The New Moon in Virgo brings us a greater attention to health, diet, personal hygiene, and other details that are necessary in order to live in a physical body. Virgo is known for being conservative and introspective. As the New Moon waxes across the next 2 weeks and you begin your new Virgo projects, remember to take some time to meditate upon your new ventures to seek balance.

Virgos have a reputation for being perfectionists (trust me, I know! I’m married to one!) Be careful of the New Moon in Virgo bringing out the uber-perfectionist in you. Attaining a goal is commendable, but be aware of possible heightened sensitivity which can bring about anxiety.

Blessings to you on this New Moon!

The full moon in July is known as the Buck Moon as this is when deer antlers begin to show their growth. This month’s full moon appears in earthy Capricorn and brings a time of radiance and blossoming. It is a time to search for the deeper meaning in what you are creating in your life. Question every moment, discerning what is in the best interest for everyone in your life.

The energy from the full moon in Capricorn could instigate the seeds of ambition. Always be aware of this full moon energy and seek balance and wisdom in your ambition. It is time for conscientiously apply yourself to tasks while living solely in the present. The Earthy Capricorn Moon helps us reach to the sky to achieve our highest goals.

Knowing that we need to balance this full moon drive toward ambitiousness, it is helpful to recite a mantra that brings the peace needed to accomplish goals, and create an environment of success and appreciation. It is recommended that calling to the Creator through sound allows for vibration of a new perspective.

A good mantra for achieving peace & balance is simply: Om Shanti Om.

You may also find it helpful to burn a blue candle and recite Psalm 91. I have translated Psalm 91 from the Hebrew so that a deeper understanding of the female/male goddess/god may be seen. Italics are my additions.

She who dwells in the shelter of Elyon (god) will rest in the shadow of Shaddai (goddess). I will say of YHWH, “They are my refuge and my fortress, my Elohim (plural-goddess & god), in whom I trust.” Surely they will save me from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. They will cover me with their feathers, and under their garment of wings I will find refuge; their faithfulness will be my shield and rampart. I will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at my side, ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. I will only observe with my eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If I make Elyon my dwelling, even YHWH who is my refuge, then no harm will befall me, no disaster will come near my tent. They will command their angels concerning me to guard me in all of my ways. They will lift me up in their hands, so that I will not strike my foot against a stone. I will tread upon the lion and the cobra; I will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because she loves us, we will rescue her; we will protect her, for she acknowledges haShem (the Name). She will call upon us, and we will answer her; we will be with her in trouble, we will deliver her and honor her. With long life will we satisfy her and show her our Yeshua (salvation-the Name of Jesus).”

It may surprise many of you to learn that Easter has already passed!

Easter is the name of a fertility goddess known throughout the Anglo, Celtic, Teutonic, Germanic & Saxon lands.  She is also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Ashtar, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Austron and Ausos.  From her we get the word “estrogen”, which is a primarily a female hormone.

Bunnies and eggs are symbols of springtime fertility.  Fertile land, fertile livestock and fertile women were all extremely important to peoples living in these ancient cultures.  To celebrate Easter, people would decorate eggs with magickal symbols to celebrate her fertility.  And rabbits are known for their ability to mate!  These are powerful symbols to promote fertility and restore virility, to bring good weather, to encourage the growth of crops and protect both flocks and children against misfortune.

The word “Easter” is not in the Bible.  In Acts 12:4, the translators of the King James Version blatantly took the Greek word “Pascha” out of this verse, which means “Passover”, and inserted the fertility goddess “Easter”.  Strange, but in the 26 other places where the Greek word “Pascha” appears in the King James Version, the translators decided to keep truth of the word “Passover”.  Those who blatantly and intentionally mistranslate Scripture will be held accountable for their actions.

So when is Easter?  Easter is the Spring Equinox, which already happened this year on March 20^th.  Sorry you missed it, but it will be back around!

So what should we call this holiday?  Today is Resurrection Day, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus!

I love you, Brother Sun. I am sorry that I have crucified you by polluting your sky. Please forgive me. Thank you for continually shining your love down upon me.

Be praised through Sister Moon and the stars. In the heavens you have made them precious and beautiful.

I love you, Sister Moon. I am sorry that I have crucified you by littering your multiverse. Please forgive me. Thank you for your silvery radiance and beautiful energy.

Be praised through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

I love you Brothers Wind and Air. I am sorry that I have crucified you by sending toxins into your life-breath. Please forgive me. Thank you for carrying seeds across the Earth and my prayers to the Spirit.

Be praised through Sister Water. You are useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

I love you Sister Water. I am sorry that I have crucified you by poisoning you. Please forgive me. Thank you for sustaining my life and washing my sins from Earth.

Be praised through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. You are beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

I love you Brother Fire. I am sorry that I have crucified you by being greedy for your energy. Please forgive me. Thank you for your warmth and strength.

Be praised through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

I love you Mother Earth. I am sorry that I have crucified you by contaminating your beauty. Please forgive me. Thank you for your love and the food you supply to all creatures.

I am so glad that my fellow ministers and pastors on the social networks that I am friends with are mostly loving and positive.  There are those few family,friends and coworkers who need a little guidance to help them to positive right road.  Know that you have what you say.   There is so much power in what we say, think, write and speak.  Some of us would do good if we could not communicate for a while.  The only thing needed is to educate yourself on this God given power of communication, Sowing and Reaping, Karma, or whatever you call it on your path.  You can change your fateful outcomes by what you think and speak.  We are given choices by the Almighty, Merciful One God for our lives, we aren’t just puppets.  The catch is if it is for The Greater Good for ourselves and those around us;  if also it is to establish the Kingdom of God in the earth.  The thing is getting self out of the way, and helping others.  How can one be of help to others or self when negative thoughts, actions, words, etc are continually coming from ones being.  Stop the madness.  Take control, get your God given power back, so you can be of use to the Divine and your fellow human.  Here are some best selling books that may help.  They only will help if you put the principles, whats in them to use.

The Bible – www.biblegateway.com

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale -  http://normanvincentpeale.wwwhubs.com/

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren – www.rickwarren.com

The Secret  by Rhonda Byrne -  www.thesecret.tv

Excuses Be Gone by Dr. Wayne Dyer – http://www.drwaynedyer.com/

The Complete Mind Body guide by Deepak Chopra www.chopra.com

New Earth and Awakening your life Purpose  by Eckhart Tolle

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Kristen and Richard Carlson  www.dontsweat.com

Imbolc, also known as Oimelc, is Gaelic for “ewe’s milk” because this is the season when the milk begins to flow in the lambs and sheep. This is the 1st of 3 Spring Festivals (Imbolc, Ostara & Beltane).

Imbolc is closely associated with the Celtic-Irish goddess Brigid. Imbolc is sacred to Brigid because she is a goddess of fire, of poetry, and of healing, all things that go along with the creative powers of the onset of spring. Brigid is a powerful representation of the Maiden Goddess, and she has been almost perfectly preserved for us today by none other than the Roman Catholic Church. Rather than call her demon and risk the displeasure of all Ireland, they canonized Brigid and made her the patron saint of poetry and healing. This appeased the Irish, who at the time probably saw the Catholic saints as being very similar to gods themselves.

Imbolc was adopted by the Catholic Church as Candlemas, which later became known for Groundhog Day: “If Candlemass day be dry and fair, The half o winter’s to come and mair; If Candlemass day be wet and foul, The half o’ winter’s gane at Yule.”

In the deep of winter, when all lies dormant in the ground, it seems that there is no life to be found. But life is never fully vanquished. In the belly of Mother Earth, deep in her womb, there is life! Life waiting to burst forth at the appointed time.

So whether you watch for the groundhog to come out of it’s hole or you put a candle in your window to represent the Eternal Flame of the Maiden Goddess, may all of you have a moment of quiet in which to listen to the silence around you and feel her body beginning to stir.

cardinals facing the challenge of winter by PATC

I found this blog post from Jeffrey Pierce of Oldways.com to be of great help and comfort for me , I consider Jeffrey to be  my ‘online’ teacher on this path. I like all of us face difficult challenges , some face major ones every now and again, and some of us face challenges on a continual basis. Is the world against us? Is God/ess mad at us? Is the Universe telling us that we are bad and doing a lousy job? Many of us take these challenges we face very personal. But the fact of the matter in my mind is that we are here for a purpose, we are here to grow , learn and mature through our challenges , that we all face, to hone our skills and develop our gifts and talents. Granted there are some things that happen to us because what we sow we reap and that is a spiritual law here in this physical world. But there is a lot of things not of our doing , but what ever the source we need to know that we are in boot camp and the going gets hard more often than not. I personally do not believe we were created just so we can have a good time and have all we want when we want it. That mindset just does not ring true with what I have experience in my life and what I have seen in the lives of those I love. Life happens and I believe that this life is school , teaching us what we need to know for the next life, which will have its own challenges .

blessed be.

THE SECRET OF OUR CHALLENGES

January 2, 2011
by Jeffrey Pierce

My daughter, Munin, is a talented young musician. She recently graduated to the sixth grade and her school skipped her ahead to the seventh grade advanced band where she’s second chair in her section. Getting Munin to practice is easy. The girl loves to play music and does so for hours each day. Where the challenge comes in is in teaching her that simply practicing isn’t enough.
Challenges show us where we’re weak, where our skills are lacking, and they bring our insecurities and vulnerability to the surface. Facing challenges show us that we’re strong, that our skills are still elevating, and that we become secure and confident where we once lacked both. To improve in anything, you have to push your limits. Any warrior can tell you this. Whether you’re training in a martial art, practicing for an athletic event, or trying to improve any skill, you improve by attempting what is difficult, not by staying within your comfort zone. Even when you’re engaged in something very familiar – whether it’s a piece of music, a drill in sports, or simply time on the treadmill – those who excel tell you that they still push themselves, seeking to master those simple tasks so that each crescendo, each throw, each stride is perfectly executed.
In our studies we learned that The Emerald Tablet reminds us of the concept of “As above, so below.” Simply put, physical and spiritual reality mirror each other. The concepts required on one level for transformation also hold true on the other. It’s in this parallel that we discover the secret of our challenges.
When we face challenges in our world, it’s not because we’ve done something wrong. It’s fairly common in spiritual circles to hear someone ask, “What are you doing to attract this energy?” whenever difficult moments arise on our path. The concept at the heart of that presepective is that the challenges we face are somehow our doing. Taking things a step further, it’s implied that since we attracted those challenges, that by altering our behavior or path, we can remove those challenges. In other words, a life without challenges is one where we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. This strongly implies that the challenges we face are wrong – or that we’re doing something wrong because we’re facing them.
What if we’re facing challenges simply because we’re strong enough to do so?
Pushing your boundaries beyond your comfort zone hurts. In music, the melody falters where it typically flows. In sports, you fail in drills over and over again until you develop the ability to complete the task. In martial arts, you’re defeated and pick yourself up from the canvas time and time again.
Challenges show us where we’re weak, where our skills are lacking, and they bring our insecurities and vulnerability to the surface.
Facing challenges show us that we’re strong, that our skills are still elevating, and that we become secure and confident where we once lacked both.
Growth happens beyond our comfort zone. That does not mean the process is going to be fun. It doesn’t mean that it won’t hurt. There is no implied promise that you won’t find yourself in tears from frustration or heartbreak. All that’s promised is that you can do it – not because you already know how or already possess the strength, but because you’re capable of developing the strength, insight, and ability to overcome it. Approach your challenge like a musician, an athlete, or a martial artist who is facing a difficult drill. Break the challenge down into smaller pieces. Where is the struggle coming from? Is it technique? Timing? Perspective? Do you need to let go of something to fully embrace what’s in front of you? Instead of simply plowing ahead and taking it on all at once, break the challenge down into pieces you can work with and address each piece you identify to see if it’s the one that holds the key to overcoming the situation.
You can’t take on an army by yourself, but you can face the warrior right in front of you. The key is to approach our challenges, not as a mountain to be climbed, but as a single step to be taken. We can work with small pieces – and every challenge can be broken into pieces we’re capable of having success with.

The next time you find yourself in a rough stretch of your path, don’t get down on yourself. There is never a reason to use the phrase, “I can’t,” when you find yourself knocked on your butt by the challenges at hand. Instead, pick yourself up. Look the challenge in the eye. You may not get it the first time, or the tenth time, but you wouldn’t be facing the challenges if you didn’t already hold the potential to overcome it. Take strength in that. Your struggles aren’t because you’re weak; you’re facing them because you’re strong enough to win.

Jeffrey Pierce . http://oldways.com/

This is also posted on my blogs: http://owthena.blogspot.com/    and http://owlthena.wordpress.com/

Is there a spiritual path that is pure? That is free from contamination from other paths? I personally think not. I believe we all embrace aspects of various paths that have meaning to us , that assist each of us to experience both worlds, that of Spirit and Physical in the best way for each of us. Yes we may be more Pagan than Christian, or more Christian than Buddhist, or more Taoist than Atheist but we are a little of many paths especially in this generation of expanding knowledge of the world around us via the Internet. I walk the fringes of many paths , why? because there is not one path that covers all that life is. There is alot within “Universalist Mystical and Celtic ” Christianity that speaks to me, that explains alot of what I see that is going on in life, but I have found that it does not cover all that happens in life, so I find that other paths do fill in the blanks. Paganism does that for me, it explains my physical world, it helps me deal with the dualities in life that must be embraced and not shunned. In Christianity and other paths like it,   teach that we must embrace only the good, the light and so forth, of the concept of the ‘oneness’ of God,I have found that we must embrace many aspects of duality if we are to maneuver through life successfully. Paganism embraces THIS physical life with open arms in ways that other paths can not. I know we need both Light and Darkness in our lives in order for growth to happen, I know  that too much light will burn and kill you and not enough light will cause ill health and death, we need them both. We need both love and anger to deal with various aspects that come at us in life. If someone is holding a weapon on us, and is trying to kill us or our family, I know I need anger and fear to get me enough energy to fight my foe, but I also know it takes love to deal with our loved ones who need a tender compassionate heart. Paganism and Taoism teaches us to handle the dualities in life correctly, not to shun them like Christianity seems to teach. The lessons that Life teaches me , is that it takes 2 , mom and dad to make a baby, I tend to embrace the teachings of nature over what ‘man’ says is true, and nature tells me that what ever is our Creator , it most likely contains Both either as one being with 2 natures or energies, or 2 beings male and female with  a Unity of thought and purpose. I really don’t care which it is , I just know that the duality must exist because all of creation comes from the Creator and therefore we most likely  are a chip off the old block and if we are male and female then our GodParents are too.
Yes we can handle various paths and teachings in our lives, and yes we are able to take what works for us and leave what does not. We each have   unique spiritual paths made up of various aspects of many Spiritual disciplines , no one has a ‘pure’ path and it is wrong thinking to believe you do. Just looking within Christianity one can see all the Denominations within it to see that even on that path they pick and choose what works best for each of their own spiritual make up, you have those that like the formal and the ritual, the quiet and the mystical and then you see  denominations that likes to dance in the isles ,singing and clapping their hands ,speaking in tongues, emotions run  on high,it is not a quiet place to be. You have some that must live within a rigid life of laws of do’s and don’ts and some that believe all is legal but not all is helpful.Then you have all the others that fall some where in the middle.
Each religion places their concepts of ‘God/dess’ in their own little boxes, and many  demands that each of us must conform to the dictates and ideas of those in charge. ( I use the word’God/dess ’because it contains both the male and the female within that word,unlike the word God which leaves out the best part!:) )But here’s the news flash ‘God/dess’ lives within each of us, and does not fit into any box. God/dess is reflected out from all of us as the Moon reflects the Sun. We , each of us ,is a Priest or Priestess of the God/dess that lives within, and here’s another news flash, that reflection is colored and shaped by who we each individually are.
I embrace aspects of 5 paths which are Paganism/witchcraft, Taoism, Native American Spirituality, Christianity and Shamanism, which   can be placed on each point of a pentagram and works well for that symbolism on my altar .
It is just who we are it is how we are hardwired, each of us need different things in our life, each of us has our idea of what is the perfect combination that speaks to our hearts. What we need to understand is that it is normal and ok to do so. We need to stop passing judgement on each other because we have different needs, and different ideas on what we deem the ‘spiritual’. Lets embrace our differences and our similarities and rejoice that our Creator loves us anyway.
blessed be and Shalom
Owlthena