Goddess, God, And Balance

Witches, Pagans, and Christians share a similar complaint about each other. Pagans and witches complain that Christians worship the male deity, (Jesus Christ, God, Jehovah, Holy Spirit), to the all out exclusion of a female deity. Pagans, Wiccans, and witches themselves can be at fault with this as well. The only difference is that they, (we), tend to honor the female deity almost to the exclusion of the male deity.

Witches, Pagans, and Wiccans as well as many other names are all nature based religions. In all of nature there is a male and a female and each are equally necessary to survival. So then, if the two forces (male / female) are necessary then there must be a “balance” in the reverence of them.

All of us are made up of masculine and feminine attributes. So it stands to reason that the same is true of the deities as well.

We must always strive to maintain balance with ourselves and our environment. We must also strive for balance in our worship and honor to the Goddess and God. To only view the deities in one form or another is to restrict our full understanding of them as well as restrict their full communication with us.

Even in the Wheel Of The Year, when the Goddess is most prevalent, the God force is at work as well and vice versa. No matter who your patron Goddess or God is, remember there is also an equal counterpart as well.

Energy And Politics

So here it is in a nutshell how the two Presidential candidates differ on their energy plans. This is taken from the Associated Press:

Republican John McCain: Favors increased offshore drilling and building 45 nuclear power reactors by 2030. Crystal Benton, speaking for McCain, said he proposes no federal spending to help in construction of the plants. McCain believes the goal can be achieved with loan guarantees in existing law, with resolution of the impasse over waste disposal and with financial advantages the industry would have as a zero-emissions power source under his cap and trade program, she said. McCain opposes drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Proposed suspending the 18-cent a gallon federal gasoline tax but idea got no traction. Global warming plan would increase energy costs.

Democrat Barak Obama:  Now would consider limited increase in offshore drilling. Opposes drilling in Arctic reserve. Proposes windfall-profits tax on largest oil companies to pay for energy rebate of up to $1,000. Opposed suspension of the gas tax. Proposed releasing 70 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve to boost supplies. Global warming plan would increase energy costs.

Now first of all, how much of a cohesive administration would you have with McCain/Palin. Palin has said on numerous occasions that drilling in Alaska and especially in the Arctic Refuge is something she is all for doing. McCain supposedly is against it? Every debate or uttered word from either McCain or Palin has not told me to date what they will do to control global warming and propose new legislation to create effective global green energy solutions to replace the need for oil and oil/coal based byproducts. What are they going to do to bring about a working clean air act and protect our environment?

It is time for political double-talk to stop and get into the reality that if something is not done now to protect our environment and natural resources, the human race will find itself on the endangered species list. Hey Palin, there’s something else you can hunt from a helicopter.

Basic Candle Magick

Candle magic is very basic, yet quite effective. This is a good time to iterate how closely Karma and ethics are intertwined. You choose your own color of magic, not once, but each time you practice. Some traditions believe in Karma as “What you do comes back to you”.

One thing that need to be understood is the color correspondences that candles have. For example, and this is a brief example, lets look at our basic colors:

WHITE : A balance of all colors, effective for spiritual enlightenment, purification, protection, cleansing, clairvoyance, healing, truth seeking; rituals involving lunar energy; may be substituted for any other candle color

BLACK: Opens up the deeper levels of the unconscious; use in rituals to induce a deep meditation state, or to banish evil or negativity as in uncrossing rituals;

BLUE: Primary spiritual color; for rituals to obtain wisdom, harmony, inner light, or peace; confers truth and guidance

GREEN:  Promotes prosperity, abundance, and success; stimulates rituals for good luck, money, harmony, rejuvenation.

BROWN:  Earthly, balanced color; for rituals of material increase; eliminates indecisiveness; improves powers of concentration, study, telepathy; increases financial success; locates objects that have been lost.

PURPLE:  Power, success, idealism, psychic manifestations; ideal for rituals to secure ambitions, independence, financial rewards, or to make contact with the spiritual other world;

RED: Health, passion, love, fertility, strength, courage, will power; increases magnetism in rituals;

ORANGE:  Charges and recharges intellect; combine with any other candle to stimulate their actions;

YELLOW:  Activity, creativity, drawing, pulling, compelling, and unity. Yellow brings the power of concentration and imagination to a successful ritual: used in rituals when you wish to gain another’s confidence or persuade someone

So lets say I was going to do a spell for money. I would be using a green candle since I want to promote prosperity and abundance.

Candle magick can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Simply meditate, or think upon, why you are burning this particular candle while watching the flame.

I will get into other parts of candle spellworking such as cleansing and charging, but for now try this simple spell:

Get one white candle. A votive or emergency candle you have in a drawer will do.

Hold it in your hand and meditate for a minute or so on peace in your life.

Set the candle in a holder and light it, still concentrating on the peace you want in your life.

As it burns, watch the flame dance and continue meditating on YOUR peace.

When it is done burning, or you have snuffed it out (please do not blow it out), go about your day KNOWING that the peace you seek is coming.

**Remember, all magick comes with real world actions on our part as well. Magick opens doorways to aid us in changing the world around us