Imbolc is Coming

In our tradition, Imbolc is the festival of midwinter. It is a celebration of the returning light, of the growing God, the promise of spring, and a time of dedication and initiation. Here in the depths of winter, we look into the fire and make our promises to the Gods and to ourselves. What intentions are we nurturing in this turn of the Wheel? Who do we want to become? 

The days have lengthened. For most of us, it's still light out when we finish work for the day. I don't know about you, but that cheers me up mightily.

Here at the Clan stronghold, great things are afoot. We have two dedicants finishing their first year of study. That means initiations at our Imbolc ritual - what a joyous prospect! Our little Clan is growing. We have weathered our first year. Our numbers are still small, but our members are dedicated and strong, creative and intelligent - beautiful women and developing shamanic witches all.  For all of this, I give thanks.

Meanwhile, we have one dedicant who came in partway through the year, and a new student waiting in the wings. That means that we will have two training classes going at once - Shamanic Witchcraft 101 (open to the public) and Shamanic Witchcraft 201 (closed to the public). What an exciting time it is!

It's also a time of intense concentration and work for me as a high priestess. I know exactly what my Imbolc dedication will be; I'm already doing it. The work of tradition creation and evolution is my task. I am loving this adventure, and blessed with inspiration and guidance from across the veil. For this, I give thanks. Several of my close allies in this Earthly realm are helping me by listening to me vent, acting as a sounding board, and giving their opinions of my ideas. For this, I give thanks.

Things have certainly evolved as I've gone along. Last year, we used Christopher Penczak's work as a textbook. This year, we will use a few books for specific topics. Eventually, I can see that our own book is needed. One step at a time. Slowly, slowly.

So if you've been wondering where all the new posts on this blog have gone...this is where. They've fallen by the wayside for a bit. I'll be back, and I'll be checking in as I have time. May your Imbolc celebrations be bright!

Living Life Fully

The Pagan Experience - Wk 4- September 28: Any writing for the letters N or a topic of your choice– I am keeping this familiar format on week 4 for those who have joined me from the Pagan Blog Project!

An interesting thought occurred to me recently during Yoga. What if the way that gurus achieve that unshakable calm, that inner peace, is not through some mystical energy cultivated during meditation or other Yogic practices, but instead...is simply through not engaging with the drama of daily life? Not a particularly original or groundbreaking thought on the face of it, but bear with me.

Many think it happens in this order, though. Mystical powers bring peace. I posit the exact opposite. It is their very detachment from daily life, their refusal to engage with ordinary squabbles that brings the inner peace that seems so very fulfilling and desirable. How is this achieved? It occurred to me tonight that it's incredibly simple, and incredibly difficult. One simply does not participate. One spends no energy on conflict, no energy on the drama of others.

But this led me down another path. What does it mean when one refuses to participate in drama, in conflict? How does one refuse to engage in this modern world of ours? I believe it is nearly impossible to refuse to engage in conflict. Life in our modern world requires relationships. We don't live in a culture in which spiritual people or Yoga teachers are supported.

Instead, we must support ourselves and carve out time for our practice and exploration. To support ourselves, we must work, even if that work is teaching Yoga or other spiritual practices. To do that work, we must cultivate relationships, and in turn, all relationships involve conflict. Human nature is such that boundaries are tested. People try to take advantage of other people, mostly unintentionally, because we are concerned primarily with our own needs and desires. Our needs and desires do not always coincide with those of others, and indeed, often they overlap or themselves are in conflict.

Surely, Yoga and most spiritual practices help us to reduce our automatic reactions to life situations. Certainly, meditation has a calming effect, and it gives us perspective, both of which are very helpful in managing conflict in a healthy way. I'm not saying that spiritual practices do not assist us in dealing with daily life and with conflicts. Of course they do.

What I'm getting at, rather, is that to follow the path of Yoga, one must detach oneself from daily life. Disciples of traditional Yoga are not supposed to have families, sex, any type of intoxicant, rich foods or really, any type of personal life. Gurus are people who have studied and practiced for years, and who have gained samadhi, or bliss. They typically spend most of their energy on this practice, in addition to teaching and sometimes performing service for the community.

As a Pagan who follows the path of Yoga, I say - this is not living. We are here on this Earth in physical bodies overflowing with the ability to sense. I subscribe to the notion that the Divine enjoys sensory experiences through us, and taking full advantage of that ability is part of our purpose here. What's more, even the teachings of Buddha say that to transcend Maya (the illusion of the world of the senses), one must experience it and learn from it.

A bit of background here:

1. I fully respect and honor the tradition of Yoga.
2. Yoga is a wide, wide tree of disciplines and practices. I'm generalizing in this post out of necessity.
3. I'm designing my own system of Pagan Yoga.

So in my tradition, we fully engage with life. We are priestesses, women, professionals, daughters, mothers, wives and more. We have careers, families, hobbies and pets. We engage in this Earthly life fully and completely. We know that enlightenment is something we can experience right now, in the midst of all of this messy, beautiful chaos we call life.

Our Pagan Yoga system is a discipline and a lifestyle, just like traditional Yoga is. But in our discipline, we get dirty. We dance. We chant and sing and howl at the moon. We eat cupcakes right alongside our healing herbs. We raise a horn of mead from time to time. We meditate. We mindfully and reverently enjoy sex. We attune ourselves to the great Wheel of the Year - the passing of the seasons and the cycles of the Moon.

Our goal is to experience life, and to develop ourselves into the fullest expression of our beings that we can envision. It's a goal that keeps growing as we continue to grow and evolve. Union with the Divine is part of that goal, but a static state of bliss? Nah. Give us the ecstatic rhythm of creation. Give us the heights of mystic trance and the lows of hopeless despair. Give us the beauty, joy and love and give us the brokenness, imperfection and flaws. Give us everything, for that is what it means to live fully.

Blessed be and aho!

My Home, My Harvest, My Community

Spiral dance led by Spirit of the Evergreens Coven

The Pagan Experience - Wk 3- September 21: Deity and the Divine – This will be the third week’s topic every month and an opportunity for you to share with everyone those who guide, inspire and inform you. Tell us about your favorite Deity of Hearth and Home.

I don't have a particular deity of hearth or home, but big Mother Goddess and big Father God watches over all. The bounty created by their love is shared by all, and this year, the harvest was rich indeed.

Last weekend, I revelled in my home community, my beloved Pagan confederation of luminous, wild and wacky souls at the Central North Carolina Pagan Pride Day festival (PPD). This event is always fun, educational and relaxing, as it is a chance to be who we truly are out in public...something we Pagans living in the southeast USA rarely get a chance to do.

Spiral dance led by Spirit of the Evergreens Coven

But this year, for me, the festival represented more than fun. More than learning a new skill. More than seeing old friends and colleagues. More than sharing knowledge with the community. This year, my harvest was so bountiful that I can scarcely speak of it for the fullness of my heart.

This year, I hosted a booth for my coven, the Clan of the Wildlings. I've never hosted a booth at the festival before, though I make ritual tools and other artistic creations that Pagans like. Though the Clan is doing well on this, our almost one-year anniversary, I felt ready to take the plunge. My intention was to get the word out to more people, and to draw more wildlings to us. And so it was. We got an incredibly positive response. 

Me at our booth

Sunday morning, I facilitated the second meeting of the NC Pagan Elders' Council. We had a great discussion, in which the group asked for face to face meetings during the year outside of PPD. Kay Soto of Truely Unique kindly volunteered to help with that effort. Supporters of healthy intergenerational community, leaders of traditions and older folks with wisdom to share stay tuned! If you would like to join our council, email me for an invitation. Currently the group stays in touch with a secret group on Facebook.

We were asked to lead a ritual for the festival on Sunday. I was happy to oblige, though I was a tiny bit nervous - this would be the biggest circle I had ever led. I planned a ritual of thanksgiving for the harvest in which we thanked all of the powers of the Earth. It went off swimmingly! I think my favorite part was the howling at the end of the ritual, which is a tradition of my Clan.

It took me a long time to write this post. Upon long reflection, I know why - the real harvest of this festival, and of this year, for me...is my place within the community. After PPD, I made a big decision - to go public with my faith.

As I've been stepping into a leadership role these past two years, I created a separate Pagan identity on social media. I used my spiritual name on everything Pagan-related, including this blog. I had and have a lot of good reasons for this decision. I live in the southeastern US, which is a predominantly evangelical Christian area, and quite conservative. I'm a small business owner, and not only that, the type of business I'm in is already a bit fringe-y for this area. Massage therapy still is sometimes mistaken for prostitution here. Yoga is still sometimes mistaken for some sort of Devil worship/Hindu indoctrination here. It is unwise for business owners to be "too colorful" in this area.

Having two identities is a constant struggle: which name to use, which business card to hand out, which website to talk about, which account to post from and on and on. After PPD, I'd had enough. As a first step, I reintegrated my Facebook accounts and came out of the broom closet. I am a medical massage therapist, Yoga therapist & instructor...and I'm also a faith leader in a tradition of shamanistic witchcraft. Let the chips fall where they may - I'm done hiding.

Meanwhile, at home, the leaves are beginning to turn. The tomatoes have flowered again. Pears from our trees have turned into pear butter. Figs from our fig tree have been gobbled up by us, friends, neighbors and bees. The kitties are frolicking. The air conditioner is taking a well-deserved rest. Life is good, and the harvest is rich. I am grateful. Blessed be! 

World Goddess Day 2015

Yesterday, we co-facilitated a World Goddess Day event with our good friends at Gaia's Circle and Triangle Area Pagan Alliance. The World Goddess Day concept was created last year by Claudiney Prieto of Brazil. The idea is to set aside an entire day to celebrate the Divine Feminine all around the world. Pictures and stories are rolling in about events in New Zealand, Brazil, the US and the UK, and many more. What a beautiful sight!

From the World Goddess Day website:

"THE WORLD GODDESS DAY PROJECT emerged to unite the Mother Goddess' worshipers world wide through their many expressions and manifestations. The purpose of the Project is grant to the Goddess one day of visibility to share Her many myths, stories and worship diversity, so everyone will remember or will know that the first religion of humanity was the Worship of the Goddess."

Last year, I hosted an event with South Wake Spiritual Community. We gathered at a local park to meditate and feast. It was a beautiful day. This year, we joined forces to make something even grander with our friends at the Eno River State Park. We had between 25-30 participants, with beautiful, loving energy.

We began by creating sacred space. We called in many names and faces of the Goddess. We sang. We danced, we drummed. We also did my healing meditation from last year. We heal ourselves that we may heal our loved ones, our community, our nation, and the Earth. And of course, we feasted!

The time we spent socializing after the ritual was lovely and important. It turns out that we hosted two

students from Brazil, one of whom had interviewed the creator of World Goddess Day, Claudiney Prieto. What an amazing thing! These lovely people told us that in Brazil, people are very interested in creating a worldwide Pagan community. I was thrilled to hear it - the concept of Pagan unity is near and dear to my heart.

This is the meat of this day, in my mind - coming together. So many people honor the Divine Feminine in so many ways. But so many of us are still forced to live in the shadows. Even those that don't *need* to hide still sometimes do, out of habit or preference. I personally believe that there is strength in numbers. Strong community enriches everyone's path - we can learn so much from each other, even if we hold different beliefs. Perhaps more important even than that is the support we can lend one another.

I told one of the Brazilian students that so many of our groups are small - between 3 and 12 people, usually. Groups that small can't do the things that a large church can do. But if Pagans choose to come together, we too could provide disaster relief, support during illness, counseling services, shared childcare and so much more.

Prayer for Pagan Unity

Dear Eternal Father,

there is so much unrest and disunity

in the world. Help us to embrace

each other and life in peace and

harmony in the Pagan way.

 

Dear Eternal Mother,

we realize there are many different

traditions and paths of faith. Help

us to see past the differences and

unite as one family in total harmony

and love.

So Mote It Be.

I am so grateful for my Pagan community, and for my many allies within it. Together, we can do anything. Next year, let's make our World Goddess Day even bigger and better. Who's in for a Goddess-themed Yoga practice?

Love, healing and peace be upon you and all beings. May the love of the Goddess be ever in your heart. Blessed be the Goddess!

Charge of the Horned God

With thanks to Susan Seddon Boulet

The Pagan Experience - Wk 3- May 18 – Deity and the Divine – This will be the third week’s topic every month and an opportunity for you to share with everyone those who guide, inspire and inform you. Share your favorite invocation or devotional to the Deity of your choice. 

This week, I choose the Charge of the Horned God. There are many invocational and devotional pieces that I love. I've written a few, as well. Today, though, I feel moved to share this particular piece for a good reason. This is how I came up with the name of my coven, Clan of the Wildlings. This explains what a wildling is, and who protects us.

These are the words of the Horned One, whose names are un-numbered:

I am the wild hunter of the forest deep.

I am the fire upon the hill.

I am the sower of the seed

And the tiller of the soil of the earth.

I am the golden warrior

Whose arrows are the shafts from the sun.

The thunder is my hoof fall;

The wilderness my shrine.

I wield the oaken staff,

The elements at my call.

By day I am the sun;

By night I ride upon the wild winds.

I am a stag, a tree and the mountain.

My seed works within the earth's dark womb

For I am the Horned One, Sire of the Universe,

Love and Consort of the Goddess am I.

In the wilderness doth my spirit dwell

And all wildlings and fugitives of oppression

are cherished within my heart.

To these, my hidden children,

I am provider and protector

For all things wild and free

are in my keeping

And all things of beauty and freedom

and love delight me.

Swiftly I come to merriment and laughter, my invocations,

For I am the Lord of all life.

Yet also I have a dark face

For I am Death. The Reaper of Souls.

And terrible is this my dark face

to those who know not the mystery.

Yet to my hidden children,

Who know and love my spirit,

My dark face is also sweet,

For tis the face of deep and hidden wisdom.

I am the giver of knowledge

Life and death are mine to give

From death thou shalt be reborn

unto new life and love.

Therefore seek my spirit and know me

Bright and dark;

Then shalt thou know my mystery.

For I am the Ancient One,

Gentle and fierce:

My faces outnumber the stars:

I am Cernunnos, Herne, Pan, Lugh, the Ancient One

Lord and Sire of the Universe All.

Blessed be!

Ritual

The Pagan Experience - Wk 2- Apr. 13 – Ritual - What is your definition of the word “ritual”? What are your rituals- mundane and spiritual? How do they inform each other? Is ritual a necessary component to spiritual practice?


Ritual is defined by the dictionary as "a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order." In a broader sense, a ritual can be any series of actions that are performed regularly.

The word ritual also implies a certain level of meaningfulness or reverence, even when used in the broader sense. That suits me down to the roots. My personal brand of shamanistic witchcraft has been heavily influenced by Eastern philosophy. I believe that there is no separation between the mundane and the magical, the everyday and the sacred. This whole Earth is my temple, and every step I take is a prayer. I'm into mindfulness - each moment is important, and truly is all we have.

My life is full of ritual. In fact, with all the transitions and changes in my life in recent years, you might even say that ritual is my anchor point. My daily rituals keep me centered amidst the ebb and flow of life. I have written before about my dinacharya, my daily routine. To summarize, I begin each day with prayer, Yoga, meditation and general self-care. I bless each meal. I end the day with meditation and gratitude.

Since I wrote those posts, my routine has shifted slightly. I'm meditating in the morning more now. I'm also writing more in the morning. My evening practice has all but disappeared, being devoted more to winding down, checking the last emails and spending time with family. Of course, these last few months  have been very transitional, so I'm working to get back on track. Whether I will find equilibrium at my old routine, or something new, I do not yet know. It's gardening season, so all bets are off.

Aside from the daily routine, there are many little things I do at random times that add meaning and a sense of the sacred to my life. I put magic into my cooking, infusing the meals I cook for myself and my family with healing and love. I sing to my plants. I take time every day to connect with my kitties. My partner likes to walk our property with me, taking note of each new bloom. I visit my favorite woods and rivers regularly so that I can watch the progression of the seasons in each place and to recharge my spirit. I make offerings to my favorite tree.

On the spiritual side of things, I mark and celebrate the seasons. I lead my Clan in rituals to honor the Full Moon, the eight great Sabbats and our five patrons and matrons. Because we are an eclectic coven, our rituals range from full-on formal circles to informal events like devotional hikes. This being our first turn of the Wheel together, we are still evolving and settling into a routine. I have so many ideas that I am excited to bring into being.

This question of how my mundane and spiritual rituals inform each other…it is a difficult one. I find myself writing this post and not knowing where to put certain items. Is recharging my crystals under the light of the Full Moon a mundane ritual or a spiritual one? Again, my view is one of unity. My intent is to make my life more and more of a seamless blend each year. I live on a homestead out in the country, and my view truly is to infuse the necessary with the sacred. The mundane WITH the spiritual.

The last question, is ritual a necessary component of spiritual practice…I say that it's a necessary component to MY spiritual practice. Yoga philosophy sums it up well: the things we do each day form scars or grooves (samskara), which itself is ritual whether we like it or not. I choose to do this consciously. To make my habits ones that uplift and support my purpose and path.

I would never dream of dictating another person's journey. Perhaps it includes ritual, perhaps not. Perhaps those rituals are secular rather than religious. It is not for me to say what is right for another. 

That being said, rituals and ceremonies were created out of a universal human need. Artifacts have been found from our earliest times for which no utilitarian function is known, their use being purely ceremonial. Scientists imply that our transition to sentient humanity as we know it today began with our need for meaning, for spirituality, for ritual. 

Rituals take us across the threshold of the stages of our lives. They heal us of trauma. They lift us up and help us to carry on through times both good and bad. They give us a sense of belonging and strengthen community. Rituals punctuate the daily grind with celebration, devotion and a joyous sense of occasion. Rituals are the percussion in the song of our lives. 

“Life is a ritual of love
Life is a ritual of union, and 
Life is a dance of the divine” 
― Vishwas Chavan, SoulBliss: a poetic tale of cosmic love

Next Year's Yule Celebration

My sun wheel for 2014

This year, my Yule celebrations began with the Sun Wheel Ceremony. Along with many people across the globe, I created a yule wreath and placed candles in it. Each Sun-day from Thanksgiving week to Solstice, I lit the candles and meditated on the season. It was a beautiful, simple ritual and I enjoyed it.

But what's this good Pagan to do during the season of Yuletide itself? I have struggled over the years with reclaiming holiday traditions. My biological family loves Christmas and has a host of traditions around it. Unfortunately, my family also created a lot of stress and unhappiness for me, which further complicates this time of year.

This year, I went on a long trip. It was great. I didn't have to participate in any Judeo-Christian traditions! For the first time in many years, I was free from sensory bombardment with messages from a faith not my own. It was bliss, in that regard. There was just a little bit of Christmas on the ship, but it was easy to avoid.

Next year, I'd like to celebrate Yule as a 13 day, 12 night extravaganza, drawing from the Germanic, Italian and Norse traditions of my ancestry. For my purposes, this period will begin the eve of winter solstice (~Dec. 20) and end January 1. The concept behind this tradition is to rest and celebrate during the gap between the lunar year and the solar year. The idea of reflecting on the past year and envisioning the new year to come resonates deeply with me.

One source I found suggests performing divination each night corresponding to the coming 12 months. So on Mother's Night (solstice eve; Christmas eve makes no sense to me as a Pagan), I would divine for January. Solstice night, divine for February…and so on. I love this idea not only because of the practical benefits it provides, but also because this is an easy, portable tradition.

Another tradition I found is that of wassailing or blessing the trees. The way that I'll practice this is to go into the forest with animal-appropriate offerings like seeds and nuts, plus spiritual offerings like tobacco and cornmeal. I'll knock on the trees and give them the good news about the return of the light, then leave offerings for the dryads and other forest dwellers. An excuse for a spiritual hike? Yes, please!

This year was a sort of holiday detox. I had an extremely minimal holiday celebration. Mostly, I lounged about in the Caribbean. Next year, I'll get back to work on reclaiming the holidays. I pledge to stay in town for Solstice itself - after all, I have a coven to lead now. But this liminal period between the years…may find me wandering again. Either way, it will be a time of celebration, rest, reflection and dreaming up adventures for the following year. I'll spend time with those I love and those who support my journey. I also plan to do some service work, including a free yoga class as a gift to my students.

Here's to hoping your holidays were bright and joyous, and that you have a blessed New Year full of prosperity and new experiences!

30 Days of Deity Devotion: Day 11

Festivals, Days and Times Sacred to this Deity

In keeping with my habit of not regurgitating information that is easily found elsewhere, I won't give an exhaustive list of festivals, days and times for Artemis in this post. Instead I'll highlight a few things that I use in my own practice and with my coven, Clan of the Wildlings.

Artemis is associated with the crescent moon, especially in her role as the Maiden aspect of the Goddess. She is also sometimes conflated with Selene, and full moon worship, but I relate to her as the crescent moon. The sixth day of each month is sacred to Artemis, so for me, the sixth day of a new moon is an all-purpose time to work with her. This is a time when I call upon her aid in spellwork or make offerings to her.

My clan honors each of our five patron deities with a festival day. As much as possible and feasible, I'm following traditional dates and celebrations. Luckily, some of our patrons have set dates and some do not. Some have more than one festival. This allows me some flexibility in spacing the festival more evenly throughout the year. An important thing in this busy day and age!

For Artemis, I've chosen Mounykhia, which is held on the full moon in April. The following is excerpted from Unbound: A Devotional Anthology for Artemis by Bibliotheca Alexandrina:

"The modern Mounukhia honors Artemis as Artemis Phosphoros, the Light Bringer, and Potnia Theron, Lady of the Beasts. If you wish to offer Artemis meat since goats were sacrificed in the ancient festival, please do it in an appropriate manner. Try to offer her organic or free-range meat if you do not hunt. The domestic animals at least are treated better than non-organic/free-range farms. The purpose of this festival is to celebrate our femininity and to know that Artemis will always hold a lit torch for us and guide us on our journeys."

This festival is especially appropriate for me as a priestess of Artemis. My purpose is to bring more light into the world, through using the gifts I was given to help others. Hence Tanaria Lightbearer, savvy? 

I'm also a traditional bowhunter, so the other time I feel especially close to Artemis is during deer hunting season. For my local area (central North Carolina, USA), that's mid-September through the end of December. I don't know if others formally celebrate or work with her during hunting season, but then…I've yet to find any other followers of Artemis who hunt at all. If you're out there, please comment on this post, I'd love to meet you!

What a Geek - Coven Administration is fun!

Founding my coven, Clan of the Wildlings, has been an exciting and awesome experience on many levels. One of them warms the cockles of my geeky heart: administration. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. There is a High Priestess out there in the world who digs the organizational details.

And why not? Building a website, creating a Facebook page, designing business cards…these are just a different form of magic. With each keystroke, our clan gains more reality. With each moment of focus, the manifestation of my vision grows. Just that would be magical enough to be worthwhile.

But for my geeky heart, organization has another function: clarity. I like things to be clear, in all areas of my life. In matters of spirit, doubly so. All members of the clan need to know what they are getting into and what is happening - for the highest good of us all.

To that end, I created what I have called a foundational document. I got the idea from my time in the corporate world, plus some research here on the interwebs. This document contains the bare bones of the coven's structure, mission, holidays, etc.

Here are is a list of the headings, for your reference:

• Leadership
• Members
• Officers
• Covenstead
• Sub-groups (similar to the different paths within Druidry, for example - arts, healing, war, clergy, etc)
• Legal Status (are you a non-profit?)
• Legal rituals (weddings)
• Age Limit
• Documents (list of core organizational docs)
• Degrees
• Dress Code
• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• Membership Qualifications
• Membership Process
• Leaving the Group
• Attendance Requirements
• Holidays
• Temple (I'd like to build one someday)

In addition to the foundational document, I made a few other documents to start the clan in an orderly fashion:

• Seekers Questionnaire
• Member's Oath
• Code of Ethics
• 13 Goals of a Witch
• Ritual Etiquette

But the thing that may have the most geekily excited? The Clan Records document. It's in Excel format (look away, traditionalists!), one tab per topic:

• Log - in which we record dates, ritual names, attendees, and notes about each event.
• Expenses (receipts filed in our group BOS)
• Income - donations, fundraising, etc (we do not have regular dues)
• Roster - list of members, contact info, birthdays, allergies

All of these documents are available to all members at all times. Having worked as a project manager in another life, one thing I feel very strongly about is organizational transparency. While we as Pagans are part of a mystery tradition, which has secrets by its very nature…the way that the coven is run does not have to be one. In my opinion, groups are stronger when everyone knows what is going on and what is expected of each member. It builds a culture of trust and accountability. I strive to be the kind of leader that people follow not because I hold power over them, but because they trust and respect me.

If you're interested in this new paradigm of leadership and of organizational transparency, click on the links in the above paragraph. I love honoring ancient wisdom in my spirituality. I look often to ancestors, including those of blood, intellect and spirit. But I also use the modern knowledge that I have gained in my life. Organization, good administration, transparency, fair leadership…all of these things support a healthy coven. The mission of my group is to nurture a balance of body, mind and spirit. Using my geek skills is one way in which I do that - for the highest good of all, with harm to none.

Blessed be!

My Clan

This week my new coven, Clan of the Wildlings, gathered for the very first time. We celebrated the full Frost Moon on a beautiful evening around a roaring fire.

I'd written our ritual weeks in advance, and it was beautiful. I also did some final tweaks on it the afternoon of the ritual, forgetting that I didn't have access to a working printer. Traffic was awful, so there was no way I could stop at a copy center. Knowing that I at least had the Charge of the Goddess on my phone, I resolved to wing it.

In retrospect, this seems entirely apropos. I have been a witch for lo, this many years, and really could have led a group long ago. It took a long time for me to gain the confidence. So at this final moment of truth, it felt like the Gods were testing me:

"Here's your chance, kid. Get in there and do it from your heart."

The group got there right on time and we all pitched in to ready the space. The weather was gorgeous. We had a lovely space with a fire pit, big picnic table, camp chairs and a folding altar table. Just setting up the altar brought it home to me - this is real, this is happening RIGHT NOW. I put out the very first ritual tools I made for myself 20 years ago. The Goddess was represented by a conch shell horn, while the God was represented by a ceramic stag statue.

The night was cool, so I slipped on my fake fur ritual robe (aka the Snuggle Robe). With it, I wore a simple circlet of natural fiber cordage that I made with my summer camp kids, moccasins and my medicine pouch. A shamanistic witch indeed. I'd instructed the clan to wear things that made them feel comfortable and powerful. Each did that in their own way - a beautiful thing to my eye.

I'm of the opinion that one oughtn't talk too much about magical work, but I will share one thing. We raised energy for our working with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises). What more appropriate way for a bunch of witches who love Yoga? It was a great suggestion from one of our members and I liked it so much that we're sure to do it again.

We began with some simple synchronized deep breaths. From there, we moved to a three part breath - breathing deeply into the belly, then the ribcage, then the upper chest. Next, we practiced a four part breath - inhale, pause, exhale, pause. We ended with the Breath of Fire, an invigorating breath. it's incredibly effective for raising energy, though I doubt that the yogis of old used it in quite this way.

By the time we completed our ritual, I was walking on air. We feasted and had a really great discussion about what led each of us to this night. Another great member suggestion! One thing I really love about working with a group is the diversity of stories and ideas. Our group is no exception. We are small right now, but mighty!

My heart is so full that it took me several days to process the experience enough to write about it. Many years of searching came to an end that night. I've found my clan, and we are off to a beautiful start. I can't wait to see where our path takes us!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. To the Gods, who pushed and prodded me into founding this group. To my study group of sister witches, who have supported me and listened to all my grandiose ideas. To my old coven, who welcomed me so warmly. To my High Priestess, who has given me so much. I am honored to be a part of our little informal tradition. I am also honored to be carrying on the torch of my ancestors, both of blood and spirit. Thank you. I will do my level best to make you all proud.

Blessed be!