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.
Some Sites of Interest
Bead Work Tutorials
Grandpa’s General Store
Blue Moon
Ancient Circles
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This Pagan Week : November
Humor : Playing Doctor
Article : Tools of the Trade: Part 6: The Pentacle
Quote : Frank A Clark
Craft of the Week : Pentagram
Humor : Why I Never Wash
Who's Who in World Mythology : Audhumla
Quote : Frank Outlaw
The Magi's Garden : Burdock
Cartoon
Poem : The Moon and the Yew Tree
Quote : Edward Everett Hale
The Power of Stones : Azulicite
Humor : The Great Debate
A Dreamer's Guide : Mat to Maze
Quote : Ambrose Redmoon
Previous Newsletters
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Some Sites of Interest
Bead Work Tutorials
http://www.homestead.com/EagleSpiritUK/BeadWorkTutorials.html
For those who like to make jewelry, here are several bead patterns that you can use to make your own. Toward the bottom, you’ll see two patterns for making pentacles.
Grandpa’s General Store
http://grandpasgeneral.com/pent2.html
I found a lovely handmade Pewter Pentacle Altar Table here for only $30.00.
Blue Moon
http://www.oscoda.net/bluemoon/pentagrams.html
Some nice Pentagram items may be found here.
Ancient Circles
http://www.ancientcircles.com/textiles/tapestries/index.html
Here are some really nice tapestries in a variety of colors and designs, including a pentacle towards the bottom.
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The Pagan Month of November
can be found in its entirety Here. For more detailed entries, please visit the full calendar.
November took its name as the ninth month of the Roman calendar. As the first month of the winter quarter, November was the first month of the new year according to Celtic traditions, Samhain (La Samhna - Irish) being the first day of the new year. Cailleach had guardianship of this month.
Called Blotmonath, the month of sacrifice, by the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks called this month Herbistmanoth, " harvest month," and Fogmoon is the Asatru name. It was called Samhain or an t-Samhainn, summer's end, by the Irish, the month of the festival of Samhain.
The full moon of November is called the Beaver Moon. It is the Mourning or Frosty Moon, and it may also be referred to as the Moon When Deer Shed Antlers, the Fog Moon, or the Moon of Storms, a name it shares with February and March. Some call it the Dark Moon or Mad Moon.
Scorpio gives way to Sagittarius around November 22nd. Scorpios and other folk born in Those born to this month have the Chrysanthemum for their birth flower. November children have topaz for their stone, though one list mentions pearl as a stone for November, while the birthstone of Sagittarius is turquoise or lapis lazuli. Other stones associated with Scorpio are albite, aquamarine, emerald, garnet, green tourmaline, malachite, moonstone, obsidian, and ruby. Amethyst, azurite, labradorite, pink tourmaline, ruby, sodalite, and topaz are also linked to Sagittarius.
On the tenth day of the waning moon, Buddhists and Hindus of Nepal hold a day long festival in honor of the mother goddess Gujeswari. Devotees bring offerings to her temple built around a spring in the Katmandu Valley. They pray before a sacred water vessel made of red clay called a Kalash, and in the evening, they carry a copy of this vessel in a musical procession which winds through neighboring towns.
Guy Fawkes Night
Tiamat’s birthday
Raising the Djed Pillar
Opening of the Mundus Cereris
Gwynn ap Nudd
Fuigo Matsuri (the Feast of Bellows)
Helena
Loy Krathong
Old November Eve or Martinmas Eve
Old November Day, Martinmas or Hollentide
Vinalia/ St. Martin’s Day
Einherjar
Lunantishees
Weather to day foretells the approaching winter weather
Lamentations of Isis
Feronia
Isis grieved for Osiris
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| Humor: Playing Doctor |
|---|
| A doctor died and arrived in heaven. St. Peter met him at the pearly gates and checked him in. After he registered, St. Peter said, "Look at the time! You must be hungry. Heaven Cafeteria is serving lunch, why don't you get yourself something to eat?"
The doctor went to the cafeteria and noticed the long line. He immediately cut in at the front, only to hear loud protests. "I'm a doctor," he says, "I'm a busy man, I don't have time to wait in line." The others said, "You're in heaven now, we're all the same here, get to the back of the line and wait your turn!" A few minutes later, waiting patiently in line for lunch, the doctor noticed another man come dashing in wearing scrubs and a lab coat, stethoscope around his neck. He butted in at the head of the line, but no one uttered a peep. "Hey," he saied to the guy in front of him, "who does that guy think he is?" "Oh, that's God," said the man, "He likes to play doctor." |
Article : Tools of the Trade:
Part 6: The Pentacle
by Candace
In many instances, fire is suggested for cleansing tools and other paraphernalia. This isn’t always practical as you may not like handling even the relatively small open flame of a candle, and some items are flammable. As a representative of Earth*, the Pentacle is a good alternative to flames. It may be used to cleanse or consecrate any other items on your altar, and it can be anything from a simple pendant to a large tabletop plate or plaque. Typical pentacles are metal, ceramic or carved from wood.
Of all the symbols and tools used in Paganism and witchcraft, the Pentacle is probably the most misunderstood. Other names for this symbol include pentalpha, pentagram, Solomon’s Seal or Solomon’s Shield, Star of Bethlehem, Three King’s Star, wizard’s star, Star of Logres, devil’s sign, witches’ cross, goblin’s foot, and Drudenfus (German: Druid’s Foot). The pentacle has long been used in ceremonial magic and its history stretches back approximately 6000 years. It is a feminine tool of the North and represents the Goddess, but it is not only a symbol of feminine energy and consecration. It has been found in Nordic countries drawn on the doors of barns and storehouses to ward off trolls and invoke protection. It is also used for grounding. The pentacle acts as a traditional ward of protection and is one of the official symbols of Magick users today.
The typical pentagram is a five-point star, one point pointing straight up. This is taken to represent the human body, the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, and soul), the Earth (four corners of the earth and the vault of the heavens), and many other things. While this simple representation is common, there are many variations on the theme. There is Penelope’s Web, the Pentacle Flower, and the Ringed Pentacle to name a few. Just as Catholics make the sign of the cross over themselves, the sign of the pentacle is formed with the right hand from left breast, to forehead, to right breast, to left shoulder, to right shoulder, to left shoulder again.
In ancient times, the pentacle stood for life and health. Many researchers believe it was derived from the apple core pentacle of the Earth-mother. If you cut an apple horizontally, you will see the pentacle too. To Gypsies, this is the Star of Knowledge. They claimed this was the only correct way to cut an apple, especially if it were to be shared by two lovers at their wedding or after intercourse.
*Note: You can use a bowl of salt to represent the Earth, rather than an altar pentacle. Salt is also used to cleanse tools, crystals, jewelry or any item that may pick up negative energy. A small bowl of salt (coarse sea salt is best) is simply kept on the altar instead of a pentacle.
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| Quote : Frank A. Clark |
|---|
| Everyone is trying to accomplish something big,
not realizing that life is made up of little things. |
Craft of the Week: The Pentagram
Candace
The pentagram is a very powerful protective amulet. In addition to its uses as a cleansing or consecration tool, you might want to consider it as a tool for grounding. To this end, if you make any kind of permanent circle or work area, you should consider a pentagram for any entry points. This will not only serve to ground you before and after your work, it will protect the circle or room from unwanted invasions and harmful energies.
The pentagram can be made out of any substance –wood, stone, glass, bone, clay, fabric, etc. It can even be fashioned from living plants if you are adept at growing topiary and have a suitable outdoor area. The substances you use to make your own pentagram will be unique to your personality and abilities. If you work best with stones, you may choose to make a painted step-stone, a mosaic, or an etched metal plaque. If you work better with organic materials, you may opt for a painted or burned wooden plaque, a clay impression, or a weaving or cross-stitched mat.
If you plan on using your pentagram as a warding sign to pass over as you enter your work space, a plaque, stone, mosaic, or mat of some kind would be best. This should be cleaned, cleansed, and retouched periodically as needed. That is to say, it should be kept physically free of marks and scuffs and repaired when it becomes damaged. And since it is being used in this instance as a protective sign, it should also be periodically cleansed to keep it working at optimal levels. The more traffic that passes over the sign, the more often it should be renewed. I would personally do this on the dark of the moon to remove unwanted energies. You’ll have to decide for yourself how often you’ll need to do this depending upon how often you and others pass over it.
For a very simple pentagram, you’ll need a pencil, a marker, a pair of scissors, a ruler, some paper, paint and brushes, and a very large, flat rock. You may choose not to use the paper as some might consider it an unnecessary step, but if you don’t want to make any mistakes, it’s a good extra step to have. Map out your pentagram on the paper, making sure every line is the same length and each point is the same distance apart. When you are satisfied with your creation, cut it out and lay it on the stone. Once you are satisfied with its placement, mark each point of the star on your rock.
At this point, you can either remove the paper and use the ruler to draw the lines in pencil (if your stone is flat enough), or you may trace the star directly onto your rock. Once you have the star design on your rock, you can use your marker to make the lines easier to see before painting. You can also use this as a way to give your pentagram the appearance of interlacing lines. This isn’t necessary for the power of the talisman, but the pentagram formed of one continuous line is a popular form. The amount of color you use on your pentagram is entirely up to you. Black and white would be sufficient, but depending upon the uses you intend to put it to, more colors may be added according to your personal preference.
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| Humor : Why I never wash |
|---|
| Disgusted with the excuses parishioners offered as to why they didn’t attend worship services, a pastor included “Reasons Why I Never Wash” in the Sunday bulletin as a parody of why his parishioners often missed his sermons.
I was forced to as a child.
|
Who's Who in World Mythology : Audhumla
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Who's Who Archive.
Audhumla is the mother cow in Norse mythology and the first creature to emerge from Ginnungagap, “yawning emptiness,” at the beginning of creation. On either side of the void were Niflheim, the land of fog and ice in the north, and Muspelheim, the land of fire in the south.
From Audhumla’s teats flowed four rivers of milk, but while her breath was very sweet, her milk was bitter. Ymir, the first giant, fed himself by this milk. Bur (Buri), father of Bor who was in turn the father of the Aesir, was uncovered from the salty ice by Audhumla’s licking. For three days Audhumla licked a stone. On the first day, hair sprouted from this stone, and on the second day, a head formed. On the third day, Buri arose.
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| Quote: Frank Outlaw |
|---|
| Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. |
The Magi's Garden: Burdock
For past featured foliage and the bibliography, please go to the
The Magi's Garden Archive.
Burdock (Arctium spp, A lappa, A minus)
Description: Arctium lappa is a biennial found from east Canada to Illinois and Pennsylvania. It is a European plant however. Burdock prefers limey soil and will grow up to a two-foot root. The root is long, fleshy, gray-brown outside and whitish inside. In the second year, the plant grows a furrowed, reddish, pithy stem six to eight feet long with woolly branches. The first year plant has only basal, rhubarb-like leaves. The plant always has large basal and alternately arranged leaves, oblong-cordate to cordate or heart-shaped. The have a long stem and are green and hairy on top, downy gray beneath. The edges are wavy. The stems of lower leaves are grooved on the upper side. In the second year plant, spiky purple flowers appear in loose corymb clusters from July to October. These produce long-stalked, large-hooked burs up to one and one-half inches which cling to passing animals and people. Arctium minus resembles A. lappa, but is smaller. It is found in Canada south to Kansas and the Virginias. The burs and stalks are also smaller, and the stalks of lower leaves are hollow and not grooved. It flowers from July to October.
Effects: gentle
Planet: Venus Zodiac Libra, Sagittarius
Element: water
Associated Deities:
Traditions:
Burdock is used as a fasting tea in some Indian traditions.
The name Arctium, from arktos meaning “bear,” is in reference to the roughness of the burrs. Lappa is derived from a word meaning “to seize” or “hand.” The old English names like Aireve and Airup come from reafe, a “robber,” or reafian, “to seaize.” The burrs have been used as temporary fasteners for ripped clothes or missing buttons.
Velcro was directly inspired by the ability of burdock burrs to attach themselves to nearly any fabric. It was invented by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral as he walked his dog one day in 1948 and noticed some burrs attached to his sock. It took thirty years for Velcro to catch on however.
Magic:
Scatter the dried plant, sprinkle an infusion, or add some burdock to wash-water and use around your home to ward off negativity. It may also be used to purify. Protective incense and spells benefit from the addition of this common plant. Gather the roots in a waning moon for protection against evil and negativity.
Health wise, burdock leaves on soles of feet are said to ease gout. Eating it is also said to neutralize and eliminate poisons in your system.
Known Combinations:
none noted
Medical Indications: (Caution: interferes with iron absorption when taken internally) Parts used: root, seeds, leaves
Burdock is a cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, and external antibacterial and anti-fungal. It acts as a blood cleanser. Boiled, the liquid may be used as a wash or reserved to make a balm for skin disease, rheumatism, gout, and respiratory problems. The bruised leaves are useful as a poultice for bruises, sores, acne, and inflammations. A poultice may also be applied as quick remedy for poison oak or ivy. During the Middle Ages, a poultice of bruised leaves in wine was even recommended for leprosy. While there is no cure for leprosy, such a poultice would certain benefit the condition considering its other qualities.
The seeds have been used to stimulate the kidneys, and the leaves help stimulate secretions of bile. Burdock also serves to eliminate uric acid which is why it benefits certain forms of arthritis and gout. It relieves lymphatic congestion, restores liver and gallbladder function, and stimulates the immune system. Tea or a burdock tincture is recommended for stomach problems, but while a decoction or infusion of root is aperient for some, it may constipate others. An old Pennsylvanian Dutch tonic called for burdock tea made from a year old root, and this was also used as a wash for dandruff and itchy scalp.
Nutrition:
If you plan on eating burdock root, it should be harvested in the first year in June or July. It is peeled, sliced into thin strips, and boiled 30 minutes (1/4 tsp of baking soda may be added to first change of water). Then the water is changed and simmered till tender and fried with butter. You may also try mashing the root into cakes and frying them in butter. The Iroquois dried the root and used it in soups. Some people compare the flavor to artichokes while others have named asparagus. The fresh root can often be found in health stores if nowhere else because if their high mineral content.
The tender shoots may be peeled and eaten raw or in salad with oil and vinegar, and the young leaf stems are boiled or eaten raw if peeled. Young leaves are added to salads and soups, or prepared as cooked greens. The flower stalks may also be eaten before flowering once they have been peeled and cooked. They may also be simmered in sugar syrup to make candy.
Fish or game may be wrapped in Burdock leaves and left in a fire pit to cook. The roots are also collected and roasted for a coffee substitute. They maybe cut up and boiled like potatoes or fried like cutlets.
Mercantile Uses:
Because burdock readily grows in most waste places, it is seldom cultivate anywhere but Japan, though it is a popular food in some places. However, while some authors have stated horses will not browse on the leaves, my horse ate it readily as a child. Perhaps it is an acquired taste.
Burdock has been collected and frequently burned by farmers in the autumn to make fertile ash for their fields. Large amounts of burdock growing on your land generally means the soil has a low pH level, is heavy in iron, and needs calcium.
The leaves are also a good toilet paper if you’re in dire need.
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Cartoon
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Poem : The Moon and the Yew Tree
Sylvia Plath (1963)
This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary.
The trees of the mind are black. The light is blue.
The grasses unload their griefs on my feet as if I were God,
Prickling my ankles and murmuring their humility.
Fumey, spirituous mists inhabit this place
Separated from my house by a row of headstones.
I simply cannot see where there is to get to.
The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right,
White as a knuckle and terribly upset.
It drags the sea after it like a dark crime; it is quiet
With the O-gape of complete despair. I live here.
Twice on Sunday, the bells startle the sky—
Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection.
At the end, they soberly bong out their names.
The yew tree points up. It has a Gothic shape.
The eyes lift after it and find the moon.
The moon is my mother. She is not sweet like Mary.
Her blue garments unloose small bats and owls.
How would I like to believe in tenderness—
The face of the effigy, gentled by candles,
Bending, on me in particular, its mild eyes.
I have fallen a long way. Clouds are flowering
Blue and mystical over the face of the stars.
Inside the church, the saints will be all blue,
Floating on their delicate feet over the cold pews,
Their hands and faces stiff with holiness.
The moon sees nothing of this. She is bald and wild.
And the message of the yew tree is blackness – blackness and silence.
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| Quote : Edward Everett Hale |
|---|
| Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time. Some people bear all three-all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have. |
The Power of Stones: Azulicite
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Power of Stones Archive.
Sanidine or Azulicite is a feldspar crystal. It may be colorless, white, gray, yellowish white, or reddish white. Prior to cleaning, it is a light blue-gray to gray-green iridescent stone coated with chlorite and limonite. After cleaning, it will be a light yellow with blue-gray adularescences. Azulicite enhances both communication of and understanding of intellectual topics. It also enhances our ability to communicate with non-human entities and increases the ability to astral travel.
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| Humor : The Great Debate |
|---|
| About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave Rome. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Jewish community. So the Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish community. If the Jew won, the Jews could stay. If the Pope won, the Jews would leave.
The Jews realized that they had no choice. They looked around for a champion who could defend their faith, but no one wanted to volunteer. It was too risky. So they finally picked an old man named Moishe who spent his life sweeping up after people to represent them. Being old and poor, he had less to lose, so he agreed. He asked only for one addition to the debate. Not being used to saying very much as he cleaned up around the settlement, he asked that neither side be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed. The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Moishe pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, “I give up. This man is too good. The Jews can stay.” An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what happened. The Pope said, “First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger, to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him, that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground, showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?” Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe, amazed that this old, almost feeble-minded man had done what all their scholars had insisted was impossible! “What happened?” they asked. “Well,” said Moishe, “first he said to me that the Jews had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here.” “And then?” asked a woman. “I don’t know,” said Moishe. “He took out his lunch and I took out mine.” |
A Dreamer's Guide : Mat to Maze
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Dreamer's Guide Archive.
Dreaming of a Mat will bring you sorrow, and if it was at a door, there will be trouble, possibly from an unwelcome visitor. A straw mat is a warning of poverty. A mat found in a room means your enemies will fail.
It is only through your own efforts that you will become rich if you saw Matches in a dream. If a box of them was in your pocket, financial gain is close at hand, but while buying them also means money, it will be considerably less. Matches found in the home indicate misfortune in love. Lighting a match is an augury of unexpected gain, income, or news.
Matching items up with their partners –shoes, gloves, etc– predict a sudden increase in material wealth, possibly as a legacy or gamble.
A Matron is a sign that you will live to a ripe old age, but if you argued with her, death is near. Happy days are ahead if you were one, but becoming one is a warning of danger to your family. You will make money if you were disliked as a matron.
Pleasant prospects and cheerful news from the absent is indicated by Matting. If it was old or torn, you will be vexed.
Duties and responsibility will weigh you down if you dreamt of a Mattress. There will be worries if you had a mattress, while buying one is a promise of ease. Your desires will be fulfilled if you repaired your own mattress. Sleeping on a new mattress signifies contentment with your present surroundings. A mattress factory is an augury of thrifty partners in a new business venture that will bring you wealth.
Eating or serving Matzoth means some past kindness will come back to you in a surprising form.
Serious trouble is foretold by a Mausoleum. Being in a mausoleum indicates illness, and if you went to visit at one, the illness will be long. Death to a close friend is presaged by others in a mausoleum.
Mauve is the color of unhappiness. Any items of this color are a warning of trouble. If you bought clothes in this color, you will lose money.
Do not be discouraged if you dreamed of May during that month, but dreaming of May at any other time is a forecast of financial difficulties. You will be successful if you dreamt of being born in May, and you will live a long life if your children were born in May. Flowers in May are a sign of disappointment and bad news, but any uncharacteristic weather in May is a sign of sudden sorrow and disappointment clouding your pleasure.
May Bugs predict an ill-tempered companion where you expected a pleasant one.
Good times are coming after a dream of a Maypole. If it was wreathed in flowers, you will have joy but no profit. The more open the area around the pole, the more beneficial and momentous the events to come.
A mystery will be solved if you saw a Maze. If you were lost in one, you are surrounded by unhappiness, but if you found your way out, your problems will be solved. Beware of domination by insincere friends if you failed to find an exit.
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| Quote : Ambrose Redmoon |
|---|
| Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. |
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