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At the Festival of Imbolc we celebrate the still weak but growing light of the Sun, the Mabon child reborn at Midwinter, and dedicate this festival to Brighid, Goddess of Land, Sun and Moon who is also in Christianised form Bride, midwife and foster mother of Christ. The two Brides have become inextricably linked over the centuries but St Bridget whose flame was kept alight by the Nuns of Kildare, is undoubtedly the successor of a much older pagan Goddess who still dwells within the Land of Britain.

Her elements are both Fire and Water, Sun and Moon. She presides over Smithcraft, over Poetry and Inspiration, and is Goddess of Healing. Her fire is both that of the forge and of the hearthfire, her flame is the light of inspiration, the threefold Awen of spirit, and that same flame that brings healing, wholeness and comfort to the sick and births the newborn from spirit into the Earth world. When I think of the fires of Brighid, I imagine the heat of the forge and of the dark red fires that burn within the Earth, and I think too of sunlight on frost and snow - frozen water which belongs to her domain, and of the lighted candles that we float upon water as we celebrate her festival.

Brighid's pedigree reaches back beyond history, even to the mythical or lost land of Atlantis whence it is said came her people, the Tuatha De Danaan or children of Anu or Danu, whose daughter Brighid is.

At one time she was said to be Anu herself, but the one became two. Brighid's father is the Great Good God of the Tuatha - the Daghda who is also Lord of the Beasts and from him she claims her special connection to the Earth.

Anu is Great Mother, the earliest of all who gave her name to the Shining Ones, that special race of Beings who came, variously, according to which version you read, from across the seas, from the skies or from a great Land in the North which is equated to Atlantis. The names of their four great cities of Gorias, Finias, Falias and Murias spark far distant memories of our Ancestry, and of the four treasures of Britain which Anu's children brought from those lands to these islands - the Spear, the Cauldron or Grail, the Stone and the Sword.

Brighid still carries the Spear or Staff as her White Rod of Power, sometimes revealed as a spindle, which connects her to the many Weaver or Spider Goddesses or fates of a number of Mythologies.

From the raw stuff of the earth she creates. Whereas Arianrhod is the Goddess of Moon and Stars in their own realms, Brighid earths the energies of their raw materials. Her principle elements of water and fire are keys to the alchemy of the forge from where inanimate lumps of metal are turned into objects of beauty, power and utility.

She is a rich earthy Goddess of the Land who has given her name to one of the great Celtic tribes of Britain, the Brigantes who stretched from the borders of England and Scotland to the Northern Midlands.

Her colour is principally white, which certainly in more Northern latitudes reflects the time of her festival around the 1st/2nd February. This is the time of year we are most likely to see her Lands covered in snow or ice, and when the stars are at their most brilliant reflecting the frost covered ground twinkling beneath a black sky. Her totems are also frequently white, the swan is her bird, as is the milk ewe, the lamb and the cow, particularly the white cow. Her flower is the snowdrop, the first tiny flower to push its way through the frozen earth and hang its shy head above the snows. Her name Bride, reflects too the white traditionally worn by the bride, and she herself is usually depicted as wearing white.

Although not usually spoken of as a Moon Goddess, as a Triple Goddess she reflects the triple phase of the moon, and as a Fire Goddess she also represents the Sun.

Although she is present throughout the year, her special time is Imbolc, which astrologically falls within the fixed Air sign of Aquarius. All fixed signs have a strength of purpose and almost indomitable will; each of the four fire festivals falls within a fixed sign; each falls in the midst of a season, presenting that season in its most powerful and concentrated form, before the transition to the next.

The Imbolc full moon in 2001 falls on 8th February, which at this time of the year is often known as the snow or ice moon. On 8th February the Sun falls on 19 degrees of Aquarius, and the Moon on 19 degrees Leo. Conjunct to the Sun is Aquarius' own ruler, Uranus.

In square to Sun and Moon are Mars in Scorpio, and Saturn in Taurus. A fixed square of this nature in astrology indicates a time of purpose and resolution, a time to be steadfast and to meet and confront the challenges that will surely follow. But I see also in this moon great deal of hope. Uranus is to me Prometheus the Awakener, the God of the Greeks who took fire from the Gods to the ordinary people. His conjunction with the Sun, symbol of Spirit and his exchange of energy with the Moon and with the Earth (for earth in a chart is always directly opposite sun and thus at a full moon in conjunction with moon) speaks to me of a message for those who will listen. The three lights or Rays of Brighid - Sun, Moon and Earth speak plainly here through the media of their Messenger, Uranus/Prometheus.

Aquarius is the sign of Humanity, it brings to Earth the true meaning of Brother/Sisterhood and is the Age into which we are now at the threshold. And it has been quite a journey over the past eighteen months or so. Ever since that major Eclipse of 11th August 1999 formed a Fixed Square, which I called 'The Challenge' there seems to have been turmoil.

The square involved the same Leo/Aquarius polarity as this Imbolc moon, but with both Sun and Moon conjunct (as they would be at a New Moon), in Leo.

There was turmoil before of course, but it intensified somehow, and confronted people with their dilemmas and demons. Change has abounded, personal change at all levels as if people are being guided to make important decisions, undergo life changes and in many cases do things they would not have dreamed of a year or so before. To me this is all part of the incoming and refining vibrations of energy that are sweeping like waves across not only our planet but our solar system, more or less demanding that we change, individually and collectively, and adapt to the flow of new forces. Many I have known, including myself, have been thrown into crisis, with almost impossible pressures to get things done.. And yet we've survived by keeping going, by persistently and stubbornly just getting on with things. Two thousand to me was always going to be a difficult and life changing year - I called it a Samhuin year, a bridge between the old and the new like a tunnel or birth canal.

That birth has been tough for many, and it is not over yet. But here to me is the first ray of light, and in a future article I will speak of the eclipse of Midsummer 2001 which I have spoken of for a long time now as the 'Grail Vision'

I am very fond of the Sabian symbols in astrology, as a tool for shedding light on a particular power point or degree of the zodiac. Each of the 360 degrees has been assigned its own 'vision' by Marc Edmund Jones through mediumship, and a number of interpretations of these visions has followed. My own favourite is Dhane Rhudyar so I used his interpretation of the twentieth degree of Aquarius to find the meaning of the placement of the Sun or essence, of this Full Moon. It followed my own 'gut feeling' about the chart. The vision reads 'A large white dove bearing a message'.

The interpretation that followed was even better. 'The answer of spiritual agencies to thorough, sustained and victorious individual efforts.' The individual who has gone courageously and with in indomitable spirit through the crucial crisis receives as it were, a deep spiritual blessing from the Soul realm, 'Mission accomplished - Peace be with you. And in this blessing a secret prophecy of what is yet to come may be seen by the ... spiritually sensitive. Every real spiritual step a man takes is the result of a victory over forces of inertia or destruction. The Divine is totally present in the heart of all true victories.....What the message means depends on the particular situation, but the white dove always signifies peace, at the very heart of this peace is the CERTIFICATION of individual worth and victory'

I couldn't have made up something that would have fit better. The white dove, messenger and symbol of peace and reminiscent of the Moon energy of Brighid, in conjunction with the Sun and the Awakener. I feel we will be better able to understand the meaning of what has been happening, and what is to come, around the time of this full moon, particularly if we meditate upon it, perform a full moon ceremony, or celebrate with Brighid at this time and ground this message for our individual journeys.

Mightily pleased, I then recalled that the Moon being opposite to the Sun, is in the Sun ruled sign of Leo, which fits nicely, but it occurred to me that I really ought to look at the Sabian symbol for this too. Suppose it scrapped my interpretation? I needn't have worried. The twentieth degree of Leo reads -"Indians perform a Ritual to the Sun" signifying a return to the glorification of natural energies....a return to nature, to identification through worship, the sanctification of the creative power.

Maddy Johnson runs "SONG"- 'Spirit of the North gatherings'- workshops, camps and gatherings in the North of England- have a look through the "Druidism" section on the Galdraheim Coven web site for more details of her work.

SONG is a totally independent and non-commercial Druid network which is open to all who are inspired by the way of Druidry and Native British spirituality.

"SpiritSong" is an excellent magazine which carries some very good articles, stories, poetry, resources and artwork.

WEB-SITE:- Where you can find full details of subscribing to or contributing to "Spirit Song", and details of events that are planned. Link:- http://www.yewgrove.demon.co.uk/

As many of you are aware many people in the world celebrate seasonal festivals which mark the phases and cycles of the year.

Doing this; even if on your own; helps connect you into the cycles of the earth so that you can truly recognise yourself to be a part of the greater pattern of creation.

The next festival in the great calendar of the year wheel is that of Imbolc, usually celebrated on or around the beginning of February- generally about the 2nd. This is a festival of light and new beginnings, and for many pagan peoples it is under the auspices of Brighde/Brighid, ancient Goddess of light and fire. It is often known as a "Fire festival" as it does have these associations, and as Brighde was regarded as a patron of all manner of crafts, including metal working, and she was strongly associated with ancient shrines at which perpetual sacred fires and lamps were kept burning.

In Celtic lands such as Ireland and Scotland festivals of Brighde are still celebrated, but Brighde has slipped into the Catholic pantheons of those lands as a Saint, and so she continues to work her crafts in that guise- the same Lady of Old, but wearing clothing suitable to the times in which she finds herself.

Many symbolic elements are used in these festivals. Including the making of a "Brides bed" in which a doll type figure is placed by the women of a household, the weaving of "Brides Crosses" from rushes into intricate, Celtic cross designs, and the extinguishing and relighting of fires in the household hearth to symbolise this re-birth of nature- you can see the same imagery in the "Brides bed" and Doll.

A simple but powerful way to celebrate this festival and to use its energies to empower your life is to draw upon the healing fire of Brighde to burn away all that which is negative in your life and allow the new seeds of spring hope to grow.

In ancient times people would have gathered up all the old vegetation that was laying in the fields and burnt it to get it out of the way for spring planting, and to give the land itself a boost of ashes as simple fertiliser.

New seeds of the spring planted crops would then be sown into the fertile land to provide for the peoples needs through the coming year.

You too can do the same- and what better time to burn off the dross of your life and plant new seeds of joy and hope than this year of 2000 with all its hopes and possibilities.

2) A fire-proof pot standing on a tile, board or similar so that heat from it doesn't melt whatever you stand it on.

9) Good positive intent- always the most vital ingredient of any ritual, ceremony or festival.

You can use as much or as little ritual or ceremony in this as you feel is appropriate, and have as much or as little in the way of ceremonial 'tools' with you as you also feel is appropriate.

Have all the items you are using assembled in one place, then turn out all the lights in your house and turn off any fires or similar so that there is no light anywhere in your home.

Sit in darkness with your ritual items, and let yourself explore and bring to your awareness all those things in your life which are "dross"- all that you need to burn away to create room for new things to grow.

As you think of them write down short details of them on pieces of paper. Do this until you have written down all that you want to be rid of. Doing this in darkness is a bit tricky- but it doesn't matter how untidy your writing is as it's the intent of bringing all these things to conscious awareness and owning up to them which is important.

Once you have done this light your candle. This is the new light of hope and promise in your life.

Take each piece of paper in turn and set it alight with the candle, then drop it still burning into your fire-proof dish. As you do so you can read aloud what each piece of paper has written on it, or just read it in your mind. Being fully aware of what each concerns is what is important.

Once you have all your paper burnt away, ensure that all is fully burnt and is not still burning or smouldering, and then take the ashes and crumble them into the pot of earth/compost. Mix the ashes and earth together well with your fingers, and then plant your seeds in among this rich, fertile ground.

Once this is all completed and you feel that all is now complete, put lights and fires on as needed around your home.

Practicalities: Use a fairly large dish to burn in if you feel there's likely to be a bonfire! Err on the side of safety in this, and be sure you're not going to melt or set fire to your carpet/table with the heat by placing a thick tile or similar under the dish. And ensure that there's nothing near or above the pot which might accidentally catch alight.

If you have smoke alarms in your house, switch them off or pull out the batteries while you are doing this Imbolc ritual. Don't forget to put the batteries back afterwards.

Use a pot to plant your seeds in that will be large enough to take the compost, the ashes, and for your seeds to grow into plants in- if you use a 2 inch diameter-small pot, then plant Sunflower seeds in it.... extend the practicalities into and through the symbology- create a big enough space in your life; and use a big enough pot; for your dreams, hopes, wishes and needs to grow in also.

Use a brand new, white candle for this: Once you've finished with it on this occasion you can put it away and then use it again if you need to re-energise your life- a simple ritual of relighting to remind you will often get your life back on track, and help you keep the flame of hope and inspiration burning.

The magickal Wand is probably one of the most consistently used of all magickal tools in virtually all traditions and ways around the world, and it's use is not limited to Wicca.

Druids use Wands, Witches use Wands, Magicians use Wands, and Sorcerers, Shamans and cunning folk all use Wands.

Why might this be so? Above all else I think this is because pointing or directing energy is one of the most commonly used ritual acts in all ways and paths. As simple as that- if you want to point or direct energy or intent at anything in a ritual way, it generally feels symbolically and aesthetically much more powerful to do so with something than it does if you use your finger.

Designs of Wands can vary from the ceremonially and symbolically extravagant to the sublimely simple. A stick picked up on a country walk will suit some, a creative product of three months work will suit others.

In this article I want to focus on a couple of particular factors in relation to this: One of which is preparing wood for use as a Wand if you are going to decorate a Wand in any way.

Bringing a piece of wood from one environment- laying on the ground outdoors or still attached to its parent tree, to inside your home, will cause changes in it. The most major of which is that it will dry out. Even a dry piece of stick picked up in midsummer from your local woods is likely to have more moisture in it than it will have after a few days of being in your home, so unless you work with your stick very soon after gathering it, it will begin to split or even warp.

The first hint for this is then to stabilise the wood as quickly as possible. The simplest way to do this is to give the stick a good coat of varnish that has been thinned down with Turpentine so as to replace the moisture and stick all the fibres of the wood together. If you use a matt finish varnish you will avoid a high gloss appearance on the wood, or else if you use a gloss varnish you can sand that down so that it doesn't show with fine grade sandpaper.

An alternative is to use beeswax dissolved into a thin cream with turpentine. You can slather this on quite thickly so that it's absorbed by the wood, and remove the surplus with a soft cloth.

If you're going to decorate or carve your wand you need to do this before varnishing or waxing, as wax in particular will prevent paint from sticking, and make it difficult to carve.

If you cut a Wand from live wood but don't plan to work with it for a while, then keep it somewhere cool and more moist than indoors. Such as in a shed or garage. It's best to leave the bark on wood that is going to be stored a while to prevent it splitting as it dries. If you're going to work it straight away then remove the bark straight away also as this is much easier done when the wood is freshly cut.

Woods to use: Most traditions and ways have symbolic associations of trees to draw from for Wand source woods, and much ritual magick and Witchery will offer more ideas and inspirations. When drawing from these sources bear in mind the practicalities of why ancestral peoples or cunning folk chose to use particular woods- what qualities were they looking for? What associations might they have been drawing from?

If you look at things in these ways you will clearly see that as well as mythic and symbolic qualities, most traditions also wove in the practical qualities of specific woods- Hazel, Ash and the wood of fruiting trees have long been used as Wand woods in Britain and Ireland. Hazel produces Wand sized branches all in one year that have produced neither flowers nor fruit in that year and are therefore 'virgin'- unfertilised and still having those qualities of potential yet unexpressed. Hazel is also a good wood for carving, and these one year branches grow dead straight.

Ash has similar qualities and is excellent to carve. Both Hazel and Ash are also very white woods.

Apple trees also make these long straight branches that are virgin in the same way as Hazel, and Apples have powerful mythic and symbolic associations.

The 'traditional' length of a Wand is that length from your elbow to the tip of your middle finger. From such a measurement that involves the measurer fully in the process we can see the magickal principle of sacred measure- something that grows out of a relationship between the measurer and that which is measured and apportioned. A far more powerful principle than using a rule or tape measure to impose an arbitary measure upon a magickal tool of this kind.

Some reading this newsletter may not have previously been aware that the remit of Raven_News has changed, though I'm sure you'll have realised by now... If you've subscribed via the facility on the Galdraheim Coven website you'll know about this, but if you've subbed' via the Raven Lodge website you may not have been fully informed.

if you feel that it's no longer in resonance with your personal path or feelings, or you're not comfortable with the content or direction of Raven_News, just unsubscribe. To do so you will need to go to http://www.egroups.com to do this- please do not mail me and ask me to do it for you.

If you do that my email filtering software will catch your mail at the server and I won't even see it as I have that software set to delete mails with multiple !!!'s in from the server so that it doesn't clog up my Inbox- much spam mail with offers of get-rich quick schemes includes multiple exclamation marks and other give aways as to the content, so your efforts will be in vain. Just go to egroups and sort it out for yourself. I didn't subscribe you. You subscribed yourself.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Wicca but are open to possibilities, stick with us. I haven't abandoned my work with Shamanism, neither have I been 'converted to Wicca'- I have been a Wiccan for 25 years, and shamanism and the use of shamanic techniques is a deep and powerful stream within Wicca that I have drawn from for most of my life, and will continue to draw from.

Wicca isn't satanism, it isn't about exploiting or mystifying people, and my message to all is exactly what it's always been- "Spread your wings and fly". We live in an awesome, beautiful universe, on an awesomely beautiful jewel of a planet- let's go with that and truly come to know it in our lives.

There's been quite a few additions over the past month or so- including material such as advice for young people and/or their parents, new teaching material, and additional links to Pagan and Druidic websites with masses of material for you. I've made this Druidic and Pagan material as a separate section so that you can find and navigate it easily.

There's also a facility for subscribing to a discussion group named 'Pagan-Moot' in the Druidic and Pagan section. This is run by Steph' Golightly who is a Pagan of long experience and deep feeling.

Material about the proposed Wiccan federation is in process and will be added as soon as I have that properly organised.

Festivals such as Imbolc, the next one oncoming in the sacred year wheel calendar, are generally given as happening on a fixed date in the everyday calendar, but there are two factors which suggest that there are better and more earth connected ways of determining when such festivals are celebrated.

The Solstices and Equinoxes do occur at fixed moments in time, but that's universal time rather than calendar time though we use our calendar to sort that out.

The four festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnassad and Samhain are known as fire festivals as in ancient times in Britain and Ireland they were celebrated with large bonfires as well as other activities. There's more about Imbolc in a separate article above.

For ancient peoples whose spirituality was woven into all aspects of their lives, though they recognised moments in time as being pivotal, they were more concerned with processes that occurred in the earth around them than we generally are and were more able to devote longer periods of time to spiritual activities than we generally now are.

So for example in Ireland the festival of Lughnassad lasted for about four weeks- large quantities of Mead, much food, horse racing, partying generally, betrothals, markets and fairs, political wheeling and dealing, exchanges of hostages between tribes and other activities all went on at this time of pause in the agricultural calendar- at the time of Lughnassad crops were well into growth, cattle and livestock were enjoying good feed in rich pastures, so all could take this time to relax and celebrate.

Which brings us to Imbolc. There are a wide variety of associations given for Imbolc, such as the lactation of Ewes, the birth of spring lambs and similar that all tell us that the timing of Imbolc for people who worked with lunar calendars rather than our precise kind of timing systems were in resonance with what was going on in the land around them rather than some fixed number of a counting of days from much later on in our societal development.

From this we can extrapolate a way of celebrating such festivals that is much more in resonance with the land around us.

For example, what flowers generally bloom around the beginning of February in your locality? What other indications are there of a shift-flow in the processes of the earth and its seasonal flows and cycles?

For Imbolc perhaps it might be the appearance of Snowdrops or other flowers, or the sighting of lambs in the fields perhaps, or the appearance of a migratory bird that appears in your location every year.

For Beltane in Britain, it would perhaps be the blossoming of May- the flowers of the sacred Hawthorn tree that indicates the immanent crowning of the May Queen of summer, and the blossoms that will be the confetti at her sacred marriage with the King of the forest.

Wherever you live in the world, from the arctic to the Mediterranean, there will be signs and indications of these kinds. We only have to open our eyes and see them to come into powerful alignment and resonance with the spirits of the land and their seasons.

I would like to produce this newsletter in html format as that would enable the use of colour, graphics and better formatting and presentation.

Those with older software or computers would have problems with that, but it is possible to set your subscription with egroups so that you receive plain text format emails only no matter what format the original is sent in, so I'll be experimenting with this soon- I'll possibly produce the next Raven_News in html format, and would then appreciate your feedback on this and how well your software copes with it.

If you can't receive html format mail, or this causes you any problems, just let me know and we'll see what we can do to overcome any problems.

+++ Privacy policy. I like spam as much as you do... No ones details or personal information is ever passed on by me to anyone else ever unless that has been given to me to pass on. Such as for those who are seeking contact with like-minded others. I will not sell mailing list details or give those to others to use for mail outs. That is 100%.

+++ The principle I work from is that of Community building, and within that the creation of enriching and empowering relationships- that works only if all members of the community are so because they choose to be, and the relationship works all the time it is mutually enriching and empowering. Holding information about people just 'bungs up' the system- and I like to keep my system flowing and open.

+++ Contact info: For all queries, input, submissions and all else relative to Raven_News, just reply to this email or else use this email address:- raven@ravenlodge.prestel.co.uk

A concise booklet giving insight into the deepest principles of Wicca, and offering a clearly laid out path that you can follow.

Written and produced by a Witch of 22 years experience, this clearly written, non-dogmatic, and extremely helpful booklet is invaluable reading for anyone who seeks to walk the path of the Wise.

Send just £3.50/$08.00 ($US cash only) now to the address given above, with your cheque made out to A. Tickhill to receive your copy.

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THE RAVEN_NEWS-LETTER (February 2001)
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Welcome to the 'New' Raven_News-Letter

This edition is in HTML format- if you have any difficulty with HTML let me know and I'll send you a copy in plain text only.

This newsletter is shareware- share it widely, forward it to your friends or other contacts and keep the energy flowing.

All material by me included in this Newsletter is Public Domain- you are welcome to share it with others, use it yourself on your website or in any similar way, and include it in newsletters, magazines or other forums. All I ask is that you credit the source- 'just put that it was originally written by Alan Tickhill for inclusion in Raven_News-Letter. If you'd like to include a contact address, email address, urls of websites I run or similar contact info' that would be good too.

Any material submitted by others will be credited to them. You must ask them for permission to use their material.

+++++++++++++++++
+ From the Editor +
+++++++++++++++++

A warm welcome to all those who have recently subscribed to Raven_News over the past month or so, and I hope you enjoy this edition and find it good. I also hope you like the HTML format.

Lots of excellent material for you this month in a much expanded edition- My thanks to all who have sent in material to use in this and future editions- please keep it flowing!!

This is "Good-energy-stuff"- over 300 people have subscribed to Raven_News over the past few weeks- it's growing, it's flowing and doing our being through communicating and building community.

(1) SELENITE WANDS : Selenite is named after the Greek goddess Selene. In its wand formation it is an extremely powerful tool which MUST be used with care!. Selenite helps align the subtle bodies after intensive journeying or healing work. Point the wand towards the floor and then bring the wand upwards through the aura 4 times I.e. the four directions.You can do this for yourself or on the person you are healing. It prevents headaches, nausea etc that occurs when you are taking in new energies. NEVER EVER point a wand at somebody accidentally as you could slice through their aura. Selenite wands carry and discharge great amounts of light force. They can be used to get rid of parasites or vampires etc, lodged in the aura by pointing at it and infusing it with great amounts of light force until it dissolves. You can use your wand in rituals the same way you would use Quartz, with the added bonus that a Selenite wand can also used in clearing a space or house of an unwanted entity. Selenite is a delicate crystal, which can break easily. lt will dissolve in water if left in there for any length of time, so care must be taken when handling or cleansing it. Shop around if you intend to buy one the prices of them vary enormously, they needn't be expensive and they are well worth obtaining! Allison.

At the sign of the Two Fishes in the Cage of the Soul, Because I do not hope to turn again

Desiring this mans gift and that mans, I no longer strive to strive towards such things.....

" I have seen the light break through to illuminate a small field for a while and gone my way and forgotten it. But that was the pearl of great prize, the one field that had the treasure in it. I realise nowthat I must give all that I have to possess it. Life is not hurrying on to a receding future, nor hankering after an imagined past. It is the turning aside like Moses to the miracle of the lit bush. To a brightness that seems as transitory as your youth once, but is the eternity that awaits you."

In Britain we rejoice now as the light visibly begins to return to these Lands, the lengthening days invite us into the sunlight. The Mabon child stirs and turns with gladness in our hearts as we feel the strengthening sun warm upon our upturned brows each morning as its rays melt away the cold hard frosts of night.

As the Sun moves into the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces we feel the stirrings of spring and immediately our minds take a leap forward to the growing sprouting time of vibrant Aries.

But stay awhile, in the Bright Field, in the mystery of the moment and of Pisces the sign of the two fishes tied forever together and yet swimming perpetually away from one another. This symbol of Pisces illustrates the meaning of this most nebulous of - the soul and the personality in their endless pull in opposite directions - the personality urging us to achieve, to do, to strive and excel on the earth plane; the soul beckoning us inward to contemplation, to simply Be without striving. And in striving I include not only worldly goals of academic achievement, worldly power and the accumulation of possessions, but also spiritual ambition which by its very existence defeats its own objectives.

The soul lesson of Pisces, as of all Water signs, is that of Peace, and in this final and most mystical sign the lesson is to learn that deep inner peace that requires no striving, indeed requires no effort except that we put aside all effort, and rejoice to discover the Life that we have lost in the living.

Pisceans have a most well developed ability to swim freely in the Ocean of Universal Consciousness, and yet for the most part they do everything in their power to keep that ocean out - creating for themselves places of confinement, restriction and bondage with which to stem the tide that will merge them with the whole. And I feel that this is a problem that faces many of us now, particularly we who live in a busy consumeristic Western civilisation. We struggle to emerge from the Piscean Age, at once yearning towards higher levels of awareness and understanding, the connection to our divine child the Mabon, and yet also fearing that in doing so we will lose our sense of personal identity - paradoxically personified not by who we are within, but by the outer things that we identify with - our appearance, job, home, car, academic qualifications, lifestyle, our need to be doing and achieving. Pisceans, and indeed all of us, as inhabitants of the end of the Piscean Age, are so very good at this very active form of self imprisonment.

Pisceans struggle with the urge to merge, to sacrifice the self in service to others - Serve or Suffer is a motto well applied by Isabel Hickey - and yet to remain in control of their own destinies which at a personality level they fear they will lose in the sacrifice. Anatomically, feet are ruled by this sign, feet tied by their karma to the Earth, and yet whose heads are more often than not daydreaming in the clouds. Deeply empathic with the feelings of others, they can often lose touch with the boundary where the Other begins and they themselves end. That can make it difficult for them to set goals and make important life decisions - their natural compassion and the search for the spiritual pulls them towards unworldliness, for which they frequently compensate by drifting into difficult and confining life situations or set themselves almost impossible disciplines as a kind of counter-balance. They are ruled by Neptune, a nebulous planet which when well developed in an individual, on a soul level is the planet of Universal Love and Higher consciousness, bringing clear psychic and inner connections and being a true channel for intuition and contacts from the higher realms; imbuing its native with that true spiritual presence that draws others to its light. But so often Neptune remains less developed in a chart, and this divine clarity is befogged with delusion, illusion and fantasy. Neptune then will lose or imprison himself in daydreams, castles in the air, self delusion, or worse - find an escape through dependancies - alcohol, drugs and food being the more obvious.

However, we can become addicted or dependant on much more than the obvious - an over-emphasis on doing and thinking being two fine examples of how we build our own fortress walls against our inner connections. And what are addictions and dependancies but forms of self induced captivity or bondage?

We forget that (as in the example from Ash Wednesday) - we do not have to turn anxiously from past to future, from future to past, that the way to Peace is found in the still moment, in the turning aside from time to time from the unceasing rush of our civilised life to the place where 'things are as they are' the place of our soul, outside of time and place where striving is unnecessary. This is the true place of our freedom from imprisonment

Only a few days after the Sun enters Pisces on 18 February 2001, a new moon is born on 23rd February at 4 degrees Pisces, and with all new moons, this concentrates the energy of the zodiac sign in which both sun and moon are conjunct. This year they also conjunct the fixed star of Fomalhaut, the primary first magnitude star of the Southern Fish. Fomalhaut is thought to have been one of the Four Royal Stars of Persia, the Star Watcher of the South whose rising heralded the Winter Solstice around 2000 BC. This is a powerful star, said to be connected particularly to ways of working through and away from dependancies and addictions, of finding that level of awareness within that knows there are no real needs but that of the soul to BE in the presence of itself and God/Goddess.

Pisces' natural house is the twelfth. It rules among other things all forms of institution- generally large organisations which are actually made up of a number of much smaller cells. So it rules prisons, hospitals, asylums, government departments, convents and monasteries - all places where the determined Piscean will swim into voluntary self abnegation, escape and confinement whether to perform a service, or indeed to be truly imprisoned or confined. For this is also the house of karma - it indicates the nature of the karmic lessons that we have chosen to bring through into this incarnation, and brings us into contact with the people and situations that can best serve their resolution. It is the place of our hidden resources and also the place of both our self undoing and of our hidden enemies. Which speaks volumes.

In the Mabinogion in the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, Culhwch must achieve 39 'impossible tasks' before he can win the hand of Olwen the giant Yspaddaden's daughter. One of these is to find the divine child Mabon son of Modron. Mabon represents our own inner divinity or higher self. Culhwch takes a very sensible course of action, he decides to seek out the oldest animals and ask them if they know where the Mabon resides. He thus connects to Universal and Ancestral Wisdom, and follows the trail from the ousel to the stag, to the owl, to the eagle and thence to the Salmon of Wisdom who is the Oldest of the Old. Together they journey to the place of the Mabon. And where is this Divine Child, this divine soul self? Well - he is in prison! They find him in a stone cell deep within the walls of a stone castle

If ever there was an archetypal Piscean, the Mabon is he. At the Winter Solstice his mother gave birth and his light shone forth, at Imbolc he turned in her arms and the light grew in promise, and half way to the Spring Equinox he is imprisoned in a dark stone fortress, his beautiful spiritual light prevented from shining out into the World. Surrounded by cold stone his divinity, like the biblical light under the bushel shines unseen in the darkness and so he has to be rescued and restored to the world and to himself

And so I come back, by a circuitous route, with the aid of the Mabon and the Oldest Animals, to the place where I began, to the Bright Field. R S Thomas in his beautiful poem speaks to the soul, he invites us not hurry by in our hankering for what we imagine has gone from our past or what we desire for the future. All illusion.

If our two struggling halves could but turn towards one another, instead of they would form the symbol of eternity and a partnership of soul and personality rather than the struggle for supremacy by one over the other.

At the new moon of Pisces, perhaps we can all remind ourselves to put to one side our full to overflowing lives once in a while; to turn aside into the Bright Field and stand before the miracle of the lit bush and the eternity that awaits us.

SONG is a totally independent and non-commercial Druid network which is open to all who are inspired by the way of Druidry and Native British spirituality.

"SpiritSong" is an excellent magazine which carries some very good articles, stories, poetry, resources and artwork.

WEB-SITE:- Where you can find full details of subscribing to or contributing to "Spirit Song", and details of events that are planned. Link:- http://www.yewgrove.demon.co.uk/

Numerology, the study of numbers has been used for many thousands of years as a means of helping people to understand themselves and the people around them. Numerology offers deep insights into your personality, helping you to understand yourself. You can see the dynamics of relationships and determine the best time to marry, change jobs, move house and travel.

We can learn much from numbers and how numbers relate to ourselves, our personalities and what we do with our lives. New insights into our characters and personalities can be gained from the perspective of this ancient science. We can learn about the influence numbers have on us including the numbers relating to our birth date; the name we were given at birth; and many other names that we may have assumed since then. Numerology also deals with the influences that we experience in the course of time, because every moment has its corresponding numerological influence. We can discover our strengths and weaknesses, inner needs, talents and emotional reactions. Becoming aware of our own character can help us to understand others and deal with them in a better way.

Numerology can be traced back as far as 10,000 years. The Hebrew Kabbala, which is many centuries old deals with numerology and Pythagoras brought new life to the meaning of numbers 2600 years ago. Each number represents one area of awareness and experience. Generally only the numbers 1 to 9 plus numbers such as 11 and 22, (known as Master Numbers) are considered. All the other numbers are reduced to a single digit or a Master Number.

We can look at all the numbers in our lives; house number, phone number, car number, etc. Each one has some kind of influence on our life. When we move house, our address changes and the energy associated with the new address and house number enters our life.

I hope to be able to write each month, a summary of the influences for that month.

(5) Holy Well Meditation

Holy wells exist all over the British Isles and many have a pre-Christian origin. Although now they may be dedicated to female saints, prior to this they would have been sacred to the Goddess and tended by one of her Priestesses.

Holy wells are the counterpart to the masculine standing stones, representing the female side of the earth’s energy. While standing stones are revered for their power and stature, holy wells are visited for healing. Two traditional methods were used to ask a blessing of the well Goddess or saint: the first was to tie a piece of cloth from a nearby tree to ask for healing which would be sent to the cloth’s owner even when he or she had left the well, the second was to leave a gift such as a coin in the well in return for a wish. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Close your eyes and relax. Imagine that you are in the grounds of an old church. It is early in the year and the ground is covered with snowdrops. The sun shines from a clear sky. There is a small path winding around the back of the church and you follow this, eventually passing between two rowan trees, their bare branches forming an arch for you to walk through.

Beyond the trees is a small stone courtyard and within this is an ancient well. It is set into the far wall and carved into the stone above the water is a gentle female face. The stone either side of the well is decorated with patterns of spirals and leaves.

The well bubbles up from a spring, renewing the pool with fresh, clear water from the earth. Several coins have been left in the water and offerings of flowers have been laid on the flagstones. Behind the well is a thorn tree onto which have been tied bright ribbons and strips of cloth.

If you wish you may leave an offering of a piece of clothing or a coin and ask for healing or a blessing from the guardian of the well. Remain for a while in the peaceful presence of the well and feel the gentle energy of the earth coming to the surface as the water rises up from the ground.

When you feel that it is time for you to leave then retrace your steps, going through the rowan gateway and following the path back around the church. Become aware of the room around you and when you are ready open your eyes.

Andrew McLellan 03/01/01

(6) Living Pagan and Tending Your Spiritual Garden

In this modern world of fast paced everything, from the home to the world outside, finding the ways to slow down the pace, to enjoy all living creatures about you, and find time to do so is an ever increasing challenge for almost everyone today. This also seems to be one of the biggest hurdles and or hindrances to folks clearly living their lives as fully, as Spiritually and most importantly as openly to the Natural world around them as possible. But does it have to be this way? Does your trip out the door each morning, have to be filled with the blast of all such negative energies as one usually encounters once they set foot out of their sacred spaces?

I don’t think so, and in fact it is crucial that one take that sacred space and feeling along with them where ever they go…you must carry it within at all times, and in so doing it shall carry you along as well.

Whatever path you are traveling in this earth walk you can relate to my thoughts here.

Constant noise, the harried pressure of deadlines, and grocery lines, or bumper to bumper cars, can have a slow and draining affect of all the most precious energies one has accumulated through their spiritual work, whether it be meditation, yoga, prayer time, or just plain sitting in silence. I’ve yet to meet a fellow being on this earth that even through the most tranquil of meditational retreats, or daily spiritual work, does not feel the effects of the ever increasing pollution on their system.

A few years back this became my plan of action; to live as a Pagan, not just to occasionally practice Pagan Ways, but to clearly live it from my waking moment to the time when my conscious mind went to rest, which by the way may continue on throughout my sleep time, so I am living and dreaming Paganism. Now did this end the bombardment of worldly activities, noise, pressures and worries? Not in the least, yet I have found that I have a whole new perspective on life, my surroundings, and with my interactions with all I meet or come across, and this simple yet profound perspective has changed my life remarkably. And I have all the faith that it shall have an affect on my children, and their children after that. What more could a mother ask for. And most importantly I ask…”Is the gift of passing on to these children the wisdom and love of ones Spiritual belief, and living that belief, not the least I can do for them? “

So from a mother’s perspective, living my truth, and teaching it to my children is the essence of my life, and therefore the gift I can return to the Mother Earth in my life walk. Having my children respond, and cherish this gift to later pass on to their own children shows me that living ones truth is purely the essence of life itself. The cycle is continued and the wheel goes around through the seasons of the earth and seasons of our lives.

As the earth begins to slowly shift and the Sun begins it’s return to those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, we can begin our own renewal, and birthing of ideas, our seeds, then planting those seeds we have gathered and stored. It is time to attend our spiritual gardens. With the burst of spring, so may our seeds of hope, love, and blessings go before us, and truly manifest within our life walk to bring forth the peace and serenity we so desire. But remember the garden does not produce nor bloom, if left unattended…it needs our constant care and nurturing. Happy gathering and sowing of your seeds, and may your garden grow with you.

~Namaste’~ Moya

(8) Various Notes:- All material by me included in this Newsletter is Public Domain- you are welcome to share it with others, use it yourself on your website or in any similar way, and include it in newsletters, magazines or other forums. All I ask is that you credit the source- 'just put that it was originally written by Alan Tickhill for inclusion in Raven_News-Letter. If you'd like to include a contact address, email address, urls of websites I run or similar contact info' that would be good too.

Any material submitted by others will be credited to them. You must ask them for permission to use their material.

I need material to include in Raven_News: There are currently about 700 subscribers to the mag', and so in among that number of people there must be at least a few people who could write short articles, recommend websites for inclusion, submit pieces of news or other information for sharing with all- if you can do this it would ensure that RN includes material from a broader range of sources.

Short articles on craftwork of various kinds, contact information for suppliers of materials or goods that you've found to be helpful and reliable, details/URLs of websites you've found particularly helpful, books that you recommend, ideas for celebrating festivals, etc.

I need to hear from you with your original material- please don't just forward on material from other lists, websites or similar that might cause copyright problems.

Do also bear in mind that the readership of Raven_News is fully international so all of this information can also be fully global as equally as locally relevant to the area in which you live. Do not think that you are the only Raven_News subscriber that lives in your locality- a few words of information about your local bead supply shop for instance might be just what another subscriber needs to know.

If what you can offer is 'just' a note to let me know of a shop that sells good incenses, or a person who makes high quality, reasonably priced robes, or a craft worker who makes magickal tools with love and spirit but doesn't advertise widely, then put digits to keyboard and let me know about it. If you've bought goods from a website or shop and found the supplier to be worth recommending, then recommend them.

If you have a website yourself and want to let others know about it, or you make craftwork of some kind or similar yourself or offer readings or services of some kind, then let me know about it- let's get the energy flowing strongly...

Feedback & Input:- I need yours- To send something like this newsletter into the void and receive no feedback or input can feel disheartening at times. As the editor of any kind of magazine or similar can tell you, a little feedback and input can go a long, long way to help the inspiration and creativity keep flowing.

As well as that there are limits to what I know about, and times when I find it difficult to muster up the creativity or inspiration to write material. At those times it would help enormously to have a stock of material written by others to draw from.

(8) RATTLES

Rattles are used extensively in contemporary Shamanism, Wicca and similar ways as ‘noise-makers’. This is because a Rattle is easily held in the hand, and can be used easily while dancing, chanting and invoking power while moving about, as well as when sitting down. Obviously Drums are the Shamans noise maker par excellence, but Rattles are light, can be used in situations when noise is needed but shouldn’t perhaps be shared too widely, and are tough and robust. Shamans use sound to enter trance states for healing and accessing the Otherworlds, and for causing shifts and changes in their own and other peoples energy fields. Sound has powerful effects on the body, the brain and the mind, and the sounds made by Rattles are said by native peoples around the world to attract the attention of helpful Spirits. The sound from a Rattle is perfect for all these needs, and has the benefit of not travelling too far- it won’t disturb your neighbours at home, or bring unwanted attention outdoors.

Rattles are also used for cleansing the energy fields of places, and are therefore used for this at the beginnings of ceremonies and rituals to ensure that there is no negativity in the place where this is happening.

Rattles have another quality. Which is that their form lends itself well to decoration- carving or beadwork on the handle, artwork on the ‘head’ of the Rattle. Which means that they can be adorned with Totem signs and symbols, and this will all help to keep these connections at the forefront of your consciousness when you are using your Rattle.

(9) ADMIN STUFF

Privacy policy. I like spam as much as you do... No ones details or personal information is ever passed on by me to anyone else ever unless that has been given to me to pass on. Such as for those who are seeking contact with like-minded others. I will not sell mailing list details or give those to others to use for mail outs. That is 100%.

The principle I work from is that of Community building, and within that the creation of enriching and empowering relationships- that works only if all members of the community are so because they choose to be, and the relationship works all the time it is mutually enriching and empowering. Holding information about people just 'bungs up' the system- and I like to keep my system flowing and open.

Web site:- http://www.galdraheim.kirion.net/

Craftwork website:- http://www.witchcrafts.kirion.net/

(10) SMALL AD'S:-

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