Pagan-Musings: Ground, Center, Shield, pt 1

Hello and thank you for listening to Pagan-Musings! Even when we have the sound glitches that we did with this episode. Most of the information that we covered can either be found in this blog or by visiting the Pangaia Metaphysical Store's blog. I hope you were able to learn something from our ramblings and musings.

SHOW NOTES:
The topic of this weekend's show was Ground, Center, Shield (pt. 1) Grounding.

Grounding is one of the three basics of metaphysics, the others being centering and shielding. RevKess and KaliSara both feel that these basics are very important to anyone who practices their spirituality in a manner that creates a beacon on the other plains. Grounding is the first of these three basics and is easily done through various means.

Examples of grounding techniques include: The tree meditation as described by RevKess, the burning pot, food, drink, sex, etc. Anything that gets you in touch with the elements. You can ground using earth, the tree meditation or touching the ground after a ritual; using air, letting the wind blow the excess energies away from you; fire, using the burning pot (described below); and water, letting the running water of a spring wash the energies away.

THE BURNING POT EXERCISE

Items suggested/needed:

• cauldron or other fire safe vessel
• salt (sea salt, table sdalt, epsom salts)
• alcohol (rubbing alcohol or grain alcohol)
• matches or lighter
• heat resistant plate

Place the cauldron on the heat resistant plate. Pour equal parts salt and alcohol into the cauldron. Light the alcohol on fire. Sit back in a comfortable position and let your negative energies, stresses, etc flow into the flame and be consumed/transformed by the fire.

This is a wonderful starting point to a meditation, it helps to clear your mind and body of the influences that may distract you during meditation. This can also be used prior to ritual or spell work to help ground and center yourself.

The Swifting Ritual

Dorothy Morrison, Utterly Wicked, pp. 102-104

Materials:

• 1 black candle

• 1 brown (yellow, gray or lavender) candle

• 1 white candle

• table salt

• metal cookie sheet

• paper and pen

• a large supply of “negative” energy

Place the cookie sheet horizontally on a flat surface. Beginning at the center left-hand side of the cookie sheet, arrange the candles – first black, then brown, then white – so they form a horizontal line. Then using the salt, draw a horizontal line from the white candle to a point approximately three quarters of the way to the right-hand edge of the pan. Draw an arrow tip with the salt at the end of the line, then draw a salt circle around the arrow tip to encase it.

Write your desire on the paper in large block letters. [….] But since we're breaking a curse here, simply write “GOOD FORTUNE.” Fold the paper into thirds, then into thirds again, and place it inside the salt circle directly on top of the arrow tip.

Ground and center. Light the black candle and focus on all the nasty energy coming your way. See the harm it;s done, the trouble it's caused, and feel your personal misery. Then take it a step further and feel the anger. Don't just become angry though. Let the fury consume you until you're absolutely, positively, livid pissed. [….] Then name the candle for negativity.

Light the brown candle. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, releasing every particle of anger from your body. When detachment takes over – and it will – feel the weight of your personal burden lighten. Then see the energy begin to transform into something neutral, and name the candle for transformation.

Light the white candle. See the energy transformation process as complete. There is nothing left but clear, bright, raw, pure energy now. Energy which you can use to manifest your desire. Name the candle for raw, untapped, pure energy.

With your eyes closed, follow the salt line from the candle to the circle, and focus on the paper with your intention. Visualization is very important here, for you not only need to see your desires coming to fruition – your luck changing, your life becoming yours again, living a life you want t olive – but be able to feel them as if they've already manifested.

[….]

When the candles extinguish themselves out, light the paper, and leave it in the salt circle until it burns to ash. [….] Once the ashes are cool, gather them together with the salt and the remnants of wicks and wax (if there are any), and bury the items outdoors. [….]

[T]hings begin to change immediately. [….]. All that's left is for you to decide precisely how you want to live that life you've taken back. And I've no doubt you can manage that!

Books Mentioned:

1. Psychic Self-Defense by Dion Fortune
2. Protection & Reversal Magick by Jason Miller
3. Wiccan Warrior and Full Contact Magick by Kerr Cuhulain
4. Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison
   

Music Played:

1. Meet Me By the Standing Stones - Leigh Anne Hussey - Homebrew
2. I Used to Be a Powerful Priestess - Leigh Anne Hussey - Homebrew
3. Harper David - Leigh Anne Hussey - Homebrew
4. Mental - Noctiflora - the Magic Drone
5. Rise Up Witches - Leigh Anne Hussey

Announcements:

1. East Cobb Pagan Walk in East Cobb, GA. Saturday, September 5th. (More details forth coming.
2. Pangaia Metaphysical Store to participate in Pagan Centered Pagan the weekend of September 27th.
3. Pagan Alliance Network and Pangaia Metaphysical Store to participate in the 2009 Mystic Fest in Omaha, NE. October 3rd and 4th.

Web Sites:

1. KZUM - Lincoln, NE Community Radio Station
2. Blog Talk Radio
3. Pagan Alliance Network and alternate site
4. Pangaia Metaphysical Store
   
5. Witchy Living
6. Pagan Centered Podcast

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Remember, you can hear Pagan-Musings live every Saturday night at 10pm CST or anytime you want at www.blogtalkradio.com/Pagan-Musings.

Blessings to you all,
RevKess and KaliSara

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday, July 19, 2009

My most sincere apologies for being so behind on posting this blog. I have recently started back to work and I am adjusting to this new schedule. My time online has been significantly influenced by the hours that I am working. But enough with the excuses.

It would seem that I put my foot in this week with the show. Murf and Damon have elected for me to put together the music for the first half of the show AND to run the boards for at least half an hour. Well on my way to becoming a certified programmer with KZUM. Woot!

So I have been busy with planning what to play during the show. I am seriously thinking that I should just go ahead and put together enough music for the whole show and see what happens. Who knows, Murf may decide to let me sit behind the boards for the bulk of that morning. /crosses fingers and hopes/ Not sure which way I should be hoping there. LOL

Between the music selections and the other things that we would like to be doing for the program, I think I have my work cut out for me for the 26^th. I make no promises, but I plan to have our tidbits and quotes going again as well as some world holidays and a brief calendar of events. We are approaching on August and Lammas, so there is bound to be some interesting things going on in the world of Paganism and Witchcraft.

WHAT'S NEW WITH THE MESS:

• Glass Wolfe sent us a wonderful CD, you heard some of it on the show from the 19^th

• Murphy's Magic Mess is now available online. For two weeks at a time, you can listen to each program of the Mess on MySpace. You do not have to be a member to listen to the show. Visit www.myspace.com/Murphysmagickmess and click on the video feeds. (Damon was a little over zealous when he made the page and accidentally put a “k” into the mess.) As the Mess is a music show you will not be able to download the program like you would a podcast. FCC regulations and all that jazz.

• Murf is moving her website. For the last several years Murf has had a website detailing the playlists and special guests from the Mess. Yahoo is shutting down GeoCities free websites, so Murf has to move. We do not yet know where she is moving the website. Could be an extension of the MySpace page or could be something entirely different. Stay tuned for further updates.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• KZUM Grill-a-thon at Russ's Market on 17^th and Washington, Friday the 24^th and Saturday the 25^th from 11am-6pm. Come join programmers and staff from KZUM as they cook up some good old fashion burgers, hotdogs, and bratwurst and help support KZUM. This is a fund raising event for KZUM.

• The Pagan Alliance Network is hosting it's monthly Meditation and Divination Night on Saturday the 25^th at 7pm. Phil is playing host for this event. Please contact him for directions. The Meditation and Divination Night is an opportunity for people to meet, experience a guided meditation and practice with their divining skills.

• Pagan-Musings podcast is covering the Pagan Alliance Network and its history on Saturday the 25^th at 10pm CST. You can listen live at www.blogtalkradio.com/Pagan-Musings, or download the show at a later date. Join RevKess and KaliSara, the founders of PAN, as they discuss the history of PAN, current projects, and future plans.

Pagan-Musings: An Introduction

Pagan-Musings: An Introduction

www.BlogTalkRadio.com

Hosted by RevKess and KaliSara

original air date: Saturday, July 18, 2009, 10:00pm CST at www.blogtalkradio.com/Pagan-Musings

Greetings and well met, our friends and listeners! We had a slow start to our first program, due to technical difficulties. We did manage to pull it off, though! Thank you to Aut and Lostrayne on the East Coast for showing their support in the chat room and listening to Kali and I get our wits about us.

The primary purpose of this first episode was to test the waters and see if we could get most of what we were doing figured out. I think we did manage to do so, but only time will tell. Our next episode will hopefully have less technical errors in programming and more success with our conversational continuity.

I would like to apologize for the dead air time towards the end of the show, it would seem that I somehow lost my connection with Skype for a minute and didn't realize until after I had been babbling for a minute or two without anyone able to hear me. I hope to be able to catch that before it happens again. But, for a first time out, I think it was rather successful! KaliSara was such a trooper in putting up with me while I was learning the ropes.

One last note, a correction actually, before going on to specifics about this episode and future shows. I did not have a calendar in front of me so I misspoke about the upcoming show This is My Athame. It is scheduled for Saturday, August 15^th, I had said the 10^th, which is a Tuesday. A little hard to do a Saturday show on Tuesday. My apologies for any confusion.

Topics discussed in our Introduction:

• The Summoning by Nuit on the album Mother Night – http://www.motogrrl.org

• Pagan Alliance Network – http://paganalliancenetwork.ning.com

  • Weekly schedule of events

  • Online presence

• Pangaia Metaphysical Store, bringing the metaphysical to life – http://www.pangaiastore.com

• DolphinMoon Coven

  • DolphinMoon Coven Seeker Class

  • DolphinMoon Coven Open New Moon Meditation and Healing Circle

• Order of the Red Grail, Church for Transformational Wicca

  • Open Full Moon Circle

• Pagan Right Alliance – http://www.yahoogroups.com/PaganRightsAlliance

• Murphy's Magic Mess – http://www.kzum.org and http://www.myspace.com/Murphysmagcikmess

  • Pagan music program on Lincoln's own community radio station, KZUM 89.3FM, Sundays at 9am CST

• Witchy Living with Cairelle – http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WitchyLiving

Future Shows:

1. Saturday, July 25, 2009, 10pm CST: Pagan Alliance Network, history, what it is today, and what it offers.

2. Saturday August 1, 2009, 10pm CST: The Quantum Pagan, how science has proven magic exists and how to use quantum mechanics in every day life.

3. Saturday, August 8, 2009, 10pm CST: The Techno Pagan, use of technology and the internet to reach out to the Pagan community.

4. Saturday, August 15, 2009, 10pm CST: This is My Athame, ritual tools, their uses, and what to use in a pinch.

Special Announcements:

1. The DolphinMoon Coven Seeker Class is schedule for Sunday, July 19^th at 4pm at the home of Phil Kessler. Email him at dorian.nos@gmail.com for directions. Students may arrive as early as 3:30pm for check-in before class. This month's class is comparative religions, giving students an opportunity to discuss their religious backgrounds, how they came to their current path and how they have reconciled their path with their friends and families.

2. The DolphinMoon Coven Open New Moon Meditation and Healing Circle is schedule for Sunday, July 19^th at 7pm at the home of Phil Kessler. Email him at dorian.nos@gmail.com for directions. Attendees may arrive as early as 6:30pm for check-in. These sessions are an opportunity to celebrate the new moon in an open and welcoming atmosphere as well as help to boost one's own energies if in a time of need.

3. The Pagan Alliance Network's Meditation and Divination Night is scheduled for Saturday, July 25^th at 7pm at the home of Phil Kessler. Email him at dorian.nos@gmail.com or contact him on http://paganalliancenetwork.ning.com for directions. Participants may arrive as early as 6:30pm for check-in. The Meditation and Divination night is intended as a means to practice both meditation techniques and divination. Participants are encouraged to bring their favorite divinatory tools.

4. The Pagan Alliance Network is hosting it's Second Annual Yard Sale on Friday, July 31st-Sunday, August 2^nd from 10am-6pm at the home of Julia. Please contact Phil at dorian.nos@gmail.com or on http://paganalliancenetwork.ning.com for more specific details. 10% of all profits are invested into PAN.

5. The Pagan Alliance Network is hosting an Open Lammas Ritual on Saturday, August 1^st at 7pm at the home of Julia. Please contact Phil at dorian.nos@gmail.com or on http://paganalliancenetwork.ning.com for directions. Participants may arrive as early as 6:30pm for check-in. Ritual attire is not required, but is appreciated. Please bring a potluck dish, table service for yourself and any guests, and a non-alcoholic beverage to share.

6. Witchy Living with Cairelle, www.blogtalkradio.com/WitchyLiving is doing a special podcast with guest Rev. Philipp J. Kessler for the Pagan Alliance Network. The show is scheduled for Sunday, August 2^nd at 8pm CST. They will be discussing the Pagan Alliance Network and Rev. Kessler's work with past life insights and regressions. If time allows, and listeners are interested, Rev. Kessler may attempt to do mini-past life insight readings on the air. Visit Witchy Living at www.witchyliving.com for more details and to browse Cairelle's online store.

Again, we would like to thank you for listening to the show and hope you tune again next week!

Blessings,

RevKess and KaliSara

RevKess can be reached at philippk@pangaiastore.com

Read his blogs at http://philonradio.blogspot.com, http://randommishaps.blogspot.com, and

http://www.pangaiastore.com/blog

KaliSara can be reached at sarahb@pangaiastore.com

Read her blogs at http://www.pangaiastore.com/blog

Murphy's Magic Mess on MySpace

And here we are! Murphy's Magic Mess is now available on MySpace.com.

Remember, this is a public profile, so you do not have to be a member of MySpace to access the show online. It is a "video", which means you cannot download the program like you would a podcast, but you can listen to it. Each show that is posted will be available for two weeks.

Now you can listen to Murf, Damon/Sir Fluff, and Phil/Rev. Moonbeam anytime you want!

Podcast Update

Hey, there, just wanted to give you an update. As I am now working evenings during the week, the August 3rd podcast with Cairelle on Witchy Living has been moved up to the 2nd. That is Sunday, August 2nd at 8pm. All other information still applies.

thank you

July 5, 2009

Greetings and thank you once again for listening to the Mess! We had, as usual, a very good show. Good music, fun conversation, and lots of phone calls this week. Woot!

First, we would like to thank ALL of KZUM's supports, we raised over $13K in our latest pledge drive. That is for ALL shows and ALL programmers. Congratulations to the station!

Second, we would like to thank everyone for making this 4th of July weekend a safe and exciting one! Celebrating our independence is important, but we don't want to be b lowing our fingers off or setting the neighbor's house on fire!

Third, I'd like to send a shout out to all those online listeners that we have! Cairelle in New Orleans, Gwydion and Silverowl in Massachusetts, Lauralee et al in the Denver area, and of course our overseas listeners who are too many to list! These are just a few of our online listeners. You can tap into the live streaming audio by going to the KZUM website and clicking on the microphone icon on the left side of the page. The Mess is on at 9am CST every Sunday, but there are so many other shows to fit your tastes. Explore the site while you are listening to the Mess.

We are always aquiring new music as we go. If you have any suggestions or requests, please feel free to comment here or email Phil.

Some up-and-coming things for the Mess:
At least once a month we plan to have a themed show. We've already been doing something like this for the Sabbats and other special holidays. But what we are planning is something more along the lines of featuring an artist or a style. So if you have any suggestions we would love to hear about them!

Damon is working on creating a MySpace page for the Mess that will have up-to-date playlists and video streams of our shows. Now, these will be track listing videos, not footage from the studio. Though we may through in some pictures of the three of us, our featured artists and guests. We will only be able to have each shop up for two weeks at a time to avoid issues with the FCC and the video will not be downloadable. But you will be able to catch each show for up to weeks. I'll be sure to post the link when it is up and ready!

Murf is moving her website by the end of this fall. Yahoo has decided to do away with the Geocities sites and that is where Murf has had the radio's website for the last several years. Perhaps that explains why she has stopped updating her playlist... Damon and I are helping her to move her archives over to a new site and we shall see what we can do about having special links and other services available. We do know that her playlists will be archived back as far as we can go. I believe as far back as 1996 or so. Again, as soon as we have the live link, I'll post it here for you.

And last, but not least, Phil will be on a podcast soon. Cairelle from WitchyLiving will be interviewing Phil on his involvement with the local and national Pagan communities, the Pagan Alliance Network and other issues and topics of interest. The show is scheduled to air live on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 8pm Central. There is also a chat room open during the podcast for people to talk about the show and whatever else might come to mind. As this is a podcast, it will be archived and available for download if you miss the live broadcast. Phil and Cairelle are both very excited to be doing this together.

A New Pagan PodCast

Hey, a friend of mine has just started a new podcast. I thought I would share this with you all. As the Mess has a lot of online listeners, it is only fitting that we have listings of online shows.

Cairelle is the owner of WitchyLiving.com based out of new Orleans, she is a member of PaganSpace.net and is one of the Mess's loyal listeners. this new podcast is Witchy Living, a show about living a magical and witchy lifestyle. You will learn all kinds of interesting information. Her first show deals with magical gardening. Future shows will include discussion of divination, astrology, parenting, and many other topics.

Each show features a main topic with news and live callers. Tune in weekly and learn more about Witchy Living!

The show broadcasts live on Mondays at 10am Central. Go to the site on Mondays and the show starts automatically. You can also listen to the show at any time, it is archived on BlogTalkRadio.