The Rowdy Goddess

An Ecstatic Vision of the Goddess, dancing in harmony with the Universe.

Archive for the category “witchcraft”

11 Mar 2013
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Springing Forward

Spring forwardI read a lot of blogs on a variety of topics:  witchy stuff [technical term], Tarot, embroidery and quilting, and library stuff [another technical term].  I get most of them aggregated and read them in digest form, delivered to me first thing in the morning.  It’s my morning newspaper.  That is the reason I read Deborah Blake’s Saturday post on Sunday morning.

I slept late yesterday, and since the time moved forward into daylight savings time, it was well past mid-morning when I had my tea and morning “paper.”  Bleary and lazy, I read Deborah’s post on Springing forward, called “Spring Forward:  Time for a Change.”  In her post, Deb wisely claims the time change as a time for magic, to spring forward into a new habit and a new routine.  It’s like the “boing” of the spring pushes her to be more magical, wise, and witchy.  What a good idea, I thought, a sort of refreshing mini-new-time-resolution.

Especially since I’m not fond of the whole spring forward thing.  I miss the hour we lose.  Although on balance, we are gaining daylight and our sunlit days become longer and more hopeful.  You might ask, what is so Pagan about time change?  It’s like many constructed holidays and changes in our environment, even though it isn’t spiritual per se, it has an impact on our lives.  In the fullness of our lives, everything is magical and everything is full of possibility.  Daylight Savings Time, unless you live in parts of Indiana, is part of the rhythm of our lives and our Universe.  Why not, as Deb says, tap into that energy.

Usually I feel like the energy is out of control as time propels me into spring and summer.  It’s an exciting idea to harness the power of the spring and move with the energy.  I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes [once a dork, always a dork] from Richard III by Shakespeare, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer….”  Why not spring into glory!  Snap!

So what will I spring into?  Something I’m excited about.  My doctor recommended and I followed up on signing up for a year-long program of diabetes prevention.  I long to prevent diabetes in my life and I think I can do this program but I also have a history of failure in terms of this kind of change.  Now I’m going to spring myself from the shackles of failure.  It’s time to spring into this.  As I will it, so shall it be!

Posted in Daylight Savings Time, Magic, witchcraft and tagged , , , , ,
20 Oct 2008
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Neo-Shamanism and Wicca: Can We Be Friends?

A friend of mine has moved to a new area and is tentatively seeking out new friends and new spiritual community. She was telling me that she had met someone who was a Reiki Master and a shamanic practitioner. When my friend mentioned Wicca, the shamanic practitioner had a mild reaction like an indrawn breath. She told my friend that she’d met some Wiccans and they seemed to be of the behavior and mindset, “I hate my religion of birth and so I became Wiccan. Can I tell you how much I hate my religion of birth!”

I drew my breath in too. If I were still a fundamental Christian, I’d be saying, “Bad witness, man, bad witness.” That means as the embodiment of our religion, others witness their understanding of that religion or spiritual path by the things you do or say. Quite a responsibility.

On the other hand, it is a phase that most pagans including Wiccans go through. We have left the religion of our birth and need to process the reasons for it and what that means for us. At some point, though, most of us cross a threshold where we our message for others to witness is “I am Goddess, I am God.” And that speaks volumes about where we are, but not particularly about where we’ve been.

A wise high priestess once told me that in her coven the behavior that we call “Christian bashing,” can go on for a short while, but then if it continues, she goes to the person and says it must stop. All the bashing and complaining serves to do is to demean the new witch, and does not create change. Without change, there is no magic.

Wiccans and pagans can be friends with any religion since tolerance and acceptance are one of the outcomes of our ethics. Sometimes within our own community, our behavior creates misunderstanding. Yes, we can be friends with each other as well as the outer community.

My personal practice for many years has been weaving the threads of seemingly separate practices to create a pattern of wholeness. To me, shamanism and Wicca meld and dance together. We are all walkers between the worlds. We dance, play, grieve, and celebrate our divine aspects in both paths. For me it is the whole cloth. And there’s a great book that demonstrates just how that can be done. I am pleased to announce that my new book The Shamanic Witch is now available from RedWheel/Weiser or from many other booksellers including Amazon.com

 

Posted in shamanism, Wicca, witchcraft, writing and tagged , , , ,
22 May 2008
3 Comments

The Bag Hag: The Eternal Search for the Perfect Bag

The Bag Hag: The Eternal Search for the Perfect Bag

I have been searching for the perfect purse. And I have standards, too. It must zipper and a zippered pocket on the inside. It must have a long shoulder strap. It must be large enough to hold essentials which, in my case, includes the ability to haul around a paperback novel. And it’s gotta look good.

I don’t mind if it looks a little funky but I do have to be able to carry it to work and professional meetings and not feel like a dork.
You wouldn’t think it would be that hard, would you. And I’ve even learned to adapt. I’ve moved to smaller purses. I tried short straps and that did NOT work. Note to self: don’t do that again.
I work in a profession of bag ladies too. I got to library and academic conferences and they hand us our materials in a bag. Tote bags, messenger bags, gym bags, back packs (no! not a bag), and little bags. A couple of years ago a newly graduated librarian came back from her first academic conference and said to me in awed, hushed tones, “I even got a bag.”
I told her that over time she would get many bags and that she would become more discerning about the bags. Do they have zippers? Do they have a lot of pockets? Are the logos tasteful? I told her the best bag from a conference was one my sister got. It was green with a long strap, a zipper, and best of all–it was waterproof. This young librarian didn’t exactly roll her eyes, but she did skeedaddle out of my office pretty fast. She got another job in less than a year, not in the library profession.
I guess she bagged the librarian gig [all puns are intended]
Recently I learned another rule. Never take a man, especially an engineer, shopping with you when you are looking for the perfect purse. He actually thinks he can solve the problem. Mouse and I went shopping and I was mourning the purse whose long, lovely strap had broken beyond repair. We were at a department store and all the straps on all the purses were short. They were perfect other than that (yeah, right!)
Mouse decided he could fix it, so we searched all over the store for straps to replace the short ones. Camping supplies–nothing. Hunting supplies…rifle carrier straps were a possibility but not entirely functional. He ended up finding a guitar strap. When I picked up a purse to see if the strap would work, my lip curled in disgust. “It won’t be pretty, will it?” said Mouse.
No it won’t. I bought the purse but not the strap. Thinking I can make a strap out of some fabric. Will I do it. Maybe. Will the purse be perfect? No. After carrying it for a week, it’s okay but I already know it’s not perfect.
I remind myself, it’s the journey not the purse.
Posted in pin-up, witchcraft and tagged , , ,
19 Feb 2007

A Winter Gathering of the Rowdy Goddesses

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, but we’ve celebrated it already with “Let the Rowdy Times Roll!” It seems that once a year at Womongathering isn’t enough. So this year, our dear friend Phaezara opened her hearth and home to a gathering. Traveling from Philadelphia, Virginia, and from points across New York, rowdy women gathered to party. Included were women from Womongathering and also some of our friends who haven’t been able to make it to the summer gathering.

We went shopping at Seven Rays in Syracuse and then we went to tea at the White Dove Tea Room. A caravan of six cars is often hard to lead and to follow, but we all made it even after getting double parked in at the Church of the Assumption. Shows what assumptions will do for you…get you blocked in and unable to move forward.
It was wonderful, capped off by a ritual involving the beauty and wonder of our masks. Let’s face it, we have them. They are beautiful, our masks are barriers, and they are our aspirations. More to explore with masks……
May wonder and beauty be yours as you let your Rowdy times roll!!!!
Posted in masks, Rowdy Goddess, tea, witchcraft and tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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