A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum
website: http://www.ecauldron.com/
mailing list/board: http://www.ecauldron.com/fregmb.php
With a little help from The Witches' Thicket
website: http://www.cros.net/soraya/
message board: http://forums.delphiforums.com/thicket/start
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CAULDRON NEWS -- September 2000 Web Page: http://www.ecauldron.com/ or: http://cauldron.cjb.net/ Message Board: http://www.delphi.com/CUSTOM7999/start In this Issue: * Lots of New Articles on our Web Site * New Web Polls * The Return of The Cauldron's Mailing List * Your Samhain Articles Wanted Now + Traditional Magickal Uses for Wild Herbs * Support The Cauldron When You Buy at Amazon.com + Traditional Magickal Uses for Incense * Send A Pagan Postcard (Two NEW Categories!) + Recipe: Herb Sugar Candy * The Cauldron's Message Board Rules * Cauldron Chats: Tuesdays, 10-11pm CDT * Please Invite Your Friends * Link To The Cauldron * Suggestions Are Always Welcome LOTS OF NEW ARTICLES ON OUR WEB SITE Since our July issue, we've added a large number of new articles, book reviews, and humor items on our web site: * There are nine new Pagan humor pieces available in the Humor section of our web site: "Astral Advertising: A Modern Occult Menace?," "Be An Expert On The New Age in Five Minutes," "How to Become A Witch in Nine Easy Lessons," "Sam Hain," "A Letter From A Third Grade Teacher Sent Home To Pagan Parents," "The Valkyrie Song," "New to Magick and Paganism," and "Wicccan Laws." Finally, we have a piece written by RaeVynn (with a bit of help from people on The Cauldron and The Thicket) and illustrated by Faerie K. entitled "Safe Witch Kit." http://www.ecauldron.com/humorindex.php * We've added two files to our File Library: a zip file with the full text of Culpeper's Complete Herbal in Microsoft Word format and a zip file containing a magickal formulary with recipes for several hundred magical oils, incenses, and powders -- also in Microsoft Word Format. http://www.ecauldron.com/filelibrary.html * We now have a collection of recipes for Lammas incenses and philtres: http://www.ecauldron.com/lammasincenses.html * Complementing the above article, we also have an article with recipes for Lammas oils and perfumes. http://www.ecauldron.com/lammasoils.html * "Crowley and Tantric Magick" provides some insight into Crowley's writings, explaining what his sometimes outrageous descriptions were actually talking about. http://www.ecauldron.com/crowleytantra.html * If you are interested in various versions of traditional Wiccan Laws, you may find the poetic "Landmarks of the Craft" interesting. http://www.ecauldron.com/landmarklaws.html * Which direction is associated with which element? "Re-Thinking the Watchtowers" makes the case for putting elemental Air in the north. http://www.ecauldron.com/rethinking.html * "The History Of Wicca In England: 1939 - Present Day" is a transcription of a talk given by Julia Phillips at the Wiccan Conference in Canberra in 1991. http://www.ecauldron.com/historywicca.html * This article is actually a collection of online conversations and informational messages on hereditary Italian witchcraft. It's almost 250K and takes a while to load. http://www.ecauldron.com/italianwitchcraft.html * "Natural Herbal Medicinal Uses" provides information collected from various sources and is presented as a compendium of ideas on possible medicinal uses of herbs, not as specific advice. http://www.ecauldron.com/herbalnatural.html * The "Mother Earth Herbal" discusses the traditional and magical uses of many herbs and trees. http://www.ecauldron.com/herbalearth.html * We've added book reviews for the following books: + Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger http://www.ecauldron.com/bkssecrets.html + The Stones are Hatching Young Adult Fiction by Geraldine McCaughrean http://www.ecauldron.com/bkthestones.html + A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar http://www.ecauldron.com/bkwbible.html NEW WEB POLLS Our new polls are working nicely and without all the problems we had when they were hosted offsite. You'll find them on their own web page at: http://www.ecauldron.com/pollindex.php Since the July issue of Cauldron News, we've added a new poll every two weeks for three new polls. * From which of the listed pantheons are the Gods you usually call upon in ritual or worship? http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll3.php * Do you believe Wiccan Rede should be considered a moral law or just moral advice? http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll4.php * Who knows that you are a Pagan? http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll5.php Make your opinion known, take these polls today! THE RETURN OF THE CAULDRON'S MAILING LIST As many readers may remember, we experimented with an Egroups mailing list in May when Delphi's text side was out for over a week. While we moved back to Delphi (when text side stabilized again), we planned to keep the list available as a backup and as our eventual home when Delphi finally kills off the ancient text side interface. (For those who don't understand the "text side" reference, the text side interface allows The Cauldron's hosts to read and reply to forum messages offline in plain old text -- just as if the forum were a mailing list.) In late June, however, Egroups announced that they had been bought up by Yahoo. Given the terms of service problems when Yahoo took over Geocities and tried to change the Geocities terms of service, without notice, to where Yahoo could do anything they wanted with the contents of people's copyrighted web sites (including turn them into books or films and selling them without paying the site owners a dime), we quickly killed off the mailing list. We were unwilling to risk Yahoo trying to do something like this again as they might manage to get by with it the second time around. However, it looks like Yahoo learned their lesson from the Geocities problem well. Yahoo has recently completed their purchase of Egroups and has assured everyone that they will NOT do anything so stupid again. See Yahoo's Egroups FAQ at http://help.yahoo.com/help/egroups for the details. Given these assurances, we will be opening a new Yahoo/Egroups mailing list for The Cauldron later this month. You will get a special issue of Cauldron News with information on the new mailing list when we open it. At first, this new mailing list will simply serve as a backup to our forum on Delphi, just as the one we had before did. However, as Delphi has announced that they will cease to support their text side interface after Samhain, we plan to move our forum from Delphi (and its constant problems) to Yahoo/Egroups (which hasn't had nearly as many problems) by November 1, 2000 at the latest. We will be discussing this move in the NetPagan topic on our current message board and in the October issue of this newsletter. While moving to a mailing list will disappoint some of our members and may be a bit of a pain in the rear for everyone at first, the hosts believe it will be a very positive step for The Cauldron in the long term. After over 18 months of living with one major Delphi problem after another, the hosts are just about to burn out. Moving to a mailing list is the only feasible way to keep the forum portion of The Cauldron alive. Watch your email box and the NetPagan topic on our current forum for more information. YOUR SAMHAIN ARTICLES WANTED NOW October is The Cauldron's busiest month -- or at least it's our web site's busiest month. Thanks to the popularity of our special Samhain section, our Web site gets over three times as many hits in October as it does during an average month. Here's a direct link to our Samhain Section: http://www.ecauldron.com/samhainindex.php We'd like to add a few new Samhain articles this year. We'd love to add YOUR article on Samhain. We need articles by September 22nd at the latest so we can convert them to HTML and integrate them into our Samhain by October 1st. Take a look at what we have now to see the types of articles we are interested in. If you know of really interesting Samhain articles on other sites which we can link to, we'd love that information as well. Thanks and a tip of the traditional Halloween witch's hat. TRADITIONAL MAGICKAL USES FOR WILD HERBS Aven(Geum): Use 22 seeds to call forth strength of purpose from anything. Bayberry: Take away misfortune. (boiled) Bedstraw: Lay beneath a pillow secretly to strengthen a failing marriage. Bindweed: knot it three times to assure the fidelity of a lover. Black mustard: Dry in a bag and wrap around the neck for safety from illness. Very much valued if worn under the eclipse of the sun, assuring no evil shall enter upon the moon's shadow. Burdock: Pack in a wooden box, and will inspire honesty to the one given it. Buttercup: Hang over a doorway, leaving it for a week with petals scattering as it dries. It shall give harmony to the household. Celandine: Use as a powerful ink to inscribe with when making charms. Chickweed: Brew as tea for noble nourishment. or let hang around the neck for favor to the heavens. Chicory: Cut ten strong stalks with a sharp knife and bind them about from top to bottom as a cord. This wand should be given to one who is ill who shall be strengthened in blood, flesh, and bone. Cinquefoils: Take leaves and hold in the hand for brief moments for any spiritual task. Daisy: Walk about it three times. Take away a single flower, from which the petals should be pressed into paper. Thereafter swallow one petal each day. You shall be strengthened with energy and gain control of your body, whichever you want to do to it. Dandelion: Collect the sap and mix with cow's milk as a bitter potion. It should be taken whenever you have greed and lied. These faults will lead you from the ways of truth. Goatsbeard: Press the juices into your palms. Thus shall your right and left hand will serve you well. Ground Ivy: Brew into a bitter tea and sipped, it will make you overcome timidity and strengthen weaknesses. Lady's Sorrel (Sourgrass): Eat it for health and intelligence. Mistletoe: Hang over your bed to make enemies your friends. Peppergrass: Chew it to get rid of a nasty headache. St. John's Wort: Carry in pocket to drive away evil. SUPPORT THE CAULDRON WHEN YOU BUY BOOKS AT AMAZON.COM If you wish to purchase books or other items at Amazon.com, you can help fund The Cauldron's web site by using this link to access Amazon.com when you make your purchases: http://www.ecauldron.com/fradambooks.html Just use this link to go to Amazon.com via our web site and almost every purchase you make that visit will earn The Cauldron a small amount to help pay for our web page -- at no extra charge to you. You can also use the Amazon link on the menu of every Cauldron web page and not have to remember this long link. Unlike the Amazon link listed in prior issues of this newsletter, you can simply visit this site and save the link in your bookmark list. If you then use this bookmarked link every time you wish to visit Amazon.com, any purchases you make while there will help fund The Cauldron's web site. TRADITIONAL MAGICKAL USES OF INCENSE Blue Berry - Burn to keep unwanted influences away from your home and property. Blue Roses- Specially crafted to honor the Goddess in all her aspects. Carnations - A sweet floral scent traditionally used for healing. Cherry - Sacred to Venus, this blend will attract and stimulate love. Cinnamon - Use to gain wealth and success. Coconut - Burn for protection and purification. Copal - Sacred to the Mayan and Aztecs, this blend is suitable for honoring the Gods. Frangipani - Burn to brighten your home with friendship and love. Frankincense - Draw upon the energy of the sun to create sacred space, consecrate objects, and stimulate positive vibrations. Honeysuckle - Burn for good health, luck, and psychic power Jasmine. For luck in general, especially in matters relating to love. Lotus - For inner peace and outer harmony, to aid in meditation and open the mind's eye. Musk - Burn for courage and vitality, or to highten sensual passion. Myrrh - An ancient incense for protection, healing, purification and spirituality. Passionflower - For peace of mind, this sweet scent will soothe troubles and aid in sleep. Patchouli - An earthy scent used in money and attraction spells. Pine - Burn for strength, and to reverse negative energies. Rose - For love magick, and to return calm energies to the home. Sandalwood - A delicious all purpose scent used to heal and protect, also for purification. Spice - A fiery scent to be charged for any magick. Spirit - Raise your personal vibration, attract spirit guides and honor your personal deity. Strawberry - For love, luck and friendship. Tangerine - A solar aroma used to attract prosperity. Temple - A devotional incense for the altar during ritual. Vanilla - Stimulate amorous appetites and enhance memory. SEND A PAGAN POSTCARD We've upgraded and improved our postcard service. First, We've added two new Pagan Postcard categories: "Samhain and Halloween" and "Wolves." Each has eight new pictures. Most of the pictures in the "Samhain and Halloween" category will work for any harvest festival, including Lughnasadh and Mabon. Second, we've enabled a much larger number of regular (non-Pagan) postcard categories. These non-Pagan categories are available for selection near the bottom of most of the pages in our Postcard section. Third, the "Send Non-Pagan" link works again. It now takes you to a special page with (non-Pagan) events for the current month as well as the standard list of non-Pagan categories mentioned above. If you are looking for an excuse to send a friend a postcard, you'll probably find one on this page. You can send a Pagan Postcard from the menu of any of our web pages at http://www.ecauldron.com/. If you haven't tried our postcard site, give it a try. It has quite a few nice features. RECIPE: HERB SUGAR CANDIES You will find the most popular flavors for Herb candies to be Peppermint, English Mint, Horehound, and Anise. Recipes using honey in place of sugar can be used - soft candy recipes too. Use your imagination, a reliable candy recipe book, and the basic Herb Recipe below. Basic Recipe for Making Herb Candies Put 4 cups of water in a saucepan, and add: 1-1/2 cups of the leaves of the Herb chosen for flavor, or 2 TBS full of seeds. Bring to the boil slowly, and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain off the Herb. Remove from heat. Add: 3 cups of granulated sugar and 3 cups of brown sugar. Stir till dissolved. Boil to a "hard crack," and remove from the heat. Pour into an oiled, shallow pan. Mark into squares as soon as possible. Break up as soon as it is hard. Wrap each piece in waxed or candy paper, and pack attractively. THE CAULDRON'S MESSAGE BOARD RULES The Cauldron message board is a forum for Pagans and their friends. It is set up as a Member Community. It uses Delphi Internet Services equipment and software but is independently operated. Delphi has no real say in the operation of this forum, nor does Delphi or the forum staff have any responsibility for what is said here. Each person is solely responsible for their messages and statements. The Cauldron is available both from Delphi's old text interface and from Delphi's new web interface. The hosts have set the following rules for this community and have the power to deny access to those who insist on violating them. We hope that we never have to use such extreme measures, but we will do so if necessary. 1) The word of the forum hosts (Elspeth and Randall Sapphire) is final. The word of their staff is final unless overruled by the forum hosts. It is unlikely that a staff decision will be overruled. 2) Do not behave in a manner that the hosts, the staff, or reasonable members will consider annoying or excessively rude. Please see our note below for a *non-exhaustive* list of behavior we generally find rude or annoying. 3) Personal attacks (i.e. name calling, hostile remarks, accusations, etc.), blanket condemnations of religions or peoples, proselytizing, and unapproved unsolicited advertising [see note below] will not be tolerated. Debate is welcome but please debate ideas and opinions, not personalities. Outright hate speech is never welcome. 4) Do not post copyrighted material without including the specific and express permission granted by the original author (or the copyright holder if that is no longer the original author) to post their material in The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. [see copyright note below] 5) The Cauldron message board and chat is "PG-13" rated. No gratuitous offensive language, please. Rules Notes: Things Usually Considered Annoying in The Cauldron: The following is a *non-exhaustive* list of behaviors not specifically listed in the forum rules that are generally considered annoying (and therefore against rule #2) in The Cauldron: * Having your Delphi account set to a false or out of date email address. * Deleting posts written by others. * Posting a message to multiple topics. * Using the "Ignore Poster" feature on the forum hosts or members of the forum staff to so that you do not see the content of their posts. * Uninvited lectures on non-Pagan religions, especially outside the Interfaith Discussions topic. * Messages with more than 1000 or characters in a single paragraph as they are chopped off when converted to the text side message base. * Messages in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, in eLiTe LeTtErS, or in very large or hard to read fonts or colors. Advertising Rule Note: We've recently had people requesting monetary donations for themselves (for classes, etc.). This is considered promotional advertising and is not allowed without advance permission from the Forum Hosts. Copyright rule note: We have had a number of problems with -- and complaints about -- the forum's copyright rule. Please remember that material taken from web pages, newspapers, magazines, etc. is copyrighted (and remains copyrighted even if you get it from a third party, e.g. in an email message from a friend or mailing list) and may not be posted without permission from the actual owner of the copyright (permission must be included with the post). Permission to email a copy to a friend as some news sites give is the not same thing as permission to post on a public message board. CAULDRON CHATS: TUESDAYS, 10-11PM CDT Cauldron Co-Host Randall Sapphire hosts a one hour general chat almost every Tuesday evening from 10pm to 11pm Central (Daylight) Time in our channel (#thecauldron) on the PaganPaths IRC server. We usually have a pretty good turnout. Discussions cover a wide range of topics, depending on what the folks present want to discuss. You'll find all the information you need to connect to our chats either with your own IRC client or via the Java IRC client on our Chats web page at: http://www.ecauldron.com/cmchats.html You can open a Java chat client directly to #thecauldron by clicking on the "IRC Chat" link in the menu of any of our web pages, but we strongly suggest you visit the above page first and read a few paragraphs on how to use it. This page is also available from the "[Info]" link right next to the "IRC Chat" link on our web page menus. If you have your own IRC client program, the address of the main PaganPaths server is: madison.wi.us.paganpaths.org (port 6667) We don't have a regular chat schedule yet, but watch the NetPagan section of our message board for announcements. However, Randall Sapphire often hosts a "general discussion" type chat for about an hour on Tuesday evenings between 10pm and 11pm Central (Daylight) Time in #thecauldron on PaganPaths. If you'd like to host a chat for members of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum on a regular, weekly schedule, please let us know. If "Central Time" doesn't mean anything to you, this an online time converter at http://sandbox.xerox.com/stewart/tzconvert.cgi might help. I think Central Time is listed as something like "US - Central" in the drop down box. PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS If you have Pagan friends who you believe would be interested in The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum, please invite them to our forum. You can either drop them a note yourself or -- better yet -- send them one of our email postcards with the information. LINK TO THE CAULDRON If you like The Cauldron and have a web page, we'd really appreciate it if you put a link to The Cauldron's web site on your web pages. If you'd like some graphic buttons to use to link to our web site, check the following URL: http://www.ecauldron.com/linktous.html Thanks in advance. SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME Don't forget that your suggestions for the forum are always welcome, either posted on the message board or via email to Elspeth Sapphire (asapphire@aol.com) or Randall Sapphire (rssapphire@ecauldron.com). Typos are, as usual, courtesy of the Goddess Eris. Merry Meet, Merry Part, Merry Meet again! |
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