Guardians Grimoire The Eighth

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An Awakening from the Inside

by Estara Korai

It is my opinion that most Guardians are probably shamanic by nature. This is, of course, a controversial thing to say, since the word “shaman” has become grossly overapplied by New Agers, and in response grossly underapplied by scholarly pagans, and so ends up having a whole spectrum of meanings that may or may not have anything to do with our current discussion.

The word “shaman” is Siberian in origin, and because of this its very strictest definition belongs only to those practicing a specific indigenous Siberian vocation. Hardly anyone uses the word this strictly, because there are so many obvious similarities of function and practices between, say, Siberian shamans and American medicine people that we feel there ought to be a word that describes both, and “shaman” has become that word. (Be that as it may, to my knowledge, Native American practitioners often prefer their own term, “medicine wo/man” and are sometimes even offended by the word “shaman.”)

Several writers, including Tom Cowan and John and Caitlin Matthews, have written books applying the word “shaman” to certain kinds of pagan Celtic experiences, because of various similarities that are either seen outright or seem to be implied by the legends. I have seen hardline Celtic reconstructionists and Druids come out against this sometimes, most often with the objection that most modern practitioners, at least, do not experience the period of severe physical or mental distress that typifies the shaman’s initiation in some cultures. It is this extreme experience that carries them to the Otherworld for the first time, and their ability to return to the “normal” world that completes the circuit and marks them as shamans. Admittedly, for many people this is true: and it is unfortunate that shamanic practice has become a Flavor of the Month in New Age practice, another sacred calling reduced to self-help tool for the middle class. (A friend of mine who works in a bookstore has gotten in trouble more than once when someone has pronounced themselves a shaman to her, and she has responded, “Really? What are you doing to heal your community?”)

But from what I have seen, this is *not* what typically is going on with Guardians. Although I have not discussed the Awakening with every Guardian I know, for those with whom I have discussed, *every one of them* went through a serious crisis involving their physical or emotional health, and came out the other side with their calling. One was born with severe heart defects and was given little chance to live even to the age where they could do the surgery. (This was many years ago: today they could do it at birth.) If he survived, he was supposed to become a sickly, weak person. He passed through the waiting period a perfectly normal child; after the surgery, he became quiet and introspective--signs in some cultures that a child has been, or soon will be, “called”--and worked on his physical body with a will beyond his years, becoming not only healthy but an athlete and martial artist. He is, of course, a warrior. Another went through a period of deafness (among other problems) in childhood of which he was later healed, and grew up to take an interest in magical uses of music; a third moved through a number of severe (even life-threatening) allergies to become a gifted “sensitive” psychic.

My own Awakening was not so dramatic on the physical level: the most I can boast of is an unusually long series of ear infections and a gangrenous little finger (it was saved--I still have a full set). My breakdown was purely mental. Since we have received requests for personal stories of Awakenings and other experiences, I have decided to share a little bit of what happened.

There had been signs of me going “this way” from very early on, but nothing dramatic, nothing with which we need to concern ourselves. I’d read some Egyptian and Greek mythology; I had an interest in ESP, which was fashionable at the time. (It was the early 80’s, and I was a preteen.) I had recently come up from Judy Bloom-type books to more adult fare, so I’d read a couple of fantasy novels. Liked them well enough, but that was it.

Even if you were old enough then, you probably don’t remember a show called “Wizards and Warriors.” It was a cheesy live-action show, trying to cash in on the new popularity of Dungeons and Dragons, which my parents had not allowed me to get. It starred some okay people--Jeff Conaway from _Grease;_ Julia Duffy; Duncan Regehr, who went on to the _V_ series and a _Zorro_ series on cable; the guy who was the Emperor in _Empire Strikes Back_ but not in _Return of the Jedi_--anyway, it was pretty awful, and it only lasted for one season. I watched it anyway. The show revolved around the conflict between a good light-haired prince from the South (and his wizard, his sidekick, and his dumb-as-a-post princess girlfriend) and an evil, dark-haired prince from the North (and his wizard and his smart-but-slutty witch girlfriend). You know the routine, right? Pretty standard stuff.

So I was watching this show one night, and my mind started wandering. It wandered into a place full of greener-than-green hills. I noticed vaguely that I looked different to myself. As I hadn’t yet read any Celtic mythology, I didn’t think anything special about the place (except that I loved it instantly), or about the white raven that came to meet me and offered to help me in a female voice. I cast one last thought back to the mundane world and the show I had been watching, the flimsy retelling of the clash of light and dark. “That’s not how it happened,” a newly awakened part of my mind said, chasing after the white bird. “It happened like *this*....”

And that began a long series of travels through my own memories of the Otherworld. It went on for months, each journey more vivid than the last, filled with images both more beautiful and more terrible than I had ever imagined--and each one branded unmistakably as personal memory. Of course I had no idea what was going on, and I was mortified. I thought I was going insane. I tried to stop and couldn’t. I started to have visions of the future. (It sounded like much more fun in theory than it was in practice! LOL!) I developed a morbidly intense longing for the people(?) and places I had loved, coupled with an equally intense dread of those I feared breaking into my waking world after me--very lonely and very paranoid. There was much writing of morose poetry, much dabbling in what little occult knowledge I could get my hands on, the occasional tearful confession of my madness to close friends. A couple actually took me seriously and tried to walk in my world for a while, whether or not they could: but most people ended up avoiding me like the plague. I was too weird. I was, to use a telling and traditional word, fey.

Even after the greatest crush of feeling crazy was gone, I spent years trying to assimilate the experience in some meaningful way. A normal secular upbringing just doesn’t prepare you to deal with going fey the way a traditional pagan culture would have. How nice it would have been if someone had come up to me and said, “I see you’ve been visiting Faery. Some people can, you know, and it’s a useful thing to be able to do. Let me give you some useful tips.” No such luck. I tried dismissing the whole thing as a temporary psychosis, born of the stress of living in an inhospitable town. That didn’t take. I tried looking at it as symbolic of various fears that I had developed, but that felt backward--the fear came from the memories, and was out of all proportions from anything I had experienced in the mundane world. I tried to turn it into some sort of Jungian archetypal psychology involving various aspects of my animus and whatever. That was nice and all, even helpful to parts of my mundane life in some cases, but it wasn’t quite right. I tried ignoring it entirely and hoping that it would go away. No.

No, I was fey and that was all there was to it.

Now that I am much older, and I hope better integrated as a personality, I know how common it once was to pass into Faery through a greener-than-green hill, led by a white animal. I know that magick, the fey, and the gods are real, not creations of my feverish young mind alone. I know that my past, my nature and my calling exist outside the fantasy games and novels and, so help us, cheesy television shows, and are connected to worlds more vibrant than this one has been for a long time. And I know that it is when those rich lands and peoples touch the earth, through the likes of us, that this weary land stirs to life again and regains the will to heal herself.

How much easier our lives might have been if someone had told us all of this from the beginning.

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A Simple Warding

By Iselin Audun

(This article originally appeared in Shadow Feast, about which more is available at http://www.nucleus.com/~kirkwood/shadow.htm.)

The world is a dangerous place. Many of us carry weapons, take self- defense classes, or install hi-tech security alarms to protect ourselves. However, while these methods provide physical protection, they often do not settle the unease we feel concerning the safety of those things we love. One way to lessen these worries is through the use of wards.

Wards are symbols of power used to protect whatever we hold dear. These symbols often differ from culture to culture and from religion to religion, ranging from the Christian cross to the Pagan pentagram. In Paganism, the pentagram is not only worn to show commitment to the Craft, but it is also worn to protect its owner from negative events and influences. Alternatively, a pentagram can be physically inscribed or magically imprinted on anything that needs protection. These are the two most-used methods of warding. Both possess benefits as well as disadvantages.

Physically inscribing an object with a pentagram is the easiest and most direct method. Even if you are not much of an artist, a simple star design can be painted on or carved into the object. Because you are putting physical energy into the inscription, it is easy to visualize that the ward is indeed taking effect. Also, because the ward is permanently in place, it is difficult to forget. Each time you see the inscribed object, you will think of the warding again, which will increase its power.

Nevertheless, physical inscription is sometimes impractical. It may damage the object or attract unwanted curiosity because of the unusual nature of the design. And, of course, someone may protest being painted or carved! In the case of warding an individual, the inscription could be placed on a medallion or a piece of clothing. This, too, has disadvantages. While it makes the inscription easier to hide, it also produces a ward object that is easy to lose and forget about. In other words, some of the ward's permanence is lost.

When physical inscription becomes impractical, magical imprinting can also be used. Magical imprinting involves tracing the pentagram on the object with your finger, visualizing all the while that shining energy is flowing from your hand to create the ward you have drawn. Not only can this type of warding be used on anything or anyone without causing damage, but it also creates protection that is hidden from the untrained eye.

However, visualization and energy direction can be a problem for even the most adept practitioners. If you are unsure about either, you may doubt that anything of significance is actually happening. If confidence and willpower are not behind the ward, it will be very weak indeed.

So, what method can be used if both inscription or imprinting are impractical? One alternative is given below. It is intended to produce a ward that cannot damage the object or be seen by the untrained eye while still being visualized strongly enough to maintain its permanence.

Please consider it a guideline only. All magic, particularly warding, works best if it is personalized. After all, you're trying to protect something you care about. Therefore, adapt the following so it suits your personality and style.

Warding Ritual

Purpose: To protect anything you hold dear, whether that be a person, place or a thing.

Needed: A hand held mirror, a non-permanent marker or grease-pencil, and a candle.

Method:

1.Set your mind to the task at hand. Eliminate disturbing influences that might hinder concentration. If you wish to 'set the magical mood,' do so in any method you desire. Burning incense or playing music are fine as long as neither distract from the warding.

2.Call the gods you wish to witness the event and lend their aid to the warding. This can be either your patron/matron or a god specific to the object. (Thorr is appropriate for warding in general. Not only is his symbol, the hammer, a powerful tool of warding, but Thorr himself is also known as Veurr, "Hallower or Holy Warder." He can be called with poetry, by listing his many attributes, or with a simple "Hail Thorr!" In addition, his hammer can be used as an alternate ward symbol. This is common in the Asatru faith.)

3.With this done, tell the Gods what you intend to do and ask them to witness and guide the rite. Your own words, straight from the heart, are probably the best way of doing so.

4.With the marker or pencil, draw the pentagram upon the mirror's face. This design can be as simple or elaborate as you wish.

5.Light the candle and hold the mirror before it so that the light reflects on the glass. Direct the light onto the person, place or thing that you wish to be protected. See how the shadow of the pentagram is emblazoned on it.

6.State that the person, place or thing is now protected. Not that you wish it to be protected, but that it is protected. In your mind, it should already be done. Again, your own words are probably best.

7.Thank your gods for being there and helping with the task.

8.Reacquaint yourself with the 'real word.' Put out the incense, shut off the music, and clean up the ritual tools. The mirror can be wiped clear and put back to its normal household use. The candle can be saved for your next magical rite or simply used for a night of romance, whatever you wish!

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Astral Projection

By: SharTasha

When I first thought of writing this I was originally going to do a how to astrally project and explain different types and ways of doing it. After much thought I realized that there is a lot to know *before* you should actually try to project and that I could not live with myself if someone tried my exercises who was not ready and something happened to them. So, what I have decided to do instead is give you a little of my history in astral projection. Then go into all the things that you should know first, how to recognize different forms of astral projection and then in the next volume of the Grimoire perhaps go into the how-tos and such so that I will not feel concerned that something adverse may happen.

You may think I am overreacting about the dangers that could befall the unprepared but after long years of doing this myself and the things I have had happen to myself and others I have known I can genuinely say that I do not agree. I have a natural talent for astral projection and have been doing it since I was young…and unprepared. I wish I had had someone to guide and protect me on many of my early journeys when I was still in grade school and I did not have the slightest clue what I was doing or what it was called. My family did not either and I was too scared to tell them (they are not pagan and were not as open to it as they are now some 20ish years later). I clung to words like ESP to make it better, thinking I was seeing things through the other person's eyes with my ability to read their minds. But I was wrong… I was in fact sending a part of me out to travel to places I both knew as well as had never been to. At first it seemed harmless enough, I was going to friends houses while talking to them on the phone and could tell what their room looked like even if I had not been there before… nothing dangerous. Come junior high I was learning about magick and ESP (*hehe* even did a science fair project on it but that's a whole other tale) and was finally putting sense to it. "Dungeons and Dragons" was new and all the rage with my circle of friends and the only books I enjoyed and read were fantasy based and mythology books. I gleaned hints of what I was doing from there. I experimented some more with going out in my dreams and trying to go to people's houses without talking to them at the same time and such but when I did not try was when it really worked. I was getting a little better at it but I could not go anywhere far and could not go to places that I had not been before or did not know the people who lived there. I did it sparingly on my own; I was still quite scared at the whole idea really. I was starting to travel in dreams without consciously knowing it and was later recognizing people I was meeting and places I was going and thinking it was Déjà-vu. I met my husband some 10 years before "in my dreams" before I met him in real life! In high school I was beginning to except what I was doing and had a better idea of what it was, even if I was using D&D terms and fantasy novel ideas, it was a start. It was in high school that I met Estara Korai (as most of you know we've known each other all this time ;P). This is when my talents became used and fine-tuned and I finally had a name for them. We both were studying paganism/Wicca/magick and were finally making progress.

This is when the trouble started that has led me to write this the way I am. Before, I never did it on purpose per-say so that my instincts kicked in and kept me out of danger. Now I was actually trying to go places and see people intentionally. Let me just start by saying that not everyone you meet will be nice. I ran into people who wanted to do harm to me seeing that I was vulnerable. Yes, there are spiteful people running about. I also had to have Estara Korai with me so that I knew where to go back to so I would not get lost. It is much easier to get turned around and completely lost then you'd think. By trial and error I slowly learned how to defend and shield myself and how to guide myself back so that I did not have to have someone shining a bright beacon light so I could find the way back. I learned to send more of myself out to get a better view without taking too much out of my physical body that it would stop functioning. This and many other things I have learned to do, both from experience and things I have learned from books and teachers. This is what I will pass on to you.

My first words about astral travel are _NEVER TRAVEL UNLESS YOU CAN SHIELD YOURSELF_. This seems obvious doesn't it? I wish I knew it when I started out. I learned the hard way that you need a good shield around yourself. When I started to try to go out voluntarily my natural shields that had protected me before did not work as fast. They did not have fair warning to come up and I was left open for attack. And attacked I got. There are people out there looking for people to attack…I know this sounds odd and such but I can't explain it any other way. For example, I was attacked by someone that I had upset before in another place and time who recognized me and saw that I was wide open. This person wasted no time and I did get hit before some semblance of my natural shields started working and I was able to turn tail and run. The shields do not need to be elaborate or anything but they need to work. The first one I used on a regular basis looked like a big bubble that I had around me in "my power colour"(tends to be your favorite colour BTW). I also had a backup in the stone in a ring I had. When I felt extra unsafe I would put myself into the stone and use the stone as a shield. There are numerous shields- I will not go into them all here though.

The second thing is _KNOW HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF_. This is more defensive as opposed to the offensive of shielding. You should know at least some self-defense attacks so that you can protect yourself if attacked. You can not always just "turn around and run", the person may be directly in your path to get back or the attacks may be so constant that you need to make a break to be able to get away.

Thirdly _YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO FIND YOUR WAY BACK_. At first, don't go anywhere you have not been to and know the physical way to and back. I would recommend going into another room or across the street or simply in front of yourself until you feel comfortable with going back. If you go somewhere new you risk the chance of getting lost-same as if you were going anywhere in the physical-you don't go somewhere without a map or directions. It's easy to get lost and it's not the same to get lost in the astral as it is in the physical. There are no convenience stores to ask for directions or phones to call your friend.

Fourth _ KEEP A PART OF YOURSELF HERE_. This means that you need to keep part of your spirit in your physical body or the body will no longer function and could result in death. You think I exaggerate?!? Let me tell you a story.. Not to long ago I was doing astral travel in my sleep to find out some information about something going on. I was among friends in the Otherworld talking to them and working on getting the information I needed. They were so eager to have me come with them to see exactly what was wrong that they kept pulling on me. They, not having been in the physical, did not understand why I could not go like they wanted me to and kept pulling on me with me fighting with them about how I could not. I was forced to come back from my astral travel and wake up. The first conscious thought was to breathe, followed by a sharp intake of air. It felt as though I had in fact not been breathing in the physical for a little longer than I should have and it took me a short time to catch my breath and feel comfortable again to lie back down and attempt to go back to sleep-but not travel! You need to be conscious of this at all times!

Fifth _ DO NOT TRUST ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW_. Just like you should be careful of strangers in real life so should you be careful of strangers in the astral. It is a great place to meet people and of course there will be people that you know but not from this lifetime etc. but it's always better to be safe than sorry. Always be prepared for anything and do not let your defenses down unless you know that you are completely safe with the person and the place. I feel as though this is logical and something we always hear as children but I also feel that it needs to be restated here. It can be even more harmful to have someone who can attack or manipulate your astral self than it is to have someone doing something in the physical.

These are the important things that you should keep in mind and work on before you attempt to travel. As I mentioned earlier I will later write exercises that will help with different aspects of traveling and then the traveling itself. I plan on taking it in stages though for safety.

I would recommend in the mean time, looking at books etc on protective magic. Also maybe purchasing or obtaining maps of your local area to learn it better so that you have an area to travel in when you begin so that you will not have to concern yourself about getting lost.

Bright Blessings!

SharTasha

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HOMERIC DICE ORACLE from the Greek Magical Papyri.

(submitted by Estara Korai)

Three six-sided dice are used to obtain a line from one of Homer’s works, which were the closest thing pagan Greece had to a Bible. For some combinations of dice, no verse is given; whether this is because of a problem in translation or because these rolls give an “unknown” or “no answer,” I don’t know. Notice that, for example, 1-1-2, 1-2-1, and 2-1-1 have separate entries, so the order of the rolls or their lay from left to right must be noted. Some lines are apparently considered important enough to appear in the oracle twice.

Shar and I have tried out this oracle and found it to be very good for figuring out situations that are “across the Veil” and other potentially sinister situations. (This includes being able to point out that the situation is *not* potentially very sinister, an important function for the paranoid.) In fact it can be surprisingly overt and candid. However, like many fortunetelling methods of this general style, it is best kept to a handful or fewer of questions. In longer sessions, to put it into good Greek terms, the Daimon gets bored and starts feeding you junk. On the positive side, the transition from true to false is usually VERY obvious: rather than lying convincingly and getting you into trouble, it spouts obvious nonsense. This is our mileage on the oracle: yours, as always, may vary.

1-1-1 But on account of their accursed bellies they have miserable woes
1-1-2 neither to cast anchor stones nor to attach stern cables
1-1-3 being struck by the sword, and the water was becoming red with blood.
1-1-4 --
1-1-5 stood holding a scepter, which Hephaistos produced by his labors.
1-1-6 --
1-2-1 amends I wish to make and to give a boundless ransom.
1-2-2 surely then the gods themselves have ruined your mind.
1-2-3 --
1-2-4 --
1-2-5 let it lie in the great hall. And I wish for your happy arrival
1-2-6 --
1-3-1 --
1-3-2 --
1-3-3 But Zeus does not accomplish for men all their purposes.
1-3-4 I would even wish it, and it would be much better
1-3-5 Then indeed would he smash all your fine show
1-3-6 I also care about all these things, woman. But very terribly
1-4-1 --
1-4-2 speaking good things, but they were contriving evil things in their hearts.
1-4-3 The glorious gifts of the gods are surely not to be cast aside
1-4-4 --
1-4-5 --
1-4-6 These things, Zeus-nurtured Skamander, will be as you order.
1-5-1 a joy to your enemies, and a disgrace to yourself?
1-5-2 Within this very year, Odysseus will arrive here.
1-5-3 No use indeed to you, since you will not lie clad in them
1-5-4 And to the victor are to go the woman and the possessions.
1-5-5 The rule of the many is no good. Let there be one ruler.
1-5-6 And the gateway is full of ghosts, and full also is the courtyard.
1-6-1 We have won great honor. We have killed glorious Hector
1-6-2 Who would undertake and complete this task
1-6-3 Not even if his gifts to me should be as numerous as the grains of sand and particles of dust
1-6-4 --
1-6-5 --
1-6-6 --
2-1-1 For no island is made for driving horses or has broad meadows
2-1-2 in the past, when you were boys, did you listen to your
2-1-3 --
2-1-4 --
2-1-5 --
2-1-6 His gifts are hateful to me, and I honor him not a whit.
2-2-1 an only beloved heir to many possessions
2-2-2 --
2-2-3 --
2-2-4 --
2-2-5 So they thronged about him. And near
2-2-6 and fashioning lies out of what nobody could see.
2-3-1 be valiant, that later generations may also speak well of you.
2-3-2 leaning on the grave marker over a barrow heaped up by men
2-3-3 go. You have a way, and beside the sea your ships
2-3-4 You will be proved a liar, and will not go on to fulfill your word.
2-3-5 And his mother for her part continued the lament amid a flood of tears.
2-3-6 Not even if remaining for five or six years
2-4-1 So he spoke, and ordered Paion to administer a cure.
2-4-2 These things, unhappy man, will I accomplish and do for you.
2-4-3 How can you propose to render toil useless and ineffectual?
2-4-4 a thing delayed, late of fulfillment, whose fame will never perish.
2-4-5 Sooner would you grow weary and return to your native land.
2-4-6 to go, that he may bring poisonous drugs from there.
2-5-1 Husband, you departed from life young, and me behind as a widow
2-5-2 in which way I will for sure accomplish everything and how it will be brought to pass.
2-5-3 Offer me not honey-tempered wine, honored mother
2-5-4 --
2-5-5 --
2-5-6 Do not orphan your son and make your wife a widow.
2-6-1 would that they might now eat their last and final meal here.
2-6-2 It is not meet for a man who speaks in the Council to sleep all the night through.
2-6-3 What’s wrong with you, that you took this wrath into your heart?
2-6-4 But who knows if he will one day return and punish them for their violent deeds?
2-6-5 wives I will provide for both and furnish possessions
2-6-6 we may try the bow and complete the contest.
3-1-1 For it’s no reproach to flee evil, nor by night.
3-1-2 Be mindful of every form of valor. Now you needs must
3-1-3 as a widow at home. And the boy is still just a baby
3-1-4 But do you in no wise enter the moil of Ares
3-1-5 For amid misfortune mortals quickly grow old.
3-1-6 --
3-2-1 --
3-2-2 Such a man is not alive nor will be born.
3-2-3 Of a truth, child, there’s nothing really wrong with this.
3-2-4 Now is it no longer possible for him to find escape from us.
3-2-5 we will ransom with bronze and gold, for it is within.
3-2-6 drink, and do not vie with younger men.
3-3-1 where are you fleeing, turning your back like a craven in the ranks?
3-3-2 Would that such a man be called my husband
3-3-3 plants her head in heaven and walks upon the earth.
3-3-4 But Zeus does not accomplish for men all their purposes.
3-3-5 and nodded for his army to survive and not to perish.
3-3-6 Would that you had not pled with the noble son of Peleus
3-4-1 Honey-sweet wine has the best of you, which others also
3-4-2 Act in whatever way your mind is moved, and no longer hold back.
3-4-3 For it is fated for both to turn the same ground red
3-4-4 keep on shooting like this, if haply you may become a light to the Danaans
3-4-5 as there is no one who could keep the dogs off your head
3-4-6 You will not kill me, since I am for sure not subject to Fate.
3-5-1 staying right here you would help me watch over this house
3-5-2 Get out of the gateway, old man, or it won’t be long before you’re dragged out by the foot.
3-5-3 Better for a man to escape evil by flight than to be caught.
3-5-4 and declare to no one, neither man nor woman
3-5-5 of wheat or barley. And the heaps fall thick and fast.
3-5-6 Whatever sort of word you speak, such would you hear.
3-6-1 was opposed to bringing Helen to tawny Menelaos
3-6-2 or will you alter your purpose? The hearts of the good are flexible.
3-6-3 Yet I for one never doubted, but at heart
3-6-4 Eurymachos, it will not be so. And even you know it.
3-6-5 You miserable foreigner, you have no sense at all.
3-6-6 And the father granted him one thing, but denied him the other.
4-1-1 Nay, go to your chambers and tend to your own work
4-1-2 Now then, do not even tell this to your wife.
4-1-3 would you have been stoned to death for all the wrongs you’ve done.
4-1-4 you prayed to the immortals to see with a beard grown.
4-1-5 and vow to Lycian-born Apollo the famous archer
4-1-6 and no spirit of harmony unites wolves and sheep
4-2-1 Come now, let us make these concessions to one another
4-2-2 And in the throng were Strife and Uproar, and Fate-of-Death
4-2-3 --
4-2-4 Up, rush into battle, the man you have always claimed to be.
4-2-5 --
4-2-6 You baby, what use now to keep your bow idle?
4-3-1 For even fair-tressed Niobe turned her mind to food
4-3-2 after giving a mass of bronze and gold and raiment
4-3-3 Surely then the journey will not be useless or fail to occur.
4-3-4 One omen is best, to defend your country.
4-3-5 I will gild her horns all round and sacrifice her to you.
4-3-6 and you would gain every Trojan’s thanks and praise
4-4-1 put in with your ship, since women are no longer trustworthy.
4-4-2 It is not possible or proper to deny your request.
4-4-3 would straightway fit his will to your desire and mine.
4-4-4 and give him instruction. And it will be beneficial for him to obey.
4-4-5 will give glory to me, and your soul to horse-famed Hades.
4-4-6 fill up his ship with gold and bronze aplenty
4-5-1 but tell one part, and let the other be concealed.
4-5-2 and at birth Zeus sends a weight of misery.
4-5-3 alone to have intelligence, but they are flitting shades.
4-5-4 yielding to his indignation. But they now withheld from him the gifts
4-5-5 I rejoice at hearing what you say, son of Laertes.
4-5-6 But Zeus causes men’s prowess to wax or to wane
4-6-1 a terrible man. He would be quick to blame even the blameless.
4-6-2 with all haste. For now would you capture the broad-wayed city
4-6-3 Endure now, my heart. An even greater outrage did you once endure
4-6-4 You lunatic, sit still and listen to the word of others
4-6-5 had cast aside wrath and chosen friendship.
4-6-6 so good it is for a son to be left by a dead
5-1-1 Here then, spread under your chest a veil
5-1-2 ‘Tis impiety to exult over men slain.
5-1-3 through immortal night, when other mortals sleep?
5-1-4 How then could I forget divine Odysseus?
5-1-5 lurid death and overpowering doom laid hold of
5-1-6 So there’s nothing else as horrible and vile as a woman
5-2-1 Let us not advance to fight the Danaans around the ships
5-2-2 to put up a defense, when some fellow provokes a fight.
5-2-3 nor do children at his knees call him “papa”
5-2-4 I am this very man, back home now. And after many toils
5-2-5 Talk not like this. There’ll be no change before
5-2-6 let him stay here the while, even though he’s eager for Ares.
5-3-1 And do not, exulting in war and battle
5-3-2 never to have gone to bed with her and had intercourse
5-3-3 and moistens the lips, but fails to moisten the palate.
5-3-4 Take heart! Let these matters not trouble your thoughts.
5-3-5 But this mad dog I’m unable to hit.
5-3-6 Keep quiet, friend, and do as I say.
5-4-1 Bad deeds don’t prosper. The slow man for sure overtakes the swift
5-4-2 They shut fast and locked the doors of the hall.
5-4-3 Ah, poor man! Death’s not at all on your mind
5-4-4 Odysseus has come and reached home, though he was long in coming.
5-4-5 in full he will accomplish it at last, and the penalty they pay is great
5-4-6 and therein was Strife, and therein Valor, and therein chilling Attack
5-5-1 but ‘tis most wretched to die and meet one’s doom by starvation.
5-5-2 shall I be laid low when I die. But good repute is now my goal
5-5-3 Up, rush into battle, the man you have always claimed to be.
5-5-4 In no way do I mock you, dear child, nor am I playing tricks.
5-5-5 but she stayed Alcmene’s labor and stopped her from giving birth.
5-5-6 But come, and hereafter I shall make amends for this, if now anything wrong
5-6-1 Where are you two rushing? What causes the heart within your breast to rage?
5-6-2 Pray now, let him not be too much on your mind.
5-6-3 But the gods do not, I ween, give men all things at the same time.
5-6-4 Talk not like this. There’ll be no change before
5-6-5 So he spake, but did not move the mind of Zeus by saying this.
5-6-6 but Odysseus nodded no and checked him in his eagerness.
6-1-1 How can you want to go alone to the ships of the Achaians?
6-1-2 him a bridegroom in his house, who left as only child a daughter
6-1-3 And too, I’ve taken the mist from your eyes, which before was there
6-1-4 we may try the bow and complete the contest.
6-1-5 And I know that my arrival was longed for by you two
6-1-6 I shall dress him in a mantle and a tunic, fine garments.
6-2-1 by fastening a noose sheer from a high rafter.
6-2-2 remembering our excellence, of the sort that even we
6-2-3 the sea’s great expanse they cross, since this is the Earthshaker’s gift to them.
6-2-4 Nay, come on with the bow. You’ll soon be sorry for obeying everybody.
6-2-5 But hurry into battle, and rouse the other soldiers.
6-2-6 For mighty Herakles, not even he escaped his doom
6-3-1 amends I wish to make and to give a boundless ransom.
6-3-2 And let him stand up among the Argives and swear an oath to you
6-3-3 The man is nearby. Our search will not be long, if you are willing
6-3-4 and not quite suddenly, and a very god should be the cause?
6-3-5 Verily, these things have already happened, and not otherwise could
6-3-6 On now, follow close! In action numbers make a difference.
6-4-1 surely then the gods themselves have ruined your mind.
6-4-2 Take heart, and let your thoughts not be of death.
6-4-3 by her wailing she rouse from sleep her household servants
6-4-4 Come now in strict silence, and I shall lead the way
6-4-5 are there ears for hearing, and sense and respect are dead.
6-4-6 as he was growing old. But the son did not grow old in his father’s armor.
6-5-1 to return home and behold the day of homecoming.
6-5-2 Apollo of the silver bow did strike the one, still sonless
6-5-3 then you may hope to see your loved ones and reach
6-5-4 As for you two, I will tell you exactly how it will be.
6-5-5 For so shall I proclaim, and it will be accomplished too.
6-5-6 and I shall send him wherever his heart and spirit urge him.
6-6-1 idiot? You’ll soon pay when the swift hounds devour you
6-6-2 You would learn what mighty hands I have to back me up.
6-6-3 In no wise do I think he will in that event take you for himself, nor is it proper.
6-6-4 here we gather, waiting day after day.
6-6-5 to reach decision making secret plans. Nor yet now to me
6-6-6 Don’t dare get it into your mind to escape from me, Dolon.

Grimoire contentsArticle contents

House of The Goddess Center for Pagan Wombyn

by Kostya Branwen Sudice

HerStory

Established in the Spring of 1996, House of The Goddess (HoTG) began as a small "cottage industry," offering custom~designed, hand-stitched Ritual wear and homemade feasting foods and beverages for Pagan celebrations. By the following Spring, it had expanded its mission to include Pagan Community Services such as monthly meetings of the TideWater Pentacle Pagan 12 Step Recovery (PP12SR) group open to all Pagans over 18 who work a Goddess-Centered Program. HoTG also opened its doors last July to members of The CommonWealth Pagan (TCP) for their Quarterly TerreSpace meeting.

There are many social service agencies and businesses serving Christian and secular Wombyn and their families. But, where does the Pagan Mother who wishes to see Her values transmitted to Her children go for childcare? Where does the Pagan couple, hetero- or homosexual, go for Pagan-centered counseling? There are a few Pagan businesses in TideWater/Hampton Roads, but they are scattered far and wide, and, there is not a single Pagan-owned restaurant. When HoTG needed a venue larger than our kitchen in which to hold open Rituals for the Pagan Wombyn in our area, no church or civic organization was willing to rent us the space we needed. These are but a few of the many needs that had gone unaddressed in our Pagan community.

Because we were unable to secure other premises for our Dianic (after the Roman Goddess Diana) New Moon Teaching Circles and Full Moon and Dark/New Moon open Rituals, we made HoTG available and it burst at the seams, with Wombyn crawling all over the deck and backyard during each event; each day we got requests from Wombyn begging us to teach them about Goddess and Feminist Spirituality; and there were Pagan business Wombyn eager to associate themselves with us whenever we discussed it. And, so, House of The Goddess Center for Pagan Wombyn (HoTG CPW) was born on the Chesapeake Bay at Willoughby Spit in Norfolk, Virginia.

Today, HoTG CPW is an Emotionally, Physically and Spiritually SafePlace for Systerz to participate in Dianic Spirituality WorkShops and New Moon Teaching Circle PotLuck Brunches, sunbathe up on the deck or play out over the dunes on Willoughby Beach. HoTG CPW manifests at PaganFests as an informal, 24~hour~a~day, DianicSysterSpace, a Place for Wombyn to gather, access information and literature and spend time gossiping, performing Impromptu Ritual, or just relaxing around the BonFyre.

HoTG services are always free and open to any Wombyn, over 18, wishing to explore Feminist Spirituality/Dianic Wicca toward ReEmpowerment and Healing from the ravages of patriarchal abuse. HoTG CPW also offers Full Moon and Dark/New Moon Rituals, and twice-yearly "Chocolate Wombynz CampOuts," open to all Wombyn. We frequently offer our meditational WorkShop, Wombyn, Which Includes "man," Of Course, at Pagan festivals and gatherings.

Thanks to generous donations from Llewellyn publishers of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Wise Women's Herbs of Zuni, VA, each Pagan Wombyn in TideWater/Hampton Roads now has a Reading Room of Her Own! HoTG CPW's Reading Room Library includes sections on Feminism, Goddess Worship, Paganism, Wombynz Health, 12 Step Recovery, Fiction, and Scholarly Reference. The HoTG CPW Reading Room is open to all Wombyn over the age of 18, by appointment, from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.

Coming over the dunes from the beach, the HoTG CPW backyard, soon to be privacy fenced, will shortly feature Magickal and medicinal Herb and flower gardens, fountains, altars, and Ritual spaces. Inside there will be a vegan tea room, shops, professional offices, a day-care center, classrooms and an indoor Ritual space. HoTG CPW continues to identify those Pagan Wombyn interested in associating their businesses with us as we expand the services now offered into an "association" (not a "collective") of independent entrepreneurs.

HoTG CPW is manifesting as a "safe space," a nurturing place where Pagan Wombyn and their families and friends can gather for food and fellowship; shop for Ritual garb and Magickal supplies; access Pagan-centered therapeutic services; leave their children in a Pagan-loving environment; attend classes, WorkShops, or 12 Step meetings; and worship alone or with their Coven Systerz, will become the basis of a new form of community, an egalitarian oasis where Wombyn will become full agents in their own lives, once again.

Mission

There is much left to learn about the history, philosophy, religion, political and social systems of pre-patriarchal societies and their implications for forming the foundation of post-patriarchal societies today. HoTG CPW fosters the new scholarship on Wombyn, a challenging and burgeoning interdisciplinary field incorporating basic theories, assumptions, methodologies and conclusions in almost every academic discipline, through its engagement with a full complement of Holistic Healing Practitioners and Spiritual Teaching Associates offering WorkShops and Classes relating to the societal needs and problems of Pagan Wombyn, their children, and their significant others.

By focusing on the challenge of building an organizational structure that reflects Dianic philosophical principles, and grounding our work in a scholarly theoretical frame, we hope to advance thinking about new forms of community in accordance with a post-patriarchal, equalitarian, life-affirming model, while serving the physical, emotional, spiritual and religio-political needs of Pagan Wombyn.

We feel that through our work we can help expose abuses of power, both personal and political, in an effort to bring about parity between not only Wombyn and men, but among nations as well. Our focus, however, remains on issues of Feminist Spirituality, on the problems of incest and domestic terrorism, and on the Healing and ReEmpowerment of Wombyn throughout the world.

Politix

Feminist Spirituality comes in as many flavors as does Non~Feminist Spirituality; HoTG CPW's foundation rests on the AnarchaFeministDianic principles of FeministForeMotherz such as Zsuzsannah E. Budapest, Shekhinah MountainWater, Fiona Morgan, Diane Stein, and on the 5~Point Pagan Political Agenda of StarHawk and San Francisco's ReClaiming Collective.

Because Anarchy, by definition places each one of its adherents in a position of total self~responsibility, HoTG CPW seeks to serve Systerz by providing an "Emotionally, Physically and Spiritually SafePlace," whatever that may mean for each One of us. HoTG CPW is an enclave where Wombyn and GurlKidz can experience Re~Empowerment and Healing from the ravages of 20,000 years of patriarchal abuse of Gaia and all Her Creation.

In answer to those wo/men who would fling the charge of "separatist" at us, we offer the following (very personal and highly subjective) "apology"~ many of us love men; some of our Consorts are men; some of our colleagues are men; some of us have MenChildren and GrandSonz among our GrandKidz; some of us are positive fools for men, but, we all abhor the patri~capitalist system that engendered them!

And, so, we have dedicated all of our Lives and Works to the annihilation of patri~capitalism; in order to further prepare OurSelves, we need an Emotionally, Physically and Spiritually SafePlace, sans men, where we can think, work, play, rest, dream and worship Goddess. If this presents a problem for other wo/men, we are sorry! There is plenty of work to be done; if anyone thinks s/he can do it a better way, we say: You're Right! Do It!

As AnarchaFeminist Dianic Wychez (AFDWs) our focus is on Feminist Spirituality/Dianic WychCraft as the motor of revolutionary change needed to re~establish a Gaia~Wide Matristic (equalitarian) society; we live and breathe "teaching" as part of our revolutionary commitment to rend asunder the patri~capitalist system that holds us all in thrall as it continues to rape and kill Gaia and all Her Creation.

Operating Policies

As a general rule, AFDWs do not charge for our teaching services, but, then we do not teach Wicca 101 (or its equivalent in other Trads) ~ we teach RadicalFeministSpirituality; most Wombyn who come to us are either already practicing Wychez or are willing to learn the basics on their own or from a private mentor.

We will never live long enough to see the Revolution we work to bring about accomplished in this incarnation; the prospect of our ever even breaking even on the money we have fronted to establish and operate HoTG CPW is charming in contemplation, but unlikely to occur in fact! HoTG CPW takes no fees from anyone; however, we work almost non~stop (at no salary) as FundRaiserz; HoTG CPW is in the process of becoming incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non~profit religious organization.

Someday HoTG CPW may be "rich" enough to pay us modest salaries; until then, we do what we do for Goddess and Her Daughterz (and sonz, by the way,) not for personal gain. This is a private and very personal choice, however, and our stating it here in no way reflects negatively on those of us in the Craft who do charge for their services as teachers or anything else, for that matter!

If past performance is any indication of future success, we think we can safely predict that HoTG CPW will make an invaluable contribution to the field of Wombynz Studies and Feminist Spirituality, not to mention the social changes it will bring about.

Approaching Phenomenon

Janet Brown, of Wise Women's Herbs (WWH), an experienced Herbologist, Teacher & Priestess, will be the Featured Presenter at the 2nd Annual HoTG CPW Lammas WeekEnd Chocolate Wombynz CampOut (CWCO) from Friday 31 July thru Sunday 2 August.

Brown, who recently joined the HoTG CPW Manifestation Circle as its Educational Co~Ordinator, will offer Feminist Healing and Re~Empowerment WorkShops and lead Dianic Wombynz Rituals amidst the Secluded Wooded LakeSide CampGround at historic Newport News City Park in Newport News, VA.

This year's Lammas WeekEnd CWCO will include BonFyres, Drumming, Chanting, Dancing and Give~Away Blankets on both Friday and Saturday nights. As always, GurlKidz and Leashed Familiarz are Welcome! There will be No Vendors, No Day~Trippers and No Drugs or Alcohol!

HoTG CPW CWCOs are FREE; however, Space is Limited to the First 20 Pre~Registrations (Camping Fees $7 Per Camper for the entire WeekEnd); All six (6) PotLuck Feasts Include Chocolate, so please bring enough to share.

Manifestation Circle

Janet Brown serves HoTG CPW as its Educational Co~Ordinator.

Kostya Branwen Sudice, Crone~In~Residence, serves as HoTG CPW WyrrdWurdWych, raises funds and dustballs and washes the dishes.

Weaver serves as HoTG CPW LaydeezAuxilyareeWych and Secretary/Treasurer.

Questions? Reservations? Travel Directions?

HoTG CPW, 757/480~3503; Educational Co~Ordinator, Janet Brown, WWH, 877/398~7332 (toll~free) or 757/242~3531 (local); Crone~In~Residence, Kostya Branwen Sudice kostya@pinn.net; LadeezAuxilyareeWych, Weaver jonign@pinn.net.

Visit HoTG CPW in CyberSpace http://www.pinn.net/~kostya/HoTGCPW/hotgcpw.html.

###

About The Author ~ KBS holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the University of Tampa. Her undergraduate major is in Journalism and Public Relations Writing with a minor in Religion. She did master's-level work in Judaic Studies at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and, following a five~and~a~half year stint teaching high school English in Jamaica, WI, has recently completed a Master's Degree at Old Dominion University, focusing on Feminist Spirituality, most particularly on Dianic Wicca, as a motor of revolutionary change.

Her research resulted in papers on Feminism and the Internet; The Destroyer Goddesses: Ereshkigal, Lilith and Hecate; Anarcha Feminism; StarHawk: AnarchaFeminist Witch; ReClaiming Wombyn's Words of Power; a project that views Canadian documentary filmmaker, Donna Reed's Wombyn's Spirituality Trilogy: Goddess Remembered, The Burning Times, and Full Circle, through the prism of Vietnamese filmmaker/critic Trinh T. Minh-ha's theoretical model for building new forms of community; and several other theoretical and practical applications of Feminist Spirituality.

Her Master's Creative Project, Coven of The Silver Pythoness: a Dianic Book of Shadows, includes theory, ethics, Rituals, illustrations, an annotated bibliography of the works of the Dianic ForeMotherz, and additional suggested readings. KBS is currently working on her doctorate at The Union Institute Center for Women in Washington, DC.

With Gretchen S. Hayes, a SysterWych living in Chesapeake, Virginia, KBS owns and operates a WebSite Design and Development business called The HTML GlitterGoddesses (HTML GGs): Pagan Manifestations in CyberSpace. This business was a natural outgrowth of the work they, together, did in founding The CommonWealth Pagan (TCP) http://www.pinn.net/~jonign/tcp.html in January of 1996. As the name reflects, TCP serves to network and protect the Pagan community of Virginia against religious discrimination and has grown from a membership of two to nearly 200 Pagans, and over 30 National Affiliates, in both Cyber and TerreSpace in just 18 months.

More recently, Hayes and KBS founded PP12SR (see above) http://www.pinn.net/~kostya/PR/pentacle.htm, with meetings in both Cyber and TerreSpace, to serve the needs of Syster and brother Pagans in recovery from chemical and other addictions. The HTML GGs also provide, at no cost, a WebSite for the TideWater/Hampton Roads Pagan Alliance (PATH) http://www.pinn.net/~kostya/PATH/path.html, a regional networking and service organization which they helped found last Spring. The HTML GGs work that gives KBS the most satisfaction, however, is GlitteringPhoenix (GP) http://www.pinn.net/~kostya/GP/phoenix.html, the first, and so-far only, AnarchaFeministPagan CyberActivist Organization, which features on its WebSite not only the work of Eco-Feminist Witch StarHawk, but work by other Feminists, both scholars and those not ensconced in the ivory towers of academe.

In addition, KBS serves as a Virginia contact for the Earth Religions Legal Assistance Network (ERLAN), a nationwide anti-defamation organization which works closely with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She also serves as WebWych for the Witches Anti~Defamation League ~ Virginia (WADL VA) http://www.pinn.net/~kostya/WADL/wadl.html.

###

Copyright 8 1998 Constance A. Kingsley; All Rights Reserved

Photo Credits

Waxing Moon Altar, HoTG CPW, Willoughby Spit, Norfolk, VA, March 1997

Priestesses gather for Waxing Moon Ritual, Newport News City Park, Lammas 1997

Priestess Drawing Down the Full Moon, HoTG CPW, Willoughby Spit, Norfolk, VA, April 1997

__________________________________________________________________________

All photographs were taken by, and remain the property of the author, Constance A. Kingsley

 Grimoire contentsArticle contents

Paganism and Quilting

By Sarah Nopp

'Quilting' may not seem to have much in common with modern Paganism, but the two fields do have some connections. Both Pagansim and Quilting are 'Crafts' that are common all throughout the world in human history. A Little History Quilting, sewing together multiple layers of fabric for warmth or decoration, has been practiced since someone figured out that more layers promoted warmth and that the layers wouldn't move around if tied together. Russian archeologists have discovered quilted scraps of a carpet, embroidered with motifs in the Scythian style, that date back to before 100 B.C.E.! The next time you go to a museum, inspect the cultural displays. The collections usually include quilted fabrics. The pieces may be from bedding, armor, death-shrouds, or ceremonial costumes of many cultures that NeoPagans study to rediscover their heritage, including the Aztecs, Celts, Greeks, Vietnamese, and others.

More recently, the Pagan and Quilting movements have been moving down strikingly parallel paths.

What does Quilting have to do with being a Warrior?

Interestingly, quilting and all the sewing crafts are the domain of many Warrior Goddesses, such as Athena, Protector of Athens. One of the main duties of Warriors is to protect their communities, be it physical protection, psychic monitoring, or information gathering and dispersal.

Quilting has long been an avenue for gathering and disseminating information through a community. Popular imagery of quilting is of women sitting around the frame gossiping, preparing a quilt to raffle for their church, or making a wedding quilt for a young couple.

This image can be altered for Pagans easily. Coveners already gather in Circle, like quilters. They decide where their energies are needed. Then they focus and raise power and direct it. Imagine the blessing that can be sewn into a baby's quilt.

The therapeutic and healing energies that quilters can gain from their Craft is considerable, but perhaps not surprising. Quilting requires a great deal of concentration and is a repetitive action which can induce trance. Individual quilters may find this a good time to replenish their energy. Or it can be used to listen to the words of the Gods and find new direction. It also may be the time for just being.

Quilting is also a perfect medium for the artist to honor the Gods and Goddesses and Creators and Spirits in the world. The incredible palette of materials available allows even the newest crafter to express incredible works of personal creativity. This link is to a page of Art Quilts that will leave you inspired!

Unfortunately, even with the advance of technologies and such similar trends, a collaboration involving these two 'Crafts' has not been forthcoming. Those who are both Quilter and Pagan do not have a network. When a network does exist, it is easier to share ideas and discuss techniques. I hope to find a way to all-over quilt the Triple Moons design. I would Love to brainstorm patchwork blocks designed around specific Goddesses. But mostly I want to find other Pagans who hear the Gods speaking to them through the awesome medium of Quilts.

The following links are to some websites that explore the idea of Paganism and Quilting:

SarKarNor's Pagan Quilter's Pages
Information about the Crone Quilt at Crone Chronicles
"Quilting and Craft", an editorial by Janis Maria Cortese
Starhawk's Home Page It turns out that Starhawk, author of The Spiral Dance, is also a quilter.

If you are interested in discussing Quilting or Paganism, please contact Sarah Nopp. Thank you.

Grimoire contentsArticle contents

Teachings Of A Village Witch "Millennial Technology"

by Gwyddion Thornapple

Copyright c. 1998 Sacred Earth Sanctuary

Before we talk about what millennial technology means to the world, let's spend a minute talking about technology as part of what is. Technological "progress" is a very human endeavor. I see it as a journey we are all taking together on a circle/spiral course. Although the modern western mindset has at least an underlying sense of the straight line…that's right folks we are making "progress" travelling along a straight line into the future…which…will one day (through science) be heaven/utopia. If we just keep building a better and better mousetrap…one day we'll be there and everyone will be happy. But Utopia never arrives… Not for everyone if any…each new "solution" brings a new set of problems, and to some extent it always will. That is simply the nature of Nature and the universe. It is an expression of duality/polarity as real AND natural as day and night.

One way of looking at technological progress, is that it is an attempt on some level to return to God/Goddess/Source. In effect anything we do in which we are trying to achieve; comfort/happiness/release from pain…stems from that yearning…Science itself is in a way an attempt to comprehend God/Goddess in the "physical" universe and use that knowledge to bring us closer to Her…while at the same time trying to escape Her. Until we realize the Earth / Universe IS our source and that ALL "spiritual" experiences are a flowering of and expression of that source and are not antithetical to it…that light and darkness/day and night are essential. That we are a vital Part of Nature and NOT separate from her, we will go on trying to "conquer" the very source of all life…And ultimately destroy ourselves, that is certain. The Earth and the Universe are not separate from some unmanifest God they ARE God/Goddess….There is no "Physical Universe" that which we call the "Physical" Universe IS Spirit…in dynamic balance, and I will add, Living Spirit.

Okay you may say, so what is the answer "Back to the Earth" ? Well indeed we do have to return To Balance and live our lives with the Lord and Lady…Mother Earth \Father Sky. However, rivers don't flow upstream without great disruption…so I would suggest we move Forward To Nature…that's really the only choice we have…but remember…things move in circle spirals and human history is just another spiral…we have to move forward along the path of manifestation. But we are now at a "crossroads" (Blessed Hecate guide us) when it comes to our technology (both social and scientific). We have to make a choice, We can choose the spiral path of manifestation and reach greater awareness of ourselves and the Earth as part of each other…returning to balance yet one more turn around the spiral…a high tech "Tribe" living in harmony with each other and Mother Nature…Or we can continue to use our creative energies with no regard for the consequences to ourselves and more importantly to our Mother the Earth…this would be the path of destruction…the spiral OUT of Manifestation…..and if we choose this, it will be a painful and terrible decline unto death.

Believe it or not, both of these potentials are manifest in the world right now. And it's the responsibility of each of us to make our voices heard. In public forums by the policymakers at State and National levels.

Now perhaps we can move on to discussing Millennial Tecnology…Thank you for your patience. The Time of this Millenium and I'm including at least the last 10 years. is for everyone challenging for many exciting, and still for others frightening…there are elements in our society that are proclaiming the "end of the world"..in terrfied/excitement…as they did 1000 years ago and really in one way or another since the beginning of their movement. Other cultures have made references to the "End times" but none have ever done it with so much zeal. We Witches have a saying…"Where there is fear, there is power" one of the ways of interpreting that, the way we would say it is… that, fear…is one way of opening "the Gate" to the beyond. And it is all too often a reckless and harmfully used way…by some. In other words the "End of the World" teachings..(from any culture) are an expression of An initiatory (inner) experience….It has already happened…it is happening now…and it shall happen….and yet the Sun shall rise, the Sun shall set…and The Wheel is turning.

What does this have to do with millennial technology…? Well I've already mentioned "the Gate" And the "Beyond", some visionaries, notably Terrance McKenna, envision a future in which (to an outside viewer) humans would look like "Naked savages". And yet on closer inspection you would find they had a computer chip under their skin that allows them to have a "heads up" computer screen (it would pick up television also) (A heads up screen is a holograph that appears to float in thin air) that would be a computer linked to a WorldWide network such as the one that is already evolving. (Terrance wrote this before the present Internet craze) To many this isolated image might sound compelling due to the freedom it implies..Indeed it may be that a blending of ourselves with our technology in various ways is part of the shape of things to come. Many would have terrified visions of humans becoming "cyborgs" (human robots) But Bionic Legs might sound like heaven if you were sitting in a wheelchair at this moment.

There is another type of "Blending" that I want to mention…the blending or inner technology with outer technology…If that sounds strange to you….you need to realize…that it is already happening, and has been happening through history. Yes Spiritual technology…objects And machines that are used to access the deep mind.

Do you need examples… okay, here is one almost everyone knows …incense w/holder. This is a very elegant deceptively simple "Machine" light it smell it…and your awareness is altered. Nearly always for the better…depending on which type of scent/stick you "load" the holder with.

When it comes to spiritual "tools" we Witches do something that that no other spiritual culture does, except perhaps tribal cultures. We consecrate and name our tools, thereby awakening them. This includes in these modern times …our automobiles, and yes even our computers….we view everything as alive including so called machines and we live in a vibrant dynamic relationship with these beings…yes we talk to them and YES they talk back…In my case, my computer, I choose to withhold her name, has an opinion about things and she has never yet been wrong. Even though I do argue if I don't see it. She will say …politely "please don't do that" And if I insist…she will simply not allow me to do what I was trying to do…The remedy rarely requires any technical support…I simply have to keep working on it until she's happy, At which time she will say something like, "that's fine now go ahead." The result so far has always been better than that which I at first attempted..I'm really grateful to know her.

You see technology itself is not truly our enemy…we've always had some form of technology Even if it was just sharp sticks….We and our technology are a part of nature…and subject to Her laws. We must recognize this as a society and act accordingly. If we do so the present trends toward greater spiritual awareness…that so many are working towards…and mindful technology May well bring about a High Tech Shamanic/Tribal World….where we work in beautful and dynamic harmony With Earth and Sky,each other and our wonderful wise "Machines" We will be able to speak with a Stream or a Oak Tree as well as our computers, automobiles etc…by the way, my Sacred broom usually has a lot more to say than my computer. This isn't a fantasy…Witches are living it now, we and others are just waiting and watching, And some of us are teaching…in hopes the rest of you will choose life. If you do, if the people realize that "This is it" all the worlds are here there is no place to escape to that is not also here, and all of us together, shall make it what it shall be. She will embrace us…and we will ALL realize that this IS eternity…The World and the Universe and ourselves ARE SACRED we never lost it, we are not cut of from God /Goddess we are in their ever present embrace. When you know that…you're Home.

Gwyddion Thornapple…has been a Practicing Witch for 30 plus years. He holds a "Masters" in herbology, is a licensed massage therapist and a nationally board certified hypnotherapist and has completed several years of reasearch. into non-traditional forms of hypnotherapy. He holds the 3rd degree "High Priest" in Traditional European Witchcraft Is a 7th degree Sufi, and holds the Vajrasattva initiation in Tibetan Buddhism. He has received initiation and training in Native American Shamanism and has blended all these teachings, and experiences into a form of Shamanic Witchcraft called, The Thornapple Tradition (partly in reference to the initiatory ordeal). The tradition is also sometimes called "Sealbach" which means fortunate. He makes his living as a "Witch Practitioner" and Pastor of Sacred Earth Sanctuary where he works in the areas of healing, education and counseling. All services are offered for donations…He can be reached at (816) 941-3662. E-mail crow@mail.sky.net

Love,Light+Gentle Darkness
Rev.Gwyddion Thornapple W.P. L.MT. C.HT.
Sacred Earth Sanctuary
Kansas City, Missouri
http://www.sky.net/~crow/index.html
(816) 941-3662