Pneumatised!

MM,

It has been a busy weekend starting with my Dedication ritual.

The ritual was an amazing experience. Though I was Handmaiden for three Dedication rituals previously, it is definitely different when it is your own. The answers to 3 of the 5 questions came to me a few nights ago before going to sleep. The other two questions were yes/no questions with the obvious answer being “yes” if one wanted to continue to be Dedicated. Towards the end of the ritual I received my craft name. While I will not reveal my name on here (my personal choice, I was not told to keep it hidden), I will say that it is strangely suitable. It’s from Ancient Greek and already it has given me much to think about, especially how things in my life are strangely falling into place.

After the ritual, I could finally eat! Yay! However, I had consumed quite a bit of alcohol in the ritual (it is part of the ritual actually that I finish drinking the remaining wine in the chalice after pouring a libation) and could only eat a little. I thought I had eaten just enough, however I was wrong. I was a little sick about an hour or two later. Not fun. Well, overall, it was too be expected.

For the most part, the ritual was amazing and the food was good to have again. I have a better appreciation for food, although right now I’m not eating that much yet. It has taken me a few days to recover from the experience as a whole (i.e, the fasting and the ritual). In addition, I have loads of work to catch up on.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
http://www.brigidsflame.com/

MM,

Okay, I’ve been on clear liquids since last night 7 p.m. and already I can’t wait for some nice food. I keep thinking of seafood pasta with tomato vodka sauce or souvlaki with tzatziki or pad thai noodles with peanut sauce or possibly shrimp and chicken teriyaki. Then there’s always a nice juicy steak or hamburger.

Well, for now I’m going to have some chicken broth. It’s mostly water really, but at least it’s hot and has some taste. I probably would get more nutrients out of some tea though. So, lots of herbal tea today.

Okay, well going to stop thinking about food for now.

Looking forward to tonight. I’ve got my robe. It’s pretty, to say the least, which makes me very happy. 😀

Still thinking about what my answers will be tonight. If I recall, there are 5 questions I have to answer. Been thinking about this for awhile, so I should be okay. Then there’s also the naming part. I get a craft name! Yay! Wondering what it will be? I’m definitely in for a big surprise. Whatever the name is, I hope I like it. And if not, hopefully it’s suitable in a good way.

Well, chicken broth is calling my name now and Buffy is almost on TV.

Later and BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
http://www.brigidsflame.com/

MM,

I’m onto the “no solids” part of my gradually fast. So far not so bad, I can still have soup. Yesterday, I had a tomato, feta, and olive salad, some hummus, and some pistachios. Damn tiring trying to fill up on nuts (don’t know how squirrels do it, but then again might be how they keep a figure… hehe). Soon enough it was 7 p.m. again and now I can only have liquids. Ended up being slightly hungry around 10-ish and dug into the cupboards. Found two packages of cup-a-soup – mushroom (yum!) Had that and drank some more tea.

Later last night, I had a sage tea and took a hot bath. Didn’t feel particularly sweaty as some people claim, but did wake up with a full bladder. Hm… instead of sweating out the toxins, my body decided to… well, you can guess. Not so bad though. I thought maybe the effect of sage might be worse. I only had two leaves though and didn’t ingest them. The effects might be alot stronger if the leaves were eaten or maybe I could have put more leaves in the tea.

Today is continuing with the liquids part of the fast. I can still have soup, so thinking of picking up some tomato soup and some chicken broth. Tonight, at 7 p.m., I drop down to clear liquids only which means no juice, no soy milk, no soup (except clear broth) . I can only have clear broth, herbal teas, and water – until tomorrow night. The ritual is scheduled for 7 p.m., but I won’t be able to eat until afterwards. So, I’m definitely fasting for longer than 24 hours.

Well, now, time to go get some soup. I guess I can fill up my stomach on liquids. So far, this isn’t so bad. Just wish I can make a smoothie with some seafood.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
http://www.brigidsflame.com/

MM,

This Friday night I am going through a Rite of Dedication.

The Rite of Dedication is pegged by some to be one of the favourite and most beautiful rituals in our tradition (Odyssean). I have to agree with that. Along with some of the women’s rituals, the Rite of Dedication has special meaning to the Dedicant.

The major theme for this ritual is, of course, dedication. Dedicated to what? To whom? Well, for one thing, contrary to most Christian systems, it is not a dedication to any specific tradition of Wicca, which is why the Rite of Dedication is not really a private ritual. (It’s as private as the Dedicant wants it to be. I have specifically invited certain attendees who may bring guests. I guess it would be considered a semi-private event.) The Rite of Dedication in no way binds me to the Odyssean tradition as there is no making of oaths. (Being oathbound in this tradition occurs at Neophyte level, which still does not preclude one from joining another tradition if one chooses. There are people who are Gardnerian as well as Odyssean.) Rather, the Rite of Dedication is a formalized way for one to say hello to the deities and to acknowledge them and for the Dedicant to make a statement of faith to her peers. Basically, it’s a way to say “Hey, I’m Wiccan/Pagan. This is who I am and this is how dedicated I am to that path.” Ultimately, I think of my Dedication as a formalization of the path I have chosen and a dedication to being who I am.

A minor theme in the Dedication is one of community and support. It lets one know that no matter what may happen, there is always support from the community, the elements, and most of all, the deities.

Now, in preparation for my Dedication, I have opted for a 3-day gradual fast. First, I cut out meats, then all solid food substances and then thick liquids. The day before the ritual, I am only ingesting clear liquids (e.g., broth, herbal teas, water). There is a feast after the ritual, so the Dedicant can have some food shortly after having consumed alcohol. I am now in the vegetarian part of the fast. Not fun. I love seafood and am craving it lots! However, as I stated, I opted for this fast. I didn’t have to do it. At the bare minimum, I only had to do a one day fast of clear liquids. If I had any medical issues, I didn’t even have to do the fast at all. However, I consider myself to be fairly healthy, so a 3-day fast wouldn’t hurt. This is something I feel I need to do. Fasting usually helps clear out toxins from the body and leaves one feeling better overall. We’ll just have to wait and see. As of 7 p.m. tonight, I will be only ingesting liquids. Later tonight, I will be having sage tea and a hot bath to help clear out toxins. Sage needs to be ingested in small quantities, so anyone reading this should be careful if they are considering sage tea! It’s only used to to clear out toxins and not as a casual tea.

Now, I’m getting hungry which is probably good – need to eat what I can before 7 p.m. So, time for some nuts. Be back later (tomorrow) with a quick update.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
http://www.brigidsflame.com/

MM,

I’m a member of various Yahoo message boards and while I cannot keep up with them ALL all the time, occasionally I find an interesting discussion. Most recently, I was on the Buddhism 101 message board. Following a discussion about comparing religions (why it’s beneficial to compare religions and different spiritual paths), someone asked me about the similarities between Wicca and Buddhism.

The following is my response:

Hm… similarites between Wicca and Buddhism. Well, hadn’t really sat
down and thought through ALL the similarities and differences yet.
I’m still learning and I don’t quite have as much experience with
Buddhism as I do with Wicca.

The first thing that comes to mind is tolerance. It seemed to me that
the philosophy of Buddhism inherently provides tolerance for all
systems of belief. In my experience, the Wiccans and Pagans I know
are tolerant of other beliefs (even Christianity, though of course the
biggest complaint we have about Christianity is that we just want
to be left alone and please don’t proselytize to us, we don’t need to
be saved!) Both Buddhism and Wicca say that all paths lead to the
same. In Wicca, it is phrased, “All goddesses are one goddesses; all
gods are one god.” Many Wiccans can be eclectic Wiccans which means
that they adopt beliefs (and practices) from other sources and mix and
blend what they find suitable for them. Both Wicca and Buddhism
accept that others may choose to follow another belief or faith if
s/he chooses. Both do not proselytize.

The rest of this is coming off the top of my head as I think through a
comparison… and I may be wrong about some points on Buddhism, but
this comparison is based on my impressions of Buddhism so far based on
what I’ve read and researched.

Both Wicca and Buddhism place an emphasis on experience. Buddhists
emphasize connection to the divine through meditation and mindfulness.
Wiccans also uses meditation (and mindfulness, though that term has
not been used in Wiccan teachings) to connect to divinity. The major
form of experience for Wicca is through ritual. Rituals can be very
simple (e.g., meditation) or very complex (e.g., a re-enactment of a
myth in order to learn – very fun!). Regardless of the type of
experience, both Wicca and Buddhism emphasize experience with the
divine.

The ideas of immanence and animism are present in Wicca and Buddhism.
Immanence refers to the idea that deity can exist here and now not
just “out there somewhere” (transcendence). The Christian deity is
transcendent, Wiccan deities are immanent. Buddhism thought that we
can achieve divine status is an immanent idea. (Definition of
immanent,
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Diction
ary&va=immanent&x=0&y=0;
definition of transcendent,
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Diction
ary&va=transcendent&x=0&y=0)
Animism is the belief that everything in nature has a soul or
consciousness. Both Wiccans and Buddhists believe this about things
in nature. Examples would be stones and plants
having a soul or consciousness. I once read somewhere that a man was
so mindful about deity being in everything that even his human waste
caused him to become ecstatic. (I think that was a Buddhist
story, have to find that source somewhere…)

I hope that’s a starting point of comparison for you. As I said, I’m
still learning and the above is just off the top of my head.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
http://www.brigidsflame.com/

The internet is a great thing. We have come to depend on it for information we could not have been able to find elsewhere. Or so we think. I often engage in research on various topics. I have a thirst for knowledge and learning and use the internet on a daily basis. Consequently, it never fails that I stumble across inaccurate or incomplete information on the internet. This happened already regarding the authorship of certain important Wiccan literature. Please see a message I posted on a private message board, but have saved on this website as “portervaliente.htm”. This time, it is the Besom Chant by Ed Fitch, commonly used by the Wiccan Church of Canada (WCC).

As Handmaiden for the semi-private women’s group run by Tamarra James, I must learn the Besom Chant for my role in ritual. As a Wiccan studying to become a Priestess one day in the Odyssean tradition of WCC, I should know the Besom Chant anyway. Thus, I feel I can be an authority on the Besom Chant and its authorship or source. I first stumbled across a version of the Besom Chant on the internet while searching for a chant on Brighid for which I know the lyrics because I wanted to find the author. (Sadly, I did not find it.) However, I found a web page crediting the Besom Chant to “Lady Tamara” (I am assuming they mean Tamarra James, even though they misspelled her name.). A quick Google search for “besom chant” pulls up 630 results. A further search within that for “ed fitch” pulls up 3 results, with only one page crediting Ed Fitch as the author (http://www.cyberus.ca/~phoenix/hedra/chants.html). (Now, this is the point where I start ranting about how the “majority rules” is not an appropriate rule of thumb to apply to the internet.) At least, one web page had the decency to admit they did not know if it was in fact Lady Tamara who wrote the chant. (I will be writing the site owner’s and giving them the link to this blog entry.)

So, I suppose it is up to me to set the record straight because if I know Tamarra well enough by now, I’m sure she would not want to take credit for someone else’s work. It’s just not a nice thing to do. Besides, I do have a photocopy of the Besom Chant originally “written in the hand of Lady Tamarra” (note the second ‘r’ in her name) and she credits Ed Fitch as the source for the chant. The first copy I received of the Besom Chant was from the public class held at WCC and this copy too also credits Ed Fitch. Ed Fitch is the author of The Rites of Odin, a book of which I have a copy. The short bio in the book’s cover states that he was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca in the 1960s. This would likely make him a contemporary to Tamarra James and would easily explain how she received the Besom Chant from him.

Now, seeing as the Besom Chant has managed to find itself on the internet and that it IS available to the public as part of WCC’s public classes. I feel I am not breaking any oath of secrecy by posting it on here with the correct authorship. At least if people are going to use it, they should have the correct version and should know the source.

The following is the Besom Chant as originally written down by Lady Tamarra (I have made some minor spelling corrections):

Besom Chant by Ed Fitch

Besom, besom, long and lithe
Made from ash and willow withe
Tied with thongs of willow bark
By running stream at moonset dark
With the pentagram indited
As the ritual fire is lighted
Sweep ye circle deosil
Sweep out evil, sweep out ill
Make the round of the ground
Where we do the Lady’s will.

Besom, besom, witch’s broom
Sweep out darkness, sweep out doom
Rid ye Lady’s hallowed ground
Of demons, imps, and Hell’s red hound
Then stand thee down on her green earth
By running stream or Mistress’ hearth
Til called upon by sabbat’s rite
To cleanse once more the dancing site.
So mote it be.

The foregoing being said about the internet notwithstanding, I do think the internet is useful. I just would prefer if people would attempt to check their sources. It is, after all, a nice and honest thing to do.

Okay, end of rant.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and resident Wiccan

Merry meet,

Well, as the title says, it’s Sabbat time again. This time it is Imbolg, also known as St. Brigit’s Day or Candlemas. It has also been called Oimelc. As I am fortunate to participate in a few different ritual groups, now when a Sabbat comes up I get to celebrate it not just once, but twice, or thrice if I really want to. Wow! This gives me pause to reflect on the community that I’ve come to be a part of and how things have somehow spiralled from there. Years ago (going back to my teenage years), I never would have thought that this community existed, even though this particular community has been around almost as long as I have. I was just a young’un when this community started up not knowing it would one day become such an important haven for many wayward souls dissatisfied with mainstream religion and spirituality. So, I’ve become part of a community nearly as old as I am (granted the pagan community in general is much older… I keep hearing stories from my older peers about way back when…) and I somehow am not sure how I managed to accomplish this.

Now, for someone who is normally busy and bouncing off the walls with too much to do (because I so enjoy learning new things and find life boring without any goals), it sometimes seems like too much to celebrate one Sabbat up to three times in a year. However, Imbolg is different for me, mostly because Imbolg is dedicated to Brighid nearly invariably. Brighid, the patron goddess of this website. So, tonight is the start of my spree of Imbolc rituals.

After coming back from ritual tonight, I feel quite energized likely due to the energy of Brighid. I think it is just the reminder of her and my dedication to her that has me up and wanting to write and get things done. Once again, she has managed to inspire me and sparked my thoughts into action. Tomorrow, I suspect she will do the same as I am off to the second Sabbat ritual this week. Then there is Sunday night which I hear will be interesting. While I am told it is to be a Norse ritual, I can’t help but feel that somehow Brighid, although Celtic, may be in attendance in some form or another that night. I guess I will see. For now though, I will just marvel at the magic of Brighid and the forces that be that have brought me to my path.

MP and BB,
Cassandrah
(feeling spiritually ecstatic or ecstatically spiritual)