Some very wise words from a wise sister

I don't often put this kind of thing on here, but I couldn't resist sharing this one!  I've been meaning to write more on here and now that I've given up reviewing for the arts I can really dedicate more time to this blog, its interviews and more eco advice sections for readers.

And now to the lovely words of wisdom from Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 42 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...

14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

17. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

22. The most important sex organ is the brain.

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

25. Always choose life.

26. Forgive but don’t forget.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..

31. Believe in miracles.

32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

34. Your children get only one childhood.

35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.

39. The best is yet to come...

40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

41. Yield.

42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Shay Skepevski releases his book Lunatik Witchcraft: Illuminating Your Underworld

Dear Readers,

I have been tuned out of here, going through the shifts of my Saturn Return between one place and another and in the midst of all of that, I'm very happy to announce that Shay has released his first book Lunatik Witchcraft: Illuminating Your Underworld for you to get your own hands on this publication via this very link.

If you haven't already read my interview with Shay please follow this link to the interview.

All the best Shay, this is such an exciting time.

)O( Elspeth

Interview with a Hekatean Priest - Shay Skepevski tells us about his yet to be released publication 'Lunatik Witchcraft: Illuminating your Underworld'

Shay Skepevski is a 28-year-old witch residing in Sydney who’s about to release his first publication: Lunatik Witchcraft: Illuminating Your Underworld as a proud priest of Hekate.  Every now and again I will read about people who have explored Wicca but choose to take on a new path of magick which is one of my many reasons for wanting to interview Shay.   Shay’s path is primarily solitary and he also acts as a facilitator for the global coven Covenant of Hekate or CoH as that role of ‘torch-bearer’ is passed from member to member.   As a man who likes to quote William Blake with “The path of excess leads to the palace of wisdom” I happily introduce you to the very unique path of Shay...

Elspeth: What was the first book you read on the Craft?

Shay: I was a proud owner of various books on the "supernatural" as a young child. I held an interest in the history of Witchcraft and the Salem Witch Trials. I read books on Palmistry, Crystals, Ghosts and the afterlife, as well as my favourite illustrated stories from Classical Greek mythology. It wasn’t until I was a young teenager that I had read my very first book on Witchcraft that was written by someone from inside the community and living the ways. I discovered the work of Silver RavenWolf, specifically her book 'To Ride a Silver Broomstick".  Although my practice today has moved much away from traditional Wiccan teaching, I still believe that book, and much of Ravenwolfs books I read at the time, have given me a strong spiritual foundation to build up and grow upon.

 E: How and why did you move away from traditional Wiccan teaching?

S: I guess in a big way I feel like I have not so much left Wicca, but rather transcended it. Wicca, for me, became a brilliant formula or map of sorts which I could neatly place my unique beliefs and spiritual views upon. As time went on, as I further explored numerous other pagan and occult paths, from the Hellenic Eleusinian Mysteries and Dionysian Shamanism, to Mysticism, Theurgy and even Psychology - my view on the world and of myself transformed greatly. I speak further about this in the introduction to my book. I used Wicca as a tool to my becoming, but it is no longer all that I am, and if I were to identify, I would be an Hekatean Priest, Mystic and Witch walking an ecstatic path, as opposed to one of fertility. 

E: How did you form your relationship with Hekate?

When I initiated my relationship with The Goddess at the age of 14, like many, I began working with a variety of deities from numerous pantheons, moving around from goddess to goddess in accordance to my desire at the time. As I continued along my spiritual journey, gradually I began to notice if I were ever in danger; in times of desperation, crisis and great sadness... more and more I would instinctively and intuitively call out to Hekate and Hekate alone... She became an authority and a mother figure for me. In my eyes, She conferred upon me all these great blessings. I would start having visions, signs, and inspiring dreams initiated by the goddess. It was a gradual thing for me, and then at the age of 18 I had finally accepted Her into being what it was that She wanted to be for me...and I guess, looking at it now, She is exactly where I want to go as a Witch. The aspects of magick and the universe that She is intimately associated with, I want to go towards those places... She has become my spiritual ideal... a divine consciousness to attain. It is Hekate alone who holds my deepest devotions and quenches my spiritual thirst.

E: Tell us about your book

S: Ultimately it is a book sharing my personal journey and practices as a Witch, hoping to inspire other Seekers to see their world in a whole new way. I wrote it with the grand notion that within us we hold the infinite universe, and all the powers, worlds, and light within it. Dedicated to the Hekatean Devotee, 'Lunatik Witchcraft' has become not so much a book honouring the goddess Hekate, but rather a practice on becoming Hekate. I share ways we can use the unique mystery embodied by the triple torch-bearing goddess of the crossroads as a way to view our own soul and our power. The book includes practices held uniquely under Her guidance, such as rites of necromancy, blood magick, Theurgy, visionary work and prophecy, and the use of herbs and poisons in both magick and medicine.

E: How fascinating!  How have you found the path of the male witch? 

S: I have grown to believe that our physical gender doesn’t necessarily mean anything at all, at least, not on a spiritual level. The focus upon male and female I think has gotten a bit out of hand, if not to the point of sexism. I’m against anything which separates us. I have personally found that being a male Witch has neither been a help nor a hindrance to my path… Having said that, I have found it rather freeing as a gay man particularly. As a Witch, I not only honour myself as a man, but also as everything else. On the deepest level, we are the whole Universe. I am at once, male, female, neither, both, water, moon, fire and star… Witchcraft has taught me that my body, although sacred, does not necessarily have to entrap or limit my view of my soul, or my ability to venerate and assume the goddess, but rather, it initiates only the beginning of who I am and how I can view myself.

I honour my physical body and am proud of this vessel carrying me in this world, but I also am aware that my spirit, and my psyche (beyond the ego-face) is androgynous, omnipotent, both this and that and yet neither at the same time, both light and dark, strong and vulnerable…   An ecstatic union of all things…

E: What criticisms may you have about the Craft right now within the general new age scene & how do you think your book challenges that?

S: As a book focused on the mysteries of the goddess Hekate, much of my approach is liminal, including and beyond the notion of polarity or “balance.” The so-called notion of “balance”, I feel, gets casually thrown around a lot without anyone really expressing any further as to what this really means. There seems to be a shame applied to someone who venerates only the goddess, or only the god or any other side of duality, as though they have somehow become sick and incomplete. My book teaches that we do not need any other to complete us, that within us is all things, and that our spiritual and psychic balance has nothing to do with being energetically neutral in our practice or opening up to all powers of polarity at every moment equally. Witchcraft Spirituality is about recognizing the things in this world that we find beauty and healing in. Things we can take power from. I have come to believe that to be balanced within yourself is to find the "powers" in this world that uniquely resonate with you and your individual spirit.

E: I really like that you’re emphasising that witches out there find their own individuality amongst the Craft and you’re really making me think more about my path aswell.  Added to this: if you were able to give some really strong advice - particularly to those just starting out - what might that be?

S: Challenge everything! Never be content with yourself, keep pushing your mind and your spirit. In the end, everything you think you know is both truth and a lie. It’s how you decide to receive the wisdom that makes it your own. Don’t simply accept a so called “law” or belief blindly. Find the laws, beliefs, ethics and creeds that you inherently possess. You are your own truth. Spirituality isn’t about changing yourself to fit into a belief system or way of being, but rather, revealing and becoming aware of what is naturally within you, and then applying that knowledge towards self-empowerment.

E: What is exciting you about the Craft at the moment?

S: It would be impossible to not have noticed the rise in Witches reclaiming Darkness again. It’s beautiful to see people unafraid to explore the things of the Universe, of nature, and of themselves which much of society would consider “scary” or forbidden. There is a courageous return to exploring the dark divine archetype, the chthonic Underworld and the mysteries of death and rebirth. The Shadows have become Sacred again, and with this, I feel, will come a greater awareness of our truth and our unique humanity.

In my book I hope to show an empowering link between Witchcraft spirituality and Psychology, as we explore both the chthonic Underworld of ancient Greece, and our own personal underworld: our unconscious. We will be confronting our Shadow Self for psychic evolution and initiating the awareness of a deeper immanent power, as opposed to a higher power. With a focus on Ecstatic rites to induce an altered trance-state of consciousness in order to facilitate this communication with our Unconscious, the exercises I offer are designed to be expressive, emotionally evocative, influential and psychologically transforming. On the deepest level, ‘Lunatik Witchcraft’ teaches reconnection, becoming the liminal bridge between self and divinity, between psyche and nature, devotee and deity. A rendering of the boundary between polarities and remembering again our unity and kinship with all things.

Lunatik Witchcraft: Illuminating Your Underworld is expected to be out on the shelves later this year so watch this space for updates!

Blessed Be,

)O( Elspeth.

Interview with a hedge witch: Cat La Fura talks about her practice and grove

Elspeth: Cat and I have only met recently having been in the same coven last year but at different times.   I had left this coven quite some time before Cat and she has also since left that group, inciting her to form her own grove and take on a leadership role in the Craft.  In this interview, Cat tells us all about how she formed her path and career, how she practices her craft, what the difference is between a grove and coven and what advice she has for those just beginning to discover Wicca.  With many years of experience, I hope that readers can benefit from what she has to say and enjoy her great history and experience in pathworking.

How would you explain your path in general terms?  You incorporate so much into your craft – what is the broad picture?

Cat: Being on a solitary exploration of the craft is a personal journey that is unique, potent and often natural. For me to explain my definition I have to describe the path that was laid before my feet and basically, how the goddess has guided me to where I am now. That is a long, organic story. For me being a teacher is drawing on these stories and teachings I’ve been so blessed to receive from the gods.

I had a haunted childhood and my first memories are of seeing the dead. Despite a haunted childhood with time I came to accept that I could see between the worlds. I’ve returned to the occult time and time again, reading and thirsting for knowledge, as a young witch I was starting witch clubs at school and reading gypsy cards before puberty. I later met with like minded brothers and sisters, some experimenting in shamanism, others in ceremonial magick and others still in witchcraft. I discovered Carlos Castaneda, Eliphas Levi, Budapest, Starhawk and Cunningham to name but a few, as well as experimenting in shamanic trance, magic mushrooms and sex magic. It was a potent time, and I was devoted to Aphrodite and Dionysus.

I then heard the calling to walk the life of a healer. I left art school and replaced paint brushes with acupuncture needles.  I left the wild drugs behind and I discovered Taoism, yoga and eastern philosophy. I kept growing on my path and the goddess came to me frequently, in dream, in vision and in child birth in her different faces. But the face she showed me the most was that of Hekate.  I started to focus on women’s health, pre and post natal care as well as supporting women through labour, and once again I found myself at the gates.  I am honoured to be asked to be teacher, but I can only teach that which I know.

E: Indeed, there is always so much to learn!  You’re not just a regular witch, you’re a hedge witch .  For the purpose of education our readers, what does it mean to be a hedge witch and do you have your own way of practising these old ways?

C: In times gone by a hedge witch was the old solitary woman who lived at the very edge of the village, just at the boundary between the village and the forest.  This is considered an ‘in-between place’ and holds great power.  She would know the teachings of the nearby animal and plant kingdom and pass this learning down her lineage.  These were the women you would consult for hexing and for healing.    

As a witch, I follow the wiccan reed of ‘harm none’.  Therefore I am a healer, not a curse or hex maker.  Having said that, I have known hedge witches who wouldn’t think twice about using a hex or curse, but personally this is not my cup of tea.  I believe everything we put out into the universe will return to us, it’s the natural law.   

I am a hedge witch because I walk ‘between the worlds’.   I use trance and sacred dreaming to walk between the veil retrieving information, speaking to the old ones or other such things that can be used on my earth walk or for others.  I also have many teachers among the plant kingdom, making me a herbalist, which I pass onto my charge.  My practice is very traditional in some ways.  For instance, I believe a degree should be a year and a day and to rush forward before you are ready can be foolish.  Also, I work within the cosmic law, following the course of moon and sun for my spell crafting. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.   I believe that following the wheel opens you up to the Old Ones, and it is they who reveal their mysteries and offer true initiation.  I think all hedge witches practice in their own ways, and its something I encourage everyone to do.  Follow the path that has already been laid at your feet.  Keep to the traditions and when you are ready and know your stuff, follow your intuition and find your own expression of the Craft.

E: I see on Facebook that you’re very ecologically minded, tell us about that.

C: I’m very much a green witch, I believe we need to reconnect with our microcosmic orbit and through this we are able with the macrocosmic orbit. I help my sisters reconnect with mother earth, recycle their waste, keep their impact to a minimum, raise pagans, celebrate the old holidays and remember the old gods. Grow their food & herbs... and give thanks for that which they take. I teach simple, old forgotten ways, but things that need to be remembered.

My work and my spirituality are heavily linked. I live the way of my craft; everything I do is in accordance with these rules. I care about this planet we live on, I grow my herbs, I rescue animals, I birth my children at home. My husband and I have been together 18 years, I performed our first hand fasting after six months, and last year we got married, and the high priestess Seline performed our hand fasting ritual at home, during Beltane, in front of our family and very close friends.

As a healer I am of service to my patient. As a witch I am of service to my family and mother earth. Now as a teacher I am of service to my sisters. Dion Fortune has influenced me greatly.

E: I’m overjoyed at how much you are caring both for the earth and others – if you could coin a Wiccan phrase or a sentence of your own to guide you through that kind of work, what would it be?

C: “To be of service” to be of service to your gods and your family, be of service to the earth and her myriad of creatures.   ‘To honour your work’, practice, be dedicated and patient, for this is the Great Work.   

E: What is the gender balance like in your grove?  What kind of work are you doing?

C: These days I attract more sisters than brothers who want to learn from me. I am currently working on a workshop about ‘esoteric acupuncture’. A way of activating meridians, chakras, qabbalsitic tree of life and sacred geometry as well as helping people’s ascension process. I teach my sisters the basics, but what I feel is the important stuff. How to break things down to their basic parts, their elements, how these elements affect you and your body and our planet. I also show them how I have raised my three pagan children, the oldest being 17. These are all crucial to saving our mother earth.

On a personal level to silence my mind I utilize yoga, pranayama breathing, diet and fasting, and treat the body as the ultimate tool in spiritual practice and magic. I have strong Taoist roots. And Chinese medicine with its use of elements and energetic systems of the body works in great harmony with magic.

For me being a hedge witch at the present time, is just walking my path and balancing my mundane world with my magical one. It doesn’t always have to blend; at times it needs to be kept separate. That is what I am trying to master in my life now....

The Goddess has come to me in vision and dreams many times during this journey. She calls my name. At times the journeys she takes me on are long, hard and involve much shadow work. I also work with the dying; I am honoured to be part of the passages of birth and death.  I am now devoted to the goddess Hekate and have always felt her by my side. I connect with her as midwife, cutter of the cords, keeper of the keys, shadow work and her canines.

E: I’ve always felt that the Requiem (or Wiccan funeral) is the least talked about matter in the Craft.  Why do you think that is?

C: Personally, thus far,  I have not encountered this issue.  What I have found is the witches I've spoken to  have no fear of death and hold clear vision on how they wish their Requiem to take place. We understand the cycle of life, and that life continues after the body has died.  We know the art of giving birth, the art of living life and the art of dying. In my home we get the opportunity to discuss and explore these issues in more depth, when the year wanes and we approach the harvest festivals.  Samhain offers the perfect opportunity to discuss such things.  A wonderful book I recommend on the subject is Starhawk’s The Pagan Book of Living and Dying.

E: You were also a part of the coven that I had left last year – can you tell us some more about that experience and how that’s lead you to create your own grove?

C: I perform magick, but it’s something I keep to myself and keep hidden.  I was friendly with the sisters that followed me out, but I was closer to others within the coven. Their leaving was a complete surprise to me, in my mind I had left alone, and that is how I stood for a week, but then it became a domino effect. I was actually quite mortified, and this created a very messy ending unfortunately.  I ended up leaving with several other sisters from that coven and soon found myself with  sisters asking me to teach them!


 I had a good long hard think about it and after talking with some wise council decided I could do it as I was at a stage where I needed to share the knowledge I had. I teach them to live the wheel of the year, celebrate the changing of the seasons, celebrate each Sabbat, full moon and dark moon and through this learn about the gods, their dance and their lessons.  I also teach them about their bodies, magical cooking, fasting and detoxing, how to raise pagan kids and basically just share what my life has taught me so far.  And at 42 I do have some wisdom and knowledge worth sharing. Luckily I have some wise elders who offer me good advice when I don’t have all the answers.

Soon after this, I got an email stating that the hedge witches site on Meetup was going to close down if someone didn’t take over as organizer. After consulting my sisters I decided to take it on but only with their input and support, and so our grove was born and we decided to keep our little coven closed between the three of us.  To be honest, I couldn’t take on any more into my home and life - it’s a big commitment I have made to these 2 sisters, and I want to honour it and give them my best. It’s a commitment I’ve made for one turn of the wheel.

E: That sounds both wise and realistic, I like your approach.

C: Now the grove has an interesting twist to things, but I also had three wise witches separately council me that my path was that of teacher: it was time.  So I thought I would conduct open courses to the general public, introducing them to green witchcraft ideals would be good for us, the community and mother earth. So far we do an intro to witchcraft, candle making, tarot courses, gardening bee, esoteric acupuncture, magickal food workshops and lots of fun projects to bring paganism and hedgewitchery to the general public. I hope to make contacts with those of the old traditions so that I may be able to direct seekers interested in ceremonial magick, Gardnerian or Alexandrian traditions to the right paths. I hope to network with the wider pagan community.

E: What advice would I give inexperienced witches and those first starting out?

C: Firstly, you should always be empowered by the process, if you are left feeling disempowered then move on.  The craft attracts a lot of people looking for answers.  These answers are found within yourself.  A good teacher should facilitate that sort of learning in an empowering way.

I think the most valuable guidance IS the one you receive in the very beginning: it sets you on your path and life’s journey.  Having said that, I am always grateful to learn new things and am very blessed to have some wonderful teachers appear recently from friends, old and new but the impressionable beginnings can shape a practitioner for the rest of their lives.

Don’t always believe what people tell you.  There are many pitfalls within this practice, and some can be quite dangerous.  If someone offers you an energetic diagnosis, make sure your reach out and get another, and another.  But if in the end none of it sits right with you, then trust your intuition above all else.

A high priest or priestess from a coven should not charge her initiates.  This is not how a coven should function.  A grove is a different matter entirely as students are paying for a service.  A high priest/priestess may ask support with ingredients, food, or others, but money should not exchange hands. Our belief is that it is not ethical to derive an income or profit from what is to us part of our service in the names of the Old Ones.

Enjoy the journey and not the final outcome.  Just like food, there are many different types of spiritual practice. Ask yourself: which do you prefer? The get there quick programs that have you initiated within 8 weeks? Programs that lack all substance but give you titles without the work? Kind of like fast food chains? Or would you prefer to sit to a three course meal with just a few special friends, enjoying and savouring every moment? Dining in some fine restaurant where there may be a waiting time to get in, but the food is divine? Of course you pay a higher price for this type of learning, for the challenges are greater? Sometimes, fast and easy isn’t what is needed to help fill your spiritual belly.

In this society we live, we want everything fast, we want it now and we don’t want to work hard to get it. Now spiritual and magical practices are treated in the same way. Homogenized and watered down to suit everyone’s palate. Let me make something clear: if you decide to dedicate yourself to the easy path, don’t expect much in return. It’s the hard path, the one that requires hard work and honest dedication that gives the greatest rewards. It’s not meant to be easy, it requires patience and practice. There is a reason that a single degree usually takes a year and a day! Some things just take time to learn.  Enjoy the journey and do not worry about the destination or the titles.

This easy style of initiations are usually run by those with no direct experience with the divine, so when that connection is missing: what is the driving force? Also, if you have not crossed that river how are you to show others how to cross it? A high priestess is a connection with the divine, a human face of the goddess... Not a facilitator, or an organizer or other mundane meaning you wish to use. If you do not have the knowledge or experience it takes to be a high priestess then do not take that title and instead call yourself an organizer or just plain witch.

E: I agree, it’s a huge title to take on.  I really enjoy organising for our sisters to meet up without all of the responsibility of being a high priestess (for readers: our sisterhood is a general gathering of friends rather than a coven and is completely separate to the grove).  Just personally, I’m not interesting in a hierarchy, however, in your situation you’re a leader and a teacher and I think you’re marvellously brave for taking that on.  That takes real guts!  There are so many teachers out there who seem to skim information off the surface – teaching is a hard thing to do.

C: Unfortunately it’s a reflection of the society we live in: people skimming the surface of things, unaware of what is driving them, looking to gratify their ego and titles... power trips and all sorts of traps any beginner would fall into... to teach is a service... teachers are of service to the seeker... and that act of generosity... the one where teacher gives freely, is an act that reaps great rewards.  But it can only reap the rewards when given freely, both monetarily and spiritually... the bond between teacher and student is karmically connected ... how can you get the very best out of it and utilize it to its full potential without trust? Love? Surrender? Can these be given after 8 weeks? How can a high priestess connect with 15 neophytes and give the guidance they deserve, with minimal interaction?  Before joining any coven ask yourself all these questions.  Traditionally you would spend a few months working and learning with the group making sure your dynamic is right.  This is imperative before taking any vow before the Old Ones.

That’s some really sound advice there.  It’s hard for people to have that outer perspective to make sure that that dynamic is right before they settle on a coven.  So many people feel that they ought to be loyal to a coven the minute that they walk into it, but you have to take a step back and think about whether that coven really suits you or not – it’s a relationship of its own.  Just like when you enter a romantic relationship you have to ask yourself: does this serve me?  If I have misgivings, what are they and why?  Be really honest with yourself about whether you have a healthy relationship with the coven that you’re entering.  Cat your guidance here is wonderful for those starting out in a coven and your path is fascinating.   I hope our readers learn a lot and find new inspiration from this interview.

You can find out more about Cat's grove here and connect on Facebook here.

Blessed Be,

)O( Elspeth.

Fire and ritual: is it ever good for the environment?

Here in Australia, burning off areas of land is a natural process required to help particular flora germinate into the next season - so long as the fire is controlled.  That was certainly much easier for the Australian environment to take before the bulk of its landscape - particularly here in Victoria was deforested.  Before Europeans settled in Australia, the aboriginal people used to burn off areas of land in order to easily track down animals to eat and thus, fire was part and parcel of how the environment rejuvenated itself each year.  Seeds would benefit from this heat and then germinate in the ashen soil.  Naturally, with the environmental concerns of releasing carbon into the air that we don't need I will - on occasion - find myself guilty of just wanting a good old fashioned bon fire to celebrate a Sabbat.  So: do I post this article to make me feel better about burning a good fire and even a candle?  Maybe a little bit!  It has to make you wonder about the magick of ritual and whether we did use this over the years across cultures to 'put heat under' the germination of our seeds for our crops and trees.

A 4,000 year old fire ritual conducted in the remote village in Kerala in April this year has a positive impact on the atmosphere, soil and other environment effects, according to scientists who are now ready with their findings.

The “Athirathram” ritual held on April 4— 15 at Panjal village in Thrissur district was the focus of a detailed study by a team of scientists led by Prof V P N Nampoori, former director of the International School of Photonics, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

The scientists had focused on the fire ritual’s scientific dimensions and impact on the atmosphere, soil and its micro—organisms and other potential environmental effects.

The yagna seems to have accelerated the process of seed germination and also the microbial presence in air, water and soil in and around the region of the fire ritual is vastly diminished, according to a statement released by the Varthathe Trust, who organised the ritual.

Read more at The Hindu

One of the best interviews I've ever read on Wicca (if not the very best)

How lucky we are to have such intelligent, charming and well informed scholars such as Professor Ronald Hutton.  Not only is his writing style exquisite, his knowledge and amount of research into witchcraft and paganism is phemonemal.

He explains the history behind the word 'witch', our changing attitudes towards the witch and how contemporary pagans respond to an academic approach to the craft and its history.

Thanks to the wonderful Caroline Tully for making this happen.

Read more here - you won't regret it.

Comparing the Wiccan Threefold Law to the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him". - Buddha 

The Wiccan threefold law states that ‘Whatever you send out, you get back times three’ which looks awfully similar to the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path.  I have been Wiccan on and off for twelve years and my most recent stint of nearly two years now without a break has made me realise how my thoughts make the world, so my thoughts are also involved in the Threefold Law and are thus destructive to myself also.

I have always felt that Wiccans can take a lot from Buddhism, so I have put our perspective next to that of the Buddhist Eightfold Path in order to put our school of thought next to theirs to show you how similar and important they are.

1. Right View. The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha--with wisdom and compassion.
From the Wiccan perspective: We ought to be ambassadors for our faith as walking representations of our deity, showing the most virtuous qualities of those particular Godddesses and/or God.  Can you imagine your patron Goddess or God walking around swearing, gossiping or thinking destructive thoughts against a brother or sister?

2. Right Thought. We are what we think. Clear and kind thoughts build good, strong characters.
You are what you eat and you certainly are what you think!  By becoming consumed by negative ‘mind chatter’ we allow ourselves to be open to the criticisms of others, to take everything literally rather than having the outer perspective that we ought to.  This way of thinking is beautifully brought to life in The Power of Now by Eckhardt Tolle.  As a strong character you will be a wonderful example for others and will be able to live each day at a time rather than feeling regret and nostalgia for your past and putting all of your hopes into your future.  Give out kind thoughts to others and yourself – love yourself.

3. Right Speech. By speaking kind and helpful words, we are respected and trusted by everyone.
In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.  By becoming a glowing example of love, compassion, patience and understanding we are teaching others that it is possible to retain this state.  Make your statements helpful, rather than ‘holier than thou’ without judgment or prejudice.  This will create Perfect Love and Perfect Trust around you, insist on being this way without ill thought.

4. Right Conduct. No matter what we say, others know us from the way we behave. Before we criticize others, we should first see what we do ourselves.
People judge us by our actions, not by our words.  We can sound as holier than thou and spiritual as we like when we speak, but if we turn around and do something nasty or feel as though we are ‘above’ anyone else, how can we not expect the Threefold Law to come into effect?  Challenge those thoughts that come into your mind when you’re thinking vain, jealous, competitive, egoic, self destructive thoughts – stand back from them and consider where they have come from.  Still let them come through, but over time, you will first be able to lessen the affect of those thoughts on your body and mind and eventually be able to remove them from your world by being in control of them.

5. Right Livelihood. This means choosing a job that does not hurt others. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by making others unhappy."
So many Wiccans, unless they are working in the field of New Age retail stores or therapies are helping people, their planet & wider communities.  Let’s also make this path important in our lives whether we are still working in an office job yet helping others in another way.

6. Right Effort. A worthwhile life means doing our best at all times and having good will toward others. This also means not wasting effort on things that harm ourselves and others.
I have personally given up drinking partly for this reason: if I am not taking care of my body, how can I expect to progress well spiritually?  Be honest and gentle in your path.

7. Right Mindfulness. This means being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
We really ought to think of our Threefold law as fulfilling these three things on a constant basis before wondering about where the repercussions come from.

8. Right Concentration. Focus on one thought or object at a time. By doing this, we can be quiet and attain true peace of mind.
As mentioned, this way of thinking or ‘mindfulness’ is beautifully explained in The Power of Now.  It means that we are staying in the Now with our mind, free of the mind chatter that brings us down.

The Dark - a wonderful talk on the mystery and inwardness of the Wiccan 'dark aspect'

Thought of the Day II

"I'm somehow always grateful for the "little" bad things that happen to me because they aren't "BIG" bad things...." - Dita Von Teese, July 6 2010

I adore Dita: she's intelligent, classy and has a very healthy outlook on life.  One of my other favourite quotes went something like 'I don't concentrate on how 'skinny' I am, I like to concentrate on how strong my body feels' so that she concentrates on her health and vitality before thinking about her size.  I also love that she apparently walked away from the divorce with Marilyn Manson without wanting to 'split' any of their assets in any sense: she just walked away elegantly without physically dividing their history into objects and money.


Three cheers to Dita and her gorgeous boutique aesthetic.  I especially LOVE her in these colours.

Top image from The Swelle Life

Bottom image from Glam

Thought of the Day I

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him". - Buddha

Weighing up our values with our intelligence

My point of view from a conversation online with a friend (refer to the beginning of the article below - with a link to the rest of the article):


That's really interesting. I'd like to see the statistics about those who enter cults, because I had read somewhere that the majority of people who join cults independently in young adulthood actually have a high IQ and are evoluntionarily novel to their 'pack.' I'd take this with a grain of salt - I know some damn intelligent religious people and really annoyingly not so smart atheists who all they need to back their argument is that 'religion is stupid' - some of which were brought up with religion, so that's more understandable!

I find that sweeping statement of "Humans are evolutionarily designed to be paranoid, and they believe in God because they are paranoid," in some instances is certainly true, but what about the capacity within our brains to 'feel' the presence of a universal consciousness? I just hate sweeping statements that put people in a box where they're suggesting that fear and paranoia is a part of ALL religions! 

Individuals can be a combination of the things they are suggesting: I 'care' about strangers to an extent as we are all a part of the one organism - so this article suggests that I am smarter in this case via being evolutionarily novel, BUT if I'm religious - which I am - I'm put into another box yet again which suggests that I can't be religious and liberal simultaneously. And I was an atheist during high school with an IQ at the time of 126 and now I'm Wiccan... I know it's all very general science, but it's... kind of weak! 

I simply don't like the suggestion that I cannot have social values from my religion and not be able to see past the values which are 'dictated' to me - certainly not the case with Wicca!  Just because I have these set of values does not mean that I do not have the capacity to question and reason other people's values.  Perhaps I'm reading into this far too much!

An excerpt of the article

From Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — More intelligent people are statistically significantly more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are novel to the human species in evolutionary history.  Specifically, liberalism and atheism, and for men (but not women), preference for sexual exclusivity correlate with higher intelligence, a new study finds.

The study, published in the March 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Social Psychology Quarterly, advances a new theory to explain why people form particular preferences and values.  The theory suggests that more intelligent people are more likely than less intelligent people to adopt evolutionarily novel preferences and values, but intelligence does not correlate with preferences and values that are old enough to have been shaped by evolution over millions of years."

"Evolutionarily novel" preferences and values are those that humans are not biologically designed to have and our ancestors probably did not possess.  In contrast, those that our ancestors had for millions of years are "evolutionarily familiar."

Click here to read the rest of the article
- Thanks Steph!