Wendy B. September, 2011

Finding the Divine

During the course of my life, I have never really been to far away from those people who walked the path of the Ancient Ones, although for the most I never fully realised it. My best friend back in New Zealand, mother’s family who, due to geographical distance I never met but they to had practised an old, earth based religion, perhaps this is the reason why I to have finally chosen this spiritual path – the Teutonic blood of my ancestors running through my veins.

While I was drawn to a pagan way of life, I was also apprehensive at first, as much of the information I found was quiet seriously influenced by Gardnerian Wicca I did not feel comfortable with some of it, and in some way it did not feel right to me. Really, I had no choice but to keep looking for different ideas and approaches to things through books and numerous websites.

It is a life choice. I didn’t one morning wake up and go “Oh, today I think I will be a Witch or today I will be a Pagan” it is an on going lesson of life – not all hocus-pocus and abracadabra as so many people misguidedly think. For me being a Pagan or a woman who practices an age old craft,  is not just about casting spells and ‘doing’ Magick, it is a very personal journey about finding the Divine within me and with out. It took a long time to learn this lesson, for without having a relationship with the Goddess or God, my life and my Craft would be empty.

I used to think that anything Divine was something found in a Patriarchal church, something or someone I could not touch, whose rules had to be obeyed. I was so excited when I finally started to get it – that the Divine was everything, was everywhere, and was in everything, within me even. I could go on for ages about this, but my train of thought has come back full circle (no pun intended) to the reason I wanted to post on this topic.
The other day, while cleaning out some folders on my computer I found something someone had made for me, it was a wonderful present and its finding was timely, as are most things in life.  It was a beautiful picture with a quote on it by Frank Lloyd Wright it said simply “She put the N in nature and called it her Church” this simple quote so moved me – when she gave it to me, I asked her about it.  She said that, the quote “was you, is you” You see nature is my Divine, is my “church”

Nearly every morning I get up and I go outdoors. I thank and welcome the Spirits and Guardians of the East, North, West and South into my day. I take in several deep breaths of the fresh morning air. Every sense of my being tingles as I breathe in the Divine and exhale the Sacred. This to me – is Magick.

Footnote: Not all Pagans are witches, and not all witches are Wiccan.

Tags: divine

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CricketSong November, 2010

The Spectrum of Love and Connection to Divine

Prior to being born to our mother into the shell we call our body we existed in our True form or Spirit form on the spiritual plane (Heaven). There we existed with and within the Divine (God/dess). When our physical body dies we will pass through the Veil and back to spiritual plane in order to transition to our next experience. Our Higher Self or Spirit never ceases to exist.

We are both; yin and yang, dark and light, night and day, Goddess and God, female and male. In essence we are neither female nor male – we are both. It is only on this physical plane of existence that we adopted a specific gender knowing that each gender would lead to a specific life experience. It was not by chance or coincidence. We made that choice before we transcended here. We chose our gender, our parents and our bodies. We made these choices because we were aware of what this specific physical body had to offer us and we wanted to experience it.

The moment we were born into physicality our connection to Source was weakened. Our focus shifted from non-physical to physical sensations. Connection to Source can enhance the experiences we manifest in our life but only if we nurture and maintain the bond. Unfortunately, many of us lose sight of that. We become so distracted by the pleasures and sometimes pains of this existence that we forget that Spirit is always available to guide us. If we neglect our relationship to The Divine it will erode to the point where the connection is almost non-existent.

To procreate our species there must be an egg and a sperm present. If we chose to be born on this plane as a female we knew that it would naturally lead to the experience of motherhood and in the same respect if we were born as a male we knew that it would lead to fatherhood. However, while we traveled our path experiencing life we may have come to a conscious decision that we didn’t wish to experience parenthood. We made choices that lead in a different direction than we originally anticipated before we manifested here in our current physical body. However, while that may have happened, the initial motivation for transcending here as a specific gender never altered.

So, what about this activity called sex? The purpose of sex is to procreate. Our bodies are equipped for the reproduction of our species. Being a human we possess emotions and they along with our bodies become engaged in the act of sexual intercourse. Sex is a physical expression of love, a strong emotional tenderness and caring we feel for another. Whether that individual is of the opposite or the same gender is irrelevant since we are in essence both. We are sacred beings and because of this all acts of love and pleasure are sacred. We are expected to love others as we are all of and part of the same Source.

Love is pure and simple. It originates with The Divine. But love can also be the most complex human emotion. While we thrive on this physical plane of existence our physicality taints our emotions – including love. As we experience love with someone we search for a way to express the depth of this bond with him or her. Sex is the physical manifestation of just that. It is natural to express love physically as we live in physicality. If we were on a spiritual plane then we would be expressing the emotion in a spiritual way. Love transcends gender because our Higher Self IS both genders but our bodies, the physical manifestations of who we are, – do not.

Tags: divine

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Michele Burke August, 2009

Merry Meet everyone, in this lesson we will learn how to divine with our Runes. The first thing you will need to do is find a place you can work without distraction, once your private place is found you will need to find a flat surface for casting the Runes. Now you are ready to begin. In previous lessons we have learned the meanings of the runes so now it is time to use what we have learned.

There are vast arrays of ways to read the runes just as there are numerous ways to cast and read any system of divination… But we will start with three easy castings that will enable you to begin divining with your stones immediately.

The first thing you will need to do is spread out your rune casting cloth, now pour your stones out and place them right side up and put them in their alphabetical order, making sure to place the blank rune separate from the rest, and then say, “Holy Goddess, mother of us all, guide my hand as I cast these stones, guide my mind as I interpret their meanings and guide my soul as I take them into my life.” Now turn all the stones over and stir them around while concentrating on the question to be asked, select the runes and interpret. This one is an ideal way to do a daily casting, to use the runes as a guide for your day. An example reading would be if you were to draw Ansuz, right side up. This would be interoperated as meaning communication will be of the utmost importance to you today; be sure to explain yourself clearly, and to speak up when necessary and always, always listen to the needs of others.

Instead of a quiz of what we have learned today I would like for you all for one week to do a  daily one stone reading and journal your results being sure to log the stone you pulled and the interpretation you gave. Once you have come to the end of the week email your results to me at Micheleb@paganpages.com for further interpretation.

Our next lesson will be on the Three Rune Draw.

Bountiful Blessings & Happy Casting

Tags: casting, Divination, divine, reading, runes

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Mindy Lee April, 2009

Dreams II..
The Place Where Karma Is Counted

“Dreams are illustrations…from the book your soul is writing about you.”  Marsha Norman

Where do we go when we dream?  I know that literally our bodies stay in our beds, but where does the mind go when we are resting?  It is my personal belief that our soul travels to another realm or frequency.   I suppose to fully understand the view from where I stand a brief explanation is needed.  For me there is a place, a place that we all come from, a place where our spirits are energies, a place where karma is counted.  I suppose the easiest way to sum it up would be to call it home base.  When we travel here in dreams we don’t have all access pass as we would when we cross over.  Let’s say there is a “visiting room” where spirits we have known, or will someday know, can visit us and give us messages, advice or even subtle hints.  I believe that when we sleep our true self travels to this realm to gather information or just to reconnect with our being.  Do you suppose we could have left clues for ourselves?  Perhaps hidden messages that only we would know the meanings of.   Although these types of dreams are flooded with knowledge and hints, we cannot look at every dream we have to be a sign or omen.  It’s a known fact that events from our days tend to leak from our subconscious and translate into our slumbering minds.

Not all of our dreams so easy to understand, not quite as cut and dry as we would like.  Say, for instance, you had a dream that you were being chased by the cookie monster.  I don’t think you would literally have to steer clear of streets named sesame, but it could by that little voice in the back of your mind telling you that you know it’s time to start your diet.  Dreams often show us symbols of things that only we would understand the meanings.  This is why it is not always possible to look up dreams in a dream dictionary or take them “given” meaning of a sign.  For example, if I see the color powder blue in a dream it is an indication of a childhood experience.  We had an old rotary phone that was that color and it always takes me back there.

Colors often do play an important role in our dreams.  It is a good idea to write down the colors you see in your dreams as well as the feelings or emotions brought forth by the hues.  One of my favorite dream resources is The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams by Theresa Cheung.  There is an outstanding color reference chart included in the book that I would like to briefly outline for you.  But, remember these are not always the exact meanings and your own intuition is your best guide.

Black: Represents death, old ideas or change.  Often analyzed as the shadowy effects in our minds as unfulfilled parts of our lives.
Brown: Often a sign of commitment or self-sufficiency, telling you to work hard and take control of aspects in your life.
Green: Linked to feelings of calmness and hope.  Sometimes green is thought to mean a fresh approach or growth in ideas.  On the other hand, green can be linked to jealousy and being stubborn.
Orange: Associated with generosity, optimism and thoughtfulness.  Orange surfaces and staircases in dreams may represent positive journeys.
Pink: Unconditional love and powers of healing.  A pink window or door may suggest an unexplored opportunity for happiness.
Red: Passion and energy are often associated with red.  On the negative side, red can also indicate rage or violent emotions.  Depending on your circumstance red can be a warning sign.
White: When you dream of white it could be your subconscious urging you to discover the truth of a situation or to find your own truth.  White symbolizes completeness and innocence.
Yellow: Yellow in dreams is often thought to be a symbol of intellect and the ability to think clearly.  This is a good color for helping you see the way to improving self-confidence and moving forward.

Like I said earlier, these dream connections are only a guide to help you connect with your own meanings of the colors.  A great exercise to do is to sit and write down various colors with room after each to note your feelings.  As you read each color name aloud you should visualize that color all around you and write down the feelings you have, or the memories that they bring forward.  Your own color reference chart will be much more helpful, not to mention closer to your heart.

I would like to continue our dreaming discussion again next month, hope you will join me.

Blessings

Tags: Divination, divine, Dreams

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