Craft Services.

OHMYGODIAMSO FUNNNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even if most of you aren't going to get that joke.

So, while stories of me bringing up Trance Prophecy Regression in the middle of a discussion about speaking in tongues at Seminary are yet to come, I pulled some things from an essay I submitted in class last week. One of my classes has me thinking quite a bit about service and what it means for the Pagan communities. I'll let you know what kind of feedback I get.

At our Spring Equinox Sabbat (a holiday to honor the beginning of Spring), I led my congregation through our normal pilgrimage of silence through Fort Tryon Park. Annually, we honor the return of the living Earth by silencing our chatty mouths for a bit, and community with nature—even if she’s still a little frosty at the end of March. Many of the members had brought along young children who, hands clasped, ran ahead of us through the paths to where the park is wild. Because of a then-recent storm, many of our sacred spaces had been demolished due to fallen trees. We would need to find a new space to honor the beginning of Springtime and the awakening of the Great Mother. We followed the kids.
They took us up to a space worn between the trees by foot, littered with human garbage—paper waste, condoms, soiled clothing, even human excrement. Worse than the sight and the smell was the feeling of the space. Something damaging had occurred on the spot. Whether it was an act of violence upon another human being or through the waste, an act of violence upon the Earth Herself, the presence of Spirit was weak, injured and disturbed. Several of our members asked if we could find another spot to welcome the Spring. I left it up to them to decide. One woman raised her hand and said, “I think this place needs healing.” In short order, the rest of the community agreed. We rolled up our sleeves and began collecting as much trash as we safely could. The presiding Priestess, wrinkling her nose against the foul environment said emphatically, “What we are experiencing here is the antithesis of the Goddess. This is all that She shouldn’t be. Let us make it right.” We continued with our ritual, dancing and singing on a space that had been injured in the name of peace, light and healing. When the ritual was over and we had gathered back in my apartment for a community meal, I said to the cramped crowd in my tiny living room, “Spirituality is not always pretty. This is not a vacation. If you want to follow this path, you are going to have to get your hands in the dirt, like you did today.”
The Craft shows great promise for contributing and shaping our personal communities, but we are not there yet. This is mostly due to its age. We cannot discern what we can do for others until our own needs are met—defining who we are, what we believe and where we can help. I was moved by the efforts of the preachers and organizations who noticed needs in New York City in the early 20th Century and moved in to help at a time when the city was little more than a collection of bars and brothels and slums--not to convert, but to provide medicine for the sick and food and clothing for the very poor. This answered many a question I have about my own faith community and where we can contribute.
In many organizations, the idea of how to help is framed in ‘how many resources do we have?’ or ‘will our infrastructure support that?’ For a few years now, I’ve cut the Pagan community a lot of slack for its comparative lack of contributions to community causes due to its lack of infrastructure. However, the lack of infrastructure is what gives us the freedom to explore our spirituality further than in most mainstream religions. Also, the missionaries and groups that went into the slums of New York may not have had exorbitant sums to assist, either. The core of their mission’s success lay in two areas: 1.) identifying the need and b.) recognizing and utilizing all possible resources.
While we may not have the organizational resources of larger faith groups, there are still many ways that we can help. I was encouraged by Pagan Pride Day on September 25, 2010 in Battery Park, New York, where 600 pounds of canned food was collected and an animal rescue mission found at least one home for a pet in need. Maybe it wasn’t a huge ripple compared to organizations who are starting hospitals and schools, but it is a start and maybe it’s all that we can collectively do right now. Since beginning this reflection, though, I have heard of other Pagan organizations who are coming together to set up counseling and/or healing centers. We are growing in our capabilities to help others—but we are growing slowly.
I think there is a danger in not wanting to act when you are not able to act “the whole way”, meaning finishing a broad-project. I believe the goal ought to be to do whatever is in your power at the moment—just like the woman in the Gospel story who only had two coins to give to charity, and so that is what she had. Maybe the only thing my community was able to do that early spring day was to clean up the park and infuse the land with healing. But maybe the even greater message was the one we left with the children and young adults of our community—spirituality is about service, at its core: healing of the land and healing of one another. We start with only the steps we have in front of us.

An Urgent Message to all LGBT and questioning teens and young adults....

Hi guys,

If you're reading this, you may or may not know me. But even so, I care about you and your well-being, even if I seem like a snarky bitch most of the time on this blog. :)

If you are a Gay, Lesbian, Bi or Trans teen or young adult and you're struggling right now--please, please, PLEASE know that you are really not alone, even if it feels that way. If you are being bullied at school, you will NOT be in that school forever. You WILL eventually graduate and move on to a bigger and better place where you will find community for people who love you for who you are. If you are being abused and/or hassled at home, there are resources out there for you. One number you can call is 866-4-u-trevor for 24 hour support. There ARE ways out of your situation other than suicide.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem which will hurt those who love you and deny yourself of incredibly beautiful experiences in your future. I myself am not gay, but I could not imagine my life without several wonderful people in my family, friends and spiritual groups who are gay themselves. If any of them had chosen to not finish the path they were born to live, my existence would have suffered, severely.

When I received my ordination as a Priestess of Pan, our Grove's May Queen blessed the initiation with inspiration from the Goddess, Herself. I'll never forget the words she said that night: "We are meant to live our lives in joy." That statement has guided me through the work I've done for the Craft ever since. The woman I speak of is a lesbian herself and is one of the smartest, kindest, most spiritually endowed people I have ever met. I cannot imagine my spiritual path had she not crossed it.

I think of many of the teachers and mentors I had in the theatre world when I was studying in college and working as an intern. These individuals imbued in me a rock-hard work ethic, as well collaborative team skills and creative vision. It was this skill set that enabled me to work in New York City immediately after graduating college. Coming from the West Coast with nearly no contacts in the City, that is an incredible feat. Nearly all of the people I'm speaking of were gay or lesbian.

In my path in the Craft, a huge number of my most influential, supportive and inspiring teachers and mentors have also been gay or lesbian. I consult their books. I seek them out with magickal or spiritual questions. I email them on a regular basis. Where would I be had I not met them? Not nearly as enriched, protected and empowered as I am today.

I type this with tears rolling down my face. If you are in a dark place in your life right now and feel that your life is not worth living because you feel alone, please know that this time and place is temporary. A brighter day is coming for you. You too, are meant to live your life in joy. Your community, your future, the partner you will one day have, the children you will one day have--should you choose to--are all waiting for you. Know that each day that passes is one day closer to the light. Don't extinguish it before its time. We all want you here, just as you are.

I promise. :)

Ms. O'Donnell, may I see you in the kitchen, please?

First of all, if you haven't seen it, yet:



Second of all, write to her. Let's make the best use of this recent slander against our community. If we could get one of the Tea Party Members to publicly acknowledge us as NOT being affiliated with Satan worship, it would do so much good for us.

If you write to her, be nice or we'll get ignored. http://christine2010.com/contact/ The phone number to her campaign office is here: (302) 468-7010

Here's what I wrote:

Dear Ms. O'Donnell,

Congratulations on winning the Delaware Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate seat. Although our politics may differ, I commend you for your hard work and dedication to your cause.

My name is Courtney Weber. I am an ordained minister in the Wiccan community and therefore, a practioner of Witchcraft. I am also a Masters of Divinity candidate at Union Theological Seminary--a seminary which has trained many of the finest theologians in our country's history. I have trained under the guidance of several of the most respected Witches in the world. The information you presented regarding Witchcraft on "Politically Incorrect" in 1999 was absolutely incorrect and unfortunately misguided. Witches do not acknowledge the existence of Satan and therefore, do not worship such a being. I have traveled the world in my study of the Craft and have never met or heard of a Witch who would leave blood on their personal altar or have anything to do with the concept of Satan.

What you experienced in your past was not--I repeat, NOT--Witchcraft. You were severely misinformed and it is my hope that in the years that have passed you have been better educated on the religious beliefs of Wiccans.

You live in a state with one of the largest Wiccan populations on the Eastern seaboard. If you desire the support of the majority of your state at the ballot box, you will apologize to the the national and global Wiccan communities.


Very truly yours,
Rev. Courtney Weber
HPS, The Novices of the Old Ways

PARTY ON THURSDAY!!!!

It's here! It's here! It's finally, finally here!!!!

Come out and party with us this Thursday to celebrate the birth of our Elephant Baby!!!!

Thursday, 8/26/10
8:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery Btw. Bleecker and Houston
F to 2nd Ave or 6 to Bleecker Street
$5
($4 Magic Hat on draft!!!)

Already a cult phenomenon, Tarot of the Boroughs is the sensational new Tarot deck set in New York City and composed of spectacular, original photography. Inspired by the classic Tarot, Tarot of the Boroughs captures the Tarot's timeless images in contemporary incarnations, replacing the esoteric with the familiar. Tarot of the Boroughs features New Yorkers from all walks of life as well as well-known ...faces including Moby, Jonathan Ames, Reverend Jen Miller, Lilith Dorsey, Velocity Chyaldd, Larkin Grimm, Reverend Billy and Imakhu Mwt Shekemet among many, many others! Join us for an evening of performances by several of our illustrious models, readings by dynamic Witches, raffle give-aways of the new deck, Q and A with the creators and more!!!

Performances by:
Imakhu Mwt Shekemet
Reverend Jen
Francis “Faceboy” Hall
Master Lee and Chink Floyd
And more!!!

****The deck will be there and available for purchase!***


Say you were there at the debut of a classic icon!!!

Lessons from the Moon-as said by Noelle

Sometimes, the battle in Witchcraft is to keep from over-complicating it. In the end, it's simply communion and worship of the Moon. One of my personal spiritual tasks is to remind myself to go back to being the young solo-witch, chanting to the Moon in my parents' backyard. Running Covens, writing books and blogs, publishing Tarot--those are all delicious and adventurous additives, but not the core of the Craft. It's easy to forget that and hard to remember to go back into the backyards of our own souls, and gaze up on the cool, white globe that brought us to this Path in the first place.

Thank you, Noelle, for this reminder today.

Subway Spells and Fuckwads

Yesterday, I rode the subway downtown.

The subway lends itself to underworld experience because it IS the underworld. It's underground. But this experience wasn't so much underworldly as it was defensive.

Somewhere between Times Square and 34th street, a douchebag boarded the train. This one had a Bible in his hand and announced to the car, "ALL GAYS WILL BURN IN HELL!"

I'm not gay. But I was definitely burning. If I were stupidly brave enough, I would have called him out. But I'm intelligently cowardly. You never know what kind of weapons a douchebag will carry.

The Douche went on and on. He was "eloquent", so to speak, in that he was able to deliver a sentence from beginning, middle, and end in a loud and clear voice.

I got mad. I invoked Brid. "Brid, this asshat is hurting your children with hurtful words in a confined space." I began chanting a little spell to make him silent. I wanted him to get a coughing fit and stop speaking all together. I really wanted him to leave the train. He didn't do any of those, but as I continued chanting, I envisioned a steel spike through his tongue and superglue to seal his mouth. "Seal his lips and seal his tongue," I chanted. The chanting increased in intensity until I was rocking in my seat, my crown chakra buzzing.

He didn't stop speaking, but he lost all eloquence. Instead of finishing full sentences laced with hate, he began stuttering. "So...let me tell you about gays....in the bible...I mean...in the BIBLE...it says that gays are.....well....let me just tell you about GAYS."

But he was suddenly unable to say shitty things about gays.

Yay!!!

So there, Mr. Hating Douchebag! You mess with lots of juju when you say shitty things.

And for the rest of you Witches out there, invoke your powers to stop hate and irritations wherever they are. Maybe this will work for public masturbaters, too.

Back!!!

Hi Hunnies!!!

I'm back in NYC, catching up on all the projects I've been neglecting. Including this blog.

But not today! Will catch up soon.

Damn, I'm a flaky blogger.

xoxo
C