Hearing the One Voice (originally posted at http://www.dailyom.com,reprinted here for not-for-profit educational purposes only.)

Gathering in a circle is the perfect container to hear our truths as there are no hard edges, only endless support.

When we sit in a circle together and share our thoughts and feelings, we participate in a powerful, unifying practice whose origins stem from the very beginning of human time. All early cultures practiced some form of this ritual, which gives each individual in the group a voice, and at the same time reveals the one voice, and the ultimate unity, of the group. This profound and simple way of talking and listening has experienced a modern rebirth in counseling, social work, and spirituality.

Most circles benefit from the presence of a leader who opens the circle by calling in angels, spirit guides, and ancestors—beings of light who will be present with those taking counsel. The leader may announce a theme for the circle, or one may simply evolve from the unstructured expressions of each participant. The circle continues for as long as feels right, at which point the leader may summarize what has been said, perhaps leading everyone in a moment of silence before the circle disbands. One of the most powerful components of this work is the talking stick, which can be any object—a crystal, a flower, or a candle—that is passed around the circle from person to person. The person holding the object speaks until he has fully expressed his feelings, and no one else interjects, interrupts, or even responds until they are holding the stick. This enables people who have a hard time speaking out to express long buried feelings and points of view. This is powerful because in a! community it is often what is not said or acknowledged that causes the most pain and suffering.

The circle, which contains no hard edges or angles, is the ideal container for these difficult truths. As we hear the many perspectives the subject at hand inspires, we begin to see that our individual truth is just one of many. Our own hard edges begin to soften as the circle flows from one person to the next, and each wave of words cleanses us of one more layer of mental and emotional armor, freeing us to be closer to the people around us. Try using counsel during your next family meeting, school class, or any setting where you feel a centering communication method is needed.

Julie Balavia is a great gal to have on your side.  A genuine, in-the-blood strega* (how often have you seen one of them?)  she is an incredibly talented psychic.  I’m willing to place betting-man’s odds the true believers will be impressed and the hardened skeptics will come away shaking their heads and puzzling over how exactly “she does it.”  Simply put, she’s the genuine article: a ruby shining in the modern world’s pile of gravel.

So, why is the Reverend writing about a psychic?  Psychics are a lot like psychiatrists, bartenders, and undertakers: when times are bad, they see a lot of business.

The economy has hit some rough times, and it seems to be on everybody’s mind: from Mr. President during his State of the Union to the neighborhood gossip. At the time of writing this, the latest jobless figures quoted are 1 in 10, but this does not take into account those who have been unemployed so long they have exhausted unemployment, or taken what they could to survive but are “under employed,” meaning they are not really using the full range of skills (ie: a lawyer washing dishes to get by, for example.)

The following interview with Julie by a local Rochester, NY based news team is re-printed for not-for-profit educational purposes only (and with the hope of providing some comfort and hope to the concerned.)

News 8 Reports:
Psychics see Boom in Tough Economy
Reported by: Matt Molloy
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009
@09:35pm EST

Julie Baliva is a psychic medium with more than 40 years of experience. In this recession she says clients are more focused on finances than anything else.

“It’s not necessarily are they losing their jobs, they’re all terrified they are going to lose it,” said Baliva. So they come to her for guidance. “I try to tell people don’t be the person who waits until the job is over and it’s the end. Let’s take some action first and get you right into a job somewhere so there is not down time or time for you to worry about things,” said Baliva.

“My business has always been prosperous. Unfortunately, it’s busier when there are times of crisis. It’s simply the way it works,” said Baliva.

Jason Klaum has been a client for the past year. His focus most recently, “Success, my job, how well I’m going to do in the future,” said Klaum.

Klaum hopes future visits won’t focus so much on finances.

“I think if the economy’s better, everybody’s lives improve a little bit more and the outlook might be better as far as what I might find out,” he said.

In the meantime a shaky economy means more concerned customers for psychics like Baliva.

“I give people the faith in knowing that this is going to be very short term. That this isn’t something you need to go into a major panic,” she said.

***************************************

*Strega:  The word is simply Italian for “female witch” (male is “Stregone,” plural, “Stregharia.”). This ancient form of Italian witchcraft has been passed for generations through family lines, and I have often heard it is inherited through blood lines, and, unlike other systems of magic, can not simply be taught, despite several attempts to popularize and mass-market it.  Charles Godfrey Leland, an American folklorist from Philadelphia, took an interest in this, claimed to have found a genuine strega, and, in 1899, with Christian bias firmly in hand, wrote Aradia, Gospel of the Witches (available for free to read in its entirety here).  This began popularizing a mythic image of the Stregharia as devil worshiping sex-fiends or curse-casting crones lobing the malocchio at all who crossed their path. Whether her account was true or whether she was having a bit of fun at Leland’s expense is a mystery kept by the Stregharia alone.   I chose this link as it appears closer to  realistic, but can not fully endorse anything.  After all, I am not a Strega. (Julie is a much better resource!)

From “Yes to Me.” Contributed by Rev. Adrian Tremayne.
(Reproduced solely for not-for-profit educational purposes.)

Every year at this time, as we approach the cross-quarter of Fall, a tension begins to build among the various paths of Paganism, Christianity in general, and the assorted gods of commercialism.

Halloween is the second biggest holiday in the U.S. For the general sale of goods, it is only beaten by Christmas; there are probably a few more Super Bowl parties than Halloween parties; and it runs a very close second to Easter in candy sales. That last would probably change if chocolate pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns were to come into fashion.

Humans of all ages, whether they admit it or not, love to play “dress-up”. Along comes Halloween with a legitimized excuse and nearly everyone bows to the custom of becoming some else for a night (or two). Never mind that the original purpose was to prevent spirits from recognizing you and following you home – a feat which could could be accomplished by the simple expedient of wearing your clothes turned inside out or backwards when the custom began. For the pagans among us it should probably be noted that the tradition seems to have its roots in medieval Christian superstition regarding “witches, demons and fell (or foul) beasts and spirits” going abroad to do “The Devils work” on the “accursed” night before the Feast of All Saints on November first. That Samhain, a pagan festival celebrated on the night of the cross-quarter between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, happens by chance to be the night before the feast is, I am sure, simply a matter of coincidence. As time passed, the superstitious tradition combined with a whistling-by-the-graveyard false gaiety. The origins faded, the gaiety became more real, and the whole thing morphed into Halloween (All Hallows Eve) as we know it today.

Interestingly enough, while the Christian superstitions regarding Halloween have been maintained and ritualized, so have the pagan beliefs that the Veil Between the Worlds is so thin that night that those Unseen can cross over to visit or communicate with us on this side. Jack-o-lanterns are carved to either light the way, or frighten away, the Unseen – depending on individual belief and intent. Divinations are performed in a variety of ways. Who has not bobbed for apples at some time in their life? Cauldrons, symbols of the Goddess, bubble and froth with assorted beverages – each a representative of the Drink of the Gods or the Elixir of Life. Assorted haunted entertainment (I saw an ad for a Haunted Pony Ride today), ghost walks, ghost towns, cemetery tours – the list is endless and expanding.

Surrounded by all this in the secular culture we have the assorted religious sects. Christians seem to divide into three general categories. The first, and largest, is made up of those who simply don’t care about any religious aspects or undertones of Halloween. They’re simply out to have fun on a night when the ordinary rules of conduct and propriety are set aside, within limits of course. Soaping windows – OK. Burning down the neighbor’s house down – Not OK. They don’t care, or even know, the marauding bands of costume-clad beggars with their cries of “Trick or Treat” originally represented spirits demanding tribute of some sort in return for not damaging person or property in some way.

The second category of Christians look at the carrying-ons of Halloween with a general distaste and disapproval, usually citing the “pagan origins” as their reason. They do tend to fall along a spectrum. Some turn off their lights and pretend to not be home, some resentfully pass out candy and such, some pass out religious tracts as their offering of a treat. If asked, most will express concern for the morals and/or souls of those celebrating Halloween.

The third, and least numerous group of Christians, agree with Pagans that the Veil is thin that night, but believe that it allows Evil to walk the Earth unchecked and therefore spend much time in prayer for protection of themselves and others they deem worthy. Some gather in churches, others lock themselves away at home. In either case, they are reacting from fear of something they don’t, or can’t, fit into their cosmology.

Pagans tend to fall into broad groups as well. Some consider the secular celebration of Halloween an adequate recognition of Samhain and do nothing farther to mark it. Some use the secular build-up as a forum (or soapbox) to try to educate the public regarding their beliefs and attitudes. Some are offended by Halloween and refuse to participate in the secular traditions, preferring to secret themselves away for their own religious rituals. Most are willing to enjoy Halloween, and later that night celebrate Samhain in their own way.

I am not going to pretend to know what the best response to the energies of the cross-quarter is or should be; whether secular, Pagan, or Christian. My tradition calls for tolerance, understanding and the recognition of Free Will in all beings. Each person is, in their own way, on their own One Right Tree Path toward their own understanding of union with the Divine. However, we each should be aware of the paths and traditions of those around us in the interest of expanding tolerance, understanding, harmony, and ultimately, Love.

May this Season find you walking Your Path with confidence and Divine Love for all beings.

Author: CatDancing
Posted: September 13th. 2009 to the Witche’s Voice
Re-printed for non-commercial educational purposes only

Only a few days ago when I looked out our front door and across the porch the foliage of the pink dogwood, viburnam and yellow twig dogwood was thick and green, obscuring the view to our country road and the hillside beyond. Now, in what seems only an instant, the leaves are beginning to turn shades of yellow and enough have already fallen so that I can get a glimpse of the big oak tree, hickory, sumac and others that border this side of the creek which runs down through the hollow.

In spite of the drought conditions we’ve been experiencing here in east Kentucky for many weeks now, late blooming plants are beginning to put on their early autumn show of color. The domed, dusty raspberry colored flowers of the tall Joe Pye along with the brilliant yellow of goldenrod and the vibrant purple of Iron Weed dot the hillsides and roadways, while here and there remaining cheerful blue corn flowers and little white umbrellas of Queen Anne’s Lace nod in the breeze. In shaded areas the tiny slipper-like spotted blossoms of orange Jewel Weed are everywhere, and occasionally the not as common yellow variety.

With September comes a subtle change in the light and the sun beckons us outside to enjoy the beauty and remaining days of harvest. As the month progresses the nights become suddenly chilled and we cannot fail to see, hear and feel the turning of the wheel within every aspect of nature. Soon, as we celebrate Mabon, we will be at the time of perfect balance of light and dark of Goddess and God.

This season is more than the time bounded by the summer solstice and an equinox. It is a time for taking stock, not only in the sense of the harvest, but in our own lives as well. Author and poet Hal Borland said of autumn that it is a summing up without the finality of year’s end. As summer fades, out thoughts turn more and more to hearth and home, and the slowing of the natural world helps to slow us down as well. Communities take time out for fall festivals and celebrations, giving us a chance to reconnect with friends and neighbors. We are reminded of the blessings of home and family and of the abundance present in our everyday lives.

Mabon brings a quiet, but magickal feeling to autumn and also into our homes. Sometimes called Harvest Home, it is associated with rituals for giving thanks and remembering that we need to make time to share our blessings.

Of all the seasonal and holiday decorating I do, autumn is my favorite! The rich reds, golds, greens and browns we find all around us in nature and the changing leaves can lend a feeling of warmth and intimacy to our surroundings inside as well. Decorate your altars with colored foliage, interesting bare twigs, stones, nuts, gourds, small pumpkins, mums, autumn colored candles (in safe containers of course!) , and other natural items from your particular locale.

This is a wonderful time for spending together as a family or with special friends. Have fun with activities such as nature walks, simple picnics, making corn dollies, popcorn balls, and caramel apples.

As days lengthen there is more time in the evenings for curling up with a good book and a cup of your favorite brew, or to gather the young ones close to hear their favorite stories read.

When we gather our herbs from the garden throughout late summer and fall, we are of course thinking of preserving them for future magickal, medicinal and culinary uses, but what about the stems and twigs? If you have a fireplace or outdoor firepit (or even the occasional campfire) , dry them as well. Herbs such as lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, sage, oregano, bay, bee balm, etc. can be tied into bundles with raffia or scraps of ribbon and used as wonderfully fragrant fire-starters!

Many of us spend a great deal of time these days during hot weather shut up in air-conditioned homes and offices. When the weather cools enough for windows to be opened again, let the autumn breezes blow through to give your rooms a good airing out before winter comes along to close us in again. You can put your favorite essential oils to use in making your own homemade room sprays. Just combine the following in an empty spray bottle:

about 1/3 cup of vodka (the cheap kind works fine for this) ,
and 3-6 droppers of essential oil (in your favorite combination) .
Shake well then add enough water to finish filling the bottle and shake well again.

This spray lasts longer than most commercially bought ones and can be used once or twice a day on rugs and upholstery, keeping away from glass and windows. You can even make up these sprays with a certain magickal focus if you match the scents to your intent. Try creating special ones for different rooms of the house.

All of the colorful and many-shaped leaves that are in abundance now can serve as a reminder of their magickal importance. Think about pressing and drying them between the pages of books for use in craft projects such as framed leaf collages or to carry as a special amulet. There is much information available in books and on the Internet about the magickal properties and correspondences of various trees.

For instance, Pennsylvania German tradition holds that the five-pointed leaves of most maples resemble the outspread fingers of a hand, and that these five points also represent the five senses. You might also think of this as a reminder of the four elements plus spirit. Among others, oak is sacred to the God and elder to the Goddess. The sometimes three-lobed leaves of sassafras are said to represent the Triple-Goddess, and the lore goes on and on! Leaves can also be dipped quickly into melted paraffin and left to dry on waxed paper. They can then be displayed in bowls or jars.

You can celebrate the abundance of this season with the making of prosperity candles. Choose a pillar candle in a harvest color, and using a stylus or sharp pencil inscribe symbols to represent your intent, such as Fehu, the rune for prosperity. Dress your candle with cinnamon, orange or ginger oil by rubbing rubbing the oil between your palms to warm it and then rubbing it over the candle from bottom to top. Burn your candle on Mabon and then throughout the season to attune to the change of the seasons and bring peace and prosperity.

A wonderful, magickally charged potpourri can be easily made to bring love, protection and prosperity to your home by the following recipe.

Harvest Potpourri

1 ½ cups oak moss
2 cups dried oak leaves
1 ½ cups dried honeysuckle
1 cup lavender buds
1 cup dried rosebuds
1 cup rose petals
¾ cup dried pine needles
2 tablespoons dried crumbled sage
a few bay leaves
a few pieces of dried citrus peel
a few acorns
rose essential oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, sprinkle with the rose oil and toss lightly together with you hands. As you work repeat the following chant. These herbs I combine for protection, to bring love and peace and prosperity. May they bless all those who enter within, and keep us from every adversity.

Pour the potpourri charged with your magickal intent in a decorative bowl and place near the front door. If you wish you can decorate the top with small charms, crystals or pinecones.

Especially during the autumn, one of the things that most speaks of home are the aromas of wonderful things being cooked and baked coming from the kitchen. The following recipe has been in my family for many years and always makes an appearance at our fall and winter family gatherings and celebrations. It will fill your home with the spicy smell of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring the ambiance of the season to all within.

PUMPKIN BREAD

1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 2/3 cups flour
½ cup cooking oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup water
nuts, dates or raisins if desired

Sift sugar, soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and flour into a large mixing bowl. With a spoon make a well in the center. Add oil, eggs, pumpkin and the water. Stir until well mixed. Bake in greased and floured loaf pan (s) at 350 degrees F. for a little less than an hour if making two small loaves, and a little longer if making one large loaf. If adding nuts, dates or raisins, toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour before stirring into batter to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pans.

Until next time I wish you and those you love many special blessings of the harvest season and wonderful moments to remember.

ABOUT…

CatDancing

Location: Mayking, Kentucky

Bio: CatDancing is a solitary eclectic green/hedge witch practicing in the mountains of eastern Kentucky where she shares a mostly quiet lifestyle with her husband, 5 cats, 4 dogs, 1 ornery goat, and a small flock of hens and noisy roosters! When she is not tending hearth,
home and herb garden she enjoys reading, writing, designing pagan-themed needlework, painting and photography. She is currently the
owner of the ‘Mountain Witch’s Cottage’ group on Yahoo, co-owner
of ‘The Mother’s Magickal Herb Garden’ and moderator of ‘Stormy’s Book of Shadows’, also both on Yahoo. She can be reached at catdancing@fastmail.fm.

“Spirited away, my energy gently glides above the treetops like a down feather blown within the circling wind. Below, I see the quilted workings of Mother Earth in the patches of green grass, freshly plowed ground and fields of grain ready now for the harvest. The air is sweet and cool as it moves round my body and delights me like loving whispers of voices unknown. Faeries dance on wing; their joyous laughter calling my spirit ever on. Reaching down, I try to grasp a bright purple leaf from atop the sugar maple. As my energy moves within the magickal moment, I feel the sun warming me as it moves through the essences of my being, giving glimmers of what possibilities lie just beyond. . .”

So begins Lady Abigail’s “Autumn: The Croning Time.”  For the entire article, please click here to  visit the original post on Witchvox.

By Josie (Baton Rouge, LA)
Posted to The Witches’ Voice, September 13th. 2009

It’s a week before Fall Equinox, one of two days of the year when daylight hours and nighttime hours are equal. After the equinox, the hours of daylight are less than the hours of night. It’s the end of summer in southern Louisiana. Although the days are still warm and the leaves are still green, the morning air is crisp and cool and brings us the promise of cooler days to come.

For Neopagans, the High Day goes by many names. Many call it Mabon, after the Welsh God (Dugan 3) . I’ve heard it referred to as Harvest Home, after the English harvest festival, which originated in the 19th century. Some modern Druids call is Alban Elfed, meaning the Light of Water, because on the Wheel of the Year, Mabon in on the Western spoke and the west is associated with water (The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids) . It is a lesser Sabbat or lesser High Day.
Autumnal Equinox is probably the least emphasized of the 8 Pagan High Days. Not as flashy as Samhain, the third harvest festival, the fall equinox is passed over with little pomp and celebration. Perhaps it is because few myths correspond to the specific date. Perhaps it is overlooked because it is the second of three harvest festivals. Or perhaps we have such a tenuous notion of this day because we have so little historical evidence as to how our Pagan ancestors celebrated it or if they even did acknowledge it. Although we cannot point to a definitive ancient counterpart, it is still a unique date in our Wheel of the Year, offering a theme that should not be overlooked.
What is the theme for this holiday? What do the myths, stories and customs of the present and past tell us about this day? Regardless of whether ancient Pagans celebrated the exact equinox, many Pagan cultures had a harvest festival near this time of the year.
If we look at how this fits into the year in the life of our Pagan ancestors, maybe we can extrapolate the meaning of this oft overlooked holiday. Mabon is the second harvest festival. Whereas Lughnasadh, the first harvest festival, was the celebration of the first grain ripening at the very beginning of the harvest season, by Mabon the harvest is over, the crops are in and the labor is done. If all has gone well, for Mabon we would be thankful that the hard work of harvest is done and give thanks for our full storerooms and the bounty of food we now have. Where Lughnasadh was a more global event with many tribes traveling to central locations to celebrate, I would presume that Mabon was more localized to your tribe and your community. It celebrated how your own community fared.
Even in modern day we see similar celebrations. County fairs are in abundance at the end of harvest season. Even the modern American Thanksgiving is a type of Mabon celebration – family rejoicing over the bounty of their lives together.
How would the harvest-end be treated if the harvest went poorly? One example I found comes from the Ynglinga Saga, the Norse poem written by Snorri Sturluson around 1225. It tells of a time period in Upsal, an area in Eastern Sweden, when there was famine in the land. For the Norse, the autumn festival was ordained by Odin as a time to make sacrifices to the Gods for prosperity for the coming year (MacCulloch 143) .
In the saga, the first year of shortage the people sacrificed oxen, but since the harvest for the following year did not improve, human sacrifices were made the second year. The third year was worse yet, and the chiefs consulted each other on what to do. They decided that the king needed to be sacrificed in order to restore balance to the land. It wasn’t that he was a bad or evil king, but simply that “to bring good seasons to the land” they needed to “sprinkle the stalle (place) of the gods with his blood” (“The Ynglinga Saga”) . He was needed to make the ultimate sacrifice a king can make for the good of his people – his own life.
Through this story we see that, after the harvest was done, a religious celebration was held and, depending upon the success or failure of the harvest, varying degrees offerings were made at the place of the Gods. Maybe if the harvest was good, grain, fruit and mead were offered to the Gods. The offerings would increase in severity if the harvest were poor. The worst of failed harvests called for the king to offer himself for the land.
So, in addition to giving thanks for our good fortune, if need be, Mabon is a time for sacrifice to ensure that the coming year is favorable. Most people in the modern Pagan community shy away from the word sacrifice. Possibly because we were once associated with more nefarious groups who made animal or human sacrifices, sacrifice has gotten an ill-deserved bad rap.
Yet, sacrifice and the more comfortable “offering” are acts of giving up something we value. In our current economic troubling time, the nature of sacrifice should be reexamined. If we find ourselves at Mabon having a bad “harvest, ” sacrificing luxuries and things not needed for survival may be in order. Sacrificing dining out, cable television and buying new clothes may help ensure that next year’s “harvest” is better. Mabon is the time to look at the things in our lives that can be sacrificed so that the future is more prosperous than the present.
To understand sacrifice better, let’s look at the dance the Wiccan God and Goddess perform throughout the Wheel of the Year and see where They are at Mabon. The God is represented as the life of the Sun. At Yule, when the Sun’s strength begins to wax, the Goddess gives birth to the God. By Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, He is at His peak. By Lughnasadh he wanes. Since by Samhain He is journeying to the land of the dead, with the Autumnal Equinox, when day and light are equal and night begins to wax, it makes sense that Mabon would be the day of His death. His sacrificing Himself so that the land can rest and be reborn anew in Spring, for the good of the Earth and His people, is like the king in Snorri’s saga.
This story teaches us that sacrifices on Mabon are not just for personal gain, but also to help the world be a better place. What can we sacrifice from our lives to make the Earth a better place? We can give time by recycling items instead of throwing things away. We can sacrifice the aesthetics of our lawns by using a mulcher on lawnmowers rather than bagging and throwing away the clippings. We can give up a little comfort by setting the heat and cool of our homes to more moderate temperatures. We can offer up eating meat as often as we do because of the harm the meat industry does to the environment.
I view the Autumn Equinox as a day to celebrate the good things we have received through-out the year, but also as a day to pare down those unnecessary extras to make sure every year the harvest is abundant.

---

Footnotes:
Dugan, Ellen. Autumn Equinox. Woodbury: Llewellyn P, 2005.
MacCulloch, J. The Celtic and Scandinavian Religions. London: Constable, 1993.
“The Ynglinga Saga.” February 1999. Sacred-Texts.com. September 10, 2008

Reprinted from the Witches’ Voice for non-commercial, educational purposes only.  Copyright remains with the original author.

Today marks the Summer Solstice. It is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the day on which the sun is at its highest point in the path through the sky. Nearly every culture and tradition north of the equator has marked this day as one of celebration ?the official “first day of summer.”Pagans frequently refer to today as “Midsummer’s,” “High Summer,” or “Litha.” It is a celebration of the male aspect of the Divine, in the peak of his virility, as much as the winter solstice is about his death.

Please take some time to go outside and enjoy today, the longest day of the year!!!