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Making Magic an Everyday Thing!
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Making Magic an Everyday Thing!
Thirty years ago on the Summer Solstice, The Covenant of the Pentacle Wiccan Church-ATC (CPWC-ATC) in New Orleans hosted our first ever public Pagan Holiday Ritual. The church that I co-founded with my fellow priestess Velvet Rieth in 1994 was one of the first churches for Wiccans in the country. It was the first in the Deep South, and the first in Louisiana. I was young and idealistic then in a way that I can scarcely imagine being now. I was 25 years old and had just moved back to my native New Orleans from Los Angeles. I was starving for a community, and Velvet's circle of Dianic witches (The Swamp Witches) welcomed me with open arms. That time period was filled with wonder. In almost every way that matters CPWC laid the groundwork for my life. I met my husband through the church, some of the most important relationships of my life were created there. I learned what it truly meant to be devoted to a Divine calling. I learned how to see the world as a sacred place. It is the ground of being for everything I have become. Like most organizations there was politics and heartbreak. Like most churches, the vision was eventually lost. I parted ways with Velvet, and the church continued for another decade without me until her death several years ago. The legacy of CPWC is that Wicca became relatively mainstream in New Orleans because of our efforts. We had regular services. We counseled people. We married couples, and buried the dead. We provided services and support through hospital and prison ministries. And we trained clergy and lay people alike in the practice of Wicca, and the ways of magic.
It is too complex a personal history to simply say that I miss it. It would be a lie to say that I don't miss the extraordinary community we created. I miss it every day. I don't miss the political intrigue, or the experience of being placed on a pedestal so that you can be knocked off it. People believe that being a priestess is different from being a witch, and that being a witch is somehow more special than being some other type of human. The difference is that when you are a witch, and especially if you are a priestess, you are supposed to know that you ARE NOT different, that magic suffuses everything and everyone. Your job is to do what you can to make that manifest for the people you serve in your circle or coven.
On this Litha I am deeply grateful for the experience of CPWC. I am grateful for New Orleans, even the miserably hot days of the summer. When we held that first solstice ritual over 300 people attended, having read about the founding of the church in the local newspaper, The Times Picayune, A powerful community of Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches that came together in that remarkable time. Many have crossed into the Summerland, others walk everyday with me, like my husband. It remains one of the things I am most proud of in my life, and I hope that through that remarkable experience I can continue the work I began there 30 years ago today.
The sun's power is at its peak at the summer solstice. The Earth is always generous towards us, and in this time of year it is important to take note of the power of the sun. It can help or hurt, bless or bane. The sun is a symbol of masculine power, how will you align with that power and what happens after the solstice as the power wanes? Most of us never have to consider how the cycles of the earth affect us. More than ever it feels that Mother Nature is trying to remind us that she is still the force that makes our lives possible. We can treat that as a blessing, or as a scary power we cannot contain. Either way the magic of the world is a miracle that benefits all of us when we honor it and treat it with respect.
You will often see magical practitioners talk about working within the lunar cycle to know when their magic will be most effective. You may initially think this is silly old wives tales, but it aligns with what farmers have practiced for millennia. When you need something to grow, you work with the full moon or waxing moon. So at the full moon do magic that is taking advantage of fullness.
This is the period between the full and new moons, when the moon appears to be getting smaller in the sky. If you are doing magic for things to go away, then do your magic during the waning moon. Banishments, endings, downward transitions are all best during the waning moon.
The new moon is best for times of utter darkness. Because of this in some traditions the actual new moon is forbidden for magic, as nothing is happening. However, if your magic is bringing something out of nothing, the new moon is ideal. Many traditions however prefer to use the new moon energy on the first day of the waxing moon, rather than when the moon is new.
This is the time between the new moon and the full moon During this period everything is growing into fullness. Magic for bounty, health, harvests, growth, new relationships and new wealth are best done during the waxing moon.
Reflecting on my life as a very public witch and priestess has me thinking a lot about the world we live in, and what it means to make magic in it. Join me as we reclaim the magic of the world. I will be training a new group of priestesses and priests who can serve their magical communities! Stay tuned for how to sign
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