The Wiccan Life

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Celebrating Ostara - The Spring Equinox

Ostara is The Spring Equinox which is celebrated between March 20 and 22. Many of the Easter traditions of today are rooted in this sabbat from Easter bunnies to painted eggs. In the Druid tradition, it was known as Alban Eilir.

The sabbat of Ostara originates from the Germanic countries. Early Western European Pagans called it the Festival of Eostre. Eostre was the Teutonic Lunar Goddess of Fertility and Her sacred animal was the hare. (The Saxon version of the Germanic goddess was Ostara). Eostre’s feast day was the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. The word "Easter" is derived from this goddess’ name.

The Christian celebration of Easter was set close to this Pagan holiday in an attempt by the Church to convert local Pagans - designating their Easter celebration, which they believed commemorated the resurrection of Christ, as the official holiday.

Early European Pagans celebrated the renewal of life and the on- coming of the new planting season. Seed corn and barley were planted by hand, with special ears of corn saved to create the corn dolly or kern king, symbol of the sun god Lugh, who was sacrificed at Lughnasadh – the First Harvest. This is the sabbat when both light and dark and Goddess and God stand as equals - for this is the time of balance.

Since it was a Pagan custom to exchange painted eggs during Eostre’s Festival, our Wiccan group usually decorates our Ostara eggs, exchanging them and then leaving them on our altar in honor of Eostre until the evening is done. After ritual, we continue to clelebrate with a feast of our own - enjoying our delicious food and refreshments!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Any man can be a Father, it takes a special person to be a Dad

I must say that I owe much of who I am as a person today to my father. He is absolutely, without a doubt, the most kind, warmest, wisest fellow I have ever known. He is the kind of person who would give the shirt off of his back to a stranger in need – honestly. He always seems to keep a chin up and a positive attitude about life no matter what happens. He has made so many sacrifices over the years for our family so that we would never have to want for anything.

My dad is a very open-minded Aquarius (his birthday is January 22) who loves animals, nature, science (go figure, right?), and science fiction. I once remember taking him to a Star Trek convention, since we both have always been huge fans, and we had such a blast! He is also the coolest dad I have ever met. He has very diverse musical tastes ranging from Hank Williams, Sr. to Bruce Springsteen and Sophie B. Hawkins. He is an extremely laid-back, easy-going person who always manages to stand up for what is right. For example, he has always been supportive of my decision to be a Wiccan and has gladly educated himself on what witchcraft is all about. On more than one occasion, he has stood up for my right to practice my beliefs even to the behest of certain family members. Likewise, I would stand behind him as well and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my dad.

My dad Bill, Brett, me & my mom Elrita

As his daughter, I am ever so proud of him and I feel very blessed by the Goddess to have a father like him. Tomorrow he will turn 78 years old. Happy Birthday, Dad – we love you!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Daily Meditations

If you do not find peace in yourself,

You will never find it anywhere else.

Until you make peace with who you are,

You will never be content with what you have.

Remember that we are not strangers,

But friends that have not yet met.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Defending That Which is Right

The other day, I read an excellent post on The Zen Witch blog titled, “Be the Change.” In it, Willow writes about how we, as Pagans, Wiccans, Buddhists, etc., should not have to feel we must lie about our beliefs or religion - nor does she wish to raise her children to ever be ashamed of who and what they are. Her point was, basically, that we can’t expect a change in society’s attitudes toward us if we continue to hide in the “broom closet” all of our lives.

Among the comments which she received, was a very upset Christian who, apparently, was under the delusion that our Founding Fathers built our Country on the Christian religion and; therefore, they were also ALL Bible Christians. This individual was referring to, of course, our Freedom of Religion Act.

As I have said before, I am a strong advocate of religious tolerance; however, it MUST go both ways! Normally, I do not allow the ignorance of others to engage me as I have dealt with this issue for a number of years, but this time was much different. The person who was being attacked for her beliefs is a very close friend of mine and someone whom I have known for several years now. Admittedly, I have never been very good at defending myself; however, my family and friends are a different matter. I could not allow myself to just sit back as usual and take it in stride, so I defended Willow, and our religious freedom, by replying to this Christian woman on her blog.

So with the help of my husband, whom I call a “walking encyclopedia of history,” I intelligently explained to this Christian about our so-called “Christian” Founding Fathers and what the Freedom of Religion Act really meant in their own words:

“Where the preamble declares is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting ‘Jesus Christ’ so that it would read, ‘departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion.’ The insertion was rejected by the great majority in proof that they meant to comprehend within the mantle of its’ protection the Jew and Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedon, the Hindu and the Infidel of every denomination.”

– Thomas Jefferson on The Religious Freedom Act

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion.” – John Adams, November 4, 1796

“But it does me no injury to say there are twenty gods or no God.”
– Thomas Jefferson, 1782

“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.”
-Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Adams, 1/24/1814

“This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it.”
– John Adams letter to Thomas Jefferson, April 19, 1817

“Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.”
– Thomas Jefferson, 1782

With all due respect, our Founding Fathers were speaking of a “generic” God, NOT Christian specific. Perhaps it is people such as this who need to study their history and learn a little bit more about what “freedom of religion” really means. My Christian friends do not judge me nor do they try to convert me in any way. They believe in God as do I, they just choose to worship in a different way. We respect each other’s religious beliefs regardless of “what” we label ourselves.

Blessed Be!

Our Yule pic - 1998

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Patience is a Virtue

Quite a few months ago, I had a student who was referred to me by Lady Sabrina Rhiannon. He had originally come to her asking to be taken on as one of her Wicca students. Since she had already begun teaching her class 2 months prior, she asked me if I would be willing to take him on instead, as she did not wish to disrupt her current students by slowing them down. I told her that if she would send me her Wicca criteria, I would get him caught up to the point where, going forward, he could then join her and the rest of the students.

I began teaching him twice a week for 2 hours each day at my home. After the end of the third week, he asked me if he could continue his studies with me. So the next day, I spoke to Lady Sabrina Rhiannon and explained the situation. We then both agreed that he would stay on with me instead of joining her class.

His name was Gary and he worked as a counselor for the Berks County Prison, he was a long-time member of the Masons, and a hereditary witch! In other words, his bloodline could be traced back to his great-grandmother. His grandmother had played a very active role in introducing him to witchcraft when he was a child, but he had not taken his studies any further until about a year ago.

Four months into his studies; however, Gary had decided to stop showing up for class. You see, the problem was that he wanted to rush his Wicca studies instead of taking his time to learn the correct way. I can honestly say that he was one of the most naturally gifted witches I have ever met. Had he had a bit more patience with himself, he could have benefited greatly and learned “how” to hone his natural abilities. Perhaps at some later time, he will decide to finish his studies, but if he doesn’t, I wish him all the best in all his future endeavors.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Green Man: The Magnificent God of the Forest/"Green Man" by XTC

Of all the many forms in which our Lord God takes, I must say that I love His Green Man aspect the most! He is both lover and consort to our Lady Goddess, the Earth Mother, and our Father always -The Oak King and Holly King respectively.

Historically speaking, the Green Man goes all the way back to pre-Christian Europe, Ireland, Scotland and Russia. He represents our kinship with the trees and the woods and the cycle of renewal and rebirth. He is known by many different names as He is recognized in almost every tradition. For example, he is heavily associated with Cernunnos (Celtic god of the forest), Dionysus (Greek god of Wine) and Bacchus (Roman god of wine), to name a few.

My Green Man Yule tree ornament

Our Wiccan group, Old Path Enlightener’s Circle, always honors The Green Man or “The Oak King” at our Beltane celebrations. This is the time when our Lord God and Lady Goddess unite in the “sacred rite of holy marriage.” We re-enact this sacred marriage ceremony during the symbolic Great Rite. This is one of the many reasons why I love Beltane so much and why it is amongst my favorite of our Wiccan celebrations. Lady Sabrina Rhiannon’s group, The Coven of the Silver Moon Circle, chooses a May King and Queen during their Beltane ritual. Everyone inside the circle walks in between two balefire cauldrons for a total of 9 times while making one wish each. Typically, the Celtic Fire god Bel or Belinus is honored at this particular sabbat, as the word Beltane literally means, “Bel-Fire,” but we much prefer to honor The Green Man.

Draco & Rhiannon lighting the Spirit candle during the symbolic Great Rite - Beltane 2008

Some time ago, my husband found this really awesome song called, “Green Man” by the group XTC. When I listen to it, I can’t help but to envision a huge temple in the middle of a beautiful green forest with people bowing down on their knees on the stone temple steps to worship him. I really love this song as it definitely has a special place in my heart!

“I GIVE TO THEE MY GREATEST GIFT,

A LOVE THAT’S PURE AND TRUE

ACCEPT IT WITH OPEN ARMS,

AS I HAVE DONE FOR YOU.”

- Sal Ranieri