Song of the Week with Kestril Trueseeker
Keep dancing,
Kestril
Happy Birthday this week to Cheryl Hill, Nyx Darksky, Hilda Johnson, Jim Weeder, El Lobo and Katherine Weber-Turcotte! May this be your best birthday ever, and may your next year of life bring you joy, peace, happiness, good health, success and abundance in all good things!
In the News
Pagans Shed Light on Their Dark Reputation
For some, Earth Day is every day
More cases of torturing women accused of practicing witchcraft in Nepal
The Pagan Origin of Communion
Announcing the Launch of Friendly Pagans Business Resource Website
Facts & History of the Wicca Religion
Pagan Lore with Karen Szabo
Sunday, May 12
On this date, the annual Cat Parade is celebrated in Belgium in honor of the furry feline, an animal sacred to the ancient Egyptians and often used as a familiar of Witches.
Aranya Sashti, a god of the woodlands, is honored in India on this day with an annual festival. He is identified with the Pagan honored deities Pan and Cernunnos.
Monday, May 13
On this date in the year 1917, the Goddess in the guise of the Virgin Mary appeared to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal. The event, which was the first of six divine appearances from May 11 to October 13, drew worldwide attention.
Tuesday, May 14
The Festival of the Midnight Sun is celebrated annually on this date by Pagans in far northern Norway. The festival, which pays homage to the ancient Norse Goddess of the sun, begins at sunrise and marks the beginning of ten consecutive weeks without the darkness of night.
Wednesday, May 15
On this date in ancient times, the Romans performed an annual purification rite consisting of the "sacrifices" of twenty-seven straw puppets to the river god of the Tiber.
Thursday, May 16
On this date in the year 1918, famous Italian spiritualist-medium Eusapia Palladino passed away. She was best remembered for her ability to enter a state of trance and levitate during seances.
Friday, May 17
In the Philippines, a Neo-Pagan fertility ritual is celebrated every year on this date by married couples who wish to have children. The rites (dedicated to Santa Clara) continue until the nineteenth of May.
Saturday, May 18
The Feast of Twins. On this day, festivals honoring twins are held annually in the African republic of Nigeria. It is widely believed among the Yoruba people that all twins are born with abundant magickal and supernatural powers.
See you next time with more Pagan Lore -- may your week be a happy one!
Karen
Karen is an Avon Representative. You can visit her page here.
Sparkle and Shine with Sosanna
This got me to thinking…. What other things do we celebrate or define the month of May as? So here’s a few that I found that are not so well known.
May 4th Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands – Remembers everyone who has passed in wars or peace keeping missions since WWII
May 7th or 28th National Masturbation Day– Founded in 1995, the day is used to protest against the stigma of masturbation.
May 10th Golden Spike Day– Celebrates the final spike driven into the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States on May 10th 1869.
May 12th International Nurses Day– Celebrates nurses around the world occurs on the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
May 12th International Day for Chronic Immunologic and Neurologic Diseases– To bring awareness of those suffering with illnesses such as Fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome.
May 15th Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month– Begins on May 15 – June 15 to bring awareness to those that suffer with the illness.
May 17th– Norwegian Constitution Day– Celebrates the day Norway declared itself an independent nation.
May 25th Towel Day– On this day fans of Douglas Adams carry a towel with them to show their appreciation for the author and his book – The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Month long celebrations in May include:
National Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Mental Health Awareness Month
Skin Cancer Awareness Month
Older Americans Month
National Smile Month
National Photography Month
Looking at all these holidays, celebrations and causes can be a bit confusing. When I was a kid I was taught to remember things visually. I would have a picture of what I needed to remember. For example this picture below was used to assist with learning state capitals. One picture would have a picture of an ark with holding a saw with a little rock sitting on a tin can. So it would be Ark Can Saw Little Rock.
Using this same technique one can certainly create some very stimulating images that will assist in knowing exactly what you need to be aware of this month.
Hrmmm Towels, Smiles, Masturbation and photography – now picturing that should help you sparkle and shine.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
Sosanna is the author of the blog, Confessions of a Modern Witch
Sunshine's Meanderings with Kathleen Lane
Life as We Know It!
I don't know if I have mentioned that my husband works in Alaska and has for many years. He spends half of his year out in the Aleutians and has watched the changes that are happening up there due to global warming. When your life depends on weather changes you are more aware of those changes than those of us who simply move from one shelter to another.
The Aleutians are the "fish basket" of the North and as such provide about half of all the fish product caught in this country and about a third of the product world wide. When the non-scientists in an area are aware of the changes, the changes are making a huge impact.
We tend to think of the Arctic as polar bears and seals and both of those animals are being severely impacted by the warming, but under those warming waters other creatures are struggling to exist. The phytoplankton is struggling and it is the basis for life in most of those waters. Without it, the bottom dwellers will disappear along with the schools of fish that provide the food for a huge amount of the population of this planet. And along with those fish, the North Atlantic Right Whale is severely threatened. It relies on zooplanction to fatten the cows up enough to reproduce and the zoo-plankton relies on the phyto-plankton. It is a vicious circle and for so many species, the end is in sight.
Because my husband works in the Arctic, my thoughts tend in that direction, but the Antarctic is in equal trouble. Many of the penguins rely on sea ice for their hunting grounds and without it, they will go the way of the polar bears and seals.
As near as I can tell, there is only one less than awful thing to come out of all this. When oil companies learned that the polar ice is disappearing they were thrilled. All of that lovely unexplored land to plunder was now going to be clear of ice. But what they didn't take into account was the fact that without the polar ice to stop the massive waves caused by polar storms, the area was going to be far to stormy for drilling.
As I read back over this I realized that I sound like one of those doomsday prophets. The thought of the kind of world that our children and grandchildren will be living in is frightening. We all need to do our best to try to pollute less and instill in the next generations the idea that it will be up to them to clean up the mess we have made.
Uncharted Seas with Captain Dave
Some exciting news this week! Last week, Rhode Island legalized same-sex marriage. Well, not to be outdone, on Tuesday, May 7th, the state of Delaware became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage. This vote was close - 12-9 - but it was enough to pass it and the governor immediately signed it into law to thunderous applause.
Of course, as expected, many people professing to be "Christians" were not happy with this, and social media sites erupted with, shall we say, “less than Christ-like” comments from these self-proclaimed followers of the Prince of Peace, including members of the clergy.
"If even just a few people would speak up against #gaymarriage, it might all go away. #pray" -- Father John F. Cyr, Twitter
"another state destroying the sanctity of marriage, despicable, immoral, and grotesque. when the family is torn away society suffers and only immorality remains. The principles to which this country was founded on which made us great, which came from God are being destroyed, and along with that, our country." -- David W. Sarver, Facebook
And this one from the Glasgow Presbyterian Church in Bear, Delaware:
But do these comments have any merit beyond an abject, irrational, unfounded hatred of homosexuality? Does the Bible truly state, anywhere, that homosexuality is an "abomination"?
Actually...no. At least, not really. In fact, it was at one time very accepting of homosexuality, to the point that it sanctified marriages among same-sex couples. So what happened?
We'll examine this in a moment. Right now, I'd like to focus on my own chosen path's attitudes toward homosexuality.
Well...I'd like to...but they don't really have one. You see, there is no issue. Vodou is not a fertility religion. That is, there is no "go forth and multiply" commandment, no religious law pressuring anyone to reproduce and (over) populate the earth. Rather, Vodou is an ecstatic religion, one meant to be experienced with the total involvement of the worshipper through meditation, music, dancing, drumming, singing, and through such entering into altered states of consciousness whereby one gives him or herself over to the Lwas.
Because it has no pressure to reproduce, it has no admonitions against homosexuals. In fact, though it has Catholic trappings, its view is and has always been that being gay is…simply the way that God made you. Sort of like what homosexuals have been claiming all along! Now, certain factions may have problems with homosexuals, but the religion as a whole never has had this view. Why would it? People are people! It doesn’t matter your skin color, your gender, your gender identification, your sexual orientation, whether you have blue eyes or green. Obviously you’re the way you are because that’s the way that God made you. Right? Right. So…what’s the big deal? Read on here.
Captain Dave is author of the blog, Uncharted Seas.
This Week in Astrology
A First Quarter Moon occurs on Saturday, May 18th, 2013, at 12:35 AM EDT.
Weekly Horoscope at Darkstar Astrology
Void of Course Moon Calendar
Weekly Tarot: Temperance
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| TeamChowIIITarot |
Temperance is pretty much what you think it is, when the word comes to mind. See how she is standing? Notice her balance of the body, the fire and the water? I love that it's producing flowers, because this really does display the essence of the message: "the application of balanced spiritual and psychic forces to physical life". (facade)
This is a week of avoiding extremes and maintaining a sense of calm in your life. It's time to see the bigger picture and look at the long-term versus short-term prospects. Patience is the watchword- this way, you can act with timing and precision. Let things evolve at their natural pace.
For some, it may mean a time of self-reflection. You may be confused about where you want to go or what you want to do, especially in balancing your inner and outer lives.Perhaps you're searching for higher meaning and purpose. This is a time for reducing stress, re-evaluating and introspection. Embrace peace and tranquility and quiet the mind. Meditate, walk in the woods (or wherever you find serenity), write in a journal or blog. Return to a sense of equilibrium.
Weekly Totem: Heron
I decided to do something a little different this week. I'm sharing this video with you, the music is awesome and it shows both stills and video of the Heron. Meditate on the message while watching the video.
Heron links two worlds together: The unconscious (water) and the conscious (air). As you'll see in the video, he is a master of both. He lives life by his own rules, and is a solitary hunter.
Those who have Heron as a totem will spend a lot of time alone and be comfortable with it. If you have trouble being alone, Heron is a great totem to help you.
Heron people often must learn to make their living being ‘jacks of all trades’-picking up income from a variety of jobs, projects, part-time assignments-rather than a routine, full-time job with one employer. Ted Andrews says in his book, Animal Speak, "It is not a structured way, and does not have a stability or security to it. It is though, just a matter of perspective. There is security in heron medicine, for it gives the ability to do a variety of tasks. If one way doesn't work, then another will.”
Heron teaches self-reliance by listening to one's own inner voice of wisdom, dancing to the beat of our inner drummer, and not conforming to what societal pressures or what it deems "normal".
Heron can also teach you how to stand still while the world is racing around you. A few years ago, I was on a hike with one of my sons and my wolf-dog. The two of them were ahead of me in the middle of the creek when I noticed that just off to the right of where they were, a Great Heron was standing still, making himself look like a tree in the water. I thought my dog hadn't noticed it, but she was pretending not to until she had herself positioned directly across from him- and that's when she made a sudden leap toward the heron. He gracefully and swiftly rose up out of the water and flew just above her head.. the two of them proceeded to dance down the creek together. The heron- about 4 feet in the air, flapping his wings rhythmically while my dog was dragon-leaping through the water below in time with his wings. He was completely concerted and she was thrilled at having a dancing partner. Heron can teach you his aerial composure in the midst of trials. Come, join him in the dance.
The Shameless Plug
This week's shameless plug is for Karmafest in Hunt Valley, Maryland. My friend, Sherri Robbins, will be playing there on May 25 from 3-4pm. If you haven't heard this magical diva sing, you are missing out!
That's it for this week's Stew. Mull. Digest. Enjoy!
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