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.

Here’s a wave. Ride it.

I just wrote a post over at our blog  about New Year’s Eve. You should read it, it’s great. But, if you’re feeling lazy & don’t wanna, let’s recap & the concept here.

To approach the event horizon of a new year/month/state/county/notebook is to look into the face of Infinite Potential. In that moment we believe in the Clean Slate. We believe that the troubles & heartache of the Past can not hold sway on the beauty & excitement of the Future that is before us. We believe we can do better. We believe the World can be better. We see Hope. We anticipate Good Things.

Infinite Potential.

By this point, the Solstice has passed. Days are getting longer by degrees, even if we can’t tell much of a difference at first, they are. The cold will persist for a few more months, but at least we don’t have to be cold in the Dark. I love the energy of NYE. There is a heightened sense of optimism. A kind of collective anticipation of better times.  There is Hope in the air. I love it. I love the buzz. I love the energy.

I gotta think we can use that in our magickal practice.

Traditionally, people make resolutions for the New Year. I think it sad that those are made and then quickly forgotten. What if we didn’t forget? What if we wrote down our resolutions, burned a candle, said a prayer, made a promise, to see them through?

What do you want to change/do/fix/maintain/increase in the coming year?  Think about that tonight.

I challenge you to not forget it.

I won’t.

A reflection on the Water to Earth Transition ~ Morgana

This is from one of our members, Morgana. It a wonderful, and very personal, look into this time of year and how it affects her.

Water to Earth

Dec26 by morgana268

While a little belated, its not exactly the full moon, its always better late than never. Given the general atmosphere this month has brought with it, I feel it is actually more appropriate to welcome in the transition from Water to Earth with the New Moon. Its correlation to new beginnings, and a transition from the dark back to the light of the full moon “works”. I did no ritual, no private circle of my own for this transition, at least not yet, and I’m honestly not sure one is really necessary.

Water is suppose to be a time to nourish, a way to replenish and recover from the heat accompanying Fire. For me, I think that the floating candles we used at our last Circle was indicative of how that particular time would go for me. Simply floating along awaiting Earth to come back around. Relaxation in preparation for the stress, aggravation, frustration and general malaise that comes along with this time of year.

We are already in the Earth quarter of the year, although I think that it may have asserted itself much earlier this year. What time many of us have had to be social, we’ve spent “going to ground” as it were, in the metaphorical sense. It’s much colder this year in December than it normally is, or perhaps I’m only feeling it more this year, I really couldn’t say. It normally doesn’t feel this cold until late January/early February. Earth being directly opposite of Fire could perhaps have something to do with that. This particular time of year is the time the Earth uses to revitalize and prepare itself for the coming Spring and return of Air, life, and renewal. It is the season of advanced age, or the elderly, which many of us associate with death, or nearing the end of life. That too, is suitable, given the difficulties of life during the holiday season.

This is the first elemental transition I spent without my Full Circle family. I actually find it a bit sad, and miss you all terribly, but moreso with the lack of our monthly gathering. Earth rules over introspection, and of that, I feel I have done more than my fair share. This little family we have established, while its true that I’m still not 100% confident or self-assure when asked to call a quarter, I have never felt more myself, more accepted for who I am, and I’ve never seen more unconditional love than while I’ve had the privilege to be a part of it. As in my last post about what this year has brought in relation to Christmas and my personal life, I’m most likely going to be dealing with this depression for some time, but at least with my family, I know I can get through it. How does that relate to Earth? Earth is the Mother, from which we all have come. Mother means compassion, caring, where you come from, your origins, your base. What keeps you stable, grounded, until Air returns and lifts you back up again. Mother is, in many cases, the basis around which the family is formed. Depending on your particular belief, man is created of the earth, and upon death, is returned to it.

So, as I continue plodding along, I am determined to carry with me not only the lessons Earth has to bring, but also the lessons learned from Air, Fire and Water from this past year’s Element Walk. While I might at times feel like there literally is no way back into the light, it cannot remain dark forever. I will not always feel like this, and at some point in the future, I will be reunited with my Full Circle family. In the meantime, I shall be as the Earth. Solid, strong, unmovable. Love and light to you all!

 

Our Chrismahanukwanzakahyule Tree

We like to have fun and, for us, holidays are fun. Winter is hard on us. We love warmer weather, fun in the sun, beaches & boat drinks, yo. So, we tend to get depressed this time of year. Especially with the sheer gimme-gimme-gimme madness  that consumes the society that we live in. We loathe it. But, being Cancers, we do love the home & hearth & family vibe that underlies the season and try to emphasize that in our own observance.  Decorating our tree is at the center of that.

Transition —> Fire to Water

This is a huge transition period for me & X. Just yesterday (and today) we moved out of The Castle of Wonder. We are now residents of The Invisible College Apartment in the basement of an undisclosed location somewhere deep in the heart of Kodak, TN. Before we left The Castle, however, we were able to do a transition Ritual at Mabon to focus on the shift from Fire to Water and the turning of The Wheel of the Year to our favorite Season, Fall.

Bring me some water!

I couldn’t resist.

You’re welcome.

~Cootie

Reflecting on our 2nd Fire Ritual which turned out to be not so much a Ritual.

This Summer has been hot. I mean upwards of 96 godhatesusall degrees nearly every day. The Castle of Wonder is not very weather proof and our budget for the year has not been generous enough to afford the power bills it takes to keep the climate in this concrete block of a structure comfortable. So, we’ve been sweating it out. Very, very literally.

Element Walk 2011 – Fire 1st Ritual

When we went through Air we focused on 3 main properties of the Element & how we can apply that energy to our Lives.  The first being it’s cleansing power. Air is a remover of obstacles. It refreshes and sometimes destroys all in Its path. In moving our focus to Fire we decided to focus on that cleansing power in this Element. In this function, Fire is transformative.

What Pagans can learn from INSIDIOUS (**Mild Spoilers**)

I’ve been writing a lot about Insidious lately, the great horror movie from Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and it has all been strictly from a film geek/movie writer standpoint. Insidious flat out delivers, doing the thing that all horror movies should aspire to and few succeed at: it’s fuckin’ scary!