“Magic is a funny term,’ she’d say. ‘There is nothing supernatural about the earth. As long as you know what does what.”
by Suzanne Palmieri, ‘The Witch of Little Italy’
Moro
Art title: ‘Madam Witch’ by artist: Aerythe @ http://aerythes.deviantart.com/art/Madam-Witch-3746479
Beautiful and sad…
Beautiful and sad as those that can hear but refuse to listen. Beautiful and sad as the life of a flower in the wilderness that can cure the aching soul but no one cares that it is there.
“Witch”
“She sees faeries
And talks to her herb garden.
And everyone laughs.
She feels colors,
And says there is magic in the moon.
And everyone laughs.
She never hurts anyone
And loves her oak tree like a child.
And everyone laughs.
She always helps a stranger
And the neighborhood strays adore her
And everyone laughs.
She sits and cries
And mumbles to the shadows,
And no one cares.
Once her hair was long and bright,
Now it is a matted mess
And no one cares.
She used to dance among the trees,
Now she can’t find them
And no one cares.
Dreams of magic fill her days;
Magic she can almost touch.
And no one cares.
The day she died her herbs did, too.
And her oak tree bowed its limbs.
A single candle burned in her window
With naught there but the cats.
And no one understands…”
by- Morgan Stardancer
http://blessedbe.sugarbane.com/poetry.htm
Moro
This fantastic artwork is titled ‘ Sleeping Beauty’ by artist: kimsol @ http://kimsol.deviantart.com/art/Sleeping-Beauty-385074952
“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Many of those that walk an alternative path know one version that carries two different names. For others, make it your own “Bible”, “Book of the Sacred”, “Holy Book”, or whatever you want to call it, Those of us with a history, again in an alternative path of paganism and witchcraft, we often call it a Grimoire or “Book of Shadows” but for me, personally, it can also be a book about your life and personal spiritual journey. This can include life lesson, knowledge, what you feel your life’s purpose is, ethics, personal responsibility (ies), ethics from personal experience, everyday experiences, things for reflection, meditation (s), poetry, personal fiction, quotes, inspiration, your spiritual journey, self improvement, teaching and as many forms of wisdom in your life that you create and also find inspirational…. what ever you want. It’s your book. Its your “Bible”. ❤
What will you call yours? What will you put in yours?
Who was Ralph Waldo Emerson?
“Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography
Philosopher, Poet, Journalist (1803–1882)
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist during the 19th century. One of his best-known essays is “Self-Reliance.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1821, he took over as director of his brother’s school for girls. In 1823, he wrote the poem “Good-Bye.” In 1832, he became a Transcendentalist, leading to the later essays “Self-Reliance” and “The American Scholar.” Emerson continued to write and lecture into the late 1870s. He died on April 27, 1882, in Concord, Massachusetts.” (1)
*(1) http://www.biography.com/people/ralph-waldo-emerson-9287153#awesm=~oEMvku9VE5K1Dc
Moro
Art title: ‘Run Book’ by artist: Fleurine-Retore- Le Monde de Fleurine @ http://www.deviantart.com/#/art/Run-Book-212964829?hf=1
“Secret Garden of the Feminine”
“Separating Spirit from Matter (Mother)”
Legend of the Babylonian Tiamat and Marduk…
by Judy Tatum aka Xia @ http://www.templeofthegoddess.org/FromTheDirector/Separating_Spirit_from_Matter_Mother.htm (The site where I found this a year ago is completely down, thus can not reblog it. I do love this article by her and feel inspired to share it but I take no credit in writing this and it is copyrighted. I mean no disrespect but I dearly want others to have a chance to see this article and somehow be able to look up more of her works.)
“As the centuries passed, the once-supreme creative matrix lost more and more of her place in our lives. As the people who worshiped her were conquered and forced to adopt (or adapt to) the religious beliefs of their conquerors (much like the indigenous people of the Americas), the “Goddess became almost exclusively associated with ‘Nature’ as the chaotic force to be mastered, and the God took the role of conquering or ordering nature from his counterpole of ‘Spirit.'”[1]
This split in consciousness, which contains the mythological roots of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam–the three major patriarchal religions of the world today–can be traced to a popular Babylonian epic known throughout the ancient world as Enuma Elish (ca. 2000 B.C.E.). The story of Enuma Elish recounts the defeat of the original mother goddess, Tiamat, by her great-great-great-grandson, Marduk. Tiamat, the Babylonian creation goddess, was seen as the primordial ocean womb whose fertile depths birthed every living thing–including a younger generation of gods who then sought to overthrow the older generation. In this epic, Tiamat is portrayed as a great serpent or dragon (both ancient images of the feminine).
After the conquest and murder of Tiamat, the life-giving nature deity who created him, Marduk uses her body to form creation:
He split her like a shellfish into two parts:
Half of her he set up and ceiled it as sky . . .
He heaped up a mountain over Tiamat’s head,
pierced her eyes to form the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates,
and heaped similar mountains over her dugs,
which he pierced to make the rivers
from the eastern mountains that flow into the Tigris.
Her tail he bent up into the sky to make the Milky Way,
and her crotch he used to support the sky.[2]
The original myth, which portrayed the Creatrix birthing everything from herself, so that she was part of and one with all of creation, was thus transformed into a myth that suggests that “the lord” makes creation (and from her body no less). For the first time, “the god becomes the maker of heaven and earth whereas the goddess was heaven and earth. The concept of ‘making’ is radically different from ‘being,’ in the sense that what is made is not necessarily of the same substance as its maker, and may be conceived as inferior to him; while what emerges from the mother is necessarily part of her and she of it.”[3]
With the acceptance and perpetuation of the Marduk myth, a new order of creation was initiated whereby the feminine, symbolized as the Goddess, became synonymous with the realm of nature as something wild, dark, mysterious, chaotic, and dangerous. Marduk then represented the new “spiritual” order of male deities whose religious imperative was to conquer and order nature. This concept created a split that still affects society today. This creation myth, which became doctrine, is an early example of “priestly politics, whereby the mythology of an earlier age and culture is completely inverted, so that the divinities of an earlier era are named demons and the divinities of the new order are exalted to a position of supremacy.”[4]
While much of the symbology in the Judeo-Christian belief system is based on ancient, sacred Goddess mythology (including the Garden, the snake, the tree), our Western paradigm (by which I mean Judeo-Christian beliefs) is descended from this Babylonian creation myth, which places strong emphasis on the opposition between spirit and nature (implying explicitly that nature is not alive and contains no spirit). This symbology has left us a heritage of thinking in duality and oppositions. “We find this . . . in the common assumption that the spiritual and the physical worlds are different in kind, an assumption that . . . separates mind from matter, soul from body, thinking from feeling, intellect from intuition and reason from instinct . . . in addition, the `spiritual’ pole of these dualisms is valued as `higher’ than the `physical’ pole.”[5]”
[1]. Baring and Cashford, The Myth of the Goddess, p. xii.
[2]. Ibid., p. 278.
[3]. Ibid., p. 274.
[4]. Ibid., p. 280.
[5]. Ibid., p. xii.
© Copyright 1995 Judy Tatum aka Xia except where otherwise noted, again from http://www.templeofthegoddess.org/FromTheDirector/Separating_Spirit_from_Matt
Again, only shared by Moro. I had no part in any writing of this article. I am unable to share this by reblogging because the site is down and I found it over a year ago.
Art title: ‘GREED, mother of exquisite monsters…‘ by Artist: IosifChezan @ http://iosifchezan.deviantart.com/art/GREED-mother-of-exquisite-monsters-273769165
Notes from the artist: “I had so much inner pleasure working on this theme : GREED in human conscience. I approached here a personal view regarding this “infection of the human mind”. Having its little seed deep in our ancestral instinct, GREED reached a state of art aside human intelligence.
As a twin of Egoism , GREED dooms humanity to a life FAR beyond any humanist believes, towards a world of “profit at all costs”, which is simply grotesque. The INNOCENCE of BECOMING in many potent noble souls is killed or simply transformed into mind slavery as only tiny, obedient, dispensable “tools”…
I believe that Greed alike as many other “sins” that en-shame Human Conscience will be conquered and subdued in the far future to the potent majesty of an evolving Humanity. An evolving Humanity to look upon itself as whole, unique and aware of itself Organism, choosing Compassion , Understanding and a better way of valuing each one as the main ways of evolving.
S H O R T D E S C R I P T I O N :
—————————————–
Greed is symbolized by a hand grasping the Earth and the merciless eye – symbol of mind flooded with goals of “profit at all costs”.
The Earth globe got broken in the greedy egoistically grasp and it is morphed into gold – the eternal symbol of material value.
The avatar of GREED steals every thing for him, from Earth to Sun and also the future Vitality in others to follow, leaving only painful barriers .
The innocent face is half leached of vitality (leaving behind a cold marble sculpture) by the Greedy grasp, stealing the FUTURE, the INNOCENCE of BECOMING… leaving only the ordeal of consuming life only for “hunting the living to the next day”, instead of a full beautiful potential to manifest. The feeble glowing candle symbolize the fragility in victims of GREED.”
“If you will think of ourselves as coming out of the earth, rather than having been thrown in here from somewhere else, you see that we are the earth, we are the consciousness of the earth. These are the eyes of the Earth. And this is the voice of the earth.”
Joseph Campbell
Art title: ‘Element: Earth‘ by artust: melanneart @ http://melanneart.deviantart.com/art/Element-Earth-356114977
Today the sunset offered a bright blue sky painted with gentle, flowing, soft clouds. When I looked up, I it felt like I could see eternity if I looked long enough and hard enough. The wind blew cool and clean against me. My husband and I walked through the neighborhood and I repeatedly looked back onto the forest covered ridge that runs parallel to our main road. Between us and them, there was picturesque, open fields and a sense of purity in all things. My spirit felt so free in this beautiful country. We walked into a local EU football field and there we found the bright green grass perfectly maintained, like from a painting, yet no one was there. Standing upon what looked like a green tapestried spring mound, overlooking the field was a tree, which we promptly and with out ceremony sat under, both watching and hearing the wind bristling and moving the leaves and branches. Looking around, the tender, carefully cut grass was covered in daisies… daisies I remember from my childhood. Perfect little things that spread their petals wide, inviting the sun and all that would walk by, “Look at me!”. I did. I picked one, thanking the earth and knowing how hard that plant had worked to make that one tiny daisy and twirled it in my fingers. Before I knew it, I was remembering my children when they were so young and how good life was then. I remembered why I loved being a pantheist and pagan. I remember rediscovering the world through their eyes and how beautiful and epic every small thing was. “Look at this rock mommy!” and I would and we would talk about it.
It was a very good day today.
Love, light and Blessings to you all.
Moro
“…What are the ethics of magick?”
From lovely “Beth’s World of Wonders”
“I’m so glad you asked. The basic rule is: Do as you will, as long as it harms no one.
Sound simple? Not entirely. There are certainly self-centered reasons to go along with “harm none” – as witches, we believe that our actions will come back to us. If you put a curse on someone, you are likely to face some negative consequences down the road. Beyond the effects of individual karma, we also believe in the interconnectedness of all beings, in which harm done to one is harm done to all.
At the same time, it is impossible to live without harming anyone. For one thing, we all eat beings (plants or animals) that had to die in order to feed us. For another, sometimes doing magick to help yourself (e.g. get a job) will inadvertently harm someone else (who therefore doesn’t get the job). We cannot avoid these contradictions; we have to face them squarely and accept the consequences of our actions.
Essentially, magickal ethics are no different than regular ethics. Would you beat someone up if they made you angry? No? Then don’t curse them to make them suffer pain. Would you try to bribe a prospective employer to get a job? No? Then don’t work magick on someone else to make them hire you. Would you try to make yourself look more attractive to an employer by wearing appropriate clothing to the interview and acting the way you think they want to see you? Sure you would. So there’s no reason not to work magick on yourself to attract a job….”
This post come from this fantastic blog. I highly recommend you go over and check it out for more fantastic information! http://www.soulrebels.com/beth/pagan.html & http://www.soulrebels.com/beth/magick.html
Shared by Moro
(I’ve looked on how or how to reblog/sharing her site directly but there isn’t an option, it seems)
Title: “Fires of universe” by artist: sasha-fantom @http://sasha-fantom.deviantart.com/art/Fires-of-universe-378874511
Elves are Fairies? Wait, what?
Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar, light and dark Elves; Seelie and Unseelie, Light and Dark Fae…
To begin and in general regarding Elves, this this blog has this to share with it’s readers. “The elves are luminous beings, “more beautiful than the sun,”[2]whose exalted status is demonstrated by their constantly being linked with the Aesir andVanir gods in Old Norse and Old English poetry.[3] The lines between elves and other spiritual beings such as the gods,giants, dwarves, and land spirits are blurry, and it seems unlikely that the heathen Germanic peoples themselves made any cold, systematic distinctions between these various groupings. It’s especially hard to discern the boundary that distinguishes the elves from the Vanir gods and goddesses. The Vanir god Freyr is the lord of the elves’ homeland, Alfheim,[4] and at least one Old Norse poem repeatedly uses the word “elves” to designate the Vanir.[5] Still, other sources do speak of the elves and the Vanir as being distinct categories of beings, such that a simple identification of the two would be misguided.” (1)
At the earliest point it seems there were generally two types of elves:
“Ljósálfar” (“Light-elves”) of Álfheim…In Norse mythology, the light elves (Old Norse: “Ljósálfar”) live in the Old Norse version of the heavens, in the place called Álfheimunderneath the place of the Gods. The idea of the light elf is one of the most ancient records of elves (Old Norse: “álfr” singular, “álfar” plural) preserved in writing, as close to the prototypical idea of the elf as we might get (Nordic mythology preserved an ancient German paganism).
According to the early Nordic source that mentions light versus dark elves, the Nordic Eddas of the 13th century, the light elves are bright and radiant. The Edda “Gylfaginning” by Snorri Sturluson, says that they are “fairer to look upon than the sun” (Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur’s translation).” (2)
Also in Norse mythology, Svartálfar (“Swart-elves” or “black elves”), sometimes considered synonymous with “duergar” (“dwarves”), are subterranean creatures who dwell in the world of Svartálfheim. They may be either benevolent or malevolent. The original Svartalfar worked the forges on the lowest level of the world tree. Their roles and countenance vary throughout Germanic folklore but are sometimes mentioned with Black or Dark skin as a result of working at the forge.
The Dökkálfar (“Dark-elves”) are male ancestral spirits who may protect the people, although some can be menacing, especially when one is rude to them. They are generally light-avoiding, though not necessarily subterranean. (3)
The lines of distinction are pretty vague now but probably was a bit more clear during this ancient time. Then the legends of the Germanic Dwarfs is intermingled with the Dark Elves. On top of that, the Greco/Roman pantheon later had some affect on how things were interpreted into more Forest like spirits for the High Elves as the Dark elves had altered with the Germanic Dwarves. Time passed. Countries and cultures changed. Legends and myths were exported and then reimported with a new interpretation and influence from that culture, then exported again! This happens a few times, including various changes from religion to religion, their appearance, stature and very nature. We have our current classifications or what we think they are now because of this, later writers and romanticism.
So, how does this relate to or have anything to do with Elves being Fairies?
“Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being….” (4) Early Fae had no wings and had much in common with elves, both having light and dark races. The Fae has history from France and all over Britain. In the Scottish traditions, There were two kinds of Fae, the Seelie or Beings of light and the Unseelie or dark beings. This is also true of the elves, as already mentioned.
In summary, we have the wonderful and rich culture of the Norse mythos to draw from giving us the Elves, and all magical beings in their pantheon. In emphasis, I also repeat how we have seen how they altered with time, culture, religion on top of being, again, exported, altered and reimported several times too so they became all under the umbrella of the “Fairy” title. Now today, we see them as separate beings, thanks largely to, again, popular and wonderful fictional authors.
(1) http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/elves/ (I highly recommend you visit this blog packed with Norse myths and information.)
(2) http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/167247
(3) http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/179251 (Check out this page/link/site for more info on this, sources and info relating to Scottish Trow and Drow “Elves” !)
(4) http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html (I highly recommend you visit this blog packed with fairy mythos and history, including types of fairies and from what countries and cultures!)
Moro
(I did not write this article in any way, other than small additions. I simply enjoy sharing pearls of wisdom and beauty from different sources into one source for many to enjoy. If inspired to from there, go to the original sources to discover more!)
Art title: ‘Differences” by artist: liiga @ http://liiga.deviantart.com/art/Differences-87959548
“The 13 Wiccan Principles”
The following set of thirteen principles was adopted by the Council of American Witches, in April, 1974.
— We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.
— We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
— We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called supernatural, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
— We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity ~ as masculine and feminine ~ and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive to each other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
— We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc. ~ and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
— We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
— We see religion, magick, and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it ~a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft.
— Calling oneself “Witch” does not make a Witch – but neither does heredity itself, not the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.
— We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
— Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be “the only way”, and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.
— As American {Or World-Wide!} Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
— We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as Satan or the Devil, as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the sufferings of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
— We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being….”
http://www.mysticmooncoven.org/rede.htm
(Check out this source for more that inspires you in your life and personal journey)
Source: http://www.mysticmooncoven.org/rede.htm
Moro
(I did not write this article in any way. I simply enjoy sharing pearls of wisdom and beauty from different sources into one source for many to enjoy. If inspired to from there, go to the original sources to discover more!)
Art title: “Daybreak” by artist: patriciabrennan @ http://patriciabrennan.deviantart.com/art/Daybreak-66741791
“If You’re a Witch, Why Can’t You…?”
From lovely “Beth’s World of Wonders”
“My friends and acquaintances sometimes tease me by saying things like, “Can’t you just do a spell to fix this problem?” “Don’t you have a crystal ball to give you the answer?”
My friends are joking, mostly. Of course they would kind of like it if I did have a crystal ball to give them the answers; but they know these stereotyped ideas about witchcraft and magic don’t apply to my practices. However, I’ve also heard these comments from acquaintances who actually don’t quite understand the problem with this reasoning. So I’d like to spell it out (no pun intended).
Common beliefs about magic assume that magic is a “supernatural” power which can counteract or reverse the laws of nature. This belief can be found in a wide variety of places, from the popular 1950’s movie Bell, Book, and Candle to the sociological and anthropological literature on witchcraft and magic. (This is particularly true about studies of magic and witchcraft in indigenous
societies, but it also holds true for many studies of modern witchcraft, for example Tanya Luhrmann’s Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft.) Given this belief, it makes sense that people want to know why I don’t have a spell to solve every problem. If magic trumps physics, chemistry, economics, and sociology, I certainly ought to be able to get myself an apartment, find out who’s going to win the next horse race, and (with enough effort) produce world peace.
The thing is that magic(k), as Witches understand it, is not a supernatural power. It is a natural power which allows us to create change in the world. This ability to create change occurs only in the context of other natural laws and powers (like gravity and conservation of mass), as well as cultural patterns. For example, economic and sociological influences, although culturally specific, are constantly affecting our lives and are certainly forces to be respected.
This doesn’t mean that magick only works psychologically and cannot affect the external world. It does mean that magick is more effective when it does not contradict major natural laws or cultural forces. For example, trying to influence the outcome of the next election doesn’t violate any natural laws, but it puts you up against some strongly entrenched political and economic forces. Trying to turn a traffic light from green to red (a la The Craft) doesn’t have major cultural ramifications, but it does go against natural laws of electricity.
Alternately, doing magick to find a job as a social worker, when I have a master’s degree in social work, does not go against any natural laws, and it doesn’t contradict our cultural beliefs and economic practices related to social work. Your magick is more likely to be effective if it meets these conditions.
I’m not sure about the boundaries of this interface – at what point it becomes impossible to influence events which are already shaped by natural laws and cultural forces. And I don’t believe it is wrong to try to influence these events, although magick may not always be the best way to do so. But it’s important to keep in mind that in magick – as in every other area of our lives – we are not all-powerful.
The bottom line: Magick is natural, not supernatural, and it is only one force among many.”
Article source: http://www.soulrebels.com/beth/whycant.html
http://www.soulrebels.com/beth/pagan.htm
Shared by Moro
(I’ve looked on how or how to reblog/sharing her site directly but there isn’t an option, it seems)
Picture title: “After the Sabbat” by artist: sasha-fantom @ http://sasha-fantom.deviantart.com/art/After-the-Sabbat-263322486
Shamanic Dreams of a Pagan Earth 