Five Elements

I have been asked about my faith on several occasions. I have been invited to attend church on Sunday by a few friends. I have been a solitary Pagan for 15 years and the beaming glare of disbelief, still pierces my spirit after I utter those 3 little words, “I am Pagan”. Visualize my Christian friends running to their cars to get out the marshmallows and Witch burning kits! I have to break the news rather cautiously, being guarded as to who to tell and how much I reveal at once.

I have always lived in the Bible belt. I grew up in a holiness church. We (my mother and 4 of my siblings) attended church 6 days a week and twice on Sunday! I sat quietly on the pew and learned all the wonderful stories about faith, God, and Love. I loved the lessons learned. They were the basis of my faith today. However, I thought that there were too many blanks and gray areas that were withheld. The fact that I didn’t wear what everyone else did and I was not born into money was no help. None the less, all eyes where on me, to judge me, my failures and my walk with God. This church was rather large, about 300 people gathered there regularly. I felt this was not where I needed to be or what I wanted for myself. I was made to attend. My mother held somewhat of a position at the church, as the piano player. Did I mention…our preacher was a woman?

Since I came up in a church headed by a woman, I never thought much about what a woman’s “role” was. Our preacher was the leader. She had a vote that counted and a voice which was heard. I have always thought a woman was equal to a man. “Do a man’s work, get man’s pay”, right? I have learned that there are other religions (here in the Bible Belt, especially) that persecutes and belittles us women, and “cleaning chickens and birthing kids are what we are built for”. OKAY, where do I start with that?

My Pagan influences and lessons started prior to my searching out other religions. My daddy was a farmer. My parents were married 34 years when he died in 1996. He taught me to love the dirt, the warmth and smell of a fresh plowed field and all the things nature gives us. He said, “If you take care of your garden, it will take care of you.” He would buy the Farmer’s Almanac and plant his crops according to the tables in it (which are merely moon tables and moon signs). He would point out the migrating birds and tell me to get out my winter clothes ready because the robins bring in the cold weather. If I had a nickel for all the times my mother spouted out something like, “it was not in the cards today” or “the Gods are angry when it thunders”.

After the loss of my father, I felt alone. I struggled with the things that every other girl would take for granted. He’s not going to be at my graduation! Who’s going to walk me down the aisle? My husband will never get to ask him for my hand! He will never know how wonderful my kids are! He will not pass down his knowledge to them! He’s not going to be there for me anymore…

I began my journey at the book store, of all places. I was drawn to the “New Age” aisle, like the tides to the moon. I am a Scorpio so I have a natural curiosity for this kind of stuff. I stumbled across Scott Cunningham’s “Wicca, A guide for the Solitary Practitioner”. In it, I found some of the “ideas” I was taught by my parents (who learned it from their parents… called common sense to the farmer), and the Preacher (or High Priestess).

We have added to the ordinary Christian holidays (which are Pagan to begin with) to make them more of a ritual. We bake bread for Lammas, bring in a Yule Log for the hearth, and burn candles with intent and purpose. We make our own traditions. I do not push my faith on others. My husband and I, call ourselves Pagan. My kids will decide which path they will take. They hear about both, the Pagan and Christian aspects of religion. Whatever they choose, it will be their choice.

I believe it is a walk in my faith, with my Gods and Goddesses, and my choices that will carry me through this life… and out of it.

Reclaiming the Witch’s Pentagram by Kephri Ra

The so called ‘inverted’ pentagram will be familiar to everyone as the ubiquitous symbol of evil, common to Hollywood movies and satanic societies alike. The ‘upright’ pentagram is also a common and well known occult symbol, which can be found in many diverse spiritual traditions. One religion in which this symbol is particularly prominent is the modern Pagan practice of Wicca.

The association between witchcraft and the five pointed star is a long one, reaching back towards the obscure origins of the craft itself. In the past it is known that the inverted version of the pentagram was used as a symbol of witchcraft. Most witches today, however, seem to prefer using the symbol in what is generally called the upright position. Whether this switch happened due to a feeling that the inverse symbol was just a Christian slur and an attempt to condemn the practice of witchcraft with what is, in truth, a symbol of evil, or whether the strong association of the symbol with evil in the public imagination simply made it too distasteful to use is not at all clear to me. But what does seem clear to me is that this change was a mistake.

I feel very confident that a thoughtful study of the actual meaning of the pentagram, in both positions, shows that the ‘inverse’ position is the proper symbol of witchcraft.

The basics are not disputed, and are common knowledge: the five points of the star represent the four elements of material existence – earth, water, fire and air – and the fifth element of quintessence, or pure spirit. The interpretation of the so called ‘upright’ pentagram is also commonly known, and I do not dispute it. The single point of spiritual essence depicted at the apex, above the other four points, represents the superiority and dominance of spiritual existence over material existence.

The problem occurs when you over-simplistically assume that reversing the orientation of the symbol yields an identical but opposite meaning, i.e. the dominance and victory of the material over the spiritual. This logic is most probably derived from that of that other popular satanic symbol – the inverted cross – which actually has no esoteric meaning at all, and is merely a symbolic act of desecration, perversion, and enmity towards Christianity and what it represents.

To find the true meaning you must first recognise that the characteristics of the spiritual essence revealed in the ‘upright’ pentagram are neither comprehensive nor universal characteristics of spirit. Indeed it should be self-evidently clear that dominance and victory are peculiarly masculine concerns; that is, they belong to the realm of the divine masculine – our father in heaven.

Having this it is, I would suggest, logical to assume that the character of the ‘inverse’ pentagram is indicative of the divine feminine. In other words this symbol does not represent the dominance of the material over the spiritual for the simple reason that it is not actually about dominion at all.
So what is the true meaning of the witch’s pentagram? I would suggest that it represents the spiritual essence which nourishes and sustains life – the spirit of our mother earth.

Both versions of the symbol can be seen as good or evil according to how they are manifested. In the feminine form it can show material things being given higher value than spiritual things and therefore moral corruption, just as the masculine form can conceal the twisted ‘holy warrior’ whose lust for the dominion of his faith can lead to the mass murder of innocents. Esoteric symbols represent divine laws and truths – they are not evil – people are evil.

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Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

We are entering the transition of midsummer, here in the Northern Hemisphere. This begins shorter days and longer nights, aka Fall. Lammas is one of the most celebrated Sabbats of the Witches calendar because of the gifts we are given from the Earth.

During this celebration, we recognize the first crop harvest of the year. We see the union of the Goddess and God as the land allows us to obtain its plentiful bounty. As summer turns into autumn and the plantings from spring begin to wither and die, they give up their produce for our use and seeds for a future harvest.

There are many things we can do to bring in Lammas. Gathering around a bonfire with family and friends (if you are a country witch), baking a loaf of bread (using onions, garlic, etc from your garden) or something as simple as microwaving a bag of popcorn!

However you decide to let Them know is up to you. All that is necessary to enter this sacred time is an awareness of the meaning of your actions.

Blessed Be