A Brief Hiatus

I've been post-less for almost two weeks now due to a family crisis and most likely won't be back for some time to come (hopefully not too long though). There is just no way, given the circumstances I am dealing with, that I can focus enough to actually write something worth reading. I hope you'll bear with me during this difficult time and will still be here waiting for me when I return. Take care, much peace to you all, and a blessed Ostara as well!

Moons and Totems 3

Everybody knows their western astrological profile and most people also know their eastern, or Chinese, astrological sign as well, but few know their moon profile from the Native American culture and the totems for each moon. As with the two more mainstream belief systems, the moon totem profiles are not only a very accurate read of an individual's personality, but they also add a rich dimension to who we are and where our weaknesses and powers come from.

Popping Trees Moon

November 11-December 10

Those born under this moon tend to prefer to periodically isolate themselves from the larger group, taking time to withdraw from society while they explore their inner selves, emerging with greater self-knowledge and understanding. The people of the Popping Trees Moon are wise, patient folks who know when to act and when to wait. These are mysterious, deep people who prefer to keep their feelings and ideas to themselves; a very spiritual people.

The element for this moon is earth and the animal totem is the owl, a wise creature who appears to hear and see all. The Popping Trees Moon's plant totem is the dandelion, a tenacious plant not easily disposed of, and its mineral totem is aquamarine. Aquamarine is a feminine, ethereal stone which brings to its user the ability to express themselves clearly. A stone that produces inspiration and inspired thoughts, it also confers upon its bearer a sense of peace and calmness, as well as the ability to know how and when to act in any given situation. Aquamarine brings courage without swagger. Lastly, the color of this moon is indigo, a color that can change appearance before your eyes. Is it blue? purple? black? Indigo is the color of one's third eye, that part of our subconscious that gives birth to intuition and our sixth sense. It is the color of spiritual understanding.

Everyone is most compatible with those people born under the moon opposite to their own and the opposite moon of the Popping Trees Moon is the Flowering Moon (May 11-June 10).

Photo courtesy of Foto Martien on flickr.

True Peace

The True Peace

The first peace, which is the most important,

is that which comes within the souls of people

when they realize their relationship,

their oneness, with the universe and all its powers,

and when they realize that at the center

of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit),

and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this.

The second peace is that which is made between two individuals,

and the third is that which is made between two nations.

But above all you should understand that there can never

be peace between nations until there is known that true peace,

which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.

- Black Elk, Oglala Sioux and Spiritual Leader (1863-1950)

"Appeal to the Great Spirit", bronze, Cyrus Edwin Dallin, 1909, at the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo courtesy of AntyDiluvian on flickr.

Stress Reduction Spell

Everyone knows that the holidays are stressful as hell, but personally I find the days immediately after the new year to be almost as bad. With holiday bills arriving in the mail daily, my high ideals of the shiny new year already struggling to be maintained, and even a bit of the mid-winter-darkness-blues settling in for an intimate little visit, this can be a very challenging time of year. Normally, I would take myself outside and recharge my batteries by connecting with the earth's potent energy, but the bitterly cold temperatures here where I live make it nearly impossible to spend any quality time out there. This little spell is a great way to recharge your core and eliminate the emotional flotsam caused by life. It can be used year round, but it's especially wonderful when it's better to be indoors all warm and toasty rather than outdoors in the deep freeze.

What you'll need:
A handmade cloth bag with a drawstring
A cup of dry earth*
A small bunch of healing flowers

What you'll need to do with these things:
Make a small bag out of a cloth you find pleasing to look at and touch. It's important that this little bag be sewn entirely by hand so that you are putting your essence into its creation. No sewing machines allowed! It should be large enough for you to put both your hands into it with room to move them around a bit and should have a drawstring at the top to close it securely. While you make your little bag, focus on your intentions: to be calm, relaxed and connected with the earth's power.

On a sunny day, collect a cup or so of clean earth. Feel the sun on your face (even if the rest of you is freezing to death!) and remember how you feel as you do this: the earth beneath your feet, the sun on your face, the air you breathe, the power of earth energy and nature. Bring the earth indoors and let it warm.

The original of this old spell, hailing from the Mediterranean region, called for fresh borage to be picked and dried but I much prefer flowers to herbs whenever possible. Besides, borage isn't an herb that everyone has growing on their windowsills, nor is it always readily available. Roses or gardenias are both easily found in flower shops and even supermarkets at this time of year and both are potent healers of personal stress by inducing peaceful vibrations. The flowers should be dried, but that's one thing this time of year has working in its favor: hanging a bunch of blooms over a furnace will dry them in a matter of hours, unlike in the warmer months when that process takes much more time. Of course, in warm weather you can pick your own fresh flowers and not have to rely on a store. There's always a trade-off, isn't there?

Place the soil and the dried flowers, stems removed, into your bag as you state your intentions clearly. Pull the drawstring closed. Keep your little bag of calm energy in a safe place and when things are going badly and you need to recharge yourself, take a moment or two to connect with the earth. Place your hands in the bag and run your fingers through the soil and the flowers, remembering the day you were outside preparing your spell and thinking about the power of Mother Earth's healing abilities.

*Granted, it's not the easiest time of the year to gather earth, but it can be done. After you've chipped up a bit of the frozen ground, bring it indoors to warm up and then break it up into proper soil once again. When you refill your bag in the warmer months (or if you're lucky enough to live somewhere fairly warm most of the year) this step will be much easier!

Note: This bag will remain potent for about six months and then will need to be refilled with fresh earth and newly dried flowers. Be sure to scatter the old soil and flowers to allow the earth to reclaim them.

Religious Intolerance Sucks

Why must people be so intolerant when it comes to spirituality? If the motivation one has actually comes from the Divine, from Spirit, from God, then it wouldn't be cold and evil, would it? The Goddess/God knows no religion, as religion and church are man-made and Spirit is natural and pure. When one follows a religion that follows Spirit in name only, but is in fact merely a group of people who are more concerned with self-gratification and personal gain (including amassing untold riches), in controlling those below them and coercing others into doing their bidding and blindly following their dogma, then one ceases to be spiritual even if one appears to still be "religious." There is a big difference between the two.

A great many people who purport to be good, God-fearing Christians are the single most close-minded, condescending, shallow and mean people I have ever met. They will tell you that by not accepting Jesus Christ as your savior that you are going to go to hell for all eternity. They fear anything different and they really fear anyone of the Pagan/Wiccan persuasion. Any amount of explaining that these gentle earth-based religious belief systems have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with devil worship, and that the pentacle is not a symbol of Satanism or anything similar will fall on deaf ears. And all you get instead is someone with their fingers stuck in their fearful ears saying "badbadbadbadbadbadbad." Pagans are not atheists nor satan worshippers and they don't feel that those who choose other spiritual paths are evil, or inferior to them, nor do they spend their time attempting to convert folks to a Wiccan path because they believe that's the one true path to God. Not everyone who is a member of a mainstream religion is this obnoxious, but the majority of them sure seem to be and that's truly sad.

I can't think of any building more spiritual than a church or a temple, but fill it up with the parishioners and it usually becomes the least spiritual place on earth, with human nature ruining a simply perfect thing. People are inherently selfish, petty, rude and childish and a group of churchgoers is no exception. A Christian flock is really not so different than a group of social-climbing, intolerant third graders out on the playground at recess. To me, the Divine is most found in the wild where earth is at her most primal and her most untouched and there is no one there to ruin the purity of what nature has made. Spirit is in every leaf, every rock and on every breeze. The Goddess and the God are peace and gentleness and compassion. And that's the way spirituality should be felt: in one's soul and with love for everyone, regardless of who or what they are. You have your beliefs and I will respect them with my whole heart, so why can't you respect mine? Oh yeah, that's right: because I'm different from you.