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Welcome
Welcome to the personal web
site of Starweaver, Wiccan priest, tarot and
astrology practitioner, and dabbler in the visual
arts. This site is an expression of my own
personality: sometimes focused, sometimes fanciful,
always fluid. I hope you find this a place of
beauty, wisdom, and warmth.
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Feature
Article
New! Beginner
Tutorials
This issue
of Starweaver's Gems from Earth and Sky
launches a new feature of this web site:
beginner tutorials. Each tutorial will be a short
course in one of the major subject areas of this
site. They are intended to be accessible to
everyone - no prior knowledge of the subject is
needed. Although these tutorials will not make you
an instant expert, they should give you some basic
vocabulary and concepts, so that the things you
read here and elsewhere will make sense.
 The
first tutorial is Help! I'm Clueless about
Astrology. It's an illustrated beginner's tour
of astrological concepts, presented in five
succinct lessons.
Read
More
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 Moon
Magic for May, June, and July
Starweaver's
look at upcoming full moons and dark moons and the
energies they have to offer for magic and ritual.
Astronomical
Moon data now included.
Dark Moon in
Taurus, May 5, 6:19 am
Best
evening for ritual: May 4 (Sunday)
Theme:
Listening to your Body
This
is an especially magical Dark Moon, coinciding
almost perfectly with astrological Beltane. Mercury
is in rulership in Gemeni at this time, adding some
verbal energy to what is otherwise a very physical,
sensual atmosphere. Use this Moon to question your
relationship with your own body: sex, diet, health,
comfort. Pay attention to yourself . . .
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 The
Spirit of Air
Air
is one of the four classical elements (air, fire,
water, and earth). It is a messenger element,
carrying sounds and scents from near and far.
Psychologically, it is the element of communication
and thought. Physically, of course, it is essential
to life. This is bound into the metaphors of our
language: breath is synonymous with life itself,
and the words for spirit and breath are connected
in most languages.
These
days, we spend so much time in climate-controlled
environments that we may take the air for granted.
Outside air is full of personality and
changefullness - stormy, gusty, breezy, heavy, hot,
cold, dry, moist, fragrant, silent, whispering,
howling, swirling. . .
Read
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Subscribing to
Starweaver's Gems from Earth and
Sky
If you enjoy the material
presented here and would like to receive each new
issue as it becomes available, you are invited to
subscribe to Gems from Earth and Sky. There
are three formats available:
- email
notice: you will
receive a short text-only email eight times a
year to let you know that a new issue has been
posted on this website (no charge)
- email
newsletter: you will
receive a condensed version of each issue,
including graphics, one or two articles, and
summaries with links to full articles on this
site (no charge)
- print
edition: you will
receive a print copy of the entire issue by
mail. The cost is $20 per year (eight issues) or
$10 for four issues.
To subscribe, send email to
starweaver at thekashi dot net, indicating which
option you would prefer. If subscribing to the
print edition, also include your mailing address
and send payment to
Tom Waters
P O Box 201
Tesuque, NM 87574-0201
USA
Of course, your contact
information will not be shared with
anyone.
If you
intend to read this website regularly, please do
sign up for the email notice - it's simple, free,
and gives me important information about the level
of interest in this project. Thanks!
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In the next
issue...
The next
issue of Gems from Earth and Sky will be
published on Litha, June 20. Look for a Seasons of
the God story, Tarot Wisdom, Seven Doors, Celestial
Gossip, and more.
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Pilfered
Wisdom
The question
of love is one that cannot be evaded. Whether or
not you claim to be interested in it, from the
moment you are alive you are bound to be concerned
with love, because love is not just something that
happens to you: It is a certain special way of
being alive. Love is, in fact, an intensification
of life, a completeness, a fullness, a wholeness of
life.
-
Thomas Merton
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Starweaver's
Gems
from Earth and Sky
Beltane
2008 Issue
Beltane is
the height of spring. The weather has warmed, and
the earth has now returned to life again. For
Pagans, this is a time to celebrate sensuality,
fertility, and living in the fullness of joy and
desire.
This issue
revisits Moon Magic, Rune Lore, and Earth Powers.
Seasons of the Goddess / Seasons of the God
continues, as do the Imaginarium and the cooking
and gardening features. This issue also launches a
new series of beginner tutorials, starting with a
short astrology course.
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 Beltane,
a Tale of Love
With spring in its
fullness, Ashling and Alderleaf encounter a power
even stronger than the doubts and fears that fill
them.
Warm
days had come at last. Ashling was at work in the
fields, planting beans in the dark earth. He heard
the voices of girls in the distance, bring water
back from the river. As they drew near, he glanced
in their direction, casually, not wanting to stare.
Alderleaf was there, her soft white skirts shifting
in the breeze. His eyes were drawn to her partly
bare legs, smooth and shapely. He longed to touch
her, and he thought she was beautiful.
But
she would reject any attention from him, he knew.
They had grown up together in the village, and he
knew she saw him the same way all the others did:
an unattractive, unmanly youth, too serious and
moody. . .
Read
More
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 Rune
Lore: Mannaz
Mannaz
(pronounced MAHN-nahz) was used to represent
the m sound in runic writing in all the
Germanic languages. The name means man.
Although the Germanic word, like its modern
descendant, implies male sex, it is interesting to
note that none of the rune poems contrast man and
woman when speaking about this rune, instead
offering words that seem to apply to human beings
generally. The Icelandic Rune Poem reads
Man
delight of man
and augmentation of the earth
and adorner of ships.
Human
beings are social creatures. We are defined as much
by our culture as by our biology, and live in a
network of relationships and responsibilities. The
symmetrical shape of this rune suggests the
reciprocal nature of our relationships with each
other, and our interdependency. . .
Read
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Upcoming
Events
Astrology
for Pagans
a weekend workshop
with Starweaver and Rowan
May 24-25, 2008, $110
at Ardantane near Jemez Springs
Whole
Expo Santa Fe
Metaphysical/Wholistic
Conference and Exhibition
May 31 and June 1, 2008,
$10
Museo Cultural de Santa Fe
Rune
Wisdom
a Saturday workshop
with Starweaver
August 16, 2008, $60
at Ardantane near Jemez Springs
Introduction
to Qabalah
a Sunday workshop
with Starweaver
August 17, 2008, $60
at Ardantane near Jemez Springs
Science,
Metaphysics, and Magick
a weekend workshop
with Starweaver
October 18-19, 2008, $110
at Ardantane near Jemez Springs
Read
More
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From
the Hearth: Homemade Falafel and Summery
Salsa
In
the Garden: The Self-Creating Garden
The
Imaginarium: Faith of the Ancient
Earth