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Cauldron and Candle
Issue #95 -- December 2008

A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum
website: http://www.ecauldron.com/
message board: http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/

 

Return to Cauldron and Candle Archive

C A U L D R O N   A N D   C A N D L E #95 -- December 2008

           A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum
                website: http://www.ecauldron.net/
          message board: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/
         social network: http://tcn.ecauldron.net/
             newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.net/cnc/

              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
   * TC Online Winter Solstice Celebration: All Night Dec 20th
   * Major New Feature: TCN - The Cauldron Network
   * New Cauldron SIG Web Sites
   * The Cauldron's ELEVENTH Anniversary
[02] Interesting Recent Cauldron Discussions
   * Solstice Gifts for Children?
   * Using our Gifts/Talents?
   * MMC, GUM, and Other Myths of Neo-Paganism
   * Magic and Power/Self-Empowerment?
   * Geasa (Taboos)
   * Combining Religious Holidays -- Right or Wrong?
   * Practicing Paganism as an Atheist?
   * Sin, Punishment and Redemption in your Religion?
   * Your Gods and Where You Live
   * What If Your Religious Beliefs Are Wrong?
[03] Flamekeeping: The Oddities Of Ecstasy
[04] Articles
   * Sigils, Chaos Magick, and More
   * Public Places in CauldronMUX
[05] Support The Cauldron with Donations
[06] Support The Cauldron with Assistance
[07] Newsletter Information
(Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe)

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[00]
=========
========= EDITORIAL NOTES
=========

Welcome to the December 2008 issue of Cauldron and Candle. You
are receiving this issue because you subscribed. To learn how to
unsubscribe, see the last section of this newsletter

It's been a quiet month -- especially compared to the last few
months with server problems and server moves. However, this is a
good thing as it means The Cauldron: Apagan Forum is back to
normal. Well, as normal as we get. December 13th was our 11th
anniversary. We are ancient in Internet time -- and still going.
It was nice to have the server move finished in time for our 11th
anniversary.

The holiday season is upon us, so I will keep this editorial
short. Be sure to read the Cauldron News section below, however,
for information on our newest feature: TCN - The Cauldron
Network.

The Hosts and staff of The Cauldron: A Pegan Forum wish to wish
all of our members and readers a very happy holiday season. May
whatever winter holidays you celebrate be joyful and your 2009
better than your 2008.

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
=========

=====
===== ONLINE WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION AT THE CAULDRON:
===== ALL NIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT, DEC. 20
=====

Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere -- the longest night
of the year -- is marked in any number of pagan paths, old and
new. Many of us Cauldronites celebrate by staying up all night,
and who better to spend the night with than other Cauldronites?
(Careful how you answer that!) So for the second year in a row,
we're having a thread just for the solstice: "Up All Night: A
Technopagan Winter Solstice" 2008!

It's simple: Anytime on Saturday night, Dec. 20/the wee hours of
Sunday morning, Dec. 21... no matter where in the world you
are...whether you're staying up all night or just awake and
around at the moment... drop by the Cauldron and look for the
thread titled "Up All Night: A Technopagan Winter Solstice 2008"
in the Pagan Religions 101 folder. There you can join in the
online party: share your experience of the longest night of the
year, tell a story around our cybercampfire, listen to the
bizarre true confessions of the sleep-deprived as we struggle to
make it through the night, or just take part in the banter.

If you are in the southern hemisphere and celebrating the summer
solstice, come on by anyway. You can remind us of what we are
missing: sun and warmth.

All are welcome. It promises to be a night to remember!

UP ALL NIGHT: A TECHNOPAGAN WINTER SOLSTICE 2008
in the "Pagan Religions" 101 folder
Saturday, December 20 - Sunday, December 21
BE THERE!

=====
===== NEW FEATURE ADDED: TCN - THE CAULDRON (SOCIAL) NETWORK
=====

While it is not MySpace or Facebook, The Cauldron now has its own
"social network" for members of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum (and
their friends). TCN - The Cauldron Network is a Kickapps-powered
"social network" for members of The Cauldron. Its main feature is
unlimited storage for your photos and videos, however, it has
social network features like blogs, friends, a home page, etc. as
well.

You can take a look at TCN (and sign up if you want -- and we
hope you will) at http://tcn.ecauldron.net/. If you want to sign
up for TCN, please use your Cauldron ID for your TCN account if
at all possible. Once you get an account at TCN, please list your
TCN account name in your profile (TCN ID in Profile/Forum Profile
Information, near the bottom of the list) here on the message
board and it will automatically generate a link to your TCN
profile. This link will appear on both your message board profile
AND in your messages on the message board.

TCN is somewhat limited compared to places like MySpace and
Facebook, and we just have to live with those limits as TCN is
hosted by kickapps.com and the software is not under our control.
We can't rewrite it to make it work as you might like. However,
Kickapps.com does upgrade the software with new features from
time to time.

We hope you will use and enjoy this major new TC feature. Full
members got an early look at TCN over the last few days, and
generally like what they saw. Over 30 members have signed up
during the preview period. Many have created profile pages and
uploaded some pictures, so there is already content out there to
look at.

You'll also find a link to TCN in the Community Menu part of the
left side menu called TCN Social Network and a TCN button in the
top blue menu line of our message board.

   http://tcn.ecauldron.net/

=====
===== NEW CAULDRON SIG WEB SITES
=====

The Cauldron Cill SIG has a new web site located at:

   http://cauldroncill.ecauldron.net/

The Reformed Kemeticism SIG has a new web site located at:

   http://kemeticsig.ecauldron.net/

=====
===== THE CAULDRON'S ELEVENTH ANNIVERSARY
=====

Eleven years ago (on 13 Dec 1997) -- after three frustrating days
when only Elspeth, Ann (Empireone), and myself could post -- The
Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened its doors to the general public on
the Delphi online service. This was before it was known as
Delphiforums and back when user forums, then known as "Custom
Forums" had a presence on both the paid Delphi Online Service (in
wonderful a pure text/command line like environment) and on their
new free Web forum version. The forum was an instant success with
60 or 70 messages posted that December and hitting 1000 messages
within six months or so.

The Cauldron was started as a Yule gift from me to Elspeth -- you
had to pay Delphi for forums back then (six months in advance).
It was staffed by Elspeth, Ann, and myself with an able assist
from our friends from the dying GEnie Online Service. We started
a web site for the forum in the web space I got with my Delphi
account in January of 1998, although we did not get domain name
for a couple of years.

Our forum has done well in the years that followed, although TC
has had to move around a lot. From Delphi to a mailing list. Then
back to Delphiforums (Delphi's new name). When Delphi's poor
service and pricing got to be too much to much in early 2004, Bob
offered us server space and we moved to our own site. First with
Beehive's Delphiforums-like software (two incarnations), then
(very reluctantly) to SMF early in 2007 when it became apparent
that Beehive software just could not meet the needs of this
forum. Bob's server gave up the ghost this fall and we had to
move to our own Linode VPS. The first time in our existence that
have had to pay a monthly bill for the message board.
Fortunately, our members seem to be stepping up and donating
every month to make continuing this board possible.

It has been a very interesting 11 years. Sometimes it has been
interesting in the "may you live in interesting times" sense of
"interesting," but mostly it has been interesting in the good
sense of the word. Lyricfox and I met through TC and married over
four and a half years ago. We all made many new friends via TC.
It's also been a lot of work. Work which has been shared with our
staff members -- without them, this forum would not be here
today. This is especially true this last 12 months as the hosts
have been dealing with cancer and have not been nearly as active
on the board as we had been in the past. However, the reason The
Cauldron's message board is still here isn't the Hosts or the
staff, it's our members: the wonderful people reading this
message (and now funding the monthly server costs). Without you,
this forum would be a ghostly place haunted by memories of
discussions past.

It's been a great eleven years. In "Internet time" we are as
ancient as the dinosaurs, but we are still here, still doing our
thing, and still enjoying ourselves doing it.


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[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.

=====
===== Solstice Gifts for Children?
=====

We do gift-giving on Christmas here. It's the holiday our
families celebrate, and it's when Santa comes. This year, I'd
like to give the kids one gift to open at Yule, though. I don't
want it to just be another piece of noisy plastic junk (they'll
get plenty of that since my husband has a hand in the shopping).
I want something meaningful, but I'm not sure what. My oldest
would be old enough for a piece of jewelry, but not the younger
ones. They are only 4, 3, and 1.

Any ideas?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7712.0

=====
===== Using our Gifts/Talents?
=====

Last year I was often told by a member of my family that I was
"wasting my talents" by not going to University to do something
that they thought I had a special talent for. They also
insinuated that this talent was given to me for a reason, and
that it was a bad thing for me not to be using it.

Even though things have calmed down now, these words have played
in my mind for quite some time. It has gotten me thinking about
what I've heard people call a 'God-given talent', and whether I
believe these exist or not. Do our talents come from an external
force, or from within ourselves? Or perhaps even from both?

In addition, regardless of where these talents come from, do we
have a duty to use the talents that we have? Why/why not? Does it
depend on what kind of talent it is?

Is there more of a duty to use them if these talents are
considered to have been given to us by the Gods/a particular
Deity?

What do you think?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7713.0

=====
===== MMC, GUM, and Other Myths of Neo-Paganism
=====

There are some ideas/concepts in (generally Wiccish/Wicca-
influenced) neoPaganism that those of us of a more academic bent
shy off from discussing, because of how strongly they've become
associated with "Pagan fundies", those who insist on casting them
as literal truth. But they're useful concepts - as myth, not fact
- for many people.

Catja on myths:

    Myths are *sacred* stories -- sometimes the very telling
    itself will be sacred -- that enshrine the Big Cosmic Truths
    of a culture: where the world came from, the relationship of
    humans to the divine, the foundation of sacred institutions
    like kingship or sacrifice, what happens after we die, and so
    forth. Myths are making a COSMIC truth-claim, which,
    depending on the culture and individul believer, can range
    from "metaphorical/poetic truth" to "literal/historical
    truth"; however, a myth's PRIMARY function is to convey a
    cosmic truth, so any historical truth-claim will be
    secondary.

Two well-known and widespread examples are the Great Universal
Matriarchy often associated with Marija Gimbutas (though the form
in which it's often found in neoPaganism goes farther than she
did), and the Maiden/Mother/Crone triple goddess - I believe
others were mentioned in the thread this is spun off from, and
there are likely others that haven't been mentioned.

What myths of this kind are included in, or have influenced, your
path, and how do they function in that context?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7699.0

=====
===== Magic and Power/Self-Empowerment?
=====

How do you view the aspect of power in magic generally?

Does practicing magic give you a feeling of being powerful? If
so, what kind of power would that be?

Do you think some people are drawn to magic for some kind of
power? What do you think about this?

How do you see the relationship between power in magic and power
in everyday life (work, family, etc.)/society?

Do you think magic can be a way for people who feel powerless or
repressed in their everyday lives/society to empower themselves
in a positive way?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7546.0

=====
===== Geasa (Taboos)
=====

Spelling aside, I'm wondering if there's anyone else here at TC
who considers him/herself to be under a geis (taboo).

I've mentioned on other threads that Brighid has communicated to
me that I'm not to reach out to other deities or to engage in
magic. It didn't occur to me until yesterday, when I was mentally
flailing about trying to describe how I know I'm not supposed to
do those things (in response to a post from Aine), that these two
"orders" or whatever seem to be pretty similar to some of the
geasa described in the lore.

If there is anyone else out there in this situation, how did your
deity communicate it to you? Do you know why you were given this
geis? Were you agreeable, or did you try to argue? Have you found
it difficult to comply? What would happen if you broke the taboo?
How long did your geis last?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7533.0

=====
===== Combining Religious Holidays -- Right or Wrong?
=====

Right now I have in mind Christmas and Yule/Winter Solstice. What
do you think about combining these?

I have known people to combine these holidays before for the sake
of family. For example; one person is Christian and the other
Wiccan and they want to strike a nice balance between the two. Or
the family is one which celebrates Wiccan holidays, and yet the
children are so drawn in by the idea of Christmas (because it's
everywhere! Cheesy) that they decide to combine the two.

What is your opinion on this? Is it right/wrong?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7518.0

=====
===== Practicing Paganism as an Atheist?
=====

So I'm in a transitional period right now and I've been
reconsidering my 'spirituality'. I have been for several years an
Atheist and that is unlikely to change. This has left me somewhat
empty however. Christianity, through prayer, offered a means of
self awareness and reflection which has been lacking. I've
therefore been considering taking up the ritualistic and ethical
aspects of Hellenismos.

Ritual offers a vehicle for trance (a heightened state of focus)
and the Greek Gods represent fundamental archetypes (I don't mean
any disrespect to those who worship them as Gods) which combine
to form a complete human being. The last while I've been acting
out the motions of prayers to them and my psychological state has
improved because of it. Its given me a chance to reflect on
aspects of my life as if I were speaking to something that
represents perfection in that area. So before playing guitar I
'pray' to Apollo beforehand, prior to study I 'pray' to Athena
and so forth; as well as at the end and beginning of the day.

This is also giving me the chance to study and practice part of
what made Greece such an innovative and important society. Their
virtue, love of life and introspective spirit are something that
I would love to evolve towards. I feel like I'm connecting to
people who were in many ways superior to ourselves and in so
doing maybe getting closer to the virtues they possessed.

Are there other Atheists who have found themselves drawn to Pagan
practice for similar reasons?

Have any previously non-religious members find they developed
belief because of the practice?

If you are reading this as a Pagan, or specifically a follower of
the Hellenistic tradition, how do you feel about an Atheist
adopting some of your practice?

Also, does this represent a fundamental character flaw on my
part? Wouldn't someone who knows himself have no need for this?
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=7439.0

=====
===== Sin, Punishment and Redemption in your Religion?
=====

Is there any kind of sin, punishment and redemption in your
religion or beliefs?

* Do you believe people can sin or violate the sacred? What would
you call a sin or violation of the sacred?

* Do you believe in punishment by your God/s, Goddess/es,
spirits, entities or powers for wrong doings?

* How are those punishments enacted in your opinion? Do they
affect your present life or after life?

* Can the wrongdoer be redeemed? If, when does the punishment
end?

* Is there any way to avoid punishment in the first place?
Any thoughts?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7415.0

=====
===== Your Gods and Where You Live
=====

I know that there has been a thread at some point discussing
whether or not deities are tied to place, but I want to ask a
more direct question:

If you moved across the country, to a different country, or even
to a completely different continent, do you think you would still
strongly feel the presence of your God(s)/Goddess(es)?

Why/ why not?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7367.0

=====
===== What If Your Religious Beliefs Are Wrong?
=====

It's one of those questions that always gets asked by people
trying to convert - what if you're wrong.

This isn't an attempt to convert, just a thought-game. Take a
good long look at your religious beliefs - and ask.

What if you're wrong? What would change? What wouldn't change?
Can you accept the doubt, or is doubt the enemy?

* Read (or join in) this discussion:
  http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7333.0


[03]
=========
========= FLAMEKEEPING
========= THE ODDITIES OF ECSTASY
========= 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/

=====
===== The Oddities Of Ecstasy
=====

Ecstasy is something totally outside daily experience. It
transcends us, throwing ourselves into a world of beauty and
wonder and terror. Ecstasy breaks all boundaries, destroys
preconceptions, reshapes the world in a frightening instinct. It
is that moment when things become clear that weren't, that the
world around you changes into itself, that everything you've ever
believed is charged with new significance or destroyed as
meaningless.

Ecstasy defies easy description. It is that moment when your soul
reverberates with the Universe, and no words can describe that.
But we try, oh, we try. We build religions and boxes of words to
shove transcendant ecstasy into, and try to contain that ecstasy
into safe parts of our lives. We want it in the box where we can
pull it out when we want to bask in it again, and shove it back
away when it's not convenient. But we can't. Ecstasy transforms
all or doesn't come to us. It exists in a place out of words, out
of easy understanding.

I cannot say what ecstasy means. The words we have don't describe
it. It must be experienced, and each person's experience will be
different. Or perhaps they're all the same, but we perceive it
differently. We can open our lives for it and never find it, or
we can run ourselves to the ground and have it appear out of
nowhere. It is a gift and sometimes a curse that blows us away.

Ecstasy needs to be welcomed into our lives. It makes us more
ourselves, more powerfully changed by the world around us and
more powerful to change the world. We need to make space for
ecstasy, even while admitting that ecstasy cannot be shoehorned
into specific space, forced into time that's convenient for us.
We have to allow our lives to change, to look at more than day-
to-day concerns.

There are ways to welcome ecstasy into our lives. We have to give
ourselves time for ecstasy, time that allows for our world to
change in ways we can't predict and control. We have to allow for
change and chaos, to accept the change that will happen to our
lives and still seek it knowing we won't know what will happen
until it's too late. We have to let go and accept that the
Universe is bigger than we are, and just allow what will happen
to happen. We cannot control. The best we can hope for is that
the transformation is something we accept instead of resisting.

=====
===== Questions:
=====

  * Do you allow room for ecstasy in your life? Do you try to
    keep it boxed?

  * Could you accept transformation if it happened to you? Do you
    want it?

  * If ecstasy came to you, what parts of your life would have to
    change? What box of words would it open?n?


[04]
=========
========= ARTICLES
=========

=======
======= SIGILS, CHAOS MAGICK, AND MORE
======= by M Deskins
=======

The concept of sigils and sigil creation is new to many people
these days, but chaos magicians and discordians have been working
with them for many years. The dictionary defines a sigil as:

1. A seal; a signet.
2. A sign or an image considered magical.

So how can one create a "magical" sign or an image? And how is it
that the sign or image will be "magical"? Basically, you must
create a strange symbol that will be recognized only by your
subconscious mind. It must be enough to bypass your conscious
notice. It is believed by many that our subconscious mind is the
realm where "magic" happens. It is our subconscious mind where
change takes place both within us as well as the outside world
(so some believe).

    "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to
     occur in conformity with Will." - Aleister Crowley.

And with sigils, we can perhaps make changes in our lives and
ourselves.

Here is a step by step guide to making sigils:

1. Write out your intention. Make it a positive one. Do not use
any negative words. The subconscious mind will only understand
positive intentions. For instance: I WILL SEE SOMEONE WEARING
PURPLE SHOES. Do not use words like "want" or "desire" either.
Those words are merely "wishes". You want your subconscious to
WILL something into being.

2. Cross out every repeating letter. "P" can be found in "R", so
you can cross out "P". "N" can be found in "W", so you can cross
out "N". "M" and "W" are pretty much the same letter so you can
cross one of them out. "L" can be found in "H". You are then left
with "WSEOAGRUH". One intention that many people will use is "I
WILL OBTAIN EXTRA MONEY". "WOBTAEXRY" The "Y" of course could be
in "X", depending on your writing style.

3. Get creative. Draw a symbol or picture using every single
letter. Try hiding the "WSEOAGRUH" within the picture. You can
make the picture USING the letters. You can turn them any which
way you want. You can color or paint them if you wish. It will be
YOUR OWN personal image, so you can get creative with it in any
way you like. If you'd prefer not to spend that much time on it,
that's fine too. You can just scribble a random looking symbol if
you want. The only thing that matters is that you make it
yourself and add all of the letters to it.

4. Fire it off. Now is the time to "fire the sigil off" or
"charge it". By doing this, you make sure it leaves an imprint on
your subconscious mind. In order to fire it off, you must look
upon the sigil while in a trance like, gnostic state. This can be
a tricky part because many people are uncertain as to how to go
about being in a state of gnosis.

It's not really something I can describe. You must feel it. Here
are a few tips though that will hopefully give you an idea:

  * Deep Meditation - Surround the sigil with candles and stare
    at it along with the flames while meditating.

  * Sex - A state of gnosis can be reached through orgasm. Have
    the sigil hanging up on the wall.

  * Dancing - Some people can reach a trance state through
    dancing. Have the sigil hanging up on the wall.

  * Pain - Yes, some people go as far as burning or cutting
    themselves when trying to charge off a sigil. I wouldn't
    recommend anyone to try it though. Please don't.

  * Exhaustion - Try staring at the sigil while running on the
    treadmill or something similar.

  * Yoga - Similar to meditation. Try staring at the sigil while
    practicing yoga.

  * Drifting off to sleep - Hang it to where you can see it as
    you drift off to sleep. Those few seconds in between the
    waking world and dream world might be enough to fire the
    sigil off.

5. After you feel that you've successfully charged the sigil,
it's time to tear it up and forget about it.

Yup. It's best not to consciously worry or think about it. It is
officially imprinted on your subconscious mind now, don't let
your conscious mind interfere. If you've done all the steps
right, then you should be seeing someone wearing purple shoes
soon and receiving some extra money. Results seem to happen in
3's: 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months. Results usually come when
you're least expecting them too; thus the importance of
"forgetting" about the sigils.

If you find that you have a hard time at forgetting about them,
then you could try making many of them all at once, but setting
them all aside for awhile before charging them off. Since you
won't have them labeled, you won't remember which is which and
you'll have an easier time remembering what all they're for
exactly. Your subconscious will remember which is which though.
In the end, that's what matters the most.

==== About the Author

Self Help Magic is a resource site for those interested in self
improvement, law of attraction, magick, REIKI, spells, psychic
readings, metaphysical, paranormal, and more.
http://www.self-help-magic.com/


=======
======= PUBLIC PLACES IN CAULDRONMUX
======= by Star
=======

  [Last month we had an article introducing CauldronMUX. This
  month we follow up with a list of interesting public places in
  Cauldron, taken from the CauldronMUX FAQ online at:

     http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=7608.0 ]

Here are some of the public places in the MUX, and a short
description of each one.

=====
===== Wandering the Grey Mists
=====

This is the very first place a guest or new person comes when he
or she connects.  Back when we were on Delphi Forums, an irate
person calling herself Lady Kismea cursed us all to "wonder the
grey mists", and it only seemed appropriate to incorporate that
into our virtual environment!  There isn't much to this room;
it's more a greeting room than anything.  Staff members will
often leave puppets here when they're online so that they can
welcome people to the MUX and offer assistance if it is needed.
Staff puppets you may encounter include FluffBun (Heartshadow),
Puppy (Phoibos), Kitten (Chabas), Starlight (Star), Happy Fun
Ball (Koi), and Bob's puppet (Bob).  There is only one exit--to
leave the Mists and go to Central Park, type [o].  You can
teleport into the Grey Mists using #0.

=====
===== Central Park
=====

Central Park is the main hub from which most of the major areas
of the MUX are accessible.  It's pretty much what it sounds
like--a well-maintained park, complete with picnic areas and
playground equipment.  From here, you can go to any of the three
living areas, visit one of Cauldron MUX's two fine drinking
establishments (including the Cauldron Lounge, where chats are
often held), or visit the Ampitheater or Learning Library.  You
can teleport to Central Park using #137.

=====
===== Duck Pond
=====

The Duck Pond is a place for Cauldron MUX residents to relax.
There are ducks here to be fed and picnic tables for those who
want to eat beside the pond's calm waters.  From here you can
wander over to sit by the Fountain, explore the Forest, view the
Statuary, step into the Walled Courtyard of Darkhawk's Egyptian
temple, or return to Central Park.

=====
===== Cauldron Lounge
=====

The Cauldron Lounge is a room where Cauldron MUX residents often
gather to chat.  It looks sort of like a sports bar, but with
different sports than you would normally find in such a place.
You will find several private tables here, where you can sit with
friends and talk amongst yourselves while also participating in
the general conversation of the room.  There are also several fun
items to play with.  Take for example the Moon Machine, which
will tell you the current phase of the moon if you enter the
command [+moon].  Or the Tarot Deck, which you can shuffle and
use for readings.  Or the Endless Ice Cream, which not only
dishes up any flavor you can imagine, but also entices the other
occupants of the room to try some themselves.  If you need help
using any of the items, just [look] at them, or ask the other
people in the room.  The only exit from the Lounge is [out], back
to Central Park, and you can teleport to the Lounge using #23.

=====
===== Wunder-Bar
=====

The Wunder-Bar is Cauldron MUX's second social establishment.
The theme here tends more toward the Norse, as might be guessed
from its name.  Although there aren't as many "toys" here as
there are in the Lounge, there are still some interesting things
to interact with.  There is a jukebox and a chessboard here, and
you will also find Molly the Wandering Wench.  Molly will happily
serve you food or drink, or sell you various items from her cart.
You should [look] at her for further instructions.  The only exit
from the Bar is [out], back to Central Park, and you can teleport
to the Bar using #129.

=====
===== Ampitheater
=====

The Ampitheater was designed for performances, speeches,
lectures, and other such events.  Unlike most real-life
ampitheaters, its seating is quite comfortable.  You can [look
program] to see if any upcoming events are scheduled to be held
here.  The only exit is back to Central Park.

=====
===== Learning Library
=====

The virtual home of The Cauldron would certainly not be complete
without a library!  This one's function within the MUX is to
provide newcomers to the MUX with valuable information about
using the system.  This should be your first stop if you aren't
familiar with how the MUX works.  Enter [learn] to get started on
a tutorial.  If you want to get straight to the commands, enter
[command].  Or if you want to learn about the comm system, enter
[channels].  The only exit from the Library is [out], back to
Central Park.

=====
===== Elysian Fields
=====

Elysian Fields was the first residential area to be built, and
thus far remains the most popular.  Scattered around the Fields,
you can currently find the residences of Seichi, Bella, Samantha,
Stuck, Hellfury, Mariora, Ocelot, Tara, Wyvernfriend, Novitiate,
Mellee, Heartshadow, Star, and Phoibos.  (You can also go back to
Central Park from here.)  If you would like your own home in the
Fields, contact Phoibos and ask him to set you up. You can
teleport to the Fields using #53.

=====
===== Asgard Apartments for Wayward Heathens
=====

Asgard Apartments was the second residential area built in
Cauldron MUX.  It is designed to appeal to the Norse-inclined
among Cauldronites, featuring a Thor's Hammer motif on the walls.
Asgard Apartments also has many lovely amenities such as a pool,
a garden, a fitness center and a clubhouse.  At the moment, you
can find the homes of CrystalWindDream, Ann, Bob, and Asahel
(sometimes known as Mike) here, or of course you can return to
Central Park.  If you would like your own apartment in this
complex, contact Bob.

=====
===== Ivory Tower
=====

The Ivory Tower is the most recent place in which Cauldron MUXers
may set up residence, and is popular with the academically snobby
among Cauldronites.  It is not, however, solely a residential
area.  In the lobby you will find some interesting objects such
as a random-insult-generating Shakespeare.  Going up the Spiral
Staircase will lead you to the dwellings of Teej, Enye, Chabas,
Desree, and (continuing all the way to the top) Koi.  If you go
out back to the Arcade, you will find staff offices for Koi,
Shadow, and Bob, as well as a gazebo for holding debates in.  You
can also visit the Mental Health Clinic to tell Eliza how you
feel or use the mental floss to get a particularly disturbing
image out of your head! Finally, you can return to Central Park.
If you would like a condo on the second floor of the Tower, or an
office in the Arcade, contact Koi.

=====
===== 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.

When you connect to CauldronMUX, you will see a login screen.
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


[05]
=========
========= Cauldron Info
========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON'S SERVER WITH DONATIONS
=========

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[06]
=========
========= 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
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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
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Cauldron is to actively participate in our message board. The
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http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/

=====
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=====

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Non-Wiccan material is stressed not because we don't want Wiccan
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=====
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=====

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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

=====
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=====

The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is purposely a low graphics site as
we value page download speed over flashy graphics. However, we
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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
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=====
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=====

If you have a web site where linking to The Cauldron: A Pagan
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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

=====
===== 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
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your browser with the above link so that TC gets credit every
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To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find Amazon in your
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popup menu which will appear. A dialog box describing your
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probably http://www.amazon.com/ -- in an edit box (labeled
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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
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=====
===== NEWSLETTER WEB SITE AND BACK ISSUE ARCHIVE
=====

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  http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/

=====
===== PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO SUBSCRIBE
=====

If you have Pagan friends who you believe would be interested in
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You are also welcome to forward a copies of this newsletter to
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=====
===== 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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