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.

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.

Praetextatus and Paulina

Makahiki

Sekhmet and the Purifying Flame

Kukulcan

Hathor

Alpha-Monocerotids

Ydalir

Artemis Calliste

first day of winter according to the Julian calendar

feast day of Wayland the Smith

Nihinahe or Shinjosai Festival

Tori-No-Ichi

Adar Kansha

Day of Offerings to Sekhmet

Persephone

Women's Merrymaking Day

Paracelsus

Though used in very different fashions, the cauldron and chalice have much in common. Both symbolize water and the goddess, and both represent the west. A cauldron is a cast-iron pot, usually pot-bellied in style, with three legs. The chalice has been likened to the bowl of the cauldron on a stem. Though they are used in solitary practice, many consider them more suitable for group use.

From a Celtic viewpoint, the three legs of the cauldron can be seen as representatives of the typical three-fold goddess coming together as the basis of one body or soul. For this reason, it is often used as a sign of unity and the focal point of group rituals. Like the cauldron, the chalice represents the womb of the Goddess. The base is symbolic of the material world, while the stem symbolizes the connection between mankind and spirit. The bowl of the chalice is the womb of the goddess, and the opening symbolically receives spiritual energy.

As a symbol of the goddess, the cauldron represents the great womb where spirit, inspiration, and wisdom are born. One need only read the story of Ceridwen to understand its use as a symbol of reincarnation and transformation. Flowers are sometimes placed around the cauldron, to further identify it with the fertility of the Goddess or to honor her. As an emblem of hearth and home, it is still used as a cooking utensil and thus provides nourishment and abundance to mankind.

The cauldron’s original use was as a cooking pot. It may still be used to brew teas or to make a stew for after your ritual is done. The cauldron may also be used as a scrying tool. Filled partially with water, gazing into it in a darkened room may reveal the future. Though the cauldron represents Water and may be used to make potions and brews, many rituals also call for small fires or incense to be burned in the cauldron. If you plan on doing this, make sure to have a cauldron that can take the heat. You don’t want the bottom to fall out while you’re in the middle of a crucial ritual.

Though many Pagans refrain from actively using the cauldron in their rituals, they keep one for its symbolism. It doesn't need to be enormous however. The cauldron comes in a variety of sizes - from small cauldrons that can be held in the palm of one hand to huge cauldrons requiring three men to move it. During rituals, depending on the size, the cauldron may be placed on the altar or the floor. Cunningham advocates an iron cauldron, but while the Farrars agree, they consider brass or copper easier to find. If you intend to keep water only in your cauldron, consider a material other than iron. Continual exposure to the water can make it rust. Cauldrons do need some care, especially if you burn things in them or use them to hold water. You will need to heat and oil the iron ones, just like an old iron frying pan.

If you only need a container to hold water, the cauldron may be replaced by the chalice. A bowl may replace both the cauldron and chalice if neither is available. Like the cauldron, the cup or chalice is a symbol of feminine energy and is sacred to the Goddess. It represents openness and receptivity. As a holy vessel symbolic of everything represented by the cauldron, it is used for offerings, especially to the Goddess. Any time you wish to honor the Goddess with a toast, use a chalice. Some drink from the chalice in tribute, while others pour the drink on the ground as a libation. Some prefer to combine the two practices, sharing what they have with the Goddess. The chalice is also used to hold water, either plain or salted, for use in consecrating tools, amulets, or other items.

Like the cauldron, the chalice comes in many shapes and sizes, but unlike the cauldron, the chalice can be made of any material - horn, shell, gourds, wood, stone, glass, alabaster, soap stone, or clay. Of late, metal has become a very popular material for chalices, and silver has become the preferred material due to its long association with the moon and the Goddess. Pewter is also popular due to its silver-like luster when polished. While a metal cauldron is much preferred, a metal chalice may not be. If your chalice contains any brass, it may produce a toxin when exposed to wine and certain other drinks. If you notice a funny taste to your wine from your chalice, don't use it! A ceramic or clay chalice is preferable and gaining in popularity.

The Chalice is actually used more today than its close relative, the Cauldron. It is traditional in many covens to pass the chalice around all members, who then take a drink as a token of unity. During Cakes and Ale, the chalice is used as a symbol of the Goddess for the Symbolic Great Rite or the Union of the God and Goddess.

I really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Pagan crafts.

1 pound clay
2 wheel bats
pin tool
clay slip
brown semi-gloss or matte speckled glaze

This chalice is constructed from two separate thrown pieces. Make the stem of the chalice by making the standard cone, then narrowing the middle and opening up the lip. Set aside. Make the cup of the chalice as a round-bottomed small cup by making a small cone, putting your index finger inside, and pushing out a bulge in the middle, steadying with your other hand from the outside, then opening up the lip to a nice cup shape. Check the size to be sure it will match the stem nicely, and adjust if necessary.

When both pieces are at a soft leather stage, use the pin tool to make crosshatched marks on both pieces where they will meet. Brush some slip on both pieces and join then, moving back and forth as you push down gently to help the clays mesh together. Allow to dry and fire. Apply the glaze and fire again.

According to the Phoenician creation myth of Damascus, Aura was the first vital form of intelligence produced by Omicle (Omichle) and Potos (Pothos). With Aer, her brother, she was the mother of Otos.

Description: Butterbur is closely related to coltsfoot. It is found in wet ground, low-lying, marshy meadows, and along rivers. The creeping, yet fleshy root is blackish on the outside and whitish inside. It has a bitter, resinous taste. Clusters of bluish-purple flowers appear in early spring (late February - early March) before the leaves appear. The clusters grow in dense spikes, with many interspersed bracts, at the top of a round, thick flower-stalk. This flower stalk will grow from four inches to a foot. Male and female flowers generally appear on separate spikes. The female flowers are denser with longer spikes than the males, while the stamen bearing males are shorter and appear in loose clusters. Occasionally a few males will appear with the females and vice versa. The bell-shaped corollas on male flowers are pale reddish purple or flesh colored and contains abundant nectar. On females, the corollas are thread-like and have no nectar. These are succeeded by the feathery pappus which crowns the seeds.

In April, when the flowers begin to decay, the leaves appear. These are on stout, but hollowed channeled, footstalks. When full-grown, the leaves may be as large as three feet in diameter. The leaves are rounded and heart-shaped at the base, scalloped at the edges, with finely finely toothed projections. They are white and furred with down above and below when young. As they mature, most of the webbing disappears from the surface, though they remain downy underneath.

Effects:
Planet: sun
Element:
Associated Deities: Mercury

Traditions:
The name Petasites comes from the Greek petasos, which refers to the felt hats worn by shepherds. The best example of this is the hat worn by Mercury. The name butterbur was supposedly given to this plant due to a practice of wrapping butter in the leaves in hot weather. Lagwort comes from the way the leaves appear after the flowers. Names like pestilenzenwurt and plague-flower refer not to some evil aspect of the plant but its use during times of plague.

Magic:
A young, unmarried woman wishing to divine her future love must sew the seeds one half hour before sunrise on Friday in some lonesome place. Gradually scattering them about, she must say:

I sow, I sow!
Then, my own dear,
Come here, come here,
And mow and mow!

She will see her future spouse mowing a little distance from her, but she must stay completely silent or he will disappear.

Culpepper suggested an infusion of powdered Butterbur in wine to raise the spirits, and increase hope and faith in life.

Known Combinations:
None noted

Medical Indications: Parts used: root
The root of Butterbur is used as a heart stimulant. It also acts as a diuretic, and as a remedy for fever, asthma, colds, and urinary infections. Butterbur is considered an excellent remedy for severe neuralgia in the small of the back.

Nutrition:
Peeled stalks of butterbur are boiled and sautéed in Japan. The stalks may also be chopped and added to soups. Sprouts are minced and cooked in Miso.

Mercantile Uses:
The early flowering of the plant caused Swedish farmers to plant it near their beehives according to Hooker.

I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.

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Quote : Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
A heretic is a man who sees with his own eyes.

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

Babingtonite creates short prismatic or plate-like crystals, ranging in color from green to black-brown. It is used to facilitate ascension and provide a clear reflection of your current life. This stone has been applied during “re-birthing” ceremonies to shed light on blockages, their removal, and why they existed. Babingtonite may also be used to relieve shyness and reverse a negative outlook with respect toward materialistic views. Communication skills are enhanced.

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Humor : The Stove

Three hunters became lost in the north woods. After much exhausting wandering, they found shelter in a little cabin and something to eat. The cabin was in all ways ordinary except that the stove was suspended from the rafters by a series of wires. Having little else to occupy them, this odd arrangement became the object of discussion, and various theories were advanced. One man was an engineer and expounded on thermodynamics and how a suspended stove would affect the heating of the room. Another hunter was a psychologist, and he was sure that the stove was suspended so the owner could crawl under it in a fetal position and thus experience the warmth and security of his mother's womb. The third hunter was a minister, and he declared that the stove’s owner must be a Pagan and it was suspended due to the ancient worship of fire. Each was quite convinced he had solved the mystery of the suspended stove. When the owner returned and found them in his cabin, they asked him about it. "It's really quite simple," he explained, "I had plenty of wire but not enough pipe."

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A Dreamer's Guide : Melancholy to Menu

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

if you suffered Melancholy, you will reach your high ambitions, but if others were unhappy, you will be separated from your love. Broken engagements are indicated by a melancholy girl. Melancholy married folk foretell pleasant work and good news.

Success will be yours if you heard a pleasant Melody, but if you sang, a false friend is near. If others sang, you will have a happy marriage, and playing a melody means your affairs will prosper.

Melons are a promise of a good life and big earnings. They are an omen of hope and/or a surprising turn of events in regards to whatever may concern you at this time. Constance in love is presaged by eating this fruit and if you are currently ill, it indicates you will soon get well. Good fortune is foretold if you grew it, and if you bought melons, it is a good sign for your love life. Melons still growing on green vines are a sign that present troubles will eventually turn out to your benefit.

Unprofitable business will cause you much worry if you made a Memorandum, but losing a memorandum foretells only slight losses. Some person will bother you will appeals for assistance if others made memorandums. Finding a memorandum is a portent of new duties which will give others much pleasure.

An occasion will present itself to show patient kindness if you dreamt of a Memorial. Trouble and sickness may threaten some relative.

Good health and blessings are indicated by Memorial Day. Visiting the graves of relatives on Memorial Day foretells rapid success, and decorating graves means you will enjoy security for a long time. If you attended Church, you will soon receive good news.

Loss of Memory is a sign of family dishonor, but if you thought you had regained a memory, you will soon rise in the world. You should mend your ways if a friend suffered memory loss, and if they regained their memories, you will acquire something big. You will live a long life if children lost their memory.

Expect difficulties in business if you dreamt of a Menagerie. Delayed success is foretold if you were in a menagerie with animals, and others inside a menagerie means they have a penchant for gossip. Good times are coming if you worked in a menagerie.

You are entering a period of sorrow if you saw a Mendicant (beggar). If you were one, you have one true friend. Your enemies will fail against you if you saw a mendicant begging in the streets, and if you were the one begging, your affairs will prosper. If you were accosted by a beggar, difficulties lie ahead of you, but if you approached him, you will overcome your troubles. A good friend will help you out if you saw anyone you know begging.

You will be cursed with an unpleasant and inferior position if you dreamt of Mending. Be cautious in love if you saw others mending. Mending clothes is a portent of an unexpected new income, unless the torn garment was also dirty. In which case, you will attempt to right a wrong at an inopportune moment. Financial gains are indicated by mending children’s clothes. If others mended your clothes, there will be family quarrels. If you mended anything else, dig in your heels for a while.

A Menu augurs a time of comfortable, though not luxuriant, living.

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Quote : Michael Konda
The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you're playing by somebody else's rules, while quietly playing by your own.

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