New Wiccan mag online

I haven't had time to really go through this in great detail.  I think I will leave people to make up their own minds about this.  It does cite the 'seven wonders' from 'American Horror Story - Coven' but leaves no further information.  It otherwise looks quite basic.  How do we all feel about this?

http://issuu.com/paigebennett/docs/esbat-final-print 

My advice as a healer - psychophysiological mindfulness is key

As the old saying goes ‘Your body is a temple.’  It is true.  Your body is a receptacle of memories, feelings and thoughts in various areas of the body.  As you experience the world, so does it flow through your chakras and meridians, affecting your aura, moods and physical presence.

It is my belief that it’s not only mindfulness but psychophysiological mindfulness that creates strong foundations for your life, your workplace, family and free time and contributes to your own healing in so many ways.  As they say: prevention is far better than cure and I always look for holistic ways to solve problems.

We usually associate mindfulness with becoming acutely aware of the patterns, of thoughts and feelings that flow through your mind every day, but we also need to treat our bodies well to help with this process and eliminate any possibilities that what you are ingesting or how much you are exercising is either assisting or burdening your psychophysiological health.

I was inspired to write this quick blog article from another article published in The Age today titled ‘How healthy is your relationship with food?’ where it’s recommended that you eat when you are hungry rather than trying to starve yourself to stay in shape, the former being far more effective for your health.  The author Paula Goodyer notes:

“People often get fixated on counting kilojoules, for instance, but learning to count kilojoules doesn’t teach you to listen to your body,” she says. “One characteristic of people who have a healthy relationship with food is that they eat more intuitively and are more aware of their appetite. They rely on internal hunger and satiety cues to know when it’s time to eat and when it’s time to stop – and their reasons for eating are physical, not emotional.”  

I like this far more than any of the other fad diet ideas.  It's so important to listen to your body.   Are you eating a range of holistic foods that are a variety of colours and textures?  Have you become aware of how some foods affect you which you could live without?  A personal trainer recently told me that about 80% of maintaining your shape/wellbeing/health is by eating well.  What you ingest can affect your moods, but your moods can then affect what you ingest with 'reward' foods or substances.  If you're not getting enough water or exercise your moods will be affected.  Pay attention to those needs just as you would with your own child who eats too much sugar or colouring. 

Many people are not accepting of their moods being affected by how tired they are - like a toddler losing their grip because they're just plain tired, so tune in.  Sometimes our moods are affected by how our bodies feel or the reverse: stress can have dramatic affects on the body too which can cause psychic blockages and/or contribute to stress or trauma already existing in the body.   

[For the record, I am not, however, going to make any claims leading off from this point about cancer caused by psychic blockages in the body – I believe in holistic prevention and would never try to take a client away from the doctor’s surgery].

Adults are affecting their bodies all of the time by not realising that they have a reliance on certain substances to lift their moods nor are they watching their moods after a big night out or considering what they ingest as a part of a cycle whether short term or as a part of an old habit that needs to be altered.  As with all things (especially any strange herbs you're incorporating) - doing some research is always a good idea.

That’s not to say ‘Don’t ever eat sugary foods’ – you need to enjoy your life.

What about exercise?  If you don't like the gym, change your routine to incorporate more outdoorsy things to get out in the fresh air - do what you enjoy then you'll get more out of it.  I don’t do a great deal of hardcore cardio and weights because I’d rather have the energy the next day to go for a 30-40 minute walk and silently take in the sun and that works really well for me.   Keep it lively too – what are the many variations you could do of the one thing with or without weights?

Consider this: What is your body's 'true will'?  Are you meant to have shape to your body but are perfectly healthy in that form?  How do you express yourself through your body?  It's all key to a healthy image of yourself outside and in.

)O( Elspeth.

Happy Yuletide! My interview with the ABC for the Solstice & some more facts about Yule

I had a lovely interview with the ABC two days ago which was aired on ABC774 yesterday which you can read all about here.

Winter solstice - Yule

One of the eight sabbats (sun cycles), Yuletide is a time to provide one another with gifts and coax the sun back into shining down into our lives for the harvest while we feast with abandon over the winter stores as the sun returns - but to make sure that the sun did return, ancient pagans would make sure to have their Winter Solstice rite.

The Holly King (God of the Waning Year) is overtaken by the Oak King (God of the Waxing Year) – a tree who is about to regrow its leaves into the warmer months and strengthen as the holly plant is at its weakest point and is ‘overtaken’ by the oak.   The Goddess gives birth to the Child of Promise and Pagans celebrate the Sun (Son)’s return.  Yule celebrates the birth of the child of promise whose birth signifies the renewal of the land so that we may all feast again on the harvest of the coming year - also our psychological harvest.  

Though Samhain is really a time to put the last year behind you, it's time to consider your harvest of the last year which you are now using up and how you will chose to sew the seeds of the next year until Yule.  Consider planting seeds around this time to see through the following year.

In Mythos Osiris (of Harvest) is killed by his brother Set (of night) and ripped into pieces.  Isis, wife of Osiris, finds all of the body parts of her husband, binds them together with magick and revives him for long enough to mate with him and produce their child Horus 'The Lamb' or 'The Light' which are also used to describe Jesus as the Mother Mary and Jesus are also archetypes for Isis and Horus.  The keening of Isis with her sistrum is incorporated into the Winter Solstice ritual in 'A Witches' Bible' as she encircles Osiris' body seven times.

Yule is one of the lesser sabbats, as the lesser sabbats fall on equinoxes or solstices and mark the changes of the four seasons and the greater sabbats are Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lammas which represent that season at its highest point.

    

Solstice means ‘the sun stands still’ and sabbat means 'repose' or 'to rest' so this particular sabbat is a time to rest, feast and enjoy but also to let go of what is holding you back.

More on this Sabbat...

Etymology of 'Yule'

From the Norse “Iul” meaning ‘wheel’ to represent the turning of the sun at solstice where the people would feast on the last of their winter stores with abandon with ale & slaughtered livestock, leaving some for the nisse.  The nisse are the little people or gnome/troll-like creatures that demanded food on that eve, or else there could be trouble, particularly from the Julenisse...

"...the Julenisse is a kind of cross between Father Christmas and a nisse. The most characteristic features of Norway's answer to Santa Claus are his red stocking cap and long white beard. The Julenisse wears knee breeches, hand-knitted stockings, a Norwegian sweater and a homespun jacket. On top he wears a heavy fur coat — it can get cold in Norway in the winter. He is jolly and happy, but can also be stern and even a jerk. If you don't stay in good with him through bribes, he can sabotage your happiness in any number of ways."

(Source: Norweigan Christmas by Rick Steves )

The Wild Hunt

Rather than re-hash this information on The Wild Hunt I thought I'd send you to a very well written and researched article by Cassandra Eason which you can find here on The Wild Hunt which is celebrated/marked at this time of year.

Symbology in the current Christian Church.  From 'The Witches' Bible':

At Dewsbury in Yorkshire, for nearly seven centuries, church bells have tolled ‘the Devil’s Knell’ or ‘the Old Lad’s Passing’ for the last hour of Christmas Eve, warning the Prince of Evil (Holly King/Winter) that the Prince of Peace (Oak King/coming spring and grain) is coming to destroy him.  Then, from midnight on, they peal out a welcome to the Birth (the Sun/Son/Jesus/Horus archetype).

Worship in Ancient Britain

‘Wooden pillars throughout Europe were aligned with the rising of the sun of winter solstice have been recently dated to 3200 – 3000 BC. (Newgrange in Ireland, Maes Howe in Scotland, Stonehenge and the Dorset Cursus in Britain), enabling us to currently calculate this holiday to be at least 5,000 years old.’

(Source: Solitary Witch [listed below])

Welsh winter solstice (‘Alban Arthan’)

The chief Druid would cut mistletoe from the oak tree as a protection against fire and lightning

Befana

In Italy a witch Befana (Epiphany) would fly on the Twelfth Night and put gifts for children down chimneys

(Source: 'A Witches' Bible')

References: 

The Witches Bible (1984) by Janet and Stewart Farrar,Phoenix Publishing Inc

Solitary Witch - The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation (2009) by Silver Ravenwolf, Llewellyn Publications.

The Witches Bible (1984) by Janet and Stewart Farrar,Phoenix Publishing Inc

More eco products for the home on a low budget

Hello fellow pagans!

Normally living off of the smell of an oily rag means that how you spend your money is better for the environment (a) because you are consuming less in general and (b) because often the products that you do use can be used in various ways.  What may be missing from the general household are products that are also biodegradable and are grey water safe for your garden.

Here are a few tips and tricks to keep you going...

What's in the image below

Poppy Seeds: An amazing exfoliant which means that you won't be using horrible products with plastic beads in them which are terrible for the environment.  Great to use on the face once a week.
Face washer: I wet the face and polish it in the morning only with a face washer, then use my face wash after that.
Bi Carb soda: A very fine exfoliant to use once daily if you need finer work done on the face.  Also great in combination with vinegar to clean areas of the house.
Lavender oil: Pure 100% is great for blemishes.
Apple cider vinegar: can be used as a toner for the face
Dr Bronner's Castile Soap: An incredible cleaner for the house (one part soap to 40 parts water), it's three times more effective than soap.  Great to use once a week on your hair before putting a treatment through, but don't use much, it's very drying.  It has fair trade ingredients, is biodegradable, vegetable based and can also be used about the home in your washing machine (1/4 cup to 1/3 cup for a regular load) and even to brush your teeth with.
Enviro Care Sensitive Body and Hair Cleanser + Enviro Care Hair Conditioner and Treatment: this stuff is fantastic.  You can use the body & hair cleanser for bubble bath and it's safe for babies.  Both products are biodegradable and grey water safe.  You can grab them from Eco Office Supplies online.

What's not in the above image - unpackaged products from Lush:
Lush sell solid shampoo bars which are free of packaging and great for travelling.  They also have 'toothy tabs' which are solid pills of toothpaste - also free of packaging.

Remember that stationery energy makes up for the majority of carbon emissions in the home - get onto it!

)O( Elspeth

Great links for studying the Gardnerian path

This wonderful thesis 'Text A: Teasing Out the Influences on Early Gardnerian Witchcraft as Evidenced in the Personal Writings of Gerald Brosseau Gardner' by Lisa Crandell has been passed around from witch to witch - and as I'm already only seventeen pages in I'm feeling a great deal of the knowledge I've been taking in forming into the one marvellous piece of work - all 501 pages of it in total!

TheWica.co.uk also walks you through various elements already found within the above thesis as well as more detail around the life of Gerald Gardner.

Enjoy!

Desired Home XXI

Zuglegit, Budapest

via Weird Tales Magazine

The stop as it stands today

via Hampage

On Silence

As many of you may have read before, a witch must know 'when to be silent.'  I've seen this interpreted in many ways over the years, from being silent about our practice so that it remains a mystery system, not revealing too much about your practice or in regards to remaining silent over your identity as a witch and to conceal the identity of your fellow witches.

I've have had to recently be careful about all of the above. My biggest lesson over the past year has been over what I reveal to whom, because not everyone is understanding or helpful.  I noticed that older witches rarely divulged detailed information about their practice and began to understand why - because other witches who wanted to bring them down could use that against them - a harsh reality, but also true.  I've ended up sharing experiences that I gain through group ritual, then only telling close friends about fascinating results I have had during solitary experiences.

I think to begin with, it's great to bounce your ideas off of other witches to gain some guidance and insight into the direction of your practice.  I can't imagine the past 5 years without having those conversations which lead to certain rituals, books and helped to unravel more understanding about the rationale behind the practice of other witches - whose ethics, ideas and ideals may be entirely different to mine.  They have opened up my world.

Also, during this time I have ended up with mentors who have made me a better and more confident practitioner who encouraged me to learn a healing modality which lead to my clairvoyant healing and opened up my psychic abilities and I've felt so held by them.

I have found that I can take many friends and family on my journey and explain my story, but that one story completely shakes them up - even though they have heard equally strange things from me before - which leads me to retract and only tell certain people my story.  This blog, in essence, is likely to become less detailed and I'm still to consider how I treat this space.  It's a moving feast of my path as I walk it.

It's really odd what people will put down and sniff at when you explain your practice and its results.  In bringing this up with a friend the other day, he recalled a quote from the bible which I felt was perfect for this article, relating directly to those people who either put down your practice or suddenly slander it very unexpectedly and unfairly:

'Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.'

Only you are the true judge of your own practice.

I feel that I have really had my hand at trying to assimilate my practice into society and have it understood, but in truth, it's only really worthwhile keeping amongst other witches.  Despite shamans, druids and witches having been around for many hundreds to thousands of years, it makes sharing our story no easier.  I don't want to sound overtly negative, I'm just sharing my own lesson.

I just entered a new job with lovely people and for the first time in a while, have made no reference to my practice nor do I have a single crystal on my desk or pentagram around my neck.  I need this to be my own personal journey now and not be judged for it with people saying "Well have you seen that image before this vision?" or "It's probably just something else," despite all evidence to the contrary - including other people seeing exactly what you have seen in the astral.  In some ways it seems a shame, but in my other jobs it has created suspicion (though few were suspicious) and now I'm cloaked and concealed away from the judgement.  For others who don't practice, if you say that you see something in their present situation, future or past they can feel suddenly invaded upon or they could feel that you are putting your ego first by showing off your psychic abilities and putting that first before the situation you're looking into.  I cringe to admit that there have been a few occasions where I have done that.

There is a great deal of vulnerability in telling other work mates about your practice as you're locked in that one space every day, five days a week.  If you end up with other people knowing about your practice, they could judge you for "What kind of magick could she do around this situation to get what they want?" and I don't need that around me anymore despite being clear about my practice to get rid of doubts.  I'm also not fond of how people will look at a Buddhist (and I am guilty of this too) and judging them every time they seem to step out of parameters of their ethics.  I even had a boss who pushed to me that if I were a good witch I would contribute to better morale in the office and be a leader - though everyone was as equally unhappy and found it hard to motivate others to lift the morale as a team.  It felt rather unfair to be judged on that level rather than as a human being who found that space as equally toxic as the next person and suffered for it as equally as the next staff member...  And more so as someone who really was fighting to make it a better workplace but had in all honesty given up.

I enjoy now being in a workplace where I am judged as a person on an equal level to everyone else, rather than trying to make myself be treated equally as a witch.  In some ways it was great fun, but I have my own witches to reflect my practice with and great friends who truly support me.  

In many ways, my day to day efforts for feminism and environmentalism are more important within the context of what I contribute towards society to contribute to the bigger picture.  Yes, I do do clairvoyant healings on individuals, but in many ways, the best ethics I can bolster within everyday conversation are related to feminism and environmentalism.  My practice is my own, my experiences are real and I don't need the approval of certain people to feel okay - it would just be nice to see witches be open about their beliefs and practice to the every day man.......  But do we have to?

)O( Elspeth

The "Witches and Wicked Bodies" exhibition and thoughts on how the witch's body depicted in art, how that affects persecution and feeds into the popular imagination

'Before vampires swooped into popular culture and satiated our appetite for sexualized supernatural characters, there was a time when witches, witchcraft and general feminine maleficium held a prominent place in our hearts...'

So starts the article as published via the Huffington Post very recently.  How do we view women and femininity through the witch as a seductress or hag, so tied to her body and how it expresses her?  Why are the most raw and wild aspects of femininity expressed through the female witch's form & clothing?  Is there more to it than just the "bad girl" image, or is it a part of our collective unconscious that celebrates woman being wild and free?  Is she anarchy on a broomstick or just the woman that everyone wants to roam free but may not feel comfortable coming out of the broom closet...  Or just loving her body?

Witches both male and female are taught to honor the earth, their own cycles which tie in with those of the universe and to adore their body as a representation of the divine.  In embracing our nature in its purest form that make us great role models as feminists and for showing others the power of having full confidence in how your body expresses itself and being in tune with your body's needs.  If we feel comfortable in either a solitary ritual or with our coven, we go skyclad, meaning to be clad only by the sky, or in layman's terms: naked.

I will, however, lean towards the stereotype that all witches are women - purely because the majority of depictions of witches in art feature women.

That natural self expression in the face of 'civilised' society as we know it is seen as 'wild' and thus is misinterpreted as an act of exhibitionism with the aim to seduce.  And yet on the other end of the spectrum we have the aged hag and nothing inbetween: these images rarely depict a women of middle age.  Rarely do these stereotypical images of witches feature their own children or the daily activities which make up our spiritual lives and thus the witch is generally depicted as a lone wolf and renegade wench with no family of her own with an insatiable desire for sex or death...  

Or are they society's 'punishments' for taking that path portrayed via the olde version of the media: art?  Are those facets seen in art the qualities those of a women who has been shunned from society: no family, no friends, no regard for the moral fibre of others which all result from her being a "slut" because she is proud of her body and proud of her divine and natural self?  Is that where the stereotypes of the witch really stem from as we see her develop from a beautiful young seductress but never see the years inbetween as a woman on her path?  At one point she was a harlot with a beautiful plump body and the next she's depicted 50 years later missing one eye and cackling.

You'll notice that I went from talking about the divine body to the slut in a very short space of time.  What I wonder is: is the label of "slut" only handed down to witches because of the 'new' standards that Christianity brought to society?  Was the control over the seductress a way to aid people towards the new religion by punishing those who dare express their sexuality openly by controlling society using guilt and the image of the lone witch, forever alone to ward off women from expressing their true wild nature?  If we hate the slut so much and are scared of the old wild hag, then why are we fascinated with her?  Is she so removed from reality and into the popular imagination that she's now a novelty for our entertainment?...  It would seem so.

It is the belief of many that the fashion in which the witch has been depicted over the last 500 years has taken her away from being the healer, the seer, midwife and comfort of a community to someone to be afraid of, to despise for being a "slut" who leads people to ruin and for being the killer of children, crops and fortune.  We once lived in communities who were in touch with their wild side via and thanks to the local witches and shamans who opened doors for people.

Everybody is a sexual being - of all ages and of each gender, just at various stages of their personal development and sexuality.  

Our contemporary practice of honouring the earth as we do ourselves, of loving our bodies and expressing the Divine through our form and clothing makes us role models for all men and women who need to reconnect. 

We reconnect through dance, exercise, meditation, prana, asana, eating good food, feeling the strength in our bodies, being skyclad in ritual and absorbing the elements at different times of the year, rather than running and hiding from it.  We use the body during ritual as a vessel or conduit for the divine to channel through with dancing, meditation, Sufi drum breath, chakra tones, trance, dreams, astral travel and many other techniques to help us raise energy and access the Divine. As the Buddhists engage with mindfulness, we engage with all of nature and the Web of Wyrd through our bodies. 

As witches, we should be proud of that and truly own the healthy and rewarding path that we walk today.

Blessed Be,
)O( Elspeth.

Review of Promethea

Level of reading: I would suggest having three years of reading and experience under your belt before approaching you, but don't let me dictate you from not reading this series as soon as possible!

Promethea is a comic book series for the lover of magick and all things mythological and arcane.  Created from 1999 to 2005 by Alan Moore, J.H Williams III and Mick Gray I was glad to have the entire series available at my whim to soar straight through because there is no way that I could have waited for any length of time to see the whole series through as they were produced.

The artwork is so varied and detailed as well as being perfectly paced and laid out for the reader to interpret - there is never a dull moment!

Promethea takes you through the magickal journey of Sophie Bangs - an average American girl  living in a futuristic world who writes poetry which sees her enter into magickal realms and experiences.  The more that Sophie Bangs writes, the more she realises that she is tied into her heroic role as Promethea who must steer mankind in the right direction.  Throughout the book you are taught about aspects of the occult, tarot and how the tarot links in with the Hermetic Qabbalah as she walks the Qabbalistic Tree of Life.  It certainly helps to already know of characters from the real world such as Crowley, Austin Osman Spare or John Dee but it isn't vital.

This is an incredible series for anyone wanting to learn more about the Qabbalah from scratch as I personally found it hard to pick up like any other form of magick - the Qabbalistic Tree of Life is very complex!  I found that from here I was able to merge so many of the things that I had learnt throughout my magickal journey through the art of the comic book, which as Moore notes is the best way to learn and retain information..

I can safely say that Promethea is an incredible philosophical and magical learning experience, combining so many years of my own reading and training into five comics which aesthetically and theoretically blew me away.  This comic series only added to my learning and has provided me with great respect for Hermetic Qabbalah.  For your own information, the Hermetic Qabbalah  *"is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and theFellowship of the Rosy Cross, and is a precursor to the Neopagan, Wiccan and New Age movements. The Hermetic Qabalah is the basis for Qliphothic Qabala as studied by left hand path orders, such as the Typhonian Order."

Apparently its writer Alan Moore - a ceremonial magician, had been criticised for pushing his own religious believes, though I think this is really a series for anyone - but certainly more for those who love magick.

A must read and well worth owning your own hardcopy of.

*Source: Wikipedia
First image from Pink Ray Gun
Second image from Elephant Eater

Intentions set at Lughnasadh

I realise this is a week late for those in the southern hemisphere, but it could be a good reminder for you given that it's only less than one week!  I'm also only just celebrating Lughnasadh with sisters today and wanted to share this with everyone.

The Goddess gives birth to the child conceived at Beltane: the dark God and the death of the Holly God hail the beginning of the sun's waning path. The harvest is collected for the winter, manifested as we share our personal harvest of the last year: our successes and proud achievements.

This is the first harvest of the year, which now is represented by a psychological and practical harvest of the past year’s achievements.  As the sun wanes and ‘sets’ towards Yule, we seek to ‘set’ patterns for the winter months.  The collection of our successes, achievements and recognition of our abilities is beautifully represented in this story of Lugh:

As a young man Lugh travels to Tara to join the court of king Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The doorkeeper will not let him in unless he has a skill with which to serve the king. He offers his services as a wright, a smith, a champion, a swordsman, a harpist, a hero, a poet and historian, a sorcerer, and a craftsman, but each time is rejected as the Tuatha Dé Danann already have someone with that skill. But when Lugh asks if they have anyone with all those skills simultaneously, the doorkeeper has to admit defeat, and Lugh joins the court and is appointed Chief Ollam of Ireland. He wins a flagstone-throwing contest against Ogma, the champion, and entertains the court with his harp. The Tuatha Dé Danann are at that time oppressed by the Fomorians, and Lugh is amazed how meekly they accept this. Nuada wonders if this young man could lead them to freedom. Lugh is given command over the Tuatha Dé Danann, and he begins making preparations for war.

From this story we can see the empowerment of seeing our strengths and the year’s achievements in front of us – to prepare for the rest of the year and perhaps in the sense of war ‘fight to keep our rights’ and to also focus on what this new moon represents for us as an esbat which focuses on independence, originality, progressive ideas, reformation, universal love, inventiveness, heightened perception, resourcefulness and individualism.  Just as Lugh approached the doorkeeper with individual skills, combine yours & the year’s past achievements to pass the doorkeeper that is in your mind which may hold you back.  The new moon is a time to restart and set new intentions, so with what skills and strengths you have – push them forward and celebrate those who have helped you to achieve these milestones.  This ritual looks at setting those skills and strengths of the last year in place to move forward.  This is the time to ignite your torch of inspiration for winter.