Yule Ritual

The Quarters

All hail the Northern darkened Earth resting deeply in silence and mystery. I awaken thee and call you here to witness this rite. Join us and be blessed.  [Colors: Brown]

All hail the Eastern skies of wind and storm. Bring with your winds the essence of pine and new growth. Settle here and witness this rite. Join us and be blessed.  [Colors: yellow or black]

All hail the Southern flames. Warm our hearts and bring with you the first glint of light as you witness this rite. Join us and be blessed.  [Colors: Red]

All hail the Western lakes and frozen streams. We welcome your waters as you witness this rite. May your waters soon flow warm and with bounty. Join us and be blessed. [Colors: Blue or yellow]

I invoke thee, o Lord and Lady. I invite you to attend and bless us. Our Circle is cast. (Light Silver & Gold Candles. You may wish to place these candles in a yule log)

On this, the longest winter night, we honor the rest only darkness can bring. We welcome the crone, in her wisdom, as we enter the time our land sleeps in its darkened promise.

For hail and well met, the Sun is reborn this night and brings the birth of new beginnings.

What beginnings do you wish to manifest in your life? The Suns rebirth brings transformation into our lives. Think about how your life can transform from the darkness...into the light.

Each of you, call your spirit guide. Join us and witness and guide us to new beginnings and growth in the coming seasons.

<Each call our guides>
I call the dragonfly whose power is in transformation. Help me to dig deeper into myself and reveal the emotions that lay dormant. I welcome your power of change as I adapt and form into a better version of myself.

If you do not know your guide, as that your guide attend you and reveal themselves. 

As we chase away the darkness so to I ask our troubles to go with the darkness. For with renewed light we have renewed life.

The Yule Tide Wishing Pot

Pick an oil such as pine, frankensense, juniper, sweet orange, or clove. In a large pan combine the oil and 1 cup water. Add orange peel, pine cones, poinsettia flowers, or evergreen needles to the water. (May prepare before ceremony) 

Brothers and Sisters, I ask you now to write one goal and one wish you would like to manifest into your life. Close your eyes and envision yourself manifesting this reality into your life as you place your wish in the wishing pot. (Dig a hole before ceremony in a sacred place)

Place the contents of the pot into the hole and say these words. 

I consecrate these offerings unto they mother's womb. May they bear fruit. Blessed Be.

All hail the Northern Earth, now lightened by the birth of our suns love. I thank you for witnessing this rite. As I release you, go in blessings of love and light.

All hail the Eastern Skies; now calmed and serene. I thank you for witnessing this rite. As I release you go in blessings of love and light.

All hail the Southern flames. As I extinguish your flame, your smoke continues to carry our words here today with you. Thank you for witnessing this rite. As I release you go in blessings of love and light.

All hail the Western lakes and frozen streams. May your waters continue to flow and nurture the land. Thank you for witnessing this rite. As I release you go in blessings of love and light.

I bid you farewell Lord and Lady. Stay if you will, go if you must. Blessings, Love, and Light to all. 

How do your beliefs benefit you and society?

How do your beliefs benefit you and society?

This question was asked by SisterSolome on the ULC.net forum. It's inspired me to think, and to write. 

My first reaction was that my beliefs don't really benefit anyone. I'm not rich because I'm Wiccan. I can't caste a magick spell to win the lotto, no matter how much I've tried! The Universe doesn't work like that. If life were suppose to be easy for me, I'd have been born rich, or led a life that came to that end result. I realized I was thinking in terms of the material however. 

Taking into account the definition of "benefit: as verb (used with object), benefited or benefited, benefiting or benefiting.5.to do good to; be of service to:a health program to benefit everyone.

I have to say that I have certainly benefited. To be of service is certainly something that rings as important in my life. I'm drawn to helping others, to heal when I can, and to help teach. I hope that this blog has been a benefit to others, just as I have benefited from the various Pagan blogs I follow. The love of the Goddess is certainly a benefit for me. She helps guide, protect and comfort me when I need her love.

What about you? What benefit does your beliefs bring to your life and to society? 

My Inner Strength- Reminding myself to Shine

So long time blog followers would have realized I haven't written much in awhile. That's because I started losing a bit of myself I think. It started by chipping away at my soul, bit by bit. You think you're on solid ground, and then your solid foundation is ripped from beneath your feat and you're left with a happy fucker laughing his ass off that you've fallen.


I work more than the average person does, and that certainly had something to do with this downward spiral. Everything has submerged into one huge breakdown. When I moved to Ohio in 2011, my mother kept my dog (Kota) because I couldn't stand the thought of rehoming her. My idea was to come here, get on my feet, and I'd eventually get her back. However 4 years here and still were not financially stable enough to afford a dog, and Kota's health declined due to her environment and no vet care.

I decided to put Kota into a rescue after seeing how bad she was getting and knowing I couldn't do anything about it. It took her 4 months to heal from staff infections. And I definitely blame myself. My friends and family would have me not do that, but there is no one else to blame. Sometimes  a spade is a spade. I've had dogs my entire life, and I've realized something. None of them lived a natural long life in my care. So I am admitting I'm just not a good pet parent, and deciding not to get another dog. That hurts my heart. Because right now with what I'm going through, the love of a pet could really help.

Last Friday was especially hard when I got the message that Kota was adopted. While it's good that she will now live out the rest of her life being taken cared for and loved, I'm sad that it's not with me.

My health has also declined in recent months. I started to get frequent headaches that come and go. I wear sunglasses more often than not, even on cloudy days and loud noises is my own personal torture chamber.

June 29th I had a mini brain bleed. Neurologist are unsure why it happened. There is likely an underlying reason that still needs to be found out through tests.

For now I'm on migraine medication that's helping. While waiting in line at the pharmacy, a little lightening bug decided to land right in front of my face. Now if that isn't a sign I don't know what is.

Lighting bugs not very exciting as far as totems go, but they remind us that they have an inner strength that makes them shine. And that's what I've always had. No matter what, I've listened to my inner voice to help guide me.

 Throughout this year I've felt something was wrong, even when doctors were telling me it was nothing. Advocating for myself has been a big challenge. It's often hard for me to speak up for myself. I know that I have more challenges ahead. More decisions will need to be made. All I can do, is keep my inner shine. :)  

Biting my tongue till it bleeds.

For most of my adult life I have had cerain rules when it comes to conversation with coworkers. A couple of those rules is to not speak of religion or politics. That becomes difficult when your coworkers constantly talk about those topic. So here's how the conversation went down the other day.

Coworker= C
C1: You know the birth of Christ didn't even happen in December. They say it was likely in the spring. (I'm thinking, if you know this, why celebrate?)

C2: says, you know the holiday replaced another holiday. Some such Satanist holiday. (Big eye roll from me at this point.)

 At this time I was clearing my desk and preparing to leave work to travel to another work site. I needed to take my laptop. However, as much as I like to maintain control, I could not. I rather snipily said, as I walked out the door, that it is called Yule, and it is  Pagan, not satanic. To which point C2 says "are you sure?". I just wanted to laugh in his face and tell him exactly why I was sure. I did not though, because that would just make me their target.

So instead I walked out in a huff, only realizing belatedly that I walked out without my laptop. So i had to do the walk of shame back to the office lol oh well, I needed to say it. Sometimes idiodic comments can't be ignored no matter how much I bite my tongue.

New School Year, New Approach

Sierra at recess today.

So today marks the first day my daughter attends 6th grade with K12's Ohio Virtual Academy. This is her second year with them. Last year she came in late, in September, and we were constantly feeling like we were behind. I also had problems with my daughter goofing off behind my back.

Wyatt loves playing at the park.

This year I vowed to not repeat last years mistakes. So we've made a couple changes. First of all, coming in at the beginning of the year is a huge help. I know that if we get our five hours (minimum) done each day we are on track. Today we logged ten hours just because she had completed a few things before the actual school year began that I could not credit till the first day. 

I also blocked all other websites besides educational ones using a program called K9 Web Protection. She needs my password (which she does not know) before she can go to other websites. Less goofing off means we are done earlier in the day, and then both mama and child is happy.

Of course there is the usual first day glitches. Her class connect didn't want to open for us today. After clearing the cache' we finally got it working, and we were able to "meet" her teachers and learn about what is expected of us this year.

For those parents who are interested, or are just starting your K12 journey, do you have any questions I can answer? 

 You can ask them here, or go to my Cafemom's K12 Virtual Academy Group.

Ritual: Wants vs. Needs

Do you do ritual only when you need something? This is kind of the equivalent of someone who only calls family and friends when they want something. I try not to do that, in either case.

Image Source (Not a picture of my bell. It's just similar)

Yet I'm faced with wanting to do a bit of magick in the near future. I'd do it tonight but I'm not fully clear on what I'm doing yet. I have this pentacle with bells hanging from it that I've had in my car for years. I consider it my safety talisman.

We've had some things going on with our cars and stuff related to transportation. Not good things either. A lot of it is our own fault and I fully take the blame. Yet I'm not quite sure how we are going to dig ourselves out of the hole we've made.
So I know I want to bring the pentacle inside and work a little magick with it. It definitely is over due to charge it.

Do you keep something in your car as a safety measure? More than once that bell has rung to remind me to be aware. Usually it was right before some idiot ran a red light or something. If I hadn't been aware, I may have been in their way.

Fully Embracing the Mother

Sorry I've been quiet lately. I just haven't really had anything to say lately, until now. I've been thinking about the three aspects of women; Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

The Triple Goddess

My daughter has become a young maiden. :) She's growing up so fast. It makes me look back when I was the maiden and see how the decisions I made affected my life. I don't believe I would change much. I'd perhaps shake the younger me and tell me to quite being naive. But perhaps the young need to be a little naive to learn and grow.

My son, bless his little heart, is growing up so fast as well. We are nearing the end of our breast feeding journey. He hardly ever wants to nurse now. I still have a little milk, but its not as much as I use to have. This makes me a bit sad, and makes me realize that while I still have many years of parenthood left, I'm getting ever closer to entering the crone stage. It's not that I don't want to be the wise woman. And indeed I think every aspect should be embraced. It's just I don't want to be older. Ah if we all could grab that miracle anti-aging serum. lol

I wanted to do something special to mark my daughters entrance into maidenhood, and of my sons passing from babe to little man. There is something sacred about the milk we give our babies. They call it liquid gold, and indeed it is that. It's life sustaining - a mothers bounty.

So I will express as much milk as possible, and offer it to the Lord and Lady as a symbol of our bounty and love as a thank you for all that we have in our life, and as a symbol for the bounty that we have yet to receive.

The milk of plenty is indeed sacred.

Blessed Be my dear readers.

The Power of Magick & Non-Believers

~Magickal Graphics~

I ran across this article on About.com titled, "Does Magic Have Power if Someone Doesn't Believe?"

I thought this would be an interesting discussion. My thoughts are that magic is energy. Whether it is positive or negative depends on the person sending it out. Someone who has no belief in deity or magic at all still sends out energy. So I think this is evidence that yes, magick still has power over those who are non-believers and that energy does return to them.

However, I do believe because they've closed themselves off to the possibility of magick, that they've also created a barrier that "keeps out" to some extent, positive and negative energy. So basically they've made it harder for the energy flowing to them to manifest a change in their life.

What do you believe? Does magick hold power for non-believers?

Does Your Home Have Spirits?

Today I've made a video as a response to Wisteria Witch's question about household spirits. Watch the video and tell me, does your home have spirits?

Here is a picture of the 200 year old house I was talking about in the video. Of course it looked different when we lived there. The overgrowth looks very similar to when we first rented the house though. I still remember pulling vines and mowing that lawn when the stalks of weeds looked more like mini trees!

Photo by michituckygirl

Btw, I think I'm getting the hang of this vlog thing! I'm much less nervous in front of the camera. :)

The "Already Seen" Moments

 What if deja vu meant you lost a life and you are starting back off at your last checkpoint. -unknown

~Magickal Graphics~
Deja Vu is a French word meaning "already seen". Since I was a little girl I've had moments where I knew I've lived through the same things I was doing. Mostly it was a combination of what someone said or a specific movement.

One of the biggest moments of deja Vu is when I knew I was just about to get my ass chewed out by my boss. I knew I had been there before, had heard the same tirade and reacted the exact same way I reacted to the situation. I had made a mistake when working, and my boss wasn't that happy with me.

Mostly though, it's small things. Like the combination of what someone says followed by someone else entering the room. All those things separately may have happened in the past. But none of it was done together until that point. Yet I know I've been in that situation before.

There are many theories on what deja Vu is. *Some scientists believe it's a portent of a mild epileptic seizure. However that doesn't explain why those who are healthy have experienced deja vu. Others believe it is possibly a past life memory. I believe neither of those answers are correct.

What I believe is that we've divined those moments through our dreams. My biggest question, and one I haven't a good answer for, is why would we dream of non-consequential moments? Is it a sign that we are on the right path? I have no idea. Often I have a feeling that the moment is important, yet it seemingly isn't. Such as last night. I had a moment of deja vu when I sat down with food in my hand and turned on the TV to see a specific television show on. None of what I experienced was important, yet it was important enough for me to have already seen it.



Do you have "already seen" moments? What do you believe deja vu is?


*Source

Have A Great Summer Solstice

Magickal Graphics

Have a great summer everyone. Sorry I've been a bit silent lately. I've not been in a good mood. Some things have happened in my life. Mostly life took a big shit on us. I can't say I didn't have a hand to play in it though. We are dealing with the consequences. For now though, I want to focus on celebrating the summer solstice. 

I'm trying to grow herbs again. I know, I keep killing plants. I have no idea why. I keep reading websites and getting advice from those green thumb people, but it never seems to help. Hopefully these little herbs will sprout and do well. 

I think my own summer ritual will be private tonight. Over the past few weeks I've felt the strong need for solitude and peace. Its a time I've drawn within myself. It's just my way to heal a bit. 

Anyway, enough about doom and gloom. Go out and enjoy the summer! 

Blessed Be y'all. 

SWC 

World Wide Healing.

Are you in need of physical or mental healing? On Sunday, June 23rd Healing Energy Community is holding an event for a world wide collective of energy healers sending out our healing light. Join in to either ask for healing or be an energy healer yourself.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE EVENT

~Magickal Graphics~     Read more about my energy healing methods HERE.

My Support to the Pagans of Pahokee

~Magickal Graphics~    

Some of you may have already heard about a Summer Solstice festival in Pohakee, Florida that is being held by Indigo Crescent Metaphysical shop. It's brought a lot of attention by some residents who are trying to infringe upon the rights of these Pagans to hold a Summer Solstice Festival.

I wish I could say I was surprised at the reaction from the Christian population. However I am not. It seems like this is usually what happens when you try to have a festival in small town America. 

A friend of mine who had something similar happen. She held her first annual Beltane festival in Shelbyville, KY and some of the residents were not happy. Christians stayed outside the ritual area and prayed for the Pagans, while the Pagans did the same for the Christians.

Eventually Shelbyville residents tolerated, if not accepted, the Pagan presence in the town, but my friend did eventually move her store to another city because of the hate and bigotry she encountered in Shelbyville.

Freedom of Religion does not mean freedom for ONE religion. It's never acceptable to try to stop a festival just because you feel it is wrong. 

If anyone is in the Pohakee, Florida area, contact the Indigo Crescent to lend your support. You can also contact them on their Facebook page.

If you're like me and not in the area, you can still get the word out. Share or re-blog this so this festival gets a great turnout!

Teens & Exploring Spirituality

I think that during your pre-teen and teen years it's natural to start deciding what you believe. It's a time of self-discovery and naturally spirituality is a part of that. However there is conflict when a parent doesn't agree with exploring alternative religions. I think every Pagan has been there. We are contacted by a young 14+ something teen who is hiding his or her beliefs from their parents. They beg us to help them.

I am a child of nature.  Image Source

I feel a bit sorry for the teen who has to hide just to practice his or her faith. I was never in a situation where exploring alternative religions was taboo. If I wanted to have an altar in my room that was fine. If I wanted to go to a Pagan gathering, as long as it was chaperoned, it was all good. I was one of the lucky ones. I had a mother who was more open to alternative thinking.

Not everyone is so lucky, and so I've been there when I had to decline teens the help they seek. It's not that I couldn't help or didn't want to. As long as they were being true and not just seeking attention or rebelling, I wanted to help them learn. However I can't go against a parents wishes. This is why I will always deny anyone under 18 religious counsel. It's also why I do not share many rituals (except for, A Year & A Day).


If you were exploring religion as an adolescent, were your parents supportive or did you have to hide?

What did your parents say when you finally told them about your Pagan beliefs?

PBP: "An it harm none..."

~Magickal Graphics~

Prompt: "An it harm none..." 

Posted by Ivy

 

Today's prompt is about the Wiccan Rede. What do you think of the rede? Do you follow it? There are about a billion ways to interpret that last line, "An it harm none, do as thou wilt". What does this personally mean to you? Does this mean as long as you aren't harming anyone...you're good to go? What constitutes harm? Does it carry over into animal rights? Does it cover even commonplace things like ear piercings or tattoos? YOU are included in the "harm none" clause, so does this mean you should hold yourself to a healthy lifestyle that doesn't harm your body?
What do you all think?

~Magickal Graphics~    

 

What does this personally mean to you?

This is a very good question and one I gave a lot of thought about in the past. "An it harm none" is such an ambiguous statement that I don't believe there are any wrong answers here. For me it just means living a moral life in both mundane and magickal ways. Though at one point I did argue that it had more meaning when applied to magickal workings. I suppose at times I need more guidance during magickal workings. So I apply this moral code more when doing craft work rather than in my mundane life. 

Does this mean as long as you aren't harming anyone...you're good to go?

I think as long as you are leading a moral lifestyle that you are good to go. Just because you follow the rede doesn't mean you are a moral person. 

  

What constitutes harm?

Harm is negative energy or action directed at yourself or others; especially against some one's will.

Does it carry over into animal rights?

That depends. We certainly shouldn't go out of our way to hurt animals needlessly. However even our animal brethren kill when hungry or defending themselves. We can do no less. 

 

Does it cover even commonplace things like ear piercings or tattoos?

If it is done willingly, no. Now if you are holding someone down to give them a tattoo or ear piercing that they haven't consented to, yes. This is one of the reasons why I am against infant ear piercings. They cannot give consent. 

 

YOU are included in the "harm none" clause, so does this mean you should hold yourself to a healthy lifestyle that doesn't harm your body?

Ideally yes. I believe our energy is healthier when we are physically and mentally healthy. However I am very guilty of not being as healthy as I should be. That doesn't mean I'm racking up negative karma points. It just means I'm not the best that I can potentially be. 

 

Dreamtime Weirdness

These past few days I've had some weird dreams, but they usually don't involve rituals. I woke up to remembering I was chanting in a circle while riding a horse to "expel" a bad spirit within children.

Freeway. My childhood horse. (Medicine Hat Gelding)

Maybe my kids were just getting on my nerves more than usual yesterday? lol I do remember we were in the same place I grew up. I was a child myself in the dream.

I rode a medicine hat (all white with brown or black "hood" on his ears) pony. We were playing in a field when some threat started to come toward us. I remember other riders in my group jumping on their pony's and running away. I started to go with them.

Other kids that had no horse of their own were left and were being attacked by this entity. So I went back to help them. I started riding in a circle around the kids, who had been possessed by this entity, while chanting. Some of the other riders came back and soon we were all riding in a circle and chanting. We had a double circle going so some riders were on the inside circle, I was in the outer ring. I don't remember what we were chanting.

I have no idea what this dream could mean. Perhaps my brain was just bored. lol


Do you believe dreams have meanings? 

If yes, do you believe all dreams have meanings or just some?

What distinguishes between a meaningful dream, and one that has no meaning?

The Love of My Life

I have been lucky in love. I found my man young. He was always a part of my life, having grown up with him around me. His family and my family were close. Lance is 10 years older than I am. Love never comes without its challenges however.

When my mother found out I was with Lance she freaked a bit. Talk of calling police for statutory rape and sending me to live with my grandparents happened. After convincing my mother that I wasn't in some teenage puppy love, nor was I being taken advantage of, she allowed me to date him; with stipulations. I was allowed us to go on dates, but we were given less freedom.

Of course, we broke a few rules. Shhh.. Mama doesn't need to know that :)

3 years after that, I married him. That was nearly 16 years ago and I've never regretted it.

Today is May day so we are celebrating the Lord and Lady's love.

So tell me your love story. 

The Lovers Holiday: Beltane

The wheel has turned yet again and now we are at Beltane, celebrated on May 1st. This is a time when the young maiden Goddess has found her lover and as people in love often do, are expressing it in a myriad of different ways.

Remember that fast heartbeat when you first looked upon that gorgeous man or woman who was destined to be your mate? What hurdles did you face when you sought to win their love?

I thought we might celebrate Beltane by talking about our love. Past loves, current loves. Love is not just for those special people in our life either. Maybe its an animal? Share whatever kind of love you wish with us.

Love is in the air and I want you to let it out. Show us your love. What in your life do you wish to bloom?


Either post here or use as a blog prompt, then share your link.

Muslim & Pagan Women Sharing a Common Bond - Spiritual Veiling.

Today Cafemom has a post about American Muslim women, and how they are not brainwashed when they convert to Islam and choose to wear a hijab. Not many people realize that other religions believe in covering as well; including some Pagans who worship Hestia, a Greek virgin Goddess often depicted with a veil. 


 

Image Source

Covered in Light is a collaboration of bloggers who veil for religious reasons. Just like American Muslim women, they face discrimination based on their veiling practice. Many are mistaken for Muslim women. Most face people who assume because they are veiled they are abused or subjugated by their husband. 

This is of course untrue. As the writer of the Cafemom article pointed out, these women are making a choice to cover. They are not forced to do anything they do not want to do. Abusive men are in every religion and is not dependent upon the clothing women wear.



There has been one or two times where I wore a shaw over my head while doing a ritual privately. I can certainly understand how covering ones head can bring your mind into a state of spiritual focus - much like wearing a cloak performs the same function.




Have you ever veiled for religious reasons? 

I'm a Scorpio

Since there's a lot of posts going on about the full moon in Scorpio today, I thought I'd write about my own sign. I must say, I love this sign. Not only because it's mine, but because I admire its qualities. I've never put much stock in horoscopes. They are always general and never good for anything but entertainment. However the qualities of each sign I've observed are more or less, correct.

Image Source

Scorpio is a water sign. That explains how I can adapt so well to changes! It is the Eighth sign of the zodiac and the ruling houses are Mars and Pluto.

Scorpio's are known as intense people. We are passionate, intense, and sometimes jealous. There is a purpose for everything we do. We don't like to waste our energy on fruitless pursuits and hall hath no fury if you piss us off.

But under our hard shell is an intensity for love, loyalty, and compassion equal to no other. The trick is to earn a Scorpio's trust to gain their friendship.

I suppose that's been my problem with making friends. It's not easy to earn my trust, and so few people rarely try now. I can be very intense and blunt to a fault. I feel like a lot of people don't understand me, and that in turn drives people away. So those that do stick around, I appreciate and love with the greatest of loyalty and compassion.

My family's signs:

Lance (DH) sign is Gemini.
Sierra (DD) sign is Libra.
Wyatt (DS) sign is Taurus.

And boy does DS act like the stubborn little bull he is too!

What is your sign? Does your personality match your signs traits?