The Pagan Pride Project

Do you know who The Pagan Pride Project are? Don't worry, I didn't either until I came across the website for the Pagan Pride Day here in my area (see post below).

The following is directly from their website that you can visit at The Pagan Pride Project.

Statement of Purpose:
The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization. The primary purposes of this corporation shall be the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs.

Mission Statement:
The mission of The Pagan Pride Project is to foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity, and community.

Defining the Mission Statement:
We try to keep our purpose balanced through the inspirations of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth:

Air: Education
We're never going to be able to practice our spiritual paths openly if we don't give the public accurate information about what we do and do not do.

Fire: Activism
People aren't necessarily going to go out of their way to find out what Pagans really do. We have to have the courage to act on our convictions and do what we need to do.

Water: Charity
We know that what we do returns to us. We need to demonstrate this by offering compassion to our communities where it is needed. When we share our own abundance, we show that we trust the Gods to share abundance with us in return.

Earth: Community
We're never going to be able to practice openly if we don't know anyone else in our local Pagan communities. We need to weave networking webs in our cities, in our towns, and in our rural areas. We need these webs to support one another. That support will also show those who would restrict our practice that we are not just a few isolated wackos, but are a growing congregation of people who adhere to a faith that, while different, is as valid as their own.

Don't you just love the use of elements in their mission statement? I know I do! And it makes so much sense. If we don't have accountability for our faith, who will do it for us? Each one of us has a role to play and we must play that role with love, grace, dignity, responsibility, by being informed, and by the way we live our lives.

I'm proud to be a Pagan . . . and I'm proud to share my beliefs in whatever way I can.

Spell for World Peace

"We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war
but the positive affirmation of peace".

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

I'm working my way through Llewellyn's Witches' Spell-A-Day Almanac for 2011. Today's message is about World Peace and doing what we can, as individuals, to spread the hope of peace throughout the world. Becoming a Reiki practitioner has really brought this concept home to me in that I can, as an individual, make a difference by sending out positive energy to where it's needed most. Won't you join me today in sending the light of peace to the hearts of all people?

You'll need a white candle and some dirt (it's frozen where I live so I used some black decorative stones). Fill a small dish with some dirt (or whatever you're using), carve a peace symbol into the candle and place it on top of the dirt.

Relax and focus on the energy of peace. With your hands cupped, place them near the candle and visualize a very bright white light coming down from above, entering the crown of your head, going down to your heart, through your arms, out your hands, and into the candle. Light the candle, close your eyes, and see this white light of peace spread to the hearts of all people. See all humans everywhere filled with love and existing harmoniously with one another. Believe that this is our future! Leave the candle burning for an hour or two (but never leave it unattended!).

I plan on burning the candle for an hour or two every day and visualizing that white light of peace spreading over the Earth and into every person's heart. Let your light shine!

The Winter Solstice & Yule

I have to admit I'm feeling somewhat discombobulated this holiday season. It is the first for me as a Wiccan and although I embrace all that being Wiccan entails, those old belief systems are there in the back of my mind. I expect that as I go through the month and enjoy all that it has to offer in the way of the Winter Solstice and Yule celebrations, that feeling will go away and I'll be left to revel in the mysteries.

My Yule Altar

Brian and I are going to the Winter Solstice/Yule celebration on December 21st at Circle Sanctuary. Although I practice as a Solitary, it will be nice to celebrate the Sabbat with others who share in my beliefs.

As the Wheel of the Year turns and the days get shorter, the skies become gray and it seems as though the sun is dying, it's in this time of darkness we pause at the Winter Solstice to celebrate something wonderful. On Yule, the sun stops its decline into the south. For a few days it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place . . . and then an amazing, wonderful, and miraculous thing happens - the light begins to return!

In celebration of the Sun's return, the most important part of any Yule festivity is light which could include candles, a fire in the hearth or even a bonfire. It is customary to burn a Yule log to honour the Lord Cernunnos or the Horned God. Because each type of wood is associated with various magickal and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while the mighty oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth.

This year we'll be making our Yule log out of pine. Here's how to make a basic Yule log . . .

You'll need:
A log about 14"–18” long; pinecones; dried berries (such as cranberries); cuttings of mistletoe, holly, ivy and pine needles; feathers and cinnamon sticks; some festive ribbon (use paper or cloth ribbon, not synthetic or wire-lined types) or rafia; fruits and nuts; and a hot glue gun.

A picture from the internet - I'll replace it once my own Yule log is made. Isn't this one pretty?

Most of these items can be gathered outside or found easily enough at craft stores or the supermarket. Just keep in mind you'll be burning the log on your Yule fire so you'll want to use as close to nature as you can. And remember, only pick up items found on the ground, rather than taking cuttings from live plants.

Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon or rafia. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon or rafia. In our house, I'll be placing nine feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family (yes, I include the birds and dogs in that count). Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pinecones, nuts, cinnamon sticks and berries. If you're adding fruit (such as apples) try piercing them first with a floral stick and then 'sticking' them in. Add as much or as little as you like.

Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery. You could also use your Yule log as our ancestors did and burn it in your hearth or in a bonfire outside if you're lucky enough to have a space available for that purpose. Before burning your log, write down a wish on a piece of paper and insert it into the ribbon or rafia. It's your wish for the upcoming year and should be kept to yourself in hope that it comes true. While watching the Yule log burn, share in a cup of hot cocoa, discuss how thankful you are for the good things that have come your way this year and how you hope for abundance, good health, and happiness in the next.

In many Celtic-based traditions of neopaganism, there is the enduring legend of the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King. These two mighty rulers fight for supremacy as the Wheel of the Year turns each season. At the Winter Solstice, or Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King, and then reigns until Midsummer, or Litha. Once the Summer Solstice arrives, the Holly King returns to do battle with the Oak King and defeats him. The Holly King then rules until Yule.

In some Wiccan traditions, the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, battles for the favor of the Goddess, and then retires to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways - the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.

Ultimately, while these two beings do battle all year long, they are two essential parts of a whole. Despite being enemies, without one, the other would no longer exist.

The Yule season is full of magic, much of it focusing on rebirth and renewal, as the sun makes its way back to the earth. Focus on this time of new beginnings with your magical workings!

Response to a 'Dear Teresa' Letter

Yesterday was a very difficult day for me. I received a letter from a friend, who, because of my new beliefs, decided that she couldn't be my friend anymore. I'm hurt. I'm disappointed. And at one point I even questioned what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. At the same time, I understand her concerns and her fears. And I understand that I have to let her go because despite the loss, I also realized that I have to follow my own heart and I have to feed my soul in a way that honors me, the Goddess and the God.

I'm more at peace; more in alignment; more fulfilled; more loving; and more understanding of the world and the people in it ~ although admittedly, it is a huge learning curve and there are moments when I think it might be easier to fall back on my old Christian beliefs. But it would be just that, easy.

I'm more conscious of treating the Earth in a respectful manner and have upped my efforts at recycling, even so much as picking up trash on my daily dog walks. I have a hard time killing spiders in my home and where I can I gather them up and whoosh them out the back door. And I don't run the water when I brush my teeth.

I didn't come to Paganism overnight. It's been a long, long process that, if I look back over my life, I believe started when I was a child. I never fit in. I always did the opposite of what other people did or wanted me to do. I was always empathetic to the point of crying over other people's spilled milk. I've also been able to intuit events in my life and I'm very intuitive about people. I've always been in touch with nature and more than anything else, want to be out in the garden or walking in a beautiful conservancy with trees surrounding me.

The real changes started about a year and a half ago. I bought some Pagan and Wiccan books, began reading and after a few months the old fears caught up with me and I put it all away. I delved back into Christianity with a vengeance. I went back to church, joined the choir and even joined a Christian weight loss group. But it never felt right. I was living a lie and I felt like a fake.

In February of this year I made the decision to listen to my heart and to follow it wherever it led me. It led me to Paganism and Wicca in particular. I make no apologies and offer no excuses. This is who I am. This is where I stand.

To those of you who claim to be 'afraid' for me, that I've gone to the dark side, let me try to rest your fears. I am not a Satanist (in fact I don't believe in the devil or 'Satan'). I do not do black magic or voo doo or hoo doo. I am not a necromonger (which means I don't worship the dead). I do not sacrifice goats or any other living creature. I have not joined a cult ~ I am a solitary practitioner drawing elements from all religions, all faiths and from the world around me. I don't live in the dark.

What I do believe are the 13 principles of Wicca:

1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters (Sabbats and Esbats).
2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with nature in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called ‘supernatural’, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity – as masculine and feminine – and that this same Creative Power lies in all people and functions through the interaction of the masculine and the feminine. We value neither above the other knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energy used in magical practice and religious worship.
5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconsciousness, the Inner Planes, etc. – and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magical exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, magick and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it – a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft – the Wiccan Way.
8. Calling oneself ‘Witch’ does not make a Witch – but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and without harm to others and in harmony with nature.
9. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
10. Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be ‘the only way’ and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
12. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as ‘Satan’ or ‘the Devil’ as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
13. We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

Wicca is a natural religion, grounded in concern for the earth. Some Wiccans believe that all living things (including stars, planets, humans, animals, plants, rocks) have a spirit of some type. Many Wiccan rituals deal with bringing harmony and healing to nature. The vast majority of Wiccans share a great concern for the environment.

Wiccans celebrate the sexual polarity of nature. For example, the fertilizing rain is one manifestation of the male principle; the nurturing earth symbolizes the female. Females are respected as equal (and sometimes at a slightly higher rank) to males.

Sexuality is valued and regarded as a gift of the Goddess and God, to be engaged in with joy and responsibility, and without manipulation or coercion. Wiccans generally accept the findings of human sexuality researchers that there are three normal, natural, and unchosen sexual orientations: heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.

Wiccans have a wide range of beliefs about life after death, but this is what I believe ~ that the soul goes to Summerland after death. Here, we are met with others who have gone before, review and integrate our previous lives on earth, and are eventually reincarnated into the body of a newborn. I believe that after many such cycles ~ perhaps some as female and others as male; some lives with a high standard of living and others in poverty; some in positions of power and others suffering oppression ~ that the individual accumulates sufficient experience to go on to another level of existence about which we know nothing.

I believe in the Three-fold Law (a.k.a. the Law of Return) The law states that:
"All good that a person does to another returns three fold in this life; harm is also returned three fold". This belief strongly motivates each Wiccan to avoid attempting to dominate, manipulate, control, or harm another person.

I believe in The Wiccan Rede ~ the prime Wiccan ethical teaching:
"An' it harm none, do what thou will", which means to say: "As long as it doesn't harm anyone, including yourself and future generations, do whatever you want to." This has been criticized for being too permissive. However, the Rede is actually quite demanding because it requires a Wiccan to carefully evaluate all of the effects that each of their decisions have on themselves, other people, future generations, the environment, etc.

So there it is, and there's plenty more where that came from. Do your research. Don't judge on what you believe from Hollywood or religious radicals. Think for yourself and most of all don't live in fear. When you learn, when you understand, when you've walked in the other person's shoes, when you've asked the questions ~ then we can all do what we were sent here to do . . . LOVE each other, RESPECT each other and to live in harmony with the Earth and all her creatures.

Excerpt from 'Wiccan Beliefs and Practices' by Gary Cantrell

"I elected to reveal my practice of witchcraft publicly simply because I personally feel that the time for intentionally hiding ourselves has come to an end. We are practitioners of a kind, gentle, and peace-loving religion. We are not the bloodthirsty or depraved, orgiastic fanatics all too often portrayed by the entertainment and news media. The general public has been misled about witchcraft for over a thousand years, and now with our numbers reaching an all-time high, possibly in excess of one million people worldwide, we need to stand up and set that record straight.

We are out there by the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands. We are in the arts, the sciences, and the humanities. We are law enforcement officers, engineers, builders, doctors, and farmers. We are a legally recognized religion under the protection of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and our isolation from the rest of the religious community should and must come to an end. With the phenomenal growth of witchcraft since the 1970s and with the free and easy interchange of information afforded to us by things like the Internet, that time will come to pass and it will happen soon. It may be happening now."

So to that friend . . . I wish you Love and Light on your journey through life on whichever path you choose to follow.

Jupiter

Jupiter is going to be the closest to Earth it's been since 1963. It will be within 358 million miles compared to the 390 million miles it usually is from the Earth. This rare encounter between the Earth and Jupiter will be the closest in more than a decade. This is called the ‘night of opposition’ because Jupiter will be the opposite of the sun.

Jupiter and its moons will be closest to the Earth at about midnight tomorrow and will be visible by the naked eye, so be sure to take it in! This is called the ‘night of opposition’ because Jupiter will be the opposite of the sun.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. Jupiter has a mass slightly less than one-thousandth of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian planets.

Lo (moon)

Jupiter rules success, abundance, money, growth, parties, visions, gambling, leadership, politics, power, honor, royalty, public acclaim and fame, responsibility, wealth, business, success, health, love, expansion, and growth. Jupiter's influence is predominantly joviality and is favorable to all acts of sociability including dealings with family, opportunity, group enterprise, and civic functions.

Ganymede (moon)

Jupiter's effect is one of expansion. This is a concept which often misleads most into believing that everything about it is good. Remember, Jupiter brings more abundance, but it is more of the same that exists, not something different. It does NOT activate change. Therefore to invoke Jupiter on behalf of someone who is already suffering, or lacking, would bring about total despair or poverty. It's the influence under which "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," so use caution. It will bring a bumper crop if the seeds have been properly sown and the field well tended; but it won't grow hair on a billiard ball - only a nice shine.

Europa (moon)

Cast spells for "increase" during Jupiter hours. But remember, there has to be something in existence to increase so if it is a money spell, use a dollar bill, or bank book (never depleted) for a "target" or "seed". If the desired increase is for physical strength or stamina, move the time closer to the Jupiter-Mars cusp. The Moon must be waxing in an Earth sign for any increase.

Jupiter is used from Winter Solstice to Vernal Equinox for power, luck, success and things the Sun is used for ordinarily as the Sun's power is weaker during this time.

Callisto(moon)

Correspondences:

Detriment: Greed, Wastefullness
Element: Air, Fire
Day of the Week: Thursday
Number: 4 and 5
Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
Colour: (Deep)Blue, (Royal)Purple
Metal: Tin, Bronze
Gods: Bel, Eurymedon, Jupiter, Marduk, Thor, Zeus
Goddesses: Isia, Hera, Juno, Themis
Crystals: Lapis Lazuli, Amethyst, Turquoise, Sugilite, Saphire, Sodalite, Azurite, Amethyst, Chrysolite, Sapphire, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Azurite
Herbs & Oils: Aloe, Nutmeg, Sage, Melissa, Cedar, Cinamon, Agrimony, Anise, Betony, Dandelion, Hyssop, Juniper Berries, Linden, Mint, Mistletoe, Cedar, Nutmeg
Plants: Agrimony, anise, ash, balm, betony, bloodroot, borage, cinquefoil, clover, dandelion, hyssop, Juniper berries, mint, Mistletoe, nutmeg
Trees: Oak
Animals: Unicorn
Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune
Musical tone: F sharp
Intelligence: Iophiel
Tone: So, A
Letter: D
Angels: Sachiel
Spirits: Hismael