Showing posts with label magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magic. Show all posts

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Nails and other detritus: A Pagan Service Announcement






The proper disposal of nail clippings and other personal detritus has become a major problem in the Pagan community.  Improper disposal of personal detritus can lead to you being placed in a jar on somebody's shelf, having a poppet made of you, or being framed for a crime you didn't commit.  You don't want a poppet made of you, do you?



No, I didn't think so, nor do you want to be singing the song, "But that's not really my DNA" to the police.  They never believe you.  Not only is improper disposal of personal detritus gross, but it's irresponsible.  Personal detritus is the easiest way for another magically inclined person to have control over you.

There are several proper ways to dispose of personal detritus.  First of all, make sure to collect all your nail clippings, loose hair (even from shower drains), pieces of dead skin or scabs, and boogers for proper disposal.  If you make this a daily habit, then the threat of someone controlling you will be greatly diminished.


Now it's time to dispose of the detritus.  You can burn the waste and scatter the ashes.  You can bury the waste.  You can flush the waste.  My favorite is to let it all fly out of the car window as I'm speeding down the road.


To summarize, get your detritus out of your enemies' hands and back to nature where it can decompose.




These folks always properly dispose of nail clippings:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Blessed Be Thy Feet, Supplement B: Pedicure for the Sole


Our dead cells not only contain the physical memories of the time they were a part of our bodies via the DNA of which they are made, but they also contain a psychic memory.  Both positive and negative emotions, memories, and energy are stored in dead cells, particularly dead skin and nail cells.  The dead skin on the soles of our feet probably store the most psychic build up.  To combat this, treat your feet to a magical pedicure.  If possible, do this with a partner so that you can fully relax (and then return the favor).  However, this is also a good solitary ritual.
Set up a relaxing ritual space in an area where you will be able to soak your feet.  Call in your deities and elementals as you would for any other ritual.  Breathe deeply, and at each step of the ritual make sure to think about your intent.
If you do not already have pedicure items, visit your local pharmacy or dollar store.  Ritual tools, in this case pedicure items, should not be expensive.   If your budget is super limited, only get nail clippers, a nail file, and clear fingernail polish.  If you have a little bit more money, invest in a foot file, pumice stone, or a Pediegg.
Step 1--Removing negativity
Start by clipping your toe nails.  As you clip, say one thing for each nail that you are letting go of.  After you're done, collect the pairings and save them to bury after the ritual.  There are many traditions about what to do with nail pairings, but giving them back to the Earth keeps them out of the wrong hands and is easy.  Plus, the earth is a good neutralizing element for the negativity you are removing from your life.  Then file your toe nails.  As you do this, focus on how you can file away any rough edges in yourself that may be getting snagged on the fabric of your life.  Finally, take your Pediegg (or you can use your nail file in a pinch), and file away the dead skin on your soles in counterclockwise circles.  In most traditions, widdershins or counterclockwise is the direction for banishing.  Think about removing all the negativity that your feet may have accumulated as the dead cells are filed away.  If you wish, you can chant. 
Step 2--Healing
In a large basin or other foot soaking vessel, prepare a foot soak.  The easiest foot soak is warm water with Epsom salts.  However, any salt will do.  Don't spend money on this step.  Just use what you have in your kitchen.  Salt and mint is a good revitalizing foot soak.  Salt and rosemary or tea tree oil is an excellent anti fungal soak.  Salt and oatmeal is good for soothing itchy skin.   Be creative and experiment. Don't be afraid to use aromatherapy.  As you soak your feet, meditate on healing any ailments you are experiencing physically as well as emotionally/spiritually.  Envision the warmth from the soak moving up your body to heal and strengthen you.  Finish this step by rubbing lotion on your feet.  Any lotion that you want to use will work (if you don't have lotion, you can use cooking oil, butter, or Crisco).  Rub the lotion on the top and bottom of your feet in a clockwise or deosil motion since you are attracting healing into your life.
Step 3--Attracting Magic
Now comes the fun part.  Using color magic, choose the color of nail polish that will help you attract the good things you want/need in your life.  If you need money, choose green.  If you are a student, choose yellow.  If you are not really into nail polish or you can only afford to buy one shade, go with clear.  Just like a white candle or a quartz crystal, clear nail polish can be used to represent any color.  As you paint each toe, envision yourself walking towards what you want to attract to your life.  If you are looking for money, see yourself walking into work and later walking into a bank to deposit the money.  
To end the ritual, give thanks to your Deities and close up your circle.  Once your nails dry, don't forget to bury your nail pairings.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Scourge Part 1

“The Goddess’ scourge is light—usually.”

           A scourge by any other name is still a scourge.  A scourge is the name given to what is basically a many-tailed whip used in Wicca.  People in the scene often call it a flogger, or if it has knots, a cat, and to outsiders it’s a whip, but all these boil down to a scourge.  According to Merriam-Webster, the word first appears in its current form in the 13th century and is originally derived from the Latin word corrigia, which means “thong” or “whip”.    It’s a ritual tool that many Wiccans either don’t own, don’t use, don’t understand, or have purely for show.

            Scourges and other whip like implements have been associated with religion forever. 
In Ancient Egypt, Osiris was often depicted with a crook and a flail, symbols of authority but also symbols of agriculture.  These symbols of agriculture could sympathetically translate to virility symbols.  There is more about the flail (which looks an awful lot like a scourge) in the “Ritual” section of this blog.

The Ancient Romans used scourges, whips, and switches sympathetically in their magic and rituals. These implements were seen as being phallic and were used in fertility rites, primarily Lupercalia.  According to a Hellenic expert, while Lupercalia is primarily a Roman festival, it has its origins in Ancient Greece. Originally male adolescents in Arkadia would reenact the feast of Lycaon every year. At the original feast, Lycaon prepared a feast for the Olympian gods that included some human flesh, perhaps from one of Lycaon's male relatives. This so enraged Zeus, that he struck Lycaon's house
with a thunderbolt and Lycaon turned into a wolf.
At the Arkadian reenactment, the teenagers would gather on a mountaintop and
partake of a meal of animal entrails. However, among the animal guts was hidden one piece of human intestine. If a participant ate this juicy morsel, he would turn into a wolf and was only able to become human again if he refrained from eating human meat for nine years. Another way that the boys could achieve this lupine transformation was to swim across a special mountain pool. Once again, after nine years, they could regain their human form.  


This tradition traveled to Rome via Hermes' son, Euandros, who exported the cult of Pan Lykaios and the festival of Lykaia to Italy. This festival later became the festival of Lupercalia, which is described in the opening lines of Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.
Once the wolf festival was transported to Rome and became Lupercalia, many
different stories and deities became associated with the celebration.  To honor Pan, two goats and a dog were annually sacrificed. The dog was sacrificed because they were sacred for their ability to protect flocks and because Pan raised hounds.

           Skin from the sacrificed goats was used for the flails that the Lupercalia runners would whip the female spectators with. It was believed that through this aggressive behavior Pan would bless the ladies with fertility. 

 





In Julius Caesar, Caesar tells Antony:
Forget not, in your speed, Antonius,
To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say,
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their sterile curse.
Act I, Scene 2


 

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Sadomasochism, Pain, and Wicca/Paganism

Beardsley's Frontispiece to "A Full and True Account...."


If you’re reading this blog, then I assume that you at least know what S&M or BDSM is.  If you are looking for a how-to in terms of technique, some of the following books may be helpful:
Sensuous Magic 2 Ed: A Guide to S/M for Adventurous Couples by Patrick Califia
SM 101: A Realistic Introduction by Jay Wiseman
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism   by Philip Miller and Molly Devon

There are tons of books out there on the topic of basic S&M and S&M from all angles, but just like books on Paganism, some are good and some are fluff. 

 When the idea for this blog originally came to me, I, of course like most folks, felt sure that my ideas were fresh and original.  Well, there are few fresh and original ideas out there.  As I come across other people’s take on my “fresh and original” ideas, I’ll post and review them.

            S&M and the pain that is its intended purpose and by product can be related to Pagan/Wiccan practices, ideas, and motifs in many different ways:

·        Sadomasochism as a mystery tradition

·        Pain as an initiatory ordeal

·        Pain as sacrifice

·        Pain as meditation

·        Pain as a drug

·        Sadomasochism as “all acts of love and pleasure”

·        Sadomasochism as ritual

·        Sadomasochism as a vehicle for enacting the drama of myths

·        Sadomasochism as a healing vehicle

·        Sadomasochism as sympathetic magic

·        Pain as a purifier

All of these things, of course, bring us closer to our deities and our understanding of them.  I believe that when we orgasm we may be the closest to the pure energy force of the divine that we can experience here on Earth.  Using S&M in conjunction with sex and magic can enhance that feeling.