Greetings to all Full Circle friends and members,
In this October edition of our newsletter, we have:
Caravanserai or Calling All Belly Dancers!
There are so many choices at this year’s ball. Shall we dance, feast, flirt, shop or watch talented entertainers under the moonlight … you decide.
(Please note: If it rains, we will have to cancel the outdoor entertainment stage. It’s never rained at a Witches’ Ball yet, but you never know….)
The Witches’ New Year
It’s that time again: costumes, revelry, and candy. According to the Bureau of the Census, in 2001, 1,040 American candy manufacturers produced chocolate and cocoa products, employing 45,913 people and shipping $12 billion worth of goods. California has the most chocolate and cocoa manufacturers, 116 of ‘em, so don’t feel guilty nibbling that Halloween candy. Just remember that you’re doing your part to keep the economy strong! (You can break up all that chocolate ingestion with a nourishing bit of Frog’s eye salad.)
The first recorded instance of a Halloween celebration occurred in Anoka, Minnesota in 1921, yet we know that people throughout history have found a variety of ways to deal with the real theme of Hallows, which is not candy or costumes, but fear and death and especially, the fear of death. If we were to invent Halloween nowadays, we might just skip the whole community aspect and go straight to cable! From HBO's Six Feet Under to Showtime's Dead Like Me, television is bringing death, dying, grieving, and the dead straight into our living rooms. As it turns out, this is right where Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and a host of other experts say these topics should be.
Despite all this Hollywood attention, we are still squeamish about death. In fact, though we’re quite good at dealing with beginnings like marriages, christenings, housewarmings; however, we’re dreadful about acknowledging endings of any sort: divorce, the end of childhood, the cessation of one’s childbearing years, moving away, leaving a job. Endings just trickle off, ignored, like objects of shame. No wonder we treat death so badly. Like an embarrassing relative, the less said about death the better.
We could learn a lot from other cultures about how to develop an open and honest relationship with death. The Ancient Egyptians had a very elaborate view of the afterlife and peopled it with all sorts of gods, including Maat, the mortuary goddess, who personified the concept of order, truth, and justice. They also had Anubis and Osiris; the Greeks had Hades and Persephone; the Sumerians Erishkigal. Aztecs had a celebration that was eventually folded into Catholic practice to become the Day of the Dead. All these belief systems wove into their philosophy the concept that life, and what comes after life, are linked by the two great acts of transformation: birth and death.
For many, this included rebirth – the continual recycling of the soul. The Greek word psyche means both soul and butterfly. This stems from the belief that our souls become butterflies in that time between death and reincarnation. At this time of year when we celebrate the death and rebirth of the sun, how lucky we are to have the opportunity to observe one of the most powerful symbols of rebirth as thousands of Monarch butterflies magically descend on a few select acres of Pacific Grove, California for the winter. From late October through early March, tourists and residents alike can visit Butterfly Town USA where Monarch butterflies hang in thick clusters on the pine and eucalyptus trees. Unlike many migratory species like whales and birds, which return to the same places year after year, the Monarchs that winter in Pacific Grove have never been there before. Scientists have several popular theories as to how the butterflies return to the same locale, but they agree that (not unlike our own psyches) the butterflies rely on instinct to guide them.
From all of us butterflies here at FCE, have a happy and transformative Samhain/Hallowmas/Halloween.
WITCHES’ BALL UPDATES
The Witches’ Ball is an evening of time travel, luscious delights, and an opportunity to contribute the good works of the Humane Society. Ticketsare on sale now via our website. They will also be available at the door on the night of the ball.
Please Note: In order to save printing costs, tickets will not be sold in stores this year.
* The ticket price will stay at $20.00 until the night of the ball.
* Tickets at the door will be $25.00.
Costumes:
We added some links to historic costume sketches from Silk Road cultures to the Witches’ Ball Costume Page. Countries include China, India, Italy, Western Europe, Byzantine Europe, the Middle East, and Celtic Europe.
Need to Rent a Costume? Natasha’s Attic in San Jose has long been a supporter of The Witches’ Ball. They provided many of the great costumes you saw at both the Bohemian Ball and the Fairy Ball. This year, they are ready to serve you for the Silk Road. (Check out the Italian Carnival Masks.) You can view their costumes via their on-line store or visit their store in person at 427 South Bascom Ave., San Jose, or call 877-722-5221. Special Halloween Hours are Monday-Friday 10:30am- 9:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm, & Sunday 11:00am-7:00pm. Directions to the store can be found on their website.
Need Some Simple Costume Ideas? Dress as gypsies (a skirt or pants, a vest, some beads, you’re done!), belly dancers, astrologers (a robe and a book), thieves (black and more black) and mystics (brown, silver or gold) are easy characters to create for both sexes. Throw a Chinese dragon kimono over some pants or put on a simple mask (under $10.00 at party stores) and come on down! Don’t stress about this folks - attitude, as you know, is everything. Finally, if you have Celtic, Pirate, Medieval or Ren. Fair costumes in your closets, feel free to wear those—you’ll fit right in.
Wondering what the heck is going on? Check out the Theme Page, where Gobi the camel appears by special permission of his owner & trainer.
Fundraising:
Don’t forget: This annual event (which cost over $3,000 to put on this year) raises money for both the Humane Society of Silicon Valley and the California Bat Conservation Fund. It also raises seed money for next year’s ball.
If you can’t make it to the Ball, but you would like to support either Full Circle or the Humane Society fund directly, you can do so on-line.
To Support Full Circle Directly: You can send money via our donations page.
To Support the Humane Society Directly: You can send them money via our Tickets page (without having to buy a ticket). This money will go directly into our FCE donation to them at the end of October. This donation is earmarked for the Animals With Special Needs Fund. Orphaned, sick, or abused animals are helped by this special fund for the medical unit.
See you there,
Sia & Snakemoon
Including Two More Witches’ Ball Sponsors
Masks and More: Looking for a mask to wear for Samhain, Halloween or to the Witches’ Ball? Then check out the unusual hand made bronze masks at Metalmorphosis. Among our favorites are the Crystal Veil mask, the Queen of Sheba and the Phoenix. The Bacchus mask has some wonderful details and the crystal drops on the Spider piece make for a very dramatic look. These bronze masks are light and easy to wear and the prices are very reasonable given the work that goes into making them. These folks also make jewelry and sun catchers. (FYI: Sia liked their work so much that she invited them to become a sponsor for the ball!)
Buying a special outfit for October? Check out Xcentricites & The Magic Wardrobe.
Wild Silk: The folks at Aurora have beautiful silk fabric colored with all natural dyes. They also offer these lovely wild silk wrist and foot warmers. These can make great Yule gifts for people who work on computers and those who need a light foot warmer in the evenings. Aurora also sells silk hair conditioner shampoo, silk flex crèmes, and neem oil.
Party On, Wayne! They call themselves the World’s Largest Party Superstore and when you heft their 500+ page catalog (38,000 decorations and favors) you think they might be right. Save a tree and check out the on-line store for ShinDigz by Stumps. Right now, they offer free shipping for orders over $75.00.
THE SILK ROAD – Get in the Mood for the Witches’ Ball
History, Myth and Meaning
Journeying along the Silk Road is an exciting opportunity to experience new and exotic things. Here are some places to start your adventure:
Chinese amahs: An outgrowth of the silk industry was the development of amahs (domestic servants). When the silk boom ended, these independent women formed sisterhoods, took anti-marriage vows, and devoted themselves to domestic service. Among these were the famous Chinese amahs who brought up generations of Hong Kong's most prominent sons and daughters.
We got the beat: The band Elvendrums (“a band of elves”) has written a song called Witches Ball. Check out the lyrics to get you in the mood …
Thieves and brigands and gangsters, oh my! Tattoos may be popular in China today, but they have a colorful history in the China of the past.
Death of the Yellow Emperor: Many legends surround the life and death of the Yellow Emperor, mythical founder of China. Now we may know more about him.
Hares traveling the Silk Road: British researchers are heading to a remote part of western China to understand why the same sacred symbol -- hares, chasing each other in a circle with the ears touching each other's heads -- has been found in Christian, Islamic and Buddhist cultures separated by such great distances and times.
The new Silk Road:Asian countries have signed a landmark treaty to create a highway that will connect Asia with Europe, like the ancient Silk Road trading route.
She who dies with the most beads wins: The word bead comes from the Anglo-Saxon bede, meaning prayer. The old Egyptian word for bead was sha and for luck, sha-sha. Beads have a history going back 40,000 years and come from every part of the world. They were used as currency and for barter. For insights into the role of beads along the Silk Road:
Venetian Glass: A Brief History
History of the Glass Bead
Chinese Eye Beads & Trade
Amulets & Seals in Ancient Persia
Bead Money in Ancient China
Eye Shaped & Horned Glass Beads
Other Bead connections:
Directory of California Bead Stores
Worldwide Index of Bead outlets
Basic Beading Tutorial
Using PowerPoint to make Bead Graphs and Handouts
Jewelry Making & Beading Projects
Bead Shows in the U.S.
Clues, views, history and fun: Reading (and web surfing) are a great way to wile away a fall night …
I’m just wild about Harry: Can’t wait for the next Harry Potter? Slake your hunger on this: JK Rowling is giving readers a brief peek at a new character: the Half-Blood prince.
The Singin' Tattie-Bogle: And what, you may ask, is that? Well, a Tattie-Bogle is a scarecrow, and the Singin’ Tattie-Bogle is a wee bit o’ fun reading from Scotland (aye, lad, an’ a gud land ‘tis …) about a scarecrow who was a bit too nice to the birds …
Giant Peaches and Chocolate Factories: For some insights into beloved author Roald Dahl, his fan site is great place to start. (They have a good picture of him as well!)
Founding fathers and forgotten founders: For those of a historical bent, here’s a fine read about Benjamin Franklin, the Iroquois, and the Rationale for the American Revolution. The complete book is available on-line.
Status Anxiety: The new release Status Anxiety is a humorous look at social standing and how we fit in. The book explores power, rank, reputation, and appearance which (unless you're extraordinarily self-sufficient and much more well-adjusted than most), we all react to in some fashion. (Even if you don't …)
Online Book Store: Sia would like to recommend you drop by a local online bookstore, Handee Books, LLC. Owned by her friend Scott, this on-line only store is privately owned and run by Pagan-friendly folks who know their books
The Right to Write: Souls who crave to write will find course information on that creative art at The Opening. One way to get started with writing is by putting your personal history on paper. Leave a legacy for your kids and other family members.
The unappreciated art of not writing books: Some people want to write, and some want to have written. An art project traveling the UK, Library of Unwritten Books, is collecting stories and ideas for books people would like to write, but never have and probably never will.
Go Postal – Win a Prize!: Check out the contest hosted by Harper Collins in honor of Terry Pratchett’s new book, “Going Postal”.
All about spiritual things
Preserving Wisdom One Book at a Time: As true as the sun rises, Pagans tend to be bibliophiles. In this era when a wide range of books on Pagan topics can be found at local libraries and chain bookstores, it is amazing how many old esoteric texts are out of print and increasingly hard to find. The Pagan Library Guild has recently been created with a twofold purpose: to help Pagan librarians organize and preserve collections of books, and to provide networking resources to keep track of hard-to-find volumes. Someday materials that are currently only found in private libraries may become available online at sites like the material stored at The Gnosis Archive.
Health and Healing: It will not come as a surprise that traditional methods for healing combine both care for the body and care for the land that sustains life. Generations before settlers from Europe came to the Americas, the native cultures were very aware of the power of good medicine from natural sources. With the opening of the Smithsonian’s newest museum this week in Washington D.C., the National Museum of the American Indian, hopefully many of these age-old secrets can be shared and preserved for the betterment of humankind.
Wear and tear on the spirit: One of the most challenging illnesses people all over the world deal with on a daily basis is stress. Each one of us experiences stress in a different way, both our own internal stress and the stress of those around us, but we all can make good use of various coping techniques to help manage our stress levels in day-to-day life.
Keeping the Traditions Alive: Nestled in the quiet countryside of Pennsylvania, Four Quarters InterFaith Sanctuary provides an escape from the rat race of the modern life by providing a spiritual oasis. Throughout the year, various events cater to a wide variety of spiritual paths.
Faery Ways: One spiritual path that has become of interest to many practitioners in recent years is the revival of Faery traditions. Far from the images of gossamer-winged Tinkerbells, the Faery traditions possess a strength and beauty that influence many modern Celtic-based spiritual practices.
Everything else
One stitch, Two stitch, Red stitch, Blue stitch: Some readers may remember Willow’s Place from the May newsletter when it was hosting a Pagan fabric swap for Quilters around the world. While the fabric swap is now closed, Willow continues to support our creative endeavors with every passing Sabbat by posting free Pagan cross-stitch patterns. Enchanting designs with clear instructions are currently available and Willow encourages us to, “Keep checking back to see what [we] can create next!”
SEX (and now that I have your attention): It is confounding that while we are bombarded with images of sexuality (particularly sexualized images of women), when it comes to voicing questions or concerns about our own sexuality we find ourselves bashful and tongue-tied. Lucky for us, Pamela Madison founded The Women’s Sexuality Center devoted to the sexual empowerment and fulfillment of women through education, healing, and support. In workshops, courses, and private sessions in sexual healing, empowerment, and tantra, the WSC assists women in raising their sexual self-esteem, experiencing greater orgasmic abilities, and increasing the connection between sexuality and spirituality. Pamela’s groundbreaking work also includes recovery from psychosexual traumas and female genital mutilation.
Your Cat Wants You To Vote: You can register to vote on-line via the Pagan Voting Project site. Send the link to a friend and encourage Pagans across the country to make their voices heard. The PVP website has information on the election, the candidates, the issues and more. Check out the Bat cardtoon and pick up a banner link while you are there. Are you hosting a Samhain event or a Halloween party? Then consider providing a Voter Registration Table, as well. What better way to honor our ancesters? After all, voting is a very Pagan thing to do.
We have hundreds of events listed on our California Community Calendar.
Here are just a handful:
· Butterfly parade in Pacific Grove
· Fireworks spectacular to celebrate the founding of Santa Cruz
· Highland Games in Loch Lomond
· Festivals: Arts and Olive, Basil Harvest
· Courses in witchcraft, runes, astrology, creating spell books
· Living the Qabalistic Tree of Life
· 4th International Conference of the Heart
· The Big Sur River Run
· The Bay Area Tarot Symposium
· Lots of Halloween and Samhain celebrations
· Oh…and there’s this little dance we’re putting on.
There are lots more, and new events are added every day. Click on the Full Circle California Community Calendar to access the list. If you want your event listed, please go to our calendar page and click on the link that says “Submit Event.” The on-line form is simple and very easy to use. Questions? Please contact our Networking Coordinator ScoutGhost at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net
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Ritual and Routine
Service to the dead on Samhain
Recently on the Witches Voice, columnist Wren commented on an article she read in the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader about church folk gathering to care for an abandoned graveyard. She went on to say that …
“Ya know, this is an idea that some Pagan group, coven, family or individual(s) could run within the local area. While many old graveyards are still the property and/or responsibility of churches, there are many that have been abandoned by the founding families or other groups.”
This reminded Sia of a Samhain practice I initiated a few years back after the tragedy of September 11th. My community offers public rituals on certain Sabbats, including Yule, Beltane, and Samhain. They have been doing this for many years, and have a standard structure for each of those rituals. When I first joined the group, I attended a few Sabbat planning meetings and was excited at the possibility of performing larger rituals that were a bit more theatrical than I was able to manage on my own—though Goddess knows, I tried! (I’m guessing that all the Virgin Dakini Mamas, my previous coven, still remember their Inanna-like descent, veil by veil, through the underworld of my small triplex.)
However, I soon discovered that ritual “planning” actually meant assigning roles, since the rituals themselves had been created years or even decades earlier. This group knew what they wanted, knew what worked for their community, and had already worked all the kinks out. So why mess with success? Because for me, the act of creating a ritual is, in fact, part of the magic—when in that creative flow, I often touch upon both inner and global truths that may be elusive under other contexts. Working with others to plan a ritual can crank this effect up even more. A few times, I tried to interject this sense of creating anew into the planning process, to evolve the established rituals with new elements that made them (to me) more relevant and fresh. While my contributions were always politely encouraged and even occasionally included, I eventually realized that I was missing the point.
The OneLook Dictionary defines ritual as “any customary observance or practice, or the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies.” It defines routine, on the other hand, as “an unvarying or habitual method of procedure.” I saw the sameness of these rituals as routine—habitual and even sometimes stale. However, what I came to realize is that, for many people, that very sameness is at the core of the ritual experience. For these people, ritual must be regular and consistent every year because that very uniformity is comforting and supports their feelings of connection and community.
Okay, got it. As my friend Francesca says, accept the conditions and rejoice (surely the challenge of this lifetime for me). I adjusted, shifting to a simple policy: participate in community rituals when I feel so moved, do my own thing when I need something different … which brings me to Samhain 2001. In light of the environment of fear and anxiety, the community felt strongly about doing a public Samhain (despite percolating concerns about terrorism). But for me, a trance to visit my deceased grandma seemed an inadequate tool to handle the shock and grief I was feeling. Sure, I love connecting with family on the other side, but I had a feeling Nana was much too busy dealing with all the new tenants of Summerland to sit and chat.
The magnitude of it—so many lives lost so suddenly, the fact that I’d watched those people die on TV, heard their screams, saw them fling themselves out windows twenty stories up, all of it —demanded something bigger than the narrow confines of a personal altar and a revisiting of personal loss. Those people in New York and Pennsylvania weren’t my kin, and yet I needed to honor them and acknowledge our connection as people. More importantly, I needed to open myself to the experience of pain and loss that occurs across this planet every day, because that morning’s tragedy was born of a million similar tragedies. Painful, soul searing losses that did not make the news, and were suffered out of sight of the public.
And so I found myself, along with two friends, in a small, local graveyard here in Marin County, adjacent to one of the larger, well-tended cemeteries. This section is older than the rest, with an abandoned feel to it. We made little altars out of nuts and berries and leaves which we could leave for the woodland creatures that enjoy this quiet place. We then did something no one had done for a long time: we cleaned. Three trash bags full of broken bottles, papers, and milk cartons went into our collection, the residue of occasional visitors looking for a place to hang out, smoke some dope, whatever. As we cleaned, we read the names on the headstones aloud, considered the owners, and wondered about their lives, loves, and accomplishments. What is remembered lives.
Later, as the afternoon drew to a close, we lay upon the ground and tranced a visit to the Land of Youth, where instead of asking for comfort for ourselves, we gave comfort to the newly dead. My grandmother was pleased. What is remembered lives.
At the end of our trance, a cemetery employee came driving by and leapt out of his car, shouting, “Hey, you, what are you doing over there?” Now, many of my community expressed concern about this graveyard idea because they anticipated trouble of some sort (“Witches in a graveyard? They’ll never allow that …”). For a moment, this looked like an unpleasant end to a very magical day. Instead, I sat up and told the truth. “We’re here to celebrate the Day of the Dead. We’ve been cleaning the area,” we held up the bags, “and now we’re meditating on the people who are buried here.” The uniformed officer stopped in mid-reprimand, apologized for interrupting us, and walked quietly back to his car.
As the light slid away and the gray day gave way to night, we gathered up our things and walked out, calmed, grounded, and grateful to have been of service. I have returned to this ritual in the ensuing years; returned to the lovely graveyard with its 100-year old headstones, and its deer and jackrabbits; returned to Summerland, each time new. Returned to honor, to serve, and to remember.
What is remembered lives.
FCE Newsletter Staff:
SnakeMoon is the Editor-in-Chief of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached for comment at snakemoon@comcast.net.
Sia is the Publisher of the Full Circle Newsletter and the Council Leader for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at info@fullcircleevents.org.
Arianna G. is our new Copyeditor. Thank you, Arianna!
This month we enjoyed the assistance of contributing writers Arianna G, Juliaki, and Quill Mastercraft. Thank you all!
ScoutGhost is the Networking Coordinator for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net