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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #25 -- July 2002 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.com/ delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/start mailing list/board: http://www.ecauldron.com/fregmb.php newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ With a little help from A Witches' Thicket website: http://www.cros.net/soraya/ delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/thicket/start In this Issue: [01] Editorial: Do We Really Want a Paganism without Christianity [02] Cauldron and Thicket News [03] Poem: A Lesson [04] Ritual: Wiccan Solitary Full Moon Ritual [05] Review: The Tarot of Oz [06] Review: Olympus Tarot [07] Review: To Ride a Silver Broomstick [08] Review: A Woman's Book of Rituals & Celebrations [09] Review: How to Be a Wicked Witch [10] Magick: The Magick of the Fan [11] Article: Finnish Cup Stones [12] Dragon Clan Witchcraft Course: June Lesson Index [13] Humor: Keeping Summoned Beings as Pets is a Bad Idea [14] Support The Cauldron by Volunteering to Help [15] Newsletter Information (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) +++ Submission Deadline for next issue: July 25, 2002 +++ Guidelines: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/submissions.php [01] ========= ========= EDITORIAL: ========= DO WE REALLY WANT A PAGANISM WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY? ========= Copyright (c) 2002 by Sannion ========= A common argument is that Satanists aren't Pagans because Paganism is, by definition, any religion that isn't Jewish, Christian, or Islamic. Satan is a divine being shared by all three of those religions. Satanism incorporates symbolism and rituals from those traditions. In some forms, it is nothing more than a reversal and mockery of traditional Christianity. And while it may incorporate Pagan elements -- many demons and Satanic figures are little more than Pagan divinities rebaptized; Satanism can be seen as a rebellion against the civilizing and world and body denying aspects of Christianity, including a longing for freedom, wildness, and sexual vitality as much Pagan thought does too -- there is an undeniable overlay of Christianity about it. Anything so obviously Christian should be excluded from the ranks of Paganism. On the face of it, that seems like a pretty good argument. But do we really want a Paganism divested of anything related to the Abrahamic faiths? I wouldn't have a problem with that. After all, I'm a Hellenic Reconstructionist, and that's sort of what we're aiming for -- reviving forms of worship that flourished before the advent of Christianity. So we wouldn't be too affected by this -- but I think that many Pagans wouldn't like what they found if they purged the Abrahamic content of their community. The first thing to go would have to be the Tarot. To begin with, this system was developed relatively late -- 13th or 14th centuries by some liberal estimates, all the way up to the 17th century, according to at least one reductionist. While we don't know who created the system, it was certainly popularized by Christian Occultists, and given much of its present interpretation by them. A. E. Waite -- whose deck most people begin their studies with -- was a highly devout Christian who left the Golden Dawn over the troubling Pagan elements he saw creeping into it. The Trump cards betray an obvious Christian symbolism. Look at their names: the Pope, the Hermit, the Devil, Temperance, the Last Judgement. These are clearly not Pagan ideas, and in self-consciously Pagan versions of the Tarot -- such as the Witches' Tarot, or the Robin Wood deck -- these elements are downplayed, or changed outright. The Witches' Tarot lacks a Devil Card: instead, it is 'The Horned God' card. Next, we'll have to get rid of the Qaballah. This form of mysticism developed out of a blending of Judaism and Neoplatonic speculation. It is steeped in esoteric interpretation of the Bible, founded on monotheistic principles, involves a host of angels and demons, and incorporates much Christian symbolism and metaphysics. So all of the correspondences, numerology, alphabet-mysticism, speculation about higher worlds, popular rituals like the LBRP and the Middle Pillar exercise, etc -- are out. Same thing applies to the whole world of Occultism. All those great old Grimoires. Alchemy. Angel and demon magic. Sigils. Conjurations and banishings. Elements. Those bizarre Hebraic Names of Power. Amulets and talismans. Astrology. Bibliomancy. Necromancy. Astral projection. Most forms of folk magic. All gone. Wicca would be stripped almost bare. Gardner was an O.T.O Initiate and a Mason. Almost all of the philosophy and ritual elements within Wicca derive from those two sources, and both of them have strong Christian roots. From the Masons he got the degree system, the Initiation rite (especially the binding and threat at sword-point), the use of calls such as "merry meet" and "blessed be", the term Craft, many of the ardanes, and the emphasis on secrecy and oaths. From the O.T.O and the Golden Dawn he got the whole complex of Ceremonial Magic -- especially conjurations and banishing, sigils, elements, the Casting of the Circle, and the Guardians of the Watchtowers. He turned the Gnostic Mass into the Great Rite and the Law of Thelema into the Rede. Most of the Wiccan holidays were unknown to ancient Pagans. They developed during the Middle Ages as folk festivals on the Feast Days of various Saints. Pagans will have to give up those Saints themselves. No more discussions about how Brighid and Catherine and Denys were originally Pagan Gods until they were adopted by the Christians. No more discussions about how the Virgin Mary, the Magdalene, and Sophia are the Christians' Triple Goddess. We can't claim St. Francis, Teresa of Avilla, Hildegard von Bingen, Meister Eckhardt, or William Blake as honorary Pagans any longer. Ditto Jesus. Oh, I will surely miss talking about the Pagan influences in Gnosticism, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, the Troubadours, the Order of the Garter, and the Rosicrucians. I won't miss all those crappy (re)Paganized Christian hymns, such as Lord of the Dance, Amazing Grace, That Old Time Religion, and Onward Christian Soldiers though. Whoever thought of writing Pagan filks for that stuff should be dragged out in the street and ritually scourged. There's a lot of authentic Pagan material that we'll have to get rid of too. The Mabinogia, the Eddas and Sagas, the Life of King Arthur, the Tain, the Book of the Dun Cow, and numerous other works were written by, or come down to us only through Christian sources. Many of the Irish and Danish Monks diligently recorded the vanishing folk traditions of their people, preserving them for future generations. If it wasn't for Christian and Moslem scribes, we wouldn't have anything left of Plutarch, Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Ovid, Virgil, Celsus, and countless other classical authors. (Of course if it wasn't for the bonfires of their fellows, those works might never have been in danger!) Pagans love to read, and they especially love to read Fantasy and Science-fiction books. I know many Pagans who discovered their faith by reading the Dragonriders of Pern series, for instance. And if asked, many Pagans would probably list Stephen R. Lawhead, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkein, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Madeline L'Engle as some of the most influential - and best-loved -- authors they've read. But all of these great authors at one time or another have claimed to be Christian, so they must surely go. I could, of course, continue at great length. For instance, I haven't even touched on the many borrowings from Islam or Judaism, or discussed synchretic faiths like Voodoo, Santeria, and Native American Churches which blend Christian and Pagan elements quite successfully. I haven't discussed the influence of liberal Christians on Pagan activism and ecology, or how Christianity has affected our ethical, philosophical, and metaphysical conceptions. But I think you get the picture and see how impoverished Paganism looks when stripped of its connections with Christianity. The same thing goes for Christianity, when denied its Pagan roots. That's because no religion or community exists in a vacuum. We're all together, challenging, sharing with, and influencing each other. This dynamic participation is the essence of American cultural and religious life -- and precisely what makes our nation so great. Therefore, my preferred definition of Paganism is any religion that is not -- or is practiced in addition to -- Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. ===== ===== About Sannion ===== Sannion is a Hellenic Reconstructionist who writes some thought-provoking "rants" on Pagan issues. Sannion has kindly allowed us to reprint some of these rants as editorials. You can find more of Sannion's writings at Sannion's Sanctuary: http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/sannion/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SEND A PAGAN POSTCARD 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. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [02] ========= ========= CAULDRON AND THICKET NEWS ========= by Cauldron and Thicket Staff ========= ===== ===== New Thicket Staff Member ===== WillowFae (HELENFAE on Delphi Forums) has joined the staff of A Witches' Thicket. ===== ===== The Cauldron Message Board Sets Record in June ===== 4561 messages were posted to The Cauldron's Delphi message board in June 2002, surpassing the old record by over 1000 posts. Thanks to everyone who participates in The Cauldron's Delphi message board. ===== ===== Chats on The Thicket ===== A Witches' Thicket is hosting chats in their Delphi Forums chat room. These chats are not being held at regularly scheduled times. Instead they are impromptu, held whenever a Thicket chat host has the free time to host one. The Thicket's Delphi start page will show members in chat when a chat is in session. ===== ===== Cauldron Delphi Forum Top Poster -- June 2002 ===== The top poster on The Cauldron's Delphi Forum message board for June 2002 was Seasons (SEASONS4). The Runner Up was Star (STARCR). (Cauldron staff members are ineligible for this honor.) ===== ===== Member Weblogs on The Cauldron's Web Site ===== Weblogs are a relatively new method of distributing personal news -- essentially an individual's diary of activities, news, and/or thoughts presented in a public manner on the web. The Cauldron's web site now has a page which indexes weblogs maintained by active participants in The Cauldron's message areas and other Cauldron community activities. If you are interested in starting a weblog of your own, this page also provides links to weblog providers (both free and pay) and weblog software. http://www.ecauldron.com/weblogindex.php ===== ===== New Cauldron Web Polls ===== Here are our latest Cauldron Web Polls: === June 16th Poll: Question: Does the Wiccan Rede prohibit self-defense against an attacker if the only way to successfully defend oneself (or other innocents) from the attacker would cause harm to the attacker? Possible Answers: * Yes * No * Not Sure * No Opinion Vote at: http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll43.php === Current (July 1st) Poll: Question: Should the phrase 'under God' be in the US Pledge of Allegiance? Possible Answers: * Yes, keep it in * No, take it out * Doesn't matter to me * Not Sure * No Opinion * Not in the US and don't care Our current polls will now appear on our main page in the narrow right column: http://www.ecauldron.com/ ===== ===== Ecauldron Mailing List Problems ===== The Cauldron's ecauldron mailing list suffered a number of problems in May and June. The usual problems we've had all year continued: messages delayed, messages arriving out of order, Yahoo not letting people sign in, Yahoo not accepting posts from the web form, etc. In addition, Yahoo beefed up their "bounce detection." For years it has only moved people to "bouncing status" if they had real and permanent problems receiving email. Starting in May, Yahoo began moving lots of people to the bouncing list (cutting off their access to the list) if there were any problems with their email. If your ISP's email server goes down for an hour or two one day, a week or two later you may find yourself without access to your lists. The Yahoo Groups "unbounce" feature doesn't seem to work for many people -- for some, it didn't even tell them they had been set to bouncing status. From September 2000 through April 2002, approximately forty ecauldron members were put on the bouncing list by Yahoo Groups. From early May to mid-June in 2002, over sixty additional members were added to the bouncing list. (We lost over 50 newsletter subscribers this way in June as well.) When two staff members were added to the bouncing list, we decided to move the majority of our conversations to our Delphi message board. Conversations on the mailing list had been dying anyway -- probably because many of the list members who were getting messages in email could no longer participate because Yahoo Groups apparently expects near perfection from ISP email servers. Add to this the people who read and posted from the web interface who could not log in or could not get Yahoo to accept their posts -- or who had simply given up trying to read from the web interface because of the ad page Yahoo started displaying after every few messages. While the ecauldron mailing list will remain open for the time being, we urge members interested in our discussions to give our Delphi Forums message board a try. Delphi Forums has three membership levels. The basic membership level is still FREE. While the free basic membership doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, it probably has more features than the Yahoo Groups web interface -- and it lacks the annoying full pages ads (except for one when you first log on). The Cauldron's Delphi Message Board: http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/start ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CAULDRON AND CANDLE WEB SITE The Cauldron and Candle now has its own web site where we store our back issues for easy reading. http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [03] ========= ========= A LESSON ========= A Poem by Elspeth Sapphire ========= A lesson here to learn The Gods claim it is so A truth to be absorbed Knowledge to gain and know. Where we least expect one, When we least want to see. Adversity isn't our foe; Strife shouldn't make us flee. Can we treasure the moon If we've never faced the dark? If there are no rainstorms Can sun's warmth leave a mark? Do not curse the rocky Path As you slow, stumble, and fall. Just listen to your Spirit's voice -- Willingly answer It's Call! [04] ========= ========= RITUAL: WICCAN SOLITARY FULL MOON ESBAT ========= Copyright (c) 2002 by MoonSongstress ========= ===== ===== Tools for the Ritual ===== * Silver and white altar cloths * Silver Goddess candle * Crystal ball or other moon symbol, for example a round mirror * A feminine incense, for example rose or gardenia * Four small, colored stones (gifts to the quarters) * Small vase containing one white flower or a few green leaves * Quarter candles * Matches, taper and snuffer * Simple feast -- white wine and almond or vanilla biscuits ===== ===== Preparation ===== The Goddess candle and matches should be placed outside the place of ritual. At the beginning of the ritual mentally cleanse and sweep the area moving deosil. Set up the quarter candles. Decorate the altar with its cloths. At the beginning of the ritual the lit Goddess candle will be placed at the center of the altar so a space should be left for it there. The crystal ball or other moon symbol is placed to the left of this space and the incense is placed to the right. Place the vase with its flower or leaves before the space for the Goddess candle. The four small, colored stones should be placed on the altar in front of the vase. The taper and snuffer go front left, place the items for the simple feast to one side. Take a shower or splash your face with water for purification. Sit quietly and meditate for a while, then ground and center. Wait, become the silence. ===== ===== The Ritual ===== The ritual is begun outside the place of ritual in darkness. Light the Goddess candle saying: I light this candle to you, my Goddess. I see you in the full moon this night and ask you to bless me with your presence. Wait, become the silence. Carry the lit Goddess candle into the place of ritual and place it on the altar in the space that has been prepared for it. Light the incense from the Goddess candle. Wait, become the silence. Say: This time and space has been set aside to honor the most powerful moment in the moon's eternal cycle. It is the full moon and she is full of fertility, strength and magick. I celebrate and rest in the fullness of the moon, feeling my own cycling tides of womanliness reaching out to her. They call to her from within me and I rest in her in this rite. Wait, become the silence. Mentally divide the ritual area into four so that each of the quarter candles is at the middle outside edge of its own quarter of the circle. The center of the circle, where the four quarters meet, is the Goddess candle on the altar. As you light each quarter candle in the next section of the ritual, visualize moonlight streaming from the Goddess candle to the lit quarter candle and then filling the whole of that quarter of the circle. Each quarter of the circle in turn is filled with light until the whole area is bathed in clear moonlight. The candle flames will all resonate together in the three-dimensional space until the area becomes a complete and perfect sphere of white moonlight. Taking the taper, light it from the Goddess candle and taking the first small, colored stone say: Spirits of Earth, I call to you now and ask you for your presence. In you do I see the Goddess. Your strong and steady foundation on which all life rests is her immanence in you. You gentle valleys and mighty mountains are her undulating and awesome body. I rejoice in you. Approach the North quarter candle, moving deosil. Light the candle, present the gift and return to the altar. Visualize moonlight streaming from the Goddess candle and filling the North quarter. Wait, become the silence. Taking the second small, colored stone say: Spirits of Air, I call to you now and ask you for your presence. In you do I see the Goddess. Your penetrating and boundless winds which give breath to the creatures of life are her immanence in you. You gentle breezes and mighty hurricanes are her all-encompassing thought forms. I rejoice in you. Approach the East quarter candle, moving deosil. Light the candle, present the gift and return to the altar. Visualize moonlight streaming from the Goddess candle and filling the East quarter. Wait, become the silence. Taking the third small, colored stone say: Spirits of Fire, I call to you now and ask you for your presence. In you do I see the Goddess. Your cleansing and sweeping flames in which spirits are transformed are her immanence in you. You gentle, flickering candlelight and mighty burning energy are her cauldron of change. I rejoice in you. Approach the South quarter candle, moving deosil. Light the candle, present the gift and return to the altar. Visualize moonlight streaming from the Goddess candle and filling the South quarter. Wait, become the silence. Taking the fourth small, colored stone say: Spirits of Water, I call to you now and ask you for your presence. In you do I see the Goddess. Your nurturing and supporting depths in which life is born are her immanence in you. You gentle raindrops and mighty tides are her cycles of life-giving fertility. I rejoice in you. Approach the West quarter candle, moving deosil. Light the candle, present the gift and return to the altar. Visualize moonlight streaming from the Goddess candle and filling the West quarter. Wait, become the silence. Sit before the altar in the center of your sphere of moonlight, breathing slowly and evenly. With each inward breath draw the moonlight into your body. Let the Goddess' pure energy fill you until you are full of her. Feel your spirit blend with hers, you are becoming one with her. The boundaries of your physical body melt away and you and the Goddess are one. Wait become the silence. When you are ready to return give thanks to the Goddess. Begin to become yourself once more, feel you edges reasserting themselves and recognize the boundaries of your physical body. The inner light within you will always carry the Goddess with you, but you are now yourself, back in the physical reality. The sphere of moonlight still surrounds you, but you are yourself within it. The Goddess is still there but you know that you are a separate being from her. Contemplate the Goddess candle. Proceed with the simple feast to ground yourself. ===== ===== The end of the ritual ===== Stand up and move slowly round the circle deosil. Extinguish the quarter candles one by one, starting at the North quarter and seeing the moonlight from each quarter streaming back into the Goddess candle as each candle is extinguished. Retrieve the small, colored stones as you go round the circle. Thank the spirits of the quarters, asking them to go if they must but stay if they will. Bid them hail and farewell. Lastly, thank the Goddess for her presence. My Goddess, I thank you for attending this ritual and bestowing your blessings upon me, your priestess. Your spirit is in me and mine in you. We are eternally connected, one to the other. I offer you my humble service once more and rejoice in your blessings. I bid you hail and farewell. Extinguish the Goddess candle. The ritual is ended. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DONATE TO HELP SUPPORT THE CAULDRON'S WEB SITE If you like The Cauldron and have a few extra dollars, please donate via the Amazon Honor System and help us pay the web site bills. http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [05] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE TAROT OF OZ ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= The Tarot of Oz Artist: David Smith Book and Cards Set Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: May 2002 ISBN: 0738700894 US Retail Price: $24.95 View Sample Cards: http://www.ecauldron.com/images/samtrtoz.jpg Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738700894/thecauldron Most of us grew up visiting Oz, both through the books of L. Frank Baum and later authors and the famous movie. David Sexton has returned from a visit to Oz and has captured the characters and images of Oz and surrounding lands in a delightful Tarot deck. Any fan of Oz will probably love The Tarot of Oz. Sexton has done a fantastic job of putting the essence of Oz in a deck of Tarot cards. The deck is a bit larger than normal (just slightly smaller than 3 by 5 inches), but the cards are still surprisingly easy to shuffle and handle. Part of the fun of first examining this deck is discovering which characters are on which cards, I will not spoil the joy of discovery by listing them all. I will say that Sexton has thought through his choices. While those choices are not always the ones I would have made, they are generally good choices. Okay, I don't suppose it would spoil the fun to mention a few of the obvious choices. Dorothy is the fool. The Wizard of Oz is the Magician. The Empress is Ozma. The suits of the minor arcana are swords, wands, cups, and stones. The minor arcana cards have individual illustrations, not just pips. While these illustrations are not as symbol-laden as they are in some modern decks, they are usually appropriate to the card. One unique visual feature of this deck is that each card's illustration is superimposed over the Z inside O symbol of Oz which is in the background on the upper half of each card. The color of the symbol of Oz varies with each suit. This visual device actually works much better than it probably sounds. The Tarot of Oz comes with a small 3x5 inch, 180 page, perfect bound manual, which is much nicer that the small staple-bound booklet that accompanies many Tarot decks. This small book skips the Tarot history and Tarot theory found in most deck books. Instead, it concentrates on thoroughly -- if briefly -- describing each card. Each description explains who the characters on the card are as well as a standard meaning for the card in divination. A short appendix gives descriptions of two Tarot spreads: the standard Celtic Cross spread and a spread created for this deck, the Yellow Brick Road spread. While this book is useful, it would not replace a basic book of the Tarot for a beginning Tarot reader. Should you buy this deck? If you, like me, are an Oz fan (or have a child who is an Oz fan), the answer is obvious. In fact, if you are an Oz fan, you may have stopped reading this boring review long ago and gone out to get your own copy. If you are just looking for a good divination deck, however, it's harder to say. Some people may have trouble taking a deck seriously when the Scarecrow or the Tin Man are staring them in the face, for example. The Tarot of Oz would probably make a great first deck for a child. However, most children will need help from a parent or older sibling to shuffle the large cards. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/trtoz.php [06] ========= ========= REVIEW: OLYMPUS TAROT ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= Olympus Tarot Artist: Luca Raimondo Deck Publisher: Llewellyn (Lo Scarabeo) Publication date: April 2002 ISBN: 0738702072 US Retail Price: $19.95 View Sample Cards: http://www.ecauldron.com/images/samtrtot.jpg Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738702072/thecauldron The Olympus Tarot attracted my attention the minute I saw it in the Llewellyn catalog. I was interested not only because my religious beliefs are Hellenic, but because the artist is Luca Raimondo. The artwork in Raimondo's previous deck, the Tarot of Casanova, impressed me. I was not disappointed by his efforts on the Olympus Tarot. Each card in the major arcana pictures a Greek deity strongly associated with the archetype represented by the Tarot. Zeus is The Magician, Athena is Justice, Artemis is The Moon, etc. Most of the choices seem logical, but a few have me scratching my head a bit. The minor arcana use the standard cups, pentacles, wands, and swords as suits, but they are associated with places, objects, creatures, and heroes respectively -- and their illustrations reflect this. The minor arcana are fully illustrated. Unlike most Tarot decks, these illustrations generally do not include a number of cups, pentacles, wands, or swords. Often the only immediate indication of the card's suit and rank is the symbols and words in the margin. The illustrations for the cards generally fit the card meaning, although sometimes this is only apparent after some thought. Like all the Lo Scarabeo decks I've seen, the Olympus Tarot only comes with a small foldout flyer that describes the reasoning behind of the deck, very brief descriptions of the cards and their meanings, and a single divinatory layout. The descriptions of the cards are very useful for this deck as they identify the scene illustrated on the card. However, there is no way a beginner could learn to use this deck with this flyer. The Olympus Tarot is published by Lo Scarabeo of Torino in Italy and is distributed in the US by Llewellyn. If you like Greek mythology and are in the market for a Tarot deck, you will definitely want to look at this deck. As the symbolism is somewhat different than the Rider-Waite symbolism shown in many Tarot books, this deck might not be the best choice for a first Tarot deck. That, however, is this deck's only real drawback. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/trtot.php [07] ========= ========= REVIEW: TO RIDE A SILVER BROOMSTICK ========= Reviewed by Leigh ========= To Ride A Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft Author: Silver Ravenwolf Trade Paperback, 320 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: May 1993 ISBN: 087542791X US Retail Price: $14.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087542791X/thecauldron To Ride a Silver Broomstick was one of the first books I picked up as a witch. I found it useful then, especially the exercises. Of all of Ravenwolf's books, I believe it to be the best. It is fairly well laid out, though not perfect. The written assignments are useful, as they force you to sit down and actually think about your beliefs. The first section is introductory, and gives a version of the Charge of the Goddess, a list of holidays and gods, a glossary of terms, and a listing of the Principles of Wiccan Belief from the Council of American Witches. The second section concerns getting ready to perform magick. It covers choosing a magickal name, meditation, altar-making, cleansing, and recording your workings. The third section is on skills and tools used for actually doing spells, such as ritual design, networking with others, divination, candles, and herbs. Section four is on such skills as telepathy, astral projection, the afterlife, and ethics. Lastly are three appendices -- on the history of modern witchcraft, and some useful resources. I've got some issues with some of her definitions, and her tendency to cover a minimum of theology with a lot of magick and call it religion. If you'd like to use this book, I'd recommend accompanying it with a reading of Adler's Drawing Down the Moon and Ardinger's A Woman's Book of Rituals & Celebrations. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bktrasb.php [08] ========= ========= REVIEW: A WOMAN'S BOOK OF RITUALS & CELEBRATIONS ========= Reviewed by Leigh ========= A Woman's Book of Rituals & Celebrations Author: Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D Hardback Publisher: New World Library Publication date: 1992 ISBN: 1880032570 Out of Print Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880032570/thecauldron This small hardback was among the first books that I bought when I discovered Paganism. It is still my favorite inspiration for ritual. A Woman's Book of Rituals & Celebrations is not for the base beginner, but for those who have already made their decision to follow this path. It does not include instruction on the concepts of the religion of Witchcraft. It is a book of inspiration on learning to communicate with the Goddess, and ideas for celebrating Her. Ardinger's view of ritual works well for me. Her Goddess usually remains nameless, as does mine. Her celebrations are playful, spontaneous, and humorous. She encourages you, the reader to think for yourself, and create methods that have meaning for you. She gives examples of different ways and reasons for ritual structure, and the reasons behind them. Instead of stating 'The altar always faces North!' she states which way she places hers, why she does it, and gives instances and reasons why others do it a different way. Her "unencumbered ritual" (p. 64) meshes well with my improvisational style. There are no ingredient lists of expensive oils, elaborate tools; no long, artificially arcane soliloquies to memorize. When dialog is provided, she suggests taping it you feel you could not memorize it. She is unstructured, and encourages changing the rituals to match your needs and life. This is not a sourcebook for those who need highly ceremonial, structured celebration. She does not even insist on casting a circle before starting, leaving that to the needs of the practitioner. The tools she suggests are things from everyday life that we keep close to us. These allow you to bring a sense of ritual and worship into everyday life: "practicing Her presence" daily. Unfortunately, she does tend to equate Witch with Wiccan and vice versa; forgetting that the two are not necessarily synonymous. She states she prefers the label Witch, that it gets attention and allows her to illustrate that Witch doesn't mean wicked. She also states that she feels it honors "the nine million alleged witches who were burned by the Christian inquisition." I do wish she hadn't trotted that tired and highly improbable figure out again. Ardinger is also very Goddess centered, to the near exclusion of the God. While I find this unbalanced, the spontaneous nature of her ritual lets me feel comfortable in adapting her material, bringing Him in and adding balance. She documents her sources well, and they are pretty extensive. She does lean heavily on modern, New Age-y works, but in this instance I do not mind, as her methods of celebration are thoroughly modern. She does talk about Witchcraft as a modern adaptation of ancient Goddess worship, but admits that we do not know much about ancient practices and we "make it up as we go along." (p. 24) Not only does she list her literary sources, but there is a short discography in the back of inspiring music as well as organizations of interest. For the eclectic pagan, this fun book is an excellent resource for learning spontaneity and incorporating religion into everyday life. I hope that it is as useful and inspiring to you as it has been for me. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkawborac.php [09] ========= ========= REVIEW: HOW TO BE A WICKED WITCH ========= Reviewed by Leigh ========= How to Be a Wicked Witch: Good Spells, Charms, Potions and Notions for Bad Days Author: Patricia Telesco Trade Paperback, 202 pages Publisher: Fireside Publication date: September 2001 ISBN: 068486004X US Retail Price: $12.00 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068486004X/thecauldron Despite the title, I would not hesitate to recommend How to Be a Wicked Witch to any new witch. It's a very practical guide to using magick that will appeal to people of many different spiritual frameworks (or none). The book is ethical, accessible, and non-path-specific. The term "wicked" in the title means being proactive and having the self-esteem to go after what you want. Many books I've seen on spellcasting have been Wiccan-oriented. This small book is approachable by witches across the spectrum of belief. It does not not neglect to mention ethics, but does not restrict its lessons only to "harm none" types. Magic used as vengeance and defense are discussed within the parameters of being able to accept the possibly negative consequences of such actions. The style of writing is friendly but not over familiar. The chapter layout is well organized, but the lack of an index disappoints. The spells presented range widely and there are few that strictly involve candles -- a refreshing change from other spellcrafting manuals. For the most part, spell components used are easily accessible, and often found already in your own home. This will appeal to the beginner hedge, kitchen, and hearth witches among us. All in all, How to Be a Wicked Witch is a solid look at learning to work with magick in a light-hearted way. I enjoyed my look at it. It's not one that I will refer to again and again at this point in my spellcasting work, but it will be a valuable reference to those just starting out. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkhtbaww.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UPCOMING REVIEWS Here are a few of the books we'll be reviewing in future issues: CHARTING YOUR SPIRITUAL PATH WITH ASTROLOGY, MODERNWICCAN CD-ROM, SEASONS OF THE WITCH, HEART OF TAROT, MASTERING REIKI, COLOR MAGICK (Revised), BUCKLAND'S COMPLETE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT (Revised), TAROT OF THE MASTER. Reviews often appear on our web site first, so check there for new reviews if you can't wait for the next issue of the newsletter. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [10] ========= ========= MAGICK: THE MAGICK OF THE FAN ========= by Bryanny FairRaven ========= Ah... the fan.... that wonderful, mysterious and oh-so sensual tool of magick and love. The hand fan has been long known in the Middle East and the Orient, as well as in the Americas, and the Hawaiian and Polynesian islands. According to records, the hand fan was supposedly invented in Japan sometime in the 6th century. However, fan collectors and enthusiasts claim that the hand fan has a history of use in China which is well over 1,500 years old. Fans made of feathers are also associated with Shamanistic ritual. The hand fan was introduced to Europe sometime in the Middle Ages and very quickly became a favorit e among royals and courtesans. But the true magick of the fan was not understood and soon it was forgotten. Sadly, it was eventually relegated to an unceremonious place as a simple prop or wall decoration, and a cooling device. The hand fan is far more than this. ===== ===== The Language of the Fan ===== Traditional hand fans are made of vellum or even delicate rice paper. Some of the most exquisite I've seen are made of silk. These are then decorated with detailed miniature paintings of animals, nature scenes, etc. The hand fan has a definite language and was very often employed to send messages. These ranged from the "come hither" flutter, to the demure "I am available" half drop toward the heart. ===== ===== Fan Magicks ===== If you take a good look at the Fans made in the Orient, the Middle East, etc., you will see (especially with the more classical ones) a tradition of using magickal animals such as dragons, or sacred birds such as peacocks, cranes and ducks. Some depict warriors with great swords. There are also many who use water motifs....bridges and waterfalls are very popular. Mountains and hillsides are as equally popular. Others are laden with the romantic motifs of couples strolling in a park or beautiful maidens taking a leisurely stroll. Some show magnificent fields of bamboo, or players using bamboo flutes... or forests with enormous trees. What do all of these have in common? They all represent the elements taught in the ancient art of Feng Shui: water, earth, fire, wood and metal. By fusing the art of the hand fan and their delicate art work, we are seeing a system of magick being passed down from generation to generation. Whether this was done by design or accident is not really important to us at this moment. However, an interesting footnote for the purists among us is the belief that ancient Chinese magicians used the hand fan in order to cast spells, call spirits and a host of other magickal applications. However, we can still use the delicious art and magick of the hand fan in many other ways. ===== ===== Fan Correspondences ===== * Fans that contain WATER motifs are associated with the colors blue, gray and black. The quarter is North and it is auspicious for teachers, nurses and those who desire a career in travel or foreign places. It regulates wisdom and creativity. Animals associated with water: rat and pig. Season: Winter. * Fans that contain EARTH motifs are associated with the colors yellow, brown or beige. The quarter is Northeast or Southwest and is auspicious for lawyers, accountants and those who work with the land or real estate. It regulates stability and strength. Animals associated with earth: ox, dragon, goat or dog. Season: January, April, July and October. * Fans that contain WOOD motifs are associated with the color green. The quarters are East and Southeast and is auspicious for artists, models and those who work with fashion, modeling, designers, as well as those who work with pharmaceuticals and related fields. It regulates kindness and flexibility. Animals associated with wood: rabbit and tiger. Season: Spring. * Fans that contain METAL motifs are associated with the colors white, gold and silver. The quarters are North or Northwest and is auspicious for jewelers, financiers and those who work with metals. It regulates philosophy and analysis. Animals associated with metal: monkey and rooster. Season: Autumn. * Fans that contain FIRE motifs are associated with the colors red, pink, orange and purple (bright purple). The quarter is South and is auspicious for entertainers, builders and those associated with the food industry. It regulates communication and passion. Animals associated with fire: horse and snake. Season: Summer. ===== ===== Uses of the Magick of the Fan ===== The hand fan is so versatile. Knowing the correspondences above you can design and devise your own unique set to keep in your home, to use for healing and to give away as charged talismans. The hand fan should not be propped onto a wall and left there to hang forlornly. In order to obtain the strongest energies from it, the fan should be blessed and charged in your usual method. Unless you plan it, a complicated ritual is not necessary. Since fan is of the element of Air, you may wish to pass the fan(s) you will be empowering through a good cleansing incense like sage. Look for and obtain small stands which are used to prop designer plates. Any hardware store will have them. Once they are empowered and charged, place them in the correct quarter corresponding to their element. Once you select a fan or fans you will using in your magicks, please remember to treat them with honor and respect. ===== ===== Uses ===== * Healing....a fan with a wood motif, placed in the East or Southeast section of your home or office. You can also take the wood motif fan and fan it over the ill person. * Prosperity.....place a fan with metal motif somewhere in the North or Northwest section. * Seduction.... for both men and women... place a fire motif fan in the South section of your bedroom. You can also remove it from its stand and fan the lover with it as a wonderful way to make foreplay a sensual and pleasurable delight! * Sabbats and Feast days... combine the fire motif for Beltaine and all the Fire Festivals. Celebrate Yule and Winter Solstice with water motif fans.... * Animal energies... courting the mighty dragon? Light a yellow candle near or before the earth motif fan (watch that it does not burn!) ...you can use the energies of these mighty animals associated with their corresponding element in petition magick. Some take the fan according to the animal they are honoring or petitioning from, write the wish on the fan and burn the fan. The ashes are then kept and placed inside a small porcelain jar with lid. * Wish Magick... select the appropriate fan depending on the magick you are seeking and write your need or spell on the fan. Burn the fan and place the ashes inside a small porcelain jar with lid. These are some of the uses of the magick of an empowered hand fan. They are also wonderful gifts for any witch at any time. [11] ========= ========= ARTICLE: FINNISH CUP STONES ========= by Faerie K. ========= Cup stones are usually largish stones with small "cups" carved on the surface, dating to the Pagan era. The ones in my area (southwest Finland) date to the Iron Age, which around here was around 1000-500bce to 1000-1200ce (varies according to areas). They are most often found near Iron Age burial mounds/grounds. Some stones date well to the historical time period of my country. Furthermore, some are still in use - and not solely by the Neo-Pagans here. The other names for cup stones is "sacrificial stones" and in some areas "grabbing stones". They are usually large rocks, but there are also cups carved into cliff surfaces. The cups measure usually 3-10cm and they are few centimeters deep. The number of cups on one stone can vary from one to well over a hundred. There are hundreds and hundreds of cup stones found here. There have been many more -- some have been lost to development, some were destroyed by the church because of their connection to magic. The basic importance of these stones can be said to be three-fold. As the stones are usually near old graveyards[*], they are usually connected to the worship of the spirits of the dead. Some scholars speculate, that every (major) member of a family -- or important person of the community -- had a cup of his or hers own. Second importance is connected to fertility and good luck magicks. Third one is their usage in healing magicks. The cup stones near to where I lived weren't _next_ to the burial mound, but the two sites were quite close, opposite sides of a small field and visible to each others. There is one large rock partially on the mound, but its surface is smooth. "Quite suitable for an altar", says the modern day Pagan :) In some areas the cup stones are within the burial ground itself, in others besides fields. Information on usage of these stones has been carried on in traditional knowledge and poetry. When a woman had had a baby, drops from her first milk were given to the deities, spirits of the nature and of the family members passed on. Similarly was with the first drops of milk from a cow had a calf, the first grains of new harvest, wool, pieces of meat after autumn slaughter or a hunt. Sacrifices were brought on the holy days of the year, but also in other occasions. One could bring one's own sacrifices and ask the powers to help with any task there was at hand. The mist and water gathered to the cups was generally used for healing purposes. Spirits could also be communicated with by the stones. As I said, in some areas the stones are called "grabbing stones". These are rarer. One of these is a 10cm wide and 8cm deep cup in a large rock. The cup is large enough for a grown man to put his hand in and "grab" good luck. This was basically used (and still is) for grabbing good luck before a journey. When you came back safely, you went back to the stone and give thanks. Locals paid visits to this stone well to the 1800's and nowadays travelers (eh, tourists ) can do the same. :) [*] http://www.nba.fi/ARCHAEOL/RESEARCH/Vanajanl.jpg [12] ========= ========= DRAGON CLAN WITCHCRAFT COURSE: JUNE LESSON INDEX ========= OFFERED ON THE CAULDRON'S DELPHI FORUM ========= The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is offering an online witchcraft course in the Dragon Clan tradition on our Delphi message board. This course is taught by Jet (aka Hawke). While this course formally began on Monday, May 20, 2002, interested members can join the course at any time as the course material is in numbered messages in the Online Witchcraft Course folder on our Delphi message board. You simply start with the messages with the lowest numbers in the subject line and work your way through at your own pace. New lessons will be posted to our message board every week or two. Here are links to the lessons posted in June: 2.0 Wheel of Earth http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6202.1 2.1 Centering http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6203.1 2.11 Lesson One: Quiet Time http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6204.1 2.12 Lesson Two: Listening to the Body http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6205.1 2.13 Lesson Three: Finding Your Center http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6206.1 2.14 Lesson Four: Centering Yourself http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6207.1 2.2 Meditations on the Self http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6275.1 2.21 Seeing Where You've Been http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6276.1 2.22 Learning the Lessons of the Self http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6277.1 2.23 Letting Go and Accepting Yourself http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6278.1 2.3 The Earth 2.31 Walking The Wild Side http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6308.1 2.32 Celebrate the World http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6309.1 2.33 Learning to See http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6310.1 2.34 Having a Party http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6311.1 2.35 Connecting to the Wilderness Inside http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6312.1 2.36 What do I enjoy? http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6313.1 2.37 How can this be my path? http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6314.1 2.4 Meditations 2.41 Meditation on the Spiral http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6368.1 2.42 Why the Wiccan Rede Doesn't Work http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6369.1 2.43 The Threefold Law http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6370.1 2.44 The Law of Thelema http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6371.1 2.45 Thinking and Believing http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6372.1 2.46 Knowing and Faith http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6373.1 2.47 The Pentacle and Earth http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6374.1 2.48 The Pentacle http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/messages?msg=6376.1 [13] ========= ========= HUMOR: KEEPING SUMMONED BEINGS AS PETS IS A BAD IDEA ========= by Faerie K. ========= With thanks to viii on chat for ideas and comments ========= Why keeping summoned beings as pets is a bad idea... They may be cute and cuddly when they're little, but they tend to grow. Fast. To something large. You can't flush your overgrown summoned pet down the toilet and no pound will take one. (Trust me on this one. ) Unless you spay or neuter them, they will breed, quickly. Good luck trying to find a vet that will spay or neuter one... The feeding costs are astronomical. New Age shops are very expensive. Oh, sorry, I meant "astrological". An exotic summoned pet is very difficult to feed. Museums start suspecting your interests in ancient cultures rather quickly. Getting them used to gourmet food is a bad idea: there aren't that many virgins around, you see! Cats sitting on the chest of a sleeping child sucking their life-force out may be a myth. With summoned pets, it isn't. No insurance will cover it if your summoned pet bites your guests. They may even eat your guests while you pop into the kitchen for tea. When they nibble your toes on Sunday morning, it does NOT feel nice. Besides, you need those toes for proper balance. Clipping their toenails to save your sofa from being torn into shreds is pretty damn hard. You think a pet stealing your stuff is bad? Summoned pets steal your stuff and hide it to the astral plane! Summoned pet dung is difficult to get rid of. They won't accept it at the toxic waste plant anymore ... Cat's hairballs are easy to clean away. Try dealing with astral slime puke. They don't stay in their cage unless you remember to seal it magickally properly. Every single time. It also gets a bit tedious to keep that triangle of salt intact in the corner of the living room. A summoned pet possessing your grandmother is NO fun, I can tell you! A summoned pet possessing your stereo system may be painful. Having them play with your altar tools is not cute. Having them play with your Book of Shadows is even less cute. Smell of sulfur wafting in the apartment tends to deter Jehovah's Witnesses and other pests, though... But it does make breathing labored in the long run. Landlords tend to dislike the "things that go bump in the night" routine you have going on in your flat. Landlords will detest finding out that paying residents in your block are disappearing as if by magick. On the other hand, the police may become a tad too interested in the very same phenomena. It's not fun to have your pet deciding to "hump" your neighbor's dog in the middle of your daily walk. It's practically impossible to find new, caring homes for the resulting Cerberoses, too. While it may be cute to have a pet that actually does talk back to you, it's not nice when they start throwing curses. It may be nice to have a pet that can retrieve your e-mail along with regular post, but it's NOT fun having them actually posting replies... Advanced summoned pets may summon pets of their own. That means BIG trouble. Last but not least: If you're not quite careful, you may one day wake up realizing that it is in fact YOU who are the pet in this deal. [14] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON BY VOLUNTEERING TO HELP ========= The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum was founded in December 1997 to provide a friendly but serious discussion area for Pagans on the Internet. We've grown a bit over the years. We now have two active message areas, a large web site with around 700 pages of information (including well over 100 book and divination deck reviews), and a monthly email newsletter. To continue to provide and expand these services, The Cauldron needs lots of volunteer help from our members and supporters. Here are some of the things members and supporters can do to help The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum thrive: ===== ===== Actively Participate In Our Forums ===== While our mailing list and Delphi Annex message board both welcome readers, we encourage members to actively participate by posting their comments and views in our discussions. One of the easiest ways to help The Cauldron is to actively participate in one or more of our forums. The staff especially appreciates members who start new topics for discussion based on their own questions, opinions, or interests. Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecauldron Delphi Annex: http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/start ===== ===== Articles! Essays! Tutorials! ===== We are in constant need of original, well-written and accurate articles, essays, tutorials, and other written items for both our web site and for our Cauldron and Candle newsletter. There's no real limit on length for web site articles. Here are a few areas in which we always need articles: * information on the beliefs and theology of the various Pagan religions, especially non-Wiccan religions * information on holidays and festivals of the various Pagan religions, especially non-Wiccan religions * recipes for oils, incenses, and food for the various Pagan holidays * magick, spells, and ritual information * herbal information * positive articles on dealing with other faiths * information on historical pagan cultures * editorial/opinion pieces Non-Wiccan material is stressed not because we don't want Wiccan material but because good non-Wiccan material has been hard to find. We have a web form you can use to submit an article for consideration: http://www.ecauldron.com/persontestart.php ===== ===== Book Reviews ===== While The Cauldron receives some review copies from a couple of Pagan publishers, there are many books that can only be reviewed on our web site if a member has a copy and writes a good, objective review. 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You can donate by using the Amazon Honor System button below (we get about 85% of what you donate). http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ===== ===== Amazon Purchases ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum also receive a small percentage (usually 5%) from most items purchased from Amazon.com when you go to Amazon.com from one of the links to Amazon on our web site. If you purchase a lot of books, CDs, and other items from Amazon.com as many members do, going to Amazon.com through one of our links when you are going to make a purchase there is a painless way to help fund this web site. http://www.ecauldron.com/fradambooks.php ===== ===== Have Questions or Suggestions? ===== If you have specific questions, proposals or other ideas we haven't mentioned here, please email them to rssapphire@ecauldron.com. (Unfortunately, Randall has to answer general "Tell me more?" type questions with a request for a more specific question. He's not trying to be rude, he just can't think of anything general and useful to say that isn't said here.) [15] ========= ========= NEWSLETTER INFORMATION ========= (Including how to subscribe and unsubscribe) ========= Cauldron and Candle is a free publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum with assistance from our sister form, The Witches' Thicket. The Cauldron and The Thicket aim to publish this newsletter once a month and often actually succeed in doing so. We tried to publish it twice a month for a while, but real life interfered too often. This issue of Cauldron and Candle as a whole is copyright (c) 2002 by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. Copyrights on individual items in this newsletter are retained by their author, please contact the editors if you need to contact an author for permission to reprint an article and the editors will do their best to put you in touch with him or her. 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You are also welcome to forward a copies of this newsletter to interested friends and associates provided you forward the entire newsletter. ===== ===== SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME ===== Don't forget that your suggestions for this newsletter are always welcome, either posted on the message board or via email to Elspeth Sapphire (elspeth.sapphire@worldnet.att.net) 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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