Beltaine

By Cricket Raven

At this time, we do not have a location to hold the Beltaine ritual for this year.  We are working on a location for the Litha ritual in June.  I am sorry that we did not get this information out earlier.  Thank you for your understanding.

Ostara..Bring it On!

By Doc Raven

I have been running around the house cleaning singing… Ostara, Ostara, I love ya Ostara, its only a few days away.  I love this time of year.  All the snow go bye bye.  Hey I love snow just as much as anyone else, but after 3-4 months of it the white stuff can just go away.  Spring brings so many good things to Michigan.  You have greenish brown grass, mud, rain, grey skies, and you discover that all the neighborhood dogs have decided your lawn is the very best place to relieve their bowels.  Sound dismal?  Nope, not for me.  Even with all of those things I love this time of year.  Spring brings with it the hope of a fantastic new year (at least for me).  Everything is budding out and turning green.  The smell is the sweetest thing I know, a musky/moldy crisp smell that is only rivaled by the smell of fall in my book.  Nature is all about fornication and birth (always a good thing).  A few weeks ago the Moon was in the seventh house and Jupiter aligned with Mars, peace will indeed rule the planet this year, and love will steer the stars.  Hey! this article is supposed to be about Ostara not Marilyn McCoo and the 5th dimension. It is all tied together,  Ostara in Wicca is all about the love/loving and spring.  We here at the Doc/Cricket household celebrate Ostara by painting up some eggs, planting our early plants, and giving thanks that 40-60 degree weather has returned.  How do you celebrate?  Let us know on the forums under this post.  Ostara is a great time to raise some energy.  Little effort required for that task this time of year everything is giving off the happy vibes.  Sing it to world Ostara, Ostara, I love ya Ostara!  and we love our outer circle, Beltane is  just around the corner and the Ravens will be holding our annual Beltane open ritual on the second of May around 6pm, and as an added bonus- that day just happens to be my birthday, going to be cake there and pie, I love pie.  Hope to see you all soon.  Oh and the newsletter went out with a messed up header, sorry I messed up some template stuff when I did an upgrade, next time I will have that corrected.

Your friendly Raven, Doc.

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Happy Imbolc

By Cricket Raven

It is again the time for Imbolc or Candlemas.  For those who are not familiar with the holiday, it was a Celtic festival which celebrated the pregnant ewe’s beginning to quicken and lactate for their new lambs.  Since lambs were born in the Spring, it was a good sign that the long winter was close to over.  It is also the festival of Saint Brigit, the Irish Goddess of home and hearth.  It was the festival day of Juno and Vesta, both virgin Goddess of motherhood and the hearth.  All three were celebrated by lighting of fires and candles.  The common theme is that of new beginnings and the welcoming of the increase in light and warmth. 

For those of us who live in northern climates this festival makes a lot of sense.  It is COLD outside and has been for months.  The gray days make people tired and cranky.  The cost of heating our homes is expensive.  We have experienced ice, sleet, white out, car crashes, deaths due to lack of heat…..  While winter is wonderful, at this time of year it is beginning to become weary.  Conversations and thoughts turn to Spring.

We have a great divination method for determining how long we must wait for Spring…the beloved groundhog or woodchuck.  These wonderful creatures have the ability to see their own shadows and be frightened back into their dens for a few more weeks (more winter) or fail to see their shadows and agree to just stay out (Spring is on the way).  This is a paradoxical because it means that a bright sunny day equals more winter; where as a cloudy day equals warmer days to come.  I cannot explain the ways of the groundhog, it is one of the mysteries of the Divine we must just accept.

There are many other ways in which this holiday is celebrated.  Often there is the making or blessing of the candles which will be used throughout the year.  If you do not know how to make candles there are many different project instructions available on-line by Googling “candle making.”  While making the candles, focus your positive energy into them.

This is also a great day for baking.  It is cold out.  The smell and warmth of bread, cookies, or soup cooking in the home….  This is just good for everyone’s outlook on life.

Get going on the Spring Cleaning.  Prepare your home for the coming of the Spring and warmth.  It is a great time for it.  You can turn the heat down and work up a sweat getting those cobwebs and dust bunnies.  Finally, organize those closets after the holidays.  You know you are not going to want to do it once it is nice outside.  Once done, go through your home with some incense and bless it and those who live there.

Another activity is to make Brigid Cross’s or Sun Wheels.  This involves weaving grains or other items into a sectioned circles.  Some people gather to make huge ones and then light them and roll them down hills.  I caution this due to the likelihood of igniting local forests, homes, or friends.

A fun divination activity is to heat wax and then pour some into a bowl of water.  It will form shapes as it enters the water.  Everyone then tries to determine what the shape means.  A caution with this, melted wax is very hot and can burn.  Also be careful when melting the wax, use the double boiler.  I know it slow things down but wax can ignite and explode.  The ER is not a fun place to be.

Please feel free to share how you enjoy this holiday in the forums.  Warmest Blessings.

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“Can I be President when I grow up?”

By Cricket Raven

This is not a Pagan/Wiccan related post but I feel the need to share.  Today, I sat with my 6-year-old son and watched our 44th president take the oath of office.  I attempted to explain events that were happening and point out key figures of this wonderful process.  He was so excited to realize that President Obama’s daughters will live in the White House with him.  He exclaimed “she is only one year older than me.  I want to live in the White House one day, but I want to be the President.”  He also generously invited me to live there with him.  We spent a few hours discussing everything that was happing this morning and the meanings behind it.  It was wonderful.  He is still chattering about what will happen when he is the President.  His first order of Presidency will be to make the rule “all children can do what they want no matter what.”  After he went back to playing, I realized that there are a whole new group of mothers having this same conversations with their sons and daughters today.  The Presidency has always been for Rich White Men.  It is still for the rich, but those of more modest beginnings, color to their skins, and all genders now see that it is obtainable.  What a wonderful day to realize that all children can do what they want no matter what, including being President of the United States of America…at least once they grow up.

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Dark Side of Fey is really not that dark…

By Doc Raven

I find her refreshing, upbeat, and a down to earth enjoyable person.  If you like to listen to other pagans talk paganly it is well worth your time to subscibe to Fey’s podcast.  The following was shamelessly taken from her website:

The Dark Side of Fey is a pagan podcast, brought to you by DarklyFey, who records the show from the red leather couch in Southwestern Ontario! The show is released every second Saturday and features a wide variety of topics including wicca, witchcraft, druidry, general paganism, spirituality & spiritual practices, divination, tarot, numerology, herbalism, pathworking, dieties from different pantheons, and pagan books, music and resources!

Fey is a 40 year old mom and long-time pagan who has studied paganism since her late teens. She considers herself a seeker first, and this is reflected in the way she peers curiously into all the dusty corners of world religion and mythology. She reads avidly and widely, and shares what she picks up from various sources with her loyal listenership.

You can listen to Fey for free on the iTunes music store, RSS feed, or directly from her website at darklyfey.com

In Hibernation

By Doc Raven

You may have noticed that the last few months the Ravens have been inactive. To quote Mark Twain “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” We are very much alive.  Just like the great Godzilla we are in hibernation. The snowy winter and people’s busy schedules have prevented us from holding open gatherings and meeting with our loved outer circle. Much like Godzilla we will emerge to wreak our havoc upon the greater pagan community soon! Expect a newsletter in the next few days. We will also be posting our 2009 open gathering schedule along with the newsletter.

Raven Yule Gathering Cancelled

By Doc Raven

Due to the HUGE amount of snow we have decided to cancel the Yule gathering this year.

Fairy Ring Part 2, The Return of the Ring

By Doc Raven

Cricket Published some pictures last year in the pictures section of the website of a fairy ring that was in our front yard.  After all the rain we had recently we found a pleasant surprise.  The return of the ring.  Same place, almost the same time.  Better yet, no Frodo to watch doing 5 minute long death scenes in which he does not really die.  As usual we offered up some shiny coins and stones for the Fey.  I have put the whole collection of pictures up in the OuterCircle section of the gallery (you need to register to see them).  Here are a few, enjoy! we did.

Goddess Sizing at No Extra Charge

By Cricket Raven

I love getting catalogs, and one of my favorites is the Pyramid Collection.  So a little while back, I came home and was delighted to see that I had a new catalog.  The cover bothered me.  It said Goddess Sizing at No Extra Charge.  By goddess sizing, they meant plus sizing.  Since this is a blog post and not all readers know me,  I am now well into what my doctor’s chart refers to as obese.  I am a size 16, which is very close to “goddess size.”  This is not a disagreement with Pyramid Collection for their attempt to fairly price women’s clothing regardless of size.  Nor it is an attempt to make women conform to obscene standards that often qualify as starving under the World Health Organization.  It just got me thinking.  “Goddess” and “sizing” in the same phrase.  What size would the goddess want me to be?  I have to say it is not Supermodel size nor is it plus sizing.  We all know that too much weight is not good for our health.  It is hard on our hearts, joints, and internal organs.  Eating healthy food and exercising is good for our bodies and mental health.

As a Wiccan woman, one goal is that in a circle I will be able to be the body that houses the Goddess.  Part of our faith is that the Goddess resides in us always.

Then came the thought of the Rede.  “In that it harm none, do what you will.”  I am part of those who I am not to harm.  My weakness for anything with high fructose corn syrup and every other form of “-ose” is harming me.  It is not good for me.  The Goddess would want more for me.  Don’t I owe it to myself and my respect of the gift of life I was given to care for the body that houses me?

Next, came the thought of “Know Thyself.” Those wonderful words from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.  If I keep private about what I do, I WILL cheat.  I will just keep wondering why I continue to be obese while sneaking Little Debbies on the way home from work.  So I am going to use the forums to keep me honest.  If I cheat I will post it.  If I follow a healthy diet, I will post that too.  Any others that care to join me are welcome.  Those sadists out there are welcome to watch the carnage.

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Denessa Smith Memorial

By Wayland Raven

Author Dorothy Morrison has advised me that she will be speaking at the ritual for Denessa Smith that Is going to be held at Bishop Park in Wyandotte, on August 13th at 7PM. I hope that Denessa’s friends and

supporters will be able to be there to honor the life of a noble and energetic woman. She turned a personal tragedy into a cause that has helped pagan children and the cause of our pagan community.

The Complete address is : Bishop Park, 2701 Van Alstyne Blvd, Wyandotte, MI follow the link to google maps for more detailed driving instructions.

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