Mythology of True Blood and The Sookie Books

Aolani wrote:Most fascinating! Ok, so question time!!

Ok, so I did my research on some of the things I didnt understand. Between Wikepedia and my darling hubby, I get the part of Elohim.

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Ok, so I read all of that.

Here is where I got lost. Lilith....

Ok, so I get the legend about the hidden, and I get about the vampire connection. Somewhere between the first and the second, I lost the connection tho. My brain frazzled I think. It short circuited.


in Judaica, in their folk lore and mythology, the Elion are the bright ones, their Jewish equivalent of the fae. They are endowed with mystical powers and are the children of that other Eve...that's right, our old friend Lilith who has been thought of as a possible source of the Vampire myth, among others, because of her connection with incubus and succubus....

Hubby has gone to ponder it a bit. I shall be curious as to what he has to say, but in the meantime, help??

Ok, so my poor brain is thinking here...So the first one is Hebrew. The second Judaic. Huge distinction in words altho often simiiarly used I beleive. So the Jewish thinking or story is that Elion is a part of what happened with Lilith after she left the Garden of Eden? I have heard that the witches were Liliths children of course. So I wonder how the Sons of God and the story of Lilith tie in , if at all? After all, I often think that the same stories are often presented differently depending on which side of the fence you live on.

This is quite fascinating and since I think it will play a huge part in the next season, I would really like to hear more on this if possible!


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The word is Elion...or Elyon...and yes, this is when Lilith is cast out of the garden for not obeying Adam...If you recall the Jewish myth of Lilith is that she was made of earth like Adam and she felt that she should be equal to Adam in all things, including sex and she wanted to be on top of Adam from time to time when they coupled. Adam was against this and he complained to God he had to hold her down to have to sex with her. God decided that since Lilith did not obey Adam that he would cast her out of eden and cursed her to live always in darkness, that is the night. She swore vengeance against Adam and his children that she would feed on them...

Now, the first is Hebrew and the second is Syrian. Rabbi Wutcher said the Syrian lore is the one that is tied up in the Lilith mythos. The Syrians followed a religious path that was an amalgam of religious paths adapting parts of tribal religious systems that were brought through slavery and travels and intermarriage of the people...So that is the tie in with Lilith... But what is interesting is that Lilith plays a big role in the religions of surrounding tribes, and she is sometimes known by her other name Lamia.

Syrian and tribal! Ok, so now it all makes sense to me! Your a wonder Aslinn, thank you! Wonderful article, bravo!!

Final thoughts on the Last post concerning the words Elion....

In a sense , it is almost like the fae are from the more "godly" aspect, while the vampires are from the more demonic and so once again it is almost a battle of good vs evil on another playing field and that it may explain the vampires attraction since they are drawn instinctively to a battle that was not of their making.

The way the rabbi explained it was that G-d does not create things or allow things into existence without some purpose, even the things we call demons serve the purpose of heaven...but then there was a caveat he put in. The creatures of evil are not evil in of themselves...they can chose...that is why we have mythologies and tales throughout the ancient of world of things like Witches and "monsters" which would include our Vampires and Weres being good or endowed with the ability to be compassionate....
But all creatures all have free will, that is why there are evil creatures among the fae and good creatures among the "monsters"

And the Rabbi thinks of them in more of the spiritual sense, but he also says that their must have been beings like the fae and the Vampires if there are persistent stories of them and perhaps they are extinct...he says this because of the universality. It does make sense, fae, shifters, Vampires, they are all a part of world mythology in some form....

Talking to Rabbi Wutcher today is always a treat so when I called him to get some clarification, this is what he said to me in parting: He feels that for every legend, there was a true and real being who for whatever reason no longer exists but their existence left such an impression they have immortality in our stories...so, as long as people tell stories of the fairies and the Vampires and the werewolves and demons, they will always exist, even if they only exist in the stories....

I have written about all this stuff in the other posts in this thread....So don't hesitate to go back and peruse....

In a time of Plague

One of the things I noticed as I perused Season Three during the encore showings is in Episode Three, Bill dreams of going back to Bon Temp to see about his family. He steps onto his porch and he sees a table with a candle and a bowl with a sponge and he leans over it and sniffs it and puts his fingers in it. There is a reason for this and I give many thanks to Aolani for all her help looking this up.

Plagues of all sorts are well documented in history, whether it is the bubonic/pnuemonic type of the plague or a plague of small pox, or yellow fever (malaria) or influenza. Many times, bouts of severe illness coincided with years of famine where nutrition was poor or was a yearly scourge. We certainly know this as well as each fall we are encouraged to get the newest flu shot or we get advice on how to treat the biggest bug.

And to be perfectly honest, people simply did not bathe as often as modern people with all the soaps and cleansers and usually the greatest cleaning aid was simple hot water.

But because of the times of plague, we learned what works and what doesn't. Keep in mind that throughout time, medicine was a catch as one can proposition and your local doctor was the man or woman who knew just a little more about herbs than your regular person. Most of the time, their cures worked because they were about getting nutrition into the body and inducing sleep or helping respiration. Sometimes their cures did no good simply because they did no good. Superstition also sprang up around the notions of health and wellness and curing.

When Europeans first began to have plagues, the current thought was that illness was brought on by marauding spirits who sought to destroy the person afflicted. Their understanding of germs and bacteria were limited. They did things like keep the rooms very hot and closed off, creating a perfect environment for disease. They also rarely bathed, even washing their hands, and so spread disease not only to themselves but the rest of the family.

Daniel Defoe wrote a record of the plague times. Though this book post dates the great London Plague by about fifty years, he culls information from eyewitnesses and sources like Pepys (pronounced Peeps) Diary and created a fictionalized account of the plague. He talks about one physician in particular, a Quaker, who believed firmly in the adage "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". After seeing so many of his patients dying after following traditional courses for treatment, he decided to go the sanitary route. He began to scrub the sick rooms, boil the sheets in strong lye soap, bathe the patients daily and putting them out in the sun to dry out their lungs and their skin, usually covered in boils. People who nursed and cared for the sick were told to wash their hands, to burn any dressings, and to change their aprons every few hours to keep them from getting sick.

And this was true of people who managed to be open for business as well. If you went to the butcher, he gave your your purchases and he asked you to drop your money, back then coin, into a jar of vinegar to clean the coin before he touched it. Visitors to plague hospitals were given the same directives.

Private homes where the sick were being treated and hospitals set out a posset bowl. In the posset were any number of herbs and salt and vinegar or white wine vipers, what I imagine was very likely white wine vinegar. The visitors washed their hands and were told to breath in the fumes to cleanse their own lungs to both protect the visitor and the patient.

Later, commercially prepared cleansers were made and sold to people to use in their house. These cleansers consisted of things like sulphur, salt, raw chlorine or vinegar. They were sold under brand names like Condy Water, which contained potassium permanganate. Everything touched by the patient was cleaned in this water.

But, poor people still fell back on what they knew and what they had on hand. They would mix up vinegar and wine, perhaps even salt and whiskey and would wash everything including the patient and set out a hospitality bowl of sorts to visitors to encourage them to breath the fumes and wash their hands as they come and go from the house.


So thanks bunches to Aolani who sent me these websites [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate#History and    http://books.google.com/books?id=Vc8AAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=sulphur+fumigation+for+typhoid+fever&source=bl&ots=sKf4wrnpjl&sig=mUicx0vp6lmuRnHO6Une_C5G8J0&hl=en&ei=seEkTbG5IoG0sAPB-rGIAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=sulphur%20fumigation%20for%20typhoid%20fever&f=false


And Daniel DaFoe's A Journal of the Plague Year.....

Very interesting! I just love to learn about those tidbits of things that we see that to us now are so foriegn. Its amazing how far medicine has come since those days, but can you imagine having to live thru that with nothing more to offer or do for a loved one who was ill? It must have been simply terrifying.

As always darling, well done...

And I am like Aolani, I can't imagine what it must have been like...And remember we had a world wide flu epidemic in the first couple of decades of the 20th century, and they did not even have aspirin to give them...Incredible, we really live in the age of miracles...

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By Aslinn and Aolani

Is there a season of the witch? There are eight actually

The Wheel of the Year / the Sabbats

Historically a "sabbat" was a midnight assembly of witches at which they renewed their vows to Satan, and we've unfortunately adopted it through the myth of the Old Religion, which was the theoretical target of the historical witch hunts.) It comes from the same root word as "sabbath", which is a biblical period of rest, specifically among Jews, and I suspect this term became connected with witches the same way that witch gatherings were sometimes described as synagogues. (That is to say, witches were frequently the only thing less popular in a medieval community than Jews.)

The cycle of Wiccan Sabbats is commonly referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Time to us is cyclical, just as we view life as being cyclical. The Sabbats are solar festivals following the solar year, and so their mythology emphasizes the life cycle of the God, whom we associate with the sun.
The Wheel is not historical. The Sabbats take their names and some of their purposes from a variety of pagan holidays from a variety of cultures - the major Sabbats are more Celtic-based, while the minor Sabbats are more Germanic-based (Anglo / Saxon / Norse). This may explain some of the duplication of significances between adjoining major and minor Sabbats. As the sources are varied and independent, the neatly defined life cycle of God and Goddess throughout the year is a strictly Wiccan concept.

The Wheel is split into two halves for summer and winter, with the divisions occurring at Samhain and Beltaine. The two halves are ruled by a Light God and a Dark God, or the Goddess and God. Generally it is the God who rules winter, which is the period where historical people were more dependent upon hunting for survival, while the Goddess rules summer, which is the time of agriculture. I have seen this assignment reversed, however, as the God in young in winter while being older, wiser, and more mature in summer. I shall keep to the arrangement of God in winter and Goddess in summer.
Some traditions speak of the Holly and Oak Kings as the two rulers, with the split occurring at Yule and Litha. These two figures have no other real place in Wiccan mythology, so their addition when discussing the seasonal year seems to me to overly complicate things. So far as I can tell, they are in no way historical, but were suggested by Sir James Frazer, who influenced people like Margaret Murray and Robert Graves, the latter of which seems to have fleshed the two kings out. For these reasons I avoid them altogether.

The Wheel is composed of the four equinoxes and solstices as minor Sabbats, and the cross-quarter days as major Sabbats. Books frequently list specific dates for the major Sabbats, but there is also an astronomical method, which puts the cross-quarter days more closely in-between the minor Sabbats The strict assignment of major Sabbats to specific days is probably modern. Samhain, for example, was a celebration of the end of the harvest. The harvest wasn't completed on the same day every year. Some years the crops took longer to mature than others, or fewer hands were available to assist in the harvesting.

Those unfamiliar with Wicca will almost certainly notice the similarity between Wiccan and Christian holidays. This is because both religions were heavily influenced by the same pagan sources.
Our days start at sundown on the previous day. Therefore, "November 1" is actually the night of October 31 through the day of November 1. Also, the dates given here are only applicable in the northern hemisphere. For the southern hemisphere, Sabbats are generally celebrated 6 months off from the traditional dates.

Samhain

Samhain (pronounced Sow-ain) is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four 'greater Sabbats'. It is generally observed on October 31 in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility.

The Wiccan Samhain doesn't attempt to reconstruct a historical Celtic festival. In actuality it was also widely believed that on October 31, the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year.

It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularized as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following John Rhys and James Frazer.[2] The date of Samhain was associated with the Catholic All Saints' Day (and later All Souls' Day) from at least the 8th century, and both the secular Gaelic and the Catholic liturgical festival have influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween.

The medieval Irish festival of Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was celebrated over the course of several days and had some elements of a festival of the dead. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

Samhain (sow' en) - Major Sabbat
15 degrees of Scorpio, or November 1
Wiccan mythology: The death of the God

Samhain is the Wiccan New Year and the Feast of the Dead. It is a time to honor and to say goodbye to loved ones who have passed on, especially if their deaths have occurred within the last year. Samhain is also a time for reflecting upon the last year, making plans for the upcoming one, and especially for banishing weaknesses or other undesired qualities within us.

How is it we start the year with a festival revolving around death? Death is necessary for rebirth, and the two frequently happen simultaneously. In many pagan cultures, the new year was celebrated with chaotic festivities bringing on a symbolic end of the world. The Roman Saturnalia is one example.
The Goddess enters her Dark phase as she mourns her son and consort, and the Dark God takes up the rulership of Winter, leading the Wild Hunt of the Fey upon the earth.

Aolani’s Remarks:

Samhain, or Halloween, is the death festival, marking the descent of Winter. The leaves are falling from the trees in drifts, and life is drawn away from the surface of the earth, and descends deep into the earth. Life is now in the roots and bulbs of plants which rest over the Winter. The Horned God who was Lord of Life and the Wild Greenwood has now truly taken His throne as Lord of the Underworld, the dread Lord of Shadows, the comforter of souls.

The earth prepares for sleep and draws energy inwards. This is a time for introspection, as we too draw our energy within and prepare for the Winter. The Earth is becoming cold, and barren, and we see Her as the Cailleach, the Crone, the Wise One. She is the Dark Mother who devours the God that She may give birth to Him again. Her womb is also the tomb, and the Underworld, and the Horned God thus resides within Her womb over the Winter months.

Samhain is a time of transformation and inner work. It is also a somber time of remembrance, when we remember and honor those who have died. The veil is thinnest between the worlds and we call on the spirits of the dead and invite them to feast with us on this, the feast of death. We call upon our ancestors and contact the ancient wisdom. It is a time of endings, but also a time of beginnings, as Samhain is a Celtic New Year's Eve festival. Thus we give up the past and look to the future, and it is also a good time for skrying.

It is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. Samhain is a good time for banishings, and for sorting out unfinished business. At Samhain we look back and take stock of the past year and contemplate what we have learned. Samhain is also the time to face our shadow, the dark side of ourselves.

We find no wild flowers blooming, yet the colors of nature are rich and warm. Samhain is also a harvest festival, but a harvest of flesh. The livestock would be killed at this time so that there would be meat throughout the bleak Winter. The wind blows, Jack Frost makes patterns on our windows and the mists rise. It is no wonder this season is one of mystery.


For Christian Witches Practicing The Craft

Samhain is the witches new year. During this celebration, we cast off old regrets, remember those who have passed from this life into the next and look forward to renewal and rebirth. We long for the revelation of hope in this season that just as there is the rebirth of the earth, so shall we be reborn to eternal life in heaven. Primitive man, not unlike modern man today, feared the mystery of death. To contemplate mortality was to try to penetrate the mind of God. We observe the simple violence of nature. Creatures eat and are eaten; wars in miniature are fought over valuable hunting and living space. So it is with man. We struggle to find meaning in the violence of nature. We die, sometimes by our own hand, by accidents, by war, by crime, and by disease. We ask like Job why this is so and God answers ―Where were you when I created the earth? Later, God answers our questions of suffering and death with the life and death of Christ so that if we embrace the teachings of Jesus we will understand the will of God. Death need not terrify us. Death becomes the passage way through which we travel to the ultimate blessings of heaven. The dead become one with the celestial being of God. As God speaks to every one of us, so we are spoken to by the dead in the form of dreams, visitations and memories. We celebrate this oneness by recognizing the relationship between the dying back of the earth and in our physical mortality.

During the feast of Samhain we invite those who have gone before us to come and celebrate with friends and family and to bear witness to us that those who die wait their own time of rebirth. We forget about the pain, struggles and sadness of the year before and we embrace the promise of the season to come. We promise God and our beloved dead that we shall remember them and the lessons they taught us. We look to the future. We divine the symbols of dreams and portents and visions and rituals to understand what the future holds. Not just for ourselves but the future of the earth and her children. There is no fate. Fate is unavoidable, written in stone. Instead we have the future, mutable, changing and free to be acted upon. This is the purpose of the feast of Samhain.


Midwinter- Yule

In most traditions, Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by group or individual practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home while others hold coven celebrations.

Christmas, celebrated on the 25th of December, continues a pre-Christian festival, and was adopted by the Church to commemorate the birth of Jesus although there is no reliable information as to the actual date of this event.

Yule or Yule-tide ("Yule-time") is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian calendar (Julian calendar) was adopted. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt.

Terms with an etymological equivalent to "Yule" are still used in the Nordic Countries for the Christian Christmas, but also for other religious holidays of the season. In modern times this has gradually led to a more secular tradition under the same name as Christmas. Yule is also used to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christians and by some Neopagans.

Yule - Minor Sabbat
Also know as Midwinter
Winter solstice (around December 22)
Wiccan mythology: The birth of the God

Yule is a celebration of life emerging from darkness and is honored with the exchange of presents. Evergreens, holly, ivy and mistletoe can be symbolic of the God, still living and green in the dead of winter.

Aolani’s Remarks:

Yule is the time we celebrate the return of the waxing sun. Light and life can be seen to be returning and conquering death. Yule is a turning point, a point of change, where the tides of the year turn and begin to flow in the opposite direction. It is the darkest time of the year, the time of the longest night, but there is the promise of the return of light.

We encourage the sun to rise and to grow in power, and we remember the seasons of plenty. Magickally we bring back the season of plenty, and we feast on rich foods and drinks. The fir tree represents life amidst death, it is evergreen, representing everlasting life, and lasting friendship.
Holly and Mistletoe bear berries at this time, symbolizing fertility. Mistletoe berries are white, representing the semen of the Horned God, the Holly berries are blood red, symbolizing both the menstrual blood of the Goddess and the sacrifice of the God. Evergreen trees also represent youth and freshness, and are symbols of the promise of spring. A Yule custom, still practiced at Christmas is to dress an evergreen tree, and make offerings.

We honor the spirit of the tree, and what it represents. It is sad that a custom of honoring the living tree has been replaced by the meaningless decoration of ghastly plastic or tinsel trees, or the cutting down of thousands of living trees so that people can have them in their living rooms for a couple of weeks, and then dump them, causing environmental damage. It is far better to honor a living tree, outdoors.
The tree may be decorated with appropriate offerings, fruit, decorated pine cones, jewelry, symbols of the sun, symbols of fertility, birds, animals, etc. At Yule we say goodbye to the dying sun, and wait through the long, cold night for the sun's rebirth. The night belongs to the Goddess, and is a night of waiting, through her pregnancy, for the Child of Promise.

In the morning we greet the new sun and celebrate the waxing year. The rising sun brings the promise of the spring and the gifts that will bring. It is still a long time before the sun will be strong, but we hope and we trust. The sun is now the Child of Promise, the young hero God. It is a time of making wishes and hopes for the coming year, and of setting resolutions. From the darkness comes light.

For Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Yule For primitive man wintertime was a desolate time of darkness and cold. It was a time when the nights were longer, the temperatures were lower and food was scarce if the primitive man had not prepared himself sufficiently. But primitive man knew that spring would come and bring with it the season of plenty. To assure himself and to prove his faith in the seasons that God had created, he made a great feast celebrating the coming of salvation from the cold, the dark and from hunger.

Spiritually, this was a time to contemplate the soul, to figure out man’s relationship with God. If a man had no particular religious faith, then he walked a time of darkness in his soul. If he was at peace with his soul’s wanderings and knew what he believed and had faith in that, then the feast of Yule was just another way to celebrate the promise of rebirth of the seasons in spring and to rejoice that he had with him his family and his people.

For those who are Christians, or became Christians, the Yule season was a time for expectation, waiting for the recreation of the birth of the Christ Child. When a man felt that his soul was dark, he could recall the light of a blazing star and the three Magi who followed this celestial herald to a cave where a small child, the light of the world, was lying in both glory and poverty in a stable, with straw underneath him in his manger cradle. The star had told the Magi that the child was the redeemer, who would die for the sins of man and free all men who accepted his gift from the darkness of the soul.

We imitate these far away magi in the giving of gifts. Though in modern times, Christmas, or Yule, has been made an obscene commercialized thing, we should remember who it is we imitate when we give a gift, who the receiver is to us. When we give a gift at Christmas, we tell the person we give it to that we recognize the Divine Christ residing in their own hearts. Even when we give a gift to a person of another religion or creed, we are telling them we see the Sacred Spirit in their soul and we honor them. We also celebrate the season with the colors we so desperately miss, by bringing aromatic evergreens and holy and smilax and mistletoe into the house. We buy poinsettia plants and red and green candles and decorate with tinsel representing the treasures fit for a king. We set up our crèche and remember the babe born to bring the light of the world and the magikal strangers who saw his beacon in the dark night. We gather with friends and family to go to church or come together in the home and feast and celebrate and remember that the winter is not so long after all.

Imbolc

Imbolc (or Candlemas) is one of four "fire festivals" of the Wheel of the Year. Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc is the traditional time for initiations.

Among Reclaiming-style Witches, Imbolc is considered a traditional time for rededication and pledges for the coming year.

Imbolc (also Imbolg or Oimelc), or St Brigid’s Day (Scots Gaelic Là Fhèill Brìghde, Irish Lá Fhéile Bríde, the feast day of St. Brigid), is an Irish festival marking the beginning of spring, set on 2 February.

The festival was observed in Gaelic Ireland during the Middle Ages. Reference to Imbolc is made in Irish mythology, in the Tochmarc Emire of the Ulster Cycle. Imbolc was one of the four cross-quarter days referred to in Irish mythology, the others being Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. It has been suggested that it was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid, who was later Christianized as St. Brigid.

In the 20th century, Imbolc was resurrected as a religious festival in Neopaganism, specifically in Wicca, Neo-druidry and Celtic reconstructionism

Imbolc (im' molc) or (im' bolc) - Major Sabbat
15 degrees of Aquarius, or February 1
Wiccan mythology: Goddess recovers from childbirth, becomes Maiden.

Imbolc is the beginning of Spring. The child God continues to mature, as can be witnessed in the lengthening days, and celebrations frequently center around light. The Crone Goddess of Winter makes way for the Maiden, who has recovered from childbirth and prepares the earth to begin its growth cycle once more. Imbolc is therefore also a holiday of purification, a stripping away of the old in anticipation of the new.

Historically, Imbolc was an Irish holiday specifically dedicated to Brigid or Bride, goddess of creativity, smithing, and healing.

Aolani’s Remarks:

The Festival of Imbolc or Bride, is celebrated around 2nd February by Pagans, and by Christians who call it Candlemas. Imbolc is Irish- Gaelic, translated variously as "in the belly" and "ewe's milk", and represents the quickening of Light and Life.

The first stirrings of the coming of Spring can be seen, as the first flowers (snowdrops and winter aconite) begin to appear. Seeds which have lain dormant within the Earth over the cold Winter months begin to stir with life, as yet unseen. At Imbolc we celebrate the Waking Light of the soul. Our spirits begin to quicken as we anticipate the rebirth of Nature. In Wicca it is the traditional time for initiation. Now is the time for the banishing of Winter and the welcoming of Spring. We welcome the Goddess Who is renewed, reborn as the Flower Maiden. She has passed through Her phase as the Hag, Crone or Wise One, and is a Maiden again. Bride or Brigid is a three-fold Celtic Goddess who has been Christianized into St. Brigid, whose day is celebrated on 1st February.

In Ireland, St. Brigid's cross is made of rushes and straw, and goes back to pre-Christian times, representing the Sun Wheel or Fire Wheel. It may also be linked to an ancient ceremony connected with the preparation of the grain for sowing in the Spring. It was believed that the Spirit of the Grain, or the Goddess Herself, resided in the last grain harvested, and the last grain from the Harvest Festival was ritually brought into the house at Imbolc, blessed and planted as the first seed of the next harvest.

The grain may also be made into a female figure, the Brideog (little Brighde) and dressed. Bride's bed is made, and She is welcomed in. The Goddess is seen in Her three aspects at Imbolc, as the new-born Flower Maiden; the Mother, or bride of fertility, awaiting the fertilizing Sun God, and the Dark Crone of the dark half of the year. The sun is growing in strength, the Child of Promise, re-born at Yule, is now the Conquering Child.

What was born at the Solstice begins to manifest, and this is the time for individuation, as we each light our own light and set ourselves tasks and challenges. We nurture and kindle our resolutions and begin to look outwards again, do outer activity, although first we look deep within to discover what potential lies there waiting to be fulfilled.

Through the weeks ahead the days grow gradually longer, but we are still in the dark half of the year (until Beltaine) and this is the time to develop non-physical skills, such as psychometry, clairvoyance and precognition.

For those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Imbolc- We celebrate the feast of Imbolc in February. Imbolc was known as the milk feast as the new spring lambs are born in the darkness of the late winter nights. It is appropriate that this feast should be represented with the lamb as this is the time to contemplate the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. In Christianity, Imbolc occurs very near to the Mardi Gras/ Lenten period of the Church calendar. The Christian Witch can, therefore, use the feast of Imbolc to prepare for the greater feast of Ostara or Easter.

Vernal Equinox- Ostara

The vernal equinox, sometimes called Ostara, is celebrated in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Candlemas and followed by Beltane.

The name Ostara is from ôstarâ, the Old High German for "Easter". It has been connected to the putative Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre by Jacob Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie..

In terms of Wiccan ditheism, this festival is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect.
Old English Ēostre (also Ēastre) and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a putative Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath, has given its name to the festival of Easter. Eostre is attested only by Bede, in his 8th century work De temporum ratione, where he states that Ēostur-monath was the equivalent to the month of April, and that feasts held in her honour during Ēostur-monath had died out by the time of his writing, replaced by the "Paschal month". The possibility of a Common Germanic goddess called *Austrōn- was examined in detail in 19th century Germanic philology, by Jacob Grimm and others, without coming to a definite conclusion.

Linguists have identified the goddess as a Germanic form of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn, *Hausos, some scholars have debated whether or not Eostra is an invention of Bede's, and theories connecting Eostre with records of Germanic Easter customs (including hares and eggs)

Eostara (os tar' a) - Minor Sabbat
Vernal equinox (around March 22)
Wiccan mythology: Sexual union of the Goddess and God (sometimes)

Eostara is a celebration of fertility, conception and regeneration as the earth recovers from winter and begins to bloom. It is also a triumph of light over dark as from now until Litha days will be longer than the nights.

In former days, Eostara was a time of sowing and planting. Today, Eostara is a time for putting plans into motion, sowing the seeds of ideas that may not reach fruition for many months.

The name Eostara is a misnomer. It's named for the goddess Eostre, but her festival wasn't associated with the equinox. In fact, there may never have been a festival called Eostara at all.

The union of Goddess and God varies by tradition. A few date it as early as Imbolc. Some attribute it to Eostara, others to Beltaine. Eostara has the benefit of being 9 months prior to Yule, when the Goddess gives birth.

Aolani’s Remarks:

This festival is named after the Anglo-Saxon Goddess Eostre or Eastre, also known in Old German as Ostara. Little is known about this Goddess, except that her festival was celebrated at the Spring Equinox, and became Easter, and that She was a Goddess of fertility, and was connected with hares and eggs.

She may also be connected with the Greek Eos and the Roman Aurora, both Dawn Goddesses, and with the Babylonian Ishtar and Phoenician Astarte, both love Goddesses.

The Anglo-Saxon lunar month, which became April, was called Eastermonath. The equinox is a time both of fertility and new life, and of balance and harmony. Light and dark are here in balance, but the light is growing stronger. It is a time of birth, and of manifestation. Daffodils, tulips and crocuses are all in full bloom, blossom appears on trees and catkins can be found on the hazel and willow. Rites are best performed at dawn or dusk, (but better at Dawn) that time between light and dark.

The days grow lighter and the earth grows warmer. As at Imbolc, seeds may be blessed and planted. Seeds of wisdom, understanding, and magickal skills may also be planted. Eggs may be used for the creation of talismans, or ritually eaten. The egg is a symbol of rebirth, and its yolk represents the sun, its white, the Goddess. Egg production in hens is stimulated when the bird's retina is stimulated by more than 12 hours of light, thus more eggs are produced after the equinox.

This is a time both of growth and of balance, and we may work on balancing ourselves and the subtle energies within us, such as our chakras, the inner masculine and feminine qualities, the light and dark aspects, etc. The equinox is also the time of Persephone's return from the underworld, to re-unite with Her mother Demeter, making the earth green again.

This is the time of spring's return, the joyful time, the seed time, when life bursts forth from the earth and the chains of winter are broken. It is a time of balance when all the elements within must be brought into new harmony. The Prince of the Sun reaches out His hand, and the Kore, the maiden, returns from the dark underworld. Where they dance, wild flowers appear, sorrow turns to joy, and scarcity turns to abundance.

For those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Christians prepare for Easter by examining their lives, confessing sins and other short comings, and repairing relationships or preparing for new ones. It is also a time of letting go of regrets and setting goals for the coming year and cleaning out not just their homes but their spiritual selves. Fasting, prayer and celebration of the season and letting go of negativity energize us, helps us refocus and prepares us for the rebirth of nature.

For the Christian Witch this is a time that we can rededicate old tools, dedicate new ones, look at the past year of workings and sorting out or herb closets and our Book of Shadows for good spells, so –so spells and rituals that simply don’t work for us. It is also a time when initiates prepare for final tests and prepare for their initiations. They may also take this time to gather their basic tools of chalice, wand, athame, cauldron and broom. They may also buy their first hard bound Book of Shadows and decorate it to prepare for the writing if their own spells and lore.

Ostara or Easter is the feast of rebirth and resurrection. It is also the time for initiates to become a part of the Church and take steps into the ways of the wise. While initiations can take place anytime during their year and a day of study the tradition is to complete the full year and a day and it is a good rule. It is a period of collecting your basic knowledge and tools and it forces you to invest in the act of learning. It makes you anticipate the moment that you have invested in to become entitled to be a witch. During this feast, we rejoice and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the dawning age of salvation and righteousness.

We consider the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection and the faith, and even the lack of faith, of his disciples as they waited to see if prophecy would be fulfilled or were they to wait for some other. Christ is God made flesh and his life, from birth, to youth, to ministry to trial to death and finally to resurrection mirrors the passage of time. He is the great seed, planted and expended and reflowering and with this feast we celebrate the promise of life everlasting and the power to do all things in his name. We are his Brothers and Sisters, filled with the spirit of God and able to do all wonders. We are taught by his example that all things may pass away only to be reborn.

Beltane

Beltane is one of the four "fire festivals" or "greater sabbats". Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate 'High Beltaine' by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and Lady.

The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in the Neopagan religion of Wicca. He is often given various names and epithets, and represents the male part of the religion's duotheistic theological system, the other part being the female Triple Goddess. In common Wiccan belief, he is associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting and the life cycle. Whilst depictions of the deity vary, he is always shown with either horns or antlers upon his head, often depicted as being theriocephalic, in this way emphasising "the union of the divine and the animal", the latter of which includes humanity.

The term Horned God itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th century syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic god with pseudohistorical origins who, according to Margaret Murray's 1921 The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, was the deity worshipped by a pan-European witchcraft-based cult, and was demonised into the form of the Devil by the Mediaeval Church.

The Horned God has been explored within several psychological theories, and it has also become a recurrent theme in fantasy literature since the 20th Century.

Beltaine - Major Sabbat
15 degrees of Taurus, or May 1
Wiccan mythology: Sexual union and/or marriage of the Goddess and God

Beltaine, the start of Summer, is the most important Sabbat after Samhain. It is another fertility celebration, but mostly it is a celebration of joy and life. Named for the Celtic fire god Bel, the lighting of fires is a frequent component of Beltaine events. It's association with fire also makes Beltaine a holiday of purification.

It must be remembered that even our modern interpretations of these holidays are based on older holidays celebrated at a time when the year was marked by seasonal changes, not a calendar on the wall. On the continent, where Eostre was worshipped, the earth has generally returned to life by the vernal equinox. However, in Celtic Britain, the ground is still cold in March, and so Beltaine becomes the great festival of life, when Goddess and God have matured to unite as one.

On Beltaine, the Light God has matured to the age of rulership and takes over from the Dark God. The pregnant Goddess becomes Mother.

Wiccan weddings are frequently held on or around Beltaine.

Aolani’s Remarks:

"This is the time when sweet desire weds wild delight. The Maiden of Spring and the Lord of the Waxing Year meet in the greening fields and rejoice together under the warm Sun. The shaft of life is twined in the spiral web and all of nature is renewed. We meet in the time of flowering, to dance the dance of Life" ýÓ Starhawk,

The Spiral Dance Beltaine (also spelled Bealteinne, Bealtaine and various other ways) is the beginning of the Celtic Summer, the light season of the year. Like Samhain, it is a time when the veil is thin between the worlds, a time to communicate with spirits, particularly at this time nature spirits. In Irish Gaelic, Bealtaine is the name of the month of May.

In Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn means May Day. The word originally meant "Bel Fire", and Beltane is associated with the Celtic God Bel, also known as Balor or Belenus. Bel is a God of Light and Fire and has been equated with the Greek Apollo, and associated with the Sun, although He is not specifically a Sun God. Fires were traditionally built at Beltane, and people would jump over the fire. Young, unmarried people would leap the bonfire and wish for a husband or wife, young women would leap it to ensure their fertility and couples leap it to strengthen a bond.

Cattle were driven through the ashes or between two Beltane fires to ensure a good milk yield. The maypole, still used in Mayday festivities, represents both the phallus and the Goddess. It is also the World Tree connecting the three Worlds, its root in the Underworld, its branches in the Heavens. The shaman`s spirit may travel between the realms via the World Tree, and the phallus is also connected with life, love and death.

The phallus and the World Tree may be seen as two aspects of the God in His relationship to the Goddess in His cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The May Queen is still elected in many village May Day festivals, although the May King is largely left out these days (apart from in Pagan circles). The May King is the Green Man, and was often covered entirely with leaves.

The mating of the Green Man with the Goddess as Queen of May was a magickal act considered necessary for the fertility of the Earth. Beltane is a time of fertility and is also an excellent time for Handfastings, the couple enacting the HeirosýÓgamos, or sacred marriage. The Hawthorn tree (also called the May tree) blossoms at this time, and we are in the Hawthorn month. The blossoms can be gathered, and a delicious wine made from them, to be drunk the following Beltane. Celebrate Beltane by taking pleasure in life and enjoying the gifts of the Goddess.

For those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Beltane is the feast of the mother: Mother Earth, our birth Mothers, the Mothers of our Craft and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ. We crown her with flowers and show her honor and respect promised her by the angels and by her cousin Elizabeth when she was recognized as the mother of Christ. We remember that Mary was the first Christian, accepting Christ in the most personal and intimate way. She is the true royal blood line which gives Christ his noble human ancestry tied with his divine being.

We also celebrate the fertility of women and of Mother Earth. We acknowledge that the earth is primed for sowing that intimate act of readying the ground for planting. We relearn the first command God to Father Adam and that was to care for his Garden of Eden and to care for the plants and herbs and creatures who lived in it. It is also a time to show respect and gratitude to the women who imitated Mother Eve and Mother Mary and gave us life. There are human complications, of course, not all of us were blessed with loving and caring mothers as I was, but even if this is the case for you, you can give this same love and respect to the women who treated us as their own, who cared for us and gave us love and support though they did not physically give birth to us.

Beltane is also the time when we celebrate the women of the Craft who taught us the ways of the wise and guided us in understanding herbs and spells and charms and talismans, who preserved the knowledge from antiquity and gave it to us with the love of any mother for her child.

Midsummer

Midsummer is one of the four solar holidays, and is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Wiccan sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lammas or Lughnasadh.

Some traditions call the festival "Litha", a name occurring in Bede's "Reckoning of Time" (De Temporum Ratione, 7th century), which preserves a list of the (then-obsolete) Anglo-Saxon names for the twelve months. Ærra Liða ('first' or 'preceding' Liða) roughly corresponds to June in our calendar, and Æfterra Liða ('following' Liða) to July. Bede writes that "Litha means 'gentle' or 'navigable', because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea."

As forms of Neopaganism can be quite different and have very different origins, these representations can vary considerably, despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a manner as close as possible to how they believe the Ancient Pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the holiday with rituals culled from numerous other unrelated sources, the Germanic culture being just one of the sources used. In Neo-druidism, the term Alban Hefin is used for the summer solstice. The name was invented by the late-18th century Welsh Romantic author and prolific literary forgerer Iolo Morganwg.

Litha - Minor Sabbat
Also known as Midsummer
Summer solstice (around June 22)
Wiccan mythology: Apex of the God's life

Celebrating the God's life, Litha is another fire festival. It is a holiday of transition, when the God transforms from young warrior to aging sage. It is a time for rejoicing, but also of introspection, making sure plans are still on track and correcting negative aspects of one's life.

Litha is a modern name for this Sabbat There is no historical record of the name as a holiday. It might be derived from the Anglo-Saxon term Lida or Litha which referenced the time period of early summer.

Aolani’s Remarks:

At the Summer Solstice the sun is at its highest and brightest and the day is at its longest. The Lord of Light has fought the powers of darkness, and is triumphant, ensuring fertility in the land. But in so doing so, He sows the seeds of His own death. The Wheel turns and the Dark God (the Holly King) begins to wax in power as the Light God (Oak King) wanes.

The Goddess shows Her Death- in-Life aspect, the Earth is fertile, and all is in bloom, the Goddess reaches out to the fertilizing Sun God at the height of His powers. At the same time She presides over the death of the God. The Goddess dances Her dance of Life and Death, the Sun God loves Her, and dies of His love. The Summer Solstice is a time of fulfillment of love.

Flowers are in bloom everywhere, i.e. in sexual maturity, ready for pollination, fertilization, yet once fertilized they die that the seeds and fruits may develop. At the same time, summer fruits appear, for a short but delicious season.

June was considered by some to be the luckiest month to be married in, and is the time of the mead moon, or honey moon. A tradition was for newlyweds to drink mead daily for a month after their wedding, hence the post wedding holiday being named the honeymoon. Although the days begin to grow shorter after the Summer Solstice, the time of greatest abundance is still to come. The promises of the Goddess and God are still to be fulfilled.

This is a time of beauty, love, strength, energy, rejoicing in the warmth of the sun, and the promise of the fruitfulness to come. It seems a carefree time, yet in the knowledge of life, is the knowledge of death, and beauty is but transitory. We celebrate life, and the triumph of light, but acknowledge death, and the power of the Dark Lord which now begins to grow stronger.

At this time of year, our physical energy is generally at its peak, and we are active and strong. Games involving a show of strength, such as tug of war, wrestling, etc. are appropriate here, and are often staged at summer fairs. This can be considered a remnant of pagan customs involving the battle between the light and dark Gods.

For those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Litha is the feast of the fathers. We honor God the Father, creator of the heavens and the earth and who gave us life in our mother’s wombs. He adopted us into the royal blood line of Christ who called us all brothers and sisters. We also celebrate our earthly fathers. These may be our biological fathers or they may be men who stepped up and loved and cared for us.

There are men who are fathers and then there are sperm donors, that is a sad fact, that it why it is important to celebrate these men who are real men and real fathers. There are also the fathers of the Craft. These are men who joined female witches and learned the way of the wise. Though this wisdom was not limited to women, it took a long time for men to realize that they could benefit from the knowledge women had known for centuries. Because the Craft and the Craft culture is female centric, when men came into the Craft it began to balance the female centeredness of the Craft with the male centeredness of religion and society.

As Christian Witches we embrace this balance of male and female through God the Father and Mary the celestial spouse. We draw energy from this balance and learn to combine both energies

Lammas

Lammas or Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-nah-SAHD) is the first of the three autumn harvest festivals, the other two being the Autumn equinox (or Mabon) and Samhain. Some Wiccans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. These celebrations are not based on Celtic culture, despite common use of a Celtic name Lughnasadh. This name seems to have been a late adoption among Wiccans, since in early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is merely referred to as "August Eve".

The name Lammas implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Eclectic Neopagan rituals may incorporate elements from either festival.

In some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day (loaf-mass day), the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop. In many parts of England, tenants were bound to present freshly harvested wheat to their landlords on or before the first day of August. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is referred to regularly, it is called "the feast of first fruits". The blessing of new fruits was performed annually in both the Eastern and Western Churches on the first or the sixth of August (the latter being the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ). The Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I (died 604) specifies the sixth.

In medieval times the feast was known as the "Gule of August", but the meaning of "gule" is unclear. Ronald Hutton suggests that it may be an Anglicization of Gŵyl Awst, the Welsh name for August 1 meaning "feast of August", but this is perhaps an overly-complicated extraction. Most etymological dictionaries give it an origin similar to gullet; from O.Fr. goulet, dim. of goule "throat, neck," from L. gula "throat,". One can see why Hutton feels differently as this Welsh derivation would point to a pre-Christian origin for Lammas among the Anglo-Saxons and a link to the Gaelic festival of Lughnasadh. 'Gule' could also come from 'Geohhol' (Old English form of 'jule') and thus Lammas Day was the 'Jule of August'.

There are several historical references to it being known as Lambess eve, such as 'Publications of the Scottish Historical Society' 1964 and this alternate name is the origin of the Lambess surname, just as Hallowmass and Christmas were also adopted as familial titles.

Lughnasadh (loo' na sah) or (loon' sah) - Major Sabbat
Also known as Lammas
15 degrees of Leo, or August 1
Wiccan mythology: Aging God

Lughnasadh is the start of Autumn and was the time of the first harvest, and so this is a holiday of fruition and also of preparation for the oncoming winter, as well as the God's impending death. The Goddess enters her phase as Crone. It is a time of giving thanks for all that we have, all that we will have, and all that others have sacrificed for us.

Aolani’s Remarks:

Lughnasadh or Lammas is celebrated on August eve or August 1st and is the festival of the first of the harvests. Lammas is the Anglo-Saxon name for the festival, meaning Loaf mass. Lughnasadh is the festival of Lugh, a Celtic God of Light and Fire and God of crafts and skills. His Welsh form is Llew Law Gyffes, and in the Mabinogion story of Blodeuwidd and Llew, the theme of Llew as the sacrificed God can be seen (we need of course to consider the pre-Christian origins of the story).

Gronw can be seen as the Dark God of the Waning year, and Llew as the Bright Lord of the Waxing year, Blodeuwidd represents the Goddess in Her Flower Maiden aspect. Lammas or Lughnasadh then has the theme of the sacrificed God of the harvest, but he is sacrificed and transformed, rather than descending into the underworld to become Lord of Death, which comes later in the year.

Lammas is a time of the fullness of Life, and a celebration of the bountiful earth. It is a time of the sacrificial mating of Goddess and God, where the Corn King, given life by the Goddess and tasting of Her love is sacrificed and transformed into bread and ale which feeds us. The main themes of Lammas may therefore be seen as thanksgiving to the Goddess for Her bountiful harvest, stating our hopes for what we wish to harvest (for Lammas is the very beginning of the harvest), sacrifice, transformation, and a sharing of the energy of the Corn King.

For Those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Lammas Harvest begins in the late summer with the gathering of the first fruits of the harvest. Early grains, gourds, squashes, grapes come as the promise of even greater abundance at Mabon and Samhain. We honor the plentiful bounty of the first fruits and thank God for his love and care. It is also the time to begin counting your blessings. Not just from your garden but the blessings of life. Think of the health of your family and friends, your work, even your struggles are blessings and you grow and learn and gain wisdom.

This notion of gratitude is lost on modern men and women. Our self-centeredness and greed makes us forget about gratitude. We forget that our lives are intertwined and we depend on each other and God. Many countries and cultures have a day of gratitude or thanksgiving. These three feasts of Lammas, Mabon and Samhain are the periods of thanksgiving when we show our gratitude to God, the earth and the ancestors and each other.

Autumnal Equinox- Mabon

The holiday of Autumn Equinox, Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed (in Neo-Druidic traditions), is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the Goddess and the God during the winter months. The name Mabon was coined by Aidan Kelly around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. In the northern hemisphere this equinox occurs anywhere from September 21 to 24. In the southern hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs anywhere from March 20-23. Among the sabbats, it is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas/Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain.

Mabon ap Modron is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Modron. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. His name is related to the Romano-British god Maponos, whose name means "divine son"; Modron, in turn, is likely related to the Gaulish goddess Dea Matrona.

Mabon was a common name in medieval Wales, and it is difficult to determine whether the various references to Mabons in poetry and the Triads are to the same character. The most important appearance of Mabon ap Modron is in the prose tale Culhwch and Olwen, associated with the Mabinogion and perhaps authored around 1100. King Arthur's men must recruit Mabon to fulfill the demands of Ysbaddaden the giant before he will allow his daughter Olwen marry the protagonist Culhwch. Mabon is the only one who can hunt with the dog Drudwyn, in turn the only dog who can track the great boar Twrch Trwyth. However, Mabon has been missing since he was three nights old, when unknown intruders stole him from between his mother and the wall. Arthur determines that he and his men will find and rescue Mabon. Mabon's whereabouts are unknown even to Britain's oldest and wisest animals, but finally Arthur's followers are led to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal of all. The enormous salmon carries Arthur's men Cei and Bedwyr downstream to Mabon's prison in Gloucester; they hear him through the walls, singing a lamentation for his fate. The rest of Arthur's men launch an assault on the front of the prison, while Cei and Bedwyr sneak in the back and rescue Mabon. Mabon subsequently participates in the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth.

Mabon is mentioned in the 10th century poem Pa Gur yv y Porthaur in a list of Arthur's companions, and is named as a servant of Uther Pendragon's. He reappears in Breuddwyd Rhonabwy, in which he is referred to as one of Arthur's chief advisers.

Mabon - Minor Sabbat
Autumnal equinox (around September 22)
Wiccan mythology: Decline of the God

Mabon was the second harvest, and as such becomes another holiday of thanksgiving. It is also the day when darkness once more overtakes light, and so it is a day of planning, reflection, and the contemplation of mysteries.

While a minor Sabbat, Mabon is named after a Celtic, not Germanic, god who was imprisoned only to return at a later date. The name does not appear to have been historically attributed to any festival.

Aolani’s Remarks:

The two equinoxes are times of equilibrium. Day and night are equal and the tide of the year flows steadily, but whilst the Spring Equinox manifests the equilibrium before action, the Autumnal Equinox represents the repose after action, the time to take satisfaction in the work of the summer and reap its benefits.

The Autumnal Equinox is celebrated on 21st September, and is the second harvest festival, with the fruit being gathered in. We celebrate the abundance of the earth, and make wine from the excess fruit, to preserve the richness of the fruits of the earth to give us joy throughout the year.

This is the time of the Vine. The God, who was Lord of the Greenwood in the summer and the Corn King at Lughnasadh now dances His last dance upon the earth, as Dionysus, God of wine, music and dance, before making his descent to the underworld to take up his role as Dread Lord of Shadows. The Lord of Light, the Sun King, His power waning, exists briefly in balance with the Dark Lord before giving way to the growing power of darkness, but the power of the sun is encapsulated in the grape and the fruits of the earth.

The wine will remind us of his power throughout the year. The leaves falling from the trees and rotting into the earth are a reflection of the Horned God's journey from the Greenwood to the underworld, deep into the womb of the Mother, where He will reside until He begins to emerge with the new green shoots in the spring. The Autumnal Equinox marks the completion of the harvest, and thanksgiving, with the emphasis on the future return of that abundance.

The Eleusinian mysteries took place at this time, during which the initiate was said to have been shown a single ear of grain with the words "In silence is the seed of wisdom gained". The themes then of the Autumnal Equinox are the completion of the harvest, the balance of light and dark, and of male and female, and an acknowledgement of the waning power of the sun and the waxing power of the Dark Lord.

For those Christian Witches Practicing the Craft

Mabon Mabon is the second feast of gratitude. It is also a time of self examination. This is not only for your blessings but for your failings in life as they are lessons we learn to be better people and better Christians and better witches.

Since we follow not only the Golden Rule but the Witches’ Rede we must consider our lives and how we impact each other. Have we done all that we can to protect, honor and respect each other? Have we served God and the Craft? Do we harbor hatred and pettiness against others? Have we reached all of our goals? Have we honored ourselves with rest, good healthy food, and work and play in equal parts?
Mabon is that time to find balance, seek guidance, forgive others and ourselves and to ask for forgiveness, resolve conflicts, and dedicate ourselves to improving our lives for others as well as for ourselves. Remember, Harm None applies to all of us, even ourselves. Do not burden your soul with negativity.

Source: Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk’s Christian Book of Shadows, Raymond Buckland’s The Complete Book of Witchcraft, The Wheel of the Year by Ashleen O’ Gaia, The Ritual of the Solitary Witch By Deborah Linn and The Witch and Wizards Grimoire by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Wiccan Sabbats: The Wheel of the Year by David Rankine & Sorita

Karma, Sacrifice, and Magic


In Season 3 episode 10 we see Holly in a magic Circle with Arlene as she prepares a decoction for Arlene to end her pregnancy. At one point, she holds up her athame and asks Arlene to hold out her hand and draws a drop of blood which she puts in the decoction. When Arlene asks Holly why they need to do that, Holly tells her that the Gods demand a sacrifice and that nothing is free.

This part was wrong on many levels. There are many types of witchcraft and many ways to practice Paganism, but since Holly presents herself as a Wiccan this is pretty specific, so we shall address this.

First off, an athame is a directional tool. It is used to direct energy, much as a finger would or a wand, or bunch of sage or anything else. A Wiccan that practices would know that their tools are dedicated to their deity or Gods with the intention of carrying out their wishes and harming none.

Blood would never be allowed to touch an athame and in fact is not used at all. Blood does have power, to be sure, but Wiccans live under the Rede of “Do As Ye Will, An It Harm None”. Drawing blood is in fact causing harm and with the awareness now of blood and the dangers that can be found with it, it is especially reviled. There are all sorts of diseases that are possible, as well as risks of infection and more. One could argue that it was her own blood and so she was not ingesting anything that wasn’t already there, but it still does not negate the harm, even by cutting. Wiccans do NOT use blood in any ritual or spell they might ever do. They certainly would not defile their working tools with such a thing. It is an insult to the Gods and Goddess themselves and very disrespectful. Our thought is that the Lord and Lady created us and gave us the body to be healthy and happy with and to do such a thing is to negate their gift or to make light of it and use it for a purpose that it was never intended for.

This is not to say that there isn’t sacrifice in any spell. There is always something demanded and something given and it must be expected by the person doing the spell or the person receiving the benefit. For example, if I were to do a spell for quick money (and I have, trust me!) then I might use a green candle and cinnamon. I would state my wish and intention and be as specific as possible (I would not want to do a spell that would accidently harm someone else, now would I?). Now it usually comes to pass that it does create a nice little influx of cash but at what expense? If I am working, it will usually mean more overtime for me, and if I am not then my husband would suddenly be swamped with work. Well, what did you expect? Free money? Nothing in life is free!

In Arlene’s case, the sacrifice is in having to deal with her lies to Terry and her own unresolved issues with her mother and belief that abortion is a Sin. These are the issues that this will bring up and that either will need to be dealt with or they will haunt her potentially for the rest of her life.

Karma comes in to play when you think that the actions Arlene is taking can result in harm to another (the baby itself) and therefore the karma she has is the worry and fear she has over anyone finding out what she has done and knowing she has gone against her core principles. Is she right considering it might be Rene’s baby? Only time will tell, but either way, it won’t be easy for Arlene to deal with as she goes along in her pregnancy.

When you take an action, you have to be prepared for the consequences. I have done healing rituals for loved ones or people who requested it. When I was less experienced, it caused a chain reaction that I did not expect. One would be healed but then someone closer to me, or even I myself, would become seriously ill, sometimes even worse than the original person was sick. There is good reason to caution any novice thinking to play with such things.

Wicca has a lot to offer the current and upcoming plotline, but I fear that there is a perpetuation of the myth and misunderstanding of it once again. It glamorizes it in a way that it shouldn’t be, while ignoring the benefits and risks associated.


Sourced from years of my own teachings and from teachers before me.

Thank you Aolani for telling us this stuff, so often TV and Movies get this aspect of the Craft wrong...Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

Thanks ladies for all the info. It was very interesting!

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Godric had a band of runes tattooed on his arm. I can only see the back clearly enough to attempt to read it. I am always interested in the details the writers and costumers put in their work. So I took the time to try to figure out the symbols on that band and give you some little but of insight about what the band might mean.

The Norse and Pictish people of this time period did tattoo, though I am not sure they would have done this sort of tattooing, that is, tattoo the runes on one’s skin. It is very possible they did. For the Norse, the runes were as much a divining tool as they were an alphabet and while each symbol had a sound and value as a part of written language, they also had a divinatory value and some say an astrological value. And this makes sense. The Norse, like the people of the Middle East and Southern Europe used the stars to navigate the world.

So what I did was get the clearest picture I could of the runes. These runes are clearest on the back part of his arm and there are two bands of writing. The first row is the first band and the second row is the second band.

The band, or sentence tells us: You will understand your destiny and your path and you will determine the way you will go. You will be met with challenges and grievances. You shall know victory and justice and through inner peace you will be considered honorable. All around you are forces beyond your control, a wrath, whirling against you but it will eventually lead to your completion and you will find inner peace. You will experience resurrection, and eventually take your own life, but have a deeper connection to the deities and be protected from all harm….

The second band or sentence tells us: You will face your fears in a journey of endurance. But you will know loss and death. You will travel and evolve. But around you , you will see delusions and manipulations of others. You will experience boredom, apathy. Your greatest trials are to come and honor and justice will come to you at last.

So what does that mean to Godric? Were the gods of his time and people telling his future? Did it suggest the end of both his human life and his Vampire life? Does it predict his struggles to find harmony with Vampire and humans? Did Godric find “god” as he met the sun? Is the boredom and apathy he has what drives him to be disappointed in his own kind, and somewhat in Eric, who is still the way Vampires have always been? Will Godric ever be content with the way things are for his kind and will he ever approve of his child and find the peace he died to seek?

The Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland, Norseways By Steff Grav, Divintations by Arthur Burke

Wow! Thanks for the info.

Now I wish we could get a clear picture of the rest of the runes.

Simply fascinating. Makes you wonder how they can get details such as that so correct and yet miss out on other whole entire broad areas. You did a wonderful job with it Aslinn, I know it wasn't easy!

Hypertrichosis (also called Ambras Syndrome) describes hair growth on the body in an amount considered abnormal. Extensive cases of hypertrichosis have informally been called werewolf syndrome. There are two distinct types of hypertrichosis: generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area. Hypertrichosis can be either congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life. Several circus sideshow performers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Julia Pastrana, had hypertrichosis. Many of them worked as freaks and were promoted as having distinct human and animal traits.

This is a very rare syndrome with only about 50 cases reported worldwide since the Middle Ages. The condition is characterised by excessive hair growth on a child at birth. Most of the body is covered with lanugo hair, which is an unpigmented, fine, soft and silky hair that covers the foetus and which is usually shed at around 8 months gestation and replaced with fine vellus hair and terminal scalp hair in preparation for birth. In congenital hypertrichosis, lanugo hair continues to grow and this excessively long fine hair persists throughout life.

The condition is also associated with porphyria, a disease thought of as the scientific explanation for sympotoms of Vampirism. Porphyria is due to a defective enzyme in the liver (uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase). This is involved in synthesis of the red pigment in blood cells (haem).

There is a genetic predisposition to PCT. PCT generally begins in mid-adult life after exposure to certain chemicals that increase the production of porphyrins (precursors of haem) in the liver. These include:

• alcohol
• oestrogen e.g. oral contraceptive, hormone replacement or liver disease
• polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. dioxins, when PCT is associated with chloracne).
• iron overload, due to excessive intake (orally or by blood transfusion), viral infections (hepatitis, especially hepatitis C) or chronic blood disorders such as thalassaemia (acquired haemochromatosis), or hereditary haemochromatosis
Congenital terminal hypertrichosis is characterized by the presence of fully pigmented terminal hair that covers the entire body. This condition is usually accompanied by gingival hyperplasia. This form is most responsible for the term "Werewolf Syndrome" because of the thick dark hair that appears.

People with hypertrichosis often found jobs as circus performers due to their unique appearance. Fedor Jeftichew ("Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Man"), Stephan Bibrowski ("Lionel the Lion-Faced Man"), Jesus "Chuy" Aceves ("Wolfman"), and Annie Jones ("the bearded woman"), are or were all notable people with hypertrichosis. Extensive hypertrichosis carries an emotional burden and can cause cosmetic embarrassment; however, some people attempt no treatments because they say it defines who they are.

Werewolves were said in European folklore to bear tell-tale physical traits even in their human form. These included the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the pretense that fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognized by bristles under the tongue.

Some modern researchers have tried to explain the reports of werewolf behavior with recognized medical conditions. Dr Lee Illis of Guy's Hospital in London wrote a paper in 1963 entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves, in which he argues that historical accounts on werewolves could have in fact been referring to victims of congenital porphyria, stating how the symptoms of photo-sensitivity, reddish teeth and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a sufferer of being a werewolf. This is however argued against by Woodward, who points out how mythological werewolves were almost invariably portrayed as resembling true wolves, and that their human forms were rarely physically conspicuous as porphyria victims. Others have pointed out the possibility of historical werewolves having been sufferers of hypertrichosis, a hereditary condition manifesting itself in excessive hair growth. However, Woodward dismissed the possibility, as the rarity of the disease ruled it out from happening on a large scale, as werewolf cases were in medieval Europe. Woodward suggested rabies as the origin of werewolf beliefs, claiming remarkable similarities between the symptoms of that disease and some of the legends. Woodward focused on the idea that being bitten by a werewolf could result in the victim turning into one, which suggested the idea of a transmittable disease like rabies.

Freaks: The Stories of the Carnival Folk by John Samuels, Jo Jo the Dog Faced Man by Thomas Lawrence, Themes of Beauty and the Beast by Dolores Franks and Herbert Willington, Folks Like Us: Living in the Freak Show by Jerry Smithson, The Merck Manual of Medical Conditions

Awesome article Aslinn!

Now there have been many stories of women who give birth to demons. Most of them seem to be an attempt to either indict women who are accused of "coupling" with the Lord of Darkness or to explain the births of malformed children. Whatever it is, it is another facet of Christian traditions that Satan, being God's opposite number, imitates God and since God has a begotten Son, so does the Devil.

Where do we get this idea? Well mainly it is a misconception the Beast as written of by the Apocalyptic Prophet John in the Book of Revelation, a man born under a bad sign with a number on his head or hand, and those with understanding will identify the number for the number is 666.... The Beast is not the son of the Devil. He is merely a follower.

No one really knows what the number means. Some eschatologists, that is students of Apocalyptic literature, have theories that it has to do with Nero, others believe it has to do with Hitler, and some even say Ronald Reagan was the Beast...But is the beast the son of the Devil? Actually no...Unless you go to Hollywood where the child of Satan has been bred up multiple times.

One of the first movies about the devil's child was Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Mia Farrow plays a young woman who is married to an out of work actor. They move into an apartment building with some very strange neighbors. Eventually there comes a night when she gets a little tipsy and she is raped by her husband...but was she? Or was she raped by something else...

Of course it was the devil. Satan is played by the former carnival barker and self proclaimed Satanist Anton LaVey, and Rosemary finally has the baby and learns it is the son of the devil.

The Second most famous was Damien from The Omen. An omen is a sign or prediction of upcoming events, and this child's birth is predicted. Now, in The Omen, there is a bit which begins:

When the Jews return to Zion
And a comet rips the sky
And the Holy Roman Empire rises,
Then you and I must die.
From the eternal sea he rises,
Creating armies on either shore,
Turning man against his brother
'Til man exists no more.

When the movie came out, arm chair theologians ran for their Bibles to find that bit, but it isn't in there. It was written to sound biblical or like it came from Nostradamus....but it echoes the basic premise of the biblical prophesy. This movie launched three more movies, the last being a real failure.

Now, there are other stories about just bad seeds....children born with no empathy:

The Good Son: Cauley MacCulkin is a bad seed who tries to kill his family by the end of the movie....
The Bad Seed: This little girl is a killing machine
The Unborn: Stupid movie, but you get the premise.
The Children of the Corn
The Other: One of my personal faves

But I think some of these tales are from ancient times when babies were born with physical deformities. Of course there was no science so metaphysical explanations had be made. Deformities like gargoylism, dwarfism, and even conditions like cleft pallet was considered signs of being cursed or of being the child of something unholy.

There is also the cultural belief in many religious systems that a child can be born evil because the father is evil. For example, the child of rape might be born under a cloud because it is gotten out of violence. Or illegitimacy which give the child a ben sinister. Or the child of criminals were often thought to be doomed to a life a criminality.

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So what is a Coven anyway?

A coven is a group of witches who have an older, more experienced witch as the head of the coven. It is witch school before Hogwarts. This group would meet for all the pagan holidays and would invoke spirits and make potions and do spells together. In history, the coven has been given the sinister appellation as being the time when the devil and all his minions come to feast and engage in sex with witches and to make others witches.

Thing is, covens are fairly new in principle and the stories of covens come from the times of the Inquisition and the Salem witch trials, but where did they get the notion of women coming together at all? The old fashioned hen party, of course. Thus began a legend of the coven.

Back in the day, older wives and granny women and young women, perhaps about to get married or are married, would get together and gossip and work on their sewing and generally socialize and the older women would teach the younger women things that would be useful for married life or how to catch a husband if they hadn't already been successful. The main things they would discuss is the conception and birthing of babies and how to tend to sickness in the house. And of course, medicine being what it was, it involved herbal treatments and religious practices that would bring out a good result. These prayers were usually Christian, but some had their foundations in the Old Religion, just dressed up in their Sunday go to meeting clothes.

But, like all ages of time there was an avid interest in how to not be pregnant. Back in those days, birth control was a dodgy affair and women often got pregnant because there was simply no way to keep from it. And child birth was a very dangerous undertaking. And usually, it was up to the man to decide when he was going to have a son, and not when the women said she she was ready. So there were some whispers about ways to keep a man from either performing sexually by feeding him something or doing a little "prayer" to make him subpar. Then there were the herbals that would bring on miscarriages and the like, and like all things in primitive medicine, some things worked, some things didn't.

But of all the groups that got accused of witchery, the midwife was public enemy number one. They were accused of all sorts of things, including killing babies. This most usually involved smothering the baby, or running a hat pin through the heart or the soft places in the skull and before you knew it, if the midwife had a streak of bad luck...she would be accused of witchery.

Traditionally a coven had 13 women, no more or less. It was a mockery of the Last Supper, and they used the ill fated 13, the devil's number. They would be seen during the full moon and they would strip naked and dance in a circle and sacrifice things to the devil and would curse people in the village. At least that is what they would have you to believe.

Actually witches were generally solitary practitioners who lived on their own either by choice or because they were ostracized. They learned their craft alone and practiced it alone. But believe me, there was a well worn path beaten to their back door.

Modern covenry begins it's life in the sixties. Gerald Gardner has written his book: The Meaning of Witchcraft and describes being initiated by Old Dot the high priestess of a local coven. He is the first public witch and he details the basics of Covenry and how to worship the Old Religion in a group and the circle of feasts. Most modern Pagan Witches get their cue from him.

Modern Covens can have many members but are under the auspices of a Grove. A grove is a collection of covens in any one area. Sort of like having many Baptist Churches in one small town with a superintendent over the whole gang to make sure the churches practice basically the same way. There are times a coven feels too big and depending sometimes on the trad, there is a set number your coven can hold (and it is way more than 13) and the coven hives off to create a new coven with their own head. Hiving off is when your coven splits. Most of the time this is pretty amicable, but some times it is a troubling affair. But that happens with all human institutions on time or another.

Most covens have a focused tradition. There are Norse covens, Celtic covens, Greek and Roman covens, Christian and Christo-Pagan covens, Faerie Covens and some covens who follow particular teachers, like Gardenarian Covens, who follow the concepts set down by Gerald Garner. Then there are some who are Alexandrian Covens, and they follow the teachings of Alexander Sanders, who was a disciple of Gerald Gardner. The differences from coven to coven seem to be one of pantheon and basic rules about initiation, but all follow the Wiccan Rede and the wheel of the year.

Not all witches like the constraints of a coven. This may be because they are eclectic and follow several pantheons and mix the practices of several trads or traditions, or they may follow a family tradition of Craft, or they may follow a non-traditional tradition, like Christian Witchery.

Modern Covens can establish themselves now as tax exempt religious denominations. They can be made 501 c3's and they can collect dues and tithes. Some have actual temples or church buildings to hold their major and minor sabbats. But most are simply like minded people who meet in people's houses or in parks or forests and perform their feasts and rites together and study together.

So here it is, in a nut shell. It will be interesting to know what Eric knows about covens and how this plays into the story this season.

Source: Spellworking for Covens by Edain McCoy and Covensense by Patricia Crowther.

Thank you so much for that information dearest.....

Excellent article Aslinn! The only thing I might add is that you said in there that all covens follow the wheel of the year and the Rede. Well, Wiccan covens follow the Rede, but non Wiccan covens do not. All of the covens you had listed ARE Wiccan, so that is exactly right on. However if you were to meet a Gyspy coven or a Strega one, they wouldnt practice the Rede at all. It seems such a little thing, but the intent to follow the Rede or not is a huge distinction in how a coven acts and practices.

Great job!

Very interesting information ladies. Thanks for sharing.

Without exception, every civilization on Earth has very similar ideas about the magical properties of salt - namely that it absorbs psychic energy and binds it into its own structure. Salt was a valuable commodity for many centuries. People made wars over salt, formed and destroyed the state. Salt was a commodity, which is carried by the “salt roads” in the center of the Germanic tribes in the end of era of the Roman Empire and throughout the Middle Ages. Cities, states and principalities, “salt road” passed through which, levied huge taxes on traders for transporting salt through their territory. This marked the beginning of the war, and even caused the base of some cities such as Munich in 1158. Salt is a valuable product also now.

From the Roman Catholic rite of preparing holy water, which contains both water and salt to the Indian custom of using salt on wounds to draw away unhealthy spirits, and with evidence that salt has been used in just that way for as long as humans have employed magic, there is clearly a strong consensus and that tends to be simply based on truth, fact, and experience.


Protection Against Psychic Phenomena
Salt has always been used as protection against psychic attacks, and to disable unwanted psychic phenomena.

Ordinary salt may be sprinkled across thresholds and around the perimeter of dwellings, inside and out;

Salt mixed with sand is used for forming magic circles;

Rock salt crystals can be added to "medicine pouches", carried in pockets or worn in a small bag about the neck.

Sprinkling salt around someone's bed protects from unwanted night time visitors and reduces the likelihood of unwanted spontaneous out of body experiences.


Salt For Purification

With salt's extreme ability to draw away remnants of psychic energy, including "ghost manifestations" of many different kinds, salt has always been used for psychic clearing and for purification. Magicians and priests routinely prepare for ceremonies by taking a bath which contains salt as one of the main ingredients; Magical objects and crystals are cleansed by immersing them in salt water; Bowls of salt may be placed into a room to absorb negative energy or psychic energy disturbances; Food and objects can be purified by adding a small amount of salt, or placing a small amount of salt nearby;
Throwing salt is generally regarded as a device to clear the aura of a person or an environment of leftover psychic energy.
A box containing salt can be used to purify anything that is placed upon it; Crystals placed on a bed of salt or on a salt box require less, or no clearing at all.


Salt, Water & Fire Spells

As salt absorbs psychic energy, it can be used to transfer or transmute a wish or spell to the higher powers by first making the spell, then throwing the salt into the fire where it burns up and in doing so, releases the psychic charge into the higher dimensions.

The most basic form of this type of spell is to hold a little salt in the hand, make a wish, and then throw the salt into the fire.

In the same vein, salt can be thrown into water - a well, a river and into the sea and can be used to carry wishes, or take away burdens, clear attachments from the aura. It is an immensely flexible system with a hundred and one uses.


Salt & Healing
Just a small amount of salt added to healing brews, potions and lotions of any kind will serve to "take care of the other realms" and extend the effectiveness of said brew, potion or lotion into the psychic dimensions - something that modern medicine and medications lack altogether.

Salt is of course a major practical part of our bodies and our health; too much salt however can reduce psychic activity and make it harder to perform psychic tasks. This is one of the reasons why in the olden days, magicians and priests used to fast and drink only pure water prior to major ceremonies. It is interesting to note that having a good flow of salt in and out of the body is extremely important to the full functioning of a magician or priest, both on the physical levels as well as on the metaphysical levels.

Regular bathing in salt water is a first class prophylactic to all manner of psychic disturbances as well as being good for the physical body; in this way, salt is a simple introduction and a bridge between the physical and metaphysical realms for beginners.

Salt in other traditions:

The natives of Morocco regard salt as a talisman against evil, and a common amulet among the Neapolitan poor is a bit of rock-salt suspended from the neck. The peasants of the Hartz Mountain region in Germany believe that three grains of salt in a milk-pot will keep witches away from the milk; and to preserve butter from their uncanny influences, it was a custom in the county of Aberdeen, Scotland, some years ago, to put salt on the lid of a churn. In Normandy, also, the peasants are wont to throw a little salt into a vessel containing milk, in order to protect the cow who gave the milk from the influences of witchcraft.

Peculiar notions about the magical properties of salt are common among American negroes. Thus in some regions a new tenant will not move into a furnished house until all objects therein have been thoroughly salted, with a view to the destruction of witch-germs. Another example of the supernatural attributes ascribed to salt is the opinion current among uneducated people in some communities of its potency in casting a spell over obnoxious individuals. For this purpose it is sufficient either to sprinkle salt over the sleeping form of an enemy, or on the grave of one of his ancestors. Another kind of salt-spell in vogue in the south of England consists in throwing a little salt into the fire on three successive Friday nights, while saying these words:

It is not this salt I wish to burn,
It is my lover's heart to turn;
That be may neither rest nor happy be,
Until he comes and speaks to me.

On the third Friday night the disconsolate damsel expects her lover to appear. Every one is familiar with the old saying, "You can catch a bird with your hand, if you first put some salt on its tail." This quaint expression has been thought to imply that, if one can get near enough to a bird to place salt on its tail, its capture is an easy matter. The phrase, however, may be more properly attributed to a belief in the magical properties of salt in casting a spell over the bird. Otherwise any substance mioht be equally effective for the purpose of catching it. The writer remembers having read somewhere an old legend about a young man who playfully threw some salt on the back of a witch sitting next to him at table, and the witch thereupon acquired such an increase of avoirdupois that she was unable to move until the young man obligingly brushed away the salt.

The ancient Teutons believed that the swift flight of birds was caused by certain powerful spirits of the air. Now salt is a foe to ghostly might, imparts weight to bodies, and impedes their motion; therefore the rationale of its operation when placed upon a bird's tail is easily intelligible.

In the Province of Quebec French Canadians sometimes scatter salt about the doors of their stables to prevent those mischievous little imps called lutins from entering and teasing the horses by sticking burrs in their manes and tails. The lutin or gobelin is akin to the Scandinavian household spirit, who is fond of children and horses, and who whips and pinches the former when they are naughty, but caresses them when good. In Marsala, west Sicily, a horse, mule, or donkey, on entering a new stall, is thought to be liable to molestation by fairies. As a precautionary measure, therefore, a little salt is placed on the animal's back, and this is believed to insure freedom from lameness, or other evil resulting from fairy spite. Common salt has long enjoyed a reputation as a means of procuring disenchantment. It was an ingredient of a salve "against nocturnal goblin visitors" used by the Saxons in England, and described in one of their ancient leech-books; while in the annals of folk-medicine are to be found numerous references to its reputed virtues as a magical therapeutic agent. In Scotland, when a person is ailing of some affection whose nature is not apparent, as much salt as can be placed on a sixpence is dissolved in water, and the solution is then applied three times to the soles of the patient's feet, to the palms of his hands, and to his forehead. He is then expected to taste the mixture, a portion of which is thrown over the fire while saying, "Lord, preserve us frae a' skaith."

The Germans of Buffalo valley in central Pennsylvania believe that a boy may be cured of homesickness by placing salt in the hems of his trousers and making him look up the chimney.

In India the natives rub salt and wine on the affected part of the body as a cure for scorpion bites, believing that the success of this treatment is due to the supernatural virtue of the salt in searing away the fiends who caused the pain. An ancient Irish charm of great repute in cases of suspected "fairy-stroke" consisted in placing on a table three equal portions of salt in three parallel rows. The would-be magician then encircles the salt with his arm and repeats the Lord's Prayer thrice over each row. Then, taking the hand of the fairy-struck person, he says over it, "By the power of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, let this disease depart and the spell of evil spirits be broken." Then follows a solemn adjuration and command addressed to the supposed demon, and the charm is complete.

In Bavaria and the Ukraine, in order to ascertain whether a child has been the victim of bewitchment, the mother licks its forehead; and if her sense of taste reveals thereby a marked saline flavor, she is convinced that her child has been under the influence of an evil eye.

In the Swiss canton of Bern a person is believed to be amply fortified against all kinds of spiritual enemies by the simple expedient of carrying a piece of fresh bread and a psalm-book in the right and left coat pockets respectively, provided one is careful to have some rock-salt either in each vest pocket, or inside a briarwood cane upon which three crosses have been cut. In Bohemia a mother seeks to protect her daughter from evil glances by placing a little bread and salt in her pocket; and when a young girl goes out for a walk the mother sprinkles salt on the ground behind her, so that she may not lose her way.

Holy water has been employed in the religious ceremonies of many peoples as a means of purifying both persons and things, and also to keep away demons. Sprinkling and washing with it were important features of the Greek ritual.

The holy water of the Roman Catholic Church is prepared by exorcising and blessing salt and water separately, after which the salt is dissolved in the water and a benediction pronounced upon the mixture. In the Hawaiian ritual, sea-water was sometimes preferred.

A Magyar house-mistress will not give any salt to a woman who may come to the door and ask for it in the early morning, believing that any such would-be borrower is surely a witch; but in order to keep away all witches and hags, she strews salt on the threshold. On St. Lucien's Day neither salt nor fire must be taken out of the house.

Among the Japanese, the mysterious preservative qualities of salt are the source of various superstitions. The mistress of a household will not buy it at night and when purchased in the daytime a small quantity is thrown into the fire in order to prevent discord in the family, and to avert misfortune generally.

In Scotland salt was formerly in high repute as a charm, and the salt-box was the first chattel to be removed to a new dwelling. When Robert Burns, in the year 1789, was about to occupy a new house at Ellisland, he was escorted on his route thither along the banks of the river Nith by a procession of relatives, and in their midst was borne a bowl of salt resting on the family Bible.

In some places in the north of England the giving away of salt is a dangerous procedure; for if the salt thus given comes into the possession of an evil-wisher, it places the donor entirely in the power of such a person.

In upper Egypt, previous to the setting out of a caravan, it is customary for the native women to throw salt on burning coals, which are carried in earthen vessels and set down before the different loads. While so doing they exclaim, "May you be blessed in going and coming," and such incantations they believe render inert all the machinations of evil spirits.

Sources: Scott Cunningham's Magickal Herbs, Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, Paul Beyers the Complete Herbal

Creating a magic circle is known as casting a circle, circle casting, and various other names.

There are many published techniques for casting a circle, and many groups and individuals have their own unique methods. The common feature of these practices is that a boundary is traced around the working area. Some witchcraft traditions say that one must trace around the circle deosil three times. There is variation over which direction one should start in. In Wicca a circle is typically nine feet in diameter, though the size can vary depending on the purpose of the circle, and the preference of the caster.

Circles may or may not be physically marked out on the ground, and a variety of elaborate patterns for circle markings can be found in grimoires and magical manuals, often involving angelic and divine names. Such markings, or a simple unadorned circle, may be drawn in chalk or salt, or indicated by other means such as with a cord.

The four cardinal directions are often prominently marked, such as with four candles. In ceremonial magic traditions the four directions are commonly related to the four archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel (or Auriel), or the four classical elements, and also have four associated names of God. Some varieties of Wicca use the common ceremonial colour attributions for their "quarter candles": yellow for Air in the east, red for Fire in the south, blue for Water in the west and green for Earth in the north (though these attributions differ according to geographical location and individual philosophy). Other ceremonial traditions have candles between the quarters, i.e. in the north-east, north-west and so on.

Generally, as with most magical practices, an incantation is recited stating the purpose and nature of the circle, often repeating an assortment of divine and angelic names.

The magic circle is a sacred and purified space where all rites, magical work, and ceremonials are conducted. It serves as a boundary for a reservoir of concentrated power and is the doorway from this world to the spirits and gods. The circle is symbolic of wholeness, perfection and unity; the creation of the cosmos; the womb of Mother Earth; and the cycle of the seasons and birth-death-regeneration. Within the circle it is believed possible to transcend the physical, to expose the mind to deeper and higher levels of consciousness.

The magician enters the circle expecting to unite the spirits or gods with the forces of nature in a harmonious relationship. Positive or desired deities are invoked, invited, and not commanded, evoked, to witness and participate in the rites. The circle also serves to protect those within it from negative spirits and energies. The circle is been thoroughly cleansed of all unfriendly spirits and negative energies, witches frequently symbolize this by sweeping the space with a boom.

Circles since ancient times have been reputed for magical properties. They were drawn around beds of the sick and mothers who recently bore children to protect them from demons. Their remnants which are seen in the stone circles of Britain give credence to the importance of the circle.

Circles were frequently cast for protection in order to ward off psychic attacks or physical intrusion of a home. They must be recast because their protective and magical powers are not permanent, but must be renewed with ceremonies.

Sources: Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and Scott Cunningham Solitary Witchcraft.

Faeries are pretty tricky and as a rule it truly a brave human who cultivates a relationship with the fae. One of the only acceptable ways to thank a faery who shares your hearth and home is to offer food and drink. They love a bit of milk, a crumb of cake and a sup of wine or whiskey or a piece of fruit.

Why do they like human treats? And they have their own recipes? Faeries like human food because it is an act of sharing one's self. It is a symbol of family and togetherness and companionship. And the fae do have their own special treats but humans should be wary and even avoid faery food. Faery food cannot help but be enchanted and thus troubling for those humans who consume it. It can cause entrapment and intense longing for the world it came from. There are only a few ways to uncharm a person who is enchanted by faery food.

Mortals who are kidnapped and taken to faery and returned must be fed things like yarrow tea and special foods blessed by holy water (and this can be the Christian notion of holy water or it can be sea water or stump water, the water that collects in hollow logs) Rowan and yew barks are used to cure the intense melancholy and longing experienced by the former prisoners of the fae.

There was one account about two sisters who were magikally drawn to an elvish market and one of the sisters ate the fruit of the market and was stricken with longing for the world of the fae. He sister returned to the market and the elves smeared the fruit of the elvish market on her face and lips to try and get her to eat and she could not be compelled to eat it. She did go home and kiss her sister with her fruit smeared mouth to stop the enchantment.

In the Mabigon, St. Collen is invited into a faery rade (rath) and and given faery food. He refused saying he could not eat food unless it was offered to the Christian God.

The most intoxicating of the faery drinks is Elderberry wine. Since the Elder is dedicated to the Lady of Pagan ways it is sacred and guarded. The intoxication makes the drinker happier, more willing to dance and make love with zeal and is drunken in a way they never want to sober up from....

Sources:

Faeries by Brian Froud, Good Faeries and Bad Faeries by Brian Froud, Irish Cures, Mystic Charms and Superstitions by Lady Wilde, The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews, A Complete Guide to Faeries and Magical Beings by Cassandra Easson, Fairies and Elves by the Editors of Time Life Books

Thank you sweetheart, as always very instructive

Shape Shifting is a well known occurrence in Native American story telling. Shamans often called upon and were possessed by the spirits of animal spirits who spoke to the people and told them things they needed to know. Various times, shape shifters were the messengers of the Great Spirit (this is a generic term to describe the creator among Native American people, the creator actually has various names) and guides from one place to another, one plane from another and were loved and respected, not seen as objects of derision and fear.

So, why is Luna's story so negative about skin walkers and shape shifters?

I had to do some real research, and though I did find stories that seemed to jive with Luna's claim, I also found a multitude of stories from the Navajo which said otherwise. This conflict troubled me. Sunbear, in his book Animals Speak, says shapeshifting/skinwalkers are a group of specially blessed people who are in touch with the dualities of men and animals, that there is some of both in each creature. The books, Legends of the Indians and Voices of the Winds tells both positive and negative stories, often one right after the other, particularly among the Navajo. This of course confused me. Why particularly the Navajo do we find such conflict. For this, I made a few phone calls.

Denise Bearwoman is a shaman and traditional healer of the Navajo in Indian County on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. I met her years ago at a ten tribe pow wow in Tennessee. I told her about the show and the character of Luna Garza and our forum and our Mythology thread. I then asked her why the Navajo have such a conflicted feeling about the Shapeshifters/Skinwalkers.

Denise says this conflict goes back to the time Christian missionaries were sent into the reservations by the American government to set up state schools. The Missionaries main goal as far as the government was concerned, was to kill the Indian out of the Native Americans. They took the various and most popular stories of the Navajo, the shapeshifter/skinwalker stories and virtually demonized them, just as Christians did in pagan lands in Europe. The shape shifters/skinwalkers were associated with witches.

Now, witches are well known and feared in Native American cultures, even before the Europeans came. She said, it is the Shaman was cast as a witch, though Shamans were nothing of a sort. Sort of like the difference between a witch and sorcerer in European traditions. Witches are good, who use their talents and abilities to do good and sorcerers were evil and selfish and used magik for their own gain and to hurt people. Of course the Missionaries did not draw such distinctions.

As Navajos went to these schools and came home again, they began to tell new versions of the old stories that soon, unfortunately over took the old stories, casting shapeshifters/skinwalkers as benevolent servants of the Great Spirit. Now they were evil monsters and the products of witches and intent on harming the good....So I asked her, which was the true story of the shapeshifter/skinwalker. She said all and none...the only one who can truly tell us that is the shapeshifter/skinwalker themselves and they prefer to make no comment...Perhaps they are waiting for wisdom to catch up with us.....

But, here is a twist. Len, our own Body Guard, explains the there is a difference between Shapeshifters and Skinwalkers. He says, Shapeshifters are good people or shamans who do shift into animals and are helpful and wise and well repsected among the people.

Skinwalkers, on the other hand, are people and shamans who start out as Shapeshifters but become evil. They become evil when they take the extra step of becoming another person. They have a conscious desire to shift into a human and once they shift back, they are Skinwalkers and thus, they are witches, and considered evil. The act of shifting into another person is something of a contract, consciously accepted and freely done to become a Skinwalker and now a feared and hated creature.

Shamans, like European pagans, use the pelt of an animal to shift into that animal. Conversely, the Skinwalker uses the skin of a human being to shift into that person.....

Sources: Denise Bearwoman, Navajo Shaman, Indian Co. Arizona, The Animals Speak by Sun Bear, Voices in the Winds by Ella E Clark and American Indian Myths and Legends by Erdoze and Ortiz and Len Parraz, from his own Hispanic and Lakota Sioux background....Thank you Len