The latest in NeoPagan News http://www.witchvox.com http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usky&c=holidays&id=13400 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usky&c=holidays&id=13400 Two days ago my husband and I spent most of our Sunday working in the front yard. As we trimmed the overgrown forsythia near the front gate, cut down dried stalks left from JoePye, goldenrod, boneset and thoroughwort, a definite chill could be felt in the air after a night when the thermometer had dipped to nearly freezing. We had started our work around 10:00 a.m. and as the sun climbed up over the mountains that surround our home we began to slowly thaw out and the dogs stretched themselves at http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmo&c=words&id=13558 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmo&c=words&id=13558 Forewarning: This may seem odd. Just about everyone (well, everyone who can recall their dreams) can point out a dream that influenced their thinking, made them realize something, worked them up to do something they should have started long ago, or any other various amazing and profound dream statements. Perhaps the dream included a blessed vision of Isis, a symbolic group of friends holding hands, perhaps a cricket leaping past a fireplace. Maybe the images in that particular dream didn http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usil&c=words&id=13594 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usil&c=words&id=13594 If you're a person that's ever picked up a book on Paganism 101, spell-casting, etc. then you've heard a variation of the basics of magic. Rummaging through all the various laws and statutes and rules, most books come up with a list of what you absolutely must do in order to have successful spells. In most books, despite all the variations, the following must haves tend to apply:1.The intent. This is what you want to happen.2.The tools. These are the basic items you're using to set u http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usla&c=words&id=13605 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usla&c=words&id=13605 A few months ago, I had a break-through in my meditation practice. It was one of those “duh” moments when I finally realized and 'grokked' something that now seems so simple and makes me wonder why I didn’t know it all along.I’m a periodic insomniac. It’s nothing new. I remember being 3 years old and unable to fall asleep. As an adult, once every five or six weeks it hits me for several days. Nothing I do or don’t do helps. My husband is the opposite. He can announce that he’s go http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnv&c=words&id=13377 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnv&c=words&id=13377 Many people have their morning routines. It is sad to think about how many people just rush around making sure they have everything for the day. Their mental list may be: shower, clothes, papers for work, lunch, car keys… where are the car keys? But what happened to: breathe, “Hello flowers”, me time?I never realized just how much even a few minutes could change the way I see the world. Even if a person has to set their alarm five minutes earlier, it is worth it. I’m lucky that I don’t h http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmi&c=earth&id=13407 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmi&c=earth&id=13407 Some people may think it’s strange but nature speaks to me. I have always thought that I have come from the earth and not from my parents. I never knew my father, I never felt like I came from my mother and I knew that even my beloved Granny was not my mother. As a child I was one with the earth and followed its urgings without thought or consciousness. Running out the front door in the morning I would hear Granny yell from the kitchen, “Put your shoes on.”Her voice would trail o http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usga&c=words&id=12962 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usga&c=words&id=12962 For those of you who have read some of my other stuff thanks, you know I always try to find some humor in what I write and I hope I can do that this time.A while back I found myself somewhat under the weather. Having not been sick but twice in the past twenty years I thought I would be fine in a few days. After five days, my wife, who is always right even when she is dead wrong (for those of you married you will understand that I understand the basic law of marriage: spouse always right) http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnv&c=words&id=13548 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnv&c=words&id=13548 While we witches, druids, shamans, and other assorted magical people often practice our craft discreetly, a large number of scientists have been busy, uncovering truths about our universe that prove us right. Most ancient cultures have myths that tell tales of great magick, such as levitation, causing objects to materialize out of thin air, visions, prophecies, spontaneous healing, and the ability to transform from one shape to another. Ghosts, out of body experiences, ESP, and other typ http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=uspa&c=words&id=13374 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=uspa&c=words&id=13374 As folks begin to re-discover their interest in paganism, there are certain fallacies that are being put forth that do not contribute in a meaningful way to the true nature of paganism. We, as a community that is based upon many divergent beliefs, would be wise to avoid these pitfalls as we move forward. Please keep in mind that we are all individuals and as such we are entitled to our personal opinions even if it does not agree with others’ opinions. Fallacy: The pentagram is the http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=caon&c=words&id=13587 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=caon&c=words&id=13587 I am lucky to have two parents that fully accept the fact I am a Pagan. In fact, after I converted, my mother followed; the jury is still out on my father...he would be willing to join in for ceremonies or feasts, but he still goes to church some Sundays and doesn’t really know anything about religion in general. The rest of my family was technically raised Presbyterian, they don’t go to church and we just say grace before big family meals, mostly because of my grandmother.I doubt my fam http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmd&c=passages&id=13618 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmd&c=passages&id=13618 IT is with a heavy heart that I post the following notice. Marcia was a dear, sweet friend who always had a smile for everyone. I will miss her very much. To my friend I say and quot; I love you, blessed be my sister, until again we meet. and quot;NOYES , Marcia M. On October 23, 2009, MARCIA M. NOYES. Beloved daughter of Mary O. Pearce and the late Henry F. Noyes. Devoted sister of Teresa E. McGuire and her husband Robert W. McGuire, Jr., and Henry F. Noyes, Jr. and his wife Robin Shehan. Also survived http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usil&c=holidays&id=13600 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usil&c=holidays&id=13600 This time of year is my favorite, always has been. Even before I became a Real Life Witch™ (That’s a bit o’ sarcasm there folks… you’re supposed to laugh) I was enamored of the spirit of October and the fun of the autumn revelry.Here in the Midwest, we get the glorious views of colorful deciduous trees whose leaves run the spectrum from burnished golds, school-bus yellows, vivid orange, fiery red, copper, dusty plum and tobacco browns. The satisfying crunch of falling into a freshly rake http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=ustn&c=holidays&id=13609 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=ustn&c=holidays&id=13609 This is a time of year when we look to the past. We flip through the memory book of our mind and note the faces of those that have come before us. With some, we share the genetic material of the physical body. With others, we share the spiritual genetics of the subtle body and the spirit. Whether it’s blood family or spiritual family doesn’t matter… we carry forward within us a legacy of evolution.I think of relationships in my life that have passed beyond the Veil. Some of these were re http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=uswa&c=words&id=13598 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=uswa&c=words&id=13598 Lemon magic is a form of alchemy that has been practiced around the world in many different cultures for over 2500 years and it is still very alive and effective today. The word “alchemy” itself comes from the Arabic al-kimia, which is translated as the art of transformation. The fundamental ideas of alchemy are supposed to have begun in the ancient Persian Empire sometime before 500 BCE. In the Middle Ages its more popularized pursuits were alleged to be the transformation of lead into gold, th http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmd&c=words&id=13599 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmd&c=words&id=13599 Internationally famous Wiccan authors Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone will be making stops in Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the Nation’s Capital during their upcoming East Coast Samhain tour.On Samhain evening, Farrar and Bone will attend the annual Samhain drumming event held at the Jefferson Memorial. Sponsored by Ecumenicon Fellowship, Drumming for the Ancestors has been held on Samhain for more than 10 years. http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usoh&c=words&id=13601 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usoh&c=words&id=13601 I'm aware that and quot;Summerland and quot; is an ancient and commonly held concept of the Pagan afterlife. I suppose that's because many Pagans imagine Paradise as a land where everything is perfect: Nature in full-bloom, wildlife in abundance, beautiful weather, and so forth. However, my idea of Paradise is Autumn, not Summer.For me, Autumn is the most beautiful, exhilarating, and fascinating season. The Earth is changing, from mature to wise, Nature's colors fill the landscape, from the leaves on tre http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmn&c=words&id=13297 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usmn&c=words&id=13297 This solitary rite is to be performed at twilight, preferably during a favorable Mercury or Lunar aspect. Use your own best judgment.Prepare yourself, as is your usual practice. Personal purification is important. Taking a ritual bath, smudging, doing the LBRP or Rite of Balance are good ideas. Whether you choose to practice naked or costumed is up to you. I don’t much care.Prepare a clear space with a small mirror on the floor at the center. Cover the mirror with a veil or cloth http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usga&c=words&id=13607 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usga&c=words&id=13607 After a ritual with my coven sometime ago, it occurred to me that we’d all had a really good time, gotten a lot out of it, but alas, had nothing of the physical realm to show for it. Then it hit me. I am a military-trained videographer with an HD camera I wasn’t using NEARLY as much as I thought I would. How fortuitous is that? Two problems were solving each other. Beautiful. It’s like they used to say on the old TV show “the A Team”: I love it when a plan comes together. Now all I had t http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usor&c=holidays&id=12853 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usor&c=holidays&id=12853 Samhain is felt by most witches to be an especially sacred time of the year. There is something in the air that suddenly makes us crave witchy activities and the company of like-minded people. It’s easy to attribute this to being cultural indoctrination to believe that witches and pumpkins go together like peanut butter and jelly. We are taught from an early age that Halloween is the only time that witches roam free, so it’s natural that our psyche would feel a deep connection to this time of ye http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usaz&c=words&id=12883 http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usaz&c=words&id=12883 After writing the story of my familiar Inchy for Witchvox, my life became hectic and I was unable to visit the website for a while. More than anything I miss the wonderful articles and learning about the Path. I will not again recite the story of finding Inchy but you can read about her from my article “Choosing a Familiar, ” on Witchvox. Anyway, last year I lost Inchy to an unknown old age ailment. This is what happened:I went out of town on Thursday and she appeared fine. I was