Wheel of the Year Circle

Let me know if you're interested. Special rate for Swap-Botters ONLY ($6 per class, pd in full)!

The Mind Body Spirit movement is for busy people who want to continue to enjoy learning in their life. Courses are independent which means you can work at your own rate ~ whenever it suits you and you can enroll any time during the year. Unless otherwise specified, you may choose how often you get each lesson.

On-line courses are:

* low cost
* accessible anytime, from anywhere
* designed for busy or isolated people
* available without prior qualifications

They are purely for personal interest and enjoyment and require no previous knowledge of the subject areas. There are no exams and no degrees are awarded. All you need is Internet access and basic computing skills. There are opportunities for you to interact with other course members, as well as with the course leader.

New lessons are sent on Sundays.

Walking for Life 52 weekly lessons

Working with Mandalas 8 lessons

Living Holistically 8 lessons

Basic Chakra Work 12 lessons

Laughter: Good for the Mind, Body and Spirit 16 lessons

Comfort Crafts: A Year of Feeding Your Soul 12 monthly lessons

Living in Season: The Pagan Sabbats 8 lessons (about 6 weeks apart)

Check out Kellianna's music at: www.kellianna.com Goddess & Mythology inspired folk music and chant.

Is there a web site for the Mind Body Spirit thing? It sounds interesting.

The Mind Body Spirit project are classes I am offering through where I work: The Pyramid Holistic Wellness Center (www.pyramidvt.com). I also have a bi-monthly TV show with the same name. I teach several in person classes at the Center and we are trying to offer online classes now to reach another audience. If there is one that interests you - I'd be happy to send you a description and can answers other questions, as well. Thanks for the interest. Lady T

Find Something for Your Altar

You don't actually have to spend money if you are not inclined to. But keep your eye open today, and see things from a Pagan viewpoint. You can peek in shop windows, or look to nature. See what you can find that might be used to represent the elements, Deity or maybe just things that catch your eye.

Spiritual elements are all around us if you let yourself see them. Your altar doesn't need to only hold "real" tools bought at your local occult shop. Anything can be used. Design your next ritual to use your latest acquisition.

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."

The Dalai Lama

Sabbat Basics

The Pagan calendar is often referred to as the "Wheel of the Year", emphasizing the cyclical nature of the world around us. In Paganism, eight festivals, called "Sabbats," are celebrated as a means of attunement to the seasonal rythms of the moon and spaced at approximately even intervals thorughout the year. Esbats, which are additional meetings, usually smaller celebrations or study groups, held on full or new moons.

Each holiday has a wealth of history and tradition (depending on the source) surrounding it, but this page should explain the basics of each Sabbat. The word "Sabbat" is connected to the Great Goddess.

When one really looks at the Sabbats and what actually transpires, it is the Goddess, in her form as Mother Earth, who moves to and from the Sun, and it is She who creates the seasonal changes; it is She who dances the Wheel of Life and not the Sun. The Sun is stationary. If She stopped dancing, part of the world would be in darkness and part would be forever in the light. It is She who rotates on the axis which makes it look like the Sun is shifting when actually it is Mother Earth who shifts, as does the Moon. Our light and darkness and our seasonal changes are determined by Mother Earth and her dance around the Sun creating the Wheel of the Year. Mother Earth/Nature and the Wheel of the Year is what Paganism (known as the Goddess religion) is all about.

Now, the Pagan Sabbats have evolved into there being many ways to look at the Sabbats. What the Sabbats really teach us which is striving for balance between the outer external life (male) and the consciousness-directed inner life (female). The inner life must be the ruler of the outer life. Through the Goddess and the feminine path, we will be able to bring into balance the masculine and feminine parts of ourselves. However, and most importantly with regards to Nature itself, the only true balance is life and death and that is through the Goddess. True Nature can be harsh and cruel through draughts, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat, etc. The Goddess Religion is not about duality/polarity but of Her seasonal changes as well as all Her children of the Earth. Many say it is a fertility religion. Fertility is only one fourth of the pie. Just as there are four seasons so are the passages which all her species go through-----youth, maiden, mother and crone. And at the Youth and Crone aspects, there is nothing fertile about us. Men's sperm takes them through even old age. They might not be as active but they can produce even up to early 80s!

Many Pagans interact with the Sabbats in a more spiritual and growing manner. They bring it more into their daily lives. Today, we interact with the Sabbats in a deeper, spiritual manner. The Sabbats can be seen as a birth of new ideas or a new way of living life, having balance in your live, celebrating and being thankful for what we have not only in each other but being thankful for the food that comes from the Great Mother. It is about dealing with loss of loved ones and letting go of things we no longer need to make room once again for the birth of new ideas. The Sabbats enrich our lives in a spiritual nature and we, as children of the Goddess, are able to find peace within ourselves and to love all her creations. Through the Sabbats, we dance the dance of life and sing, make love and grow from the lessons we learn as we make our journey on the Wheel that the Lady turns.

If one really looks at the Sabbats, one will see that the 8 Sabbats are redundant in nature. If you look at Yule and Candlemas, they are very similar; as we saw the Spring Equinox is basically the same as Beltane. At the Summer Solstice it is the death of the Sun; then at Lammas the death of the Corn God who is sacrificed for us to live; then the Fall Equinox, it is time to say farewell as things are coming to an end but then at Samhain, we release things of old to bring in the new.

Following the true Celtic traditions of Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain, which are called the Greater Sabbats. These Sabbats represent the land and Mother earth and vegetation while the Solstices and Equinoxes are celebrations of the Sun, which are called the Lessor Sabbats.

The Pagans of yesteryear probably celebrated the Sabbats as a festival where people gathered and shared in the seasonal changes and not standing in some cast circle, calling in Quarters with athames flying and incense flowing. They might have simply performed some sort of celebration in their home in honor of that Sabbat. Many of the pagans were farmers and worked from sunrise to sunset. Their lives were just as busy in simply trying to survive as our lives are busy now.

Imbolc Feb 2 Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigid's Day Imbolc is a day to celebrate the first glimpses of Spring, and it is also dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Brigid. Non-Pagans celebrate today as Groundhog Day. Make new starts in life, as you give your home a thorough cleaning. Traditions: Burning fires and candles, cleaning, making a bed for Brigid Correspondences: carnation, rosemary, chamomile, milk

Ostara Approx. March 21 Spring Equinox, Lady Day This is another holiday that has been overlaid with Christian meanings (Easter). Eggs and bunnies are typical symbols, representing new birth and new life. Plant the seeds of long-term goals. Traditions: Colouring eggs, decorating with flowers Correspondences: jasmine, daffodil, lotus, new spring flowers

Beltane May 1 May Day, Walpurgis Night The God born at Yule is now a man, and the sacred marriage between God and Goddess is consumated. Beltane is a celebration of fertility, growth, love and passion. However you celebrate Beltane, do it with joy and happiness. Traditions: Dancing around the May Pole, lighting bonfires Correspondences: Rose, lilac, vanilla

Midsummer Approx. June 21 Litha, Summer Solstice, Whitsun Midsummer is the longest day of the year, and the strength of the Sun God begins to wane. The Goddess has left her Maiden form of Imbolc and is now in her Mother aspect. Refill your herb collection for the coming year. Traditions: Fairy magick, collecting herbs Correspondences: Orange, lemon, honeysuckle, vervain

Lammas August 1 Lughnasadh As the first of the three harvest festivals, much of the symbolism for Lammas revolves around grains and bread. Sacrifices were common, though mostly symbolic, in order to ensure the continued success of the harvest. Traditions: Bread baking, making corn dollies Correspondences: corn, sandalwood, heather

Mabon Approx. Sept 21 Autumn Equinox, Cornucopia Day and night are equal again, and the weather grows colder as winter approaches. This is the second harvest festival. Rituals of thanks at this time have brought about the modern holidays of Thanksgiving. Take some time to think about what you are thankful for. Traditions: Making and drinking of wine, share with the less fortunate Correspondences: grapes, blackberries, cedar, patchouli

Samhain Oct 31 Hallowe'en, All Hallows Samhain (SOW-en) is the one Sabbat that is also widely celebrated amongst non-Pagans. The God has died, and the Goddess mourns him until his rebirth at Yule. It's the last harvest festival, and the end of the Wiccan year. Traditions: Divination, honouring the dead, carving Jack o' Lanterns Correspondences: pumpkins, apples, sage, mugwort

Yule Approx. Dec 21 Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Alban Arthan The holiday of Yule was celebrated long before Christians adopted the date. Many of the Christmas traditions we see today stem from old Pagan customs. As the solstice, it is the longest night of the year. From this day forward, light begins to return and we celebrate the rebirth of the Sun God. Traditions: lighting the Yule log, wreath making, gift giving Correspondences: pine, holly, myrrh, cinnamon,

I will be out of town and probably not near a computer from 3 pm on Wednesday, 10/15 to Sunday, 10/19. So I will not be assigning partners until then. Thanks . . . Butterfly Lightkeeper.

I have assigned partners - AND emailed each of you my Samhain rituals and extras. It was sent from my personal email address s- check your junkbox , if you haven't received it! ENJOY!!!

Wheel of the Year (2) for Yule is up and running!!!

Some Pagan Giggles . . . .

You might be a techno-Pagan if: Your altar has a keyboard Your patron Deity has a homepage You end your circle with Ctrl-Alt-Del You keep a Disk of Shadows You buy altar supplies at Future Shop or Computer City You have a mouse pad as an altar cloth