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The Book of Shadows Is Not Open To Debate

2/6/2018

If Wicca was a tree, the core belief each Tradition shares would be the trunk and all the branches would be different ways to connect with that core belief. So what is our core belief? It is that Deity is imminent. This is why we call ourselves an Earth-based spirituality.

          Christianity and other Abrahmic religions believe that God is transcendent. "He” made the creation and someday we will return to “Him” if we follow the rules. Taoists believe that Deity is real but the world is not real, merely an illusion, and someday if we become “enlightened” we will merge back into the spiritual consciousness. Secular people believe that the world is real and that is all there is. There is no Divine here or anywhere else. Wiccans believe that Deity, God and Goddess, is present in the world and that the world is therefore sacred. For us God/dess is imminent AND transcendent. Our spiritual path changes us so we can interact and experience Deity in nature and in our lives. It is because of this main difference in theology that trying to be Wiccan and Christian at the same time, or Wiccan and other religions, doesn’t work.

          The BOS in each Tradition is their system for spiritual transformation leading to the awareness and realization of this belief. In other words, if you practice the Craft, you will experience the Sacred here and now. Of course if you don't practice, don't celebrate the Sabbats, and only come to Coven once in a blue moon nothing will happen. The BOS also gives guidelines for teachers, such as how to teach a session, who is ready for Initiation, Coven structure and so on.

          The Greenwood Tradition has a BOS. If you follow it you will become transformed and experience Deity. When Seekers come they sometimes want to argue with the Priestesses. They don't like or agree with something in the BOS. They are surprised when we tell them we don't want them to believe what we are saying indiscriminately, with blind faith! Don't mindlessly follow the BOS as if it were the Christian Bible. Just keep an open mind and see what happens when you try it. We know our system works because it has worked for us.

          We practice Celtic Shamanic Wicca. How do you know it's right for you? All bonafide Wiccan Traditions have at least one thing in common, they lead you to the same core experience...Deity is imminent. This is the way WE practice the Craft. It is right for us and we welcome sincere Seekers to share our way. Don't waste your Priestesses precious time by debating the value of our Book of Shadows. We welcome questions and the more the better. Saying things like: “I don't like the way your Tradition is run” or “I don't think Silver Moonbeam should be initiated” or “We should be able to vote on the BOS,” are not going to help you understand our Mysteries. You could ask WHY we do what we do and we will gladly explain. There is a reason for everything. If you don't like the way we do it, that's okay! You can join another Tradition, be a Solitary, or even start your own Tradition. The Craft transforms us...we know this because it has. If you open your heart and mind you will be transformed too.

          The Book of Shadows is not open to debate but it is open to testing, questioning and exploring. It is our way of transformation and we gladly share it with you in love. Take it, try it, keep some of it, keep all of it that is up to you. Your relationship with Deity is yours. If you want to stay with us and share our branch on the Holy tree that is Wicca, you are welcome to do that. This is the way we do it: from our heart to yours, the circle is cast.

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Witch's Soul Work: Magick Mirror

3/21/2015

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“If that which thou seek thy find not within thee, thy will never find it without.” (1)

The Craft involves deep soul work leading to understanding the authentic self, the connection with the divine, and understanding the Mysteries. If you were Buddhist you might called this enlightenment. What is enlightenment for Witches? Many people new to the Craft read the beginner books and think that that is all there is. I would like to share with you some of the ways that Traditional Witches do soul work, the way they approach and understand the Mysteries and an exploration of what the Mysteries are. This idea was inspired by a course called Soul Work from Cherry Hill Seminary (2) and from a comment by a woman on our local pagan internet site who said that she was quitting our group because we were not serious (i.e. fluffy) about our spiritual work. (Thank you dear!) The Craft is the most deeply spiritual path I know, but because it is hidden it is not easy to find. So let’s start!

Magick Mirror Work

In many traditions the work of the Initiated Witch starts with the path of the Magick Mirror. In this pathworking the practitioner travels inward to face her shadows and learn to know herself. (I’ll use the feminine in this column but that doesn’t mean that this is only for women!) We start with learning how to meditate.

Practice Question: Do you know how to meditate?

Test: Sit down and meditate for 5 minutes. Are you able to do it? If you can only clear your mind and settle into deep stillness sometimes; if you don’t know when you sit down if you will have a good meditation or a poor meditation then you need more practice. You should be able to meditate and fall into that silent place whenever you want to. It is a skill and it is not about forcing your mind to stop but rather using techniques such as breath work and chanting to gradually refocus the mind and then let it become still and peaceful. See a reference to help you below. (3)

The Ritual

Witches use ritual to raise power, celebrate and also to do magick. In the beginner books there are many good instructions on how to cast a circle and create sacred space. I’ll put some of my favourite books in the bibliography below. (4) I’m supposing that you already know how to do this so we’ll start from there. You will need two mirrors, the white (ordinary) mirror and the black mirror. The white mirror is the mirror of Truth and the black mirror is the mirror of Hidden Secrets. To make a black scrying mirror see reference below. (5) When you are not using the mirrors you should keep them wrapped in a cloth or pouch. You will also need a new notebook of some kind, also called a Book of Shadows. Create a ritual to call your Higher Self, the divine part of yourself, to be your guide on the Magick Mirror path. In this ritual the Elemental powers and the Gods will witness your commitment to this inner spiral and soul work. You also need to bless and consecrate both mirrors and the book.

The Practice

Every day, or at least three times per week, in a duly cast circle and in sacred space, meditate for ten to twenty minutes until your mind is still and peaceful. Look into the black mirror and ask yourself the questions: Who am I? What do I need to change? What do I need to embrace within myself? Let the answers come from your Higher Self and deep within your soul.

There are many things that can come up in this work: issues that are physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relationship-related, sexual, work-related and so on. It often takes a year or more to finish. When you are finished the work you will feel very comfortable about where you are and who you are. You will have faced many shadows within your soul, accepted yourself for who you are and created ways to gently change if needed. You will be closer to becoming your divine self.

At each session write in your BOS. On the right side pages put down all the things about yourself that are good and that you love about yourself. Example: I am a woman. I love the way I nurture my children. I work hard. I’m kind etc. These relate to the Mirror of Truth. On the left side write down the things that you would like to change, for example: I would like to eat more healthy food. I would like to work in a job that nourishes me. I would like to be in a relationship where I am respected as an equal etc. The left hand pages relate to the Mirror of Hidden Secrets. Don’t be surprised if things come up that you are not aware of now.

Now take the Mirror of Truth (the regular mirror not the black one) and using the issues that are coming up in your Book of Shadows look at your own face and speak your truth. Use the word ‘you’, not ‘I’: You are a beautiful woman. You are good to your children. You are good at what you do. You deserve a healthy relationship etc. It will take time at first to get used to talking to yourself that way. Can you see the Goddess looking out at you through your own eyes?

Final Words

This article was first published in Pagan Pages in a series about the Mysteries of the the Craft. I plan to publish the rest of the series here each month. This is a very condensed description of Magick Mirror work but I hope it gives you a place to start. Next column I will write about how Witches use the Sacred Stories and Flying to further their soulwork.

References

1.       From the Charge of the Goddess http://www.doreenvaliente.com/Doreen-Valiente-Poetry-11.php#sthash.P4IdNm9n.dpbs

2.       Cherry Hill Seminary is a Pagan University http://cherryhillseminary.org/

3.       Here is one link that might help you to meditate. http://www.wikihow.com/Meditate-for-Beginners

4.       This is a great reading list: http://twilightwicca.com/?p=35

5.       To make your own black mirror you can see this link http://www.ehow.com/how_2276484_make-scrying-mirror.html

6.       This is an interesting on-line publication Called Wicca the Ancient Way that will give you some more ideas about the Craft as a mystical path. http://www.scribd.com/doc/11935771/Wicca-the-Ancient-Way

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How to Gracefully Leave a Coven

7/21/2014

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How to Gracefully Leave a Coven

(This article was modified from an entry in the BOS: Greenwood Celtic Shamanic Wiccan Tradition)

When you begin the journey with a group you make a commitment to the God and Goddess, to the brothers and sisters of the Coven and to yourself to stay for a year and a day. What happens if you cannot keep this commitment? What happens if you need to leave the Coven before the year and a day is up? How do you leave a Coven at any time?

Because we create a group mind it is very important to leave the coven in a way that will not hurt yourself or the others energetically. Is your reason for leaving the group that you are not doing any solitary work and feel that the group is leaving you behind? Do you feel that everyone else is way beyond you and that you don’t fit in? These feelings of insecurity strike all of us at times. If this is the reason why you think you should leave, discuss this with your teachers. They can help you see your way. Perhaps you are being too hard on yourself or don’t know how or where to start. That’s why we have a coven, for support.

If you are leaving because you realize that you have made a mistake and this path is not for you that is another thing altogether. You should think about your reasons carefully and then speak privately with the Priestess. With love and support she will help you and give you ideas about where your path may lead now. It is not a crime to leave the Coven. You are an individual and your path is unique, just as you are. You have the right to make mistakes. You have the right to change your mind.

If you want to leave because you are having trouble with someone in the coven, you should also discuss this with your teachers . Many of these kinds of problems can be solved. A coven is like family; sometimes there are squabbles and sometimes adjustments to be made. Do you really want to give up the support of a spiritual family and an opportunity to learn because of a problem that can be solved?

When you are quite sure that you want to leave, discuss it with your Priestess face to face, NOT in e-mail. If you are not sure, you can take a sabbatical to think it over and then decide. You don’t need to come to coven and make an announcement in front of everyone if you don’t feel comfortable. We take a three-month sabbatical as a way of leaving slowly. It gives the coven a chance to get used to not having you there and also a chance for you to make up your mind. If you leave and then realize that you have made a mistake and want to come back, it will be much more difficult.

The other day a former member who left in uncomfortable circumstances e-mailed me and ask to come back to the circle. The issues that she left behind were not resolved and although I wish her well her key just doesn't fit our door anymore.

What not to do:

Do not disappear one day without a trace and ignore e-mails and phone calls.

Do not just suddenly announce to the whole group by e-mail that you are not Wiccan and we are all a bunch of fakes.

Do not send a group e-mail two days before we are supposed to meet at your house that you are taking a Sabbatical, especially without telling the Priestess first.

Don't join another Coven to 'try it out' and announce to the group during a Sabbat feast that the other group is much better than ours. (Yes all these things have happened in our Coven!)

Please have common courtesy. Remember your promises of confidentiality; the Goddess is not happy with people that break their word. Because of the group mind, you can inflict pain on the others in the Circle connected as we are with energetic and spiritual ties. Our Coven is based on respect. We respect each other, and ourselves. You have entered the circle in perfect love and perfect trust and you can leave the same way. Let’s all be kind to each other!

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Anam Cara : Soul Friends

6/5/2014

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We read books about Wicca and the path calls to us. Do you remember the time you cast your first circle and lit your first candle to the Goddess? Later on we search for a Coven or a teacher that can help us go further. With great excitement and a little bit of nervousness we meet other Witches and finally find a Coven or group that we think will be the right fit for us.

There are so few Covens that are led by trained Priests or Priestesses. By trained I mean a woman or man who has trained under an Elder and been Initiated; someone who has studied the Craft and knows how to teach a Tradition. So you finally meet the Coven and the Priestess but you find that you don’t really like her very much. She may be younger than you, or much older. You get a feeling that you don’t connect with her. Even though everything that she is saying and explaining is wonderful and the circle energy is very good you think that maybe you should leave the circle. Unfortunately you realize there really are no other places to learn in your area. What should you do?

This happens from time to time with new Seekers, they don’t ‘like’ the Priestess or maybe they don’t like someone in the Coven. They mostly explain it as: We don’t connect. This is a mistake of a beginner because they are bringing their mundane attitudes and judgements into the Circle. The first thing is to listen. If the person is honourable, truthful, and honest; if they are following the Wiccan Rede and have not done anything to harm you, wait. Wait and listen to what they stand for and watch how they act towards others.

A Coven is a group of people seeking spiritual transformation. Many types of people, many ages, races sexual orientations and cultures join Covens and these people may never meet in normal circumstances. There is bound to be some misgivings at first. However it is important to understand that the Coven relationships are anam-cara, soul friendships. Outside of Circle you may not have much in common with the person but in Circle, if you can come with an open mind and heart, you will meet the true self of each member of the Coven.

Story Time

Here are other examples from my own life. Bran is one of the teachers in our Tradition. He wears leather, has tattoos and rides a Harley. He may look like a biker but he is a very knowledgeable Wiccan Priest with many years of experience. The first time he walked into the Sacred Cauldron we wondered: What is he doing here? Later on I married him!

Here’s another example: One of the Coveners came to me and told me she didn’t connect with Poppy (not her real name) and that she felt uncomfortable being in Circle with her. I asked her to explain why she felt that way. Did something happen? There was no reason, just a feeling. I happened to be very fond of Poppy and I knew that she had lived through terrible heartbreak in her life making her a little prickly! It took time for her to warm up to others and she was not a fuzzy cuddly type of person. I explained that while listening to our intuition is a good thing, bringing mundane judgement into a spiritual circle is not helpful. We are not marrying each other (at least not in our Tradition!) and we don’t have to hang out after Coven if we don’t want to. I told her a few things (with permission) about Poppy’s life and she was shocked. She started to look at her in a different light and they became friends. They don’t hang out after Coven and in the outside world they have very little in common but in the circle they now connect on a spiritual level, from heart to heart.

Here’s another example: I had a teacher that I greatly admired and asked her to come and give a talk. This teacher was very knowledgeable and advanced spiritually but she wasn’t a warm huggy type. She was self-assured, reserved and came across as a bit strict. She was a teacher coming to give a talk, not coming to make friends. Some of the people that came to her talk said: Well I don’t like her. She wasn’t very friendly.

They missed the point! Her talk was wonderful and the knowledge that she had shared was important. When you go to University, you don’t have to like your professors to appreciate what he teaches you. Changing your attitude and approaching an advanced teacher with respect and gratitude for what they teach changes the relationship you have with them. You are coming to learn so leave your judging at the door!

This doesn’t mean that you cannot walk out on someone who breaks the Rede as you interpret it. I once belonged to a Circle of women and one of the Priestesses told me that I would never become a Priestess and really feel the Goddess because I didn’t ‘bleed’. (I had undergone a hysterectomy because of uterine cancer.) You can be sure that I left that Circle because of attitudes that I couldn’t accept.

So if you find a High Priest or Priestess or a Mentor in the Craft, don’t judge them. You’re not joining a social club. Listen, be respectful, ask questions and thank them for their time. Let your heart learn from them. Be humble! Don’t miss your chance to experience the transformation of a Coven experience because of mundane judgement.

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May 07th, 2014

5/7/2014

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Gratitude: Have You Hugged Your High Priestess Today?

I looked after a little 93 year old lady who was in Auschwitz for 3 years during World War II. She saw her parents killed in front of her and begged the soldier to kill her too. Every night she still has images of the horrors that she experienced and yet she was one of the most positive and grateful people that I know. I asked her how things were going at the senior's residence where she lived and she said: "Darlink! It's like paradise here! Mine beautiful children visit me and everyone loves me!" Her face shone with happiness and I made me feel ashamed that I get sad about little things in my life. This woman rebuilt joy out of truly horrendous ashes.

When we focus on the negative it creates sadness, bitterness and even depression within us. A dark cloud descends as we rehash bitter memories of perceived wrongs, painful betrayals, losses and things we don't have. If we could focus on gratitude our lives would be filled with joy for what we do have and the wonderful things we have received, not the dark side of life. But practicing gratitude takes focus and work. If we are able to start each day with a short contemplation on the things we are grateful for, opening our hearts to receive more, the dark clouds disappear and everything changes.

One of the most important things to be grateful for are our spiritual teachers who have helped us on our path to happiness and balance. I was fortunate enough to have many wonderful spiritual teachers during my life such as Satsvarupa Goswami from ISKCON, Baba Hari das, Marnie MacDonald of the Reclaiming Tradition, Cathy Heiss from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Lady Rhiannon from the Coven of High Oaks, American Welsh Tradition and lately Fearn Lickfield, Ivan MacBeth and Salli Crow from The Green Mountain Druid Order. These teachers gave (and are giving!) selflessly of themselves, their time and energy to answer my questions and guide me on my way.

When I became a spiritual teacher myself I didn't do it for money, for honour, or for gratitude but rather as a way to thank the teachers who gave so much to me. I wanted to share what I have with others because it brought me closer to the heart of the God and Goddess. Selfless service strips the heart of ego and creates deep happiness that is not connected to materialism. But within this idea is a dilemma of sorts. I am not doing my work to receive gratitude but rather to repay with gratitude what I have been given; but in order for my own students to progress they need to understand that giving gratitude to me is part of their own spiritual work.

As the High Priestess I represent the Goddess in the Circle and in the world. But I am human. I make mistakes! So it is difficult for me personally to receive gratitude for my work. I must stay focused on my reasons for doing it and not let my ego get all puffed up thinking that I am so wonderful! It is the Goddess who is wonderful and I am her servant.

It sounds a little strange to hear me say to my own students that being grateful to me for what I have given them is part of their spiritual path, and not my own ego. I have had many students who came, took what they wanted, and left without saying thank you and are now using the knowledge I have given then without any acknowledgement. That doesn't matter to me but it is actually doing to harm them because it is stealing, ungrateful and hardens the heart.

So I invite you all to remember the teachers in your life that have given you so many gifts, helping you to be where you are now, and don't forget them in your prayers and in your biographies. You may be a very important spiritual leader now, but giving thanks to your teachers will teach the lesson of gratitude to your own students. Have you hugged your High Priestess today?

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Are Witch Boards Dangerous?

5/6/2014

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A few weeks ago Belesama brought a few beautifully crafted Witch Boards (also called Ouija Boards or Spirit Boards) to the Sacred Cauldron. She also posted a picture on her web site. We got many comments from people saying that these 'things' are evil, dangerous and that we should not be using them or even selling them. Someone said: I wouldn't have that thing in my house.

In the 1890's when  the Ouija board was first mass produced it was regarded as a harmless parlor game and was unrelated to the occult until American Spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. (1) It has been criticized by Evangelical Christians (2) as being a portal to devils. So why is this divination tool more feared than tarot, pendulums, runes and any other divination tools?

        When people place their fingertips lightly on the planchette they seem to go into a light trance and involuntary muscles move it easily across the board. Because they are not aware that they themselves are moving it, the players think that a spirit is moving it. What is actually happening is that they are tuning in to their own deep feelings and intuitions and answering the questions themselves. It's not possible for a person who has never had a psychic moment in their lives to suddenly become an experienced medium and channel a Great Master of the Universe or even Aunt Molly! It's possible that someone who has a latent psychic ability may have their first psychic experience with the Witch board and perhaps this is why people who have no training or experience in mediumship get scared.

        Who do you talk to when the planchette moves? You talk to yourself, or perhaps your higher self, your spirit guides, your ancestors and sometimes if you are trained for it, you may be able to talk to someone who has passed over the veil. Is it dangerous? Probably less than crossing a busy street during rush hour. People fear a phenomena popularized in Hollywood horror movies called 'possession'. They fear, as the Evangelical Christians say, that they are talking to demons, and that these hypothetical demons can posses their souls and turn them into psychotic mass murderers or worse. Really! If you believe that then using a Witch board is probably not the right divination tool for you! We all have guides and protectors. Do you think that as soon as you take out a Ouija board they all go on a cigarette break?

        Are the messages that are received by the Witch Board infallible? Like any other divination tool the answers may be spot on, vague or just wrong. Use it to help you clarify your thoughts and feelings about an issue and try to see the bigger picture. Don't base important life decisions on it and don't believe every single word you get out of it. Fear is an emotion that creates a certain atmosphere or the fight or flight response, and is not the relaxed, open and positive frame of mind that is needed for divination. If you are afraid of Witch Boards this is a phobia such as ablutophobia, the fear of taking a bath and can be part of an anxiety disorder. Don't be afraid of a piece of wood with letters on it ! In the words of the prophets: "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" (Who you gonna call?)

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija

2. Raising the devil: Satanism, new religions and the media. University Press of Kentucky 2007-12-31

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Dream Magick and Healing

4/17/2014

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Dream Magick and Healing

We all dream, although some cannot remember their dreams when they awake from the hidden land. During dreams everyone astral travels, sees the future, gets messages from spirit and travels to other places in the dreaming. Shamans and Witches learn to remember their dreams and interpret them. They use lucid dreaming as a method of spirit work and healing. They contact their ancestors and guides during dream to help themselves, family and community.

Dream magick takes practice and time, but since we spend eight hours a day sleeping there is plenty of time to work on it! Tonight I light a candle and do a meditation for Sylvana* to ask for healing and guidance from her guides and mine. I finish the meditation and extinguish the flame, falling asleep quickly to the sound of the soft snoring of my little dogs curled up with me under the warm blankets. The room is completely dark and the light from the full moon does not penetrate the thick curtains, although the moon energy affects my dreaming and my sleep.

I dream that I am walking through a field in the country. I’m wearing an old fashioned dress and carrying a basket. At my feet is wild grass and many weeds but I am looking for something. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a movement and turn to see a plant glowing. I carefully take some of the leaves while singing a soft crooning song to the plant that seems to make it sleepy. Suddenly my basket is half full of herbs and I’m at the edge of the field in the shadow of a forest. Out of the forest a darkness is moving towards me and I’m afraid! I am rooted to the spot and I can’t run. The darkness moves closer and I see something writhing in the dim shadow. Awareness comes to me! I’m dreaming! I am asleep! I can wake up now! But I can’t wake up and I can’t run in the dream. The monster is coming!

A ringing noise sounds, like a singing bowl being struck softly. Where is that sound coming from? It is coming from my basket of herbs and looking down I see that the leaves are glowing with green light. Without really thinking I snatch a handful of the herbs and throw them into the darkness. As they fly through the air they seem to catch fire, spinning and dancing like crazy fireflies! I hear a scream and then the shadow is gone and sunlight pours down onto the trees. I wake up from the dream with the feeling of fresh leaves in my hands and between my fingers.

The next morning I sit in the garden listening to the birdsong and wondering about the meaning of Sylvanna’s dream. I was wearing old fashioned clothes and collecting healing herbs so I think that this was a message from the ancestors. I’m trying to think what kind of plant it was that I was gathering. It seems familiar! Sylvanna is dealing with depression so I think that the darkness and the monster were her illness. Has she received a healing from this dream? I woke with the feeling of the herbs in my hands so I think that I have brought them back with me for her.

I finish my tea and go for a walk around the garden. There are wild parts and cultivated parts, hidden plants that come and go. I know it well but it is always changing, like a dream! At the back near the blueberries I see the plant from my dream. It has bright yellow flowers glowing brightly in the morning sun; a St.John’s Wort! This is a plant that is connected to the sun and protection. It is also the herbal remedy for depression! Now I understand my dream. First of all I fought the illness for Sylvanna using the magick of the herb. Because I brought it back with me, she is meant to connect with the plant in some way for her depression. I know it is proven to help mild depression or the blues, but not deep suicidal despair.

I call Sylvanna and she says that she woke feeling hope! This is a very good sign. I ask her if she has ever tried St.John’s Wort and she says that she has heard about it but cannot take it with the medication she is already on. I suggest a dream pillow with St.John’s Wort, camomile flowers and lavender to help her sleep well and to connect her sleeping self with the energy and magick of the herb. During the day I create the dream pillow for her and energize it with the healing of the Sacred Earth and the Ancestors.

A few days later she tells me that she is feeling much better and that she has turned a corner. Now she really believes that her terrible depression and darkness is finally lifting. She feels hopeful that soon she will be able to come home to the land of happiness and the land of normal!

Dream magick can be done by everyone because it is natural to dream. Let us walk in the dreamtime together and meet the spirits and guides who are ready to help us.

(*Name changed and the story is a composite of more than one person.)

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The Inner and Secret workings of a Wiccan Coven

4/12/2014

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                We have no churches or large congregations in our spiritual community and the only times large groups of Witches comes together is at a festival or public Sabbat. The real deep spiritual work is done in our Solitary practice and in our small groups, the Covens. The inner and secret workings of a Wiccan Coven are something many people don't understand.

                When we start our Seeker year we make a vow to stay in the Coven for a year and a day. We are exploring the Path of the Witch and learning the basics. After that year we may be ready to dedicate ourselves to the Craft by taking 1st degree Initiation. Some people leave the group at that time and become Solitary Practitioners and others make a commitment to their Coven to continue. These commitments, as a new Seeker and later as an Initiate, are deep magical acts that put down roots into the Way of the Witch and into the hearts of the Coven mates. They create a connection to a spiritual family based on perfect love and perfect trust and a safe place to explore the Mysteries, get support and experience things that you cannot experience in Solitary Practice. This can cause a phenomena we call 'group mind', a telepathic connection within the group. Remember the time we all brought rice to the potluck?

                This does not mean that there will always be harmony in the group! As we go deeper into the magickal process of transformation becoming healed and realizing our own authentic self, as we become aware of the Divine in nature and in ourselves and start to manifest it in the world, we all hit obstacles and shadows. These shadows can be extremely difficult to face and overcome, but they are the places of real change and personal power. Each person in the Coven will be dealing with these shadows but the Coven itself may have collective shadows. So with all these intense issues coming up there are bound to be tensions within the group from time to time.

                Why do you think that the people in the Coven have come together as a spiritual group? Is it a co-incidence or is it a very important synchronicity? The Coven is not a book club or a self-help group. It is an apprenticeship under the guidance of men and women who have been where you are now, and have graciously agreed to give back what they received from their teachers by helping others. They have faced their own shadows! The techniques in each Tradition may be different but they are all aimed at one goal, to help participants have personal connection with the Divine Immanent, the God and Goddess in the world and in us, but to do that they must first undergo a transformative process. The Coven is like the Cauldron of Cerridwen and sometimes it boils! That may be the only way that the Goddess can transform the contents of the Cauldron (us) and the process may get hot!

This boiling process is very mysterious and can take the form of interpersonal conflict, group experiences that shock us or scare us, energy within the Circle that is so intense we don't understand it and many other things. Whatever is going on in the Coven changes us! We need to have confidence in our selves rooted in our commitment to the group and the process and we need to trust the Goddess.

Some Covens cannot stand the heat and fall apart at this point. They may blame many things on the end of their Coven but the deeper spiritual reason is that the members could not work through the boiling (transformative) process. They don't have a deeper vision of what is really going on. The most insidious manifestation of the disintegration of the Coven is gossip. This is definitely a type of black magick that spreads poison into the Coven and unless it is rooted out and brought into the light of day, the Coven can fall apart. It destroys perfect love and perfect trust which is the very fabric of the group.

A strong High Priestess can feel that something has changed in the Coven because she is connected to the group mind and the pulse of the Coven. But sometimes the Coveners hide things from the HPS because they are afraid to talk to her, thinking that if they criticize the group they may be ostracized. A climate of respect and openness allows the Witches to speak their truth and bring it into the Circle. Everyone in the Coven is encouraged to participate in this open dialogue as each member takes their place in the Circle with equality.

"We are a circle moving one with each other we are moving together we are one. I am spirit and I move in you. You are spirit and you move in me." chant by Marae Price (copyright 1996) Click here for the music. This blog entry is dedicated to Lady Rhiannon of the

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When An Elder is Not an Elder

3/11/2014

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When an Elder is not an Elder

We often talk about respecting our Elders and our Ancestors but an Elder is someone who has earned respect by their behaviour, not just the fact of living on the earth for 50 + years or being a blood relative. I went to a Women's Circle a few years ago where we were asked to name our mothers and our grandmothers.....I am Anna, daughter of Susan, daughter of Hilda. There were some women who felt supremely uncomfortable with that identification because they had spent years healing from abuse and neglect inflicted by their birth mothers or grandmothers. Just because someone gave birth to you does not make them a respected elder.

In the discussion about native cultures and Shamanism we hear about ancestor worship, elders leading the tribe, and matriarchal lineage. We are told earnestly that to disconnect from our ancestors is to lose our identity and disconnect from who we are. That this disconnect can lead to depression and illness. How do we reconcile this idea with a dysfunctional family now? If adult children in dysfunctional families feel that it is their fault and their responsibility to fix the problem they return again and again to try and mend the rift, only to have wounds re-opened and more abuse heaped upon them. If it is an abusive man beating a woman, she is told that it is healthy and good to walk away and start a new life. If it is an abusive mother or grandmother, walking away and starting a new life is called abandonment. Men and women are made to feel guilty that they are not in touch with their birth mothers or taking care of them in their old age, no matter what the story. You must forgive your elders and you must sacrifice your life, time, energy and money to take care of them when they are elderly. Love and light! It is your duty to do this! Shame on you for not visiting your grandmother in the nursing home! How can you call yourself a spiritual person if you don't forgive the abuse and love your Mom!

Learning to forgive and heal does not mean that you need to return to the abusive relationship. If the abusive person has not changed and is not ready to make amends, the same cycle of hurt just starts again. Just like an abused women should not return to an abusive marriage, continuing to romanticize the mother-child or grandmother-grandchild relationship and keeping the connection even though no reconciliation or change has occurred is pointless, fruitless and damaging. It may be very hard to admit that you need to end the relationship with your parents; maybe the hardest thing that you will ever have to do.

This does not mean that you have to sever the connection with your ancestors and your family lineage. You are genetically part of this family and always will be. You can participate in honouring the family, learning about the family, and even doing Shamanic healing around ancestor wounds, and still not need to re-kindle a relationship with a violent or abusive parent. Respecting our elders does not mean condoning or forgetting trauma. In our pursuit of spiritual transformation, we can work on trying to understand why it happened and letting go of the anger and pain. Saying 'I forgive you' is not the same as saying, 'You can hurt me again!'

(This article has grown out of many conversations with people in the Sacred Cauldron Community. It is not meant to apply to any one person or story.)

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Do Wiccans Have Psychic Powers?

2/19/2014

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Do Wiccans Have Psychic Powers?

"There ye shall assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, and to these shall I teach things that are as yet unknown." (from the Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valiente.)

            If you search on the internet for Witchcraft twenty-five and a half million sites come up! If you had the time to read them all, do you think that you would learn the secrets of the Goddess, also called "Sorcery"? Would those internet addresses reveal spells that would bring you love, wealth, health, immortality, riches, power and more? What is Sorcery?

Here's the secret (the unknown): Sorcery is power; power to do whatever you want.

            A funny thing happened and I would like to tell you about it. I noticed that all the Witches were developing powers. They were able to read peoples thoughts, see auras, touch people and heal their pain, know what would happen in the future, remember their past lives, speak to animals, hear the voices of those who had passed on and many other things, but most of all they were happy. You might not think that being happy is a magickal power, but really it is the goal of all Sorcery! Why would we be "fain to learn" if it didn't make us happy? When I confronted them saying: "You all have powers!" They said: "No we don't." They didn't realize that their lives were full of magick and power. They couldn't see it because to them it was normal and natural, just business as usual.

            But they do have powers and they didn't get them by reading books or the internet! Because of their practice within the Craft the Goddess taught them all they know in a way so gentle and subtle they didn't even realize it was happening. Even though they did not start the practice of the Craft to get powers they were drawn to the path of Sorcery by a Mystery as deep as their souls. Synchronicities called them; strange co-incidences led them to the Circle. They were searching for peace, for transformation and for Her, not for psychic powers. So what happened?

            As they began to worship, love and honour Her, they changed. This is the Mystery. Cell by cell and thought by thought they metamorphosed into something different: they became Witches. Witches connect with the Divine in Nature and believe that God is both masculine and feminine, that She/He is present, immanent, in the world. As they practice they awakened to that Divine Spirit. They became their authentic selves. Then the Sorcery manifest, just like seeing, hearing, tasting, and feeling. It was another sense, a natural part of their awakened selves until they became and assembly of Sorcerers.

(this is part of an article first published in Pagan Pages)

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May 07th, 2014

Are Witch Boards Dangerous?

Dream Magick and Healing

The Inner and Secret workings of a Wiccan Coven

When An Elder is Not an Elder

Do Wiccans Have Psychic Powers?

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