A Special Tribute
Life should not be taken for granted, and I am a Witch whose policy is to accept the person and not necessarily their beliefs. Your beliefs are those of your own, and you should never allow someone to belittle them or scold you for what you believe to be true.
I have Christian clients, Catholic, Protestant, as well I have other Witches as clients. I have at times been critical of other faiths, but, I try not to allow that to cloud my judgment when deciding who I should or shouldn't accept as a client.
Life is a spiral, and there is symbolism everywhere to prove it. When you cut a tree down or when nature takes its course, and lightning strikes cutting it down, look at the top of the stump, you should be able to see the center of the tree, and there you will find the beginning of that trees life. There will be a spiral that will stop just at the edge of the tree.
The tree is only one example I can offer; for instance, our finger-prints are spirals, I find it fascinating that no two finger-prints are alike.
We are born of blood, bone, and spirit, and we are brought into balance by the elements, earth represents stability and strength and is feminine in principle and is revered by Witches as the Earth Mother and most Altars will face the North in a Witches circle.
Water is also feminine and rules the emotions, and this has been witnessed in the destructive force that this element can bring. Floods, tsunamis, landslides. Look at it this way, when you are in a lousy situation your emotions run wild often followed by a wave of tears. The
Through the ages man has learned to control the force of this element by building dams, water breaks, it would be ideal if the human element could learn to control their emotions, there would be less chaos in the world and more love.
I realize I started in the North, but that is only because of the symbolic nature of the all-encompassing Earth Mother, some Witches see them all as if it were a spiderweb this concept is very appropriate as all energy on the planet is weaved together, just as a Spider weaves her web, everything is connected.
Air represents the mind and the breath of life, when we are in spirit form, and we are reborn our soul enters through the East (Air), and when we pass and leave this world behind, we exit through the West. There are death-rites, as well as birth rites that are bestowed upon a Witch when they are born, and when they die, most covens have their traditions and rituals that celebrate each event. And though losing someone is always sad, we also celebrate their life and accomplishments while they were here.
Fire represents the spirit, the direction associated with this element is South. In most of my circles, the Fire-pit will set slightly off center and more in the South. Where the This is a personal choice, just as the tools placed on the Altar. In most cases, the tools that represent the element will be placed in the area on the Altar in the direction that it represents.
When working magic, it is best if you can adopt an attitude or feel within your heart that your spells have already accomplished your goal and considered the matter closed.
Now, this does not mean that you should drop the matter but do not discuss your magical workings if you go around talking about the spells you cast or the rituals you conducted you leave yourself open to ridicule which can erode your magical-workings, you leave yourself open to persecution.
On the other hand, if you are working with a practitioner he or she should instruct you on this matter, speaking of your spell can break it as "Thought are Living things."
I want to take a moment to acknowledge a Great Lady, her name was Miranda, Angel and I met her in Mexico, she was a Catholic, but she never judged us, and she was just fine that a Coven of Witches moved into the Villa next door.
She passed away Sunday night from a massive stroke, we have known her and her husband for the past six years, and it feels like a member of our family has now crossed the bridge into the Summerland.
I spoke earlier about different beliefs, as long as we are all working towards the greater good, it doesn't get any better than that. Learn to love yourself, until you love yourself, you cannot love another, and they cannot love you either! I wish I had time to say more, I have plenty to say believe me, but I need to prepare for the upcoming events. Blessed Candlemas, Phelan