The Rede

I really am beginning to wonder what people believe the difference is between Wiccan and non-Wiccan. I suspect that many people who say that they are not Wiccan, may have Wiccan leanings. I’ve found that most people think that what delineates the Wiccan/Non-Wiccan traditional boundary is the rede. If they don’t follow what they see as the Wiccan rede, they feel that they aren’t Wiccan. Even if they follow a Wiccan ritual structure, honor the eight sabbats, honor polarity in their gods, etc., if they do any harm (or manipulation) as part of their practice, they feel that they aren’t Wiccan. Some are sad about that, others are happy, since many think Wicca is a fluffy sort of tradition. They couldn’t be more incorrect.


One of the biggest Wiccan misconceptions is that of the rede. The rede- eight words- “An it harm none, do as ye will.” That’s it. The misconception is that this is an ethical law that all Wiccans must abide. Or else! The first point, unfortunately, is that there is really no possible way to harm none. I’m pretty sure that the head of lettuce that your salad was made from is pretty pissed off about being killed for your food. I’ve read a few studies that illustrate that plants have feelings, too. We have to eat, it’s part of the natural cycle, and we must harm something to eat, and stay alive. Would you squash a black widow spider who made the poor choice of weaving her web on the your baby’s crib? We all harm to different degrees- it’s impossible to follow the rede as an ethical law.

The second point is that the rede isn’t a law at all. It’s a piece of advice. The word rede means advice. It advises you to do no harm, mainly because it will come back to you. Regardless of trad, most Pagans believe in some sort of Law of Return, Law of Three or karma. This is no different from the rede, really. The witch takes in the situation, calculates the possibility of any consequences, and acts accordingly. Wiccans may do harm, if the situation calls for it, same as any other witch. Each witch, regardless of what path they align themselves with, will have their own personal ethical code.

My Poor, Confused Garden

We’ve had some unseasonably warm weather, lately, and I’m assuming that’s part of the reason my tomato plants are still producing. What’s really interesting to me is that I had a whole lot of pollination issues this past growing season that manifested in crooked cukes, zukes with blossom end rot, and TINY grape tomatoes. Now that they aren’t really competing for pollinators, my grape tomatoes are back to being grape sized, and before it gave up the ghost due to mildew, my zucchini gave us one more actual zucchini. (The gardener cut it back, I think. He probably wanted to mow the lawn, and the zuke plant had crept out about 10 feet into the lawn. )



So, it’s about time to clear out the front garden. I didn’t make time to do so this weekend, but I will soon enough. I need to clear away weeds from my raised bed, and start buying bags of soil for the big planter we’re doing this year. I think most of my bonus money (if we get a bonus this year) will be going to our drip irrigation system my hubby wants to set up for me *swoon*. In the front, we have this big dirt patch that I tried to plant melons in last year (I think the gardeners thought my seedlings were weeds). This year, I bought some wildflower mix!

My wildflowers bring all the bees to the yard!

I’m going to put them in the front of the windows, and in some pots to place throughout the garden, hopefully to encourage better pollination this year. I also bought butterfly weed to grow, as well. I am learning more each year that I grow things. It’s so fun. And it’s only two more months before I start my seeds. If the weather continues to be this nice, though, I don’t know if I’ll even have to start new tomatoes.



Altar Pictures

Just some pretty altar pictures to go along with this weeks submission for the Pagan Blog Project... most of these are from the Coven of the Twilight Moon, but a few are mine.

A is for Altar

I’m participating in the 2012 Pagan Blog Project. For more information, go to this URL- http://onewitchsway.com/pbp2012/


The premise of the Pagan Blog Project is that each week, myself and other Pagan bloggers will write about at least one thing related to our spirituality, practice, or Pagan way of life. These posts will always be released on Friday. This week, the prompt is that we start with the letter A. Pretty fitting, for the beginning of the year. New beginnings and all that. I’ve chosen to write about altars.

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One thing that has always been important in my home is my altar. No matter how my space has changed, I always have had some sort of altar up. My very first altar was a TV stand that I purchased at Walmart, with just a few carefully chosen tools on it. When I first started practicing, I shared a room with my little sister, but everyone was supportive of my path…. or at least not outwardly uncomfortable with it. I have film photos (before digital cameras were developed) of many of my seasonal altars as a beginner. Not much Work was done at these altars, as I was just getting comfortable with my practice, and rarely did full circles or spellwork while I was getting used to the basics. During my subsequent home moves, my altars changed in many ways, and now I have a pretty large altar.


One common thread that bound together all of these altars is that of careful creation. When putting together an altar, each item chosen is for a reason. Some reasons are practical- “I need a bowl placed here to pour my water into,” and some are spiritual- “the seeds represent new beginnings.” Altars are a place to do the Work, whether it’s spellwork, ritual or other spiritual work, and so will naturally be a blend of practicality and spirituality. Some believe that altars hold more energy that other places, because of the energy work done at the altar.

My current altar is all dressed up for Imbolc. I practice a Wiccan tradition, so in addition to the seasonal touches on my altar, I have my bottles of water and salt, along with dishes for them, my candle, and my incense, collectively representing the four elements. My God and Goddess candles are easy to pick out, elevated above the rest of the altar. My altar cloth is red, and I have my Brighid’s cross out, as well as my statuettes of a sheep and a cardinal. In the center of my altar, you’ll see the offering bowl, and my pentacle. Offerings go in the offering bowl, and the pentacle charges any items that lay upon it. My practice includes healing work, so I have my Brighid healing candle as part of my altar, as well as three smaller candles that I charge, write symbols upon and use for distance healing.

My altar is my focus during ritual, but when I’m crafting together oils, etc. I usually craft them elsewhere and bring them back to the altar for consecration or charging. When I feel energetically “stuck,” I find that the act of creating the altar helps to get the spiritual energy flowing. It’s a big part of my spiritual life- just looking at my altar can bring my attention back to being mindful. Altars can inspire, as well as be a powerful tool in power raising and ritual work.

Reflecting on a Year of Loss: Embracing Sunshine

I don’t know about you, but it feels as though this year has been one of loss and heartache, at least for my family and friends. We’ve had loved ones pass away, both sudden and expected, but it’s never, ever easy. Others have been diagnosed with scary illnesses that may endanger their lives. I can only imagine how tough it must be for them to keep their spirits high. Many of my friends have also faced financial loss- of jobs, and homes, and other issues of security.



I was reading on the myth of Frigga and Baldur, as those are the deities we plan to honor at my coven’s annual open Yule rite, and one lesson jumped out at me.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, what we want is not in the cards; it’s out of our hands.


Baldur is the son of Frigga, a Norse goddess associated with motherhood and the sky. They lived in Asgard, and Frigga and her husband Odin ruled over the Aesir, the principle race of the Norse Gods. Frigga began having awful nightmares about her son, Baldur, dying before his time at the hand of his blind brother, Hod. After conferring with Baldur, it was known that he had been having very similar dreams. Odin invoked the prophetess Wala, and she also confirmed that Baldur was destined for the Otherworld before his time. Frigga, panicked, took the names of every living thing and set about visiting them to gain their oath that they would not harm Baldur in any way. Having received the oaths, they threw a lovely banquet in celebration. The other gods threw objects at Baldur, as it was entertaining to watch them hit the god, but Baldur remained unharmed.


Loki, the trickster, dressed as an old woman and cornered Frigga at the party, asking her questions about the oaths taken to do no harm to Baldur. He asked many questions until Frigga told him quietly, that the only oath she did not receive was that from the mistletoe, as she felt that it was too small and innocent and was unable to do harm to her son. Loki took that information and fashioned an arrow out of mistletoe. He then asked Baldur’s brother Hod why he wasn’t participating. When Hod replied it was because he was blind and couldn’t shoot arrows like the others in fear of harming anyone, Loki offered to help. Hod took the arrow from Loki and notched it in his bow. Loki helped Hod aim the arrow and shot it at Baldur. His aim was true, and Baldur died, fulfilling Wala’s prophecy. Aldur’s wife, Nanna died shortly thereafter, of a broken heart.

At the funeral, Frigga and Odin sent Baldur and Nanna to the Otherworld in a burning boat. Receiving the boat was Hel, the Goddess of the dead. Never had Asgard grieved so much. Frigga was inconsolable. Hermodur, the divine messenger was so touched by Frigga’s grief that he went to try to persuade Hel to let Baldur return. He rode for nine days on Odin’s eight-legged horse until he reached the realm of Hel. Hel didn’t want to give up Baldur, as it was well known that once one enters Her realm, that they will never return to the realm of the living. Finally, Hel broke down and agreed to release Baldur and Nanna, but only if every living creature upon the earth would cry tears for Baldur. Driven by hope, Hermodur raced to Asgard to give Odin and Frigga the news. Frigga implored every creature to cry tears for her beloved Baldur, so that he might return once again to Asgard. Every creature cried. Every creature, but one. Loki had transformed himself into a giantess, Thokk, who refused to cry for Baldur, and so Baldur still sits in the realm of the goddess Hel, and will remain there, until the end of the world, Ragnarok.

No matter how hard Frigga tried, and no matter how many tears fell for Baldur, he remains with his wife in the Otherworld. He’s not hurting, he’s not in pain, he’s waiting to be reborn in the new world. Like Frigga, we cope with the possibility of loss by trying to circumvent it, in any way we can. With treatments, and love, in energy and in prayers, we try to control the situation. This is natural and good, and within our means to do so. Sometimes it works out in our favor, and sometimes it doesn’t. Still, I can’t help but feel as though we get some sort of cosmic “credit” for trying. That the energy we put toward the health of our loved ones, financial stability or happiness is thrown out unto the universe. Not only may the universe apply it where we hope, but also, that this energy, with our pure and good intent might come back to us in some way, guided by the law of return. Perhaps this might be in the smile of a child, a message from a loved one, or in the warm, loving energy of family at the holidays.


It’s important that we acknowledge our loss, but it’s also important that we do not allow our losses to cloud our lives permanently. Depression and sadness is part of loss, it’s part of the grieving process, and it’s crucial that we allows ourselves this time to go through the cycle. However, we shouldn’t allow our loss to completely take away our ability to see good in our lives. The gods will things beyond our control- and we aren’t always going to understand it. It's not easy to move past it, it seems like a new lesson every time. But we should do our best to live our lives the best we can, finding our joy wherever possible.


Open your heart; do not shut it completely, waiting for another loss to come. There will always be loss, such is the nature of life. But there will also always be love, always be sunshine. Don’t let the possibility of shadows chase away your sunshine. Live in the moment, love your family, appreciate what you have today- and embrace your sunshine.

Winter Solstice Altar 2011

This shot is not the best light. On the right is my Yule Log candleholder, the center is the offering dish... Wiccan stuff and my Brighid healing candle on the left. Three healing candles in the front. Green stuff is my green onion experiment- put white rooty parts in my skull shot glass with water. I already posted this on my FB, but wanted to post it here so I could find it next year!

"Sausage," Egg and Cheese Biscuits

So, my husband really likes the Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits. They come three to a pack, and when they aren't on sale, they are $5.50. For three little biscuits? I'm not that great at math, but I can tell that that's kind of a bad deal. I think it comes out to around $1.80 per biscuit.

I decided to take it upon myself to see if I could make something similar that would cost a little less. I mean, I have to come up with the money to pay for my $9 bottle of Aveeno lotion, right?

So, here we go. Be jealous of my badass cell phone photography. I won't tell anyone.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Grands! Biscuits (I bought original, because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and figure you couldn't go wrong with original)- [$4 ~ $2 each]
• 2 MorningStar brand sausage patties- 6 come in a box (I guess sausage crumbles exist, but not at my market) [$1.66 ~ the box was $5]
• 4-5 eggs (depending on size) [approx $1.25]
• Whatever shredded cheese you have in your fridge [barely enough to count, but I'll say $.50]
• You'll also need Pam and a muffin tin

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Scramble eggs. I mix them up and add some milk, but you probably know how to do this part already. I let them be a little wet (not well done), because you are going to bake them anyway.

Cut up your sausage until it resembles crumbles.

Spray eight holes of your muffin tin with Pam or other cooking spray. Yep, we use our pans in this house!


Open up a can of biscuits. I had never done this before, but I smacked it on the counter and it practically exploded. It's entertaining! Do this- it's more fun than using the spoon.

Take a biscuit and separate it half, into two layers. Place them in the muffin tin, and work them up the side a little bit.

Do this for all eight (you should have 4 biscuits left). Then add your sausage, egg, and cheese.

Once this has been done, again, slice the biscuit in half, lengthwise and then place over your yummy stuffing, working it down the sides until it touches the bottom layer of the biscuit.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and pretty. Do that again with the other can of biscuits. Voila!

All together, my ingredients for 16 biscuits came to $7.41, which makes each biscuit only $0.46! Much better than the $1.80 cost of Morningstar. For 16 Morningstar biscuits, it'd cost over $28. Plus, these are larger, and my husband says they're better tasting than the Morningstar biscuits. I plan on freezing most of them.