Goddesses of Giving Thanks and the Harvest Festivals of thanks and the harvest have been, and are, celebrated the world over, and have been for hundreds of years. The harvest has always been associated with the Goddess of Earth and Fertility. She is and always will be the Source of all Creation. Chicomecoatl The Aztec Goddess of Maize (corn), she is dressed in flowers, carrying ripened ears of corn and a shield in the form of the sun. She is sometimes shown with a corncob engraved with the words, “forgiving strength”. She is the Goddess representing the mother aspect of the corn, while Xilonen is the Goddess representing the maiden…

The word of Tahuti, Paved in the black obsidian sky, The aether being the pillar of night, His great ibis voice is nigh, The demanding verbiage led in the plight. Whisper of the whirlwind led by fire, Daunting halt before the bejeweled Queen. The lesser Will of the magician burnt in a pyre, Out of his books and through his mind he is keen. Ink soaked symbols stained in a papyrus, Desire be thy passion in heat of superseding. The twelve signs of elements abound by Cyprus, Contemplation gone to Rome thither in weaving. XVIII! Liber I covered the art of writing and how it is beneficent to the magician…

Tarot Cards Merry meet. The long months of darkness that stretch before us are a good time for a long project. One to consider is making your own deck of tarot cards. Among my decks is one that was a project from an ATC (artist Trading Cards: miniature works of art about the size of a playing card) group for pagans; each member designed two freestyle cards and made 40 copies of each on heavyweight paper. The organizer collated the decks, giving one to each person who made two cards and keeping two decks for the effort. (The photo shows a sample of the cards.) Participating in it made me…

Since we are kind of on a Major Arcana roll, let’s look at the card known as Temperance. First, we should quickly define and describe some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object, or a concept which can be copied, patterned, or imitated. The term archetype often refers to one of two concepts: a…

The next morning, Kiara woke to with the sound of the breakfast tray being placed on her table. She still felt groggy, and very thirsty. Matron was standing by the bed with a large glass of water. “Drink this”, she said. Kiara sat up and drank it greedily. She could not seem to quench her thirst. “You will be fine after you have had breakfast”, Matron said. She felt Kiara’s forehead and smiled with satisfaction. “You may stay in your room today to be safe,- but I think you will be up and about by tomorrow”, she said. Kiara slipped out of the bed and went to the breakfast table…

Spiralled Edges – Soul Ancestors and Pagan Practices I’ve been thinking a lot recently about ancestors and past-life memories, and how that may be influencing my Pagan practise in this current life. Humans place a great value on their cultural group. And well we should! This is our family, our home, our traditions, our rituals and celebrations. Of course we are going to get peeved when someone comes along and treats it all as a joke or picks up the pretty bits to wear like a necklace then tosses it aside when the next shiny comes along. There is a lot of awareness in recent years of the ways in…

Bright Blessings. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a bisexual woman who is married to a heterosexual man. I am a Neo-Pagan, specifically a Traditional Wiccan. I am a female. I am deaf. I am plus sized. I suffer from anxiety disorder. More than these things, I am simply a human being. As are you. As are members of majority groups. And I want to tell you how I feel about the divisions we, as minorities are put into, and how I feel we further isolate ourselves from people who are different from us. The Pagan in me says we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. I believe…

Witch’s Soul Work: Community People join community for many reasons, maybe as many reasons as there are people. I joined the Pagan community many years ago because I had a child and wanted him to grow up identifying with and belonging to a community. Some people join community to be part of something, or to have social interaction with others, because they are lonely, looking to connect with people of like mind, searching for support and healing, or many other things. When Witches or Pagans join the Sacred Cauldron community what are they looking for? If they don’t find what they are looking for do they verbalize it, ask for…

Aromatherapy What is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy uses essential oils extracted from natures flowers and herbs. They are used singley or in blends. The aroma is inhaled, and the oils mayb be applied to the skin, as well. The herbs/flowers or combinations address specific disorders or needs. It appears the body is able to utilize the healing properties of the oils through the olfactory system of the body and so initiate the healing process. These illnesses maybe physical or emotional. Seasonal Aromatherapy Season’s are changing and it’s getting colder out. I thought I would share with you some aromatherapy tips on some seasonal disorders that you may find useful. These are mainly…

The Oracle of Napoleon: divination, Secret Code, or Both? The Oracle of Napoleon is one of the most involved divination systems I have ever encountered. Unlike other methods of divination – such as dice or cards or a pendulum, which can be easily carried in a pocket or a handbag – the Oracle of Napoleon demands that you have a set of questions that go with a chart – called “The Key” – which then the querent needs to further refer to another set of charts – it’s almost as bad as doing your taxes before we all had Turbo Tax and we had to refer to charts and booklets…