Pagan @ MindSay

I have never appologized for being a pagan witch.  It is what I am and always have been, thru this life time and those previously....

 

Nowdays thanks to shows like Bewiched and Charmed it is 'in fashion' to be a witch, glamorized, sensationalized, fictionalized.  Many of the wiccans (not to be confused with pagans) will tell you the phrase "do what you will save you harm none" and the rule of three - what ever you so do, will be returned to you threefold be it good or evil. 

 

As a pagan I do not adhere to these.  This seems to shock a great many, which is not to say that I don't believe in some form of cause and effect.  You do reap what you sow.  For each action there is an equal and opposite form of reaction. 

Magic is not black nor white.  Magic has no color but is only a tool, a force.  How it is used carries with it RESPONSIBILITY.  A fact often left out or glossed over by many particularly the New Age group. 

 

Normally I do not curse people because I KNOW that to do so will mean that I PERSONALLY will incur the penalty for doing so as well.  One of the most heinious acts is to wish harm to or to curse an innocent, particularly a child.  To attempt to curse or harm one of the Family's children is met with swift action, on many levels for they are the seed and hope of the future, the heritage we leave is their birthright.

 

Tonight is the phase known as the dark moon.  As the Goddess wears for me the face of Luna, tonight I have prepared a very special rite for one woman in particular.  She who dared to attempt a curse on a grandson.  May Luna grant me this curse.  I accept the responsibility and I do not do so lightly, but with all understanding and acceptance of what this means.

Hello my fellow Wiccans/Pagans,
I am in dire need of your help now.
I need to become in contact with a very wise upper level practitioner who knows something about other forces or spirits. It is imperative that i find help SOON.
Something is not right. Lately i have felt as if i've been followed or watched by something i can't identify and it is most definitely NOT of a human nature. I don't know what to do and i really really need help and some answers.
PLEASE HELP ME!!!

All those who regard this as crap and nonsense can go ahead and do so but i just KNOW there is someone out there with help.
If you or anyone you know can help me out (i will give many more details on the situation) i would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.


~Piper

Nigeria 'child witch killer' held
Police in south-east Nigeria have arrested a man who claimed to have killed 110 child "witches".

"Bishop" Sunday Ulup-Aya told a documentary film team he "delivered" children from demonic possession.

But after his arrest, he reportedly told the police he had only killed the "witches" inside, not the children.

Child rights campaigners say children are frequently abandoned, hideously injured and even murdered because their families believe they are witches.

Self-proclaimed "pastors" extort money from families to exorcise the children, but none has been charged until now.

Mr Ulup-Aya was arrested in Akwa Ibom State after a child rights campaigner led police to his church and negotiated a consultation fee for an exorcism.

He has now been charged with murder.

Five others have been arrested since the weekend and the state government says more arrests are planned

Embarrassed

"So many people here believe that children can be possessed by demons that there is rarely any action taken against those who claim to deliver the children in violent exorcisms," says Sam Ikpe-Itauma, of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN).

He says he has been working for six years to bring the attention of the state government to the children being abandoned, sold to traffickers, or murdered.

But it was not until a British documentary - Dispatches: Saving Africa's Witch Children - was aired on Channel 4 last month that an arrest was made.

His organisation is looking after 170 children who have been abandoned or abused after being accused of being witches.

Akwa Ibom State spokesman Aniekan Umanah denied they had been embarrassed into acting.

"Nobody knew about him, he lives in a very remote village," he said.

The state has cared for child victims of abuse, but has not been able to track down abusers because of "lack of documentation", he said.

'Misunderstanding'

Mr Ulup-Aya reportedly told police he had not actually killed children.

He said there was a misunderstanding - he meant he had killed the witch inside the child, not the child themselves.

When police raided his house they found two children inside, but no evidence that any others had been murdered there.

"We have him on tape admitting to killing," said Mr Umanah.

"It is now up to him to prove otherwise."

In the past other "pastors" who claim to have the power to deliver children from demonic possession in violent exorcisms have been arrested, but then quietly released by the police, according to Mr Ikpe-Itauma.

"I fear for my life now," he says.

Trafficking

The fear of child witches is a relatively new phenomenon in Nigeria.

Belief in witchcraft is strong across the country but a fear of child witches has become widespread in Akwa Ibom State since 1990s.

Now children are blamed for all kinds of misfortune that befalls their families.

They are abandoned or sold to child traffickers who then indenture them as house-workers in other parts of Nigeria or into prostitution.

Others are violently exorcised to rid the child of the "demons".

Exorcism victims seen by CRARN in the past include a child who had nails driven into her head.

Earlier this week Mr Ikpe-Itauma said a six-year-old child was brought to their rescue centre after clambering out of a fast-flowing river.

"The boy's uncle was experiencing painful swelling in his legs," Mr Ikpe-Itauma told the BBC.

"He concluded the child was a witch and had placed a curse on him, so he took him on his bicycle to the river and threw him in."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7764575.stm

Published: 2008/12/04 15:35:51 GMT


And people say "pagans" and atheist are savages, heathens, and devil worshippers! Anyone who can kill a child simply because the parents fear what they don't understand is the one who is evil!

Interesting how many cultures have a similar tradition ... from the ancient Israelites to the farmers of the Netherlands, a large horn is blown as a call to worship!  I found this image of the Dutch custom ... Prior to Christmas, a custom known as Midwinter Horn Blowing is still practiced in parts of the rural east, which starts on Advent Sunday and continues until Christmas Eve. At dusk, farmers take long horns made from elder trees and blow them while standing over wells, which lends an eerie sound to the call, which is an announcement of the coming Christ.

Cool, hmmm?

More info:  The Midwinter Horn ;  The Wooden Lurs

I just got back from my first Pagan Pride Day and it was an amazing experience!  This year, the southeast chapter was held about an hour from where I live, in Lakeville, Massachusetts.  It rained continuously, but that didn't stop about two hundred people from joining in the festivities.  Vendors set up under tents and sold things like handmade soap, jewelry, candles, herbs, crystals, robes, handcrafted altars, wands and other magickal items.  I saw Andrea, the former owner of Green Goddess.  I haven't really seen her since her store closed a year ago, but she looked good and seemed to be happy.  She will be officiating at my handfasting ceremony (next year?).  She is an Ordained Minister, so the ceremony will be legally binding, something Cam insisted on.  Even though he isn't pagan, I am glad he is supporting my desire to have a Wiccan wedding.  I also saw G.  He gave me a big hug.  His store was a sponsor of the festival, so I hope a lot of people will travel to Plymouth to check out his awesome store (I will be writing a separate entry about the conversation I had with him last week).  Celtic Cricket was there and remembered me from all of the times of been in his store.  He had stuff from the Silver Willow and I purchased an Eye of Horus pendant.  The owner of my local witch shop came over and hugged me, which was really cool, and her reader, Diana, did the same.  It was nice to see so many people that I knew and to really relish the feelings of friendship I have forged with these guys over the years. 

Michelle's coven, MoonTide, directed the Open Circle this year.  Since it was my first public ritual, I had know idea what to expect, but it was everything I thought it would be and more.  The coven made a Mabon altar and had pumpkins, grains, corn, leaves and crows (not real ones, of course) decorating it.  Everyone formed a circle around it and then the members of MoonTide called the quarters.  I have only called the quarters in my bedroom during rituals, so to see it done for real was pretty awesome.  A member of the coven, a beautiful raven-haired woman in her forties, read about the meaning of Mabon and what its significance is on the Wheel of Life.  Next, we all joined hands and  under Michelle's direction, began a spiral dance.  Faster and faster we danced around the altar.  I was holding hands with Kariko and another woman, whose name was Tracy.  She was concerned for my ankle and kept making sure I was okay.  After a few circles around, when we were moving at a pretty good pace, others dancing near me kept leaning back to make sure I wasn't in pain.  To see two hundred people spiral dancing is a beautiful sight.  Everyone was laughing with giddiness from the energy being raised.  After the dance was done, MoonTide continued with the ritual, which included the Maiden, Mother, and Crone carrying the straw God around the circle.  Then, it was laid upon the altar and the three women each said a small part about what they would give the God for his sacrifice.  Next, we all partook of libations of cookies and apple juice and made sure to offer a bit to Mother by pouring some on the ground.  We all dismissed the quarters and the ritual ended.  Afterward, the raven-haired woman gave me a big hug for participating with a broken ankle.  Somehow, Michelle found out that it was my first public Circle and also came over to hug me.  I introduced her to Kariko, who got a big hug, too. 

I have often read that Pagans view other members of their community as their "brothers and sisters." I have read those words in hundreds of different periodicals and books, but had never stopped to contemplate those words before.  Today, as I was dancing around the circle and looking at the smiling faces moving past me, I was reminded of those words.  These people really were my "brothers and sisters."  I think I finally understand what all of those authors were talking about.  This was an unbelievably moving experience for me and one I am sure I won't ever forget.

Just an aside here (for myself, really).  I had an astrology reading while I was at the festival and she pegged me for a Scorpio.  She is the third psychic to do this, though I'm technically a Sag.  She believes I was most likely born before noon on my birthday, which influences more strongly, the aspects of Scorpio.  She told me that my mission is to write and that many people will be helped by my writings.  She told me she sees me being published next year.  I hadn't said anything to her about wanting to be a writer, so I believe she was really "seeing" this in my future.  This has reawakened my desire to learn astrology.