Just checking in!!!  Thought I’d let you know that the fingers of many are taping away on the keyboards right now — working on the herbal course; a, mmm, herbs, oils & brews I suppose you might call it - in addition to the basic herb course that was asked for; and on a continuation of the beginning tarot; and, if we get lucky — we just might talk someone into doing another The Sun, A Moon & a Daily Witches Life! *grin*  (HINT, HINT, HINT Miss Robin!!!!)  I won’t be able to do that one on my own this fall — so if she can’t swing it while she is in school — we will have to wait to do the indepth work — but, we’ll get there!!

We are going to leave this site, www.disorderlywitches.net, up as it is — so that the blog can stay in place — and people can find it without an issue — and the school will be private — address only given out to those that are a part of DW — you’ll have to fill out the usual paperwork and run through the elder Rowdies to get in, just like always — but it won’t be a lot different!

The software is a bit different — they have made some changes — Meriwen and I are figuring it out now — so if any of you have some time that you want to put in on typing up some things and getting the site prepared for courses, let me know! *smile*  HELP is never turned away — as you know!  As usual, we are not going to charge for courses — we don’t feel that offering our gathered knowledge to those seeking is something we wish to be paid for — life hasn’t changed! *smile*   The only thing that you may see on the site is the occasional place where you can toss a dollar in the cauldron if the costs of keeping up the server go up anymore — but it won’t be anything more than a buck or two apiece at the most — if anything.  Thus far, the costs of the server have stayed the same.  We thought about putting the money back in the savings, like we did before — if you have an opinion on that one — speak up — we used everything we had before to pay for this last three years.

Hope everything is going well for everybody!!!  If you need me, you know where to find me — I’m slowly wandering back into the world of full reality again! *giggle*  The house is now not BOX FULL — just semi-box full!  And is looking much better!  It is certainly a wonderful feeling to see it coming together!!!  And to know that I don’t have to really rush at some things — cause I’m not going anywhere!!!!!  Cooper is wonderful — Deano is good — and the kid made A’s all the way around in the first quarter!  So I have no complaints!!!!  I am going back to St. Louis for more testing on October 2 — but, hey, whatelse is new?!?!?  *laughing*  I am used to it after almost 11 years!  Nothing to think of as different!  We’ll see what the neuros have to say when we see ‘em — perhaps they will be in as good a mood as I am after they spend some time with me!!!!

::hugs:: to all –

It has been almost a month — we’ve laid hardwood floor in our entire new house, painted the entire thing, unpacked more boxes than I had imagined possible — I didn’t even know we had accumulated that much STUFF to be honest!!!! And we have adopted a Border Collie — plus we’ve made several trips — one to see the kids — one up to St. Louis to deal with some family issues — and one to check on some friends who needed some help. Seems like everything just happened at the same time!!!!

So we are slowly getting out from underneath the boxes — things are starting to really come together — I’ve had some time to begin to put a few things together for classes this fall — and I’ve been enjoying myself!! I haven’t spent much time on-line — which has its benefits and downfalls — but I am sure I’ll get back to some kind of a schedule sooner or later!

I think within the next six weeks I’ll have a course finished for those of us that are advanced — and want to put some effort into studying together — it will require participating by all who enroll — both with assignments — grading homework — and studying together — so it will take some dedication of each witch involved!!! More on that later!

For now, I’m going to finish up my own tarot study — unpack the boxes — and enjoy the fall as it rolls in to Missouri!!!! I have a trip scheduled to New Orleans at the end of this month — so I will turn 45 down there!!! Whoo hoo!!!! We will see how being 45 feels!

Miss everyone — hope things are going well as we all begin to gather for the snuggling winter months!!!!!

~*Becca*~

I know I’ve been lost in never-never land —- but I seem to have wandered back this way just a tad!!!!  I have found my way out of the MOUND of boxes that surrounded my living room so that the cable guy could hook up my internet connection yesterday — and I remembered how to get connected!!!!  *grinning*  I was somewhat surprised at that one myself!!  I was afraid I would have to make a dozen phone calls trying to find out what my password and user name were — or use someone else’s to get on!!!  *giggle*  But, here I am — I still have a houseful of boxes to unpack — but we are now IN our new home — loving it — and beginning to see it come together!!!  I am off of the infusions — so I am feeling a little better than I was at the moment as well — and I don’t have the bruises everywhere either!  YEAH!!!!!  The seizures — well, we won’t go there in the conversation for now — but I’m managing.  I’m just enjoying the positive at the moment!!!!

Cooper is settling in wonderfully — I put pictures up over on my blog if you want to take a look!  The kitties are beginning to love him — he really is a sweetheart — very loving dog — very protective of me — but he loves people after he decides that I do!  Which is really kind of kewl.  He is teething at the moment — so EVERYTHING is fair game in the chewing department!!!!  Satia and I went and bought him chew toys — which he has just about devoured!  But he has decided he likes sticks from the yard!  Crazy dog!  So each time we go out now, he is bringing in a new stick!  The only part that is a disaster is my floor!  But they clean up easy enough — better than him eating another pair of my slippers!!!!!!

Dean and April put in hard wood floors in two days in this house — I still can’t believe it!  They look fantastic!  I will get some pics up just as soon as I can — I just can’t stay on the computer for too long at a time due to the seizures — still having trouble with that one.  So I’ll do the photos next time.

I’ll check in again soon — hope all is well with everyone — take care, stay safe –

The season of harvest and the holidays involved have always been among my favorites. It is the season in which the customs of the old ways peer out at us through the people who engage in the work of harvest no matter how much time has past. Clues as to who we were and what we believed become evident in our daily lives.It is the season where we get to see the work of the Mother transformed into reality. Harvest was grueling work. Many times whole communities turned out and camped in the fields until the harvest was completed. If the harvest was plentiful it was taken as a sign of blessing from the Goddess, and there was celebration and thanksgiving. If it was not plentiful it meant a hard winter. A time of worry and lack. A time to ponder the seeds that were planted. For people of Earth based religions the harvesting of seeds comes on four levels. Physical, (Earth), in the form of food and material goods, Emotional, (water), the attachment grown from the seeds planted at Imbolc. Mental, (air) in the form of knowledge gained, and Fire, (spirit) representing the places where we now focus our energy. Perhaps a different place from where we started at Imbolc. Before harvest may take place, one must have planted seeds. Earth religions strive to become conscious of what seeds they have planted. In this way we know ahead of time what kind of harvest to expect.No season, ceremony or holiday has plagued the church more than the harvest. The people have been slow to release the old ways. The church made these celebrations illegal and in many cases were punishable by death, still they could not lure the people to church until the feast of St. Peter was held at Lammas. The feast of St Demetra also takes place. Her daughter was kidnapped by an evil Turkish wizard, and the story of redemption and rebirth gives clues to what was the belief of the time was. The similarity of this story and the story of Demeter and Persephone being oddly similar.

Innana, Astarte, Ashtoreth of the Bible, all have ties to this planet. Attagartis reflects this planets movement in another way. All three of the former are associated with the dance of the seven veils. A ceremony where the Goddess must pass through seven gates of the underworld to be humbled by her sister, (Ereskigal), Goddess of the underworld. As she passes through each gate, she must remove another garment, until at the last she stands naked before the one who bears her the most malice. The Goddess risked being humbled in such a horrible way because it was the only way to regain her consort whom she loved.This story describes Venus in retrograde motion. (A planet in retrograde appears to move backwards from the Earth.)

This issue is IMPORTANT.
Please, please please…contact your elected officials and remind them Pagan votes count and we need support for our fallen heros.

I have a Dream Too
(C) Raven Spirit 2007

“I have a dream ……” This is maybe one of the most famous statements in American history. Well ladies and gentlemen, I too have a dream. It is the same dream as many in this great Nation we call The United States.

I have a dream that our elected officials will live out the creed and the vision of our founding fathers when they penned the words:

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain
and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.”

They listed some very special qualities they wanted in a Nation. They also listed responsibilities of the Government. Among them being promoting general welfare, providing for the common defense, and securing liberty.

It is this very thing I am writing about today.
Securing Liberty. Imagine if you will a young man or woman kneels before an altar and pledges their life in service to their country to defend the very freedoms that their ancestors provided. This person is called by their country, sent to a far away land and dies in service to that call.

They die for something they believe in. US. When I say they died for US. I am not just saying U.S. as the United States. But rather they served in our stead; they served so we did not have to. For that we owe them a debt. One that can be paid quite simply.

But what is the price of human life. I write to you today and tell you the value of one life; one human soul is without measure. I drive down the highway and see flowers, markers and signs for the dead. Those who died in many different ways. We have memorials for those who lost their lives in schools, in bombings, etc.

Yet in all of the hurt and torment we still fail to
hear the cries of families of fallen heroes. I am
referring to Pagan Soldiers. These men and women fight with honor, and go bravely in to battle when called.
They receive notice their country needs them, yet when simply asked to be laid to rest under a star they receive their country’s back.

I have a dream. I have a dream that one day our Government will under stand that the Civil Rights movement of the 60s is not just about race, but equality on ALL levels. That means spiritual as well as gender, and creed.

In the words of our founding fathers

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or Prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of Grievances.”

I have a dream that as I look out across the fields of the honored dead and shed a tear I can look upon a tombstone of a Muslim and ask Allah to bless them. I can look upon a tombstone of a Christian and thank the God of Heaven for their gift. Look up on the marker of a Pagan and thank the Lord and Lady they were there.

Yes I have a dream. In the famous words of Dr. King (with some edits) “Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom Ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children—black men and white men, Christian, Pagan, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join Hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!””

Because no one is free until we ALL are free.

That is my dream…So Mote it Be
Duane “Raven Spirit” Marshall

Duane “Raven Spirit” Marshall

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague.
Who shall say where the one ends and where the other begins? Edgar Poe

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This was written by Raven Spirit, a member of our list — and his thoughts, emotions — his dream having all to be free — that is one that I believe we all hold true and close to our hearts!!! I know that as a witch I simply define myself as a whole — a mother, wife, friend, therapist, witch — my spirituality — the love to encompus all that is around me in my life every day — they are all the mingling pieces of me that make me who I am!!! The beliefs that each of us have — we should respect those — no one should be expected to follow someone else’s predefined ideas or beliefs — and those fallen heros have protected that right — the right we have to be independent and free!!!!! We should not shadow that by not giving them the acknowledgment and respect their beliefs deserve — being able to see that the “differences” were still united in one cause — FREEDOM!!!!

My letters are off with Raven’s piece attached to the Congressmen and Senators — and to the Govenor. The more contact we make — the louder we will be heard!

Scarlett

Tequila and the Elements

One of the oldest ceremonies honoring the elements involves the drinking of tequila neat.
Each component represents a direction or an element, and how we call them, not just to attend our circle of ritual, but to take their influence into ourselves. From Mexico south, it is considered sacred.

First lick the top of your hand between thumb and index finger of the left hand. Quickly apply salt, and lick again.
Next, pick up a piece of lime with the right hand and bite into it. The lime must be cut into quarters only.
Then the shot of tequella is raised with the right hand, and downed.
The last part is to pick up pipe or cigarette and take a puff with the left hand.

Salt represents the Earth. The bounty, protection, and the ability to participate in the cycle of life.
A raw essence of Earth in its most primal form. Unaltered by the influence of the other elements.

Lime represents water. The basis of all life. Unlike Lemons that require the fertile soil of bottom land and a humid environment, Limes grow in a more acrid soil, with the presence of dry wind. A testament to the will to promote the essence of life under duress.

Tequilla represents Fire. It is made from the corm of the Agave plant. It grows only at the base of the volcano with the blood of the mother as its soil. Blue Agave is Tequella in its purest form. Not gold. The gold color is derived from aging blue agve in oak barrels that had at one time aged wiskey. A miseginated combination that demeans the essence of the ceremony.

The smoke from the pipe or cigarette represents the visible breath of life carrying our prayers to the heavens.

The Nodes and Levels on Consciousness

The term “Node” in astrology, refers to the points where the orbits of two planetary bodies intersect. All of the planetary pairs in the solar system have nodes. Of these the nodes of the moon are the most noted. Why?

There are not many books written on the subject of the nodes of the moon, nor many attempts made by astrologers to interpret them in a chart beyond a short description of an individuals proclivities or potential. Martin Shulman’s “The Moons Nodes and Reincarnation” is one of the better known works on the subject. ( ISBN 0-87728-288-9). In everything I have found available on the nodes, there seems to be general agreement that they represent a relationship to the incarnational cycle, with south node indicating the past and the north node indicating the future. Astrology in general has worked with the nodes in this way for 30 years or more that I am aware of. The overview of the nodes was then used to indicate the direction of spiritual growth in a chart. Beyond this, there is just not any definitive information out there that I know of that can offer any new ways of seeing the nodes, ( or perhaps an old way that we may have forgotten).

In times past the North Node was called the Dragon’s head, and the South Node the Dragons tail, a sly description of a serpent that I have found to be pretty slippery myself, yet with no more information beyond what is available, why do we mark them in a wheel? Why not some other planetary pair? Lets start peeling this onion.

Personality meets the Nodes
If the nodes indicate the direction of spiritual growth, is this not another way of saying what direction the raising of consciousness will take in a chart? When methods of raising consciousness are studied our personalities, (represented by the Ascendant) are confronted with the task of having to describe universal concepts in terms that we can relate to. An interesting dynamic takes place here. We begin to learn that we are creators of our own reality. Whatever we name a thing is how it must behave. As long as we believe “reality” is what we were taught by our schools, churches, parents, ect. Then the energy of the Sun that runs through our wheels must work to participate in it. To change our reality, we must change what we believe. That, to me is awesome! The other side of the coin implies that the nodes may not just work in a casual south to north flow. In order for that reality to change, the flow must come from north to south. What then if one does not incarn for the purpose of growth, but rather to teach or deliver some invention born of inspiration?
The Sun is described by most every discipline as the source of life, the ancients believed that the moon was a dark mother who nurtured life. The belief in the moon as a repository of souls still persists in some parts of the world. The traffic in souls is two way. Entering and departing. Gardening is still to this day popular by moon phase and sign because gardeners do the same work. All plants have their purpose. Either they thrive, blossom and bear fruit to sustain life, or they are removed to the mulch pile where they may sustain life in another fashion.
As the Sun shines it’s energy on the planet, the moon transforms the energy into form. As above, so below. The North and South Node then become the tube or channel in which this action takes place. The more we enable ourselves to keep the tube clear of ourselves, (wants, desires, selfishness, greed and so on), the better the energy can become a manifestation that will benefit everyone and enhance the life cycle. Crone work.
Eclipse cycles work through the nodes to express affairs dominated by the signs and houses they represent. The last eclipse cycle took place in Aries/Libra, and the issues that were prevalent were in keeping with those signs. Self definition, (or the change of it), as well as the impact to our relationships. This takes place in the personalities of individuals, communities, and nations. Eclipses take place at the nodes.

The Moon phase at the time of birth is used as a marker as to which node a soul will primarily work with. People born between full moon and new tend to work more with the south node, while those born from new to full lean more to the north. Working with the nodes is something like breathing. We take in energy, absorb what we can and then exhale. When the tube is full of personal stuff that we won’t let go of, the tube gets blocked and we can’t breathe. We become spiritually constipated and things we become obsessed with become the instruments of our karma or destiny. When the tube is blocked, nothing new can enter our lives no matter how badly it is needed.

This coming March 3rd there will be a Lunar Eclipse in the Pisces/Virgo axis. This is the beginning of the second set of three before the cycle changes signs, and moves into Aquarius/Leo in Feb. of 08.
What makes this interesting is that Pisces/Virgo axis marks the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one.
The last Eclipse cycle in these signs took place 20 years ago. What were you doing then. In what ways have you grown? Twenty years ago, Jeanne and I moved from Colorado to Missouri for a second time of trial in that place. At the beginning of this cycle we moved again, back out west. Many at this time can’t decide what to do. Hang on to the old, or grab the new.
Whatever we decide will make the starting point of a new cycle that will last 20 years.
May we all choose well, and all beings be blessed for our choices.

The story of the Virgo/Pisces axis is an important one. Virgo is about service and healthy ways of living. Paying attention to the details of living. Without self awarness, and healthy attitude about one’s life work, this sign can often find itself ensnared into servitude through guilt. Service becomes slavery.

At the other end of the scale is the dreamer Pisces. Without the power of dreams, our reason for living dies. We can find ourselves sliding into different forms of addiction. We can seek to heal ourselves through the use of drugs at first, but soon after we run the risk of loosing ourselves as the goal dissolves. Healing the wound simply turns into getting out of pain.
We can see this happening now in a national scope. TV ads once were all about Pepsi and Coca-cola,
now its about any number of drugs that require a speed speaker to list the side effects in less that 30 seconds.
The reality is that Virgo needs Pisces energy, and vise versa.
Virgo can keep Pisces healthy enough to keep the dream alive, and Pisces can ad meaning to Virgos work. Thats why I read the signs by polar axis. We need each other. Thats what community is. Interdependence, not co-dependence. Thats whats at stake for the next 20. Enjoy.

Hail! Goddess of the New Moon and God of the rising Sun
Guardians of the East
Keepers of the Winds
Protectors of births and beginings
We honor your clarity, insight and wise luminosity
Please accept our offerings and songs of praise
Om Tare Tam So Ha
Please bestow upon us the clear brilliant light.

Hail! Goddess of the Waxing Moon and God of the high Noon Sun
Guardians of the South
Keepers of the Fires
Protectors of Fertility and Growth
We honor your courage, creative will and wise generosity
Please accept our offerings and songs of praise
Om Tare Tam So Ha
Please bestow upon us the Radiant Gold and Amber Light.

Hail! Goddess of the Full Moon and God of the Setting Sun
Guardians of the West
Keepers of the Waters
Protectors of fruition and fulfilment
We honor your compassion, healing and wise union
Please accept our offerings and songs of praise
Om Tare Tan So Ha
Please bestow upon us the healing Lavender and Rose Light.

Hail! Goddess of the Waning Moon and God of the Midnight Sun
Guardians of the North
Keepers of the Earth
Protectors of Completion and Release
We honor your silence, strength and wise action
Please accept our offerings and songs of praise
Om Tare Tam So Ha
Please bestow upon us the Shadowy Silver Hued Light.

Who is Lilith? What character traits did she posess that so polarized the structure of societies both ancient as well as today’s?

Simply being sexually uninhibited is not going to be enough to carry her reputation through history. There is some serious impact to her story to carry through time as it has.

Jung equates her influence as a shadow side of the feminine archtype. Those repressed parts of ourselves that are disparaged and judged by the societies we live in. They are suppressed because they are unacceptable to our environment. Our parents,neighbors,authority figures within our societies did their best to remove such traits while projecting the judgement for the “unrighteous” upon many generations. What character traits are also suppressed?

In Sumerian myth it was said that Lilith was the handmaiden to the Goddess Innana. It was she who brought the people in from the fields to observe the sexual rites at the temple. The story of Gilgamesh says that he destroyed the temple and threw down the structure of that time, driving out the worship of that time. This is very pre-xtian, and a very polarized atmosphere even then. A pretty extreme reaction to not wanting to be on the bottom to say the least.

Lilith was indeed free, but there were consequences.
Lilith took no husband, mated as she pleased, and raised her children. Lilith needed no man to follow the Goddess. Her life dealt with the mysteries of rebirth, magic, and as she grew older, the mysteries of destruction so that new life could find a place. Nothing could be more threatening to the Patriarch’s of that time who sought power with permanance, much as today.
When she is depicted in ancient art she is surrounded by wild animals. Lions which are associated with life and the craft, (such as Bastet from Egypt who would come later), and Owls, an ancient symbol of death.

In astrology, Lilith, the Dark Moon is equated with exile, rejection, abandonment. She suffered all of these things and lived to teach others. How would we react to such things? It sounds to me like an inquisition from another time.

If Lilith is a representation of those dark things within, then they must also encompass those feelings that fester in bitterness and retribution. Traits she was known for. To approach such an archtype requires both honor and respect especially when inner and outer worlds meet.

Hail! Goddess of the Black Moon and God Of the Black Sun
Guardians of the Center
Keepers of the Void
Protectors of Death and Rebirth
We honor your utter, naked, honest truth-seeing
Please accept our offerings and songs of praise
Om Tare Tam So Ha
Please bestow upon us the Light that Shatters Delusion.

You can find the invocation in Demetra Georges book, Finding Our Way Through the Dark
ISBN 0-935127-36-4
Its a Good Book!

SUGGESTED MANTRA: EQUALITY
The first feminist and liberationist, Lilith boldly instructs us to
stand up for what we believe in, unbridled and courageous no matter
what the cost.

SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIONS:
~ I am open to forgiveness
~ I am free from judgement
~ I deserve to be free from guilt
~ I am creating the life I love
~ I am a forgiving and loving person
~ My vital energy resurfaces naturally
~ I am honest and truthful in all I say and do

Related essences: Goddessence PERSEPHONE blend* for the solar plexus
chakra

Related gemstones: Garnet, bloodstone, tourmaline, smoky quartz, tiger eye

This Sumerian and Hebrew goddess, once honoured for her wisdom, freedom, courage, playfulness, passion, pleasure and sexuality in pre-2300BC, was portrayed as a demon by Levite priests at the dawn of patriarchy.

In Western tradition, she was the original partner of Adam, created equally together in the image of Elohin (a word for “god”, having feminine and masculine linguistic roots). Her liberationist attitude and assertive behaviour was threatening to the emerging patriarchs, and led to her expulsion from Eden to be replaced by the more subservient Eve.

HER MODERN ENERGY

Proudly holding the rod and ring representing Sumerian royal authority, Lilith strives to make modern life equal for all people. She inspires us not to judge our opposite gender, to respect them as our equal, and to nurture equality in our environment.