Instinct & Personal Path

From the questions to think on in The Circle Within by Dianne Sylvan...

How much thought have you given to your personal path and why do you do things the way you do? Have you been running purely on instinct, following books by the letter or a combination of the two? Does your altar face east for a particular reason or because a book said it should?

I use a combination of book knowledge and instinct in my practice. After looking at information in the books, I decide what I agree and disagree with and move on. Even some of the spells that I have found in books or online I have added my own personal flair to.

Our altar faces North during ritual because that makes sense to me. I start calling the corners in the East because that is the standard and it makes sense. When I use the Family of the Healing Waters ritual standard, we call the particular angels because they best embody the directions.

Aphrodite

Pantheon: Olympian
Element: Water
Consort: Hephaestus
Sphere of Influence: Love and Beauty
Preferred colors: Pink, white, red, Blue
Associated symbol: Seashell, heart
Animals associated with: Dolphin , Dove
Best day to work with: Friday
Best Moon phase: Waxing
Strongest around Litha
Suitable offerings: Pomegranates, Limes
Associated Planet: Venus

References -
http://www.pagannews.com/cgi-bin/gods3.pl?Aphrodite/Venus

Seeing the God & Goddess

From the questions to think on in The Circle Within by Dianne Sylvan...

Up to this point, how have you seen the God and Goddess? Do they have faces and names? Are They are presence without words?

I have always related to the specific gods and goddesses, not the all-encompassing Lord and Lady. I do understand they are more than each of these specific deities, but that is how I grasp Deity the best.

Hera is my patroness and has been since the beginning. I have meditated on her a couple times and have many statues of her and her animals around the house. Scott asked me the other day if I had dedicated myself to her yet. I didn't know to do such a thing, but it is something I may do now that I know about it.

For a long time I have used the Christian God or one of the Archangels as my god in ritual. I thought that Hephaestus was my patron, but was not sure how we would work with Hera since they have some conflict in mythology. I am still exploring this possibility.

Change

I will make a change in myself.
I will make a change in my family.
I will make a change in my community.
I will make a change in my world.

Silence

One of the books that I had the pleasure of reading for the first degree was Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott. It is an excellent book and I have recommended it to many of the people that I work with.

Scott believes that our relationships with other people are the conversations that we have with those people, both at work and at home. She highlights several principles in the book that allow you to really engage others in conversations. One of the principles that I did not expect was Silence.

I had never really thought about how much time there was silence around me. When I get home from work, the first thing I do is turn on the computer so I can listen to music. Scott and I spend most of the rest of the evening talking or watching our TV shows on Monday night. The only time that we are both quiet is if we are both reading.

Silence has become a big part of my morning now since my radio in the car is not working. After I say goodbyes to Evy in the morning and get in the car, there is almost complete silence until I get out of the car and walk into the office. It is time for me to really think about the things that are going on in my life both mundane and magickal. This is also the time when I get some of my best ideas. I have really started to enjoy and look forward to the long drive to work in the morning (besides the traffic) because it is time for me to catch up with myself and prepare for the day.

Spend a little time each day in silence and let me know how it goes. Hopefully you will find it as enlightening and uplifting as I do.

What's in a Name?

Magickal names are usually a hot topic in most Wiccan and Neo-Pagan communities. Everyone discusses how they got their names and their significance. These are some of the most interesting conversations in my opinion. You can really start to see where people are coming from (or where they have been) and get a feel for what is imporant to them.

Currently, my complete magickal name is Damia Serephina RisingPhoenix HealingWaters. That is quite a mouthful so I usually go by my real nickname, Angie, or in some circles as Serephina. Serephina comes from the word serephim, which means "fiery ones". I have always been very drawn to angels and continue to use them as part of my magickal practice. Also between the red hair and double fire signs for my moon and as rising sign I am a bit fiery myself.

For my erotic romance writing and cover art, my pen name is Kassandra or Kassie Thrace.

An End & New Beginning

This past Full Moon I had the honor of initiating as a First Degree into the Family Wiccan Traditions International's degree program. It was truly a monumental event in my spiritual walk and I have already begun to vigorously study for the Second Degree requirements.

The only strange thing that happened during the ritual started when I did my meditation. The meditation involved what I had done to get to this point on my path and what the initiation meant to me. During the meditation I had a really strange feeling that I cannot place. I could feel how hard my heart was beating and it physically moved my entire body back and forth. I have never experienced anything like it in my life.

FWTI was not the first place where I looked to for training. After attending Witch School, College of the Sacred Mists and a couple other smaller venues, I found myself with more questions than answers and a very negative impression of all degree programs. It has taken me over 4 years to make it to this point, but the lessons I learned getting here were invaluable.

I am very thankful for everyone who has had a hand in getting to to this point and would like to mention a couple special people by name.

• Scott Mroczka - My love, my life, my balance and my partner. There is no way that I would be here without you. I am grateful for you every day and will do a better job of reminding you of that.
• Rev. Crystal "Amethyst Sage" Blanton - A very wonderful mentor and an even better friend. Thank you for holding me accountable with just the right amount of pushing and love. Thank you for your help!!
• Lydia "Dia" Crabtree - A pioneer, role model and dear friend. Thank you for sharing your vision of FWTI with me and allowing me to participate. I have enjoyed watching you achieve your dreams and will continue to struggle to achieve my own. You are an inspiration! Tell Stone and Treebear I love them too!
• Amethist - A fantastic friend and accountability partner! I cannot wait to see you achieve this as well. I enjoy helping you with your questions and bouncing ideas off of you. We make a great team!
• Ariana and Obsidian - It was nice to talk to you on the phone the other day. Thank you for your support as I follow the trails that you have blazed (pun intended) before me. You guys are great spiritual big sisters and I look forward to working with you more!