After three years and more than 240 posts, it may be time for a break. Use the Index tab above to find topics and
help your notes. There are hundreds of
other topics you can find yourself online and in books. I don't know where I will take this
blog? Maybe a post on Sabbats? Or if there is a request on a topic in the
Comments? Or maybe this will be the last
post?
Religion is the medium that
our Spirituality grows, through ritual, worship, practice, and community. Wicca is a beautiful Spiritually rich
Religion that encompasses many faiths, and a variety of Paths, all while
leaving us the God and Goddess given gift of free-will and unconditional love.
Wicca is a new way to
worship the old Gods and bring us closer to the Divine Friends. The Scandinavian Gods of old are full of
traditions, culture, stories, myths and legends that guide our individual Paths
to enlightenment and help us live ethical and morally good lives.
Norse Wicca is not a
reconstruction religion - we are not trying to worship the Gods and Goddesses
just as they did a long time ago. Worshipping
the Aesir and Vanir is wonderful in its own rite. Doing so in a Wiccan Circle, following the familiar
Ritual of Calling the Quarters, Meditation, Grounding and Centering, Invocation
of the Goddess and God, celebrating the Wheel of the Year makes the whole
experience even better!
Never stop learning.
Read on. Talk with others. Ask the Ancestors. Leave a Comment below to contact me. Do what speaks to you, as long as you are
willing to accept the consequences.
Vielen Dank für Ihre
Aufmerksamkeit.
Merci d'avoir lu le long.
Grazie per la lettura.
Dzięki za czytanie.
Takk for at du leste sammen.
Blessed Be! ~ Merry Part, Sam Silver
"I am Pagan. I am a part of the whole of Nature. The Rocks, the Animals, the Plants,
the Elements, and Stars are my relatives. Other humans are my sisters and
brothers, whatever their races, colours, genders, sexual orientations, ages,
nationalities, religions, lifestyles. Planet Earth is my home. I am a part of
this large family of Nature, not the master of it. I have my own special part
to play and I seek to discover and play that part to the best of my ability. I
seek to live in harmony with others in the family of Nature, treating others
with respect.
I am Pagan. I celebrate the changing
seasons, the turning of the Wheel of the Year. I celebrate with singing,
dancing, feasting, rituals, and in other ways. I celebrate each turn of the
Wheel with personal spiritual practices and by taking part in community
festivals.
Samhain, commonly known as
Halloween, is a time for gazing into the future and for paying homage to my
Ancestors and other loved ones in the Spirit world. I work magic for greater
religious freedom for Pagan peoples and humankind as a whole. I celebrate the
Wiccan and Celtic spiritual New Year.
Yule, the Winter Solstice, is a festival of peace and a celebration of
waxing solar light. I honour the new Sun child by burning an oaken Yule log in
a sacred fire. I honour the Great Goddess in her many Great Mother aspects and
the Father God as Santa in his Old Sky God, Father Time, and Holly King forms.
I decorate my home with lights and with holly, ivy, mistletoe, evergreens and
other herbs sacred to this season. I ring in the new Solar year with bells.
At the beginning of February, I
celebrate Candlemas, known to ancient Celts as Imbolc and to contemporary
Americans as Groundhog's Day. I focus on spiritual purification and clearing
away blockages to prepare for the coming of Spring and new growth. During this
festival, I light candles to honour Brigid and I invite her to inspire my
artistic works and guide my healing practice. I give offerings of seeds to wild
birds.
At the time of the Spring Equinox, I
welcome the renewal of Spring and celebrate the greening of the Earth by
dressing in green myself. I honour the Teutonic Goddess Ostara and the spirit
of the Rabbit, Her consort. I colour eggs with friends and divine choices for
new growth.
Beltane at the beginning of May is a
festival of fertility and pleasure. I dress in bright colours and wear a
garland of flowers in my hair. I dance the Maypole to bless gardens and
creative projects. I leap the Beltane bonfire for good luck. I place flowers at
the Bast Sacred Cat Shrine and other sacred sites.
Summer Solstice time, also known as Midsummer and Litha, is a grand
gathering time when I greet old friends and meet new ones. I dance with them
around a sacred bonfire to the magic rhythms of drums. I honour my spiritual community
and tribe. I celebrate Pagan culture. I add stones to the sacred Stone Circle
on Circle Sanctuary land with prayers for planetary harmony and well-being.
As August arrives, I celebrate
Lammas, also known as Lughnassad. At this festival, I honour the height of
Summer and prosperity. I not only give thanks for wild and cultivated plants
and for blessings that are starting to come to fruition, but I also pray for
continued abundance. I break and eat bread with others in ritual and I give
bread and herb offerings to the Goddesses and Gods of agriculture.
Fall Equinox, which some call Mabon,
is the time of thanksgiving for all the harvests I've reaped during the growing
time. I give thanks for food I have received from the gardens and fields and
for other blessings which have come into my life. I return to the Mother Earth
offerings that come from the best of the fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, and
other food stuffs I've gathered.
And at Samhain, this Wheel of the
Year starts again.
I am Pagan. I also honour the seasons of life within my life's journey
-- beginnings, growth, fruition, harvest, endings, rest, and beginnings again.
Life is a Circle with many cycles. With every Ending comes a new Beginning.
Within Death there is the promise of Rebirth.
I am Pagan. I see circles of change and renewal not only within my own
life's journey, but in my heritage. I see my life as a circle that connects
with the life circles of my ancestors. They are part of me and my life. The
ancient wisdom of Nature's Renewal and Recycling is embodied in the crests of
two of my Ancestral clans. From my German ancestors of my mother's mother's
lineage is the totem of the heron, a family emblem signifying perseverance and
renewal after difficulties. From my Celtic ancestors of my father's father's
lineage is the crest bearing the symbol of a hewn oak tree sprouting new
branches and leaves from its stump, enclosed in a circle with the motto, Iterum
Viriscit, which means It grows Green again. These symbols and motto remind me
not only of my own renewal and the renewal of Nature, but also the renewal of
Pagan philosophy on this planet that is part of my life's work as a Pagan
priestess.
I am Pagan. Intentional consciousness change, Magic, is part of my
spirituality. For every problem there is at least one workable solution as well
as opportunity for growth. I create my own reality with my thoughts, feelings,
and actions. Whatever I send out always returns. I seek to abide by the Wiccan
Rede: "And It Harm None, Do What You Will." When I do magic in
rituals, before I raise and direct energy, I seek always to look at the larger
picture of which my needs are just a part. I endeavour to work for the best for
all as well as to help myself. When problems come my way, I seek to understand
their cause and messages as part of my finding a solution. In doing healing
work, I seek to address the underlying spiritual causes of disease, rather than
only focusing on relief of its symptoms.
I am Pagan. I work magic by the Moon
to help and to heal others, myself, and the Planet. The Triple Goddess of the
Moon guides me. I activate beginnings in the Waxing, energize manifestations at
the Full, and clear away obstructions with the Waning and Dark. I take part in
rituals at the New and Full Moons, and I know that my Circles are part of a
great web of Circles that meet at these times around Planet Earth.
I am Pagan. I embrace Pantheism,
acknowledging that the Divine is everywhere and in everything. I honour the
Divine that is within the oak trees in the forest, in the herbs in the garden,
in the wild birds singing in the trees, in the rock outcroppings on the
hillside, in myself, and yes, even in "things" such as my car,
cameras, and computers. I understand that everything with a physical body has a
spiritual body, too. The physical and spiritual are deeply intertwined, not
separate, in this world of form. I honour the interconnectedness of Creator and
Creation.
I am Pagan. I know that Divinity has many facets and I experience this
through a variety of Goddesses, Gods, and other spiritual forms. I also honour
Divine Oneness, the Unity of All. My personal encounters with Pagan Goddesses,
Gods, and other Divine forms have transformed and enriched my life. Hecate
appeared at a Death to teach me of release and rebirth. As a young child,
Artemis flowed through me and helped me ward off a would-be rapist. Selena of
the Full Moon brings me visions and my name. Sacred Sun energizes me. Yemaya of
the Ocean cleanses and renews me. I have heard Pan play his pipes in the woods.
Dionysius awakens within me the joys of spontaneity and ecstatic bliss and
teaches me the mysteries of androgyny. I have experienced the union of Goddess and
God while making love with my mate in the garden. Bast has helped me deepen my
connections with my Cat friends. Cernunnos has appeared to me in the forest as
a Stag. Isis has spoken to me in bursts of radiance in the deep of the Night
and in flows of energy through my hands in doing healings. Saturn has given me
lessons about discipline, time, and organic agriculture. Lady Liberty protects
me as I work for religious freedom for Wiccans and other Pagans. Mother Earth
guides my work on behalf of this Planet. I also experience the Divine as totem
animals, plant allies, and as other forms in my dreams, in guided inner
journeys, and while questing for vision alone in the wilderness.
I am Pagan. My spiritual practices
include self-acceptance and understanding, instead of self-rejection. I share
my views with others when I sense it is right, but I do not proselytize,
claiming my way is the only true right way for everyone. There are many paths
up the mountain of spiritual understanding, not just one path.
I am Pagan. My worship takes the
form of Divine communion with Nature. As part of my worship, I founded and take
care a sacred Nature preserve, Circle Sanctuary. I do rituals at special places
there, such as in the Stone Circle atop a sacred mound; on Spirit Rock high
above the valleys; in the Magic Circle garden; by outdoor shrines; in the
indoor Temple room; and in the ancient sandstone rock shelters that housed the
ancient ones that lived on this land thousands of years ago. I also do rituals
elsewhere on the land and at other places, outdoors and indoors. My worship and
rituals can be anywhere since my sacred circle is portable. Wherever I am, I
can set up a circle around a sacred sphere with seven invocations: to the four
compass point directions, to the Cosmos above, to the Planet below, and to
Spiritual Integration in the center.
I am Pagan. I journey to the Otherworld in my dreams, meditations, and
rituals. I use sacred tools to aid me in my journeys and my magic making. These
include cauldrons, crystals, candles, censors of incense, chalices of water,
pentacles of salt, dishes of soil, feathers, bells, brooms, rattles, drums,
wands, staffs, blades, mirrors, and a variety of divination tools, including
Tarot cards, I Ching yarrow stalks, and Rune stones. I fly with my
consciousness through time and space. I explore other dimensions and then I
return with insights, knowledge, and power. I go between the worlds for
healing, growth and transformation. Intuitive, psychic perception is a natural,
not supernatural, part of my daily life.
I am Pagan. I attune myself to the four elements of Nature -- Earth,
Air, Fire, Water -- and to the fifth element, Spirit, which is the spiritual
force that connects all. I see these Elements in Nature -- the Earth in the
soil and rocks; the Air in the winds and atmosphere; the Fire as the lightning,
fires, and electricity; the Water in the springs, rivers, oceans, rain, and
other waters on the planet; and the Spirit as Divine Unity. I also see these
Elements as aspects of Self -- my physical body and physiology is my Earth; my
intellect and thoughts my Air; my will and actions my Fire; my emotions and
feelings my Water; and my Inner Self, my Soul, is my Spirit. I endeavour to
keep myself healthy and in balance in all these parts of Self. I work toward a
restoring of balance of the Elements in the environment.
I am Pagan. I hear the cries of
Mother Earth who is upset with the harm being done to the environment by
humankind. I am dismayed by the pollution of the air, the soil, and the waters,
and by the domination games being played by nations with the fire of nuclear missiles
and other weapons of mass destruction. I also am concerned about spiritual
pollution on the Planet -- selfishness, hatred, greed for money and power,
addiction, violence, despair. Yet as I perceive these problems, I also perceive
cleansing and healing happening on Planet Earth at this time. I know that I can
help in at least a small way to bring the Planet into greater balance by
seeking balance in my own life, by being a catalyst for restoring balance in
the lives of others, and by working for a better environment. I know that my
attitudes and my way of living can make a difference. I endeavour to be a
channel for healing and balance. I make the practice of environmental
responsibility a personal part of my daily life. I endeavour to live in harmony
with the other members of the family of Nature.
I am Pagan. Nature Spirituality is
my religion and my life's foundation. Nature is my spiritual teacher and holy
book. I am part of Nature and Nature is part of me. My understanding of
Nature's inner mysteries grows as I journey on this spiritual path."
~ Selena Fox
