I read through this group's Book of Shadows and Book of Light more than 20 years ago. It isn't a magical treatise, but it does offer some very interesting reading! Unfortunately, I don't know if the Church of Amazement exists any longer.
CHURCH OF AMAZEMENT
Book of Shadows
Introduction | In The Beginning | Lost? Child | Dance To Heal The Earth | An Open Letter To The Pagan Community | Nonlinear Advice For Living | Exegesis On The Wiccan Rede | Wiccan Shamanism | Pagan Musing | A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality | The Charge of the Goddess | To The Horned God | Piper at the Gates of Dawn | Danu’s Horned God | Drawing Down the Moon | A Search For God | The Ten Native American Commandments | The Natural Enemy |
Desiderata | The Burning Times | Creative Visualization | Ritual Tools | Ritual and Ritual Preparation | Sacred Space: Circles and Altars | Rules Of The Circle - A Proposal | Songs and Chants | Spells and Invocations | Bibliography | Recordings | Resources | The Universal Life ChurcH
A Circle is not a line -- it has no beginning and no end
A Circle is not a pyramid -- it has no top and no bottom
A Circle is not an asterisk -- it is not run from just one point
The ULC Church of Amazement is a non-denominational ritual circle open to followers of all Earth-oriented spiritual paths. While our tools and techniques are primarily Pagan, we incorporate kindred methods from a variety of beliefs, including Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as the personal philosophies of our circle siblings. Our only animosity toward other religions is to the extent that their institutions have claimed to be “the only way” and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief. Earth-based spirituality values diversity, imposes no dogma, no single name for the sacred, no one path to the center. “Love for life in all its forms” is our driving ethic. “Do what you will, harming none” is our only law. “True spirituality does not discriminate” is our heretical message.
The three core principles of Earth-based spirituality are immanence, interconnection, and community. Immanence means that Deity -- whether you call it He, She, It or They -- is embodied; that we are each a manifestation of the living being of the earth; that nature, culture, and life in all their diversity are sacred. Immanence calls us to live our spirituality here in the world, to take action to preserve the life of the earth, to live with integrity and responsibility.
Interconnection is the understanding that all being is interrelated, that we are linked with all of the cosmos as parts of one living organism. What affects one of us affects us all. Interconnection demands from us compassion, the ability to feel with others so strongly that our passion for justice is itself aroused.
Ultimately, Earth-based religions are lived in community. Their primary focus is not individual salvation or enlightenment or enrichment, but the growth and transformation that comes through intimate interactions and common struggles. Community includes not only people but also the animals, plants, soil, air and water and energy systems that support our lives.
Nature spirituality is a religion of poetry, not just theology. The myths, legends, and teachings are recognized as metaphors for “That-Which-Cannot-Be-Told,” the absolute reality our limited minds can never completely know. The mysteries of the absolute can never be explained -- only felt or intuited. Symbols and ritual acts are used to trigger altered states of awareness, in which insights that go beyond words are revealed. When we speak of “the secrets that cannot be told,” we do not mean that rules prevent us from speaking freely; we mean that the inner knowledge literally cannot be expressed in words. It can only be conveyed by experience, and no one can dictate what insight another person may draw from any given experience.
A primary symbol for “That-Which-Cannot-Be-Told” is the Goddess. The symbolism of the Goddess is not a parallel structure to the tradition Judeo-Christian symbolism of God the Father. The Goddess does not rule the world; She is the world. Manifest in each of us, She can be know internally by every individual in all her magnificent diversity. For women, the Goddess is the symbol of the innermost self, and the beneficent, nurturing, liberating power within women. For men, the Goddess is his own hidden female self. She embodies all the qualities society teaches him not to recognize in himself. She is that which is constant.
Another primary symbol for “That-Which-Cannot-Be-Told” is its male aspect, the Horned God/Green Man. The image of the Horned God/Green Man is radically different from any other image of masculinity in our culture. He is gentle, tender and comforting, but He is also the Hunter. He is untamed sexuality -- but sexuality as a deep, holy, connecting power. For men, He is the image of inner power and of a potency that is more than merely sexual. For women, He is a symbol of all those qualities that have been identified as male, and that they have not been encouraged to own. He is that which dies and is reborn.
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:4-6
New American Bible
They stirred things up, and stirred and stirred, and those stirrings gave a conceptual weight to that crazy nameless something in the air, that greater stirring that the movement, too, was caught in: good-crazy and bad-crazy both, dangerous, unpredictable and alive with raw possibility; when all our light and all our darkness danced with all our hope and all our fear. Some people call that state “love.”
Michael Ventura
LA Weekly, August 11, 1989
20th Anniversary of Woodstock
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The First Amendment
United States Constitution
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that NO official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are ANY circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.”
United States Supreme Court (1943)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
Life, teeming, greedy life
That grows, cell by swelling cell,
Divides, devours, unites and changes,
Filling your ocean belly,
Flinging a green cloak over the land,
Learning to swim, crawl, run, stalk, fly, caress, and stand erect,
Made of earth, air, fire, water
And what goes between these and unites these
The mystery.
Starhawk, Truth or Dare
What did you say, son?
Why did I cut what? Those flowers?
Because they were there.
We do need to clear this field before fire season.
But you say they weren't a fire hazard like the dry grass
So we didn't really have to cut them?
Maybe not, but it was easier to go cutting straight through than to stop and think about it.
If you really want flowers, you can buy flowers somewhere later.
Quit worrying about that kind of stuff.
Just forget all about it.
Gateways for the Little People?
You say if you relax in a field of wildflowers
And let your eyes unfocus and your mind go blank
You may suddenly hear music and song and laughter,
And if you follow your ears and your heart
They'll lead you through the flowery gate
Into the land of the Little People,
Whose cares are different and perhaps more to your taste
Than the cares of this world?
I'd better not catch you telling that to the neighbors.
They'll think there's something strange about you.
Quit worrying about that kind of stuff.
Just forget all about it.
We're almost half done. Let's take a break.
Here's a tree we can sit under.
Son, do you hear somebody singing off behind me somewhere?
Are you going to meet them?
What are you laughing about?
Where did you disappear to?
Son?
Son?
Answer me!
Wherever you are, come back here!
I am your father!
Please come back and tell me
If I really did just hear a faint voice
Telling me
"Quit worrying about that kind of stuff.
Just forget all about it."
ã 1994, Tom Digby
Whenever you dance, wherever you dance, dance to heal the earth!
Dancing is power. Dancing is prayer. Some say that all is dance. Maybe. Now there's a big dance coming, a dance to heal the earth. If you're reading this, you're probably part of it. You take part whenever you do whatever you do to help heal the earth. When you recycle. When you choose to show love, to fight for justice, to bring healing, to bring out what is good in others. When you avoid cruelty and dishonesty and waste. When you are outraged. When you speak out. When you consider the generations to come. When you protest to the oppressors and encourage those who feel the cutting edge of injustice. And, of course, when you dance. There is a tree that all the prophets see, and whenever you let your love show, you make the flowers grow.
Soon this dance will be done in a big way, in the old way, on sacred ground. All living things will take part. If you want to, you can take part. No one is twisting your arm. You can stop any time you need to, and start up again whenever you're ready. If you've read this far, you probably know what I'm talking about. You've probably been doing it in one way or another for a good while. Soon will be the time to make no bones about it! Cut loose!
Anytime you dance, anywhere, whether at a party or in church, dance to heal the earth! Let your feet beat a healing rhythm into the earth. Let your feet beat a strengthening rhythm for those who struggle the hardest. Let your feet beat a life-giving rhythm for all peoples, regardless of race or national boundary, regardless of whether we're human or whether we're the trees, the air, the fish, the birds, the buffalo, the bear, the crow. We come out of hiding, we come back from the dead, and we dance, and our dance is a prayer, and our songs and our rhythms and our breath give life.
Is the music they're playing some mindless jingle? Never mind, as long as it's not bad music, and you can dance to the beat! Make your own words, and make the words a prayer. A prayer for the end of exploitation, a prayer for the end of lies, a prayer for healing, for justice, for life. Remember your prayer-song, feed it and let it get strong and pass it along. Dance and pray, whenever you dance, dance to heal the earth.
Have you seen anything? Wear it out! Make it so that all can see what you see! Take a white T-shirt and mark it with your dreams. Is there anything you'd like to tell the world? Take your shirt and mark it with your song! This is the way it has been done, so you can do it too. Use any color except black (there are reasons for that that will become clearer later), and you'll probably find that a loose, pure cotton T is most comfortable for dancing in. Because this is an actual dance, you dance hard, you sing and breathe hard and sweat. Wear it when you plan to go out dancing, to dance to heal the earth.
Some people do this dance while fasting, and dance for several days straight. But even a few minutes of dancing helps, and joins with all the other dancing going on, everywhere on Earth. Not everyone can fast these days. Besides, you never know when you're gonna dance, and you have to eat sometimes! But if you plan to dance, hold off eating till later, or just have a little. It's easier to dance if you don't have a hot-dog weighing you down.
Some people say, do not do sacred things where people are drinking and partying. But all the universe is a sacred place. It really doesn't matter what others are doing, you can make a place sacred wherever you are, with your intention and your prayers. Some people use smoke to make a place sacred; a cigarette or incense stick will do fine. You can dance to heal the earth anywhere, even a party or a bar! The earth is everywhere, so you can dance anywhere to heal her. Only one thing. Please hold off drinking or using any other intoxicants till you're done. It works better that way.
The Lie has gone far enough. It spreads and makes everyone sick. Now is the time for this dance to begin. It, too, will spread, and it will bring healing to all. In the beginning, they say, God put a rainbow in the sky, to let us know that Spirit never forgets. Now is the time for us to put a rainbow across the earth, to let God know that we, too, remember.
Dance to heal the earth. Not just when you're dancing, but always. Live the dance, whenever you move, in all you do, dance to heal the earth.
(This message may be reproduced. Please use recycled paper!)
Reprinted with permission from an anonymous alt.pagan (Internet UseNet) post, 3/5/95
The following is an "Open Letter" to the Pagan Community from one of the nations "top" Buddhists (in a non-hierarchical way) and appeared in the Winter '93-'94 Green Egg. Since it's an "Open Letter" I doubt I'm stomping on anyone's copyright so feel free to copy it around as you feel appropriate.
Greetings to the Pagan Community:
I am director of the International Buddhist Meditation Center, the oldest American Buddhist Temple. My job is to work with groups and foundations that promote pluralism and world harmony and foster the human condition and spirit. I have many personal sympathies to Paganism as my own spouse is a Wiccan in the Norse tradition. I have learned much about the process of interfaith dialogue. I have worked closely with, and count among my friends, members of many religions and inter- faith groups. I understand their fears and foibles.
It is urgent that you understand the way it really is to become a member of the interfaith community if you truly desire to be accepted into the American mainstream and the international religious community in general, and to diffuse the automatic negative reaction to the word "witch".
Our entire society is being pulled inexorably into a single global village aided by technology and the growing awareness of world crises. There is no gain, but much loss, in attempting to hide.
You have already gained much: Pagans have interested seekers, friends and sympathizers in more places than you might think. That Paganism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the country is partly due to the fact that the New Age movement did not satisfy many seeking a true Path. Paganism is more a component of American life than may be outwardly apparent.
Walk the Middle Path and you'll have less resistance. Seek the recognition you deserve in an approachable manner. To win personal trust, let others know that you're ordinary folk like them and dialogue over commonalities. Eventually, when you have the strength of personal friendships to support you, being to address the big differences and old grievances.
With regard to this, as you initially make contact, don't smokescreen people with excessive costumery - a phenomenon which I was disappointed to see at the recent Parliament of World Religions. Many Pagans are still in that militant mode that is a normal part of "coming out" an early phase that should be matured past. Many high-profile Pagans remind me of the old "Bull-Dyke" lesbians of the last decades. They're not letting the pendulum swing back to normal. An example of this is the old COG literature: complete inappropriate and damaging, in that it was righteous, hostile and emphasized the trivial, never presenting the more interesting philosophical aspects of Wicca. I am very pleased to find their new literature much, much better.
A sacred rule of dialogue is: once you've established good personal relations, be frank about your feelings and do not gloss over anything you object to. Pagans caught in the common, adolescent attitude of defiance need to grow out of it, or at least they should not be in public positions that will hurt or embarrass the movement, and definitely not dialoguers, negotiators, publicists or anything that is contact for the media, public or other organizations.
You don't have to compromise your basic religious tenets, but you do have to get rid of outdated, inflexible attitudes which make you no better than the people who vehemently oppose you. Today you must be savvy world citizens. Twentieth century rationalism allows many cosmopolitan people to pooh-pooh old superstition.
Think of the rewards. You've already made inroads and some major gains, such as being recognized officially at the Parliament. There, in an extraordinary move, the Chicago Archdiocese intervened to gain you your park permit for a full moon ritual. Granted, the Cardinal did it under some duress, but he could have not helped at all. Your delegates sat next to and were received with openness by members of many faith groups. With further introductions and personal dialogues, people will be able to say to their colleagues, "Pagans? Oh, yeah, I know them. They're good people."
When Paganism becomes acceptable to mainstream America, you won't have to fear for your lives, homes, jobs, children. The road is long and sometimes hard, but not impossible. There are many logistical and tactical approaches to greatly facilitate this which can be explored at length in this atmosphere of mutual respect.
So decide what you will do. If you hold back, others will not be able to protect you from injustice. You must come out enough to meet society half way, even if it means taking some blows. This has always been the way of civil rights gains. But you won't be alone, and you can count on the guidance of those who have already walked this path.
Please deeply examine this issue among yourselves. Your Buddhist friends await.
Yours in love and support,
Chrys Thorsen
From GREEN EGG Vol 26 #103 Winter 93-94 page 27
First, imagine a cubical box. On the box is inscribed "So long as it harms none, do what you will." That's the only real Commandment for living in this world. If you keep the part about harming none you may not be part of any solutions, but at least you won't be as much a part of the various problems as you might otherwise be.
Beyond the injunction to avoid doing harm, you have the chance to decide what to try to make of your life. It's up to you to choose a path. Fate may derail your plans, but then it's up to you to pick a detour. You may wish to follow the path of some trusted Guide through this world and into the next, or you may prefer to blaze your own trail. It's your decision, so do as you will.
But that's only the first level. Open the box and find therein a tetrahedron, with one of the following four pieces of advice for further progress inscribed on each face:
"Learn to Love Others (so you will want to make the world a better place)."
"Learn to Know Others (lest your ignorance cause harm)."
"Learn to Love Yourself (so your internal forces will all work with you, none against you)."
"Learn to Know Yourself (because knowledge is power)."
Since these instructions are written on the faces of a tetrahedron they cannot be said to really be in any order, even though I have had to put them in some order to write about them. Rather, each has the other three as neighbors.
You can take the tetrahedron out of the box and hold it in your hands and meditate on it.
You can look at a face, and meditate on what is written there.
You can look at an edge, and meditate on the two instructions written on the faces that meet at that edge. How does either affect the way you carry out the other?
You can look at a point where three faces meet without the fourth. How would ignoring the fourth face affect your life and those around you?
And you can look at the tetrahedron as a whole.
Many, such as humanistic atheists, would stop there. Others would have, inside the tetrahedron, some other object with additional rules or suggestions written on it. What those would be would depend on your particular spiritual path. Mine would probably say something about knowing and loving the Spirit, and perhaps also knowing and loving the physical universe as a gift from that Spirit (Some might say "the world" or "the Earth" instead of "the Universe", but I prefer the broader view).
There are those who would say that love of the world or the Universe should not be a rule in itself because it follows from the first rule about harming none. After all, too much wanton destruction of the environment would diminish the general quality of life. And those who believe the physical plane of being was created by someone other than the divine True Creator might not consider it worthy of love at all. There are also those who would give a particular name and face to the Spirit, or say the Spirit should be approached or addressed or thought of in a particular way. That is why this set of writings will be different for different people.
Finally, inside all the nested objects you have seen up to now, is the bag that unfolds to hold the box you started with. It bears a message to the effect that life is complex, and its rules cannot be reduced to a few simple words. The written rules are merely reminders of that which takes at least a lifetime, and perhaps eternity, to fully learn.
ã 1994, Tom Digby
All religions began with somebody's sudden flashing insight, enlightenment, a shining vision. Some mystic found the way and the words to share the vision, and, sharing it, attracted followers. The followers may repeat those precise and poetic words about the vision until they congeal into set phrases, fused language, repeated by rote and without understanding. Cliches begin as great wisdom - that's why they spread so fast - and end as ritual phrases, heard but not understood. Living spirituality so easily hardens to boring religious routine, maintained through guilt and fear, or habit and social opportunism - any reason but joy.
We come to the Craft with a first generation's joy of discovery, and a first generation's memory of bored hours of routine worship in our childhood. Because we have known the difference, it is our particular challenge to find or make ways to keep the Craft a living, real experience for our grandchildren and for the students of our students.
But notice how often, in the old myths, every treasure has its pitfalls? I think I'm beginning to see one of ours. Between the normal process of original visions clotting into cliche, and our perpetual flow of new inspiration, we are in danger of losing the special wisdom of those who founded the modern Craft. I do not think we should assiduously preserve every precious word. My love for my own Gardnerian tradition does not blind me to our sexist and heterosexist roots. And yet, I want us to remain identifiably Witches and not meld into some homogeneous "New Age" sludge. For this, I think we need some sort of anchoring in tradition to give us a sense of identity. Some of the old sayings really do crystallize great wisdom as well, life-affirming Pagan wisdom that our culture needs to hear.
So I think it's time for a little creative borrowing from our neighbors. Christians do something they call "exegesis;" Jews have a somewhat similar process called "midrash." This is something between interpretation and meditation, a very concentrated examination of a particular text. The assumption often is that every single word has meaning (cabalists even look at the individual letters). Out of this inspired combination of scholarship and daydream comes the vitality of those paths whose canon is closed. The contemporary example, of course, is Christian Liberation Theology, based on a revisioning of Jesus that would utterly shock John Calvin.
Although our canon is not closed - and the day it is, is the day I quit - I'm suggesting that we can use a similar process to renew the life of the older parts of our own still-young heritage.
So, I'd like to try doing some exegesison on an essential statement of the Craft way of life. Every religion has some sort of ethic, some guideline for what it means to live in accordance with this particular mythos, this worldview. Ours, called the Wiccan Rede, is one of the most elegant statements I've heard of the principle of situational ethics. Rather than placing the power and duty to decide about behavior with teachers or rulebooks, the Rede places it exactly where it belongs, with the actor.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT YOU WILL.
I'd like to start with the second phrase first, and to take it almost word by word.
Do what YOU will. This is the challenge to self-direction, to figure out what we want, and not what somebody else wants for us or from us. All of us are subject to tremendous role expectations and pressures, coming from our families, our employers, our friends, society in general. It's easy to just be molded, deceptively easy to become a compulsive rebel and reflexively do the opposite of whatever "they" seem to want. Living by the Rede means accepting the responsibility to assess the results of our actions and to choose when we will obey, confront or evade the rules.
Do what you WILL. This is the challenge to introspection, to know what we really want beyond the whim of the moment. The classic example is that of the student who chooses to study for an exam rather than go to a party, because what she really wants is to be a doctor. Again, balance is needed. Always going to the library rather than the movies is the road to burnout, not the road to a Nobel. What's more, there are other values in life, such as sensuality, intimacy, spirituality, that get ignored in a compulsively long-term orientation. So, our responsibility is not to mechanically follow some rule like "always choose to defer gratification in your own long-term self interest," but to really listen within, and to really choose, each time.
DO what you will. This is the challenge to action. Don't wait for Prince Charming or the revolution. Don't blame your mother or the system. Make a realistic plan that includes all your assets. Be sure to include magic, both the deeper insights and wisdoms of divination and the focusing of will and energy that comes from active workings. Then take the first steps right now. But, beware of thoughtless action, which is equally dangerous. For example, daydreaming is needed, to envision a goal, to project the results of actions, to check progress against goals, sometimes to revise goals. Thinking and planning are necessary parts of personal progress. Action and thought are complementary; neither can replace the other.
When you really look at it, word by word, it sounds like a subtle and profound guide for life, does it not? Is it complete? Shall "do what you will" in fact be "the whole of the law" for us? I think not. The second phrase of the Rede discusses the individual out of context. Taken by itself, "DO WHAT YOU WILL" would produce a nastily competitive society, a "war of each against all" more bitter than what we now endure. That is, it would if it were possible. Happily, it's just plain not.
Pagan myth and modern biology alike teach us that our Earth is one interconnected living sphere, a whole system in which the actions of each affect all (and this is emphatically not limited to humankind) through intrinsic, organic feedback paths. As our technology amplifies the effects of our individual actions, it becomes increasingly critical to understand that these actions have consequences beyond the individual; consequences that, by the very nature of things, come back to the individual as well. Cooperation, once "merely" an ethical ideal, has become a survival imperative. Life is relational, contextual. Exclusive focus on the individual Will is a lie and a deathtrap.
The qualifying "AN IT HARM NONE," draws a Circle around the individual Will and places each of us firmly within the dual contexts of the human community and the complex life-form that is Mother Gaia. The first phrase of the Rede directs us to be aware of results of our actions projected not only in time, as long-term personal outcomes, but in space - to consider how actions may effect our families, co-workers, community, and the life of the Earth as a whole, and to take those projections into account in our decisions.
But, like the rest of the Rede, "an it harm none" cannot be followed unthinkingly. It is simply impossible for creatures who eat to harm none. Any refusal to decide or act for fear of harming someone is also a decision and an action, and will create results of some kind. When you consider that "none" also includes ourselves, it becomes clear that what we have here is a goal and an ideal, not a rule.
The Craft, assuming ethical adulthood, offers us no rote rules. We will always be working on incomplete knowledge. We will sometimes just plain make mistakes. Life itself, and life-affirming religion, still demands that we learn, decide, act, and accept the results.
by Judy Harrow
Originally published in HARVEST - Volume 5, Number 3 (Oimelc, 1985)
Second publication: THE HIDDEN PATH - Volume X, Number 2 Beltane, 1987)
Thanks to Ecclasia in Riverside, California for this article
Shamanism exists in tribal cultures around the world and has done so for centuries. Yet, in reading most anthropological texts on Shamanism, there is little, if any reference made to shamanism in Europe. However Shamanism has existed among the peoples of Europe not only in ancient times, but also through the present day. During the Middle Ages, the Old Ways largely disappeared from public view because of persecution. Yet they were not eradicated but took a more underground existence. Today, there are some of us of European ancestry that are bringing Shamanic ways rooted in pre-Christian Europe back into the light.
Wiccan Shamanism is a term I began using several years ago in an attempt to describe my own path of magick and spirituality in relation to the other forms of Shamanism on the Planet. Wiccan Shamanism draws on the Old but it is not simply an attempt re-construction and revival of the Old Ways of tribal Europe. Wiccan Shamanism blends both the Old and the New to suit the modern times in which we live. Although emphasis is on European symbology and traditions Wiccan Shamanism is multi-cultural, incorporating ways of other healers and magick workers from many places and eras.
What follows is a glimpse into Wiccan Shamanism as I know it and practice it. While Jim, Dennis, and others who help with various aspects of CIRCLE’s work may share many of these concepts, I speak here only for myself - for at the heart of this spiritual approach is the idea that each person must seek their own connection with the Divine, within their own Self, rather than having me or anyone else do this for them. This is not a path of a leader with followers, but a path where each becomes their own leader.
*******************************************************************************
I call to the Powers of the Four Quarters -- to Earth in the North which is the Realm of the Physical Body and Material Plane, to Air in the East which is the Realm of Thoughts and Intellect, to Fire in the South which is the Realm of Will Power and Action, and Water in the West which is the Realm of Emotions and Intuition. My Medicine Wheel is the Magick Circle which connects the Four Quarters. The sacred places I frequent include a high rock, a crystal clear spring fed pool n a hidden valley and a circle of stones in a grove of Oak and Birch on a mound.
I am a channel between Planet Earth beneath my feet and the Heavens above my head. I become the World tree when I Shaminize, linking the transforming Dark of the Underworld with the Awakening Light of the Upperworld.
I am the Crystal Light that is at the Center of the Circle and is the fifth Element Spirit. I seek always to act out of MY own Inner Self which is at the enter of MY being, for my Inner Self in the Balance of all the Elements, of my Female and Male sides, of my Lunar and Solar natures of my intellect and intuition my Inner Self is my doorway into the realm where All is One.
I see the Circle of Life from the Center. I watch the Seasons change as the Wheel of the Year turns and I celebrate the 8 sabbats. I connect with the dance of Night and Day, of Fair and Stormy Weathers, of the Waxing and Waning Moon. I see the cycle of Birth, Growth, Maturity, Death, and Rebirth in all of Nature. I examine the cycles of my own life and of the lives of those who seek healing aid from me.
I am the traveler between the World of Daily Life and the Otherworld which is the land of Dreams, visions and Spirits. I am a Consciousness Explorer. the Otherworld is as real and as important to me as the Day-to-Day World. I bridge the Worlds rather than seeking to dwell solely in one or the other. I journey into the Otherworld for a reason -- to bring back healing and knowledge to apply to Daily Life, helping others, myself and the Planet.
I see the Divine in all things. My friends and allies include not only humans but also plants, animals, rocks, winds, waters, fire, stars, and other life forms. I commune with the Source some call "God" as both Mother Goddess and Father God, for both aspects are necessary for the Unity.
The main focus of my Shamanic work is Healing. I was called to this path as a young child in dreams and Out-of-Body experiences, but I didn't begin my work until my adult years when I started Healing myself. To do this I journeyed alone into the Pit of my Shadow Self and came face-to-face with my problems and hang-ups; my doubts, fears, disillusionments, rejections, angers and hurts; with all MY false self images. Words can not begin to express the misery, the utter despair the powerlessness I felt during this time. Yet coming apart was essential; it enabled me to break through the barriers which I had formed and let others form in my psyche that had kept me from being one with my True Self. In the deepest Darkness, I felt the Light of my own Inner Self beginning to shine through. I focused on the Light and slowly emerged from the Pit, stronger and more integrated than ever before and with the power to heal others as well as myself. As a result of this transformation process, my life's work became clear. I now help others from their own pits of negativity and become whole again.
Yet my work also extends to more than Humankind; it involves bringing Healing to the Planet as a whole. In my communing with the Land, I have heard the cries of the Earth mother, sorrowing over the self-centered, greedy, intolerant, and destructive behaviors of many of Her human children, who are polluting the soil, waters, and air; who are playing power games with nuclear fire; and who are polluting the spiritual atmosphere of the entire world with their narrow-mindedness and hate. I am deeply concerned about survival -- not of the Planer Herself for all the humans in the world can not destroy Her even with all their weapons; She is too strong and powerful for that to happen. What I am concerned about is the survival of the human race. -- will we annihilate ourselves and many of the life forms around us, or will we wake up in time to see the larger picture, find and implement creative solutions to the worlds problems, and enter a New Age of expanded consciousness?
The Balance of Life can be restored on Planet Earth; Harmony can be restored between humankind and other life forms; Love consciousness can increase and be prevalent on the Earth. I, along with numerous other healers and ministers from a variety of spiritual traditions around the world today have responded to the upset of Mother Earth by dedicating our lives to this Planetary Healing Work, each in our own way. It is this Great Work that underlies all the healing and other things I do. It is the Heart of Wiccan Shamanism.
By: Selena Fox
First published in fall 1984 CIRCLE NETWORK NEWS;
ã 1984, CIRCLE, Box 219, Mt. Horeb WI 53572 USA.
We’re of the old religion, sired of Time, and born of our beloved Earth Mother. For too long the people have trodden a stony path that goes only onward beneath a sky that goes only upwards. The Horned God plays in a lonely glade, alone, for the people are scattered in this barren age, and the winds carry His plaintive notes over deserted heaths and reedy moors and into the lonely grasses! Who knows now the ancient tongue of the Moon? And who speaks still with the Goddess? The magic of the land of Lirien and the old Pagan Gods have withered in the dragon’s breath; the old ways of magic have slipped into the well of the past, and only the rocks now remember what the Moon told us long ago, and what we learned from the trees, and the voices of the grasses and the scents of flowers.
We’re Pagans and we worship the Pagan Gods, and among the people there are witches yet who speak with the Moon and dance with the Horned One. But a witch is a rare Pagan in these days, deep and inscrutable, recognizable only by their own kind -- by the light in her eyes and the love in her breast, by the magic in his hands and the lilt of his tongue and by their knowledge of the real.
The Wiccan way is one path. There are many; there are Pagans the world over who worship the Earth Mother and the Sky Father, the Rain God and the Rainbow Goddess, and the Little People in the mists on the other side of the vale. A Pagan is one who worships the Goddesses and Gods of nature, whether by observation or by study, whether by love or admiration, or whether in their sacred rites with the Moon, or the great festivals of the Sun.
Many suns ago, as the pale dawn of reason crept across the Pagan sky, man grew out of believing in the Gods...he has yet to grow out of disbelieving in them. He who splits the Goddess on an existence-nonexistence dichotomy will earn himself only paradoxes, for the Gods are not so divided and neither are the lands of the Brother of Time. Does a mind exist? Ask her and she will tell you yes, but seek her out, and she’ll elude you. She is in every place, and in no place, and you’ll see her works in all places, but herself in none. Existence was the second-born from the Mother’s womb and contains neither the first-born nor the unborn. Show us your mind, and we’ll show you the Gods! No matter that you can’t, for we can’t show you the Gods. But come with us and the Goddess herself will be our love and the God will call the tune. A brass penny for your reason! For logic is a closed ring, and the child doesn’t validate the Mother, nor the dream the Dreamer. And what matter the wars of opposites to she who has fallen in love with a whirlwind, or the lover of the arching rainbow?
But tell us of your Goddess as you love Her and the Gods that guide your works and we’ll listen with wonder, for to do less would be arrogant. But we’ll do more; for the heart of man is aching for memories only half forgotten, and the Old Ones, only half unseen. We’ll write the old myths as they were always written, and we’ll read them on the rocks and in the caves and in the deep of the greenwood’s shade, and we’ll hear them in the rippling mountain streams and in the rustling of the leaves, and we’ll see them in the storm clouds, and in the evening mists. We’ve no wish to create a new religion...for our religion is as old as the hills and older, and we’ve no wish to bring differences together. Differences are like different flowers in a meadow, and we are all one in the Mother.
What need is there for a Pagan movement, since our religion has no teachings and we hear it in the wind and feel it in the stones and the moon will dance with us as she will? There is a need. For long the Divider has been among our people, and the tribes are no more. The sons of the Sky Father have all but conquered nature, but they have poisoned her breast and the Mother is sad...for the songbirds, the fish, and the butterflies are dying. And the night draws on. A curse on the conquerors! But not of us, for they curse themselves...for they are of nature, too. They have stolen our magic and sold out to the mindbenders and the mindbenders tramp a maze that has no outlet...for they fear to go down into the dark waters, and they fear the real for the One who guards the path.
Where are the Pagan shrines? And where do the people gather? Where is the magic made? And where are the Goddess and the Old Ones? Our shrines are in the fields and on the mountains, and in the stars, the wind, deep in the greenwood and on the algal rocks where two streams meet. But the shrines are deserted, and if we gathered in the arms of the Moon for our ancient rites to be with our Gods as we were of old, we would be stopped by the dead who now rule the Mother’s land and claim rights of ownership on the Mother’s breast, and make laws of division and frustration for us. We can no longer gather with the Gods in a public place, and the old rites of communion have been driven from the towns and cities ever deeper into the heath where barely a handful of heathens have remained to guard the old secrets and enact the old rites. There is magic in the heath far from the cold gray society, and there are islands of magic hidden in the entrails of the metropolis behind closed doors. But the people are few, and the barriers between us are formidable. The Old Religion has become a dark way; obscure, and hidden in the protective bosom of the night. Thin fingers turn the pages of a book of shadows while the sunshine seeks in vain his worshippers in his leafy glades.
Here, then, is the basic reason for a Pagan Way; we must create a Pagan society wherein everyone shall be free to worship the Goddesses and Gods of nature. The relationship between a worshipper and the Gods shall be sacred and inviolable, provided only that in the love of one’s own Gods, one does not curse the names of the Gods of others.
It’s not yet our business to press the law-makers with undivided endeavor to unmake the laws of repression and, with the Mother’s love, it may never become our business...for the stifling tides of dogmatism are at last in ebb. Our first work and our greatest wish is to come together, to be with each other in our tribes...for we haven’t yet grown from the Mother’s breast to the stature of Gods. We’re of the earth, and kin to all the children and impoverished of the old genetic pool. The Red Child lives yet in America; the old Australians are still with their nature Gods; the Black Child has not forsaken the Gods; the Old Ones still live deep in the heart of Mother India, and the White Child has still a foot on the old Wiccan way; but Neanderthal is no more and her magic faded as the Lli and the Archan burst their banks and the ocean flowed in to divide the isle of Erin from the Land of the White Goddess.
Man looked with one eye on a two-faced God when he reached for the heavens and scorned the Earth which alone is our life and our provider and the bosom to which we have ever returned since the dawn of time. He who looks only to Reason to plumb the unfathomable is a fool, for logic is an echo already implicit in the question, and it has no voice of its own; but he is no greater fool than he who scorns logic or derides its impotence from afar...and fears to engage in fair combat when he stands upon opponent’s threshold. Don’t turn your back on Reason, for his thrust is deadly; but confound him and he’ll yield...for his code of combat is honorable. So here is more of the work of Paganism. Our lore has become encrusted over the ages with occult trivia and the empty vaporings of the lost. The occult arts are in a state of extreme decadence; alien creeds oust our nature arts and, being as little understood as our own forgotten arts, are just as futile for their lack of understanding, and more so for their unfamiliarity. Misunderstanding is rife. Disbelief is black on every horizon, and vampires abound on the blood of the credulous. Our work is to reject the trivial, the irrelevant and the erroneous, and to bring the lost children of the Earth Mother again into the court of the Sky Father where Reason alone will prevail. Belief is the deceit of the credulous; it has no place in the heart of a Pagan.
But while we are sad for those who are bemused by Reason, we are deadened by those who see no further than his syllogisms as he turns the eternal wheel of the Great Tautology. We are not fashioned in the mathematician’s computations, and we were old when the first alchemist was a child. We have walked in the magic forest, bewitched in the old Green Things; we have seen the cauldron and the one become many and the many in the one; we know the Silver Maid of the moonlight and the sounds of the cloven feet. We have heard the pipes on the twilight ferns, and we have seen the spells of the Enchantress, and Time stilled. We have been into the eternal darkness where the Night Mare rides and rode her to the edge of the Abyss and beyond, and we know the dark face of the Rising Sun. Spin a spell of words and make a magic knot; spin it on the magic loom and spin it with the Gods. Say it in the old chant and say it to the Goddess, and in Her name. Say it to a dark well and breathe it on a stone. There are no signposts on the untrod way, but we will make our rituals together and bring them as our gifts to the Goddess and her God in the great rites.
Here, then, is our work in the Pagan Way; to make magic in the name of our Gods, to share our magic where the Gods would wish it: and to come together in our ancient festivals of birth, and life, of death and of change in the old rhythm. We will print the rituals that can be shared in the written word; we will do all in our power to bring the people together, to teach those who would learn, and to learn from those who can teach, we will initiate groups, bring people into groups, and groups to other groups in our common devotion to the Goddesses and Gods of nature. We will not storm the secrets of any coven, nor profane the tools, the magic, and still less, the Gods of another.
We will collect the myths of the ages, of our people and of the Pagans of other lands, and we will study the books of the wise and we will talk to the very young. And whatever the Pagan needs in her study, or his worship, then it is our concern and the business of the Pagan Way to do everything possible to help each other in our worship of the Gods we love.
We are committed with the lone Pagan on the seashore, with he who worships in the fastness of a mountain range or she who sings the old chant in a lost valley far from the metalled road. We are committed with the wanderer, and equally with the prisoner, disinherited from the Mother’s milk in the darkness of the industrial wens. We are committed, too, with the coven, with the circular dance in the light of the full moon, with the great festivals of the sun, and with the gatherings of the people. We are committed to build our temples in the towns and in the wilderness, to buy the lands and streams from the landowners and give them to the Goddess for her children’s use, and we will replant the greenwood as it was of old for love of the dryad stillness, and for love of our children’s children.
When the streams flow clear and winds blow pure, when the sun never more rises unrenowned nor the moon rides in the skies unloved; when the stones tell of the Horned God and the greenwood grows deep to call back her own ones, then our work will be ended and the Pagan Way will return to the beloved womb of our old religion...to the nature Goddesses and Gods of Paganism.
- A Book of Pagan Rituals, edited by Herman Slater.
I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the Spiritual Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and others.
µ I know that I am a part of the Whole of Nature. May I grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I always walk in Balance.
µ May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity and may I always be tolerant of those whose race, appearance, sex, sexual preference, culture, and other ways differ from my own.
µ May I use the Force (psychic power) wisely and never use it for aggression nor for malevolent purposes. May I never direct it to curtail the free will of another.
µ May I always be mindful that I create my own reality and that I have the power within me to create positivity in my life.
µ May I always act in honorable ways: being honest with myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it, fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have taken on to the best of my ability.
µ May I always remember that whatever is sent out always returns magnified to the sender. May the Forces of Karma move swiftly to remind me of these spiritual commitments when I have begin to falter from them, and may I use this Karmic feedback to help myself grow and be more attuned to my Inner Pagan Spirit.
µ May I always remain strong and committed to my Spiritual ideals in the face of adversity and negativity. May the Force of my Inner Spirit ground out all malevolence directed my way and transform it into positivity. May my Inner Light shine so strongly that malevolent forces cannot even approach my sphere of existence.
µ May I always grow in Inner Wisdom & Understanding. May I see every problem that I face as an opportunity to develop myself spiritually in solving it.
µ May I always act out of Love to all other beings on this Planet -- to other humans, to plants, to animals, to minerals, to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.
µ May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.
µ May I always channel Love and Light from my being. May my Inner Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings, and actions.
So Mote It Be
Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Isis, Freya, Aphrodite, Ceridwen, Diana, Brigid, and by many other names:
Whenever you have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the Moon is full, then shall you assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise. There shall you assemble, you who would learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet unknown. You shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites. Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on earth. For My law is love unto all beings. Mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land of Youth, and Mine is the Cup of the Wine of Life, and the Cauldron of Ceridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. Upon Earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom, and reunion with those that have gone before. Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all things, and My love is poured out upon the Earth.
Hear the words of the Star Goddess; She in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, and whose body encircles the universe:
I who am the beauty of the green Earth, and the white Moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, call upon your soul to arise and come to me. For I am the soul of Nature, who gives life to the universe. From Me all things proceed, and to Me they must return. Let My worship be within the heart that rejoices; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
Originally by Doreen Valiente
This version edited by Brisingamen
The extinct stars look down
On the centuries of the horned God.
From the dark recesses of the Caverne des Trois Freres in Ariege,
To the horned Moses of Michelangelo in Rome,
From the Bull of Minos and his leaping dancers
Poised on the horns of the dilemma...
From Pan, laughing and fucking and making light of all devils,
To the Devil himself, the Man in Black,
Conjured by the lusts of the Christians...
From Osiris of the upper and lower kingdoms,
To the Minotaur of azure Crete and his lost labyrinth...
From Cernunnos to Satan -- God of dark desires --
What a decline in horny Gods!
O for a goat to dance with!
O for a circle of witches skyclad under the horned moon!
Outside my window the hunters are shooting deer.
Thus has your worship sunk.
O God with horns, come back.
O unicorn in captivity,
Come lead us out of our willful darkness!
Come skewer the sun with your pointed horns,
And make the cave, the skull, the pelvic arch
Once more a place of light.
- Erica Jong, Witches
...While Nature, flushed with the fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight; saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humourously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corners; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the panpipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the grassy sward; saw, last of all, nesting between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in utter peace and contentment, the little, round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter. All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.
“Rat!” he found breath to whisper, shaking. “Are you afraid?”
“Afraid?” murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. “Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet -- and yet -- O, Mole, I am afraid!”
Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship.
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
Carnun -- as you Celts call Him -- is the God of Nature...of Fertility...the first of My Gods...the only one who never betrayed Me. Which is probably why some call Him the devil. He sees the ridiculousness of life. He never takes its pressures too seriously. He sees the laugh of it all. He sees the game for what it is. He is the laughter in the woods. Whereas the Sun God is so serious...is obsessed with authority...with conquering everything...those heroes who follow His path are usually mindless and violent...Oh, you must have seen them! They look so grim...so bitter...they never smile...just go around glaring all the time.
The Horned God is not afraid to show “weakness”...seeks peace rather than war...cooperation rather than strife...and couldn’t give a damn about power. He is the male representation of life. My arm. But He is not afraid of death...of losing control...because He knows it’s only a return to Me. He knows it’s all a game. My sport. Because that’s how nature is. He is the joy of life...the laughter in the woods...the Lord of My beasts...who knows the true delights of paradise are found in My arms...for, in love, man makes a temporary return to the Goddess.
- Pat Mills & Simon Bisley, Slaine: The Horned God
HP: Be all at peace who enter here
Be all inspired who gather here
And let the child come from within
The child with face turned toward the moon
For though each wears a different face
And stands upon a different point in space
Here, in this circle of the moon
Now, in this moment
All are one
All: All are one (2x)
HP: Lift your gaze and chant this rune
Goddess, come down from the moon
All: Goddess, come down from the moon
HP: Lift your arms and chant this rune
Goddess, come down from the moon
All: Goddess, come down from the moon
HP: Lift your hearts and chant this rune
Goddess, come down from the moon
All: Goddess, come down from the moon
HP: Speak with Her yet silently
Joined in perfect harmony the goddess speaks
I am the white rose at dawn
I am the moon and the seas
I am all that was, that is, that shall be
Nor has any mortal ever yet seen
That which lies beyond My veil
Do not look for Me too long in books
Though these may tell of me inspiringly
Nor in tools and trappings
Though these may be beautiful and worthy symbols
Cherish these things, but do not be bound by them
Remember that the Art Magical is art
Alive and flowing and changing, unique unto each
Make of it a system, or a doctrine
And you will only find that I am indeed
Mistress of Surprises
Gather in secret if you must
But do not tarry overlong behind closed doors
For it is in the richness of the earth
And the boundlessness if the sky
That my true temple is to be found
And the moon and sun and stars
will keep your secrets
Look for Me within these things
But above all within your own soul
For it is there I am
- Lady Isadora, The Priestess of the Pentacle
I tried to find Him on the Christian Cross, but He was not there;
I went to the Temple of the Hindus and to the old pagodas,
but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere.
I searched on the mountains and in the valleys
but neither in the heights nor in the depths was I able to find Him.
I went to the Caaba in Mecca,
but He was not there either.
I questioned the scholars and philosophers
but He was beyond their understanding.
I then looked into my heart and it was there where He dwelled that I saw Him;
He was nowhere else to be found.
- Jelaluddin Kumi
1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
2. Remain close the Great Spirit.
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings.
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
6. Do what you know to be right.
7. Look after the well-being of mind and body.
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
9. Be truthful and honest at all times.
10. Take full responsibility for your actions.
“The natural enemy of the daughters is not the fathers and the sons,” she announced.
“I was mistaken.
“The enemy of women is not men.
“No, and the enemy of the black is not the white. The enemy of capitalist is not communist, the enemy of homosexual is not heterosexual, the enemy of Jew is not Arab, the enemy of youth is not the old, the enemy of hip is not redneck, the enemy of Chicano is not gringo and the enemy of women is not men.
“We all have the same enemy.
“The enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
© 1976 by Tom Robbins
Go placidly amidst the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career; however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
-=-Max Ehrmann, 1927-=-
The enlightened emergence from the medieval Dark Ages. The Reformation. The Renaissance. An undeniably high point of human evolution. Or so we are taught, and so many believe, but to my people -- the Pagans, the Witches, the wise women and men, the healers, the midwives -- it was Europe’s fall into paranoia and intolerance, the Inquisition, the Burning Times, a Holocaust in which up to 9 million people (85% of them women) were killed for the “sin” of Witchcraft.
In the year 1484, a papal bull by Innocent VIII declared Witchcraft a heresy. In 1486, the Dominican Inquisitors Kramer and Sprenger published the Malleus Maleficarum (“The Hammer of the Witches”), which became the witchhunter’s manual for the next two and a half centuries. Anyone -- especially a woman -- could be accused of being a Witch, which was defined as a special crime to which the ordinary laws of evidence did not apply. Once accused, the suspected Witch was subjected to torture -- euphemistically called “the Question” -- for weeks on end (except in England, where torture was banned, but starvation, sleep deprivation and gang-rape where not considered torture). Standard tortures on the continent included thumbscrews, bootscrews, whips, branding irons, racks, strappado (a pulley to haul the victim into the air by her arms bound behind her back, jerking her up and down until her shoulders dislocated), as well as the English “non-tortures”. The inquisitors’ role was to keep on torturing until the victim named many “accomplices,” who were then arrested and tortured until more names were given, and so on until whole districts were found guilty. Inquisitors were instructed by their handbooks to give false promises of mercy for the sake of compliance and confession. Victims that didn’t die of gaol fever (typhus) or torture were burned alive at the stake, pressed under rocks, or hanged.
What “sin” could millions of people commit to illicit such abominations against their bodies? Church history is a history of persecution, but it has usually been applied against alien ethnic-religious groups such as Jews, or heretic sects such as the Waldenses and Albigenses. Witches, however, were accused of fantastic and bizarre feats that contradicted reality: social and sexual intercourse with the devil, night flights, turning people into animals, and charming away penises and hiding them in birds’ nests. Perhaps this quote from the era gives us a clue: “If a woman dare to cure without having studied, she is a Witch and must die,” (of course, women weren’t allowed in medical school then). In addition, Witches had ergot for the pain of labor at a time when the Church held that labor pains were the Lord’s just punishment for Eve’s original sin. Traditional healers were, and are, religious leaders. As such they upheld the values of worth inherent in nature and all living creatures -- values that oppose exploitation. They were focal figures around which communities could organize against Church and government oppression. Perhaps that, more than anything else, is the “sin” inherent in Witchcraft.
The Witch persecutions on healers was an attack on a value system, the same value system that modern Pagans are striving to renew. Although we disagree on many things, most Pagans believe in a single golden rule: “Do what you will, harming none,” based on an awareness of the world and everything in it as alive, dynamic, interdependent, and interacting.
ã 1994, Brisgamen
What is Creative Visualization?
Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. In the past many of us have used our power of creative visualization in a relatively unconscious way. Because of our own deep-seated negative concepts about life, we have automatically and unconsciously expected and imagined lack, limitation, difficulties, and problems to be our lot in life.
It should be noted that this technique cannot be used to "control" the behavior of others or cause them to do something against their will. Whatever you try to create for another will always boomerang back to you. That includes both loving, helpful, or healing actions and negative, destructive ones.
To use creative visualization it is not necessary to believe in any metaphysical or spiritual ideas. It is not necessary to "have faith" in any power but yourself.
Creative visualization is magic in the truest and highest meaning of the word.
Magic: Understanding and aligning yourself with the natural principles that govern the workings of our universe, and learning to use these principles in the most conscious and creative way.
How Creative Visualization Works
In order to understand how Creative Visualization works, it's useful to look at several interrelated principles:
· The physical universe is energy
· Energy is magnetic (like attracts like)
· Form (physical energy) follows idea (mental energy)
· Whatever you put out to the universe will be reflected back to you
Four Basic Steps for Effective Creative Visualization
1. Set your goal
2. Create a clear idea or picture
3. Focus on it often
4. Give it positive energy
Continue to work with this process until you achieve your goal, or no longer have the desire to do so. Remember that goals often change before they are realized. If you lose interest it may mean that it's time for a new look at what you want.
Affirmations
Affirmations are one of the most important elements of creative visualization. An affirmation is a strong, positive statement that something is already so. It is a way of "making firm" that which you are imaging.
The practice of doing affirmations allows us to begin replacing some of our stale, worn out, or negative mind chatter with more positive ideas and concepts. It is a powerful technique, one that can in a short time completely transform our attitudes and expectations about life, and thereby totally change what we create for ourselves.
An affirmation can be any positive statement:
Everything I need is already within me.
The universe is unfolding perfectly.
All things are now working together for good in my life.
I love and appreciate myself.
Here are some important things to remember:
1. Always phrase affirmations in the present tense.
2. Always phrase affirmations in the most positive way you can.
3. In general, the shorter and simpler the better.
4. Always use affirmations that feel totally right for you.
5. Always remember that you are creating something new, not trying to redo or
change what already exists, which would create conflict.
6. Affirmations are not meant to contradict or try to change your feelings or
emotions, even the so-called "negative" ones.
7. Temporarily suspend your doubts and hesitations, and put your full mental and
emotional energy into your affirmations.
When you are coming out of the empty, grasping, manipulative condition, the first and foremost lesson to be learned is to just let go. You must relax, stop struggling, stop trying so hard, stop manipulating things and people to try to get what you want and need. In fact, just stop doing so much and have an experience of just being for awhile.
When you do this, you suddenly discover that you're really perfectly okay, just letting yourself be, and letting the world be. You begin to want to focus your energy toward the highest and most fulfilling goals that are real for you at any given moment.
Being, Doing, and Having
Often people try to live their lives backwards: They try to have more things in order to do more of what they want, so that they will be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do in order to have what you want.
Three Necessary Elements
1. Desire - a clear, strong sense of purpose
2. Belief - that it can exist, and that it can exist for you
3. Acceptance - are you willing to have it completely (pro and con)?
Going With the Flow
The only effective way to use creative visualization is "going with the flow." That means that you don't have to "effort" to get where you want to go; you simply put it out clearly to the universe where you would like to go, and then patiently and harmoniously follow the flow of the river of life until it takes you there.
Going with the flow means holding onto your goals lightly (even though they may seem very important) and being willing to change them if something better comes along. Going with the flow is the balance between keeping your destination clearly in mind, and yet also enjoying all the beautiful scenes along the way, and even being willing to change your destination if life starts carrying you in a better direction. The only successful manifestation is one which brings about a change or growth in consciousness; that is, it has manifested God/dess, or revealed it more fully, as well as having manifested a form...
Accepting Your Good
In order to use creative visualization to create what you want in life, you must be willing and able to accept the best that life has to offer you - your "good." Many of us have difficulty accepting the possibility of having what we want in life. This usually stems from some basic feelings of unworthiness which we took on at a very early age. Affirmations and creative visualization are a wonderful way of creating a more positive and loving self-image. First, it lets you accept and love yourself as you are. Second, it lets you start creating yourself as you want to be.
Prosperity Programming
A very important part of the whole creative visualization process is prosperity programming. This means having the understanding, or consciously taking the point of view, that the universe is totally abundant...it is a cornucopia of everything that your heart could ever desire, both on the material plane and on emotional, mental, and spiritual planes as well. One of the most common causes of failing to get what you want is "scarcity programming." The truth about this earth is that it is an infinitely good, beautiful, nourishing place to be. The only "evil" comes from lack of understanding of this truth. Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simple a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it - you must shine a light on it. Unless you can create a context that the world is a good place to be that can potentially work for everyone, you will experience difficulty in creating what you want in your personal life.
Outflowing
Another key principle is that of giving, or "outflowing." Once we begin to accept the goodness of the universe, we naturally want to share it as well, realizing that as we give out of our energy, we make space for more to flow into us. When through insecurity we try to hold onto what we have, we begin to cut off this wonderful flow of energy.
Energy takes many forms, such as love, affection, appreciation and recognition, material possessions, money, friendship, etc., and the principles apply equally to all these forms.
A Simple Exercise in Creative Visualization
First, think of something you would like. It might be an object you would like to have, an event you would like to happen, a situation in which you'd like to find yourself, or some circumstance in your life you'd like to improve.
Get in a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down, in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Relax your body completely. Breathe slowly and deeply. Count down slowly from 10 to 1, feeling yourself getting more deeply relaxed with each count.
When you feel deeply relaxed, start to imagine the thing you want exactly as you would like it. You may imagine what people are saying, or any details that make it more real to you. You may take a relatively short time or quite a few minutes to imagine this - whatever feels best for you. It should be a thoroughly enjoyable experience, like a child daydreaming.
Now keeping the idea or image still in your mid, mentally make some very positive, affirmative statement about it. Always end your visualization with a firm statement to yourself:
This, or something better, now manifests for me in totally satisfying and harmonious ways,
for the highest good of all concerned.
This leaves room for something different and even better than you originally envisioned to happen, and serves as a reminder to you that this process only functions for the mutual benefit of all.
If doubts or contradictory thoughts arise, don't resist them or try to prevent them. This will tend to give them a power they don't otherwise have. Just let them flow through your consciousness and return to your positive statements and images.
It's Important to Relax
It's important to relax deeply when you are first learning to use creative visualization. When your body and mind are deeply relaxed, your brain wave pattern actually changes. This deeper, slower level is commonly called alpha level, which has been found to be a very healthful state of consciousness. It has also been found to be far more effective than the more active beta level in creating real changes in the so-called objective world, through the use of visualization.
It is especially good to do creative visualization at night just before sleeping, or in the morning just after awakening, because at those times the mind and body are often already deeply relaxed and receptive. In addition, a short period of relaxation and creative visualization done at mid-day will relax and renew you, and cause your day to flow more smoothly.
Discovering Our Higher Purpose
A basic need of all human beings is to make a positive contribution to the world and to our fellow beings, as well as to improve and enjoy our personal lives. We all have a great deal to offer the world and to each other, each in our own special and unique way. To a great degree, our own personal sense of well being is a function of how much we are expressing this.
We each have a significant contribution to make in this lifetime. I call this contribution our higher purpose. It always involves being yourself totally, completely, and naturally, and doing something or many things that you genuinely love to do, and that come easily to you. We all know in our hearts what our higher purpose is, but we often do not consciously acknowledge it, even to ourselves. In fact, most people seem to go to great lengths to hide it from themselves and from the world. They fear and seek to avoid the power, responsibility, and light that comes with acknowledging and expressing their true purpose in life.
You will find in using creative visualization that your ability to manifest will work to the degree that you are in alignment with your higher purpose. If you try to manifest something and it doesn't seem to work, it may not be appropriate to the underlying pattern and meaning of your life. Be patient and keep tuning into your inner guidance. In retrospect you will see that everything is unfolding perfectly.
- Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization
Whatever you ardently desire,
Sincerely believe in,
Vividly imagine, and
Enthusiastically act upon,
Must inevitably come to pass.
- Sybil Leek, Diary of a Witch
The most important thing to remember about the use of ritual tools is this: the tools are unimportant -- we have all we need to make magic: our bodies, our breath, our voices, each other.
However, ritual tools can be useful to remind your subconscious that you are in a different place -- a place between the worlds -- when you are working ritual magic. They can also be used to direct energy. Some of the more traditional Wiccan tools and their correspondences are:
Tool
Element
Direction
Sphere of influence
Wand (or Blade, depending on tradition)
Censer (Incense burner)
Air
East
Mind, intellect, ideas, abstract learning, theory, dawn, spring, wind and breath
Blade (or Wand, depending on tradition)
Candle
Fire
South
Creative energy, courage, healing and destroying, willpower, noon, summer
Cup
Water
West
Emotions, daring, the unconscious, intuition, twilight, autumn
Pentacle
Crystal
Earth
North
Material gain, the body, health, money, birth and death, midnight, winter
Cauldron
Spirit
Center
“Soul”, spirituality, transformation, change, transcendence, immanence
Broom
Spirit
Circum-
ference
Purification and protection - used to psychically cleanse an area or to guard a home by laying it across an entryway
Bell
Spirit
Circle
Purification - used to psychically cleanse ritual areas and personal energy fields
This table is a combination of what I was taught and what works for me. Feel free to embellish, rearrange or completely ignore this system. Native Americans use a six-direction system; the Norse used nine, including their home realm of Midgard. To be effective, ritual must speak to you personally, and ineffective ritual kills spirituality.
A particularly important ritual tool in the Church of Amazement is music. We’ve used everything from a simple percussion circle to a highly orchestrated chant CD with 15 harmonizing vocalists to create our aural magic. Music tends to increase personal involvement in the ritual and produces freer flowing energy. A list of commonly used songs and chants and a selection of pre-recorded ritual music appear later in this book.
Music can be used prior to a ritual to set the mood; during, to create sacred space, as an invocation and offering to Deity, and to raise energy; and afterwards in celebration, as well as a gentle return to normal space.
1. Avoid interruptions during a religious or magical rite -- take the phone off the hook, lock the doors, post a “do not disturb” notice. Depending on how your animals and/or children react to ritual, you may have to make other arrangements for them during this time. However, remember that an interruption won’t ruin your ritual unless you let it. In fact, our church was named by an “interruption” who stopped by without knowing that we were in the middle of a ritual and ended up an uninvolved observer (and dog sitter). For circumstances like this, it helps to develop a psychic pause button.
2. Whenever possible a ritual bath (or jacuzzi!) is beneficial to wash away everyday tensions before entering sacred space. In addition to being a spiritually as well as physically cleansing event, immersion in water links us with our most primal memories. If you don’t have access to water, you can use incense, or a bell, or few minutes of light drumming or meditation for the same cleansing effect. The goal is to enter the circle with a clear mind and an untroubled heart; you’re trying to meet your friends (including Deity) on a higher/deeper level than in day-to-day life.
3. Ritual dress can range from ritual nudity (skyclad), to formal hooded robes in colors appropriate to the ritual, to whatever you feel most comfortable in. In our group, we usually opt for the latter; most traditional groups I’ve visited work robed. Many English-based traditions work skyclad, as do many solitaries.
For those inclined, physical nudity symbolizes honesty, openness and intimacy, as well as the freedom from slavery mentioned in the Charge of the Goddess. Personally, I find spiritual and mental “nudity” an even more intimate goal for group practice.
In addition to ritual dress (or undress), ritual jewelry such as pentagrams, amulets, good luck charms and Deity images are often worn. While these are symbolically useful, remember that your power, luck, and connection with Deity is within yourself, not the jewelry. Losing an item, while emotionally painful, shouldn’t be spiritually devastating.
4. Are you interested in solitary or group practice? Actually, this is almost an immaterial question since this is a book of how our group practices, and we all practice solo at one time or another anyway -- like when a rainbow appears while driving home on that last day before a long vacation, or that brilliant Full Moon slips through the clouds and into your bedroom window.
Obviously, we enjoy group practice -- the presence of like-minded friends can enrich your spiritual experience -- but there are a few caveats. First, the presence of others can be inhibiting, so try to concentrate more on your spiritual communion with Deity and your circlemates than whether you’re “acting weird.” Also, beware of a love interest who takes an interest only because you do. Conversely, beware of becoming interested in someone solely because they share your spiritual beliefs. Finally, working in a group may lead you to start feeling that your solo work is inferior or wrong, but nothing could be further from the truth, as long as what you do alone works for you. What works is what’s right, and vice versa.
5. An important part of ritual preparation is setting up the working altar. This physically prepares the area to become sacred space while simultaneously psychologically preparing the participants to enter that space. In addition to our standard tools (candles, incense burners, knives, wands, God and Goddess statutes, a chalice, a plate and a peace pipe), we add photos and/or artifacts of missing circlemates and other loved ones as well as any jewelry, amulets and artwork we wish to bless.
Ritual and Ritual Preparation (cont.)
6. The actual ritual activity is the least dogmatic and most spontaneous portion of all and is up to however the group feels on that occasion. Sometimes we just meditate together; sometimes we have extremely energetic drum circles. Occasionally we formally invoke the God and/or Goddess; we almost always do magic. While our primary tool is music -- both pre-recorded and live -- the selections and the order change from ritual to ritual, depending on our goals and moods (and sometimes on which tapes we can find!).
7. The timing of rituals is also up to the group. Traditional circles practice together on Full and/or New Moons, the Solstices and Equinoxes, and the cross-quarter days (midway between the Solstice and Equinoxes). The Solar rituals are known as Sabbats; the Lunar, Esbats or Moons. Traditional Moons usually include invoking the presence of Deity for communication and doing magical work; the eight Sabbats are more a celebration of the Turning of the Wheel of the Year than magical work, and often include a potluck feast. Moons are usually held at night -- preferable at moonrise -- while Sabbats usually begin during daylight and sometimes last until the following dawn.
Church of Amazement ritual times (like our rituals themselves) tend to be very untraditional. If part of the group happens to be together and in the mood for ritual, we’ll have one. In general we try to plan rituals close to the actual Esbats and Sabbats, but due to varying work schedules, we have to stay flexible. The hour usually depends on who gets off work latest that day -- we occasionally end up starting at the “traditional” witching hour of midnight (which is far later than the traditional groups I’ve visited start). We also call for a ritual when anyone in the group has a particular magical request, like healing or a job search.
As an auxiliary note to time spent together in ritual, I should mention that our group also tries to spend some quality time together outside of ritual. We consider each other family and therefore share important times other than ritual with each other. Often a few of us will get together and share a new movie or a special music store or bookstore, and we try to attend local Pagan gatherings as a group. As in any good relationship, circle siblings should be friends first and foremost, no matter what else they become to each other.
8. At the end of ritual, residual energy usually rushes around within you and the circle. This should be grounded, or reprogrammed to fit smoothly into your normal energy scheme. One way of doing this involves actually touching the ground and visualizing the energy returning to the Earth. A complementary method is the ritual sharing of food and drink. Eating kicks your body into a (literally) down-to-earth mode. In addition, sharing a meal provides communion among group members, especially when blessings are passing along with the plate and cup. To expand this ritual sharing to include all four basic elements, you can pass around a peace pipe as well to represent air and fire. Within our group, we call this the Elemental Feast.
9. Once the power has been grounded, it is important to return the ritual area to its normal state as well. Before disassembling the working altar, the circle should be opened or “uncast”. Instead of dispersing the energy and breaking the circle, we ground it by visualizing it sinking into the floor beneath us while saying:
As the circle sinks into the earth
Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again.
The magic circle or sphere is a well-defined, non-physical temple. There are two main types -- those used by ceremonial magicians are designed to protect the magician from the forces he or she raises. Our circles are used to create sacred space to commune with Deity and to contain the energy we raise until we are ready to channel it toward a specific magical purpose. However, sacred space is not just an area in which to erect an altar and perform rituals. It is a power center; a place to respect as well as a place to be respected in. Creating sacred space can be a symphony of planning and movement, melding your positive energy with the energy of Deity to create a haven for yourself and your circlemates. Sacred space will hold the positive energy you generate long after the ritual has ended; if done often enough in the same physical area, it can become almost as physically tangible as your other ritual tools.
The circle is constructed (or cast) using the personal energies of the circle members, and when completed is a sphere of energy encompassing the entire working area. The “circle” is actually just where the sphere is bisected by the Earth. We usually cast our circles using music such as Libana’s “A Circle is Cast” and one or more element chants like “Air I Am” by Andras Corbin or “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water” by Libana.
One indication of a well-cast circle is the feeling of a palpable barrier. Often this is felt simply as a lack of motivation to leave the circle, although some people can actually touch and/or see it. To avoid breaking the circle if you have to leave it, just visualize a door for yourself. Another indication is that the air within the circle tends to be warmer and more humid than that outside of it, especially during magical work. I’ve seen condensation on both windows and walls after particularly effective magic -- even though no one left their seats.
At the center of the circle there is usually some form of temporary working altar bearing whatever tools the group has chosen to work with. Our first working altar was a piece of newspaper under a single candle on the floor; we now have a circular table and are slowly building up a collection of group tools that everyone feels comfortable with. In addition to the tools, personal items that represent your magical goals or that you want to bless are placed on the altar, as are the plate, cup and pipe for the Elemental Feast.
Although the working altar is assembled and disassembled for each ritual, many people also keep a permanent altar. Over the years I’ve noticed that even many “non-spiritual” people have created what I would consider altars in their homes -- almost everyone has a place for their most personal, “hands off” items; a shelter that feels inviolate -- sacred space, if you will. Personal altars can range from something as simple as a family photo and some nostalgic knickknacks, to a boombox and a stack of personally meaningful CDs, to a full-blown Pagan extravaganza complete with an assortment of personal ritual tools and Deity images. A personal altar helps you centralize your personal power, serves as a work table for crafting magical tools and talismans, and enables you to honor Deity and your beliefs even when you’re not physically present.
One warning about personal altars -- no matter how small you start, they tend to grow exponentially, and very few of us have to heart to actually remove old items when we find new ones (with the possible exception of passing them along as gifts). In our multi-Church-member household, we’ve actually ended up with a permanent household altar in addition to everybody’s personal altars, both to catch the overflow and to hold the Church’s tools.
1. Tell everyone participating what to expect before the circle is closed or anything else begins.
2. Give everyone participating the chance to say “No” and to withdraw before the circle is closed or anything else begins -- and then respect that decision.
3. Be open, honest, and fair: spring no surprises, trip no traps; NEVER use what you learn or do in circle to manipulate or compel any other person, or diminish anyone’s dignity and free will.
4. Encourage people not to wander in and out of any session between its beginning and ending, or cross the circle while it is closed.
5. Protect every session from interruption by (or intrusion on) any outsiders -- by closed or locked doors, a fence, or some other clear marking outside the circle.
6. While proceedings may not be secret, they ARE always private; keep silent about who and what you see or hear in circle, unless you have each other participant’s specific consent.
7. ALWAYS close the circle and raise your wards before beginning, or continuing after a break.
8. ALWAYS dismiss your wards and open the circle after ending, or to allow passage across the circle.
9. Conduct yourself with mutual respect and due courtesy, without malice or ill will toward anyone, or else ask that the circle be opened and that you be dismissed from the session.
While the Church of Amazement is not a “teaching circle,” we do feel that we are all each others’ students and teachers. The following is a proposal for a teacher/student covenant:
1. I will abide by the Rules of the Circle.
2. I will ask from you no more than you can give.
3. I will not expect you to read my mind.
4. I will not hide from you my limits or gaps in knowledge; if I just don’t know, I’ll tell you so.
5. I will explain, to the best of my ability, not only what to do and how, but also why.
6. I will not push you beyond your ability or willingness to proceed.
7. I realize that I may be tempted to become dominating, a “leader” -- and I will do my best to resist this temptation.
8. Because I received from others without payment, I will give to you without payment.
9. As I can, I will learn from you in turn.
1. I will abide by the Rules of the Circle.
2. I will ask from you no more than you can give.
3. I will not expect you to read my mind.
4. If I have questions about what you show me, I will ask.
5. If I fail to understand anything, I will mention it.
6. If I feel unready to proceed, I will tell you.
7. I realize that I may be tempted to become dependent, a “follower” -- and I will do my best to resist this temptation.
8. Because I receive from you without payment, I will give to others without payment.
9. As I can, I will teach you in turn.
These Rule Proposals are courtesy of Raven, from the Internet UseNet group alt.pagan, 1/12/95
In the cool of the evening they used to gather
Neath the stars in the meadow circled near an old oak tree
At the times appointed by the seasons of the earth
And the phases of the moon
In the center stood a woman
Equal with the others and respected for her worth
One of the many we call the witches
The healers and the teachers of the wisdom of the earth
And the people grew through the knowledge she gave them
Herbs to heal their bodies
Spells to make their spirits whole
Can’t you hear them chanting healing incantations
Calling forth the wise ones
Celebrating in dance and song
Chorus:
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana
There were those who came to power through domination
And they bonded in the worship of a dead man on a cross
They sought control of the common people
By demanding allegiance to the Church of Rome
And the Pope declared an Inquisition
It was a war against the women whose power they feared
In this Holocaust against the nature people
Nine million European women died
And the tale is told of those who by the hundreds
Holding together chose their death in the sea
While chanting the praises of the Mother Goddess
A refusal of betrayal
Women were dying to be free
Chorus
Now the Earth is a witch
And the men still burn her
Stripping her down with mining and the poisons of their war
Still to us, the Earth is a healer
A teacher, a mother
A weaver of the web of life that keeps us all alive
She gives us the vision to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage
It is our will to survive
Green Brother, Horned Brother
Green Brother Pan
(repeat 4x)
Chorus:
Green Brother, Green Father
Green Father, Green Brother
Green Man, Green Pan
Green Father, Nature Father
Father Green Man
(repeat 4x)
Chorus
There’s a river of birds in migration,
A nation of women with wings
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water
Return, return, return, return
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water
Return, return, return, return
I-A, I-A, I-A, I-A
I-O, I-O, I-O, I-O
I-A, I-A, I-A, I-A
I-O, I-O, I-O, I-O
Air I am, Fire I am
Water, Earth and Spirit I am
Mowtay, leh-nu leh-nu, gow-tay
Ha-ee-no, ha-ee-no, ha-ee-no
The spirit and I are one
Forever and ever and ever
Dark Mother, Kali Ma
Dark Mother Earth
As we approach summer’s end we call to you
The changer who brings death
The changer who brings death
Dark of the Moon, Wisdom’s Queen
Chorus:
Dark Mother, Kali-Ma, Kali
Black Mother, Kali-Ma
(repeat 2x)
Grandmother Earth
Both birth and tomb, grave and womb
Both birth and tomb, grave and womb
We sing your name
Old Hag, Wise Woman, Crone
You are all hope and all fear
Chorus (repeat 6x)
O Ancient One
You live inside each of us
And there is nothing that you cannot become
And there is nothing that you cannot become
Round and around we journey with you
Chorus (repeat 6x) +
Mother of the world
Destroyer of the world
The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of Her
The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of Her
Hey yanna, ho yanna, hey yan yan
Hey yanna, ho yanna, hey yan yan
Additional verses:
Her sacred ground we walk upon with every step we take
The Earth is our Mother, She will take care of us
Air moves us, Fire transforms us
Water shapes us, Earth heals us
And the balance of the wheel
Goes round and round
And the balance of the wheel goes round.
Chorus:
I am here, right here among you
(repeat 2x)
I am the East wind
I am the Sun rising
I am the breezes blowing
I am your body breathing
Chorus
I am the South wind
I am the leaping bonfire
I am the candle flame
I am your brightest passion
Chorus
I am the West wind
I am the Sun sleeping
I am the water flowing
I am the heart that’s weeping
Chorus
I am the North wind
I am the Earth below you
I am the Bull at midnight
I am the living body
Chorus
I am the Center
I am the Goddess dancing
I am the hearth circle
I am the Horned One singing
Chorus
We are an old people
We are a new people
We are the same people
Stronger than before
Bright Sun, Dark Death
Lord of Winds, Lord of the Dance
Sun Child, Winter-born King
Hanged One, Untamed, Untamed
Stag and Stallion, Goat and Bull
Sailor of the Last Sea
Guardian of the Gate
Brother and Lover
Seed sower, Grain reborn
Horned One come
(repeat last 2 lines)
We are a circle
Within a circle
With no beginning
And never ending
Come, Come, Come
Come, Pan, Come
Come to the middle of our circle
Come, Pan, Come
Come, Come, Come
Come, Pan, Come
Come to the center of our hearts
Come, Pan, Come
(repeat, substituting any God or Goddess for Pan)
O Great Spirit
Earth, Sun, Sky and Sea
You are inside and all around me
Buffalo Woman is calling
Will you answer her?
Buffalo Woman is calling
Will you answer her?
Chorus:
She is calling light
She is calling peace
She is calling spirit
She is calling you
Buffalo Woman is calling
I will answer her
Buffalo Woman is calling
I will answer her
Chorus
When She danced on the water and the wind was Her horn
The Lady laughed, and everything was born
When She lit the sun and the light gave Him birth
The Lord of the Dance then appeared on the earth.
Chorus:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
For I am the Lord of the Dance, said He;
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I lead you all in the Dance, said He.
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I was called from the darkness by the song of the earth
I joined in the singing, and She gave me birth
Chorus
I dance at the Sabbat when you chant the spell
I dance and sing that everyone be well
When the dance is over, do not think that I’m gone
I live in the music so I still dance on
Chorus
They cut me down but I leap up high
I am the light that will never never die
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me
And I am the Lord of the Dance, said He
I stood upon the balcony with my brand new bride
The clink of bells came drifting down the mountainside
When in our sights, something moved
Lightening-eyed and cloven-hooved;
The Great God Pan is alive.
He moves amid the modern in disguise
It’s possible to look into his immortal eyes.
He’s like a man you’d meet anyplace
Until you recognize that ancient face;
The Great God Pan is alive.
At sea on a ship in a thunderstorm
On the very night that Christ was born
A sailor heard from overhead
A mighty voice cry, “Pan is dead”
So follow Christ, as best you can,
Pan is dead! Long live Pan!
From the olden days and up through all the years
From Arcadia, to the stone fields of Innishere
Some say the Gods are just a myth
But guess who I’ve been dancing with;
The Great God Pan is alive.
We all come from the Goddess
And to Her we shall return
Like a drop of rain
Flowing to the ocean
We all come from the Horned One
And to Him we shall return
Like a spark of flame
Rising to the heavens
Hoof and horn, hoof and horn
All that dies shall be reborn
Corn and grain, corn and grain
All that falls will rise again
HP: By all the power or three times three...
All: As we will it, so shall it be!
(Three times, with increasing energy)
Eastern wind blow clear, blow clean,
Cleanse my body of its pain,
Cleanse my mind of what I’ve seen,
Cleanse my honor of its stain.
Maid whose love has never ceased
Bring me healing from the East.
Southern wind blow hot, blow hard,
Fan my courage to a flame,
Southern wind be guide and guard,
Add your bravery to my name.
Let me will and yours be twinned,
Warrior of the Southern wind.
Chorus:
Wind’s four quarters, air and fire
Earth and water, hear my desire
Grant my plea who stands alone --
Maiden-warrior, Mother and Crone
Western wind blow stark, blow strong,
Grant me arm and mind of steel
On a road both hard and long.
Mother, hear me where I kneel.
Let no weakness on my quest
Hinder me, wind of the West.
Northern wind blow cruel, blow cold,
Sheathe my aching heart in ice,
Armor round my soul enfold.
Crone, I need not call you twice.
To my foes bring cold of death.
Chill me, North wind’s frozen breathe.
Chorus
Conjure circle round the bed
Where I lay my weary head
That in its gold and silver light
I will spend a peaceful night
Chaos and Law, Dark and Light
Waves of Power, Sabbat Night
Earth Her Body, Air Her Breath
Wheel of Life, Wheel of Death
Fire Her Spirit, Water Her Flow
Goddess around us, above and below
Goddess in Woman, God in Man
Isis, Diana, Osiris and Pan
Birthgiver, Death Crone, Slayer and Slain
Aspects of Nature, Pleasure and Pain
Passionate sister of the living fire,
Great Sun Queen, Mother of all living,
Turn the Wheel of Fortune to the betterment of your sisters and daughters,
and of their brothers, the men of the Horned One.
I invoke you and call upon you as Mighty Mother of Us All, Bringer of Justice.
Avenge the wrongs, halt the rapes, and illuminate the minds of our leaders and judges
with the light of your eternal flame.
Horned One, Lover and Son of our Lady,
Great Sun King, Lord of the Dance of Life,
Teach your sons and brothers that the true test of manhood is to honor the Goddess,
in themselves and in their sisters.
I invoke you and call upon you as Loyal Son, Caring Father, Loving Brother, and Rape Fighter.
Lend us your strength and wisdom, at this, the peak of your power,
and support us as we celebrate the continued turning of the Wheel.
Shadows gather, darkness nears, night is winging nigh
Light the torches, bring the wood and build the balefires high.
Winter winds blow chill -
Fire fends of all ill!
Torches serpent-circling round, stain the hall with light
Beacon blaze between the worlds and bring the spirit sight,
Show the souls the way -
Evil keep at bay!
Torches’ flame defies the dark, doorways open wide;
Dead and living here clasp hands and clan and kin abide.
Blessed ones draw near,
Be welcome without fear.
Frost flowers melting, buds on the bough,
Grows the earth greener, wanting the plough;
Harken and waken,
Heavenly Maiden - lend life to the land!
Lambs in the meadow, swans on the nest,
Sows to be breeding, mares still at rest,
Harken and waken,
Heavenly Maiden - lend life to the land!
Day out of darkness, sun out of cloud,
Soil through the snowdrift, life from the shroud;
Harken and waken,
Heavenly Maiden - lend life to the land!
* Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Aswynn, Freya. Leaves of Yggdrasil. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn.
* Budapest, Zsuzsanna. The Grandmother of Time. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
* Budapest, Zsuzsanna. The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries. Oakland, CA: Wingbox Press, [1980] 1989.
* Cabot, Laurie. Celebrate the Earth. New York: Delta, 1994.
Campanelli, Pauline. The Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1989.
* Christ, Carol P., and Plaskow, Judith, eds. Womanspirit Rising. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1979.
* Christ, Carol. Laughter of Aphrodite. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.
Conway, D.J. Celtic Magic. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn.
* Cunningham, Scott. The Magical Household. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, [1987] 1991
Cunningham, Scott. The Truth about Witchcraft Today. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1988.
* Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1989
* Cunningham, Scott. Living Wicca. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1993.
* Daly, Mary. Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Boston: Beacon Press, 1978.
Eisler, Riane. The Chalice and the Blade. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.
* Farrar, Janet, and Farrar, Stewart. The Witches Goddess. Custer, WA: Phoenix Publications, 1987.
* Farrar, Janet, and Farrar, Stewart. The Witches God. Custer, WA: Phoenix Publications, 1989.
* Gawain, Shakti. Creative Visualization. New York: Bantam Books, 1978.
Gimbutas, Marija. The Civilization of the Goddess. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1991.
* Gimbutas, Marija. The Language of the Goddess. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
* Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. San Francisco: Harper & Row, [1980] 1990.
* King, Serge. Urban Shaman. New York: Fireside, 1990.
* Leek, Sybil. Diary of a Witch. New York: Signet, 1968.
Medicine Eagle, Brooke. Buffalo Woman Comes Singing. 1991.
* Monagham, Patricia. The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. New York: Dutton, 1981.
* Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1979.
* Pagels, Elaine. Adam, Eve and the Serpent. New York: Vintage, 1988.
* Plaskow, Judith, and Christ, Carol P., eds. Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
RavenWolf, Silver. To Ride a Silver Broomstick. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1994.
* Reed, Ellen Cannon. The Witches’ Quabala: The Goddess and the Tree. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1986.
* Reed, Ellen Cannon. The Witches’ Quabala: The Witches Tarot. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1990.
Richardson, Alan. Earth God Rising: The Return of the Male Mysteries.
* Sjoo, Monica, and More, Barbara. The Great Cosmic Mother. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.
Slater, Herman. A Book of Pagan Rituals. Samuel Weiser, Inc.
Smith, Morton. Jesus the Magician. Barnes & Noble Books [1976] 1994(?).
* Spretnak, Charlene. The Politics of Women’s Spirituality. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1982.
* Starhawk. Spiral Dance. San Francisco: Harper & Row [1979] 1989.
* Starhawk. Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex and Politics. Boston: Beacon Press, 1982.
* Starhawk. Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and Magic. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.
* Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.
* Stone, Merlin. Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood. Boston: Beacon Press, [1979] 1984.
* Teish, Luisah. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.
* Teubal, Savina. Sarah the Priestess: The First Matriarch of Genesis. Ohio University: Swallow Press, 1984.
* Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
* Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
Weinstein, Marion. Positive Magick. Phoenix Publishing.
* Austin, Hallie Iglehart. The Heart of the Goddess: Art, Myth and Meditations on the World’s Sacred Feminine. Oakland, CA: Wingbox Press, 1990.
* Boulet, Susan. Shaman. San Francisco: Pomegranate, 1989.
* Getty, Adele. Goddess: Mother of Living Nature. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1990.
* Griffin, Susan. Woman and Nature; The Roaring Inside Her. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.
* Jong, Erica. Witches. Abrams, 1981.
* Mills, Pat and Bisley, Simon. Slaine: The Horned God. London: Fleetway, 1991.
* Mookerjee, Ajit. Kali: The Feminine Force. New York: Destiny, 1988.
* Anthony, Piers. Tatham Mound. New York: Avon, 1991.
* Auel, Jean. Clan of the Cave Bear. New York: Bantam, 1980.
* Auel, Jean. Valley of the Horses. New York: Bantam, 1982.
* Badenock, Lindsay. Daughter of the Runes. New York: Arkana, 1988.
* Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Mists of Avalon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.
* Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Darkover series, esp. Free Amazons and Leroni.
* Farrar, Stewart. Omega. New York: Quadrangle, 1980.
* Flynn, Casey. Gods of Ireland: Most Ancient Song. New York: Bantam, 1991.
* Flynn, Casey. Gods ofIreland: The Enchanted Isles. New York: Bantam, 1991.
Geare, Michael and O’Neal-Geare, Kathleen. People of the Wolf.
* Kurtz, Katherine. Lammas Night. New York: Ballantine, 1983.
* Lackey, Mercedes. Diana Tregarde series.
Lackey, Mercedes. Sacred Ground.
* Paxson, Diana. The White Raven. New York: Avon, 1988.
Paxson, Diana. Brisingamen.
Smith, Julie. New Orleans Beat.
* Starhawk. The Fifth Sacred Thing.
The High Cost of Living. Vertigo (DC) - three-issue mini-series avail. in trade paperback.
Death Gallery. Vertigo (DC) - portfolio of Death iconography by 33 artists.
Witchcraft. Vertigo (DC) - three-issue mini-series (Maiden, Mother and Crone).
_______________________________________________
* Indicates selections that are part of the Church library.
* On Wings of Song & Robert Gass. From the Goddess.
On Wings of Song & Robert Gass. Ancient Mother.
* On Wings of Song & Robert Gass. Great Spirit.
* Lunacy. Lunacy.
* Lunacy. Hand of Desire.
* Lady Isadora. The Witching Hour.
* Lady Isadora. Priestess of the Pentacle.
* Lady Isadora. The Queen of Earth and Sky.
* Gwydion Pendderwen. Songs for the Old Religion.
* Gwydion Pendderwen. The Faerie Shaman.
* Libana. A Circle is Cast.
* Libana. Fire Within.
* Gale Perrigo. Never Again the Burning.
* Reclaiming Community. Chants: Ritual Music.
* Rumors of the Big Wave. Burning Times.
* The Waterboys. Dream Harder.
* Kenny and Tzipora. Branches.
* Kenny and Tzipora. Fairie Queen.
* The Occult Experience (Documentary)
* Wickerman (Movie)
Sorceress (Movie)
* The Burning Times (Documentary)
* In Search of the Goddess (Documentary)
* Full Circle (Documentary)
* In Search of ... Indian Rituals
* In Search of ... Witches
* Jane Pratt Show ... Witches and Charm Making (Talk Show)
* Paha Sapha: Struggle for the Black Hills (Documentary - Native American)
* By Satan Possessed (Documentary - Satanism)
* Death: Trip of a Lifetime (Documentary, 4 parts)
* Signatures of the Soul (Documentary - tattooing)
* Earth and the American Dream (Documentary - environment)
* Billy Jack (Movie)
* The Native Americans: Hear Our Story (Documentary, 3 parts)
_______________________________________________
* Indicates selections that are part of the Church library.
The Eye of the Cat
3314 East Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90803
Ragnarok
7954 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Ancient Circles
P.O. Box 610
Laytonville, GA 95454
The Church of All Worlds/Nemeton
P.O. Box 1542
Ukiah, CA 95482
Ms. Tic Crone
P.O. Box 489
Noel, MO 64854
POTO
1102 Massachusetts Ave.
Westwood, CA 90025-3510
Llewellyn Books
1-800-THE-MOON
Circle Network News
P.O. Box 219
Mt. Horeb, WI 53572
Green Egg/How About Magic (HAM -- for kids)
P.O. Box 1542
Ukiah, CA 95482
Green Man/SageWoman
P.O. Box 641
Point Arena, CA 95468
Woman of Power
P.O. Box 2785
Orleans, MA 02653
Crossroads News Magazine
P.O. Box 12073
San Bernadino, CA 92423
The Reclaiming Newsletter
P.O. Box 14404
San Francisco, CA 94114
Yggdrasil (Heathen)
537 Jones St., # 165
San Francisco, CA 94102-2007
The Universal Life Church was founded in Modesto, California some 35 years ago by Rev. Kirby J. Hensley. It is a legally recognized church with congregations all over the world. It has a very simple, singular doctrine, similar to the Wiccan Rede -- do that which is right, and every person has the right to interpret what is right for themselves, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of others. The Universal Life Church recognizes all people, regardless of their beliefs, age, tradition, creed, or nationality. You can belong to another church and the ULC simultaneously, as long as you do that which is right and don’t infringe on the rights of others.
The Universal Life Church offers free legal ordination to anyone who agrees with this fundamental doctrine. Being a legally ordained minister gives you the right to use “Rev.” in front of your name; conduct church meetings; perform marriages, funerals and baptisms; visit members of the church in hospitals and prison; and ordain others into the ministry. A minister may also start a congregation of the ULC, provided at least two other people over the age of 18 are willing to become ministers and serve on the Board of Directors (Pastor, Secretary and Treasurer).
In addition to ordination, the Universal Life Church offers a variety of religious/philosophical degrees such as a Doctor of Divinity, a Doctor of Metaphysics, a Doctor of Religious Science, a Doctor of Religious Humanities, and a Doctor of Universal Life, among others. The ULC also publishes books and a quarterly newsletter.
Like many Pagans, the ULC believes that the meek may inherit the earth only if we realize that it is force, not power, which comes out of the barrel of a gun. The power has always been with the individual, who has relinquished it and must get it back, lest a government of the people, for the people, and by the people shall perish from the face of the earth.
Another belief the ULC shares with many Pagans is that Mother God (the eternal Goddess) is inherent in the Earth and Father God (the cyclical Horned One) is the life of the Earth’s substance.
Some other ULC beliefs held in common with Paganism as a whole are:
Freedom -- is the most important thing to everyone. Every living thing on this earth fights for its freedom -- to be free to shape its own life, free to move around, free to fulfill its dreams and ambitions. The Universal Life Church is the active advocate of freedom for everyone, as long as that freedom does not infringe on the rights of others.
Food -- Without food there can be no freedom, only a desperate fight for survival. Thus food is one of the foundations of freedom, a key to prosperity and happiness for all mankind.
Sexuality -- is the third part of this “trinity,” that keeps all living things going and keeps our world alive. The Universal Life Church recognizes sexuality as a positive force in our lives. If you deny your desire for sex, then you deny life itself.
Heaven is when you have these; Hell is when you don’t!
The International Headquarters of the ULC is located at 601 Third Street, Modesto, California, 95351, USA.