Our 'About Page' starts with this statement. For a quarter of a century, we have practiced our brand of Wicca and taught it to the public regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, political orientation, health, and class. We see more similarities than separation among people, and transform our differences into strength. Inner Circle, in all it's incarnations, has always been inclusive and we maintain that stance even more so today. The High Priest of our group, Lord Mordred, (whom we affectionately called the Dark Lord) had many sayings we loved dearly... including this one: "Everyone has a right to the Goddess." Anyone who wishes to join us will have to accept that we may have a gay couple leading our ring... we may have a trans-gendered person paired with a partner leading our ring... and they will kiss one another, as is the way of our rituals. We already have plenty of priests and priestesses who have no issue with performing these rituals so it is not required, but if you wish to join us, you have to be accepting of this. The "it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" has NO place in our Wiccan coven. There is a Wiccan chant that seems like it's been around forever that says: We All Come From The Goddess We believe that 'We All Come From the Goddess' and since We are a part of Nature and We hold all things in Nature in reverence, We ourselves hold each other in reverence. This is a core belief of Wicca and anything else is completely incongruent with that belief.
Board of Elders, Inner Circle Sanctuary My So-Called Magical Life from Inner Circle Sanctuary SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 at 6pm This event is RSVP only. Please email us at innercirclesanctuary@gmail.com or message us here for location details. $10 donation or bring what you can afford. 100% of donations are given to charity. Just how magically do you live? Join us on our Facebook invite for magical tidbits until the event. Click here. Wine is relatively easy to make in today's world, but it hasn't always been so. Sometime in the far distant past, fermentation was a happy seasonal happenstance. The natural yeast on grapes brought about fermentation of the juice into wine and then into vinegar (if it wasn't drank first). This mysterious process, believed to be through divine intervention, was considered a gift from the Gods. Drinking this divinely intoxicating beverage allowed the drinker to take in divine energy. Thus, wine became an integral sacrament in religious rites, and still is today. I like the story of the origins of wine told about a King of Persia. He really loved grapes and wanted to eat them all year. His servants carefully stored grapes in jars so the king could eat them any time. One jar had grapes that seeped juice and started to ferment. When opened the odor and appearance of the fermented contents caused the jar to be marked poison. One of the kings wives had chronic nervous headaches and decided to kill herself by drinking the poisoned juice. She fell asleep, but when she woke she felt refreshed and had no headache. She finished off the jar of wine! She evidently had such a good time that the king ordered more of the grape juice “poison” to be made. He declared it to be sacred medicine. As improbable as this story sounds ( I'd have had a hangover, lol), grapes preserved as raisins would make a nice sweet wine. At some point in time the wild grape vines were domesticated and planted in vineyards; the grapes were fermented and stored in clay jars, and tree resins were added to prevent the must from turning to vinegar. Archaeologists believe this came about during the Neolithic period around 8500-4000 BC. They have found evidence that resinated wine (wine with wood resin), was being produced during this period (ca 5400-5000 BC) in fairly large amounts at Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the northern mountains of Iran. It was during this period that the growth of agriculture (particularly wheat and barley) and the invention of pottery made permanent settlements possible. These innovations were necessary for a sustainable year round food source and storage. They were also necessary for processing and storing wines. Egyptologists discovered 700 jars of resinated wine in the tomb of Scorpion I, one of the first Egyptian rulers (around 3150 BC). The development of narrow necked jars that could be sealed, were key to the storage and shipping of wine. By 3000 BC, the Nile Delta had transplanted vineyards and developed a thriving wine trade. The jars were inscribed with the year of the pharaoh’s reign, the vineyard location, the vintner’s name and the quality of the wine (good to very very good). Autumn Equinox is a time to “Eat, drink, and be merry,” to share and give thanks for the bounty of the harvest. Giving offerings and libations to God and Goddess is a ritual at least as old as agriculture and brewing. Every culture has one or more deities to whom they pay homage for the gift of brewing. One of the oldest is Nin-Kasi of Sumer, She was the brewer for the gods, who taught humans the art of brewing beer as well. Osiris, Egyptian God of the Dead was originally a god of vegetation and fertility. He taught the Egyptian people how to grow wheat and barley and of course the cultivation of grapevines. The main drink of Egyptians and Sumerians was beer which was brewed from bread and malted grain. Tenemet ,the Egyptian Goddess, originally associated with bread making, became Goddess of Beer and aids Osiris in his brewing. More famous for drinking and frivolity is the Greek God, Dionysus.He brings joy and divine ecstasy, and is also a vegetation, and fertility God. He is also known as Bacchus, the Roman God of wine and festivals. So eat, drink, and be merry in honor of the God and Goddess. Share your harvest, bread and wine with them in thanks for their bounty! Activities you might like to try:
By Lady Joyanna for our September 2017 newsletter Sources: The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond by Oz Clark
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer The Origins and Ancient History of Wine: Food and Nutrition in History by McGovern, Fleming, and Katz thedrinksbusiness.com The Third Week of September is National Indoor Plant Week. Here are some magical plants to have in your home. Houseplants can be a wonderful way to decorate your home. They add a touch of beauty to a windowsill, countertop, even in a dresser in your bedroom. “Particular benefits of interior plants include: Reducing carbon dioxide levels. Increasing humidity. Reducing levels of certain pollutants, such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide. Reducing airborne dust levels. Keeping air temperatures down.” (Benefits of Indoor Plants - Health Benefits of Plants to Humans) They can also be a way to de-stress. I find taking care of indoor plants is a way to soothe my soul when I am nervous or fidgety. I water them, remove any dead leaves, nurture them, and talk to them the whole time. I tell them how my day was, or the crazy thing that happened at work. I sound like the crazy plant lady, but talking to them is like talking to your pet, they can’t answer, but they always listen. Houseplants are a great way to start with plant magic, it doesn’t matter how much space you have, you can have at least one plant, even if the only space you have is on your computer desk. Just try to make sure it can get some sunlight, and doesn’t get too much or too little water. ![]() Aloe Aloe for example, is a relatively easy plant to take care of, and has some medicinal, as well as magical uses. I know a lot of people who use aloe for sunburn; whether it works or not, should be made on an individual basis. Aloe is said to protect against evil, and to bring good luck if hung over a doorway. If planted outside of your house, or along your property lines, it is said to keep intruders away. In some countries, aloe is used along with other herbs, lodestones, nuts and other ingredients, and woven into wreaths; sometimes even including pictures of Saints. The wreaths are then hung up in the home, bringing protection and encouraging luck. ![]() Rosemary Rosemary, along with being a great seasoning in stews, soups and potatoes, it also has many magical uses. As an incense, it can eliminate negativity. A sachet under your pillow can aid in a restful sleep by protecting the sleeper, and ward off nightmares. It is said that inhaling the sweet aroma, can improve memory and aid in memory retention, because it improves concentration and focus. Rosemary can also be used in healing spells for health, friendship, and heartbreak. It protects against hexes and can be used in banishing spells. In the bath, rosemary can help purify skin, and a rinse of rosemary tea will leave your hair with a beautiful shine and manageably soft. Rosemary can be used as a substitute for Frankincense. ![]() Gardenia Gardenia is a wonderfully aromatic flower that are generally grown outside as a shrub or a tree, but they can also be grown as an indoor plant. They prefer partial shade and the soil should remain moist, as it prefers humidity. These creamy white flowers are sometimes included in a bouquet for hospital patients, as it aids in healing. Dried gardenia leaves can be added to a love incense. Gardenia assists in female power, comfort, compassion and harmony, and emotional well-being. Some say one of the advantages of gardenia, is to help in spirituality and traveling to the astral realm. ![]() Bamboo Almost everyone is familiar with the Bamboo plant. Some call it Lucky Bamboo. “In the wild, 99 percent of a panda’s diet consists of leaves, stems and shoots of the bamboo plant, while the remainder is made up of flowers, vines, grasses, green corn, honey and small rodents.” (reference.com) “Bamboo is included in some of the fastest growing plants in the world. Certain species can grow 3 feet in a 24 hour period, at a rate of almost 4cm an hour.” (wikipedia.org) In magical circles the power of bamboo is for luck, protection and wishes. “The Chinese use it as a form of divination. Pieces of the wood are thrown to the worshipper by a priest. According to the way they fall, the omen is interpreted as good or bad.” Magical uses for bamboo include, carving your wish on a piece of bamboo and burying it in the ground, in a place that will not be disturbed. You could also carve a protective symbol on it and plant it near your house for protection. Bamboo that is grown near a home gives the occupants good fortune and it can also be hung over a door for luck. To break a hex with bamboo, you can carry a piece with you, or grind it into a powder to make a bamboo incense and burn. The Chinese believe that if you carve a flute from bamboo, it will call good spirits. By Lady Nashoba for our September 2017 newsletter Sources: *Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. - *Benefits of Indoor Plants - Health Benefits of Plants to Humans - *reference.com - *wikipedia.org
Sapphires have been held in high regards since around 800 B.C. by nobility and then by the clergy. Kings and Queens believed that wearing sapphire would protect them from feelings of envy by those they ruled over and protect them from harm, evil, and witchcraft. The blue of the sapphire symbolized Heaven by the church and followers believed the stone attracted heavenly blessings. Sapphire is thought to bring wisdom and truth, for better perception and understanding to the possessor. It is thought to help find peace of mind and to calm agitated worries; so much so that it was once prescribed to heal mental disorders. Due to the belief of Sapphire bringing clarity of mind, the "Ancient Greeks associated sapphires with Apollo", host of the oracle at Delphi and "during the 11th and 12th centuries, sorcerers honored the sapphire more than any other stone as it enabled them to hear and understand the most obscure oracles. Not only did they help to get in touch with astral and psychic realms, but also they provided protection for those who took those journeys." Sapphire Corundum (mineral name) Planet: Saturn Element: Water It is most commonly known as a blue stone, But it comes in in nearly every color of the rainbow including: pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, colorless, and red (ruby), black. Properties: Intuition, Meditation, Hope, Creative Expression, Protection Keep blue sapphires near by to inspire you creatively and to enhance you intuition. Black sapphires are excellent to help you find work and for spiritual protection. Blue Sapphires are most commonly associated with the throat chakra. By Lady Sistterwolf & Lady Atheona for our September 2017 newsletter Sources: http://meanings.crystalsandjewelry.com/sapphire/
http://www.witchipedia.com/mineral:sapphire http://www.charmsoflight.com/sapphire-healing-properties.html https://www.gia.edu/sapphire-history-lore https://www.jewelsforme.com/sapphire-meaning https://www.gemsociety.org/article/history-legend-sapphire-gems-yore/ September 6 is National Read A Book Day. There are so many of us who make National Read A Book Day almost everyday, but September 6th seems like a great day to introduce yourself to a new book! Here are some of our |
August was originally named Sextilis by the Romans, it was renamed August in honor of the first emporer of Rome, Augustus. "According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt." August is the last of the summer months and is considered by many cultures to be the first of the month of the harvest. |
Lughnasadh is the Gaelic cross-quarter day that marks the beginning of the harvest. Its traditional date is Aug. 1 and the date of Aug. 7 above is the literal halfway mark between the June Solstice and the September Equinox for 2017. Early Irish literature relates to us that the festival is named after the Irish Tuatha Dé Danann god, Lugh, “…a sun god, a storm god or a sky god.” The festival is marked |
The Inner Circle Sanctuary is a school for traditional style Wicca and holds eight sabbat festivals every year.
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