Well, some friends have asked me to move my blog to Blogger since it's more accessible for them and they think it will be more popular there. I think it's worth a try,so I have decided to close down thsi blog.Many of the posts here will be reproduced in my new blog at appropriate dates, especially those sabbat-related. I would like to thank everybody who has followed me and announce that the new blog will be opened on the first week of January.i have had a great time here.Thank you all!!

The new address: http://rozondawitch.blogspot.com

My friend Nia-whose very intelligent blog I recommend by the way- and other friends were rather scandalized to earn that, at 35, I already feel like a crone.It was my fault in a way- feeing like a crone to me is not a consequence of old age. As I said in former posts, the three faces of the Goddess-Maiden, Mother,Crone- can appear at any age depending on our circumstances and how we feel. And as my teen years were prolonged by a depression and other circumstances I guess I have enjoyed growing up and becoming an adult more than most people. I particularly enjoy the feeling of self-assurement, of knowing what you want, of caring less and less what people think; of course I have days or even weeks of insecurity but it happens less and less often. I have always identified this feeling with deep wisdom and "cronehood" so to say, so it has been a pleasant surprise and I enjoy it to the maximum. Maybe it won't last, maybe it will disppear- but the feeling of knowing that

Time is much too short to be living somebody else's life
I walk with dignity, I step with pride.
(Des'ree, I Ain't Movin')

is too good to let it go, no matter how long it lasts.It's the awareness of the fact that  nobody will live your life for you so you'd better live it your own way. Be it wearing a silly hat or changing your plans, yo do it with less fear of what people say. If you feel that, it's the Crone appearing in your life-no matter if you are 16 or 60. Embrace her because in these times of cult of youth, she is becoming more and more elusive. And maybe she 's got the key to that joy you're looking for. Would you give it a try?

A few weeks ago, I learned that my friend John Birch has become involved in a project to help save the rainforest. And one of the activities he has planned is quite peculiar: he has decided to lock himself in one room of his house for a week, with no food, no entertainment, no electrical lighting and no heating. Only water,a camcorder to film his experience, a notebook and pen and a sleeping bag. He intends this to be both a spiritual journey and a sponsored activity to raise funds for and awareness of the Amazon Rainforest Foundation. You can find the whole story here.

I must  be honest to you.My first thought when I heard this was "He's crazy!" I was angry with him for personal reasons and that didn't help, I must confess. But after reading about the project he's involved in at the AmazonCry page,and giving it a good deal of thought, I realized that he is making a difference. He's doing something I would never have the guts to do (I can't stand the idea of being locked up for an hour, let alone for a week) and he's trying to raise awareness about the Earth and the environment when most of us choose to look the other way or even turn to denial. When, two days ago, a Spanish politician, leader of the Conservative Party,as good as denied the existence of global warming, I decided that John deserved a post and my support. He may seem mad to you, but believe me, I think the real madmen are in much higher places.

I would like to share this poem with you. Inspired by the Persephone myth, I wrote it some months ago, and I'm not explaining its meaning because I feel it can be interpreted in many ways and I want to allow each person to read it their own way. Don't worry,  I know it's not very good and it will be long before I inflict my poetry on you again :)))





Six Seeds of Pomegranate

She ate in Hell.
Now she can’t come back completely.
She opened the lovely fruit,
She took six seeds, that looked like pieces
Of her own heart.

Six tiny seeds, and how that hurts.

She ate in Hell.
Now Mama can’t get her back forever.
Some of the time, she’ll see the sun,
But after that, the dark will claim her
And she’ll return.

Six tiny seeds, so red they burn.

So here I am or seem to be.
But six seeds stole the best of me.

First, I would like to apologize for writing this post a few days after Mabon, but I'm REALLY busy, and my other blog,which is very successful, takes up nearly all of my time.

September is indeed a busy month. Back to school, back to work, it depresses many people, but it has the opposite effect in me. It probably is because I hate the heat and I live in one of the hottest spots in Spain. Summer is for me quite a torture. But autumn, with its soft colours, its peculiar smells, the first rains, is a season I love since i was a child. When I became a Wiccan, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Wiccan year began on Samhain, October 31st. It made perfect sense to me. It would have made even more sense if it had begun on Mabon.
Because to me it's not in winter when the year starts. If you want a celebration with wine, wouldn't it be better to have it at the wine harvest? If you want to make resolutions, wouldn't they be easier to keep if you make them after long holidays and at the beginning of work or school?Nature has given all She has to give and She knows Her year is over , so maybe we should learn from her.

Even if you are as busy as me, take some time to celebrate. Taste your favourite drink, be it wine or anything else, take a look around and appreciate the beauty of autumn.It's not as sad or melancholic as poets have always pictured it. It's life coming to perfection and starting over. The death of the God is near(on Samhain), but it's not a sad death. because the Goddess knows that it's not forever, and that they'll  meet again.
Enjoy the promises of autumn- they all will be fulfilled.

On the occasion of the International Blog Day, which is celebrated today, I would like to recommend five blogs. Only one of them, curiously enough, is about Wicca:

WildHunt- For the informed Pagan. USA-centered, yes, but it discusses political and social issues that concern all Pagans and Wiccans, it recommends very interesting books and CDs and is always up to date with the latest Pagan community news. A must.
78 Notes to Self- Ginny Hunt's blog on Tarot. Intelligent, humorous, well informed. Ginny is my heroine :)))
La Campana de Cristal- Not Wiccan or tarot related, but excellent just the same. My friend Small Blue Thing reflects on life, politics,  social commitment, religion, books and a thousand other things, with humour and intelligence. It's in Spanish.
Tarot Channel- Fun for all Tarot lovers :))) Spreads, decks, books, tests...
El Tarot, Libro Abierto- A bit of shameless self-promotion :))) My blog on the symbology and meaning of the Waite deck. In Spanish but with a translation engine. Give it a try ;)

I only knew her through some of her writings I found through the web, specially an inspired, intelligent text about the Maiden Goddess. Today, through the Daily Spell, I received the sad news of her death and learned she was one of our  elders and most respected community members. You can read it all about it here:

http://www.wildhunt.org/2007/08/shekhinah-mountainwater-1939-2007.html#links

May Goddess keep her in the embrace of Her peace. To read her Maiden Goddess text, go here.

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if the grain dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24)


Surprised to find a Christian quote in aWiccan blog??Well, it hasn't been the first time, and it won't be the last. There is much wisdom in other religions,and not believing in them doesn't mean that I don't recognize that wisdom. In this case, Jesus chooses the imagery of grain dying to bear fruit that so many religions before Christianity had already used. The idea of death that brings life is also one oth the keys to Lammas or Lughnasadh, the harvest festivity on August 1st.

It won't be until Samhain that the God will die, but that is because that is the third-and last-harvest festival of the year; the idea of death is present in Lammas, in Mabon, and in Samhain. But in Lammas death is only a concept, a symbol; the death of grain that will feed the people. That is why it is a jubilant festival, even if there is a sombre legend behind it.

The other name of Lammas,Lughnasadh, comes from the Celtic god of the Sun, Lugh. Like his Roman counterpart Apollo, Lugh presided over the arts and sciences. According to Celtic legend, Lugh decided to hold a feast at the beginning of the harvest season to honor his foster mother, Tailtiu. Tailtiu was the royal Lady of the Fir Bolg. After the defeat of her people by the Tuatha De Danaan, she was forced by them to clear a vast forest for the purpose of planting grain. She died of exhaustion as a result. Here we find again the ritual death that brings life, and which is commemorated, that is, repeated, year after year. This idea was also, it is supposed, one of the inspirations of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Well, you say, how does all this apply to ME?? Do I have to die to bring fertility to my world??Not necessary :))). Did you burn something last St John's night/Litha?? Did you leave some nasty habit, throw away letters or photos  that brought you bitter memories, stop seeing a toxic friend?? Have you recently stopped smoking or given up any kind of addiction? Well, that is a part of you that has died. And it has died so you can evolve and move on with your life, and if you did it last Litha, or a little earlier or later, you are probably reaping a harvest of satisfaction. And if you didn't do it then, why not do it now?There are two harvest festivals ahead of you :))) It's not too late to get your harvest this year!!!

And I’m dancing with the freaks now
I'm havin’, I’m havin’ so much fun
What you sow is what you reap now
I’ll do my dance with everyone
[...]
Don’t let them tell you who you are is not enough
Don’t let them tell you that it’s wrong
Or that you won’t find love...
-George Michael, An easier Affair

We celebrate Gay Pride Day today. I don't belong to the gay community, but I don't think that really matters; I have always felt different and suffered because of it, well ,suffered until recently, when I decided that, right or wrong, this was me.  And you'd be surprised how much the respect of those around you heightens when you make that choice. You'll always find the stupid fools who will attack you , but that's not your fault that there are people who need to attack the difference to feel better...They have the problem, not you.

Yes, this I just said is a cliché, but this cliché hides the real danger society should fear...instead of fearing difference. A mum shouldn't worry about his boy or girl being homosexual and not forming a traditional family; she should worry because there are boys and girls who feel justified in bullying schoolmates because they are gays,  there are skinheads and hooligans beating gays in the streets,  and politicians and priests protesting because gay couples are given the same treatment as heterosexual ones and demonstrating against this in a way domestic violence, war or hunger will never move them to do; in one word, a mother shouldn't worry about her child being different, she should worry because the others believe different equals wrong.

This is the belief that lies at the bottom of fanatic terrorism. This is the belief that induces people to exterminate whole ethnic groups. This is the belief that undermines racism, classism and almost any kind of discrimination. This is the belief that justifies school bullying, discrimination at work,homophobia...even bad manners!!People complain of the lack of manners today, and they attribute them to "excessive freedom". Now that they'll tell you about  their concept of freedom. Genuine manners (not ceremonious ones, but the natural kind like saying please, thank you and respecting the other's space) are born from a genuine respect of the other,from believing the other deserves respect in the same way I do. But young people today, supposedly growing up in a liberal world, are educated in a "me me me" -centered way-meaning that people who are poorer, darker, or just different, make them feel bad and uncomfortable, specially since Mum and Dad never taught them that freedom is not "I do but I want" but , paraphrasing the Wiccan Rede, "I do what I want, as long as I  don't hurt anybody". For these spoiled kids, difference is a crime, and they'll bully whoever is different, and sadly, their parents will back them up no matter what they do.

This is the real danger.


Will you wait until they come for YOU?

(Thanks to Nia,who, as usual, inspired my post with her questions)

Litha, or Midsummer's night, or St John's night, is a very popular festivity-many people, Wiccans and non -Wiccans, love to celebrate it,and that elucidates a few questions that I would like to answer to the best of my knowledge. For the sake of brevity, I have chosen four of the most popular questions.

1. What should I celebrate, solstice on the 21th or St John's Night on the 24th???Which is "more correct"?
Answer: Neither date is more correct than the other. Magick was made for you, not the other way round. Maybe the beginning of summer is the most magical thing for you,; then the 21st is your date. Maybe your region or village has St John's bonfires or parties- so it is at least in many parts of Spain and Portugal- or you and your friends are used to St John's celebrations. This date, celebrated for years under a Christian name with Pagan rituals, has acquired a power of its own, so it is as good as the other one. As I have said in earlier posts, ritual is more powerful than you'll ever know.
2. I will be in town or somewhere where I can't make a bonfire. Which rituals can I make?
Answer:Well, there are quite a few, but I offer you the simplest one I know:
Put around you four things to symbolize the elements: a handful of earth or a potted plant for Earth, a candle for Fire, a glass or bowl of Water, and an incense stick for Air (The latter is optional; air is around you, anyway). Try to put the elements in their corresponding cardinal points (North for Earth, South for fire, East for Air, West for Water) but don't worry too much if you can't; elements know where they should go :))) Empty your mind, thank and bless the Elements and make three wishes. One of them is sure to come true, the other two maybe, maybe not.
3. Are there any "more appropriate wishes" for Midsummer's Night?? What should I wish for?
Answer: Whatever you need is OK, Universe is always open to your needs, so as long as you mean harm to no-one and you don't make whimsical wishes, you can ask for whatever you like.
4. I've heard that this night is good for getting rid of past stuff that is hurting me. Is this true?
Answer: yes, it is. There are two nights that are very good for this: New Year's Eve and Midsummer. Burn your ex's picture, burn  that letter that makes you cry. Write about the defects in you you hate the most, then burn the paper. Burn whatever you want to leave behind, and if you can't burn it, tear it to shreds and throw it away for recycling. Let it become something really useful, not something that has power to destroy you.

And most of all, go to your window or balcony and wish on a star,whether you see it or not. Wish the best for you and your loved ones, because the Goddess is full of child and ready to part with her beloved, since he will be born of her again. The mystery of life is renewed every year, so your life can be renewed too. Never give up and keep wishing.

Skeptics make the best wizards.
Starhawk

People tend to think that if you believe in certain things you will believe in everything. It's like you have no discerning spirit; if you believe in tarot you must believe in aliens, haunted houses, spiritualism and Elvis being alive :))).
Well, let me tell you it is not so. I believe in and read tarot, but I think you make your own life-tarot is only an orientation. I do spells but I don't believe they will do all the work for me-they just focus my intention, they don't magically get the job if I don't post the resumé. And no, i don't believe in UFOS, I have my reservations about spirits and ghosts-this deserves another post- and Elvis is definitely DEAD. :D
I don't read Paulo Coelho and similar bullshit, which most people think I must like. I do have an interest for new age and magic books, but I choose them carefully and I have a hatred of self-help books (though I am conscious some of them are helpful, they only are along with life experience and hard work). Now I'm about to read the What the Bleep? book based on the famous movie, which i haven't seen anyway, but I'm looking at it with lots of skepticism because the spiritual use of quantum physics looks lovely in Philip Pullman books, but I don't really see that in reality.
And yes, modesty aside, I'm an educated person, with a degree in English Philology, four languages and Proust ,Shakespeare and Melville among my favourite authors.
Is this what you expected a Wiccan tarot reader to be? Surely not.

Before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me.
-En Vogue, "Free Your Mind"
But if I left an organised religion because it had problems with me using my reason and not obeying blindly,(among other things) why should I be doing exactly the same thing? Do you think that just because I'm a Wiccan I live in my world of faeries and elves,away from reality??Hmmm, some people may, but not because they're Wiccans or Pagans or wahtever they are-it's because they are credulous. I'm Pagan exactly because of the contrary-because it is a religion that tforces me to contemplate the results of my acts HERE and NOW, not in an afterlife. It reminds me of the fact that all I do shall return to me- another version, more urgent and intense, of the Golden Rule. It asks me to respect the Earth. It tells me that evil is not a separate entity,but a part of me I must learn to tame and deal with. And, most important, it does not force me to accept dogmas without questioning.
Because a Witch's most powerful tool is her brain. And don't you forget it.

I know i haven't updated in along time, but it is because my other blog and its tarot parlour are haiving incredible success and absorbing my (scarce) free time. I'm already meditating a post for Litha and will be back soon! Thanks for your understanding!!

One of the many topics we pagans have thrown at us is the identification of Paganism with Nazi ideology. This may come as a surprise to you, but the fascination of Hitler for esoteric issues, his use and abuse of Pagan and esoteric symbology (The swastika, which was an innocent enough Eastern symbol of good luck before the hate and barbarism of nazis stained it forever) have caused many of his followers to call themselves "pagans" and in the name of that supposed paganism they invoke ideas that have nothing to do with paganism and wicca, like purity of race, traditional roles for women,homophobia, attacking other races and cultures. Their accusation towards Christianity is not about intolerance or closed-mindedness, but calling it weak and forgiving and too ecumenical-that is, admitting worshippers of any country and race. They say pagans of the past worshipped only their country's Gods and admitted only people of their race into their countries. I guess they are speaking of Germanic paganism(or so they think), but more misled and sick people I never saw. I won't even try to prove how wrong they are-ethically, morally and even historically. Experience has shown me how useless it is to try to convince this kind of brain-washed morons.

What I'm not ready to allow is to be mistaken for one of them. They celebrate solstices, use symbols like runes, and symbologies and mythologies like the Arthurian quest or the Nordic sagas to advocate violence, racial superiority, separation of races, submission of women and I don't know what other shit. There are indeed some minorities in American and Euroepan Paganism which echo these nazi ideas -I won't say names, but they do exist. And i just want to protest and say that the Paganism that I do profess has nothing to do with that crap that advocates Paganism as a return to war, slavery and racism-that is to the worst of the human being, not to he best. paganism will never, ever call for a return to unfair, cruel and discriminatory customs- and if you understood it that way, go knocking on another door. Next!!!

(Thanks to eligyah)

Dr. Cameron: What happened to "everybody lies"?
House MD: I was lying.


OK , OK, maybe I'm indulging a bit too much in autobiography, but Beltane this year brings me back to Beltane two years ago. Ah, you should have seen me at that time. I had just finished a successful diet, I was falling in love with someone I looked up to, I had a very good friend that really appreciated me and we had heaps of fun together, and my mother had been dangerously ill and had recovered, or so I thought...I was in a bubble of joy.

And then, in about two months' time after Beltane, my bubble went "plop". My diet was about the only true thing (though I recovered much of the weight a year later). The man I loved turned out to be a player and a liar, the "best friend" was a manipulating person, and my mum was still ill, so dangerously in fact, that she died six months later. Oh, don't think that I was ignorant or fooled. Most of these things inwardly I KNEW. But I'd rather believe what I wanted to believe, because it made me happy.
Now my life is very different. I am in love with no-one, I have several jobs and take care of my dad and of our house. I have a few friends that have been there at real hard moments. That is, my life is much less "pretty" but much more "real". I don't look the other way when I see ugly things because I have had to face up quite a few in the last 2 years. I don't believe in fairytales any more and I know that nobody is perfect, that Mr Right and Prince Charming were not in the Goddess' sketchbook when She made men, and that is right too, because I'm not perfect either. But that doesn't mean I'm taking any old thing as a boyfriend either. I know now that friends can be a pain in the ass sometimes but when you know they are tried and true you can forgive much, and that honey-tongued "friends" that are on the phone all day singing your praises are probably trying to control your life. I know, and knowledge makes me powerful. I know that nobody is irreplaceable, that I can depend on myself at decisive moments. I'm content and strong,and maybe that is more trustable that a happiness that is as false as the one my dear Dr House finds in his Vicodin pills.

Elementary, my dear Greg; everybody lies. But there are certain levels of lies that are intoxicating: Beltane is that time of year when gardeners and agricultors already know if they have succeeded, if the year and the harvest are good. It's when the Goddess and the God have life-conceiving sex to perpetuate the cycle of life. It's the moment of truth. If you are intoxicated with lies, lies will get you in the end. And your cycle of life will freeze.

So, let a Wiccan agree with Jesus: Truth will set you free.

So what am I not supposed to say what I'm saying
Are you offended by the message I'm bringing
Call me whatever cos your words don't mean a thing
Guess you ain't even a man enough to handle what I sing

If you look back in history
It's a common double standard of society
The guy gets all the glory the more he can score
While the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore
[...]
This is for my girls all around the world
Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen, not heard
What do we do girls?
Shout out loud!
(Christina Aguilera, Can't Hold Us Down)

Well, the proximity of Beltane brings me memories of two years ago. I had this friend I was having feelings for, and he wasn't a Wiccan; in fact he was a Spiritualist. Being a very sensitive and intelligent man, I thought he would look beyond the topics when it came to my beliefs; I certainly wasn't thinking of Victorian houses and spine-chilling seances when I approached his. Alas, how wrong was I. I explained to him the eight sabbats, including Beltane,which is very special to me since it is also my birthday.  I explained to him that is the festivity of love and fertilty par excellence. I explained to him that many Wiccans celebrate it under the stars with their lovers in a passionate night of love. I showed him poems and texts that told about it, some written by myself. And, like other less intelligent boyfriends of mine, he assumed that Wicca was very much about orgies, and that Wiccan women, including me, were easy and loose.  We continued our relationship but the misunderstanding was evident; he thought my main interest was sex, he undervalued my feelings. Pooh, I guess he wasn't as intelligent as I thought: I mean he had known me for years, he knew a lot of things about me; and now, just because I'm a Wiccan, I'm a sex kitten??? Please!!!

Not that I believe in the "promiscuous woman=whore" equation. As Miss Aguilera says in the song above, I don't give a shit about the double standard of a man being a Superman if he gets a woman every night and the woman being a cheap whore if she does the same. A woman who decides not to be monogamous has a perfect right to do so, and she is no better and no worse than a woman who decides on the contrary.  What irks me is, as always, the preconceived ideas. Wicca and Paganism do have a very tolerant view on sex. Sex is for us a metaphor of  creation, and also a gift of the Goddess, pure, sacred and pleasurable. But we don't tell anybody how he/she must live their sexuality. Beause we aren't all the same. Some people are more comfortable with monogamy, others need casual sex. Some people are heterosexual, others are homosexual, others are bisexual. Some people believe in marriage,some don't,. Some people need to be in love to have sex, some don't. And they aren't more or less Pagan or Wiccan because of that. There is not such thing as a Pagan sexuality- maybe the only thing we Pagans usually have in common, and I'm sure that there must be exceptions (which is sad for me) is a lack of fear of talking sexuality, and a large tolerance for different orientations.

And yes, I hear your question: Are there orgies in your rites? Answer: Not by rule. I f a coven decides to make orgies well, that's their choice. But they do it because they have decided it, not because it's the rule. Anyway, in these days of STDs and sex crimes, people are less willing to take part in orgies with people they don't know well or strangers. In fact Wiccans are usually very safe-sex conscious. Most of them celebrate Beltane privately with their partners, after normal rituals. If you join a coven and they try to convince you that orgies are absolutely compulsory or try to force you into having sex in rituals, my advice is: run and don't look back. Sex IS NOT an obligation, but a personal decision, for Wiccans and for everybody else.

And this is for the men all around the world...stop thinking with your organ...respect the witch!!!

Most Wiccans see enough magic in their everyday lives
(the birth of a child, the bursting out of tree leaf buds, a beautiful sunset)
and they don't need to use spells to become more attractive, 
richer,  more powerful and so on.
-Lucy Summers, Book of Wicca (re-translated from Spanish edition)

This is an issue I have talked about before, but today I have read a wonderful article about it that completely reflects my point of view. And, funny enough, it comes from a Christian friend of mine, Nia. You can find it here: Our Lord of Causality. BTW, the Pagan lady mentioned in the first paragraph is me-and no, I'm not telling you my real name,work it out for yourselves!!! :)))

I really love the intelligent way in which Nia responds to the eternal question: if there is a God/dess, why does he/she not answer all prayers? Because mama Goddess is not the mama of a 3-year-old,as Nia says, that will give you all you want if you cry and beg for it. She has created a world ruled by laws of cause and effect, laws you can rely on 90 percent of the time, laws that allow you to reason, to learn, to be prepared for the best and the worst, and-this is the hard part, folks-to act freely knowing what the consequences are likely to be. If you choose not to take the responsibilities of your actions, and to attribute them to Goddess, or the evil eye, or black magick, or the devil, or a black cat...it's YOUR problem. Call it free will, like the Christians, the rule of three, like Wiccans, or whatever you like. But you have been given a world full of posssibilties and that allows you to work out many problems or to reduce them by reasoning. And you still want spells or prayers to magically remove obstacles from your path? is this life not magical enough for you? And magical does not mean beautiful or easy, if that's what you're thinking. Magick is power, and power is never totally pure.
In fact, human will is so powerful that can affect other people's lives. Ask countries in poverty or war because of the stupidity of their rulers or of the world leaders. Goddess allows us scope to build our own world, but in this world there are also fools and criminals with free will. :/

So, what is the function of prayer or spell casting? It is an act of love for the divine, like asking the blessing of your parents before travelling or starting a new task. I recently cast a  very successful work spell, and when I expressed my thankfulness to the Goddess, I said these words to Her: "Don't remove nasty experiences from my path, just send them to me when I'm strong enough to face them" Spell casting is that strength. The strength of being ready to fall in love, to take a job, or to find peace of mind. Goddess will give you nothing, she just blesses what is already in you and helps you find it and develop it. That is wonderful enough, don't ask her to break the laws that help you in your everyday life just to make your life easier. That is whimsical, not magical.

I'm not the average girl on your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
but I learned to love myself unconditionally
because I am a Queen.
Am I less of a lady if I don't wear pantyhose?
My mama said a lady ain't what she wears but what she knows...
("Video", India Arie)

In these days of Extreme Makeover and what not, it took a very stupid thing to make me think about how we are pushing image issues to the limit. As you all know, I'm a very big fan of actor Hugh Laurie, of House MD fame. Well, I have had to see how, in glossy magazines, his  nearly 20-year-long wife was mocked for being short, not fashionable and on the whole a very common-looking woman. OK, so as long as he wasn't a celebrity, he could have a normal looking woman as a wife. He enters the Hollywood fantasy world and suddenly the woman who has mothered his kids and shared half his lifetime is "an ugly midget"?

This is just a sad example of how standards run today. Don't get me wrong. I won't play hypocrite-the attraction to beauty is old as the world, and it will always exist. But attraction to beauty was always infused with a sane injection of common sense. Men didn't mind curves and ample measures that much, women were even more tolerant, and everybdoy knew that beauty ideals were just that, ideals. When it came to marriage, other things were taken into account-both noble and admirable things, like personality, or not-so-noble ones, like money. When it came to casual sex, people took what was there, and rejoiced in the thrill of the chance meeting. There has always been a dream world of perfect people, but never,ever before have we been demanded to live up to its standards, with impossible sizes, impossible measures, and millions of women,as the old Body Shop slogan went, expected to look the way only eight women look: like the top models.
If the Goddess has three aspects, Maiden, Mother and Crone, it's not just because of the Moon phases or because of the ages of woman. It's because every woman , and every man for that matter, has the spark of the divine in each moment of his /her life, with the signs of age or without them. If Artemis is a teen without curves, easily confused with a young boy, and Demeter a mother with overweight and vergetures from birth-giving, and Hecate an old lady with ailings and wrinkles, it is because all  that is the divine in us. How we are unlicked cubs, how we go into shape, how we decay, how we die. No people loved the perfection of the human body more than the Greeks, and yet their religion had always present the decay of age and even ugliness, with ugly looking gods like  Pan  or  Hephestus.


In this age of surgery and false stuff, it occurs to me that we re forgetting that the divine on us is the fact we are human, that we can be imperfect and yet live a full , menaingful life, because we have a brain and a heart to change things around us. Nothing wrong with getting surgery if you really think you need it...but, maybe it's your heart and your life which needs the surgery? Maybe you are a Queen and you abdicated? Life is there, here and now...no operation needed.  The spark of the Goddess was given to you, and it's not the crown of a beauty queen, but it makes you unique. Think about it.

"April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull routes with spring rain."
T. S. Eliot

Yesterday, I received a care2.com newsletter with this wonderful link about spring and Ostara included. It had a very interesting part about how Easter invites us to renewal and action, headed by the TS Eliot poem above mentioned. As they say, never is being ill, or depressed so difficult as it is in Spring, when everything is beautiful and bright and happy and love seems to be "in the air" . I have lived a depression and I know what I'm saying. This page reminds us that Spring is a time of positivity, of moving on, of being reborn...This is all very well, you say, but I still feel such a black spot on the face of earth because everything looks so beautiful and so happy and I feel so broken, and I don't have the will to go on. Hum, I think you need another point of view to look at Spring.

"At the birth of a child or of a star there is pain"

Oscar Wilde

Why, do you think that Spring is an idyll? Think again. Spring is a painful effort for Nature. It's not easy for a seed to survive the winter and become a plant in Spring, in fact many seeds don't survive. Animals start looking for a mate, and for many males this will mean fighting to the death.  If you have a female dog, observe how being in heat disturbs her and makes her nervous. For many people, spring means allergy, and they dread this time of year. No matter how romantic or Disney-like Spring may look to you, it is Nature at its busiest for multiplying and perpetuating, and it is as big a drama, or maybe more, as the cold and windy winter, which is in fact a time of rest. I don't know if April is the cruelest month, but for  Nature is the most decisive for its survival. 

Next time you think of Spring, remember; Nature is fighting to survive, like you. You're not a black spot, you're just another living being trying to find its way on earth, so you'r enot that out of place. No life is a romance, not even the life of a plant or of a star. Joy comes after sorrow, sorrow after joy. There cannot be one without the other. Don't fear any of the two processes. they are involved in every life.

Many people ask me what benefits do I get from being a Pagan, if "my gods" give me all I ask for, if magic is a way to power. Others directly accuse me of having a delusional religion, which makes me believe I can achieve anything with magick, or of being in it just to cast spells and ask for things...
Well, missing the point is not enough to define these opinions. Apart from the evident fact that all Pagans are not Wiccans and therefore many don't cast spells (some Wiccans don't do it either), if there is anything Paganism isn't about, it is the "gimme" attitude. That would be as simplistic as saying that Christianity is all about praying for help to God., but in this case, it is even more wrong, since Paganism understands the divine as a force that operates from within the human spirit, not from without. We believe the human being to be free, and absolutely responsible for his/her choices-if he/she wants something, he/she can ask for help from the Divine, but the Divine won't do the work for him/her. A spell is like unblocking a path, I like to say-but it won't walk the path for you. It's not that different from what other religions believe, but the difference is that we put all the emphasis on responsibilty-we have no hell not because we don't like it, but because we believe that living with what you've done can be hell enough if you have made the wrong choice. We claim the responsibility of the game from beginning to end-as a good mother should do, Goddess will help you get up when you fall, but she won't pull you with her apron strings.
A good example of this is the pagan version of a popular Christian poem, Footprints in the Sand, consdered anonymous for long but now attributed to Mary Stevenson:

Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”


Mary Stevenson

It is a beautiful poem,  and probably the Pagan version, an anonymous one, isn't as beautiful, but it is a good take on our view on life:

I would like to thank everybody for the wonderful response to my Tarot blog in Spanish-many people are subscribing to it and/or voting it. It will be updated before 19th March.
I'm also thankful for the huge quantity of consultations I'm getting through my page as a Tarot reader- I'm really happy and fulfilled.
Thank you everybody for making me feel real good for the first time in a long time.
Goddess bless you all.

Due to space, image and presentation issues, it has been decided that the Tarot blog will become two blogs, one for me (Rider-Waite deck) and another for Lili (Marseille Deck). I apologize for inconveniences, this hasn't been fully my decision.

" I who am the mother of the universe, the mistress of all the elements, the first offspring of time, the highest of deities, the queen of the dead, foremost of heavenly beings, the single form that fuses all gods and goddesses; I who order by my will the starry heights of heaven,the health-giving breezes of the sea, and the awful silences of those in the underworld: my single godhead is  adored by the wole world in varied forms, in differing rites and with many diverse names. Thus the Phrygians,earliest of races call me Pessinuntia, Mother of the Gods; thus the Athenians, sprung from their own soil, call me  Cecropeian Minerva; and the sea tossed Cyprians call me Paphian Venus, the archer Cretans Diana Ditynna, and the trilingual Sicilians Ortygian Proserpine; to the Eleusians I am Ceres, the ancient goddess, to others Juno,to others Belona and Hecate and Rhamnusia.  But the Ethiopians, who are illuminated by the first rays of the sun god as he is born every day together with the Africans and the Egyptians who excell through having the original doctrine, honor me with my distinctive rites and give me my true name of Queen Isis.

As I told you a few posts ago, my witch sister Lili and I have created a blog about tarot, explaining the history, symbology and meanings of every card. It is a very important project for us,a nd we're quite proud of it. It's in Spanish, but you have a babelfish engine available for translation.
Pay a visit, I think you'll like it:
http://secretosdeltarot.blogspot.com

Yoko Ono has published an album with versions of her works in collaboration with modern artists, with the interesting title "Yes, I am a Witch": On first thought, it may seem like a provocative wink to all those who demonized her as the destroyer of the Beatles, but it seems there is something more beneath...Let's listen to the singer herself:

For those who want to attract love to their lives, or to strengthen the love they already have, here are a few simple love spells taken from the British witch Titania Hardie (for source credit, see below).
But before we proceed , here are some WARNINGS!!!
Warning number one: DON'T use these spells to attract a specific person to your life-it isn't ethical if they don't have feelings for you. Love spells to make a person love you mean forcing their free will-and the karma you get from this can't be very nice. Another thing is to cast a spell to make an existing love happy and strong-that is a good wish, and there is no will forcing there.
Warning number two: If you are in my case, and you still are missing someone  or very reluctant about love, don't try these spells, because you are not ready for the effects. There are spells to make unrequited love leave, and to improve self esteem and happiness; these are the ones you should try. And even better, enjoy yourself, pamper yourself, enjoy your friends and make new ones-the wish for love will return naturally.
Warning number three: No spell will do your job, be it in love or in anything else. If you are very needy about love,use the resources you have- going out, Internet dating, you name it. But my main advice is that you love yourself and let things come naturally. Nothing good ever came of anxiety.

And now for the spells...
1. IF somebody gives you a fragrant candle, light it in front of a mirror. Wish for someone who will burn with passion  with you, like the flame and its reflection. Blow out the candle and save it. If you get your wish, light it on the first evening with your love, as a celebration of your fulfilled wish.
2.Write your name in a branch of wood, throw it to a river, preferably at night and under the moon, and ask for someone to come to your life. You should throw it over your left shoulder and bow to the moon and the river spirit.
3.IF you have an ornamental or metal heart (It MUST be a gift) plant it in your garden or in a  pot. Plant flowers over them, preferably pink. Your love life will blossom along with the plant.
4.Put a violet or a primrose in a book of love poetry, with a picture of you. Sleep with it under your pillow for three nights.
5. For girls only. Ever got a bridal pin at a wedding for luck in love? And it didn't work?well, next time try asking a pin from the fitting of the dress, not from the  finished wedding dress. Wear it every day until the wedding day,and that day kiss the bride three times after the wedding. This time it will work!
6.The oldest spell for lovers: Wish upon a star!For those who already have a lover,a nd want to keep the love strong, write your lover's name using star shapes to form the letters,and throw the paper to a river or stream.
7.Bay leaves are the best talisman for Valentine's day. Form a cross with them and place it under your pillow tonight (13th). If you already have a lover, vow fidelity to him or her. If you don't, promise you'll be always true.  You'll probably have a nice surprise tomorrow or in the next days...
8.Gates in the countryside are lucky places to kiss your love if you have one, but if you haven't and pass a gate, kiss the palm of your hand and wish for a new love to "enter" your life.
9. if you find a white feather, it is very good luck in love; put it next to a photo of yours and ask for a lover to lighten your life.
10.To strenghthen a relationship, specially if you are betrothed or close to it; make three knots in  a strand of your hair, and give it to your lover.But beware!If your lover doesn't ask you for marriage or living together within a year, he/she may never do so.

These spells,with slight alterations,a re taken from Love and Success:Titania's Spell Cards, by Titania Hardie. You can buy it here.

Meme from ade_sparrow:

INSTRUCTIONS:
01. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
02. I respond by asking you five questions of a very intimate and creepily personal nature. Or not so creepy/personal.
03. You WILL update your LJ with the answers to the questions. (Yes, sir.)
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.



1. Que le harías a House si se encontrara con Hugh en un universo paralelo y Hugh se enamorara de House?.Hombre, pues esta es facil! Montar un trio! Hugh al cuadrado, que pason! Y podria mirar mientras ellos  se lo montan!
2. Si pudieras hablar con alguien del más allá, te irias tan lejos? por que? razona tu respuesta(no te he dicho a que más allá, lo mismo es a Albacete, Asturias o al pueblo de al lao).Pues...yo tuve un novio médium, y los mensajes que me daba del mas alla eran aburridetes, asi que no, no me iria tan lejos, a no ser que me invitaran a comer :)
3. Si te pidieran dibujar un cuadro con los pies mientras te graban y te sacan por todos los canales del mundo, lo harias? sabiendo que Hugh detesta la pintura con los pies y que tras ver eso vomitaria? razona tu respuesta No way. Y no por Hugh, sino que no tengo pies bonitos. Pa enseñar carne fea ya esta la Ana Obregón :)
4. Si cruzando la calle apareciera un monstruo gigante que se pone justo frente a ti y no te deja cruzar más allá, que le dirias? y si el semáforo se pone en rojo y viene un camión a toda leche?Amenazaria al monstruo “que viene Stacy, que viene Stacy!!” ya verias como corria el condenao :)
5. Si te ofrecieran cantar una polka mientras bailas sevillanas delante de rusos o hacer una línea recta en un círculo borracha perdida, que harias? por que? razona tu respuesta a partir de que los rusos prefieran una jota y no quieran polkas. Pues haria una polka jota con mezcla breakbeat-trance. Ya se que no te suena nada, pero sera la sensación de este summer, y los rusos la fliparían.

*Title of a song by Prefab Sprout

Do you think that Valentine's day is just a commercial invention? Well, you are not far from the truth, but the origins of this day trace back to long before Christianity (again)

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

"The association of the middle of February with love and fertility dates to ancient times. On the ancient Athens calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia. Plutarch wrote:

Lupercalia, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.

The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13-14. Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia. Some historians argue that Candlemas (then held on February 14, later moved to February 2) was promoted as its replacement, but this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem by AD 381. The pope also declared in 496 that the feast of St. Valentine would be on February 14.

In Guerber's  passage on the worship of Vali: "Vali is god of eternal light, as Vidar is of imperishable matter; and as beams of light were often called arrows, he is always represented and worshipped as an archer. For that reason his month in Norwegian calendars is designated by the sign of the bow, and is called Lios-beri, the light-bringing. As it falls between the middle of January and of February, the early Christians in efforts to stop the Germanic tribes from celebrating their rituals, dedicated this month to St. Valentine, who was also a skillful archer, and was said, like Vali, to be the harbinger of brighter days, the awakener of tender sentiments, and the patron of all lovers."

The existence of St. Valentine, said to secretly perform Chrsitian marriages in times of Emperor Claudius, is not the object of discussion here but the meaningful placing of his holiday on such a popular fertlity holiday, which exists in many cultures, and nearly all of them celebrates it in mid-february, with slight variations on the date. The commercial aspect of the day is very modern-let's listen to Wikipedia again:

"Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century by British settlers. In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received. Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".

In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manners of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry."

Yeah right, diamonds are forever :))).But, how is a Pagan to celebrate Valentine's day (in case he/she wants to): Well if you have a lover, just spending time with him or her is a good way to celebrate. "All acts of Love and Pleasure are My rituals" says the Goddess, and no specific ritual but thankfulness for the love you have is required of you.
What about the single Pagan (like me)? Well, Lupercalia is a festival of fertility. Instead of feeling blue for what you don't have (specialy if, like me, you still miss a particular person) try turning it into a "fertile " day. Do something creative, write, paint, tend your garden, do something nice for a friend, and still of sighing over your chocolate ice-cream,get up and do something. If you are that desperate for love, the day is very auspicious for love spells (but remember, love spells are only for attracting love to your life, not for attracting a person you love and doesn't love you; forcing people's will is wrong, and it will activate the Rule of three) Watch out for a soon-to-come post with very simple love spells for Wiccans and non-Wiccans.

I would like to remind you all of the fact that I have a tarot service up and running at www.princessrhiannon.info . It is free for the time being but if you feel pleased with the results you can make donations through Paypal. Soon my sister witch Lili and me will open a page in Spanish about Tarot where you will be able to learn the basics of Tarot reading, the history and meanings of the cards and much more...and if you don't speak Spanish, the page has a translation engine. Until then, feel free to ask for readings and ask questions at the address given in my page.

Imbolc is celebrated on February 2nd, and Christians celebrate it as Candlemas or the Purification of Virgin Mary. And right they are too; this holiday is about washing and cleaning yourself anew.
Did you think it was enough with New Year's resolutions? (See my last post) No way Jose! The Goddess , after giving birth, is recovering-or purifying,as the Jewish traditions demand in the case of Mary. The Goddess rejuvenates, becomes an untouched maiden again, and the circle starts over. Just like the earth, which starts to let go of cold and feel the nearness of spring (or so it was before climatic change, huh?) and each time is like a renewal of her youth, so it is for the Goddess. She is preparing the courtship which will take place in Ostara,and the marriage of Beltane. She was Crone the whole  winter long, and she is Maiden again.

Can you see the analogy?Each year you are given a new chance. But it's not a present to be opened on New Year's morning, because the Earth knows better than Julius Caesar, and knows that when the world is filled  with darkness and cold, it's not a good time to start over. But when the earth starts to breathe, the weather softens, and animals give birth to their ffirst offspring (Imbolc = ewe's milk) it's about the right time to get moving. You are the bridegroom, the world is your Blushing Bride,and she is awaiting. And she won't wait long-the Merry Month of May is not that far. Go court her.