These are some really great interviews of Don Frew from my good friend Lailoken Scathach. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw
P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.
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
And
“How do Wiccans protect themselves?” Kristen asked.
“That’s a big topic. What do you want to protect yourself from?” I asked.
“I recently graduated, and I’m temporarily living with my parents. They have a couple of friends who are negative. I want to keep my own room protected from their negative energy.
In today’s post, I’ll share how to protect yourself by using salt.
[In the next few posts, I will share a number of ways to protect yourself. From House Blessings to guarding yourself from energy vampires, I’ve got you covered.]
We’ll begin with one of the main techniques: using holy water. The Priest or Priestess takes sea salt and spring water and mixes them together. Then, the person blesses the mixture. A number of Wiccans say this: “I cast out all negative energies from this water, and I bless this pure water in the names of [pick which Deities].”
Then this mixture is used to cleanse spaces, objects and people.
Why do we use salt? Our ancestors noticed that adding salt to meat made it last much longer than if it was left alone. Although they didn’t know it, the salt killed bacteria and germs so meat was kept edible.
But salt isn’t just for a physical cleansing. Salt provides for a spiritual cleansing, too.
Bad energies and negative spirits don’t like salt. So we use salt to cleanse the Circle we cast. We get rid of the nasties that may be lingering around. Think of salt as spiritual soap!
In the next post, we will talk about how Wiccans use the Circle for protection.
Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw
P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.
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
And
Imagine a moment of wonder. I’ll now introduce my friend, Reverend Patrick McCollum, a Wiccan Priest, an internationally recognized spiritual leader, and the 2010 recipient of the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism.
Below, Rev. Patrick shares with us his current experiences. Imagine a moment when you know your life is on the line and you know that you’re really feeling alive . . .
Reverend Patrick wrote:
“Life is full of amazing experiences. But it is what we make of those moments rather than just the experiences themselves that really count.
I am having one of those special moments myself. I thought I would share it with you—and how it is playing out for me.
The water for my home comes from a tiny mountain spring in a small canyon on my property. I live in the woods in Northern California, and the canyon is heavily wooded with a small trail that leads to the spring. In order to keep my water tank full, I have to periodically walk up there to start my pump.
There is also a tiny rivulet of water that trickles out of the spring.
Starting several weeks ago as I was working my way up to start the pump, I felt a presence sometimes when I would walk to the spring. It was as though something was watching me. I didn’t know what it was, but my senses told me it was important to be aware.
I have long tried to live a life that is in harmony with nature, and in doing so I have come to recognize the beauty of it—and I tried my best not to fear it.
In any case, it turns out that a mountain lion is currently gracing this lovely trail near my spring. The lion has been present several times in the last two weeks.
At first, I moved with great concern every time I had to go to the pump. Many thoughts ran through my mind as to what to do about the lion. It is clear to me that this big cat could easily kill me if it chose to do so. It is incredibly fast and tremendously strong. But then as I went to start my pump a couple of days ago, I realized that the cat and I were there for the same purpose … To get the water, which we both need to live.
Now that California is in a long drought, it is likely that the lion’s regular water sources have dried up. And it has no choice but to come to my spring.
And so, I made the decision to set aside my fears and to choose instead to see the lion as a kindred spirit, from a different tribe sharing a joint experience with me.
In my work, I teach across the world that all of creation is sacred and that we must first see the sacred in the other before we judge our neighbors. It is my fundamental touchstone toward achieving peace in the world. If I cannot learn to see the sacredness of the lion before I move to the place of fearing it, I would be all talk and all of my work would be disingenuous. And so I made the conscious choice to walk my talk.
Now when I go to the spring, I approach by softly calling out to the lion and letting him know that we are both in this venture together. I share with him that I am not there to harm him and that I see the sacredness in him—and that I am hopeful that my small spring is meeting his needs.
One can never know another’s thoughts. But we can observe another’s actions to determine where they stand.
So far, the lion gives me space to get the water I need, and I give him the same. There is a sense of wonder in all of this. If nothing else, the perception of danger between us has been tangibly reduced.
It is not that the lion isn’t dangerous. He can be very dangerous if he chooses to be so. But then so can I, and I often forget that!
It is clear to me that the lion is likely accessing his relationship to me in exactly the same way that I am accessing my relationship to him. And in recognizing our similarities, our differences are becoming more distant for each of us.
It is my hope that the lion and I demonstrate the possibilities for peace and understanding between different peoples and cultures.
It isn’t that everything is perfect, and I am not expecting the lion to eventually come down and sing Kumbaya with me. But it is possible that, through seeing the sacred in the other and recognizing our commonalities, we can generate respect for one another and share common ground—no matter how truly different we are from one another!
My Prayer:
Let us see beauty in one another as we come together. And let us find ways to set fear aside to make room for hope and understanding.
Blessings to all,
Rev. Patrick McCollum of http://www.patrickmccollum.org/
It’s easy for many of us to say, “Well, that may work for him, but I’m not having peak moments in my life.”
Still, doing ritual or a meditation can bring us in connection with the Goddess.
Take a step forward.
Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw
P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter and get your free copy of the e-report “5 Big Mistakes New Practioners Make–And How to Empower Your Spells” click here.
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
And
Merry Meet,
Imagine receiving even more guidance to improve your Wiccan practice.
When you sign up for my new e-newsletter, you’ll benefit when I share more rituals, tips, and ways to customize your rituals . . . and even more.
Sign up now through the June 23rd and get a free gift of an e-report: 5 Big Mistakes New Practitioners Make—and How to Empower Your Spells, which you’ll receive on June 24th!
To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.
Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw
To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.
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
And
Nina bit her lip. I could tell she was angry.
“Edna’s not wise; she’s just older!” Nina said.
It can work the other way. Have you ever met a young person with an old soul?
What about someone with a title? Does that make a big difference?
This is on my mind because I was talking with a friend who asked about my accomplishing the third degree as a Gardnerian priestess. Yes, I’ve studied for years with fine mentors. I’ve put in many hours and much effort into earning the third degree designation.
It’s a strange thing about human beings. We expect certain things. Some of us expect that people would put effort into becoming wiser as they aged. Still, we’ve seen people who just seem to stop in their maturity level.
We expect, or at least hope, that someone with an advanced degree would show superior knowledge.
My mentors whom I’ve admired have demonstrated two traits: kindness and humility.
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” – Albert Einstein
Wicca, to me, is a life-long journey in which I learn new things every week.
Recently, I wrote about the 4 elements of the Witches Pyramid—which also includes Spirit.
The great thing about meditating in the Wiccan way is that often we are given insights from the Gods and Goddesses.
In essence, the more often you meditate, the more opportunities you have to receive guidance from the Gods and Goddesses.
One of my favorite insights given to me is I am loved. This gave me higher self-esteem, and this gave me an understanding that I was not a horrible person which was a faulty idea that depression had slammed upon me.
I invite you to keep meditating or to start a meditation practice. Open the door to a better understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Blessings,
Moonwater SilverClaw
P.S. I will be away camping to connect with my Gods and will be returning Monday the 18th of May. Thank you to all my readers.
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
And
“Why is Spirit included with the Elements that make up the Witches Pyramid?” Juliet asked.
“Spirit refers to your higher self and the Gods and Goddesses,” I began. “The elements are the base of the Witches Pyramid. You need the elements plus Spirit to create life and to work magick.”
The preferable order of the Elements is Earth, Water, Air and Fire. They incrementally increase in energy.
We begin with Earth since it is the grounding Element. As you work up with the higher and higher energy levels till you reach Fire, you use Earth to ground them all.
After working with Earth, Water, Air and Fire, it’s natural to move to Spirit. When working with Spirit, we connect with our inner selves and the Gods. During meditation, you can receive messages and insights. We Wiccans strive to connect with Deity through nature, rituals and meditation sessions.
Wiccans work with Spirit in many ways that even connect with astral projection, psychometry (touching objects to sense them), and clairvoyance/clairaudience.
An Example of Connecting With the Gods
We know that life can be really tough to endure. Some time ago, I shared a particular chant (on this blog) to help you connect with the Gods and receive support.
Here is the chant you can recite to yourself when you’re hurting:
By the Sun and by the Moon,
Let the Gods’ light be my boon.
Shining deep and shining far,
May I be healed by every star.
I saw it then, I see it now,
Darkness be gone right here, right now!
You can use this short chant whenever you are feeling low. For example you can use this chant during meditation, lighting a candle or as a prelude to a meditation.
In discussing the Spirit aspect of the Witches Pyramid, we have completed our multi-post conversation of the components of the Witches Pyramid: Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit.
We Wiccans can deepen our practice by repeatedly focusing on meditations related to the Elements and Spirit.
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
And
Karina turned to me and said, “But I’ve never done this before. It’s a lot of money. I mean, I could spend all this money recording my songs and no one buys them.”
“What does your heart say?” I replied. Sometimes, and it depends on the individual, the heart says, “It’s time to Dare.”
In the previous post we talked about Fire. Now, we’ll discuss the element Water, which is West on the Witches Pyramid.
Water represents to Dare.
In this series of posts, we started with Air, which gave us the idea. Then we proceeded to Fire which was to Will and to desire the change, and get it moving into reality. Now we focus on Water because we need to Dare to accomplish the change.
Wanting to change isn’t enough, we need more energy associated to the process. We need to Dare to do it!
Many of us are too afraid of change. We hide from it and even run from it. Still, we notice:
“There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus
Change can be a very emotional subject. Being afraid of change is natural and so we need Water, to Dare ourselves to do it.
Change promotes growth. We grow not only spiritually, but also with our relationships and our mental and physical health.
A Ritual to Celebrate Water and to Move Beyond Fear
Consider something in your own life that you know you need to change but are afraid to.
Draw a pleasant, hot bath. Make a sachet of lavender. Lavender is used for purification, and lavender helps us calm those fears of change.
When your bath of lavender is ready, step in and relax. Breathe in and out slowly.
Once you have relaxed, think of the change you want and the fear holding you back from it. Concentrate on these fears you have.
Now envision the fear being absorbed by the water all while you continue breathing deeply—in and out.
When you feel you have successfully transferred all the fear into the liquid, get out and drain the water away. Dry off and make sure you do not use the towel again until you have laundered it.
Use this ritual focusing on Water and to Dare to move forward in your life.
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
And
Two things recently shook me up. First, a friend told me about how a work group came to her house and then her camera was missing. This work group was made of pagans who participate in community events. What?!
Wicca, for example, is about respect for nature, respect for ourselves and respect for others. What happened here that some pagan stole a camera?
Second, two elders in our community told me about how they are being marginalized. “Younger Wiccans are not honoring elders. They don’t listen,” said one of the elders.
The above two incidents inspire the question: Is our Wiccan and Pagan community letting an important part of our identity fade away?
The part of our identity I’m talking about is being respectful. Respect is defined as “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”
Elders and people’s rights to their property need to be respected.
But there is something impinging on our Wiccan and Pagan community: For many of us, we’re an island surrounded on all sides by the Western culture’s self-centered ego, the “me, me, me” effect.
Have you noticed that if we get caught up in our thirst for instant gratification we lose touch with the roots of Wicca?
We’re used to getting everything instantly. Through the internet, we have instant music, news, and contact with others. There is a casualty in all of this: patience.
And that’s where the lack of respect for elders comes in. Elders move and think at a different pace from those of us typing away at our electronic devices.
More than that, many of us think that elders are too behind the times to offer anything of value. What could elders teach us? Certainly, they can inform us of things to be careful about when doing ritual. Further, if they have had long-term friendships or a long-term romantic partnership, they know something valuable!
So how do we return to our Wiccan roots and enhance being respectful to others?
For many of us, we need to practice being respectful to the one person with us all the time—ourself. Show some patience and compassion toward yourself.
Then allow that patience and compassion radiate out from you.
If you’re going to be near an elder, pre-plan a couple of questions you might ask him or her.
Such questions might be:
Elders have gone through life stages that many of us have not experienced yet. Sure, the details change. They may have used rotary dial phones, and we now have smart phones. But elders have gone through big and tough changes including loss of friends and loved ones to death, for example.
Wicca provides us with wisdom from the past. In fact, our Wiccan heritage has been passed down through the generations by people talking to each other. The process has usually been from elder to neophyte.
So I invite you see how you can make some space, pause and listen.
There’s so much that elders can share with us.
Blessed Be,
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
And
“Now, do you believe?!” my sweetie said to me, as the plane lifted from the ground.
“Yeah, I do,” I replied.
For months, he said that we would take a plane, cross the country and then take a ship and finally walk on the ocean floor.
Because of dealing with depression symptoms, it was hard for me to really believe that our trip would actually take place. In a way, you might say my depression symptoms blocked me from seeing the possibilities.
This reminds me of the classic story in which blind men gathered to experience an elephant.
“It’s a pillar,” said the blind man embracing one leg.
“No, a hand fan,” said another holding an ear.
“You’re wrong, a rope,” said another.
“No, a wall.”
“A solid pipe,” said the one holding the tusk.
A wise man approached and explained, “You’re all right. You all experienced a part of the elephant. The elephant is all that you said and more.”
Finally, the blind men stopped arguing.
The same, I believe, is true about Deity. Everyone has a piece of the ALL. And what they don’t see is that it is all connected. It’s the same ALL that everyone else has. But they are experiencing the ALL in different ways, and this selective experience creates different practices and beliefs around the world.
So when I hear someone say that he knows the one and only God, I pause. I think of the elephant which is more than the sum of the parts.
Yes, I believe the God and Goddess are part of the ALL. But still I realize that Deity is more than my momentary perception.
And I’d invite anyone else to consider that other people are experiencing Deity in a way that suits them at the moment.
Let’s celebrate our shared opportunity to grow in spirit.
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
And
GoddessHasYourBack.com 