Essay: Knowing the Gods

Author: Layla Talora Eshe
Posted: June 28th. 2009

When I first began my journey into Witchcraft, there was much to learn: history, myths and the proper way to perform spells and rituals. All kinds of new things awaited me. I eagerly delved into any books I could get my hands on and talked to anyone that would listen. I bought book, candles, oils, herbs, wands, bells, cards and anything I could get! And so my knowledge (and witchy stock!) grew.

Throughout the coming year I faithfully did rituals each Full and Dark Moon and celebrated on Sabbats. I performed spells and various other rituals in between. Taking time to research, plan and execute all my workings. I set out the proper tools and said the proper words, and was faithful to my workings. And so my practical experience grew.

What did not grow however, was my relationship with the Gods. I realized that just by simply calling myself Witch or Pagan did not give me that relationship. By doing rituals and spells and reading also did not give me that relationship. This, just like anything else would also require work. I knew that this would not be an easy task, but it was something I felt strongly about. That is what I loved about this path, the fact that I could have a close relationship with my Gods, free from restraint and restriction. I was not about to let this pass me by.

So I set out to know my Gods better, to really understand them and their place in my life. I decided to create daily devotion times to connect with my Gods. In the morning I rise and greet the new day, light a yellow candle and sit near the window as the sun rises, and speak to them.

What I say does not matter, it is not scripted or planned out; it comes simply from the heart. Some days my words are filled with hope and happiness, and some they are filled with sadness and despair. But either way I feel the Gods around me, supporting me, and giving me hope. They are there to comfort me when I need it, but also there to celebrate and be happy as well. I get whatever I need, just by simply asking, and then I can start my day with a fresh perspective.

At noon, I take a few minutes to myself to speak to them once more, discussing my morning, plans hopes and feelings, anything I like. It’s a nice break in my mundane day to reconnect with the Gods, and to take a few minutes out of the rush of jobs and housework to concentrate on my spiritual side and myself. It revitalizes me so that I can tackle the rest of my day.

Before I sleep each night I light a candle and sit near my altar and give thanks for the blessings I have, and sit in quiet reflection of the day, and plan for the next. I get ready for sleep, and wind down from the stresses of the day, this is my time to sit and talk with my Gods. While I do love the talking part I also must remember to stop and to listen to what they are trying to say to me in return.

I think at times we all, myself included, are so wrapped up in the talking and planning and thinking of the days, we forget to simply listen and to be aware of what is around us. Many messages I have received when I finally stop and listen to what the Gods are telling me. For they speak to us in many ways, through dreams and visions, in our minds and our hearts, but most of all we can see them all around us, out in nature.

They are the sun on our face, warming our souls. They are the wind at our backs, pushing us to move forward and look ahead. They are the green on the trees and in the Earth, reminding us to stay focused and grounded. And they are the rivers and oceans, reminding us to always be compassionate and hopeful throughout our lives.

But most of all they are inside of us, giving us strength, hope, love and determination. They never leave our side, even if we stray away from them for awhile, they are always there waiting for us to return to them again. Never judging us for our imperfections, but loving us despite them. The Gods love us unconditionally and without wavering, as we should all love ourselves and those around us.

I guess my point is that just because you belong to a particular faith (Wiccan, pagan, Christian, Muslim, or otherwise) does not mean you automatically get an in-depth personal relationship with the Divine. This takes work, devotion and most of all, love. This is a relationship that you will continue to nurture and grow throughout your entire life. It is important that you tend to it just as you would your garden, your pets, or any family or friendship. A relationship cannot exist without both sides working for it. The Gods are doing their share, now how about you?

To begin to have a relationship with your Gods you must go to them not only with an open heart and open mind, but also with complete, unconditional love. For this is the same way they look upon us. I think it also important to not only seek them out for help with problems, but also to seek them out for celebrations and happy times as well, to give thanks for the blessings that they bestow upon us.

Yes, it’s true; sometimes it feels like the Gods have given up on us; hen the world is black and dreary. And while we know they will not give us more then we can handle, sometimes we wish they would not trust us so much. But deep down we know that with their strength and love, we have all the tools we need to get through anything life hands us, if we just ask.

————————————————————————–

Source: Witchvox

I need to improve my daily devotionals. I’ve been ill and stressed recently and it seems that my response is the exact opposite of what I should be doing.

I need to pick up my daily meditations again, and journey at least weekly. I keep saying I will, but then I fob it off – the same with my harp practice.

I’m only cheating myself on the harp front, but I’m letting the spirits and deities down when I don’t acknowledge them.

Like Bat said, “What’s stopping you?”

Read Full Post »

Religious bigotry and Paganism

Having slogged through By Oak, Ash and Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism by D. J. Conway – and it was a slog in places – I have begun reading Roebuck in the Thicket: an Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
The essays are a surprisingly easy read for the amount of information they contain, well written, well researched and, most wonderfully of all after reading Conway, I am halfway through with no mention of “Christian* brainwashing”.

Which brings me to the crux of this post: I am thoroughly sick of hearing from Complainin’ Pagans about how the Christian community is teaching bigotry and intolerance and committing what would be a hate crime, if the roles were reversed, against the poor little Pagan who aren’t hurting anyone because the Rede says… etc. etc.

The only thing I can think when I hear this is ‘Oh, grow up’.

I guess this feeling has been growing for a while. It was probably brought to a head by following Pagan groups on FaceBook, YouTube and an interesting juxtaposition of essays on WitchVox – Pagans Need to Stop Caring About What Other People Think and The Magick is in the Witch…Not the Bitch

An early paragraph from the latter reads as follows:
“The problem that most non-magickal people have with Magick, aside from centuries of brainwashing by Christianity, is the concept of a binary world. The concept of a binary world is anathema to traditional stratified religions where there is Earth, Heaven, Hell, and only The Creator and The Destroyer can manipulate “Magick” to make things happen. Even then, it is only good and “Holy” when that power comes from God or Jesus, and “evil”, “unnatural”, or “Satanic” when it comes from any other source, for as we all know, that which is not exclusively from the domain of God, comes from the Devil’s own hand.”

I wonder if the Complainin’ Pagan would be surprised to learn that I know more non-religious folk than religious ones, and the majority of Christians are – in my experience, at least – indifferent about my religion. The most interest I’ve had from a Christian was my born-again evangelical housemate at university, and she was mildly curious about the religion at best.
Where’s this brainwashed, bile-spewing Christian they keep harping on about? I’m obviously moving in the wrong (or the right) circles.

The only bad experiences I’ve had with Christians were with the Shadowmancer novel (I still feel betrayed by that book), and with a friend who I’d known for years before his conversion to Christianity, and I’d say he was more ignorant than vitriolic, asking if Paganism was Satanism and eventually – frustratingly, after the time I took trying to explain that non-Christian religion does not mean a lack of morality – denouncing the religion as ‘bullshit’ (he’s as entitled to his opinion as I am mine).

I guess what I’m saying is that yes, I used to be a Persecuted Pagan – overly defensive of my religion and ready to fight all comers – but I’ve grown out of it because I found it both unnecessary and a complete waste of energy. Now when I see it in others, I tend to see it a mark of immaturity.
I probably sound a bit smug here, but I don’t consider myself superior: it’s not that long ago I was much the same, but I find that lately I’m regarding what the Complainin’ Pagan says or advises more critically than I would normally. I’m also tending to put books back on the shelf if I find the same vitriol in print.

I understand that I am fortunate, and these defences might be necessary for some people, but I cannot believe that this degree of intolerance is so widespread that it warrants the number of Persecuted or Complainin’ Pagans I have found in the community. Furthermore, I don’t think that it helps when Pagans bang on about how Christians are universally awful and always on the lookout for new ways to stop us being the honest, good, decent people we would be if they weren’t forever having a go at us.

Why can’t you be religious or spiritual without shouting about it? What’s stopping you being a good Pagan and a good person now?

I don’t care whether Jo/e Anyman is a Satanist, Atheist, Christian, Muslim or member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. All I care is that s/he treats me with the respect I deserve as a fellow human being, and I promise to return that respect.

IIRC, about two thousand years ago a man was nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if people could get along with each other. There’s a lesson in that somewhere…

———————–
* You never hear about ‘Muslim brainwashing’ or ‘Jewish brainwashing’. I guess railing against the status quo is a cool now as it was when we were teens.

Read Full Post »

Magic and Science

Witchvox – Magick and Science
I like a scientific explanation for things – I cannot get behind things that require me to ‘take someone’s word for it’. If I can’t do it or see it done, or if you can’t at least explain how it’s done, I’m sceptical, to say the least.

“What if the very act of imagining, visualizing, or having an expectation of an outcome, caused an actual change in the matter and energy around you?”
I’m not sure E=mc^2 is the best example of the theory, but the idea behind the essay is a valid one.

When observation of an experiment affects the outcome, is it unreasonable to suggest that the subject must have an awareness of being observed? Even when the subject is a subatomic particle? I don’t think it is.
(Sentience is not implied, but awareness or consciousness is at least plausible.)

I don’t think the particle knows ‘whether to appear as a particle or a wave’, as that implies a degree of intelligence that I’m currently disinclined to attach to a sub-atomic particle, but expectation can certainly influence outcome.

If that’s the case, the mind seems to be able to affect the physical world and, if so, perhaps magic isn’t so implausible.

—————————————
Bibliography
The Matter Myth – Dramatic discoveries that challenge our understanding of physical reality – Paul Davies and John Gribbin

The Mind of God – Paul Davies

The Cosmic Blueprint – Paul Davies

A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawkings

*The Eagles Quest – A physicist finds scientific truth at the heart of the shamanic world – Fred Allen Wolf

Parallel Universes – Fred Allen Wolf

*The Spiritual Universe – How Quantum Physics proves the existence of the soul – Fred Allen Wolf

Taking the Quantum Leap – Fred Allen Wolf

The Big Bang Never Happened – Eric J. Lerner

Read Full Post »

A moment of clarification

After collecting CR resources in my last post, I came across this eaasy at Witchvox, Traditional Wessex Witchcraft, and want to clarify my position to myself.

This essay outlines when I see myself going in the future; traditional craftwork using herbs and land spirits for healing and divination.
I also wish to honour the large sections of my family from Ireland, hence the CR research.

I do not consider myself a Witch – although I may be forced to change my mind. I do not consider myself a Heathen – although I may be forced to change my mind. I do not consider myself a Celtic Reconstructionist or even a Polytheist – although I may be forced to change my mind.
I have not yet had any first-hand contact with the gods.
Perhaps when, or if, I meet them, I will know.*

For now, I will trust to the spirits to guide me; they know the lay of the land better than I.

—————–
*Currently, I regard the gods as powerful nature spirits, à la Living Druidry, which doesn’t fit with Heathen or CR polytheistic models at all.

Read Full Post »

Personalising a personal practice

Witchvox article: Kangaroo Magic

I have never believed that coloured candles were necessary (perhaps I did when I was 13, but I’m not convinced I was convinced). Once you start looking into symbolism and realise that green is the colour of wealth in the USA (because dollars are all greenish), but the colour of the cuckold in China, and a race of people in Sudan. Colour symbolism simply doesn’t translate well (green may have been a bad example – it almost always translates to growth and nature for obvious reasons).

A number of books on crystal healing I have read give different attributes to different stones. I wore carnelian for a year or two to help with my back pain, only to read later that it is the stone of feminine fertility in a different book and nothing to do with the back.
Frankly, next time I feel like using rocks to help an ailment, I’ll ask them if they will first.

When I first began to journey, I met Ant by a riverbank. We had a chat, but I didn’t ask what he wanted to teach me. I looked it up in Animal-Speak, and found that Ant symbolises success through persistence and co-operation.
If I’d looked elsewhere, I would find that ants represent self-discipline, patience, delegation, the number 12 and/or socialisation. In the Way of the Shaman, insects represent illness or disease to be removed.

When I met Bat, Animal-Speak said that bats teach seeing using more senses that just your eyes (something I definitely need help with and was happy to accept). Alternatively: transition and rebirth (apt), facing fears, solitude, shyness, an ability to find your way, illusion, communication and journeying (again, apt).
Bat has guided me across the Otherworld, refused to let me run from monsters and protected me from danger – even going to far as to scold me for going off on my own. He is a defender, a teacher and a guide. Although many of these qualities are listed in the symbolism I’ve dredged up, nothing about him has ever indicated shyness or solitude – bats are very social creatures, so I don’t know who applied that symbolism to them.

Now I don’t buy into all the pink-candles-for-lovespells-green-rocks-for-wealth stuff, and I’ve stopped listening to people who try to tell me that it’s the unassailable truth.

I shall listen to the spirits, trust my intuition (Bat again ^_~ ) and do what is right for me.

———–
Hat ettiquette at JourneyWoman
Green skin in Sudan @ Michigan University’s Department of Anthropology
Bat symbolism at What’s Your Sign.com

Read Full Post »

Sacred flatulence

Witchvox: Sacred Flatulence

This essay made me laugh ^_^
“Just use a little extra incense”

Read Full Post »

On shamanism in Druidry

I have been giving some serious consideration to the inclusion of shamanic practices within my interpretation of Druidry. At one point, I was certain there was a link, but as I find myself digging deeper and deeper into shamanism, I wonder how this links back to my original intention. Exploration of a fascinating subject is hardly something to be censored, but I think I’m getting off-topic at this point.

Looking over my library, I find it full of books on shamanism and Celtic shamanism and very little on Druidry. On the other hand, I appear to have a large quantity of books on Celtic myth and legends and a few books on the history of the Celts. I think this is where my research should take me next. Leave Cowan, Matthews and Harner. I have dug out Solitary Druid – it’s ADF, but it might be useful – and Druid Magic – which is Llewellyn but has a bibliography and some interesting exercises at the end of each chapter.

That said, I mustn’t dabble. As I have seen, the Otherworld can be dangerous and there is no room for tourism. Commit to something, achieve it, move on and maintain practice.

There is an interesting essay on Celtic shamanism on the OBOD website – [link] – indicating the adventures of Fionn MacCumhail are plausibly shamanic Otherworld experiences: questing to retrieve mystical artefacts, knowledge or power, being dismembered and returned to wholeness stronger than before and receiving traits that mark him as being definitely outside society. The author also suggests the CS-bashing I’ve been seeing is an academic trend, and – as a classically trained, initiated shaman who has actually attended ISS workshops – doesn’t have an issue with Harner’s definition of a shaman as ‘a man or woman who enters an altered state of consciousness – at will- to contact or utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help other persons. The shaman has at least one, and usually more, “spirits” in his personal service’ (quotes are Harner’s), although there is no evidence to suggest drumming as the aural trigger, the Celts had no shortage of instruments or songs that might be used in this fashion.
The spirits of shamanism are, perhaps, the faeries of British folklore. I’ve always avoided faerie-faith books like the plague, but now it seems they might have something to them beyond pink fluff and sparkles.

So: Celtic shamanism? Yes, but it has it’s own distinct flavour. I mustn’t get distracted by the Celtic-everything trend, attempts to homogenise shamanism or a watering down the faerie-faith (I never thought I’d say that).

Other areas for research:
- Celtic myths and legends (look for shamanic practices)
- Faerie healing (being careful of New Age fluff)
- Biddy Early and canny folk who practice/practised around the British Isles (any from East Anglia? That’d be a nice find)

Read Full Post »

The Prayer of Transcendent Smoke

It is remarkable that many of us have trouble naming five or ten plants associated with smoke medicine. In my search through the ethno botany of Mesolithic Britain I was delighted to re-discover at least 120 species indigenous to that area alone.

Smoke is an area of medicine that is, to me, a practitioner’s dream. There are fires made from specific species for specific purposes. I found a surprising number that went to fire-making tools. The pallet of plants for smudging or smoldering was staggering, burned as remedies for everything from disease and injury to exorcism, good luck and purification. And nothing that I learned suggested that selections were random, coincidental, or based on availability. Remembering that each species invoked a distinct spirit that addressed a clearly specific value, I could only conclude that smoke medicine, although wholly spiritual, was hunter-gatherer science at its finest.

Our penchant to view information compartmentally rather than holistically, as a hunter-gatherer might makes divisions among plant species problematic, as there exists no clear lines. For example I could not delineate between objectives such as ritual, purification or magic. There was never a clear view of separation between medical, exorcismal or purificational. Even fire making presented issues as to where tools left off and fire began.

I asked, what divides protection against from the curing of illness, or the need to repel as opposed to exorcise? Where does the medical imperative of sleep leave the realm of casting spells for it? So you can see that the problem of classifying species by usage is quite a challenge. Should you refer to the essay appendix on my website http://www.verdasmedley.com please take all of this into account when studying the species organized by use.

Examples of species that crossed categorical lines were certainly not difficult to find. For example oak (Quercus) was not only burned on Summer Solstice for purification and endurance but was regarded as fuel for the sun as well. Ashes from the burn were spread on fields to empower growth and also placed on the tongue for sanctification. Smoldering oak coals were carried from home to home to both exorcise and bless the dwelling in the new season. Oak bark was used to carry fire from one place to another and its leaves were used as wraps in which other herbs were rolled for ceremonial smokes. The same leaves were braided into crowns worn by ritual lovers, fostering fertility of the Earth in spring. The smoke from smoldering oak pitch was inhaled for respiratory distress.

Acorns, recognized as sacred first foods, were believed to harbor the spirits of security and abundance and were left at gravesites during ancestral feasts. Those same acorns were used in divination and prophesying as well as stood as profound tantric symbols. As a keeper of lineage and history, oak was entreated for the resolution of disputes with the knowledge that it safeguarded.

Oak is linked to expansiveness even as it stands as a boundary marker between worlds. It counteracts loneliness, protects against lightning, and is handled in an array of crafts that include prophesying, divination, and ancestral invocation. Oak enjoys many other fine properties so it becomes evident that it can’t be placed in only one category of spirit handling.

Yarrow (achillea) enjoys many excellent qualities too. Its flowers can be smoked or smoldered to repel malevolent spirits. The same smoke purges persons or places while setting up a formidable shield of protection. Yarrow juice has been applied by the intrepid before fire walking and its leaves chewed before fire eating.

Yarrow is believed to combat fear, promote courage and placate the spirits that impair vitality while it also enhances psychic awareness and ability. It is love medicine as well used to cast spells to attract love, repel undesirable attention and sooth unrequited love. Yarrow smudge revivifies during rituals. Clearly yarrow is not easy to classify either, demonstrating again the need for holistic rather than compartmentalized thinking.

Juniper (Juniperus) smudge is another with a wide range of applications. It can be used to exorcise the spirit of illness from a person and their home while preventing that spirit from returning. The same smoke is used to modify bad behavior. It can exorcise the malevolent spirits that cause bad dreams, protects newborns and mothers, and placates the spirit of grief after funerals. Juniper smoke is believed to remedy dizziness while its ashes have been used to appease the spirits that cause convulsions. Juniper smoke has countless other applications and all of its fine properties are brought to fire making tools such as torches, tinder, bases for fire drills and as a means of carrying fire.

All told I found nearly forty species, indigenous to the British Isles alone, associated with fire making tools. A remarkable number of magical species were used as fire drills such as holly (Ilex) , willow (Salix) and blackthorn (Prunus) . An array of mosses as well as alder (Alnus) , mullein (Verbascum) , and hazelnut (Corylus) made good tinder. Many more species went to pipes and pipe stems such as dogwood (Cornus) , rhododendron (Rhododendron) and ash (Fraxinus) .

It needs to be remembered that even in the most ancient times our ancestors had oil lamps simply by pouring a puddle of oil into a hole or depression in a stone and adding a wick. Thistle seed (Carduus) was rendered into lamp oil; thistle long known as a formidable agent in incantations that led to understanding the causes of spiritual pain. Another thistle (Onopordum) was used to fortify personal shields of protection and countered the effects of malevolent spirits. Its seed was rendered into lamp oil as well.

Fibers twisted or braided into wick included mullein (Verbascum) a caster of spells, a formidable exorcismal and a revivifying shield of protection. Sedge (Carex) went to wick as well. Its exorcismal spirit repelled malevolence believed responsible for stealing self-expression or robbing an individual of trouble-free sleep.

An impressive list of smoke medicine was found for casting spells of all types such as skullcap (Scutellaria) , mullein (Verbascum) and burdock (Arctium) . Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) were both used as smoke during descrying rituals. Some like thyme (Thymus) , samphire (Inula crithmoides) , and spikenard (Inula conyza) went to smoke that enhanced psychic ability. Ash (Fraxinus) fires were used for divination, juniper (Juniperus) smudge empowered incantations, and columbine (Aquilegia) smoke promoted courage and daring. Loosestrife (Lysimachia) smudge appeased strife (hence the name) while burnet (Sanguisorba) smudge preserved health.

I found almost thirty species that were linked to purification and ritual, loosely distinguished from sixteen exorcismals and thirteen repellents. Protection against malevolent spirits, injury or illness enjoyed a menu of about eighteen species with additional handfuls for good luck in general, prosperity, strength, and hunting savvy. Even love medicine could be selected from a pallet of about eleven species. Just building a fire from a choice of about fourteen species required knowledge and consideration as each of these species had profound magical properties.

I found smoke medicine to be absolutely amazing and as sophisticated as any group of species I had studied. It speaks eloquently to the exceptional and encyclopedic knowledge of the environment, both tangible and spiritual that our ancient ancestors enjoyed. My research was deeply validating for me, as I never believed that our ancestors, portrayed as confounded and unintelligent, could have even survived did they fit this errant description. I found them to be profoundly ritualistic, and magnificently beautiful in their frugality and love for our Earth.

I am relieved to have been able to re-construct to some degree a picture of their world and their intensely prayerful lives colored magically by humility in presence of the spiritual mystery all around them all the time. I came away holding the fervent belief that we, as a species, had reached our spiritual apex during the Mesolithic era. I am profoundly grateful to not only know our ancestors intimately again but also find some comfort in knowing as well our capacity for both spiritual lives and spiritual reverence for our planet.

Source: WitchVox essay – The Prayer of Transcendent Smoke

Read Full Post »

The Prayer of Transcendent Smoke – Biblography

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnm&c=earth&id=13842

---

A-Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDEN PLANTS, New York: DK Publishing 1996

Adrosko, Rita J., NATURAL DYES AND HOME DYING, New York: Dover Publications 1971

Allen, Thomas B., WILD ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA, Washington, D.C. National Geographic Society 1979

Andrews, George, DRUGS AND MAGIC, Panther Books, 1973

Andrews, Ted, ANIMAL SPEAK, St. Paul: Llewellyn 1993

Arrowsmith, Nancy & George Moorse, A FIELD GUIDE TO THE LITTLE PEOPLE, Macmillan London Limited, 1977

Ashe, Geoffrey, DAWN BEHIND DAWN, New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1992

Associated Press, FROSTBITE, reprinted Santa Fe New Mexican 12/1/94

Associated Press, POLLUTION, reprinted Santa Fe New Mexican 1994

Attenborough, David, THE FIRST EDEN, Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1987

ATTRACTING BUTTERFLIES, Emmaus: Rodale Press 1992

Ayto, John, DICTIONARY OF WORD ORIGINS, New York: Arcade Publishing 1990

Bailey, Liberty Hyde & Bailey, Ethel Zoe & Liberty Hyde Hortorium, HORTUS THIRD, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. 1976

Baumann, Hellmut, THE GREEK PLANT WORLD, Portland: Timber Press 1993

Beckett, Kenneth, THE CONTAINED GARDEN, New York: Viking Press 1993

Bender, Richard W., HERBAL BONSAI, Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books 1996

Birney, D. Scott, MODERN ASTRONOMY, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. 1969

Bonwick, James, IRISH DRUIDS AND OLD IRISH RELIGIONS, USA: Dorset Press 1986

Bower, Bruce, TEMPLE OF THE ASCENDING GODDESS, Science News November 26, 1994

Bradley, Marion Zimmer, THE MISTS OF AVALON, New York: Ballantine Books 1982

Bramson, Ann, SOAP, New York: Workman Publishing Co. 1972

Bremness, Lesley, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HERBS, New York: Penguin Books USA Inc. 1988

Brewer, THE DICTIONARY OF PHRASE AND FABLE, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd. 1993

Bright, Micheal, HUNTERS OF THE WILD, London: Prion 1992

Buchanan, Rita, A DYERÕS GARDEN, Loveland: Colorado 1995

Buchanan, Rita, THE SHAKER HERB AND GARDEN BOOK, New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1996

Bulfinch, Thomas, THE AGE OF FABLE, THE AGE OF CHIVALRY, THE LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE, London: Spring Books 1963

Bunyan, John, PILGRIMS PROGRESS, Philadelphia: Charles Foster Publishing Co.

Burns, Robert, THE WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS, Philadelphia: J. Crissy 1839

Burnham, Robert Jr., BURNHAMÕS CELESTIAL HANDBOOK VOL. I,II,III, New York: Dover Publications 1978

Campbell, Joseph, THE WAY OF THE ANIMAL POWERS, New York: Harper & Row 1988

Campbell, Joseph, CREATIVE MYTHOLOGY, New York: Penguin Books 1968

Campbell, Joseph, PRIMITIVE MYTHOLOGY, New York: Penguin Books 1959

Campbell, Joseph, ORIENTAL MYTHOLOGY, New York: Penguin Books 1962

Campbell, Joseph, OCCIDENTAL MYTHOLOGY, New York: Penguin Books 1964

Campbell, Joseph, THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1949

Campbell, Joseph, THE POWER OF MYTH, New York: Doubleday 1988

Campbell, Joseph, HISTORIC ATLAS OF WORLD MYTHOLOGY VOL. I, New York: Harper Row 1988

Campbell, Joseph, THE FLIGHT OF THE WILD GANDER, New York: Viking Press 1969

Carr-Gomm, Phillip, THE ELEMENTS OF DRUID TRADITION, Longmead: Element Books Limited 1991

Castleman, Michael, THE HEALING HERBS, Emmaus: Rodale Press 1991

Ceram, C.W., THE FIRST AMERICAN, New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich inc. 1971

Chevallier, Andrew, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MEDICINAL HERBS, New York: DK Publishing 1996

Clairborne, Robert, THE ROOTS OF ENGLISH, New York: Time Books 1989

Clarke, David, TWILIGHT OF THE CELTIC GODS, London: Cassell 1996

Clottes, Jean & Lewis-Williams, David, THE SHAMANS OF PREHISTORY, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1998

Coleman, Richard M., WIDE AWAKE AT 3:00 A.M., Stanford: Stanford Alumni Association 1986

Collins, Marie & Davis, Virginia, THE MEDIEVAL BOOK OF SEASONS, New York: Harper Collins 1992

Condren, Mary, THE SERPENT AND THE GODDESS, New York: Harper Collins 1989

Crockett, James Underwood, TIME LIFE SERIES GARDENING, New York: Time Life Books

CULPEPPERÕS COMPLETE HERBAL, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions 1995

Culver, Roger, ASTRONOMY, New York: Harper Row 1979

Cunningham, Scott, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAGICAL HERBS, St. Paul: Llewellyn 1995

Davidson, H.R. Ellis, MYTHS AND SYMBOLS IN PAGAN EUROPE, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press 1988

Deutsch, David & Lockwood, Michael, THE QUANTUM PHYSICS OF TIME TRAVEL, Scientific American March 1994

DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions 1993

DOWN THE SHORE CALENDERS 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 (moon and tidal charts) Harvey Cedars: Down the Shore Publishing

Duff, Gail, NATURAL FRAGRANCES, Pownal: Storey Communications 1989

Ellis, Peter Berresford, A GUIDE TO EARLY CELTIC REMAINS IN BRITAIN, Constable and Company Ltd. 1991

Ehrlich, Paul R., THE MACHINERY OF NATURE, New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc. 1986

ENGLISH FAIRY TALES, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions 1994

Estes, Clarissa Penkola, WOMEN WHO RUN WITH WOLVES, New York: Ballantine Books 1992

Eusebius, THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH FROM CHRIST TO CONSTANTINE, New York: Barnes & Noble 1965

Farb, Peter, MANÕS RISE TO CIVILIZATION, New York: Avon Books 1968

Fettner, Ann Tucker, POTPOURRI, New York: Workman Publishing 1972

Fowler, H.W. & F.G., THE KINGSÕ ENGLISH, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions 1993

Fox Hill Farm,WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PRESERVE HERBS,Parma MI

Fox Hill Farm, ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HERBS, Parma MI

Fraser, Antonia, THE LIVES OF THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1975

Fraser, Angus, THE GYPSIES, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers 1992

Frazer, Sir James, THE GOLDEN BOUGH, Herfordshire: Wordsworth Editions

FUNK AND WAGNALLÕS INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, Newark: International Press 1984

Gimibutas, Marija, THE CIVILIZATION OF THE GODDESS, San Francisco: Harper 1991

Givry, Grillot de, WITCHCRAFT, MAGIC AND ALCHEMY (1931), New York: Dover 1971

Goodrich, Norma Lorre, MERLIN, New York: Harper Row 1988

Grant, James, THE CLANS AND TARTANS OF SCOTLAND, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, Ltd. 1992

Grant, John, VIKING MYTHOLOGY, Secaucus: Chartwell Books 1990

Greeley, Andrew M., THE IRISH, Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. 1990

Grenham, John, CLANS AND FAMILIES OF IRELAND, Secaucus: The Wellfleet Press 1994

Grieve, M., MODERN HERBAL I & II, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company 1931

Grun, Bernard, THE TIMETABLES OF HISTORY, New York: Simon and Schuster 1963

Guazzo, Francesco Maria, COMPENDIUM MALEFICARUM (1608) Mineola: Dover 1988

Hadington, Evan, THE MUMMIES OF XINJIANG, Discover April 1994

Hamilton, Edith, MYTHOLOGY, New York: Penguin Books 1940

Hanak, Dr. Vladimir, THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAMMALS, Secaucus: Chartwell Books, Inc. 1979

Hartt, Frederick, ART A HISTORY OF… VOL I AND II, New York: Harry N. Abrams 1976

Hawkes, Jacquetta, THE SHELL GUIDE TO BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY, London: Michael Joseph Ltd. 1986

Hefferan, Maureen, SEED STARTER, New York: McMillan 1997

Henderson, George, FROM DURROW TO KELLS, London: Thames and Hudson 1987

Holt, Geraldine, A TASTE OF HERBS, London: Conran Octopus Ltd. 1993

Hsu, Hong-Yen, ORIENTAL MATERIA MEDICA, New Canaan: Keats Publishing Inc. 1986

Hubert, Henri, THE HISTORY OF THE CELTIC PEOPLE, London: Studio Editions Ltd. 1992

Jaroff, Leon, ICEMAN, Time Magazine October 26, 1992

Jastrow & Thompson, ASTRONOMY FUNDAMENTALS AND FRONTIERS, New York: John Wiley and Sons 1977

Kaelin, Lois, SIMPLE IMAGES.., Seven Arts Sept. 1994

Kamm, Minnie Watson, OLD TIME HERBS FOR NORTHERN GARDENS, New York: Dover Publishing 1971

Kelly, John, GROWING PLANTS FROM SEED, London: Word Lock 1996

Kramer, Heinrich & Sprenger, James, THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM (1928), New York: Dover 1971

Krupp, E.C., BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON, New York: Harper Collins 1991

Kruta, V., THE CELTS, Milan: Gruppo Editorale Fabbri 1991

Laing, Lloyd & Jenny, THE PICTS AND THE SCOTS, Dover: Alan Sutton Publishing Inc. 1993

Leakey, Richard E., THE PEOPLE OF THE LAKE, New York: Anchor Press 1978

MacCulloch, J.A., THE RELIGION OF THE ANCIENT CELTS, London: Constable and Company, Ltd. 1991

Malory, Sir Thomas, LE MORTE DARTHUR, London: McMillan and Co. 1912

Marein, Marietta Marshall, THE HERBAL TEA GARDEN, Pownal: Storey Communications 1993

Matineau, LaVan, THE ROCKS BEGIN TO SPEAK, Las Vegas: KC Publications 1973

Matthews, Caitlin, THE CELTIC BOOK OF DAYS, Rochester: Destiny Books 1995

Matthews, Caitlin, THE ELEMENTS OF CELTIC TRADITION, Longmead: Elements Books, Ltd. 1989

Meadows, Kenneth, RUNE POWER, Edison: Castle Books

Metcalfe, Joannah, HERBS AND AROMATHERAPY, London: Bloomsbury Books 1993

Miller, Richard Alan, THE MAGICAL AND RITUAL USE OF HERBS, Rochester: Destiny Books 1993

Mitton, Simon, THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY, New York: Crown Publishers 1977

Moerman, Daniel E., NATIVE AMERICAN ETHNOBOTANY, Portland: Timber Press 1998

Mohen, Jean-Pierre, THE WORLD OF MEGALITHS, New York: Facts on File 1990

Moore, Michael, LA REMEDIOS DE LA GENTE, Michael Moore Pub.

Moore, Michael, MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE MOUNTAIN SOUTHWEST, Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press 1979

Moore, Michael, MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE DESERT AND CANYON WEST, Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press 1989

Morley, John E., HANDBOOK OF KINGS AND QUEENS, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions

Morris, Desmond, THE ANIMAL CONTRACT, New York: Warner Books, Inc. 1990

Ody, Penelope, THE COMPLETE MEDICINAL HERBAL, New York: DK Publishing 1993

ORIENTAL MATERIA MEDICA, Long Beach: Oriental Healing Arts Institute 1986

Pennick, Nigel, THE PAGAN BOOK OF DAYS, Rochester: Destiny Books 1992

Pepper, Elizabeth, CELTIC TREE MAGIC, Newport: The WitchesÕ Almanac, Ltd. 1996

Peterson, Nicola, HERBS AND HEALTH, London: Bloomsbury Books 1993

Phelps, Ethel Johnston, THE MAID OF THE NORTH, New York: Henry Holt and Co. 1981

Philbrick, Helen, COMPANION PLANTS, Old Greenwich: Devin-Adair Company 1966

Phillips, Ellen, ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PERENNIALS, Emmaus: Rodale Press 1993

Polosmak, Natalya, PASTURES OF HEAVEN, National Geographic October 1994

Pomeroy, Sarah B., GODDESSES, WHORES, WIVES AND SLAVES, New York: Dorset Press 1975

Ponati, Charles, EXTRAORDINARY ORIGINS OF EVERYDAY THINGS, Harper Row 1987

Ridpath, Ian, Editor, THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND SPACE, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers 1979

Roberts, David, THE ICEMAN, National Geographic 1993

RODALEÕS ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBS, Emmaus: Rodale Press 1987

Roget, Peter, ROGETÕS INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS, New York: Crowell Co. 1962

Rose, Francis, THE WILD FLOWER KEY: THE BRITISH ISLES-NORTHWEST EUROPE), London: Penguin Books 1981

Rosenberg, David, THE BOOK OF J, New York: Grove Weidenfeld 1990

Ross, Anne & Robins, Don, THE LIFE OF A DRUID PRINCE, New York: Simon and Schuster 1989

Roy, James Charles, THE ROAD WET, THE WIND CLOSE, Chester Springs: Dufour Editions 1986

Sagan, Carl, THE DRAGONS OF EDEN, New York: Random House 1977

Sagan, Carl, SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS, New York: Random House 1992

Santillo, Humbart, NATURAL HEALING WITH HERBS, Prescott: Hohm Press 1984

Scott, Sir Walter, MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND, New York: Barnes and Noble 1993

Sedgwick, J.B., OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY FOR AMATEURS, Hillside: Enslow Publishers 1982

Shertzer, Margaret, THE ELEMENTS OF GRAMMAR, New York: McMillan Publishing Co. 1986

Silberer, Herbert, HIDDEN SYMBOLS OF ALCHEMY AND THE OCCULT ARTS (1917), New York: Dover 1971

Skeat, Walter W., DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH ETYMOLGY, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions 1993

Spoerke, David G., HERBAL MEDICATIONS, Santa Barbara: Woodbridge Press 1990

Stodola, Jiri, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WATER PLANTS, Neptune City: TFH Publications 1967

Stokes, Brahm, DRACULA, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited 1993

Stone, Merlin, ANCIENT MIRRORS OF WOMANHOOD I, New York: New Sibylline Books 1979

Strunk, William Jr., THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE, New York: McMillan Publishing Co. 1979

Svensson, Horik, THE RUNES, New York: Barnes and Noble 1995

Walker, Barbara G., THE WOMENS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHS AND SECRETS, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. 1983

Whitney, Charles A., WHITNEYÕS STAR FINDER, Alfred A. Knopf 1981

Williams, Trevor I., THE HISTORY OF INVENTION, New York: Facts on File Publications 1987

Williamson, Ray A., LIVING THE SKY, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 1984

Read Full Post »

Essay: Pagan Carbon Footprints

Do you know what your carbon footprint is? If you don’t, you should find out. This essay came about as a result of conversations with coven members and attendances at past pagan events. As Pagans and Witches we know-or should know, about environmental issues, waste and recycling, the acres of debris choking our oceans, etc.

It is horrible of course. From what I have seen it seems that many people see an issue maybe aired on Oprah or in a magazine and get up in arms. For a while that may affect some change, but it’s never consistent enough. I’m not saying that every little bit doesn’t help, however if lasting change is going to happen it has to be molded on a responsible lifestyle choice all of the time, even when these choices are not convenient.

I always try to see how my actions and waste effect my environment. Through the years I have come up with many things I do to take responsibility for my family and our carbon footprint. I recycle, I can foodstuffs, and make as much as the types of things I can such as the basics, as well as chili, soup, pizza sauce, root beer, even Irish cream, etc. It all takes time. As a single parent ‘doing it all’ I have very little of it. I don’t necessarily want to be ‘doing’ all of the time, but as I said it’s a lifestyle and a choice that is responsible for less waste, because in some ways recycling is still waste, just not nearly as bad as the alternative. I also compost, shred my paper in a shredder to compost so it’s not being burned and wasted.

As a pagan, I go through a lot of candles and incense. I keep all my candles that I use for Sabbat stuff in my own home wrapped up and labeled so that they can be used the following year if they don’t burn all the way down, if I need a new altar cloth in the past, I wait till the material is on sale or do without. I make sure to buy quality and have enough now that I shouldn’t need to buy those for a very long time. I take all my incense powder in the bottom of bags and boxes and keep it in an old baby food jar. I use this to make my own incense or add to spell workings. I grow as many of my own herbs as I can-of course aided by my compost.

I have found that it is important to think about every item I purchase in terms of what it took to make it and what waste it will be in the end. I also made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t bring something into my house if it didn’t have a use. I want beauty and function. If I bring something in, something goes out. Quality over quantity.

There has been a movement to try and stop waste by having people ask themselves how much do you need, what do you need versus want. Yet it seems to me when I look around that people will rationalize a want into a need, so it only partially cuts down on waste. I’ve heard people say that everything they have is needed. Is that really true? I read an article wherein a man suggested that people, ‘RETHINK ESSENTIALS’. It makes much more sense to buy only what you need. Anyone can rationalize a want. But ‘rethink essentials, ‘ I think, says it all.

A few years ago I joined thousands of other people and spent 18-months buying nothing new except food. I did draw the line at undergarments, but everything else was used. You know, it wasn’t really that hard and it does a good job of pointing out your own impulse buying or the rationale ‘I just have to have that’. I remember going out with some friends and one forgot the camera at home. What did they do? Went and bought a disposable. How about taking responsibility for the fact that you forgot it and must do without?

We see this all the time in the need for the latest gadgets and junk. If one really requires that stuff in his/her life maybe priorities need to be rethought. What is each person willing to do without somewhere else in order to offset that gadget or technology?

As Pagans I think it is time that we rethink our essentials by being mindful of every single item that is brought into our homes and the waste that leaves it. If the Earth is our Mother, then what are we doing? I go to events or pagan gatherings and find myself scratching my head as I look around and see the waste around me.

It is said that one should plan for seven generations ahead of you. When people try to rationalize to me their choices I have to ask why? Would one not feel shame at the lack of responsibility in terms of one’s own relationship with the Earth and Deity and future generations?

We Pagans and followers of the old ways should be more responsible. Would we treat our Mothers the way we treat the earth? Would we bring the mess of junk into our mother’s home or discard the junk there or waste her resources with such disrespect? If you were to look around your home and/or property, does what you see bring honor to your spirit, honor to the spirit in which you practice, honor to your relationship with Deity? What do you think? How do you help or hinder? What do you do to consume mindfully and take responsibility?

What are your rationales?

Essay from: WitchVox: Pagan Carbon Footprints

Read Full Post »