The Witches' Creed Doreen Valiente Hear Now the words of the witches, The secrets we hid in the

night, When dark was our destiny's pathway, That now we bring forth into light. Mysterious water and fire, The earth and the wide-ranging air, By hidden quintessence we know them, And will and keep silent and dare. The birth and rebirth of all nature, The passing of winter and spring, We share with the life universal, Rejoice in the magical ring. Four times in the year the Great Sabbat Returns, and the witches are seen At Lammas and Candlemas dancing, On May Eve and old Hallowe'en. When day-time and night-time are equal, Whensun is at greatest and least, The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned, And Witches gather in feast. Thirteen silver moons in a year are, Thirteen is the coven's array. Thiteen times at Esbat make merry, For each golden year and a day. The power that was passed down the age, Each time between woman and man, Each century unto the other, Ere time and the ages began. When drawn is the magical circle, By sword or athame of power, Its compass between two worlds lies, In land of the shades for that hour. This world has no right then to know it, And world of beyond will tell naught. The oldest of Gods are invoked there, The Great Work of magic is wrought. For the two are mystical pillars, That stand at the gate of the shrine, And two are the powers of nature, The forms and the gorces divine.

1844

The Witches' Creed The dark and the light in succession,

(cont.)

The opposites each unto each, Shown forth as a God and a Goddess: Of this our ancestors teach. By night he's the wild wind's rider, The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades. By day he's the King of the Woodland, The dweller in green forest glades. She She The The is youthful or old as she pleases, sails the torn clouds in her barque, bright silver lady of midnight, crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of magic, Thet dwell in the deeps of the mind, Immortal and ever-renewing, With power to free or to bind. So drink the good wine to the Old Gods, And Dance and make love in their praise, Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us In peace at the end of our days. And Do What You Will be the challenge, So be it Love that harms none, For this is the only commandment. By Magic of old, be it done! Doreen Valiente, "Witchcraft For Tomorrow" pp.172-173 FAIRIES LOVE SONG -Anonymous

Why should I sit and sigh Broo and bracken, broo and bracken Why should I sit and sigh All alone and weary When I see the plover rising Or the curlew wheeling It's then I'll court my mortal lover Back to me is stealing When the moon begins her waning I sit by the water Where a man born of the sunlight Loved the Faerie's daughter Oh, but there is something wanting O but I am weary Coming blithe, now bonny treads he O'er the knolls to cheer me *

* SHE MOVED THRU THE FAIRE -Padraic Colum recorded by Theodore Bikel My young love said to me: My mother won't mind And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind She put her arms 'round me; these words she did say: It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day! Then she stepped away from me, and she moved thru the Faire And so fondly I watched her move here and move there At last she turned homeward, with one star awake As the Swan in the evening moves over the lake. Last night she came to me, my dead love came in And so soft did she move that her feet made no din She put her arms 'round me; these words she did say: It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day! * * THE VALKYRIE SONG (Tune: Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries") We fly through the night skies Flashing our fat thighs, Picking up dead guys; You call this a job? You take the blond guy, I'll take the redhead! Wait, he's not dead yet; Let him go . . . splat! Chorus: Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Woo-oop! Oh-h-h-h-h-h! We're We're We're We're hunting hunting hunting hunting * the the the the Wabbit! Wabbit! Wabbit! Wabbit!

Celtic Deities? Here is the promised beginning discussion of "The Gods" in Celtic religion. The majority of this post is brought to Lorax, Small Furry Tree-Creature of the Gods <g> ****Extra-Long Posts Warning****

you by

I shall throw out the first hot caber by suggesting that use of the misleadIsaac term "Gods" within a Pagan Celtic context is totally useless, ing,and an example of the sloppy scholarship that Deartha'ir bemoans. This notion has been long in coming for me, but was triggered this week when an ADF member noted the use of the word "God" [singular] several hundred times in a suggested reference work on preChristian Greek religion. It made her somewhat nervous as it seemed to not be the best possible term in a polytheistic culture, given that a multitude of things, from entities to abstract concepts had been subsumed as "God". Finn, the This, combined with my very recent reading of the Dunnaire

Book of Invasions, and the Tain has led me to be more discriminating. As my Priestess colleage, Brandy Williams, has often said, there are 2 kinds of people: Splitters, and people who deny the existence of splitters. <g> So, let us take it from the very top, the creation of the world. At Book of least, according to one translation of one version of the Invasions.

The first inhabitants of Ireland were Cesair, daughter of Bith, son of Noe (Noah), and their 3 men + 50 women. <Happy happy, joy joy!> These people all drowned, and are therefore unimportant to this story, save that Fintan survived to recount tales of the beforetime. people. brewing, things. Patholan chose a fertile place, cleared 4 plains, and homesteaded there. Partholan was the second discoverer, the chief of his Partholan brought with him the people that were first in many arts-cauldron making-first combat, farming, and a host of other

His wife slept with his retainer, which caused problems. This resulted in the giving of the First Verdict, that of Delgnat. Boan, Brea, Ban, Aine and 6 others were the "pure daughters" of Partholan, implying perhaps that he had more, following the customs of the times. The generation of Partholan was the one responsible for first naming of places in Ireland. Partholan's generation was also longlived, and no plants grew old in their time. His generation largely died out after a plague. Both of these first generations are referred to as men and women, not deities. People of Arts [Aes Da'na] maybe yes, but not deithe [deities]. This, at least, according to the Christians who recorded the tales.

2354 The third generation is that of Neimhedh (Nemed). from battles that). Scythia. Neimhedh had 4 chiefs with him. over the Fomhoire. He came

Nemhed fought and won three

Fo-mhor (over the sea, or something like

Despite this, the Fomorians seemed to be quite good at opressing the Nemedians, by demanding 2/3 of their agricultural output at Samhain, delivered to Magh Cetne. The Nemedians went to Greece and collected an army, some drui and ban-drui, wolves and venemous animals. A proper challenge was delivered, and the battles were engaged. The Fomorians were defeated at last. Only 30 Nemedians survived. The next group of invaders are the somewhat mysterious Fir Bolg, or previous Bagmen. The Fir Bolg had 5 chiefs (one more than all of the

invaders) as did the De Dannan. The Fir Bolg divided Ireland into 5 parts. Previous invasions had separated Ireland into 4 parts. Much is made of the poetic, noise-shakin skill of the Fir Bolg. They were

some jammin' magickal folk, alright. distinc-

The Fir Bolg have the

tion of the first "riogh" (king) in Ireland. So we have division into 5 parts, kingship, and the use of iron. Now, the Sons of Nemed had not been sitting still all of this time. They had been off in Greece, learning draidheacht, cleverness, niceness, and Spiffy Things In General (slight gloss from bad 19th century Victorian english). These folks were called "Tuatha De" " ... that is, they considered their men of learning to be gods, and their husbandmen non-gods, so much was their power in every art and every druidic occultism besides. Thence came the name, which is Tuathe De, to them." Now, please note that their ancestors are PEOPLE. became so unfamOne can by virtue of their skills. The TdD

This is a process that would not be

iliar to a good citizen of Republican (not Imperial) Rome.

become deific by proper actions, family and/or national devotion, and other things. The TdD had been instructed in 4 cities in the North. One has to infer that these cities are in Greece, where they are instructed in these arts. Now, not all translations say this, exactly. Greece and Spain are frequently glosses for the Otherworld, but not always. The 4 Treasures were brought from Greece. As we have discussed the Treasures before, we shall pass in silence on them here. The TdD fought battles with the Athenians as their allies, and thru fought as rowan druidic demonry reanimated dead bodies that then rose up and if they were living. It is here that we learn that hazel or <Occult

twigs thru the neck do in reanimated corpses. Factiod #912 collect em all.) May, where Fomorians

The TdD arrive in Ireland on a Monday, in the Calends of they burn their ships on the shore so they cannot return, or the use the ships.

The TdD fought with the Fir Bolg (it is, after all Ireland we are talking about...), won, lost, won again, lost again, were hurt, etc. Nuada gets his silver arm and loses kingship in healed, this

process. The TdD slew all but a few of the Fir Bolg, who then fled to the outermost isles of the seas. Compare this with the more archaic traditions of the Hebrides and Northern Islands of Ireland...

2355 The genealogies up to this point are enough to make a kinship specialist whimper, cringe, and fall to sleep the final sleep, so we will ignore them, but to say that aside from Cessair, everyone is related (or sleeping with someone who is) to everyone else. Biblical begatting is easier, trust me. The TdD are referred to as goblins in the text. the great So much for

contrast between the demonic Fomorians and Deific TdD. If you care to argue that to a medieval monk all deities are one deity and all are demonic, then there is even less reason to consider the Fomor demonic.

2356 That said, the text has Eochaid triumph, "without enchantment of idols, shaped the distinction of good verses but as for knowledge of the warrior bands of whom we speak although we enumerate them we do not worship them." folks. do so, The picture is far more confused than ANY simple model, I have not even begun to discuss the "giant" stories. If I were to then Finn and his buddies are giants, not unlike Jotuns.

But wait! parents?

So is Cu! And, if they are giants, then what are their Finn is descended from Baiscne, and Cu is descended (or a reincarnation) of

Lugh.

So the Aes Dana=Giants?@(#*#*(@#_@

If we get to the local spirits, worshipped well into the 18th century, and maybe later, (or the 20th, as Erynn thinks), any meaningful use of the term "God" has to be tossed out with the burnt brac after dinner. heavy juju We have people, descended from the Trojans/Greeks learning

and becoming like Gods. They fight, live, die, get reincarnated, stretch their influence far beyond a single generation, and are immortalized in song. Remember, the Cauldron of Poesy, the only available text on the training of a fili (one who sees) reminds us that we are all more than our birth, at least potentially. probably As Patrick Ford has suggested, the written tales/sagas are

just a sequencing of shorter oral bits, there is no real problem with dying on page 23, and having hot sweaty sex on page 25. of the They are also said to be immortal in the Otherworld. Many

later tales have all of these survivors gathering in the Otherworld (somewhere near Miami or Desert Springs, I suspect) and only sometimes coming out to see us mere mortals. Also note (this flash of awen just in) that most of the folks that wander into faery are Aes Dana! Rhymer, Tam Lin and many others. Reverend Kirk, Thomas the

The Path to Faery must be (therefore) paved with Excellence. Now, the above analysis depends strictly on my reading of the texts. I am quoting from the handiest text, the one that unfortunately has no bibliographic data in it, but is well-reasoned, erudite, and footnoted to death. This is a facing-page xlation, btw. I am NOT saying that some of these beings are not worthy of devotion. viewed as I am saying that it is not ness. true that all of them were

"Gods" at all times in history, particularly not in the omnipotent, omniscient Xian meaning of the word, nor in the usage common to Bullfinch.

It may be best to regard the Aes Dana as Shterpersavs, or "Short-TermPersonal-Saviors", in Dobbspeak. <Rant Modes Off> Thanks. Lorax & Erynn The Parts of the Soul A Greek System of Chakras (first draft) by John Opsopaus Introduction This essay resulted from an attempt to find a Greek system of "energy centers" corresponding to the chakras of Eastern philosophy. Such a correspondence would help illuminate Greek mysticism and reveal some of the foundations of the Western Magical Tradition. This goal might seem to be a shallow exercise in analogies, but there are reasons to expect a substantial correspondence. First, the Eastern and Greek systems evolved out of a common Indo-European culture, so one would expect genetic correspondences; these connections were likely maintained over the millennia, since we know the Middle East mediated continual cultural transfer with both the West and East. Second, there is a certain degree of objectivity in the system of chakras, as reflected in the physical body, which would lead to correspondences even in the absence of cultural contact. The consequence of these two factors is a significant uniformity in ideas about the Spirit and its connection to the Body across the Eurasian continent, and even beyond, as documented, for example, in Onians's _Origins of European Thought_. How would we know a Greek system of chakras if we saw it? The standard I have used is that (1) they should be approximately seven energy centers; (2) they should be approximately located where the chakras are located; (3) they should have approximately the same "functions" as the chakras. It's worth keeping in mind that the chakra system best known in the West, with seven chakras, is not the only system; some have more than fourteen (Eliade, 243-5; Murphy, 156). Therefore, we should not expect an exact correspondence of number, since certain energy centers might or might not be counted depending on their strength or the "kind" of energy

they concentrate. Furthermore, different systems differ in their exact placement of the chakras, so likewise we should not expect an exact correspondence in a Greek system. Nevertheless, it will be apparent that the Greek system corresponds closely to the system of seven chakras. My principal source has been Onians, especially Part I and Part II (chh. 1-7), but the overall structure is described in Plato's account of the "Parts of the Soul" in the Timaeus (69c-73d), which probably embodies Pythagorean doctrine. In the following I've numbered the energy centers from the top down with Roman numerals, since this accords better with Platonic doctrine; however, the chakras are conventionally numbered from the bottom up, for which I've (appropriately) used Hindu numbers (so-called Arabic numbers). I The Crown of the head (Gk. koruphe, Lat. vertex). Plato said the humans stand upright because of the connection between the Heavens and the Soul in their brains. People with especially great power in their heads were 2401 represented with a nimbus, a halo of flames, around their head (attested as early as the 3rd cent. BCE in Greece). This center corresponds to Chakra 7 (at the crown of the head), called Sahasrara, which means "thousand (-petaled)," an appropriate description of a nimbus. II The Brain (Gk. enkephalos, Lat. cerebrum), which contains the psuche (Gk.) or genios (Lat.). (I use the old Latin spelling "genios" to avoid confusion with the English "genius." The genios is sometimes called the anima.) In Homeric times the psuche was taken to be the "Vital Spirit" or Life Principal (the mind or consciousness was placed in IV, the chest), corresponding to Skt. asu. The later view, which is found in Plato and corresponds better to the Eastern system (cf. Skt. atman), is that the brain is the center of rational thought, the Intellectual center. In both Homer and Plato the psuche is considered the immortal part of the Soul. The physical substance corresponding to psuche was marrow (medulla), especially the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain and spine, but also in other parts of the body (see below). For this reason departed souls were thought to appear as snakes, which are all brain and spine. Scalp and facial hair were considered physical emanations of the psuche, and so the hair, scalp and chin were considered sacred (hence the dedication of locks and the touching of the chin or beard in

supplication). This center corresponds to Chakra 6 (at the brow), called Ajna, which means "authority or command," an appropriate name for the rational faculty, which Plato said "controls and restrains" the lower faculties; Onians calls it the Executive function. III The Neck (Gk. trachelos, dere; Lat. collum), which Plato called the "isthmus or boundary" between the Superior, Divine or Immortal Soul and the Inferior or Mortal Soul. He said that it allows communication between the two, but prevents the Lower Soul from "polluting" the Higher. This center corresponds to Chakra 5 (in the throat), called Visuddha, which means "purgation or purity," that is, "the purging of the merely animal, physical system" (Campbell, 165). IV The Heart and Lungs (Gk. phrenes, Lat. cor), which contain the thumos (Grk.) or animus (Lat.), which is the Higher part of the Mortal Soul. In Homeric times the thumos was the Conscious Spirit, the vehicle of Thought and Feeling (cf. Skt. manas). Later, it was restricted to feeling, emotion, passion and especially spirit, courage and anger the Affective function. This center corresponds to Chakra 4 (at the heart), called Anahata, which means "not hit" (referring to the mystical sound). This chakra is associated with prana (Skt.) - vital breath, vital spirit (Campbell, 164), as are the phrenes with pneuma (Gk.) or spiritus (Lat.) - breath, spirit. Campbell (164-5) says, "This is the aspiration, then, of spiritual striving," and "the birth of the spiritual as opposed to the merely physical life," and likewise the phrenes are associated with spirit, as opposed to the lower parts, which are associated with physical needs and desires. The "little foyer" (the Red Lotus of Eight Petals with the Kalpa Tree) 2402 below the Heart Chakra corresponds to the diaphragm, which Plato called the "midriff partition" separating the two parts of the Mortal Soul (associated with Spirit and Desire, respectively). V The Belly (Gk. gaster, Lat. abdomen), between the diaphragm and navel, is the site of the Lower Part of the Mortal Soul, which is the Appetitive Soul, which we share with the lower animals and plants; its function is nutrition and it is the source of Desire (both Nutritional and, by most accounts, Sexual). This center corresponds to Chakra 3 (at the navel), called Manipura, which means "city of the shining jewel," and its function is "aggressive: to conquer, to consume, to turn everything into oneself" (Campbell, 159-60), which is a good description of the Appetitive Soul.

VI The Gonads (Gk. gonades, Lat. genitalia), representing the Procreative function. The "marrow," the stuff of which psuche or genios was made, was the Life Essence; Plato says that in it is made "the bonds of life which unite the Soul with the Body." This marrow or sap is passed down the spine, concentrated in the gonads, and is the source of the life of the offspring. In particular, semen was considered a kind of cerebrospinal sap. This center corresponds to Chakra 2, called Svadhisthana, which means "her favorite resort," an apt name for "the cakra of sexuality" (Campbell, 144). VII The Sacrum or Holy Bone (Gk. hieron osteon, Lat. os sacrum), that is, the base of the spine. Because this was a center of concentration of the Life Force, Middle Eastern people believed that the entire body could be regenerated from this bone, and Onians (p. 208) conjectures that its potency may account for "kiss of shame" (osculum infame) of the Witches and Templars (and perhaps the Cathars and Waldenses). This center corresponds to Chakra 1, called Muladhara, which means "root base," which Campbell (p. 144) associates with "hanging on to life" and a "reactive psyche," so in both cases we have the grossest form of the Life Force. Similarly, the Spine was called the Holy Tube (hiera surinx), which recalls the Sushumna (Spine), which is likewise considered a channel (nadi). Likewise the Egyptian Ded Pillar, which represents the spine, was a symbol of Life. I have not, however, found Greeks correspondents to the Ida and Pingala nadis. VIII The above are the "central" energy concentrations of Greek philosophy, and it is apparent that they correspond closely to the familiar seven chakras. The Greeks also recognized "peripheral" energy concentrations in the hands, thighs and knees (which have a large concentration of "marrow"). This explains the sacrifice of thigh bones, the use of the hand (especially the right hand) to exercise executive power, and clasping the knees when beseeching. (The knee - Gk. gonu, Lat. genu was especially associated with the Life Force - genios - and with procreation or "generation"; cf. genital, genetic, gonad, etc.) So far 2403 as I know, corresponding chakras are not recognized in Eastern thought. As a general rule of thumb, Spirit, of one sort or another, is most concentrated where the flesh is thinnest (Timaeus 75a), thus, in the head, chest, sacrum, knees and hands. Summary

No. English Greek Latin Function Chakra No. _____________________________________________________________________ __ I Crown Koruphe Vertex Illumination Sahasrara 7 II Brain Enkephalos Cerebrum Intellection Ajna 6 III Neck Trachelos Collum Purification Visuddha 5 IV Heart/Lungs Phrenes Cor Affection Anahata 4 V Belly Gaster Abdomen Appetition Manipura 3 VI Gonads Gonades Genitalia Procreation Svadhisthana 2 VII Sacrum Hieron Osteon Os Sacrum Basic Life Muladhara 1 References Campbell, Joseph. (1990). York: Harper & Row. Transformations of Myth Through Time. New

Eliade, Mircea. (1969). Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, tr. Willard R. Trask. Bollingen Series LVI. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Mead, G. R. S. (1967). The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition. Theosophical Publishing House. Murphy, Michael. (1992). The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature. New York: Jeremy Tarcher/Putnam. Onians, Richard Broxton. (1951). The Origins of European Thought About the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time, and Fate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Poortman, J. J. (1978). Vehicles of Consciousness: The Concept of Hylic Pluralism. Vols. 1-4. Theosophical Publishing House. finis Ishtar, Inanna, & Ancient Astrology By Valkyrie Many might be interested in some information that I came across awhile back that might shed some light on this for you. Some may have seen part of this already. Someone in a shamanic echo was asking about how scorpions and spiders were related to each other in dreams, and what meaning the scorpion had, especially in regards to an earth goddess. I ran across a reference in one of those 'feminist revisionists'" books <G> and the statement was made that the Scorpion was found nearly world wide associated with an old Mother Goddess and the constellation Scorpio. I think it might provide some of the connections you are looking for.

So I found a book that wasn't cross-referenced by that author, which is recognized in its field (astronomical history) and was surprised to find that it wasn't an exageration. Richard Hinckley Allen, _Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning_, Dover Publications, Inc., New York:1963. The book was originally published by G.E. Stechert in 1899, under the former title: _Star-Names and Their Meanings_. I consider this a reliable source to balance a perhaps more "revisionist" view since it was written during a period by an expert who probably never questioned it theologically and reported facts as facts. Bear with me, the first part becomes significant as you go along. pg 360-365. SCORPIO, or SCORPIUS, the SCORPION,

was the reputed slayer of the Giant, exalted to the skies and now rising from the horizon as Orion, still in fear of the Scorpion, sinks below it; although the latter itself was in danger, --Sackville writing in his Induction to the _Mirror of Magistrates_, in 1565. Whiles Scorpio, dreading Sagittarius' dart Whose bow prest bent in flight the string had slipped Down slid into the ocean flood apart. Classical authors saw in it the monster that caused the disastrous runaway of the steeds of Phoebus Apollow when in the inexperienced hands of Phaethon. For some centuries before the Christian era it was the largest of the zodiac figures, forming with the [Greek name] it's Claws, --the _prosectae chelae_ of Cicero, now our Libra,--a double constellation, as Ovid wrote: Porrigit in spatium signorum membra duorum; and this figuring has been adduced as the strongest proof of Scorpio's great antiquity, from the belief that only six constellations made up on the earliest zodiac, of which this extended sign was one. With the Greeks it universally was [Greek]; Aratos, singularly making but slight allusion to it, added [Greek]; while another very appropriate term with Aratos was [Greek], the Great Sign. This reported magnitude perhaps was due to the mytholgical necessity of greater size for the slayer of great Orion, in reference to which that author characterized 2470 it as [Greek] 'appearing huger still.'

The Latins occasionally wrote the word _Scorpios_, but usually _Scorpius_, or Scorpio; while Cicero, Ennius, Manilius, and perhaps Columella gave the kindred African title Nepa, or Nepas, the first of which the Alfonsine Tables copy, as did Manilus the Greek adjective, [G], Walking Backward. Astronomical writers and commentators, down to comparatively modern times, occasionally mentioned its two division under the combined title Sorpius cum Chelis; while some representations even showed the Scales in the creature's Claws. Grotius said that the Barbarians called the Claws Graffias, and the Latins, according to Pliny, Forficulae. In early China it was an important part of the figure of the mighty but genial Azure Dragon of the EAst and of spring, in later days the residence of the heavenly Blue Emperor; but in the time of Confucius it was Ta Who, the Great Fire, a primeval name for its star Antares; and Shing Kung, a Divine Temple, was applied to the stars of the tail. As a member of the early zodiac it was the _Hare_, for which, in the 16th century, was substituted, from Jesuit teaching, _Tien He_, the Celestial Scorpion. Sir William Drummond asserted that in the zodiac which the partriarch Abraham knew it was an Eagle; and some commentators have located here the biblical Chambers of the South, Scorpio being directly opposite the Pleiades on the sphere, both thought to be mentioned in the same passage of the _Book of Job_ with two other opposed constellations, the Bear and Orion; but the original usually is considered a reference to the southern heavens in general. Aben Ezra identified Sorpio, or Antares, with the K'sil of the Hebrews; although that people generally considered those stars as a Scorpion, their Akrabh, and, it is claimed, inscribed it on the banners of Dan as the emblem of the tribe whose founder was 'a serpent by the way." When thus shown it was as a _crowned Snake_ or _Basilisk_. A similar figure appeared for it at one period of Egyptian astronomy; indeed it is thus met with in moder times, for Chatterton, that precocious poet of the last centruy, plainly worte of the Scorpion in his line, " The slimy serpent swelters in his course;" and long before him Spenser had, in the _Faeirie Queen_, " and now in Ocean deepe Orion flying fast from hissing snake, His flaming head did hasten for to steepe. But the Denderah zodiac shows the typical form. Kircher called the whole constellation [Gk] _Statio Isidis_, the bright Antares having been at one time a symbol of Isis. The Arabians knew it as Al Akrab, the Scorpion, from which have

degenerated Alacrab, Alatrab, Hacerab; and similarly it was Acrobo _Chaldaeis_, which may probably had reference to the

Alatrap, Hacrab, --Riccioli's Askrab and the syrians' Akreva. Riccioli gave us be true, but in this Latin word he astrologers.

The Persians ahd a Scorpion in their Gherzdum or Kdum, and the Turks, in their Koirughi, Tailed, and Uzun Koirughi, Long tailed. The Akkadians called it Girtab, the Seizer, or Stinger, and the Place 2471 where One Bows Down, titles indicative of the creature's dangerous character, although some early translators of the cuneiform text rendered it the _Double Sword_. With later dwellers on the Euphrates it was the symbol of darkness, showing the decline of the sun's power after the autumnal equinox, then located in it. Always prominent in that astronomy. Jensen thinks that it was formed there 5000 B.C., and pictured much as it now is; perhaps also in the semi-human form of two Scorpion-men, the early circular Altar or Lamp being shown grasped in the Claws, as the Scales were in illustatoins of the 15th century. In Babylonia this calendar sign was identified with the eigth month, Arakh Savna, our October-November. Early India knew it as Ali, Vicrika, or Vrouchicam, --in Tamil, Vrishman; but later on Varah Mihira siad Kaurpya, and Al Biruni, Kaurba, both from the Greek Scorpios. On the Cingalese zodiac it was Ussika. Dante designated it as Un Secchione, "Formed like a bucket that is all ablaze; and in the _Purgatorio_ as Il Friddo Animal of our motto, not a mistaken reference to the creature's nature, but to its rising in the cold hours of the dawn when he was gazing upon it. Dante's translator Longfellow has something similar in his own _Poet's Calendar_ for October: On the frigid Scorpion I ride. Chaucer wrote of it, in the _Hous of Fame_ as the Scorpioun; his Anglo-Norman predecessors, Escopiun; and the Anglo-Saxons, Throwend. Caesisu mistakenly considered it one of the Scorpions of Rehobam; but Novidius said that it was "the scorpion or serpent whereby Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was enforced to let the children of Israel depart out of his country;" of which Hood said "there is no such thing in history." Other Christians of their day changed its figure to that of the Apostle Bartholmew; and Weigel, to a Cardinal's Hat. In some popular books of the present day it is the Kite, which it resembles as much as a Scorpion. Its the and has the symbol is now given as [Astrological symbol], but in earlier times sting of the creature was added, perhaps so showing the feet, tail dart; but the similarity in their symbols may indicate that there been some intimate connection, now forgotten, between Scorpio and formerly adjacent Virgo.

Ampelius assigned to it the care of Africus, the Southwest Wind, a duty which, he said, Aries and Sagittarius shared; and the weather-wise of antiquity thought that its setting exerted a malignant influence, and was accompanied by storms; but the alchemists held it in high regard, for only when the sun was in this sign could the transmutation of iron into gold be performed. Astrologers, on the other hand, although they considered it a fruitful sign, "active and eminent," knew it as the accursed constellation, the baleful source of war and discord, the birthplace of the planet mars, and so the House of Mars, the Martis Sidus of Manilus. But this was located in the sting and tail; the claws, as [Gk] Jugum, or the Yoke of the Balance, being devoted to Venus, because this goddess united persons under the yoke of matrimony. It was supposed to govern the region of the groin in the human body and to reign over Judaea, Mauritania, Catalonia, Norway, West Silesia, Upper Batavia, Barbary, Morocco, Valencia, and Messina; the early Manilius claiming it as the tutelary sign of Carthage, Libya, Egypt, Sardinia, and other island of the Italian coast. Brown was its assigned color, 2472 and Pliny asserted that the appearance of a comet hre portended a plague of reptiles and insects, especially of locusts. Although nominally in the zodiac, the sun actually occupies but nine days in passing through the two portions that project upwards into Orhiuchus, so far south of the ecliptic is it; indeed, except for these projections, it could not be claimed as a member of the zodiac. Scorpon is famous as the region of the sky where have appeared many of the brilliant temporary stars, chief among them, perhaps, that of 134 BC., the first in astronmical annals, and the occasion, Pliny siad of the catalogue of Hipparchos, about 125 BC. The Chinese She Ke confirmed this appearance by its record of the "strange star" in June of that year, in the sieu Fang, marked by [.....] and others in Scorpio. Serviss thinks it conceivable that the strange outburst of these novae in and near Scorpio may have had some effect in causing this constellation to be regarded by the ancients as malign in its influence. But this character may, with at least equal probablity, have come from the fiery color of its _lucida_, as well as from the history of the constellation in connection with Orion, and the poisonous attributes of its earthly namesake. In southern latitudes Scorpio is magnificently seen in its entirety, nearly 45 degrees,--Gould catolguing in it 184 naked-eye stars. Along its northern border, perhaps in Orphiuchus, there was, in very early days, a constellation, the Fox, taken from the Egyptian sphere of Petosiris, but we know nothing as to its details. "Antares" The Ariabians Kalb al Akrab, the Scorpion's Heart, which probably preceded the [Gk] and Cor Scorpii of Greece and Rome respectively.

-=*=In Buffie Johnson's _Lady of the Beasts_ (Harper, San Francisco, 1981) pgs 332-335, there are illustrations and photos of statuatary and pottery which show the representation of the Scorpion Goddess, as Selket, a woman with the lower torso taking the shape of a scorpion wiht a raised tail. On her head is the "horned" headdress with the disk between the horns,the horns and sun disk of Isis. (New Kingdom 1570332 bce). A Stamp seal showing two scorpions protecting the rosette of the goddess Inanna, from Sumer, ca 3300 bce, and a statue of Selket wearing a scorpion on her head, as well as a drawing from Ur, ca 2400 bce showing the goddess giving birth guarded by scorpions. In the _Book of the Dead_ seven scorpions accompany Isis, when her son Horus was bitten by one scorpion of the most deadly species, her scorpion friends saved her son out of love for her...and bit the son of a woman who had refused to help, then with her magic, Isis then saved the bitten boy. (A classic shamanism motif(. Selket is shown as beneficial when associated with Isis, and it is possible that the "other" woman is Isis's dark aspect. Selket symbolizes resurrection into a new life beyond earthly existence. "Gathering the setting sun into her outstretched arms she becomes the link between the living and the dead and helps the dead accomodate themselves to their new land. In another aspect, Selket isunited with 2473 Sirius, as a consequence the star if placed in her crown." (ibid. p. 334) Johnson also compares Chamunda, the scorpion deity of the central Indian tradition with the other scorpion goddess with the endowment of poison which indicates her connection with death and rebirth. "The Scorpion expresses the vital spirit in humans which, transformed, becomes the divine pneuma. One of its symbols is the scorpion which stings itself to death (E. A. Wallis Budge, _The Gods of the Egyptians_ vol. 2 (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1969), 377-78. "The association between serpent and scorpion, both sudden and dangerous stingers, appears in the Babylonina and Greek astrological sign of Scorpio, which corresponds to the Ctyptian sign of the autumn equinox, the serpent. In esoteric traditions, the scorpion is recognized as a spiritual insect rhough its gift of self-immolation and rebirth. The venom of the scorpion is said to contain its own antidote." the Scorpion as the dual Mother, the one who gave birth to and then "swallowed" the divine son (sun) is found in Egyptian myth as the Scorpion which killed Horus, sending him to his midwinter death and resurrection as his Mother Isis gave him rebirth. Spirits of the four points of the year were called Sons of Horus and placed as small images on the pharoah's tombs...a man, bull, lion and scorpion or serpent...which seem to have become the four angels of the Apocalypse.

Istar, Babylonian, "Star" was the Great Goddess who appears as Ashtoreth, Anath, Asherah. She was refered to as the Great Whore, and described in Revelation 17:5 as Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. Another of her titles was the Goddess Har, who called herself the compassionate prostitute. Interestingly enough, in the Voluspa there is mention of the Hall of Har, where Gullveig was mentioned as being, who was "held up by spears" and who supposedly started the war between the Vanir and the Aesir by being attacked in the hall of Har...which is usually translated as Odin. <G> There might be a better explanation, now that I think of it... I wonder how I missed that before. Anyway, Ishtar was also called in Bablyonian prayers: The Light of the World, Leader of Hosts, Opener of the Womb, Righteous Judge, Lawgiver, Goddess of Goddesses (Vanadis?), Bestower of Strength, Framer of all Decrees, Lady of Victory, Forgiver of Sins, among many other 'kennings'. Other sources suggest Ishtar was the same Great Goddess as Dea Syria, Astarte, Cybelle, Aphrodite, Kore, Mari, Mari-Ana and others. Preceding her though were supposedly the Sumerian Goddess Inanna, who rescued and/or gave birth to Dumuzi her sacred son/lover just as Ishtar did with Tammuz. Correlating to both was the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was the "Oldest of the Old," and the "Goddess from whom all becoming Arose," and her title was the same as the Queen Mother of Egypt's. Apuleius, a Roman philosopher, poet and Isis-worshipper, addressed her under several goddess names: For the Phrygians that are the first of all men call me the Mother of the gods of Pessinus; the Athenians, which are sprung from their own soil, Cecropian Minerva; the Cyprians, which are girt about by the sea, Pahphian Venus; the Cretans, which bear arrows, Dictynian Diana; the Sicilians, which speak three tongues, infernal Proserpine; the Eleusinians, their ancient goddess Ceres; some Juno, others Bellona, others Hecate, others Ramnusie...the Egyptians, 2474 skilled in ancient lore, worship me with proper ceremonies and call me by my true name, Queen Isis. (Richard Knight, _the Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology_. New YOrk: J.W. Bouton, 1892.) Isis/Nephthys was, or were, the Egyptian version of the creating-and-destroying Goddess, who were also typified as "weeping goddesses." And with other goddesses of this type were known as Guardians and Keepers of the Dead, and with the power over life and death, and healing. They can be found in shamanic traditions the world over as the Underworld deity and as the Lady of the Beasts. [Gk] _Statio Isidis_, the bright Antares having been at one time a symbol of Isis. This part becomes particularly interesting to me, since the Isidis is very similar to a term used for a particular group of ladies, comparable

to the Disir of the Norse tradition, the OHG 'itis' or OE "ides" meaning applied to earthly women, but also used in kennings as 'goddess.' a term for 'woman' it also has the meaning of 'virgin'.

As

The worship of the Disir occured during the winter nights. And interesting correlation that could be made is that the Celtic and the Norse "winter" rites both involve some of the same archtypes and ceremonies, especially the duality of life and death and the door being open and "unguarded" at that time. The Wild Hunt Motif would be a defining factor here, including both the Dark Mother and the Lord of Death. The disir had two appearances, bright (swans feathers) and black (raven or crow feathers)...they were psychopomps, and hardly distinguishable from valkyrie at times. In the Wild Hunt they were accompanied by various Gods, Herne, Woden and others in various traditions and countries. 2475

Neo-Pagan Witchcraft vs. Satanism:Confusions and Distinctions by Otter and Morning Glory Zell It seems to be necessary to preface every discussion of Witchcraft with an explanation that, no, Neo-Pagan Witches aren't Satanists. The Christian anti-God, Satan, has no place in Pagan pantheons, either mythologically or theologically. Plainly and simply, Satanism is the dark side of Christianity, and Satan is nothing other than the collective Id of Christendom. Even today, Witchcraft is frequently misrepresented by being confused with Satanism. Often the word Witchcraft is used to represent two wholly opposite phenomena: the survival of ancient Paganism in one instance, and the inversion of Christianity in another. Let us make it clear: a Satanist is a renegade Christian, who, in his rebellion against the authority of the church, worships Satan rather than Christ. Such people are at times called witches and warlocks in popular books and movies but they have little to do with Pagan Witches. Satanists, for one thing, accept the Christian duality between good and evil; Pagans do not. Satanists may choose to worship evil rather than good: but they have utterly bought the Christian world view".1 The word Pagan derives from the Latin paganus, meaning "peasant" or "country dweller". It is correctly applied to indigenous (native) pantheistic folk religions and peoples. The term "Neo-Paganism" is applied to the current revival of ancient Pagan religious values, including the sacredness of all Life and the worship of Nature. Modern Witchcraft has been a major component of the Neo-Pagan resurgence since England repealed its anti-Witchcraft laws in 1951.The Goddess and the

God of Witchcraft The many traditions of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft have few universal theological precepts, but one of them is certainly the veneration of the Moon Goddess, known most commonly by her Roman name, Diana. She is perceived as manifesting in triple form: as Maiden, Mother and Crone. These triple aspects are identified respectively with the waxing, full, and waning moons. Witches gather at esbats every full moon, to sing and dance in Her moonlight, share cakes and wine, and work magic to heal each other, their friends, and the Earth. Many modern Witches expand the concept of the Goddess considerably, and see Her also as Mother Earth and Mother Nature. Most traditions of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft also honor the Consort of the Goddess in the form of the Horned God, who is seen as Lord of Animals as well as seasonal ruler of the Underworld. The most familiar version of the Horned God is the Greek Pan, goat-horned and goathooved, playing His panpipes, guzzling wine from His freely-flowing wineskin, and seducing nymphs in the woods. He is regarded as lusty and jovial, epitomizing masculine attributes of ideal father, brother or lover. As the Goddess of Witchcraft is closely identified with the Moon, so the God is identified with the Sun. In this way He may be seen mythologically as the lover both of the Moon and of the Earth. Another of His many epithets is "Lord of Light". Every light casts its shadows, and the Lord of Shadows is the other face of the Lord of Light. Lord of the Underworld is the title of the God in Winter when He goes underground with the animals to hibernate. Some traditions had Him alternate with His brother as husband to the eternal Goddess. Others, as in the Greek Hades, had a year-round God of the Underworld, "The Devil." It is essential to clarify the historic relationship of Pan and the 2529 Devil, as Christianity has tended to confuse the two, giving rise to the accusation that Pagans are Devil-worshipers because some Pagan gods have horns. Once and for all, the Christian Devil is not the God of the Witches! The genesis of the Devil comes from a merging of two concepts: Satan and Lucifer. The original meaning of the word satan is "adversary", and his inclusion in the Bible represents an attempt by later apologists of the Old Testament to justify the more negative actions of a benevolent God (such as the persecution of Job) by attributing the actual dirty work to a testing spirit; the original "devil's advocate". This entity was not considered evil until after the Persian conquest introduced the Hebrews to the Zoroastrian dualism of Ahura-Mazda (the good God) vs. Ahriman (the evil God). This later manifested in Christianity as Manichean dualism. The Manichean equation was brutally simple: God=Good; Devil=Evil. But it was not until the year 447 CE

that the Council of Toledo declared the legal existence of the Devil as an actual entity, though he was still not thought of as necessarily manifesting in human form. The Lucifer story is a mish-mashed retelling of the Canaanite myth about the overthrow of Baal by Mot and the usurpation of Baal's throne by Athar, the god of the morning star. The original Hebrew name for Lucifer was helel ben shahar meaning "son of the day star" (the planet Venus). The name Lucifer ("light bearer"), a Romano-Etruscan title of the Sun God, was erroneously used when the Bible was first translated into Latin.2 Various shadow gods or divine adversaries contributed to the creation of the Devil, including the Canaanite Moloch or Mot, the Egyptian Set or Suteck and the Roman Saturn. Judeo-Christian theologians placed all Pagan gods and goddesses in an adversary position to Yahweh, the god of Israel, who, as a monotheistic deity, cannot share a pantheon. This is a profound cultural difference from Pagan pantheons and polytheistic peoples who co-existed together, whether or not in harmony. Also since unbridled sexuality, especially for females, was defined by Judeo-Christianity as evil, Pagan gods and goddesses who were especially sexual or sensual garnered the new sect's particular hatred. Pan (who instills panic) and Dionysus were neither evil nor adversary deities, but because of their riotous celebrations the Devil acquired Pan's horns and hooves and Dionysus' ambiguously mad and bibulous nature. This final equation of the Pagan Horned God with Satan was not established, however, until the year 1486, when the Dominicans Kramer and Sprenger published the Malleus Malificarum, or "Hammer of the Witches", wherein they gave the first physical description of the Devil as he is commonly depicted today, declaring that this was the god worshiped by those they wanted to call "witches", thereby justifying the centuries of terrible persecution inflicted upon those who clung faithfully to their worship of the elder gods. Witchcraft and Shamanism Witches were the shamans, or medicine men and women, of the tribal Celtic peoples of Europe, and they functioned in the same fashion as shamans of any other tribal culture, be it American Indians, Africans, or Australian Aborigines. In fact, and in time-honored tradition, shamans are still commonly referred to as "Witch Doctors". Shamans are specialists in herbal lore, and the Witches of Pagan Europe were no exception. Usually, but not exclusively, women, they practiced herbal medicine, midwifery, augury, spellcasting, and 2530 counseling. Often dwelling alone out in the woods, Witches lived close to Nature, and attuned to Her cycles. Their gardens grew not only food,

but also many kinds of herbs, including those valued for their medicinal, anesthetic and hallucinogenic properties. In a period of time when good Christian folk maintained only those domestic animals that could be considered "livestock" (i.e., useful to humans), Witches frequently kept wild animal pets: foxes, ferrets, owls, ravens and of course, the ubiquitous cats. Such became known, appropriately enough, as familiars. When Witches came to be persecuted, so did these familiar animals, and the brutal capture, torture and burning of millions of cats that accompanied the Witch burnings begat the horrible Black Plague that devastated Europe in the 14th century, for the cats had kept the rat populations under control, and it was rat fleas that were the carrier of the bubonic plague bacillus."The Burning Times" It is sadly ironic that, though the practitioners of Witchcraft have historically suffered real abuse and persecution, the Witch has somehow continued to be misrepresented as the villain. Christianity did not become the world's dominant religion by peaceful conversion, but by the sword and stake. As the legions of Caesar had forged the Roman Empire over the dead bodies of countless tribal peoples of Europe, so did its heir, the Holy Roman Empire, continue the tradition. Declaring them "heresies", agents of the Holy Inquisition hunted out and ruthlessly exterminated every religion, sect or tradition that would not convert to "The One True Right And Only Way". Witches, however, lived outside of any organized religious structure and were largely ignored until the 13th century, when the Church had finally gained enough power to deal with grass-roots Paganism. "In the 13th century the Church opened its long-drawn-out conflict with Paganism in Europe by declaring "Witchcraft' to be a "sect' and heretical. It was not til the 14th century that the two religions came to grips. . . In 1324 the bishop of Ossory tried Dame Alice Kyteler in his ecclesiastical court for the crime of worshiping a deity other than the Christian God. . . "The 15th century marks the first great victories of the Church. Beginning with the trials in Lorraine in 1408, the Church moved triumphantly against Joan of Arc and her followers in 1431, against Gilles de Rais and his coven in 1440, and against the Witches of Brescia in 1457. Towards the end of the century the Christian power was so well-established that the Church felt the time had come for an organized attack, and in 1484 Pope Innocent VIII published his Bull against "Witches.' All through the 16th and 17th centuries the battle raged. The Pagans fought a gallant, though losing, fight against a remorseless and unscrupulous enemy; every inch of the field was disputed, but the Christian policy of obtaining influence over the rulers and law-givers was irresistible. Vae victis ["woe to the conquered"] was also the policy of the Christians, and we see the priests of the Papacy gloating over the thousands they had consigned to the flames while the ministers

of the Reformed Churches hounded on the administrators of the law to condemn the "devil worshipers.' What could have been the feelings with which those unhappy victims regarded the vaunted God of Love, the Prince of Peace, whose votaries condemned them to torture and death? What wonder that they clung to their old faith, and died in agony unspeakable rather than deny their God".3 It should also be pointed out that the court recorders at the Witch trials were specifically instructed that, whatever gods or goddesses the accused actually claimed to worship, what went into the record was "Satan" or "The Devil". And what wonder if some of those who had come to believe the Biblical history taught them 2531 by the missionaries, monks and priests of the conquering faith, concluded that the story must have gotten it wrong somehow? That if there had indeed been a rebellion in heaven, it was clearly evident that the winner had not been the God of love and peace, as his propagandists claimed, but rather a God of cruelty and evil; of war and violence, wrath and jealousy. (This had, in fact, been an old Gnostic tradition.) The clear implication was that the defeated Lucifer must have been the good guy, and surely many must have swarmed to his allegiance in this belief. While true adherents of the Old Religions certainly knew better, and continued their faith entirely distinct from Christianity, there were surely, then as now, many ignorant people who were simply too unsophisticated or too illiterate to question the Christian paradigm once it became established. And thus did Satanism as a belief and a practice come into being, spawned by the Church, and forever to be locked together with it in a fatal embrace of mutual antagonism. Whether or not the persecuted peasantry who came to side with Satan against their oppressors thought of themselves as "Witches", the Church and the authorities of the Holy Inquisition certainly identified them as such: "The heart and centre of the persecution of Witches was that they were Satanists, that they had rejected the rightful God and given their allegiance to his arch-opponent, and that in their "sabbaths' or meetings they worshiped the ruler of evil, carnality and filth. Some of those accused as Witches do seem to have taken the Devil for their god, worshiping him as an equal opponent of the Christian God, over whom he would eventually triumph. They looked to Satan for power and pleasure in this world and for a happy future in the next, and they vilified Christ as a traitor and a cheat, who had made promises which he did not keep, and who had gone away to live in heaven while Satan remained with his faithful on earth".4 "The Witches and sorcerers of early times were a widely spread class who had retained the beliefs and traditions of

heathenism with all its license and romance and charm of the forbidden. . . in their ranks every one who was oppressed or injured either by the nobility or the church. They were treated with indescribable cruelty, in most cases worse than beasts of burden, for they were outraged in all their feelings, not at intervals for punishment, but habitually by custom, and they revenged themselves by secret orgies and fancied devil-worship, and occult ties, and stupendous sins, or what they fancied were such. I can seriously conceive: what no writer seems to have considered: that there must have been an immense satisfaction in selling or giving one's self to the devil, or to any power which was at war with their oppressors. So they went by night, at the full moon, and sacrificed to Diana, or "later on' to Satan, and they danced and rebelled. It is very well worth noting that we have all our accounts of sorcerers and heretics from Catholic priests, who had every earthly reason for misrepresenting them, and did so. In the vast amount of ancient Witchcraft still surviving in Italy, there is not much antiChristianity, but a great deal of early heathenism. Diana, not Satan, is still the real head of the Witches".5 Since Witchcraft is still little understood by the general public, whose images are shaped mostly by the popular media, Witches continue to be easy targets for persecution. It must be remembered that, in the previous episodes of Witchcraft persecution hysteria, it was the Witches who were the victims, not the Christians. Witches, and those conveniently accused of being Witches, died by the millions during the terrible centuries of the holocaust they remember as "The Burning 2532 Times". They do not wish to repeat that experience today.6 Notes and References: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Jong, Erica, Witches (New American Library, New York,1981) p. 52 Zell, Morning Glory, "The Lord of Light", Green Egg, Vol. XXI, No. 82; Aug. 1, 1988 (POB 1542, Ukiah, CA 95482) p. 12 Murray, Margaret, The God of the Witches (Oxford Univ. Press, NY, 1931) pp. 21-22 Cavendish, Richard, "Satanism", Encyclopedia of Man, Myth and Magic, Vol. 18 (Marshall Cavendish, NY, 1970) p. 2479 Leland, Charles Godfrey, Legends of Florence, (David Nutt, London, 1896) Guiley, Rosemary, Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft (Facts on File, NY, 1989)

Wicca vs. Paganism? By: David Piper Firstly, Paganism is a collective term for many different faiths and Wicca is one specific Pagan faith; however, specifics of Wicca IMHO: Duotheistic monism *or* duotheistic monotheism (the One transcending the Two while the Two still have independent self-existence)

The Lady is the Mother of all Life and Giver of Rebirth: Her Womb is also the Tomb - "that which enters the Cauldron living, dies but that which is placed in it dead, comes forth living" The Lord is the Father of all life, Son and Lover of the Goddess: He is born of Her, returns His Seed unto Her, returns to Her in death, and is reborn of Her All initiated members are of the Priesthood: as Priest(ess) unto the self, if not to a group The essential equality of all members, together with the respect for those of more experience and learning: Elders, HP, and HPS Wiccans practice a somewhat "formal" liturgy - if only in terms of a regular "opening" and "closing" ritual, within which freedom and spontaneity can be expressed as the Spirit moves them A common resemblance of working methods and practice, within a broad but nevertheless limited range of acceptable variation The concept of "Drawing Down" - that the Deities can and do manifest Themselves "unto visible appearance" to Their worshippers A reverence for sexuality as both natural and good, and as sacrament of the creative Union of the Lady and the Lord The Great Rite - as the "Sacred Marriage," in which Goddess and God, human and Divine, are brought to Unity, or Unity perceived Respect for the "Gifts of the Goddess" (to borrow a Farrarian term), as the true means by which humans can come to directly know, and experience, the Divine - reason and logic fail; emotions and intuition and the "psychic" are the channels of contact, and experiential "Knowledge" The concept of "Naked in Her Sight" as expressive of freedom, and of obedience to Her, and of equality with Brothers and Sisters; whether by literal, "skyclad" ritual nudity, or by symbolic, "Naught is hidden from Your Sight" ritual robes ******************************************************************** Now, some of the ideas mentioned beg for more definition and further discussion, but there's my offering for now...

"What is Paganism"
---------------------------------------------------------------------The following is the text from a brochure that BAPA (Bay Area Pagan Assemblies) puts out called "What is Paganism". Written by the founding directors and members of Bay Area Pagan Assemblies (BAPA). Their website is at http://bapa.net.

NOTE: the Bay Area referred to here is the San Francisco Bay Area, California. ----------------------------------------------------------------------"WHAT IS PAGANISM? "History of Paganism ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The term Pagan has numerous common definitions. Many dictionaries define a Pagan as anyone not of the Judeo-Islamic-Christian religions. Some people consider anyone who does not share their religion to be a Pagan. Still others believe that a Pagan is a person who is anti-religion. None of these "definitions" manage to capture the true meaning of the term. "To discover the core meaning of Pagan, we look back to ancient times when the word Pagan referred to a person of the country, or a peasant. {deletia... in summary, several paragraphs relating the history of the Catholic Church and the poor peasants' inability to relate. Brief description of the "glory of the Goddess and God in each starry night" and note of the inconsistancies of the original Pagan beliefs with the Catholic church. Also, several paragraphs detailing the development of of the Church's campaign to expunge Paganism, some of the methods employed and the subsequent Witch Hunts. Finally, an overall summary of the persecution. If interested, let me know and I'll post it separately.} "Paganism in Modern Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Today, little is known about the Pagans who survived what is often called "The Burning Times." Paganism, as it exists today, is described as the practice of any of a number of nature-based religions, traditions that find their roots all over the world. {Lianafamiliar?} Many modern Pagans call themselves "Neo-Pagans" to their religion as a revival of the old beliefs. now best sound declare

{more deletia... in summary, two paragraphs comparing contemporary Pagans to the peasants of old, extolling our intelligence and involvement in technology. Also a paragraph defusing the Satanism comparison. Again, if interested, let me know and I'll post it.} "What do Modern Pagans Believe? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Paganism is actually a large umbrella containing a number of nature-based religions beneath it, from the European-originated Wicca and Druidism, to African Yoruba traditions and Hawaiian Huna. As a result of this diversity, it is impossible to make statements about the beliefs of Pagans that will apply to *all* {italics} Pagans. However, some statements can be made that will, in general, apply to a vast number of Pagans.

2910 "Many Pagans tend to: "* Be polytheists, believing in more than one deity or more than one aspect of a single deity. "* Be pantheists, seeing the God/Goddess force represented in everything around them. "* Recognize the divinity of the feminine as well as the masculine, not seeing masculinity as a superior force. "* Believe that the life force is sacred, and that nature, as a vital representation of that force, is divine. "* Believe that all life forms are equal, sharing an equal claim to the earth as a home. "* Believe that each individual is solely responsible for his or her actions. "* Believe that the forces of nature can be shaped in ways commonly called "magical." "* Believe that magical acts designed to bend one to another's will are manipulative, and not encouraged. "* Believe that whatever actions a person takes, magical or mundane, good or bad, come back to him/her, sometimes threefold. "* Believe that there is no single path to spiritual fulfillment, and that the individual must determine the spiritual expression most appropriate to him or her. "* Believe in reincarnation, or some form of life after death. "How do Pagans Practice Their Religion? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Many Pagans find spiritual expression through the practice of ritual, or religious ceremony. These rituals, often held at significant points in lunar or solar cycles, offer an opportunity for Pagans to commune with the godeesses and Gods, to celebrate the passages of life, and to work magic. {deletia... in summary, paragraphs relating techniques to "raise power" explaining that we don't espouse "power over" (my words). Also outlines goals that many pagans have in mine when raising of power. Outlines the sabbats, and relates the pattern of the seasons. Briefly describes Beltane and Samhain. Once again, let me know if you would like to see this text.}

"Each Pagan religion has its own special way of recognizing the passing of the seasons and personal life passages. Ritual offers a way to imbue these moments with magic and reverence. {deletia... last paragraph giving information on how the reader can learn more about Paganism, specifically in the Bay Area, and relating the goal that BAPA has in mind.}

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An Eclectic Circle Ceremony

Durwydd, 1989-90

Preliminaries
WATER: Blessings upon thee, O creature of water, I cast out from thee all impurities and uncleanness of the spirits of phantasm, confusion or any other influence not for the free will of all. SALT: Blessings be upon this creature of salt; let all malignity and hindrance be cast forth thencefrom, and let all good enter therein. Wherefore I bless thee and invoke thee, that thou mayest aid me. MIXING: I take this salt of the Earth, Blessed with the will of Fire; I take this water of spirit, Exorcised with mind of merit; I mix them with words of power, Dedicated to every Tower. By the power of Moon and Sun, By the power of Spirit, Earth and Sea, God and Goddess are part of One, As I Will, so mote it be!

Casting of the Circle

I conjure thee, O circle of power, As thou encircle every Tower.

That thou beest a place of Truth, Joy and Love, Encircling Flight of Eagle, Hawk and Dove. Mighty Aegis of the Lady and Lord, Rampart of thought, action and word. To work in Peace, Powerful and Free, Who walk between two worlds conjure thee; A boundary to Protect, Concentrate and Contain, That Power raised here be not in vain. Wherefore do I bless thee and consecrate thee, in the names of Cernunnos and Aradia.

Sealing of the Circle

(seal with water/salt mixture) With potion of earth and water, I seal the sacred circle, Linking air and fire! With potion of earth and air, I seal the sacred circle, Linking fire with water! With potion of earth,air,and fire, I seal the sacred circle, Linking water with the Earth! As the four directions are brought to merge, Let influence of the mighty ones converge! (Seal with Censer) With Incense and air of Mind, East to South, I do Bind! With Incense and air of Mind, South to West, I do Bind! With Incense and air of Mind, West to North, I do Bind! With Incense and air of Mind, North to East Completion Find! (Seal with Candle) With the Fire of emotion and will East to South, our dedication fulfill! With the Fire of veneration and Will, South to West, our allegiance fulfill!

With the Fire of Devotion and Will, West to North, our consecration fulfill! With the Fire of Commitment and will, From North to East, this inscription fulfill! Within the circle All wills be free, The circle is sealed, So Mote it Be!

Setting the Watchtowers

Ye Lords of the Eastern Tower, Airy Lords of Spirit; Let your influence of Power, Aid our minds with merit! I do summon, stir and call you up to witness these rites and to guard the circle. Ye Lords of Southern Power Fiery Lords of Will. Pray do grace your Tower, Your Powers to fulfill! I do summon, stir and call you up to witness these rites and to guard the circle. Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the West, Watery Lords of Death and Initiation; I do summon, stir and call you up to witness these rites and to guard the Circle. Ye Northern Lords of the Earth, Though we be yet but Mortals; Bless our work with worth, Boreas, guardian of Northern portals. I do summon, stir and call you up to witness these rites and to guard the Circle. Goddess and God, I would know, As 'tis above, so 'tis below Blessings on this work, please bestow! This be my will, true and free, I do so will, so mote it be.

Invocation of the Elements

Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Elements of astral birth, I call you now; attend to me! In the Circle, rightly cast, Safe from curse or blast, I call you now, attend to me!

From cave and desert, sea and hill, By wand, blade and pentacle, I call you now, attend to me! This is my will, so mote it be!