Magickal Winds Articles

Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half.

Every year at Ostara, everyone begins chatting about a goddess of spring known as Eostre. According to the stories, she is a Teutonic goddess associated with flowers and springtime, and her name gives us the word “Easter”, as well as the name of Ostara itself.

Imbolc, literally “in milk”, refers to the beginning of lactation in the farm animals, in preparation for the birth of the young. The name Candlemas traces to the practice of blessing the candles for the coming year, making way for the light to come forth. Lady Day is the name given in honor of the Lady, who returns from the underworld, bringing the light and warmth of the newborn Sun.

ALL ABOUT MABON : History, Recipes, Correspondences, Activities and Much More! (A Diverse Collection of Mabon Information) Posted and edited by MAGICKAL WINDS (If viewing this post is difficult, please refer to http://www.magickalwinds.com or Magickal Wind’s MySpace Blogs). Mabon The Time of Change is upon us again – the Equinox comes, the Wheel turns… The [...]

Beltane is an old Celtic Fire Ritual which celebrates, at the most fundamental level, the end of winter and the beginning of the warmer, lighter half of the year. It is the counterpart to Samhain, which marks the Pagan New Year and celebrates ancestors and the death of the crops (harvest). Beltane celebrates life. For the Celts, it was a festival that insured fertility and growth.

For almost two thousand years, the major religions of the western world have seen deity as a single god representing the spiritual father. Statements and attitudes attributed to Him are male oriented and reflect the general social attitude of mid-Eastern societies. In the last few decades, a religion that had its start in Europe made it’s way into America. It taught that deity was made of both God and Goddess and that they were equal, neither superior to the other. It taught that mankind was not the owner of the world or the creatures of the world but instead that we were all brothers and sisters of all living beings. This religion is now called Wicca, but it embraces the teachings of many ancient religions.

Water

Mother

Astrological Rulers: Venus, Moon

Keys: Love Principle, Fertility Gabriel (turns force into form)

Rules: emotions, love, sorrow, courage, astral planes, clairvoyance, tides, oceans, pools, streams, wells, womb Melancholic; Feeling; strong, excitatory

Virtues: compassion, tranquility, tenderness, forgiveness, modesty, fluidity in creativity, receptivity, influence

Vices: self-indulgence, negligence, cowardice, indifference, instability, moodiness, infatuation, easily put upon, delusions

Autumn & sunset

West, Zephyrus

Colour: blue

Symbols: willow, dolphin, fish, water snakes, sea birds, myrrh, ferns, rushes

Tool: cup or cauldron (depending on tradition)

Spirits: undines under Neksa (elusive at first, flowing & difficult to understand, watch politely and learn)

Wicca is a highly spiritual religion based on the ancient pre-christian pagan religions. Not all pagans are wiccans! Wiccans believe in divine forces as the source of all. It is both immanent and transcendent while encompassing the whole universe. Therefore the world and all aspects within the world, “nature” and “life itself” in particular, are considered sacred.