Friday, October 30, 2020
Perseus And Danae
The lovely Princess Danae was the mother of Perseus, the legendary Greek hero. The parents of Danae were Acrisius and Eurydice.
Acrisius was king of Argos, which was the major stronghold of an acropolis that included Mycenae and Tiryns. Acrisius' twin brother Proetus was king of Tiryns. From the time they were born, the twins were always fighting each other to become dominant and possess as much as possible, even if it meant the other lost all. Acrisius, having no sons, was in constant fear of Proetus inheriting everything. Seeking help from the Oracle at Delphi, Acrisius was not told what he wanted to hear, that he would have a son, rather, he learned that his own daughter's son would one day kill him. His daughter, Danae, had no children and was unwed. He wanted to keep her that way.
Therefore, Acrisius had Danae locked up in a tower where no man could approach her and fulfill the prophesy.
Now this is where Zeus comes into the story. Having seen Danae, his desire for her was passionate and consumed him. Zeus had a habit of fulfilling his desires in any way he could to get what he wanted. So, one night as Danae lay sleeping in the tower, Zeus transformed himself into gold dust particles, entered the tower from the open skylight above and impregnated Danae. Quenching his lustful desire, he then left the tower the same way he came in.
Nine months later, Danae gave birth to a son. She named him Perseus.
Acrisius, when learning about the child, would not believe that the god Zeus was the father, so he had Danae and the babe put in a chest and cast out to sea. This, he hoped, would break the prophesy when Danae and Perseus died at sea. Yet, once again, Zeus intervenes and asks Poseidon to calm the seas and guide the chest to safety. Danae and her babe are gently swept to the shores of the island of Seriphos in the Aegean Sea.
Dictys, a fisherman, finds the mother and babe and takes them in. Dictys raises Perseus to manhood. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes, the king of Seriphos.
When Perseus was as poor as the fisherman, Dictys, who had raised him. He had no means and no weapons to protect his mother whom Polydectes desired for a wife. Still, Polydectes wanted Perseus out of the way so as to have access to Danae with no trouble and demanded ransom from Perseus to free his mother from marriage.
Since Perseus was not rich and, unfortunately, had no powers bestowed upon him from his father, Zeus. To save his mother from marriage to Polydectes and his evil grasp, he found another way, at the risk of his own life -- he promised Polydectes the head of Medusa.
Perseus had no decent weapons of his own, so he went to Athena seeking help. Now, Athena had a personal vendetta against Medusa, so was happy to help Perseus. Following Athena's instructions, Perseus received a protective sack for Medusa's head from the Hesperides, nymphs of the world ocean. From Zeus, he received a sword made of very hard material that cut swiftly and true. Hades gave Perseus a helmet of darkness which would make him invisible. Sandals with wings to enable him to fly came from Hermes, son of Zeus. Athena gave Perseus a shield of highly polished metal.
Achieving his quest for Medusa's head, Perseus arrived back on the island of Seriphos on the day of the wedding of his mother to Polydectes. Perseus was just in time to step up on the ceremonial platform. He faced Polydectes and pulled the head of Medusa from the sack. Polydectes was turned to stone, as well as Acrisius, who had come from Argos for the marriage ceremony, not knowing that his grandson was there to fulfill the prophesy.
Danae was finally free of the men who controlled her life, free to live her life out with her own choices. Perseus had many other great adventures as Greek's famous hero and eventually became a king in his own right.
Pizza and Dead People
Author: Deborah Castellano
Posted: July 29th. 2012
Times Viewed: 814
When my uncle is in the hospital in ICU last year, it was really difficult for my family for a lot of reasons. a) If he passed, that would leave my cousin fatherless at 19. No one I knew who is part of the "dead dad" club who lost their father around that age came out unscathed. My cousin . . . is troubled would be the kindest way to put it and he has a lot of things working against him. He *just* started to pull himself together a month ago. If my uncle had passed, it would have been a one-way trip down the spiral, hard. All of us in my circle who are part of the Dead Dad Club could see it. (b) For Italians, we're a small family. We're still rocked from losing half of my cousin's family two years ago unexpectedly. We only have (1) baby on that side. It would just . . .make us that much more inconsolable. There's only like 14 of us now total.
When we first got the news that he was in ICU, we had no information. Generally, I take point in these kinds of situations, but my sister had wanted to go. She's an adult now so I wanted to give her the chance. I wanted to give me the chance to stay behind and tend to the home fires and take care of her baby. I could be patient and calm and wait.
Wrong.
Apparently family roles exist for a reason. If it were a movie, it would almost be comical. I was at home with her child screaming and inconsolable, looking stricken and gasping in panicky breaths. Pacing and pacing, at a loss with nothing to do but sit on my hands and try futilely to get the baby to calm down. She at the hospital, stricken and overcome by the sight of my vibrant uncle, hooked up to so many tubes and machines that she didn't know how she would handle it and didn't know what to do with my mother or the situation. Both of us whispering to each other through text messages that we chose wrong; this isn't what we're good at, not at all.
But we got a routine down. Every other day either she went with my mother to the hospital two hours away while I stayed at home with her kid or vice versa. I grilled the nurses, nagged my mother. My sister did my uncle’s laundry and replaced household items.
We're got there. He got better, little by little.
My sister and my mother are troopers. I'm not strong like they are; I had been sleeping til noon, exhausted. My sister cares for her kid; my mom goes to work. I was out of work at the time. But I hoped that when I take a little time to breathe and recharge, I could help everyone think with a clear head. Sometimes it was the case, sometimes less so. The days were long, going til midnight every other day.
I didn’t have much time to light a novena candle, but I thought about it a lot. Our Lady of Guadalupe sat serenely on my altar and I would think about Her prayer that I don't know by heart but know the gist of. I would light the candle in my head and hope that it counts, almost as much. My japa practice had become erratic, but I thought about that a lot too and say a few mantras when I can remember. I thought about the rosary in one of my uncle's mittens, prayed on by so many of my ex-aunt's family members. I tried to pray before bed, tried to go to my internal meditation space and clean that out since I never had the time to in my actual home. I would ask to go to Umberto's when it was my turn at the hospital, my father's favorite pizza place out in NY. So much so that when he passed, a cousin ribboned a box beautiful and displayed it at his wake.
We go there, whenever we go to the cemetery, whenever we go to a wake, sometimes when we're leaving the country out of JFK, sometimes just when we're visiting my relatives and we can be happy as a family. I hope to get there with my family like that again soon now that my uncle’s well again.
But mostly pizza goes with dead people in my head. At least Umberto’s. It's a part of our pilgrimage to visit our beloved dead, just like the sh*tty diner in south Jersey we go to when we visit my dad's grave where we always order pancakes and burgers.
My mom is my family's keeper of the dead, I guess that's where I get it from as Crow is my totem but she's way more hardcore than me. She specializes in what I call "drive by cemetery visits". She's got a wreath in her hand, twine, scissors, whatever she finds around the cemetery to help hold up wreaths, flowers, and palms. She's the MacGyver of the Cemetery. She knows where everyone's buried and has inscrutable markers in her brain that helps her find whoever. She does drive-bys because she'll decide on a day's notice that that is what she's doing and then gets put out when I can't decide on a whim to go visit all of our beloved dead (and really, who decides to drive two hours to either cemetery on a whim? Fran, that's who) .
Sometimes I think I'm too soft and squishy because I get all emotional when I think about this kind of stuff, but when it comes down to doing, I can get through it all nice and neat like my mom does, once I'm there. It's just getting there. But I'm learning, or at least trying to because some day this will be my job. And I know that’s what my mom is afraid of, though she never says so. That these rituals and visits will be forgotten. But I’ve promised myself that I’ll take her place one day. Right now I’m more of an apprentice, if not a terribly good one yet.
We have the same organized brain and the same black humor. We talk about where everyone's buried like normal people talk about files. I explained my eventual plan to get everyone in one general area in a mausoleum all nice and neat and she laughs ("We'll just move Daddy and put him like across the street from Grandma and Grandpa and then everyone will be organized, right Ma? Keep everyone close and nice and tidy!") . So I go with her and she tells me family secrets off handedly (it's the only way to get them out of her) and I try to figure out the bunny trail of our beloved dead. Try to remember who’s where. Try to remember the important dates. I'm learning. Slowly. It’s this pilgrimage that keeps us sewn together. It neatly stitches together the parts where my Paganism and her Catholicism collide. The ritual of our pilgrimages we can always agree on, if not the emotions and personal religious views.
After my mom ties the palms neatly at the cemetery and we say our prayers, we get a slice of Sicilian and try the Arancini di Riso and head home, back to central New Jersey, beads on the abacus back and forth between life and our beloved dead.
Magical Clothing
A Full Moon shines, the breeze picks up, and caped figures gather to celebrate in ritual and song. All are dressed in fine ritual wear bought at Renaissance fairs or from magical vendors, but few are wearing truly magical garments of power. Truly powerful magical garments must contain the physical essence, perceptions, and intention of the wearer's spirit.
This psychic investment can only be achieved through the actions of the wearer. You cannot buy it or trade for it. While these wonderful cloaks and other clothing offered for sale are a greet place to start, what you add to them--and the way you do it--is what will transform a beautiful, but impersonal, garment into a powerful and extraordinary one. Ancient shamans, priestesses, wizards, and healers adorned themselves and their clothing with things that held special meaning for them, things that held power and expressed the spirit of magic.
Your spirit and your journey are like no one else's; you are a unique expression of the universe's energy. Why should your magical adornments and clothing be manufactured just like thousands of others? Any cloak can easily be adorned with beads, shells, thread, ribbon, or other personal effects to make it the expression of your own magical journey. The more you focus your energy into a piece of clothing, the more powerfully charged it will become for your magical work.
The first rule of living a magical life is claiming your own power and learning to trust your own perceptions. All magic and spell work flow from this simple beginning. Just as creating an altar is a way of defining your ritual workspace, adding ornaments to your clothing can define your sacred personal body space.
Creating magical garments is like a blessing spell you cast over yourself and your ritual work. Each stitch, each bead, each detail has a transformative power that adds deeper meaning and potency to your garment. Like planting a garden, the work put into a piece of magical clothing can grow to become beautiful and soul nurturing. All who see such a hand worked piece will be enriched and enchanted by its uniqueness and beauty.
Visualize your personal magical clothing in meditation or ritual. Ask the universe to guide you in creating it. Be open to influences from different cultures and eras--even different aspects of yourself. Opening yourself to this creativity is the beginning of a mystical journey of exploration that will last a lifetime. What you create now will likely evolve over time as you wear it in rituals and celebrations.
There is no end to the wonderful pieces of ritual clothing you can create. If you sew, that is great, but sewing is not essential--manufactured clothing is OK. The base clothing you use for your magical ritual wear can be anything you like, as long as the fabric is strong enough to carry the adornments you add to it without ripping or sagging.
An ordinary cloak can be painted, beaded, embroidered, appliqued, or ornamented along the hem, around the hood, across the back, or left plain on the outside and elaborately decorated on the inside. You can create anything you can imagine. Often, the final design can stem from the first embellishment, so sit with the item you want to make more powerful, and in time your inspiration will come.
Starting Your Magical Wardrobe
A beautiful shoulder mantle can be made with a simple piece of square fabric one yard long. Versatile garments, shoulder mantles can be worn over any dress, shirt, or robe, making them a good place to start if you aren't sure what you want to do. Choose sturdy velvet, cotton, or other comfortable fabric with a tight weave that will drape well. Fold the fabric in half (straight or diagonally), cut a slit in the center of the folded edge for a head hole, and finish the edge with stitches or iron-on binding tape. The outside edges can be finished in the same way, or frayed to make a short fringe. Before you begin adding to the mantle, ask yourself a few simple questions.
What is important to me? Do I like simple or fancy? Do I want subtle or bright colors? Do I want things hanging down from the mantle or not? Do I want a woodsy feel or a more urban feel? Ancient or futuristic? Do I want to add items to my mantle over time? DO I want to make it for all rituals or do I want a specific element like earth, air, fire, or water? Do I want to dedicate it to a specific goddess or god? Do I want to make an animal energy shamanic mantle? DO I want my mantle to jingle or make a sound when I walk? DO I want to use paints or not? Once you know the answers to these questions, you will know how to create a mantle that is uniquely yours.
For a natural ocean feel, you can add shells--loose shells from inexpensive shell necklaces are great because the shells are already drilled. If you live near the ocean, try adding dried seaweed, tiny driftwood pieces, or beach glass. Seashores and riverbanks can offer some amazing treasures that are perfect for your purposes. You can also add blue, aqua, green, or sandy-colored beads, thread, or ribbons, which can be sewn or tied on with embroidery floss (thread) or clear fish line. You will need to poke a hole in the fabric with a thick needle to put the floss or line through when tying pieces to the fabric. If you hot-glue items to your clothing, it is a good idea to also add a piece of thread over three sides of the piece to make sure they stay in place.
A wooded-groove feel can be created using small fallen twigs, dried moss, seedpods, acorns or other nuts, as well as long strands of grass or wheat, which can be woven or braided. Fresh leaves or flower petals can be ironed between two sheets of wax paper to preserve them, then cut out and sprayed with lacquer to seal them and to prevent melted wax from seeping out later. Small stones can be wrapped with floss and hung so they sway slightly and clink together softly when you move. Bark, willow roots, beads--you can use just about anything you like.
Feathers can also be used in interesting ways, but feathers should always be decontaminated by washing and letting them dry, and then spraying with a tick and chigger repellent spray. This is very important because bird feathers have many types of parasites. (If you want to skip this step, store-bought feathers have already been cleaned and treated.) Once cleaned, feathers can be added individually or in rows to create an amazing garment. Beads can be slipped onto the quill before sewing or tying into place.
For a more futuristic feel, silver-colored washers with a center hole can be tied onto the mantle, and beads can be placed in the hole. Chips, circuits, and other computer parts, metal bits, holographic fabric, brass items, parts from broken appliances, and tiny mirrors can be added. Wire can be braided or woven together in all kinds of shapes.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, personal treasures often make wonderful additions to ritual clothing. Charms, crystal pendants, amulets, small sturdy keepsakes, buttons, or bits of fabric from cherished clothes or old ritual garments can be added. Mementos of childhood or special moments also can find a place n your ritual wardrobe. Painting your ritual clothes with acrylic or fabric paints is also a wonderful way to make them your own. Painted scenes, creatures, goddesses, Green Man, magical symbols, or simple areas of color and texture work well. You are the creator and whatever you are drawn to create will be an expression of your magical self.
These suggestions will work equally well for cloaks, robes, pants, tunics, shoes, or any other kind of magical clothing. Cloaks with Celtic interlaces can be ornamented by edging the interlaces in gold and silver thread.
One of the most wonderful ways to create a powerful piece of ritual clothing is to add a memento from each ritual you participate in--a pebble, a twig, stone, flower petal, ribbon, or bit of fabric. Every time you put your magical garment on, you will be calling forth the energy and power of all those past rituals and celebrations and wrapping yourself in their power. Whatever you create, may you walk in magic always!
by Abby Willowroot,
copyright 2007
Personal Thoughts on Sacred Landscape, Character and ‘Seeing As’
Author: Rhys Chisnall
Posted: August 12th. 2012
Times Viewed: 615
Unlike with Druids, places such as Stonehenge, Carnac, Avebury and Glastonbury do not have any particular significance to Initiatory Craft, though this is not to say that they don’t have significance to individual Witches. That being said, the landscape and the character of the countryside about us, not to mention the fauna and flora of a place, can have spiritual significance to Witches as it can for other spiritual paths. The landscape can receive the projection of mythology and meaning in terms of ley lines, ghost tracks, corpse ways, etc. informing stories and legend that are idiosyncratic to the place. This is because human beings have evolved the ability not just to see and experience, but as Ludwig Wittgenstein (as cited in Beaney, 2007) said, they ‘see or experience as’. Wittgenstein used his famous drawing of the duck/rabbit to illustrate this point. You can see the drawing as either a duck or as a rabbit.
http://www.wpclipart.com/signs_symbol/optical_illusions/duck_rabbit_illusion.png.html
It is important to remember that the drawing does not change; you just see it as something different. Being able to see the picture as a drawing of something at all, as far as we know, is something only human beings can do.
So we don’t just see landscape or experience it, but rather we ‘see it as’ and ‘experience it as’, influenced by our beliefs and stances. To illustrate my point a person does not just see a field of wheat; it depends on their subjective phenomenal reality. If they are a farmer they see it as a source of income or as a business investment, if they are an artist they see it as having potential for a beautiful picture, if they are a historian they see it as the site of archaeological significance and if they are an environmentalist they see it as a good habitat for field mice. Likewise a Witch or other occultist may see it as having character, a character that may be partially informed by legends and folklore about the place.
As human beings we see and experience objects in the world as having character and meaning. I am reminded of the psychology experiment where participants were asked to watch a screen on which dots randomly moved around. When asked by the researcher what they saw the participants described it in terms of characters in a story with one dot, liking, bullying, fancying and chasing the others. They had assigned the dots motives, beliefs and thus characters. This is what the philosopher and cognitive scientist Dan Dennett (as cited in Frankish 2007) calls the Intentional Stance. Evolution has programmed us to assign beliefs, motives and agency to things in order to predict what they will do. So in order to predict how a person or an animal will behave in a given situation we assign them the beliefs that they should have in order to achieve their goals and work from there. It does not always work but it works enough of the time for it to be a useful strategy. How many of us swear at our computers or at our cars when they go wrong? We are assigning them characters. Natural selection has programmed us with this ability to infer agency and beliefs because in our distant past it increased our survival fitness. When we were wandering the plains of Africa and we saw a branch shake, it would be to our advantage (and the advantage of our genes) to infer a hidden agency, i.e. a predator and beat a hasty retreat. It is better to run from nine leopards that are not there then to not run from one that its.
Humans also have the ability to hold representations of another person’s beliefs, motives and character in our minds. The cognitive anthropologist Dan Sperber calls this meta-representation. So Shirley can know that Kevin fancies her and can communicate to put him off because she can hold aspects of his character in her mind and make inferences from them.
We are meaning making and character assigning creatures. We don’t just experience the world and people around us, we ‘experience it as’ and this is just as true for places. We automatically assign places with meaning and with character, and it is with this character with which we can form a relationship.
In a previous article, I discussed my personal view of spirituality. To my mind it is a relationship that is experienced as having great value to the person who participates in it. It is so valuable that it can enable a person endure through times of crisis and help to bring meaning to such events. Importantly spiritual relationships are experienced as numinous; we relate to something other and greater than ourselves that inspires within us fascination, wonder, awe and even dread. I think it is possible to have this kind of spiritual relationship with a landscape or place; given meaning through either through personal involvement or through culture as with Stonehenge or Avebury. Such relationships are common in traditional cultures where the landscape is part of the mythology. You only need to think of Native Americans and their connection the sacred landscape as an example.
It is important to remember that this ‘experiencing as’ is a subjective experience that varies from person to person. It is their own meaning, their assigning of character (even if inspired by cultural forces such as legend and folklore) that gives the relationship value. It can also be inspired by the physical properties of the place, such as soaring and majestic mountains, the power of the sea and the beauty of the green wood.
However, there is no intrinsic sacredness that makes the place so significant. By this I mean that there is no need to reify ley lines, genius loci, spiritual energies, wights or whatever. They can still have meaning and value providing we remember Ryle and the category mistake and not mistake mythos for logos. There is nothing extra, no extra objects in the world but rather these and similar terms ‘make sense of’ the feelings these places inspire. The sacredness of a site is about the subjective meaning and spiritual relationship that a particular person has with a place so another person may feel completely different and have a different experience. The American pioneers experienced the landscape in a very different way to the aboriginal people they displaced. Likewise animals that don’t assign meaning may experience it just as environment. As far as we know birds fly directly over Stonehenge without picking up a ‘spiritual energy’ and which makes them go weak at the knees.
Certainly some buildings or woodlands have a ‘negative feel’ about them. This is down to the assigning of character and meaning to a place often based on its folklore and or physical properties. The wood may be dark and dingy with a sinister local reputation. The Jewish museum in Berlin was deliberately designed to create an atmosphere that makes its visitors feel very uneasy. This is done by virtue of its architecture with off kilter windows, weird sloping floors and walls and stark colour schemes. Tom Dyskhoff in a recent TV programme on architecture, called the Secret Life of Buildings, demonstrated how space can have an impact on how people feel. After staying two weeks in his room where the windows were reduced to average size of modern housing he found himself becoming depressed. This may also account for some of sick building syndrome; the rest may be caused by low level noise and electro-magnetic fields.
It is the subjective character of a place that is it genius loci, the spirit of the place. We experience places as having character and personify them. Therefore the power of place is in meaning and is subjective, cultural and personal.
Footnotes:
Beaney, M., (2007) , Imagination and Creativity, Open University
Boyer, P., (2002) , Religion Explained, Basic Books
Dukes, R, (2005) , Uncle Ramsey’s Little Book of Demons, Aeon Books
Dyskhoff, K, (2010) The Secret Life of Buildings, Channel 4
Frankish, K, (2007) , Conciousness, The Open University
Meditation, Energy and Action
Meditation, Energy & Action
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Walking Your Talk
The Magic of Animals
The Magic of Animals
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide
In many modern Pagan traditions, animal symbolism -- and even actual animals -- are incorporated into magical belief and practice. Let's look at some of the ways people have welcomed animals into their magical practice throughout the ages, as well as specific animals and their folklore and legends.
1. Power Animals, Totem Animals and Spirit Animals1
Image © Steve Cole/Getty Images2
The use of a totem animal is not part of traditional Wiccan practice. However, as Wicca and other modern Pagan practices evolve and blend together, many people who follow non-mainstream spiritual paths find themselves working with a mix of many different belief systems. A power animal is a spiritual guardian that some people connect with. However, much like other spiritual entities3, there's no rule or guideline that says you must have one.
2. Animal Familiars4
Image © Caitlin Hyatt 20085
In some traditions of modern Wicca and Paganism, the concept of an animal familiar is incorporated into practice. Today, a familiar is often defined as an animal with whom we have a magical connection, but in truth, the concept is a bit more complex than this.
3. Using Animal Parts in Ritual6
Image © Getty Images7
Some Pagans use animal parts in ritual. While this may seem a bit unsavory to some folks, it's really not that uncommon. If your tradition doesn't forbid the use of animal parts, and the parts are gathered humanely and ethically, then there's no reason you can't use them. Let's look at some of the different parts you might want to use. Let's talk about some of the different animal parts you might choose to incorporate into magical practice, and why you may decide to use them.
4. Serpent Magic8
Image © altrendo nature/Getty Images9
While a lot of people are afraid of snakes, it's important to remember that in many cultures, serpent mythology is strongly tied to the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Did you know that in the Ozarks, there is a connection between snakes and babies? Or that in Scotland, a snake emerging from its hole signified the beginning of Spring?
5. Ravens and Crows10
Image © John Foxx/Getty Images11
The crow and raven appear in folklore going back to early times. Sometimes, they're seen as harbingers of doom, but more often than not, they are messengers -- what are they trying to tell us?
6. Owl Magic12
Image © Getty Images13
Owls appear in legends and myths going back to the ancient Greeks, who knew the wise old owl was the symbol of their goddess Athena. However, owls are often associated with prophecy and bad tidings. Read about some of the ways different cultures viewed owls in folklore and magic.
7. Black Cats14
Image © Getty Images15
Every year at Halloween, local news channels warn us to keep black cats inside just in case the local hooligans decide to get up to some nasty hijinks. But where did the fear of these beautiful animals come from? Anyone who lives with a cat knows how fortunate they are to have a cat in their life -- so why are they considered unlucky?
8. Spider Folklore16
Image © Patti Wigington 201017
Depending on where you live, you probably see spiders starting to emerge from their hiding spots at some point in the summer. By fall, they tend to be fairly active because they’re seeking warmth – which is why you may find yourself suddenly face to face with an eight-legged visitor some night when you get up to use the bathroom. Don’t panic, though – most spiders are harmless, and people have learned to co-exist with them for thousands of years. Nearly all cultures have some sort of spider mythology, and folktales about these crawly creatures abound!
9. Rabbit Magic18
Image © Getty Images19
Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature's fertility goes a little crazy. The rabbit -- for good reason -- is often associated with fertility magic and sexual energy. Spring is a great time to focus on some of that rambctious energy -- let's look at how rabbit symbolism can be incorporated into magical workings.
10. Wolf Legends and Folklore20
Image © Getty Images21
The wolf is associated with many different aspects throughout the ages. Often seen as terrifying, there are plenty of tales in which the wolf is shown as compassionate and nurturing. Let's look at some of the many wolf stories that have appeared around the world.
Weather Magic and Folklore
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide
How do you know if snow is on its way?
Image (c) Patti Wigington 2008In many magical traditions, weather magic is a popular focus of workings. The term “weather magic” can be used to mean anything from divination and forecasting to actual control of the weather itself. When you consider that many of today’s folk magic customs are rooted in our agricultural past, it makes sense that an ability to foretell or change weather patterns might be considered a valuable skill. After all, if your family’s livelihood and life depended on the success of your crops, weather magic would be a handy thing to know.
Dowsing
Dowsing is the ability to find a water source in a previously unknown area via divination. In many parts of Europe professional dowsers were hired to locate new places to dig wells. This was typically done with the use of a forked stick, or sometimes a copper rod. The stick was held out in front of the dowser, who walked around until the stick or rod began to vibrate. The vibrations signaled the presence of water beneath the ground, and this was where villagers would dig their new well.
During the Middle Ages this was a popular technique for locating new springs to use as wells, but it later became associated with negative sorcery. By the seventeenth century, most dowsing had been outlawed because of its connection to the devil.
Harvest Predictions
In many rural and agricultural societies, fertility rituals1 were conducted to ensure a strong and healthy harvest. For instance, the use of the Maypole during the Beltane season2 often tied in to the fertility of the fields. In other cases, farmers used divination to determine whether the grain season would be successful – a few kernels of corn placed on a hot iron would pop and jump around. The behavior of the hot kernels indicated whether or not the price of grain would go up or down in the fall.
Weather Divination
How often have you heard the phrase, “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight, red sky in the morning, sailors take warning?” This saying actually originates in the Bible3, in the book of Matthew: He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, they say there will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning, there will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowring.
While there is a scientific explanation for the accuracy of this expression – relating to weather patterns, dust particles in the atmosphere, and how they move across the sky – our ancestors simply knew that if the sky looked angry in the early hours of the day, they were probably in for inclement weather.
In the northern hemisphere, the celebration of Imbolc, or Candlemas4, coincides with Groundhog Day5. While the notion of holding a fat rodent up to see if he projects a shadow seems quirky and campy, it’s actually something similar to weather predictions done centuries ago in Europe. In England, there's an old folk tradition that if the weather is fine and clear on Candlemas, then cold and stormy weather will reign for the remaining weeks of winter. Scotland's Highlanders had a tradition of pounding the ground with a stick until the serpent emerged. The snake's behavior gave them a good idea of how much frost was left in the season.
Some weather prediction folklore related to animals. In Appalachia, there’s a legend that if the cows are laying down in their fields, it means rain is on the way, although this may well be something that mountain folks tell outsiders – most cows seek shelter under trees or in a barn when bad weather comes. However, there are also stories that if a rooster crows in the middle of the night, it is foretelling rain the next day, and that if dogs6 begin running in circles, poor weather is coming. It is also said that if birds build their nests7 closer to the ground than usual, a hard winter is on its way.
Protection Magic
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide
Iron objects like horseshoes are known for their protective energy.
Image © Getty ImagesProtection Magic
In many magical traditions, workings can be done to ensure protection of home, property, and people. There are a number of simple ways you can do protection workings.
- Make an Onion Braid protection charm1 to hang in your home to protect those who live there.
- Find pieces of sharp iron, such as old nails or railroad spikes. Pound them into the ground around the perimeter of your property to keep harmful people out. Place an iron dagger beneath your pillow to prevent attack while you sleep.
- Use crystals or stones2 with magical properties, such as Hematite to create a barrier around your home. Put a piece of Hematite at each outside corner of the house.
- Make a magical poppet3 to protect yourself or a loved on.
- Brew up some Protection Oil4, and anoint yourself with it. This will keep you safe from psychic or magical attacks.
- Plant herbs with protective properties5, such as violet, thistle, honeysuckle, or fennel around your home. When they bloom, harvest them and hang them up to dry. Use the dried herbs in protective sachets or incense.
- Hang an iron horseshoe, open end facing down, to keep evil spirits out of your home. A horseshoe found along the side of a road was particularly powerful, and was known to provide protection against disease.
- In western Scotland, it was once popular to make a small cross of rowan twigs and bind them together with red string. Hanging this in the window or over a door will keep negative influences from crossing the threshold.
Lavender Dream Pillow
At Litha, the herb gardens are in full bloom, and if you have lavender growing, you're probably blessed with all kinds of purple abundance right now! Lavender is associated with calming and peacefulness, so Midsummer is a perfect time to make yourself a lavender pillow, to help bring about relaxing dreams.
To make your lavender sweet dreams pillow, you'll need the following:
- Fabric in pattern of your choice
- Cotton, Polyfill, or other stuffing material
- Dried lavender
- Needle, thread, scissors
To assemble the pillow, place the fabric with the right sides together. Cut out the shape you'd like your pillow to be -- square, circle, whatever. Pin the material together, and sew most of the way around the edges. Be sure to leave a gap where you can stuff the pillow.
Turn the material right side out, and fill with cotton or Polyfill. Add a handful of dried lavender, and stitch the opening closed. As you sew, you may wish to offer a blessing by chanting:
When at night I go to sleep,
sweet dreams will come to me.
Lavender scent bring peaceful rest.
As I will so it shall be.
Tip: If you're making this pillow as a project for a child, you can use felt and cut out shapes of the child's favorite things. Appliqué them on the pillow. Ask your child what sorts of things he or she would like to dream about, and use these shapes as a guideline. The one in the photo includes a witch, a cat, the child's first initial, and an ice cream cone.
Could You Be Cursed or Hexed?
Many people involved in Pagan and Wiccan spirituality find themselves, at some point, worrying about magical attack. What if someone casts a spell on me? How will I know? What do I do? More importantly, how do I protect myself so that it doesn’t happen in the first place?
Well, first of all, relax. Chances are really good that you're not going to be the victim of a magical attack at all. Here's why: it takes a certain amount of skill and effort to magically attack someone with a curse or hex, and honestly, many people aren't interested in putting forth that much work, and of those, many do not have the skill level required for a magical strike. In other words, not everyone who talks the talk can walk the walk. That having been said, if someone is willing to put forth the effort and they have the ability to craft an effective spell, it's possible you could be the victim of a deliberate, concentrated attack.
Be aware, also, that in most cases, someone who tells you they've hexed, cursed, or otherwise put a spell on you is the one least likely to be able to do so.
What is a magical attack? It's a curse or a hex, that's designed to make things go badly for you. If there are other circumstances in place, it's probably not a magical attack. Maybe you're just having a run of bad luck. Sometimes, it's just a matter of changing your lifestyle, or looking at mundane causes. Let's take a look at how to tell if you're under a magical attack. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is there someone in your life that you have angered or offended in some way?
- Is that person someone who has the magical knowledge to place a harmful spell on you?
- Is a hex or curse the only possible explanation for what is happening to you?
If the answer to all three is "yes", then it's possible you've been cursed or hexed. If that's the case, then you need to take protective measures.
Many people also choose to use divination as a way of determining whether they're the victim of a hex or a curse, but if you do this, bear in mind that your own fears and worries may effect the outcome. It's better to have the divination done by an objective party who isn't aware of your concerns. Ask a trusted friend to do the divination, and see if they come to the same conclusions that you have.
If you feel you've genuinely been the victim of a magical attack, the first thing to do is protect yourself from further mischief. Once you've done that, you need to get started on removal of the curse or hex. There are several methods of doing this. Some examples that may be used successfully include:
- Create a "magic mirror" spell which bounces the hex or curse back to its sender*
- Create a doll or poppet to take the damage in your place
- Perform a working that will remove negative influences from your life
- Use meditation, Reiki, chakra healing, or other energy work to lift the spell
For general protection, most people use a simple shielding method. This is a psychic shell that one draws around themselves. You can do this either by casting a circle of protection and recharging it periodically, or you can charge an amulet or talisman with protective properties. This will be an effective way of protecting you in the majority of magical attacks.
Property and vehicles can be protected as well. You can place a magical barrier or ward around your yard, keep a protective amulet or talisman in your car, or even set up a shield around your desk at work.
If you're going to put together a working for magical protection, you may want to use some of these correspondences.
Magical Herbs
- Acacia: protects against psychic attack
- Agrimony: useful for returning harmful energy to its original source
- Basil: warns off negative magic
- Black thorn: reverses a spell
- Cayenne: returns negative energy to its source
- Coffee: neutralizes harmful magic
- Dragon's Blood resin: protection
- Hyssop: purification and defensive magic
- Mugwort: protects against astral attack, or psychic attack in dreams
- Patchouli: returns harmful magic
- Solomon's Seal: protects against negative energy
- St. John's Wort: purifies and protects against psychic attack
- Vetivert: use to break a hex or curse
- Wormwood: use in uncrossing rituals, to remove hexes or curses upon you
- Yarrow: psychic protection
- Yucca: prevents attack via sympathetic magic
Crystals and Gemstones
- Amber: protects against psychic attack
- Amethyst: protects from negative energy
- Black onyx: protects against harmful magic
- Fire agate: for protection of the aura
- Hematite: use for protection of home and property, as well as to fend off psychic attack
- Malachite: repels hostile magical attacks
- Obsidian: provides protective energies
- Quartz: use to protect yourself from hexes or curses
- Ruby: use to defend against magical attacks related to emotions
- Selenite: for shielding against negative outside influences
How To Write Your Own Spell
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using other peoples’ spells -- and in fact there is an entire industry devoted to publishing books full of them -- there are times when you may wish to use your own. It may be that you can’t find what you’re looking for in a book, or you might just feel a need to use original material. Whatever your reasons, it’s not as hard as you may think to write your own spells if you follow this very simple formula.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied
Here's How:
Figure out the goal or intent of the working. What is it you wish to accomplish? Are you looking for prosperity? Hoping to get a better job? Trying to bring love into your life? What is the specific aim of the spell? Whatever it may be, make sure you're clear on what it is you want -- "I will get that promotion at work!"
Determine what material components you’ll need to achieve the goal. Will the working require herbs1, candles2, stones3? Try to think outside the box when you’re composing a spell -- remember that magic relies heavily on symbolism. There’s nothing wrong with using unusual ingredients in a working -- Hot Wheels cars, chess pieces, bits of hardware, sunglasses and even old DVDs are all fair game.
Decide if timing is important. In some traditions, moon phase4 is crucial, while in others it’s not significant. Generally, positive magic, or workings that draw things to you, is performed during the waxing moon. Negative or destructive magic is done during the waning phase. It may be that you feel a certain day of the week5 is best for the working, or even a certain hour of the day. Don’t feel obligated to drown yourself in the details, though. If you’re a person who feels confident doing magic on the fly without worrying about timing, then go for it.
- In many traditions of Paganism and Wicca, days of the week are very important aspects of effective spellcasting. For example, spells to do with abundance or prosperity could be done on Thursday, because it is associated with riches and desire. When casting a spell concerning business or communication, one might prefer to work on a Wednesday due to its associations.
While not all traditions follow this rule, when you're doing any sort of magical working, always be sure to document the day of the week you're performing the spell. You might be surprised later on to see some connections!Sunday
Color: Yellow & gold
Planet: Sun
Metal: Gold
Deities: Brighid1, Helios, Ra
Gemstones: Quartz crystal, diamond, amber, carnelian
Herbs & Plants:Marigold, sunflower, cinnamon
Associations: Agriculture, beauty, hope, victory, self-expression and creativityMonday
Color: Silver, white, light blue
Planet: Moon
Metal: Silver
Deities: Thoth, Selene
Gemstones: Pearl, opal, moonstone
Herbs & Plants: Wintergreen and other mints, catnip, comfrey, sage, chamomile
Associations: Childbearing and family life, purity and virginity, healing, wisdom, intuition2Tuesday
Color: Red and orange
Planet: Mars
Metal: Iron
Deities: Lilith, Mars, Aries, the Morrighan
Gemstones: Garnets, ruby
Herbs & Plants: Thistles, holly, coneflower, cactus
Associations: War and conflict, enemies, initiation3, marriage and protectionWednesday
Color: Purple
Planet: Mercury
Metal: Mercury (Quicksilver)
Deities: Odin, Hermes, Mercury, Athena, Lugh
Gemstones: Adventurine, agate
Herbs & Plants: Aspen trees, lilies, lavender, ferns
Associations: Business and job-related issues, communication, loss and debt, traveling and journeysThursday
Color: Royal blues, greens
Planet: Jupiter
Metal: Tin
Deities: Thor, Zeus, Jupiter, Juno
Gemstones: Turquoise, amethyst, lapis lazuli
Herbs & Plants: Honeysuckle, oak trees, cinquefoil
Associations: Honor and family loyalty, harvests, clothing and riches, fealtyFriday
Color: Pink, aqua/blue-green
Planet: Venus
Metal: Copper
Deities: Freya, Venus, Aphrodite
Gemstones: Coral, emerald, rose quartz
Herbs & Plants: Strawberries, apple blossoms, feverfew
Associations: Family life and fertility, sexuality, harmony, friendship, growthSaturday
Color: Black, dark purple
Planet: Saturn
Metal: Lead
Deities: Saturn, Hecate
Gemstones: Apache tear, obsidian, hematite
Herbs & Plants: Thyme, mullein, cypress
Associations: Agriculture and creativity, fortune and hope, protection and banishment of negativity
Figure out what wording or incantation -- if any -- will be verbalized during the working. Are you going to chant something formal and powerful, calling upon the gods for assistance? Will you simply mutter a poetic couplet under your breath? Or is it the sort of working where you can simply ponder the Universe in silence?
Put all of the above together into a workable form, and then, in the immortal words of the Nike commercial, Just Do It.
Tips:
Despite this being a very bare-bones and simple way of looking at spell construction, it does work effectively. You may wish to keep a magical journal or make notes in your Book of Shadows7 during the spell construction phase, and then keep track of results as they begin to manifest.
If a working hasn't begun to manifest within a few weeks -- some traditions say within 28 days, a lunar month -- you may want to stop and revisit the working. Figure out what variables may need to be changed.
The Universe has a quirky sense of humor, so make sure anything you cast a spell for is worded correctly. In other words, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it!
Remember that magic is a tool and a skill set, but some common sense should prevail as well. You can cast all day to get yourself a job, but your chances of success are greatly reduced if you haven't pounded the pavement and sent out copies of your resume!
What You Need
- Intent
- Supplies
- Your Book of Shadows, if you use one
Image © Getty Images
The moon is, in terms of distance, the closest heavenly body to earth. We can see it in the sky for three weeks out of four, and people have, for thousands of years, used its light to guide them in the dark. In addition to the personification of the moon as deity1, there are all kinds of fascinating legends and myths associated with the moon and its cycles.
- The word lunatic comes from the Latin luna, because it was believed that people were more likely to exhibit aberrant behavior during a full moon. Although studies have been done showing that emergency room visits and accidents are increased during the full moon period, there has yet to be conclusive evidence for causation.
- The moon seems to have an effect on animals as well as people. A Florida expert on animal behavior reports that hamsters spin in their wheels far more aggressively during the moon's full phase. Deer and other herbivores in the wild tend to ovulate at the full moon, and in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the full moon is mating time for coral.
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, was inspired by the strange -- and yet very true -- case of Charles Hyde, a London man who committed a series of crimes at the time of the full moon.
- There is a British legend that if Christmas fell on the day of a dark Moon, the following year's harvest would be a bountiful one. Some parts of the British Isles believed that a waxing moon on Christmas meant a good crop the next fall, but a waning moon indicated a bad one would come.
- In some countries, a halo around the moon means bad weather is coming.
- The first time you see a crescent moon for the month, take all your spare coins out of your pocket, and put them in the other pocket. This will ensure good luck for the next month.
- Some people believe that the fifth day after a full moon is the perfect time to try to conceive a child.
- In some Chinese religions, offerings are made to the ancestors on the night of a full moon.
- In some Native American legends, the moon is held captive by a hostile tribe. A pair of antelope hope to rescue the moon and take it the village of a good tribe, but Coyote, the trickster, interferes. The antelope chase Coyote, who tosses the moon into a river each night, just out of reach of the antelope.
- The night of the full moon is believed to be a good time for divination and scrying2.
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