The Direction West

February 4, 2013February 4, 2013 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

The Direction West

West

Wiccans observe that water is the element related to the West. West and water represent our emotions including love, lust, happiness and more. Some things that represent water are fish, seaweed, and a bowl of water. Use one of these items to stand for water in the west quarter of your cast circle.

Related to our 24 hour day, West lands at dusk. At this time, things wind down. For many, the workday is done and it’s time to rest up for tomorrow. We go home to our families and review the day’s events. This is a time of reflection and relaxation.

West’s season is Fall, the time of the harvest. Soon we can relax and reflect on our blessings of the year.

Wiccans also look upon the West as the time of old age. We enjoy the time we have left. We reflect on our actions in the past. This is a time of introspection and turning inward. We now prepare to step over the threshold into the West, through the gates of death and into the Summerlands.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

The Direction South

January 21, 2013 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

The Direction South

South

Fire represents South, which is the spark of life and the energy that gets things done. Fire is associated with the will. (The will is defined as: “The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.”)

To represent fire, place in the South corner one of these things: a lit candle, dragon figurine, or a hot chilly pepper.

South associates with noontime, the peak of the day’s hustle and bustle. Many people and animals are most active and awake at this time.

Summer represents South. It’s the growing season and hottest time of the year, when things flourish.

South represents the adult phase of the life cycle. We can take care of ourselves and take on more responsibilities. Our lives are at the peak of health and strength.

Blessed Be

Moonwater SilverClaw

Autumn Harvest

November 20, 2012 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Autumn Leaves

Merry Meet.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. The trees change into their autumn colors, readying for their long winter slumber. We take this moment to reflect on our lives, looking at what we’ve accomplished and how far we’ve come.

If last Fall someone would have told me, “You will be a blogger,” I would have laughed. Yeah right, a dyslexic blogger.

Well, I feel called to write this blog. And thank you for reading it.

Looking at this season and the blessings I have, I’ll share what I am harvesting now.

First, I appreciate my readers, without whom I’d have no reason for this blog to continue. I wish to serve my community and you’re helping me do it. Thank you.

I also wish to educate those who don’t understand what the craft is about. Some people may not yet identify themselves as pagan, but they’d like more information. I wish to be as open as I can to those who truly wish to learn.

Second, I am thankful for my editors, who guide me to improve my writing. I am now harvesting my editors’ kindness and patience. So thank you.

These are just a few of the things residing in my cornucopia this year. What’s in yours? What things are you harvesting right now?

Book Update

My book, The Hidden Children of the Goddess, is coming along nicely. The book has been “ping-ponging” between my editors and me.

The book is now in round three of the editing process. Soon my editor will return my manuscript with her notes. Then I’ll continue to refine it. This book writing road has been a lot longer than I had expected. I’m hoping the end product of my labors will be sweet for my readers.

It’s important to me to serve those beginning the path of Wicca. I am hoping that my book educates and inspires those who seek the Path.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

The Tools of Wicca: Incense

September 30, 2012 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Merry meet and welcome!

We talked about salt in the last post. Now we will talk about air.

Incense

Incense represents air when burned, and is the last of the four elements represented on our altar. We burn incense in an incense burner, which we will also talk about in this post.

There are many types of incense which we will discuss in later posts. But three main forms include raw, cones, and stick incense. You have a choice of various burners, used for burning each different type of incense. Incense has these forms:

Cones – You can use a specific type of burner specifically made for cones, or you can use a generic fireproof container. Fill it with sand or small stones. Such a fireproof container can be used with all types of incense.

Sticks – Sticks have specific burners, usually with a hole at one end. You can slide the bare end of the stick into the hole, while the coated end remains visible. Tending to be long in shape, these burners catch the ash of the incense as the stick burns.

Raw – Raw incense usually comes as a form of resin, but not always. Myrrh and Frankincense are well-known resin incense. You need charcoal to burn resin incense, and you can pick up some at your local metaphysical shop. The charcoal usually comes in a round tube shaped package. Each piece of charcoal looks like a round pad with a indent for the raw incense. Raw incense should be burned in a fireproof bowl or a cauldron. Be sure to fill the container with sand or small stones. Then place the charcoal on top of the sand and light the charcoal. Now wait until the whole charcoal piece smolders. Then carefully drop the incense on it.

Now back to air, which is a masculine element. We combine our incense with the other masculine element, fire, to create the smoke that represents air. This incense smoke is then used to charge and bless things and people. Each element on the altar proceeds to be blessed and combined with the sibling element. Add feminine salt with feminine water. Apply masculine fire to masculine incense to create smoke. The process is you cleans with salt and water, and you charge with fire and incense. Both are utilized at the beginning of our rituals, to help clear the mundane space to make way for sacred space.

Now we’ve completed our discussion of the elements that we use on our altar. But we are not done. There are still other tools to discuss. Next will be the wand.

Blessed be,

Moonwater Silverclaw

The Tools of Wicca: Salt

September 24, 2012 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Merry Meet!

We talked about fire in my last post, today we will be talking about salt.

Salt Bowl

We use salt to represent Earth on our altars. Salt is sodium crystals, and crystals represent Earth. Therefore, Wiccans see salt as feminine.

We balance our altars with salt as Earth energy. As mentioned in a previous post, we also mix salt with water to make our holy water. Salt is a natural cleanser and preserver.

Our ancestors applied salt to cure their meat and it functioned as the first preservative people employed. (And we still use it today.) Early people didn’t understand it at the time, but salt kills a lot of bacteria we come into contact with and so it prevented meat from spoiling.

So holy water purifies because it has salt in it. We sprinkle holy water to get rid of unwanted energies and entities. We mix three pinches of salt into our blessed water to make a salt-water solution. This blessed solution is then used to bless and cleanse other things and even people.

So this is how we use salt on our altar.

In the next post we will talk about air.

I wish you a blessed day.

Blessed be,

Moonwater Silverclaw

Being dyslexic sucks!

September 18, 2012September 19, 2012 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Spider

Being dyslexic sucks!

“Write a blog” the gods say; “teach online” the gods say.

Well, you just don’t argue with the gods, I say. So here I am! Dyslexia in all its glory. Did I mention how much I love my editors?!

Without my editors this blog would be: “The hidden hcipen of the Doggess.”

So if there is anything not quite “write” with my “righting,” you will have to excuse me and my rapidly balding editors! They must scream a lot at night.

Growing up this way wasn’t a simple feat. Trying to learn anything was a challenge, especially when it came to Wicca. When I started out I didn’t have a mentor. So anything I was to learn came from books, and there was no one to explain anything to me. Yeah, you see where this is going, don’t you?

It took me obviously a lot longer to learn anything in the beginning. But I look at this as my “Are you willing to suffer to learn?” moment. When I was in 8^th grade, I had a 3^rd grade reading/spelling level. This is not something I am proud of, but it was a fact of life for me then. Then there were the children laughing at me, and pointing at me. Not good for my low self-esteem, either. Everything was in books when I started on my path with the craft.

So I’ve converted my long, frustrated hours reading, into condensed, convenient posts just for you. In fact, this is why I generally write brief posts. Now the next dyslexic witch will have an easier time with learning the craft, if they can’t find a mentor.

Now you know the story. ‘Till next time.

Blessed be,

Moonwater Silverclaw