Odyssia's Oddities

Pedilavium in a Pagan Context?

2009-10-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

This article came about when a friend of mine asked me to investigate into the background history of foot washing and how to use it in a religious context, esp. for Pagans.

Foot washing is a religious practice mainly displayed in Christian denominations. It is also known as pedilavium (as it is known in Catholic circles). Although some religions still freely practice foot washing, such as the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church practicing this rite on Maundy Thursday (connecting it to the celebration of the Last Supper), the Protestancts who use it as a form of Baptism, and some Mennonite groups that practice it immediately after Communion, many religions have put it down as a ‘custom of the times’ more then a religious practice. Although foot washing was pravailent in more areas then just the bible, it is easier to understand its history and meaning through the christian text.

The first mention of foot washing in the bible is Genesis 18:4: "Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree." This was said by Abraham to some wandering travellers who brought the good news of Sarah to have child. There are many other references to this practice in the bible. From just Genesis alone there is:
Genesis 19:2 And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."
Genesis 24:32 So the man entered the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
Genesis 43:24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder.

These all give examples of the common practice of people washing their feet upon resting in these times (this is references not just in the bible but other hitorical texts). This because only sandles were avaliable in these times, or a sole tied to the foot. In the sandy areas, the feet were easily dirtied. So cleaning the feet especially, compared to the whole body, was for hygenic reasons as well as relaxation (as they usually travelled fair distances and it was a hot climate- humans sweat out over a cup of liquid per day from their feet!) In these regions water was not always freely avaliable, or hard to get as there was usually just a central well in the village and only so much could be carried. So the feet were chosen over the rest of the body to be looked after because if you can’t walk it is very hard to earn a living.

It was clearly a custom in these days for guests to be offered water to wash their feet, especially after long journies (just as we offer a cup of tea to our guests) but it is not until 1 Sam. 25:39-41 that someone mentions washing another’s feet freely: "And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, 'David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.' Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, 'Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'" Abigail was clearly showing humbleness in this situation. Servants must always be humble to their masters, and included in their servitude was the duty of washing their master’s feet or their master’s guests. It was common practice for those with servant’s to offer their services to their guests including feet washing, and it was commonly the lowest slave in the household’s job.

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" [John 13:14-15]. This was spoken by Jesus to his disciples at the last supper and is the most famous case of foot washing. It is no wonder the disciples were so confused about the action as it was suppose to the be the slaves job! It is also interesting that he does it during supper – washing feet usually would happen upon arriving at the destination or soon after. You want your guests to wash their feet not just so they are comfortable but so your house is kept clean as well! He did it at this time to make a clear point about being humble to one another. It is also a demonstration on how a leader should be to his subject- the greatest of leaders ‘serves’ his subjects. Feet washing is a selfless act and displays a devotion to each other- particularly as it is a rather sensual experience.

"Blessed be my feet, that have brought me in these ways…" So how does this relate to our pagan practices? A couple of ways:
The Greeks, and other ancient civilisations, considered it blasphemy to enter a temple without the feet being washed. This can be used in our rituals today. One should be clean and presentable for the Gods. Although many Pagans use Ritual showers or baths before practicing, this is not always possible, so this practice of washing the feet (and hands during the process) works just as well. Just like the pre-ritual shower/bath, we can use it to wash away any negativity from the day before entering the ritual space. The feet connect us with the earth. Washing away any negativity from this area will improve the connection making us more balanced and stable.

It is also a way to symbolically wash away any negative paths we may be walking down, or have walked down. It is suggestible for those who have their feet washed to rest them for a while after- allowing the feet to ‘heal’ before touching the earth again and finding their new path. After cleaning and resting them, people tend to feel lighter on their feet. If they feel lighter, they usually are lighter spiritually as well! Foot washing was used in Dolores Ashcroft-Norwiki’s reconsecration rituals, as well as many of practitioners.

I have also read third degree initiation rites where at the end of the ritual the HPS or HP wash the feet of the newly initiated. If the teacher is humble to the student, the student will be humble to there’s and the cycle of good teaching will continue. It also allows the student to feel ‘equal’ and powerful in themselves for the first time since reaching a level of leadership.
Finally it can be used to connect to another person on a deeper level- this can not be explained and more has to be experienced to understand.

Check out the Uses of Foot Washing taken from http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:ulmMjv9yiBMJ:members.tjc.org/sites/en/lm/Topical%2520Studies/Footwashing.doc+foot+washing+slaves+egypt&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

Handfastings, Weddings and the Accompanying Stress

2009-08-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

There are numerous accounts of handfastings and similar traditions throughout the ages recorded - many of which you can research until your hearts content. Jumping brooms, tying knots, the appropriate correspondences, colours, wording, rituals, traditions ranging from celtic to african. There is no way I could write everything here, and I'm afraid, I'm not about to. But this is exactly where I started when my partner and I decided to get handfasted.

Sabbats, esbats and numerous rites are commonly seen in the modern pagan community, but handfastings, requiems and other rites of passage are usually private, so it's rare that a pagan will experience such a rite before they wish to partake in one. I was lucky enough to have been invited to a handfasting before we decided to go through with one ourselves which had similar ideas to my path, but we still had to start from scratch. I had numerous elders and pagans from all traditions offer age old secrets, common knowledge and modern tips - to the point that they started to contradict each other. Then you face the challenge of finding something that will work for you and hope pagans from other traditions don't get offended or rant to you that it was the incorrect way of doing it! Sounds like everyday paganism? Yeah you're right, and you will still get it when faced with the planning of your special day. But! Don't dismiss everyone's advice, the historical research and numerous traditions too quickly! There are some good gems hidden in all that wisdom that will suddenly shine brightly towards you.

Then we had the problem of non-pagan friends and family. Sometimes you'll get away with it, sometimes you are faced with people who will genuinely be offended by your 'satanic rite' (even though they still love you) and will even refuse to turn up despite your begging. This is how my partner and I have ended up with a handfasting AND a wedding. Oh my! The first thing we made sure of was that they were a couple of months apart. Handfasting first, wedding second. This gave us plenty of time to concentrate on both (and yes, ladies, you will probably be concentrating on both of them way more then your partner!)

With my coven agreeing to hold the handfasting for us, and a good friend taking the helm as the high priestess and chief organiser, I finally settled down at the computer to write the ritual. 12 pages later I wondered whether I had gone to far... managed to cut it back to 8. Incredibly, the high priestess has managed to learn all the lines! But we will have the lines on hand just in case!

Then we started breaking tradition... colour scheme- crimson and creme. My partner and I are both fire signs. 'Oh no!' I had an elder exclaim to me 'No, no, you must be dressed in blue, that is much too fiery! What are you doing?!' I finally agreed I will be wearing blue underwear. Then we decided we would not spend the whole night tied together, but we would stay up till sunrise. 'Oh no!' an initiated friend of mine exclaimed. 'You will never have a properly recognised and blessed handfasting if you don't go through that trial!' Shaking my head I explained how, both being fire signs, my partner and I would kill each other if tied together for long periods of time and staying up to do a dawn ritual would be enough of a trial as it was. We then decided to have six different coloured cords. 'Oh no!' a pagan friend exclaimed, 'no they must all be black!' 'I disagree!' another cried 'In my tradition they are different colours as well!' I then told them i was putting them in bag being made by a friend after the ceremony and got dirty looks from both. At this point I decided to stop sharing ideas with anyone else apart from my partner and coven in case of any more 'Oh no!'s being exclaimed in my ear.

So between the challenge of taming shoe-crazy bridesmaids and line-learning callers, the handfasting and wedding finally started taking shape. But oh boy, am I stressed! Do not take on the challenge of both unless you are prepared for having no life and no time to yourself!

My advice? You're day should be what you want - not what tradition or thingamejig said it should be. Yes, you may offend people, have people exclaim 'Oh no!' in public places, or even have people presuming you don't what you are talking about, but in the end - only you 'know thy self' the best. We are all different, feel energy differently, have different traditions and different ideas. Go where your instincts guide you. But never struggle through it by yourself. Ask for help or you will keel over in stress!

I am being handfasting on August 15th and despite 'Oh no's, I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of this life with my partner. ('Oh no! You're not doing it for eternity?!' Heh, don't get me started again.)

Blessings!

Ostara - The Vernal and Paschal (Written for The Small Tapestry Spring 2009)

2009-08-04T18:33:00.001-07:00

More commonly known as the Spring Equinox, many Christians and Pagans are aware how closely related this sabbat is to Easter, and suspect the Christian holiday’s origins are actually from this pagan celebration.
The Venerable Bede, a monk and Doctor of the Church, once wrote about Ostara when talking about the old English month names - “Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance." [from De Temporum Ratione] Those of you with a Christian background will remember the phrase Paschal Full Moon, which refers to the first ecclesiastical full moon of the northern spring, used to determine the date of Easter (the Sunday following this full moon.)
So how do the Pagan’s figure out the date of Ostara? Ostara is also called the Vernal Equinnox. (From the Latin term Ver meaning Spring and Aequus meaning equal.) An equinox occurs twice a year- when the length of day and night are equal. In the Southern Hemisphere this occurs around the 21/22 September (This year it is on the 22nd.)
A lot of you will immediately think ‘But the northern hemisphere’s equinox (which would be Autumn over there) is no where near Easter!’ So how did two similar holiday’s end up on two completely different days? Actually, that’s just how it happened this year! According to the 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary Easter is "…held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21[The Vernal Equinox]." The Christian’s take the equinox into account as well! Easter can fall anywhere from the equinox to mid April.
When you think Easter, most people will forget poor Jesus and immediately smack their lips at the thought of chocolate eggs and easter bunnies (although some will briefly remember Jesus before yumming down a Hot Cross bun if they notice the cross!) It is well known the fertility symbols obvious through easter, and it’s another way we can closely tie the two holidays. But apart from chocolate filled stomach aches, how to Pagans traditionally view Ostara?
It is a celebration of light and dark equality, the arrival of spring, when masculine and feminie energies are also equal and can, together, create new life and new beginnings. And what’s the excuse for Pagan’s eating chocolate? It’s an aphrodisiac! What better way to get in the mood for the approaching Beltaine? ;)

Crafty Craft for the non-crafters! (Written for Spellcraft spring 2009)

2009-08-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

It is heavily encouraged for Pagans to make their own robes and tools, to practice the craft of the Craft. But upon saying this you always get one of three reactions- those who have a gift at all things creative and complete the task with determination and excitement, those who think this is a very hard challenge but attempt it before asking for help, and those who collapse inward and think ‘Are you kidding? Creativity is defiantly not my strong point, at all.’ For that first bunch of creative people, I heavily encourage you to continue your craft and consider helping the second bunch of people who might really appreciate the lessons. But aiming this article at that last bunch of people who have picked up this issue of Spellcraft thinking ‘If only I was that creative and I have no one to help me.’ Or perhaps you’re thinking ‘If only I had the time…’

Dolores Ashcroft Nowiki knew of this problem among some of her students when she said “Tradition says you should make your own robe, and by hand. You should sew a bit of it, even if it is only the hem. But as there are some people to whom the threading of a needle is one of life’s greatest mysteries, seeking help in such cases can be excused.”[1] So what are some forms of help which isn’t a fantastically creative person who can help you keep enthused through the whole project, or giving up and buying all your tools from new age stores? The answer lies half way in between.

Buying works mostly completed and then adding the finishing touches and your energy can be a great solution. (Whether you buy something new or second-hand is your own decision, but I recommend a thorough cleansing of anything second-hand.) For example – pop into a Vinnie’s store and have a look at the robe-like-dresses that have been discarded for your use. Take them home, consecrate them, and add on some touches of your own – buttons that symbolise each element, bits of materials, feathers, string, ribbons, whatever works for you. And if you can’t sew? Investing in a glue gun would be a great idea (although I’d recommend only gluing onto the hem and places that don’t touch your skin directly or it may irritate.) This ‘trick’ also applies to your own tools as well. If you see a knife that you really like, grab it and redesign it. Think about having something engraved on it that is meaningful to you, sketch it and take it into the engravers. Wrap leather around its handle, perhaps even wrapping in a crystal.

Start shopping with a ‘pagan eye’ - looking at normal everyday objects and considering what you could turn them into. Notice little things you can collect to add onto your tools- nice pendants, scrap material, wool on special, tassels, dried flowers… the possibilities are endless and you will be surprised how much of it you’ll end up using! You will soon be able to make tools just as energised as tools made from scratch, and they will be much more meaningful to you then something you just brought and did nothing with. Happy hunting!
[1] The Ritual Magic Workbook: A Practical Course of Self-Initiation by Dolores Ashcroft Norwiki. Pub. Red Wheel/Weiser Feb 1 1998

Imbolc Essay (written for Winter 2009 Small Tapestry)

2009-04-22T20:37:00.001-07:00

“Most Holy Brighid, Excellent Woman, Bright Arrow, Sudden Flame;May your bright fiery Sun take us swiftly to your lasting kingdom.”
- ‘Brighid’s Arrow’ Invocation.

Imbolc, otherwise known as Candlemas, Oimelc, Imbolg and St. Brigid’s Day, is most commonly celebrated on February 2nd in the Northern hemisphere (when the sun is 15 degrees of Aquarius – of the spring rains) and August 1st in the Southern Hemisphere (mid point of Leo – which can be interpreted as the approaching hottest, strongest part of the year in Australia and the time in which to prepare). The date is halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Some celebrate it on the full moon closest to this point.

It is traditionally celebrated by the Gaelic and Celts and celebrates the slow returning of the sun with the approaching spring and the rebirth of nature after winter. ‘Imbolg’ actually means ‘in the belly’ or ‘in milk’ in Old Irish due to the lactation and pregnancy of ewes about to give birth to the spring lambs. In the modern Irish calendar, it is seen as the first day of Spring. It is on of the four fire festivals in the wheel of the year.

Both Christians and Pagans celebrate Candlemas/St. Brigid’s Day and the tradition of Brigid’s Bed has continued for generations. The young girls of the village would make a corn dolly to represent the goddess and decorate it. A bed was made for the corn dolly and the young girls would stay up all night chatting, and receiving calls from young men of the village, who must treat the corn dolly with respect. The ashes of the fireplace was raked before the household went to bed, and in the morning it was studied for marks in the ashes proving Brigid, or her mate, had blessed the house with their presence. The corn dolly, now representing the light half of the year, is then carried around the village by the young girls for the married and elder women to honour. This tradition is still continued in many Sabbat celebrations today.

Brigid was later replaced with the Virgin Mary and the Christians celebrate this ‘light-bringer’ with candle processions. After forty days of childbirth, Mary went to a temple in Jerusalem and re-cleansed herself. The baby Jesus was recognised and was told to be the “light to lighten the Gentiles”. Here we see the tradition of the returning Sun (son) to bring victory of the darkness (enemies) continue.

There is a Scottish saying – “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.” The American Groundhog Day, also celebrate of February 2nd may have been influence by this. If the Groundhog see’s his shadow on the morning of this day there will be six more months of winter. Some Wiccans view this Sabbat to be the traditional day to perform Initiations. The most famous of Imbolc traditions has now been aptly named ‘Spring-cleaning’ - when you clean out your home after the winter in preparation for the beautiful summer months ahead.

Yule essay (written for The Ostarian Moonthly and the Winter 2009 Small Tapestry)

2009-04-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Yule, the Winter Solstice, is celebrated when the sun is at 1 degree Capricorn. This will occur between June 20th-23rd in the southern hemisphere, and between December 20th-23rd in the northern hemisphere. The sun has just left Sagittarius to enter Capricorn, from a fire sign to an earth sign. (This is interesting to note since this is a time of light turning into darkness and fading warmth). Capricorn is ruled by Saturn. This tells us that now is a good time to look at our future and make good decisions.

Yule is a solar festival - one of the Lesser Sabbats of the year. It has also been named: Midwinter, Mean Geimhridh, Alban Arthuan and Modernist (Mother Night). We can figure out the meaning of this sabbat's name when we realise that 'Yule' means 'wheel' (some say that is a Scandinavian derivation, while other claim that it comes from the Norse word 'hjól'). Other theories it is from the Old English Word 'yoole', derived from geóla - Anglo-Saxon for the winter time. This holiday has been guessed to be around 5,000 years old, but we do know that certain pillars of stone and wood throughout Europe are aligned with the winter solstice sun (Newgrange, Maes Howe, Dorset Cursus and Stonehenge) which have been dated to between 3200-3000 B.C. There have also been many scripture's describing Yule celebrations, one of the earliest being from 4th century A.D by Syrus.

Yule's main theme is one of rebirth. This is recognised in the Wiccan myth which claims our Lord, the Old Sage, has returned to the Underworld (died), but our Lady Goddess is pregnant with his son, through which the Dark God is reborn as the Sun God. Light and warmth begins to return to the earth and the waxing year begins. "The Goddess, who was Death-in-Life at Midsummer, now shows her Life-in-Death aspect; for although at this season she is the "leprous-white-lady", Queen of thecold darkness, yet this is her moment for giving birth to the Child of Promise, the Son-Lover who will re-fertilize her and bring back light and warmth to her kingdom." This is the longest night of the year, but from this day on the night's start to become shorter. In Ireland, the sun does not even rise on this day.

The burning of the Yule Log is a common custom celebrated at Yule. The Yule log is usually made of oak, pine or ash. The burning of the Yule log has been displayed through many Pagan traditions, all who would use its ashes in some way. Some traditions would scatter the Yule log's ashes over their fields. Others would keep the ashes to put into healing ointments and potions. Most would never let the Yule log completely burn so tat they could save pieces of wood for charms, or to save a piece to light the Yule log the following year. Some would keep the remains of the Yule log to bind into the final sheaf cut in harvest next year, or to put into their Corn Maiden that they have saved from last harvest. It is hard to say when this tradition originally started, but we do know some of the most earliest explanations claim that the log was dedicated to the Teutonic Thor, God of Fire and Courage. The Yule log would be burnt for the Thor in the hopes he would be inspired to banish the dark, cold winter nights and bring back the sun. What we can see is that the Yule log is used as a form of sympathetic magic - 'effects resembling causes'- and the transference of energies from one object to another through the saving and using of the Yule log's by-products.

Another common theme of Yule is the battle between light and dark. This has been depicted in the popular myth of the Holly King and Oak King, who do battle every Yule and Litha for rulership. On Yule, the Oak King wins and he takes up rulership over the waxing year. This battle is sometimes re-enacted in rituals (and it is interesting to note that in Italy Santa Claus is replaced by a female Witch called Befana (Epiphany) who flies around on the Twelth night giving gifts to the children). Another tradition of battle is the Celtic Lug, God of Light, laying down his life in a battle to slay the darkness and bring back the light. A pine tree was decorated to symbolise his physical death and resurrection. He is reborn two days later when the sun finally rises over Ireland. "The pine tree represents the eternal triangle of life; death, rebirth and all trinities associated with them." (Commonly called a Christmas tree!) We must remember that Dark versus Light is not Good versus Evil.

As you can tell, rebirth is an overall theme of Yule. The rebirth of the sun and the rebirth of the Lord. Yule is sacred to all sun gods. Appropriate foods are of a wide variety, including mulled wines and cider, cookies, pumpkin, mince pies and yummy chocolate Yule logs. Holly, Ivy, and Mistletoe are commonly seen and referenced in winter rituals as they are all evergreens. They are symbolic for immortality and resurrection.

Altared Homes (written for Spellcraft magazine Winter 2009)

2009-04-21T22:31:00.002-07:00

[ED: Couldn't get all the photo's uploaded, but hope you still enjoy.]

Altared Homes
By Pip Stoneham

Ezekiel 43:15 "And the upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns." (English Revised Version Bible.)

Hearths and altars have been linked together through generations and various religions. Both have a huge importance in expressing ones personality into physicality through meaningful decorations, bringing about various psychological effects upon observing and working with it. It also allows one to feel safe in their own little space, usually internally as well as externally. Lighting the hearth fire would make the shelter feel like a home.

The hearth, before a huge technological upheaval, has traditionally been the centre of a home. Important daily tasks were performed in front or with it. Today people still find charms and trinkets buried amongst the brickwork of old fireplaces. Many sabbats were celebrated in front of it; some even included the hearth, such as Yule and Imbolc.

Many Pagans now treat their altar how many peasants would have treated their hearth, decorating it up with meaningful trinkets, coming around it at gatherings and in groups for celebrations, and finding a private, safe space for themselves with it. Brendan Hancock has a beautiful Green Man personal altar set up in his bedroom, where it is most convenient. Despite it being noticeable when you walk into his room, it is defiantly not a focal point for the bedroom. He was going for a more natural feeling with the set up - shells, bark and feathers; wood, glass and stone. No metal as "metal is very man made." "I like it. Every piece has a meaning behind it", he commented. Brendan changes his altar when ever the mood suddenly strikes him. "I find something to put on there and something [usually] comes off, switching and changing depending on what happens.” Altars do not stay the same as when you first set them up. Just as we change and evolve constantly, your altar will as well.

Kitchen Witchery is become increasing popular as Pagans look back at the magical ways people used to use their hearths for cooking and healing. The cauldron, once used over hearths or instead of hearths outside, is still very active in pagan practices today, both indoors and outdoors. Kylie Allerton uses an extremely large outdoor cauldron for potions and rituals! As well as using it inside over the hearth, “I have a hearth set up outside in the ritual space, it being the main focus at sabbath rituals, we all dance, muttering enchantments, chant and sing while our ritual feast is cooking & bubbling away in the cauldron.” “Every meal that I cook is cooked in the spirit of ritual, I prepare the raw ingredients for the ritual by washing them, they are then anointing with oil and herbs (that's the admittance rite) before entering the pot, cauldron or oven (the sacred ritual space), the ingredients dance and sing while they swirl around the cauldron sharing their energy and flavour, becoming one and making magick, I myself and my children are usually dancing and singing, flinging the room with happy energy and as the energy has reached it's peak a glass of sabbath wine is poured, charged, I take a sip before the rest is added to the pot. This ritual is instinctual and takes place every night, ordinary folk call it "making dinner" I call it making magick. If the meal is made with respect for the ingredients, love and happiness when you consume that meal you will also be charged with these qualities.”

Kitchen altars are starting to become more popular as witches stir brews in their modern kitchens. I interviewed Hayley Cliffe, who is commonly seen whipping up a sabbat brew or a seasonal dish about her kitchen. Her interest in Kitchen Witchery developed through her herbalism knowledge and the slow realisation that “most of the herbs and everything I used was from the kitchen pantry, so it made sense [to set up an altar there], especially because I rarely had room for a normal altar anyways. I just use every day items. I have a big wooden chopping board, which I use a lot of the time as an altar top. I have a wooden spoon which I've been using for about 5 years that I suppose I use as a wand, if you were to give it a name, and a kitchen knife that I use a like a boline. It's more then just having my implements blessed, it’s about using the items every day so they become infused with your energies."

Obviously you would need to love cooking as well, since so much of your energies go into the food. But is it just about the ritual around the food? "I find that it's not so much how I cook, but it's what I cook. I try and cook as much as I can seasonally and also try to judge what it is that my household needs the most. For example, if I'm feeling a little bit flighty or unsettled, I'll cook something grounding, like some root vegetables… But I don't just practice this in the kitchen - it's my whole home. I try and change colours seasonally and have things about the house reflecting how we're feeling. When I clean, I try to clean mindfully, like removing bad energies from the house while I'm vacuuming.”

HAYLEY'S PHOTO

Gardens and/or balconies are now commonly owned as part of a home. In this modern age it can be hard to find the time to enjoy our connection with the world around us. Building an outside altar, despite being restricted to items that will hold up in rough weather, can be relaxing way to bring your practices outside and to find your 'home' in nature. I spoke to Eilish De'Avalon, who has set up a beautiful outdoor altar for her practices and as you can see, it has been set up to be weatherproof. Although an outdoor altar is not necessary it can help you feel some different energies and focus your practices in a different way.

Finally, there is another way to bring nature into our homes - to quite literally bring nature into our homes! Kimi Ravensky accidentally created a different focal point in her home that resembles the old wishing tree tradition and an altar with a difference. Many year's ago, Kimi's neighbour's gave her a little tree in the hopes she could resurrect it. Sadly, it was quite dead. But she thought of a way it wouldn't die in vain. She decorated it with little trinkets and brought it back to life in another form. Suddenly a tradition started in her home she didn't expect. Charms, bracelets and little dangles started appearing on the little tree from visitors. "It's interesting how people react to it. People that come over just put stuff on it. I've even found bread underneath it... One woman walked in, saw it, took off one earring and hung it up... Some of it's just cheap rubbish, but who cares?... The dangles are like its leaves. It's got life now." Even hair has been found tied around it. As they say - "Tie a yellow ribbon round an old oak tree!"

So whether you have a traditional hearth, a cauldron, a modern kitchen witches set up, an indoor or outdoor altar, traditions have certainly not died, in fact they're only just beginning to evolve!

COLLAGE OF OSTARIAN GROVE ALTARS
Midsummer 2006 Altar
Solar Ritual 2008 Altar
Yule 2006 Feasting Altar set up
Midsummer 2009 Offering Plate altar
OG Pagan Community Weekend 2009 altar
OG 2006 Samhain altar
Candles on Brendan’s Hearth

Hades Pathworking (written for Winter 2009 Small Tapestry)

2009-04-21T22:31:00.001-07:00

It is very dark. It’s hard to tell if your eyes are open or closed. From in behind you a chilly wind bursts against your body, wrapping its frosty wisps around your fingers and coil around your toes. The hollow sounds of the gales echo around this dark landscape as your eyes slowly begin to adjust the darkness.

You are standing before the gaping mouth of a cave entrance, just visible thanks to the moon slowly beginning to rise. Another burst of wind whips up behind you. Dead leaves smack against the back of your legs before twisting off into the hole. The wind roars through the caves tunnels in the distance. Prepare yourself, for you are about to enter the Underworld. When you are ready, enter the cave.

Using the rocky walls to steady yourself as you enter the cave, the wind begins to grow hasher, pushing you forward, urging you to go faster. Scrambling as fast as you can, the tunnel suddenly turns a sharp left. Rushing around the corner the wind suddenly stops. It’s quiet and dark again.

Advancing down the corridor, using the wall to feel your way forward, you start to hear a strange sound. Growling. Is it Cerberos? Pushing your fear aside, you continue down the corridor, the noise slowly growing louder into a roar. What is this sound?!

Finally you see the tunnel a head opening into a cavern and you suddenly realise what the sound is – it’s a waterfall. Entering the cavern, you finally see the magnificent waterfall tumbling down from above. The river slowly flows away from you. This place doesn’t seem familiar – a different part of the Underworld.

Approach the river. There is a boat tied to the edge, but no ferryman… where is Charon? After considering the situation, you climb into the boat, find the oars and push off from the edge. The river is flowing easily, so you don’t need to paddle hard. Up ahead you see a very old sign, falling off its hinges. As you pass it you read ‘Acheron River’.

Suddenly you feel full of sorrow. You give up paddling and close your eyes. You think of all the sad things that have happened to you in your life – people you have lost, betrayal, disappointment, depression, unhappiness… what’s the point? Why must these things happen? It’s not fair. A hand touches your shoulder gently, and you find you cannot turn around. A deep voice says ‘Life is not meant to be fair. It is your challenge. Do not let the sorrow drown you.’

You feel determined again, and pick up the paddles and start paddling faster. Another sign is coming up – ‘Cocytus River’. As the river turns you suddenly feel even more depressed then before. So much that it wells up inside you and you hear yourself start to howl in lamentation. Crying, weeping, grieving for yourself. The deep voice says to you ‘Do not lament for what you have lost. All you need is yourself and even when you think you have, you will never lose yourself.’

Wiping your eyes, you hear your howls reduce to a tremor and you push yourself further down the river. You worry when another sign slowly approaches, but you prepare yourself for the next rush of emotions. ‘Phlegethon River’. You turn the corner of the river and gasp in fear – the river is made of fire! Panicking you try to paddle backwards, but the river pushes you forwards. The hand rests on your shoulder again and says ‘Fear is your worst enemy. It holds you back. Face your fear and when you look back, the lion will be but a kitten.’ Taking a deep breath, you nervously grab the paddles and push the boat forward into the towering, licking flames. The heat pushes against you, but you paddle onwards. Covering your face to protect yourself, you wait for the flames to eat you… but nothing happens. You slowly uncover your face and find yourself calmly floating down the river with another sign approaching. ‘Lethe Pool’.

Pool? Why are you in a pool? You feel confused. Where are you? Who are you? Who is holding onto your shoulder? You strain to remember where you are going. A voice speaks to you from behind ‘If ever you forget what you are doing, where you are going or who you are – remember this: what ever happens is meant to be, the direction you are heading is where you are going, and who you are is who you are suppose to be.’ You are slightly unsure of this, but decide that you are obviously suppose to be here and continue down the river.

A sign approaches and you read ‘River Styx’. Suddenly you remember why you are here – and you hate the reason. You hate everything. Yourself. Your life. This boat. Why the hell did you drag yourself down here? This is ridiculous! The hand leaves your shoulder and you spin around angrily to face however has been talking to you.

Hades stares back at you and your anger melts away to be replaced by fear. Time passes between you until you finally takes the paddles from you and directs the boat to the waters edge. ‘You are not meant to be here yet, but you faced the challenges of the dead and from this you will learn how to live. Leave now.’ You leave the boat and find yourself in a more familiar area of the Underworld, like you have been here before. Another boat sits at the water edge, guarded by a ferryman. You decide this is not the time to go for another ride, and look around the area for an exit.

A tunnel beckons you, and you welcome the opportunity to put the Underworld behind you. You climb up through the dark tunnel, feeling your way around in the dark, squeezing through tight holes, and scrambling to keep standing on the slippery soil.

Finally light pours through the exit ahead of you and you leave the tunnel. It is day time! The sun shines high above you and you feel safe and warm. You sit on the beautiful, fresh grass to relax. Stay here as long as you wish to contemplate what you learnt from the Underworld. When you are ready, the door behind you will bring you back to the every day world.

Organising Pagan Events

2009-02-19T22:20:00.001-08:00

Organising events for the pagan community sounds like a really fun idea, but are you really, really willing to put in the long hard hours of organising, doing paperwork, keeping everyone updated, answering emails, the marketing, the caterings, the location management, the legal work and research, the budgeting, the problem solving and dealing with criticism? Because that's event organising. Still want to organise one?

THE REASON FOR RUNNING
First of all, just like running a ritual, you gotta really make sure you have a damn good reason for running one. Have a look at what is already being run in the community. Is your idea already being run? Then listen to what people are saying about the community they are in - is your event actually needed? Then look at dates other events are being run - is there space in the year for you to run it in between everyone else? If you are charging for your event, remember you to leave a good a mount of time between other events in the community to give people the time to save up for the ticket price. The majority of pagans tend to be on the poor side, or have other things they need to save up for.

EXPERIENCE AND HELP
Once you have a good idea, that isn't already being run, is needed, at a good time of the year, you need to think about your own experience and others. What are your strong points and weak points? Can you run good rituals? Are you good at organising? Are you use to dealing with clients and can apply this skill to liaise with workshop runners, location managers, caterers etc.? There are some groups/individuals in the community who are happy to be suggested event ideas and take the running off your hands while you are still involved some way.

It is never a good idea to run a large event by yourself (For every approximately ten people there should be a helper.) Time to start seeking some help! Look for people who have the experience you need to fill in your weak points. Maybe approach active groups. Get everyone on the same page and start planning. Now obviously pagan organiser's don't tend to have such organisational titles as I am about to use - but their easier to use to explain the responsibilities that can be split up. For a large event it's a good idea to have a General Manager (looking after the timeline, delegating jobs, organising the locations, and liaising with the workshop coordinators.) the Marketing Director (I sometimes do the General Manager and Marketing Director job at the same time but be warned it's A LOT of work and I do recommend at least having someone else helping or being in charge of coding the website, like I do.) A Caterer, a Treasurer, someone in charge of the running of the ritual, a Transport Organiser and a Safety Officer. Obviously there jobs can be combined or thinned out into more jobs depending on the number of people. You might need to put a different person in charge of different activities as well.

THE PLANNING BEGINS
The Timetable and Deadlines:
Write yourself a list of everything you can think of that needs to be researched, organised, confirmed, found, solved etc. Then put deadlines on all of them. Then designate jobs to everyone. Set up a calender (using Google Calender is fantastic because you can invite all of our organisers to share the calender and keep up to date. Google Documents is also a very handy tools for sharing all the paperwork and keeping it organised.)

Booking Locations
The First issue you might come upon is Public Liability. Most locations need this for you to hire them. But there are ways to get around of it. A lot of locations you hire from a local council can include public liability for a small charge. And there is another bonus to going through a local council for your location - if you can prove you are running a 'community' event, you can get up to 50% off the rate!

If you are running over a couple of days without accommodation in between, make sure you ask if there is a fee for keeping the location unused between days. It's annoying to have to pay more, but it's better then rocking up the next day and finding a complaint about still being set up, possible fines, or your stuff missing!

Write yourself a list of everything you would like in a location before you go searching. A few are:
- accommodation for a certain amount of people
- areas for rainy day back up plans
- an area for ritual if you're holding one
- area's for caterer's to prepare
- enough space for people to eat/sit/sleep etc.
- parking
- handicapped facilities
Don't be shy to ask questions! Always try to go and look at the location before booking. Photo's can make things seem larger then they actually are (advertisers really like those wide angled lenses!)

Organising Workshops and Lectures
Try to keep it interesting. There a lot of workshops that have been done to death, but some of these are because people really enjoy them! The rest are because no one can think of anything else to do!

There is a couple of ways you can go about this. The first is setting a theme, contacting known workshop coordinators and asking if they can run something according to the theme. Another way is that you figure out what workshops you need and then find the appropriate people. The last is to just send out a note to workshop coordinators asking what they have run before or would like to run and playing pick and mix.

A lot of events rely heavily on workshops so make sure you have a backup plan or two - you never know what bad luck might strike down on an unlucky teacher and people have paid good money to come your event! Good, quick back ups are craft activities or open discussions as they don't need too much pre-prep. (Make sure you don't do any dangerous craft activities. If someone hurts themselves you will have to pay the excess on the public liability or deal with a court case! So no knives!)

Keep your workshop coordinators updating with the organising plans as well. Just occasional updates will keep their faith in the event going ahead. usually they have been to so many events before that they can even give you some pointers! I like to organise a Presenters Meeting before the event - this allows everyone to be on the same page, allow the event to run a lot more smoothly for participants, know what else is being presented, avoiding double ups and references to other workshops to save time if needed.

BUDGETING
So you have the idea, you have prices on the location, and you have your workshop people with the thumbs up. Time to figure out the rest of the budget!

Make a list of everything you will need to buy for the event. Ask the caterer for their budgeting (ask them for a 50 and 100 person budget), ask the ritual coordinater if there is any props they can't chase down and need bought. Is there transport hire needed? Printing costs? Props that workshop coordinators need? Think outside the box.

Then sit down with your treasurer and research all of the pricing. Most of this can be done online these days which can save a lot of time. Then try to estimate how many people may come. Don't be big headed because you'll lose money, but don't under estimate and end up having the charge too much per ticket to cover costs. Soon you will have your price per head cost.

Common prices in the community are around $150 for a weekend including accommodation, $100 without and $50 for a full day. (We recently charged $70 pp for a weekend with no accommodation.)

MARKETING
So here we go! We're finally getting the news out there! This is the make or break time. make sure you close ticket sales before final payments on locations are due if possible so you can cancel if you don't get the numbers without lose too much.

There are many ways you can market your event around the community:
- Facebook walls, groups, events etc.
- Yahoo eGroups
- Email organisations and ask them to put out the word to their members
- Email your mates and ask them to the spread the word
- Put advertisements into free pagan magazines and eZines
- Ask pagan websites to put up the information for you
- Rock up to pagan events and gatherings and advertise if given the opportunity (at some circle people ask if there is any announcements and that's your chance). if you can't make it to the gathering, ask someone else to announce it for you.
- Put brochures in pagan stores
- Set up a website and ask people to link to it
... and there's just a few!

Remember to make sure all your information is correct and in the advertising before spreading the word. You don't want to have to run around fixing up mistakes after sending out so much and it can be really embarrassing! Ask a couple of people to look over it first.

AND OFF YOU GO
By this point you should have a fair idea what's going on, what needs to be done, and how everything will run. Have a couple of Organiser's Meeting's before the event and even start up a eGroup for your presenters and organisers to all keep up to date and email each other easily. Carry around a little notebook with you - you will be surprised how many little thoughts and things you need to do pop into your head that will disappear very quickly!

Good luck!!!

The Internet and the Pagan Community (written for Spellcraft Autumn 2009)

2009-02-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

In the mid-1980’s, Australia was introduced to the concept of email when they were linked the US’s online system. Meanwhile, out of the depths of the Australian Pagan Community emerged an annual meeting called the Australian Wicca Conference (AWC) in 1984, South Australia. Two years later ‘Wicca’ became a recognised religion by the US. Australian Pagan’s began their battle against the old fashioned laws forbidding the practice of witchcraft in attempt to get the same rights.

Australia was about 5 years behind the rest of the world to get completely online and by the mid 1990s, citizens were overjoyed to have access, to what we now call, the internet. Pagans around Australia slowly began to move their newspaper adverts looking for fellow coven members onto this new form of communication. Small pagan chat forums started up, pagan events were organised more easily, and the community truly began to bloom.

The internet has become a popular medium of connection in the pagan community. One is heard by more people, has faster replies, and it’s much cheaper than trying to organise over the phone! People found web pages where they could happily chat about their beliefs without being identified or flamed down by misunderstanding protestors (except for the odd anti-pagan in the process of being booted off a forum!) Despite protests from those who wished to keep the community private, many pagans strode bravely onto the internet and set up websites explaining their beliefs and inviting people to find out more; reaching out to millions of people around the world in seconds. Yes, the internet has helped those who wished to find the Australian Pagan Community and become apart of it. It seemed like a dream come true… but a coin always has two sides.

Websites with incorrect information popped up left, right and centre and freedom of speech went wild as non-pagans and pagans alike flamed each other online on a stage in front of the world. Then something sad happened. The saying ‘As above, so below’ can be rephrased to say ‘As in the real world, so in the online world.’ The odd fight amongst fellow pagans in their local community was brought online. Pagans sided with who they felt was right and began to push down anyone who had anything to do with that person, including pagan organisations they belonged to. But instead of this being privately discussed and perhaps gossiped locally, it sidled into chat rooms, forums, open online journals and web pages, online newsletters, growing into Yahoo groups, and the now popular, Facebook. Arguments were no longer between you, the other person, and a few local pagans. It was between everyone who had an opinion.

Now, one could say that bringing things out into the open in front of the community was the best way to deal with some issues, and that now they could see any problems coming from a mile away. But slowly those who had once turned to the internet for information about paganism took one look at these Witch Wars and never looked again. Pagans began backing out of the community, upset betrayed and accused, knowing that their name was now spread around the community beyond the local covens to people they don’t even know on the other side of Australia. The internet - a gift that once overjoyed so many people when introduced, began to assist the process of tearing a community apart.

So what do we do? Luckily, this does not apply to every pagan webpage and forum yet. Many administrators are still very strict in their unbiased moderating. There are still places for new pagans to find information and meet new people. The incorrect information on web pages? Nothing much we can do there, but at least most of them are a good laugh! But learn to take a step back occasionally and look at your online personality. It’s incredible how forward; brutal and bitchy one can become under a false name or hiding behind a computer screen. You may not have even realised it came across this way! Yes, you are just being honest and offering your opinion, but try to remember you are dealing with human beings, not just type on a page…

Growing up Pagan amoungst non-pagans (written for The Ostarian Moonthly and The Comsmic Cauldron)

2009-02-06T15:30:00.001-08:00

My mother is a Jehovah’s Witness, my father is an atheist, the rest of my family is Jewish and I am Pagan. You can only imagine the dinner conversation/arguments my family use to have. I am one of the many pagans out there who grew up in a non-pagan household - in fact, over the younger years, I lost many pentacles, book of shadows, and other pagan objects to my mother ‘saving my soul’. Somewhere, out there, buried in a tip, is enough ritual material to start a small pagan community. Yet all of her reactions to my decided path resulted in me studying harder so I had an equal dispute to all of her Christian reasons. But soon the ‘Wicca 101’ books ran out of the information I needed to continue these debates and to deepen my practices, and I began my quest to find a pagan teacher.

I went to many different schools, in different countries and cities- all of them Anglican or Catholic. I spent many defiant years debating the Religious Education teachers, questioning the priests, or being sent to the principle’s office for the above reasons. Christianity confused me. I just couldn’t get my head around some of their practices and beliefs, and the more confused I got the more desperate and upset I got. Which religion was lying? If I follow this religion will I end up in hell? What if I die and find out I got it all wrong? I firmly believed that if I researched and debated every religion I fell across I would eventually find the true path, and I desperately hoped it would be the Pagan path.

One day, after a long debate with the Religious Education teacher that went something like…
Me: “I don’t understand the trinity. Why would Jesus pray to himself on the cross?”
Teacher: “Because a part of God had been given to him but he was still a separate entity, but the same.”
Me: “So Jesus called God inside him at different moments, and when he was praying, God was not inside him?”
Teacher: “No, he was always inside Jesus.”
Me: “Ok, so your saying that we are all connected through a web of relationships with everything else in the universe including, of course, God himself?”
Teacher: “No. Just Jesus had God inside him. We are not God.”
Me: “So Jesus was schizophrenic?”
… I ended up waiting outside the Principal’s office again in a state of confusion, looked over at another poor kid waiting opposite me and noticed they were wearing a pentacle. I was stunned. I had almost come to the conclusion that I was the only Pagan in the southern hemisphere – according to all the pagan authors at that time, they all seemed to be partying on down in the Europe or America.

The girl became a good friend of mine and I soon learned that she had been brought up in a Pagan family. I spent many long hours talking to her grandmother about Pagan traditions, rituals, gypsies, the deities and the craft. I caught a glimpse at what it could have been like growing up in a Pagan household. First off was the insane amount of animals this family owned – three cats, four dogs, a goat, chickens, rabbits… the list goes on. It was also my first glimpse at a temple room which the family all practiced in. I had never considered having a separate room dedicated to my practices. They still had their arguments, and tears, just like any other family, but there was something knowledgeable and all-knowing about them.

The debates between my mother and I became intense, especially because during my search for the right religious path, I had studied Jehovah’s Witness with her for a bit and gotten her hopes up. Some pagans choose to hide their path from their non-pagan families, after the many years of arguments with my family about it, I’m not surprised! But after many years, and upon moving out of home, my mother finally wanted to know exactly what I practiced, why I practiced it, the dangers of the practice, the good things on the path, everything. The debates to a turn and we began swapping information about our religions, and became increasingly surprised at how similar many of the beliefs were. Believe it or not, I even cast a circle round my mother and she could feel it. She began standing up for my beliefs to her Jehovah’s Witness friends – “It doesn’t matter what she believes, she’s my daughter and I love her, and she is doing no harm.” She will never be in a ritual, but she has agreed to watch my handfasting. She will never try any methods that I suggest, but she has an inkling why they would work.

I soon found more pagans and finally could be proudly pagan with the right support. I live in my own pagan house, with my pagan partner, and I can finally eat my dinner without having to explain why my soul isn’t doomed. As for pagan children? My mother has plans on how to explain religion to her grandchildren. I hope she’s disappointed J.

Growing up pagan in a non-pagan environment can be very traumatic. People are telling you you’re doomed or that it’s just a fad, but you have a strange feeling that you know you are on the right track. The extra stress of ‘if you’re wrong about this you’re going to burn in hell with a hot poker in your rear’ can be very disturbing. One can feel like a high-stake gambler. It can be hard to be supportive of a religion you don’t agree with and I had to learn to be supportive of my mother’s choices as well. But the one thing I have learnt from my experiences is that I will try to be supportive of my child if they want to go to bible camp.

Good reads for pagan parents & their children (written for The Ostarian Moonthly)

2009-02-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

For most pagan parents its natural instinct how to bring up their children, but sometimes we want to know if there is an easier way, a better way, or something just to confirm our thoughts. We have compiled a short list for the curious pagan parents on some books out there to read over a cup of tea, and some good books for Pagan Children to keep them quite while you have a cup of tea!

For Pagan Parents

“Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions” by Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill, and Sara Ceres Boore
“Family Wicca: Practical Paganism for Parents And Children” by Ashleen O'Gaea
“Pagan Parenting: Spiritual, Magical & Emotional Development of the Child” by Kristin Madden
“Wiccacraft for Families” by Margie McArthur
http://www.paganparenting.com/ - Yes, not a book we know, but a great website!

For Pagan Children

“Aidan's First Full Moon Circle” by W. Lyon Martin
“All I See Is Part of Me” by Chara M. Curtis
The Ellen Jackson series including:
“The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth”
“Summer Solstice, The”
"Autumn Equinox, The : Celebrating the Harvest”
"Earth Mother”
“Sacred Animals” by Kris Waldherr
“Pagan Kids' Activity Book” by Amber K

Notes from the 'Magical Musical Gathering' (written for an Ostarian Grove workshop)

2009-02-06T15:25:00.000-08:00

Introduction
You do not have to be an incredibly skilled maestro to jam along with other pagans, or bring music into your rituals! A lot of people shy away from using music in their practices, or just for their enjoyment, claiming they aren’t talented enough, are tone deaf or don’t want to put people through the horrors of their failed attempts. You can’t play because you tell yourself that! Of course you’re not going to pick up an instrument and sound like a deity is playing through you magically. You’re muscles and minds aren’t trained yet! No one is going to put you down for getting the rhythm wrong, going off key, getting confused or having to start again. Everyone will be more impressed that you are trying and are willing to learn.

Why should I even bother?
Music has been used for hundreds of years in ritual for a very good reason – it’s very touching on an emotional level, rhythms can help participants slip into trance states, raise energy or relax more easily, melodies can trigger knowledge and memories, songs can tell stories that become memorable and therefore people can pass on tales easily… so many reasons! Music touches us sub consciously in ways words cannot explain and to have an instrument become an extension of yourself can help you express feelings, teach others, or create magic on a much deeper level.

What instrument should I try?
Whatever you feel a longing to try! But I would suggest keeping to easier instruments when starting out, especially to learn important rhythms before melody lines. A drum is an excellent starting instrument or other percussion instruments. Remember your voice is an instrument too, and is perfect to learn melodies and harmonies with. If you really enjoy music and want to challenge yourself more – get some lessons with a music teacher with a more complicated instrument, like the guitar. If you are having problems picking up an instrument, music teachers are still a great solution and many of them are quite affordable, even if you just need a couple of lessons to get yourself going. Your local music store should be able to help you find local teachers.

Ritual Instruments
If you want to learn an instrument especially for ritual work and pagan gatherings there are a couple of things to consider. First of all, most pagan rituals and gatherings are outside and no where near electricity supplies. Consider learning acoustic instruments for ritual use. Secondly is size. If you are someone who travels to a lot of pagan events and want to bring your instrument with you easily, ask yourself whether that huge gong is a good idea if you don’t have a car. If you are someone who enjoys dancing around the fire, getting an instrument that restricts you to sitting may not be your style. Thirdly is sound. Think about instruments that you have heard being used in ritual. What instruments would compliment these sounds? Of course I heavily encourage people to be experimental with their music genres in ritual, but there is a time and place for everything, and bringing along a cordless techno synthesiser to a samhain ritual may seem a like a cool idea, but might end up to be quite an embarrassing or unwanted experience. If you are unsure whether your instrument would be appropriate, feel free to contact the organisers as ask! The fourth point is ease. I encourage instruments that you feel, upon learning them, you’ll be able to trance out or close your eyes while playing if needed.

Good Ritual Instruments Examples
Drums
Pan pipes, pipes, tin whistles etc.
Ocarinas
Voice
Tambourine
Singing Bowls, bells and rattles

Ideas to get yourself going
1. Put on some music that has your instrument playing. Obviously the people playing your instrument are professionals and will be much more skilled then you, but listen to the musical ideas in the music, the rhythms they’ve used, moods they have created etc.

2. Buy yourself a starting out ‘How to’ guide for your instrument, find instruction videos on You Tube, or find a teacher to get yourself going.

3. Take your instrument along to gatherings and join in others when possible. Start by finding the basic rhythm and do not over complicate playing when just starting out.

4. Start trying to express your current mood through your instrument. Take a few minutes to identify how you’re feeling then slowly pick up your instrument, position it and start playing. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in rhythm (perhaps your not feeling balanced that day and this reflects it perfectly!) or if you go off tune (going off tune could represent little hiccups you’ve had through the day). This is an expression of yourself and listening to it can teach yourself a lot about you!

5. Start trying to feel the rhythm in your environments. Take your instrument out to a quite park or beach. Sit down and just listen to the world around you. Try to pick out certain rhythms – the cicadas, the surf going in and out, someone jogging past, bird calls. Then pick up your instrument and play with the world.

6. Think about different rituals, sabbats, deities, themes, times etc. What kind of rhythms or tunes do you think suit them?

7. Buy some appropriate CDs or MP3s and start trying to use music more in your rituals, even just as a background sound throughout them. How do you feel using them? What things in ritual did the music help with?

8. If you are a bit more adventurous and starting to pick up your instrument nicely, start trying to play in your rituals. You can learn specific songs before hand, or play spontaneously fitting to the mood, environment or how you are feeling or want to feel. (N.B: ‘want to feel’. Take note of this! Music can help create the emotion you want in yourself or others participating!) If you are good at writing chants, poetry, stories, or invocations – start trying to put music to them.

9. If everything goes to pot and you get frustrated, feel you can’t do it, or upset, put down the instrument, take a deep breath, relax and congratulate yourself on what you’ve accomplished so far. Even picking up the instrument with the intent to try is worth a huge pat on the back. Don’t force yourself to learn by pushing yourself through long hours of practice. This is suppose to be enjoyable, not a chore, and you’ll just end up hating the instrument and feel down about yourself.

Blessings!

Entering the Pagan Community - A Guide for the Lonesome Pagan

2009-02-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you're pagan. You may have studied for a very short or very long amount of time, but you ahve found yourself thinking "By the Gods, I wish I had someone to share my experiences with who would understand, someone who I can yabber at about paganism under a full moon, someone to dance round the cauldron with..." You may have even passed a couple of people on the street wearing a pentacle and tried to catch their eye or pass a smile.

You may be starting to notice that even though Pagans like to think they are very welcoming tribe, they tend to be very clicky and stay with those they know. Although there is the odd one who will happily return your smile on the street and get into a conversation, this breed is very few and far between. Some even tend to look down on pagans they don't know.

But there is hope! It is much easier to find fellow pagans then it was ten years ago with the help of technology. Websites, email, forums, Facebook, Yahoo Groups... having the internet or access to the internet is a good start to getting your voice out into the pagan community. If you are in Australia, have a look at Pagan Alliance, Pagan Awareness Network or Witches Workshop websites. Get yourself onto some Pagan forums or into some online Pagan groups and mailing lists. From here an amazing amount of doors will open to you.

Ok, so you've made your name known online and you may be starting to think some of the following things: 'I haven't really made any friends online', 'Some of these conversations are really basic', 'Sometimes I have no diea what these guys are yabbering on about!' or even 'Wow, there are some really bitchy Pagans online!' and you're starting to wonder about meeting some pagans face to face. Time for you attend some events!

You should of have read at least even a couple of global invitations on one of your online websites or groups to gatherings or workshops being held. Most of the time location and timing can be a real problem, but try to at least start attending some. A great place to start is the Pagan Awareness Network Full Moon circles. These are held at different locations around Australia, so check out their website. Pagan Alliance hold some open circles in certain areas of the country too. Open circles are a good place to at least get the feeling of what being part of the Pagan Community feels like.

So let's pressume you've been to gathering. Either made some new contacts or possible friends, or you felt rather excluded or out of your league- Don't be upset, it happens. But you have to start somewhere! At least attempt to recognise some of the more well known faces in the pagan community like event organisers or group leaders. You don't have to suck up to these people, just know who they are. You'll be surprised how handy it is to know who these people are. If you felt a little out of your league you may wish to think about attending some workshops. Here you will meet people at the same level as you and meet some more well known teachers in the Pagan Community. It will also give you the chance to feel what a small pagan gathering feels like under the trained eye of your teacher. You get some great energy work at these workshops and this will help you work in a circle with other people.

So you're now happily chatting on forums online and receiving a fair amount of emails. Perhaps you've found some pagan communities in Facebook and made some connections. You've attended some public gatherings and recognised some faes. You've been to workshops and felt what working a pagan group feels like and feel a little bit more confident in your pagan knowledge. You're doing well! Really! Continue doing this for a while longer until you can easily talk to some fellow pagans.

So now what? Events. Thats what.There are a few pagan events held around Australia annually. Sadly, we don't hold as many in this country as we would like to, but the pagan community here is still only two or so generations on average so we all have to patient here. But you may want to look into the Australian Wiccan Conference, Hollyfrost, the Witches Ball or Magic Happens, just to name a few. Yes, sadly, just like the workshops you have to get a bit of money out of your pocket, but considering the results from the workshop you should of felt for your money, you'll be learning about now that you usually get what you pay for. (N.B: speaking of paying for pagan services, please be very, very careful of online wiccan training courses.)

Events that are held over a weekend or so are the best. They give you a chance to actually strike up a couple of conversations with fellow pagans and even get a couple of emails and/or phone numbers. There is a good chance you will meet people from your city, and another chance you'll meet someone your age. This can be a bit stressful the first time if you are going by yourself, but once the nervousness is over, you have a real chance to meet some people. You may even recognise faces and names.

So there we go - the first year of getting into the Pagan Community. sounds scary? Relax. There are people who are more then willing to help you. Ostarian Grove (us - www.ostariangrove.net ) is one group. People who run workshops are always happy to help you too. Be open minded, poliet and have a good sense of humour with no ego or showing off and you should be recognised in the community soon enough. don't be afraid to voice your opinions. Yes, some people will argue them, but remember that's just their opiniona nd you have the right to your own. Age means nothing, experience and wisdom does. Someone might be able to quote a well known occult essay, but it doesn't mean they know or understand what one earth they are going on about. I know young people with huge amounts of wisdom and experience, and older people who have only just started learning. But still have respect for your elders! A lot of pagans are very kind hearted, funny, energetic and exciting people once you get to know them.

Good luck and blessings and feel free to contact me with any questions, or even just for a friendly pagan ear.

Sabbat Feasts - Keeping Healthy

2009-02-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

Many of us have a problem around the Sabbats when a massive feast is served up and we all eat too much, drink too much and feel rather merry but sick afterwards. So here's some tips and tricks you may wish to try or suggest to your coven to make everyone feel a little healthier after a large sabbat:

1) Just because there is a massive feast laid before you doesn't mean you HAVE to finish it. A lot of people feel guilty about not eating a lot, others enjoy it, but here's a little trick: Small plates. You're allowed to eat as much as you can delicately balance on that tiny plate, but no more.

2) Size - If you are in charge of a sabbat feast, apart from only supplying small plates (disposable is best if you don't want to do the washing up!) you may wish to think about how much everyone is actually going to eat before cooking up a massive feast. A lot of people tend to go for one plate per person. This can be too much!! Between two to five people - look at one veggie dish, one side dish and one meat dish (if there are vegitarians present you may wish to make an alternate 'main dish'. If all present are vegitarian then just the one 'main dish' is fine.) For six to ten people think about two veggie dishes, two side dish and one main choice. Don't go overboard, especially if you are planning on dessert. If you are worried about people getting hungry - its called bread and butter on the side. If you are cooking a recipie that serves 12 and only 6 people are coming, then cut all the ingredients in half, or, if you want left overs, only serve half.

3) Dessert - now there's a word everyone loves. Chocolate Yule Logs, Little pumpkin shaped candies, sugared flowers... you name it, its usually out there. One dessert should do up to ten people. Another trick is to pre cut cakes. Its too easy, when given the choice of sizing your slice, to ask for too much. Make sure you cut it when you are not hungry otherwise you might be judging with your stomach! Also a lot of people tend to leave a long space of time between dinner and dessert to let their meals go down. If you have to do this, you are too full for dessert. It should be served immediatly after. Always warn attending eaters if there is a planned dessert afterwards so they can plan how much to eat if they choose.

4) Healthy Dishes - A lot of the traditional pagan recipies are quite healthy but they have be altered so much to adhere to modern tastes. Its usually quite easy to find healthy recipies that correspond to rituals, a lot of us just take a lazy way out and keep repeating well-known recipies that we know are unhealthy. Instead of just going with first choices that pop into your head, do some more research. The feast is an important part of the ritual and should have time put towards planning it properly.

5) Seperate Feast Organiser - Some times it might be easier to nominate someone who is not planning the ritual to look after the feast so they have the time to properly look into healthy dishes that correspond correctly. Ritual organisers already have so much to think about that a feast is usually really chucked together at the end. This can result in dishes missing, not being appropriate, it becoming quite expensive, or just generally being really unhealthy. If you are a perminant HP or HPS, electing someone each sabbat to oragnise the feast can teach your students a lot.

6) BYO Plate not always good - Although this is an easy solution that many pagan groups take, sometimes organising the feast yourself and asking for a small donation in return can be a lot easier. More variety is one very good reason, a part from the health aspects. It also saves you from dealing with the lazy person or person-with-no-time that always brings the bag of chips.

7) Budget - A lot of people complain that healthy food is more expensive. This is a myth. Healthy food is usually cheaper. You don't have to do the recipies that include a million and one different ingredients! So there's another reason to eat more healthily at sabbats...

8) Drinks - We all claim or want to be Kitchen Witches, yet we insist on the coke and lemonade at most ritual feasts. Making your own drinks is not that hard! Have a look around on pagan websites with recipies for a few good ideas, they're not hard to find. And they will have much less sugar then the fizzies! Always have a jug of water handy. It aids digestion and you will probably be dehydrated after an energetic ritual anyways. It will also help you eat less if you sip it while eating.

9) Non-alcoholic Drinks - Some groups will kick up a stink about it not being tranditional and how the Gods will smyte you if you use a non-alcoholic wine in the chalice. Now it's not my job to say if this is right or wrong, it's just an opinion (as I am so commonly caught saying), but if you have an alcohol problem or are trying to lose weight (alcohol has a very high sugar content), you might want to ask your coven to use a non-alcohol version or at least supply an alternative non-alcoholic drink to be blessed.

10) My last point is a tip to the lonely pagan who is the only one dieting in the coven. Tell your coven you are on a diet and need support and to think of you when planning feasts. It is too hard to battle on your own. Offer healthy alternative ideas if they arn't very health conscious. You may even be surprised to find a number of its members wish to eat healthier anyways.So there we go - there's my ten tips.

Good luck and blessings!

Sex and Kink Magic - Part 1

2009-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

With Beltaine just passed a wanted to start this topic for a bit of fun. A lot of practitioners instinctivly know about sex magick without actually ever being taught anything. It's pretty obvious that the orgasim is a powerful building and releasing of energy that can be directed if one can gain control over it. But this is about as much as most people know, apart from, perhaps, the ability to tease it out to build for as long as possible. So let's chat about this subject a little bit more in depth than usual.

First of all we have to split it into three catagories: solitary, hetropartnership, and homopartnership. We can split each of these catagories even further again, but lets just start with solitary.

SOLITARY SEX MAGICK
Despite Pagans being quite open minded, there are a lot of females out there who still cringe at the idea of touching themselves and have never explored or studied themselves at all. This is something you have to work through yourself, I'm afraid. Many have been brought up in christian households and were made to believe masterbation was very wrong and to never spill one's seed on the ground. Although they may be pagan now, it can be hard to get over this hypnosis and allow oneself to truely express themselves sexually, especially by themselves.

Another reason can be when you are trying to get over sexual abuse. Becoming turned on can immediatly trigger memories of this and can be very hard to work through. Sex magick can actually really help with these problems if you are willing to face the deamons. In fact most bad experiences can be worked through with sex magic. But how?

Masterbation causes many things to happen psychologically. The first step is that you look inwards and begin to ignore things around you. (This can actually be harder in a circle as most people are used to masterbation in an enclosed area like a bed or the shower. But being by candle light and wearing a light cloak can help you slowly get through this. The feeling of being exposed can actually heighten one's sensations.) Upon looking inwards one can go into a trance mode or alpha state. From here we can easily access memories we have problems with or issues we need to work through. There's a quite a few ways to do this and you will have to experiment and find whats good for you. Here's one way. You can either begin masterbation and then consentrate on an issue, or start concentrating and then begin masterbation, find what works for you, I generally find the second works best for me as it can be hard to turn yourself on if you are already concentrating on a problem issue. Explore the issue as much as you can, looking at it rom every angle. Due to being stimulated at the same time, concentration is increased and you can start to look at it from different points of view as your conscious mind is somewhat being kept distracted. Slowly begin to battle the issue with symbology that works for you. Perhaps you start cutting off ties, forcing them to disintigrate etc. Speed up your masterbation as you attack each problem, you may find you naturally hold your breath and pish through each issue and this is fine (if you pass out you actually naturally start breathing again so don't worry too much about this. A lot of people hold their breath during stimulation without realising it, but because we are looking in ward it can become more noticable. if you think about it, or anything that you are doing physically, just push the thought aside gently and go back to the issue you need to be concentrating on.) As you come closer to orgasim, begin to gather up the negative energy in your mind, balling it up, tightening it up, cutting the ties. When you orgasim, push the negative energy out of your body (usually via the genetils) and throw it away. Slowly stretch out on the floor, and begin to replace the energy you have just lost. Imagine a white light coming through your crown chakra and circulate it round your body as your breathing slowly turns to normal. Some people like to meditate at this point as you are very relaxed, but if you have just gotten rid of negative energy it can be better just to try and think about nothing. Slowly curl yourself into a ball on one side and relax again. Stay for as long as you need, you've been through a huge ordeal. Some will naturally start crying after orgasim and this is a great release, let it flow.

Another use is for healing or general health. Circulating energy around the body while you masterbate, or gathering energy up to send off to someone upon orgasim which you are visualising through the masterbation process. Visulisation can be quite hard to get the hang of when you start out while you're doing something so distracting. Just gently push anything not important aside as you realise you are thinking about it and keep in mind that practice makes perfect (lucky you!)

Others will use bodily fluids post orgasim to bless items or put energy into them. For example - create a sigil that reflects what you wish to be done. You can draw this so you can concentrate on it better or memorise it. Masterbate to the point of orgasim and then trace or draw the sigil onto paper. This can be used as a talisman, or put away and forgotten about. For women, sexual juices and menstral blood can be extremely powerful. Runes, for example, are great to concecrate and connect to yourself by putting each one inside you to coat them, or to dab a bit on. Most people by this point will be think - but the smell?! Upon drying it not quite as potent as you think, but if you wish to post coat it in a suitable incense or perfume, go ahead. I will explore the other catagories later. Let's tackle solitary first, as it's where one should start before partner sex magick anyways!

Oh, and a big reminder about being careful about TSS and infections! If you cannot sterilise an object before placing it inside you (remember you can also put something your mouth to concentrate orgasmic energy on it but be VERY careful not to swallow it, especially during orgasm!) then consider placing it in a condom. This also can settle any fears of losing the object. The energy will still get through easily, especially when you're focusing it towards it. But do be careful what you use - no sharp objects, wooden objects that can give splinters, too large an object etc. Using a condom will also help with any smell scares, and will be very nice if you are planning on giving an energised object to someone else!

HETROPARTNERSHIP
This is broken down into even more subheadings:
- With partners (wife/husband, gf/bf)
- With working partners or other practitioners
- With non-pagans
- Kink Magick and BDSM
Alot of the things I spoke about in 'Solitary Sex Magic' can easily be practiced with a partner (or more). But the first thing to set up in a partnership is a set of signals. Sex rituals tend to not have much talking in it excpet for the odd decleration or invocation, so unless you have a good psychic connection with your partner, it's a good idea to set up some hand signals, or even single words so you can understand what the other person is going through, or sync up more easily. Things that you need to keep track of is:
- Pace: How worked up you are, how close to orgasm you are, whether you need to speed up or slow down to catch up with your partner, whether you need something harder or softer. These are the kind of signals that are naturally developed in any long term sexual partnership, but if you are practicing with someone who is not your partner (I am not going to morals or ethics or modern day ideals surrounding this if you are doing sex magic with someone who isn't your usual sexual partner here) these signals will need to be set up.

- Concentration: Once can easily get distracted by the action of sex, especially when they just start practicing sex magic, and not be concentrating on what they were suppose to be! A huge part of this is self realisation and control - you have to notice quickly when this happens, identify what is distracting you if need be and signal for this to stop, slow down, speed up, move, bring closer etc, and gain control of your visualisations, chanting, whatever magickal tool you are using, but distractions could be being caused by your partner and just saying 'hey stop that' could ruin the mentality and mood of the ritual immedialty, in fact any negative signal can cause libido problems in sex magic - sex is a very sensitive thing, and unless one is confident with their skills, experienced, or has been with the sexual aprtner for a long enough time not to get insulted, this is something to keep in mind. Shaking your head can be picked up as a negative. So what are some other signals to stop your partner doing what ever annoyance they are doing and not ruin the mood and concentration? A signal of 'can I move into a different position?' is a good one (especially if you can take the opportunity to move a distraction out of your line of sight.). Play around with hand signals that you think says this (it is hard for me to explain hand signals in type and what works for me may not work for you or your partner.) Or placing their hand elsewhere, shifiting your balance, asking to pause momentarily so you can readjust your focus, taking a couple of deep breaths to slow down your breathing a bit and bring you back into more of an alpha state.

- Timing of ritual: Ceremonial magic can easily be combined into a sex magick ritual. You may be fine with talking out loud all the way through sex and still be able to concentrate on the needed sexual activity fine, but make sure your partner can as well (unless you are doing a form of consensual leeching off your partner. I say it needs consensus because of a) the moral implications for me and b) unless you are good at reading minds you will not know what your partner is thinking throughout your ritual and you may get some rather interesting manifestations you did not expect because of his thought pattern during the process and/or what it makes upon combining with your thought process.) So think about what you would like done before the sexual activity, during, and after. For example you may wish to cast a circle normally, invoke deties into each other, then perform the sexual rite to raise energy towards something, thank the deties, then close circle. So the casting and closing of the circle can be done out loud, but you may wish to invoke the deties into yourself once you are vibrating at a higher level when more turned on half way through sex or foreplay. This comes back to your ability to concentrate and how well you can actually speak while being stimulated and the same with your partner. If you have either of the above problems, but wish to invoke or perform something during sex/foreplay, you will need to do it your heads, which means sorting out signals to tell you where you up to in the ritual i.e: 'i'm invoking now', 'i have finished invoking and am ready for the next step' etc.

Ok, let's chat a bit about the difference between working with your normal sexual partner, your working partner and non pagans. The first and the last may be the same thing for some so let's first talk about working with non-pagans.

Performing ritual, magick etc is of course possible with non-pagans and it has been done many tmes before successfully. Some are happy to retranslate your beliefs into their beliefs and can still work on the same level. Atheists who don't mind you being pagan and understand what you are doing may be willing to 'play along' or at least do what you need them to do, even if they don't believe in it. It might not be quite as powerful, but can still be done if they are willing. But making sure your non-pagan partner understands what you are doing is important and running through what you will be doing physically and mentally will help them at least stay calm through the experience and more relaxed. (Saying you are going to invoke Pan into yourself then have sex is obviously going be a lot more complicated then that and they will probably be quite freaked out when you suddenly charge around the room chasing them, erect, screaming "IO! IO!" - and no I'm not going to talk about how that might be the effect some of you were after with Pan! Be nice to your willing partners because, yes - rape is still illegal in ritual.)

Consensual Leeching - something we will breifly touch on. 'Leeching' is usually a negative term in the pagan world, hence why I added 'consensual' onto the beginning. We are talking about energy leeching, where one can suck the energy out of another person, object, being for themselves or to put towards something else. Now you understand why I put 'consensual' in front because stealing energy can be dangerous and damaging to either person and is NOT recommended for beginners, please don't even consider it unless you understand perfectly what I mean and its consequences! But this is a common act in sex magick as it is easier to leech during pentrative sex, esepcially a female, or recieving male, leeching from a male due to the powerful 'giving' of semen into the other person. The person receiving can be used as a funnel to send the energy, used as a storage device, can take in the persons energy and circulate it between the couple with their help, or to cleanse the energy and the filter back through to the giving person (good for healing).

So what's the main difference between a sexual partner and a working partner. Many things but the most obvious is love. Of course one can 'love' their working partner (especially if the working partner IS their normal sexual partner), but hopefully everyone knows what I am talk about here. Is love a plus or a minus in sex magick? Both. Love is a very powerful emotion that is more connectd to the mundane world then the spiritual. On side it can greatly enhance the energy flow and power in a sex rite, but if anything negative has been going on in the relationship before the rite, or if the love is currently unstable, it can cause drastic problems. I greatly advise that partners sit down with each other before the ritual and honestly chat about the relationship and if there is any problems that could effect the ritual sub consciously. If there is anything, I do not suggest going ahead with the ritual.

Sex magick with a working partner is still just as powerful though. One reason will be the fact that your working partner are used to working with each other on a spritual level, can probably get into alpha mode a lot faster together, are already used to ritual signals silently between each other, used to the way and order in which you run your rituals, and understand each others energy flow, roles in energy work and how your energies work combined. BUT if you ahve had never had sex before you have pre work to do. You first aim is to disconnect the natural emotions felt with sex and know that you are doing this for ritual purposes only. This is can be much harder then you think. The next is to make sure you do not look at your working partner in any form of lust (this of course goes for partners who do not wish to form a relationship outside of being working partners or are currently in different sexual relationships.) The third is getting used to practicing skyclad together. Seeing each other naked for the first time right before a sex ritual is not recommended! You may wish to spend time naked with each other getting used to it and noticing any scars, birth marks etc. before the ritual so you don't get distracted by them in the middle of the ritual. do you need to have sex before the ritual? not in my opinion, n fact it is probably better that you don't ever have sex outside of ritual if you do not wish to form a partnership.

Lastly is the random 'one night stand' form of sex magic - most probably two practitioners who do not wish to start a partnership who have a problem that they feel will be best solved through sex magic. Some will find this the most difficult to deal with, and if you have never even worked in a circle with this person before I do not recommend it. If neither of you have practiced sex magic before, I suggest you really thinking about this option of magick before going ahead. Some will find this much easier to deal with as they know it's a one time thing and if it doesn't work it never has to happen again - but do not treat this as a one night stand fling when there is magick involved. This is a subject you and the other practitioner will have to talk in depth about. Here I of course have to put in a massive warning - you DO NOT have to have sex in ritual or in paganism in general, it is NOT a form of initiation, and DO NOT be persuaded into something you do not wish to do. NO means NO. If ANYTHING happens in a circle that you know is wrong, especially sexually, report it to the police immedialty or contact a pagan organisation for help. You're body is a sacred temple that belong to YOU.

With any form of partnership, more sexual options become avaliable - kink magic and BDSM are one of the more well known ones used with sex magick. I am not going to go into great detail and I recommend you read up on it if you are interested. There are many, many good books avaliable for you to learn more about this subject, but I recommend you get the basic down pat before styalising or using advanced techniques.

(to be continued...)

Introduction

2009-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, welcome, welcome. I used to write a different blog under a different name but I've decided to write a blog that freely admits who I am. Why not? Meh.

I'm going to first shove up some articles from other forums, blogs, mags etc. That will get us all going a bit :)