Cougar
Power, Swiftness and Balance
By watching the swift movements of the cougar, one is keenly aware that no movement is
wasted, no footing unplanned, in their quest for the item they desire. The cougar never
wastes anything, but the grace of this hunter provides the young with nourishment and
security. Cougars mark their home range, which differs from a true territory because the
home ranges often overlap. The juveniles may establish a home range of from six to
ten miles away. Within that area, the cat maintains a small resting range for its exclusive
use while sharing the remaining hunting area with its neighbor. The cougar scrapes together
a pile of leaves along well-traveled trails and marks them with urine. Any wandering lion
respects the "No Tresspassing" sign and turns away to avoid conflict.
Someone with "Mountain lion or Cougar Medicine" is likely to be very sure of his or her
goals or purpose. They often prefer solitude, and have little regret in taking the easiest
prey.

 

Buffalo

Abundance

 The buffalo or bison is considered by many tribes to be a symbol of adundance for it was the meat of the buffalo that fed the people, the hides that provided clothing and shelter, the bones and sinew provided tools of survival. The Lakota's trace the origin of the sacred pipe to the appearance of the White Buffalo Calf Woman who promised abundance for the tribe as they honored, by prayer, the Great Spirit and all of their relations, meaning the other creations of nature. "Buffalo Medicine" means to bring a special honor, reverence or appreciation for all of the things that the Earth provides for her children.The Origins of the Buffalo Dance When the buffalo first came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up. They did not relish being turned into blankets and dried flesh for winter rations. They did not want their hooves and horn to become tools and utinsels nor did they welcome their sinew being used for sewing. "No, no," they said. We won't fall into your traps. And we will not fall for your tricks." So when the hunters guided them towards the abyss, they would always turn aside at the very last moment. With this lack of cooperation, it seemed the villagers would be hungry and cold and ragged all winter long. Now one of the hunters' had a daughter who was very proud of her father's skill with the bow. During the fullness of summer, he always brought her the best of hides to dress, and she in turn would work the deerskins into the softest, whitest of garments for him to wear. Her own dresses were like the down of a snow goose, and the moccasins she made for the children and the grandmothers in the village were the most welcome of gifts. But now with the hint of snow on the wind, and deer becoming more scarce in the willow breaks, she could see this reluctance on the part of the buffalo families could become a real problem. Hunter's Daughter decided she would do something about it. She went to the base of the cliff and looked up. She began to sing in a low, soft voice, "Oh, buffalo family, come down and visit me. If you come down and feed my relatives in a wedding feast, I will join your family as the bride of your strongest warrior." She stopped and listened. She thought she heard the slight rumbling sound of thunder in the distance. Again she sang, "Oh, buffalo family, come down and visit me. Feed my family in a wedding feast so that I may be a bride." The thunder was much louder now. Suddenly the buffalo family began falling from the sky at her feet. One very large bull landed on top of the others, and walked across the backs of his relatives to stand before Hunter's Daughter. "I am here to claim you as my bride," said Large Buffalo. "Oh, but now I am afraid to go with you," said Hunter's Daughter. "Ah, but you must," said Large Buffalo, "For my people have come to provide your people with a wedding feast. As you can see, they have offered themselves up." "Yes, but I must run and tell my relatives the good news," said Hunter's Daughter. "No," said Large Buffalo. No word need be sent. You are not getting away so easily." And with that said, Large Buffalo lifted her between his horns and carried her off to his village in the rolling grass hills. The next morning the whole village was out looking for Hunter's Daughter. When they found the mound of buffalo below the cliff, the father, who was in fact a fine tracker as well as a skilled hunter, looked at his daughter's footprints in the dust. "She's gone off with a buffalo, he said. I shall follow them and bring her back." So Hunter walked out upon the plains, with only his bow and arrows as companions. He walked and walked a great distance until he was so tired that he had to sit down to rest beside a buffalo wallow. Along came Magpie and sat down beside him. Hunter spoke to Magpie in a respectful tone, "O knowledgeable bird, has my daughter been stolen from me by a buffalo? Have you seen them? Can you tell me where they have gone?" Magpie replied with understanding, "Yes, I have seen them pass this way. They are resting just over this hill." "Well," said Hunter, would you kindly take my daughter a message for me? Will you tell her I am here just over the hill?" So Magpie flew to where Large Buffalo lay asleep amidst his relatives in the dry prairie grass. He hopped over to where Hunter's Daughter was quilling moccasins, as she sat dutifully beside her sleeping husband. "Your father is waiting for you on the other side of the hill," whispered Magpie to the maiden. "Oh, this is very dangerous," she told him. These buffalo are not friendly to us and they might try to hurt my father if he should come this way. Please tell him to wait for me and I will try to slip away to see him." Just then her husband, Large Buffalo, awoke and took off his horn. "Go bring me a drink from the wallow just over this hill," said her husband. So she took the horn in her hand and walked very casually over the hill.

Candlemas: The Light Returns
by Mike Nichols
It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered the beginning of Spring. Here in the Heartland, February 2nd may see a blanket of snow mantling the Mother. Or, if the snows have gone, you may be sure the days are filled with drizzle, slush and steel-grey skies -- the dreariest weather of the year. In short, the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights.

And as for Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring runs its course to Beltane.

'Candlemas' is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course. The older Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. 'Imbolc' means, literally, 'in the belly' (of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows.

'Oimelc' means 'milk of ewes', for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called 'Brigit's Day', in honor of the great Irish Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing (especially the healing touch of midwifery). This tripartite symbolism was occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named Brigit. (Incidentally, another form of the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus She bestows her special patronage on any
woman about to be married or handfasted, the woman being called 'bride' in her honor.)

The Roman Catholic Church could not very easily call the Great Goddess of Ireland a demon, so they canonized her instead. Henceforth, she would be 'Saint' Brigit, Patron Saint of smithcraft, poetry and healing. They 'explained' this by telling the Irish peasants that Brigit was 'really' an early Christian missionary sent to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed there 'misled' the common people into believing that she was a goddess. For some reason, the Irish
swallowed this. (There is no limit to what the Irish imagination can convince itself of. For example, they also came to believe that Brigit was the 'foster-mother' of Jesus, giving no thought to the implausibility of Jesus having spent his boyhood in Ireland!) Brigit's holiday was chiefly marked by the kindling of sacred fires, since she symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge, and the fire of poetic inspiration. Bonfires were lighted on the beacon tors, and chandlers celebrated their special holiday. The Roman Church was quick to confiscate this symbolism as well, using 'Candlemas' as the day to bless all the church candles
that would be used for the coming liturgical year. (Catholics will be reminded that the following day, St. Blaise's Day, is remembered for using the newly blessed candles to bless the throats of parishioners, keeping them from colds, flu, sore throats, etc.)

The Catholic Church, never one to refrain from piling holiday upon holiday, also called it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (It is surprising how many of the old Pagan holidays were converted to Maryan Feasts.) The symbol of the Purification may seem a little obscure to modern readers, but it has to do with the old custom of 'churching women'. It was believed that women were impure for six weeks after giving birth. And since Mary gave birth at the winter solstice, she wouldn't be purified until February 2nd. In Pagan symbolism, this might be re-translated as when the Great Mother once again becomes the Young Maiden Goddess. Today, this holiday is chiefly connected to weather lore. Even our American folk-calendar keeps the tradition of 'Groundhog's Day', a day to predict the coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog sees his shadow, there will be 'six more weeks' of bad weather (i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady Day). This custom is ancient. An
old British rhyme tells us that 'If Candlemas Day
be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year.' Actually, all of the cross-quarter days can be used as 'inverse' weather predictors, whereas the quarter-days are used as 'direct' weather predictors.

Like the other High Holidays or Great Sabbats of the Witches' year, Candlemas is sometimes celebrated on its alternate date, astrologically determined by the sun's reaching 15-degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old Style (in 1988, February 3rd, at 9:03 am CST). Another holiday that gets mixed up in this is Valentine's Day. Ozark folklorist Vance Randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the old-timers used to celebrate Groundhog's Day on February 14th. This same displacement is evident in Eastern Orthodox Christianity as well. Their habit of celebrating the
birth of Jesus on January 6th, with a similar post-dated shift in the six-week period that follows it, puts the Feast of the Purification of Mary on February 14th. It is amazing to think that the same confusion and lateral displacement of one of the old folk holidays can be seen from the Russian steppes to the Ozark hills, but such seems to be the case!

Incidentally, there is speculation among linguistic scholars that the very name of 'Valentine' has Pagan origins. It seems that it was customary for French peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a 'g' as a 'v'. Consequently, the original term may have been the French 'galantine', which yields the English word 'gallant'. The word originally refers to a dashing young man known for his 'affaires d'amour', a true galaunt. The usual associations of V(G)alantine's Day make much more sense in this light than their vague connection to a legendary 'St. Valentine' can produce. Indeed, the Church has always found it rather difficult to explain this nebulous saint's connection to the secular pleasures of flirtation and courtly love.

For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version of Valentine's Day, with a de-emphasis of 'hearts and flowers' and an appropriate re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity. This also re-aligns the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held at this time, in which the priests of Pan ran through the streets of Rome whacking young women with goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The women seemed to enjoy the attention and often stripped in order to afford better targets.

One of the nicest folk-customs still practiced in many countries, and especially by Witches in the British Isles and parts of the U.S., is to place a lighted candle in each and every window of the house, beginning at sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1st), allowing them to continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby curtains, etc. What a cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary night to see house after house with candle-lit windows! And, of course, if you are your Coven's chandler, or if you just happen to like making candles, Candlemas Day is the day for doing it. Some Covens hold candle-making parties and try to make and bless all the candles they'll be using for the whole year on this day.

Other customs of the holiday include weaving 'Brigit's crosses' from straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing rites of spiritual cleansing and purification, making 'Brigit's beds' to ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body, if desired), and making Crowns of Light (i.e. of candles) for the High Priestess to wear for the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn on St. Lucy's Day in Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan Festival of Lights, sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the most beautiful and poetic of the year.

 

Fully Committed To Now
Why We Are Not Shown The Big Picture

Sometimes, we may find ourselves wishing we knew what our lives are going to look like or what gifts and challenges are going to be presented to us in the coming months or years. We may want to know if the relationship we're in now will go the distance or if our goals will be realized. Perhaps we feel like we need help making a decision and we want to know which choice will work out best. We may consult psychics, tarot cards, our dreams, and many other sources in the hopes of finding out what the future holds. Usually, at most, we may catch glimpses. And even though we think we would like to know the whole story in all its details, the truth is that we would probably be overwhelmed and exhausted if we knew everything that is going to happen to us.

Just think of your life as you've lived it up to this point. If you are like most of us, you have probably done more and faced more than you could have ever imagined. If someone had told you as a child of all the jobs and relationships you would experience, along with each one's inherent ups and downs, you would have become overwhelmed. With your head full of information about the future, you would have had a very hard time experiencing your life in the present moment, which is where everything actually happens.

In many ways, not knowing what the future has in store brings out in us the qualities we need to grow. For example, it would have been difficult to commit yourself to certain people or projects if you knew they wouldn't ultimately work out. Yet, it was through your commitment to see them through that you experienced the lessons you needed to grow. Looking back on your life, you would likely be hard pressed to say that anything in your past should not have happened. In fact, your most challenging experiences with their inevitable lessons may have ultimately brought you the greatest rewards. Not knowing the future keeps us just where we need to be-fully committed and in the present moment

 
 

Thought creates action...-
It is in our thoughts that fuels action.  Not only to ourselves but to the world around us... It is not simply repeat the phase, I will be abundant and riches develop, you may bring some money in, but not consistently.  You need to start with the mindset... correcting the original thoughts that kept you poor in spirit and wealth.  This is where in ritual you attempt to phyicallize your intentions and thoughts... also taking the time to build the ritual so your thoughts are in order and your intentions are pure.  Through ritual, you physically interpret the intention, you focus on the words and the phrases of prosperity, thereby (hopefully) changing in you, the old negative thought processes and introducing the new thought.  And incorporating these positive thoughts days after... with consecutive mediations on your original creation (ritual).    We are responsible for our thoughts and what they create.  The Goddess does not have a poverty consciousness.  We do!!  Some where or time we believed some one saying the words, "You have to work hard for your money... You have to be smart to make lots or money.... Money is the root of all evil...." etc.   Through ritual and discipline of thoughts the Universe will begin to reflect what you really are... an abundant self sufficient holy deserving soul.  And prosperity naturally happens because we allow ourselves to invite it into our lives.  That is the trick, us allowing it, not something else or some one to bring abundance to us.

 

How to Discover What You Want-
If You're Not Sure About What You Want Try This Three Step Method to Find OutIf you have any doubts about what it is that really want, here's a simple method to discover the real truth.  You can find the answers to you want easily and in only minutes.In almost every success program or book written there is always a chapter or section about goals and how important they are.  It's been repeated thousands of times in as many ways.You don't need to be reminded about setting goals again.  But what about that noise you hear in the background of your mind?  How do you sort through all the thoughts you have and find what's important to you?If you could review the thoughts you had yesterday, you could find hints about what it is that you really want or need.  It might be something completely different than that new job, car or home you said you wanted.There is an easy and simple way to find out if the goals you have made are what you really want.This will take you only few minutes and you can do this almost anytime you are alone and can relax.  You will also need a notepad and pen or pencil that can be within your reach.Step 1 - Relax Your Body and MindFind a comfortable place where you can sit or lie down without being disturbed.Darken the room to your liking and turn off anything that could distract you such as the radio, television, telephone or computer.Relax on your favourite chair or couch, loosen any tight clothing and if you prefer, remove your shoes.Once you have relaxed your body, try to relax your mind by thinking of nothing except perhaps a place that you find comforting.  It could be a tropical beach or simply a cozy setting in front of a fireplace.Breathe slowly and let your mind relax as much as possible.Step 2 - Ask Yourself What You Really WantAfter a few minutes both your body and mind should be in a relaxed state.  Quietly, but firmly ask yourself the following question three or more times.  "What do I want?"Repeat this several times and then just stop.  Wait quietly and continue to stay relaxed both mentally and physically.If you are patient and wait a short time you will find that thoughts will enter your mind suddenly.  It may be only one thought, a few or even many.Listen to these thoughts but don't try to analyze them.  It may not be what you expect but don't seem surprised at them.If you have never done anything like this before it may take a few attempts to get any answers.End you relaxation session by thanking yourself for any answers you received and decide to slowly rise from your chair or couch.Step 3 - Write the Answers DownWhile these thoughts are fresh in your mind, pick up your notepad and pen or pencil and write them down.  Try to do this just as you heard them without attempting to analyze them.These are the thoughts from within that are telling you the real story about what you want or need.You may want to do this exercise more than once for confirmation or just out of curiosity.What to Do NextTake the notes you just made and compare them to what you have already considered to be your goals.  Did you find any differences?Examine them carefully and you may find you want to change your goals a little or rewrite them entirely.  Or it may be that you were exactly right in the first place.The least you will get out of this exercise is greater confidence that your choice of goals was the best possible.Remember that as you reach your goals you will change and so will what you want.  You should repeat this exercise whenever you have any concerns or doubts about what you want.Isn't it a good idea to ask someone who knows?Ask an expert, ask yourself.