Table of Contents

Events & Announcement	-- Erin on Blog Radio -- and New Wicca School
Wicca Course In Progress	-- Allies, Guides, & Familiars, Oh My!
Ask The Priestess	-- Am I Good Enough to Become a Wiccan?
Fave Quotes	-- Living Spirituality
Word on the Street	-- Many Ways To Practice The Craft ...
Silver Chalice Details

Events & Announcements

Dragonsong on Blog Radio

In case you didn't catch it, you can still listen to Erin's interview on NC Kabbalah Radio -- a wide-ranging, fascinating discussion of...

• what sets Wicca apart as a spiritual path,

• why it's gaining so rapidly in popularity,

• what it means that Goddess is being reborn today,

• and what Jesus had in common with Wiccans.

At the end of the program, Jeff Daugherty said of it, "I'm still kind of in awe!... If that didn't bless you, your blesser is busted!"

Check it out!

New Wicca School

Interested in the upcoming Wicca Beginners Course? As it turns out (and those of you familiar with my work won't be surprised ), there are actually multiple Wicca courses currently taking shape.

So the only thing I can do is... Start a Wiccan School!

Magick & Mystery Wicca School -- dedicated to guiding Wiccans and Wiccans-In-Training to the deeper mysteries and power of Wicca Spirituality.

The courses offer an illuminating and fun blend of esoteric wisdom, Wiccan philosophy, and practical how-to exercises ... much of which can't be found anywhere else.

If you're interested, you can sign up on this starter page -- Magick & Mystery Wicca School -- for email updates and to receive discount prices on the courses as they become available.

Wicca Course In Progress

Allies, Guides, and Familiars, Oh My!

Wiccans don’t imagine humans to be the only sentient beings in the universe, nor the pinnacle of evolution. Wiccans know (or believe, if they haven’t yet experienced it for themselves) that there are…

• beings who exist in non-physical form (like spirits and elementals),

• beings who have more power than humans (like angels and deities),

• beings who have their own sentient consciousness, however different from ours (like animals and plants).

And we’re all in this together--life, evolution, moving toward God-realisation. So we help each other.

Since we don't consider humans to be all-powerful and isolated from the rest of Creation, Wiccans tend to request assistance from other beings. Allies, Guides, and Familiars are all non-human beings upon whom we can call for help.

Please Note: there is a vast difference between enlisting support from other friendly entities and “conjuring” (capturing) and forcing beings to obey your will. Specifically the second is dangerous, damaging, and karmically disastrous... and is IN NO WAY compatible with the most fundamental philosophy of Wicca: Harm None. Taking away (or even attempting to override) any being’s free will, even temporarily, is certainly harmful… just as kidnapping, no matter how brief or relatively gentle, is harmful.

There’s nothing wrong with having a willing friend lend a hand, though!

And since Wiccans tend to develop relationships with other beings (animals, plants, rocks, non-physical beings, etc.) we tend to have friends to call when we need help.

I believe there’s another issue here, too: Wiccans often work for the good of the Earth and their own evolution, and it seems that these are goals very much desired by all beings… so other beings are eager to help us, eager to do the Earth a favour with us.

As mortal human we have certain powers that even the angels envy, but we also have certain limitations. Non-human Allies can help us accomplish more than we could do alone. Many hands make light work, and two heads are better than one—even when those hands and heads are non-corporeal.

This is not necessarily a big dramatic thing. It can be as simple as...

• Having an herb that you use frequently, and checking in with it to see if it would be useful for a particular spell or ailment

• Noticing that dragonflies have been attracted to you lately, and realizing that they’re trying to tell you something

• Standing at a crossroads and asking for guidance in which way to go

• Putting a few drops of cinnamon in an oil to increase passion

Or it can be a bit more conscious, where you have actual communication and relationships with non-human beings. Animal Spirit Guides are a classic example, or knowing your spiritual Guides or guardian angels and communicating with them. Familiars are the ultimate Wiccan example, and often the thing Wiccans are most intrigued and excited by.

So in this lesson, you will discover the differences and similarities between Allies, Guides, and Familiars, and learn how to find them and work with them. Starting with… definitions!

What Are They?

There’s a lot of overlap between Allies, Guides, and Familiars.

Spiritually speaking, an Ally is any being (animal, plant, spirit, energy, or deity) who helps you and will stand up for your well-being. Allies will take action; they will try to improve your life. They are more involved in world-life and worldly cares than Guides.

A Guide is a being (see list above) who makes clear to you what’s going on and what you need to do. Guides are less engaged in matters of material desire, physical comfort, or security (in other words, the ego pursuits) -- they give advice usually aimed at your spiritual development; they are engaged in the welfare of your soul. Guides may communicate through divination.

A Familiar is a highly-conscious animal who helps, protects, and guides you in magickal work and generally shares spiritual adventures with you....

___________________________________

SIDEBAR: Elements and Elementals ___________________________________

Elementals are beings that are strongly associated with, or formed of, one of the four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water.

Some people confuse them with the Elements, but that's like mistaking one snowman for all of Snow. The Elements are more energy than creature; they don't have individualised existence in the way humans and animals do. The Elements may be called upon for help at any time, like deities and angels and other Source-like energies.

Elementals are more creature than energy... in some cases they are a personification of the energy of an Element.

Working with Elementals is like working with something halfway between a plant Ally and a Familiar -- they have more independent lives than plant or stone Allies, and not as much connection with (or caring about) you as a Familiar would.

Be warned: Working with Elementals is not recommended for beginners.

What Do You Think So Far?

I'd love to hear from you… Please write and let me know!

Ask The Priestess

Am I Good Enough to Become a Wiccan?

Dear Priestess,

All my life I have wanted to learn about forces that have been in life but no [teacher] was willing. I had a tutor...All he did was say I was too weak-minded and too cowardly to deal with "the consequences of being a Wiccan."

I need to know. Was he right? What do I need to be a Wiccan?

K in USA

My dear K,

That sounds like an awful experience! And a very unethical tutor!

I can't imagine what might prompt someone to say that, or what consequences he might be talking about. But considering that he would say such a thing, I think he should automatically be discredited as a reliable source -- and I mean that very sincerely. There are a lot of extremely flawed people out there claiming to be Pagan "teachers," and sometimes we're a lot better off to learn from a reliable book or website than with personal attention from the wrong kind of person.

Anyway, letting that go and concerning your worries: we all have our weak moments and fears... but that doesn't means that we can't do something, or that we can't improve.

The only real consequence you must be willing to accept, to be a Wiccan, is responsibility for your thoughts and emotions as well as your actions.

Wicca doesn't have consequences that you must be perfect to deal with, no more than life does. (I'm assuming of course that we're not speaking of some kind of spirit-summoning or demon-controlling or negative-magick kind of Wicca -- because then all bets are off!)

Wicca is a way of living and loving the Earth, of finding our power and expressing the beauty of the Divine Within us. How bad can that be? And who in the universe is not fit for that??? We are all pieces of the Divine, and Wicca helps us realise and express that.

I swear to you Kaleb, that as long as you are coming from your higher self, your best intentions--or you strive to be-- you are certainly worthy!!

Please read through my website: it should help you understand the truh of this, and your potential for the Path. Also, you may wish to know that I will be offering a course in becoming a Wiccan, in the winter of this year, in case you want to learn this way.

I wish you all the best in your Wiccan study!

With Blessings,

Erin

<3

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

What makes something holy or unholy is the purpose the mind ascribes to it. Anything dedicated to love is holy.

~ Marianne Williamson

The temptation to debate is often great when people get together to talk about spiritual subjects, but it comes down to this: What can you put into action in your life that will indeed make you more compassionate?

~ Swami Radha, Realities of the Dreaming Mind

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

~ Lao-Tze

When you pray, move your feet.

~ African proverb

Keep your expectations of life positive. Strive to live with unceasing happiness. Let not your possessions possess you, nor the petty details of worldly life invade with hordes of worry the stillness of your heart.

~ Paramhansa Yogananda

Word on the Street

What People Are Saying About Wicca-Spirituality.com:

My husband and I have started practicing over the past year a friend lead us to the path however she got mad when we would ask questions and told us that her way was the only right way of practicing but your site has let us know that asking questions is ok and there are many ways to practice the craft. Thank you. -- S.V. in USA

Thanks so much for this beautiful site! It has answered so many questions and there is so much information I can not possibly read fast or long enough!

I have not been practicing Wicca long but the more and more I read and practice the more I fall in love! I wish I could share it with the world!

Thanks for your hard work! Blessed Be. -- K.B. in USA

Thanks for writing!! I appreciate hearing from you! : )

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