Lineage in The Craft
Posted by Cormac O'Dwyer on 5/31/2015 to
Occult Weekly
We have previously discussed that it is by no means necessary to have witchcraft ancestry to become a witch. To put this in terms of pop culture, the fact that Hermione Granger, a Muggle, was first in her class at Hogwarts, is certainly a possibility in real life, meaning that any individual can move their way through the Coven. But the notion of lineage cannot be readily discarded. It is very important in various senses. First, an individual born to Practitioners is exposed to Occultist ideas and Rituals at a very early age, rather than coming across these ideas in a theoretical book during their teenage or adult years. Second, an individual with Practitioner relatives is more likely to have a strong sense of pride in their beliefs. It is a sort of coat of arms, and this individual descended from a line of those who have studied and followed the Craft is unlikely to compromise their beliefs easily.
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Silver Ravenwolf
Posted by Cormac O'Dwyer on 5/24/2015 to
Occult Weekly
We often discuss Practitioners and other Occultists who have impacted the Craft throughout history. We have gone as far back as the Magickal beliefs of early man, and continued to the pagan beliefs in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman Civilizations. Then we passed into the Common Era and discussed the mythology in the Middle Ages, and carried on with the influence of the great clandestine Occultists during the Renaissance. We have discussed the modern Occultist view, as popularized by Aleister Crowley, the formation of modern Wicca by Gardner in the mid-20th century, and the impact of Practitioners such as Scott Cunningham and Raymond Buckland since then.Today our focus is on an individual who some consider to be the present spokesperson for the Craft, while others strongly object to this notion. Her name is Silver Ravenwolf.
Music in Rituals
Posted by Lynda Stratton on 5/10/2015 to
Occult Weekly
There was once a tale of a mute boy who could not pray with his peers in his place of worship. When they would pray in unison, he felt that God was displeased with him, and therefore prevented him from the ability to speak. At one prayer session, the young boy took out his flute while the others were chanting their words. Displeased with the music, some of the elders became angry and told the boy to stop. Then, another brave boy stood up and told the elders that it was neither the words nor the method of prayer that mattered, but rather that the prayer came from the heart. The Divine would be pleased with the boy’s prayer however he chose to approach it, so long as he was true to himself. From that day forward, that particular place of worship began all their prayer sessions with the young man playing the flute. Music has the power to move us. It can change our moods. Whether the tune and beat make you reflect upon the Universe and ponder the natural wonders surrounding us, or simply get up and start dancing, we do not often think of music as such a powerful tool, especially when relating to the Divine. This music can span across all times and cultures: a simple beat from a mamba drum, a fiddler on the roof, pop music from the new age, or a grand symphony orchestra. It does not matter what your preference is as long as the music triggers an emotion inside of you that makes you feel something greater than yourself.
Ouija Boards and Spirits
Posted by Stephenie Crowe on 5/3/2015 to
Occult Weekly
Ouija boards (pronounced “Wee-jeh”) have long been shrouded in mystery. While debated by scientists as “mere ideometer functions”, they have yet to prove their claims. Seekers of hidden knowledge and practitioners of the occult know better: The Ouija, while just a board, can be made so much more. The origins of the Ouija can be traced back to Song Dynasty China, where mystics and sorcerers would use planchettes (a divination tool in the form of a heart-shaped piece of wood) to commune with the spirits of the dead. That planchette still exists in the modern Ouija board, and the connection between our world and the spirit realm is still very much in place. Despite the fact that Parker Brothers now has the monopoly on this “game”, the idea used to create it comes from centuries of use on similar boards.
