The Hidden Children of the Goddess

Why Does Pain Exist

/ Moonwater / 4 Comments
Pain Exists

Pain Exists

Why Pain Exists

People of many faiths have asked, “Why does Deity let pain exist?” I’m not talking about only one kind of pain. I am talking about all kinds of pain that we endure. From the physical pain of skinning a knee to the emotional pain of loosing a loved one.

Why do the Gods let us, no need us, to experience pain?

Simply, pain is used as a teaching tool. The Gods do not inflict pain upon us. We do it to ourselves. Not intentionally. We don’t want to skin our knees when we fall. It is the way of life.

During our lives we learn lessons; some can be painful.

Generally, the more painful the experience, the more we remember the lesson. Learning to walk and to ride a bike involves falling. Pain motivates you to learn skills and to avoid falling again. It teaches you not to fall and to stay up during the task.

Emotional pain teaches us different things. For example, if you endured childhood taunts by mean kids, you learned that words can emotionally injure a person. Hopefully, one learns to avoid cutting down other people. (Remember the Law of Three!)

What about the death of a loved one? What does that teach us? I lost a friend when he committed suicide. What did that teach me? It taught me to cherish the people around me and to feel compassion for another person.

I remember the year of my 16th birthday. I lost my dear four legged friend, Cheesy. At the veterinarian’s office, she grabbed my hand with the energy of “I’m not ready to go yet” as she slipped away. The pain of the loss of Cheesy was intense. But then, for the first time in my life, I was visited by a spirit who had passed to the other side. Cheesy gave me a sense that she was okay. Better than okay.

Without going through such pain and loss, I would not know in my heart that death is not the end.

When you lose someone important to you, you gain a whole new understanding. With the loss you can now understand love completely.

As hard and unrelenting as pain can be, we still need it to help us learn and therefore grow. Without pain, we can’t experience true compassion, trust and love.

Blessed be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

http://thehiddenchildrenofthegoddess.com/

 

The Pentagram

/ Moonwater / 2 Comments

The Pentagram

 

To me, the pentagram inspires feelings of warmth, awe and joy. It stands for life–the mystery and the balance. The pentagram serves as the universal symbol of the Craft. You can find it in all occult shops and most new age stores. Wiccans tend to wear a pentagram as a pendant on a necklace, a symbol on a ring and more. But what is this symbol and what is the message it really conveys?

As a five-pointed star, the pentagram represents each element with one of its points. Many people have heard of the elements Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Then what is the “fifth element”? It’s Spirit. Now there’s a bit of controversy because some Wiccans would argue that Spirit is not strictly an element. Nevertheless, all five items are needed and unique.

Air is associated with thought. Thoughts move in and out of our minds just like a light breeze flows through our hair. Thoughts are the beginning of actions, likewise dawn represents the beginning of new things and Wiccans thereby associate Air with dawn. Further, Air relates to the direction East. East is where the sun comes up and begins the day.

Fire is associated with action. Besides keeping us warm it is the spark that gets us into motion. It motivates our will producing results on the physical plane. Fire is also associated with the direction South. Our ancestors (from Europe) understood that going towards the South, the lands were warmer.

Water is associated with emotion which flows through us. Every thought creates feelings. We remember grandma’s cooking and get that warm fuzzy feeling inside, or we remember that fight with our partner that made us so mad! Water is associated with the West, which is associated with crossing the River Styx and going to the land of the dead.

Earth is associated with stability and with its function as the foundation for other things. Earth keeps us stable and often represents the many mundane things that we need in life. Earth represents the physicality of our bodies and the ground we stand upon. Earth’s direction is North and it is represented by mountains, rocks, crystals and such.

Spirit is the unique element that ties the rest together. It is our spirit that the Gods have given us, which makes us alive. You cannot have life without the other four. We need air to breathe, fire to keep us warm, and water to drink. We need the physicality of our bodies (represented as Earth) to interact with our surroundings. But we cannot truly be us without spirit. What is a soul? It is a piece of the Gods that they place within all that is alive. This soul animates our Air, Fire, Water, and Earth into a living being.

Spirit is a crucial element that is too often overlooked. Because Spirit is the miracle of life itself. We are the pentacle. We are life.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

The Sabbat Ostara

/ Moonwater / Leave a comment
Spring Arrives with Ostara

Spring Arrives with Ostara

Ostara

Ostara happens at the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. The days becomes equal to the night, and the light finally overcomes the darkness of winter. Ostara’s theme is fertility. The God courts the Goddess and their sexual energies of desire flow over the Earth, leading to a burst of new life and growth upon the land by the plants and the animals. Here the courting God and Goddess’s desire to mate drive the Earth and its inhabitants to mate and bring new life to the land.

The Teutonic goddess of spring, Easter brings her symbol of the egg and her patron animal, the rabbit. Wiccans celebrate Easter during the Ostara Sabbat. The ChristainChurch tried to stamp out celebrations of Easter and her symbols of fertility (the egg and the rabbit), but they had become too deeply embedded in the people’s hearts. Christians got their Easter eggs and rabbits from this Goddess. How many Christians know that when they celebrate Easter, they’re using a term originated by Pagans?

Generally, eggs are a popular representation of fertility and new life. Early Wiccans revered the “cosmic egg,” as many refer to it, for the secrets it held; it contained and produced life. It looked like a stone but held life within.

Wiccan activities on Ostara include coloring eggs and decorating them with fertility symbols, and then hiding them for children to find.

 

Blessed be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

How to Do a Prosperity Spell

/ Moonwater / 35 Comments
Money Spell

Money Spell

How to Do a Prosperity Spell

You can use this prosperity spell if you need money in a flash. Prosperity spells can be tricky. You need to be specific so you do not have undesired effects. However, you also need to be open enough in your wording to let money come to you from places and opportunities you may not have thought of yet. Here is a simple spell that fits these requirements.

 

Let’s talk about the wording of this spell so you can see how it works. The first line is:

Grant me wealth, and grant my wishes,

stir it with a thousand kisses.

This line states the purpose and the way you want your desire to come to you. “With a thousand kisses” means with only love. You make sure that wealth does not come with pain or trouble for anyone.

The second line states:

By the moon, and by the sun,

watch for it, cuz here it comes

This line uses the powers of the moon and the sun to help accomplish your desire.

The third line says:

It comes by night, it comes by day,

it comes to me with no shades of gray

This is an important line. The first part of the line reinforces the second’s line  “watch for it, cuz here it comes” with “It comes by night, it comes by day.” The first part of the phrase also does something else. By mentioning both night and day, the intention is that wealth arrives continually.

The phrase: “it comes to me with no shades of gray” is very important. The idea of “no shades of gray” means you wealth to come to you without any negativity associated with it. For example, you want that no one will get into an accident and leave you money.

The fourth line finishes with:

The sea goes in, the sea goes out,

now look at me, my wealth about!

This last line talks about the outcome of the spell. You affirms that you do receive wealth.

The fifth line is simple:

So mote it be!

This line activates the spell.

You can notice that this spell has the power of the five elements in it. I know it isn’t obvious. I’ll explain. The grant part in the first line comes from spirit. This refers to your need. This desire arises from your heart. Here is where the process begins.

The second line talks about the heavenly bodies in the sky which is Air. You’re placing your thought into the world.

The third line emphasizes no shades of gray or no shadows. Fire is light and it chases darkness away, banishing the shadows from your wish.

The fourth line is a declaration of manifesting wealth.

The last line “so mote it be” echoes the second line and plants the entire spell into reality. In effect, it fulfills the desire.

Now that we have discussed the spell and how it works, let’s begin. Remember to cast your circle first. If you don’t know how to do that read my how to cast circle post.

What you will need:

  • 5 candles in colors: white, yellow, red, blue and green (representing the elements).
  • Pentacle
  • Matches or lighter
  • Ritual tools

Place candles at appropriate elements on the pentacle (see diagram below) and let the candles burn completely down and out.

Pentacle Elements Spell Chart

Pentacle Elements Spell Chart

 

 

( Set up your altar and space. Then cast your circle)

Say while lighting the white candle:

Grant me wealth, and grant my wishes,

       stir it with a thousand kisses.

Light the yellow candle and say:

 By the moon, and by the sun,

       watch for it, cuz here it comes.

Light the red candle and say:

 It comes by night, it comes by day,

       it comes to me with no shades of gray.

Light the blue candle and say:

 The sea goes in, the sea goes out,

      now look at me, my wealth about!

Light the green candle and say:

 So mote it be!

(Do the Cakes and Wine Ceremony)

(Close the circle)

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

 

How to Cast a Circle

/ Moonwater / 6 Comments
Casting Circle

Casting Circle

How to Cast a Circle

Casting a circle involves several steps. The following lays this out for you in detail. Please see the post on Alter Setup for the placement of the tools on your altar, also see what is a magick circle if you are wondering why you need to do this in the first place.

Setup

Before you begin, you will need:

1)            A table for the altar.

2)            Candles and candle holders for the four directions in the colors that represent each (red for south, blue for west, green for north, yellow for east.)

3)            A red candle for the god and a green candle for the goddess. These candle colors are preferable but not mandatory. You may also use white candles if that is all you have.

4)            A working candle to represent the element Fire.

5)            A cup or chalice.

6)            An athame.

7)            A sword. If you don’t have one, use the athame to cast the circle.

8)            Incense and incense burner.

9)            A dish of salt, preferably sea salt.

10)        A bowl of water.

11)        A bell or chime.

12)        An altar cloth to keep wax and the other things off the table.

13)        Wine or juice and some sort of cake.

14)        A lighter.

Next, locate the four directions. Place the quarter candles in their respective corners: green in the northern-most corner, yellow in the east, red in the south, and blue in the west. Below is a simple graphic to show you where to place the quarter candles.

Circle Setup Graphic

Circle Setup Graphic

The Script

Before you begin, ground and center. This will help to clean out and balance your energy. This step is important to help you get into the right frame of mind before you start.

Next, you need a script to cast a circle or temple for conducting harmonious rites. Don’t worry if the rites you perform don’t flow easily at first. You just need practice. Consider writing a script yourself to follow. This may make it less confusing for you.

The following is an example of a script you can use. The parts you say out loud are in bold. This makes it easier to be seen by candlelight.

Note: This script is written for someone who is casting alone.

  1. Knock three times on the altar. Ring the bell three times.
  1. Light the working candle with the lighter.
  1. Light the charcoal if you are using it from the working candle.
  1. Take your athame and place its tip into the flame of the working candle. Say:

I exorcise you o creature of fire. And I consecrate and bless you in the names of the Goddess and the God that you are pure and clean.

5)      Trace a pentacle over the flame. Pick up the candle and raise it up above you and imagine your energy and the gods’ energy filling the flame. Place the candle back on the altar.

6)      Take your athame and place its tip into the bowl of water. Say:

I exorcise you, o creature of water. And I consecrate and bless you in the names of the Goddess and the God that you are pure and clean.

7)      Trace a pentacle in the water. Pick up the bowl of water and raise it up above you and imagine your energy and the gods’ energy filling the water. Place the bowl back on the altar.

8)      Take your athame and place its tip into the salt. Say:

I exorcise you, o creature of salt. And I consecrate and bless you in the names of the Goddess and the God that you are pure and clean.

9)      Trace a pentacle in the salt. Pick up the bowl of salt and raise it up above you and imagine your energy and the gods’ energy filling the salt. Place the salt bowl back on the altar.

10)    Take your athame and place its tip into the incense. Say:

I exorcise you, o creature of Air. And I consecrate and bless you in the names of the Goddess and the God that you are pure and clean.

11)    Trace a pentacle over incense. Pick up the incense and raise it up above you and imagine your energy and the gods’ energy filling the incense. Place the incense on the lit charcoal.

12)    Take your athame and scoop up three blades of the salt. You may also use your finger. Put the three pinches of salt into the water and mix it with the blade of your athame to make holy water. Pick up the bowl of holy water and raise it up above you and imagine your energy and the gods’ the energy filling it.

13)    Take the holy water (the salt and water mixture) and dip your fingers into it. Dab some of it on your wrists and forehead. Say:

I bless myself with Earth and Water.

 14)    Take the censer filled with the burning incense and wave the smoke over you. Say:

I bless myself with Air and Fire.

 15)    Take the holy water (salt water mixture) and use your fingers to asperge (sprinkle with the holy water) the circle. Starting with north and moving clockwise, walk a complete circle around the parameter, asperging each corner as you go. When finished, place the bowl back on the altar.

16)    Pick up the censer filled with the burning incense. Use your hand to wave the incense smoke around the circle. Starting with north and moving clockwise, walk a complete circle around the parameter, waving the smoke as you go. Be careful not to burn yourself or anything else. When finished, place the censer back on the altar.

(You have just cleansed the space and yourself. Now let’s continue by casting the circle.)

17)    Take the sword/athame. Envision energy being channeled from you up from the earth or down from the sky and coming out the tip of your sword/athame. Starting with north and moving clockwise, walk a complete circle around the parameter. As you walk, say:

I conjure you, o circle of power, that you be a boundary between the seen mundane world and the spirit world. That you protect me and contain the magick that I shall raise within you! I consecrate and bless you in the names of the Goddess and the God. So mote it be!

18)    Finish at the east quarter and trace a pentacle in the air with sword/athame.

(Now it’s time to call the quarters.)

19)    Take the athame and the taper from the altar. Light the taper from the working candle. Go and stand in the east corner of where your circle boundary is. Starting with the east candle, say:

I summon, stir, and call you up, o mighty ones of the East, element of Air. Come guard my circle and witness my rite.

20)    Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame. Then light the quarter candle for east. Say:

Hail and welcome!

 21)    Move clockwise to the south candle. Say:

I summon, stir, and call you up, o mighty ones of the South, element of Fire. Come guard my circle and witness my rite.

22)    Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame. Then light the quarter candle for south. Say:

Hail and welcome!

23)    Move clockwise to the west candle. Say:

I summon, stir, and call you up, o mighty ones of the West, element of Water. Come guard my circle and witness my rite.

24)    Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame. Then light the quarter candle for west. Say:

Hail and welcome!

25)    Move clockwise to the north candle. Say:

I summon, stir, and call you up, o mighty ones of the North, element of Earth. Come guard my circle and witness my rite.

26)    Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame. Then light the quarter candle for north. Say:

Hail and welcome!

27)    Using the taper, light the goddess candle, saying:

Welcome, my lady!

28)    Using the taper, light the god candle, saying:

Welcome, my lord!

You have now completed casting your circle!

(At this time you can do any working you need or communicate with the gods through meditation.)

You would then do the cakes and wine ceremony at the conclusion of your work.

To close your circle:

1)      Take your athame and hold it up and stand facing the east. Say:

Hail mighty ones of the East, the element of Air. I thank you for guarding my circle and witnessing my rite. May you depart to your fair and lovely realms. I bid you hail and farewell!

2)      Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame.

3)      Continuing, moving in a clockwise circle, stand facing the south. Say:

Hail mighty ones of the South, the element of Fire. I thank you for guarding my circle and witnessing my rite. May you depart to your fair and lovely realms. I bid you hail and farewell!

 4)      Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame.

5)      Moving clockwise around the circle, stand facing west. Say:

Hail mighty ones of the West, the element of Water. I thank you for guarding my circle and witnessing my rite. May you depart to your fair and lovely realms. I bid you hail and farewell!

6)      Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame.

7)      Moving clockwise around the circle, stand facing north. Say:

Hail mighty ones of the North, the element of Earth. I thank you for guarding my circle and witnessing my rite. May you depart to your fair and lovely realms. I bid you hail and farewell!

 8)      Trace a pentacle in the air with your athame.

9)      Return again to face east. While walking the boundary of the circle using the sword/athame, say:

Fire seal the circle round,

Let it fade beneath the ground,

Let all things be as they once were before.

The circle is now no more,

Merry meet, merry part,

And merry meet again!

So mote it be!

Generally, that is how to cast and close a circle. However each coven or practitioner may have slightly different variations on wording, but the process remains the same.

Fear and Tolerance

/ Moonwater / 2 Comments
Reflection under Bridge

Reflections about Tolerance and Acceptance

Fear and Tolerance

Powerful fear can be transformed into many things. We’ll talk about how fear turns into hate and how we can help resolve this problem.

Why do many people concentrate on differences instead of what we all have in common? Many people hate others based on race, sexual orientation and religion. These people focus on the differences. Only focusing on differences leads some people to fear. Fear then leads to hate because it’s natural to dislike what causes us discomfort.

Many people find Wicca to be quite different from what they call “mainstream faiths” in the western world. Misunderstandings can lead to fear and that can transform to hate. Unfortunately people don’t ask Wiccans, “What is Wicca all about?”

The problem is many people take some surface comment from some biased person and they let that comment give them an impression of Wicca. The biased person does not practice Wicca. To ask that person about Wicca is just like asking a plumber to fix your computer.

As children, many people were taught untruths about Wicca. But as adults, they stick with the false stories. Still, they simply do not ask a Wiccan about their spiritual path.

It’s not completely their fault. Life can be hard and we’re all so busy. We often just take a first impression and run with it.

Unfortunately, so much prejudice makes many Wiccan shy, and they avoid coming out of the “broom closet.” A few brave souls step out of the broom closet to speak to the world, but they often run into closed minds and hearts.

The media makes things worse. We know how the media sensationalizes things. News broadcasts feed on creating fear. This in turn generates hate.

So now we have lots of people who hate Wiccans. Much of this hatred could have been avoided.

It may be easy to blame people for their ignorance, but we need to move past that.

What would we tell people about Wicca? We tell them the truth. We as Wiccans believe in harming none. What does this mean? We believe killing is wrong. We believe stealing is wrong, whether it be someone’s lunch, car or spouse.

Many of our beliefs compare with core beliefs of other religions including Judaism, Islam and Christianity. We don’t lie, cheat, steal, kill and so forth.

So we worship in a different way, but we share similar values. We need to help others and ourselves focus on what unites us so we can build trust and understanding. Concentrating on our similarities will help dispel hate and bring us all closer together.

How Wicca Saved My Life – Confidence

/ Moonwater / Leave a comment
Rose

Blooming against the odds.

Finding the gods was a lifesaver, literally. Before I had the gods in my life, I was a kid with huge self-esteem problems. I had made multiple suicide attempts.

When I was eight, I was so depressed about my life that I tied a string around my neck, intending to hang myself. But the gods were on my side even then. The string broke. The gods knew I had a purpose; I had work to do for them. But at the time when it happened, I thought, I’m so lame, I can’t even kill myself right! I couldn’t see it for the blessing that it was. I just fell into a deeper depression. There were other attempts, and other failures.

My childhood was filled with physical and mental torture perpetrated by my older brother –and my parents’ neglect.

Somehow I survived to my 16th year. One day, I walked into a Barnes and Noble bookstore in my hometown. That year, I heard a new word Wicca. I asked the sales clerk, “Do you have any books on Wicca?” Her eyes lit up and with great excitement she led me to a shelf and started pouring books into my arms.

That evening, alone in my room, I started to read Scott Cunningham’s book, The Solitary Practitioner. My heart filled up. I finally found my home.

Now I reveled in a new world. Soon I was meditating, and after some sessions, the Gods made contact with me.

The gods embraced me with pure love. My body filled up with their love for me. From my head it moved through my entire body, down to my fingers and toes. Happiness was so foreign to me; I had never felt this way before. But I shifted to a deep part of myself I hadn’t known and here I knew that I was one with the Gods. Forever.

The gods found me beautiful. They took pride in me.

I never knew anyone could have this much love for anyone, especially me! This epiphany was a brilliant light into my chasm of darkness and despair. Now I could start to see myself for what I really was worth.

With this knowledge, I found a new confidence in life. Once the gods opened me up and shone their loving light in me, I was transformed into love. Love for myself and for others.

The “harm none” of Wicca rang true for me. I didn’t want anyone to go through what I had endured. I wanted to treat everyone with respect, compassion and love. So I started on my path and became a Wiccan priestess.

It’s a beautiful path.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

The Direction West

/ Moonwater / 2 Comments
The Direction West

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

Imbolc

/ Moonwater / 2 Comments
Sunrise

The Light Grows

Imbolc

 The Sabbat Imbolc is midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox when the light is beginning to return to the world and it is celebrated on February 2nd. Wiccans associate the Imbolc Sabbat with fire as they do at the Yule Sabbat. Can you see a theme here? This is for a reason: Fire honors the god and gives him strength. And who doesn’t like a nice warm fire on a chilly night during the cold part of the year?

At Imbolc the goddess has finally recovered from the strains of giving birth to the god. She is now back and ready to start the growing season of the year. Now purified, the goddess becomes the young maiden once more. Because of this, the act purification is a large part of this Sabbat.

At Imbolc we honor the goddess Bridget, the goddess of fertility and birth. She is the Celtic goddess of fire and rules the art of forge craft or metalsmithing. Bridget provides  inspiration and represents domestic arts like healing and cooking. We often use fires in the home as a nice way to honor Bridget, the goddess of the Earth.

Wiccans memorialize Imbolc, the time of purification, with the tradition of lighting candles. Candles provide inspiration and symbolize the growing light and strength from the sun god. Candles help coax the light into the year to come and bring on the bounty of nature. Imbolc is translated as “in the belly.” This refers to the coming of new life to the land.

At this time of the year, the ewes give birth to their lambs. Since the ewes’ lactation period has peaked at Imbolc, Wiccans view milk as an appropriate drink for this Sabbat. They enjoy lamb’s meat cooked on a sacred fire, paying homage to the goddess.

As the time of beginnings (births and the starting of new life), Imbolc is a good time for initiations and rededications for us. With the waxing year our intentions grow along with the light. And so our dedications to the gods grow in strength at this time.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

The Direction South

/ Moonwater / Leave a comment
The Compass Direction South

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