| Mabon 2007 |
Merry Meet Temple Newsletter |
Vol. 1 No. 7 | |
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High Priestess's Corner
Llewellyn's 2008 Witches Calendar
The Witches of Dixie
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High Priestess's Corner In this month of the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I'd like to talk about how to heal the world in order to remove terrorism. You may say that that is not possible, but it is. Terrorism, by definition, is the commission of an act or acts that cause fear and force changes in the thoughts and actions of others. Terrorism is a means of forcing one's will upon others. Terrorism can be seen as a disease of the mind. It can show up in many forms that many be extreme, such as 9/11, or it can be subtle. Our government used the idea of "weapons of mass destruction" in order to "scare" us into allowing the war on terror and the subsequent invasion of Iraq. We know now that these weapons do not exist; they've never found evidence of these weapons in Iraq. Still, the use of fear to force others to act or change their actions is terrorism. Magick is mental magick. It is born of the mind. Magick is all about intent. It's not the tools that you have on your altar. It's not the act of raising the cone of power. It's not the act of drumming. It is the intent of the mind that decides what the energy used in magick does. Intent can be positive, negative or neutral. Whenever you do magick of any kind, be very careful of your intent. Intent is what decides the three-fold of the magick. Magick can be done using just the mind. Or it can be done using tools such as incense, oils, altar items, and other items in the mundane world that correspond to the magickal world. Magick can also be done by using the body, such as ritual dance, drumming, sex magick and more. The tools and the body help to focus the mind on the intent in order to make magick happen. Terrorists are not evil people. They are people who desire changes in their present lives, and who do not know how to create those changes by any means other than extreme acts. Terrorists are very dedicated people. For example, a suicide bomber only has one attempt to get it right. All that person's thoughts and energy and intent are focused on that one event, that one act. That person has to do it just right because there is no second chance. If the act is not done right, the person does not gain the glory that is sought. Terrorists kill themselves regularly. Terrorist organizations, therefore, must recruit all the time. Terrorism is dark; it is dark energy, dark thoughts, dark emotions. Most of the pagans and witches that I know are not as dedicated to their Art as are terrorists. We tend to be a bit lazy. We do not work at perfecting one event everyday until the time for that event to occur. We tend to do magick when we want or need to, not everyday. In order to heal the Earth and Her people, the magick to cause these changes needs to be done every day. If we, all of us, focus on creating light in the world. Darkness cannot survive in the light. If you are in a dark room with many people and you light a single match, all eyes will be on that match's light. The darkness around that match is transformed into light. If we do a little magick each day to put light energy into the world with the focused intent of healing the world and her people of fear (terror), then over time fear will diminish or completely heal. If every witch, pagan, druid, ceremonial magician, every magick user set aside five to twenty minutes a day to do magick toward this purpose, we would make a huge difference. The magick would need to be done every day, whether you feel like it or not. Of course, there are always times when magick should not be done such as during illness or times of heightened emotions. All other days, this magick could be done for the benefit of all the people's of the Earth and for the Earth Herself. Brightest of Blessings,
From where I view the world here on our mountain, it seems that a lot of pagans support their leaders as long as it is easy and free.
Many people have expressed delight and support for Merry Meet Temple, but they have not been willing to put forth time or money or effort to support Lady Damorea. How many of you have submitted articles or book reviews for the newsletter? How many of you have studied the curriculums and made suggestions or comments? Do you realize that the Temple and school cannot be incorporated or get tax-exempt status until about $2,000 has been raised?
Lady Damorea has donated many, many hours to this project with the support of very few people.
If you are rich enough to benefit from donating only to places that can give you a tax deduction that is great. Wait if you want.
I worry that after all the time, work, and money to get the Temple and the school up and running that the apathy will continue and that no one will be willing to pay tuition for the college or support the Temple.
The Temple and the school will not happen without a broad base of support.
Do you care?
Sincerely, Janine Thompson
*Editor's note* - There are some who are helping behind the scenes. One is reading over the bylaws. Frank and Janine have edited the constitution and bylaws and given suggestions on the curriculums. Dragonclaw did a book review and looked at the curriculums. Mithras has agreed to start a column for the newsletter. I'd love to have more and more regular help.
If you would like to send a letter to the editor, send an e-mail to editor@merrymeettemple.org.
Federal judge rules 2 Patriot Act provisions
unconstitutional How do you tell 60,000 people it's time to go home? By Tom Dalton , Staff writer
SALEM - The dilemma the city faces every October would be good fodder
for an advice column: "Dear Abby. We have 60,000 people coming for a
Halloween party but don't know how to tell them when it's time to go
home. Any ideas? Signed, Worried in Witch City."
Can you imagine the possible answers? "Dear Worried in Witch City: How about holding a big closing event, like the crowning of a king and queen, hand out a few prizes and hope they get the hint?" Or maybe this - "Dear Worried in Witch City: How about getting mounted officers on horseback, police in riot gear and a lot of street sweepers and try pushing them out the door?" The city, it turns out, has tried both ideas with mixed results. It used to hold a big closing event, but it didn't work. For the past few years, it has ended Haunted Happenings around 11 p.m. on Halloween night with a phalanx of police and horses slowly moving down the Essex Street pedestrian mall, but that has sparked confrontations and arrests. Now, there is talk of a new and, hopefully, better idea - fireworks. The city of Salem is pondering pyrotechnics as a way to end this year's Halloween celebration more smoothly and peacefully than in recent years, which have ended with stabbings, fist fights and dozens of arrests. The police think it's a good idea. "Fireworks are a kind of universally understood culminating signal," said Capt. Brian Gilligan, who is in charge of public safety for the city's massive Halloween night celebration. "There's a finality to it." Every Fourth of July ends with fireworks, Gilligan reasoned, and Disney World uses it every night to tell the crowds that Magic Kingdom is closing. Mayor Kim Driscoll likes the idea and is searching for a sponsor to pay for the fireworks display. Preliminary estimates of the cost are about $15,000. "We're working hard to try to put it in place," Driscoll said. "We think it's important to bring closure to the event at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way, and fireworks is one of the ideas everyone seems to think will help." If the city stages Halloween fireworks, it most likely will be near the North River and commuter rail station, and not down by Pickering Wharf, which is where the July 4 celebration is held. "We'd like to try to schedule something that will bring folks closer to the train," the mayor said. "It could have an attraction that just moves people (in that direction), that certainly would be helpful." Police agree that the area near the North River and the overpass would be a good spot. Much of the crowd enters the city from that direction and exits that way as well, police said. "The North River is directly adjacent to the train station and to Route 114, and that's where we want to move people," Gilligan said. One of his goals, Gilligan said, is to take the confrontational atmosphere out of the final hours of Halloween, when police virtually push the crowds out of the city. "My goal is to reduce the amount of forced movement ... if not eliminate it," he said. For her part, Driscoll said fireworks is part of the professional management she is trying to bring to Haunted Happenings and, in particular, to the final, sometimes chaotic hours. Her proposal to put a carnival on Salem Common to spread out the crowd, an idea endorsed by police but strongly opposed by neighbors and several city councilors, is part of that proposal. "We really do see (fireworks) as part of the overall effort to manage what happens here in October," she said. "It's been kind of a free-for-all, and that can't continue." Pagans usher in Autumn:http://www.projo.com/news/content/pagans_equinox_09-23-07_MH77PON.3271e79.html
By Mark Arsenault
PAWTUCKET — These are the rites of autumn, performed by the witches of Rhode Island:
Drums and song, the invocation of the elements, a calling to the god and goddess, and the symbolic joining — with the Freudian insertion of a sword into a chalice — of male and female energies.
Happy Pagan Thanksgiving! Several hundred people celebrated the event yesterday in a festival of magic, runes and free enterprise, under a grove of oak in Slater Memorial Park.
Roll your eyes if you must, but a seminar on speaking with the dead drew 40 believers. And just about every one claimed a past run-in with a ghost.
For the rest of you: Happy autumnal equinox, the first day of fall!
In Pagan traditions closely identified with the earth, the equinox is a holiday. “It’s a time to celebrate all we have been given in the past year,” says Lorna Steele, the high priestess of the celebration, who led an equinox circle ritual last evening.
Oh, sure, there’s some scientific stuff behind the equinox, too; something about the direct rays of the sun passing the equator on the way south, toward the winter solstice, Dec. 22. Pagans make a more noble interpretation. “The equinox is the balance between night and day, when they are of equal value,” says Steele. And as a time for harvest, the fall equinox is a time for Pagans to take stock of their personal aims for the year. What did they reap from their goals?
If you would like to read the rest of this article please go to the link above. (Each of these events is only in the planning stages.)
Saturday, April 19th from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. This event may include 5 or 6 seminar and hands-on classes in recycling, conservation techniques, solar systems, and electric vehicles. We will accept a minimum of ten registrations (10 people). Registration fee will be $50/person, $85/couple, and $20/child under 13. We need people who are willing to assist with registration, security, first aid, cooking, and set up/clean up. If you would like to assist with these event, please contact Lady Damorea.
In May or June More planning is required before dates and registration will be announced. We need people who are willing to assist with registration, security, first aid, cooking, and set up/clean up. If you would like to assist with these event, please contact Lady Damorea.
In May or June More planning is required before dates and registration will be announced. We need people who are willing to assist with registration, security, first aid, cooking, and set up/clean up. If you would like to assist with these event, please contact Lady Damorea.
Friday thru Sunday, August 1 - 3, 2007 Camping, drumming circle, bonfire, feast and Ritual. We need people who are willing to assist with registration, security, first aid, cooking, and set up/clean up. If you would like to assist with these event, please contact Lady Damorea.
If you would like to assist with these events, please contact Lady Damorea. |
Sex, Magick, and Spirit: Enlightenment through ecstasy by Bonnie L. Johnston and Peter L. Schuerman ©1998 ISBN 1-56718-378-6
This excellent book starts with definitions of the various systems that practice the sexual mysteries, then covers history, theory, preparation, and the practice of these mysteries. One thing that I was glad to see in print was the statement, "Sex can be initiatory, but it should never be obligatory" (p. 3).
The preparation part of this book covers mental, spiritual, and physical preparation. Preparation includes physical and mental exercises, relaxation and visualization. These exercises are designed to be done by both partners on a regular and continual basis. The exercises not only increase fitness and flexibility, but also one's attractiveness to one's partner. Preparation also includes getting to know one's own body and its pleasure areas. To do this, a variety of techniques are encouraged.
This book covers various deities that are associated with the sexual mysteries. These deities include gods and goddesses from a number of different pantheons.
This book is not for people who are unwilling to experiment and try new things. I do, however, recommend this book to anyone who is interested in exploring the sexual mysteries.
Reviewed by Lady Damorea
Llewellyn's 2008 Witches' Calendar © 2007 Llewellyn Worldwide ISBN 0-7387-0555-1
Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Noel Tyl's Guide to Astrological Consultation
by Noel Tyl ©2007 Llewellyn Publications ISBN 13:978-0-7387-1049-5
This book does not teach the in-depth lessons of how to create a natal chart. It does teach how to explain the natal chart, and other astrological charts, to the client. Noel Tyl, who is a well-known author and astrologist, gives example after example of how to explain the complex charts in a way that a non-astrologer would understand. Tyl covers how to create a workup of the charts, prediction possibilities, managing appointments, and more.
The book includes five case studies that cover a variety of situations. Each case study covers the person's history as well as the person's future. Tyl shows compassion and understanding in each case study.
This book is a must have for anyone wishing to learn the art of divination consultation.
Lady Damorea
The Witches of Dixie: Book One of the Witchery Series by Laura Stamps © 2007 ISBN 9778-0-9798413-0-9
by Raymond Buckland © 2004 Citadel Press ISBN 0-80652554-9
Learn Tarot
This is the second lesson. MAGICIANBasic Card Symbols Red & White coloring, the lemniscates (infinity symbol), a small wand, a table displaying a chalice, a pentacle, a staff (wand) and a sword. Basic Tarot Story Traveling on his way, the Fool first encounters a Magician. Skillful, self-confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating above his head, the Magician mesmerizes the Fool. When asked, the Fool gives over his bundled pack and stick to the Magician. Raising his wand to heaven, pointing his finger to Earth, the Magician calls on all powers; magically, the cloth of the pack unfolds upon the table, revealing its contents. And to the Fool's eyes it is as if the Magician has created the future with a word. There are all the possibilities laid out, all the directions he can take. The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication, the fiery Wand of spirituality and ambition, the overflowing Chalice of Love and emotions, the solid Pentacle of work, possessions and body. With these tools, the Fool can create anything, make anything of his life. But here's the question, did the Magician create the tools, or were they already in the pack? Only the Magician knows - and on this mystery, our eloquent mage refuses to say a word. Basic Tarot Meaning At #1, the Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud ("And God said 'Let there be Light!' and there was Light"). Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand (Mercury *was* the god of thieves!) and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil. The 4 suits laid out before him remind us of the 4 aces, which in the Tarot symbolize the raw, undeveloped, undirected power of each suit. When the Magician appears, he reveals these to you. The reader might well interpret this card as telling the querent that they will be given a vision, an idea, a magical, mental image of whatever it is they most want: the solution to a problem, an ambitious career, a love life, a job. Thirteen's Observations If any card in the Tarot is the Tarot, it is the Magician. He's one of the most recognizable cards, always a favorite. He's also the only card in the Majors that refers to the minors with the "trumps" displayed upon his table. If the reader believes the Magician stands for the Querent, then the Querent either is, or is currently finding himself eloquent and charismatic at this time. Both verbally and in writing, he is clever, witty, inventive and persuasive. People listen and agree with him. He also has an interest in science. He might be, in fact, a doctor or scientist or inventor. Standing for someone other than the querent, the Magician could be a skillful doctor, scientist, inventor lecturer, salesman, or con-man. It's important to remember that the Magician can as easily be clever as skilful, a trickster as well as a magician. This is someone with a magnetic personality, someone who can convince people of almost anything. For better or worse, his words are magic. Most importantly, the Magician card stands for the "reveal" - as in a magic trick. The handkerchief is draped over an empty box, the Magician waves his wand, *presto!*--now there is a dove in the box. The Magician card does the same for the Querent--only what it reveals is not birds or rabbits but NEW ideas. Emphasis on NEW. When the Magician card appears, the Querent is likely to say: "Now there's an idea! Why didn't I think of that before?" Truth is, the Querent had that idea in his head all along. The Magician merely revealed it to him. But what will the Querent do with this idea? That's a question for the next card.... What exactly is a Soul Mate?
2008 Important Dates January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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"Sex can be initiatory, but it should never be obligatory" (p. 3).
The calendar pages are the least interesting part of this yearly offering, after all, not much changes from year to year.
Noel Tyl, who is a well-known author and astrologist, gives example after example of how to explain the complex charts in a way that a non-astrologer would understand.
None of these stories are ABOUT Wicca, even though they are about Wiccans.
Thus when some of his statements vary from currently accepted norms; you can see what "everyone USED to know."
Traveling on his way, the Fool first encounters a Magician. Skillful, self-confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating above his head, the Magician mesmerizes the Fool.
A Soul Mate is a kindred soul with whom you have a special connection, spiritually as well as physically.
"Helping your favorite memories last a lifetime" Handfastings, Rituals, Gatherings, Couples, Wiccanings, Bridal, Families, Pets and more. (276) 233-4797
Books, blades, candles, clothing, dragons, gay pride, and much much more.
3160 Dry Pond Hwy, Claudville Va. 24076
276 694-6802. e-mail
Llewellyn Publications Publishers of many excellent pagan books.
deo's Shadow Excellent pagan podcast that covers a variety of topics. |