Is it just me, or has time just been flying right on by? I have missed out on a whole lot it seems and boy did Mabon sneak up on me! This time of year is always a time for reflection and giving thanks, and honestly, right now.. I had to actually think about what else besides for my daughter and husband that I am truely thankful for. It came to me in the end, but that was still a little shocking because normally I am VERY thankful for EVERYTHING and everyone in my life.

But hopefully that will start to change. It seems no matter how hard I try, time is just slipping further and further away from me. I only get about a quarter of the things done in a day that I need/would like to do. My BOS is strewn all over my office as I am adding a WHOLE lot to it.. that's one project that remains unfinished (it will never be truely finished but oh y'all know what I mean) and over there on the other side of my office, sits two unfinished quilts, there is about oh... 4 or 5 more loads of laundry that needs to be done (it never ceases to amaze me how 2.5 people can produce SO many dirty clothes!) And after days and days of my house looking like crap-o-la, I finally got the floors cleaned today. The master bedroom is still half unpainted, and the living room is waiting to be painted . Bbut I did get to plant my annuals out front and the tomatoe plants. Not to mention my kitchen herbs (which are already sprouting quite nicely) so it's just been SUPER busy around here.

 My Mom is another source of business. She just got approved for her social security not too long ago and being her representative payee, I get all this nice paperwork to keep track of and not to mention paying all of her bills (with her money but still) on top of remembering to pay all of ours. One of our bills sits unpaid because of their idiotic website not responding half the time and it's entirely too late to mail it.

 So just rawr rawr rawr same ol' same ol'.

 

Happy Mabon everyone though! :)

To Banish Negative Thoughts - 7 Day Candle Spell
written on 6/11/07 by Mora Equinerose (aka me)

Supplies Needed: 1 white candle, Cinnamon, 1 White ribbon, Pins or Tacks, Candle Holder

Times to Perform: Waxing Moon, On Wednesday (start)

Pre-Spell Activities: Take a nice cleansing bath, to wash away as much negativity as possible. Remain in a calm state as you meditate on your intentions, dress your candle, carving the symbol of the Waxing Moon and any other carvings you wish to add. Smear the Cinnamon on the candle and allow the rest of the cinnamon to fall into the candle holder. Wrap the ribbon around the candle seven times, securing with tacks or pins.

Cast Circle if you want :)

*"My Lady/Lord, I am in desperate need of your guidance. I call upon you to come to me in my time of need."

*~Light the Candle~

*"My Lady/Lord, please banish the negative thoughts that plague my mind, These thoughts effect me so. Show me a brighter path, a more positive path that I may find, Let me not think ill of a foe, Let me think a way that is good, in a way that is kind. Comfort my wounded soul in this time of woe."

*~Perform in light out dark meditation; close your eyes and take deep relaxing breaths, envision darkness coming out of you with each exhale, and envision light wonderful positive energy coming into you with each inhale, perform this until there is not a single negative thought in your mind~

*"I have put forth the effort, the dedication, and the trust in you oh great (Your personal deity), I am confident that I will not be led astray. Banish these negative thoughts of mine, so that I may have positive thoughts in time. So Mote It Be."

*Allow the candle to burn down 1 layer of the ribbon, careful to un tack the ribbon and allow it to hang off the candle, envision these are the bindings that are keeping the negative thoughts to you, being released.

~Perform the * each day for 7 days, on the 7th day, allow the candle to burn down all the way and dispose of the remains in the winds, envisioning that is the last of your negative thoughts being blown away.~

 

Computer Blessing

"Blessings on this fine machine,

May it's data all be clean.

Let the files stay where they're put,

Away from disk drives keep all soot.

From it's screen shall come no whines,

Let in no spikes from poer lines.

As oaks were sacred to the Druids,

Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.

Disk full shall be no more than rarity,

The memory shall not miss its parity.

From the modem shall come wonders,

Without line noise making blunders.

May it never catch a virus,

And all its software stay desirous.

Oh let the printer never jam,

And turn my output not into spam,

I ask of Eris, Noble Queen,

Keep Murphy far from this machine"

~Author Unknown

This history of Wicca is by far the most diverse. There are many different theories as to where it all started and how it all started. I will do my best to explain.

I think it would not do Modern Day Wicca justice to not mention what I have found to be the origin of Modern Day Wicca, Aleister Crowley. This may come as a shock to some but it was he who appears to have pointed Gerald Gardner in that direction. Aleister Crowley was born Edward Alexander Crowley (1875-1947) and was by far one of the most interesting individuals of his day and continues to be so today. He was a part of many occults during his time, two of which being "The Golden Dawn" led by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the Ordo Templi Orientis. Aleister Crowley became very prominent in both occults listed above, he is credited with adding the "k" onto Magic to help better differentiate Magick in the occult and religious sense from Magic the theatrical sense.

"The Golden Dawn" dabbled in many Magickal areas such as Tarot and Alchemy, which are still seen in Modern Day Wicca. After Crowley met his then wife, he began writing what would later be known as "The Book of the Law" or "Law of Thelema" which you can note many similarities between it's text and the present day conception of Wicca. It wasn't until 1940 that Aleister Crowley met Gerald Gardner. Gerald Gardner advanced in the Ordo Templi Orientis rather quickly, in fact, too quickly for some to believe for he had only known Aleister Crowley for a short amount of time. In that short amount of time Gerald Gardner claimed to have moved up ranks into the 4th Degree. Wither or not that is true, we do know that in 1945 Gerald Gardner received permission to open his own Ordo Templi Orientis charter, via a certified, stamped, and signed doctrine giving to him by Aleister Crowley.

Wicca, however, was presumably started by Gerald Gardner (1884-1964) who wrote a book called "High Magic's Aid" in 1949 and was later published in 1951 when the anti-witch craft laws were lifted in England. This book is thought by many to have shoved Gardnerian Wicca in to the main stream. Gerald Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a coven by Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, whom presumably studied in the Old Forest area of Britain. While there has been evidence of a woman who went by Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, there has been no substantial evidence that Gerald Gardner was indeed initiated into any coven. And even if he had been initiated, he later published sacred text about a coven that had he been a member of, would have been very disrespectful and almost taboo to release such sensitive material to the general public. Basically, he published his coven's Book of Shadows. Wither it had been for personal financial gain or to bring about more understanding about the religious occult to the general public, neither is known, but what we do know is that created a lot of speculation about Gerald Gardner, and his work.

Gardner's writings also closely resemble Crowley's in both idea and style. It has often been said that Gardner's work is nothing more than an extension of Aleister Crowley's. However, there is no true way of knowing if Gardner's text is genuinely his but there is little to no debate on the fact that Crowley's writings and presence seemed to have a very large effect on Gerald Gardner and the way Gardner brought forth modern day Wicca.

Again, there has been many debates about this but I do believe it is safe to say that Wicca started with Gerald Gardner. Wither his claims were true or not, it really doesn't matter now. He is the one who brought Wicca into the main stream.

The term Wicca in old English meant necromancer or Male Witch. While Wicca predominantly focuses it's worship towards a single higher power, they generally worship the male and female aspects of the single higher power, calling them the God and the Goddess. Wicca is undoubtedly inspired by old world Paganism with Buddhist and Hindu influences. Modern Day Wicca consists of many different covens and many different branches, each being as diverse as the next and all having their own structures and guidelines but all have, at the core, the same basic principles. Some of the branches being Gardenian, Alexanderin, Dianic, Celtic, and Georgian. There is also an Eclectic path that takes principles from all of the paths and molds them into their own set of traditions.

The history of Wicca is not shrouded in bloodshed and is not an ancient religion as most followers like to believe. Wicca is relatively new compared to other religions. It is however, derived from ancient religions. That is to in no way undermine Wicca or it's followers. It is however, in my opinion, that it did start in 1949 with the writings of Gardner. I also believe that it was heavily influenced by Aleister Crowley. While Gardner's work and his followers so to speak, aren't the only Wiccan group. There have been many and I am sure we will continue to see new branches of Wicca pop up here and there.

The history of Paganism has been diverse and shrouded for years. You would be hard pressed to find two books or sites that say the exact same thing about Paganism and how it "all started." So I will do my best to explain.

First allow me to tell you what Paganism means today. Paganism is an umbrella term used to describe any Nature-based religion that worships many Gods and Goddesses rather than just one God. The Celts, Romans, Greeks, Native Americans, Early Tribes, Egyptians, and Aztecs were and are all still Pagan religions.

Paganism is believed to have began in about 10,000 BC in the Paleolithic age. Nomadic tribes of that time period would follow the game and would soon pray to the first God, the God of the Hunt to have a successful hunt so that they may feed their families. The men of the early Nomadic tribes typically prayed to male deities, such as the Sun God, the Horned God, and they would also tune themselves in to the language of animals in order to be more successful in their hunting. The women of the early Nomadic tribes where thought to be the healers. They often were the ones who performed first aid and of course, they bore children, giving them the name of the givers of life. It wasn't long before the women of these early tribes began to notice that their own bodies followed the cycles of the moon. That is when the Moon Goddess was first paid homage to. The women and men of these early tribes were typically divided, in that the Men prayed to the Male Gods and the Woman prayed to the Female Goddesses. This was seen in early Indo-Europe Nomadic Tribes. Through these years the tribes slowly began to stay in one place long enough for the Woman of the tribe to store food, burying it in the earth to protect it from the elements and from animals. It was then that Agriculture was discovered.

When Agriculture was discovered around 8000-7500 BC it was then that the division between Men and Women had began to form as a whole. The Men, having thought all this time that the Women were the bringers of life, since they bore the children, realized that without one thing you could not have the other. The Men realized in a sense, that they were as much a part of life as the Women. That's when they began to pray together, work together, and they would even pray to each other's Gods and Goddesses, creating the early form of Paganism

It was then that the migration started, once Nomadic tribes were seeking out places to take root and settle down. The majority of Nomadic peoples in Europe and Asia were drawn to the area of Rome. Where the same set of religious beliefs where already in place, worshiping many Gods and Goddesses. For the Grecians that traveled there, it was an easy transition. The Etruscans from Asia Minor soon "joined the party" so to speak, bringing with them extensive knowledge of Magic and Divination. The British Islanders were on the move as well, these people would later be known as the Celts. Other Tribes from the surrounding Islands also came to the mainland, particularly the Mediranian Cult of the Dead. Their skills were along the lines of studying death and reincarnation. It was the blending of the Celts and the Mediranians that formed the Druids.

Druids, primarily a Male dominated group, though it did have a few women, came to power in the 6500's-4500's BC. The Druids studied death and what happens after it, while there were still cults that dabbled in Solar and Lunar cycles, herbs, and animals. These became known as the "Wice" groups. While the Druids studied the after life, the Wice studied life. They gained extensive knowledge of the Earth and Life, and as we all know, Knowledge is Power. Then there was the third group, a group of people that found a common ground between the Druids and the Wice. These people were known as Pagans. Pagan literally means "Country Dweller" or a person who was not as "civilized" as the town's people. There was a time of peace but trouble was brooding on the horizon for all man kind and the whole world would soon be at war over the introduction of another religion that would ultimately cause the near-down fall of Paganism.

The "Dark Ages" cut off the beginning of the Pagan religion that was put on paper, and soon after the Inquisition began around 1490 AD. It was during this time that the opposition religion was seeking ways of conversion. Around 1494, a book was published called the Malleus Maleficarum. Or "The Witch's Hammer" by two Dominican Monks : Kramer and Springer. This book had a devastating effect on the history of Paganism and the followers of the religion that had forever been the common way of life. The book itself described ways to torture and murder Pagans in order to force a confession of conversion. This subject is a very sensitive one and this was the beginning of the "Burning Times." Which I think to mention Pagan religion and not mention these times is just wrong. It happened, it was terrible and still makes a great deal of people angry and apprehensive today, but it did happen. And while we should never forget that these things happened, it is from them that we should learn and gain knowledge so that they will never happen again. During the Burning Times it is estimated that around 9 Million Men, Women, and Children were kidnapped, jailed, tortured, and killed. The last witch to be murdered under the Malleus Maleficarum (which sounds more like a curse than anything else) was in 1747 in Australia. This time period was a very dark one for the whole world, not just for Pagans. Although Pagans bore the brunt of the brutality that went on during these times, obviously, the religion has survived.

The Burning times forced Pagans to hide their true identities and virtually go "under ground." Thus there are few texts printed about Paganism during these times, it was more a word of mouth religion, spoken around hearths by the Grandparents, telling the little Grand children eager to listen at their feet. Anti-Witchcraft laws (which it is important to understand that Witchcraft during this time was considered using herbs to heal, old wives tales, and worshiping more than one God) started in the 18th Century and were still intact for a long time. A surprisingly long time for how "civilized" the world had become. It was when the Anti-Witchcraft laws were finally lifted in England in 1951 did Paganism hit main stream again. And while Paganism has seen it's shares of persecutions, branched off religions based on it, there are still true Pagans in this world.