Cernunnos-The Horned God

Cernunnos-The Horned God

Cernunnos was worshipped by the iron age Celts all across Europe as late as the first century AD, and his worship must have begun centuries before that.

The Celts had no written language of their own, and although their druids could write in Latin and Greek they were forbidden to write down any of their knowledge. The classical writers themselves never mentioned this particular Celtic divinity, and so we have nothing in writing about him at all. Everything we know about him can only be guessed at from the iconography: the images of him created by the Celts themselves.

The Celts made numerous models, or icons, of their various gods, and there are over 60 depicting Cernunnos, from all over Europe. We only know his name because it is carved on a single one of these, made by sailors from the Gallic Parisii tribe (from whom Paris got its name) in the first century AD, by which time Gaul (modern France) had become a Roman province. The earliest image of him that has been found was carved on rock in Northern Italy in the 4th century BC. We do not know how widespread the use of this exact name was: it is possible that this was the name for this antlered god to no-one but the Parisii themselves, but the structure of the name suggests otherwise.

Cornu in modern French means "horned, because modern French has grown from the Latin language imposed upon them by the Romans. The Latin for horn is also cornu. The Romans had a habit of changing local names to fit the Roman pattern: most Roman names end in us. So Cernunnos is a Roman name meaning Horned One. It was probably the new Romanised name given by the Gauls to all their very old horned gods, in which case its use may have been widespread through out Gaul after it became a Roman province.

The images of him are unusually consistent. His main attribute are his horns, those of a stag. He is usually portrayed as a mature man with long hair and a beard. He wears a torc: this was an ornate neck-ring worn by the Celts to denote nobility. He often carries other torcs in his hands or hanging from his horns.

He is usually portrayed seated and cross-legged, in the meditative or shamanic position.

Cernunnos is nearly always portrayed with animals, in particular the stag. He is also frequently associated with a unique beast that seems to belong only to him: a serpent with the horns of a ram. Less often he is associated with other beasts, including bulls, dogs and rats.

The ram-horned serpent is particularly interesting. The serpent occurs in myths all across the world, and is nearly always associated with knowledge. Usually these associations are purely pagan, but remember that it was a serpent that tempted Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. It is also commonly associated with death and the otherworld, and is hence described as cthonic. Cernunnos carries it in his left hand, and in his right he carries a torc, the Celtic symbol of nobility, the symbol of having been initiated into that special state.

Was Cernunnos the Celtic god of initiation ?

The Song of Amergin
I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke.
I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen ?

Origin obscure but certainly Celtic

Because of his frequent association with beasts he is often referred to as The Lord of the Animals. Because of his association with stags in particular (a particularly hunted beast) he is also known as The Lord of the Hunt.

The Stag Lord, The Horned God of the Hunt, The Lord of the Forest...of all the Celtic divinities (with the exception of Danu) none has caught the imagination of modern pagans so much as Old Horny himself

The most detailed, clear and famous of all images of Cernunnos comes from a unique and marvellous piece of Celtic work: The Gundestrup Cauldron.

Cauldrons had magical significance for the Celts, and this is the most ornate ever found. It was beaten out of 10 kg of silver, probably in the second century BC, constructed from 13 heavily decorated rectangular panels and a plain bowl containing a 14th circular one (possibly a late addition). The entire assembly is 70 cm in diameter.

Sometime around the birth of Christ it was taken to pieces and apparently just left on the ground in a bog near what is now the hamlet of Gundestrup in Northern Jutland, where it gradually became overgrown and covered with peat. It remained there until its discovery by peat cutters in 1891.

The eight external panels (of which one is missing) each feature what appears to be the single face of a different god or goddess, surrounded by much smaller humanoids or beasts. The five interior panels each depict many characters, men, women, gods and beasts, in what may be a story.

One of these panels depicts Cernunnos.

He is seated cross-legged. He has antlers with seven tines (or points per horn), and is, unusually, depicted clean-shaven. He wears a torque and carries a second one in his right hand. He wears a tunic and bracae (Celtic trousers) which cover him from the wrist to above the knee, and a patterned belt. He wears sandals on his feet. His hair appears to be brushed straight back.

In his left hand he holds the ram-horned serpent. This serpent also appears on another two of the five interior panels.

Surrounding him are many beasts. The nearest, on the left, almost touching horns with him, is a stag, itself of seven tines, indicating his special affinity with this beast. Close to him on the right is a dog. There are also two horned animals that may be ibexes, three long-tailed animals that could be lions, and a boy on a fish. The space between the beasts is decorated with a simple pattern of vegetation.

The five internal panels are complex, and feature many characters who may be gods, goddesses or heroes. All of these characters seem to appear also on one of the eight external panels, with the exception of Cernunnos, who clearly does not. Did his image appear on the lost eighth external panel ?

"The Gods of the Celts" by Miranda Green (Alan Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-86299-292-3)

"Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" by Miranda Green (Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-01516-3)

"Animals in Celtic Life and Myth" by Miranda Green (Routledge, ISBN 0-415-05030-8

"The Horned God" by John Rowan (Routledge and Kegan Paul).

Current Moon

CURRENT MOON

lunar phase

Aspects of The Gods

Aspects of The Gods

A God is a Divine male being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by people and is often believed to be the source of life and being and worshiped as the principal deity in various religions.

The following essays discuss in more detail some of the aspects and the divine nature of the Gods. This is not a complete list, but covers some of the more well known, and some not so widely known Gods from civilisations around the world.

Thoth - Lord of the Holy Words.

Thoth - Lord of the Holy Words.

Thoth [E=Tahuti]

The most popular and enduring of all the gods, Thoth has been responsible for keeping Egyptian magic in the forefront of learning since the collapse of the empire. Although in the later Dynastic period he was merely labelled the 'scribe of the gods'.

The magician's magician since he is endowed with complete knowledge and wisdom. He invented all the arts and sciences, astronomy, soothsaying, magic, medicine, surgery and most important of all - writing. As inventor of hieroglyphs, he was titled 'Lord of the Holy Words'; he was the first of magicians and compiled books of magic which contained 'formulas which commanded all the forces of nature and subdued the very gods themselves'. He appears to be long-suffering and is usually called upon to sort out the chaos created by the rest of the pantheon.

It was this power that earned him the name Tahuti - three times very, very great - which the Greeks translated as Hermes Trismegistus. He is identified as a lunar deity [E=Aah-tehuti] and his sacred animals are the ibis and the baboon. His chief festival was celebrated on the 'nineteenth of the month of Thoth', a few days after the full moon at the beginning of the Egyptian New Year. He was later identified with Mercury but should never be under-estimated, especially his role within the Primitive Path. He is associated with Hod on the Tree of Life and The Magus in the Tarot, his colour being amethyst the symbol of mystical power.

Day 19 of Dhwty in the season of Aket (Inundation)
(6th August, depending on how calendar is calculated)

Feast of Thoth.
A happy day in heaven in front of Re, the Great Ennead is in great festivity. Burn incense on the fire. It is the day of receiving. It is the day of going forth of Thoth.

Prayer or divinatory time: dawn.

Prayer or Invocation

Such was all-knowing Tahuti [Thoth], who saw all things,
and seeing understood,
and understanding has the power to disclose
and to give explanation.
For what he knew, he graved on stone;
Yet though he graved them onto stone he hid them mostly...
The sacred symbols of the cosmic elements
he hid away hard by the secrets of Osms
... keeping sure silence,
that every younger age of cosmic time might seek for them.

(Kore Kosmu -G SR Meade translation]

I have just been reading The Wisdom of Ancient Egypt by Joseph Kaster (originally published in 1968), anyway the chapter I was making some notes on concerned the Pyramid Texts and the story of Osiris (I should add that it was a compilation of spells or groups of spells rearranged to tell the story). There was a section that dealt with the assigning of Osiris in his place in the genealogy of the Gods, and Thoth was listed as one of the brothers of Osiris. In a footnote it said that it was one of the few references to Thoth as a brother of Osiris and an accomplice of Set.

[Thoth aids Set against Osiris]
Behold what Set and Thoth have done, your two brothers, who knew not how to weep for you!
Set, this your brother is this one here, Osiris, who is made to endure and to live, that he may punish you!

Thoth, this your brother is this one here, Osiris, who is made to endure and to live, that he may punish you!

Goddesses linked with Thoth

There are several Goddesses linked with Thoth, most notably Isis, with the help of Thoth she is able to resurrect Osiris long enough for her to oncieve Horus (the Yonger). Later when she is hiding in the Delta papyrus swamps, one of the seven scorpion helpers of Isis, either through malice or clumsiness stings Horus, in her grief she causes the sky barque of the sun god to stop, and refuses to let it go again until her son is cured. Once again Thoth comes to the rescue. It was Thoth who brought Tefnut, who left Egypt for Nubia in a sulk after an argument with her father, back to heaven to be reuinted with Ra.

There is also Seshat (Sashet, Sesheta), meaning 'female scribe', was seen as the goddess of writing, historical records, accounting and mathematics, measurement and architecture to the ancient Egyptians. She was depicted as a woman wearing a panther-skin dress (the garb of the funerary stm priests) and a headdress that was also her hieroglyph, which may represent either a stylized flower or seven pointed star on a standard that is beneath a set of down-turned horns. (The horns may have originally been a crescent, linking Seshat to the moon and hence to her spouse, the moon god of writing and knowledge, Thoth.)

He was associated by the Egyptians with speech, literature, arts, learning. He, too, was a measurer and recorder of time, as was Seshat. Believed to be the author of the spells in the Book of the Dead, he was a helper (and punisher) of the deceased as they try to enter the underworld. In this role, his wife was Ma'at, the personification of order, who was weighed against the heart of the dead to see if they followed ma'at during their life.

He could also be equated as the Logos (Word) of God in similiar role that Jesus would later come to represent. He is also associated with magic and Heka, the magical powers of Thoth were so great, that the Egyptians had tales of a 'Book of Thoth', which would allow a person who read the sacred book to become the most powerful magician in the world. The Book which "the god of wisdom wrote with his own hand" was, though, a deadly book that brought nothing but pain and tragedy to those that read it, despite finding out about the "secrets of the gods themselves" and "all that is hidden in the stars". The book of Thoth is supposed to be hidden in the Hall of Records which Edgar Cayce thought was beneath the Sphinx.

Thoth as Creator

Thoth's centre of worshiped was at Khmunu (Hermopolis) in Upper Egypt, where he was the creator god, in Ibis form, who laid the World Egg. The sound of his song was thought to have created four frog gods and snake goddesses who continued Thoth's song, helping the sun journey across the sky.

Titles of Thoth

He was the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth', the 'Reckoner of Times and of Seasons', the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth'. He was 'He who Balances', the 'God of the Equilibrium' and 'Master of the Balance'. 'The Lord of the Divine Body', 'Scribe of the Company of the Gods', the 'Voice of Ra', the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, Both Human and Divine', he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault'. Thoth was not just a scribe and friend to the gods, but central to order - ma'at - both in Egypt and in the Duat. He was 'He who Reckons the Heavens, the Counter of the Stars and the Measurer of the Earth'.
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_gods/thoth_-_lord_of_the_holy_words.asp

Anubis - Jackal Headed God of Egypt

Anubis - Jackal Headed God of Egypt

Anubis is the God of Cemeteries and Embalming. Anubis is normally seem as a jackal or dog or in jackal-headed human form. He is normally depicted in black, and the colour is symbolic, it represents the colour of the body after the mummification process. Black is also associated with the fertile Nile silt deposited on the land, called the 'Black Land' and hence rebirth in the afterlife.

The nature of Anubis is probably best revealed through the epithets used:

Khenty-Imentiu - meaning 'Foremost of the Westerners' (the west was were the entrance to the underworld was located) indicating his leadership of those buried in the cemeteries.

Khenty-sek-Netjer - 'presiding over God's pavillion' The gods pavillion was the place were the ritual of embalming took place and the burial chamber. It emphasis is role as of guardian, protecter and guide for the dead.

Tepy-Dju-ef - 'Anubis who is upon is mountain' again another image of Anubis as a protector of cemeteries.

Neb-ta-Djeser - 'Lord of the sacred land' which again refers to the desert where the necropoleis and cemeteries lay. He is sometime also called 'Jackal ruler of the bows' which is another aspect of Anubis as a necropolis guardian.

Imy-ut - 'he who is in the place of embalming' and stresses the role in the mummification process. Anubis was the god the provided the iron for the magical adze used in the 'Opening of the Mouth' ritual.

He can also be found in the Book of the Dead, in the weighing of the heart ceremony and is described as 'he who counts the hearts'. In the Pyramind Texts he is sometimes called 'claimer of hearts' who purpose is to the free the King from restrictions on earth in order for him to join the gods in the sky. Anubis guides the deceased who have passed the tests and whose hearts have been vindicated as honest towards the throne of Osiris.

Invocation/Prayer to Anubis

The earth speaks: The doors of the earth-god are opened for you, the doors of Geb are thrown open for you, you come forth at the voice of Anubis, he makes a spirit of you like Thoth, you judge the gods, you set the bounds to the celestial expanses between the Two Wands in this your spiritualised state which Anubis commanded.

[From The Pyramid Texts: 796-798]

Although Anubis is depicted in the vignettes frequently, he seems to miss out in the actual text of the incantations of the Book of The Dead, and there is not one invocation to him that I've found. Thoth, Hathor, and (unsurprisingly) Osiris feature largely as the objects of praise and dedication, but Anubis seems to be happy with doing a lot of the work and getting precious little mention, other than respectful passages and mentions as introductions to some of the spells It is worth noting that as the Cult of Osiris grew, Osiris was associated with almost every major deity at some point; in the case of Anubis, Osiris, took over roles once played by Anubis. In the Pyramid Texts, Anubis assumes greater roles, as judge and guide to the dead. The cult of Anubis as the god of death and the underworld pre-dates that of Osiris, and he was relegated somewhat as the Cult of Osiris become more popular.

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_gods/anubis_-_jackal_headed_god_of_egypt.asp

Eggnog Recipe (alcoholic)

Alcoholic Eggnog Ingredients

6 eggs
2 extra egg yolks
4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup bourbon
Alcoholic Eggnog Directions

Start by whisking the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large pan until well-blended. Keep on whisking while you slowly pour in the milk until it is completely mixed-in. Next, set the pan on your stove's burner and turn it to the lowest possible setting. Continuously whisk ingredients for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture reaches 160°F and will coat the underside of a spoon.

Next, remove the mixture from heat and strain it into a large-sized bowl, making sure to get out any pieces of cooked egg. Now stir in the bourbon, vanilla, and nutmeg, and transfer your mixture to a covered dish. Refrigerate the mix for at least 4 hours before proceeding.

Finally, when you're ready to serve your eggnog with alcohol, grab the heavy cream and whip it well. Now just fold in the chilled mix, pour, serve and enjoy!

Makes 14 servings.

Eggnog Recipe (Traditional)

Traditional Eggnog Ingredients

12 eggs, separated
6 cups milk
2 cups heavy/ thickened cream
2 cups bourbon
1+ 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup brandy
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
Traditional Eggnog Directions

In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for approx 10 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and the colour of butter).
Very slowly, add in the bourbon and brandy - just a little at a time.
When bourbon and brandy have been added, allow the mixture to cool in the fridge (for up to 6 hours, depending on how long before your party you're making the eggnog).
30 minutes before your guests arrive, stir the milk into the chilled yolk mixture.
Stir in 1+ 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream with a mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
Gently fold the cream into the egg mixture.
After ladling into cups, garnish with the remainder of the ground nutmeg.

Serves: 8.

Eggnog Recipe (easy)

Easy Eggnog Recipe Ingredients

6 eggs
3 cups milk
8 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
Easy Eggnog Recipe Directions

In a large bowl, beat the eggs using an electric beater (if available).
By turn, add milk & sugar.
Continue beating until mixture thickens slightly.
Add in the vanilla essence & ground nutmeg.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (at least 3 hours).

Serves: 8.

Eggnog Recipe (low fat)

Low Fat Eggnog Ingredients

6 cups skim milk
1 cup "Egg Beaters" (or similar)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 teaspoons rum extract
sweetener or sugar, to taste (just remember that this is supposed to be a DIET recipe, and sugar has more calories than a sweetener)
2 x pinch nutmeg, ground
2 x pinch cinnamon, ground
Low Fat Eggnog Directions

In a medium saucepan (or bowl, if you plan to use the microwave), heat the milk, Egg Beaters and sweetener or sugar.
You'll need to remember to stir continuously if you're using the stove, and every minute if you're using the microwave.
Heat & stir until the mixture thickens slightly - enough that it can coat the back of a spoon.
Stir in the vanilla essence, rum extract, one pinch of nutmeg & one pinch of cinnamon.
Remove from heat (or microwave).
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the eggnog has cooled (at least 3 hours).
Just prior to serving, ladle your yummy low fat eggnog into glasses, and garnish each with an extra little sprinkle of ground nutmeg & ground cinnamon.

Serves: 6.

Eggnog Recipe

Indulgent Eggnog Ingredients

6 eggs
2 + 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or grated (fresh is best)
Indulgent Eggnog Directions

Begin with pre-chilled ingredients for the greatest end result.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs together hard until they're very frothy.
Add sugar and continue beating.
Sprinkle in nutmeg and vanilla.
Continue beating.
A little at a time, add in the whipping cream, continuing to beat.
Again, only a little at a time, beat in the milk.
Finally, beat in the rum and brandy.
Give your arms a break from all that beating by putting the eggnog in the fridge to chill for 1 or 2 hours.
Serve cold.

Pyromorphite

Attract money and other objects of wealth. Help to see the steps needed to achieve goals. The Victory Stone. Activates and stimulates personal energy. Used to get rid of creative blocks. Renew connections with people one has lost touch with.

Isis Goddess of Fertility

Isis
Goddess of Fertility

Isis, was for almost 3,500 years, the principle Goddess of Egypt. She was the wife and sister of Osiris and the mother of Horus, and the personification of the faithful wife and devoted mother. Isis is the Mistress Of The Words of Power and the Goddess Of Nature. She is the embodiment of nature and magick. The lap of the Goddess Isis was regarded as the royal throne, while her breast poured forth the nectar that conferred the divine right to rule.

--~--

Pantheon: Egyptian
Element: Water
Sphere of Influence: Marriage and Fertility
Preferred colors: Emerald, turquoise
Associated Symbols: Ankh and Sycamore
Associated Animals: Cow
Magickal Day: Tuesday
Strongest around: Samhain

My Conversations with Angels: Inspirational Moments with Guardian Spirits

In every moment, including this one, an angel is with you. No exceptions. Get to know your angels, guardians, and guides—you’ll be amazed by what you experience. This collection of true encounters with loving celestial beings will add a new dimension to your life and help you grow into the person you’ve always wanted to be.

In addition to sharing genuine experiences from the author and her family, this inspiring guide describes divine helpers in detail—archangels, ascended masters, spirit guides, totem animals, and others. Discover the role they play in our lives and how to recognize their presence. There are also simple meditation techniques to help you initiate contact with angels, interpret their messages, and tap into a divine network of unconditional love and wisdom. With this book, you will come to know that you are loved, period.

Trust. Believe. Shine.

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Angel Blessings

Angels are messengers of healing, love, and prosperity. This deluxe book and card gift set enables you to have a stronger and more prosperous connection with the angelic kingdom and to call on heavenly assistance in times of struggle.

Each of the 44 Angel Blessing cards is a beautiful reproduction of a fine art masterpiece inscribed with the name of the Angel and the Angel's mission. The guidebook offers an in-depth description of all the angels and shows you how to manifest each one's essence in your life. There are nine different ways to work and play with the cards ranging from single card drawings to more involved processes. Beautifully produced and thoughtfully written, The Angel Blessings Kit is a source of inspiration, wisdom, and guidance in these difficult times.
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Nephthys Protector of the Dead

Nephthys
Protector of the Dead

Nephthys was married to Set, mother of Sobek and Anubis (from Osiris). She is protector of the good, and hates evil doers. She is also the embodiment of grief, blaming herself for the death of Osiris at Set's hand. Those seeking sympathetic counsel may call on her.

--~--

Pantheon: Egyptian
Element: Earth
Sphere of Influence: Protection and Bereavement
Preferred colors: White
Associated symbol: Horns around the moon.
Magickal Day: Monday
Best Moon phase: Full
Magickal Time: Midnight
Strongest around: Samhain
Associated Planet: Moon

Sunday

Days Of the Week: Sunday

Day: Sunday
Planet: Sun
Colours: Gold, Orange
Crystals: Diamond, Amber, Tigers Eye, Carnelian, Sunstone, Topaz, Gold
Aroma: Cedar, Frankincense, Sun Oil, Lemon
Herb: St. Johns Wort

Days Of The Week: Sunday

Traditionally the first day of the week and ruled by the Sun, it personified as Helios, Apollo, Lugh, and Beli or Bel. In some traditions, the sun is seen as feminine, personified as Phoebe (East Anglia), and Saule (eastern Europe). The Sun rules the conscious element of the human mind, the ego, the "real" self." Sunday is the day on which this power is most effective. Magical aspects: protection, healing, spirituality, and strength.

Sunday is the perfect day for the magic of Fatherhood. A father wishing to cast a spell for his children might want to try a little prayer on a Sunday. However it is probably wiser to cast on a Monday if the idea is to conceive. (See Monday)

Sunday is also the day for social and political furtherment, so try going out to see some friends on a Sunday or just mingle.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving exorcism, healing, prosperity, individuality, hope, fortune, work, power, promotions, strength, spirituality, swift change, and God rituals.

Saturday

Days Of the Week: Saturday

Day: Saturday
Planet: Saturn
Colours: Maroon, Dark Shades, Black
Crystals: Obsidian, Jet, Coral, Hematite, Salt, Lead, Serpentine, Pewter
Aroma: Cypress, Myrrh, Patchouli, Saturn Oil, Black Poppy seeds
Herb: Mullein

Days Of The Week: Saturday

Dedicated to the shadowy Anglo-Saxon god Saetere, the equivalent to the Roman Saturn, and the Greek Cronos. It is also associated with the Norns, the Norse equivalent of the Three Fates, and the Trickster-god, Loki. Magical aspects: longevity, exorcism, endings, apprehension, austerity, caution, and limitations.

Not surprisingly, Saturday is ruled by Saturn. The logic and almost sly nature of Saturn is most prominent on Saturday, which is why it is the perfect day for habit breaking and scientific experimentation.

If you have someone that just will not let go of a relationship that you thought was long since dead, give a restriction spell a go next Saturday.

Human manipulation is also a very powerful aspect of Saturn's power over Saturday.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving spirit, communication, meditation, psychic attack or defence, locating lost items or missing persons, self-discipline, life, building, doctrine, protection, freedom, elderly, destroying diseases and pests, crystallization, hidden or obscure matters, limitations, and boundaries.

Frigga Queen of the Gods

Frigga is Odin's wife, and her sphere of control is primarily the hearth and home; married love and childbirth. She is birth and renewal. Those married couples desirous of children would do well to honor her.

--~--

Pantheon: Norse
Element: Air
Sphere of Influence: Love and Birth
Preferred Colors: Blue, White
Associated Symbols: Cat
Magickal Day: Friday
Associated Animals: Cat
Strongest Around: Yule
Best Moon Phase: Waxing Moon

Friday

Days Of the Week: Friday

Day: Friday
Planet: Venus
Colours: Light Blue, Green, Pink, Copper Hues
Crystals: Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Rose Quartz, Coral, Emerald, Malachite, Copper
Aroma: Rose, Yarrow, Cardamon, Venus Oil, Strawberry, Sandlewood, Saffron, and Vanilla
Herb: Thyme

Days Of The Week: Friday

The day of Venus, Friday takes its name from Frigga, the Goddess of Love and Transformation. She rules the spiritual aspects of people as they manifest on the physical. Because of this, Friday is sometimes thought of as unpredictable. Magical aspects: love, friendship, reconciliation, and beauty.

Friday has often been associated with relaxation as it is at the end of the week, but the good feeling that comes with Friday also has a lot to do with the fact that it is ruled by the planet Venus - The Goddess of Love. Lusterless relationships and disputes may be settled on Fridays with the aid of a spell to Venus and perhaps a small personal sacrifice.

Friday is also associated with Caribbean wealth spells and has been known to improve friendships, Platonic love and increase your desirability. Be careful what you wish for on Friday, Venus' eyes could be smiling!

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving love, romance, marriage, sexual matters, physical beauty, partnerships, friendships, social activities, strangers, pleasure, music, incense, perfumes, nature, and arts and crafts.

Large Celtic Skull

Hand painted cold cast resin Measures 13 1/4" High.

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History of Paganism

History Of Paganism: Classical Beginnings

Apolonius of Tyana is probably the most famous classical magician, little is known about him, according to Philostratus he was member of the Pythagorean School, preaching asceticism, spiritual enlightenment achieved through work, training, self-control and self-denial, believed in reincarnation and in personal soul and was against violence. He travelled the known world, even to India, where he met a lot of powerful magicians. He is said to have performed many miracles, like dematerializing and materializing, curing sick with a touch of the hand and rising people from the dead. After the death of Apolonius, the people from Tyana raised him a temple, and there is a legend that the ghost of Apolonius appeared to a Roman centurion when he tried to conquer Tyana.

Apuleius is born in the North African Roman colonies about the first century AD. He is chiefly remembered for his book Metamorphosis, better known as the Golden Ass. His second book Apologia de Res Magia we obtain some more information about his magical works. The book was his defense used in court against the accusation that he married a rich widow using his magical abilities. The accusers are of course the widow's relatives who don’t want to see the widow's money going to Apuleius. In his Apologia, Apuleius not only defends himself and is proclaimed innocent by the court, but he also shows his great knowledge of magic. He, among the first, divides magic into harmful and useful, i.e. black and white, and shows how magic can be used for curing and beneficial goals. In his next work De Daemonum Socrates, Apuleius discusses the existence of gods and demons, as well as the ways to communicate with them.

Modern Magic

The revival of magic is usually taken to begin in 1855-56 with the printing of the Eliphas Levi's books "The Dogma of the High Magic" and "The Ritual of the High Magic." Many books, long forgotten on library shelves, are re-discovered and studied with zeal. New books, with new ideas on the subject of Magick would be written as a result of this renewed interest.

The end of 19th century is also marked by the creation and destruction of the "Golden Dawn," probably the most influential magical order in Europe. Although the order lasted for only 20 years, some of its successors orders and their influences are still active today.

Charles Leland (1824-1903) published a book in 1899: Aradia: Gospel of the Witches. Leland was the founder of the Gypsy Lore Society, editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin, and a prolific author and folklorist. Aradia deals mainly with the Goddess Diana. It is presented as an ancient document which recorded the doctrines of La Vecchia Religione (The Old Religion) -- Italian witchcraft. Leland claims to have received the information from an Italian strega (sorceress) named Maddalena. How much of this is a valid account of La Vecchia Religione is anyone's guess. However, the book played a significant role in the later development of modern-day Neopaganism.

Margaret Murray (1863 - 1963) Authored The Witch Cult in Western Europe and The God of the Witches. These books promoted the concept that some of the Witches who were exterminated by Roman Catholics and Protestants during the "Burning Times" (circa 1450-1792) were remnants of an earlier, organized, and dominant pre-Christian religion in Europe. Her writings have not been well received by anthropologists. However, they were very influential in providing background material for the Neopagan traditions.

Gerald Gardner (1884 - 1964), a British civil servant, who: has written that he joined an existing Wiccan Coven in 1939, taking the (then) usual vows of secrecy persuaded the coven to let him write a book in 1949 about Wicca in the form of a novel, High Magic's Aid. He carefully revealed a few of the Old Religion's beliefs and the historical persecutions that they endured. He added many rituals, symbols, concepts and elements from ceremonial magick, Freemasonry and other sources to "flesh out" the coven's beliefs and practices, most of which had been long forgotten. He wrote Witchcraft Today in 1954 in which he described additional details about the faith. His other book The Meaning of Witchcraft which described in detail the history of Wicca in Northern Europe.

According to Gardner, Wicca: began in prehistory, as ritual associated with fire, the hunt, animal fertility, plant propagation, tribal fertility and the curing of disease. It later developed into a religion which recognized a Supreme Deity, but realized that at their state of evolution, they "were incapable of understanding It" . Instead, they worshipped what might be termed "under-Gods": the Goddess of fertility and her horned consort, the God of the hunt. They continued their predominately Moon based worship, even as a mainly Sun-based faith of priests, the Druids, developed and evolved into the dominant religion of the Celts. By this time, Celtic society had gradually spread across Northern Europe into what is now England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland etc. They never formed a single political entity, but remained as many tribes who shared a common culture and religions, surviving the Roman, Saxon, and Norman invasions by going underground.

During the 'Burning Time', pagans and witches suffered major loss in numbers during the active Christian genocides, which continued into the 18th Century, but had reached a low ebb by the middle of the 20th century. It is worth pointing out that many of those accused of witchcraft and subsequently burned or hung (which was the usual outcome in England) were probably not witches or pagans.

Doreen Valiente (1922 - 1999)


http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/an_introduction_to_paganism/history_of_paganism.asp

Cybele Great Mother

Goddess of fertility, caverns and mountains, walls and fortresses, nature, and wild animals. The celebration of the death and return of Attis, processions of joyful worshipers danced through the streets and then attended ceremonies at Cybele's temple.

--~--

Pantheon: Greek (Phrygian)
Magickal Day: Thursday
Strongest around: Vernal Equinox
Associated Animals: Lion, Bee
Associated Symbol: Crown, Chariot
Musical Instrument: Drums, Flute, Cymbals

Thursday

Days Of the Week: Thursday

Day: Thursday
Planet: Jupiter
Colours: Purple, Deep Blue
Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin
Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage
Herb: Cinquefoil

Days Of The Week: Thursday

Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas. Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful. Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells. Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor - Thor's day - and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just.

Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving communication, divination, writing, knowledge, business transactions, teaching, reason, skill, self-improvement, debt, fear, loss, intellectual pursuits, and flexibility.

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_elements/days_of_the_week/thursday.asp

Grigory, Nephilim, Do they exist?

Why are they hiding this information?

The Giants Of Ancient America: “8′ Tall With Double Rows Of Teeth”

The Moundsville Mound Complex in West Virginia
This fascinating video about the true ancient history of America from Jim Vieira shares the story of our true ancestors, 8′ Giants with double rows of teeth. Are these ‘giants’ the same creatures who once inhabited these amazing and mysterious ‘mound’ homes that were aligned to the rising solstace sun? This TedX talk exposes misinformation and corruption from the Koch Brothers and throughout the Smithsonian Institute and widespread lies from our leaders. What are they trying to hide? Does this have anything to do with the so-called Nephilim Giants who were once rumored to inhabit the Earth? As the mysterious and controversial truth emerges, the matrix that has surrounded our true past for hundreds of years is quickly laid to rest.
Jim Vieira’s research over the last 20 years has led him down a bizarre road of intrigue and mystery surrounding the races and structures of Ancient America. Vieira has compiled thousands of accounts of giant skeleton reports from the New York Times, Smithsonian Ethnology Reports, American Antiquarian, Scientific American as well as town and county histories to make the case that the history of our past has not only been deliberately covered up, but is vastly different then what we are told.

Published on Nov 20, 2012 by TEDxTalks
With passions in writing, researching, ancient stone work, spirituality and metaphysics, Jim is a stone mason and co-owner of North Wind Stonework in Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA doing dry masonry in and around the Berkshire Highlands for 15 years. Jim belongs to the Northeast Antiquities Research Association, a clearinghouse of information regarding mysterious monuments of antiquity. Jim is a regular contributing columnist for the Shelburne Falls & West County Independent and the national publication, Ancient American Magazine.

Balanced Rock, North Salem, NY State – with huge orb
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Photo credits to http://megalithomania-america.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

http://beforeitsnews.com/science-and-technology/2012/11/the-giants-of-ancient-america-8-tall-with-double-rows-of-teeth-2498484.html

Maya Art and Calendar at Xultun Stun Archaeologists

The preservation of the artwork surprised archaeologists, given the dwelling's shallow depth.

Archaeologists working at the Xultun ruins of the Maya civilisation have reported striking finds, including the oldest-known Mayan astronomical tables.

The site, in Guatemala, includes the first known instance of Maya art painted on the walls of a dwelling.

A report in Science says it dates from the early 9th Century, pre-dating other Maya calendars by centuries.

Such calendars rose to prominence recently amid claims they predicted the end of the world in 2012.

The Mayan civilisation occupied Central America from about 2000BC until its decline and assimilation following the colonisation by the Spanish from the 16th Century onwards. It still holds fascination, with many early Maya sites still hidden or uncatalogued.

The ruins at Xultun were first discovered in 1912 and mapping efforts in the 1920s and 1970s laid out much of the site's structure.

Three of the four walls of the structure are remarkably well preserved.

Archaeologists have catalogued the site's features, including a 35m-tall pyramid, but thousands of structures on the 30 sq km site remain unexplored.

In 2005, William Saturno, then at the University of New Hampshire, discovered the oldest-known Maya murals at a site just a few kilometres away called San Bartolo.

in 2010, one of Dr Saturno's students was following the tracks of more recent looters at Xultun when he discovered the vegetation-covered structure that has now been excavated.

When Maya renovated an old structure, they typically collapsed its roof and built on top of the rubble. But for some reason, the new Xultun find had been filled in through its doorway, with the roof left intact.

Dr Saturno, who is now based at Boston University, explained that despite it being under just a metre of soil today, that served to preserve the site after more than a millennium of rainy seasons, insect traffic and encroaching plant and tree roots.

"We found that three of the room's four walls were well preserved and that the ceilings were also in good shape in terms of the paintings on them, so we got an awful lot more than we bargained for," he said.
'Different mindset'

The excavation was carried out using grants from the National Geographic Society, which has prepared a high-resolution photographic tour of the room.

It measures about 2m on each side with a 3m, vaulted ceiling, and is dominated by a stone bench, suggesting the room was a meeting place.

The east wall features a number of seated figures, nearly life-sized, dressed in black and wearing elaborate headdresses similar to a bishop's mitre.

They all look toward the north wall, on which a more elaborately dressed figure in orange holds a stylus in a hand outstretched toward a figure that Dr Saturno believes represented the king of Xultun.

The astronomical cycles and corrections were used to predict lunar eclipses far into the future

"The seated figures that we see around them are involved in some narrative in which the king is being portrayed impersonating a Maya deity and these guys are in attendance at that impersonation," Dr Saturno explained.

The relevance of the figure with the stylus seems clear: "We think this room was used as a writing room, that it's part of a complex associated with the work being done by Maya scribes."

Perhaps most intriguing among the finds were several finds related to astronomical tables, including four long numbers on the east wall that represent a cycle lasting up to 2.5 million days.

The east wall is mostly covered by tabulations of black symbols or "glyphs" that map out various astronomical cycles: that of Mars and Venus and the lunar eclipses.

The wall also features red marks that appear to be notes and corrections to the calculations; Dr Saturno said that the scribes "seem to be using it like a blackboard".

The Xultun find is the first place that all of the cycles have been found tied mathematically together in one place, representing a calendar that stretches more than 7,000 years into the future.

The Maya numbering system for dates is a complex one in base-18 and base-20 numbers that, in modern-day terms, would "turn over" at the end of 2012.

But Dr Saturno points out that the new finds serve to further undermine the fallacy that this is tantamount to a prediction of the end of the world.

"The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this," he said.

"We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It's an entirely different mindset."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18018343

Wednesday

Day: Wednesday
Planet: Mercury
Colours: Yellow, Grey, Mixed Hues
Crystals: Citrine, Agates, Aventurine, Mica, Pumice, Quicksilver, Zinc
Aroma: Lavender, Eucalyptus, Mercury Oil, Jasmine, Sweetpea
Herb: Lavender

Days of the Week: Wednesday

Dedicated to the Teutonic god Woden or Odin, an aspect of the "All-Father" god of knowledge wisdom enlightenment and combat, the parallel of Hermes. Wednesday is ruled by Mercury. Magical aspects: the conscious mind, study, travel, divination, and wisdom. This is the best day to engage in anything dealing with communication.

With Wednesday brings the beauty of luck, the satisfaction of psychic work, increased communication and the retail success that it brings. If you feel that lady luck has been rather mean with her glances recently, it might be worth asking for a little extra something on a Wednesday and await the returns.

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_elements/days_of_the_week/wednesday.asp

Goddess Scrying Amulet

This is a truly beautiful pendant; an enchanting moon goddess design with a 30mm cap of black onyx forming the back. Wear this necklace to increase your psychic abilities and strengthen your ties with the feminine. This pendant is made of lead-free pewter and approx. measures 1 1/4" in diameter.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087KCPY4?ie=UTF8&seller=A2ZI824SAUKPOT&sn=The%20Amber%20Crystal%20Shop

Lunar Goddess Amulet

Charged with the energy of the goddess, this amulet is crafted of the highest quality lead-free pewter, and is 1 inch long and 1 inch wide. Fashioned into a crescent moon presented with a female face, each amulet is accented by a colorful, faceted gem dangling from the top of the moon, radiating protective, centering energies that will help you stay balanced and free of negative influences. This amulet comes with a 30 inch cord with which to wear it close to your heart, keeping the goddesses protective energies close to heart.

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Lunar Lord Amulet

Charged with the powerful forces of the God, this amulet is crafted of the highest quality lead-free pewter, and is 1 1/4" long and 1 1/4" wide. Fashioned into the shape of a crescent moon presented with a wise male face, each amulet is accented by a clear, multi-faceted gem dangling from the top of the moon, radiating protective, centering energies that will help you stay balanced and free of negative influences. This amulet comes with a 30" cord with which to wear it close to your heart, keeping the Lunar God`s protective energies close to your heart. It has been made in the USA.

Click this link to purchase...http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053U4WIS?ie=UTF8&seller=A2ZI824SAUKPOT&sn=The%20Amber%20Crystal%20Shop

Tibetan Singing Brass Bowl with Leather Hammer

A powerful instrument of meditation and prayer, the singing bowl is sometimes used to accompany mudras, and other such hymns and prayers. The vibration that is felt in the brass when it is struck and played is often held to help remove negative energy and help find peace within meditation, aligning the chakras, and other such ritual practice. Much like other bells and noise makers, they can also be used in chasing off evil spirits, or otherwise cleansing a ritual space before intensive prayer and ritual magick. This particular singing bowl is decorated in an elaborate Tibetan script around its outer surface, with further symbols of religious significance embossed in bell`s inner surface, all surrounding an image of Buddha, sitting in the lotus position within the petals of the lotus flower, cupping a singing bowl in one hand. Measuring 4" wide at its widest point and 2 1/2" high, this bowl is a wonderful addition to any altar or space, coming with a wooden, leather-coated hammer with which to make it sing.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JUC018?ie=UTF8&seller=A2ZI824SAUKPOT&sn=The%20Amber%20Crystal%20Shop

Triquetra Herb Cupboard

This enchanting Herb box is perfect for holding your ritual herbs, smaller ritual tools, or even your jewelry. Carved of wood, it stands 8 3/4" tall at its highest point, 4 3/4" deep and 5 1/2" wide. Carved with the intricate, knotted design of a Triquetra, it presents a 4" by 4" by 4 1/4" cubby based at the bottom, with a door that swings open at the tug its pull ring. Atop this is a smaller, pull-out drawer that can readily fit your herbs, pendulums, smaller gemstones, and jewelry. Crowning the top is a hinged lid, opening to reveal a deep tray offering safe-keeping for your favorite treasures. The whole, accented with metal stars riveted into the wood, offers an antique look that will be perfect for your altar, kitchen counter, night stand, or where ever else you see a place for it in your home. Price:    $45.95

Purchase at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IG9SPG?ie=UTF8&seller=A2ZI824SAUKPOT&sn=The%20Amber%20Crystal%20Shop

The Goddess

A Goddess is a Divine female being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by people and is often believed to be the source of life and being and worshiped as the principal deity in various religions. For thousands of years, around the world our ancestors are believed to have worshipped a Divine and powerful Mother-Goddess, who was honoured as the Mother of all life.

Where is the Goddess? Does the Goddess dwell within us? Is the "still small voice" of conscience, a manifestation of the immanent deity within ourselves? For many, the immanent Goddess provides a immense and satisfying intimacy with the inner Goddess. Finding a connection to the divine within ourselves, seeking the strength of the Goddess within to better our lives, can be a transformative, enlivening and empowering experience.

The immanent Goddess need not be confined to human form, many cultures perceive the immanent Goddess within nature, in plants, trees, mountains and stars, each inhabited by a unique Goddess spirit that is both mortal and immortal. For every star that dies, another is being formed in nebulous gases in the universe. For each plant or tree that dies, another is waiting to be reborn in the seeds of the previous, the spirit of the Goddess becomes immortal in that this energy always exists in uncountable forms.

To others, the Goddess is transcendent, and exists outside ourselves, here the Goddess becomes the Universe, Gaia, Mother Nature, the Great Goddess or the Great Mother. The transcendent Goddess is vast beyond measure, timeless and immortal, a unfathomable spirit that is at once everywhere and in all times.

Many that walk the path of the Goddess see the divine as both immanent and transcendent, believing that the Goddess within can be called upon for strength and vision in facing the challenges of life. Whilst perceiving that the energy of the Goddess exists throughout nature where each fragment is the Goddess, yet no one fragment contains all and she exists as a force beyond individual plants, animals and people.

Our prehistoric ancestors were hunters and gatherers, who depended on the earth to provide, food, clothing, shelter and life itself. The importance of fertility in crops, in domesticated animals, in wild animals and in the tribe itself were of paramount importance to their survival. Their society was probably matriarchal and that children took their mothers' names. Their life was based on lunar (not solar) calendar and time was experienced as a repetitive cycle, not linearly as we think of it today. Thus, the Female life-giving principle was considered divine and shrouded in mystery.



Natures Mother who bringest all to life and revives
all from day to day. The food of life Thou grantest in
eternal fidelity. And when the soul hath retired we
take refuge in Thee. All that Thou grantest falls
back somewhere into Thy Womb.

Third Century AD Prayer to Terra Matris.



Cave paintings and rock carvings of Goddesses, some as old as 35,000 years B.C.E. or earlier, depict the Divine life-giving Goddess. The Venus of Willendorf, is perhaps the most well known of these ancient Mother-Goddess deities, most of the early images of the Goddess show an abundant, round, full figured being. An early symbol in human history is the zig-zag, which was used by Neanderthals around 40,000 B.C. and has been interpreted as representing water. The Goddess is closely associated with water and births.

In mediaeval times, it was claimed that Britain was given to their ancestors by the Goddess Diana. In 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouthshire, describes in his "History of The Kings Of Britain" how refugees escaping the siege of Troy, were seeking a new homeland. Their leader called upon Diana to help them:



" O powerful Goddess,
terror of the forest glades,
yet hope of the wild woodlands,
you, who have the power to go into orbit,
though the airy heavens and halls of hell,
pronounce a judgement that concerns the Earth.
Tell me which lands you wish us to inhabit.
Tell me of a safe dwelling-place,
where I am to worship you down the ages,
and where, to the chanting of maidens,
I shall dedicate temples to you. "


In the ancient world, Goddesses were commonly patronesses of cities, justice, was, handicraft and home life, agriculture, love and learning. They were seen as standing for aspects of human nature and civilisation rather than that of nature and the elements.

Apuleius in his work Metamorphoses, declared that Isis was the embodiment of all other Goddesses and identified with the Moon and nature. It would be this concept of the Goddess that would become dominant in modern paganism.

The faces and aspects of the Goddess are not static or frozen in time but are forever changing, evolving and metamorphosing. In each age, like children growing, so the Goddess grows and changes with us.

So it was during the years 1300-1800, in English love poetry, the most popular Goddesses were Venus - Goddess of Love, Diana - Goddess of Chastity and Hunting, Minerva - Goddess of Wisdom, and Juno as a symbol of Queenliness.

After the 1800's Juno is replaced by Proserpine - Goddess of the Seasons or the Dead, by 1830 Minerva is replaced by Cere or Demeter - Lady of The Harvest. The Goddess Venus also undergoes changes during this time, acquiring dominion over the woodlands or the sea, and Diana becomes associated with the Moon, the greenwood and wild animals.

Is the Goddess only for women?

No, during the Goddess worshipping era of the past, the Goddess was the central figure, and was celebrated by men, women and children. The Goddess embodies all mystery and magic and by giving her this allegiance, man sanctified and purified himself.

She was both nurturing and fierce. She was the one the all things came from and all things returned. A renaissance of Goddess worship has take place during the middle of this century with the re-emergence of Wicca. Here both men and women celebrate the Divine Goddess and God, a spiritual balance is taking place, acknowledging both the female and male aspects of Divinity, the New Age Aquarius, with its feminine energies, hopes to bring balance to the destructive aspects of the Piscean Age.

Does anyone still believe in the Goddess?

Yes, many cultures never lost touch with the Female Divinity, the Hindus of India have many Goddesses amongst their pantheon of deities. In Japanese culture, the great Sun Goddess, Amaterasu is still honoured as the Divine Mother of the Japanese people. In China the Goddess of Mercy, Kwan Yin (Quan Yin) still attracts many devotees. A feminine presence was added to Christianity by the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE when the Virgin Mary was named Theotokos (Mother of God). With the re-emergence of Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Goddess and Neo-paganism, more and more people are incorporating Goddess worship into their beliefs.

What kind of Goddesses are there?

There are many thousands of Goddesses, throughout the world, each region had its own aspects of the Goddess, the Great Mother Goddess, however appears to have had a universal following. The Goddess has been known by many names and aspects in many different cultures and ages: Anat, Aphrodite, Aradia, Arianrhod, Artemis, Astarte, Brighid, Ceres, Demeter, Diana, Eostre, Freya, Gaia, Hera, Ishtar, Isis, Juno, Kali, Lilith, Ma'at, Mary, Minerva, Ostare, Persephone, Venus, Vesta, etc.

The Goddess is often visualized in her three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone, and her corresponding sacred colours white, red, black.

I wove it once with colours white,
With black I wound it through
Then I did dye it with a red
That binds the life to you.



These aspects are mirrored in the phases of the moon: waxing, full and waning. The Maiden represents youth, emerging sexuality, the huntress running with her hounds. The Mother symbolizes feminine power, fertility, and nurturing. The Crone is wisdom, the compassion which comes from experience, and the one who guides us through the death experience. All aspects of the Triple-Goddess represent different types of healing and growth.

Reclaiming the Goddess

The Goddess did not simply die out or go into cold storage, only to be revived in the same forms she manifested then, instead she remained veiled and denigrated and ignored most of the time or else she is exalted, hymned and pedestalled as an allegorical abstraction of female divinity.

In allowing the Goddess to become an abstraction, we have lost touch with the Goddess. We no longer speak the language of the Goddess, we have forgotten how and we have allowed the concept of the Goddess to be almost erased from consciousness.

With the resurgence of modern Paganism, with it views on a balanced human and divine nature, so some have found that the Goddess has always been there, yet somehow humanity forgot and so the idea of a Goddess as a central point of creation is finding a welcome response.

Modern Goddess Worship

The Neo-pagans, modern witches and even scientists, are starting to view Gaia after the Greek Goddess, or Mother Earth, as a bio system and we are all dependant upon each other for survival. She attributes consciousness to the earth and believes it to be spiritual as well. In other words, Gaia is a living and evolving being that has a spiritual destiny. Goddess worship is an attempt to reintroduce the sacred aspect of the earth and to remind us all that She is our ever- bountiful Mother. The Goddess is the giver of all life and is found in all of creation.

An acceptance of the Goddess is important to both men and women, for men it allows them to acknowledge the feminine energies within and to accept their desire and need of a protective, nurturing feminine presence. "The importance of the Goddess symbol for women cannot be overstressed. The image of the Goddess inspires women to see ourselves as divine, our bodies as sacred, the changing phases of our lives as holy, our aggression as healthy, and our anger as purifying. Through the Goddess, we can discover our strength, enlighten our minds, own our bodies, and celebrate our emotions."

When an individual seeks the Goddess either through Wicca, the feminist movement, the New Age, or the liberal church, he or she is beginning a journey to bring to balance the female and male energies. We are a blending of both male and female energies, so it it natural to want to balance our spiritual lives, by accepting the Goddess and God, we start our quest to discover our inner 'higher self'. This higher self, is often referred to as the "god self," and is the path to pure truth, deep wisdom. The Yin Yang symbol is a perfect reminder of the balance that is achieved when these two energies come together in a positive way.

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/an_introduction_to_paganism/what_is_a_goddess.asp

Starsign: Sagittarius

22nd Nov - 21st Dec

The Archer.

A Masculine, Mutable Fire sign.

Sagittarius is associated with the earthy pleasures of good food and the possessive love of the physical realm.

Sabbats

Nothern Hemisphere

Imbolc - Feb 2nd
Ostara - Mar 21st/22nd
Beltane - April 30th/May 1st
Lithia - June 21st/22nd
Lammas - July 31st/Aug 1st
Mabon - Sept 21st/22nd
Samhain - Oct 31st
Yule - Dec 21st/22nd

The Next Sabbat is: Yule in 24 days.

Moon Phases

Moon Phases

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Next full moon is
in about 0 day

Last Quarter Nov 7 00:36
New Moon Nov 13 22:08
First Quarter Nov 20 14:31
Full Moon Nov 28 14:46

Large Anne Stokes Greenman tile

Perfect for displaying the sacred Greenman upon your altar or where ever else you might like his visage, this large tile can be hung, laid flat, or propped up on a stand that extends from its back. Featuring the artwork of Anne Stokes, the tile displays the Greenman in all of his verdant greenery, with leaves and vines sprouting from his face as would facial hair from the face of an ordinary man. With clear, kind eyes and a slight smile upon his face, he seems a kindly old man in this representation of nature`s wisdom and power. The whole tile measures approximately 7 3/4" wide and 11 1/2" high and comes with several hooks upon its back to hang it as you desire or set back upon its rest. Price:    $22.99

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http://www.amazon.com/Large-Anne-Stokes-Greenman-tile/dp/B005RF9G4Y/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A2ZI824SAUKPOT

Yellow Day of the Dead Skull Box

Created in imitation of the sugar skulls made in celebration of the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de lose Muertos), this skull-shaped box is a rather beautiful creation. Decorated with patterns of flower, a Cross, and similar colorful patterns against a yellow backdrop, the skull stops being a macabre image and becomes a celebration of the dead. Lift up the top portion, and you will also find a spacious container in which you can place sacred herbs, offerings, and any manner of ritual item that you can think of. The whole box, sculpted of cold cast resin, measures 4 1/2" tall and 3 1/2" wide, with interior dimensions of approximately 2 1/2" by 2 1/2". Price:    $20.95

Order now at the link.  http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Day-Dead-Skull-Box/dp/B0086JVIT4/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A2ZI824SAUKPOT

Soapstone Triple Moon diffuser

Beautifully cut to stand 3 1/2" tall and 3" square, this soapstone oil diffuser has the triple moon, symbol of the goddess, carved into three sides of its candle holder base. Easy to clean, with a removable oil bowl and smooth surfaces, this diffuser using only a tealight candle to heat the oil and release its scent about the room. Price:    $17.95
http://www.amazon.com/Soapstone-Triple-Moon-diffuser-OD5069/dp/B0053U1O84/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A2ZI824SAUKPOT