A Thought for Today

Importance of Our Blood and Spiritual Families

A family can be formed in many ways. I for instance have my children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then I also have my spiritual brothers and sister in Coven Life’s Coven and others that live in many different states and countries.

We all have times when we get frustrated with family members but the love we hold in our heart allow us to forgive them if we think the have said or done something wrong to us. Hopefully, they can accept an apology if you think you have done or said something wrong to them. True families are always capable of giving and/or receiving forgiveness.

I have been given two fantastic reasons for my gratitude cup to over which includes the Mother Goddess answering prayers for twin totally different things. I did not have anyone in my blood family that could take the afternoon off work on the 26th when I am having knee surgery but my dearest brother, White Wolf, called me Thursday to say he would go with me. The other prayer that was answered is having all my descendants together this coming Thursday for USA’s Thankgiving Day.

Another thing the Universe did was in the form of a very unexpected phone call last week from a close cousin I hadn’t heard from in about 2 years or more after us having an argument over what I don’t remember.

I include all these things in my morning prayer and meditation asking Hekate and her consort to please making these things happen if they were suppose to.

Please remember you are part of our Coven Life family and we are here for you no matter what you maybe going through. If you feel the need to talk to someone about anything I am only an email away. For private messages please email them to Ladybeltane@aol.com As an ordained High Priestess what we talk about stays between you and I only.

Blessed be dear brothers and sisters.

A Happy Ending for an Endangered Animal

This article appeared in the news feed on AOL.com it is in a slideshow type presentation but worth reading from beginning to end as it has to do with one of our fellow creatures that inhabit Mother Earth. I applaud the Singapore students for caring enough about this fellow creature to do the right things. The animal’s species is called Pangolin.

Here is the link to the article I am referring to Pangolin Rescue

For more information on exactly what a Pangolin is here is a link to a general search I did on Google.com More Information about Pangolins I had never heard of this animal before seeing it in the AOL newsfeed. But as it is an endangered animal I want to learn more about it. I hope you do too.

Please leave a thought or two about how you think and/or feel about the trafficking of animals just for the price tag they have on them, especially those on the endangered list.

I am going to give this one more try

Only one correction to what Lady Abyss has written. I have no intention on selling the Coven Life website which includes the school and online coven. My comment she included was not proof read very well by me, it was suppose to say “After my knee surgery my income will only be a small disability check.” Thank you to the wonderful people that have already made donations to help WOTC and Coven Life. If you want to make a donation to Coven Life please click on Coven Life on WOTC’s menu. Once you are on CL our Donation button is on the right side of our Homepage.

Witches Of The Craft®

The last couple of days, I have been hurt, angry and basically acting like a spoiled little child. I admit it. During that time, I have also been talking to the Goddess. Whether you believe in the Goddess or not, that is up to you. Our nice little talk when something like this…..

“I am sorry Goddess, I have let you down. I have been put through hell for the last two years and each time, I have managed to bounce back. First, there was the horrible truck accident that took one of my familiars and almost killed me. Next, there was a man who tried to burn me alive, I was in the hospital for several weeks and I bounced back. Then some where in the midst of all of that, my best friend was killed in an automobile wreck. I bounced back from that. No, I didn’t, I…

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The Meaning of the Four Directions in Native American Culture

As part of the Lakota culture, when people pray or do anything sacred, they see the world as having Four Directions. From these Four Directions — north, east, south, west — come the four winds. The special meanings of each of the Four Directions are accompanied by specific colors, and the shape of the cross symbolizes all directions. Like many Native American beliefs and traditions, specific details regarding colors associated with directions varies.

East (Yellow)

The direction from which the sun comes. Light dawns in the morning and spreads over the earth. This is the beginning of a new day. It is also the beginning of understanding because light helps us see things the way they really are. On a deeper level, east stands for the wisdom helping people live good lives. Traditional people rise in the morning to pray facing the dawn, asking God for wisdom and understanding.

To read about the rest of the directions please click on this link: Native American 4 Directions

Medicine Ways: Traditional Healers and Healing (Native American)

The Medicine Wheel and the Four Directions

The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life.

The Medicine Wheel can take many different forms. It can be an artwork such as artifact or painting, or it can be a physical construction on the land. Hundreds or even thousands of Medicine Wheels have been built on Native lands in North America over the last several centuries.

Movement in the Medicine Wheel and in Native American ceremonies is circular, and typically in a clockwise, or “sun-wise” direction. This helps to align with the forces of Nature, such as gravity and the rising and setting of the Sun.

Meanings of the Four Directions

To read this rest of this article please click on this link: Native American Medicine Wheel and 4 Directions

(Even if you do not read anything else on this site this week make sure to read this) In case you are wondering what is going on……. at WOTC

I am having problems with WordPress not letting me reblog this article but it is a very import one so I am copy and pasting it in full from Witches of The Craft website. Please ask our Lord and Lady to help Lady Abyss to find a way to have all the things she needs in her personal life, groceries, enough money to pay her household bills every month and to keep a roof over their heads for her and her sons.

I wanted to let you know that our domain is now pending sale. It is not one of the happiest days in my life but I have no other choice. Here it is Thanksgiving coming up and I don’t even have a Turkey for the boys’ Thanksgiving this year. In fact, we have hardly any groceries at all and we have a severe snow storm coming this way. I know most of you don’t realize how much it does take to operate a website and a store because you don’t own or operate one. You can ask Lady Beltane and she will tell you I am telling the truth. They are expensive to run to say the least. I hope she don’t mind me telling this but….that is why she went to charging for her lessons to cover her operating expenses.

As you all know I draw a small disability check each month. It doesn’t even cover our expenses at the house. I was borrowing money from PayPal to keep us a float but our sales for this month or so low that I can’t even borrow any money from them. They told me, we were off by $200 before I could get another loan with them. I was counting on that loan for some groceries and a turkey for the boys for Thanksgiving.

I have to admit who or whatever wanted us out of this business has finally won. I can no longer see going hunger, if it was just me, I wouldn’t worry about it. I have went hungry many a day to just keep the WOTC up and running. But now I have two boys to consider and I can’t nor will I let them go hungry. I have lights to keep on at both places, I have water to keep on at both places and you get the idea. I can’t very well let the lights, water and gas get turned off at the house to keep the WOTC and its store going. If I did what kind of mother would I be?

I have thought long and hard about this. I just don’t know what happened. Everyone kept telling me to hold on, it will get better. It is just this or it is just that. Well it hasn’t gotten any better only worse. With Winter coming on, it will take every penny I can mustard to just keep the house going. I know I have women around me but they are all volunteers. Some of them are in the same boat as I am in. They volunteered to give them something to do during the day or else they are a single family income house. None of us have any money and after talking to them and explaining to them the situation, they agreed it was time to sell the domain.

The domain won’t come up for sale for a few days perhaps in that length of time, if the WOTC is meant to be a miracle will happen. Yeah right. I don’t depend on miracles anymore. I have gotten myself in this mess and now I have two boys who are going to suffer for it. I took them in and told them I would give them a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear and anything else they needed. Right now, I am struggling just to feed them. It just boils down to what I think is more important the boys or this site. I love this site and I love the boys. But the site doesn’t require food to live or a place to sleep at night, the boys do.

I hate to do it but like I said the sales at the store are horrible. There are no donations coming in here, so what other choice do I have. We have had a good run. We are one of the oldest Pagan/Witchcraft site on the internet. I guess our run is over. Or else that miracle will occur before the domain goes up for sale. Either way, I look at it this way, whatever happens it is meant to happen.

I don’t like to complain but I wanted you to know why I had made my decision to sell our domain. How would you like to look at two boys on Thanksgiving morning and tell them there is no turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving dinner? I know I don’t want to but it seems that I am going to have too.

I want you to know that I have enjoyed my time with all of you and keep your fingers crossed perhaps that miracle will come through for us. Then I can stop the sale of our domain. But if the miracle doesn’t come through then the sale will go on as planned.

I have got to scrap up the money now to run to the store and try to get us some food in here to eat before the snow storm hits. Remember no matter what happens, I will always love you and consider you part of my family.

Love ya,

Lady of the Abyss

Laura Tempest Zakroff on Art, Movement, and Magick

Laura Tempest Zakroff can be described as a professional artist, author, dancer, designer, muse, mythpunk, teacher, and witch. Laura has been a practicing Modern Traditional Witch for over two decades and revels in the intersection of her various paths with witchcraft. She blogs at Patheos as A Modern Traditional Witch and at Witches & Pagans as Fine Art Witchery. She is the author of The Witch’s Cauldron, and her second book Sigil Witcheryis due out in early 2018. She also writes for The Witches’ Almanac, Ltd.

To continue reading…….

Book Review: The Witch’s Altar

First off, The Witch’s Altar: The Craft, Lore & Magick of Sacred Space is a dream collaboration. The two main witch authors, Jason Mankey and Laura Tempest Zakroff, are two completely different types of witches. Mankey is a Gardnerian and Tempest is a Modern Traditional Witch. However, they’re two witches that I highly respect and enjoy reading, whether it’s their blog articles on Patheos Pagan or their books. What is great about this collaboration is that for how different their practices and beliefs are, they’re able to find more common ground between them than differences; and both provide great perspectives on altars, their creation, and their uses while being inclusively open to various paths and approaches. It’s interesting to see how they blend their strengths as writers together in this book. For example, Mankey goes into the history of altars and why things are done in certain ways, and Tempest breaks down the types of altars and provides deep reflective questions and meditations. Both offer wonderful rituals and spells throughout the book, with hints of the snarky humor they share sprinkled throughout.

To continue reading…..

Witchcraft Done Wrong

In my line of work I have the distinct blessing to meet a lot of newbie Witches. I meet people of all ages who are just starting out. I get to talk to folks that have been reading esoteric books for decades and are finally ready to get hands on with it. Folks come into my shop having been through a divine encounter and want more information. Or they found a deck of tarot cards at a garage sale and are curious. There are people I meet that have always known they were a Witch, but didn’t fully understand what that meant and now they feel ready. I meet a lot of amazing, brave people.

To continue reading….

A Thought for Today

Neo-Paganism can be described in many ways but for me, the easiest way to describe it is twisting The Old Ways to fit into modern society. Here is a picture I found that made some sense to me of the mixing of “New Age” thinking and Paganism. What does Neo-Paganism mean to you?

Blessed be dear ones.