Father's Day

In many traditions of Wicca and Paganism, there is a great deal of focus on the Goddess.  Sometimes, there's so much attention to the feminine that the masculine aspects get overlooked.  By welcoming the God of your tradition, you can honor the men who have impacted your life - whether they raised you, loved you or are being brought up by you.  This simple rite also offers your boys a chance to get out there and dance and to celebrate the masculine within themselves.

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.  Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, though it is also celebrated widely on other days.  Typically, families gather to celebrate the father figures in their lives.  In recent years, retailers have adapted to the holiday by promoting greeting cards and traditionally masculine gifts such as electronics and tools.  Schools and other children's programs commonly have activities to make Father's Day gifts. 

Most Nordic men were all-round handymen, but some had special skills.  There were boat-builders, for example and potters, leather-workers and smiths.  Most Viking men knew how to handle a boat.  And most could fight if they had to, to protect the family or to support their chieftain.

From an anthropological standpoint, there are several major male archetypes that seem to appear in a variety of cultures: the warrior/hero, the hunter/father, the priest/sage, the lover and the king.

The warrior appears in many forms and shapes.  He is brave and honorable, and fights for that which he believes is right and just.  While the warrior may not always make decisions which are popular, he typically tries to make the ones that are fair.  The warrior can be seen in deities such as the Roman Mars, the Greek Ares and the Norse God Thor.  The hero is the youthful, more impulsive incarnation of the warrior.  The warrior is someone who defends those he loves and doesn’t raise his sword out of anger.

The hunter also appears, in modern society, as the provider.  While men may no longer have to go out and spear a mastodon to feed their family, many men remain the primary breadwinners in the home, and find themselves under increasing pressure to continue to provide well.  Some men find the very nature of this archetype confining.

The priest, or magician, is the creative inventor or problem solver.  He takes on intellectual challenges, asks lots of questions, and becomes analytical in his dealings with others.  The magician or priest can also be a bit manipulative, because he’s smart - he’ll sometimes deliberately ask a question knowing the answer, as a sort of test.

Another well known aspect of the sacred masculine is the archetype of the fertile lover.  He is sensual and passionate, embracing pleasure both for himself and his partner.  In the spring, this aspect of the masculine is often embodied in Cernunnos, the forest God.  The lover is in touch with his own intuition, and is compassionate and empathetic.  If the warrior takes on life’s physical challenges, the lover takes on our emotional challenges.

Finally, the kingly archetype is that of the leader.  A king is always in charge, because he is able to bring the qualities of all the other archetypes together into one handy package.  He has the strength of the warrior, the wisdom of the priest, the compassion of the lover, and the nurturing aspects of the provider, father and hunter.

Odin is the chief divinity of the Germanic pantheon.  He was called the Alfadir (All-father), for he is the creator of the Germanic Peoples and the father of many important, powerful Gods and human heroes.  Odin is also a God of magic, war and death.  He is the founder and an expert in rune magic and the giver of spiritual ecstasy and magical arts to the mystics and Shamans.

 

 

Prior to the ritual, make a headdress for each male that will be present.  This can include horns, antlers, branches, feathers and other symbols of fertility and masculinity.  Headdresses are fairly simple to make - use a strip of heavy fabric or cardboard cut to size, and just glue items on it.  If your boys are younger, this is a fun craft project.

Decorate your altar with the colors of Midsummer - golds and reds and yellows.  Assign one male to act out the part of the God in the ritual.  Give the other members of the group some sort of noisemaker - drums, rattles, bells, etc.  If you don't have drums, rattles or bells, clap your hands or clack two sticks together!

 

This is a ritual best performed in a group, either as a family or coven.  If you normally cast a circle, hammer rite or call the quarters in a ceremony, do so at this time.  Light a red or gold candle in the center of your altar to represent the Sun.

The High Priest (HP) or whoever is leading the ritual should face the sun and say:

We are here as a family (or coven or group)
On this longest of days.
The power of the Sun is above us,
and its heat and strength reminds us
of the power of the God.

At this point, the group members should shake their rattles, bang their drums, ring their bells.  Do so slowly, almost at the tempo of a heartbeat.

The HP continues:

The God is strong and powerful,
he is virile and fertile.
He is the Lord of the Hunt,
the King of the Forest,
and with the Goddess, together they create Life.

At this point, speed up the beat of the drums and rattles just a bit.

We honor the God today, and celebrate
the masculine within him.

I call upon the Horned God!
Thor, Odin, Apollo, Freyr!
We ask you to honor us with your presence!

Now the drumming should speed up even more.  The man or boy chosen to be the God leads the male members of the group around the altar clockwise in a dance, keeping up with the rhythm of the drums and rattles.  As the males circle the altar, they should move faster each time.

Allow the men and boys to dance around the altar as many times as they like.  As the dance gets faster, the music will get faster too, until there is a palpable hum of energy.  This sensation is often indicative of the presence of the Divine.  Let the music run its course - it will end when it's ready to end, and at that time, the dance should stop too.

Once the dancing and drumming has ceased, the HP should call out:

Horned one, God of the Hunt,
Lord of the Forest!
We honor you tonight, on this longest day.
We celebrate the men in our lives,
those who raised us,
those who love us,
those that we are raising.
We honor them in Your names.

Each member of the group, both male and female, may make an offering at this time.  If you have a fire burning, through your offerings into the flames.  If you don't have a fire, place your offerings on the altar instead.

Take a few moments to reflect upon the balance of male and female in your life, and in the world.  Think about the men you have known and those you will know in the future.  Recognize the qualities that make them honorable and worthy of your love.

When you are ready, dismiss the quarters or close the circle.  Hail! 

 

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lithathesummersolstice/ht/Celebrate_Dads.htm

 

Thank You to all the Fathers!

 

 

Divine Friends

Father God

Sage God

Warrior God

Summer Solstice

 

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition.  The origin of fears surrounding Friday the 13th is unclear.  The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in Henry Edwards' 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th.  One theory states that it is a modern mixture of two older superstitions: that 13 is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.

Strikingly similar folkloric aspects of the number 13 have been noted in various cultures around the World.  One theory is that this is due to the cultures employing lunar-solar calendars.  A year with 13 full moons instead of 12 posed problems for the monks in charge of the calendars.  It was considered a very unfortunate circumstance, especially by the monks who had charge of the calendar of thirteen months for that year and it upset the regular arrangement of church festivals.  For this reason, thirteen came to be considered an unlucky number.

There has also been a longstanding myth that if 13 people dine together, one will die within a year. The myth comes from both the Last Supper, when Jesus dined with the 12 Apostles prior to his death, and a popular Norse myth, in which 11 close friends of the God Odin dine together only to have the party crashed by a 13th person, Loki, the God of evil and turmoil.

The name Friday comes from the Old English Frigedaeg, meaning the 'day of Frigg', a result of an old convention associating the Old English Goddess Frigg with the Roman Goddess Venus, with whom the day is associated in many different cultures.  In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky.  This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday.

In modern times, Friday the 13th is considered to be especially unlucky, due to the conjunction of Friday with the unlucky number thirteen.  The fear of Friday the 13th has been called friggatriskaidekaphobia - Frigga being the name of the Norse Goddess for whom Friday is named in English and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen.  It is also sometimes called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek Paraskevi for Friday, Dekatreis for thirteen, and phobia for fear.

In 1939, a small town in Indiana forced all black cats to wear bells on Friday, October 13.  When the measure seemed to work (nothing bad happened), the town continued the practice for the next three years.

Wall Street has fostered a fear of Friday the 13th for decades.  In October 13, 1989, Wall Street saw, what was at the time, the second largest drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in history.  The day was nicknamed the Friday the 13th mini-crash.

Friday the 13th was also discussed in the popular 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code.  In the book, a connection is drawn between the slaughtering of the Knights Templar by the Church and Friday the 13th.

 

The next Friday the 13th will be in June 2014.  It also comes with a full moon, which comes with its own superstitions.  The full moon is associated with murders, suicides, mental illness, natural disasters, accidents, birth rate, women fertility, witchcraft and werewolves.

The moon is a very important object in many cultures.  The moon’s regular phases make it the focus of many of the oldest calendars.  Tally sticks and bones date back around 30,000 years old and are believed to represent the waxing and waning of the moon.  It was said that witches spells were performed in the nights with full moon, because that moon was believed to bring a major influence on human body and mind.  Another old superstition, warned that women who stare at the full moon or let its rays touch their bodies are exposed to the risk of become pregnant.  Studies have found that police officers and hospital workers are among the strongest believers in the notion that more crime and trauma occur on nights when the moon is full.  So during the full moon try to avoid argues with neighbors, because such quarrels will cause you much trouble.

The Wiccan Esbats are traditionally tied to the lunar cycles.  Together with Sabbats, they represent the most common celebrations in Wiccan.  An Esbat is commonly understood to be a ritual observance on the night of a full moon.

The Full Moon Esbat is used for banishing, protection and divination workings, also planning, releasing and working with time.  It is during this time that the God becomes the strong Father figure who cares for the Earth and all its creatures.  The Father is the ripeness of manhood and in his prime, a great leader.

The Sun Moon is June 13, 2014.  The sun is at its strongest during the Summer Solstice, a time when the day is the longest.  It is also known as the Strawberry Moon because of the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June.  Plan a ritual to balance your spiritual and physical desires.

Whether there is any merit to the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th and Full Moons will remain uncertain, but that will not stop millions of people across the World from worrying about the unlucky day.  There are a number of popular myths and superstitions surrounding the day, most famously:

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die
• If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die
• Do not start a trip on Friday or you will encounter misfortune
• If you break a mirror on Friday the 13th, you will have seven years of bad luck
• A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life
• Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck
• If you walk under a ladder or if a black cat crosses you on Friday the 13th, you will have bad luck
• And stay away from men in hockey masks

 

Be Careful and Good Luck!

 

Esbats

Father God

Frigg

Summer Solstice

Weather

 

Odin's Wisdom

Odin's Wisdom

 

Early every morning, Odin, the father of all the Gods, sat on his throne in a golden hall of Asgard.  With his two wolves at his feet, and his two ravens, Huginn and Muginn, on his shoulders, he surveyed all the nine worlds.  As the sun rose, Odin sent Huginn and Muginn out across the universe.  The ravens visited the nine worlds, questioning the living and the dead.  Then they returned at nightfall and whispered in Odin’s ear all they had seen and heard.

But one day, Odin decided that he had to gain for himself all the world’s wisdom and memory.  To achieve this, he had to drink from the magic waters of Mimir’s well.  Odin set out from Asgard and traveled to Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants.  When he arrived at the magic well, Odin stood before the enormous head of the God Mimir.  Though Mimir’s head had been severed from his body in the war between the Aesir and Vanir Gods, he still had great wisdom and memory and the power of speech.

“I must have a drink from your well” said Odin.

“Indeed?” asked Mimir. “Even a God must sacrifice in exchange for a drink from my waters.“

“Tell me what you wish me to sacrifice” said Odin.

“You must give me one of your eye” said Mimir.

“An eye is a small price to pay for all the wisdom and memory of the nine worlds.” said Odin.

Odin plucked out one eye and gave it to Mimir.  In exchange, Mimir gave him a drink from his magic well.  And there the eye of Odin stayed, shining up through the water, a sign to all who came to that place of the price the Father of the Gods had paid for the Wisdom of Ages.

Now Odin was pleased to have all the wisdom and memory of the nine worlds.  Yet he wished to have more.  He wanted to learn the secret runes — mysterious, written symbols that gave one magic powers over nature.  Odin knew that the price of great knowledge was great suffering.

The runes’ native home is in the Well of Urd with the Norns, and since the runes do not reveal themselves to any but those who prove themselves worthy of such fearful insights and abilities, Odin hung himself from a branch of Yggdrasil, pierced himself with his spear, and peered downward into the shadowy waters below.  He forbade any of the other Gods to grant him the slightest aid, not even a sip of water.  And he stared downward, and stared downward, and called to the runes.

He survived in this state, teetering on the precipice that separates the living from the dead, for nine windy days and nights.  At the end of the ninth night, he at last perceived shapes in the depths: the runes.  They had accepted his sacrifice and shown themselves to him, revealing to him not only their forms, but also the secrets that lie within them.  Having fixed this knowledge in his formidable memory, Odin ended his ordeal with a scream of exultation!

Equipped with the knowledge of how to wield the runes, he became one of the mightiest and most accomplished beings in the cosmos.  He learned chants that enabled him to heal emotional and bodily wounds, to bind his enemies and render their weapons worthless, to free himself from constraints, to put out fires, to expose and banish practitioners of malevolent magic, to protect his friends in battle, to wake the dead, to win and keep a lover, and to perform many other feats like these.

Odin carved the mysterious runes into wood, stone and bone.  He carved them into the paw of the bear, the claws of the wolf and the beak of the eagle.  Odin later passed on this knowledge to the Goddess Freya.  She, in turn, taught him the magic of seidr.  Heimdall, the God who guarded the Rainbow Bridge, taught the runes to mankind.  The runes were carved into the end of the rainbow.  In this way, he passed the runes on to men, so that they, too, could learn the secrets of nature.

 

The popular story of how Odin gained the runes is not to be found in any one saga and even when the relevant splinters are reassembled, the picture is incomplete.  So you will find other tales and poems including others that go into the Mead of Poetry.

The Spiritual Runes: A Guide to the Ancestral Wisdom, By Harmonia Saille

 

Father God

Jotunheim

Odin

Odin's Day

Ravens

Runic Alphabet

Wolf

Wisdom

 

Handfasting Basket

Many Pagan and Wiccan couples choose to have a handfasting ritual instead of a traditional wedding ceremony.  In some cases, it may be simply ceremonial - a couple declaring their love for one another without the benefit of a state license.  For other couples, it can be tied in with a state marriage certification issued by a legally authorized party such as a clergyperson or justice of the peace.  Either way, it's becoming more and more popular, as Pagan and Wiccan couples are seeing that there is indeed an alternative for non-Christians who want more than just a courthouse wedding.

June is a popular month for handfasting and many Summer Solstice events hold a handfasting ritual.  No matter what time of year your happy couple is being handfasted, you can make this simple gift basket easily with items you can find in just about any craft store.  This can be a gift to the guests or a gift the guests give.

Think about the couple who is being handfasted.  Are they traditionalists?  Are they silly, and willing to laugh at themselves?  Consider what you know about them.  The handfasting basket is fairly traditional and many people will tell you to put thirteen specific blessings symbolized by certain items into a basket for a new couple.  But the number of items does depend on the couple or guests path.

You can make a handfasting basket as elaborate or as simple as you like.  The easiest way to do it is to buy a commercially made basket, which you can usually find at thrift stores and cover it in fabric.  Choose something with romantic summer colors - yellow, reds, flowers, etc.  Baskets can even be woven from twigs found in your yard.

Colors can mean different things in cultures but commonly light and bright colors are used.  Red for will, love and health and yellow for attraction and harmony.  Green for fertility and prosperity and purple for power and spirit.  And most common in America, white for purity and devotion.

Place the basket on a flat surface and use fabric to line the inside.  Use a piece of fabric large enough that you'll have some overhang.  For stability, you may wish to hot glue the underside of the fabric around the rim of the basket.

Cut a piece of ribbon(s) about three times the length of the basket's handle.  Tie it in place at one end of the handle and wrap it around until you reach the opposite side.  Add a small dab of glue to the underside of the ribbon periodically, to keep it from slipping down the handle.

Add some small silk flowers to the handle of the basket.  You can find these in the wedding aisle at nearly any craft store.  If the flowers don't have wires built into them, use some thin florist's wire to anchor the flowers in place.

To fill the baskets, you'll need a variety of things, each symbolizing some aspect of the relationship.  Traditional gifts for a couple being handfasted are usually handmade offerings.  Try to find thirteen items that are meaningful to the couple.  Small ornaments are perfect for this, so they can be hung up later, but use your imagination to find the symbols that are right for your couple.  Go for a walk in the woods or around the house to find ideas.  But please collect items with respect and harm no animals in making the basket.  Use the following list to help get you started:

• A sun, symbolizing the strength and sturdiness* (sunstone, sun cutout, sun-catcher)
• A moon, beautiful and mysterious* (moon image, moonstone, meteorite)
• A cat, Goddess Freya's beloved, to guard the hearth and home
• A dog, to offer loyalty and protection
• A honey pot, sacred to Aphrodite, the Goddess of love
• An owl, for wisdom and truth
• A star, for the dreams of the future
• A clock, to remind them that time is valuable
• A piece of iron for protection (Thor's Hammer)
• An acorn, for strength and longevity
• A set of keys, Goddess Frigg's symbol
• A broom, symbol of male and female fertility bound together (mini-besom)
• A butterfly, for all the summers they will be together
• A car, for the journey they're about to embark on
• A house, so they have a place to return
• A lavender sachets to set near the bed for peaceful dreaming
• A pinecone, for prosperity and abundance
• A heart, for the love that brought them together

* In the case of a same-sex couples, it would be appropriate to use two moons or two suns.

Make sure that while you're creating and filling your handfasting basket, that you're sending positive thoughts into it.  If you like, turn this into a small ritual.  You can charge the basket by focusing your intent into a simple couplet if you choose, such as:

               This basket of gifts I give from the heart
               with blessings for [name] and [name]'s handfasting.
               With these treasures I offer you joy, and hope,
               and happiness and love everlasting.

Include a note explaining to them what each item represents, so that they will always have these thirteen blessings with them in their relationship.

 

Have Fun!

 

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lithacrafts/ss/Handfast_Basket_3.htm

 

Animals

Colors

Elements Table

Elements, Crystals and Minerals

Handfasting

Handfasting Ceremony

Love

Plants

Summer Solstice

Thor's Hammer