August 01, 2009
Silver Chalice Wicca E-Zine #13
The Magick That We Are
August/September 2009
Editor's Note
Merry Meet! Welcome to the Silver Chalice E-zine! 
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Well, the votes are in! Thank you all so much for participating! It's wonderful to get an idea of what you like about the 'zine and what you want from a magick book too.
The results from the Silver Chalice vote have been tabulated, and twice as many readers would like to see the Magick Book in progress.
So, let's try 3 to 6 issues with this new format. This ISN'T a permanent change. We'll return to our original format again. So stay tuned if you want the original Silver Chalice again!
And to please those of you who really want to keep the columns you've come to expect, we'll have some of the most popular columns in each issue, as well.
They say you can't please everyone, but let's see if this compromise will do the trick!
I'm really grateful for all your input!
And I apologize deeply for the delay with the free download. That was actually a mistake… The survey was copied from another one I'd done, and I changed the prize to the free consultation, then neglected to erase the original. = : - o
So I scrambled to create a download I thought would be interesting, useful, and inspiring. If you participated in the survey, you should have received it in your mailbox by now. Search for the subject: Re: Silver Chalice Vote - your free thankyou gift
(I'd love to hear how you like it, to help guide me in the choice of future free downloads!)
If you voted but have not received your free download / thank-you, please …
1. Make sure we're not getting trashed by your spam-guard (whitelist "@wicca-spirituality.com"), and then
2. Write to me and let me know you didn't get it.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! 
The Winner of the Free Consultation with Erin is…
J. MEDLEY FROM OHIO, USA
Congratulations, J.!!
You have been sent an email on how to arrange for your prize…. Check your email for the subject heading: Receive Your Consultation.
And now… on to the Silver Chalice!
With Blessings,
Contact Us
If you have any comments, opinions, or content ideas we'd love to hear from you. Please write!
P.S. As always, I value your opinon greatly and would love to hear what you think! This let's me know what to offer more (and less) of so I can fineteune the 'zine and website to serve you better! Please write!
Table of Contents
| What's New on the Site | -- Modern Shamans |
| Events & Announcement | -- Lots Going On! |
| Ask The Priestess | -- Tattoos |
| Magick Book In Progress | -- The Magick That We Are |
| Fave Quotes | -- Where To Find 'Em |
| Energy Field Barometer | -- Where to Get Updates |
| Word on the Street | -- The Missing Piece |
| Silver Chalice Details |
What's New On The Site
A new section has joined Wicca-Spirituality.com: The Modern Shaman.
The articles in this section look at energy sensitivity and working with energies.
There is one more article along this vein, but it's grouped with the Wiccan practices instead of the rest of the Modern Shaman articles since it is specifically a Wiccan practice. That's the LBRP (Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram).
This is one of the two indispensable practices for highly sensitive people (along with the Divine Light Invocation).
Are You A Highly Sensitive Person? is a quiz to find out if you're one of these Modern Shamans.
Introduction to Subtle Energy Fields , Types of Energy Fields, and Tapping Into Positive Energy Fields have been moved over into this section, and give more details on energy fields.
What Is An Energy Healer ? describes how being a highly sensitive person means that you are part of the healing for the Earth's energy field, and what the gifts and lessons are for the Energy Healer.
Dangers for an Energy Healer explores the risks of being an energy healer without conscious care. Many highly sensitive people don't realise that they are acting as Energy Healers, and that unconscious attempt can cause serious injury!
So naturally, Energy Protection for Highly Sensitive People goes on to offer you Energy Field First Aid -- what you can do to protect yourself.
Discharging Negative Energy & Clarifying Your Energy Field is part 2 of how to protect yourself over the long run.
Protection for Highly Sensitive People -- part 3 looks at preparing yourself for the higher vibrations that are the potential of all highly sensitive people.
And Healing The Wounded Healer explores how to heal yourself, so that you can protect yourself energetically as well as be a healer for the Earth.
Lots to think about and learn! Come check it out.
Events & Announcements
There's a lot going on!
Become of Fan of Wicca Spirituality on Facebook! Lots of neat stuff happens there: events, quotes, philosophical questions, spiritual reminders, Moon phases, Wicca tips....
We'd love to have you join our group!
You can also follow both Wicca Spirituality and erin Dragonsong on Twitter.
Last but not least, at the Wise Women Festival in September, you can join two of my workshops:
Wicca Magick -- Book In Progress
The Magick That We Are
WHAT IS MAGICK, in a world where…
- Sound and light are curing diseases
- All technology is based on the non-materiality of matter
- Two "half-cells" unite and make one cell, which somehow by replicating itself makes all the different cells and consciousness of a human being
- This computer screen appears and acts solid, although it is nothing more than vast ranges of nothingness punctuated here and there by little lights blinking on and off
- Objects exchange information immediately, no matter how great the distance between them … micrometers or light years
- Your body is literally replaced every 7 years, but your health carries forward as though nothing has changed — how does a brand-new kidney cell or atom know to be sick or healthy?
- While science can detail endlessly how things happen, it is usually completely stumped as to why
The real world is far more magickal than anything we have imagined, or anything we may try, as Wiccans, to accomplish. There are more mysteries in heaven and earth than science can begin to explain.
When society's concept of the universe was that of a mechanistic clock, it was ludicrous to imagine that one person might significantly alter it… even more ridiculous to imagine that a mere thought could affect the physical world!
But today we know that the universe is not mechanical.
As Sir James Jeans writes in The Mysterious Universe
The Power of Your Thoughts
If the universe is made up of thought, how much might one person's mind affect it? How much more so when it is a powerful, disciplined mind?
How much more, when there are many strong minds working in unison?
Quite a lot, it turns out!
Take, for example, these scientific studies in the power of meditation to decrease crime and violence.
Thought Transforming the World
In 1984, a group of 7000 meditators was able to create more peace worldwide. "Researchers documented reduced international conflict, decreased terrorism, and increased harmony between nations during that two-week period." - http://archive.tm.org/discover/benefits/world.html
In 1993, 4,000 Transcendental Meditation experts gathered in Washington, D.C. for a publicized demonstration. It was predicted that during this time, violent crime would decrease.
"The results exceeded predictions. After months of rapid increase, HRA violent crime (homicide, rape, and assault) suddenly declined in Washington, D.C., during the demonstration, according to time series analysis. (Violent crime usually increases in June and July.) For the final 2 weeks of the demonstration, HRA crime dropped 18%.
"... The steady state gain (long-term effect) … was calculated as a 48% reduction in HRA crimes in the District of Columbia." - Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation (Emphasis mine.)
More studies on the effects of meditation on violence have been done worldwide, with amazing results.
"The research has demonstrated repeatedly that when the square root of 1% of a population practices the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program together in one place there are marked decreases in negative tendencies such as crime, sickness, and accident rates, as well as instances of turbulence and violence in society. The research has also shown significant increases in positive trends, such as improvements in economic conditions."
" Most dramatically, sociological research showed that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi program by a small number of people together in one place had a very powerful effect on society as a whole -- even more powerful than the 1% Transcendental Meditation effect." - http://archive.tm.org/book/chap_7.html
As Dr. John Hagelin, Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy put it, “This is not wishful thinking. This is hard science that has been field tested for over 50 years and documented through more than 600 studies conducted at over 250 independent universities and research institutes throughout the world.”
The proof is incontrovertible.
The power of your mind to affect your world has not even begun to be imagined!
Infinite Possibility
Those who deny the power of thought — in essence, the possibility of magick, psi abilities, etc. — are living in the scientific dark ages of mechanistic superstition.
If the universe is made of thought, as quantum physics is demonstrating, what could stop you for accessing any part of it, any thought or knowledge?
What could stop you from changing it?
Only your concern with your internal chaos and your tendency to disbelieve.
Both of which you can change at any time!
. . .
What Do You Think So Far?
I'd love to hear from you… Please write and let me know!
Ask The Priestess
Tattoos
Dear Priestess,I saw what you wrote about tattoos. I have several that I've been wanting to get, but I'm not sure about placement.
The two I want most are the Saturn Seal of Protection and the Triple Moon with a pentacle. I wanted them on either wrist, but then I realized my arms would be unbalanced; unless I was going to throw energy out of one arm and close circles with the other. Haha.
What do you think? Should I find a different spot for the tattoos, or does the placement of these two really matter?
Thank you so much for your time! Blessed be!
A. in USA
Dear A,
That's an interesting question... Some people do use the dominant hand (usually that's the right hand) for casting and the other for undoing.
My first thought is that it would probably be helpful to start with something impermanent but durable, to try it out. You can get body marking pens these days, but henna tattoos would be even better, because they can last over a month. Then test out your idea. See how the energy feels, how it moves. See how you feel having it there.
You can check things out in different places, and see how the energy moves in each location, to find the best spot.
I'm a big fan of henna and other temporary tattoos.
Using temporary tattoos, you can play with many symbols in various locations, without holding onto an energy that you've outgrown (a common problem with tattoos).
And sometimes what will move the energy well at one point in your life, becomes a block when you've grown and changed your energy and your needs.
You may find that all you need is a temporary version... it might fill the requirement. This often happens.
And you can reapply as often as desired.
This way, you can also use vary the tattoo symbols to reflect the seasonal celebrations, say, or for luck in a job interview, or courage for a challenging task, or whatever.
If you're using it as a spell, then it's even better to reapply it, because you'll be recharging it all the time.
Another reason I advocate temporary tattoos is that I feel it's risky to mark yourself with permanent overt Wiccan signs.
It wasn't too long ago that we were horrifically tortured and killed for our religion, and there are still people killed and threatened for being Wiccan. When the Nazis exterminated intellectuals, socialists, feminists, gay people, etc, a few decades ago, nobody thought something like that could happen, not in this day and age. Yet it did. It could potentiality happen again, especially with the way the USA is leaning heavily towards fascism and religious fundamentalism. I'd like to think this is just paranoia, but recent history proves the possibility.
Not to mention discrimination in the workplace, and with the government, etc. If you're ever needing to fight a legal battle, like for custody of your children someday (Goddess forbid!), this could be used against you.
Another reason to keep it private is the same reason you don't leave your altar and magick spells lying around. When other people can see it, and emotionally react to it, they send shards of energy into it. The last thing you want is an energy-system like a magickal symbol to be diluted or twisted with someone else's negative energy!
This may not always be negative... but even another Witch could have an entirely different association with a symbol than you do, and clog it up with their opinions.
I'd suggest that if you must tattoo a Witch symbol on you, it should be somewhere safely private. Not that this really guarantees protection, but it would avoid people casually discovering and reacting to the symbol. Wrists are pretty public, and hard to hide if you needed to.
Another option is to use a symbol that means Wicca to you, but that other people wouldn't recognize as such. You get the benefit of having a meaningful symbol, without taking on other people's judgements.
(Although with jobs and homes and stuff, you may still be facing discrimination with any kind of tattoo.)
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.)
Fave Quotes
This column will resume when we return to the original formatting of the Silver Chalice.
Meantime, you can get quotes relating to Wicca by following Wicca Spirit on Twitter.
And general inspirational quotes by following erin Dragonsong on Twitter.
Energy-Field Barometer
This column will likely not be included in the next few issues. But energy field updates are available through the Blog or the Facebook Wicca Spirituality Fan page.
Please check there to keep up on what's going around.
This column will resume when we return to the original formatting of the Silver Chalice.
Notice or suspect an energy field going around? Can you confirm these readings, or shed more light on them?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.
Word on the Street
Thanks for writing!! I appreciate hearing from you!
What People Are Saying About Wicca-Spirituality.com:
You are filling a great need for the Wiccan community. Wicca is more than magick.. it is a religion, but so far, it is a religion that has had something big missing. Your website fills in that most important missing piece.If you haven't already.. I hope you write a book. -- P.L. in USA
( Working on it! ; D -- erin )
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Contact Us
If you have any comments, opinions, or content ideas we'd love to hear from you. Please write!
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© erin dragonsong 2009. All rights reserved worldwide. Reprinting any of this is forbidden unless you obtain my written permission: karma and the law agree on this one. And Copyscape is keeping an eye on these things.
