Monthly Archives: April 2014

Esbats, Rituals, Sabbats, The Wheel

The Ever Turning Wheel

I was reminded tonight of the ever turning wheel, not by our seasonal changes, our sabbats and esbats, but by a shining beacon of bravery, light, and sweetness that is facing her wheel turning with the end of this time and crossing over to the summerlands.

She is quiet, unassuming, caring, and vulnerable to people who have derided her beliefs as a Witch. She spent her life sacrificing and caring for others asking little for herself, and as we talked about her final arrangements, and perused the stories, prayers and rituals I had thought to bring along with me, she smiled, chatted, and became animated; openly shining with an inner light of strength and peace.

As I gave her a blessing of the Goddess’ and Gods’ tears welled in her eyes, though not tears of sorrow and fear, but tears of joy and peace. Her heart was overwhelmed with the good things she had surrounding her, the strangers who had become friends, and we shared a brief moment of harmony as sister witches at peace with the world around us and the friendship we formed in those moments.

I am reminded that we are all here until the wheel turns in our time and that each of us will face our crossing over in our own way. We each have our tasks to accomplish, our lessons to learn, and our paths to walk to completion. I can only hope to face the time of my turning with the grace, serenity, courage, and peace that she is facing hers.

Blessed Be!

Blood Moon, Eclipse, Esbats, Full Moon, Rituals, Sabbats

Tetrad of Blood Moons

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April 15th marks the beginning of an alignment tetrad that happened only 3 times in the last 600 years. These 4 “Blood Moons” or lunar eclipses are followed by 6 full moons. The beginning of these is visible in the US during the night of April 15th.

Ironically, each occurrence of this tetrad in the past has heralded another religious revolution. The first tetrad recorded in the 15th century saw the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the 2nd saw the founding of Israel in 1949, and the third oversaw the 6 day war between Israel and Iran in 1969.

While the planets and sun travel in a way that will see nine of the cycles in the 21st century, one does wonder what this cosmic opposition will find coming into play in this century.

Christians and Jewish leaders alike are plotting these blood moons which will occur this year and next during Passover and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), both highly celebrated festivals.

So what does this mean for we the Witches? It means a powerful time of Mars, Earth, the Sun, and our Moon being in alignment. Those warrior passions, the divination of our Goddess, the strength of our life giving Sun, and our own Gaea connections becoming stronger. The alignment is a rare time allowing for deeper wisdom, stronger power, and more potent relationships to build with the Universe.

This is the time to grab your destiny, to focus your will, and to use your Witch’s voice to create what you will of your world, to harness the energy available to deepen  your bonds, and to focus your workings on being a Warrior of Gaea and healing the areas around you.

This Beltane we are travelling to the First Forest, harnessing that energy, combining it with the energy of the alignments, focusing it even more, then pushing it outward from our Circle to the valley that is Reno, Nevada, and healing the areas we live in. We’re charging stones to bring back with us to recharge under each of the moon’s cycles during this alignment in order to continue the healing that we begin on Beltane.

I don’t suggest all Witches should participate where ever they may be, but imagine what a group of Witches of a single intent can accomplish for our planet and the life within if we worked together to focus the energies available to us!