skip to main |
skip to sidebar
In many pagan and wiccan traditions, it's not uncommon to make some sort of offering or sacrifice to the gods. Bear in mind that despite the reciprocal nature of our relationship with the divine, it's not a matter of "I'm offering you this stuff so you'll grant my wish." It's more along the lines of "I honor you and respect you, so I'm giving you this stuff to show you how much I appreciate your intervention on my behalf."
So the question arises, then, of what to offer them? Different types of deities seem to respond best to different kinds of offerings. For example, you wouldn't offer flowers to a war god, would you? When making an offering, it's important to think about what the god represents. The Roman Cato described an offering for agricultural prosperity: Make offerings to keep your oxen in good health. Make the following sacrifices to Mars... three pounds of wheat, four-and-a-half of lard, four-and-a-half of meat and three pints of wine. While it's probably not necessary to go that far and offer up enough food to feed a small army to your god, the passage does illustrate the fact that our ancestors thought enough of their gods to take their offerings very seriously.
In general, bread, milk and wine are nearly always appropriate for any deity. Here are some ideas for specific offerings you can make to deities, based upon the types of gods they are:
Hearth and Home Gods:
* Food: Bread and grains, cooking oil, salt
* Drink: Milk, wine, cider
* Herbs: Rosemary, thyme
Gods of Love and Passion:
* Food: Eggs, honey, apples
* Drink: Wine, fruit juice
* Herbs: Lavender, sandalwood
Garden/Nature Deities:
* Food: Bread, cornmeal, fruit
* Drink: Milk, water
* Herbs: Bay
Gods of Prosperity and Abundance:
* Food: Grains, dairy products like cheese or eggs
* Drink: Milk, beer
* Herbs: Mint, pennyroyal, catnip
Ancestor Spirits:
* Food: Any meal from your family's table
* Drink: Drinks from the family table
* Herbs: Sage, sweetgrass
Childbirth or Fertility Godesss:
* Food: Eggs, baked sweets like cookies
* Drink: Milk (including breast milk)
* Herbs: Rose, sandalwood, apple blossoms
Source: http://magic-and-spells.blogspot.com
As channeled by Natalie Sian Glassonomna.org
It is in and with the true and pure embodiment of love that I consciously step forward to be present within your energy and consciousness. I demonstrate to you through my presence your own sacred and divine self. If you can allow yourself to see, sense or acknowledge my energies as a pure embodiment of love then you are ready to accept, see, sense and acknowledge yourself in the same way, form and manifestation.
This realisation of yourself as an embodiment of love can be achieved through simple and yet powerful steps and intentions that you place firmly into each and every day you allow yourself to be consciously alert and present on the Earth.
Do not look to me as a leader of truth and love but look through me to yourself as an example of truth and love. I no longer walk the Earth as a physical embodiment and presence of my soul on the Earth and yet each and every day I walk the Earth through your being, through your actions, thoughts, loving gestures and divine connections.
Can you imagine me as being divinely present within everything, my peace, love and truth being present within your soul, within those that you meet? Could you imagine how beautiful your world could then seem as you see my sacred qualities wherever you are? Could you then replace my energy with your own, and imagine that you are divinely present within everything, within your being and within those that you meet, whether strangers or loved ones?
Would the world be a most beautiful place with your sacred qualities integrating and merging or appearing within all? Maybe through my questions you can see how much of your own power and self-realisation that you direct towards me, honouring my vibrations rather than your own. Of course when you look to me you will always look through me to acknowledge yourself but when you see those sacred and holy qualities do you truly recognise them as being present within you, as being a reflection of you?
I am here only to inspire that which is sacred within you to emerge, this has always been my purpose, to show you all that you are, to act as a mirror so that you may see yourself more fully, clearly and with perfect clarity. I show to you the most simplest of qualities and yet these are the greatest qualities and gifts that a human being or Light soul may hold. Through simplicity and communicating with simplicity we can all see beyond the many levels of illusion to grasp truth.
Simply sitting in meditation within my energy or allowing me to be present before you as our energy fields join and Light passes between us will allow you to use my energy and presence as a mirror to your own sacred divine truth and the essence or core of your being. The essence and core of your being is always evolving and expanding and so requires constant observation and focus in order to continue to realise the magnificence within your physical being. With realisation the presence and inspiration of truth unfolds allowing you to submerge yourself deeper into a state of truth awareness.
In meditation and connection with my energy allow yourself to focus upon my heart chakra, let yourself enter into my heart chakra, seeing, sensing acknowledging any energies, sensations or insights. Then remind yourself that what you are experiencing is you; this is your energies, your truth, your magnificence, you are acknowledging yourself, it is important to really ground and acknowledge this understanding deep within you. It is a way of confirming yourself as a sacred being of Light while also allowing your own truth to unravel with ease and free from expectations or pressure from within your being.
I am always present with you to help you unravel your truth, by doing so you are unravelling the truth of each and every soul, the Universe and the Creator. To unravel your truth is to loosen your hold on your own reality, your beliefs and perspectives of yourself, to undo that which ties you to your physical perspective of illusion and limitations gradually loosening and expanding the essence of your being. To unravel yourself could be perceived as allowing yourself to crumble and fall to pieces but sometimes this is needed in order to realise what is your true essence and what is a perspective that ties you to the reverse of truth which is untruth.
There are many areas of your reality and even self that you have created false fictional fabrications holding onto them as truths or natural aspects of your being. To see these false fictional fabrications without taking them personally, as an insult or causing yourself pain allows you to unravel the truth of your being which is the truth of the Creator. The truth of your being is like small but beautiful gems of the Creator, each exquisite and valuable.
When you allow yourself to acknowledge your divinity a natural reaction is that you become aware more fully of your limitations, barriers and fears. Often when you do not recognise yourself as sacred you also do not recognise the fears and limitations that you hold onto tightly and weave into your manifestations on the Earth. With realisation, your eyes are opened wide to all that you hold onto.
This is nothing to be ashamed of, to judge or punish yourself with; it is simply a process of unravelling your truth. When you are realising your fear, experiencing an unwanted manifestation or emotion in your life, it is important to realise that this is a natural process that you have created, a space in your reality in order for you to unravel your truth more, through loosening your hold upon certain ideas or perspectives and attuning to new insights that will serve you and carry you further along your spiritual path of illumination.
Do not be afraid to observe your fears and emotions as they arise within you, see, sense and observe them not as negative aspects but as a pathway to unravel your truth. By seeing beyond the fear or unneeded emotion and reminding yourself of light, of love and of gratitude you are able to literally see the light, bringing forth a spotlight of illumination from within your being to dissolve the barriers that restrain you and you hold onto, to replace each with a greater experience of peace and expansion.
The greatest tool of unravelling your truth and therefore loosening your hold upon aspects and perspective of your being and reality is through THE VIBRATION OF LOVE being constantly present within your being. This way you learn to give love to all, to react and act in love and to serve love to all situations and experiences.
With the presence of unconditional love and unconditional gratitude you are able to allow expansion to flow with tremendous ease. No longer will you experience the restrictions of illusion, fears, boundaries and limitations, your greatest experience will be of easy and prefect expansion, freedom and the unravelling of your truth. You will notice that negative or unwanted emotions, fears, attitudes and perspectives no longer cause you to suffer but are simply resolved or fall away in order to provide you with more space.
Your light and truth requires much space, often your perspectives and self-created limitations restrict your creative space and expression causing your truth to be hidden and tied up within your being. With the presence of love within your being as a constant vibration pulsating eternally, allow yourself as you know yourself to be now, to unravel, there is no way of you controlling your reality or experiences there is simply a need to focus rather than hold onto the love of your being while you fearlessly allow yourself to observe all aspects of your being.
Recognize your divinity and the sacred qualities that flow through your being, next to these qualities you will notice qualities of limitations and fears. With the realisation of your greater light self you may see that which limits your greater light self, realising and healing these qualities will allow for you to manifest and project from deep within your being a greater source of light.
I wish to make you aware that each situation in your reality may not always be what it seems, if you can allow yourself to recognise the pulsing vibration of love within your being you will be alerted to a higher insight or understanding of each situation. This will allow for you to loosen fears or unneeded qualities with ease and move into a space of constant and easy expansion effortlessly. In truth you will move into a constant state of freedom that is ever flowing and ever evolving.
If you wish, you can allow me to be a mirror to assist in the unravelling of your truth in order for you to embody your truth with tremendous ease and precision.With constant loving support,
Master Jesus
Tags: and consecration how to become a wiccan proofs of fairies existence fairie voodoo handbook of cult secret free black magic spells for love wolf wisdom for president
Illustration (c) Review and Herald Publ. Assoc.
The term "Protestant" was used in reference to those who protested some of the unbiblical beliefs and practices that had been embraced by the Roman Catholic religion-the religion for much of the world for more than one thousand years.
What was it about the Roman Catholic religion that people felt compelled to protest? You will find many reasons as you read about Martin Luther and the princes that stood with him in the early sixteenth century. However, the Protestant Reformation began at least two hundred years earlier:
IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY AROSE IN ENGLAND THE "MORNING STAR OF THE REFORMATION." JOHN WYCLIFFE [1328-1384] WAS THE HERALD OF REFORM, NOT FOR ENGLAND ALONE, BUT FOR ALL CHRISTENDOM. THE GREAT PROTEST AGAINST ROME WHICH IT WAS PERMITTED HIM TO UTTER WAS NEVER TO BE SILENCED. THAT PROTEST OPENED THE STRUGGLE WHICH WAS TO RESULT IN THE EMANCIPATION OF INDIVIDUALS, OF CHURCHES, AND OF NATIONS...WHEN WYCLIFFE'S ATTENTION WAS DIRECTED TO THE SCRIPTURES, he entered upon their investigation with the same thoroughness which had enabled him to master the learning of the schools. Heretofore he had felt a great want, which neither his scholastic studies nor the teaching of the church could satisfy. In the word of God he found that which he had before sought in vain. Here he saw the plan of salvation revealed and Christ set forth as the only advocate for man. He gave himself to the service of Christ and determined to proclaim the truths he had discovered.LIKE AFTER REFORMERS, WYCLIFFE DID NOT, AT THE OPENING OF HIS WORK, FORESEE WHITHER IT WOULD LEAD HIM. HE DID NOT SET HIMSELF DELIBERATELY IN OPPOSITION TO ROME. BUT DEVOTION TO TRUTH COULD NOT BUT BRING HIM IN CONFLICT WITH FALSEHOOD. THE MORE CLEARLY HE DISCERNED THE ERRORS OF THE PAPACY, THE MORE EARNESTLY HE PRESENTED THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE. HE SAW THAT ROME HAD FORSAKEN THE WORD OF GOD FOR HUMAN TRADITION; HE FEARLESSLY ACCUSED THE PRIESTHOOD OF HAVING BANISHED THE SCRIPTURES, AND DEMANDED THAT THE BIBLE BE RESTORED TO THE PEOPLE AND THAT ITS AUTHORITY BE AGAIN ESTABLISHED IN THE CHURCH. He was an able and earnest teacher and an eloquent preacher, and his daily life was a demonstration of the truths he preached. His knowledge of the Scriptures, the force of his reasoning, the purity of his life, and his unbending courage and integrity won for him general esteem and confidence. Many of the people had become dissatisfied with their former faith as they saw the iniquity that prevailed in the Roman Church, and they hailed with unconcealed joy the truths brought to view by Wycliffe; but the papal leaders were filled with rage when they perceived that this Reformer was gaining an influence greater than their own.The Great Controversy, pp. 80-81
READ MORE.
Tags: enlightenment spiritual boy sneaks into parents room fairy names elvish name key to happiness aromatherapy scent of succe druidry religion martyr hieron of melitene
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus...
Is your mind consumed by living your life or by giving of your life? As I observe those around me it seems that most of them are consumed by living life. There is nothing wrong with enjoying various aspects of living, God intends that we do enjoy the fruit of our labors and that we make time for fun and relaxation. When I find I am spending more time on fun and relaxation than serving others, I have to ask what my life is made of. What am I about?
When I first became saved I was all about the living of life. Things were very important to me, I spent my weekends at the mall, I had to be home to watch my favorite television shows. I think I had 60 pair of shoes! I was out for me, what I could get, and how I could live the best life possible.
When I began to grow in my faith I discovered a desire to serve. Sadly, that desire was still more about me and about being recognized than it was about God. After time, enough growth took place that I realized that was the wrong motive. I wish I could remember exactly when that switch was hit, and the change took place... I do remember thinking I would take the classes offered at church on theology. I wanted to be prepared for whatever God would want me to do.
I vividly remember when I realized a deep and yearning desire to give and serve. This was not a snap decision nor was it a lightweight thing. I sat on the steps alone, and prayed asking God to reveal to me if this weight I was experiencing was the call to serve, the call of ministry. It was a time of heavy contemplation and much angst.
That is when I became conscious of my life becoming about giving instead of living. I began to realize what the life of Christ was about, and it was service. The Gospels came alive in a new way as I understood that to be about serving was sacrifice. It was not about being thanked and recognized or appreciated, it was about hard work and invisibility.
Life that is Christ-centered is about giving and sacrifice. I desire to serve and yet my flesh desires to be selfish and self serving. This may be a battle that is with me for the rest of my life and one I will fight continually. Some say that you and I have given enough, that our lives are consumed by Christianity and service. They tell us it is not "normal" and we are "out of balance." In reality, the more we become like Christ, the more we are returning to our "normal" state- pre-fall.
I am excited to see my heart being transformed despite the desire of my flesh to be indulged and coddled. I have learned that the giving of self is to be as complete on our end as it was on Christ's. When you and I reach the level of giving that costs us our lives then we have done enough.
Credit: http://lilith-dark-moon.blogspot.com
Mere sighting a coffin instils fear in many mortals. But for Prophet Pa Samuel Olawale ( a.k.a Kogberegbe) it has no meaning as he sleeps in the coffin and in the grave preaching the gospel. The Nation reports.
Conspicuously displayed on this Mountain of Prayer is a big van with the inscription, 'The Holy Michael Church of The Lord ( Aladura) Cherubim and Seraphim, Preacher Prophet S.O Olawale (a.ka.Kogberegbe)." In the said vehicle is a big white-creamy painted coffin covered with a black cloth having the following words 'THIS IS THE END OF YOUR LIFE AND YOUR POST' inscribed on it, all in capital letters!
Fear will normally envelope most people seeing for the first time a coffin draped with black cloth and a grave dug by the altar. This is, however, a familiar sight to the congregation of this church. They have grown used to it.
What is the connection between an empty coffin and the church? Why should there be a grave by the altar? These are questions begging for answer.
Speaking to The Nation on why he keeps both strange and curious objects, the spiritual leader and founder, Pa Samuel Olawale, who is in his 80s, declared " Yes, it is true that I have a coffin covered with a black cloth in the church, it is in a big van.Not only this, I have a big hole dug by the altar. You can go and see it, take the picture.But for the grave or the hole, it is by the altar. And next time, I will open it for you while I am there.The two strange objects are pregnant with meanings.I have reasons why I am keeping them there."
While preachers, evangelists and men of God go out preaching with the Holy Bible, asking sinners to repent, Pa Samuel Olawale ( a.k.a Kogberegbe) goes out not only with the Holy Bible but always 'armed' with an empty coffin, a bell in his hand, preaching to sinners to repent and come to God.He said: " Yes it is true that I am carrying the coffin about while preaching and what I am trying to point out is that no matter how wealthy you are you will not leave this world with these money, it all ends here.You will not go into the grave with your wealth or with money, be you a civil servant who stole money, be you an armed robber, be you a landlord or a caretaker, your money and wealth ends here the moment you are dead."
He continued: "Any time I go out, I would at times sleep in the coffin, telling everybody that that is how we will end.Yes, we should remember this. If you are buried with expensive coffin, clothes and jewelleries, all will be stolen from you in the night and your carcass will be left.To me, life has no meaning until we come to God.Things are going wrong in this world and we should mend our ways."
Kogberegbe added: "Yes, I even sleep there (in the coffin and the grave) at times too, to let us know that we will all end up in the grave!"
Asked whether people read different meanings to it, he replied: "Oh no, no, they all know that we are preaching the word of God.It is just to let us all know that there is nothing in this life. This is an ephemeral world, the grave is for prayer and we open it every year while praying on the mountain."
On what it is in the grave, the old man said, "Nothing, it is empty, nothing."
When this reporter requested to see the coffin and the grave, the old man did not hesitate as he called one of his disciples, Joshua Samuel, to take him there.
Road to the mountain
The road to the church's mountain is about three kilometres from the residence. It is along Ikotun/Ejigbo Road. The big church is located in a compound on the expansive mountain.
On the mountain is also a vehicle, and inside it is an object covered with a black cloth. The reporter asked the guide, Samue,l to open it. The guide first of all screamed, "Holy Jah!," and prayed. He then removed the cover for this reporter to see the cream - coloured coffin with the words: 'THIS IS THE END OF YOUR LIFE AND YOUR POST' inscribed on it. And after the reporter had taken some shots of photographs, the guide again thanked Jah for His mercies and then covered it again.
According to the guide, Kogberegbe is a bold man who is a man of God worshipping God Almighty. He said while evangelising with the bus, they carry the coffin about and would stop once in a while to bring out the coffin. In his words, "We carry the coffin from the vehicle; it is normal coffin.We are about four people who carry it while I would be in my church warrior soutane dress."
Asked to comment on the motive behind it, he said: "Baba is trying to show the world that at the end of everybody in this world, irrespective of his status, whether you are rich or poor, whether you are a witch or wizard, whether you have children or childless, whether you are a tenant or landlord, this is how and where we will all end.Baba would with a bell in his hand sleep in the coffin in the public and be shouting on top of his voice to everybody to come and see how everybody would end. It is a big lesson for us all, and it is very interesting. It is time we should all change from our bad behaviours and turn to Christ"
Encounters with the evil spirit
Kogberegbe also spoke to this reporter about his encounters with the evil spirit. He said "I remember that we used to trek from Somolu to this mountain several years ago. We faced many challenges. I can remember when on a midnight as myself and two kids were going to the mountain, we got to the base of an Araba tree ( mighty tree), we saw a strange light that beckoned at us from the tree top and we heard the voice that said 'This stupid boy ( Kogberegbe ) has come to disturb us again.' But trust my God, nothing happened to me. I prayed and the tree got dried up.It is God's work.The evil spirit attempted to stop me from worshipping God, but no evil spirit had the power. Again, at Ojuwoye, they (evil spirits) fought us, and again I commanded the tree to dry up and it happened. It is the work of God. Only God knows what havoc the tree could have caused. You know a man with swollen scrotum cannot be a goalkeeper. And it is God's work, not of mine."
Who is Kogberegbe?
Call him a stubborn agitator. Label him a non conformist; he is a different person entirely from many other preachers. No wonder he is nicknamed Kogberegbe (A no nonsense man). He said "My name is Samuel Olawale. When God called me, people started calling me Kogberegbe, meaning a man who does not tolerate nonsense."
He speaks with authority, and his congregants listen with rapt attention. In his living room, he conducts services and counsels those who come for counselling and prays for them too. There are portraits of Jesus Christ and of some Saints hung on the walls. In his living room are big rubber drums of water which he prays on to become 'holy water' and this he gives to people to heal them of their ailments.
He prays for people who come to him for prayer. His voice is heard as he prays. People of all status mill around him for prayer. Whenever he is praised that his prayer works, he would tell you that it is not his handwork but God's.
Immediately he was told that he had a visitor from the press, he humbly left the congregation to attend to this reporter. He is loved for his humility, passion for mankind. One thing he is noted for is that he does not tolerate nonsense in his church. In fact, he is treated as a king as his followers and other people kneel down to talk to him.
A disciplinarian to the core, in the presence of this reporter, Kogberegbe acted out his name as he scolded one of his followers for removing his soutane and going to another place when the service was still on. He admonished him for not respecting God.
Genesis of his life
He told The Nation that: "I have been in evangelisation since 1957 when I was called and started it.It is God that called me. I was once a police officer but that was a long time ago.If God wanted to call you, he will do so immediately and you will not steal, will not take another man's wife, will not be dubious. You must not tell lies because you want to be rich. Many become prophets because of money. Most of you who are practicing journalism are fraudsters. People are afraid to walk in the night. Many of you reporters are fake and go about taking pictures, interviewing people about and collecting money."
He spoke about the Boko Haram: "Now there is the problem of Boko Haram, and you don't know those praying for the country. Many of the prophets are doing that silently. Those pastors and prophets using human blood for many things are devilish and will go to hell fire. But God knows the truthful ones. Well, only God knows who is worshiping Him. Today, the prophets and pastors are doing what they like. But I love the Catholic, who suffer a lot and they are doing well. The Pentecostal Church is trying their best too."
But he added, "He (God) said it is not those who called me God, God that will come to His Kingdom. It is not all of us prophets, pastors, men of God that would go to heaven'.
Tags: free voodoo spells heavenly worshippers throne waking kundalini tart strong finish strong samhain ball 2010 witches during the salem witch trial
The Goddess eventually must have decided that I must not be very bright and certainly in need of help. She had send subtle and not so subtle messages through a variety of people and circumstances, all of which I had single mindedly ignored.
So one day I logged onto the old EZ Board to my favorite chat group, a very small group who had been chatting together on various forums for almost 10 years. I logged on regularly, had it bookmarked, in my favorites and in my menu. I did not type anything in myself, my computer had faithfully found the right page for many years.
This time I found myself on a witch forum. Very low key, fun and friendly. They were not into any heavy discussions, but the admin was a green witch, so were others and the discussions were fun. What on earth was I doing there and why didn't I just try for the right page again? I don't know, but I read the posts over and over, eventually I logged in and asked for help. I was directed to a long list of websites, fortunately one about Celtic traditions caught my eye. It was a good choice and for the first time I found myself reading about Witchcraft with an open mind.
Source: http://mysteryvoodoo.blogspot.com
Animal Totems ~{the J's}~
The Kangaroo
The kangaroo is mostly terrestrial and all are herbivorous. They are found throughout Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. They have long powerful hind legs and feet for hopping and leaping, their predominant forms of locomotion. Their long tails, thickened at the base are used for balancing. Each long narrow hind foot has four toes. The number four is the number associated with foundation. When the kangaroo appears it is asking you to review the foundation on which you stand, your ideals, beliefs and actions and then take a giant leap over all obstacles that have prevented you from attaining your dreams.
The feet are rich in symbology. It is through the feet that the body makes its essential contact with the earth plane, and through the muscular control of the feet that balance in the body is maintained. Feet represent that part of the individual which is most closely akin to the material plane of manifestation. The kangaroo teaches us how to balance our material life with our spiritual knowledge. When this medicine is underdeveloped foot and leg problems can occur. Kangaroo medicine people make excellent reflexologists and movement therapists.
When kangaroos have a chambered stomach that is functionally similar to cattle and sheep. They regurgitate the vegetation they have eaten, chew it as cud, then swallow it again for final digestion. The digestive and eliminatory systems of those with this medicine are very sensitive. Proper care of the stomach, chewing food thoroughly and incorporating herbs and digestive aids into the diet is helpful.
When kangaroos are chased by predators they are incredibly fast. They hop quickly and effortlessly to safety. They don't stop and think about where they are going, rather they allow their instincts to move them. This is a great teaching for those with this totem. Instead of contemplating each and every step we take in minuet detail we need to follow the kangaroos lead and allow our instinctive knowing to guide us. Instinct balanced with intellect restores our trust in spirit.
Kangaroos are incredibly focused. Their energy field is tightly woven around them preventing distractions. Those with this totem need to keep their personal energy fields clear of outside influences to aid them in staying centered and focussed.
When the kangaroo hops into a persons life get ready for adventure and change. The kangaroo dares you to leap into the unknown without fear, connect with your personal rhythms and honor your intuitive knowing. The choice is yours.
The Kestrel
The kestrel is the smallest member of the falcon family. Like all birds of prey it is strongly connected to the accuracy of movement. Speed and grace in hunting are its strongest attributes. Kestrels perch themselves high above their prey. When the timing is right they swoop down, hoover in the air and attack. Hovering is uncommon amongst most birds and symbolizes the ability to use flight to its fullest advantage. In a person this advantage plays out through the creative imaginative
mind strengthening ones intuitive agility.
Kestrel medicine people often have the desire to site or be placed in a position where a wide range of vision is possible. They also enjoy high places with an expansive view. Their need to spend time alone is strong and a sense of independence is necessary in order to maintain healthy relationships. They do well in any type of work that requires planning and make excellent strategists and diplomats.
The kestrel teaches us how to discover our personal rhythm and respond to it accordingly. As we expand our personal energy field and awaken our sight into a broader perspective we learn when to act and when to retreat. The power of the kestrel is mental concentration, patience and precise action. It recognizes opportunities and acts upon them at the correct moment.
When the kestrel appears it might be asking you to stimulate your mental faculties and move quickly and gracefully into your desired future. It teaches you to listen to the rhythm of each situation and commit to your actions for the greatest success.
The Kingfisher
Kingfishers are found worldwide but are mostly tropical. They are solitary birds that utter distinct rattling or piping calls that can be heard a long distance away. The ability to express oneself in a clear and concise manner is part of the teachings it holds.
Their usual nest is a burrow in a sand bank or in a hollow tree. Kingfishers have been known to tunnel into sand banks several feet. This indicates the need for sacred space around them. Those with kingfisher medicine will find that they must have time within their day for quiet contemplation where intrusions of any kind are not permitted.
Bold in its actions, the kingfisher will dive headlong into the water to catch small fish. It shows us how to plunge into the unknown with confidence and not with fear. Kingfishers have large heads, long and massive bills and compact bodies. Their physical appearance is symbolic of the challenges and opportunities relevant for those with this medicine.
A large head can indicate past life connections relating to the misuse of the ego. In this life a need to keep the ego in balance is mandatory. The long and massive bill of the kingfisher suggests a need to use ones words carefully and their compact bodies represent a need for regular physical exercise and the toning of ones muscles. This need is sometimes a result of a past life influence relating to physical health or structural imbalances that is present in this life.
Kingfishers are found near the water. Water is associated with the emotional body of man and those who have this totem will find a strong need to live on or near the water. An exception to this is the Kookaburra, a forest kingfisher who is less associated with water.
The kingfisher is a bird that holds many teachings. Most of its teachings relate directly to the spiritual, emotional and physical growth of those that hold this medicine. When growth is achieved prosperity on all levels is attained. The kingfisher has the energy to accomplish various tasks in an efficient manner. It is a powerful teacher and those with this totem would be wise to call upon it when the need arises.
The Kinkajou
The kinkajou are extremely curious and love to explore things. They are fascinated by the mysteries of life and often find themselves in unusual situations. They can also be shy and retiring depending on their mood. They are sometimes kept as pets and if treated gently they will return the favor.
If the kinkajou is angered or frightened it can deliver a sharp bite. Those with this totem need to exercise caution and never speak harshly or bite with a vengeance when provoked. Balanced action and reaction is part of the kinkajou's medicine.
A member of the raccoon family, the kinkajou is distinguished by its long, prehensile tail. Its large eyes denote its curious nature and its low set rounded ears are keenly attuned to sound waves within the elements of mother earth. Some cultures believe that the kinkajou is able to predict upcoming earth changes because of its ability to hear sound waves and to feel subtle vibrations moving through the earths crust.
Kinkajous are highly intelligent and usually live alone or in pairs. They spend most of their time in trees and rarely leave them. Those with this medicine should go into retreat regularly in order to rejuvenate themselves on all levels. They should also spend time in the forest and stay connected to nature.
The Kinkajou feeds on fruit, honey, insects, small birds and mammals. They have a small digestive system and cannot tolerate heavy foods. A diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables would benefit those with this totem.
The kinkajou responds to subtle vibrational frequencies and within these frequencies lays the secret of a new life unfolding. If kinkajou appears to you suddenly and without warning expect a new beginning in some area of your life.
This medicine teaches us how to hear what's really being said and assists us in opening up our clairaudient channels. Those with this medicine should use their minds in an exploratory way, especially in the exploration of sound as a healing tool.
The Kite
The kite is a bird of prey and belongs to one of three sub families. They are lightly built with a small head and a partly bare face. They have short beaks and long narrow wings and tail. They occur world wide in warm regions. Their partly bare face is symbolic. It asks those with this medicine to allow their true identity to emerge. Take off your mask and express your true self with pride and dignity. Those with this totem will find that a warmer climate is best suited to them. The warmth of the sun promotes relaxation. When relaxation occurs the awakening of ones personal divinity begins.
Kites are graceful flyers slowly flapping their wings as they glide through the air with their wings angled back. They appear to be buoyant in their movements and can teach us how to move through life with the greatest of east. Holding the energy of calmness and certainty in all that they do they help us discover our own inner rhythm. Those with this totem would benefit by studying their personal bio rhythm chart as well as the charts of those they interact with. This study can aid an individual in discovering what lies beneath the disguise of the human psyche. The practice of all forms of gentle movement is also advised.
Some kites live on insects, others are primarily scavengers eating anything from rodents to reptiles. Proper diet is an important part of the message it holds. To understand the proper dietary implications for those with this totem it is helpful to identify which sub family your kite totem is from. Efficient digestion and assimilation of food is essential to maintain optimum health.
Kites teach us how to respond to people and situations with grace and gentleness. It reminds us to give as well as receive. When the kite flies into your life ask yourself the following questions. Are you experiencing the gentleness of life? Are you nervous, tense or anxious? Do you take the time to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer? Are you expressing kindness to others as well as yourself? The kite carries the promise of joy on its wings. All you need to do is listen to its message and apply yourself accordingly.
The Koala
The koala is one of the most admired marsupial mammals. Their cute cuddly appearance appeals to people of all ages. Koalas grow to about 21 to 33 inches long and are virtually tail less. Their diet consists of a certain type of eucalyptus leaf. One of the most unusual characteristics of the koala is that it seldom drinks. The name koala is thought to mean "no drink" in several aboriginal tongues. Their limited diet encourages a sluggish digestive system. If those with this totem consume a large variety of foods digestive problems could occur. Basic food groups are recommended with an emphasis on herbs and herbal remedies.
Koalas are solitary animals. They are independent and a bit indifferent to family members. At birth a young koala is about the size of a bee. The mother will raise her young attentively until it is strong enough to be on its own. Once this happens the emotional bond between the mother and her offspring is broken. Individuals with koala medicine often require periods of isolation and an environment with little noise. Emotional expression is difficult which can make intimate relationships challenging. The koala teaches us how to be comfortable with our own company. Those with this totem make excellent priests and nuns.
The koalas eyesight is poor although their cup like ears can hear acutely. They also have a highly developed sense of smell. Koala medicine people have strong psychic and clairaudient abilities. Sound that soothes the senses and aromatherapy benefit them.
Although they appear to be passive with a nonchalant attitude, koalas are very territorial. They demand their personal space and accommodate one another accordingly. They sleep as long as 18 hours a day and are most active at night. Koala medicine people do their best work in the late evening and early morning hours.
Perched high in a tree the koalas grip is secure. As they move from limb to limb their footing is solid. When the koala appears in our life its reminding us to stand solid within ourselves and not be influenced by situations or events.
Seldom distracted and always focused, the koala is a master in the art of deep relaxation and concentration. They hold the teachings of stress free movement and can show us how to create and maintain sacred space in our lives.
The Kookaburra
The kookaburra is the largest member of the kingfisher family. One of its most distinct features is its famous laugh heard at dawn and dusk when it is marking out its territory. Because of its laughter one would think that these birds represented peace and happiness. Although its laugh is contagious don't be fooled by this daring and territorial bird.
A friend told me a story about a camping trip he was on. Sitting down to dinner with friends, cooked sausages had been placed on stick's awaiting their empty stomachs. A fearless and determined kookaburra swooped down and lifted the sausage off the stick and flew off to enjoy its meal. The kookaburra launches itself from a perch to pounce on its prey, or in this case my friends dinner!
Excellent divers, the kookaburra is extremely focused. They go after what they want when they want it. Those with this totem have the ability to achieve their goals if they stay centered and maintain their focus. If the kookaburra suddenly dives into your life its telling you to manifest your dreams instead of day dreaming about them.
The kookaburra has many personalities to fit a variety of situations and is known as the master of illusion. Acquiring master ship is hard work. Because of this the kookaburra demands respect and it usually gets it! Individuals with this totem often achieve prominent roles in society that demand respect and recognition. They make excellent leaders and diplomats.
Kookaburras form community groups which together share and defend their home territory. These groups have a dominant mating pair and other lesser members. A secure home life is important to those with this medicine.
Laughing Kookaburras do not build nests, instead they use existing cavities in trees. Although they can be aggressive when defending their territory of hunting for food they hold an air of indifference when it comes to other activities. When the kookaburra laughs its way into your life ask yourself these questions. Is your fear limiting your accomplishments? Are you focused in your pursuits? Are you determined to change unhealthy habits? If your answer is yes call upon the kookaburra to help you.
Some excerpts have been taken from Animal Speaks, by Ted Andrews. Thank you Ted
Tags: la tabla esmeralda seventeenth sunday after trinity black magic ritual ishtar the original myth black magic love spells my 84th birthday celebrati
Once upon a time - some time that is outwith our time space it is reported that satan/lucifer was cast out of heaven along with the many angels pledged and bound in his service.
Both the Book of Enoch and the History of the Jews by Josephus Flavius have it written that fallen angels took human wives and bred with them - teaching mankind worthless and dangerous arts.
The KJV bible passage is also included in this article.
The sons and daughters of the fallen angels were called the Nephilim, some may say they were the lost tribe of Israel called Dan - however they taught and spread abominations opening the gates on demonic oppression and desolation.
According to Enoch who they asked to petition for them to return to Heaven - it was Gods judgement that because they taught dark and worthless arts with hearts hardened in the knowledge that they were teaching worthlessness - they nor their line were not to return to Heavens realm.
Confined to Earth though they were going to be a bit jealous of Noahs sons when Noah was spared the deluge and over the millennia - they were going to spend their worthless time corrupting the branches of the race of Adam and the House of David.
In their dystopic visions which they would roll out over ages of barbarism and sabotaged society, togas and Doric columns - visions of olympus and asgaard they would hatefully display the remembered finery of the good Angelic civilisation that they had fallen from in such a manner as to displease God and taunt their former Angelic bretheren.
Building up distorted visions of good civilisations which they then collapse like a house of cards from within - they attempt to desolate the sons of Noah, the human race who were favoured so long ago over their own progeny.
Perhaps it was their intention to provoke God into denouncing the human race that He had anciently set aside and condemn them like He had in days of old with the deluge - but God, our Father had paved the way with prophets who made forty eight prophesies of the coming of Christ, our Redeemer.
The coming of Christ changed everything - as He offered the only true way out for mankind - and by showing us that to live eternally, we must love one another and God like the simple plant cells do in nature as they draw on and share water from the Source. (John 15)
The dynasties of the fallen angels, the satans (Enoch) labour to take mankind into desolation and by their arts have brought the demonic hive/legion of greys into the lives of mankind as part of a planned program of desolation.
Whatever technology is flying about, whatever ship or stargate or interdimensional portal in this zone controlled by the fallen - it is not a means of conveyance to anywhere that can do good for mankind.
Attacking and disorientating the human souls by every and any means whilst promoting a social context that distorts and defiles a vision of human grace - they hope to take as many down with them as they can.
This is the moment reported in the bible that the progeny of the Fallen were to be eliminated by God.
Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
However sophisticated our senescent cul de sac society is today - you can be sure that it can be philosophically reduced to a very few anti-human components in use by the Nephilim.
1. animalistic ideology
2. attack on the functional (human) family model
3. attack on our visions of human grace
4. promotion of selfishness
5. promotion of superhuman bestiality
6. inbuilt lies within the doctrines of self-help magic and self-empowerment
7. the denial and coverup of the Heavenly reality to the race of man.
8. the continual build up and destruction of hopeful social mechanisms - attempting to create a desolate social vision
9. attack on human lifeforce and souls.
10. Use of the demonic hitek greys and their technology to aid the human soul harvest
The Nephilim very much still around we can take heart that their more powerful former bretheren the Angels of God are very much here on Earth doing the Will of God - opposing them.
Tags: weird state fortune telling history free magic spell all fragmented living an active life easy magic spells bonus real astral travel
WTC 9/11 did it have a satanic relation to the devils bible? Even George W. bush himself said evil is real and it must be opposed. Was he referring to the world trade centers?
9/11 Worlds trade centers may have been targeted by the good in secret societies to rid of a lesser evil Satan himself?
Even the bizarre devils bible have twin pillars on most pages was somebody whom made it representing the characteristics looks of the world trade centers centuries ago? and with a devils portrait on one pillar in the devils bible manuscript book? The 9/11 wtc reportedly had devil images in its fiery smoke video footage explains that? not to mention ufo's flying around it?
The mysterious person(s) that created the devils bible was believed to be self taught or a amateur by expert scholars?
May God Bless us all.
A self taught Spirit less a amateur.
Keith Ranville
keith ranville@hotmail.com
Tags: the 'name' property cannot contain any of the following characte wicca candle magic african conjure hoodoo woman a clairsentient light the imbolc fires politics of haiti
Posted by Christine Pack
"An excellent article over at Herescope discusses music in today's culturally relevant church: "Like a bunch of conformist teenagers kowtowing to "peer pressure," churches have adapted their musical style to whatever is hip in the culture." This has certainly been true even in my lifetime. We sang traditional hymns in the church I grew up in, but after leaving the church for more than a decade, I was very surprised to find that the music in the churches I attended upon returning was radically different from what I was familiar with. I was told that this was a way of "deconstructing" people's preconceived notions about what music "should" be in church. In true postmodern fashion, I began to ponder this. Well, what did" I think music "should" be? Sad to say, I did not come up with a very postmodern answer: to my mind, church music should clearly be traditional hymns played on a 19th century pipe organ. But in the little start-up church where my husband and I were saved, they had neither the budget for any such thing, nor, more importantly, any inclination toward having this kind of music. Instead, we sang short songs with very few words, often repeating verses over and over. Now, when we began attending this church, God had not yet saved me, and so my reaction to this music was simply personal: I didn't like it. But after I was saved, I realized there was a deeper, more troubling reason why I didn't like the music: it was doctrinally vapid.
"I had one friend who sardonically referred to this music as "7-Eleven songs," as in, 7 words sung 11 times. The first time I heard this (and after I stopped laughing) I remember thinking what an apt description this was for this kind of music. 7-Eleven songs for a fast food culture. Perfect. And when I would ask about hymns at our church, I was told that this was what people wanted, they didn't like the tired old hymns of our "parents' church," we had to be culturally relevant, and that after all, worship wasn't about "me." Well, I definitely got that worship wasn't about "me," but then that made me wonder: was God really glorified by these shallow songs devoid of doctrine? Every now and then, our church would" play a hymn. My reaction to these lovely old songs would be so immediate, so visceral, and I simply couldn't understand why. I would oftentimes be so overcome from hearing these old hymns that I would weep, and literally be unable to sing! I initially chalked it up to nostalgia, to just remembering growing up and hearing these songs every week. But as time went on, I began to realize how deep the theology was in these hymns. I became obsessed with hymns. Realizing this, one of my new Christian girlfriends gave me a book called Then Sings My Soul, which I absolutely loved and still love to this day. This book catalogs many of the great classic old hymns, telling the story of how each hymn came into existence, what was happening in history at that time, and so on. I began to realize why I loved these old hymns so much. Not simply because the music was lovely - though it was, but chiefly because the lyrics were so rich. Many of these great old hymns would "tell" the amazing story of redemption and God's mercy in just a few short verses.
"JESUS SOUGHT ME WHEN A STRANGER, WANDERING FROM THE FOLD OF GOD; HE TO RESCUE ME FROM DANGER, INTERPOSED HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD." (Come Thou Fount, Robert Robinson, 1758)Okay, in just those few words - which, incidentally, are only one half of one verse - you've got separation and alienation from God, the danger of hell, and God intervening into this dire situation with the life-giving blood of his Son. That's the gospel right there, folks. How about this one:
"JESUS PAID IT ALL, ALL TO HIM I OWE, SIN HAD LEFT A CRIMSON STAIN, HE WASHED IT WHITE AS SNOW. (Jesus Paid It All, Elvina Hall, 1865)In this one, you have an unpaid debt, sin leaving a stain that cannot be removed, and then - here comes the gospel - God intervening with his plan of salvation: the blood of Jesus, given to remove the stain, and leaving the white purity of righteousness in its place. Glorious!
Needless to say, I still love hymns, and have found so many wonderful contemporary renditions of some of my favorites. I've also discovered some I had never heard - because they weren't sung in our denomination of church - but have grown to love equally as much. Below are some of my favorites -
RED MOUNTAIN CHURCH
Crown Him (Alternately Titled: Look Ye Saints)
Lead Me To The Rock (never knew it growing up, have crazy love for it now)
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
My Jesus, I Love Thee
Come Boldly To The Throne of Grace
Why Should I Fear?
Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior (beautiful harmonizing)
Christ or Else I Die (great song, love his voice)
There Is A Fountain
Dearly We're Bought
Friend of Sinners
Melt My Soul To Love (there's a crazy, Appalachee-flavor to this song - you'll either love it or hate it)
KEITH URBAN
I'll Fly Away (and some nifty guitar playing too)
EMMYLOU HARRIS (what a voice)
Wayfaring Stranger
I Love to Tell The Story
CHRIS RICE
Rock of Ages
CANDI PEARSON
He Leadeth Me
Be Thou My Vision
SHELLY MOORE BAND
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Hallelujah, What A Savior
Jesus I Am Resting
DEBRA FOTHERINGHAM
More Holiness Give Me
INDELIBLE GRACE
Beneath The Cross of Jesus
O The Deep, Deep Love Of Jesus
Not What My Hands Have Done
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
What Wondrous Love Is This
Go To Dark Gethsamene
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
The Church's One Foundation
DAVID CROWDER
All Creatures Of Our God and King
Rock of Ages (great hymn, fantastic version)
SCOTT UNDERWOOD
Fairest Lord Jesus
DIERKS BENTLEY
It Is No Secret
NATALIE GRANT
Fairest Lord Jesus
KATIE NELSON
Wonderful Merciful Savior
KOURTNEY HEYING
Holy, Holy, Holy
PAUL BALOCHE
How Great Thou Art
JADON LAVIK
This is My Father's World
Blessed Assurance
Take My Life
'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
Come Thou Fount
Turn Your Eyes
What Wondrous Love is This
I Need Thee Every Hour
I Surrender All
REBECCA ST. JAMES
It Is Well With My Soul
SARA EVANS
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Sweet By And By
BART MILLARD
Hymned - the whole album
JARS OF CLAY
Redemption Songs - the whole album
KYLE HENDERSON
Nearer My God To Thee
TIM MILNER
This is My Father's World
O Worship The King
When Morning Gilds The Sky
All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name
SHANE & SHANE
Before the Throne
O Worship the King
SHERRI YOUNGWARD
Amazing Grace
O Sacred Head Now Wounded
SARAH MCINTOSH
Then Sings My Soul - whole album
NICHOLE NORDEMAN
How Deep The Father's Love For Us
NEWSBOYS (LYRICS BY STUART TOWNEND)
In Christ Alone (just an awesome song, not technically a hymn, but so doctrinally rich it makes the cut)
JEREMY CAMP
It Is Well With My Soul
JESSICA LOFBOMM
O Sacred Head Now Wounded
It Is Well With My Soul
BETHANY DILLON
How Deep The Father's Love For Us
SHAWN MCDONALD
Amazing Grace
CARRIE UNDERWOOD
How Great Thou Art
MARK ROACH
It Is Well With My Soul
AARON KEYES
Jesus Paid It All
It Is Well With My Soul
CHRIS RICE
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
KRISTIAN STANFILL
Jesus Paid It All
SOVEREIGN GRACE
How Sweet and Aweful Is The Place
I Will Glory In My Redeemer
TODD AGNEW
Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us
ALAN JACKSON
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Standing On The Promises
The Old Rugged Cross
SUFJAN STEPHENS
Holy, Holy, Holy
Amazing Grace
MICHAEL TAIT
How Great Thou Art
GINNY OWENS
It Is Well With My Soul
SARA GROVES
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
PATTY LOVELESS
Two Coats
RANDY TRAVIS
Are You Washed In The Blood?
O How I Love Jesus
Sweet By and By
Shall We Gather At the River
He's Got The Whole World In His Hand
AMY GRANT
This Is My Father's World
ALLISON KRAUS
Down To The River To Pray
I'll Fly Away
JOHN ANDERSON
Peace In The Valley
TERRY BUTLER
On Christ The Solid Rock (one of the best hymns ever)
BEN KWELLER
Rock of Ages (you will either love or hate this version - I love it)
AMY NOBLES
O God, Our Help In Ages Past
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
AARON NEVILLE
Morning Has Broken
WILLIE NELSON
Just As I Am (instrumental)
BILLY RAY CYRUS
Just As I Am (very sweet rendition)
DEBBY SMITH-TEBAY
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
TRACE ADKINS
Victory in Jesus
Doyle Lawson "> ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Seeds Family Worship: A Recommended Resource
Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource
Shai Linne: A Recommended Resource
A Few Thoughts On Christian Music
The Holiness of God (Paul Washer)
ONLINE HYMNS RESOURCES
Sermon Audio Hymns
The Hymnary
The OPC Online Hymnal
Tags: celtic essential inspiration inspiration meditation series text bsu spring fling love and family relationship astral travel mind meditation free voodoo spells 2012 pagan reading challenge magic spell books
Despite my 20 years of self-identification as a Druid, I spent my early years seeking to be a Witch. This was back in the 1960s and 70s when there was no such thing (MOSTLY) as self-initiation, and no non-initiated popular 'Wicca"'. In the occult fashions of the period, Witchcraft was understood as a religion, one that taught the practice of magic, and that's what I looked for, and found. You can "READ SOME OF MY STUFF ON ALL THAT", and on the history of the idea of the witch in a back post here."
"This post is an effort to compose my mind around the relationship between the terms and concepts '"witchcraft"', '"Paganism"' and '"folk-magic"', sparked by discussions on a Traditional Craft list I've been reading. If any of those readers find this controversial, I can only express my respect for the feel and content of the work being done under the Traditional Witchcraft tag, and plead a hardened and skeptical mind..."
I'm confused. Or rather I can't tell whether I'm confused - and that's really confused.
For the past several years I've been reading various books and articles and blogs discussing what is now being called '"Traditional Witchcraft"' or '"the traditional Craft"'. These books present a form of magical practice, and sometimes of Pagan religion, that claims to represent forms of practice and belief older and more authentically structured than those of the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Crafts, and their popular imitators. Because of my general understanding of the '"occult"' scene - i.e. that it is traditional to back-date materials and claim lineage and history that one does not have - I have tended to discount the claims of greater age. Because of some obvious-to-me failures of folklore and scholasticism, and because not a single secret document or old artifact has been revealed by any of these systems, I have tended to discount claims that it represents survival Paganism any more than does post-Gardnerian Wicca. So, in this little discussion I mean to set out my thinking on the topics of the survival of Pagan ways into the early modern period (1.E. 1600-ISH AND LATER), and how that relates to the practice of magic and other '"occult"' traditions along the way.
PAGAN SURVIVAL
First, I still consider it entirely unlikely that worship of European Pagan deities consciously continued into modern times from the late Pagan and medieval periods. There are a couple of possible exceptions, such as the Baltic cultures and possibly a trickle of direct survival among Scandinavians. Baltic Paganism was firmly living in 1250 ce, and some Baltic folk customs have certainly continued unbroken. But even they have trouble showing continuity through the late medieval, and many of the ways were '"revived"' in the folkish rediscovery times of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
In Western Europe the case is much weaker. Folklore collections of the early modern period do find traces of memory of Pagan images and vocabulary, and literate magical tradition, largely unbroken since the fall of Rome, would flower in the creation of what we call the grimoires in the 1700s and 1800s. In those magical basic-training manuals you can find a few garbled remnants of the ancient Gods, and a great deal of ritual action that is authentically old. However, the possibility of deliberate worship of the classical Gods apart from the seven planets of astrology seems to be undocumented in any way. There are no folkloric or personal records of rites of Pagan worship from early modern times, and those could not have been any more illicit than the manuals of demon-summoning that were extensively copied and distributed. If there were a tradition of Pagan magical and ritual practice that lasted into literate times I'd expect it to have left some remnants.
If we want to measure whether or not some bit of folk culture is "Pagan' or not, we might use several different standards. Most obviously, we can ask whether the material involves the active worship of Gods or spirits identifiable in pre-Christian sources. In almost every case, this brings us a negative answer - early modern magical and folkloric material has very little of that. We can find a few examples in Gaelic and Scandinavian countries, such as the offering to Manannan in Scotland, or other offerings to the sidhe or troll folk. There also might be a little something in the '"fairy evocation"' workings of early modern magicians - if we think that King Oberion is some sort of survival. What resemblance later '"fairy faith"' customs might have to pre-Christian customs is unknowable at this time, but we might give the benefit of that doubt if we like. However, the literate magical tradition, which was so important in transmitting technique and content over the centuries, seems to preserve nearly nothing of this sort. That does not, of course, prove absence but it does make presence less likely.
What seems clear is that traffic with spirits, uses of '"sympathetic"' magic, herbal charms, other natural charms with bones, skins, woods, etc and many other magical and occult practices did persist into modern times. Is this material 'Pagan'? If measured by whether or not such things call upon Pagan deities, then the answer would be no. Barring a very few examples from Scandinavia, we see none of that. If close resemblance to practices and customs that Pagans would have used is our measure, there's some chance for that to be the case. Each of the practices mentioned is clearly described in pre-Christian literate magical sources. On a spiritual level, calling upon land-wights and the dead may be as Pagan in 1890 as in 890, even if all the names have changed. Still, without a conscious intention on the part of the practitioner to call upon spiritual powers other than the Christian pantheon, (INCLUDING ITS DEMONS) I'm hesitant to refer to the rites used by 18th and 19th century charmers and cunning folk as Pagan. So, if we don't classify traditional folk-magic as Pagan, shall we classify it as 'witchcraft'?
WITCHCRAFT
The word wicce is first plainly used in context of Pagan religion. Of course we have no Germanic mythic or ritual material written down by Pagans (NOR ANY CELTIC). Some of the first references to wicce or wicca we find are from Roman church laws and proclamations. I found:
"If any wicca (WITCH), wiglaer (WIZARD), false swearer, morthwyrtha (WORSHIPPER OF THE DEAD) or any foul contaminated, manifest horcwenan(whore), be anywhere in the land, man shall drive them out."
AND:
The word wicca is associated with animistic healing rites in Halitgar's Latin Penitential (C.890 CE) where it is stated that:
"Some men are so blind that they bring their offering to earth-fast stone and also to trees and to wellsprings, as the witches teach, and are unwilling to understand how stupidly they do or how that dead stone or that dumb tree might help them or give forth health when they themselves are never able to stir from their place."
These plainly refer to 'wiccan'(pl) as religious, as well as magical practitioners - there's little functional difference between religion and magic in many traditional cultures.
It does seem likely that a wicce in Anglo-Saxon Britain would have occupied the place later approximated by the cunning man or woman. Cures, uncrossings, finding lost things, far-seeing and fortelling, dealing with problems with local wights and ghosts would have been standard stock in trade. Because of the screen of the monkish authors, we cannot see whether these same people helped householders to make proper sacrifices, or tended forest shrines and temples, or lived as functional '"priests"' or '"clergy"' in villages. I suspect they did. "AS THE WITCHES TEACH" seems to me to suggest a central place in religion as well as magic.
Other Christian descriptions of '"witches"' and '"witchcraft"' retain this Pagan religious atmosphere. One of the late references to Pagan deity is found in the famous Canon Episcopi (C.875 CE):
"Have you believed or have you shared a superstition to which some wicked women claim to have given themselves, instruments of Satan, fooled by diabolical phantasms? During the night, with Diana, the pagan goddess, in the company of a crowd of other women, they ride the backs of animals, traversing great distances during the silence of the deep night, obeying Diana's orders as their mistress and putting themselves at her service during certain specified nights... Thus they leave the true faith and fall into pagan error in believing that a god or goddess can exist besides the only God."
So from about the same period as the previous clerical reference we have Church authorities plainly identifying Pagan deity as the source of opposition. Certainly we can hold out for '"witchcraft"' of that period to have been Pagan survival, infused with Pagan religion. This leads me to want to define witchcraft as part of Pagan religious phenomena.
So for their first 500 years or so, the church slowly ate away at the Pagan memory, outlawing the practices, destroying the shrines, and teaching the next generations. The next wave of rinsing-away of Pagan content from European folk tradition seems to have been the propagation of the '"satanic witch"' by the church. The Pagan gods and spirits, as their ways were forgotten became replaced, in literate narratives and in folk-magic charms, by mythic figures from Christianity. Conjuring that might once have been done under the blessing of the Dead was perhaps transferred to the saints, Gods with the Trinity, etc. Wells and caves were baptised in the new religion. But whatever the church couldn't fit into it's ways - the wild revels, the sacrifices, the dealings with strange wights, divinations,etc, became '"sorcery"' and witchcraft, and eventually heresy.
When the witch '"craze"' begins, around 1400 the church produces a description of witchcraft that is once again plainly religious. Diana and the nature spirits have been forgotten, and replaced with '"the Devil"' and his imps. The delightful Pagan revels of folk memory (AND LIKELY ONGOING PRACTICE, WHETHER WITH OR WITHOUT PAGAN RELIGIOUS CONTENT) became the outre Witches Sabbath, reviving classical fears of cannibalism, infanticide and debauch.
The greatest blow to folk memory of Pagan ways in Europe seems to have been the Protestant reform. The destruction of the Roman church's structures and the prohibition of their folk customs was a harsh break in continuity in much of western Europe. The Protestant leaders taught that Catholic rites were little better than witchcraft, and the image of the black-robed wizard and his book and staff owes a great deal to the Protestant memory of the Roman Catholic bishop or priest. In the end folkways often reasserted themselves, but had to be reconstructed, if only from a generation or two of lapse.
CUNNING CRAFT
So, it gets to be 1650 or so, and Europe is blinking and waking up from the stress of the renaissance and reformation, and the birth of science, and the end of church hegemony. We see the birth of the modern wave of occultism, in the Masons and other fraternal orders, the rise of democracy and personal choice in religion, and the synthesis of ritual magic that comes through the grimoires. By this time literacy is more wide-spread; literate magic and folk-magic become closely entwined.
I think that it's in this period that we see begin to see magical practice divorced from the popular religion of its culture. By the late 1700s both religion and rationalism argued against magic, while the popular demand for the arts remained steady. Religion was no longer monolithic or implicit, and citizens began to view themselves as having a choice as to what and whether they worshipped. The cunning man of that time might have his choice of ideas available in folkways and literature.
Here's the thing - I don't see why these secular-ish cunning folk of early modern times are '"witches"'. Witch in parlance by that time almost always meant malefice - the cunning folk mastered witches - that is, they defeated them. A witch-master turned aside the malefice of the witches still imagined by the rural people (OR ACTUAL EVIL MAGIC, ON OCCASION, I SUPPOSE...). Of course the church's definition made witchcraft and magic identical - all '"magic"' (AS OPPOSED TO ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, WHICH WAS '"RELIGION"' WHETHER OR NOT IT PRECISELY RESEMBLED MAGICAL TECHNIQUES) was powered by Satan and his demons, and all magicians had made at least a tacit pact with Satan. So when popular parlance referred to cunningfolk as '"witches"' they didn't mean '"wise ones"' or '"charmers"', they meant '"evil magic-users"'.
Looking from the perspective of practitioners I have trouble finding much of pre-Christian survival in the cunningman's bag. Of course some of the basics of magic don't change, but the content of the material has often been thoroughly Christianized. What has never been discovered is a cunningman's work in which the devil is worshipped in a religious fashion, or which calls on Pagan gods or spirits (APART FROM THE VERY CHRISTIANIZED SPIRITS OF THE PLANETS...). Just at this moment I cannot recall instruction for any cult of the dead practices, or genius-locus practice, though those could be hidden under works about '"terrestrial demons"', etc. Of course both such spirits are employed implicitly in using natural objects, proper waters, woods, etc, but this is pretty heavily disguised or forgotten in early-modern instructions. To the extent that the cunning worker made a '"pact"' with some local wight, I suppose that's a Pagan element in survival.
Now, I do think it's fair to say that revival Witchcraft has drawn on the cunningman's sources, while adding a broader list of folklore and mythic sources as a spiritual or religious overlay. Gardner's quartered circle, tool set, and style of circle-casting owes a good deal to the same grimoire sources that cunningfolk would have known. Methods of divination, of spirit arte and of making charms and talismans have migrated into non-Gardnerian forms of revival. However, as far as I can see, this is a case of modern revivals imitating literary sources. I have yet to encounter any evidence for direct inheritance of Pagan content. In cunning craft we find invocations of God and the Saints, the angels and archangels, demons of the sort found in the grimoires occasionally even of the early-modern notion of '"fairies"'. Most of these have little or no apparent relation to the ways of a wicce, or of a dreeman, much less of a truly pre-Christian, western European magic-user.
All of this inclines me to make a sharp distinction between the cunning man's art and witchcraft. We have solid vocabulary words that help make sense out of magical practice - folk magic, astrology, conjury, charming, all plainly describe cunning art, while applying the strange term '"witchcraft"' to it only seems to imply that cunning arts involved the worship of illicit (WHETHER PAGAN OR DEMONOLOGICAL) spirits. While some cunning folk did describe their relation with a familiar, all is presented in a thoroughly Christian mythic setting.
NEOPAGAN WITCHCRAFT
I define all known modern examples of conscious Paganism, including Pagan Witchcraft, as Neopagan. I remain unconvinced that active worship of the Old Gods, or unbroken pre-Christian initiatory lineages, continued in secret circles anywhere in Europe - and least likely in western Europe. Therefore all modern people who consciously worship (I.E. ENTER INTO MAGICO-RELIGIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH) spirits not from the Christian pantheon are drawing on recent (WHETHER 70 YEARS OLD OR 170 YEARS OLD, OLDEST...) reconstructions. Thus, we are Neopagans.
I disapprove of using '"neopagan"' to refer to or exclude any specific style of modern Paganism. Hellenic or Saxon reconstructionists are as neopagan as tie-dyed eclectics with hoola-hoops. Neopagan refers to the family of magico-religious movements that first arose in the 20th century (MAYBE THE LATE 19TH...) in which I would include Asatru, Wicca, Traditional Witchcraft (NOT TRADITIONAL FOLK-MAGIC), Thelema, the various ethnic reconstructionisms and no doubt a long list of smaller systems. There's some chance that Baltic religion retains some unbroken lines of practice, but even that is uncertain.
In the same way, I rather think that using '"witchcraft"' to refer to folk-magic practices divorced from religious context is needlessly confusing, and mixes very different ideas. Witchcraft has almost always referred to systems connected with religion (APART FROM ANTHROPOLOGICAL USAGE, WHICH I HAVEN'T DEALT WITH HERE), and at least the term should be modified by whatever religious system it's worked in. In this sense one can be a '"Christian Witch"', even if being a Christian Wiccan is a contradiction in terms (AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE OLD ENGLISH USAGE). However, traditional magic-users in cultural intact settings simply don't use the term '"witch"' or '"witchcraft"' for what they do. When you find someone using that term, it almost always indicates conscious reinvention.
Conclusion (-lessness)
So, there's no real conclusion to this screed...
Those who are attracted to the idea of witchcraft will continue to devise methods to express their self-identification. One of the things I like best about the Trad Craft trend is its interest in using authentic sources to reconstruct what a Pagan cunning practice might be like. For me, as a fairly liberal reconstructionist Pagan, I just don't have an interest in reconstructing the world or worldview of 17th century Europe - it's too latter-period, already too stripped of myth and mystery, with only scraps and tag-ends of the pre-Christian material that pushes my buttons. I don't assume that 17th century folkways retain much of pre-Christian lore, and find archeology and observation of surviving tribal and polytheistc ways to be at least as instructive about what Pagan magic might have looked like as what remained in the last few centuries.
Did this walk through a confused topic make me feel less confused... maybe a little...
Tags: goddess workshop afi demonomania simple astral projection pat robertson muslim the fickleness of feelings what is art john canaday making mojo bag
