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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Goddess Iagentici       I live on the sacred island of Montreal in Quebec. This island has been the home of the Mohawk, one of the five nations of the Iroquois, for many hundreds of years, some say thousands of years, until the white men came and took it from them. As Witches we connect with and honour the land so we can also honour the gods of the people who lived here before us. Sadly most of us don’t even know their names! Although we don’t worship the gods of the Mohawk, we can still light some sage or a candle on our altars to thank them. This…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Aine, Goddess of the Sun   In Wicca today we often associate the sun with the God and the moon with the Goddess but in fact there are many sun Goddesses in many cultures. At the time of Midsummer when the sun is at its peak we connect with that energy in our rituals and our meditations (also in our bar-b-q on the deck!) Three Celtic Goddesses are associated with the sun, Aine, Brighid and Olwen. Aine was one of the great Irish Goddess who represented the spark of life. Her festival was celebrated on Midsummer’s eve. Later she was remembered in Christian times as the fairy queen in south…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Goddess of Protection SGATHAICH Protection can take the form of a turtle, going inside a protective shell, or it can take the form of jaguar, taking the fight to the aggressor! Choosing Turtle Protection or Jaguar Protection is up to you, but creating a ritual to a Warrior Goddess is a good first step in Jaguar Protection. When we get into trouble and we really need help, invoking the Warrior Goddesses to help us find the courage to stand our ground or fight our battles can be an empowering experience. One of the most fabulous warrior Goddesses is the less well-known warrior queen SGATHAICH (pronounced ‘skah’) who presided over a…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Dream Goddess: Mari I’m tired this morning and it’s not because I didn’t sleep. I feel as if I was dreaming all night about doing Shamanic healing for people. It seemed in my dreams that many people needed help, especially extraction of dangerous and unwanted entities and soul retrieval. One person needed help to pass over. In my dreams I was using a jam jar with no lid as my Shamanic tool. I also looked really good in my new shoes! When we sleep our mind relaxes and processes our day. People would die if they did not sleep and all who sleep, even if they don’t remember, dream. Dream…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    The Goddess Can Change the World Recently I participated in the International Women’s week at Vanier College in Montreal. My talk was called “The Goddess Returns” and I spoke about a very important issue: how Goddess spirituality can decrease violence against women by empowering women. My talk was held in a large classroom with fifty-plus young people expectantly waiting to see a Witch (maybe with a big pointy hat and black cat!) arrive to tell them about the Goddess.  I did not bring the hat and the cat but I did bring a lot of thought-provoking ideas! I started the talk by asking the students to imagine what God might…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    The Certainty of Gaea “I am the Mother of all things and my love is poured out upon the earth.” (1) Spring is coming! Yesterday I saw six fat robins sitting in the maple tree! The ground has two feet of snow on it but the temperature is a little warmer and there is the expectancy of Spring in the air! Ostara is coming and we turn to the Goddess of Spring in our meditations and rituals. This is Gaea as the Maiden, also called Eostre, the pregnant mother who holds the egg and the hare as Her symbols of fertility. As Wiccans we say that we are a nature-based…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Brighid of the Augery                 Imbolc is coming and many Wiccans honour the Goddess Brighid on this Sacred Day. Brighid is a central figure in the Celtic mythos and one of the world’s most beloved Goddesses. She crosses cultures and faiths from Christianity to Paganism. In Catholicism she is still prayed to as St. Brigit of Kildare (b.451-d.523), although she was one of the “Saints” removed from the Catholic calendar in the 1960s. In the 8th century Cormac mac Cuilennain, the king-bishop of Munster in Ireland compiled the first linguistic dictionary on any non-classical languages of Europe on Irish words. This is part of his entry on Brighid.(1) Brighid—a poetess,…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Branwen, White Raven Goddess of Sorrows I’m writing this article at Samhain, the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thinner and Witches remember and honour their beloved dead. How do Witches understand grief and sorrow? One way is by using the story of Branwen as a blueprint for guided meditation. I offer this story and these ideas to you to help you understand and learn from the sorrows in your life. Once upon a time Branwen, White Raven, sister of the giant Bran the Blessed King of Britain was given to Matholwch the King of Ireland in marriage to make peace between the two nations.…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    The Moon Goddess “Once it be in a month, and better when the moon is full…”(1) By Meri Fowler HPS The other day I on Facebook I was sorry to see a definition of Paganism as “people who worship the moon”. The moon is, as far as I know, a piece of rock that orbits the earth, although some people think it might be made of cheese! We don’t worship it, we worship God. I had an argument with a doctor of theology who said that Pagans worship the forces of nature personified by deities that were invented by ancient people. He said they made up these deities to explain…

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    Goddesses of Sorcery

    Arianrhod Goddess of the Summerland “I am the Gracious Goddess who gives joy unto the hearts of men and women. Upon earth I bring knowledge of the Spirit Eternal, and after death I bring peace, freedom and reunion with those who have gone before.” (from the Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valiente) In Wicca there is no bible or “Universal” Book of Shadows that all Wiccans follow. Most Wiccans use the Charge of the Goddess in their rituals and most believe in the Spirit Eternal, that is life after death. Many Wiccans believe in the idea that after death we go to the Summerland, a place where the soul…