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C A U L D R O N A N D C A N D L E #100 -- May 2009 A Publication of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum website: http://www.ecauldron.net/ message board: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/ social network: http://tcn.ecauldron.net/ newsletter: http://www.ecauldron.net/cnc/ Please DONATE to Support our NEW SERVER http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?page=62 In this Issue: [00] Editorial Notes [01] Cauldron News * Book Study: Trance-portation [02] Interesting Recent Cauldron Discussions * Do the Gods/Goddesses from Different Pantheons Talk to Each Other? * Suicide: An Irrational Response? * Religious Divorce? * Tolerance (and Pagan Gatherings) * How Religion can Affect a Child? * Mixing Religions? * The Word 'Occult' * Explaining what other people do... * Do Muggles Really Exist? * Seperation of Genders? [03] Phyllis Vega's Tarot Talk: Tarot Spreads [04] Flamekeeping: Nurturing our Flames [05] Articles * What are Chakras? [06] Support The Cauldron with Donations [07] Support The Cauldron with Assistance [08] Newsletter Information (Including How To Subscribe/Unsubscribe) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ Please support our sponsor +++ LOOKING FOR PAGAN SUPPLIES? Visit The Cauldron's Pagan Supply Store http://www.ecauldron.net/esesf.php +++ Please support our sponsor +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [00] ========= ========= EDITORIAL NOTES ========= Welcome to the May 2009 issue of Cauldron and Candle. You are receiving this issue because you subscribed. To learn how to unsubscribe, see the last section of this newsletter This is the 100th issue of Cauldron and Candle. While we haven't managed to publish every month, we have finally managed to reach 100 issues. I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with us over the years. It's been a long, but generally fun, ride. I'm not going to give a speech, I'm just going to say that I hope you enjoy this issue! I'd again like to invite everyone reading this to come by our message board when you get a chance. You can read our discussions without registering, but if you want to post you will need to register a member id. http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php Randall Sapphire Editor and Publisher, Cauldron and Candle Co-Host, The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum [01] ========= ========= CAULDRON NEWS ========= by The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum Staff ========= ===== ===== Book Study: Trance-portation ===== Hello! This thread is an in-depth discussion of a book: Trance- portation by Diana Paxson. In order to keep this thread useful, we have a few specific guidelines. 1) This thread is focused on discussion of the book, and working through its exercises. Please take any side conversations that arise to another thread or to private message/email. To keep conversation flowing and focused, we also ask that you limit brief messages (like one that just says "I agree") - these can make the thread much harder to read through later than more substantial posts. 2) You're welcome to just read along, or to post some of your experiences and thoughts - either is fine! (Posting a brief intro as part of your first post in the thread specific to your experience with trance work might be helpful, though.) 3) Take care of yourself. We'll be talking about some appropriate precautions (both those mentioned in the book, and those various people have found useful in their own practices) throughout. However, please be aware that this is a book discussion group, not an in-person training group. The amount of support we can give if you have difficulties is quite limited. If you have *any* concerns about your well-being, you should stop doing whatever's causing the problem, and seek out specific help. 4) Schedule: We'll be aiming at a new chapter every 3-4 weeks, but may adjust slightly as we go along, based on how people post about the exercises. Jenett will post a brief overview of each chapter. This will be followed by discussion - and as people get a chance to try the exercises, discussion of their exercises/experiences. If you want to experience the exercises without reading other people's experiences, we suggest you begin them within the first week of the chapter's discussion. If you come across this thread after we've started discussion, we strongly encourage you to work through the earlier chapters first - trance-work is an area that builds on previous skills. 5) Organization: Jenett's volunteered to make sure the conversation keeps moving, but she does not know everything. Please chime in with other viewpoints, experiences, ideas, and so on (as long as they're related to the book, of course, to keep this thread tidy and useful.) Everyone is asked to remember that the experience of trance is a very personal one: people may have different experiences or approaches. Talking about where they come from and why they work is probably more useful (to everyone) than dismissing them. Now, let's get started! As suggested above, if you're interested in actively participating in this book study, or just planning to read this thread as it develops, please post a brief intro. * http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8926.0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ Please support our sponsor +++ PAGAN-FRIENDLY WEB HOSTING http://www.ecauldron.net/web/zdreamhost.php Dreamhost offers high-quality, low cost web hosting with a dedication to free speech. Pagan sites are welcome! 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Visit Dreamhost for Affordable, Pagan-Friendly Hosting http://www.ecauldron.net/web/zdreamhost.php +++ Please support our sponsor +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [02] ========= ========= INTERESTING RECENT CAULDRON DISCUSSIONS ========= Recent Discussion Topics on our Message Board ========= In an average month, over 200 new discussion topics are started on The Cauldron's message board. Here are a few of the more interesting recent discussions. It's not too late to join in. Thanks to Feedburner, 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 Feedburner's free news delivery via the form at the end of the site "News and Updates" section of The Cauldron's main web page. ===== ===== Do the Gods/Goddesses from Different Pantheons Talk to Each ===== Other? ===== There's the Mixing Religions thread going on here: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8922.0 That thread got me thinking, do the deities from different pantheons ever talk, fight, work together or interact in any ways? If you were worshipping two deities that both covered the same area, would they get angry at each other or you? Do Zeus and Odin ever have chats on how hard running things are? Do they even know each other exist? And since many mythologies have different gods who are responsible for creation how do they work that out? Maybe the deities just don't care? Your thoughts? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=9057.0 ===== ===== Suicide: An Irrational Response? ===== I read an article this morning that revived a topic of interest for me and that I thought may make an interesting thread here at TC. It's a followup piece to one in which another author had focused on suicide as an act of cowardice and selfishness. The whole article is viewable here. The following quote interested me in particular. Quote: "This is impossible to understand from a rationalist viewpoint. Attempts at self-harm and/or suicide are, by their nature, not rational." When you are mentally unwell to the point you want to die, you are -- quite literally -- not in your right mind. What do the various belief systems represented at TC have to say on the issue of suicide and other voluntary acts of dying? Is a lack of desire to live inherently mentally unwell and irrational? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=9055.0 ===== ===== Religious Divorce ===== When Jews get a civil divorce, they may also get a religious divorce. If you are Orthodox, you must have the religious divorce before you are allowed to marry again in the synagogue. Traditionally, this consisted of the man giving a get (divorce contract to his wife). Women could not initiate religious divorce. (As usual, things are different in the Reform tradition. Many Reform Jews don't bother religious divorce, and those that do make a ceremony that is right for them. For example, in my synagogue, one divorcing couple brought their ketubah (wedding contract) to the rabbi's office and cut it into pieces.) My question is this: do any of your religions have rituals associated with divorce? If so what are they? What useful purpose (if any) do you think divorce rituals serve? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=9037.0 ===== ===== Tolerance (and Pagan Gatherings) ===== Before I get into the questions, I need to tell the story of what sparked this topic. A poster was griping on a local pagan email list today. She's been to a large outdoor festival held on private property over the weekend, and was annoyed that the owners of the property/organizers of the festival had the audacity to limit the smoking areas to two small portions of the property. These areas were also inconvenient for her as she as mobility issues. I've probably not made myself a lot of friends on that list for pointing out that (a) the property owners can set any rules they want and (b) smoking is not a civil liberty and I'm tired of hearing smokers whine about being discriminated against. This got me thinking about larger issues of "tolerance" in our communities. I've heard of folks equating intolerance with not allowing wide-spread smoking, or public drunkenness. I've heard of folks getting bitchy because someone got offended that their children were running unsupervised and amok during a ritual or gathering. So my questions are: Do we have to allow anything and everything at our gatherings in the name of "tolerance"? Conversely, if we set limits (no public drunkenness, nudity only in certain areas, no smoking, etc) are we unnecessarily curtailing someone's rights/freedoms? I don't like the idea some folks have that anything goes in pagan communities (or non-mainstream communities, to be more broad about it) simply because we're not mainstream. Many of our paths emphasize personal responsibility, or hospitality, or both... how is either virtue served by being inconsiderate to others (sometimes to the point of completely disrupting the gathering or ritual)? Am I just being a heavy? Have other folks had similar run-ins with folks with the same sense of "entitlement"?? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=9017.0 ===== ===== How Religion can Affect a Child? ===== When thinking about how religion can affect the life and mind of a child, I automatically think of the more obvious examples. For instance how my five year old neice tells me that she is going to see her Great Grandpa again one day even though he died. She has been told this by her grandmother, and understandabley she thoroughly embraces the idea. But how about the more simple ways that religion or religious practices can affect a child? I came from a very non-religious family. Thus I had no religious messages given to me by my parents. And yet, nowadays, when I want to talk to my Goddess, I sometimes find myself pressing my palms together as if in prayer. Where have I got this from? Have I picked this up from television? Perhaps the few times I went to Church as a child? My Goddess has not asked me to do this (in fact I think She even finds it somewhat comical) but often I catch myself about to do it. I often wonder what children think about the religious things they witness. I remember being fascinated by the enormous crucifix my Great Aunt had on her living room wall, and my mother urging me not to stare at it. I wonder what I thought of such a thing? Do you think children should be explained the meaning of such religious messages, or do you think it is better left unsaid? Why? Do you remember being confused, intrigued or influenced by a religion or religious practice when you were a child? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8990.0 ===== ===== Mixing Religions? ===== How do you feel about mixing religions? Do you feel that something is lost when they are mixed or are they more powerful? How do major (or minor) world religions affect your path? As I begin learning more and more about world religions, I find a lot of similarities and truths in them, but I can't except any of them wholesale. Thoughts? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8922.0 ===== ===== The Word 'Occult' ===== For many people outside the pagan umbrella the word 'occult' has darker associations to it than the word 'magic'. You know, Harry Potter visits a school of magic, not of 'occult studies'. But why is that? According to Wikipedia the word just refers to 'hidden' or 'secret' knowledge. How do you use the word in pagan settings? How in non-pagan ones? If you practice magic or other arts considered to be occult do you see yourself as 'occultist'? Do you like/dislike the term? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8907.0 ===== ===== Explaining what other people do... ===== How do you explain to kids how others worship and believe in their religions? Have you had to do this? Was it successful or funny or horrid? My 5 year old son is going to a magic show with a friend from school and it's in a church (I think it's to raise money for something). He's going with his friend's parents and they are fairly religious. I was getting him ready when it suddenly occurred to me, he's NEVER been in a church. We've been near churches and I had sort of told him about them, but only briefly. Today I had to do a little explanation and also give him some rules of how to act in a church (don't tear around like a ninny, or scream or knock things down). I told him that churches are where some people go to talk to their god, that they only have one god and that these are the same people that celebrate Christmas instead of Yule and have Easter later than us. I think he gets it, but I'm a bit concerned that he'll shock people by knowing nothing about it. Yikes! I don't care for myself, but I'm concerned that if the religious discussions come up (unlikely at a magic show) that he'll be confused or embarrassed. Has anyone been through this? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8902.0 ===== ===== Do Muggles Really Exist? ===== Are there people who are unable to do magic -- not from lack of training or knowledge -- but from natural inability? In the Harry Potter novels, "Muggles" are the large part of the human species who lack the ability to do magic. Even with training and knowledge, they would be unable to do magic. That's just fiction, of course. Most of the modern books on magic I've read claim that magic is something anyone can do -- some claim even without any training, knowledge, or practice. But is this true? I can't carry a tune in a bucket. Other people can't see certain colors. Why couldn't there be people who simply cannot do magic? Do you think such people exist? Why or why not? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8895.0 ===== ===== Seperation of Genders? ===== I recently found myself involved in a set of separate men's and women's retreats. While turnout at the actual events was good, there was a lot of discussion leading up to the event about whether or not separating the genders was ok. Personally I think it's a very valid experience we don't often get in western cultures. Most of my spiritual workings are solitary or "co-ed", but every now and then I think the ladies and gents need some time apart. I have a very eclectic religious perspective and come from a home where men and women are on a pretty even footing. I don't see either as inferior, and in this case I don't feel separation implies inequality. How do your background or religious beliefs affect how you feel on the subject? * Read (or join in) this discussion: http://www.ecauldron.net/forum/index.php?topic=8891.0 [03] ========= ========= PHYLLIS VEGA'S TAROT TALK ========= Tarot Spreads ========= by Phyllis Vega ========= [Editor's Note: To view these spreads accurately, switch to a monospaced font.] Actually you don't need to use any spreads at all in order to read the tarot cards successfully. Instead you may draw a card, talk about what you see, then draw another, and another. Many accomplished readers work in this manner, and continually produce amazingly accurate results. Besides, you may find that you're not all that inclined to start learning a number of spreads while also trying to remember the meanings of the seventy-eight cards. So, why should you even bother to learn how to use and create tarot spreads? The best answer is that spreads provide a framework though which you can gain more specific answers to your questions. In addition, they give structure to a reading, and pinpoint recurring patterns in our lives that we might not otherwise notice. Moreover, a spread can be constructed for a specific time frame, so that you will not only discover what is likely to happen, but also when it may happen. Beginning students should probably start with very simple layouts. However, once you feel comfortable reading the tarot you might want to add a number of more sophisticated spreads to your repertory. A variety of spreads pertaining to different areas of daily life will make it easier for you to obtain accurate answers to all your questions. Whether the people you read for pay you for your services, or not, they all want virtually the same thing: answers. The more accurate your answers, the happier your friends or clients will be, and the better you'll feel about yourself as a tarot reader. Most people are concerned about love and sex, family, career, finances, and health. Therefore, specific spreads that target these life areas are especially useful. At one time I rarely used the classic Celtic Cross Spread. I felt that it was vastly overrated and too complicated for most questions. I couldn't understand why it was so popular. However, when reading on a 900 Line to gain experience while writing Power Tarot, I found that many people who called wanted instant answers to their questions. When you're not getting any feedback from a client, and don't know whether or not you're on the right track, this classic spread seems to pull information out of the void. Now, when all else fails I automatically resort to the familiar patterns of the Celtic Cross Spread. === === Celtic Cross Spread === 5 10 4 1 6 9 2 8 3 7 1) Cover. Surrounding influences, general atmosphere 2) Crossing: (Placed sideways across card #1). Opposing forces, negative or positive 3) Foundation: Past basis of the matter 4) Behind you: Influences that are passing away 5) Crowning: Possible future event, forces taking shape 6) Before you: Forces already in motion that may manifest in the future 7) Feelings: Fear, apprehensions 8) Opinions: What others think about the matter 9) Hopes: Aspirations, goals, dreams, desires, fears 10) Outcome: The resolution or final outcome === === Six Card Ladle Spread === The Ladle Spread was created by Trish MacGregor for our book Power Tarot. It is far and away my favorite tarot layout, and I use it more often than any other spread. 4 5 3 6 1 2 1) Root of question, the concern, the issue 2) What's hidden 3) What's emerging 4) What's visible 5) What you scoop out 6) Resolution: how the outcome affects you === === Three Card Quickie Spread === 1 2 3 1) The issue, the root of the question 2) Present circumstances 3) Future === === Four Card Desire Spread === 1 2 3 4 1) What you have 2) What you desire 3) What you need 4) What you get === === Five Card Direction Spread === 1 2 3 4 5 1) Your current life direction 2) The lesson you're learning 3) What you're moving toward 4) Your long term objective 5) What will help you attain your objective === === Six Card Past, Present, Future Spread === 1 2 3 4 5 6 1&2) The Past 3&4) The Present 5&6) The Future === === Six Card Rainbow Spread === 3 4 2 5 1 6 1) Rain: what is holding you back from attaining your heart's desire 2) Drizzle: first steps you can take toward achieving what you want 3) Clearing: who or what helps 4) Sunshine: the best you can hope for 5) Rainbow: short term advice 6) Pot of gold: long-term outcome === === Six Card Short Celtic Cross === 5 4 1 6 2 3 1) Past experience 2) Where you are now 3) Near future 4) Your future environment 5) The best you can hope for 6) Outcome === === 6-Card L-Shaped Love Spread === 1 2 3 4 5 6 1) Your past experience in love 2) Your current experience in love 3) What you want from a love relationship 4) What you need from a love relationship 5) What you have to give to your lover 6) Possible future experience in love ===== ===== Creating Your Own Spreads ===== The best spreads are the ones that evolve from your own questions and those of the people you read for. Don't be afraid to design your own spreads. Often the simplest spreads are the most revealing, so you really don't need to attempt anything too fancy. If a spread is so complex that you keep forgetting the card positions, it won't be of much use. Brainstorm what it is that you or the questioner wants to know. Begin with just a few cards. Assign explicit meanings to their positions. Play around with their placement until you find a design that you like for the particular spread that you have in mind. Sometimes the pattern will be obvious, at other times you may need to keep moving the cards around until everything feels just right. Then, try your spread to make sure that it works the way you hoped it would. Consider the following: Your question, the number of cards you will need, the time frame you want to cover, and the pattern or design of your spread. It always helps to study other people's spreads before you start designing your own. The simplest spread pattern is linear, all the cards in one line that moves horizontally, vertically or on the diagonal. A bit more complex is the multi-linear spread with several lines of cards. You can also use a circle, a square, a star, triangle, pentagram, hexagram or any other shape that appeals to you. Ty using the shape of a letter that relates to the question, such as an L for a love spread, an H for a health spread or a P for a prosperity spread. Another way to create a spread is to do a variation on an existing spread, modifying it to suit your purpose. The most important thing when designing a spread is to test it to see if it works the way you expected. Some spreads look great on the drawing board, but simply refuse to work in practice. It's a good idea to keep a record of all your efforts, even those that didn't quite jell. Sometimes you can come up with ways to improve a faulty spread at a later date. Practice using your spread as often as possible until you have all the kinks worked out. Whether you are using layouts of your own design, or tried and true traditional ones you will quickly discover which spreads feel right to you. And, as always in reading the tarot, remember to use your intuition. Open yourself up to the universe, and allow the cards to speak to you. === === About Phyllis Vega === Phyllis Vega is a professional astrologer and tarot reader. She is the author of two popular tarot books, Romancing the Tarot and Power Tarot (with Trish MacGregor), with a third book, TarotCraft: How to Use the Cards for Divination, Creative Visualization, and Meditation currently in the works. Contact Phyllis via email at pvega@bellsouth.net or through her website at http://phyllisvega.geocities.com/. Tarot Tarot columns and other works by Phyllis are archived at http://tarottalk.ecauldron.net/. Phyllis Vega's Tarot Talk copyright (c) 2009 by Phyllis Vega. All rights reserved. [04] ========= ========= FLAMEKEEPING ========= NURTURING OUR FLAMES ========= by HeartShadow ========= HeartShadow is following her own religious path. She calls it FlameKeeping. This regular column will present articles on FlameKeeping, many taken from HeartShadow's FlameKeeping blog at: http://flamekeeping.blogspot.com/ ===== ===== Nurturing our Flames ===== Bright flame and dark. These are powerful metaphors for our life. When they are fed, our lives are filled with warmth and many good things. When they're ignored, they gutter and stifle and leave us cold. We feed these flames differently, for we are all different people. However, there are some similarities in what we do to nurture our flames. The most important thing to remember is that the bright flame burns outward, and the dark flame inwards. We need the dark flame to give us the fuel to burn the bright flame without sacrificing ourselves. However, we also need to be certain that we do not focus exclusively on our inward selves, ignoring the rest of the world to sink into comfortable egotism. When we want to nurture our dark flame, we must nurture ourselves. Some of this is simple self-care: exercise, eating well, the occasional treat because we like them. However, it also involves things like meditation, automatic writing, prayer, or simply being alone with our thoughts. We need time to think, time to understand ourselves, time to compare our actions against what we claim are our beliefs. It's of integral importance for us to take that time, to give ourselves a chance to pause in stillness and examine ourselves. When we want to nurture our bright flame, we need to nurture others. This is the flame that expands to those around us, that is seen in our relationships and our work. We need this to get through our day, to keep good relations at our jobs, with our families, with the greater community. We do this by thinking of the other person and what they need and want. And we do this intelligently: there is no virtue in giving of oneself to someone that is using you to keep from growing themselves. But there is also no virtue in refusing to help because it offers nothing to us or we can't be bothered. We must give when we can, when it makes the world better. We are all of the Divine, and we need to nurture our Divine Spark of flame. And we need to give each other space to nurture their own sparks as well. ===== ===== Questions: ===== * Which flame would you say you nurture more? How? * How would you nurture the other flame? * Do you think balancing these flames is important? How do you see them interrelating? [05] ========= ========= ARTICLES ========= ======= ======= WHAT ARE CHAKRAS? ======= by Sue Windred ======= Chakras, which mean wheels in Sanskrit, are energy centers running along our spine. Ancient Hindus formulated that there were seven of these energy wheels, each one a different color and spinning in a clockwise direction. We all have seven major chakras and many minor chakras. They are like spinning funnels that come out from our body. When they are perfectly balanced and spinning correctly we are in perfect health. If one or more are out of balance, too open or too closed we feel off color, out of balance, or sick. This is what is called dis-ease. Each chakra relates to organs or parts of the body and each need to be looked after and balanced regularly. You can work on each chakra separately starting with the base chakra, and then bring them all into balance, or you can work on all the chakras at the same time. The root chakra is located at the base of the spine. The sacral centre is just below the navel. The solar plexus is about two inches above the navel. The heart is about the level of the physical heart. The throat is at the base of the neck. The third eye is on the forehead between the eyes. The crown is at the top of the head. These are the 7 major chakras and there are many minor chakras as well. All chakras interact with one another. Each chakra corresponds to a particular colour frequency and with a particular gland or organ. This means that the organ or gland vibrates at a sympathetic rhythm to a colour vibration. When we feel "off colour" or "washed out" we need to re-tune the colour, just like tuning in a radio set to a station so that it restores the signal loud and clear. In a healthy body the chakras absorb and distribute colour energy evenly, while in an unhealthy person toxins may begin to collect causing physical, mental and emotional problems. Each chakra can be balanced using colours, crystals, essential oils, music, affirmations or changing what you do. It is also beneficial to have a chakra balance to bring them all back into balance. This can be done at home by yourself or you can go to a crystal therapist or colour therapist to have it done. When all your chakras are balanced - you should be healthy and well balanced. It is important to have all your chakras in balance, sometimes when people start on the spiritual path they concentrate on the third eye, but it is very important to start at the bottom. Our body is like a building, you need to get the foundations right before you work on the top floors. So make sure your bottom chakras are balanced and functioning properly. Each chakra is represented by a colour: Base - Red Sacral - Orange Solar Plexus - Yellow Heart - Green or Pink Throat - Blue Third Eye - Purple Crown - White The easiest way to bring the chakras back into balance is to carry or wear the appropriate colour. Another very easy and pleasant way is to listen to a chakra balancing CD. Music is a very relaxing way to bring things back into balance. Ideally this is done while meditating, but just listening to the music will help. And let's face it anything is better than nothing. Playing a chakra balancing CD is a great way to balance the whole family at the same time and usually this has a calming effect on every one as well. An easy but effective way to balance and align the chakras is to do a guided meditation lying down with crystals or colour patches of material on each chakra. === === A Guided Meditation for balancing the chakras === You may either get someone to read this to you, or you may read it out and record your own voice. It is best read slowly, allowing for pauses where appropriate. Relax, take a couple of deep breaths and breathe out all your stress and tension. See yourself standing in a valley, you are surrounded with red tulips, everywhere you look it is a sea of red. As you start to walk though the tulips you feel yourself absorbing the red energy. You feel your root chakra come alive. As you walk further you come to the end of the red tulips. You have now come to a field of orange poppies, they are everywhere, and the flowers appear to be dancing in the light breeze. As you walk along you notice you are starting to go up the side of a hill. Walking through the poppies you feel yourself absorbing the colour orange. Your sacral centre is alive. You now reach the end of the poppies. You are now in a field of brilliant yellow daises. Smell the fragrance and see the sunny yellow flowers. As you continue your journey up the hill you feel the yellow absorbing into your body and your solar plexus is alive. All too soon you come to the end of the yellow. You now find yourself in a beautiful field of soft green grass. As you walk across it you feel the green absorbing up through your feet. Your heart chakra is alive. The green grass field takes you further up the hill till you reach a field of bluebells, their delicate blue heads bowed slightly as if to greet you. As you walk through them, feel the blue absorbing into your body, feel your throat chakra opening. As you walk further up the hill you reach the end of the beautiful bluebells and find yourself in a field of indigo irises. Stand for a moment and absorb the indigo colour flooding into your third eye. Walking further up the hill you come to the end of the indigo and reach a patch of purple pansies. Their beautiful petals are like faces looking up at you. Hundreds of them all are projecting their colour up to your crown chakra. Just stand for a moment and absorb. As you slowly continue up the hill you leave your pansies and reach the top of the hill. Here you are surrounded by a sea of tiny white flowers. As you sit in the middle of the white flowers you notice you are on the top of the hill. Looking down you can now see all the colours, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple and white, like stripes in the side of the hill. Sit for a moment and take it all in. You feel very peaceful and every chakra is alive. It is now time to leave your rainbow hill. Remember the feeling of all your chakras being alive. Return to the top of the hill whenever you feel the need. It is now time to open your eyes and return to this reality as we know it. You may use this chakra balancing meditation whenever you feel the need for it, or as often as you like. === About the Author Sue is a Crystal and Reiki Master, Metaphysician and Meditation teacher who lives and works with her husband Ron at 'Akasha Keep'; a spiritual center dedicated to healing and teaching, located in the beautiful Somerset region of Queensland, Australia. [06] ========= ========= Cauldron Info ========= SUPPORT THE CAULDRON'S SERVER WITH DONATIONS ========= As mentioned in the October 2008 newsletter, we now need over US$60 in donations every month to keep the server online. No donations, no server. No server, no message board. Well, not really "no message board" as there is always the free backup board, but the limitations of the free backup board drive staff and many members nuts. Your donations are needed to keep The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's message board up. We now have two ways you can donate. OPTION 1: Make An "Anonymous" Donation in Any Amount If you are not a member of the message board -- or are a member but do not want a donor button to appear on your posts or wish to donate a non-standard amount, you can make an "anonymous" donation (which will not cause any "donor" notation on your posts) in any amount via the Paypal link below. You do NOT need a Paypal account to donate. After Paypal fees, we get 85% to 90% of the money you donate. http://www.ecauldron.com/donatepaypal.php OPTION 2: Message Board Member? 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Payments are made via Paypal but you do not need a Paypal account to donate (unless you wish to set up a recurring donation subscription). If you are a member of our message board, this link will take you directly to the Donation Subscription area of your Profile (with a stop to log in if you are not already logged in): http://www.ecauldron.net/profiledonations.php [07] ========= ========= 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/forum/ ===== ===== 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.net/bnbarticleform.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.net/bnbbkreviewform.php ===== ===== Graphic Assistance ===== The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum is purposely a low graphics site as we value page download speed over flashy graphics. 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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.net/linktous.php ===== ===== 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.net/zamazon.php If you are a regular user of the US version of Amazon, you can help The Cauldron by replacing the URL of your ebay bookmark in your browser with the above link so that TC gets credit every time you visit Amazon.com. To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find Amazon in your bookmark list. RIGHT click on it and select Properties from the popup menu which will appear. A dialog box describing your bookmark will appear. You'll see the standard Amazon url -- probably http://www.amazon.com/ -- in an edit box (labeled "Location" in FireFox and "URL" in IE). Erase that url completely and replace with one listed above, then click on OK. If you use Amazon UK, you can use this address http://www.ecauldron.net/zamazonuk.php If you use Amazon Canada, you can use this addess: http://www.ecauldron.net/zamazonca.php ===== ===== Ebay Purchases ===== Are you an Ebay user? Ebay has a new program that pays affiliates a small percent of the winning bid if the winning bidder enters ebay from an affiliate link (some like how our Amazon.com affiliate program works). So if you visit the US version ebay via the following link, the Cauldron will get credit for your bids: http://www.ecauldron.net/zebay.php If you are a regular user of the US version of ebay, you can help The Cauldron by replacing the URL of your ebay bookmark in your browser with the above link so that TC gets credit every time you visit ebay. To do this in Internet Explorer or Firefox, find ebay in your bookmark list. RIGHT click on it and select Properties from the popup menu which will appear. A dialog box describing your bookmark will appear. You'll see the standard ebay url -- probably http://www.ebay.com/ -- in an edit box (labeled "Location" in FireFox and "URL" in IE). Erase that url completely and replace with one listed above, then click on OK. ===== ===== 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.) [08] ========= ========= 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) 2008 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. Yahoo Groups does not allow the list owner to make them for you. ===== ===== NEWSLETTER WEB SITE AND BACK ISSUE ARCHIVE ===== The Cauldron and Candle web site contains information on this newsletter and an archive of back issues. http://www.ecauldron.com/cnc/ ===== ===== PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO SUBSCRIBE ===== If you have Pagan friends who you believe would be interested in Cauldron and Candle please invite them to subscribe. You can either drop them a note yourself or -- better yet -- send them one of The Cauldron's email postcards with the information. You are also welcome to forward a copies of this newsletter to interested friends and associates provided you forward the entire newsletter. ===== ===== SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME ===== Don't forget that your suggestions for this newsletter are always welcome, either posted on the message board or via email to LyricFox (lyricfox01@ecauldron.GETRIDOFME.com) or Randall Sapphire (rssapphire01@.ecauldron.GETRIDOFME.com). Typos are, as usual, courtesy of the Goddess Eris.

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