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The longstanding custom in India that spawned Buddhism is called "dana" (generosity, giving, charity). It is on account of alms giving that a revolutionary spiritual movement was able to arise in ancient northern India. This movement of wandering ascetics ("shramanas") countered the established temple priests who promoted a staid, superstitious religion of rites and rituals founded on the unquestioned authority of the Vedas.
If all this sounds strikingly familiar to the story of Jesus and the Old Testament Philistines, substituting the Buddha and the Vedic brahmins, it is. Much of the lore of Christianity is lifted from the best other religions had to offer, be they Mithras, Pagans, Egyptians, or mystics of India and the Far East. For Jesus and the apostles as well, "dana" was the foundation for their movement.
In India the custom of giving support to spiritual seekers, whatever their inclination, is key to the arising of the most spiritual society in the world. But what is the significance of giving a handful of rice? When it is given not to the individual but to the "Sangha" (as represented by the saffron robe being worn by an ordained member of the "Sangha" or Order), the benefits are hard to fathom. The Buddha called the "Arya Sangha "(the Order of Noble or Accomplished disciples) the "unsurpassed field of merit for the world."
That "Noble" Order is not limited to ordained members but rather includes all accomplished members - saints who have achieved any of the four stages of enlightenment. For with enlightenment comes purification of character by degrees. The lowest of the enlightened individuals is the stream-enterer who has seen nirvana and experienced a radical transformation of view: that person is sure to win freedom from rebirth in no more than seven lives. That is because the foundations for repeated becoming have been weakened. The grip of the mental defilements has been partially destroyed.
To give with the intention of giving to the "Sangha", as represented by someone on alms round, is to give to all such individuals collectively.
When that karma ripens, one is reborn again and again in fine material worlds, celestial ("akasha-devas") and mundane ("bhumi-devas"). One forms the basis for material wealth. That is to say, not only is one born wealthy but has the merit to remain wealthy. Others may come by hard won money only to lose it in the absence of merit that sustains wealth.
In fact, all of the wished for and welcome things ordinary, uninstructed worldings long for are possible to gain by giving - long life, beauty, pleasure, status, rebirth in the heavens. These five are desirable, agreeable, pleasant, yet hard to obtain in the world. But they can be obtained by skillful karma, a fundamental form of which is giving.
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SATURDAY JANUARY 26 at 6:00 P.M. GNOSTIC MASS - Priestess: Karen,
Priest: Jerome, Deacon: George. This is a Eucharistic Ritual.
Everyone is required to partake of the consecrated bread and wine.
Donation: 3.00
SATURDAY JANUARY 26 at 8:00 P.M. ANNUAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING.
All members of the Board of Trustees are required to attend. Guests are welcome to sit in and add their comments. This is the time when ideas and ideals for the coming year are formulated and resolved.
Anyone interested in participating in the direction of the Temple is encouraged to attend. The meeting will begin immediately after the
Mass. 3 I
HAPPY NEW YEAR 1991
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Year's end brings to mind old resolutions, some kept, some broken.
It is time for gleaning, that is casting aside old energies that have proven fruitless, ridding one's self of negative thoughts and actions that may have gained strength over the past year. The ancient texts are replete with stories of past cultures culling their flocks for the coming winter. The Sumarian civilization of over 5000 years ago would perform an annual exorcism on the New Year to banish evil entities.
Symbolically, this is a necessary process for aspiring magickians,
Wiccans, pagans. Old and barren thoughts must be cast aside to open room in the psyche for the new, the more positive, aspirations.
Allegorically, to get rid of the old making way for the new.
The Caballa speaks of tomorrow coming before today. This truth is
apparent when one realizes that what is pictured in the mind's eye
today becomes tomorrow's reality. Thoughts have power. Words have
power. They determine your actions. They control your creative process.
Therefore, before the new year arrives take time for introspection. Sit down with several sheets of paper and record the significant events in your life over the past year. Write down the joys and the sorrows. Do this carefully and completely. Do this without guilt or finding fault with yourself or others.
Once this is completed, review each negative event one by one.
Note how you may have avoided the pain. Allow your mind to wander over each one, building mind pictures of how you could have transcended each occurrence and what you have learned from its happening. This is to program yourself to view every past event as a learning process.
Glean away the emotional content and open yourself to the reality that YOU are indeed in control of your life. This is an exercise in
recognizing your own divinity.
Now, to reinforce your self-esteem, review every joyous occasion.
Relive its memory. Allow yourself to smile or laugh anew as you
remember the happiness experienced. This is of equal importance to the transcending of negative thought. It begins to fill your spirit with renewed vitality and desire for accomplishment for the coming year.
I realize this may take time. But, a small amount of time well
spent now will act as a springboard for future achievements. And
besides, how much better can you spend your time than to develop ideas to bring happiness into your life. Now is the time to begin.
Once you have completed this... Don't stop! Take a break, if you
must then return and complete the exercise that follows on the reverse side.
hHAPPY NEW YEAR 1991 continued.
Sit down with three sheets of paper. On the first sheet list every
accomplishment you desire to achieve during the year 1991. Be realistic about your abilities and means.
On the second sheet of paper, list where you are now with respect
to each accomplishment you have listed on the first sheet. Establish a foundation for your accomplishments. Once you have completed these
sheets you will have two lists. First, where you would like to be at the year's end and second, where you are right now. This has set
boundaries for your efforts throughout the year.
Now on the third sheet, list, as best as you can, you can expand
on it later, how you can progress from where you are right now to where you desire to be at the end of 1991. Determine what you are to do and how you may do it to achieve your goals. Any blank spaces will indicate to you where knowledge is needed to fill in the gap. Plan to fill in each gap during the course of the next twelve months.
Now you have established a plan for living throughout the next
year. Read over the plan, aloud if possible, once or twice daily so your subconscious will assimilate its message. This is a basic magickal ritual and...it woiks! (That's Brooklynese for "works".)
Blessed Be! Jerome
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Publisher: Puffin
Format: Paperback
Released: July 1st, 2010
Grade rating: A-
Amazon summary:
Billi Sangreal is a Knight Templar and has thrown herself utterly into their brutal regime, shutting herself off from everyone and everything. But when Billi finds herself at the heart of a savage werewolf attack, she knows their target - a young girl - must be rescued at all costs. For this is no ordinary girl. Vasilisa is an avatar with an uncontrollable force within - and it's not just the werewolves who want her. The Dark Goddess wants to sacrifice Vasilisa and use her powers to unleash unimaginable catastrophes and devastation. Can Billi protect Vasilisa from the ancient goddess - and at the same time stop her from destroying the world?
Review:
I've been a bit of a Sarwat Chadda fan ever since I read Devil's Kiss about a year ago, and immediately fell in love with Billi SanGreal and the Knights Templar. The whole concept of the Knights Templar fascinates me, and gives a whole new meaning to the concept of a kick-ass teenage warrior.
Dark Goddess picks up a few months after the events of Devil's Kiss, and centres around a powerful little girl, a group of male Bogatyr warriors, the horrible goddess Baba Yaga and a fierce pack of female Russian Polenitsy werewolves. The action is pretty much non-stop, with intense battles hiding around every corner. True to her calling, Billi steps up and deals with whatever the world throws at her, and is prepared to sacrifice even those closest to her for the greater good.
Dark Goddess is rooted in Russian lore and mythology, which is something I knew nothing about before reading it. I'm so impressed with Chadda's research and attention to detail, as it made the story all the more realistic. Including the famous Romanov family was a cool move, because who doesn't love learning about a Russian Royal Family? Tsarevich Ivan Alexeivich Romanov is hot stuff and, along with Billi, is a bright shining light in this book. I think I'm actually a little bit in love with him, which, y'know, isn't good 'cause he's not real. Oh well, one more fictional boy to add to my wish list...
What could have been improved? Not a lot, really. Maybe a few less long Russian names to remember, and a quicker pace in the odd chapter, but that's about it. Oh, and I wouldn't have said no to a few more vampire attacks (or ghuls, as they're known). So far Chadda has written about angels, vampires, werewolves, goddesses... there really is something for everyone in this series.
As it is, this latest Templar mission is addictive on the hard-to-put-down side of things, and Buffy fans should lap it up. Another bonus is that it can be read as a standalone novel, with all references to Devil's Kiss explained in a way that makes this possible (one spoiler is included, though you'd probably figure it out quite early on in the first book anyway). I'm really hoping there will be another book in this series, though I don't know where that stands at the moment. Fingers crossed and, as Billi would say, Deus vult.
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Guest post: Sarwat Chadda on Research
DARK GODDESS is a story I've been planning since 1994, when I first came across stories of an ancient Russian witch. The story came out of my love of history, mythology, Russian fairytales and the desire to give my two daughters a heroine that kicked ass EXTREMELY HARD!
I spent about a year of solid research, as well as utilizing all the background knowledge I'd acquired over the years, to write this book (and is probably why the publication date got moved back!). Research adds depth to your story. You don't see it because you're writing a tale, not a thesis, but it's there, making the roots of what you're saying deeper and stronger.
London is my home city so it was a given that Billi's first adventure, DEVIL'S KISS, would be here. The city has close links with the Templars, the Temple Church still stands here, almost 900 years after it was built. It was very easy to imagine the order still at work, in the city's old ancient alleyways. My background was in construction and I've worked on a lot of old buildings and, while I did projects for the Ministry of Defence, secret ones too.
I love cities. London's been occupied from Roman times and a lot of the streets still follow the original routes laid down by the Romans. There's layer after layer of stories and for a writer it gives you incredibly fertile ground. We've got the Templars, The Great Fire, Black Death and Jack the Ripper. The old Tower of London was a place of beheadings and the foulest of murders. The city is filled with ghosts.
I couldn't ask for a better setting to kick off the series.
DARK GODDESS moves the action to Russia. This presented a brand new challenge and a whole lot of opportunities. The biggest challenge was to make my writing of Moscow and Russia generally as live and lived in as my writing of London. Not easy. The only way to get that authenticity was to go out there and walk the streets, visit the buildings and look into the history. One of the things I'm most pleased with is that by seeing Moscow for myself, a whole new version of the story was created. But I had a lot of help to do it. The city is huge and I'd have been totally lost trying to work it out myself. A guy called Alan Steel runs a tour company called Russian Gateway and he really turned the trip around by organizing a guide and detailed itinerary so I saw what I wanted, and also places that I would have missed, but greatly enhanced the entire story. Plus he did all the Russian translations! A lot of the authenticity of the setting is down to his help.
The city is rich with legends and sights and characters, I could have written a trilogy just set in that one city. By moving Billi to Russia I took her out of her comfort zone and you really get her sense of alienation now she's out of London. The rules are different. The players are different. She can't fall back on the Templars.
Having established the new setting I continued on my research of Russian mythology. The name that came up again and again was the witch, Baba Yaga. She's a hideous, mysterious creature, an old pagan goddess that was made into a fairytale witch during the rise of Christianity. She is a cannibal with iron teeth and a belly-full of hate. I wanted her to reclaim her ancient and terrifying divinity. I wanted to get back to the roots of her power and why people should be afraid of her. She is incredibly old, incredibly wise and incredibly evil. I was lucky enough to visit the caves in Dordogne while writing the first scene where we meet Baba Yaga. These caves have paintings and carvings that are 14,000 years old, from the last Ice Age. This, I realised, was when Baba Yaga had first come amongst mankind. Once I had seen her home, I knew so much more about her. There were paintings of long-horned cattle, of small horses, of mammoths. They're all gone now, but Baba Yaga would have remembered them and when Europe was one vast forest. What must she feel now, seeing the dense clouds of pollution? The smog? The forests gone and replaced by concrete and steel?
Sadness? Yes.
Anger? Oh yes. Great anger indeed.
As well as visiting places I read a lot of female-centric mythology. The writer Angela Carter wrote a collection of short stories centred around werewolves. Werewolves are very feminine. The moon is connected to female deities, like Hecate, the queen of witches. The Amazons' legendary weapon was a lunar axe, and of course the moon cycle is strongly connected to female physiology. Then, in an amazing piece of luck, I discovered the original legends of the Amazons placed them in southern Russia. In an instant I was able to connect them to Baba Yaga. She was the goddess to the Amazons, and she taught her priestesses how to change shape. They were the first werewolves.
Another writer who's been a huge influence is Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She wrote 'Women Who Run with Wolves' and in it she delves into a lot of fairytales and myths, discovering the power of the female figures that, over the centuries, have become passive, sanitized, dependent on men and denied access to their original power. This is something I feel very strongly about. No doubt sparked by having daughters I'm not that impressed by the role of the 'classic' female heroine in literature. Sitting around waiting for some guy to sort out their lives. That it all ends happily ever after at the wedding altar. I prefer the old, ancient heroines. Reading Estes and the works of Robert Graves I rediscovered the more fearsome aspects of the old heroines. The cunning of Penelope. The fury of Athene. Blood-thirsty Morrigan. Of Kali who dances on the corpses of the dead and defends the world from evil. Billi is, in her own way, an old-school heroine. Very old school.
They are terrifying and powerful. They are not to be treated lightly. They are beholden to no man. Baba Yaga is one of these dark goddesses, and so is Billi SanGreal.
Sarwat's: Official site / Blog / Twitter / Amazon link
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Giveaway!
Sarwat has very kindly offered to give away a signed copy of Dark Goddess to one lucky UK reader. As always, you don't have to follow my blog to enter, but you do have to have a UK mailing address. Fill in the form below to enter!
End date: July 7th, 2010.
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Magic to call joy into one's life should be performed at the Waxing Moon.
Get three cherry-red candles. Gather flowers, whatever kinds are in season, and decorate
your altar with them. When you have viewed the Moon that evening, light your three candles
and dedicate them to the Fates. Joy is very much in their domain. Say:
"Red is my blood and red is my laughter,
Red is the color of life and of love.
Gracious Old Ladies, who weave in deep dark places,
Bless me with joy and bless me with luck."
Perform this honoring of the Fates three nights in a row, and burn the candles a little each night.
The last night, allow your candles to burn down. For incense you can burn red clover.
Once the spell is finished, dispose of it by taking a little bit of the candle dripping, dried flowers,
and ashes from the incense to a living body of water, cast them in, turn your back, and don't look back.
Source: http://crafty-witch.blogspot.com
The author shows how she, her coven, and her friends, have come to know the deities of ancient Egypt, and how these Gods and Goddesses have enriched their lives. Included are meditations and techniques to help the readers bring those deities into their own lives.
Also included are songs for the deities, rituals, information on hieroglyphs, two new forms of divination, names, incenses, oils, information and recipes for an ancient Egyptian feast, sources for statuary and other items, and even the best sites to visit on the World Wide Web. Instructions on the creation of a wand, nemyss, kilt, and sistrum are included.
This book does not pretend to recreate the religion of Ancient Egypt, but rather to bring knowledge and worship of its deities into modern Pagan practice. Readers will have the tools to continue learning and developing their own methods of honoring the Gods and Goddesses of Tamera, the Beloved Land of the ancient Egyptians.
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"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."
9th Day of the 4th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Kore
Lunar Tree Cycle ~ Fearn/Alder
6th Day of the Celtic Tree Month ~ Fearn/Alder
Moon Phase: First Quarter - 7:00AM EDST
Moon sets: 2:52AM EDST
Moon rises: 12:12PM EDST
Moon enters the Cardinal Water Sign
of Cancer 2:16AM EDST
Rhiannon's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The blessing of fire.
Sun in Aries
Sunrise: 7:19AM EDST
Sunset: 7:34PM EDST
Solar Question for the Day: "What memories
do you most appreciate?"
Imbolc (Gwyl Mair) Quarter of the Year
March 23rd., 2010
FIRST QUARTER
It's perfectly okay to work ritual on this part of the moon's cycle, but often it's better to use the special power of the first quarter to review work already in progress, or to gain insights into the way spells are unfolding. If you are lighting a spell candle daily, pause in the process of igniting the wick and tune in to know how the spell is forming. Does the energy feel right? Do any new factors occur to you that might improve the end result: for example, you may gain a sudden feeling about the way the goal should manifest, or some details may become clearer and would profit from added visualization. Another beneficial use for the first quarter is to quietly go within in contemplation or meditation and see what needs to be done when the full moon arrives, what magick might be appropriate then, or which areas of your life could benefit from focus and attention.
The moon's quarters are not widely used in magick and ritual, and yet they are valuable stations in the cycle when loose ends can be tied up and impetus gathered before entering the next stage.
[excerpts from: "Praise to the Moon" by Elen Hawke]
Today there are minor magickal energies for working rites and spells for warrior energy and courage.
During the waxing moon time in a lunar cycle the lunar power is constantly increasing and so this is an ideal time cast a spell requiring the fulfillment of a request. The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or health.
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Your kindness is a mighty force, as it raises your consciousness above and beyond the petty concerns of the human personality, the personal mind, into the heights of the consciousness of the Higher Self. A major concern of those who become self-aware is the differences in beliefs between oneself and others, and many spiritual seekers have become very self-righteous in an egoic, lower-self sense as a reaction to this heightened perception of "differences." However, to heal this, a shift in one's self-awareness to the Higher Self-in other words, to a feeling-sense of Oneness-must be made in order to traverse the bridge of consciousness from fear and anger to love and compassion.Kindness transcends differences in beliefs. Indeed, kindness transcends all appearances of differences, of contrast, as it is an out-pouring of the Spiritual Heart.
At times you may feel that your kindness is not reciprocated, and as a result you may feel irritated, annoyed and angry that your offering of love doesn't appear to be returned. In such instances it is always a case of "mistaken identity." In other words, you are identifying with the lower self, the ego, that feels victimized and abandoned. This "self" feels a lack of love; in fact, this is its defining characteristic! Identifying yourself with the common false belief, "Well, I am only human," is a sure way to avoid the spiritual fact that you are actually a perfect, immortal Divine Being that is temporarily playing a role as an ego, a personal "I," a human being. The "mistake" is assuming that you are human. You are not. You are Consciousness.
The human part is just that; it is part of your Higher Self and not the whole of who and what you are.Your True Identity is expressed in loving-kindness. Your kindness shows you and others who and what you really are. Negative behavior never shows anyone's "true colors." This common human perception of seeing one's "true colors" is nonsense, for the True Self actually has no colors, Itself being Pure Light that has no opposite and no shades of Itself. Yes, you may indeed perceive the so-called "true colors" of your brothers and sisters, but unless you realize that these are but temporary, illusory personality aspects that are reflected in the persona, in the aura of the individual, you are making the same error of mistaken identity in not clearly perceiving and identifying with your Higher Self, your Divine "I AM."None of you are actually here to figure out the minds of other people, but actually to gradually awaken to the Divine Mind, the Universal Mind, that is One.
It is suggested here that you identify with the FEELING of kindness rather than with the human definitions of kindness. Throw your labels and definitions to the transformative winds of higher awareness. Likewise, in this process of Self-realization it is very important that you surrender your specific expectations of how you think others should react to your kindness. This is of utmost importance! Your kindness, your compassion, is not firmly grounded and anchored if you have knee-jerk negative reactions to those who may not behave in the manner that your ego would like them to react. Let go of such defensive, self-destructive attitudes, for they do not characterize the True, Enlightened Inner Person that you really are.Understand that your soul actually enjoys differences; it delights in contrast, or else there would be no range of expression, and thus no human experience at all.
You, as soul, enjoy and appreciate ALL experiences. You will not clearly understand this with your human intellect, so the sooner you realize the futility of "intellectual enlightenment," the better. True intellectual enlightenment belongs to the Divine Intellect, the Divine Mind, and not to a mind that heavily relies upon its human intellect for its understanding of things. True kindness is that compassion that perceives all as One, in a deep, feeling sense that is beyond words, definitions and descriptions. ANY expression of kindness may lead to transcendental awareness, provided that you allow yourself the benefit of acknowledging your Inner Self. This is but a simple recognition of your empowerment, your Divine Reality.
Cherish those that believe differently than you, for in truth no one else actually has "identical" beliefs to yours, anyhow. There is no such unity in the perceptive arena of "difference" and "separation," which is why separation is totally an illusion. Unity is only found in crossing the bridge of consciousness from fear and lack to Abundant Love. Your kindness is mightier than any perception of lack. You lack nothing! Let the emphasis of this Truth ring throughout your vibrational being, until you are vibrating in perfect alignment with Source Reality, and the evidence of this Truth will surely be found in your delicious FEELING of well-being. Be kind unto yourselves, beloved ones, and thus all are served well. :)Namaste.
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