Sunday, January 31, 2010

Cruelty free consumerism

Most Wiccans are careful about how they contribute to the environment, but remember 'Do as ye will but harm ye none' which extends into more than the way we treat other people.

I found this site many years ago when I was 16 and vegan.  Now I'm vegetarian and wear non-leather shoes from Veganwares and always keep an eye on the products that we keep in our home to make sure that they haven't been tested on animals.  You will become used to checking products to see whether they are owned by particular large organisations that spread their products across consumables like pasta and moisturiser.

 
 

 


Animal testing was made legal after one woman died in the 1930s after using a mascara which made her blind and eventually killed her from a severe infection.  Since then, animal testing is legal to avoid another case occuring again.  The only way we can affect this is by boycotting particular companies who refuse to change the way they operate.

Some companies find themselves on the list and are contacted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which has contributed to positive change where some companies slowly merge animal testing out of their procedures.

All kinds of bizarre tests are taken out which are ludicrous because they (a) Prove nothing and (b) They do not have an anotomical structure that resembles a human's in any way - so why test when the subjects have such different bodies and hence different responses to products?

From this link you can either search for particular companies that DON'T test or companies that DO test on animals.  Below that you can get a downloadable PDF or Word document for each kind of company if you want to hand it to anyone.  Support those companies that do not test on animals and you will be actively contributing to positive change.

I couldn't upload the video here and choose to keep it separate because it is very disturbing - so you are warned!  This still happens within society today and there is something you can do about it.

Watch the PETA video here and pass it onto friends with a warning of its contents to spread awareness about the campaign.

Blessed Be,
)O( Elspeth

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Hecate - The Triple Goddess

Hecate (pronounced he-KA-taye), the Patroness/Goddess of Witchcraft is the Goddess that stands on the cross roads patrolling the frontier between life and death, roaming the night with her hounds - and hails from ancient Turkey.  The daughter of Titan and confidante of Persephone and is often depicted as having three heads or three dog's heads or the heads of a dog, horse and snake.  She is supposed to see every crime at night time and can be called upon for justice against these crimes, winning a battle and to heal.


She was later adopted by Greek mythology, she was originally the prime Goddess of Caria which is now western Turkey.  She is the guardian of Istanbul having saved its people from the wrath of King Phillip II of Macedonia in 304BCE who was meant to attack on the dark of the moon, and Hecate, knowing this lit the sky with a crescent moon for one night whilst getting the Byzantines out of Istanbul before disaster struck.  In remembrance of her they put a crescent moon and two stars on their coins which still survives on the flag of Turkey.

Offerings are made to her by leaving food a the crossroads.

Witchy outfits of the week




'Aradia and Lucretia perform a moving ritual during Soriah's performance at the Bus Stop Gallery, San Francisco.'
Photo by Libby Bulloff
via Cousas


 
by Skin Graft Designs



Thursday, January 21, 2010

Interview with Greg Craola Simkins for Beinart.org

Again, quite unrelated to Wicca, click here to read my interview with the artist Greg Craola Simkins.

Many thanks again to Jon for the opportunity and to Meg for putting the interview up.


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Kali - Creator and Destroyer


 

Fiona Horne recommended calling upon Kali for when you want to 'get the dross out of your life.'


Kali is the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess. She assumed the form of a powerful goddess and became popular with the composition of the Devi Mahatmya, a text of the 5th - 6th century AD. Here she is depicted as having born from the brow of Goddess Durga during one of her battles with the evil forces. As the legend goes, in the battle, Kali was so much involved in the killing spree that she got carried away and began destroying everything in sight. To stop her, Lord Shiva (her husband) threw himself under her feet. Shocked at this sight, Kali stuck out her tongue in astonishment, and put an end to her homicidal rampage. Hence the common image of Kali shows her in her mêlée mood, standing with one foot on Shiva's chest, with her enormous tongue stuck out. 

Some say that Lord Shiva changed himself into the form of a plump baby when he threw himself at her feet and from there she took him and suckled him as the Dark Mother.  Later in the evening he transformed back into himself and convinced her to join him and others in the dance of creation.

The Hindu goddess who lives in crematoriums is depicted as an agressive 'Dark Mother' dressed in a girdle of dead men's arms and adorned with a necklace of skulls she does not discriminate when destroying - unless you're a worshipper.  As a worshipper you are taken on as a child to the Dark Mother who can be called upon to 'kill off' negativity surrounding you and on her flip side can be called upon for fertility.  She has eight arms (four on each side), one holding a sword, the other a demon's head with a remaining two to bless her worshippers, two arms are dead to hold earrings and the rest hold forms of weapons.  She is sometimes seen with blood on her face and chest as she drinks from a skull cup of blood.

Kali's four arms represent the complete circle of creation and destruction, which is contained within her. She represents the inherent creative and destructive rhythms of the cosmos. Her right hands, making the mudras of "fear not" and conferring boons, represent the creative aspect of Kali, while the left hands, holding a bloodied sword and a severed head represent her destructive aspect. The bloodied sword and severed head symbolize the destruction of ignorance and the dawning of knowledge. The sword is the sword of knowledge, that cuts the knots of ignorance and destroys false consciousness (the severed head). Kali opens the gates of freedom with this sword, having cut the eight bonds that bind human beings. Finally her three eyes represent the sun, moon, and fire, with which she is able to observe the three modes of time: past, present and future. This attribute is also the origin of the name Kali, which is the feminine form of 'Kala', the Sanskrit term for Time.

The journey

The journey is to throw away fear because the only way to freedom is to kill off fear as best you can.  This seems to be the only way to comfortably go ahead with my visualisations, meditation and other explorations that will come to 'open the doors of perception.'

Without fear you won't have interruptions during meditation and barriers are built against visualisation and astral travel - which I haven't tackled as yet.  Dimensions are opened as you realise that you can always be receptive to your body and soul and what they will tell you.  The journey is hand-in-hand with yourself and heightens the sixth sense towards a self awareness you've never seen before.

Whether you're Wiccan or not, go ahead with perfect love and perfect trust free of fear.

I'm sure I would have written this better if I wasn't so tired!

Blessed Be,
)O( Elspeth

Witchy houses of the week

Well... this blog has become a lot more about my love of 'witchy' aesthetics and design rather than the educational side but I'm GETTING THERE!


From the movie Practical Magic


Both images from Cousas



The Salem 'Witch House'