Author: Administrator

Profile: Prance the Witches Path

by Administrator, posted in Organizations, Wiccan/Pagan

Article provided by Prance the Witches Path

Our mission statement is our profile, and our goals are to try to educate through our actions. We believe that setting the proper example of our way of life and spiritual path is the key to educating the public of who we are. As spiritual people on this path known as “the Craft”, we acknowledge our roles within this greater global community. We are a Pagan Resource and Networking Council Educated through Human Experiences Working Independently to create Harmony Embracing Spirituality Pagans against teaching hate. This is not only our group name, but also a part of our mission statement. We are non-tradition specific, yet, we welcome all traditions to be a part of this journey.

Some of our goals include, but are not limited to; trying to help to build community, not bridges. We have been active within the Craft community for over 15 years. PRANCE was our original group, and has evolved, and grown into what it will become this coming Ostara. We are excited about this new venture, and hope that this excitement will be contagious and a spring board as well, into a new direction of the Craft. Those who have known us and been a part of the past, know of our commitment and dedication to our cause. Although there is the word “independently” in our name, it does not define the role we would assume. We are capable and ready to work with others of like-mind. The keyword to this group would probably be “networking”, as that is what and how we have previously worked. Many positive projects and ventures have manifested in the past, and we look forward to a new era of joint ventures and coming together for the greater good. Our final words on this would probably be, “Welcome to Prance the Witches Path!!!. Forever in the service of the Lord and the Lady. In love and Light.”

To learn more visit: http://www.myspace.com/gwaineandtia or http://www.prancethewitchespath.org/

Matt Looks in a Mirror

by Administrator, posted in Guest Authors, Symbols

By Matthew

The mirror is often regarded with much superstition, and for good reason, the mirror reveals the reflection of the soul. One very common superstition claims that if you were to break your reflection in the mirror you will have seven years bad luck, this actually goes a bit further because causing any disturbance in your reflection is said to cause disturbance in your spirit. Indeed, Vampires traditionally do not cast reflections, because they have no soul.

Another interesting bit of mirror weirdness has to do with Gypsies. My Aunt Pamela has a nice home that was disrupted by the Gypsies who moved in next door. Never you mind that the Gypsies had no reason whatsoever to lay a curse on Auntie Pam, but she flipped out anyway. So she put mirrors up in all of the windows facing the Gypsy house, hoping to reflect the curse back to the sender. I’m not sure if it worked, but the house did feel very peaceful after that! I’m not sure where this practice came from, but she also placed a small pile of salt and a black quartz crystal in the windows too. God only knows how the Roma family felt about that.

A good magical exercise is called soul gazing. To do this simply shut out all light except perhaps a candle positioned behind you, so that you see your reflection in the mirror but not the light source. Gaze softly into your eyes. Soon you will see fuzziness around your reflected skin. Just observe and watch what happens, you should see changes starting with your eyes and then it’s almost like an overlap of images. Two faces occupying the same space.

When I do this, I often see myself as another person entirely, maybe a past life, or even an ancestor, but I almost always end up disappearing entirely if I gaze long enough, seeing the wall behind me. Maybe I’m a Vampire (!), or just a victim of optical illusion. Either way the mirror can act as a doorway to the subconscious, so those images that you might see are the language of the deepest part of you. Give it a try; you can learn a lot about yourself and your subjective reality this way.

As I understand it, the difference between Soul Gazing and Scrying is that by Soul Gazing you are actively gazing into your reflection, gazing into your soul, while by scrying you are staring into the abyss of a mirror that is casting NO reflections at all. In my own practice scrying has been totally replaced by soul gazing sessions due to the great success that I’ve had with it. The only trick is to learn what the meaning is behind the different faces and symbols that you might see. These symbols can only be interpreted by you, because it is your subconscious that is speaking, your ancient reptile brain.

Happy gazing!

Matthew has studied “witchcraft” as practiced in many different cultures, including Haiti and Peru, for well over 15 years. Matt has received great honors and even a few “secret” initiations for exceeding in study with Mambos, Curanderismos, and other Priests and Priestesses of indigenous faiths – who often question his status as a white American male.

The Goddess, Wicca & The Qabalah

by Administrator, posted in Guest Authors

by Sorita d’Este

“She is called the Spirit of Life and through Her do all men understand Wisdom.”
Zohar, 13th century

The Goddess occupies a central role in a number of magickal traditions. These include obvious instances such as the Wiccan tradition, and also less obvious ones such as the Qabalah. In Qabalah the Goddess is commonly known as the Shekinah, a Hebrew word which comes from the root shakhan, meaning “to dwell”. This meaning fits in with the Qabalistic idea that a fragment of the Shekinah is present within every living person, literally the divine spark of the Goddess in all of us!

The best known image in the Qabalah is the glyph of the Tree of Life, representing both the universe and man, and embodying the old magickal axiom of ’As above, so below.’ The Shekinah is sometimes described as the Tree of Life itself, as in Proverbs 3:17-18, which declares:

“Her ways are of pleasantness, and her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that retaineth her.”

On the Tree of Life the Shekinah is also particularly associated with the sephira of Binah (“Understanding”) at the top of the feminine Pillar of Severity. Significantly this Pillar is also known as the Black Pillar, and is on the left as you look at an image of the Tree of Life. Balancing this is the masculine Pillar of Mercy or White Pillar. In Wicca these pillars are represented on the altar by the black and white candles of the goddess and god, which are positioned in the same manner, showing their Qabalistic roots. This symbolism of the pillars is also referred to in the Great Rite, and discussed further in the book I wrote with my partner David Rankine, WICCA: Magickal Beginnings.
The Tree of Life can be seen as a symbol map on which different magickal traditions can be mapped, this is particularly true of the Wiccan tradition. Amongst the many divisions and layers of the Tree of Life we can see many parallels with the Wiccan tradition.

Looking at the act of blessing the salt and water to consecrate the magick circle in the Wiccan tradition, we see it is full of Qabalistic significance. The water and salt are blessed, corresponding to the lower spheres of Malkuth (the salt) and Yesod (the water). Yesod is the sphere of the Moon, representing the astral and subtle realms, so by uniting the salt and water you are symbolically uniting the astral and the physical realms. The resulting salt water is also symbolic of the sphere of Binah, the Great Mother, which corresponds to the sea. So from a symbolic perspective the blessing of the salt and water and lustration represents the blessing of the circle with the energy of the mother goddess (Binah), and the journey between the worlds (union of Moon and Earth, Yesod and Malkuth).

The magick circle itself is another symbol shared by Wicca and Qabalah. One of the Qabalistic creation myths (from ninth century CE Germany) tells of how the Shekinah is the circle of fire who surrounds God, and that through their union the universe, human souls and angels come into being. In fact the Shekinah is seen in two forms in Qabalah, as the Greater Shekinah and the Lesser Shekinah. As the Greater Shekinah she is the great goddess who unites with god to create the universe, considered to be unmanifest and omnipresent, and is also known as the Superior Mother, who can be seen as the Great Mother Goddess of Wicca. A description of the Shekinah translated by MacGregor Mathers in The Kabbalah Unveiled shows the similarity in perception of the goddess with Wicca:
“From Her do they receive their nourishment, and from Her do they receive blessing; and She is called the Mother of them all.”

The relationship of the goddess and god, so central to Wicca, is also seen repeatedly on the Tree of Life. As well as the feminine and masculine pillars, it is also seen in the balanced pair of Sephiroth at the top of the pillars, Chokmah (‘Wisdom’) and Binah (’Understanding’), and in the relationship of the central solar Sephira of Tiphereth (’Beauty’) with the bottom Sephira of Malkuth (‘Kingdom’).

Malkuth has many titles and it is also equated to the Lesser Shekinah. This is because Malkuth is the sphere of the elements, and corresponds to the physical world we live in, and nature. Hence we see titles for Malkuth such as the Bride, the Queen and the Mother of all things. As the Bride, Malkuth is said to be married to the Husband sphere of Tiphereth, symbolising the union of the sun god and the earth goddess as also seen in Wicca. Tiphereth as the child of Chokmah and Binah also corresponds to the Child of Promise, reborn at Yule.

These Sephiroth of Chokmah, Binah, Tiphereth and Malkuth can also correspond to the great unpronounceable name of Qabalah, the Tetragrammaton, usually pronounced as Jehovah or Jahweh. This name is comprised of four letters, IHVH, and these letters have many attributions. Amongst these attributions are Father – Mother – Son – Daughter; Fire – Water –Air – Earth; Past – Future – Space – Present. A cursory glance immediately shows have familiar concepts from Wicca are also seen with these attributions, such as Fire and Air as the masculine elements and Water and Earth as the feminine ones. Likewise the relationship between the mother and daughter is emphasised by them both being attributed to the same letter, Heh, which is repeated in the unpronounceable name.

Returning to Tiphereth, the Solar Sephira, it has a unique and interesting position on the Tree of Life, at the centre of the glyph. It is connected by paths to all of the other Sephiroth apart from Malkuth. This means there are eight Sephiroth around the sun, mirroring the symbolism Wheel of the Year, where the sun passes through the year and the eight Sabbats.

So whilst this is only a brief glimpse, hopefully it demonstrates that the Tree of Life can be found in many places with many layers of symbolism and meaning, and that wherever you look, the Goddess is universal.

Sorita describes herself as a student of “life’s little mysteries”. She is an author, researcher and publisher and works from home which is near the English / Welsh borders in Monmouthshire (UK).
She is the author of 8 books on mythology, magick and folklore, including her latest book “Practical Planetary Magick” which she co-wrote with David Rankine which was released in early 2007.



To learn more, visit: http://www.avalonia.co.uk/

Which Religion has the Best Cell Phone?

by Administrator, posted in Buddhism, Christianity/Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Products, Religion

In the land of “bling” (as the kids say), you see all kinds of stuff getting the “bling” treatment.  Diamond encrusted jewelry, tricked out cars, and super snazzy cell phones are all items to denote wealth and status.  Which is why I was intrigued to see Computerworld.com’s headline, “Which religion has the best cell phone?”  The column by Mike Elgan is an entertaining look at the ins and outs of cell phones for the faithful.
 
Like Elgan, I was shocked to learn that there may be no Christian cell phones.  There are accessories galore for the cell phone savvy Christian to get their phone on, but no 100 percent Christian phones.  He was also unable to find Hindu or Sikh cell phones, which is a bummer because I might give up my crappy pay as you go phone if I could get a cool looking cell with Kali on it.
 
So who were the big three?  Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists.
 
In third place was the Jewish cell phone.  This essentially is a phone about denial to help Orthodox Jews be good boys and girls.  In second was the Muslim cell phone.  This is genius because if you’re Muslim stuck in a foreign city, how do you know exactly when to pray and which direction Mecca is in?  Well, with the phones listed in the article they will remind you to pray, help you locate a mosque, and will point you towards Mecca!  I have to admit, despite not being Muslim I wouldn’t mind having a phone that would point towards Mecca…that’s just cool!  With the way things are going these days, I’m guessing it would come with a government listening device already installed for everyone’s convenience!
 
Finally, Elgan gave first place to the Buddhist cell phone.  I’m not sure what Buddha would think of it, but if this gold-plated, jade accented bad boy was available in the U.S. you would see it in every hip hop video on MTV.  To get a good look at this Nokia, check out this Trendhunter.com article.

Fun with Pew

by Administrator, posted in Religion

From May 8 to August 13, 2007 the Pew Forum conducted a nationwide survey of 35,000 adults to put together the Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Survey.  The Pew Forum website lays out the data in all sorts of fun interactive ways.  You can view the overall results, you can select a single religion and view the demographic characteristics of the faith, you can compare key characteristics of the faiths, and my favorite, you can bring up a map of the United States and it will show you each state’s population for different faiths.
 
I found the results shocking.  I know that Christianity is the dominant faith in the U.S., but I was not prepared to see that Jewish (which included Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Other) accounted for only 1.7%.  I find that really hard to believe.  Even harder for me to wrap my brain around is Muslim, what I thought was a fairly widely found faith, made up only 0.6%, and that includes Sunni, Shia, and Other!  The map function seemed like a function in stereotyping.  The bulk of the Jewish population is to be found in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida…you know, where Jews go when they retire.  Just like the south was the heart of the spreading Evangelical movement and Mormons are all in Utah.  Does our nation really conform to what I was thought were terrible stereotypes?  According to Pew, yes, yes it does.
 
Aside from rocking my world, what is the purpose of the Pew Forum survey?  Well, there is much to be learned from the data collected, such as religious trends in our country, cultural influence, etc.  For instance, the survey shows that our younger citizens are turning away from the religious beliefs of their parents.  “The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.”

Some other interesting tidbits from the report:
 
~Men are significantly more likely than women to claim no religious affiliation. Nearly one-in-five men say they have no formal religious affiliation, compared with roughly 13% of women.
 
~The Midwest most closely resembles the religious makeup of the overall population.
 
~In sharp contrast to Islam and Hinduism, Buddhism in the U.S. is primarily made up of native-born adherents, whites and converts. Only one-in-three American Buddhists describe their race as Asian, while nearly three-in-four Buddhists say they are converts to Buddhism.

~Of all the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States, black Americans are the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation. Even among those blacks who are unaffiliated, three-in-four belong to the "religious unaffiliated" category (that is, they say that religion is either somewhat or very important in their lives), compared with slightly more than one-third of the unaffiliated population overall.

If you find yourself with a little time, I encourage you to visit the site and view some of the survey and play with some of the neat features.  It’s an eye-opening experience.

I Beat MTV….I Rock.

by Administrator, posted in Guest Authors, Interviews, Religion, Television, Wiccan/Pagan

That’s right, I beat MTV.  In Issue 14 I interviewed Raven Digitalis.  At the end of March MTV did a piece featuring the author.  I beat them by months…months I say!  Raven is an awesome guy and a lot of fun so I thought I would post the link to the article here, and I’ll even post the one to my interview too.
 
MTV article here.
 
Magical Buffet interview.

Look Into My Eyes. No, Lower: The Munuane

by Administrator, posted in Creatures

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

When discussing creatures of folklore, regardless of how odd they may seem, there is usually some kind of logic buried there. A reason why it is so ugly or a mish mash of different creatures, etc. Then again, occasionally you stumble across one like the munuane.


The munuane’s purpose is fairly common, he’s the animalistic guardian demon of water, the water’s inhabitants, and people who live by the water…assuming they don’t get greedy when it comes to fish. Folklore like this helps discourage people from over fishing, or harassing local residents of water based communities. It is said in South America that a munuane is found wherever the fish are plentiful.

The munuane defends the local residents by use of bow and arrow. It is such a precise shot that it only carries a bow and one arrow. The munuane never misses. Okay, so what is so darn weird you ask? Let me tell you what this demon looks like.

It is a gray haired demon with no teeth, and…its eyes are in its knees! Yep, the master archer lines up its shots with its eyes below the waist! That is one archer extraordinaire.

If you ever find yourself in a position where you have to fight one, go for the eyes, by going for the knees!

Product Profile: Sacred Body Jewelry and collisionideas

by Administrator, posted in Products

Sacred Body Jewelry and collisionideas


collisionideas is a company of women involved in teaching and traditional and alternative health and wellness practices. Sacred Body anatomical pins, pendants, and earrings grew from our belief that awareness and well-being must begin with Self, and that through a better understanding of ourselves, we can make healthier, deeper and more meaningful connections with each other.


Since 1983, collisionideas has been making Sacred Body anatomical jewelry to carefully represent the perfect design of the human body. Our sterling silver pins, pendants, and earrings come in anatomical structures that include the DNA, Cell, Neuron, Heart, Brain, Eye, Lungs & Trachea, Tooth, Inner Ear, Male or Female Reproductive systems, Baby in Utero, Kidney, Liver, and Intestines. You can see them all at www.sacredbody.com

You can wear Sacred Body pins, pendants, and earrings for anatomical awareness, healthy visualization, or just for fun. They’re great as gifts to yourself, friends and family, and anyone else with an interest in and appreciation for anatomy and the amazing human form.