Solitary Witches

As I come from a small community which happens to be 95% Christian, I'm not surprised when someone asks me what Wicca is-they've never heard of it! So, it's been kind of hard for me to practice Wicca without the guidence of someone more experienced in the craft, or even someone in the same place that I'm in to share ideas and feelings with.

You can always join the Open Sesame E-list to talk to other Wiccans/Witches/Pagans, or, if you want to study Wicca in order to be initiated, the section on new witches. Before joining the E-list, please read below:

"We want to remain focused on the positive, so when posting to the list remember that:

1] This is a polite, friendly place with a positive atmosphere.

2] Discussing the left handed path or black magick will not be tolerated.

3] This list is for pagan conversation, not group therapy - - no posting about personal issues or problems unless they relate directly to paganism.

Ignoring the rules against whining and negativity may result in being banned from the list. "

-from www.open-sesame.com/e-list.html

 

 

For All You Newbies Out There:

As I have been (and am still) busy working on my other pages, I haven't really had a lot of time to work on this one yet. However, I will get a start on it, as I can see that this will end up being a popular page, because it was pages just like this that even got me interested in Wicca two years ago. In fact, the page that did (and happens to be my favourite) is Eileen Holland's New Witches Page. This site is extremely helpful, especially if you're just starting out or looking for in formation.

Until I am finished with my other pages, I'm afraid that this page won't have too much information on it. However, there's always my links page and I'll write out a list of books that I have heard have been very useful to many other people.

Please be patient with me, I will try and get back to this page as soon as I can. Oh yeah, if you have been reading up a lot on Wicca, and decide that this is the path for you, make sure you sign up to the Open Sesame e-list, this is a list make up especially for Wiccans/Witches/Pagans to chat and share ideas. Also, if you want to actually study Wicca over the internet, you can also join the Year-and-a-Day program, the traditional time required of Wiccan study in order to become initiated, and then you really can call yourself a Witch/Wiccan, or whatever you decide to call yourself. Well, that's all that you're going to be hearing from me for now, I'll try and update this page a soon as I can!

~Fairwind J

 

 

Reccommended Reading

 
          1. (surprise,surprise!) Wicca, A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner.....(13)
          2. (Tie) "The Wicca Handbook".......Eileen Holland and To Ride a Silver Broomstick.......Silver Ravenwolf..........(6) votes each
          3. The Spiral Dance.........Starhawk (5)
          4. The Complete Book of Witchcraft.........Raymond Buckland (4)
          5. A Witches Bible.........Janet and Stewart Farrar......(3)
          6. Earth Power..........Scott Cunningham (2)
          7. Living Wicca.......Scott Cunningham (2)
          8. Practical Candleburning Magic.....Raymond Buckland (2)
          9. A Little Book of Candle Magic.....D.J. Conway (2)
          10. The Magical Household.......Scott Cunningham
          11. To Stir a Magic Cauldron.....Silver Ravenwolf
          12. Witchcraft For Tomorrow.....Doreen Valiente
          13. Earth Magic........Doreen Valiente
          14. Natural Magic.......Sally Dubats
          15. Positive Magic.....Marion Weinstein
          16. Earth Magic.......Marian Weinstein
          17. Wicca..............Vivianne Crowley
          18. Of Witches.......Janet Thomas
          19. 21st Century Wicca..........Jennifer Hunter
          20. The Pagan Book of Death and Dying........Starhawk
          21. The Power of Positive Witchcraft.......Susan Bower
          22. The Good Spell Book...........Gillian Kemp
          23. Pagan Ways......Gwydion O'Hara
          24. Circle Round.......Starhawk
          25. The American Indian Secrets of Crystal Healing...Luc Bourgault
          26. Summoning Forth Wiccan Gods and Goddesses.......Maeve Rhea
          27. The Witches Almanac
          28. Growing and Using the Healing Herb......Gaea
          29. The series of books by Carlos Castenada on Don Juan, The Yaqui Indian
          30. The White Goddess......Robert Graves
          31. Egyptian Book of the Dead
          32. The Golden Bough......Sir James Frazer
          33. The Wisdom of No Escape (meditation)......Pema Chodron
          34. Kundalini (A Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation and Spiritual Growth) ..........John Selby (meditation and chakras)
          35. A Path with Heart.....John Kornfield
          36. Drawing Down The Moon.......Margot Adler
          37. A Witches Guide to Faery Folk........Edwin McCoy
          38. The Candle Magick Workbook

 

Favorite authors

Scott Cunningham

Eileen Holland

Silver Ravenwolf

Starhawk

Raymond Buckland

 

*This list was sent to me via an e-list from Cerelia (her website is on my links page)*

 

~Here's Something that I thought would be good to start out with~FairwindJ

Cleansing and Consecration Workshop

Before any tools are used in Wiccan or other Pagan rituals, they must be properly cleansed and consecrated. The reason for this is two-fold:

1. Negative/foreign energies are cleansed from the tool, and new, positive personal energy is placed into it.

2. The tool is dedicated to the Goddess and God, and the Elements. The act of consecration literally "turns on" the tool for ritual use.

Often people will say, "this dream catcher doesn't work," or "these Tarot cards don't give good readings." The question should probably be whether they have cleansed and consecrated the tool. More often than not, they haven't, or they have not regularly cleansed their tools. A "spring cleaning" is a good habit to get into, especially for tools that are handled by others. (Tarot cards, runes, and other tools for divination are a good example.)

What are good, simple ways to cleanse your tools? Here are a few examples:

Tips: Don't ever clean a tool with Windex or other ammonia-based cleaners. Ammonia nullifies magickal energies. Remember to properly dry metal objects cleansed with water to prevent rusting, and steel knives should be oiled with veggie oil afterwards to protect them.

**For your own study:**

Come up with 3 more ways to cleanse a tool for ritual use. Try them all and see which gives the best results.

Once you have cleansed the tool, place the tool on your altar, the ground, or a flat surface. Ground and center. Now, place your hands, palms down, over the tool. You are going to "tell" the tool that you have cleansed it by saying something like the following:

"I declare you cleansed, O tool of ______ (steel, wood, etc.) so that you might now receive my positive energies, and become a magickal object for ritual."

You can make this more poetic if you like, but be sure to keep the concept the same. This is important. Now, draw up energy from inside of you, and allow it to flow in a blue-white stream out of your hands. Visualize the energy flowing around the tool, fully enveloping it. Don't fake it, or it won't work. These energies are real. If you can't see them, know that if your powers of visualization were better, you would see them. Don't doubt that the energies are truly there.

 

**For your own study:**

Practice rousing your personal energy in a new way. Direct this energy into an object. Visualize the energy illuminating the object. Feel the energy pulsing and giving off warmth. Practice this daily until you can see or feel a difference in the object afterwards.

Now it is time to present this new tool to the Elements and to the God and Goddess.

You will need:

incense stick or feather

bowl of salt or dirt

candle or lighter

wooden, metal or ceramic

bowl of water or seashell

disk with a pentacle on it

Each of these objects represents the Four Elements and the Directions:

Element:

Direction:

Object:

Air

East

incense or feather

Fire

South

candle or lighter

Water

West

water or seashell

Earth

North

salt or dirt

 

Hint! Hint! Memorize this!! You will need to know this for circle casting, so you better learn it!!

**For your own study:**

Think of some different objects to represent the Elements. Meditate on each and record your experience.

Present the tool to each element. For each Element, say something like the following:

"Powers of (Element), energies of the (Direction), here is a tool for your consideration. Bless it with your power."

You have now fully cleansed the tool and presented it to the Four Elements. Your are now ready to ask the God and Goddess to bless the tool for magickal uses.

Place the tool on the pentacle. Take a deep breath and clear your thoughts. Ground and center, letting go of the stresses of the day. Feel the presence of Deity drawing near. Now, place your hands, palms down, over the tool. There should be a noticeable vibration, warmth, or other energy pulsing from it. If you cannot feel this, know that if your powers of magickal perception were honed more, you would feel them there. Now, with your two index fingers and your two thumbs, make a triangle over the tool. Begin to visualize a blue glowing sphere resting in this space. Don't rush. It will come. It will look like a brilliant blue bubble. Wait until you can see or feel the sphere and hold it for at least 15 seconds. It might take a couple tries for the sphere to appear. Keep trying. Once you have the sphere, say something like the following:

"O gracious silver Goddess, O mighty golden God, bless this tool of ritual with Your magick so that it might serve me well as one of the Wise Ones. May it be charged with the powers of the Moon and Sun forever! So mote it be!"

Release your hands and allow the sphere to drop slowly into the tool, briefly causing the tool to "glow." With practice, you will be able to see this, but know, that if you cannot see it, that the tool is now blessed and ready for ritual and magickal use. It is done. So mote it be!

**For your own study:**

After trying this ritual out on a few of your tools, write a cleansing and consecration ritual of your own. Try to keep the overall concept the same, but make it personal. Try it out and practice it. Edit it to suit your needs.

Commit it to memory and record it in your Book of Shadows.

Good Luck and Blessed Be!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

~Fairwind J

 

All the Graphics and Artwork on this, and many of my other pages was provided by: