The Road to Second Degree Priesthood - a Review

I generally don't promote books on training for priesthood but I was asked to review this book and, I admit, I had pretty low expectations.  I have seen plenty of this type, usually full of spells and talk about the Law of Attraction.  So often it's either something that has nothing to do with real training or the information is extremely basic. Here is an excellent exception. I was very pleasantly surprised even at the very beginning at both the clarity and the knowledge the author exhibits.

Early on I found clear synopsis of different types of divination. Not the little fluffy version you generally see, but an accurate description of the benefits & pitfalls of each.  I was also pleased with the section on spellwork.  It is a rare thing to find a book with the purposes and methods of spellwork explained so well. Another rarity is the section on leadership responsibilities.  It would largely be applicable to any group, not only the traditional coven setting.  I personally found it excellent advice even in my position as Worship Chair at the UU. 

The book goes beyond standard topics of magical knowledge and discusses jobs of clergy, such as the proper way to run a circle.  I feel that this is one of the best explanations that I have seen. It covers all the steps needed to prepare the sacred space as well as bringing people in for circle.

I certainly wouldn't consider this a complete book of everything you need to know to attain Second degree knowledge, but I would say that it is an excellent continuation of a program of study.  Using this book as a guide along with further study corresponding with each chapter will give a person a good basis for their study. I would absolutely recommend this as part of a person's magical education.

http://www.moon-books.net/books/road-second-degree-priesthood

The Wheel of the Year Is Off!!! What Do I Do?

The winter snap has just started and facebook is already filling up with posts on the "Polar Vortex" and jokes about Mother Nature going crazy.  It never takes long for the annual jokes to be trotted out.  Most people will go along with their lives, scrambling to weather-proof their homes, dragging out sweaters and blankets, but what about those of of with an Earth-centered spirituality?  This does not go along with the nicely laid out Wheel of the Year we are taught!  What are we to do?  It has been ingrained into us that right now we should be gathering up the last bits of our harvest, decorating with pumpkins and lovely colored leaves, as well as spending our time in introspection with the Crone Goddess as the year transitions. Instead we have been bitten in the ass by icy cold weather and maybe even some snow!

Since Calleigh is visiting us early this year, let us take advantage of her gifts.  The Winter is a perfect time to go within and do inner work.  It's likely that with everything else in nature in turmoil, we are as well.  After all, we are not separate from nature but completely tied together. We feel the changes deep within and denying won't change that. Take advantage of the extra energy for self-work.  This time next year, you could be very grateful you did!

At the same time, don't get too worked up over this weather change.  I realize we are setting records for low temperatures and snowfall, but those records only go back a hundred years so so, depending on where you live.  If you listen to the climatologists, we are actually moving back to a more normal weather pattern.  Since we have started recording it, we have actually been at the end of a long-term cycle - the "good" end.  We might as well get used to these changes.  They are sticking with us! That means that we need to become less rigid in our thoughts of when seasons are supposed to be.  We are in store for a lot of change!

There is a word of caution.  Even though these energies are coming at us already, don't get caught up in the thinking that this is it and winter is here for good.  For most of us, that is not true.  This was a cold event  Treat the energies as just a taste. perhaps take this as a good time to figure out what you need to work on once the blanket of Winter settles around us.  Perhaps use this reminder of what needs to be done to prepare yourself for some major change. Or maybe take this as a reminder that there are plenty of people out there who need help in the winter - the disabled, the elderly, the desperately poor.  Things like food or helping winterize their homes would make a world of difference.  That is something so many forget.  We are all connected, so we need to act like it! Don't ignore this unusual

time. Make the most of it. You'll be glad you did!

Spirits of the Sacred Grove - a Review on a Gem of Druidism

Spirits of the Sacred Grove has also been published under the title "A Druid Priestess", although this title is far more fitting for the beauty contained within. From the beginning, the reader is taken on a journey.  We are brought into the world of the author, the world of the modern-day Druid.  This is no dry recitation of history or list of dos and don'ts.  This is a book to be experienced, not read. It is a journal full of passion that engages the soul.

I have had this on my wish list for a long time under it's past incarnation.  It wasn't something I was greatly anticipating - I had simply thought it might be of interest.  When I received the opportunity to review this, I didn't realize that it was one & the same.  Once I discovered this nice little surprise I decided to curl up and read his long-awaited book.  I never dreamed I would be pulled into it int he way I was.  I had expected it to be an interesting look at Druidry that I would slowly read.  Instead I was pulled into her life as she traveled the Wheel of the Year.  It was difficult to put it down!

Within this book you will find a lyric journey - part lesson, part story, part telling of her life.  Each page is brimming with wisdom. It is a book that I cannot recommend enough.  I know I will be pulling it out often, sometimes to study, sometimes to step into her experiences with her Grove, and sometimes for inspiration for my own spiritual path.  In the short time I have had this, it has already become an invaluable asset.  I can only imagine the treasure it will become in the future.

http://www.moon-books.net/books/spirits-sacred-grove

Harvest Season and the Harvest Within

Autumn is truly here.  It is my first as Worship Chair at UU and my first creating earth-centered celebrations appropriate for a UU group instead of wiccan.  It is a challenge, but a good one.

Working on this program has led me to think a lot about the deeper meanings of the harvest.  Usually, we look at the simple understanding - harvest of the crops.  We happily gather with our baskets of corn and apples, drinking grape juice or wine.  We might even share stories about the sacrifice of various grain deities.  But how often do we talk about personal sacrifice or harvesting things within our lives that we have planted - good or bad?

At the Summer Solstice I spoke to my congregation about working on those seeds we had planted in our lives during the spring. I watched people's faces as realization dawned that I was describing exactly what was going on in their lives. So many didn't see the connection before.  We wrote on slips of paper what we were working on specifically to harvest this fall. Some burned their papers without much thought, but there were some, more than I had expected, that paused and really thought about what they were doing.  I was very proud of them, and still am.

Another aspect of the Harvest season that we often overlook, many because they don't want to face it, is that of letting go of things that no longer serve us.  The simple truth is there comes a time when many things aren't good for us.  It many no longer be beneficial to the person we have become or it may have changed so that it is no longer the good thing it originally was.  Regardless of the reason, it is time to walk away. I had to make that decision a few months ago.  It was so very difficult.  It is hard to accept that something we loved has become toxic.  I admit, I had seen the signs for some time.  I was simply reluctant to let go.  Eventually the situation changed from being simply toxic to one that was poisoning myself and several people dear to me.  I finally had to step away.

When we experience this type of situation, what matters most is how we deal when we walk.  It is so feelings.  Go ahead.  Scream, cry, go through all those alternative ways it could have ended.  What's important is that you finally let out all those emotions and the true feelings you are not dealing with.  It is so easy to stay wrapped up in anger or hurt.  We can carry it around, never letting go, continually thinking about how badly the situation ended. The resentment can lead us to carrying anger inside that slowly eats us up.  All this is doing is letting the toxicity continue to destroy us.  This is a choice, therefore we can choose to finally let it go.  Take a couple hours you will be free from distraction and sit down to deal with the

In the end, this is the time to let go of things that have run their course.  If it was a good situation, give thanks for all the good times and be grateful for the smile you have left from the experience.  If it's something you had to let go of because it no longer serves you, figure out what you have learned from the time you spent.  No matter how bad something is, you can find something good.  The bad serves as a lesson if you will allow it.  Whether good or bad, release it with love for that is showing love to yourself.  In the end, loving ourself in a healthy way is one of the most important things we can do.