Magickal Circle

I found Tasha-Rose’s comment about Wicca to be very interesting. I wished that she would have elaborated more, however, on what she meant by I might be less Wiccan than I think.  I am also in love with nature and the animals and the trees. If I had my way, I’d run away and live in the woods. I’d find some occupation where I could be self sufficent ( oh wouldn’t that be nice) so I could support that life style. I live near a big city now and live in a small community. Sometimes I just want to get away from the concrete, the people, the noise. To much stimulation. I long for the quiet and to be with one with nature.

So what then, is the difference between being a witch and being Wiccan? I know there is a distinction made, but it never seems to be clear. I sure wish someone could explain it to me. 

Tools are the items used in the conduct of Ritual. Personally, I don’t think you should have to “need” any tool to honor the Lord and Lady. But I suppose you do need certain things to call the quarters and form the protective circle. So I guess, a candle for fire, water, and two other items to represent the elements. Candles to represent the Lord and Lady. There are more tools than just this that most people will use, I guess. For those that do ritual at all. Pentangle, athame, chalice, robe or other ritual attire, a bell. A more detailed list can be found in most witchcraft books so I won’t go into more detail.

That is just the basics. The basics can be simple or ornate. Is it to be placed on an Altar? How simple or ornate is your chalice? Your athame? Is it perhaps part of our way of bring ourselves closer to the god and goddess? Something that carries our energy to give us more power. Maybe just because we like it and it make us feel good.

I think the tools you need are the ones that allow you to honor the god and goddess. Maybe that is just as basic as your being. What you you think? What kind of tools do you use? Do you have an altar? Please let me hear your thoughts

I am sure you have noticed that the main theme of my site is that of the Green Man. He is a symbol of nature, the god of vegitation. He can be found in many places including your local garden center as various garden statues. In Europe he can be found in many churches, shrines, alcoves and gardens. He is present in many different cultures. He is a symbol of life, death and rebirth. 

I am personally rather found of all the different incarnations of the Green Man. What are your thoughts on this? Please share you thoughs with us. 

Information obtained from The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elfferss

January 8th: People born on this day are said to have a strong sense of themselves. They can concentrate their full energies on projects and they are good at overcoming adversity. They can be conceited if not careful.

January 9th: January 9th people tend to be ambitious and are good at finding opportunities to improve their situation. However this can also backfire but they recover quickly. These are workaholic types and can become ruthless if opposed.

January 10th: The best description for those born on this day is that of a realist. So much so that they have tough standards that they set for themselves and others and can be very judgmental. They want to dominate and control a situation. They can be jeolous when compared to other people.

January 11th: These are strong willed people who are highly moral and view the world through their own belief system. They are analytical types who are excellent at solving problems. However, they can be stubborn and inflexible.

January 12th: Those born on this day can best be described as career minded individuals who sacrifice a great deal of their personal life for the sake of their career.  However, these people can come across as being arrogant because of their energy. They tend to choose unusual careers and come across as a bit strange.

January 13th: Characteristics of those born on the 13th is all about their status in life. They work towards self improvement and are often not comfortable with themselves. They tend to be proud and isolate themselves from others.

January 14th:  People born on this day are the great organizers. They go after that which they believe to be right, even if opposed. They persist even against great odds. They are involved in social causes to the point they exclude family and friends.

I have been searching the web for Wiccan info and have come across Wiccan training schools. Some are quite expensive. I ask the questions as to whether these schools are worth the money, or whether my money would be better spent on some good books. The thing that I think would be good is a chat where you can ask questions and get some support in your studies.

I joined one of these sites and while I think the site has been informative, I haven’t decided whether it has been a benefit as of yet. I only paid $35 so it is no great loss if I find I don’t like it. Granted I just joined the site but I have not gain much info with the exception of the discussion about Book of Shadows. There is an excercise to complete that I think will be useful though. So I guess the jury is still out on this one.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has taken an on line Wiccan course and what their experience with it was.

We believe in living in harmony with nature. The Goddess lives in everything.

We live in the now rather that waiting for what happens in the after life. We believe in reincarnation.

Whatever energy or actions, positive or negative that you send out, comes back to you threefold.

The Wiccan Rede “An it harm none, do what ye will”

We don’t believe in Hell or Satan

What is Wicca you may ask? I think it can be differrent things to different people. For me, it is about being in tune with nature, the rhythm of the earth, moon and stars. Accepting the spirit world as being as tangible as the ‘real’ world. There is no hatred, but only love and joy. It is about honoring the Goddess and the God, the female and male manifestations of the The One who are honored on sacred days. It is about developing one’s personal power. Caring for one another as fellow beings. I am sure that you would get different definitions from others but this is what it is about for me. Please share what Wicca is to you.

 Information in this section is taken from  The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers (1994)

 Those born during this time are under the 10th sign of the Zodiac or Capricorn which runs from December 22-January 20. Capricorn is a Cardinal Sign ruled by the planet Saturn and the symbol is the goat.  Overall, the Capricorn personality is said to be serious with feeling of responsibility due to the rulings of Saturn.  They tend to be conservative, patient and persistent and rarely give up.

Capricorns are considered the most difficult to characterize as there is a wide variety of types within this sign.

They have a tendency towards dictatorial behavior and act as if they are authorities on many subjects and if they make a mistake, they will rarely admit they are wrong if at all.

Capricorn I is the period  from December 26 to January 2. These people are very authoritative and asserting their power is their way.  They know a great deal about their field of interest and have no patients for those who don’t know what they are talking about.

Capricorn II is the time from January 3 to January 9.  These people are very determined and seem to get their way much of the time. They have the uncanny ability to make the best of a given situation and are very practical and matter of fact. This  can lead them to sometimes resort to unscrupulous methods to get what they want. They are very comitted individuals

January 1: Characteristics include authoritative, principled, easily fustrated, emotional, responsible to the point of taking on more than they can handle.

January 2: People born on this day tend to put tremendous demands on themselves. Perfectionistic, serious, workaholic types. Tend to isolate themselves. Demanding.

January 3: Those born this day are commited, have a sense of duty, persuasive, stubborn, can be overbearing. Complete tasks no matter what it takes to get it done.

January 4:  People born on this day are problem solvers and are structured and concise. Highly organized, very much their own person. These people tend to form businesses or are self employed.

January 5: Those born on this day can best be described as resilient. The are involved and committed. They are resourceful and cheerful but may become complacent.

January 6: These individuals can be described as searching for the meaning of life. They are interested in the manifiestations of spirit. They are courageous and honest. They feel that things that happen have a special significance for them. They have child-like wonder to their experiences.

January 7: These people show interest in unusual subjects and learn from the unusual. They see things as interconnected and are curious. They tend to be nervous types that pick up on energy around them so need to isolate themselves from negative energy.

I have a certain amount of anxiety over ritual at this point as I have not become comfortable with it yet. So as a help to myself, I am going to review the basic steps of ritual here.  According to Silver Raven Wolf, the basic Ritual outline is as follows:

A. Ritual Preparation

1. Define Purpose; 2. Write Ritual; 3: Gather Necessary Tools; 4. Prepare Area: 5. Prepare Body.

B. Open Circle

1. Find compass North: 2. Set up a door between worlds 3: Call the watchtowers or elemental quarters.

C. Invocation to the Dieties

1. Align self with Diety ; 2: Involk Dieties

D. Statement of Purpose

E. Actual Working or Act of Honor

1. Working

a. complete preliminary manual or visual tasks; b. raise power/energy; c. focus power/energy; d. Ground Power Energy

2. Honoring

a. complete preliminary manual or visual tasks; b. dedicate cakes and wine; c. partake of cakes and wine.

F. Meditation

G. Thanking the dieties

H. Closing the Circle

1. Mentally and verbally close the circle; 2. physically close the circle; 3. clean up

a. Disposal; b. washing of plates and glasses; c. Putting away of tools impliments.

 I’d like to discuss each part of the ritual. I would be interested to hear how others perform their rituals. 

This celebration purpose is banishing the winter season. This is a time to welcome spring, do some spring cleaning and take stock of magickal items on hand.