Mormon (Photo credit: More Good Foundation)

I was adopted by a good Utah Mormon family when only an infant. I had no comprehension of what that meant through childhood, however, I recall that I never really felt comfortable with the Mormon teachings from my earliest days of cognition. As I passed through, and out of the Mormon faith at the age of 23 by way of ex-communication, it became very clear that it was a blessing in disguise.

I remember my first contact with the Wiccan faith very well, as it came about absolutely by what I believe to be pre-destiny. I was attending Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah at the time and had a class about the Sociology of Religion. I knew from the beginning that having a professor that was Jewish AND an openly gay woman, this class would be interesting. We were all given an assignment to do research, and a report, on a religion. The only catch was that it could not be on any faith that you were a member of, had knowledge of, or had previously attended. My attention was captured and I was absolutely intrigued by the idea. I began to diligently search and after going through over 100 different faiths I was at a point of complete and utter frustration. Which one do I choose??? I didn’t have to wait long for an answer……none of them.

A few days into my search I was walking across the campus of SUU and was stopped by a very plain looking young lady, whom I had never met, and she said,” this book is for you”. Startled, I simply took it and thanked her without asking any questions and she quickly walked away. I never saw her again from that day forward…..on or off campus. That book would prove to be the turning point for my finding the faith that I am today.

The book in question? The Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland. It was worn and tattered and I could tell that it had been read many times, however, it was complete in every way……including all of the workbook section not yet written upon. And so my research began. The more I researched and the more I read the more intrigued and enlightened I became. I was like a firework that had been lit. I not only did my research paper and report on the faith but continued as a strong student for the following 3 years. This faith had been right there, under my nose all of this time? Well, sort of. I learned early on that this faith fit my thinking and my belief systems to a “t”. I also learned, however, that it was still very much in hiding. Being the legal minded type that I was and still am, I questioned how that could be? How could people possibly still be hiding their faith from the public? I knew there was nothing illegal or immoral about Wicca, so why then was it so difficult to find others of my faith?

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I became an activist of sorts and began to broadcast (quietly) that I was Wiccan after I initiated in my 3rd year of study as a solitary. I wore pendant necklaces with pentacles and a shirt that had “proud to be Wiccan” emblazoned upon it. I was proud! And I remain so today. Shortly after I began doing this though, I began getting scriptures left on my vehicle (had bumper stickers on it stating the same pride). I began receiving threatening emails and phone calls and soon understood why so many….too many…..were still hiding in this great country of freedom we call the United States of America. From that day forward it became a crusade for me to declare and bring out of the broom closet as many fellow Wiccans as I could. I refused to live with my rights given away out of sheer ignorance and fear. I started a pagan student group at SUU and again fought an uphill battle with the student association as well as with some of the administration at the time.

Then came the turning point. I met with then President Gerald Sheratt, and within the week the student association approved the Pagan Student Association. While it has not lasted through the past 13 years it did exist, and many people became aware of this faiths existence. I wasn’t through at that point and soon discovered that other Wiccans in the majority of Utah were coming out more and more and the public soon began to take notice in even the smaller towns and cities in Utah. Not due to what I was doing but because the social connections on the internet and elsewhere was empowering us to be who we are. It was not long after that I decided that there really was no business that was catering to us, except in SLC, and that was much too far for many of us to travel to pick up essential ritual (prayer) tools and supplies.

I got the idea after graduating college that I would open a shop out of my home that would stock the necessary herbs and supplies. The shop was called The Witches Haven and was founded in 2004. Again it was a bit of a fight to gain a business license and it was put aside by the city council a number of times. Coincidentally, the former president of the university had become mayor and after meeting with him the license was approved. It remained quite successful for approximately 3 years and I finally sold it to one of my younger friends so she could cater to the increasingly younger following, and I could then raise my family.

To make this long story short I am Wiccan today. By pre-destiny, by choice, or by chance. In the end it really doesn’t matter. My family remains devout Mormon and they have become very accepting of what I believe and the fact that it differs from their beliefs causes no friction or heartache. I really like some of the Christian hymns and my favorite sums up my feeling on my transition from Mormon to Wiccan. “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” Peace and brightest blessings to each and every one of you and be kind to others and be who you are!

Author: Nathan Jeffery
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Central to this post is a symbol. A five pointed star, frequently referred to as a pentacle.

No symbol has been the subject of more misinformation, disinformation and superstitious conjecture than the pentacle. Some Christians claim it is a symbol of the devil. Others associate it with diabolism and black magic. The truth is much less sensational.

The five pointed star isn’t a symbol exclusive to pagans. It has a long history.

The pentacle or pentagram symbolizes the elements of nature and the spirit that animates creation.The upper point symbolizes spirit, and the four other points – the elements of earth, water, fire and air respectively. That’s as sinister as it gets. No devil or other horned denizen of the deep involved.

The five pointed star can of course be adapted and used in religious and magical rites for all sorts of different purposes. But the adaptation of the symbol by a given group introduces a secondary meaning peculiar to that group’s purpose. The truth is, religious symbols are often used in ways for which they weren’t originally intended. For example the KKK makes use of the symbol of the fiery cross. Obviously a Grand Wizard’s understanding of the efficacy of the symbol will differ significantly from that of Pope Benedict XVI.

The pentacle is an ancient symbol. The Pythagoreans associated it with “life” and “health”. It was sometimes named Pentalpha, a reference to the interlacing of the birth letters. The pentacle is also associated with the Egyptian goddess Isis and sometimes called “the star of Isis”. Again the meaning is entirely positive and in no way associated with “the dark side” – unless you happen to be Pat Robertson on a particularly paranoid day.

The pentacle also happens to be the central religious symbol of the Church of Wicca – a Church with over 400,000 members in the USA alone. In addition, there are roughly 1,800 active-duty Wiccans serving in the US military.

These are proud Americans with constitutional rights like any other citizen … and yet, when Wiccan service people fall in action their Church is denied the right to place the pentacle on their gravestone as a religious marker. Since service people of every other religion are entitled to the religious marker of their choice in the case of their passing, it appears on the surface that the banning of the pentacle is outright discrimination.

In a cemetery aptly named Circle Sanctuary, lie the remains of a Vietnam veteran and a Korean war veteran named Jerome Birnbaum. A memorial to Sgt Patrick Stewart, a Wiccan who served in the Nevada National Guard, is also in the cemetery. Stewart lost his life while on active duty in Afghanistan.

In November 2006, Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs on behalf of Circle Sanctuary, arguing that the constitutional rights of Wiccans are being violated by the refusal of the military to allow the Wiccan pentacle as a religious gravestone marker.

Actively involved in this lawsuit is a Wiccan priestess, Selena Fox, and the widows of Stewart and Birnbaum.

I think it is demeaning that the families of men who died in the service of their country have to plead their case to the authorities. The pentacle has long been a symbol sacred to the Wiccan community. The refusal to place the symbol as a grave marker clearly relates to some of the outdated perceptions I mentioned at the top of this post.

Time to move on.

Aidan Maconachy is a freelance writer and artist based in Ontario

Author: Aidan Maconachy
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tips For Solitary Witches

written by Jim Garrison

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Witchcraft Museum, Boscastle, Cornwall 2007 (Photo credit: archangeldeb)

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stuck-on—xxxxx-you:Harry Potter, Wizard of oz, narnia,…

stuck-on—xxxxx-you:

Harry Potter, Wizard of oz, narnia, lord of the rings, etc. PLEASE… (clipped to polyvore.com)

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A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that is is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam the Fourth, my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. A product of the Spive, the red Sapho juice, stains the lips of the Mentats but allows them to be human computers, as thinking machines have been outlawed. The spice is vital to space travel. The Spacing Guild and its navigators, who the spice has mutated over 4000 years, use the orange spice gas, which gives them the ability to fold space. That is, travel to any part of the universe without moving. Because the Guild controls all interplanetary travel, they are the highest power in the Universe. The Spice also plays a very secret role in the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, of which I am a part. The sisterhood has been interfering with the marriages, and the children thereof, of the great Houses of the Universe, cleverly intermixing one bloodline with another to form the Kwisatz Haderach, a super being. They plan to control this super being and use his powers for their own selfish purposes. The breeding plan has been carried out in a strict manner for 90 generations. The goal of the super being is in sight. But now, so close to the prize, a Bene Gesserit woman, Jessica, the bound concubine of Duke Leto Atreides, who has been ordered to bear only daughters, has given birth to a son. Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe. A desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the rocks of these deserts are a people known as the Fremen, who have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah, who would lead them to true freedom. The planet is Arrakis, also known as Dune.

 

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Wow, one I didn’t have to come up with. Awesome! Must be our llama’s cousin.

In St. Peter’s Square

Not one of my best pictures, a bit blurry, but you can find our llama in the back, left of the fountain.

Original Image Source: http://www.accommodationnear.com/italy/rome.htm

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have issues with passports we don’t have a name. Any suggestions?