Imbolc is, for me, about beginings and new things and creativity… I will be going on about that later though… today I want to write of Change and Hope and connecting them once more to my own government… I want to write of feeling an actual sense of pride and ownership in my nations governement…

I believe, again!  I believe that my nation can live up to its highest ideals as outlined in the U.S. Constitution!  I was up late last night, and shortly after midnight a line of rainstorms and wind blew through West Central Florida… it was difficult not to read some symbolism into that… the Winds of Change, the Cool Cleansing and Healing Waters…

A few short months ago my beloved partner and I spoke, seriously, about the idea of emigrating to another country should McCain / Palin won the Whitehouse.  I know that sounds rather dramatic, but it is the simple unvarnished truth… I would not have felt safe as a citizen, as a Pagan, as a gay man, or as a Democat in a McCain/Palin United States.

Then Obama won.

Today we made it official.

A peaceful and democratic transfer of power… it’s a phrase that’s fallen from a lot of lips today, but it’s an important one because it is not as common a thing in this world as we could hope for.

We have a new administration… with a new attitude about openness and transparency and Citizen participation; this will require the best of us.

I am encouraged by what I find at the new White House Website…

I am encourages that as his first official proclomation President Obama has called for today to be a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation.

Join me in pouring Libations of thanks to Liberty and Columbia and Uncle Sam, Join me in lighting incense to the guiding and guarding spirits of our President and his Cabinet and all of those who now start the difficult role of Public Service.

So in response to my Raise your glass in a toast edition of Honoring the New Year, the ever fabulous Atumn Windwalker (who, if she ever settles down on one blog for more than a few months, will be a major star in the Pagan blogosphere!!) had this to say…

“I’d be hesitant to make South African purchases, however, because witch hunts are rampant through the country, and they do get ugly.

Yes, people are victimized, and quite badly, because they are accused of witchcraft. Children are thrown out of their homes, women are beaten, etc. It’s not good.

Just a heads up.”

I’d like to take a moment to argue the exact opposite…

It’s worse than that, folks have been killed!   Yet, it’s not exactly boycott material, at least for me…

As I understand the issue, the “Witch Hunts” in South Africa, and in other countries on the Continent, are a result of superstition and cultural issues and not any sort of organized government programs.   These tragic incidents, where innocent folks in rural areas have been killed, have a lot more to do with the ignorance…

“my cow died it must be old lady so-and-so’s fault… she cursed it, she’s a Wiiitch!!!”

…than with either modern Paganism or the South African government.

In point of fact, in the face of these awful killings the South African government has been very active in trying to respond, as had the South African Neo-Pagan community,  this resulted in some friction (briefly) with the SA Pagan community, but the government clarified its position and hopefully things are on the mend.

For myself, had I the money to spare I would buy a bottle of the previously mentioned wine and pray that some portion of my money worked its way to do good.  I would also look at some of the groups listed below to see what sort of work they might be doing to stop the tide to superstition based murder.

Autumn has reminded me that it is important to consider where your spending your money.  A favorite theme of mine, actually!

Thanks Autumn!

My favorite South African Pagan Blogger

Aquila ka Hecate

~ That she’s the only one I know of, is ENTIRELY immaterial!!   Her writing is personal and evocative.

South African Pagan Community Groups

South African Pagan Council

South African Pagan Rights Alliance

Pagan Federation of South Africa

Pagan Federation International South Africa

A Pagan Witches Touchstone ~ a report from the above mentioned organization examining the social, cultural, and legal situation of Witch Hunts in depth.

Vuya! Pagan ~ a Southern Hemisphere Pagan portal site offering news and forums

So that pretty much describes how I’ve spent this week-end.  Starting a new project in the community, and commiting to myself to restart an old one.

Reading and writing and posting in the Pagan blogoshpere… hearing from some friends and making some new ones.

Writing and contemplating… neglecting some of my other projects and plans for the week-end truth be told.

But its been nice.  A lot of writing…ages…AGES… since I’ve done so much writing.   Also wrestling with HTML here at Chrysalis and a bit at the Pagan Collegium has helped me to learn a little bit more of that arcane language…

Huh, maybe for art everyday month I could do a collage using Theban letters and HTML syntax???

I wrote and submitted an article version of my post on Invoking the Power of the Pagan Dollar… hope it gets published… if not I will look around for somewhere else to publish it…

I also commited acts of ritual three times in the last three days…

01-09-09

I am tired after work and feeling a touch feverish.  Under the mistaked impression that the 9th was the night of the Full Moon, and wishing, to do SOMETHING to honor it… I find a glass goblet in the cupboard and pour some filtered water into it.

I go outside into the glorious moonlight.

A cloudless sky and the Moon’s light reflects on the water and the curved bottom of the goblet as I bless and consecrate the liquid.  The effect is as if I have a pale and luminescent liquid silver in the cup.

I call the Lady and Lord and pour the water out in honor of them…

I feel good for having done it, but there is no… moment.

Some of you may be surprised to see me say that, sometimes I am sure my writing makes folks thinks that I live every other moment in the magickal and theistic zone.  Goddess knows I try, but sometimes not so much.

The important thing in those moments is to just accept and move on…

“Never, Never, Never give up!”

~Churchill

Not a bad mantra… anyways, I went to bed and had some trouble falling asleep as the Moon was rather like a kleig light shining throughout the windows of the house.

01-10-09

Realizing that this, rather than the day before, was the day of the full moon… and feeling a bit better for having slept for a ridiculous number of hours the night before… once I did get to bed.  THIS was the day I was going to try again…

Once again the Full Moon was almost ridiculously bright.  I didn’t try it but I am pretty sure I could have read a book it was so bright!  I thought about bringing out my Tarot cards at one point.

I set up an impromptu altar with my Athame, and Tibetan Bells, and challice, and a pitcher, and bowl and incense burner etc…

I blessed the incense as a creature of Earth and Air, and the incense in the same manner… using a mix of Copal and Frankincense and Myrrh it makes sense to me to do so…

I spoke a few simple words declaring the space blessed and sacred and rang the Tibetan Bells to seal the deal.  (the kind that look like really fat little cymbals on a string?)

I blessed and consecrated the water pouring some into my challice.

I turned to the North and called to the God of the Witches, the Lord of the Hunt, the Lord of the Forests and Fields, Wise Youth and Wild Man who is the two-fold God and Guardian of the Gates.

I turned to the East and called to the Goddess of the Witches, The Three-fold Goddess, the Lady of the Fields and Forests who is the Maiden of Promise, the Mother of the Mysteries, and the Ancient Wise One of the Night

They came… not dramatically so, but I had their friendly and gentle attention.

I made offerings of blessed and pure water and of incense unto them.

Thanked them in my heart and rang the bells once more.

… later I thought about it and performed the symbolic rite with Athame and Challice…

… I need to do some meditating and thought on that, I am feeling at once ambivalent and drawn once more to that magick and its symbolism…

of course I am feeling drawn to a more formal level of Witchcraft and practice once more too!

01-11-09

In response to something I’d read I wrote the Prayer for a Lady and her dogs, and under a less gloriously full moon I prayed and made offerings of incense to She to whom that prayer is addressed.

All in all, a busy weekend

Hello dear Pagans!

So were are in the first throes of a New Year with a lot of changes coming down the pike. We are moving towards Imbolc (and Imbolc Poetry Blogging…YAY!!) and I am contemplating the core of Imbolc just as I did for Yule a few weeks ago.

I have decided to honor the new year, and look into new things and ideas as a lead in to Imbolctide.

2009 c.e. ( or e.v. for those Thelemites out there) has proven to be a time of great changing tides in the U.S. with a new and historic Presidency about to begin.

Nor are the times and tide of change limited to the National level, our own community has seen a burst of creativity and discussion in the wake of The Wild Hunt’s recent article and  recent update about the end of the fine Pagan podcast Deos Shadow.

The amazing conversations that emerged in the comments section have spurred a lot of interesting posts and a lot of discussion across the Pagan blogasphere.

Inspired by these conversation I have started a new project and am trying to reinvigorate an old one…

The Pagan Community Builders list is a project I started a couple of years ago.. and then my daily life took several complicated turns… I entered school for my A.S. degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management.  I started working a new job at a theme park, and my daily life became a mad rush of days… that eventually led me to start this blog… which led me to the Wild Hunt which led me to reinvigorate the Pagan Community Builders List.

(strange how life cycles around on us isn’t it?!)

The new project is The Pagan Collegium, where I am trying to get folks interested in polite and intelligent conversations about some of the academic topics related to modern Paganism to get together and discuss things… please check it out!

As I mentioned, I have decided to honor the new year, and look into new things and ideas as a lead in to Imbolctide.

This will be a series of posts highlighting sites and links that I find amusing or inspiring when viewed through the lens of my identity and world-view as a Witch and Pagan.   I hope you will join me in exploring the spirit of change and honoring 2009!

There have been a lot of discussions about Pagan community floating around the net recently… the good news is that we have one. Not, perhaps a conventional one, but we have one!

As was noted at The Wild Hunt on Jan. 2nd, Pagan musician S. J. Tucker was recently hospitalized with severe abdominal pain, doctors believe it may be appendicitis but are still performing tests.

The call went out on the Wild Hunt and throughout the Net.  Facebook and Livejournal groups were created, CD’s were put on a special sale price to encourage vollume sales for fundraising, and Artists in and friendly to the Pagan community and Ms. Tucker came together to create a special fundraising book of art and stories that includes the work of some major artists!  (the book doesn’t go on sale until February 22nd or so, so order your copy now!)

The great news in all this was reported recently on Facebook…

These numbers are -slightly- out of date, but they’re exciting.

In the first week of the Give a Healthy Dose of Sooj fundraiser, we have managed to raise:

Album Sales: $4,253.77
Downloads: $958.38
Donations: $8,858.42
Subscriptions: $93.90

Total $14,164.47

That, my friends, is what we have done in 7 days.

We are more than half-way to twenty-five thousand dollars.

We are almost half-way to our theoretical upper cost of thirty thousand dollars.

All of this in less than a week!
How fabulous is that?

Peace,

Pax