Merry Meet!

 

I have come to the decision that I should take on the role of creating my own MSN Dianic Wiccan Group! This group will be open to women ONLY! Also this is a private group and I will be accepting only those applicants I feel have a genuine interest and dedication to the Dianic Wiccan Path or by personal invitation.

 

 

All applicants must have a fully completed MSN profile as well as an outline in their application of why they want to be part of my Dianic Group.

 

 

Also, this group will be unlike other similar groups already on MSN in that I will be sole manager/High Priestess and there will be no member postings or fancy pages and graphics other than those pages posted by me. The purpose of the group will be to teach the fundamentals and advanced levels of Dianic Wicca. The only postings made by members will be answers to questionaires relating to lessons which I will grade or questions posted by the members if there are any areas of the lessons they do not fully understand or need more clarification on.

 

 

Keep checking this blog for announcements regarding the new group, I will keep all posted as I am ready to open the group to membership. Hopefully before the end of March.

 

 

In Love and Light!

 

 

(Contaning exerpts from WOMEN'S RITES, WOMEN'S MYSTERIES: Creating Ritual in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition, forthcoming from AuthorHouse in Fall of 2004)

I hope here to address many of the questions asked of me over the past 8 years about what marks or distinguishes our tradition as "Dianic" from other Wiccan traditions and Goddess- centered spirituality forms. In presenting this, I am well aware that the term "Dianic" has a much less defined meaning in many communities throughout Canada the United States and abroad. There exist great numbers of women who either self-define as Dianic, or who are defined by others as Dianic, when describing Witchcraft that is women and Goddess- centered. Most often these women have no magickal or ritual practices in common, and while Dianics generally tend to be fairly eclectic in their practice, some groups are more eclectic than others, and many do not affiliate with the Dianic tradition's foremother, Z. Budapest, or know her-story of the tradition she revived. All the information described here refers to the Dianic tradition that emerged from the Z. Budapest lineage of which I am clergy, and not to the McFarland Dianics of Texas that are a co-gender Wiccan tradition based in Celtic Mysteries.

The Dianic tradition is a Goddess and female-centered, earth-based, feminist denomination of the Wiccan religion revived and inspired by author and activist, Zsuzsanna Budapest in the early 1970's. The Dianic tradition is a vibrantly creative and evolving Women's Mystery tradition, inclusive of all women. Our practices include celebrating and honoring the physical, emotional and other life cycle passages women share by having been born female. Contemporary Dianic tradition recognizes the greater or lesser effects and influences of the dominant culture on every aspect of women's lives. Since 1971, the Dianic movement has inspired and provided healing rituals to counter the effects of living in patriarchy, and strive to understand, deconstruct, and heal from the dominant culture wherein we live and practice our faith. We define "patriarchy" as the use of "power-over" thinking and action to oppress others, either institutionally, or within the personal sphere of our lives.

Dianic rituals celebrate the mythic cycle of the Goddess in the earth's seasonal cycles of birth, death and regeneration, as it corresponds to women's own life cycle transitions.

Inspired by the nature and aspects of the Roman goddess Diana (and her predecessor, the Greek goddess Artemis) as a protector of women and wild nature, Dianic Witches are committed to finding positive life-affirming solutions for personal and global problems. We envision and strive to create a world where the web of life, which includes all living things, is honored and respected as a sacred creation of the Goddess.

Her-Story of the Dianic Tradition:

The branch of the Dianic Wiccan tradition, often referred to as "feminist Dianic, " was inspired by Zsuzsanna Budapest, a Hungarian immigrant, hereditary Witch, and visionary who came to the United States at the time of the communist invasion of her native country. By 1971, she developed a Goddess-centered, woman-centered tradition of Wicca that combined elements of Gerald Gardner's Wicca, and Charles Leland's Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, with feminist values, and the ritual, folk magick, and healing practices learned from her mother. It was Z's spiritual activism that eventually brought Goddess religion to second-wave U.S. feminists, being the first to coin the phrase, "feminist spirituality." She called her denomination Dianic, after Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt and untamed nature. Through her books, (The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows (1976), which became The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries), national travels and a knack for getting attention, Z. Budapest ignited the fire of what has become known as Dianic feminist Witchcraft.

Concurrently, feminist scholars, activists, writers, artists and musicians began to speak, publish, and create art, music, and song, inspired by Goddess iconography, mythology, feminist politics, and/or intuitive knowing. The works of feminists, Shekhinah Mountainwater, Merlin Stone, Judy Chicago, Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove, the activist women of WITCH, Mary Daly, and Kay Gardner inspired others with books, magazines, music, art and activism, that added to the growing tide of Goddess- consciousness. Books like When God Was a Woman (Stone, 1976), The Great Cosmic Mother (Sjoo & Moor, 1987), The Spiral Dance (Starhawk, 1979), The Chalice and the Blade (Eisler, 1988), and Beyond God the Father (Daly, 1973), carried the women's spirituality movement and feminist spirituality movement into the bookstores of mainstream America.

The work of archeologist Dr. Marija Gimbutas provided an academic contribution to the body of intuitive knowledge women held in their hearts. She argued that the original understanding and experience of what the dominant culture calls God was first worshipped as a Goddess. Dr. Gimbutas authored many books on ancient Goddess-worshipping civilizations that gave compelling evidence of the widespread existence of a Neolithic goddess-centered culture in pre-patriarchal Europe. Although her work is controversial and disputed in some academic circles, many practitioners of Goddess spirituality are thankful to Marija Gimbutas for the inspiration her work brought forward regardless of whether some believe she attributed more opinion than the evidence supported.

From the early 1970's as the Dianic tradition spread through Z's travels across the U.S., bringing along her first book, The Feminist Book of Light's and Shadows, the wildfire she started in California caught on in many places throughout the United States, and eventually in Great Britain and other parts of Europe. Still, to this day, many self-defined Dianics do not know that there is a her-story or tradition to be had! In some places, the term "Dianic" became synonymous with a lesbian Witch. According to Z, from the earliest days of her coven, The Susan B. Anthony Coven #1, to the present day, women of all sexual orientations were welcomed, participated and contributed to the Dianic tradition. Lesbian feminists were especially intrigued and drawn by the idea of women-only circles for female empowerment that combined political activism with a Goddess- and woman-centered spirituality. Goddess spirituality organizations like the Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess in Wisconsin helped women network with other like- minded women for spiritual support. Over the years, some communities around the United States that embraced a Dianic or Goddess spirituality focus drew a preponderance of lesbians, where other communities also drew bisexual and heterosexual women, as did my own Los Angeles community of Circle of Aradia. Although the Dianic tradition was the first Witchcraft tradition in contemporary times to welcome lesbians and include lesbian rites of passage (including same-sex union ceremonies), it was never Z's intention or vision that the Dianic tradition be synonymous with a lesbian religion. Her dream was to revive a Women's Mystery tradition for all women.

In 2001, I was ordained  High Priestess, and religious director of The Mystical Crescent of the Goddess in St.Catharines, Ontario, Canada, which now consists of 13 priestesses myself included. I ordained many priestesses during my ministry, with diverse focuses of spiritual service.

With this said, I present a concise definition and explanation of the Dianic tradition from my perspective and vantage point as a Dianic High priestess and silver elder in the Z. Budapest lineage, who has perpetuated and evolved the tradition as it arose from its birth in Los Angeles, California in 1971. This means that the Dianics affiliated with these groups generally have an identifiable and continuous tradition that spans over 30 years, where thousands of women have greater or lesser degrees of training or exposure to the same her-story, cosmology, ethics, and magickal/ritual practices. With a shared foundation in common, these Dianics use their creativity to design and facilitate rituals that are often repeated over the years, and change as the groups' needs change.

The Dianic Tradition - Core Beliefs:

The Dianic tradition is a holistic religious system based on a Goddess-centered cosmology and the primacy of She Who is All and Whole unto Herself.

Dianics spiritually reclaim the Goddess exclusively, as the Source of Life, and to whom all will return in death. Religious rituals, approach to the practice of magick, our liturgy, imagery, and personal perception lies outside of a male/female or Goddess/God dualism within the self or our practices. Languaging and primary reference for life is female.

For many Dianics, the Goddess is not an entity but the Web of Life itself. We use female imagery as a metaphor to speak of this. That means when we address the Goddess, we are addressing the whole web and acknowledging our part in the web at the same time. We do not pray, in the usual sense; rather we focus our conscious awareness on the web. We invoke Her, aligning our personal will with the energies we call to conscious awareness within and without. When we do magic, we try to focus our awareness and will on particular strands in the Web.

Dianics recognize the God, and all that is specifically male in nature, as a variation of Her, sourced from, and contained within the Goddess, as males and females are created, contained within, and birthed from the wombs of women. Therefore, although the God is always present as one of Her sacred creations, He is not specifically invoked in Dianic ritual, and there are no specifically male images on a Dianic altar.

"There are only two kinds of people in the world, mothers and their children." (Z. Budapest)

The Dianic tradition is a Women's Mysteries ritual tradition that celebrates women's life cycle events.

Dianics recognize that it is in women's hands to restore meaning to our lives by honoring the rites of passage - called Women's Mysteries - and other life transitions. We recognize that our human experience is filtered through, and informed by our women's bodies and specifically female physiology.

Women's Mysteries include the physical, emotional, and psychic passages that women universally share by having been born biologically female. The five women's uterine blood mysteries are comprised of: being born, menarche, giving birth/lactation, menopause, and death. These Mysteries acknowledge and honor women's ability to create life, sustain life, and return our bodies to the Goddess in death. Whether or not a woman chooses to birth children, all women are Mother/Maker in acts of creating, sustaining, and protecting.

Women's Mysteries rituals support and celebrate female bonding, honor other significant personal milestones and transitions in women's lives, and include rituals for healing from the effects of patriarchy, personally and globally.

In the honoring of Women's Mysteries we also recognize that "our biology makes us human females, our culture makes us women." Dianic Witchcraft helps women develop into full personhood and create a new culture where patriarchal cultural definitions and limitations of what it is to be a human female is challenged and expanded to a wider self-identification and vision of wholeness.

The Dianic tradition is celebrated in exclusively women-only circles.

Being a Women's Mysteries tradition, Dianic religion is for women, not against men. We support the right of males to their exclusive celebrations of Men's Mysteries in recognition of their unique rites of passage and spiritual journey to the Goddess. Many Dianic circles welcome male infants and toddlers with their mothers providing that the ritual itself is age-appropriate for a child to attend.

Dianics support all people in finding their path to the Goddess. However, we do not recognize hormonally or surgically altered men as women, and therefore exclude these men, or men who self-define as women, from our tradition. Women's Mysteries cannot be understood nor experienced through chemical or surgical alterations to our human bodies. As women, we honor the ways that we are informed by our female physiology, cellular memory, and work power from our wombs outward. Even if a woman has had her womb removed later in life, her body of wisdom has been informed by her physiological experiences of girlhood and womanhood. She will continue to work power from the cauldron in her center all her life. The Dianic tradition focuses on rites to heal women from the effects of personal and global oppression as we deal with growing up female in woman- hating cultures worldwide. The depth to which patriarchy has shaped and impacted our lives as women cannot truly be understood unless one has experienced it from birth. In light of these bases of our tradition, it is simply not appropriate for hormonally/surgically altered males to attend our events. Our tradition is simply not about them, and does not address nor include their unique experiences. Exceptions to this exclusion are those true hermaphrodites, who have been raised female in our culture. The vast majority of other Wiccan traditions do not share this fundamental requirement, and most often welcome transsexual persons as participants. Women-born- women who self-define as male would, by their own definition, exclude themselves from Dianic circles.

Dianics honor women's voices, thoughts, and ideas.

The Dianic tradition is committed to uncovering, examining, re-claiming, or ascribing contemporary meanings to the lost or forgotten legacies, traditions, and magical practices of our foremothers from earliest times, and to recover her-story. We recognize that women's practices of the past are time- and place-specific, and that it is up to us to re-ascribe and reconstruct meanings for spiritual practices within today's cultural contexts.

We honor our ancestors, and the wombs from which we sprang, understanding that without honoring our past, we have no present or future. We honor our foremothers whose courageous pioneering efforts forged the way for us and made our path easier.

Power is sourced through our wombs (or "womb space, " if a woman has had a hysterectomy).

Our wombs represent our personal cauldrons of creation, our centers. Power (the ability to do) comes from within and with, not from power over another.

Emphasis on the body of woman as manifestation of the Goddess.

Dianic believe that it is healing and joyous for a woman to have a personal and direct experience of herself as sacred (not just intellectually, but on an ecstatic cellular level), and as a manifestation of the Goddess.

The Dianic tradition promotes the spiritual, religious, and celebratory use of female imagery as one the many manifestations of the Goddess, as we recognize ourselves and all our children as born in Her divine image.

Inspired by the nature and aspects of the Roman goddess Diana (and her predecessor, the Greek goddess Artemis) as a protector of women and wild nature, we are committed to finding positive life-affirming solutions for personal and global problems.

We are committed to the healing and protection of the Earth Mother, safety and human rights for women and children, and liberation for all people. Dianics use magick and ritual as a tool to counter patriarchy within and without, for healing and protection.

Dianic ritual and magical practices honor women's creativity, intuition, and ability to improvise (creative inspiration in the moment).

Rather than scripted or set liturgy as the consistent or expected norm, Dianics encourage authentic creative expression in the arts, dance, writing, inspired speech and song in ritual design and during the ritual itself. Beloved songs, chants, poetry, and invocations often become "tradition" when repeated over time, and as they continue to provide meaningful ritual experiences for a group or a solitary.

Spiritual practices are inspired by the awareness that the Goddess has been known throughout time, by many names, and in numerous cultures worldwide.

Rather than a focus on one pantheon exclusively, like facets of a diamond, Dianics honor She who has been called by Her daughters throughout time, in many places, and by many names. While we honor all of Her names and faces, there is an ongoing commitment to understanding and sensitivity where the lines of worship and cultural appropriation are too often crossed; an ongoing commitment to examining and challenging racism.

Dianics recognize that women's magick is a sacred trust. Therefore, Dianics do not teach our Women's Mysteries and magick to males.

Dianics are opposed to teaching women's magick to men ."..until the equality between the sexes is a reality."* However, most Dianics are pleased to discuss the Goddess with interested men, or refer men to books or other traditions that will encourage their own journey to the Goddess and address their life experiences and issues. Some women who practice in the Dianic tradition also share a different co-gender ritual practice with their male partners, family, friends or sons.

Sexuality is sacred. When lovers meet in mutual love, trust, and equality, these expressions of love and pleasure are a gift of the Goddess.

The Dianic tradition is committed to a feminist paradigm of true sexual liberation. We are working to free ourselves and our world from the effects of patriarchal culture that equates sexuality, sexual expression, and eroticism with sadism, masochism, dominance and subordination. We will neither support nor condone sexual practices which are dehumanizing, and whose purpose it is to cause pain, humiliation or suffering, whether consensual or not. Consistent with a feminist paradigm for an egalitarian and peaceful world where power shared means empowerment for all, we support nothing less than a revolution from within and without, in the world and in the temple of the bedroom.

Sacred play as a form of spiritual practice.

Finding ways to enjoy and appreciate the gifts of life offered daily, is a way to worship Her. Partaking fully counters despair and fuels courage and activism.

The Dianic tradition is a teaching tradition.

Women teaching, sharing, and passing down knowledge is sharing power. Teaching the next generation will help ensure that the Dianic tradition will endure and women's wisdom survive.

Adherence to the Wiccan Rede.

The Dianic tradition stands in accord with the Wiccan Rede which states, "An Harm None, Do What You Will, " honoring free will, and with the intention that our magical actions be for the greater good of all.

This Wiccan guidepost supports full consciousness with regards to the use of power in magickal workings and in daily life. This is not a rule accompanied with threats of retribution, but supports true ethical understanding of one's actions or inaction.

Holidays:

The mythic cycle of the Goddess is celebrated in the earth's seasonal cycles of birth, death, and regeneration, and as it corresponds to women's own life cycle transitions.

The Wheel of the Year celebrations of the Solstices, Equinoxes, and cross quarter holidays are based on the ever-changing cyclic and eternal nature of the Goddess. Unlike other Wiccan traditions, Dianic seasonal rites, do not focus on or celebrate the exclusively heterosexual fertility cycle of the Goddess and the God. These rituals may be creatively altered in their design year to year even as the seasonal theme remains constant.

The Goddess is celebrated in Her triple aspect of Maiden, Mother and Crone as a manifestation of the entire lifecycle of life: birth, maturation, and death. The Goddess has the power to bring forth life, nurture, protect, and sustain, and destroy it. This concept contains nature's entire continuum.

We are committed to valuing equally all phases of women's lives, from childhood to becoming an elder. As with the turning of the seasons, each phase is honored in its time.

Our rituals are conducted standing or sitting in a circle, either outdoors or indoors, depending on the season and ability to have the most privacy. Regular rituals coincide with the seasonal and lunar holidays. The seasonal holy days are:

• Winter Solstice (around December 21st)
• Imbolc (February 1st)
• Spring Equinox (around March 21st)
• May Eve (April 30th)
• Summer Solstice (around June 21st)
• First Harvest (Lammas) (August 1st)
• Fall Equinox (around September 21st)
• Hallowmas (October 31st)

Role of Clergy:

The Dianic tradition includes levels of learning and spiritual service as many traditional Wiccan traditions do, such as the apprentice, initiate, priestess, and high priestess. The opportunity to learn from experienced elders is less common. The Dianic tradition does not have a religious hierarchy in the traditional sense or "a" leader or pope. Rather, ordained priestesses earn respect from their community through the spiritual services they provide, and are honored for what they embody and teach through their words and deeds. To differentiate from patriarchal forms of hierarchy based on values of dominator/subordinate, we use the term "hierarchy of actualization, " introduced by Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade, and The Partnership Way.

For example, members and students of Temple of Diana, who wish to provide spiritual service are trained in the tradition and may become legally recognized clergy through the tax-exempt status the Temple of Diana holds through the IRS. The governing body of Temple of Diana, Inc. is comprised of clergy and lay people who wish to serve the congregation. All women have an equal vote on the governing body, and decisions affecting the Temple are arrived at through a consensus decision-making process whenever possible.

For some women coming to the tradition through feminism, these levels of experience are sometimes misunderstood for oppressive hierarchal structures so familiar in patriarchy, and utterly dismissed as having any value at all.

Organization of Groups:

The Dianic tradition is practiced in covens and groves (larger groups that often provide open community rituals). Groups are autonomous and create their own structures of organization and leadership. Oftentimes, these groups form from peers who rotate "leadership" and learn from one another as they deepen in the coven process. If a group is fortunate to have a trained elder as a teacher, she may teach and organize her students according to levels of magickal skill such as apprentice, initiate, and priestess. Once her students are competent to teach, they are often empowered to hive off and start their own circle.

Reading, Music, and Other References:

This list contains Goddess and woman-centered books and music. Many of these women do not identify as Dianic, but have been included by Dianics as important references and inspiration.

Books:

Alba, De Anna. The Cauldron of Change, Delphi Press, Inc. Oak Park, IL, 1993

Barrett, Ruth, Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Creating Ritual in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition, AuthorHouse, forthcoming in Fall 2004. Contact: 888/519-5121 or www.authorhouse.com.

Brooks, Nan. Ceremonies for Our Lives, Spirit Magic Books, Bloomington, Indiana, 1991. To order contact: 1003 S. Washington Street, Bloomington, IN 47401.

Budapest, Zsuzsanna. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries. Wingbow Press, Berkeley, CA, 1989.

Eisler, Riane. Sacred Pleasure, HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.
___________The Chalice and the Blade, Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1987.

Gimbutas, Marija. The Language of the Goddess. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.

Grahn, Judy, Blood, Bread, and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World, Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1993.

Griffin, Susan. (1978). Woman and Nature. Harper & Row: New York.

Mountainwater, Shekhinah, Ariade's Thread, Crossing Press, Freedom, CA. 1991.

Magazines:

The Beltane Papers. P.O. box 29694, Bellingham, WA 98228-1694. A Journal of Women's Mysteries.

Goddessing Regenerated, P.O. Box 269, Valrico, FL 33595. USA, International Goddess Journal, Willow LaMonte, Editor.

Music:

Recordings by Ruth Barrett, available thorough Dancing Tree Music, P.O. Box 6425 Monona, WI USA 53716-0425; dancingtreemuse@aol.com or www.dancingtree.org.

The Year is a Dancing Woman: Seasonal Chants, Songs and Invocations for the Wheel of the Year, Volumes I and II, Dancing Tree Music (2003).

Parthenogenesis (N.A.I.R.D. award-winning CD) Dancing Tree Music (1990/2001).

Invocation to Free Women (an educational cassette) 1985.

Recordings by Ruth Barrett and Cyntia Smith available through Dancing Tree Music:

The Early Years (CD compilation of Ruth and Cyntia's first two recordings, Aeolus (1981) and Music of the Rolling World (1982)).

Deepening (1984 CD).

A Dulcimer Harvest (1991 Instrumental CD).

The Heart is the Only Nation (1993 CD).

Singing the Wheel of the Year: Pagan Chant Workshop (Chant Video Tape) with Ruth Barrett. Available from Gaulkerry Productions, 2407 Lake view Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039.

Gardner, Kay. Ouroboros: Seasons of Life, (on CD) an oratorio composed by Kay Gardner on Ladyslipper Records. Available through Goldenrod Distribution: www.goldenrod.com.

Hillyer, Carolyn, Old Silverhead, Songs and Initiations of Womanhood, CD available through Seventh Wave Music www.seventhwave.co.uk or seventhwave.music@virgin.net.

Mountainwater, Shekhinah. Contact Shekhinah at www.shekhinah.net or shekhinahmoon@aol.com for information on Womanrunes and her musical audiotapes.

DIANIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THE Z BUDAPEST LINEAGE:

Temple of Diana, Inc.
P.O. Box 6425
Madison, WI 53716
Info@templeofdiana.org
www.templeofdiana.org
Classes and workshops in the Dianic tradition, The Spiral Door Women's Mystery School of Magick and Ritual Arts, a Dianic priestess training program with Ruth Barrett and Falcon.

Circle of Aradia
P.O. Box 461630
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 650-1605
www.circleofaradia.org
Dianic seasonal rituals, ongoing classes, special events.
Letecia Layson, High Priestess

Daughters of the Goddess
www.daughtersofthegoddess.com
leimermaid@aol.com
Leilani Birely, High Priestess

The Daughters Of The Full Moon

http://groups.msn.com/TheDaughtersOfTheFullMoon

Lady Apollonia - Group Manager

The SisterHood Of The Triple Goddess

http://groups.msn.com/TheSisterHoodOfTheTripleGoddesss

Lady Aradia - Group Manager

The Women's Spirituality Forum (Z. Budapest's organization): www.thewsf.org.

* From the Manifesto of the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1, republished in The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Z. Budapest.

Goddess Prayer

Our mother who art the earth
Nourishing are thy ways
Thy web of life be woven
Thy ways be found within
As it is all around.

Thank you this day for our bread and sweat
And forgive us our misuse of you
As we forgive others their misuse of us
And lead us not into exploitation
But deliver us from lording it over you
And over each other and over fellow creatures.

For thine are the waters of life
The feeding, breeding seeding ground
For now and as far as close to forever
As we shall ever come.

What is a Dianic Priestess?

A priestess is a woman who chooses to pursue a path of spiritual service in sacred devotion to the Goddess and Her women.

A Ritual Priestess serves primarily to create ritual and facilitate the ritual content. Her spiritual service can take different forms depending on her individual calling. She may minister to the dying, officiate marriages and union ceremonies, facilitate lunar and seasonal rituals, assist women in creating their own unique rites of passage, or serve through the healing arts, astrology, music and dance, writing, visual arts, counseling, earth conservation, interspecies communication, craft, etc...

All Dianic Priestesses, no matter what their chosen ministry may be, benefit from the training that I propose to offer in this blog over the coming months. In the Dianic religion, personal and group rituals are our worship services. It is within group ritual circles that women have an opportunity to experience a sense of community, sisterhood, and the facilitated presence of the Goddess. The construction, facilitation, and maintenance of the ritual circle is a form of sympathetic magic which is a metaphor for life on every level. Therefore, any skill that applies to ritual magic has a direct correlation to all aspects of the priestess path, from the most mundane to the esoteric.

The Guardian Priestess is a recently articulated specialty within Dianic tradition. A guardian priestess is a woman who chooses to pursue a path of spiritual service and practice in sacred devotion to the Goddess and Her women that is primarily rooted in the understanding and maintenance of energetics. Her spiritual service will take different forms depending on her individual calling as well, from community service to ritual support. The requirements for a guardian priestess do not include physical size or prowess. It is a study of energy different from, and complementary to, the energy that the ritual priestess works.

Over the coming months I will cover each of these levels of priestesshood in depth. Those who truly dedicate themselves to these studies, when completed will be ready to go out and form their own covens and carry out the Dianic Teaching Tradition.

But this will not be the end of your studies... Our way is a way of life long study and never ceasing absorbtion of knowledge and the wisdom with which to apply it.
This is not as I stated a course for those of you who think films like The Craft, or Harry Potter are cool and such television series as Bewitched , Charmed or Sabrina the Teenage Witch are an accurate representation of what it means to be a witch. If you do, leave now... Dianic Witchcraft is not for you!

What Dianic Witchcraft is, is a life-long dedication, and a way of life devoted to bringing out the best in every woman by teaching us to love, to feel and to be proud of whom we are and of our place in society.

It is not just a series of spellcastings and sing song rituals either but a powerful and political force to bring about change and recognition for the rights of women in a Patriarchial, male dominated society!

Come now if you dare and follow me in the footsteps of our ancestoral sisters who were persecuted, tortured and died for what they believed and for that which we are trying to reclaim.

In Love and Light!

The ABC's of Dianic Wicca

• Accept others as they are, we are all individuals.
  
• Belief in yourself is a necessity.
  
• Concentration is important in any endeavor, both magickal and in life.
  
• Do what you will, so long as it harms none.
  
• Empathy is an important life skill...learn it, practice it.
  
• Find strength in yourself, your friends, your world and your actions.
  
• The Goddess is multifaceted - The Lady takes many names and faces.
  
• Help others every change you get.
  
• Intelligence is something that cannot be judged on the surface.
  
• Judge not - what you send out comes back to you!
  
• Karma loves to slap you in the face, watch out for it.
  
• Learning is something that should never stop happening!!!
  
• Magick is a wonderful gift, but it is not everything!
  
• Nature is precious, appreciate it and protect it.
  
• Over the course of time, your soul learns many lessons. Make this life count!!!
  
• Pray
  
• Quietness both physically and mentally restores the soul, meditate often.
  
• Remember to take time for yourself as well as others.
  
• Spells can help you, but you must also help yourself.
  
• Tools can only do so much, they are not the foundation of all. You are the most important tool to use!!!
  
• Unless you enjoy worrying, keep a postive attitude.
  
• Visualise the success of your goals before you set out to achieve them.
  
• Wisdom can often be found in the least unexpected places.
  
• Xenophobia (a hatred of those different from you) is a path to misery.
  
• You are a beautiful person who is capable of anything!!!
  
• Zapping away all of your troubles is not going to happen.

The Law of Dianic Wicca

The Law of Dianic Wicca

We are of the old ways, among those who walk with the Goddess and receive her love. Keep the Sabbats and the Esbats to the best of your ability. To do otherwise, is to lessen your connection with the Goddess.

The Rede is the all important part of the life and is not to be broken. Harm none, this applies to all creatures of great and small. Misery is self-created, so is joy, so distain from misery and unhappiness. Do as ye will but harm none. Teach only what you know, to the best of your ability, to those students that you choose, but teach not to those who would use your instruction for destruction or control. Also teach not to boost your pride, forever remember: "She who teaches out of love shall be enfolded in the arms of the Goddess. Ever remember, if you would be of our way, keep the law close to your heart, for it is the nature of the Dianic Wiccan to keep the law."

The Rule of Three

The Rule of Three -

This lesson well, thou must learn,
Thee only gets what thou doust earn!
Ever mind the Rule of Threes,
Three times what thou givest, returns to thee!

 

What we ARE and are NOT

Dianic Wicca is not a cult. A cult presupposes blind faith in a central figure whose every word is regarded as ultimate truth, and the utter conviction that no other way or philosophy will lead to this truth. You would be very hard pressed to find a Dianic Wiccan anywhere who would blindly follow anyone else. Dianic Wiccans are historically very independent women who seek truth from within through rituals, meditation, magick, study and communion with nature. Dianic Wiccans respect the right of everyone to worship in their own way. We do not feel that Dianic Wicca is the only way -- only that it is our way.

Dianic Wicca is not synonymous with Satan worship. The very concept of a supreme evil spirit is alien to Dianic Wicca. In fact, Dianic Wiccans do not even believe in Satan. The devil is a Judeo-Christian construct and as such, it has nothing to do with Dianic Wicca. The notion that witches worship Satan was propounded by the Roman Catholic Church as it made its way across Europe, in an effort to suppress the native earth-based religions prevalent at the time. They succeeded to the extent that they drove the practitioners of these religions underground where much of their knowledge and traditions were lost. Through the work of the Golden Dawn, as well as anthropological and archeological research, many of these traditions have been rediscovered and incorporated into Neo-Paganism, an umbrella term for most modern earth-based and shamanistic religions.

Dianic Wicca is a positive journey to enlightment through Goddess worship and the mystical art of magick. Unlike many other religions, Dianic Wicca does not claim to be the one and only "religion" for everybody, nor does it campain against other beliefs. Dianic Wiccans believe that you can be of any "religion" and still be Dianic Wiccan and follow the Goddess. Dianic Wicca is not anti-Christian, Dianic Wiccans do not believe in an advenging God, sin or the devil. Dianic Wicca encourages free thought, creativity, individuality, personal, spiritual and psychic growth. It is a celebration of the cycles and seasons of the earth and life and believe in living in harmony with all living things.

 

Goddess of the Underground

The Celts believed that the pentacle was the sign of the Goddess of the Underground, who they called Morgan (a.k.a. Morrigan)

The elements, earth, air, fire and water and spirit - the five factors needed to sustain life. Or the five stages of life: birth, youth, adulthood, old age, and death. In most people the Goddess is said to be asleep manifesting only a fraction of her energy in our bodies.

When we awaken her, our 'vital force' flows through energy centers called "chakras" from the base of the spine up to the crown of the head and mystical enlightenment occurs...

The Moon

The Moon. For Dianic Wiccans, it is far more than a heavenly body that might catch our eye as we drive home late at night, its fullness shining through trees or brightly overhead. For many Wiccan, she is the embodiment of the Goddess, she is Maiden, Mother and Crone. It is also an important source of natural energy that is essential in magick, if you preform your spells and rituals at the right lunar phase. Preforming spells during the wrong phase of the moon can seriously debilitate the spell, producing no result or possibly the wrong result. The Wheel of the Moon, is approximately 28 1/2 days long, waxing to Full Moon and waning to New Moon.
Waxing Moon means the moon is getting larger in the sky, moving from the New Moon towards the Full Moon. This is a time for spells that attract, that bring positive change, spells for love, good luck, growth. This is a time for new beginnings, to conceptualize ideas, to invoke. At this time the moon represents the Goddess in her Maiden aspect, give praise to Epona, Artemis or one of the other Maiden Goddesses. The period of the waxing moon lasts about 14 days.
Full Moon is when the moon has reached its zenith, it forms a perfect silvery sphere in the sky. This is a time for spells that transform, increase pyschic ability, for fertility spells and invocation to lunar goddesses. This is a time of strength, love and power. At this time the moon represents the Goddess in her Mother aspect, give praise to Cerridwen, Isis or one of the other Mother Goddesses. The period of the Full Moon lasts from about 3 days before to 3 days after the actual full moon.

Waning Moon means the moon is decreasing in size, moving from the Full Moon towards the New Moon. This is a time for spells that banish, release, reverse. This is a time to break bad habits or bad addictions, to end bad relationships. This is a time of deep intuition and a time for divination. At this time the moon represents the Goddess in her Crone Aspect, give praise to Hecate, Morrigan or one of the other Crone Goddesses. The period of the waning moon lasts about 14 days.

As the Wheel of the Moon continues on its never ending course, the moon also travels through the different astrological signs, just as the sun does, only more rapidly. When the moon resides within the various signs, the sign influences the magickal aspect of the moon.

EARTH spells should be preformed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.
AIR spells should be preformed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.
FIRE spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius.
WATER spells should be preformed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.

Moon in ARIES is the best time for spells involving authority, rebirth, leadership; healing spells of the face and head.
Moon in TAURUS is the best time for spells involving love, money, acquisition; healing spells for the throat and neck.
Moon in GEMINI is the best time for spells involving communication, writing, travel; healing spells for the arms, hands, and lungs.
Moon in CANCER is the best time for spells involving the home and for honoring lunar gods and goddesses; healing of the chest and stomach.
Moon in LEO is the best time for spells involving authority, courage, fertility; healing of the upper back, spine, heart.
Moon in VIRGO is the best time for spells involving employment, health, diet; healing of the intestines and nervous system.
Moon in LIBRA is the best time for spells involving justice, unions, balance (spiritual and otherwise), artistry; healing of the lower back and kidneys.
Moon in SCORPIO is the best time for spells involving power, psychic growth, sex; healing of the reproductive organs.
Moon in SAGITTARIUS is the best time for spells involving travel, sports, truth, horses; healing of the liver and thighs.
Moon in CAPRICORN is the best time for spells involving organization, ambition, career, politics; healing of the knees, bones, teeth, skin.
Moon in AQUARIUS is the best time for spells involving science, freedom, friendship, breaking bad habits or addictions; healing of the calves, ankles, blood.
Moon in PISCES is the best time for spells involving music, art, telepathy, dreams; healing of the feet and lymph glands.

In magick, timing is very important. In the calendar are listed the times of the New Moon, Full Moon and when it enters a new quarter, as well as the times when the moon enters the various astrological signs, but these times are general Eastern Standard Times. For those residing in the United States, an accurate listing of the Full and New Moon, Sun and Moon rises and sets, as well as times of Planet rises and sets, I highly recommend checking outThe Old Farmer's Almanac Home Page. This page can be very helpful, especially for those of us that don't have a clue what the difference is between a degree and a minute.

The 13 Guidelines of Dianic Wicca

Know yourself -As far back as Socrates, and most likely much farther, this was advice best followed. If you don't know what you want, you are not likely to get it. Consequently if you don't know what makes you happy, you are not likely to find your happiness. You also need to know your own strengths and weaknesses.

Know your craft - Wicca is a craft, hence the term Witchcraft, the Craft of the Wise. This is not something you learn from reading a few books, although they can point you in the direction your path can take. This is something you will learn by living it. Know what you want to study - understand your spiritual path.

Learn - Learn everything you can, everything you have an interest in. You don't have to master every subject completely, but a thorough knowledge of many subjects will help you grow spiritually, and be open minded about subjects you don't know anything about.

Apply knowledge with wisdom - This is perhaps one of the hardest to practice. Put it this way: You can read a dozen books, but until you put into your life what you have read, it is useless to you. Also, the wise person will use their common sense regarding whatever it is print, and especially on the internet. One person's "truth" is not necessarily truth for all; only you know in your heart of hearts what rings as "truth" for you. Knowledge is power, but without wisdom, you will not be able to have control over that power.

Achieve balance - Is this like "moderation in all things"? YES! Your time cannot be totally consumed by something without the rest of your life suffering the consequences. We have a tendency, most of us, to dive into a new area with total concentration, and that can be wonderful, as long as we don't ignore everything else. Women are usually pretty good at this, since we have to balance husband's needs, children's needs, and job needs all at once. What most often suffers, though, are our own needs. Many times we all feel as if we are too rushed, and pulled into many different directions at once. Try to balance your life so that you feel invigorated instead, and so you also enjoy what you are doing.

Keep your words in good order - Have you heard that "A witch is only as good as her word"? It comes from a time when the person's word was their bond, and it still is as important today. When you say a thing, you make it so. Why does your magick work? Because you say "So mote it be", and your words and your will have that power. When you don't keep your word, you are breaking that bond. Be very careful HOW you speak, what you say, negatively or positively, is what you bring into manifestation. Another reference to this is found in the Christian Bible, in Genesis, where it says "In the beginning was the word". Words have power, which is recognized many religions.

Keep your thoughts in good order - "Energy follows thought" is another Wiccan saying. Again, what you think, thought often enough, you bring into manifestation. Every single invention started out as a thought. Think about it! Positive thinking and positive affirmations can make a difference in your life.

Celebrate Life! - Life is meant to be joyful! The whole earth is alive, and so are you! Think about all the senses you have, and all the sensations you feel, and how fantastic that is! We are linked to all life, everywhere.

Attune with the cycles of the earth - Be aware of the seasons, and the phases of the Moon. Wiccans do this by celebrating the Esbats and Sabbats. Everything runs in cycles, our bodies, the animals, and the plants. Gardners know that timing is important in planting, not just with the seasons, but also with the moon. You can even do such things as trimming your hair more effectively by utilizing the moon's cycles.

Breathe and eat correctly - Breathing is very important to life, and to proper magick, to energy raising, not to mention, your health. Breathing deeply from the diaphragm should be mastered. Also breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, especially during meditation, or other forms of energy control and conciousness control. Eat to live, don't live to eat. Eat what is a proper diet for you, and not until you are stuffed. Eating the wrong foods, and eating too much of anything, will inhibit your ability to do much except take a nap!

Exercise the body - This is so important, and gets ignored so much in our techno-pagan society. Exercise relieves stress, tones muscles, burns fat, and adds years to your ability to enjoy life. This is the physical vessel your soul has incarnated into, at least take care of it! And while we're on the subject, along with exercising, drink plenty of water, at least 6-8 glasses a day. This will flush out the toxins that are caused by stress, as well as by other factors.

Meditate - This concept one of the most misunderstood by many students today. What people think of when they see this word, is perhaps an Indian Yogi sitting in the Lotus position and chanting "om". While that is one valid way to meditate, there are many others, including mediation through concentrating on an object, a thought, your own breath, your own body rhythms, or concentrating on nothing at all. Other ways to meditate are to dance, to move the body, as in T'ai Chi, or Sufi Dancing, or just in exercises such as walking, when you are being at one with your body and not thinking about anything at all. Another form of mediation is by doing a skill over and over, something repetative, to the exlusion of all other thoughts, except the total concentration on the skill you are doing. Many people who say they can't meditate, or have trouble with it, are only aware of one kind. There are so many different ways to do this, that there is a method to suit each person. (For more information, get the very small book "How To Meditate" by Lawrence LaShan.)

Honor the Goddess - Since the Goddess dwells within ourselves, while we are honoring Her, we must also show honor to ourselves, and to others. Try this simple exercise: the next time you are standing in line somewhere, try to see the Goddess in each person in line with you. Really look at them and see their innate deity. This is one that may take practice, but when you really see it, it will have impact. We are all divine, we are all of the Goddess.

 

Remember These Things

• A Dianic Wiccan knows the nature and ways of her time.
• A Dianic Wiccan knows what she knows, and should make no other claims.
• A Dianic Wiccan seeks to harm none, but faced with the necessary choice between two ills, she will seek the lesser.
• A Dianic Wiccan places wisdom first in life rather than love, for love without wisdom is hurtfull, but always temper wisdom with love.
• A Dianic Wiccan knows to seek not more than she needs and she shall ever have enough and even abound.
• A Dianic Wiccan seeks to know two things, and these are: what she is, and what deity is, and if she comes to know the anser to either of these, she will know the other.
• A Dianic Wiccan turns no one away seeking the ancient knowledge.
• A Dianic Wiccan knows that she is one with all things and all things are one with her.
• A Dianic Wiccan strives to overcome fear, of man, death, and other entities/things.
• A Dianic Wiccan knows that all things work best when they are positive to all concerned. She also realizes the duality, for the negarive is also part of the oneness. So seek balance - not stasis. You cannot build upon that which you refuse to recognize.
• A Dianic Wiccan knows that there is an element of laughter in all things, no matter how negative they seem. Seek this out, for it is your protection against deviation of mind and will. It can neutralize and make clear the answer you need.

 

More On Dianic Beliefs

The following concepts are what I teach in our tradition, and may or may not be subscribed to by most other Wiccans. Although I have heard them taught often enough, and not just by Dianic Wiccans, these beliefs do not define one as a Dianic Wiccan in any way. They are shared here because I teach them, and no beliefs class of mine would be complete without them. Many tie directly into magick, and you may see them repeated there in the Spellcraft classwork also.

Knowledge Is Power

This has been known for centuries. In fact, throughout history, rulers and despots kept the "masses" ignorant and illiterate on purpose to prevent "peasant" uprisings. Knowledge applied with Wisdom gives you control. You can be in control of your own life, your own destiny, and yourself. There are many differents paths, of which Dianic Wicca is only one.

Energy Follows Thought

This is so true, and one of the reasons why magick, and positive affirmations do work. Everything that has been invented, started with a thought. Scientists today are starting to be able to measure "thought energy" and there is no doubt that it exists. This maxim has been taught for years in magickal circles. Postive thoughts will bring positive results, and negative thoughts will bring negative reults. You get what you expect to get, basically. People who are constantly complaining and having negative thoughts, always have something more to complain about, don't they? And people who are happy most of the time, and think that they CAN accomplish things usually do so.

A Witches Greatest Tool Is Observation

Underline this one, mark it in red, remember it! This maxim cannot be stressed enough! If you can develop observation as a habit, it will pay off for you again and again in so many ways. One example is if you want to accomplish a goal, look at people who have done what you want to do, and observe how they did it. You can learn what to do, and what to avoid without having to make all the same mistakes over again. Be especially observant of other witches, in circle, and out of circle. You can learn alot just by being observant. Also learn to be observant of nature, and you will learn her secrets.

"What you feed grows, what you starve, dies."

My late Granmother the Lady Demeter told me this many times and I have never forgotten it. It's a simple statement, that says so much. It goes hand in hand with "energy follows thought" in that if you feed negativity, it grows, if you stop feeding it, it dies. This is also good to remember if you are having a problem with someone, and it seems to be escalating - look at whether you are feeding it by talking about it to other people and by thinking about it and letting it bother you. When you cease to feed the problem, it may starve itself out, or it may shrink back down to where it is much more managable.

 

We Recognize The Goddess

Dianic Witchcraft recognizes that any virtue becomes a vice unless it is balanced by its own opposite. Beauty, when unsubstained by strength, is vapid, lifeless,. Power is insufferable when untempered by compassion. Honor, unless balanced by humility, becomes arrogance; and mirth, when not deepened by reverence, becomes superficiality.

Finally, we learn the Mystery - that unless we find the Goddess within ourselves we will never find Her without. She is both internal and external; as solid as a rock, as changeable as our own internal image of Her. She is manifest within each of us - so where else should we look?
The Goddess is the "end of desire", its goal and its completion. In Dianic Witchcraft, desire is itself seen as a manifestation of the Goddess. We do not seek to conquer or escape from our desires - we seek to fulfill them. Desire is the glue of the universe; it binds the electron to the nucleus, the planet to the sun - and so creates form, creates the world. To follow desire to its end is to unite with that which is desired, to become one with it (another view to the significance of the Great Rite), with the Goddess. We are already one with the Goddess - She has been with us from the beginning. So fulfillment becomes, not a matter of self-indulgence, but of self-awareness.

For women, the Goddess is the symbol of the inmost self, and the beneficent, nurturing, liberating power within woman. The cosmos is modeled on the female body, which is sacred. All phases of life are sacred;: age is a blessing, not a curse. The Goddess does not limit women to the body; She awakens the mind and spirit and emotions. Through Her, we can know the power of our anger and aggression, as well as the power of our love.

She embodies all the qualities society teaches us not to recognize in ourselves. A woman's first experience of Her may therefore seem somewhat stereotyped; She will be the cosmic lover, the gentle nurture, the eternally desired other, the Muse, all that she is not. As she becomes more whole and becomes aware of her own "female" qualities, She seems to change, to show her a new face, always holding up the mirror that shows what to her still ungraspable. She may chase Her forever, and She will elude her, but through the attempt she will grow, until she too learns to find Her within.

To invoke the Goddess is to awaken the Goddess within, to become, for a time, that aspect we invoke. An invocation channels power through a visualized image of Divinity.

 

What It Means To Follow The Dianic Path

DianicWitchcraft, among other things, is essentially a lunar cult in which the Women's Mysteries of Old Europe reside.

The experience of Dianic Witchcraft is of a healing and gentle religion, it is very clear to those who practice it. The power raised in a Witch's Circle can be felt by those who are consciously receptive to it.

All who stay on the Dianic Witchcraft Way must be assumed sincere, otherwise they would have chosen a more fulfilling one. Being an active and practicing witch takes time and effort. There really is no such thing as a Sunday Witch. You must work to increase your potential powers and you must take time to learn. Witchcraft is a life system as well as a practical religion. It must be used to be strong. As you grow, you will have the light of the Goddess reflected in your eyes. Witchcraft provides growth and that is the key in any pursuit, to grow within yourself and to know your own potential.

In ancient times, the light of the Moon itself was the power of the Moon. There was nothing symbolic about it - it was the actual substance of magick. This is why we find torches on the hands of Hecate that she is displaying the power she yields in her hands. From this concept arose the ritual practice of employing candles, torches, and bonfires in lunar ceremonies. This was designed to encourage the light of the Moon as seen in the ancient rite of carrying torches around in a newly planted field at night.

In ancient Greece, the torches of Hecate were placed in a circle around freshly sown fields to aid in the germination of the grain. Witches employ an invocation during the time of the full moon, requesting that the light of the moon impart occult knowledge to them in their dreams. In Greece, the festival day of Hecate (August 13) multitude of torches were lighted to honor the Moon Goddess and to secure Her favor not to send storms that might harm the coming harvest.
The Goddess rules over all. It is from Her that we come and to Her we return. The God is looked at in two ways. The God of the Sun is the power of the seasons without which we could not exist. (However, it is She who moves away from the Sun, creating the seasonal change.) That is why in some cultures of ancient times, they only celebrated the Sun God in the Winter Solstice (birth of the sun) and Summer Solstice (death of the Sun). In other cultures in ancient times, they celebrated the Horned God of the forest and of the hunt, stemming from a time when humans were reliant on the earth and Her creatures as well as the seed, root, and bud. Their Sabbats were Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain. The Wheel of the Witches' celebrations can be conveyed in many different ways. The Farrar's have supplied us with the Lady and Her Consort in a mythical way. Other occult writers feel that the Sabbats are more spiritual in manners such as a journey inward for each Sabbat and as the wheel turns, you turn inward spiritually.
We must learn to live in harmony with the Great Mother for She is our provider, and if we destroy Her, we destroy ourselves. There are many who feel that this is the reason for the great return to the pagan religions. To get in touch with Gaia and ourselves is one way to reverse the damage that has been done.

Ritual is the movement of a Witch's belief. Chanting, drumming, lighting candles, burning incense, and casting circles are all rituals. Rituals allow us to pass to another time and follow the movement of Goddess-Blood in us. We hear the music in the background and we fly on the sound waves to another time and another place. We feel what those who-have-gone-before experienced. The physical world around us disappears and we are hurtled through time and space to magical realms - to times when the mysteries were revered as a path of knowledge and wisdom. What steeps within the witch is the very pulse of the Goddess herself. Beneath us and around us is the Great Mother as she was then - alive with growth, clean and powerful. She vibrates with life. The Priestesses and Priests of all the pagan faiths could still the blood of the children of the Goddess with a dancing prayer. They rejoiced in the bond between the Mother and themselves. They saw the changing seasons and celebrated them with ritual. They paid attention to the world around them. The leaf that turned red, the ground that became cold and unyielding - all these signs were observed and honored as a part of life.
Many things can be added to a home to create within it the atmosphere of harmony and joy. Through scent and candles, pictures that are pleasing, and areas that are comfortable and not busy, one can achieve a place where there is freedom to go within. That is where it all happens. We must seek our answers from within ourselves, for if we seek them from without, we will find nothing. The Goddess does not give us the answers but facilitates our awareness. She allows us signs and clues that we must use to work the answers through to their deeper meanings.
In Dianic Witchcraft, the ritual and symbolism is only as important as the practitioner finds necessary. Some Witches find gardening more fulfilling than ritual, while others would rather dance or chant as a way to connect to the Great Mother. Each must find his or her own way of achieving the balance and harmony within the religion. Ritual, symbolism and myth are each a way of bringing the deeper psychic and psychological visions to the surfaces.

The casting of spells is a great part of the Witch's work. Witches tend to believe that the words of a spell (especially a healing spell) can lose their effectiveness with the telling. Each time they are told at an inappropriate moment, their power weakens. This is why witches are counseled to be cautious. The four responsibilities attached to any magical act are - to know, to dare, to will, and to keep silent. There are a few variations to these in most paths dealing with magick.
Spell casting is probably the most "mysterious" activity that Witches engage in. And, spells do exist and they do work. It is as simple as that. There are literally thousands and thousands of Witches worldwide who know this.

Candle spells are common among Craftswomen. The candle spells have the advantage of making use of the fire and air elements, both of which are carries of your wishes.

What Exactly is Dianic Wicca?

Dianic Wicca is strictly a fiminist religion, recognizing a feminist deity. The Goddess gave birth without need of a man. Dianic Wiccan's do not believe in the Goddess, they connect with her and take her within themselves. They believe solely in her and believe that she is watching over them. They also believe that feminist power is the great power.

The Goddess is everything, and in everything. She is the moon, the stars, the grass, the earth, the universe, everything. She is first the Earth, the nuturing mother. She has the power of life, and death. She is the sacred body. No matter what Dianic Wiccan's are doing, they are manifesting the Goddess in doing so.

The pentacle is a symbol of the Goddess, representing Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. She is a living being, as well as the spirit. She is in everything, in the air that is breathed, the fire that warms, the earth that we tread on, the water we drink and bathe, and the spirit that lies within. She is the young maiden, she is the nurturing mother, and she is the old crone, also known as The Triple Goddess. Thus saying, she is the one who brings life, and who brings death, and then the cycle of rebirth.

My name is Danella Ashley, but in Dianic circles I am known as High Priestess Lady Fox Fire. I am a Dianic Witch and have followed the Dianic path for 12 years now, My mother and sisters are also Witches in their own right, but I chose the Dianic path when I turned 13, because I felt called by the Goddess to become one of her followers and to act on the behalf of my fellow Dianic sisters. I am High priestess of my own coven of 12 other young women in the St. Catharines, Ontario, area. This is a closed coven and we are not accepting any new sisters in our circle at this time.