Lughnassadh Lammas Ritual;
 First Harvest, August 1st

"Blessed be the Harvest,
Blessed be the Corn Mother,
Blessed be the Grain God,
For together they nourish both body and soul.
Many blessings I have been given,
I count them now by this bread.
Guardian of the East, I pray for your indulgence.
Hear me now as I request your aid in the cycle of life.
As your winds blow through fields of ripened grain,
Carry loosened seeds upon your back
That they may fall amidst the soil
That is our Mother Earth."

The Wheel of the Year

The Four Lesser Sabbats;
 
Spring Equinox: (Ostara) March 21
Summer Solstice: (Litha) June 21
Fall Equinox: (Mabon) September 21
Winter Solstice: (Yule) December 21

The Four Greater Sabbats;     

Candlemas: (Imbolc) February 2
Beltane: (Walpurgis) May 1
Lammas: (Lughnassadh) August 1
Halloween: (Samhain) October 31

Bright Blessings..!!

Earth Mother, Giver of life
Strengthen me during my life-long strife.
Teach me your ways of perfect love,
peace, and wisdom true.
Spawn from my purest heart
These words to you
May this prayer help me to better
myself in word and deed,
To a higher plane I shall succeed.
Beautiful light of goodness fair
Lore of old we both do share
A Witch's brew, I drink to you
My love for you, by day, by night
In thought and in sight
Will my soul learn
the meaning of this life again. 

Full Moon Rituals;

Esbats are rituals that celebrate the full and new moons. Some traditions only  practice full moon esbats, some only new, and some do both, some do new,  full, waxing and waning.

How often and at which moon phase you perform  esbats is up to you, there is not a required number of esbats or a moon phase  that you have to adhere to, and you should follow that which is most  convenient in your schedule and feels right. In most months there will be one  full moon and one new moon, but occasionally there will be two full moons  within the same calendar month and the second full moon of a month is known as a blue moon. Blue moons are times of extra power.

The actual wording and form of esbat rituals are something that best flows from your heart to the heart of the Goddess and are the times that you will hone your ritual writing and performance skills.

The ritual below combines some of the material from various Eclectic groups I have circled with.
 

Supplies:

Altar with Elemental representations of Earth (Salt), Air (Incense), Fire (Red working candle) and Water (Water).
Ritual cakes (any natural bread or cake, no junk food)
Wine or Ale (anything from the fruit of the vine/grain, fermented or not)
Gold and Silver God/Goddess Candles
Quarter Candles - Green (North), Yellow (East), Red (South) and Blue (West)
Matches or lighter
Wand or Athamé for casting circle
Broom or Besom for cleansing the circle
Chalice or Cup for Libation for God and Goddess
Separate Wine Glass or Cup for yourself or coveners
Any other items needed for specific spell work

Sent to me from,                                                                           

"Vicki Huff"

Parrot Flower

This is a flower from Thailand. 

It is also a protected species and is not allowed to be exported. 

This may be the only way we will be able to view this flower.

 FROM THAILAND! THE VERY RARE PARROT FLOWER

WHO BUT The GODDESS COULD DO THIS!

Co-creation starts with imagination;                                      

"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question."

Decouvertes:

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."

Imagination is a tool of the soul. Our imagination gives us the opportunity to 'try on' new qualities and perspectives in our life. Through imagination, we can explore our past, problems, patterns, processes, plans, perceptions, principles, passions and purpose to uncover new possibilities.

Without imagination, we stay stuck in the realm of the material, the past, the superficial and the literal. We remain one-tracked, instinctual and one-dimensional.

Pagan Heart;                                                                                                          

Now is the time to realize the path where
My heart belongs is not one that is understood.

So how can I follow my path without fear and prejudice?
I just stand up for what I believe and write down my thoughts as
They come to me from Her well of inspiration.
I do as I please and,

 Happy (Pagan) Valentines Day!

 Imagine this;

Another holiday is rooted in an ancient Roman pagan festival, the fertility celebration of Lupercalia, which Pope Gelasius declared a day of Christian feasting around 496 A.D.

This festival was celebrated by members of the Luperci, a Roman order of priests, who gathered at a sacred cave, where it is said Romulus and Remus were raised by a she-wolf.

Boys attending the festival would dip strips of goat hide in sacrificial blood and run through the streets slapping the girls with the hide thongs.

Being slapped was an honor, as this meant great fertility during the next year, for the ones who were touched with the hide strip.

Before the festival was over, all the young women in the city would place their names into a “love lottery urn”, and the bachelors would draw out a name to be paired with, for the rest of the festival.

Each person, man or woman, would wear the name of that person they drew, on their sleeve for a week.

If the couple was lucky, this often lasted the rest of the year and sometimes ended in marriage.

Who is this mysterious martyr whom the Catholic Church has recognized as a saint?

There were numerous people named Valentine around the same time, 269 A.D., said to have been the elusive St. Valentine.

Will we ever solve the mystery and learn the true identity of the real Saint Valentine? 

Valentine is as mysterious in death, as he was in life.

Some stories say he was a Roman priest, who sickened and died in prison after being incarcerated for refusing to give up Christianity.

Another story says he was beheaded.

One of the St. Valentine's was killed for aiding Christians in their escape from the Roman prisons.

Imbolc Spells and Rituals:                                                                                                       
Customs to Celebrate the Return of Spring:

These spell and rituals mark Imbolc, which falls around 2nd of February in the Northern Hemisphere, a time of renewal and celebration for the Wiccan community.
Simple Imbolc Rituals and Customs

    * A white cloth left outside on the Eve of Imbolc may be brought inside in the morning having been blessed by the Goddess.
    * Lighting many white candles to celebrate the strengthening light of the season.
    * Suitable incenses to burn at Imbolc include lavender, cinnamon, basil, frankincense and myrrh.
Open windows for a few minutes to air the home, and then allow the fragrant smoke to permeate the home.
The cleansing smoke will quicken the mood of all those that experience it, and this atmosphere of renewal will remain long after the smoke has dispersed.
    * Drinking fresh milk from a magical chalice:
Traditionally animals began to provide much needed fresh milk around Imbolc, a very welcome and practical sign of the renewal of the wheel of the year!

Spiritual Cookery:                                                                                           

We all know that “you are what you eat”; and many of us are becoming aware that this maxim has a spiritual as well as a physical dimension.

We know we simply feel better when we eat well – when our bodies, rather than our minds, dictate what we should eat or not eat.

Many of us have experienced a complete change in attitude and outlook on life by simply changing our diets. Whole bodies of thought, such as the Jewish kosher laws and macrobiotics, have evolved to stress the spirituality of food, to emphasize its sacredness.

The “spiritual quality of food” is not a metaphor:

Food contains a light fiber energy which is as important to our sustenance as vitamins and proteins, but which is not susceptible to chemical analysis.

And just as the vitamin and protein content of food can be diminished by processing or overcooking, so too can the light fiber content of food be diminished by disrespect.Light fibers are actually the same things as good feelings.

When we feel good, we literally glow.

When a food plant or animal feels good, it glows. Even when it is killed for food, the glow remains as long as the killing was done with respect; that is, with a sense of connectedness and gratitude rather than mechanically.