A prosperity spell

Moonchild has posted instructions for a lovely prosperity spell she's been casting.

Are Goddessless Christians targeting Pagan youth?

Jason Pitzl-Waters has the scoop.

Top 10 Things Heard in a Pagan Store

From Secrets of a Witch, whose author, I presume, is proprietor of said pagan store:

10. So, all of the sudden, I realized I was dressing my north altar to be my south altar! I thought I was losing my mind until I remembered that Mercury was in Retrograde!!

9. What do you mean you don’t have Wolfsbane??? Don’t you know without Wolfsbane my Mugwort and Mandrake Root are useless????

...

5. Q. What is that thing called?
A. A Pentacle
Q. What’s it for?
A. It’s a Pagan symbol that represents the elements and the spirit
of the faith upon which we’ve built our religion, our lives, and
our concept of God.
Q. Oh, okay! I’ll take it! Look Honey, I’m buying a Pentathingy!

...

2. This herb can be used for summoning the Devil… or on chicken.

Read the rest.

Sex, art, poetry, myth, magic

In his interview with Tim Boucher, Gnostic priest Jordan Stratford characterizes Wicca - or the elements that attracted him to it as a teenager - as a religion of sex, art, poetry, and myth. That was the best concise definition I've heard in a while. I added the word magic, and now when people ask me about my spiritual practice, I can reply that it's one of sex, art, poetry, myth, and magic. Beautiful.

Adonis and I are headed into the Adirondacks this weekend for canoeing and camping. I can't wait to be out in my temple again.

Bright blessings for your weekend!

Gnosticism

I don't know from Gnosticism, but I like much of what Jordan Stratford, "an ordained Priest of the Apostolic Johannite Church," has to say in this interview on Tim Boucher's site. Here is a taste:

When I say that Protestantism is Spiritually bankrupt I mean that it’s evident that the Spirit has abandoned it. It’s anemic, suburban, vapid. The spiritual Geiger counter doesn’t tick there. There is no deeply resonant myth in guitar masses, big screen tv’s, mega-church mega-missions, or applied pop-psychology. All those smarmy websites with picnicking shampoo-and-conditioner couples holding up babies or golden retrievers in the sunshine. Only those traditions which are sombre, iconic, and dimly lit create space for Hermetic reflection and illumination. Glossalalia, interpretive dance masses and Kumbaya are just embarrassing for everybody. And if your congregation is larger than your high-school grad class, flee.

The whole interview is very smart.

Also, from Stratford's blog, the Seven Principles of Cosmic Spirituality, with which I'm totally on board:

1. The entire cosmos is the manifestation of Divine Mind—every molecule, every cell, every creature, every rock, tree, mountain, planet, blazing star, whirling galaxy and universe of galaxies.

2. We are all an integral, interconnected part of the whole cosmos and our own inner world is a holograph of the cosmos within us.

3. One basic datum underlies every religion under the sun, the principle of Incarnation. The Word or Logos, God’s self-expression made manifest, has given the light of its divine spark to every mind/soul coming into the world. Christians call this the Christ or "Christ in us." Other faiths have different names or modes of expression for this same inner reality.

4. Every religion whose ethical core is summed up by the word "compassion" or "loving-kindness" to all other creatures without exception has a vision of the truth and is a valid "way" to Transcendence.

5. No one faith or religion—whatever its claims may be, alone has The Truth.

6. True cosmic spirituality is steeped in, flows from, and derives its most powerful analogies and metaphors from the natural world – from the tiniest bit of dust to the spiralling stars above.

7. The core aim of cosmic spirituality is radical transformation, both personal and societal.

The Pagan Carnival

Jason at The Wildhunt Blog has done an excellent job compiling the first Pagan Carnival, "a bi-weekly summary of the best writing in the modern Pagan, Heathen and occult blogosphere." It's a wonderful idea for on-line community building, and it inspires me to want to write better posts! If you read something on the Pagan web that you think Jason should include in the Carnival, drop him a line at jpitzl@wildhunt.org

Well done, Jason!

Reading and enjoying the weather

The weather the last two days has been glorious: in the 70s, low humidity, breezy, crystalline blue skies. (Note to the Goddess: we could still use a good, steady, soaking rain.) I've been enjoying a couple books I've taken out from the library, both of which I want to add to my personal library when I can. Goddess Initiation, by Francesca de Gandis, is a 12-month program based in Celtic Shamanism, with a host of straightforward and practical exercises that are by all accounts quite powerful. The reviews at amazon.com, to which I've linked (although I encourage everyone to buy books from their local independent booksellers), express strong opinions, whether positive or negative. I enjoyed reading them. Both Starhawk and Margot Adler praise her work, and those are good enough recommendations for me. The cover art is a bit cheesy; sadly, that's too often the case with Pagan books. The other book I'm reading is A Witch Alone by Marian Green. This is also a 12-month - or, more accurately, 13 moon - course in Wicca. It's pitched at a level higher than beginner's, although I think beginners could still gain a lot from the book. I'm enjoying Green's very good writing.

I've also lately found some inexpensive books at used bookstores. (Best score: a hardcover, unmarked copy of The Chalice and the Blade for $1!). I'm always updating my occult library page, so if you're the sort of person who loves to browse other people's bookshelves, have a look. I welcome suggestions wholeheartedly.

(A note to amazon reviewers: if you can't spell - if you don't know the difference between 'your' and 'you're' - I'm not going to take your reviews seriously. Don't waste your breath.)

Rock. On.

FYI: I'm going to stop calling myself a Witch and start calling myself...

der Hexenmeister

(Link via Tim Boucher)

Liberation and limitation

Tim Boucher has seredipitously posted about the complementary roles of liberation and limitation in spiritual practice. I say "serendipitously" because I've been thinking and writing about limitation as a means to opening more space in my life for the things I truly value (see my posts on simplicity below). Worth a look if you've been thinking about grounding and/or creativity.

Further thoughts on simplicity

Simplicity is not about deprivation.

Simplicity is not about adopting a scarcity mentality.

Simplicity is about developing awareness of the choices I'm making every day.

Simplicity is about consciousness, about being awake.

Simplicity is about being honest with myself.

Simplicity is about making choices that further my well being.

Simplicity is being deliberate about how I want to live.

Simplicity is about conserving energy and resources.

Simplicity is about gratitude to Gaia and humble acknowledgement of her gifts.

Simplicity is about having enough.

Simplicity is about taking enormous pleasure in swimming in a pond, making lunch at home, camping under the stars, walking to the library to find new books, sitting and talking with a friend on her front porch, going to the farmers' market, slowly gleaning my possessions and giving away what I no longer use.

Simplicity is about responding to my body's needs: for food, movement, touch, sex, laughter, sleep.

Simplicity is about slowing down regularly to hear my soul's call.

Simplicity is about creating the life I want to have.