A Prayer to Hygeia, pt 1

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I call to Hygeia, daughter of wisdom-loving
Asklepios whose shining temples you share,
ever-watchful sister of dear Panakeia
who knows all remedies. Bright-eyed Hygeia,
foe of the Nosoi who lurk in the unclean corners,
rich-robed goddess, mild and gentle one whose soft touch
and soothing voice give ease to the suffering.
In Athens and in Corinth were you well honored;
in fair Sikyonia did you receive long locks
of the hair of women, did you receive the gifts
of the grateful. Hygeia, holder of the serpent
and the chalice, friend of the honest physician,
granter of the most precious of blessings, who gifts
us with a hale and robust form, with vigor
and vitality, blessed one, I call to you.

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Free Will’s Annual Poke in the Eye

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“Is it bad to live without a hell?” poet Pablo Neruda asks in The Book of Questions. Let’s add these queries to his: Is it dangerous to live without the awakening force that an enemy provides? Is it naive to think you can achieve great success without the driving motivation that comes from thinking about ideas you hate?

Consider the issue from another angle. Dentists love tooth decay. Treating cavities provides them with a steady income. Likewise, exterminators are dependent on termites, lawyers need crime, and priests crave sinners. Lots of people have symbiotic connections with nasty stuff. In fact, isn’t it true that most of us nurture our feelings for the things we love to despise and fear?

What’s your favorite poison or adversary? Assume that your exposure to pronoia is changing you in ways that will require you to update your relationship with it. Speculate on how you’ll go about this task.

 

I am contemplating.

/looks at navel

2015 Accomplishments/ 2016 Goals

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Each year I like to look back over the previous year, and then set goals for the coming year. Many people do this on Jan 1st; I prefer to do it on my birthday. I often refine the accomplishments and goals until my new year, Samhain, but the bulk of the work is done on or around my birthday. I also like to do a tarot reading.
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Goodbye Dr. Sacks

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Today Dr, Oliver Sacks died.

I hope you know who he is, although it means you will share my sorrow to some degree. If not, then I can say with certainty that you have a wonderful treat in store for you: he was a magnificent storyteller and chronicler of the mysterious, glorious landscape we call the human mind.

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Working With the Dark Moon

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When I first started on the path of witchcraft I was told that no White Witch would ever Work a spell at the dark of the moon. I was told that time was reserved for those who walked the left-hand path, casting manipulative spells and using sinister forces to work their will on others. And if you think I just used a lot of loaded language, you would be correct. What I came to learn through following my own intuition, with a few helpful guides, was that the Moon’s other face can be powerful and transformative, which can feel very scary. What I was told wasn’t wrong, just very steeped in superstition and fear.

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Hidden Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Home

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It was too hot for me, long acclimated to the long grey winters of the Pacific Northwest. Although it was only April, Rome felt more like a midsummer day beating down on me with an intensity made worse by the pounding of fierce jet lag. I wanted nothing more than to find a cafe and have a long leisurely meal accompanied by several large bottles of water. But I was on a quest, a personal journey to see the storied home of one of the most revered yet unknown Goddesses of the Ancient Pagan world: Hestia.

I am the core
the center
indescribable, elusive
constant.

I am the living presence
inhabiting
every building
each dwelling.

I am the transformation
of marble, stone, wood
and with its hearth fire lit
I make it a home.

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JaguarMoon: A Tradition Evolving in CyberSpace

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The advertisement looked a lot like the kind you see on the community corkboard of spiritual bookstores throughout the world. “The ART OF RITUAL,” the advertisement explained, would not just take me through the basics of the Craft but give me “real food for thought as [I] practice and learn”. It intrigued me and I replied. What made this advertisement unusual – what launched an entirely new tradition, in fact – was that it was posted on the witchhaven listserv. That class led to the formation of a cyber coven whose daughters continue even today. We teach, we study, we share sacred space.

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