The following is an example of what Wiccan Whispers is about. Again, this is a FREE newsletter, and you may cancel your subscription at any time, so why not give it a try?
The wheel of the year just keeps on turning! Can you believe Litha is upon us already? Oh well, here's what you've got to look forward to in this issue.
Table of Contents
-----------------------------
Litha Ritual
Fire Purification Spell
Article - Fact and Fiction
Reader Submission - Witch
The Wandering Wiccan - Chat Schedual
Summer Festival Information
Litha Ritual
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great God of the sun, I have come here this day to honor you in your strength, for I know that now is the time of your greatest power.
Great father God, Great mother Goddess, come into my heart, and purify me. Smite the evil in my soul, just as your magickal love purges the evil from all things.
Great horned father, may this fire burn in representation of your greatness.
Notes: Midsummer, in my eyes, is a time to celebrate the sun in it's hieght of glory. Therefore, this ritual is designed primarily towards the God. Many people think it rude to exclude the goddess from the ritual, however. My answer to this is to do as your heart sees fit. If you feel that the Goddess needs to be in the ritual, then include her. If not, don't. That's the beauty of Wicca - the descions are up to you and you alone.
Fire Purification Spell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a very simple little spell that works great, especially around Midsummer.
Materials Needed:
1 Red or White Candle
1 Black Ink Pen
1 Small Square of White, Unlined Paper
1 Pair of tweezers or tongs
Timing:
Noon on a day when the moon is in the waxing phase. Preferably as close to the Summer
Solstice as possible.
Procedure:
Think of one bad habit you have that you would truely like to rid yourself of. Write it
down in the center of the of paper. Now fold the paper top to bottom, then left to right,
so that it is folded into forths with the writing inside. As you fold the paper, visualize
that habit being trapped inside the paper. Now light the candle and meditate on it's flame
for a moment. When you are prepared to continue, hold the paper in a diamond shape, with
the writing down at the bottom. Now take the tweezers and hold the bottom tip of the
diamond into the flame. Visualize the habit buring away with the flames. As the paper
burns, chant the following or similar:
"Great spirits of fire, grow and consume
this habit of evil so goodness may bloom."
This spell should be cast outside, so that the ashes of the paper can fall to the the earth. As they do so, visualize the earth as taking your habit and absorbing it. Be sure to leave a gift for the earth in exchange for taking your habit.
Note: This spell also works extremely well with balefires or the fire at your Litha ritual. Simply toss the paper into the flames and chant. Do not attempt to hold it over the flames as you would with a candle.
Fact or Fiction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I recently passed through a webpage that had an interesting little icon on the bottom. It was an animated .gif of a penticle emersed in flames, and it said "The Burning Times Are Not Over!". I got to thinking about this, and quite obviously, this little .gif was very correct. Granted, we have made several great advances as far as saftey from persecution goes. But not many long time witches can honestly say that they've never felt the icy hand of prejudice upon there shoulder. So logically, my next thought is, if we are living in a free nation, with easy access to more information about any given topic than ten people could sort through in a hundred lifetimes, why do lies still persist? Well my friends and fellow pagans, the answer was made abundantly clear to me during a trip to the local bookstore. When browsing through the "new age" section of a Barnes and Noble or Borders or just about any other large bookstore, one is likely to find a great deal of books on "Witchcraft". However, is it really true Witchcraft? Much of it is. Wonderful books like Scott Cuninghams "Wicca: a guide to the solitary practitoner" or Raymond Bucklands "Complete Book of Witchcraft" are quite readily available. Yet certain books which are just as readily available are full of blatent lies. That is why we are still persecuted, the people who do care enough to try and find information on the topic of modern Witchcraft are misled by books full of complete untruths! A perfect example is "The Satanic Witch", written by Anton Levey, who also happens to be the high priest of the first Church of Satan. His book goes on to describe how to become a "Witch Complete", which is really just a fancy way of say Satanist. And believe me, a bright orange and black book full of lies is a lot easier to notice than a small book with a pretty picture on the front cover. Yet the truely awful thing is that this book is easy to detect as a lie. There are much worse out there. Books such as "The Modern Witch's Spellbook" that look inocent enough are actually complete farses. There are even people who claim to be "Wiccan" and write grotesque books about devil worship and human sacrifice. These people are actually members of the Christian Coalition who write this filth in hopes that people will think that Wicca is evil. Where does it all end? Well let me just say this: one lie can kill a thousand truths. If you have a friend or know someone who is interested in wicca or the occult, please, please, please help them to find the truth. I'm not saying to go out there and "spread the word" of Wicca. Just point them in a direction that you know is the truth. If they have the interest and want to become Wiccan, they will, if they don't they won't. It doesn't really matter. The important thing is that they won't go out there and add to the black cloud of lies that already hovers just above our heads. Together we can achieve equality. Blessed Be!
Reader Submission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Witch
I am a Witch
A Witch am I
A Child of the Gods
Now and forever
When the wind rustles
Through the branches
of a mighty oak
I am there
When the magick faries
Of a forgoten glade
Play in the morning dew
I am there
I am a Witch
A Witch am I
A child of the Gods
Now and forever
I am in every river
I am in every stream
I'm above every mountain
I am one with the Earth
I see nature in the city
I see beauty in life
I am part of a circle
That will never end
I am a Witch
A Witch am I
A child of the gods
Now and forever
Magick
Energy
Knoweledge
Power
The Sun
The Moon
The Stars
The Heavens
These things and more
are mine.
For I am a Witch
- Moonhaze
The Wandering Wiccan - Chat Schedual
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those of you who havent checked out The Wandering Wiccan yet, stop in! It's a great place to learn and discuss things with other Witchs and Pagans. Feel free to stop in during any of the online classes we have there, or just meet a friend and chat about life, the day, or whatever. You can find The Wandering Wiccan at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/2839/chat.htm or go through The Grove, it's in the "Things You Can Use" section.
Schedual for 6/21/98 - 7/30/98
Tues. June 23, 10:30 am EST - Candle Magick Workshop: Candle magick has long been one of the most simple and truely powerful forms of magick. Stop on in to learn some of the finer points that may increase your spells power two, three or even five fold!
Wed. July 15, 12:00 pm EST - Finding the Perfect Circle: The Witches circle is a place of true magick and beauty. The very air here is different. Or at least it can be. Learn some tips on finding that perfect circle and how to make it as Magickal a place as it possibly could be.
Tues. July 28, 4:30 pm EST - The Healing Witch: Witchs have long been thought to have the ability to heal the sick. Well this is one rumor about us that is absolutely true! One of the modern Wiccans greatest strengths is that s/he can aid medical science, or help out when it has failed. Stop in and learn some of the most ancient ways of healing - Everything from a headache to cancer.
Remember, The Wandering Wiccan can only hold twenty people, so to make sure that your spot is saved, email me at moonhaze@earthcorp.com with your request to sit in during a workshop. As always, there's no charge, but you cant get in without a cyber-ticket which I will email you.
If you have an idea for an on-line class, a workshop, or just want to know more about a topic, and you think it would make a good idea for a Wandering Wiccan chat session, please email me with your suggestion! Send emails to moonhaze@earthcorp.com with the subject "Wiccan Whispers Suggestion".
Summer Festival Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below is a list of festivals coming up for the months of June, July, and August. Many of them require you to register in advance, so don't wait! And don't forget to tell them that you found the festival in Wiccan Whispers!
June 18-21
Camp Winnarainbow
1301 Henry St., Berkley, CA 94709
(510) 525-4304
June 18-21
IAO-Pan Jam/Holy Chao Fiesta
Thelemic Summer Solstice Camping Festival.
(512) 443-7382
lodge@scarletwoman.com
http://www.io.com/~swoman
June 18-21
Walking the Thresholds
$55 after May 1
P.O Box 958, Rockville, MD 20848
wulfkiten@en.com
http://www.his.com/~rialian/elvsgath.htm
June 19-July 5 Dragonphyre
Phoneix Enterprises, 2800 W. Highway 5,
Bowdon, GA 30108
CorwynDTG@aol.com
June 24-28
Lumen's Gate
$75 Ken Deigh/Lumens Gate,
P.O Box 19544, Cincinnati, OH 45219
http://www.vais.net/phoenix/sacredspace/
June 24-28
Pagan Kith and Kin
The Earth Conclave, P.O Box
14377, Madison, WI 53714
(608) 244-9443
http://www.danenet.wicip.org/conclave/PKKSC.html
June 19-21
UFO IV
Astral arts and music festival. Acoustic and electric music, UFO video, camping, ect.
$45 ($60 after 6/26)
Needmore, IN
Elf Lore Family, P.O Box 1082,
Bloomington, IN 47402-1082
(812) 275-0585
July 2-5
Sacred Space XI
Days Hotel, Timonium, MD
Special guests Robin Wood & Patricia Telesco
$55 before 6/1, $65 at door
Sacred Space Conf., 5400 Eisenhower Ave.
Alesandria, VA 22103
(814) 784-3075
laura@vais.net
http://www.vais.net/phoenix/sacredspace
July 2-5
Drum and Splash
Artemis, PA - $55 ($70 after june 28)
Church of Four Quarters, RDI 62C Silvermills Rd. Artemis PA 17211
(814) 784-3075
Rainssong@aol.com
http://www.his.com/~megalith/events.htm
July 4-12
OBOD Summer Camp
Rituals, Workshops, ect. with the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids
Sherman, NY
John Poshka, 75 Portage St.,
Westfield, NY 14787
(716)326-4528
July 7-12
Craftwise in the Woods
Sherman, NY - $60
Meet Robin Wood!
CraftWise, P.0 Box 457
Bostford, CT 06404
(203) 874-5832
mailto:fdalton367@aol.com
http://www.mhv.net/~tsheeley/CraftWise.html
July 10-12
Suntide - Oceanside rites at Cape Cod!
CCR/Earthspirit Community
P.O Box 240, Willamsburg, MA 01096
earthspirit@earthspirit.com
http://www.earthspirit.com
July 10-12
Kith and Kin
Needmore, Indiana - All Ages.
$35 ($50 after may 7) per car load
Elf Lore Family, P.O. Box 1082,
Bloomington, IN 47402-1082
elf@kiva.net
http://www.kiva.net/~elf
July 10-12
Great Lakes Drum and DAnce Camp
Drum and dance workshops, jams, healing, maskmaking, rituals, ect.
Sherman, NY
Earth Rythm, 3661 Mangolia Dr., Brunswick, OH 44212
(330)273-6260 (call in evening)
July 13-19
Sirus Rising
Sherman, NY
$10/day + workshop fees
Brushwood Folk Center, 8881 Bailey Hill Rd.
Sherman, NY 14781
(810)716-6750
http://www.brushwood.com
July 17-19
Planetary Healing Gathering
Eugene, Oregon
(800) 937-2991
July 19-26
Witchcamp-Vancouver
Contact: Pat Hogan, P.O. Box 21510, 1850,
Commercial Dr., Vancover, BC V5N 4AO, Canada
(604) 253-7191
path@lynx.bc.ca
July 21-26
Starwood
Sherman, NY
Look for the Llewellyn Contingent!
ACE, 1643 Lee Rd. #9, Cleveland Heights,
Ohio 4418
(800) 446-4862
http://www.rosemcomet.com/STARWOOD.html
July 24-26
Summer Mysteries and Pagan Leadership Confrence
Confrence for Wiccan church group leadrs on the shores of Puget Sound.
$65-$100 with food and bed
Summer Confrence - ATC, P.O. Box 409, Index, WA 98256
(360) 793-1945
mailto:AquaTabCh@aol.com
July 24-30
Pagan Children's Summer Camp
Church of Four Quarters, RD1 62C Silvermills Rd, Artemis, PA 17211
(814) 784-3075
Rainssong@aol.com
http://www.ncweb.com/biz/harvestmoon
If you are promoting a festival and would like a listing in Wiccan Whispers, please email moonhaze@earthcorp.com .
Well that about does it for this Issue. Untill Next time, Blessed Be,
~~~ Moonhaze ~~~
Wiccan Whispers is distributed by Moonhaze ( moonhaze@earthcorp.com ) of The Gods' Grove ( http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/2839 )
To subscribe to Wiccan Whispers, go to: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/2839/subscribe.htm
To cancel your subscription, email moonhaze@earthcorp.com with the subject "Cancel Wiccan Whispers (email)" Where "(email)" is your email address.