Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine #39

Editor's Note

Wow, can you believe Summer's already over??

When I was a little kid, and a month took forever to get through, I remember my parents teasing me that when I get to be their age, time will go by much faster. Of course I didn't believe them!

Well, I can vouch for it now: the older you are, the faster time really moves! A whole season goes by quick as a month used to do, and a month flies past as fast as a week did when I was younger. When I'm 90, I expect a whole year will fly by as quick as a season seems to now.

So with all this time flying, I must either be having a LOT of fun, or working hard, right? Well, yes! I took my annual short trip to visit family in September, and other than that I'm still tightly focused on completing the Wicca School's first course on time. And it's pretty much on time. So I'm thrilled to tell you ...

The official launch of A Year & A Day: 53 Weeks to Becoming a Wiccan is scheduled for October!

That's if all goes well, of course.

There are still some key pieces missing... for instance how to set up recurring payments with a mailing system, and how to design and code the school's webpages, and get graphics made. (I'm open to suggestions!!)

Keep your eyes open for a special edition of the Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine, to let you know when the course is launched, what's going to be in it (though you probably have a good idea by now), and how to get in on it.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the autumn colours, the sweet refreshing rains, and the abundant garden produce — the latter mostly thanks to the efforts of my gardening-bug spouse.

This year is the first year I've had corn on the cob since corn became genetically adulterated; a friend gave us seed that predates GMO corn, and has a good chance of being uncontaminated! We're growing it as much to save real corn seed for the Earth as to enjoy the sweet taste of it again in our household.

Hard to believe that, just yesterday it seems, I was concerned with whether the corn would get to be "knee-high by the 4th of July," and now it towers over us and offers thick ears of corn everywhere.

It goes so fast, and it's so easy to fall into ego-ideas of not having enough time to do the things that are important in life, and not just urgent. I'm doing my best to balance LIVING a life, with doing all the things that life requires. It's an ongoing dance!

I hope you make the best of this fleeting time, as well. See you at the next turn of the Wheel!

With Bright Blessings,

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Table of Contents

Boost Your Affirmation-Power

Events & Announcement	Wicca School Launch Update
Something New!	Opportunities with Wicca-Spirituality.com
Website Highlights	Altar Magick
Sabbats & Esbats & Other Wiccan Rituals	How to Decorate for the Sabbats
Ask The Priestess	How to Undo Bad Magick
Fave Quotes	Changing Direction, Aiming for the Divine
Energy Field Barometer	Changing the World from Within; Astrology News; Mercury Retrograde; Being the Captain of Your Own Life; and more
Word on the Street	Wicca Starts Healing Life's Balance
Silver Chalice Details

Events & Announcements

Wicca Spirituality's online course, A Year & A Day: 53 Weeks to Becoming a Wiccan is scheduled to launch this month!

This course has been in development for 3 years, which shows in the quality and comprehensiveness. It leads you step-by-step through becoming a Wiccan.

It's not Wicca for Dummies, or any over-simplified overview of Wicca.

What it is, is an authentic, year-and-a-day training program for people who aren't dabbling but really want to BE Wiccan. It provides more than the equivalent of a First Degree Initiate's training.

And it is more than training in Wicca — it will deepen your spiritual awareness and develop your soul.

It's not just Wicca training, and it's not just spiritual training — it's LIFE training.

Keep your eyes open for the special launch edition of the Silver Chalice, coming soon....

Opportunities with Wicca-Spirituality.com

Would you like to be part of the service that Wicca Spirituality offers to the world?

A volunteer assistant is needed to help bring the online course to fruition... specifically uploading the html and fine-tuning the text to work well online. Also helpful would be graphic and audio skills, and website design.

If you'd like to help and have the necessary skills, please contact me through this link.

Thanks!!!

Website Highlights

Spotlighting some of the Wicca Spirituality articles you may not have seen yet!

Your Magickal Wiccan Altar

If you've never had one before, you might think of an altar as Wiccan decoration . . . Just something to put up, and then leave it sit there. But eventually you will discover that the state of your altar mirrors the state of your life.

Altar Tools of the Trade

Altar tools don't have to be complicated or costly. You don't really need anything other than what you have on hand, but you might want the customary Tools of the Witch Trade . . .

Ritual tools are as individual as the witch who uses them. But it helps to know what the basic tools are and how to use them.

How To Decorate Your Pagan Altar

Or you can choose to decorate your altar to match an energy you want to increase in your life. (See below for some sample Altar Decoration Ideas.)

The Care And Feeding 
Of Your Wicca Altar

Your Wicca altar is the external expression of your living soul. And like your soul, it needs some Tender Loving Care.

A Wiccan altar is almost a living entity. It may not be sentient. (Although I wouldn't try to prove that.) And tending an altar can be a rewarding meditative practice. Your altar is capable of . . . • Generating energy,
 • Boosting you to your goals, and
 • Positively influencing your life.

How can tending your altar improve your life? That's what this article reveals.

Sabbats & Esbats & Other Wiccan Rituals

How to Decorate For The Sabbats

Excerpt from Wicca Course In Progress

A common question for beginners is how to decorate for the Wiccan Sabbats.

. . .   Continue...

Ask The Priestess:

Undoing Bad Magick

Dear Priestess,

I have made a horrible mistake and now I don't know what to do. You are a very knowledgable person on the subject of Wicca, so I thought you could help me.

I discovered Wicca in September of 2011 (through your website) and fell in love with it. It was my perfect religion and spirituality.

While I was still learning much about it, I met a friend who told me that she was a Wiccan (she really wasn't), and we started to do Wiccan things together. She eventually convinced me to cast curses, negative magick. She even made me get away from Wicca, the meditations, Sabbats, etc.

I did not realize my mistake until later. I feel horrible about it and I realize how stupid I was.

Now, I have tried to get back to Wicca, but it isn't working. The Goddess seems to want nothing to do with me. I can't even do a simple meditation anymore. It has been like this for several months. Please help me, I desperately want to be a Wiccan again, to have my spirituality back.

A very lost and confused,

L. in USA

Dear L,

That sounds very unpleasant! It's wonderful that you saw your way out of the destructive path before it got too bad. And I can only imagine how awful it must feel to believe the Goddess wants nothing to do with you!   : <

Let me begin by reassuring you that the Goddess never pulls away from anyone, would never want to, and in fact, never could. She exists within us; we exist within Her. We can be no more separate from the Goddess than from the flesh in our bodies, no more separate than the salt in the ocean is isolated from the water.

When we feel separate from the Divine, I can assure you, it's because WE have pulled away, not Her. This doesn't necessarily mean that we've turned away on purpose. Usually what happens is that we let the conduit between us and the Divine become corroded or even blocked... and that's subconscious stuff at work.

What has happened is that you were doing some harmful work, and in doing so, you would have had to pull away from the Goddess, by necessity. You can't do harm, when you are connected with the Divine. And all the negative energy you built up by doing that blocks your reconnection with Her.

If you've read my articles on the Three-Fold Law or Black Magic, you'll understand this. Before you can wreak negativity in the world, you must first generate that energy within yourself — that's where magick comes from.

As that negative energy builds, it keeps you from an awareness of the Goddess.

The First Step: Undo the Damage

So the first thing you must do is undo the damage.

You must undo any negative spells you have done, and then do 3 spells of blessing for each of those you may have harmed. This brings your energy back into balance. Three blessing spells may seem a lot, but remember the Three-Fold Law — there's a purpose for this step. The harm we do is magnified when we send it out intentionally, so the healing we do must be even greater. You may even need to pray for those people, every night for a month or more (depending on the severity of the curse).

Wherever possible, you must make amends for any harm on a physical level, as well. If someone lost their job because of your curse, say, you should help them find another one, and help them financially if they need it as well.

This might cause you hardship, but at least your hardship is voluntary; theirs was not.

This might cause you shame, if you have to admit what you did, but at least then it's out in the open and not festering in silence: you can apologise sincerely, and take steps to heal the damage.

This might cause you pain, as you face the Shadow inside yourself head-on, but that is the first step to healing and discovering the Light behind the Shadow.

So it may be very difficult, but be strong — ultimately you will find that this difficult process is a very great gift.

Making these reparations will go a long way toward cleansing your connection with the Goddess, and also erasing the karmic debt your actions have accumulated. Remember, the Three-Fold Law shows that whatever harm you've caused, you will suffer yourself many times over.

Part of that suffering is the distance you feel from the Goddess. But She doesn’t want you to suffer that: the Divine always wants us close! Setting the Three-Fold Law working in the right direction again brings you closer again to the Goddess.

The Next Step: Repair The Separation

The second thing to do is to ask the Goddess for forgiveness (which is easy; She already forgives you! But you still need to apologise to Her and ask for forgiveness, for your own sake). And then ask Her for help...

• Ask Her to help you forgive yourself.
• Ask Her to help you repair any harm to those you have cursed.
• Ask Her to help you connect with Her again.

This will only work if you have truly "seen the error of your ways" and resolve never to do that kind of harm again. Then when you ask for help, She will immediately step in to help you.

The final thing you need to do is to scrub away at that spiritual conduit that got all gummed up with negative energy. Any spiritual practices will do this. Meditation is, of course, one of the best. Reflection (spiritual journalling) will also be very helpful, especially in your situation.

Of utmost help will be the Divine Light Invocation, which will purify you on all levels simultaneously, and very effectively. The more you do this, the faster you will attain communion with the Goddess. (Also, you can bless those you have cursed by putting them in the Light.)

Well, there's a lot for you to do!

But it will be well worth it, when you feel the Goddess once again in your heart and your life, loving you and walking with you through everything. Your spirituality is certainly worth the effort, as you seem to know.

Turn It To Your Advantage

The best part is that you can use this misadventure to your advantage! You've made a mistake, but often that's how we learn best. Think about it... You've learnt something very important about yourself, about Wicca, about spirituality.

You've discovered that you value your connection with the Goddess too highly to put it at risk for silly things.

This experience will help you polish your soul to a higher shine, if you choose.

I wish you the best with it! Sending prayers for Her to help you.

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

Fighting the wounds of the past will only deepen those wounds. Relaxation is the method that heals the wounds of the mind, not reaction.

~ Amma

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.

~ Mother Teresa

An enemy is one whose story we have not heard.

~ Gene Knudsen Hoffman

For far too long we have been seduced into walking a path that did not lead us to ourselves. For far too long we have said “yes” when we wanted to say “no.” And for far too long we have said “no,” when we desperately wanted to say “yes”. . . . When we don't listen to our intuition, we abandon our souls.

And we abandon our souls because we are afraid if we don't, others will abandon us.

~ Terry Tempest

Enlightenment would be easier if there weren't other people around. It would also be impossible.

~ Marianne Williamson

If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.

~ Unknown

Energy-Field Barometer

We're still in a period of massive internal change. Well, external as well: we can see it in the climate shifting as well as the societal movements that resonate with the rebirth of the Goddess energy in the world.

Our focus, however, needs to be on the changes within ourselves... because in great part that's the source of the changes around us. If we would save the world, we must first "save" our souls. Specifically, the energy fields are moving away from the lies of the ego — fear, scarcity, greed, anger, and other base instincts — and toward greater consciousness.

What does that really mean? It means being more aware of what is deep and true and abiding:

• The world is a small, well-balanced yet fragile life-boat we all share
• We're all dependent on one another for our survival
• Everything is interconnected beyond any possible separation
• The Divine is all around us and within us, right here and now, eternally
• Cooperation and compassion are the only possible means to survival, and competition and control are leading us to a collective doom
• You are far more than you seem to be: you are infinite spirit temporarily experiencing a human life
• The Universe unerringly presents you with only and exactly what you ask for by your vibration: your thoughts, emotions, speech, beliefs, etc.
• The basis of life itself is right now transforming under our feet: from rational to spiritual, from material to energetic, from ego/mind to heart-based, from mundane to magickal
• The Earth Herself is being reborn, and we have the opportunity to help this rebirth, to ride the change on waves of faith and compassion
• The way we can help ourselves and save the Earth is through raising our vibration up to Love, creating and holding the vision of what life on Earth could be like, and overcoming the distractions the ego tries to chain us with

The Direction We're Being Drawn

In terms of Energy Fields, we are being supported and lifted — and where we're resistant or slow, challenged and impelled — to grow... to release old ways and ideas, not only of the world but more importantly of who we are and what we're here for.

We need to let go of attachments, whether to objects or status or comfort or people or self-image, because now more than ever attachments are weights that will drag us down.

This feels scary. It feels like we're losing our security and becoming adrift, at risk, in an unsettled world. But what's really happening is that we're finding out just how strong, capable, adaptable, and whole we already are!

Two strong Energy Fields right now are coming astrologically from Pluto and Uranus which have been squaring each other off-and-on since 2012 (which is why this Energy Field feels so familiar!) and will continue to do so into 2015. They're not currently squared, but this energy is carrying through the entire time.

Squaring off in astrology means just what it sounds like: the two energies are in conflict... and conflict, of course, creates opportunities for change. The upshot of these squares is clearing away the old patterns and being reborn anew.

Pluto is about revolutionary change, absolute transformation such as happens within death and rebirth, and especially power: the Shadow side of power (force, control, domination) as well as inner power — empowerment, and that comes from being authentic to who you are and speaking your truth.

The planet Uranus in astrology is about freedom and self-determination, as well as change, innovation, and breaking through limitations that are carried over from the past.

We're balancing between freedom and responsibility, between empowerment and fear and force/control. It's easy to see this on the world stage; not so easy to see within ourselves... but that's where the fundamental change is taking place. Issues of power and control, freedom and responsibility, truth and illusion, holding on and letting go are arising within each of us, and needing to be explored and healed.

A large part of the astrological, energetic dance between Pluto and Uranus is discovering the power that comes from making changes within ourselves.

We tend to think that we must work for change in the world around us, and of course that's important, but far more powerful is when we can change ourselves... and the world effortlessly changes too.

More Astrology News

Pluto is in Capricorn (2008-2024), which we've all been experiencing, I'm sure. It heralds a shift from fear to power, from feeling powerless to becoming empowered. This requires our active participation, but it transforms not only our experience of life, but the Earth itself!

Also in astrology news, Pluto is also moving direct, after being retrograde for five months. This means that hidden truths will rise to the surface — our buried desires as well as things we may not wish to see in ourselves.

Being honest with ourselves, and with others, gets easier... or at least more obligatory, as we feel more pressure to be true to ourselves. It's clear to us what we want, and don't want, in our lives, and we feel impelled to make those changes, bringing our lives more in attunement with our soul's desires and purposes.

And of course our old friend Mercury is going retrograde from October 4 til the 25th, but we're already starting to feel the effects, as the retrograde shadow reaches out for weeks on either end. A great time to...

• make sure your computer and cell phone are backed up
• finish up old projects and clear your plate in preparation for what's coming next
• reflect on where you've been and what you've done, to gain insight to guide you to your next steps

Captain Of Your Life

Everything's changing fast, is the underlying message of all this astrology news and Energy Field updates.

When you're feeling panicked about Mercury retrograde disruptions or you're uncertain what to do with all this freedom and changing social morés, there's one certain guide: your heart. The heart resonates with Divine Energy, and it will tell you what is in the right direction and what is not.

I call this "being the captain of your own life." This is what empowerment is all about: we don't let the vicissitudes of life push us willy-nilly, nor the desires and emotions of others to choose our course.

We set sail purposefully, aiming for the stars we choose:

• What is really most important to us
• What is aligned with our values
• What actions will make us the kind of person we can like and respect
• What is true
• What is Resonant with Divine energy

And we don't let minor considerations (other people's attitudes, indulgences, laziness) distract us from our course.

*   *   *  

Keep informed on Energy Fields (and astrology) as they happen: follow Wicca Spirituality on Facebook (be sure to select Get Notifications) or Twitter

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