Witchy Update - Issue #14

Are You a Sexy Witch?

The answer, of course, is "yes." We are all sexy witches. Unfortunately we (particularly us women, though men aren't immune from it either) have been taught to feel very shameful of our bodies and our sexuality. Fortunately, we can learn how to get that powerful sexiness back. And better yet, we can have fun doing it. Following is one very simple way to get started, from LaSara FireFox's new Sexy Witch:

Creating a Daily Practice: Self-Honoring Rituals

The opportunity to create self-honoring in your life is available at any time. All it takes to create a ritual of honoring is intention. There are probably many self-nurturing activities you do on a daily basis. These might include putting on sunscreen, eating, dressing for your day, exercising, walking, or writing.

Your morning shower is a great place to start with honoring your body. As you wash, imagine the water cleansing you through and through. Let the water wash away not only the external funk, but the internal, too.

Many of us engage in little rituals throughout the day, though we may not be conscious of it. It's easy to become conscious, and to use that consciousness as a portal to the creation of a system of self-honoring that may change your life, and the lives of future generations of women. Every act of self-worship, self-care, and self-nurturance is a revolutionary act. Change begins with the individual. To change the world, take care of yourself!

Sexy Witch © 2005 by LaSara FireFox

Walking the Well Worn Path

This September Llewellyn introduces an exciting new card deck for Witches entitled The Well Worn Path. Authors Raven Grimassi and Stephanie Taylor worked closely with artist Mickie Mueller to create a stunning forty card deck, with each card illustrating a different important concept for Witches. From the Rede to Initiation and even Reincarnation, this deck serves as a wonderful tool for divination, rituals, pathworking, and teaching. "In this deck we have preserved and presented the important, vital, and viable traditions and beliefs that we all continue to honor into modern days. Here we have captured the knowledge and wisdom of ancient times for contemporary application," say authors Grimassi and Taylor.

An excerpt from the article All Magick is Sex Magick
by Donald Michael Kraig

One of the disappointments many people have -- especially after watching shows like Buffy and Charmed or seeing numerous horror films -- is that simply saying some words out of a book doesn't work magick. I remember one movie where some kids inaccurately mumbled words from a book and the ground opened and demons came forth! If magick really did work that way every book on magick would be locked away and there would still be magick going on everywhere. Any books on magick you could find would sell for tens of thousands of dollars. And yet some books seem to imply that just saying a few arcane words is all it takes to do magick. Obviously, something must be missing.

Actually, there are two things missing. The first is a change of consciousness. Pagans will frequently focus on the Goddess when doing even simple rituals, or they may concentrate on the unique properties of an herb or mineral. Ceremonial magicians usually do some sort of ritual such as a banishing before doing any practical or spiritual magick. For many people, just thinking about the ritual or spell they are doing puts them into a magickal mindset that will allow the non-physical aspects of magick to be established.

Witchy Events

A Romantic Guide
to Handfasting
author:
Anna Franklin
Appearance at
The Mercian Gathering
September 2 - 4
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
England

Autumn Equinox author:
Ellen Dugan
Discussion & Booksigning
September 10
12-2 pm
Pathways
St. Louis, MO

Sexy Witch author:
LaSara Firefox
Workshop
September 15
6:30-8 pm
The Cauldron
Los Angeles, CA
For more info call:
323-644-0268

A Year of Ritual author:
Sandra Kynes
Appearance at the
South Jersey
Pagan Pride Day
September 17
11 am-7 pm
Salem County Fairgrounds
Woodstown, NJ

For more Pagan, Wiccan, and book-related events, check our
Events Schedule.

An excerpt from Autumn Equinox by Ellen Dugan

The beginning of the autumn season officially commences in September with the Autumn Equinox. As the sun enters the astrological sign of Libra, the hours of day and darkness are equal to one another, just like the balanced scales of Libra itself. From this point of the year, with each passing day, the daylight hours become noticeably shorter and the weather starts to cool. Autumn is a season of shadows and a time of wanlight, but it is also a season of abundance, thanksgiving, and harvest.

Ancient people realized the importance of the sun to life on earth. In the time after the equinox, the sun appears to be growing weaker, losing its battle against the darkness. To help the sun regain its former strength, people held harvest festivals of light featuring torches and bonfires as an act of sympathetic magick to encourage the sun to return. Autumn has always been our colorful season of reward. As the sun began to decline and its yearly job was finished, the people gratefully gathered in the field crops. The grains from the fields, the fruit from the orchards, and the vegetables from the garden were harvested to be safely stored away for winter. Everyone in the community was involved in the harvest, as folks needed to make sure they could gather in their crops before they spoiled or were ruined by inclement weather.

At the end of the harvesting, the people were worn-out but happy and looked forward to a celebration. No matter where on earth the harvest is celebrated, from mid-August throughout the month of September, there is a basic and profound magick in the hearts of all people as they gather around with friends and family to feast and to celebrate the abundance of the earth.

Cool links

The Witches' Voice
(Likely the best and most useful site for witches and pagans around)

Yay Pagan
(An online community with writings, newsletters, and lots of great info)

Related Wiccan & Pagan articles from The Llewellyn Journal

Betwixt & Between
(An online witchcraft community center)

Definitions of Wiccan & Pagan terms from the Llewellyn Encyclopedia

beliefnet.com
(Starhawk's columns on beliefnet.com)

Great books on sale!
Now through September 8

A Witch's Notebook Silver RavenWolf ISBN: 0-7387-0662-0 Price: ~~$12.95~~ $10.36	Full Contact Magick Kerr Cuhulain ISBN: 0-7387-0254-4 Price: ~~$14.95~~ $11.96
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft Christopher Penczak ISBN: 0-7387-0767-8 Price: ~~$17.95~~ $14.36	Autumn Equinox Ellen Dugan ISBN: 0-7387-0624-8 Price: ~~$14.95~~ $11.96

Llewellyn Worldwide

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