Silver Chalice Wicca E-Zine #7

Lammas: Divine Teamwork

August/September 2008

Editor's Note

Well, summer has finally arrived. Since we've waited so long for it this year, I hesitate to be the bearer of unwelcome tidings... but the Wheel of the Year is still turning. So this issue's Wiccan Sabbat article is on Lammas, the first harvest. The first harbinger of the fall to come.

Still, we're not there yet! And even while winter creeps toward us, the shortened days bring the gifts of the land to grace our tables.

Lammas is a time to celebrate the summer's harvest with our communities.

It's also a time to rejoice in our own talents and skills, which are just as necessary to the harvest's success as Divine Grace.

It is in this vein that the book review offered this month is Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. (Even when we do ritual together, it always begins in our private practice.)

Continuing the notion of developing our skills, Ask the Priestess answers the perennial question: Where can you go to learn Wicca?

As the summer winds on, keeping us busy and perhaps overworked, it is helpful to remember the partnership with the Divine that can sustain us. After all, we don't have to do any of it alone. Indeed, we couldn't if we tried!

Enjoy these precious summer days!

With Blessings,

Mabon Books   Wiccan Jewelry   Wicca Books   Wiccan Music

Silver Chalice E-Zine #7 Table of Contents

Events & Announcement	-- Mandala Starter Kit Update
Book Review	-- Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Sabbats & Esbats & Other Wiccan Rituals	-- Lammas: Divine Teamwork
Ask The Priestess	-- Learning Wicca
Fave Quotes	-- Taking Action
Energy Field Barometer	-- The Fatigue Cycle, The Despair Opportunity, Busyness, & New Beginnings
Next Issue	-- Mabon: Divine Son, God of the Hunt
Word on the Street

Events & Announcements

You may be wondering what happened with the Mandala Starter Kit ....

Last issue, I stated that it would be available within the week. Unfortunately, I've had difficulties with my computer as well as with setting up a payment method, so the Mandala Starter Kit has been delayed.

I apologize sincerely for any inconvenience. I hope to have it up before the next issue. Check the blog to keep updated!

Book Review

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

Cunningham's unadorned style and clear instructions on the very basics of the Witchcraft are as useful today as when the book was written.

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner offers simple rituals that a novice will have no difficulty following. It also includes an Author's Book of Shadows, to get you started.

. . .   Read the Whole Review

Sabbats & Esbats & Other Wiccan Rituals

Lammas: Divine Teamwork

Like all harvest festivals, Lammas is a time to give thanks for the gifts of the Divine.

Lammas also a time when we celebrate our skills, which allow us to work in partnership with the Divine to grow and harvest these gifts.

. . .   Read the Whole Article

Ask The Priestess

Learning to Be a Witch

JB

Dear JB,

This is a common dilemma for up-and-coming Witches: how to meet other Witches and learn to practice Wicca.

Unfortunately, there aren't really Wiccan churches. There are a few groups around that are designated as churches, but I don't think any of them have a building that you can go to for "Sunday rituals," or anything like that.

Instead, many Wiccans have covens... groups of like-minded Wiccans that meet to celebrate Wiccan rituals, Sabbats, and Esbats. Covens may meet anywhere, indoors or outdoors, according to the desires of the group. And they often meet in different places, rather than in the same location each time.

To many Wiccans being part of a coven, or congregation of Witches, is important. But lots of Wiccans like solitary Wicca; for some people, the Divine is most easily found when they are alone.

Even as a solitary Wiccan, though, you need to learn what to do. Luckily, you can learn on your own.

Most of us learn by one of three methods:

• We find Wiccans with whom to practice.

• We read books and magazines (and websites) and teach ourselves.

• We go to workshops.

There are three books I would especially recommend. Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, Starhawk & Valentine's The Twelve Wild Swans, and Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.

There are many more excellent resource books listed here, as well.

And, of course, I believe reading Wicca-Spirituality.com is a fabulous start!

In particular, have you seen the section on Being A Witch? And the article, Covens, Circles, and Solitary Wicca, talks about the advantages of each of these paths.

As for workshops, you may be able to find some through a Web search. Personally, I highly recommend Reclaiming's workshops and witch camps. (Links open in new window.)

I wish you well with it; good luck!

With Blessings,

erin

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Do you have a question you'd like answered? Email the Priestess and your question could be answered in a future issue.

(Note: questions may be edited for brevity or clarity. No real names will be disclosed. For reasons of legality, all questions become the property of Wicca-Spirituality.com.)

~ P. Aaron

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.

~ Elbert Hubbard

Never mistake motion for action.

~ Ernest Hemingway

When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace.

~ J. Lubbock

This is getting quite repetitive, but the main energy fields I've noticed are, yet again, fatigue and despair.

These both seem to come in cycles. There'll be a period of tiredness, and then it'll pass, and then it'll return. The despair seems to jump on the head like a sack of cement, and then gradually or quickly fade, only to leap out again after a while.

The fact that these two issues keep resurfacing suggests that we are working our collective way through some very deep-rooted patterns of behaviour, peeling layers away one by one.

This may be a good time to reiterate my perception of energy fields.

Energy fields seem to be emotions, thought-patterns, and even situations that exist on a communal level. That is, this despair (for instance) is not your or my personal despair, rather it is what we feel when we tap into a widespread cultural despair.

It is my belief that when we enter into an energy field, we are participating in that condition in order to relieve it. Every time you conquer despair and reclaim hope and faith, a piece of that communal despair is erased for all time. The energy field of the Earth is lightened.

So the despair that we have been feeling for so long is actually an opportunity! It is an occasion to break through the cultural despair-pattern, and bring healing relief to the planet.

The fatigue, I sense, is something different. It can feel like intense lethargy or being empty of life-force, drained and weak. I think this feeling is the repercussion of all the transformation we are going through.

As the Spiritual Rebirth progresses, we draw on our energy reserves for three purposes...

1. To deal with the emotional or physical state we find ourselves in,
2. To do the work of changing the patterns,
3. To cope with our changing life.

But it can easily contribute to any tendency to fatigue!

Another condition that is widespread is New Beginnings. Many people are finding themselves wrapping up old tasks, homes, even lifestyles... and starting out on new paths. While this is satisfying and exciting, it can also feel unsettling.

All of these energy fields have been going on since before Yule 2007.

Do you see the bigger picture, here? All of these symptoms outline the change that is taking place on a planetary level. It's too soon to tell what cake is being baked in the fire of transformation, but the ingredients are all coming together.

The most important thing that you can do with these energy fields, for your own well-being and the well-being of the world, is to take heart. Keep perspective on what you're going through, remember it means you're part of the Healing, and talk with others so you don't feel alone in it.

This is what we've come here for.

And I feel honoured to be participating in it with you. See you around the 'fields!

With Blessings,

erin

Notice or suspect an energy field going around? Can you confirm this reading, or shed more light on it?

I'd love to hear what's happening for you! Please let me know.

What to do about being caught in an unpleasant energy field? Click here for tips.

Next Issue

Autumn Equinox Sabbat:

Mabon: Divine Son, God of the Hunt . . . .

See you then!

Word on the Street

What People Are Saying About Wicca-Spirituality.com:

Thank you...thank you!!! I've been looking for someone who explains Wicca as I experience it! Thank for all the great input! I've been a solitary for about ten years - growing and learning as I go. I'm a teacher and Mom of five. Happily married to a wonderful Wiccan man! How can I contribute to the site? Blessings, -- S. in USA

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