RITUALS and CIRCLE NIGHTS
(Calgary)
October 31 - Samhain Ritual - Grove of Mysteries
November 9 - Circle Night - Calgary Circle of Pagans
November 16 - Lunar Ritual - Twilight Mysteries
November 23 - Circle Night - Calgary Circle of Pagans
December 7 - Circle Night - Calgary Circle of Pagans
December 14 - Lunar Ritual - Twilight Mysteries
December 15 - Yule Gathering - Calgary Circle of Pagans
December 22 - Yule
contributed by RavenDreamer
When you get the dates and times on Calendars, they are in Grenwich mean time, so it is off by at least 7 hours.
Please note that the new and full moons are considered
full for three days with the date given as the fullest (or newest) time.
Last Quarter - Oct 28 -- 10:31 PM
Haloween/Samhain - Oct 31
NATIONAL NEWS
Interest in Spira is growing dramatically! It's very exciting. What
are people saying? These are some quotes from random e-lists:
"A form of paganism that is Canada's own"
"the canadian version of Wicca"
"A much more mature and worldy viewpoint than simple wiccan faith"
PROVINCIAL NEWS
Alberta
Caprice, RavenDreamer and Sora are extremely proud and excited to
announce that Spira has achieved provincial recognition as a church upon
the formation of "The Alberta Church of Spira."
Ontario
British Columbia
LOCAL NEWS
Calgary
All members of Spira would like to congratulate Sora Nalani on her wonderous Muse Recital. It was a spectacular event that inspired awe in all who were in attendence! We look forward to your soon to be released CD.
Wishes of Luck and Good Fortune to Sora and Caprice as the begin advertising for their recently formed performance company - The Enchanted Muse - - more information can be found at http://www.enchantedmuse.net.
The Spiric Pagans in Calgary are waiting with anticipation
for two of their Detatched Seedlings to move "home". Dragonfly
and Luna - - know that friends are waiting with hugs and warm welcomes!
contributed by Mayda
Witches Brew
(makes 4 servings, 6 oz each)
2 cups Apple cider
1 1/2 to 2 cups Vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt)
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Process all ingredients in a food processor
or blender until smooth.
Pur into glasses and sprinkle with additional nutmeg. Serve
immediately.
***
Bubbling Cauldron
(makes 20 servings)
1 pkg (16 oz) processed cheese with jalepeno
peppers
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, well drained
1 cup medium or hot salsa
2 loaves (18 oz each) round marble rye bread, unsliced
Pretzel rods
Cocktail rye or pumpernickel bread
1. Melt cheese in medium saucepan over low
heat, stirring
occassionally. Remove from heat. Stir in beans and salsa. Carefully
cut center out of bread, leaving 1 1/2 inch shell. Cut bread center
into pieces for dipping.
2. Reserve 1 pretzel rod. Arrange remaining
pretzel rods on serving
plate to resemble campfire logs. Place bread cauldron on pretzels;
fill with cheese dip, allowing some to spill over top of bread
cauldron. Arrange bread pieces and cocktail bread around cauldron.
Place reserved pretzel rod in cheese dip; serve immediately.
*Halloween cookies cutters may also be used
to cut shapes from the
cocktail bread.
contributed by Sora
I AM THERE
Look for me when the tide is high
And the gulls are wheeling overhead
When the autumn wind sweeps the cloudy sky
And one by one the leaves are shed
Look for me when the trees are bare
And the stars are bright in the frosty sky
When the morning mist hangs on the air
And shorter darker days pass by.
I am there, where the river flows
And salmon leap to a silver moon
Where the insects hum and the tall grass grows
And sunlight warms the afternoon
I am there in the busy street
I take you hand in the city square
In the market place where the people meet
In your quiet room - I am there
I am the love you cannot see
And all I ask is - look for me.
Iris Hesselden
***
The Hidden
Wisdom awaits in blackness
Her frosty breath whistles
A chilled whip against my skin
With the pain of thistles
Yet I stand transfixed
Enchanted by the hidden
A flailing desperate gaze
Of the curiosity ridden
Lounging mocking in the fray
Upon the darkened knoll
Spinning, hearing laugher
At the crossroads of my soul
Something new,
Something dark,
Something wise,
And something stark
Straining, looking, for the mark
Hackles raised in sharpness
Her judgement howling pressed
A glacial knife against my soul
Heart stutters in my chest
Yet I lie reborn
Barren sparkle in a tree
Amidst its scratchy branches
Lay an opalescent key
Grasping desperate in the hand
Into the voided space
Gleaming, curving razor
Of the smile upon her face
Something new,
Something dark,
Something wise,
And something stark
Straining, looking, for the mark
©RavenDreamer 2002
***
Life and death are one, even as the
sea and river are one
In the depth of your hopes and desires
lies your silent knowledge of the beyond,
And like seeds dreaming beneath the
snow your heart dreams of spring
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden
the gate to eternity.
For what is it to die but to stand
naked in the wind and melt into the sun
And what is it to cease breathing but
to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and
expand and seek (God) unencumbered
Only when you drink from the river of
silence shall you indeed sing,
And when you have reached the mountain
top, then you shall begin to climb,
And when the earth shall claim your
limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Kahlil Gibran
FABRIC PUMPKINS
What you need: Plastic pumpkin (the
type children use for trick or treat); Halloween print or solid fabric
(amount needed to completely cover the outside of the pumpkin.; Glue
gun/glue sticks; Small tree branch 1-2" in diameter (for stem);
black and orange tissue; newspaper; Fall leaves; Styrofoam block; Bag
of wrapped candy.
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What to do:
1. Place pumpkin on center of wrong side of fabric. Bring fabric up sides of pumpkin, pleating and folding as necessary.
2. Glue fabric ends to inside of pumpkin all around until completely covered. Allow to dry.
3. Glue styrofoam block to inside, center, bottom of pumpkin.
4. Force branch into styrofoam block and glue in place to secure.
5. Fill pumpkin to 3/4 with newspaper and then fill to top with colored tissue.
6. Glue a few fall leaves to stem.
7. Empty bag of wrapped candies on top of tissue.
8. Optional: Trim with raffia and leaves if desired.
This makes a wonderful Halloween centerpiece.
You can make several of different sizes and group them.
http://www.craftown.com/halloween/craft15.htm
The midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice is a point where the darkness is growing and growing yet not at its fullest. It is the point where the final harvest takes place. Past this point, the crops will no longer ripen, only go rotten and die. This festival is called by many names including Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Hallowmas, All Saints Day, All Souls Night, etc. Samhain is the start and the end of the year. It falls between the fall equinox and the winter solstice on October. It is the first winter festival. Samhain is a time of in between, the time between the old year and the new, the time between fall and winter and metaphorically, the time between life and death. Thus, Samhain is associated with death and with rebirth. Samhain is a time of remembrance. It is a time to honor those who have passed in the year and to honor our ancestors, to whom we owe a genetic, cultural and social legacy. At this time, the veil between the living and the dead becomes thinner, more easily penetrated and felt. It is a time to understand where we have come from, our past and what has brought us to where we are today. It is a time to have closure on past issues and to purge ourselves of negative patterns that we carry with us so that we can start the new year with anticipation of what is to come.
- The Essence of Spira by RavenDreamer and Sora Nalani
contributed by Aurora
Queen of the Heavens
A powerful goddess who embodies Samhain is
Inana; the Queen of the Heavens. She is the paramount goddess of the
Sumerian pantheon. Inana is the first recoded female deity concerned
with the fertility of the natural world. She is also a warrior goddess
as Sumerians believed in the strength of women in battle.
She is one of 3 deities involved in the primordial battle between good and evil. Every year she also battles her consort Dumuzi in the Underworld. Here she is left for dead for three days and nights before being revived by sprinkling the food and water of life on her.
Inana is usually depicted wearing a horned headdress
and tiered skirt, with wings and weapon cases at her shoulders. Her
earliest symbol is a bundle of reeds tied in 3 places with streamers,
and is embodied in the sacred tree of Mesopotamia. She is also associated
as the goddess of temple prostitutes, as she has protected working women
during the starry nights. She represents the strength, power, and fertility
inherent in women.