Monday, January 1, 2007

Gaining Confidence

Moon phase: 2nd in Gemini
Planet: Moon
Colour: Grey

"Don't be turned off by pre-written spells. In fact, reading them will help you collect ideas on how to use rhyme and/or structure and how spells are closed. If you need to change a spell to better suit your needs, don't feel guilty. Changing spells will build your confidence for writing new ones.
"Start off by keeping it simple. If the spell is too long to remember, recite it from a written document. If you are writing it by hand into you Book of Shadows, don't forget to include colour. Make use of different coloured pens to match the energy you want to raise or attract. For a love spell, use a red pen. For a healing spell, maybe use blue.
"Remember to record all aspect to your magical work in your BOS. Your BOS (or D[isk]OS, if you're totally techno-Pagan) is not only a record of your ritual work, it's a reflective learning tool to give you inspiration and confidence for your next round of spells. Assess what went well and what parts of the ritual can be improved. This makes your path an ongoing learning journey. "There will be times when a pre-written spell suits your purpose or requires only minor adjustments. On other occasions, you will need something unique. Tailor-made spells and rituals are intensely personal because they are imbued with your specific intent and energy. Even with a busy lifestyle, it's worth taking the time to master the skill of spell-crafting so you can create customized solutions for yourself."

-Emily Flak 
Tips for the Busy Witch

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Wiccan Sign (Pentacle) Allowed on Soldier's Plaque

SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had refused.
"I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last September when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his helicopter. Four others also died. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.
But state officials said they had received a legal opinion from the Nevada attorney general's office that concluded federal officials have no authority over state veterans' cemeteries. They now plan to have a contractor construct a plaque with the Wiccan pentacle - a circle around a five-pointed star - to be added to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Fernley.
"The VA still has not determined yet if a Wiccan symbol can go on the headstone," said Tim Tetz, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services. "But we have determined we control the state cemetery and that we therefore have the ability to recognize him for his service to his country."
Wiccans worship the earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.
The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There is also an emblem for atheists.


---VA needs to hurry up and follow suit.