Personalizing the Sabbats to Make Them Holy

By Kevin Red Patrick

     Happy Mabon!! The Wheel of the Year turns another spoke continually taking us forward along our path. We all know this as the Autumn Equinox or the Second Harvest, but few of us know why we call it Mabon (May-bawn, Mah-bone) or how it relates to our personal tradition. What we do know is that this is the time of year that fall seems to begin and the “holidays” will soon be upon us.

     The name Mabon for this pagan Sabbat was coined by Aidan Kelly, founder of The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, sometime around 1970. He derived the name from the Welsh Celtic hero Mabon ap Modron. This hero’s name is interpreted as “son of the divine mother.” Modron is derived from the Gaulish goddess Matrona, the divine mother goddess. Mabon was taken from his mother’s arms three days after his birth and locked away in a dark watery prison. While imprisoned, Mabon learns various skills associated with hunting and battle. He is rescued by the legendary King Arthur and his knights on their quest to fulfill forty impossible demands of the giant Ysbaddaden and win the hand of his daughter Olwen for Arthur’s cousin Culhwch. Mabon is the only one who has the skill to hunt the dog Drudwyn, the only dog that can track the boar Twrch Trywth. The giant is slain after only a few of the tasks are completed allowing the two to marry.

     So you might be wondering, what this has to do with the second harvest. The coinage of this sabbat’s name appears to be quite arbitrary. Kelly has seemingly taken the name of a Celtic God of a favorite myth and applied it to the holiday just so it would have a specific name like the other modern pagan Sabbats instead of the mundane description of autumn equinox. This is what makes the name of this Sabbat controversial, however it has been accepted by the majority of the pagan community and has become the traditional name.

     The second harvest is the time to gather the fruits from the vine. The Roman festival of Dionysus, God of Wine, which is celebrated on this day is more closely related to the meaning of this holiday than is the tale of Mabon ap Modron whose story is about freedom, love, quests, and marriage. The myth of Persephone and Demeter is more symbolic of the turning of the Wheel of the Year. This marks the time when Persephone descends into the Underworld and the bounty of the earth begins to diminish due to Demeter’s anguish.  All of these deities give us reason to celebrate this day. We thank Dionysus for the bounty of fruits. We honor Demeter for her gifts of the harvest and support Her as she mourns, and we honor Persephone’s sacrifice to willingly go back to the Underworld each year.

     “But I’m not Greek or Roman!” you exclaim.

     One might wonder how they can celebrate this Sabbat because none of the myths associated with it include the culture that inspires their own personal path. Some may simply accept it as a “traditional” neo-pagan holiday and wonder why anyone wouldn’t celebrate an equinox; it has astrological significance. Either way I find it a more personable experience if I can relate it to My tradition through the myths of my chosen cultural influence, the Celts and my Gods. This is why it is important to learn the myths and legends of your personal path as well as those of others.

     My Celtic inspired path marks Mabon as an extension of Lughnasadh. For me, Lughnasadh marks the time when the Sun God Lugh, as the Great King of the Tuatha de Danann, defeated the king of the Fomorians, Balor and secured the grains of the harvest for his people. In addition to this, Lugh established the celebration of his adopted mother Tailtu on this day, who died as a result of her tireless work making the land good for planting, on this. This is why I honor Lugh as the God of Light (knowledge and skill), God of the Sun (as the King of the divine race is typically equated to the Sun), and the god of the harvest.  But it is the legend of Lugh’s sacrificial death that lends itself to my relation of the Sun God to the celebration of Mabon.

     My journey of research, meditation, and journey with Lugh has led me to the following description of the death of Lugh.

     Lugh, known by the Welsh as Llew, was cursed by his birth mother to never have a wife of the people who now inhabit the earth. The magicians Gwydion and Math, both protectors of Llew, used great sorcery to create the most beautiful and fairest  and graceful maiden that man ever saw, Blodeuwedd. A woman made of magic, oak, broom, and meadowsweet, her name mean “flower face.” Lugh loved Blodeuwedd. But many years after their marriage, Blodeuwedd fell in love with another. Lugh was told of Blodeuwedd’s adultery but his love for her kept him from taking actions against her. The two lovers plotted to kill Lugh but the god could not be killed in any ordinary fashion. Blodeuwedd betrayed Lugh a second time and revealed to her lover Gronw the secret to killing her husband. Lugh could not be killed on either on land or water, neither clothed nor naked, neither indoors or out, neither in the day or night, and neither in the summer or winter.  Blodeuwedd lured her husband into a garden pavilion at dusk for a bath on the autumn equinox. When Lugh was in place half in the bath with a wrap about his waist as the sun set, she called for her lover who struck Lugh with a spear. Lugh let out a screech when he received the fatal blow and immediately transformed into a raven and flew away. Gwydion searches for Lugh finally finding him at Samhain perched in an oak tree. He sings the bird down, restores Lugh to his human form and retreats to the underworld to care for his wounds. Lugh, Gwydion, and Math return to take back the kingdom form Blodeuwedd and Gronw. A battle ensues. Lugh refuses to allow Blodeuwedd to be killed. In the end Gwydion turns Blodeuwedd into an owl so she would never again have the light of the sun upon her face and Gronw escapes to the land of his people. Gronw appeals to Lugh for forgiveness but is denied. Lugh demands that Gronw stand on the bank of the river Cynfael and receive a blow from his spear. Gronw agrees after all others refuse to take his place and he secures the condition that he can place a stone between him and Lugh. Lugh of the long arm throws the spear with such force it pierces the stone and his enemy.

     This is my interpretation of the myth as I have come to know it. You may not agree with my willingness to adapt the legend but I assure you that this tale has come to me through study, meditation, and divine influence. The tales of the Celtic people, and many cultures throughout history, have been lost either in part or in entirety. There is no way to prove this true or false. But as pagans we know that each person’s journey is personal. How do you incorporate this Sabbat into your own personal belief system? Do you have a myth that you equate to this spoke in the wheel? Is it from the culture that inspires your spirituality?

     Having a myth that ties your beliefs and your gods to each Sabbat makes each Sabbat a personal holy day. As we walk the Wheel of the Year, we are encouraged to be in tune with its cyclic turning. What better way than to find a personal connection through the myths and legends as we come to know them.

Happy Mabon! 

How to be a better Witch, Wiccan, Pagan, etc...

I get emails from people asking me this question alot.  I should be amused, and in the beginning I was taken aback but by now I am comfortable with this question.  First, you obviously need assurances if you ask this question and so let me say...there is no WRONG way to be any of these things.  There are ways I wish you would not portray our "Craft/Path" but these are my perceptions and this is my blog and I do not wish to fill it up with silly drivel or assy statements about who "embarrasses me" or my brothers and sisters of the craft.  That is not my job; my mission is to help others and encourage them.

That being said...and remembering there is no award or Trophy for what we do.....

How do you get better at a Path?  Well you practice it.  You put down the book you are reading, or the blog you are looking at right now and you do something to help you grow.  These are some suggestions, not mandatory things I think can help you.  Actually, I know they will help you.

1.  Go for a walk.  If you live in a suburban neighborhood like me, look at the trees, notice and smile at your neighbors and listen to the birds, notice the clouds.

2.  Go out every morning and greet the sun.

3.  Go out at night time and connect with the moon.

4.  Notice the stars and the formations and planets, see how many you know.  Learn a new one.  Hey download that Google app for it on your phone hold it up to the sky!  Now you know what you are looking at.

5.  Pray.  Yep, I said it pray.  Talk to Spirit, feed it your dreams, your hopes, your fears, ask for direction and wisdom.

6.  Respect the planet you live on.  Do not litter and yes this counts cigarette butts and cups from Mcdonalds. 

7.  Give the benefit of the doubt to others that either share your path; or do not share your path.  If you truly believe we are all Spirit, then respect another person's Spirit.

8.  Share your observations with others if they ask how was your day?  Say I got up and saw the sun and stretched and it made me smile and think of you and how there were Goddesses like Isis and Saule, and Amaterusu that were female and considered to be part of the Sun Energy.  Why do you think that is?

9.  Look for the Goddess and the God all around you, and within you, but most importantly WITHIN others!

10.  Get up every morning and turn your day around by humming, singing, dancing, and tapping your foot (even it is impatiently why the coffee is a brewing).  ASK God/Goddess how you can serve them.

11.  Help others.  If you can possible help someone, do it.  Do not starve yourself to help another, but yes stop and help someone change a tire; or buy a used tire, or just give them a book to read or send them a text.  Don't sad face them on facebook, or air hug them...reach out...be real!

12.  FEED your soul!  Pagans have an issue with reading daily devotionals because they notice they are geared to Christians.  SO WHAT?  I mark out Jesus and put in Isis in it's place same principal.  Hey!  Read a Self-help book, but feed your soul...IF you do not feed your soul, then how can you grow?

13.  Have altars set up in your home.  Yes, that means if it is a picture, a plant, a gnome in the front yard take the time to make your space sacred and a sanctuary.

14.  Go to a meetup for Pagans/Wiccans/Witch's you don't have to commit but you might find out about something going on in your area you want to take part in or could help others with...and that is always good.  Plus, you learn about others paths and they help you. Learning is cool! 

15.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen, or clothing swap, or any kind of public charity and let them know YOU ARE PAGAN!  Yep, help change our public image by showing people that we are real, and normal (well that is overrated but you get my point) and we do make a positive difference.

16.  Be a great parent!  ( I am leaving this open because you know what that is to you and I do not judge other's parenting skills unless you harm the child or starve them)

17.  Share your abilities.  If you are Pagan/Wiccan/Witch then please share whatever you do with the public.  If you do Reiki, share it.  If you read cards, share it.  If you are a medium share it. Gifts are not given to keep or hide under a bushel.

18.  Go to a Pagan festival.  This will help you grow more than anything I know because you will be forced to open your mind and heart to others that walk your path and it will show you how diverse it is!

19.  Spend time with an Elderly person.  Yes, I said that because it shows you the Crone and the Sage in the Physical form and it teaches you to be comfortable and see the beauty and swap off that comes with ageing.

20.  Trust yourself.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in your connection to source.


Now I am sure you are going to think of others, I can right now as I write this.  However, if you do one of these a day I guarantee you will grow.  I say this, because the only way to be better at anything is to grow.  You know when you stop growing?  When you die. 

Thank you for the gift of your time, and keep those emails a coming!

 

We were riding a boat down on the River....

 NOW if you want to tell a Tall Tale down in my parts.  The line..."We were on a pontoon boat down on the Tennessee River," let's everyone know a really Big Tall Tale with adventure is about to begin.  Everyone in the room laughs, and grins and leaning forward in anticipation....waiting as the accent becomes thicker (for dramatic inflection of course) and the gestures become wider.  You know the person telling it is sharing something common and collective we all can relate too.  We all know someone that has a pontoon boat, probably grew up with a pontoon boat somewhere in our family...and we all have the experience of realizing that while it states clearly for everyone to see NO DRINKING AND DRIVING A BOAT everywhere on the river; that most of the funniest stories come from relatives, or you, or friends, or some dumb redneck abusing this law.

A pontoon boat is a small shell that really floats most of the time, it has an engine you use to get it from A to B and to move it faster and is usually used to fish on.  However, down south I have seen it used to pull people on inter tubes and knee boards and to even pull families of children(including second or third cousins) behind it.  We Southerners are known for inventive things like this that you know is going to end up on the Televisions of America under the File America's Funniest Home Videos; or on YouTube with a million hits.

Last night we all sat around on New Years eve sharing these stories about people getting so drunk they parked way up on the banks, or lost cell phones, or how our Uncles or Fathers made sure to be home by 4pm because they had to "make martini time".  You can look at this judgmentally or you can see it as it is which is a commentary on how common it is in the South (I cannot speak for every other region) to drink and drive and how for some reason we associate fishing with that sport of drinking with a huge cooler and it does not matter if you catch a fish but if you have a real good time.  People seem divided on this issue; but now that I am older and mellower I can just look at it and laugh and shake my head surprised we all lived through this time in our lives when we were being pulled on inter tubes by uncles that were cussing, raising hell, and drinking like fishes while whirligigging us down the river.

I realized today how apt the analogy is for our lives to some extent.  We are all on boats down the river.  Some of us are riding on intertubes with other people driving it.  Some of us are driving pontoons, some canoes, some house boats, some sail boats, some yachts, some barges, or paddle boats...but we are all on that river.  I have had people tell me," you just try to hard to paddle" or "you steer the boat too much"  you should just "go where the river takes you"....they might be right.  However, I tend to think that if you don't paddle or steer you might get stuck or beeched somewhere and that I would like to drive my own damn boat (thank you very much) and not get pulled around on a knee board for the rest of my life.  You can call that controlling or very astute depends on whether you are a glass "half full/half empty" kind of person.

So here we are all on boats, driving down or up a river all headed toward somewhere we either have plotted on a map or :just sense" in our gut.  You can always stop at a clearing and set up camp for a spell but at some point you do have to get back on that boat and travel the river because it does flow on, and you cannot remain stagnant.

 

 This year, I am acknowledging that I am on a big boat with my Co-founders in life and that my job might just be to read the map and point out that we "might want to take a right at the fork".  This year I am going to let the "pirates" who want to take my boat over know very clearly that it is not an option that they can have unless they are going to fight me for it because I do not lie down or cry surrender when it comes to my life.  This year I will not have people "looting me" or "pilfering through my stuff" or "borrowing" parts of my gear and identity...because they all have their own boat and have been given their own map if only they choose to use it and read it.  BUT IF you want to follow our boat, if you want to travel the same seas with us (because rivers lead to bigger bodies of water), if you want to come experience this wonderful adventure called life with me and know I am not going to "stop to shore for martini time" then you are more than welcome.  I am pleased to have the company.

Something to think about....What kind of boat are you riding down the river of life on?  Do you even have a boat or are you letting someone pull you through?  Are you the captain or co-captain that shares with your family members your boat?  What map are you reading?  Did you even know you had one?  What rules are you going to maintain this year on your boat and for your life?

Have a wonderful NEW YEAR this year!  THANK YOU once again for the Gift of your time! Please share in the comments below some answers to these questions if you do not mind....

"I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'"

This year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  Using a Kitchen that I did not design, buy or know.  It was my mother-in-laws kitchen.  Well loved by her and well used by her; but for me it was awkward, cramped, and finally I adjusted. 



This year has been a tough one.  My husband lost his mother, me my mother in law, all of our children a grandmother and that loss has been felt.  To make matters weirder we moved in her home which we inherited and we live here.  Yep, everytime Brian's children come to visit us they have to walk into this home where their grandmother just lived and now doesn't anymore. I find myself worried about how that makes them feel.  Does it even ever cross their mind?  When they look around the room does their inside voice say in their head to them "Here is where my grandmother put her Christmas tree, etc...and now I will never see it again."  I wish I could balm their pain, and ease their loss but instead I invited them over for Thanksgiving dinner.  Which is the way we Southern Mommies love their children.

Before I moved into the house I had it painted and completely transformed it with color so that when I walked into it I did not see Mamie everywhere.  My fellow goddesses called it "making the house my own".  I kept on telling myself people buy houses from other people, or move into houses where people have died just recently.  I know though the reason I agreed to move here is because it was something my husband wanted to do.  It was if as long as he could live in his mothers home it would comfort him somehow....and I was okay with that because if that is what he needed to get over his grief and to eventually help him with his loss then who am I to stand in his way?  My job as I saw it was to give him what he wanted, while trying to compromise and make it to where it did not seem so strained and more peaceful to me.

The Templites (this is what we call our community because we find it very positive) all gathered together to bless me on this new venture and gathered a beautiful basket, witchy kitchen towels, a bottle red wine, a loaf of bread, incense, pink salt, candles, and fresh herbs that I would need to bless my home.  I blessed our home, I swept out the negativity and asked each and every God and Goddess to please move into our home.  Constantly I stroke the walls and tell the home I love it and am so appreciative of its beauty. I have pruned and petted the pear tree and apple tree in the yard until they seem newly rejuvenated.  I built altars at the apple trees base, and in the middle of the pear tree there was a altar hole alread with a pre-faded fairy door and window.  I have laid out offerings to the land spirits.  I have made way for the fairies and am building them homes along with the brownies and gnomes that have made their presence known. 

I have visions of how the home will look, and have finally gotten the outside painted as beautiful as the interior with french vanilla and dark burgundy cherry shutters and door.  The front flower bed with unkept roses has been pruned, and offerings of coins, and corn, and beautiful stones have been lovingly places at the borders so that the God Geb will feel our gratitude; and know that we are happy!  Life is sunny! Life is prosperous!  Life is abundant!  Life is beautiful if only we create it and take the time to do the work making it so...

I invited some really good friends to join us for the dinner with our grown children in our new home that I am adjusting too.  The home filled with light, laughter, lots of stories, children played in the home.  Games were played.  Wine was enjoyed.  Desserts were divine. 

I looked at everyone laughing and smiling and I realized that if I really do direct the Movie of my life that I had led it in a new direction.  I was tired of feeling grief, feeling guilty, being awkward.  I had re-written my script.  I was in love with a handsome man who loved me back in a healthy way; had beautiful healthy children; smart, talented, witty friends; a beautiful home; a fulfilling paying job; and a full spiritual life.  I had people who loved me, encouraged me, and were loyal, I have Gods and Goddesses that are evidently working in my life.  I have many children (four) and several grandchildren now (three).  My life is full!  My life is beautiful!  Life is good!

This year was the first time I was the grandmother and the Crone of my family that took care of everyone.  I was the eldest female, and I had somehow or another stepped into my role relatively easy. I remember being the grandaughter that was a little girl sitting on the counter while my Mamaw made brownies.  I remember being the woman that went to her mothers not bringing a thing because she was so poor and in college.  I remember coming to Mamies (my mother in law) with just a dish or two trying to help her more and more as she got older.  Now I am in her role, and in my Moms role, and where my Mamaw was.  I am the Head of the female household here...the changing of the guard was inevitable it always is.

As I wash the dishes and place things in the dishwasher I marvel at the relative ease that I really pulled that big meal off with and how smoothly I did step into that role.  The turkey was moist, the stuffing good, the gravy warm not too cold...and I hear my inner maiden say "oh no we are grown up!"  "It's okay"  I say out loud to her to comfort her.  I have been preparing for this role my whole life and had no idea.  I am so glad I had the Mother, Mother in law, the Mamaw, who patiently showed me what I was supposed to do when they were gone.

"Thank you Ladies!"  I say aloud.  "Thank you Isis!"  I say to my Goddess.  "Thank you house and kitchen for working with me today."  I say to our new dwelling.

I listen with my mundane ears and my "unseen ones"...."You're welcome"  I hear the air vibrate back to me. 






  

I didn't buy these tools at Sears !

This is my altar set up before a ritual it is  not perfect yet, the black and white candle are missing, the cauldron with the charcoals and incense resins, the symmetry is not truly pleasing for everyone to see yet.  But if you look closely, you can see some of my favorite things and these things are beautiful to me.

My wand.  It is a crystal quartz wand about the length of my arm and a gift from one of my best witch friends.  Joanna bought it for me because she felt it was shameful for the priestess of a church to use just a magnolia wand she had put together herself.  So she did research, and bought me a quartz crystal wand.  Every time I use it I feel it resonate and amplify my natural energy.  Every time I pick it up I feel the love from all the circles I have cast for protection for the Temple and my family, and all of the circles we have done every other week for several years come to mind: the one utilizing mirror magick, the circle for Hecate, the HUGE one that I got to use it for at PPD, the Artemis ritual at Daughters, the Isis ritual at Daughters, the love spells we did that was controversial, the Mama Bast ritual, and the healing rituals, prosperity rituals, abundance rituals, luck rituals, and the list goes on and on.  But most of all I love the fact that Hecate fills that crystal quartz every new moon or full moon with the most intense light I have ever seen, and that it vibrates at a chord that helps me when I sing to her "Hecate seal this circle tight, and fill it with your holy light..." and how when at the end of every ritual I am done, and draw up the circle and I say "thank you Hecate" I hear her say "thank you" back and feel the light dim like turning off a switch. Thank you Joanna best friend of my soul for giving what I needed though I had no idea I needed it.

Next, you see my cheesy incense burner that looks like an Oak tree?  Well my husband when he came into our marriage brought that with him.  It was on his personal altar in his home, and every time I touch it or use it I am reminded that I have been given one of the most precious gifts of all...my husband Brian a High priest whom I can never say enough good things about.  I wanted a Pagan husband, and I got him. I love incense, of course most of my blends are Frankincense and Myrrh because the Egyptians like these...but I try to combine the incense in my burner with the properties that help "raise" the vibrations around me to resonate with a spell.  Thus I use rose for love, or peppermint for protection, or lavender when we need to feel calm, nag champra I associate with holiness, and I have been told most of my life I smell like incense so I cannot help but enjoy the lighting of those holy sticks after all these years.  In fact, discovering new types and scents are one of my favorite things to do and my collection of them really mind boggling at times.  Want to give a Highpriestess a great gift?  How about hand rolled resin incense sticks?  Thank you Daniel!

Behind them you see the two pitchers I use constantly to pour out ale to the people that visit and attend our Temple here.  One, was a gift from step daughter who is also a wonderful witchy girl!  The other blue Greek one was given to me by two friends, my former Highpriest Amos and my best bud Allison.  When I look at both pitchers they remind me of HOW FULL my life is, and how my cup will never go empty because I am loved not only by the Gods but by people who I am fortunate enough to adore. 

To the right of the Gods and a little behind them on that gold platter, is a cobalt blue retro drink set.  I utilize these to pour small individual drinks out to each God and Goddess on my altar, this time it was five. By the way I think statues to your God or Goddess or a sort of tool because we all know they do help you focus and gives the deity a physical form to dwell in. Here are mine in the picture going left to right ( Thoth, Ra-Ptah, Osiris, Sekhmet, and Isis).  The retro cocktail set I bought from the Temple garage sale a few months back.  Everyone knew I was going to do it.  A good friend of mine Lori brought them in as a donation, they were beautiful, retro and blue.  They were so me!!  I thought they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen so I HAD to buy them!  When I use these items I am reminded that in my life I am able to purchase things with the abundance the Goddess Isis has given me.  That it is safe for me to be abundant because everything she gives me she knows I will share with others and use for the betterment of the world around me.  That is what I feel my path is all about, and so when I pour out from my prettiest drink set fruit juice or homeade beer to my Gods and I press this on their lips I find that my heart dances because I can share with them my best.  I know they enjoy my giddy heart, and I know that I have everything I have because they are there with me.

Lastly,  my favorite tool in this picture is the altar everything is laying on.  This altar is built out of cement blocks put together by hand by my friends and family.  It is not gold and shiny, it is not elaborately scrolled but it is filled with love, and power, and light, and alot of great circles have been conducted here.  Trudy and Terry and Anne and Tom have done some big magick here, even the Grandmother witch of us all Pat!  My son's wiccaning was done at this altar, the Temple initiations have been done at this altar. I have worked with many friends at this altar and my husband at this altar.  My pic here on facebook is at this altar with my son on it Cayden.  But the real secret to this altar?  It is not as simple as it seems.  In every corner in the making of it there are crystals to amplify the energy of the group and the center; and in its guts deep in the middle there are letters to Gods and Goddesses of the Temple and prayers and tokens to dedicate that altar to the Gods and Goddesses we love so much.  When I step up to that altar I feel nothing but the love I have for my Gods and my fellow pagans, I feel the love they have for their Gods and for me...and I know there could be no better spot for me to stand than right there.  That is a sacred spot, that is sacred ground and there are very few of those that I know...but I have one in my back yard!

Now that I finished this post, I realize that the subject of tools led me to realize that in all the arguments I have heard for or against...I have never heard one talk about the love behind them.  The time involved in them and that is really why I love my tools.  To hold them, to use them, is to remind me of one thing...LOVE and for me that is the greatest magick in the world.

Thank you for the gift of your time!

That'll do me.......

Nut, the sky mother’s belly was full with creation, but because of Ra’s jealousy and rage he cursed her so that she could not give birth to her creations on “any day of the year” and all the gods knew her pain because they listened to her constant groans and torment as they echoed across the heavens.  But Thoth, being the God of wisdom realized this was not best for the whole…and so he thought long and hard on the matter and transformed himself into a baboon.  

As the playful baboon Thoth went to Khonsu, the God of the moon, and starting to entertain him with jokes and antics like the first court jesters.  As the moon boat dipped in the West Thoth, the baboon gracefully jumped aboard and sailed with Khonsu to the depths of the underworld.  While he rode in the boat with Khonsu he entertained the God with sounds, and pictures and revealed to him the art of writing.  Khonsu was enamored with this skill and told Thoth that he would “give him anything he desired” if he would only share this magic with him.  Thoth, sly and wise, told Khonsu that he only wished to play a game of dice.  Laughing, Khonsu agreed and so Thoth the baboon and Khonsu the moon began to play the game of dice.

At first, Khonsu rolled the best scores and the baboon jumped up and down complimenting the round faced God on his skills, and this pleased Khonsu whose ego was stroked enough that he agreed to the suggestion of wagers to make the game more interesting.  At first only fruits and shells were wagered on the outcome of the dice games; and Khonsu won again and again.  After a while, Thoth suggested the gamble for higher stakes and Khonsu again agreed and this time they played for gold and for silver.  So the game went on, day upon day, month upon month, for almost a full year.  During this time, Nut the sky mother’s shrieks of pain were still heard throughout the universe.

Khonsu continued winning the game gaining more and more treasures so the baboon God Thoth suggested they increase the wager for just a little of the moon’s light.  Khonsu, hesitated a moment, yet he looked at all of his winnings and feeling confident and taking in the flattery of Thoth agreed to the wager.  The game was on….Thoth blew on the dice and said: 

“Bones, Bones, roll as you may. Your numbers choose both night and day.  Where the power of sky and stars hold sway, cause these bones to roll my way, Roll for me this day, Roll for me this day.” (Tamerian spell for gambling)

Luck was with Thoth, the God of Magick, and Khonsu groaned each time Thoth won the roll giving up more and more of his light to the God.  After a while, his face became thinner and thinner but he played on confident that the luck would change in his favor and the days rolled on.  Thoth, rolled and rolled, winning enough light for five extra days and since he was the measurer of time he decided to add these on to the end of the year that RA had created.  Laughing, and whooping Thoth bowed deeply and swiftly took his leave from the God Khonsu and leaped on the Moon boat and transformed himself into the Ibis (his sun form which is that of a bird); and jumped.  He soared higher and higher in his bird-form until he reached NUT. 

 

<Because of this dice game the moon waxes and wanes for Thoth never did give Khonsu back his full moon power. It is also because of this game that Thoth has the power of moon and sun. It is also the reason why there are 365 days in a year!.>

 

Thoth called out for Tauret the hippo Goddess and the dwarf-god Bes to assist him in the labor of Nut and delivery of these God children.  It took five days, exactly as much as Thoth had won for each child to be born and as each child was delivered into the universe, Thoth blessed each and gave them their names so that they would be counted among the company of the Gods.  The first child born on the first day was named Osiris the Good, and the universe cried out and said “the Lord of the whole world”  had just been born.  The second day saw the birth of the heroic Horus, Horus the elder, who was most like his grandfather Ra.  The third day saw the birth of the red-headed Set and in him was chaos and wildness of energies.  On the fourth day the Goddess Isis was born, and on the fifth day Nephthys the dark eyed goddess came forth blessing all the previous children but she lavished her highest praise on her brother Set.  

After all of this was done, the heavens earth and sky were fulfilled and set into their proper places.  All the creatures that lived were following their instilled natures and all the Gods that took care of them had taken their stations. Thus, Ra, being the first and creator of it all became bored and weary of eternity; he looked at the impermanence and the excitement of mortal men and women’s lives and felt envy and longing.

The Gods lived in the palace of Ra removed from man and woman, knowing nothing of suffering or joy immortal, beautiful, and bored.

Lessons from the Hands of Thoth:

* Never judge by appearances!  Thoth while he is the god of wisdom and magick, also realizes a power we humans should be aware of…the power of utilizing aspects of ourselves that we need to when we want to obtain a goal.  The power of tom-foolery and making “a monkey” out of ourselves is a good one.  Maybe from time to time we should take ourselves less seriously; maybe we should be willing to shake a tail feather, and lose from time to time knowing that every thing is not important what is important is the end result.

* Listening to the pain and suffering of those around us is important, but doing something for them to ease their pain and suffering is more important.  Thoth took time to plan and to take action and because of this he was successful!  He was also very patient taking over a whole year to get the results he wanted, but determination and wisdom means that sometimes you do not get immediate results.

* Thoth is a God who is not only wise, but is also a trickster.  You know the trickster God the one that gives you what you want but leads you down a crazy path to get there!  Or shows you how you really don’t want what you think it is you want…oh that is wisdom.  Hmmmm wonder if contemplating your personal ideas of wisdom and a “trickster” might blur the lines between the two?

* How is it that Khonsu lost? He got cocky, he let his ego be fed in a way that made him not take notice that he was being stroked and led in a certain direction.  His ego was WAY too big!  Do not be so foolish as to listen to all those “compliments” and people that are “stroking your ego” be cautious!  Sure you should surround yourself with people that are not unhealthy and mean to you; but you should also surround yourself with people who are honest and tell you the hard truths whether you want to hear them or not.  Khonsu’s ego was huge, and this was his downfall make sure you too are always grounded else your ego will lead to your downfall!

*If you practice this path, then learning the calendar is easier if you remember this story.  Knowing who the Enneads are and the roles of many of your deities becomes common place if you remember who does what.  Tauret looks like a Hippo but she is a Goddess of midwifery!  Bes, is a dwarf but he assisted in the delivery!  If you are pregnant, or assisting in a Wiccaning or friends with a female and you follow this path a gift of Bes or Tauret would be in line would it not?

*Set is not the Devil, he is not “bad”.  In our modern 21^st century culture we have been programmed to see things as extremes: white or black, good or bad, rich or poor, etc.  But Set is described as Chaos and primordial energy not tamed or focused…sounds a lot like our lives and us as practioner’s of magick that are trying to constantly learn does it not?  Why not study Set, get to know him and realize there are other aspects and characteristics of him that might interest you.  Did you know he was considered the God of trading, God of the Desserts, also the God of foreign languages?  Egyptian Gods have lived so long their characteristics and complexities defy human understanding at times; yet help us flesh them out to be more than “stereotypes” but “archetypes” and isn’t that what a spiritual path is all about?

* Know your creation story. Use it as a tool to teach you, to instruct you, to make you smile, laugh, take delight in it!  It is a story after all, and it is customized by the Gods for you…your mind and spirit will gain things from it that no other person on earth will ever grasp!  You are a wonderful unique vessel…and the Gods envy you at times.

If you want to learn about the Egyptian Calendar and the creation story then try these:Egyptian Mystics: Seekers of the Way by Moustafa Gadalla, Egyptian Cosmology the Animated Universe by Moustafa Gadalla, and Egyptian Rhythmn: The Heavenly Melodies by Moustafa Gadalla

Lastly, not least imporantly...THANK YOU for reading, and freely giving me the gift of your time!

"Faster than a cat can wink his eye"

When people talk to me about the act of picking a deity, what they usually find themselves concerned about is if their pantheon is going to be a good match for them. When I hear these concerns I pass on to them the wisdom my mentors passed on to me, look at “how that pantheon treats death” and see how they feel about that system of afterlife.  What I find myself not mentioning is to look at the story of creation that comes from their pantheon because “creation stories” are something that every “system” of religion or “culture” has and while they are beautiful are full of allegories metaphors and are very “un-scientific”.  I like the Bible’s creation story, though I really hated the “garden of Eden” myth, I love the Hindu creation story, the Greek creation story, the Persians, the Sumerians, and the list goes on and on.  These stories all have similar elements but tell the story so differently.  My logical mind argues that these stories are man/woman told to explain things that cannot be explained and I feel this is probably true; but I have always liked a good tall tale; and I read constantly so I will never stop reading or listening to “creation myths”.

However, when any culture starts to establish myths or spiritual learning stories as truth you have a problem.  Here in the south, we live with this problem (issue) even in our public school systems and it does not seem to be something we can escape. On the other hand though, I am a Pagan parent and a HPS and what really seems to "burn my biscuits" is how many Pagans do not know their own creation stories!  Or even if they do, they seem to have difficulty deriving from the stories what it is they are supposed to glean.  It is very important if you are on this path, that you read and learn and re-acquaint yourself regularly with your path's "creation story" there are pearls of wisdom embedded in them so deep that you could grow a whole orchard of magickal breakthroughs if you are patient enough, and still enough to listen.

Today, I am going to try to share with you my version of the Tamerian-Egyptian creation story since this is my path; and then attempt to give you a few things you can instantly pick up and apply to your personal practice. I love this story! Remember, this is my version of it from gleaning through many many mythology texts, so if you will give me the gift of your time...I would appreciate it!

“In a time before time when the universe as we know it did not exist; before my Goddess Isis breathed there was nothing but Chaos.  Everything was a watery void without true structure or form.  All the elements mingled together in a big dark watery marsh, and so it was for eons and eons.  The name of that primordial mass was NUN, yes later he would exist as a God but before he became he existed only as the potentiality of all things.

From this watery blob a lotus flower raised its head, it was strong, its fragrance was pure, its petals were abundant, and it was filled with life.  From its roots eight frogs croaked and sang while the God Ra, manifested as his first form ATUM the beautiful divine child sitting in the heart of the lotus flower. When he was born, the universe was greeted with light for the very first time (and this is how light came into being).  The frogs sang a beautiful song for his appearance and in return Atum-Ra named them and thus divided all the elements (with the naming of something it changes from chaos to be-ing).  Hehu and Hehut were the first, they were fire and life.  Kerh and Kerhet were named, and they were night and chaos.  The final pair of frogs took on the nature of Atum-Ra and became NUN, the primordial force which had given Ra his existence, and for this reason NUN is the parent of the great sun-god even though it was Atum-Ra who gave him form and named him.  The last frog was named ANUM who became part of the soul of Ra, and though he can take on many shapes, it is in this aspect that Ra rules supreme.  Anum once named, gives birth to the Moon Khonsu, the vainest of the Gods.

Now you must understand, heaven did not exist yet, and the earth had not come into being either so when the divine child Atum wanted to step down from his lotus flower there was no where for him to go.  So Atum-Ra transformed himself into a new aspect Khepera, the scarab beetle.  When he did this, he worked “his greatest spell yet” (The Pyramid Texts) which granted him the power of creation itself and Khepera “knew that this was right” (Pyramid texts), and in this rightness he was granted and given the spirit-form of the Goddess MAAT, who is justice and honor, correct thought and behaviors.  It is through speaking, his own secret name, that Ra created the Universe.  

So, Ra in the form of Khepera began to utilize the power of the Scarab and he gathered the watery mass and spoke over it and created new things, everything he spoke became form.  After he had done this, he returned once again to the form of the Atum Ra took his manhood in his hand and emitted two further gods from his semen which lay upon the marsh.  These became the God SHU who is air, and the Goddess TEFNUT who is moisture. When Atum-Ra took in all that he had done, he saw beauty all around him and he was moved so much that he began to cry.  From his tears were born reptiles, and all creeping things, then animals, fish and birds, until at last men and women came into being.  Some texts say that at this point Ra had filled all of creation with his presence and forms of light and life…but he was not done, he transformed once again!  He became KHNUM.  

As the form of KHNUM Ra made the bodies of women and men upon a potter’s wheel.  As Ra manifested himself more and more, his voice became a separate entity and manifested as the God THOTH, the measurer of time, the teacher and mentor of the Gods and Goddesses, who is responsible for many births of divinity.  THOTH became the minister to RA and through using the magickal name of RA that he commanded all that needed to be done, he regulated the seasons, he numbered the days, it is from him we have the concept of time and calendars.  Then he transformed to a Baboon and on that night he invented the art of writing, and became the first master of the magic arts and the teacher of the mystics.  

The tasks of creation began to be taken over by PTAH, the divine architect and personification of the face of RA, and the ram-headed KHNUM.  PTAH formed the solid beneath us, and the vaporous above while KHNUM at the potter’s wheel, formed all the animals and the birds that lived between them.  Because of his task, KHNUM became regarded as the source of life and was worshipped at the waters of the sacred Nile.  After a while, KHNUM became exhausted by his work of molding the physical bodies of each and every living creature and got frustrated calling out for help.  THOTH, being ever wise, suggested that he include inside every female creature a miniature potters wheel in her belly so that they could reproduce themselves without KHNUM having to go to the trouble of completing this task for them.  So he did.  Thus women, posses the same power as the God himself….the power of creation.

Apparently while Ra had been off busy creating the Universe, Shu and Tefnut had been busy “getting it on” because once they had bodies they found that there was something that came with it…lust, and the law of nature that dictates that bodies must mingle and produce offspring.  Their children were GEB, god of the solid earth and NUT, goddess of the sky.  However, when Ra found out that Shu had mated with Tefnut he was infuriated because apparently he had wanted the lady for himself and while he was out working they had acted upon their mutual desire.  So, he decided to separate them by having SHU trample his own son GEB until he became all the land masses in the world, the contours of his body formed the hills, valleys, mountain ranges, deserts and fertile pastures.  NUT was sent soaring upwards to cover the sky, and she became the deity that formed the firmament and provided rain.  Stars adorn her body, her fingers support her arched body in the east, and the tips of her toes dwell in the west, and even now she remains above us still as a celestial body (now called the atmosphere).

Every evening as RA assumes the form of ATUM as the setting sun, Nut swallows him whole and he spends the night within her body only to be re-born as KHEPERA from her womb every morning.  Thus Nut is sometimes thought or called the “true mother of Ra”.  Even after all of this Ra’s jealousy remained, and so he cursed NUT saying that even though Geb had filled her womb with life that she would be unable to bear children upon any day or night of the year. The Goddess was full, ripe, and ready to burst…but there was no relief to be had. She was in perpetual labor, and her cries were heard throughout the universe and all of the Gods knew of her cruel punishment and were scared of Ra.  Except for THOTH, who in all his wisdom thought long and hard upon the matter……………..(TO BE CONTINUED NEXT BLOG)

FACTS and TIPS: 

1. Ra is a sun deity,   He has many titles, but when you start at the beginning it is easier to learn where he got them from, and why!  Order, Order, Order, would be the word that is associated with RA. (Though I am sure he would help you organize a closet he would probably be happier helping you with a BIG project!)

2. The Lotus is a sacred flower to the Egyptians and a symbol of the sun.  Every night the lotus flower closes and sinks underwater, and every morning it rises and opens up again. In Egyptian mythology the color of the lotus flower is mentioned often, when reading Egyptian stories look to see what color they tell you the flower is to add some more layers of spirit reading to your learning house!

3.  When you are starting a creative endeavor Ra would be a great God to work with! ATUM Ra, would be the title you would use when you just are at the very "I have an idea!" phase.  Remember he is a divine child in this phase think of it as like working with your inner child, yet smarter!

4.  Frogs are sacred in Egypt,(study the symbolism of the frog to get a bit more in depth here)  Hehu is the Element of fire ,  Hehut is life (many times you give the gift of a frog to a mother for a newborn baby as a good omen, I love giving egyptian frogs to babies at wiccanings!)  Kerh is night and Kerhet represents chaos.  Nun is the potentiality of all things, and Anum is the soul of Ra.  From all of these facts you can gather information about Egyptian religion, how form and creating is so much more important than potentiality and chaos and how you have a body and a soul and yes they believe they are separate.  How essential it is to realize that chaos exists it is not BAD, per se...but Gods and Goddesses in this path constantly battle, and re-form it to conform to their will.  (Sounds alot like the Wiccan definition of witch does it not?)

5.  Khonsu is the God of the moon.  So it seems not all moons are divinely feminine?  Does this image worry you that of the moon being male? Did you know that we can still find bits and pieces of dark moon rituals to Khonsu?  I still haven't figured out if the Egyptian women participated in blood magick with the moon invoking Khonsu; if you know shoot me an email!

6.  Ra/Khepera is the scarab beetle image, it has a name!  KHEPERA, it is said over and over that the personality of this beetle is to work, and create something from what appears to be nothing! I bet KHEPERA would make a killing on Etsy!

7.  SHU is the God of the Air.  TEFNUT is the Goddess of Moisture or water.  So now you have two deities you invoke in the quarters of your circle if you want!  Or you could ask them to teach you about the mysteries of these elements, or if you are having an issue in one of these elements...guess who you invoke?

8.  MAAT is the Goddess of justice and honor these things are associated with correct thoughts and behaviour to the Egyptians! So before you do that revenge spell, or go out to "defend yourself" from those mean evil witches one town over...maybe you should evoke MAAT!

9.  THOTH measures time, well in modern terms we would say he was a historian or archivist, or possibly someone in archeology?  Hey if you are interested in any of these fields guess who would be really happy if you chose to invoke him?  His personality is that of a teacher and mentor, he created writing!  Wow it seems he could help you if you need help writing blogs, papers, publishing a book! He can help you uncode myths, because he teaches them!  He is the master of Magick, he commands it and knows all secrets of it...as long as he has existed I bet he knows some doozies of what you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT do! He is also wise, funny and clever and very sympathetic to your human feelings and emotions (but this is the subject you will figure out in the second part of the blog)  I bet he can think of creative ways to approach a spell...huh, now this GOD seems like a must know for any Egyptian Pagan student, or witch!

10. KHNUM has the head of a ram and is the God of creation, or people who make pottery!  He also has to do with reproduction it seems!  There are stories in other texts that claim he also can repair you when you feel broken or shattered...so if you have gone through some rough stuff...call out to KHNUM, he is the God who can show you how the light shines better through all your cracks!

11.  PTAH is the divine architect and the face of RA.  Do you think that means that the Golden statue you have of RA is really PTAH? Hmmmmmmm.  I bet if you study architecture or possibly the universe as a physicist PTAH would be the God you would really jive with! I invoke him as one of the Memphis triad Gods in the middle of my circles!

12.  GEB is the name of the earth in the Egyptian pantheon not Gaia!  The earth is male to the Egyptians, so the energy is completely different than most Wiccan paths, so when you ground and draw up energy in this path remember you are drawing up male energy not female, talk to him feel his pores, listen to him, love him well!  NUT is the Sky, the celestial heavens, always stretched over you like an umbrella of protection. The sky in the Egyptian path (and in our real world) is always changing, shifting, and giving birth to new things...thus it must be female!  So the next time you look up at the starry sky say Hi Nut!  I know she would like that.

REFERENCES:   An Egyptian Book of Shadows by Jocelyn Almond, Egyptian Mythology by Geraldine Pinch, Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by Henry Barker, Circle of Isis by Ellen Canon Reed, The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts by R. O. Faulkner, The Egyptian Coffin Texts by James P. Allen.

"They ate supper before they said Grace!"

I am writing this article to respond to the emails readers are sending me.  Yes,  I now have regular Blog readers and people that claim me to "like me" on Facebook or Twitter!  Yeeee haaaa! (giggles)  It seems that a lot of you are interested in my personal path, which is Egyptian, and since you are interested in this path  you are asking me where should you start, and what with.  Since I do not have a problem sharing, my deities but not my husband, I decided to answer this question here because if some of you are interested...then maybe there are a couple more tucked away out there in the vast internet universe?

Where do I start? <------This is the number one question I am being asked.  I believe you should always start by reading a book of mythology, and I am recommending two books here: Egyptian Mythology A guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt, by Geraldine Pinch and Egyptian Mythology by Veronica Ions.  You can read thousands of books on Egyptian Mythology, these are not particularly slanted toward paganism but they are more in-depth and I feel do the best job of gathering the scattered stories from all the sources and explaining to you where they come from, what the differences are, etc.  That being said let me explain why I am not recommending The Book of the Dead (any version) as a start off point. 

  

The Book of the Dead is a series of writing that are spells and incantations for people who have crossed over or have died already. These spells are to be said over the dead body while prepared for death (we would call it embalming) and are left with the body so that their soul part the BA *((the Egyptians/Tamerians believe that the soul had five parts this is the part that looks like a bird and can see and read after dying)) can read those texts as a “cheat sheet” if need be.  Originally, it was believed that only the royal house and special “wealthy aristocrats” could go to greet Osiris and thus in the beginning these scrolls were prepared for them.  Please remember in Ancient times, that the majority of people could not read or write.  It was believed that after you died, you would go through a series of trials or meet deities in whom these recitations/spells would be important and so it was that you studied these and memorized them so that at death you would know what to say when faced with Anubis, or Osiris, or Maat. 

The Egyptians were not fixated with Death they were into celebrating life!  They did not dwell in morbidity, they believed in the principal that Death was a total rebirth (another life).  I realize a lot of this sounds like the modern Western and Eastern religions you know a lot about now: the afterlife, reincarnations, preparing bodies for death, immortality, the soul, but keep in mind this religion is much older than modern times and has influenced it heavily.  So why not the Book of the Dead?  Well, it may sound cool and seem interesting but unless you understand the stories of these Gods and Goddesses and put together a bigger picture and a relationship between them and us…well the Book of the Dead really is just “mumbo jumbo” and makes no “real sense”.  It also might throw you because it was written for a "special class" of people and we all know that none of us are Pharoahs today.  Though, let it be stated my personal opinion is that you should NEVER commit to a Pantheon or religion if you do not accept its stance on "what happens to you when you die".

So, you tell me you have always been fascinated by my religion and you want to learn more.  Here is my response, and it is sincere and with the best intention.  I am going to share with you where to start and you should realize that this is a  “baby step” just a starting point but "baby steps" are essential to finding yourself miles down the path.  When you are a “newbie” at anything in life, including a new pantheon it is overwhelming and many times you do not know where to “start”.  You want all the Gods and Goddesses, all the tools, and to tell the world this is your path because it is a lot like falling in love.  But like love, you should take your time there is no reason to rush...the Gods and Goddesses are not going anywhere, be certain, and give it your whole attention and disciplined mind and please realize if you just started last month there is no way you are an expert.  Spiritual paths take years and years of practice and application as does magick (and that don't mean a couple of years but that is a great start!).

Do you remember when you first “saw” a person that you found yourself attracted to?  They caught your eye, they were the only person you really noticed in the room.  You started to notice your eyes and your attention focusing back on that person over and over again.  Then you went up and approached them and talked to them, you both have exchanges through conversation.  You noticed the details about them, their eyes, their hands, their hair, their smile, the sound of their voice, how they smell, etc.  Then you asked for their phone number, or Facebook page, and you started to call them and talk, or text and flirt, or chat box and get to know them better, you started to build “from scratch” a person of your own making for you to desire (yep, you make them who they are to you!).  They give you information for you to add into the correct place or slot in your mind so that they become real to you.  The information they give you are details like...where they graduated high school from, where they were born, how old they are, how many siblings they have, how many marriages or divorces, children if they have them, likes and dislikes (favorite foods, colors, music, hobbies, extracurricular activities).  Before you know it, you are “in love” and the next thing you know you are “becoming intimate” physically with this person, and you wake up next to them in bed (or it could be the floor or sofa, you know what I mean),

I am sharing this analogy with you because it is the accurate and the perfect analogy for a person looking for a “new spiritual path” or getting to know a “new deity”.  You are falling in love with a God or Goddess.  You cannot love them all at one time, so you choose one.  You read all the stories to find one, the one that catches your attention is…THE ONE (just like the person in a crowd that you noticed).  You then spend time fleshing out that deity, find out its likes, dislikes, holidays, relationships to other deities, find out about what kind of magick they are good at, what they are famous for, their names their titles, favorite colors the element they are associated with. (you are starting a spiritual dialogue with this deity like talking to a human face to face). Then you go buy a representation of them (usually a statue), you set up an altar for just them, and you start doing magick with them or praying to just them.(this stage is equivalent to waking up in bed next to a person you were courting and enamored with).  You will find yourself laying out “offerings” for them, talking to them all the time, making “sacrifices” (many times offering a personal compromise or giving up something for them), and the next thing you know you are changed forever.

Now, I am not telling you just because you are interested in the Egyptian path and might find one deity you feel drawn to (I am going to use Anubis as an example) that this means that he will be the GOD that you will forever be with.  That would be like telling you that every person you find yourself attracted to and having a relationship with is your “happy ever after rainbows and butterflies”.  You and I both know life don’t work that way.  Anubis could be the “one” though, you never know.  On the other hand, he might just be the God that is introducing you to the other Egyptian deities, or he might just be helping you realize you are really Pagan, or it could be that he is essential to helping you realize the relationship between life and death, or he could want to introduce you to his half- brother Horus, or his mom Nephythys you never know. Just like every person we fall in love with, might no be the “one”. But they might introduce us to the “one” or they might just be an essential lesson we need to learn so that we can be better people and be better at a relationship when we do meet a person we can settle down with.

Ten years, twenty years later, thirty years later, you might stop long enough to contemplate your path and be tickled to death to realize Anubis has walked with you that long, and loved you through it all….and you are happier than a pig in a pigpen.  Who knows?  But, you will never figure that out…if you do not open a book of mythology first, and figure out who Anubis is; rather than depend on a Hollywood or bad Scifi movies to define him for you. You, and only you, can do the work and research and practice that it will take to get to know Anubis.  I can relate a few things about him to you, I can even give you “hints” to point you in the right direction, but when it comes down to it…I cannot make you put in the time, money, effort, or energy into building a relationship with deity, just like I cannot “force” you to date someone and really listen to them and get to know them.

I hope this analogy helped you, no one shared anything like this with me when I was starting out I was just given a syllabus and a “way of doing things” and it was after many years that I came to figure out that there was a much more simple organized way of approaching deity if you tried. I pray these books are the keys that opens up the door to wherever it is you are meant to go; and I also hope you realize that our “myths” are no different than any other spiritual books they are analogies, metaphors, and sometimes true regurgitation of events and are what draws you to a deity because you begin to realize they too walked the earth like you and experienced loss, happiness, pleasure, excitement, wandering, acquired skills, etc.  I also want you all to know, that my email box is always open…as is my heart.   

Thank you for the gift of your time!

It ain't nothing new, but it is to you because you are thicker than a mule when it comes to learnin'

We are going to shift gears, since the turning of the wheel is in flux and now talk about the next Wiccan Holy day/Sabbat that many of us will celebrate Lughnasa.  While I have been told my many of my readers, that they read my blogs for different reasons I think we can all agree that when it comes to “Sabbats” no matter what your path, many of us celebrate them or adapt them for our own use.  If you did not know, my path is Egyptian and so it would seem that with a Celtic oriented wheel of the year I would be left out.  However, like anything on this path I have been forced (it’s a figure of speech) by the Universe to observe and celebrate Sabbats in a way I would not necessarily do in my personal practice for the greater good of others and in the service of the God's and Goddesses' Temple.  We all know there is a lesson here, but that is not the what I want to talk about today…today I want us to re-discuss and re-examine ONE god…Lugh.

Years ago, when I first discovered this path I started off primarily a nature observer and working with primal nature forces. The people I knew (including my Mamaw) that used “nature magic” or “dirt magic” did not pray to a particular deity just “mother” or “goddess” or “god”.  So it came as a wonderful “extra surprise” to me when I figured out that there were thousands of deities out in the world that had been worshipped; many had been forgotten and many were living and breathing and walking around. I loved the act of “discovering” and “getting to know” these new spirits, and I still do!  The biggest problem I found I had to overcome once I was older was transferring and translating the “ancient portrayal of a God or Goddess” to “modern times”.  As a teacher, I find that establishing an intimate relationship with deity is often thwarted by this same “issue” that I had to learn as I grew up.

So I am going to tell you a story, you may have heard it, but I am hoping to flesh it out for you in a new way.  This is the story of Lugh.  Lugh, was a “wright” and this means in a modern terms a man who created, built, and repaired things.  He could have been a playwright or a carpenter, an electrician, or a roofer, a captain of a barge, a maker of jewelery or a mechanic but one thing he definitely was…was a worker and I am sure he tackled all of these previous jobs at one time or another in his life.  Lugh is the God of work and the Master of all arts and crafts; and like many of us living in the 21^st century it seems that he sought out jobs he was interested in and  mastered them. Once he "leveled up and out" in that job, he got bored and then applied for another job and started a "new career" thus his life would be full of various careers ever shifting and growing like most of us now.  Today, we live in the modern technological age; and there is Lugh who seems as if he stepped right out of the agrarian age and wants access to a new world that has left him behind…..or has it?

There was a HUGE house party being thrown in Memphis,Tennessee that all the cool Pagan people were invited to come and participate in thrown ironically enough, on Lughanasa.  However, for some reason it seems that the Host and Hostess of this big shindig forgot to invite the God Lugh.  It was a serious oversight, but an understandable one since not many of us really believe that Gods walk and talk amongst us anymore like the “old ones” did.  And so it was that Lugh decided to make the Host and Hostess and the community aware of this oversight gently.  He decided to come to Memphis, Tennessee that weekend and participate and throw down at the HUGE Pagan party.  Lugh came up and knocked on the door of this “happening place”.  He was greeted at the door, by one of the local Pagans and told that “he was not cool enough” or “what they were looking for” in the area so he best be going since they did not know him.  However, Lugh being deity and not a typical human decided to argue the point; whereas most humans would slink off and be “shunned” by their peers.

“ So what is it that makes one cool enough in this Pagan community to come and be part of your group?”  Lugh asks.  “Well you have to have a perfect lineage that we can track; and you have to be wear the right clothes, and have the same kind of hair as all of us, and you have to do things “our way” though we do not share that way with outsiders; and well you better be able to prove you have some ‘mean skills in the magick department and brag about them constantly’ for you to be one of us.”  Lugh was told by the doorman.  Lugh laughs, “I see” he says while scratching his beard.  “Well, I am a blue-collar man primarily who comes from no place you have heard of, who possesses the skills of just work.”  Lugh says.  The Pagan at the door looks at him and says….”what kind of skills, and where did you get them from?”  Lugh says, “I posses the skill of going into any situation and sizing it up, and seeing what needs to be done and doing it without instructions.  I work for others well and enjoy working for and in groups. I get my skills from the Universe, this physical plane, and myself.”  The Pagan looks interested but says…”Well we have plenty of Clergy already in this community, Highpriest’s and Highpriestesses galore, Elders aplenty, and I do not know you so (even though you look older than me)  none of those skills count.” 

“I possess the gift of story telling in a way that makes people learn and hear the words of the Gods they could not hear or comprehend before, and people love to learn through stories you know. I came by this skill through listening to spirit and by plugging into the Universal station of thought.”  Lugh says to the Pagan door man. “Well, we have plenty of people in our community that have been published, and like I said I do not know you at all so you aren’t really convincing me here.”  The Pagan says arms crossed across his chest.  Lugh smiles and winks and then says “Well, I posses the gift or ritual and magick, I can raise energy and cast it in ways you have never seen…I am willing to share these skills with your group because I love to share.  I learned these skills through years of hard work, practice, discipline, and dedication but none of your people in that room have taught me.”  “We have plenty of people that can do magick here; surely you know that we are all Pagan” the young Pagan says with a sneer.  “I posses the skills of song and dance, I can sing you to tears or to joy, I can show you how rhythms underlie everything and how when faced with challenges how to dance through them all.  I share this skill with some of my brothers and cousins, it's sort of a lineage thing, ”  Lugh adds.  The Pagan getting irritated says…”I have no idea why those skills would add to a community and I would like to get back to my group would you please hurry up.” 

So Lugh, being a God and clever, looks the man straight in the eye and says…”Do you have a person who is master of all theses skills amongst you?”  The Pagan hesitates and starts to take time to think…and realizes they do not.  “No sir, we do not…and this means?”  Lugh takes his hand, and extends his index finger and thumps the young man on the third eye….”this means, you need to include me in your gathering Young Pagan for this is my day; and I am the God that should be honored above all others in your crib.”  The Pagan looks at the middle aged man before him, in dirty jeans and a “not traditional hippy pagan clothing” and says…”Okay, but if the others don’t agree with your claim out you go.”  Lugh smiles, and saunters in and the party becoming instrumental in changing the landscape of that community completely and moving it into a more positive progressive direction.  For Lugh is, after all, a God and the master of work and all trades and he is determined to prove to us all…that he is not antiquated just not recognized that often.

Now I know, this is not my typical Southern Fried fare; and I hope you find yourself smiling at this tale because Southerners do love a good story.  Most importantly though, I want you this Lughnasa to celebrate and look for this “god” in the men and women around you.  He dwells in the workers; he is clever, funny, and smart.  He is always striving, growing, reaching, and mastering a new thing.  May we all grow to be more like Lugh, and may he come to all of our community gatherings this Lughnasa.  Lastly, but most importantly.....

Thank you, as always, for the gift of your time!

I'm finer than a frog's hair split four ways

Yesterday, I was saved by a Christian.  Well, not “converted saved” as people of this Common Era tend to think of that phrase meaning, but I was saved nevertheless.  Please, let me explain.  Not ALL Pagans dislike Christians and not all Christians dislike Pagans; in fact I have a long history with Christian friends and Christian ministers who the “spirit has spoken through” to me and I heard it as clearly as if Isis (my personal deity) were speaking to me.  It takes time, to get to a point where you can hear spirit anywhere where you can let it love you or touch you even if you are in the middle of a Rabbi speaking but it can be done and I have gladly come to know and associate myself with Spiritual friends who do just that…hear and see spirit everywhere.

Yesterday morning, I was almost at the end of my rope and the knot I had tied in it was unraveling.  I was frustrated, angry and fed up.  I am used to the concept that “not all people are going to like me” and if people don’t like me that I do not know it "rolls right off my back".  But, there was a person who I had considered a loyal friend who was going so far out of her way to “hurt me” that it froze me up; I was puzzled as to what was proper protocol…and since her “dislike for me” was also trying to affect people's perception of my church (I felt); I had to find a way to resolve it.  Resolution, even with wisest people I know trying to mediate has not been possible and yesterday I had to realize…it would not be.  I was given the advice to get “legal council” on this issue, and so with great trepidation and hesitation I picked up the phone and called a long time friend who also was a great lawyer.

First, he answered the phone with warmth and happiness in his voice; the sheer pleasure in which he conveyed the joy of talking to me and with me balmed my soul.  I realized I did not see him enough, and I missed his smile.  We small talked, and shared things…and then I came out with my issue.  He listened, and then laughed.  Not because my problem, was silly and petty but because he had a different perspective on it all..and why is that?  Because he knew me, and had watched me at many stages of my life; he did not treat me like a client he was Clergy for me that day. “Did you really think that if you travel through life getting things done there are not going to be people that are like that?  I am a lawyer, if you are one of us you better get used to the idea that most people just do not like you because of your job description”…he laughed.  I realized he was right.  “Heck, add to that I am a Liberal Christian with Conservative political views and you have a great mix for people to dislike me…” once again he laughed “BUT, I know that to change who I am, and stop doing what I am good at, won’t make a difference, it achieves nothing.  It doesn’t even make the people who don’t like me any happier.” he states.  

For the next thirty minutes Gregg outlined for me methods for dealing with life and “haters” as he put it in an effective way that did not include the method I was thinking was my only avenue.  He explained to me that he recommended I try these methods first, but his reasoning behind it choked me up.  “Sonya, I am sure there are many people in your spiritual community that are going through some of the same stuff you are going through; and they are looking to you to see how to deal with it.  You do not only teach people through classes and counseling, or by trying to live your life ethically.  You teach people how to survive and manage and deal with difficult stuff by getting through it yourself.”  “But, Gregg, I don’t know how to do this yet (I whined) but I will take your advice and try” I said.  “Then pray, ask for wisdom, ask for guidance, people are called to be clergy…it’s not easy but remember what got you there in the first place…your faith.” he reminded me and  I smiled and almost cried at the same time. 

I knew that my friend was right, that from first grade to graduating high school I had always had “haters” as he called them and when I had tried to step back and not achieve as much it had not made me more popular.  I knew that when I went to college I had people accuse me of plagiarism and start all kinds of rumors about me and that I had to stick really close to professors and counselors to navigate through that rough phase of my life…but it did not stop me from writing and still winning money to go to college (though it almost did).  When I went to the workplace, I would have people that “did not like me”, when I went to Beauty school years later the same, when I did runway models hair other stylists would “criticize or tear down my work”.  So what?  I went on.  My ex-husbands I am particularly sure “do not like me” that is why we got divorced in the first place (though it should be stated I highly encourage people to get two divorces like I did before the age of 23). You see I was saying "I don't know how to do this!" (getting upset and angry at my Gods) and they were saying, "Girl, look at your life! Look at all that mess you have navigated through, you KNOW how to do this, just do it."

I am not young, and I am not old, I am in the valley of life looking at the mountains ahead of me and taking pride in the fact I have already scaled the mountains behind me and survived them.   

“Be the example to the Clergy with you and the people coming up of how to deal with things like this.  You are in the firing line; the Gods put you there because you can take it (though you do not think you can).  Learn, grow, and fly, make it easier for others. But, if you do not want to take that hard route I can very quickly and easily walk you through how to fill out the paperwork to do a ‘slander and harassment of character lawsuit’ and let you ‘sue that person for damages’ it would only take about a day and cost you nothing since you can prove they have ill intent and are “damaging your character” the judge would favor in your side and I will be there for you.”  Gregg quickly spouted out falling out of the spirit mode and back into Gregg the bad-ass lawyer man I had known for about ten or more years. 

“I will pray for wisdom and guidance.  I might fall down, but it will not be because I am failing it is because I am learning how to ride this bike.  I will do this first and learn how to manage it because you are right it is a good learning lesson for me and for others.  I will trust that the Gods chose me for a reason and though I do not understand why; I am in the firing line…that I can take it. But Gregg, if all of this does not work I can still come back and file right?”  He laughs, and I know the answer is yes.  “There you go, I knew the woman I knew would not give up or let this get her down you just needed an outsider not in the situation to see it for what it is and who knows how you are to guide you to your next step.”  He said.  We chitchatted some more, got caught up then we hung up.

“Isis and Thoth I have no idea why I could not hear you speaking to me and giving me advice, but I heard you through Gregg, I apologize…and Jesus you know that guy Gregg that a lot of people are “hating on” because he is a lawyer and a liberal Christian with Conservative political values who supports his friend the Pagan Priestess? Yeah, that guy! That man is a good man, Jesus, I want to thank you for loving him and putting him in my life.  I am sorry if sometimes I forget that you too, are the same spirit and that you love me also.”  I say.

Last night, as is my practice, I lit candles and thanked my deities.  I also sent up a prayer for Gregg because he asked me too, and because he believes that “no matter who the prayer comes from and goes too it is all the same and he can use all the prayer he can get.”  Me too!  Yesterday, a Christian saved me from losing my faith he buoyed my spirit when I needed it, he instructed me and taught me methods on how to deal with my conflict issue,  he reminded me how important I was to the Gods and that I was doing good work, and he did it all with compassion and laughter.  I know he is always there for me….in short Gregg reminded me on what I am aiming to become as Clergy, of what I am aiming for as a Spirit-filled human being.  It is friends like Gregg that make the world a better place.

So just for today, remind yourself it “ain’t all bad”, “focus on what you are doing that is good” and never ever give up because you are always going to have a few “haters” you SPIRIT FILLED being you.

Thank you for the gift or your time!