Ramadan Mubarak 2015

Front of the Quran
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ramadan Mubarak to all!

(Forgive my mistakes and stay blessed!)

Ramadan is a holy month for Islam - probably the holiest. It is a time when Muslims 'Sawm' (fast) for 30 days and nights. Sawm is considered the third (of 5) pillar of Islam and is believed to be the duty of all Muslims in good health and of age. (It was during Ramadan that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received the final testament; the Qur'an is the last and final messenger to mankind.) Ramadan commemorates on the night of 'Laylat Al Qadr', the time that the Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Because it is observed by the luna calendar -and the cycle of the lunar calendar does not match the solar calendar- the dates of Ramadan shift by approximately 11 days each year. (This year that is June 18th.) Those exempt are: pregnant or menstruating women, the old or infirm, and children before the onset of puberty.

Metaphysical Munchies:- Caramel Reindeer Noses

When you hear the phrase "food for the soul" do you too think of chicken soup and matzo balls? I'm not even Jewish, and yet it's there in my subconscious. It's comfort from within with a metaphysical twist. That's how you could describe this set of articles - comfort food with that metaphysical twist!

Christmas Sleighed

This time we will look at a Christmas and Yule to find a magical morsel.

Christmas celebrations are both a major festival and a public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations and Christmas trees.

Pagan Truth: Thanksgiving Roots

The VuDooMan is in the House
When you need a little faith, turn to the VuDooMan

It is taught in American schools that the Pilgrims established Thanksgiving (to share their abundant harvest with local Wampanoag "People of the Dawn" Tribe).

« Most history books would like to convince us that Thanksgiving Day goes back to only Plymouth Rock in the 1600's. Plymouth Rock was not the first Thanksgiving Day though. (Ever wonder why Canada has a Thanksgiving Day also?) This pagan feast, honoring the agricultural gods, goes back thousands of years, in one form or another. »

Cameron warns priests of turbulence after church votes no to female bishops

Backed by politicians of all stripes, prime minister urges Church of England to 'get with the programme' and reconsider decision.

Campaigners for female bishops hold a vigil outside Church House after the vote.
Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

« Read the Rest @ Guardian

---

also see: BREAKING NEWS: Church of England general synod rejects women bishops »

BREAKING NEWS: Church of England general synod rejects women bishops

The Church of England's general synod has voted against appointing women as bishops.

Campaign group Women and the Church called it "a devastating blow" for the Church and the people of England.

Read the Rest @ BBC News »

---

What an utter shambles!!

Tonight the traditionalits have won, but Christianity as a whole has lost bigtime. I knew that Roman Catholics are stuck in the fourteenth century, but I never thought British CofE ministers were also!! Shame on these 'men of God'!!

Welby Wants the Mitre on Female Heads!

Rt Rev Justin Welby

This is a follow up article to:
Placing the Mitre on Female Heads?

Selby Calls For Women Bishopd

Back in July I did an article on Women Bishops. (For those of you who read it back then, or would rather not bother, I’ll quickly summarise.)

1. The previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowen Williams, urged the General Synod to resolve the issue over female bishops (an issue 36 years in the making).
2. Parliament voted on this issue and allowed it (123 in favour and 53 against). If the vote hadn’t been passed it would have been shelved until 2015!
3. When it comes to women in roles within the church, things get sticky. Anglicans (happy to have female priest) don’t wish for them to pursue leadership positions.
4. While, in the past, the Anglo-Catholic's have gone as far as saying one may as well ;“ordain a pork-pie”.
5. Dr Rowen put forward conditions to appease those “who continued to have theological reservations”.
6. However, their are concerns from senior women clergy (some prospective candidates for the roles of women bishops) who take offence at not merely been asked to step-aside but demanded by church law (due to clause 5(1)c).
7. Eventually, the vote was postponed until November.

The vote will take place at a special session of the Church’s General Synod in London next week.

The high-flying crusader for women bishops, Christina Rees, objects to clause 5(1)c. She has concerns that the discrimination of females and the further favouring of males over females bishops will moth only cause fundamental problems, it’ll down-play the roles of female bishops within the CofE.

The online campaign (organised by blogger “Church Mouse") Yes 2 Women Bishops) has attracted large support in recent days.

The Rt Rev Justin Welby (as chosen successor to Dr Rowan Williams)   last week that he is in favour of female bishops and is set to make a personal plea to traditionalists to “go forward" in a show of unity, in an attempt to end years of struggle for women within the Church of England for leadership

---

also see: Give winnings to church - Welby suggests »

---

and: Welby to be next Archbishop of Canterbury »

Justin Welby urges General Synod to vote in favour of female bishops

Justin Welby, the bishop of Durham, has urged the General Synod to vote in favour of landmark legislation allowing women to become bishops as his appointment as the next archbishop of Canterbury was confirmed by Downing Street.

Read More @ Guardian »

Welby set to be archbishop of Canterbury

Bishop of Durham Justin Welby, an Eton and Cambridge-educated former oil executive, looks set to be named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury replacing Rowan Williams, who has held the post for a decade.

Read More @ Financial Times »

How to join the Pagan faith?

Taken from Yahoo Answers »

I've been learning about and considering Paganism for a long time, and I think it's for me. How do I become a Pagan?
Rainbow-Starlight

Paganism refers to any of a wide array of spiritual/religious beliefs based on Pre-Christian non-centralized beliefs. If you want to be a pagan, you are one. There are specific initiatory rituals for Wicca, Asatru, and Kemetism, among others; all of which are pagan religions.

A pagan who is not a member of a specific organized "path" such as the above is referred to as an "eclectic pagan". Eclectic pagans are those who do not follow the beliefs of any other group or individual specifically, but instead create their own path based on what feels true, right, and natural to them, usually borrowing from the practices of many other religions.

If you are interested in practicing Wicca, which is probably the largest pagan religion, I suggest "Wicca: A Guide to the Solitary Practitioner" and "Living Wicca" both by Scott Cunningham, as well as all of the works of Gerald Gardner and Raymond Buckland. Some of the books written by Silver Ravenwolf might also be helpful to you.

For more information, answers to questions, as well as lessons and articles on eclectic paganism as well as specific paths, a more dynamic resource is important, so I suggest the following message boards:

http://art-of-creation.proboards.com

http://www.occultcorpus.com

http://www.earthsongforums.com

As to those who have answered this question with negative things to say, you have my pity. It must be difficult living with such a narrow and closed-minded world view.

May you find what you seek.

Landra, High Priestess of the Coven of the Crossed Paths

Source(s):
http://art-of-creation.proboards.com
http://www.occultcorpus.com
http://www.earthsongforums.com

The Hallowe'en Truth: is Hello Kitty Evil?

Hello Kitty stickers (Photo credit: diwong)

Urban Dictionary describes Hello Kitty as a "Japanese mass-casualty weapon... Doctors warn that even low-level exposure may cause a perfectly sound mind to crack."

But is Hello Kitty truly evil?

There are plenty of conspiracies connected to the Hello Kitty phenomena. But that doesn't mean that the concept is one of evil.

This is the iconic white cat with the red bow, dots for eyes, and absent mouth that is mysteriously cute as hell to little girls.

The absence of a mouth makes her a little creepy. There are urban legends that state the mouth was left of because she was first drawn by a child suffering abuse, who wanted someone to confide in. There is also a legend that states she was drawn by a mother who's daughter was dying of cancer, and that the little white cat is a the result of a pack she made with the Devil to cure her daughter - the mouth was left off so the character could never spill the beans to anyone.

Hello Kitty Mentaiko? (Photo credit: jpellgen)

If either of these Urbanised tales are true, then surely it would have been reported widely...


A little History on Kittty...

Hello Kitty first came into being in the 70′s when a then new company called Sanrio needed to come up with a merchandise mascot that would appeal to the pre-teen girl demographic. They commissioned an artist to work on the project and she came up with a drawing of a white Japanese Bobtail cat that had a red bow in it’s hair and was wearing blue overalls.

A whole back story for Hello Kitty was created, which is basically this: Hello Kitty is actually a nickname for Kitty White, who is not Japanese but actually British and lives in London with her family.

The Hello Kitty character was deliberately designed without a mouth so the lack of that visual cue made it easier for people to project their own feelings on to the cartoon character.
However...

Their is something fundamentally wrong with a mute character that pre-teen girls can project their own emotion onto with impunity.

If nothing else, this little symbol of girlie cuteness has more of the Japanese Goth about it than British teen. It has seduced a world of females and has made its creators billionaires. (There are even theme parks and beauty products with the white bobtail cat's insignia on them.)

Hello Kitty has reached cult status with many fans - so now is close to becoming a religious icon. If someone truly sold their soul for this phenomena, it was quite a deal, and one that just keep on growing.

Is Hello Kitty Evil? Who knows?...

Personally, I can't stand the thing and find it completely creepy. But what do you think?

The VuDooMan is in the House
When you need a little faith, turn to the VuDooMan

More Roots of Halloween (the Celtic Samhain)

As I said last week, the roots of Halloween can be found in the Celtic (Samain) Samhain.

For the Celts, this time of the (wheel of the) year was marked by the sun's passage into the underworld - thus allowing the forces of 'the underworld' to ascend.

Halloween Lantern (Photo credit: somewhereintheworldtoday)

Unfettered by the controlling the sun-god, Mog Ruith, the Lord of the Underworld, becomes able to walk the earth from Autumn to Winter, along with all the other creatures -of the dead- of his abode. (In Celtic mythology, the Lord of the Dead is often identified as Donn.)

Both Donn and Mog Ruith (the sun-god  are closely associated with Samhain. (Mog Ruith, as sun-god  sojourned at the realm of the underworld, the abode of Donn during this time of the year.)

The Celts were fascinated by their ancestors  causing a belief that at death they went to the house of their ancestor, the god of the underworld, Donn.

For the Celts, this was a time when fairies, goolies and all manner of other creatures and ghosts traveled abroad (walking the earth).

Their fires were lit in honor of the sun-god  Mog Ruith, and to keep the Lord of the Dead/Underworld at bay.

(Samhain is placed on the boundary between Summer and Winter, between the two halves of the year; giving it the unique status  to the Celts of being suspended in time. Belong to neither the old year nor the new. During the night of Samhain, life's natural order is thrown into chaos; the world of the living becoming entangled with the world of the dead.)

On this night, the unwary Celtic traveler  would expect to encounter creatures of the dead. (Back then, it was advisable to refrain from going out at night.) Ghosts were everywhere.

Lighting the bonfires marked the domestic celebration of the feast. Allowing the spirits of the ancestors back into the household.

The ancestral ghosts needed appeasement in the form of ritual offerings; to insure good luck through the following year. This is were the 'Trick or Treat' tradition of the modern Halloween originated. (Children dressed as the dwellers of the underworld - ghosts, witches, and monsters - visit homes with the hope of getting 'treats' or performing a 'trick' on the household's occupants - the equivalent of a dose of bad luck.)

Toffee Apples (Photo credit: julie gibbons)

More next week

Samhain? Is It Time To Talk About Ancestors Yet? « myvillagewitch

reblogged: Samhain? Is It Time To Talk About Ancestors Yet? « myvillagewitch:

'via Blog this'

Not quite? Not yet? Still a holy day to go before that one, you say?

Perhaps I should shorten my vision a bit.

We have been deeply…enmeshed in the process of creating a group of clergy for Mother Grove Goddess Temple. It’s has been scary and invigorating and silly and annoying. And very very good. This time next week, it’ll be a done deal since the rite of ordination occurs Friday night. At New Moon.

In some ways it seems a simple thing–a group of women who’ve been studying for over a year are capping off their studies with a ceremony. Like graduation or something.

And then I remember what this is. It’s the ordination of clergy in a Goddess temple.

A Goddess temple. In Asheville. A College of Celebrants in a…Goddess temple.

Then I gulp and rub my eyes and have to sit down for a minute because that part seems rather glorious and a little magical and filled with mystery and import.

And it is–on the one hand. We’re part of a rising movement across the globe–a movement that is sometimes called the Return of the Goddess or the Rise of the Great Mother. Each time I hear of a new temple starting out, my heart swells with joy and I feel the pull of past and future simultaneously, as though I stand on a hill and see forward and back. I feel the pull of the mythic past and the tug of a future that we weld together with fire and longing.

These are not only Temple priestesses but also clergy as the modern world understands that notion. Marrying and burying and everything in between. In fact, the week after this ordination, there’s a wedding to do. And I’m talking to old friends about a blessing for their grandson.

The pleasant ending of a year of work and exploration. A ceremony of transition for strong and wise women. A liminal place, a doorway through which they walk into a new and ancient world.

Excellent.

Metaphysics and Crystals - Chakras (part 1)

Chakra comes from the Sanskrit for wheel. They all spin at different speeds and in different directions. Though fixed in the central spinal column they are located on both the front and the back of the body, and work through it.

• 
• • The VudooMan
  • i-faith & i-life Magazine,
    Wednesday 26 September 2012

The 7 points on the body marking each of the chakras. Illstration: Cyberpunk65.

There are seven chakras on the body; these lie along the Kundalini (the spiritual and sexual energy at the base of the spine and rises up to the crown chakra).

Starting at the highest point, above the head: is the crown chakra. The crown connects to the mind and is a associated with the colours white or purple. The main crystal or crystals associated with the crown chakra are: Clear Quarts and Amethyst.

Next down, is the brow or third-eye. The brow/third-eye, connects to the mind and is associated with the colour blue. The main crystals are Blue Tiger's Eye and Lapis Lazuli.

Part 2 coming soon.

A Happy Mabon Blessing to All

With the fields empty of crops (having been harvested), it's time for Mabon - the mid-harvest festival of Pagans and Wiccans everywhere. Whether you're a town / city Pagan / Wiccan or a country one, this is a time to honor the second harvest and celebrate the changing of the seasons.

• 
• • The VudooMan
  • i-faith & i-life Magazine, Thursday 20 September 2012

Happy Mabon! (Photo credit: Fel ix_Nine).

The autumn equinox, is usually on nineth month between 20th and 22nd - and this year falls on September 22nd (in Northan Hemisphere, or March 22nd in Southern Hemisphere).

Metaphysics & Crystals (part 1)

So what is metaphysics?

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science.

Pasted from <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics>

English: Calcite crystals inside a test of the cystoid Echinosphaerites aurantium (Middle Ordovician, Estonia).
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vodou Cookies - Metaphysical Munchies

When you hear the phrase "food for the soul" do you too think of chicken soup and matzo balls? I'm not even Jewish, and yet it's there in my subconscious. It's comfort from within with a metaphysical twist. That's how you could describe this set of articles - comfort from metaphysical munchies!

---

---

The Vodou Man
& the Yummy Pin-Dolly 

This time we will look at a Vudon charm fit to make the mouth and the eyes water.

Vodou originates in the 18th century, when Africans were suppressed their religious practices. It began in the Frenchised slave colony of Saint-Domingue. African slaves were forced to convert to Christianity - mainly Catholism. It's predecessor being West African Vodun (as practiced by the Fon and Ewe). Vodou also incorporates elements and symbolism from Roman Catholic Christianity and European mysticism.

Winter Magick

Winter Magic

---

---

The sounds of drums, calling forth winter…
The battle between the light and darkness wage its daily war in the hearts of all humans, as it has for thousands of years.
       -MoonShadow

Northern Light
In the Northern hemisphere, as the dark nights draw in -and the days shorten- our hearts turn towards the winter holidays. Call them whatever you feel appropriate, they are a time to dwell on the both life and death issues - as they always have been. We see the lessening of sun-hours and the lengthening of night's dark oppression and it depresses even the most civilised of us.

Colour Magick

Today we are going to talk about colour correspondent.

Some people may have had something similar done for them. (Ranking them as a Summer-, Autumn-, Winter- or Spring-person.) That isn’t what this is about!

---

Colour
Magick

Each day of the week has its own corresponding colour, planet, and even hour. Colours are of major importance in both healing and magick: Frequently used in candle magick, crystal magick, flower magick (or hedgerow witchery), food magick (or kitchen witchery), and water magick.

Colours affect how we view thing, our feelings, and our energy flows (the chakras).

For all these things, the basic concept is the same. Each colour corresponds to certain focuses and qualities. And these can be tapped by tuning into the specific colour.


White
If you think about what white is associated with it helps you realise its best uses. Western weddings centre around this colour. We wrap babies in it. We snuggle in the light, and shy away from the dark. It is a colour for winter. White symbolises purity, innocence, the Goddess, and light. It is associated with the moon and Mondays.

Red
We use red for danger, anger and to represent life force (blood). It symbolises heat and is one of the colours of summer. Sexuality, passion and love all connect into red. It represents the Gods and power in general. Mars (planet and god) and Tuesdays both correlate with red.


Orange
The fruit, Oranges, and the sun are under this colour’s correspondences. So are physical and mental fertility (or creativity), the arts, joy, confidence, abundance and individuality. It’s day is Sunday (of course).


Yellow
Memory, concentration, logic, and learning are all increased by yellow. It rules commerce, medicine, skill, dexterity and messages (especially from the gods). Technology and communication are handled by this colour, and so is business and careers. Wednesday and Mercury are the focus for yellows.

Green
The earth, forests, trees, gardens, plants, herbs, and nature in general are all connected to green. It brings about harmony and peace, increases wealth, helps relationships and romance. Green is the colour of spring, money and the land, the heart and luck. Faeries and magick are also influenced by this colour. Its planet is Venus and its day is Friday.


Turquoise
(Hold aspects of both blue and green.) Music, dance, wisdom, experience, thoughts, feelings, compassion, and altruism all connect with turquoise. It is used to synthesise two different aspects (like home and work etc.) of life and keep them smoothly on a pace with each other. Turquoise has most effect on Thursdays or Fridays.


Blue
Protection, rules, judgement, and the sky (gods) are attached to the colour blue. It expands boundaries and possibilities, increases success and confidence, nobility, and optimism. Blue is used for prosperity, promotion, and to exploit prospects in business. When dealing with the law or officials then blue should be your colour of choice. It’s a problem-solver and encourages calm in crisis, and opens the mind’s eye. It’s the colour of winter and its day is Thursday.

Purple
(This includes lavender, indigo and violet.) Hidden knowledge, psychic ability, and spirituality are all ruled by purple. It’s the colour of the higher-self. It connects into astral travel and the aura (or astral field), and preventing nightmares. Its planet is Jupiter and its day is Friday.


Pink
Pink is the colour of emotions, and the heart’s sentiments. Relationships, friendship, affection, children and growth are all its aspects. It helps to mend emotions (through gentle sleep) and release childhood hurts/family wounds. Its planet is Venus (in her gentle mode) and the corresponding day is Friday.


Brown
Brown effects time and helps reclaims lost items. In magick, it’s used for household pets, or animals, for learning new skills and security. It connects to Mother Earth and earth spirits. It’s the colour of autumn. Its day is Saturday.


How to use colours 
By implementing the use for colours in your life you can employ that colour’s correspondences.

By using crystals of an appropriate colour to affect the auric field (which expands 3ft or a meter in all directions from your solar plexus) it is possible to implement changes – just by carrying crystals. (A rose quartz to heal the heart, for example.)

By wearing a colour, you implement the associations of that tint. (E.g. wearing white on a Monday connects you too the moon and the Goddess aspects.

By burning candles of a suitable colour (to correspond with needs), you can draw towards you whatever it is that can help in a matter. (A green candle for finances.)

In this way it is possible to take the matching properties of a colour AND MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU!

That’s the essence of colour magick. So when you reach for a sweater -or a pair of socks- consider what you need for that day and pick a colour appropriate item.

Magic Time (Part 5)

Magic Time

---

---

.: On Hallowe’en. Digital ID: 1587792 :.

by New York Public Library @  Flickr 

In this fifth (and last) article on Magick, we'll look at potential and viability.

We've talked over opportunities and the power of a positive mental attitude to bring to you whatever it is you wanted. Now we need to talk about the business of potential and how to market that potential.

Moon Cookies - Metaphysical Munchies

When you hear the phrase "food for the soul" do you too think of chicken soup and matzo balls? I'm not even Jewish, and yet it's there in my subconscious. It's comfort from within with a metaphysical twist. That's how you could describe this set of articles - comfort food with that metaphysical twist!

---

---

Wiccan Moon Goddess

This time we will look at a Wiccan Sabbats and Esbats to find a magical morsel.

Within Wicca there are major Sabbats and the minor Esbats. The major connect to festivals on the wheel of the year (8 to be precise – the Wiccan year runs from Oct 31st through Oct 30th). These connect with the two equinox and the two solstice and four pagan festivals dotted in between. (they are: Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon). Each of these majors have their own special foods to go along with each festival. And all individual groups have their own preferences.