Triple moon

Wiccan Rede

Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.

Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.



For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.

To bind the spell well everytime, let the spell be said in rhyme.



Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much.

Honor the Old Ones in deed and name, let love and light be our guides again.



Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune.

Widdershins go when the moon doth wane,

and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.



When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.

When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek.



Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.

When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.



When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth.

When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest.



Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.

Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.



Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's insight.

Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.



Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.

Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.



Hazel the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.

White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.



Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.

Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.



Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be.

Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark.



As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it's now Samhain.

When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.



When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltaine fires will burn.

As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite.



Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.

When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules.



In the spring, when night equals day, time for Ostara to come our way.

When the Sun has reached it's height time for Oak and Holly to fight.



Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.

Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be.



Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.

When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.



With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.

Merry Meet and Merry Part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart.



Mind the Three-fold Laws you should, Three times bad and Three times good.

When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.



Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.



These eight words the Rede fulfill:



"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

*Please note: I had always believed (as many do) that this was written by Doreene Valiente. It has recently come to my attention that there is some dispute over the original author. Apparently, it was published in Green Egg magazine (issue #69) by Lady Gwynne Thompson. Lady Gwynne was a teacher for the New England Coven of Traditionalis Witches from 1928 - 1986. She attributes this version to her paternal Grandmother, Adriana Porter. Thus I will recognize both Adriana Porter and Doreene Valiente as authors until further information is discovered.

Religion

Wow....what a topic for my first real post...but it's what's on my mind...and that's what this is supposed to be here for...my mind

Religion...what an ominous sounding word that is...for something that should be so simple...One person's relationship with the Divine....that's worth repeating

ONE PERSON'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIVINE

how that person choses to relate to divine enity(s) is that person's business...I don't have any more right than any other person....and you don't have any more right than me....my beliefs are mine...they don't affect you directly...leave me alone and I'll do the same for you...Damn I wish it were that simple....

For those of you who don't know...I'm a Witch....yep and proud of it...I cast spells, call on the divine and contact spirits - when the spirit moves me ;)

I revere Mother Earth and all of her natural wonders. I believe it is our responsibility to protect and cherish her for our children.

I celebrate the seasons as times of birth, growth, death, and rebirth...These cycles run throughout our lives and should be celebrated.

I am not "fluffy bunny" "white witch" "goody-goody" whatever you want to call it. I practice my religion in full. Note for me it is a religion. The Craft and Wicca are two different things. Some practice the Craft and not Wicca, some practice Wicca and never cast a spell. Others, like me, do both.

Magick can be an enlightening, awe-inspiring, wonderous thing. It can also be a dark, dangerous place to travel depending on the practitioner and their training. This is also true of all things in life. Anything can be used for good or for ill depending upon the person doing the using. Please don't try to judge me or anyone else by your standards. We don't use them.

Wicca is many different things to different people...I can only share with you what it is to me. It is a place of beauty and peace. Tranquility the likes of which I had never known before. It is also my responsibility. It is my responsibility to honor my deities, to honor the seasonal changes in both the earth and myself. It is my responsibility to care for the Earth and protect her to the best of my abilities. I am responsible for my actions. I am responsible for my thoughts. I hold myself accountable to myself.

Many people tout out the three fold law and the final line of the Wiccan Rede as if that is all there is to my religion. Yes, the energy you send out in the Universe will return to you threefold. And, yes, "An ye harm none, Do as ye will" is part of the Wiccan Rede. But neither encompasses the whole of the religion. Ask a dozen Wiccans what Wicca is and you will receive a dozen answers (at least).

Well... I have to go feed my children...I'm sure I'll come up with more to say ...eventually

An Open Letter to Everyone I Know

The following is not mine....but it captures exactly what I have wanted to say to everyone in my life at one point or another.....

An Open Letter to Everyone I Know: I am a Witch

I do not worship Satan; I am not interested in Satan. The Christians invented Satan. Satanism is a form of Christianity. I am not a Christian. I don't go to church on Sunday. Jesus is NOT my savior. He was simply a holy man who lived 2,000 years ago. I am not afraid of going to Hell because I don't believe in Hell any more than I believe in Satan. I believe in reincarnation (that I will come back to this world or another and live out another life).

I am not evil. Telling people I am a "good witch" or asking me if I am a good witch implies that there are evil witches. There are evil people in the world, and there are people who chose to work with the forces of nature in a way that harms others; those people are NOT witches. The central law of being a witch is: "if it harms none, do as you will."

Please don't ask me about sacrificing cats or desecrating churches. I love my cats. And I don't go into churches or synagogues unless a friend from that religion invites me to some special occasion. And if I DO enter a church, I am not struck by lightning. And if a Christian or a Jew or a Buddhist came to a pagan ritual, our gods would not strike them dead either. Isn't that something to think about?

Wearing a pentacle is no different than wearing a cross, crucifix, or Star of David. If you want me to take off the symbol of MY religion (and Wicca is a religion, protected by the same First Amendment rights as other religions) because it's offensive, you need to make everyone of every religion do that. The five points of the star signify the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire & Water, and the fifth point is Spirit; encircled by the World. How that can offend anyone boggles my little pagan mind. An image of a tortured, dying man is more offensive, yet thousands of people openly wear crucifixes every day.

Also, don't ask me if I'm in a "coven" in that half-horrified, half-fascinated tone of voice. If I want to talk about my coven, I will bring it up. If I am a solitary practitioner, I have no coven to discuss.

In any case, our rituals have candles, food, drink, poetry, dancing...yes, there is a knife but it only cuts the air, not anyone's flesh. I don't drink blood. I am not some kind of vampire. I wear black because it keeps negativity away and because it looks better on me than orange and purple polka dots.

If you want to ask me something related to MY religion, ask me when the next full moon is. Or the next blue moon. Or what a blue moon IS. Ask me about herbs. Crystals. Healing. Even ask me to make you a love potion. But I don't cast spells on other people and I won't cast a spell on you to make you prettier, thinner, more desirable. And I won't cast a spell on your quarry to make him/her love you. Trust me, you don't want that, you don’t want the karma that involves, and neither do I! That's a form of manipulation, taking away someone's power, infringing on his or her free will. Not nice at all. And I also won't cast a binding spell to make someone STOP doing something to you.

Spell work is about co-creation. A witch works with universal energy, with the gods, to tilt the engine of probability somewhat. Need money? Don't try to force your boss to give you a raise. Simply ask the universe to increase the flow of abundance in your direction. That infringes on NO ONE's free will.

One last thing: giving me a book about the Burning Times is like giving a book on the Holocaust to a Jewish person. It's not funny and is rude. Yes, I do go to Salem, but not because any of those poor executed people were witches (I think the jury is still out on some of them), but because there’s cool pagan shops there. If there were cool pagan shops in a town called East Cowflop, I'd go there. Please don't try to make me ashamed of who I worship and what I am. Please don't try to convert me or "save" me. Don't throw holy water on me. Don't leave little pamphlets on my desk or windshield. I don't need to be saved.

Witches are proud of the fact that we don't recruit people to become witches. We simply ARE, and those around us see how we think, how we act, and our inner peace, and only when someone says, "how do I become a witch?" do we take them into the fold with us. I will NEVER leave a religious tract with anyone. I don't have one, unless you count this letter. And I am not asking you to convert. I am only asking you to understand. If you don’t want to understand, just leave me alone.


Blessed Be,

A Witch

First things first

Ok..this blog is about me, for me, and mostly by me...if you can't or don't want to read something...then don't...don't whine to me about it...I don't care...the only posts that I'll remove are the ones that I consider flaming, whining, or just down-right rude. Note the "I's"...It's my blog...I'll do what I want with it...don't bother emailing me...don't bother calling me...don't bother PM'ing me...I don't care...Now that we've got the rules down....let's blog!