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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #94 -- November 2008 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.net/ message board: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/ newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.net/cnc/ shopping: http://www.ecauldron.net/mall.php Please DONATE to Support our NEW SERVER http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?page=62 In this Issue: [00] Editorial Notes [01] Cauldron News * Message Board Move Progress Report * Regular Donations Needed, New Donor Membergroups Added * New Ta Hiera SIG Web Site [02] Interesting Recent Cauldron Discussions * Faith Healing * Instinct -- Is It Energy or the Subconscious? * Gods and Hierarchy * Moon Phases In Your Magic(k)al Practice? * Candle Substitution * Pagan Poetry? * What to Expect at a Samhain Ritual? * Spells and Rhyme * Where Have All The Gods Gone? * Philosophical Meaning of "Harm None"....and is It Right? [03] Flamekeeping: People as Means/People as Ends [04] Article: Introduction to CauldronMUX [05] Support The Cauldron [06] Newsletter Information (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ Please support our sponsor +++ LOOKING FOR PAGAN SUPPLIES? Visit The Cauldron's Pagan Supply Store http://www.ecauldron.com/esesf.php +++ Please support our sponsor +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [00] ========= ========= EDITORIAL NOTES ========= For once, I have a lot of good news to put in an editorial. The Cauldron has successfully moved to the new server -- completely. Even the archive boards (our old Beehive board) have been successfully moved -- although they have a login required to prove the reader is human as Beehive boards are so inefficient that allowing bots to run though them puts an unnecessarily high load on the server. Just read the popup login request and type what it tells you to and you'll be in. Humans can manage this, bots cannot -- at least not yet. Now that The Cauldron is on its own server, we have merged our ecauldron.com and ecauldron.net domains. All addresses will work with either domain so no links will break, but we will probably be using the ecauldron.net domain as our official address in the future. We will also be expanding with more features over the next few months, although some new features may only be available to donors. For more on the progress of The Cauldron's server move and expansion plans, see the Cauldron News section below. You'll also find out how your donations can keep TC online. The end of October also brought good news for LyricFox. She had her second CT Scan since the end of her radiation treatments in April 2008. She is still clear of cancer! This is a major relief to both of us. Unlike last year, we are looking forward to being able to enjoy the holiday season. We may be flat broke from medical bills, but Lyric's tongue isn't full of cancer like it was last year at this time. Randall Sapphire Editor and Publisher, Cauldron and Candle Co-Host, The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum [01] ========= ========= CAULDRON NEWS ========= by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum Staff ========= ===== ===== MESSAGE BOARD MOVE PROGRESS REPORT ===== As mentioned in the editorial, The Cauldron has finished moving to our new virtual private server. When we sent the last newsletter out, only the current message board had been moved. CauldronMUX was down, our two old Beehive message boards were missing in action, and our main web site (ecauldron.com) was still on Dreamhost. In the last month, we have: * Moved CauldronMUX to the new server. CauldronMUX is back up but has a new address and port number: ecauldron.net port 24201. As CauldronMUX is now on the same server as the web site, we have a fast loading Java client so people can try CauldronMUX without having to download and install a MU* client program. You'll find the CauldronMUX Java client at: http://www.ecauldron.net/jmux/index.php You'll need a relatively mordern version of Sun Java installed for your browser for this to work. Most browsers come with it already installed. (Remember Java is something completely different than Javascript.) * Restored the two read-only Beehive boards from 2005 and 2006 so their nearly 275,000 messages are available again. One of the major reasons we moved from Beehive boards to an SMF board was Beehive box were CPU hogs. Unfortunately, everytime some rogue bot would try to "read through" these old boards, the CPU usage on the new server would jump 400% to 500%. That was unacceptable so we have blocked these boards to bots by requiring a login just to enter the directories they are stored in. If you try to read messages on these old boards, a dialog board will pop up asking for your user name and password. Read the text carefully as it tells you exactly what to type in. Humans can figure this out (if they bother to read the dialong box), bots cannot yet. You'll find the two archive boards here: http://www.ecauldron.net/ab/ http://www.ecauldron.net/mb/ * Merged the web site's domain (ecauldron.com) with the message board's domain. We used two domains because the message board was on a different server than the actual web site. Now that everything is on the same server, we have merged the two domains. http://www.ecauldron.com/whatever will now take you to the same place as http://www.ecauldron.net/whatever -- we plan to use www.ecauldron.net as the "official address," but either will work so links to ecauldron.com out on the web will continue to work and need not be changed. www.ecauldron.org is still on a completely seperate server in a different location and on a different network. Therefore, if the main site and message board are down for any reason, you can go to http://www.ecauldron.org/ for information and links to our backup message board. While there are still a few minor things broken, about 97% of The Cauldron's functionality is back and working better than ever. ===== ===== REGULAR DONATIONS NEEDED, NEW DONOR MEMBERGROUPS ADDED ===== As mentioned in the October 2008 newsletter, we now need over US$60 in donations every month to keep the server online. No donations, no server. No server, no message board. Well, not really "no message board" as there is always the free backup board, but the limitations of the free backup board drive staff and many members nuts. Your donations are needed to keep The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's message board up. We now have two ways you can donate. OPTION 1: Make An "Anonymous" Donation in Any Amount If you are not a member of the message board -- or are a member but do not want a donor button to appear on your posts or wish to donate a non-standard amount, you can make an "anonymous" donation (which will not cause any "donor" notation on your posts) in any amount via the Paypal link below. You do NOT need a Paypal account to donate. After Paypal fees, we get 85% to 90% of the money you donate. http://www.ecauldron.com/donatepaypal.php OPTION 2: Message Board Member? Donate Through Your Profile: Get Bronze/Silver/Gold Donor Levels and Benefits If you are logged into the message board, you can make a donation (via Donation Subscriptions in your Profile) at the Bronze Donor (US$5.00), Silver Donor (US$10.00) or Gold Donor (US$15.00) level and get a special button that will appear on your posts as well have access to our Donor only areas (and more for Silver and Gold Donors, see this post on the board for current information: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7335.0). These special benefits will last for one month (or one year if you elect the annual donation option) and can be renewed by extending your subscription. You can elect to make a one time donation or to set up a Paypal subscription that will automatically renew your donation each month or year until you cancel the subscription at Paypal. You can find the "Donation Subscription" link in the "Manage Profile" menu on your profile. Payments are made via Paypal but you do not need a Paypal account to donate (unless you wish to set up a recurring donation subscription). If you are a member of our message board, this link will take you directly to the Donation Subscription area of your Profile (with a stop to log in if you are not already logged in): http://www.ecauldron.net/profiledonations.php ===== ===== NEW TA HIERA SIG WEB SITE ===== The Ta Hiera Hellenic Polythist SIG has a new web site located at http://tahiera.ecauldron.net/ TC has recently signed up our ecauldron.net domain with Google Apps for Domains. This is the first Cauldron SIG to take advantage of Google Sites that come with this to set up a small site linked directly to our domain that they can edit online without having to wait for the webmaster to do it or learn HTML. This site's reading list also shows off our new Amazon Bookstores feature -- selected Amazon titles in a working Amazon "store" fully integrated into our web site. We expect other Cauldron SIGs to have their own SIG sub-sites at ecauldron.net soon. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ Please support our sponsor +++ PAGAN-FRIENDLY WEB HOSTING http://www.ecauldron.com/web/zdreamhost.php Dreamhost offers high-quality, low cost web hosting with a dedication to free speech. Pagan sites are welcome! Read why we use Dreamhost for The Cauldron's web site: http://www.ecauldron.com/web/whydreamhost.php Plan Features * 500 gigabytes web space * 5000 gigabytes/month bandwidth * unlimited email boxes (POP3/IMAP) * unlimited ftp/shell accounts * host unlimited domains/subdomains * php4, php5, cgi, fastcgi, ssi * zend optimizer, ruby on rails * unlimited MySQL databases * announcement lists * discussion (aka mailing) lists * Jabber server * Crontab and Shell access * Web-based Control Panel * One-Click installs of the Wordpress blog & PhpBB forum * 1 free domain name * helpful tech support * and much more! All for $10.95 a month with a $49.95 setup fee. Pay for a year in advance (only 9.95/month) and there is no setup fee. Pay two years in advance and the price drops to $8.95 a month. (And there is a 97 day money back guarantee!) Visit Dreamhost for Affordable, Pagan-Friendly Hosting http://www.ecauldron.com/web/zdreamhost.php +++ Please support our sponsor +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [02] ========= ========= INTERESTING RECENT CAULDRON DISCUSSIONS ========= Recent Discussion Topics on our Message Board ========= In an average month, over 200 new discussion topics are started on The Cauldron's message board. Here are a few of the more interesting recent discussions. It's not too late to join in. Thanks to Feedburner, you can now receive an email every night on days we post new site news items to the main page of The Cauldron's web site. These emails contain a link to the new item and the first couple of lines of the news text. You can sign up for Feedburner's free news delivery via the form at the end of the site "News and Updates" section of The Cauldron's main web page. ===== ===== Faith Healing ===== So, we're talking in chat about a horrible little show on the SciFi channel tonight on exorcisms, and the talk turned to faith healing. Which got me thinking... Has anyone ever been legitimately healed by faith healing? And how different is televangelist faith healing from pagan claims of using energy to heal people? Are pagans who heal somehow more trustworthy to the community? I don't know what I think about stereotypical faith healing, but if I believe that I can raise energy to heal someone, or that my High Priestess can give me Reiki to help my sore knee, then is that really any different? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7323.0 ===== ===== Instinct -- Is It Energy or the Subconscious? ===== When we meet someone, why do we instinctually dislike them? How do know when something isn't right? Why are uneducated guesses sometimes really, really accurate? I've heard instinct described as when the subconscious mind makes logical connection between different events and communicates it to the conscious mind, before the conscious mind can put the pieces together itself. I've certainly experience that: while driving I often know when someone will cut me off well before that person cuts me off. I thought about it and realized there are certain subtle signals given by drivers that they are about to do that: a small veering toward their intended lane, movement of a head in a shoulder check. Now I can consciously figure out when someone will cut me off -- no instinct required. But then there are the times when I can't explain why I "know" something: I visited a friend who I've had a spiritual bond with for a decade. We sat down on her balcony for a coffee, and I had a vision of violence occuring, which to be is indicative of an out excessive amount of an unhealthy negative emotion (self- loathing, hatred, power-control issues). I knew it came from somewhere behind me, so I checked out the buildings behind me when we headed back in, and focussed on the left side of a green duplex. Inside, I told her about my vision, and she replied, "I bet I know which house it is. It's the left side of the green duplex." I asked if she had seen anything there, and she replied nothing out of the ordinary, she just heard things in the wind. We walked past the house and checked out what might be different about it -- maybe a curtain hanging crooked, or some junk outside. Any sign of disarray or excessive order that implies any control issues or lack thereof. There was nothing to distinguish it from the right side, or any of the other duplexes. I don't know why we had the same instinct about the place. About a month later (after many other visits) I went to visit her and realized the duplex felt different. Before I said anything she said "they moved two days ago. It's been quiet ever since." It was a bizaare incident. I think it's instinct based on sensing energy. Anyway, now that I've wind-bagged enough -- what do you think. Any suggestions? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7321.0 ===== ===== Gods and Hierarchy ===== Does your pantheon have a hierarchy? Are some Gods considered 'lesser' Gods than others? Is there one God that is the head of all of the Gods? Or are your Gods all equals? Why do you think that there is/isn't a hierarchy in your pantheon? Do you think the hierarchy is/isn't there due to the work of the Gods themselves, or due to the way humans perceive the Gods? And of a slightly different tone: do you treat any of your Gods with more respect (or show more reverence to) than the others? If so, is this due to hierarchy, or purely because they are your patron? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7301.0 ===== ===== Moon Phases In Your Magic(k)al Practice? ===== Are you doing specific kinds of magic(k) at specific moon phases? How serious do you take moon phases? Would you wait for the right moment to do a certain spell, work etc.? What's most important about the moon in your magic(k)al practice? Waxing/waning or the amount of fullness? Do zodiacal signs of the moon matter for you at all? For example: * If you work with the full moon, does it matter to you if it's waxing to the full or waning from the full at the moment? * If you work more with the waxing/waning aspect, does it matter to you if the waxing moon has just been a new moon or if it is a few hours away from being full? With what kind of calendar do you work? Do you just look at the day or does it matter to you at all in which hour exactly the moon will be full, new etc.? How do you define full or new for your work? In what time frame is the moon full or new to you? Are there any moon phases or constellations where you don't perform magic(k) at all? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7290.0 ===== ===== Candle Substitution ===== The candle books say that you can substitute any candle color with white candles if you do not have that color on hand. What is your opinion on that? Also, you can substitute orange candle for black if you do not like black candles. What do you think? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7249.0 ===== ===== Pagan Poetry? ===== I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for books on poetry or pagan poetry? I'm going to be filling in a hard-bound book of shadows, my first hard -bound. My other has been a 3-ring binder I've dubbed The Great Big Book of Everything. I'm asking this because I'd like to put a poem or two on the first page. On the inside of the cover I have a sticker by Nene Thomas. It's a fairy sitting on a crescent moon. If anyone would like to share poems that's great too. I would also love to find a poem about the moon. Any help is welcome! * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7232.0 ===== ===== What to Expect at a Samhain Ritual? ===== There is a small group of pagans that meet in my area. I recently attended their Full Moon Ritual and signed up to also attend the Samhain ritual. The full moon ritual was very Wiccan-ish and I suppose the Samhain ritual will be as well. My reasons for going are similar to my reasons for being here on TC, to connect and interact with other pagans. I took my teenager who is currently on a path of Druidity exploration, who thoroughly enjoyed it and is looking forward to Samhain. So my question is, not being Wiccan, what should I expect at the Samhain ritual? The only clues I was given were that costumes are encouraged (as long as kept PG rated) and there would be a small bonfire and dancing. I always thought that a Wiccan Samhain ritual was more of a solemn event and this seems counter to that notion so any advise/wisdom would be appreciated. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7203.0 ===== ===== Spells and Rhyme ===== Do you feel that spells should rhyme? I was wondering how others feel about rhyme and spells. I can see how rhyme would give a spell fluidity and life, but I personally rarely use rhyme. I was reading (and thoroughly enjoying) a nice little book the other day, but I didn't care for the author's spells. They were just too cute sounding to me and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized it was her rhyme style, which struck me more along the lines of old nursery rhymes. But I suppose nursery rhymes may have been more magically oriented in the first place. So, I was wondering how rhyme figures into magical work. Exactly how important is rhyme? Any thoughts? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7165.0 ===== ===== Where Have All The Gods Gone? ===== It seems like back in the olden days, the gods were always hanging around. Whether it was cavorting with mortals, making miracles, or just a good old-fashioned smiting, the older myths are full of the clear and obvious presence of the Divine. Nowadays, the deities seem more subtle, to say the least. What do you think there is such a big difference between the ancient stories and most modern religions? Is it because the things people used to attribute to Divinity have been explained by science? Is it because the Divine has withdrawn from the earth? Is it because most people just don't know how to listen any more? Is is all of these; is it something else? What do you think? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7158.0 ===== ===== Philosophical Meaning of "Harm None"... and is It Right? ===== There is obviously some debate over whether the harm none is a necessary or correct principle of magic, and the different interpretations of the definition. What does everyone think about what it really means? Does it mean that no matter what you do, none of the repercussions can harm anyone? What about spells that return negativity (I hesitate to use the word evil due to the often contradictory opinions on the word) to its source. Wouldn't that harm said source? I know Wiccans adhere to "an it harm none" (as do I, as best I know how), but to what individual degrees or interpretations? And what about everyone else? What about whether its even a principle that makes sense? Many people think that this is a stupid (or incorrect) principle... that magic contains both positve and negative aspects, and should be performed utilizing both. I can see the logic in this as well, as everything else (as I understand things) contains both good and evil. Yin and Yang type thing. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter. My personal thoughts: I try to make sure that nothing I do harms anything else. Even with banishing type spells, I don't want harm to come to whatever I may be banishing, I just want it/them to go away. I DO know that my personal feelings on this matter have to do with me being somewhat empathic, and I can't stand for anything to be in pain. The exception is in protecting my family. AN EXAMPLE: Walking down a street I might have to beat off an attacking dog with a large tree branch, hurting it in the process in order to protect my children, but I would do it, even as my heart hurt at the sounds of pain coming from the dog. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7139.0 [03] ========= ========= FLAMEKEEPING ========= PEOPLE AS MEANS/PEOPLE AS ENDS ========= by HeartShadow ========= HeartShadow is following her own religious path. She calls it FlameKeeping. This regular column will present articles on FlameKeeping, many taken from HeartShadow's FlameKeeping blog at: http://flamekeeping.blogspot.com/ ===== ===== Prejudice and Postjudice ===== How do you view people? How do people view you? It's very easy to view people as a means to an end. We're nice to our boss in hopes of getting a promotion or keeping a job, not because we actual like our boss. Some people view their significant other as nothing more than an object for getting sex, not a separate and individual person. When we view people this way, as what we can get from them instead of actual people with their own needs and desires and personalities, we diminish ourselves. People are not objects to be manipulated as we desire, they are individuals and of the Divine. When we see them as objects, we lose our own ability to connect with that Divine, to grow in their presence and let them grow in ours. Every time we see someone as a means, we say that piece of the Divine doesn't matter. We deny reality in favor of control, putting ourselves in the center of a world that doesn't match reality. We set ourselves up as petty gods, denying even the humanity of the person we're dealing with. And, in the long run, we damage our own world, because people don't like being treated as objects. ===== ===== Questions: ===== * Who do you treat as a means? Why? What do you hope to gain? * Do you let other people treat you as a means? Why? * How do you see people you don't have a real connection with (shop clerks, people on trains, etc.)? Do you think there's a difference if they're strangers you're unlikely to see again? [04] ========= ========= Introduction to CauldronMUX ========= by Bob and Randall ========= [The original version of this article appeared in the Novermber 2004 issue of Cauldron and Candle. The article has been slightly updated for this reprinting.] CauldronMUX is a social MUX providing a text-based virtual world where members of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum can chat with each other, conduct online rituals and classes, etc. in a environment that lets them create rooms and props to use in these activities. If you do not know what a MUX is, this probably means nothing to you so, here is Bob's description of a MUX and his examples of what Cauldron members could do with a MUSH: ===== ===== What is a MUX? ===== First, a bit of history: Back in the 1980s, the MIT school of computer science, in an attempt to create a primitive AI, wound up creating what became the first TinyMUD. MUD stands for Multi-User Dungeon, and MUDs are primarily intended to be hack and slash games. MUSH came a little later, with the first game being PernMUSH. MUSH stands for (supposedly) Multi-User Shared Hallucination. On PernMUSH, players could create characters and act out those characters lives in the setting of Anne McCaffrey's Pern. There were dragonriders, harpers, holders, everything including fire lizards. Over time, MUSH code got very intricate and complex. MU*s (the generic term for MUD/MUSH/MUX/MOO/MUSE.etc) in time started developing their own, purely internal, programming language with which players could create a virtual, well, anything. On a MU*, virtual 'rooms' exist wherein the players interact with their environment and each other. Virtual objects (everything from fire lizards on Pern to computers on modern setting MU*s) can be created and programmed by players to do certain things. MU*s come with their own internal mail systems, their own internal chat systems, even their own 'furniture' in bars where people can have publicly private (does that make sense?) conversations within an In Character setting. The system, at it's core, is text based. Players and staff create their objects and rooms, and then give them text descriptions. Ever play one of those old text adventure games like the original Zork? It's just like that, only far more interactive as you can have hundreds of players interacting with their environment and each other every minute. Here's a sample of a room description and it's exits: Bob's Hangout Here you can see the living room of a heathen geek. Computer magazines lie strewn about the room, one laying open across the top of an altar to Odin in the corner. Two electric guitars are in upright stands next to an ominous looking 4x12" Marshall amp. In various locations lie strewn empty bottles of hooch, and various bladed weapons festoon the walls. You get the feeling you don't want to ask the resident about the odd discolorations on the worn-out couch or floors, as then he might tell you about them in detail. Contents: Bob, SKS battle rifle, Keg-o-Hooch Obvious Exits: Bedroom [B] Bathroom [BA] Kitchen [K] Out [O] Obviously, if a person wanted to leave they would simply type the 'o' key and press enter, which would presumably take them out of the apartment. And as can be seen by the contents of the room, Bob, his SKS rifle, and a keg are the interactive objects within the room. You could look at any of the interactive objects to get a description of the person or thing, and probably some hint as to their usage, thusly: look keg You see a large keg with an adjustable spigot. Perhaps you should check out the 'menu' to see what drinks are available? As inferred, typing menu would bring up a list of further instructions for how to use the keg. This is just a simple example of how complex MU* inhabitants can make the world around them. This is just a bare-bones introduction to everything that can be done with a MUX like what we're talking about. It can become extremely complex and intricate, quite a nice little virtual world, wherein the people have more control over their environment than they do in meatspace. ===== ===== What Can We Do With CauldronMUX? ===== For The Cauldron, we're talking about a social MUX, one which is not set in any particular world other than our own, and existing purely for the purpose of socialization. I've seen pagans use MU*s to do group circles when not all of the members could be physically present, using preset macro commands to punch in the type of their ritual (to eliminate misspellings and the time needed to type them in by hand). Apparently they were quite successful. Their rationale being that the Internet, being that it is a coherent energy transport mechanism, would be ideal for transferring magical energy as well. I can't speak to that, not having done it myself, but they all seemed quite satisfied. I've also seen MU*s with 'teaching rooms' -- programmed areas meant to impart lessons or to be used as teaching aids by students and teachers. Members can use CauldronMUX in different ways. While a few will probably learn the nuts and bolts of the system and create programmed objects, others will not want to bother with the anything that complex and will just create and describe rooms or simple objects for others to use, and many will just use the system to chat with friends and interact with the places and objects others create. ===== ===== Connecting to CauldronMUX ===== You can access CauldronMUX from your browser via our Java client: http://www.ecauldron.net/jmux/index.php or by telneting to ecauldron.net port 24201 with your telnet program or with a MU* client on your machine. The MU* client is definitely the best way to connect to CauldronMUX as MU* client programs have many features to make using CauldronMUX easy. If you do not have a MU* client, here are links to some of the ones Cauldron staff members know of for various operating systems. Some are freeware, some our shareware. === Some Windows MU* Clients * Mushclient [Freeware. Probably the best free MU client available. Designed to runs well under WINE on Linux.] http://www.gammon.com.au/mushclient/mushclient.htm * SimpleMU [Shareware ($20). No annoying nags or time limits. If you do not pay, just a few advanced features are disabled.] http://simplemu.onlineroleplay.com/ * MonkeyTerm [Freeware] http://www.eternals.dk/monkeyterm/About.asp * Gosclient [Freeware] http://gosclient.altervista.org/eng/index.htm * Mud Master Console [Freeware. A text-based client that runs in a "dosbox."] http://www.mud-master.com/index.html === Some Linux MU* Clients * TinyFugue [Freeware. A very powerful text-based client.] http://tinyfugue.sourceforge.net/ * Mushclient [Freeware. Probably the best free MU client available. Designed to runs well under WINE on Linux.] http://www.gammon.com.au/mushclient/mushclient.htm * MCL [Freeware. Text-based client] http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/ * Kmuddy [Freeware. KDE-based client] http://www.kmuddy.com/ * KMud [Freeware. KDE-based client] http://www.kmud.de/ * KMC [Freeware. KDE-based client] http://kmc.sourceforge.net/ === Mac OS X Clients * GGMud [Freeware] http://ggmud.sourceforge.net/ * Savitar [Shareware ($15)] http://www.heynow.com/Savitar/ * MudWalker [Freeware] http://mudwalker.cubik.org/ When you connect to CauldronMUX, you will see a screen something like this: Welcome to CauldronMUX, The Cauldron's Hangout -------------------------------------------------------------- "connect " connects you to your existing character. "connect guest" connects you to a guest account To Obtain a character on CauldronMUX: Log onto our message board, find the CauldronMUX Account Creation thread, and follow the instructions there. A CauldronMUX wizard will create your account and email you the password. You can then log in with "connect ". Until then, you can connect as a guest. "WHO" tells you who is logged in to the game (case sensitive). "QUIT" exits the game and saves your character. Once logged on, "help" gives help on specific commands, functions, and special topics. Other 'help' commands include "+help" and "news". -------------------------------------------------------------- If you do not yet have an account (character) on CauldronMUX, type "connect guest" and you will be logged in on a guest account. You cannot build things, but you can chat with people in public areas. Remember, you are bound by The Cauldron's Chat/MUX rules even as a guest (and understand that guests are not anonymous as their ip numbers are available to staff). Accounts (characters) on CauldronMUX are available to members of The Cauldron's message board who are Full members or who have posted at least 25 (meaningful) messages. This thread on the message board explains how to request a CauldronMUX account. Message board members unfamiliar with MU*s should probably visit CauldronMUX as a guest a few times before requesting a character to be sure they are really interested in having one. http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=2522.0 ===== ===== MUX Help ===== Once you log on to our MUX, you will be able to get help by type the command help and the command: +help However, you can get a quick, one screen list of the most useful commands by typing this command: +beginner You can also visit the Learning Library, by typing "LL" in Central Park (Central Park is the first area you reach after you leave the Grey Mists by typing "out." At the Learning Library, you can type "learn" to start a tutorial on some of the basic features and commands on CauldronMUX. Additional, more advanced, tutorials will be added to the Learning Library as they are written. Finally, are some very basic commands to get you started. To say something to others in a room, type a double quote, then what you want to say. For example to say "Hi there! I'm new and confused." you would type: "Hi there! I'm new and confused. To make your character do some action, for example, smile. You type: :smiles. If your name was Joe, everyone in the room would see "Joe smiles." To move, you type the name of an exit. Most exits have a short form listed between less than and greater than signs. You can type that short form (without the less than and greater than signs) to save yourself a lot of typing. To quit CauldronMUX, you type: QUIT [05] ========= ========= 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 an active message area, a large web site with around 700 pages of information (including over 300 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 Message Board ===== While our new message board welcomes 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 our message board. The staff especially appreciates members who start new topics for discussion based on their own questions, opinions, or interests. http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/ ===== ===== 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/bnbarticleform.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. The Cauldron is interested in reviews on the more academic books used by reconstructionist Pagan religions as well as on the books one finds on the Pagan/New Age shelf in the bookstore. We have a web form you can use to submit a book review for consideration: http://www.ecauldron.com/bnbbkreviewform.php ===== ===== Graphic Assistance ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is purposely a low graphics site as we value page download speed over flashy graphics. However, we are always willing to talk with artists who have ideas for well-designed small graphics (small in both physical dimensions and file size) that might enhance a specific article or page. ===== ===== Invite Your Friends ===== If you have friends or acquaintances who you believe would find The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum useful, please tell them about our site. If you are active in our message board and have friends who might enjoy them or have information to contribute, please invite them. ===== ===== Link To The Cauldron ===== If you have a web site where linking to The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum would be appropriate, simply providing a link to this web site is a big help. Our Link to this Site page explains how you can do this if you need help or want some simple graphic buttons to use: http://www.ecauldron.com/linktous.php ===== ===== Donations ===== As The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum uses as many free services as possible, our need for money to operate our site is currently lower than our need for the many items we list above. However, if you have a few dollars to spare, we would be honored to have your help in paying for our web site. You can donate by using either PayPal or the Amazon Honor System links below (we get about 85% of what you donate). Donate via PayPal http://www.ecauldron.com/donatepaypal.php Donate via the Amazon Honor System: http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ===== ===== Amazon Purchases ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum also receives 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/zamazon.php If you are a regular user of the US version of Amazon, you can help The Cauldron by replacing the URL of your ebay bookmark in your browser with the above link so that TC gets credit every time you visit Amazon.com. To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find Amazon in your bookmark list. RIGHT click on it and select Properties from the popup menu which will appear. A dialog box describing your bookmark will appear. You'll see the standard Amazon url -- probably http://www.amazon.com/ -- in an edit box (labeled "Location" in FireFox and "URL" in IE). Erase that url completely and replace with one listed above, then click on OK. If you use Amazon UK, you can use this address http://www.ecauldron.com/zamazonuk.php If you use Amazon Canada, you can use this addess: http://www.ecauldron.com/zamazonca.php ===== ===== Ebay Purchases ===== Are you an Ebay user? Ebay has a new program that pays affiliates a small percent of the winning bid if the winning bidder enters ebay from an affiliate link (some like how our Amazon.com affiliate program works). So if you visit the US version ebay via the following link, the Cauldron will get credit for your bids: http://www.ecauldron.com/zebay.php If you are a regular user of the US version of ebay, you can help The Cauldron by replacing the URL of your ebay bookmark in your browser with the above link so that TC gets credit every time you visit ebay. To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find ebay in your bookmark list. RIGHT click on it and select Properties from the popup menu which will appear. A dialog box describing your bookmark will appear. You'll see the standard ebay url -- probably http://www.ebay.com/ -- in an edit box (labeled "Location" in FireFox and "URL" in IE). Erase that url completely and replace with one listed above, then click on OK. ===== ===== Have Questions or Suggestions? ===== If you have specific questions, proposals or other ideas we haven't mentioned here, please email them to rssapphire00@ecauldron.GETRIDOFEME.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.) [06] ========= ========= NEWSLETTER INFORMATION ========= (Including how to subscribe and unsubscribe) ========= Cauldron and Candle is a free publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. The Cauldron intends to publish this newsletter once a month and often actually succeeds 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) 2008 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. The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of newsletter, The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum, or its staff. Publication of an article in this newsletter is not an endorsement of the authors position or any products and companies mentioned therein. No one involved in producing this newsletter has any money to speak of so suing us if you don't like something we do is a waste of time and money. ===== ===== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE EMAIL ADDRESS ===== You are receiving a copy of this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter via your web browser at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cauldronandcandle/join Or you can unsubscribe via email by sending a blank message to cauldronandcandle-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Be sure to send this message from the email account actually subscribed to the newsletter. If you have trouble unsubscribing by email, please use the web browser method mentioned above. If you need to change your subscription to a new email address, unsubscribe your old email address and subscribe your new email address. Note that you have to make these changes yourself. Yahoo Groups does not allow the list owner to make them for you. ===== ===== NEWSLETTER WEB SITE AND BACK ISSUE ARCHIVE ===== The Cauldron and Candle web site contains information on this newsletter and an archive of back issues. http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ ===== ===== PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO SUBSCRIBE ===== If you have Pagan friends who you believe would be interested in Cauldron and Candle please invite them to subscribe. You can either drop them a note yourself or -- better yet -- send them one of The Cauldron's email postcards with the information. 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 LyricFox (lyricfox01@ecauldron.GETRIDOFME.com) or Randall Sapphire (rssapphire01@.ecauldron.GETRIDOFME.com). Typos are, as usual, courtesy of the Goddess Eris.

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