I have been a bit remiss in my blog posting as well as my blog reading.  My laptop is sick and wont be repaired for a couple of weeks.  Right now we are waiting for the girls’ computer to get out of the shop and I’ll wait a couple of weeks before putting mine in to save us the sticker shock.

My time on the one remaining computer in the house is limited as I am sharing it with 3 other people and I am generally not able to get on it in the evenings very much and can’t get on it at all in the morning.  I do plan to work my way back to your regularly scheduled programming soon though – one way or another.

For this week’s Pagan Video Tuesday I share a piece I found on Hecate’s blog a couple of days ago.  While I watched it my heart swelled and my eyes filled with tears.  Yes because it was beautiful and moving and touching in so many ways but also because I long so much to be part of a Pagan community again.

I miss having a group of people to grapevine about the circle with.

I miss having people to sit and toast the Gods and Goddesses with.

I miss having no excuses when it came to honoring the Esbats and Sabbats.

I miss not being a Witch alone.

I spent a few moments on Samhain evening listening to the wind rushing through the dying leaves and whispered my wishes to my ancestors.  I asked them to pull some strings for me.  Desires that revolve around hearth and finances and a home of our own, one day, in the country.

I forgot to ask for this one thing for myself and so I whisper it here in cyberspace and pray that my ancestors don’t mind pulling another string or two that will bring some likeminded folk my way.

I have family.

I have friends.

But, frankly, I’m still feeling a bit lonely.

In any case – may the dance spiral on – may the circle never be broken – may we each find renewal and healing and hope.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:pagan, pagan video tuesday, paganism, video, wicca, witchcraft, youtube

Much of the Wiccan Year Wheel is based on an agricultural lifestyle in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere – in which there are four distinct seasons.

The Sabbats remind us of the cycles of these seasons and of nature itself.  They reflect the times to plant and to harvest; the times when livestock are born, weaned, and slaughtered; and the times when we will know plenty or know only want.

They remind us of our our own life cycles as well that we are each born, live, only to ultimately die.  They remind us of the simple fact that there will always be times when we will be forced to live off what we have been able to store or starve.

And while Lughnasad and Mabon are fairly obviously harvest festivals, this is not necessarily so with Samhain.  In my part of the world, the trees are losing their leaves and growing more bare each day,  gardens are essentially bare, the nights are turning cold.  Traditionally it is time to remember our beloved dead, to contemplate our pasts and our futures, and to dole out candy offerings to costume bedecked children.

Beyond that though, Samhain is (as I was taught long ago) a blood harvest.

In the times of our ancestors this time of year meant culling ones livestock.  Sacrificing these animals was not only as a way to have meat to preserve and last the coming cold season, but was done out of necessity.  Most people simply lacked the means to support the animals until spring came again.

Here, North of the Equator, we approach that time in only the span of several days.  And while most of us do not keep our own livestock, or slaughter our own animals for meat there is wisdom in reflecting on this practice nonetheless.

Have you done enough to see you through the coming dark season?

Have you put aside enough to sustain you through the coming months?

Are there things that you might need to sacrifice or cut out of your life in order to survive the long Winter ahead?

Just some food for thought

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:pagan, samhain, wicca

As I mentioned previously, I was planning to attend the 6th Annual South Jersey Pagan Pride Day Event, well I did! And it was a very enjoyable day and I am so glad I went.

I left early in the morning, but the directions that I printed out from google were wrong (they said to take 70W, but I should have gotten off at 70E), and I ended up about 2 hours out of my way traveling back and forth on route 70 determined to find the street I was suppose to turn down to find the park where the event of was being held.   I had planned on arriving when it started by 9 a.m., but ended up arriving just before noon.

I stayed calm, played my Celtic Woman cd, and eventually called hubby and had him look up the directions again using a different online source. After a few more calls, a few more wrong turns, eventually I arrived at the lovely Cooper River Park in Pennsauken.  There were small Pagan Pride Day signs along the road near the park, and off in the distance I could see a large open area where lots of tables were set up, a play area for kids, lots of trees along the water, and sail boats on the lake.  The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold.

I found the welcome table easily, located right at the end of the parking area and before the very large grassy area where tables\booths were set up in a semi circle, with a small stage area in the center (labeled Mt. Olympus stage on the event map).  I introduced myself to the friendly folks behind the welcome table and picked up a booklet with the schedule and a map outlining where classes would be held, and brief bios for all the presentors.    On the right were stone bleachers all along one side of the grassy area with signs designating different class areas (labeled Athena, and Apollo).   There was also Pan’s Playground – an area set up for the kids to work on craft projects.   They also set up a collection bin near the welcome table for collecting nonperishable food items for donations.

I was just in time to take a class on crystals so headed over to the Apollo area of the bleachers.  The instructor, Nancy Tursi, gave everyone a few small crystals of rose quartz, peridot, and amethyst along with a nice printed out informative card for each.  She led a mediation first without the crystals and than again using each of the crystals one at time so we could feel the difference.  She encouraged each member of the class to discuss what they sensed and which stone they preferred.  We were than put into pairs and worked on each other sending healing energy to our partner using the crystal of their choice. 

After the class I made a tour of the various booths and tables - there were lots of vendors with a variety of  witchy wares (oh the temptations!), artists and green cleaning products, one for reiki and another for massage, two doing readings, and a few representing wiccan\pagan groups.  Not everyone had a business card or flyer, but I did pick up as many as I could and will list them below.

After I made a full circle of all the booths, I stopped at the last one and bought some raffle tickets (lots of various donated prizes from the various vendors) and you picked which one’s to drop your ticket(s) into for a chance to win including a handmade hooded cloak, books, tarot cards, items for children and much more.  After that I decided to eat my lunch which I had packed with me.  I found a picnic table near the parking area and read over the pamphlets and various handouts I had picked up while I enjoyed the sunshine, the music, and the relaxing atmosphere.  

After lunch, I strolled leisurely back to the booths and make a final decision on what to buy but also to see if I could find Karen – who I had only spoken with online through Facebook.  It was a posting on facebook by Karen that alerted me to the event in the first place and she said she was planning on having a booth (Karen does Angel Essence Massage and is a Bach Flower consultant).   I managed to find her and we shared a warm hug and smiles.  Her friend at the table with her turned out to be the instructor from the crystal’s class I had just taken.   Her friend is the founder of Double Visions – paranormal investigations.

After visiting with Karen a bit, I made a final round of the booths, selected a vendor to make a small purchase from (a young woman who was just starting out and was so new she didn’t even have a website yet), and for a little bit watched from the bleachers the ritual that had started in the area near the stage in the center.  It was about mid-afternoon and I was getting tired from my very long winding driving adventure to get there, so I decided to head on home a  bit early rather then stay until 5 pm when the event ended.  Fortunately, finding my way home only took about 45 minutes since I now knew which direction I should be heading

I had a very good time, and it was a great way to relax and spend the day outside with fellow wiccans and pagans.  I really enjoyed meeting new folks and passing out our business cards for 2 Witches Blog.   I also invited a couple of folks to contact us if they were interested in doing a guest post.   Some of the booths were very busy so I didn’t get a chance to speak with everyone.   I was impressed by how organized the event was and the park itself is a great space for holding such an event.   Lots of folks were there with their families and children.   The weather was perfect  so the turn out was good.  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this event next year and hope to attend in 2010.

Other classes\workshops offered:  Past Lives, Goddess & the Grail, Pagan Podcasting, History of Wicca, Feri Tradition, Dance & Movement in Magick, Runes, Interfaith Families, Druid, Drum Circle, Asatru Blot.

Crafts for the kids:  Shake n Paint Swirly Abstact Art, beaded necklaces-bracelets,zip-per fobs and bookmarks, felt pumpkins-acorns-medicine pouches; foamy frames-leaf men-wrath of thanks.

Sampling of some of the tables\booths:

Red Oak Grove - a Neopagan Welsh Druidic group.
Sacred Wind Sanctuary - community of Earth-based faiths.  Note:  they have having a Samhain Festival, Nov. 1, 4:30 – 10:00 pm in Howell, NJ, $10 donation or $5 with potluck donation – festive drum circle, handmade crafts, and fun.  (I already have reservations for a big birthday event that day so I can’t make it – otherwise I would be planning to attend.)
Witches Unite.com (The Black Hat Society) – worldwide lauch Oct. 31, 2010
Pagan Veterans of the USA (no website listed on their handouts)
Karen Bianco – Angel Essence Massage
Nancy Tursi - medium, psychic
Raven Lilies – spiritually inspired creations, woodburning designs.  Just starting out no website yet, email:  raven.lilies@gmail.com
Sun & Moon Metaphsyical Shoppe.
A World Apart – jewelry, gifts, new age items.
Wee Witches – handmade items (soaps, herbal teas, magical tools, wooden witches and more)
Water Gap Hiking Sticks – walking sticks, solar and green products
Wizards Towers – beads and gifts, special orders welcome
Miracles by Angel (no website) – portraits, muruals, custom designs (from photos), 856-669-8773
Thistlefish Studio (no website) – jewelry, 3D art, paintings, cards, 856-785-2727

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:pagan event, pagan vendors, review, wicca, wiccan vendors

I just read about a wonderful festival taking place next weekend right here in New Jersey, and I am planning on attending.  If all goes well, I’ll be sure to take lots of photos and post about it  It is a free event, so if any one who lives close enough to attend, perhaps I’ll see you there - it should be a wonderful pagan filled day. 

Event Listing:  SOUTH JERSEY PAGAN PRIDE DAY
Sunday, Oct 11 9:00a to 6:00p at Cooper River Park Stadium, Pennsauken, NJ

Written by Lady RoseTags:pagan, pagan event, pagan pride day, wicca

Want some more advice aside from the videos? Check out sites like these:

How to Make a Book of Shadows – from About.com

How to Create a Book of Shadows – by Deanna Anderson

The Book of Shadows – from collegewicca.com

Written by Mama KellyTags:wicca, witchcraft

This is a particularly loose ritual format.  It is meant to be customized to the needs of your life and your family.  It is meant to allow you to call upon whatever pantheon you usually work with.

It is split over two days because I know that my own energy and time constraints would not allow me to do everything this ritual would require with only one day to do it in.  You may even spread “day 1″ over the course of a week (or longer).  If clutter has really gotten out of control, or your time/energy/health is significantly limited feel free to take as much time as you need to get rid of the clutter, then spend a day getting the house company clean, then another day to do the house warding/blessing.

Day One

Clean your home, top to bottom.  Open the windows and let the house air out.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  Do what your time and health allow.  But do pay attention to major piles of clutter and clean the important items, trying to clean/declutter something in each room. You want each room to be noticeably different in appearance and “feel.”

While you are cleaning chant something along the lines of:

Dirt be gone
and clutter too
May this home be filled
with troubles few

Day Two

Take blessed salt water and spurge (sprinkle) each room.  A little goes a long way.

Take incense that you enjoy and go through each room, hitting every corner, even inside closets.

Using your athame, a crystal point, or your dominant hand draw either a pentacle or a rune of protection over every entry into your home. This includes every window, every door, every skylight, every drain, every electrical outlet, etc.

If you live in a detached house you can also go outside and draw a protective circle about your residence, walking deosil/sunwise/clockwise, again using your athame, a crystal point, or your dominant hand.

Once your home is completed cleansed and warded it is time to bless it.

Carry a lit candle into each room and call upon the Divine to fill it with love and light and whatever blessings you feel the need for.  You may use the same words in each room along the lines of

God and Goddess hear my call
Touch each floor and touch each wall
Touch each table and touch each chair
Fill each room with blessings fair

God and Goddess hear my cry
Bless each hello and each goodbye
May each guest be trebly blessed
with peace with joy and with rest

Bless each room, bless each bed
Touch each heart and touch each head
God and Goddess hear my plea
Bless my family and bless me

Or you can offer up a customized request for each area of your home.

• You can bless the kitchen by asking that may all who enter it be nourished in body and spirit.
• You can bless the children’s room by asking that it be filled with peaceful sleep and idyllic dreams.
• You can bless the master bedroom by asking for love and passion.
• You can bless the office/art area etc. by asking for focus and creativity.

Written by Mama KellyTags:pagan, paganism, ritual, verse, wicca, wiccan, witchcraft

The above video is a brief 50 second clip from the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You” which shows Jennifer Aniston’s character sitting at a table at a party in which the man she meets identifies himself as “a Wiccan  … a male Witch”, reveals his magical name, and defines Wicca loosely as “a nature-based, pre-Christian religion.”  Her character Beth’s reaction is to mutter “yeah, that’s fantastic.”

I will say upfront that I have not seen this movie and I can’t say that I really intend to.  Not because of this scene, but because I rarely watch much in the way of “chick flicks” preferring instead to spend my TV time with GamerDude who, while a sensitive soul, isn’t about to endure 2 hours of watching women bemoan the lack of a lasting love relationship.

I will also admit, upfront, that I am easily annoyed at portrayals of Wicca in modern media.  I remember being more angry with The Craft for what it portrayed accurately than all of its misinformation as the former was what gave credibility to the latter.  More recently I was a bit miffed by the portrayal of a “killing curse” wielding Wiccan on the CBS show The Mentalist .

The above video is but a few brief seconds in a movie that most viewers, even fans of the movie, probably won’t even notice and almost certainly won’t remember for very long if they do.  But I still found it a bit unsettling.  Not so much Jennifer Aniston’s character Beth’s reaction to her table-mate’s revelation as by the portrayal of the Wiccan in question.

Those of my readers who are Wiccan, or some other Pagan persuasion, how likely would you be at a social function to jump right into identifying your faith right after introducing yourself for the first time?  How likely would you be to reveal your full magical or initiatory name (if you choose to use one) to someone you just met?  Would this be how you would want someone/anyone to hear about Wicca (or your own Pagan faith) for the first time – in an awkward oversharing moment?  Would you want this man, fictional though he is, to be the first Wiccan many Americans meet?Because according to a recent survery most of the United States has little to no idea of what Wicca is and what they do know, scares them?  Now, granted this survey was done by a Conversative Christian polling group but still …

Personally, I rarely identify myself as either a Wiccan or a Witch (unless asked a direct question) unless I know you to some degree.  I do not necessarily need to know you well or intimately but I need to have allowed you to already have gotten to know me a bit so that, whatever the word(s) evokes for you, this revelation will be weighed against what you have come to know about me as a person.  I hope that the impression I give is that perfectly average,  intelligent, kind almost 40 year olds are Wiccan too. 

How do you feel about the portrayal?  How do you feel about Ms. Aniston’s character’s reaction? Please Let us know in the forum.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Note: Please remember that youtube content, especially when copyrighted, tends to come and go quickly and without notice.

Written by Mama KellyTags:"he's just not that into you", jennifer aniston, media, movie, pagan, paganism, wicca, wiccan, witch

I was raised Roman Catholic and while my parents were not religious I was.  From my communion to my confirmation I was “God’s”.   But, the older I got, the more reading I did, and the stronger my own convictions became I found less and less in the Catholic faith that I agreed with.  Like many other formerly Catholic Wiccans I’ve talked to or read over the years Mary stuck around the longest but eventually I realized that while I still believed in the Divine, I could no longer call myself a Christian, never mind a Roman Catholic. Losing my faith was hard, until I realized that my faith was fine, I just didn’t have a religion any longer to call home.

When I read my first real Wiccan book I knew I had a home again.  Dr. Martello’s book showed me that the things I believed made sense, that they had a name, I wasn’t weird, I was just a Witch.  And within a few months I had friends that had similar beliefs, as if by magic.   But, I spent a year on my own, honoring the Sabbats as best I could in my dorm room, or my bedroom in my parent’s house.  When I was invited to an open Candlemas ritual by a friend how could I say no? Years passed and I grew as a Witch with that circle, being initiated to third degree not long before the whole thing imploded. Since then the only times I have been in a group ritual have been at events such as Womongathering.

This year’s Imbolc/Candlemas marks the 20th anniversary of the first time I stepped foot in circle with a group.  I wish I could say that I remember that night in vivid detail.  The fact of the matter is 20 years is a long time, much has happened since that night and I was too nervous to pay attention to making memories.  What I can tell you is that I do remember the sheer joy I had in Wicca at that time.  While I do not feel that joy the same way – the exhuberance of youth is fleeting – Wicca is still the place I call home, even without complex rites or covenmates.  However, that does not mean that I do not on occassion experience whispers of disconnection or discontent and I am not alone.

Recently there has been an exodus of sorts in the online Pagan community away from Wicca. Rev. Hovey, who ran a “Wiccan church” has converted to Christianity, Dianne Sylvan no longer calls herself Wiccan, the hosts of the podcast Deo’s Shadow have announced that they now consider themselves atheist. I understand how one can outgrow a faith, to simply find that your own personal core beliefs have changed and no longer fit.  But also, with a religion such as Wicca which is growing and evolving so much so quickly it is also easy to feel as though the faith itself has moved on without you.  Or, at the very least, to look at what Wicca is today and find it unrecognizable in many ways as compared to the path 20 or more years ago. 

For now, I still choose to see the Divine as being at once unfathomably complex and present in my day to day life.  For now, I still choose to commune with the Divine as God and Goddess … Lord and Lady.  For now, I am still Wiccan.  But, the faith is changing and much like when my own beliefs evolved away from Catholicism, they may one day move me away from Wicca as well.

I won’t say what I think Wicca is or what Wicca should be.  I won’t be that presumptuous.  I will simply share what I wish it could be.  I wish I could walk into my neighborhood Wiccan Church, meet some likeminded people, worship together, and be part of a network of support (to receive and to give) in times of need.  I wish that the Wiccan faith was accurately portrayed on television and in movies even though without the shock value of sterotypes these portrayals may be fairly bland and boring.  I wish it was safer to live life outside of the closet.  But, for any of this to be possible at some point, Wicca will most likely have to convene a council much like they did in 1974 and hammer out what makes up the framework of Wiccan belief.  Individual Witches at some point will have to branch out of their living rooms, rec centers, and public parks (not that there is anything wrong with any of these venues) and create more in the way of permanent sacred places that are open to congragants and newcomers both. 

With the strong feeling so many Wiccans have about eclecticsm, autonomy, and personal freedom I am not sure if any of this would be attainable. But is still what I wish Wicca could become.

Here’s to the next 20 years of Wicca!

Here’s to the next 20 years of my personal spiritual journey!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:Candlemas, Imbolc, religion, spirituality, wicca

Interview with Starhawk, PermaCulture Activist – “we are the earth, interconnected” (7:47)

Written by Mama KellyTags:earth, nature, wicca

Well, at least that is what some folks would say. I don’t think I’m going to Hell, but then again I don’t have all the answers either. The reasons I chose my spiritual path (wicca) are many but for the purpose of this post I am focusing on just a few aspects of how my choice came about. I chose to be a wiccan\pagan because it was the path that resonated with my soul from a very young age (I read my first book by Gardner, Witchcraft Today at age 13).

My father was Seventh Day Adventist (a bit of a zealot to say the least) and my mom a protestant (but rarely went to church). My father would tell me often that I was going to hell for wearing makeup, smoking, and various other minor teenage acts of rebellion. At about age 12, I began searching for a spiritual path that made sense to me because the Christian paths I had seen so far were too cruel and peculiar for me. For one thing, if my father was going to heaven, I definitely did NOT want to be there. He was a child molester. In my young brain it made no sense to me that a man who would sexual assault young girls (from the age of 2 through about 8 or so) could make it into any kind of heaven (just because he went to church and donated all his money) – and if so, then heaven was definitely not a place I was going to try to get into.

I attended a state run Catholic boarding school from 8th grade through 12th, so I had first hand (often seen with my own eyes) exposure to how many nuns one priest can keep happy – in the woods, in their rooms, and well you get the picture. So if the priests and nuns were going to heaven, (not that sex is a bad thing) – it just didn’t make sense to me that if the Church could lie to the world about sex being evil, do it in secret, and still get into heaven – then why would I be going to hell just because I chose a different path? The fact that the church did not allow women to have any positions of authority also played a role in my scratching off any Christian religion as a possible choice.

As I explored various religious paths, wicca was the one I found to be the most soothing to my soul. The individual was responsible for their own actions and would reap the karma from those actions. Women were priestesses and leaders within the Circles, representing the Goddess (an entity of compassion, forgiveness, love, sensuality, death, rebirth – and NOT some male authority who punished on a whim). Wicca respected the laws of nature and honored all living things, believed in being a part of the web of life. These were all concepts I felt to the core of my being and felt were true, and didn’t need a religion to teach them to me, but just felt “right,” so following a path that also honored those ideas was very appealing to me. The wiccan\pagan path is also one that is open to many ideas and encourages the individual to find their connection directly to the Universe\Goddess\God (or what ever name you chose) so there was no one human person trying to cram down any one’s throat their interpretation of the written words that were also written by humans (thousands of years ago in another language that could be interpreted in many ways).

As I grew older and wiser and more exposed to a variety of things in life, I also felt that the teachings of the Native American and Buddhists were wonderful and I could have been very happy following similar paths.

Perhaps it was past life experience on a wiccan\pagan path that also contributed to my choice, or some other reasons, who knows. Now at age 51, I follow a very eclectic spiritual path, which is still mostly wiccan\pagan in nature, and I am very comfortable with who I am, how I live my life, and very certain down to the essence of my soul that I will NOT be going to Hell (but should I be wrong, if I do, as I used to tell my father, “It’s ok cause all my friends will be there too!).

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:about Lady Rose, christianity, wicca