{file "Circle Purification for Asthmatics" "bos185.

htm"}

A Circle Purification that doesn't use Incense:

for asthmatics, those with allergies, and those with other
pulmonary
disorders
by Matrika, co-sysop of
PAN- the Psychic Awareness Network, 300/1200/2400 baud at
1-703-362-1139
This ritual was inspired when someone in our circle back
in Central
Massachusetts started dating a young woman who was a great
herbalist,
knowledgeable about crystal healing, a competent tarotreader and a
beginning astrologer. She had read "Spiral Dance" by
Starhawk on the Craft
of the Wise (Wicca) and wore a pentagram around her neck,
but couldn't try
circle work because she was allergic to smoke and had a
serious asthma
problem.
So, heres the rite. You prepare your altar as usual, with
the exception of
the incense and incense burner. 5 non-electric pot-pouri
burners filled
with water and an appropriately scented pot-pouri should
be on or near the
altar with 5 candles. Be sure that you use the correct
type of candles for
your pot-pouri burners, as other types can destroy the
burners. Put these
on the altar, which should be at the center of the circle
and facing North
or East according to your custom. If they do not fit
without obstructing
the work, place them in a semi-circle at the foot of the
altar. Have
matches there to light the candles under them at the
proper time.
The rite
(Leader 1 should be a male, if possible.
be a female, if
possible.)

Leader 2 should

Leader 1 - blessing the water and herbal mixture in each

pot-pouri burner
with the wand. a long-stem rose with the thorns removed
can be used for a
wand if you do not yet have one. Of course, this must be
replaced each
time you do a ritual "By Fire and By Air
By Water and by Earth
by the Lady and the Lord
I conjure thee to purify our circle this night"

all- " So mote it be"

He takes one of the burners and the matches to the North
where he lights
it. Leader 2 accompanies him with her wand, after he
lights it she raises
her wand and says
Leader 2 - "By fire and air
By water and by earth
Let us purify the
Northern Quarter of our circle"

782
There is a pause during which everyone visualizes (vividly
imagining in
every detail from a relaxed, meditative state) an arc of
rainbow light
forming that quarter of the circle then, when she lowers
the wand, everyone
responds.
all - "So Mote It Be"
Leader 1 returns to the central altar and gets the next
burner, placing it
in the East and lighting it. Leader 2 continues in the
same way as above.
This procedure is then repeated in the South and then in
the West. Each
time the invocation is changed to reflect the direction
they are in.
Each
time the group visualizes the rainbow arc of light. And
after each
direction, Leader 1 returns to the center to get the
burner for the next
direction ready. By constantly returning to the center
each time, the
emphasis is placed there. After the Western quarter is
lit, Leader 1
places the final burner on the altar, between the candles,
where the
incense burner would be if there was one and lights it.
Leader 2 stands
before the altar, raises her wand and says
Leader 2 - "By Fire and by air
By water and by earth
Let us purify the sacred center of our circle
where Heaven and Earth Unite
and
Where the Lord and Lady are joined in love."
While her wand is raised, everyone visualizes the rainbow
light from the
outer circles flooding in to the center and filling the
circle with

harmonious vibrations and energies.

she lowers her
wand and everyone responds.
all- "SO mote it be"

After a few moments,

The circle casting is continued as usual with the

invocations of the
elements at the 4 corners, according to your tradition.
Then the actual
circle-casting is done as usual. After this do whatever
rite and/or magick
you would usually do and close in the usual manner. Be
sure to snuff the
candles and not to blow them out. Use a silver teaspoon
to do this, if you
don't have a snuffer. This ceremony ONLY replaces the
part of the rite
where you sprinkle with salt-water and then cense the
circle to purify it
in PREPARATION for the actual circle casting. It is NOT
the full casting
of the circle. (Some traditions purify with all 4
elements separately,
sprinkling salt on the floor for earth, water on the floor
for itself,
censing the circle for air, and carrying a candle around
for fire.
Either
way this rite replaces the elemental purification, as the
burners embody
all 4 elements - the water for itself, the candle for
fire, the herbs for
earth, and the scent the steam gives off for air.)
OF course the pot-pouri burners used for this should only
be used in your
psychic work and should have been consecrated or smudged
(by someone who
can deal with the smoke) in preparation for this ritual.

783
To prepare appropriate pot-pouri scents for the purpose
of your rites, use
the directions for making the various home-made herbal
incenses traditional
in Witchcraft and in Magick; however, don't grind them
with a mortar and
pestle as you would in making incense. If you do not know
the recipes for
these, any of the Scott Cuningham books on making incenses
would provide
them for you. They are available from Llewelyn
Publishing, box 64383 St.
Paul Minnesota. (They will send you a free catalogue on
request)

Despite the initial cost involved in obtaining the 5

burners, it is highly
suggested you do it that way for two reasons"
1. In anything but a very small and enclosed space, you
will not get
enough scent to represent the air element sufficiently for
magickal and
ritual working.
and
2. To represent all 4 elements in EACH of the quarters
and in the center
of the circle is very important in establishing the
traditional boundaries
between the worlds (the ordinary and non-ordinary or
shamanic realities)
that is the purpose of casting the circle and creating
sacred space.
ALSO IF YOU TRY TO CARRY A POT-POURI BURNER THAT IS LIT
AND HOT ENOUGH TO
BE GIVING OFF THE SCENTED STEAM AROUND THE PERIMETER OF
THE CIRCLE, YOU
WILL CERTAINLY BURN YOUR FINGERS BADLY. (It is not
appropriate to bring a
pot holder into circle to carry it either! PLEASE!)
I hope this is helpful to those who have breathing
problems and wish to
perform magick.
(submitted to Harvest newsletter, under JUKNO)

784

{file "Astral Projection (Monroe Technique)" "bos186.htm"}

MONROE TECHNIQUES FOR ASTRAL

PROJECTION
Note: After having studied many methods of
Astral

Projection, I have found that this is the easiest

to do.

Monroe teaches these techniques in a week, but

they can be

easily done in a day, with proper devotion. I

feel that this

technique is superior to others because it doe

not require
do.

intense visualization, which many people cannot

enjoy!

(Taken from Leaving The Body: A Complete Guide to

Astral

Projection, D. Scott Rogo, prentice Hall Press)

One of the chief barriers people learning to

project face is
fear. Many are afraid that they may die, or be
harmed in some
way as a result of their projection. Nothing
could be farther
from the truth. The Canterbury Institute,
renowned for its
occult studies, executed an experiment in
projection involving
over 2,000 people. None of them were hurt in any
way by this,
and now, three years later, none have complained
of any newly
arising problems.
Once you are aware that you cannot be harmed by
projecting,

you should begin monroe's techniques, step by

step.
Step one:
Relax the body. According to Monroe, "the
ability to relax
is the first prerequisite, perhaps even the first
step itself"
to having an OBE. (out of body experience) This
includes both
physical and mental relaxation. Monroe does not
suggest a
method of attaining this relaxation, although
Progressive
Muscle relaxation, coupled with deep breathing
exercises
(inhale 1, exhale 2, inhale 3.... until 50 or
100) are known
to work well.

known as the

Step two:
Enter the state bordering sleep.

This is

hypnagogic state. Once again, Monroe doesn't

recommend any

method of doing this.

forearm

One way is to hold your

up, while keeping your upper arm on the bed, or

ground. As you

start to fall asleep, your arm will fall, and you

will awaken

again.

the Hypnagogic

With practice, you can learn to control

state without using your arm.

to

concentrate on an object.

start to enter
state.

Another method is

When other images

your thoughts, you have entered the Hypnagogic

Passively watch these images.

help you

This will also

maintain this state of near-sleep. Monroe calls

this Condition

A.
Step three:
Deepen this state. Begin to clear your mind.

observe your

field of vision through your closed eyes.

nothing more

Do

for a while. Simply look through your closed

eyelids at the

blackness in front of you.

may notice

After a while, you

light patterns. These are simply neural

They
have no specific effect. Ignore them. When they

discharges.
cease, one

785
here, one
which Monroe
that you lose

has entered what Monroe calls Condition B.

From

must enter an even deeper state of relaxation

calls Condition C-- a state of such relaxation

all awareness of the body and sensory

You are
almost in a void in which your only source of
stimulation will
be your own thoughts.
The ideal state for leaving your body is
Condition D.
This is Condition C when it is voluntarily
induced from a
rested and refreshed condition and is not the
effect of normal
fatigue. To achieve Condition D, Monroe suggests
that you
practice entering it in the morning or after a
short nap.
stimulation.

Step Four:
Enter a state of Vibration. This is the most
important
at the onset
tingling, or
/their

part of the technique, and also the most vague.

Many projectors have noted these vibrations
of projection.

They can be experienced as a mild

as is electricity is being shot through the body.

cause is a mystery. It may actually be the

astral body trying
to leave the physical one.

For entering into the vibrational state, he

offers the

following directions:
1. Remove all jewelry or other items that might

be touching
through your

your skin.
2. Darken the room so that no light can be seen

eyelids, but do not shut out all light.

3. Lie down with your body along a north-south
axis, with your
head pointed toward magnetic north.
4. Loosen all clothing, but keep covered so that
you are
slightly warmer than might normally be
comfortable.
5. Be sure you are in a location where, and at a
time when,
there will be absolutely no noise to disturb you.
6. Enter a state of relaxation
7. Give yourself the mental suggestion that you
will remember
all that occurs during the upcoming session that
will be
beneficial to your well-being. Repeat this five
times.
8. Proceed to breath through your half-open
mouth.
9. As you breath, concentrate on the void in
front of you.
10. Select a point a foot away from your forehead,
then change
your point of mental reference to six feet.
11. Turn the point 90 degrees upward by drawing an
imaginary
line parallel to your body axis up and above your
head. Focus
there and reach out for the vibrations at that
point and
bring them back into your body.
Even if you don't know what these vibrations
are, you

will know when you have achieved contact with

them.
Step five:
Learn to control the vibrational state.
Practice

controlling them by mentally pushing them into

your head, down
to your toes, making them surge throughout your
entire body,
and producing vibrational waves from head to
foot. To produce
this wave effect, concentrate of the vibrations
and mentally
push a wave out of your head and guide it down
your body.

Practice this until you can induce these waves on

command.

Once you have control of the vibrational

state, you are

786
ready to leave the body.
Step six:
Begin with a partial separation. The key
here is thought
control. Keep your mind firmly focused on the
idea of leaving
the body. Do not let it wander. Stray thought
might cause you
to lose control of the state.
Now, having entered the vibrational state,
begin exploring
the OBE by releasing a hand or a foot of the
"second body".
Monroe suggests that you extend a limb until it
comes in
contact with a familiar object, such as a wall
near your bed.
Then push it through the object. Return the limb
by placing it
back into coincidence with the physical one,
decrease the
vibrational rate, and then terminate the
experiment. Lie
quietly until you have fully returned to normal.
This exercise
will prepare you for full separation.

suggests two
the body.
after

To

nice it
mind at all

Step seven:
Dissociate yourself from the body. Monroe
methods for this.

One method is to lift out of

do this, think about getting lighter and lighter

entering this vibrational state.
would be to float upward.

Think about how

Keep this thought in

costs and let no extraneous thoughts interrupt

it. An OBE will
occur naturally at this point.
Another method is the "Rotation method" or
"roll-out"
technique. When you have achieved the
vibrational state, try
to roll over as if you were turning over in bed.
/do not
attempt to roll over physically. Try to twist
your body from

the top and virtually roll over into your second

body right

out of your physical self.

At this point, you

will be out of

the body but next to it. Think of floating

upward, and you
should find yourself floating above the body.
Monroe suggests you begin with the lift-out
method, but
argues that both are equally efficacious.
recommend
It only costs

If, after all this, you still can't project, I

purchasing Leaving The Body, by R. Scott Rogo.

$7.95 and contains another eight or so

Not all
techniques work for everyone, but chances are
you'll find one
that works for you in this book. Good luck!
techniques.

787

{file "History (Weyland Smith)" "bos187.htm"}

History
(c) 1988, by Weyland Smith and
The Rocky Mountain Pagan
Journal
"Mommy, how old are we?" Does our faith
come down to us in
Apostolic succession from "that time whereof the
memory of man
runneth not to the contrary", or was our
religion dreamed up in
the
nineteenfortiesbyaretiredBritishcivilservantwiththe
collaboration ofa dyingheroin
addictandpoet? Does itreally
matter?
To
whatextent
themodern
practitionersof
paganismmay
lay

ajust claimto themantleof

theirpredecessorsfrom thetwelfth
centuryhas beena matterof greatdebate
bothwithin andwithout

the Craft community almost from the moment Gerald

Gardner

published _Witchcraft Today in 1954.*1*

the debate is

Though

continued with somewhat less fervor today than

it was in the

1960s,ithasnever
whollyceasedanditcontinuesto beaCrisis
of Faith which besets many practitioners of
paganism every year.
Itcan
beatroubling
questionto
face,especiallyif
one's

early teachers tried to justify their credentials

by claiming

that what they taught had great antiquity.

question isn't

The

any easier to answer with truth or objectivity

when there is a

bunch

ofradicalfundamentalistsrunningaroundseekingtoclaim
that we aren't really a religion and so of course
we aren't
entitled to protection under the First
Amendment.
It is a sign of progress, I think, that
there seems to be
less of that sort of teaching today than there
was when I began
my studies. Today most of the teachers that I
know are secure
enough in their religion that they can face the
staggering
thought that the ethical and philosophical
system that guides
their lives may indeed be younger than some of
them are. The
plain fact is that we simply don't know.
Gerald
Gardnerand
CharlesLeland*2*
mayhave
triedto
palm

fiction off on the world as fact.

been tried
each have been

before--and since.

It's certainly

On the other hand, they may

reporting the truth as they found it. It

certainly is a fact
thatnoone Iknowhasever comeacrossany
BookofShadowsthat
dates before the beginning of this century.
Presumably, if one
exists,sayintheBritishMuseum,
itwouldhavebecomeknownto
scholars looking into the subject over the last
half century.
GrantedthattherewaslessburninginEnglandthan elsewherein
Europe, but there was enough that surely some
physical evidence
would have survived in the hands of the
government if nowhere
else.
The
VaticanLibrary,of
coursemayyet
turnup
sucharelic.
thistimecanbeexplained
the lack
desire to suppress
it. We
comes to shove,
does it

Theirfailure todosoat
aseasilyby
of such a document as by a possible
may never know that one, but when push
really matter?
Thomas
Jefferson,
speakingon
the

questionof
whether
black

colonial slaves were Americans or not is said to

have remarked

788
"They're people and they're here.

If there's

any other
requirement,Ihaven'theardofit."Perhapswemightparaphrase
Jefferson a bit and remark that the modern
practitioners of
Witchcraft are undeniably here and a large
number of them are

sincere intheirbeliefs.
Thatinitselfshouldqualify usasa
religion.
Perhaps as important as the legal question
is our own self

image.
ages recognize or

Would a "real witch" from the middle

disownone ofhersisters oftoday?

Wouldshewant togowith a
"New Age" circle, a Dianic grove, a Gardnerian
coven, or would
she laugh hysterically at the bunch of us and
walk off into the
sunset?
While the antiquity of our current practice
of witchcraft

shouldn't be a matter of serious concern, to us

_or to our
detractors,itsauthenticityshouldbe.Thesearchforourroots
must continue to be pursued by serious scholars
and magicians
alike in order that we may come as close as
possible to the
ideals
andpurposesofourancientpredecessors.Thereisavery
practical reason why this is so. That reason is
tied up in
somethingcalledan_egregore.
Onthesubjectofan egregore,I
would like to quote extensively from a recent
article in _Gnosis
by Gaetan Delaforge:
..."An egregore is a kind of group mind which is
created when
peopleconsciouslycometogetherforacommonpurpose.Whenever
people gather together to do something and
egregore is formed,
butunlessanattemptismadetomaintain
itdeliberatelyitwill
dissipaterather quickly.Howeverifthe
peoplewishtomaintain
it and know the techniques of how to do so, the
egregore will
continue to grow in strength and can last for
centuries.
effectiveness
members.

It

An egregore has the characteristic of having an

greater than the mere sum of its individual

continuously interacts with its members,

influencing them and
being influenced by them. The interaction works
positively by
stimulating and assisting its members but only
as long as they

behaveand actinlinewith
itsoriginalaim.It willstimulate
both individually and collectively all those
faculties in the
groupwhichwillpermittherealizationoftheobjectivesof its
original program. If this process is continued a
long time the
egregore will take on a kind of life of its own,
and can become
so strong that even if all its members should
die, it would
continue to exist on the inner dimensions and
can be contacted
even centuries later by a group of people
prepared to live the
livesoftheoriginalfounders,particularlyiftheyarewilling
to provide the initial input of energy to get it
going again.

789

esoteric
People who

If the egregore is concerned with spiritual or

activities its influence will be even greater.

discoverthekeyscantapinonapowerfulegregorerepresenting,
for example, a spiritual or esoteric tradition,
will, if they
follow the line described above by activating
and maintaining
suchanegregore,obtainaccesstotheabilities,knowledge,and
driveofall thathasbeen accumulatedin
thategregoresince its
beginnings. Agroup ororder whichmanages to
dothis can,with
a clear conscience, claim to be an authentic order of
the
tradition represented by that egregore. In my
view this is the
only yardstick by which a genuine Templar order
should be
measured."*3*
Mr.
Delaforgewas
writingabout
theKnights
Templarand
the

various groupsclaimingto representitin

moderntimes, butthe
parallel with ancient witchcraft and the many
diverse groups
claimingto representittodayisobvious.
Ihopethebenefitto
be gained by reconstructing as faithfully as
possible the
attitudes and goals of our ancient brethren is
equally obvious.
Magic", Dion

In her books "The Sea Priestess" and "Moon

Fortune was demonstrating this technique.

Vivien LeFay Morgan
wasattemptingnothinglessthanthe
reactivationoftheegregore
of the Atlantean priesthood.
When Gerald Gardner published "Witchcraft
Today", he

embarked upon the outward steps of his part of

the reactivation
of the egregore of the old witch cult in western
Europe. The
inward steps were probably begun by one or more
of the magical
lodgesof
theearlytwentiethcentury,mostlikelyDionFortune's
Society of the Inner Light during its "pagan
phase" in the late
twentiesandthirties.*4*Gardner'spublic
worksservedtobring
the reactivated egregore into contact with an
increasingly
receptive populace where it could gather unto
itself the
additionalpsychicenergyitneededtobecomeonceagainaviable
force in the world. How well it has achieved
this end is to be
observed by anyone with the eyes to see.
I personally think that our job in this
generation is to
deepen and strengthen our ties with this newly
reawakened force
in the world; to learn from it and to draw
inspiration from it,
and to bring the Craft back from the status of a
"cult" to that
of a genuine religion. To do this we must learn
more of the
goals,ideals,andambitionsofourbrothersandsisterswhohave
gone before--as they really were, not as we would
like them to

have been.

790
Please
notethat
theidea
isnot
necessarilyto
recreatethe
_practices of our predecessors, particularly if

we are talking
note that this

about things like blood sacrifice.

One should

practicewasfollowedby
thejewsinbiblicaltimes,but thatin
moderntimes theydon't doit. This doesnot
keepthemodern jew
frominteracting withthe egregoreof
hisancient faith. Judaism
has surely progressed since the time of the Ceasars,
so has the
Craft. The idea, when activating and
interacting with an
egregore is to re-create the _goals and
_attitudes of the
founders. That doesn't freeze the practitioner
into practices
which have long since been outgrown.
WhatI
thinkweneednow
ismorerealscholarship.
Whatdid
Beltane;orImbolc?

Samhainreallymean toourpredecessors;or

Not only howdid theycelebrate it,but how

didthey _feelabout
it? Platitudes about"fruitfulness and
fertility"are simplytoo
superficial. This is not madeany easier by the
factthat these
observances were pastoral and agricultural while most of
us are
city dwellers who do well to keep a potted plant
alive through
one summer.
the Holy Order of

An attempt in this direction was made by

SaintBrigitnearFortMorgan,Coloradoabout tenyearsago.The
farm is gone now and its residents are scattered,
yet it cannot

be said to have entirely failed of its purpose.

Many of the

former participants in the experiments can be

found today,

quietly practicing the Craft.

This is not to say that we all should sell our

goods, quit our

jobs, and move out into communes somewhere, but

we must at the
leastestablishcloseenoughcontactwiththeharshrealitiesof
this world that we can appreciate how frightening
the onset of
winter must have been to those who had no
central heating, food
storesorwelfare tofallback upon.Whenwe
havedonethis, we
will,perhaps,be ableto recapturethemindset
ofthePriestess
at Samhain.
These truths are not to be found in the

Fantasy fiction

sectionofB.Dalton's,butinthehistoryandanthropologylibraries of our local universities. The reading is

much dryer and
lessfun,but ittalksaboutthe
peopleasthey reallywere.It
isn't afantasy worldto hidefromreality
in,but neitheris it
a dead end. It can take us back in time and forward
in our
understandingsothatwemayreallycontacttheancientreligion
of witchcraft as it was, learn from it, and pass
it on,
rejuvenated and strengthened to our children.

791

Notes
1.
(London: Rider and

Gerald B. Gardner, _Witchcraft _Today,

Company, 1954) reprinted (New York: Citadel

Press, 1971)
2.
_Gospel _of _the

Charles Godfrey Leland, _Aradia, _or

_Witches, (London: David Nutt, 1899;

reprinted (New York:

Samuel Weiser, 1974)

3.GaetanDelaforge,_Gnosis,"TheTemplarTradition:
yesterday

and today", No. 6, (Winter 1988), pp 8-13.

4.

(London: The

Alan Richardson, _Dancers _to _the _Gods,

Aquarian Press, 1985)

792

{file "History of Witch Craft" "bos188.htm"}

History of Witchcraft
As I am trying to put this all together, I hope to bring
about an
understanding that Witchcraft, like any religion, has
undergone
it's changes throughout the centuries.
It is my
personal
feeling, however, that the religion of Witchcraft has
undergone
far fewer changes than any other in history.
As the song sung by Neil Diamond starts:
" Where it began, I can't begin to knowin..."
Witchcraft, sorcery, magic, whatever can only begin to
its
roots when we go back as far as Mesopotamia. With their
deities
for all types of disasters, such as Utug - the Dweller
of the
Desert waiting to take you away if you wandered to
far, and
Telal - the Bull Demon, Alal - the destroyer,
Namtar
Pestilence, Idpa - fever, and Maskim - the snaresetter;
the days
of superstitution were well underway.
find

It was believed that the pharaohs, kings, etc. all

imbued some
power of the gods, and even the slightest movement
they made
would cause an action to occur. It was believed that a
picture,
or statue also carried the spirit of the person. This is
one of
the reasons that they were carried from place to place,
and also
explains why you see so many pictures and statues of
these
persons with their hands straight to their sides.

In the Bible, we find reference to "The Tower of Babel"

The
Ziggurat in Genesis 11. "Now the whole world had one
language and
a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a
plain in
Shinar (Babylonia) and settled there. They said to each
other,
`Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly.'
They used
brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
Then they
said, `Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a
tower that
reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for
ourselves
and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'
But the
Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the
men were
building.
The Lord said,`If as one people speaking
the same
language they have begun to do this, then nothing they
plan to do
will be impossible for them. Come let us go down and
confuse
their language so they will not understand each other.'"
It goes
on to say that the tower was never finished.
or

In other references, we find that the "Tower" was

fact
finished, and that it was a tower that represented the
"stages"
between earth and heaven (not a tower stretching to the
heaven in
the literal sense.) From this reference, it was a tower
built in
steps. A hierarchy on which heaven and hell were based.
It was
actually a miniature world representing the Mountain of
Earth.
in

793
Each stage was dedicated to a planet, with its angles
symbolizing
the four corners of the world. They pointed to Akkad,
Saburtu,
Elam, and the western lands. The seven steps of the
tower were
painted in different colors which corresponded to the
planets.
The "Great Misfortune:, Saturn, was black. The second was
white,
the color of Jupiter.
The third, brick-red, the
color of

Mercury,
silver
for the
their
planets.

followed by blue, Venus; yellow, Mars, gray

moon.

These

colors boded good

or

evil,

or
like

For the first time, numbers expressed the world order. A

legend
depicts Pythagoras traveling to Babylon where he is
taught the
mystery of numbers, their magical significance and
power.
The
seven steps often appear in magical philosophy. The seven
steps
are: stones, fire, plants, animals, man, the starry
heavens, and
the angels. Starting with the study of stones, the man of
wisdom
will attain higher and higher degrees of knowledge, until
he will
be able to apprehend the sublime, and the eternal.
Through
ascending these steps, a man would attain the knowledge
of God,
whose name is at the eighth degree, the threshold of
God's
heavenly dwelling.
The square was also a "mystical" symbol in these
times, and
though divided into seven, was still respected. This
correlated
the old tradition of a fourfold world being reconciled
with the
seven heavens of later times.
It is thought that here was the start to numerology, but
for this
to have developed to the point where they had
taken into
consideration the square as the fourfold world, it would
have had
to have developed prior to this.
From Mesopotamia lets move over to Persia.
Unlike the Mesopotamians, and Egyptians, who believed
all
was done with either the favor or lack thereof of the
Gods, the
Chaldean star religion taught that luck and disaster
were no
chance events, but were controlled from the heavenly
bodies
(planets/stars) which send good and bad according to
mathematical
laws. It was their belief that man was incapable of
fighting the
will of the planet divinities. Though, the more this
system
that

evolved,

the

more the wise men read ethical values

into

man's

fate. The will of the stars was not completely

separate from
man's behaviors. The stars were important, but not
omnipotent in
deciding man's fate. It was believed that the star Sirius
would
carry messages to the higher gods and he returned to
announce
their will.
Around the 7th Century B.C. Zoroaster, the Median
prophet was
preaching the doctrines that evil could be avoided and
defeated.
He brought about the principles of the good and evil
spirits.
Below, we will look at the beliefs and influences of this
man's
life which created the religion named after him.

794
The first of the belief structure had to do with Ormazd
(AhuraMazda) king of light, and his twin brother Ahriman (AnroMainyu)
prince of darkness.
Zoroaster

(that

brought

about

the belief in

the

"holy

war"

between good and evil.) In this faith, the

archangels (the
spirits of Divine Wisdom, Righteousness, Dominion,
Devotion,
Totality, and Salvation) and the demons (the spirits of
Anarchy,
Apostasy,
Presumption, Destruction, Decay, and Fury)
were
constantly at battle with one another.
The
archangels were
controlled by Ormazd and the demons by Ahriman.
This religion had it's belief that in the end, Ormazd
his
demons would prevail, but until then, Ormazd would keep
the world
safe.
and

It is interesting that the last of the demons (the demon

of Fury)
holds such a hard and fast thought that it was
incorporated into
the Hebrew and Christian belief structure. The last
archdemon's
name is Aeshma Daeva also know to the Hebrews as Ashmadai
and to

Christians as Asmodeus.
Asmodeus was the "chief of the fourth hierarchy of evil
demons",
called "the avengers of wickedness, crimes and
misdeeds." He
appears with three heads, a bull's, human, and a ram.
He has
goose feet, and a snake's tail. To appear more
frightening, he
also exhales fire and rides upon a dragon of hell.
It is said that Asmodeus is not to be feared. When you
to
him: "In truth thou art Asmodeus," he will give you a
wonderful
ring.
He will teach you geometry, arithmetic,
astronomy and
mechanics. When questioned, he answers truthfully.
say

The other demons tempt people away from the true

worship of
Mazda.
They are Paromaiti - Arrogance, Mitox - The
Falsely
Spoken Word, Zaurvan - Decrepitude, Akatasa Meddlesomeness,
Vereno - Lust.
Much of the current day Christian beliefs were taken
this
man's religion. (That of good and evil forces, the
redemption,
the "savior" factor, etc.)
from

From

here, let us move on to Egypt where we will look

at

other

mystical symbols and more history of magic and the craft.

The Sphinx was a mythological creature with lion's body

and human
head, an important image in Egyptian and Greek art and
legend.
The word sphinx was derived by Greek grammarians from
the verb
sphingein (to bind or squeeze), but the etymology is not
related
to the legend and is dubious.
The winged sphinx of Boeotian Thebes, the most famous in
legend,
was said to have terrorized the people by demanding the
answer to
a riddle. If the person answered incorrectly, he or she
was eaten
by the sphinx. It is said that Oedipus answered properly
where
upon the sphinx killed herself.

795
The earliest and most famous example in art is the
colossal
Sphinx at Giza, Egypt. It dates from the reign of King
Khafre
(4th king of 4th dynasty; c. 2550 b.c.)
The Sphinx did not occur in Mesopotamia until around
b.c.
when it was imported from the Levant. In appearance, the

1500
Asian

sphinx differed from its Egyptian model mostly in the

addition of
wings to the leonine body. This feature continued
through its
history in Asia and the Greek world.
This

Another

version

of

the sphinx was that of

the

female.

appeared in the 15th century b.c. on seals,

ivories
and
metalworkings.
They were portrayed in the sitting
position
usually with one paw raised. Frequently, they were seen
with a
lion, griffin or another sphinx.
The appearance of the sphinx on temples and the like
eventually
lead to a possible interpretation of the sphinx as a
protective
symbol as well as a philosophical one.
The Sphinx rests at the foot of the 3 pyramids of Khufu,
Khafre,
and Menkure. It talons stretch over the city of the dead
as it
guards its secrets.
The myth goes that a prince who later became Thutmose IV,
a
nap in the shadow of the half-submerged Sphinx. As he
slept, the
Sun-god (whom the Sphinx represents, appeared to him in a
dream.
Speaking to him as a son, he told the prince that he
would
succeed to the throne and enjoy a long and happy reign.
He urged
the prince to have the Sphinx cleared of the sand.
took

In his book on Isis and Osiris, Plutarch

says that
the Sphinx symbolizes the secret of
though
Plutarch never unveiled the mysteries of
is said
that the magic of the Sphinx lies within
hands

(A.D. 45-126)
occult

wisdom,

the Sphinx. It
the thousands of

that chiseled at the rock. The thoughts of countless

generations
dwell in it; numberless conjurations and rites have built
up in
it a mighty protective spirit, a soul that still
inhabits this
time-scarred giant.
Another

well know superstition of the peoples of

Ancient

Egypt

was that regarding their dead.

They believed that in the West lies the World of the Dead,

where

the Sun-god disappears every evening. The departed were

referred
to as "Westerners." It was believed that, disguised as
birds, the
dead soar into the sky where in his heavenly barge Ra,
the Sungod, awaits them and transforms them into stars to
travel with
him through the vault of the heavens.

796
The cult of the dead reached it's height when it
incorporated
the Osiris myth.
Osiris was born to save mankind.
At his
nativity, a voice was heard proclaiming that the Lord
had come
into the world (sound familiar?). But his
brother/father Seth
shut him up in a chest which he carried to the sea
by the
Tanaitic mouth of the Nile. Isis brought him back to
life. Seth
then scattered his body all over the place. It is said
that Isis
fastened the limbs together with the help of the gods
Nephtis,
Thoth, and Horus, her son. Fanning the body with her
wings, and
through her magic, Osiris rose again to reign as king
over the
dead.
The

soul

known

Egyptian

while

believed that a person had two souls.

The

as Ba is the one that progressed into the afterlife

the Ka remains with the mummy. The Ka is believed to

a
magical life within the grave.
Thus the Egyptians
placed
miniature belongings of the deceased into the tomb. Such
items as
live

images, statuettes, imitation utensils, and miniature

houses take
the place of the real thing. They believed that the Ka
would use
these as the real item because the mortuary priests
possessed
magic that would make them real for the dead.
The priests believed that the gods could be deceived,
menaced and
forced into obedience.
They had such trust in the
power of
magic, the virtue of the spoken word, the
irresistibility of
magic gestures and other ritual, that they hoped to bend
even the
good gods to their will. They would bring retribution
to the
deities who failed to deal leniently with the dead.
They
threatened to shoot lightning into the are of Shu, god
of the
air, who would then no longer be able to support the skygoddess,
and her star-sown body would collapse, disrupting the
order of
all things.
When Ikhnaton overthrew the Egyptian gods and demons,
making the
cult of the One God Aton, a state religion, he also
suppressed
mortuary magic. Ikhnaton did not believe in life after
death.
As Christianity became a part of this nation, there
much
evidence to show where the Christians of the time, and the
pagans
lived peacefully together.
is

In theology, the differences between early Christians,

Gnostics
(members - often Christian - of dualistic sects of
the 2nd
century a.d.), and pagan Hermeticists were slight. In
the large
Gnostic library discovered at Naj'Hammadi, in upper
Egypt, in
1945, Hermetic writings were found side by side with
Christian
Gnostic texts.
The doctrine of the soul taught in
Gnostic
communities was almost identical to that taught in the
mysteries:
the soul emanated from the Father, fell into the body, and
had to
return to its former home.
for

It was not until later in Rome that things took a change

the

worse.

Which moves us on to Greece.

797
The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the

pagan

writer and philosopher Synesius. When the people of

Cyrene
wanted the most able man of the city to be their
bishop, they
chose Synesius, a pagan. He was able to accept the
election
without sacrificing his intellectual honesty.
In his
pagan
period, he wrote hymns that follow the fire theology
of the
Chaldean Oracles. Later he wrote hymns to Christ. The
doctrine
is almost identical.
To attempt to demonstrate this...let's go to some
tenets
and beliefs of the two religions:

BASIC

Christian Beliefs
The 10 Commandments
1.) You shall have no other gods before me.
To the Christian, this means there will be no other God.
Yet, in
the bible, the phrase is plural. I does not state that
you will
not have another god, it says that you will have no
other gods
before the Christian God.
In the
that
whereas
person
should
as the
supreme
mean

case of the later, it could be interpreted to

other gods can be recognized, as a Christian, this
place YHVH ahead of all gods recognizing him/her
being of all.

2.) You shall not worship idols

Actually, what it says in the New International Version
"You
shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
Lord your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin
of the
is

fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who

me,
but
showing love to thousands who love me and
keep
my
commandments.
hate

3.) You shall not take the name of the lord in vain.
This one is pretty self explanatory. When a person is
calling on
the lord he/she is asking the lord for guidance or action.
Thus,
the phrase "God damn it!" can be translated into a person
asking
the lord to condemn whatever "it" is to hell. The
phrase "To
damn" means to condemn to hell.
In modern society,
several
phrases such as the following are common usage:
"Oh God!", "God forbid!", "God damn it!", "God have
mercy!"
Each of these is asking God to perform some act upon or
for the
speaker with the exception of "Oh God!" which is asking
for Gods
attention.

798
4.) Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Depending on which religion you are looking at (i.e.
Jewish, from
which the 10 commandments come; or Christianity, which
adapted
them for their use as well.) the Sabbath is either
Saturday or
Sunday.
You may also take a look at the various
mythological
pantheons to correlate which is the first and last days
of the
week...(i.e. Sun - Sunday.. Genesis 1:3 "And God said,
"Let there
be light,' and there was light., Moon - Monday..
Genesis 1:14
"And God said,"Let there be lights in the expanse of the
sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as
signs to
mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights
in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was
so. 16
God made two great lights - the greater light to govern
the day
and the lesser light to govern the night. He also
made the

stars." Thus the Sun was created first. With the day of
the Sun
being the first in the week, then Saturday would be the
7th or
Sabbath.
5.) Honor thy mother and thy father.
This is another that is fairly self explanatory.
It
any
parent's right after spending the time to raise you to
expect
that you respect them.
is

6.) You shall not murder.

This does not say "You shall not murder...except in my
name." It
says YOU SHALL NOT MURDER. PERIOD. Out of the 10
commandments, I
have found that over the course of history, this one has
been the
most ignored.
As we look as the spread of
Christianity from
around 300 A.D. forward, we find that as politics moved
into the
church and those in charge of man's "souls" were
given more
control that this one commandment sort of went out the
window.
We see such things as the Crusades, the inquisition,
the
dominating fear that was placed into the Christian
"psyche" that
one should destroy that which is not like you.
and

Even though we here stories about the "witch trials",

the
"witch burnings" etc....There were actually very few
"Witches"
tried or burned.
Most of these poor souls were
that of
Protestant beliefs (Against the Catholic Church) yet
still
maintained that they were Christians. But...more on this
later.
and

7.) You shall not commit adultery.

You can look up the meaning in the dictionary, and
one
becomes pretty self-evident. What it comes down to is
that no
person who has ever been divorced can marry again, and you
don't
have sex with someone that you are not married to.
this

799
8.) You shall not steal.
Again, enough said. However...don't go looking at
Constantine to
be obeying this one! The Pagan temples were looted to
make his
coinage.
9.) You shall not give false witness against thy neighbor
Again, during the times of the inquisition, this also
out
the window. Such tools as torture were used to pull
confessions
from these poor people who then signed statements
that the
inquisitors had written up saying that they freely
signed this
document.
Of course...the inquisitors stated that this
person
was not tortured, but it was his clever wit that had
extracted
this confession.
went

It was also during this time that persons, refusing

take
responsibility for their own actions or accept that
nature does
in fact create strange circumstances...(i.e. drought,
flood,
etc.) and the resulting illness and bug infestations.
Very
often, as the Witch-craze developed stronger, the one
neighbor
would accuse another of Witchcraft and destroying the
fields or
making their child sick, or whatever.
to

10.)You shall not covet your neighbor.

On

Don't

the

surface, this one is pretty

self

explanatory.

crave your neighbor's possessions. Yes...I can relate

back
to the inquisitional times as well since most of the
accused's
property
reverted
back to the Catholic church
at
this
time...there were several accused and convicted of
Witchcraft
simply because they would not sell their property to the
church.
However...How does this effect persons today? How far
do we
carry the "Thou shalt not covet..."? This can be even so
much as
a want, however is it a sin to want a toy like your
neighbor has?
this

If so...we're all in trouble. How many of us "want" that

Porsche
that we see driving down the road? Or how about that
beautiful
house that we just drove past? Do we carry this
commandment to
this extreme? If so...I pity the person that can live by
it for
what that would say is "Thou shalt not DREAM."

800
Wiccan Beliefs
Since the religion of Wicca (or Witchcraft) is so diverse
in it's
beliefs, I have included several documents here that
encompass
the majority of the traditions involved. Again, this is
simply a
basis...NOT the be all and end all.
Wiccan Rede
Bide ye wiccan laws you must,
in perfect love and perfect trust
Live ye must and let to live,
fairly take and fairly give
For the circle thrice about
to keep unwelcome spirits out
To bind ye spell well every time,
let the spell be spake in rhyme
Soft of eye and light of touch,
speak ye little, listen much
Deosil go by the waxing moon,
chanting out ye baleful tune
When ye Lady's moon is new,
kiss ye hand to her times two
When ye moon rides at her peak,
then ye heart's desire seek
Heed the north winds mighty gale,
lock the door and trim the sail
When the wind comes from the south,
love will kiss thee on the mouth
When the wind blows from the east,
expect the new and set the feast.
Nine woods in the cauldron go,
burn them fast and burn them slow
Elder be ye Lady's tree,
burn it not or cursed ye'll be
WHen the wheel begins to turn,
soon ye Beltane fires will burn
When the wheel hath turned a Yule
light the log the Horned One rules
Heed ye flower, bush and tree,
by the Lady blessed be
Where the rippling waters go,
cast a stone, the truth ye'll know

When ye 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 ye threefold law ye should
three times bad and three times good
When misfortune is enow,
wear the star upon thy brow
True in love my ye ever be,
lest thy love be false to thee
These eight words the wiccan rede fulfill;
An harm ye none, do what ye will.

800
Wiccan Beliefs
Since the religion of Wicca (or Witchcraft) is so diverse
in it's
beliefs, I have included several documents here that
encompass
the majority of the traditions involved. Again, this is
simply a
basis...NOT the be all and end all.
Wiccan Rede
Bide ye wiccan laws you must,
in perfect love and perfect trust
Live ye must and let to live,
fairly take and fairly give
For the circle thrice about
to keep unwelcome spirits out
To bind ye spell well every time,
let the spell be spake in rhyme
Soft of eye and light of touch,
speak ye little, listen much
Deosil go by the waxing moon,
chanting out ye baleful tune
When ye Lady's moon is new,
kiss ye hand to her times two
When ye moon rides at her peak,
then ye heart's desire seek
Heed the north winds mighty gale,
lock the door and trim the sail
When the wind comes from the south,
love will kiss thee on the mouth
When the wind blows from the east,
expect the new and set the feast.
Nine woods in the cauldron go,
burn them fast and burn them slow
Elder be ye Lady's tree,
burn it not or cursed ye'll be
WHen the wheel begins to turn,
soon ye Beltane fires will burn
When the wheel hath turned a Yule

light the log the Horned One rules

Heed ye flower, bush and tree,
by the Lady blessed be
Where the rippling waters go,
cast a stone, the truth ye'll know
When ye 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 ye threefold law ye should
three times bad and three times good
When misfortune is enow,
wear the star upon thy brow
True in love my ye ever be,
lest thy love be false to thee
These eight words the wiccan rede fulfill;
An harm ye none, do what ye will.

801
One of the Pagan Oaths recognized nationally here in the
U.S.
A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality
I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the
Spiritual
Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and
others.
*
I know that I am a part of the Whole of Nature.
I
grow
in understanding of the Unity of all Nature.
I
always walk in Balance.

May
May

*
May I always be mindful of the diversity of
Nature as
well as its Unity and may I always be tolerant of those
whose
race, appearance, sex, sexual preference, culture, and
other ways
differ from my own.
*

May I use the Force (psychic power) wisely and

use
it
for aggression nor for malevolent purposes. May

never
never

direct

it

to curtail the free will of another.

* May I always be mindful that I create my own reality

and that
I have the power within me to create positivity in my
life.

*
May I always act in honorable ways: being
honest with
myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have
given
it,
fulfilling
all responsibilities and commitments I have
taken
on to the best of my ability.
* May I always remember that whatever is sent out
always
returns magnified to the sender. May the Forces of
Karma move
swiftly
to remind me of these spiritual commitments
when I
have begin to falter from them, and may I use this
Karmic
feedback to help myself grow and be more attuned to my
Inner
Pagan Spirit.
*
May I always remain strong and committed to my
Spiritual
ideals in the face of adversity and negativity. May the
Force
of my Inner Spirit ground out all malevolence directed
my
way
and
transform it into positivity. May my Inner Light
shine
so
strongly that malevolent forces can not even
approach my
sphere of existence.
*
May I always grow in Inner Wisdom & Understanding.
I
see every problem that I face as an opportunity
to
develop
myself spiritually in solving it.
May

*
May I always act out of Love to all other beings
this
Planet -- to other humans, to plants, to animals, to
minerals,
to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.
on

*
May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God
all
their forms dwell within
me and
that this
divinity is
reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.
.pa
* May I always channel Love and Light from my being.
May my Inner
Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts,
feelings, and
actions.
SO MOTE IT BE
in

802

In the Wiccan Rede above, and scattered in the oath,

find
words such as Perfect Love and Perfect Trust. What are
these
strange words and what do they mean?
we

Before one can analyze the meaning behind the phrase

"Perfect
Love and Perfect Trust", one must first define the
words. For
this purpose, I will use the Webster's New World
Dictionary of
the American Language 1982 edition. Perfect: adj. [L.
per-,
through + facere, do] 1. complete in all respects;
flawless 2.
excellent, as in skill or quality 3. completely
accurate 4.
sheer; utter [a perfect fool] 5. Gram. expressing a
state or
action completed at the time of speaking - vt. 1. to
complete 2.
to make perfect or nearly perfect - n. 1. the perfect
tense 2. a
verb form in this tense - perfectly adv - perfectness n.
Love: n. [<OE. lufu] 1. strong affection or liking of
someone or
something. 2. a passionate affection for one of the
opposite sex.
3. The object of such affection, sweetheart.
Trust: n.[ON, traust] 1. a) firm belief in the
honesty,
reliability, etc. of another; faith b) the one
trusted 2.
confident expectation, hope, etc. 3. responsibility
resulting
from confidence placed in one. 4. Care, custody 5.
something
entrusted to one....
Using these definitions, we
strong
affection and flawless faith.
Is this possible?

often

give

case,

come

up

with

"Flawless

Those that follow the religion of Wicca

excuses for this just being words.

When this is the

they are not obeying their faith....thus..they are not

following
perfect love and perfect trust. But to the rest...the
answer is
a resounding YES. This does not ask that you "like" a
person.
It asks that you see the divine light and love within
individual
whether you like them or not. Can this be done...YES. As
to the

perfect trust...we can always trust a fox to be a fox

right.
Therefore, when we are entering circle, we can honestly
answer
perfect trust even if it is on shaky ground. We may have
faith
that this person will act like any other human.
not
but

not
but

It with these beliefs and doctrines that I state that

only
was
the doctrine, or teaching almost identical,
the
vocabulary was extensively the same.
It's with these beliefs and doctrines that I state that
only
was
the doctrine, or teaching almost identical,
the
vocabulary was extensively the same.

803
Greek life was characterized by such things as
democratic
institutions, seafaring, athletics theatre and
philosophy. The
mystery religions adopted many expressions from these
domains.
The word for their assembly was Ekklesia of the
mystai. They
spoke of the voyage of life, the ship, the anchor and the
port of
religion, and the wreath of the initiate. The
Christians took
over the entire terminology, but had to twist many pagan
words in
order to fit into the Christian world.
The term
Leitourgia
(meaning service of the state) became the ritual or
liturgy of
the church. The decree of the assembly and the opinions
of the
philosophers (dogma) became the fixed doctrine of
Christianity.
The term for "the correct opinion" (or the doxa) became
orthodoxy.
The mysteries declined quickly when the emperor
Constantine
raised Christianity to the status of the state religion.
After a
short period of toleration, the pagan religions were
prohibited.
The property of the pagan gods was confiscated, and the
temples
were destroyed. The metal from which Constantine's gold
pieces
were coined was taken from the pagan temple treasuries.

The main pagan "strong holds" were Rome and Alexandria.

In Rome,
the old aristocracy clung to the mysteries and in
Alexandria the
pagan Neoplatonist philosophers expounded the mystery
doctrines.
In 394, the opposition of the Roman aristocracy was
crushed in
the battle at the Frigidus River (modern stream of
Vipacco, Italy
and stream of Vipava, Yugoslavia).
According to the Christian theologian Origen,
Christianity's
development during the time of the Roman Empire was part
of the
divine plan.
The whole Mediterranean world was united
by the
Romans, and the conditions for missionary work were
more
favorable than ever before. He explains the
similarities as
natural considering the cultures etc. The mystery
religions and
Christianity had many features in common. Some examples
of this
are found in their time of preparation prior to
initiation, and
periods of fasting. Their were pilgrimages, and new
names for
the new brethren. Few of the early Christian
"congregations"
would
be called orthodox according to later more
modern
standards.
Though for many years, the pagan "churches" of this area
tried to
bring about a unity among their "doctrines",
beliefs, and
practices to raise support for their practices, the
Christian
philosophies and doctrines were so organized and strong
that this
fell as well. Little did they know that a couple hundred
miles
away, peoples were still worshipping in pagan temples.
Let's take a look up north.
The worship of trees goes far back into the history of
It
was not until Christianity converted the Lithuanians
toward the
close of the 14th century that tree worship was thought to
be in
the past. The truth is...whereas they are not
worshiped, they
are still honored by society today in the burning of
the Yule
man.

log, May Day bon-fires, Kissing under the Mistletoe, and

the ever
famous Christmas tree.

804
The worship of the oak tree or god appears to have been
universal
by all branches of the Aryan stock in Europe. Both
Greeks and
Italians associated the tree with their highest god,
Zeus or
Jupiter, the divinity of the sky, the rain, and the
thunder.
Possibly one of the oldest and most famous sanctuaries in
Greece
was that of Dodona, where Zeus was revered in th
oracular oak.
The thunderstorms which are said to rage at Dodona
more
frequently than anywhere else in Europe, would render the
spot a
fitting home for the god whose voice was heard alike
in the
rustling of the oak leaves and in the crash of thunder.
Zeus of Greece, and Jupiter of Italy both were gods
thunder
and rain, and to both the oak tree were sacred.

of

To the Celts, or Druids, their worship was conducted

oak
groves. The Celtic conquerors, who settled in Asia in the
third
century b.c., appear to have carried with them the worship
of the
oak to their new home. In the heart of Asia Minor, the
Galatian
senate met in a place which bore the Celtic name of
Drynemetum,
"the sacred oak grove" or "the temple of the oak."
in

In

Germany, we find that the veneration for sacred groves

to

have held the foremost place.

seems
chief

According to Grimm, the

of their holy trees was the oak. Again, here we find that
is
dedicated to the god of thunder, Donar or Thunar, the
equivalent
of the Norse Thor. Among the Slavs, the oak tree was
sacred to
the thunder god Perun. Among the Lithuanians, the oak
tree was
sacred to Perkunas or Perkuns, the god of thunder and
rain.
it

The Christmas tree, usually a balsam or douglas

was
decorated with lights and ornaments as a part of
Christmas
festivities.
The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and
garlands
as a symbol of eternal life was an old custom of the
Egyptians,
fir,

Chinese,

pagan

and

Hebrews.

Tree worship, common

among

the

Europeans, survived after their conversion to Christianity

in the
Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and
barn with
evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of
setting
up a tree for the birds during Christmastide. It survived
in the
custom observed in Germany, of placing a Yule tree
inside the
house in the midwinter holidays.
The modern Christmas tree originated in Western
Germany.
The
main prop of a popular medieval play about Adam and Eve
was a fir
tree hung with apples (the tree of Paradise)
representing the
Garden of Eden. The Germans set up the Paradise tree in
their
homes on December 24, the religious feast day of Adam
and Eve.
They hung wafers on it (symbolizing the host, the
Christian sigh
of redemption). In later tradition, the wafers were
replaced by
cookies of various shapes. Candles were often added
as the
symbol of Christ, though they were also a pagan symbol
for the
light of the God.

805
As we can see, even though the pagan community has
trod
upon, it was never destroyed.
The date of
Christmas was
purposely fixed on December 25 to push into the
background the
great festival of the sun god, and the Epiphany on
January 5 to
supplant an Egyptian festival of the same day and the
Easter
ceremonies were set to rival the pagan spring festival.
been

Let's take a look at a few of the holidays and compare.

As we can see, even though the pagan community has

trod
upon, it was never destroyed.
The date of
Christmas was
purposely fixed on December 25 to push into the
background the
great festival of the sun god, and the Epiphany on
January 5 to
supplant an Egyptian festival of the same day and the
Easter
ceremonies were set to rival the pagan spring festival.
been

Let's take a look at a few of the holidays and compare.

Easter
On Easter Sunday, everywhere, the children hunt the many
colored
Easter eggs, brought by the Easter rabbit. This is the
vestige
of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both
symbolizing
fertility. The rabbit was the escort of the Germanic
goddess
Ostara who gave her name to the festival by way of the
German
Ostern.
The first day of Spring holds much in the way of folklore.
It is

also

Alban

known

Eilir,

the

as the Spring Equinox, Ostara, Eostre's

Day,

Vernal Equinox, or Festival of the Trees.

It

takes
of

place between March 19 and 22. It marks the first day

true
spring (verses the balmy weather that may precede it.)

The day and night is equal on this day, thus the name of
Equinox.
There is a story in one culture that says that the sun has
begun
to win it's race with the night and that the days get
longer as
the sun pulls ahead. (Followed by the fact that the sun
begins to
lose the race at Mid-Summer, and loses the race at
Mid-Winter
just to start the race again the next day.)
It

is a time of beginnings, of action, of planting

for
future grains, and of tending gardens. On the first Sunday

seeds
after

the

which

first full moon following Eostre's Day (the name from

the Easter was derived), the Christian religion

celebrates it's
Easter Day.

Spring is a time of the Earth's renewal, a rousing of

nature
after the cold sleep of winter. As such, it is an ideal
time to
clean your home to welcome the new season.
Spring cleaning is more than physical work. Some cultures
see it
as a concentrated effort on their part to rid
themselves of
problems and negativity of the past months and tho
prepare
themselves for the coming spring and summer.

806
To

do this, they approach the task of cleaning their

with
positive thoughts. They believe that this frees the homes
of the
hard feelings brought about by a harsh winter. Even
then, they
have guidelines that they follow such as any scrubbing of
stains
or hand rubbing the floors should be done in a
"clockwise"
motion.
It is their belief that this aids in filling
the home
with good energy for growth.
homes

To the Druidic faith, this is a sacred day occurring in

month
of Fearn (meaning, "I am the shining tear of the Sun").
Part of
their practices are to clean and rededicate outdoor
shrines,
believing that in doing so they honor the spring maiden.
This is
a time of fertility of both crops and families.
In
promoting
crops, they believe that the use of fire and water (the
sun and
rain) will reanimate all life on Earth.
They decorate
hardboiled eggs, the symbol of rebirth, to eat during their
rites,
and such foods as honey cakes and milk punch can also be
found.
The mothers and daughters give dinners for each other
and give
cards and gifts as a way of merging with the natural flow
of life
and with each other. (The Druids consider this also as
Mother's
Day.)
the

In Greek mythology, spring was the time when Persephone

returned

from the underworld (where the seed was planted in the

barren
winter months) and thus represents the seedlings of the
spring.
Demeter, Persephone's mother represents the fertile earth
and the
ripened grain of harvest since it is alleged that she is
the one
that created the need to harvest crops when her
daughter was
kidnapped and taken to the underworld.
It was
through an
arrangement that her daughter could return for 1/2 the
year that
Demeter allowed the crops to spring forth for that time
until she
again went into mourning for her daughter in the fall.
In some cultures, even today, the ones that continue to
celebrate
the rites of spring rise on Easter morning to watch
the sun
"Dance" as it rises.
The Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of
Christ,
synchronized with the Jewish Pesach, and blended
since the
earliest days of Christianity with pagan European rites
for the
renewed season.
In all countries Easter falls on the
Sunday
after the first full moon on or following March 21.
It is
preceded by a period of riotous vegetation rites and by a
period
of abstinence, Lent (in Spain Cuaresma, Germany Lenz,
central
Italy, Quaresima) and by special rites of Holy Week.
Everywhere Easter Sunday is welcomed with rejoicing,
singing,
candle processionals, flowers in abundance, and ringing of
church
bells.
Many pagan customs survive, such as the lighting
of new
fires at dawn, among the Maya as well as in Europe, for
cure,
renewed life, and protection of the crops.
May Day
The first day of May: observed as a spring festival
everywhere in
Europe, the United States, and Canada, and as a labor
festival in
certain European countries.

807

Rites such as the ever famous May Pole occur in the town
squares
or in the family's front yard. The gathering of green
branches
and flowers on May Eve is the symbolic act of bringing
home the
May, i.e. bringing new life, the spring, into the village.
The

young

May Queen (and often King) is chosen from among

the

people, and they go singing from door to door throughout

the town
carrying flowers or the May tree, soliciting donations
for a
merrymaking in return for the "blessing of May".
This is
symbolic of bestowing and sharing of the new creative
power that
is stirring in the world. As the kids go from door to
door, the
May Bride often sings to the effect that those who give
will get
of nature's bounty through the year.
In parts of France, some jilted youth will lie in a field
May
Day and pretend to sleep. If any village girl is
willing to
marry him, she goes and wakes him with a kiss; the pair
then go
to the village inn together and lead the dance which
announces
their engagement. The boy is called "the betrothed of
May."
on

This festival is also known as Beltane, the Celtic May

It
officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve, and
marks the
beginning of the third quarter or second half of the
ancient
Celtic year.
It is celebrated as an early pastoral
festival
accompanying the first turning of the herds out to wild
pasture.
The rituals were held to promote fertility.
The
cattle were
driven between the Belfires to protect them from ills.
Contact
with the fire was interpreted as symbolic contact with the
sun.
Day.

The rowan branch is hung over the house fire on May

to
preserve the fire itself from bewitchment (the house fire

Day
being

symbolic of the luck of the house.

In early Celtic times, the druids kindled the Beltane
with

fires

specific incantations. Later the Christian church took

the
Beltane observances, a service was held in the church,
followed
by a procession to the fields or hills, where the priest
kindled
the fire.
over

In some rituals, a King and Queen May symbolize the male

and female
principles of productivity.
We have looked briefly at the similarities of the
philosophies
and vocabularies, but is that all that they had in common?
Let's
look at symbologies.
For many years, the cross has been the symbol
representing the
death of the Christian Christ. It has represented that
through
his death, man could be reborn into God's grace. Thus,
we have
the philosophy of life in death being connected to the
cross.
Is this the only time where this symbol was recognized as
such?
Let's go back to Egypt and find out.
An upright piece of wood, tied to a horizontal beam
indicated the
height of the flood waters on the Nile. This beam
formed a
cross.
If the waters failed to rise during the
season of
planting, it meant a poor harvest for these people.
Thus the
cross was revered as a symbol of life and regeneration.

808
The Ankh represents the genitals of both sexes. The cross
itself
is a primitive form of the phallus, and the loop that
of the
womb. Again, we continue the symbol of the cross as the
giver of
life.
with

Oh my gosh...did I use the word phallus in connection

the
cross? Oops!

Yes...even prior to this time was the cross a symbol

the
phallus or fertility.
This is not the only thing
that the
of

phallus has symbolized over the many centuries within and

without
the pagan world. It has also been used as a symbol of
strength.
Within the Bible, we find several references to the horn
as
a symbol of strength.

also

2 Samuel 22:3 - He is my shield, and the horn of my

salvation.
Luke 1:69 - And hath raised up an horn of salvation for
us.
Psalm 18:2 - He is my shield and the horn of my salvation.
The move from horn to helmet is followed up also in the
as
follows:
Isaiah 59:17 - For he put an helmet of salvation upon his

bible
head.
as

Ephesians 6:17 - Take the helmet of salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 - ...putting on faith

and

love

breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

In Roman days a warrior would were horns on his helmet.
he
came back defeated, he was said to have been dehorned.
There are
several references where a soldier who lost his helmet
on the
field was killed for this offense because it meant
dishonor for
him to loose his horn.
If

Shakespeare had much knowledge of the use of horns as a

symbol of
protection and victory as is evident in his works "As
You Like
It" (IV,2) and in "Measure for Measure" (II,4:16) when he
writes:
"Let's write good angell on the devill's horne; tis
not the
devill's crest."
Even in modern days, the Catholic Church uses this
symbol when
setting the mitre upon the head of a newly consecrated
bishop.
The words used at such a time are: "We set on the head
of this
Bishop, O Lord, Thy champion, the helmet of defense
and of
salvation, that with comely face and with his head armed
with the
horns of either Testament he may appear terrible
to
the
gainsayers of the truth, and may become their vigorous
assailant,
through the abundant gift of Thy grace, who didst make
the face

of Thy servant Moses to shine after familiar converse with

Thee,

and didst adorn it with the resplendent horns of Thy

brightness
and Thy truth and commandedst the mitre to be set on the
head of
Aaron, Thy high priest, Etc..." (Copies in Latin and
translated
can be found in The Order Consecration of a Bishop Elect
with the
imprimatur of H. Card. Vaughn, p. 14, Burns and Oates,
1893.)

809
If we are looking at protections and the like, we must
at
the use of stones and crystals within our lives. Yes,
even in
the Christian bible, the powers and uses of stones is
mentioned.
Exodus 28:15-21 - "Fashion a breastpiece for making
decisions the work of a skilled craftsman. MAke it like the
ephod: of
gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely
twisted
linen. It is to be square - a span (9 inches) wide - and
folded
double.
Then mount four rows of precious stones on it.
In the
first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
in the
second row a turquoise, a sapphire (or lapis lazuli)
and an
emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an
amethyst; in
the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount
them in
gold filigree settings. There are to be twelve stones,
one for
each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved
like a
seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes."
look

Exodus
the

28:9-14

- Take two onyx stones and engrave

on

names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth

six
names on one stone and the remaining six on the other.
Engrave
the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way
a gem
cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold
filigree
settings and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the
ephod as
-

memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to

the
names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
Make gold
filigree settings and two braided chains of pure gold,
like a
rope, and attach the chains to the settings.
bear

Though it does not say as much, we might take the

engraving as a
form of runes, again creating a similarity between the
craft and
religions of old.
From man's search for protection, we come to the telling
the
stars...Astrology, and the use of stars as protectors of

by
man.

The

lore behind the star of David is an interesting

The
easy interpretation is that of Zionism. The more research
you do
on this though, you will find that once again, depending
on the
cultures you look at, it's interpretation changes.
The sixpointed star formed by the superimposing of one
triangle on
another. The symbol is a combination of the male (apex
upwards)
and female (apex downwards) triangles; it is said, in
cabalistic
writings, to comprise the signs of the four elements and
the four
letters of the Tetragrammaton, and thus it came to be the
symbol
for God. Since the Biblical commandment puts a taboo on
the use
of the Name of God and on the depiction of God, the
symbol was
inscribed as the graphic representation of God in
synagogues and
wherever the Name was appropriate. In alchemy, the star
of David
combined the symbols for fire and water; hence, it
meant
distillation.
Until recently, therefore, it appeared on
shops
selling brandy. The star of David is the symbol of
Zionism and
appears on the flag of Israel. As Solomon's seal, the
hexagram
possessed power to control demons of all kinds. The
stopper on
the bottle containing the bottle imp or jinni was
stamped with
the seal of Solomon. In the Nsibidi script of West
Africa, a
native form of writing, the symbol means ardent
love; the
tale.

is

universality
here
apparent.

of

the

male-female content of the

sign

810
Astrology also has interesting roots. Though the word
itself is
made up of the Greek words meaning "star logic" (astra star,
Logos - logic), the actual origin is yet to be
determined.
We
read in the Epic of Creation of Sumer - Akkad, or Early
Babylon
(ca 2200-1900 B.C.) that: "The Star - Jupiter who
brings
prophecies to all is my Lord. My Lord be at peace. The
Star Mercury allows rain to fall. The Star - Saturn, the star
of Law
and Justice..."
The telling of fortunes by the stars underwent an avid
growth
spurt during the times of the Roman Empire, and though
with minor
qualms with the Christian church, it co-existed peacefully
until
the time of Constantine when all "pagan" activities
were
outlawed. Though outlawed within the Roman Empire,
Astrology
continued to thrive within the Middle East.
I realize that I said that I would touch on the
inquisition and
such, however, I think that it is common knowledge the
document
used to persecute those involved was written by the Friars
within
the Catholic Church at the time. The document, The
Malleus
Maleficarum, was a document designed to bring about fear
within
the Christian community, and more power to the church.
What is
not widely realized is that the majority of the persons
that were
either burned, drowned, or hung were not witches, but
Protestants
within the Christian church. (The ones that were
Protesting the
Catholic church.)
I realize that, at this time, this is a rather sketchy
document.
I hope in the near future to be able to take the time to
develop

more of the depth that I would like to put into bring

our
roots. I hope to include in the expanded edition the
times of
burning, modern witchcraft, more symbols, and famous
persons in
the craft.
up

We've changed...but then as a good friend has told me

more
than one occasion..."When we cease to change, we cease to
grow.
When we cease to grow, life ends."
on

811
Bibliography
The Golden Bough - Frazer, Sir James George, Macmillan
Publishing
Co., NY, NY c 1922
Witchcraft The Old Religion - Martello
and

Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology

Legend
The History of Witchcraft - Russell, Jeffrey B., c 1980
Encyclopedia Britanica - 1986
The Holy Bible (New International Version)
Under the Spell of the Zodiac - Mark Graubard

1970

Alchemy: Origin or Origins? - H. J. Sheppard, AMBIX, July

Magic, Supernaturalism, and Religion - Seligmann c 1948

812