A total lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning was a "special event" for Nanaimo's Wiccan community.Daniel Van Koughnett, a minister in the city's Temple of the Green Cauldron, said eclipses are not routine cosmic occurrences like full moons and solar solstices, events regularly celebrated at communal temple festivities.He said for many Wiccans, eclipses, like last night's full lunar eclipse (visible in western Canada) represents a convergence of solar and lunar events in which followers of theancient nature-based belief system celebrate the nature of the relationship between gods and goddesses.
"For most
Wiccans, the moon is a goddess and the sun is a god and eclipses bring
them together in a very special union," Van Koughnett said.
"It's considered a very
magical time and many witches will save certain spells and learning
rituals for these powerful and special events.
While eclipses are
important to us, we don't usually celebrate them as part of our regular
temple routine, like the temple's eight annual Sabbats held on
Saturdays following full moons."
Van Koughnett said temple
members celebrate eclipses on an individual basis and he held a
personalcelebration of the event as the Earth's shadow darkened the
full moon in the early hours of the morning.
He said it's been three
years since a full lunar eclipse was visible from Nanaimo and despite
the possibility of overcast skies, the eclipse could still be observed
by the tell-tale darkening of the moon's light through the clouds.
"The colour of the moon,
which is usually pretty red during eclipses, would also be visible
through overcast skies," Van Koughnett said. "It's nice to see an
eclipse here again."
What better way to show God you appreciate him than to squander his most
precious gift, life, in a miasma of ruthlessness and gore? In addition to justifying Crusades, Witch Trials and Wars, this theological
breakthrough is also the main justification for the time-honored practice of
human sacrifice.
Sacrifices are perhaps the most ancient method to honor deities, going right
back to the earliest ancestor-worship religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The original theory was "everyone ...Basque myths and legends: Mari, Ortzi and Ilargia
A massive altar dedicated to an eastern cult deity has emerged during excavations of a Roman fort in northern England.
Weighing 1.5 tons, the four-foot high ornately carved stone relic, was unearthed at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian between 122-30 A.D.
The Romans built the defensive wall across the north of Britain from Carlisle to Newcastle-on-Tyne, to keep out invading armies from what is now Scotland.
What should have been...Pagan prisoners win right to have 'magic wands'
Prison bosses have been instructed to let pagan inmates keep twigs in their cells...to use as wands. Officers have been told to allow prisoners to collect and decorate the twigs which they need for their rituals. It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts" rights and ensure equality among different faiths. Followers of other faiths are allowed items such as a prayer mat to allow them to worship.The policy regarding pagans was announced by Justice Reform Minister Maria Eagle in a...VA allows Wiccan symbols on headstones
The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on goverment-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday. A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary ...How do you perceive Halloween ?
For many Halloween is a time for fun and dressing up, but for others it has a greater significance - some believe it to be a time for tradition and celebration while others perceive it assomething altogether more sinister."Witches, beware. Mummies, be gone.Halloween may be a celebration of all things creepy and macabre, but a growing number of US communities are shunning traditional ghoulish festivities, seen by some as tainted...Vatican Opens Pagan Tombs Under St. Peter's
The
Rose Cross Ritual (RCR) is one of several ceremonial techniques including the
Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) and the Lesser Banishing Ritual
of the Hexagram (LBRH) commonly used to ward a space or create a psychically
cleansed area for spiritual or magical work. The RCR has certain differences
from the others which make it useful. These points will be covered after
instructions on how to perform the ritual.
Casting the Circle
The RCR creates a circle or s...
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History of Ritual Human Sacrifice
Basque myths and legends: Mari, Ortzi and Ilargia
Altar to Mysterious Deity Found at Roman Fort
Pagan prisoners win right to have 'magic wands'
VA allows Wiccan symbols on headstones
How do you perceive Halloween ?
Vatican Opens Pagan Tombs Under St. Peter's
Pagan Religion Grows In Popularity
Pagan festival held in Pittsburg
The Rose Cross Ritual
