Thursday 29 December 2011
Sunday 18 December 2011
Friday 16 December 2011
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Friday 14 October 2011
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Cauldron FM
Merrie Meet
I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to one of my followers on here and fellow presenter on Cauldron FM - Bridget.
Cauldron FM - the sound of magic is going from strength to strength and since we have launched the channel on Veetle.com a week and a half ago we have enjoyed well over 1900 hits. I am hoping that we will see 2000 today as a birthday present for Bridget.
It is fantastic and I feel truly Blessed that she has joined the team.
The future is looking bright and keep tuned in to find out what we are up to.
So let me wind up with my usual farewell message
Love and Light to all and Blessed Be
Merlin
I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to one of my followers on here and fellow presenter on Cauldron FM - Bridget.
Cauldron FM - the sound of magic is going from strength to strength and since we have launched the channel on Veetle.com a week and a half ago we have enjoyed well over 1900 hits. I am hoping that we will see 2000 today as a birthday present for Bridget.
It is fantastic and I feel truly Blessed that she has joined the team.
The future is looking bright and keep tuned in to find out what we are up to.
So let me wind up with my usual farewell message
Love and Light to all and Blessed Be
Merlin
Sunday 2 October 2011
The Development of the Brand
Cauldron FM - The Sound of Magic
Cauldron TV - The Vision of Magic
Merrie Meet to everyone
Since it has been such a long time since I actually wrote a post for this blog I thought that I had better remedy that sooner rather than later. I have decided that it is time to update everyone about the progress and changes that are taking place within the realms of Moonshadow Media, my broadcast media company.
Cauldron FM - has been operating for close on a year now and has already filled two sections of its former home and it was looking like I was going to have to either a) start deleting shows or b) move to a new site. This has caused something of a dilemma because there are people who get Cauldron FM via iTunes and I don't want to lose those people - so I was undecided how to solve this challenge.
I think I have now hit on a solution - I have opened a channel for Cauldron FM on Veetle.com which is now the main broadcast site, and now that I know that works I will begin deleting early shows off podbean to make way for the new ones - this means that our iTunes members will still be updated with new shows.
We have now begun trial video broadcasts for Cauldron TV on the Veetle platform and soon there will be programmes being added as well as band / artist videos etc.
And that brings me nicely to the next point I want to make and that is the development of the brand - Moonshadow Media
As you may or may not be aware Moonshadow Media is the parent business behind Cauldron FM and Cauldron TV and the company that produces all the broadcast media for the channels but you may not be aware that we also produce advertising and marketing for business.
To date we have produced several adverts for local businesses that have been broadcast on Cauldron FM we have provided a narration on a corporate DVD for a company that manufactures dinghies, provided a voice over for a company specialising in American RVs (Motor Homes) and have recorded several book previews for authors.
But we wish to expand this and other markets still further we have now secured the services of many freelance designers, artists, graphic artists, photographers so we feel that we are able to offer a quality commercial service at competetive rates to business both Pagan or not, our unique selling point (USP) being that we are practicing Pagans so understand the marketplace in which we operate.
Because of our deep connections with the entertainment industry we are preparing to switch my Westworld / Solstice Records labels over to Moonshadow Media so that we are able to offer a service to Pagan musicians / bands / vocalists who are looking to get their material to market. I am currently investigating possible links with distribution organisations / music publishers to bring this added service for our artists.
As an extension to this we are actively looking at tour management, artist management etc. in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
So all in all very exciting times. If you are interested and want to contact us about any of the above services please drop a line to
cauldronfm@gmail.com
So for now thanks for reading this blog post and all that remains is for me to say
Love, Light and Blessed Be
Merlin
Thursday 15 September 2011
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Monday 1 August 2011
Friday 24 June 2011
Monday 20 June 2011
Sunday 29 May 2011
Coaching Cauldron 290511
Produced in association with Coaching Radio and Altered Image Coaching Cauldron 290511
Sunday 22 May 2011
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Monday 9 May 2011
Thursday 7 April 2011
Monday 4 April 2011
Sunday 20 March 2011
Wednesday 16 March 2011
You call it Easter, we call it Ostara
Merrie Meet,
Here is a transcript of a post that I discovered while trawling the net, it date from 1987 but I have no idea who wrote it. I therefore acknowledge the unknown author and thank them for writing this piece.
(21.00 Wed 16th March I have now been advised that the author is Peg Aloi so I now acknowledge her work)
You Call It Easter, We Call It Ostara
Try this sometime with your children or a young niece, nephew or cousin: on the day of the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox, just a few moments before the exact moment of the equinox, go outside with a raw egg. Find a reasonably level place on the footpath or driveway. For a few moments just before and just after the equinox, you can balance the egg upright (wider end down) by simply setting it down on the ground. No kidding! It will stand up all by itself. Children love this, and most adults are amazed and delighted, too.
This little "trick" brings together two of the most potent aspects of this holiday: the balancing of the earth's gravity midway between the extremes of light and dark at Winter and Summer Solstice; and the symbolism of the egg. The egg is one of the most notable symbols of Easter, but, as someone who was raised Christian and who was never told exactly why we coloured eggs at Easter, or why there was a bunny who delivered candy to us, or why it was traditional to buy new clothes to wear for church on Easter Sunday, I always wondered about this holiday. As with many of the seemingly unrelated secular symbols and traditions of Christmas (what do evergreen trees, mistletoe, reindeer and lights have to do with the birth of Christ? You might want to read "You Call It Christmas, We Call It Yule" for an exploration of these connections), Easter too has adapted many ancient pagan symbols and customs in its observance.
Easter gets its name from the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled Oestre or Eastre (the origin of the word "east" comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine"). Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling "Ostara" which honors this goddess as our word for the Vernal Equinox. The 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary defines Easter thus: "orig., name of pagan vernal festival almost coincident in date with paschal festival of the church; Eastre, dawn goddess; 1. An annual Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21." The Vernal Equinox usually falls somewhere between March 19th and 22nd (note that the dictionary only mentions March 21st, as opposed to the date of the actual Equinox), and depending upon when the first full moon on or after the Equinox occurs, Easter falls sometime between late-March and mid-April.
Because the Equinox and Easter are so close, many Catholics and others who celebrate Easter often see this holiday (which observes Christ's resurrection from the dead after his death on Good Friday) as being synonymous with rebirth and rejuvenation: the symbolic resurrection of Christ is echoed in the awakening of the plant and animal life around us. But if we look more closely at some of these Easter customs, we will see that the origins are surprisingly, well, pagan! Eggs, bunnies, candy, Easter baskets, new clothes, all these "traditions" have their origin in practices which may have little or nothing to do with the Christian holiday.
For example, the traditional colouring and giving of eggs at Easter has very pagan associations. For eggs are clearly one of the most potent symbols of fertility, and spring is the season when animals begin to mate and flowers and trees pollinate and reproduce. In England and Northern Europe, eggs were often employed in folk magic when women wanted to be blessed with children. There is a great scene in the film The Wicker Man where a woman sits upon a tombstone in the cemetery, holding a child against her bared breasts with one hand, and holding up an egg in the other, rocking back and forth as she stares at the scandalized (and very uptight!) Sergeant Howie. Many cultures have a strong tradition of egg colouring; among Greeks, eggs are traditionally dyed dark red and given as gifts.
As for the Easter egg hunt, a fun game for kids, I have heard at least one pagan teacher say that there is a rather scary history to this. As with many elements of our "ancient history, " there is little or no factual documentation to back this up. But the story goes like this: Eggs were decorated and offered as gifts and to bring blessings of prosperity and abundance in the coming year; this was common in Old Europe. As Christianity rose and the ways of the "Old Religion" were shunned, people took to hiding the eggs and having children make a game out of finding them. This would take place with all the children of the village looking at the same time in everyone's gardens and beneath fences and other spots.
It is said, however, that those people who sought to seek out heathens and heretics would bribe children with coins or threats, and once those children uncovered eggs on someone's property, that person was then accused of practising the old ways. I have never read any historical account of this, so I cannot offer a source for this story (though I assume the person who first told me found it somewhere); when I find one, I will let you know! When I first heard it, I was eerily reminded of the way my own family conducted such egg hunts: our parents hid money inside colourful plastic eggs that could be opened and closed up again; some eggs contained pennies, some quarters and dimes and nickels, and some lucky kids would find a fifty-cent piece or silver dollar! In our mad scramble for pocket change, were my siblings and cousins and I mimicking the treacherous activities of children so long ago?
Traditional foods play a part in this holiday, as with so many others. Ham is the traditional main course served in many families on Easter Sunday, and the reason for this probably has to do with the agricultural way of life in old Europe.
In late autumn, usually in October, also known as the month of the Blood Moon, because it referred to the last time animals were slaughtered before winter, meats were salted and cured so they would last through the winter. Poorer people, who subsisted on farming and hunting, would often eat very sparingly in winter to assure their food supply would last.
With the arrival of spring, there was less worry, and to celebrate the arrival of spring and of renewed abundance, they would serve the tastiest remaining cured meats, including hams.
This also marked a seasonal end to eating cured foods and a return to eating fresh game (as animals emerged from hibernation looking for food), and no longer relying on stored root vegetables, but eating the young green plants so full of the vitamins and minerals that all living beings need to replenish their bodies in spring.
Modern pagans can observe these same customs by eating the fresh greens and early vegetables abundant now: dandelion greens, nettles, asparagus, and the like. There are some Witches who believe that fasting at the Equinox is very healthy and magical: it clears away all the toxins stored over winter, when we eat heavier foods to keep warm, and can create an altered state of consciousness for doing Equinox magic. By eliminating all the "poisons" from our diets for a few days (including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, red meats, dairy products, refined foods), and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, we not only can shed a few pounds and improve the appearance of our hair and skin, but also improve our health over the long term.
The overall benefit to health from an occasional cleansing fast helps strengthen our immune system, making our bodies more resistant to illness, and help us feel more alert and energetic. Try it! Be sure to "break" your fast slowly, reintroducing your normal foods one at a time, instead of going from several days of fruits, grains and herbal tea to a feast of steak, potatoes and chocolate cake! The breaking of the fast can be incorporated into the cakes and wine portion of your ritual, or at the feast many Witches have afterwards.
Speaking of food, another favourite part of Easter for children, no doubt, is that basket of treats! Nestled in plastic "grass" colored pink or green, we'd find foil-wrapped eggs, hollow chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, marshmallow chicks (in pink, yellow or lavender!), fancy peanut butter or coconut eggs
Like that other holiday where children are inundated with sugar (Hallowe'en), no one seems to know precisely where, when or how this custom began. And why are the baskets supposedly brought by a bunny???
There are some modern Witches and pagans who follow traditions that integrate the faery lore of the Celtic countries. It is customary to leave food and drink out for the fairies on the nights of our festivals, and it is believed that if the fairies are not honoured with gifts at these times, they will work mischief in our lives. Certain holidays call for particular "fairy favourites."
At Imbolc/Oimelc (February 2nd), for example, we leave gifts of dairy origin, like cheese, butter or fresh cream.
At Lammas/Lughnasa (August 1st) we leave fresh grains or newly-baked bread.
At Samhain, nuts and apples are traditional.
And at Ostara, it is customary to leave something sweet (honey, or mead, or candy)--could this be connected to the Easter basket tradition? Perhaps a gift of sweets corresponds to the sweet nectar gathering in new spring flowers?
To refer again to The Wicker Man, the post office/ sweet shop where May Morrison works (she is the mother of Rowan Morrison, the young girl who is supposedly missing and who Sargent Howie has come to Summerisle to find) offers a large selection of sweets shaped like animals.
When Sergeant Howie says "I like your rabbits" Mrs. Morrison scolds him saying "Those are hares! Lovely March hares, not silly old rabbits!" And when Howie goes to dig up the grave of Rowan Morrison (who it turns out is neither dead nor missing) he finds the carcass of a hare, and Lord Summerisle tries to convince him that Rowan was transformed into a hare upon her death.
Clearly this is an illustration of the powerful association with animals that many ancient cultures have (Summerisle being a place where time has seemingly stood still and where the pagan pursuit of pleasure and simple agricultural ways define the way of life).
The forming of chocolate into the shape of rabbits or chicks is a way to acknowledge them as symbols; by eating them, we take on their characteristics, and enhance our own fertility, growth and vitality.
Clearly the association of rabbits with Easter has something to do with fertility magic. Anyone who has kept rabbits as pets or knows anything about their biology has no question about the origin of the phrase "f*** like a bunny."
These cute furry creatures reproduce rapidly, and often! Same with chicks, who emerge wobbly and slimy from their eggs only to become fluffy, yellow and cute within a few hours.
The Easter Bunny may well have its origin in the honouring of rabbits in spring as an animal sacred to the goddess Eastre, much as horses are sacred to the Celtic Epona, and the crow is sacred to the Morrigan. As a goddess of spring, she presides over the realm of the conception and birth of babies, both animal and human, and of the pollination, flowering and ripening of fruits in the plant kingdom. Sexual activity is the root of all of life: to honour this activity is to honour our most direct connection to nature.
At Beltane (April 31st-May 1st), pagans and Witches honour the sexual union of the god and goddess amid the flowers and fruits that have begun to cover the land; but prior to that, at Ostara, we welcome the return of the spring goddess from her long season of dormant sleep. The sap begins to flow, the trees are budding, the ground softens, ice melts, and everywhere the fragrance and colour of spring slowly awakens and rejuvenates our own life force.
I have always thought this had a lot to do with the tradition of wearing newly-bought or made clothes at Easter, in pastel spring colours. Wearing such colours we echo the flowering plants, crocus, lilac, forsythia, bluebells, violets and new clothes allow us to feel we are renewing our persona.
How many of us feel sort of "blah" after winter ends? Along with the fasting practice mentioned earlier, this is a time for many of us to create new beginnings in our lives: this can apply to jobs, relationships, living situations, lifestyle choices.
But since the Equinox is such a potent time magically, and often falls in the period when Mercury is Retrograde, starting a new endeavour at this time can be problematic if we do not take care.
One good way to avoid catastrophe is to engage in small, personally-oriented rites or activities: a new haircut, a new clothing style or make-up, a new exercise programme, the grand old tradition of spring cleaning, a new course of study: all of these are relatively "safe" ways to begin anew without risking the weirdness and unpredictability of Mercury Retrograde.
This is a very powerful time to do magic, not only because of the balancing of the earth's energies, but because of the way our own beings echo the earth's changes. We are literally reborn as we emerge from our winter sleep, ready to partake of all the pleasures of the earth, and to meet the challenges we will face as the world changes around us daily. As we greet and celebrate with our pagans brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere (for whom the Vernal Equinox more closely resembles the beginning of autumn, in physical terms!), we remember that Spring is not only a season; it is a state of mind.
Blessed Be in the Season of Spring! Go Forth and Flower!
and that concludes my Ostara Musing, I hope that you have enjoyed it and I will be broadcasting this on Cauldron FM in time for the Ostara festival.
Love and light to all and Blessed Be
Merlin
Here is a transcript of a post that I discovered while trawling the net, it date from 1987 but I have no idea who wrote it. I therefore acknowledge the unknown author and thank them for writing this piece.
(21.00 Wed 16th March I have now been advised that the author is Peg Aloi so I now acknowledge her work)
You Call It Easter, We Call It Ostara
Try this sometime with your children or a young niece, nephew or cousin: on the day of the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox, just a few moments before the exact moment of the equinox, go outside with a raw egg. Find a reasonably level place on the footpath or driveway. For a few moments just before and just after the equinox, you can balance the egg upright (wider end down) by simply setting it down on the ground. No kidding! It will stand up all by itself. Children love this, and most adults are amazed and delighted, too.
This little "trick" brings together two of the most potent aspects of this holiday: the balancing of the earth's gravity midway between the extremes of light and dark at Winter and Summer Solstice; and the symbolism of the egg. The egg is one of the most notable symbols of Easter, but, as someone who was raised Christian and who was never told exactly why we coloured eggs at Easter, or why there was a bunny who delivered candy to us, or why it was traditional to buy new clothes to wear for church on Easter Sunday, I always wondered about this holiday. As with many of the seemingly unrelated secular symbols and traditions of Christmas (what do evergreen trees, mistletoe, reindeer and lights have to do with the birth of Christ? You might want to read "You Call It Christmas, We Call It Yule" for an exploration of these connections), Easter too has adapted many ancient pagan symbols and customs in its observance.
Easter gets its name from the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled Oestre or Eastre (the origin of the word "east" comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine"). Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling "Ostara" which honors this goddess as our word for the Vernal Equinox. The 1974 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary defines Easter thus: "orig., name of pagan vernal festival almost coincident in date with paschal festival of the church; Eastre, dawn goddess; 1. An annual Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21." The Vernal Equinox usually falls somewhere between March 19th and 22nd (note that the dictionary only mentions March 21st, as opposed to the date of the actual Equinox), and depending upon when the first full moon on or after the Equinox occurs, Easter falls sometime between late-March and mid-April.
Because the Equinox and Easter are so close, many Catholics and others who celebrate Easter often see this holiday (which observes Christ's resurrection from the dead after his death on Good Friday) as being synonymous with rebirth and rejuvenation: the symbolic resurrection of Christ is echoed in the awakening of the plant and animal life around us. But if we look more closely at some of these Easter customs, we will see that the origins are surprisingly, well, pagan! Eggs, bunnies, candy, Easter baskets, new clothes, all these "traditions" have their origin in practices which may have little or nothing to do with the Christian holiday.
For example, the traditional colouring and giving of eggs at Easter has very pagan associations. For eggs are clearly one of the most potent symbols of fertility, and spring is the season when animals begin to mate and flowers and trees pollinate and reproduce. In England and Northern Europe, eggs were often employed in folk magic when women wanted to be blessed with children. There is a great scene in the film The Wicker Man where a woman sits upon a tombstone in the cemetery, holding a child against her bared breasts with one hand, and holding up an egg in the other, rocking back and forth as she stares at the scandalized (and very uptight!) Sergeant Howie. Many cultures have a strong tradition of egg colouring; among Greeks, eggs are traditionally dyed dark red and given as gifts.
As for the Easter egg hunt, a fun game for kids, I have heard at least one pagan teacher say that there is a rather scary history to this. As with many elements of our "ancient history, " there is little or no factual documentation to back this up. But the story goes like this: Eggs were decorated and offered as gifts and to bring blessings of prosperity and abundance in the coming year; this was common in Old Europe. As Christianity rose and the ways of the "Old Religion" were shunned, people took to hiding the eggs and having children make a game out of finding them. This would take place with all the children of the village looking at the same time in everyone's gardens and beneath fences and other spots.
It is said, however, that those people who sought to seek out heathens and heretics would bribe children with coins or threats, and once those children uncovered eggs on someone's property, that person was then accused of practising the old ways. I have never read any historical account of this, so I cannot offer a source for this story (though I assume the person who first told me found it somewhere); when I find one, I will let you know! When I first heard it, I was eerily reminded of the way my own family conducted such egg hunts: our parents hid money inside colourful plastic eggs that could be opened and closed up again; some eggs contained pennies, some quarters and dimes and nickels, and some lucky kids would find a fifty-cent piece or silver dollar! In our mad scramble for pocket change, were my siblings and cousins and I mimicking the treacherous activities of children so long ago?
Traditional foods play a part in this holiday, as with so many others. Ham is the traditional main course served in many families on Easter Sunday, and the reason for this probably has to do with the agricultural way of life in old Europe.
In late autumn, usually in October, also known as the month of the Blood Moon, because it referred to the last time animals were slaughtered before winter, meats were salted and cured so they would last through the winter. Poorer people, who subsisted on farming and hunting, would often eat very sparingly in winter to assure their food supply would last.
With the arrival of spring, there was less worry, and to celebrate the arrival of spring and of renewed abundance, they would serve the tastiest remaining cured meats, including hams.
This also marked a seasonal end to eating cured foods and a return to eating fresh game (as animals emerged from hibernation looking for food), and no longer relying on stored root vegetables, but eating the young green plants so full of the vitamins and minerals that all living beings need to replenish their bodies in spring.
Modern pagans can observe these same customs by eating the fresh greens and early vegetables abundant now: dandelion greens, nettles, asparagus, and the like. There are some Witches who believe that fasting at the Equinox is very healthy and magical: it clears away all the toxins stored over winter, when we eat heavier foods to keep warm, and can create an altered state of consciousness for doing Equinox magic. By eliminating all the "poisons" from our diets for a few days (including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, red meats, dairy products, refined foods), and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, we not only can shed a few pounds and improve the appearance of our hair and skin, but also improve our health over the long term.
The overall benefit to health from an occasional cleansing fast helps strengthen our immune system, making our bodies more resistant to illness, and help us feel more alert and energetic. Try it! Be sure to "break" your fast slowly, reintroducing your normal foods one at a time, instead of going from several days of fruits, grains and herbal tea to a feast of steak, potatoes and chocolate cake! The breaking of the fast can be incorporated into the cakes and wine portion of your ritual, or at the feast many Witches have afterwards.
Speaking of food, another favourite part of Easter for children, no doubt, is that basket of treats! Nestled in plastic "grass" colored pink or green, we'd find foil-wrapped eggs, hollow chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, marshmallow chicks (in pink, yellow or lavender!), fancy peanut butter or coconut eggs
Like that other holiday where children are inundated with sugar (Hallowe'en), no one seems to know precisely where, when or how this custom began. And why are the baskets supposedly brought by a bunny???
There are some modern Witches and pagans who follow traditions that integrate the faery lore of the Celtic countries. It is customary to leave food and drink out for the fairies on the nights of our festivals, and it is believed that if the fairies are not honoured with gifts at these times, they will work mischief in our lives. Certain holidays call for particular "fairy favourites."
At Imbolc/Oimelc (February 2nd), for example, we leave gifts of dairy origin, like cheese, butter or fresh cream.
At Lammas/Lughnasa (August 1st) we leave fresh grains or newly-baked bread.
At Samhain, nuts and apples are traditional.
And at Ostara, it is customary to leave something sweet (honey, or mead, or candy)--could this be connected to the Easter basket tradition? Perhaps a gift of sweets corresponds to the sweet nectar gathering in new spring flowers?
To refer again to The Wicker Man, the post office/ sweet shop where May Morrison works (she is the mother of Rowan Morrison, the young girl who is supposedly missing and who Sargent Howie has come to Summerisle to find) offers a large selection of sweets shaped like animals.
When Sergeant Howie says "I like your rabbits" Mrs. Morrison scolds him saying "Those are hares! Lovely March hares, not silly old rabbits!" And when Howie goes to dig up the grave of Rowan Morrison (who it turns out is neither dead nor missing) he finds the carcass of a hare, and Lord Summerisle tries to convince him that Rowan was transformed into a hare upon her death.
Clearly this is an illustration of the powerful association with animals that many ancient cultures have (Summerisle being a place where time has seemingly stood still and where the pagan pursuit of pleasure and simple agricultural ways define the way of life).
The forming of chocolate into the shape of rabbits or chicks is a way to acknowledge them as symbols; by eating them, we take on their characteristics, and enhance our own fertility, growth and vitality.
Clearly the association of rabbits with Easter has something to do with fertility magic. Anyone who has kept rabbits as pets or knows anything about their biology has no question about the origin of the phrase "f*** like a bunny."
These cute furry creatures reproduce rapidly, and often! Same with chicks, who emerge wobbly and slimy from their eggs only to become fluffy, yellow and cute within a few hours.
The Easter Bunny may well have its origin in the honouring of rabbits in spring as an animal sacred to the goddess Eastre, much as horses are sacred to the Celtic Epona, and the crow is sacred to the Morrigan. As a goddess of spring, she presides over the realm of the conception and birth of babies, both animal and human, and of the pollination, flowering and ripening of fruits in the plant kingdom. Sexual activity is the root of all of life: to honour this activity is to honour our most direct connection to nature.
At Beltane (April 31st-May 1st), pagans and Witches honour the sexual union of the god and goddess amid the flowers and fruits that have begun to cover the land; but prior to that, at Ostara, we welcome the return of the spring goddess from her long season of dormant sleep. The sap begins to flow, the trees are budding, the ground softens, ice melts, and everywhere the fragrance and colour of spring slowly awakens and rejuvenates our own life force.
I have always thought this had a lot to do with the tradition of wearing newly-bought or made clothes at Easter, in pastel spring colours. Wearing such colours we echo the flowering plants, crocus, lilac, forsythia, bluebells, violets and new clothes allow us to feel we are renewing our persona.
How many of us feel sort of "blah" after winter ends? Along with the fasting practice mentioned earlier, this is a time for many of us to create new beginnings in our lives: this can apply to jobs, relationships, living situations, lifestyle choices.
But since the Equinox is such a potent time magically, and often falls in the period when Mercury is Retrograde, starting a new endeavour at this time can be problematic if we do not take care.
One good way to avoid catastrophe is to engage in small, personally-oriented rites or activities: a new haircut, a new clothing style or make-up, a new exercise programme, the grand old tradition of spring cleaning, a new course of study: all of these are relatively "safe" ways to begin anew without risking the weirdness and unpredictability of Mercury Retrograde.
This is a very powerful time to do magic, not only because of the balancing of the earth's energies, but because of the way our own beings echo the earth's changes. We are literally reborn as we emerge from our winter sleep, ready to partake of all the pleasures of the earth, and to meet the challenges we will face as the world changes around us daily. As we greet and celebrate with our pagans brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere (for whom the Vernal Equinox more closely resembles the beginning of autumn, in physical terms!), we remember that Spring is not only a season; it is a state of mind.
Blessed Be in the Season of Spring! Go Forth and Flower!
and that concludes my Ostara Musing, I hope that you have enjoyed it and I will be broadcasting this on Cauldron FM in time for the Ostara festival.
Love and light to all and Blessed Be
Merlin
Thursday 3 March 2011
Tuesday 1 March 2011
Saturday 19 February 2011
Tuesday 15 February 2011
15th February Musing
Merrie Meet
Well today is a consolidation day, a time for getting my thoughts together and planning the next moves within my growing broadcasting network.
The past weeks since the 24th of November have seen many changes within my life and although some have been sad many have been extremely happy and for that I give thanks to The Goddess.
You can't get any more "live" than this, the fire alarm has just gone off in our workshop, but nothing to worry about, it is a fault on the system brought about by a power cut last night.
Anyway back to where I was going with this..........
The CauldronFM podcast service saw a new show called "Moon Beat" go online last weekend. The presenters TristA and Raven run an online children's magazine called Pagan Moonbeams and I am thrilled to welcome them into the CauldronFM family.
The show has already received some great reviews and for those who have not already had a listen there is a link to it on this blog.
This weekend I am going to be putting together the February new music show and I have some new material from a fabulous female artiste, but I am not giving any clues you will just need to tune in to find out more.
What else has been happening well a couple of weeks ago we visited Tintagel overnight (a birthday treat from the family) we had a wonderful hotel, dinner and then met up with Visionary Artist Peter Pracownik and his wife Nicola. Peter and I have been friends for many years and we are planning to record a couple of shows together for CauldronFM.
The new book The Witch Kitchen is now available - all 150 pages of Pagan Recipes - from Lulu as either a paperback or an electronic download. You can get your copy by following this link The Witch Kitchen
This almost brings me to the end of this Musing but before I go let me wish you
The best things that life can give. Love and Light to all and
Blessed Be
Merlin
Well today is a consolidation day, a time for getting my thoughts together and planning the next moves within my growing broadcasting network.
The past weeks since the 24th of November have seen many changes within my life and although some have been sad many have been extremely happy and for that I give thanks to The Goddess.
You can't get any more "live" than this, the fire alarm has just gone off in our workshop, but nothing to worry about, it is a fault on the system brought about by a power cut last night.
Anyway back to where I was going with this..........
The CauldronFM podcast service saw a new show called "Moon Beat" go online last weekend. The presenters TristA and Raven run an online children's magazine called Pagan Moonbeams and I am thrilled to welcome them into the CauldronFM family.
The show has already received some great reviews and for those who have not already had a listen there is a link to it on this blog.
This weekend I am going to be putting together the February new music show and I have some new material from a fabulous female artiste, but I am not giving any clues you will just need to tune in to find out more.
What else has been happening well a couple of weeks ago we visited Tintagel overnight (a birthday treat from the family) we had a wonderful hotel, dinner and then met up with Visionary Artist Peter Pracownik and his wife Nicola. Peter and I have been friends for many years and we are planning to record a couple of shows together for CauldronFM.
The new book The Witch Kitchen is now available - all 150 pages of Pagan Recipes - from Lulu as either a paperback or an electronic download. You can get your copy by following this link The Witch Kitchen
This almost brings me to the end of this Musing but before I go let me wish you
The best things that life can give. Love and Light to all and
Blessed Be
Merlin
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Sunday 30 January 2011
Monday 10 January 2011
Saturday 8 January 2011
Thursday 6 January 2011
Positive Affirmation
Merrie Meet
A Happy and Blessed New Year to you all.
Last night (Wednesday 5th Jan) I had the pleasure of the being the guest speaker at the Bideford Pagans' moot at the Thatched Inn, Abbotsham, Devon.
The original topic for the talk was going to be Solution Based Thinking, however the organiser contacted me and we discussed this and it was felt that more could be gained from a discussion concerning Positive Affirmation as this fitted in with the proposed Spellworking workshops later in the year.
Having decided on this line of approach I then had to rethink my whole strategy but quickly discovered that I had enough material at my disposal to easily fill the allotted time spot.
As a result of various situations ongoing within my personal life over the Christmas break my preparation was not as thorough as I would have preferred and I was resigned to utilising my notes more than I would have liked under normal circumstances.
That said though the whole evening turned into a useful and I hope, informative night for all concerned.
In this musing I intend to publish the list of example affirmations that I gave and the whole subject will be covered in a soon to be broadcast version of the talk on Cauldron FM.
Here is the list
Affirmations for Health
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily
Affirmations for Abundance
I prosper wherever I turn and I know that I deserve prosperity of all kinds
The more grateful I am, the more reasons I find to be grateful
I pay my bills with love as I know abundance flows freely through me.
Affirmations for Love
I know that I deserve Love and accept it now
I give out Love and it is returned to me multiplied
I rejoice in the Love I encounter everyday
Affirmations for Romance
I have a wonderful partner and we are both happy and at peace
I release any desperation and allow love to find me
I attract only healthy relationships
Affirmations for Weight Loss
I am the perfect weight for me
I choose to make positive healthy choices for myself
I choose to exercise regularly
Affirmations for Self Esteem
When I believe in myself, so do others
I express my needs and feelings
I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful
Affirmations for Peace and Harmony
All my relationships are loving and harmonious
I am at peace
I trust in the process of life
Affirmations for Joy and Happiness
Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises
My life is a joy filled with love, fun and friendship all I need do is stop all criticism, forgive, relax and be open.
I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.
As I said previously the whole radio version of the Positive Affirmation talk will soon be available on Cauldron FM and a copy of it will be posted here at that time.
Until we meet again
May The Goddess keep you safe in Her care
Love and Light to all, and
Blessed Be
Merlin
A Happy and Blessed New Year to you all.
Last night (Wednesday 5th Jan) I had the pleasure of the being the guest speaker at the Bideford Pagans' moot at the Thatched Inn, Abbotsham, Devon.
The original topic for the talk was going to be Solution Based Thinking, however the organiser contacted me and we discussed this and it was felt that more could be gained from a discussion concerning Positive Affirmation as this fitted in with the proposed Spellworking workshops later in the year.
Having decided on this line of approach I then had to rethink my whole strategy but quickly discovered that I had enough material at my disposal to easily fill the allotted time spot.
As a result of various situations ongoing within my personal life over the Christmas break my preparation was not as thorough as I would have preferred and I was resigned to utilising my notes more than I would have liked under normal circumstances.
That said though the whole evening turned into a useful and I hope, informative night for all concerned.
In this musing I intend to publish the list of example affirmations that I gave and the whole subject will be covered in a soon to be broadcast version of the talk on Cauldron FM.
Here is the list
Affirmations for Health
Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
My body heals quickly and easily
Affirmations for Abundance
I prosper wherever I turn and I know that I deserve prosperity of all kinds
The more grateful I am, the more reasons I find to be grateful
I pay my bills with love as I know abundance flows freely through me.
Affirmations for Love
I know that I deserve Love and accept it now
I give out Love and it is returned to me multiplied
I rejoice in the Love I encounter everyday
Affirmations for Romance
I have a wonderful partner and we are both happy and at peace
I release any desperation and allow love to find me
I attract only healthy relationships
Affirmations for Weight Loss
I am the perfect weight for me
I choose to make positive healthy choices for myself
I choose to exercise regularly
Affirmations for Self Esteem
When I believe in myself, so do others
I express my needs and feelings
I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful
Affirmations for Peace and Harmony
All my relationships are loving and harmonious
I am at peace
I trust in the process of life
Affirmations for Joy and Happiness
Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises
My life is a joy filled with love, fun and friendship all I need do is stop all criticism, forgive, relax and be open.
I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.
As I said previously the whole radio version of the Positive Affirmation talk will soon be available on Cauldron FM and a copy of it will be posted here at that time.
Until we meet again
May The Goddess keep you safe in Her care
Love and Light to all, and
Blessed Be
Merlin
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