Yule!

Merry Meet!!
So.. today is the official Yule (Yuletide, Winter Solstice, etc.)!!!!!!
My plans for today are to do a Goddess Ritual tonight (I'm excited!!)...

Here is a link to the site where I fount my ritual (yes, I'm using another person's ritual, I want more experience before I write my own.. maybe next year I'll write one!): http://www.wiccaspirit.net/v1is7/index_pg6.htm

I am going to admit, that I edited it just a tiny bit in order to suit me.. :o

I'm extremely excited about my ritual, I can't wait!! :)

I guess that's all for now... but first, here is a bit about Yule:

The word “solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” (the sun) and “sistere” (to stand still), the Winter Solstice therefore means, “Sun stands still in Winter”. Yule marks the longest night and shortest day of the year, when the Sun ceases its decline in the sky, and for three days thereafter seems to stand still and lie dormant on the horizon, after this it once again begins its ascent into the northern sky's and the days grow longer.

Yule celebrates the rebirth of the Sun God, born of the Goddess after her return from the Underworld. Fires and candles are lit to welcome the return of the Sun Gods light while the Goddess rests after delivery and the hardships of her winter in labour. Yule or the Winter Solstice is known by various other names, including: Alban Arthan (Caledonii or Druid), Jul (Norse), Yuletide (Teutonic), Feill Fionnain (Pecti-Wita), Gwyl Canol Gaeof (Welsh), the Longest Night, Midwinter and of course Christmas from Christianity.

The Yule celebration was particularly important to our ancestors, occurring at a time when many (the poor, the old, the feeble) were not expected to live throughout the winter. It was a time when their very survival depended on preparations they had made during the previous nine months. Starvation was a constant threat for many throughout the winter, indeed January through April were known as “the famine months”). For many, the Midwinter festival was their last great feast before the deprivations of deep winter set in. Any cattle left not needed for future breeding would have been slaughtered to provide fresh meat, and any left-over produce from the last harvest fermented and made into wine and beer for drinking.

Traditionally for the festivities, streets, homes and churches would be decorated using natural resources, such like Mistletoe, Holly and Ivy. Their use brought colour and life into the home and acted as a means of contact with the spirits of nature at a time when such has been threatened by the declining light of the Sun. The Druids especially prized mistletoe that grew in the sacred Oak trees, and on the Eve of the Winter Solstice would harvest the plant with a Golden Sickle. The white berries of the Mistletoe represented the male aspects of the Sun God, and were used to invoke fertility and the awakening powers of the Sun.

Courtesy of: http://www.controverscial.com/Yule.htm

Hope you have a blessed Yule!! And may this solstice be as magickal as you are.. :)

Blessed be..

Amorel )O(



Celebrating Other Non-Wiccan/Pagan Holiday's?

Hello, hello, hello!!!
My reason for this blog is to just kind of touch base with how celebrating other holidays works...
Since I'm Wiccan, I celebrate Yule this time of year. And the rest of my family celebrate Christmas!
Is it okay that I also celebrate Christmas with them??
I think it is!

I personally feel it is 100% alright to celebrate your other family member's holiday's just as it is alright to celebrate your own!!

I love my family, and they love me. I enjoy getting with them for the holidays! They're always so much fun with just the right amount of drama to make the day interesting ;)

Back to my point, me celebrating Yule is my own personal experience with deity, and for my own spirituality. But when I celebrate Christmas/Easter/etc. with my family, it doesn't really have anything to do with my spirituality.. But rather being with my family and enjoying their company.

Is it wrong or bad to celebrate other holiday's aside from your own? I don't think it is, especially not when it comes to celebrating with family or even friends!

My reason for writing this blog, is because I'm going to be celebrating Yule this Thursday with a ritual (so excited!! Happy dance time!!), but then on Christmas day my parents and siblings are all going to celebrate Xmas with my step dads family (which is always fun!). I'll be celebrating two holidays in one week, and I just wanted to establish that I think it is okay to celebrate other holidays with relatives. You have to respect their beliefs, just as they should respect yours.. :)

Okay, I think I got to my point.. I hope :)

Alright, love and light to all!!
Have a blessed Yule.. or Christmas.. or both (Yulemas!)!!!
Blessed be...
)O( Amorel )O(

Precognitive Dreams

Hello!!!I've been thinking about psychic abilities like precognition (more specifically precognitive dreams), because I have had personal experience in this area.
Ever since I can remember, from time to time I'll have a dream that seems SO real, but then I'll forget all about it until a few months later.. it happens in reality.
Nothing ever too big, mainly just conversations or thing's that I'm going to be doing.
One was about a conversation me and my brother have while he's cooking bacon.. Lol :)

Another thing I notice about my psychic abilities (I'm referring to mine, others will have different experiences with psychic abilities) is that sometimes I just know when something will happen. Like what song is coming on next when my MP3 is on shuffle (that happens a lot.. far too much to just be a coincidence.. I have more than 400 songs on it..). Or, one time I was at the podiatrists office, and me and my mother had been there since 2:05, and it was almost 2 hours (about 3:57 at this moment) when I looked at the clock and just kind of though to myself "some guy's gonna come out at exactly 4:05 and call my name".. and some guy did at exactly 4:05.

Anyways, to my main point is that I'm going to be trying to strengthen my psychic abilities with "exercises" and divination tools (Tarot, I'm learning that currently!).
One thing I'm planning on doing to help me with my precognitive dreams is to keep a dream journal so that I can not only remember my dreams, but keep track of them and see if there might somehow be a connection.

As for the other one, I'll probably carry around a notepad so if I have any of those experience I can record it there on the spot. But I've also heard of some other ways to help when it comes to knowing when something will happen/how it will happen/etc. And I fount this interesting site that gave some small, simple exercises to help expand psychic abilities. One was, when the phone rings, close your eyes and visualize the person calling, and then answer to see if your right. Or, have someone roll dice and call out "even" or "odd" before the dice stop.. I'm definitely going to try these thing's to help improve my abilities! :)

I'll probably post about my progress concerning these methods I'm going to be trying just in case anyone is curious ^.^

As for the site I found these methods on, here is a link to it: http://monwho.wrytestuff.com/swa2716.htm

I guess that's all for now, until next time!
Blessed be..
)O( Amorel )O(

Debates Over the History of Wicca...

Merry Meet!

So, I've been Wiccan for quite some time now, and occasionally I hear about "the history of Wicca"...

Actually, quite an interesting topic.. There is, however a lot of debate over such a simple subject.

Some say Gerald Gardner (he wrote the first book on 'Wicca'.. hence "Gardnerian Wicca") made the entire thing up. Others say he merely popularized it, and that it is older that most other religions. And then there are the ones that say it's only been around for about 60 years (hence the "made up" part)...

So many different ideas about it, but which one is true?!

To be honest.. is there really any conclusive evidence on either side to either disprove that Wicca is hundreds of years old?
Vice versa- is there any conclusive evidence to disprove that it is in fact only 60 years old?

Not really.. at least- from my perspective, there seems to be lack of evidence leaking from all over the place. Some say it's because of the witch trials, it caused Wiccans to hide their beliefs, also causing most information and evidence to get lost and never found.
Is that true?
I honestly have no idea.. possibly; it most certainly could be the case indeed!

But what if it's not, and it was just "made up" from all sorts of other religions and mushed into one belief system? That's just as possible too I guess..

To be completely honest, there really isn't much evidence (from what I can tell) to disprove either, it's really only a matter of personal views on the subject.

For me, I had heard from somewhere (possibly a website?) that some person thought this as the history of Wicca: That Gardner got a "skeletal" structure of Wicca, and "added some flesh to it".
That, to me seems very plausible!! Mainly because it kind of balances out the other two ideas.. if Wicca did exist, and most was lost; all Gardner could have gotten was a "skeletal" structure; and adding some "flesh" to it (sorry for the metaphors, it's how it was described, and I thought it was a nifty way of putting it.. easily understandable) could be construed as "making it up" (I, however, don't think he would have made up an entire religion.. who would do that??)

So, that's my opinion.. that Gerald Gardner got a "skeletal" form of Wicca and added "flesh" to it.. just my point of view.. others are free to think what they please :)
Oh, I'm presuming by "skeletal" it means, like the basic beliefs, some rituals, etc; and by "flesh"; all of the other tid bits that may have been "added".

Just on a little side note: Why should the age of a religion matter to begin with?? It's about the spiritual fulfillment and the journey.. everything else seems kind of pointless to ponder over...
I say, the age of a religion, whether it's thousands of years old, or was created yesterday-- should NOT MATTER. It's about your spiritual journey, nothing else other than what the religion does for you, if it makes you happy, go for it.
Even if, many years from now, someone claims to have conclusive evidence that Wicca was entirely made up.. I won't care, nor will I convert to another faith; I like the faith I have already, and all because it didn't exist before some other amount of time doesn't make it any less real than others.
Just my point of view again; your free to think and feel however you wish :)


I hope you enjoyed my little rant-type thing ;)
love and light, Goddess bless!
)O( Amorel )O(

A Bit More About Me

Okay, so this is my blog, but so far there isn't much about me on here!! Now, I'm not the conceited, center of attention type of girl; so I'm not going to give you my whole life story.. But I will tell you a bit about myself in case your curious :)

First off; if you don't already know, I'm 16 (turning 17 in a few months!!). And I am a solitary eclectic wiccan witch. But this is all stuff I've mentioned before.. so I'll move onto something else!!

Um.. where to start... I've never had much in life, still don't; my parents (Mother and Stepfather) struggle for money constantly. And despite the fact that they know and are okay with me being Wiccan; I'm unable to afford many thing's (candles at the least, I'm not talking about extremely expensive items!). My altar is on a T.V. dinner table that folds; I bought it with a gift card I got. And I bought 2 white candles, an incense burner, and a pack of wild berry incense to start myself off :)
Not much, but I make it work!!
I'm looking for a job (have been for awhile now!); but so far I've ended up with nothing..
When I celebrate Sabbats; it usually just involves "acknowledging" the day, and a little less "ritual" because I have absolutely NO supplies at hand!!
I know, I can easily write my own rituals and use the supplies I know I have.. but the truth is that I don't want to write my own ritual just yet; I want to get a few more years worth of experience in before I take that official step!!

Okay! I'm going to veer away from that topic before I go overboard!! I think I've officially established that I have virtually no money; and that means it's difficult to do full blown rituals/spells/etc. At least, I hope I established that already :)
What else about me?? I love animals! ALL animals!! I do, however have an uncanny love for cats, but I do care for all other animals as well! I sign petitions ( www.change.org ) for them, and for LGBT rights, to stop and prevent human trafficking, and so much more via Change.org! (I love that site just saying...)
I hate violence, and I think hate is a useless emotion compared to love!! ♥
I've grown up in the city, and the closest I've been to being intimate with nature was when I lived with my step dads family in some light forestry just outside of town :)
I do hike occasionally on a local trail to try and get more in touch with nature though; but I dream to one day live in the middle of forestry and shrubbery!!
My dream is to become a professional fictional writer (I would love to see my name on a printed book in the library!!). I also wouldn't mind being a baker, or a kindergarten teacher (maybe all three is possible??).
I've already posted about the two animals I have (Raven and Salem); but I've also had SO many more (hamsters, mouse, other cats, other dogs, etc.). I miss them all so much :'(
I tend to listen to all sorts of music: rock, heavy metal, punk, pop, screamo, instrumental, country, Celtic, folk, and so on. Same goes for movies, television shows, I'm very eclectic in all aspects of my life :)
I live in Florida, born and raised in the same city (Jacksonville.. big place O.o); and I've moved so many times in this city, I've lost track :p
I can be very emotional (thanks to my Pisces side, and my element being water!!); but I usually don't let all of it show, I tend to seem "antisocial"; but in all actuality, I'm a very friendly person to be around once I open up out of my shyness shell!
I love and cherish my family more than anything in the world (same goes for friends as well!!).

That about sums it up for the regular, teenage girl side of me; now on to my more spiritual side!!
I'm currently learning Tarot (love it so far!!); and I enjoy meditating (at least, when my sister isn't laughing at me while I meditate.. I'm very cliche when meditating.. closed eyes, deep breaths, etc..).
My Mom has studied Wicca on and off for years; and finally, curiosity got the better of me about three years ago.. I picked up a few books, and read them all in a few days to a week.. It's been that way since; I've actually become more informed than my own mother on the subject.. Now she asks me what something means or what it's for, etc.
I also may have fount my patron God and Goddess (Cerridwen and Cernunnos); I feel very connected to them and enjoy learning all I can about them!! I can't wait to continue my studies on these two magnificent Deities!!
I love my religion, and I enjoy learning more about it, and advancing in my spirituality.. I'm truly looking forward to my future. The beginning may not have been the best (now, still not all that great..); but I have faith in the Lord and Lady, and I truly believe that I will end up at the place I want to be.. All it's going to take is a bit of work and hard effort on my part. I can do that :)

Alright, this post is long enough.. now you know a bit about me and my life!!
On another note, I have a good ritual picked out for Yule (I might share it.. but I did find it online, so I want to make sure there won't be any copyright infringement if I do..) It's simple and involves very little supplies; so it's good for a beginner or someone on a tight budget (like myself, as explained earlier!!).

I truly hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about myself (if you were ever curious..); I also hope I'm not a complete bore!! ^.^

Until next time..
Love and light; blessed be...
)O( Amorel )O(

Awesome Yule Pictures!!!!!

This dragon winter picture.. to adorable :)

Winter fairy.. very solstice-y ;)

Beautiful Yuletide picture.. one of my favorites!!

I love this!!!

Sooo pretty!!

Indeed, this is lovely!

Aww <3

How are they this cute?!

^^Love the coat!^^

Love the coat :)

Hope you enjoyed!!

May the Lord and Lady bless you in love and light!

Blessed be!

Amorel

The Goddess and the God

Typically, in Wicca worship comes in the form of the Goddess and the God (or the Lord and Lady!)
To be more specific; the Goddess tends to be viewed as the Triple Goddess; the triple goddess is reprsentation of the three aspects of the Goddess: Maiden (early life); Mother (motherhood/adulthood); and Crone (the last part of life/wiser from experience/etc.).
The symbol for the Triple Goddess looks like this:

Maiden, Mother, Crone

And here is a "real life" picture dipiciting them:

Again: maiden, mother, crone!

The God is usually viewed as The Horned God; he is associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting, and the life cycle.

He is also commonly depicited with horns atop his head (commonly misrepresented for "Satan").

Though, they are more "antler's" than horns per se.

His symbol is as follows:

Looks a lot like the Goddess symbol- heh? But it's meaning is vastly different; instead of (like the goddess symbol) representing different aspects in the life of the God; the crescent moon shape represents the horns on the Gods head!

And here is a "real life" dipiction of the Horned God (A.K.A.:Cernunnos/Pan/etc.)

(Not so "Satan-y" now, huh?!)

The Lord and Lady can also be narrowed down into "pantheons" (various Gods and Goddesses from other cultures, etc.). But I'll elaborate more on that later!! :)

Until next time...

May the Lord and Lady be with you always, blessed be!

Amorel

My Precious Fur-babies!!

Merry Meet!!

These are my two precious animals, Raven and Salem :)
Both are female; Salem was a stray we fount years ago; and she's been with us ever since; and she is an absolute loveable kitty!!
Raven is a tiny chihuahua and can be a bit mean on occasion; but she does the silliest things that make her absolutely adorable!!

This is Raven in her fairy costume (thanks Mom...)

And this is the wonderful Salem; she never looks at the camera long enough to get a good shot; so this the best I've got!! :)

That's them; I love them with my heart and soul...

Blessed be...

Amorel

My Yuletide Altar 2011!! ^.^

Hello!!
Just thought I'd show off my altar for this upcoming Yule!!
It's probably not as showy and pretty as other's; but I think it's pretty good for someone on a tight budget :)

So this is it!!

It consists of a candle on the left for the Goddess; and a candle on the right for the God. As you can see, I have a cute little tree on there as well to celebrate the season!! My chalice is made of glass, next to it are some seashells for the element water; some pine needles for earth; incense for air; and another candle on a moon candle holder for fire. I also have a small cauldron in the corner (right under the shells); and a small "trinket box" with a sun design on the top (next to incense).

Kinda simple; but it suits me at the moment :)

Until next time, blessed be...

Amorel

The Two Golden Rules!!

Merry Meet...
In Wicca; there are two main "laws" to follow:
-The Wiccan Rede
-Threefold Law

~The Wiccan Rede comes in many forms; but all convey the same message:
"an ye harm none, do what ye will."

~The threefold law comes in a few forms, but here is one:
"evermind the rule of three, what ye send out comes back to thee."
And that states that whatever you do positive comes back three times positive; or what you do negative comes back three times negative.

Basically, as long as you don't harm anyone/anything and acknowledge that everyone has the right to believe in whatever they want, then you've got nothing to worry about ^.^
Everyone is responsible for their own actions; take it or leave it.

I'm probably going to go over the God and Goddess in the next blog; but who knows for sure :)

Until next time...
blessed be;
Amorel

A bit of Yule Mythology

Merry Meet!
Yule is comming up December 22, 2011 (if you live in the northern hemisphere that is).
And so, I just thought I would blog on some mythology/symbols/herbs and plants on Yule that I fount on the net!!
Enjoy!

In mythology, the Winter Solstice symbolizes the end of the reign of the Holly-King. As the sun reaches the end of its decline at the Winter Solstice (represented by the Holly-King) and once again begins its ascent back to summer (represented by the Oak King) the two engage in battle. This time the Holly-King is defeated by the Oak-King who then rules over the first half of the new year until they meet again and do battle at the Summer Solstice. This in essence is an enactment of the annual cycle of life, growth and death in nature. The Oak King is the growing youth whose life and strength reaches its peak in Mid-summer, while the Holly King is the mature man whose life and strength declines in Mid-winter, from where he is again re-born of the Goddess.

This change from one King to the other is a common theme for ritual re-enactments at Mid-summer and Mid-winter festivals. In theory, the Kings are brothers and both exist as different aspect of the same Sun God, but each has varying levels of influence throughout the year. The youthful time of the Oak King is for growth, development, health, healing and new projects, while the time of the mature Holly King is for deliberating, reflecting, contemplation and learning.
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Symbols of Yule:
Yule log, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove-studded fruit, a poinsettia or Christmas cactus.
********************************
Herbs & Plants:
Bayberry, evergreen, frankincense, holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar, rosemary, ginger, valerian and myrrh.
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^^I fount all of the above from a site, had good info on it!!^^

Until next time...
Brightest blessings to all... blessed be;
Amorel

My First Blog EVER!!!

Merry Meet!!

My given name is Jessica; however, to the Wiccan/Pagan/Witch community I tend to identify as "Amorel".. which is Gaelic for "dweller by the sea".
I'm currently 16 years old (will be 17 in February!!); and I have studied Wicca for about three years; and practiced off-and-on for about two years.

This blog is more of a personal diary documenting my journey as of now :)
It will cover information here and there, my experiences during rituals/spells/etc. And a lot of other Wiccan-based things.
I'm about to begin my "year and a day" study soon (because I never actually did a full year and a day of studying before I began practicing). So I'll be studying a topic each week, and more than likely I'll blog about it and the thing's I learned!
I love hiking in the woods and being surrounded by nature's gifts; and feeling the Gods around me!!

If you have any questions, ask them with a comment and I'll do my best to answer!!
I guess that's about it for now; I might post something later; until then...

Love & Light- blessed be..
Amorel