What’s a spell?
Different traditions seem to define spells in different ways.
I work with one coven where people think of spells in a very traditional way – an odd number of people stand under the full moon at midnight, around an altar with one candle of one particular color and two candles of another particular color, each anointed with a particular oil and incised with particular symbols, placed in a particular way. Each person holds a particular thing in their right hand and another particular thing in their left, and together they chant a particular chant some particular number of times, and in principle it all goes wrong if any one of those is not just so.
I have a different view. To me, a spell is a prayer with an action – whatever you do to spell out your desires to the Universe. One that I use a lot is for holding a traffic light green. I imagine a gigantic broom sweeping me through the intersection, and fairly often I’ll make a sweeping sound. It doesn’t always work, but it usually does; and that aligns with my intent: I don’t want to get through the intersection at the expense of someone who has a more urgent need.
Is that a spell? I don’t know, but it works; and that’s what I care about.
Choose your power
What draws you to Wicca?
Recently I posed this question to a group of Wiccan-curious and Wiccans fairly new to the Craft. Of course the answers included “Power” and “To learn how to cast spells.” Before you get all judge-y, think about how you came to Wicca, if you weren’t raised Pagan. Props to these people for their honesty.
What does it mean to have power? In terms of how people deal with each other, I like the “four types of power” model. (Google “four types of power” for more information.)
Power-over says “I can make you do my will.” It’s inherently coercive, and it’s what most people think of first. Power-over stops when you no longer have a way of exerting control over others.
Power-to says “I can make things happen.” It’s self-empowering, and often we don’t think of it as power. It stops if you stop caring.
Power-with says “We can make things happen.” It’s about community, and we often don’t notice it until it starts getting results. Power-with stops if you run out of friends and allies.
Power-within says “I believe in myself. I can do this.” It’s the recognition that you’ve always had power, even if you didn’t realize it. Power-within only stops if you give it up.
What kind of power drives your magic? Choose mindfully.
2023 Ostara Public Ritual
PUBLIC OSTARA/SPRING EQUINOX RITUAL
The Sun is growing stronger and the ice is fighting back. We’re so ready to see green leaves, and the Earth isn’t ready to show them. Be a part of the epic struggle as we join forces with the Sun to send the ice away!
The ritual will be facilitated by Karen and Suki. There will be an opportunity for participation and a potluck feast afterwards. We will not have access to a full kitchen, but this venue does have counter space and a sink. It’s OK to bring a crock-pot (and possibly an extension cord). Snack foods and things that can be dipped in chocolate are encouraged!
Please bring your own cup and silverware, if that’s practical for you. We would like to move away from using disposables.
| Where: | Crystal Community Center, Valley Room 4800 Douglas Drive, Crystal MN 55429 Google Map |
| When: | Saturday, March 11, 2023 Social time starts 6:00 Gather in, ritual intent and meditation 6:40 Ritual 7:00 |
We have not held a celebration in this venue before, so we’ll be evaluating it. Please let us know how it feels for you.
We hope to see you there!
Dressing Kabalistically
You can tie yourself into the energies of each day by dressing according to the color and planet (kabalistic) of each day.
This is a subtle but real influence and after six months or more, you might notice your psychic abilities are stronger. I have been doing it since 1992 and it helps me a lot. It also gives you something you consciously think about, and gives you a magickal perspective every day.
- Sunday – Sun – yellow/gold
- Monday – Moon – purple
- Tuesday – Mars – red
- Wednesday – Mercury – orange
- Thursday – Jupiter – blue
- Friday – Venus – green/pink
- Saturday – Saturn – black/navy blue/brown
I wear shirts of the appropriate color, but also underwear and socks. Sometimes only the underwear is in the color of the day, and one person used hair ties of an appropriate color because a uniform didn’t allow color choices. A scarf, tie or pocket handkerchief would be appropriate also. Be creative. Just choose something that ties into the color of the day and know that’s why you are wearing it.
These colors are according to the King’s list of correspondences. There are others, and you may want to use another, but be consistent to what you choose. Good luck and enjoy this practice.
— Estelle Daniels
Oh No, More Snow
“And if the groundhog sees his shadow, we get six more weeks of winter.”
It’s a cruel joke. The groundhog comes out at Imbolc, and doesn’t care about his shadow. Ostara is still… wait, how long after Imbolc? But we want the groundhog to promise us a shortcut.
Late winter is the season of impatience. Stop and go. Block and flow. Sun, clouds. Thaw, freeze. Fleece vest, big coat. Do you find yourself impatiently picking up projects and then putting them aside? Thaw, freeze. Flow, stop. What’s going on when you thaw and flow and start something new? What’s going on when you freeze and stop? It’s that time of the year. Maybe it’s that season of the self. Pay attention to what flows and what freezes.
Be gentle with yourself. It’s still winter. Settle in with a mug of hot chocolate or whatever makes you feel warm and happy. Sip, savor, breathe. Close your eyes. Ground, and send your roots deep. Be a tree for a few breaths. Let the snow remind you that it’s not quite time to put out new leaves yet. Come back into your humanity. Enjoy your hot chocolate.
RSS has come to WiCoM!
RSS has come to WiCoM! Check out our new Wiccan RSS Feed page for an aggregation of the latest posts from a number of different Wiccan websites!
And also, if you check the side bar on our website, you will see that WiCoM is also offering its contents for RSS syndication!
What is RSS you may ask? Wikipedia offers the following description:
RSS (RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many different websites in a single news aggregator, which constantly monitor sites for new content, removing the need for the user to manually check them. News aggregators (or “RSS readers”) can be built into a browser, installed on a desktop computer, or installed on a mobile device.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS
Websites usually use RSS feeds to publish frequently updated information, such as blog entries, news headlines, episodes of audio and video series, or for distributing podcasts. An RSS document (called “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”) includes full or summarized text, and metadata, like publishing date and author’s name. RSS formats are specified using a generic XML file.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS
Simply put, RSS is a great tool for helping you find the most recent content posted to the web on various topics. If you know of another wiccan web whose RSS feed you would like to see added, please email the webmaster.
If you know of a website that shares RSS feeds, please feel free to suggest ours!
Why do we do what we do?
How do you do ritual? How do you walk your path?
There’s a lot of variation among traditions. There’s no single right way to be a witch. There are some less-than-totally-advisable ways, and what many of them have in common is incomplete mindfulness. My original teachers didn’t explain things and saw questions as challenges to their authority, so we learned to simply do as we were taught, with no questions.
I had the teachers and the experiences that the Goddess intended me to have.
I learned that we deepen our spiritual practice by exploring the why of each thing we do. For example, why do we cast a circle and call the elements? You probably know the answer… or you might have had teachers like mine, and you might not have thought to ask the question. When we cast, we create a bubble of energy where we can do our workings, with the elements themselves witnessing and protecting us. (Yep, we Wiccans were using force fields before there was science fiction!) But… why do we create that bubble? Keep digging.
No matter how well you know the reasons for each thing you do in ritual – or in any other aspect of your life – you can still deepen your spiritual experience by considering each “because” and asking “Why?” over and over again.
From my teachers who discouraged questioning, I learned the magickal transmutation: With thought, you can transform data to information. Information to knowledge. Knowledge to wisdom. But it takes questioning and reflection at every step.
Stirring
The first rule of cauldrons is… keep on stirring.
It’s Imbolc, the coldest cross-quarter of the year. Tonight might be the coldest night this winter. And yet…life is stirring beneath the snow. In five or six weeks the tulips will start stabbing upward out of the soil, unstoppable in their quest to reach the light. Six or eight inches deep in the frozen ground, the bulbs are awakening and getting ready to start that mighty work.
Some people say that the word “Imbolc” means “in the belly.” It’s not yet spring, but new life is stirring in the belly of Mother Earth. Blessings of the quickening Earth to you in this cold time of Imbolc!
The Law of (Approximately) Three
“Know that whatsoever you do shall return unto you in threefold measure.”
Really?
A friend and I have a friendly disagreement about this.
If you give a kid a dollar, don’t expect three people to each give you a dollar. Or if you swear at the cat, it’s not like three cats will swear at you. (Except they’re cats, so they might.) But in both cases, you’ve created the conditions for the vibe to keep on going.
The Law of Three is just a variant on the Law of Attraction: Whatever you put out there, expect the Universe to hand you back the same stuff. How does it change your day if you flip somebody off in traffic? What happens if you help somebody do something they’re struggling with? Stuff has consequences. Or, to phrase it differently, “Know that whatsoever you do shall return unto you.”
The Law of Three bolts on a magical multiplier, which makes it sound like karma math. Is there some cosmic spreadsheet?
But consequences do multiply. Every action ripples out, like dropping a pebble in a pond. Maybe three times is an average. Call it whatever you want – Law of Three, karma, Law of Attraction. It’s always there. You can work with it, but you can’t work against it.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Wiccan Church of Minnesota!
The Wiccan Church of Minnesota is a Twin Cities based 501 (c) (3) religious organization that celebrates both Goddess and God. Our church was founded more than 35 years ago.
WiCoM sponsors group rituals for the Wiccan sabbats, as well as for other special occasions. Many of these rituals are open to the public or invited guests who are not members.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Wiccan Church of Minnesota!
The Wiccan Church of Minnesota is a Twin Cities based 501 (c) (3) religious organization that celebrates both Goddess and God. Our church was founded more than 35 years ago.
WiCoM sponsors group rituals for the Wiccan sabbats, as well as for other special occasions. Many of these rituals are open to the public or invited guests who are not members.
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