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A Dark Moon Meditation This week I have for you a Dark Moon Meditation.
The Dark of the Moon can be an exceptionally powerful period. This is a time when we can look more deeply into ourselves and learn what it is that's holding us back in Life. And, hopefully, learn what we can do about that. We'll do our meditation during the first part of the show, then in Part 2, we'll do a protection ritual as Ted Andews leads us in "The Bannishing Ritual of the Pentagram".
So, enjoy as we cast a Widdershins Circle t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Standing on Solid GroundSacred Geometry in the Home will be the theme for this week's show. Ancient beleif said that the universe was created according to a geometric plan. Today, scientists see geometric and mathematical patterns arising directly from natural principles. And in our homes, geometry is everywhere we look. So we'll take a look at how we can become aware of their presence, in order to become empowered to create positive conditions in every area of our lives.
Plus; we don't often stop to think t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Interview with The Green Lady, Jenna GreeneMy guest this week is Pagan singer/songwriter Jenna Greene. She joins us to talk about her newest CD, "Wild Earth Child". It's been some time in the making. And many of her fans have ponied-up contributions to ensure it's ultimate success.
Mariam George of Faerie Magazine says "Beautiful vocals and a delicate balance of instrumentation are the first things you will notice about ... Jenna Greene. Jenna’s voice is well suited to the material she has written, neither too showy nor too pl ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First Up; Janus!Happy New Year, everyone! As you know, the month of January is named for the Roman God Janus. But who exactly is Janus? I got curious, did some research - and what I found I share with you this week. I think you'll find Janus to be very interesting!Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A New Beginning (Again)Happy New Year one and all! This week we celebrat New Year's and the month of January. We start with Silver Ravenwolf's New Year's Prayer/Spell, using an hour glass to meditate on changes that occur at this time of year. Plus, we'll talk about a figure from Italian folk-tradition, known as La Bafanna. From Italy, we travel to Scottland for their New Year festival called Hogmany. We take a look at how other cultures celebrate the turning of the year; then finally - " Twelth Night"; it' ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blessed Yule!Blessed Yule to one and all! This week we celebrate the Winter Solstice, which occurs on Thursday, the 22nd this year. We'll call back to God of the Sun, Light and Hope and prepare ourselves for the coming New Year.
Then, the Spiral Dance Spell of the Week toward the end of the show will feature a special Toast to the Holly King.
Questions/Comments - spiraldance1@excite.com Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Of Myths, Kings and BirthdaysWell, I hope you're doing well with the so-called Holiday Season. Are you girding yourself up as we go deeper and deeper into this year's Christian Bacchinalia? Would you appreciate getting some information that can help you remember that you're not crazy for not following along with your family and neighbors? Well, your old friend Hawthorne is here to help you!
To set the mood I want to share some thoughts on The Night, which Joseph Campbell penned.
Then, while all the Christians ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dark Spirits of DecemberThis week's show starts with some thoughts on this new month December. Even though most of December is in the autumn, it's most often characterized as a Winter month. Sooner or later, Winter will own the land, as it becomes covered in a blanket of white, while the streams are silenced and stilled by ice. December is the darkest month, but has been known down the ages as a time of joy and renewal. At this time of Dark and Cold, we gather together to feast and to light beseaching fires, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Home and HearthAs we feel the year move ever ever deeper into the Season of Cold and Dark, we take the opportunity to look even more Inward.
This is the time of year that calls us back home. So, that's what I want to talk about tonight - home. Home and Hearth. That's going to be our theme tonight. We're going to take a look at what The Home has meant to humans down the ages, and how people in different cultures have related to that ever so important part of the home - The Hearth.
You DO have a Hea ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Gathering of Our TribesOur theme this week is Thanksgiving as we embark on our Gathering of Our Tribes. And we're going to talk a bit about some of the earlier traditions that the American holiday of Thanksgiving is born out of.
And we'll talk about how you can make your Thanksgiving meal a MAGICKAL meal. Plus I've some American Folk Customs and I'll read for you the ORIGINAL Declaration of Thanksgiving. Finally, a Native American Creation myth.
I hope you enjoy this week's show! Let me know! spiraldan ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Call to Old FriendsThis week's show is a music show, and it's sort of a personal rediscovering songs that I've been overlooking for a while. Some tracks I've actually never played for you, while some I have but it's been a while. At any rate, this week is a time for revisiting; CD's if not tracks.
I hope you enjoy this week's show! Let me know! spiraldance1@excite.comListen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stories and Myths"Sing, O Muse!
Sing to us of the Glorious Gods who ruled the Land and the Sea.
And tell us of the Fair Beauty of the Goddessess who dwell in Eternal Olympus!
Sing to us, O Muse, of ages that have come to pass;
of those Mighty Warriors wielding their deadly spears,
from the Lores of our Timeless Myths!"
This week we talk about Stories and Myths. Why are stories and myths so important to us? Stories are central to the human experience. If you think about it, really everything we do on a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reap the Wild WindThis week we are still haunted by Samhain-tide - as the veil remains so thin. So our conversation will be all about Ghosts. Have you ever had a ghostly encounter? Can't say as I have, but I tend to believe in them. I think there are far more believable stories out there than not. I guess I've always beleived in them - even when I was a kid, I would get spooked by ghost stories far more easily than stuff involving creatures, because ghosts just always seemed more plausable to me.
So, w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Celebration of Samhain"Now is the Night of November Eve, as the Samhain rites begin.
Spirits step from the World Beyond, this night when the Veil is thin.
Coming through the Land of Shadows,
awakening from the World of Dreams,
joining hands with the Children of Midnight
as the Moonlight Lantern gleams.
Drifting in the Wind of Evening, Chanting words in an ancient tongue,
dancing light to the music of Fearies, as the Sacred Prayer is sung.
We honor this In-Between time, this space between Darkness and Light,
Wh ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stones, Trees & The Earth; The Meaning of DivinationThis week we delve into the meaning and uses of Divination. You know; to conduct a Divination IS to have a conversation with the Gods! So we'll talk about how Divination has played a role in history. Then we'll look at a few well-known methods of Divination.
We'll start with Divination of Stones, through Runes - what are Runes and how are they used. Then we'll look at Divination of Trees with the Celtic Ogham alphabet. And, finally - Earth Prophesy through Geomancy.
So, it's Stones, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chaos MagickThis week I want to talk about something that many in the Wiccan and Pagan community donÕt know about -
or certainly don't talk much about. I'm referring to Chaos Magick.
Just what is Chaos Magick? What ideas does it bring to your mind? Do you equate it with black magick?
I've been researching Chaos Magick and I want to share with you some of the insites that I've come up with.
We'll take a look at what Chaos Magick is. Also we'll learn about some of the history of Chaos Magick ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Autumn; The West and WaterThis week on The Spiral Dance, we take a closer look at Autumn. Autumn brings about subtle changes in all of us. Our consciousness begins to
shift from the more actively mental to the more psychically receptive state appropriate for the Dark Half of the year.
So, this week I want to do what I can to help you SLOW DOWN, as we make that very important shift in our lives. And we'll be talking about Persephone and Her descent into the Underworld, and how that relates to the Witch's Pyrm ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Navigating the Collapse of Time; An Interview with David Ian CowanIt seems like anywhere you go, people seem to feel the world is in a state of rapid, destablilizing flux. It's easy to find informatiion about the latest desaster while being left with little reason to feel any assurance at all. Add to this, persistent murmurings of prophecies about the year 2012. Event cycles seem to turn over at an incredible pace. Time itself seems to be moving faster.
My guest this week is David Ian Cowan. He joins us to talk about his newest book, "Navigating th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mabon; A Pagan ThanksgivingThe Wheel turns once again and we celebrate the Autumnal Equinox, or what Celtic Wiccans and many Pagans call Mabon. Mabon occurs on Friday, Sept. 23. So, I want to share some thoughts about this magickal time when the world seems to stop for a moment before it changes gears in very dramatic fashion.
Also, Mabon is the name of a Celtic God. Who was he? Why is this time of year sacred to Him?
And later in the show I present a ritual appropriate for this time of year called, "Shedding ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Holy(?) Grail; and Other Such CauldronsThe theme for this week's show is the so-called Holy Grail. What is this thing that people through time are supposed to be so enamored of? Did it ever even exist?
Follow along as we go back to the 13-th century and we'll see if we could make any real sense of it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pathworking with Salena FoxThis week we're featuring two pathworking meditations from Salena Fox, one of the best known and most respected elders in the Pagan community today. The meditations are from her 1981 recording, "Magical Journeys", and feature "The Five Elements" and "The Magick Cauldron". I hope you enjoy the strong and effective meditations. Questions/comments - spiraldance1@excite.comListen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Labor DayLabor Day is coming up here in the United States and Canada. It’s the traditional end of summer – the time for us all to GET BACK TO WORK. So, for this week’s show, let’s give due consideration to our Working Lives.
How do we as Pagans relate to the mundane problems of work? How do we find meaning in our work? Or let’s broaden that, and ask how we in the modern world approach meaning in our work. Or – is meaning in work a complete illusion?
Is small-scale farming th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Spiral PowWowFor this week's shw, we'll explore Native American Spirituality. I have a spoken work piece called “The Lesson of the Land”. It’s a beautiful Coming of Age story, composed by Edgar Meyer and narrated by Graham Green. It appears on a compilation CD called “Listen to the Story Teller”. Also we’ll talk about the Sacred Sweat Lodge and the Native American Smudge Blessing.
I hope you enjoy this week's show! Questions/Comments - spiraldance1@excite.comListen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Beer, Bread and Corn for LammastideThis week is a continued celebration of Lammastide. It’s such a nice holiday, but so often gets overlooked compared to the more flashy sabbats. So, I want to feature three important facets of this
Season – that being Beer, Bread & Corn
First we’ll talk about the Magick of Beer from time of the ancient Egyptians. Beer is associated with major Eqyptian deities, and was, in fact, used to save humanity from godly wrath!
Sourdough bread also comes to us from the Egyptians, and they be ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Nemoralia; at the Temple of DianaOn August the 13th, the Romans celebrated the Nemoralia – the Feast Day of Diana. So, this week we’ll start with a talk about the Roman Calendar. You know; these were Party People! They had over 70 Feast Days over the course of their year – something for everyone, no doubt about it.
Of course, you know Diana. But let’s talk a bit about Her, before we get to her Feast Day. Then, we’ll talk a bit about how the Romans actually celebrated the Nemoralia. There are actually writ ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Happy Lammas!This week we’re celebrating the Wiccan sabbat known as Lammas. Monday, August 1st, marks the Sabbat of Loughnasad, or Lammas! It’s the holiday of the first harvest, and it marks the beginnings of The God’s decent. Loughnasahd is named for the Celtic God, Lough. His name means “The Shining One”. He is also known as Lew Lavawda, “the Long-Armed”, and he is often referred to as “master of all arts”.
Lough is a God of the sun, light and the grain harvest. Like the Godde ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Folk Magick for FishermenThis week’s show is a bit out to sea. I was in Gloucester, MA for the blessing of the fleet last month – that’s the one where a bunch of drunken idiots try to balance on a greased pole without cracking their skulls open.
Anyway, it got me started thinking about folk customs that have been handed down within the fishing community – and some of the magick and ritual tied to it. Along with way I found lots of histories surrounding the Medieval Kingdom of Livonia – an area roughly ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Herbal Alchemist's Handbook; An Interview with Karen HarrisonThis week we are joined by Master Herbalist and Magickal Practicioner, Karen Harrison, to talk about her new book, “The Herbal Alchemists Handbook; A Grimoire of Philtres, Elixirs, Oils, Incense and Formulas for Ritual Use”.
Using their intricate knowledge of the Natural World, our ancestors learned how to identify herbs for medicinal use. And because they understood, maybe a little better than we do today, that body, mind and spirit are all One, it was obvious to them that herbs whi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sacred Journey to the Moon with the Green Feary!(?)This week’s show is a bit of a hodgepodge. Not the “best laid plan”, for sure - no real theme or focus. But I do have some topics to share with you.
We’ll start things out by giving the Moon her due – with a Rosicrucian Moon Initiation. Then, because it’s July and you may be planning a little trip, we’ll talk about how to keep the sacred in your travels no matter where you go. Now, where you’re planning to go may not be on this earthly plane. We’ll see if The Green F ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website FireLightWe're now well into summer, and it's HOT OUT THERE!
So, this week, we start a fire, as we talk about fire magick. Even if just to light a candle, we are responding to an ancient instinct. There is an enduring need to tend that legendary flame; to come home to the Hearth; to look within the dancing flames, remember our past - and maybe to glimpse into the future.
FIREGAZINGAND FIRE AFFINITIES
Then, THOR, THE THUNDER GOD
contact me at spiraldance1@excite.comListen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pagan Freedom of '76!For this weeks show, we honor America’s Independence Day – July 4th. Democracy was invented by the ancient Greeks. The ancient Greeks were Pagan. Therefore, Democracy is a Pagan institution. It’s important that we Pagans understand this. We don’t have to worry about whether the Founding Fathers meant this to be a secular society, although they did – or whether they were Deists (which they were) and what that means. Our Christian friends and family will make the claim that De ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fairy Tale Rituals; A Conversation with Kenny KlineMy guest this week is the multi-talented Kenny Kline. The guy who brought the genre of Bluegrass music to the Pagan community is also a Wiccan High Priest and an Elder of the Blue Star tradition. Furthermore, he is also an accomplished writer – and who knows WHAT ELSE! I’m afraid to ask!
He joins us this week to talk mainly about his new book, “Fairy Tale Rituals”, but we won’t let him go before we get into some of his newest musical projects as well.
In Fairy Tale Rituals, K ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Holy Blazing Balder! Midsummer's Here!As the sun spirals its longest dance, Cleanse us.
As nature shows bounty and fertility Bless us
Let all things live with loving intent
And to fulfill their truest destiny
This week we celebrate the Midsummer Sabbat. Summer Solstice occurs on Tuesday, June 21.
Celtic Wiccans also call it Litha, an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning “Moon”. The summer solstice takes place as the Sun enters the sign of Cancer; the month of the year which is ruled by the Moon.
On this Longest Day, may th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The June BrideThe time for chit chat is OVER! It’s time to walk the aisle! JUMP THE BROOMM!!
You may well be attending a wedding this month, or you yourself may be getting married. June has become the traditional time for weddings in our culture, so this week on The Spiral Dance, we’ll talk about the June Bride. We’ll examine The Magick of the Wedding Ring, plus we’ll look at the tradition of the Cutting of the Cake, along with other Wedding Folk Customs.
I hope you enjoy this week's show. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Here Be Dragons!For this week’s show we look at our friend, the Dragon.
Dragon’s come up often in Pagan circles – images abound and names are borrowed. Some of us revel in the lore of the Dragon and, feeling close ties, name the Dragon as a totem creature. Some of us even believe that dragons once actually existed.
We’ll examine the why’s and wherefore’s of all this. And we’ll explore some actual myths – from Nordic and Celtic traditions.
I hope you enjoy the show! Questions/commen ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Happy Memorial Day!It’s Memorial Day here in the US; a time when we honor those who have fallen in service to our country. So, let’s take a look at the roles the Warrior and the Hero play in Pagan spirituality. And, lest we forget, the Warrior is found in female as well as male archetypes. Pagan traditions all over the world know both Goddesses and Gods who describe warrior energies.
Warrior Magick is used on many levels; anything from the more outward issues of Justice to the very inward issues of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EnRAPTUREd over Astrological AgesThis MIGHT be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius –it's supposed to occur at Yule, 2012– or maybe as of next Saturday we’re all Toast!
This week on The Spiral Dance we explore the whole question of Astrological Ages. What are they, and how do they affect us as Pagans? If the concept of Astrological Ages is true does it then make our interest in the reawakening Goddess legitimate or maybe not?
Then, finally, we’ll do some work with Planet Magick.
Questions/Comments - spiraldanc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website This Sensual World of MagickWhat does Magick Sound Like? What does Magick Smell Like? What does Magick Look Like? Magick is about using all of your senses.
This week on The Spiral Dance let’s see how since, ancient times, Mages have used all of their senses to access the Numinous. We’ll start by talking about Incantations and Power Songs, and related to this, The Magick of Words and Sounds. Next we’ll consider the use of Fragrances in Magick, and finally – Color Magick! I think you’ll find this week ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Beltane2!I hope you’ve all had a lovely Beltane, wherever you are and however you celebrated it. This week is a bit of a continuation of Beltane. Why not? It’s one of everybody’s top three holidays, I think.
Did you Dance the Maypole as part of your Beltane celebration? Did you know that a Maypole (of sorts) was a featured part of one of our earliest periods of colonial history – back in the 17th century, in fact? Well, later on in the 19th century, writer Nathanial Hawthorne wrote ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website On A Bright May Morning!"Early one morning in May, Queen Gwynevere commanded ten of her knights to prepare to ride with her a-Maying. Each knight was to be accompanied by a lady, a squire and two yeomen, and all were to be decked in silk or other cloth of the freshest green, and decorated with moss, flowers and herbs. They were to ride into the fields and woods of Westminster and to return to King Arthur at the court at ten o'clock."
That was a part of "La Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory
This week on The ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website WHEN Will it All END?? An Interview with Prof. Joseph FelserThey say that there are two things in life we can always count on – death and taxes. But, what about the Apocalypse? Well, maybe not so much!
In his new book, “The Myth of the Great Ending”, Professor Joseph Felser looks at End-Time legends from over the past two-thousand years and offers reasons why these stories continue to capture our imaginations – even to the point of worry and anxiety.
Why do so many people believe in the Mayan Prophecy, and what do they think will happen ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Magick in NatureNature will be the center of this week’s theme in many ways. The idea of working inside the confines of the natural world is at the very heart of the natural philosophy of magic and the use of nature's energy. It’s said that whenever King Arthur’s knights began their quest for the grail, they plunged straight into the wilderness where the woods are thickest.
I want to share with you some ideas of Elementalism and Wilderness Magick.
Also; there are many customs associated with bo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Airy April Podcast!I’m dedicating this week’s show to one of the Five Cardinal Elements, the Element of Air. It’s a good topic for April because, by many traditions, Air is associated with Springtime and Day’s Beginning.
Usually associated with Men’s Mysteries, Air is most often thought of as on the Mental Plane. On the Witch’s Pyramid, the expression of Air is “To Know”.
So, Air has many occult facets. And on this week’s show we’ll be sharing some ideas about Incantations and Power Song ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website April 1; Trickster and FoolApril Fools Day is this week, so our theme is: The Trickster and Fool. Some histories say that April Fool’s Day may be related to the Roman spring festival of Hilaria, which celebrates the resurrection of the God, Attis. The Hilaria began on the Spring Equinox and lasted for about 10 days - approximately until the First of April. We’ll take a look at the history of April Fool’s Day, as well as the role that the Fool and the Trickster play in Earth-Based religious practices – and in ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Point of AriesIf you’ve been listening to the show for a while, then you probably know that I like to start my show off with a song that reflects my Theme. So you might ask what does “The Sorrows of Young Apollo” have to do with this weeks, theme? Not too much; it’s really the band – or actually their name, Point of Aries, that’s more to the point.
In Astrology, The Vernal Equinox is marked by Zero Aries, or what is called The Point of Aries, and is the start of the Zodiacal calendar. So ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Eostara; Earth in BalanceThe Vernal Equinox occurs on Sunday, March the 20th. It marks the point in the solar year when day and night are of equal duration, and the daytime once again becomes longer than night. In Pagan mythology it marks the time when The God, who was reborn at the Winter Solstice, is now coming into young adulthood and is - awakening to his sexuality.
So this week we talk about the history of Spring Equinox - the role that it has played in cultures down the ages; including the Norse Goddess ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Here's to the Month of March!Let’s give a big welcome to the month of March! It seems to be the month everybody loves to hate! So, this week, March will be our topic. We’ll see if I can maybe help you get a different perspective on this time of the year. We’ll be talking about the folklore of the March Hare. Plus, I have an Irish Story of Magick which I’ll be reading called “The Boy and the Hare”. And also, we can’t forget that March 5th was sacred to the Egyptian Goddess Isis!
I hope you enjoy the show ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mardi Gras VoodooIt’s Carnival Time in New Orleans and we celebrate it by taking a look at the tradition of New Orleans Voodoo.
We’ll start by going over some of the historic foundations that made it possible for Voodoo to take root in that region of our country. As we do that we’ll look at some of the core beliefs of those who practice Voodoo. And significant among the core beliefs is the way the early followers of Voodoo in the United States adopted the image of the Catholic Saints to their ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chakra Balancing; A Spiritual De-Fragging!My computer has been needing a lot of de-fragging lately, and so I’ve been needing a lot of spiritual defragging as well! And it’s occurred to me that, with this long winter that most of us have been experiencing, you might need some spiritual defragging yourself! So, how do we do THAT??
I’ve got a recorded guided meditation on Chakra Balancing for you; we’ll start with that. Then, after you could get all your little colored lights whirling in order up and down your spine, you ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | |