Out of the Cauldron:: Fritatta

by Emily Gabbert

Base:

Eggs 8 each

Milk 1 cup

Salt 1 - 1 ½ tsp

Pepper 1 tsp

Garlic 1 tsp

Cayenne 1 tsp

Filling:

Leeks  2-3 stalks

Rosemary 3-4 sprigs

Goat cheese 4 oz package

Thick cut Bacon (optional) 4 slices
For a 9 in skillet

Note: It is suggested that you use a cast iron skillet, or at least one that has a heavy bottom, and does not have a non-stick coating. If you do not have one of these, a pie pan or appropriately sized baking dish works as well; just add cooked fillings before egg mix.

1. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne in a bowl or container and set aside. You can do this ahead of time and store it in the fridge if you’d like.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
3. If you are using bacon, cut it into medium sized chunks (or sized to your liking) and set aside. 
4. Slice the leeks fairly thin, and set those aside as well.
5. If using fresh (highly recommend this), pull the rosemary off the stems and roughly chop it a few times. Set aside.
6. Put the bacon in your 9 in skillet on med heat with about a teaspoon of oil to slowly cook and render the fat. If not using bacon, skip this step, and use a bit more oil or butter for the next step.
7. When you have a good amount of bacon fat rendered in the pan, but the bacon is still soft, add the sliced leeks and rosemary and turn the heat up to med-high and saute until leeks are soft and bacon is crispy at the edges (or, to your liking).
8. Turn off burner and remove skillet from heat. Pour in the egg mix, and stir slightly to spread the fillings around (not too much or you’ll have scrambled eggs). If using a baking dish or pie pan, scrape contents of skillet into said dish before adding egg mix.
9. Dollop the goat cheese in various spots around the pan, sized to your liking. If you like, you can sprinkle the top with a little paprika for color and extra flavor.
10. Bake at 350 F for about 20-30 minutes, or until set in the middle. 
11. Slice and enjoy!!

Note:: The base will work for any kind of fritatta. You can change the filling to any kind you desire, just remember most things will need to be cooked first. These fillings were chosen to work with the season and holidays covered in this issue. If you want melted cheese on top, let the fritatta be about 3/4 of the way cooked before sprinkling cheese so it will stay atop the eggs.

A Celebration of Cronehood by Jan Kindwoman

by Jan Kindwoman

Some friends, all women of a certain age, had heard about a Crone Ceremony, that sounded to me more like a rebirthing rite, but they wanted to have one for themselves. None were pagans. They were all Hospice workers, and I was the Interfaith Spiritual Counselor there. I volunteered to create a ritual celebrating cronehood for them. I had been a pagan for about 6 years. They were women who got along well: Nurses, a Volunteer Coordinator, and a Bereavement Counselor. One of the women had a house at the edge of Tucson with several acres of desert. She had a fire pit and benches already, so we went there for the ritual. There were about a dozen of us.

The night of the ceremony, we gathered there, and music from On Wings of Song & Robert Gass - Chants of the World “From the Goddess” played in the background as the women arrived. Some of this music was included in the chants later in the ritual. Each woman had brought the things needed for her part in the ritual. We set up the altar, sat around in a circle and chanted, drummed, and lit symbolic candles. Women looked through pages about different world Goddesses that I had copied, and each chose one to be their patroness. The moving part of the evening began when women shared the names of Crones who had mentored and influenced them, and how. Each of us could feel the energy from those women filling the circle. 

When it came time for each of us to share a symbol of our maiden years that we wished to release into the flames, one woman brought out the large scroll that every member of her Friends Community had signed at her wedding. She was now divorced. She passed it around, and we all oohed and aahed at how beautiful it was. When she burned it, there was a collective gasp. Another woman cast a $10 bill into the flames, and declared herself free from devoting her life to just making money. As each woman cast away the youthful misdirection and growth experiences of maidenhood, a palpable lightness came over the group. 

Even though not all the participants were mothers, we all had a symbol of our fruitful years to share, and along with it, our dreams and wishes on paper. These scraps of paper were cast into the flames, to be carried to the Spirit of the Goddess. Hope was tangible in the gathering at that point. Then we shared the symbols of our Cronehood, and our influence as older women of experience and wisdom, each claiming our power. There was a sense of a new respect and appreciation for ourselves and our companion Crones. We ended with each woman invoking her patroness Goddess, and the Goddess within.

At the end of the ritual, I sang “Eyes in the Darkness”, a haunting melody from a tape of Sacred songs. Then we sealed our auras and put out the fire, trooping back to the house for wine, cheese, and other aged spirits. Seven months later, many of these women attended a Solstice Ritual at my home, and my coven was born, lasting ten years.

CRONE CEREMONY

WEAR WHITE, YELLOW, OR GOLD.  BRING AGED CHEESES, WINES, OR SPIRITS TO SHARE.  BRING A SYMBOL OF YOUR OWN WISDOM, A SYMBOL OF YOUR FRUITFUL YEARS, AND A SYMBOL, (TO BE BURNED), OF SOMETHING FROM YOUR MAIDEN YEARS THAT YOU WISH TO DISCARD FROM YOUR LIFE.  BRING A YELLOW AND A RED CANDLE AND CANDLE HOLDERS. BRING A PURPLE CANDLE TO LIGHT IN REMEMBRANCE OF A CRONE WHO HAS INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE AND IS NO LONGER WITH YOU. BRING A DRUM OR MARACAS, IF YOU HAVE THEM. THERE WILL BE INSTRUMENTS AVAILABLE. BRING A PILLOW TO SIT ON, IF YOU LIKE. THERE WILL ALSO BE BENCHES. 

PREPARATION:  SETTING UP THE SPACE AND ALTAR WITH INCENSE, CANDLES, MAIDEN GODDESS FIGURE, BOWLS OF OIL AND SALT, AND THE SYMBOLS OF FRUITFULNESS, WISDOM AND CHANGE FOR EACH “WOMBAN”.

ANOINTING WITH SACRED HEALING OIL  

LIGHTING THE FIRE AND CALLING THE POWERS FOR GOOD

OPENING: DRUMMING AND CHANTING

“EARTH MY BODY, WATER MY BLOOD, AIR MY BREATH AND FIRE MY SPIRIT.” (from Earth Dance Celebrates Songs of the Sacred Wheel tape- Writer unknown)

“MOWTAY, LEHNU LEHNU, GOWTAY, HAEENO, HAEENO, HAEENO." (“THE SPIRIT AND I ARE ONE FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER,”) (from A Circle is Cast- Libana; Traditional Native.American.)

“WE ALL COME FROM THE GODDESS, AND TO HER WE SHALL RETURN,

LIKE A DROP OF RAIN, FLOWING TO THE OCEAN. (Z. Budapest)

“ISIS, ASTARTE, DIANA, HECATE, DEMETER, KALI, INANNA.”(Deena Metzger/Caitlin Mullin)

“GODDESS IS ALIVE.  MAGICK IS AFOOT”(Buffy St. Marie)

(THESE LAST THREE CAN BE SUNG AS A ROUND)

CEREMONY: LIGHT INCENSE AND CIRCLE AREA WITH SALT

RITUAL OF CHANGE:  WE LIGHT THE RED CANDLE FOR THE BLEEDING THAT IS GONE, FOR THE CHILDREN AND PROJECTS THAT WERE CRADLED IN THE BLOOD-BED OF OUR WOMBS, FOR THE BLOOMING OF OUR “WOMBANHOOD”, AND FOR AN END TO LIVING ONLY TO NURTURE OTHERS.

PRIESTESS: “I RELEASE YOU”, SAYS THE GODDESS OF THE RED.  “I ACCEPT YOU”, SAYS THE GODDESS OF THE YELLOW. “YOU SHALL GROW IN MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.  YOU SHALL BEAR SPIRITUAL AND SAGE FRUIT, AND THE BRILLIANCE OF YOUR DISCERNMENT SHALL BE A BEACON TO YOUR YOUNGER SISTERS.  NOW IS THE TIME WHEN DREAMS WILL BE BROUGHT INTO BEING FROM YOUR FALLOW WOMB TO ENRICH YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS”.

WE LIGHT THE YELLOW CANDLE FOR THE RELEASE FROM THE FLOODS, FOR THE BLOSSOMING OF OUR SKILLS, FOR THIS CIRCLE OF FRIENDSHIP, AND FOR OUR GATHERING WISDOM.

WE REJOICE IN OUR EMPTY WOMBS WHICH BECOME SYMBOLS OF THE HOLY GRAIL:  CHALICES OPEN TO THE POURING OF SPIRIT AND WISDOM INTO THEM FOR THE BLESSING OF ALL.  WE EMBRACE THE DARKNESS AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FECUNDITY OF THE WOMB, AND WE ACCEPT OUR OWN DEATHS, AS INEVITABLE, AND A PART OF LIFE.  YET WE AFFIRM THE ETERNAL NATURE OF THE SOUL, AND KNOW THAT WE WILL ALL BE TOGETHER ONE DAY IN THE COMPLETENESS OF THE GODDESS.

WE LIGHT THE PURPLE CANDLE FOR THE CRONES WHO TAUGHT AND MENTORED US, THAT THEIR MEMORY MAY REMAIN. (EACH PARTICIPANT NAMES THE CRONE THEY REMEMBER.)

- CHOOSING A PATRONESS GODDESS FOR CRONEHOOD

- SHARING MAIDEN SYMBOLS AND CASTING THEM INTO THE FIRE

- SHARING MOTHER SYMBOLS AND MAKING WISHES

- SHARING CRONE SYMBOLS AND CLAIMING OUR POWER

CLOSING: INVOKING OUR PATRONESS GODDESSES AND THE GODDESS WITHIN EACH OF US.

SONG: “I SEE THE LIGHT. I SEE THE LIGHT. I SEE THE LIGHT IN THE DEPTH OF YOUR SOUL. I SEE EYES THAT SPARKLE IN THE DARKNESS, LIGHTING THE WAY FOR ME, LIGHTING THE WAY FOR ME. I SEE THE LIGHT….” (by Caitlin Christoffel, from Earth Dance Celebrates Songs of the Sacred Wheel)

GROUNDING VISUALIZATION AND SEALING OUR AURAS

CLEARING THE ALTAR AND THE SPACE- THANKING THE POWERS

REFRESHING OURSELVES WITH AGED WINE AND DRINK

MERRY MEET AND MERRY PART AND MERRY MEET AGAIN! (This was not a full-fledged cast circle, since these women were new to Paganism.)

Jan Kindwoman: I was a mainline church parish minister for 25 years. I left the church, and became a Chaplain and a solitary Pagan, studying many resources, especially Z. Budapest’s Dianic Wicca writings. I was Priestess of a Dianic Coven, and have practiced for 23+ years.

Discovering Rites of Passage by Sam Shryock

by Sam Shryock

“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between them, there are doors.” - William Blake

Rites of passage are ritual activities and teachings designed to help individuals transition from one stage to another in their lives. These transition points might include puberty, marriage, having children, graduation, or death. They differ from “rites of celebration” which simply acknowledges the event. Unfortunately, our modern society, with its fast pace and stress, has caused many rites of passage to become lost to obscurity or labeled “quaint.”

The phrase, rites of passage, was popularized by Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957), a French anthropologist, in his book “Les Rites de Passage (1909).” There he discussed ceremonies that he found across cultures and societies that celebrated an individual’s transition from one state to another. In particular, he found four different circumstances where these rites were used: 

• Change in status.  Modern events might include marriage or an initiation.     
• Change in location.  Modern events might include moving into a new house or to a new city. 
• Change in situation.  Modern events might include starting a new job, graduating from high school, or coming out as LGBT+.
• Passage of time.  Modern events might include entering puberty or eldering.

Based on his extensive survey of preliterate and literate societies, van Gennep held that rites of passage consist of three distinguishable, consecutive elements: separation, transition, and reincorporation.    

SEPARATION

In this first stage, the individual is removed from their current state and forced to break with their previous practices and routines. This detachment or “cutting away” from the former self often involves a metaphorical “death.” This stage is necessarily destructive because destruction is necessary for regeneration.

During a rite of passage, the individual might symbolically or literally show their willingness to remove themselves from their current state. This might be accomplished by having the individual give away or destroy something representing their current state. In a marriage rite of passage for example, you may see the father present the bride to symbolize the transition from her childhood home.         

TRANSITION

During this stage, the individual has shed their old state but has not yet transitioned. Van Gennep used the word “liminality”, from the Latin root, limin or “threshold”, to describe this state.  

It is here that the individual’s reality may feel altered. Parts of their identity may feel as if they have completely unraveled, even dissolved. This dissolution of the known can cause feelings of uncertainty and anxiety since we are hard-wired to belong to a certain place and time. The individual can feel sorrow, even grief, about what has ended, been destroyed, or died (metaphorically or physically). That is why it is so important to have a ritual leader that knows more than just the “script” of the rite but can help guide the individual through this important step. The liminal portion of the rite entails an actual traversing of a threshold and we do not want the blind leading the blind through this tenuous moment.

Witches and magicians have, for thousands of years, known that these liminal states can make magick powerful and amplify any working that occurs within them. Contemporary Pagans will often refer to this state as a “crossroad”, a “gate”, or even “a place that is not a place; a time that is not a time”. One might conjecture that the individual, existing momentarily between states, is put into a position where literally anything seems possible and barriers that usually prevent the manifestation of thoughts is bypassed and yet until something is done, everything is also unmanifest. Judika Illes in the book “The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells (2010)” wrote that “Magically speaking a crossroads is the place where multiple forces converge, where anything can happen, where transformations may occur. Energy is liberated and expanded at the crossroads. Instead of hopping over boundaries, you can stand in the center and be inundated by power, potential, and choices.”

During the rite of passage, the individual is prepared mentally, physically, and/or emotionally to cross this threshold. Some of the ritual techniques may include having the individual spend time in a contemplative state such as meditation while the ritualist holds sacred space.  Sometimes mysteries might be shared. The individual might have to overcome a challenge or ordeal. The ritualist may have the individual physically or symbolically cross through a gate in order to help them feel, imagine, and experience this crossing.  

RE-INCORPORATION

In this final stage, the individual has crossed the threshold and is now removed from isolation and re-incorporated into the community where they are acknowledged for the first time as a “new” being. This stage is often characterized by elaborate recognitions such as formal dinners, debutante balls or college graduation ceremonies. They might be presented an emblem of their new status such as jewelry, new clothing, or a new name. This stage often involves individuals, immediate family, and larger community.

CONCLUSION

Life's great passages are by nature spiritual. Rites of passage provide us the tools for co-creating our own lives and help us “connect the dots” between our major transitional turning points. They affirm the human mystery and mutability, our connection with the universal. 

Contemporary Pagans can use rites of passage help them find and define the patterns and cycles in our individual lives that might otherwise seem to be random happenings if viewed separately. They can help us transition intentionally the “terrible cloud of unknowing” rather than becoming paralyzed, running away, or going through it alone. By reclaiming these rites, we can fill a spiritual void in our modern lives and fully realize and honor our connection and place in the Spiral Dance of life.

“The moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming,

is where the dance of life really takes place.” - Barbara de Angelis

Sam Shryock practices Wiccan Spirituality and is a 3rd Degree High Priest within the Correllian-Nativist Tradition. He is the previous host of the KCWMU Kansas Coffee Coven, and previous local coordinator for Kansas City Pagan Pride Day. You can contact him at sunflowertemple@gmail.com

Community Reading by Katarina Elaine M

by Katarina Elaine M

The following three card readings, due in part to the nature of the deck, contain helpful advice for flowing in harmony with the changes and shifts of the Kansas City Pagan Community during this Winter quarter; interpreted by Katarina Elaine M. 

Month of January: Wren  During the month of January, the Wren encourages all of us to “Be bold and confident. Use all of your resources to create your dreams.” Resources may feel scarce in a cold and barren month like January, and so my interpretation of this card emphasizes the need for each of us to evaluate and make the most of any and all of the resources around us.  

Month of February: Eagle  During the month of February, the Eagle reveals that our community will be “learning all aspects of spiritual connection and reaching new heights.” I interpret this to mean that some lesser known spiritual paths may emerge, forming a greater variety of groups and events. If we as individuals take on a more detached perspective, like the Eagle, then we can experience surprise and pride when we see the impressive accomplishments and the truly far reach of our own ‘small’ community. 

Month of March: Goose  During the month of March, the Goose foretells that for all of us “dreams and desires are calling you to action. The journey begins today.” Spring is a time of beginnings when our community becomes active again! I interpret this card with an intuitive message that we must openly communicate about our community goals, dreams, and desires, at this time. Communication is a first step toward manifestation.

Katarina Elaine M. is a thriving artist, published author, professional tarot reader, speaker, performer, and healer. Her love for wild creatures and deep connection to nature has been inspiring Katarina’s surreal fantasy creations her whole life. A dedicated eclectic Wiccan; she believes in using her various gifts and skills to inspire and help others as a community witch.

In The Cards:: Deck Review by Katarina Elaine

by Katarina Elaine

Divine Feather Messenger Oracle Deck

Overall: 4 SPIRALS 

Cardstock quality: 5 SPIRALS 

Booklet quality: 3 SPIRALS 

Collectability:  common 

Reader level: beginner 

Additional points for cuteness +2 SPIRALS 

Where to find it: Aquarius, local new age shops, online

The Divine Feather Messenger is an oracle card deck by Alison DeNicola with Artwork by David Scheirer. The observation and interpretation of bird appearances as portents is an old, multicultural practice. It only makes sense that a modern divination deck, or five, like this one would eventually be created with bird symbolisms as the theme. I like this deck because it is downright adorable. Working with this deck opens me to the same giddy feeling of finding a colorful feather in the park. It brings me joy!

The Divine Feather Messenger deck contains 44 cards, with unique artwork on both sides. David Scheirer’s artwork was done in lovely pastel toned watercolors. The card designs are clean and simple while still beautifully depicting a variety of feathers and corresponding birds with realism. The side of the cards showing birds, anything from hummingbirds to ostriches, has a brief written message for the reader.

The best way to use this deck is for morning predictions about one's day, or for quick and practical guidance. It wouldn’t be particularly helpful for solving complex situations or giving in- depth readings. The four special ‘white’ cards which are White Owl, White Eagle, White Swan, and White Turkey, help the reader to recognize when they are living in accord with their higher selves, or in tune with spirit. That bit of reassurance is always nice.

The Divine Feather Messenger deck is best for a beginner reader. It could potentially bore a more advanced reader unless they appreciated it for the sake of the artwork. Like most oracle decks, reading with intuition is the encouraged style, but this one can be understood even without having developed intuition. The messages that are written directly on the cards make understanding this deck a piece of cake. Readers might like to consider keeping this deck along with a collection of real feathers, and to look out for some real birds bringing messages to them, once they have begun working with these cards.

Katarina Elaine M. is a thriving artist, published author, professional tarot reader, speaker, performer, and healer. Her love for wild creatures and deep connection to nature has been inspiring Katarina’s surreal fantasy creations her whole life. A dedicated eclectic Wiccan; she believes in using her various gifts and skills to inspire and help others as a community witch.

In The Cards:: The Hermit by Carrie Johnson

The Hermit
Number: 9
Planet: Mercury
Sign: Virgo
Element: Earth
Kabbalistic Path: The path of Yod

When contemplating the stereotypical life of a Hermit, the harsh view of society could quickly turn to a wretched waste of life.   But the Hermit is far from wasting his life. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The isolation that The Hermit seeks is representative of an internal connection so deep that other simple-minded people in the human world do not understand.   When the Hermit comes to you in a reading this signifies a rebirth. The Hermit is the ninth card of the Major Arcana; the close significance is the human gestation is nine months, but this birth is spiritual in nature. The time that The Hermit spends in self-imposed isolation is preparation for a bigger purpose, a journey into the true purpose of life.   There may be parts of you that feel alien, and when this card comes to you in a reading, the Hermit can act as a teacher, a prophet so to speak, and guide you as you seek your own personal truth. The Hermit can ignite dreams once forgotten, spark ideas and dreams, and visions of the future. If this card comes to you reversed this message is significant in the fact that you have forgotten your own inner power.  Perhaps you have given up on your journey due to the harsh cruel world that keeps weighing you down. Your shadows can begin to take over if you aren’t engaging in the spiritual connection that your soul craves. You have shut yourself off from the world and are at risk of becoming that waste of life. Do not forget the worth and value that you bring to the world. Any adversity you are facing can be overcome by taking a deep look into the shadows surrounding the choices of your life right now.

Image source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot
Pamela Coleman Smith

I’m Carrie Johnson, a transformational life coach and psychology witch.   I help people see the beauty in their dark side by reaching beyond the grips of anxiety.  I also provide Dark Shadow readings, you can find me on Facebook to book a session.

Luna's Lair, with Luna Motherowl

Hi Luna,

Lately I am being pulled toward working more with energy healing. I really have only a small amount of knowledge on this subject and until recently didn't feel the need to study on it, but it is as if the gods are calling me in a new direction. There is an overwhelming amount of reading material on energy and healing and I have no idea where to start. Do you have any book recommendations you could share with me to point me in the right direction?

Blessed Be, Leslie S.

Greetings Leslie!

Congratulations on your new journey! You are ahead of the game if you are listening and following the counsel of your gods. So many do not and they miss out on the blessings and growth it brings!

I would suggest that you first get yourself a journal or notebook and your first entry be why you are starting this journey. The next thing is to look up the definition of energy and then the definition of healing and write them both down. Then look up the definition of energy healing and write that down also. Then look up the definition of Reiki and log that. You may eventually desire to become certified in some form of Reiki, but I suggest you study and get comfortable with energy work first.

Here are three fantastic and thorough books on the subject. I highly recommend them!

ENERGY HEALING The Practical Workbook by Christina Mark – This book has 3 sections covering Energy, Health, and Healing. It literally takes you from start to a great understanding on the subject. It is also very easy to understand and has wonderful illustrations and charts.

ENERGETIC ANATOMY by Mark Rich – This would be the second book you should read. It complements the first book by going into cording and has beneficial exercises.

REIKI MEDITATIONS for Beginners by Lawrence Ellyard – I love this book! It also has 3 sections. All about Reiki, All About Meditation, and Meditation Practices. This book complements the first two books very well. It also comes with a CD.

You should be able to find these books on Amazon with no problem.

Good luck my dear and Yule Blessings to you and yours!

Luna Mother Owl