Blessings of the Goddess and God, overflowing love, abundance and wishes of hope for the New Year to you and your loved ones!

A Rare Convergence

Many of you might have heard that there is a rare occurrence happening this week. Everyone from NASA to CNN to our local astronomy geeks at the Clark Planetarium are excited about this event, and for good reason.

According to NASA, a total lunar eclipse hasn't fallen on the date of the Winter Solstice since 1638! Also, the next total lunar eclipse that will be visible from most of North America won't happen again until April of 2014. So there's really a good excuse to bundle up and get outside and watch this great event pass by. Of course, if our skies are cloudy or you are not inclined to go out in the cold, you can always watch it on the special page that NASA has set up to cover it at nasa.gov/watchtheskies.

(Eclipse in Maui pic via Fred Espenak. I doubt ours will look like this one :D )

The best viewing time according to the scientists is going to be around 1:15 am local time. As an extra extra bonus, the lunar eclipse will darken the skies enough to be able to see some of the Ursid meteor shower, which will make it extra special if you take the effort to be outside between 10:30 pm - 3 am on Monday night / Tuesday morning.  Pray for clear skies :D

Now, given that we are Pagans and Witches and such, people have been wanting to know "What does it all mean???" and hopefully I can answer that question a little bit with this blog post.

The Players

At this time of chaos and transformation, let's take a moment to familiarize ourselves with the prominent players.

First, we have The Communicator, Mercury, who has been retrograde since Dec. 10th and will not turn direct until Dec. 30th. Unusually, this Mercury retrograde starts in the introspective, responsible sign of Capricorn and then retrogrades all the way back into gregarious, outgoing Sagittarius (where it is right now) before reentering moody, introverted Capricorn later in January! So this is an even more unusual retrograde than normal, so if everything feels just a bit more off-kilter, that's okay, you are not imagining things! People with Capricorn or Sagittarius placed prominently in their charts will be feeling this more than others. The energy of Mercury retrograde in Capricorn which has lent itself to somewhat of a slower, plodding feeling, like being stuck in quicksand, has now changed to that Sagittarian fire, where nothing can get done quickly enough! This can lend itself to decisions made too hastily, plans not thought through properly, and all manner of rushed and hurried feeling. Take care that you don't take things too personally, from words said without thinking to actions taken, it's better to step back, take a deep breath and remember that this too shall pass.
As always with any Mercury Retrograde, backup your computers, double check travel plans, and avoid signing contracts if possible. 

The Moon in the last degrees of Gemini will host the shadow of the earth during the eclipse, a deep red that Dr. Tony Phillips of NASA poetically describes as "every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb."

Eclipses are always about great transformation, and lunar eclipses tend to transform the way we feel and think about things more than they bring about physical or externally-focused transformations. This eclipse in the sign of Gemini will allow us to have a dialogue with ourselves about our future, and to reach deep into our intellectual life to see what's good, what's bad, and what's missing.

This will be a powerful opportunity to cast aside ways of thinking and feeling that no longer serve our highest good. We can literally reprogram ourselves to replace negative ways of thinking and feeling with more positive and useful ways of being. We can analyze and reconstruct our mental programming in order to create a wholistic state of mind, spirit and body. Take some time on Tuesday the 21st to do some of this introspection. Perhaps make a list of some of  the ways that you would like to "reprogram your software". Now is the time!

The Sun in Sagittarius enters the first degrees of Capricorn on the evening of the 21st, just less than 24 hours after the eclipse of the moon is completed. Again the energy shifts from that outgoing, gregarious Sagittarian fire to the internalizing, complex and earthy Capricornian cave.

As the Sun enters Capricorn, it is accompanied by Pluto, Mars, and the North Node of the Moon, giving weight to the feeling of fate and destiny that will accompany the days surrounding this eclipse. Make sure to take note of the people, feelings, situations and emotions surrounding you at this time, for you may be surprised just how much they contribute to the coming transformation that you will experience.

The Winter Solstice has resonated with human beings since ancient times, and there are countless myths, legends, stories and customs associated with this time of the year. Given it's role as the keeper of the dark side of the human psyche, the longest, darkest night plays an archetypal lead in our transformative event.

We may enter this longest darkest night, so dark that even the moon's light is quieted, with a deep sense of pessimism, of longing for the light to break and the heaviness to lift. The cold of winter surrounds us with such certainty that we forget that Spring exists, and yet even on this night, the shadow on the moon will fade, and the days begin to grow long again very soon. This night is an important reminder that even the darkest times of our lives are temporary, and we need to lift our heads and look past the shadows to the light.

Don't miss our events today, a special MoonCraft at 3 pm, followed by our Yule party! http://ping.fm/AEnW8

Read all about our latest events, announcements & happenings here: http://ping.fm/3rBfl

December Events & Announcements

Greetings everyone,

Blessings of the holidays to you and yours! As we move toward the longest, darkest night of winter, here are some announcements, great events and fun gatherings with which to warm your heart and home.

Announcements


Get your calendars now!

The Church of the Sacred Circle 2011 Calendar is now available for pre-order. Our calendar features dozens of photos of our Temple, our events and our beautiful people! It also comes with pre-filled with the dates of our MoonCraft and Open Circles, and is packed with information such as dates and times (Mountain Time Zone) of full and new moons, solstices, equinoxes and even start and end dates for Mercury Retrogrades!

Pre-order donations MUST be received by 12 noon on Dec. 12th at the very latest. You may bring your donation to any of our upcoming events prior to 12/12, or simply donate online through Paypal.

Our Paypal address is donation@sacredcirclechurch.com . The calendars are $25 each which includes a small donation to the Temple in addition to the cost of the calendar. If you donate online, please note that you are ordering a calendar in the details line.

Yo-yo for Yule
We are currently taking donations for our Yo-Yo for Yule program where we adopt a family (or two) in our local Pagan community to help them have a better holiday season. You can bring pre-wrapped gifts (marked with the age and gender) to any of our events or donate online through our Paypal account donation@sacredcirclechurch.com. 100% of donations earmarked for this purpose are passed directly to the families chosen, so please be sure to put Yo-Yo for Yule in the details area. We will be passing on the gifts to each family following our Solstice party on the 19th.

There are several children in our program this year, and their ages and gender are listed below:
Boy 1 yr
Boy 3 yrs
Boy 4 yrs
Boy 7 yrs
Boy 12 yrs
Girl 10 yrs
Girl 14 yrs
Girl 16 yrs

Generic gifts for the moms and dads are also appreciated. (candles, lotions, bath salts, oils, stones, warm socks etc.)

Events


Crystal Allies Gem & Mineral Club
Friday, Dec. 10th, 7 pm

Come to our Crystal Allies Gem Club and learn how to work with stones and crystals for healing, spellwork and magick! Bring yourself or a friend, all materials provided. Casual dress.

Kitchen Witchery with Avalon Soap Making Workshop

Saturday, Dec. 11th, 3 pm

PLEASE RSVP at the link above, so we can have enough supplies for everyone!

Join us in a fun filled day of soap making for an excellent price ! Only $8.00 a 1lb loaf pan (makes 6 large soaps or 10 small soaps) You get to create with different colored and shaped pieces of soap ! Create your own unique designs and make as many pans as you want! Its great for the whole family to join in on!  You can bring your own herbs to add and/or oils too.

December MoonCraft Full Moon & Solstice Party
Sunday, Dec. 19th, 3 pm

Celebrate Yule with the Church of the Sacred Circle! Community celebration of the Winter Solstice, potluck dinner, games and fun events for the kids! Circle at 3 pm, party starts at 5 pm.

MoonCraft WILL be held today at our normal time of 3 pm! Wear thick socks or bring slippers to keep your feet warm! http://ping.fm/Ksc5F

Ready for a fun Samhain Carnival tomorrow at 3? We are!! http://ping.fm/RCSOs

Ready for Hecate's Crossing Psychic Faire! We are excited to host this great event again! See you all at 4 pm! http://ping.fm/n8VDg

Join us at the Temple today at 3 pm for a celebration of the full Harvest Moon! http://ping.fm/8qz38

Join us today for Open Circle @ 3 pm! Map & directions: http://ping.fm/MeO10

Sign up today for this once-a-year chance to learn more about Wicca & Paganism! Ritual, magick, spellwork & more! http://ow.ly/2w463

Welcome to the Volcanalia! MoonCraft Full Moon Circle, today @ 3 pm http://ping.fm/ZaJoq?eid=142834755749086&ref=mf

We're getting ready for the Psychic Faire at Twilight - today starting at 4 pm! You can stop by and get a quick reading until 9 pm! http://ping.fm/zNaM8

May your Solstice be full of joy and wonder, and bursting with the energy of the bright summer sun!! God and Goddess bless! http://ping.fm/wocmY

Happy Summer Solstice!

May you have a blessed and beautiful Summer Solstice today! 

As the rising Solstice sun enters the watery, nurturing sign of Cancer and the moon has just begun it's journey through the deep, mysterious energies of Scorpio, this sacred day of the Summer Solstice is an excellent time to take a few moments to meditate upon the direction that your next six months will take. What will you do between now and the Winter Solstice? Where do you want to be six months from now? What would you change about your life to make it better, more meaningful or happier?

As empowered individuals, we have the ability to make our lives better every day. Take a few minutes to sit out in the sun today and ask yourself these questions. Be honest about the answers, and perhaps even commit yourself to take a step in a new direction today that could bring about big changes down the road.

You could also consider joining with other like-minded individuals in your community at this evening's  SunStave Summer Solstice gathering in Liberty Park. However you  spend the Solstice, remember that it is a day of renewal, hope and powerful energy! Blessed Be!

The sun rises over Stonehenge in this photo taken at the dawn of the Solstice in 2008. (Photo source: APOD)

Happy Father's Day to all you men who embody the Divine masculine. Warriors, Hunters, Healers and Sages, we are blessed with your presence!

MoonCraft Full Moon Circle today @ 3 pm at the Temple! http://ping.fm/a0U1h

Open Circle tomorrow! Sunday 3 pm @ the Temple! http://ping.fm/ka9hh

It's Spring Cleaning day @ the Temple! Come on down! http://ping.fm/ka9hh

Oracles of Delphi Psychic Fair - Tomorrow @ 1 pm http://ping.fm/NUoLI

Happy 3rd Anniversary to our beautiful Temple! http://ping.fm/6rLwP

Happy 3rd Anniversary to the Temple!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to our beautiful Temple! Constructed on April 1, 2007. Thank you to all the wonderful people who participated in making this dream come true, and to everyone who continues to add to the energy and love in our sacred space!

The Quantum Brain, Spirituality and the Mind of God http://ping.fm/ETHEW

@DalaiLama - It is totally illogical to seek happiness if we do nothing to restrain angry, spiteful, and malicious thoughts and emotions.

Crystal Allies Gem & Mineral Club - tonight @ 7pm! Bring your selenite or other stones http://ping.fm/XZuYD

Persephone rises at the Equinox - celebrate with us at SunStave Circle March 21st @ 9 am - http://ping.fm/Rsujt

Open Circle this Sunday @ 3 pm - Don't forget to set your clocks forward 1 hour tomorrow night!

Game night tonight @ 7 pm! Come on out for a fun evening of games and entertainment! http://ping.fm/ukkm3

Last chance to volunteer for Give A Day, Get a Disney Day!

We have just received notice from the Hands On Network that the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program will be discontinued soon, due to the massive popularity of the program which generated very high levels of participation. We had a wonderful time with our previous events in January and February, and enjoyed working with our volunteers who came from all parts of Utah to help us out.

We have accordingly scheduled our final day of volunteerism with the program which will be on Saturday, April 10th, starting at 1 pm. If you would like to participate in this program it is very important that you sign up for this event as soon as possible as there are only 30 possible slots to fill.

Spring Cleaning Day / Food Drive

Saturday, April 10th

1 pm - 5 pm

For this event we will be cleaning up the yard surrounding the Temple area, cleaning and packing away the contents of the Temple so that we can do repairs to the floor, and physically cleaning the Temple and the restroom shed.

We will be holding a canned food drive at this event as well, so please bring non-perishable food which will be donated to the Utah Food Bank

Please follow the steps below to sign up for this event:

1. Go to the registration search page on Disney's website

2. Search for the zip code 84119 and the interest area "Community"

3. When you find our opportunity, click the sign up button to register.

Please note that you MUST sign up through the link above and complete the registration process through the Disney site in order to be signed up. If you do not get a confirmation email with the subject line reading Thanks from the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program then you have not completed your registration.

Blessed Brighid, Triple Goddess

I am the unopened bud, and I the blossom,

I am the life force gathering to a crest,

I am the companion of the silence,

I am the far flung seeker of the quest.

I am the daughter, gathering in wisdom,

I am the son whose questions never cease,

I am the dawn-light searching out glad justice,

I am the center where all souls find peace.

by Caitlin Matthews

We gathered together on the eve of the sacred fire festival of Imbolc to celebrate the midpoint of winter and look forward to the warmth and light of Spring. This year we were blessed with a huge bright full moon which expanded and intensified the energies of the Great Mother in her guise as Brighid, Triple Goddess of healing, poetry and the creative fires of smithcraft. It is not too often that the lunar and solar calendars match up, but on occasion they do, which allowed us to also host the SunStave event in conjunction with this gathering.

As is appropriate for a fire festival, we began by welcoming our Elementals, calling upon our Goddess Brighid, and then we moved outside to cast our greenery into the fire which symbolized the things we needed to leave aside to begin our spiritual "spring cleaning".

Once we had made way for new energies, we returned inside and constructed our Brighid's crosses to bring the energies and protection of the Goddess to our homes.

Finally, we were also blessed to be welcoming three new priestesses as clergy of the Church of the Sacred Circle. These ladies will serve our community as well as those in the wider community for the next year and a day, at which time they will receive their final ordination to become permanent clergy of the Church of the Sacred Circle. Rev. Pamela lead this ritual as she was called by Spirit to do so, and this was her first ordination rite. Each clergy candidate has to choose a year long project to serve the community for their trial year, and these three ladies have all chosen projects which will greatly enrich and enhance the lives of those who attend our circle.

Our Filia, shown as left to right, facing Rev. Pamela, during the taking of the Fivefold Oath.

Rev. Grayowl has chosen to serve the youth of our community through sponsoring our youth and teen group and working with our next generation. She is also working on a special project involving incarcerated teens in the wider community.

Rev. Lady Avalon Starr has chosen to serve our Initiation group in order to assist others who are entering the path of paganism and Wicca.

Rev. Demetria has chosen to facilitate our Crystal Allies Gem Club to help us learn more about our friends in the mineral realms and how they can assist us in healing and magickal workings.

Please join with us as we congratulate and welcome our newest priestesses!

Left to right: Rev. Demetria, Rev. Heron, Rev. Grayowl, Rev. Pamela and Rev. Lady Avalon Starr

“Thank you all for an amazing Ordination ceremony, I am so blessed to have so much love and family! Thank you for your acceptance to serve in the capacity of clergy for The Church of the Sacred Circle. Blessed Be , yours in Service, Lady Avalon Starr ”

Put on your Mouse Ears!

At the beginning of the year, a new program was announced by the Walt Disney company, called "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." where families are being encouraged to volunteer together. Qualifying participants will receive a voucher good for a free one-day pass at the Disneyland or Disney World parks.

We are very pleased and proud to announce that the Church of the Sacred Circle is an official part of this initiative. Since we have many families who are involved in our group, we are very excited about being able to offer them the opportunity to volunteer through this initiative, as well as to offer the general public a way to give back to the community.

We will be offering many opportunities throughout the year to participate in this program, from food drives to projects that will help benefit the Temple, and we are thrilled to be able to help families learn about the rich rewards of volunteering together.

How to participate:

1. Go to the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. website and search for a volunteer opportunity. We have posted two upcoming volunteer days, which you can find by searching our ZIP code 84119 and selecting the category "Community". Follow the links on the page to sign up.

If you cannot find our opportunities, you can go directly to our organization's signup page and continue from there by filling in your information.

You can use the following information to sign up:

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day 1 - Pillow Fabric Tie Dye Day

Creating our fabric for seating pillows

Saturday, Jan. 24th, 1-3 pm

At the Sacred Circle Temple

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day 2 - Pillow Making Day

Sewing and crafting seating pillows

Saturday Feb. 20th 1-3 pm

at the Sacred Circle Temple

Please be advised that although we are a church, none of the opportunities presented by us in conjunction with this program will be religious in nature, nor will any of the participants be expected to take part in any religious ceremony in any way in order to volunteer.

Transition, Transformation & Tranquility

Are you ready? By the time you read this, the Sun will have gone through one of the longest eclipses of the next couple of millenia. Then a few hours later, on the morning of Friday, January 15th, at 9: 43 am MST, our friend Mercury will also turn direct (go out of retrograde movement). You may think to yourself "whew! The worst is over!" but the big news is that this eclipse is powerfully poised to bring about some major transformation to our lives.

Eclipses, whether lunar or solar, always bring about change. As I wrote a few weeks ago, lunar eclipses tend to affect our emotional state more strongly. Solar eclipses tend to upset our mental and physical equilibrium, and bring about transitions and transformations in the way we live on a day to day basis. Many people will find their lives transformed by this eclipse, and since we are still in the earthy, responsible sign of Capricorn, the lessons of the New Year's Eve blue moon are reinforced even more strongly today.

Many people will undergo transitions of their lives which will change them very dramatically over the next few months. For some people, the transformations will have already begun with the energies of the lunar eclipse two weeks ago, but those changes are just a shadow of what lies ahead. Since this we are still in the Earth sign of Capricorn, this will tend to affect people most in the areas having to do with careers, homes and finances. Jobs will be changed, lost or gained, some people may move, buy or sell a home, or have their money affected. For some this will be a time of great financial windfall when they wind up with more than they expected, and for others, they may find themselves shelling out money for large and unexpected expenses. The reverberations of this eclipse began several weeks ago, and will continue to resonate far into the future. Mercury turning direct will help to ease the transformation somewhat, but we will be in the shadow until Feb. 4th, so you can expect to still feel some of the same effects, but they will not be quite as strong or as noticeable as during the past few weeks.

In that earlier article, I also talked a little bit about the eclipses that shine a spotlight onto what is most important to us, and again this is even more true with the bright sun eclipsed into an annular ring of light. This ring of light will shine it's energy into our lives, showing us what is truly important, and also illuminating what we may need to leave behind. (Be on the lookout for clues to some of these changes in your life, they may be marked or signified in some way by the symbol of this eclipse, a ring or circle)

Whether it is outdated patterns of thinking, relationships that are no longer healthy, negative habits of behavior or even friendships that are not supportive, transformation will come. Even if it is initially painful for the change to occur, you may look back on this time and wonder at the intensity of the changes, and how much better they made your life. IF that is, you manage to ride out the storm with tranquility.

We are limited human beings, and as such, change is always frightening to us. We hold on to things that are not healthy for us, just because they are comfortable and familiar. So if this eclipse brings change to you, and instead of walking into your future with a bright sense of wonder, you try to hold on to the past, and reject the new state of being that you are being brought to, well, things are not going to change for you. It is hard to leave our comfortable environment and go somewhere that is scary and unfamiliar, and very often we must encourage ourselves to consciously embrace this energy precisely because it is so unsettling.

This is why it is so important to cultivate a sense of tranquility, even in the face of the chaos of change. With a sense of tranquility, we can accept that change is inevitable, and indeed, according to the Buddha, change is truly the only constant in the universe. All things, everything, will eventually change. The mountains wear down to sand, water evaporates into rain and then falls back to earth as water. If we can learn to accept and embrace the inevitability of changes in our lives, particularly when they are brought by these powerfully transformational eclipses, we can learn to be happy, no matter what the Universe brings to our door.

Namo, Kuan Shih Yin Pu Sa!

(The mantra for Kuan Yin, which is highly recommended for practicing tranquility. Pronounced as follows: nah-MO KOO-awn she YIN pooh-SAH)