Witchvox - New Articles This Week
The Veils Of A Magick Summer [Lady Abigail]
4 hours 19 min agoThere has always been something mystical about a late summer evening for me. It is that time of day which is no longer day, yet not quite night. It was the time my Great Grandmother called, and quot;the spiriting time. and quot; It comes as the scorching heat of a summer day finally begins to give way to the evenings cooling magick. You can see it as the bright fiery red sun begins to slowly sink behind the horizons of our childhood memories.As a child, I was raised to know the mysteries of the old ways,
By the Light (and Dark) of the Moon [The Pagan Astrologer]
4 hours 19 min agoLovely Luna, bright and bold, glowing with the power of old She is called by many names, worshiped in many ways. Few would argue that, whatever name you give her, the Moon is the guiding light of Witches and Pagans. She fascinates and enchants; guides and empowers. We plan our spells and plant our gardens by the phases of the Moon. The waxing and waning Moon have very different energies. Under waxing Moon the light is increasing, and the time is right to build, grow, and create.
Location: Our Places of Worship [Stewart Bitkoff]
4 hours 19 min agoWheresoever ye turn, there is the face of God. -- KoranRecently, there has been much discussion about building a mosque near ground zero; many people feel that its location dishonors and insults the memory of those who died in the 911 tragedy. Yet, people forget that innocent Muslims died in this event, Americans fought a revolution to enjoy religious freedom, and the real place of worship is inside us. On some levels, my take on this disagreement is that it may be about racial and relig
Dealing with Antagonists in Pagan Groups (Part One) [Iris Firemoon]
4 hours 19 min agoFor some reason, these past four months (just prior to writing this) have been devastating. My fallacy as a leader is that I try my best to accept everyone, to love everyone, to be everything for everyone. While I have been a good friend and mentor to many, I have unfortunately discovered that it is not the mode of operation for some people to accept peace, love, and harmony for what it is. An antagonist, troll, or even a drama queen is typically an unhealthy person who creates conflict
Paranoia in Practice: Finding Sanctuary Rather Than "Sect-uary" [The Recovering Ritualist]
4 hours 19 min agoThe beauty of the umbrella of Earth-based religion and the government-given glory of religious freedom is that we are allowed to believe what we wish and practice what we please...most of the time...provided no one gets hurt. I would venture to say that the majority of today's spiritual gatherings and groups, from Christianity to Wicca and beyond, make strong efforts to follow a and quot;harm none and quot; policy, albeit through different practices and methods. Yet, everyone knows I'm headed for a and quot;yesbut and quot;, my
Discipline and Will [Maggi Setti]
4 hours 19 min agoIn laziness, in turning away from divine Will, there is turmoil, confusion and slavery. In service to truth and freedom and Will, there is fluidity, satisfaction, and fulfillment. There is growth and abundance in these actions.Isnt it funny how there is such a paradox is freedom, free will, and following your divine destiny or your true Will? Whose will do you serve? To whose will are you a slave? Are you a slave to fear? Inertia? What about greed? Something I consider both nece
Neo Paganism - The Fourth Branch [Crick]
4 hours 19 min agoHenotheism is based on the belief that a god may take on any form at any time and still have the same essential nature. The central idea is that one name for a god may be used in a circumstance where a particular aspect of this god is being represented or worshiped while a different name may be given to or used to describe or worship yet another aspect of the same god, but under a different circumstance. This is not meant to imply superiority of one over the other; just that a god can exist in m
We Can Change The World [Lady Wolfwind]
4 hours 19 min agoI am growing older. Thats a fact. Im still in the Mother stage of my life, but I am fast approaching Crone. I am okay with this. More than most people, I would guess. Ive learned that part of my contribution to society, as a Crone, is to provide wisdom and guidance to those seekers who ask. Ive fit into this role flawlessly. Most people dont want to hear what you have to say and if they do, they dont listen anyway. Im sure this is just a natural part of life. I never listened to my elders
Isobel Gowdie [Fiona Tinker]
4 hours 19 min agoArguably, Isobel Gowdie is one of the most famous witches in Scottish history. But who was she and why does she continue to fascinate and inspire prose, drama, poetry and song? Gowdie (sometimes spelt Goudie) was the daughter of an Auldearn lawyer, born in the early part of the 17thC, although the exact date of her birth is unclear. The family were Catholic, but converted to the Protestant Kirk. This was probably an expedient move on her fathers part to enable him to continue to make
The Passing of Isaac Bonewits: My Perspective [Brid's Closet]
4 hours 19 min agoIsaac came into my life approximately 2 years ago. I had always known about Isaac from reading his books and at one time, belonged to his Blackdirt group, when he lived in Warwick, NY. I wrote an email to him and asked about his services and the classes that he taught. I have a little, but very busy metaphysical store, here in Cornwall N.Y., and really wanted him to teach here. Isaac and his lovely wife Phaedra live about an hour from me, so one day, Isaac and Phae decided to take a drive up to
Isaac Bonewits [OakLore]
4 hours 19 min agoIn Loving Memory PHILIP EMMONS ISAAC BONEWITSOctober 1, 1949 - August 12, 2010It was with a heavy heart I learned only today of the passing of celebrated Pagan Elder and Author, Isaac Bonewits. Though I never met Isaac in-person, I did chat with him numerous times over the Internet and was a great admirer of his work and scholarship. In no small way, it is fair to say that he brought to the exploration of Druidry/Druidism what Gerald Gardner brought to the exploration of
An All-American Religion: Establishing a Nation-Wide NeoPagan Cultus [Chirotus Infinitum]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmOne of the features of modern neopaganism is its decentralized nature. Neopaganism as a category encompasses a large number of disparate religions, and even among what could be considered the same religion (such as Wicca) there are numerous sub-divisions and a near-complete lack of central authority or organization. Many neopagans view this as a strength instead of a weakness, often for reasons of self-determination and pursuit of individual truth. This ideal is found most often expressed in t
Sacrifice in Norse Lore [Ryan Smith]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmThe central idea behind Christianity is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by crucifixion in Jerusalem. The idea behind this sacrifice was that by dying He was washing away the sins of all mankind and saving them from the retribution of His Father. This is held up as an example of pure selflessness by an act of willing sacrifice of a God who became a man to die for humanity. Yet Christianity is not the only place where sacrifice plays an essential role to the beliefs and practices of a people.
The Apathy and Altar Ego of our Kind [ShadowDarkFyre]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmThe question I find myself asking is and quot;Why is it that our kind seems to be apathetic? and quot; While many of us are enthusiastic in our apparent and quot;renaissance and quot;, just as many simply don't believe, or find it hard to. This is a quandary I find I face every day as I look upon the world today. And that's honestly not the only problem I see in the community these days. For more than sixteen years I've been what I term and quot;magickfolk and quot;. During eight of those years I've been active, working through the Domai
ATC: Preparing for the Future (A Special Community Announcement) [Pete Pathfinder Davis]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmThe Aquarian Tabernacle Church of Wicca, after 30 years, has grown to the point where the structure model we have followed in recent years needs to be changed to accommodate our unexpected growth. A little history of the ATC is in order to better understand how ATC began, what we are doing now and how we are re-organizing the Aquarian Tabernacle. Its more like returning to our original roots. A little reorganization of ATC will go a long way toward assuring our traditions future years.
Summerfest 2010 (Festival Review) [Peg Aloi]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmThis year, after twenty years at the Brushwood Folklore Center, the 30-year old Starwood Festival moved to a new location (at Wisteria in Ohio) . For the last few years, Brushwood has held Starwood immediately following Sirius Rising. Though Sirius Rising began as an event to create some fun and interest in the week before Starwood, it gradually grew to become bigger than Starwood and to have a fairly intense magical and elemental focus. This year, Summerfest was created as a festive event to fo
Arielle's Tears [Ruadhan]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmI was in grad school in the early part of 2000, and like most grad students, I was poor. But the gods had been good to me. I had a good wife and two lovely daughters, and we all lived in a comfortable townhouse on the southeast side of Anchorage, right at the edge of the city where the Chugach forest and mountains began. Behind our place there was a large park with the usual swings and sawhorses, and acres and acres of open grounds and grassy knolls for summer barbecues and happy games of Frisbe
Rethinking Pagan Heterodoxy [Avatar]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmI have heard a lot of arguments against honoring scriptures, rules, and hierarchies from Pagan people. Some of them make sense. Scriptures have a tendency to generate fundamentalism. Too many rules oppress the general body of a spiritual community. Hierarchies allow power hungry people to get a lot of power. These are fine arguments until they become accusations against the people who utilize these elements in spiritual work. Broad, sweeping generalizations attacking those Pagans who do honor a
'History' vs. History [Sarrestia]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmCan we, as a massive and ever-growing community, truly allow ourselves to hold ideas and so-called facts about the history of our religion that are wrong and hazy at best, when we attempt to hold the histories of other religions at a higher standard?Most of us come from the religious backgrounds of the other religions, mainly the three biggest religions (however, there really isnt that many coming from Islam) . Therefore, it should be safe to assume, that the beliefs and histories hel
What About Bear? [MetallicUrsine]
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 8:46pmWe all know the common symbol - the furry Teddy from our youth. But possibly older than wolves, owls, goats, and horses, is the stories of Bear. Worship of a bear figure may have featured in Eurasian hunting tribes and even as far back as Neolithic times. Joseph Campbell wrote of the common feature of bear in most of the 'primitive' tribes. All one needs to do is look at the night sky, and see the constellations Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor to see the beginnings of the history and folklore of the
