Greetings to all Full Circle friends and members,
In this November edition of our newsletter we have:
Northern nights and sleeping earth
Sunsets come earlier and dawn reluctantly turns on the morning lights. The ground cools beneath our feet, running out barefoot for the mail sends you us shivering back inside. The cats want under the covers with you and the dogs don’t want to sleep outside. Hundreds of songbirds swirl overhead, take a bearing and head south with enviable precision. What do we do, as our Northern Hemisphere goes to sleep? The introspective season is upon us and darkness will ignite candles of primal memories within even the most prosaic among us. Hitch your wintering heart to a cold, bright star and keep the inner lights a-sparkle.
Labrys
GAIA’S GUARDIAN AWARD WINNER FOR 2005
Full Circle is proud to announce that United Animal Nations is the winner of our 2005 Gaia’s Guardian Award. The Gaia's Guardian Award is given to local heroes & heroines for "Outstanding work benefiting Mamma Gaia and her creatures". UAN has received this award for their work rescuing animals after Hurricanes Katrina & Wilma. This award comes with a plague from Anubis Engraving and a $250.00 check from Full Circle Events.*
Previous Winners Include:
California
Bat Conservation Society
Wildlife Center
of Silicon Valley
Debra Noel
Officer Christine
Franco
In previous years, this award would have been presented at the Witches'
Ball, a charity fundraiser we hold for our local Humane Society. FCE did not host a ball this year;
therefore, we will be sending UAN the award plaque and a check for
$250.00. We will also build a web page
on our site to celebrate this event and this group's wonderful work.
UAN wrote a lovely response to our members upon receiving word of this award:
“Thank you so much for granting this honor to UAN! It
means a lot to us to be recognized for our work. Although we are widely known
for our disaster relief program, the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), we
are strong advocates for animals in all situations. For example, through our
"A Better Choice" Campaign, we encourage members and others to make
decisions in their daily lives that can help improve the well being of animals
and the environment.
I will look forward to receiving the check and plaque, and we will display it
in our office with pride!”
Communications Director, UAN
Congratulations to United Animal Nations and their hard working volunteers from the members and Council at Full Circle.
Sia
· The money normally comes from the Witches’ Ball’s proceeds. This year’s award proceeds have been donated by various FCE supporters, among them F. Caso, J. Pakozdi, J&L Ray and Yours Truly.
Weighing In on Faith: From anthropology to psychiatry, everyone has something to
say on religion. Faces
in the Clouds is an anthropologist’s theory that religion makes the
world over in the human image. In other words: anthropomorphism run wild. It’s a pity he can’t argue it out with M.
Scott Peck, recently deceased psychiatrist, whose book People of the Lie
insists on personifying evil. Did the
“devil make him do it” or is his God a shrink?
Did Peck’s books help
people, or booksellers? His “road”
may indeed be less traveled and for some, wavering at the end. But we are Not
in Kansas Anymore as America is being transformed by interest in
magic. Terry Pratchett hasn’t been in
Kansas in a long time; and now he is answering the call
of the wild at a Witchfest, maybe attendees can get him to sign a copy of
his latest books: “Thud” and
the childen’schildren’s
companion book titled “Where’s My Cow?” and, oh yes, let us not forget the Board Game. But we can’t all live in
Discworld and the present needs defining, especially as the American Dream
seems more of a Bait and Switch
game.
This just in: Terry Pratchett recently had to cancel his signing tour in Dublin, Ireland after experiencing angina. He is now out of the hospital and resting at home.
Books to Movies: Fear and Loathing?? Philip
Pullman thinks the films based on the Narnia
series likewise offer one thing and deliver another. . Or is he just peeved over his own book
to film transition?
Pagan shopping
In with the new and out with the old: Some Pagan traditions celebrate New Years as the winter rushes in, others are preparing for Yule; what better time to spruce up with some especially Pagan purchases? Make a clean sweep with the lovely products of Broom Magic. Cook up some potions, or nifty individual portions of soup and chili to combat winter’s chill in a cauldron made for one. It is the season to merry it up with candles, but to keep the fire danger low, this charming combo of fire and water is perfect for dorms and other no-flame zones.
Furry, finny, and feathered Folk
Spoiling the pets:
With the inside time of year upon us, heaping love and nurture on the pets comes naturally. . Make your dog’s day and give the cats reason to purr.
Meanwhile, clean
up
in the Katrina zone continues, and the needs
of animals
continues to be highlighted.
What beloved animals give to humans, we now need to
repay. . On another note, Legal protections are getting more attention
abroad, are such updates in the future for American pet owners?
Arts and crafts
Getting it on paper: Time to update that Book of
Shadows? ? Starting
a Little Book of
Shadows for the wee witch? ? What
could be more crafty
and magical than making
your own ink to write those rituals and spells? With a gift-giving season on its way, put your designing mind to
work with stencils or beads. Your decorations
for thefor the season
can warm up an evening of celebration such as as corn dollies which
are both for beauty
or
ritual use.
All about spiritual things
Pagan Time and Space:
There are many traditions of modern Paganism, and if anything is in
common, it is they they have a different focus on time
than the mundane calendars we all hang upon our walls. Astrological cycles,
or Greek
schedules of Olympiads are
only the beginning of a
plethora of celebrations. Once the
day is selected, the question becomes how to hallow the space
Sometimes there is conflict on directions and elements for those who cast
circles. . Perhaps the necessity for those
associations is found in whom
one worships? Once we are outside
the sway of ritual, where does Pagan faith intersect with day-to-day actions and ethics,
and does the magic
of words inform our every moment?
Bird Flu Impending: If you thought cleaning the
parakeet’s cage was the worst
thing you’d ever have to do with birds,
think
again. Europe is seeing bird to bird
transmission now and we wonder just how long it will be until this disease makesdisease makes
the jump
to humans? And where is America
in line for vaccine?
If Mama Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody
Happy: : Women rock the world
and the cradle and healthier women make a healthier world. Protecting women
from threats
outer and inner
will nurture all of us, but lets not over-do that nurture at the table.
Greening Up:
A more holistic and herbal view of health continues to gain adherents,
and its not all old
news; both researchers
and psychologists are are getting
into the “greening world.”
Heroic Age Discoveries Abound: Whether Viking lore or Homer fires your imagination, archaeology is digging up the past in spectacular fashion: Egil Skalla-Grimsson’s grave and the tomb of Odysseus are found. Newly ferreted out secrets of Delphi suggest it might have had a Stonehenge-like purpose as well as being an oracle site.
Some Kids Have All the Luck: The Kruze boys of Norway dug up the back yard while playing and found 1,200 year old Viking treasure, we want them on our team next scavenger hunt!
Keeping to the “Olde” Ways? Making wine and being authentically old school: brew like an Egyptian! And just how old is that recipe for stew that you are using?
Breakfast time? If you are calling it “French Toast” maybe you should ask the nice Roman cook if you have it right? Bring the past into the present with the Society for Creative Anachronism, learning history the fun way!
Pagans and the Law
Court Limits Overruled: The Indiana Court of Appeals today upheld the rights of parents to expose their children to Wicca, a contemporary Pagan religion. The ruling came as a result of a custody dispute, where one divorced parent wished to bar the other from exposing their child to Wicca.
Pagan-Friendly Paralegal Aid:
Full Circle is publishing this notice as a public service announcement. We do not endorse commercial activities, and we always advise our members to be careful and cautious when in dealing with strangers:
This lady has offered to help Full Circle members in the Bay Area of California with their Family Law needs. Her services are low cost, and she is happy to set up a fee schedule, if necessary. I have talked to her and she is Pagan friendly and would be happy to assist gay and polyamorous clients, as well as those in other alternative communities. She speaks both Spanish and English.
She writes: My name is Carolina Cruz and I have my degree as a paralegal in Family Law. I've been helping people for the past 11 years. One woman came asking for help leaving her abusive husband, who beat her and told her he would take the children and even the clothes off her back. I helped her to file her divorce papers, custody papers, and restraining order. I then shared with her my own story of survival and how I overcome my guilt and found the strength to go forward.
I opened my paralegal business in the wake of layoffs following 9-11 and I have been helping those who need aid. I do not only focus on those who can pay me the sky high prices, but those who are not financially stable and who need more than just papers filled out. I have become somewhat of a counselor and someone who can lend an ear. I call to check prices for legal aid in my county and make sure my prices are lower and I even make payment arrangements.
I fill out all the paper work for divorce, custody, child support, change of name, modification of court orders, and restraining orders. I am available to my clients 24 hours a day because sometimes I need to file a restraining order at midnight because of a domestic problem or emergency. Please call me if you need assistance: Carolina Cruz (408-417-8886 or fax at 408-516-8273)
Creating community
Web Copyright Issues: The facility of information transfer compounds ethical questions and stealing among Pagans is rampant, especially in newsgroups, messages boards, blogs and zines. It often it results as much from carelessness or ignorance as it does from improper intent. So here is a short primer of how to quote from a work and not steal:
One can quote a paragraph or two from a work on the net, but not the entire piece, and a link should always follow. The author's name should be listed (along with the group they belong to, or wrote it for, if relevant). The link should be given so that people want to read the rest can do so. (Please see our monthly newsletter for examples of how to do this). Add in the author's email, if you can, so that people can respond to their work directly.
If you have permission to quote an entire Internet piece then say "Reprinted with permission of the author". The author's name, and contact information should be present so that people can check that for themselves.
The net makes it far too easy for lazy people to steal and the situation is worse regarding art. This is one reason why so many Pagan authors don't like to share their work on the Internet.
Please see these articles as recommended reading in regard to quoting from printed works and Internet works, and/or copying for use:
The Internet, Paganism, and Copyrightsby Trish Telesco
Writers, Farmer, Witches & Copyright by Maggie Shayne
Theft on the Pagan Web by Fritz Jung
Freedom of
Information and Supporting Pagan Creators 1.5 by IssacIsaac Bonewitz
Pagan Writers, Artists and Musicians Band Together To Protect Copyright by Charles Arnold (and I quote from that last article)
"Therefore, we wish to inform the Pagan community that we, individually and collectively, will, from this day forth, act in support of one another. If we find the creative work of a person posted or copied in some other manner and we have any suspicion whatsoever as to whether the creator has given permission for the display of this work, we will notify that person immediately. If we find obvious violations of copyright, we will immediately demand that such piracy end immediately. If our honest and reasonable requests that such copyright infringement ends meet with no success, we will immediately report this illegal activity to the appropriate legal authorities. And, if violations continue, we pledge to fully support one another in whatever legal recourse proves necessary, whether this consists of filing criminal charges or initiating a civil proceeding."
Stealing is wrong - it's that simple. It's wrong,
even if you give it away for free, because unless you have created something yourselfsomething yourself it
is not yours to give.
Sia
http://www.fullcircleevents.org
This just in: Alert from the UGA
Pagan Student Association regarding a woman posing as the writer, Dj
Conway:
I'm posting t his because I
recently left a comment of DJ Conway’s website and got this reply: :
"Thank you for
writing. The best thing anyone could do to help me stop this
Dusty is to make it
widely known that she is a fraud and guilty of identity
theft. As you can tell by the photos, there is no
resemblance. I would love
to see her ostracized by
the entire Pagan community. I can't
afford to go to
Georgia and hunt her
down. The last I knew she was in
Lexington, NC. She is into drugs, alcohol, and blood oaths, none of which I
would do. Feel free topass around my website address. Perhaps in this way, we can stop her. I
don't have the money or direct evidence to have her arrested and taken to
court. I do know that she
did claim to teach at your university at one time.
Blessings,
D. J. Conway
http://djconway.com
We have hundreds of events listed on our California Community Calendar.
Here is just a handful:
· Sacred Sounds & Songs of the Seasons
· Sandhill Crane Festival
· Clay and Glass Festival
· The Circle of Life: The Crone
· Casting Call for Magical Acts Ritual Theatre
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.
Essay: In Service
Scarcity and Abundance in an Unbalanced World
Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich has written another book, titled Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream. From the blurb, I suspect I don’t need to read it, since it’s ostensibly about “the shadowy world of the white collar unemployed.” The Gods know that I’ve visited that quadrant of the galaxy way too many times, and occasionally fear of being teleported back there unexpectedly. However, the publication of this book reminded me that I have her earlier one, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America in my “to be read” pile, so I pulled it out and promoted it to the top of the list.
Written in 2000 and published in 2001, NickleNickel
and Dimed follows Barbara’s adventures in the world of the working
poor. Her challenge was to get one (or
usually more) minimum wage job and try to live on her earnings for a month or
two. In all three attempts—waiting
tables in Florida, cleaning houses in Maine, and working retail in
Minnesota—she found, as a college educated woman with a PhD, that it was
impossible to live on what she made not matter how cleverly she managed her
expenses, and in one case she actually attempted (unsuccessfully, I might add)
to obtain housing and food assistance from public agencies to make it through
the week.
Living as I do in the Bay Area, I am intimately acquainted with the idea of homeless people, who are anything but invisible: visit the area around San Francisco’s Civic Center or Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley and you’ll find lots of people shooting up, relieving themselves against walls, mumbling darkly, or even acting threatening to passersby. But the “working poor” are another thing entirely. They are here among us, in restaurants and gas stations and grocery stores, struggling by on minimum wage, which is currently $6.75 per hour in California (higher than the federally mandated $5.15/hour). This works out to a grand total of $14,040 per year. Most of the working poor work their asses off to make enough money to not survive on, providing the rest of us with the services that support a lifestyle we take for granted. In effect, as Ehrenreich points out, these folks subsidize the lifestyle of the rich, and, increasingly even that of the struggling middle class.
Recently, I discovered that members of my coven—a group comprised of progressive liberals who march against injustice at the drop of a hat, are sickened by the tacit racism inherent in the Hurricane Katrina fiasco, and suffer deeply over Iraqi casualties—several of these women employ maids, euphemistically referred to as “housecleaners.” These are smart, able-bodied women, some single, some married, some who work, and others who don’t work at all. I sat quietly listening to them laud the talents and (more disturbingly) the value-for-the-dollar of their respective household help—costs suggesting that these were undocumented minority workers—and felt as if I was having some sort of out-of-body experience. Now, I’m not here to excoriate someone who has made the decision that they need help, just to observe something about myself: the way they were talking about their workers somehow did not jive with my image of these women as enlightened progressives. It also didn’t jive with my image of them as enlightened Pagans. Why not?
Let me say right now that I truly appreciate the situation that some hardworking folks find themselves in: workplace demands of 40 to 50 hours (or more) per week; the care of one or more children, often a single parent; the sandwich generation’s responsibility toward parents with health or memory problems. Clearly, some people are damn lucky to find 10 minutes a day to pee; for these folks, help is not a luxury, but a necessary, and economical help is crucial. Moreover, for this group of employers, the crisis of the working poor is not invisible. The first time your housekeeper, child care provider, or home health aid shows up 2 hours late because the bus didn’t arrive, or quits because she can no longer afford to live in your community, her economic problems become your economic problems.
Hurricane Katrina showed us a world of people—many with full-time jobs—who were too poor to get out of the way of death, even when they had several days’ warning. Isn’t New Orleans the town that never sleeps, the land of Emeril and Winton Marsales, the Big Easy? Who knew it was also the black hole of poverty? And if we could miss it there, can we miss it here? While many of us perform elaborate abundance rituals and make offerings to Lakshmi so as to better navigate these difficult economic times and quickly resume our assumed privileges (Paying bills on time? Holiday giving? Annual vacations? Household help?), are we missing the even harsher reality of the person standing next to us? Maybe. But then. I’m biased because, despite my veneer of middle class success and the well-paying job I currently have; I have had a small taste of what it’s like to be the working poor, and invisible to boot.
With the exception of a few months here and there, I’ve been employed since I was 15 ½—yet for much of the last 8 years, I’ve paid somewhere in the neighborhood of 58-64% of my net income on housing. (Ehrenreich makes it clear in her book that out-of-control housing costs are the leading cause of poverty among the working poor). I receive no support from my son’s father, a man who lives a scant 20 minutes away and has, for much of the time since our divorce, made more money than me. (N.B. for those of you not familiar with the vicissitudes of child support, it’s a lot more complicated than the simple exhortation “take him to court.” The legal costs of suing for child support can be prohibitive; the subsequent emotional consequences from an irate ex-spouse are often visited upon the innocent child.) Yet, at many points in the last few years, I lived on coupons, took in boarders, and went without dental care. I made sure my son never went to bed hungry, but I certainly did. Yet on the surface, I looked a lot like my more affluent friends: college degree, functioning car, and computer (a necessary tool of my trade). It’s just that, no matter how hard I worked, there were times when I simply couldn’t keep pace with the startling costs of housing, childcare, health care, and transportation—the burdens that make the working poor stay poor. And as I learned in 2001, one disaster is all it takes to shift the balance from functional to crisis: as I struggled to keep my new consulting business afloat after the stock market took a plunge, three of my clients were purchased, and therefore no longer needed my services. I supported two people on $27,000 that year, below the living wage figure of $30,000 issued by the Economics Policy Institute. By February of 2002, when I had sent the last invoice to the last client for the last meager portion of work, with no more projects on the horizon, I had also applied for dozens of positions, from those in my professional field to (later) grocery clerk, temp secretary, anything. No dice. I was scared and my son was scared. It was a truly scary time.
Finally, I did what any good Witch would do. Having tried to help myself, I asked for help from the Goddess, and bless her, she provided, asking me in turn to take a leap of faith that led my career in surprising new directions. But, what if she hadn’t answered—or if the answer had been “No”? Living in my car was only a month or two away.
These days, though I still need to be frugal, my life has more financial stability. Nonetheless, I wonder how I am going to pay for my son’s college education. I also wonder … how does this abundance in my life and in the lives of those around me, make spiritual sense in a world where so many people can’t afford food, clothing, medical care, or the simple ability to step out of harms way? There’s no easy answer. I’m not suggesting that my very fortunate neighbors here in Marin to throw away their possessions and start living in tents—this won’t make it any better for their Hispanic gardener, and he’ll lose them as a source of revenue.
I appreciate that, in another venue, this would be the perfect place to make a passionate plea for better government (vote Abundance for ALL), and to harangue my readers not to shop at Wal-Mart. (Hey! Totalitarian régimes treat political prisoners better than Wal-Mart treats their employees!) But in this newsletter, we explore the magic that comes when we change our consciousness at will, so I am moved to explore whether there are subtle, yet powerful, shifts that need to be nursed to fruition, day to day? Can such shifts be fostered at the altar AND the checked when out of line? Granted, change often looks big, dramatic, and unexpected; but those explosive transformations are generally built on millions of tiny moments that get obscured by the headlines. The Civil Rights Movement was filled with court rulings and George Wallace, and battles between Freedom riders and police dogs. But all of that was built upon tiny unsung instances when a white counter girl said “the hell with it” and served coffee to a black man in a “white’s only” diner. I’ve decided that my first step will be simple: make the invisible, visible—to myself, and to others. A few practices I can start with:
· Whenever I’m in a business where I suspect they pay minimum wage, treat the employees with courtesy and respect—“Sir” and Ma’am”—even if they are young or not particularly helpful. Hell, they’ve got no training, they’re probably tired and hungry, and they are treated like crap by everyone. Courtesy and compassion cost me nothing and enrich everyone. (Ehrenreich observed that poor people often subconsciously agree with our cultural assessment that they are poor because they deserve to be poor. Change their minds.)
· Tip at 20%. Period. If I can’t afford to leave that for my meal, maybe I shouldn’t be eating out—and, in my very frugal universe, that is usually true. But when I decide to eat out, budget in fair share for the people who will help make that evening happen.
· Feed and water my workers: if I have help, whether it be gardeners, handy men, housekeepers, whatever—make sure they have plenty to drink. If they work more than a few hours, make them lunch. If they’re such a great bargain (and don’t we all try to get bargains, even when we’re hiring someone? fuel the deal with food. Often lunch for these workers is a candy bar or a bag of chips.
· Give people rides. This one is hard for me, as a single woman—I never pick up hitchhikers. But hey, if I see a woman with a couple kids waiting at a bus stop, why not give them a ride? The poor woman probably doesn’t have the energy to mug me!
· Get to know my neighbors. As I am well aware, struggling people turn up in unexpected places and look a lot like everyone else. Notice if there are kids spending the day alone while their mom works (because she can’t afford child care); notice older people and see if there are ways you can help them out.
· Listen to your friends to determine whether their money complaints mask some more serious concerns. When I was at my worst, only one person seemed to really get it. At a particularly dicey point for me, she spoke to her husband, a man I had met once. They offered that, though they didn’t need to hire me right now, they’d be happy to advance me payment for some future project. I burst into tears. It wasn’t the offer of money (which I didn’t take); it was the recognition that I living on the edge and their clear willingness to throw me a rope. Suddenly, I didn’t feel alone, which is how you feel when you’re invisibly struggling.
· Observe and own my prejudices about the working poor (and remember when I skirted their ranks): they aren’t educated, they aren’t smart, they aren’t competent, they are lower class
· These people work hard for their money. Acknowledge the hardship and treat them with dignity and respect.
Unlike more ascetic spiritual paths, Paganism has no prohibition against prosperity, no “camel through the eye of a needle” axioms. Indeed, much of our practice focuses on celebrating, appreciating, and enjoying life’s bounty in the here and now, rather than waiting for a “reward in heaven.” This is the world we seek to manifest, one filled with abundance rather than scarcity, although we generally invoke that abundance on our own behalf. From this self-referential standpoint, we can sometimes lose perspective about the larger scarcity-prosperity imbalances all around us, and fail to see the costs of an imbalance that, if it were occurring in the nature world, would be a milestone of the extinction process. In this blinded state, we never really see our own richness, nor the poverty of others, even when it’s standing right in front of us, pen in hand, ready to take our order.
FCE Newsletter Staff:
Labrys is the Editor-in-Chief of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached for comment at Labrys6@mac.com.
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.
Charlynn is our new Copyeditor & Grammar Witch. Thank you, Charlynn!
ScoutGhost is the Networking Coordinator for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net.
Snakemoon is the Senior Writer of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached at snakemoon@comcast.net.