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Although now days it easier to buy already mix and blended incense it is still a good idea to mix your own for special ritual. Now there is nothing wrong with premixed Incense it does the job, the only issues you may feel is important is that you don’t know what energy the incense picks up. The only way you can be 100% sure that your incense is blended using the correct energy for it purpose.

Below is a list of common Incense Blends, which are perfect for any ritual and are very simple to make.

Please note some ingredince can cause an allergic reactions

“Raise The Dead” Incense

1 part Pepperwort
1 Part Red Storax
1 pinch Saffron
few drops Musk oil

Compound and fumigate about the tombs and graves of the dead. This will cause spirits and ghosts to gather, at least according to some reports

Sabbat Incense

4 parts frankincense
2 parts Myrrh
2 parts Benzoin
1/2 part Fennel
1/2 part Bay
1/2 part thyme
1/2 part Pennyroyal
1/2 part Solomon’s Seal
1/4 part Rue
1/4 part wormwood
1/4 part Camomile
1/4 part Rose petals

Burn at Wiccan Sabbats.

Sagittarius Incense

2 Parts Frankincense
1 Part Myrrh
1 Part Clove

Use as a personal altar or household incense to increase your own powers.

Samhain Incense

3 Parts Frankincense
2 parts Myrrh
1 Part Rosemary
1 Part Cedar
1 Part Juniper

Crush all ingredients together until ground to a fine paste, its best to use a Mortar and Pestle for this if you have one available. Burn upon lit charcoal blocks within a fireproof container.

Scorpio Incense

2 Parts Frankincense
1 Part Galangal
1 Part Pine resin (pitch)

Use as a personal altar or household incense to increase your powers.

Scrying Incense

1 Part Mugwort
1 part Wormwood

Burn a small amount prior to scrying in a quartz crystal sphere, in flames, water, etc. Warning – smells bad!

Spirits Depart Incense

2 Parts Fennel seed
2 Parts Dill seed
1/2 Part Rue

Burn out of doors to drive away all evil spirits and vain imaginings.

Spirit Portal Incense

1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Lavender
pinch of wormwood

Spring Sabbat Incense

3 parts Frankincense
2 Parts Sandalwood
1 Part Benzoin
1 Part Cinnamon
few drops Patchouly oil

Burn during Spring and Summer Sabbat rituals.

Sun Incense

3 Parts Frankincense
2 Parts Myrrh
1 Part Wood Aloe
1/2 part Balm of Gilead
1/2 Part Bay
1/2 Part Carnation
few drops Ambergris Oil
few drops Musk Oil
few drops Olive Oil

Burn to draw the influences of the Sun and for spells involving promotions, friendships, healing, and energy and magickal power

Talisman Consecration Incense

2 Parts Frankincense
1 Part Cypress
1 part Ash Leaves
1 Part Tobacco
1 pinch Valerian
1 pinch Alum
1 pinch Asafoetida (caution)

Burn in an earthen dish and hold the talismans in the smoke. Warning: it smells!

Taurus Incense

2 parts Sandalwood
2 Parts Benzoin
few drops Rose Oil

Use as a personal altar or household incense to increase your powers.

Temple Incense

3 Parts Frankincense
2 Parts Myrrh
few drops Lavender Oil
few drops Sandalwood Oil

Smoulder in the temple or “magic room”, or as a general magickal incense. Also increases spirituality.

Universal Incense

3 Parts Frankincense
2 Parts Benzoin
1 Part Myrrh
1 Part Sandalwood
1 Part Rosemary

Burn for all positive magickal purposes. If used for negative magickal goals, it will cancel out the spell or ritual.

Virgo Incense

1 Part Mace
1 Part Cypress
few drops Patchouli Oil

Use as a personal altar or household incense to increase your powers.

Vision Incense

3 parts Cinquefoil
3 Parts Chicory Root
1 Part Clove

Burn small amounts prior to psychic workings.

Water Incense

2 parts benzoin
1 part myrrh
1 part sandalwood
a few drops lotus bouquet
a few drops ambergris oil

Burn to attract the influences of this element, as well as to develop psychic powers, to promote love, fertility, beauty and so on.

Witches’ Sight Incense

1 part Gum mastic
1 part Juniper
1 part Patchouli
1 part Sandalwood
1 part Cinnamon
few drops Musk oil
few drops Ambergris oil

For Tarot readings, crystal ball readings, meditating.

Yule Incense

2 Parts Frankincense
2 Parts Pine needles or resin
1 Part Cedar
1 Part Juniper Berries

Mix and smoulder at Wiccan rites on Yule or during the winter months.

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Originally posted 2010-10-29 08:45:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Wicca is an earth-based Spiritual path, based on reviving the ancient pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe. Wiccan’s have a strong belief in the forms and forces of nature and that the divine source exists on all planes and is both male and female. Wiccan’s see aspects of life and nature as being sacred.

Wiccan’s will attempt to attune themselves to natural rhythms of nature and cycle of life so they can communicate with the divine form. Wiccan’s will use rituals and rites, which are a mix between ancient text and modern ceremonies as well as shamanic practices to achieve this commune with the divine force.

For Wiccan’s the divine form / force is divided in to two parts the two parts are considered to be equal and opposite (up-down / left-right / good bad / summer-winter etc.). These two halves created the balance in the universe and manifest as a Goddess(s) and God(s). By manifesting the power in two deities (Goddess and God), the natural balance of opposites, cause and effect are retained, e.g. Summer/winter, light/ dark, life and death etc   

Although Wiccan’s may name their deities Wiccan’s believe that all goddess’s are but one goddess and all gods are but one god. The reason a Wiccan will call on a deity by name is to focus the aspect or nature of the persona that that aspect of the divine portrays. Wiccan’s believe that with the will of the divine and through magickal workings such as spells and rituals you can bend the unlimited source of energy to your will and desire. 

The Wiccan path has no leaders, No laws saying what is right and wrong, No real religious text such as The Bible,The Qur’an ,The Torah,The Vedas ,The Book of Mormon ,The Guru Granth Sahib ,The Avesta ,The Zhuan Falun etc although there are hundreds of books on wicca.

Wiccan fall basically into two groups the Hedge Witch, which is a solitary practitioner, and those that belong to a formal group or coven. Covens normally consist of 13 member and they are normally presided over by a High Priest and Priestess who have had may years of experience and are respected as an Elder and teacher of the craft.

All Wiccans adhere to one overriding ethical precept as stated in the “Wiccan Rede”:

“Though it harm none, Do what thy wilt”.

For a more detailed view of this rule please read “And it Harm None”

And to insure that Wiccan’s work ethically and with an understanding that their actions have a consequence the have “The Three-Fold Law”.

Which basically is what you send out will return three-fold three times good three times bad. This means Alli Online that a Wiccan has to be responsible for their own actions and how the actions affect other people because of the backlash they will receive for causing harm

Wiccan’s celebrate 8 major rituals each year called “Sabbats”

There are 4 major and 4 minor Sabbats. The major Sabbats include: Imbolc (February 2nd), Beltane (April 30th), Lughnasadh (August 1st) and Samhain (October 31st), while the minor Sabbats are: Ostara (Spring Equinox, March 21st), Litha (Summer Solstice, June 21st), Madon (Autumn Equinox, September 21st), and Yule (Winter Solstice, December 21st).

The Sabbats are solar rituals marking the points of the sun’s yearly cycle, and make up half of the Wiccan ritual year. The other half is made up with “Esbats”, the Full Moon celebrations. There are 13 full moons each year symbolizing the goddess, wisdom and the inner self of the individual.

Anybody can be a Wiccan or Study Wicca and many people do. Since Wicca is a very personal and practical religion it can be moulded to suit an individuals needs spiritually and personally.

There are many different branches with in the Wiccan religion all with different rituals and rite but they all share the basic structure Wicca and Wicca is only one of many Pagan paths, And the one thing all these traditions share, is an overriding reverence for life, nature, and the environment, as seen through the Goddess and God.

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Originally posted 2010-06-24 08:59:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Now we have travel through all the major Sabbats and returned back at Beltaine. A year ago I launched the Cyber Cauldron with the hopes and dreams of earning enough money to survive as well as provide some information on witchcraft and paganism, which was informative and fun, a great start for the newbie.

This journey allowed me the time to reflect on the things I have learned over the years. As well as giving more time with my goddess and sort out the person I really want to be. I have face new discoveries and have learned much about what it is to be a true pagan and a witch and have become friends with some very wonderful people.

So as we close this year we will have to decide what to do next. Now the one thing that was always difficult was making the Cyber Cauldron a success but my view of what a success was at the time based on income, number of Facebook fans any thing that could be quantified “In a real sense”. So much so that as I looked to the figures I would get depressed and frustrated and begin to feel a failure. I would see other pages and site grow and grow some where total rubbish people claiming to be hereditary witches or claming to teach witchcraft in 5 easy steps and beat myself up on why I was not doing as well.

So I decided to give the site up at the end of the year and close it down and made the announcement. I felt total relief that it was going to end… then I had people saying that wanted the Cyber Cauldron to stay so I agreed that I would keep the cyber cauldron going in one form or another.

So over the next few months I have wondered how I was going to continue to keep Cyber Cauldron going so I knew that I could not afford to keep it running and so it was just going to be a facebook page, but I could see that that would not last for long as no-one truly interacts with the page.

So I choose to give up a luxury and use the money I saved to keep the Cyber Cauldron alive. But I had to work out how I was going to run the next year. So now we have the foundation of information on paths and god’s and goddess’s and a wealth of knowledge form which to draw from for ideas. The Cyber Cauldron will become an online school for eclectic paganism. Starting at the next new moon June 1(time of new moon 21:03) we will start the first of 13 lessons along the path of eclectic paganism.

Each lesson will start on the new moon with an introduction to what is going to be covered. Quizzes will be given so you can see how well you are doing I hope you will all enjoy the new format of The Cyber Cauldron.

If you have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to contact me via the contact us page or through our facebook page

Originally posted 2011-05-04 10:47:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

One of the activities that are common during Samhain is the Mute Supper. The mute supper is a meal held in silence followed by a session of divination.

The Mute Supper is held on the eve of Samhain and is done to honour your ancestors. The Mute supper can be held by yourself or with a group (friends and family or even with your coven). If holding the Mute Supper with a group it a fun idea to make it pot luck (everyone attending brings a dish).

Traditionally you should set a seat for each of your ancestors although this can make a very big table for groups although I have found that if you create an Altar to honour ancestors decorated with pictures and memorabilia and place this behind one of the chair you set at the table. Insure that this chair like the goddess chair is well decorated.

It is traditional when setting the table to use black tablecloths and black plates; the head of the table should be set for the Goddess (and or God) and a place at the table should be set for your ancestors. The host of the Mute supper should sit at the foot of the table facing the seat set for the deity.

There are rules for the Mute Supper ritual-

• The supper should take place in Sacred Space.
• All dinnerware and the tablecloth should be black.
• No one may speak during the course of the supper
• Candlelight or lamplight should be used.
• All must bring a written prayer for each ancestor honoured.
• Each living guest should bring a divination tool.

Before the ritual, place a black votive candle at the seats of all deceased family members and a white votive candle at the head of the table. Cast a circle, call quarters or ritually clean the area as you see fit.

Place your hands on the shrouded chair at the head and invite the Spirit to your feast. Walk around the table touching the ancestor’s place, while explaining that the feast is in their honour.

If doing this with a group the guests should enter the room in silence, they then should place their prayers for each of their ancestors under the ancestor’s plate. All living guests should then join hands and pray silently for the blessing of the meal and those present, both living and dead. Afterwards, the host or hostess serves the Goddess then the ancestors, then the living guests from oldest to youngest.

Since no one can speak during the course of the meal, the host or hostess must attend to the needs of the guests by passing food around the table. (Food could be placed at both ends of the table to make serving easier).

When the meal is over, the living again join hands and ask for the Blessing of the Spirit on the living and the dead. They then leave the room in silence. When the guests are gone, the host or hostess closes the circle and/or the quarters, after which the guests may return to assist in cleanup. At this time, guests may discuss any impressions they received during the feast.

When the table is cleared, the guests break out their divination tools. They may pair off or do a group reading. Allow the candles to burn until the last guest has gone home, then snuff each candle.

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Originally posted 2011-01-31 13:38:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Although there are many very good rituals available on line and in books, it is the aim for many solitary witches to create their own rituals. So how do you start? There are two main types of ritual celebratory and magickal. Magickal rituals are rituals where the focus is magickal healing, spell working etc. While Celebratory rituals include the Sabbats and Esbats where the primary object is to celebrate the Gods life and relationships, their rituals that contain both celebratory and magickal elements but for the purpose we will just look at the two main types of ritual as once you have created a few rituals of your own you will soon find ways of combining celebratory and magickal rituals.

Celebratory rituals

Each pagan path will have special days not everyone follows the Wiccan wheel of the year. Start by finding out the reasons, symbols, mythologies and meanings of your feast days, there is plenty of information available online or from books, if it a lunar ritual find out the corresponding aspects are.

Magickal rituals

Each pagan path will have its own deity relating to a desired out, this may be in the form of a god/dess of a particular desire such a deity of healing or love. In monotheistic and duotheistic paths their will be a mythology in which the deity will have grated the desire showing that the deity has supreme power of that aspect of human life. So research what tools are appropriate to carry favour with the deity, will you be using creative visualisation, candle magick, potion brewing or kitchen witchcraft or poppets etc?

Once you feel you have all the information and equipment for your ritual you can start your preparation for your ritual. Since this format for creating a ritual can be used by both the solitary practitioner and by groups the following list contains information for both solitary and group rituals.

Preparing for the ritual

1.      Choose a time that is appropriate and convenient to perform your ritual, solitary practitioners should try to do thing within desired time frames with groups a little give and take on timings for celebratory rituals can be ok few days before or after the day but you know their coming up so try to plan for them, give your group members plenty of time where possible. There are occasions where emergency meetings for healing are needed at which times I would recommend you txt your group ask who is available to do a ritual for…who ever between x o’clock and y o’clock once you have the number do the research as above knowing that your going to have a short group it always handy to ask for some extra energy text your friends explain what has happen briefly “my friend has just had xyz and is in hospital keep my friend in your thoughts and send her some positive thoughts and your prayers” this will help when you direct and release the energy  the other positive energy will be attached to your energy to boost healing energy.

2.      Clear working space and clean it it’s your choice what method, duster and Hoover or a traditional besom broom sweeping east to west. Prepare altar if not already set up (not everyone has the room for a dedicated temple space).

3.      Be wary of your thoughts do not let your mind be come embroiled in negative thinking, avoid things that are likely to agitate your mind or the mind set of the group.

4.      Grounding and centring yourself or group. This is done about 15 minutes before you start your ritual, this is done by meditating on what your about to do and removing the mundane thought of daily life behind. Mythologies of the deity may also be read as a reminder of what can be achieved.

The Ritual itself.

This format is designed with different neo pagan paths in mind so fill free to amend what you need to match your path.

1. Create your sacred space, whether that is a mystic plot, magick circle or energy bubble always remember you’re creating a space where you can communicate with the deity/s.
2. Call forth your guardians whether This be a totem spirit, the watchtowers, the four elemental dragons, your ancestors names etc these guardians are called for several reason, to protect, bare witness, help direct and increase the energy that is released or even as keys required to gain access to the deity. The amount and type of guardians you have depends on your beliefs this can range form a single guardian to hundreds but the average is four based on the cardinal points of the compass and or the four elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water)
3. The Libation this is interchangeable with the working some prefer to have the libation after working, the libation will normally take the form of food and drink, the food normal bread, cake or biscuits but could include meat or a stew depending on deity
4. The working this can come before libation the working will depend on what you have planned.
5. The closing of sacred space for this you will need to thank the deity/s in the appropriate fashion release and thank the guardians and finally draw the energy from the sacred space back. It is advice able to vocally end the rite by dismissing any higher beings attached by your energy a simple “to all those that bore witness this rite has now ended go in peace your presence is no longer required”
6. Grounding one of the most important aspects of any ritual is to ground your self there is still at lot of extra energy in your systems and if not dispersed correctly can make you unwell the best way to ground your self is to sit on the floor have some thing to eat small biscuit and let the excess energies flow back to the earth think of mundane things and let your self return to the day to day life.

Rituals can and are enhance with drumming, music, chanting, dancing reading poetry or mythologies related to your working as you write your ritual out you will know where to put these things. Keeping notes in your book of shadows, journals etc will help you develop these rituals to the point of perfection.

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Originally posted 2010-08-17 12:14:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Samhain means “Summer’s end”, and is known by many different names: November Eve, All Hallows Eve, Hallowmas, Feast of Apples, Night of Spirits, Halloween and the Feast of the Dead. In the Gaelic languages of Ireland, Samhain is also known as “Oíche Shamhna”, in Scotland “Oidhche Shamhna” and in Wales “Nos Calan Gaeaf”. Depending on where you come from, Samhain also has many pronunciations; like in Ireland it is pronounced “sow-in”, in Scotland “sav-en” and in Wales “sow-een”

Samhain is one of the greater Sabbats and falls on the 31^st October and is originally a Celtic festival.

Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half”. For our ancestors winter was a time of famine and hardship, especially for the sick and elderly as many will fail to survive the following winter months. Samhain at the start of the winter season and the beginning of the Celtic New Year was therefore a emotional time to honour those who had died before them. To pagans and witches alike Samhain is a celebration in honour of our ancestors, much as they honoured us in the days before we were born. As the wheel of year and of our lives continues to turn so will they honour us again, for time will come when we too cross the divide and take up our own place beside them.

Samhain is one of the most popular days in the pagan wheel of the year and is it celebrated by pagan and non pagans alike. It has always been to dress up during Samhain and now days it is quite a common sight to she children trick or treating. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling, the poor would go door to door on Hallowmas, receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day. It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks, was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white Samhnag — turnips which were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns  were also used to ward off harmful spirits.

Symbolism of Samhain:
Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.

Symbols of Samhain:
Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms.

Herbs of Samhain:
Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Foods of Samhain:
Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense of Samhain:
Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg.

Colors of Samhain:
Black, Orange, White, Silver, Gold.

Stones of Samhain:
All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian

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Starting any coven can be a difficult thing for any pagan but for the true eclectic it can be very difficult.

The reason for this is an eclectic understands that things that should not work together do! Having mixed mythologies and practices are personal so it can be difficult to explain to others the significance, this is one of the main reasons the eclectic remains solitary.

Although over the years I have run eclectic covens, which are more like working groups and moots which developed.

I have found that when these groups meet and connect and share information the group dynamic changes from a coven that meets for worship or feasting to a group where practices merge and learning is shared in an inclusive enviroment.

These covens does not work like a Wiccan coven there is no high priestess or priest no elder keeping things in check it works more as a council where the leader for next meeting is chosen leaders would be chosen in rota new members being added to the list.

Whoever is in charge for that meeting chooses the topic of discussion they will either give a talk or write a ritual that includes everyone. For the main Sabbats (and not all paths follow the Wiccan wheel of the year so some groups have other main rites added to the wheel.) meeting are normally a few days before or after the event to allow member to have their own personal rites. These Sabbat meetings would normally follow a simple outline a basic elemental blessing followed by a feast where members would share poetry or mythology connected to the Sabbat it was very rare to do any spell or formal ritual during this time.

As a working group, spell work and ritual work did take place but with a mix of paths the leader for that “spell working” or “ritual” would explain to everyone their part and placement. We would meet to discuss ritual run through any tricky parts make any adjustments if needed then prepared for ritual then preformed it, after grounding and over a drink and some food we would share our feelings and experiences. Now not every ritual would work the way we wanted to but we got the desired result.

Now if your going to create a coven you need to think of your motives why do you want a coven? If it for power or ego then don’t do it!

Unlike paths like wicca which have rules that have been handed down Eclectics have to borrow adapt and develop a set of ethics which are personal. And the key word is personal so it difficult to get others to believe in all you believe. As eclectics, some will say you cant or you should not because that is what they believe while for you know that it can and it does! (friction)

As eclectic we can be spiritual leaders and followers but it better to be guides and seekers of the truth. So with that in mind if you plan on setting up a coven start with people who you can learn from and share your interest don’t try to start with a coven of 13 start with 2 or three and grow with it adding 1 or 2 members when it feels right. All the time becoming a strong central core adding rituals and spell working once you have found the common ground.

Once you have found the common ground you can start to create a set of ethics, which will add to the core of the group a set of rules to cover admission and removal from group sharing the costs etc.

Now its not easy to create and maintain a coven from scratch but it is possible the worst issues you will have to face is ego the new and old to the craft often believe them self important after get a few spells right this can cause friction in fact I have had groups that have split up because a new be thinks the are the second coming of Merlin and conflict created factions but you will live and learn

Now for those that was thinking that this was going to be a list of coven ethics I am sorry but I hope I have given a little insight to running an eclectic coven so you will think about what you want to create and what you need in order to maintain your ideal.

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Lughnasadh (pronounced loo’nass’ah) 1^st August. Is one of the eight Sabbats that witches, Wiccan’s and neo pagans observe Lughnasadh is originally a Celtic festival held to honour the Celtic god Lugh foster mother “Tailtiu “ who is said to of died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture.

Lughnasadh is technically a funeral feast where patrons would show honour to Tailtiu by feasting and playing games. Since much of pagan life revolved around agriculture Lughnasadh be came the first day of the Harvest season, which would continue, to Samhain.

Since the emergence of Wiccan and the creation of the wheel of the year Lughnasadh as taken its place in modern pagan life and seen less as a funeral feast and more of a harvest festival.

Many neo pagan interchange between Lughnasadh and Lammas with Lammas being a Anglo-Saxon harvest festival also know as hlaefmass, or loaf mass with strong connection to the church and is considered to be a Christian festival.

Some of the traditional events that would, and do take place on Lughnasadh and Lammas is the baking of bread and handfasting and the harvesting of the first fruits. Predominantly wheat, and making corn dollies.

It does amaze me that many books on Wicca and neo pagan practices still describe Lughnasadh and Lammas as the same thing which can get very confusing if your trying to understand what you are celebrating.

The festival that is on the 1^st August has many names including Lammas, Lughnasadh, 1st Harvest, Bread Harvest, Festival of First Fruits, Gŵyl Galan Awst (Welsh) etc. but all share many similarities in mythologies, activities and purpose.

If we can except 3 basic truths

1.      Lughnasadh and Lammas where ancient festivals which where based on the cycles seen in agricultural societies and local mythologies.

2.      That we use the cycles of nature as they would have been and since we live in a not agricultural societies and have lost the basic connection with the land as a source of survival so we use the wheel of the year to mark the points of the year.

3.      The wheel of the year is made up and is basically a calendar of festival followed by many pagan paths.

We can look at the Sabbat with greater understanding.

We have to put ourselves in the mindset of a person who life depends on the land; the crops grown and harvested would be your only source of food and survival and a source for new crops next year. There would be no popping off to the supermarket to stock up; your whole life would be dependent on the elements and Mother Nature herself for survival.

Working for your own survival is very hard work and when your life depends on the growth and life cycle of crops there are small periods of rest bite before large periods of extra hard work this harder periods are the soil prep before planting – the planting itself – the growing and final the harvesting and returning to beginning of the cycle.

It no wonder then that the agricultural societies used local, regional and national Gods and their mythologies to explain and understand their situations if something was going right you would thank one deity if things where going wrong then you would request assistance from another.

As time moves on and societies get closer together through trade or war commonalities would be seen in spiritual practices and as families and communities intersected spiritual practices where combined creating the a local holiday or festival day.

Some of these holidays and festivals where adopted by whole nations and almost standardised in to national days of celebration some of which are still around today such as the 4 cross quarters of the wheel of the year.

For those festivals that are still around –

Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, Last/Blood Harvest, Ancestor Night, Feast of the Dead, Nos Galan Gaeaf (Welsh)

Candlemas, Imbolc, Oimelc, Brigit, Brigid’s Day, Bride’s Day, Brigantia, Gŵyl y Canhwyllau (Welsh)

Beltane, Beltaine, May Day, Gŵyl Galan Mai (Welsh)

And Lammas, Lughnasadh 1st Harvest, Bread Harvest, Festival of First Fruits, Gŵyl Galan Awst (Welsh)

Most have lost their original meanings as we have move from an agricultural society to a society that is technologically advanced society where everything from food to sex can be order at a click of a mouse. But we do try to keep to the ideals that we are still somehow connect to nature and the land so we celebrate the 1^st harvest which any farmer today will tell you depends on many factors and cant be pinned down to a precise day to start as harvest happen when the fruit or grain is ripe not when the calendar drugs online say it time to harvest.

It does not matter what you call the 1^st August whether that be Lammas, Lughnasadh, 1st Harvest, Bread Harvest, Festival of First Fruits, or even Gŵyl Galan Awst (Welsh) just enjoy the day and feast well and make merry.

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Originally posted 2010-11-28 12:35:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

online pharmacy without prescription alt=”" width=”150″ height=”150″ />Sunsets and I hear deaths call,
distant friends out side my walls,
coming closer and even closer still,
lost friends and family who died while ill.

I take a knife and carve a face
and illuminate and set a place
the final feast that all must eat
and face the death we all must greet.

Alone in silence I hear the chatter
about the things that don’t matter,
a reminder of the years that past,
rejoicing that it not my last.

The fire burns orange and black,
it now the time to look back,
at the lives and loves we have lost,
the time to count the emotional cost.

In sadness this is not done,
it now the time for Samhain Fun,
So bob for apples and trick and treat,
for old friend your sure to meet.

Gather close the ones you love
and look upon the moon above,
While remembering days that have past,
enjoy the party and have a blast.

By Draco of the dragonstar

Related articles

• Samhain: Festival Honouring the Ancestors (brighthub.com)
• Samhain (socyberty.com)
• Wiccan Symbols, Spells & Rituals (brighthub.com)
• On Being godless (renaebair.com)

Originally posted 2010-10-16 12:59:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter