“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
‘Clan of the Dragon’s Code of Honor’
J’Karrah EbonDragon 1994, Revised 2003
from: http://ebon-dragon.com/cotd/Honor.html
*Adapted in part from traditional sources*
“1) In all that you do be honest and fair. Always consider how your actions will affect your family, your Clan, and your standing among those Dragons who call you friend. If what you are doing will not bring honor or justice, or improve the world around you by even the smallest measure don’t do it. It is your duty always to ensure that no dishonor or shame comes to those dependent upon you because of your words or actions.
2) Take credit for, and accept the consequences of, all of your own actions, be it for good or ill. Everyone makes mistakes. Shame only comes in not owning up to them. And when you do make an honest mistake, forgive yourself as you would forgive others.
3) Accept no blame for that which you did not do without a very good reason such as saving an innocent from harm. Accepting undue blame to save the “honor” of another is not a good reason, for if they *had* any honor worth saving they would accept the consequences of their own actions rather than trying to pass it on to you.
4) Give your word only after great consideration as to how it may affect your duty to your Gods, your family and Clan. And when you do give your word you are honor bound to keep it. Should you knowingly or deliberately fail to do so, your honor is diminished until you make amends.
5) Do not engage in idle gossip or speculation about the affairs or actions of others. Never reveal the secrets entrusted to you by family, Clan, or friend lightly. To do otherwise shows you to be an untrustworthy person and seriously lacking in honor. The old adage “Loose lips sink ships” applies in all areas of life. The spreading of unsubstantiated rumor brings dishonor upon you and shame to your family, your Clan, and your Dragon friends.
The only exception to keeping a secret is when doing so would endanger an innocent, bring unjustified dishonor to another, bring shame to family or Clan, allow a criminal to go unpunished, or seriously violate the laws of the land. In this matter let common sense prevail.
6) What is yours is yours. Let no one take from you by force or con you out of that which is legally and rightfully yours. But also respect the property of others. Take nothing you are not entitled to or which has been given to you freely and with an open heart.
7) If someone who has wronged you, your family, or Clan comes before you in genuine repentance forgive them with out reservation. However, you have no obligation to forgive those who have wronged you yet made no attempt at restitution. Remember, while holding stubbornly to old, useless anger does you no good, neither does forgiving those who have not earned it. Forgiveness is a gift freely given yet still must be earned. It is not something that can be demanded of you, nor an “obligation” you must submit to in order to “move on.”
If you cannot honestly forgive then don’t… But also don’t let old angers fester in your heart. Instead release them to the Universe that they may be cleansed and dissipated. This does not mean you forgive the offender, it simply means that you to choose no longer let them have any power over you in any form.
8) Never neglect your family or Clan. Have the fierceness of a Dragon in their defense if and when necessary, and always be certain they are provided for before starting any new endeavor or taking any risk.
9) Always remember that having a cool head and calm mind is a virtue. The ability to keep your head when all around you are losing theirs is a benefit that will serve you well in all aspects of life.
10) Remember that you are a representative of your family, your Clan and your Dragon friends. You physical appearance and demeanor should reflect that. Show pride in yourself, your appearance, and your position in the Clan without being arrogant. Always strive to do your best everything you do. Be generous with self-praise (without bragging) and self-forgiveness when warranted.
11) When you gain power or authority, use it carefully and with wisdom. Remember that both power and authority grow with experience, and as a member of the Draconic Tradition you should exercise both with care, dignity and humility. No matter how wise you think you are, or how powerful, if you abuse what has given you there will come a time when the universe may decide to take it back.
12) Do not give your friendship or your allegiance frivolously or without careful consideration. Not all those who seek to be friends with you are worthy of that honor. A false friend can be more dangerous than the most bitter enemy. Make sure those whom you call “friend” are trustworthy and honorable.
13) Unless the lives and safety of your family or Clan are in jeopardy always obey the “laws of the land.” To do otherwise without true justification brings dishonor to you, your family, and your Clan and shames you before your gods.
14) Remember that dignity, a gracious manner and a good sense of humor are traits to be admired and cultivated.
15) Always be prepared for whatever the Future may bring. Life with all of its joys, sorrows and secrets is to be embraced and experienced to the fullest, for this is how one gains wisdom, knowledge and experience. When your time in this Life is done, return to your Gods with joy. Stand before Them with pride for a life lived with honor, and wait with a glad heart until your time of rebirth comes once again.”
Shared by Moro
Art title: ‘ The Day of the Dragon’ by artist: kokodriliscus @ http://kokodriliscus.deviantart.com/art/The-Day-of-the-Dragon-273419243
“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
“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
“CELTIC BLESSING OF THE NINE ELEMENTS”
“May you go forth under the strength of heaven,
under the light of the sun,
under the radiance of the moon;
may you go forth with the splendor of fire,
with the speed of lightning,
and the swiftness of wind;
may you go forth supported by the depth of the sea,
by the stability of earth,
by the firmness of rock;
may you be surrounded and encircled, with the protection of the nine elements.”
from: The Celtic Blessing of the Nine Elements
June 27, 2012 by Sapphire Witch
— Source: Celtic Devotional: Daily Prayers and Blessings by Caitlin Matthews (Harmony Books, 1996). @ http://thenemeton.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/the-celtic-blessing-of-the-nine-elements/
Moro
Art title: ‘Infinity’ by sasha-fantom @ http://sasha-fantom.deviantart.com/art/Infinity-255630416?q=gallery%3Asasha-fantom%2F14457360&qo=68
“He woke
and saw my candles lit
and just because
I am “the witch”
he laughed a nervous
twittersnitch
and asked me
“Why would you have church?”
“I’m just praying” I seemed to hiss.
“Tonight I feel the needs of men.”
And brusk he blew out all the flame
and said, “Tell them I said ‘Amen.'”
“Candles can be lit again.”
I warned him as he left the room.
“Who knows?” I laughed in dark to self,
“I could have prayed for you.”
by Serenity Blaze
from: http://www.pagan-heart.co.uk/poems/twittersnitch.html
Moro
Title: “Emotion” by artist: Andreo Oprinca at http://www.andrei-oprinca.com/portfolio/emotion/
Originally a series of posts, then made into a note for this blog’s mother page of FB’s Pagans, Witches, Warlocks, Shamans and Sages, I was inspired to seek this out again and blog it because of a very sweet woman finding such correlations and discovering this for her self on my friends list. The agenda of this series is to connect the ancient wisdom and secrets of the snake to women and how the snake was iconized and used to shun women’s rights from the light of day and banish us into shame. With this in mind, it has a strong feminist feel to it but does not, in any way shape or form meant to slander our brothers and the modern masculine gender. Times have changed for many of us in the Western world, but time has also held very still for other cultures and countries. I didn’t realize to what extent until I moved here and have seen old or sick women of supposed “no monetary” value wearing their full Burqas (or Burka) and forced to sit by the popular pedestrian areas and beg for money.
Women, the healers, the midwives, the wisdom innate within us and witches, yes, a very few were actual witches because of their natural abilities, watched all of it taken away by the twisting of the ancient symbol of life and knowledge, the snake.
Still standing proud are two snakes, representing the knowledge of medicine, and are wrapped around the Caduceus as a symbol of medicine. This symbol connecting as ancient healers is now stripped from us as women. We were powerless through out ancient times as we watched our rights as women ripped from us, no longer allowed to help those in need and indeed, banished by popular religions connecting the three, woman, knowledge and snake. In times past, we were instead accused and burned as witches and to this day, we have never fully recovered.
I am by far not the first to know this nor am I the last. Spread the love and knowledge dearest brothers and sisters, so that our legacy may not be completely forgotten in the mists of time.
Let’s first take a look at the various meanings, cultures, god, goddesses through out the world.
In American movies, snakes are pretty much used as a standard creepy-crawlies creature to get the girls to scream and the tough guy to protect them. Although they are used in this way in Asian cinema as well, there is another application: snakes don’t scare women: they are women. And it is the men who had better start running, lol.
So below, we have in summary the various aspects of snakes connecting them to knowledge and trees. Why, in modern popular religions are snakes demonized in connection to trees, healing, knowledge and then woman? Next we I will share with you the very same aspects of healing, shamans, knowledge, women then directly to witchcraft. Following this, how that connection was the very cause which instigated the destruction of female wisdom, healers through the accusation of witchcraft…a nasty means to an end.
Initially, snakes are most connected to Wisdom, then Cycles, Rebirth, Patience, Fertility, Balance, Cunning, Intuition, Awareness, Healing, Intellect, Protection, Solemnity, Rejuvenation, Transformation, Occult (hidden), Male/Female, Yin-Yang, Duality, Protection, Regeneration, and the Primal life force.
The serpent is often found associated with a sacred tree, perhaps guarding some sacred fruit. This chthonic serpent may be coiled at the bottom of the tree. The snake as protector at a sacred tree is seen in Biblical and Norse mythology, as well as in the tales of the Bodhi tree of Buddhism.
Ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Scandinavia, Greece, and Pre-Columbian America, to name just a few, all shared the symbolism of the snake in their religion and folklore. Snake gods and goddesses are seen throughout different ancient cultures such as the Greek Medusa with snakes for hair, or the Minoan Snake Goddess, or the Sumero-Babylonian Enki, the Serpent Lord of Wisdom and trickster god. They are significant deities with fierce and fearful power.
Snakes were an extremely popular representation of deity, of magical powers, and of regeneration and life. Indeed, serpents are life-giving and life-affirming. The Arabic has related words for serpent (hayyah) and life (hayat), both coming from the same root with the implication of the serpent being a life-giver.
Mythological Snakes Hold Opposite Interpretations.
Serpents represent both good and evil in mythology. Worship and fear of serpents has been seen throughout religious history, as the snake represents a male, a female or androgynous god. Throughout the world the serpent may symbolize opposing qualities to different peoples, such as death, destruction, rebirth, authority, sin, trickery, temptation, wisdom, prophecy, mystery, fertility, healing, medicine, poisoning, warning, renewal, mortality, and immortality.
Snakes serve as guardians in folklore. Symbolically they can represent the earth and the underworld. Snakes are thought of as secretive and are equated with the hidden and most sacred aspects of religion. Early religion used the serpent as a phallic symbol, and also as a symbol of the mother goddess. Their forked tongues are thought to show duplicity, and their words cannot be trusted.
Cosmic Serpents:
Much folklore worldwide depicts a great serpent that encircles the world. In this case where the snake swallows its own tail to form a circle, it is known by the Greek term Ouroboros, although the symbol first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Such a cosmic serpent is found in the Norse Jormungandr which encircled the world in the deep of the oceans, swallowing its own head.
The snake also inhabits the subterranean earth or the underworld, where he is a guardian of sacred entrances. Serpents are found throughout Egyptian mythology, usually as females. The cobra is a symbol of the goddess from antiquity and appears on the crown, the Uraeus, and in the hieroglyphic names of female goddesses. The cosmic chthonic serpent of Egypt is a male, however, known as Apep. Apep, an evil demon, represented darkness and chaos. Apep, who appeared from the Middle Kingdom onward, was considered the enemy of the Sun God, Ra.
The Egyptians practiced many rites to aid the god Ra to make his successful journey through each night undefeated by Apep. During the New Kingdom, the serpent Apep became associated with the god Set. The great antiquity of the place of the cosmic snake against the solar god was found in Egypt with a snake figure shown as an enemy of a solar deity. This was depicted on an ancient pottery bowl, now in the Cairo Museum (Naqada I, ca. 4000 BCE).
As a Native American Indian symbol (depending on the nation/tribe) the snake can be a masculine symbol, associated with the phallus of lightning which is considered a medicine staff of tremendous assertive power. Other tribes lean in the direction of feminine attribution for the snake and pair it with mothering (creation), and lunar (moon) symbolism.
Whether raising itself in masculine authority, or encircling the Earth in a motherly fashion the snake symbol of the Native American’s was highly regarded; utilized in ritual to invoke an element of pointed focus and weighty influence.
The ancient Celts were extremely nature-wise too, and approached snake symbolism from the behavior and life cycle of this magnificent creature. From the Celtic perspective, the snake was a symbol of secret knowledge, cunning and transformation.
Further, the snake Celtic symbol comes from observations of the European viper (also known as the adder) which is the only (along with the common grass snake) species able to tolerate the colder climate of the ancient Celts.
In the keen Celtic mind, snake symbolic meaning of transformation came from the shedding of its skin. Physical evidence of leaving its form behind (casting off the old self), and emerging a sleeker, newer version made the snake a powerful symbol of rebirth and renewal.
As far as the occult (hidden) symbolic meaning in Celtic and other cultures, this can be connected to the sleuth-like ways of the snake.
Disappearing in colder months and summoned by the sun marks the snake’s connection to the shadow worlds with its successful ability to live within the dark realms for extended periods of time. Alternatively, the snake softly moves into the embrace of the sun, and so it encapsulates the ancient magician’s creed of moving in perfect rhythm of natural forces.
In Eastern Indian myth the Sanskrit word for snake is Naga and these are associated with the element of water. Picking up water’s symbolism of emotion, love and motion, Nagas in this light are considered a feminine aspect and embody nurturing, benevolent, wise qualities.
To wit, the practice of Nagayuna in Eastern Indian alchemy seeks to achieve loving harmony between the physical and ethereal. Simply put, all of us striving to better ourselves by calmly easing into places of personal balance within the cosmic balance of the whole are practicing this ancient technique.
Snake tattoo symbolism varies according to the bearer of the mark. For example, My frien has a back piece depicting two serpents (nagas) wrapped around the seven prime chakras down the length of her spine. This (to me) incorporates the kundalini power available to all humans.
Additionally, this entwined snake imagery hearkens to the caduceus, in which the staves of Asclepius are made of two polar (and copulating) serpents which symbolizes balance, equanimity, union and regeneration.
We have looked at many things so far to really look at the histories, cultures, deities, and meanings behind snakes and how they are connected to women, more often than not, wisdom, healing and even the connection to sacred trees. I have been building up to this to help people understand why the most popular prevalent religions shame now both women and snakes, dismissing the knowledge and the healing wisdom within women and dismissing our rights, subjugating us through the ages. I am using the well know myth connection of the snake as the archangel Lucifer…both the most beautiful creatures in heaven but both banished for “pride”, the snake into the sacred tree of knowledge and the using of the icon Eve to bring down and shame all women in connection to all. This is propagated one way or another throughout all modern popular religions and shaped the way many cultures and societies viewed and treated women. Then came the inquisition and the witch trials. Don’t think for a second that there was any real “religious” reason for what they did, but instead used these associations as a means to an end. Let’s look at its history and how it has affected us in our modern society and still even today.
“By the early 1970’s feminists were becoming aware of a variety of race women were abused or treated unjustly by the medical system. As healthcare professionals, women were largely confined to subordinated roles as nurses and aids. As consumers of care, we found ourselves we found subjects insensitive and hazardous treatment; unnecessary hysterectomies, over-medicated childbirth, insufficiently tested contraceptives, involuntary sterilizations, and the almost universal condescension of male doctors.
We were not supposed to know anything about our own bodies or to participate in decision-making about our own care. As girls, the women of our generation had grown up thinking of their reproduction organs as the unmentionable region “down there.” In the Ladies’ Home Journal, which many of our mothers read, the medical advice column was entitled “Tell Me, Doctor.” Women who asked too many questions or insisted, for example, on “natural” childbirth, frequently found themselves labeled, right in their medical records, as uncooperative or neurotic. Serious complaints were likely to be dismissed as “psychosomatic” and attributed to women’s assumed suggestibility.
We were beginning to suspect that women had not always, in all circumstances, been so disempowered with respect to their own bodes and care. After all, medical technology and the medical profession that monopolized it were relatively recent historical developments, and yet somehow our female ancestors had, however imperfectly, negotiated the challenges of the female life cycle.
Sometimes, in conventional histories of American medicine, we found tantalizing references to a time when women predominated as healers – but only as an indication of how “primitive” American society was.
There is now wealth of information about women as lay healers, midwives, and “doctresses” in early America and their subsequent exclusion from formal medical education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. If anything, even more information has become available about women as lay healers in early modern Europe, and their fates in the witch persecution of the time – enough to tempt us into what could be many rewarding years of study.
First, on the matter of the number of women killed as witches, we used the estimates available to us at the time – scholars accepted figures of one million or even much higher. Although the body count will never be exact, historian John Demos writes that recent studies yield estimates that “fall in a range of 50,000 to 100,00.” Demos adds that, “These, in turn, were just a fraction of a much larger number of suspects….”
Second, we should clarify the role of the European medical profession relative to church and state. Witch trials represented extraordinary cooperation (and sometimes conflict) among all the dominant institutions, including both the legal and medical professions, which were heavily dependent on approval from the highest authorities. It was the medical profession that provided the courts with expert testimony: for example, Paulus Zacchias, the personal physician to two seventeenth-century Popes, authored a seven volume treatise called Medico-Legal Questions to demonstrate ”where medical knowledge could inform Canon Law on such issues as…the causes of foetal death, types of madness, poisoning, impotence, malingering, torture, [and] witchcraft…”
Physicians benefited from the suppression of their competition: In the European cities where they congregated, they practiced in a market filled with lay healers and empirics. In London, in 1600, there were fifty physicians affiliated with the College of Physicians (a stronghold of Galenic medicine), outnumbered by some 250 mainly unlicensed practitioners (not including surgeons, apothecaries, midwives, and nurses) who made a living. In 1581, the College of Physician, which claimed the right to regulate medical practice in London, attempted to prevent a lay healer named Margaret Kennix from practicing – but Queen Elizabeth had intervened decreeing that “the poore woman should be permitted by you quietly to practice and minister to the curing of diseases and wounds, by the means of certain Simples [herbal remedies] in the applying where of it seemth God hath given her an especial knowledge, to the benefit of the poorer sort…” Such protection for her favored few was not to last after Elizabeth’s death in 1602.
We stand by our assertion that male physicians were both more dangerous and less effective than female lay healers. Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) himself a scientific originator, thought that “empirics and old women” were “more happy many times in their cures than learned physicians”. The conservative philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) concluded that he would “rather have the advice or take physic from an experienced old woman that had been at many sick people’s bedsides, than from the learnedst but inexperienced physician.”
Third, we made the assumption that witches may have met in “covens” or other organized groups, and we referred to Margaret Murray when we said that “some writers speculate that these may have been occasions for pagan religious worship.” Murray’s research has since been discredited, and today most scholars seem to agree that the beliefs of women who were executed as witches cannot be differentiated from those of the rest of the population, and most were avowedly Christian. Some pagan religions or remnant did survive in places but the connection between this and women accused of witchcraft remains unclear.
Another point worth revisiting concerns the religious wars in the background of the witch hunts. We wrote: “…witch-healer’s methods were as great a threat (to the Catholic Church, if not the Protestant) as her results, for the witch was an empiricist…” we can no more do justice here to the conflicts of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation than we could in a short booklet. But it should be noted that while Protestant fought the Roman Catholic Church, they tortured and executed witches too.”
From the Book: Witches, Midwives and Nurses-a History of Women Healers (second edition)
By Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English copyright 1973
Much work has been done to support this in the decades that followed, but it still completely altered our society and our world. Even in modern times, though amazing efforts have been made to counteract this…it is nor ever will be enough for what they have done, not to a culture, not to a country, not to a group of people belonging to a specific gene pool but to the entire female population. the treatment of atrocities still goes on today in our culture, under the curtains of political correctness and in other cultures and societies, it is blatant and lawful, even encouraged.
Moro
Note: This article was done sometime ago and several contributing sources were not appropriately given credit. I do apologize for this and if you happen to see a source that you recognize, please feel free to let me know so that I may also look it up and give them credit.
Regarding the Art: I must tell you this was a difficult original owner to track down because it is such a popular altered wallpaper nowadays. Even when I found it originally, it was from Nexus Desktops. I am glad to have found the original artist and very happy to share her link to this great piece.
Art title: ‘wrath‘ by pieceesnp @ http://pieceesnp.deviantart.com/art/wrath-138460567?q=gallery%3Apieceesnp%2F1054735&qo=26
Spirit/power animal: The Owl…
The most striking animal meaning for the owl is its deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge. If you have the owl as a totem or spirit animal, you’re likely to have the ability to see what’s usually hidden to most. When the owl guides you, you can count on the power of this spirit animal to see beyond illusion and deceit to access the true reality. Owl spirit animals also offer wisdom about the unknown and life’s magic.
What is the owl spirit animal meaning?
Common meanings for the owl are:
Intuition, ability to see what other do not see
The presence of the owl announces change
Capacity to see beyond deceit and masks
Wisdom
Owl spirit animals are associated with curiosity for the unknown, life mysteries
The traditional meaning of the owl spirit animal is the announcer of death, most likely symbolic like a life transition, change
The owl spirit animal and the power to see in the dark
The owl sees in the dark: As a spirit animal, the owl guides you to see beyond the veil of deception and illusion; it helps see what’s kept hidden. It also symbolizes the ability to cut through illusions and see the real meaning of someone’s action or state of mind.
When the owl is one of your power animals, you have a strong intuition and can access information and wisdom that’s usually hidden to most. The spirit of this animal encourages you to look beyond deceiving appearances into the true reality of a situation or a person’s motives.
The owl is a strong spirit guide for discernment and making decision based solid foundations. Call on the owl totem when you have to assess a situation or are going through confusing times.
The unknown and the owl power animal
If you have an owl as a totem or spirit animal, you probably like to explore the unknown. The mysteries of life are a fascinating field of interest. As the owl guides your steps, you are likely to develop an appreciation for life’s magic.
When the owl shows up in your life, listen and look out for the subtle signs that are around you. Your animal spirit guide is a great helper to be attentive to what usually goes below your radar, but is now of particular importance.
The owl is also a guide to uncover your hidden potential and abilities. Check whether you need to reveal more of your intuitive nature.
Night time is particularly auspicious for your creativity, so take the time to focus your creative energy then.
Owl spirit animals as messengers of change
Owl spirit animals are symbolic of death in many traditions. In most cases however, it should not be taken literally: If the owl is associated with death, it can be viewed a symbolic death, meaning a transition in life, important changes that are taking place or about to happen.
When the owl shows up in your life, pay attention to the winds of change. Perhaps you are about to leave some old habits, a situation that no longer serve you or bring something new in your life.
Dream interpretation of the owl
When you dream about an owl, your spirit animal may be contacting you to warn you about a danger or threat hat you need to pay attention to. It can bring a wise insight about important matters that you should not ignore.
When an owl appears in a dream, it could also mean that the intuitive part of you is calling for attention: Pay attention and listen to the subtle signs in your life, to what is important, but not necessarily obviously so.
The owl could also be a animal spirit guide offering you insight about a moment of transition. Since this totem animal is often associated with death, when an owl shows up in a dream, it could mean that you are receiving guidance regarding personal transformation, change.
In many dream interpretations, the owl can represent a deceased friend or family member who comes back in the dream in the shape of a spirit animal.
The owl spirit animal & superstition
Birds, especially birds of the night, are often associated with departed souls. The owl is no exception. In some popular believes, they are considered as bad omen signifying the imminent death of a close relative or someone important. Romans even believed that an owl hooting from the top of a public building announces the death of an important public figure. It could also represent the spirit of a deceased family of close friend.
The night owl was the animal associated with the Lord of Death in the Aztec tradition. There’s a similar meaning for the Celts who associated the owl’s spirit with an animal announcing death, especially if it flies into someone’s window while a sick person is inside the house. It was viewed as the spirit animal that would carry the souls of the departed to the underworld.
Other traditional meanings for the owl spirit animal
In some Native American traditions, the owl is called the Night Eagle. The owl totem has a special connection with the night and the moon, while the eagle is connected to the sun.
The owl is associated with witchcraft in a number of European and some American Indian traditions. Witches would often take the owl as an animal spirit guide.
In Greek mythology, the Goddess Athena, goddess of the wisdom and war, was represented as an owl. It is said that the Romans believed that someone would reveal all their secrets during their sleep if an owl feather was placed near their pillow. What is the owl spirit animal revealing about your secrets?
Moro
I think this page was my original source for the post, if memory serves me correct: http://www.spiritanimal.info/owl-spirit-animal/
The picture I chose for the post back then was from an animal conservation page but I am unable to track it down now. Instead, it seams it has become a very popular wallpaper many many sites.
A “Spirit Animal” is the one who will present life’s lessons. The Spirit Animal is the one who comes to you in order to show you, through its own unique nature and skills, how to deal with the manifestations of your Spiritual Journey. Spirit Animals do not necessarily guide you, but they come to teach you that which you need to learn, in order to know how meet the challenges of your Spirit Walk.
Each Spirit Animal has certain powers and skills to teach and certain knowledge to share, for each Spirit Animal has its own methods of overcoming the many challenges it must meet in order to survive.
The Spirit Animal’s appearance signals a time to connect with your true Self and your life’s purpose. Pay attention to the repeated appearance of this animal and of repeated patterns or themes. Awakening to the recognition of these seemingly synchronistic occurrences teaches you to be aware of the hidden messages in everyday experiences.
There are many ways by which your Spirit Animal may make itself known to you and many ways by which by which it may pass on its message. Do not let your perceived image of the animal prejudice you as to the significance of its message. You will meet with the Spirit Animal whose lesson you need to learn.
You do not choose your Spirit Animal, it chooses you. Do not try to “compel” your Spirit Animal to manifest itself just because you want it to. True Spirit Animals will appear only at the time and place in your life when you are ready to accept them and the wisdom the come to offer.
And … they always turn up at exactly the right moment.
A “Totem Animal” is an animal spirit that you call upon or invoke, as an individual or a tribe, for its special powers and survival skills, to serve as a guardian or protector when facing adversity.
It is customary for many Native American tribes (as well as others) to be made up of smaller groups or “Clans” united by actual or perceived kinship and descent and formed around a founding member or “ancestor”. Often this ancestor is an animal spirit which becomes the Clan Totem. The clan totems are often the animals that inhabit the local area, (The wolf, bear, turtle, and deer are common clans of the Great Lakes area.), and which have a unique relationship to the tribe and its heritage.
Some of the clans of the Six Nations are the turtle, bear, wolf and the heron and often within these clans there are different “sub-clans” represented by such animals as the Snapping Turtle and the Painted Turtle in the example of the Turtle Clan.
The “spiritual powers” of the various totems help each clan to carry out its own special duties and responsibilities within the tribe in accordance with the attributes of that totem. (The Turtle Clan usually being the tribes “Keepers of Wisdom”, the guardians of the legends and mysteries mysteries within the tribes ceremonies and practices.)
Again, never let your perceived image of an animal effect how you see its ability to serve as a “Totem”. Though it may seem incongruous to invoke a rabbit as a totem for battle, remember the wisdom shown by “Bre’r Rabbit” in defeating an enemy.
Totem Poles
The Totem Pole is an arrangement of symbols representing animal totems from the tribe’s ancestral past. Totems were a form of communication for the Pacific Northwest Coast Native Americans as they had no written language and thus the Story Poles were used to convey their legends, stories and events. Totem poles may also be messages passed on by those that carve them. The pole’s symbols may often tell a very personal story of the carver himself, as well as that of his own family, clan or tribe.
Totem Poles
The Totem Pole is an arrangement of symbols representing animal totems from the tribe’s ancestral past. Totems were a form of communication for the Pacific Northwest Coast Native Americans as they had no written language and thus the Story Poles were used to convey their legends, stories and events. Totem poles may also be messages passed on by those that carve them. The pole’s symbols may often tell a very personal story of the carver himself, as well as that of his own family, clan or tribe.
“The Familiar”
A third type of Animal Spirit, little heard of outside of Shamanism and Witchcraft is called a “familiar”. The familiar is a spiritual entity that will appear as a facilitator in the communion of the human, animal and spirit realms.
The true shaman or witch does not just decide to walk the “Path”. They must first be chosen by and then accept a spirit being or deity as their mentor. Usually, this mentor will send forth an animal spirit to guide the initiate to them, or in many cases, they themselves may take the form of an animal spirit, only later revealing their true nature.
One example, in the case of shamans and witches who come from the background of the European Celtic traditions, the Goddess Morrigan will often appear to the initiate in the form of a raven or crow as their familiar and she will reveal her true self only after the initiate has actualized as an “enlightened being”.”
http://www.spiritwalkministry.com/spirit_guides
Moro
Photo/art from: http://www.crystalinks.com/totemanimals.html
Shamanic Dreams of a Pagan Earth 