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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #57 -- March 2005 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.com/ message board: http://www.ecauldron.net/ newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ shopping: http://www.ecauldron.com/mall.php http://www.ecauldron.com/doxysbazaar.php In this Issue: [01] Editorial Notes * Annual Cauldron Donation Drive Report * Cauldron and Candle Submissions Needed, As Always [02] Cauldron Challenge: March [03] Cauldron News * New Chat Coordinator * "SPAM" Rule Revised [04] Cauldron Discussions [05] Reviews [05-1] Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara [05-2] The Meaning of Witchcraft [05-3] The Sea Priestess [05-4] Meditations with the Cherokee [05-5] Medicine of the Cherokee [05-6] The Witch's Shield [05-7] Green Spirituality [05-8] Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch [06] Articles: [06-1] Online Witchcraft and Pagan Courses [06-2] Common Questions About Paganism [06-3] Feng-Shui for Business and Office [06-4] March -- The Month of Mars [06-5] Tarot Decks Come in Three Flavors [07] Columns [07-1] Kitchen Witchin [07-2] Humor: Pagan Questions and Answers [08] Pagan Webcrafting [08-1] The Proper Way to Use The Robots.txt File [08-2] Three Tips To Improve Your Web Site's Usability [08-3] See RSS Feeds From Your Website [08-4] Cheap Web Hosting Report: March 2005 [09] Support The Cauldron by Volunteering to Help [10] Newsletter Information (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) +++April Issue Submission Deadline: March 25, 2005+++ Guidelines: http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/submissions.php [01] ========= ========= EDITORIAL NOTES ========= by Randall Sapphire ========= ===== ===== Annual Cauldron Donation Drive Report ===== Our annual donation drive for ecauldron.com (the main web site with our articles, reviews, newsletters, etc.) is over and I am happy to report we received enough donations to pay our annual web hosting bill. We did not get the huge individual donations that put us over the top in a week in 2004, instead we received a large number of smaller donations from a larger number of members over the entire month. To be honest, that's probably better for everyone as more people are investing in the board which makes it more of a community effort. I'd like to thank everyone who donated for making it very easy for us to pay the annual web hosting bill, but I'd also like to thank those who could not donate cash, but through their message board posts, articles, book reviews, etc. help make The Cauldron a fun and informative place to be. ===== ===== Cauldron and Candle Submissions Needed, As Always ===== We still need submissions. We did not receive any recipes last month so our Kitchen Witchin' column is empty this month. We did receive several nice articles and this issue of the newsletter is much better for them. The submission folder on my drive is just about empty, however, so if you have an idea for an article, now would be a great time to write it up. We even make it easy for you to submit items with a couple of handy forms on our web site: Handy Article Submission Form: http://www.ecauldron.com/persontestart.php Book Review Submission Form: http://www.ecauldron.com/persontestbr.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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] ========= ========= CAULDRON CHALLENGE: MARCH ========= by Star ========= Here in the Northern Hemisphere, spring is on its way. For most of us, it's not quite here yet, but I think it will be here for many of us by the end of March. Soon, there will be nice green growing things all over the place--plants sending shoots up, seeds sprouting, trees budding out. In that vein, your Challenge for the month of March is to make something grow. Now, I hear all of you who have black thumbs like me protesting already. :) Don't worry--I'm very aware of the fact that some people (myself included!) are just lethal to plants. Therefore, I'm going to specify that the "growth" need not be of the strictly literal kind relating to plants. If you prefer, you could choose to interpret "growth" as relates to this Challenge in a different way. You might choose to make your confidence grow, or your savings, for example. And of course there's always the literal interpretation, planting something and coaxing it along. So--what are you going to make grow? http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4128.1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LOOKING FOR A PAGAN FRIENDLY WEB HOST? We use DreamHost because it is affordable and reliable, but mainly because its terms of service allow web sites with anything legal: our web site will not be pulled because we review a few books on sex magick or an erotic tarot deck. It's a great host for Pagan web sites. http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?27905/shared/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [03] ========= ========= CAULDRON NEWS ========= by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum Staff ========= ===== ===== New Chat Coordinator ===== After serving as Chat Coordinator since we started chats back on DelphiForums a couple of years ago, Shadow has decided to step down as Chat Coordinator. I'd like to thank her for getting our chats up and running and making them successful. Chats were her idea and she and the chat staff have done a great job of it. Chabas has volunteered to take over at Chat Coordinator. She is a regular chatter, host of one our current chats, and a long-time member of both The Cauldron and Cauldron staff. Our chats are in good hands. Shadow isn't stepping completely away, however -- she will be our Assistant Chat Coordinator. ===== ===== "SPAM" Rule Revised ===== Due to the large number of Spam (unapproved unsolicited advertising) messages that have been posted to The Cauldron's message board over the past few weeks (and the confusion some of our regular members have experienced trying to figure out if some innocent post of theirs will be considered Spam) we have revised our rules to make the "No Spam" rule stand out and revised and lengthened our Advertising Rule Notes to give much more info Our New no spam rule bluntly reads: 'Unapproved unsolicited advertising (aka "spam") is not allowed on this forum. See Advertising Rule Notes below for details and for how to request approval to post an advertising message.' The "Advertising Rule Notes" now reads: Advertising Rule Notes: * Unsolicited advertising (commercial or non-commercial, pagan or non-pagan) messages not approved in advance in accordance with the procedures in this paragraph is generally considered "spam": the content of the message is deleted and our members post Spam (the Hormel product) recipes and otherwise make fun of the post. Spam messages posted as one of the first ten messages posted by a new member may result in a ban. If you really think your ad would be of interest to our members, please query the Message Board Coordinator (or the Hosts as a last resort) in email with a copy of the ad text you wish to post and request permission to post it. They will look at the ad and make a decision. The only exception to this rule is that regular posters on our message board are usually allowed to make short, one time informative announcements of new non-commercial forums, mailing lists, or personal item sales of direct interest to Pagans in our Internet folder without obtaining advance permission. * It is not considered advertising to post a direct link to (or information about) a business or product in response to bona fide question in a message thread (as long as one discloses any interest one might have in the business/product). Nor is it considered advertising for regular posters on our message board to post a link to an item or business to discuss it. * Reasonable links to one's business are allowed in signatures provided they are links and not ads. Note, however, that affiliate links are not allowed in messages or signatures if they conflict with the affiliate relationships of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. Exceptions to this affiliate link rule may be granted by the Hosts in special cases (e.g. an author linking to his/her own books), talk to the Hosts if you think an exception is warranted. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CAULDRON AND CANDLE WEB SITE The Cauldron and Candle has its own web site where we store our back issues for easy reading. http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [04] ========= ========= CAULDRON DISCUSSIONS ========= Recent Discussion Topics on our Message Board ========= In an average month, over 150 new discussion topics are started on The Cauldron's message board. Here are a few of the more interesting discussions from the last month. It's not too late to join in. Thanks to Bloglet, you can now receive an email every night on days we post new site news items to the main page of The Cauldron's web site. These emails contain a link to the new item and the first couple of lines of the news text. You can sign up for Bloglet's free news delivery via the form at the end of the site "News and Updates" section of The Cauldron's main web page. === === Deity Love Without Limits? === I recently ran into a website that claimed: "The love of the Pagan gods and goddesses is without limits". Do you agree with this statement? From your experience with various deities - is it true? Do you feel that the gods you work with have unconditional love to you? Will they love you no matter what you do? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4164.1 === === Fluff Bunnies as Laity? === This idea first came up a couple of weeks ago in another online community I frequent. At first I thought it was silly, but reading through the "Ranting Witches" thread, I've given it some more thought. Could it be that the proliferation of fluff-bunnies indicates the formation of a Neo-Pagan/Wiccanesque laity? Granted, I'm not talking about people who base their practice on *false* information, but rather on people who don't wish to go any deeper, serve as priests, or do much research about the subtleties of ritual and the origin of myths? Are we painting all "fluffs" with a broad brush? Should we distinguish between those who refuse to learn or acknowledge false information and those who simply wish to stay with the basics because it's enough to satisfy their spiritual needs? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4160.1 === === Wiccan/Pagan Authors to Avoid? === My question here is: What authors or books should people avoid due to misinformation, poor credibility, and general fluffiness? I know, for example, Silver RavenWolf is a no-no to quote as an authority on anything, but I was really surprised that DJ Conway had a bad reputation as well. I'm personally interested in finding out about authors I already own, Ted Andrews, Sirona Knight, DJ Conway (I'd like to hear more about Conway), Amber K, Raymond Buckland, Francesca De Grandis, Scott Cunningham, Caitlin and John Matthews, and Vivianne Crowley. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4134.1 === === Your Daily Religious Practice? === Is there some religious act or ritual or exercise that you do on a daily basis? And if so, would you care to share? I start my morning with centering, grounding and a few simple breathing exercises (goes well with my morning coffee). I then go outside and say a short hymn to my goddess while watering the flowers that I planted in the garden for her. If it's a rainy day, I say the hymn indoors, on a lit candle. Also every day before bedtime, I center ground and shield again. How about you? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4061.1 === === Is Witchcraft Dangerous? === Some people say that magic, witchcraft or various occult practices are "dangerous". Such statements aren't only made by people who misunderstand magic, but can also be found in various witchcraft 101 books. Do you agree? Is there danger in practicing magic? Which aspects of practicing magic could be dangerous? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4046.1 === === Big Fat Religious Copouts === I thought it would be fun for folks to post their favorite religious copouts. What I'm talking about here is when people justify their theological positions or behaviors that don't match the tenets of their faith with lame responses. Some examples: Q: If Christianity says "Thou Shalt Not Kill", then how do you explain the Crusades? A: Oh, those people weren't really Christians. Real Christians wouldn't do that sort of thing. (I've actually heard this exchange, believe it or not.) or Q: If Wicca is really an ancient religion, then why his there no evidence of it before this century. A: Oh, all those ancient people worshipped One Goddess and One God, they just didn't know it. That, and they used herbs, so they must have been Wiccan. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4032.1 === === Wicca and Homosexuality === Someone recently asked me a question that I was not 100% sure on how to answer, and since this is a rather diverse group here, I'd thought I run it by you all and get your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc. The question was about Paganism (or rather Wicca) and homosexuality. The person asking wanted to know how a belief system so focused on balance between God and Goddess, masculine and feminine, male and female could be so accepting of same-sex unions and the GLBT community in general. The answer I was able to come up with was about how each of us has both God and Goddess, masculine and feminine, male and female within us and our outward, physical gender (aka "plumbing") is not as important. Love the person for who s/he is, not weather or not s/he stands up to pee or not. (Y'know what I mean.) Does this make sense? Do you, any of you agree with this statement of mine? Would you have answered it differently? Please let me know. I'm eager to read your opinions. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=4017.1 === === Opinions on Alternative Medicine? === Alternative medicine has in the recent few years become the rage across the planet. Virtually every patient I meet if you start to thoroughly go across their medical history would confess to trying a form of alternative therapy or the other in the past. Some are actively on it, while some come in with end stage disease after avoiding medicine and going for the alternative and at the last minute practically come limping to the hospital for treatment. Question, given that this forum is frequented by Wiccans, Asatruars, Druids, Kemetics, etc.. and that given a lot of this "alternative" therapies seem to be rather popular among NeoPagans of all walks, I would like to hear what Pagans here believe about alternative therapy, its role in medicine and society, regulation of alternative practices and what is real, what may be real and what is complete nonsense. * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=3958.1 === === Unbelievable Occult Claims === In the 6 years I have been studying Wicca and magick, I've met people who have claimed some strange things. For example, that I was one of a special group of 6 people that reincarnated every life with the task to stop some great evil from taking over the world. (Of course, this special group included the claimant as well) One of my friends knew a girl in high school who claimed to have a wind demon for a boyfriend. I've known people online who claimed they were really shape shifters. Not in the metaphysical "I took on the body of my animal totem in trance" sense, but in the real, "I become a bird and fly around" sense. So the question is: What is the most unbelievable occult thing anyone has ever claimed to you? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=3950.1 === === Walking Away From Others Over Religion? === The other morning I was listening to the radio and the DJs did a 5 minute Hollywood gossip. They brought up a story about Madonna and how she is now cutting friends and family members out of her life if they do no follow the Kabbalah as she, herself, does. First I rolled my eyes, but then I began to wonder if there are others who, while maybe not taking it to as drastic extremes as she seems to be, have considered backing away from relationships with others who do not hold the same spiritual beliefs as they do. If someone you are close with, a sibling or life long friend, brings up the fact that what you believe and practice are total opposites of their own belief system, would you feel that it was a big enough difference to walk away from them unless they agree to reform to your way of thinking? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/cncboard.php?m=3898.1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 or PayPal and help us pay the web site bills. Donate via PayPal http://www.ecauldron.com/donatepaypal.php Donate via Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [05] =============== ============ BOOK AND DECK REVIEWS ========= Most of The Cauldron's book reviews are now written by Mike Gleason. If you would like to contact Mike with comments about his reviews (or about books you would like to have reviewed), you can email Mike at: gleason.mike@ecauldron.GETRIDOFME.com [05-1] ========= ========= REVIEW: CELEBRATING THE SEASONS OF LIFE: ========= SAMHAIN TO OSTARA ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara: Lore, Rituals, Activities, and Symbols Author: Ashleen O'Gaea Trade Paperback, 221 pages Publisher: New Page Books Publication date: 2004 Price: US$14.99, C$22.50 ISBN: 1564147312 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1564147312 I read Ashleen's first book (Raising Witches) years ago, and was impressed by her common-sense approach to conveying information, so I was looking forward to seeing this first half of her work on the Sabbats (the second half, Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon is due out this fall). By dividing the year into two parts, as did our ancient Celtic ancestors, Ashleen accomplishes several different things: she gives herself more space to discuss each Sabbat; she restricts the space she can devote to each Sabbat; she reinforces the ancient perception of the division of the year into Winter and Summer; and she can make it easier to compare rituals, symbolism, and activities among the Sabbats. Doing it this way also makes it more convenient for the reader - at a bit more than 200 pages each book is a more convenient size. If some of these accomplishments (especially the first two) seem to be contradictory, that is simply an illustration of life itself. No one ever claimed that life had to make sense. Dedicating 40 to 50 pages to each Sabbat -- its lore, rituals, activities and symbols, allows for an adequate development of a feeling for the Sabbat while still leaving a thirst for more. It is that thirst which impels the personal development of Witches and Wiccans. Too little information frustrates and too much stifles individual creativity. Ashleen seems to have found a happy medium in this book. While there are no startling revelations, it is not a lot of rehashing of other authors. What you have here is Ashleen's personal take on the topic. Whether you agree with her or not, you have to respect her desire to share her own experiences and knowledge, as well as her ability to convey that knowledge clearly. She wants to plant ideas in your mind and allow them to grow within you. I think she does this very well. Her suggested activities for each Sabbat are fun (and that is, after all, an important connection to the gods) and easy to do. They can involve all ages. This is not the final word on Sabbats. As Ashleen says in the conclusion "By this time next year, you and I both will be able to say more about the Sabbats, and how we celebrate them, than we can right now." It is, however, a good start. If the second book is as good as this, and I have no reason to doubt that, they will form a good basis for learning about the relationships among the Sabbats. She includes suggestions for casting a circle (for the newbies among her readers) and suggestions for conveying age-appropriate information to children about the Sabbats, as well as a short list of correspondences in the appendices. All of these, as she reminds us, are simply suggestions, and need to be viewed through our own experiences. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bkctsolsto.php [05-2] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE MEANING OF WITCHCRAFT ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= The Meaning of Witchcraft Author: Gerald Gardner Trade Paperback, 288 pages Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser Publication date: 1959, 2004 Price: US$19.95 ISBN: 1578633095 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1578633095 If you have been trained in a lineaged tradition of Witchcraft, you have probably read this book. If you joined the Craft more than 10 years ago, you have probably read this book. If you don't fall into either of the above categories, or if you simply haven't gotten around to reading this book, it is time to pick up this reprint by Weiser. This was only the second public statement of Witch beliefs in the modern English-speaking world. Over the years I have heard a lot of people dispute Gardner's claims (and claims about Gardner); mostly from people I strongly suspect have never taken the time to actually read this book. While we can never know for sure how much Gardner inherited from his initiators and how much he cobbled together on his won, at least in this book we have his statements first hand. I first read this book more than a quarter of a century ago. Every time I got a copy into my library, I made the mistake of loaning it out (and losing it). With this reprint, I can now tell my students where they can get their own copies. It belongs in the library of every serious student, if only for the historical value. One of the things which struck me as I began this book was how little things have changed in four and a half decades - Churchmen still preach against the "devil-worshipping Witches," and if something goes wrong in a locality with a publicly known Witch anywhere in sight, you can be sure who will get the blame for "causing" the misfortune. Say what you will about Gerald Gardner, he knew human nature. He knew that the public, although curious about Witchcraft, was reluctant to grant it legitimate religious status. It was all a thrill to read about in the Sunday papers near Halloween, but no rational person could possibly believe in it; could they? In his time, there was no one to present the Witches' side of things. Nowadays there are too many people presenting "the Witches'" side of things, and most of them disagree with each other. In Chapter II ("Witches Memories and Beliefs") the author makes a statement which many of his detractors seem to have missed: "It is just what I think, not what I know, because I do not see how anyone will ever find the first beginnings." [emphasis his] So, although his religious descendant might treat his theories as holy writ, he didn't see it that way. Let us grant him the same consideration we would any other researcher. His beliefs may, or may not, be disproved, but they at least provided a starting point for further inquiries. It is all too easy to dismiss Gardner's writings and speculations as being his own inventions, but further research has both supported and supplanted them. He is meticulous about reminding his reader that these are his ideas about what may have happened. He should not be held accountable for the actions and beliefs of those who followed him. He, personally, expresses a level of tolerance which could be profitably imitated today. The only thing which current readers may have a problem with is caused by Gardner's education. He was educated at a time when the ability to read Latin was a given. Consequently he includes some quotations from older works in Latin (and some in French) without providing translations. These instances are few, however, and do not detract from the value of the work. Many other authors cite Gardner, and now Red Wheel/Weiser has made this valuable text easily available. Buy this book. Read it. You will gain a better understanding of the early days of modern Wiccan existence. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bktmow.php [05-3] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE SEA PRIESTESS ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= The Sea Priestess Author: Dion Fortune Trade Paperback, 320 pages Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser Publication date: 1935, 2003 Price: US$14.95 ISBN: 1578632900 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1578632900 I have two confessions to make to start this review - First, as is obvious from the copyright data cited above, this is not a new book; Second, this is not the first time I have read this book (although it has been more than 20 years, so it might as well have been) Dion Fortune wrote in a time when things were very different; a time between wars; a time when esoteric matters were held closely and not discussed in public. The proliferation of texts on magical matters could not have been imagined. Secret societies were just that - secret. Their activities were not even hinted at beyond the membership. The nonfiction that she wrote was, to describe it politely, barely informative. Things were hinted at, but no examples of actual works were given, it wasn't considered proper to put that information before the public. Her fiction works contained the examples of practical working, safely "hidden" in the guise of a novel. Her book The Mystical Qabalah dovetails nicely with the information in this book. It provides the theory, while The Sea Priestess provides rituals to apply that theoretical information. Of course, as a psychologist, she had to be most circumspect. It would do her professional reputation no good if she appeared too involved in unorthodox beliefs. Still, her profession gave her an understanding of the human mind and allowed her to cloak many of her teachings in ways which would be acceptable to the public. She did the precaution of writing under a nom-de-plume (besides, Dion Fortune sounds more appealing to my ears than Violet Firth). Her descriptions are vivid. If you allow her words to seep into you, you can see, hear, and smell what she is describing. However, I have to warn you that if you are looking for a novel full of "magical warfare," dueling magicians, and lots of Hollywood-style special effects, you are going to be disappointed. This book was written as a teaching novel. It is "Occult Fiction," but has no hint of an "action novel" about it. It is not a thriller in any sense of the word. It was not designed to appeal to the masses, but to a select audience instead. There is no violence; there are no mysteries; no action sequences. It is, by modern standards, very tame. No sexual innuendo covering furtive gropings. So why read it? There are a number of good reasons to read this book. First of all, it was written before the modern occult revival, so it draws from older sources. Secondly, the author was a competent magician in her own right. Thirdly, as a psychologist, she had a real feel for what makes humankind tick. Finally, it contains very clear accounts of rituals which many practitioners today would be well advised to perform - it might help out the world situation. If, like me, you read this book many years ago, it may be time to pick it up once again and rediscover forgotten truths. It amazed me how much more I got from this latest reading of this novel. If you have never read it before, you might be surprised at the amount of information contained in this book. Some of that information has made its way into some of the "traditional" teachings given to Wiccan students today (often without any acknowledgement of the source of said information, I might add). It is well worth the cost, as are any other books by this author. I recommend that you add this book to your library, or at least to your list of books to borrow and read. I must warn you, however, that if you loan it out, you may need to get another copy. They tend to disappear. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bktsp.php [05-4] ========= ========= REVIEW: MEDITATIONS WITH THE CHEROKEE ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= Meditations with the Cherokee: Prayers, Songs, and Stories of Healing and Harmony Author: J. T. Garrett Trade Paperback, 144 pages Publisher: Bear & Co. Publication date: 2004 Price: US$12.95, C$20.95 ISBN: 1879181592 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1879181592 The author is a member of the Eastern band of Cherokee from North Carolina. He is a public health director in that state, and has worked for the U.S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Services. He has trained as a practitioner of Cherokee Medicine. All of this gives him a unique perspective, as well as a highly individualized approach to sharing that knowledge with others. He obtained permission from various elders to share this information with non-Native Americans, so to fail to do so would be the height of rudeness. Unlike many authors, he strives to make the subject of meditation not only accessible, but fun as well. There are no long, drawn out preparations is this book. Nor are there dire warnings about the need for protective preparations. Instead there are simple directions; easy to understand descriptions; and constant assurances about the ability of anyone to engage in the practice of meditation. The meditations are simple and easy to follow, but that does nothing to decrease their effectiveness. The purpose of these meditations is to show, in the words of the Cherokee, "We are all related." These are meditations which anyone can undertake and benefit from. In the New Age community, as well as in the Pagan/Wiccan communities there has been a great deal of assimilation (or as some have referred to it, theft) of Native American spirituality. If one wishes to use Native American imagery and ritual work in their own workings, there is an obligation to observe a couple of major points: First, one should familiarize oneself with the culture being borrowed from, to make sue that things remain in context (more about this in a moment); and Second, one should acknowledge the source of the borrowed material and offer appropriate thanks. Less importantly, but still not to be overlooked (in my opinion) is the fact that there is not, and never was, a "Native American religion", There were, and are, ways of life specific to the tribes, and these vary. We now return to the context issue. In most Western magickal traditions there are certain colors associated with the directions (blue in the East, red in the South, green in the West, and black in the North as one set of examples). Native Americans have different associations (the Cherokee use red, gold or yellow in the East, white or green in the South, black in the West, and purple or blue in the North). It is obvious, at least to me, that it could be jarring to the spirits invoked if the colors they are used to being associated with are not used by a practitioner. This is where the problem of mixing systems raises its head. If you use Native American imagery, use the appropriate symbols and colors. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then you shouldn't use that imagery. If you take the time to do the meditations Mr. Garrett presents, with an open mind, you will find yourself being drawn into a much more intimate relationship with the world around you. You will find that it is easier to bring yourself into balance with life. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bkmwtc.php [05-5] ========= ========= REVIEW: MEDICINE OF THE CHEROKEE ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= Medicine of the Cherokee: The Way of Right Relationship Author: J. T. Garrett and Michael Garrett Trade Paperback, 220 pages Publisher: Bear & Co Publication date: 1996 Price: US$14.00, C$22.95 ISBN: 1879181371 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1879181371 Truth to tell, I know very little about Native American religious beliefs. That is one of the reasons I requested this book (and the next one I will be reviewing). The authors are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee from North Carolina, and thus have the advantage of speaking from traditional teachings and knowledge, even though they have developed their own techniques for passing that knowledge along to those who do not share the same background and upbringing. This book, which is divided into two separate parts, is very easy to read and, if you read it with an open mind, full of valuable information. Although it is not the ultimate reference on the topic, it is a good starting point, and well worth the small cost. It is important to realize that the authors use the term "medicine" to mean more than just healing. In the Native American experience "medicine" is about the individual's relationship to the world and all its inhabitants. If you want to learn about healing techniques, this book is not for you. If you wish to learn about your place in the world, open this book up and begin the learning process. They do not share the rituals and procedures -- those are held as intensely personal and private, so if that is what you are looking for, you won't find it here. What you will find is a wealth of stories and experiences which can be related to by anyone. Native peoples around the world share a common heritage which permeates, and indeed is, the natural world we all inhabit. The words used to describe that world and our experiences in it might be different, but not the actuality of it. The goal of the authors is to help their readers find the most harmonious way of living. One of the problems they encounter is that the techniques they describe are too easy. Many people today expect to have to "work hard" to gain any useful knowledge. They expect to be challenged and tested. Learning from stories is foreign to their experience, they want to be given facts and figures. This modern way is not the way such knowledge has traditionally been imparted in the families and villages of the past. One learned from personal experience, and from listening to those who were older and more experienced as they discussed their own growth and learning experiences. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bkmotc.php [05-6] ========= ========= REVIEW: THE WITCH'S SHIELD ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= The Witch's Shield: Protection Magick & Psychic Self-Defense Author: Christopher Penczak Trade Paperback, 203 pages Publisher: Llewellyn Publication date: 2004 Price: US$19.95, C$26.95 ISBN: 073870542X Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=073870542X The CD that comes with this book is like attending a class taught by Mr. Penczak. There is an extremely subtle background of music. Chris speaks in a controlled, pleasant voice and allows plenty of time to attune oneself to his style and the experiences being undergone. While nothing can replace the person-to-person interplay of a "real" class, this CD/book combination comes close. It is the first in a projected series designed to bring his classes to those unable to attend in person, for whatever reason. Unlike many authors, Christopher admits to not being perfect. He makes mistakes, has doubts, and, in general, comes across as a real human being; unlike many other authors who strive to hide their imperfections from their readers. This makes his lessons all the more accessible and believable, since the reader can understand how he arrived at the information he is passing along. While I do not share all his attitudes regarding shielding and healing (we have had very different training and life experiences), I am familiar with his sources and know that they are effective. The single most important part of this kind of working is confidence in yourself and the techniques you use. Christopher works hard to instill that confidence. The techniques he teaches are relatively simple, and highly effective. If you want to learn simple, effective methods of shielding yourself, this is an excellent book to own. Listening to the CD which accompanies this book will provide you with a template for your own rituals. Christopher's voice will gently lead you through the rituals and the intonations. I do wish, however, that he had inserted notes in the text referring the reader to the appropriate track when discussing the techniques. That was my only quibble with this combination, which I hope inspires other authors to include CDs with books on ritual techniques. Not having a feeling for cadence, or pronunciation of unfamiliar terms is often a deterrent for learning new techniques when just starting out. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bktws.php [05-7] ========= ========= REVIEW: GREEN SPIRITUALITY ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= Green Spirituality: Magic in the Midst of Life Author: Rosa Romani Trade Paperback, 217 pages Publisher: Green Magic Publication date: 2004 Price: US$16.99 ISBN: 0954296362 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=0954296362 Ms. Romani starts this book with an idea which is seldom expressed in today's world - religion and spirituality are not necessarily synonyms. That assumption underlies the foundation of this book. The desire to connect with divinity often inspires us to look to mythology, the deep recesses of the earth and the furthest reaches of the vastness of space. She suggests that we look a bit closer to home -- to the other inhabitants of this world through which we travel daily. Let us look to all the creatures that move upon the face of this planet, as well as to the forces which shape the planet. And let us not forget the planet itself -- the rocks and waters, the winds and fires. All of these have much to teach us, if only we will open our minds to hear what is being offered. She is well aware of the differences which go into making up humanity. No -- not gender, race and nationality, but different abilities. Many authors have written about the necessity of reconnecting with the natural world, often by taking a walk in the forest or on a sea shore without offering alternatives for those who, for whatever reason, are incapable of enjoying those activities -- those who are crippled, those who are deaf, etc. Ms. Romani acknowledges these differing abilities and makes accommodations for them in her suggestions. There are no gods or goddesses mentioned in this book. It is not about worship in any way, shape, or form. It is about working with the inhabitants of the land -- plant, land, animal, and human constructs. As such, some Pagans may find this book not to their liking. The ideas contained within this book are well within the ethics of Paganism. Ms. Romani has a tendency to see our ancestors as having lived in a low-impact relationship with the environment, which I am not so sure is in tune with reality. There is no doubt that industrialization had major impact on the quality of our environment, but so to did slash and burn land clearing which came much earlier. As the human population expanded, so did the degradation of the environment. That occurred long before the impact of non-Pagan religions. Let us not over-idealize our pagan ancestors. Ms. Romani advocates a lifestyle which represents a major alteration in attitude for the vast majority of her readers. Although she stresses that, in her opinion, it is a necessary part of reclaiming our connection to the energy of the world around us, I suspect that many readers will be put off by the hints of radicalism which permeate this book. That doesn't make it any less valuable, just less palatable to many readers. Unfortunately, I suspect that this is book which will be agreed with, in principle, by a large number of people, but followed by very few. She represents what, I feel, is a very small segment of the Pagan population. I'm not sure if that segment is growing at this time or not, but I have the personal feeling that it will be a very long time before it can be considered anything but a fringe element in the worldview, regardless how many adherents it picks up, simply because of the inertia of Western society at large. It is a valuable, well-written book, well worth the time and effort to read and absorb it. My only regret in regard to it is that it will probably be overlooked by a lot of folks who would find it valuable in their own lives. It doesn't contain any of the "buzz" words on the front cover (Pagan, Wiccan, radical, etc.), the cover is fairly subdued in appearance, and there is nothing to indicate how life-altering the information within can be. If readers turn to the back cover, they will see that this book is classified, by the publishers, as "Spirituality/Green Awareness/Wildwood Magic", which does nothing to clarify the issue. Many people will assume that it has to do with landscaping or similar ideas, I fear. Take the time to read this book and you will find yourself questioning your beliefs about the relationships between humanity and the "natural world." It may not change your mind, but it might make you rethink your reasons for believing as your do. If for no other reason, that makes this a worthwhile book. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bkgsmitmol.php [05-8] ========= ========= REVIEW: SELF-INITIATION FOR THE SOLITARY WITCH ========= Reviewed by Mike Gleason ========= Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch: Attaining Higher Spirituality Through a Five-Degree System Author: Shanddaramon Trade Paperback, 256 pages Publisher: New Page Books Publication date: 2000 Price: US$14.99, C$20.95 ISBN: 1564147266 Amazon Link: http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=1564147266 Wicca as a system of five degrees? Why not? It seems to be the growing trend nowadays. The degree system, even less then any other aspect of Wicca is not set in stone. I have worked in systems using one, three and five degrees each, myself. If one correlates the degrees to the elements within a five degree system, my only disagreement with the concept of this particular layout is with the starting point. I feel, personally, that the first degree should be Earth - for the grounding and stability it brings, not Air. Still, if the system works, and only time will tell about that, what I feel isn't important. One thing I have a real problem with, regardless who the author or publisher of a book might be, is sloppy reporting of facts. The section of this work entitled "Wiccan History" (pages 71-76) gave me such a problem. On page 71 the author refers to some claims as "...dating back before pre-Christian times." So, what, exactly, was before "pre-Christian times"? -- except for everything prior to the incarnation of Jesus? It doesn't get any better. Page 73 identifies 1692 as "The Burning Times". Funny, I remember the Burning Times as being during the Medieval period of history (well before the 17th century); 1184 as "Founding of the Hermetic Society" - did he mean the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn? On page 74 he says in regard to 1947 - "It is commonly believed that Gardner and Dafo start the New Forest Coven, England." The coven was well-established before Gardner joined. Page 75 has, for 1971, "What Witches Do by Stewart Farrar - Comprehensive discussion and rituals of Gardnerian tradition." Sorry, the topic of the book was the Alexandrian tradition. None of these, it is true, and major problems, but with so many slips in only 6 pages, it makes me wonder how accurate other information in this book actually is. When attempting to lay a foundation, particular attention must be paid to the details. I understand the concepts of self-empowerment, and of self- initiation. However, telling the student to write a First Degree Initiation without, at least, a brief listing of items of importance in such a ritual is just a bit wide of the mark, in my opinion. Of course, I come to this topic as a lineaged initiate, so I do have a bias to overcome. I would have suggested that it should revolve around the concepts of death and rebirth, if nothing else. The format is not as important as the theme, in my experience. I really appreciate the fact that he stresses, throughout the book, the need for experience as well as, if not more than, intellectual knowledge. That, plus the fact that he reminds the student that self-written rituals are far more powerful than any you might find in a book, goes a long way towards making this a worthwhile resource. I'm not sure why he chose red light as a symbol for using your aura as a shield, but it makes sense. If someone is directing energy at you, and they sense a red color, it may trigger a normal "red equals danger" though, and cause them the back away. It isn't the way I was trained, but it makes sense, and I will be experimenting with it. In the chapter on Third Degree, the author makes a suggestion which many practitioners would do well to adopt. He refers to the creation of magickal books, such as one devoted to ritual use, one listing the books you have read (with a commentary on what you found useful, etc.), a divination notebook, one devoted to symbols, etc. Quite often people find themselves searching for one particular bit of information that seems to stay just out of reach of their memory. By sorting this information into separate books, it can narrow down the search area and time. Plus, as one's experiences and researches grow, trying to keep it all in a single book becomes quite cumbersome. Further, if you decide (at some point) to teach you can use the appropriate books as an aid without overwhelming a student. As a plan of study and growth, this book offers a good deal to think about and incorporate into a personal development plan. I have a few reservations about some of the sequencing, but there is no reason it wouldn't work as planned. So long as one is capable of being honest with themselves when it comes to evaluating their needs and progress, it will aid development. Whether you plan to continue as a solitary, or found your own group, the training outlined in this book is worthwhile. This review is available on our web site at http://www.ecauldron.com/mg/bksiftsw.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SHOP ONLINE AT THE CAULDRON MALL Shop Amazon, Catalog City, Abebooks, and other stores at The Cauldron Shopping Mall. Every purchase from our one of our mall links helps support The Cauldron and this newsletter. http://www.ecauldron.com/mall.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [06] =============== ============ ARTICLES ========= [06-1] ========= ========= ONLINE WITCHCRAFT AND PAGAN COURSES ========= by Jenett ========= There are some great courses out there, and some questionable ones. It's not always easy to tell which is which. (A note: when I say 'courses' in this article, I mean witchcraft, Pagan, or related classes, not academic classes.) ===== ===== The issue of text =====   All the online witchcraft/Pagan courses I've seen are text based (sometimes with illustrations). This means that they can only teach things that can be put into words or pictures. Someone can be a good teacher without being a good writer.   There are lots of different writing styles. Some work well online. Others don't. Different styles can work best for different topics. Writing for beginners is different than writing for people familiar with a topic. It's fairly easy for a decent teacher who's also a decent writer to teach factual material online (information about a particular culture, folklore, history, etc.) It's harder to talk about practical or experiential learning.   It's possible to effectively teach basic herbal information or safety concerns through text. It's harder to teach someone to make herbal preparations, or for a teacher to give feedback. (It's also harder to learn to identify plants if you can't hold them and smell them.)   The same goes for teaching energy techniques or ritual methods. In in an online class, you may not think to mention a particular impression or feeling. You may not have words for it. In a face to face class, a teacher might notice a glitch even if you can't find explain it.   There are also subjects that can't be taught, such as religious mysteries. Part of this is definitional: mysteries are something you need to experience. But there's another aspect that people sometimes forget: text-based teaching (as online classes pretty much have to be right now) puts us in a intellectual mindset. This works great for some kinds of learning, but not for all. Part of designing a good course is making sure you're using a format that suits the material. =====  ===== The quality of the teacher =====   Successful online teaching means that the teacher has to know their subject, and be comfortable communicating about it online. Unfortunately, a number of online classes don't manage this well.   In some cases, teachers have only been studying that subject for a year or two. They don't have a wide range of experience. They often don't have much practice dealing with less common questions, concerns, or problems.   It takes time to develop a deeper understanding of a subject. It also takes time to learn how to teach a topic. Teaching in person gives the teacher feedback they need to improve as a teacher. It's much harder to get that online.   Other teachers of online classes have extensive in-person teaching experience. However, their online interactions sometimes show that they're not very comfortable communicating online, or with people from a range of different backgrounds, technical abilities, or communication styles.   Sometimes they aren't very familiar with online group dynamics. Maybe they aren't good at reading for tone, or using tools to help avoid misunderstandings. They don't always understand the different ways people interact online. These types of problems can definitely get in the way of learning.   There's nothing wrong with informal or casual writing, as long as the meaning is clear and the student can find the information they want or need. The problems start when there's confusion, ambiguity, or poor communication.   Finally, sometimes people claim skills or training they don't actually have. For example, people have claimed to offer training and initiation in the Gardnerian or Alexandrian traditions solely through online interactions. That just isn't how those traditions work. If you're interested in learning about a particular path, research the path first.   ===== ===== The question of time =====   Most people write more slowly than they talk. It therefore takes the teacher more time to write an email than to have that discussion in person. How much information can they share, especially if they've got other obligations (a job, family, or other commitments)? In a face to face class, other students hear all the questions, answers, and discussion: there's less repetition and the conversation goes faster.   How much does the teacher go beyond the pre-written material? If you ask a question, do you get a quick, superficial answer, or a more involved one? Do you get some pointers, or are you brushed off?   I've seen a number of very generic, superficial answers to questions. Often, there's not even an acknowledgement that they're doing a surface answer and there's to learn about that topic. That's not very good teaching.   ===== ===== Original material =====   These days, there are many books out there on a variety of Pagan topics. What does this class or this teacher offer that books don t?   In some cases, the answer's obvious. They're teaching how a specific group does things, or they're providing information that isn't readily available in book form (such as some Kemetic online classes do). This is an excellent reason for an online class. Classes can also offer a chance to talk to like-minded people.   In other cases, the answer is harder. Sometimes people put a lot of time and effort into their material, but what they're teaching is available in a number of other sources. What added value do you get from the class? Access to an involved, experienced teacher who's good at communicating online or an ongoing active community are great reasons to take a class. But is that really what you're getting?   ===== ===== Evaluation =====   How does the teacher decide if you've learned something? Many students like feedback. However, a lot of online classes use some flawed evaluation methods.   Some classes use multiple choice questions. These may be easy to answer if you've read the material. To test true understanding and analysis, you usually need other kinds of questions: short essays or some application of the material.   However, it's also easier to grade and correct multiple choice or short answer tests than it is to grade even short essays (ask any school teacher). If you've got one volunteer teacher, 20 students, and lots of questions, that can take time. On the other hand, more in-depth questions and responses generally result in better understanding.   What happens if you're trying to teach skills, not just knowledge? How do you tell (online) if your student is able to ground, center, or do various ritual or energy tasks? Some kinds of assignments from the teacher (keeping a journal, describing the process, asking them to teach the method they use in their own words) give a much better idea than others.   What does completing the class really mean? If you're learning for yourself, this may not matter. If you're expecting benefits or recognition in other parts of the community, look carefully.   ===== ===== Practicalities: Scheduling and money =====   Scheduling can work two ways: classes are offered at specific times, or people work at their own pace. The first one is hard if something comes up (even for a very good reason) for either teacher or student. In an online setting, it can be hard to catch up.   Does the teacher keep going on schedule? What happens if people don't turn in assignments? How do they feel if no one responds? (It can be awfully disheartening.)   Working at your own pace, these things aren't a big problem. However, you may not have immediate access to a teacher if you have concerns or questions. This makes more of a difference with types of content than others.   Charging for teaching is a huge issue in the Pagan community, and it doesn't go away online. When you pay, what are you paying for? Do all funds go for expenses? Are teachers paid for their time? It can be a warning sign if some people in a group get paid for their time, but teachers are volunteer. If you're paying a lot of money, how much time with the teacher do you get?   ===== ===== Conclusion =====   If you're looking at a course, think about what you really want. Are you looking for information, community, or help with a specific topic? Can you find those things elsewhere? If you want interaction with a teacher, does that course really provide it? Or would you better off reading books and finding a forum to discuss them?   Once you look at specific courses, does a particular teacher know what they're doing? Do they have a reasonable amount of experience? If they're new to teaching, what support do they have?   How do they communicate? Do they seem secure, even if you ask questions? Do they seem to understand and use subtlety in their online writing? Or is everything very concrete?   Does the course seem fair to the teacher, as well as to you? Trust your instincts. If something seems odd or weird, don't make commitments until you've figured out why. Take the time to find the right place for you. [06-2] ========= ========= Common Questions About Paganism ========= by Sasha ========= If you are just discovering paganism, the wealth of information may seem overwhelming. I have compiled a list of questions that are often heard from newcomers. These are broad questions that can be hard to answer with specific information tailored to each individual. Hopefully, this FAQ will give you information you can use to narrow down your search. Q. Where do I start? A. This is a near-universal question. I recommend a little introspection. Are you looking for a religion (consisting of worship of deities) or are you interested in a magical craft? While some pagan religions blend the two, many do not. Pagan religions range from reconstructionist to eclectic. Many practice witchcraft or ceremonial magic without religious overtones. Where do your interests lie? Becoming familiar with the lingo of paganism and the definitions of often-used terms is important. You will discover that definitions vary (and often result in heated arguments). As you are starting out, learning to differentiate between pagan, Wiccan, and witch is important. Which leads us to the next question. . . Q. What is the difference between a pagan, Wiccan, and witch? A. Contrary to the opinion of some popular authors, the terms are not synonymous. Paganism is often used as an umbrella term to describe pagan religions. Wicca is but one of these religions. Reconstructionist religions (Hellenismos, Asatru, Kemeticism, etc.) are another kind. Wicca and recon religions have very little in common with each other as religious practices. Still other types of pagan religions exist, such as Gywddon, Feri, Discordianism, and Satanism. Wicca is one practice of religious witchcraft. (Dianic paganism is often considered another.) While all Wiccans are witches, not all witches are Wiccans (or even pagan). Witchcraft can be practiced in conjunction with any compatible religion, or as a practice unto itself. Q. Do all pagans follow the rede? A. No. Each religion has its own system of ethics, many of which are antithetical to "harming none." Also, Wiccans themselves disagree as to the meaning and importance of the rede. Many note that "harm none" is a shortened version that does not faithfully encompass the whole poem's meaning. There is a wealth of articles on the web that provide more information. Q. How can I find a coven or group to practice with? A. The first stop for finding someone in your area is www.witchvox.com. Their directory is the most complete one on the web, especially for Wicca. However, many people are not listed in the directory. If you live in a rural area, it may be difficult to find someone to practice with. If you do find someone, he or she may not have the same beliefs or practices that you do. Patience is a virtue in finding a coven or group. It may mean networking or searching for a long time to find the group that you fit with. It may be best to remain solitary rather than becoming part of a group that does not meet your needs, or, even worse, is unethical. Q. The coven I found says I'm too young. Now what? A. Many covens and groups have an age requirement due to legal fears. Some have the limit because they feel that an underage person does not have enough maturity to practice with them. Whatever the reason, don't be discouraged: the religion will still exist when you are older. Many of our members have excellent ideas for how you can begin your training while still underage. Sana's page, http://www.homecircle.info/Ayoungletter.html, is pertinent for aspiring Wiccans, although some of her advice applies to other religions as well. Ready mythology and history, learn languages. Being well-read will give you an excellent foundation for future pagan studies (and it doesn't hurt for other aspects of your life, either!). Q. What are your beliefs in deity? A. There are many kinds of belief. Some believe in the gods as archetypes. Others believe that gods have many facets and that all gods are really one. Still others believe that each god is a separate and distinct entity. These are just three types of belief. Others include monotheism, pantheism, and henotheism. Exploring how you see deity may help you in your search to find the religion that best fits you. For example, reconstructionists tend to be overwhelmingly hard polytheists. Q. How do I determine which god(dess) to worship? A. There are many ways to connect with deity. On the historical level, a first step includes reading the myths associated with those gods that you are interested in. Read modern takes on myths and talk with people who worship those gods today. This may be difficult if you are interested in a culture with few written records or have been called by a deity whose name you don't know. Praying to that deity and honoring him or her will help you develop a relationship with that deity. Many will tell you that you don't choose which deity to worship; the deity will choose you. Don't feel disappointed if this doesn't happen right away (or ever). Some pagans don't ever get called by a particular deity. Keep in mind that you might not end up worshipping the deity (or pantheon) that you initially chose. This is a common occurrence as well. [06-3] ========= ========= FENG-SHUI FOR BUSINESS AND OFFICE ========= by Lynn Ristich ========= Feng-Shui in your place of business is as important as in your home. The most important determinant is to try to protect your back from either an open door, other desk or a window. Try to place your desk in a commanding position, but not aiming at colleagues because this could create an unconscious feeling of hostility. The area around your immediate work space should be neat and free from clutter. Especially at floor level it is helpful to group together wires to that they don't create a mass of crossed and conflicting energies. "Desk clutter" might be near impossible to avoid, but you should try to guard against semipermanent piles of paper. Try to sort through it at least once every few days. Any pile of paper that is consistently ignored will accumulate a negative chi. If you have an office to yourself, you have the opportunity to work in the northern sector to enhance your career or the south east sector to enhance your wealth. Try to avoid sharp angled desk lights. A curved neck banker's lamp is better. Book cases should be kept neat or be cover by doors to avoid cutting Sha, The attractiveness of the entrance to the place of business cannot be over -stressed. The reception area just inside the door should be welcoming and free of clutter. Obviously for a business the southeast sector, the wealth sector, is the relevant one. Here the element is wood, and wood is produced by water. A fountain, a fish tank or pond placed in this sector will improve the wealth potential of the business. If you Don't have much control over office decor there are still effective changes you can make at home. For career advancement, first analyze the external influences on the northern side of your home. Check all windows facing this direction for visible secret arrows. Any invisible "secret arrows" which are screened off so you cannot see them, have no effect. If improving your career is your goal, then plan to stimulate the northern sector identified with water. What produces water? Metal. A suitable metal Chi enhancer is a hollow, metal wind chime placed in this sector. Do not over emphasize the earth element in the northern sector by use of crystals or other earth- oriented items. The color of this sector is dark blue or black. Adding a blue light in this sector is helpful. A fish tank directly symbolizing water is also good, but you should choose blue or black fish, avoiding red or gold fish. Do not place plants in the northern sector at home nor work as they will sap the vitality of water in this sector Applying these Feng-Shui principles will enhance your career opportunities, prosperity and luck. ===== ===== About the Author ===== Mrs. Lynn is a Feng-Shui consultant with more than 25 years' experience. Author and lecturer. Seen on CBS Morning News. Writer of "Ask The Psychic" in the Chicago Suntimes. Recently published in "Crain's Chicago Business". For more information visit http://www.asklynn.net/ [06-4] ========= ========= MARCH -- THE MONTH OF MARS ========= (Chapter III of The Stories of the Months and Days ========= by Reginald C. Couzens [1923]) ========= This month, originally the first in the year, is named after Mars, the God of War. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, the king and queen of the gods, and was generally represented in a shining suit of armour, with a plumed helmet on his head, a spear in one hand, and a shield in the other. His chariot was driven by the Goddess of War, Bellona, who also watched over his safety in battle; for the gods often took part in the battles which were constantly raging on the earth. During the great fight between the gods and the giants to decide who was to rule the world, Mars was captured by two of the giants, who bound him with iron chains and kept watch over him day and night. After over a year of captivity he was freed by the clever god Mercury, who succeeded in loosening the chains so silently that the giants heard no sound. Mars also took part in the Trojan War, when he was actually wounded. Mars was loved by Venus, the Goddess of Beauty, but wishing to keep their love a secret from the other gods, they met only during the night, and Mars appointed his servant Alectryon to keep watch and to call him before the sun rose as he did not wish Apollo, the Sun God, to see them. One night Alectryon fell asleep, and so was too late to warn Mars of the sun's approach. Apollo saw them from his chariot as he drove across the sky, and told Vulcan, the God of Fire, who caught them in a net of steel, and thus held them prisoner, while the other gods made fun of them. As soon as he was set free, Mars, who was filled with anger against Alectryon for failing in his duty, changed him into a cock, and driving him into a farmyard, condemned him to give warning every day of the sun's rising--a fanciful explanation why "the cock with lively din, Scatters the rear of darkness thin". MILTON--L'Allegro. The gods, though they themselves were immortal--that is, could never die, nor even grow old--yet sometimes married mortal, the men or women whom they found on the earth, and Mars fell in love with a beautiful girl named Ilia, who had given up her life to serve in the temple of Vesta, the Goddess of Fire. It was the duty of these priestesses of Vesta to guard the fire which continually burned on the altar of the goddess, for the safety of the people was thought to depend on this sacred flame. No Vestal, as these priestesses were called, was allowed to marry, under penalty of death. Ilia, however, in spite of her solemn promise, consented to marry Mars, and keeping her marriage a secret, continued to live in the temple. In course of time she had two sons, Romulus and Remus. Her father and mother, hearing that she had broken her vow, ordered the full punishment of her crime to be carried out; the mother was buried alive, and the children were left in the forest to be killed by the wild beasts. Thus Ilia perished, but the children were wonderfully saved, so the story tells us, by a wolf, who cared for them as if they had been her own young. They were soon after found by a shepherd, who took them to his home, where they grew up to be strong and brave men. As soon as they had reached manhood they left their home and went out into the world to seek their fortune. Coming to a beautiful country of hills and valleys, they decided to build a great city; but before they had even finished the outer walls, they quarreled about the name which was to be given to it when it was built. Romulus lost his temper and struck his brother Remus, so that he fell dead to the ground. With the help of a band of wicked and cruel men like himself, Romulus at last succeeded in building a city, which, called Rome, after its founder's name, was to become one of the most famous cities the world has ever known. Romulus became the first king of Rome, but he ruled so harshly that the senators, the chief men of the city, determined to rid themselves of him. During an eclipse of the sun, which darkened the city just at the time when Romulus and the senators were assembled in the marketplace, the senators fell on the king with their swords and slew him. They then cut his body into small pieces, which they hid beneath their cloaks. When the light returned and the people found that their king had disappeared, the senators told them that Romulus had been carried off by the gods to Mount Olympus, and ordered a temple to be built in his honour on one of the seven hills of Rome. Mars took the city of Rome under his special protection, and is said to have sent a shield from heaven, during a time of plague, as a sign that he would always watch over the city. The Romans, afraid lest the shield should be stolen, had eleven other shields made, so like the first that only the priests who guarded them in the temple of Mars could tell which was the one sent from heaven. These priests were called Salii, the Leapers, because they danced war dances when, during the month of March, the shields were carried in a procession through the streets of Rome. To Mars, as the God of War, the Romans naturally turned for help in war-time, and a Roman general, before setting out, went into the temple of Mars and, touching the sacred shield with the point of his spear, cried "Mars, watch over us!" The training-ground of the Roman soldiers was called Campus Martius (the Field of Mars), in honour of the God of War, and it was commonly believed that Mars himself led their army into battle and helped to give them the victory. March was named after Mars because of its rough and boisterous weather, and we find the same idea in the minds of the Angles and Saxons, who called it Hlythmonath--the loud or stormy month. Another name for it was Lenctenmonath, the lengthening month, because it is during March that the days rapidly become longer. [06-5] ========= ========= TAROT DECKS COME IN THREE FLAVORS ========= by Joey Robichaux ========= Interested in learning how to read Tarot cards? If so, one of your first decisions will be "What style of deck should I use". Although there are now hundreds of brands of Tarot decks, most fall into one of three general styles -- Marseilles, Rider-Waite- Smith (also called Rider-Waite, or just RWS), and Thoth. There are 78 cards in a Tarot deck -- 13 cards in each of four different suits, plus an extra 22 cards called the "Trump" cards. These 22 trump cards are known as the Major Arcana, the remaining 56 cards are called the Minor Arcana. It's the treatment of the Major and Minor Arcana that determines which general style your deck follows. The first style -- Marseilles -- follows the traditional, old- school style found in early Tarot decks. The artwork on the Major Arcana tends to be simple and limited to only a few colors. The Minor Arcana looks much like ordinary playing cards -- there are four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, Page) and 10 "pip" cards (Ace through Ten). Again, the artwork on the face cards tends to be simple. The pip cards don't have artwork other than a "pip" count. For instance, a Five of Swords will have five swords depicted on the card. The Marseilles style looks so much like playing cards because Tarot decks were originally used to play a card game! It wasn't until later that mystics began to use these decks for divinatory purposes. The second style of deck -- RWS (After Rider, the publisher, Waite, the designer, and Smith, the artist) -- was published in the early 1900's. It was designed from the very beginning for magickal use. Because of this, the artwork is much more complex and symbolic. The Major Arcana and the face cards are much more colorful, lifelike, and detailed. It's the Minor Arcana, though, where you'll find the main difference. Rather than use simple counts, the artist (Pamela Coleman Smith -- who also illustrates children's adventure stories) decided to draw vignettes of people engaged in some phase of everyday life. Because of this, the pip cards are highly enriched and yield many thoughtful perspectives -- what are the people thinking, what are their motivations, what are their fears, etc -- to enrich Tarot readings. The final deck style is the Thoth style -- named after a deck designed by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Freida Harris. The Thoth deck was intended for magickal use from the very beginning. The paintings are surrealistic and highly symbolic. Thoth adds a new technique to the mix, though. Each card of the Minor Arcana has a subheading describing some motivation or aspect -- Lust, Fear, blah, blah, etc. Because of this, some readers find it easy to read with Thoth decks. Thoth decks also make it easy to draw from other esoteric disciplines -- astrology, for example -- in order to create inspired Tarot readings. Most decks you'll find in a bookstore will follow one of these three basic styles. Marseilles styles will use pip counts, RWS styles will use pip scenes, and Thoth styles tend to be surrealistic but label the Minor Arcana with additional descriptions. ===== ===== About the Author ===== Joey Robichaux rides the weekly consultant road warrior circuit. He uses Tarot to find perspectives on business problems and also maintains dozens of web sites, including one of the oldest sheet music websites on the Internet -- Free Sheet Music at http://www.freesheetmusic.net/ -- and also the Woodsong Tarot site at http://www.woodsongtarot.com/ [07] =============== ============ COLUMNS ========= [07-1] ========= ========= KITCHEN WITCHIN ========= by our readers ========= There were no recipe submissions this month. [07-2] ========= ========= HUMOR: PAGAN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ========= Author Unknown ========= Q: What do you say to an angry witch? A: Ribbit Q: What's the best thing about Pagan friends? A: They worship the ground you walk on. Q: How can you tell a blonde pagan closed the circle? A: There's white-out on the floor Q: Why do witches use Brooms? A: Because nature abhors a vacuum. Q: What do ya' call 13 Witches in a hot tub? A: A Self-Cleaning Coven Q: What happens when a Ceremonial Magician gets angry? A: He goes Qua-ballistic. Q: What do you get when you cross a Zen Buddhist and a Druid? A: Someone who worships the tree that is not there. [08] =============== ============ PAGAN WEBCRAFTING ========= Many Pagans have or would like to have a Pagan oriented web site. Unfortunately, many of the thousands of Pagan web sites are poorly designed and/or very hard to read. (Hint: A black background makes even white text hard to read, but a black background with a dark text is almost impossible to read.) This section of Cauldron and Candle is devoted to articles about web sites and web design. Some are written specifically for Pagans, but most will be more general and anyone interested in putting up a web site may find them useful. Please note that each article is written from the author's point of view and goals, and therefore even completely opposite advice can be sound -- in different situations, of course. These articles should not be taken as "law" but rather as things to think about and consider while you are creating and maintaining your web site. Some articles have a "business" slant, but the information they contain really applies to all types of web sites. For more information and articles on web crafting, see the Pagan Webcrafting section of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's web site. http://www.ecauldron.com/web/index.php [08-1] ========= ========= The Proper Way to Use The Robots.txt File ========= by Jimmy Whisenhunt ========= When optimizing your web site most webmasters don't consider using the robots.txt file. This is a very important file for your site. It let the spiders and crawlers know what they can and can not index. This is helpful in keeping them out of folders that you do not want index like the admin or stats folder or content that they can not index. Here is a list of variables that you can include in a robots.txt file and there meaning: 1)User-agent: In this field you can specify a specific robot to describe access policy for or a “*” for all robots more explained in example. 2)Disallow: In the field you specify the files and folders not to include in the crawl. 3)# the number sign represents comments Here are some examples of a robots.txt file for redball.com User-agent: * Disallow: The above would let all spiders index all content. Here another example User-agent: * Disallow: /cgi-bin/ The above would block all spiders from indexing the cgi-bin directory. User-agent: googlebot Disallow: User-agent: * Disallow: /admin.php Disallow: /cgi-bin/ Disallow: /admin/ Disallow: /stats/ In the above example googlebot can index everything while all other spiders can not index admin.php, cgi-bin, admin, and stats directory. Notice that you can block single files like admin.php. ===== ===== About the Author ===== Jimmy Whisenhunt is the owner of VIP Enterprises [08-2] ========= ========= Three Tips You Can Use Right Now to Improve ========= Your Web Site's Usability ========= by Jason Mann ========= Three Tips You Can Use Right Now to Improve Your Web sites Usability by Jason Mann Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the, "King of usability" by Internet Magazine showed that people do not read on the web like they would normally read offline. So what does this mean to you and why should you care? Visitors to your web sites are in a rush, they want the information you promised and they want it NOW. If they don't get the information they want they will leave and this means you lose the sale, the opt-in or whatever action you want the visitor to take while at your site. The following 3 tips will help you give your visitors what they want and in a way that will increase your web sites usability. ===== ===== 1. Concise Text ===== By keeping your paragraphs down to one single idea you can help speed up how your visitor absorbs your information. For example, instead of: "In today’s market place many people tend to become overwhelmed with the over hyped and highly charged writing that most web sites employ to gain visitors business. This causes people to be turned off by the sites language and ultimately they will click the back button on their browser and leave." Why not say, "Today more than ever people are turned off by over hyped marketing language of websites they visit and because of this frustration they will end up leaving your site." See how that short, to the point paragraph says the same thing but quicker? Go through your home page first and take out long, multiple thought paragraphs and edit them down to be precise. One idea per paragraph once you finish your thought (in 3-4 lines) start another paragraph. ===== ===== 2. Scannable Text ===== Web site users do not read online text. They scan it. Use short bold text, for example in the form of a hyperlink, to make important information stick out from the page. Bullet lists are an invaluable tool as well. Put your important sets of words in bullets. For example instead of, "You will learn how to create your own web site, design pages that load faster, pick the right color scheme, and improve your sites navigation." Use this, "You will learn: How to create your own web site Design pages that load faster Pick the right color scheme And improve your sites navigation." Use Subheadings through out the page. As you go through your pages pick out the important points and put them in heading tags. Heading 2 and 3 work the best but the heading 1 tag will also work. This will break the page up for the reader and they will be able to get the information they want simply by scanning your pages. ===== ===== 3. Be Objective ===== Far to many web sites are "me" oriented. In other words your site is about making money for you and you want your visitor to stay at your site and buy from you. So what do you do? You force them to stay at your site even if they are not interested in your product or service any longer. Doing this only serves to damage your reputation and cause visitors to leave with a bad taste in their mouth. Being objective means putting links to other related sites through out your web pages and allowing the visitor the free will to either stay at your site or leave and find the information they are looking for somewhere else. In the end this is not a bad thing because you, as the site owner, can direct them to the sites you want them to go to. However, seeding your pages with a bunch of recommendations to other sales sites is not the smartest way to do this. Offer them free information along with sites that you receive compensation from as well. This way you are being objective and offering your visitor valuable information they can use at the same time. In Conclusion Take a few days and walk through your web site and find the long paragraphs and make them more concise. Bold important text, create subheadings for extremely important points and create more bullet lists where needed. Finally, add more out bound links to your information and show them you are objective and care about their needs. Internet users are getting tired of the hype and they are speaking out with their browser’s back button. By taking the time to make these changes you will improve your sites usability and your visitors will thank you for it by doing business with you. ===== ===== About the Author ===== Jason Mann is a profitability consultant for online businesses who specializes in finding untapped profit areas and showing business owners how to increase their revenues by tapping these unseen resources. For more web business articles visit: http://www.majorprofitmargins.info/ ===== ===== About the Author ===== John Calder is the owner/editor of The Ezine Dot Net. Subscribe today and get real information you can use to help build your online business today! http://www.TheEzine.Net RSS feeds are available. [08-3] ========= ========= See RSS Feeds From Your Website ========= by Sanjay Johari ========= RSS feeds have made it so convenient to gather current information. If you have an RSS Reader on your desktop, then from this one window you can get up-to-date information from any sources of your choice, such as: 1. Latest news from news agencies 2. Last articles published on ezines such as this one 3. New products at retail outlets 4. New movie reviews 5. Recent entries in blogs The list is endless, but you get the idea. How would you like to give this convenience to the visitors of your website? Your visitors can see RSS feeds with latest info right on your web page instead of going from site to site. And it is very easy to install. Before you start I suggest that you see some sites which display RSS feeds just to get a feel of it. You can see your My.Yahoo page from where you can subscribe to any RSS feed you want. Or, if you like, you can see some popular feeds on my website: http://sanjay-j.com/feed.html Ok, let's get started with these easy steps. 1. Click open this page: http://www.feedroll.com/rssviewer/ 2. From "Step One" of this page select just one RSS feed out of the dropdown list. 3. Lower on the page in "Step Two" you will see some options. In these options you can fill in your values or leave them at default setting. 4. Click on update button. 5. A similar looking page opens. Down below on this page in "Step Three" there is a code which has to be installed on your website. Copy this code and paste it on a text editor. On right side of the page you can see how the feed will look on your page. 6. Go to step 2 and select some other RSS feeds. Repeat steps 3 to 5 and you will have a collection of codes to be installed on your website. 7. Select the web page where you want to install RSS feeds. I would suggest creating a new page exclusively for RSS feeds. 8. Decide the location on the web page for installing RSS feed. In the HTML code of the web page, paste one of the codes of RSS feeds at the location you have decided. 9. See how RSS feeds looks on your page. You will need to be connected to the net to see the feeds. You can make necessary corrections until you get the right appearance. 10. Add all other RSS feed codes below the first one. Separate each code with breaks. This will put all the feeds in one column. So that's it. Simple steps. This will display some popular RSS feeds on your web site using Java. From this starting point you can think of installing other Java scripts or PHP scripts to display any RSS feeds of your choice. ===== ===== About the Author ===== Sanjay Johari contributes articles regularly to several ezines. See his site for articles and other information relating to small business. http://sanjay-j.com/ [08-4] ========= ========= Cheap Web Hosting Report: March 2005 ========= by Gridspace ========= With thousands of web hosts to choose from, it can be hard to find cheap web hosting with the quality and dependability you want. Many web hosts now advertise extremely low prices and promise more features than anyone could ever want. Unfortunately, many cheap web hosting offers turn out to be too good to be true. Either the service is poor or the fine print in the terms of service make many of the features effectively useless. Low cost web hosting with excellent service, reliability and features does exist -- if you are willing to spend many hours researching offers and user experiences. Many offer to help you select cheap web hosting by listing 10, 20 or even more cheap web hosting companies with offers they consider good. However, that's still a lot of cheap web hosting companies and plans to research. We are more selective in our Cheap Web Hosting Report. We check out the sites and the user comments and list what we believe are the current top five general purpose cheap web hosting plans. We also list several additional plans that provide special features (such as "root" access or a Windows server with ASP and an Access database). This means less work for you. ===== ===== Top Five General Purpose Cheap Web Hosts for February 2005 ===== These are the top five general purpose cheap web hosts selected for January 2005. All of the following hosting plans include a web control panel, a cgi-bin directory, php4, perl, and at least 1 mysql database. Many offer a number of additional features. The prices listed are the monthly price based on the shortest prepayment period offered (1m = one month, 3m = three months, 6m = six months) and for annual pre-payment (1y = annual rate). The setup fees we list are for the shortest prepayment period offered and for the annual pre-payment plan. === === #1 Dreamhost === Price: 1m: $9.95 2y: $7.95 Setup: 1m: $24.95 2y: Free Bandwidth: 40 GB (Sale to March 20: 120 GB) Disk Space: 800 MB (Sale to March 20: 2400 MB) Mailboxes: 600 Comments: Dreamhost has long been -- and still is -- listed as the best affordable web host for unusual content (as they will host just about anything legal) in the Special Needs Hosting section of this report. Improvements in their plans in 2004 have made them very competitive in terms of bandwidth, web space, and features offered for the price, so they have moved onto and then rapidly up our "Top Five" list. New and improved features are announced in the Dreamhost newsletter almost every month. Their tech support is the best I've seen in the low cost hosting industry. If you are looking for low cost, high quality web hosting with truly excellent tech support and very friendly people, check out Dreamhost. (The Cheap Web Hosting Report hosts with Dreamhost.) More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zdreamhost.php === === #2 midPhase === Price: 3m: $11.95 1y: $7.95 Setup: 3m: Free 1y: Free Bandwidth: unlimited Disk Space: 1500 MB Mailboxes: unlimited Comments: midPhase is a young hosting company (launched in late 2002). They offer a strong hosting package with many features at a reasonable, although not super-low, price. It has grown quickly -- and, thus far, without a lot of complaints from their customers over service. If they can continue to provide good service, expect them to rise on our list in the future. At the end of August, they switched to unmetered bandwidth for most sites (60 gig limit for download sites and image galleries). While unmetered bandwidth sometimes causes hosting companies problems, midPhase says that they have been planning this switch for months and do not expect any problems. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zmidphase.php === === #3 iPowerWeb === Price: 3m: $9.95 1y: $7.95 Setup: 3m: $30.00 1y: Free Bandwidth: 40 GB Disk Space: 1000 MB Mailboxes: 500 Comments: iPowerWeb is only a few years old, but it already hosts over 200,000 web sites, has won numerous awards for its service, and has successfully managed rapid growth with only a few visible customer service hiccups. The company and its offerings are not perfect, but they provide featureful, reliable, low cost web hosting -- and do so very well from the point-of-view of the average customer. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zipowerweb.php === === #4 PowWeb === Price: 3m: $7.77 1y: $7.77 Setup: 3m: $20.00 1y: Free Bandwidth: 5 GB /day Disk Space: 1000 MB Mailboxes: 650 Comments: PowWeb has been in the low cost web hosting business since 1999. They are best known for their one-size fits all web hosting plan. They have recently raised their bandwidth limits from 45 gigs a month to a whopping 5 gigs a day (but you get an email warning at 4 gigs in a day according to their policy). We have seen a few more customer complaints over performance and customer service recently, which has caused this web host to drop a bit in our rating, but they are still a good choice for many. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zpowweb.php === === #5 Lunarpages === Price: 3m: $9.95 1y: $7.95 Setup: 3m: $30.00 1y: Free Bandwidth: 40 GB Disk Space: 1000 MB Mailboxes: Unlimited Comments: Lunarpages has over 5 years experience in shared web hosting and hosts over 50,000 web pages. While they have not pushed for the huge growth of some of the other low cost web hosting companies, Lunarpages customers seem generally very happy with their service and appear to this reviewer to be more loyal to their hosting company than the customers of other hosting companies. This speaks well for Lunarpages. Disk Space Note: Lunar Pages is now advertising up to 3000 megs of web space, however, if you read the fine print in their Acceptable Use Policy all you initially receive is what we list here. There are a number of restrictions and hoops to jump through to get more. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zlunarpages.php ===== ===== Special Needs Cheap Web Hosting ===== If you have special hosting needs, one of the following cheap web hosting solutions may meet those needs better than one of the above plans. While the following companies generally do not offer as much bandwidth and disk space as the Top Five Cheap Web Hosts listed above, they provide more than enough of both for most sites and their special features, if you need them, will more than make up the difference. === === Fewer Content Restrictions === Dreamhost Price: 1m: $9.95 2y: $7.95 Setup: 1m: $24.95 2y: Free Bandwidth: 40 GB (Sale to March 20: 120 GB) Disk Space: 800 MB (Sale to March 20: 2400 MB) Mailboxes: 600 Comments: In an effort to avoid arguments and complaints, most web hosting companies are fairly restrictive on questionable content -- to the point that some will terminate a site for displaying a picture of a classical (but bare breasted) statue from ancient Greece. Dreamhost not only has an excellent, cheap web hosting package but is far more liberal than most web hosts on acceptable site content. Basically, if your content is legal in the US, Dreamhost will probably have no problems hosting it. (The Cheap Web Hosting Report hosts with Dreamhost.) More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zdreamhost.php === === Windows Hosting === Easy CGI Price: 1m: $9.95 1y: $7.96 Setup: 1m: Free 1y: Free Bandwidth: 50 GB Disk Space: 3000 MB Mailboxes: 50 Comments: Easy CGI provides Windows 2000 servers instead of the standard Unix servers. Their accounts come with ASP and one Access Database. They are one of the most affordable and most popular Windows hosting providers. Customer service reports are spotty, however. Most people report excellent service but minority report major problems. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zeasycgi.php === === Virtual Dedicated Server Hosting (Root Access) === Jumpline Price: 1y: $9.95 Setup: 1y: Free Bandwidth: 5 GB Disk Space: 500 MB Mailboxes: 75 Comments: Jumpline uses special technology to provide each account with its own virtual server. You have your own Apache web server, your own email servers, your own database server, etc. and you have root access to the virtual machine running them. These types of accounts can be more stable and provide better control, but are best used by Unix experts who understand the ins and outs of running servers. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zjumpline.php === === Dedicated Server Hosting === ServerPronto Price: 1m: $29.95 Setup: $149.00 Bandwidth: 200 GB Disk Space: 40 GB Mailboxes: unlimited A dedicated server gives your site its own physical computer as a server. The upside is that you have full root access so you can install whatever software you want on it and have very few restrictions on scripts (even if they hog CPU time). The downside is that you have to maintain the system yourself. ServerPronto has some of the most affordable dedicated server prices we have seen, although there are many options that can increase the monthly price or the setup fee. Windows and Windows 2003 dedicated servers are also available at higher prices. More Information: http://www.ecauldron.com/zserverpronto.php === Notes The information in this report was checked for accuracy on February 28, 2005. Web hosting companies, however, can change their pricing and plans at any time so the information may no longer be accurate when you read this report. Gridspace is not responsible for errors nor for what use you may make of this information. Looking for even more hosting options or more information on web hosting? See the Cheap Web Hosting Report web site at http://www.cheapwebhostingreport.com/ [09] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON BY VOLUNTEERING TO HELP ========= The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum was founded in December 1997 to provide a friendly but serious discussion area for Pagans on the Internet. We've grown a bit over the years. We now have an active message area, a large web site with around 700 pages of information (including over 300 book and divination deck reviews), and a monthly email newsletter. To continue to provide and expand these services, The Cauldron needs lots of volunteer help from our members and supporters. Here are some of the things members and supporters can do to help The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum thrive: ===== ===== Actively Participate In Our Message Board ===== While our new message board welcomes readers, we encourage members to actively participate by posting their comments and views in our discussions. One of the easiest ways to help The Cauldron is to actively participate in our message board. The staff especially appreciates members who start new topics for discussion based on their own questions, opinions, or interests. http://www.ecauldron.net/ ===== ===== Articles! Essays! Tutorials! ===== We are in constant need of original, well-written and accurate articles, essays, tutorials, and other written items for both our web site and for our Cauldron and Candle newsletter. There's no real limit on length for web site articles. Here are a few areas in which we always need articles: * information on the beliefs and theology of the various Pagan religions, especially non-Wiccan religions * information on holidays and festivals of the various Pagan religions, especially non-Wiccan religions * recipes for oils, incenses, and food for the various Pagan holidays * magick, spells, and ritual information * herbal information * positive articles on dealing with other faiths * information on historical pagan cultures * editorial/opinion pieces Non-Wiccan material is stressed not because we don't want Wiccan material but because good non-Wiccan material has been hard to find. We have a web form you can use to submit an article for consideration: http://www.ecauldron.com/persontestart.php ===== ===== Book Reviews ===== While The Cauldron receives some review copies from a couple of Pagan publishers, there are many books that can only be reviewed on our web site if a member has a copy and writes a good, objective review. The Cauldron is interested in reviews on the more academic books used by reconstructionist Pagan religions as well as on the books one finds on the Pagan/New Age shelf in the bookstore. We have a web form you can use to submit a book review for consideration: http://www.ecauldron.com/persontestbr.php ===== ===== Graphic Assistance ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is purposely a low graphics site as we value page download speed over flashy graphics. However, we are always willing to talk with artists who have ideas for well-designed small graphics (small in both physical dimensions and file size) that might enhance a specific article or page. ===== ===== Invite Your Friends ===== If you have friends or acquaintances who you believe would find The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum useful, please tell them about our site. If you are active in our message board and have friends who might enjoy them or have information to contribute, please invite them. ===== ===== Link To The Cauldron ===== If you have a web site where linking to The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum would be appropriate, simply providing a link to this web site is a big help. Our Link to this Site page explains how you can do this if you need help or want some simple graphic buttons to use: http://www.ecauldron.com/linktous.php ===== ===== Donations ===== As The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum uses as many free services as possible, our need for money to operate our site is currently lower than our need for the many items we list above. However, if you have a few dollars to spare, we would be honored to have your help in paying for our web site. You can donate by using either PayPal or the Amazon Honor System links below (we get about 85% of what you donate). Donate via PayPal http://www.ecauldron.com/donatepaypal.php Donate via Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3903JRFVQVDN ===== ===== Amazon Purchases ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum also receives a small percentage (usually 5%) from most items purchased from Amazon.com when you go to Amazon.com from one of the links to Amazon on our web site. If you purchase a lot of books, CDs, and other items from Amazon.com as many members do, going to Amazon.com through one of our links when you are going to make a purchase there is a painless way to help fund this web site. http://www.ecauldron.com/amazon.php ===== ===== Have Questions or Suggestions? ===== If you have specific questions, proposals or other ideas we haven't mentioned here, please email them to rssapphire00@ecauldron.GETRIDOFEME.com. (Unfortunately, Randall has to answer general "Tell me more?" type questions with a request for a more specific question. He's not trying to be rude, he just can't think of anything general and useful to say that isn't said here.) [10] ========= ========= NEWSLETTER INFORMATION ========= (Including how to subscribe and unsubscribe) ========= Cauldron and Candle is a free publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. The Cauldron intends to publish this newsletter once a month and often actually succeeds in doing so. We tried to publish it twice a month for a while, but real life interfered too often. This issue of Cauldron and Candle as a whole is copyright (c) 2004 by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum. Copyrights on individual items in this newsletter are retained by their author, please contact the editors if you need to contact an author for permission to reprint an article and the editors will do their best to put you in touch with him or her. The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of newsletter, The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum, or its staff. Publication of an article in this newsletter is not an endorsement of the authors position or any products and companies mentioned therein. No one involved in producing this newsletter has any money to speak of so suing us if you don't like something we do is a waste of time and money. ===== ===== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE EMAIL ADDRESS ===== You are receiving a copy of this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter via your web browser at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cauldronandcandle/join Or you can unsubscribe via email by sending a blank message to cauldronandcandle-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Be sure to send this message from the email account actually subscribed to the newsletter. If you have trouble unsubscribing by email, please use the web browser method mentioned above. If you need to change your subscription to a new email address, unsubscribe your old email address and subscribe your new email address. Note that you have to make these changes yourself. 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Typos are, as usual, courtesy of the Goddess Eris.

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