Evoke Lord and Lady.

Lord and Lady, Mother Goddess, Father God. I evoke Thee and call upon Thee to look upon this our Rite with favor, as we come in perfect love and perfect trust.

We gather in this time and in this space to honor Thee. All things in our lives comes from Thee, and we thank Thee that we are so blessed.

So Mote it Be.

Mother Goddess, Father God.

We thank Thee for this day. May it bring health for the body,

Clarity for the mind, advancement for the spirit, and Blessings upon our loved ones.

Goddess and God, You are the ones who bring us together.

You challenge us to live your compassion and justice. We ask as we gather that we be touched by your passionate love for this fragile planet, for the peoples of the world, whatever their culture, religion or political system, and for all those who suffer poverty and exclusion. Lord and Lady, we believe in your respectful love for all creation. We ask you to touch the hearts of all the peoples of the world. Fill them with compassion and respect for the weak, the suffering, and the voiceless. Give them the courage to accept without ignorance or fear those who think and act differently from themselves and enlighten them that they may see we are all, truly, children of the light. You call your daughters and sons to love you and one another. Give us and all peoples of the world the wisdom we need to pursue the path of peace. May it come soon to the hungry, to the weeping, to those who thirst for justice, and to those who have waited centuries for a truly human life.

Grant us the patience to be tolerant of others. Grant us hope that we may not weary in proclaiming it, and working for it. Grant us clear vision that in this time and in this space we may see we are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of the Gracious Goddess and Glorious God.

Blessed Be.

 Bread. and Wine.

In this time and in this space we acknowledge our needs and offer our appreciation to that which sustains us. May we ever remember the Blessings of the Lord and Lady, and let the earth be fruitful and let her bounty be spread to those in need. (present bread and wine)

This bread and wine are the Blessings given to us to share by the Lord and Lady. As we enjoy these gifts of the Goddess and God, may we remember that without Them, we would have nothing.

So Mote it Be.

Mabon Rite.

Lord and Lady, on this day we celebrate the second harvest, that of corn, fruits, nut and vine. And on this day we ask that you remember those who struggle without.

As we accept the gifts of God and Goddess, we remember that what was sown is now reaped. That this is the time of offerings, payment of dues, and enjoyment of just rewards. So too do we pass along what we may to those in need.

The wheel of the year is ever turning. Through Sun and Moon, seasons and harvest, for plants, animals, and people. For all life moves within the Wheel of the Year, lead by the Lord and Lady who guides us.

As this harvest season moves to the last harvest, we call upon the Goddess and God to bless this bountiful season, and to bless our lives within it, that our lives be the harvest of the Lord and Lady.

Blessed Be.

May we pause here for a moment of self reflection and meditation.

Hail and farewell Goddess and God.

O' Mother Goddess, Father God. We thank Thee for Thy attendance.

And we ask that you watch over and safe guard us, our Husbands and Wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, at home and abroad, in peace and conflict in foreign lands.

Lord and Lady, we can not and will not dismiss you out of hand. Stay if you will, go if you must. We bid Thee hail and farewell.

Merry we meet, and Merry we part, and Merry we meet again.

So Mote it Be.

O' the fire of Beltane nite, high, high, the fire lite.............. and my love, Im meeting there, the turn of May, the sweet nite air................................................................ O' o' The spell, the majick swoon, the lovers kiss beneath the moon...................................................................... And I know my hearts desire, will reflect in the Beltane fire............................................................................... The circles cast, the circles brite, the blackthorne bush, a willow wand.................................................................. O' my love there is no sleep. For in this dark my eyes can see................................................................................ And by this nite, 'neath Oaken tree, the fires of Beltane come to me.

 

Beltane.

Oh, do not tell the Priest our Rite,

For they would call it sin.

But we've been in the woods all nite,

A' conjuring summer in.

I bring you news by word of mouth,

For wheat and cattle and corn.

The sun is hanging in the south,

With Oak and Ash and Thorn.

Rudyard Kipling.

Hailed as the beginning of Summer, Beltane is usually celebrated on April 30^th, or May1^st. The flowers of the hawthorn tree are in bloom (thus an olde English saying; "Do not remove your winters clot' until the May hawthorns out.") the mantle of springs culmination and summers advent beautifies the radiant Earth. Winters chains are broken for good as the wheel of the year turns from winter to summer. Love is in the air as bees carry pollen from flower to aromatic flower. The sacred union of the Goddess and God is observed and sexuality is celebrated as we regard ourselves as mirrors of the Divine plan. The tenderness of the new Spring transforms before our eyes into the lush fullness of life taking hold anew and thriving. Everywhere in root and stem and flower, the proliferation of abundance on the Earth is seen.

Beltane is celebrated as the beginning of the seasonal cycle of planting and grazing. The festival begins on Beltane eve, when the hearth fires are extinguished and re-lite from the bon fires blazing on the nearest hill. This ritual probably began as the practical and necessary practice of burning off the old brush to prepare fields for plantings. Cattle and other livestock were driven between and around bon fires as a way to ensure their health and to ward off pestilence as they were moved from protected winter shelters to summer pastures for grazing and giving birth.

In Britain, a May Queen was crowned with flowers and then married to the May King in a symbolic joining of the fertile powers of the land, the consummation of the Goddess and Gods Divine union. Thus insuring the bounty of the Earth. The May Queen represents the transformation of the Maiden into the Mother aspect of the Goddess.

This sexual license seemed to have an effect on the behavior of human mortals as well. The men and women who ventured into the woods under the guise of collecting flowers for the celebrations frequently succumbed to passion, and were said to be "Out a-Maying". Very few of these women returned virgins, and few returned pregnant, as a result of visiting the local wise woman and procuring a herbal remedy for the problem. Since at that time it was often customary for the women to pursue the men, men often wrote the name of a particular girl they were interested in onto strips of cloth and pinned them to their jackets or shirts. Thus the saying "wearing their heart on their sleeves."

One of the aspects of Wicca that sets it apart from most other religions is beautifully illustrated in a single line from "The Charge of the Goddess" where the Goddess states "All acts of love and pleasure are my Rites." The Goddess does not demand sacrifice of and from Her followers, rather, She invites us to love. Think of love and pleasure not just as gratification, but as a divine gift from the Goddess.

Blessed Be.

Look at all my trials and tribulations...

Rev. Robert 'Shadowulve" Colon  6/25/07

On being a military Pagan: circa 1974-1977

 

After leaving the baptist church in my 13^th year of life,

I discovered Wicca three years later. It was a major break through for me.I finally found something to believe in where I felt ‘at home'.( see my story "Awakening nites") When I joined the military in 1974, I took my beliefs with me. I had no problems in basic training, (I didn't have the time) nor did I have a problem with performing solitary rites in ATT. (advanced tech training). At Ft. Belvore va. There was a small wooded section close to the barracks where I could go and enjoy relative seclusion and privacy for rituals.

It wasn't until I arrived at my permanent duty station at Ft. Campbell ky. that I started to have trouble. That trouble started with our catholic "first sergeant". Up until a fateful day in 1975 I had no problems finding a secluded location on the base for rituals. I simply drove to a quiet park on base, did a quick and quiet Rite in honor of the Goddess and God, and that was it. I had all my working tools for ritual stored in a red wooden box that I kept in my locker at the barracks. I had my first Athame, my first guide book, ( a first addition copy of "The Book of Shadows" by Lady Sheba), candles and holders, incense and burner, matches, and various sundried items I thought were necessary for proper ritual, all stored in that box. On top of the box was my ‘library', a collection of books by Sybil Leek, Raymond Buckland, and Gerald Gardner.

On that fateful day, we were having a locker inspection.

The company commander and first sergeant came to my locker, and I was asked what was in the box. I replied it was religious items. The sergeant pulled the box out and opened it. He looked at the contents for awhile, then spoke the word every troop cringes when they hear. "COMFISCATED"!!! He then proceeded to follow the C.O. to finish the inspection, taking my box and contents with him. All I could do was mutter things under my breath concerning the mans parentage and linage and whether his mother knew who his father was. After the inspection I had to go to my duty station, and had to follow the "chain of command" to get my box back. I got to meet with the 1^st sergeant after the duty day was over at 5pm. I asked him about the box, and he told me it had been passed on to the C.O., and I had to wait until the next day to see him. To make a potentially long story short, it was almost a week before I was able to track down and catch up with the box and contents. I ended up meeting with the unit commander, a "bird" colonel. Hhhhmmmmm, pfc meets Colonel. (what, me nervous?) I asked him about the box and contents, and he reached behind him and placed the box on the desk in front of him and opened it. What I noticed was what wasn't in the box.

My original Athame, ( the one I made in shop class in school) was missing. It seems there was a rule on the base that no knife can have a blade longer then 3 ½ inches long. Because the Athame was a double edged dagger they measured both sides of the cutting edge. That made the blade 8 inches long. It was illegal and was not returned. I was sure that it wouldn't be a good idea to pointing out that the bayonet for my M16 was much longer then that. So I attempted to explain that it was a religious item and the blade was dull. Didn't matter. A Knife is a knife. Ok. Since we lived in the old wooden WW2 "chicken coop" barracks, the candles, holders, matches, incense and burner were 'fire hazards'. Gone. The only thing I got back with the box was my copy of "The Book of Shadows" with a design on it that wasn't approved by the author and art designer and myself. A coffee cup ring. That's right. Someone somewhere along the line decided to use it for a coaster. I wasn't amused. I also knew it wouldn't do to argue with the Colonel. I thanked him and went back to the barracks muttering curses under my breath. Then to add insult to injury, I had to endure 4, count 'em 4, 'visits' from the Chaplin. In at least 3 of these visits I was asked to "return to Jesus".

The last visit was pretty much a grilling session to find out how serious I was and how much I knew about Wicca. I was very serious. Still am over 30 years latter.

Every locker inspection after that wasn't complete unless the 1^st.Sgt. opened the box. It came to be a running joke in the barracks that the inspection would have been a half hour shorter if not for pfc Colon's box. (hahaha)

After that I went to the px and bought a zippo lighter and had a watch and jewel shop off base engrave a pentacle on both sides of it. This was my spirit candle. When it came to the rest of the alter tools, I learned to improvise and overcome. My cupped palm became a Cauldron. My index and middle finger became an Athame. On one occasion while 'playing war games' in the field, a tripod mounted M60 machine gun became a God symbol and an empty ammo can became a Goddess symbol. You haven't lived until you've seen the summer solstice sunrise come up over the barrel of a death dealing weapon of war. (yea, right)

One other occasion that comes to mind was the time I probably cast the largest circle for a solitary ritual. It was the night of the full moon, and I had overnight guard duty at the motor pool. After doing some shift swapping with the other fellows, I had arranged to be on duty between 3-5am. (also known as O-dark 30) since I had to walk the perimeter of the motor pool fence anyway, about 300 yards on a side, I cast the circle on the first lap around, walking desole. Then I called the quarters on the second lap. That done, I went to the center of the depot, purified and blessed the hood of a jeep that I used for an alter, did my full moon Rite in honor of the Goddess, then changed directions and released the quarters and opened the circle. All in two hours. A solitary ritual circle 300 yards on a side. All done with just my hands for ritual tools.

I used to use the base parks for rituals, using a different one each time. Until a friend of mine told me about a seldom used park just off the base called "Noah's cave." It was located just about 100 yards passed one of the back gates. There was a cave there that had a small spring flowing from it, and a picnic table I could use for an alter. That was where I did rituals from that day until I was discharged from the military service in 1977.

Its been 30 years, and since that time I've replaced all my original tools, and I keep them on and in my home Alter. For group and public rites I still use my fingers for an Athame. (the cops have no sense of humor when it comes to blades in a public park).

I still have the box and my first addition copy of "The Book of Shadows by Lady Sheba". The coffee cup stain on the cover reminds me that all those tools aren't really necessary. The honoring of the Goddess and God is in your heart and Spirit. As long as your committed to your faith, and your thoughts are pure, the Lord and Lady will listen.

Blessed Be.

 

There is a youngness and springtime glory about Imbolc, that at first seems out of step with februarys stark and bitter winter face. We are reminded that during this time of year the icy frost is still waiting out side our door,and we make ourselves content with home and familiar things.

The Goddess continues to thrive in Her aspect of Crone, but at Imbolc we honor the triple Goddess Brid, or Brigit in Her Maiden aspect.She is the Protecter, Preserver, and Provider of all memory and knowledge.She empowers all Her students and followers with the wisdom and knowledge to nuture the land. To keep it safe and productive for the good of all.

So it is that even in the midst of winter chill,the promice of spring has begun. Beneith the snow, life is starting anew. It returns with the promice and anticipation of the return of lite and warmth of the Sun. At this time we prepair seeds to be ready for sowing on Beltain in May, that we have saved from the previous years Lammas, Mabon, and Sowhain harvest festivals.

Winter is nearing its end, and as we cast off the darkness around us,we,too, begin to feel and flirt with a blossoming from within.We hear natures hidden voices,and as we are bound to the rhythems of the Universe, we listen for the guiding voices from within ourselves. This is a time of not only physical fire, but a Spiritual flame.At this time of year, we refect on the strength and promice of joy that Brigid and spring brings to us.We are thankful for the growing lite and warmth from the Sun and are reminded of our responsibilities both to ourselves and to those in our community. Imbolc is a time of sharing, as the Goddess and God share with us the awakening and empowering lite.

Blessed Be, Love and Life prevail. Lord and Lady we do Hail.