Where You Need to Be/ The Daily OM

Where You Need to BeTiming Can Be Everything

by Madisyn Taylor

Every person fulfills their purpose when the time is right.


Since human timetables quite often do not correspond with universal timetables, it’s common for people to feel that life is progressing too slowly or too quickly. We draft carefully composed plans only to find that they fall into place when we least expect. Or, conversely, we are thrust into roles we believe we are not prepared for and wonder how we will survive the demands imposed upon us by unfamiliar circumstances. When delays in our progress kindle pangs of disappointment within us or the pace of life seems overwhelming, peace can be found in the simple fact that we are exactly where we need to be at this moment.

Every person fulfills their purpose when the time is right. If you have fast-tracked to success, you may become deeply frustrated if you discover you can no longer satisfy your desires as quickly as you might like. Yet the delays that disappoint you may be laying the foundation for future accomplishments that you have not yet conceived. Or the universe may have plans for you that differ from the worldly aspirations you have pursued up until this point. What you deem a postponement of progress may actually represent an auspicious opportunity to prepare for what is yet to come. If, however, you feel as though the universe is pushing you forward at too fast a clip, you may be unwittingly resisting your destiny. Your unease regarding the speed of your progress could be a sign that you need to cultivate awareness within yourself and learn to move with the flow of fate rather than against it. The universe puts nothing in your path that you are incapable of handling, so you can res! t assured that you are ready to grow into your new situation.

You may feel compelled to judge your personal success using your age, your professional position, your level of education, or the accomplishments of your peers as a yardstick. Yet we all enjoy the major milestones in our lives at the appropriate time—some realize their dreams as youngsters while others flourish only in old age. If you take pride in your many accomplishments and make the most of every circumstance in which you find yourself, your time will come.

Ingwaz

Your Rune For Today

Ingwaz

Ingwaz signifies completion, success and fertility. Your present ambitions are about to be met. You are fecund in both mind and body.

Poseidon

Calendar of the Moon

3 Ruis/Poseideion

Pandora’s Day

Colors: Grey and white
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a grey cloth set a large wooden box covered with carvings of horror, blight, and disease. It should be filled with two layers of rolled papers, separated by a cloth. The first layer is rolled papers tied with black string, which are assignments as to what offering of aid to the unfortunate should be given. The bottom layer is rolled papers tied with silver string, each of which has a saying of hope written upon it. Aside from the box, the altar should be starkly empty.
Offerings: Give aid and hope to those who are suffering outside the House. The following day should be a day of helping other organizations.
Daily Meal: Give food to others; the House fasts tonight.

Invocation to Pandora

Sweet Pandora,
Lady All-Gifted,
You were made like a toy by the Gods
To take revenge on the world,
Yet you hold your own mystery.
You were constructed with all gifts,
Yet we must never forget
That suffering, too, is a gift.
Though it may seem like the greatest of evils,
The pain that you bring hones us,
Tries us, trials us, tests our mettle,
And teaches us the limits of Life.
Help us to honor these gifts of yours,
These thorns and hails and lightning strikes,
This pain and weakness and suffering.
And help us to always remember,
Lady All-Gifted,
The final gift in the bottom of your box,
Which is hope for the future.

(All come forward and kneel before the altar. The keeper of the box says, “Choose your suffering.” One at a time, each comes forward and takes a paper from the top layer of the box. Then the keeper of the box says, “Choose hope,” and each comes forward and takes another paper from the bottom. The box is closed and all leave in silence.)

Elder Tree Month

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant: In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

Tarot: The Sun Card

What has traditionally been known as the Sun card is about the self — who you are and how you cultivate your personality and character. The earth revolves around the sun to make up one year of a person’s life, a fact we celebrate on our birthday.

The Sun card could also be titled “Back to Eden.” The Sun’s radiance is where one’s original nature or unconditioned Being can be encountered in health and safety. The limitations of time and space are stripped away; the soul is refreshed and temporarily protected from the chaos outside the garden walls.

Under the light of the Sun, Life reclaims its primordial goodness, truth and beauty. If one person is shown on this card, it is usually signifying a human incarnation of the Divine. When two humans are shown, the image is portraying a resolution of the tension between opposites at all levels. It’s as if this card is saying “You can do no wrong — it’s all to the good!”

Bruma

Calendar of the Sun

Bruma

Colors: White and brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a bare table lay a large pot shaped like a human figure, reclining, filled with earth. All should enter bearing two white cloths, one on each arm.
Offerings: Silence and meditation.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Bruma Invocation

Earth, you lie sleeping in silence,
And we can do nothing but wait.
We have breathed upon your first seeds,
We have sung your first green shoots
Up from the bare brown soil,
We have watered you with tears and sweat
And fed you with the remains of our meals,
We have cut down your bounty and saved it,
Yet this is not the time for seeds, or green,
But simply the long cold wait in the dark
Until the light waxes and the time comes again.
You are silent, and will not speak to us,
No matter how we cry out.
You are dormant, and will not sing to us,
No matter how we raise our voices,
For all things come in their own time,
And this is not the time for movement.
So we will sit with you, Earth,
We will watch over you as you sleep
And take part in your dreams
In silence, and wait for your awakening.

Chant:
Earth dreaming
Silent seeming
Winter’s vigil
We will wait for you.

(After the chant has been sung five times, all come forth to the altar. Each lays one white cloth gently over the pot, saying, “Blessed be the Earth in the time of winter.” Then each sits on the floor and places the other white cloth over their heads, and meditates on all that is sleeping and cannot be awoken. Silence in the House until Akte.)

Goddess Protection Spell

Dec 3 at 7:34 PM

Goddess, Give me protection from the outside world,

Let whatever people say about me not hurt,

Let whatever I fear not bother me,

Let all the mixed up feelings inside be released without harm,

Goddess, you see my pain,

I am thy child, I am thy soul,

I need a dream to cast away this pain,

Something to soothe my soul,

Give me protection from the outside world.

—-Author Unknown

Knight of Wands

Here is your Daily Tarot Card for Wednesday, December 4

The Knight of Wands card suggests that my power today lies in rising to the occasion. I keep my options open and am ready to "use it or lose it." I set trends or may be considered a "fashionista" and I initiate exciting opportunities to get attention, conquer fears, enhance reputation or image, or to express or inspire liberation-often by extreme measures. I am empowered by ambition or the "zest in quest" and I transform through charismatic communication of passion.

Candle Wish

Candle

If a candle goes out by itself before it has burned all the way down, quickly make a wish so the spirits can carry it to the wind. This is also supposed to avert evil, or evil spirits.

Waves of Healing

Waves of HealingOcean Meditation

by Madisyn Taylor

There is much we can learn from the ocean as we have a similar inner landscape within us as well.


Like us, the sea is ever-changing. And, like us, the earth’s vast oceans appear at a distance to be stable and homogenous. But beneath the mask of solidity that both we and the sea wear, there lies unpredictability, sensitivity, and power. There is much we can learn from the ocean, representative as it is of our inner landscapes. The rough sounds of the sea’s waves are spiritually soothing, and its salt can purify our physical selves. Yet not everyone has the luxury of living by the shore or even visiting the coastlines where water and land meet. The ocean, however, exists in our conscious minds, put there by images we have seen and descriptions we have read. Wherever we are, we can access that mental image and use it as the starting point from which we can help to heal our emotions by meditating on the sea.

To begin, gather together any ocean artifacts you may have on hand. Seashells, a vial of sand, beach glass, stones rubbed smooth by the pounding surf, or a recording of ocean sounds can help you slip more deeply into this meditation, but they are not necessary. Sit quietly and visualize the ocean in your mind’s eye. Allow all of your senses to participate in your mental journey. Feel the tiny grains of sand beneath your feet and the cool spray of mist; hear the sea’s rhythmic roar as the waves meet the beach and retreat; smell the tang of salt in the air. Watch the sun’s rays play over the ocean’s surface, creating shifting spots of teal, cerulean, cobalt, and green. Don’t be surprised if you see dolphins or whales frolicking in the waves—they are there to assist you. Spend a few minutes drinking in the ocean’s beauty and appreciating its vast splendor.

Once you are fully engaged with the setting before you, visualize yourself sitting on the beach, facing the ocean, and watching the waves advance and retreat. As each new wave of seawater approaches, imagine it carrying healing energy toward you. The magnificent ocean in your thoughts is sending you light and love while the sun supports your healing efforts and Mother Earth grounds you in the moment so healing can occur. When you feel you are finished, grant the ocean your earnest gratitude for the aid it has given you. Thank the sun, the sand, and any other elements of your visualization that offered you guidance. Perform this meditation daily or monthly in order to rid yourself of negativity and reestablish emotional equilibrium. Just as the ocean’s tides sweep the shores free of detritus, restoring balance, so can the waves in our mind’s eye cleanse our souls of what no longer serves us.

Walking Dreams

Walking

You may be trying to slow down your pace or lack the means to make speedy progress. Walking is a dichotomous symbol in that it can be both frustrating and relaxing to walk.

Walking is much more of a discovery-oriented journey than driving, flying, or other modes of transit. When walking, you are forced to experience your environment in much more detail since you are moving through it so slowly. To walk in a dream, especially if your perceived destination is far off, may indicate that you are missing some of the pleasure life has to offer by fixating on destinations, rather than on journeys.

In order to see the interpretive value of the walking, it must be determined why walking is the preferred mode of transit.

Are there other dream characters involved in walking, marching, or hiking? Are you trying to walk in an environment that is normally traveled by car?

Spell Construction

BASIC SPELL CONSTRUCTION

Write your own spells

Because of the very nature of Magick, each working should be highly individualized and personal. Even if following a traditional spell, it should be tailored to your specific needs to be most effective for you. Understanding the basics of Spell Construction will enable you to formulate your own specific, effective spells for any purpose you desire.

Preliminary planning is necessary. The very first step is to decide precisely what your desired end result is to be. Before you can start, you must decide where you are going. You must be very explicit.

Flowing with these currents will make your magickal work much easier.

Remember to plan your project for a time of uninterrupted privacy.

It is important that you have no distractions. Generally speaking, it is best to work as late at night as possible. A time when there is less frantic energy is most appropriate. You might consider Midnight or later.

In choosing a place to do your magickal working pay particular attention to your needs, for you must be comfortable. Your place should be private, quiet and secure. If at all possible, set aside a special place for this purpose only. An unused room, a special corner of your bedroom, a quiet, secluded spot in your garden. A place that is yours. A place that you can come to whenever need arises and that is as free from intrusion of others as possible.

Prior to the night of your magickal working, gather together the things that you will need. All of the things used are tools. They have no inherent magick. They are to help you create a mood. If correctly made and used, they will trigger primitive responses from deep within you. They should be chosen with care.

Consider the purpose of your ritual and choose your tools accordingly. If your magick is to be sexual, your candles, oils, incenses and so forth, should bring forth a sexual response. If the desired result of your Magick is Tranquillity, then the tools should make you feel calm, peaceful and serene. Any candles you might use should not have commercially added fragrances as these may not be appropriate for your working.

Prior to your ritual, prepare yourself and your equipment by any means necessary to clean and purify. Historically, people have fasted, followed meticulous and detailed bathing practices, practiced chastity and used many other methods.

Most often a Ritual Bath is the preferred method. A bath frequently utilizing candlelight, fragrant herbs, bath salts or sensuous oils.

A sumptuous hot bath, special bathing preparations and appropriate lighting, combined, can create the soothing effect which will help in the very important step of relaxing and clearing the mind completely of all mundane thoughts and experiences of the day. Your ritual Bath should, also, begin to set the specific vibrations conducive to your purpose into motion. You must not only cleanse and purify but must, also, begin to create the type of energy necessary.

Once your purification process has been accomplished, you are now ready to begin. Proceed to the special place you have previously chosen in which to perform your magick. If at all possible, you should make use of the primitive responses set into motion by a well chosen piece of music. Your music should start slowly and build to a rousing climax.

As you use your oils, light your candle or incense (or utilise any other tool you have chosen), you should begin to further intensify the energy that you have set into motion around you. A high degree of intensity is vitally important.

The Altered State of Consciousness that you must reach is not a meditative state. Anything that interferes with your ability to concentrate upon, reach and control the high energy state necessary to perform magick should be avoided. Such as, screaming children, a sink full of dirty dishes, use of alcohol or drugs, etc.

Do not scatter your energy by attempting to do more than one magickal working at a time.

Remember that Magick is the manipulation of energy, a thought is a form of energy and a visualisation is an even stronger form of energy. Your visualisation can be a method used to intensify further and direct your will. Your visualisation can be the method by which you control the magickal energy you have produced.

You must know what you want. You must see it. You must feel the high energy flow. You must direct it.

One of the most important elements in the practice of any form of Magick is the Universal Law of Cause and Effect. This means that whatever you do (or don’t do) you cause something to happen.

The most important consideration is the Universal Law of Retribution. This means that no matter what you do it comes back to you in like kind.

It is the nature of things that as you send something out it gains momentum, so that, by the time it comes back to you, it is three times stronger. If you do something nice for someone, someone will do something nicer for you.

It is important, also, that you choose your time carefully. You should take into consideration all Astrological implications, energy currents and Moon phases.

The Moon is the astronomical body closest to us and, therefore, has a profound influence upon us, it is very important to choose a time when the Moon is in an astrological sign which is appropriate for your working. For example:

Aries/Action – Enthusiasm, Taurus/

Renewal – Sensuality, Gemini/Communication – Curiosity, Cancer/

Emotion – Nurturing, Leo/Vitality – Determined, Virgo/Organizing -

Studious, Libra/Balance – Co-operation, Scorpio/Sexual -

Philosophical, Capricorn/Authority – Ambitious, Aquarius/Innovation

- Social, Pisces/Sensitivity – Idealistic.

Bear in mind that magickal workings for gain, increase or bringing things to you, should be initiated when the Moon is Waxing (from Dark to Full); when the Moon is Waning (from Full to Dark), it is time for magickal workings of decrease or sending away.

The highest energy occurs at the Full Moon and, therefore, this is the most powerful time for magickal workings. The New Moon is the next most powerful time for Magick.

Whenever possible, follow Nature’s natural Energy Currents. There is a natural time for starting things (a planting time), for maturing things (a growing time), for reaping things ( a harvest time) and, of course, a time forest and planning.

Wotc.com

Peri

Peri Protection Spell

The Peries are Persian Faeries born from fire. They only eat perfume and are known to protect people against harmful faeries. In this spell, you are invoking the energy of the Peries as a means of protection from dark energies and negative events.

You will need a green candle and three drops of jasmine-scented oil.

Begin by anointing the candle with the three drops of oil while saying:

“Blessed oil of jasmine sweet

Draw the magick of the Peries to me.”

Put the candle in its holder, and light it while dedicating it to the Peris:

“Born from the divine fire

Peries protect me from evil and darkness.

As I will, so shall it be!”

Let the candle burn safely down all the way. Put some perfume on a piece of cloth and leave it out for the Peries. Anytime you feel darkness and negativity trying to come into your space, light a candle and call in the Peries for protection.

Water, Mermaids and Magick

Water, Mermaids and Magick

Author: Lady Abigail [a WitchVox Sponsor] 
Posted: June 21st. 2004 
Times Viewed: 16,158 

"Since once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a Mermaid on a dolphin's back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song,
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid's music."

William Shakespeare
Love-In-Idleness

Water and Magick have been a part of each other since time has been time. Within magick water is observed as a Feminine energy; her elemental powers come with the West winds of heaven. She is blue, her eyes being seen deep beneath the waves of time. Yet she can be held in comfort within her Chalice, her symbol of being a part of all life.

This may be the reason: many of us find that with the approaching warm days of Summer, we have a deep yearning within our spirit to be near water. This desire, which comes from unfathomable depths within us, appears part of the natural cycle we all share. It doesn't seem to matter where we live, yet we find it somehow a necessity to be near or in water; oceans and seas, creeks and ponds or even a backyard swimming pool. Something profound calls us from deep within our spirit to immerse ourselves and become a part of this rhythm.

Nevertheless, many have lost the knowledge that within these waters are mystical creatures and powers nearly forgotten except in folklore and children's stories. Perhaps it is the telling of the stories that has blinded so many to the truths held within. As children we are told stories about the ugly old Witch hag that would bake children into gingerbread; then we tell the children this is all make-believe. Okay - the baking children into gingerbread is a given, but Witches are real. No wonder there are so many new to the Craft that doubt themselves.

The Little Mermaid is a wonderful story about creatures living in the sea and, oh yes, the ugly sea hag; but stories, myths and folklore we have learned as we mature have a basis in fact and truth.

I go to the ocean as often as I possibly can. To walk her shores, play in her waves and see her power. I cannot imagine that it is possible for anyone to stand next to that power and life-force without giving praise to its wonder. Within her waves we can find so much of the knowledge and secrets once lost to us. We can again find and work with the mystical creatures of the sea we call Mermaids.

In folklore we have been told that Mermaids weave a siren song that leads you to visions and mystery. The mystical Mermaid represents the power of our unconscious desires. She gives us the power to seek beneath the waves of our emotions and imaginings for the pearls that lie beneath. The Mermaid reminds us that unless we follow the truth of our inner selves, our lives are as momentary as sea foam with nothing left behind.

Mermaids are the Water-Folk who live beneath the seas. A Mermaid is a legendary creature that has the head and torso of a human being and tail of an aquatic creature, usually seen as a fish but many believe it to be a dolphin. Mermaids would better be called Merpeople for they are not exclusively female; rather the word is all-encompassing to include Mermen, Merwomen, Merchildren and Merbabies, who are, after all, less frequently sighted. So the word Mermaid is used to encompass the entire Merfamily.

Mermaids, being specifically female, are believed to have beautiful singing voices, and like the Sirens (Sirens not being Mermaids), sometimes use it to lure ships to their doom. Mermaids will also use their beauty and voice to entice individual humans to come to them. Sometimes this appears to be malicious, because an ill-fated man is drawn to the sea where he will meet his death, by drowning. Other stories speak of these same men being carried beneath the sea to live in blissful happiness as part of the undersea world. Other times the songs are sung to call those within mankind to love a Mermaid, or are sung by those of the Mer-world seeking a mate from among mankind instead of one of their own.

The myths of love are recognized at work here in numerous ways. For it is also possible for a human to seduce a Merperson, be it male or female. The most commonly accepted belief is of a man who manages to force or trick a mermaid into joining him on land to become his wife.

Such liaisons were most likely doomed since an enchantment was required to give the mermaid human legs. The breaking of some magickal agreement or promise would allow the mermaid to resume her natural form and escape.

There are many stories of Mermaids who, for reasons of love or desire, would make a pact or oath with humankind and the breaking of these pledges by either side could bring forth disastrous consequences.

It is greatly believed by seafarers that the doing of kindheartedness or good toward Mermaids will bring luck, wishes and magick. They are great teachers of wisdom and knowledge of both land and sea. Throughout the history of sea lore it has been an unwritten law that Mermaids were to be honored and respected - for Mermaids could bring great reward or punishment.

Mermaids have many different names depending on what part of the world you may be in. Some examples include: Lake Maidens, Loreli, Melusine, Merrow, Water Witch, Water Nymphs and Undines, to name a few.

Mermaids are not Sirens; they are two completely different species, although Mermaids are said to sing a "Siren song" to cast a spell on wayward seamen. It has also been said that this song is used to lure ships onto the rocks to their destruction.

A Siren is a singing enchantresses, part woman and part bird, who lures sailors to their doom. Some say the Sirens had been given their wings in order to help Demeter search for her daughter Persephone, who was abducted by the King of the Underworld.

According to Greek mythology the Sirens' song would have caused Odysseus to steer his ship into their rocks. Odysseus ordered his men to fill their ears with wax and bind him to the mast as a precaution. In addition, he also instructed the minstrel, Orpheus, to play music of his own as a distraction so they could safely pass.

In some of the early history of mythology, the Gods speak of the Fates being three sisters or female cousins with the same powers as later Greek depictions of the Fates. The exception is that they were portrayed within ancient chronicles as Nymphs, Mermaids and Sirens.

Nymphs, in Greek mythology, were often the name placed on the less significant female deities. The nymphs were usually associated with sexuality, fertility and growing things, such as trees, and with water, because it is necessary for life. Nymphs were not immortal but were extremely long-lived and were, on the whole, kindly disposed toward men. Nymphs are also accused of having the power of charming men with their songs. All who heard them - generally mariners according to descriptions - were motivated to cast themselves into the sea to their own demise.

Mermaids throughout time have been considered guardians and avengers of women and predictors of storms and future events. As true water spirits they can replenish our energy and be called upon to assist within the magick of water and Lunar energies. They refresh, clean and renew our spirits. Female Mer-people, often called water nymphs, are not always female nymphs. Mermaids, in the form of water nymphs, work to awaken our deepest emotions, stimulating our compassion and intuition. Each of us has a part within ourselves which is ruled and guarded by water spirits throughout our life.

Mermen are generally considered less infamous. This may be due to the fact that in centuries past, most of the sailors were also men. Mermen are also judged to be far less kind toward human beings than Mermaids. It has been told that the males within the Mer- people are the protectors of their line as well as the protectors of their own existence. They see men as barbarians who have no regard for life, especially that which differs from their own. Mermen have little to no interest in mankind, except for the unexpected few human females whose desires have caused them to fall in love.

Mermen are known for starting huge storms and drowning ships in rage and revenge when it has been revealed that those aboard have harmed a Mermaid. Many such stories have been told of fishing ships that have captured a Mermaid in their nets or whaling ships that have harpooned a Mermaid, or men that have captured and enslaved Mermaids. In these instances, the Mermen have sought all manner of retribution.

The history of the Mer-world is ancient, reaching back as far as we have acknowledged and felt the sea's magickal attraction. Surprisingly to most, the earliest evidence recalls the male of the species first. He is called the Sea-God Oannes (or Ea), the "great fish of the ocean," who was also the Sun-God, seen rising from out of the ocean each day and disappearing again back beneath the waves each night. Oannes was worshipped by the Babylonians in recorded history from around 5000 BCE. It is believed Oannes taught mankind about the arts and sciences.

The ancient Syrian Goddess, Atargatis, is a symbiotic Moon Goddess and was the first officially recorded Mermaid listed within history. She was depicted with a fish's tail and fish where her sacred totem. It is not unusual that this Moon-Goddess was depicted as a Mermaid, for the tides ebb and flow with the moon.

There is belief that during the suppression of Pagan deities by the Christian Church, Mermaids and other supernatural beings also considered insignificant, were not seen as a threat to the growth and popularity of Christian beliefs and doctrine. Some historians and writers even go so far as to report that the Church actually believed in the Mermaid mythology. This comes from evidence found in ancient Church records depicting manuscripts and drawings on the existence of Mermaids and the Mer-World.

Mermaids are the symbols of feminism, beauty, sexuality and fertility; however, the male-dominated Christian Church used the symbol of the Mermaid to turn people from sin and the temptations of the flesh. According to T.K., "Mermaids are represented in early Irish and Christian medieval and post-medieval art, frequently as a warning to Christians against the sins of vanity, pride and lust."

Mer-Magick

In ancient wisdoms, Mer-people worked with the Magickal essence of the Moon. Mer-Magick was used for Shape shifting and Transformation, and with time has become a nearly lost tradition. Mer-Magick is empowering and can be found within the sounds of the ocean waves and her creatures. The power can be found within the taste and smell of the sea as well as the movement of her waters. The reflection of the Moon on her waves and her surface is also a point of empowerment. Anything related to the sea is a source of power for Mer-Magick and those who call upon it.

Mer-Magick has its greatest power and its greatest energy potency during the Full Moon phase. Full Moons are approximately 14 days after New Moons and the energy lasts from three days before to three days after the actual Full Moon. The magick best worked within this time is for prophecy, protection, and divination or any working that needs extra magickal energy. This phase is also a good time to work magick for love, wisdom, manifesting goals, passion, healing, strength and power.

The primary colors of Mer-Magick are aqua, blue, cream and sea foam green. The planetary colors for Mer-Magic using Cancer are silver and white. The purpose within Cancer is the emotions, influence, fertility and lunar energy. Colors of Pisces are sea green and mauve. The planetary energies used are for escapism, entertainment, confusion, spirituality, psychic development and past-life regression work. Scorpio's color is dark red. The purpose within Scorpio is for the work of intensity, stability, making plans, merging, fertility, lust and secrets.

For magickal work, calling on the energies of Mer-Magick, Monday is considered the day corresponding within this power. To a degree this is equal with the corresponding day employed with Moon Magick. Any day under the Full Moon stage of the moon is amazingly enhanced and excellent for calling the powers utilized within Mer-Magick.

I have found that working with the tides can be like a secret key for the working of Mer-Magick. Your magick, whatever it may be, is excellently enhanced by means of the natural rhythm of the tides.

Drawing energies uses the incoming of high tide while ridding or banishing uses the outgoing tide and the parallels go on. Mer-Magick for calling/drawing something or someone to you - love, money, power or people - should be worked when the tide is coming in.

Mer-Magick for strength, energy, power and growth should be worked at high tide. This is to assure that you are working for the highest possible success in whatever the need might be.

Mer-Magick for ridding yourself of problems, fears, banishing and cleansings - by means of cleansing your inner self - should be cast upon the waters of the outgoing tide. In this way the tide carries away all the undesired fragments of life.

Mer-Magick for balancing your life-force, focusing and clearing metaphysical sight, which is contained within magick or others, should be worked on the low tide and when the waters are as calm as possible. This is a time when all the things we hide inside the shallows of our lives can be seen or have been washed up within the waves of life.

As with the Moon, Mer-Magick's planetary corresponding hours are 9 am to noon and 9 pm to midnight. These hours are best for: land cultivation, like gardening or farming; seeking favors from the feminine gender; attending to family matters; the needs of mothers, sisters and daughters; artistic pursuits; starting out on long journeys and the starting of a new business venture.

The gems corresponding with Mer-Magick include: pearl, shell, emerald, coral, lapis, blue crystal, jade and opal.

Herbs corresponding with Mer-Magick include: bladderwrack, Atlantic kelp, Norwegian kelp, sea salt, Irish moss (chondrus crispus), agar, algae and seaweed.

Note to all:

Without water, She (Earth) would literally dry up and blow away, considering 73 percent of the planet is covered in salt water and 3 percent in fresh water. Even this human body we hold in such high regard would become less than flesh and bone if we were not 80 percent water. I'm not trying to give a science lesson here, only make a very important point: Without the power of water, all life that is known to us would cease to be. Let us all give respect and honor to our Mother Earth, Her Waters and Lands, Her creatures on land and sea.

So Mote it be.

Lady Abigail 

The Mundane/Spiritual Mirror: What Does it Say About Your Life?

The Mundane/Spiritual Mirror: What Does it Say About Your Life?

Author: lightgoddess 
Posted: November 3rd. 2013 
Times Viewed: 365 

As a neophyte, I was taught that one's mundane life had to be in order for one to get his or her spiritual life in order. That is a concept that, instinctually, I understood, but I had issues grasping the concept in a real world setting. Until now, that is. It occurred to me that I haven't had very good examples of that, but that I also haven't been a very good example of that, either.

There is this thought within the pagan community that I have been exposed to that ‘real’ leaders must be near impoverished. Why? Why is that, exactly? Can pagan leaders not have a nice place to live, a decent vehicle, and be able to pay their bills without asking for handouts? Is there some unwritten rule that, as leaders and clergy within the pagan community, we must turn our back on materialism in all forms and struggle to make sure that our most basic of needs are met? Is there some unwritten rule that we must take into our homes any and all that are in need and ask for nothing monetary in return? Why? Why do we do this? Is it our duty to overextend ourselves to the point of breaking?

On more than one occasion, I have seen leaders in the community do this. I have seen them take in mouths that they couldn't feed. I have seen them quit jobs, on a whim, that were needed. I have seen them get in a bind and have to ask the community to help. I have been one of the ones helping, even when I didn't, necessarily, have it to give.

Another notion I whole-heartedly reject is that paying dues to one's church or group is akin to tithing. I wonder, often, if this is an excuse by the members of the group. Do the members of the group see their spiritual leaders living an unconventional lifestyle and not want to help out because, due to their own concepts (and if said leader is able) , they believe many of the money issues would go away if the leader simply got a regular job? From my own experience, people are reticent to help those who do not appear to want to help themselves. Alternately, maybe the members see the communal living situation and believe that one or more of the able bodied people living there could find work. 

I have been there, living with some of my spiritual family, with no income and wondering just how I was going to contribute. Very quickly, I found a job and, very quickly, I worked out with them just how I was going to contribute, not just monetarily, but with sweat equity. 

So, if our mundane lives mirror our spiritual lives, what does it say about those who give to the point of poverty? What does it say about those who take to the point that their leaders are impoverished? What does it say about those who prefer to take handouts to doing the work themselves, physically (if they are able) ? What does it say about those who refuse to do the 'Christian' thing to help out their leaders? What does it say about the few who see the need in their church or coven and seek to fulfill it, not out of some selfish need to be recognized, but because there is a need to be filled? More to the point, what does it say about those able-bodied people who refuse to work for pay and choose to rely upon begging and handouts as their means of income?

In my scant few years of group practice, I have seen various individuals within my own community quite selfishly use those who love them the most to get hand-outs simply because getting a job was not very high on their scale of priorities. Some individuals would get a job to ‘prove’ they were trying and in just a few weeks quit for some reason or another while other individuals would use those around them until the issue of a job was forced and then the individual would move on to use someone else.

Now, if what I have been told about the mundane mirroring the spiritual is true, I know some pretty spiritually selfish individuals. If this selfishness is the case, then how can these people call themselves Wiccan when the harm they are doing is evident? How can they look down their noses at our Christian brethren for tithing when they are asking for so much more?

As people adept at manifestation, why is it such a difficult thing to conjure a job? Is it arrogance or laziness? I have also come to realize that the gods help those who are willing to help themselves. If I need money and I have no job, then I do a spell to find work, but after that, I have to fill out applications and get my résumé to employers. Manifestation requires energy, and not just the energy raised in ritual. This thinking that the gods will provide without one having to actually do the work is rubbish. Within a community setting, the work ends up falling to those who have the means to get it done.

This level of selfishness leads to one or two people in a group stepping up and fulfilling needs, which need to be fulfilled. When this happens, those are the people who become the ‘go to’ people. They become the people who are asked for money and supplies. They become the people who are ‘special’ or ‘worthy’ or ‘doing the work of the gods’. These people end up being used. They end up angry and jaded. They end up with little faith in their fellow pagans. They end up with little faith in their own communities.

As pagans, we all strive for balance. When we put one part of our lives above another to the detriment of self and, ultimately, the community, balance is not achieved. We are not setting good examples. As we enter the darkest part of the year, maybe it is time to examine just how much we give and how much we take. Are those things balanced? Do we work as hard in the mundane as we do in the spiritual? Is our intent selfish or altruistic? Do we put our own wants and needs above the needs of others? Are we in balance?

Spell Ingredients

Spell Ingredients: Add a Large Dose of Reality

Author:   Solonius  

The first ingredient for any spell: A large dose of reality…. I mean, really, what do you expect? If all spells worked, wouldn’t humanity universally believe in witchcraft and magic and use it wholeheartedly? And to that extent wouldn’t worthy practitioners be a desired commodity? It is imperative for practitioners to separate their wishful and whimsical fantasies from serious study, contemplation, experimentation and application.

I believe that in order to further understand and define the super-natural, you first have to develop and have a thorough understanding of the natural. Any study of the Craft requires a greater amount of study into the realm of Laws of Nature and the Laws of Physics. After all, how can you define what is extra-ordinary, if you don’t even know the extent of what is ordinary?

The Laws of Physics are many, and the typical high-school student mostly understands the important ones. Opposites attract (by and large this only works for ions, kids, not people) , for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force, for any change in state the by-product or causation is heat, etc. How can better knowing these things help us in a greater understanding of our spell work? Because all these things deal with Energy, and what is the Universe constructed of? Anyone…? Yes, Energy. And what does spell work deal with, when you boil it all down (pun intended) ? That’s right, Energy! Or more accurately, the transfer of energy. This is the First Insight that any practitioner should grasp. EVERYTHING is energy.

The Second Insight that we should understand, because it deals with both types of laws, is that Nature abhors a vacuum. That can be observed as simply as watching a balloon deflate. What do you discover with these phenomena? That Nature seeks a balance. This holds true for the Laws of Life and the Laws of Physics. The Universe naturally seeks equilibrium. Whether this is between hot/cold, high pressure/low pressure, too many predators and not enough prey, the Law stays the same. In the end, Nature will follow its Laws. You do know, though, that there is a defined and empirical Order to Things. You might not understand it fully, but you can be assured that an order exists by observing the smallest things in nature. This is crucial: Be observant to Nature and learn from it. Nature, in all its complexity, is still a system of doing things the easiest and least energy wasting way. Contemplate that reality for a while.

Where does this energy come from? Good question. Is it physical energy, which means connected to our current plane of existence? If that is so, then you would not be able to contain it for the energy you are talking about on the physical plane is electrical in nature, and you would become walking atom bombs if you gathered the energy required to perform some spells. So it can’t be a physical energy type.

Is it spiritual energy (which obviously means it is energy collected from higher levels of existence) that you are able to gather and use? The usual consensus is “Yes, it is.” This leads to the next set of questions. Can energy from higher levels of existence cause effects on a lower level of existence? How can if affect the energy in a lower existence, if the two existences are not on the same sphere? Can the physical things you do on a lower plane of existence affect what happens on a higher plane of existence? Is your mentality the only link between what you perceive as the physical plane and planes above what you can perceive with your physical senses? What is the extent of ‘Reality’, does it encompass ALL spheres of existence as ONE reality? Nature abhors a vacuum, so if As Above – So Below is a Law of Nature, does this mean that the energies of a higher plane seek a balance with the energies of a lower plane?

It is said that in the higher planes all things are possible if you only imagine it so. I further postulate that you must not only imagine it so, it must become your perceived REALITY. You must learn to tap into the energies of the higher planes, and effect permanent changes there, before any changes can happen in the physical plane. I’ve often said that there is an ocean of difference between Understanding and Knowing. Understanding is intellectual; it is accepting truth without necessarily going through all the motions to prove it. Knowing is visceral; it deals more with proof from the physical senses perceiving something as true. Ergo, to make a change here, you have to Know that you have made a change in higher realms first.

I postulate the reason for this is the hypothesis of ‘trickle down economics’ if you’d like. What does this mean? It means that in order to build a hut on the physical plane, you must first build a mansion in the higher planes. More complexly, Nature (meaning all planes of existence) seeks a balance. Nature also does things the absolute least energy-wasting way. I perceive that Nature does not easily permit energy to flow across planes of existence, even if they are in the same ‘Reality’. With As Above – So Below, you can see through a simple diagram of two superimposed triangles (one point up, the other point down) that the equilibrium point is above here and now (the bottom point) , yet below the ultimate expression (the top point) . As you move down from the ultimate expression (the open V) , less and less energy is transferred. Therefore you must have a firm and knowing conviction of what you wish to accomplish and see a clear and precise picture of it occurring, before you can hope to realize it happening.

Ironically, you should also have a wonderfully developed sense of imagination up to the point of believing in what seems impossible. Only with an active imagination can you build that mansion up to the point of actualization in the higher planes. This seems contradictory, but I don’t feel that it is. Without a firm mental picture of what you require to exist, can you hope to achieve your goal? You have to build that mansion brick by brick, through much mental exactness and conviction. This requires a great deal of imagination as well as focus. The constructed mansion should then remain in that higher plane once you have completed it. It’s there; there is no doubt of its existence in your mind. Every time you visit the higher realms your mansion is there, gleaming with its glory. Make it Reality. Does this mean that a mansion will magically appear here and now for you in the material plane? Probably not, but the single minded effort it took to imagine it as reality in the higher plane, could translate into the required motivation and focus to achieve it in the here and now. Here is something else to consider: owning the mansion is secondary to the method of achieving it.

I’ve used the visualization of a mansion to put a face to a concept. However, it holds true for any endeavor. What you wish to have happen is secondary to HOW you achieve its happening. You build the mental picture (higher plane reality) while simultaneously going through with the steps required to achieve the same results. This multiple avenue approach enlists all your faculties to achieve what your desire is. The greater the amount of energies enlisted to achieve your desire, the more energy the universe aligns with the outcome. Remember: the method of how you achieve your goal is primary to the goal itself.

As an example: There is a twice-weekly fervent prayer on many lips throughout the land: “Please let me win the lottery!” However, if you never go out to purchase a lottery ticket, the effort placed into your prayer was wasted, wasn’t it? The same occurs with your Craft. Creating a spell to achieve the end result is short sighted. You still have to do the work to realize your goal. There really are no shortcuts. I don’t mean using some elaborate spell either. I mean elaborate mental visualization, coupled with following a plan to achieve the goal. Each reinforces the other, making the possibility of achievement vastly greater. Ground that visualization into what Laws Nature has already demonstrated. This lends conviction and credibility to the achievement of the goal.

What would be the required steps to achieve that goal without using any Craft? Incorporate those steps into the visualization with your spell. Bypass any flights of fantasy; they require too much energy to maintain. After all is it easier for your mind to accept flying to work on a broomstick, or driving your car? Your mind will default to what it Knows is possible, and will automatically call B.S. to what is not. Even a child imagining flying around the house on a broomstick Knows that they are just pretending. So why kid yourself? The more reality you incorporate into your Craft, the greater the results you will receive.

*On a side note: I don’t think of the planes of Reality as floors in a skyscraper, nor are they in some cardinal Direction. They don’t exist as pages in a book, where you can turn a page and have a new reality. I think of it as a condensing of energy from zero (conversely the most dense) to the ultimate amount of energy. They are all concurrent and here and now, superimposed upon what we can only perceive as the physical plane due to the limitations of our senses. This energy is limitless to infinity. For infinity is provable as far as we have observed. Outside the edge of the growing globe of galaxies expanding outward, is vacuum. Forever. You could hypothetically travel so far away that this entire globe of expanding physical energy seems like nothing more than a single spec of brilliant light. However, the theory of infinity breaks down if you require a starting point. As Above – So Below… Infinity must go in BOTH ‘directions’ forever, or the concept breaks down.

I thank you for your time in reading this. I hope it gave you some food for contemplation, and in some way helps you with more success on your path.

Halloween Witch

Halloween Witch

The Halloween Witch 

Each year they parade her about ... The traditional Halloween witch. 

Misshapen green face, stringy scraps of hair, and a toothless mouth beneath 

her disfigured nose. Gnarled, knobby fingers twisted into a claw, 

protracting from a bent and twisted torso that lurches about on wobbly legs. 

Most think this abject image to be the creation of a prejudiced mind, or 

merely a Halloween caricature. 

I disagree. I believe this to be how witches were really seen. 

Consider that most witches: were women, were abducted in the night, and 

smuggled into dungeons or prisons under the secrecy of darkness, to be 

presented by the light of day as a confessed witch. 

Few, if any, saw a frightened, normal looking woman being dragged into a 

secret room filled with instruments of 

torture. To be questioned until she 

confessed to anything that was suggested to her, and to give names or 

whatever would stop the questions. Crowds saw the aberration denounced to 

the world as a self-proclaimed witch. 

As the witch was paraded through the town, en route to be burned, hanged, 

drowned, stoned, or disposed of in various other forms of Christian love ... 

All created to free and save her soul from her depraved body. The jeering 

crowds viewed the results of hours of torture. The face, bruised and 

broken by countless blows, bore a hue of sickly green. The once warm and 

loving smile gone. 

Replaced by a grimace of broken teeth and torn gums that leers beneath a 

battered, disfigured nose. The disheveled hair conceals bleeding gaps of 

torn scalp from whence cruel hands had torn away the lovely tresses. Broken, 

twisted Hands clutched the wagon for support. Fractured fingers locked like 

groping claws to steady her broken body. All semblance of humanity gone. This 

was truly a demon, a bride of Satan, a witch. 

I revere this Halloween crone and hold her sacred above all. I honor her 

courage and listen to her warnings of the dark side of humanity. 

Each year I shed tears of respect. 

Written by Angel, 6/99