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

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse

Spell Date:  Friday, October 18, 2013

Color of the day:  Pink

Incense of the day:  Rose

Eclipses only happen a couple times a year, and not everyone gets to see one each year due to weather, the time of the eclipse, and other factors. If you are fortunate enough to get to see the eclipse with your own eyes, take the opportunity to do some magick for other long-shot or rare opportunities. For example, if you're not currently in a good financial position but want a quick turnaround, try a spell for extra prosperity and use the energy of the eclipse to help bring it about. 
Then do everything reasonable you can to make your desire come to pass. Keep it within perspective; don't sink all your money into a get-rich-quick scheme. However, if there's a job you want that you haven't applied for because you aren't quite qualified, give it a shot anyway. Use the eclipse energy to help turn things in your favor!

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY LUPA ON OCTOBER 18, 2013

Memorable Events

Magical Almanac – November 2013

Bob Makransky’s occasional blog of astrology and magic

 Memorable Events

            In The Active Side of Infinity Carlos Castaneda described how his teacher don Juan had him make a list of memorable events in his life as an important tool (or better said: map) for spiritual growth.  By “memorable events” is meant those poignant moments when the Spirit intervened directly in your life to show you a lesson – you were a witness, and what you saw illuminated your path from then on.  Only rarely are these memorable events about you (involve you as the principle figure).  As don Juan said, “The stories of a warrior’s album are not personal … about you as the center of everything. … The memorable events we are after have the dark touch of the impersonal.  That touch permeates them.”  While what most people consider the signal events in their lives are part of what W.B. Yeats termed Will, the true memorable events originate in Faculties higher than Will – and they imperceptibly color and shape your subsequent life in undefinable ways forevermore.   

            The memorable events are to be recapitulated; but the primary purpose of making the list is to provide a different touchstone – an alternative inventory of events which define who you think you are – than your usual inner dialogue of the occasions which plumped up your self-importance (your image of yourself as triumphant or a victim).  Those happenings – your self-exculpating memories of the moments of your greatest glory and greatest shame – merely exacerbate your customary moods of self-pity.  What’s bringing you down in life is not stuff that’s going on outside of you / happening to you; rather, the stuff that is happening to you is being drawn to you by your customary moods.  The constant repetition in your mind of thought forms which arise from (and reflect back) your self-importance in an endless, squirrel-on-a-treadmill loop – the constant saga of YOU – must be replaced by a catalogue of  wholly impersonal memorable events in order to dethrone the importance of your wonted customary moods of heaviness, and feel light and joyous instead.  

            As Castaneda put it (quoted in Armando Torres’ Encounters With the Nagual):

            “‘One of the tasks of sorcerers is to constantly analyze the insinuations of the spirit. For this purpose, they often use a book of memorable events, a map of those occasions when the spirit intervened in their lives, forcing them to make decisions – voluntarily or involuntarily.’ He explained that the advantage of this technique is that  when we write, we detach ourselves from things and events, at least to a minimal extent, and thus we are able to focus on them with more objectivity.  ‘It is not about describing our daily routines, but of being attentive to the strange moments when intent is manifested.  Those are magical junctures, because they produce changes and they put us face to face with the meaning of existence.’  ... ‘Although signs of the spirit are a personal matter, there are ordinary events that in general mark people’s life, like being born, choosing a career, intertwining your destiny with another person, or having children.  Also illnesses and serious accidents, because they establish a nexus with death.  For those who have the fortune of finding a conduit of spirit in the shape of a nagual, this is, certainly, the most memorable event of all.  The interventions of intent are precursors, very significant memories for a warrior, and they can be used as reference points of where to start when one is exploring episodes of personal history.  It requires speed and clarity to select them and to synthesize them, extracting the personal stuff and leaving the magical essence.  When properly done, they become what the new seers call abstract centers of perception, a matrix of intent, which a warrior has the duty of deciphering.’”

            Most of the book The Active Side of Infinity contains memorable events from Castaneda’s life, particularly those involving people whose acquaintance changed him.  When I began compiling a list of the memorable events in my own life, my guides were helping me select and reject which events to include.  I am giving a part of my list here – with my guides’ comments in italics – as an example to show what sorts of events should be included; and which rejected.

The Meadowbrook railroad station when I turned my back and walked away from the kids who were teasing me (i.e. I learned that tactic, which I eventually applied to other oppressors, and society)?  Yes.

My nervous breakdown at age 20?  No, that’s about you.  Your altered states aren’t the point, whether drug induced or Cave induced or “natural”.

My mother storming into my room in the mental hospital (after my nervous breakdown) and berating me for embarrassing her before her friends at the country club?  (This was the moment when I dropped out of society forevermore – I saw that there was no love in that world, so there was nothing there I wanted)?  Yes.

The diethyltryptamine trip with Janet (whom I had met the previous day, and who I eventually wound up living with for a year.  This trip really screwed me up by becoming the basic thought form expectation that I tried to apply to every woman I met afterwards)?  Definitely!

Jackie reading to me from a book by Daisetz Suzuki while I was tripping on mescaline?DEFINITELY!  The main turning point of your life!  (Yes, it was – that was the day I entered the spiritual path). 

Christine’s backward glance at me walking down the street?  No, you didn’t learn anything from that – didn’t apply it as a lesson in your life.

The night facing the mob in Papa?  Getting the Appollonian dorm at college?  No, those were about YOU.  Memorable dates are not about YOU, but rather you witnessed them or were there as a witness ... it’s NOT about your triumphs and defeats

The animalito who visited me every day when I was living in the shack in the Colombian jungle (some sort of mammal – never found out what it was).  Yes!!  What did that change? Meditate on it and you’ll understand.  What I get is that it came there to die – the warmth of the fireplace.  It must have been “tamed” by Hugh’s people previously, so it wasn’t afraid of humans.  But I still don’t get why its coming there to die was a lesson for me.  You’d have to remember what you were going through at that time – why you “fled” to Colombia in the first place, for one thing. 

The mushroom trip with Eugenio in Carcha (which led to my finding the town where I live now)?  Being possessed by the 9 Mayan gods at Tikal ?  No, it’s not so much ABOUT YOU ... but rather what you witnessed (and learned from).  Like, the scene with your mother in the mental hospital was about her, not you; but you definitely drew conclusions and acted on those conclusions (that you didn’t want any part of her or the life she had planned for you).

Chem & Co. beating me up & me reaching the Place of No Pity?  No – that’s not what we’re getting at.

The party at Manuela’s in San Pedro (I described this party in both What is Magic? and The Great Wheel.  If you haven’t read these books, suffice it to say that it was a pretty intense party)?  DEFINITELY!!

The talk with Manuela when she was pregnant with Mia and “knew” she was going to die (she was uncommonly depressed that day; she died giving birth 6 months later, and then I understood why she had been depressed)?  Yes. Don Abel predicting his own death the day of the ceremony?  Yes – in these instances you saw how other people react when they know (consciously or unconsciously) that they will die. 

The whole Rebeca – Marie Anne episode (I was madly in love with R, even though I saw that she was a vampire; and suddenly my present girlfriend popped up and grabbed me and, I see now, saved me from making a major blunder)?  That was definitely an intervention of the spirit.Yes

Seeing the 3 omens of death of Alicia on our return from the Cave?  No – just your seeing someone else’s lesson isn’t necessarily a memorable event.  It has to somehow change your life or perspective, or illuminate a path, or point a direction for you.         The omen of the 3 yakkers?  No – nor all the predictions don Abel (or Flora Urquhart) made for you.  But the grope in the dark to find the Cross & Peter’s vomiting at the ceremony with don Hermelindo & Hector WAS a memorable event.  I understood that it was an omen at the time, but still don’t know what it meant (except that don Hermelindo is NOT for me – which I understood from other things he did).  No, that omen had nothing to do with don Hermelindo.  That I’m finished with Mayan shamanism?  More like that. And seeing don Hermelindo’s greed.  Also that’s it’s not up to you to pick your teachers.

It’s not so much stuff like the bullies at Meadowbrook station, or your mother in the mental hospital, or all your women.  Those are incidents in which yes, other people’s actions forced you to make a major life decision; but they are not touched with the abstract, like the appearance of the animalito in Colombia ; or the party at Manuela’s. They are too personal, whereas memorable events should be impersonal, but affected you deeply (usually in such a way that you can’t explain why). 

           

I kind of get what you’re driving at, but I have very few memories (at least, that I can recall at this time) in which I was touched by the Spirit, but which weren’t altered states of consciousness induced by drugs, or the Cave, or spirits.  There were more, lots and lots more.  You’ll find them in recapitulation, like you found that memory of your “imaginary” friend with the pickup truck (described in The Great Wheel).  Your memory is blocked because so much of your life has been painful & you’re trying to forget it.  But when you leave here you’ll start doing recapitulations big time, & bring it all back. Then you’ll find your memorable events.

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About the author:  Bob Makransky is a systems analyst, computer programmer and professional astrologer.  For 37 years he has lived on a farm in highland Guatemala where he is a Mayan priest and is head of the local blueberry growers’ association.  Check out his free downloadable Mayan Horoscope software, free downloadable Planetary Hours calculator, free downloadable Primary Directions / celestial sphere mathematics textbook, complete instructions on how to channel by automatic writing and how to run past life regressions, articles, books, stories, cartoons, etc. etc. at www.dearbrutus.com