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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #21 -- March 2002 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.com/ mailing list/board: http://www.ecauldron.com/fregmb.php delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/CUSTOM7999/start newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ With a little help from The Witches' Thicket website: http://www.cros.net/soraya/ delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/thicket/start In this Issue: [01] Editorial: Secrecy and Wicca [02] Poem: Air [03] Article: Ostara Ritual of the New Greening [04] Review: True Magick [05] Review: Tarot for All Seasons [06] Review: All Around the Zodiac [07] Review: Reflexology for Beginners [08] Review: The Pagan Path [09] Magick: Charm to Secure Employment [10] Magick: Friendship Candle Spell [11] Food: Ostara Simple Feast Recipes [12] Humor: The Major Arcana and the Light Bulb [13] New Articles on The Cauldron's Site [14] New Web Polls [15] Support The Cauldron When You Buy at Amazon.com [16] Newsletter and Forum Info (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) +++ Submission Deadline for next issue: April 20, 2002 +++ Guidelines: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/submissions.php [01] ========= ========= EDITORIAL: SECRECY AND WICCA ========= by Randall Sapphire ========= Wiccans tend to be against secrets. Most Wiccans are against secret lists of banned web sites in Internet monitoring software and against secret decision making in government. Most Wiccans know that too much secrecy can easily be used to cover up things that would fare very poorly if exposed to public scrutiny, such as blocking access to Pagan web sites while claiming to only block porn and hate sites. Unfortunately, some Wiccans do not practice what they preach when it comes to secrecy. While they condemn secrecy in others, they still maintain broad oaths of secrecy about their particular practices. While keeping most religious and magical material oathbound might have been necessary during the Burning Times or in England prior to the repeal of the laws against Witchcraft, I certainly see no need for it now -- at least in most "first world" countries. Names and addresses of group members, perhaps, but ritual information, no. Those who insist that secrecy is necessary in Wicca generally use some common arguments to support their position. What follows are my responses to some of the common reasons I've seen presented over the years in support of keeping material oathbound. 1) It's always been done that way. My Response: There's little evidence to support this claim. Most of the true family trads I know of do not have oathbound information. In some, certain empowerment/initiation rituals can only be performed on family members, but information per se isn't really an oathbound secret. As far as I can tell, Wicca seems to have acquired its ideas of oathbound material from the Masons and from the magical lodges of the 1700-1800s. 2) Wicca is a mystery religion. My Response: By definition, mysteries must be experienced. You can read about them or hear them described, but will not understand them until you experience them (and you are prepared to understand them). The real reason for keeping such rituals secret has always appeared to me to be for control and prestige reasons. Having secrets makes most people feel special and feel as if they have some bond with others who possess the secret. That seems to be a very silly reason to keep religious ritual and information secret. Having secrets also gives those in charge of a group more control over the members of that group. The leaders of many Wiccan groups with oathbound secrets also seem to be very interested in controlling their members in general. I hear of many more oathbound groups trying to control who their members work with, play with, and/or even sleep with outside the group than I do of groups without oathbound material. 3) Wiccan material is dangerous in unprepared hands. My Response: Performing rituals of worship without proper training is dangerous? We are taking about worshiping the Lord and Lady here, aren't we? Not some demon from one of the Keys of Solomon? I'm sorry, I can't buy into this "it's dangerous" line. The Lord and the Lady aren't demons out of some medieval story ready to destroy those who make the slightest mistake in a ritual. You say the power can be abused? Surely you aren't claiming that some manic is going to be able to point to their enemies and scream "Kill!" in the middle of a ritual and the Lord and the Lady are going to run out and kill as "commanded"? What's that? You mean that raising power is dangerous and that someone of evil intent could steal the power being raised and use it for nastiness? Hmmm, raising power for worship is not really dangerous and raising power for magick is no more dangerous than using an electrical appliance. The minimum necessary training needed for either using electrical appliances or raising magickal power can be given to most teens/adults in an hour or two. As for stealing the power raised and using it for nastiness, anyone who can do that against the will of the others in the circle already has so much knowledge of their own that adding Wiccan's oathbound information to it would not noticeably increase their power. 4) Some rituals, like initiations, need to be kept secret or they will not have the proper effect on the participants. My Response: In my opinion, any ritual that depends on surprise for its effect is a very poorly designed ritual. However, there is a less theoretical problem with this position, especially where Wiccan initiations are concerned. Most Wiccans seem to believe that the Rede requires they get informed consent to perform a ritual for or on anyone, even for something as simple and harmless as a healing spell. Given the profound changes initiation can set in motion in a person, how can anyone give informed consent if they do not know exactly what is going to happen in an initiation ritual? For that matter, why would any sane person who truly understands the power of an initiation ritual agree to undergo one that they have not at least read though? 5) My coven uses a private set of names for the deities, lords of the quarters, etc. These names appear throughout our rituals, so while our rituals aren't really a secret, we have to keep all of our rituals and practices oathbound to protect the secret names we use. My Response: While there is certainly nothing wrong with using a secret set of names for the deities, guardians, etc., having secret names is really an extremely poor excuse for keeping everything oathbound. Rituals should be recorded with generic names (e.g. "the Lady," "Guardian of the East," etc.), not with the secret names. Group members should just substitute the secret names when they perform the rituals. This would not only end the need to keep all of the rituals and practices of the group oathbound, it would enhance the security of the group's secret names as they would no longer be written down in every copy of each of the group's rituals. My advice to individuals is simple: avoid oathbound groups. Other than the keeping secret the names of a group's members, the secret names of the group's deities (if any) and perhaps the group's current, active magickal workings, I see no truly justifiable need for secrecy in Wicca today. Many oathbound groups hint at having great knowledge that cannot be obtained elsewhere to bestow on those who join. A few groups might actually have such a store of truly hidden knowledge. However, given everything that has become known and been published over the years, I really doubt many do. If you are tempted to join an oathbound group, carefully evaluate their reasons for secrecy in light of this article and your own common sense before you take any oath. You probably will also want to carefully check to be sure the group isn't hiding massive control of their members' lives as well as their rituals behind the cloak of oathbound secrecy. Most probably are not, of course, but you definitely want to find out before you join. My advice to oathbound groups is less direct, and more complex. I believe you need to carefully evaluate your practices to see if your secrecy is still really necessary. If you determine that the secrecy really can no longer be justified, you need to abolish it. In most cases this can be done without breaking current members' oaths of secrecy by simply not requiring those oaths of new members. There are, of course, more direct ways to end an oath that no longer serves any purpose. Anyone leading an oathbound group should be able to figure out how to do so within their ritual framework once they decide that it should be done. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SEND A PAGAN POSTCARD You can send a Pagan Postcard from the menu of any of our web pages at http://www.ecauldron.com/. If you haven't tried our postcard site, give it a try. It has quite a few nice features. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [02] ========= ========= AIR ========= A Poem by Moonsongstress ========= Breathing low as the grass through the meadow Of my mind, She came. Breath of my breath, She said, exhaling life dew through me and out The other side of existence. My center filled to Its brim with the salty fresh breezes as it drank Them in with the hunger of wolves scenting prey. And I awoke to the life of now to stare into the Eyes of the storm and feel her pass through me, Leaving sharp traces of her cool knowledge and Salt-pan crusting thought, rimming my mind with Its diamond, crystal, biting edge. Teach me, I Cried after her. But she was gone and though I Searched, she was nowhere to be found. But the Pricking knowledge called me and I scratched Its surface down and down until I reached the Core of my soul. There I found her deep in my Center, waiting the ages out for time's sweet Wisdom to dawn in the light of my inner eye. Yes, I am here, She said. Where did you think You would find me? So I sat at her feet, looking Into the grey mist of the morning light, and as The soft edged dawn was born low in my mind, Understood with the rising of my sun that She Was me and I should look within for her shining. Copyright (c) MoonSongstress 2001 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CAULDRON AND CANDLE WEB SITE The Cauldron and Candle now has its own web site where we store our back issues for easy reading. http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [03] ========= ========= ARTICLE: OSTARA RITUAL OF THE NEW GREENING ========= Copyright 2000 by Moonsongstress ========= [Editor's Note: This is a solitary Wiccan ritual for Ostara. Indented paragraphs should be spoken aloud.] === === Tools for the Ritual === * Sky blue and fresh green altar cloths * Ostara incense - a fresh scent such as lemongrass or narcissus * Golden God candle * Silver Goddess candle * White altar candle * Quarter candles and corresponding stones * Matches, taper and snuffer * A young green houseplant - this should be a long-lived, hardy variety such as a spider plant (The Latin name for spider plant is Chlorophytum). * Several small pieces of parchment paper * A good quality pen * Simple feast - iced fairy cake and elderflower and apple drink. === === Preparation === Before the day of ritual spend some time thinking about things that you would like to achieve in the coming year and dreams you would like to bring to reality. At the beginning of the ritual mentally cleanse and sweep the area moving deosil. Set up the quarter candles and stones symbolizing the elements of the quarters. Decorate the altar with its cloths, and then the candles. Place the golden God candle to the right back of the altar and the silver Goddess candle to the left back. The white altar candle goes at the center back of the altar between the Goddess and God candles. The green plant is placed before the altar candle. Place the items for the simple feast to one side. Take a shower or splash your face with water for purification. Sit quietly and meditate for a while, then ground and center. Sit; open your heart to the new greening. === === The Ritual === The ritual is begun. Moving deosil, light the Goddess, God, altar and quarter candles and incense. Cast the circle in fresh green light. Call the quarters and spirit center. Invoke the Goddess and God. Bid them all Hail and Welcome. Sit; open your heart to the new greening. Contemplate the green plant. The wheel turns on the everlasting, silvered thread of time and the earth ever responds to the cycle. She now begins to stir from the cleansing sleep of winter and wakes from her slumber to show green life once more. Everywhere around us new life peeps out, full of freshness and gentle determination. Tiny though the new plants are, each one is a complete parcel which contains the potential to be the strength that envelops mountains in loping stride, shifts earth and rocks without a thought, shelters and protects human life and fearlessly sails the mighty oceans. The pollen of the plants which produce new tender shoots such as these travels through the vast coldness of space without the need of man-made protection and penetrates every environment on earth. This is a time to mark the limitless possibilities for new life as it begins its latest cycle of growth and is nurtured into being by the earth. It will develop as far and as fast as it can in the time it is given. Our own new plans and projects begin as small and vulnerable as seedlings such as these, but their potential for growth is just as limitless. Time and the mind hold them and, if we nurture them as the earth nurtures her children they will have the chance to fulfill their potential and fill our dreams. Tender plants all, but centered with the hearts of mighty oak trees. Sit; open your heart to the new greening. Take the green plant and place it before you at the center front of the altar. Green Lady, Gaia, you are the Goddess on which we rest and the abundant, fertile one from whom comes the stuff of life. You bless your children with that vital spark which is life, feeding us from the bounty of your storehouse. We are made of your clay, breathe your air, move with the energy of your fire and are nourished by your water. You are the name I can call the part of the one that sustains us in life, and at death welcomes our spent bodies into your cauldron of change. Take the plant and raise it in your hands. I bring this plant to this place today in its new beauty and green potential. Replace the plant onto the altar. I bring my new plans and dreams for the coming year to this place today in their unformed and undeveloped state. Take the pieces of parchment and the pen. Write your plans and dreams on the parchment. Fold each one and kiss it. Then roll each one into a tiny ball. Arrange then in a pleasing way in front of the plant. Here lie my plans and dreams. The fresh, tender newness of this plant is like the plans that are newly formed in my life this spring. Potential they have, but young and tender they remain. Green Lady, Gaia, in this ritual I offer all these things to you in the knowledge of your abundant blessings. I will care for this plant as I care for my own plans and dreams for they are all your children. As I help it to become the best and most effective version of itself that it can be, my plans and dreams will mirror its thriving and move towards the achievement of their potential. The growth of this plant will remind me that my plans and dreams thrive in your care as they do in my own. Taking the pen and using the end without the nib, gently dig holes in the earth surrounding the plant. Insert a parchment ball into each one and then cover each one with earth. Sit; open your heart to the new greening. Address the plant: Strong may you grow and sturdy. Well rooted and reaching for the sky. As you grow, may my plans and dreams grow too. Now is the time for mental exploration so sit and open your heart and mind to the new greening. Spend a little time exploring the world through the eyes of the plant. Remember that though it is small and rooted into one place its kind have spread and colonized terrain that would surely kill a human being. The potential within it is the same potential within your own plans and dreams. Sit; open your heart to the new greening. Proceed with the simple feast to ground yourself. === === The end of the Ritual === Address the Goddess with thanks, love and dedication. May I listen for and hear you, May I look for and see you, May I reach for and touch you, May I wait for and find you. Teach me what I need to know, and what I am now ready to know. Your blessings are abundant, bless me abundantly. Thank the spirits of the quarters and center, and also the Goddess and God. Ask them to go if they must but stay if they will. Bid them all Hail and Farewell. Open the circle. The circle is open but never broken. The ritual is ended. Place the plant in a prominent place so you can watch its development. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DONATE TO HELP SUPPORT THE CAULDRON'S WEB SITE If you like The Cauldron and have a few extra dollars, please donate via the Amazon Honor System and help us pay the web site bills. http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [04] ========= ========= REVIEW: TRUE MAGICK ========= Reviewed by Daven ========= True Magick: A Beginner's Guide Author: Amber K Paperback, 272 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: January 1991 ISBN: 0875420036 US Retail Price: Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875420036/thecauldron True Magick is an interesting read, if you are reading it as a basic introduction to Wiccan Magick. Amber K. does a good job of presenting her philosophies and thoughts, injunctions and warnings in a coherent fashion, allowing the reader to understand how certain things are working and why they are happening. I believe, however, that the failure of this book is that Amber tries to make it a text for all magick and it does not work. She presents a brief (one paragraph to one page) descriptions of other magickal paths, and she implies that what she lays down in this book applies to these paths as well. The rules for Wiccan magick do not apply to alchemy and never have. I'm going to go on this facet for a bit to allow the reader of this review to see where the differences are. The thoughts on the Rede and not harming none only apply to Wiccan magick. In every other tradition of magick out there, there is no such injunction. It is assumed that you are mature enough to understand what will happen if you decide to go on with the spell despite these consequences. It also assumes that you are mature enough to not complain when those consequences come home to roost in the case of negative magick. She has rites of invocation for the God and Goddess, but Wicca is the only theurgical system that uses a Goddess. The Enochian system, the Rosicrucian system, the system laid out in The Keys of Solomon, and the Qabalah do not have female deities, but it is once again implied that invocation of the Goddess is a requirement. It is the same story for the Directions, the Elements, the Spirits, the magickal process itself. The timing of magick which Amber goes into says that the Full/New Moon as well as the days of the week are what is important, when in the Greater Key of Solomon, there is no mention of the moon, but quite a complete section dealing with the planetary hours. Now, I am not saying that this book is completely bad. There is a lot in it that is good and worth the purchase price. But it is not the be-all, end-all that is implied. The one disclaimer that I remember seeing talking about this was so brief that one could quickly pass it by and never register that she is speaking not for the more traditional magickal systems. However, as a work on Wiccan magick, it rocks. There is clear descriptions of the morals relating to Wiccan magick, the processes that one should go through to do spells, the consequences and the injunctions against using magick for personal profit. You may as well throw your wand down a well if you charge, she states in regards to Wiccan magick. Other than the one huge complaint of trying to be too much the one tome of magick that there is, I have really no complaint with this book. She lays it out in such a way that anyone could understand the concepts involved and the needed materials and disciplines. All in all, as a book on Wiccan magick, I give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5. However, because she never states that this is the magickal system she is focusing on, I am forced to give this 3 starts out of 5. Thankfully anyone who is at all familiar with other magickal systems will be able to spot this bias fairly easily. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bktmabg.php [05] ========= ========= REVIEW: TAROT FOR ALL SEASONS ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= Tarot for All Seasons: Celebrating the Days & Nights of Power Author: Christine Jette Trade Paperback, 154 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: November 2001 ISBN: 073870105X US Retail Price: $12.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/073870105X/thecauldron Tarot for All Seasons is Christine Jette's third book. As I was fairly impressed with her Tarot for the Healing Heart when I reviewed it a few months ago, I was looking forward to reading this book -- even with its Wiccan orientation. For the most part, I was not disappointed. Christine is a registered nurse and professional tarot reader with a degree in psychology. This gives her a slightly different, but interesting, point of view on the cards. The marketing hype on the back cover describes Tarot for All Seasons as "Part spellbook, part ritual guide, this book includes twelve unique tarot layouts for the waxing, full, and waning moons, and the eight solar festivals of the Wheel of the Year." Calling this book a spellbook or a ritual guide strikes me as a bit too generous given that the book is mainly about tarot layouts, but the author cannot be held responsible for the zeal of the publisher's marketing department. This fairly short book is divided into six chapters. The first two chapters are brief and contain introductory matter. The first chapter starts with a couple of pages of on the Wiccan Sabbats and Esbats and then provides a brief introduction to the Tarot. The second chapter discusses ritual design, how to use the sample readings in later chapters, and gives several ways to read a three-card spread to expand on difficult points in any reading. The third chapter discusses esbat rituals very briefly and provides an original tarot layout and sample reading for the full moon, the waxing moon, and the waning moon. Tarot layouts, sample readings, and a few ritual suggestions are provided in the fourth and fifth chapters for each of the eight Wiccan Sabbats. The last chapter is quite short, but full of suggestions for further work. Tarot for All Seasons wraps up with an appendix listing the author's Tarot card interpretations. The real meat of this book is the original tarot layouts. They are well-designed and each one ties nicely into the sabbat or moon phase it is for. The layouts themselves are simple. There aren't any Golden Dawn style full deck layouts here. The most complex uses nine cards. Many only use five or six cards. The author wisely leaves any complexity to the interpretation rather than the layout. The sample readings are detailed and interesting. The reader, especially a Tarot beginner, can learn a lot about interpreting the Tarot cards from these samples. The book's main flaw is its short length. Tarot for All Seasons left me feeling somewhat disappointed that there wasn't more. There is so much more that could be done along these lines. Nevertheless, any Wiccan (or Neo-Pagan following a non-Wiccan path which celebrates the same holy days as Wicca) interested in the Tarot should take a serious look at this book. Tarot readers following a path with different holy days, however, will find it much less useful. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bktfas.php [06] ========= ========= REVIEW: ALL AROUND THE ZODIAC ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= All Around the Zodiac: Exploring Astrology's Twelve Signs Author: Bill Tierney Trade Paperback, 460 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: December 2001 ISBN: 0738701114 US Retail Price: $19.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738701114/thecauldron Bill Tierney's All Around the Zodiac is an introductory astrology book with a unique twist. It concentrates on the signs of the zodiac. Not the meaning of your "sun sign," your "rising sign," or your "moon sign," but the meaning of the signs themselves and how the signs relate to each other and to the planets. Bill Tierney has written the astrology book I'd love to have had when I first developed an interest in astrology in the late 1960s. Of course, this book could not have been written 30 years ago as half the book would have been on the mathematics of casting a horoscope. All Around the Zodiac doesn't waste any space on this. Programs to do the math are available on the Internet (and a free birth chart offer is included for those without a computer or internet access). This guide is dived into three massive parts. The first part describes each of the signs in detail, with special attention paid their elements and modes. Each sign is given about ten pages of description, not just a short precis and a list of celebrities. Part Two describes how the signs interact with each other in a chart. This volume explains signs that square, oppose, sextile, trine, semisextile, and quincunx. Each combination of two signs receives about a page of description and a short list of celebrities. This part contains one of the most comprehensive discussions of these interactions I've seen in an introductory astrology book. The third part of All Around the Zodiac explains how the signs blend with the influence of a chart's planets. All Around the Zodiac is a thick book. While it is certainly a harder read than Linda Goodman's Sun Signs, it is by no means a dry and boring read. Bill Tierney warns readers in the introduction that he aims "to have a little fun while exploring these signs" -- and he does. While not everyone will fully appreciate his sense of humor, it saves this book from the dry, textbook tone of many astrology books. While I'm sure some will consider this book somewhat superficial, it is much less superficial than the introductory books I read many years ago. All Around the Zodiac is an excellent introduction to astrology for those ready to learn more than their sun sign. However, this book is probably more than someone only slightly curious about astrology would want. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkaatz.php [07] ========= ========= REVIEW: REFLEXOLOGY FOR BEGINNERS ========= Reviewed by Randall Sapphire ========= Reflexology For Beginners: Healing Through Foot Massage Of Pressure Points Author: David F. Vennells Trade Paperback, 238 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: November 2001 ISBN: 0738700983 US Retail Price: $9.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738700983/thecauldron Reflexology is a complementary therapy based on massaging pressure points on the feet to help relieve stress and help treat illness. It developed out of older practices in the 1890s and early 1900s. While there's no truly scientific evidence that it works, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that reflexology can help as a complement to standard medical treatment. David F. Vennells wrote Reflexology for Beginners to provide a basic course in reflexology to allow almost anyone to learn the basic techniques so that they can help themselves or their friends. The first two chapters of this book cover the theory: what reflexology is and how various pressure points on the foot (called "reflexes") correspond to various parts of the body. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters describe treatment technique, including warnings about feet with warts or fungal infections that could be transmitted to the reflexologist! These chapters are well-illustrated. The instructions given are clear and generally easy to follow. The sixth chapter is advice on dealing with patients. The seventh and longest chapter of Reflexology for Beginners is entitled "Case Studies." Unfortunately this chapter is more testimonial in nature than "case study" in nature. The next two chapters deal with the nature of disease from a Buddhist perspective and meditation. While these have little to do with reflexology, the author is using them as part of his holistic methods. The final chapter discusses the future of reflexology as the author sees it. Reflexology for Beginners is a clear and concise introduction to reflexology. Anyone able to follow simple instructions should soon be able to use these methods to help family and friends. However, its Buddhist slant may confuse or even annoy some. The book's major fault is the chapter of case studies. It really would have been helpful if more of the chapter was devoted to actual case studies. In the final analysis, Reflexology for Beginners is a good, if imperfect, book. Anyone looking for a well-written introduction to reflexology should consider this book, especially given its relatively low price. The author has done a good job of transferring his knowledge to readable instructions. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bkrfb.php [08] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE PAGAN PATH ========= Reviewed by Diane Verrochi ========= The Pagan Path: The Wiccan Way of Life Author: Janet and Stewart Farrar, Gavin Bone Trade Paperback, 256 pages Publisher: Phoenix Publishing Publication date: March 1995 ISBN: 0919345409 US Retail Price: $14.95 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0919345409/thecauldron This is a book I recommend strongly to anyone who comes to me asking for a basic book on Paganism. The primary reason for this is the book's chapter entitled "The Rainbow of Paths," which gives brief descriptions of some of the better known Pagan paths. There is a growing perception that Paganism or Neo-Paganism and Wicca are interchangeable terms, and I believe it is important for someone just beginning to look into Paganism to learn at the outset that Wicca is one of many, rather than the only of the Pagan religions. Outside of this chapter, however, several assumptions are presented that unfortunately contribute to this very misapprehension, such as the various Gods and Goddesses being "tuning-signals to the same two aspects of the Ultimate" (p. 15). Similar generalizations relating to cycles of holy days, reincarnation, and environmentalism as a religious mandate are found in the book as well. And so I strongly suggest one not stop with this one book, or even with the books found in the bibliography. One other problem I find, and it is a fairly serious one, is that chapter 11, "The Ancient Roots," perpetuates the myth of a widespread (if not worldwide) Paleo-Pagan Earth Goddess religion. While some of the information presented is useful, including some of the speculative history, the presentation of the whole as accepted historical fact is problematic. However, the book's strengths still outweigh its weaknesses, I believe. The chapters on "Magic and Divination," "Healing," "Pagan Families," and "Pagans and Christianity," while necessarily brief and introductory in nature, present enough information to give the reader a basic idea of the relevant techniques or ideas and to (one hopes) prompt the reader to delve further into the areas of most interest to them. As a whole, I consider this book to be one of the better "Paganism 101" books available, so long as it is read with a critical eye. If I were teaching a "Paganism 101" class, I would probably include this book alongside Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon as the joint starting points on the reading list. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/bktpptwwol.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UPCOMING REVIEWS Here are a few of the books we'll be reviewing in future issues: INVOKE THE GODS, MAGIC OF QABALAH, THE MAGICIAN'S WORKBOOK, MAKING TALISMANS, MAGICAL USE OF THOUGHT FORMS, MUDRAS, MODERNWICCAN CD-ROM. Reviews often appear on our web site first, so check there for new reviews if you can't wait for the next issue of the newsletter. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [09] ========= ========= MAGICK: CHARM TO SECURE EMPLOYMENT ========= Author Unknown ========= Supplies: 1 green handkerchief 3 cardamom seeds 1 bay leaf 1 sprig of rosemary string Procedure: Take a green handkerchief or a piece of green cloth roughly that size, lay it flat with one of the corners facing you. Place upon it 3 cardamom seeds, a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary (or its equivalent of dried herb). These herbs surround you in self-confidence and attract energy. Cardamom sweetens your personality and brings out your natural eloquence. Bay leaves are symbols of success and triumph. Rosemary is a herb of achievement and mental alertness. Tie the corners together with a length of string, so that you have a little bundle of herbs. Usage: Carry this to your job interviews. Before each interview, hold this bundle and visualize yourself walking into the interview room, radiating confidence imagine yourself being in a position to pick and chose jobs at will. [10] ========= ========= MAGICK: FRIENDSHIP CANDLE SPELL ========= Author Unknown ========= Supplies: Pink Candle Good Luck or Friendship Oil Pink silk Ribbon White Silk Ribbon Cast your Circle. Arrange altar. Invoke your Gods. Anoint the pink candle with Good Luck or Friendship oil while thinking of the friends that you want to make. Imagine yourself laughing with them, going out with them -- really see yourself with them. After your candle has been anointed, light it. At this point you must call out the things that are important to you in a friend, for example: honesty, trust, open mindedness, humor, whatever. As you light the candle, see the flame as being the energy that burns between any two close friends. When this is completed, take your two pieces of silk ribbon and weave them together. Simply winding them around each other will do. While you do this, think of bringing your new friend closer to you. You are binding that friend to you, making them loyal to you, the way any good friend should be. DO NOT bind a specific person to you, only bind the idea of the perfect friend to you. Once you have done this, tie the ribbon to the base of your candle as best as you can. The candle's light is a beacon to bring friendship to you and another person. When this is done, sit and meditate on the spell that you have just cast, sending your energies out to bring that perfect friend to you. When you feel that your spell has been completed, then it has. Let your candle burn all the way out and release your circle, thanking your Gods. [11] ========= ========= FOOD: OSTARA SIMPLE FEAST RECIPES ========= provided by Moonsongstress ========= [Editor's Note: These recipes come from Great Britain. The accuracy of the American measurements is not guaranteed.] These are the recipes for the simple feast for the Ostara Ritual of the New Greening, which appears elsewhere in this newsletter. === === Iced Fairy Cakes === Makes 1 dozen. Cake Ingredients: 6oz/175g self-raising flour 1 pinch of salt 4oz/110g soft margarine 4oz/110g caster sugar 2 large eggs Flavorings: 1 dessert spoon lemon juice Grated rind of one lemon Icing: Icing sugar Water 1 teaspoon lemon juice Topping: A little grated lemon rind 12 small paper bun cases A bun tin with 12 spaces for buns Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 5/375 degrees F/190 degrees C Method: In a large bowl combine all the cake ingredients and flavorings and beat with an electric whisk for one to two minutes until the mixture is absolutely smooth. Put 12 paper bun cases into the bun tin and spoon an equal quantity of the cake mixture into each case. Bake just above the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes until they are well risen and golden in colour. Remove the cakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Make the icing using the instructions on the side of the packet of icing sugar, but add one teaspoon of lemon juice as you mix it. Ice the buns and sprinkle each with a little grated lemon rind before the icing sets. === === Elderflower and Apple drink === Makes a generous pint Ingredients Juice of one lemon 1 fluid oz elderflower cordial Half a pint of organic apple juice (clear not cloudy) Half a pint of carbonated mineral water Make sure that the elderflower cordial does not contain aspartame or any other artificial sweeteners. Only real sugar is good enough for ritual! Combine all the ingredients in a jug. Serve immediately. [12] ========= ========= HUMOR: THE MAJOR ARCANA AND THE LIGHT BULB ========= Copyright 1999 by Serena Powers ========= How many Major Arcana does it take to screw in a light bulb? All of them! 0) The Fool has already started before anyone else is ready. 1) The Magician assembles an array of objects that might be needed, displays them to best advantage, and starts discussing how to go about it. 2) The High Priestess sits in the background, knowing one thing is missing but says nothing. 3) The Empress fusses around making sure it is safe and nobody gets hurt. 4) The Emperor tells everyone he thinks it should be done right now and starts delegating responsibilities. 5) The Hierophant offers advice on the missing part after consulting with the High Priestess. 6) The Lovers umm and ah about what wattage bulb to put in this time. 7) The Chariot charges in and starts doing it himself regardless of the others' protests. 8) Strength surreptitiously places what's needed into Chariot's hands and gets it done her way. 9) The Hermit suggests a candle in a lamp would provide light in the meantime. 10) The Wheel of Fortune laughs and reminds everyone that the light will need changing again in the future. 11) Justice works out whose turn it is to change the light and whether the division of labor is being delegated fairly. 12) The Hanged Man sits back and contemplates how darkness can change our lives. 13) Death points out mournfully that this was bound to happen and how everything ends. 14) Temperance tells Death to chill out, it all evens up in the end. 15) The Devil tries to blame the Hanged Man for causing the light to blow and creates bad feelings all round. 16) The Tower suddenly starts ripping out the original light fitting so he can create a whole new more basic look. 17) The Star marvels at new beginnings and says how much she's looking forward to having the light working again. 18) The Moon continually offers conflicting advice, confusing everyone until he wanders off to the relief of all. 19) The Sun wants to redesign the whole room around a much brighter light. 20) Judgment examines the globe to see whether it truly was its time to blow and ponders whether the globe can be recycled. 21) The World suggests that any problems with the light are temporary: we had light once, we will have it again, and suggests focusing on the bigger picture. Meanwhile, the Fool has already finished changing the light bulb and is off doing his own thing. [13] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= NEW ARTICLES ON THE CAULDRON'S SITE ========= The following new areas have been added to The Cauldron's web site since our last issue. * Web Polls are back! We are testing a new web poll program. Current polls will now appear on our main page. http://www.ecauldron.com/ * Reviews Index Revised We have moved our lists of reviewed books and divination decks to our main "Books & Reviews" page. This makes that page take a bit longer to load but eliminates an entire level of our web site, reducing the amount of clicking and page loading needed to find things. http://www.ecauldron.com/bookstore.php The following book and tarot reviews (some included in this newsletter) are new to the web site: * Tarot for All Seasons http://www.ecauldron.com/bktfas.php * All Around the Zodiac http://www.ecauldron.com/bkaatz.php * Reflexology for Beginners http://www.ecauldron.com/bkrfb.php * The Pagan Path http://www.ecauldron.com/bktpptwwol.php * Mini-Motherpeace Tarot Deck http://www.ecauldron.com/trtmmpt.php * Mudras: Yogi in Your Hands http://www.ecauldron.com/bkmyiyh.php [14] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= NEW WEB POLLS ========= We are trying a new poll program on The Cauldron's web site. This one isn't quite as nice as our last one, but it works with the new security restrictions on web hosting company has put in place. To start things off, we are rerunning the poll that was ended in January after only a few days when our old program stopped working. (Note: It's much easier to vote multiple times with this poll program as it does not use cookies, just IP addresses -- but please don't. |
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