Esbats

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth and the fifth largest Moon in the Solar System.  The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face with its near side marked by dark volcanic that fill between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters.  It is the most luminous object in the sky after the Sun. 

In many prehistoric and ancient cultures, the Moon was personified as a deity or other supernatural phenomenon, and astrological views of the Moon continue to be propagated today.  In Roman mythology, the Moon is represented by Diana, the hunter Goddess.  In Norse mythology, Mani was the man who drove the chariot that carried the Moon across the sky.

The Moon's regular phases make it a very convenient timepiece and the periods of its waxing and waning form the basis of many of the oldest calendars.  Tally sticks, notched bones, date as far back as 20–30,000 years ago, and are believed by some to mark the phases of the Moon.

In the 2nd century BC, Seleucus of Seleucia correctly theorized that tides were due to the attraction of the Moon, and that their height depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun.  The greater part of the human body is made up of water.  Therefore, like the waters of Earth, we are affected by the Moon and his phases.

Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon as the commander of the American mission Apollo 11 by first setting foot on the Moon in July 1969.

The Wiccan esbats are traditionally tied to the lunar cycles.  Together with sabbats, they represent the most common celebrations in Wiccan-influenced forms of Neopaganism.  An esbat is commonly understood to be a ritual observance on the night of a full Moon.  However, the late high priestess Valiente distinguished between 'full Moon Esbats' and other esbatic occasions.

In cultures that had male Moon deities, the waxing Moon was the horned God of the woodlands and son of the Goddess, the full Moon was the warrior and the father, and the waning Moon corresponded to the hunter and teacher who was the elder God.  Male lunar Gods are, Sin of the Mesopotamians, Mani of the Germanic tribes and the Japanese God Tsukuyomi.

Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States.  The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon.  Colonial Americans adopted some of the Native American full Moon names and applied them to their own calendar system.  For most Wiccans and Pagans, the full Moon includes the day before and the day after a full Moon, for a total of three days.

 

Winter

The New Moon is used for personal growth, healing and blessing of a personal venture.  The time of the New Moon is a good time for celebrating new beginnings or doing magic, which involves growth.  Here the first light in the cycle of the Moon begins and the God is in his phase as a very young Warrior ready to explore the new world.  This is the time when the Crone and Sage is transformed into the Maiden and Warrior.  A time for the dark.  It is a time of renewal and new beginnings.

The Cold or Long Night Moon of December.  The Cold Moon is a time for hope and healing.  This time of the year the Moon has reign over the Earth, because there are more hours of night than day.  Our thoughts turn to rebirth of the light and the longer days that are promised after winter solstice.  Plan for a ritual to help you remain steadfast in your convictions.  Let go of the negative and let the light of longer days shine inside you.

The Wolf Moon, also known as the Winter Moon, is a time of protection and strength in January.  Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Native villages.  Plan a ritual of protection around your home and family.  The Wolf Moon can be seen as a time of both beginnings and endings.

The Wind Moon is a time to do magic for fertility and strength in February.  For the Ancestors, it was a time of true hardship.  Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.  Plan a ritual to ask the Ancestors for help in planning your future.  Chinese New Year occurs on the second New Moon after Winter Solstice.

Spring

The waxing Moon (first quarter) is the period during which the Moon grows from dark to full.  This is a time for attraction magic, anything with which you wish to gain; money, relationships, etc.  During this time, we recognize the God as the young Warrior who searches for a partner with which he can become a new Father.  The Maiden and Warrior are full of fresh energy and are anxious to dance and love throughout the world.  The Warrior is essential to the continuation of all life; his color is white, denoting innocence and newness.

Storm Moon of March.  The last of winter's harsh storms pass.  Nature begins to stir and awaken from the long sleep.  Hope and promise arise as the sun rises earlier and longer.  Plan a ritual to help fulfill your wishes is appropriate.  Candle color for this Moon is blue, symbolic of the warming of the ice, yet still very cold.

The Frog Moon of April.  Frogs transform from tadpoles into their adult form and this symbolizes the awakening of one's creativity.  If your planting a magical garden, you want to get out there and put things into the Earth.  Plan a ritual to physically plant your seeds of desire in Mother Earth.  Easter Sunday, the most important Christian festival, is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon that follows Spring Equinox.

The Flower Moon, also known as the Planting Moon, is a time of health, love, romance and wisdom in May.  In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time.  Plan a ritual to reaffirm your goals.  It is also a great time to rekindle the romantic spark and passion in a relationship.

Summer

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.

Sun Moon of June.  The sun is at its strongest during the Summer Solstice, a time when the day is the longest.  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.

Buck Moon of July.  It is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur.  It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time.  Plan a ritual to decide what you will do once your goals have been met.

Sturgeon Moon of August.  The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month.  Plan a ritual to preserve what you already have.  A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze.

Autumn

The waning Moon (third quarter) is the period during which the Moon goes from full to dark once again.  This is a time for banishing and rejecting things from our lives, whether this be negative emotions, bad habits, diseases or ailments.  This is the time when the Moon’s energy is becoming weaker and the strength of the light of the Divine is diminishing, Crone and Sage.  This is a time of great wisdom for he has learned much in his journey from infant to wise Sage and it is a time to learn from this wisdom by going within and communicating with him.  This is a time of personal reflection and inner guidance.  Soon the light of the God will fade completely before the cycle will begin again.

The Harvest Moon, also known as the Barley Moon, the harvest Moon is a time of protection, prosperity and abundance in September.  This full Moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested.  Plan a ritual of Thanksgiving for all the Ancestors have given you.  The energy of the Harvest Moon will help along any magic that is geared to bring you or someone else abundance.

The Hunters Moon is sometimes called the Blood Moon in October.  The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened and it’s time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead.  It is a Moon of new goals, protection, resolution and spirituality.  The night of the Hunters Moon is a great time for divination of any kind.  At this time of year all of nature is making ready for winter.  This is a time to reflect on what you did during the year and to evaluate your accomplishments.  Plan a ritual to remember those who have passed from this world and be sure to make an offering to them.

Snow Moon of November.  The first of winter's snow has arrived.  Nature now sleeps deep within the Earth.  Remind yourself that although winter is coming, it will not last forever.  Plan for a ritual to work on ridding yourself of negative thoughts and vibrations.  Candle color for this Moon is grey; symbolic of the cloud filled skies of winter storms.

 

Along with the lunar cycle, some Pagans also honor other Moon events.

 

Blue Moon

When a single month has two full Moons, the second full Moon is called a Blue Moon.  Most years have twelve full Moons that occur approximately monthly.  Every two or three years, there is an extra full Moon.  The Blue Moon, in Wiccan religious belief, is used for setting goals for the future ahead.  Since the times between the Blue Moons are variable, it gives the Witch plenty of time to master or achieve his/her goals before the next Blue Moon occurs.  The next blue will be July 31, 2015.

 

Black Moon

A Black Moon occurs when there are two dark cycles of the Moon in any given calendar month.  It is believed that the second dark Moon is a time of great power within the spiritual world and any magic worked during this time is especially powerful.  This is a time for meditation, divination and binding spells.  The next black moon will be March 31, 2014.

 

Moon Dog

A Moon dog, Moondog or mock Moon, is a relatively rare bright circular spot on a lunar halo caused by the refraction of Moonlight by ice crystals.  Moondogs appear 22° to the left and right of the Moon.  They are exactly analogous to sun dogs, but are rarer because to be produced the Moon must be bright and therefore full or nearly full.  Moondogs show little color to the unaided eye because their light is not bright enough to activate the cone cells of humans' eyes.  In folklore, Moon rings are said to warn of approaching storms.

Moon Bow

A Moonbow (also known as a lunar rainbow, black rainbow, white rainbow, lunar bow or space rainbow) is a rainbow produced by light reflected off the surface of the Moon (rather than from direct sunlight) refracting off of moisture in the air.  Moonbows are relatively faint, due to the smaller amount of light reflected from the surface of the Moon.  They are always in the opposite part of the sky from the Moon.

 

Lunar Eclipse

Eclipses can only occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all in a straight line.  Solar eclipses occur at new Moon, when the Moon is between the Sun and Earth.  In contrast, lunar eclipses occur at full Moon, when Earth is between the Sun and Moon.

Several cultures have myths related to lunar eclipses.  The Egyptians saw the eclipse as a sow swallowing the Moon for a short time; other cultures view the eclipse as the Moon being swallowed by other animals, such as a jaguar in Mayan tradition, or a three legged toad in China.  Some societies thought it was a demon swallowing the Moon and that they could chase it away by throwing stones and curses at it.  Or for the Norse, the concern that Hati the wolf had caught up to the God Mani, the end of the world.

 

Super Moon

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full Moon or a new Moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.  The opposite phenomenon has been called a micromoon, though this term is not as widespread as supermoon.

 

Sing of Mani´s lustrous ray,
Incandescent light sublime.
Nightly lantern, Hati´s prey,
Nott´s companion, counting time.
Mani, shine throughout the heavens,
Mani, shine till Sunna´s rise!
Mundilfari´s silent son,
Shine until the end of time.

 

Call upon the Moon's energy in your magical workings and enjoy the flow of energy connected with each of the different phases.

Blessed Be!

 

Esbats

Mani

Mani's Day

Moon (Rune)

Sunna and Mani

Supermoons

Elements Table

 

Divine Friends

Most belief systems encourage their followers to believe in God, but only God and only one (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).  Even some of the Pagan traditions lean so heavily toward the God that a Goddess is almost never mentioned (Asatru) and some Pagan traditions follow strictly Goddess worship (Dianic) so the God is hardly ever mentioned.  As Wiccans, our belief in a God and a Goddess is part of what separates us from other Spiritual paths.  One of the other things that sets us apart is the way we view our relationship to our deities.  We do not grovel to them, tell them we are unworthy of their attention, and then ask them to fix all the problems in our lives.  Instead, we work with them, as partners, to improve the parts of our lives that need improving.  We honor and love them, of course, but we are not required to sacrifice our dignity simply to gain their attention.

There are literally hundreds of Goddesses and just as many Gods from a multitude of pantheons; each has a different name and a different specialty associated with them.  They are called by many generic names, Earth Mother and Sky Father, the Lord and the Lady, or just the God and Goddess, but whatever names you choose to call them by, they are equally important.  Each is as necessary as the other and together, they create the balance and energy essential for all living things.  It is often said that all Gods are one God and all Goddesses are one Goddess and, together, the God & Goddess are One.

 

The Goddess has three forms-Triple Goddess; Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

The Maiden represents youth and innocence, magic and new beginnings, and the thrill of discovery.  She is not yet mated but is on the threshold of her sexuality.  In this aspect, she symbolizes innocence, hope, joy, curiosity, flexibility, courage, and enthusiasm.  Greco-Roman mythology expressed this phase of the Goddess as Luna, the chaste moon Goddess.  Diana, Artemis, Eos, Renpet, Bast, and Persephone also characterize the maiden aspect of the Divine Feminine.

The Maiden is the youngest aspect of the Goddess. She is the innocence and lack of worries, the joy of living. The Maiden is usually associated with the waxing moon, the spring season, the colors white and pink and flowers, especially the wild, young or white ones. She represents purity and the innocence of childhood, where the soul’s dreams, magic and make believe still prevail. She is often called on for coming of age and handfasting rites.

The Maiden reminds you to look after the magical child that lies within us all. It reminds you to stay in touch with your childhood intuition and fantasies that are used to fulfill your dreams.  Hence you can still have the Maiden in you at any time of life.

The Valkyries, are held to be the adopted daughters of Odin, they appear as the beautiful warrior-maidens on winged horses, armed with helmets, armor and spears.  Their purpose is to visit battlefields and chose the most heroic of those who have died in battle (the Einherjar) and carry them off to the halls Valhalla and Folkvang.

Idunna ('Rejuvenator') is the Goddess of the radiant dawn, eternal youth, and rebirth, and so is a fitting matron of Springs' regeneration of fertility, and life which comes with the return of the growing season.  Idunna is the custodian of the golden apples which allowed the Aesir Gods to maintain their youthfulness, and was the only one among the Gods who was allowed to gather them, which she safely kept in a golden chest.

·        Baby animals (before puberty)

·        The colors silver, white, and light blue

·        Lightweight clothing and delicate fabrics such as gauze, lace, thin cotton, and silk

·        Clear quartz, pearl, diamond, aquamarine

Dearest Maiden, Goddess of Spring, please bring illumination in early morning.  As you awaken at your hour, let me feel your energy and power.

 

The Mother represents caring and nurturing, protection and justice, and fertility.  She is usually mated and in the prime of her sexuality. Her attributes include fertility, creativity, nurturing, comfort, abundance, strength, sensuality, confidence, and power.  Cave paintings and rock carvings of Goddesses, some as old as 35,000 years BC or earlier, depict the Divine life-giving Goddess.  The Venus of Willendorf, is perhaps the most well known of these ancient Mother-Goddess deities, most of the early images of the Goddess show an abundant, round, full figured being.  Pele, Gaia, Freya, Isis, Ceres, Demeter, Brigid, Oshun, Yemaja, Aphrodite, Venus, Tara, and Mary are among the Goddesses who personify the mother phase of the Divine Feminine.

Many different Goddesses have represented motherhood in one way or another and some have been associated with the birth of humanity as a whole. Others have represented the fertility of the Earth.  She is also associated with the full moon, summer, Earth and sea.  She has the ability to forgive and provide for her children and put them before herself in the essence of a good mother.

Freyja, or Freya, was a Norse Goddess of abundance, fertility and war. She is still honored today by some Pagans, and is often associated with sexual freedom.  Freya could be called upon for assistance in childbirth and conception, to aid with marital problems, or to bestow fruitfulness upon the land and sea.

Jord is the great Goddess of the wild, primitive and uncivilized areas on Earth.  Jord is the mother of Thor who was fathered by Odin.  Identified as a giantess, she is often referred to in poetry as 'Odin's bride'. The traces that have survived of the worship of the personified Earth herself show that she was honored by the Germanic people, though not active in many tales.

Frigg ('All-Mother') was the wife of the all-powerful Odin and was considered a Goddess of fertility and marriage within the Norse pantheon.  Like many mothers, she is a peacemaker and mediator in times of strife.

·        Pregnant or nursing animals

·        Rich colors: ruby red, forest green, royal blue, and amber

·        Luxurious clothing and fabrics including velvet, damask, cashmere, silk, and mohair

·        Geode, emerald, turquoise, opal, coral, rose quartz, amber

Oh Goddess Mother, abundance is your essence of being.  Blessings flow from you limitlessly, your Universe is harmony and tension in balance.  Within each of us, you are Alive!

 

The Crone represents logic and wisdom.  She considers anyone younger than her to be her child and can be frighteningly vengeful if any of her children are harmed.  The attributes inherent in this aspect of the Divine Feminine include wisdom, intuition, prophecy, stability, pragmatism, patience, detachment, and fortitude.  Sophia, Hecate, Ceridwen, White Buffalo Woman, Butterfly Woman, Kali, Lilith, Baba Yaga, and Kuan Yin are among the Goddesses who personify the crone phase of the Divine Feminine.

The Crone represents wisdom, repose, death and endings represented by the waning moon.  In early cultures, she is often depicted as a grandmother, a wise woman or a midwife.  Her own child baring days are past - she is now the wisdom keeper, seer and healer; whose knowledge is sought out to guide others during life's hardships and transitions.  She mediated disputes, she had influence over tribal leaders and she cared for the dying as they took their final breaths.
 

There are a lot of strong Goddesses to be found in Norse mythology, but Elli, was nicknamed 'the Giant Crone'.  She challenged the God Thor to a wrestling match—and won.  To be fair to Thor though, the whole thing turned out to be a bit of a trick.  Elli, although the weakest of the giantesses of Utgardr, was actually the personification of old age.  After the giantesses told Thor about their stunt, he obviously wasn’t too happy, even though the fact that Elli only managed to get Thor down to one knee was a mark of his strength.

The Norns of the Norse Mythology are three old hags by the names of Urd (fate), Skuld (necessity) and Verdandi (being).  They live beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, where they weave the tapestry of Fates.  Each man's and woman's life is a string in their loom and the length of the string is the length of the person's life.

·        Old animals

·        Dark colors: brown, black, midnight blue, purple

·        Heavy clothing (often robes) and fabrics including wool, linen, and velvet

·        Smoky quartz, jet, onyx, amethyst, fossils

Behold the Crone, Dancer of Time.  The Crone comes dancing silently, powerfully, relentlessly, To All!

 

The God also has three stages-Triple God; Warrior, Father, and Sage.

The Warrior represents youth and vigor, hope and vitality, and the thrill of the hunt.  The warrior phase usually begins at puberty and can extend physiologically into adulthood.  Historically, the warrior was considered to be the son until he left the home and could stand on his own.  He is not mated yet and is at the peak of his sexual drive.  He signifies naiveté, daring, a sense of adventure, vitality, action, exuberance, and freedom.  The ancient Egyptians expressed this archetype as Horus, who flies through the sky freely, with the sun in one eye and the moon in the other.

The Horned God that witches honor also symbolizes this facet of the Divine Masculine.  His wildness, sensuality, and passion make him brashly attractive.  This deity expresses the connection to nature as well, and to all the primal magic therein.  He is the God of the police officer, the military, security guards, and those who protect.  He teaches us the importance of responsibility and self-respect.

 

In Germanic mythology and religion, Thor is the God of thunder.  He is typically portrayed as red-headed and bearded, and carrying Mjolnir, a magical hammer.  Depictions of Mjolnir became popular adornment for warriors during the age of the Vikings, and it is still seen today among adherents of some forms of Norse Paganism.

In Norse legend, Tyr (Tiw) is the God of one-on-one combat. He is a warrior, and a God of heroic victory and triumph.  Interestingly, he is portrayed as having only one hand.  He appears in the Prose Edda as the son of Odin, but as Hymir's child in the Poetic Edda.

·        The chaste tree, meadowsweet, lemongrass, white rose, hyacinth, narcissus, crocus, apple blossoms, peach blossoms, lilac, gardenia

·        The morning hours of the day, from dawn until noon

·        The spring months

·        The waxing moon

O God guide me, protect me, illumine the lamp of my heart and make me a brilliant star.  Thou art the Mighty and Powerful.

 

The Father represents security and wisdom, devotion and Spirit, and growth.  He is usually mated and is virile and productive.  It is the time when men are taking on the responsibilities of adulthood.  They are gathering experiences and gaining wisdom from the lessons of life.  Historically, a man entered the father phase when he had a child, became a leader in the community, or gave birth to new concepts or ideas.  This aspect of the Divine Masculine represents strength, power, authority, leadership ability, protection, responsibility, and courage.  He is viewed as the warrior king in some cultures, the wise ruler in others. In modern Western society, he could be seen as the capable corporate executive.

The Father God in some early cultures oversaw the crafts, such as those of the smiths who were regarded as magic workers in their own right.  Hephaestus, originally a fire God in Lycia and Asia Minor, eventually became the God of craftspeople in Greece.  He earned this reputation by constructing palaces for the Gods and fashioning Zeus's thunderbolts.  This creative aspect of the Father can also be seen in the figure of Bahloo, the Australian aborigine All-Father, whose job was to create all animals and people with his consort.

He is the Green Man, The Son God, Lord of the Hunt or Oak King. The God becomes Man. He takes a wife. He grows up and sheds a good portion of his youthful way. His arrogance is honed into self confidence and he becomes what he was meant to be.  The face of the Lord is in the face of every man and each of them has a different craft. Bel, Apollo, Mithra, Kai, Hymen, and many others.  It is in this aspect that the Lord is worshiped most.

Njord is one of the Vanir and the God of seamanship and sailing.  He is the father of Freyr and Freya.  The King of the Vanir Gods, Njord was directly responsible for bringing the primeval war between the Gods to an end, and in establishing peace between the two tribes.  Down through the ages, Heathens have remembered him for this monumental feat, and to this day, still call upon him for peace.

Odin ('All-father') was a shape shifter, and frequently roamed the world in disguise.  One of his favorite manifestations was that of a one-eyed old man; in the Norse Eddas, the one-eyed man appears regularly as a bringer of wisdom and knowledge to heroes.  He pops up in everything from the saga of the Volsungs to Neil Gaiman's American Gods.  He was typically accompanied by a pack of wolves and ravens and rode on a magic horse named Sleipnir.

·        Apple, pomegranate, peach, raspberry, strawberry, red clover, red rose, mint, iris, jasmine, cinnamon, parsley, daisy, myrtle, orchid, saffron

·        The afternoon hours, from noon to sunset

·        Summer through the harvest season

·        The full moon

O dearest Father, help me to know and understand your will, allow me the strength to accomplish all you ask of me.  Help me to be strong enough this day to show love to everyone, even those who show hatred toward me.  So Mote It Be.

 

The Sage represents discretion and reasoning.  The status of the sage was traditionally achieved in a man's later years and/or when he became a grandfather.  He has gone through a long passage and he no longer has the ego-based needs of recognition through performance and success.  He is free to accomplish and contribute for the sake of beauty and inner purpose.  He advises and loves all his children and will retaliate quickly if they are harmed.  He oversees the underworld, destiny, death, resurrection, and justice. 

Like the Crone, his concerns extend beyond the physical world and involve the process of transformation, assimilation of knowledge, and movement between the various levels of existence.  The sage holds his wisdom in the gentle way that honors all life.

This is man at his wisest and calmest. Long gone are the days of do first think later that were the keystone to Youth, instead the God has become a thinker, a philosopher, and often a magician. This is the Grandfather of the World, The Old Man in the Mountain, Owen ap Urien, Horus, Thoth.

The mythological elder God, known as the Holly King, who battles with the Oak King is one version of the sage archetype.  Truthfully, the sage could win this battle with his wits if he so chooses.  Nonetheless, he allows himself to lose so that the Wheel of Life will keep turning.  

Buri is the God formed by the cow Audumla licking the ice which collected within Ginnungagap.  He is the father of Bor, and thus the Grandfather of Odin, Ve and Vili.  Buri is the progenitor of all the Race of Gods.  Buri was formed out of the solidification of primal matter, potential and energy.

Mimir, being a particularly wise deity, was the counselor of the Gods.  He owned a well, the Mimisbrunnr, the water of which granted wisdom and the power to see into the future. Odin sacrificed one of his eyes for a drink from the Mimisbrunnr.

·        Holly, mandrake, pine, juniper, mistletoe, nightshade, nuts, oak, moss, wintergreen, ginseng; also dried or withered plants

·        The hours from sunset to dawn

·        Autumn into winter

·        The waning moon

O my dearest and eternal, please show me the way of wisdom and grant me the strength to follow it no matter what adversary stands in my way.  So Mote It Be.

 

For many there is also a fourth archetype, the Dark.  Both and neither male or female, young or old and/or good or bad.  It is the mysteries of life.  The shadows between transitions.  Not really a 'evil' Divine, just the dark to balance the light.  The Dark Divine is the aspect of the God/dess most often deemed mysterious, dangerous, violent or ill tempered.  Dark Goddesses or God appear in almost all religions featuring female/male deities and are widely the most misinterpreted and misunderstood of deities worshipped by modern day practitioners.

One of the wonderful things about many of the Pagan traditions is that they do not assign a positive or negative connotations of the light and dark pairings, as many of the other religions do.  Pagans understand that the light and the dark are necessary for the world to continue to operate, and the balance is constantly moving.  Dark defines what light is, and light creates shadow, so in turn creates the darkness.

Darkness in Wicca is not a negative thing, it is rest, stillness or letting go. Wicca speaks of dark in its more original context: 'hidden or unknown'.  The Dark Divine is the counterpart to the life giving aspect of the Spirit we usually associate with.  It brings death, for without death, we cannot fertilize the Earth to bring new life.  It is the destroyer, for without destroying that which we no longer need, we cannot grow. It is the keeper of magic and mystery, for without the hidden truths, our journey as a human seems without point and purpose.  Darkness should be honored, it is necessary and valuable to the circle.

The Dark Spirit represents the hidden and suppressed aspects of a women and men psyche that lives unseen in the shadows of the personality.  In order to know oneself, one needs to intimately know and understand both your light and dark aspects.

Hela features in Norse legend as the Goddess of the underworld-half human and half skeleton.  She was sent by Odin to Helheim/Niflheim to preside over the Spirits of the dead.  It was her job to determine the fate of the souls who entered her realm.

Loki is a complex and cunning Giant/God-he is said to be quite fair in appearance, but capricious in manner, with a heart full of chaos and a dark side.  He is both a father and a mother.  In the earlier myths, he is presented as being less-than-malicious in his tomfoolery and even helpful in some situations.  In the instances when he would get the Gods in trouble, he would get them back out of trouble and in many cases he would put them in an even better situation than they were before.

·        The new moon

·        Winter

·        Raven, dog or cat

·        Midnight

·        Black

I am the Darkness behind the shadows.  I am the absence of air that awaits every breath.  I am the ending before life begins again, the decay that fertilizes the living.  I am the bottomless pit, the never ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied.  I am the key that unlocks every door, for I am that which is hidden and secluded.  So may it be.

 

Choosing your Matron Goddess and Patron God may not be an easy task.  It will likely require much thought and research on your part.  Your decision should be your own and will be decided partially by the path you are on, and partially by your own personal preference.  For instance, if you find yourself drawn to a particular pantheon, your Deities will, most likely come from there.

However, the choice may be made for you.  It is not uncommon for someone to be chosen by a God or a Goddess.  If you find yourself drawn to a specific Deity, you are probably being given a clue that you have been chosen by them.  If this happens, pay attention!  Research the deity, meditate on their particular pantheon, go on a guided journey to meet them; whatever method you choose is fine but you should definitely try to find out more about them.  You will encounter, and work with, many Gods and Goddesses on this path.  The more you learn about them, the more comfortable you will be in invoking their energy.  They are there to help us improve our lives and, while they do not expect sacrifices from us, they do expect us to respect them.  One of the best ways to show someone respect is to show an interest in them and learn what they are like, not just on the surface, but in their hearts.  It is no different with the God and Goddess.

Skeptics have asked for eons how it is that we know the God & Goddess really exist.  We know they are real because we feel their Divine energies in our own souls.  We see them manifested in all the life that surrounds us and we feel their presence in ritual and everywhere else.  In the birds, rocks, trees, humans, stars, fish, computers and more.  To those whose lives are so closely tied to every living thing, the question is never 'if' we know they exist, but rather, how can others not know they do?

 

Dearest God, thank you for this glorious day.  Thank you for the sunshine, and thank you for the rain.  Thank you for the blue skies, rivers, streams and lakes.

Dearest Goddess, thank you for the green grass, and thank you for the trees.  Thank you for the many birds singing in the breeze.

My dearest Divine Friends, thank you for giving of yourselves so selflessly to me.  Thank you for life itself, a precious gift that's free.  Blessed Be!

 

 

 

Norse Wicca?

A Year in Review!

Elements Table

Crone Goddess

Dark Goddess

Maiden Goddess

Mother Goddess

Father God

Sage God

Warrior God

Who Are Your Divine Friends?