How A Wiccan Can Get Healthier

May 29, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Out of breath after walking up some stairs, I thought: “I got to do better than this.” I had succumbed to gaining serious extra weight.

Then, I noted an app on my new Smartphone—a pedometer. A number of doctors/researchers emphasize that walking 10,000 steps a day is valuable.

So I started walking at least 10,000 steps a day. At first, I was okay. And I even limited my intake of fat-adding foods.

The result? Weight loss.

But now I’m enduring more pain in my legs. And it feels tougher and tougher to get out there and keep up my walking regimen.

When you’re enduring pain, it can feel like you’re all alone.

But wait, I’m Wiccan. I can call upon the Gods for help.

A Simple Rite so You Can Ask the Gods for help.

What you will need: 1 red candle.

Cast circle in the usual way.

Cleanse and consecrate candle (cense and asperge candle).

Light the candle and say:

Lord and Lady give me strength to step into the light that is for me. The light of health and strength. Help me keep my stride on this path of light to the best that I can be. And if I falter, lend me Your hands so that I may rise again and continue on my path. Give me the strength to endure and succeed over the challenges of temptation, as I choose to let go of bad habits and improve my health.

So mote it be!

Then do your Cakes and Wine ceremony.

Close circle in the usual way.

May this ritual be useful for all of us who seek to improve our health.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Simple Wiccan Dedication Ritual

November 28, 2014November 28, 2014 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

I have had many requests for help in writing dedication rituals. So here is a simple dedication ritual that you can do if you have made the choice that Wicca is right for you.

Dedication Rite

Preparation

Turn your phone off and make sure you will not be disturbed. Clean the area to do ritual: Dust, vacuum, and anything else you need to do before you begin. Next take a ritual bath (For instructions click here.) Find a comfortable place and sit quietly, meditating on what you are about to do. You are about to dedicate yourself to the path of the Gods. Be honest. Is this really what you want to do? Don’t take the promises lightly. You will also need to pick out a new name to go by. This is fun and can be anything you choose.

What you will need:

1) Cakes/Bread: It is acceptable to use bread, cupcakes, cookies, or even a power bar. It should contain carbohydrates to nourish the body and replenish the energy you use during the ritual.

2) Censer & Incense: In this case, the incense burner holds cone incense. However, it is acceptable to burn any kind of incense you choose. Remember that incense, when burned, represents Air on your altar.

3) Taper: The taper is for lighting candles. You begin by using a lighter to ignite the wick of the working candle. Then, you bring the taper to the working candle and ignite the wick of the taper. Now with the lit taper you ignite the other candles on your altar.

4) Lighter: The lighter is used to light the working candle. Any type of lighter may be used.

5) Bell/Chime: A bell or chime is needed for different purposes during a ritual.

6) Pentacle: The pentacle is used to help focus your attention on your goal.

7) Athame: The athame knife is used to direct power and can cast circles.

8) Bowl with Water: Water is one of the five elements. It is used together with salt to make consecrated water.

9) Dish with Salt: Salt represents the Earth. It is placed into water to make consecrated water.

10) Chalice with Wine: As you remember, the cup is a female symbol. In a ritual, the cup holds the wine or juice that is to be blessed. (It is acceptable to use juice instead of wine if you do not drink alcohol.)

11) Offering Dishes: These dishes are used to “offer up,” as an offering, part of your blessed food from your “cakes and wine” ceremony. We will discuss that later. You can also offer up flowers, which pay tribute to nature and the Goddess.

12) Goddess Candle & God Candle: These are the candles that represent the God and Goddess.

13) Working Candle: The working candle is positioned between the God and Goddess candle. Use this candle to light the other candles during a ritual. The working candle represents the element Fire on your altar.

For the altar setup click here.

1) Cast Circle (For script click here)

2) Dedication Rite

Say the following:

O Triumphant and Great Lord,

O Beautiful and Gracious Lady,

My intention to You, my Lord and Lady, is to dedicate myself onto the sacred path which you have opened before me. I accept this path as my own, and willingly of my own accord tread upon it. I know it will not be easy, but I promise I will be steadfast. And if I should fall, I shall rise again, all in Your honor. I will help those who tread upon the path, with me, beside me and behind me. And I will help them freely and willingly with love in my heart, for I know that they are a part of You as I am a part of You.

(Raise goblet or cup)

As I kneel before you naked in this truth. I [Your New Name] toast to you O Honorable Lord and Gracious Lady.

To new beginnings, new friendships and new growth.

Magick in the starlight
Magick in the moonlight
Magick is now my right.

So Mote it Be.

3) Cakes and Wine (For instructions click here)

4) Close Circle (For instructions click here)

I hope this dedication rite will help you upon your journey.

Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Talking to Claudia

November 15, 2014November 15, 2014 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Opening up to New Ideas

“I don’t want to make a mistake. I’m new to spellwork,” Claudia said.

Shifting the phone to my other ear, I thought, “I can empathize with this because I went through it, too.”

Years ago, when I first began with Wicca, I was really concerned about doing Wicca correctly from the start. It was very important for me to honor the God and Goddess appropriately.

Claudia asked, “How do I do dedication ceremony? It seems like there are a lot of ways to do it, depending on what kind of Traditions [Trads] are out there.”

“It’s true that there are many different types of dedication ceremonies,” I began. “Many have valuable parts and there’s no one and only way to do a dedication ceremony.”

Wicca includes various rituals that a practitioner may do. Rituals can be incredibly complex to quite simple depending on your tastes. Do you like complex and complicated or do you prefer the more simple types of rituals? The best thing that I can say is whatever you do, do it from your heart. That is what pleases the Gods.

I continued by sharing my own journey and how I chose one of the oldest Trads for learning the basics.

Consider Which Witch is Which to get an overview of the different Trads out there.

Claudia then asked about casting of a circle and why people enter from the East and leave from the West. I answered, “We start in the East, in the direction of the sunrise. Then you walk around deosil (clockwise or sun-wise) untill you end up back in the East. West is the direction of Death so you exit that way. When you make a circle starting in the East, it comes around to the East again, making a ‘door.’”

Think of the cycle of life and death. We are born just like the sun each day. And then the wheel turns untill we end up at death, when the sun goes down or “dies.”

Then Claudia asked about which colors are appropriate to use for your circle. You can use white. Or you can use colors that correspond to the four directions:

North – green or brown
South – red
East – yellow
West – blue

For more information about rituals, consider my blog article “Why do Wiccans Do Ritual?”

If you want even more information, I have lots of good info for beginners in my book The Hidden Children of the Goddess.

“How do I find a good mentor?” Claudia asked and I shared with her information found in my blog post: Finding the Right Wiccan Mentor for You.

Another way to find a mentor is attending PantheaCon, a Pagan conference that takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area each February. Many different practitioners of Paganism (including Wicca) attend. You can then check out and ask about the different Trads, and learn from the practitioners themselves. You can check out the website of PantheaCon It would be fun to talk with you if we meet there. I often attend.

You can also find local mentors through Covenant of the Goddess.

I hope you find the above resources to be useful.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Using Ritual to Mark Our Moments

November 1, 2014November 1, 2014 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Hands Focusing Energy

Some time ago, I had just finished my first book.

“We should celebrate!” my sweetie said, honoring that I had endured a huge rite of passage to become a published author.

Many Wiccans are familiar with a wiccaning, which is a ritual of showing a baby to the Gods. Another rite of passage is croning, the transition a woman makes into her elder-years.

However, how many of us consider the other major transitions or accomplishments of our lives?

Many of us go through life and skip devising a ritual to honor a major transition of life. We either feel too tired or lack the understanding of how important our recent accomplishment is to our journey.

So how do we recognize and mark an accomplishment?

Composing and doing a ritual is helpful.

It may be as complicated as the labyrinth that held the Minotaur or as simple as lighting a candle.

The elements of a good ritual are:

Use the five senses

The most important thing is to make the ritual meaningful to you. A good ritual includes stimulating the five senses.

Some methods to use for your ritual:

Smell: Use your favorite smell like baked cookies, incense, clean sheets, or flowers.

Sight: Use your favorite color or images. Maybe you like kittens, puppies or horses.

Sound: Use a favored piece of music. Perhaps you like pan flute music or classical music.

Touch: Use special robes, including feathers. Sit on a special pillow.

Taste: Enjoy your favorite food and drink for your Cakes and Wine Ceremony (near the end of your ritual).

It’s vital to make your ritual personal. Don’t just use a generic rite noted in a book. Use your imagination! Remember a ritual is like a sandwich. We’ll use the metaphor and note these details: the top slice, the meat and the bottom slice of bread.

1) The top slice: Make sure there is a definite beginning.

Mark the beginning with a good memorable action—the ring of a bell or chime. Announce why you’re holding the ritual. It’s important for everyone to be clear on why they’re doing ritual, even if you’re the only one participating.

2) Provide the meat, that is, a middle.

Here is where you place the acknowledgement of your accomplishment into your ritual. This can be as simple as reading a poem or chanting. You could beat a drum or dance or do both.

3) The bottom slice. Have a definite end.

You can use the bell or chime to signal the end of your ritual. Do the Cakes and Wine Ceremony to help you ground yourself.

If you are doing your ritual with friends, you might say, “Please share any words of congratulations if you feel moved to do so at this time.”

* * *

We go through different chapters in our life. It’s not just the “big moments” like graduation or getting married. You actually rise up different levels in your life.

Be sure to recognize and celebrate your achievements with rituals.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace