The Perfect Circle

At our most recent Circle gathering, I was asked to cast the Circle. PANIC! RUN! HIDE! were the knee jerk reactions. This is not something I’m accustomed to doing. I like to leave that to other, more knowledgeable people (Like X). Thankfully, instead, we joined hands and proceeded with it that way. Then today, I was looking through my facebook feed, and one of the pages I subscribe to had something on casting Circles. I don’t particularly prescribe to this method of doing it, but its not a bad concept.

The page can be found here:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Good-Witches-Farm-House-Kitchen/264811936868196

 

Now, with that being said.. all of this has brought to light the questions: What IS the right way to cast Circle? How do I know if I’m doing it “right”? WHEN do I cast Circle?

This, much like anything else you will do in your magickal working, is purely based on what feels right, what works for you. You might lean more towards a traditional wiccan casting, add in your own flowery words and make it all spiffy and poetic. Or you might just do as I do, close your eyes and visualize yourself inside a bubble. A shield if you will, against all negative influences in the world around you, clear on the inside, but mirrored on the outside, reflective, as it will deflect anything and everything from the outside world. For that moment in time, you are part of the world, but set apart. Nothing can harm you, and like Luke on Dagobah with the tree in the swamp, the only things inside are what you take with you. Leave your stress, dramas, and worries on the outside, unless the intent of the Circle is to rid yourself of those things.

How do you know if you’re doing it right? Well, again, you’ll know. If it doesn’t feel right, then you haven’t done it right. Lather rinse repeat, whatever steps you took… change something, whatever you have to do. But the important thing is confidence. This is especially important if you’re casting a Circle with others present. I failed in that department, but I know I can handle it next time. If you’re not confident in the Circle you prepare, others will feel it, and it could throw off the energy within.

When do you cast a Circle? I can’t stress this enough. WHEN. YOU. NEED. IT. If you feel its necessary, do it. I do it, visualized, but I do it when I meditate. I do it anytime I need to break away from the world around me and get a few moment’s peace. I do it when I’m afraid. Because its safe there, its the one place no one and nothing can touch me, and I can regain my composure and feel alright with everything that might be going on.

I think though, that this is something I’m going to have to work on. I’ve always done my own thing, quietly, and usually without words, inside my own mind. Its a necessity when one isn’t out of the broom closet yet! But there is no ONE way to do it, and there is no absolutely right way either. Tailor it to suit your needs and your own personality, and don’t overlook your intent.

Craving Balance – Hail Eris

First of all let me start this post out by saying WOW.. 46 views Saturday, 45 Sunday! And the top search terms being used? Armpit hair and women’s armpit hair. (WTG COOTIE!!! LOL) This is CLEARLY a topic we should probably cover more in depth than the armpit hair divination post. **Note to self, people like armpit hair.**

I’m going to apologize now for the length of this post, but it marks an important milestone for me, so sit back, light up a cigarette (or whatever you might smoke) and enjoy

SO.. last night was the first experience I’ve had with leading Circle where others were watching and listening. Bubble Girl aka Socrates aka Padawan aka MOI.. had to come out of the bubble and I’m not going to lie, it felt great. Its going to take time for it to start feeling comfortable, like any new thing will. I’ve never been the type to take “center stage”, as it were. Its not me. Its not something I do, I don’t like to feel like I’m under the microscope. That’s childhood traumas for ya!

Elemental Balance

This isn’t going to be one of my usual posts.. I ran across this picture uploaded from a friend who lives in Fairbanks Alaska. This is an image of what she was blessed to see on her trip to work this morning.

She stated that she felt like she was driving straight into fire. That got me to thinking.. There’s more than just fire in this photo. All of the  Elements are represented here, and it really drove home the point of how much we really take for granted. These things are all around us, at all times. Even if they seem to have taken a minor vacation, they are there. This picture is a perfect representation of that very fact.. Air as sky. Fire as sun. Water as snow. Earth as the forest around you. While it’s true that manmade things such as cars and asphalt are also present, these are all things you can see, regardless of where you live.. the city, the desert. Some people feel they aren’t as connected to the Elements or to Nature itself if they don’t live IN that particular environment, that’s just not the case. As I’ve come to learn, Magick exists everywhere, if only we take the time to look.

Turning of The Wheel ~ Air (pt 2?)

While I was initially looking forward to Earth, as we near the transition back to Air, I can honestly say I’m GLAD it’s almost over. The grass is starting to come back, things are starting to bloom, it’s getting warmer out, and really, it’s just time. Winter months being what they are.. one long arduous pain in the ass, I embrace the return of Air with open arms. (No, not a Journey reference).

Speaking of Journey, I have had this song in my head all day.

Now, ya’ll know I love me some Journey. But for some reason, I can’t help but feel a particular draw to this song. Especially lately. Let’s look at some of the lyrics:

“Winter is here again oh lord,
Haven’t been home in a year or more”

Sure, its probably more metaphorical than literal. But as we come out of Earth into Air, it HAS been a year since I’ve been “home”. Air is where I started, as a Libra it is my element, and although I have really come to love what the other elements have to offer, Air is where I thrive.  There are a few elemental references throughout the song, and despite whatever true meaning the song has, it isn’t hard to find the references to the different seasons/quarters of the year. “I’m stranded in the sleet and rain, Don’t think I’m ever gonna make it home again, the mornin’ sun is risin, it’s kissin the day” Sounds very much like someone waiting in the midst of the Earth quarter, in the dark of winter, for Air and morning, to return.

So this is where I am. Everything is a journey, and it really is about living each year, or even each week or day, like you’re starting over. The more you hold onto the baggage of the past, the heavier they will get until you simply can’t keep going. Just so long as you keep your eyes in front of you rather than behind, breathe a little and we’ll get through it just fine. I haven’t managed to make a few of the changes in my life that I wanted to make, but overall I can’t complain, and I’m looking forward to what my 3rd year on this path will bring. Stay tuned! This should be an interesting year!

**Edit: I just realized NONE of us posted during February. I hereby deem February did not exist. Thank you, that is all. XD

Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon

Today kicks off the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls right in line with the new moon. Being that I was born in the Year of the Dragon (1976), and my youngest son Dale was born in 2000, also a Dragon year, I felt it only fitting that something should be mentioned about it here. I’ve always been drawn to Chinese astrology, and I’ve never really been sure as to why.

The Dragon is a common symbol of leadership, bearer of good fortune; His motto is “I Reign”.

I admittedly don’t know as much as I would like, and after the last hour of looking further into it, in hopes of coming up with a reasonably relevant post about it, I’ve come to the determination that it is considerably more complex a system than just saying “I was born in the year of the ___(fill in whatever chinese zodiac animal fits)___ and I’m awesome!”  Because its not just about that. There are a multitude of elemental aspects in play when you begin looking at it. 1976 was a Fire year, this year is Water. What that means in its shortest terms is, we’re probably not going to mesh well, 2012 and I. Birth charts and such play in as well. The hour, minute, and location are a factor. While I was born in a Fire year, my ruling element is Metal. According to one source, Water protects Metal, unless the Fire is very strong. As I said, VERY complex system.

So.. that being said, I’ve decided that, while I’m looking further into what all of it entails, I’m going to just be happy that the Dragon has returned, and this is MY year, and it’s going to be a great one! As I come across more information, I’ll throw it on here.

Here you will find an explanation of Chinese New Year traditions and festivals:

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/NewYear.htm

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ChineseNewYear/ChineseNewYear.htm

Earth and the Divine Feminine

We’ve touched on this topic before, but I don’t think we have ever gone really in depth on it. Cootie shared this article last night via facebook, and I felt compelled to expand a little more than just what I’d commented on her post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arjuna-ardagh/goddess-worship_b_660896.html

Now, you might be wondering what my motivation is. When I started out, Cootie sent me a pdf file that went over the elemental correspondences. In it, it states different things that relate to each quarter by its elemental association. Earth, in many different mythologies, is considered feminine, whether as Gaea/Gaia, Mother Earth, and so on. In another post, I made reference to this same fact. I recall a conversation Cootie and I had at one point, where I expressed that when I’d had my last child and had my tubes tied, I felt a tremendous loss, because the one thing I could contribute to this world was gone. She disagreed, I will never forget the visible bristling at my words, but I didn’t exactly choose my words the way I should have. A woman is not merely a walking womb, her soul purpose is not to pop out babies like a soda machine. Her purpose is to love, nurture, and tend to her “garden”, metaphorically speaking. How many of us, regardless of our pasts with our mothers, look to our mother when we have a problem and need advice? Consoling? That gentle pat on the back that says “You might be an epic fuck-up, but you’ll get through it”? And it doesn’t even need to be specifically your biological mother. Many of us have people in our lives that we look to for that exact same strength, and they don’t even need to be female. Men can just as easily fulfill this role, this need, in our lives, without being “whipped”, or whatever quasi-sissy phrase they’re using now. Its not un-manly to care about another person.

I was once asked, “What is the Divine?” And to be perfectly honest, I rather stumbled through my response. Since that time, my opinion has gone through a few changes, minor, but changes nonetheless. I recall saying that I did not want to give It a name, as doing so would seem disrespectful. In the time since, I have Circled, I have witnessed aspecting, and in truth, seeing it and being a part of it is what changed it for me. Gone was the feeling of “hokiness” that I felt having called aspects of Gods and Goddesses on my own in private, and in its place was something true, something real, something almost beyond explanation. The conclusion, thus far, that I have reached is the Divine is what you make of it. It is what It needs to be at any given moment, forming and shaping itself in its eternal malleability until it fits the situation asked of It. The Divine itself is not male or female, but male and female are aspects OF the Divine. We embrace either, or both, at will, even in the smallest things we do. Whether you’re a man or a woman, think about this the next time you hug your child, the next time you water a plant. Doing things of that nature are not just empty actions, they are a visible representation of honoring the feminine within your world, and in so doing, embracing the Earth element in it.