Pneumatised!

December 3, 2006

The theme for public ritual was about slavery and freedom. Are we really free? Or do we have our own little prisons? We each received a candle to burn. The candle is to represent the freedom we want or our thanks for the freedom we have or possibly both.

December 4, 2006

Nathan and I did our last moon ritual for this year. The last moon according to Graves’ calendar is elder moon. For this ritual, we burned down thirteen candles each, the candles representing the cycle of the thirteen months. Because we had a total of 26 candles, we had a large metal dish to put the candles on. After melting down, the wax on the dish looked like a “candle pizza”. 😀 I was fun though because I love looking at fire and I don’t have a fireplace living in an apartment. Twenty-six candles can heat up a room just as well as any fireplace.

December 5, 2006

I decided to go to WCC’s Tuesday night class after going to taekwondo. I hadn’t been to one of the classes in a while. I thought it would be a good idea to pop into the classes every so often – this way I can be sure that my own notes are up-to-date. Tuesday’s class was “Theology, Patrons, and Shrines”. I missed the first half since my taekwondo class finishes at 8 p.m. and the WCC class starts at that time, but that’s alright. I just wanted to see if my notes were up-to-date – and they appear to be. It doesn’t look like they’ve changed the classes much. Though, of course, I could do with another round of mythology classes. Anyway, I have good notes on most of the classes. At this point, I’m just reviewing my notes to see if I can teach from them.

December 10, 2006

Public ritual was about will and determination to accomplish goals – even those we think are unachievable. Stones were consecrated and we each received a stone as a reminder of our will and determination.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

A friend asked me recently about my role as Summoner at the WCC. Since I haven’t had a chance to explain my duties as Summoner on here, I thought I’d post my reply to my friend.

“The number one priority of the Summoner is the safety of the High Priestess of the coven. In this case, it is Tamarra who is High Priestess of the WCC. Next, is the safety of the High Priestess of the ritual, that is, the Priestess who is leading the ritual that night. Third is the safety of the Hand/maiden, who is responsible for the archive of the temple and for ensuring that something remains of the traditions in the case of something tragic. Fourth is the sanctity of the ritual and the ritual space. The Summoner has to ensure that no physical danger threatens the ritual and its participants. The Summoner is also known as the Gatekeeper because indoors the Summoner stands guard at the door. The Summoner’s other job is to be messenger to the community. During a ritual night, the Summoner will give notice as to the start of the ritual (such as 10 minutes to, 5 minutes to). At the start of the ritual, the Summoner will have the people line up, recite the Summoner’s Charge, and lead them to the temple (or when outdoors, the the ritual spot). On a ritual night, the Summoner is responsible for greeting new people to the community (practical as the Summoner needs to know who can be trusted in the community). The Summoner is also responsible for any medical emergencies. However, since the first priority of the Summoner is the safety of the High Priestess (Tamarra) and the High Priestess of the ritual, the Summoner will require assistants to help with medical emergencies. Basically, on top of being the guard for the High Priestess, the Summoner is essentially “head of security” for the community. It is not the Summoner’s job to be involved with any politics of the WCC, but the Summoner has to be aware of what is going on internally. The final duty of the Summoner is to find a suitable replacement at the end of the term, and to continue serving until such replacement is found.”

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I have finally gotten around to starting my section on Wicca on my website, Brigid’s Flame. As with the rest of the website, I will be adding more to it over time. For now, please read the introductory page to Wicca and a Wicca-related article, “Raising Power in Group Rituals”. I am currently reviewing some books that I’ve read over the past 6 or so years that are related to Wicca, witchcraft, paganism, and the occult. I hope to have this book list available on the website soon.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I finally got around to working on my website a bit. I have revised the “Spiritual Development” page, and added an article in that section called “Spirituality and Religion – What’s the Difference?” In the future, I hope to write some articles about paganism, witchcraft, and in particular, Wicca. There is an abundance of misinformation floating around the internet about these subjects that I feel it is about time I started to write about them.

I hope you enjoy my new article.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local pagan
Brigid’s Flame

Last Sunday’s public ritual was an interesting one about balancing intellect and imagination. The southwest (fire and water) corner represented imagination and the northeast corner (air and earth) represented intellect. Each participant was given the opportunity to choose between the two corners, deciding what they needed most at that moment or in their character. At each corner the participant would then be blessed by the two elements represented and drink from the chalice. Overall, I thought the ritual was quite nice and well thought out. I particularly liked the idea because some people tend to be more of one than the other, although there are some who are balanced between intellect and imagination (in which case you were to pick the corner you were most drawn to at that moment). Being Summoner though, I did not participate although I was given the opportunity to. I just feel that as Summoner I should not need to participate because that is my sacrifice. Besides, there are private rituals that I attend or may attend, and I continue to do private rituals for myself (and Nathan).

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I finished reading book five (The Fires of Heaven) of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time last week (I finished reading book four just around Samhain). Interesting story and characters. I got quite absorbed – at least until I thought my life was passing by because it takes me a while to read the 800 to 900 page books. Suffice it to say I’m taking a little break from the novels for a bit. Book 6, Lord of Chaos, is another long novel and I’d like to get some other work done before I find myself absorbed in another 900 paperback. There are a few other novels I’d like to finish reading. I started reading The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley and The Shadow on the Glass by Ian Irvine. Additionally, I have some books on my “must read” list.

Right now, I’m making my way through The World’s Religion (second edition) by Ninian Smart. It’s quite a good read because it is written for academia providing a relatively unbiased (are we ever truly unbiased?) look at many of the different world religions. I’m taking my time getting through the book though because there is plenty of information in each chapter. The book is divided into two parts, and each chapter is divided by geographic region. The first part focuses on the origins of each religion essentially providing a look at ancient religions. The second part discusses modern religion, although depending on the geographic region the time period for “modern” can vary. I’m on chapter four thus far, though I read both chapters on Chinese religion already since I’m already familiar many aspects of Chinese worship being ethnically Chinese myself. Ignoring the introduction and the first chapter on primitive religion, the first region encountered in the book is South Asia, which is primarily India but includes Sri Lanka and Tibet. The next chapter I’m reading is on Japan.

Another book that I’m reading right now (since I’m taking my time reading the world religions book) is Witchcraft Today by Gerald B. Gardner. This book has been on my “must read” list for a while and it was since it was newly published that I got a copy of it. Since getting involved with Wicca more and more, I’ve been more absorbed in reading mythology because in the Odyssean tradition there is strong emphasis on learning mythology. In any case, it’s time to read what “ol’ uncle Gerald” has to say about the religion I have chosen to follow. Plus, it provides a look at what used to be done originally in Wicca versus what is being done now. (Perhaps, if/when the time comes around I will write a review of the book.)

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Selket is an Egyptian goddess I’ve recently discovered.

It is interesting how this goddess came to me. I was at a book festival (Word on the Street) with Nathan. One of the last booths we looked at was for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). They had there a little touch game where a thermoform relief mould was hidden behind a veil, and you had to use your sense of touch to figure out what the image was. My second guess was correct and the lady said I could pick a relief mould of an image as a prize. Of the choices given, an Egyptian depiction appealed to me the most.

I put this relief image away for a little while, but for some reason I was drawn back to it from time to time. I kept looking at it. Then, carefully reading the braille printed at the top, it turned out to be Selket. (I was confused with the braille at first because there was an extra dot at the beginning.)

Thus far, I’ve found out that Selket is goddess of scorpions, magic, childbirth, and nursing. She is a protector and is also loosely associated with the underworld. She is related to the scorching heat of the sun (a death aspect?).

Other forms of her name are Serket, Selqet, Selkit, Selkis, Serqet. Serqet is probably the more common name, but she came to me first as Selket.

A depiction of Selket was found in King Tut’s tomb. Note the similarity of the Selket relief shown below to the image found in King Tut’s tomb.

Selket may have had a festival on or around October 23 (7th Koiak). She did not appear to have any temples, but she had a Priesthood and substantial worship.

Interesting. I will have to spend more time working with this goddess.

BB,
Cassandrah

Sources for Selket:

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/selket.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/serqet.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/Eselket.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serket
http://www.philae.nu/akhet/NetjeruS.html#Selket
http://www.egyptiandreams.co.uk/serket.php?osCsid=9176fde8c2efb58459e7ef38c
http://www.kemet.org/glossary/serqet.html

About thermoform
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/reginald-phillips/beginnersPaper.htm

MM,

I find the enneagram interesting, but I find the inconsistency in the test scores make me question the use of enneagram. Though those who study the enneagram say that we all have qualities of each of the nine personality types. I guess a balanced personality will have qualities from each type as it is not good to be one extreme or another. Below are my results for some different enneagram tests. I also took a brain dominance test. Turns out I use both hemispheres equally. Huh. That doesn’t surprise me for some reason.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test (131 questions)

type score type behavior motivation
1 51 I must be perfect and good to be happy.
9 48 I must be peaceful and easy to get along with to be happy.
7 46 I must be high and entertained to be happy.
5 44 I must be knowledgable and independent to be happy.
8 42 I must be strong and in control to be happy.
2 41 I must be helpful and caring to be happy.
6 35 I must be secure and safe to be happy.
3 29 I must be impressive and attractive to be happy.
4 17 I must avoid painful feelings to be happy.

type score type behavior motivation
3 19 I must be impressive and attractive to be happy.
1 18 I must be perfect and good to be happy.
9 18 I must be peaceful and easy to get along with to be happy.
5 17 I must be knowledgable and independent to be happy.
7 17 I must be high and entertained to be happy.
2 12 I must be helpful and caring to be happy.
8 12 I must be strong and in control to be happy.
6 9 I must be secure and safe to be happy.
4 5 I must avoid painful feelings to be happy.

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test (50 questions)

type score type behavior motivation
1 19 I must be perfect and good to be happy.
7 17 I must be high and entertained to be happy.
5 16 I must be knowledgable and independent to be happy.
9 16 I must be peaceful and easy to get along with to be happy.
2 13 I must be helpful and caring to be happy.
8 13 I must be strong and in control to be happy.
6 11 I must be secure and safe to be happy.
3 6 I must be impressive and attractive to be happy.
4 6 I must avoid painful feelings to be happy.

MM,

Test time again. Below is a Myers-Brigg type test. I again got INTJ.

INTJ – “Mastermind”. Introverted intellectual with a preference for finding certainty. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of total population.

Free Jung Word Choice Test (similar to MBTI)
personality tests by similarminds.com

2.1% of the total population huh? I wonder if that’s why I find it hard to relate to most people.

Then I did an Enneagram test. I’ve been wondering about the Enneagram for a while. I’ve done a few tests for this and two have pegged me as a 7. Then, I found a book on the Enneagram in the laundry room of our building (we recycle books by leaving them in the laundry room for people to take if it pleases them). Nathan and I went through the nine different personality types and it does seem like 7 is most like me, though I wonder if I might be a 3 in the closet. Hehe. Below are my results from one online Ennegram test.

Enneagram test results

You are most likely a type 7.

Taking wings into account, you seem to be a 7w8.

No personality test is completely accurate. Although several measures were taken to make this test as accurate as possible, there’s always a chance that you are not typed correctly by it. Therefore, when deciding which Enneagram type and wing you are, you might also want to consider the types with the highest test scores on the lists below.

(Note that your lowest scores may be omitted.)
Type 7 – 8.3
Type 1 – 8
Type 5 – 6.7
Type 8 – 6.3
Type 2 – 6.3
Type 9 – 6
Type 6 – 5.7

Wing 7w8 – 11.5
Wing 1w2 – 11.2
Wing 7w6 – 11.2
Wing 1w9 – 11
Wing 8w7 – 10.4
Wing 2w1 – 10.3
Wing 9w1 – 10
Wing 6w7 – 9.9
Wing 5w6 – 9.6
Wing 8w9 – 9.3
Wing 9w8 – 9.2
Wing 6w5 – 9.1
Wing 5w4 – 6.7
Wing 2w3 – 6.3

Eclectic Energies – Working with your energetic state.

Enneagram test – Introduction to the Enneagram – Energy and the Enneagram

A description of the 7 personality says that I’m a “pleasure seeker and planner, in search of distraction”. It means that I plan my time to the fullest so that I will hopefully never become bored. Supposedly, 7s are not introspective, even though I keep a personal journal with my deepest thoughts in it. I wonder if perhaps I grew up as a 3 wing 4 and just learned to be a 7. Strange. I will have to read up more on the Enneagram (a very 5 thing to do).

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame