Honoring Chavi, Elspeth, and Marilyn on April 1st (2013)

The seventh anniversary of one of the saddest days in the history of The Cauldron is almost upon us. If you were a member of The Cauldron any time from about 2003 to early 2006, you will remember Chavi (aka Storyteller Cat and, in offline life, Cathlene Patricia McKenna) and starting in early 2005, her ever positive reports on her battle with a rare form of cancer. (Some of these posted used to be available on our 2005 Archive Board -- but the software it ran on does not support modern versions of PHP.) The odds were against her from the beginning, but that did not stop her from fighting hard to try to be one of the rare survivors. And for a time it looked like she really might overcome those long odds. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be so.

Elspeth, one of the founders of this board passed over on April 19, 2010, after years of fighting congestive heart failure and other medical problems which kept her offline except for generally brief spells over the last five or six years before her death. She was a major participant here in the early years of this board and her posts can be found on our old Delphi forum. Some of her poetry and other writings can in old issues of our newsletter and in the Samhain section of our web site. The Cauldron would have never started if Elspeth had not wanted a forum to replace a small mailing list, The Grove, which she ran.

Marilyn (aka Absent) needs no introduction to the current members of this board. She was a long time active member of this board with many posts to her credit up until she suddenly passed on February 16th of this year. She was a long time staff member whose expertise on the Tarot was appreciated by all.

Monday, April 1, 2013, marks the seventh anniversary of Chavi's passing. It's been seven long years now and TC is still not the same without Chavi. Since the first anniversary of her passing, we have honored her on April 1st with 24 hours of candle burning. Two years ago, we started honoring Elspeth on this day as well. We will be continuing the tradition this year, only we will also be honoring Marilyn. We are asking all Cauldron members who knew Chavi, Elspeth, or Marilyn; knew of Chavi, Elspeth, or Marilyn; or who did not know any of these three people but just want to help honor three wonderful people who meant a lot to many members of TC (and wish to participate) to light a candle in honor of Chavi, Elspeth, and Marilyn at 8pm your local time on April 1st and let it burn for at least an hour. The object is to have 24 hours of candles burning for them -- one hour at a time around the world. Given things like oceans and the like, this may not be completely possible, but I'll bet we can come close -- especially as some of us let our candles burn for longer than one hour.

If you log in on April 1st, you will probably notice that many longtime members of this board have changed their avatar for the day to either an avatar of a hat or their regular avatar wearing a hat. These hats are usually somewhat silly. We do this in honor of Chavi who had a thing for silly hats.

If you want to participate, please post in here. Everyone, regardless of religion, is welcome to participate. If you can't participate at 8pm your time, feel free to pick a different hour, I can promise you that neither Chavi, Elspeth, nor Marilyn would have been sticklers about the time.

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Ishtar and Easter?

Easter was originally a day meant to celebrate the goddess of love, Ashtoreth, who has many names: Astarte, Asherah, Inanna, Ishtar, Anat, Isis and even more. Though each name was used by a different culture; in such the story of each goddess is altered, however there are coinciding motifs and features of all these Goddesses/Goddess. Easter today has been altered and the principle heroine of the story has been replaced by, yet again, Jesus. The Christian story has many of the same principle features of the original, though it has been changed significantly. Some of the features stolen from the worship of Ashtoreth are: Martyrdom and resurrection. So how does a large rabbit hiding eggs in your house correspond to this? Well rabbits are known for their virility, and eggs obviously represent feminine fertility. Why these things though? Well the story of Easter, and the reason it corresponds roughly with the spring equinox, is one based on the concept of birth and fertility dying and returning to the world in the form of Ishtar. The translation can be read here:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/ishtar.htm

So Ishtar goes into the underworld, dies, resurrects three days later, and her consort returns in her place. This is an explanation of winter and spring returning in ancient times. So always remember Ishtar on Easter because it is for her that we celebrate. Enjoy Easter for the reasons it was always meant to be celebrated for, enjoy family, love, and life; for the season of cold and death has ended and now is the time for rebirth, growth, and the return of Ishtar, beauty, to the land of the living.

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How to send healing energy?

I was looking at the healing request form and wanted to know how to send healing energy to someone that requires it?

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Ceremonial Magic (History)

I'm looking for resources on the history of ceremonial magic traditions of the Golden Dawn / Thelema / etc. type. (General history or history of a specific tradition --- either one is fine.)

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What gemstones are you drawn to?

Other than being OMG SHINY, or just beautiful in general, are there any gemstones/crystals that you've been drawn to for no real reason other than you just felt it?

I just had to buy an unakite palmstone today even though I normally prefer stones that come in raw crystal form or some kind of point at least. It's not even a colour I like. And I love it, won't even let it leave my side for a minute right now. Just wondering if anybody had any similar stories or experiences.

If not, what's your favourite gemstone/crystal you find totally underrated?

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The Power of Language

So, I`m a language nerd (linguistics major for a reason) and I`m wondering, in ritual/spellwork/anything magical, how much power do you all think is in the actual words you speak? I know that in most books intention is the big thing, as is raising energy. People tend to not really emphasize language much, but I personally feel like language is extremely powerful. It is incredibly influential in how we think about the world. Also, the way that languages form, change, and morph, is rather "magical" in and of itself.

Anyway, what is your personal belief on the power of the words you speak?

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Deities that Frighten You?

Which deity or spirit do you honor or work (or have honored/worked with in the past) with that frightens you or scares you the most? Do you have any deities that you refuse to work with or are scared to approach in anyway? Have you had any really negative experiences with a deity?

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Anyone Taking Part in the Solitary Druid Fellowship Equinox Ritual?

Hey, just wondering is anyone else taking part in the SDF Equinox ritual? It's my first time doing this style of ritual and I'm very excited I'll be doing it tonight (20th of March).

I've been interested in ADF for a while but due to lack of money (student XD) and the fact that there is no groves in Ireland as far as I'm aware I haven't joined it. I'm hoping SDF will provide that bridge for me to start practicing this style on my own
What does everyone else think of the SDF?

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I just watched a BBC documentary that was fascinating. It was titled the Viking Sagas. After watching it, I have a question about the Laxdaela saga, where Kjartan and Bolli are free to return to Iceland after being prisoner for some time and Kjartan who once was engaged to Guoran, marries another woman and Bolli marries Guoran, who I felt may be jealous of Kjartan's relationship with his new wife, because she asks Bolli to kill Kjartan, which he does. And in turn, a few men are sent out to kill Bolli for his wrongdoing. I was following this story, wrapped up in it, and then it all ended very suddenly with Guoran suddenly becoming a Christian nun and that was it, nothing further.

I guess my question is...what do you guys think about this? Do you really think she suddenly decided to convert to Christianity and why? I thought the purpose of the sagas was to show and teach the right way to live one's life, under the heathenry faith? Or could it be that the Christians got ahold of the stories over time and changed the ending to portray their faith as being the answer to how to live one's life? If the Christians did put their own ending to this story, was this a typical practice? Would the old version be then lost forever?

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Baby Steps and Spring Cleaning

Like a bunch of other people, I'm thinking about starting my spring cleaning. Like a bunch of people, I'm dreading the actual doing and don't actually know where to start. So, I thought it might be nice to have a thread where we could talk about what needs to be done during a spring clean, share ideas, and maybe track our baby steps toward unfucking our habitats.

So, what are you planning for spring cleaning? Have you started? How are you prioritizing, and what have you done today?

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What are your most recent dreams, and what do you think they mean?

I really love working with dreams, but people think it's odd if I ask about theirs. I hope to someday be able to help people interpret their dreams, but that's a difficult goal when I can only discuss them with one person without getting a weird look. I also want to get better at interpreting my own, but that's difficult as well when there are only some simple dream symbols out there. |: It'd be nice to get some new perspective!

What are some dreams you've had recently, or recurring dreams? And what do you think they mean?

Yesterday I dreamed of animals--lots of animals, and they could talk to me. I especially remember an owl who was my friend in the dream, though I don't remember what he told me...

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Writing Your Own Myths

A few of us on this board, it turns out, write original myths. Not re-tellings of existing myths, and not so much myths for a fantasy world conceived as part of a work of fiction, but myths for the here and now.

(Or maybe these other categories of myth should also be examined here? Chime in.)

In another thread where this discussion began, SkySamuelle wrote:

"Part of my religious path involves getting to the core of 'storytelling as sacred art' which is mostly about delving into the initiatic potentialities in telling a story - basically knowing a subject/truth through fictional exploration, admitting that a story that takes form through inspiration is more something 'discovered' than 'created'."

If you write original myths:

1. Why do you write them? What do you hope to get out of it?

2. How can you "trust" them? Do you think they can have the same validity as established myth?

3. Can we even call these things we write myths, since traditional myths are not the work of a single author, but are the product of many storytelling hands over a long period of time, cementing them to the cultures from which they spring?

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I'm just learning about runes, and I would like to make my own set (when the snow melts, as there is still much of it here in Michigan).

What would be the best stones/materials to use, with consideration to the fact I live in a rural area and would be looking outside?

Especially if I want the set to have a special meaning (I would like to make one as a gift).

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Pagans & the Unitarian Universalist churches

It might just be me but I seem to have noticed that many Pagans that I have talked to around my area have a problem/dislike of Unitarian Universalist churches. I'm curious about whether it has just been me or if others have thoughts on this.

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Warding My House?

So lately I've been noticing shadow people in my house, so far they're just popping out at random and disappearing as soon as they move across a wall. However, I would like to ward my house to make sure that only benevolent entities are here. Tomorrow night is a new moon and I'd like to do the warding then.

So does anyone have any suggestion on how to ward my house and by extension my property? I'd like to use runes over the door and windows since I feel more connected to symbol magic than reciting poems.

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Deity without gender?

Or rather, do any of you know of any deities that aren't considered to be masculine or feminine? Or have an otherwise vague gender/sex?

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I Want to Learn About Auras

I really would like to learn about and learn to see auras and I don't have the foggiest where to start! Can anyone point me in the right direction? Books are good, personal experiences are better as I find them easier to relate to.

I Want to Learn About Auras

Soul Vs Spirit

To my understanding the idea of a Soul is not a universal concept so I suppose this is only for those of you who believe in some definition of a soul.

Now for those that do, is there a difference between a soul, and a spirit? For me there is, but I'm having some trouble pinning it down. Please, allow me to offer my thoughts so far and hopefully one or more of you can help me refine this or give me a totally new insight. :D

So commonly I hear people use the terms soul and spirit almost interchangably, at the same time there is a definite difference between the two. My question is, what is that difference exactly?

So soul: for me, is the animating force of and the connecting force in all things...All things have a soul and in my opinion we all share a soul, a spark, a force... not neccisarily LIFE force, but Potential, possibility..like is sacred geometry soul is the single point, the origin of all other form and possibility? Soul is Potential?

So soul is exant and exists everywhere in all things at all times. Spirit on the other hand is singular, it is the nature of or the conciousness of a thing. Spirit manifests at individual points in the cycle, It is subject to the flow of time. So it can manifest at point A, or Point B, or point C and F simultaneously but it cannot be everywhere at once. Spirit is individual while soul is shared... I Think.

Anyone else have any theories or opinions of the nature of Spirit and Soul, are they the same? Are they different? If so how?

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"Fictional" deities?

I was just wondering if anyone here ever works with deities invented in works of fiction. For example, the pantheons of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, the gods and goddesses of The Legend of Zelda or The Elder Scrolls, or maybe just The Flying Spaghetti Monster. I don't myself, but I was curious about anyone else's opinions or experiences. Do you believe that people can have legitimate relationships or religious experiences with deities that are specifically meant to be viewed as fictional?

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