn how to prepare, empower, and use ritual tools. The focus of this workshop is upon the pentacle, wand, dagger, and chalice as tools in the Art of Witchcraft. Bring your own tools and be personally instructed in this hands-on workshop.

The workshop includes a talk on the origins of the four primary tools used in Witchcraft. It also looks at magic as a metaphysical science, and explores the role of the Elemental and Astral Planes in magic. One highlight of the workshop is a demonstration of how to raise and direct magical energy to charge jewelry, tools and other craft objects. Attendees are welcome to bring an object to charge.

This is a 2 hour lecture with a 10 minute break in the middle. Time for Q & A will be provided.

Brid's Closet wiccan class

Upcoming classes & events at Brid's Closet!

An Intro to Wicca/Witchcraft

This class is an introduction to Wicca and Witchcraft by Bernadette Montana 3rd degree Alexandrian Priestess

We will focus on what this religion/spirituality is all about, talk about history, full moon, wheel of the year, tools, altar setup, Goddess and Gods, the different traditions of Witchcraft, divination, ethics and so much more! Please bring a notebook and a pen for notes. Handouts will be given out to all students.

This will be a series of 4 classes-please be on time!

$25 in advance $30 day of class for each class!

PLEASE RSVP FOR YOUR SPACE

Feb 18th
Feb 25th
March 4th
March 11th

Psychic faire

The Brid's Closet Psychic Faire, Bake Sale/TAROT ON THE TOWN EVENT! Feb. 19th, 2011 @11am.

We will be doing Tarot readings, Tea Leaf Readings & Selling Homemade baked goods.

This will be an all day event!

All monies will going to raising the money needed for our

Annual Beltane Festival!

Raven Gramassi and Stephanie Taylor with headlining this years Beltane festival.

I am encouraging all here to please help out, AND attend the workshops, as well as readings and spiritual healing, that they will be doing here.

We will be having Wine and Cheese, and refreshments available at the store. Please let me know, if you have any items that you would like to donate/bake for sale, please contact me at bernadette@bridscloset.com Items can be handmade or bought. All items should be in good shape.

Our readers (so far)

Bernadette Montana

Chandra Conception

Renee D'amoiselle

Jean Lari doing Junk readings for us! Lorraine will be doing Chakra alignments for us!

Yoga at Brid's Closet!
Sun, Moon, and Stars Yoga with Elizabeth

Begins 2/5/11

Saturdays 10:00am-11:15 pm

at Brids Closet

296 Main St

Cornwall NY 12518

$12

A dynamic yoga practice that will bring balance, healing and rejuvenation to the body, mind, and spirit!

There will not be class on 2/19/11. Class resumes the following Saturday.

Brid's Closet maypole

Beltane/Spring festival and raffle!

Can you believe that this will be our 4 year hosting the Beltane Festival! Time really goes fast! This years festival really promises to be fantastic! This year, we will have Raven Gramassi & Stephanie Talor presenting workshops and readings for us! Additional classes will be givin by Bear (HPS of the coven Haxon Sagon), Chuck Finfrock, Heather Killian and more! Music by Raquy and the Cavemen and Kellianna! More to announced soon! This year, the festival will be held at Palaia Vineyards! 10 Sweet Clover Rd Highland Mills, NY 10930. Festival date is April 30th!

We will be holding a raffle in order to raise the money for the Beltane Festival! Each ticket will be $10, with only 1,500 tickets available! First prize will be $1,500, second prize will be $1,000, third prize will be $500. There will also be door prizes! Tickets will be available at the store, at the festival, and through our family, here at Brid's Closet. Call or write me for info. Cd's are available at the store!

Raquy and the Cavemen

Kellianna

Brid's Closet rede Article submissions
I am looking articles on various subjects such as the environment, ecology, crystals, pagan parenting/personal experience with the pagan/wiccan/spiritual community and art. Please submit your ideas and articles to bernadette@bridscloset.com. Try to limit the amount of pictures as they may take up too much bandwidth to be displayed properly.

Upcoming Events
Raven Gramassi & Stepanie Taylor-readings and workshop Feb. 12 & 13
Psychic Faire Feb 19th
Intro to Wicca- 4 classes starting Feb. 18
Beltane Festival April 30th
Sponsored by Brid's Closet
296 Main Street
Cornwall, New York 12518
Blessings and thank you!
Thank you for supporting Brid's Closet for all these many years now! Blessings of this Imbolc/Candlemass season be with you! Stay warm and dry!

Contact Info
Owner of Brid's Closet-Tarot-Reiki Master-Teacher
Bernadette Montana
845-458-8726 bernadette@bridscloset.com

Save 25% off of any of our astrology books
Promo code: astro25

Offer Expires: 3/3/2011

Today's tarot card-The World card

2010-12-07T11:42:00.002-05:00

Lets take a look at today's card:

We see a woman who is surrounded by a wreath made of Laurel which is a symbol of protection, peace and purification. Her legs are crossed which represents overcoming obstacles (the crossroads). The figures in the four corners of The World card represent the four fixed signs of the zodiac, Leo, Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius. This is symbolic of all the stars coming into alignment for you. Today, my focus should be on world issues or world events, encounters, and gatherings; travel, change, sports, or physical concerns; organizations, risks, and new opportunities; but also restrictions, walls, or blocks.

Eventually I'll surmount any limitations or obstacles that I may have and come out on top. It's time to realize my goals and to start to count my blessings My obsession (or preoccupation) with the past is hindering my ability to see what is really going on, but no matter how bound you're feeling now, you can still break free. Things can change for me. Lessons of the past should help me NOT hinder me, if I have learned my lesson well!

When doing this type of reading. Really pay attention to all of the symbolism in each individual card. In The World card, the symbols really hold a lot of hope for me. I also look at the shape of the wreath. It is circular, thus representing cycles in my life.

How does The World card apply to you? What is your take on the symbolism in your particular deck? What deck do you use and why does it work for you! Post your results here!

Blessings!
Bernadette

Today’s Tarot card-The Tower

2010-11-03T15:02:00.001-04:00

Today’s Tarot card-The Tower
November 3rd, 2010 | Author: Bernadette-Montana

Let’s take a look at today’s tarot card-The Tower. I am using the Rider-Waite/Smith deck today. There is a tower that is being struck by lightning from above. Flames are shooting out from the top of the tower as well as coming out from it’s windows. There are two people falling down from the tower with a look of fright on their faces. At the very top of this card, there is a crown that looks as if the lightning bolt knocked it off the tower and is in the process of falling down.
How does this card apply to me today? What can I learn from it’s messages?
I look at the bolt of lightning, and I think “ego”. Sometimes ones ego needs to be knocked down a notch or two. Lets look at the fire that is so prevalent in this card. Fire is about transformation and cleansing. When a forest burns down, the growth is cleared away for new growth! What needs to cleared out of your life? What changes do you need to make now, not later?

Maybe your in a relationship that really needs to end now. Is it really fulfilling to you? Do you find that you or your partner tend to be volatile? Do you tend to argue all the time?

What about the job that you are in? Is it what you should be doing? How is your health doing? Remember, tarot can give you advice in order help you with situations. You can make the changes that you need to make now, in order to help you with the decisions that may be beneficial to you.
How are your finances doing? The Tower tells you that now is NOT the time to gamble on anything that may be risky. Security is the key now. Don’t buy any big ticket items now. Saving your money is important now.

Changes may be in your belief system, in spirituality, within employment or relationships. However, whenever structure is broken down, there is always the potential for a new one in its place. Take some time to reflect on this. I would suggest writing down what you feel needs to change in your life. I would love to hear your opinions about The Tower card and how it applies to you!

Blessings!

Bernadette

An interview with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone by Bernadette Montana

2010-10-17T14:21:00.005-04:00

An interview with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone by Bernadette Montana
October 17th, 2010 | Author: Bernadette-Montana

Today’s interview is with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone. The contributions that they have given to the pagan community over these many years, are too numerous for me to mention here. I would suggest printing out this interview for future use as a teaching aid, or as adjunct to the course that both Janet and Gavin teach, here at Sacred Mists. Enjoy!

Bernadette:

How do you feel Wicca has changed over the years? I know that your stance has changed over the years, how has your approach changed over these many years and why?

Janet and Gavin:

It’s changed considerably since both of us came into the Craft in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. When Janet came in there were hardly any books specifically on witchcraft/wicca. There were no contact networks, and very few open covens or study groups around. If you were interested in witchcraft and found a coven, you were lucky. Also, people didn’t differentiate between what was wicca and what was witchcraft. In everyone’s mind at the time, the 1960’s and ‘70’s they were the same thing. It was the same when Gavin joined the Craft in the early to mid eighties, although things were beginning to change, with more networks and open groups advertising. Regarding the practise in covens, it was pretty basic. What you got taught was simple circle casting, spellcraft, wheel of the year etc. It never went much deeper than that. We noticed this begin to change in the ‘80’s and into the ‘90’s with covens having more systemised systems of training. Now it’s taken as read, that if you join a coven then you can expect a more intense form of training than we both received. This has been one of the more positive things we have seen, but on the negative side, we have also seen growing divisions and semantics, even the terms ‘witch’ and ‘wiccan’ are now in many people’s minds beginning to mean very different things. This certainly didn’t exist when we came into the craft, nor did the emphasis of lineage or the term British Traditional Witchcraft exist, this seems to be being used today to separate the Alexandrian and Gardnerian traditions in the United States from solitary practitioners and other traditions of wicca which do not come from Gardnerian origins. We even heard recently that ‘you cannot be a wiccan unless you have received initiation in a Gardnerian or Alexandrian coven, otherwise you are just a witch’. Well, both of us remember when they use to say ‘anyone can be a wiccan but to be a witch you have to be initiated into a coven’. So somewhere along the line people keep changing the parameters.
In end we feel words like ‘wiccan’, ‘witch’ etc. are just words. What is important is actually what you do, and why you do it. We’ve met some ‘witches’ who’ve had all the correct lineage, initiations etc. but haven’t had a clue, and then we’ve met solitary self-initiates who just have it! Some people say that this is a change in stance, as you put it, but actually it’s not. We’ve always felt this way. Certainly Stewart did. He never judged anyone’s right to be a witch on whether they had been ‘properly prepared’ or initiated by the right person. For that matter, neither did the Mother of Wicca, Doreen Valiente. If we had taken a more dogmatic approach like this, we would never have written the books that we did.
Although our stance on such things as lineage etc. has stayed the same, certainly our approach and methods have changed. I think that this has occurred from the fact that we have been lucky enough to travel around the world meeting witches across the globe, and more importantly many native traditions. It’s made us more open and given us an overview which has allowed us to see that there is a common core of practise to all folk magic traditions, and all these traditions, worldwide have their mysteries. This has made us put more emphasis on spirit more than anything else in the way we work and teach. For us now, the most important thing is to teach witches how to connect and communicate with the Goddesses and Gods, knowing that once they have done that, it is the Gods who will teach them what they need to know. This doesn’t mean that training isn’t important, we just believe that the deities are better teachers than us.

Bernadette:

In what direction would you like to see the pagan community go?

Janet and Gavin:

We both feel that people need to get over ‘the words’. Regardless of whether you consider yourself witch/wiccan, Druid, Asatru or Shaman, we have more in common than we do in differences. Our belief structures are basically the same, although we follow different paths within that structure of belief. So this is one direction we hope the Pagan Community will go in, less criticism of other paths and the realisation that labels should be just that, and should not dictate what your beliefs are, not the reverse. Although we agree with the idea of Pagan Churches for legal protection and as gateways for those coming onto the pagan path, we would hate to see them became dogmatic and doctrine orientated. We hope they will just act as Outer Temples for existing covens, groves etc. They should really just be useful umbrellas for the community. Most of all, I suppose we would like to see more tolerance in the community for other’s paths through the realisation that our real strength isn’t in us believing or doing the same things, but in our diversity just as you see in nature. After all, we are a nature based religion.

Bernadette:

Can you explain what “progressive witchcraft” means?

Janet and Gavin:

Well, it’s not a tradition! A few people have made that mistake, assuming we were describing a new tradition of witchcraft, we are not. It’s a philosophical approach more than anything; a way of looking at wicca in a new way (or an old way depending on your viewpoint). It’s a realisation that witchcraft is not a static tradition but one, which evolves and progresses over time. If you look at folk traditions around the world they are ALL eclectic, they all absorb magical techniques from wherever they can. It’s the same with modern witchcraft, wicca. If you look at even the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions they are a mixture of traditions from all over Europe cobbled together. There are elements of ceremonial high magick/Hebraic, Basque, Etruscan/Italian etc, all in what is supposedly called British Traditional. What is important is what you are trying to achieve in witchcraft, not the method – progressive witchcraft is a realisation of that as a process, summed up in one of the most important phrases used in wicca: ‘if it works use it!’ Gardnerian and Alexandrian witchcraft certainly aren’t at odds with this idea of an evolving tradition; both have evolved over the last few decades, and most sensible initiates of those traditions are aware of that.
A progressive witchcraft practitioner also realises that what is at the centre of witchcraft, is its heart. This is the most important thing, divinity and spirit. This is why the act of Drawing Down the Moon is so unique to the modern witchcraft movement. It has since the 1950’s been moving away from the doctrines and dogmas forced on it by the Judaeo-Christian culture it had been forced to grow up in; the idea that you can only reach God (or Goddess) through a priest (or priestess), and that the divine is not reachable for all. Progressive witchcraft puts the Gods and Goddesses as the centre of witchcraft. You’ll notice we use the terms Gods and Goddesses in the plural, because modern witchcraft has been slowly moving it’s way back to it’s polytheistic roots since the 1950’s as it grows more spiritually aware. This process has made it possible to connect individually and personally with deity – before the 1990’s you rarely came across people in wicca saying that they were Priest or Priestess of an individual deity – this is part of that evolution. Because of this connection ultimately initiation must be an act of personal gnosis with the divine as a God or Goddess, although this does not exclude the validity of the initiatory passage rites for entering covens or for advancing through the degree system, although clearly it is ultimately more important. Degree systems, styles of ritual and magic merely become aids to this process.

Bernadette:

I was honored to have been able to take in a bunch of your workshops. There is more of a “shamanistic” feel to your classes and less focus on the “dogma” that I have seen in some traditions. Can you tell us why?

Janet and Gavin:

When both of us came into the Craft we were taught that Ceremonial High Magick WAS witchcraft. Some of this was because of a lack of training system in witchcraft, so the witches of the 1950’s and ‘60’s just used what was available – this does of course prove our above point regarding witchcraft adapting and evolving what works. The problem was of course, is that Ceremonial High Magick still hangs on to many Judaeo-Christian concepts which have to a certain degree held wicca back. Unfortunately, when you are taught that ceremonial magick is witchcraft anything that is actually more traditional witchcraft, looks shamanic from your viewpoint. We think that it’s also important to point out that the ancient practises of witchcraft derive directly from shamanic practise. If you look at what witches were accused of in the Middle Ages, the same could apply just easily to the shamans of today – communicating with spirits, and animal familiars etc. Witchcraft is really just the evolution of the shamanism of the hunter-gatherer culture when agriculture became the more predominant means of survival and man moved into permanent village structure.
We realised that if we took the approach that we did, that we would have to teach methods which underlined all magical practise, as we say ‘it’s not enough to teach the witch how to drive, they have to know how the engine works’. If you came and saw what we did in our coven it would probably be familiar to anyone with Gardnerian or Alexandrian backgrounds. What is important is what you aren’t seeing. The magical and spiritual work which is going on internally. This is what we now teach, by teaching two systems, which integrate with each other, magical energy work and spiritual cosmology. How you clothe your practise, whether in Egyptian symbolism, Celtic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Greek is really just the icing on the cake, which gets your magical saliva going! What is important is what is going on beneath. We found ourselves teaching so many people from different paths we felt it was important to create a system, which would work for all cultural magical backgrounds. Even in our coven these teachings are at the core, along with the essential deity connection work, which they complement.

Bernadette:

What does the word “witch” mean to the both of you?

Janet and Gavin:

For us the word ‘witch’ means someone who is a Pagan Priestess or Priest of a divinity, who practises magic for the well being of their community. This traditionally takes the form of healing work, be it physical, emotional or spiritual. Everyone assumes, quite correctly that the word witch first appeared in the middle ages, but the concept of the witch goes back much further. In Greek literature the stygian and more importantly, the Lydian Witches are mentioned. The Lydian witches seemed to have much in common with the Pythoness of Delphi, as well as the Maenads of Dionysus. For us, a witch is therefore Dionysian in his or her practise rather than Apollonian. That the witch uses ecstatic states in magic as much as ritual.

Bernadette:

What advice do you have for teachers and leaders today?

Janet and Gavin:

You are still learning, just as your students are. Also, it is not the role of the teacher or leader to encourage their student to take one specific spiritual path, particularly the path you are on but to encourage them to find their own path. If you don’t know something you need to say it, teaching and leadership isn’t about knowing things, it’s about leading, particularly by example and if you can’t be honest, then you can’t expect your students to be honest either. Personal integrity is therefore everything if you are a teacher or leader.
We both believe that good leaders are normally the ones who really don’t want the job. They get appointed by their communities and/or naturally evolve into the position. Just because you’re an author, that doesn’t naturally make you a teacher or leader, nor does taking a course in leadership or having degrees, wiccan or academic. It is something inherent in you, in your character, which has either been there since you were born or you has become instilled in you due to experience.
Ultimately though being a teacher or leader is about service, not self-service. There is no room for overblown ego. You are a servant of your community or group, and of course the gods you serve, and this needs to be something that you are always consciously aware of when you interact with your community.

Bernadette:

I wanted to touch on a bit of history here. I feel that many people today know very little about who our elders are and know even less about history. You are a huge part of this history.

Janet and Gavin:

It worries us that the level of historical knowledge of the Craft among this new generation of Pagans, and witches is generally is so poor. It’s leading to some of the problems we are having particularly with an understanding of where the words witch and wicca come from. This lack of knowledge is resulting in some of the tensions and the prejudices that are emerging between those who claim to be traditional and those who follow a more organic path. I think we’ll probably go into a bit more on this in one of your later questions on Gardner and the origins of the word wicca. It will give you an understanding of the problem.
As for Stewart and my self’s history, we were both initiated by Alex Sanders in the early 1970’s. We took our first, second and third degree’s with him all within less than two years. That was pretty much the norm with Alex and Maxine in those days. He brought you and in, and then encouraged you to start new groups as soon as possible. Although we had received all the training material of the period, we were unhappy with what we were being taught and the lack of understanding, so we went off and pretty much did our own thing. We stayed Alexandrian in name only. In those days, the use of tradition names was about who initiated you, not what you did in circle. We dropped the name when this began to change, particularly stateside. We are still Alexandrian by initiation, but not in our practise.

Much of what people know of Wicca today stems from your book “a Witches Bible”. In fact, this is required reading in my own coven. Where did much of your information come from? How much of this information come from Doreen Valiente, from Gerald Gardner, or Crowley?

Well, I (Janet) think it’s important to point out that those two books that made up A Witches Bible are now 30 years old! What is in those books was what we did then, not what necessarily do now. Both Stewart and myself, and then with Gavin evolved our practises and our teachings.
Much of the material for the book in the way of the ‘frame’ for ritual structure, came from Doreen Valiente, and obviously what we had been taught by Alex Sanders. I should point out that Stewart and myself published this material not only with Doreen’s permission but with her assistance. Her view was that she wrote it, therefore she had the right to publish it or give permission to publish. Obviously, there were elements of Gardner’s rituals and those that came from Crowley’s works, which you can find in all Books of Shadows of Gardnerians/Alexandrian origin. What Doreen did is rewrite them, and make them work.
The actual festivals in the books, these came from us, as did also the Birth, Marriage and Death Rites. These were all written by Stewart and myself. Both of us found the Sabbats in the Book of Shadows we were given by Alex and Doreen extremely lacking in content. In some cases they were just a paragraph. Stewart decided, in his own words ‘to put some meat on the bones’! We drew inspiration for them from two sources, Robert Grave’s White Goddess and Maíra McNeill’s Festival of Lughnasa. It was from Grave’s that we incorporated The Oak King, Holly King Cycle. No one had written this into the Book of Shadows before our introduction of it in Eight Sabbats for Witches/A Witches Bible, although as a result of our work it was incorporated in to the practises of many covens, and Druidic Groves. The Irish Celtic Elements of the festivals we introduced from a book called the Festival of Lughnasa. This book was a rather obscure tome that most people had never heard of, but a goldmine of information for Stewart and myself, as it dealt with the traditional seasonal festivals here in Ireland.
We also introduced the Handfasting, the Requiem and the Wiccaning. In fact, Stewart coined the term Wiccaning. We wrote all these rituals in Eight Sabbats/A Witches Bible, as we felt it was important to have these passage rites included in the wiccan repertoire. Certainly people were already doing handfastings, but no one had introduced them into the Book of Shadows as part of the rites, but the wiccaning and requiem were both completely new and originated from us.
On one occasion I remember Stewart being presented with a Book of Shadows from an Alexandrian witch who had been told by Alex Sander’s that all the material in it was ‘from an old traditional source’. After flicking through it, it was obvious that inside it was most of the material we had researched and written in Ireland. Stewart was tickled pink at being called ‘an old and traditional source’. Later on though, we were faced with the odd situation of being accused by people using these rites of ‘breaking oath’ because we had published this material. They had been led, or rather misled to believe by their teachers that this was original BOS material. Although Stewart wasn’t really bothered by what people said, he always wished people would actually read his foot and endnotes, and then they would have been aware of where the material in Eight Sabbats/A Witches Bible had actually been sourced. Because of these accusations, I have always felt that Stewart has never really got the credit he deserved for introducing these rites or the Holly King/Oak King cycle into wicca and druidism.

Bernadette:

It was my understanding that Gardner came up with the word “Wicca”, what influenced him?

Janet and Gavin:

We would disagree with the idea that Gardner came up with the word wicca, although he certainly popularized its use. The word already existed in old English/Anglo-Saxon and can be found in the Laws of Laws of Alfred which date to circa 890, as the word wicca (pronounced wysh–a) as the feminine form, and wiccae (pronounced wysh-ay) as the masculine. Clearly Gardner mispronounced it. He tried to apply the celtic hard ‘cc’, when in fact it uses the soft anglo-saxon ‘cc’. We have always used in its original ancient context, as did most of our generation. Obviously the word witch derives from it not the other way. So if you are a witch by pure etymology you are a wicca or a wicce. We think that Gardner was keen to use that word to try and separate the concept of the witch from the churches propaganda of the middle ages, not to create a new tradition – from his books he clearly thought he was following an old one.
Gardner’s keenness to ‘recreate’ an old tradition was probably spurred by his travelling around the world, to such places as Ceylon, Malaysia etc. where he came across the magical folk traditions still alive. After reading the works of Margaret Murry he became convinced that this tradition was still active in the British Isles, although in hiding. It is our viewpoint that he never found any complete tradition but fragments, which he welded together with the ritual magick of the period.

Bernadette:

You were initiated by Alex Saunders, what were the main differences between the way these two men practiced? Can you talk a little bit about how Stewart felt about Wicca then and what direction, he would have liked to see it go?

Janet and Gavin:

From the research I have been involved in over the years I have begun to realize that although there were differences between them, there were also similarities. From my own experiences with Alex and from conversations with Doreen, both men clearly loved the Goddess, although they also both loved the attention of the media, and at different times it got them both into trouble! As for their motivation, I think that may have been slightly different. In the case of Gardner I think he was keen to put forward a positive view of witchcraft, while in the case of Alex it came over quite strongly that most of his involvement with the media seemed to be primarily about self-promotion. To be fair, I did think this changed, as he got older and a bit wiser. The major difference was magically. Gardner was definitely more folk tradition orientated – low church, as opposed to Sander’s who definitely leaned more towards Judaeo-Christian ceremonial magic – high church. I think we still see this today in the two major strands of wicca, Gardnerian and Alexandrian which still follow the paths set by their founders, although from what I can gather, Gardnerian has slowly moved more towards High Magick over the years.
Doreen once said to me that Gardner had said to her that he believed that wicca was going to die out by the end of the ‘60’s, because there were ‘too many chiefs and not enough Indians.’ Oddly, I think Sander’s also recognised this, and compensated for it by initiating as many people as possible. I don’t think if the two men had ever met they would have necessarily been at odds with each other, but there would definitely have been problems between them due to their class difference. While that may not have been an issue in some places, it was in Britain in the 1960’s. Alex did not have the best of educations, being from a working class background, as opposed to Gardner’s Middle Class upbringing.
Stewart always leaned towards the mid-ground between Sanders and Gardner. He loved ritual and ceremony, and it being done correctly, but also loved the folk tradition aspect – he liked ‘tradition’. Regardless, Stewart always believed in wicca becoming more open and all encompassing, he believed in the concept of ‘The Global Village’ as he called it. He thoroughly supported such organisations as the Pete Pathfinders Aquarian Tabernacle Church, and he was proud that we were members. He felt such organisations were the future of witchcraft, and would lead it into this new millennia.

Bernadette:

Gavin, can you tell us what where some of your main influences where? I’d love to hear about your beginnings as a pagan, and how things have changed for you over the years?

Janet and Gavin:

Well, my mother always called me ‘her little heathen’ because somehow I was never baptised. My mother was a lapsed Roman Catholic who always had a love of ceremony and ritual, although I also have fond memories of her, when I was young going to psychics, tarot readers etc. We use to go to Unexplained Festivals together, where all sorts of subjects were covered from UFO’s and Roswell, through to crypto zoology and psychic research. She always had an interest in ‘the unknown’ so some of that rubbed off on me.
When I reached the point in my life where I started to examine my beliefs, well, Christianity simply didn’t work for me. It made no sense whatsoever in how I viewed the world. My earlier interests led to an obvious interest in magic and psychism, which eventually led to me becoming involved in our nearby Spiritualist Temple. I use to go there regularly for healing, and it was there that one of the healers picked up on the fact that I was a natural (empathic) healer; I was the kid who had animals follow him home! Alongside the spiritualist influence, I also read on just about every aspect of occultism. I had my own belief structure, which had aspects of several traditions in it, polytheism and karma from Hinduism, reincarnation from Buddhism, the concept of polarity (yin and yang) from Taoism, plus that interest in psychism and magic.
Very soon my book collection began to grow. I didn’t consider myself pagan at this stage, not until I picked up my first serious book on modern witchcraft, Doreen Valiente’s ABC of Witchcraft. You have to remember that back in the early ‘80’s there were very few serious books on the subject of wicca. It was Doreen Valiente’s book which gave my own belief structure a name – wicca. From that point on I knew what I was, that my beliefs had a name. For several years, I literally just read everything I could and practised by myself, then in the mid ‘80’s quite naturally, people around me seemed to gather around me who had the same interests. We ended up going out one windy Samhain night, scaring the living daylights out of each other attempting to perform a ritual in our local woods. That group of people eventually formed the core of the first coven I was in. You have to bear in mind, there were no contact networks, magazines or easily accessible magical groups back then, not like today. You took what you could find or you carried on and did it yourself.
After that night I felt that I needed to find people who could actually teach me, which coincided with an occult shop opening up in my hometown, Fifth Dimension. Initially I went there to get a tarot reading and a healing done, but soon ended up becoming part of the Ceremonial Magick group, which worked in the back room. It was quite an eclectic group, with a Golden Dawn style ritual magician, a norse based earth magician, plus a Sufi practioner and several traditional style mediums. I was the youngest in the group, so absorbed information and learning from everyone who was in it, particularly the earth, and the ceremonial magician. Eventually, the earth magician suggested that I get together with the other people I knew and found a Seax-Wica based coven, which is what we did. We all initiated into that tradition, but quickly moved on from Buckland’s Book The Tree into using material from Doreen Valiente and Janet and Stewart’s books. Eventually that group broke up, but my then wife, Tania and I carried on practising. Eventually we got initiated into another tradition Dorset Traditional, which was really no different to Gardnerian. Again, this group broke up and we continued by ourselves, until we became contacts for Pagan Link and the Pagan Federation in the late ‘80’s. Eventually a group of people coalesced around us, and we ended up teaching them. Some of them also asked us to initiate them, which we did. We naturally ended up as a coven, even though we were taught on several occasions ‘we weren’t properly initiated’ or that we hadn’t had proper training. My favourite was being told that I ‘didn’t understand the mysteries’ when I had assisted four mothers to give birth, and helped dozens of people to pass over to the other side in death. Certainly on the latter occasions I felt what was happening because of my empathic nature, and felt this assistance in passing others over was part of being a witch. I always found it odd that my life experience as a Staff Nurse didn’t count for anything in the occult world, while many supposed teachers in wicca who claimed to be experts on such things, had never experienced two of the most basic of mysteries that I had, that of life and death.
It was during this period that I had what I call my real initiation. That was my self-dedication and connection with the Goddess Freya. I made the decision to dedicate myself to her as her Priest. I sent though a period of six months after of serious life change, including changes in consciousness, and I suppose you could say personal enlightenment. The word epiphany comes to mind. I began to realise that real initiation can only really come from the divine, not from an individual or a group, although that is not to say group joining initiations or level initiations aren’t valid. It was shortly after this experience that I met Janet and Stewart. What struck me with them was that our origins really weren’t that different, neither were our beliefs.

It is interesting that over the years, that I seem to have actually cycled back to my original belief structure that I had right at the beginning of my journey, although my knowledge and my wisdom seems to have grown. One of things I have realized is that you don’t stop learning.

Bernadette:

What are you working on at present, and can we see some more books soon?

Janet and Gavin:

Well, the amended version of Progressive Witchcraft is going back into print next year. It’s being re-titled as it’s going to a new publisher, Acorn Press. What Witches Do has being re-released as its fourth edition, with extra material from our archives. This has included some previously unreleased interviews, notes and teachings of Alex Sanders.
As many know, we began to specialise in teaching trance-prophesy and Drawing Down the Moon techniques over the last decade. We’ve had several highly successful workshops and have several groups set up based on our training techniques. We’ve drawn from our experiences as well as those of the classical world, Delphi, the Sybil’s and Anglo-Saxon/Norse Seith etc. Not surprisingly, we have been working on a book about this. This is our most exciting project, and will be a unique work when it is published. We touched briefly on this subject in Progressive Witchcraft but this goes much more in depth. At present we are about half way through and hope to have a finished manuscript by mid next year.

Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone Bio

For all those who don’t know who we are, we are practising Wiccans (modern witches) and authors who publish books on the subjects of Paganism, Magick and Witchcraft. Prior to Stewart’s death on the 7th February 2000, Janet and Stewart had published their works since 1971, and are recognised as experts on Witchcraft and the Occult. Gavin joined them in 1993, and have since worked with them on The Pagan Path, a study of Paganism worldwide, The Healing Craft, a healer’s worksbook for Pagans, The Complete Dictionary of European God and Goddesses, and our most recent Progressive Witchcraft. To date, we have had eleven books between us, on the subjects mention, published in the United States, Britain and as far afield as Brazil, Japan and the Czech Republic.

We are active members in The Aquarian Tabernacle Church Ireland and have links with several covens in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. We run a progressive coven in Ireland called Coven Na Callaighe which is part of Teampall Na Callaighe which includes as an open worship group.

Our current practical work is in the areas of Spiritism and Trace Prophesy. We regularly conduct practical Workshops in these fields for the Pagan Community. Janet is also a professional Tarot Reader and Gavin, an Empathic Spirital Healer.

We are also now looking at video as a training medium and hope to relase several training DVDs in the near future.

http://www.callaighe.com/index.php

The ethics of spells or, I wanna get what I want and I want it now!

2010-10-03T16:18:00.005-04:00

The ethics of spells or, I wanna get what I want and I want it now! by Bernadette Montana

Ok, so I am being a bit silly here, but doesn't this ring true on some level?

I wanted to talk about ethics today. Why ethics? Because it is essential that you understand just how important it is to know, that what you do with magic, or spell-work, will affect others. Many people would call this the law of three. It's kind of like that saying "what goes around, comes around".

Understanding this principle will help you to understand how spell crafting works. Intention is another principle. In order to perform a proper spell, you have to know exactly what you need or what it is that you want.

What is your intention?
What is your state of mind?
What is needed?
What will happen as a result of your actions?

Intention: An 's intention in performing an action is his or her specific purpose in doing so, the end or goal that is aimed at, or intended to accomplish. Whether an action is successful or unsuccessful depends at least on whether the intended result was brought about. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intention

What is YOUR intention? Think this one out carefully. Be direct and straight to the point. Know what it is that you want from the spell or working.

So-let's formulate your need or want. If it is a job that you want, have you thought it out? Why do you want it? Is it really the one for you? Are you qualified for this position? Are you able to carry out all of the responsibilities that this job requires?

State of mind-think about this one. Are you angry? Can someone be hurt by this spell? Here is a good example of what I mean: You do a spell for a job that you really want, but will someone have to loose THEIR job in order for you to get it! Where you emotional when thinking of what you wanted?

What is needed: Do you have what is needed? Again, if you want a specific job, do you have the means to get there? Do you have the skills? If the spell is about love, are you able to handle the commitment?

What will happen as a result of your actions: Will anyone get hurt? If you do a love spell on a particular person, will it be changing their will? Remember the law of three here, if you change the will of another, will you be affecting your own will? Karma can be tough at times. Do you want to achieve something in order to "spite" someone? Kind of like this phrase "I'll show you"!

We touched a bit on love spells in my last article. Asking for the right one to come into your life, is far more "ethical" than changing the will of another. Let's look at a money/job spell.

Items needed:

Green candle
small piece of paper
prosperity incense
prosperity oil

The perfect job spell

Find a quiet space, cleanse this area (sage, Florida water, salt & water, or whatever you normally use.)
Write the spell on the paper.
Write on a green candle the kind of job you want and burn the candle saying:

"Do for me this important deed, the perfect job is what I need"
To use my skills and be sure to succeed
My this harm none, so mote it be!

Burn the paper, lighting it from the flame of the candle.
Let the candle burn out.

Be sure that you burn the candle in a heat proof container. Never leave any candle unattended.

Take any leftover candle wax and ashes, and bury them outside.

I hope that helps you in understanding how to work with spells. Please feel free to contact me here, at Satori Nation! I would love to hear your comments, and your questions!

Blessings
Bernadette

wonderful quotes

2010-09-30T18:58:00.001-04:00

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.

Carl Jung

AN INTERVIEW WITH RAVEN DIGITALIS by Bernadette Montana

2010-09-30T15:34:00.004-04:00

September 30th, 2010 | Author: Bernadette-Montana

INTERVIEW WITH RAVEN DIGITALIS

Bernadette: I am very interested in your tradition-Opus Aima Obscuræ, can you tell me more about it?

Raven: Certainly. We are a group of practitioners who consist of an Inner Circle (training group) and an Outer Circle (public participants). We run an intricate training structure designed to train people to be eventual Priests and Priestesses. We term our training system “disciplined eclectic” and “Eastern Hellenistic Neopaganism.” The definitions of these terms can be found on the OAO Facebook and Myspace profiles. We also perform public and private rituals that average once weekly – quite a large load! We celebrate the Full Moons, New (Dark) Moons and Sabbats, as well as what we call the “Full Suns” and “New (Dark) Suns.” These are the masculine counterparts to the feminine Full and Dark Moons; the Full Sun occurs when the Sun is at his 15-degree astrological apex in any particular sign, while the Dark or New Sun occurs when the Sun transitions zodiac signs. We also host numerous Cottage Craft or Hedgecraft events for the community, along with multicultural celebrations such as the Hindu fesival Diwali (Festival of Lights) and ten days of Ganesh Chaturthi, seeing as we all identify with Hinduism – one of the most longstanding, preserved and developed Pagan traditions in the world!

Bernadette: We spoke before about craft history. Why do you think it’s important that today’s Witches/Pagans understand about our roots?

Raven: believe that it’s vitally important for people to have a realistic and educated understanding of their historical roots. Numerous Christians, to give one example, understand very little about their religious history, including the difference between politics and religion, the evolution of Scripture, and so on, which actually serves to be a damaging and dangerous force. When objective understanding is cultivated, one gains perspective, which I believe is immensely important. For us Witches, it’s easy to accept what we’re told, namely the faerie tales concerning an ancient Age of the Goddess, or Wicca being a preserved Pagan religion of the British Isles, or the existance of “family traditions” before 1950 – these things are idealistic and untrue, but are so tempting to believe. Once a person digs a bit deeper, things come into focus a bit more, and we can more objectively see who we are as magicians and spiritual pathwalkers.

Bernadette: Why do you use the Thoth deck as opposed to any other in your tradition?

Raven: Well, OAO’s structure is based primarily upon the alignments of the Thoth deck because we realize the immense amount of study, art, channeling and brilliancy that went into creating the deck. It took years and years, and was Aleister Crowley and Lady Freda Harris’s artistic/magical magnum opus. I believe that there is no Tarot deck more perfect in the world. Its alignments are so precise that even the most unequipped person can gain accurate insight from even the simplest reading, provided they (at least) first study the small booklet(s) that accompany the deck. The deck is enchanted – quite literally – the cards are living and conscious. I’ve never interacted with a deck like this in all my life. For the longest time I avoided the deck because of its scientific and ceremonial intricacies, but now that I have chosen to delve into them, I realize how non-scary they really are. And once I began to understand simple symbolism’s (nevermind the Qabalistic, elemental and planetary alignments), my readings became clear. What a blessing! Because of these alignments and numerous others, we at OAO use it as our primary foundation for occult mysticism and the orginazation of the Wheel of the Year, as aligned to the zodiac.

Bernadette: You mention having been trained in the Georgian tradition. Can you tell a little about it? (I bring this up so that any newbies, who may be reading this, can learn and understand the article, in its entirety)

Raven: Sure! I was trained by Zanoni Silverknife in the Georgian tradition when I was 16 years old. Thank goodness she was there to provide me with accurate and loving training when I was blooming into the magickal arts; I am very grateful for the lessons and for the lifelong friends cultivated as a result! In order to explain Georgian Witchcraft, I think it’s easier for me to recite information found on the main website, www.georgianwicca.com, which is as follows: The Georgian Tradition was founded in 1970 by George (Pat) Patterson, Zanoni Silverknife and Tanith. It began as a small coven in Pat�s home, in Bakersfield, CA. Georgian Wicca is similar to Alexandrian and Gardnerian practice, in that it is an initiatory line and oath-bound. Many of the rituals are similar to those published in various books on what is sometimes called “British Traditional Wicca” (BTW), such as the Farrar’s Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches’ Way, as well as the privately distributed version of what was later published as Ed Fitch’s Grimoire of the Shadows. Georgian Wicca, however, is not a recognized member of the BTW, as it lacks an important requirement – initiatory lineage back to one of the BTW covens in England. Therefore, it is considered BTW-derived.

Bernadette: What inspired you to write “Planetary Spells & Rituals: Practicing Dark & Light Magick Aligned with the Cosmic Bodies” and what separates this work from other books on magick? I am reading this new book on my kindle!

Raven: Thanks for your readership! My main inspiration in writing that book was due to many of my readers mentioning to me the fact that I don’t include much hands-on, how-to spells or written rituals in my books (aside from meditations), so I decided to compile this collection. I aimed to include a hefty amount of alignments, and ceremonial rituals, having to do with common (and some uncommon) spellcraft needs. I personally use it as a reference book in my own life, which was another part of its written purpose! In the future, it will be followed with Zodiacal Spells & Rituals.

Bernadette: I love the fact that you also speak of history in this book, “Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality”. Can you explain what the “Shadow” is to you and why it is so important to understand how to work with “the Shadow” or “The Shadow self”?

Raven: The shadow is part of who we are; it’s the balance. I feel that the Craft community and magickal community is starting to reject those “everything is love and light” ideas and are replacing those perceptions with a more balanced view on the world and oneself. We must know our light and dark sides, and those of the world, in order to fully embrace Reality for the profound experience it is – and in order to influence accurate and ethical change through our experience. Witches and magicians help people; it’s our spiritual duty. In order to help others and ourselves, we must recognize all aspects of our personalities and must be able and willing to work with them in other people just the same. There is nothing strictly defined in “dark” and “light,” because the terms are highly interpretive – that’s part of the beauty of life: nothing is entirely “this” or entirely “that.”

Bernadette: In Goth Craft: The Magickal Side of Dark Culture , you speak of the convergence of the two lifestyles, Witch and Goth. I was very much a part of the Goth/Punk/Industrial/Metal scene, growing up in NYC. I saw the melding of these lifestyles early on (the 80’s and the 90’s), in dress, music, make-up and what I call “gender attitude”. How has this scene progressed over these years? I knew many pagans then, who where very much a part of this scene (I am definitely dating myself here!) I used to hang out in the village! I also see that we like a lot of the same music! Oh yea…thank the Gods for that!

Raven: That’s fantastic! I’m glad you could be part of the movement from its “roots.” Always refreshing to hear! Admittedly, I am currently jaded and dissatisfied with the “scene” aspects of those cultures, and am choosing not to fully identify with them – I love the art, but not the common attitude. I think these subcultures should be personal and emotional, artistic experiences rather than ego-based, bitter “scenes,” but it’s really a mixed bag, just like any culture, subculture or counterculture! For now, I’ll just remain on the outskirts of the “scene” and keep focused on my occultism!

Bernadette: What do you see happening in today’s pagan community? What do you think is needed? What would you like to see happen?

Raven: I would like to see a greater focus on the “bigger picture,” and an immediate cease of infighting and superficiality. At the same time, I see people yearning to grow deeper in connection to the cosmos and the earth, and I’m glad to see so many people doing the Great Work around the world, helping guide others to their individual paths. Love is the key!

Bernadette: Do you have any book tours/signing coming up? What’s on the agenda for you? Any upcoming projects?

Raven: No tours or signings as of yet, but that is subject to change! My current project is a book on Empathy and Magick, for which I am incredibly excited. It’s coming to me now, and so I must dedicate myself to catching up with my emails and fan mail (yeah right! Slacker space-cadet here!), and buckling down to write another tome. I hope you like it! Namaste.

MINI BIO:

Raven Digitalis (Missoula, MT) is the author of “Planetary Spells & Rituals,” “Shadow Magick Compendium,” and “Goth Craft”, all on Llewellyn. He is a Neopagan Priest and cofounder of the “disciplined eclectic” or “Eastern Hellenistic” tradition and training coven Opus Aima Obscuræ, and is a radio and club DJ of Gothic and industrial music. Also trained in Georgian Witchcraft and Buddhist philosophy, Raven has been a Witch since 1999 and a Priest since 2003, and an Empath all of his life. Raven holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Montana and is also an animal rights activist, black-and-white photographic artist, Tarot reader, and is the co-owner of Twigs & Brews Herbs, specializing in bath salts, herbal blends, essential oils, soaps, candles and incenses. He has appeared on the cover of newWitch magazine and Spellcraft magazine (Australia) and has been featured on MTV News and CBS PsychicRadio.

An interview with Kenny Klein by Bernadette Montana

2010-09-16T17:21:00.004-04:00

An interview with Kenny Klein!

We now continue with on with our series of interviews with influential pagan authors, teachers, musicians and leaders.

Kenny Klein has been a part of our pagan community for many years now. He gives lectures, sings, plays the fiddle, a great photographer, an author, and a writer. I have had the pleasure of meeting and seeing Kenny perform a few times at the Starwood festival. It's always a pleasure to talk to Kenny and to hear what he has to say!

Bernadette:
Kenny, congratulations on your new book "Through The Faerie Glass", can you tell me a bit of what it's about?

Kenny:
Well, in a nutshell, it's an examination of how Faeries are viewed in traditional folklore, especially ages old songs from Britain and other parts of Europe. Our modern culture tends to view "fairies" as Tinker Bell, cute little flitting creatures who dance on flowers. But folklore paints a very different story. These are nasty, creepy, sexual creatures whose dealings with humans often goes very badly for the human!

Bernadette:
It's a much "darker" aspect of fairies. What inspired you to write this book?

Kenny:
In general I've been singing the traditional songs and telling the stories all my life. I've known the presence of Faeries all that time as well. I grew up in mid-state New York, which is a very enchanted area. Washington Irving and Poe both wrote about the magic of that area, along the Hudson River and in the Palisades. It's a creepy, eerie, spooky environment dripping with very tangible enchantment, and I do not use the word enchantment in the Disney sense!

In specific, i was at a Pagan festival in Canada a few years ago, and as part of my schedule at that festival I did a workshop on Faerie lore. A young woman approached me and said "I've studied Faeries all my life, and you know more than anyone I've ever met! You have to write a book." I'd thought many times about writing a book, but somehow this woman saying that was the catalyst. Just a few months later I ran into Elysia Gallo from Llewellyn, and mentioned that I'd been writing this book, and she got very excited. It was the right book at the right time for the right publisher, one of those magical things that just happens.

Bernadette:
Can you tell us about "The Flowering Rod"?

The Flowering Rod is as book about the role of men in Paganism, and especially in Wicca. I wrote the book in the early '90s, when there were many books written about women in Paganism and magick, but few to none about men. Unfortunately the publisher went out of business about a minute after the book came out, so it was out of print for years. It's finally back in print, and available on Amazon and a few other sites.

One thing I loved about writing The Flowering Rod was that I could write rituals for groups of men or groups of men and women to perform. I've since seen several groups use my material in their rituals. It's very rewarding.

Bernadette:
What projects do you have coming up?

Kenny:
Right now I'm finishing up a tour that has already taken me to ten or twelve states (of the United States---there have been many more states of mind during the tour than just that). I have about a month to go, then I head home for a while, though I plan to move to a completely different home in the next few months, so the move may be a huge project for me. I will spend the winter working on collectible dolls, recording a new CD, and continuing to write a novel based on the Faerie lore in my books. I'm also finishing my next book for Llewellyn, which is a similar treatment to Faerie Glass, but focuses on the Grimms fairy Tales. There will be a ritual or a spell for each of the tales the books looks at. That book is slated to be out in May of 2011. I'm pretty excited about it.

Bernadette:
You have contributed much to our pagan community. Can you tell us what you think of the state of our pagan community today? What differences to you see as compared to what is was in the 1980's?

Kenny:
Oh gosh what a loaded question!!! Well certainly the Internet has had a huge impact on the Pagan community. We're seeing two extremes because of technology: people finding it much easier to locate other Pagans than thirty years ago (in the '80s you had to skulk around metaphysical bookstores hoping someone would notice you and invite you to join a group); and paradoxically, many more Pagans practicing "solitary." I think there are pros and cons to both. While there are many very excellent groups out there, there are as many charlatans pretending to teach the craft as an excuse to promote their own agenda (manipulation, sex, control). So for many people joining a group is a challenge, despite the technology that makes finding groups so much easier. On the other hand, when one learns and practices alone, there is no one to fill in gaps, push one to strive for greater learning and experience, or steer one in the right direction. Self taught Pagans often have huge gaps in their knowledge of the religion and its traditions.

As a community, we have not yet arrived at anything like a happy medium. I will say that I encourage all Pagans to attend Pagan festivals (days long and week long camping events, like PSG, Free Spirit Gathering, Rites of Spring, Starwood, Sirius Rising and Wisteria Summer Solstice, all as opposed to one day events like a Pagan Pride day). these festivals expose Pagans to experienced teachers, various traditions, a wealth of ritual styles, and the sheer hedonistic joy of bonfire dancing, drumming, concerts and Pagan community and companionship. Many web sites list a multitude of Pagan festivals. they are worth investigating.

Bernadette:
I have been doing a lot of research lately into The Blue Star Tradition. Can you tell us a bit about Blue Star? Why do you think it it appealed to so many people? How has it evolved over the years? Do you still teach?

Kenny:
Blue Star is, I think, the oldest American born Wiccan tradition. Meaning, most of our traditional Wicca was born in England. Blue Star was created in Philadelphia.

Blue Star is a very traditional Wiccan path, with set rituals that vary very little from time to time (other than the specific work of that time of the year or the moon); we worship the old Gods/Goddesses of Europe (I am very staid in the notion that Wicca is European Paganism only, and if one is worshiping Egyptian, Chinese, American Indian or African deities, while it is powerful Paganism, it is not Wicca); we have a very set syllabus of teaching that involves experiential learning as well as reading and classes (most of what we teach is transmitted orally; very few books contain what we teach).

It's serious, but fun too. We eat a lot!!!!

Bernadette:
Where do you see our pagan community going these days, as compared to when you first started?

Kenny:
Another loaded question... I think the Pagan music scene is in amazing shape compared to when I entered it. In the '80s most Pagan music was being made by hobby musicians, who loved the Craft but had limited musical skills. Now I see bands like the Gypsy Nomads, Lunar Fore and Incus who are skilled professional musicians, and who tour the Pagan festival circuit (as I have done for three decades now...wow, I hate saying that!). Unfortunately I think these amazing Pagan musicians are under-appreciated by the community in general. Few Pagans seem to realize that there are "out" Pagans playing Pagan music for Pagans; many still refer to Stevie Nicks and Loreena McKennitt as Pagan music---both superb musicians and performers, but not "out" pagans playing music for a targeted Pagan audience.

In terms of knowledge, I think we are seeing a generation of experienced teachers fading away (we just lost a great teacher and scholar, Isaac Bonewits), and very few younger teachers of their caliber stepping into their shoes. Jason Mankey is a rising star, and a few others stand out, but there will be a sad vacuum in a few years. This concerns me deeply.

I hope to see more Pagans taking advantage of Pagan festivals and gatherings. They are great ways to connect to knowledge, experience and community. We now have several facilities that host various week-long Pagan events: the best of them are Wisteria, Brushwood, Diana's Grove and Camp Gaia.

Bernadette:
Can you tell me more about your work with "Blythe" dolls? What attracted you to them and how do you customize them?

Kenny:
Blythe dolls are collectible dolls that first appeared as children's toys in 1972, and through the efforts of a woman named Gina Garan became an iconic collectible doll (www.thisisblythe.com). I fell in love with Blythe in 2000 when I saw Gina's photographs of her in a gallery in Los Angeles. In the last year I've gotten involved with the art project of creating unique customized Blythe dolls (www.kennyklein.net/dolls.html). I take commissions for custom work. I also love my girls and talk to them. I'm a little weird I guess.

Bernadette:
Music has and always will change. You had roots in the punk scene (just like I did!)-did this influence you in the music that you do today? What do you listen too? What can we expect from Kenny Klein in the future?

Kenny:
In my most active Punk years I was very excited about the British New Romantics movement, and listened to bands like Bow Wow Wow, Adam and the Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and ska bands like Madness and the Specials. I still listen to these bands. I also bonded with my friends in the East Village: the Bad Brains (who lived in my kitchen for a while), the Cro Mags, the Undead, Agnostic Front, the Lunachicks, the Beastie Boys and Luscious Jackson. I still see some of these people from time to time.

Some of that music made its way into my playing and recording, most notably on my CD The Fairy Queen, which has a good deal of Dark Wave music on it (I did that CD with singing partner Lori Watley, who has a great Siouxsie-esque voice). But I'm also influenced by British Folk, Americana, Delta Blues and contemporary singer-songwriters like Tori Amos, Poe, Richard Thompson, Rasputina's Melora Creager and the Ditty Bops to name a tiny few. My next recorded music project will be a follow up to my CD "Meet Me In The Shade Of The Maple Tree," which is the world's first CD of Pagan Bluegrass music: it will be the world's first CD of Pagan Delta Blues and Jugband music.

The following was written by Kenny Klein for a memorial to Isaac Bonewits, in Orange County, NY.

Verses for Isaac
Kenny Klein, 8/25/10

Many see the stars above us
Few the sparkle there
Inscrib'd wi' the spear and torc
Of mighty Gods, and fair

Those that stand to light the way
Bright lanterns in the mire
Let them be immortalized
Though time may still their fire

Here now lieth such a one
A pilgrim of the path
Whose flame that lit the mighty cliff
did many seek to grasp

Let all imbued with true desire
To know the Gods of old
Hallow he interr'd here
A heart of faith, and gold

Suggested links:

Kenny Klein
www.kennyklein.net

The Gypsy Nomads
www.thegypsynomads.com

Jason Mankey
www.panmankey.com

Gina Garan
www.thisisblythe.com

Incus
www.incus.net

Brid's Closet
www.bridscloset.com

Brid's Closet "Random Thoughts"

Book signing, workshops & readings w/Raven and Stephanie Grimassi

My thoughts on 9/11-an update 2011

My thoughts on 9/11-an update on my original posting, 3 years later

Classes for Solitary witches

Pagan communty

Hurricane Irene, Brid's Closet and me!

Breakfast with Raymond Buckland!

The Sundance channel

The Ramones, The Misfits & syncronicity!

The 'Hymn to Bridget'

Brid's Closet "The Messenger" Happy 4th of July Issue!

Tarot readings and Healing sessions by Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone! July 15th and 17th

Trance-Prophesy One Day Intensive Workshop with Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone! July 16th at Palaia Vineyards-10 sweet Clover Rd. Highland Mills

CraftWise College July 18th - 24th, 2011Brushwood Folklore Center, Sherman, NY presented during SummerFest-Featuring:Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone Donata Ahern ,Gretchen Schork-Stone Carver-Zimra Cat McGowan-Carole Callen -Courtney Weber -Yust Lundberg- Bernadette Montana-Claudia Messier

Thoughts

An Interview with Judika Illes by Bernadette Montana

An Interview with Judika Illes!

Brid's Closet News-Beltane Festival news!

Beltane

Bookseller Profile – Bernadette Montana of Brid’s Closet

An Interview with Christopher Penczak by Bernadette Montana

An interview by Raymond Buckland by Bernadette Montana

Brid's Closet-The Messenger! Our Imbolc edition!

Today's tarot card-The World card

Today’s Tarot card-The Tower

An interview with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone by Bernadette Montana

The ethics of spells or, I wanna get what I want and I want it now!

wonderful quotes

AN INTERVIEW WITH RAVEN DIGITALIS by Bernadette Montana

An interview with Kenny Klein by Bernadette Montana

CraftWise College

July 18th - 24th, 2011
Brushwood Folklore Center, Sherman, NY presented during SummerFest-Featuring:Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone Donata Ahern ,Gretchen Schork-Stone Carver-Zimra Cat McGowan-Carole Callen -Courtney Weber -Yust Lundberg- Bernadette Montana-Claudia Messier