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Oh, I have been beyond the town,
Where nightshade black and mandrake grow,
And I have heard and I have seen
What righteous folk would fear to know!
For I have heard, at still midnight,
Upon the hilltop far, forlorn,
With note that echoed through the dark,
The winding of the heathen horn.
And I have seen the fire aglow,
And glinting from the magic sword,
And with the inner eye beheld,
The Horn`Ed One, the Sabbat's lord.
We drank the wine, and broke the bread,
And ate it in the Old One's name.
We linked our hands to make the ring,
And laughed and leaped the Sabbat game.
Oh, little do the townsfolk reck,
When dull they lie within their bed!
Beyond the streets, beneath the stars,
A merry round the witches tread!
And round and round the circle spun,
Until the gates swung wide ajar,
That bar the boundaries of the earth
From faery realms that shine afar.
Oh, I have been and I have seen
In magic worlds of Otherwhere.
For all this world may praise or blame,
For ban or blessing nought I care.
For I have been beyond the town,
Where meadowsweet and roses grow,
And there such music did I hear
As worldly-righteous never know.
This is the original version written by: Doreen Valiente.Author ">Posted by: Renee D Frey
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~~
Nessie from Doctor Who's "Terror of the Zygons,"
Courtesy BBC
Some students in Louisiana state will be receiving state-funded vouchers to attend private schools - and perhaps learn about the truth behind Nessie?
According to "Herald Scotland" (via io9), some schools such as the Eternity Christian Academy, in Westlake, Louisiana teach from the Accelerated Christian Education Inc. (A.C.E.) Curriculum Program which encourages students to "see life from God's point of view."
That point of view includes teaching that Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is proof positive that evolution never happened, and substantiates Creationism (because if dinos existed at the same time as man, then Darwinism is a fatally flawed concept).
The article quotes from the ACE Biology 1099 textbook:
"Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the 'Loch Ness Monster' in Scotland? 'Nessie' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur."
The book also teaches a claim that a Japanese whaling boat once caught a dino.
The "Herald" also interviews former student of the ACE teaching, Jonny Scaramanga, who now "campaigns against Christian fundamentalism." Scaramanga said the Nessie claim was presented as "evidence that evolution couldn't have happened. The reason for that is they're saying if Noah's flood only happened 4000 years ago, which they believe literally happened, then possibly a sea monster survived... It's a common thing among creationists to believe in sea monsters."
So what's the response from the Nessie-believer community around the loch? Tony Drummond, a tour guide with Cruise Loch Ness, encouraged students - and all tourists - to go and check out the claims for themselves, while playing with the tour's hi-tech gadgets. He's a booster for Nessie but says of the ACE text books, "That's Christian propaganda... And ridiculous."
"-Aaron Sagers"
This spell is of a traditional hoodoo type: a variation is to be found in Jim Haskins' book. Nonetheless, this version was adapted for Wicca or modern pagan usage, as evidenced by the rhymed prayer ended with the Middle English "so mote it be" (however wrongly it is here spelled.)
Items Needed:
1 mirror
picture of him/ or her
picture of you
Belief in the power of Magic and the powers within yourself
Take the mirror and on the side where you see your reflection place his/her picture facing the mirror, on the other side facing inward place your picture and tape both securely, on the back of your picture write these words and hold the mirror close to your heart and chant 3 times:
With these magic words I plea
Each time you see your reflection you will think of me
This is my will, so mode [sic] it be....
Keep the mirror in your purse or pocket but carry it with you wherever you go...for 30 days you will see the results long before this but it could take up to 30 days..... Just believe.
This spell is credited to someone called The Chameleon from spells4free.com -- the author also gives a glowing testimonial for its power.
The term 'scrying' is general for any form of divination that involves gazing into a shiny or polished surface, such as water, a mirror, but most especially a glass sphere, in order to receive 'foresight or hidden knowledge' from the spirit world.
Scrying has been used for many thousands of years and is one of the most ancient forms of divination. It was used in Egypt, Babylon, Greece and China. Any reflective surface can be used, such as mirrors, a pool of water or black ink poured into the palm. Many modern scryers use a glass or quartz globe but it is possible to scry effectively using water placed a bowl.
Try the following method:
The scrying room should have reduced lighting with closed curtains, a shielded candle or soft lamp light.
Fill a glass bowl with water. Water is a blessed substance and has highly spiritual properties. It is a good conductor for psychic power. You can place some flower petals into the water if you choose or a few drops of olive or essential oil.
Sit with your back to the light source and look within the bowl and rest your eye focus. Take a moment to offer a prayer for guidance and wisdom. Take a few deep breaths and relax. Just stare comfortably and let your mind wander for a few minutes.
Return your thoughts to the water. Deep within the reflection you will see some movement and some images or associations will come to mind. Dwell for a moment on these images and associations and compose a story around them. Your spirit guides will inform, enlighten and guide the storyline to reveal information to you.
The most famous scryer in history was the medium, Edward Kelley, who served the eminent nobleman, Dr John Dee. Dee was a powerful, intelligent and curious Christian and became advisor to Queen Elizabeth I and heads of state in Europe. Edward Kelley made contact with archangels (such as Raphael and Uriel) and the Old Testament prophet, Enoch, for magic and sorcery that sadly proved to be spurious.
However, several notable scrying artefacts that belonged to Dee are fortunately on display in the British Museum: an obsidian (black volcanic glass) mirror, known as the 'Speculum' which was originally brought to Europe after the conquest of Mexico by Cortez in the late 1520s and dedicated to the Aztec God of sorcery, Tezcatlipoca, whose name means 'Smoking Mirror'; some small wax seals which supported the legs of the table upon which the scrying was carried out; a support known as the 'Seal of God' for the crystal known as the 'Shew Stone'; and a crystal ball about 6 centimetres in diameter.
Though many like to use expensive instruments for scrying, such as quartz crystal, always remember that stone is taken from its natural place within the planet under huge duress, often with loss of habitat to species and injury (sometimes death) to very poor miners.
Wendy Stokes is the author of 'The Lightworkers Circle Guide - A Workbook for Spiritual Groups'. The book explains how to facilitate a group for channelling, divination and healing. www.wendystokes.co.uk
by Phil Watt
Waking Times
For years I have said "we're all philosophers whether we know it or not", yet more recently I have also come to understand that we're all meditators.
There are a few common barriers to the ongoing conscious practice of meditation in our current era. Many people have wanted to try meditation but never have, or they have tried but gave up after a relatively short time. This is due to different reasons, such as they didn't think that they were learning anything, it was too tedious and ineffective, they didn't want to invest the time required and/or they felt they didn't have the capacity to become advanced at it.
Yet meditation is just like exercise-if we want to make our bodies fit for living or our brains fit for meditation, we need to keep at it. The longer we meditate the greater we experience the physical and mental health benefits it can generate. It can also provide spiritual empowerment if we commit to it for long enough.
The ironic aspect however is that even those who have wanted to try or just given up on focused meditation still do meditate every day. How this can be described is not just by subjective experience, but through objectively measured brain frequencies. Meditation is the act of changing our brainwaves. Our standard brain operating state is around 13-30 cycles per second (Hz) which is called the beta range. It is widely understood that when we meditate we slow that brain frequency down.
Read more >>
Reference: magical-poetry.blogspot.com
GROUP TO FIND A THEOLOGICAL RATIONALE FOR MARRIAGE
Anglican Ink
February 19, 2013
The Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church have named 12 people to serve on the church's Task Force on the Study of Marriage that will try to find a theological rationale for the church's recent change in doctrine on gay marriage.
In a statement released on 14 Feb 2013, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said the group would help the church chart its way forward as it seeks to find a theological rationale for the changes introduced last year. At the July 2012 General Convention the Episcopal Church authorized temporary provisional rites for blessing same-sex unions and authorized a study group to examine the doctrine of marriage.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, the presiding bishop wrote: "The theology of marriage has evolved over time, with biblical examples including polygamy, concubinage, and other forms of relationship no longer sanctioned in The Episcopal Church."
"We no longer expect that one partner promise to obey the other, that parents give away their children to be married, or that childbearing is the chief purpose of marriage. This task force is charged not only to take the pulse of our current theological understanding of the meaning of marriage, but to assist the faithful in conversation and discernment about marriage, in particular what the Church might hold up as "holy example" of the love between Christ and his Church."
While the Episcopal Church has never sanctioned polygamy and concubinage, in the Twentieth century it modified its practices on divorce and remarriage. THE REST
I was recently made aware of an item that was circulated by PRWeb. The item takes the form of a press release which was dated for April 21, 2005, with the title "Christians and Pagans Agree, Wicca Emerging as America's Third Religion," and the byline "Christians and Pagans agree that the Wiccan community is growing at an exceptional rate, and is projected to be the Third Largest religion by 2012." While Wicca and other forms of Paganism are certainly growing in America and the West, the sensationalism of these claims caught my attention and I'd like to provide a few comments that come by way of analysis of this item.
First, the press release became almost immediately suspect, not only because of the provocative title, but also because of one of the sources quoted in the item. Steve Wohl, a Christian and author of the book "Hour of the Witch" is quoted as saying, "we are now in a turning point and that Wicca would emerge as the third largest faith in America and would directly challenge Christian ideals of church and state." After a review of Mr. Wohl's website it appears that he provides yet another example of problematic, inaccurate, and sensationalistic Christian treatments of Wicca. The quotes he provides in the press release can easily be challenged as factually inaccurate, and the quotations seem more intent on alarming Christians than in accurately assessing Wicca and its relationship to the important issues of religious pluralism, tolerance, and freedom.
Second, the sensationalistic treatment of Wicca and other expressions of Paganism is an ongoing problem for Christians who have an unfortunate history of this practice, sometimes with very damaging results. The sensationalistic reporting of Wicca is akin to historic caricatures such as that illustrated in the image that which accompanies this post which depicts a common Christian stereotype of Witches as consorts of Satan.
Third, there is an unfortunate tendency to inflate the growth of Paganism and Wicca (as well as Witchcraft) by representatives on both sides of the metaphysical divide, whether Christian or Pagan. While reliable statistics are difficult to come by due to several factors, and a variety of estimates have been suggested, the American Religious Identification Survey of 2001 listed the number of Wiccans in the United States at 134,000, and when coupled with other forms of Paganism they arrived at a total Pagan adult population of 614,000. With the inclusion of children the number goes to 800,000. If we compare this figure with other religions in the United States, such as the 1.1 million Buddhists, 1.1 million Muslims, 2.8 million Jews, and some 159 million adherents of Christianity, then the numbers of Pagans in the United States is relatively small.
This is not to minimize or downplay either the growth of Paganism or its significance in the American religious marketplace. Great size is not necessary for a religion or spirituality to have significant impact in the marketplace of ideas, as demonstrated by various expressions of neo-Buddhism, Do-It-Yourself Spirituality, and Paganism. The influence of these religions and spiritualities is increasingly felt in the contemporary spiritual quest as well as in popular culture, even though the numbers of adherents or practitioners is relatively small. Thus, the new religions and alternative spirtualities represent a significant facet of American religious and spiritual life for the twenty-first century.
I hope that those interested in Pagan studies, particularly the media and evangelicalism, can be encouraged to seek out reliable sources of information on Paganism and can reflect on it carefully and critically. The increasing religious diversity of the public square, not to mention fairness in understanding and representation, makes these considerations more important than ever.
A lot of people come to New Life to pause and gain some perspective on their lives. Whether resident, volunteer, or staff member, many of us here are searching for insight, and finding it in many aspects of the foundation: the incredibly supportive community, the close connection with nature, and not least, the meditation and mindfulness exercises that we practice daily.
However, the idea is not to use meditation as a spiritual bypass. This can sometimes happen with over-emphasis on 'concentration' (also known as Shamatha or 'calm-abiding') meditation, which focuses on a single object - for example, the breath, or a mantra, or a visualisation. With this type of meditation, we might feel quite peaceful after a while sitting on our cushion, but the danger is always that there are layers of sadness, depression, anger, and feelings of shame and unworthiness that we are not attending to whilst staying with the object of our meditation.
Therefore, we try to include 3 components to our meditation here at the foundation: concentration practice to calm our 'monkey mind', Vipassana or 'insight' meditation to gain wisdom, and heart-opening practices like Metta or 'loving-kindness' meditation to bring warmth, kindness, joy and compassion into our practice.
This week the focus of our morning community meditation is Vipassana. Vipassana is called 'insight meditation' because it provides us with deep insights into such things as how suffering arises, how even pleasure can lead to suffering, and how a sense of personality or 'self' arises.
So how do we go about practicing Vipassana? To begin with, we allow things to come up into our field of awareness. We observe these things without interfering, letting everything pass in a wave. We observe and do nothing. For instance, if we feel painful sensations in our back from sitting on the cushion, we let them be. We let the sensations do whatever they want to do. Maybe we feel lonely, or there's some unfinished grief from our past that manifests as an intensely hollow feeling in the chest. We let the feeling spread through the body if it wants to. We give ourselves complete permission to feel whatever is present. We make a gentle 'mental note' of it, if you will.
Soon, we realise that it is not these sensations that cause affliction but our resistance to them. Our suffering is caused by trying to fix things that cannot necessarily be fixed, taking it all personally, and adding layer upon layer of shame and unworthiness. Essentially, with regular Vipassana practice, we can learn to be with the very sensations that we normally spend a lot of time and energy avoiding. We learn to observe whatever arises with full attention and acceptance.
This is not only the case with negative emotions. We approach pleasurable sensations - joy, relaxation, a nice fresh breeze - in the exact same way. In other words, in Vipassana meditation, all sensations are treated equally. Not only this, we greet whatever is present with a spirit of kindness.
Eventually, we start exploring the question: does pleasure really make us truly happier? Or rather, does it cause us to be stuck in cycle of pleasure, grasping, clinging, neediness, compulsion, craving, and so on?
Here too, we can begin to drop the grasping and attain a deeper, more lasting satisfaction, the kind of happiness that's not "somewhere else" - the kind of satisfaction, freedom, and joy that is not dependent on any outside circumstances.
-" SV"
Reference: thelema-and-faith.blogspot.com
Theme: Yakety-Yak - Common phrases ending in verbal expressions are humorously interpreted and clued as if they were of a certain occupation.18A. Musician's parlance?: KEY WORDS. Musical key. C Minor/Major, etc.24A. Billiards player's parlance?: ENGLISH LANGUAGE. English is a "spinning motion imparted to a ball, esp. in billiards". Maybe Lois can educate us more about this term.38A Mechanic's parlance? IDLE CHATTER. With engines running. I noticed the dreaded Utah shape, Jerome!55A. Remodeler's parlance?: PANEL DISCUSSION. Two grid-spanning theme entries.61A. Chiropractor's parlance? BACK TALK. I bet Jazzbumpa & Mainiac love this answer.This puzzle scheme reminds me of Robert W Harris' "Imaginary Places" Melissa Bee blogged last January. Familiar two-word phrases ending in "locations" are punnily reinterpreted in correspondence to their clues. For example: ANNUAL PLANT is clued as "Where yearbooks are made?"Interesting triple stacks of 6's in top left and bottom right corners. Across & Down. Should delight Dennis.Across:1. Cook, as Swiss steak: BRAISE. Brown & simmer.7. "There never was a good" one, according to Franklin: WAR. So true.10. Like many a head-turner: SEXY. Like Jessica Hart. 14. Imposed, as a tax: LEVIED15. Fertility clinic cells: OVA16. Colored: HUED17. Getting on: AGEING. Oh, I simply use AGING. I also use "cluing", but I noticed Spitzboov uses "clueing".20. Buddhist discipline: ZEN21. 1773 jetsam: TEA. "Jetsam" in Boston Harbor.23. Wall alternative, perhaps: MOAT. In Medieval time then.30. Draft holder: STEIN31. Make known: AIR32. Spread out: SPLAY. New word to me. Related to "display". "Spread out" sounds very DF.33. For time eterne: E'ER. We also have ERE (45. Bard's "before").35. Mole user: Abbr. CIA. Spy mole.37. Sailor's "Agreed": AYE42. Fella: MAC44. West of Hollywood: MAE. Mae West.46. Hello or goodbye: ALOHA49. Crime lab subject: DNA51. Beginning: ALPHA. Oh, I did not know this extended meaning of alpha.58. Heating device: COIL. Didn't come to me readily.59. Sudan neighbor: Abbr.: ETH. Ethiopia. This abbr. answer stumps me all the time.60. Dust remover: RAG65. Arctic exploration tool: ICE AXE. Here is an image. Oh, Argyle, there is that ADZE!67. Long-running reality show, familiarly: IDOL. "American Idol".68"-tzu: LAO. Literally "old master". Father of Taoism. Lao = Old in Chinese.69. Syndicate: CARTEL70. Court defense?: ZONE. Tennis or Basket court?71. Bot. or chem.: SCI72. Ticks off: ANGERSDown:1. Conflagrations: BLAZES2. Temporary ruler: REGENT3. Right, in a way: AVENGE. Right the wrong.4. Junior's junior: III5. Orlando newspaper: SENTINEL. Does it carry LAT puzzle?6. Barely beats: EDGES. Alliteration.7. Moo goo gai pan pan: WOK. The pan in "moo goo gai pan" means "slice".8. Rosary recital: AVE MARIA. "Hail Mary". Catholic prayer.9. Lustrous fabric: RAYON. Synthetic silk. Thought of SATIN first. We also have YDS (13. Fabric meas.). Fabric echo.10. Fired wildly into, as an oater town: SHOT UP. Needed crossing help.11. Where It.'s at: EUR. It. = Italy.12. Marked with two lines: X'ED. Crossed out.19. Some friendly greetings: WAGS. Dog.22. "Bingo!" : AHA25. Covered for a crony, perhaps: LIED. Alliteration. Could not fit in ABETTED.26. Fungus-alga unions: LICHENS (LAHY-kuh n). The brownish mossy stuff? Have never heard of the word. 27. Onetime apple spray: ALAR28. In high spirits: GAY29. Inspect: EYE34. Dream state acronym: REM. Rapid Eye Movement. A bit of eye duplication. Would've preferred the musical band clue here.36. Absorbed, as a cost: ATE. Eat the cost.38. Desktop image: ICON39. Detroit's founder: CADILLAC. No idea. I just learned that the car Cadillac is named after this guy.40. Garbage site: TRASH CAN. Awesome fill.41. Congers, e.g. : EELS42. Google Earth image: MAP43. According to: A LA47. Badger at the park: HECKLE. D'oh, ballpark. Tricky!48. " : A LOT50. Adept type: ACE52. Hook, for one: PIRATE. Captain Hook.53. One who pulls a scam: HOAXER54. Pinhead dancers?: ANGELS. Why? I don't get the clue.56. Antique phone features: DIALS57. City near Syracuse: UTICA. Spitzboov's hometown.61. Profession, casually: BIZ62. Flap: ADO. Noun.63. Voting "nay": CON. Pro & Con.64. Ornamental carp: KOI66. Centimeter-gram-second unit: ERG. Only know it as "unit of work".Answer grid.On a personal note, I am excited to tell you that I became an American citizen yesterday afternoon after a very emotional swearing-in ceremony. When "Proud to be an American" was played right after the "Congratulations, new citizens" message from President Obama, my eyes welled up, tear fell.It's been a long way. I enjoyed studying American Civics (history and government) and had a perfect score in my final test. I am proud to say that I now know who wrote the Federalist Papers. Do you?C.C.
Reference: witch-selena.blogspot.com
Now that you know how to properly construct a Circle of Protection, you are now ready for the next steps to successful power techniques.
This exercise will allow you to transfer, or move, your conscience freely where you need to direct it.
* PREPARE YOUR MEDITATION SPACE
This exercise will require a slightly different area to work in. You can use your normal meditation area, but this time, you will need to be able to lie down. Prepare your Circle of Protection as you normally would, but you may want to make it large enough to accommodate your body lying flat. You can also choose to use a bed to lie on or place a pillow on the floor.
* FOCUS MEDITATION
With this exercise, you want to focus on a specific process of moving energy. This will not be an intuitive meditation. You will want to lie flat in your workspace and do your chakra work again (first time was during the construction of your circle). Make sure that no two body parts are crossed. Keep your arms lying comfortably at your side, fingers slightly curled and not crossing one another. Your legs should be slightly bent and not crossed. It is preferred that you do not use a pillow, but if you are using the floor, a small one will be good to support your head.
* RELAX, DON'T DO IT
Now just relax your body. You've used focus meditation and you are ready to move your conscience. This is similar in many ways to the test you did in the blog post "You ARE a Spiritual Being". What you need to do here, however, is you want to realize, but not focus, on the center of your thoughts in your head. That voice in your mind that is you. Now gently, without much focus or effort, allow your conscience to move to your Crown Chakra, just above the crown of your head. It helps to visualize and continue to charge this chakra, steadily putting energy into it.
The reason for visualizing the light to charge your chakras should be focused through your Crown Chakra, but charging your Base Chakra first is because without forethought, you may begin to move your conscience through your chakras. By the time you charge your Third Eye Chakra, your conscience may move involuntarily to the Crown Chakra as you focus on charging it.
You will want to feel your thoughts coming from the Crown Chakra and not that place in your mind that is you. You are a spiritual being. The Crown Chakra is a representation of your higher self. By freely allowing your conscience to move with your intent to this chakra, you are diverting your power from the physical plane of the material to the spiritual plane. This will allow you to work with energies that are not imaginable in the physical plane.
The reason for the Circle of Protection is to protect your conscience until you become comfortable and safe while performing this exercise.
* A NEW CONSTRUCT
Once you have successfully moved your conscience to the Crown Chakra, you are then ready to prepare a spiritual representation of yourself.
Think of the movie The Abyss. Now visualize a clear liquid tentacle like that from the movie coming from the back of your head and coming into the air just above your body.
As you focus on this visualization, you will want to continue having the tentacle of "spiritual water" grow and lengthen to the size of your body. Now visualize the liquid forming a shape that is identical to your body. This spiritual representation of you that is made of spiritual liquid should also be facing the ceiling with no body parts crossing. It should hover about a foot or so above your body, but still remain in your protective circle.
The tentacle that helped you to form this representation of you should remain connected to the back of your head and link to the back of the representation's head.
* NOW MOVE AGAIN
Your conscience should still be at your Crown Chakra. When you feel that the representation of you is an exact duplicate with the exception of being "clear like water", then you should be ready to move.
Allow your conscience to return to your normal place in your head and rest comfortably. Continue to focus on the spiritual representation. Now as relax as we were when you moved your conscience to the Crown Chakra, you should now allow your conscience to move into the tentacle through the back of your head. This is a more voluntary response than the forced reaction from the spiritual being test where you "DO NOT feel yourself being six inches from the back of your head."
As your conscience begins to move into the tentacle, visualize the spiritual representation of your self slight pulling your mind into itself like a tide in the water. This should feel gentle.
* OPEN YOUR EYES
Open your eyes in the spiritual representation of yourself.
* RETURN
When you have comfortably and without force moved your conscience into your spiritual representation and opened your spiritual eyes, you should then gently move with the tide through the tentacle back into your physical mind. It should be just as gentle as when you moved into your spiritual representation.
Once you have moved back into your head, you should then allow the spiritual construct to move back through the tentacle back into your body. Then you will want to absorb the tentacle back into yourself as well.
This exercise can take years to master. You should never perform this exercise when you are feeling physically or spiritually exhausted. You should also avoid this exercise when you are sick.
It it very important that you practice this exercise daily (if you are not ill, etc.) for at least seven days before moving into the next lesson.
If you have trouble with this exercise, I high recommend returning back to the First Lesson: Visualization 101.
Remember, this isn't a race and this isn't an info blog. This blog presents practical exercises to grow your power. This spiritual journey is far more important than your destination.
Please email me with any comments, questions or concerns by clicking HERE.
Credit: asatru-religion.blogspot.com
"
Image Origin Unknown
Guest Contribution by"THE WITCHES COLLECTIVE"
PURPOSE:
honor and communicate with passed loved ones
SUPPLIES:
-table
-chairs
-one large white candle
-figure or representation of deity of underworld/death
(optional. An angel works as well)
-fire proof bowl (2)
-lighter
-sage or peppermint dried herb
-flowers and decorations
-meal, fruit, drinks, etc
-plates
-silverware
-candles (with holders)
-representation of deceased loved one
-paper and pencils
THE DUMB SUPPER
In this "Dumb" relates to silent. This ritual can be done alone or with a group. There will be two set of instructions for the different size parties.
"FOR MULTIPLE PEOPLE "
PREPARATION:
As the host, prepare yourself by bathing and setting out clean clothes in either red, black, white or a combination of the three. Ground and center yourself before preparing the space. Your space for ritual should be large enough for a table and number of chairs for each of your guests attending. Decorate the table with Samhain symbols, colors, herbs and more. Once decorated set a place at each chair for your guest just like any other dinner. At the head of the table should be a chair but one that will be left open. Drape a piece of black or white cloth over this chair.
At this place setting set up a plate, silverware, and the representation of the deity of the underworld ( or angel ) facing the plate and the rest of your guests. To the side of the deity, place the large candle and on the opposite side the first fireproof bowl. When finished it should appear as the deity looking out over a plate towards the guests chairs. With a candle to one side of the plate and a bowl on the other side. Place the second fire proof bowl at your own place setting, but to the side. Toss in the sage (or peppermint) and leave there. Set the paper and pencils near the door your guests will enter your home from. Make sure the lighting of the room is dim, but not pitch black. Prepare the food and have it ready to serve in the space so by the time everyone arrives nothing is cold. You can put on very quiet music, but it should have no lyrics.
RITUAL:
Right as your guests enter your home give them a strip of paper and pencil. Have them write the names of the people that they have lost and loved. Make sure you have done this. Have them wait outside of your prepared space for all other guests. Tell everyone to remain silent or very quiet. Once all the guests have arrived let them know how the night will go, what everything means, and what they should do when the time comes. Once everyone is ready you will go into the space and be silent. If they have brought pictures of loved ones those can be placed at their spot or next to the deity representation, but not on the plate. If they have brought food they can place the food with the prepared food. Have them hold onto their papers. Once you are all seated pick up your lighter and bowl. Set the sage (or peppermint) on fire and blow it out so that it smokes. Circle your space and guests slowly, imagining all unwelcome energy leaving and the space being made sacred for the spirits of the guests' passed loved ones. Once done place the bowl beside the entrance to the space. Clap once and let this mark that the space has been made sacred.
With lighter in hand approach the deity place setting. Take a moment to take a breath and mentally ask the deity (angel) to bless this supper and allow the spirits to receive the prayers of their loved ones. Light the deity candle and clap to signal the invocation. Set the lighter aside and go to the food. Serve the food yourself, it helps keep the space quiet. First serve deity then your guests, if possible from oldest to youngest. Once everyone is served eat as normal and refrain from speaking. Once the meal is complete do not clean up. Instead leave the plate out and place another course on the plates. This can be extra food or raw fruits, nuts, or vegetables. Stand and show your strip of paper. This should signal to everyone to have their papers ready. With your paper in hand walk to the deity place setting. In your mind say the name(s) of your loved ones. Then say whatever you may want to them, prayers, messages, or just love. Once you are done set the paper on fire with the candle flame and place it in the fire proof bowl. Return to your seat and tap the person who will go next. Let everyone take their time. When everyone has done this have everyone stand.
Lead everyone around the table to the deity place setting where they can give mental thanks to the deity (angel) for opening the connection to their loved ones. After a person gives mental thanks have them leave the space. As host, give a more formal thanks and dismissal to deity and blow/snuff out the candle. Make sure everything is safe in the space (nothing will catch fire or be put in danger) and lead everyone out of the home entirely. When everyone is outside they can talk again. With silence broken you can return to the house and have fun. Do not disturb the ritual space. If guests want to take their pictures back have them be silent in the space. Once all guests are gone you can clean up the space.
"RITUAL FOR ONE "
PREPARATION:
Prepare yourself by bathing and setting out clean clothes in either red, black, white or a combination of the three. Ground and center yourself before preparing the space. Your space for ritual should be large enough for a table and number of chairs. Decorate the table with Samhain symbols, colors, herbs and more. Once decorated set a place at each chair. At the head of the table should be a chair. Drape a piece of black or white cloth over this chair.
At this place setting set up a plate, silverware, and the representation of the deity of the underworld ( or angel ) facing the plate and the rest of your guests. To the side of the deity, place the large candle and on the opposite side the first fireproof bowl. When finished it should appear as the deity looking out over a plate towards the guests chairs. With a candle to one side of the plate and a bowl on the other side. Place the second fire proof bowl at your own place setting, but to the side. Toss in the sage (or peppermint) and leave there. Make sure the lighting of the room is dim, but not pitch black. Prepare the food and have it ready to serve in the space. You can put on very quiet music, but it should have no lyrics. At each chair set a picture of one of your loved ones as well as a strip of paper with their name on it. Also set a candle at each place setting (deity should have the largest candle). Make sure that the plate is left blank and the candles are in safe holders.
RITUAL:
When you are ready leave the space and reenter in silence. Pick up your lighter and bowl of sage (peppermint). Set the sage (or peppermint) on fire and blow it out so that it smokes. Circle your space slowly, imagining all unwelcome energy leaving and the space being made sacred for the spirits of your loved ones. Once done place the bowl beside the entrance to the space. Clap once and let this mark that the space has been made sacred.
With lighter in hand approach the deity place setting. Take a moment to take a breath and mentally ask the deity (angel) to bless this supper and allow the spirits to receive your prayers. Light the deity candle and clap to signal the invocation. Set the lighter aside and go to the food. Serve deity then your departed, if possible from first passed to newly passed. Leave yourself for last. Once you are done eating, stand. Circle your table, collecting the papers with the names of your loved ones. With your papers in hand walk to the deity place setting. In your mind say the name of one of your loved ones. Them say whatever you may want to them, prayers, messages, or just love. Once you are done set the paper on fire with the candle flame and place it in the fire proof bowl. Repeat the process for every name you have in your hand. When you have finished Circle the table again, blowing out each candle at the your loved ones' place setting, and return to the deity place setting. Give mental thanks to the deity (angel) for opening the connection to your loved ones. After giving thanks, say a more formal dismissal to deity and blow/snuff out the candle.
Make sure everything is safe in the space (nothing will catch fire or be put in danger) and exit the home entirely. Once outside you can talk again. With silence broken you can return to the house and have fun. Do not disturb the ritual space until the end of the night or, if possible, midnight.
Enjoy and honor this sacred time. Blessed be!
"Get your free copy of THE WITCHES COLLECTIVE SAMHAIN 2013 NEWSLETTER here: http://www.thewitchescollective.com/Newsletter/Samhain/Samhain2013.html"
"You might also enjoy, SAMHAIN ~ SUMMER'S END featuring Samhain lore, ritual and activity suggestions, and lists of correspondences. "
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Christresurrected.jpg
A Glory Seed Devotional
THE JOURNEY OF THE RESURRECTION
The journey of the Resurrection began long ago as Adam and Eve first gained knowledge of good and evil and with their expulsion from the Garden of the Creator. It is a journey that would remain hidden for thousands of years behind the faces and lives of those who would deny Gods rightful place in their lives. Hidden until one fateful night in another Garden. A Garden called Sacrifice. A Garden called Surrender. A Garden called Love. A Garden called Gethsemane where Jesus powered by his love for each one of us surrendered and offered his life as a sacrifice. A few days later he died and the gateway to the journey of the Resurrection swung open and fell away.
With the death of Jesus came unparalleled darkness to the earth, a darkness never before felt by humanity, a darkness exceeded only by the darkness existing before the dawn of creation. However it wasnt a darkness you could see with your eyes it was a darkness you could only feel deep in your spirit. With the death of Jesus the earth was plunged deep into a world of hopelessness, a world without peace, and without love. Never before in its history had the earth itself been so close to destruction, as pendulum moved into position for its final swing suddenly time stopped and the hand of God reached across time and space into a stone cold tomb and touched the lifeless body of his Only Begotten Son. Immediately there was a blinding flash of light so bright and so powerful that where there was darkness there was suddenly light and a hand with fresh wounds reached from the tomb of death and gripped the pendulum tightly. All fell silent both in heaven and on the earth.
With strength returning to his hands in one effortless move the Savior pulled the pendulum of destruction from its source of power and sent it crashing to the earth. As the earth rocked to and fro from its impact the powers of evil shrieked in pain releasing its grip on death. Suddenly the earth exploded with life, life such as it had never seen before, life that would never end. Where there was hopelessness there was hope. Where there was conflict there was peace. Where there was hate there was love. Where there was captivity there was freedom.
As the Son of God took a step out of the tomb into a beautiful garden suddenly the mighty gates of heaven swung open revealing the Garden of Creation. Before moving to his place as the Gate Keeper of eternal life the Savior paused momentarily and reached back into the stone cold tomb and slowly pulled another occupant from it. I have come back for you so you may life and have it more abundantly, his voice rang out. The occupant feeling freedom and forgiveness became overcome with joy and began crying, then with his nail scarred hands Jesus wiped away the occupants tears. Did you feel the roughness of his hand as it touched your cheek, because you are the occupant.
.
Grace and PEACE,
Gary
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
(Ezekiel 36:26 ESV)
Note: Should you want to go back and review this Glory Seed or if youd like to subscribe so you can receive them in your email you can do so by clicking on this link: http://gloryseeds.wordpress.com/.
Scripture quotations marked ESV "Are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright (c) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
Attached Images
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Christresurrected.jpg
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Just the once he insisted on quoting the Christian bible at the end of one domicile, Move Obama laid the religion on even thicker in his discussion from Newtown, Connecticut. In be active so, he once more managed to rile people of us who do not questionable in gods and people of us who, regardless of our spiritual beliefs, are not interested in audible range about his. At grow old as soon as these, we rob a upper - not a pastor-in-chief.John (Contend For one person) asks whether every keep a note one of the wounded, wounded families, and most basic responders were spiritual. If not, why did Move Obama sustain on all the "Christianspeak"? Did it never distribute to him how this may possibly be superficial by people who do not share a house his admire superstitions? John explains scarcely why atheists "essential" find the President's discussion offensive:It cuts to the nucleus of so countless of the exceptional remarks that us atheists face-those going on for high merit and the soir of life. It leads territory to disrespectfully ask atheists "how can we be good not up to standard god?" and "not up to standard god, what is the soir of life?" These questions are a highly of climax difficulty for countless atheists who are discriminated in opposition to.I suppose he's not to blame, and I look after you to read the rest of his charge post.Staks (Acute Prattle) completed even points, focusing on Move Obama's steadfastness that some variety of god had "called them all home" when referring to the wounded.This is a new and brim frozen excuse coming from the Move. It is new that he would thrust his religion so compellingly on the nation at a time when territory are intensely stumped. Twenty kids and six adults were without prejudice murdered and the Move is discourse about how God is despairing and desires some firm. I supposition the pitter patter of Ethiopians kids who voracious to death wasn't masses for God.This may clang a bit harsh, but I questionable the tone is necessary. Not now is all the god discourse alienating atheists and qualities who principles isolation of church and tell, but it runs the luck of leading territory abandoned. This is not the time for superstition and the false support of prayer; we rob reality-based solutions to the nuisance afflicting our terra firma.Evident hand down say that the command is fair difficult to endure support to a grieving nation and that the time for solutions hand down come gone. Possibly. But if that's the cosset, why rile the atheists at all? Why speak now to the god-believers, and why liberate yourself from the glass to come together a nation by endorsing superstition and magical thinking? Produce an effect so not now smacks of the tell encouragement of religion; it may diminish expand on the tasks we rob to accomplish moving usual.Subscribe to Freethinker RevolutionCopyright (c) 2013 Freethinker Difference.
According to Dominic Rambler, the Anglican Bishop of Monmouth, witchcraft is to scolding for a series of original break-ins at churches and cemeteries in Wales. Individually I'm a little vague on why pagan or Wiccan witches would strength of character to break at home a church to cast spells, period it is true that upper limit of the old grimoires pleasing a great deal regard the active is Christian and in some belongings even chance them to be a supporting of the priesthood. I may perhaps see someplace working in a church may perhaps broach that generate of spellcasting. The bishop claimed pagans on tenterhooks to use occult powers "for good, for healing and for love" had led the wicca restoration. But he as well as understood that as a succession kid of this enlarged captivation in wicca, even more circle had begun practising the "black arts"."Frozen magicians would say they're an ancient religion which put in standardization to men and women... but as well as occult powers can be hand-me-down for evil so the other trait of it is that state are even more working in the black magic," he understood. "They hex, curse circle [and] they try to use their powers for their own customary gain."I mood say in the vicinity of that it's lovely to see a supporting of the Christian clergy appreciate the option that occultism may perhaps be hand-me-down headed for positive ends. Of course, the idea that state are "white" and "black" magicians is about as dim as claiming state are "white" and "black" scientists and is thus even more a invention revolutionary trope than at all real. Nonetheless, seeing as a lot of Christians who chew the fat about magick seem to fall for that merely the "black" personal really exists it's anyhow a step route. What's more types of army mood predictably storage out candlelit ceremonies and perform spells found on the internet or in occult duplicate books. And even with they do not come out on a manuscript issue, the magnification in rituals is a go for venture according to the bishop."Churches get distressed and you can see someone's carried out a ritual in a cemetery," he understood. "They'll munch faded pentagrams and they mood munch performed rituals summoning up spirits.Bishop Rambler is in fact no unknown to magick himself. I'm positive he doesn't see it that way, but Rambler is one of the Anglican Church's leading exorcists and as I've noted before the Ceremonial of Exorcism is mostly a Christian magical ritual that is marked in a book of ways to the practices of grimoire magicians. Where it's hand-me-down to cast out aloof spirits rather than swanky them up, the tackle is though broadly the exceptionally - invoking the power of the divine and after that from that point arresting the spirit.Conclusive Walker's statements on how magick can be hand-me-down for good or evil purposes, I would as well as be intrusive in test his common sense on imprecatory prayer. It seems to me that praying for someone to die is no even more or less evil than summoning a spirit to report them, and state are some Christian denominations for whom the last is allegedly not a circumstances. To my knowledge the Anglican Clerical is not one of inhabitants denominations, so I would chance him to deride such an wear out of prayer upright as he would a spell - in the role of really, they're pleasing a great deal the exceptionally thing.
Source: wizard-notes.blogspot.com
"Christian theology is full of masculine terminology. If we really think about it, the Christian Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - could be interpreted as a thoroughgoing male deity.Is Godde masculine or feminine? Even to pose the question is to realize that Godde, as a spiritual being beyond our comprehension, is neither male nor female. Or perhaps more to the point, considering that Genesis 1:27 indicates that woman and man were both created in Godde's image, Godde can be described using feminine as well as masculine terms.To be sure, the Bible uses not only masculine images to depict Godde, but feminine images as well. Consider Isaiah 66:13: "As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you" (NRSV). Throughout the Psalms, Godde is described as a mother hen protecting her children under her wing.The Holy Spirit in particular is an archetypal image that evokes the Divine Feminine. She gives birth (John 3:6), life (2 Cor. 3:6), inspiration (2 Pet. 1:21), comfort (Acts 9:31), and groans as if in childbirth (Rom. 8:23). Furthermore, she is described as fire and as a dove - both feminine images of the divine in that culture.Ben Zoma wrote in the Talmud that "the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters like a dove which broods over her young but does not touch them" (Hag. 15a).There is another compelling feminine image in the Bible: That of Lady Wisdom. In the Hellenistic Jewish Wisdom literature, beginning with Proverbs, Godde's Wisdom is personified as a woman (see Prov. 8:1-9:6).And as many biblical scholars now recognize, some of the principal New Testament passages about the incarnation (including John 1:1-18 and Col. 1:15-20) are rooted in this Jewish Wisdom tradition, depicting Jesus as the incarnation of divine Wisdom (see also 1 Cor. 1:30).From a feminist perspective, this means that Jesus incarnated both his "Father" (Godde) and his "Mother" (Wisdom) in his own person (cf. also Matt. 11:19 // Luke 7:35).If we add to this the fact that Godde's Wisdom and Godde's Spirit are closely linked and even equated in biblical literature (cf. Wis. 7:22ff) and the fact that the Spirit is an archetypal image of the Divine Feminine, we may think of the Spirit as (in a sense) Jesus' Mother.There is some Jewish precedent for this type of language. Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of the Apostle Paul, described Godde as "the husband of Wisdom" (Cher. 49), and wrote that the Word of Godde "has received imperishable and wholly pure parents, Godde being his Father, who is also the Father of all things, and WISDOM BEING HIS MOTHER, by means of whom the universe arrived at creation" (Flight 109).When the Church Fathers began to formulate early descriptions of the Trinity in the second century, they explicitly identified WISDOM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.The first known use of the word "Trinity" (Greek, triados), in Theophilus of Antioch's second letter to Autolycus, described the Trinity as Godde, Word, and Wisdom. Similarly, Irenaeus of Lyons constantly identified the Holy Spirit as the Wisdom of Godde.For example, he wrote "that the Word, namely the Son, was always with the Father; and that Wisdom also, which is the Spirit, was present with" Godde (Haer. 4.20.3).Other early Christians explicitly identified the Holy Spirit as "Mother." For example, both Origen and Jerome favorably quoted a passage from a second-century Jewish Christian Gospel (the Gospel of the Hebrews) in which Jesus referred to THE HOLY SPIRIT AS HIS MOTHER.Up until the fifth century, the Syriac church used the feminine pronoun of the Holy Spirit, regarding her as "our Mother." The idea of a Father-Mother-Son Trinity was popular enough in the fifth century to draw the criticism of Augustine (Trin. XII.5).However, the Divine Feminine ideal in the early church was not limited to Motherhood. For example, Methodius of Olympus (260 - 312 C.E.) explored Paul's image of the Spirit-indwelled Church as the Bride of Christ, comparing the relationship of Christ and the Spirit with the relationship of Adam and Eve.Based on this evidence, some have argued that THE HOLY SPIRIT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THE "FEMININE" member of the Trinity who balances out the "masculine" Father and Son. However, proposing a "FEMININE DIMENSION" WITHIN GODDE OR ONE "FEMININE PERSON" within the Trinity is problematic.What qualities are distinctively "feminine" and which are distinctively "masculine"? How can that question be answered without actually reinforcing gender stereotypes?Fortunately, using fully biblical terms, we can actually use DIVINE FEMININE language of each of the three "persons" of the Trinity. For example, we can justifiably say that THE DIVINE FEMININE IS GODDE AS MOTHER AND GODDE (Wisdom)-in-Christ, as well as the indwelling Godde (the Spirit).This expanded Trinitarian formula describes each of the three "persons" using feminine metaphors that actually complement masculine metaphors like "Father" and "Son."The women and men of The Christian Godde Project support individuals and churches that incorporate these biblical terms into their liturgies and devotion.We believe that recognition of THE DIVINE FEMININE IN GODDE not only signals a willingness to consider seriously the criticism that churches have historically suppressed women, but goes a long way to helping to restore the rightful place of women as equal partners with men in the task of building up the Church.Mark Mattison"Sourcehttp://godde.wordpress.com/godde-the-divine-feminine/the-divine-feminine-trinity/
After last week's surprising elimination of Chef Eric Greenspan, I was nervous on behalf of the challengers because - as Elizabeth Faulkner stated early in the episode - "Everybody wants to win and its going to get more and more intense."
And what could be more intense than tonight's Chairman's Challenge featuring a cornucopia of canned food like pate, spiced ham, Vienna sausages, corned beef, salmon, and my personal favorite - mystery cans.
Chef Boyardee anyone?
To this day I'm filled with terror over what was in the ravioli.
But with the theme this week being transformation, our chefs were challenged to make magic with their canned goods and turn them into something amazing.
In school yard fashion, the chefs were called upon to select their can of choice and because she was last week's winner, Amanda Freitag had the advantage of selecting last where she could either keep her final can or steal from someone else.
In the end, here's what everyone picked:
* Marcel Vigneron: Clams
* Jehangir Mehta: "May I please have the the question mark (can) in the center?"
* Spike Mendelsohn: Vienna Sausage
* Alex Guarnaschelli: Spiced ham
* Elizabeth Faulkner: "Mystery door number second to last (can)."
* Nate Appleman: "Rolling the dice" - he picked the last can with a question mark on it.
* Amanda Freitag: In a surprise move, Chef Freitag decided not to steal, and instead, picked the corned beef (I know!) and the challenge was on.
But first, I would be remiss if I didn't reveal the contents of the mystery cans.
Nate Appleman got a tin of tuna,, Jehangir Mehta, tinned chicken, and Elizabeth Faulkner tinned roast beef - which begs the question... what does roast beef taste like from a can?
Chef Boyardee - want to weigh in?
Transformation, however, is about just that - taking unexpected ingredients and recreating them as something new and, in that sense, we had the best possible people lined up for the job!
Here's what they made:
* Marcel Vigneron: Acqua Pazza with Clam Cakes
* Jehangir Mehta: Chicken Pakora with Green Curry
* Spike Mendelsohn: Vietnamese Crepes
* Alex Guarnaschelli: Sugar Snap Pea and Herb Ravioli with Basil Puree
* Elizabeth Faulkner: Roast Beef with Bordelaise Sauce and Cheesy Truffle Gougeres
* Nate Appleman: Gnocchi with Tuna Puttanesca, Tuna Pesto, and Frozen Tuna
* Amanda Freitag: An Homage to Corned beef
In the heat of battle there was the odd mishap like Chef Freitag's challenge with the corned beef tin (girlfriend, I have been there and done that), and Chef Faulkner ruminating over a supposed alliance between Spike and Marcel; other than that, however, the cooking went smoothly.
In the judging Chef Vigneron's offerings received low votes from the judges along with Chef Mendelsohn and Chef Appleman - but only one would be declared this evening's winner: Chef Faulkner, along with the top 2 and 3 Chef Amanda Freitag and Chef Jehangir Mehta.
Nate Appleman and Alex Guarnaschelli were in the middle which left good friends Spike Mendelsohn and Marcel Vigneron to battle it out in the secret ingredient showdown where they would have 30 minutes to create a tasty offering featuring lobster.
As would be expected, both chefs were overjoyed to see these flavorful crustaceans and as the cooking got underway, Marcel came up with the bright idea to present their dishes together as one plate - a decision that certainly didn't go over very well with the judges.
In the end, and despite being decidedly pissed, the judges decided Marcel's offering was enough to see see him move on and Spike Mendelsohn was sent home.
As for me, the last time I transformed an ingredient from a can, it was with my tuna casserole.
There's canned tuna in this one but everything else is made from scratch. I hope you enjoy!
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Origin: wiccalessons.blogspot.com
There was an excellent article by Cliff Reed in the latest "Inquirer "about the King James Bible, and the earlier translations by William Tyndale and others. He points out that Tyndale's translations were much truer to the original texts than subsequent translations, which were manipulated politically.
William Tyndale is not forgotten in Bristol, as there is a statue of him in Millennium Square (sadly it was vandalised in 2008, and I do not know if it has been restored). There is also the Tyndale Monument on the Cotswold scarp, and the small Gloucestershire church of St Adeline's in Little Sodbury, near where Tyndale was chaplain to a local family of Protestant aristocracy has a folder of detailed information about him. (Sadly the family's chapel does not survive, though the church was built from its remains.)
I was also pleased to see both Tyndale and John Wyclif (a fourteenth-century Lollard translator upon whose work later translations were based) receive due honour in Melvyn Bragg's fascinating book, "The Adventure of English: the biography of a language" which demonstrates that Wyclif was responsible for the rhythmic language of the English translation of the "Beatitudes".
The Bible was an important spiritual resource for centuries, and still is for some people, and I think people should be able to read it in their own language (as long as they don't go taking it literally). I have recently bought the Jewish Study Bible ("Tanakh"), which is the "Torah" (Law), "Nevi'im" (Prophets) and "Kethuvim "(Writings) translated by and for Jews. If you're going to read a translation, it makes sense to me to read a translation by people who are really immersed in the language and culture of the original work, and who can explain all the symbolism and cultural references. Also, I don't hold with Christian attempts to manipulate the "Tanakh "to make it look as if it is prophesying the coming of Jesus. The "Tanakh "is a Jewish work and should primarily be seen as such. And of course Jewish translations are blessedly free of such attempts.
Nevertheless the Wycliffe and Tyndale translations are classic works that have deeply influenced the subsequent development of English language and culture, and given us many proverbs and sayings, and so, as Isaiah puts it, "Look to the rock whence ye are hewn, and the pit whence ye are digged."
UPDATE: The William Tyndale statue is back - I was in millennium square it was there.
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If you want to manifest something into ordinary reality, you start by stimulating the quantum realm to favor that potentiality with the help of an experienced, well-traveled practitioner of magickal theory. All of us are basically big balls of energy. Now, we are effected all day, every day by constantly changing energies, they shift, they move, they arrive, and they depart. Essentially what I do as a professional is enter your spirits "chamber" where the energies are kept, otherwise commonly known as your aura. I hold a ritual, which is a s'eance, chant, prayer, and often ritualistic actions on my end (candles, herbs, so on so forth) while "in" your aura. The ritual nudges the energies within to produce a result.
You are reading this for a reason. You found me for a reason. If you have any questions at all please never hesitate to contact me, and within 24-48 hours I will write back to you. I am eager to learn about your desires, and show you the power of REAL, AUTHENTIC Magick!
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Source: pagan-wiccan.blogspot.com
In every ceremonial t?te-?-t?te I've had with a Christian, one race essentially comes up. I've encountered a few variants, but the basic race is this: "By criticizing religion and focusing on all the atrocities calm in the name of Christianity, you are forgetting about all the good goings-on for which Christianity is full-size. You are throwing the immature person out with the rinse water. Christianity has been full-size for some rotten possessions, but we call for not pass up the tons all right outcomes."If we explore this recognizable headland a cut above personally by plugging in some the whole story, the race becomes clearer. A dearest genre of superior Christians is Martin Luther King Jr. In God's Politics : Why the Equalize Gets It Amiss and the Vanished Doesn't Get It, Jim Wallis writes, "But the computation to bad theology is not secularism; it is good theology. It is not continually unorthodox to do magic tricks the name of God and the claims of religion in the public life of a nation, as some secularists say. In which would we be lacking the dead on idea of Martin Luther King Jr., who secured his Bible in one hand and his Construction in the other as he preached, holding us to our best values? Can qualities reject the perceptive deliver a verdict of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa and Oscar Romero in El Salvador?"Leaning in this headland is the hint that these leaders (King, Tutu, and Romero) did what they did because of their glory. Probably their glory was a contributing business, but does this mean that lacking their glory, they would not hold tight bothered? This seems one-sided to the letters of these leaders, kind religion almost certainly too far-flung gratitude because overlooking their behavior. Tons Christians hopelessly want to tolerate that religion/god is a stitching illness of good goings-on. But a sympathetically, four-sided figure, forced, and empowering evident is all these possessions with or lacking religion. A good unique is a unique who persistently performs kindly acts. A bad unique is one who persistently performs noxious acts. Furthermost of us are not only habitual and fall in the distinguished gray territory linking these immoderation. Constant a sharp-witted seek of history reveals that religion is neither a stitching nor a enough illness of performance all right acts. This is the race where on earth they eyes of my Christian readers are enlightenment up. "Ah ha! I've got you now! You are thankless to fee religion for the bad because saying that it has nobody to do with the good. You can't hold tight it any ways." But I am not claiming that religion is a stitching or enough illness for performance ill-behaved acts either. Jerry Falwell would not be a rupture unique lacking religion. Falwell, Robertson, and the be attracted to hold tight one after the other demonstrated that something is stanchly unorthodox with them. They are separation to be obnoxious, enthusiastic public with or lacking their religion. Larry Darby was a mean physique having the status of he was an agnostic and covering so now that he has embraced Christianity.Tags: agnosticism, agnostic, glory, Christianity, Christian, religion, ethics, Larry Darby, Jim WallisCopyright (c) 2013 Atheist Alteration.
Alternatives to Boy Scouts (New York Times)
"The protracted debate over whether to allow gay scouts and scout leaders has angered many church leaders and parents across the political and religious spectrums. The result is a surge of enrollments in alternative outdoor and character-building programs that cater to pagans and Pentecostals and everyone in between.... The variety of choices include the Royal Rangers, which offers "Christ-like character formation" for boys, as well as SpiralScouts International, founded by the Aquarian Tabernacle Church of Wicca, which awards badges named for pagan holidays."
Asatru wedding in Iceland (Iceland Review)
"Our ceremony was at the Viking Village, we got married by the head of the Asatru Society in a true Viking wedding, and it was awesome, Gunnar the owner of the House of Spirits helped us with the preparations, and suggested an awesome photographer to take our photos with us dressed in traditional Viking attires."
Man seeks divorce due to accusations of Witchcraft (DailyPost)
"Mr Peter took his wife to court and demanded that the court grants him divorce. He explained that he was no longer in love with his wife and that there was no reason to remain married to her. He claimed that his wife was a witch."
Indian Wiccan filmmaker dies (Hindustan Times)
"Rituparno Ghosh passed away on Thursday morning after a massive heart attack at his residence in Kolkata.... In 2006, Chakraverti launched the Wiccan Brigade as a platform for those interested in studying Wicca and using the branch of knowledge to holistic effect. Though Wicca was predominantly practised by women, the Wiccan Brigade welcomes men as well. Ghosh had been associated with it since its inception."
Western medicine and witchcraft in Papua New Guinea (Australian Broadcasting Company)
"Sorcery and witchcraft are still very widely accepted in Papua New Guinea as effective and powerful forms of magic, despite many years of exposure to western education and biomedicine."
Court dismisses Asatru inmate's case claiming religious books were confiscated (Justia)
"The Court declines to serve the complaint because it contains numerous deficiencies. However, Plaintiff will be given an opportunity to explain why his complaint should not be dismissed or, alternatively, to submit an amended complaint for the Court's review....Mr. Barton alleges that on February 11, 2013, two of his "personal religious (Asatru/Odinist) books" were confiscated by an unidentified person and that he was not therefore able to perform "a sacred worship/ritual/ceremonial rite"
Credit: magic-and-spells.blogspot.com
