Where there's smoke there's fire...

"Where there's smoke" is the beginning of the saying "Where there's smoke, there's fire," meaning that if there is telltale evidence of some event, the event is probably occurring. ---Wikipedia

Let us be honest, the above is not always the case.  In fact, if you have ever played the gossip game with friends you laughed uproarisly to hear that "doris had an abortion after getting rid of her lice" when it started out as "Doris is looking gorgeous today, I wonder what they put in her rice?".  See they sound similar...but the meaning is really not the same.

Most Highpriestesses will never be as famous as the women whose pictures I will post in this blog (this is Selena Fox btw); in fact their pictures may never come up in Google Images or Photobucket when a search is performed but this does not make their calling in life any less relevant.  I am not sure what it would :"Feel like" to be so famous that you could not walk anywhere without people noticing you but as Clergy of a church I got a little taste of what it is like living in a goldfish bowl.

What is a Highpriestess?  Well, in many religions men head everything but in the Pagan/Wiccan/Witch religion if there is a group formed a Highpriestess is usually the one behind it and cheering it on.  She in turn, usually picks a Highpriest to work with her to serve as the consort (or perform the role of the God) the role of Highpriestess is so important that in the Tarot deck there is a Highpriestess card...but if you notice; no Highpriest.

Highpriestesses come in all shapes and sizes, and it is usually assumed they have trained for three to five years with a Highpriestess, elder, Highpriest, or group to share their traditions with others.  Of course, this is not always the case.  I have known some fabulous Highpriestesses who had no teachers, just literally had a gift for it and made it up as they went along and the Gods blessed them just the same sending them hundreds and hundreds of students.  Those were back in the days where there were not so many teachers, or Highpriestesses and it was not "cool" to call yourself one or "run an occult store".

Highpriestesses get a bad rap alot.  People seem to see them as "controlling, lazy, bossy, and obnoxious" or at least this is what you hear people say that refuse to join any type of group format when it comes to Wicca/Paganism/or being a Witch.  Yet, they do not seem to notice, they are disciplined, very protective of their tribe, teachers who share what they have learned and know for hundreds of people, constantly working even into their sixties and seventies to give birth to person after person who are really "excited" about "discovering" a new path; this does not count how many living rooms or basements or kitchens or bathrooms they have devoted to "pagans" and money they have invested into their Gods.  I mean where would we be as a religion without Priestesses?  It is almost like saying where would we be without the Goddess?

Priestesses can be intimidating, and intense, but they also can be (and most I know are) very loving, motherly, nurturing, concerned, constantly aware, open to new ideas, and an example of what an independent thinker and human being are.  Now, like you all I had in my mind when I became a HPS (this was me thinking of me growing up as a witch) what I would look like, and how I would act, not how I would boss, finally be in charge, and not take crap from anyone.  Unfortunately it seems I get to"eat more crow" and "take more crap" being a HPS than I ever did as just a cute little witchling...but then I also get more credit and praise than I probably should at times also..since I DO HAVE some fabulous luck and wonderful students.

It washes out, and NO I did not grow up to look like the Highpriestess Tarot Card all regal, still, quite, and patient.  I was still the small, wiry, animated, bright haired crazy child only older...and that apparently is why the Gods have a fabulous sense of humor! My teacher was quite, patient, matronly, and felt like a Goosedown pillow.  My Mamaw was small wiry, a fireball, had crazy hair, intense eyes...and wait...I look alot like her!

So, for all you HPS out there...hang in there; you are doing good!  It does not matter if you win a popularity contest; what matters is that you love your Gods and that you listen, and you try your best.  Don't be too hard on yourselves!  For you of you that are NOT Highpriestesses please be nice; try to remember these are humans serving humans and their Gods and trying to do the best they can...and never for monetary gain.  If you have a problem with authority; that's fine but don't join a coven and cause strife.  You know you do not like groups or leadership this does not make you "bad" it makes you know yourself.  However, if you could lay your personal fears aside and try to learn for a little while...that might not be "bad" either...just saying :)

Now this-----------------------------------------> is my favorite Highpriestess picture it is Yoko Ono wrapped in toilet paper at an Art Exhibit and I swear she calls herself a "Highpriestess" and I think that is sort of cool.  Something to relate to, be proud of, and make me laugh...but then I have a weird sense of humor.

What is your impression of Highpriestesses?  Where did you get it from?  How did you if you are one, like the role?

Thanks for reading!  Thanks for sharing!  Thanks for being such a delight!

We are a polygon, within a polygon, and we go on and on.....

Several years ago I sat in on a workshop where an elder and crone shared how she had found great liberation practicing magick in a "more creative" non-traditional way.  This perked my interest, and I found myself leaning forward.  What did she mean?  She meant that when she went out to do magick with her coven she found herself picking shapes that were "anything other than a circle" to see what they did, how they felt, and sometimes just to "break her humdrum mindset".  "It is when we are creating, that we escape the mundane" she said.  There were a couple of people around my age, that had been practicing just as long or longer that started to get "hot under the collar" and very irritated at her for teaching this.  They began to argue with her that this was not any way to teach magick to people; that this was not something that could work for everyone.  Very calmly the crone fielded every "fearful question" and soothingly said..."I did not say that this is for everyone; I said that at this time in MY LIFE it is what I needed to do...and felt compelled to do.  I am just here to share with you my findings."

 I loved her for this, because I had always done more than one shape myself!  But, I had confined myself mostly to a circle because it was safe, easy, and predictable.  After her workshop I realized that maybe I should put more thought into "not doing easy" and breaking out of that "box" or in this case the circle. So today I am going to share with you a few different things and a few options.  Of course practioners of Enochian or what we witches call "High Magick" have explored different geometrical shapes like the Egyptians did for thousands of years....of course you all know I am not an expert of Enochian magick nor talking to "high magicians"  I am talking to us plain old, Southern Fried Witches, Pagans, and Wiccans.

A CIRCLE: This is the most traditional way everyone casts rituals or spaces.  Most often you sit in the middle of them alone if you are a solitaire and if you are practicing within a group you are either forming the circle with your body and your fellow worshipers, or it is outside of you made by a border or rocks or lights, or you are in the middle " supervising and directing" the energy.  A circle always works, all-ways! It fulfills all the needs of a spell, and achieves a state of transcendence and communication with deity while protecting you the practitioner. 

A Circle is a perfect shape to do spells that are for balance, spells that are for communication with your deity, spirits, angels and guides, and remind us that there is no ending or beginning to the universal energy...it just is!  A circle is a symbol of wholeness, balance, achievement, and universal life forces.

If you are a solitaire you stand in the center of it.  If you are in a group you usually face inward toward the altar in the middle.

A TRIANGLE: Pyramids are triangles, and we all have heard of sacred geometry which utilizes numbers and plains to make triangles out of thin air! The body, mind and spirit form a triangle.  The Goddess and God are often represented as a triad (Mother, Maiden, Crone, and Rogue, Father, Sage).  The Christians present their version of Plutarch's Pagan triad with God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy spirit and if you are Gnostic that Holy Spirit might be God the Mother.  Pythagoras (who studied the ancient mysteries in Egypt) believed that three was the Perfect number for it had a beginning, a middle and an end. In magick, we are always told that if things come in three the universe is talking to you...and so we see that three is a very potent number indeed!

When it comes to magic a Triangle is employed  as a ritual SHAPE (in place of a circle, or within a circle) to do magick related to self-expression or creativity and artistic pursuits, for power and high energy when you need it, to increase psychic abilities, to do a meditation or employ astral work, and is the very best for divination of any kind!

If you are a solitaire then sit at the base (the biggest part) of the triangle facing the direction you want to go for the spell (North, East, South, West, etc).  If you are in a group, then always face inward...if you are two witches then each take a base point, if you are a Triad (three witches) then AHA!  You might have found a good formation for you!

A SQUARE/RECTANGLE: Buildings have four sides, most animals have four legs, there are four directions on a compass and we employ them in our spiritual path.  The number Four actually represents Stability! (You can cast this in the place of a circle or inside a circle, or you could get very creative and put a square inside a circle and a triangle in that! It depends on how complicated or how much fun geeking out is to you!)  I have heard people say a square or rectangle are not that powerful but I have done some magick with them that has been pretty potent so I would calmly say...to each his or her own.

Square formations should be used to buy or lease a property whether that be a home, apartment, or business building , for career related issues, for something that you would like to build upon (like a associates degree is to a Bachelors), any idea/dream you want to see materialize in physical form a square is awesome!  It is also long associated with changing or drawing luck to you.   I have been told that people who favor square formations are workaholics and very organized (I love them) so if you find that you are a scattered person, and a procrastinator or lazy...the square formation is the way for you to go!

If you are a solitaire then sit or stand in the middle of the square/rectangle and face the direction that is proper for your spell or that feels right to you!  With four or more people, take compass points for calling the watchtowers/elementals and always face inward.

Most imporantly remember the point of a formation is for two things...to create sacred space and make you feel safe and removed from your mundane world.  So if it does not feel right, or feels stifled make something else!  Hey remember a hexagram is just several triangles!  And Polygons are the most creative shape of all...thus the reason for this title.  By the way, an old dragon called Trudy Herring shared that song (from what I was told) with the community so I associate it with her and it makes me smile.

"We are a polygon, within a polygon and we go on and on and we go on and on...(repeat many many times) and you sing this until you either die laughing or feel a jubilant cone of power burst out of you all... Because if you are not en-joying and joy-full when you are doing magick (which really is a way of merging and worshipping) then you really need to stop!

Share with me some shapes you like...or tell me which one you prefer!

I do not feel comfortable accepting gifts or compliments but I can dish them out pretty often.....

"According to mathematical theory, a single occurrence is of no statistical importance, a second occurrence might be merely a coincidence, but a third occurrence suggests and immutable law." Basics in Mathematics, Ludlow-Graham, 2009.

Here in Dixie land we have deep rooted beliefs that we really had no idea could be proven in the "educated world".  One that I have always remembered hearing growing up was deaths, or bad things happen in three.  My mother said it, my mamaw, aunts, all the women I knew and it seemed that once they said it you found yourself counting to see what would happen next to make this theory a truth.  As a mystic on a spiritual path I always have said that if I ask for "a message from the universe" regarding a question or something I need to pay attention too...if it happens or is said to me three times; well it is SPIRIT sending me a message. Sometimes I forget this principle but recently it has been re-brought up to my attention by me getting bumps on my head from NOT listening.

Making this more fun is the concept that in Paganism and in many spiritual paths deity is often presented in a triad form.  The Morrigan, (a Celtic Goddess deity) is a prime example of this for she is Danu the wild maiden, or Babd the fertile fiercely protective mother, and Macha the Crone destroyer, grim reaper of the dead. The Hindu take on this (I hope Allison has taught me well) is Kali the oldest of the triple Goddesses she can be Parvati the Creator, Durga the Preserver, and Uma the Destroyer.  In Rome you have the three fates Lachese, Clotho, Atropos, who dictate and handle the threads of life.  There are the Three Sirens, and the Three Graces known as Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (mirth), and Thalia (good Cheer).  Then lastly, I will bring in to play my three that I have learned Hathor the maiden, Isis the Mother and Sekhmet the Dark Goddess. Thus the Maiden, Mother, Crone triad has come to be a standard thing imbedded in our subconscious as holy, sacred, set-aside as special.

Of course we all know that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit (which many call mother) is present in Christianity. Just recently I learned about Eve, Sophia, and Lilith as a possible Gnostic female trinity.  So as you see almost all spirit paths (underneath a thick crispy batter of rituals, buildings, and human made rules) really hold dear the same concept that of a TRIAD.  Not three separate Gods or Goddesses, or three deities, but ONE as three.  Confirming what many in our heart know to be true...we cannot put our finger on something so large and label it for it like us is always changing and moving; and it seems from this perspective is also giving birth to itself constantly in new guises and forms.

Which brings me to the real point of this post, I received an email a few days ago that asked me the following...."Sonya, how do you know when you got an answer from your God or Goddess about a prayer, a conversation, a spell you did?"  I have always replied the same, never knowing the mathematical principle until later...when you get the same answer three times, or notice the same phrase or lesson reiterated to you three times, that is your answer.  THIS is your proof that your spell worked, that help is on its way, that you need to do this thing, that healing is inevitable, that yes the tough times are almost over, and as always your DIVINE is listening and assisting you constantly; all you need to do is ask. 

It is a funny thing, asking for something.  In our society it is seen as a weakness a way of admitting you do not know something, a humbling to where you bow and admit there is a intelligent energy out there with access to more information than you have within you but which can be the bridge to that outside of you that you need access to.   But, as you grow older or wiser you realize that the only way to learn and grow is to ask questions and listen. Thus what you once perceived as a weakness has become your greatest strength.  One of my spiritual teachers told me once, that until you are ready and willing and find yourself WORTHY of receiving all that the Universe has in store for you and you ask for it you cannot expect it to just GIVE it to you.  You have to ask.  You have to seek, and as we all know if you Ask you shall Receive.  If you knock then the door will open for you.

Next time, you hear three different people giving you the same advice that seem random to them but YOU know you have heard three times even if spread out in a two week period....Smile!  Laugh! Dance! Lay out an offering!  Say "Thank you God or Goddess".  Most people go a whole lifetime without knowing or seeing or hearing the voice of the God or Goddess on their ears, and you just did on the tongue of a stranger or friend.  What a miracle!

Just for this week take the time to ask for what you want, knowing you are worthy of it.  Ask a question you want to know the answer to, do not have a problem with stopping your life, or putting something on hold for a moment to ask for directions because you really have no idea how to get to your destination...then wait, listen, hear...and share with others the answer you received from your deity.

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