Wiccan, Woman and Hearth

Welcome to Wiccan, Woman and Hearth. I am a practicing Solitary Wiccan. Please feel free to ask me any questions about Wicca.

 Eight words of the Wiccan Rede fulfill:

An' it harm none, do what ye will.

Power.  A strong position is achieved.  Creative approaches have led to a place of strength.  Victory looks to be within reach.  A defensible position.  Personal strength.

Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who was of old, called amongst men, Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Diana, Arionhod, Bride and by many other names.

At mine Altar, the youths of Lacedemon in Sparta made due sacrifice.  Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month and better it be when the Moon is Full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the Spirit of Me, who am Queen of all the Witcheries.  There shall ye assemble, who are feign to learn all sorceries who have not as yet won my deepest secrets.  To these will I teach that which is as yet unknown.  And ye shall be free from all slavery and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall sing, feast, and make music, all in my presence.  For mine is the ecstasy of the Spirit and mine is also joy on earth.  For my Law is love unto all beings.  Keep pure your highest ideals, strive ever towards them.  Let none stop you or turn you aside.  For mine is the secret that opens upon the door of youth and mine is the Cup of the Wine of Life and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of Immortality.  I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man upon earth.  I give the knowledge of the Spirit Eternal, and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.  Nor do I demand aught or sacrifice, for behold I am the Mother of all things, and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Here ye the words of the Star Goddess, She, in the dust of whose feet are the Hosts of Heaven, whose body encircleth the universe.

I, who am the beauty of the Green Earth and the White Moon amongst the stars and the mystery of the Waters, and the desire of the heart of man; I call unto they should to arise and come unto me.  For I am the Soul of Nature who has giveth life to the universe; from me all things proceed an unto me all things must return.  You, beloved of the Gods and men, whose innermost divine self shall be enfolded in the raptures of the Infinite, let my worship be in the heart.  Rejoiceth, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals; therefore, let there be beauty and strength-power and compassion-honor and humility, mirth and reverence-within you.  And thou who thinkest to seek me, know that they seeking and yearning avail thee not, unless thou knowest the mystery-that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thyself, thou wilt never find it without thee.  For behold!  I have been with thee from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire!

Midwinter's Eve-Yule

by Mike Nichols

Our Christian friends are often quite surprised at how enthusiastically we Pagans celebrate the 'Christmas' season. Even though we prefer to use the word 'Yule', and our celebrations may peak a few days before the 25th, we nonetheless follow many of the traditional customs of the season: decorated trees, carolling, presents, Yule logs, and mistletoe. We might even go so far as putting up a 'Nativity set', though for us the three central characters are likely to be interpreted as Mother Nature, Father Time, and the Baby Sun-God. None of this will come as a surprise to anyone who knows the true history of the holiday, of course.

In fact, if truth be known, the holiday of Christmas has always been more Pagan than Christian, with it's associations of Nordic divination, Celtic fertility rites, and Roman Mithraism. That is why John Calvin and other leaders of the Reformation abhorred it, why the Puritans refused to acknowledge it, much less celebrate it (to them, no day of the year could be more holy than the Sabbath), and why it was even made illegal in Boston! The holiday was already too closely associated with the birth of older Pagan gods and heroes. And many of them (like Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Dionysus, Apollo, Mithra, Horus and even Arthur) possessed a narrative of birth, death, and resurrection that was uncomfortably close to that of Jesus. And to make matters worse, many of them pre-dated the Christian Savior.

Ultimately, of course, the holiday is rooted deeply in the cycle of the year. It is the Winter Solstice that is being celebrated, seed-time of the year, the longest night and shortest day. It is the birthday of the new Sun King, the Son of God -- by whatever name you choose to call him. On this darkest of nights, the Goddess becomes the Great Mother and once again gives birth. And it makes perfect poetic sense that on the longest night of the winter, 'the dark night of our souls', there springs the new spark of hope, the Sacred Fire, the Light of the World, the Coel Coeth.

That is why Pagans have as much right to claim this holiday as Christians. Perhaps even more so, as the Christians were rather late in laying claim to it, and tried more than once to reject it. There had been a tradition in the West that Mary bore the child Jesus on the twenty-fifth day, but no one could seem to decide on the month. Finally, in 320 C.E., the Catholic Fathers in Rome decided to make it December, in an effort to co-opt the Mithraic celebration of the Romans and the Yule celebrations of the Celts and Saxons.

There was never much pretense that the date they finally chose was historically accurate. Shepherds just don't 'tend their flocks by night' in the high pastures in the dead of winter! But if one wishes to use the New Testament as historical evidence, this reference may point to sometime in the spring as the time of Jesus's birth. This is because the lambing season occurs in the spring and that is the only time when shepherds are likely to 'watch their flocks by night' -- to make sure the lambing goes well. Knowing this, the Eastern half of the Church continued to reject December 25, preferring a 'movable date' fixed by their astrologers according to the moon.

Thus, despite its shaky start (for over three centuries, no one knew when Jesus was supposed to have been born!), December 25 finally began to catch on. By 529, it was a civic holiday, and all work or public business (except that of cooks, bakers, or any that contributed to the delight of the holiday) was prohibited by the Emperor Justinian. In 563, the Council of Braga forbade fasting on Christmas Day, and four years later the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from December 25 to Epiphany as a sacred, festive season. This last point is perhaps the hardest to impress upon the modern reader, who is lucky to get a single day off work. Christmas, in the Middle Ages, was not a single day, but rather a period of twelve days, from December 25 to January 6. The Twelve Days of Christmas, in fact. It is certainly lamentable that the modern world has abandoned this approach, along with the popular Twelfth Night celebrations.

Of course, the Christian version of the holiday spread to many countries no faster than Christianity itself, which means that 'Christmas' wasn't celebrated in Ireland until the late fifth century; in England, Switzerland, and Austria until the seventh; in Germany until the eighth; and in the Slavic lands until the ninth and tenth. Not that these countries lacked their own mid-winter celebrations of Yuletide. Long before the world had heard of Jesus, Pagans had been observing the season by bringing in the Yule log, wishing on it, and lighting it from the remains of last year's log. Riddles were posed and answered, magic and rituals were practiced, wild boars were sacrificed and consumed along with large quantities of liquor, corn dollies were carried from house to house while carolling, fertility rites were practiced (girls standing under a sprig of mistletoe were subject to a bit more than a kiss), and divinations were cast for the coming Spring. Many of these Pagan customs, in an appropriately watered-down form, have entered the mainstream of Christian celebration, though most celebrants do not realize (or do not mention it, if they do) their origins.

For modern Witches, Yule (from the Anglo-Saxon 'Yula', meaning 'wheel' of the year) is usually celebrated on the actual Winter Solstice, which may vary by a few days, though it usually occurs on or around December 21st. It is a Lesser Sabbat or Lower Holiday in the modern Pagan calendar, one of the four quarter-days of the year, but a very important one. Pagan customs are still enthusiastically followed. Once, the Yule log had been the center of the celebration. It was lighted on the eve of the solstice (it should light on the first try) and must be kept burning for twelve hours, for good luck. It should be made of ash. Later, the Yule log was replaced by the Yule tree but, instead of burning it, burning candles were placed on it. In Christianity, Protestants might claim that Martin Luther invented the custom, and Catholics might grant St. Boniface the honor, but the custom can demonstrably be traced back through the Roman Saturnalia all the way to ancient Egypt. Needless to say, such a tree should be cut down rather than purchased, and should be disposed of by burning, the proper way to dispatch any sacred object.

Along with the evergreen, the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe were important plants of the season, all symbolizing fertility and everlasting life. Mistletoe was especially venerated by the Celtic Druids, who cut it with a golden sickle on the sixth night of the moon, and believed it to be an aphrodisiac. (Magically -- not medicinally! It's highly toxic!) But aphrodisiacs must have been the smallest part of the Yuletide menu in ancient times, as contemporary reports indicate that the tables fairly creaked under the strain of every type of good food. And drink! The most popular of which was the 'wassail cup' deriving its name from the Anglo-Saxon term 'waes hael' (be whole or hale).

Medieval Christmas folklore seems endless: that animals will all kneel down as the Holy Night arrives, that bees hum the '100th psalm' on Christmas Eve, that a windy Christmas will bring good luck, that a person born on Christmas Day can see the Little People, that a cricket on the hearth brings good luck, that if one opens all the doors of the house at midnight all the evil spirits will depart, that you will have one lucky month for each Christmas pudding you sample, that the tree must be taken down by Twelfth Night or bad luck is sure to follow, that 'if Christmas on a Sunday be, a windy winter we shall see', that 'hours of sun on Christmas Day, so many frosts in the month of May', that one can use the Twelve Days of Christmas to predict the weather for each of the twelve months of the coming year, and so on.

Remembering that most Christmas customs are ultimately based upon older Pagan customs, it only remains for modern Pagans to reclaim their lost traditions. In doing so, we can share many common customs with our Christian friends, albeit with a slightly different interpretation. And thus we all share in the beauty of this most magical of seasons, when the Mother Goddess once again gives birth to the baby Sun-God and sets the wheel in motion again. To conclude with a long-overdue paraphrase, 'Goddess bless us, every one!'

The Witches Star Symbolic Meaning of the Pentagram

The Pentagram is a symbol of a star encased in a circle. Always with 5 points (one pointing upward), each has its own meaning. The upward point of the star is representative of the spirit. The other four points all represent an element; earth, air, fire, and water. All these things contributive to life and are a part of each of us. To wear a pentagram necklace or other form of jewelry, is to say you feel the connection with the elements and respect the earth.

For modern-day Pagans, the Pentacle contains many wonderful layers of symbolism. The five points symbolize the four directions with the fifth point as the sanctity of Spirit, within and without. The circle around the star symbolizes unity and wholeness. It represents the quest for Divine Knowledge, a concept which is ancient in origin and universal in scope from the earliest written ritual texts in Babylonia, to the Celts, to the Native American traditions. Similar to other figures which are made of a single unbroken line, this symbol is used to mark off magical enclosures or ritual areas, especially when used for invocation of deities or spirit.

The number 5 The number 5 has always been regarded as mystical and magical, yet essentially 'human'. We have five fingers/toes on each limb extremity.We commonly note five senses - sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. We perceive five stages or initiations in our lives - eg. birth, adolescence, coitus, parenthood and death. (There are other numbers / initiations / stages / attributions). The number 5 is associated with Mars. It signifies severity, conflict and harmony through conflict. In Christianity, five were the wounds of Christ on the cross. There are five pillars of the Muslim faith and five daily times of prayer. Five were the virtues of the medieval knight - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry and piety as symbolised in the pentagram device of Sir Gawain. The Wiccan Kiss is Fivefold - feet, knees, womb, breasts, lips - Blessed be.

The number 5 is prime. The simplest star - the pentagram - requires five lines to draw and it is unicursal; it is a continuous loop. Human stars Expressing the saying Every man and every woman is a star, we can juxtapose Man on a pentagram with head and four limbs at the points and the genitalia exactly central. This is Man in microcosm, symbolising our place in the Macrocosm or universe and the Hermetic / Tantric philosophy of associativity as above, so below. The Golden Proportion The geometric proportions of the regular pentagram are those of the Golden Section. The Golden Proportion is one beloved of artists since Renaissance times and also to be found in post-Hellenic art and in the geomantic planning of Templar sites, being those proportions of a rectangle considered most pleasing to the eye.

Here, the ratio of the lengths of the two sides is equal to the ratio of the longer side to the sum of the two sides. Or: a/b = b/a+b = a+b/a+2b = a+2b/2a+3b = 2a+3b/3a+5b ....etc. If a square is added to the long side of a golden rectangle, a larger golden rectangle is formed. Continuing this progression forms the basis for a nautilus spiral. The ratio of the distance between two points of a pentagram to its total width is in the golden proportion, as is the ratio of the height above the horizontal bar to that below, as is the ratio of a central part of a line to the outer part.

This ratio forms the foundation of the Fibonacci series of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc. where each number is formed by adding the previous two numbers. The Fibonacci series is much found in nature in the pattern arrangement of flower heads and leaves and many flower heads and fruits themselves exhibit a fivefold symmetry. Protection against evil The pentagram has long been believed to be a potent protection against evil, a symbol of conflict that shields the wearer and the home.

The pentagram has five spiked wards and a womb shaped defensive, protective pentagon at the centre. Five elements Here are five elements, four of matter (earth, air, fire and water) and THE quintessential - spirit. These may be arrayed around the pentagrams points. The word quintessential derives from this fifth element - the spirit. Tracing a path around the pentagram, the elements are placed in order of density - spirit (or aether). fire, air, water, earth. Earth and fire are basal, fixed; air and water are free, flowing. The single point upwards signifies the spirit ruling matter (mind ruling limbs); is a symbol of rightness. With two points up and one (spirit) downwards, subservient, the emphasis is on the carnal nature of Man. Drawing a Pentagram These point attributions are used in ritually inscribing, as a flourish of the hands or the athame, different forms of pentagram for invoking or banishing (grounding) each of the elementals according to the nature of the ritual.

The line traces as illustrated for earth (the last stroke is optional). Another way of seeing this path is as Man's spiritual journey through evolution. The spark of Life descending from God, the divine source of life to the simplest embryonic form (earth), rising to flow (water - air) on our plane of existence (compare with the intonation of the AUM mantra), then again descending to the fire of purification before again rising as a divine spark to find again his spiritual source. The pentagram may be shown as an interlaced line symbolic of the web- weaving power of magick. The descending spirit-earth line may pass under (male) or over (female) the water-air line to give two slightly differing forms. Open Pentagram A pentagram may be open, without a surrounding circle.

This is the active form symbolising an outgoing of oneself, prepared for conflict, aware, active. (One wearing an open pentagram must be physically aware of the danger of sharp points sticking in their skin from time to time). As a pagan religious symbol, the open pentagram represents an open, active approach. Circled Pentagram A circle around a pentagram contains and protects. The circle symbolises eternity and infinity, the cycles of life and nature. The circle touching all 5 points indicates that the spirit, earth, air, water and fire are alll connected. The circled pentagram is the passive form implying spiritual containment of the magic circle, in keeping with the traditional secrecy of witchcraft, and the personal, individual nature of the pagan religious path, of its non-proselytising character. Inverted Pentagram The pentagram may be inverted with one point down. The implication is of spirit subservient to matter, of man subservient to his carnal desires. The inverted pentagram has come to be seen by many pagans as representing the dark side and it is abhored as an evil symbol.

Fundamental christians, indeed, see any form of pentagram as such. However, these are recent developments and the inverted pentagram is the symbol of Gardnerian second degree initiation, representing the need of the witch to learn to face the darkness within so that it may not later rise up to take control. The centre of a pentagram implies a sixth formative element - love/will which controls from within, ruling matter and spirit by Will and the controlled magickal direction of sexual energies. This is another lesson of initiation. The Pentagram As A Christian Symbol Up until medieval times, the five points of the pentagram represented the five wounds of Christ on the Cross. It was a symbol of Christ the Saviour. This is in stark contrast to today where the pentagram is criticized by modern Fundamentalist Christians, as being a symbol of evil.

The church eventually chose the cross as a more significant symbol for Christianity, and the use of the pentagram as a Christian symbol gradually ceased.

by; Lady Abigail

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ravensgrove-Coven/172419479791?ref=mf#!/note.php?note_id=461683789924

The Triple Goddess consists of 3 different archetypes, the Maiden, Mother and Crone.

The Maiden is the youngest aspect of the Goddess.  With her we see discovery and the creative aspects of our personality.  She represents innocence, Spring, beginnings,the joy of living and the waxing moon.  She has been known by the names Persephone, Artemis, Rhiannon amoung others.  We would call upon the Maiden Goddess when with need new beginnings.

There have been many faces of the Mother Goddess such as Gaia, Hera, Danu, Kali Ma, Isis and even Mary the mother of Jesus. There are as many faces of the Goddess as there are cultures throughout history. She is also know as the Earth Mother and associated with motherhood, fertility, creation and the embodiment of the Earth. When we see a full moon we envision the Mother Goddess in her full glory. Every month we have an opportunity to view her face and thank her for all that she has done for us.

The following is reprinted from the book Soft Moon Shining:

HAVE YOU SEEN OUR MOTHER?

Brother Wind
Have you seen our Mother?
Was she sitting alone and silent
on some lofty snow capped peak
as you crossed the Rocky Mountains
on your way to caress
the vast prairie grass lands?

If you see our most beautiful Mother
please tell her I am calling her
and that I can no longer contain my love

Sister Earth
Have you felt our Mother's footsteps
as she walked across your endless lands
planting the seeds
of creation and dissolution?

Have you heard her singing her sweet song
of compassion and love?
If so, tell her that her child
who loves her so very much
has awakened from his long nap
and yearns to hug his Mother once again

Sister Ocean
Has our Mother passed through your rivers today
on her way to direct the waters of eternity
up into her garden of clouds
floating in the deep blue sky of primal awareness?

Or have you felt her moving in the unfathomable depths
of your inky black belly
where she often goes to stir
the boiling cauldron of destiny?

If you know where our sweetest of Mothers is
please tell her
that I am unable to stop the flood of tears
that rises from the well of my deep longing
and that I yearn to hold her
and to be held by her again

Brother Sun
Nothing at all escapes your warm life giving gaze!
Please look all around now from your high place
and tell me if you see our Mother's dancing form
as she goes about her many tasks
- can you catch a glimpse of her shadow
as it plays on the steep cliffs of revelation?

If so, please tell her to come for her child
who stands now in his crib
gripping tightly and shaking
the constraining rail of the ego
crying Mother! Mother! Mother!
unable to find contentment in anything but her

If you see her
please kiss her affectionately for me
and tell her to come quickly
as I am through sleeping and dreaming
and only want to be with her

When we say the word Crone what do we think of? For some it would be an old woman, for others it would be the Halloween witch. It all depends on the perspective of the person saying or hearing it. When a Wiccan says or hears the word Crone they would most likely associate it with the Goddess in Her aged form.

The Crone can be envisioned in different forms such as the Wise Woman, the Witch, the Matriarch, Hekate or the aged Goddess. She is also associated with the waning moon.

There are three forms of the Goddess: the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. Each person may identify differently with each form and may choose one they are most comfortable with. The Crone Goddess can be a source of great strength and comfort.

The Crone Goddess also represents fulfillment and endings. She is also the Goddess of Death, Magic and the Spirit realm. She is the Great Sorceress, Goddess of Transformation and the Destroyer who gives way to rebirth and new beginnings.

The Crone is symbolized as the Primordial Deity, having existed before the dawn of time. She is the wisest form of the Goddess and often referred to as Hekate, the great Crone Goddess of ancient Greece, but symbolized as the Halloween witch with a pointed hat which symbolizes her cone of Power, her broomstick for sweeping away old forms of existence and her cauldron for creating new ways of being.

To Wiccan’s the Crone is not a negative persona, it is actually respected as you would respect a Grandmother, having great wisdom for being alive so long.

Juno

Juno is the feminine form of the ancient Roman Higher Self or the Divine part of each individual. The male form of Higher Self is called Genius. Ancient Romans were encouraged to talk to their Higher Self daily and to receive answers from it. They also honored it with offerings and ceremonies. They would talk to their Juno about what they wanted to do and Juno would help them. When birthdays came around the members of the family would honor the birthday persons Juno with offerings. This encouraged their relationship with their Higher, Best Self. In later times Romans would make offerings to the Juno of the Empress. Offerings typically included the four elements. Each item would represent one of the elements such as incense for air, an oil lamp for fire, wine for water and cakes for earth. In today’s world we know Juno or Genius as a Guardian Angel. We also would use similar items for the four elements. The purpose of Juno was to better people’s lives by striving to be a better person.