Autumnal Equinox

The first day of Fall!
I truly love summer but decorating wise I live fall. There is always something to do..and cook. It is a time when the day is equal. Light and Dark are of the same about before night gains it advantage.

Religiously this is the time when The Horned God has his full crown of horns. Also known as the stag phase. Where he is now a mature man.

The below picture is how I feel the Horned god is...just a different face, each pertaining to the appropiate time of year.

This is also the time when (how I my mmind works) The Holly King's leaves (face) become longer, larger and more mature.

This is a great time for balancing things in your life and evaluting their importance.

Love && Blessings,
Mrs. Ebonee

Ok, lets start with what I missed first...

Ok, Mabon! Ah, Mabon!
The Second Harvest and a  great one at that! It is the original Thanksgiving and a good time to reflect on the past year with not only thankfulness and great hopes for the future but it is also a time to rid of the things both spiritually and physically that you no longer need. It is a time to prepare for the cold as well as a time for school to begin. There are so many things spiritually and physically great about this Sabbat as well as the time of year.

One of the many things I do during this time is, and one of my favorites, is to decorate. I pull out the table clothes is red and gold, change the curtains to golds, blues, and dark greens. My table is adorned with (thanks to the fiance') fresh seasonal flowers, and pumpkins and gourds. My daughter keeps looking at them saying when are we going to get hers so she can decorate. I cant wait! And I am sure neither can she. I have loaded my kitchen with fresh veggies for fresh tomato soup, and plenty of pasta for chicken noodle soup. I am, while dragging my feet, preparing for our fireplace for the many times it will be lighted.

This time of year is not just for eating though. Mabon is also about preparing for winter. So what does that really mean? Pulling out the winter coats, seeing what needs to be re bought, who needs new clothes, preparing emergency weather supplies, etc.

 But it is not only this! It is a time to prepare spiritually for the things ahead and acknowledging the past.
Mabon, is a Pagan/Wiccan Thanksgiving and in saying that you are reflecting over all the great things you have accomplished since this time last year. This time last year, I was in school (though I need to go back), which was a major step towards leaving the dead end jobs of fast food. I got engaged and started the long journey towards eating healthy, cutting allot of processed foods out my life, and exercising not just because I have no car but towards an obtainable goal. Over the course of the past year, I have made significant, desperately needed cuts away from the destructive nature of my father and his wife and have realized that there was a time when I needed them in my life and that it is now time to release them from not only mine but my daughter's life as well. That step alone has been a very hard emotionally but well needed step in me becoming a better person, mom, and wife.

Ok, so I have acknowledged the past and have been thankful for the present, now what?
Now, you prepare the ground for the next blessings and trials in your life. As a farmer, they don't just harvest the foods and neglect the land. They prepare it for the long, cold winter. They till, redeposit need nutrients back into the ground and allow it rest. This is what we must do with our minds, bodies, and souls. We have gone a year and survived onto the other side. Now we have to refortify ourselves in praise to the God/desses for the many things that have guided us through, we deposit in ourselves the plans and goals that we wish to see come forth in the following months and seasons. I know some of you are thinking, I thought that is what Imbolc is for, to plant the goals/seeds that we want to come into fruition. Imbolc is time break up the ground and waken it from Her peaceful slumber. If you cook in a kitchen but do not prepare it for the next meal how are you to cook the next? You can't. You would have to start from where you last left off. That is in essence what Mabon is. A time to prepare for the next great journey of our lives.

So what have, or are, you preparing your bodies, minds, and souls to accomplish next?

Love && Blessings,
Mrs. Ebonee

Sorry for being away so long!

Man, has time past!

I truly appologize for not having made any recent posts. Between this wedding that is steadily approaching family drama that has led to my father and his wife not being invited to the wedding, my not working which means I am applying like crazy, and lastly but not last on my mind, my daughter and her cheer leading I have been one busy person. Not saying that I have not had time for you all. I have been doing better on my facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/africanamericanwiccan.

Now let's se what have I missed. I did not post about Mabon, the Autonmal Equinex, and any of the new moons. So I will break all these up into new posts to make them a bit more organized.

But on this post, I will discuss my wedding plans as of yet.

I am wearing a beautiful white mermaid style dress, or fit and flair. (Which I am happy to say that I have lost 2 dress sizes since our engagement. Yay!) I am going to wear, Goddess willing, a hot pink veil, and matching flat shoes. I really am not a heel person unless I can find some pink kitten heels.
The ceremony I have added an African/Hawaiin hand washing ritual that we will do at the beginning of the ceremony,


"

Both Hawaii and Africa subscribe to the tradition of Hand Washing as a purification ritual before the wedding ceremony begins, and as a prelude the acceptance of inevitable forgiveness that will be required during the course of a marriage. The Hand Washing ceremony is a very unique way to add a special element to your wedding ceremony.

HAND WASHING CEREMONY In the Hawaiian tradition, whenever a significant spiritual passage in life is made, you are called to "hiuwai." This transition is honored by a ritual cleansing of your spirit in a sacred body of water. Today, we will use ocean water as it has always been used for purification and bringing lives and souls into balance, as your lives are influenced and linked with the tides and sea. OFFICIANT pours the water from the koa bowl, pitcher or shell onto BRIDE and GROOM’S hands individually to wash. BRIDE and GROOM, the washing of your hands most importantly represents a complete and utter forgiveness of yourselves. Recognizing that all you have gone and grown through up to this moment has been necessary for you to stand here with the depth, capacity, abilities and compassion to love one another as deeply as you do...
(OFFICIANT pours the water onto BRIDE and GROOM’S hands so  that they each in turn can wash each other's hands.) BRIDE and GROOM, now you are asked to wash each other’s hands as a promise  that throughout your long lives and marriage you will continue to find it in your hearts to forgive one another no matter what arises. At this time,  I ask you to recognize that forgiveness is a vital conduit for your love to flow through. Now you may dry each other's hands with the tenderness you will show  each other throughout your long lives together    "

 We have changed our cermony site to his family church, which though I am no longer a Christian, I am respecting his wishes to have it there.

We will still have our jumping of the broom which willl end the ceremony. And I am also thinking of having our hands tied prior to the actual jumping to signify that we are while jumping across. I am still thinking on that one.

(Excuse the messy bed)

As far as wedding stresses, there are plenty but with 33 days till our Big Union, it is to be expected.

Love && Blessings,
Mrs. Ebonee

The values/morals I stand by...A time for review

This question is asked alot by those who, first, automatically assume that if you don't worship the Christian God you worship the Devil; and second, presume that I am an anarchist. Here is a pretty standard list of things/goals I try to keep in my life as well as my daughters.

The Goals that I try to attune my Life to:
1. Know yourself.
2. Know your Craft.
3. Learn.
4. Apply knowledge with wisdom.
5. Achieve balance in your life.
6. Keep your words in good order.
7. Keep your thoughts in good order.
8. Celebrate life!
9. Attune with the cycles of the Earth.
10. Breathe and eat correctly.
11. Exercise the body.
12. Meditate.
13. Honor the Goddess and God.


So what does it all mean? I don't see 'Thou shall not lie, kill, steal, covet thy neighbor, commit adultery nor honor thy parents.

So because I don't have specific rules stating these specific things does that mean I don't follow them? The Ten Commandments were created because the people of that time had no moral compass or should I say an eschewed compass.
I have not recited to my daughter one time the commandments but she knows it is not good to lie to someone nor is it good to steal.
The Commandments are what every person should know. If you look at poeple the Biblical way, no person is inherantly good. All have sinned and must be constantly condoned, punished, chasticed, and reminded of the right thing to do. This theology is causing a need for rules to be written. The heathens of the time had no such written commandments yet when Jesus came to Earth he repeatedly used the heathens in his parables as what to do and how to act.

Now, what many people don't notice is that I included eating, breathing, and excersing into my goals or guidelines for my life. Why would these be important? All of this helps you to become a better person. How can you worship the Goddess and you are on an oxygen tank? How can you enjoy the Goddess gifts of honey and cakes if you are diabettic? You cant! You must take care of your physical body just as much as your spritual walk. Yes, our Estabets and Sabbats are closely linked with food but it for the nourishment of our bodies not to destroy them.

When we attune our bodies to Nature we should not just go through the motions of preparing the rituals or spells but connect on a deeper level of what is truly going on around us. Even though it is in the mid 90's here in Ga, I can still see Mother Gia preparing for her great slumber. I see the leaves falling and notice the declining number of squirrels running about. I know that the Solstice is approaching and it is a time for change. A time for renewal.

I put these up to not just prove that yes, we have a moral compass. But I put these up to also remind us of the things we should refresh in our lives. Mabon is steadily approaching, is it time to review this list?


Love&&Blessings,
Mrs. Ebonee

Acceptance...in the African American community?

Ok, so we know that you are pretty open about your beliefs, but does the African American community really accept you?

It really depends on the open mindedness of the person. Many African Americans are so hard wired to believe that Christianity is our native religion purely based on the fact that it's the only one they know. Many fail, or rather not see that, Christianity was forced upon our people. Allot of African-Americans I know rather not dwell on the fact that we had a history outside the United States. They would rather skim over the fact that slavery happened and our people, our ancestors, we killed merely for not saying "I love Jesus." I truly think this is a sad thing when we do not know our own roots. At this day and age it's is merely a few clicks away to find our ancestral tree and glue the branches of our history together but many refuse. Many do not want to dwell on the "nastiness" of the past. I love knowing my history. I know that my great-grandmother was full blooded Blackfoot Indian and that she never converted to Christianity. She kept to her Shamanic roots and tried to pass it to all of her 8 daughters. I know that my Dad's side of the family is in the deep bayou of Louisiana and many practice Hoodou and Voodou and have kept it apart of their lives. These are the very things that many African Americans don't want to look and know about themselves. That they have strong magick running through their veins.

So to answer the question simply, does the African American community accept me? No, they don't understand that I choose magick over having to give penance to a God that was never truly mine. They say,"Why go so far back into your history when Jesus is so affluent in your life and the lives of your parents and grandparents?" And my answer is Magick is what draws me. Magick makes me more tolerant, understanding and educated in the ways of Nature than any Christian Bible every could. The Bible doesn't teach you to cherish the simple beauty of when a butterfly first comes out of it's cocoon or the song of the robins in Spring. Christianity looks toward Magick for that. And that is why I am following a more magickal path.

I don't expect understand many African-Americans to understand because they have been so assimilated to the mind set that Christianity is so "loving" and "accepting". Any religion that frowns on our own history of jumping the broom or wearing corsew shells. I have a problem.


Love&&Blessings,
Mrs. Ebonee

We know you're Wiccan but do you mesh other religiona?

"Faith isn't about perfect attendance to services, or how much money you put on the little plate. It isn't about going skyclad to the Holy Rites, or meditating each day upon the divine. It's about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better, nobler and kinder than you are. It's about sacrifices for the good of others--even when there's not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are." ~Jim Butcher

If you talk to other Wiccans you will find out that not everyone sticks to just one belief sytem and some doent even follow The Rede. ( I do follow it.) I incorporate Voodou and Christianity into my belief system. Voodou, Christianity, and Wicca? How in the world does that smoothly mesh together? I have been asked that frequently. Incorporating Christianity and Wicca is not as bad as one assumes. Many of the Christian holidays and Wiccan sabbats fall on the same days or same time periods, so it's easy to see how well the two meld together. Ok, you've melded Christianity and Wicca together; how in the world does Voodou fit? Voodou is a mix of Catholicism and African diaspora. In both Catholicism and African Diaspora, they are very heavy on saint and ancestral honoring. How can you worship god/desses, knowing their full story but you don't know your own lineage and what they believed? The reason I incorporate all three is because I am taking all the positives (and the negatives) and forming, what I feel, as the best way to worship not only the God/desses but as well my ancestors.

So how do you handle the Jesus is your Saviour "problem"? I have absolutely no problem worshipping Jesus because is a very good example for how everyone should live their lives. He made sure everyone knew that no one person or religion was held above the other. Of course, then you have the pitfall of him being seen as the only way to go to Heaven.

Christianity is very much a monotheistic religion, and also very inclusive. This meaning that the religion itself doesn't tolerate the worship of any outside idols/gods. Trying to explain to a preschooler the reasons behind 'church folks' not being accepting of any other religions or doctrines is a feat, and something I don't plan on even attempting to explain for some many years.

For me and my child, I feel the three religions are a great way of incorporating ancestoral honoring, god and godess worship with just knowing that there are no hard set rules or doctrines that confide us into something that we are not comfortable with.

The New/Dark Moon....what I did

First, sorry for being MIA the past couple weeks. It seems that over the last couple of weeks I have been battling some fae, things being lost and expensive things getting broken; and certain family memebers bringing in angery-icky attitudes. Things were just going hay wire.

So with this Dark Moon, I did a complete cleansing. Every entry way has a x made from olive oil and been sprinkled with blessed water from the last full moon. (I prefer doing any magickal at the witches' hour, midnight to 3 am, but because I have a kid and a fiance'. It's whenever I have peace, ie. naptime or he's at work.) I use baking soda (a good household item for 'soaking up' neg energy) and sprinkle it all over the carpet. (It is also good for the mundane of refreshing your home.) I adore and constantly use a variety of cone incense and oil incense in my home. Last night I didnt use any with any particular magickal properties but more of smellls that when someone walked in they felt at home. The house smelled like madarian oranges, fresh vanilla bean, sandalwood, and mulberry as soon as you walk in. The fiance' loved it. Bonus!

Wait! You can do magick during a Dark Moon? Yes! Of course you can! I observe all aspects of the Goddess: the Maiden (waxing), Mother (full), Crone (waning), and Dark Maiden/Mother (new). Not everyone goes along with this, but this is what I have learned and will follow. (For those wondering about how the God stages fit; he generally changes during the seasons not throughout the month.) Ok, so now that we know the Goddess  stages what magick can be done when there is no visible moon? Just because the moon cannot be seen doesnt mean that the Goddess' power/presence is any less. Some traditions don't allow/do any magickal workkiing but rather rededication ceremonies, divination or meditation. Others, like myself, see this as a time to restart/refresh their homes, altars, and selves.

July 15th is the next Full Moon. What will I be doing? Blessing more water (I try to keep plenty on stock), and probably some divination, scying and tarot.

So that's all I have been up to. I promise I wont stay away so long because I have many ideas for new postings...And until then,


Love&&Blessings,
Mrs.Ebonee