SECTION V - RESOURCES
Astrology News for Lammas - Sarlota
Herbs - Dor <Doggrell by Baboo Kyra Finch>
Wicca 101 - Lesson #1 - Rhia
Shopping Corner - Dor
Astrology News
By Sarolta
http://www.i.am/deepskies
++NEW Audio Version!++
+DAILY+WEEKLY+MONTHLY+
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Rituals of the Earth: Lammas
August 1st, 1999
(You can do the ritual any time during the first week of August.)
"Every planetary alignment holds an opportunity for growth
and expanded awareness, and contains symbolism that can be
universally shared and understood. By meditating on current
planetary themes, we can tune in to the archetypal energy
inherent therein, gaining a deeper understanding of our own
personal myth, integrating the planetary energies experientially
through personalized ritual."
As the midpoint between Midsummer and The Autumnal equinox,
Lammas (Old English, meaning “Loaf Mass”) celebrates
the first harvest, a festival of regeneration dedicated to the
inventors of agriculture. This is the season where the Sun
consummates it’s union with the Earth, symbolized by sheaves
of wheat and loaves of fresh bread upon the altar, along with the
first fruits and vegetables from the garden. Pies made of berries
are baked to commemorate the death of the “Green Man”,
who lives in all the green plants of the Earth, who is sacrificed
each year at Harvest time, so that others may prosper.
Lammas Herbal Lore
Blackberry : (berries or leaves) Healing, money, protection.
Caraway: Consecration, longevity, fidelity. Bake in bread to
celebrate the Harvest.
Corn: represents fertility, place on altar as an offering to the
Great Cosmic Mother, Ceres / Demeter.
Fenugreek: Used in rinse water as you clean, is said to attract
money. Make a tea to ingest or use in the bath. Focus on
developing the powers of the mind.
Hollyhock: Favored by faeries to bring luck to the home.
Mistletoe: gathered on Lammas by the Druids of old. Protection,
healing, conception, consecration.
Oat: Cakes are made with the new grain and shared with friends
and family. Oat is used in money spells.
Sunflowers: Wisdom, fertility, a strong and healthy confidence.
place on altar; add seeds to feast.
The Altar: Decorate with loaves of bread, grains, ears of corn,
summer sqash, zuccini, sunflowers, hollyhocks and oat cakes,
blackberry wine.
You will need three candles: green, silver, yellow and brown.
Ritual: Cast the circle by visualizing white light encircling you
in a clackwise motion. Honor and invite the four elements into
your circle: East for Air, South for Fire, West for Water, and
North for Earth.
Incense ingredients: Frankincense, Cinnamon, Blackberry leaves,
Apple blossoms. Bring any or all of the above ingredients into
your ritual circle and add each ingredient one at a time, while
grinding by hand with a mortar and pestle and focusing on the
properties of each herb as it is added. Consecrate your incense
by dedicating it to the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess, and
once the incense is prepared, burn some on a charcoal as you
focus in on your ritual.
Ritual Bath: Chamomile, Fenugreek, Goldenrod, Oatmeal.
Place any or all herbs in cheesecloth and tie well; run under
tap. You can also make a strong tea from the herbs: bring pure
water to a boil, and allow to cool a few minutes before pouring
over herbs; strain into bath.
Planetary Themes
(Chart data: Aug. 1, 1999
12:00 PM EDT, Washington, DC)
Candles: The green candle represents Ceres trine Moon. Where do I
need to balance my career demands with personal time?
1. Focus clearly and write your intent on a small piece of paper.
2. Place note under candle.
3. Light the candle.
The silver candle represents the mental creative urge of Pallas
Athena combined with Uranian individuality and intuition.. Where
do I choose to apply my creative impulse? Repeat steps 1-3 as
before.
The yellow candle represents Juno and Mercury, and constructive
communications between loved ones. Are there any issues I need to
address at this time? Repeat 1-3 as before.
The brown candle represents Vesta and Saturn, and ritual
dedication to a purpose through patience and discipline. Where am
I prepared to give it all I’ve got? Repeat 1-3.
Spend some time meditating on the themes of your ritual, and when
you feel the ritual is complete, thank the Mother Goddess, and
burn each paper as you focus once again on the intention of the
goal, releasing the energy to the wind and elemental helpers.
Thank the nature spirits, deities or elementals, and close your
circle, allowing the candles to burn all the way down, or
instead, burn them for a little while for the next few days,
letting them burn all the way down on the third day. Blessed Be.
========================================
Sarolta G. DeFaltay is a professional astrologer and Tarot
consultant living in Chicago, and has helped many clients empower
themselves through creating rituals based on their personal needs
and astrological cycles. She can be heard weekly on Telepathic
Radio in Chicago, Monday nights 9:30 PM on WCEV 1450 AM. Visit
her website for DAILY/WEEKLY/MONTHLY horoscopes!
http://www.enteract.com/~deepsky/
She can be reached at 773.292.0102 (24 hour voicemail) or ladysarolta@yahoo.com (e-mail).
=====================================
Herb
Corner
By Dor
********************
LAVENDER
By Baboo Kyra Finch
For a wish to manifest
Use lavender in pillow pressed,
And wish you to attract your love,
Your chances they will much improve.
Lavender will help you find
Visions of a ghostly kind,
Burned on Samhain it is best
To invite a ghostly guest.
If a nasty headache pain, you
Fill a sock with millet grain.
Add blossoms, oil or crushed leaf,
And lay on eyes for swift relief.
Its fragrant oils in your bath
Will help you walk a peaceful path;
Or simply place within a drawer,
To sweetly scent your underwear.
********************
Hi Readers
A couple of friends have asked about men's impotence within the
last month, so I looked up some information on it and found herbs
that can be used to help. Remember that any physical problem
should be brought to the attention of your doctor and before
taking herbs make sure that you aren't taking any prescription
medications that might react with them or have a physical
condition that they might irritate.
80% of men's dysfunction is linked to emotions or unresolved
psychological issues. Testosterone levels drop from fatigue,
depression, overwork, stress, insufficient sleep, poor
circulation and nerve damage which all can contribute to
impotence. Some prescription or recreational drugs can cause
impotence, as can heavy beer drinking -- the hops in the beer
reacts to make the testosterone levels shift. Consider these
first and try to decide what factors, if any, may be causing it.
Herbs and aromatherapy techniques can be used for relaxation and
that may be all that is needed to help performance.
Here are some herbs that ease both physical and emotional stress
without decreasing sexual desire or interfering with performance:
Valerian, skullcap, California poppy, kava and fresh oats. The
oats and kava are also considered mild sexual enhancers. For
depression you can use oats, damiana and valerian. Researchers at
the San Francisco Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality
gave a blend of fresh oats, nettle leaves and seaweed to men who
were experiencing sexual problems and in about two months, the
men's libido and performance began to improve and their sensation
to increase. California poppy, damiana, kava and oats are all
best used as tinctures. Seaweed can be added to the diet in pill
form or fresh.
Aromatherapy can heal emotions and soothe (which can help in
sexual performance) .....Lavender is a great soother and relaxer.
Chamomile is even better for soothing. The scent of apples
soothes and relaxes. Add some clove and cinnamon and you have a
combination that can't be beat (like sniffing a fresh baking
apple pie). Two more fruit scents that can relax you are oranges
and peaches. Violets are used to help in loneliness or rejection
or if you are undergoing a major life transition. Marjoram can be
used for the same things. Also for anxiety you can use rose,
bergamot, frankincense, hops, lemon, melissa, myrrh, neroli,
nutmeg, petitgrain, sandlewood, valerian, vanilla, ylang-ylang,
cedarwood and balsam fir scents.
Anti-anxiety fragrance:
4 ounces sweet almond oil.
10 drops each lavender and orange essential oils.
2 drops each marjoram and cedarwood essential oils.
** combine ingredients and you can sniff away your anxiety.
Anti-sorrow fragrance:
4 ounces sweet almond oil.
10 drops margoram essential oil.
5 drops each clary sage and cypress or rosemary essential oils.
1 drop hyssop essential oil (optional since it is so expensive).
1 drop melissa (or lemon) essential oil.
** combine ingredients and sniff.
Anti-depressant fragrance:
4 ounces of sweet almond oil.
10 drops each bergamot and petitgrain essential oils (for
children replace the petitgrain with grapefruit or tangerine).
3 drops rose geranium essential oil.
1 drop neroli essential oil (expensive so is optional).
Antidepressant smelling salts:
6 drops antidepressant fragrance without the almond oil.
1 heaping teaspoon of rock salt.
** drop the essential oil combination onto the salt. The salt
will absorb the oil quickly. Carry the salts in a small container
with a tight lid and use when needed.
Stimulant for fatigue:
4 ounces sweet almond oil.
15 drops lemon essential oil.
4 drops eucalyptus essential oil.
1 drop each cinnamon, peppermint and benzoin (if available)
essential oils
**combine ingredients and sniff when needed.
(to make these into a bath oil follow the same formula but use 2
ounces of almond oil instead of 4).
Vanilla, rose, jasmine, sandlewood, ylang-ylang, patchouli,
cinnamon and musk are sexual stimulants.
Aphrodisiac:
4 ounces sweet almond oil.
10 drops each lavender and sandlewood essential oils.
2 drops each ylang-ylang and vanilla essential oils.
1 drop each cinnamon and jasmine essential oils.
** combine ingredients.
Lavender is not an aphrodisiac but is added to make the fragrance
more mellow. It can be a relaxing and emotionally uplifting
scent. If you love the fragrance of patchouli you can replace the
ylang-ylang with that.
Remember, consult your doctor to make sure that it isn't some
underlying physical ailment and that the herbs will mix with any
prescription drugs you may be taking. Relax -- then enjoy
yourself....
Wicca
101
by Rhiannon Diana
Lesson #1 : How do I know if Wicca is for me?
You've been walking down the path of spiritual journey for a
while now, trying to find a place where you belong, where the
belief system is easy for you to understand and works with your
own set of laws you have created for your own life. You've come
across Wicca, read a little about it here and there and you think
it may be the path for you. So what do you do now?
Before we start these lessons, before you even start thinking
about buying tools or practicing rituals, sit down and think
about what it is you are looking for in a spiritual path. Wicca
is a serious daily practice that is incorporated into your
lifestyle, and can be difficult to adjust to at first. It can be
hard to explain to family and friends, and does take a while to
learn and fully understand. You must have the time, patience and
dedication it takes to learn and to grow. Wicca is not something
that can be learned overnight, however, you can start practicing
by yourself right away - do not feel as if you need to be a
full-fledged member of a coven in order to be able to observe
rituals. If you are looking to work magick against others, or to
build some sort of magick powers inside yourself simply for the
purpose of harming or controlling other people, Wicca is not for
you. Our most simple basic rule is "Harm None" and we
adhere to it in every aspect of our lives. If you wish to live a
simple, beautiful life full of positive energy and in harmony
with nature and the universe, Wicca may be for you.
Now that you've decided you wish to study Wicca, give yourself
some time. Remember that it will take time and practice, so allow
yourself room to grow. The traditional length of time is a year
and a day, or a full turn of the Wheel of Life, which is a good
amount to become familiar with various aspects of Wicca before
you decide to dedicate yourself to it.
Buy a large notebook. In this notebook, you will keep all of your
notes as you go through your studies, writing down anything
important you must remember in the future. In this book, it's
also a good idea to write down any thoughts you have on subjects
or possibly even dreams you may have during your studies. Later
these notes could prove to be valuable.
Right now you could be thinking about possible magickal names for
yourself, which tools you'd like to buy, what kinds of things
you'd like to work spells for, etc. - write it all down and put
it away for now. It's a good thing to be thinking about these
things, since hands-on learning is usually the best method when
it comes to learning rituals and such, but there are more
important things to learn in the beginning. Right now, all you
need is a good pen, your big notebook and an eager mind.
Here is your very first lesson: On the first page of your
notebook, write down why you chose to study Wicca and what you
hope to learn. Below that, write down where you hope to be in one
year with your studies. Finally, write down how you feel about
starting your new journey.
I am including this simple prayer that you may wish to use at
this time. Light a candle of any color of your choice, close your
eyes and breathe a couple of deep breaths. Think about the God
and Goddess, and how you would like to meet them and have a
relationship with them. Then say this prayer, or in your own
words similar to this:
Oh loving Goddess,
Oh loving God,
Please assist me in my Wicca studies
So that I may find strength and love
In your daily presence.
May the Lord and Lady bless you and keep your path brightly lit
as you embark on your new journey!!
Next issue: Lesson #2 : The God and The Goddess
