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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #15 -- September 2001 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.com/ mailing list/board: http://www.ecauldron.com/fregmb.php delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/start newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ With a little help from The Witches' Thicket website: http://www.cros.net/soraya/ delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/thicket/start In this Issue: [01] Editorial: Women Under The Taliban [02] Poem: Seeking ... Soaring [03] Mabon: Harvest Home [05] Review: Finnish Magic [06] Review: Book of Hours [07] Review: The World Spirit Tarot [08] Review: Tarot for a New Generation [09] Magick: Boomerang Spell [10] Magick: Moon Spell for a Special Purpose [11] Out of the Broom Closet Day (October 31, 2001) [12] Humor: Denominations and Changing Light Bulbs [13] New Articles on The Cauldron's Site [14] New Web Polls [15] Support The Cauldron When You Buy at Amazon.com [16] Cauldron and Thicket Chats [17] Newsletter and Forum Info (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) +++ Submission Deadline for next issue: September 20, 2001 +++ Guidelines: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/submissions.php [01] ========= ========= EDITORIAL: WOMEN UNDER THE TALIBAN ========= by Koimichra ========= [Editor's Note: Koi posted the following in response to a discussion on The Cauldron's mailing list on the Taliban's treatment of women. I thought it was something more people should see, so (with Koi's permission) turned the message into this editorial.] I've been an anti-Taliban activist since long before the mainstream media picked it up. To me, the burqua remains the most appalling. It's not just your everyday burqua - it has only a three-inch mesh-covered opening for the eyes. It's so difficult to see out of that women are routinely run over because they don't see the cars coming when they step out into the street. Further, Afghani women are now getting osteoporosis at an alarming rate because they never have sun on their skin, and the body converts sunshine into one of those necessary vitamins. They are also required to black out their windows that look out onto the street - because a man might look in otherwise. If a sliver of ankle skin happens to show, they can be killed - or have the limb cut off - in the public stadium. For fun. Like the Romans in the Colosseum. It's a big show where people go to watch and cheer. Women are not allowed to be treated by male doctors. Women are not allowed to practice medicine any more. (Afghanistan, by the way, had one of the highest literacy and education rates for women in that part of the world before the Taliban took over. There are plenty of women doctors in Afghanistan.) So medical care for women is nearly non-existent. Nail polish, jewelry, plucked eyebrows, short hair, colorful clothes, sheer stockings, white shoes, high heels and public laughter are been illegal for women. Women may not go outside except for an "official, government-sanctioned purpose" and then only in the company of a male relative (and covered by the all-encompassing burqua). Suicide is alarmingly frequent. Physicians for Human Rights reports that 97 percent of Afghan women exhibit signs of major clinical depression. Visiting doctors call the women the "living dead." The largest anti-Taliban campaign is organized by the Feminist Majority Foundation. I do not agree with a great many of their positions on other issues, but I've been active in their anti-Taliban work since about 1998. You can find their website here: http://www.feminist.org The info on the Taliban is under "Stop Gender Apartheid" or go directly here: http://www.feminist.org/afghan/intro.asp A very simple thing you can do is click on "wear a symbol of remembrance." For five dollars, the FMF will send you a square of the same mesh on the burqua that Afghani women have to look out. (You will be shocked.) Pin it to your lapel or your purse or your book bag - like an AIDS ribbon - and when people ask, TELL THEM WHAT IT'S ABOUT. This has been, for me, one of the best avenues for education people, raising awareness, and getting people involved. And write to the US government! The US almost extended the Taliban official recognition if they would turn over Osama Bin Laden (they wouldn't, so we didn't). DON'T LET THEM DO IT. Complain to your senators, to your representative, to Colin Powell, to George W., to Dick Cheney. KEEP WRITING. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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] ========= ========= SEEKING ... SOARING ========= A Poem by Elspeth Sapphire ========= I had lost my way, caught up in daily cares. I missed Your Voice laying my soul bare. So I sought Your Presence in cold dusty city streets, But found nothing there and gave up in defeat. Next I sought within the twisting hallways of my mind. And tho' I felt Your Touch ... only a whisper could I find. Undaunted, but sorrowful, to the hills I fled ... And there found all the feelings I thought were dead. You filled my heart, setting my spirit free And the whisper grew to a roar deep inside me! I left the mountaintop, a different person than before. I thank my Lady for letting my being soar. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CRITICAL READING FOR PAGANS Learn to tell the wheat from the chaff when you view a web site or read a book. http://gleewood.org/writings/critical.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [03] ========= ========= MABON: HARVEST HOME ========= by Mike Nichols ========= There were three men came out of the West, Their fortunes for to try, And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn must die... Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon's novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring 1/4 of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents mid-autumn, autumn's height. It is also the Autumnal Equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft. Technically, an equinox is an astronomical point and, due to the fact that the earth wobbles on its axis slightly (rather like a top that's slowing down), the date may vary by a few days depending on the year. The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the equator on its apparent journey southward, and we experience a day and a night that are of equal duration. Up until Harvest Home, the hours of daylight have been greater than the hours from dusk to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds true. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign of Libra, the Balance (an appropriate symbol of a balanced day and night). This year (1988) it will occur at 2:29 pm CDT on September 22nd. However, since most European peasants were not accomplished at calculating the exact date of the equinox, they celebrated the event on a fixed calendar date, September 25th, a holiday the medieval Church Christianized under the name of 'Michaelmas', the feast of the Archangel Michael. (One wonders if, at some point, the R.C. Church contemplated assigning the four quarter days of the year to the four Archangels, just as they assigned the four cross-quarter days to the four gospel-writers. Further evidence for this may be seen in the fact that there was a brief flirtation with calling the Vernal Equinox 'Gabrielmas', ostensibly to commemorate the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary on Lady Day.) Again, it must be remembered that the Celts reckoned their days from sundown to sundown, so the September 25th festivities actually begin on the previous sundown (our September 24th). Although our Pagan ancestors probably celebrated Harvest Home on September 25th, modern Witches and Pagans, with their desk-top computers for making finer calculations, seem to prefer the actual equinox point, beginning the celebration on its eve (this year, sunset on September 21st). Mythically, this is the day of the year when the god of light is defeated by his twin and alter-ego, the god of darkness. It is the time of the year when night conquers day. And as I have recently shown in my seasonal reconstruction of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd, the Autumnal Equinox is the only day of the whole year when Llew (light) is vulnerable and it is possible to defeat him. Llew now stands on the balance (Libra/autumnal equinox), with one foot on the cauldron (Cancer/summer solstice) and his other foot on the goat (Capricorn/winter solstice). Thus he is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the Virgin (Virgo) and transformed into an Eagle (Scorpio). Two things are now likely to occur mythically, in rapid succession. Having defeated Llew, Goronwy (darkness) now takes over Llew's functions, both as lover to Blodeuwedd, the Goddess, and as King of our own world. Although Goronwy, the Horned King, now sits on Llew's throne and begins his rule immediately, his formal coronation will not be for another six weeks, occurring at Samhain (Halloween) or the beginning of Winter, when he becomes the Winter Lord, the Dark King, Lord of Misrule. Goronwy's other function has more immediate results, however. He mates with the virgin goddess, and Blodeuwedd conceives, and will give birth -- nine months later (at the Summer Solstice) -- to Goronwy's son, who is really another incarnation of himself, the Dark Child. Llew's sacrificial death at Harvest Home also identifies him with John Barleycorn, spirit of the fields. Thus, Llew represents not only the sun's power, but also the sun's life trapped and crystallized in the corn. Often this corn spirit was believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested, which was dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field, and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing. So one may see Blodeuwedd and Goronwy in a new guise, not as conspirators who murder their king, but as kindly farmers who harvest the crop which they had planted and so lovingly cared for. And yet, anyone who knows the old ballad of John Barleycorn knows that we have not heard the last of him. They let him stand till midsummer's day, Till he looked both pale and wan, And little Sir John's grown a long, long beard And so become a man... Incidentally, this annual mock sacrifice of a large wicker-work figure (representing the vegetation spirit) may have been the origin of the misconception that Druids made human sacrifices. This charge was first made by Julius Caesar (who may not have had the most unbiased of motives), and has been re-stated many times since. However, as has often been pointed out, the only historians besides Caesar who make this accusation are those who have read Caesar. And in fact, upon reading Caesar's 'Gallic Wars' closely, one discovers that Caesar never claims to have actually witnessed such a sacrifice. Nor does he claim to have talked to anyone else who did. In fact, there is not one single eyewitness account of a human sacrifice performed by Druids in all of history! Nor is there any archaeological evidence to support the charge. If, for example, human sacrifices had been performed at the same ritual sites year after year, there would be physical traces. Yet there is not a scrap. Nor is there any native tradition or history which lends support. In fact, insular tradition seems to point in the opposite direction. The Druid's reverence for life was so strict that they refused to lift a sword to defend themselves when massacred by Roman soldiers on the Isle of Mona. Irish brehon laws forbade a Druid to touch a weapon, and any soul rash enough to unsheathe a sword in the presence of a Druid would be executed for such an outrage! Jesse Weston, in her brilliant study of the Four Hallows of British myth, 'From Ritual to Romance', points out that British folk tradition is, however, full of MOCK sacrifices. In the case of the wicker-man, such figures were referred to in very personified terms, dressed in clothes, addressed by name, etc. In such a religious ritual drama, everybody played along. They've hired men with scythes so sharp, To cut him off at the knee, They've rolled him and tied him by the waist Serving him most barbarously... In the medieval miracle-play tradition of the "Rise Up, Jock" variety (performed by troupes of mummers at all the village fairs), a young harlequin-like king always underwent a mock sacrificial death. But invariably, the traditional cast of characters included a mysterious "Doctor" who had learned many secrets while 'traveling in foreign lands'. The Doctor reaches into his bag of tricks, plies some magical cure, and presto! the young king rises up hale and whole again, to the cheers of the crowd. As Weston so sensibly points out, if the young king were ACTUALLY killed, he couldn't very well rise up again, which is the whole point of the ritual drama! It is an enactment of the death and resurrection of the vegetation spirit. And what better time to perform it than at the end of the harvest season? In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the 'Hounds of Annwn' passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is! And how lucky we are to live in a part of the country where the season's changes are so dramatic and majestic! And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl-- And he's brandy in the glass, And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl Proved the strongest man at last. (This file contains eight seasonal articles by Mike Nichols. They may be freely distributed provided that the following conditions are met: (1) No fee is charged for their use and distribution and no commercial use is made of them; (2) These files are not changed or edited in any way without the author's permission; (3) This notice is not removed. An article may be distributed as a separate file, provided that this notice is repeated at the beginning of each such file. These articles are periodically updated by the author; this version is current as of 9/28/88.) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [04] ========= ========= FINNISH MAGIC ========= Reviewed by Faerie K. ========= Finnish Magic: A Nation of Wizards, A World of Spirits Author: Robert Nelson Trade Paperback, 192 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: February 1999 ISBN: 1567184898 US Retail Price: $7.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567184898/thecauldron [Editor's Note: The reviewer is a Pagan from Finland.] I admit I wasn't exactly jumping with high expectations when I heard about this book in 1999. "Llewellyn, publishing something about Finnish magic, written by somebody who might have some Finnish roots, but... this might be 'interesting,'" I thought to myself. When I heard some early comments on it, I knew this book wasn't going to be anywhere high up on my "to get" list. Now that I've finally read it, even with my nonexistent expectations I have to say this book managed to be even less than what I wanted it to be. The first chapter of the book attempts to give insight on the Finnish people and our origins, quickly moving into Finns in America. However, what is given is a rather odd account, especially at times. Had Mr. Nelson actually used up-to-date scholarly works on Finnish history and the history of Finnish immigration into America, he would have probably done much better. Instead, he's relying on a book about the history of log cabins in America and a genealogy book. The nearest thing in the bibliography relating to Finnish origins is something called "Finlandia The Racial Composition, The Language and Brief History of the Finnish People" by S.C. Olin from the year 1957, which you just can't call the up-to-date, latest word on the subject. The author relies very heavily on the Kalevala as a source on Finnish Paganism and magic. There are two translations of Kalevala listed in his bibliography. However, aside from a book called "Of Finnish Ways," there are absolutely no other sources on this subject mentioned. This tells me that either Mr. Nelson hasn't really bothered to actually study the subject he's writing about or just hasn't bothered to search for the (admittedly not easiest to find) books and publications about Finnish Paganism that do exist. Given the fact that Robert Nelson has been academically trained (with a Ph.D.) and should know something about the importance of sources (and the quality and relevance of the sources used), I'm highly tempted to say that he just wanted to get a book out and to heck with providing properly researched information. From this very first chapter, this book is riddled with misspellings of Finnish words. The use of umlauts is shaky at best. Some words having those pesky little dots on some a's and o's in the correct places, while other words have them where they should lack them. All in all, it could be compared to a book about Celts telling that "Druds" had "ouks" as their sacred trees, or the Hellenic Pagans worship a goddess called "Athuna". The fact that Finnish is a language spoken by a very small number of people isn't an excuse for this many spelling errors, most of which could have been easily corrected by any native speaker. In the age of the Internet, finding somebody skilled enough to proofread the book's Finnish language texts would have been very easy. I'll address a few of the problems I encountered while reading this book briefly as picking them apart one by one would take much more space than a normal book review -- and much more time than the book deserves. Because of his reliance upon the Kalevala, Nelson is able to give very little information on the different Finnish deities, spirits, haltija (which could be sometimes referred to as "faeries") of the land, and all its inhabitants. What little is given, is a scratch on the surface with no actual depth or usefulness. He tries to patch his lack of knowledge on Finnish deities by providing several pages on the Norse deities. There are Swedish speaking Finns living, as they have long been, on the western shores of Finland. Despite these contacts with the Swedes, neither the Norse deities nor the Norse way were as generally celebrated in Finland as Nelson would like to have you believe. He draws far-fetched parallels between the traditions of the Swedes and the Finns, for example in names, but doesn't seem to take into account the fact that Finland was for centuries under Swedish rule and thus got heavy influences from the Swedish language (in for example the names of the days) which was the official language of the ruling classes and of record keeping. Nelson mentions Santa Claus (in Finnish "joulupukki", literally "yule billy-goat" or "yule-buck") and tells about his origins being the story of Saint Nicholas but notes that "for some reason we have depicted Santa as a Finnish magus" (p. 22), flying through the air with his reindeer and wonders if the red and white clothing of Santa is a reminiscent of the colors of the Fly Agaric mushroom. What he fails to mention is that the Finnish "Santa" has more probable origins in the earlier figure of "Kekripukki", Kekri being the old end-of-summer/new-year celebration. As Christianity gained more of a hold, some of the celebrations of Kekri moved to Christmas and some to New Year, the pukki-character being one of the former. The traditional costume of the Finnish "pukki" is a lamb's fur coat turned inside out (this is what I remember from my childhood, for example and it's still the costume used in many families for their Santa) and sometimes sported horns and a mask made of bark. This jolly character wasn't that much interested in children, but with his sexual nature -- being a billy-goat -- more in the somewhat older members of the family. He could also give you a spanking with the twigs he was carrying, if you had been naughty. The red and white costume of Santa so familiar today, is often attributed to ad-campaign of the Coca Cola company. Santa flying with reindeer isn't of Finnish origins either. The author mentions the bear cult and sacred trees and groves (fencing them is something that isn't generally mentioned in Finnish sources, although it is mentioned in The Golden Bough). However, he does not tell about bear skull pines, pines or spruces with a flat (elk-eaten) top called "Tapio's table" used as altars. The sacred family trees playing an integral part of old Finnish beliefs are passed over with a short passage: "In former days, many Finnish families had a lucky family tree." He then provides instructions on cutting a ladder into a tree to create a sacred tree for ritual work. (p. 88) Not only was the family tree much more than a "lucky tree", cutting a ladder into one would be considered quite disrespectful. Nelson mentions "sejda" (seita), sacred stones in Lapland, but doesn't mention sacrificial cup-stones found throughout Finland at all. In his chapter on trance work and ritual Nelson gives basic instructions for what he views or portrays as Finnish trance working methods. Parts of this chapter can be called disrespectful of the old ways, parts can be labeled dangerous. He makes getting into a trance and traveling to the netherworld sound like something fun and easy. Just trance and go! In reality, the first journey to the underworld was definitely not considered a piece of cake, but something potentially quite dangerous. A student Shaman is said to have gone below (with his/her teacher), been killed and dismembered, and then put back together there and s/he would come back a changed person, a Shaman now able to help others. Even an experienced Shaman would often have a helping hand, for example, the drummer, who could call him back from the journey if need be. Not everything you meet in the other worlds are nice, not everybody/thing presenting itself as a "guide" is trustworthy! This information on Shamanism leaves a lot to be desired. The author seems to be well aware of his shortcomings here and states: "The informed reader will notice that this sounds very similar to the ceremonies of the American Indians." (p. 99) Pardon my sarcastic tones, but this informed reader has indeed noticed this, and checking the bibliography, has noticed that the sources include Carlos Castaneda and a few books on general shamanistic techniques. What this informed reader notices is the total lack of scientific studies - or, for that matter, any books - on Finnish, Lappish, Fenno-Ugric or what's most easily available, Siberian Shamanism. The author continues: "And indeed it should. Shamanism whether practiced by the Navajo, the Korean, the Irkutsk, or the Finn is essentially the same. There may be variants in costume, structure of instruments, or other manifestations, but the basic structure and purpose is the same." (p. 99) No statement on the similarities between shamanistic goals and techniques does, in my opinion, justify the passing of general Neo-Shamanistic systems as "Finnish Shamanism". Especially when the things the author notes as being the only differences between different people and given in his text aren't that Finnish to begin with. The chapter on Sauna gives rather odd information mixed with rather good information. Unfortunately, this chapter includes material that can be downright dangerous. He says: "After sitting in a very hot sauna for just a while, you may begin to feel light-headed or even giddy. This can be the first step to trance." (p. 115) Trancing in sauna? That is an invitation to getting dehydrated and passing out, dears. If you do get light-headed, it can be due to the sauna being badly ventilated and therefore you are getting oxygen deprived, or that you are suffering from dehydration. Whatever it is, get out, cool down slowly by taking a shower and drink something. Feeling light-headed and giddy but deciding to stay in sauna in wait for the trance, can lead to... not trancing, but passing out and burning yourself badly. The sauna is hot, after all. While sauna can be an excellent place to prepare for trance work or magic, it's not a place to go into a trance. Another dangerous bit is instructions to always have a source of cold water to cool off with after sauna. Yes, getting directly out of sauna, jumping in a cold lake or other body of water or even rolling around in snow is part of old Finnish traditions. However, we also tend to know the dangers involved and that good (or at least relatively good) health is a must for such activities. Cooling off in cold water directly after sauna can be fatal to people with heart or blood pressure problems. If you are having health problems, cool down slowly in warm water. Don't blindly follow instructions in this book and risk your life. Oh, I should also mention that the drawing depicting a sauna is just plain silly and if constructed like that, would cause the whole place to merrily go down in flames. In his account of sacred times, Nelson gives new and full moon among times of seasonal festivals, with no actual data to back this claim up. Some other festivals given as traditional had me raising my eyebrows with "Oh? What's this?" and parts of the explanations of what is/was going on in the festivals I did agree with had me smiling wryly. The last major chapter in the book deals with symbols of magic. He reprints a couple of images of Lappish deities well known from other sources, gives hannunvaakuna (misspelled as "hannunvarkuna") and then goes forward stating: "Many of the commonly used symbols were borrowed from the Norse." (p. 143). He mentions Thor's hammer, but doesn't explain that the similar but not same symbol used here in Finland is not Thor's hammer, but Ukko's hammer. Similar, but not the same. He mentions the "sun wheel" (swastika), but doesn't mention the "sun cross" or the usage of the pentagram as a protective symbol. After giving some rather Icelandic looking talisman images, Nelson goes on and devotes several pages to runes. Having earlier -- and quite correctly -- stated that the Finnish tradition was an oral one, he now turns around and claims the runes have "widespread use among Finnic people" (p. 145). They might be found from areas populated by related peoples, but they weren't in use by the Finns. Some of the parts in the book may be useful (for example "Learning from Nature"), but those parts are mostly given in such general terms you can find the same, similar or better information in other books. Not everything that could be useful is of Finnish Pagan origins! All in all, Robert Nelson has taken a pinch of Finnish Paganism and magic, added a truck-load of other types of Shamanism (Native American and Neo-Shamanistic) and Norse, mixed in with his ideas and watered down the whole soup down to the point of being hardly useful. Then he's given this creation of his a label which says: "Finnish Magic", hoping that the old "give something a name and you'll know it" will work. Unfortunately, the end result isn't an eclectic but working system, but a simplified, watered down mixture spiced with Finnish ways. It's such a shame that a little-known but rich tradition didn't get a better representation than this. I can't in good conscience recommend this book to anybody, except perhaps as an example of a badly researched, badly written book -- a "how not to" instead of a "how to" example. As I said earlier, not everything in this book is bad, but what is there needs to be taken not with a pinch, but a whole package, of salt. Instead of this book, I recommend reading the Kalevala, the Kanteletar (now available in English) and searching out scholarly works on Finnish history and traditions. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkfm.php [05] ========= ========= REVIEW: BOOK OF HOURS ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= Book of Hours: Prayers to the Goddess Author: Galen Gillotte Hardcover, 118 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: May 2001 ISBN: 1567182739 US Retail Price: $14.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567182739/thecauldron Book of Hours is a book of prayers to the (Wiccan) Goddess. In the tradition of similar books for other religions, Gillotte's book provides prayers to the Goddess for every "hour" of the day. Gillotte divides the day into three "hours:" morning, evening, and night. She provides a special prayer for each hour for each of the seven days of the week. There are also special morning, evening, and night prayers for the new moon, the full moon, and all eight Wiccan Sabbats. Each day's prayers are accompanied by suggested meditations and affirmations. There is also a section of prayers for specific needs such as healing, blessing a house, or the loss of a beloved person or animal. You might be inclined to pass over this book if you see it at the bookstore. Book of Hours is a hardback book with a very plain cover. There's no art of youngsters who look like gang members or the like to attract your attention. However, both the book itself and the prayers within it show signs of careful crafting. It's obvious that a great deal of time and effort have been put into this small volume, both by the author and by the publisher. The brief introductory material talks about the four different types of prayer: prayer of expectation, prayer of thanksgiving, prayer of celebration, and prayer of contemplation. It also touches upon the issues of creating sacred space, the ethics of prayer, and private versus communal prayer. An appendix gives some basic information of the various Goddesses mentioned in the volume. Unfortunately, some of the information given isn't quite historically correct. This is something that may not matter as much to the average Wiccan, who probably considers these deities just "faces" of the Wiccan Goddess, as it does to this non-Wiccan reviewer. That minor quibble aside, my only real complaint about this volume is that there are no prayers to the Wiccan God. Some Wiccans will probably write off this book as a waste of money because they do not need a book of specific words to say when they talk to their Goddess. In a way, they are right. Some people do not need such a book. Prayers flow from their tongues without effort. However, not everyone is so gifted. Many people I've met over the years have trouble praying. They either don't know what to say and how to say it when they pray or they are afraid they don't. For those Wiccans, especially solitary Wiccans, who have trouble putting words to their desire to pray, Book of Hours may seem to be a gift from the Goddess herself. Many Wiccans complain that most books on Wicca cover the same material and provide little truly new and original. That complaint can not be made about Book of Hours: Prayers to the Goddess. It breaks new ground and does so beautifully. Galen Gillotte's prayers are poetry. Literally. As I said earlier, this book will not jump out at you on the book shelves at your favorite bookstore. If you are Wiccan and tongue-tied when you wish to pray, don't let that stop you from picking this book up and looking at it. I suspect many such Wiccans who do so will not be able to put it back on the shelf. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkboh.php [06] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE WORLD SPIRIT TAROT ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= The World Spirit Tarot Authors: Jessica Godino and Lauren O'Leary Artist: Lauren O'Leary Book and Card Set Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: June 2001 ISBN: 1567185002 US Retail Price: $24.95 View Sample Cards: http://www.ecauldron.com/images/samtrtwst.jpg Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567185002/thecauldron The World Spirit Tarot is an unusual Tarot deck in a couple of major ways. The most immediately noticeable way is the art. Each card is a hand-colored linoleum block print. This gives the deck an interesting style, somewhat reminiscent of woodcuts, but with a unique look all its own. The art is somewhat stylized as one might expect from such prints, but still manages to work a surprising amount of detail into most cards. The deck is a bit wider than normal, which provides more space for the art, but may make the deck harder to shuffle and handle if one has small hands. The second noticeable unusual feature of this deck is the wide variety of people and situations depicted on the cards. Unlike most tarot decks, The World Spirit Tarot deck reflects the modern multi-racial, multi-cultural world we now live in. People of all races and many different cultures are featured on these cards. The deck doesn't even stay in the same time period. Some cards have illustrations from ancient times, others from the middle ages, and some from the modern day. While one might expect that such a deck would lack cohesion, the deck appears to have been planned around these variations and is surprising cohesive. As you might expect from the above description, much of the symbolism of The World Spirit Tarot is new. However, O'Leary drew on a solid starting base, the art of Pamela Smith (the Rider-Waite deck) and the art of Frieda Harris (Crowley's Thoth Tarot). The only other major difference from the standard Tarot is the court cards. The standard Page, Knight, Queen, and King have been replaced with the Seer, Seeker, Sibyl, and Sage. Instead of representing a hierarchy, these cards are intended to represent different stages of development. A larger than usual number of this deck's cards feature nudity or near nudity. While it is artistic rather than erotic nudity and is tastefully handled, people who have issues with nudity may wish to look at all the cards before deciding whether to purchase the deck. The World Spirit Tarot comes with an approximately 3x5 inch, 160+ page, perfect bound manual. This small book is nicer that the small staple-bound booklet that accompanies many Tarot decks. It briefly describes how the deck was created, three simple tarot layouts (a three-card spread, a seven card spread, and the "standard" Celtic Cross) and a couple of pages on each of the 78 cards in the deck, over half with a black and white illustration of the card. The information is quite brief, although it might be enough for a determined beginner to start to use the deck in divination. This deck is definitely worthy of consideration if you collect decks for their artwork as its linoleum print style is quite different. It's also worthy of consideration if you are an experienced reader looking for a multi-racial deck for divination. I can't recommend it for the complete beginner, however, as its style and symbolism are different enough that it may trip up a beginner if he is relying on one of the many standard beginner tarot books. That said, The World Spirit Tarot is one of the three decks featured in Janina Renee's new beginner tarot book aimed at young adults, Tarot for a New Generation. While I still personally think that a beginner does better to start with a fairly standard deck, a beginner with both this deck and Renee's book would probably do well. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/trtwst.php [07] ========= ========= REVIEW: TAROT FOR A NEW GENERATION ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= Tarot for a New Generation Author: Janina Renee Trade Paperback, 416 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: September 2001 ISBN: 0738701602 US Retail Price: $14.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738701602/thecauldron Janina Renee is well known in the Neo-Pagan community for her book, Tarot Spells, on using the Tarot in magick. She has written a new introductory book on the Tarot, Tarot for a New Generation, aimed at the needs of teens and young adults. My first book on the Tarot -- and for a long time, my only book on the Tarot -- was Eden Gray's A Complete Guide to the Tarot. While this book served me well, I remember my early frustration with its often quite limited description of the cards and scanty information on card interpretations. In Tarot for a New Generation, Janina presents a wealth of useful information that would have made learning the Tarot much easier for me had I somehow been able to obtain a copy back in 1972. Tarot for a New Generation is divided into two major parts: background and card interpretations. The first five chapters (about a quarter of the book) cover the basics of what the Tarot is, its history, choosing decks, caring for decks, how to select a significator if one chooses to use one, how to select a tarot layout, dealing with reversed cards and card gender issues, and suggestions for using non-standard decks. The fourth chapter breaks from tradition and gives detailed sample readings before going through all the card interpretations. This works much better than one might think because it shows the new student of the Tarot that the card interpretations later in the book aren't holy writ. The last chapter in this section talks about other uses for the Tarot. In addition to the obvious uses for meditation, visualization, and magick, Renee shows how the Tarot can be used as a memory aid and to help overcome certain learning disabilities. The meat of the book, however, is in the last six chapters which provide a detailed examination of each card in the deck and suggest possible ways each card could be interpreted in various situations. The Major Arcana, the Court Cards, and the numbered cards of each suit are given a chapter of their own. In another break from more traditional introductory books, illustrations are not from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Each card interpretation is illustrated with a picture of the card under discussion in three different decks: the Legend deck (a King Arthur themed deck), the World Spirit deck (a multi-racial, multi-cultural deck), and the Universal Tarot (a modern variant of the Waite deck). Given the wide variety of Tarot decks available now, illustrations from three quite different decks should make it much easier for beginners to see the common themes in cards that are found in the majority of decks. Each card is given a three or four page description. Unlike many books which give detailed interpretation suggestions, Tarot for a New Generation does not use a set of standard question areas (for example: health, wealth, romance, work, play) and provide interpretation suggestions for each of those areas for each card. Instead, Renee bases the categories of interpretation on each card. For example, the interpretation suggestions for The Emperor cover areas such as authority, blessing, father figures, intellect, parenting issues, responsibility, success, and patriarchy while those for the Five of Cups cover areas such as activity, loss and regret, relationships, and survival issues. While this may not be as organized as it would be if specific categories were used, I think it gives a better feel for the each card. This is one of the few introductory books which treats the court cards as fully as the other cards in the deck -- a major point in its favor given the interpretation problems many novices have with these sixteen cards. Tarot for a New Generation is an excellent introduction to the Tarot, especially for teens and young adults. Older adults could use this book to learn the Tarot as well as it is a well-written, gentle introduction to the art. However, older adult novices may find many of the youth-oriented card interpretations a bit frustrating. If so, they might want to supplement it with a book with interpretations more oriented toward adults. (This reviewer would suggest Power Tarot by Trish MacGregor and Phyllis Vega.) In Tarot for a New Generation, Janina Renee has written one of the best introductions to the Tarot in years and the only one I know of aimed at the needs of young adults. It would make an excellent gift for any teen or young adult developing an interest in the Tarot. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bktfang.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UPCOMING REVIEWS Here are a few of the books we'll be reviewing in future issues: MONSTERS, TAROT OF THE SAINTS, RUNIC PALMISTRY, MAKING TALISMANS, ASTROLOGY & RELATIONSHIPS, LAMMAS, SEASONS OF MAGIC, WRITE YOUR OWN SPELLS. 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. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [08] ========= ========= MAGICK: BOOMERANG SPELL ========= Author Unknown ========= Boomerang Spell To reverse any negativity or hex being sent your way, anoint a purple candle with Rosemary oil. On a piece of white paper write the following in black ink: "All blocks are now removed." Fold the paper three times. Light the candle and burn the paper in a bowl, ashtray or any fireproof dish. Invoke the power of fire and it's elemental spirits. Repeat three times: Firedrakes and salamanders, aid me in my quest, protect me from all evil forms, turn back the negativity being sent. After the third repetition say: So mote it be. [09] ========= ========= MAGICK: MOON SPELL FOR A SPECIAL PURPOSE ========= Author Unknown ========= Materials: A small globe of crystal or clear glass. Initial Preparation: The first time you start this spell and every time you wish to use it for a new special purpose, you have to clear and consecrate the globe of crystal/glass by holding it up to the light of the Full Moon, so that the lunar image is caught therein. Monthly: After this has been performed, the globe may be used as a charm to procure the secret wish of the owner. On the night of each New Moon, hold the sphere in the left palm, by candlelight, gaze upon it, and chant: Crescent be full and crystal fill: Thus my eye and thus my will: Fiat Voluntus Abdita! Fiat Voluntus Abdita!! Fiat Voluntus Abdita!!! The globe should then be kept in a small bag of leather inscribed with figures of the Moon's phases, and worn about the neck during those days and nights between the crescent and the full. While it is not being worn, the globe should be wrapped in a black cloth and hidden away. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PAGAN SHIRTS, CAPS, AND MUGS Check The Cauldron's Gift Shop for an assortment of Pagan-oriented shirts, caps, and mugs from CafePress. The Cauldron gets three dollars from each item sold which goes to pay web site costs. http://www.ecauldron.com/gsframemain.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [10] ========= ========= OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET DAY ========= Press Release ========= The Pagan Pride Project has named October 31, 2001, as the first Annual "Out Of The Broom Closet Day" as a means to support and encourage followers of Pagan, Heathen, and other earth-based and ethnic religious paths to publicly declare and support their chosen religion to those who they encounter in everyday life. Suggested activities include public wearing of symbols of Pagan religious paths, contacting press and media in order to correct misconceptions about Pagan religions and to educate non-Pagans, and other activities designed to support and encourage public expression of religious diversity in the non-Pagan world. "What you do is limited by your own imagination," says Pagan Pride Membership Director Dagonet Dewr. "If you can show one non-Pagan that you encounter on October 31 that Paganism is a valid and acceptable religious path, if you can change one mind, you've celebrated Out Of The Broom Closet Day." The Pagan Pride Project, founded in 1998, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs. They have sponsored and helped organize Pagan Pride celebrations in September every year since their founding. This year's schedule includes 89 currently scheduled events in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Portugal, Italy, and the Netherlands. For more information, visit the Pagan Pride Project's web page at: http://www.paganpride.org/ [11] ========= ========= HUMOR: DENOMINATIONS AND CHANGING LIGHT BULBS ========= Author Unknown ========= How many members of various Christian denominations does it take to change a light bulb? Charismatics: Only one. Hands already in the air. Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. Presbyterians: None. Lights will go on and off at pre-destined times. Roman Catholic: None. Candles only. Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad. Anglicans: Eight. One to call the electrician, and seven to say how much they liked the old one better. Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it. Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved-you can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Churchwide lighting service is planned for Sunday, August 19. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish. Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy. Lutherans: None. Lutherans don't believe in change. Amish: What's a light bulb? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [12] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= NEW ARTICLES ON THE CAULDRON'S SITE ========= The following new areas have been added to The Cauldron's web site since our last issue. * Our main page has been redone. We've added a news section where we will list new web pages, interesting discussions on our mailing list and/or forum, etc. Our main page will now be updated two or three times most weeks, instead of once a month. http://www.ecauldron.com/ * Roman Reconstructionism Another page in our new Reconstructionist Paganism section, this page provides information and links on reconstructionist Roman religions. http://www.ecauldron.com/reconroman.php The following book and tarot reviews (some included in this newsletter) are new to the web site: * Finnish Magic http://www.ecauldron.com/bkfm.php * Book of Hours http://www.ecauldron.com/bkboh.php * The World Spirit Tarot http://www.ecauldron.com/trtwst.php * Tarot for a New Generation http://www.ecauldron.com/bktfang.php [13] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= NEW WEB POLLS ========= Two polls have opened since the last issue of Cauldron and Candle: The first new poll, opened August 16, asks: * Do you believe there are people who are really an elf, a dragon, or another fay being accidentally born into a human body in the world today? Possible answers include: + Definitely Yes + Possible and likely + Possible but unlikely + Definitely No + Not Sure + No Opinion You will find this poll at: http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll27.php Our newest poll, opened September 1, asks: * Should animal sacrifice be permitted in the name of religious freedom? Possible answers include: + Yes + No + No Opinion + Do not know You will find this poll at: http://www.ecauldron.com/cldpoll28.php Make your opinion known, take one or both polls today. You'll find a list of all of our polls (over 25 now) at: http://www.ecauldron.com/pollindex.php [14] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON WHEN YOU BUY BOOKS AT AMAZON.COM ========= If you wish to purchase books or other items at Amazon.com, you can help fund The Cauldron's web site by using this link to access Amazon.com when you make your purchases: http://www.ecauldron.com/fradambooks.php Just use this link to go to Amazon.com via our web site and almost every purchase you make that visit will earn The Cauldron a small amount to help pay for our web page -- at no extra charge to you. You can also use the Amazon link on the menu of every Cauldron web page and not have to remember this long link. Unlike the Amazon link listed in some prior issues of this newsletter, you can simply visit this site and save the link in your bookmark list. If you then use this bookmarked link every time you wish to visit Amazon.com, any purchases you make while there will help fund The Cauldron's web site. [15] ========= ========= Cauldron and Thicket Info ========= CAULDRON AND THICKET CHATS ========= +++ +++ CAULDRON YAHOO CHATS +++ Cauldron Co-Host Elspeth Sapphire is thinking of starting a monthly chat on the ecauldron mailing list's Yahoo chat room starting in the Fall. If you are interested in seeing this happen, start asking about on the mailing list. +++ +++ THICKET DELPHI CHATS +++ The Thicket hosts several chats each week in their Delphi (Java-based) chat area. You have to be a member of Delphi and The Thicket to participate. You will find the chats by pointing your browser to The Thicket's Start Page at: http://forums.delphiforums.com/thicket/start Chats are normally being held on the following days and times (all times are Central Time): * Monday at 11:30pm * Wednesday at 12:00 noon * Friday at 11:30pm Please check on The Thicket's message board for changes to this schedule. If "Central Time" doesn't mean anything to you, there's an online time converter at http://sandbox.xerox.com/stewart/tzconvert.cgi might help. I think Central Time is listed as something like "US - Central" in the drop down box. [16] ========= ========= NEWSLETTER AND FORUM INFO ========= (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. 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. 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 ++++ 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 mentioned above. If you need to change your subscription to a new email address, unsubsribe your old email address and subscribe your new email address. ++++ ++++ 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/ ++++ ++++ CONTRIBUTE TO CAULDRON AND CANDLE ++++ Cauldron and Candle is always looking for articles, reviews, and announcements of interest to the Neo-Pagan community. Submissions will normally be considered for both the newsletter and our web site. For more information, please see our submission guidelines at: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/submissions.php ++++ ++++ 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. ++++ ++++ LINK TO THE CAULDRON: A PAGAN FORUM ++++ If you like The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum please invite your friends to visit. If you have a web page, we'd really appreciate it if you put a link to The Cauldron's web site on your web pages. If you'd like some graphic buttons to use to link to our web site, check the following URL: http://www.ecauldron.com/linktous.php Thanks in advance. ++++ ++++ SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME ++++ Don't forget that your suggestions for the forum are always welcome, either posted on the message board or via email to Elspeth Sapphire (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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