The Ancient Whispers Newsletter

Welcome to the Ancient Whispers Newsletter, a multi-cultural newsletter with a little something for everyone of any creed or religion. Here you will find inspiring quotes, irreverent jokes, crafts, and most importantly, historical and/or religious scholarship. Every Wednesday a new edition should appear on this website with reminder emails sent out the night before to those who have opted to join one of the many forums and mailing lists to which I subscribe. If you wish to share this newsletter with others, please keep it intact with the original authors' names on all the articles. Any articles or sections, to which an author or URL is not affixed, were written by Candace (with the exception of the various jokes found herein).

Questions, comments, and topical requests are encouraged and should be posted to the AskCandace open forum at yahoogroups. I'd like to start a help column for the newsletter, so if you'd like to have your problem featured in a newsletter, let me know when you post.

Ritual Blades
http://www.ritualblades.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
If you’re not up to making your own Athame, you may want to check out this site for some interesting blades.

Athames
http://www.whitemagic.com.au/ritualtools/athames.htm
I also found this site featuring some gorgeous, handcrafted athames with sheaths.

The Crystal Cavern
http://www.thecrystalcavern.net/AKTtools.html
Page down a bit, and you’ll find some nice, simple ritual blades suitable for personalization.

Athame Consecration Ritual
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/7213/athame.html
Once you’ve purchased your athame and/or personalized it, you may want to go to this site and perform the consecration ritual, or use it to come up with your own.
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The Pagan Month of October
can be found in its entirety Here. For more detailed entries, please visit the full calendar.

October was the eighth month of the old Roman calendar and was sacred to the goddess Astraea, daughter of Zeus and Themis.

Deireadh Fóómhair or an Damhair, the stag rut, was the Irish name for this month or Gealach a 'bhruic, moon of the badger. Winterfelleth, "winter is coming," was the Anglo-Saxon name. The Franks called October Windurmanoth, "vintage month." Hunting is the Asatru name.

The first Full Moon is called the Hunter's Moon. This moon is also known as Shedding Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Ancestor Moon or the Moon of the Dead, and the Moon of the Changing Season. It shares the name Blood Moon with July and Harvest Moon with September.

The sun passes from Libra to Scorpio around October 23rd. Marigolds are for October children. Beryl, aquamarine, opal, or tourmaline are best for people born in October, and opal or tourmaline are also the birthstones of Libra, while topaz is the stone for Scorpio. Libra has connections to aquamarine, emerald, kunzite, moonstone, opal, peridot, and pink tourmaline, and other Scorpio stones include albite, aquamarine, emerald, garnet, green tourmaline, malachite, moonstone, obsidian, and ruby.

Winter Saturday and Winter Sunday is a two-day Asatru festival held at the end of the month to commemorate the end of winter.

Chung Yeung- the Festival of High Places

Felicitas

Ra judged the dispute between Set and Horus

Going Forth of Isis

Vinalia, Meditrinalia

Aleister Crowley

Fortuna Redux

Black Land given to Horus, Red Land given to Set

Eliphas Levi

Fontinalia

Floating of the Lamps

Interplanetary Confederation Day

Festival of Horus as King

Winter's Day

The Athame is a knife, which represents Fire and the south, but is never used to cut anything physical. It is used when casting the magick circle, calling "quarters" or elements and is part of many an opening ritual, handfasting or initiation rite. In some traditions, it is customary to have your blade given to you as a gift, and some witches or ceremonial workers give their magickal tools a name.

Pronounced "a-thAM-ay," "ATH-a-may" or “a-THAW-may,” the Athame is used by many modern witches in their rituals. In the Scottish traditions, the knife is called a "yag-dirk," and in Sax Wicca it is known as a "seax" (see-ax). Not all witches use a boline, pronounced “bow-LEEN.” It is more optional even than the Athame. It is also sometimes called a burin. It is a white-hafted, sometimes curved blade, used for harvesting herbs. It is possible that the boline came into existence for the express purpose of non-ritual use. Almost all sources state that magickal tools should not be used for any other purpose than that for which they are designated. Often the blade of the Athame is left "dull" or unsharpened because of this.

As with all ritual tools, the athame is a very personal magickal item, one which you will want to take some care in obtaining. It should fit well and comfortably in your hand. Modern witchcraft books almost always state that the athame is a "black handled double edged iron blade," however many kitchen witches have opted to use the packaged black (athame) and white (boline) paring knives sold together in most grocery stores.

Many Witches make their own blades or "personalize" purchased ones with runes, carvings and other symbols; all of which serve to blend the energy of the tool with their own magickal intentions. Many practitioners now use athames made from stainless steel, copper, silver and various other metals, or even carved stone. Some have family heirlooms, such as letter openers.

Some Witches never use a blade at all. Some use a wand (more on that in a few weeks), while others use their finger to direct their energies. This is part of the reason that you should never point at something. The tradition lies in the belief that pointing at something draws the attention of the gods to that thing.

With the "Celtic Revival," the sword has become a popular magickal tool. It is sometimes used in place of, or in addition to, the athame. Most groups who hold rituals indoors limit the use of the sword to just one for the Priest/Priestess. At festivals and outdoor rituals, some witches will bring their own swords to mark the boundaries or quarter points of the circle.

Below are two crafts for your ritual blade. The first is by far the easiest. You simply buy a knife in a store and personalize it. Making your own Athame or Boline is much more difficult, but you can try your hand at it in the second craft.

Personalize your Store Bought Blade

a knife
paraffin or beeswax
hydrochloric acid
a pin and nail (make sure they are free of rust)

Some traditions call for etching something on the athame, either on the blade or the handle, but you may choose to do this simply to make it your own. The etching might be a set of specific symbols. These could include:

coven names or symbols
your magickal name in a certain alphabet
the name you have chosen for the blade
symbols of warding or intent
eye dropper

When you are ready to use the hydrochloric acid, be very careful. It is very dangerous. Wear gloves and eye protection and work in a well-ventilated area with running water. Read the label and follow the safety precautions.

Be sure to put down some wax paper, newspaper, or foil, before you begin as wax is hard to clean up and it will drip. Start by melting down the paraffin in a double boiler or by simply dripping it onto the blade as it melts. You can actually use any wax for this, but paraffin melts at the lowest temperature. Beeswax also works.

Cover the entire blade with wax plus a little extra where you will be making the etching. (If you have a commercially bought blade, you will first want to use the nail to scratch the blade itself to break up the finish.) A layer at least one centimeter thick is a good start. Use the pin to carefully place your words, letters, symbols, etc in the wax. Then use the nail to carve down to the surface of the blade through the wax. Carefully use an eyedropper to put the hydrochloric acid in the etching. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or so (sometimes less). Rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop the etching process until you are sure that all of the acid is gone. Dispose of or store any extra acid as the bottle indicates. When the acid is all taken care of, remove the wax from your athame with HOT water and some elbow grease (though be careful not to cut yourself). When you are done you will have a permanently etched blade.

Make your own Athame or Boline
adapted from Chapter 5 of The Crafting and Use of Ritual Tools
by Eleanor and Phillip Harris; ISBN 1567183468
The book contains diagrams which may be useful.

This is a difficult craft really only suitable for those with wood working experience. If you have not worked with wood before, but still want to try this craft, it might be a good idea to get more wood than your need or some scrap pieces of wood first and practice on them before moving on to something like this.

The design of your personal knife is entirely a matter of choice. The knife blade is usually made of steel, although many functioning and attractive knives have been crafted of bronze, copper, and flint blades. The knife handle can be fashioned from wood, stone, horn, deer’s foot, and an assortment of materials. This craft is for a wooden handled steel blade.

You will need:
1-2 pieces of wood (natural or commercial) of a length and thickness that you require
a knife blade
a nut or pommel that fits the screw threads of the knife’s tang
a vise
C-clamps
chisel or carving tools
wood plane or rasp or wood file
Elmer’s wood glue
sand paper

Measure the length of the blade’s tang. Cut or obtain two pieces of wood that are at least long enough to cover the tang. If the tang does not have screw threads, these pieces of wood may be as long as you wish. If it does have screw threads*, the length of the wood should be the same as the distance between the base of the blade and the beginning of the screw threads. The wood should be at least one inch thick and one inch wider than the widest part of the tang. You can always shape the handle once it is secured onto the blade tang.

Lay the tang centered onto each piece of wood and draw around it. If your blade has screw tangs, be sure that they extend from the rear of the wood blocks. The outline of the blade tang will be your guide for hollowing out the wood block. Also make an outline of the tang on a piece of tracing paper. It may be useful later.

Use a chisel or carving tool to dig out the inside of the outlined sections, and be careful not to chisel too deeply or outside of the outline. Once you’ve dug out the grove, lay the tang onto one piece of wood and lay the other on top. Do both pieces of wood fit around the tang securely and evenly? Is on piece of wood chiseled out too much? Not enough? Slowly make adjustments. Now, if the pieces of wood are slightly misaligned, that is okay. They can be glued together and reshaped with a wood plane or file later.

Take the two pieces of wood and slightly roughen the area on the same side as the outlines. You can do this by nicking the wood surface with a sharp object all around the outline area. Then spread either Elmer’s wood glue or epoxy resin glue generously over the entire surface of each wood piece. Apply glue in the grove where the tang rests, as well.

Place the two pieces of wood together with the tang of the knife between them. Remember to leave the knife’s blade screw threads visible and outside the wooden end of your handle. You will need to place the nut upon the screw threads after drying to secure the knife blade so that it will not slide out of the handle.

Once you’ve applied the glue, use a vise or C-clamp to tightly hold the two pieces together. The wooden handle must be allowed to dry thoroughly in place for three to five days. If you use a vise to secure the wood for gluing be sure to point the blade of the knife facing away from you.

Before attempting to shape the handle, use a ruler and pencil to carefully measure an outline to cut or file around. This way you will know exactly how much of the wood piece needs to be removed. This is where the tracing paper may come in handy. You don’t want to make a design that’s going to cut too deeply into the wood for fear of colliding with the tang. So make a design on the tracing paper around the traced tang, then transfer it to the wood.

Before attempting to shape the handle, cover the blade completely by wrapping it several times in a sturdy fabric or canvas. Then secure the blade in the vise on your worktable. This will prevent the knife from slipping and causing you injury while you shape the handle. Make certain that the knife is securely fastened in the vise with the blade pointed away from you before you begin work on the handle.

You may be able to use a small saw to cut away the excess wood in the shape of your design, or you may use a wood file or plane to more slowly shape the handle to your liking. It’s important to take your time and remove wood slowly. Once the points of your design are established, you only have to shape the handle in any other manner you desire, and file the handle to a circular or squared off shape. **

Sand the handle to a smooth finish if you like. From there you can paint the handle entirely, or stain it if you wish. Afterwards, you can apply your symbols and decorations.

The last step, after paint, stain, and application of your symbols, is to spray or brush on a thin layer of protective clear coat or sealant, such as varnish. Your handling of the knife could in time wear away the paint on the handle. Stain does not require the application of varnish since it actually penetrates the wood pores.

*Note: Some knife blades, although of excellent quality, have screw threads at the hand end (tang) that are metric. Unfortunately, these blades do not arrive with fasteners, usually called nuts. Finding nuts in the United states to use with them is tricky. You can take the blade to a hardware store so that the attendant there can match the threads up to a correct nut. If this doesn’t work, try an auto parts store. You may also try a pommel to screw onto the screw threads.

** If you selected a knife blade with screw threads at the end of the tang, screw a nut or pommel over the end of the exposed screw threads. If you don’t like the appearance of the nut or pommel projecting from the back of your ritual knife, hardware and lumber stores sell wooden caps that you can fit over the bolt or pommel and glue into place.

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Humor : Guardian Angel

A man was walking in the street when he heard a voice: "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step, a brick will fall down on your head and kill you." The man stopped, and a big brick fell right in front of him. The man was astonished. He went on, and after awhile he was going to cross the road. Once again the voice shouted: "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step a car will run over you and you will die." The man did as he was instructed, and a car came careening around the corner, barely missing him. "Where are you?" the man asked. "Who are you?" "I am your guardian angel," the voice answered. "Oh yeah?" the man asked. "And where the hell were you when I got married?"

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Who's Who in World Mythology : Atmu
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Who’s Who Archive.

In early Egyptian mythology, Atmu (Atem, Atum, Tem, Temu, Tum) was the local deity of Heliopolis. As the oldest of the creation gods, he was also refered to as the “divine god,” “self-created,” “maker of the gods,” and “maker of men.” He was a member of the Ennead, and the father of S(h)u and Tefnut. Later Atmu was the name given to the setting sun, and Atmu was merged with Ra to form Ra-Tem. In Egyptian art, Atmu is portrayed as a man or king, wearing the crowns of the South and North of Egypt. He carries in his hands the scepter and Ankh. Various animals are used to represent him also. These include the bull, lion, snake, and lizard.

According to the Pyramid Text of Pepi I, Atmu existed when:

not was sky,
not was earth,
not were men,
not were born the gods,
not was death.

It is not clear from this text what form he did exist in prior to creation. To form a home for himself, he created the celestial waters which the Egyptians called Nun. He lived there alone for some time before creating the heavens, the celestial bodies, gods, men, animals, and plants in a series of thoughts. These thoughts were translated to words by the god Thoth who was his mind or intelligence. As Thoth uttered these words, creation came into being.

According to one myth, Atmu was also responsible for the Deluge which killed all of mankind except for those few who were in the boat of the god. Like Osiris, he was one of the beings among the gods whose flesh never saw physical corruption. In later times, the Egyptians created a female counterpart to Atmu- Temt or Temit.

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Quote: Joan Winmill Brown
I would soon live in a cottage and wonder at everything than live in a castle and wonder at nothing.

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The Magi's Garden: Broom
For past featured foliage and the bibliography, please go to the
The Magi’s Garden Archive.

Broom (Cytisus scoparius)

Folk Names: Banal, Basam, Besom, Bisom, Bizzon, Bloddeuwedd, Breeam, Broom, Broom Tops, Brum, Genista, Green Broom, Hayweed, Irish Broom, Irish Tops, Link, Scotch Broom

Description: Broom is a member of the pea family. It grows as an evergreen or deciduous shrub in Europe and the United States, especially in rural areas of the western states. It prefers sandy coastal areas, roads, and barrens. The angular, slender stiff stems and branch up to ten feet. The small leaves grow up to a half-inch in length. Lower leaves are usually compound, tri-pinnate, downy leaflets. The solitary or paired, axillary flowers appear from April to June. They are bright yellow and pea-like, reaching about three-fourth inches across. From July to September, brownish-black shaggy pods form looking very much like bean pods. These containing twelve to eighteen seeds two to three inches long.

Effects: strong
Planet: Mars Zodiac: Aries
Element: air
Associated Deities:

Traditions:
Broom is said to bring misfortune if used in full bloom:

"If you sweep the house with blossomed broom in May,
you are sure to sweep the head of the house away."

Geoffrey, count of Anjou (1129-1149), used the broom as his badge and affixed it to his helmet. Later in the 1200s, Louis IX chose it as an emblem of humility for his new order of knighthood.

Obviously by its names, Broom or Besom, broom is traditionally used to make the brush of brooms. A broom made from the broom plant was used in handfastings. New couples would leap over it to new beginnings.

Magic:
Broom is used in purification and protection spells. If broom grows nearby any outdoor rituals, use it to sweep the area of you circle before beginning. It may be hung in the home or put in the pillow to keep evil and bad witches away. An infusion of broom in saltwater sprinkled through house dispels poltergeists and evil.

Carry broom to increase psychic power. To invoke the spirits of the air or call the wind, throw broom into the air (preferably from a mountain top). Burn it and burry the ashes to calm the wind.

The flowers are symbolic of good fortune and plenty. Add them to any such magicks.

Known Combinations:

Medical Indications: (Caution: juice may cause dermatitis in some people.) Parts used: young flowering twigs, seeds
Broom is cathartic and speeds up the heart rate. The fresh green tops were used in the 16th century as a purgative and diuretic. Equal parts seeds and twigs to dandelion have been used as a diuretic. The seeds are also emetic.
The flowering tops are said to be hallucinogenic if smoked, but I’ve read nothing to confirm or deny this.

Nutrition:
Roasting the seeds presumably removes their emetic qualities, as they were often used as a coffee substitute.

Mercantile Uses:
Broom contains fibers useful for weaving. The flowers and flowering branches make a light green dye with alum, yellow with alum and chrome, and make green if dyed over indigo.

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Cartoon

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Poem : Into the Glacier
John Haines (1964)

With the green lamp of the spirit
of sleeping water
taking us by the hand

Deeper and deeper,
A luminous blackness opening
like the wings of a raven –

as though a heavy wind
were rising through all the houses
we ever lived in –

the cold rushing in,
our blankets flying away
into the darkness,
and we, naked and alone,
awakening forever…

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Quote : Steven Wright
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

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The Power of Stones: Aurichalcite
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Power of Stones Archive.

Aurichalcite is a secondary mineral in copper and zinc deposits typically found as blue or green crusts or needle-like and tufted masses. More rarely it is found as columnar crystal masses or crusts of either lamellar aggregates or as granular aggregates.

Bravery is encouraged but not at the cost of stability. Aurichalcite teaches the lesson that the only thing to fear is fear itself. It enhances tact, peace, and harmony during social activities. This stone also allows for the release of old, non-productive emotions.

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Humor : Cloning Christ

Dial-an-Atheist® is proud to be the first to announce the exiting news: The Second Coming has occurred! Jesus has returned to earth after a long absence. Although the Bible says that he will come riding on clouds of glory and that everyone on the (necessarily flat) earth will see him at once, we are rather smug to tell you that the Bible was wrong about that. Actually, he has returned the way he arrived the first time: emerging from the womb of a surrogate mother. It so happens that the Vatican Institute of Molecular Genetics, which usually is opposed to genetic engineering and in vitro embryo techniques, decided it had waited long enough for the Second Coming and decided to do something about it. After prolonged and delicate, secret negotiations with the Archbishop of Turin, the Vatican geneticists were allowed to extract some DNA from blood spots in the Shroud of Turin. Supplementing that DNA with more extracted from various foreskins of Jesus preserved as holy relics in half-a-dozen Catholic churches and nunneries in Europe, the Vatican “techies” were able to clone Christ. (You can imagine the trouble they had trying to persuade a bunch of nuns, who consider themselves “brides of Christ,” to let go of their husband’s foreskin.) There is a problem, however. Not only has Jesus thus returned, he has returned in multiplicate. For you see, the Vatican engineers used the polymerase chain reaction to produce many copies of the surviving DNA sequences and reconstructed them in numerous enucleate human ova subsequently implanted in the wombs of surrogate mothers – as it turns out, thirteen nuns who secured the honor as part of the terms for their releasing one of the foreskins. To everyone’s surprise, all thirteen ova implanted and developed. Two years ago, all thirteen brides of Christ gave birth to identical baby Jesuses. (I guess that means they gave birth to their husbands.) Christianity has a further problem in all this. Since Jesus is a god, and there are thirteen Jesuses, it follows that there are thirteen gods, not just one, as the popes have always claimed. But the theological implications of the Vatican engineering have become even more complicated recently. Although the babies are only two years old, they have already reached physical maturity – proof positive that they are indeed gods, even if they are provably fabrications of the Vatican. Unfortunately, as in the case of Jurassic Park, the genetic engineers had to use African frog DNA to fill out the missing parts of the Jesus genome. Would you believe it? The Vatican now has the same damn problem that developed in Jurassic Park. The thirteen Jesuses maturing all together created some sort of sexual transformation pressure, just as sometimes happens in certain fishes and frogs. Seven of the thirteen Jesuses have matured into Jesinas – absolutely divine figures. Goddesses, in fact. As you know, the First Coming occurred two thousand years ago, and Jesus has been “building up pressure” for a long time. So it comes as no surprise to learn that he – I mean they, six of them – couldn’t hold it in any longer. They impregnated their seven sisters – I mean they impregnated themselves, since genetically they are all identical. Now a second divine generation is about to begin, and it’s anybody’s guess if Jesus will give birth to himself, or perhaps themselves, or whether we are in for some unimaginable surprise. “With God,” the Ohio state motto tells us, “all things are possible.” Meanwhile, all thirteen Jesoids are finishing their catechism studies and shortly will be confirmed by Pope John-Paul II as Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite. Unless, of course, he excommunicates them for the sin of incest – or would it be “self-abuse”?

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A Dreamer's Guide : Mahogany to Malta Cross

For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Dreamer's Guide Archive.

Polishing or feelings of admiration for Mahogany predicts improvement of your living conditions, perhaps due to an inheritance.

If you were a Maid, insurmountable obstacles lie ahead. Having several maids is a sign of prosperity however. If you married a maid, your employer will love you.

You will be disappointed in love if you are unmarried and dreamt of being a Maiden. For a married person, this indicates a false friend is near. For an elderly woman, a dream of being a maiden is a promise of a comfortable income.

Mailing a package means you will receive a gift, and mailing out a check in your letter indicates good news. A false friend is cheating you if you sent out documents. You will become jealous if you mailed out anything of value.

Unpleasant news is on its way if the Mailman brought you letters, but if he handed you a special delivery, you will have lick and prosperity. If a mailman placed letters in his own mailbox, your enemies will fail to do you harm. Jealousy will bring you harm if you handed your letter directly to the mailman, and if he had no letters for you, you will be disappointed. If you had a conversation with the mailman, you will implicate yourself in some scandalous proceedings.

If a beautiful woman applied Make-up, it is a warning of deception. You will have trouble in love if a plain woman wore it. If a man dreamed of wearing cosmetics, he will experience loss of authority, but for a woman, wearing make-up means satisfaction and good income.

Feeling Malice for someone in your dreams means you will have misfortune in love. If you felt this emotion towards many people, beware of persecution. Malice toward your family means unhappiness, while malice toward your love indicates danger through a secret. A known enemy is working to do you harm if someone used you maliciously.

A Mallet denotes unkind treatment from friends due to some illness.

Your enemies will fail against you if you dreamt of Malt. Adding water to malt to cause fermentation augurs good luck for your loved ones. A period of wealth is coming if you made malt from barley. Malted milk is a warning to avoid your rivals however. Drinking malted drinks foretells dangerous affairs which will bring you much benefit.

An officer decorated with the Malta Cross indicates good friends. You will attain good fortune through your own merit if you were given this honor. Luck and prosperity were presaged if a civilian received it.

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Quote : Jill Wolf
There’s something in a simple hug that always warms the heart; it welcomes us back home and makes it easier to part.

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