Independence Day – Sun in Cancer at 12 degrees Thursday, July 4, 2013 – 5:49 am EDT (sunrise) and 8:36 pm EDT (sunset) Happy 4th!! Ruled by the Moon, the Sign of Cancer dwells on the emotional side. Be nostalgic and patriotic as you feel best suited for the occasion. For the holiday, the Moon closes in to the Balsamic phase and sits in Gemini bringing versatility in knowledge and effort. If you plan to be on the road to watch fireworks, it would behoove you to know your path and your destiny. Plan ahead, if you need to. Bring a blanket to watch the fireworks on the grass or…

“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” ~ Matthew 7:12 “Be excellent to each other.” ~ Bill S. Preston, Esq.   We all know the Golden Rule, or at least a variation of it. Even those of you raised Pagan have heard it, perhaps as the Wiccan Rede or in one of its other forms. The Golden Rule crosses time and religions and is turning out to be another one of those touchstones in my search for a spiritual path.   This past month I’ve been working my way through a couple of books. First, I devoured the Tao Te Ching. And, I admit,…

The first Pagan books I read were Scott Cunningham’s “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner” and Margot Adler’s “Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America”. They were recommended by people I met at a local metaphyiscal shop as a good place to start – one as a good introduction to Wicca and one as something of an encyclopedia of many different Pagan paths.  I bought the books, along with a couple of others, and went on my way. I started with Scott Cunningham’s book.  It was exciting.  I could feel my own journey beginning, learning about something new (to me, anyway); something that I…

A Spell for Personal Energy Take a bath in your Dragon’s Blood Ritual Bath Salts (make it yourself by adding 20-30 drops of dragons blood oil to Epsom bath salts or dead sea salts) Anoint a white candle with some of the dragon’s blood oil by dressing the candle upward (rubbing the oil upward from base to tip and on wick.) Light candle in candle safe holder on counter or safe place in your bathroom. Run bathwater and when your bathwater is almost to the level you wish it to be, pour in your bath salts and add an additional 4-6 drops of the Dragon’s Blood oil. Sink on into…

Unverifiable Personal Gnosis  Wicca has a foundation built on the idea of Unverifiable Personal Gnosis – meaning that our personal knowledge and experiences may not be able to be outwardly proven to others though we hold it as truth. In order to build and nurture our relationships with God Herself, to gain personal enlightenment or to seek the deeper understanding of the Mysteries, one is expected to experience moments of epiphany or gnosis. I would expect that when an individual lives a life dedicated to Wicca she or he would experience several moments of gnosis while communing with Deity either through meditation, contemplation or ritual. These are personal experiences that…

Merry Meet all. I am Jade Owl and welcome to my cottage. Summertime is the time of family reunions and kids constantly running in and out, beaches, cook-outs, and hot temperatures. Life seems to be in constant motion this time of year and we long for the slow days of fall and winter when life will move at a more acceptable pace. During the summer we all tend to try to avoid doing a lot of heavy cooking in our kitchens. We move to the outdoor grill or open fire. The recipes I am writing this month will not keep you in your kitchen overly long and will not heat…

  The Secret History of Poltergeists and Haunted Houses By Claude Lecouteux © 2012 Inner Traditions International ISBN: 978-1-59477-465-2 246 pages Paperback $18.95 (U.S.) I expected The Secret History of Poltergeists and Haunted Houses to be little more than a collection of reports of the paranormal. I was surprised to find this book to be much, much more. To start with I learned that while spirits that make noise, usually knocking noises have been around for quite some time the term poltergeist is relatively new; first appearing in a dictionary in 1540. The first chapter of the book is devoted to explain what a poltergeist, or what we have come…

What Do You Create? This last weekend I attended an afternoon of esoteric lectures at Light Haven in North Carolina. Early in the afternoon, one of the speakers, Ivo Dominguez Jr., asked us: What do you create? Now, as a visual artist his question at first seemed easy to me. I create art, specifically paintings and mixed media shrines. Your answer may be that you write, sing, play an instrument, act, build houses, cook, garden, dance, arrange flowers, or raise children. There are many ways to create, many things to create in this world. Listen up, you out there who say you are not creative! These are all valuable and,…

When Dreams Grow Old   Summer is a charged time for me. It feels like the air is crackling with desire and potential. Maybe it’s because we planted our hopes in the spring and the time for manifestation has come. Or because the moon has moved into Cancer and my watery spirit cries out in recognition. Old dreams spark to life, and I begin to think about making new ones. We’ve all had dreams since we were little kids. They evolved as we grew older, until we were finally old enough for the people in our lives to take them seriously. Dreams are a big deal in our culture, especially…

I sang on Cedar Mountain, I rejoiced beneath the sky. Ran in glee on the grassy peak, Like an eagle, soon to fly. I called the name of Enki From old Sumerian stone, Saw the bright necklace of Ishtar Who shines in the sky alone. Enki built a submarine, Made from bended substance strange, Black bars and ordinary wood, Submerged from sight, out of range. Wise god Enki in his boat, Built without windows or doors, Sailed far, deep beneath the ocean, Till he came to other shores. There his own people landed, Children to whom he was king, Of the first civilizations, To new lands he them did bring.…