Raven's Study Group

Pagan Homework II

2005-10-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

This is part two of the work sheet from before. It is just for you to keep track for yourself and to keep in your book of shadows if you choose to have one now.

Privacy: When to talk, when to preserve secrecy.

Why should you sometimes keep your magic intention to yourself?

When should you tell someone about your practices?

How do these rules apply to a coven or group ritual atmosphere?

Do you plan to go public, or practice as a silent solitary?

Willingness and fearlessness: Leave your doubts at the door. Are you ready to walk a path less traveled, and less understood? If you are trying to change religions (Ex: to Wicca or another form of Paganism), are you prepared to give up whatever religion you may have been raised in?

What fears or trepidations do you have? These must be dealt with before you can go any further.

III. Magick Prep Skills
Cleansing
Define “cleansing”
Define “ritual bath”
What is one method for cleansing?

Raising/Controlling energy- These topics must be practiced and understood:
Meditation
Grounding
Centering
Concentration/Focus

Visualization of a single goal
Practice and understand visualization techniques
Casting and opening a circle
Why cast a circle?
Must you always cast a circle before rituals?
One method for casting a circle
One method for opening it afterwards

Mabon

2005-09-20T00:32:00.000-07:00

If you are already a seasoned witch then you don’t really need this, but I’m including this for those who are not initiated, and yet would like to still honor the gods and nature this Mabon (Sep. 21).
You can go outside (or stay in) during the night or day and light a white candle (or two if you want one for the god and goddess).
You can say:

“Thanks to the Goddess. Thanks to the God.”
“Today day and night are balanced. Today the sun enters the sign of Libra, the balance. Today the dark begins to dominate the light. Today is the autumn equinox. It’s the time of harvest, when crops are gathered. We give thanks to the Earth Mother, who nourishes us.”
“Blessed Be.”
“Blessed be the Mother of all things,
The Goddess of life.
Blessed be the father of all things,
The God of life.
Thanks be for all we have.
Thanks be for our new lives.
Blessed be.”

So that’s just if you want to. For every holiday henceforth I’ll post something new. You can always look up the sabbats online and there are websites that have activities and special food you can make to celebrate.

http://www.paganlibrary.com/rituals_spells/mabon_outline.php

Pagan Holidays

2005-09-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

Pagan Holidays

With the seasons comes the representation of life and death through the God and Goddess.

Yule- December 21-This is in celebration of the rebirth of the sun (God). Colors are red and green.

Imbolc/Candlemas-February 2- Invites the change from old to new. Celebrates fertility and things not yet born.

Ostara- March 20- This is the celebration of balance. Its not really winter, but not yet spring.

Beltane/May Day-May 5/May 1- Prepare for the warm months ahead. This is the time for love, union, and the Maypole. The God and Goddess unite.

Summer Soltice-21- This day represents the God in all his glory.

Lammas-August 1- Represents the beginning of the harvest cycle.

Autumn Equinox/Mabon- September 21 or 22- The harvest time.
The God dies to be reborn again in Yule.

Samhain (Sow-en)- October 31-This is like the Witch’s New Year. There are more that land on different days but stand for the same purpose.

ESBATS

Esbats (or Lunar Rituals) are the days of the full and new moon. Usually celebrated by doing a “Drawing Down the Moon” ritual. Full moon energy is used to banish unwanted influences in your life, protection magic, and divination. The best full moon magic can be conjured for 7 days. 3 days before the esbat the night of the full moon itself and the three days afterwards. New moon energy is used for personal growth and healing. There are 13 full moons and these are their traditional names (they differ from religion to religion though.)

Wolf Moon January
Storm Moon February
Chaste Moon March
Seed Moon April
Hare Moon May
Dyad Moon June
Mead Moon July
Wyrt Moon August
Barley Moon September
Blood Moon October
Snow Moon November
Oak Moon December
Blue Moon (Variable)

http://www.paganlore.com/festivals.html

http://www.paganlore.com/sabbats.html

Gods and Goddesses

2005-09-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

Gods and Goddesses
Im separating them so you will see where they are originated from.
And I am only putting a few from each since there are so many!

Celtic Dieties
Gods:
Cernunnos- Nature and wild things, virility, fertility, animals, physical love, nature, wealth.
The Dagda (Ireland)-Protection, warriors, knowledge, magic, fire, prophecy, weather.
Great Father- The lord, horned god, lord of winter, harvest, land of the dead.
Goddesses-
Anu (Ireland)- Mother Earth, Goddess of fertility.
Brigit (Ireland and Wales)- Fire, fertility, hearth, learning, poetry, divination, inspiration.
Danu-Mother of the Gods. Great Mother.

Dieties of Streghe (Italian Witchcraft)
Gods-
Actaeon- Stag-horned god of the forest.
Cern/Kern- Stag horned god. Symbol of the waxing moon.
Tagni- Most ancient name for the god of witchcraft.
Tanus- The Star God. The Great God.
Goddesses
Astrea- Goddess of justice and purity.
Diana- Triad Goddess.
Jana- Goddess of the moon.
Uni- Most ancient name for the Goddess of witchcraft.

Greek Dieties
Gods-
Adonis- Vegetation god.
Apollo- God of sun, light, and the arts.
Eros- God of romance and passionate love.
Pan- God of nature and the woods, laughter and passion.
Goddesses-
Aphrodite- passionate sexual love.
Artemis- Goddess of the moon
Astarte- Fertility goddess.
Athena- Warrior goddess, protectress, wisdom.

Egyptian Dieties-
Gods-
Anubis- Guardian of Isis. Protection.
Horus- God of the all-seeing eye and healing.
Ptah- Expert craftsman and designer. God of creative enterprise with hands.
Thoth- God of Reincarnation.

Goddesses-
Bast- Goddess of protection and cats.
Hathor- Protectress of women in business.
Isis- Represents the Complete Goddess or the Triple Goddess conotation in one being.
Nuit- Sky mother.

If you would like to know more from these or other religions or beliefs then just let me know!

Here's a good site for some other Gods/esses
http://www.unc.edu/~reddeer/index/god_dess_es.html

Pagan Vocabulary Word Search!

2005-09-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a little dorky word search I made for you guys! Have fun. It's on the Vocabulary I posted before.

http://search.teach-nology.com/cgi-bin/wordsearch2.cgi

The God and Goddess

2005-09-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

The Triple Goddess
First I would like to put an explanation up about the Triple Goddess.
“The triad is symbolized by the Maiden, Mother and Crone. The maiden symbolizes youth…the newness of life and magic. In human years she would be between puberty and her twenties. She does not yet have a mate. Her colors are soft and light, such as white, soft pink, or light yellow.”
“The Mother stands for nurturing, caring, fertility; she is a woman in the prime of her life and the peak of her power. …She would be seen as a woman in her thirties to mid forties. Her colors are warmer, such as green, copper, red, light purple, or royal blue.”
“The Crone is a being of age-old wisdom. She is shrewd and counsels well. She is logical and can be terrible in her vengeance. The Crone’s traditional colors are black, grey, purple, brown, or midnight blue.”
Raven Silver Wolf “To Ride a Silver Broomstick”.

I hope you can see the resemblance that the Triple Goddess has to one’s own life. First we are the young Maiden, then grow older and wiser into the Mother, and then into the wise Crone. Though the role of the Triple Goddess is more pronounced it is not more important than that of the role of the male. In Wicca they are equal with one another in power and importance.

The God
If you see pictures of The God he might have the antlers of a stag, or horns. This is NOT the devil. Since witches do not believe in the devil this makes no sense that they would be praising pictures of him, now would it? He is usually called “The Horned God”. He represents sexuality, vitality, power, logic, and the hunt. He is the eternal hunter and the animal that is hunted. His horns symbolize the crescent moon, which is the symbol of the Goddess.

(Part 5) Vocabulary

2005-08-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the more popularly used vocabulary of Wicca.

Vocab 1

Altar- Flat surface set aside for magical workings or religious acknowledgement.
Astral- Another dimension of reality.
Athame- A cleansed and consecrated ceremonial knife used in ritual work bu Witches.
Burning Times- Reference to a historical time when it is said that over nine million people were tortured and burned on the assumption that they were Witches.
Kabbalah- The ancient Hebrew magical system.
Consecration- The act of blessing an object or place by instilling it with positive energy.
Deosil- Clockwise movement.
Divination-The art of using magical tools and symbols to gather information.
Hand Fasting- A Wiccan or Pagan marriage ceremony.
Widdershins- Counterclockwise movement.
* Definitions from Silver Raven Wolf’s “To Ride a Silver Broomstick

Helpful Links

2005-08-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

General Wiccan info sites:

Www.witchvox.com

http://www.paganlore.com/witchcraft_101.html

www.WitchSchool.com

http://groups.msn.com/SacredOakTree/yourwebpage8.msnw

Wicca 101(Part 4)

2005-08-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

A Few Principle Beliefs In Wicca
(Note that I used Raven Silverwolf's book as a guide and used some direct quotes. I am only giving you so much information, but I will find sites where you can check out more about the topic which Im putting here, that way you aren't lost if Im not giving enough info for you.)

1. Attune ourselves with nature.
2. We believe that the higher power is manifested as masculine and feminine (hence God and Goddess).
3. "A witch seeks to control forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with nature." *
4. "We do not accept the concept of 'absolute evil', nor do we worship any entity known as 'Satan'or 'the Devil' as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another." *
5. "We work within Nature for that which is contributoy to our health and well-being." *

( * denotes direct quotes from Raven Silverwolf's book 'To Ride a Silver Broomstick".

Some Diffrent Paths and Tradition

Ceremonial Witchcraft: Followers use lot of ceremonial magick, as in detailed rituals.

Eclectic Witch: Means that the person doesn't really follow any set Tradition and they learn and study from many magickal systems.

Gardnerian Tradition: Organized by Gerald Gardner in the 1950's. Publicized the Old Religion.

Solitary Witch: Someone who practices alone.

Wicca 101 (Part 3)

2005-08-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

If you have kept up and gotten this far and you still want to learn more, then WELCOME!

I'll start off giving you a little personal "Homework". You don't need to turn it in or even tell me about your answers, this is for your personal learning. So this would be the first stuff to put in your BOS. It's good to write down the Questions too. Or, if you have a 3 ring then you can just print them out and stick them in there where you can answer them too! You're going to need resources to answer the questions you don't know. But that's the point, im just letting you know. Plus, the stuff I give you is all stuff I have done myself, so at least you know I did it too!

I. Ethics

The law of return: What goes around comes around.

What does this mean to you? How does it apply to your life? How does it apply to your magick practices?

Perfect love and perfect trust: It must be maintained between partners.

Define "Perfect love and perfect trust".
How do you know when to trust someone?
Who should you trust and when should you maintain secrecy?

Wiccan Rede: If you wish to become a Wiccan, it is important to understand the Rede.

What is the meaning of the rede?

II. Preparatory Understanding

Faith: You must fully believe in magick for it to work.

What do the phrases "Magick is afoot" and "Magic is all around" mean?

Will Power: Nothing can stop you from reaching your goal.

What are some possible obstacles to magick?
How can you overcome those obstacles?

Wicca 101 (Part 2)

2005-08-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

If you really do want to learn and become part of Paganism and Wicca then you will need a Book of Shadows (aka BOS). This is where you will keep all the information you learn and collect. This doesn't have to be fancy (but it can if you want it to be). You can just buy a regular notebook with paper, one of those composition notebooks or a fancy hardbound one from an occult store. But what I reccomend you use is a 3 ring bound note book with divides and tabs. This way if one section of your BOS grows then you can add more paper in there whenever you need, or you can take things out and shift them around, and add extra sections as you learn more. You can start off with a regular sized one, but after a few years it might get full and you'll just have to get a bigger one. I know it's happened to me.

You should most definately check out books from your library on Paganism and Wicca. While I can tell you alot of things I can't write you an entire book about this subject so it's best if you fill in the rest on your own. Once you read one or two begginer books you'll be able to understand more and move on and be able to pick better books to continue your growth and learning. I CAN however give you a list of some books I own and have read as a begginer just so you have an idea.

To Ride a Silver Broomstick-By Silver RaveWolf

The Truth About Witchcraft Today-By Scott Cunningham

The Urban Primitve-By Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein

The Learned Arts of Witches and Wizards- By Anton and Mina Adams

Those are just a few, and remember that not everything you read (especially on the internet) is accurate or true. There are some books and websites that try to hoodwink you or lead you astray.

Also, it isn't neccesary to be initiated to LEARN about Wicca, but it is appropriate that if you are going to practice and do spells that you are initiated. Wicca and Paganism in general are long never ending journeys of learning and knowledge, it's up to you to decide how far you want to go. If you do decide to be initiated you should know that before hand you must have a dedication ceremony. This means that for 1 year and a day you will be studying to be initiated. Usually there is a certain amount of knowledge you must know before you are initiated, but this is mostly for covens. Most Solitary Practicioners (someone who practices privately on their own and not within a coven), do self initiations. They still do the year and a day of study, but they just initiate themselves.

Remember that it is your choice only what you do. And if you do an initiation it is a big step and if you choose to turn away from it someday is like breaking a big promise.

http://www.pathcom.com/~newmoon/chants.html

There is a link to the Wiccan Rede and Law of the Three

Wicca 101

2005-08-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Wicca is an earth based belief system. It honors nature and the harmony between people and nature. It also embraces the male and female aspects of people.

A Wiccan is someone who believes and/or practices Wicca.

Wicca is derived from the ancient term Wicce, or witch. Many words that mean the same thing; Wise-woman, or wise person.

Paganism is an umbrella term. Wicca falls under paganism along with alot of others. Paganism is a very old religion/belief system and it is a little unclear when it actually started or how long ago. When Christianisty and Catholism evolved people who were Pagans now were considered "Heathens".

Under Paganism comes beliefs systems such as: Gypsy Magick, Italian witchcraft, green witches, kitchen witches, dragon traditions, celtic traditions, druidism, faery, and many more.

Pagans many times adopt and incorporate beliefs from many diffrent paths into one large collective belief for themselves. This is sometimes called ecclectic Wicca, or ecclectic Paganism.
It's ultimately whatever it is to YOU and what YOU believe and follow.

The main rule followed by many Pagans is a line from the Wiccan Rede:

"And Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
http://www.pathcom.com/~newmoon/rede.htm

The term Witch applies to males and females although sometimes males might be wizards. The term Warlock refers to a traitor.

2005-08-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Logo
Death Is My Mistress...

2005-08-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

Raven's Study Group
Death Is My Mistress...

2005-08-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hello there all, I just want to say that I am using this blog more as a resource for learning more about Paganism, more specifically Wicca. So if you want to learn more about it then just read the blogs! They will be updated from time to time with new information to continue the lessons and learning. I hope that you enjoy it and get something out of it! Of course if you have any questions you can email me at: QuinnAngel00@yahoo.com