The 59th Street Bridge

The 59th Street Bridge
By Simon and Garfunkel

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy. Hello lamppost,
What cha knowing?

It is Samhain ...The Night of Shadows.
The Circle is cast around the fire,
And through the darkness, we glance,
For the veils are thin, in this sacred night !
Ancient voices around us,
Whispering old and forgoten songs,
While we dance the Spiral Dance,
To meet Her.

And there She comes,
The Lady of the Gate !
Power and compassion evolving us,
As a dark but comforting wave.
Beautiful Queen of the Dark Night !
With Her mantle of raven's feathers,
And eyes deep with wisdom.
Cerridwenn !

She opens Her arms ,
in a welcoming embrace,
We feel around us the flow of love,
Of Her Eternal Grace.
And then we hear Her voice,
Melodious and grave,
That speaks from inside our soul ,
As an echo in a cave.

Blessed Daughters of My Heart,
I hear your prayers from afar .
And that is why I came tonight !
Do not despair when the times are hard !
Do not abandon the Path you found !
For time has come for My return,
And you, Loved Ones, shall open the way,
Singing my name as the ancient bards.

I am always with you, do never doubt that !
I am the Old and the Young One !
I am the Keeper of the Gate !
I am the Master of Time !
I am the Dark Goddess of Death !
I am the Bright Goddess of Dawn !
I am The One !
I am Cerridween !

Myria / Brigid
October/99

Timeline of Wicca and Witchcraft                                                                                          

2000 BC

Babylon's Code of Hammurabi instructs, "If a man has laid a charge of witchcraft and has not justified it, he upon whom the witchcraft is laid shall go to the holy river; he shall plunge into the holy river and if the holy river overcome him, he who accused him shall take to himself his house."

3rd cent. AD

Under the pre-Christian Roman Empire, punishment of burning alive was enacted by the State against witches who brought about another person's death through their enchantments.

306 AD

The Christian Council of Elvira (Canon 6) refuses last rites to those who had killed a man by a magical spell because such a crime could not be effected "without idolatry" (i.e. the help of the devil).

313

Conversion of Emperor Constantine; Christianity is granted official toleration by the Roman Empire.

314

Canon 24 of the Council of Ancyra imposes five years of penance upon those who consult magicians. Here, the offence lies in participation in paganism.

785

The Council of Paderborn rules that sorcerers are to be reduced to serfdom and made over to the service of the Church.

906

Being A Animal Activist And A Veterinarian I Felt Compelled To Post This Information..!

Halloween is a lot of fun for people of all ages.

For children, it means dressing up as ghosts, goblins, witches, and skeletons, enthusiastic trick-or-treating, scary stories and old-fashioned but perennially popular games like bobbing for apples. For grown-ups as well as kids, it can mean enjoying mock haunted houses and decorating yards and homes with jack-o’-lanterns and images of bats and black cats.

This holiday is cherished for much the same reasons horror movies are so thrilling: the danger is pretend. Unfortunately, for some of the small, furry, four-footed creatures that share our world, this season is one that threatens in a way that is all-too-real. The long association of witches and the occult with black cats means that not only are their paper likenesses harmlessly hung on walls but that some emotionally disturbed people “sacrifice” them around this time. David DeWitt, Public Relations Director for Fulton County Animal Services in Georgia, explains, “I know that around the country,

There are more cases of animal abuse involving black cats around Halloween.”

Your eyes - More than a Camera                                                                           

Three hundred years ago, modern science took a quantum leap forward in

understanding sight, with the research and ideas of Descartes. The

diagram used in part one of this series shows his observations, and

how he believed an image was 'caught'' by the eyes, then sent from the

optic nerve inside the brain. He also believed the soul, which sits

inside the brain, then watches these images from little screens which

are at the ends of the optic nerves.

Behind the scenes

The research of Canada and Torsten Wiesel from Sweden, working

together in Boston during the 70's, show the eyes were indeed more

than a camera. It is in the back of the eyes that the process of

changing light rays into personal electronic impulses takes place. In

any creature found on earth that has eyes, in the back of the eyes are

where you will find the cells that relate the incoming image to the

brain. Different cells in certain animals are what gives them their

various "talents" with sight. For example, in cats, the back of their

eyes have cells which reflect back 50% more light to the front of the

eye (the iris) than in humans - which is why a cat can see so much

better in the dark.

THE TROLL-TEAR

Author Unknown

The night was very dark, with a Full Moon hanging in the cloud-filled sky above.  The air was crisp with the feel of late Autumn and the doorway between the worlds was wide open.  Carved pumpkins sat on the porches of the houses in the little town, and the laughter of children dressed in costumes could be heard from the streets.

It was a sad time for Beth as she climbed the hill behind her house.  In her arms was her cat and friend Smoky, carefully wrapped in his favorite blanket.  A little grave was already dug on the hill, waiting, for Smoky had died that day.

Yesterday.. while reading a book on my front porch.. the school bus carrying the neighborhood children arrived across from the house and I was chosen to witness the unthinkable.

There was a young woman  about 12 years of age (who shall remain un-named) who was enduring the teases and taunts of 3 young boys who have made up thier minds that ~ because she proudly wore her pentacle ( and had an awesome one hand drawn on her book cover ) 

That somehow she was different and deserved persecution..

Hydromancy is an ancient form of divination that goes back thousands of years and involves the use of water to bring messages.  Water is a metaphor of creation linked to the flow of the collective unconsciousness. 

Ancients would sit by a calm body of water and watch its flowing motion create patterns that they would interpret. Often a spirit would appear within the water and bring a telepathic message.

Crone's Corner ~ Goddess Grace

.

 I am the Goddess of a thousand names and infinite capacity. All Her gifts are mine. All Her powers reside in me.

 I am Athena of Greece. Like my totem the owl, I am wise for I see and hear everything around and within me.  Like the oak, I am strong for the olive of peace is sacred to me.

 I am Bast, cat Goddess of Egypt. I am graceful, flexible, playful, and affectionate. I radiate the warmth and light of the glorious sun.

 I am Cerridwen of Wales. My magic cauldron contains food for the soul, an inexhaustible source of wisdom and inspiration. The more I give, the more I receive.

 I am Diana, Roman Goddess of the ever-changing moon. I am a protectress of women and children, a guardian of the wild. I focus my aim on my heart's desire and draw it to me.