"Wonder is a gift of living. Living is a gift of wonder."

--Anne Wilson Schaef

Hey you: witch.

How many nipples do you have?

Back in the Bad Old Days, the received wisdom was that witches have more than two. That's so we can suckle our imps.

Those of us with a Classical education, of course, think immediately of Diana of Ephesus, goddess of witches, with her ample endowments (polymasteia: the state of having many breasts). Of course, Many-breasted Earth feeds us all to this very day.

But I highly doubt that that's what the witch-finders had in mind. Humans have two nipples, animals have many. It's a comment on the witch's intrinsically bestial nature.

Like many other ancient cultures, the Minoans were accomplished astronomers. Their mythology, their artifacts, and their architecture reflect their fascination with the lights that moved through the night sky as well as the brightest sky-light of all, the Sun. As so many other societies around the world have done, they incorporated this astronomical knowledge into their mythology and thus their spiritual practice.

With the Great American Eclipse just a couple of days ago, I began thinking about the Minoans' ability to predict eclipses. There is some contention that this stone die found near Palaikastro is an eclipse calculator:

The ATC Mother Church exists in a small, mountain, town. People out this way care about their community. They want to make sure that it remains the place where they want to raise their children, relax, and grow old. In 1979 when we opened our doors, Snohomish County was much as it is today. The farms stretch down the highway leading up to the foothills of the mountains. The closer you get to Stevens Pass, the more isolated the communities become, and the more they depend on one another. There could be a localized disaster that cuts a community off from the outside world for days at a time. The people out here need to know that they can depend on each other.

"It isn't until we start helping our local communities that we will stop being seen as those witches down the street." Rev. Terry M. Riley, HP Southern Delta Church of Wicca-ATC

The ATC found out the importance of connecting with our community early on. Our founder Pierre "Pete Pathfinder" Davis began his work as a politician, and he brought that need to create systems, and take care of the people in his world, with him. He was instrumental in keeping a post office in our little mountain town. He led the way to getting a new fire truck for our first response, mountain, fire department. Pete designed the towns emergency sand bag response system for river breeches, and took care of our fur babies as Index's Animal Catcher. When he passed away many people from the town called us to ask us if we knew how to keep taking care of everyone in the way that Pete did, and could they have memorabilia for the town museum. 

Heathen women, reclaim your rightful place of power as witches, please. It's not a Wiccan thing. It's our heritage.

Magical practice-- witchcraft-- is the great heritage of central and northern European women, as vital as the male warrior traditions to our ancestors’ communities. From noblewomen to the humblest farm wife, women were expected to work magic on behalf of their family, the sick and the wounded– and to uphold their kingdoms! Bands of professional priestesses, the volur were esteemed and traveled safety over both land and rivers, surviving into the time of the Greenland colony.

These two facts can be quoted by plenty of modern Heathens, but how many actually put stock in it by their actions, attitudes and beliefs regarding witchcraft-- and the women who practice it?

In today's political climate, I've noticed more and more folks talking about consumer campaigns around "grabbing your wallet" when you disapprove of certain individual or industrial practices. I think this is great. It reminds me of the activist magic at work behind veganism. Every single one of us votes with our consumer dollars in one way or another. Veganism is one example of a "boycott," in the sense that we are grabbing our wallet and refusing to pay for certain practices. The concept was popularized (though not invented) by Gandhi as non-cooperation with an oppressive group or practice.

As the Total Solar Eclipse was a great event taking place across North America, I thought it would be the perfect time to write about the solar eclipse, and what it means in Shinto traditions - especially in regard to the famous Ama no Iwato myth. While it is unknown the true event associated with Ama no Iwato, it is said popularily it represents a solar eclipse – however when one studies further, a more significant connection would be to the Winter Solstice. However, indeed, solar eclipses would have most likely been significant as well, especially in relation to a recall of Ama no Iwato.