Danu's Daughter

The October Chill Brings the Sacred Celebration of Samhain

2011-09-30T09:46:00.001-04:00

It will soon be the time of The Last Harvest, a time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, a time to celebrate and a time to reflect – it will be the sacred time of Samhain.

The Earth will soon nod a sad farewell to the God, but Wiccans know that He will once again be reborn of the Goddess, and the eternal cycle of life through the turning of the sacred Wheel of the Year will continue. It is a time to not only reflect on death, but on rebirth.

October is a time of reflection, it is a season when Wiccans and Neo-Pagans honor the Ancient Ones, as well as all of those we love but who have gone on before us. Divination comes to the forefront, and our gifts of spiritual-metaphysical “seeing” takes on special significance during this time.

To Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans, Samhain is the Night of the Witches, a profound Sabbat to hold fast to the Goddess and the God, and to celebrate New Year’s. The modern world recognizes the holiday by its secular name: Halloween.

Samhain, (pronounced “Sow-een or Sow-in”) means "End of Summer," and is the third and final Harvest festival of the year. It also the Sabbat that commemorates when the dark half of the year takes hold.

It is generally celebrated on Oct. 31, but some traditions prefer Nov. 1. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other is Beltane. It is a magickal interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted.

Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is at its easiest at this time, for they journey through our world on their way to the Summerland. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother, and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone (the third aspect of the Triple Goddess), and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead." Today, a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.

This was the time that cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on Nov. 7), and Martinmas (that is celebrated Nov. 11), thus Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

Symbolism and Correspondences Associated With Samhain

Concepts: Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.
Animals/Mythical Creatures: Bats, Cats, Dogs, Pooka, Goblin, Medusa, Sidhe, Harpies.
Symbols: Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms (Brooms.)

Herbs: Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Comfrey, Dandelion, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Mugwort, Ferns, Flax, Fumitory, Mullein, Dragon’s Blood, Thistles, Oak Leaves, Sage, Straw, Wormwood (burn to protect from roving spirits).

Food: Turnips, Apples, Pumpkin Pie, Bread, Pomegranate, Squash, Hazelnuts, Corn, Cranberries, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Cider, Herbal Tea, Ale, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense/Oil: Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg, Frankincense, Basil, Yarrow, Lilac, Camphor, Clove, Wood Rose, Wormwood, Myrrh, Patchouli, Apple, Sage, Ylang-Ylang.

Colors/Candles: Black (which wards off negativity), Orange (good luck), White, Silver, Gold, Indigo, Homemade Apple or Mint Scented Herbal Candles, Jack-o’-Lanterns.

Stones/Gemstones: All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian, Carnelian.
Tools/Symbols/Decorations: Black Altar Cloth, Jack-o’-Lanterns, Oak Leaves, Acorns, Straw, Balefire, Besom (Broom), Black Cat, Black Crescent Moon, Cauldron, Divination/Scrying Tools, Mask, Bare Branches, Animal Bones, Hazelwood, Depictions of Ancestors/Loved Ones.

Goddesses: The Crone, Hekate (Greek) and my personal Sacred Goddess, Cerridwen (Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod (Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat (persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Hel (Norse), Kali(Hindu), all Death and Otherworld Goddesses.

Gods: Horned Hunter (European), Kernunnos (Greco-Celtic), Osiris (Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis (Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), Sacrificial/Dying/Aging Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods.

Rituals/Magick: Honoring/Consulting Ancestors, Releasing the Past (old behaviors that hold you back, etc.), Power, Understanding Death and Rebirth, Entering the Underworld, Divination, Dance of the Dead, Fire Calling, Past Life Recall, Bonfires.

Element/Gender: Water/Male.

Threshold: Midnight.

I am an Eclectic Solitary Wiccan, so celebrations with a lot of people – even for Samhain – are just not for me. Also, I’m disabled, so dancing around bonfires is also out. So, I have adapted/combined a series of Samhain Rites into a Solitary Practice. I am presenting it below as an example of a celebration only. I have also included some additional prayers and charges that might be useful. Samhain honors the Dark Goddess and Dark God. My personal choices are to honor the Dark Goddess Hekate, and Dark God Kernunnos, but select a pantheon that speaks to your spiritual tradition.

Feel free to take what ye need, fellow spiritual travelers – an harm to none!

The Samhain Sabbat Rite

What you will need:
--Altar with a Pentacle (a five-pointed star – Pentagram – within an enclosing circle)

--Three Black Candles

--Cauldron (real, not plastic) or similar cast-iron pot

--Athame, Wand or Staff

--Besom (broom)

--Chalice

--Silver and Gold Candles (Illuminator Candles)

--Bowl of Water

--Salt

--Anointed Oil and Clean White Cloth or Napkin

--Censer and Incense

--Matches

--Candle Snuffer

--Bell

--Drumming Stick (NOT an Athame/Wand)

--Slips of Paper Edged in Black (Note: Handwrite the name of an ancestor/loved one you wish to honor on a separate slip of black-edged paper. Take time to meditate, and prepare them in advance.)

--Slips of Paper (Note: Handwrite on individual slips of paper behaviors or anything else that has been holding you back, and that you wish to release during the New Year, or behaviors-things you wish to add. Again, take time to meditate mindfully, and prepare them in advance.)

--Pumpkin or other seasonal Altar decorations

--Crete (Dried herbs)

--Offering Bowl (With stones or nuts)

--Offering Plate (With bread or other snack)

--Beverage

Preparation
Most Wiccans take a ritual bath or shower before they begin any Magickal rite. That is especially important prior to a significant Sabbat like Samhain. I like to put on clean clothes with a Samhain theme after I’m all scrubbed, sometimes even a witchy hat!

[Important Note: The Altar, and all of your magickal tools, should be within the area where you will be casting a Sacred Circle. Once the circle is closed, it’s a pain to reopen it to go and get something you’ve forgotten, so take care in placing everything within the area you plan to do all of your magickal work.]

When setting up the Altar, place three black candles for the Triple Moon Goddess prominently between the Silver and Gold Candles Illuminator Candles, and put an orange candle inside the Cauldron. I generally choose to place Cauldron, which has a greater role than in many rites, in the West Quadrant of the Altar.

[Note: Place the remaining traditional Altar items (Chalice, Pentagram, water bowl, offering items) in their normal positions.]

The placement of the cauldron depends on personal symbolic preference. If the cauldron is to have a candle in it, placing it in the southern quarter of the circle can be considered most appropriate since the south is the direction corresponding with the element of Fire. On the other hand, placing the cauldron in the western quarter can be considered just as appropriate for Samhain since it is the Feast of the Dead, and the west has long been considered to be the direction corresponding to the dwelling-place of departed spirits.

Next, use the Besom to symbolically brush away all of the negative energy from the area that you will be working your magick, including all Altar items and also from your clothes and body. Say:

Sweep, sweep with this broom
All bad out, out of this room.

Sweep, sweep all good in

The bad never ever here again.

And/Or:

Tout, tout, tout
Within and without
All negativity

Get out, out, out.

[Note: It is important that you are grounded and open to spiritual energy before you cast the Sacred Circle. The following is a great exercise to do that. Imagine that you are a tree. First, stamp your feet on the ground to feel the substantial power of the Earth. Focus on feeling the Earth’s energy spreading upward, legs becoming the roots of a tree drawing direct power from the Earth, which travels up your legs and throughout all of the cells in your body and torso. This amazing energy spreads to your arms and hands (branches and leaves) then your head as it begins to flow out of your hands and back down to the ground, completing the circle (sphere.) It’s important to really get the energy flowing before starting.]

Casting the Sacred Circle

If possible, you should hold your Samhain Ritual outside in the fresh air and elements. But, if this is impossible (which it always is for me, because of my disability), don’t worry about it, just perform the Rite at your indoor Altar.

When properly focused, image the boundaries of the circle you plan to cast. It really can be any size, but generally is at least six feet across. Most circles tend to be larger, about nine feet across, if the caster is doing so outside. If you’re inside and space is even more limited, select a size that is convenient for everything that you plan to use and to be doing. Since I’m disabled, my circles tend to be smaller.

If you are new to casting circles, it may be easier to actually put stones or some other maker (rope, etc.) on the ground or floor in advance to physically represent its flat, two-dimensional boundary.

Next, take the water from the Altar and walk the perimeter of the circle you have imagined in a clockwise (or doesil) direction, beginning at the WEST corner. As you walk, sprinkle water droplets and say:

As I walk this circle round, I cleanse and consecrate this ground.

Now, take the salt from the Altar and begin to walk the circle around clockwise again, sprinkling the salt, saying:

First with Water then with Earth, with negativity banished there’s joyous rebirth.

Finally, take the Censer from the Altar, light the incense, and begin walking the circle a third time clockwise, “smoking” the circle’s boundary as you say:

Next with Fire, then with Air, leaving only purity fair.

Now, take the Athame, wand or staff (I use an Athame, so will be using it throughout the remaining narrative) from the Altar and put it in your dominate hand. Meditate a moment to re-gather your power. Focus the power down your arm and into the Athame. Direct the Athame’s tip down at the ground beginning at the WEST Corner, then proceed around to “pull up” the circle’s three-dimensional boundary.

Specifically, begin by pointing the Athame downward, imaging it going through the floor or ground and into the earth. Next, raise the Athame gradually to heart level, finally raise it above your head, at an angle that progresses from outward to straight up.

Walk slowly, clockwise. Continue to use your focus and intent to “pull” the circle up. I envision the energy sparking from the earth into my body then out from my arm into the Athame and out in a beam of steady bright blue-white energy (the color of the energy I envision depends on the work planned). Truly SEE and FEEL the shimmering, flame of power pouring out of the Athame, the wonderful energy enveloping you and coming up and over your head as you walk, creating the three-dimensional protective “bubble” or sphere of cosmic strength. (Some Wiccans and Neo-Pagans forget that a magick circle should always be three-dimensional. They make the mistake of only cast it in two-dimensions, thus they and their magick is not protected and contained within, and is less effective.)

When done, you and your Altar are completely within the friendly confines of your Sacred Circle. Only bright, positive energy, the power of love, is inside this shimmering bubble/sphere. When the Sacred Circle is pulled up completely and you feel that it is properly cast and enforced, say:

I, (then repeat your own magickal name), conjure thee, O Circle of Power, to form my sacred meeting place; To harbor me, within this hour; outside of time, outside of space.

Let the pumpkin’s candle glare,
Into darkness everywhere;

Burn all evil from the air!

I call air for speed
Fire to cleanse

Earth to manifest

Spirit to sea
(Visualize the Sacred Circle energy)
as above, so below.

The circle is now cast.

Ring the Bell. Light first the Gold Illuminator Candle, then use its flame to light the Silver Illuminator Candle. [Note: Wait to light the black and orange candles.]

Once a circle is cast, it is preferable not to open it until all work is done. But, to safely exit create a door by using the Athame and cut a metaphysical ‘doorway.’ Leave the besom at this doorway, as it spiritually protects the circle from negativity until you return. When your return, go back in at the same area you left, bring the besom back in with you, then seal the circle back with the Athame. A lot of practitioners believe that you can leave and return the circle without having to do any of this, but that is how I was taught, so that I what I do.

The Statement of Purpose and Precedent

I read, or recite this from memory:

"Across the globe, we Wiccans gather on the Feast of Samhain, the End and Beginning of the Sacred Year, the Time of Turning when the Dark Time begins. This is the Last Harvest. The fields lie empty, sinking into Winter’s Sleep and our larders hold what gain we have reaped from our labors.

"The Great Wheel of the Year has turned as summer has become fall and the light of the days are fading into the dark. Soon, we will be in wintertime, at peace with all that we have harvested this season so that we may go into our healing dream-time to restore our souls.

"We meet within the blessed bounds of this Sacred Circle to celebrate passing from one season to the next, from the old year to the new, and from life to death to life reborn.

"Thus, has the Wheel turned full cycle. Now, we look back for knowledge from the life that has just passed.

"As one year ends and next begins, we hereby seek the Seed that will wait in the Womb of Winter.

"So Mote it Be!

"Now let us open the Way Between...

"As our forebears did, so we do now, and so may our descendants do in times to come. We gather to offer devotion to the Lord of the House of the Dead, and to the Queen of Phantoms; to the Gods, the Dead and the Sidhe (pronounced Shee); and especially to our honored dead here on the Feast of the Dead.

"We offer to Kernounnos (or the House of Donn) the Dark One, the Antlered God who offers hospitality and peace to those bound for the Ancestors’ Country. We offer to Hekate (or Morrigan,) the Great Queen of Battle and Sorcery; the Old Woman of Death and the Cauldron of Rebirth.

"In this Season of Death we honor the Holy Dead as the ancients did."

Take a moment to meditate upon these great mysteries, then repeat:

"To the Gods, the Dead and the Sidhe I offer you welcome. All you Spirits who gather here with me, I invite you to join in honoring the Patrons of our rite.

"On the Night of the Scythe and the Skull, the honor-feast of Summer’s End, let us worship the Dark One and the Great Queen.

"So Mote it Be!"

I generally repeat several prayers or invocations at this point. I have included a couple of personal favorites below.

Samhain: The Coming of the Crone

Icy syllables from an ancient time
She breathes into the void of darkness.

We stand in awe of Her chilling aspects trine.
The tree branches reveal starknessat the Coming of the Crone.

Gnarled and blasted bones bereft of all leaves,
led by Her spells mutter heresies;

Upraised tombstones utter cacophonies;
The hounds of Hades bark strong decreesat the Coming of the Crone.
Her horrendous majesty astounds our flesh.
Her orb above penetrates the haze:

Leprous-white Lady, source and cure of distress.
Shadow-framed myst’ry ornately plays
at the Coming of the Crone.

On This Dark Night!!
~~~~~~~~~~

Samhain Prayer

Samhain! Samhain! Samhain!
Take the new fire! Send the rain!
Banish care and banish pain!

Speed the ghosts who ban the sheep,
Light the path to spirit sleep!
This our fire to light the way

This eve:
Samhain!
~~~~~~

The Death Song
(Re-Paganized from the Carmina Gadelica)

You go home this night to your home of winter,
To your home of fall, of spring, of summer,
You go home this night to the Turning House,
To your pleasant rest in the Land of Joy.

Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest this night in the Mother’s Breast,
Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest, O beloved, with the Mother’s Kiss.

In the Many Colored Land;
In the Land of the Dead;
In the Plain of Joy;
In the Land Beneath the Wave;

In the Land of Youth;
In the Land of the Ever-Living;
In the Revolving Castle, the House of Donn.
Rest in seven lights, beloved,
Rest in seven joys, beloved,
Rest in seven sleeps, beloved,
In the Grove of the Cauldron, Morrigan’s Shrine.

The shadow of death is on your face, beloved,
But the Cauldron of Rebirth awaits you,
The threefold turning of your Fate,
When your rest has given you your peace.

So rest in the calm of all calms,
Rest in the wisdom of all wisdoms,
Rest in the love of all loves,
Rest in the Lord of Life and Death,
Rest in the Lady of Life and Death,
‘Till the Season of Turning
‘Till the Time of Returning
‘Till the Mystery of the Cauldron
~~~~~~~~

The Assembling of the Quarter-Regents

Samhain is the only celebration of the Sacred Wheel of the Year that entails a change in the wording of the Assembling of the Quarter-Regents. (Otherwise, The Opening Rites are performed as a traditional Sabbat.) The alternate wording and directional sequence of the salutations follow.

To Call the West

"Regents of the West, Patrons of the Blessed Dead, Protectors of the Departed in Avalon beyond Thy primordial seas; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time."

To Call the South

"Regents of the South, Patrons of All Hallow’s blazing bonfires, Protectors of the paths of wandering spirits as Ye illumine their way to ancestral home and hearth; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time."

To Call the East

"Regents of the East, Patrons of phantom-filled winds, Protectors of breeze-borne apparitions let loose from the ethereal realms; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time."

To Call the North

"Regents of the North, Patrons of enchanted places and moonlit megaliths, Protectors of haunted heaths and long-forgotten, circled stones; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time."
~~~~~~

Honoring the Ancestors

Repeat:

"On the Feast of Samhain the veils between the worlds are thin. I call now to our Beloved Dead, the blessed Ancestors, to join our feast and receive due offering.

"Come to the Gates, honored ones; hear my call, I, one of your children – remember. I offer you my worship, reverence and love.

"You who fill the empty womb; you who cause the seed to spring; you who fill the breast with milk; receive now these offerings, made in your honor."

--Hold up the stones or nuts that you have brought as your symbolic offering.

--Ring the Bell.
~~~~~

Anointing with Oil

Next, retrieve the vial of anointing oil from the Altar. Begin by dipping a forefinger into it, then lightly tracing an Invoking Pentacle on your forehead with the oil (I trace a Pentagram, then close it with a circle, thus creating the Pentacle), while saying the following blessing:

"In the Name of Persephone, Protector of the Blessed Dead, I anoint myself with the chrism of protection for this journey of vision between the worlds."

Next, anoint yourself with a dot-like mark upon your forehead in the area of the “third eye” (which represents divination in this Rite) saying the following blessing:

"In the Name of Holy Persephone, Hope of the Blessed Dead, I anoint myself with this chrism of spirit-perception, that you may sense the presence of those passed on beyond the gathering shrouds of the Grave on this, their Sacred Night."
When the anointing procedure is completed, return the vial to the altar, and use the prepared white cloth or napkin to absorb the excess oil from your finger, but leave it on your forehead.
~~~~~

The Triple Candle Invocation of Hekate Trevia

After the anointing, begin the invocations to call the Dark Mother, asking her to join the Quarter-Regents. Standing before the unlit candles that represent her Triple Aspect of Hekate, (that were placed prominently upon the altar between the two Illuminator Candles,) begin by saying:

"The Dark Mother comes from time long past the setting sun. Lady of Night she is, where country crossing cry her sacred. She-force Shadow with upraised torch of Hades red-onyx bright; her hounds at bay where pathworked lanes collide."

Light one of the three black candles, then say:

"Hail, Hekate Trevia, Wise One of the Willows; Thou who stirrest the Cauldron of Fate with the Staff of Destiny!

"Visit me this Night with Divination and the Sight!"
Now light the second black candle, and say:

"Hail, Hekate Trevia, Queen of the Ghostworld, enthroned upon the bones of departed generations!

May the spirits of Thy crypted Domain be pleased with this rite of remembrance as they celebrate All Hallows among us!"

Light the final black candle, saying:

"Hail, Hekate Trevia, Spectral Sovereign of Darkness; Bringer of Shadows that I might see invisible realities without distraction from the light.

"Part for me this Night the Veil that wanes thin between the worlds!"

The Invocation of Hekate as Crone

After having lighted the three black candles, recite the following:

"All Hallows, Samhain Hekate arrives again; ground to dust beneath her feet summer leaves now stiff with Autumn’s death. In the midst of chill an Age-Goddess cloaked in the mantle of the Crone – woven cloth of arcane Wisdom – quickens her pace in the midnight towards the altar of the ending year."

Raise your Athame and begin the welcoming of the Crone:

"All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Season-reaping Crone!

I see Thee in the blazing colored death of Autumn’s leaves, and am in awe.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Night-stalking Crone!

I hear Thee in sounds of nocturnal owls seeking their prey under cloak of darkness, and am made uneasy.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Death-dealing Crone!

I touch Thee when feeling weathered tombstones in peaceful cemeteries, and am reflective.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Time-devouring Crone!

I feel Thee in the ice-caress of Thy gnarled fingers as they grip my youthfulness with deteriorating age, and are made aware of my own mortality.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Harvest-ending Crone!

I taste Thee in the last apples of October’s bounty, bidding me store away for the cold to come, as I am chilled with wintry foreboding.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Ever-recurring Crone!

I tremble before Thee in dreadful reverence, overwhelmed by the evidence of my senses, conveying to me Thy presence in this season.

To the Crone be praise,
To the Crone be power,
To the Crone be preeminence,
on this, Her Holy Night of All Hallows!

So Mote It Be!"

--Ring the Bell to toll Her arrival.
~~~~~

The Invocation of the Sacred Stag

“The Horned Lord of Winter’s Darkness” is a title of the God in His winter manifestation as the Ruler of the Dark Half of the Year – Kernunnos. “The Sacred Stag of the Gates of Annwn” is the title designating the God in His aspect as the Lord of the Underworld. In Celtic myth the Stag (Kernunnos or the Donn) is often associated with visitations for the Other Side.

“Man in Black” is an important title because black is the most popular, traditional color of Samhain, but primarily, this reference has to do with the belief that numerous medieval covens were often ritually led by a man who was characterized by the wearing of horns and black garb as a ceremonial representative of the God.

Below, is an invocation of Kernunnos, but first a word or two of explanation. The reference to “Who beholds the face of Hel,” is not a reference whatsoever to the Christian concept of “Hell.” “Hel” with one “l” refers instead to the Norse goddess of the Underworld, although there is also an intentional play on words, for as a chthonic deity, Kernunnos does indeed behold even Hell itself – if Hell is taken as a synonym with Hades as the realm of the dead.

After completing the invocation of the Crone, pause to meditate. Dip your Athame into the chalice, then lift it up and say:

"Satyr Pan, Lord of Life, he meets her here – Hekate – on this Haunted Eve. They kiss Completion, yet a Cycle begun on the Wheel that turns once more. Old He is on the altar laid, His spirit released with Her spell; Lord be He declined in death, His form but swirling grains of earth, Spring’s fibrous strength decayed. Horned Pan descends below, to the home of the Hollow Womb he returns, to the Cauldron of the Deep Within."

It is time to being the invocation of The Stag by saying:

"By the all-powerful torque of Kernunnos,
By the wisdom of the serpent which He holds,
By He Who sees, but is not seen,
By He Who knows the Mystery, and keeps the eternal Secrets,

I call down upon thee the Horned Lord of Winter's Darkness,
the Sacred Stag of the Gates of Annwyn,
the Seated God of the Ghosts of Gaul."
Now, raise your Athame to honor the Horned God, saying:

"All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
Lord of the Dead,
Companion of the Crone;
We invoke Thee!

All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
Man in Black,
Fleet-footed Sabbat God,
Be here amongst us (or, be here with me)!

All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
King Stag of the Wildwoods,
Antlered Messenger from Another World;
Thou art welcomed!"

Meditate, then say the following as Kernunnos:

"I am Kernunnos, risen from nether regions of misty gloom in the Land of Living Shades. Dark Twin of Pan am I, Wraith-Raiser of the Waning Seasons!

Look now upon the visage of your Paleolithic God imaged upon the shrine-caves of Ariege!

See in Me the antlered shaman dancing by smoky, flickering cavern-flames, casting shadows larger than life, darker than death.

Observe in Me the Sacred Stag of sacrifice, the Hunted Hart of Winter; with My body have the hungry been fed; with My skin have tattered tribes been clothed against the cold.

I am Kernunnos, Horned One of Hades Who beholds the face of Hel.

Guardian God of the Threshold am I, Protector of the dead at the Bridge of Crossing.

Come and follow your chthonic God in solemn procession down the descending spiral that leads to the Doors of the Dead!"

--Ring the Bell to toll His arrival.
~~~~~~~~

Into The Grove

The next part of the ritual is its heart and soul. To perform it, you will be leaving your Altar, and entering the Dark Realm of betwixt and between; to join a processional that finds Kernunnos and Hekate at the Sacred Cauldron of the Dead.

To do this, you need only your fully awakened spirit, a little imagination, and some Wiccan magick!

You will be re-enacting, in your mind and in words, a symbolic procession of which you will become an integral part.

Take a moment to re-gather your energy. Now, envision that you have been transported to a fragrant, wooded, forest area. After a moment, you hear the approach of other Samhain revelers, and you join their joyous procession.

Pick up the drumming stick and use it to create the slow, rhythmic sounds mimicking the procession’s footfalls along your journey. All of the participants are either walking or dancing counter-clockwise (widdershins). [Note: Decide the SEE how you are moving!]

All of you are instinctively following a spiral path (symbolizing the Goddess and the eternal Turning of the Wheel) that gradually leads into a midnight grove of beautiful, tall trees that have come together in a natural, broad circle. All of these majestic giants are reaching their almost-bare branches up into the darkness as if they were each a priestess or priest. Suddenly, you see a magick cauldron that is sitting in the middle of this Sacred Circle.

Abruptly, Lord Kernunnos and Lady Hekate appear next to the cauldron. When you envision this, mediate upon the image until it is so clear in your mind that you can actually feel the crisp air, smell the forest, and see the details of the clothes that the God and Goddess are wearing.

Stop drumming and speak again as Kernunnos:

"The Lord Stag Kernunnos bids you welcome to the wonders of shades and spirits as you glimpse into that ghost-ridden realms revealing the resting-place of the disincarnate!"

Repeat the following as Kernunnos, but who has turned and is now addressing the Goddess Hekate:

"Lady, it is time for the darkness to be illuminated by the otherworldly Light of the Goddess, that the ancient traditions may be honored."
Now, speak as Hekate responding to Kernunnos:

"As Thou hast spoken, so shall it be, Lord Kernunnos!"
~~~~~

The Lighting of the Samhain Fire

It is now time to light the orange candle that you had placed in the cauldron on your physical Altar, but keep your mind in the magickal grove with the processional and the God and Goddess. After lighting the candle, grab a pinch of dried herbs (Crete) and drop them into the flame. Then say:

"Death for life the sacrifice; another year gives up its ghost. Freshly dead seasons consumed in the bonfires of Samhain, billowing crimson-orange in ashen blackness; spectral fiery incantations. Goddess-summoned spirits celebrate this Night between the years. End, Beginning, No Time Betwixt, cradle and grave in one. Future faded, past returned, all alive have died. Dimensions departed, merged with the moment; Mystery the magick is yarn for Hekate’s wraith-raising loom!"

--Ring the Bell.
~~~~~~~~

The Offering for the Dead

Pick up each slip of black-edged paper that bears the name of an ancestor or loved one lost. These will now be used as an offering in memory of the Ancient Ones, and the specific ancestors, loved ones and friends who have passed on to the Land of Shadows.

Meditate silently, then recite the name of a person you are memorializing, placing the black-edged slip of paper that bears their name slowly into the Cauldron, allowing the candle’s flame to burn the slip completely to ashes. As you do so, declare:

"I, (state your magickal name), remember thee, and offer (love, respect and) honor on this Night of Wonders, and Shades of Spirits." [Note: Only offer love if you felt love for the departed. This is a declaration, very close to a magickal binding, so only say what is true and not false. If you are honoring someone you did not know, adjust the words accordingly.]

Repeat the process until each name has been recited, their paper fully consumed, and the individual offering message declared.

It is now time to do the same thing with each slip of paper that bears upon it something that has been holding you back, something that you wish to change, or something positive that you wish to add in the coming year (reminiscent of New Year’s resolutions.) Read each item aloud, then burn it to ashes in the cauldron, while saying:

"I, (state your magickal name), hereby release (name the behavior-item-person to be eliminated) from my life on this Witches New Year, so that I may be reborn from the Cauldron of the Dead.

I, (state your magickal name), hereby draw (name the behavior-item-person to be added) into my life on this Witches New Year, so that I may be reborn from the Cauldron of the Dead."

Repeat until all of the slips of paper have been burned, and each declaration made.

[Important Note: Because both of these burning rituals are acts of magick, you must send your will, your magickal intent, into each slip of paper during both the recitation of the dead, and the declaration of the changes you will be making in your life.]

After you have brought your will fully to bear, read each aloud and said the appropriate declaration, repeat:

"As I have willed, So Mote it Be!"

In Wicca, magickal intent is very, very REAL, and extremely powerful. After the burning rituals have all been completed, re-gather your energy and gives thanks to the sacred Element of Fire for releasing all of your intentions toward their magickal goals.

--Ring the Bell, tolling to honor your magickal intentions.
~~~~~~

The Blessing

As in all Rites, it is beneficial to enjoy “Cakes and Ale,” a symbolic meal, whether you are a Solitary Practitioner or a member of a group. This ritual is different, however, because you are still in the magickal grove with the procession of revelers and the God and Goddess, so even if you are “alone,” you are with a group!

Eat and drink the bread, wine, juice or other seasonal “meal” that you have brought into the Sacred Circle for this purpose. After you have eaten, offer a blessing:

"The Ale of Blessing flows in me, filling me with the magick of the Dark Goddess Hekate, and the God Kernunnos.

As the year turns, let me welcome the quiet of the Dark. Let the stillness of the land calm and satisfy my spirit, allowing me to receive the Harvest’s Bounty.

Let the gain of the passing year be mine, to fill my life with contentment.

Let me welcome the Dead who wish to return to the living world, even as I remember those who depart. May we rest content as we pass the threshold of new beginnings."

--Ring the Bell, tolling in thanksgiving.
~~~~~~~~

The Conclusion

When you sense that it is time to draw the Ritual to a close, say:

"It is time to make ready for my journey back to the world where night follows day and moon follows sun, rotating the spinning cycles of season after season; where the tides of my life shall wax and wane until I, too, must descend again into this nether-dimness among the shadowed spirits."

Meditate on all that has happened, then repeat:

"Lord Kernunnos, it is time that I depart Thy dark Domain.

Dread God of Death, Thou alone can take me back to that dimension where light and life are intertwined to make for the brightness of my momentary incarnations before I must return again to Thy caring embrace.

I beseech Thee, O Stag of Autumn’s Night, while the psychic Veil that divides the dead from the living is still transparently thin, grant me guidance between the worlds to the safety of the realm above."

When you have finished His entreaty, take the role of Kernunnos, lifting up your right hand, palm outward, as in a command for silence, before ‘he’ begins ‘his’ reply:

"(Your name spoken here) as you have asked, so shall it be done!

In these night-draped regions of Persephone there is serenity and rest for those labored of life and tired of heart, but your time has not yet come.

Follow now in My hoof prints, and you shall cross safely the bridge between the worlds."

Bow in reverence to the God, as he begins to lead you and your party out of the grove, and back to the here-and-now, where time will resume.

Once again, beat the drumming stick to echo in you and your group’s footfalls. But, this time all will walk or dance the sacred spiral clockwise (deosil.) When you and your spiral procession have reached the boundaries of worlds, take a moment to meditate. Next, still speaking as Kernunnos, repeat ‘his’ parting words:

"Turn towards the lantern at the Eastern Gate, the glowing lamplight at the Quarter of the Rising Sun.

See there in prophecy the insatiable Satyr, Spring’s Horned Pan in pursuit of the Maiden’s pleasure, for life must always follow death; this, the fallow season, must be followed by the fertile.

But it is now I Who reign in the dying of Autumn and the snowy slumber of Winter’s repose.

As I take My leave, look not behind you, lest I take you with Me into the infernal Abyss that divides the dimensions, for I go the Way of the Gods, and My Secret Mysteries are not for you to know.

The blessings of All Hallows be upon you, and the granted guidance of the Crone be your portion.

All Hail, Farewell, and Blessed Be!"

--Ring the Bell, tolling for Kernunnos.

There should be silence for an appropriate period.

Now, speak as yourself:

"Behold, I have returned to my time and space!

The God is gone; the Sacred Stag has slipped into the shadows from whence He came.

I am in awe, and am thankful for His visitation;
For His lifting the Veil between worlds this Samhain night.

Blessed Be Kernunnos!"
~~~~~~~

The Parting Prayer

To end the Rite, stand and raise your Athame and speak the parting prayer to the Beloved Goddess:

"Crone of Dark Moons and Death, Hag Queen of All Hallows, be pleased to remain here until the last shadows of Samhain are swallowed in the light-fused mists of morning.

Protect me from all harm and spiritual malevolence.

Enlighten me from the wells of Thy ageless wisdom, and endow me with the insight that comes with reverence for Thy worship.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, and Farewell!"

--Ring the Bell, tolling for the departing Queen.
~~~~~

The Dismissal of the Quarter-Regents

The dismissal will always begin with the Quarter-Regent Who has the seasonal preeminence – West for Samhain, the sequence of dismissal continuing with the south, east, and north.

The Opening of the Circle

Take your Athame to the boundary of the Sacred Circle, and starting at the same quarter from which you initially began to cast the circle (west,) once again walk its circumference, pointing the Athame at its boundary as you progress. This time, visualize the dissipation of the blue-white spherical walls of the sacred space and say:

"This Rite of Samhain is ended!

May shadows and spirits guide me towards the dark-crystalled wisdom of the Crone as I learn to be at peace in the season of death that leads to life.

Merry Meet, and Merry Part!"

Remember to snuff the candles out rather than to blow them out to honor the Element of Fire. Also, take the ashes from the cauldron, and the other offerings that are left and spread them outside, do not throw them away.
~~~~~~~~

Wiccan Rede (Full Text)

Bide ye Wiccan laws you must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
Live ye must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give,
For the circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.

To bind ye spell well every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch, speak ye little, listen much.

Doesil go by the waxing moon, chanting out ye baleful tune.
When ye Lady’s moon is new, kiss ye hand to her times two.

When ye moon rides at her peak, then ye hearts desire seek.
Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.

When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.

Nine woods in the caldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Elder be ye Lady’s tree, burn it not or cursed ye’ll be.

When the wheel begins to turn, soon ye beltane fires will burn.
When the Wheel hath turned a Yule, light the log the Horned One rules.
Heed ye flowers, bush and tree, by the Lady blessed be,
Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone the thruth ye’ll know.

When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.
With a fool no season spend, or be counted as his friend.

Merry meet and Merry part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind ye threefold law you should, three times bad and three times good.

When misfortune is enow, wear the star above thy brow.
True in love must ye ever be, lest thy love be false to thee.

These eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill;
An harm ye none, do what ye will.
~~~~~~~~

The Witches’ Creed
By Doreen Valiente, 1978 Witchcraft for Tomorrow

Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny’s pathway,
That now we bring forth into the light.

Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air.
By hidden quintessence we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.

The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the Magickal ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat Returns,
And the witches are seen,
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Even and old Hallowe’en.

When day-time and night-time are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
Again witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven’s array,
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.

The power was passed down the ages,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the Magickal circle,
By sword or Athame or power,
Its compass between the two worlds lies,
In Land of the Shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it,
And world of beyond will tell naught,
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of Magick is wrought.

For two are the mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.

The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
Of this did our ancestors teach.

By night he’s the wild wind’s rider,
The Horn’d One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he’s the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.

She is youthful and old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver Lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of Magick,
They dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.

So drink the good wine to the old Gods,
And dance and make love in their praise,
’Till Elphame’s fair land shall receive us,
In peace at the end of our days.

And Do What You Will be the challenge,
So be it in love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Magick of old be it done!
~~~~~~~
The Charge of the God

Listen to the words of the Horned God,
The Guardian of all things wild and free,
and Keeper of the Gates of Death, whose Call all must answer:

I am the fire within your heart... The yearning of your Soul. I am the Hunter of Knowledge and the Seeker of the Holy Quest; I who stand in the darkness of light; I am He whom you have called Death. I am the Consort and Mate of Her we adore, call forth to me.

Heed my call beloved ones, come unto me and learn the secrets of death and peace. I am the corn at harvest and the fruit on the trees. I am He who leads you home. Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood these are mine and gifts to thee.

Call unto me in the forest wild and on hilltop bare and seek me in the Darkness Bright. I who have been called; Pan, Herne, Osiris, and Hades, speak to thee in thy search. Come dance and sing; come live and smile, for behold: this is my worship.

You are my children and I am thy Father. On swift night wings it is I who lay you at the Mother's feet to be reborn and to return again.

Thou who thinks to seek me, know that I am the untamed wind, the fury of storm and passion in your Soul. Seek me with pride and humility, but seek me best with love and strength.

For this is my path, and I love not the weak and fearful. Hear my call on long Winter nights and we shall stand together guarding Her Earth as She sleeps.
~~~~~~~~

The Charge of the Goddess (Traditional)

Now listen to the words of the Great Mother,

who was of old also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names. At her altars, the youth of Lacedaemon in Sparta made due sacrifice.

Whenever ye have need of any thing,
once in the month,
and better it be when the moon is full,
then shall ye assemble in some secret place,
and adore the spirit of me,
who am Queen of all witches.

There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,
yet have not won its deepest secrets;
to these will I teach things that are as yet unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign that ye be really free,
ye shall be naked in your rites;
and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love,
all in my praise.

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,
and mine also is joy on earth;
for my law is love unto all beings.

Keep pure your highest ideal;
strive ever towards it, let naught stop you or turn you aside;
for mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth,
and mine is the cup of wine of life,
and the cauldron of Cerridwen,
which is the Holy Grail of immortality.

I am the gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy
unto the heart of man.
Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;
and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom,
and reunion with those who have gone before.

Nor do I demand sacrifice; for behold,
I am the Mother of all living,
and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
whose body encircles the universe.

I who am the beauty of the green earth
and the white moon upon the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe.
From me all things proceed and unto me they must return.

Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.

Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion,
honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know me, know that the seeking and yearning
will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.

For behold, I have been with you from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

~~~~~~~~

The Charge of the Crone

I am the Queen of Magick and the dark of the Moon, hidden in the deepest night. I am the mystery of the Otherworlds and the fear that coils about your heart in the times of your trials. I am the soul of nature that gives form to the universe; it is I who awaits you at the end of the spiral dance. Most ancient among gods and mortals, let my worship be within the heart that has truly tasted life, for behold, all acts of magick and art are my pleasure and my greatest ritual is love itself. Therefore let there be beauty in your strength, compassion in your wrath, power in your humility, and discipline balanced through mirth and reverence.

You who seek to remove my veil and behold my true face, know that all your questing and efforts are for nothing, and all your lust and desires shall avail you not at all. For unless you know my mystery, look wherever you will, it will elude you, for it's within you and nowhere else. For behold, I have ever been with you, from the very beginning, the comforting hand that nurtured you in the dawn of life, and the loving embrace that awaits you at the end of each life, for I am that which is attained at the end of the dance, and I am the womb of new beginnings, as yet unimagined and unknown.

~~~~~~~~

The Invocation of The Donn

As you have seen, most Wiccans acknowledge this God during their Samhain Rite, and ask that He attend their feast. Here is another example of his call:

"In the season of darkening, the Lord of the House of Death receives the Spirits in his Hall. He is Donn the Dark One, called Kernunnos the Horned One. He is the First Ancestor, the Torch Bearer, The Guardian of the Cauldron of Plenty.

He is the Horned One, Dark One, Receiver of the Dead, Granter of Rest, Patron of the Feast in the Land of the Dead. We, your children, pray you to come in, to let your gaze fall upon this Sacred Ground, to indwell our rite and give us your blessing.

We make due offering to you, giving grain, or meat.

Silver, that you grant the wealth of the Underworld, Source of All Potential.

Oil, that the richness of the Land be renewed as our own lives are renewed.

Be welcome among us, Donn; Dark One, accept our sacrifices!"
~~~~~~

The Invocation of Morrigan

The Great Goddess Morrigan is often honored in Celtic rites, while any Dark Goddess in her Crone visage is the goal.

Again, Wiccans who want to invite Her to attend may repeat:

"As the Earth falls into sleep the Queen of Spirits is choosing those who will go to the Cauldron of Rebirth. She is Morrigan, the Great Queen of Phantoms, the Chooser of the Slain. She is the Battle Raven, the Red Woman, Mistress of the Cauldron.

Hear us now, Red One, Great Queen, Lady of the Reaping, Cauldron-Witch of Sorcery and Prophecy. I, one of your children, pray that you be with us, that you will look kindly upon this holy rite, that you come and give me your blessing.

We give due offering to you. We give you:

Precious stone, that the Bones of the Earth may be clothed again in life.

Whiskey, that the Waters of Life May flow in us and Spirit indwell flesh.

Feathers, that your raven Eye watch over us in the Season of Sleep.

Be welcome among us Morrigan; Great Queen, accept our sacrifices!"
~~~~~~~~

The Death Song

"You go home this night to your home of winter,
To your home of fall, of spring, of summer,
You go home this night to the Turning House,
To your pleasant rest in the Land of Joy.

Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest this night in the Mother’s Breast,
Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest, O beloved, with the Mother’s Kiss.

In the Many Colored Land;
In the Land of the Dead;
In the Plain of Joy;
In the Land Beneath the Wave;
In the Land of Youth;
In the Land of the Ever-Living;
In the Revolving Castle, the House of Donn.

Rest in seven lights, beloved,
Rest in seven joys, beloved,
Rest in seven sleeps, beloved,
In the Grove of the Cauldron, Morrigan’s Shrine.

The shadow of death is on your face, beloved,
But the Cauldron of Rebirth awaits you,
The threefold turning of your Fate,
When your rest has given you your peace.

So rest in the calm of all calms,
Rest in the wisdom of all wisdoms,
Rest in the love of all loves,
Rest in the Lord of Life and Death,
Rest in the Lady of Life and Death,
'Till the Season of Turning
'Till the Time of Returning
'Till the Mystery of the Cauldron.
~~~~~~

May shadows and spirits guide you towards the dark-crystalled wisdom of the Crone as you learn to be at peace in this season of Death that leads to Life.

Merry Ye Meet, and Merry Ye Part!

— Danu’s Daughter

Giving Thanks at Sacred Mabon

2011-09-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

With the Sacred Sabbat of Mabon (the Pagan Thanksgiving) falling late in the month, the early, eager energies of September are too often ignored.

The focus is often on filling the cellar – in fact, and metaphorically – in preparation for the coming cold. It is important to remember that the first three weeks of September’s light provide us with a unique opportunity for personal reflection. It is a time for most children to return to school, for birds to begin their migration, for leaves to begin a spectacular plumage change all of their own, and for sun lovers to squeeze the last sizzling, golden rays into their outdoor activities.

Why not take time to reflect and give thanks, before the hectic months of change overtake you? It is my favorite time of year, and always strikes a very spiritual chord in me.

As a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca, my Pagan beliefs are religious, nor secular, and can be summed up as:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) falls on September 23 this year, at the time of the Autumnal or Fall Equinox. It is a sacred Sabbat celebrated by Wiccans and other Pagans who honor the turning of the Wheel of the Year. It is the time to seek balance, as the Wheel is at its half-way point around the Eternal Circle.

This Sabbat can also be known as: the Second Harvest Festival, Feast of Avalon, Cornucopia, Wine Harvest, the Fall Equinox, Harvest Home, the Autumnal (or Autumn) Equinox, Festival of Dionysus, Alban Elfed (Caledonii, Druidic), Winter Finding (Teutonic), or Equinozio di Autunno (Strega).

The full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox is called the Harvest Moon, and farmers would harvest their corps by this moonlight as part of the Second Harvest celebration.

It is the time when the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. For many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time to give thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops, or all other life’s many blessings.

Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways to celebrate Mabon, but typically the focus is on the second harvest aspect, or the balance between light and dark. This, after all, is the time when there is an equal amount of day and night. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is moving behind us, while the cold lies ahead.

The leaves begin to turn from green to brilliant reds and yellows, animals start to migrate, and the harvest is underway. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops.

The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are also appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort, the God, as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Here is my personal prayer that I have written to honor the beloved Green Man, whom is a central figure and focus of my own spiritual path:

Robin of the Greenwood Glen,
Lord of the Forest thou hast always been.

My lips a song to praise,
My cup a toast to raise.

Hail and Hearty the Oak King is,
Now more than ever I am truly his.

So mote it be!

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of mystical balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life.

Various other names for this holiday, considered a Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are: The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to October 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain (Halloween). It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and spiritual reflection.

The Science of the Equinox

Two days a year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. Not only that, each receives the same amount of light as they do dark – this is because the earth is tilted at a right angle to the sun, and the sun is directly over the equator. In Latin, the word equinox translates to "equal night."

The autumn equinox takes place on or near September 21, while its spring counterpart falls around March 21. If you're in the Northern hemisphere, the days will begin getting shorter after the autumn equinox and the nights will grow longer – in the Southern hemisphere, the reverse is true.

Global Traditions

The idea of a Harvest Festival is nothing new. In fact, people have celebrated it for millennia, all around the world. In ancient Greece, Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine. In the 1700's, the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and it was a time of great feasting and merriment, still in existence today. China's Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest or Barley Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity.

Giving Thanks

Although the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving falls in November, many cultures see the second harvest time of the fall equinox as a time of giving thanks. After all, it's when you figure out how well your crops did, how fat your animals have gotten, and whether or not your family will be able to eat during the coming winter. However, by the end of November, there's not a whole lot left to harvest. Originally, the American Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on October 3, which makes a lot more sense agriculturally.

Thanksgiving was originally celebrated on October 3. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued his "Thanksgiving Proclamation", which changed the date to the last Thursday in November. In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelent adjusted it yet again, making it the second-to-last Thursday, in the hopes of boosting post-Depression holiday sales. Unfortunately, all this did was confuse people. Two years later, Congress finalized it, saying that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, each year.

Symbols of the Season

The harvest is a time of thanks, and as has been said, also a time of balance – after all, there are equal hours of daylight and darkness. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead.

Some Mabon symbols:

— Mid-autumn vegetables, like squashes and gourds
— Apples and anything made from them, such as cider or pies
— Seeds and seed pods
— Baskets, symbolizing the gathering of crops
— Sickles and scythes
— Grapes, vines, wine

Any of these items can be used to decorate home or an altar at Mabon.

Feasting and Friends

Early agricultural societies understood the importance of hospitality, as it was crucial to develop a relationship with neighbors, because they might be the ones to help if your family ran out of food. Many people, particularly in rural villages, celebrated the harvest with great deals of feasting, drinking, and eating. After all, the grain had been made into bread, beer and wine had been made, and the cattle had been brought down from the summer pastures for the coming winter. Celebrate Mabon with a feast – the bigger, the better.

Magick and Mythology

Nearly all of the myths and legends popular at this time of the year focus on the themes of life, death, and rebirth. Not much of a surprise, when you consider that this is the time when the earth begins to “die” before winter sets in.

Demeter and Her Daughter

Perhaps the best known of all the harvest mythologies is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was a goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter, Persephone, caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. When Hades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter's grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the autumnal equinox.

Inanna Takes on the Underworld

The Sumerian goddess Inanna is the incarnation of fertility and abundance. Inanna descended into the underworld where her sister, Ereshkigal, ruled. Erishkigal decreed that Inanna could only enter her world in the traditional ways, by stripping herself of her clothing and earthly possessions. By the time Inanna arrived, Erishkigal had unleashed a series of plagues upon her sister, killing Inanna. While Inanna was visiting the underworld, the earth ceased to grow and produce. A “vizier” or sorcerer, restored Inanna to life, and sent her back to earth. As she journeyed home, the earth was restored to its former glory.

Modern Celebrations

For contemporary Druids, this is the celebration of Alban Elfed, which is a time of balance between the light and the dark. Many Asatru groups honor the fall equinox as Winter Nights, a festival sacred to the Goddess Freyr.

For most Wiccans and Pagans, this is a time of community and kinship. It's not uncommon to find a Pagan Pride Day celebration tied in with Mabon. Often, PPD organizers include a food drive as part of the festivities, to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and to share with the less fortunate.

Those who celebrate Mabon give thanks for their many blessing, and they take time to reflect on the balance within their lives, honoring both the darkness and the light.

Mabon Correspondences

Symbolism: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.

Symbols: Wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines like ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.

Herbs: Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon's seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.

Foods: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Animals/Mythical Creatures: Dogs, wolves, stag, blackbird, owl, eagle, birds of prey, salmon, goat, Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops, Andamans and Gulons.

Gemstones: Yellow agate, carnelian, yellow topaz, sapphire, lapis lazuli, and amethyst.

Incense/Oil: Pine, sweetgrass, apple blossom, benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, jasmine, sage wood aloes, black pepper, patchouli, cinnamon, clove, and oak moss.

Colors/Candles: Brown, green, orange, red, deep gold, scarlet, yellow, russet, maroon, all autumn colors, purple, blue violet and indigo.

Tools/Symbols/Decorations: Indian corn, red fruits, autumn flowers, red poppies, hazelnuts, garlands, grains especially wheat stalks, and colorful, fallen leaves, acorns, pine and cypress cones, oak sprigs, pomegranate, statue/or figure to represent the Mother Goddess, Mabon wreath, vine, grapes, gourd, cornucopia/horns of plenty, burial cairns, apples, marigolds, harvested crops, burial cairns, rattles, the Mysteries, sun wheel, all harvest symbols.

Goddesses: Modron (Welsh), Bona Dea, Land Mother, Aging and Harvest Deities (the Triple Goddess aspect), Persephone, Demeter/Ceres, Morgan (Welsh- Cornish), Snake Woman (aboriginal), Epona (Celtic-Gaulish), Pamona (Roman), and the Muses (Greek).

Gods: Mabon ap Modron (Welsh), Sky Father, Wine Gods, Aging Gods, John Barleycorn , the Wicker-Man, the Corn Man, the Green Man, Thoth (Egyptian), Hermes, Hotei (Japanese), Thor, Dionysus (Roman), Bacchus (Greek) and all wine deities.

Essence: Beauty, joy; fullness of life, harvest of the year's desires, strength, laughter, power, prosperity, equality, balance, appreciation, harvest, protection, wealth, security, self-confidence, and reincarnation.

Dynamics/Meaning: Death of the God, assumption of the Crone, balance of light and dark; increase of darkness, grape harvest, and completion of the harvest.

Purpose: The Second Harvest Festival, new wine pressing/making preparation for winter and Samhain (Halloween), rest after labor, Pagan day of Thanksgiving, honoring the spirit world, and celebration of wine.

Rituals/Magick: Celtic Festival of the Vine, prosperity rituals, introspection, rituals which enact the elderly aspects of both the Goddess and the God, and past life recall.

Customs: Offerings to land, preparing for cold weather, bringing in harvest, cutting willow wands (Druidic), eating seasonal fruit, leaving apples upon burial cairns and graves as a token of honor, walking in wild places and forests, gathering seed pods and dried plants, fermenting grapes to make wine, picking ripe produce, stalk bundling, fishing, and on the nearest full moon (Harvest Moon) harvesting corps by moonlight.

Foods: Cornbread, wheat products, bread, grains, berries, nuts, grapes, acorns, seeds, dried fruits, corn, beans, squash, roots (i.e. onions, carrots, potatoes, etc), hops, sassafras, apples, pomegranates, carrots, onions, potatoes, roast goose or mutton, wine, ale, and cider.

Herbs: Myrrh, thistle, tobacco, oak leaf, hazel, mums, hops, acorns, marigold, rose, sage, milkweed, Solomon's seal, aster, fern, honeysuckle, benzoin, myrrh, passionflower, pine and cedar, ivy, hazel, and hops.

Element/Gender: Water/male.

Threshold: Evening.

Activities: Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over.

Spellworkings: Protection, prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance.

A Mabon Ritual

As previously detailed, Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here's What to Do:

01. This ritual welcomes the Dark Mother, and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Decorate your altar with symbols of Demeter and her daughter – flowers in red and yellow for Demeter, purple or black for Persephone, stalks of wheat, Indian corn, sickles, baskets. Have a candle on hand to represent each of them – harvest colors for Demeter, black for Persephone. You'll also need a chalice of wine, or grape juice if you prefer, and a pomegranate.

02. If you normally cast a Sacred Circle, or call the Quarters, do so now. Turn to the altar, and light the Persephone candle.

Say:

The land is beginning to die, and the soil grows cold.
The fertile womb of the earth has gone barren.
As Persephone descended into the Underworld,
So the earth continues its descent into night.
As Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter,
So we mourn the days drawing shorter.
The winter will soon be here.

Light the Demeter (Goddess) candle, and say:

In her anger and sorrow, Demeter roamed the earth,
And the crops died, and life withered and the soil went dormant.
In grief, she traveled looking for her lost child,
Leaving darkness behind in her wake.
We feel the mother's pain, and our hearts break for her,
As she searches for the child she gave birth to.
We welcome the darkness, in her honor.

03. Break open the pomegranate (it's a good idea to have a bowl to catch the drippings), and take out six seeds. Place them on the altar.

Say:

Six months of light, and six months of dark.
The earth goes to sleep, and later wakes again.
O Dark Mother, we honor you this night,
And dance in your shadows.
We embrace that which is the darkness,
And celebrate the life of the Crone.

04. Take a sip of the wine (grape juice), and savor the taste upon your lips. If you are doing this rite with a group, pass it to each person in the circle.

As each person drinks, they should say:

Blessings to the Dark Goddess on this night, and every other.

05. As the wine/grape juice is replaced upon the altar, hold your arms out in the Goddess position, and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human experience.

Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out their names:

Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet, Hekate (Note: she is my personal Dark Mother, and I talk to her daily,) Nemesis, and Morrighan.
Bringers of destruction and darkness,
I embrace you tonight.
Without rage, we cannot feel love,
Without pain, we cannot feel happiness,
Without the night, there is no day,
Without death, there is no life.
Great Goddesses of the night, I thank you.

06. Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you've been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you've been unable to move past? Is there someone who's hurt you, but you haven't told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you're not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren't so fortunate.

07. When you are ready, end the ritual in your established fashion.

[You may wish to tie this rite into a celebration of the Harvest Moon.]

Harvest or Barley Moon

September brings us the Harvest or Barley Moon, which occurs on Sept. 12 this year, sometimes referred to as the Wine Moon or the Singing Moon. This is the time of year when the last of the crops are being gathered from the fields and stored for the winter. There's a chill in the air, and the earth is slowly beginning its move towards dormancy as the sun pulls away from us.

Moon Correspondences:

Colors: Browns and greens, all earth tones.

Gemstones: Citrine, chrysolite, peridot, and bloodstone.

Trees: Bay, larch, and hawthorn.

Goddesses: Demeter, Brighid, Freyja, and Vesta.

Herbs: Wheat, valerian, witch hazel, and skullcap.

Element: Earth.

This is a month of hearth and home, which is the domain of the Goddess Vesta. Spend some time preparing your environment for the upcoming chilly months. If you don't already have one, why not set up a hearth or kitchen altar for those times when you're cooking, baking and canning. Use this time to clear out clutter – both physical and emotional – before you have to spend the long winter days inside.

The following are examples of Mabon Prayers:

Hail! Hail! Hail!
The grapes have been gathered!
The wine has been pressed!
The casks have been opened!
Dionysus and Bacchus,
watch over our celebration,
and bless us with merrymaking!
Hail! Hail! Hail!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Equal hours of light and darkness
we celebrate the balance of Mabon,
and ask the gods to bless us.

For all that is bad, there is good.
For that which is despair, there is hope.
For the moments of pain, there are moments of love.

For all that falls, there is the chance to rise again.
May we find balance in our lives,
as we find it in our hearts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The harvest is ending, the earth is dying.
The cattle have come in from their fields.
The earth's bounty has been laid before us.
We give thanks to the gods for this abundance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following are examples of prayers to the Dark Goddess:

Day turns to night,
and life turns to death,
and the Dark Mother teaches us to dance.

Hekate, Demeter, Kali, Nemesis, Morrighan, Tiamet –
Bringers of destruction,
You who embody the Crone.

I honor you as the earth goes dark,
and as the world slowly dies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This incantation calls upon the goddess Morrighan, who is a Celtic deity of battle and sovereignty. As a goddess who determined kingship and land holdings, she can be called upon for assistance in protecting you, your pets, your property and the boundaries of your land. If you’ve been burglarzied lately, or are having trouble with trespassers or vandals, this prayer comes in particularly handy.

You may wish to make this as martial, loud and vigorous as possible, with lots of banging drums, clapping, and even a sword or two thrown in as you march around the boundaries of your property. (Perhaps this also works because your neighbors will be convinced that you are dangerous, and a little crazy, no?)

Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Protect this land from those who would trespass upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Guard this land and all those who dwell within it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Watch over this land and all contained upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Goddess of battle, great goddess of the land,
She who is the Washer at the Ford, Mistress of Ravens,
And Keeper of the Shield,
We call upon you for protection.

Trespassers beware! The great Morrighan stands guard,
And she shall unleash her displeasure upon you.
Let it be known that this land falls under her protection,
And to do harm to any within it is to invite her wrath.
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
We honor and thank you this day!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!

~~~~~~~~~

[Note: The following ritual was written by the fabulous Marie Bruce, who has been called the Official Witch of the U.K.]

As this is the time of Persephone, the following ritual calls upon her for assistance in our protection magic. Persephone is Queen of the Underworld, and she rules over the Dark Season. Her fruit, as already mentioned, is the pomegranate.

Purpose of the Ritual: To call on Persephone for protection.
What you need: Two pomegranates, a knife, your pentacle.

01. Take the pomegranates to your altar and light the candles, calling on the powers of Persephone.

02. Cut each fruit in half, putting the four pieces on your pentacle to charge with power.

03. The Number Nine is sacred to the Goddess, so repeat the following chant nine times:

Sweet Persephone, enchantress, queen;
Protect me from harm, seen and unseen.
Protect me from theft, fire and flood;
Protect me from those who mean no good.
Keep me safe in your season of dusk;
Grant me the wisdom to know who to trust.
Protect me at work, protect me at home;
Keep safe my abode of earth, wood and stone.
I bury your fruit in the depths of earth’s womb;
Weave now my safety at the magical loom.
So mote it be!

04. Extinguish the candles, and bury the four pomegranate halves at the four corners of your property.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some other dates of importance in September

05: Labor Day. Spend some time today thinking about your work. If you are dissatisfied with your current job, make a list of what you could do differently so that work would be meaningful for you. Light a green candle that you have dressed with oil of pine. Fold your work list into a tiny square and pass it through the candle smoke. Now wrap the square in a dollar bill and place it in a green bag with an agate and the Three of Pentacles tarot card. Sleep with this bag under your pillow for thirteen nights.

12: Full Moon – Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is sometimes referred to as the Wine Moon or the Singing Moon. This is the time of year when the last of the crops are being gathered from the fields and stored for the winter. There's a chill in the air, and the earth is slowly beginning its move towards dormancy as the sun pulls away from us.

It is also referred to as Moon of Siduri, the Heavenly Barmaid. The Full Moon in Pisces illuminates the cosmic river of souls, the collective unconscious, and the powers of prophecy. Siduri is the bartender who offers food and drink (and sympathy, generosity, and kindness) to weary souls on the path to the cosmic river. Her mythic role is critical. After visiting Siduri, souls are refreshed and ready to journey to the afterlife.

We are all travelers of the road of life, and sometimes need a place to sit, have a drink and find a compassionate shoulder to lean on. Sympathy requires listening without judging, supporting without telling someone what to do and easing the long and weary road by sharing food and drink.

The Solitary Practitioner can embody Siduri's role during this Full Moon by feeding a widow, listening sympathetically or giving to a charity. A Coven ritual may include filling a special chalice with drink and passing it around the circle. Members can take turns serving food or pouring drinks. Offer prayers for the weary to find comfort, for the hungry to be fed, and for departing souls to journey in safety. Have sympathy for one another and listen without judging. Pass a tip glass for Siduri and donate the proceeds.

12: Chinese Moon Festival. The Festival of Chang O, on the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox, the Chinese people pay homage to the moon goddess Chang O. Some Chinese celebrate this day as the moon's birthday.

19: The Fast of Thoth, this day-long fast honors the Egyptian god of wisdom and magick.

21: International Day of Peace. Carve a peace symbol into a white candle. Fill a small dish with a little dirt from outside and place the candle on top. Relax and focus on the energy of peace. Hold your cupped hands near the candle and visualize very bright light coming down from above, entering the crown of your head, going down to your heart, through your arms, out your hands, and into the candle.

Light the candle, close your eyes, and see this white light of peace spread to the hearts of all people. See all humans everywhere filled with love and existing harmoniously with one another. Believe that this is our future. See if you can get your friends to do it too. The more people who do this spell, the better.

21: The Feast of the Divine Life, this ancient Egyptian feast honored the great goddess in her three-fold aspect as Mother (Creator), Daughter/Maiden (Renewer), and Dark Mother/Crone (the Absolute).

21: Sun enters Libra.

23: Mabon, the time of the Autumnal/Fall Equinox.

23: Michaelmas is a medieval, pagan holiday, which the was turned into a Christian celebration as “Michaelmas,” a feast in honor of the Archangel Michael.

It is thought that the Roman Catholic Church at some point considered assigning the quarter dates to the four Archangels, since they had assigned the cross quarters to the four gospel-writers. Making the Vernel Equinox a holiday called “Gabrielmas” was taken into consideration in honor of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary on Lady Day.

23: Ostara (Southern Hemisphere).

27: New Moon.

May your Mabon be blessed and merry, and your hearts and spirits be filled with the abundance of this Second Harvest. Let us look ahead to the darkening of the year with excitement, honoring the God for the warmth of his passing life, and the Goddess for her cold beauty and dark strength that will empower the Wheel to Turn until the Earth is once again reborn.

— Danu’s Daughter

Celebrate the Wanning Days of Summer

2011-07-31T13:57:00.000-04:00

It is the time of the sacred Sabbat of Lughnasadh, or Lammas, which falls this year on Aug. 1in the Northern Hemisphere, while Pagans who live in the Southern Hemisphere are celebrating the Sabbat of Imbolc, so here’s wishing everyone has a very blessed holiday season.

[Imbolc is at the opposite side of the Wheel of the Year, celebrating the spark of light that was born at Yule and has become a flame to warm people and the land.]

Today also begins the sacred month of Ramadan for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the North Hemisphere, while it begins tomorrow in the Southern Hemisphere. I wish them a memorable and spiritually rewarding time of faith and renewal.

According to the Holy Koran regarding Ramadans:

O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation. (2:183)

Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein.... (2:185)

For those reading this who are not Pagan, it might seem strange to mention a different faith in this blog, which is primarily devoted to Wiccan practices. As a Wiccan, I honor all beliefs and faith paths, even atheists who do not believe in the existence of a Sacred Other or Sacred Others.

Before describing this joyous Sabbat, it is important to restate what is the platform of my Wiccan faith:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

Lughnasadh, or Lammas, means the funeral games of Lugh (pronounced Loo), referring to Lugh, the Irish sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother, Tailte. For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time.

This day originally coincided with the first reapings of the harvest. It was known as the time when the plants of spring wither, and drop their fruits or seeds for our use, as well as to ensure future crops.

As autumn begins in later weeks, the Sun God enters his old age, but is not yet dead. The God symbolically loses some of his strength as the Sun rises farther in the South each day, and the nights grow longer.

The Christian religion adopted this theme and called it “Lammas,” meaning 'loaf-mass,' a time when newly baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar. An alternative date, which fell around Aug. 5 (Old Lammas), when the sun reaches 15 degrees in Leo, is sometimes employed instead of Aug. 1, by certain Pagan Covens.

In the Celtic Ogham, August is the Month of the Vine (muin), whose fruit has been used for centuries to make wine. The vine itself is symbolic of joy and euphoria, and in the past wine was often drunk as part of Ritual to enhance divination and vision quests.

This month’s Full Moon is the Wyrt (Corn or Barley) Moon, closely linked to the Goddess and the Green Man, and falls on Aug. 13.

In mid to late August, we celebrate the beginning of the Wyrt or Corn Moon. This moon phase is also known as the Barley Moon, and carries on the associations of grain and rebirth that we saw back at Lughnasadh. August was originally known as Sextilis by the ancient Romans, but was later renamed for Augustus (Octavian) Caesar. Some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this Full Moon, for them it was the Full Sturgeon Moon. Others called it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.

Day of Hekate

On the same day as this month’s Full Moon, is the Day of Hekate, the Dark Mother. She is the Goddess of the Crossroads, a Triple Goddess, representing the Crone Aspect of our Mother.

Hekate is primarily a goddess of the Underworld, holding dominion over death and rebirth. This is meant both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical as well. For life is filled with many deaths and rebirths aside from that of the flesh. Because of this the Dark of the Moon especially is her time of the month, since it is a time of endings and beginnings, when what was is no more, and what will be has yet to become.

Hekate guards the limenoskopos (the doorstep), for she is a goddess of liminality and transition. Of being on and crossing boundaries. This includes not only the boundary between life and death, but any boundaries, such as those between nature and civilization, waking and sleep, sanity and madness, the conscious and the subconscious minds. Indeed, any transition can be said to be her domain.

As such she is also goddess of the crossroads, where the paths of one's life fork and a person must choose which future to embark upon. In ancient times these were believed to be special places where the veil between the worlds was thin and spirits gathered.

In the ancient world a crossroad was a point where three roads met to form a "Y"-shaped intersection. It was believed to be a place where spirits gathered, including those of the Underworld and those of Fate. It is also a metaphor for the divergence of possibilities in an individual's future. Their life will bring them to the crossroad along one of the roads, and they will be met with a branching, where they must choose one path or the other to continue onward. As goddess of transitions, Hekate rules this place where the roads separate and differing futures are possible.

Hekate is often portrayed as a three torch-bearing female figures standing in a circle looking outward, with their backs joined so that they are in fact one being. This exhibits her dominion over the triple-crossroads and her ability to see in all directions simultaneously. The road a person had come from, and the directions they might take in the future. These hektarion (or hekataion) were placed at crossroads. Their earliest forms consisted of a pole upon which three masks were hung, with one facing each road. In more recent times these became statuary, sometimes of three figures standing with their backs to a central pillar, other times a similar portrayal without the column in the center. Typically, devotees often left her gifts of grain at these markers.

[Note: The Romans knew Hekate as Triva, which means "where the three roads meet."]

Hekate is also the goddess of psychological transformation. Her Underworld is the dark recesses of the human subconscious as well at that of the Cosmos. Many have accused her of sending demons to haunt the thoughts of individuals. What they fail to understand is that the demons are not hers, but their own. By the light of her twin torches Hekate only reveals what is already there. These are things which the person needs to see in order to heal and renew. However, if they are not prepared for the experience of confronting their Shadow then it can truly feel like they are being tormented. Hekate is not motivated by cruelty, nor is she seeking to harm. But her love can be tough love. She will prompt a person to face the things that they must, whether they like it or not.

Then and now Hekate is a goddess of Witchcraft and those who walk between the worlds. In the ancient world she was the patroness of those magicians – often women and the transgendered – who practiced magick, herbalism, and religion outside of the boundaries of the established temples and civil authorities of Greece. This is one reason she and her followers have often been feared and reviled. They stand with at least one foot outside of the conventional world.

Hekate is my personal Goddess to whom I am deeply devoted. Here are the prayers I say in her honor daily:

“To she who leads us into the cave of our own darkness, and brings us back to the light of our true being.”

And,

“Hear her words children, worship and be glad, for if you seek Her, She will be with you always. She was with you in the beginning, and shall be at the end.”

And,

“Dark Mother, Dark Mother, You walk with me like no other!”

I also repeat the following at dawn and at dusk, reversing the language depending on the time of day:

“At the gate of (dawn/dusk) I stand, Hekate Dark Goddess on either hand.
Guard me with you magick power,
Guide me through the Crossroads hour.
From the (glory/beauty) of the (night/light) to the (beauty/glory) of the (light/night),
In the name of the Ancient She and He,
So mote it be,
Now and forevermore,
Tod estu.”

I truly look forward to her Feast Day each year, as I owe her a great debt and much love for all she has brought and taught me throughout my life.

Lughnasadh General Correspondences

Traditional Foods: Apples, Grains, Breads and Berries.
Herbs and Flowers: All Grains, Grapes, Heather, Blackberries, Sloe, Crab Apples, and Pears.
Incense: Aloeswood, Rose, and Sandalwood.
Sacred Gemstones: Carnelian, Citrine, and Tiger Eye.

Special Activities

As summer passes, many Pagans celebrate by remembering its warmth and bounty in a feast shared with family, friends or Coven members. As a Solitary Practitioner, I do not belong to a Coven, so my religiously open-minded family and friends attend the feast.

As a devotion, you might want to save and plant the seeds from the fruits consumed during the feast or ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant or tree with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Lord and Lady. Walk through any fields and orchards you live near, or spend time walking or sitting by springs, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes reflecting on the bounty and love of the Lord and Lady. If you have access to an ocean, the beach and its rocks overlooking the waves can be especially spiritual at this time of year.

A Prayer and Ritual to Celebrate Lughnasadh

“Oh Lady, your breast is the field. Inanna, your breast is your field.
Your broad field pours out plants, your broad field pours out grain.
Water flows from on high for your servant.
Bread flows from on high for your servant.
Pour it out for me Inanna. I will drink all you offer.”

Bake a loaf of bread making sure to honor the source of the flour as you work the dough. Shape the loaf into the figure of a man or a woman and give your grain-person a name such as Lugh or Demeter.

If you have a garden add something you've grown to the loaf. Bread combines the elementals of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to become a substance that has nourished and sustained people since the first discovery of grain. Bread combines seeds from the Earth (flour and salt), with Water and Air (yeast the secret, airborne traveler, sacred changer of the Gods), adding Fire to bake. Suddenly, from those four ancient, basic elements: Bread.

If you don't wish to bake bread, consider making corn bread, muffins or even popping popcorn. It is the important to honor the harvest, and the baking process allows us to mindfully enter the sacred by being fully aware of our intentions.

In many parts of the world, it is traditional to make a “corn dolly,” out of cornstalks/husks from the late season harvest. If you decide to do this, as you work on her, think of what you and your family and friends have “harvested” this year. If you are like most people, you have brought both the positive and negative into your life. This is the perfect time to reflect on your life as a whole, deciding if there are aspects you wish to change.

Traditions

— Place an ash leaf under your pillow for prophetic dreams.
— Decorate sheaves of grain with flowers or ribbons.
— Eat and drink in the name of the Goddess and God. Begin with a prayer of thanks for the bounty laid before you.
— Leave offerings of bread to the Faerie Folk.
— Honor the pregnant Goddess and the waning energy of the Sun God by offering them bread and wine.
— Hang crystals, faceted glass and sun catchers in the windows of your house to deflect unwanted energy and to create dancing rainbow colors in your home.
— Sacrifice unwanted habits and things from your life by throwing symbols of them into the Sabbat fire. Prayer scrolls can contain written descriptions of offerings, or they can be doodled or drawn representations. Thus, they can include symbols or words, whatever makes the most powerful emotional connection/association for you.

Detailed Lughnasadh Correspondences

Goddesses – Anat, Blodeuwedd, Ceres, Cerridwen, Demeter, Isis, and Sif.
Gods – Adonis, Hercules, Tammuz, Lugh, Odin, Loki, and Baal.
Colors – Orange, gold, yellow, citrine and gray.
Candle Colors – Golden yellow, orange, green or light brown.
Stones – Yellow diamonds, adventurine, sardonyx, peridot and citrine.
Animals – Roosters, calves, and stags.
Mythical Creatures – Phoenix, griffins, centaurs and speaking skulls.
Plants – Corn, rice, wheat, rye, oats and ginseng.
Herbs – Acacia flowers, aloes, calendula, cornstalks, cyclamen, fenugreek, frankincense, heather, hollyhock, myrtle, oak leaves, sunflower, and vervain.
Incense – Aloes, rose, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, passionflower, frankincense and sandalwood.
Foods – Homemade breads, corn, potatoes, berry pies, barley cakes, nuts, wild berries, apples, rice, roasted lamb, acorns, crab apples, summer squash, turnips, oats, all grains, and all First Harvest foods.
Traditional Drinks – Elderberry wine, ale and meadowsweet tea.

Recipes

Apricot Wine

1 pound dried apricots
4 quarts warm water
6 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2 oranges, thinly sliced
1/2 cup yeast

Preparation:

Wash the apricots in several batches of water and then dry them and cut in halves. Place in a large crock and pour on the warm water, reserving 1/2 cup, which is then used to dissolve the yeast. Stir in the sugars, fruit, raisins and ginger. Then add the dissolved yeast and mix well. Cover and let stand for 30 days, stirring the mixture every other day. After 30 days, strain the mixture and bottle.

Lughnasadh Incense

1 part oak bark
1/4 part pine resin
A few drops oak moss oil
2 parts red sandalwood
1 part cedar wood
A few drops cedar oil
3 parts frankincense
1/2 part sunflower petals

Summer Pudding

6 cups berries
1 cup sugar
Loaf of white bread, one or two days old

Preparation:

Wash the fruit and leave in a bowl with the sugar overnight. The next day, put the contents into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Gently simmer for 2 or 3 minutes., there should be lots of juice.

Cut the loaf into 1/4 " thick slices and remove the crusts.

Cut a circle from one slice of the bread slightly larger than the bottom of a 34-ounce pudding dish and place in position. Cut wedges of bread to fit around the sides of the bowl. If there are any gaps push in small pieces of bread.

Pour half of the fruit and juice mixture, cover with bread cut to shape and add the remainder of fruit and juice.

Cover the top with a couple slices of bread, trimming off the excess to make a nice, neat finish to the pudding.

Place a plate on top and weigh it down with two or three cans of food. Leave in the refrigerator for a day or two.

When serving, run a thin, flexible knife between the pudding and the bowl to loosen it. Place a serving dish upside down on top of the bowl Quickly turn it over and remove the bowl. Serve with lots of whipped cream.

Barley Mushroom Soup

5 cup vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked barley
1/2 pound of mushrooms (use morels or enoki for a woodsy flavor)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chopped, fresh carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves minced fresh garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bring the vegetable broth to a low rolling boil on the stove and then reduce heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, carrots and celery, and allow to simmer for ten minutes. Add the barley and garlic, cover and simmer for another hour.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lughnasadh Corn Fritters

1 can corn
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salad oil
Additional oil for frying

Preparation:

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and salad oil in a bowl until the batter is smooth. Add the can (or 1 cup of fresh) corn kernels and mix well. Heat 1/4 " of salad oil in a frying pan and drop fritters by level tablespoon full into the hot oil. Fry until golden, turning once. Drain and serve.

Here are some other August dates of note:

— Aug. 9; Festival of Sol Indigis, the Roman sun god.
— Aug. 13; The Vertumnalia, the Festival of Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons, gardens and orchards.
— Aug. 13; Day of Hekate.
— Aug. 13; Full Moon Wyrt (Corn) Moon
— Aug. 15; Festival of Torches – Nemoralia
— Aug. 17; The Portunalia, or the Festival of Portunes, the Roman god of gates, doors and harbors. At this festival, people would throw keys into the fire in order to bless them.
— Aug. 19; The Vinalia, the Festival of Jupiter, who was the primary Roman god.
— Aug. 21; Festival of Consus, the Roman god of good council.
— Aug. 21; Sun enters Virgo.
— Aug 23; The Volcanalia, the Festival of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire (from which we get the word Volcano.)
— Aug. 25; The Opiconsivia, the Harvest Festival of Ops, the Roman goddess of harvest.
— Aug 29; New Moon.

As always, any Sabbat is the perfect opportunity to offer thanks to the Goddess and God through sacred sex. If you are a consenting adult, take your partner, or just yourself, and shout your thanks in the perfect expression of ectasy.

— Danu’s Daughter

The Unabashed JOYS of July!

2011-07-01T12:15:00.000-04:00

July begins with a solar eclipse today visible in some hemispheres; heralds the unofficial start to the Summer season in the Northern regions, and is the end of an astrological downturn that has enveloped us all for the past two years!

Although there are no Pagan holidays to enjoy, those of us in the U.S. can easily adapt Independence Day as a fabulous celebration in the Wiccan way!

July kicks off the season with the return of long days, warm nights and Nature’s own sparklers, which are my all-time personal favorites – fireflies!

What is July 4th without family, friends, food, and for adults, some appropriate alcoholic beverages? As Wiccans, we love to celebrate the glories of Nature, and summer provides so many outdoor opportunities to do just that.

If you’ve never celebrated an Esbats' ritual outdoors, July provides the nighttime warmth to comfortably dance and celebrate the Goddess under the stars. Adults of any gender or sexual orientation may even decide to worship the Goddess outside in the wild abandon of a primal sexual union.

Is it any wonder then, that Dionysus (or Bacchus) is often honored at this time of year?

Dionysus (Bacchus), the God of Wine and Ecstasy

Bacchus – whom the Greeks knew as Dionysus – was a latecomer to the Olympic Pantheon and is most often said to be the son of Zeus by the mortal woman Semele.

Semele appealed to Zeus to reveal himself to her in his true form, and she was literally consumed in fire by the glory of his thunder and lightning. In the mythology, Zeus took the unborn child into his own body, later giving birth to him through his thigh.

This is a later account, however, for Dionysus was the name of the old, wild agricultural God of Thrace and Phrygia. Semele is also associated with the Phrygian Earth Goddess Zemelo.

Though he is credited with discovering grapes and the art of wine-making, Dionysus (Bacchus) was the god of more than wine. He is also referred to as the god of the wilds – not the wilds of visible nature where Artemis reigns, but the wilds that extend so far and so deep within the secret regions of the human personality.

Within the heart of the worship of Dionysus (Bacchus) lies the recognition of our need for an occasional release from the bonds of custom and even respectability. He represents a permanent human force. It is a force that every era and culture seeks, if not to suppress, to channel and contain. This urge to “let oneself go” is not a bad thing, provided we are aware of it and ensure that we do nothing to harm another, or ourselves. To resist and deny Dionysus (Bacchus) and the so-called “wild” side of our inner selves, is to reject a measure of deep, honest joy that is every person’s birthright.

A beautiful romance involves the tale of Dionysus and Ariadne. Ariadne, who was a beautiful Cretan Princess, had abandoned her homeland to run away with the Greek hero, Theseus.

However, Theseus tired of her and soon abandoned her on the island of Naxos. In despair, she flung herself into the sea but was rescued by Dionysus (Bacchus). They fell in love and he made her his Priestess. When she finally died, he hurled the crown he had given her into the heavens where it remains as the constellation Corona. This tale formed part the “Dionysian Mysteries” that were performed in the Roman town of Pompeii.

The rites of Dionysus were introduced into Athens by Peisistratus in the Mid-6th Century BCE. His temple was built at the Acropolis and his priests and priestesses were accompanied by masked performers of the god's stories, who were called tragodoi (literally "goat singers"). These performances became the basis of the Greek Tragedy, which was the origin of theatre in the west.

Dionysian masks were often used as antefixes on the walls of temples.

Important July Dates

— July 1, 3:54 a.m. – New Moon, 3:38 a.m., Solar Eclipse

At 9 degrees Cancer, the New Moon solar eclipse on July 1 is the last of the Capricorn-Cancer eclipse series, and represents a wrap-up or resolution of a difficult situation that began in mid-2009.

You may have another couple of weeks of "cleanup" to do – until the Full Moon on July 15. But overall, the challenge you've faced for the past two years will fade away in the rearview mirror, and not a moment too soon! Everyone is exhausted and ready for a break.

Most of us have had a harrowing two years, complicated by the eclipses in cardinal Capricorn and Cancer. And while the last one forms a tense grand cross with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, it's going to be a relief for us, and that the tears we shed will include tears of gratitude that we're still here and still standing.

The chart for this eclipse is intimidating, dominated by a bright red grand cross. However, there are two very clear "outs" – paths where blocked energy can flow and be put to positive use.

The first is a trine between Pluto and Jupiter. This easy aspect supports transformation and positive change. Finding solutions to problems requires expanding the mind. We can do that now. Both planets are in earth signs and suggest tangible, material results.

The second flows between Saturn and Mars, the planet of action. In Gemini, it's speedy action, too, although there's a risk that there may be more talk than action. Still, with Saturn recently returned direct and Mars in an air sign, we can put on our thinking caps, come up with realistic plans, and do the hard work necessary to get the results we want. And it will be hard work. The inconjunct between Mars and Pluto suggests that acting without thinking things through could end up a total waste of energy.

The real difficulty here is the square from the Sun and Moon to Saturn. For many of us, moving in a new direction required leaving something or someone behind. Even though we may feel confident that we made the right decision, loss is sad and painful. Cancer is the sentimental sign of the zodiac, so we could be very emotional for a day or two on either side of the eclipse.

— July 4, U.S. Independence Day

We the People

They say "we the people" started this nation that endures
The beautiful land that is mine, the same land that is yours
Founding fathers knew eternity is a right smart piece of time
As they pledged allegiance to the source of their rhythm and rhyme
Must "we" became "they" at the end of the day,
or does every generation have something to say?
"O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,"
was it "we" or "they" that gives us the right?

~ Michael D Nalley

— July 15, 1:40 a.m., Full Moon

Moon of 1,001 Obeisances

The Capricorn Full moon is the time to consider the polarities of leadership and service. One who wishes to lead must first learn to serve. Capricorn is the sign of mastery, and of service, performing thankless tasks willingly for the greater good. Bees and ants understand how service roles support the group.

Rituals are performed through the orderly fulfillment of roles and tasks, often using ritual tools. Undertaking humble tasks with a willing heart creates a unified spirit of sacredness.

A Solitary Practitioner may emphasize each task in the circle-casting and ritual procedure. Slowly move through the ritual, mentally assuming the role of acolyte, cup-bearer, circle-caster, and finally, invoker of a deity. Bow at each direction and bow to the representation of the chosen deity.

In a group, these roles are assigned to each coven member, plus censer-holder, athame-wielder, paten-holder, etc. Each member concentrates on performing their task humbly and quietly, without ego. Honor the gods through bowing, kneeling, gifts and service. It is no coincidence that leaders are often those who gave the greatest service to the group and the gods.

~ Elizabeth Hazel in Llewellyn's 2011 Witches' Datebook

Stone of the Month: Fire Agate

Fire agate is a stone of courage, protection, and strength. Mystical lore says that it relieves fears, halts gossip and even reflects any threat of harm back to the source.

Fire agate can help with spiritual advancement and progression. It promotes and enhances energy, including meditation, ritual, and spiritual healing energies. It also balances masculine (active) and feminine (receptive) energies.

It is also said that it can take the edge off the emotional charge of problems. Fire agate is often used in spells to increase skills in communication in writing and speaking. It can also heighten creative visualization. It can be used for amplifying psychic talents. It has been used by shamans for stimulating clairvoyance and in order to evoke images and memories of other lives.

In healing, it is considered to increase the natural talents and abilities of healing. Metaphysical healing lore professes that fire agate assists with healing of the circulatory system, lymph system, and intestines.

Fire agate is associated primarily with the sacral, and root chakras.

Rune of the Month: Hagalaz

Hagalaz (H: Hail.) represents the wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious; tempering, testing, and trial. It can be used to control crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony.

Thus, Hagalaz Merkstave (Hagalaz cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition) represents natural disaster, catastrophe; stagnation; loss of power; pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, and crisis.

Tarot Card of the Month: 10 of Pentacles

The Ten of Pentacles heralds great accomplishment and success, suggesting that you have reached the pinnacle of your career or goal. This is also a card of stability and certainty, highlighting that you have established a solid foundation for your future career path.

Correspondence of the Month: Time of Day

Sunrise – Purification, business, success, study, travel, employment, breaking habits, guilt, jealousy, healing disease, and conscious mind.
Noon – Magickal energy, physical energy, strength, protection, money, courage.
Sunset – Breaking addictions, weight loss, banishing, misery, pain, anguish, negative habits.
Night – Beauty, dreams, psychic dreams, awareness, sex, spirituality, purification, love, friendship, peace, releasing stress.

Herb of the Month: Aloe Vera

Water/Moon
Gender – Feminine
Parts Used – Entire plant
Magickal Properties – Protection, attracting luck
Uses – Hang at front door, in the kitchen, in doorways and hallways to attract luck, and protect the inhabitants.

Spell of the Month: Rain Cumulus

For the Solitary Practitioner – Simply select a bowl that feels good to you and fill it with cool water. Cast a Magickal Circle, after placing the bowl within its confines. After the casting is complete, sit directly in front of the bowl and repeat the following chant over it:

"Water Nymphs strike the clouds so rain will fall freely to the ground."

While chanting, visualize the area that needs rain, then see the clouds gathering overhead. See the cumulus clouds darken and gradually increase their moisture until they are laden and bursting with water. Next, see these glorious clouds release a fresh rain storm over the area that you have visualized needs the rain.

— Danu’s Daughter

June and the Joyous Summer Soltice of Litha

2011-05-31T13:08:00.000-04:00

One of the most enjoyable holidays in the pagan calendar is the Summer Solstice, or Litha, which is a time for celebration of the abundance of the Earth, and is also a time to prepare for the darkening months to come.

June will also mark a Solar AND Lunar Eclipse, so rejoice in the unique qualities of this season.

Litha is one of the four solar festivals (the two solstices, and the two equinoxes) or sabbats, observed by many Wiccan and Pagan traditions, based on the Celtic year. In folklore, these are referred to as the four 'quarter-days' of the year, and modern Wiccan and Witches call them the four 'Lesser Sabbats', or the four 'Low Holidays.' The Summer Solstice is one of them.

Litha is also known as Midsummer, occurring when the sun is at its apex on June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. In Celtic lore, the Summer Solstice is one of two times each year that the battle between the Holly and Oak Kings occurs.

This folk tradition is a tale of the seasons, in which the light half of the year, represented by the Oak King, and the dark half, represented by the Holly King, wage war against each other in a natural magick bid for supremacy. This epic battle takes place at the summer and winter solstices.

The Oak King is seen as the ruler of the year between the Winter and Summer Solstices, while the Holly King rules from the Summer to Winter Solstices. It is the Oak King’s victory that is celebrated at Litha. But while the Oak King may be in charge of things at the beginning of June, by the end of Midsummer he has been defeated by the Holly King who will begin to bring about the dark half of the year, to shorten the length of daylight and replace the current warmth with a growing cold. Thus it is that the holly (tinne) is the sacred tree of June.

I love the symbolism that Wiccans understand from this amazing battle, that in every darkness there is an element of light, and in every light there is an element of darkness. Understanding this basic teaching of the Wheel of the Year better prepares those who follow this path to handle the ups and downs of existence as a natural part of life.

The famous, fabulous witch Marie Bruce of England, has written a wonderful Grass is Greener Spell that underscores this wisdom. Light a white candle then say:

"Discontent I will not feel
For satisfaction I will strive
Greener grass is never real
I am happy with my life!
So mote it be."

Allow the candle to burn for 15 minutes, then snuff it out. Repeat it daily until you feel more content with your life.

Humanity has been celebrating the triumph of light over the darkness since ancient times. On the Wheel of the Year, Litha lies directly across from Yule, the shortest day of the calendar year. This battle between the seasons is so significant that in many Pagan circles it is even acted out in some Litha celebrations.

It addition is at Litha, like Samhain (Halloween,) that the veils between the worlds are wondrously thin, that the portals between "the fields we know" and the worlds beyond stand enticingly open. As a result, it is an excellent time for rites of divination, and is also the strongest time to work all types of faery magick.

The most famous bard of them all, William Shakespeare, associated Midsummer with witchcraft in at least three of his plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and The Tempest all contain references to the special magick on the night of the Summer Solstice.

Even though Litha and Yule are classified as low or lesser sabbats (holidays,) they are generally celebrated with more reveling, zeal and merriment than any other holidays on the wheel, except perhaps Samhain (Halloween).

The joyous rituals of Litha celebrate the verdant Earth in high summer; abundance, fertility, and all the riches of Nature in full bloom. This is a madcap time of strong magic and empowerment, traditionally the time for handfasting (weddings) and for communication with the spirits of Nature. One fairly common custom in covens/groves is for women to walk skyclad (naked) through gardens to ensure continued fertility.

Those who celebrated Litha in the past did so wearing garlands or crowns of flowers, and of course, their millinery always included the yellow blossoms of St. John's Wort. The Litha rites of the ancients were boisterous communal festivities that included dancing, singing, storytelling, pageantry and feasting occurring by the village bonfire, and a torch-lit procession through the village after dark.

The Litha Sabbat is a time to celebrate both work and leisure, it is a time for children and childlike play. It is a time to celebrate the ending of the waxing year and the beginning of the waning year, in preparation for the harvest to come. Midsummer is a time to absorb the Sun's warming rays and is also another fertility Sabbat, not only for humans, but also for crops and animals. Wiccans consider the Goddess to be heavy with pregnancy from the mating at Beltane – and much honor is given to Her. The Sun God is also celebrated as the Sun is at its peak in the sky. Wiccans celebrate His approaching fatherhood – honor is also given to Him.

The faeries abound at this time and it is customary to leave offerings – such as food or herbs – for them in the evening.

Although Litha may seem at first glance to be a masculine observance and one which focuses on Lugh, the day is also dedicated to the Goddess, and Her flowers are the white blossoms of the elder. [FYI: In Irish mythology Lugh was a divine hero who led the Tuatha Dé Danann – who became the fey – against the Fomorians who were led by his grandfather Balor. Lugh killed Balor by shooting a stone into his giant eye.]

Here are just a few other names Litha is also known as: Summer Solstice, Alban Hefin; Sun Blessing; Gathering Day; Feill-Sheathain; Whit Sunday; Whitsuntide; Vestalia; Thing-tide; and St. John's Day.

Wiccan celebrants are commonly associated with Litha, but the holiday is celebrated by ancient religions around the world on every continent who believe in gods and goddesses of fertility and magick. It is thought the word, Litha, may have come from the Saxon tradition.

As mentioned, Shakespeare's romantic comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" has drawn attention to this time of year and captivated audiences since about 1596. Pagans believe that midsummer dreams are more lucid during this time, and as has been said, believe it is a good time to commune with all sprites and faeries.

Litha takes place after the crops have been planted and before the harvest has begun. Pagans believe that Litha is the right time to harvest magical, healing herbs and to make love potions. As a result, Litha became associated with the ideal time for weddings, scheduled between the planting and harvesting. Traditional June weddings still occur around this time.

Litha also celebrates fertility and strength. Foods with fresh vegetables, drinks made with herbs and flowers and incense of different types such as lemon, myrrh and pine, are used in many Litha celebrations.

Edain McCoy explains this magickal season from her book, Celtic Myth and Magick:

"Midsummer is the time when the sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest. The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the God is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme sun.

But don't overlook the Celtic Sun Goddesses in your celebration. The Celts are one of several cultures known to also have female deities to reperesent the power of the sun. The Celtic languages are some of the very few in which the names for the "sun" are feminine nouns, which attests to the one-time prominence of these Goddesses. A number of the myths surrounding these ladies of light have been preserved. Among the most well-known are Sul (Anglo-Celtic), Dia Griene (Scottish), the Princess of the Sun (Breton), and Grian and Brid (Irish).

Just as the Holly and Oak Kings battles for supremacy at Yule, this ever-repeating fight is reenacted at Midsummer, this time with the Holly King, as king of the waning year, victorious."

Litha has been a source of contention among modern Neo-Pagan and Wiccan groups because it has not been established whether Midsummer was celebrated by the ancients. While there's scholarly evidence to indicate that it was indeed observed, Wicca founder Gerald B. Gardner wrote that the solar festivals (the solstices and equinoxes) were actually added later and were imported from the Middle East. Regardless, most Wiccans and Neo-Pagans celebrate Litha.

Nearly every agricultural society has marked the high point of summer in some way. It is at this time that the sun reaches its zenith. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice occurs in December. It is the longest day of the year, and the point at which the sun seems to just hang in the sky without moving – in fact, the word "solstice" is from the Latin word solstitium, which literally translates "sun stands still." In ancient days the progression of the sun was marked and recorded. Stone circles like Stonehenge were actually oriented to highlight the rising of the sun on the precise day of the Summer Solstice.

Litha Legends

Because Litha is a celebration that has been observed for centuries in one form or another it is no surprise that there are numerous myths and legends associated with it.

It is believed in parts of England that if you stay up all night on Midsummer's Eve, sitting in the middle of a stone circle, you will see the Fey. But be careful – carry a bit of rue in your pocket to keep them from harassing you, or turn your jacket inside out to confuse them. If you have to escape the Fae, follow a ley line, and it will lead you to safety.

[FYI: Rue has a long history of use in both medicine and magick, and is considered a protective herb in both disciplines. The hardy evergreen shrub with yellow flowers is mentioned by writers from Pliny to Shakespeare and beyond, as an herb of remembrance, of warding and of healing. Early physicians considered rue an excellent protection against plagues and pestilence, and used it to ward off poisons and fleas. A Modern Herbal refers to the plant's 'disagreeable odor and flavor,' but in truth, the bitterness of the leaves is only evident in large doses. In smaller amounts, it imparts a pleasant, musky flavor to cream cheeses and light meats. Rue was once believed to improve the eyesight and creativity, and no less personages than Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci regularly at the small, trefoil leaves to increase their own. The legend of rue lives on in playing cards, where the symbol for the suit of clubs is said to be modeled on a leaf of rue. There are concerns that rue is poisonous and can cause violent gastric reactions when taken in large doses. In addition, some people are highly sensitive to the plant's oils and can develop a severe rash when they are exposed to it and then the sun.]

Ley Lines

Ley lines were first suggested to the general public by an amateur archaeologist named Alfred Watkins in the early 1920’s. Watkins was out wandering around one day in Herefordshire and noticed that many of the local footpaths connected the surrounding hilltops in a straight line. After looking a map, he saw a pattern of alignment. He posited that in ancient times, Britain had been crossed by a network of straight travel routes, using various hilltops and other physical features as landmarks, needed in order to navigate the once densely-forested countryside.

Watkins' ideas weren't completely new. Some fifty years before Watkins, an archaeologist named William Henry Black suggested that geometric lines connected monuments all over western Europe.

The idea of ley lines as magical, mystical alignments is a fairly modern one. One school of thought believes that these lines carry positive or negative energy. It is also believed that where two or more lines converge, you have a place of great power and energy. It is believed that many well-known sacred sites, such as Stonehenge, Glastonbury Tor, Sedona and Machu Picchu sit at the convergence of several lines.

There are a number of academics who dismiss the concept of ley lines, pointing out that geographic alignment doesn’t necessarily make the connection magical. After all, the shortest distance between two points is always a straight line, so it would make sense for some of these places to be connected by a straight path. On the other hand, when our ancestors were navigating over rivers, around forests, and up hills, a straight line might not have actually been the best path to follow. It is also possible that because of the sheer number of ancient sites in Britain, that the "alignments" are simply chance coincidence. Ri-ight!

Litha Fires

People believed that the Litha fires possessed great power, and that prosperity and protection for oneself and one's clan (family) could be earned merely by jumping over the Litha bonfire. It was also common for courting couples to join hands and jump over the embers of the Litha fire three times to ensure a long and happy marriage, financial prosperity and many children. Even the charred embers from the Litha bonfire were believed to have possessed protective powers – they were charms against injury and bad weather in harvest time. The embers were commonly placed around fields of grain and orchards to protect the crops and ensure an abundant reaping. Other Litha customs included carrying an ember of the Litha fire home and placing it on one's hearth and decking one's home with birch, fennel, St. John's Wort, orpin, and white lilies for blessing and protection.

In England, rural villagers built a big bonfire on Midsummer's Eve. This was called "setting the watch," and it was known that the fire would keep evil spirits out of the town. Some farmers would light a fire on their land, and people would wander about, holding torches and lanterns, from one bonfire to another. If you jumped over a bonfire – presumably without lighting your pants on fire – you were guaranteed to have good luck for the coming year.

After your Litha fire has burned out and the ashes gone cold, use them to make a protective amulet. You can do this by carrying them in a small pouch, or kneading them into some soft clay and forming a talisman. In some traditions of Wicca, it is believed that the Midsummer ashes will protect you from misfortune. You can also sow the ashes from your bonfire into your garden, and your crops will be bountiful for the rest of the summer growing season.

In addition:

— Residents of some areas of Ireland say that if you have something you wish to happen, you "give it to the pebble." Carry a stone in your hand as you circle the Litha bonfire, and whisper your request to the stone – "heal my mother" or "help me be more courageous," for example. After your third turn around the fire, toss the stone into the flames.
— Sunwheels were used to celebrate Midsummer in some early Pagan cultures. A wheel – or sometimes a really big ball of straw – was lit on fire and rolled down a hill into a river. The burned remnants were taken to the local temple and put on display. In Wales, it was believed that if the fire went out before the wheel hit the water, a good crop was guaranteed for the season.
— In Egypt, the Midsummer season was associated with the flooding of the Nile River delta. In South America, paper boats are filled with flowers, and then set on fire. They are then sailed down the river, carrying prayers to the gods. In some traditions of modern Paganism, you can get rid of problems by writing them on a piece of paper and dropping them into a moving body of water on Litha.

Gods and Goddesses

For contemporary Wiccans and Pagans, this is a day of inner power and brightness. Find a quiet spot and meditate on the darkness and the light both in the world and in your personal life. Celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year with fire and water, night and day, and other symbols of the triumph of light over darkness.

Litha is a great time to celebrate outdoors especially if you have children. Take them swimming or just turn on the sprinkler to run through, and then have a bonfire or barbeque at the end of the day. Let them stay up late to say goodnight to the sun, and celebrate nightfall with sparklers, fire flies, storytelling, and music.

Here is a sampling of the Gods and Goddesses from around the world associated with the Summer Solstice:

Amaterasu (Shinto): This solar goddess is both the sister of the moon deity, and the storm god of Japan. She is known as the goddess "from which all light comes." She is much loved, and is known for her warmth and compassion. Every year in July, she is honored with public celebrations throughout Japan.

Aten (Egypt): Known an aspect of Ra, Aten was not depicted as an anthropomorphic being (like most of the other ancient Egyptian gods), but is represented by the disc of the sun, with rays of light emanating outward.

Apollo (Greek): The son of Zeus by Leto, Apollo is a multi-faceted god. In addition to being the god of the sun, he also presides over music, medicine and healing. He is also identified with Helios. As his worship spread throughout the Roman empire and into the British Isles, he took on many of the aspects of the Celtic deities, and is seen as a god of the sun and of healing.

Hestia (Greek): This goddess watches over domesticity, the home and the family. She was given the first offering at any sacrifice made in the home. Publicly, local town halls were shrines for her – and when new settlements were formed, a flame from their public hearths were taken to new villages from the old ones in her honor.

Horus (Egyptian): Horus was one of the solar deities of the ancient Egyptians. He was honored as rising and setting daily, and is also associated with Nut, the sky god. Horus later became associated with the more famous sun god, Ra.

Huitzilopochtli (Aztec): This warrior god of the ancient Aztecs was a sun god and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He battled with Nanahuatzin, an earlier solar god. Huitzilopochtli fought against darkness, and required his worshipers to make regular sacrifices to ensure the sun's survival over the next fifty-two years, which is coincides with the sacred number recorded in Mesoamerican myths.

Juno (Roman): She is also called Juno Luna and blesses women with menstruation. The month of June was named for her. She is the patroness of marriage, and her month remains an ever-popular time for handfastings (weddings.)

Lugh (Celtic): Similar to the Roman god Mercury, Lugh was known as a god of both skill and the distribution of talent. He is sometimes associated with Midsummer because of his role as a harvest god, and during the Summer Solstice when the crops are flourishing and are waiting to be plucked from the ground at Lughnasadh.

Sulis Minerva (Celtic, Roman): When the Romans occupied the British Isles, they took the aspects of the Celtic sun goddess, Sulis, and merged her with their own goddess of wisdom, Minerva. The resulting combination was Sulis Minerva, who watched over the hot springs and sacred waters in the town of Bath.

Sunna or Sol (Germanic): Little is known about this Norse goddess of the sun, but she appears in the poetic eddas as the sister of the moon god.

The following chants and prayers celebrate the different aspects of Litha. Feel free to modify them to suit the needs of your own tradition:

Prayer for the Garden
By Patti Wigington

Small plants, leaves and buds,
growing in the soil.
O fiery sun, may your rays of
light and warmth
bless us with abundance,
and allow these plants to blossom
with life.

A Prayer for the Beach
By Patti Wigington

O mother ocean, welcome me in your arms,
bathe me in your waves,
and keep me safe
so that I may return to land once more.

Your tides move with the pull of the moon,
as do my own cycles.
I am drawn to you,
and honor you under the sun's fiery gaze.

Prayer to the Sun at Litha
By Patti Wigington

The sun is high above us
shining down upon the land and sea,
making things grow and bloom.

Great and powerful sun,
we honor you this day
and thank you for your gifts.

Ra, Helios, Sol Invictus, Aten, Svarog,
you are known by many names.

You are the light over the crops,
the heat that warms the earth,
the hope that springs eternal,
the bringer of life.

We welcome you, and we honor you this day,
celebrating your light,
as we begin our journey once more
into the darkness.

A Fourth of July Prayer
By Patti Wigington

Gods of liberty, goddesses of justice,
watch over those who would fight for our freedoms.
May freedom be given to all people,
around the world,
no matter what their faith.

Keep our soldiers safe from harm,
and protect them in your light,
so that they may return to their families
and their homes.

Goddesses of liberty, gods of justice,
hear our call, and light the sky,
your torch shining in the night,
that we may find our way back to you,
and bring people together, in unity.

Blessing Besom

Litha is the season of great solar energy. A great project is to put together a blessing besom, especially since sweeping is one of the best ways to make a space sacred and clean. After making it, use it to physically cleanse your home, then hang it up to keep positive energy flowing.

To make a blessing besom, you'll need the following: A broom – either make your own, or purchase one at a craft store; ivy or vines; flowers and herbs; ribbons; and small bells.

Wrap the ribbons and ivy loosely (allow some pliance) around the handle of the broom. Next, add sprigs of herbs and flowers beneath the ribbons as desired. Once done, tie a few small bells onto the broom, so that it makes a pleasant sound when used. In many cultures, bells are used as noisemakers to frighten away evil spirits or negative energies.

If you like, you may consecrate the blessing besom the same as any other magical tool. Use it to sweep around your home, starting near a window or a door, and working in a deosil (clockwise) direction. As you do so, you may wish to chant something like this:

Sweeping, sweeping, 'round the room,
Blessings from this cleansing broom.
From floor to ceiling, and all between,
May this space be fresh and clean.
Sweeping good energy here to me,
As I will, so it shall be.

Correspondences

Here are just a few magickal correspondences (items that amplify specific natural energies) associated with Litha:

Purpose : Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Goddess.

Dynamics/Meaning: Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King, end the ordeal of the Green Man.

Tools, Symbols and Decorations: The sun, oak, birch and fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red/maize/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits and flowers, feather/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords/blades, bird feathers, and the Witches' Ladder. (FYI: A Witches’ Ladder is similar to a prayer bracelet or Rosary in other faiths. It is generally a string comprised of 40 beads, or a cord of 40 knots, which some Wiccans or witches use for magick. The beads or knots enable a practitioner to concentrate on repeated chants or incantations without having to keep count, thus enabling the practitioner to focus all his or her attention or will on the desired goal.)

Colors: Blue, green, gold, yellow and red.

Customs: Bonfires, processions, all night vigils; singing, feasting, celebrating with others; cutting or gathering divining rods, dowsing rods and wands; herb gathering; handfastings (weddings); Druidic gathering to collect mistletoe in oak groves; needfires, leaping between two; women walking naked through gardens to ensure continued fertility; honorign the Mother's fullness, richness and abundance; placing garlands of St. John’s Wort placed over doors/ windows and a sprig in the car for protection.

Goddesses: Mother Earth, Mother Nature; Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, Ishtar; all Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the sea, and pregnant, lusty Goddesses; Green Forest Mother; Great One of the Stars; and Goddess of the Wells.

Gods: Father Sun/Sky; Oak King, Holly King; King Arthur; all Gods at peak power and strength.

Rituals/Magicks: Nature spirit/fey communion, planet healing, divination, love and protection magicks. The battle between the Oak King – God of the waxing year – and the Holly King – God of the waning year, which can be acted out in a ritual play, or scenes from the Bard’s (an incarnation of Merlin) "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," rededication of faith, and rites of inspiration.

Astrologically, the sun is entering Cancer, which is a water sign. Midsummer is not only a time of fire magick, but of water as well. Now is a good time to work magick involving sacred streams and holy wells. If you visit one, be sure to go just before sunrise on Litha, and approach the water from the east, with the rising sun. Circle the well or spring three times, walking deosil, and then make an offering of silver coins or pins.

Animals/Mythical Beings: Wren, robin, horses, cattle, satyrs, faeries, firebird, dragon, and thunderbird.

Gemstones: Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger’s eye; and all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade.

Herbs: Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender, fennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena), St. John’s Wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine, heather, yarrow, oak and holly trees.

Incense/Oil: Heliotrope, saffron, orange, frankincense and myrrh, wisteria, cinnamon, mint, rose, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, and pine.

Foods: Honey, fresh vegetables, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, summer squash, pumpernickel bread, ale and mead, and carrot drinks.

Sun worship is a custom that has gone on nearly as long as mankind itself. In North America, the tribes of the Great Plains saw the sun as a manifestation of the Great Spirit. For centuries, the Sun Dance has been performed as a way to not only honor the sun, but also to bring the dancers visions. Traditionally, the Sun Dance was performed by young warriors.

According to historians, Sun Dance preparation among most of the Plains peoples involved a lot of prayer, followed by the ceremonial felling of a tree, which was then painted and erected at the dancing ground. All of this was done under the supervision of the tribe's shaman. Offerings were made to show respect to the Great Spirit.

The Sun Dance itself lasted for several days, during which time the dancers abstained from food. On the first day, prior to beginning the dance, participants often spent some time in a sweat lodge, and the painted their bodies with a variety of colors. Dancers circled the pole to the beat of drums, bells, and sacred chants.

The Sun Dance was not held solely to honor the sun – but was also a way of testing the stamina of the tribe's young, unblooded warriors. Among a few tribes, such as the Mandan, dancers suspended themselves from the pole with ropes attached to pins that pierced the skin. The young men of some tribes lacerated their skin in ritualized patterns. Dancers kept going until they lost consciousness, and sometimes this could go on for three to four days. Dancers often reported having a vision or a spirit walk during the celebration. Once it was over, they were fed, bathed, and – with great ceremony – smoked a sacred pipe in honor of the Great Spirit's manifestation as the sun.

However you choose to celebrate the Summer Solstice, as a Litha Rite or some other Midsummer holiday, make it joyous. Try to celebrate outside in the open air if possible, with good company. Feast, dance, sing and enjoy the abundance of nature. Drinks to share at Litha include honey mead, elderflower wine or a cordial. Decorate your home or an outdoor celebration with blue and red ribbons, holly, oak leaves, reeds, wild roses and cultivated red roses, along with any yellow or red flowers.

Whatever you do, be sure to remember to cleave to your partner with love and the sexual abandon that only this time of wild magick inspires!

Here are June's Correspondences in Overview:

Herb of the Month - Mugwort
Stone of the Month - Moonstone
Rune of the Month - Wunjo
Tarot Card of the Month - The Lovers
Correspondence of the Month - Elements
Spell of the Month - Protection

Important June Dates:

June 1, 5:03 p.m. - New Moon, 5:16 p.m. Solar Eclipse

We may all be eager to feel the light, airy energy of the New Moon in Gemini at 11 degrees, which happens on June 1. Also happening is a power-boost of a Solar Eclipse (which occurs during the New Moon phase). A sacred gateway of energy is opening up for those willing to tune in.

The sacred gateway, signified by a Solar Eclipse as an opening, is similar to a fresh chapter in a journal or book. This doorway is for you to venture onto new adventures - to be open and curious about life. There is much to write or new things to read and understand. It can be an interesting, energizing and exciting time, as this Solar Eclipse in Gemini is brimming with new beginnings. We may just want to talk about experience of living life - things that really matter and are of value, not just skimming the headlines and partaking in useless gossip. We must take a look around our lives and realize we must use our power to make proper, healthy choices so we can create long-lasting happiness.

Saturn in Libra is making a harmonious aspect to the Sun and Moon in Gemini now. Tangible manifestations and the ability to create and justify ideas are possible. We are more focused on completing our actions rather than how we present them to other people. Saturn in Libra offers a steadfast supportive energy to this Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Gemini. If you do have planets situated in your natal chart within 9-14 degrees in Airs signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - you may feel super good and possibly productive. We will enjoy variety in life now or engage in friendly conversations with interesting people. Things may happen quick and fast now and anything is possible. It may feel like a wild ride with life swirling and magick happening. Solar Eclipses tend to symbolize outer world changes while Lunar Eclipses electrify the inner world, which will happen on June 15.

All other signs can appreciate the themes and issues coming up. Everyone can partake in creating a sacred space and clear intention around the sector of life where the Eclipse takes place. Saturn and Pluto make a wide yet tense connection during this Solar Eclipse/New Moon in Gemini, reminding us to get serious and be the responsible party in bringing change to long-standing issues in relationships and perhaps even in the professional sector of life. Move past old limitations and know that you can and will overcome the adversity.

Birthday Surprises!

For those whose Birthdays land on June 1, know that you can have a powerfully charged up year ahead to learn, share and network.

The Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Gemini invites us to lighten the mood, be open, curious and embrace the variety in life.

June 15, 4:12 p.m. - Lunar Eclipse, 4:14 p.m. - Full Moon

The Moon of Aradia

This Sagittarius Full Moon is also a total lunar eclipse. Eclipses open up conduits of magickal and spiritual energy. Some believe that souls enter and exit through the shadows of eclipses. Eclipses can stir up other kinds of energies and events, some quite inconvenient. Under pressing circumstances, the practitioner must learn to "think like a Witch."

Aradia, Queen of the Witches, has powers to share and teach this special kind of thinking. Witches don't panic! They react in magickal ways that transform circumstances through will and intent. The sacred ciccle and true name are anchors that help put on the witchy thinking cap, and the singing sword of focused intent puts thoughts into motion.

If the solitary practitioner is confronting difficulties under this Full Moon, take time to review the people and elements of the situation. Put on the witchy thinking cap, pick apart the problem, and look carefully at all the pieces. What kind of spells, charms, and devotional prayers, and rituals are potential magickal solutions? Covens can post these questions as a group. Eclipses are good for changing and banishing troubling circumstances.

~ Elizabeth Hazel in Llewellyn's 2011 Witches' Datebook

June 19 - Father's Day

You Taught Me How to Love You

You taught me how to love you by
The way that you loved me;
And by your unseen sustenance,
To see what you could see.

You gave to me through who you were
The gift of what I am.
Your pride in me is now my pride;
Your faith, my caravan.

Your life does not conclude with death,
Nor will it end with mine,
For all the lives I touch, you touch,
And so on through all time.

~ Nicholas Gordon

June 21 - Midsummer/Litha/Summer Solstice

Litha Correspondences in More Detail:

Element/Gender - Fire/male.

Threshold - Evening/dawn.

Herb of the Month: Mugwort (Air/Venus, Gender - Feminine)

Parts Used: The whole herb
Magickal Properties: Travelers Protection
Divination, Uses: Harvested at the Full Moon, this is carried for protection when traveling long journeys, used as a tea to enhance psychic powers or rub the leaves on the forehead and on the divination tool to increase clairvoyance.

Stone of the Month: Moonstone

Great for divination. Many people keep a moonstone with their tarot cards for increased psychic ability. It is helpful in dieting and maintaining a youthful appearance. The moonstone is love drawing and helpful for reconciliation. Moonstone is a gently protective stone, and is extremely useful in protection while traveling by water.

Rune of the Month: Wunjo (W or V is equated with joy, comfort, and pleasure.)

Wunjo stands for fellowship, harmony, prosperity; ecstasy, glory, spiritual reward, but is also associated with the the possibility of going "over the top." However, if restrained, the meaning is generally success and the recognition of worth.

Wunjo Reversed or Merkstave is equated with stultification, sorrow, strife, alienation, delirium, intoxication, possession by higher forces, impractical enthusiasm, and even raging frenzy, or berzerker.

Tarot Card of the Month: The Lovers

The Lovers represent a new breath of life. They symbolize love, devotion and spiritual friendship. Positively associated with desire, a new lover, relationships, physical attraction, love, sex, and commitment. Negatively associated with lust, moral lapse, temptation, indecision, separation, failed love affair, and emotional loss of control.

Correspondence of the Month: Elements

Earth - Earth is the element that rules the north and that is most stable and dependable. It represents abundance, prosperity, and wealth, and is creative but in a practical, physical manner. Earth is that which sustains all life and on which the other elements rest. Types of magick: gardening, grounding, magnet, image, stone, tree, knot, binding. These types of spells should be preformed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by this element: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

Air - The element of Air rules the east and is associated with mental processes and the mind. It is creative and is that which causes magickal intentions to manifest. It is also associated with higher consciousness and wisdom, divination, and purification. Types of magick: divination, concentration, prophecy, visualization, wind magick, karma. These types of spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by this element: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.

Fire - The element of Fire rules the south and is associated with change and passion. It is both physical and spiritual, being related to sexuality and to divinity. Fire magick is quickly manifested and filled with primal energy. Types of magick: candle, storm, time. These types of spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by this element: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius.

Water - The element of Water rules the west and is associated with the subconscious mind, intuition, and emotions. As the primal substance of life, it is symbolized by the womb and is related to fertility. Types of magick: magick involving the sea, snow or ice, mirror, magnet, rain, cleansing and purification. These types of spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by this element: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.

Spell of the Month: Protection

What you need:

White candle
Protection incense
Photo or respresentation of your loved one(s)

Light the incense. Place the candle on top of your photo(s) and light it. Envision a protective white light surrounding your loved ones and say:

"O Goddess, protect my loved ones every day, as they sleep and as they play,
Help them to always smile bright, and keep them safe in Your loving light.
Protect them from harm and from all they fear,
For they are the ones that I hold dear.
I thank the Goddess for helping me,
I trust in Her aid,
So mote it be."

Let the candle and incense burn down.

— Danu’s Daughter

Mr. Wolf is Huffing and Puffing and Well — You Know the Rest

2011-05-18T15:20:00.000-04:00

My life has never been the same since first meeting Mr. Wolf more than a decade ago.

Sadly, he became so fond of me that he decided to move in without an invitation, and I have been woefully unable to evict him since, despite my very best efforts.

I have Lupus, which I refer to as “Mr. Wolf,” because lupus is the Latin word for wolf, and boy has he been snapping his big teeth at me of late.

I have the most serious form of the disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (pronounced: er-uh-thee-muh-toe-sus), also called SLE, which is an autoimmune disease. As such, it is characterized by a malfunction of the immune system. In these types of diseases, the immune system cannot distinguish between the body’s own cells and tissues and that of ‘foreign’ matter. So, rather than simply producing antibodies to attack invading viruses, bacteria or other similar foreign substances, my immune system creates auto-antibodies that attack my body’s own cells and/or tissues.

Like the last of the Three Little Pigs, I've learned long ago to build my house's foundation soundly against his attacks. I have built it upon the concepts of spirituality (Wicca), love (bisexual), hard work, honesty and a willingness to play (the last has been the hardest part for me.) Nonetheless, the truth is that my house is about to come down around my ears.

The past few months have been bleak. Mr. Wolf has been feasting virtually at will — and sister, does he have a lot of will. During the current onslaught, I went to the doctor and was told what I already knew — Mr. Wolf is coming closer and closer to achieving his goal.

Last year, I had a horrible realization: I can no longer remember what it felt like to be well. Oh, I have memories of being very active, unabashedly athletic and whole, but they are no longer sense memories. It’s as if that part of my life was so insubstantial that it has been absorbed into the unreality of dream.

When I was first diagnosed more than 15 years ago, I was consumed with knowing why my own body was trying to destroy me. At first, I found myself looking deeply into the mirror: Who was this stranger that had taken over my body? And, even more importantly, how could I ever learn to live with her?

I fell into a deep-as-the-deepest ravine depression. There was nothing left of the person I once was. Nothing, absolutely nothing, remained. Or so I thought then. I had been wrong. Very wrong. A tiny, itty-bitty, bright even luminous speck of something had survived.

Was it my soul? I still don’t know, but I think so. I also came to believe it was the divine spark of creation housed within all beings; that indescribable “something” that connects us all to each other regardless of race, gender, age, creed, religion or geography. Whatever it was, I felt it. Visceral.

But for the past few months, nothing. It had been a long process, but I had finally begun to believe again that I had a body, that I was a woman, not simply a lump of flesh that temporarily housed my brain until my ever-approaching death. Unfortunately, almost imperceptibly, I had become a “thing” again.

I had thought that once I had found my “soul,” that knowledge — that sense of self, would be mine forever. It has been sobering indeed to realize that self-knowledge, even hard-fought, can be forgotten in the face of relentless disease and worsening disability. So, once again I stood on the very brink. I had managed to take a step back once before, but did I have the ability, or even the will, to do it again?

For days, I once again stared at the pill bottle, my “stash” I had hoarded for years that would bring on the ultimate darkness. If I gave in to its seduction and the sweet oblivion it promised, I would finally rest. And, I was so very, very tired.

I thought back, what had I done before? What was it that had caused me to give a damn whether I met the next dawn? Slowly, I remembered – it was that little zing of life. That shooting feeling that you are, indeed, alive. Even muted by illness it was still there, still calling me unceasingly back from suicide: Sensation.

I sighed and put the pill bottle away— again. I know now that I will not improve, or may never even stabilize again. The truce, the peaceful co-existence, the political accord that I had hammered out with him before is gone.

I must once again work to reclaim my body, make her a part of me again. Integration in a literal sense. I have been kind, nurturing, drawing her back — but that is no longer enough.

Before, it was my honest sexuality that was the key. I had worked to feel arousal again, slowly, gradually working to feel even a nano flash of sexual interest. Once I had done that, I almost immediately remembered the long-lost feeling of my “soul.”

When I was having sex, I was no longer disabled. The pain that has always been Mr. Wolf’s hallmark transcended into pleasure. Touch and intimacy has been my link to the divine for as long as I can remember. In those moments, I was my true self again. Not a disabled person on her way out, but a living, vibrant woman who was put on this planet for some purpose beyond my finite understanding.

It seems significant that I have to relearn this simple message yet again — but this time without my usual coping mechanism. My sexuality continues to elude me now, so I have to figure something else out. Perhaps I failed to appreciate that my real sense of self, my soul, cannot be wooed from the outside, but must be found within. Even though I had connected to her through my physical senses and the practice of a Divine sexuality, she is not really connected to my body at all. She exists in everything, in everyone. Even me — still.

Thus, I have decided to move forward knowing that my deterioration simply is. Mr. Wolf is real, and I can't pretend that he's just some euphemism I created to represent my disease. I need to find new ways to hang on, to continue breathing. I was given the gift of life, and it remains a gift still.

I also hereby re-dedicate my efforts to re-establish my intimate life. I want the most satisfying sex possible. For me, sex doesn’t just promote overall health, it has always meant the very breath of creation. Despite needing to learn a different way to remain connected, I refuse to give up hope that physical intimacy is lost to me now.

— Danu's Daughter

Eat, Drink and be Merry, for on May 21 We Die!

2011-05-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

OK, so what's with this end of the world stuff, anyway?

Most people have heard the “theory” that the world is going to end in 2012, according to the Mayan calendar, but recently billboards have started popping up across the country "revealing" the world’s literal last day will be on May 21 this year, allegedly based on the Hebrew Calendar.

Christian Evangelical Radio host Harold Camping and his followers have calculated this date CERTAIN of Christ's "Second Coming" (something that Born Again and other Evangelical Christians refer to as, 'The Rapture') after using a series of insanely complicated and suspiciously bogus calculations.

"It's going to be a horror story that we absolutely cannot conceive of. Millions of people will die on that day and everyday thereafter," Camping said.

According to Camping, who is the founder of the Family Radio Network, Judgment Day will begin with earthquakes — at 6 p.m. local time.

Camping's followers have been traveling around the world, spreading the word about the forthcoming day. "We see people that give us the thumb. They say, 'Thumbs up.' We also see people that, unfortunately, give us the other finger," said one devotee, Darryl Keats.

Camping's doomsday scenario has given the late-night talk show hosts grist for their comedy mills, but sadly a lot of regular people have admitted to being terrified as the date fast approaches, according to recent news accounts.

Look, I'm not a Christian anymore, but if it makes those of you who are feel any better, here are two New Testament verses apropos, from the King James version:

"For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh," (Matthew, Chapter 25, verse 13); and, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come," (Matthew, Chapter 24, verse 42.)

Let's talk a bit here about death. As an anonymous philosophical wit once observed, "None of us is getting out of here alive."

It is vital that we come to grips with the very reality of the very real end of our lives — whether it's in two weeks or two decades, or longer.

I have Lupus, S.E., a worsening auto-immune disease that will eventually kill me if nothing else does. Since I learned my diagnosis, I have become progressively sicker, and just last week found out that I am deteriorating at quite a disgusting pace.

I was pretty bummed, but I do know the real truth; that it doesn't matter how many days or years you live, but what you do with them. (Brother, I certainly am filled with cliches today!) I don't mean how much money you make, or how "important" you are, but how many people you've touched, and how many people you've allowed into your heart.

As a sex-positive, bisexual Wiccan, I believe that life and its many pleasures are to be thoroughly explored and enjoyed; that our physical couplings should be as frequent and fun as possible, but also sometimes seen as sacred; and that the divine exists within each and every being on this wonderfully diverse and rich planet.

My faith isn't based on fear, threats, and always looking toward an uncertain hereafter, but rather what we've done in the here-and-now.

So, if the gig is up for the whole of Mother Earth, why not celebrate the life you've had every day until then, and if it's not, why not celebrate every day after?

Meanwhile, the Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists have posted their own billboard advertising a recruitment party at Tiki Bar on May 21. "The upcoming rapture that's predicted for May 21 obviously is nonsense," said Ken Loukinen of the Florida Atheists. "We're just drawing attention, poking a little fun."

Mainstream Evangelical Christians have avoided the topic despite Camping's insistence that Judgment Day is soon to come. "This is not something where there's a tiny, tiny, tiny chance it might happen. It is going to happen," said Camping.

Oh yes, quite an important uh...end note: Camping’s findings should be taken with tons and tons of salt, as people have been predicting the end of the world, unsuccessfully of course, since 1260. Camping himself “miscalculated” in 1994. In 1860 there was even a “Great Disappointment” when people were warned about the Second Coming. Much more recently, who can forget the doomsayers who predicted the end of the world at the change of the millennium, the so-called Y2K disaster that turned out to be just another glorious day!

— Danu's Daughter

May 05 – Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T08:59:00.000-04:00

As a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca, I believe it's extremely important to be respectful of other cultures, practices, faiths and beliefs – but also to learn about them whenever and wherever you can.

In America, our relationship with Mexico is strained right now, especially in border states, because of the issue of illegal immigration.

My viewpoint about that issue is unimportant to relate here. What is important, is to stress tolerance, acceptance and love, to all – regardless of where your home is located.

So, I salute Mexico, Mexican Americans and Chicanos today on their beloved Cinco de Mayo!
Today is the anniversary of an extremely historic, and vital event for those communities. It was on May 5th in 1862 that 2,000 poorly trained Mexican peasants, under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza, fiercely fought and won the Battle at Puebla against a regiment of 6,000 French soldiers under the command of Napoleon III.

This observance of the Cinco de Mayo victory is a special symbol for all Mexican people and their descendants who celebrate their rights of freedom and liberty, honoring those who fought and won against greater odds.

Although the Mexican army was eventually defeated, the "Batalla de Puebla" has come to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism.

With this single victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves against any foreign intervention. Especially those from imperialist states bent on world conquest.

In modern times on the Fifth of May, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by native Mexican (and frequently American) people everywhere. In Mexico, several towns elaborately reenact the Battle of Puebla in a day-long dramatization that includes acting and speeches.

In America, Cinco de Mayo is an opportunity to celebrate Chicano culture in general, and is celebrated with huge fairs that include Mexican singing, dancing, feasting, costumes, sports activities, fireworks, and entertainment.

You can find the stereotypical Mariachi bands playing, while dancers perform native Mexican dances such as the Mexican Hat Dance and the Raspa.

Speeches and parades also encompass a large part of these celebrations too. But, you can also find more realistic cultural experiences of the rich history of these incredible people if you make the effort.

Participating in, and honoring, these events is a real way to celebrate and renew the friendship between the U.S. and Mexico. Viva Cinco de Mayo!

— Danu's Daughter

Let There Be Peace — Not Hatred

2011-05-02T13:49:00.005-04:00

Late last night, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed in his Pakistani compound following a daring nighttime raid by Navy Seals.

The Seals rappelled over barbed wire fencing, entering the compound and searching bedrooms for the mastermind of the worst terror attacks in U.S. history. Those Sept. 11, 2001 attacks have changed this country forever.

Finding him, they ordered, "Surrender! Surrender!" When he refused to do so, he was shot twice in the head.

Last night around midnight, President Obama announced the raid and Bin Laden's death, saying, "Justice was done." Today during an afternoon press conference, Obama declared, "is a good day for America."

I am a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca. As such, I believe that all life is sacred — not just the good people, but the bad ones too. I am profoundly grateful to the Seals who risked their lives in the raid, but also that they gave this international criminal an opportunity to surrender.

Our country is founded on the democratic concepts of due process, and equal treatment under the law. We base those laws on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, not the Sectarian Law that is confined to the dogmatic limits of a specific religious sect or denomination.

Thus, the U.S. does not practice "an eye-for-an-eye," if we did, we would be no better than the terrorists we fight. I also oppose the death penalty.

Bin Laden was buried at sea, following Islamic Law. I would imagine that choice was also made so that there would be no grave to become a shrine for other terrorist-religious extremists to visit, thus making Bin Laden a martyr to their cause.

To those in Americans who celebrated the death, I urge you to be more reflective. Every person carries a spark of the Goddess within, so rejoicing in the killing of anyone may have unintended Karmic consequences. It is also a tenant of Wicca to respect all faiths.

We should also remember the thousands of Muslims that have died as a direct result of Bin Laden's outrages, not to mention everyone who had died since in the armed conflicts.

As a Wiccan, my faith can be summed up as:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

I hope this will be another turning point in this country: Toward peace.

I pray it is the beginning of the end of the longest war in this country's history, as well as the on-going war in Afghanistan, which has been the stronghold of al-Qaida.

I also hope that we will begin to overcome religious hatred toward Muslims, finally understanding that it was not the faith that killed thousands and continues to threaten to reign mass destruction on the U.S. and our allies, but radical extremists/fanatics who work outside their own religion's precepts.

On a very personal note: I had the honor to be working with the New Jersey state law enforcement agency on that fateful Sept. 11 morning — which was brilliantly sunny and cloud free. In its aftermath, my agency provided backup assistance to New York City police and fire companies, and also to families and friends who lost loved ones in the cowardly attacks.

State police escorted me to Ground Zero about two weeks after the attacks, before it was reopened to civilians. We went over in a small boat. As we crossed New York Harbor from New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty on my right, I saw the burning face of the new skyline directly before me. Lady Liberty almost directly opposite that shameless brutality.

Recovery efforts were still underway, and the Twin Towers were still burning. I met exhausted first-responders, and aid workers who had come from around the world to help.

I talked to one New York police officer who refused to stop working. She was sleeping in one of the burned out buildings adjacent to the site. The triage centers had set up areas for workers to shower, worried about the contamination that we now know caused even more deaths in the months and years that have followed. Someone had donated the use of a large ship which was docked nearby, to allow workers to eat en masse, and also to rest.

The statuesque woman appeared to be in her 20's, with striking red hair, and hollow eyes. She told me that she was a fourth-generation New York City beat cop.

She had been on patrol that horrific morning near the Twin Towers, and saw the planes hit. Without a thought, she ran at full speed TOWARD the devastation — rather than away from it. She managed to pull some people out before she was beaten back by flames and ever-worsening smoke.

"They attacked my precinct," she said, then repeated it over-and-over-again, until she gradually fell silent.

I exchanged glances with a few other officers who were also her friends. Her post-traumatic shock was so palpable that it was excruciating to see. They shook their heads, silently telling me that they could not convince her to leave, or to get help.

When I got to the actual site, I saw workers in full-gear collapsed in exhaustion, many working 18-hour shifts hoping they still might find a miracle survivor. One firefighter described the work to me. He was from Australia, which had sent a full contingency to help!

Eventually, I went to the edge of the crater caused by the Towers' collapse into the underground. I spent some time in silent prayer before returning to my group.

Afterward, I went to the center my agency had established in New Jersey to help the victims' families and friends. Most had the same hollowed eyes that I had seen on the face of the female officer.

At the center, family and friends posted collages-memorials of their loved ones. Eventually, those were carefully preserved, and will end up in a 9/11 museum.

Later, we all learned that the thick dust that clung to everything and everyone at the attack site was pulverized cement, combined with the ashes of the dead.

I see the faces of those I met often, as well as what the devastation looked, sounded and even smelled like in detail. I will carry them until I am dust. Nonetheless, I still believe in due process and not simply retribution. We are not a cruel, angry, vicious mob — we are America!

— Danu's Daughter

Pronouncement: Beloved John Paul II!

2011-05-01T15:02:00.000-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II before an estimated 2 million faithful in St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets this morning, moving the beloved former pontiff one step closer to probable sainthood in one of the largest turnouts ever for a Vatican Mass.

I am a devout Pagan, a faith-filled Solitary Practitioner of Wicca and have been for many years. Why then am I blogging about this "Catholic/Christian" event? Because I loved this man — enough to have gotten up at 4 a.m., E.S.T., to watch the Mass live.

Today's Mass occurred on Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter. Pope Benedict wore the chasuble and mitre frequently worn by Pope John Paul II during his 26-year pontificate, which spanned from Oct. 22 1978, to April 2 2005.

I am a former Catholic, converting I realized later largely because of Pope John Paul II's magnetic, amazingly angelic-like personality. Had he not been Pope, I am sure that I would never have traveled down that faith path. Nonetheless, he remains my Pope, my beloved "Papa," and will until I am also dust.

The first-ever Polish Pope, traveled to 109 nations during his papacy. Each time he disembarked, he knelt and kissed the tarmac as a moving sign of respect for each country/nation that he visited, and also in humility. Later, when his health was ravaged by Parkinson's Disease and he was unable to kneel, his aides would bring a dish of native soil up to him to kiss.

It is interesting to note that a French nun, Sister Marie Simone-Pierre, who also suffered from Parkinson's Disease, prayed to the pontiff a week after his death, and received a complete cure. It was her experience that the Vatican investigated and confirmed as a "miracle," a necessary step toward Beatification.

When he died in 2005, the faithful had gathered exactly where today's ceremony was held. Then, the overflow crowd spontaneously erupted, chanting: "Santo Subito!" — meaning "Sainthood Now!" or "Sainthood Immediately!" They chanted it over and over again, unexpectedly stopping the Resurrection Mass for several moments. Their voices rang out through the square, filling it and echoing off the ancient Basilica with an indescribable intensity and yes, love. I truly felt chills watching it on TV thousands of miles away.

During today joyous Mass, an enormous tapestry of John Paul II based on a 1995 photograph by his then official photographer, Arturo Mari, was unveiled from the balcony of Saint Peter’s. It showed the pontiff with a twinkle in his eye, and a slightly wry smile.

[Note: The tapestry is depicted at the top of this post.]

To begin today's Beatification rite, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Rome Diocese, and Mgr Slawomir Oder, the postulator of the Cause, approached Pope Benedict. In Latin, Cardinal Vallini formally requested, "the Beatification of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II."

In a short biography of the late Pontiff, who was born born Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18 1920, the cardinal said the characteristic of John Paul II’s Faith and Pontificate were a devotion to God, and his complete, almost childlike trust in "Our Lady," the Virgin Mary. It was also mentioned that today was appropriate for the Beatification because it is the first of May, or to the faithful, first Sunday of "the Month of Mary." To me, it is appropriate because it is Wicca's Beltane — a celebration of life's renewal and wonder.

He went on to talk about John Paul’s missionary zeal and his love of young people for whom he established World Youth Day, which raised a loud cheer from young pilgrims in Rome for the Beatification.

Pope Benedict, of whom I am not fond, then declared that John Paul II's "name will forever be Blessed." It now remains for one more miracle to be reported and confirmed for him to be Canonized as a Saint.

"He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope," Benedict said in his homily.

In John Paul's native country, tens of thousands of people gathered in rain in a major sanctuary in Krakow and in Wadowice, where the pontiff was born. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife Malgorzata watched the ceremony together with Wadowice residents.

"I wonder what we would have been like and what would not have happened if we had not had our pope," Minister Tusk was quoted as saying. "All that good that we all have received is still working."

Blessed John Paul II, or John Paul the Great, was also given a formal "Feast Day," upon which he will be celebrated annually. His day is Oct. 22, which was the date of his first public Mass in 1978 as Pope, during which he repeated what was to become his mantra: "Do Not Be Afraid."

I am still shocked at how strongly I respond to him. I am liberal and disagreed with almost every stance he ever took on church policy. For some reason, none of that matters. What matters is how I felt when I saw him, and still feel when I remember him, or even look at a photograph.

John Paul’s was a papacy of milestones. In 1978, as Cardinal Wojtyla of Krakow, he became the first non-Italian to become pope in four centuries. Under him, the church issued its first new catechism in nearly 500 years. In 2000, he asked pardon for the church’s sins against Jews, women, heretics (like me) and minorities. He was also the first pope to visit a Muslim mosque, and a Jewish synagogue.

He survived an assassination attempt by a Turkish gunman in 1981, a still-hazy chapter in Cold War history. He later visited the gunman in prison and forgave him. The man later said the Pontiff's visit changed his life.

When he was shot, I was not a Catholic at the time. Nonetheless, I sent my first and only Western Union telegram directly to the Vatican, telling him that he was in the prayers of those other than his own faith.

Blessed John Paul's closed coffin was exhumed from a crypt beneath the Basilica, and was placed at the center aisle during the ceremony. Pope Benedict kissed it reverently. He was followed by scores of cardinals who did the same. The simple wooden casket will be placed in a side chapel next to Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” allowing it to be viewed for the first time since his funeral.

During the Mass, Benedict received a silver reliquary holding a vial of blood taken from John Paul during his final hospitalization. The relic, a key feature of beatification ceremonies, will be available for the faithful to venerate.

It was presented to him by Sister Tobiana, the Polish nun who tended to John Paul throughout his pontificate, and Sister Marie Simone-Pierre.

Thousands of pilgrims, many of them from John Paul's native Poland, spent the night in sleeping bags on bridges and in piazzas around town, and then packed St. Peter's as soon as the barricades opened over an hour in advance because the crowds were too great.

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the main boulevard leading to the Vatican, Via della Conciliazione, as well as on side streets around it and the bridges crossing the Tiber leading to St. Peter's waving flags from Argentina, Germany, Great Britain and Lebanon.

It's the fastest beatification on record, coming just six years after John Paul died and beating out the beatification of Mother Teresa by a few days. It was also the first time a sitting Pope beatified his predecessor.

[Note above photo: The reliquary containing the blood of Pope John Paul II was placed on a pedestal during the beatification ceremony by Sister Marie Simon Pierre, right, who says she was cured of Parkinson's Disease after praying to John Paul II; and Sister Tobiana, who is also a nurse who cared for the late Pope.]

— Danu's Daughter

April's Showers Lead to May's Beltane, Part II

2011-04-26T13:39:00.000-04:00

May Day is Beltane and a sacred time for Wiccans and Pagans throughout the world.

It is a time to celebrate the Earth's renewal, to glory in life's power and its wonders. If you are an adult, it is a time to delight in sensual pleasures, and to dance with abandon and sing in the moonlight.

As a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca, I observe the holidays (Sabbats in honor of the gods, and Esbats in honor of the goddesses) as the Wheel of the Year turns. I follow these basic religious laws, which can be consolidated as:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should — three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill — an it harm none, do what ye will."

May's Eve

The Sacred Sabbat Beltane officially begins at sunset on April 30. Although most celebrations don't get into full swing until May 1, most Wiccans and Pagans acknowledge May's Eve in some fashion.

A nice tradition to start is to take equal lengths of white and silver ribbons, then tie them in a bow around one of the lower branches of a tree, preferrably a Hawthorn, one of the original Sacred Trees. Do this at sunset, and focus on the beautiful tree, then ask the Goddess for Her blessings.

Beltane

As a significant Sabbat, I am presenting some additional Beltane rituals in this Part II of the post.

The word "Beltane" literally means "bright" or "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of the proto-Celtic god variously known as Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor or Belenus. It has been suggested that Bel is the Brythonic Celt equivalent to the Goidelic Celt god Kernunnos.

The third of the two Celtic fire festivals, Beltane was a celebration of the return of life and fertility to the world, and was celebrated on or around April 30, athough in these later years has become more commonly celebrated on May 1 ("May Day").

Beltane is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain which means "opposite Samhain." Beltane was the last of the three spring fertility festivals, and the second major Celtic festival. Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two primary seasons, Winter and Summer.

On the eve of Beltane the Celts build two large fires, created from the nine sacred woods, in honor of Summer. The tribal herds were ritually driven between them, so as to purify and protect them in the upcoming year. The fires celebrate the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth. Celebration included frolicking throughout the countryside, dancing the Maypole, leaping over fires, and "going a maying". It was customary for young lovers to spend the night in the forest.

Beltane was the time of sensuality revitalized the reawakening of the earth and all of her children. It was the time when tribal people celebrated with joy the vivid colors and vibrant scents of the season, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter.

It was customary that Handfastings (weddings,) for a year and a day, take place at this time. On May Eve, people would tear branches from a Hawthorn tree and decorate the outside of their homes. The Hawthorn, or Whitethorn, is the tree of hope, pleasure, and protection. The strong taboo on breaking Hawthorne branches or bringing them into the home was traditionally lifted on May Eve.

Another custom was to leap over the Beltane bonfire. Young people jumped the fire for luck in finding a spouse, travelers jumped the fire to ensure a safe journey, and pregnant women jumped the fire to assure an easy delivery.

Traditional Beltane Activities

— Arise at dawn and wash in the morning dew, for the woman who washes her face in it will be beautiful, the man who washes his hands will be skilled with knots and nets.
— If you live near water, make a garland or posy of spring flowers and cast it into stream, lake or river to bless the water spirits.
— Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill, then give it to one in need of caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend.
— Beltane is one of the three "spirit-nights" of the year when the faeries can be seen. At dusk, twist a rowan sprig into a ring and look through it, and you may see them.
— Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck—but make sure you tie up long skirts first!
— Make a May Bowl —wine or punch in which the flowers of sweet woodruff or other fragrant blossoms are soaked—and drink with the one you love.
— Celebrants sometimes jump over broomsticks, especially at Handfastings (weddings) that are very common during this season, or dance around May Poles, as both of these are symbols of fertility.
— Traditional activities include blowing horns, and gathering flowers. Solitary Practitioners might consider the weaving together of ribbons as an alternative to creating and dancing around the May Pole.
— Many like to celebrate Beltaine by decorating their homes and themselves with fresh flower garlands, or by stringing up greenery around their homes and places of work.
— Sending flowers to loved ones, planting new gardens, cleaning out the cupboards and general spring cleaning are all traditional Beltaine gestures.
— Plaiting and weaving straw, creating things with wicker, making baskets and fabrics are traditional arts for this turn in the Wheel of the Year.

Outdoor Beltane Ritual for the Solitary Practitioner

Preparation

— Prior to this rite you should have made ready a wooden wand. This should be from a fallen branch of an Oak or Hazel tree. Remember, never take the wood from a living tree, as it disrespects the life force of the tree, and the Goddess!

The wood can be cut into the rough shape of a phallus, if so it should be of the appropriate size and shape. On the other hand, a simple branch, peeled of its bark, and about 13 inches long and half an inch thick is also acceptable. Place the wand upon your altar, within the the area you will be casting for a Sacred Circle.

— Prepare a dish containing earth you have gathered and place it upon the altar beside the wand. [The dirt will symbolize the entire Earth in the ceremony.]

The Rite

Cast the Circle and invoke the Lady and her Consort. After the invocation, dance and chant to raise power for magickal activities, and then send that power from the earth and into an unlit candle, which has been placed inside the cauldron and is at the center of the circle.

Chant the following (or make up your own):

"Beltane! I dance with delight on Beltane's night. All senses freeing, I dance for being. The flower and the flame of love's own rite shall blossom. Sun embrace Earth, bright."

Light the candle to the represent the reborn Sun God. This is the Beltane fire, our modern substitute for the hilltop bonfires of our ancestors. The Bel fire is an invocation to the Sun God to bring blessing and protection for the coming year. This is sacred fire with healing and purifying properties.

As you light the candle, the cauldron a symbol of the Goddess, be aware of its wonderful power and significance. Say:

"I light this candle to honor the Sun."

Now, raise the dish containing the dirt. Bless it in the name of the Goddess by saying:

"I bless, consecrate, and set apart this earth, in the name of the Triple Goddess. May this be sacred earth, set apart for magick. For earth is of the Goddess, being her sacred body."

Remember that the Goddess is not only of the Moon, but of the Earth and of the farthest stars. She is the Triple Goddess of the Circle of Rebirth, the Mother of All Life. [You might wish to decorate the dish of earth with flowers prior to the ceremony.]

Now, take the wooden wand and oil it with vegetable or some other natural oil. Bless it in the name of the Lord of the Day, the youthful, ardent one, the Lord of Life, the God of the Greenwood Glen. Pass it swiftly through the candle's flame, the Bel fire, so that it becomes magickally imbued, 'charged,' with power. Place the wand upon the dish of earth, gather your magickal intent and focus.

As you hold the wand on the dish, say:

"As the wand is to the earth, so the male is to the female, and the Sun to our blossoming world. Joined, they bring happiness. May the God of Life give ___ [state a request, for example, an end to the wars in the Middle East.] May the Goddess bring it forth!"

Feel the energy spread from the ground, through your body, into your arm and by extension, into the consecrated wand. Close your eyes as your magickal intent increases, sending the power into the dish of earth, which represents our Sacred Mother, the Planet Earth.

Now, sit quietly for a while, picturing the literal blossoming of your magickal intent. The spells and invocations of each of us, all working with similar themes like this throughout the world, must eventually bear fruit because life is, by its very nature, dedicated to survival and peace. Leave the earth and wand upon the altar.

Walk deosil three times around the circle, then spiral into its center. Go evenly, with grace, meditatively. Sit beside the candle flame, allowing yourself to feel peaceful. Gaze into the flame.

The next part will be different depending on whether you are a woman or a man.

For Women: Visualize a red rosebud in your womb. Always your womb is the source of your creative power, whether you are pregnant, or brimming with an idea, a work of art, or a magickal intention. It is the source of all life, the energy-affirming center of joyous sex and desire.

Close your eyes and picture the light from the candle streaming into your womb so that the rosebud blooms, unfolds. Hold the image for a while, feel the warmth spread within you, the sensual silkiness of the flower, its scent, the freshness, the vibrant color of the fully open rose at the center of your being. Feel the strength and power of your own fully blossomed capabilities. Say:

"I am a woman, strong to conceive and to create, to give birth, to tend and to receive tending. As I am a daughter of the Goddess, and blessed by the God, I intend to ___ [state what you wish to achieve at this time in life. For example, to bring healing to others, to write a book, gain a promotion, whatever matters to you.]"

Feel the strength and creative force within your body. See the power being channeled, flowing into the desire you have just voiced. Open your eyes. Always, the rose will remain within you.

For a Man: Visualize a bright flame. This burns within your sexual center, a point at the base of the stomach, just above the pubic hairline. It is your own male strength and energy that will rise through your body to be released as fertilizing power, in any form, or it may be the potency that impregnates, creating a physical child. It is the force that blesses and bestows, a healing and creative energy, like the shining Sun. Visualize that you are sitting in a garden and that a rose tree is in front of you, the roses closed in buds. Say:

"I am a man, and in my passion is beauty, in my warmth is life. As I am a son of the Goddess, and blessed by the God, I offer my strength and vitality to ____ [Name the area of life, the place, activity, or commitment of your choice.]

Visualize the light streaming from you to a rose bud upon the tree causing it to unfold, to blossom. Your flame is lowered by this effort. Much has gone out of you, the flame retreats. Wait and watch, until a pink light streams from the rose toward your body. At its touch, just above the pubic hairline the flame resurges. It burns higher and stronger than ever before. Open your eyes. The flame is always within you.

[Source: Adapted from "The Wiccan Path," by Rae Beth]

Beltane Circle Ceremony for a Group or Coven

Place two white candles are on the altar with a wreath of spring flowers. The candles representing the Quarters should be green.

The spiritual leader should "ride" a May Pole like a child's wooden stick horse if possible, moving about the Sacred Space in quick, trotting steps, chanting:

"O do not tell the priests of our Art,
For they would call it sin;
But we will be in the woods all night,
A-conjuring summer in.

And we bring you good news by word of mouth,
For woman, cattle and corn,
For the sun is coming up from the south,
With oak and ash and thorn."

A ring dance follows after which leader casts the Sacred Circle. You may choose to have a man draws down the Moon upon the female leader. All attending are purified in sacrifice before her, who represents the Goddess.

She purifies the man who represents the God at her own hands.

All partake of Cakes and Wine (Ale) followed by feasting, dancing and singing and the Great Rite [a symbolic or actual sexual union between the two], if at all possible, in token or truly.

Note: For many groups and covens, the actual sexual union between the female and male remains controversial. For those who still do this, the couple is concealed behind some sort of screen so their activities cannot be viewed by those in attendance.

As a bisexual and modest woman, the symbolic representation of the sexual union for the purpose of underscoring the act of literal creation is the only way to go.

— Danu's Daughter

April Showers Lead to May's Beltane: Part I

2011-04-03T13:20:00.003-04:00

Apparently, I decided to play an April Fool's Day joke on myself — I am posting this on April 3!

The name "April" is derived from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love who was known to the Romans as Venus.

The "Kalends" of April are sacred to Venus, as is the entire month. [Note: Kalends is the name the Romans gave to the first day of the month. The Kalends was the day of the new moon. While the Kalends were always the first day of the month, the other two named days, the Ides and the Nones, were not always on the same day of the month. The Kalends was on the new moon, the Ides on the full moon, and the Nones between the two. The longest period of the month fell between the full moon and the Kalends.]

The month would begin with the Veneralia, public games, called ludi, which would be held in honour of Venus. This day was also known as All Fools Day to the Romans, and they would spend the entire day celebrating with comic hillarity, doing things backwards, wearing women's clothes, dancing in the streets, and generally carrying on in the most good-natured but absurd way possible. This is one of the few Roman holidays that has preserved some of its original character, under the modern name April Fool's Day.

As a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca, I observe the holidays (Sabbats in honor of the gods, and Esbats in honor of the goddesses) as the Wheel of the Year turns. I follow these basic laws, which can be consolidated as:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should — three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill — an it harm none, do what ye will."

May's Eve

The Sacred Sabbat Beltane officially begins at sunset on April 30. Although most celebrations don't get into full swing until May 1, most Wiccans and Pagans acknowledge May's Eve in some fashion.

On the eve of Beltane the Celts build two large fires, created from the nine sacred woods, in honor of Summer. The tribal herds were ritually driven between them, so as to purify and protect them in the upcoming year. The fires celebrate the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth. Celebration included frolicking throughout the countryside, dancing the Maypole, leaping over fires, and "going a maying". It was customary for young lovers to spend the night in the forest.

On May's Eve people would tear branches from a Hawthorn tree and decorate the outside of their homes. The Hawthorn, or Whitethorn, is the tree of hope, pleasure, and protection. The strong taboo for breaking Hawthorne branches, or bringing them into the home was traditionally lifted on May Eve.

A nice tradition to start is a modernization of that ancient one. Take equal lengths of white and silver ribbons, then tie them in a bow around one of the lower branches of a tree, preferrably a Hawthorn. Do this at sunset, and focus on the beautiful tree, then ask the Goddess for Her blessings.

Beltane

As a fun and meaningful Sabbat, I am going to present the Beltane rituals in Part II of this post. In this post, I am presenting the basics of the holiday.

The word "Beltane" literally means "bright" or "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of the proto-Celtic god variously known as Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor or Belenus. It has been suggested that Bel is the Brythonic Celt equivalent to the Goidelic Celt god Kernunnos.

The third of the two Celtic fire festivals, Beltane was a celebration of the return of life and fertility to the world, and was celebrated on or around April 30, athough in these later years has become more commonly celebrated on May 1 ("May Day").

Beltane is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain which means "opposite Samhain." Beltane was the last of the three spring fertility festivals, and the second major Celtic festival. Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain (Halloween), divide the year into its two primary seasons, Winter and Summer.

Beltane was the time of sensuality revitalized the reawakening of the earth and all of her children. It was the time when tribal people celebrated with joy the vivid colors and vibrant scents of the season, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It was customary that Handfastings (Marriages), for a year and a day, take place at this time.

Another custom was to leap over the Beltane bonfire. Young people jumped the fire for luck in finding a spouse, travelers jumped the fire to ensure a safe journey, and pregnant women jumped the fire to assure an easy delivery.

Beltane Love Potion

This is the only magickal ritual that I'm presenting in this post because this Potion should be made under the full moon before Beltane. This April's Full Moon falls on the 18th.

What you will need:

A single white candle
A bowl or chalice
A crystal (preferably rose or clear quartz)
A red or pink rose bud and petals
Spring water
Rose or jasmine water (optional)
Vodka
Decanter with top or seal
If possible, cast your circle in a place outdoors (or if indoors, hopefully next to a window with a view of the Full Moon.) If bad weather/cloudy skies present an obstacle, use a candle flame instead.

Holding the bowl or chalice full of pure spring water, catch the reflection of the Moon (or candle flame) within. Call to the Goddess Aphrodite, or any other diety that represents love to you, to send Her Divine Essence flowing into the water along with the moonlight. Concentrate on what perfect love means to you and instill your own essence into the water by blowing gently upon it.

Next, add rose petals and buds to the water. Add the crystal that you´ve held up to the moonlight to consecrate to a Goddess of Love. A touch of rose or jasmine water would be nice, but is not necessary.

Pour your water into a beautiful decanter and add an equal portion of Vodka to seal the Potion. Keep this Potion in a dark space out of the sunlight - for the magickal properties of the Night are required for it to remain potent.

Use this potion to annoint candles and magickal writings — Love Spells. Use it like a perfume to attract a perfect love to you. Add a few drops to your own drink for the same effect, and naturally, it is important NOT to use this Potion in any manipulative manner, as it would be a violation of the basic Wiccan laws.

— Danu's Daughter

Tonight's 'Supermoon'

2011-03-19T16:13:00.000-04:00

As a practicing Wiccan, all New and Full Moons are sacred because they represent Goddess wisdom and power, and are generally honored by every Pagan each month with an Esbat rite.

Tonight, we in the Northern Hemisphere have the opportunity to celebrate a so-called "Supermoon," meaning that the Earth's satellite is closer to us than it has ever been.

Full Moon energy is generally used for banishing unwanted influences, protection and divination. A Full Moon is also a good time for planning, releasing and working backwards through your life. Full Moon magick can be done for seven days, three days before, the day of, and three days after the full moon.

The New Moon is used for personal growth, healing, the blessing of a new project, etc. Between the New and Full Moons is the phase called the "Waxing Moon." Magick for this phase includes attraction magick, increasing, growth, and gain.

Between the Full and New Moons is the phase called the, "Waning Moon." Magick for this phase includes banishing magick, such a loosing negative emotions, bad habits, etc.

Three days before the New Moon is known as the Dark Moon, because it is not visible in the sky. Traditionally, no magick is performed at this time. It is a time for rest.

Due to the rotation of the earth there are thirteen Full Moons, each carrying a traditional name, which can vary depending on the Pagan faith path that is followed. Here are the names that are often used:

January — Storm Moon
February — Chaste Moon
March — Seed/Stonehenge Moon
April — Hare Moon
May — Dyad Moon
June — Mead Moon
July — Wyrt (Green Plant) Moon
August — Barley Moon
September — Blood Moon
October — Snow Moon
November — Oak Moon
December — Wolf Moon

March 19: 1:10 p.m. — Full Moon

Seed/Stonehenge Moon

As a disabled Solitary Practitioner, I am often unable to celebrate outdoors. But, because of tonight's rare lunar event, I would suggest that everyone interested in celebrating try to do so under the Supermoon.

Casting a circle creates sacred space to worship, meditate, heal, create and commune with the spiritual realms. The Full Moon in Virgo occurs just before the Sacred Sabbat of Ostara, the time of the Spring Equinox. Ancient henges, temples and ziggurats feature archways that frame the light from the rising sun on Spring Equinox.

Although modern Pagans haven't built the next Stonehenge, gatherings begin with a circle-casting ritual to create sacred space that is oriented to and defined by the cardinal directions — just like the ancient henges.

The Solitary Practitioner, of which I am, may wish to obtain a floor mat and paint a cross on it. Orient the cross to the points of the compass and meditate on each quadrant's elemental association and symbols.

You might consider dedicating Spring gifts to each directional element as the circle is cast. In particular, honor the East and the equinoctial rising Sun. Emphasize that the circle is a sacred space where you have gone to encounter the divine, to rise above your daily self and connect with the seasons, the pulse of the turning Earth, the light of the revolving Moon. This bond is at the heart of Pagan and Earth spirituality.

The following is an example of an Esbat Ritual. Feel free to adapt it to your personal spiritual practice and path.

What you need:

— Altar
— Pentacle
— Athame or Wand
— Illuminator Candles
— Salt
— Cauldron with a Candle Inside
— Bowl of Water
— Incense
— Quarter Candles
— Chalice
— Bread

The Esbat

[Note: The following is an alternate example than what has been be presented in this blog before:]

— Establish the perimeter of the Sacred Circle
— Cleanse the ritual space by carrying a representation of the four elements around the area in a clockwise movement, working with one element at a time
— Open altar energies by blessing with those four elements
— Light the Illuminator Candles
— Cast the magick circle in the fashion that is routine to you
— Take the candle in the cauldron, light it and say, “I bring light and warmth to the sacred circle."
— Take the salt and place it on the pentacle using the Athame, place it in the salt and, invoking the spirit pentagram say, “I charge and bless this salt to purify and bless our sacred circle."
— Take the water and place it on the pentacle, invoking the spirit of the pentacle saying, “ I bless this water to protect and wash clean our sacred circle."
— Taking the salt put some in the water and place the Athame into the salted water. Do an additional invoking saying, "With water and salt to create Holy Water to make Holy our sacred circle."
— Now sprinkle the Sacred Water around the circle saying, “Here do I bring in earth and water into our sacred circle." Begin in the East and move around the whole circle.
— Next take the incense and place it on the pentacle, using the Athame to draw a spirit pentagram over the incense saying, “I bless this sacred smoke to purify this sacred circle."
— Ignite the incense
[Note: Remember that everything should be lighted from magick working candle within the cauldron.]
— Now take the incense and start in the East saying, "I bring fire and air to consecrate this sacred circle." Complete your progression around the circle.
— Take the candle and start in the East saying,” I bring light of Spirit into our sacred circle." Complete walking the circle.
—Now take the Athame/Wand, feeling the energy of the earth, draw it up inside you and direct it out your hand through the Athame/Wand to finish the final turn around the circle. This brings in the element of your own humanity to complete the circle cast.
— Light the quarter candles and call the quarters:

"In the East, is the beginning of all things, the first breath of life, the first thought of creation."

"In the South, holds the flame of idea the fire of inspiration and creation."

"In the West is the birth of that idea; the water of life in the womb of us all, there rests all birth and beginnings."

"In the North is solidity; it is the earth that grounds us to reality and brings us to form."

"Spirit is above us, below us and within us; it is the will and knowledge; it is our determination to see things through our inspiration; as it is also our guide and our protector."

— Invoke Deities
— State intent of ritual aloud
— Draw Down the Moon
— Perform the magickal work, which may include drawing and raising energy, then sealing the spellwork.
— Cakes and Ale:
Hold up a Chalice of wine (or some other liquid) between your hands to the sky, and say:

"Gracious Goddess of Abundance, Bless this wine and infuse it with your love. In your names, Mother Goddess and Father God, I bless this (beverage.)"

Hold up a plate of cakes (bread, biscuits) with both hands to the sky and say:

"Powerful God of the Harvest, Bless these cakes and infuse them with your love. In your names, Mother Goddess and Father God, I bless these cakes (or this bread)."

"Bright Blessings upon this Sacred World and your sister/brother (Insert your name). May you never hunger and never thirst."

— Thank the Deities, Qarters, release them humbly, and extinquish the quarter candles.
— Release magickal circle; seal altar energies, extinguish Illuminator Candles.
— Clean up, and offer the libation bowl out of doors to give back to Mother Earth.

I have included the following news story that defines and describes the "Supermoon." May all who follow a Pagan path have a Sacred and Memorable celebration!

The Supermoon

"Much ado has been made about the so-called "supermoon" that will take place tonight. Tonight's full moon will nearly coincide with the moon's arrival at the perigee point in its orbit around the Earth, resulting in the closest and biggest full moon in our sky since March 1993.

Or will it?

On Saturday night, the moon will arrive at perigee at 19:09 UT (3:09 p.m. Eastern Time). Its distance from the Earth at that moment will be 221,565 miles. But just over three years ago, on Dec. 12, 2008, which was also the night of a full moon, the moon reached perigee at 21:39 UT (4:39 p.m. Eastern Time) at a distance of 221,559 miles, about 6 miles closer than Saturday night's perigee distance.

So it seems Saturday night's supermoon will actually be just a little less super than the full moon of Dec. 2008.

Despite this fact, Geoff Chester of the United States Naval Observatory says tonight's full moon is still the winner for closeness of a full moon. How is that possible?

A lunar loophole

Chester points out that on Dec. 12, 2008, the moon reached fullness at 16:37 UT, while perigee was at 21:39. That's a difference of just over five hours. So when the moon turned full that night, it was still five hours away from reaching its closest point to Earth; its distance at the moment it turned full was 221,587 miles.

In contrast, today's full moon occurs at 18:10 UT, while perigee occurs at 19:09; the difference being less than an hour. So today, when the moon officially turns full, its distance from Earth will be 221,566 miles.

So even though the moon actually came a little closer to Earth in December 2008, if we compare distances when the moon officially turns full, today's full moon wins out by a scant 21 miles.

But for North Americans ... second place!

In all fairness, we should also point out that on Dec.12, 2008, the moment that the moon officially turned full was not visible in North America because it occurred during the daytime, when the moon was below the horizon.

And that very same circumstance will also occur at the moment today's moon turns full (2:10 p.m. Eastern Time; 11:10 a.m. Pacific Time); the moon will again be out of sight for North Americans.

So back on Dec. 12, 2008 — as will be the case tonight — when millions of people cast their gaze toward the moon, it really wasn’t a "full" moon, but rather a waning gibbous moon. The same case will hold true tonight.

Certainly, to all of us who look up at it tonight's moon, it will appear "full," but keep in mind that the actual moment when the moon's disk became 100 percent illuminated will have already passed many hours earlier. Although not readily perceptible to most eyes, tonight’s moon will be waning or diminishing in illumination. Rather than seeing it fully illuminated, tonight we will see it at about 99.8 percent illumination).

Who's first?

In addition, the moon that North Americans will see with their own eyes tonight will actually run a very close second to that of Dec. 12, 2008, in terms of distance.

From Boston, for instance, when the moon comes over the eastern horizon this evening, it will be 221,580 miles away.

But on Dec. 12, 2008, at moonrise, Bostonians saw the moon ever-so-slightly closer, at 221,559 miles; again, just a scant 21 mile difference. That's because in 2008, the moon took more than five hours to reach its perigee point after it turned full. The moon was arriving at the closest point in its orbit just as darkness had begun to fall and the moon was beginning to appear over North America.

As Geoff Chester has already pointed out above, today's full moon and moment of perigee occur within less than an hour of each other, during the late morning/early afternoon hours for North America.

By the time darkness is falling and the moon begins appearing over the eastern horizon for North Americans, it will have already been slowly receding from Earth and so it will be a little farther away than it was in 2008.

But don't let all this stop you from going out tonight and enjoying the sight of this, the "biggest moon of 2011." The moon is, after all, our nearest neighbor in space, Earth's eternal companion and friend.

And let's face it ... what's 21 miles among friends?"

— Danu's Daughter

Light a Healing Candle Today for Japan!

2011-03-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

As a Solitary Practitioner of Wicca, I have been directing healing energy to everyone, including all animals, as well as the Earth, that have affected by the horrendous disasters that continue in Japan.

There are many similar healing efforts going on globally involving all faith paths. Today, Sacred Mists has organized a collective effort, asking everyone of any faith to light a candle today to focus and direct healing and comfort directly to those affected. I have included the information below, because I believe that all prayers are significantly amplified by each added intention.

I have also repeated my own healing candle ritual that I have been using. Feel free to modify it in any way to adapt it to your own faith path.

Let's focus on what's actually happened: According to NASA, the Japanese earthquake, now estimated to have been 9.0, was so strong that it sped up the Earth's rotation by 1.6 microseconds! It was 700 TIMES stronger than the earthquake that leveled Haiti. In addition, many of the country's nuclear power plants have been threatened with partial or total meltdowns, and now radiation has been released into the atmosphere from one of the damaged reactors. Nearby residents have been told to stay inside and seal their homes!

That means that survivors need immediate physical and spiritual support. As a Wiccan, I believe in being religiously pro-active. That means that I have — and will continue — to offer a spiritual ritual in support of Japan's relief.

I believe people of any and all spiritual paths have a duty to help this stricken country in any way that is within our means. The religious laws I follow are simple:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

Here is the information from Sacred Mists [Note: Above image is the Official Facebook Icon of Sacred Mists]:

Healing for Japan - A Sacred Mists "Window of Time" Global Event

"In an effort to organize a healing event that involves Sacred Mists members as well as inspire others around the world to participate, we have set aside a window of time that will provide us all the ability to take part in the event wherever we are in the world and at any time that is most convenient for us to do so. During this window of time, we ask that you take as much time as you are able to send healing, ...strength, and focus of will to those in Japan affected by this tragedy.

Our Window of Time Healing For Japan will be Tuesday, March 15th from 6am — 6pm Pacific (please adjust for your time locally). We will have candles lit and music streaming through our shared time together, and I invite each of you to participate in this much needed work for the people of Japan.

Please share this event with everyone you know, every group you belong to, every connection you may have anywhere in the world, no matter their spiritual affiliation. Together we can make a powerful difference!

Should you have any questions, please email japanhealing@sacredmists.com or visit our Sacred Mists College Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SacredMists where we are listing the event!"

My Ritual

I am repeating a candle healing ritual that I have been using. Take your candle, I suggest a red one to represent Japan, and wait to light it until you have raised the energy. (If you don't have a red candle, don't worry about it, simply use any that you feel like using.)

Repeat the following prayer as many times as you feel is needed to feel the energy has been raised. As you repeat the prayer, envision as clearly as possible colorful images of a beautiful country, a Japan once again with healthy people and happy, laughing children. Truly "see" Japan as a whole, at peace and gloriously safe. See it very clearly — its people healed.

Repeat:

Great Mother Goddess, You who cares for ALL souls;
Our brothers and sisters in Japan are suffering untold misery and despair!

Their loved ones around the world also suffer with worry for them.
Friends and family continue to be consumed with fear for their fate.

As I, and others, gather around the world to light candles and pray,
I express my love and concern for all those who suffer.

I call upon You and pray:

Send all of Japan Your Love.
Send all of Japan Your Comfort.
Send all of Japan Your Healing.
Send all of Japan Your Strength.
Send all of the Earth Your Sacred Calm, Safety and Peace.
Welcome all Souls who have passed over to Gentle Rebirth.

Repeat this prayer and feel the Love of the Goddess until you can sense the literal tingle of energy around you, encompassing you. When you have raised the desired energy, firmly "gather and hold" onto the Love, Healing, and Comfort for Japan in your mind. Then release and direct that spiritual energy out from your body saying a resounding, "This is my intent," and send it forcefully into the unlit red candle.

As soon as you have infused the red candle with this sacred power, light it and watch its flame burn down as long as it seem appropriate. When you again feel the power rise and fill the candle, gently snuff it out, saying, "Thank you for granting my prayer — Blessed Be," while envisioning all of that contained energy flowing outward toward its goal, just as its smoke disperses.

To provide financial relief assistance to the people of Japan, there are numerous organizations to contact. I have included a link, just be sure to select one that has a proven track record and doesn't use a large percentage of the collected donations for administrative operating costs. Also, be very careful that you are not taken by scammers who have set up bogus donation sites.

— Danu's Daughter

God DID NOT Cause the Earthquake!

2011-03-13T10:09:00.002-04:00

In the aftermath of Japan's worst crisis since World War II, some have suggested the horrific earthquake and accompanying tsunami were God's wrath.

Let me be clear, as a Wiccan, I reject that and other similar assertions in the strongest terms. To even suggest it was an act of Divine retribution for the attack on Pearl Harbor reflects not only bogus theology, but is really offensive and overtly racist.

The 8.9-9.0 earthquake that struck Japan was a function of the Earth releasing built up energy through a well-known and active trench. We often forget that the Earth is alive, and it takes care of its physical needs just as any other being, by acting to ensure its survival.

There was no angry deity that sent destruction to the Land of the Rising Sun, and its peoples for any reason; political or religious.

It would be just as ridiculous to assign a similar religious personification and motivation to gravity: It simply is; Earthquakes simply occur.

I can honestly feel the Goddess weeping for her people's suffering, eager to draw them into her arms and comfort them with her Love and tenderness. It doesn't matter what faith anyone or any culture follows, the Love of the Cosmic Creator is real!

The other incorrect assertion sweeping the Internet is that the earthquake was caused by a so-called, "supermoon," and the Earth remains in danger.

On March 19, Earth’s satellite will be at its closest point to our planet in 18 years, a mere 356,577 kilometers away. The event — also called a lunar perigee — was dubbed a "supermoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle back in the 1970s. The term is used to describe a new or full moon at 90 percent or more of its closest orbit to Earth. Next week, it will be at 100 percent.

“There have been a lot of studies on whether earthquakes on our planet were triggered when the moon was closest to Earth, and no conclusive evidence has ever been found for that,” said Peter Goldreich, an emeritus professor for the Astronomy and Planetary Science Department at Caltech University. “The idea is that the strain builds up in the Earth until only a small little bit of extra gravitational force could tip it over and cause an earthquake, and this could come from the moon. But there’s been no absolutely no correlation for that.”

In fact, Goldreich said Earth isn’t the one in danger of experiencing some severe shaking.

“There is on the moon seismic activity connected with a lunar perigee,” Goldreich said. “These were detected by seismological instruments left on the moon by the Apollo astronauts. There was an effect, but it wasn’t enormous. But the moon did quake near perigee.”

Let's focus on what's actually happened: According to NASA, the Japanese earthquake was so strong that it sped up the Earth's rotation by 1.6 microseconds! It was also 700 TIMES stronger than the earthquake that leveled Haiti; one nuclear power plant has suffered a partial meltdown, two others are threatened, and adults and children living in those areas may have been exposed to unhealthy levels of radiation. Thousands have died, thousands are missing, and MILLIONS are without food, water, electricity or shelter.

That means that survivors need immediate physical, emotional and spiritual support. As a Wiccan, who is also a Solitary Practitioner, I believe in being religiously pro-active. That means that I have — and will continue — to offer a spiritual ritual in support of Japan's relief.

I have outlined my ritual below, but first, here's a little bit about the Earth as a spiritual element that Wiccans and others who follow a Pagan path generally adhere to, when conducting a magickal ritual. The Earth is connected to the Northern Quarters, and is considered the ultimate feminine element. The Earth is fertile and amazingly stable, associated with the Goddess. The planet itself is a literal sphere of life, and as the Wheel of the Year turns, we watch all of its aspects occur: Birth, life, death, and finally rebirth.

The Earth is nurturing and the foundation of all life, solid and firm, full of endurance and strength. In color correspondences, both green and brown connect to the Earth, for fairly obvious reasons. In Tarot readings, the Earth is related to the suit of Pentacles or Coins.

To perform the following ritual, set up your altar in the tradition way, with two Illuminator candles, but add a red candle to represent Japan. You also might want to place a Tarot Card as described above on the altar, or some other avatar to represent the Earth. You would use this to send respect and healing energy into the avatar.

The actual working is relatively simple. It is a single prayer to be repeated as many times as the practitioner feels is necessary to raise the energy. The energy will be directed and released to join the growing tsunami of Love, Comfort, and Healing that is being sent from practitioners from all faith paths around the world to support Japan.

If you do not have a red candle, simply use a third white candle and visualize Japan when you use it. The equipment is not nearly as important as is the Intent and Love expressed.

The Ritual

Cast a Sacred Circle as you normally would for any rite. Light the Illuminator candles when the Goddess and God are called, but do not light the red candle.

Calling the Eastern Quarters: Spirits of the East; Creatures of Air; I call upon you and invite you to join me tonight. I ask you to share your love and your energy. I pray you will strengthen my inspiration, and bring all of Japan fresh beginnings. I bid you Hail and Welcome.

Calling the Southern Quarters: Spirits of the South; Creatures of Fire; I call upon you and invite you to join me tonight. I ask you to share your love and your energy.I pray you will strengthen my passion and bring all of Japan sacred transformation. I bid you Hail and Welcome.

Calling the Western Quarters: Spirits of the West; Creatures of Water; I call upon you and invite you to join me tonight. I ask you to share your love and your energy. I pray you will strengthen my intuition and bring all of Japan deeper Love. I bid you Hail and Welcome.

Calling the Northern Quarters: Spirits of the North; Creatures of Earth; I call upon you and invite you to join me tonight. I ask you to share your love and your energy. I pray you will strengthen Japan's foundation and bring them your bounty. I bid you Hail and Welcome.

Invoking the Goddess: Holy Goddess, Spinner of the Web of Creation, Mother of all Souls, You who comes to each of us in the way that is best. Through You all of creation is spiritually connected. Through You, all life is sustained. I call upon and beseech You to join me tonight. I pray, bring all of Japan Your Love, Healing, Comfort, Spirituality, and Sustenance now and in the coming times. Strengthen them in Your Love and share Your Comfort and Blessings with all of Japan. With Love and Honor, I bid You Hail and Welcome.

Invoking the God: Holy God, Consort of the Goddess, Lord of the Dance, and Father of Manifestation, You who comes to each of us in the way that is best. Through You all manifestation is connected. I call upon and ask You to join me tonight. I pray, bring all of Japan's peoples Your Vitality, Strength and Experience. Strengthen them with Your Action, Manifestation, and Sacred Transformation. With Love and Honor, I bid You Hail and Welcome.

Invoking the Ancestors: O Mighty Ancestors, Beloved Ones who have gone before. I invoke and call upon you to join me and bring your blessings! Ancestors of the every faith and faithful, Priestesses and Priests, mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons of each lineage of the Spiritual Family that supports and strengthens; I ask you to lend Japan your Inspiration and your Love, Guidance and your Aid this night and in the coming days. Beloved Ancestors, I bid you Hail and Welcome.

The key to this working is to use the power of repetition to raise spiritual energy. Repeat the following prayer as many times as you feel is needed to raise this energy. As you repeat the prayer, envision as clearly as possible colorful images of a beautiful country, a Japan once again with healthy people and happy, laughing children. Truly "see" Japan as a whole, healthy and glorious place. See it very clearly — its people healed.

Great Mother Goddess, You who cares for ALL souls;
Our brothers and sisters in Japan are suffering untold misery and despair!

Their loved ones around the world also suffer with worry for them.
Friends and family are afraid because they cannot contact them, or learn their fate.

As I, and others, gather around the world to pray,
I express my love and concern for all those who suffer.

I call upon You and pray:

Send all of Japan Your Love.
Send all of Japan Your Comfort.
Send all of Japan Your Healing.
Send all of Japan Your Strength.
Send all of the Earth Your Sacred Calm.
Welcome all Souls who have passed over to Gentle Rebirth.

Repeat this prayer and feel the Love of the Goddess until you can sense the literal tingle of energy around you, encompassing your entire magick circle. When you have raised the desired energy, firmly "gather and hold" onto the Love, Healing, and Comfort for Japan in your mind. Then release and direct that spiritual energy out from your body saying a resounding, "This is my intent," sending it into the unlit red candle.

As soon as you have infused the red candle with this sacred power, light it and watch its flame burn for awhile. When you again feel the power rise and fill the candle, gently snuff it out, saying, "Thank you for granting my prayer — Blessed Be," while envisioning all of that contained energy to be directed outward toward its goal, as its smoke disperses.

Take a moment to silently commune with the Goddess and God. When you feel it is time to end the ritual, say the following to release and thank the entities you had called in the opposite order:

Thanking the Ancestors: Beloved Ancestors, You who have gone before, Your wisdom and Your example guide us all. I pray that You will be with Japan and them as they go forward, that they may call upon the strength and knowledge of the past, even as they re-build the future. I thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times. May You be Blessed in all things. I offer you my love and respect, and bid You Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the God: Father of Manifestation, Lord of the Dance, Your example inspires us all. I pray that You will be with Japan and aid them as they go forward, that even as the Sun rises at dawn, they too may rise and feel Your light and love. I thank You for Your presence, and Your aid this night, and at all times. I offer you my love and respect, and bid You Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the Goddess: Mother of Souls, Goddess of Love, Comfort, and Healing, Your joy and Your healing enliven us all. I pray that You will be with Japan and them as they go forward, that even as the Moon’s light grows, they too may grow and shine forth as perfect expressions of Your Divine Love. I thank You for Your presence, and Your aid this night, and at all times. I offer you my love and respect, and bid You Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the Northern Quarters: Hail to you, O Spirits of the North, Creatures of the Earth, and our Foundation. I thank you for your presence this night. May there be peace between us, now and always. Stay if you will, go if you must. I bid you Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the Western Quarters: Hail to you, O Spirits of the West, Creatures of the Water, and Love. I thank you for your presence this night. May there be peace between us, now and always. Stay if you will, go if you must. I bid you Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the Southern Quarters: Hail to you, O Spirits of the South, Creatures of the Fire and Spiritual Manifestation. I thank you for your presence this night. May there be peace between us, now and always. Stay if you will, go if you must. I bid you Hail and Farewell.

Thanking the Eastern Quarters: Hail to you, O Spirits of the East, Creatures of the Air and of New Beginnings. I thank you for your presence this night. May there be peace between us, now and always. Stay if you will, go if you must. I bid you Hail and Farewell.

The ritual has ended, so it is time to open the Sacred Circle, by saying:

The circle is now open, but never broken.
Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet again.
Mother, Father and Cosmic Other,
Now and Forevermore,
Tod Estu.

To provide financial relief/humanitarian assistance to the people of Japan or to search for missing relatives, there are numerous organizations to contact. I have included this link. If you plan to donate, just be sure to select one that has a proven track record and doesn't use a large percentage of the collected donations for administrative operating costs.

— Danu's Daughter

Religious Tolerance in an Intolerant Age

2011-03-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

When I began this blog it was my intention to discuss all-things Wiccan and Pagan, and in so doing provide information to those unfamiliar with the beliefs, but also to promote religious tolerance.

Wiccans and Pagans have suffered from religious persecution for literally millennia, since the days of the original Druids. While attitudes have certainly improved (we are no longer murdered by governmental decree!), we still suffer from the intolerance of others.

As I was reflecting on this, I realized that in this modern age, religious intolerance abounds against so many faiths that I wanted to remind Wiccans and Pagans to contemplate the prejudices they might hold within their hearts. Do you merely tolerate other faiths, or truly accept and welcome them as your brothers and sisters?

It is so common in today's world to condemn, judge, to hate and jeer. Just because we are Wiccan, does not mean we do not remain so very human. In fact, it our humanity that we most often rejoice in during our personal rituals.

As a Wiccan, I follow several religious "laws" that can be combined as:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

This means that I choose my actions, that I am not merely a bit player in my own life waiting for the ultimate Cosmic Director to act. Having said that, it also means that I take responsibility for each and every one of those choices, whether yay or nay, I cannot avoid the consequences.

It is March, when my spirit soars with the expectation of Spring, and the joyous celebrations ahead to honor the God and the Goddess. It is a time of the Earth's renewal, a season so powerful that anyone regardless of their beliefs who takes time to try, can feel it surging through their own human limbs. Where do you think the expression, "Spring Fever," comes from, for it is a fever — a fever of being alive. A time when Spring Cleaning overtakes even the messiest, and tulips struggle to push their beautiful petals from the winter-hardened ground to burst forth in amazing colors.

Is it any wonder then that this time has been celebrated throughout the world's religions, including the Abrahamic faiths, which all have sacred holidays and rites during this glorious time?

I am deliberately writing this on Ash Wednesday, the traditional beginning of Lent for Catholics and Christians, which culminates in that faith's most holy celebration: Easter. Soon, those who follow Judaism will prepare Passover Seders, and Muslims the world over will begin fasting for Ramadan.

These faiths promote inner reflection, personal sacrifice, and purification to honor their deities — much as we do prior to our celebration of the Sabbat of Ostara, which coincides with the Spring Equinox on March 20.

For us, it signals the re-awakening of the Earth after the long slumber of late Fall and the deepening coldness of Winter. It is the core knowledge — faith — of Wiccans and Pagans that the Earth was not dead, but merely asleep and gathering its strength to burst forth with beauty and fertility.

As Wiccans, we embrace Ostara as a point of balance in our lives, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in perfect harmony before the light is victorious, and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the joyous awakening of the newly fertile earth.

It is also a time to reflect on our inner spiritual life. Thus, we share many of the actions of those who follow the Abrahamic paths.

During this time of joy, as you soar to amazing pleasures, I urge you also to reject hatred. Instead, work to embrace those who are "other," whether they follow a different faith path, are of a different race, sexual orientation, or political party. Let us celebrate and honor the Goddess by turning toward each other in compassion and love, instead of away.

— Danu's Daughter

Let Ostara Re-Awaken Your Pagan Spirit!

2011-02-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

March is a very magickal, verdant month for Wiccans and Pagans and many other faith paths because of the expectation of the emergence of Spring, which has been a focal point of spiritual and secular celebrations for millennium.

For Pagans, it is one of the most exciting times of the year because of the Spring Equinox, which we celebrate with the Sabbat of Ostara, signaling the re-awakening of the Earth after the long slumber of late Fall and the deepening coldness of Winter. It is the core knowledge — faith — of Pagans that the Earth was not dead, but merely asleep and gathering its strength to burst forth with beauty and fertility.

In addition to Ostara, there are a lot of other days in March that provide opportunities to honor the Goddess and God, too. Each important date will be discussed below.

Spring is almost here, and as a resident of the North Eastern U.S., I am beyond thrilled because it has been the coldest and snowiest on record! True to the tradition, March has roared in here like a lion, and if we're really lucky, it will roll out like a lamb.

I look ahead to Ostara, on March 20 (it generally falls on the 20th or the 21st depending on the year) to celebrate the greening of the earth and fertility of all life. It is the time of the vernal equinox if of you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a true marker that Spring has come. There are many different ways you can celebrate this holy Sabbat, depending upon your chosen tradition.

Most Pagans and Neo-Pagans agree its origins lie in the early Easter story as a Springtime sacrificial festival named after the Saxon Goddess Eostre, in which became "Ostara." With the celebration of this Spring festival, it is not surprising to find so many versions and legends with the accompanying twists and turns throughout most of the world, including German and Eastern European customs, and even in Asian and early Aztec rituals.

There are always so many ways to interpret the times and tides of nature, and all of our earliest ancestors who followed the Wheel of the Year would naturally observe and feel the fertility and literally visceral call of Spring that is present in every living creature. Ostara answers that call — to celebrate the Awakening Earth at the Spring Equinox!

The Ostara story is told through a variety of customs — through the foods we prepare and the manner in which we prepare our homes and gardens for the coming activities of spring and then summer. Ostara is a highly creative time — limited only by your willingness to try new spells, rituals and recipes.

March 4: 2:46 p.m. — New Moon

Pisces dominates this New Moon. There are five planets in the twelfth sign of the zodiac, immersing us in this subtle water sign – the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Uranus along with the asteroid, Chiron.

Where ever Pisces falls in your chart deserves your full attention on this lunation because if you have unfinished business there, now is the time to address it. If there ever was an ideal time to quietly sort through the matters of the house Pisces rules in your chart, this is it. Once the Aries volume starts cranking up, that’s it, folks! Remember Jupiter leads the way into Aries with Mercury following him on March 9 and the biggie, Uranus, on March 11.

Speaking of Jupiter in Aries, he is part of a small triangular formation with Mars in Pisces at the apex and the waning square to Pluto in Capricorn as the base. This gives Mars in Pisces far more edge than he usually has and normally mild mannered types could surprise their friends and co-workers by standing up for themselves and speaking out in defense of their cherished compassionate values. Pisces is often the champion of the underdog and those who cannot defend themselves. Besides most Pisces folks often have a Scorpio or three for back up, not to mention friends in high places (Pluto in Capricorn).

Pisces is often underestimated because they are chameleons, happy to show others the face they want to see while keeping far more to themselves. It has been said Pisces has a bit of all the signs within them and that’s why they are so good at blending in. Whimsical, amusing, generally kind and as tough as nails is a fair description of your average Pisces.

Saturn in Libra is in conjunction with the New Moon, providing support with reservations. Libra and Pisces are generally pretty friendly but they do have different priorities. Saturn in Libra is committed to fairness and equity from an intellectual perspective while the New Moon in Pisces illuminates the need for compassion first and foremost. Both parties can be satisfied though because compromise is in both Libra and Pisces vocabularies.

Venus is newly arrived in cool, detached Aquarius and forms no major aspects at this time. Venus in Aquarius can be described as faithful but not rigid and not given to jealousy. Love is more of an intellectual exercise than expression of passion under this influence. Besides, most of us will be too busy taking care of old business to make time for romance right now anyway.

This is a very focused New Moon chart with Saturn in Libra as the leading planet of a Bowl Pattern, making it easier than usual for normally languid Pisces to step up and get things done. Just remember to be kind and forgiving of others as you bustle around wrapping up all those loose ends!

March 8: Mardi Gras

In medieval times, a similar-type festivity to that of the present day Mardi Gras was given by monarchs and lords prior to the Christian Lent, in order to ceremoniously conscript new knights into service and hold feasts in their honor.

The landed gentry would also ride through the countryside rewarding peasants with cakes (thought by some to be the origin of the King Cake), coins (perhaps the origin of present day gifts of Mardi Gras doubloons) and other trinkets.

In Germany, there still remains a Carnival similar to that of the one held in New Orleans. Known as Fasching, the celebrations begin on Twelfth Night and continue until Shrove Tuesday.

To a lesser degree, this festivity is still celebrated in France and Spain. A Carnival season was also celebrated in England until the Nineteenth Century, originating as a type of "renewal" festival that incorporated fertility motifs and ball games which frequently turned into riots between opposing villages, followed by feasts of pancakes and the imbibing of alcohol.

The preparing and consumption of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (also known as "Pancake Day" or "Pancake Tuesday" and occurring annually between February 2 and March 9, depending upon the date of the Christian Easter) is a still a tradition in the United Kingdom, where pancake tossing and pancake races (during which a pancake must be tossed a certain number of times) are still popular.

One of the most famous of such competitions, which takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date from 1445. It is a race for women only and for those who have lived in the Parish for at least three months. An apron and head-covering are requisite. The course is 415 yards and the pancake must be tossed at least three times during the race. The winner receives a kiss from the Ringer of the Pancake Bell and a prayer book from the local vicar. "Shrove" is derived from the Olde English word "shrive," which means to "confess all sins."

March 13: 2:00 a.m. — Daylight Savings Time Begins

Remember to set your clocks forward (Spring Forward-Fall Back) one hour.

March 15 — The Ides of March

In ancient Rome, the calendar year began on March 15. The 15th of each of month was known as the ides, from a Latin word that indicates division of a month. At any rate, back in 44 b.c., the legendary emperor Julius Caesar summoned members of the Senate to meet in the Theater of Pompey on March 15. Previously, a soothsayer had warned Caesar to "beware the ides of March," but since not much had happened that day, Caesar felt confident attending a Senate session. After all, the men of the Senate were loyal to him, so how much harm could he possibly come to?

Unfortunately, Caesar had enemies within his own Senate, and upon his arrival, several members of a group known as the Liberatores fell upon him and stabbed him to death. Some notable names were in the group, particularly Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, the son of Caesar's lover. They claimed that their actions were not treasonous, but in fact tyrannicide.

In 1599, when Shakespeare wrote his famous play, he made sure to include the seer's cautionary line about being wary on the date, and thus the term "beware the ides of March" has come to bring about a sense of impending doom. He also attributed an equally famous line to the dying emperor, "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar."

Falling just a week or so before the Ostara holiday, some members of Religio Romana celebrate an ides ritual each month, because the ides are sacred to the god Jupiter.

In the U.S., the ides often coincide with windy or very unpredictable and powerful weather. I can remember watching the limbs of trees being whipped about, and feeling the life force of the planet so strongly in my body that I wanted to run around wildly, too!

March 17: St. Patrick's Day

While St. Patrick's day is not officially recognized as a "National" Holiday, it is certainly one of the most recognized celebrations in the U.S. Celebrations began in Boston, MA in the year 1737. Irish immigrants missed their home country and with the help of the Catholic Church they came to honor the arrival of Spring with the legend of St. Patrick bringing Christianity to Pagan Ireland.

As the legend goes, St. Patrick was born in Kilpatrick Scotland in 387. His real name was believed to be Macwyn Succat. His parents were of Roman high rank. At 16, he was captured by Irish Marauders and sold as a slave to chieftain Milchu in Dalaradia. Milchu was a Druidical High Priest, leaving Patrick to tend sheep in the fields. Patrick remained in captivity for 6 years.

He learned the Celtic language as well as all the facets of Druidism. However, as he remained a slave, he grew in his belief in Christianity and prayed to the Christian God. Finally, one day he fled, traveling 200 miles and boarded a ship and sailed to Britain.

Patrick stayed in Britain for 18 years bring Christianity to various cultures through war and conquering lands. Pope Celestine allowed Patrick to return to Ireland and bring Christianity to the country and named him "patritius" derived from "ater civium" meaning "father of the people." A legend says that St. Patrick chased all the snakes out of Ireland. With Ireland being an island, there actually were no snakes to begin with. Patrick's chasing out the snakes is in reference to chasing out the Druid's, Ireland's indigenous religion.

As the legend continues, in 433, Patrick fought in Ireland with the Druids and was able to infiltrate the culture since he knew the language of the ancient pagan religion. Legend has it that St. Patrick died on the 17th of March 460 and this is the reason he is honored on this date. However, the Spring Equinox occurs anywhere from the 19th to the 22nd of March. Celebrating St. Patrick's day on the 17th was actually symbolic of the famous legend where Patrick arrived on Tar hill and lit the ritual fire before the Druid priests arrived and overtook the site.

Another symbolic act of Patrick overtaking Ireland's Druid heritage involves his use of the Shamrock (three-leaf clover). It is said that Patrick used the clover to explain the Trinity of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, the shamrock (Persian word for three-leaf clover), known as a "Seamroy" to Ireland, was a symbol used in Druidism to explain the three faces of the Goddess found in the Moon: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

All the symbols used in St. Patrick's Day celebration are pagan in origin. The wearing of the green is associated with Ireland's green fields and nickname "Emerald Isle." The Leprechaun is the face figure of the Faeries known in Ireland.

The legend of the Leprechauns is that they know all the secrets of hidden treasures. Their affiliation with shoe-making, rainbows, and pots of gold is really symbolic of them being earth elemental spirits. They are the spirits that take raw material to work and shape it into something useful for humans. Trolls are the raw materials, found in their raw state, in their original locations.

Leprechauns are one of the many tribes belonging to the Faerie gods known to pagan Ireland. They live in the Land of Faeries known as "Tir Non Og" which lies in the West. The Irish originally called all faeries the Tuatha de' Danann, a pantheon of gods from which Lugh and Danaan were a part, and are my personal sacred pantheon. Other such faerie gods include the high king "Fin Bheara." He is known to be skilled a the game of chess and running the hunt.

There are also the Banshee, angels of death. They are beautiful women in white or sometimes seen as old hags. They can be heard before seen because they are mournful. Their responsibilities are actually like guardian angles in that they help the deceased reach their designation. There are variety of others including: Lhiannon Sidhes (The faerie sweethearts), Phookas, Fir Darrig, Merrows (Faerie mermaids), Roanes (The Seal People), and the Glaistigs (Female Water Spirits).

Each family has his/her own protective Faerie spirit according to ancient Ireland and Druid tradition. These family spirits are cared for, fed, and given gifts. to do this strengthens the spirit and in time one can actually communicate with his/her spirit faerie. Among other things, one can learn the dame of his/her family spirit faerie and acquire favors.

The myth of finding gold at the end of the rainbow contains hidden meanings because in ordinary reality there is not end of a rainbow. Rainbows are circular. They are created by water particles in the sky. A rainbow can only be seen in the morning and late afternoon when the sun is closer to the horizon. The rainbow will be found opposite the sun. To see a rainbow, the seeker must be between the sun and the area of the sky where the water particles reside. It is hard to see the full circle of the rainbow because in order to see the rainbow at all, we can only see it from an angle. It is not visible straight on perpendicular. IF one can solve the puzzle of the rainbow being circular and how a pot of gold can be at the end of a circle when there is no end to a circle, then he/she will achieve the winnings of a pot of gold.

March 19: 1:10 p.m. — Full Moon
Stonehenge Moon

Casting a circle creates sacred space to worship, meditate, heal, create and commune with the spiritual realms. The Full Moon in Virgo occurs just before Ostara. Ancient henges, temples and ziggurats feature archways that frame the light from the rising sun on Spring Equinox.

Although modern Pagans haven't built the next Stonehenge, gatherings begin with a circle-casting ritual to create sacred space that is oriented to and defined by the cardinal directions, just like the ancient henges.

The solitary practitioner may wish to obtain a floor mat and paint a cross on it. Orient the cross to the points of the compass and meditate on each quadrant's elemental association and symbols.

At the coven gathering, dedicate gifts to each directional element as the circle is cast. In particular, honor the East and the equinoctial rising Sun. Emphasize that the circle is a sacred space where coven members have gathered to encounter the divine, to rise above their daily selves and connect with the seasons, the pulse of the turning Earth, the light of the revolving Moon. This bond is at the heart of Pagan and Earth spirituality.

March 20, 6:21 pm – Ostara/Spring Equinox

Ostara Correspondences

Animals/Mythical Creatures — Unicorn, merpeople, Pegasus, rabbit/Easter bunny, chicks, swallows, snakes
Gemstones — Rose quartz, moonstone, amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone, red jasper
Incense/Oil — African violet, lotus, jasmine, rose, magnolia, sage lavender, narcissus, ginger, broom, strawberry
Colors/Candles — Gold, light green, grass green, robin’s egg blue, lemon yellow, pale pink, anything pastel
Tools/Symbols/Decorations — Colored eggs, baskets, green clothes, shamrock, equilateral cross, butterfly, cocoons, sprouting plants; violets, lily, spring wildflowers, new clothes, lamb, hare/rabbit
Goddesses — Eostre (Saxon Goddess of Fertility), Ostara (the German Goddess of Fertility), Kore, Maiden, Isis, Astarte (Persia, GrecoRoman), Ishtar (Babylonian), Minerva (Roman), Youthful Goddesses. Faerie Queen, Lady of the Lake (Welsh-Cornish), the Green Goddess
Gods — Hare, Green Man, Youthful Gods, Warrior Gods, Taliesin, Lord of the Greenwood (English), Dagda (Irish), Cernunnos (Greco-Celtic), Pan (Greek), Adonis (Greek)
Essence — Strength, birthing, completion, power, love, sexuality, embodiment of spirit, fertility, opening, beginning
Dynamics/Meaning — The God comes of age, sexual union of the Lord & Lady, sprouting, greening, balance of light and dark
Purpose — Plant and animal fertility, sowing
Rituals/Magick — Spellcrafting, invention, new growth, new projects, seed blessing
Customs — Wearing green, new clothes, Celtic bird festival, egg baskets coloring eggs, collecting birds eggs, bird watching, egg hunts, starting new projects, spring planting
Foods — Light foods, fish, maple sugar candies, hot crossed buns, sweet breads, hard boiled eggs, honey cakes, seasonal fruits, milk punch, egg drinks
Herbs — Acorns, celandine, tansy, cinquefoil, crocus, daffodil, dogwood, Irish moss, ginger, honeysuckle, iris, jasmine, rose, hyssop, linden, strawberry, violets
Element/Gender — Air/male
Threshold — Dawn

Every year at Ostara, everyone begins chatting about a goddess of spring known as Eostre. According to the stories, she is a Teutonic goddess associated with flowers and springtime, and her name gives us the word "Easter," as well as the name of Ostara itself.

However, if you start to dig around for information on Eostre, you'll find that much of it is the same. In fact, nearly all of it is Wiccan and Pagan authors who describe Eostre in a similar fashion. Very little is available on an academic level. So where does the Eostre story come from?

Eostre first makes her appearance in literature about thirteen hundred years ago in the Venerable Bede's Temporum Ratione. Bede tells us that April is known as Eostremonth, and is named for a goddess that the Anglo-Saxons honored in the spring. He says:

"Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month.

After that, there's not a lot of information about her, until Jacob Grimm and his brother came along in the 1800's. Jacob said that he found evidence of her existence in the oral traditions of certain parts of Germany, but there's really no written proof.

Interestingly, Eostre doesn't appear anywhere in Norse mythology, in the poetic or prose Eddas, so one could make the argument that she's not a Norse goddess at all... but she could certainly have belonged to some other tribal group in the Germanic areas. It's fairly unlikely that Bede, who was a scholar as well as a Christian academic, would have just made her up. However, it's equally possible that Bede simply misinterpreted a word at some point, and that Eostremonth was not named for a goddess at all, but for some other spring festival.

So, did Eostre exist or not? No one knows. Some scholars dispute it, others point to etymological evidence to say that she did in fact have a festival honoring her. Regardless, she has come to be associated with modern-day Pagan and Wiccan customs, and certainly is connected in spirit, if not in actuality, to our contemporary celebrations of Ostara.

The Sabbat

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit).

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Embrace Ostara as a point of balance in your life, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in harmony before the light is victorious and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the awakening earth.

Rituals and Ceremonies

Depending on your particular tradition, there are many different ways you can celebrate Ostara, but typically it is observed as a time to mark the coming of Spring and the fertility of the land. By watching agricultural changes — such as the ground becoming warmer, and the emergence of plants from the ground — you'll know exactly how you should welcome the season.

Below are some suggested rituals. I will not address foods, because they are so varied and well-known, they are based on Spring flavors, and lost of sweets! Remember, make this Sabbat (and all Pagan celebrations, for that matter) uniquely yours. Change any of the elements to adapt them to your faith paths, and have a blessed Ostara!

Ostara Spells

The Spring Equinox, called Ostara by most Pagans and Wiccans, is a day of perfect balance between night and day, darkness and light, slumber and awakening. Many craft traditions, covens, and solitaries have devised their own rituals for awakening Mother Earth at this time. Many of these can be traced back to England.

One common practice is to walk through a natural area, tap the earth three times with a staff or wand, and make a joyful noise to welcome the Goddess's return. This ritual is performed three times in keeping with the sacred number of many of the Pagan sects from western European countries. Now is not only a good time to awaken Mother Earth, but also to awaken ourselves.

To awaken your own body, mind, and soul to spring's rebirth, give back to Mother Earth some of the things we've taken from her. Plant a tree, herb garden, or flowers. Feed her animals and birds.

Sex is always a great way to celebrate any Wiccan Sabbat, but it is especially appropriate on Ostara. Take time to have a very special, and sacred union with your partner, and give thanks for the glories of being so alive – so very alive – in each other's arms. As a sex-positive bisexual woman, no Ostara celebration would be complete with a truly orgasmic celebration! (For variety, you can always have your blessed encounter privately outdoors where you will not be discovered.)

As you do any of these things, consecrate your offering or activity by saying:

Mother Earth,
Goddess we walk upon,
May my gifts be of value
Even after I'm gone.
Today, while I'm here,
May my offering be,
An act of love
for you from me.

Sabbat Rite

Ostara is a time of equal parts light and dark. At Mabon, we have this same balance, but the light is leaving us. Today, six months later, it is returning. Spring has arrived, and with it comes hope and warmth. Deep within the cold earth, seeds are beginning to sprout. In the damp fields, the livestock are preparing to give birth. In the forest, under a canopy of newly sprouted leaves, the animals of the wild ready their dens for the arrival of their young. Spring is here.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

For this ritual, you'll want to decorate your altar with symbols of the season. Think about all the colors you see in nature at this time of year — bright daffodils, crocuses, plump tulips, green shoots — and incorporate them into your altar. This is also a time of fertility in the natural world — the egg is the perfect representation of this aspect of the season. Symbols of young animals such as lambs, chicks, and calves are also great altar adornments for Ostara.

In addition, you'll need the following:

Three candles — Yellow, green, and purple
A bowl of milk
A small bowl of honey or sugar

Perform this ritual outside if at all possible, in the early morning as the sun rises. It's spring, so it may be a bit chilly, but it's a good time to reconnect with the earth. If your tradition normally requires you to cast a circle, do so now.

Begin by taking a moment to focus on the air around you. Inhale deeply, and see if you can smell the change in the seasons. Depending on where you live, the air may have an earthy aroma, or a rainy one, or even smell like green grass. Sense the shift in energy as the Wheel of the Year has turned.

Light the green candle, to symbolize the blossoming earth. As you light it, say:

The Wheel of the Year turns once more,
and the vernal equinox arrives.
Light and dark are equal,
and the soil begins to change.
The earth awakes from its slumber,
and new life springs forth once more.

Next, light the yellow candle, representing the sun. As you do so, say:

The sun draws ever closer to us,
greeting the earth with its welcoming rays.
Light and dark are equal,
and the sky fills with light and warmth.
The sun warms the land beneath our feet,
and gives life to all in its path.

Finally, light the purple candle. This one represents the Divine in our lives — whether you call it a god or a goddess, whether you identify it by name or simply as a universal life force, this is the candle that stands for all the things we do not know, all those things we cannot understand, but that are the sacred, the mysteries in our daily lives.

As you light this candle, focus on the Divine around and within you. Say:

Spring has come! For this, we are thankful!
The Divine is present all around,
in the cool fall of a rain storm,
in the tiny buds of a flower,
in the down of a newborn chick,
in the fertile fields waiting to be planted,
in the sky above us,
and in the earth below us.
We thank the universe* for all it has to offer us,
and are so blessed to be alive on this day.
Welcome, life! Welcome, light! Welcome, spring!

Take a moment and meditate on the three flames before you and what they symbolize. Consider your own place within these three concepts — the earth, the sun, and the Divine. How do you fit into the grand scheme of things? How do you find balance between light and dark in your own life?

Finally, blend the milk and honey together, mixing gently. Pour it onto the ground around your altar space as an offering to the earth**.

As you do, you may wish to say something like:

I make this offering to the earth,
As thanks for the many blessings I have received,
And those I shall some day receive.

Once you have made your offering, stand for a minute facing your altar. Feel the cool earth beneath your feet, and the sun on your face. Take in every sensation of this moment, and know that you are in a perfect place of balance between light and dark, winter and summer, warmth and cold — a time of polarity and harmony.

When you are ready, end the ritual – or, if you are a consenting adult, move to the next delicious step, Sacred SEX!

Tips:

* Instead of "the Universe", feel free to insert the name of your patron deity or the gods of your tradition here.
** If you're doing this rite indoors, take your bowl of milk and honey and pour it in your garden, or around your yard.

Protect Your Home and Family

The not-so-humble egg is arguably the most pervasive symbol of the worlds spring festivals, Ostara included. Within its shell is contained all the archetypal connections humanity has ever held with life, death, and life renewed. This eternal cycle of rebirth at spring is a major theme in the spring holidays of virtually every one of the worlds religions, from the most ancient Pagan expressions of spirituality to the most modern sects of Christianity.

How did the egg — particularly the chicken egg — get appointed to this lofty position of symbolizing a universe full of new life? Like many of our modern holiday customs, the eggs place in spring spiritual rites is derived from the way our ancestors observed the natural world around them and honored their deities through these natural occurrences. With modern refrigeration, factory farming, and a fast-moving global marketplace making a variety of food abundant to us year round, its hard for us to fully comprehend that food was once a seasonal commodity that as impossible to obtain when the natural conditions allowing it to be produced were unavailable.

The eyes of a laying hen and the amount of light she receives are the components responsible for her ability to produce eggs. A hen lays eggs when the retina, the part of the eye that captures light and images, is stimulated for periods of twelve hours or more by sunlight. When that light stimulation ends, so does her laying cycle. Because fire, the only source of light for our ancestors, was not a strong enough light to fool the hens retina, there were no fresh eggs for a full six months out of every year.

Though the scientific connection between light stimulation and laying cycles would be not known for many more centuries, their laying pattern was still reliable. Hens could be counted on to begin producing fresh eggs at the spring equinox and cease producing them around the autumnal equinox, a holiday period associated with dying and death and imagery opposite that of Ostara. As the world bloomed and greened anew each Ostara, the abundance of fresh eggs made them a natural symbol of new life.

In Asia, red-colored eggs are on occasion offered at funerals and births to symbolize the natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth. In the Ukraine, eggs called krashanka sometimes dyed in shades of bright yellow are eaten to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. More elaborate eggs, called pysanky, are decorated to use as talismans of fertility, prosperity, and protection. In places as diverse as west-central Africa and the southern Appalachian Mountains of the U.S., eggs are buried near cemeteries to encourage reincarnation.

Protective Egg Charm

What you need:

An egg (or several, one for each member of your family)
A mini spell candle in white, green or yellow

Traditionally cinquefoil leaf and dogwood are used as a filling, but you can vary this depending on where you live and your personal protective arsenal of herbs. Take an egg and, by poking small holes at each end of it, empty it out.

Light your candle, and when it has gone down at least halfway, fill the egg with your protective herbs, then seal the holes with wax from your candle.

Decorate the egg with symbols from Runes or other symbols of protection, and the names of each member of your family or you can leave it natural. Gather a nice basket full of fresh grass and flowers, and display it prominently.

our home, family and property will be protected.

Rabbit in the Moon

February 3 marked the beginning of the Chinese Year of the rabbit, and since Ostara is coming up, it's a good time to look at how the "Ostara bunny" came to be. As has been said, the name for this Ostara actually comes from that of the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre.

Her chief symbols were the bunny for fertility and because the Ancient Ones who worshiped her often saw the image of a rabbit in the full moon and the egg representing the cosmic egg of creation.

It is commonly believed that this is where the customs of "Easter Eggs" and the "Easter Bunny" originated, but if you dig deeper you'll find Rabbit Lore going back to the Pre-Aztec Era

Rabbit Moon

The Moon Rabbit (also called the Jade Rabbit) lives on the moon. Dating back as far as 278 BC and based on pareidolia that identifies the markings of the moon as a rabbit. The story exists in many cultures, particularly in East Asian folklore, where it is seen pounding in a mortar and pestle.

In Chinese folklore, it is often portrayed as a companion of the moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life (immortality) for her; but in Japanese and Korean versions it is just pounding the ingredients for rice cake.

A famous poet of the Tang Dynasty period, Li Bai, relates how: "The rabbit in the moon pounds the medicine in vain" in his poem "The Old Dust " about a White Rabbit in the Moon making the elixir of immortality.

In the poem, a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a white rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon (Uposatha), believing a demonstration of great virtue would earn a great reward.

When an old man begged for food, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees and the otter collected fish, while the jackal wrongfully pilfered a lizard and a pot of milk-curd.

The rabbit, who knew only how to gather grass, instead offered its own body, throwing itself into a fire the man had built. The rabbit, however, was not burnt. The old man revealed himself to be the God and, touched by the rabbit's virtue, drew the likeness of the rabbit on the moon for all to see. It is said the lunar image is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire.

Similar legends occur in Mexican folklore, where people also identified the markings on the moon as a rabbit.

According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl, then living on Earth as a man, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. Then a rabbit grazing nearby offered himself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by the rabbit's noble offering, elevated him to the moon, then lowered him back to Earth and told him, "You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all men and for all times."

Another Mesoamerican legend tells of the brave and noble sacrifice of Nanahuatzin during the creation of the fifth sun. Humble Nanahuatzin sacrificed himself in fire to become the new sun, but the wealthy god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before he finally set himself alight to become the moon.

Due to Tecciztecatl's cowardice, the gods felt that the moon should not be as bright as the sun, so one of the gods threw a rabbit at his face to diminish his light. It is also said that Tecciztecatl was in the form of a rabbit when he sacrificed himself to become the moon, casting his shadow there.

A Native American (Cree) legend tells a different variation, about a young rabbit who wished to ride the moon. Only the crane was willing to take him.

The trip stretched Crane's legs as the heavy rabbit held them tightly, leaving them elongated as crane's legs are now. When they reached the moon Rabbit touched Crane's head with a bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day. According to the legend, Rabbit still rides the moon to this day.

Lucky Rabbit Spell

An Olde English custom is to repeat: "Rabbits-rabbits-rabbits" before going to sleep on the last day of the month to bring prosperity and luck to you and your home. The following describes this practice.

HARE OR RABBIT: SAYING AT CHANGE OF MONTH – 1920 'Folklore' 319. According to several correspondents in the 'Westminster Gazette' (Spring of 1919) the following belief is common in many parts of Great Britain, with local variants: To secure good luck of some kind, usually a present, one should say 'Rabbits' three times just before going to sleep on the last day of the month, and then 'Hares' three times on waking the next morning.1982 Woman c.50 (Stockton-on-Tees, Co. Durham)

The first words you say for a lucky month are 'white rabbits.' If you can remember to say that 12 times a year, you'll have a very lucky year...If you say 'black cats' on the last night of the month and 'white rabbits' the next morning, you will get a present before the month is out." From "A Dictionary of Superstitions" (Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, 1989).

March 30, 3:48 pm to April 23, 5:04 am - Mercury Retrograde

Mercury will go retrograde in the sign of Aries on March 30th and will be in that sign the entire period of its retrograde journey. If there was a zodiacal hot spot this would be it. As Mercury does its retrograde dance in Aries, it will be accompanied by Jupiter and Uranus and joined by Mars on the 2nd and Venus on the 21st.

Even the Sun and Moon will join in at the New Moon on the 3rd. We can expect many Aries themes to be highlighted. Some of them might be: Independence, hot-headedness, anger, individuality, identity and much more.

Aries is a fire sign and means to burn up whatever is in the way of new growth. On the positive side think, ‘crocus’ on the negative side think, ‘aggression.’

The truth is that everything needs a push to get born. This is true for babies and democracies as well as fruits and vegetables of all sorts not to mention ideas. Aries is a sign that likes to go at life head first.

The interesting thing about the New Moon is that it will be exactly opposite Saturn. This suggests that for every action there is a consequence. Mercury retrograde seriously seconds that concept. So think before you act but don’t be overly passive. Change is inevitable just consider the consequences first.

Days on which to pay special attention to Aries themes are the 3rd because of the New Moon (consider the consequences of all intentions); 9th when Mercury conjuncts the Sun (be still and listen to your heart); 11th when Mercury conjuncts Jupiter (temper opinions with wisdom); and the 19th when Mercury conjuncts Mars (act impulsively now, pay later).

— Danu's Daughter

Pagan Roots of Valentine's Day

2011-02-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

The pagan roots of Valentine's Day are difficult to trace, but let's celebrate it the Wiccan way with spells, rituals, love and sex with your significant other!

With Spring now on the wing, my winter-weary heart turns to the siren call of Valentine's desire. I want nothing more than to snuggle and cuddle with my partner, and to give myself over to the pleasure of our bodies.

Note: As a Wiccan who is also bi-sexual, it is important to honor and respect the coupling of all adults, regardless of gender orientation.

Sadly, the card and chocolate industries have hijacked this holiday until there no way to know where the sentiment ends, and the commercialism begins.

As an Eclectic Wiccan, I try to refocus away from the secular and back onto the spiritual. The Goddess we all celebrated on Imbolc is ready to extend her blessings to your Valentine's Day celebrations.

I redress my home altar with appropriate colors, then work some candle magick giving thanks for the people in my life that I love, and asking that my heart opens to receive additional relationships.

As a Wiccan, I adhere to the faith's most basic precepts:

"Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust...Mind the Threefold Law ye should – three times bad and three times good...Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill – an it harm none, do what ye will."

This means that I perform NO rituals to compel someone to love me. Instead, I perform rituals that send love into the Earth, and give gratitude to the Goddess and God for the love that continues to blossom in my life.

This is also a time that some Pagans and Neo-Pagans perform hand-fasting ceremonies outdoors, akin to marriage ceremonies.
February has long been associated with love and romance, going back to the days of early Rome. Back then, February was the month in which people celebrated Lupercalia, a festival honoring the birth of Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of the city. As Lupercalia evolved and time went on, it morphed into a festival honoring fertility and the coming of spring.

But, isn’t Valentine’s Day a Christian day, named after a Christian saint? When we consider the matter more closely, we don’t find a strong relationship between Christian saints and romance. There is a lot of debate and disagreement among scholars about the origins of Valentine’s Day. We’ll never be able to disentangle all of the cultural and religious threads in order to reconstruct a complete and coherent story, but the pagan connections to the date are much stronger than the Christian ones.

February 14th and Juno Fructifier or Juno Februata

The Romans celebrated a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno Fructifier, Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses as well as goddess of marriage. In one ritual, women would submit their names to a common box and men would each draw one out. These two would be a couple for the duration of the festival (and at times for the entire following year). Both rituals were designed to promote not only fertility, but also life generally.

February 15th and Feast of Lupercalia

On February 15, Romans celebrated Luperaclia, honoring Faunus, god of fertility. Men would go to a grotto dedicated to Lupercal, the wolf god, located at the foot of Palatine Hill and where Romans believed that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. The men would sacrifice a goat, don its skin, and run around, hitting women with small whips, an act which was supposed to ensure fertility.

Lupercalia, or "Wolf Festival," was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans, Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, the "brothers of the wolf (lupus)", a corporation of priests of Faunus, dressed only in a goatskin. As Lupercalia evolved and time went on, it morphed into a festival honoring fertility and the coming of spring. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, a possibly earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February its name.

Lupercalia's Love Lottery

For part of the celebration, young women would place their names in an urn. Eligible men would draw a name and the couple would pair of for the rest of the festival — sometimes even longer. As Christianity progressed into Rome, the practice was decried as Pagan and immoral, and done away with by Pope Gelasius around 500 C.E. Although recently there's been some scholarly debate about the existence of the Lupercalia lottery, it's still a legend that brings to mind ancient matchmaking rituals — perfect for this time of year!

A More Spiritual Celebration: Around the same time that the love lottery was being eliminated, Gelasius had a brilliant idea. Why not replace the lottery with something a bit more spiritual? He changed the love lottery to a lottery of the Saints — instead of pulling a pretty girl's name from the urn, young men pulled the name of a saint. The challenge for these bachelors was to try to be more saint-like in the coming year, studying and learning about the messages of their individual saint.

St. Valentine, Christian Priest

According to one story, Roman emperor Claudius II imposed a ban on marriages because too many young men were dodging the draft by getting married (only single men had to enter the army). A Christian priest named Valentinus was caught performing secret marriages and sentenced to death. While awaiting execution, young lovers visited him with notes about how much better love is than war — the first “valentines.” The execution occurred in 269 CE on February 14th.

St. Valentine, Second and Third

Another Valentinus was a priest jailed for helping Christians. During his stay he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and sent her notes signed “from your Valentine.” He was eventually beheaded and buried on the Via Flaminia. Reportedly Pope Julius I built a basilica over his grave. A third and final Valentinius was the bishop of Terni and he was also martyred, with his relics being taken back to Terni.

Christianity Takes Over Valentine’s Day

In 469, emperor Gelasius declared February 14th a holy day in honor of Valentinus (remains unclear which Valentinus) instead of the pagan god Lupercus. This allowed Christianity to take over some of the celebrations of love and fertility which had previously occurred in the context of paganism. Pagan celebrations were reworked to fit the martyr theme — Christianity did not approve of rituals that encouraged sexuality. Instead of pulling girls’ names from boxes, both boys and girls chose the names of martyred saints from a box.

Valentine’s Day Turns to Love

It wasn’t until the Renaissance of 14th century that customs returned to celebrations of love and life rather than faith and death. People began to break free of some of the bonds imposed upon them by the Church and move towards a humanistic view of nature, society, and the individual. Moving towards more sensual art and literature, there was no shortage of poets and authors connecting the dawning of Spring with love, sexuality, and procreation.

Modern Valentine's Day Around the end of the 18th century, Valentine's Day cards began to appear. Small pamphlets were published, with sentimental poems that young men could copy and send to the object of their affections. Eventually, printing houses learned there was a profit to be made in pre-made cards, complete with romantic pictures and love-themed verse. The first American Valentine cards were created by Esther Howland in the 1870's, according to Victorian Treasury. Other than Christmas, more cards are exchanged at Valentine's Day than any other time of the year.

Valentine’s Day and Divination

As with so many other holidays that have pagan roots, divination came to play an important role in the development of modern Valentine’s Day. People looked to all sorts of things, primarily in nature, in order to find some sign about who might become their mate for life — their One True Love. There were also, of course, things which came to be used to induce love or lust.

That is why modern Wiccans often employ methods of divivination like Tarot Cards, scyring, and lucid dreaming to envision their true loves!

Commercialization of Valentine’s Day

Today, capitalist commercialism is the biggest aspect of Valentine’s Day. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on chocolate, candies, flowers, dinners, hotel rooms, jewelry, and other gifts used to celebrate February 14th. There’s a lot of money to be made from people’s desire to commemorate the day. Only Christmas and Halloween come close in the way that modern commercialism has transformed and adopted an ancient pagan celebration.

Valentine’s Day as a Pagan, Commercial Holiday

Valentine’s Day is no longer part of the official liturgical calendar of any Christian church; it was dropped from the Catholic calendar in 1969. It’s not a feast, a celebration, or a memorial of any martyrs. A return to more pagan-like celebrations of February 14th is not surprising — and neither is the overall commercialization of the day. Millions of people all over the world celebrate Valentine’s Day in one fashion or another, but it’s unlikely that even one of them celebrates it in an even remotely religious manner.

This has resulted in some backlash among religious leaders in some societies. Some of the negative reactions are due to the pagan and commercialized elements, but some must be attributed to the long-term Christian character of the day.

In India, Hindu nationalists threatened anyone caught observing any Christian holidays, including Valentine’s Day. Some young lovers ccaught in public together on Valentine’s Day were even assaulted. Government officials in Saudi Arabia prohibited Muslims from doing anything at all associated with Valentine’s Day.

A few Christians seem to be interested in restoring some semblance of religion to Valentine’s Day, though not in any traditional sense. They don’t want to use it as a means for memorializing saints, but as a means to evangelize. In Kansas, for example, Christians sent roses to high school girls that were accompanied by Bible verses. It’s not clear whether they were trying to reclaim a lost Christian holiday or merely trying to appropriate a secular, commercial holiday for their own purposes.

The truth, though, is that American culture has so taken over Valentine’s Day that no amount of Bible verses will be able to change things. Commercial interests make so much money from Valentine’s Day that they aren’t going to accept any changes that won’t lead to even more profits. Christians helped make Valentine’s Day a cultural holiday, and now it’s entirely out of their hands.

I, however, refuse to accept this. As a Wiccan, I find Valentine's Day the perfect day to honor the Gods and Goddesses, as well as the earth, from where all love begins.

So, remember your own spiritual link to your partner, and spend some quality time between the sheets to reinforce that sacred union. We often enjoy tantra or Tantric inspired Wiccan love-making. Experiment for what is best for you and your beloved, that's often more than half the fun!

(Here's a great book if you don't know much about Tantric Sex and want a quick course: Tantric Sex for Women: A Guide for Lesbian, Bi, Hetero and Solo Lovers.)

— Danu's Daughter

February: When Spring and Love Emerge

2011-02-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Just when it feels like the snow will never melt and your blood will never warm, Wicca provides a Sabbat and a month to remember that the Wheel of the Year will always turn.

Imbolc, celebrated on February 2, is a Sabbat with a variety of names, depending on which culture and location you’re looking at. In the Irish Gaelic, it’s called Oimelc, which translates to “ewe’s milk.” It’s a precursor to the end of winter when the ewes are nursing their newly born lambs. Spring and the planting season are right around the corner.

The Romans Celebrate

To the Romans, this time of year halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox was known as Lupercalia. For them, it was a purification ritual in which a goat was sacrificed and a scourge made of its hide. Thong-clad men ran through the city, whacking people with bits of hide. Those who were struck considered themselves fortunate indeed. This is one of the few Roman celebrations that is not associated with a particular temple or deity. Instead, it focuses on the founding of the city of Rome, by twins Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf — in a cave known as the "Lupercale."

The Feast of Nut

The ancient Egyptians celebrated this time of year as the Feast of Nut, whose birthday falls on February 2 (Gregorian calendar). According to the Book of the Dead, Nut was seen as a mother-figure to the sun god Ra, who at sunrise was known as Khepera and took the form of a scarab beetle.

Christian Conversion of a Pagan Celebration

When Ireland converted to Christianity, it was hard to convince people to get rid of their old gods, so the church allowed them to worship the goddess Brighid as a saint — thus the creation of St. Brigid's (Brighid) Day. Today, there are many churches around the world which bear her name.

Purification and Light

For Christians, February 2 continues to be celebrated as Candelmas, the feast of purification of the Virgin. By Jewish law, it took forty days after a birth for a woman to be cleansed following the birth of a son. Forty days after Christmas – the birth of Jesus – is February 2. Candles were blessed, there was much feasting to be had, and the drab days of February suddenly seemed a little brighter.

Love and Courtship

February is known as a month when love begins anew, in part to to the widespread celebration of Valentine's Day. In some parts of Europe, there was a belief that February 14 was the day that birds and animals began their annual hunt for a mate. Valentine's Day is named for the Christian priest who defied Emperor Claudius II's edict banning young soldiers from marrying. In secret, Valentine "tied the knot" for many young couples. Eventually, he was captured and executed on Feb. 14, 269 C.E. Before his death, he smuggled a message to a girl he had befriended while imprisoned — the first Valentine's Day card.

A Celtic Connection

Serpents in the Spring

Although Imbolc isn't even mentioned in non-Gaelic Celtic traditions, it's still a time rich in folklore and history. According to the Carmina Gadelica, the Celts celebrated an early version of Groundhog Day on Imbolc too – only with a serpent, singing this poem:

Thig an nathair as an toll
(The serpent will come from the hole)
la donn Bride
(on the brown day of Bride (Brigid or Brighid)
Ged robh tri traighean dh’an
(though there may be three feet of snow)
Air leachd an lair
(On the surface of the ground.)

Among agricultural societies, this time of year was marked by the preparation for the spring lambing, after which the ewes would lactate (hence the term "ewe's milk" as "Oimelc"). At Neolithic sites in Ireland, underground chambers align perfectly with the rising sun on Imbolc.

The Goddess Brigid (Brighid)

Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection as well, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The Irish goddess Brigid (Brighid) is the keeper of the sacred flame, the guardian of home and hearth. To honor her, purification and cleaning are a wonderful way to get ready for the coming of Spring. In addition to fire, she is a goddess connected to inspiration and creativity.

Brigid (Brighid) is known as one of the Celtic "triune" goddesses — meaning that she is one and three simultaneously (Triple Goddess: Maiden, mother and crone). The early Celts celebrated a purification festival by honoring Brigid (Brighid), or Brid, whose name meant "bright one."

In some parts of the Scottish Highlands, Brighid was viewed as Cailleach Bheur, a woman with mystical powers who was older than the land itself. Brighid was also a warlike figure, Brigantia, in the Brigantes tribe near Yorkshire, England. The Christian St. Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish slave who was baptised by St. Patrick, and founded a community of nuns at Kildare, Ireland.

In modern Wicca and Paganism, Brigid (Brighid) is viewed as the maiden aspect of the maiden/mother/crone cycle. She walks the earth on the eve of her day, and before going to bed each member of the household should leave a piece of clothing outside for Brigid (Brighid) to bless. Smother your fire as the last thing you do that night, and rake the ashes smooth. When you get up in the morning, look for a mark on the ashes, a sign that Brigid (Brighid) has passed that way in the night or morning. The clothes are brought inside, and now have powers of healing and protection thanks to Brigid (Brighid.)

Correspondences for the Sabbat

Animals/Mythical Creatures — Firebird, dragon, groundhog, deer, burrowing animals, ewes, robin, sheep, lamb, other creatures waking from hibernation

Gemstones — Amethyst, garnet, onyx, turquoise

Incense/Oil — Jasmine, rosemary, frankincense, cinnamon, neroli, musk, olive, sweet pea, basil, myrrh, and wisteria, apricot, carnation

Colors/Candles — Brown, pink, red, orange, white, lavender, pale yellow, silver

Tools/Symbols/Decorations — White flowers, marigolds, plum blossoms, daffodils, Brigid wheel, Brigid’s cross, candles, grain/seed for blessing, red candle in a cauldron full of earth, doll, Bride's Bed; the Bride, broom, milk, birchwood, snowflakes, snow in a crystal container, evergreens, homemade besom of dried broom, orange candle anointed in oil (see above)can be used to symbolize the renewing energy of the Sun’s rebirth.

Goddesses – Virgin Goddess, Venus, Diana, Februa, Maiden, Child Goddess, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Vesta, Gaia, Brigid, Selene (Greek), Branwen (Manx-Welsh)

Gods — Young Sun Gods, Pan, Cupid/Eros(Greco-Roman), Dumuzi (Sumerian)

Essence — Conception, initiation, insight, inspiration, creativity, mirth, renewal, dedication, breath of life, life-path, wise counsel, plan, prepare

Dynamics/Meaning — First stirring of Mother Earth, lambing, growth of the Sun God, the middle of winter

Purpose — Honoring the Virgin Goddess, festival of the Maiden/Light

Rituals/Magick — Cleansing; purification, renewal, creative inspiration, purification, initiation, candle work, home and temple blessings, welcoming Brighid, feast of milk and bread

Customs — Lighting candles, seeking omens of Spring, storytelling, cleaning house, bonfires, indoor planting, stone collecting, candle kept burning dusk till dawn; hearth re-lighting

Foods — Dairy, spicy foods, raisins, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, poppyseed bread/cake, honey cake, pancakes, waffles, herbal tea

Herbs — Angelica, basil, bay, benzoin, celandine, clover, heather, myrrh, all yellow flowers, willow

Element/Gender — Earth/female

Threshold — Midnight

February 2, 8:31pm — New Moon

This year the New Moon in Aquarius on February 2, coincides with Imbolc, the date on the Celtic calendar marking the beginning of spring and the return of the light. For those of us who live in the northern latitudes visibly longer days are reason enough to celebrate.

Aquarius is noted for a quirky approach to life, usually more interested in looking ahead than dealing with the boring routines so dear to its fellow fixed sign, Taurus. They are extremely good at seeing trends in the collective but need to post reminders to take out the garbage and feed the cat. And they do usually prefer cats to dogs because cats are far more independent minded . . . just like Aquarians.

A New Moon in Aquarius encourages everyone to consider their next step and where they would like to be down the line. This New Moon looks quite good for that with a supportive trine from Saturn in Libra to help keep the focus on the practical side of things, reining Aquarius’s tendency to go for the idealistic solution no one can afford. An energizing conjunction between Mars and the Luminaries is wonderful for firing up enthusiasm for new projects, especially those that benefit the collective. If you have planets or Angles from 12 to 15 degrees in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), you are likely to get a boost from this lunation.

Uranus, Aquarius’s ruler, is still in Pisces forming aspects to Mercury in Capricorn, Venus in Sagittarius and Neptune in Aquarius creating an exciting blend for producing innovative thought and sparking the imagination. Hopefully pragmatic Mercury in Capricorn will take notes before Venus drags Uranus and Neptune off to the nearest party. This configuration will affect everyone with planets and Angles from 26 to 29 degrees in all the signs!

Speaking of Venus, she is footloose and fancy free in Sagittarius and the square to Uranus in Pisces just underscores her need for autonomy. The sextile from Neptune to Venus turns on the romance and is wonderful for creating atmosphere. This can be lots of fun for those already in committed relationships looking for a little something to rekindle the romance but not so good for those out looking for their soul mate. After her extended stay in passionate Scorpio, Venus just wants to enjoy the moment and flirt to her heart’s content, not get into deep discussions about whether or not you know each other from a past life.

Jupiter is revving up his engines in Aries and enthusiastically extolling the benefits of taking action and hitting the road. This is a huge blessing for all you fire signs out there and I hope you are starting to feel like life is worth living again. However, the waxing square between Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn (exact on February 25). When these two were square last summer, Saturn in Libra was on hand to keep their combativeness in check and tone down the rhetoric – something Jupiter in Aries is full of. This time around, they will be going at each no holds barred. If you have planets or Angles from 4 to 7 degrees in Cancer or Libra in particular, you might find yourself embroiled in a heated discussion or two. Cardinal types who enjoy confrontations will be fine but more sensitive types may want to maintain a low profile for the duration.

The overall tone of this New Moon will be set by Saturn in Libra due to Saturn’s role as leading planet in the Bowl Chart Pattern, aided by the trine to the luminaries. Those who choose to compromise rather than confront will find Saturn can be a good friend and supporter. Brushing up on the old listening skills is also highly recommended rather than getting locked up preparing more arguments. Libra seeks healthy debate with ALL sides represented before reaching an equitable decision. Please keep in mind the result benefiting the greatest number of people will seldom make those at the far ends of the bell curve happy.

February 3 — Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-year cycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the! household and the family ancestors. The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2011 is the Year of the Golden Rabbit, which begins on February 3, 2011 and ends on January 22, 2012. The Rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. The Rabbit is a lucky sign. Rabbits are private individuals and a bit introverted. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are reasonably friendly individuals who enjoy the company of a group of good friends. They are good teachers, counselors and communicators, but also need their own space.

According to Chinese tradition, the Rabbit brings a year in which you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. It is a time for negotiation. Don't try to force issues, because if you do you will ultimately fail. To gain the greatest benefits from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children.

Make it a goal to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problem that may arise.

Not many people know that the Rabbit is the symbol of the Moon, while the Peacock is the symbol of the Sun, and that together, these two animal signs signify the start of day and night, represent the Yin and Yang of life. It is said that anyone making supplications for wishes to be fulfilled are certain to get what they want... and in the Year of the Rabbit, the wish-granting aspect of the Sun and the Moon combined is multiplied. The Moon is YIN and this is the Yin of Heaven, signifying magic. Thus on each of the Full Moon nights of this year, go out into your garden to gaze into the Full Moon and visualize plenty of Moon dust and Moon glow flowing into you, filling your whole body with bright white light and granting you fearlessness, love and courage. This will not only strengthen your inner "Chi" energy, it will also bring wisdom into your life.

February 14 — St. Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Card Spell

Supplies: Valentine's Day Card, Pen, One Candle — Red (for passion) or pink (for romantic love)

Write the name and your desire onto the Valentine's Day card. Take the candle and drip wax to seal the envelope with the card inside. Place this special spell in the same drawer where you keep your underwear. Within four months you should hear from your beloved and of his/her intentions!

February 18, 2:36 am — Full Moon

Moon of the Guardian Sphinx

The Sphinx, a composite human-lion creature, symbolizes this Leo Full Moon. Sphinxes guard passageways by posing a riddle the traveler must answer to gain entry. Pirvate groups create sphinx-like barriers with passwords, secret handshakes, and marked tokens. When a coven gathers, casting a sacred circle creates further protection. members may safely reveal their magickal identities by sharing a true name.

As this Full Moon nears, the solitary practitioner may develop personal emblems and passwords. Design a unique magickal glyph to use when signing petitions or boons. If one has not yet ben found, seek a true name.

For a coven craft, design or choose an emblem. Make clay disks for each member and one extra. Poke a hole for a string, and inscribe the group emblem. Bake or fire the disks and string as necklaces. Hand a disk-amulet to each member. Place the extra disk on the altar, on or near a focal statue or Goddess candle, to indicate the coven is divinely protected. If a member has chosen a true name, confirm the new identity with a ceremony. Discuss methods to protect the group, and strengthen the circle-casting ritual.

~A portion of the above is adapted from: Llewellyn's 2011 Witches' Datebook

— Danu's Daughter

Wicca —January 2011

2011-01-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

For Wiccans, New Year's celebrations were enjoyed in October during Samhain rituals, but that doesn't mean that January should be neglected.

To me, there is just so much positive energy everywhere and in everyone during traditional New Year's, that Wiccans should emerse themselves thoroughly, and remember to return the excess back to the earth.

As Wiccans, we believe that we can make positive change in our lives and the planet through our faith paths. It is an active religion, we don't wait passively, we jump right in. What better time to do that, than in January?

Like Samhain (Halloween) it can be a time of deep reflection, but unlike some of the somber aspects of Samhain ritual, traditions in January are of a different tone. Coming off Yule and the Winter Soltice, January can underscore the joy of Spring to return.

New Year's resolutions are often abandoned by the end of January. A New Year's Day Wiccan ritual takes a different approach, focusing on what's important in the year ahead.

Rightfully or not, New Year's Day appears to create a clean slate for everyone and to allow a fresh start. Beyond the traditional parties and TV shows, one way to celebrate the New Year is to incorporate a little of everything wished-for in the year ahead on New Year's Day itself. In effect, TODAY becomes symbolic of the year, but in microcosm.

Creating a List of Wishes for the New Year

The first step is to create a wish list for the year ahead. The New Year's Day ritual creates a practical link with each specific desire.

Common wishes might include:

— More money
— Better communication with family
— Spend more time with friends
— Maintain a healthier lifestyle
— Work to encorporate your faith path daily
— Read more
— Stop texting and driving

The trick is not to have too many wishes; if there are too many goals, it is hard to use a symbolic representation of all of them on one day. Also, if there are too many goals, it is unlikely that all of them can be achieved in a single year regardless.

Planning Today's New Year's Day Ritual

Weather conditions will likely be a determining factor in some activities, and at this stage a glance at the weather forecast is helpful. For example, a motorcyclist who wants to ride more in the year ahead may need to choose between a long ride, a very brief ride, or a symbolic ride.

Figure Out a Way to Represent Each Wish in the New Year's Day Ritual

For each wish, find a way of representing that goal symbolically or literally. Some goals, such as "read more," are easy to represent. The potential power reader need only flip open a book and read for five minutes. Others might be a little more challenging.

Encorporating your faith path daily could be thought of as: "I want to be more spiritual." That could be symbolized, variously by walking a labyrinth, meditating, lighting a candle in dedication to deity, etc.

Once the "sample pack" of symbolic experiences is assembled, all that remains to do is plan which order they'll be accomplished today and get going! Remember to give thanks to deity at day's end.

January 4, 2:50 am — Partial Solar Eclipse, 3:03 am — New Moon

The new moon in Capricorn is the perfect time to set your priorities for 2011. Capricorn New Moons fall in the sober minded category and when Saturn in Libra squares it, the message is clearly about taking care of business. We barely have time to clean up after welcoming the New Year in before the reminders start rolling in telling us to get back on task.

Since the Moon was in Sagittarius for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (contributing to the need to party), when it moves into Capricorn at the beginning of the week the transition from party mode to work mode will be clean and sharp.

Is Saturn squaring the New Moon all that terrible? Saturn not only rules Capricorn but is exalted in Libra. Those of you with plenty of Capricorn in your natal charts or lots of Saturn aspects will likely heave a huge sigh of relief as other people wake up to what you already know — setting priorities and having a good plan in place is critical to lasting success. A generous application of good old fashioned “common sense” would be lovely too.

Pluto in Capricorn conjoins Pallas and that combo is just perfect for recognizing the deadwood and clearing it out. It doesn’t matter whether you’re going through your wardrobe or looking over last year’s books for your business, what is no longer useful needs to go. A word of caution about Pluto – his influence, while extremely powerful, is subtle and you can go too far all too easily. Dispassionate Pallas helps us step back and see the big picture, allowing us to find the perspective we need to sort our molehills from mountains.

Mercury is picking up speed once more in Sagittarius but a semi-sextile to Mars in Capricorn can give a decided edge to our communications. The frustrations built up during the Mercury retrograde may have people in a combative mood, so please refrain from shooting the messenger! All those people stranded by foul weather over the holidays and looking for lost baggage? Not pretty. Mercury retrogrades seem to affect collective efforts more than individuals, i.e. all those travelers hit hard by winter storms in airports on the East Coast and Europe.

Mars in Capricorn is still feeling the waning square from Saturn in Libra, exact on December 28. Thankfully, this influence is fading and the resulting frustration falling away. Besides, throwing temper tantrums is so not Mars in Capricorn’s thing anyway — this Mars excels at biding his time before burying his opponents.

In the love and romance department, there is plenty of action. Venus in Scorpio closely squares Neptune in Aquarius and is trine the last exact conjunction of Jupiter-Uranus in Pisces. If that isn’t a recipe for leaping into a red hot romance with both eyes tightly shut, I don’t know what is! You could fervently believe you have FINALLY met your soul mate one day and wake up the next freaking out as you shove them out the door. Give anyone you meet now a through vetting before taking them home to meet your family because there is a very good likelihood of skeletons in the closet and nasty ones at that.

Do keep in mind this is a partial solar eclipse with the added punch that brings to a New Moon. It is important to do your homework before choosing where to focus your energy in the coming months. Take advantage of Capricorn’s ability to organize and plan ahead for a successful outcome. Where this New Moon falls in your chart will help determine your particular focus.

January 19, 3:21 p.m. — Full Moon

Moon of the Secret Pearl

The Cancer Full Moon represents the hidden or sequestered, like the tiny grain of sand inside an oyster that becomes a pearl. Similarly, conception occurs silently in the womb, hiding new life until it emerges. Karmic lessons may also be hidden, often only understood in retrospect.

As the Crab carries her shell-home on her back, the practitioner of the Craft must protect and carry secrets. Exposing coven members' secrets could ruin relationships, jobs or public standing.

Think of a secret wish you've never revealed. On the night of the Full Moon, write it on a piece of paper. Wrap it around a pearl or a crystal. Place it in a box, bottle, or jar and hide it. This is your secret pearl. When it manifests, you will recognize it as your own. Include five minutes of silence during a coven ritual. Instruct members to visualize a treasure chest, a place to store secrets hidden in the mind and heart. The chest's key represents the commitment to protect the secrets of the coven and its members. As the meditation ends, members should siltently put secrets in this chest, lock it and hide the key in their hearts.

Herb of the Month

Ginger Root — Fire/Jupiter, Gender - Masculine, Parts Used - Root, Magickal Properties - Success, Power and Money, Uses - Burn the crushed dried root for attracting money and success in a business endeavor, carry for power in a given situation (caution: please be sure you have thought out the situation and your stand on it before trying this one, it could backfire on you!), used in love wishes too as an added boost of power.

Stone of the Month

Garnet — A stone of vital power and energy, it lends vitality and strength. It aids in raising and directing the flow of kundalini energy and increases sensuality. It is associated with the root chakra. Given as a gift, garnet symbolizes true and never-ending love and devotion. Garnet invokes and releases one’s creative ability and inner fire.

Rune of the Month

b Berkano (B: Berchta, the birch-goddess.) – Birth, general fertility, both mental and physical and personal growth, liberation. Regenerative power and light of spring, renewal, promise of new beginnings, new growth. Arousal of desire. A love affair or new birth. The prospering of an enterprise or venture. Berkano Reversed or Merkstave: Family problems and or domestic troubles. Anxiety about someone close to you. Carelessness, abandon, loss of control. Blurring of consciousness, deceit, sterility, stagnation.

Tarot Card of the Month

The Empress — The Empress is a symbol of love, fertility and motherhood. She represents compassion and devotion. Positively associated with fertility, birth, motherhood, harmony, nature, prosperity, joy, love, and artistic ambition. Negatively associated with domestic upheaval, emotional blackmail, over-protectiveness, poverty, infertility, unwanted pregnancy, and suppressed logical expression.

Correspondence of the Month: Stones

Amber – Protection, magickal workings, solar energy (fire)
Amethyst – Dreams, astral work, relieves stress, imagination, meditation (air) Aquamarine – Divination, relaxation, protects from drowning, creative imagination, removes blocks energy (water)
Aventurine – Prosperity, abundance, fertility, optimism, healing old emotional wounds (earth)
Beryl – Scrying, crystal gazing, intellect (air)
Bloodstone – Confidence, strength, control over your life, luck (fire)
Blue Lace Agate – Feminine energy, peace, soothes headaches, relaxation (water) Carnelian – intuitive talents, astral travel, sexual energy, prevent miscarriage (fire) Chrysocolla – balances emotions, relieves depression, emotional healing (water)
Citrine – Healing, increased physical energy, hope, encourages new beginnings (fire) Emerald – love, protects against violence, communication (earth)
Fluorite – Creativity, mental abilities, meditation, astral travel, confidence, inspiration (air)
Garnet – Passion, courage, fertility, prosperity (fire)
Hematite – absorbing and grounding negative energy, healing, balances energy flow (earth)
Jade – Long life, prosperity, dragons, good fortune, health and longevity (water)
Jet – Protection, divination, Goddess energy (earth)
Labradorite – Imagination, releasing inhibitions, self-confidence, communication with spiritual beings (air)
Lapis Lazuli – Psychic protection, love, peace of mind (water)
Malachite – Good fortune, business success, protection from accidents (water)
Moonstone – Lunar energy, psychic matters, clarity of thought (water)
Moss Agate – Plant magick, new friends, reveals deceit (earth)
Obsidian – Inner strength, protection (earth)
Onyx – Protection, hope, endurance, acquiring knowledge (earth)
Peridot – Astral work, protection from nightmares, emotional healing, inspiration (earth) Quartz – focusing energy for any purpose (air)
Red Jasper – Passion, blood magick, protection from nightmares (fire)
Rose Quartz – Love, friendship, joy, self-healing (water)
Sodalite – Courage, intellect, creativity, protection on journeys (water)
Tiger Eye – Protection, balance, mediation, starting new business (earth)
Turquoise – Protection from psychic attacks, reconciliation, divination (water)

Spell of the Month: Book of Shadows Consecration/Reconsecration

The Book of Shadows is your own personal journal, so to speak. In it, write down spells and rituals and ceremonies you collect. In the beginning, record the basic rituals of spell binding, casting a circle, etc. After more practice and study, start creating your own rituals.

Your Book of Shadows can be anything. I have several large, three ring binders. I find it easy to add to them and reorganize them as I receive more information. Some people prefer more elaborate ones like hard-backed books with "Book of Shadows" engraved on the cover in gold or silver. Everyone has a different type of book. You can make your own from recycled paper and decorate the cover. You can use a plain journal bought from a store, it's up to you.

The Book of Shadows is a sacred thing. Think of it as your Craft Bible. Do not let anyone outside of your coven or trusted group of friends use or look at your book. By purifying and blessing your Book, you are also blessing everything you write in it from this day forth. Note: I do this every year, it rededicates my book to deities, and refocuses my own magickal energy.

Arrange to perform this ritual during a waxing moon (the time between a New Moon and a Full Moon). Cast a circle and place your Book of Shadows on the altar or on the floor in the center of the circle. Sit in front of it facing NORTH.

Visualize a beam of light shining down from the Heavens, and a beam of light from the top of your head, meeting as one. (If this is a group ritual, visualize a cone of light rising from the group.)

Pick up the book and take it to the NORTH.

"I consecrate (reconsecrate) this Book of Shadows,
With EARTH so that it may be a fitting repository
For my magickal engergy."

Pass the book over the salt dish three times.

Say this each time at all the points, replacing EARTH with AIR, FIRE and WATER. In the EAST, blow on the book. In the SOUTH, pass the book over the candle (careful not to burn your book!), and in the WEST, pass the book over the bowl of water.

Place the book on your home altar and continue visualization. Slowly lower this cone of energy until it is absorbed into the book. Say:

"I consecrate (reconsecrate) this Book of Shadows with SPIRIT.
So that it may be a fitting repository
For my magickal engergy.
So Mote It Be."

Open the circle in the usual way. Your Book of Shadows is ready — or again ready — for use!

(Note: Some of this material comes from Elizabeth Hazel in
Llewellyn's 2011 Witches' Datebook.)

— Danu's Daughter

New Year's 2011 — Wiccan Style!

2010-12-30T12:34:00.002-05:00

At this time of year, some neophyte and long-time Wiccans and Pagans can feel left out of the traditional religious and secular celebrations, including New Year's Eve.

As an Eclectic Wiccan, I follow the Wheel of the Year, so I celebrate the Sabbat of Yule, which is celebrated on the Winter Solstice. But, I also love the secular aspects of Christmas, so I use that theme to decorate my home.

And for me, New Year's occurs at the sacred time of Samhain (Halloween) on the Wheel, but I can also understand the importance of acknowledging the traditional turning of one calendar year into the next, so I practice my own personal New Year's Eve tradition on December 31.

On New Year's Day, January 1, I always include blackeye peas in a dish called, "Hoppin' Jack," a traditional food from where my family is from in the Midwest that is linked to a year of good luck and prosperity! I also thank the god and goddess for their continued blessings, and presence at my New Year's celebration.

I firmly believe that one of the glories of being Pagan is that you can craft your own celebrations that will then become your personal traditions to honor events that are important to you, and to your family. If you want to honor the passing of the calendar year, do so! Just make sure that you link your celebration to nature/ the earth, and perhaps include a god or goddess who would be appropriate to encorporate.

Pagan spirituality is flexibility. While there are a few common guidines, most Pagans find that their beliefs and practices are a highly personalized spirituality, rather than a rigid, dogmatic one.

So, if there is a day in addition to the eight Wiccan Sabbats that hold special significance to you, it's not a question of whether it's celebrated or acknowledged by other Pagans. What's more important is whether the event or date hold a spiritual meaning to YOU.

Some pagans actually celebrate the eight Sabbats based on agricultural markers, not on calendar dates. For example, Beltane, which is a planting Sabbat, is celebrated on May 1. But, for those who live in the Midwest, chances are good it's still too cold to actually plant anything. But if you wait until May 15 or so, the soil is warm enough, you can put seedlings in the ground, and observe Beltane as a planting and fertility festival on a later date. Likewise, if you live in a place where the harvest is gathered at the beginning of September, why wait until September 21 to observe Mabon?

Some covens celebrate their Initiation Day on a Blue Moon. Why? Because it's a rare lunar occurrence, which means it's a big cause for celebration when one finally rolls around.

At any rate, as a Pagan your spirituality is very personal and individualized. If you want to celebrate something of spiritual significance in a manner that's not a traditional "Pagan holiday," by all means break out the candles!

Here's a great example from the United Kingdom. New Year's is Hogmanay in Scotland — a four to five day blast, including parties, street festivals, entertainment and wild — occasionally terrifying — fire festivals that are Viking or pagan in origin. Enormous public New Year's events are held throughout Scotland, with something for the whole family, the biggest and most famous taking place in Edinburgh.

In addition to concerts, street parties, fireworks and more earthbound fire spectaculars — as well as consumption of one of Scotland's most famous products, Scotch whisky — there are a number of very ancient traditions associated with Hogmanay. Some say these traditions are dying out in favor of public celebrations, but they can still be found in smaller communities and private celebrations:

Redding the House: Like the annual spring cleaning in some communities, or the ritual cleaning of the kitchen for Passover, families traditionally did a major cleanup to ready the house for the New Year. Sweeping out the fireplace was very important and there was a skill in reading the ashes, the way some people read tea leaves.

First Footing: After the stroke of midnight, neighbors visit each other, bearing traditional symbolic gifts such as shortbread or black bun, a kind of fruit cake. The visitor, in turn, is offered a small whisky. A friend of mine who remembers first footing, also remembers that if you had a lot of friends, you'd be offered a great deal of whisky.

The first person to enter a house in the New Year, the first foot, could bring luck for the New Year. The luckiest was a tall, dark and handsome man. The unluckiest a red head and the unluckiest of all a red-headded woman.

Bonfires and Fire Festivals: Scotland's fire festivals at Hogmany and later in January may have pagan or Viking origins. The use of fire to purify and drive away evil spirits is an ancient idea. Fire is at the center of Hogmanay celebrations in Stonehaven, Comrie and Biggar and has recently become an element in Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebration.

The Singing of Auld Lang Syne: All over the world, people sing Robert Burn's version of this traditional Scottish air. How it became the New Year's song is something of a mystery. At Edinburgh's Hogmanay, people join hands for what is reputed to be the world's biggest Auld Lang Syne.

Although some of the Hogmanay Traditions are ancient, the celebrations were elevated in importance after the banning of Christmas in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under Oliver Cromwell, Parliament banned Christmas celebrations in 1647. The ban was lifted after Cromwell's downfall in 1660. But in Scotland, the stricter Scottish Presbyterian Church had been discouraging Christmas celebrations — as having no basis in the Bible, from as early as 1583. After the Cromwellian ban was lifted elsewhere, Christmas festivities continued to be discouraged in Scotland. In fact, Christmas remained a normal working day in Scotland until 1958 and Boxing Day did not become a National Holiday until much later.

But the impulse to party, and to put the products of Scotland's famous distilleries to good use, could not be repressed. In effect, Hogmany became Scotland's main outlet for the mid-winter impulse to chase away the darkness with light, warmth and festivities.

— Danu's Daughter

Make This Yule Your Own Sacred Sabbat

2010-12-05T16:51:00.000-05:00

For people of nearly every religious background, the season of the Winter Solstice is a time to gather with family and loved ones to celebrate the expectation of the strengthening of the sun. For Pagans and Wiccans, it's generally celebrated as Yule, but there are literally dozens of ways to thoroughly enjoy this season.

The date of Yule, or the Winter Solstice, varies between December 20-22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 20-22 in the Southern Hemisphere. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Yule falls on Dec. 21 this year, while June 21 was Yule for those living below the equator. Regardless of where you live, it is the time when we Pagans and Wiccans honor the slow return of the sun, by gathering together in love and merriment on the longest night of the year!

As a Solitary Practitioner in the Eclectic Wiccan tradition, I borrow liberally from faiths around the globe to celebrate this wonderful and joyous Sabbat. It is for me, a time to reflect on my tangible and intangible contributions to the world around me, and to renew my dedication to religious, ethnic, racial, cultural, and sexual tolerances, and to reaffirm my core spiritual responsibility to work at easing the burdens – as much as I am able – of those around me.

I respect Christians and Christmas, and because I am a former follower of that path, I have adapted some of that symbolism into my own practice – but I do not use anything related to Christ. Of course, it was early Christianity that initially adapted (um, rather forcefully actually) its holiday from the existing Pagan practices of the time in an attempt to convert those pesky non-believers, so it seems only fair that I would be among the tens of thousands to bring it full circle and return these ancient and glorious celebrations back to the Grove where they belong!

Of course, anyone who lives in the U.S. and isn't a Christian knows how difficult it is to avoid the holiday of all others. I choose to view Christmas in a primarily secular sense, that way I can enjoy the season with co-workers and friends, without having to clash on the religious issue. The only exception to this is a spiritual goal that I believe we can all agree on regardless of any or no religious path: Promoting peace, and good will/glad tidings to all!

In many Celtic-based traditions of Neo-Paganism, there is the enduring legend of the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King. These two mighty rulers fight for supremacy as the Wheel of the Year turns each season. At the Winter Solstice, or Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King, and then reigns until Midsummer, or Litha. Once the Summer Solstice arrives, the Holly King returns to do battle with the old king, and defeats him. The Holly King then rules until Yule, when the cycle continues.

In some Wiccan traditions, the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, the consorts battling for the favor of the Goddess, then retiring to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more. It is important to note that each cycle offers an equal opportunity to honor the Goddess as it does the God.

I love these particualar traditions, and follow this concept throughout my personal celebrations, and decorations, always remembering the ever Turning of the Wheel.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways – the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.

Ultimately, while these two beings do battle all year long, they are two essential parts of a whole. Despite being enemies, without one, the other would no longer exist.

Yule is a time of great symbolism and power. It marks the return of the sun, when they days finally begin to get a little longer. It's also a time to celebrate with family and friends, and share the spirit of giving during the holidays. Here are some great Yule rituals that you can do to celebrate this winter Sabbat, either as part of a group or as a solitary.

Yule Rituals

The ancients knew that the Winter Solstice was the longest night of the year – and that meant that the sun was beginning its long journey back towards earth. It was a time of celebration, and for rejoicing in the knowledge that soon, the cold days would begin to wane and the warm days of spring would return, and the dormant earth would come back to life.

On this one day, the sun stands still in the sky, and everyone on earth knows that change is coming.

A Yule Sabbat Celebration of Lights

Because this is a festival of fire and light, feel free to use lots of candles and lights, solar symbols, bright colors, or even a bonfire. Bring light back into your home and your life.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

01 Like any Sabbat, this festival works well if paired up with a feast. Celebrate the sun's return by preparing all kinds of winter foods – whip up a batch of cornbread, a pot of buttered rum, plum pudding, cranberry dressing, game stew, etc. Have the whole family eat together prior to the ritual. Clean up, and when you're done, cover your table or altar with candles. Use as many as you like; they don't have to match. In the center, place a 'Sun Candle' (Dedicated to the God) on a riser, so it's above the rest. Don't light any of the candles just yet.

02 Turn off all the other lights, and face your altar. If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, do so now.

Face the candles, and say:

The wheel of the year has turned once more,
and the nights have grown longer and colder.

Tonight, the darkness begins to retreat,
and light begins its return once again.

As the wheel continues to spin,
the sun returns to us once more.

03 Light the Sun Candle, and say:

Even in the darkest hours,
even in the longest nights,
the spark of life lingered on.

Laying dormant, waiting,
ready to return
when the time was right.

The darkness will leave us now,
as the sun begins
its journey home.

04 Beginning with the candles closest to the Sun Candle, and working your way outward, light each of the other candles. As you light each one, say:

As the wheel turns, light returns.

Repeat this until all the candles are lit and burning. Then say:

The light of the sun has returned to us,
bringing life and warmth with it.

The shadows will vanish, and life will continue.
We are blessed by the light of the sun.

05 Take a moment to think about what the return of the sun means to you. The return of the light meant many things to different cultures. How does it affect you, and your loved ones? When you're ready, go through the house and turn all the lights back on. If you have children, make it a game – they can yell out, "Welcome back, light!"

If you're not too full from dinner, have some eggnog and cookies on standby, and take the time to bask in the light of your candles and eat some treats. When you're done, extinguish the candles from the outside of the altar working towards the center, leaving the Sun Candle for last.

Tips:

** A Sun Candle is simply a candle you've designated to represent the sun in ritual. It can be in a sunny color – gold or yellow – and if you like, you can inscribe it with solar sigils.

If you like, you can do this ritual on the morning of Yule. Cook a big breakfast with lots of eggs, and watch the sun rise. If you do this, you can eliminate all the candles except the Sun Candle. Allow the Sun Candle to burn all day before you extinguish it.

What You Need:

Lots of candles, including a Sun Candle
A feast with lots of winter-themed food

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yule Tree Blessing

If your family uses a holiday tree at Yule – and many Pagan/Wiccan families do – you might want to consider a blessing ritual for the tree, both at the time you cut it down and again before you've decorated it. Although many families use fake holiday trees, a cut one from a tree farm is actually more environmentally friendly, so if you've never considered a live tree, maybe this is a good year to start a new tradition in your house.

Things to Take With You

You'll want to have the following items on hand when you go to cut down a tree for Yule:

A sharp saw
Gloves
Rope
Some fertilizer sticks and birdseed

Selecting Your Tree

First of all, make sure you're in a place where you have permission to cut trees. Either find a local Christmas tree farm, or if you're on private property, get the approval of the landowner before you cut anything. Never cut a tree down in a park or forest without permission.

Don't just randomly start hacking away at trees. Take some time to wander around and find the tree that's right for you. Often, you'll know the right tree when you find it – it will be just the right height and width, the exact fullness you want, and so forth. In our family, our annual tradition is that we only cut down our tree if it has a bird's nest in it (obviously, by December the birds don't need it any more, it's just something my teenager started as a child).

Cutting Down Your Tree

If you've found the right tree, take a moment to touch it. Feel its energy flowing from the earth and into you. Recognize that once you've cut it down, it will no longer be a living thing. In many traditions, people find it comforting to ask the tree for permission to make the first cut. In Dorothy Morrison's book Yule, she recommends asking the tree to move its spirit deep into the ground so that it will not feel injury or pain when you cut the trunk.

Use the following blessing before you make the cut:

O evergreen, mighty tree, you who are full of life.
I am about to make the cut, and ask your permission.
We will take you into our home and honor you,
adorning you with light in this season of the sun.
We ask you, o evergreen, to bless our home with your energy.

As an alternative, if you have children with you and you'd like to make the occasion more fun than somber, try something like this instead:

Evergreen, evergreen, big fat tree!
I ask you now please to come home with me!
We'll cover you with ornaments and lots of pretty lights,
and let you shine about our house at Yule, the longest night!
Thank you, tree, thank you tree, for the gift you give today,
we'll plant another in your name, when spring comes our way!

Make the cut about eight inches above the ground, and cut quickly. Make sure no one is standing on the opposite side when the tree begins to fall. Using the gloves to protect your hands if necessary, tie the rope around the trunk so you can pull it out of the area. Before leaving, push the fertilizer sticks into the soil near the cut trunk. This will promote new growth from the remaining stump. If you can, periodically stop by and add more fertilizer sticks to the newly sprouted branches.

You may wish to also leave some birdseed on the ground as an offering to the wildlife in the area. Some families even use the birdseed to cast a protective circle around the stump where they've cut their tree down. Finally, if you've promised to plant a new tree somewhere in the spring, be sure to keep your word.

Decorating Your Tree

Decorating a Yule tree is a lot of fun, and should be a celebration of family. Put on some holiday music, light some incense or scented candles, get a pot of herbal tea brewing, and turn it into a ritual of its own. Before you decorate, you may wish to bless the tree once more.

Have on hand some salt, incense, a candle and water. Bless the tree as follows:

By the powers of earth, I bless this tree,
that it shall remain sacred, a symbol of life,
stable and strong in our home throughout the Yule season.

By the powers of air, I bless this tree,
as the cool winter winds blow away the baggage of the old year,
and we welcome the brightness of the new into our hearts and home.

By the powers of fire, I bless this tree,
as the days have gotten shorter, and the nights grown dark,
yet the warmth of the sun is returning, bringing with it life.

By the powers of water, I bless this tree,
a gift I give, that it may stay bright and green for us a bit longer,
so that we can enjoy the harmony and peace of Yule.

As you say the blessing, sprinkle the salt around the tree in a circle (not on the tree, just around it), smudging with the incense, passing the candle over it, and finally, adding water to the tray at the bottom.

Once you've finished the blessing, decorate your tree and celebrate!

~~~~~~~~~

Yule Log

If your family enjoys ritual, you can welcome back the sun at Yule with this simple winter ceremony. The first thing you'll need is a Yule Log. If you make it a week or two in advance, you can enjoy it as a centerpiece prior to burning it in the ceremony. You'll also need a fire, so if you can do this ritual outside, that's even better. As the Yule Log burns, all members of the family should surround it, forming a circle.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

01 If you normally cast a circle, do so at this time.

This first section is for the adults – if there is more than one grownup, they can take turns saying the lines, or say them together:

The Wheel has turned once more, and
the earth has gone to sleep.
The leaves are gone, the crops have returned to the ground.
On this darkest of nights, we celebrate the light.
Tomorrow, the sun will return,
its journey continuing as it always does.
Welcome back, warmth.
Welcome back, light.
Welcome back, life.

02 The entire group now moves deosil – clockwise, or sunwise – around the fire. When each member has returned to his or her original position, it is time for the children to add their part. This section can be divided amongst the children, so that each gets a chance to speak.

Shadows go away, darkness is no more,
as the light of the sun comes back to us.

Warm the earth.
Warm the ground.
Warm the sky.
Warm our hearts.
Welcome back, sun.

03 Finally, each member of the group should take a moment to tell the others one thing that they are thankful for about their family – things like “I am happy that Mom cooks us such wonderful food,” or “I’m proud of Alex because he helps people who need it.”

When everyone has had a chance to speak, walk sunwise once more around the fire, and end the rite. If possible, save a bit of this year's Yule log to add to the fire for next year's ceremony.

What You Need:

A Yule Log
Family and friends to share the ceremony

~~~~~~~~~

Goddess Ritual for Yule

Yule is the time of the Winter Solstice, and for some Wiccans, it's a time to say goodbye to the old, and welcome the new. As the sun returns to the earth, life begins once more. This ritual can be performed by a solitary practitioner, either male or female. It's also easily adaptable to a small group of people.

01 Perform this ritual on the evening of the Winter Solstice. If you normally wear a ritual robe or ceremonial gown, do so – and feel free to embellish for the season! Consider a crown of holly, a special Yule-themed robe, or adding holiday bling to your existing robe. Sparkly is good! Decorate your altar with a Yule log or tree (although obviously the tree might have to go on the floor, rather than the altar itself), lots of seasonal symbolism, and candles – after all, Yule is a celebration of light.

02 You'll also want to have some holiday incense on your altar. Frankincense, cinnamon, myrrh – all are appropriate to the season; don't light it just yet, though. Finally, have two candles in seasonal colors.

03 If you normally cast a circle, do so now.

04 To begin the ritual, sit on the floor near your altar – don't light the candles just yet. Take a few moments to remember what it was like for our ancestors at this time of year. The harvest had been brought in, and they knew that in a few months, their stockpiles of food would be running low. It was the season of Death, the time when the earth went dormant once more, sleeping until the spring returned. Our ancestors knew that despite the darkness of this night, soon the light would return to the earth, bringing with it life. This night, the Winter Solstice, welcomes back the Sun, the ultimate giver of light.

05 Light the first candle, and say:

Tonight is the night of the Solstice,
the longest night of the year.
As the Wheel turns once more, I know that
tomorrow, the Sun will begin its journey back to us.
With it, new life will begin,
a blessing from Earth to her children.

06 Light the second candle, and say:

It is the season of the winter goddess.
Tonight I celebrate the festival of the winter solstice,
the rebirth of the Sun, and the return of light to the Earth.
As the Wheel of the Year turns once more,
I honor the eternal cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth.

07 Light the remaining candles on the altar at this time, and if you have decorative holiday lighting, turn it on. Return to your place at the altar, and face the holiday tree or Yule log. Raise your arms up to the tree, and say:

Today I honor the god of the forest,
the King of nature, who rules the season.
I give my thanks to the beautiful goddess,
whose blessings bring new life to the earth.
This gift I offer you tonight,
sending my prayers to you upon the air.

08 Light your incense, and if you'd like to make an offering of food, bread, or something else, do so now. As the smoke of the incense rises to the night sky, meditate on what changes you'd like to see before the next Sabbat. Reflect upon the time of the season. Although winter is here, life lies dormant beneath the soil. What new things will you bring to fruition for yourself when the planting season returns? How will you change yourself, and maintain your spirit throughout the cold months? When you are ready, either end the rite, or continue on with additional rituals, such as Cakes and Ale or Drawing Down the Moon.

Tips:

If you don't have a ritual robe, you can take a cleansing bath before the rite, and then wear a simple cotton or other organic material. Another option would be to make a robe as a Yule gift to yourself!

What You Need:

A pair of seasonally-colored candles
Incense in a Yule-themed scent
Candles, lights, and sparkly things as you like!

~~~~~~

Before you hold your Yule ritual, you may want to set up an altar to celebrate the season. Here are some quick tips on how to decorate for the Yule holiday, keeping the themes and symbolism of the Sabbat in mind, and ideas on how to deck your halls and walls for winter solstice. Enjoy the magic of the season with a Yule-themed altar!

Yule Altar

Winter is here, and even if the snow hasn't fallen yet, there's a definite chill in the air. Use cold colors to decorate your altar, such as blues and silvers and whites. Also find ways to include the reds, whites and greens of the season. Evergreen boughs never go out of style, so add some dark greens as well. Cover your altar with a cloth in a cool color, and then add candles in a variety of different wintery shades. Use candles in silvers and golds – and sparkle is always good too!

Symbols of Winter

Yule is a Sabbat that reflects the return of the sun, so add solar symbols to your altar. Gold discs, yellow candles, anything bright and shiny can represent the sun. Some people even get a large pillar candle, inscribe it with solar symbols, and designate it as their sun candle. You can also add evergreen boughs, sprigs of holly, pinecones, and as mentioned, a Yule log, and even Santa Claus. Consider antlers or reindeer, along with other symbols of fertility.

Other Signs of the Season

There's no limit to the number of things you can put on your Yule altar, as long as you've got the space. Consider some of these items as part of your Sabbat decor:

Fruit and nuts
Mistletoe
Snowflakes, icicles, even a bowl of snow
Candy canes
Bells
Sun Wheels

A Festival of Light

Many cultures have winter festivals that are in fact celebrations of light. In addition to Christmas, there's Hanukkah with its brightly lit menorahs, Kwanzaa candles, and any number of other holidays. The Pagan's holiday Yule takes place on the day of the winter solstice. On that day, an amazing thing happens in the sky: The earth's axis tilts away from the sun in the Northern Hemisphere, and the sun reaches its greatest distance from the equatorial plane. Thus as a festival of the Sun, the most important part of any Yule celebration is light – candles, bonfires, and more.

Origins of Yule

In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice has been celebrated for millenia. The Norse peoples viewed it as a time for much feasting, merrymaking, and, if the Icelandic sagas are to be believed, a time of sacrifice as well. Traditional customs such as the Yule log, the decorated tree, and wassailing can all be traced back to Norse origins.

Celtic Celebrations of Winter

The Celts of the British Isles celebrated midwinter as well. Although little is known about the specifics of what they did, many traditions persist. According to the writings of Pliny the Elder, this is the time of year in which Druid priests sacrificed a white bull and gathered mistletoe in celebration.

Roman Saturnalia

Few cultures knew how to party like the Romans. Saturnalia was a festival of general merrymaking and debauchery held around the time of the winter solstice. This week-long party was held in honor of the god Saturn, and involved sacrifices, gift-giving, special privileges for slaves, and a lot of feasting. Although this holiday was partly about giving presents, more importantly, it was to honor an agricultural god.

Welcoming the Sun Through the Ages

Four thousand years ago, the Ancient Egyptians took the time to celebrate the daily rebirth of Horus - the god of the Sun. As their culture flourished and spread throughout Mesopotamia, other civilizations decided to get in on the sun-welcoming action. They found that things went really well... until the weather got cooler, and crops began to die. Each year, this cycle of birth, death and rebirth took place, and they began to realize that every year after a period of cold and darkness, the Sun did indeed return.

Winter festivals were also common in Greece and Rome, as well as in the British Isles. When a new religion called Christianity popped up, the new hierarchy had trouble converting the Pagans, and as such, folks didn't want to give up their old holidays. Christian churches were built on old Pagan worship sites, and Pagan symbols were incorporated into the symbolism of Christianity. Within a few centuries, the Christians had everyone worshipping a new holiday, Christmas, which was celebrated on December 25.

In some traditions of Wicca and Paganism as previously described, the Yule celebration comes from the Celtic legend of the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King, representing the light of the new year, tries each year to usurp the old Holly King, who is the symbol of darkness. Re-enactment of the battle is popular in some Wiccan rituals.

Twelve Days of Yule Prayers

The winter solstice is a time of reflection, during the darkest and longest night of the year. Why not take a moment to offer up a prayer on Yule? Try a different devotional each day, beginning 12 days prior to the Celebration of Yule (so this year begin the prayers on December 9) to give you food for thought during the holiday season.

Day 1 (December 9): A Prayer to the Earth at Yule

Just because the earth is cold doesn't mean there's nothing going on down there in the soil. Think about what lies dormant in your own life right now, and consider what may bloom a few months from now.

Cold and dark, this time of year,
the earth lies dormant, awaiting the return
of the sun, and with it, life.
Far beneath the frozen surface,
a heartbeat waits,
until the moment is right,
to spring.

Day 2 (December 10): Sunrise Prayer

The sun returns! The light returns!
The earth begins to warm once more!
The time of darkness has passed,
and a path of light begins the new day.
Welcome, welcome, the heat of the sun,
blessing us all with its rays.

Day 3 (December 11): A Prayer to the Winter Goddess

Despite the fact that some people hate cold weather, it does have its advantages. After all, a good cold day gives us an opportunity to cuddle up indoors with the people we love the most.

O! Mighty goddess, in silvery ice,
watching over us as we sleep,
a layer of shining white,
covering the earth each night,
frost on the world and in the soul,
we thank you for visiting us.
Because of you, we seek warmth
in the comfort of our homes and hearths.

Day 4 (December 12): Counting Your Blessings

Yule should be a time of joy and happiness, but for many people it can be stressful. This is a season to take a moment and be thankful for the blessings you have, and to take a moment to remember those less fortunate.

I am grateful for that which I have.
I am grateful for that which I do not.
I have much more than others, less than some,
But always blessed by the Goddess and God from whom it's all from.

Day 5 (December 13): A Prayer for the Beginning of Winter

In early winter, we can see the skies becoming overcast, and smell fresh snow in the air. Take a few minutes to think about the fact that even if the skies are cold and dark, it's only temporary.

See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way,
for the darkness soon to come.

See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way,
for the world to go cold and lifeless.

See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way,
for the longest night of the year.

See the gray skies overhead, preparing the way,
for the sun to one day return,
bringing with it light.

Day 6 (December 14): Sunset Prayer

The longest night has come once more,
the sun has set, and darkness fallen.
The trees are bare, the earth asleep,
and the skies are cold and black.

Yet, tonight we rejoice, in this longest night,
embracing the darkness that enfolds us.
We welcome the night and all that it holds,
as the light of the stars shines down.

Day 7 (December 15): A Nordic Yule Blessing

Yule is a time to set aside animosity between yourself and people who would normally antagonize you. The Norsemen had a tradition that enemies who met under a bough of mistletoe were obligated to lay down their arms. Set aside your differences, and think about that as you ponder this devotional.

Beneath the tree of light and life,
a blessing at this season of Jul!
To all that sit at my hearth,
today we are brothers, we are family,
and I drink to your health!

Today is a day to offer hospitality
to all that cross my threshold
in the name of the season.

Day 8 (December 16): A Snow Prayer for Yule

Depending on where you live, you may be seeing snowfall long before Yule arrives. Take a moment to appreciate its beauty, both as it falls and once it covers the ground.

From the reaches of the north,
a place of cold blue beauty,
comes to us the first winter storm.

Wind whipping, flakes flying,
the snow has fallen upon the earth,
keeping us close,
keeping us together,
wrapped up as everything sleeps
beneath a blanket of white.

Day 9 (December 17): A Prayer for the Old Gods

The Holly King is gone, and the Oak King reigns -
Yule is the time of the old winter gods!
Hail to Baldur! To Saturn! To Odin!
Hail to Ameratsu! To Demeter!
Hail to Ra! To Horus!
Hail to Frigga, Minerva Sulis and Cailleach Bheur!
It is their season, and high in the heavens,
may they grant us their blessings this winter day.

Day 10 (December 18): A Celtic Yule Blessing

The Celtic people knew the importance of the solstice. Although the Yule season marks the middle of winter, colder times were still to come. It was important to put aside staple foods for the coming months, because it would be many months before anything fresh grew again. Consider, as you think on this devotional, what your family has put aside – both material goods and things on the spiritual plane.

The food is put away for the winter,
the crops are set aside to feed us,
the cattle are come down from their fields,
and the sheep are in from the pasture.

The land is cold, the sea is stormy, the sky is gray.
The nights are dark, but we have our family,
kin and clan around the hearth,
staying warm in the midst of darkness,
our spirit and love a flame
a beacon burning brightly
in the night.

Day 11 (December 19): An Elemental Blessing

In the middle of winter, it's hard to remember sometimes that light is coming back to earth. However, despite the gray, cloudy days, we know that soon, the sun will return. Keep this in mind during those dreary days when it seems winter will never end, by invoking the four classical elements.

As the earth grows colder,
the winds blow faster,
the fire dwindles smaller,
and the rains fall harder,
let the light of the sun
find its way home.

Day 12 (December 20): Prayer to the Sun God, Ra

Great sun, wheel of fire, Ra in your glory,
hear me as I honor you on this,
the shortest day of the year.

Summer has gone, passed us by,
the fields are dead and cold,
all of earth sleeps in your absence.

Even in the darkest times,
you light the way for those who would need a beacon,
of hope, of brightness, shining in the night.

Winter is here, and colder days coming,
the fields are bare and the livestock thin.
We light these candles in your honor,
that you might gather your strength
and bring life back to the world.

O Ra, mighty sun above us,
we ask you to return, to bring back to us
the light and the warmth of your fire.
Bring life back to earth,
Bring light back to earth.

Hail Ra! Ruler of the sun!

~~~~~~~~

Yule Magick and its Dieties

The Yule season is full of magick, much of it focusing on rebirth and renewal, as the sun makes its way back to the earth. Focus on this time of new beginnings with your magickal workings.

You might consider magick rituals for your home, for a sick friend, or to renew the earth from a season of over-use and under appreciation. Let your imagination and intuition guide your rituals, allowing the cosmic well-spring flow in the midst of a frozen wonderland.

While it may be mostly Pagans and Wiccans who celebrate the Yule holiday, nearly all cultures and faiths have some sort of winter solstice celebration or festival. Because of the theme of endless birth, life, death, and rebirth, the time of the solstice is often associated with deity and other legendary figures. No matter which path you follow, chances are good that one of your gods or goddesses has a winter solstice connection.

Alcyone (Greek): Alcyone is the Kingfisher goddess. She nests every winter for two weeks, and while she does, the wild seas become calm and peaceful.

Ameratasu (Japan): In feudal Japan, worshippers celebrated the return of Ameratasu, the sun goddess, who slept in a cold, remote cave. When the the other gods woke her with a loud celebration, she looked out of the cave and saw an image of herself in a mirror. The other gods convinced her to emerge from her seclusion and return sunlight to the universe.

Baldur (Norse): Baldur is associated with the legend of the mistletoe. His mother, Frigga, honored Baldur and asked all of nature to promise not to harm him. Unfortunately, in her haste, Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant, so Loki - the resident trickster - took advantage of the opportunity and fooled Baldur's blind twin, Hod, into killing him with a spear made of mistletoe. Baldur was later restored to life.

Bona Dea (Roman): This fertility goddess was worshipped in a secret temple on the Aventine hill in Rome, and only women were permitted to attend her rites. Her annual festival was held early in December.

Cailleach Bheur (Celtic): In Scotland, she is also called Beira, the Queen of Winter. She is the hag aspect of the Triple Goddess, and rules the dark days between Samhain and Beltaine.

Demeter (Greek): Through her daughter, Persephone, Demeter is linked strongly to the changing of the seasons and is often connected to the image of the Dark Mother in winter. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, Demeter's grief caused the earth to die for six months, until her daughter's return.

Dionysus (Greek): A festival called Brumalia was held every December in honor of Dionysus and his fermented grape wine. The event proved so popular that the Romans adopted it as well in their celebrations of Bacchus.

Frau Holle (Norse): Frau Holle appears in many different forms in Scandinavian mythology and legend. She is associated with both the evergreen plants of the Yule season, and with snowfall, which is said to be Frau Holle shaking out her feathery mattresses.

Frigga (Norse): Frigga honored her son, Baldur, by asking all of nature not to harm him, but in her haste overlooked the mistletoe plant. Loki fooled Baldur's blind twin, Hod, into killing him with a spear made of mistletoe but Odin later restored him to life. As thanks, Frigga declared that mistletoe must be regarded as a plant of love, rather than death.

Holly King (British/Celtic): The Holly King is a figure found in British tales and folklore. He is similar to the Green Man, the archetype of the forest. In modern Pagan religion, the Holly King battles the Oak King for supremacy throughout the year. At the winter solstice, the Holly King is defeated.

Horus (Egyptian): Horus was one of the solar deities of the ancient Egyptians. He rose and set every day, and is often associated with Nut, the sky god. Horus later became connected with the aforementioned sun god, Ra.

La Befana (Italian): This character from Italian folklore is similar to St. Nicholas, in that she flies around delivering candy to well-behaved children in early January. She is depicted as an old woman on a broomstick, wearing a black shawl.

Lord of Misrule (British): The custom of appointing a Lord of Misrule to preside over winter holiday festivities actually has its roots in antiquity, during the Roman week of Saturnalia.

Mithras (Roman): Mithras was celebrated as part of a mystery religion in ancient Rome. He was a god of the sun, who was born around the time of the winter solstice and then experienced a resurrection around the spring equinox.

Odin (Norse): In some legends, Odin bestowed gifts at Yuletide upon his people, riding a magical flying horse across the sky. This legend may have combined with that of St. Nicholas to create the modern Santa Claus.

Saturn (Roman): Every December, the Romans threw a week-long celebration of debauchery and fun, called Saturnalia in honor of their agricultural god, Saturn. Roles were reversed, and slaves became the masters, at least temporarily. This is where the tradition of the Lord of Misrule originated.

Spider Woman (Hopi): Soyal is the Hopi festival of the winter solstice. It honors the Spider Woman and the Hawk Maiden, and celebrates the sun's victory over winter's darkness.

~~~~~

However you choose to celebrate the Yule Season, please remember also to honor the bonds between you and the planet and the Goddess and God, as well as your family and friends. May all the blessings of the season be yours at this magickal and sacred time, and may your Yule Log truly burn brightly year 'round!

Have a very Cool Yule!

— Danu's Daughter

THE Thoth Tarot Newly Available!

2010-11-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Considered by many to be the Holy Grail of Tarot Card Decks, the Thoth Tarot is finally back in print and is now widely available.

World renowned as the Tarot deck painstakingly designed by British occult legend Aleister Crowley, and illustrated under his supervision by Lady Frieda Harris, this deck remains a fantastic tool for divination.

Containing 78 cards born of more common tarot traditions, the Thoth deck contains kabbalistic and astrological aspects that most other tarot cards lack, bringing to it a new dimension to help with divinations, all as Crowley described in the Book of Thoth, also available for purchase.

Crowley (Oct. 12, 1875 – Dec. 1 1947) was born Edward Alexander Crowley, and was also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast. A highly influential English occultist, mystic and ceremonial magician, he was responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. Through this belief he came to see himself as the prophet who was entrusted with informing humanity that it was entering the new Aeon of Horus in 1904, a time when old ethical and religious systems would be replaced.

Widely viewed – and often equally hated – as one of the most influential occultists of all time, he was a member of the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and eventually a leader of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)

He is known today for his magical writings, especially The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema, although he also wrote widely on other subjects, including a large amount of fiction and poetry.

Crowley was also a bisexual, a recreational drug experimenter and social critic. In many of these roles he "was in revolt against the moral and religious values of his time," espousing a form of libertinism based upon the rule of "Do What Thou Wilt." (This is a similar precept embraced by Wiccans, with one HUGE difference: Wiccans add, “with harm to none,” as its religious, ethical and magickal compass.)

Because of this controversial philosophy, Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, and was denounced by the popular press of the day as, "the wickedest man in the world."

Alongside his esoteric activities, he was an avid chess player, mountaineer, and it has also been alleged that he was a spy for the British government.

The illustrations of the Thoth deck are rich in symbolism, based upon Crowley's stated desire to incorporate symbols from many disparate disciplines, including science and philosophy, as well as to draw on his extensive knowledge of various occult system (as described in detail in his Book of Thoth). For example, The Hanged Man and The Moon draw from Egyptian mythology, and the Princess of Disks holds a disk bearing the Taijitu. The pip cards in the four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks) depict their objects in carefully-crafted positions; for example, the Four of Swords (which Crowley named "truce") shows four swords with their points toward the center of an imaginary square, suggesting a possibly tense peace. The card illustrations are uniformly stark and vividly illustrated throughout.

Here are a few examples of the traditional Rider-Waite Major Arcana cards, side-by-side with the Thoth equivalent:

I: The Magician — I: The Magus
II: The High Priestess — II: The Priestess

VIII: Strength — XI: Lust [Lust card depicted above]
XI: Justice — VIII: Adjustment
X: Wheel of Fortune — X: Fortune
XIV: Temperance — XIV: Art
XX: Judgement — XX: The Æon
XXI: The World — XXI: The Universe

Crowley originally intended the Thoth deck to be a six-month project aimed at updating the traditional pictorial symbolism of the tarot. However, the project was to span five years, between 1938 and 1943, as its scope grew ever wider. Crowley and Harris were meticulous in their work, and Harris painted some of the cards as many as eight times. Early editions of the deck included two of Harris' early drafts of The Magus card, each making use of markedly different style and symbols.

Neither Harris nor Crowley lived to see the deck published. The first full publication was by Ordo Templi Orientis in 1969, although this initial printing was seen by many to be of inferior quality, and in 1977 Harris' paintings were rephotographed for a second edition. The current edition is based on a further update that took place in 1986.

[Note: The Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (the Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is an international fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. Crowley has become the most well known member of the order.

Originally it was intended to be modelled after and associated with Freemasonry, but under Crowley's leadership, the O.T.O. was reorganized around the Law of Thelema as its central religious principle. This Law — expressed as “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and "Love is the law, love under will” — was promulgated in 1904 with the dictation of The Book of the Law.

Similar to many secret societies, the O.T.O. membership is based on an initiatory system with a series of degree ceremonies that use ritual drama to establish fraternal bonds and impart spiritual and philosophical teachings.

The O.T.O. also includes the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC) or Gnostic Catholic Church, which is the ecclesiastical arm of the Order. Its central rite, which is public, is called Liber XV, or the Gnostic Mass.]

Important Note: Anyone planning on ordering a reprint of the Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck should be very careful. The deck with a predominantly blue cover contains cards that are more muted in colors, while the deck with the green cover (often referred to as the “Large” deck rather than the “Small” deck version) contains cards that are much bolder in colors, and I believe closer to the originally produced deck.

Included with this green boxed deck you will also find an instruction booklet to aid you in learning the meaning behind each card as it falls in your spread, which also contains commentary and essays concerning the cards within.

— Danu’s Daughter

ESP and YOU!!

2010-11-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

In many faiths, including Wicca, the ability to “intuit” is valued and even cultivated through meditation and even magickal rituals to encourage and strengthen the practitioner's psychic talents.

In a fascinating series of studies, a psychologist has established for the first time scientifically that the capacity to perceive future events may be common among most people, regardless of religious beliefs or prior alleged psychic abilities.

These findings emphasize just how much we still do not understand about the life and abilities of our magnificent brains. While further studies are critical, the conclusions suggested by these studies go way beyond tantalizing my imagination.

[Note: The studies relate to psi phenomenon, defined as parapsychology, study of mental phenomena not explainable by accepted principles of science. The organized, scientific investigation of paranormal phenomena began with the foundation (1882) of the Society for Psychical Research in London. Such early efforts attempted to dissociate psychical phenomena from spiritualism and superstition, and particularly to investigate mediums and their claims of evoking spirits or apparitions. The society also studied automatic writing, levitation, and ectoplasmic and poltergeist activities. One of its principal founders, Frederic William Henry Myers, summed up the society's early efforts in Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death (1903). An American Society for Psychical Research was also founded, with James Hervey Hyslop as its leading spokesman. Considerable experimentation has been conducted, perhaps the best-known being that of Joseph Banks Rhine at Duke University. The Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, created in the early 1960’s, has since replaced the Duke program. In Great Britain the work of Whately Carington and Samuel George Soal paralleled that of Rhine. The great majority of parapsychological studies have focused on the area called extrasensory perception (ESP), which includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. The popular press often reports stories that are parapsychological in nature. Many scientists have criticized the claims made by parapsychologists, arguing in particular that there can be no proof of such phenomena, which underscores the importance of these new studies.]

A synopsis of the findings appeared in Psychology Today, and is reprinted in its entirety. Read it below, or at the website.

Have Scientists Finally Discovered Evidence for Psychic Phenomena?!
By Melissa Burkley, Ph.D.

"In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, the White Queen tells Alice that in her land, "memory works both ways." Not only can the Queen remember things from the past, but she also remembers "things that happened the week after next." Alice attempts to argue with the Queen, stating "I'm sure mine only works one way...I can't remember things before they happen." The Queen replies, "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."

How much better would our lives be if we could live in the White Queen's kingdom, where ours memory would work backwards and forewords? For instance, in such a world, you could take an exam and then study for it afterwards to make sure you performed well in the past. Well, the good news is that according to a recent series of scientific studies by Daryl Bem, you already live in that world!

Dr. Bem, a social psychologist at Cornell University, conducted a series of studies that will soon be published in one of the most prestigious psychology journals (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). Across nine experiments, Bem examined the idea that our brain has the ability to not only reflect on past experiences, but also anticipate future experiences. This ability for the brain to "see into the future" is often referred to as psi phenomena.

Although prior research has been conducted on the psi phenomena – we have all seen those movie images of people staring at Zener cards with a star or wavy lines on them – such studies often fail to meet the threshold of "scientific investigation." However, Bem's studies are unique in that they represent standard scientific methods and rely on well-established principles in psychology. Essentially, he took effects that are considered valid and reliable in psychology – studying improves memory, priming facilitates response times – and simply reversed their chronological order.

For example, we all know that rehearsing a set of words makes them easier to recall in the future, but what if the rehearsal occurs after the recall? In one of the studies, college students were given a list of words and after reading the list, were given a surprise recall test to see how many words they remembered. Next, a computer randomly selected some of the words on the list as practice words and the participants were asked to retype them several times. The results of the study showed that the students were better at recalling the words on the surprise recall test that they were later given, at random, to practice. According to Bem, practicing the words after the test somehow allowed the participants to "reach back in time to facilitate recall."

In another study, Bem examined whether the well-known priming effect could also be reversed. In a typical priming study, people are shown a photo and they have to quickly indicate if the photo represents a negative or positive image. If the photo is of a cuddly kitten, you press the "positive" button and if the photo is of maggots on rotting meat, you press the "negative" button. A wealth of research has examined how subliminal priming can speed up your ability to categorize these photos. Subliminal priming occurs when a word is flashed on the computer screen so quickly that your conscious brain doesn't recognize what you saw, but your nonconscious brain does. So you just see a flash, and if I asked you to tell me what you saw, you wouldn't be able to. But deep down, your nonconscious brain saw the word and processed it. In priming studies, we consistently find that people who are primed with a word consistent with the valence of the photo will categorize it quicker. So if I quickly flash the word "happy" before the kitten picture, you will click the "positive" button even quicker, but if I instead flash the word "ugly" before it, you will take longer to respond. This is because priming you with the word "happy" gets your mind ready to see happy things.

In Bem's retroactive priming study, he simply reversed the time sequence on this effect by flashing the primed word after the person categorized the photo. So I show you the kitten picture, you pick whether it is positive or negative, and then I randomly choose to prime you with a good or bad word. The results showed that people were quicker at categorizing photos when it was followed by a consistent prime. So not only will you categorize the kitten quicker when it is preceded by a good word, you will also categorize it quicker when it is followed by a good word. It was as if, while participants were categorizing the photo, their brain knew what word was coming next and this facilitated their decision.

These are just two examples of the studies that Bem conducted, but his other studies showed similar "retroactive" effects. The results clearly suggest that average "non-psychic" people seem to be able to anticipate future events.

One question you may be asking is how big of a difference was there? Does studying for a test after it has occurred, or priming you with a word after categorizing the photo make a dramatic change, or is it just a slight bump in performance? Essentially, these are questions of "effect size." It is true that the effect sizes in Bem's studies are small (e.g., only slightly larger than chance). However, there are several reasons why we shouldn't just disregard these results based on small, but highly consistent, effect sizes.

First, across his studies, Bem did find that certain people demonstrate stronger effects than others. In particular, people high in stimulus seeking – an aspect of extraversion where people respond more favorably to novel stimuli – showed effect sizes nearly twice the size of the average person. This suggests that some people are more sensitive to psi effects than others.

Second, small effect sizes are not that uncommon in psychology (and other sciences). For example, on average, the Bem studies showed an effect size of .20 (out of a possible range of 0-1). Although that is fairly small, it is as large as or larger than some well-established effects, including the link between aspirin and heart attack prevention, calcium intake and bone mass, second hand smoke and lung cancer, and condom use and HIV prevention (Bushman & Anderson, 2001). And as Cohen has pointed out, such small effect sizes are most likely to occur in the early stages of exploring a topic, when scientists are just starting to discover why the effect occurs and when it is most likely to occur.

So if we accept that these psi phenomena are real, how then can we explain them without throwing out our entire understanding of time and physics? Well, the truth is that these effects are actually pretty consistent with modern physics' take on time and space. For example, Einstein believed that the mere act of observing something here could affect something there, a phenomenon he called "spooky action at a distance."

Similarly, modern quantum physics has demonstrated that light particles seem to know what lies ahead of them and will adjust their behavior accordingly, even though the future event hasn't occurred yet. For example, in the classic "double slit experiment," physicists discovered that light particles respond differently when they are observed... But in 1999, researchers pushed this experiment to the limits by asking "what if the observation occurred after the light particles were deployed." Surprisingly, they found the particles acted the same way, as if they knew they were going to be observed in the future even though it hadn't happened yet...

Such trippy time effects seem to contradict common sense and trying to make sense of them may give the average person a headache, but physicists have just had to accept it. As Dr. Chiao, a physicist from Berkeley once said about quantum mechanics, "It's completely counterintuitive and outside our everyday experience, but we (physicists) have kind of gotten used to it."

So although humans perceive time as linear, it doesn't necessarily mean it is so. And as good scientists, we shouldn't let out preconceived beliefs and biases influence what we study, even if these preconceived beliefs reflect our basic assumptions about how time and space work.

Dr. Bem's work is thought provoking, and like good cutting-edge science is supposed to do, it offers more questions than answers. If we suspend our beliefs about time and accept that the brain is capable of reaching into the future, the next question becomes "how does it do this?" Just because the effect seems "supernatural" doesn't necessarily mean the cause is. Many scientific discoveries were once considered outlandish and more suited to science fiction (e.g., the earth being round, microscopic organisms). Future research is greatly needed to explore the exact reasons for these studies' effects.

Like many novel explorations in science, Bem's findings may have a profound effect on what we know and have come to accept as true. But for some of you, perhaps these effects are not such a big surprise, because somewhere deep down inside, you already knew you would be reading about them today!"

Suggested Reading:
Bem, D. J. (in press) Feeling the Future: Experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Visit Dr. Bem's website.
— Danu’s Daughter

Sacred Samhain

2010-10-10T17:15:00.001-04:00

It is the time of The Last Harvest, a time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, a time to celebrate and a time to reflect – it is the sacred time of Samhain.

The Earth will soon nod a sad farewell to the God, but Wiccans know that He will once again be reborn of the Goddess, and the eternal cycle of life through the turning of the sacred Wheel of the Year will continue. It is a time to not only reflect on death, but on rebirth.

It is a time of reflection, it is when Wiccans and Neo-Pagans honor the Ancient Ones, as well as all of those we love but who have gone on before us. Divination comes to the forefront, and our gifts of spiritual-metaphysical “seeing” takes on special significance during this time.

To Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans, Samhain is the Night of the Witches, a profound Sabbat to hold fast to the Goddess and the God, and to celebrate New Year’s. The modern world recognizes the holiday by its secular name: Halloween.

Samhain, (pronounced “Sow-een or Sow-in”) means "End of Summer," and is the third and final Harvest festival of the year. It also the Sabbat that commemorates when the dark half of the year takes hold.

It is generally celebrated on Oct. 31, but some traditions prefer Nov. 1. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other is Beltane. It is a magickal interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted.

Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is at its easiest at this time, for they journey through our world on their way to the Summerland. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother, and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone (the third aspect of the Triple Goddess), and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead." Today, a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.

This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on Nov. 7), and Martinmas (that is celebrated Nov. 11), thus Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

Symbolism and Correspondences Associated With Samhain:

Concepts: Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.

Animals/Mythical Creatures: Bats, Cats, Dogs, Pooka, Goblin, Medusa, Sidhe, Harpies.

Symbols: Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms (Brooms.)

Herbs: Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Comfrey, Dandelion, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Mugwort, Ferns, Flax, Fumitory, Mullein, Dragon’s Blood, Thistles, Oak Leaves, Sage, Straw, Wormwood (burn to protect from roving spirits).

Food: Turnips, Apples, Pumpkin Pie, Bread, Pomegranate, Squash, Hazelnuts, Corn, Cranberries, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Cider, Herbal Tea, Ale, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense/Oil: Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg, Frankincense, Basil, Yarrow, Lilac, Camphor, Clove, Wood Rose, Wormwood, Myrrh, Patchouli, Apple, Sage, Ylang-Ylang.

Colors/Candles: Black (which wards off negativity), Orange (good luck), White, Silver, Gold, Indigo, Homemade Apple or Mint Scented Herbal Candles, Jack-o’-Lanterns.

Stones/Gemstones: All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian, Carnelian.

Tools/Symbols/Decorations: Black Altar Cloth, Jack-o’-Lanterns, Oak Leaves, Acorns, Straw, Balefire, Besom (Broom), Black Cat, Black Crescent Moon, Cauldron, Divination/Scrying Tools, Mask, Bare Branches, Animal Bones, Hazelwood, Depictions of Ancestors/Loved Ones.

Goddesses: The Crone, Hekate (Greek), Cerridwen (Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod (Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat (persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Hel (Norse), Kali(Hindu), all Death and Otherworld Goddesses.

Gods: Horned Hunter (European), Kernunnos (Greco-Celtic), Osiris (Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis (Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), Sacrificial/Dying/Aging Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods.

Rituals/Magick: Honoring/Consulting Ancestors, Releasing the Past (old behaviors that hold you back, etc.), Power, Understanding Death and Rebirth, Entering the Underworld, Divination, Dance of the Dead, Fire Calling, Past Life Recall, Bonfires.

Element/Gender: Water/Male.

Threshold: Midnight.

~~~~

I am an Eclectic Solitary Wiccan, so celebrations with a lot of people – even for Samhain – are just not for me. Also, I’m disabled, so dancing around bonfires is also out. So, I have adapted/combined a series of Samhain Rites into a Solitary Practice. I am presenting it below as an example of a celebration only. I have also included some additional prayers and charges that might be useful. Samhain honors the Dark Goddess and Dark God. My personal choices are to honor the Dark Goddess Hekate and Dark God Kernunnos, but select a pantheon that speaks to your spiritual tradition.

Feel free to take what ye need, fellow spiritual travelers – an harm to none!

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Samhain Sabbat Rite

What you will need:

Altar with a Pentacle (a five-pointed star – Pentagram – within an enclosing circle)
Three Black Candles
Cauldron (real, not plastic) or similar cast-iron pot
Athame, Wand or Staff
Besom (broom)
Chalice
Silver and Gold Candles (Illuminator Candles)
Bowl of Water
Salt
Anointed Oil and Clean White Cloth or Napkin
Censer and Incense
Matches
Candle Snuffer
Bell
Drumming Stick (NOT an Athame/Wand)
Slips of Paper Edged in Black (Note: Handwrite the name of an ancestor/loved one you wish to honor on a separate slip of black-edged paper. Take time to meditate, and prepare them in advance.)
Slips of Paper (Note: Handwrite on individual slips of paper behaviors or anything else that has been holding you back, and that you wish to release during the New Year, or behaviors-things you wish to add. Again, take time to meditate mindfully, and prepare them in advance.)
Pumpkin or other seasonal Altar decorations
Crete (Dried herbs)
Offering Bowl (With stones or nuts)
Offering Plate (With bread or other snack)
Beverage

~~~~~~~~~

Preparation

Most Wiccans take a ritual bath or shower before they begin any Magickal rite. That is especially important prior to a significant Sabbat like Samhain. I like to put on clean clothes with a Samhain theme after I’m all scrubbed, sometimes even a witchy hat!

Important Note: The Altar, and all of your magickal tools, should be within the area where you will be casting a Sacred Circle. Once the circle is closed, it’s a pain to reopen it to go and get something you’ve forgotten, so take care in placing everything within the area you plan to do all of your magickal work.

When setting up the Altar, place three black candles for the Triple Moon Goddess prominently between the Silver and Gold Candles Illuminator Candles, and put an orange candle inside the Cauldron. I generally choose to place Cauldron, which has a greater role than in many rites, in the West Quadrant of the Altar.

Note: Place the remaining traditional Altar items (Chalice, Pentagram, water bowl, offering items) in their normal positions.

The placement of the cauldron depends on personal symbolic preference. If the cauldron is to have a candle in it, placing it in the southern quarter of the circle can be considered most appropriate since the south is the direction corresponding with the element of Fire. On the other hand, placing the cauldron in the western quarter can be considered just as appropriate for Samhain since it is the Feast of the Dead, and the west has long been considered to be the direction corresponding to the dwelling-place of departed spirits.

Next, use the Besom to symbolically brush away all of the negative energy from the area that you will be working your magick, including all Altar items and also from your clothes and body. Say:

Sweep, sweep with this broom
All bad out, out of this room.
Sweep, sweep all good in
The bad never ever here again.

And/Or:

Tout, tout, tout
Within and without
All negativity
Get out, out, out.

~~~~~

Note: It is important that you are grounded and open to spiritual energy before you cast the Sacred Circle. The following is a great exercise to do that. Imagine that you are a tree. First, stamp your feet on the ground to feel the substantial power of the Earth. Focus on feeling the Earth’s energy spreading upward, legs becoming the roots of a tree drawing direct power from the Earth, which travels up your legs and throughout all of the cells in your body and torso. This amazing energy spreads to your arms and hands (branches and leaves) then your head as it begins to flow out of your hands and back down to the ground, completing the circle (sphere.) It’s important to really get the energy flowing before starting.

Casting the Sacred Circle

If possible, you should hold your Samhain Ritual outside in the fresh air and elements. But, if this is impossible (which it always is for me, because of my disability), don’t worry about it, just perform the Rite at your indoor Altar.

When properly focused, image the boundaries of the circle you plan to cast. It really can be any size, but generally is at least six feet across. Most circles tend to be larger, about nine feet across, if the caster is doing so outside. If you’re inside and space is even more limited, select a size that is convenient for everything that you plan to use and to be doing. Since I’m disabled, my circles tend to be smaller.

If you are new to casting circles, it may be easier to actually put stones or some other maker (rope, etc.) on the ground or floor in advance to physically represent its flat, two-dimensional boundary.

Next, take the water from the Altar and walk the perimeter of the circle you have imagined in a clockwise (or doesil) direction, beginning at the WEST corner. As you walk, sprinkle water droplets and say:

As I walk this circle round, I cleanse and consecrate this ground.

Now, take the salt from the Altar and begin to walk the circle around clockwise again, sprinkling the salt, saying:

First with Water then with Earth, with negativity banished there’s joyous rebirth.

Finally, take the Censer from the Altar, light the incense, and begin walking the circle a third time clockwise, “smoking” the circle’s boundary as you say:

Next with Fire, then with Air, leaving only purity fair.

~~~~

Take the Athame, wand or staff (I use an Athame, so will be using it throughout the remaining narrative) from the Altar and put it in your dominate hand. Meditate a moment to re-gather your power. Focus the power down your arm and into the Athame. Direct the Athame’s tip down at the ground beginning at the WEST Corner, then proceed around to “pull up” the circle’s three-dimensional boundary.

Specifically, begin by pointing the Athame downward, imaging it going through the floor or ground and into the earth. Next, raise the Athame gradually to heart level, finally raise it above your head, at an angle that progresses from outward to straight up.

Walk slowly, clockwise. Continue to use your focus and intent to “pull” the circle up. I envision the energy sparking from the earth into my body then out from my arm into the Athame and out in a beam of steady bright blue-white energy (the color of the energy I envision depends on the work planned). Truly SEE and FEEL the shimmering, flame of power pouring out of the Athame, the wonderful energy enveloping you and coming up and over your head as you walk, creating the three-dimensional protective “bubble” or sphere of cosmic strength. (Some Wiccans and Neo-Pagans forget that a magick circle should always be three-dimensional. They make the mistake of only cast it in two-dimensions, thus they and their magick is not protected and contained within, and is less effective.)

When done, you and your Altar are completely within the friendly confines of your Sacred Circle. Only bright, positive energy, the power of love, is inside this shimmering bubble/sphere. When the Sacred Circle is pulled up completely and you feel that it is properly cast and enforced, say:

I, (then repeat your own magickal name), conjure thee, O Circle of Power, to form my sacred meeting place; To harbor me, within this hour; outside of time, outside of space.

Let the pumpkin’s candle glare,
Into darkness everywhere;
Burn all evil from the air!

I call air for speed
Fire to cleanse
Earth to manifest
Spirit to sea
(Visualize the Sacred Circle energy)
as above, so below.

The circle is now cast.

Ring the Bell. Light first the Gold Illuminator Candle, then use its flame to light the Silver Illuminator Candle. (Note: Wait to light the black and orange candles.)

Once a circle is cast, it is preferable not to open it until all work is done. But, to safely exit create a door by using the Athame and cut a metaphysical ‘doorway.’ Leave the besom at this doorway, as it spiritually protects the circle from negativity until you return. When your return, go back in at the same area you left, bring the besom back in with you, then seal the circle back with the Athame. A lot of practitioners believe that you can leave and return the circle without having to do any of this, but that is how I was taught, so that I what I do.

~~~~~~~

The Statement of Purpose and Precedent

This should be read, or recited from memory:

Across the globe, we Wiccans gather on the Feast of Samhain, the End and Beginning of the Sacred Year, the Time of Turning when the Dark Time begins. This is the Last Harvest. The fields lie empty, sinking into Winter’s Sleep and our larders hold what gain we have reaped from our labors.

The Great Wheel of the Year has turned as summer has become fall and the light of the days are fading into the dark. Soon, we will be in wintertime, at peace with all that we have harvested this season so that we may go into our healing dream-time to restore our souls.

We meet within the blessed bounds of this Sacred Circle to celebrate passing from one season to the next, from the old year to the new, and from life to death to life reborn.

Thus, has the Wheel turned full cycle. Now, we look back for knowledge from the life that has just passed.

As one year ends and next begins, we hereby seek the Seed that will wait in the Womb of Winter.

So Mote it Be!

Now let us open the Way Between...

As our forebears did, so we do now, and so may our descendants do in times to come. We gather to offer devotion to the Lord of the House of the Dead, and to the Queen of Phantoms; to the Gods, the Dead and the Sidhe (pronounced Shee); and especially to our honored dead here on the Feast of the Dead.

We offer to Kernounnos (or the House of Donn) the Dark One, the Antlered God who offers hospitality and peace to those bound for the Ancestors’ Country. We offer to Hekate (or Morrigan,) the Great Queen of Battle and Sorcery; the Old Woman of Death and the Cauldron of Rebirth.

In this Season of Death we honor the Holy Dead as the ancients did.

Meditate upon these great mysteries, then repeat:

To the Gods, the Dead and the Sidhe I offer you welcome. All you Spirits who gather here with me, I invite you to join in honoring the Patrons of our rite.

On the Night of the Scythe and the Skull, the honor-feast of Summer’s End, let us worship the Dark One and the Great Queen.

So Mote it Be!

~~~~~~~

I generally repeat several prayers or invocations at this point. I have included a couple of personal favorites:

Samhain: The Coming of the Crone

Icy syllables from an ancient time
She breathes into the void of darkness.

We stand in awe of Her chilling aspects trine.
The tree branches reveal starkness
at the Coming of the Crone.

Gnarled and blasted bones bereft of all leaves,
led by Her spells mutter heresies;

Upraised tombstones utter cacophonies;
The hounds of Hades bark strong decrees
at the Coming of the Crone.

Her horrendous majesty astounds our flesh.
Her orb above penetrates the haze:

Leprous-white Lady, source and cure of distress.
Shadow-framed myst’ry ornately plays
at the Coming of the Crone.

On This Dark Night!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Samhain Prayer

Samhain! Samhain! Samhain!
Take the new fire! Send the rain!
Banish care and banish pain!

Speed the ghosts who ban the sheep,
Light the path to spirit sleep!
This our fire to light the way
This eve:
Samhain!

~~~~~~

The Death Song
(Re-Paganized from the Carmina Gadelica)

You go home this night to your home of winter,
To your home of fall, of spring, of summer,
You go home this night to the Turning House,
To your pleasant rest in the Land of Joy.

Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest this night in the Mother’s Breast,
Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest, O beloved, with the Mother’s Kiss.

In the Many Colored Land;
In the Land of the Dead;
In the Plain of Joy;
In the Land Beneath the Wave;
In the Land of Youth;
In the Land of the Ever-Living;
In the Revolving Castle, the House of Donn.

Rest in seven lights, beloved,
Rest in seven joys, beloved,
Rest in seven sleeps, beloved,
In the Grove of the Cauldron, Morrigan’s Shrine.

The shadow of death is on your face, beloved,
But the Cauldron of Rebirth awaits you,
The threefold turning of your Fate,
When your rest has given you your peace.

So rest in the calm of all calms,
Rest in the wisdom of all wisdoms,
Rest in the love of all loves,
Rest in the Lord of Life and Death,
Rest in the Lady of Life and Death,

‘Till the Season of Turning
‘Till the Time of Returning
‘Till the Mystery of the Cauldron

~~~~~~~~

The Assembling of the Quarter-Regents

Samhain is the only celebration of the Sacred Wheel of the Year that entails a change in the wording of the Assembling of the Quarter-Regents. (Otherwise, The Opening Rites are performed as a traditional Sabbat.) The alternate wording and directional sequence of the salutations follow.

To Call the West say:

Regents of the West, Patrons of the Blessed Dead, Protectors of the Departed in Avalon beyond Thy primordial seas; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time.

To Call the South say:

Regents of the South, Patrons of All Hallow’s blazing bonfires, Protectors of the paths of wandering spirits as Ye illumine their way to ancestral home and hearth; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time.

To Call the East say:

Regents of the East, Patrons of phantom-filled winds, Protectors of breeze-borne apparitions let loose from the ethereal realms; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time.

To Call the North say:

Regents of the North, Patrons of enchanted places and moonlit megaliths, Protectors of haunted heaths and long-forgotten, circled stones; by the Holy Pentagram of Balance sacred to the Goddess, Queen of the Cardinal Quarters, I call Thee to this Circle, charging Thee to witness and watch over this rite of Samhain on this Night between the worlds, and out of time.

~~~~~~

Honoring the Ancestors

Repeat:

On the Feast of Samhain the veils between the worlds are thin. I call now to our Beloved Dead, the blessed Ancestors, to join our feast and receive due offering.

Come to the Gates, honored ones; hear my call, I, one of your children – remember. I offer you my worship, reverence and love.

You who fill the empty womb; you who cause the seed to spring; you who fill the breast with milk; receive now these offerings, made in your honor.

Hold up the stones or nuts that you have brought as your symbolic offering.

Ring the Bell.

~~~~~

Anointing with Oil

Next, retrieve the vial of anointing oil from the Altar. Begin by dipping a forefinger into it, then lightly tracing an Invoking Pentacle on your forehead with the oil (I trace a Pentagram, then close it with a circle, thus creating the Pentacle), while saying the following blessing:

In the Name of Persephone, Protector of the Blessed Dead, I anoint myself with the chrism of protection for this journey of vision between the worlds.

Next, anoint yourself with a dot-like mark upon your forehead in the area of the “third eye” (which represents divination in this Rite) saying the following blessing:

In the Name of Holy Persephone, Hope of the Blessed Dead, I anoint myself with this chrism of spirit-perception, that you may sense the presence of those passed on beyond the gathering shrouds of the Grave on this, their sacred Night.

When the anointing procedure is completed, return the vial to the altar, and use the prepared white cloth or napkin to absorb the excess oil from your finger, but leave it on your forehead.

~~~~~

The Triple Candle Invocation of Hekate Trevia

After the anointing, begin the invocations to call the Dark Mother, asking her to join the Quarter-Regents. Standing before the unlit candles that represent her Triple Aspect of Hekate, (that were placed prominently upon the altar between the two Illuminator Candles,) begin by saying:

The Dark Mother comes from time long past the setting sun. Lady of Night she is, where country crossing cry her sacred. She-force Shadow with upraised torch of Hades red-onyx bright; her hounds at bay where pathworked lanes collide.

Light one of the three black candles, then say:

Hail, Hekate Trevia, Wise One of the Willows; Thou who stirrest the Cauldron of Fate with the Staff of Destiny!
Visit me this Night with Divination and the Sight!

Now light the second black candle, and say:

Hail, Hekate Trevia, Queen of the Ghostworld, enthroned upon the bones of departed generations!

May the spirits of Thy crypted Domain be pleased with this rite of remembrance as they celebrate All Hallows among us!

Light the final black candle, saying:

Hail, Hekate Trevia, Spectral Sovereign of Darkness; Bringer of Shadows that I might see invisible realities without distraction from the light.
Part for me this Night the Veil that wanes thin between the worlds!

The Invocation to Hekate as Crone

After having lighted the three black candles, recite the following:

All Hallows, Samhain Hekate arrives again; ground to dust beneath her feet summer leaves now stiff with Autumn’s death. In the midst of chill an Age-Goddess cloaked in the mantle of the Crone – woven cloth of arcane Wisdom – quickens her pace in the midnight towards the altar of the ending year.

Raise your Athame and begin the welcoming of the Crone:

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Season-reaping Crone!
I see Thee in the blazing colored death of Autumn’s leaves, and am in awe.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Night-stalking Crone!
I hear Thee in sounds of nocturnal owls seeking their prey under cloak of darkness, and am made uneasy.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Death-dealing Crone!
I touch Thee when feeling weathered tombstones in peaceful cemeteries, and am reflective.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Time-devouring Crone!
I feel Thee in the ice-caress of Thy gnarled fingers as they grip my youthfulness with deteriorating age, and are made aware of my own mortality.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Harvest-ending Crone!
I taste Thee in the last apples of October’s bounty, bidding me store away for the cold to come, as I am chilled with wintry foreboding.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, Ever-recurring Crone!
I tremble before Thee in dreadful reverence, overwhelmed by the evidence of my senses, conveying to me Thy presence in this season.

To the Crone be praise,
To the Crone be power,
To the Crone be preeminence,
on this, Her Holy Night of All Hallows!

So Mote It Be!

Ring the Bell to toll Her arrival.

~~~~~

The Invocation to the Sacred Stag

“The Horned Lord of Winter’s Darkness” is a title of the God in His winter manifestation as the Ruler of the Dark Half of the Year – Kernunnos. “The Sacred Stag of the Gates of Annwn” is the title designating the God in His aspect as the Lord of the Underworld. In Celtic myth the Stag (Kernunnos or the Donn) is often associated with visitations for the Other Side.

“Man in Black” is an important title because black is the most popular, traditional color of Samhain, but primarily, this reference has to do with the belief that numerous medieval covens were often ritually led by a man who was characterized by the wearing of horns and black garb as a ceremonial representative of the God.

Below, is an invocation of Kernunnos, but first a word or two of explanation. The reference to “Who beholds the face of Hel,” is not a reference whatsoever to the Christian concept of “Hell.” “Hel” with one “l” refers instead to the Norse goddess of the Underworld, although there is also an intentional play on words, for as a chthonic deity, Kernunnos does indeed behold even Hell itself – if Hell is taken as a synonym with Hades as the realm of the dead.

After completing the invocation of the Crone, pause to meditation. Dip your Athame into the chalice, then lift it up and say:

Satyr Pan, Lord of Life, he meets her here – Hekate – on this Haunted Eve. They kiss Completion, yet a Cycle begun on the Wheel that turns once more. Old He is on the altar laid, His spirit released with Her spell; Lord be He declined in death, His form but swirling grains of earth, Spring’s fibrous strength decayed. Horned Pan descends below, to the home of the Hollow Womb he returns, to the Cauldron of the Deep Within.

It is time to being the invocation of The Stag by saying:

By the all-powerful torque of Kernunnos,
By the wisdom of the serpent which He holds,
By He Who sees, but is not seen,
By He Who knows the Mystery, and keeps the eternal Secrets,

I call down upon thee the Horned Lord of Winter's Darkness,
the Sacred Stag of the Gates of Annwyn,
the Seated God of the Ghosts of Gaul.

Now, raise your Athame to honor the Horned God, saying:

All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
Lord of the Dead,
Companion of the Crone;
We invoke Thee!

All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
Man in Black,
Fleet-footed Sabbat God,
Be here amongst us!

All Hallows Hail, Horned One,
King Stag of the Wildwoods,
Antlered Messenger from Another World;
Thou art welcomed!

Meditate, then say the following as Kernunnos:

I am Kernunnos, risen from nether regions of misty gloom in the Land of Living Shades.

Dark Twin of Pan am I, Wraith-Raiser of the Waning Seasons!

Look now upon the visage of your Paleolithic God imaged upon the shrine-caves of Ariege!

See in Me the antlered shaman dancing by smoky, flickering cavern-flames, casting shadows larger than life, darker than death.

Observe in Me the Sacred Stag of sacrifice, the Hunted Hart of Winter; with My body have the hungry been fed; with My skin have tattered tribes been clothed against the cold.

I am Kernunnos, Horned One of Hades Who beholds the face of Hel.

Guardian God of the Threshold am I, Protector of the dead at the Bridge of Crossing.

Come and follow your chthonic God in solemn procession down the descending spiral that leads to the Doors of the Dead!

Ring the Bell to toll His arrival.

~~~~~~~~

Into The Grove

The next part of the ritual is its heart and soul. To perform it, you will be leaving your Altar, and entering the Dark Realm of betwixt and between; to join a processional that finds Kernunnos and Hekate at the Sacred Cauldron of the Dead.

To do this, you need only your fully awakened spirit, a little imagination, and some Wiccan magick!

You will be re-enacting, in your mind and in words, a symbolic procession of which you will become a part.

Take a moment to re-gather your energy. Now, envision that you have been transported to a fragrant, wooded, forest area. After a moment, you hear the approach of other Samhain revelers, and you join their joyous procession.

Pick up the drumming stick and use it to create the slow, rhythmic sounds mimicking the procession’s footfalls along your journey. All of the participants are either walking or dancing counter-clockwise (widdershins). (Note: Decide the SEE how you are moving!)

All of you are instinctively following a spiral path (symbolizing the Goddess and the eternal Turning of the Wheel) that gradually leads into a midnight grove of beautiful, tall trees that have come together in a natural, broad circle. All of these majestic giants are reaching their almost-bare branches up into the darkness as if they were each a priestess or priest. Suddenly, you see a magick cauldron that is sitting in the middle of this Sacred Circle.

Abruptly, Lord Kernunnos and Lady Hekate appear next to the cauldron. When you envision this, mediate upon the image until it is so clear in your mind that you can actually feel the crisp air, smell the forest, and see the details of the clothes that the God and Goddess are wearing.

Stop drumming and speak again as Kernunnos:

The Lord Stag Kernunnos bids you welcome to the wonders of shades and spirits as you glimpse into that ghost-ridden realms revealing the resting-place of the disincarnate!

Repeat the following as Kernunnos, but who has turned and is now addressing the Goddess Hekate:

Lady, it is time for the darkness to be illuminated by the otherworldly Light of the Goddess, that the ancient traditions may be honored.

Now, speak as Hekate responding to Kernunnos:

As Thou hast spoken, so shall it be, Lord Kernunnos!

~~~~~

The Lighting of the Samhain Fire

It is now time to light the orange candle that you had placed in the cauldron on your physical Altar, but keep your mind in the magickal grove with the processional and the God and Goddess. After lighting the candle, grab a pinch of dried herbs (Crete) and drop them into the flame. Then say:

Death for life the sacrifice; another year gives up its ghost. Freshly dead seasons consumed in the bonfires of Samhain, billowing crimson-orange in ashen blackness; spectral fiery incantations. Goddess-summoned spirits celebrate this Night between the years. End, Beginning, No Time Betwixt, cradle and grave in one. Future faded, past returned, all alive have died. Dimensions departed, merged with the moment; Mystery the magick is yarn for Hekate’s wraith-raising loom!

Ring the Bell.

~~~~~~~~

The Offering for the Dead

Pick up each slip of black-edged paper that bears the name of an ancestor or loved one lost. These will now be used as an offering in memory of the Ancient Ones, and the specific ancestors, loved ones and friends who have passed on to the Land of Shadows.

Meditate silently, then recite the name of a person you are memorializing, placing the black-edged slip of paper that bears their name slowly into the Cauldron, allowing the candle’s flame to burn the slip completely to ashes. As you do so, declare:

I, (say your magickal name), remember thee, and offer (love and) honor on this Night of Wonders, and Shades of Spirits. (Note: Only offer love if you felt love for the departed. This is a declaration, very close to a magickal binding, so only say what is true and not false. If you are honoring someone you did not know, adjust the words accordingly.)

Repeat the process until each name has been recited, their paper fully consumed, and the individual offering message declared.

It is now time to do the same thing with each slip of paper that bears upon it something that has been holding you back, something that you wish to change, or something positive that you wish to add in the coming year (reminiscent of New Year’s resolutions.) Read each item aloud, then burn it to ashes in the cauldron, while saying:

I, (say your magickal name), hereby release (name the behavior-item-person to be eliminated) from my life on this Witches New Year, so that I may be reborn from the Cauldron of the Dead.

I, (say your magickal name), hereby draw (name the behavior-item-person to be added) into my life on this Witches New Year, so that I may be reborn from the Cauldron of the Dead.

Repeat until all of the slips of paper have been burned, and each declaration made.

Because both of these burning rituals are acts of magick, you must send your will, your magickal intent, into each slip of paper during both the recitation of the dead, and the declaration of the changes you will be making in your life.

After you have brought your will to bear, read each aloud and said the appropriate declaration, repeat:

As I have willed, So Mote it Be!

In Wicca, magickal intent is very, very REAL, and extremely powerful. After the burning rituals have all been completed, re-gather your energy and gives thanks to the sacred Element of Fire for releasing all of your intentions toward their magickal goals.

Ring the Bell, tolling to honor your magickal intentions.

~~~~~~

The Blessing

As in all Rites, it is beneficial to enjoy “Cakes and Ale,” a symbolic meal, whether you are a Solitary Practitioner or a member of a group. This ritual is different, however, because you are still in the magickal grove with the procession of revelers and the God and Goddess, so even if you are “alone,” you are with a group!

Eat and drink the bread, wine, juice or other seasonal “meal” that you have brought into the Sacred Circle for this purpose. After you have eaten, offer a blessing:

The Ale of Blessing flows in me, filling me with the magick of the Dark Goddess Hekate, and the God Kernunnos.

As the year turns, let me welcome the quiet of the Dark. Let the stillness of the land calm and satisfy my spirit, allowing me to receive the Harvest’s Bounty.

Let the gain of the passing year be mine, to fill my life with contentment.

Let me welcome the Dead who wish to return to the living world, even as I remember those who depart. May we rest content as we pass the threshold of new beginnings.

Ring the Bell, tolling in thanksgiving.

~~~~~~~~

The Conclusion

When you sense that it is time to draw the Ritual to a close, say:

It is time to make ready for my journey back to the world where night follows day and moon follows sun, rotating the spinning cycles of season after season; where the tides of my life shall wax and wane until I, too, must descend again into this nether-dimness among the shadowed spirits.

Meditate on all that has happened, then repeat:

Lord Kernunnos, it is time that I depart Thy dark Domain.

Dread God of Death, Thou alone can take me back to that dimension where light and life are intertwined to make for the brightness of my momentary incarnations before I must return again to Thy caring embrace.

I beseech Thee, O Stag of Autumn’s Night, while the psychic Veil that divides the dead from the living is still transparently thin, grant me guidance between the worlds to the safety of the realm above.

When you have finished His entreaty, take the role of Kernunnos, lifting up your right hand, palm outward, as in a command for silence, before ‘he’ begins ‘his’ reply:

(Your name here) as you have asked, so shall it be done!

In these night-draped regions of Persephone there is serenity and rest for those labored of life and tired of heart, but your time has not yet come.

Follow now in My hoof prints, and you shall cross safely the bridge between the worlds.

Bow in reverence to the God, as he begins to lead you and your party out of the grove, and back to the here-and-now, where time will resume.

Once again, beat the drumming stick to echo in you and your group’s footfalls. But, this time all will walk or dance the sacred spiral clockwise (deosil.) When you and your spiral procession have reached the boundaries of worlds, take a moment to meditate. Next, still speaking as Kernunnos, repeat ‘his’ parting words:

Turn towards the lantern at the Eastern Gate, the glowing lamplight at the Quarter of the Rising Sun.

See there in prophecy the insatiable Satyr, Spring’s Horned Pan in pursuit of the Maiden’s pleasure, for life must always follow death; this, the fallow season, must be followed by the fertile.

But it is now I Who reign in the dying of Autumn and the snowy slumber of Winter’s repose.

As I take My leave, look not behind you, lest I take you with Me into the infernal Abyss that divides the dimensions, for I go the Way of the Gods, and My Secret Mysteries are not for you to know.

The blessings of All Hallows be upon you, and the granted guidance of the Crone be your portion.

All Hail, Farewell, and Blessed Be!

Ring the Bell, tolling for Kernunnos.

There should be silence for an appropriate period.

Now, speak as yourself:

Behold, I have returned to my time and space!
The God is gone; the Sacred Stag has slipped into the shadows from whence He came.
I am in awe, and am thankful for His visitation;
For His lifting the Veil between worlds this Samhain night.
Blessed Be Kernunnos!

~~~~~~~

The Parting Prayer

To end the Rite, stand and raise your Athame and speak the parting prayer to the Goddess:

Crone of Dark Moons and Death, Hag Queen of All Hallows, be pleased to remain here until the last shadows of Samhain are swallowed in the light-fused mists of morning.

Protect me from all harm and spiritual malevolence.

Enlighten me from the wells of Thy ageless wisdom, and endow me with the insight that comes with reverence for Thy worship.

All Hallows Hail, Hekate, and Farewell!

Ring the Bell, tolling for the departing Queen.

~~~~~

The Dismissal of the Quarter-Regents

The dismissal will always begin with the Quarter-Regent Who has the seasonal preeminence – West for Samhain, the sequence of dismissal continuing with the south, east, and north.

The Opening of the Circle

Take your Athame to the boundary of the Sacred Circle, and starting at the same quarter from which you initially began to cast the circle (west,) once again walk its circumference, pointing the Athame at its boundary as you progress. This time, visualize the dissipation of the blue-white spherical walls of the sacred space and say:

This rite of Samhain is ended!

May shadows and spirits guide me towards the dark-crystalled wisdom of the Crone as I learn to be at peace in the season of death that leads to life.

Merry Meet, and Merry Part!

Remember to snuff the candles out rather than to blow them out to honor the Element of Fire. Also, take the ashes from the cauldron, and the other offerings that are left and spread them outside, do not throw them away.

~~~~~~~~

Wiccan Rede (Full Text)

Bide ye Wiccan laws you must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
Live ye must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give,
For the circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.

To bind ye spell well every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch, speak ye little, listen much.

Doesil go by the waxing moon, chanting out ye baleful tune.
When ye Lady’s moon is new, kiss ye hand to her times two.

When ye moon rides at her peak, then ye hearts desire seek.
Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.

When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.

Nine woods in the caldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Elder be ye Lady’s tree, burn it not or cursed ye’ll be.

When the wheel begins to turn, soon ye beltane fires will burn.
When the Wheel hath turned a Yule, light the log the Horned One rules.

Heed ye flowers, bush and tree, by the Lady blessed be,
Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone the thruth ye’ll know.

When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.
With a fool no season spend, or be counted as his friend.

Merry meet and Merry part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind ye threefold law you should, three times bad and three times good.

When misfortune is enow, wear the star above thy brow.
True in love must ye ever be, lest thy love be false to thee.

These eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill;
An harm ye none, do what ye will.

~~~~~~~~

The Witches’ Creed
By Doreen Valiente, 1978 Witchcraft for Tomorrow

Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny’s pathway,
That now we bring forth into the light.

Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air.
By hidden quintessence we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.

The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the Magickal ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat Returns,
And the witches are seen,
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Even and old Hallowe’en.

When day-time and night-time are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
Again witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven’s array,
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.

The power was passed down the ages,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the Magickal circle,
By sword or Athame or power,
Its compass between the two worlds lies,
In Land of the Shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it,
And world of beyond will tell naught,
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of Magick is wrought.

For two are the mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.

The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
Of this did our ancestors teach.

By night he’s the wild wind’s rider,
The Horn’d One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he’s the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.

She is youthful and old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver Lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of Magick,
They dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.

So drink the good wine to the old Gods,
And dance and make love in their praise,
’Till Elphame’s fair land shall receive us,
In peace at the end of our days.

And Do What You Will be the challenge,
So be it in love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Magick of old be it done!

~~~~~~~

The Charge of the God

Listen to the words of the Horned God,
The Guardian of all things wild and free, and Keeper of the Gates of Death, whose Call all must answer:

I am the fire within your heart... The yearning of your Soul. I am the Hunter of Knowledge and the Seeker of the Holy Quest; I who stand in the darkness of light; I am He whom you have called Death. I am the Consort and Mate of Her we adore, call forth to me.

Heed my call beloved ones, come unto me and learn the secrets of death and peace. I am the corn at harvest and the fruit on the trees. I am He who leads you home. Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood these are mine and gifts to thee.

Call unto me in the forest wild and on hilltop bare and seek me in the Darkness Bright. I who have been called; Pan, Herne, Osiris, and Hades, speak to thee in thy search. Come dance and sing; come live and smile, for behold: this is my worship.

You are my children and I am thy Father. On swift night wings it is I who lay you at the Mother's feet to be reborn and to return again.

Thou who thinks to seek me, know that I am the untamed wind, the fury of storm and passion in your Soul. Seek me with pride and humility, but seek me best with love and strength.

For this is my path, and I love not the weak and fearful. Hear my call on long Winter nights and we shall stand together guarding Her Earth as She sleeps.

~~~~~~~~

The Charge of the Goddess (Traditional)

Now listen to the words of the Great Mother,
who was of old also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names. At her altars, the youth of Lacedaemon in Sparta made due sacrifice.

Whenever ye have need of any thing,
once in the month,
and better it be when the moon is full,
then shall ye assemble in some secret place, and adore the spirit of me,
who am Queen of all witches.

There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,
yet have not won its deepest secrets;
to these will I teach things that are as yet unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign that ye be really free,
ye shall be naked in your rites;
and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,
and mine also is joy on earth;
for my law is love unto all beings.

Keep pure your highest ideal;
strive ever towards it, let naught stop you or turn you aside;
for mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth,
and mine is the cup of wine of life,
and the cauldron of Cerridwen,
which is the Holy Grail of immortality.

I am the gracious Goddess,
who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.
Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;
and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom,
and reunion with those who have gone before.

Nor do I demand sacrifice;
for behold, I am the Mother of all living,
and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
whose body encircles the universe.

I who am the beauty
of the green earth and the white moon upon
the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.

For I am the soul of nature
that gives life to the universe.
From me all things proceed and unto me
they must return.

Let My worship be in the
heart that rejoices, for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure
are My rituals.

Let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion,
honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.

And you who seek to know me,
know that the seeking and yearning
will avail you not,
unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek,
you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.

For behold,
I have been with you from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained
at the end of desire.

~~~~~~~~

The Charge of the Crone

I am the Queen of Magick and the dark of the Moon, hidden in the deepest night. I am the mystery of the Otherworlds and the fear that coils about your heart in the times of your trials. I am the soul of nature that gives form to the universe; it is I who awaits you at the end of the spiral dance. Most ancient among gods and mortals, let my worship be within the heart that has truly tasted life, for behold, all acts of magick and art are my pleasure and my greatest ritual is love itself. Therefore let there be beauty in your strength, compassion in your wrath, power in your humility, and discipline balanced through mirth and reverence.

You who seek to remove my veil and behold my true face, know that all your questing and efforts are for nothing, and all your lust and desires shall avail you not at all. For unless you know my mystery, look wherever you will, it will elude you, for it's within you and nowhere else. For behold, I have ever been with you, from the very beginning, the comforting hand that nurtured you in the dawn of life, and the loving embrace that awaits you at the end of each life, for I am that which is attained at the end of the dance, and I am the womb of new beginnings, as yet unimagined and unknown.

~~~~~~~~

The Invocation of The Donn

As you have seen, most Wiccans acknowledge this God during their Samhain Rite, and ask that He attend their feast. Here is another example of his call:

In the season of darkening, the Lord of the House of Death receives the Spirits in his Hall. He is Donn the Dark One, called Kernunnos the Horned One. He is the First Ancestor, the Torch Bearer, The Guardian of the Cauldron of Plenty.

He is the Horned One, Dark One, Receiver of the Dead, Granter of Rest, Patron of the Feast in the Land of the Dead. We, your children, pray you to come in, to let your gaze fall upon this Sacred Ground, to indwell our rite and give us your blessing.

We make due offering to you, giving grain, or meat.
Silver, that you grant the wealth of the Underworld, Source of All Potential.
Oil, that the richness of the Land be renewed as our own lives are renewed.

Be welcome among us, Donn; Dark One, accept our sacrifices!

~~~~~~

The Invocation of Morrigan

The Great Goddess Morrigan is often honored in Celtic rites, while any Dark Goddess in her Crone visage is the goal.

Again, Wiccans who want to invite Her to attend may say:

As the Earth falls into sleep the Queen of Spirits is choosing those who will go to the Cauldron of Rebirth. She is Morrigan, the Great Queen of Phantoms, the Chooser of the Slain. She is the Battle Raven, the Red Woman, Mistress of the Cauldron.

Hear us now, Red One, Great Queen, Lady of the Reaping, Cauldron-Witch of Sorcery and Prophecy. I, one of your children, pray that you be with us, that you will look kindly upon this holy rite, that you come and give me your blessing.

We give due offering to you. We give you:

Precious stone, that the Bones of the Earth may be clothed again in life.
Whiskey, that the Waters of Life May flow in us and Spirit indwell flesh.
Feathers, that your raven Eye watch over us in the Season of Sleep.

Be welcome among us Morrigan; Great Queen, accept our sacrifices!

~~~~~~~~

The Death Song

You go home this night to your home of winter,
To your home of fall, of spring, of summer,
You go home this night to the Turning House,
To your pleasant rest in the Land of Joy.

Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest this night in the Mother’s Breast,
Rest you, rest, and away with sorrow,
Rest, O beloved, with the Mother’s Kiss.

In the Many Colored Land;
In the Land of the Dead;
In the Plain of Joy;
In the Land Beneath the Wave;
In the Land of Youth;
In the Land of the Ever-Living;
In the Revolving Castle, the House of Donn.

Rest in seven lights, beloved,
Rest in seven joys, beloved,
Rest in seven sleeps, beloved,
In the Grove of the Cauldron, Morrigan’s Shrine.

The shadow of death is on your face, beloved,
But the Cauldron of Rebirth awaits you,
The threefold turning of your Fate,
When your rest has given you your peace.

So rest in the calm of all calms,
Rest in the wisdom of all wisdoms,
Rest in the love of all loves,
Rest in the Lord of Life and Death,
Rest in the Lady of Life and Death,

'Till the Season of Turning
'Till the Time of Returning
'Till the Mystery of the Cauldron.

~~~~~~

May shadows and spirits guide you towards the dark-crystalled wisdom of the Crone as you learn to be at peace in this season of Death that leads to Life.

Merry Ye Meet, and Merry Ye Part!

— Danu’s Daughter