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Samhain Night

10/31/2013

Samhain is, at last upon us. On this night it is important to remember our Ancestors and beloved dead. It is crucial however, to keep love in mind. Don’t let yourself be drawn into feelings of loss or sadness. Connect to the infinite love and magic on this night and know that even though a loved one may have passed on, you still have a spiritual link to them and that honoring them, remembering them and calling to them on this night reaffirms your connection.

It’s kind of a tricky feat to surrender to the infinite and to acknowledge the dark aspects of the Deities while at the same time feeling their endless love and the love from our departed loved ones, but in Witchcraft we are taught that a great many times the truth lies in the resolution of a paradox. In this case, we must learn that though the Hag of Winter may cause all things to wither and die and the Horned Lord may gather the spirits and take them to the Otherworld, these acts are done out of love and “death” is a necessary release and renewal for the spirit and all shall live again according to season. Death exists in life and life exists in death; both are inextricably linked (opposite sides of the same coin) and love is a bridge that can cross into both worlds.

An interesting way to connect to them is wondering what they currently doing, right now, in the Otherworld. Truly, realize that they are conscious and sentient beings still; they are just (currently) non-physical. On Halloween, after the usual celebrations, either as part of a formal ritual or not, set a place for your loved ones at the table, recall fond memories of them, light a candle in their honor, and try to focus on the love you shared. This will draw them to you and not only remind you how much they meant to you but also, remind them how much they meant to you.

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Navigating This Mercury Retrograde

10/21/2013

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       Well, it’s that time of year again….. a Mercury Retrograde is upon us! So, what does this mean exactly and is there a way to use this energy in a positive way? The astrological meaning for a retrograde is when a planet appears to slow down, stop and then reverse its orbit through the zodiac. It is due to our orbit moving ahead of the planet in question so that it appears to be moving backward. At this point, since the zodiac is earth-centric, the planet in question slides back through the sign it is in and sometimes moves back into the previous sign.

    In this instance, we are speaking of the planet Mercury. Mercury goes retrograde an average of three times each year and during these times its influence is altered. Astrologically speaking, Mercury is the planet of communication and short distance travel; it is the Messenger. When it is moving backwards though the sky, we can expect most forms of communication to be disrupted in some way. Today for example, Facebook experienced several unusual glitches for so many people that the problem wound up being covered by the news media.

    Facebook is a mode of communication. Computers themselves are a mode of communication and so may be affected with unusual glitches, problems and errors. Other electronics can experience issues as well, though electronic-specific issues are most felt when both Mercury and Uranus are retrograde or in some way out of harmony since the planet Uranus presides over electricity and technology directly. Mercury rules over things like communication and contracts so try to avoid signing any new contracts at this time. It is very likely that at least a few points in the contract would have to be renegotiated at a later date due to misunderstanding. Personal communication (like, just talking to someone) is equally effected and prone to misunderstanding. Be very careful what you say during Mercury retrogrades so that you do not say, text, tweet or post something you will later regret.

    Considering the rosy picture I am painting of the next three weeks (October 21st until November 10th), it’s a wonder that any good can come of this time period, but it can. The positive side of this event is that a Mercury retrograde highlights the “re’s” pretty much anything that has a “re” as a prefix can go smoothly at this time: reevaluation, resolution, repairing, renewal, reapplying, reminiscing, recycling, replacing, et cetera. I’m serious. It’s a well-established phenomenon of a retrograde period that things you redo tend to go better than new projects. In my life, I have had some of the best shopping ever during retrogrades, though only for items that had to be replaced. It’s weird, but it’s true.

    We are fortunate to have the holiday of Samhain (Halloween) within a retrograde period since this holiday is very much connected to the Ancestors, the past, releasing obstacles and negativity, divination and spirit work and the harvest (among other things). Since we are in a retrograde, I would suggest that in order to minimize problems, avoid using new rituals that you have not thoroughly rehearsed, traveling to exotic locations for the holiday (unless you’ve been there before and are “re-turning”), or trying anything entirely for the first time. As an example, if you have never before attempted trance mediumship, now would not be the time to start, in my opinion. Also, a very important caution; do not oath yourself to or make a promise to any deity during a retrograde period. The reason being is that an oath or promise is a contract and falls under the “don’t sign any contracts now” rule. Things could very easily turn out to be more than you bargained for or in some way unsatisfactory to both sides (for you and the deity).

    On the other hand, divination for answers to questions from and/or regarding the past would be ideal at this time (as opposed to divining the future) as would any work done to honor or communicate with ancestors with whom you’ve had a prior earthly or previously established spiritual relationship. On this Samhain, think to the past, reenact a favorite rite you have done previously, honor those that have gone before, spend time with old friends or have a cozy Halloween at home celebrating the past as you prepare to step into the new year.

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Pagan Ignorance or Pagan Brilliance

10/16/2013

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    Lately, as the Halloween season gains momentum, I’ve heard and read more and more “supportive” talk about Witches and pagans that always seems to include the word superstition. It seems to go something like, “I don’t have anything against them, after all even if ‘self-proclaimed’ (another irritating term in my opinion) Witches have power, a lot of it must come from believing in what they do. Their belief in the superstition is what makes it work. Praying to rocks and worshiping trees and the moon and stuff are just the trappings.”

    Some modern Witches and pagans also seem to hold a similar view, which confuses me since as a matter of training we are supposed to all be taught to sense, feel and move energy and to work with energy at many levels. Belief is at best, a very first step. My view of Witches goes deeper than those who see us as merely superstitious or who think the Craft is some sort of pseudo-psychological exercise mixed with folk dancing. Our magical legacy is ancient and rich in spiritual truths that extend far beyond superstition.

    The earliest worship of the world was directed toward the vital forces that governed our lives; the Earth, the Seas, the weather, the Moon and the Sun. Modern science has concluded that (to the best of our current understanding) energy cannot be created or destroyed; it only changes form. This being the case, the energy that was formed into all things by our creator (Witches call Her by many names) is divine and interconnected. It is understood in most ancient religions that in the beginning, all was formless void and the first God (either male or female, depending… although, the further you go back; it’s most frequently female) shaped the universe out of themselves (using various methods; in various ways) and thus, all came into being. From this teaching, come the lessons of divine immanence (the notion that God is in everything), nature as sacred, the Goddess and God within, the existence of nature spirits and many other important spiritual truths.

    Before the resurgence of interest in paganism in the 19th century, the prevailing view of Witches and pagans was the alleged-Satanism angle (which is still prominent today amongst rigid fundamentalists opposed to paganism), but nowadays whenever reference has been made regarding ancient pagans and their spiritual relationship to nature, the slant has usually been that “primitive” people prayed to rocks and trees and that any form of pagan worship is rooted in pure ignorance of reality. This derogatory viewpoint has been perpetuated in both academic and religious settings. We all know that pagans of any sort have not had it easy over the course of history but leaving all that aside, the notion of early pagan ignorance is widely accepted even amongst some modern pagans themselves. Rather than ignorance, I contend that their reason for doing so was to connect to the type of divine forces contained within the object in question. My evidence for this assertion is that in ancient religions there are usually gods and goddesses “of” various natural objects and phenomena.

    Many of these gods are the purest expressions of the energy that condenses down on the physical plane to become the objects in question (trees, water, the moon, etc.) and we can connect to them by connecting to the physical objects over which they have dominion. For example, to connect with Gaea, it is wise to get in touch with the physical earth. Now, I’m not saying that all Gods are related to physical forms since there are deities connected to love and war, motherhood and fatherhood, art, communication, and so on. I’m just saying that to connect with a higher power it is very helpful to align yourself as best as you can to the energy through which they manifest in our level of existence.

    While there are varying opinions on the nature of deities, in my tradition it is taught that the first God (Goddess, actually) is the creator of all things and that her children are the other Gods of this world. So, in order, I would say that there is the Great Mother at the heart of all things, then out of her energy she created her children (the Gods) as pure, distinct, divine expressions of energy at differing frequencies and from there, the physical universe was created as the most solid and mundane manifestation of those energies, the different frequencies condensing and forming all the myriad types of matter in the cosmos. That sounds rather dry, but it’s actually kind of awe-inspiring and exciting to ponder; that everything in existence is infused with divinity and life and that the Gods are literally right here with us, that we are connected to all of them because we are made of their same energy.

    How this relates to the topic at hand is that if we are to reach out to the energy and power of any physical object, we should first understand that the energy we seek is divine. Since we are using magic, we know that we work with energy but, it is very important to keep in the forefront of our consciousness that this energy is the same energy of divinity; that it is god force that we are channeling. Yes, the sun for example is a giant ball of gasses and nuclear fusion, but it is much more than just this, that is only the physical manifestation of it which, as already noted, is the final result of a great deal of work of the part of the Gods in the spiritual realm.

Once the realization that there is no difference between mundane and divine other than vibrational frequency really sinks in, we learn that everything is divine and this knowledge not only validates and explains how our ancestors and predecessors viewed religion and the world around them, but also makes our own Witchcraft practice much richer and our magic easier to perform and much more successful.

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Season of the Witch

10/5/2013

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    It's that time of year again, Autumn! This is my personal favorite season and this seems to be true of many Witches. I have been asked why Fall is considered the "Season of the Witch" before, is it because of Halloween? Partially. Or is it just because of that Donovan song? No. I think more than anything, it is because there is such a strong shift in energy at this time of year, the change is palpable; you can feel it in the air.

    As the northern hemisphere shifts toward winter and the leaves begin to fall, the energy of living things moves inward, to the "roots" so to speak. This makes it not only a point of ending, but also a place of beginning. This is a time of year when we can so easily turn inward to focus on the cultivation of our innate talents and abilities and prepare ourselves for another cycle of life lessons to be learned. The holiday of Samhain (Halloween) is considered the ending of one year/the beginning of a new year and this is a perfect illustration of a key element of Autumn, that of transformation.    It is a point of return and renewal. For those new to the Craft, it is an ideal time to go inward and face the challenges and reap the rewards of deep spiritual work. For those that are further along the path, it provides us a necessary period of time to return to fundamentals and reaffirm our strength.

    If you liken the seasons of the year to the phases of the moon, Autumn would be the waning moon, Winter is the dark moon, Spring is the new moon and Summer would be the full moon.     If you liken the seasons of the year to the Witch's spiritual journey, Autumn is the neophyte stage, Winter is the initiate level (or 1st degree, depending), Spring is the Priestess or Priest level (or second degree), and Summer is the level of the High Priestess or High Priest elder (or 3rd degree). Autumn is the time of releasing the things that hold us back from being who we need to be. It becomes our time to start over (or reaffirm and re-energize). This season is representative of the foundation of Witchcraft.

    Very often unsympathetic outsiders will say that darkness always equates to evil and that since so many Witches have an affinity for the darker, spookier aspects of this time of year and for most of us Samhain is our favorite of the Sabbats, we must be evil or at best, un-spiritual. The truth of the matter is that all things begin in darkness and only by moving through the darkness and gaining some understanding of its nature, can one emerge into the light with any bit of knowledge and experience.

    Autumn is the equal but opposite season of Spring and both are about transformation. Where Autumn is about the transformation of dissolution and a return to our essential self, Spring is about emergence from our inner darkness (Winter) with knowledge, power and a duty to encourage life and growth. This duty is however tempered by the understanding that we are all subject to the cycles of nature and that whatever waxes shall eventually wane on this level of existence, so our duty becomes one of fostering growth and becoming an ally to the forces of nature while still realizing that when Autumn comes around once again, it will be time to let go and return to our essential self (though with luck and training, our essential self has grown some throughout the cycle), secure in the knowledge that we are ever a part of the endless cycle of life.

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Why Did I Write Supermarket Magic?

10/4/2013

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    Honestly, the main reason I wrote the book is because for most of my life, the majority of my magical ingredients have had to come straight from the grocery store. I've seen bits and pieces of information on the internet regarding using herbs and oils with ingredients exclusively from a supermarket but I've never found a true guide, so I had to create my own. Originally, I was going to include a chapter on magic from the supermarket in my book, Spellcasting for Beginners but it didn't seem fair to my readers since I would've had to keep it quite limited or that book would have been too large. I decided that since there was so much information it really needed to be a book in its own right.

    I wanted to be sure and cover as many aspects of magical life as possible and give tips and guidance on creating your own magical recipes from supermarket items. This book is really a starting place and I hope that it inspires many to see the magic all around them. I wanted to show that magic doesn't need to be distant and mysterious, it can be simple and accessible yet still remain effective.

    I don't mean to sound as though I don't have the proper respect for exotic herbs or intricate magical ritual, I do. I have a very romantic view of the Craft and I adore all of the mystery and beauty that goes along with it but I feel that sometimes people get discouraged from action if they don't have access to the 'right' herbs or tools and I wanted to make alternatives readily available for people so that things are easier for them than they were for me starting out. I've been a Witch for over 18 years now and I still use many of these recipes; they're part of my lifetime personal practice.

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(New Post)

10/1/2013

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Pumpkin Design Contest

    As my first blog post, I would like to announce a contest! Beginning today, October 1st and ending on October 30th at 11:59pm, I am seeking Jack O' Lantern design ideas.

    They can be funny, scary, symbolic or whatever you wish. I will pick the top four as winners and award the winners free signed copies of Spellcasting for Beginners AND Supermarket Magic.

    Please send entries via michaelfurie@gmail.com or post the pictures of drawings on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/authormichaelfurie . Good luck and Happy Halloween.

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Samhain Night

Navigating This Mercury Retrograde

Pagan Ignorance or Pagan Brilliance

Season of the Witch

Why Did I Write Supermarket Magic?

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