balance

Spell-Struck

Morika Bernhard July, 2011

With Litha (mid-Summer/Summer Solstice) just passing us, I thought it apropos to do a spell this month focusing on ‘balance.’  Please take this spell and do it as you see fit.  It can be done indoors, outdoors, wherever you feel most comfortable.  May I suggest that you have something representing the four elements with you (earth, air, fire and water) and remember to protect your ‘circle’ or environment from outside energies.  Focus on balance in your life…what that means to you and the ripple effect it will have (in a good way) for others around you!  May your month balance out just perfectly!  ‘Till next month, Blessed Be.  ~~Morika

BALANCE

– a Prayer/Spell

“Balance is a must-have friend

To know it not, is to know an end

To go to one extreme

Then another

Is tantamount

To stress and bother

Therefore I plea

To set ‘Extreme’ free

And ‘Balance’ I pray

To come and stay.”

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Hally’s Hints

Hally Rhiannon Nammu December, 2010

Self Knowledge to Create Balance

I had the unique experience of completing my accreditation in behavioural profiling. Whilst this may be all good and well from a behavioural perspective what does this mean on an energetic level?

It is interesting to consider how each of us are “wired” I remember a time where personality profiling was the latest and greatest providing us with an analysis of ourselves from the conscious. We ended up endeavouring to fit into a perfect box that somehow was supposed to be the answer to all of our questions. I wonder how many of us decided to amend ourselves to reflect these results, and even more interestingly, how long did it last?

Now the latest and greatest is behavioural profiling, which is taken from the unconscious level. This is a reflection from a natural and core state in a specific time. After I had my analysis done I could feel myself decide to take on even more of the key traits. It reminded me of when seeing a psychic and manifesting the positive results irrelevant of their validity.

Whilst we all endeavour to fit in, be part of something greater and ultimately feel understood mechanistically we have a tendency to put things, items as well as ourselves, in a box – nice, simple, and black and white. However, the problem in doing this is that it creates limits around our individual potential and it diminishes our unique energetic signature.

Whilst I was undertaking this course I noticed a change occur within me that I had not noticed before. I noticed myself become more present in the physical realm. Whilst this may seem an expected state the more my energetic awareness evolves the more the physical becomes a chosen state rather than being automatic. At times this can be difficult in switching between the two and the term “keeping it real” can come into play. This got me thinking.

We are energetic beings within physical matter. For us to exist in harmony the two must align. This can become a challenge when working with energies as this strangely enough is our most natural state.

On the path to discovering the specifics of who you are, the attributes that allow you to be unique and the constant need to connect through belonging to something bigger, this is determined by the amount of people as opposed to being superior; all the while within our energetic self encompasses the unfolding layers of evolution and transformation.

Behavioural profiling gave me a gift I had not expected. It gave me the awareness and lucidity to know that which I already know. It is this familiar resonance that has left me feeling as though I have come home to me. The simple knowledge and awareness of clarity can be extremely grounding.

We all aspire to be better than what we already are. Imagine the sensation to know that through being open to you, it allows your energetic self to align on a higher vibrational level through the physical.

We often believe we must keep the two separate however, when integrated the result is so calming it provides a sense of peace and bliss.

You are one and when you play as one there can be only one result – harmony and balance.

By Hally Rhiannon-Nammu (copyright 2010)

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Rebel Rede

Hoi Sum October, 2010

Yin Yang: Finding the Balance-Part II

Last month I wrote about the Chinese concept of yin and yang. I was inspired to write that article based on my own journey from a masculine-based religious practice to a female-based spiritual practice. One way Pagans try to find balance within their spiritual practice is to work with both male and female deities. This is only way example of balance though. Being a balanced witch does not simply mean working with both male and female deities. In fact there can be Dianic witches who are much more balanced than their Pagan counterparts.

We need balance in all areas of our lives whether mundane or spiritual. I often find myself so focused on one area of balance in my life that I let the other areas of my life become unbalanced. What good is it to be balanced in one area of your Pagan practice, but completely unbalanced in another? It is not easy to find balance in our lives. It takes focus, discipline, and practice. It also takes harsh honesty, honesty with ourselves and each other. If we are to find balance in our lives we must be willing to hold up a mirror and to be completely honest about what we see in our reflections. Do you see equal amounts of light-dark, positive-negative, masculine-feminine etc., when you look at your life?

It is often the fear of being unbalanced that leads us to actually being imbalanced. For example, if you are too afraid of becoming one of those “fluffy bunny-rainbow loving-the world is a perfect happy place” witches, you run the risk of allowing too much negativity and darkness into your practice. All the same, if you are too afraid of becoming one of those “scary-dark-sociopathic-goth” witches, you can become out of touch with your darker emotions, among other things. We cannot be afraid to embrace the “other” side if we are to become balanced. In order to do this, we have to step out of our comfort zones. We have to push ourselves to experience new things and new ideas within our mundane and magickal lives. Remember the concept of yin yang; the idea that two opposing forces come together in equal amount to make a perfect whole. What do you need to start embracing to become a balanced or “whole” witch?

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Rebel Rede

Hoi Sum September, 2010

Yin Yang: Finding the Balance

Yin Yang is the Chinese philosophical concept of balance. It is the idea that there are complementary opposites in everything and that those opposites come together to exist as a whole. It is the concept that you need the light and the dark, the feminine and the masculine etc. to function as a complete whole. Unfortunately this concept of balance has been lost in most the of the world’s major religions. For example Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are all patriarchal religions. Their religions are based solely on male dominated spirituality. This is not yin yang!

I use to be a Conservative Christian and my spiritual practice was definitely dominated by male-only concepts. I wish I could say that now that I am a Pagan witch I have complete spiritual balance, but that would not be the truth. The Pagan community is not immune to spiritual imbalance. In fact, it is often the patriarchal world religions that are to blame for our imbalance. Many Pagans come from a Christian background before turning to Paganism and witchcraft. They are often so burnt out from the male domination in their spiritual pasts’ that they turn to a female dominated practice as a counter balance. This is exactly what happened to me.

I was so angry and tired from all the male dominance in my religious upbringing that I only worked with Goddesses and the Sacred Feminine when I first became a witch. I will admit I still mostly work with female only deities. I have started to notice that this is not healthy for my spirituality though-I am unbalanced. I cannot create balance by only working with the feminine, just like Christians cannot have balance by only working with the masculine. I must accept the God side of the yin yang as well.

Admittedly, I am a little scared to do this. I have so much bitterness built up from working with God (Yahweh) in my past, that I am tentative to begin working with male Pagan deities. It is important to remember that the concept of God in Paganism is not the same as the concept of God in Christianity though. I do not have to fear the Horned One!

The little work I have done with the Pagan Gods has been amazing already. Pagan Gods are strong passionate warriors. They protect us, love us, and give us strength and vitality. They are an important part of our Pagan spirituality! One of my favorite things about working with a Pagan God is that unlike Yahweh, Pagan Gods are sexual beings. They bring passion and lust into all that they do. At first their sexuality made me uncomfortable, after all, in Christianity having sexual thoughts while praying or meditating with God isn’t exactly kosher. I am learning to accept the sexual energy they bring though and to see it as an integral part of my spiritual practice.

We all need to have yin yang in our spiritual practices.  If you do not have balance in your spiritual practice, if you do not work with the male deities, be careful they will find you eventually. The Gods won’t hold back. They will find a way into your practice.  Don’t be afraid when this happens-embrace it, enjoy it, and learn from it. As SJ Tucker says in her song Hymn to Herne, “You best be ready when the Horned One comes!”

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Finding Balance: A Meditation

Charlynn Walls June, 2010

justice scale


Balance is tenuous, it is delicate and hard to maintain.  The hustle and bustle of our daily lives often pushes us out of harmony with those around us and our spirituality.  So, how do we pull everything back into alignment?

I find the best lessons always present themselves when we need them and are ready to truly listen. I recently went to the Botanical Gardens here in St. Louis with a couple of friends. While we were enjoying the morning, taking photos, and discussing a variety of topics my friend related to me the story of the Japanese garden and how it was laid out.  Everything had been done in a precise manner, being mindful of the areas that were open, those that were closed, and those that focused on a particular area.

I had never taken the time to appreciate the layout before, just maneuvering through my previous visits and noting the plants and moving on.  However, I took the time to hear her words, and pay particular attention to the landscape around me.  The most striking aspect was the three standing stones in the lake.  As we started the walk through the garden they were three distinct pillars.  Through the journey they merged and seemed to become one as they jutted out of the water, and then as you emerged from the garden they again separated. The standing stones there mirror to me the way we all come into and out of balance.  The moments of complete alignment are sometimes brief and intense or they can linger, but always it is a cycle.

For this meditation it would be better to be outside if possible.  Lie in the grass and close your eyes, feel the earth beneath you and let your troubles melt into the ground.  Take a deep breath and let it slowly out relaxing into the earth a little more with each breath.

See in your mind’s eye a series of standing stones.  You see them arranged in a cluster in the distance and you’re mindful that you need to be in alignment with them.  In doing so you’ll pull yourself into balance with the mental, physical, and spiritual realms.  Be aware of the path you take as you try to pull them into alignment.  Which direction did you go; did you move closer or farther away?

As they start to merge into a singular monument in your line of site notice how you feel.  Do you feel balanced, grounded, centered?  Stay in this position and take note of what it would take to pull this into your everyday life.  When you move on know that you are not out of sync now, but merely continuing on your journey.  The balance and centering you experienced is within you always.  Be mindful of your surroundings and how you treat those around you.  If you do those things, you will always be in alignment with your highest good.

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