'borrowed' from the website at http://katybugdidit.tripod.com "The Maggie Shayne Page". I know the story of the seeker is true because I was that seeker. It may take awhile to read all this if you should choose to read it, but it will be worth your time.

Hugs,

Katybug

Once upon a time, a few years ago, there was a seeker. She had become very dissatisfied with the religion she had been raised in, the religion she had devoted a very large part of her life to. She questioned and was told she was wrong to question. She was told because 'the bible says so and that settles it'. She was supposed to overlook the contradictions she found, and as she had been a student of the bible, she had found a lot. She felt there was something more. For quite some time, she had been searching, seeking, needing, wondering. The fact that everything is nature is male and female but 'God' was supposedly all male was the breaking point.

Then one day she picked up a book at a used bookstore by some author named Maggie Shayne. It was a fiction book but the principles it contained were not fiction. Maggie's words touched a chord deep within the soul of the seeker and something beautiful began to blossom. As she began to explore this religion called Wicca, as she explored Witchcraft, time after time she thought, "But that's what I've believed all my life." She found a religion whose only law was 'an it harm none, do what you will'. She found the Goddess. She had never written to the author of a fiction book before but she emailed Maggie Shayne. And ~ wonder of wonders, Maggie answered her. Maggie said, "Welcome! Welcome home!"

The seeker still expands her spirituality, seeing the Goddess in all things, exploring the myriad religions and receiving wisdom from all positive paths, but the Craft of the Wise, i.e. Witchcraft, is now her chosen religion.

It is an honor to include Maggie Shayne here as a token of gratitude from that seeker and all those to whom she has made the Goddess known.

Maggie Shayne's home page can be found at www.maggieshayne.com . Check out her books and her Wicca pages. She is a fantastically talented author. She is also a witch. She has been elemental in introducing a lot of people to the Goddess. Her writing is her ministry.

Some of her books will be listed at the bottom, but for now, here is her version of the Charge of the Goddess and also her writing on the deeper meaning of the Wiccan Rede.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Charge of the Goddess
by Maggie Shayne

I am darkness as well as light,
Mistress of Death but also of life,
Bow before me on this night
and worship both my black and bright!

By myriad names have I been known
I rule both Hel* and heaven's throne
I rain my love upon my own
be they en masse or one alone!

If a gift you would receive
Come to be by darksome eve,
In forest glens my altars dwell
So dance, rejoice and cast the spell!

All the secrets shall be known
The chains that held you now disown
I crush them with the force of love
For as below, so is above!

I'll teach you all the mysteries,
The circle of life and rebirth, is me!
And the only sacrifice I ask
Is that you love, that is your task,

Love me, that you surely do,
But love your fellow humans too,
For surely as I live in thee,
I live in each of them, you see.

For every breath and every stone
and every being is mine to own
From me they come, to me they go
We all are one,

As above, so below!

(*Hel with one L refers to a Norse Goddess and the icy Underworld in which she rules. It is the land of the dead, not a place of torment.)

Copyright - Maggie Shayne
(used by permission)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE WICCAN REDE: A Deeper Interpretation
by LadyHawke, the Mythmaker

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an it harm none, do what ye will.

I am baffled by people and groups in the Pagan community who tell me some version of the following. "I don't call myself Wiccan because I don't follow the Rede." And here's why.

The Wiccan Rede, like so much else in the Craft, is a huge, voluminous lesson all wrapped up within a cute little sound bite; an easily remembered phrase that packs so much punch it would take a lifetime to unravel its possible interpretations. But we can begin to try, by examining what it doesn't mean.

First, note that it doesn't say anything about magick. For decades, witches of all sorts have been interpreting the Rede as a rule about what kind of magick they are allowed to practice. But it never mentions magick. It only mentions harm. Do whatever you will, so long as you don't do any harm.

Judy Harrow, founder of Proteus Coven, has a fabulous essay titled Exegesis on the Wiccan Rede, which can be viewed on Proteus Coven's excellent website. But in the meantime, I'd like to get into this from my own perspective, which may or may not be in keeping with yours, and that's fine either way. Everything I write here is my take on the subject. Not the "right" take. Not the "only" take. Just my take, which is the only take I have to offer. Take it as that, and no more.

Okay, so to me, in order to do no harm, we have to first identify exactly what "harm" is. At first glance, one would think that an easy thing to define. But it's not so easy. First and foremost, we must do away with the notion that positive work equals "good" and negative work equals "harm." Nothing could be further from the truth. Lots of positive spells could be extremely harmful. A spell to help cancer cells grow, for example. Whereas a spell to kill a tumor, negative magick by definition, would be positive in effect.

So what is harm? Anything that causes pain, right? Well, maybe not. Surgery to remove a tumor would cause pain. So do C-sections, tubal ligations, stitches in a torn kneecap. Okay, okay, you might be saying. So anything that causes pain, except for medical procedures. Well, then we'd better not ever wean our babies from the bottle, because that causes considerable pain. They cry and beg for the bottle for night after night. Come to think of it, my teenagers seem to experience pretty intense pain anytime I answer one of their requests with a "no." And let's not deny an addict his drug of choice, or we'll cause him or her considerable pain.
I think you see where I'm going with this. Like negative work, pain is not the same thing as harm. Emotions we perceive as negative or painful, such as sadness, grief, fear, anger, are all legitimate parts of the human condition, and all are parts of what we incarnated in order to experience. Souls come into lifetimes like actors coming into roles. They don't want the boring parts to play; they want the meaty ones.

How about loss, then? Anything that causes loss is harm. Would that definition work? Loss of a job, a lover, a friend, money, health. But what about when those losses, harmful as they seem at the time, are necessary parts of a person's growth process? Loss clears the way for new growth. Forest fires, for example, happen on a regular basis, and always have, even without man's presence on the planet. When forests grow old and dense, it's part of the natural process for lightning to strike, fire to begin, and the forest to be burned. The fire and ash fertilize the ground, and the new growth will be blessed by the nutrients provided by the old. Some seedpods only break apart, releasing the seed to the soil in the intense heat of a forest fire.

In fact, death itself can't even be considered harm. Death is a part of the natural cycle of life on this planet. You cannot live, die and live again without it. New life cannot continue to arrive without the old moving aside to make room.

So what is harm?

Here's how I've come to define it for myself; harm is anything that works in opposition to the cause of the greater good. And by the greater good, I mean, the good of the Whole. Pollution of the environment is harmful, because it does harm to the Whole. Working negative magick against a corporation that is systematically destroying the eco-system would be the kind of magick some would consider harmful, because it could harm the corporation. But in fact, it might not be, because it is for the good of the whole. Stopping the corporation from polluting will be positive for the planet. Stopping a rapist from raping would be a positive act for his or her potential future victims;and in fact for his own karma.

Consider the planet, the universe, is your body. If you find a cancerous tumor growing within your body, destroying parts of you bit by bit, you must remove the tumor for the good of the body.

Another way to define harm is anything that interferes with the progression of the universal plan. Murdering someone, or committing suicide for that matter, would be to stop a lifetime from proceeding to its natural end. It would prevent that soul from experiencing all the things it was meant to experience in this incarnation, and that soul would have to return and start all over again. Suicide is no escape when you look at it that way. And to take the life of another, even an evil-doer of the worst kind, is to force him to return and live that lifetime again. So no good has been done. We can only act to contain the evil, to stop the acts. In the case of a person who has stopped experiencing anything but pain, who is being forced to exist in a suffering, dying body, on the other hand, death might be sweet release. For such a person, suicide might be more a matter of taking control of one's own destiny, than of interfering it the natural course. After all, mankind has found many was to artificially extend the length of the average human lifetime. The "natural course" for some, might be to leave a bit earlier than modern science would prefer to allow. But cases like this one are personal choices based on private feelings.

What if committing harmful, evil acts is part of the evil-doer's life plan? Would stopping him or her from committing them be interfering in his natural progression?

I don't think it works that way. I think a person's life plan includes broader, more general goals. Experiencing darkness, violence, (in theory) have been part of the plan for that person in this lifetime. HOW he experiences it, is up to him;and up to those with the power to stop him. He can get as solid a handle on those life experiences from behind prison walls or within a mental hospital as he can on the loose, inflicting harm on innocents. He could have gotten the experiences, in fact, without inflicting harm at all. Someone wishing to experience the range of physical battles and violence could have chosen to become a boxer, a police officer, a soldier, or an actor, for example; experiencing violence in defense of others or in a competitive venue, or playing the roles of those who do so. Their choice to experience it by acting out in harming others, means they must accept the repercussions. Karma is going to nail them one way or another. Witches acting to help speed up the process changes nothing in the end.

Anytime harm is done to any part of the Whole, harm is done to the Whole. Keeping that in mind is a great help to me in determining what is ethical in my day to day life.

What if I choose to do nothing?

Eventually, you're going to think it might be safer to do nothing at all. Don't help the harm to continue, but don't actively work to stop it. Nice, safe, middle ground.

Or not.

As Judy Harrow points out in her Exegesis on the Wiccan Rede, the word "Do" implies action, not inaction. When you see evil thriving, harm being done to the Whole, and you do nothing to stop it, then you are a part of the harm being done. By your complacency, you allow it to exist. I believe fiercely in that great Spiderman line, "with great power, comes great responsibility." We, as witches, are blessed with greater power than mundane folk, if only because we exercise it, spend our entire lives sharpening and honing it, and know how to tap into untold wellsprings of energy in the natural world around us. Because we have access to all this power, we have the responsibility to use it wisely. If we have the power to do work that is for the greater good, we must use that power or risk losing it.

Now with my words about interfering with the natural order, some will think I'm against advances in medical science that prolong life or cure disease. I'm not, not at all. Mankind's ever increasing knowledge is part of the natural order. If we were not meant to find cures for various diseases, we wouldn't. However, we must always look at the greater good, even when it's sometimes hard to see. Wicca students are often assigned exercises in which they track the repercussions of their actions as far into the future as they can imagine, like tracking the widening rings in the water after tossing a pebble into a pond. Some things that may seem great at the time, might end up causing harm. Just as an example, let's look at the present tendency to overuse antibiotics. While providing a cure for the individual, the preponderance of antibiotics in the environment is deeply harmful to the whole. Bacteria are living, evolving things. When confronted with a drug that can kill them, they mutate and evolve into ever stronger strains, becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. Future generations will be battling killer bacteria to the point where civilization as we know it could be wiped out by what today is little more than a mild infection. So what's good for me, popping pills to cure my sore throat;might prove deadly to my great great grandchildren as that same bug returns to them with super-powers no antibiotic can fight. Or if I, and my family, take to washing our hands, bodies, dishes, laundry and floors in anti-bacterial soap, our descendants may very well lose the ability to fight off bacterial infections at all. (E-coli, for example, has been around forever. My theory is that we've been eating super-sterilized foods for so long, our bodies have forgotten how to fight it.)

If I think of the greater good, I might choose to let my body cure my sore throat in its own good time, reaching for the prescription bottle only if the natural means fail. I might decide that if I'm not living in a bacteria-laden environment, (working in a hospital for example) then I can probably get by with regular soap;if I can still find any in the grocery store. I might have to resort to making my own within a few years!

I hope the examples I'm giving here make my thoughts a bit more clear.

What About Personal Gain?

Lots of witches seem to be of the opinion that the Wiccan Rede means we must never do magick for personal gain. A quick review of the Rede is enough to see that is says nothing about us not doing things for our own good. Nothing at all.

Look, if poverty were somehow noble, if suffering for the sake of suffering were somehow holy, then why would the earth be so full of joyful abundance? We are a nature religion. So we look to nature to find the answers. Nature is filled with beauty. So should we be. We should feel no shame whatever in wanting to surround ourselves in beauty and comfort to the best of our ability; in our homes, our clothes, our lives. Nature provides plenty for all her inhabitants. We should feel no shame in partaking of all we need in life. Working magick for personal gain does not take anything away from anyone else. There is plenty to go around. However . . . . (you just knew that was coming, didn't you?) here's the kicker. You don't necessarily need to do this sort of magick. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Well, when we start out on this path, it seems the most urgent spells on our minds always seem to be those of personal needs. A better job, a higher income, lower bills, a happy love life, a better car, ridding ourselves of streaks of "bad luck."

But after awhile you find those sorts of spells less and less necessary. You get to the point where things seem to fall into place. You no sooner begin to notice something lacking in your life;it might even cross your mind to work some magick for it;and bam! It's there. It arrives, in your driveway or your mailbox or at your front door. I'm not sure why this happens;whether we become so in harmony with the rhythms and cycles of nature that things come to us as needed;or, (probably more likely) that we stop seeing those tiny things as quite so important, and worry about the bigger things. Our work on ourselves evolves into becoming a better person, loving more freely, living more fully, giving more of ourselves in service to the Whole, getting more in tune with our gods, ourselves and maybe evolving a teeny bit closer to enlightenment.

More and more, as we mature spiritually, we find the real work we do is for others. At first, it's to help them with their jobs, their bills, their love-lives. But after a while, we start to realize that things will fall into place for these others just as they have for us;that, perhaps, they need to learn to do this part for themselves, for their own (and hence the greater) good. At that point, we really start the Great Work. We work for the good of our coven, our tradition, our communities, Paganism itself. We work for the good of the Goddess, for mankind, the planet, the Universe;as if we are finally seeing the bigger picture. What's really important? Not which job we have this month, for how is that going to matter in fifteen or twenty generations, anyway? We'll be living another lifetime by then, and maybe will have learned something valuable;or even essential--from having been in that hated job we've long since forgotten.
It seems to me, that the less we worry about what we have, what we want, and the more we simply live our lives in harmony with nature, moving in tandem with the currents of our lives, rather than fighting against them, the more likely we are to find our calling, and our paths to all we need.

If this isn't happening, if the currents seem to work against you, and roadblocks appear consistently in your path, then you may need to consider a different path. Rather than fighting against the flow, go gently with it. Let it carry you where you need to be.

I have a friend who is bound and determined to make a living writing novels. He steadfastly refuses to give up and finally landed a contract with the most notoriously under-paying publisher in the biz. He writes book after book, and is constantly miserable because his print runs are so dismal and his income minuscule. He complains loudly and consistently with each and every release that his publisher's advances are too skimpy, that the company does nothing to publicize the books, that the royalty rates are far too low, that the print run was so small it would be impossible to make any sort of bestseller list, and so on and on and on. With every book released, his heart and spirit are crushed a little more thoroughly. He has constant money problems, because his career pays so little. His self-esteem is dismal, and everyone he knows has stopped expecting to hear anything but complaints from him when he shows up at a writers' convention.

And yet he keeps right on doing the same damn thing, writing the same kinds of books, for the same sorts of publishers over and over and over, and wonders why nothing changes.

In the time this writer has spent banging his head against a brick wall, fighting the current, he could have earned a Ph.D, become a doctor, a lawyer, a CEO, a small business owner, or a million other things.

In order for the output to change, the input has to change. If you keep throwing the same old ingredients into the same old pot, the same old stew is going be the result. Sometimes the key is to start with a whole new recipe. Heck, you might even try throwing out the stewpot, and trying to bake a cake. Or leave the kitchen, and try knitting a sweater, for that matter.

In the Eastern traditions, it is said that when your boat is sailing against the wind, waves keep rising up to turn it aside, storms keep appearing in its path, and the current is pushing against its bow, the message is clear. The boat must turn around, change course.

The solution is to try brand new approaches, radically different approaches. Totally change the input. And let the currents pull you. My friend might try writing something that is not a novel at all, maybe not even fiction! Or maybe writing is not what he's supposed to be doing. Or, at least, not doing for the money. Maybe, for him writing is meant to be a sidebar, something done for the love of it, and the sheer pleasure it brings him, but not meant to be a career. Maybe if he were making a living in some other means, the writing could give him the joy it should be giving him, rather than the sheer misery it is now providing.

Okay, so let's review. To work magic for personal gain is not sinful, or wrong or selfish. But to focus all one's energy on the things one doesn't have, is to draw in more of that very lack. Alanis Morrisette sings: "The moment I let go of it, was the moment I got more than I could handle, The moment I jumped off of it, was the moment I touched down."

Truer words were never spoken. Stop fighting the current. Let it guide you to where you need to be. Focus on what you do have, and on what you have to offer to others. And you'll suddenly realize how wealthy and how lucky you are.

What about "Manipulative" Magick?

All magic is manipulative magick. We manipulate energies, forces, spirit and form. We create change in accordance with our will. Our will;that's the key here. We use the power of our desires, emotions, and our will to create change. So long as we keep it there, we're all right. It's when our will is in conflict with the will of another that we get into trouble.

Say I want another woman's husband. (I don't. I'm deliriously happy with my own, thank you.) But just for the sake of argument, let's say I want him. I want to do magick to make the two of them break up, to free him to be with me. I want to do magick that will make him love me more than her. Her will, his will, these things don't enter into my concern. It's my will and mine alone I'm concerned with here.

Well, that's all well and good, but I've forgotten some important things. First, by interfering with their will, I have meddled in their life paths. The repercussions of my acts could reach far, from preventing the conception and birth of their offspring, to causing trauma to any existing children, to;well the possibilities are endless. Divorce is traumatic, (especially a divorce that was never meant to happen!) Such a trauma could lead to all sorts of problems from depression and suicide to drug or alcohol abuse to a string of failed relationships for either party.

And since the rule of three applies, I could fully expect the manipulative magick would not end there, with my act. Because further repercussions would include the ripples expanding until they found their way back to me, doing who knows what harm on their way. And when they did reach me again, it would be my will being ignored, manipulated;my life path being altered.
Setting such a course of events into motion is like knocking over the first in a parade of dominoes. It can't be stopped until it returns to its source, and everything in its path is knocked on its backside. Harm is done. Not just to the people in question, not just to you when it returns, but to the Whole. It must always be the Whole foremost in your mind.

According to the Qabala, part of the evolution along the Tree of Life, comes when you suddenly find that your will and the will of the Gods, is one and the same. At this point, acting according to your will, becomes the best possible course of action.

To Review

The Wiccan Rede means simply this;

First, act in accordance with the greater good;the good of the Whole.

Second, act in accordance with your own free will;but not in opposition to that of another.

Does it mean I cannot act in self-defense? No.

Does it mean I cannot do negative magick? No, so long as the negative magick is for the greater good.

Does it mean I cannot do magick for personal gain? Absolutely not.

So tell me again why anyone would say they do not, cannot, will not honor the Rede?

Negative isn't the same as evil. Black and white work together, for the greater good. Creation and destruction, increase and decrease, masculine and feminine, positive and negative polarities: all are necessary to create the spark that produces power;that produces life itself. We must not be afraid to embrace and explore both sides, so that we can understand them.

With harm to None

Wiccans often end their spells with the words, "with good to all and harm to none, so mote it be." Like the Rede, this is a tiny little reminder that our magick is always designed for the greater good, for the good of the whole, the all;even if we must perform a negative spell for the greater good. But the Rede isn't about magick. It's about us, our lives, our thoughts, everything we do. So long as we work with the good of the Whole in mind, we won't go wrong.

I cannot think of a single reason why any group currently practicing a nature based, earth-centered, Goddess acknowledging system of spirituality would have any problem following the Rede. It's all in the interpretation.

Copyright ~ Maggie Shayne

http://www.dm.net/~maggieshayne/library.html#Rede
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOME HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOKS BY MAGGIE SHAYNE:

(You can't go wrong by buying *anything* she has ever written. But in the interests of space, I'll try to narrow it down a bit . So take yourself to www.amazon.com or your favorite bookseller. If you aren't already acquainted with this fantastic lady and author, you're in for a treat.)

(The Immortal Witch Series )
Eternity
Infinity
Destiny

--------- 

also great reads:

Annie's Hero
Fairytale
Forever Enchanted

 

 

I got this through one of my groups and it's great, so I'm sharing. 

How to Tell a Young Soul from an Old Soul

by Jose Stevens, Ph.D. (Who is a long time observer and reader of the Edgar Cayce Readings)
"The following is a brief description of the characteristics of five basic soul levels. Each level has many lifetimes of lessons to teach us wisdom through trial and error.

THE INFANT SOUL

INFANT SOULS choose lessons of physical survival. They live in simple situations that include intense experiences - famine, plagues, floods, wars, oppression, etc. They don't know the difference between right and wrong, though they can be taught to be decent human beings. They don't usually seek higher education and often don't seek employment, as such. Infant souls don't question authority and willingly adopt the religion of their parents as is.

THE BABY SOUL

BABY SOULS display less fear than infant souls and are more sophisticated. But they tend to over apply rules. Black is black as far as they're concerned. Their strong early beliefs remain fixed in their minds, regardless of lack of their wisdom or tolerance. Baby souls love to become big fish in their little puddles...but hate being opposed. Because of this they may spend much time in litigation. Baby souls don't spend time navel-gazing into their own lives. They're often "good students" that learn "proper subjects," and are attracted to fundamentalist religions.

THE YOUNG SOUL

YOUNG SOULS are the "Donald Trumps" of the world...the movers and shakers. They usually set the bar too high for themselves. Achievement is paramount. They chase after what they believe will bring success without ever stopping to think why - because they're so limited in their perception. They fear death and must have all the toys, experiences, fame and money they can possibly accumulate before they die. They are designers of civilization. Young souls usually seek higher education and graduate-level degrees. Their views of orthodoxy are at one end of the spectrum or the other. Monks and nuns are at one end and a belief in total sexual freedom, the other. They have difficulty with insight into other people's behaviour.

THE MATURE SOUL

MATURE SOULS challenge the young soul's desire to "have it all." It is a hard cycle that demands seeking answers to life's tough questions. They are attracted to gentler faiths, such as Quaker, Unitarian, or Buddhist. Mature souls are not as open to the occult as old souls. They look for and question the motivation for all of life's actions. They often continue with inappropriate relationships - perhaps believing that through self-sacrifice, or tough lessons they will ultimately prevail. Often they can't shake their sense of duty. Mature souls suffer from stress related illness that sometimes results in schizophrenia, psychosis and a higher suicide rate than other souls. [Cayce emphasized the role that ‘stress' plays in not only physical illnesses but also mental illnesses; he believed it was ‘stress' that wrecked havoc on the brain chemistry/ balance]. But they're smart enough to seek professional help without urging. Mature souls often make huge contributions to knowledge - particularly philosophical and scientific. But altogether they don't necessarily have the drive for fame, many still achieve it. They're emotionally high maintenance.

THE OLD SOUL

OLD SOULS live and let live. They seek the route of least resistance...they're individualistic and usually easy going. They have an inner knowing of the waste of time in pursuing fame and fortune and therefore create the appearance of being "laid back." Old souls are highly competent - even in roles they don't particularly like. They tend to choose work that is pleasant and undemanding, leaving them free to pursue their desired goals easily...unless the job adds to the spiritual search. They may or may not seek higher education...but definitely will seek it if the my sense it's needed for their chosen path. Old souls create confidence in animals. And their choice of medical care tends to be alternative and holistic.

Old souls are here to teach others their spiritual understandings. Their philosophies and writings are simple and easy to read. Old souls religion is far reaching and has no label. A grove of trees is a sacred place to them. They seldom cling to dogma and prefer personal spiritual practices. However, old souls are wise enough to be discreet in their religious practices and know how to pass in public undetected. They focus on searching for the spiritual truth and have a finer sense of knowing what is true than any other souls level. Old souls all over the world share the experience of emptiness and a longing for that feeling of home.

You may start noticing these characteristics in people around you - and perhaps better understand why they think and act the way they do.

 

Brigid - The Bride of Winter

The crows are noisy this Winter morning, their blue-black wings impressive against the crusted snow. It's cold and overcast with a low gray sky. Still, I smile. In a few days it will be Imbolc - that  welcome turn in the year's Wheel that promises spring. Living in New England gives me a very tangible sense of the changing seasons and for that gift, I am grateful.

The turning guise of the Goddess always stuns me. The beauty of each season speaks to my wild soul. I am not a hardy sort who weathers the cold temperatures all that well; and I have dreamed about living in warmer climes, I admit. Yet I find great beauty in the lessons of the
year's Wheel. I need them in a concrete, experiential way. Each turn of the seasons invokes the Goddess with her wordless sermon and truth if we simply take the time to pay attention. The Goddess is not always subtle here in New England, but she does require us to listen.

By February the days are noticeably longer. The Long Night Moon of December has passed. Our lunar mirror is now a lovely virgin crescent  In the late winter sky. I watch her elegant form and breathe in the cool promise she emanates. My wild heart stirs with anticipation. Imbolc is the Celtic feast of quickening, marked by the birth of lambs and snow drops pushing through the frozen earth. The Goddess once again reveals the Earth's power for renewal. Beneath her mantle of snow she is stirring, sparkling in her shimmering white, pure as the quintessential
bride.

Expectancy is in the air; our bodies stretch and yearn toward the promise of spring. The sun's warmth is inching toward us to awaken us from stasis. Wisewomen and maidens alike begin to yearn for the Green Man, that urgent primal force of the forest, lover of our beautiful goddess. He is fertility and wildness, life awakening itself; he is the guise of Dionysos, the son god reborn. The promise of this green dance is the seed sown at Imbolc.

Simple Ritual Ideas

Light a tea candle in a glass bowl filled with ice and snow to  Celebrate the Sun's returning warmth and melt away winter's grounding energy. Unfreeze your heart and spirit and welcome the returning life force, longer days and higher Sun. I enjoy celebrating the change of seasons
in the kitchen, creating foods from Nature's inspiration. Imbolc is a favorite time for clearing out the cupboards, stirring up renewed  energy and awakening the taste buds. Winter is waning. The grounding force of the North is letting go. The new Bride, our guileless feminine divine,  is stirring awake. Think about the Bride of Imbolc as your inspiration. Play with the themes of white as you visualize the Celtic goddess and muse, Brigid.

How will Bride inspire your cooking?

Potatoes with leeks seem very appropriate. As do winter pears and snowy cheeses. How about a lovely cheese fondue by candlelight? Perhaps a creamy pasta with all white vegetables and pine nuts? Or a classic  Irish soda bread baked with Brigid's cross in the top. Have fun playing with
ingredients and be sure to share your culinary creations with someone you love ( see recipes below ).

Imbolc Lore: The Bride of Winter
by Karri Ann Allrich

On February 2nd, Imbolc ( pronounced IM-bulk ) marks the central point in the dark half of the year. It is an old Celtic festival, celebrating  the birth of the lambs and their lactating mothers. In fact, 'Imbolc' stems from an old Gaelic word meaning 'ewe's milk.' This is also a time for
blessing the seeds that will be sown for the coming season and consecrating farm tools for a fruitful planting and harvest.

For those following a Goddess oriented path, the feast of Imbolc honours the Goddess as Maiden. She is the archetypal Bride of Winter, sparkling in her innocence and purity, the rebirthed guise of the Goddess beginning anew; purified, fresh and expectant. In Celtic lore, our maiden Goddess is called Brigid ( pronounced BRA-git ). She is the Goddess of poetry and inspiration, keeper of the hearth flame, and healer. Brigid is also the patron Goddess of smith craft, perhaps because of her association with fire.

For me, she symbolizes the Keeper of the Flame, be it the symbolic fire of inspiration, the tending of a family and hearth, or the spiritual craft of those who refine and  burnish through the symbolic fire of personal alchemy. Personal rituals on  Imbolc revolve around the themes of purification, renewal and rebirth.

Welcome back the increasing strength of the Sun and the promised return of the Green Man, the verdant life force of Spring. Seeds, melting snow, candles, milk, Snow Drops, corn dollies, cradles, besoms, hearth fires and cauldrons are all appropriate to use in personal Imbolc ritual. Choosing a fresh, new, blank journal, making time for a cleansing bath by candlelight ( with Sea Salt and Bay Leaves ), Spring cleaning closets and sweeping your space of stagnent energy are perfect solitary rituals for this time of year. Now is the time to reflect on starting over, beginning anew, refreshing our spirit, rekindling inspiration and the fire of spiritual desire. Candles may be white or soft yellow.

Appropriate stones are Amethyst, Turquoise and Garnet. Supportive herbs are Bay, Basil and Caraway. Simple soda breads, bannock, scones and muffins served with creamy soups crafted from potatoes, or steaming bowls of angel hair pasta tossed lightly in lemon, herbs and sweet
butter are all perfect Imbolc food.

Irish Soda Bread

In bread we share kinship and celebrate sustenance. Honour the Goddess Brigid with this flavorful Celtic classic. I've added Caraway for protection and love. The deep dark currants add sweetness to remind us that spring will soon be is on its way.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup dried currants ( substitute chopped dried cranberries for
sweet-tart taste )
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 free range egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil, or melted stick butter/margarine
2/3 cup milk, or almond milk

Preheat oven to 375° degrees. Lightly grease a round cake pan with stick butter/margarine. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar,  baking powder, baking soda, salt, currants and caraway seeds. Whisk together. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, oil and milk. Pour the wet
ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon until moistened. Batter will be a bit sticky. Mound the batter onto the pan, forming a rounded shape loaf in the center of the pan. Smooth out the surface as best you can. With a sharp knife, cut an equal cross into the center top surface, about 1/4 inch deep and sprinkle lightly with flour. Bake at 375° degrees on the center rack for 25 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is a golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool a bit before slicing and serving. Cut the bread into wedges and serve in a basket, with plenty of butter.

Serves 4 to 6

Recipe from Cooking By the Seasons by Karri Ann Allrich,© May 2003
published by Llewellyn Worldwide . All rights reserved.

Potato and Carrot Soup
A lovely potato soup to celebrate Brigid's emergence. Laced with sweet carrots and onion, this Celtic country soup warms the heart with the first promise of Spring.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 head white cabbage, cored, thinly shredded
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
5 cups vegetable broth or light chicken broth
6 Yukon Gold ( or yellow ) potatoes, peeled and cut
1/2 cup milk, or almond milk
1-2 tablespoons light cream, or soy cream
fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

In a heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat and sauté the
onion until softened. Add the carrots, cabbage, spices, sea salt and
white pepper, stir and cook for ten minutes. Add in the broth and
potatoes, bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and
simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. When the
vegetables are done, carefully ladle the soup mixture into a blender,
reserving about a cup of the whole vegetable pieces in the soup pot.
Cover the blender and puree the soup mixture until it is smooth, then
pour the pureed soup back into the soup pot, stirring it together with
the reserved vegetable pieces. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, and gently heat it
through, being careful not to bring the soup to a boil. Add in cream,
if desired. Ladle this creamy soup into colorful bowls and garnish with
fresh chopped chives. Serve with warm wedges of Irish Soda Bread (above) or
Rosemary Cheese Biscuits (recipe here).
Serves 4-6

Recipe from Cooking By the Seasons by Karri Ann Allrich,© May 2003
published by Llewellyn Worldwide . All rights reserved.

Creamy Garlic Grits
Grits aren't just for breakfast. Creamy clouds of grits make a
polenta-like bed for any of your favorite winter comfort foods. As you
stir, think of something in your life that needs smoothing out.
4 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup Quick Grits ( white hominy )
dash of fine sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 stick butter or good margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated Parmesan or white cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan bring the water or broth to a rapid boil and
Slowly pour in the grits, stirring constantly with a whisk to keep the grits
swirling ( this prevents lumps ). Turn down the heat to low-medium. As
the grits begin to take form, keep stirring, and add the minced garlic,
sea salt and pepper. If you are using Quick Grits, they will be cooked
in 5 to 7 minutes ( traditional grits take longer, follow the directions on
the package ). When the grits are soft and creamy, add the butter and
stir until melted. Add the cheese and stir until all the cheese is well
blended. Cover and keep warm until you are ready to serve. If the grits
'set', whisk them again to soften.
Serves 4

**Moonlit Kitchen Tip: Grits make a wonderful polenta-style side dish.
For Southwestern Grits, add ½ cup chopped green chilies and substitute
Pepper-Jack cheese. For a Mediterranean twist, try adding ½ cup
chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts, 1 cup
shredded Asiago cheese, and 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves.

Recipe from Cooking By Moonlight by Karri Ann Allrich,© February 2003
published by Llewellyn Worldwide. All rights reserved.

Namaste! Bright Imbolc Blessings!

http://www.c4.net/allrichstudios/Imbolc.html

For all you 'happy hookers' like me LOL, here's a link to a lovely tarot spread cloth:

The crochet pattern that is being offered is the "Swirls of Stars" Tarot spread cloth. This circular cloth has a completed diameter of approximately 18 inches. Swirls of color surround a central "heart" in the 12 divisions that can symbolize the 12 houses of the zodiac. While designed to accommodate the astrological spread; most Tarot (or runic) spread configurations can be complimented by this cloth.

http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/article.php?id=1267

 

swiped from the GreenWitchGarden ;)

How Love Raises Children
by: F. Hunter

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my drawing on the refrigerator, and I believed I had talent.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and it wasn't even my birthday, and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight and pull the covers over my toes to be sure that I was warm, and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you become very angry, and stay calm and "use your words," and I learned to do that too.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give my clothes that didn't fit anymore to those less fortunate, and I learned to reach out to others to help.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you read, just for enjoyment, and I learned to love books and learning.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you look at the full moon in the night sky and
utter a prayer to the Goddess and I learned that She is always listening.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hug a tree, and I learned to see beauty and comfort in Nature.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you sing as you washed the dishes, and I learned that work can bring great satisfaction.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you fail, and make mistakes, and I saw you keep doing your best, and I learned perseverance.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw people you loved criticizing you for what you believed, but sill you continued to love them, and I learned tolerance.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you close your eyes when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake and I knew that you were wishing too, and I learned that it's okay for grown ups to believe in magick.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that
I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked ...and I wanted to thank you for being you, and for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.