I was accidentally watching the 700 club (a few weeks ago), and they ran a story about a former Wiccan who had turned back to Christianity:

http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/Shalom_Serene060107.aspx


I never watch the 700 club on purpose, I had just finished watching the previous show and hadn't changed the channel yet. They aired a teaser about a Wiccan who had become Christian, so I stayed to hear her story, curious to see how they would portray "all Witches". This lady had a series of hardships in her life, along with bouts of depression and drug and alcohol abuse, and finally decided to "get right with God" after becoming involved with a man that would only stay if she converted to Christianity. So, she of course, was telling her conversion story to a bunch of Christians.

While I was watching this episode, I wondered how it was that I have practiced Wicca for 5 years, and I have NEVER smoked marijuana or tried cocaine, or have even made friends of those who do these things. I think the last time I had an alcoholic beverage was over New Year's Eve, and I probably throw back 2-3 Smirnoff's during the entire Fourth of July weekend. I have teen children, and they trust me to set the moral example for them.  I also allow each of my children to attend the Christian church of their choice, or none at all. They attend Vacation Bible School with several different friends and come back with several interpretations of Christianity. They ask me questions about the life of Jesus, and why this group believes in the Trinity, and this other one does not. Only two of my children have ever expressed any interest in my practice, and I have only answered their questions, being careful not to press my personal views.

I would be satisfied if my children could find happiness in a Christian setting. I don't have a problem with that. But I do have a problem with any suggestion that true Christians have less strife, less anxiety and depression, and less likelihood of drug or alcohol abuse. I am dismayed that a Christian program portrays all Wiccans as drug abusers, alcoholics, or becoming involved with demonic entities and "selling their souls". It's a fear tactic. It's baseless. I have no interest at all in drugs or dangerous practices like participation in orgies or harming animals during a ritual. These things are just not widely accepted or practiced in the Wiccan communities. Those people that do these things are covering up depression, running from stress or abusive relationships, or are interested in controlling and manipulating others. That's not everyone in Wicca. That's just a small slice, just like there are similar people of Christian faith who also do these things to escape or control others.

I don't even really believe Sheila (or Shalom, as she is called now) really ever was Wiccan. The life she described isn't remotely what Wicca is about, and if she really was a Witch, she wouldn't have given up her self-direction and sovereignty to keep a man. In my point of view, she gave up her true identity to conform to the will of this man's family, and to gain acceptance within the family structure. She sold out, to become the subservient wife in the Christian model.

I was raised Mormon, so I don't have much of a traditional background of Christianity to work from. But I've read books on Gnosticism, studied many theories related to Mary Magdalene as a priestess and a Goddess woman, and even came to understand how the Bible became to be the so-called "word of God". I know that it is an evolved work, changed and rearranged over the centuries, and that it is presented in a way that makes it appear complete. From the very first two chapters of Genesis, I can exclude myself from the binding laws of the Hebrew God, and it is exemplified in an essay written by Oberon Zell, titled "We are the Other People".

I have little faith that every Christian has taken the time to study opposing views and come to the rational decision to chose Christianity. An easy comparison between Jesus, Mithras, and Osiris can be found here. And just the simple fact that there are thousands of denominations of Christianity that actually compete with each other for the number of souls and the amount of offerings generated each year should be enough to at least consider the ol' "what's in it for them" question. I live in a small town of less than 5,000 people, yet sitting here at my desk I can think of at least 15 active "Christian" churches. If everyone went to church, that's about 333 people per church. If everyone gave a dollar each Sunday, then the pastor is making $8.32 an hour for a 40 hour week. That's if ALL 5000 people in this town picked a church and if EVERY man woman and child paid a dollar to do it. So the competition is stiff, to say the least. And the Christians are the biggest fear monger religion (save the radical Muslims) in the world today.

Nothing I have ever experienced with Wicca would even come close to the sense of fear and dread and anxiety that I experienced while I was a Mormon, and even when I was a Baptist child until I was 13. Every sermon, every lesson, every Sunday School Coloring Book was about the fear of Hell, the description of the Devil, the traps that have been set to lure you away from God, the constant review and expungence of sin, and the stress of worrying whether I was good enough, doing enough, contributing enough, striving enough, and practicing enough for God to eventually accept me into his "Heaven". Of course, growing up Mormon had it's own problems, and I was additionally burdened with being "temple worthy" and participating in rituals of the temple in order to demonstrate my obedience to God. So I probably can't contemplate the simplicity of just accepting "Jesus" as my savior, when Osiris and Mithras existed before him.

I still think that this entity "Satan", of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim world, has no power or strength against the Other People. There is no need to be fearful of an entity who has no meaning outside of that pantheon. It's been liberating to me to know that this entity that so many people are afraid of and have lived and died defending against has no place in my consciousness and no power over my soul. No wars were ever fought in the name of Wicca.

I don't mind that people who used to practice Witchcraft or Wicca decide to leave and become Christian. We aren't going door to door announcing our religion and inviting others to join. Most people find it on their own, try it on for size, and if it doesn't suit them, they put it back on the rack. (Or burn it to make sure others don't get in touch with it). I just don't agree with the broad stroke of paint that makes all Wiccans and Witches dark and evil filled, possessed by Satan or trapped in "sin". It's their Hell. Let them spend their lives avoiding it. I have better things to do.

The Celtic lunar month of Holly is the perfect time to celebrate your achievements and to focus on your future dreams.

The eighth Celtic Moon month ushers in the shortening of the days. The power of the Sun is transferred to Earth, highlighting our practical needs and desires. The Celtic fire festival of Lammas begins the harvest on August 1, so the month of the Holly Moon is a time to give thanks for the good things in your life. Focus on your own "harvest' during the month of Holly---on what you wish to achieve and why.

Share your successes

Traditionally, the first grain harvested was baked into a loaf that represented the spirit of the crop, or "John Barleycorn" as it was called in England. This bread was shared in a ceremony to ensure the wealth of the community.

Use this month to celebrate your successes with family and friends and to consider sharing your good fortune with others.

Protection and Renewal

The holly is magically imbued with powers of protection. In England, it was believed to protect against witchcraft and to guard homes against being struck by lightning. Its evergreen leaves symbolize renewal and recovery during the dark half of the year and ward against envy and the misuse of power.

Restoration

The planetary ruler of holly is Mars, which bestows upon the tree the ability to restore direction in your life, to rebalance and align energy, and to help you gain a sense of purpose.

In Pagan tradition, men carry sachets of holly leaves and berries, which will enhance their masculinity due to the tree's restorative and energizing powers.


Use the magical blessings of the Holly Moon to celebrate and share the good things in your life and to increase your future fortune and success.

Holly Harvest Loaf

During the Holly Moon month, invite the blessings of John Barleycorn into your home by baking your own magical harvest loaf. Simply follow the steps below:

1. Prepare some bread dough from flour, yeast, oil, honey, water and salt, and leave it to rise in a warm place for an hour.

2. Sprinkle seeds and nuts on top of the dough to symbolize each blessing in your life, such as a comfortable home or supportive family. Focus on these positive things as you knead the dough.

3. Shape the dough into a roundish loaf and place on a baking sheet.

4. Before baking it, place your hands on top of the dough and try to visualize golden light channeling into it.

5. Then say, "John Barleycorn, I give you thanks for all I have received, Blessed be."

6. When baked, bury the first slice of the loaf in the ground and whisper your wishes for the future.

7. Share the rest of the loaf with your friends and family and celebrate your abundance.

Holly Money Spell

On the full Moon hold up some paper money to the moonlight and recite the spell below.

Lady Bright, Lady Bright
Harvest abundant dreams tonight
Three times Three times Three times Three,
Prosperity return to me.


Give the money to charity (may I suggest your local no-kill animal shelter or the American Red Cross) and in return, the positive energy of the holly will provide you with the funds you need over the coming months.

Time to Re-Energize

The spirit of renewal in the month of the Holly Moon makes it an excellent time to re-energize your life.

*Tune into the energies of your environment by eating energy-rich seasonal foods, preferably foods that are produced locally.

*Use holly's influence to rise to physical challenges and overhaul your personal fitness by joining a gym or taking up martial arts.


Harvest of Friends

Celebrate the harvest of the season and of the things that enrich your life during the Holly Moon by inviting friends to dinner.

Meals to Share

Ask everybody to bring a dish that they have prepared, and cover the table with a gold cloth to signify the wealth in your life. For the centerpiece, place an arrangement of holly and wheat around a candle to represent the harvest spirit.

Harvest blessing

Once your guests have arrived, give thanks to Mother Earth for the food that she has provided:
"Let us eat that none shall no hunger. Let us drink that none shall know thirst." During the meal, discuss what it is that you wish to harvest in your life.

From the author, Edain McCoy, and her book~>
Ostara: Customs Spells, and Rituals for the Rites of Spring

The Anglo-Saxons hailed Eostre as the Goddess of Spring, The Greening Earth, and Fertility. Her name means "moving with the waxing sun." Around the time of her festival, on the day when light and dark are equal, the local animals began giving birth or going into their sexually receptive cycles, named "estrus periods" after the goddess. From the fiercest to the most humble, the woodland animals--who also worshipped and loved Eostre--would play in the warmth of spring light and feast on the new vegetation Eostre provided.

One of Eostre's devotees was a small hare who wished very much to give a gift to his goddess, but he didn't know what he could possibly offer that would be of any value to her. Then one day while foraging, the hare came across a fresh egg, a very prized commodity indeed. The little hare wanted very badly to eat the egg, as it had been a long time since he'd feasted on anything finer than dry grasses. Before he could take a bite of his prized, he realized this egg might make the perfect gift for Eostre. But, he pondered, Eostre could have all the eggs she wanted, anytime she wanted them. She was a goddess, a creator, the embodiment of life itself. Giving her just any egg would never do. How, he wondered, could he make this egg a fit offering for his goddess?

The little hare took the egg home and pondered how to make it as beautiful and new as Eostre made the world each spring. He began to decorate the egg. He painted it in the hues of Eostre's spring woods and placed upon the shell symbols sacred to Eostre. When he felt he could not make the egg any more beautiful, he took it to Eostre and offered it to her.

Eostre was so pleased by the little hare's sacrifice of his egg to her, and by the manner in which he decorated it for her, that he wanted everyone--especially children, who are themselves symbols of new life--to enjoy these representations of her bounty. Since that Ostara day long ago, the descendants of that hare have taken up the task of delivering decorated eggs tot he world's children at spring. They are called Eostre's bunnies or, more commonly, the Easter Bunny.

Gently place one egg in a pan that is half-filled with boiling water. As you watch the egg boil in the steaming pot, concentrate on something you feel is gone from your life that you wish to have manifest back into it. Conceptualize this desire as living within the egg, a need that will be birthed into being with the egg's assistance. Visualize this miracle happening with as much clarity and detail as you are able. Do this for at least five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and allow it to coo.

When the egg is able to be handled, take crayons or felt markers in any color or colors you feel best represents your desire and draw a symbol or some other representation of your wish on the egg.

Bury the egg near your front door, as deep as is reasonable. Each time you walk past the place where the egg is buried, be sure to remind yourself of its purpose by restating to yourself an affirmation of your desire.

In a short time the egg will break down, the shell cracking open and the yolk decomposing. This symbolic life, death and rebirth of your wishing egg is linked by magic to your life, and it will help your desire to be rebirthed soon.

Spring Equinox traditionally falls on March 20-21, and is the exact midpoint between the winter and summer solstices. Starting at sundown on March 20, there are exactly 12 hours of night and 12 hours of daylight.

This is a time of huge energy. Nature is waking up after its long winter sleep and everywhere you look there is evidence of new life: trees are in bud, seeds are germinating and animals are preparing to bear their young.


Celebrating New Life

In Wiccan lore, the Oak King, the god of light, wins a victory over the Holly King, god of darkness. As light conquers dark, the great mother Goddess conceives a child. Nine months later, at Winter Solstice, the child will be born and the cycle begins again.


The Easter festival we think of as a Christian celebration is the church's appropriation of this traditional Pagan festival. The resurrection is a tale of new life, but where do the Easter eggs and rabbits feature in the Bible?

Even the name, Easter, has Pagan roots--Eoestre is the goddess of light, who brings the spring. The root of the work comes from "estrus"--the time in an animal's sexual cycle when it is fertile. Eoestre's festival was held on the Spring Equinox full Moon; thus Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full Moon following the Spring Equinox.


Fertility and Rebirth

The Spring Equinox is often represented by a Spring maiden carrying a basket of eggs, the symbol of rebirth. The maiden is accompanied by a hare or rabbit, representing abundant fertility, from which comes our modern symbol, the Easter Bunny.


There are many simple ways to celebrate the season of rebirth--from spring cleaning your body and your home to cooking up traditional Easter treats for family and friends.


1. Spring Clean Your Home

In springtime, gardeners clear away the debris of winter from the base of plants, allowing room for new growth. So we, too, can make space in our homes for fresh ideas and projects to emerge.

Renew your Home

As the growing light shows up the accumulated dirt of winter, remove it.

*Go into those hidden places, under the sofa and behind the refrigerator, letting in the light and leaving everything fresh and new.

*Clear out any clothes you no longer wear from your closets.

*Wear green to symbolize the shoots of spring;this will remind you of the new beginnings spring represents.


Make a celebratory meal to share with your friends--perhaps a picnic outdoors, or inside, if the weather is bad.

Dishes for Spring

Create the following dishes for a symbolic spring meal:

-> Nettle Tea--The first edible green leaves of spring, nettles are rich in minerals such as iron

-> Quiche, the eggs in which are reminiscent of new life.

-> Hot cross buns are reminiscent of the Sacred Marriage. The arms of the cross are of equal length, which in some cosmologies represents the union of male and female.


3. Make Your Own Easter Egg

Traditionally, eggs were painted bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, or colored scarlet to represent life blood.

Spring Resolutions

As part of your ceremonies, you can paint an egg:

+ Decorate a hard-boiled egg with bright colors, symbols, or affirmations.

+ Write about a new project on the shell. If you are with friends, you can take turns to talk about what your eggs symbolize. Passing the eggs around the group will help to energize them and fill them with positive intent.

+ Absorb the energy you have invested in the egg by ceremonially shelling it and eating the contents.

+ Crush the painted eggshell and bury it--to sow you new hopes into the earth.

4. Spring Clean Your Body

After you have spring cleaned your home and it is clear of the previous season's old, stale energies, you can then cleanse yourself. Spring clean your body's systems by drinking a purifying tea of dandelion leaves and nettle tops.


New Beginnings

then make a spring altar, preferably in your garden to fully benefit from the new air of the season. On it, place spring flowers and fresh greens . Prepare an incense of purification herbs and spices, such as hyssop and juniper. As these offerings burn, meditate on the new projects you are ready to start--the seeds of new plans you wish to sow.