Pagan Eye: Sunrise, Sea and a Symbol of Hope

It being Easter you might think this photo shows a cross - a symbol of the Passion of Christ; his death and resurrection in Christian mythology. But it isn't.

Pictured is a view from the Sussex coast near Beachy Head, looking out to sea towards the sunrise and the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse. Not far from the Sussex coast's famous red-and-white lighthouse, the platform with a tower on top was built during the 1970s to replace an earlier lightship. It is a symbol of man's perpetual struggle to be safe at sea rather than anything religious. Nevertheless, it does make a nice Easter picture.

My Pagan Eye posts show photos that I find interesting - seasonal images, pagan sites, events, or just pretty pictures.

If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/beachy-head-lighthouse.html
http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/royal_sovereign.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/11/review-sussex-folk-tales.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/06/pagan-eye-blue-butterfly-on-south-downs.html

Pagan Events in and Near London Easter and Next Week

Now – 22 June; Vikings life and legend. BP exhibition at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Open daily 10am–5.30pm, Fridays until 8.30pm. Tickets: Adults £16.50, free or reduced prices for members and Art Pass holders. http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx

Friday 18 April (Good Friday); Day of Silence at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. From 11am to 4pm, Stay for as little time or as long as you wish. Free event but you must advance book tickets. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Sunday 20 April; Belostra 2014 Celebration. One-day festival with entertainment, workshops, talks, stalls and open ritual. Venue: The Bedford Pub/Theatre, 77 Bedford Hill, Balham London SW12 9HD. Doors open 12 noon and close at 10pm. Tickets: £13 all day, £7 evening only. http://paganfuturefests.org.uk/

Monday 21 April (Bank Holiday); Earth Day Family Picnic and Open Ritual. Venue: Trent Park, Cockfosters Road, London EN4 0PS. Directions: From Cockfosters Tube station, walk to the nearest gate of Trent park. The picnic will be in the field immediately to the right. Time: 1pm-5pm. Free event, open to all. http://www.gaiantimes.com/

Tuesday 22 April; The Salon of the Third Eye - The Magickal Theatre of Antonin Artaud with Steve Ash. Venue: The Lost Theatre, 208 Wandsworth Road, London Sw8 2JU. Time: 7.315pm. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/713324482044053/

Wednesday 23 April; Crossbones Vigil to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Bring a flower, a ribbon, a totem or memento to tie to the shrine. Gather from 6.45pm for a 7pm start in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1 1TA, opposite the Boot and Flogger pub, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge. The event is free, but donations are welcome. For more details, visit http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Wednesday 23 April; Divine I Am Transmissions: Alignment and Expansion with Vaz arranged through the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Conference Room, Canterbury Hall, 11 – 18 Cartwright Gardens, London WC1H. Start: 7pm. Cost: £15. For more details and to book places visit http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Thursday 24 April; The Big Bang Experience. Musical event with gongs, Himalayan and crystal singing bowls, bells, overtone singing and 900 people chanting sacred sounds. Venue: Compton Terrace, London N1 2UN (Nearest Tube: Highbury and Islington underground station). Time: 7pm-10.30pm. Online tickets: £12, door tickets: £17. For full details: http://thebigbangexperience.wordpress.com/

Friday, 25 April; Rilko AGM plus lecture by Malcolm Stewart: Geometry and Illumination. Venue: Research into Lost Knowledge Organisation (Rilko), Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, W1U 8EA. Doors open 6.45pm. Admission £8 non-members, £6 members. http://www.rilko.net/EZ/rilko/rilko/home.php

Thursday 24 April; Book Launch of Lorna Byrne's Love from Heaven.Venue: Institute Of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, London WC1H 0AL. Time: 7pm - 9.30pm. Tickets £20/15. For more details and to book tickets, visit: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Thursday 24 April; The Poltergeist Prince of London. Hosted by The London Fortean Society. Venue: Dirty Dicks, 202 Bishopsgate, City of London EC2M 4NR. Cost: £3/£2 concessions. Time: 8pm - 10pm. Just turn up, no need to book in advance. The society meets on the last Thursday of each month. For more details, visit http://forteanlondon.blogspot.co.uk/

Thursday 24 April; Vikings Live from the British Museum - Cinema event offering a view of the BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend, presented live in local cinemas. Time: 7pm. For details visit: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings/vikings_live.aspx

Thursday 24 April; London Psyche - London at the Library Salon 15. Caroline Wise Mark Pilkington talk about the women of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Venue: Westminster Arts Library, 35 St Martins Street, London. Time: 6.30pm. Tickets £7, advance booking essential from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/268787. For details, visit http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/salon-no-15-london-psyche.html

Thursday 24 April; An Introduction to Wicca and the Order of the Horse and Moon Initiatory Cycle with the London Wicca Meetup Group. Meeting at a Central London pub near Holborn Tube. Time: 8pm. This is a private meeting for registered members only. To register as a member visit: http://www.meetup.com/Wicca-Initiatory-Pathway-Beltane-Samhain-Cycle/ For more details, visit: http://www.meetup.com/The-London-Wicca-Meetup-Group/events/

Saturday 26 April; Beltane: Lore And Magic. Day Workshop with Wiccan priestess Suzanne Corbie, creator of the Goddess Workshop meditations.Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Price: £45 (£25 deposit, balance on the day - advance booking required). Time: 10.45am arrival for 11am start, ends 5.30pm. Call 0207 419 8507 or book online. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 26 April; An Introduction to Soul Midwifery with Storm Bower and Lyn Baylis. One-day life rites workshop at The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London WC1A 1LY. Time: 11am - 5pm. Cost: £45. For further information and to book a place call 020 7405 2120 or email atlantis@theatlantisbookshop.com.

Sunday 27 April; Intro to Witchcraft and Wicca run by Shamanic Spirit at a venue in Croydon, South London. Time: 2pm-7pm. Cost £40. For details and to book places call Megan on 07952 041444. For more information, visit http://shamanicspirit.co.uk/.

Sunday 27 April; Dawn of the Oak (MOVED TO AVOID CLASHING WITH BELOSTRA FESTIVAL). Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Sunday 27 April; Beltane Sabbat Rite with the London Wicca Meetup Group. Meeting at a pub in the Wimbledon area for training and to celebrate Beltane. Time: from noon. For full details, visit: http://www.meetup.com/The-London-Wicca-Meetup-Group/events/

MBS Ticket Competition and Free Money Workshop

If you are feeling a bit skint at the moment - like I am - then here are the details of how to get free tickets to a great pagan event and also a free workshop on How to be a Money Magnet.

There's only one week to go to enter the competition I'm running with a prize of two free pairs of tickets to the Mind Body Soul Experience in Manchester. Details of how to enter are at the bottom of this post, and also here. How to Be a Money Magnet is the title of one of the free workshops taking place at the event. Here are the details:

At the Mind Body Soul Experience in Manchester, life coach and successful sales director Marie-Claire Carlyle will be running a workshop based on her book How to Become a Money Magnet.She will show participants how to rediscover their own unique essence and to uncover their natural flow of abundance.

A daughter of two entrepreneurs, Marie-Claire Carlyle says that she knew at a young age that she wanted to work in sales. But, at the age of 27, working for one of the best sales training companies in the business, Marie-Claire found she wasn't being successful. Week after week she faced the humiliation of announcing zero sales to the rest of the 60-strong sales force.

After a very long 12 weeks, Marie-Claire discovered techniques that helped take her from being the worst salesperson to, within a few years, delivering over £1million sales each month.

This fully interactive workshop is based upon her one-day Money Magnet workshop, and is for anyone who is committed to having more money in 2014. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

FREE Workshop Details
How to Become a Money Magnet with Marie-Claire Carlyle
Room: Workshop Charter Room 4
Time: Saturday 10th May 2014; 3.45pm - 4.45pm
Cost: FREE

Competition to win tickets to MBS Manchester

There are lots of free workshops, talks and things to see and do at the show already, but here is how blog readers can have the chance to win free entry tickets as well.

To be in with a chance to win two pairs of tickets just answer the following question.

At which top Manchester venue is this year’s Mind Body Soul Experience being held at:

a. Manchester Central
b. EventCity
c. Bowlers Exhibition Centre

Email your answer to me, the Bad Witch, at badwitch1234@gmail.com by the closing date of midday on Friday 25th April 2014, to be in with a chance of winning. The two winners will be picked at random from the correct entries.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/03/competition-win-manchester-mbs.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/03/the-shamanic-path-at-mind-body-soul.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/03/past-life-regression-at-mbs-experience.html
www.mbsevents.co.uk
www.facebook.com/mbsexperience

Magic School: Wiccan Apprentice - Experiential Training

Wiccan High Priest Mani Navasothy is running a six-session Wiccan Apprentice Experiential Training Course in London starting this month and running until June.

The course description says:

If you are interested in learning all aspects of Wicca in an experiential way over a period of 3 months, in a woodland setting, under the expertise and guidance of a Wiccan High Priest with almost 2 decades of Craft and Coven experience - this is the training for you! You will learn the foundations of Wicca, its principles and laws. Topics covered include altars, consecrations, circle casting, elemental quarters and energy raising in a circle, invoking the Horned God and Triple Moon Goddess. You will also learn about doing Rune and cord magic and crafting essential Wiccan tools such as the wand and pentacle.

The course takes place outdoor at a woodland venue in North London. The woodland has a cafe, toilet and car park, and is only 5 minutes walk from the nearest Tube station. Core sessions are usually 1pm to 4pm on a Sunday. Workshops are usually 1pm to 5pm on a Saturday. After sessions 2, apprentices can join Mani's monthly Wicca Ritual Circle, which will be in the same vicinity.

All training materials and notes are provided, all apprentices need to bring are something to sit on, such as a folding stool or chair if sitting on the ground is difficult for you. Depending on weather, you may wish to bring warm, rain-proof clothing. A flask of hot drink and snack food for yourself is also a good idea.

The cost if you book all six sessions in advance online is £97. For more details, including booking information is at http://www.witchcraftandmagic.org/html/courses.html

Mani is the author of Coven Guide: Become an Initiated Witch.

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/wicca-witchcraft-finding-out-basics.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/01/review-book-of-mirrors.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/04/review-teen-spirit-wicca-by-david.html

News: Calls to Ban Nigerian Witch Hunter from UK

Two news stories about calls to stop a Nigerian witch hunter, Helen Ukpabio, returning to the UK after she preached to London congregations:

"Call to ban ‘witch hunter’ Helen Ukpabio who poses risk to children" in the Independent.

"This Christian preacher should not have been allowed to bring her 'witch hunt' into this country" in the Guardian.

Review: Teen Spirit Wicca by David Salisbury

Young people who want to become Wiccan often find it tough to get good training. Most covens will only accept adults and pagan moots tend to meet in pubs where under-18s aren't allowed in.

Keen teenagers are likely to turn to books for guidance on becoming solitary practitioners until the come of age. But that presents another problem as some books are better than others. One I would recommend is a new book called Teen Spirit Wiccaby David Salisbury, A Wiccan priest who is also the author of The Deep Heart of Witchcraft.

David might be a knowledgeable Wiccan priest and a respected author, but is also still quite a young writer and so is well placed to be writing a book aimed at the new generation wanting to enter the Craft. He says: "When I started practicing Wicca in the late 90s, it was towards the end of what some might call the “heyday” of the popularization of all things edgy and occult. Black was the norm for kids who refused
to fit in with the preppy masses, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on primetime, and books on Wicca and Paganism were getting churned out like hotcakes."

What I like about Teen Spirit Wicca is that although it is aimed at beginners, it is not dumbed down. It not only covers the history of witchcraft; concepts of the God and Goddess; core Wiccan beliefs and practices; rituals and spells and the ethics of witchcraft, it also goes into topics that are particularly relevant for teenagers, such as how to talk to your parents about it. At the end of the book are chapters of spells and rituals that you can easily do at home with things that are easy to find around the house or garden such as candles, flowers and common herbs.

Publisher Soul Rocks says on its website: "If you’re a teenager today, you’re in a great position to seek out spiritual teachings that are more widely accessible than ever before. Wicca is one of those teachings. With this practical guide, you’ll get the lowdown on what Wiccans believe and practice, and how to become one yourself. Some of the information on the Craft of the Wise can seem vast, overwhelming, and even a little boring. But have no fear! Teen Spirit Wicca will cut to the chase and give you just what you need to start practicing the Craft and living your life as a Wiccan today."

Teen Spirit Wiccais due to be released in May and can be ordered via Amazon. For details of some other books and information aimed at beginners, read my earlier post on Wicca and Witchcraft: Finding out the Basics. A book aimed at teenage boys who are interested in paganism is The Way of the Horned God. For a great general overview of paganism by practitioners from various paths, try Paganism 101.

Links and previous related posts
Teen Spirit Wicca
http://www.soulrocks-books.com/books/teen-spirit-wicca
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/review-deep-heart-of-witchcraft-magical.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/01/paganism-101-introduction-to-paganism.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/review-way-of-horned-god.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/wicca-witchcraft-finding-out-basics.html

Time for Change: Tuesday's Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse

As well as there being a full moon tonight - reaching its fullest at around 8.45am in London time tomorrow, Saturday 15 April - there is also a total lunar eclipse. It is the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2014 and is the first of a tetrad, meaning four total lunar eclipses in series.

While some fundamentalist Christians are saying that this series of four lunar eclipses - also known as "blood moons" because the celestial body takes on a red hue - heralds the End of Days, I think that's just as unlikely as any other end of the world prediction we've so far survived. If you are interested in reading more about the prophecy though, here's a link to a news story in the Express.

However, if you are into scrying and other types of divination, lunar eclipses are a good time to have a go. The energy of the blood moon can also be used for magical rituals and spells for personal transformation. As Mani Navasothy of Pagan Frontiers says in his book The Eclipse Magic Workbook,"Eclipses offer us unique and sometimes rare opportunities for doing special magical or psychic work that can be lifechanging."

If you want to make a big change in your life, now is a good time to make a start. Today, think about what transformation you really want, whether that is a new job, a change in a relationship, a house move or embarking on a new spiritual path. Then, at the time of the eclipse, write down your intention on a slip of paper as a promise to yourself. Fold the paper up and put it into your wallet or purse to keep with you at all times until the change manifests itself.

Those in eastern Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, and North and South America will get to view the lunar eclipse fully, while in London we might be able to glimpse a penumbral eclipse at 5.55am, just before dawn.


Links and previous related posts
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2014-april-15
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2014_lunar_eclipse
Eclipse Magic Workbook
http://www.eclipsemagic.co.uk/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/blood-moon.html
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/469228/Four-blood-moons-Does-alignment-of-Mars-Earth-and-Sun-mean-the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh