Volume 14 Issue 3
Beltane 2017

Seasons of the Moon is a quarterly online magazine published by students and members of The Order of The White Moon, an eclectic international order of women dedicated to The Goddess. The Order provides personal empowerment and priestess training, and operates local groups. All contributions are original material submitted by our students and members. (We do not accept outside contributions.) Please direct comments and questions to the Ezine Editor.

Beltane 2017

Ritual Work
Writing Energies Creativity Ritual , Mystic Amazon

Peace Whitehorse 's Tips for Doing Ritual , Peace Whitehorse

Sacred Sites
Dougga , Ajna DreamsAwake

OWM Awareness
OWM Happenings, Ka Wahine Ahi

Crystal's Collection
Crow Goddess Album, Crystal Spiritweaver

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit
A Cry to the Moon, Mystic Amazon
Your Children Are Suffering , Peace Whitehorse

Just For Fun
Prosperity Blessing Cards, Peace Whitehorse

Ritual Work

Writing Energies Creativity Ritual

Sarasvati, Brigit, Taliesin
All poets great, you three
Attune me to your great energies...
This is your son/daughter, _______.

Help blocks dissolve in writing
And my words sparkle and glow;
No one else may know you're helping
Except me... I'm grateful, and I know.

*Say this prayer three times, "getting into" the energies, and feeling the energies flow from the great writing masters and deities that you have asked to help. You can ask other creativity deities to help you instead, if you wish.

If you have candles, pick three and carve their names on them and light them before you start. I would also suggest that you either cast a circle verbally, or just imagine a circle of white or gold light for protection, before you start. Visualize three streams of light entering your crown chakra, gifts of writing and understanding from the ones you asked. This will be like an attunement and will no doubt continue to stay with you. When you are through, you can open the circle and relax, knowing that they will be with you, the two Goddesses of Poetry and Writing, and the famous Bard.

If you wish to be more elaborate, you can find the oils and herbs that appeal to you. Perhaps dress the candles with the appropriate oils for creativity, and roll the candles in herbs, before lighting them. If you have a limited length of time, use small ritual candles about 4" long. Even tealight candles will work if you are pressed for time. The intent is the most important. You are asking these Great Beings for an attunement to their energies, and they will respond.

Mystic Amazon is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon and an Ordained Minister, currently teaching at The Sisters of the Rising Moon. Her hobbies include writing, folk art, folk magick, Reiki, and reading.

Peace Whitehorse 's Tips for Doing Ritual

In case there are some that want some help in performing rituals, I thought I would share a bit of how I do it. If you already have your way of doing things, that's great! No need to change a thing. But, if you are inexperienced or not feeling confident in what you are doing, hopefully this will help.

Create Sacred Space:

Cleanse your space with a smoldering sage smudge stick, or you may choose to use a smudge spray which is becoming more and more popular. Or you can use incense. You can also cleanse space with sound, by clapping, or ringing a bell. If there is need to be quiet, you can cleanse your space simply by stating that this space is cleansed and sacred and ready for ritual. Remember, your INTENT is the most important thing.

Altar set up ‐ here is what I do:

I use chime candles for the elements/directions, spirit, and Goddess [and God, if you call Him]. East = yellow, South = Red, West = Blue, North = Green, Spirit = White and Goddess = Silver, [God is Gold. God goes on the right and Goddess on the left if you are calling both]. Chime candles are miniature taper candles. You can find chime candles at your local witchy shop or there are many places you can order them online. Some people like to use fresh candles for each ritual. I don't, I use my candles until they are quite burned down.

altar

The chime candles are the ones in the center on the glass plate.

I do however bless them with a special oil prior to each use. I have a special blend of oil that I use for my altar oil.

Altar Oil Blend:

Base Oil ‐ I use canola because it is readily available and inexpensive. There are many oils though that can be used as a base oil. But you can use Safflower, Grapeseed, Jojoba, Sunflower, Almond, Olive, Coconut or almost any non‐essential oil. My rule of thumb is, if you can cook with it, you can use it as a base oil. A base oil is used to help stretch the expensive essential oils, and also because many essential oils, if used directly on the skin without blending first in a base oil, can burn or cause a reaction. I use a one‐ounce tinted oil bottle, you can usually get these at your local witchy shop or order online. Blue or amber are the most common. I fill it halfway with base oil. Then I add essential oils.
Frankincense ‐ four drops.
Myrrh ‐ two drops.
Cedar ‐ 1 drop.

Then I cap the bottle, shake it and then remove the cap and smell the mixture. Does it please you? If it isn't strong enough, add the essential oils again in the amounts shown above and repeat, shaking to mix it, and smelling it to see if it is yet pleasing to you, until you get the right balance. Making other oil blends are done in a similar fashion.

An altar oil is not required though. It is simply something that I use for further purification of my candles.

I use tea light candles for my intent candles. These are the candles that will actually be used in the body of the ritual for a working or spell or magick. I use tea lights because I believe that intent candles should burn completely out. You can also use birthday candles since they burn out pretty quickly also. However, I find they burn too quickly for me. If you plan on using birthday candles, you can make holders for them out of polymer clay. If you use tea lights, be sure that they are each in a holder or sitting on a plate of some sort.

altar 2

In the above photo, the three tea light candles being used are shown at the top in glass holders.

Altar cloths are very nice to have but not essential. I like to use them and they usually reflect the colors associated with the ritual I am doing. I go to fabric shops and look in the remnant bin, or if there is nothing there that tickles my fancy, I buy a yard of fabric which is more than enough unless you are using a large table. Open it up, and fold one upper corner down until it meets the bottom with no wrinkles. Cut along the single‐ply side and open up the folded piece and you will have a square. I like to trim the edges with pinking shears or of course you can hem the cloth, also.

I also use incense and sometimes salt and water. Incense helps to keep your sacred space sacred. Salt and water can be mixed to make holy water and can be sprinkled around the circle as a purifier. I don't often use this because I mostly cast circle indoors and don't care to sprinkle water on my carpet. But I have done so, and it does not make the carpet all that wet.

But an altar need not be that complex, and need not even utilize candles. Some must do ritual in secret and sometimes candles simply cannot be used. In that case, you can use this simple altar set up: a stone for earth&/north, a feather for air/east, a flameless tea light candle for fire/south, and a small sea shell for water/west. A quartz crystal does nicely for Spirit and a statue for Goddess [and God] works well.

What about intent candles? You can use flameless candles for them, too. And they can be reused, just turn them back off after ritual is over. Even though a ritual may call for certain colors of candles, you can always substitute white for any other color. And white flameless candles are easy to find at a craft store or a store like Walmart or Target.

Grounding and Centering:

Center by taking a strong stance, your legs shoulder‐width apart, and take three deep, cleansing breaths. Feel your strength. You are centered. Now, ground with any method you have been taught.

Casting the Circle:

This can be done in a number of ways. You can use an athame to cast with, or a wand, or just your pointed finger. If I have people in circle that cannot stand for long, I cast the circle to include a sitting area that can be used without leaving the circle. If for some reason someone has to leave the circle, it is customary to "cut a doorway" and then close it after the person exits. This is usually done with an athame but you can use your finger, too. If someone leaves circle it is usually good etiquette not to return. Always try to have things taken care of so that nobody need leave circle. A circle is always cast deosil &brack;clockwise].

Calling the Quarters/Directions, Spirit and Goddess [and God]:

Most people start the Quarter calls in the East, however some paths do start in the North. I start in the East. Now, the Elements/Directions can be called to witness your ritual, or to protect your circle, but not both. One requires that they face inward and the other requires that they face outward. Be sure you don't make conflicting requests.

Giving thanks:

Always remember to give thanks. We can never thank the Goddess [and God] enough. Be thankful in circle. This was impressed upon me by my dear teacher Kerritwyn.

State Your Intent:

Every ritual needs to have an intent, a purpose. If it doesn't, why are you doing it?

The Body of the Ritual:

This is where the work gets done. This is the meat of the ritual.

Closing:

I use a Closing because I always want to be sure I am abiding by the Rede. I do everything in my power to make sure my workings will harm none, but just to be sure, I add this: An' it harm none, this ritual is done!

Thanking and releasing Goddess [and God], Spirit and the Elements/Directions:

Thankfulness again is very important. Some use the term dismiss, I never use that term regarding the Goddess [or God], I feel it is demeaning. Some release the directions/elements in the opposite sequence as they were called, counter‐clockwise or widdershins. That is fine. I prefer to release them in the same sequence ‐ clockwise or deosil. That way, each element/direction has the same amount of time in circle and no entity has been slighted.

Taking up the Circle:

Some people do this deosil, some do it widdershins. I prefer to do it deosil because I do not like to move widdershins at all within ritual.

Ground:

It is VERY IMPORTANT to ground post‐ritual. If you don't you may well end up carrying more energy around with you than you need or can handle. You could end up with a headache or upset stomach, or feeling dizzy or flighty. Remember to ground after ritual!

I hope some find this helpful.

Blessings!

Peace Whitehorse
High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon

Peace Whitehorse is a graduate of The Sacred Three Goddess School and a High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.

Sacred Sites

Dougga

Dougga (Thugga) arose during the Bronze Age, approximately 2000 BCE. The Numidian name for the city is TBGG, possibly derived from the Libyan word TBG (to protect). It is nestled into a cliff, atop an easily defendable plateau, and surrounded by olive groves. By the 4th century BCE, it was ruled by Numidians and was an ally of nearby Carthage. As a seat of royalty, the city prospered, and within its tombs can be found jewelry, glass vessels, and pottery from Greece and Italy, and even amphorae of wine from Rhodes.

During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, under Roman rule, building began in earnest and Dougga became home to theaters and arenas, monuments and temples, most of which were paid for by wealthy Roman citizens who lived there.

Dougga was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, as "the best‐preserved Roman small town in North Africa".

There may be as many as twenty temples at Dougga, possibly more, along with other typical Roman structures such as aqueducts, a theatre large enough to seat the entire population (35oo people), a circus for chariot races, and triumphal arches. There is even a group latrine adjacent to the town brothel.

Some of the holy sites include: Domus Lachebia which is believed to be a sanctuary dedicated to Aesculapius, a temple dedicated to August Piety, an older temple dedicated to the Punic God Ba'al Hammon, consort to the Goddess Tanit, and two temples dedicated to Saturn (successor to Ba'al Hammon). Another Temple honours Tellus, the goddess of crop fertility and Her consort Mercury. The Capitol is dedicated to Rome's protective triad: Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Juno Regina and Minerva Augusta.

The Temple of Caracalla's Victory in Germany is dedicated to the Goddess Victoria, a personification of victory. The temple was paid for by a wealthy woman named Gabinia. Gabinia's family, one of the richest in Dougga, also bequeathed land for the circus "for the pleasure of the people". Her will decreed that a banquet be held every year for the local government.

Victoria Church, is the only Christian building that has been so far excavated at Dougga. At the end of the 4th century CE, the Christian community erected the church on top of a pagan cemetery.

There are two Temples of Minerva, the older one was built by a wealthy patron in the 1st century CE. A second temple, erected in the 2nd century, was financed by Iulia Paula Laenatiana, a priestess of the imperial cult. It became the primary Temple dedicated to this Goddess.

But the greatest of all was the Temple of Juno Caelestis, which was built on the outskirts of the city. The temple is dedicated to Juno Caelestis, the Roman version of the Punic god Tanit. Its well‐preserved temenos (a sanctuary set apart from the rest of the building), which is 52 metres in diameter, is reminiscent of a crescent moon, the symbol of the Goddess. It was erected between 222 and 235 CE. Although dedicated to the Juno, it is believed that the original Goddess, Tanit, was also worshiped here in secret.

Many Goddesses were worshiped in Dougga, including Minerva, Juno, Ceres, Cybele and Venus. But the greatest of these was Tanit ‐ Deas Caelestis ‐ Mother Goddess of the Heavens, Sky Goddess, Star Goddess. She is associated with Anat and Astarte, and is the Goddess of the Berbers, the indigenous people of the area.

Tanit is described as a winged Goddess with a zodiac around her head and the sun and moon in her hands. Under Roman occupation, Juno assimilated many of Her qualities, becoming Juno Calaestis, the matron Goddess of Dougga. As a Goddess of the Sky, the Romans renamed Tanit Dea Caelestis, "the Heavenly Goddess", or Virgo Caelestis, "the Heavenly Virgin". Tanit's worship was spread from North Africa to Spain, Malta and Sardinia.

Tanit's Priestesses were noted astrologers and sometimes referred to as the Cumaean Sybils. Tanit is a Goddess of motherhood and fertility, death, rebirth, resurrection, divination and healing. She is sometimes depicted riding a lion, holding a spear or long scepter in Her role as protector. She may also be portrayed wearing a diadem or crown, with wheat sheaves bound in Her hair, with a crescent moon behind Her.

Her symbols include the palm tree (the desert version of the Tree of Life) and the serpent. Her other symbols include the dove, grapes and the pomegranate, the crescent moon, and the lion.

Tanit has Her own abstract symbol, called the "symbol of Tanit". It is a triangle with a circle at the top with a horizontal line between the two; sometimes two additional vertical bars come from the ends of the horizontal. This has been interpreted as either a stylization of an altar, or a woman in a long dress, Her arms up‐raised in an attitude of worship or blessing.

tanit

Dougga is known as a well‐preserved Roman town, but her true gift is as a sacred site which honours the ancient Mother Goddess Tanit.

Image courtesy of http://www.the-symbols.net/ancient/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougga
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dougga
http://www.discovertunisia.com/en/tunisie-culture/unmissable-sites
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/794
http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/tanitogod.php

Ajna DreamsAwake is a High Priestess and founder of Dark Moon's Heart School. Her personal journey of self‐discovery continues as she supports and guides women along their own healing paths.

OWM Awareness

White Moon Happenings

Diana Ravenwolf has successfully completed Level Two of White Moon studies and is now an Adept. You may read her wonderful project on Tonatzin Guadalupe at https://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/tonatzin/tonatzin.htm

We are, of course, delighted to welcome our new students in The Sisters of the Rising Moon, Sacred Three and Dark Moon's Heart. We are always happy when sisters find their way to OWM!

If you're not an OWM student and you'd like to learn more about the Order of the White Moon, the schools offering Traditional White Moon Studies, or browse the Goddess Gallery, we welcome you to learn about us!

May the Peaceful, Compassionate and Healing Presence of the Goddess be with you now and always.

HP Ka Wahine Ahi is the President of the Board of Directors and the Head of the Order. She teaches White Moon lessons to women in the school that she founded, The Sisters of the Rising Moon School of the Feminine Divine.

Crystal's Collection

Crow Goddess Album by Crow Women

A beautiful mix of songs for all seasons, rituals, and meditation greets us on this album. Crow Women is a group from Colorado, U.S. with another album entitled Crow Magic. Crow Women is not well known on the Pagan music scene, but they deserve recognition particularly in women‐centered communities like the Order. With this collection of 19 songs, a group or solitary practitioner can find music to uplift each woman in Goddess worship.

This album is strong in chants. I don't mean meditative chants, though some are just that. These are chants you can use during ritual, for teaching, and for personal empowerment. "Born of the Elements" is a medley we can use both to meditate on the elements and to call them during circle casting. It is also a round that is beautiful to hear or sing as a group. As a solitary practitioner, I choose a part and sing it anyway, letting the voices of Crow Women act as sisters in spirit. "I Am Plenty" is an empowering chant that reminds us that in essence, at our core, we are all plenty. It's also a Goddess‐centered harvest chant. "Web of Wonder," with its gentle sound of Kalimba/African thumb piano, is a reminder that we are all One.

Besides being meditative at times, Crow Goddess is fun. Get‐up‐and‐dance tracks include "Let's Go Down," "Away Ye Merry Lasses," and "We Won't Sleep Tonight." These tracks were recorded live, and you can feel the energy in the performance.

Two of my favorites are "Healing Circle Song" and "May the Circle Be Open." I've used the first for meditation and for sending healing energies to requests. The second opens the circle after ritual with the words:

"May the circle be open but unbroken.
May the love of the Goddess be ever in our hearts.
Merry meet and merry part
And merry meet again.
Bless'ed be!"

You can find Crow Women's Crow Goddess album on CD Baby, as a physical CD or digital download in various formats. Please remember to support independent musicians whenever you can! https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/crowwomen

Crystal is a Level 1 student in The Sacred Three school. Music has always been important to her and is a joyful expression of her spiritual path.

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit

A Cry to the Moon

Her grieving sighs mingled with the north wind
In an eerie song, as she stared at the Moon Mother
From her perch on a branch high in a tree.
No one knew where she was,
She valued her privacy and mourned alone.

As she cried from her broken heart,
Moonbeams surrounded her with their light,
And she felt that the Goddess cared about her grief
And was helping to heal her wounds.
Then she saw in the distance, the shimmering figure

Of an slender woman with a large bow.
She wore a golden diadem in her piled-up hair,
Laced-up sandals, and a short white chiton.
There were hounds leaping up beside her excitedly
And she was obviously at the hunt.

Suddenly, she looked up and smiled at her
As she did, Melanie felt a sudden exhilaration
And a feeling that the woman was more than human.
Could she be? Could it be Artemis, the Moon Goddess?
The goddess motioned to her to come down from the Tree,

And she went down to join her and walk with her.
She told the goddess all about her life and false lover
And as she did, the grief fell away from her
And she was running free with Artemis and her hounds
Feeling close to nature, and the celebration of life.

Your Children Are Suffering

Oh Great Goddess!
Your children are suffering, hear their cries!

The world is harsh, the people struggle.

They live in fear and don't feel safe!
They have no food and naught to drink.
The snow is deep, the rain falls fast.
The work is hard, the wages few.
Your children struggle just to survive.
They do not live, they just get by.
The sweat of their brow gains them little.
They break their backs for next to nothing.

Oh Great Goddess!
Don't you hear their cries?

Grant them freedom from fear,
Feed them and give them drink,
Bring the spring and gentle rains.
Give fair work and good wages,
And a good life in return for good efforts.
Change their survival into living.
Bless them with bounty.
Protect your children from a cruel master.

Oh Great Goddess!
Hear their cries!

They do not want something for nothing,
They work hard and gain little.
Grant them fairness in an unfair world.

Just For Fun

Prosperity Blessing Cards

1 heavy cardboard card
1 plastic case ‐ the kind used to store sports cards
1 printed Abundance Blessing in small type
1 printed Abundance Spell in small type
2 posterboard cards
1 Explanation card
Glitter
Hex sign

Charms & broken jewelry
Crushed prosperity herbs
Mod Podge
E‐6000 glue
Toothpicks
Spray glue
Glitter glue
Ribbon
Other embellishments

Trim heavy cardboard to fit snugly into plastic case.
Trim the pieces of posterboard, the Blessing and the Spell to match the trimmed heavy cardboard card.
Mod Podge Abundance Spell and affix to heavy cardboard card.
Spray other side of heavy cardboard card with glue and sprinkle prosperity herbs on it.
Mod Podge posterboard cards and affix to both sides of heavy cardboard card, covering herbs and spell.
Mod Podge Abundance Blessing and affix to one side of the posterboard covered heavy cardboard card. This is the back of the card.
Affix hex sign to front of card.
Decorate front and back of card as desired.
Place in plastic case for safe keeping.
On the explanation card, describe what your card is for, so you don't forget, and keep this with the case. You could glue it to the inside top of the case, but then you have to open the case to see the Abundance card, so be sure not to inadvertently glue the case shut!

Front of Prosperity Blessing Card card front

Back Of Prosperity Blessing Card card back

Blessings,
Peace Whitehorse

The articles featured in Seasons of the Moon are written and/or submitted by members of the Order of the White Moon and are their own intellectual property. Please feel free to share this publication but do give credit where credit is due and link back to the source.

Thank you for reading, we hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you.

Many blessings to you and yours,
Seasons of The Moon Staff

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Volume 14 Issue 3 Beltane 2017