pagan-revival

[pagan-revival]

Unpopular Opinion Time

The doodle you make or the picrew you use, the poorly executed poetry or basic bare bones prayer will ALWAYS be better than AI generated offerings.

I am sick of having my feed flooded with practitioners, pagans and other polytheists using AI. Specifically deities like Brigid should never be offered AI in my opinion, it’s essentially a slap in the face.

AI generated spells aren’t shit, it’s what a computer assumes will work based off of what it can gather from internet trends and research. MAKE IT YOURSELF, ask a human for help anything but AI.

There is no place for Artificial Intelligence in these spaces.

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Petition for the Greek Temples to be rebuilt, so that I can pray to the gods in all their glory

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Why I Light the flame (c. 2021)

If you like this see more on my Instagram:

@savian_art

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Practical Magic, 1998

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‘Naked she dances out the ring First wrough by hands long dead. The blood leaps wild within her veins, As swifter spins the dance, Her wide eyes fixed upon the moon, Her senses rant in trance. And though no feet of flesh and blood Walked with her to that ground, She knows she does not dance alone That magic circle’s round’.

Doreen Valiente

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founding books

Did you know that the founders of the Witchcraft Revival in Britain didn’t use the word Wicca? That came later, in the U.S. Gerald Gardner’s books were titled Witchcraft Today and The Meaning of Witchcraft. Some of Doreen Valiente’s books were The Rebirth of Witchcraft, The A, B, C’s of Witchcraft and Witchcraft for Tomorrow, among others. Where Witchcraft Lives recorded her research into traditional craft practices in Surrey. My prized book on the Sabbats by Janet and Stewart Ferrar is Eight Sabbats for Witches. Yes, they were influenced by secret societies and they read learned grimoires. But they had serious interest in traditional folk magic and respected traditional  practitioners. They were practicing Traditional Witchcraft to the extent they had access to it.

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Four Rules of Witchcraft for Personal Sovereignty

By: Heron Michelle

Allow me to take you back to a time not so long ago…It was a shining Autumn Equinox day here in North Carolina, and we’d just returned from vending at the Pagan Pride Festival in Raleigh the previous day, so I was considerably exhausted.

We’d spent a lovely weekend in the company of 3000+ fine pagans . It was also a family reunion, as we got to see many from our Sojo Tribe who live in that area. I love my tribe; they are the most mature, civilized and responsible group of witches I’ve ever known. It is a rare thing to have a teaching coven last so long without strain from diva-drama.

The Mabon Day Revelations

That crisp afternoon, I was cruising Facebook and see a posting by Raven Grimassi lamenting how within the witching communities, many are quick to stoop to pitiful levels of back-stabbing each other in public forums.  He implored us to become the kind of people who seek out the best in each other, rather than constantly harping on the worst in each other.

I read this sad message just as I was laying down for a nap. As my three kitties snuggled in around me, I thought about all the times folks I’d trusted had betrayed me, and the “Rules” that developed as we tried to learn a better way to coven together. They started as a comedic way to illustrate thealogical concepts (3). Until this fateful Mabon day, we only had two: Don’t burn the Witch and Don’t be the Asshole. As I descended into sleep, I knew this is basically what Raven was asking of us.

1.  Don’t burn the Witch.

The obvious: If you are going to work with the element of Fire, respect its potential, then avoid accidents.
 The less obvious: Be careful not to conjure up what you don’t know how to safely send back.

Heal thyself: All things vibrate, and like vibrations attract more of the same. (Hermetic Principle of Vibration, also called the Law of Attraction.) If you remain a pulsing magnet of self-loathing, no matter what intention your mouth speaks, you are doomed to repeat your past suffering. If you continue to harbor your wounds, you cannot evolve beyond “wounded consciousness” and all your magick will ever cause is a good ol’ fashioned witch burning of YOURSELF.

“If that which you seek you find not within, you will never find it without.”

Charge of the Goddess, Doreen Valiente

Empowerment starts with YOU. Wisdom starts with YOU. Healing starts with YOU. YOU ARE THE MAGICK, so make it effective, harmonious, kick-ass magick sourced by Divine Love. The FIRST step on the path of the Witch is to learn to recognize these wounds for what they are, release all lingering connection to them, and heal from the inside out. Love yourself first. THEN, and only then, can you begin to break the cycle of woundings and don the crown of personal sovereignty.

Perfect Love and Perfect Trust: In the name of all things holy, STOP burning your fellow Witches!  We have a hard enough time not being “burned” by the rest of society, if we can’t treat each other with respect, what are we playing at?

2. Don’t be the Asshole.

By my definition, you are being the asshole when you violate any of the eight Divine Love conditions explained in Aphrodite’s Theology of Perfection: acceptance for your true self, sovereignty to live with free-will, resources to thrive, affection of your preference, expression of your truth, security on all levels, authenticity without exploitation, and trustworthiness. Think of any example of conflict and see which one of those conditions it violated. It’s usually pretty clear who is harming whom.

“These Eight words the Rede fulfill: An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will.”

The Wiccan Rede

With every action we take, our interactions with people, animals, society, the unseen hosts, or the natural world, we have a choice: benefit or detriment. This can take enormous powers of discretion to navigate because the exact same action in one scenario makes you the asshole, and in another scenario makes you the hero.

3. Don’t be the Weak Link

Circling back to the  Mabon Day Revelations: As I lay there drifting off, I pondered a third rule, and all I wanted it to express, but didn’t yet have a pithy way to say it. In the twilight between dreaming and waking, I mull over how responsibility is about choice and strong character, regardless if anyone else notices, or you’re surrounded by folks who can’t be trusted. *YOU* can be trusted, and that creates for you a strong sphere of influence. Something like, “Responsibility begins and ends with you.”  Boring, right? Oh, and how important is the circle to the Witch, am I right? Everything is more effective in the sacred circle.

The Vision takes over, and I see the fabric of the Universe, matter and spirit woven together. I’ve always imagined it with the warp and weft of a tapestry, but that shifts and instead it becomes a cloth of chainmail with each being within it their own circle link. They are pliable enough to have free will, sovereign and strong enough on their own, but together…together, they can do so much more!

If all links remain strong within their own character, beginning and ending every interaction in alignment with their moral compass; if we use our power to cohesively weave together a responsible world within our own sphere of influence, then together we can all coexist in harmony, to ENORMOUS, reverberating benefit.

Then the vision shifted and I saw how if one link weakens; sees themselves as a straight line pointing only to their own ego; “burns” themselves through self-loathing, or projects that onto others as distrust; if they become the asshole who wields their own wound as a weapon to wound other people; through this weakness of character they betray the bonds of the surrounding links. If they exploit the natural environment, disrupting their relationship to the Divine through each other, then that hole in the chainmail grows, and ruins things exponentially throughout existence. It was like watching a fuse burn to ash; the chainmail image crumbled into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

There is your three-fold law of return demonstrated! If we exude beneficial energy in the world, we are benefited. If we exude destructive energy in the world, we are destroyed, but we are all in this together. If we work with unity, for unity, all of Divine creation flows with us. It is so simple. It only takes one weak link to ruin the “armor” of harmonious existence for everyone.

“Don’t be the Weak Link” blazes into my mind’s eye, glowing as if written in green neon lights. YES! That’s it! How pithy. How cliche. How marvelous.

4. Must be Present to Win

As the green blaze of the third rule still glowed in the vision, I sat up, trying to regain control. I was excited and seeking my trusty pen and journal. When before I can clear my eyes, MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN damn near bullies its way through my mind and I am physically taken over again. Seriously…bold, towering letters rumble in a deep voice and they echo, shake and get in my face. It was like an episode of sesame street animation busted into my head and took me hostage.

Huh. Whaddaya know about that? Unbidden, a direct Divine download, the Mabon Day Revelations: Must be present to win. Cute.

The Obvious: You have to be dogged in your determination to follow this path, because it is not suitable for everyone. It is neither glamorous, nor easy. It does not serve those who would wield the title to gain acclaim, nor control over others. When done with correct humility it does come with benefits for those brave enough to be fully present and make whatever sacrifices are required.

Show Up: This path demands that you keep showing up, every day, on all levels, for the rest of your life. Get up off your couch, stop wishing, stop bitching about your woes, stop bending over and taking that beating. Get yourself forthwith to the crossroads and DO THE WORK. Know what you need, apply the fires of your passion, dare to overcome all obstacles, and then be so fully awake in wonderment that the Universe is rendered fluid and saturated in miracles.

Wake up: Each exquisite moment is a gift not to be squandered; fully present in the joy and the pain, the abundance and the lack, even the love AND the fear of a lack of love. All of it courageously undertaken, because they hone your wisdom and power to propel you forward in your evolution.

Be the Warrior Witch: You have to put your keister where your values lie. Witchcraft is a PRAXIS: protest, sit-in, march, vote, armor up, take up the magickal weapons, stare down the Balrog (4) to defend the boundaries.  To be a Witch is to seek the truth within, then live it through every breath.  You have to confront your fears and tackle them into submission. No matter what the desire or issue, it can only be solved by being fully present, listening, observing, engaging compassionately with people in person, especially when there is a conflict to resolve or a need to be met.

People of good conscience cannot continue to knuckle under to the “witch burners” among us. Nor can we blithely ignore the divisive behavior of those who would sully our good standing through malevolent behavior.

“With no fool a season spend, nor be counted as their friend.”

The Wiccan Rede

“Haters” of any stripe cannot simultaneously claim to be a witch and be taken seriously; defrock them; warlock them (Warlock–meaning in this instance–that a witch who took oaths within a group to “harm none” are now known to be an “oath breaker” and are magickally disassociated from the group who once acknowledged them. This is a breaking of their connection to that group’s egregore, reputation and power, as a means of diminishing the oath breaker’s ability to do more harm to themselves or others.). If their magickal weapon of choice is ye’ olde knife between the shoulder blades, then they are not a witch. They are a fool and if you do nothing, you are guilty by association.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

English philosopher Edmund Burke

Going Gandalf: 
Through my years with Aphrodite, she’s emphasized repeatedly that if someone is violating any of her Divine Love Conditions, then they are doing harm, and that harm will resonate outward by orders of magnitude. They are the problem, and it is now the duty of any responsible witch, teacher, friend, neighbor, citizen, soldier, officer, social worker, etc., to stop them from doing this harm.

The Goddess works through both the spanking and the kiss and as her priestess I am happy to deliver both. You can be gracious and merciful even when you need to crack a few heads, because today I am loving you by saying NO, and YOU SHALL NOT PASS whatever boundary is being trespassed. The wise Witch knows when to stand in their truth, living authentically, yet doing so with ego properly aligned with highest Divine Will.

How do I navigate “harm none” as an agent of Divine Love? I bind harmful actions, and diminish their effect. I honor that wounds drive the assholery of others, so it does no benefit to seek vengeance on a wounded person who is behaving badly. I send Reiki into the wounds, and ease the dis-ease of heart and mind. I help to defeat fears, and secure resources, restore any of the Love Conditions that may be the root of these baneful actions.

Then I protect those who would be affected by the malevolent reek of those rogue beings until such time that they learn their healing lessons. I step back in peace and “hold the space,” centered in compassion.  This way we can dismiss the drama and not engage in histrionics that cannot serve any good. There is only one way I intend to expend my energy: effectively.

The Lighthouse Mission: 

This Mabon Day Revelation for me was that we witches will be better served if we complete our migration out into the light of day, forever away from the shadowy lie of the broom closet and do our Work courageously. No parade is necessary, just the mere un-shuttering of our flames like lighthouses on the rocky shores of this society.

Lighthouses don’t chase the ships; they just stand tall and sturdy, shining brightly without shame. The blinding light from so many fully-realized witches will dazzle the muggles anyway, so we have that distraction working for us. I won’t be easy, but hear this: WE ARE WITCHES.  If we cannot take up the power to be fully present in this society, accurately known for our contributions, then who can be?

Blessings!

~Heron

The post Four Rules of Witchcraft for Personal Sovereignty appeared first on Familiar Territory.

from Four Rules of Witchcraft for Personal Sovereignty

[pagan-revival]

forget religion

1. Religion is a body of dogma and beliefs which must be adhered to.

2. Religion dictates our actions and censures our errors.

3. Religion requires certain rituals and practices which must be adhered to.

4. Religion requires constant, dutiful study in order to understand its precepts.

5. To leave your religion involves crisis, condemnation and shame.

These beliefs about religion, in America, are commonly based on preconceptions about our dominant religion, which has negatively impressed very many people, both within and outside of it. Some other authoritarian religions may have these features, but many have none of them. Some people who have been conditioned with these beliefs may be susceptible to coercive cults if they seek other spiritual paths, because they think these features are part of all religions. They may also project these expectations onto neo-pagan or magical spirituality, and completely misunderstand them. It happens all the time. I really wish that people could set aside these preconceptions before they even try to talk to someone about their experience of neo-pagan or magical paths.   #rowegreentree

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The Witches’ Chant

By Lady Sheba – 1974

Darksome night and shining moon,

Hearken to the witches’ rune.

East then South, West then North,

Hear! Come!  I call thee forth!

By all the powers of land and sea,

Be obedient unto me.

Wand and Pentacle and Sword,

Hearken ye unto my word.

Cords and Censer, Scourge and Knife,

Waken all ye into life.

Powers of the witch’s Blade,

Come ye as the charge is made.

Queen of Heaven, Queen of Hell,

Send your aid unto the spell.

Horned Hunter of the night,

Work my will by magic rite.

By all the powers of land and sea,

As I do say, “So mote it be.”

By all the might of moon and sun,

As I do will, it shall be done.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft  - By Raven Grimassi

https://www.controverscial.com/The%20Witches%20Chant.htm

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Caster Writings in His SpellBook

Samhain Chants by Selena Fox

Samhain Chant Samhain, Samhain, Summer’s End, Summer’s End Samhain, Samhain, Veil is Thin, Veil is Thin. Samhain, Samhain, Spirit Friends, Spirit Friends

Samhain Night Chant Samhain Fire, Samhain Night, Samhain Magic, Spirits Light!

Spirit Invocation Chant Spirit in Light, Spirit in Sound, Spirit Within, Spirit Around!

Ancestors Invocation Chant Ancestors, We Call to You! Ancestors, We Honor You!

Fire red, summer’s dead Yet it shall return. Clear and bright, in the night, Burn, fire, burn!

Chorus: Dance the ring, luck to bring, When the year’s a-turning. Chant the rhyme at Hallows-time, When the fire’s burning.

Fire glow, vision show Of the heart’s desire, When the spell’s chanted well Of the witching fire.

Chorus: Dance the ring, luck to bring, When the year’s a-turning. Chant the rhyme at Hallows-time, When the fire’s burning.

Fire spark, when nights are dark Makes our winter’s mirth. Red leaves fall, earth takes all, Brings them to rebirth.

Chorus: Dance the ring, luck to bring, When the year’s a-turning. Chant the rhyme at Hallows-time, When the fire’s burning.

Fire fair, earth and air, And the heaven’s rain, All blessed be, and so may we, at Hallows-tide again.

Chorus: Dance the ring, luck to bring, When the year’s a-turning. Chant the rhyme at Hallows-time, When the fire’s burning.

Doreen Valiente

“Witchcraft For Tomorrow” p. 193

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Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who was of old also called Artemis; Astarte;Diana; Melusine; Aphrodite; Cerridwen; Dana; Arianrhod; Isis; Bride; and by many other names.

Whenever ye have need of anything, once in a month, and better it be when the Moon be full, then ye shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all Witcheries.

There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not yet won its deepest secrets: to these will I teach things that are yet unknown.

And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye are really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and mine also is joy on earth; for my Law is Love unto all Beings.

Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever toward it; let naught stop you or turn you aside.

For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land 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. Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice, for behold I am the Mother of All Living, and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Hear 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 among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the heart’s desire, call unto thy soul. Arise and come unto me.

For I am the Soul of Nature, who giveth life to the universe; from me all things proceed, and unto me must all things return; and before my face, beloved of gods and mortals, thine in most divine self shall be unfolded in the rapture of infinite joy.

Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth, for behold: all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you.

And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, unless thou know this mystery: that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, 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.

—-

The Charge Of The Goddess

Doreen Valiente

—-

Graphic - Bridget Bate Tichenor  1917-1990

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‘Naked she dances out the ring First wrough by hands long dead. The blood leaps wild within her veins, As swifter spins the dance, Her wide eyes fixed upon the moon, Her senses rant in trance. And though no feet of flesh and blood Walked with her to that ground, She knows she does not dance alone That magic circle’s round’.

Doreen Valiente

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Things I've made for myself in recent history:

Black and white raven skulls; black is 4mm jet and dark green rainbow delica beads and white is 4x6mm rainbow moonstone rondels with frosted white delica beads.

A tree pentacle with 6mm moss agate rounds, 6mm garnet rounds, 4mm firepolished green Czech glass, 3mm red freshwater pearls, and dark green rainbow delica beads.

A large oval tiger's eye cabochon pendant with 6 and 8mm tiger's eye rounds in blue, red, and gold.

A dragon pentacle pendant with 4 and 6mm rainbow obsidian rounds, 4 and 6 mm carnelian rounds, 6 and 4mm labradorite rounds, and 6 and 4mm rainbow moonstone rondels. Built around a circle consecration written by Doreen Valiente.

An inverted pentacle flanked by two rustic-looking goats, with 8mm and 4mm jet rounds, 10mm and 4mm garnet rounds, 6mm gold tiger's eye rounds, and 4mm red tiger's eye rondels.

A large polished red tiger's eye pendant, with 4mm red tiger's eye rondels, 4mm garnet rounds, 4mm red freshwater pearls, and red iridescent 'magic o' glass beads.

Three crescent moon necklaces. The white one has white pearlescent and silver magatama beads, with 6mm grey quartz and 4mm clear quartz rondels. The blue one has silver magatama beads, with 6x4mm aquamarine rondels, 6mm blue quartz rounds, and 8mm glass melon beads. The black one has hematite and silver magatama beads, with irregular iolite ovals and 4mm rainbow obsidian rounds.

A fan of 9 small wire-wrapped kyanite blades, with 8mm dark blue lapis rounds and soft matte pale blue tube beads. The kyanite was a gift from a dear friend.

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Magic, indeed, is all around us, in stones, flowers, stars, the dawn wind and the sunset cloud; all we need is the ability to see and understand.

Doreen Valiente

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The practitioner of modern witchcraft, with occasional exception, calls principally upon the Mighty Dead, i.e. the shades of those who were witches, sorcerers, occultists, and similar. For example, in The Sixth Sense and Us, Robert Cochrane contends the witch is predisposed to ‘make contact with the Fathers, or those of the Craft who help us on earth’. This sentiment was echoed by Doreen Valiente when recounting a necromantic rite to seek the advice and assistance of witches of old. The British occultist Aleister Crowley similarly advised practitioners who are unable to obtain access to living teachers, or who require knowledge known only to those who have passed, that ‘it may be useful to evoke the ‘shade’ or such a one’.

Martin Duffy - Rites Necromantic: The Witch as Intercessor Between the Quick and the Dead (via forbidden-sorcery)

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Curiosity and the Magical Path.

I once corresponded with an old witch who sadly passed away a few years ago. He was quite an abrasive character and at the time we didn’t see eye to eye on many issues. But he was a fountain of knowledge and had personally met many witches including Doreen Valiente, Alex and Maxine Sanders, as well as Gardner himself.

One of our conversations turned to the issue of judging whether someone is suitable for the magical path. How can another witch or practicing magician spot someone who has potential? I was wondering what exactly that core trait of the witch is. I supposed it was determination, will power. He disagreed and stated that those are important traits for all individuals, what truly marked a witch from a layperson was inherent curiosity.

He stated that the innate desire to discover and understand those things beyond current understanding and to peek into worlds which most people dare not to is what distinguishes the witch from the average person. I think it is fair to assume that a lot of people have experiences they cannot explain, most people will tell their friends, maybe do a google search, but do little else and eventually forget, bringing it up only in future conversation.

A witch doesn’t do that. A witch has the experience, then wishes to know what that experience was, why they had it, and whether there are more experiences to be had. A google search does not suffice, they seek to understand completely, to know how to replicate it, to get in touch with that otherness in order to analyse it. The google search turns into a book search, a people search, a hobby, then an obsession.

Once you truly walk down the magical path you can never really shut it off. Believe me, I’ve tried. You take a step and you need to eventually progress. This may sound cliche, but I have found it to be true. It is that curiosity, that burning desire to know that flings you back on to the path. That insatiable thirst for knowledge. 

If magic does not consume you in that way, if that urge for study is not there alongside your urge to control. It might be that you are not truly called, but merely wandering. There is no mistaking a true calling because once you answer you cannot escape it. 

It is all born out of that experience of something alternative to that which you know and that which you have been taught. It is born out of the desire to understand the world you have glimpsed into which is at odds with the world with which you grew up. Jason Miller has it spot on when he states people usually get into magic to hear the spirits or to shut them up. I have found that to be true, people have experience either willingly or forced upon them, they research and seek to understand that experience either to control it in order to suppress it or to exacerbate it.

You can ignore the call of that world all you like, you can abandon it and turn your back upon it. But if the spirits called once, they can simply pick up the phone again. You may have moved home, but you didn’t change your mobile number. They’ll gain your interest again and you will eventually stumble back on to the path often where you last left, the fire of curiosity reignited and seeking more fuel.