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Ritual Etiquette for the Non-Pagany Peeps
Perhaps you’re not Wiccan, but you’ve been invited by your friend to join in her coven’s next circle. Or maybe your buddy from work has invited you to his upcoming Druid celebration at the park. You want to participate, but have no idea how Pagans behave, or what the proper protocol is for a non-Pagan attending a ceremony. Or perhaps you are a Pagan, but you’ve been invited to attend a ritual with a group that’s brand new to you. So now what do you do? Believe it or not, most rules of common sense and courtesy apply here, just as they would apply to you attending any other religious service.…
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The Magic of Sigils
Sigils are a great way to identify your intent when you’re working magic. A sigil is simply a symbol of your purpose – for instance, you could use a heart to identify love, or a dollar sign to indicate money. Those are the easy ones – and certainly, there are a floppity-million other symbols you can use. If you want to do the standard issue symbols, pick up a copy of Raymond Buckland’s Signs, Symbols, and Omens – it’s chock full of great suggestions. That being said, one way to connect your intent to your working even more effectively is to create a unique symbol of your own. This sort…
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The Magic of Bamboo
Bamboo is grown in many parts of the world, and because it is both quick to develop and extremely hardy, it has a variety of uses from the mundane to the magical. The bamboo plant lives a long time, and will just continue growing until it is harvested. Because of this, some Pacific Island tribes regard it as a symbol of longevity and life, and include bamboo in some creation stories. In some parts of the Philippines, bamboo crosses are placed in the fields to bring hearty crops in at harvest time. In parts of India, bamboo symbolizes friendship, and in some Eastern religions, bamboo is the only acceptable material…
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Set Up a Birthday Altar
For some people birthdays are just another day, but for others, it’s often seen as a special time. After all, it’s a milestone — it marks the anniversary of your arrival on earth! Whether you’re having a small group of friends over for cake, or going out to a big party at your favorite club, sometimes it’s important to take a few moments just for ourselves to mark our birthdays. You can do this by setting up a birthday altar to celebrate the journey your life has led you on thus far. It’s a good idea to start gathering items for your altar in advance, because you never know how long it…
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Infographic: Magical Links
Print this puppy out and stick it in your Book of Shadows for reference.
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Bona Dea of Rome
In ancient Rome, Bona Dea was a goddess of fertility. In an interesting paradox, she was also a goddess of chastity and virginity. Honored originally as an earth goddess, she was an agricultural deity, and was often invoked to protect the area from earthquakes. Unlike many Roman goddesses, Bona Dea seems to have been particularly honored by the lower social classes. Slaves and plebian women who were trying to conceive a child might make offerings to her in hopes of being granted a fertile womb. Her name comes from the Latin for “good goddess.” Although her principal temple was on the Aventine hill, secret rituals and rites were performed in private homes.…
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Perfect Love, Perfect Trust
Many people toss around the phrase “perfect love and perfect trust” in the Neopagan community. They sometimes use it as a defense when they are corrected by someone else, or bring it up as an argument when they don’t like what people are saying, as in, “I am TOO right, you’re all being mean, what about perfect love and perfect trust?” I was once challenged by a community member when I pointed out that a popular book was full of shoddy scholarship, blanket statements, and just plain awful ideas. Her response was “But Author X is a respected member of the community! Where’s your perfect love and perfect trust?” Well, as…
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So You’re Invited to a Pagan Ritual…
Perhaps you’re not Pagan, but you’ve been invited by your friend to join in her coven’s next circle. Or maybe your buddy from work has invited you to his upcoming celebration at the park. You want to participate, but have no idea how Pagans behave, or what the proper protocol is for a non-Pagan attending a ceremony. Or perhaps you are a Pagan, but you’ve been invited to attend a ritual with a group that’s brand new to you. So now what do you do? Believe it or not, most rules of common sense and courtesy apply here, just as they would apply to you attending any other religious service. For…
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Eggshell Powder for Protection
I wanted to share with you one of my favorite magical ingredients, which I’ve always referred to as shell powder, or at least that’s what I called it when I started making it nigh on thirty years ago, and the habit done stuck. However, since that time I’ve learned that people who practice hoodoo, Santeria, conjure, and a number of other ATR magical systems use something similar, but it’s called cascarilla powder. Since I’m not a practitioner of those traditions and don’t feel entitled to use the word, for me, it’s just plain ol’ shell powder. That said, shell powder is stupid easy to get your hands on. YOU CAN…
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May 6: Eyvind Kelde Day
May 6 is celebrated by many Norse Pagans today as the day to honor Eyvind Kelda (or Kelde or Kelve). According to Norwegian history, Eyvind Kelda refused to give up his Pagan beliefs and renounce his gods when King Olaf Trygvason was busily converting his country to Christianity. Around the year 995 c.e., King Olaf ordered Kelda to be tortured and eventually drowned, as a lesson to any Norwegian heathens who might be reluctant to embrace the king’s new faith. There isn’t a lot of information about Eyvind Kelda himself, but Angus Somerville and Russell Andrew McDonald say in The Viking Age: A Reader (University of Toronto Press) that Eyvind…
