Within and Around Me

Over the weekend my husband and I had a couple of friends over to have some wine and catch up. Well my friend Staci has been looking into paganism and feels strongly about her spirituality and my husband’s friend Dan kept commenting on how beautiful the moon looked, so we decided to do a ritual and it was very intense for me. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband who supports my spirituality and encourages me doing rituals and teaching our children about the Goddess. Anyway, the four of us opened the circle, called the quarters and did a daily blessing that I usually do with my kids. Dan asked if he could read tarot, and even though he had never done it before, if flowed and felt exactly as it needed to be. He didn’t read it in the normal ways they are typically laid out- he read them as they called to him. Throughout the entire ritual I felt this intensity inside me. It was like the first time I felt the goddess/god when I was thirteen, and that’s when I knew.

 I normally do not feel that type of power inside me. Even after the ritual I was shaking and felt the goddess so intimate in me. It was a wonderful experience. I think I will do more rituals outside in nature at night while the moon is smiling down on me, I wish I could find more accurate words to describe this, but for now I will just let this calm that has taken over me since then as a huge blessing. Our friend took a photo of the center piece I always use in some way of my rituals. Hopefully I can have him send it to me so I can share it with you.

 

Take care and Blessed Be!

 

 

                                                                                                                                            

Litha

Yesterday was Litha, the Summer Solstice (also known as Midsummer). It is the longest day of the year and also a day to reflect on your inner power and brightness. A lot of pagans will find a quiet spot and meditate on the darkness and the light both in the world and in your personal life.

A day to celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year with fire and water, night and day, and other symbols of the opposition of light and dark.

Litha is also a great time to celebrate outdoors! My family had a fun-filled day playing in the backyard. We filled up the baby pool on top of a tarp and had the sprinkler on it as well so that the kids could run through. It was a lot of fun

My Son's Saining

Today we performed the ritual for my son's saining! My close friend who I have known since high school is also Pagan and has agreed to be my children's mentor. So if something happens to me, he will teach them my spirituality through Paganism. No one in my family shares my beliefs and I was worried that if I died they wouldn't learn what I believe in. I am so very fortunate to have such a wonderful friend who would do this for me. So he was part of the ritual, of course.

 

 

The ritual was small, we had a very basic altar:

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my very supportive husband holding our son during the rite of passage:



 

 

 

 

 

 

Kellen (my children's mentor) holding John Richard while I performed the actual "saining" part of the ritual:

 

 

 

 

 

My precious little man and I:

 



 

 

My daughter is a witch!

Yesterday my daughter begged me to go into the Altar room. We went in, she looked around and picked up the Goddess candle and handed it to me, so I lit it. Then she started going through my collection of herbs and (based on smell, I’m sure) picked out rosemary, eucalyptus, and mint.

Rosemary- which can be used to banish negative energy

Eucalyptus- which can be used for protection, purification, and health

Mint- is placed in the home as a protective herb

 

Then she put all of them in my mortar and pestle, spit in in then gave it to me to spit in it too. That was a little strange to me, but this was her spell so I went along with it.

            She ground it up, and then rubbed the end on the pestle against my forehead and chest. She then did the same to herself, put the pestle back and came up to me and kissed me. Then she laughed and put her arms around me.

 

            I’m not sure what she meant with it, but she’s so young (only two and a half years old) and her mind is so innocent that I think it was part curiosity and part love. I was so proud of her for wanting to do a bit of magick. I love that she calmly (and happily) does our Daily Devotions and I’m thinking of starting a bedtime ritual with the kids now. I found one online that I really love:

Now I lay me down to rest,

I pray that all the world be blessed.

Lady Moon and Sister Star,

Watch over me from afar,

The Lord of dreams will dance and sing,

And to me sweet dreams he’ll bring.

And when I awake to greet the day

Brother Sun will light the way.

 

 

We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully my little man will grow into loving the Goddess as well. His saining is this weekend and I am so excited!

Energy and Karma

Today I was grocery shopping with my husband when a teenage boy and his mother walked up to us. They told us that their church was asking the members to go out into the community and pray for people who need it. At first I was worried they were going to try to preach jesus and try to “save” us, but that is not what happened at all. The boy asked if there was anything in our lives currently that we needed help with. As it so happens, I have been having a hard time lately with my mental illness. I’ve been on and off depressed and have started self-mutilating again (which I know is a terrible coping mechanism, but honestly I’ve been so off lately I turned to it). I decided to tell the boy and his mother this. They asked if it would be okay to pray with us, and I said that was fine. The mom asked to put her hand on my shoulder, which I said was okay, and they prayed that god would help me in my time of need. Then they thanked us and I hugged the woman before they walked off.

                Obviously I am not a Christian, but to me I see Christian prayer as putting out good energy. The fact that two people who do not really know me were willing to take time to put that good energy in the world really made me feel good.

                Energy is so important and such a big part of my spirituality. There’s the “rule” that everything you put out into the world can and will come back to you three-fold.

 

                Another really big part of my spirituality is Karma. I did not post this here when it happened; because everything in my life was so chaotic then, but when my son was born he had a lot of health issues. He was born premature, septic, could not regulate his own breathing, and could not eat. He was put on medication for seizure activity for the first few days of his life. He ended up spending almost three weeks in the hospital’s NICU and it was so hard on our family. When he was two days old, the doctors finally let me hold him. It was so wonderful to finally hold and kiss my little boy. After I rocked him to sleep, I noticed a tag on the blanket they had him in. It said Project Linus:

 

 

When I was in high school, I was part of our school’s thespian troupe. One year we did the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! and due to that, as a charity event we participated in Project Linus. Project Linus is a charity that provides  love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.” We decided to become “blanketeers” and made dozens of blankets for children in need. I participated in this charity for three years, the entire time I was at that high school.

 

 

 

And now, as an adult, here I sat with my baby in the NICU and I see this tag. I started crying instantly. I never really realized just how important all of those blankets we made were until that very moment. I thought about how many other moms sat in NICUs or ICUs or cancer wards with their babies, trying hard to keep it together and that those blankets that we made were keeping their children warm while they struggled to live.

This was the biggest moment in my life when it comes to Karma. I sat there with my peers and made blankets for children, and then some other person who I don’t know sat there and made one for my son. My son who had everything against him, thankfully proved the doctors wrong and gained his strength and health back much faster than they thought and has just turned a year old.

 

The point I’m trying to make is that all the good energy you put out, all of that Karma, it does come back to you. Sometimes in the strangest way. So, while I do not believe in jesus, the fact that those two individuals at the grocery store took time out of their day to send out good energy and Karma really meant a lot to me.

Kids and Blessings

Went to reorganize my altar room/closet and my kids were amazed by everything in there.

 

They both sat still through a daily blessing with me (something very shocking for two toddlers).

 

Then they looked around while I did a healing candle ritual for a friend.

 

After all of that, I brought out my BOS (book of shadows).

 

Since 2005 I have used the book on the left for my spiritual journey and to document my rituals. But now that I am no longer I n my Maiden stage of life, I have moved to using the green book on the right. I suppose I will use it as long as my Mother stage lasts. Not sure if it will end once I become a grandmother? Will that be the beginning of my Crone stage? Not sure, I’m sure it’s a personal decision, and let’s face it- I have awhile before I have to figure that one out.

If anyone has any questions about any of this, feel free to ask!

 

Take care and blessed be!

Saining Ritual

Next month we are doing our son’s saining ritual. I thought I’d post it so people can see this rite of passage that pagan children usually go through.

 

 

Close Circle:

“The circle in closed and all herein are completely apart from the outside world, that we may glorify the Lady whom we adore”

 

Call quarters:

Light incense:

“I call upon the spirits of the North, that they join our circle and bring word of the dead and take our words with them. Welcome, Spirits of Air!”

Touch the Earth:

“I call upon the spirits of the East, that they join our circle and bring the comfort of the Earth, the flesh of the mother, to which we all return. Welcome spirits of the Earth!”

Light Fire candle:

“I call upon you spirits of the South, that they join our circle, bringing purification. That our souls should learn the trials and joys of life. Welcome, spirits of Fire!”

Pour water into cup:

“I call upon you spirits of the West, that they join our circle and bring peace, that we may take comfort in the cycle. Welcome, spirits of Water!”

 

 

Father:

“Lord and Lady, Father and Mother, God and Goddess: we have cast this circle on this day to celebrate a new life which through your magick has come to us.”

 

Mother:

“Divine child, conceived in love through the magick of the gods, I name you ______________________”

Mother gives child token

 

Father:

“Spirits of the East, know this child whose name is ______. Bless him with the breath of life and give him strength of mind.”

Mother:

“Spirits of the south, know this child. Bless him with the fire of life and give him a passion for life as well.”

Father:

“Spirits of the west, know this child. Bless him with the magick of life and give him the gift of hidden knowledge

Mother:

“Spirits of the North, know this child. Bless him with the strength of life and give him the gift of physical well-being.”

 

Mother picks up child and asks her mentor to walk to the center of the circle. Mother presents the child to him.

                “(Mentor’s name here), her spiritual mentor, please come forward and take this child.”

 

Mentor:

                “You have done well and should be proud. I gladly accept this child on behalf of the goddess and her consort, the horned god.”

The mentor walks around the circle, presenting the child and says:

                “Little one, we welcome you. Newest member of our Earth, showering out love upon you; your sweet breath, blowing through our lives.”

 

Mentor then gives the child back to the parents who undress him (down to her diaper). Father holds him while the Mother does the following-

Mother:

                “Sain from death, sain from wand”

-              Two drops of water on forehead

“Sain from breast to knee”

-              Three drops, line from chest to knee

“From knee to foot”

-              Four drops, line from knee to foot

“From the crown of your head”

-              One drop on the top of the child’s head

“To the soles of your feet”

-              One drop on each foot

“To preserve from behind”

-              One drop on the center of his back

“To sustain from in front”

-              One drop in the center of his chest

 

 

Father:

“Be proud and strong. Be you hail and whole. And may the Gods smile upon you and guide you through life”

 

Mentor holds child and says:

“May the light of the sun and the light of the moon and stars shine on your path, that you may perceive the beauty of both night and day. You are a child of the Mother and Father of all, beyond us- your human parents know that every end is a beginning and that the circle of creation has fulfilled itself in you. Pagan child you are today, but that is not binding upon you. Be as your own being shall decree in future years, in joy and in freedom.”

 

Mother:

“Oh horned one, power of sleep and night, grant strength and blessings to this child of mine. Wrap him in the cloak of thy protection and guard him through the journey of life.”

 

Both parents, in unison:

                “We take the oath to raise and protect our son, _____________.”

 

Acting High Priest (and Mentor);

“Hail and farewell spirits of the north, east, south, and west. Thank you for being here on this day of _____’s saining. This circle is now open, but never broken. Merry meet and merry part, until we merry meet again.”

 

Pour rest of water out onto the Earth once ritual is done.

 

Beltane 2014

Happy May Day! Today is Beltane: a fire festival, the origin of a maypole, and is littered with symbols of fertility. It is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival. Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two main seasons, winter (dark) and summer (light). As Samhain is about honoring death, Beltane, its counterpart, is about glorifying life. It is the time when the sun is wholly unrestricted from his oppression of winter. He is now able to rule over summer, and life, once again.

 

Here is what a traditional Maypole can look like:

 

 

 

Take care and blessed be!

Candle Rituals with my Bumble Bee

A friend of mine passed suddenly in his sleep earlier this month. He and his wife were/are also pagan and I have been doing candle rituals a lot lately because of his passing. Just sending out good energy for his wife, I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for her.

Well, my daughter saw me going into the altar room (closet) and wanted to join. When she came in she kept saying “Wow!” I told her this is what God(dess) is. She was very patient and sat through and helped me with the ritual. It made me so happy to see her take such an interest in my spirituality.

Another Q&A!

Also, seeing as it has been so long since my last post, let’s do a Q&A!

A lot of people ask me about what I believe and what Paganism is to me so I thought I'd do another Q&A. So if you have questions, either comment here or email me at themuellercoven@ymail.com and I'll post the questions (anonymously) with my answers. Can't wait to hear from you guys!

Take care and blessed be!

Ostara 2014

It has been a very long time since my last post. I have been busy with my family and health issues, but I am back now! Since my last post my husband and I welcomed another bundle of joy into our family. Our son, John Richard, is ten months old now- having two little ones has kept me very busy but I have a goal to start blogging more.

This is a great time of the year to start back up as well! In a few days Ostara will be here! Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, is the first day of spring where the light is equal to the darkness and the days grow longer. An equinox occurs twice a year (around March 20-21 and September 21-22), when the plane of Earth's equator passes the center of the Sun. This year Ostara lands on Thursday March 20, 2014.

This sabbat represents a time for rebirth in nature and in our own lives. Ostara is the Germanic Goddess of Spring, another name for her is Eostre. In ancient times, this was a time of year for fertility, which is where the symbols of the eggs and rabbits come from. (Rabbits are known to mate many times throughout this season, and female rabbits are known to have many litters of babies during this time, which is why the rabbit is such a strong symbol for the fertility of Spring).

Celebrating this holiday: There are many different ways to make merry the Spring Goddess; you can do a ritual in her honor, plant seeds of beautiful flowers, or try to start something new in your own life. For your altar on Ostara, you can have a yellow candle, spring flowers, green and yellow crystals or stones, plastic or real eggs to represent fertility and anything else that represents the rebirth of spring to you.

I hope you and your families have a blessed Ostara!
Take care and blessed be!