Sacred Selfishness

Jungian analyst Bud Harris, there is one kind of selfishness that can actually help people value themselves and their lives “enough to pursue the decision to become people of substance”; he calls it “sacred selfishness.”

It’s an odd truth that when we hear the words “Selfish” it immediately carries this negative connotation that resonates to the same frequency as any other common day insult. In fact, from what I have personally observed, people have a tendency to spit out the word selfish as though it were a bad taste in their mouth. But what if the word selfish was sacred? What if it meant a deeply dependable person who goes out of their way to help others, to hold safe space for venting and emotional support  all on a regular basis? Does that not sound like a Selfless individual?

Now what if this same Selfless individual finds themselves depleted, worn out and exhausted to the bone. What if life got on top of them, just like it can do for anyone else and what if they need a time out, what if they need space and time to breath freely and unencumbered, a holiday if you will, to really ground, center and recharge.

Now lets say they honor that need and close they’re proverbial “open door” so that they may draw in there energy and cocoon themselves. This is what it means to be sacredly selfish, this is what it means to recognize the needs of both mind, body and spirit and to put yourself first so that you may be the best version of yourself. Is this not what we do in every other facet of our lives? Yet from one week to the next and through a process of self honoring that very same individual find themselves the target of words like “selfish”, self centered” or self involved.

It seems a travesty to me in this our modern world, that we as conscious individuals who choose to walk a more spiritually aware path can’t seem to get our heads out of those prehistoric and outdated modes of thinking and acting. Just like all other facets of our human existence our attitudes too need to be bought into some kind of suitable balance. The person that consistently gives must also know when to hold back. This is a way to really connect with and honor our own personal seasons.

And those that simply don’t understand your needs, that choose to push harder and harder against their own flow, well they my dears are locked in a cyclical dance of destruction and sabotage that will only change when they wise up. In other words, you needn’t feel any obligations to help those that do not want to help themselves.

Sacred selfishness is the right of many who choose to walk the path of healer in this incarnations. These are most often then not those people in our lives that have no formal title yet command a great deal of respect because what they can do is personal, is ground level and successful in a deeply spiritual and gorgeously nurturing way. It makes a difference in the lives of many because they’re kindness is far reaching and therefore capable of touching more people who will eventually and in one way or another, perpetuate that magical kindess. So if you know someone like this and you feel as though they are pulling away from you, remember that they our doing what they need for themselves and if this triggers you, if it makes you feel unwanted or cut off and left out, then a little self examination might do you the world of good.

Blessings Avalon, The Selfish Bitch xo

Fact or Fiction – Vampirism – Energy versus Blood (I encourage you to answer the question at the end)

By Artist Ian Daniels

All of a sudden, there seems to be an enormous amount of attention placed on the term vampire and all of its modern day charm. While I myself find the some of Hollywood’s more alluring portrayals of these romantic blood drinkers to be rather entertaining, I am left wondering.  Where did the myth come from?

There is evidence of blood drinking in almost every ancient and even some modern cultures throughout the world.  UCLA historian Paul Barber in the Journal of Folklore Research states that “vampire stories prove to be an ingenious and elaborate folk-hypothesis that seeks to explain otherwise puzzling phenomena associated with death and decomposition”.

While I believe Mr Barber to be corrects I think it also bares mentioning that the term “blood” in times gone by was actually synonymous with the term “Life Force”, which brings me to my next point, “Energy”.

Have you ever found yourself in the company of a person that you find physically draining? Someone you try and avoid talking to just because of the way they make you feel. This person could be a friend, loved one, boss or co-worker or perhaps some random person you happen upon throughout your day. Either way, these people are unpleasant and downright exhausting to be around. Well, they are being dubbed as modern day vampires or “Psychic Vampires” as is the terminology.

According to an article by Joe H. Slate PhD in the LLEWELLYN JOURNAL, “Psychic vampirism is alive and flourishing in the world today”. Dr Slate goes on to say that “Long before the popularization of folklore vampires as blood-thirsty villains who sucked life-sustaining blood from their prey, psychic vampires as energy-sucking predators were common”.

While I cringe at the term “Psychic Vampire”, I do believe through personal experience that someone is capable of making you feel quite drained.

Have you happened upon one such individual???

Blessings✬

A Little on Deities – from and elemental point of view (For beginners)

This image was taken from the Kuan Yin Oracle Deck by Blue angle publishing

In the practice of the Elemental Craft, the worship of deities is an entirely personal decision. Some believe that it is not necessary to venerate a particular deity or those of a specific pantheon, believing instead that the elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water) and the male and female energy that abound all life are sacred and divine.

For those who do work with deities, this type of worship is less about the deity and more about what the deity represents. For instance, calling upon a war god such as Odin (of Norse tradition) can be very effective in representing the energies of Fire in a ritual. Another example of this would be calling upon the goddess Aphrodite (of Greek tradition) who is equally effective in representing the energies of Earth in ritual workings.

This concept can be better described by Empedocles a Greek philosopher, scientist and healer who lived in Sicily in the fifth century B.C. In his Tetrasomia or Doctrine of the Four Elements; Empedocles describes these elements not only as physical manifestations (Deities) or material substances, but also as spiritual essences (Elements).

Each and every deity of any pantheon has an associated element which is derived from their individual attributes. So by calling upon a specific deity of a certain pantheon, the practitioner further aligns their conscious and subconscious thought, giving their ritual further purpose and meaning.

Blessings

Unassuming healing tools

When we hear the word rattle we often think of a). A baby’s toy or b). A musical instrument. But the humble rattle extends beyond these common stereotypes delving instead into the healing and ritual practices of shaman from both Africa and the Americas.

The gourd rattle is one such rattle whose purpose before any other was used in pathworking and healing rituals, rattling and loosening the grip of disease from affected souls. Both sound and movement are focal in the shamanic use of a rattle, movement stirs the subtle energy surrounding the subtle body and the sound sifts through that energy, warding off the negative and stagnant energies.

The gourd rattle consists of a hollow gourd or calabash, covered on the outside with a net of seeds, beads, shells, or any available material. “The gourd is a functional creation of nature with a wide variety of uses and traditions in cultures around the world. A fruit of varied shape and size, it commonly grows on a vine not unlike the squash, but there are also varieties that grow on bushes and trees.”

The simplest form of a gourd rattle is the gourd itself with it’s own seeds.

Rattles have a special place in mine and my families practice, just writing about their healing potential warms my heart.

Blessings

Earth, Air, Fire & Water – The Elemental Presence

In a recent conversation with my friends at the Witches Gathering (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Witches-Gathering) Sirena, bought up a topic that inspired me to write this Blog, Thanks Sirena.

The sacred elements are at the very centre of our spiritual practice; they rule, guide, inspire and at times scare and infuriate us. As practitioners of the craft we are constantly interacting with these elements, working with them in some way, incorporating them into ritual or spell craft, invoking their presence within a cast circle, honouring them in some honest and humble way so that they are present to aid our magickal workings. Alchemically speaking for life to exist so to must the four elements, they are the sacred building blocks of life.

Hence, it stands to reason that the power of elements doesn’t just end when the spell is done and the circle closed. Aside from ritual work we as human beings work within a fundamentally elemental realm whether we acknowledge this or not. That pull one feels to a particular element is in actual fact, your Expression Element and that element which you find homely comfort in is your Cardinal Element. And like astrology you also have a Mutable Element, an element that is fleeting and you are at constant odds with, that can change to both inspire and terrify you. And then of course there is the Transient Element, this is the element that can cause coincidence and idiosyncrasies within your life or bring about moments of enlightenment.

Take me for instance (just a few very brief examples)

My Cardinal element is Earth as I am a fixed earth sign and am able to truly relate to the attributes of both my sun sign and its fixed quality. I love my garden and my home, I like surrounding myself with beautiful material possessions made of wood and metal or those of a more feminine nature such as perfume and jewellery. I love trees and have been known to drive distances to see some of my absolute favourites and I prefer mountains to ocean views.

My Element of Expression is Fire; I am a fire dancer and candle and incense maker. I work well with fire and have a deep respect for its power. Furthermore I can get extremely passionate about those things that matter to me the most and I am known for possessing a volcanic temper (it’s the Latin temperament). I will also go crazy if I don’t have some sort of a creative outlet.

Blessings✬

My Mutable Element is without a doubt water. I feel uneasy when surrounded by water. I find the ocean both alluring and terrifying all at the same time and while I can swim very well, I rarely do which seems odd to some as I live in a very hot and humid part of Australia. And then there are times when I’m inexplicably drawn to rivers, creeks and waterfalls. Or those times when I feel the need run out and feel the rain on my face. It’s a very push and pull sort of relationship I have with water, Ironic really as I married a water sign.

This leaves my Transient Element to be Air. This too I am certain of, I feel that for the most part I seldom have moments of Clarity (this of course could be that I am currently 35 weeks pregnant) and when I do I’m not surprised to see that it’s usually during a Gemini or air moon. As a student and academically speaking, I do some of my best work under a Gemini moon and my marks clearly reflect this. On a natural level, when I experience a really windy day here at home, I need only step outside for a minute and I feel immediately awake, it’s like the wind stirs something that would otherwise lay dormant inside of me.

Examining the effects of the elements within our lives can present us with great clarity. It can help us to stop and examine out strengths and our weaknesses so that we can function more harmoniously within our everyday lives instead of feeling as though we are constantly fighting against the current.

The Incessant Promotion of Dabbling

http://www.myspace.com/topwitch

I recently came across a social media site that was aimed specifically at those who were new to paganism and looking for guidance. It was full to the brim of spells and fantasy art with cute little saying etc. Now I’m not in the business of naming and shaming so I shall not give out the name or link to this particular site. What I will do is express my very strong opinion regarding this site and many others like it.

Practicing occult arts such as spell work with no concept of what occult means, with no concept of its fundamental principles is to me dabbling. And without an understanding of the aforementioned it is very easy to cross sacred boundaries if you don’t know they even exist. The people who openly promote the hell out of spells and ritual for the ego driven sake of appearing more popular in the world of social media should really take a long hard look at exactly what they are promoting and who their demographic is.  And if spell craft is something they wish to keep promoting then a simple disclaimer or informative warnings would not go astray.

This addiction to Spell Craft in particular is, in my very humble opinion detrimental to the student and is the equivalent of jumping in the deep end pool with no understanding of how to swim. What happened to learning the basics? Learning the foundations of any practice within and without the pagan sphere is to me what responsible education is all about.

When I was but a little girl I remember very clearly some of my very first lessons in occult practices passed to both myself and my sisters. These were heavily based on energy work, where it comes from, how it works and what can be accomplished by understanding the general flow of energy. After this came lessons in Earth Power, leaning to respect, and work with nature, not against it, understanding to be patient and aware that life like nature can be unpredictable.

These offcourse were the teaching methods I was exposed to and I am in no way saying that that is how it should be for all. Within each tradition or personal practice comes its own doctrines or set moral guidelines and weather formal or informal they are there for a reason, to help guide the student, to support them and to keep them both keenly motivated and patient.

What seems to be lacking to me is that very important lesson in patients. To articulate to the point of absolute clarity why it is so important not to want to fast forward to the end for immediate self-gratification. Why skipping over the finer points of what is fundamental in both spirituality and paganism is to do a great disservice to oneself.

http://spellcabinet.com/healing.htm

Another point I’d like to bring up is that most who today turn to the craft to fulfill their spiritual needs have suffered years of spiritual repression within the boundaries of mainstream religions. For those exposed to the type of upbringing where most things seen through a child’s eyes were put down to an overactive imagination and ultimately ignored. Then need to teach these particular individuals to learn to trust there intuition is to me one of the first things that should be promoted, forget the spells and fantasy art, such things to me come much later.

Rant over, thank you for reading

Blessings✬

What is a Witches Magick,

Magick as conjured by a Witch is many a thing for many a person but,  what it is for me is an act of creation, the embodiment of concentrated energy, of will enforced to a divine scope with a power and passion capable of reaching both moon space and underworld.  It is an echo of an unalloyed heart reaching into the ether for change. It is an enduring, resounding force gnarled with secrets of subtle yet effective transformation. It cannot be touched yet it can be felt, its effects streaming into life reincarnated. It is myth and science irrevocably linked to create the perception of reality drawn from the non-conscious and intuitive echelons of the mind. To some such things is hocus-pocus or reside firmly in the realm of superstition. However it is important to remember that such rigid mind sets and narrow opinions are shared only amongst the uneducated. For those who believe in a witch’s magick share head space with some of the greatest minds in ancient and modern history. Minds such Pythagoras, De Vinci, Jung, Newton, Rene, Einstein and many more.

Like I said, Magick as conjured by a Witch is many a thing.

Blessings✬

Image Source:http://giantism.tumblr.com/post/20635911850

Book of Shadows or Elaborate Scrapbook – What the F has happened to the Oath

To me, a Witch’s Grimoire (also known as Book Of Magik, Book Of Shadows or Book of Light Shadows amongst many other names) is a timeless mystery, propagated by the ages, filled with deep occult secrets, personal spiritual revelation, technical ritual practices, honest confessions and the charting and building of personal spiritual knowledge. It is a mirror into the soul of the Witch and as such, profoundly hallowed grounds.

Needless to say, It will be a cold day in a Christian hell before I ever dare show my Book to another individual that was not a committed, practicing direct blood relative…. and even then…..

Yet, it seems that everywhere I look; someone somewhere is publicly promoting their book of shadows. Whether it be on You Tube, on Facebook, in person or elsewhere, it seems that no matter where I look there they are, out in the open, looking casually back at me, exposed and disempowered. Announcing to the world that that which was once immeasurably sacred is now the spiritual equivalent of an everyday scrapbook, complete with page flicking walk-through and detailed explanation.

Now you would think that the word “Shadow” would be enough to emphasise the importance of keeping secret whatever resides inside the pages of such a book …. But apparently not.

I think the most saddening thing at least for me is that, if we as pagans can’t take our most ancient traditions seriously then how can we expect others to? Furthermore I really don’t think you need to belong to any particular tradition to understand the importance of keeping what is essentially a personal diary/journal secret. Teenage girls all over the world go to great lengths to hide their personal diaries from prying eyes and yet here are some of today’s witches, openly showing off a book that for many years witches the world over were and are still oath bound not to display.

What has happened to the witches oath, what has happened to keeping things secret so that they are free from ego and as such able to retain that sense of sacred?

Yes, a witches book is a beautiful, bewitching and bewildering item to possess, I think we have all, at one point or another admired the many elaborate Grimores that have featured in Movies and TV shows pertaining to witchcraft and paganism and how could you not, they are at the end of the day art in the form of a prop. There are also some really creative “how to” videos that can teach you the many techniques involved in creating such a masterpieces, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s what comes after that is the issue. It’s the desire to show everyone what you have created that crosses that line and ultimately sacrifices the oath.

And yes, I can understand the excitement that many feel especially newcomers when they cross the threshold into paganism particularly to peruse such paths as Witchcraft and Wicca. They want to be able to share aspects of their new found spiritual path with others; it is after all such an exciting and beautiful time where everything suddenly makes more sense. But at the end of the day, the more you show off, the more power you hand over to others who will inevitably be judging, it is after all human nature to judge. And when that begins to happen you may find that your practice begins to be driven by a sense to please or impress others rather than to seek out your own spiritual truth.

I would also like to add, that I understand that many who discover or are discovering this path are doing so unguided and as such have no one to explain the concept of the oath to them. It’s a difficult subject to breach particularly to some. It takes very little these days to hurt someone’s feelings. But is does need to be said and if you as a more experienced practitioner of the craft are reading this and are comfortable in saying so, then I would encourage you to do so gently and respectfully.

Blessings✬

Image Source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/book%20of%20shadows

The Evolution of the Eclectic

The term eclectic is one that I have heard more or less consistently for some 15 or so years now and mainly amongst solitary practitioners. Today however it seems as though every pagan I meet identifies with the term eclectic in one way or another and I am curious as to how far the term actually extends. This speculation is of course a personal perspective based on my individual observances.

Tradition

“The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way” (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/tradition?q=tradition)

Tradition or at least the thought of it can seems a little stifling to some but if you step back and take in a broader view of what tradition actually means in terms of spirituality then the only things really standing between the term Eclectic and Traditional is time.  At some point the founders of well know pagan traditions from all around the world would have been eclectic to some degree. The only difference being that someone one somewhere struck up a conversation with said founder and basically decided “yeah, that makes sense, mind if I get in on the action?” And then there were two, four, six and a few generations later, hundreds. Regardless of numbers the focus should still be kept on the fact that it all began with one, one pagan who shared their thoughts on spirituality that resonated with another.

Eclectic

Eclectic – from Greek eklektikos, from eklegein ‘pick out’, from ek ‘out’ + legein ‘choose (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/eclectic)

For those who embrace the title of eclectic and choose to take a wider and more open minded approach to pagan spirituality, carefully selecting and adopting portions of traditions, doctrines, ideals and spiritual practices from around the world to meld those portions into a more unified personal practice. Are such individuals still eclectic or have they in fact done just was Gardener and Valiente et al (among many others) did all those years ago and formed something modern based on something ancient which eventually grew into a tradition.

In my eyes paganism is an organic spiritual path that like a living entity will grow and evolve; and the term Eclectic lives to serve a valuable purpose in that evolution allowing one to claim a title amidst that very state of growth. And I believe that there is indeed a portion of pagans out there that have found wholeness and a sense of unique tradition through the term eclectic and that these individuals are more than capable of imparting that accrued knowledge on to another. So in saying that, what happens when an eclectic adds to their family tree? Does the incorporation of their loved ones into their path organically perpetuate their unique pagan path?

While I personally, come from a tradition, when I moved from Brazil to Australia at the tender age of 16 and by myself (to live with my father), I must confess to having felt a little lost. After having not one not two but three older generations to guide me up until that point and then suddenly have such distance between us was perhaps the most difficult transition I’ve thus far had to face. So, I turned inwards and began my own spiritual search to fill the enormous longing I felt. I studied many many many paths and practices, travelled extensively, went way way out of my way to sort out individuals whom I thought could enrich my spirituals foundations.

Not surprisingly, in this instance I felt eclectic, because what I was doing was growing beyond my original foundations and forming something new and unique. And now that I am a mother almost twice over (new bub due in May). I have this inexplicable renewed desire for tradition and I wholly and solely intend on perpetuating my knowledge (both ancient and modern) as it stands to my children. Is this the natural evolution of the Eclectic? I think that maybe it is, but again that is my personal opinion.

Blessings

A very very simple little crystal grid which incorporates Chevron Amethyst. All part of my full moon meditation bath :-)