The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

A Meal Blessing
03:32 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 553






Holy mother earth,

yours is the power

to grow,

to destroy,

to give birth.

We conjure you now,

by seed and by shoot,

by flower and fruit,

by light and by love,

from below and above,

in your ancient names:

Kore, Demeter, Persephone.

Grant us the blessings of your body.

Thank you for the blessings of your body.

from the Church of All Worlds







Blessed Be!

The Wiccan Rede
03:25 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 555




Bide the Wiccan Laws we must

In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.



Live and let live,

Fairly take and fairly give.



Cast the Circle thrice about

To keep the evil spirits out.



To bind the spell every time

Let the spell be spake in rhyme.



Soft of eye and light of touch,

Speak little, listen much.



Deosil go by the waxing moon,

Chanting out the Witches' Rune.



Widdershins go by the waning moon,

Chanting out the baneful rune.



When the Lady's moon is new,

Kiss the hand to her, times two.



When the moon rides at her peak,

Then your heart's desire seek.



Heed the North wind's mighty gale,

Lock the door and drop the sail.



When the wind comes from the South,

Love will kiss thee on the mouth.



When the wind blows from the West,

Departed souls will have no rest.



When the wind blows from the East,

Expect the new and set the feast.



Nine woods in the cauldron go,

Burn them fast and burn them slow.



Elder be the Lady's tree,

Burn it not or cursed you'll be.



When the Wheel begins to turn,

Let the Beltane fires burn.



When the Wheel has turned to Yule,

Light the log and the Horned One rules.



Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree,

By the Lady, blessed be.



Where the rippling waters go,

Cast a stone and truth you'll know.



When ye have a true need,

Hearken not to others' greed.



With a fool no season spend,

Lest ye be counted as his friend.



Merry meet and merry part,

Bright the cheeks and warm the heart.



Mind the Threefold Law you should,

Three times bad and three times good.



When misfortune is enow,

Wear the blue star on thy brow.



True in Love ever be,

Lest thy lover's false to thee.



Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:

An ye harm none, do what ye will.

Butt Prints in the Sand
03:24 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 557




One night I had a wondrous dream,

One set of footprints there was seen,

The footprints of the Goddess they were,

But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,

and I asked Her, "What have we here?

These prints are large and round and neat,

But much too big to be from feet."

"My child," She said in somber tones,

"For miles I carried you alone.

I challenged you to walk in faith,

But you refused and made me wait."

"You would not learn, you would not grow,

The walk of faith, you would not know,

So I got tired, I got fed up,

And there I dropped you on your butt.

"Because in life, there comes a time,

When one must fight, and one must climb,

When one must rise and take a stand,

Or leave their butt prints in the sand."



Author unknown





Blessed Be!

GUIDED MEDITATION FOR A MAGICKAL NAME
03:22 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 559




If you have access to a tape recorder, you should record the following meditation as it is very easy to allow your mind to travel with this method.



If you are one that has a good, clear memory, then you may choose to do it entirely from memory.



For this exercise to begin, you need to do whatever it takes to relax, clear and protect your mind.



"You are standing at the edge of a forest. You are on a path that has come through a meadow of tall grass. Upon the path, you are aware of birds and other animals' presence. You can hear and see the animals scurrying in the grass around you. You can smell the various scents of flowers and weeds as you walk barefoot through the soft loose dirt of the path. There are areas where the grass covers the path, but it is very soft and pleasant to your feet. There is a taste of freshness in the air as if it has just rained, yet the path is dry.



As you enter the forest, you notice that the trails of animals are leading off in different directions. You stop to consider the animals that made these trails through the woods. There are larger paths and smaller ones.



Look down these pathways and determine if you can see one of these animals. Choose a path and follow it. The path leads a winding trail deeper and deeper into the forest. There is no human life this deep within the woods.



Up ahead is a clearing and you head towards it. In the clearing, you see what looks like steps. As you near the object, you see that it is the steps of a very ancient building. Look around you and see that all paths end here.



Climbing the steps, you come to a great door with a polished knocker, which you use to rap on the door. The door opens to you. Before you are more steps. Look around, what do you see? Now climbing the inner stairway, you reach the upper room without a door. As you enter the room, you notice that it is a library in which there are thousands of books. Look around and if you feel drawn to a particular section, maybe you'll be drawn to a particular book. Take this book and examine its cover. What do you see?



Mark this well within your mind.



Replacing the book, descend the inner stairwell and exit the building. The door closes behind you as you descent the outer steps. Remember and find the SAME PATH that brought you here. Follow the path back through the forest the same way you came. You find yourself back at the edge of the forest, again at the meadow. Turn around and thank the animal that made this path. Go back through the meadow, noticing the birds and animals, sights, sounds and smalls of the journey as before. Return to your body.



Open your eyes slowly and breathe normally. Move your limbs, fingers and toes. You have returned. Write down this experience in your mirror book. Remember what you saw in the library. The information that you received will lead you to a magickal name. Follow up on this information, and pay close attention to detail.







http://ladyoftheearth.com/meditation/magickal-name.txt

The Witches and the Candle
03:21 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 561




Once there were four young witches who visited an elder at her small house where they talked long into the night about many wondrous things. Finally it came time to sleep and the elder said, "I'm sorry friends... but there is only one spare bed, so the rest must sleep on the floor."



"So who should get the bed?" asked one. "And how should we decide?" asked another. The elder thought for a moment and said, "I'll place a candle on the table for each of you to blow out... and the one to use the best magic will win the bed."



So the first witch approached the candle and focused on the air. Soon a strong wind was circling the room and knocking pictures from the walls. Finally the wind hit upon the candle and blew out the flame. "Very good," said the elder as she re-lit the candle and re-hung the pictures, "Who would like to try next?"



So the second witch approached the candle and focused on the flame. Soon the flame was three-feet tall and burning like a torch. The candle was quickly consumed and the flame snuffed itself out. "Again very good," said the elder as she set out a new candle and inspected the ceiling for scorch marks, "And who would like to try next?"



So the third witch approached the candle and focused on the wax. Soon the wax was melting and forming a gooey puddle that ran off the table. The wick was eventually drowned and the flame sputtered out. "Again very good," said the elder as she set out a new candle and pried melted wax off the table, "And who is left to try?"



So the fourth witch, who was the youngest of all, approached the candle and thought for a moment. Then licking her thumb and forefinger, she reached out her hand and pinched out the flame. "Ah ha!" said the elder, "That's the best of all!" "What?" cried the others. "How can that be? You said the best magic would win!" "And it has," said the elder, "For the first, best magic is sometimes simple mundane effort."



So it was that the three witches had to sleep on the floor, and the youngest got the bed.





By Kitchenwitch

Links to Pagan Chants
03:19 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 563




http://www.earthspirit.org/mtongue/chtlib/chtlifr.html



http://www.earthspirit.org/mtongue/mothertongue.html



http://www.seeliecourt.net/panpipe/chant.html



http://www.cyberus.ca/~phoenix/hedra/



http://www.angelfire.com/music4/thegoddess/chant.html



http://www.geocities.com/lavenderwater37/invocations/gathering.htm



http://www.geocities.com/lavenderwater37/invocations/



http://www.psnw.com/~galfo/nightpath/songs_and_chants.html



http://www.witchway.net/ritual/ritual.html





Fire Song



We can rise with the fires of freedom,

Truth is a fire that burns our chains,

And we can stop the fires of destruction,

Healing is a fire running through our veins.



© Starhawk

Hearing Whispers of Mary Magdalene’s Voice
03:17 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 565




Hearing Whispers of Mary Magdalene’s Voice



By PATRICIA LEFEVERE Special Report Writer, New York



Sluts, tramps, harlots -- such women populate the pages of the Hebrew Bible, mostly authored by men. Yet the prostitute par excellence of the New Testament, Mary Magdalene, remains an enigma. Nowhere does it say she lived a life of prostitution. Yet her image as a repentant whore has fascinated painters, preachers, playwrights and the public down the ages.



Mary is the one from whom Jesus expelled seven demons, the one who washes, anoints and massages him, who witnesses his death and burial and is the first person to whom he appears after his Resurrection.



She is likewise the woman who has long haunted the dreams and waking hours of actress Anita Stenger Dacanay.



After a year of reading every book she could corral about Mary Magdalene -- both scholarly and fictional -- Dacanay wrote a play about her, titled “Qadishtu.” The word is Akkadian, the Semitic language of Mesopotamia, and refers to women who lived in temples in the goddess-worshiping civilizations of the Holy Land and parts of the Middle and Near East.



Scholars have labeled these women “prostitutes,” probably because of their liberal sexual practices, Dacanay believes. Yet she has learned that the literal translation for qadishtu is “sanctified” or “holy women.” What if these women were, as some scholars hold, priestesses in the tradition of goddess worship? Could Mary Magdalene have been one of them? What was her relationship to Jesus? These are some of the questions that Dacanay, who performs the one-woman show, raises with her audience.



The playwright is also concerned about Mary’s significance to women of today. She’s convinced that Mary Magdalene represents every Christian woman. Her depiction as a sinful penitent -- the classic fallen woman -- is part of the heritage that has been yoked to women in the church for centuries, up to and including our own, Dacanay said.



She spoke with NCR at JFK International Airport here in February en route to Chicago, where she lives with her husband, Gary. Dacanay is a member of the Still Point Theatre Collective, a ministry of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in suburban Lincoln Park.



The actress has been touring with the company’s “Points of Arrival; a Jean Donovan Journey.” The play depicts one of the four American religious women raped and murdered by Salvadoran soldiers in 1980.



http://northernway.org/cpprayers.html



http://northernway.org/cpinfo.html

Meditations
03:15 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 567

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/145/story_14571_1.html

Beltane
03:12 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 570




Celebrating the Seasons

Lore and Rituals by Selena Fox



Beltane

Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, happens at the beginning of May. It celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life. The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora. The God emerges as the May King and Jack in the Green. The danced Maypole represents Their unity, with the pole itself being the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the Goddess. Colors are the Rainbow spectrum. Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight.



Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend. Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within. On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it. Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck. Welcome in the May at dawn with singing and dancing.





Beltane Customs Notes

from a Workshop by Selena Fox presented at 1997 Beltane Festival at Circle Sanctuary from a work in progress © 1997, Selena Fox, PO Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 USA



Sacred Time

Going A-Maying & Bringing in the May -- Merry-making and Nature communion. * Midpoint between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. * In Pagan Rome, Floralia, from April 27-May 3 was the festival of the Flower Goddess Flora and the flowering of Springtime. On May 1, offerings were made to Bona Dea (as Mother Earth), the Lares (household guardian spirits), and Maia (Goddess of Increase) from whom May gets its name. * Roman Catholic traditions of crowning statues of Mary with flowers on May 1 have Roman Pagan roots. * Marks the second half of the Celtic Year; one of the four Celtic Fire Festivals. Complement to Samhain, it is a time of divination and communion with Fairy Folk/Nature Spirits. * Pastoral tradition of turning sheep, cows, other livestock out to pasture. * In Pagan Scandinavia, mock battles between Winter and Summer were enacted at this time. * Building on older tradition of this time being a holiday for the masses, in the twentieth century, May Day has been a workers' holiday in many places. * Some say that Mother's Day, in the USA, Mexico, and elsewhere has Pagan roots.



Maypole

Forms include pole, tree, bush, cross; communal or household; permanent or annual. * In Germany, Fir tree was cut on May Eve by young unmarried men, branches removed, decorated, put up in village square, & guarded all night until dance occurred on May Day. * In England, permanent Maypoles were erected on village greens * In some villages, there also were smaller Maypoles in the yards of households. * Maypole ribbondances, with two circles interweaving; around decorated bush/tree, clockwise circle dances.



Flowers & Greenwood

Gathering and exchange of Flowers and Greens on May Eve, pre-dawn May Day, Beltane. * Decorating homes, barns, and other buildings with Green budding branches, including Hawthorn. * Making and wearing of garland wreaths of Flowers and/or Greens. * May Baskets were given or placed secretly on doorsteps to friends, shut-ins, lovers, others. * May Bowl was punch (wine or non-alcoholic) made of Sweet Woodruff blossoms.



Beltane Fires

Traditionally, sacred woods kindled by spark from flint or by friction -- in Irish Gaelic, the Beltane Fire has been called teine eigin (fire from rubbing sticks). * Jump over the Beltane Fire, move through it, or dance clockwise around it. * Livestock was driven through it or between two fires for purification and fertility blessings. * In ancient times Druid priests kindled it at sacred places; later times, Christian priests kindled it in fields near the church after peforming a Christian church service. * Rowan twigs were carried around the fire three times, then hung over hearths to bless homes. * In the past, Beltane community fire purification customs included symbolic sacrifice of effigy knobs on the Beltane Cake (of barley) to the fire, or, in medieval times, mock sacrifice of Beltane Carline (Hag) who received blackened piece of Beltane Cake; Maypoles in Spain were each topped with a male effigy which was later burned. Contemporary Pagans burn sacred wood and dried herbs as offerings in their Beltane fires.



May Waters

Rolling in May Eve dew or washing face in pre-dawn May Day dew for health, luck, beauty. * Getting head and hair wet in Beltane rain to bless the head. * Blessing springs, ponds, other sacred waters with flowers, garlands, ribbons, other offerings. * Collecting sacred waters and scrying in sacred springs, wells, ponds, other waters.



Sacred Union & Fertility

Union with the Land focus, often with actual mating outside on the Land to bless fields, herds, home. * May Queen (May Bride) as personification of the Earth Goddess and Goddesses of Fertility. * May King (May Groom) as personification of Vegetation God, Jack-in-Green -- often covered in green leaves. * At Circle Sanctuary, in addition to May Queen & May King, is May Spirit Couple, an already bonded pair. * Symbolic Union of Goddess and God in election/selection, crowning, processional, Maypole dance, feast. * Morris Dancers and pageants (with Hag & Jack-in-Green) to awaken the fertility in the Land.



http://www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/Beltane.html

Sowing Seeds for a New Spring
02:56 Aug 16 2005
Times Read: 572




A Celtic ritual for helping your life's garden grow.



By Mara Freeman



The spring equinox in March marked the New Year in earlier days, and the best time to sow seeds for the new harvest. In Ireland, the seeds were offered up for blessing of Saint Brigit, who was once a goddess associated with the earth, the sun and fertility. In Wales, families went out into the fields to call on the Corn Spirit for a good harvest. They poured a libation of cider on the ground and buried a piece of plum cake as a libation to the Earth. After the feast, they joined hands and danced across the field. A West Country Spring blessing captures this spirit:



Good luck to the hoof and horn

Good luck to the flock and fleece

Good luck to the growers of corn

With blessings of plenty and peace!







Sowing our Seeds



Light a candle at your altar, center yourself, and ponder on what seeds you would like to sow in your life this year. Write down everything which comes to you in a list, then choose three of them that you can really focus on: one for yourself, one for your family or community, and one for the planet.



Seed will remain forever dormant unless it is planted in earth that has been well prepared for it. What groundwork do you need to do before your seed-ideas can germinate?



In the modern world, we are continually bombarded with distracting stimuli. The straight, orderly furrows of a plowed field remind us of the need to focus on our own projects. Look at ways in which you can clear space and time in your week for cultivating the delicate new shoots that will appear.



As the plow may encounter hard, stones in the soil, we may allow all sorts of things to get in the way of our growth. Take a look at any obstacles, within or without, that may prevent you from working towards your most important goals. How do you plan to deal with them?



Visualize your seed-ideas growing and becoming strong, healthy “plants.” What will each idea look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like when it comes to fruition? Paint a picture in words or in colors, making them as real as possible, and place on your altar.

Ask Brigit to bless these projects with her life-giving sun and warmth.



Now re-enter your daily life and be sure to nurture your seed-ideas with the four elements:



Air = inspiration

Fire = enthusiasm

Water = imagination

Earth = practical application



… and watch your garden grow!