Oregon Abduction

My latest for Trickster's Realm on Tim Binnall's BOA: An Oregon Abduction about a woman I met years ago at a local UFO workshop, and her incredible story in the Gold HIll, Oregon area.

The Male Witch

I have been very fortunate to have many people who have had real events, sightings, close encounters and unknown experiences write to me. The fact that I protect those who talk with me gives me a wealth of information about the paranormal to write about. I am not interested in bringing ridicule or heartache to those who endure the unknown. I am only interested in bringing the stories to those who wish to read them. It is up to each and every one of us to form our own opinions. Dragging a persons private life out for others to invade is not my idea of addressing the paranormal. I am not a news reporter I am simply someone who wants to share the experiences of others for us all to use as a base of knowledge. With so many having so many events or sightings happen it is very probable one day you may find yourself in the arms of the unknown. Reading what others have lived through and how they handled it may one day be a lifesaver for you when your paranormal day walks right into your life.

Along with events I have been fortunate enough to find those among us who live the lifestyle of things we all hear about, think we understand yet are sadly confused or misinformed about. I have been able to talk with those who live as real life vampires, pagan witches, as well as those that have been labeled a ware wolf when in fact they simply suffer from a rare disease.

Today I am going to share with you an interesting interview I was lucky enough to have with a real Male Witch.

I found this man to be very polite and easy to deal with. He was good enough to share with me what his lifestyle is like being a Traditional Male Witch.

.

We interviewed in question and answer form. Since Halloween is a time of celebration for those who are witches I wanted to share some of those questions and answers with you as Oct 31^st approaches.

What kind of Witch are you?

I am not a neopagan new age self studied witch. I also am not a follower of a religion called Wicca invented by Gerald Garner around 1950. I am not a Satanist or devil worshiper

.

I am an initiated follower of an ancient wisdom tradition. A tradition handed down through generations from person to person. A tradition translated into different languages and cultures over the millennia. A tradition known in English as Traditional Wicca.

Do you belong to a coven of witches?

There are two types of traditional witches covens. There are training covens, where people regularly meet with a holder of the tradition, where that ancient tradition is once again handed down to another generation (possibly to a different language or culture). There are also “working” covens, where witches who have completed their training agree to meet regularly for a set period of time for some specific purpose.

I was trained for 10 years in a traditional training coven. Since my training with that coven was completed, I now practice on my own, not belonging to any working coven.

Witchcraft is often associated with the term "Wicca". What is Wicca?

It is a modern English term, coined by Gerald Gardner around 1950.

The term is used in two ways: neopagan Wicca, and Traditional Wicca.

Neo-pagan as the name infers is new paganism typically made up and invented by the leader of each group. This was the case with Gerald Gardner and is done by solitary witches. They do this without following the set traditions that are handed down from generation to generation. Followers of this type of Wicca often call themselves witches and being without a definite tradition, believe in and practice a random variety of different pagan ideas.

Traditional Wicca is a modern English term for a specific set of beliefs and practices that is handed down from generation to generation.

The modern term of Traditional Wicca refers to an ancient initiated, body of teachings and practices that have been handed down through the generations person to person for centuries.

These practices and beliefs constitute something similar to what is known in India as Hindu or Buddhist tantra, and could be described as "the tantra of the West." Contrary to public misconception, tantra does not refer to sexual practices. The meanings of the word tantra aptly describe Traditional Wicca.

Literally the word means: a loom, specifically, the warp or weaving. It also means: the leading principal essential part, main point, or characteristic feature of anything. It is a model, prototype, system, framework, doctrine, rule, or theory. Also: a chapter or part thereof, or a class of works teaching magical and mystical formulae.

Is there some organization behind Wicca?

There are some Wicca organizations, such as The Wiccan Church of Canada. Traditional witches normally have nothing to do with any organizations beyond their own coven of 13 or so members. The idea of some organizing body beyond that is foreign and incompatible with the basic tenets of traditional Wicca.

What does a traditional witch do?

Traditional Witches practice prayers, meditations, rituals and spells. We practice the prayers and spells that are selected, designed or altered by accomplished witches before us that are appropriate to our time and culture.

We learn prayers to watch and develop how we use our minds. We practice meditations, spells and rituals to explore what it is that we are really doing, and what it is that we really are. We do all of these things, so we can help others and ourselves when the need arises.

What's the purpose of the witch practicing witchcraft? 

We are all of One Universal Consciousness. Finding that and identifying with that is our most intimate experience. There are powerful immediate effects that come from recognizing this. Because we can experience firsthand that we are not separate from anything we can be aware by instinct of self-preservation. It becomes impossible for us to want to harm another. We would be harming ourselves!

At the same time any pain or suffering we become aware of we experience as our own. Out of the instinct of self-preservation it is impossible not to want to help heal that pain or suffering. A drive to help others is inherent in the core experience of Existence itself. . Abhorrence for any kind of harm or deprivation is our way of life. These are the effects of learning to be a witch in the traditional sense.

We believe it is the union of the God and Goddess that creates the entire universe. Traditional witches place great value in a balance between the two of them and in the equality between the sexes. One can no more have one without the other than one can have day without night, here without there, or up without down.

Our daily practice is to learn to recognize these truths within us and around us in every moment and everything we do. We have prayers, meditations, rituals, and spells for our own languages, cultures and time that we use as constant celebrations of those truths.

We use prayers, meditations, rituals, and spells to try to reduce the harm we see around us. We use those things to try to help those who are suffering because we can feel the suffering happening to ourselves, as we are all of one Consciousness.

What's an example of a ritual in the daily life of a Traditional Witch?

First thing in the morning, we pay homage (pay attention to)

1. The Gods of Creation

2. The Gods of Destruction (as in renewal, which is the secret of "healing"), and

3. The Gods of Preservation.

We go to a sink, use a special cup acquired for this purpose and this purpose alone, fill it with water and then pour that water in libation, once for each of the above three.

In doing so, we start each day aware of the on-going living dream that we are immersed in. This is a very simple and ancient ritual shared by many cultures through many ages.

What are Witches Sabbaths?

They are eight festivals each year: four festivals of fire (including Halloween), and four festivals of the Sun (solstice and equinox). In the year, defined as one complete revolution around the sun, we see nature go through an entire cycle, and then repeat. This cycle is for us a huge Reminder and Celebration of our own cycles of Awareness.

This cycle is the cycle of birth, death, and re-birth, as traditional witches firmly believe in reincarnation.

While the Sabbaths are sacred to the Horned God, being celebrations of Awareness the Full Moons are sacred to the Great Mother Goddess being celebrations of Life.

What do witches believe about sin and the devil:

We have no concept of sin. We also do not believe in any absurd concepts such as the devil, nor of hell. These are all relatively new and manipulative concepts of the Sons of Abraham, which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Instead of the idea of sin, we have a more ancient idea, something very similar to the Indian concept of Karma: we believe that what you do comes back to you (because it's all You in the ultimate sense anyway).

Instead of the idea of the devil we have the idea of ignorance and ill intent, which are everywhere we look, but certainly not as an organized force or single mythical entity like a devil.

Instead of hell we have the idea of self-created bad dreams that we experience right here, right now, depending on what we are dreaming. We deliberately go to hell by immersing ourselves in a hospital of needy people, or by visiting a battlefield. We can make our own lives into a living hell by making poor choices of behavior. It is certainly not everlasting though as by simply shifting our attention we can focus on the fact that it is only a dream and not take it seriously or we can dream something better by simply seeing things differently. By changing our habits and behavior we can decide not to visit that hell again or deliberately return to help others out of it.

Traditional witches cannot knowingly practice evil black magic or black witchcraft because everything one does comes right back at them. Traditional witches believe that any form of imposing one’s own will or opinion on another is a form of black magic. For this reason, traditional witches learn to never argue religion, politics or philosophy with others. They never try to recruit or convince others of their beliefs. For these reasons, when political forces seek to impose their will or beliefs on others, to persecute and eradicate the beliefs of others traditional witches end up hiding instead of openly arguing or fighting. Instead, they work quietly in their meditations, prayers and in their magic circle arranging opportunities for people to see the evil in their actions even if it takes centuries for them to accept these opportunities.

What does Halloween mean to you?

Of the 8 Sabbaths that traditional witches celebrate each year this one in particular is called the Grand Sabbath. It is the most important of all to a traditional witch.

Mythological- this is the day that our goddess descended into the underworld seeking the Great Mystery. It is a day when witches do the same. At this time the veil between the worlds reach its thinnest point in the fluctuations of the year. It is a time when we can contact the dead, and for the dead to contact us. It is also a time when the veil between the worlds being so thin allows us to be aware of all kinds of nonhuman living entities and they aware of us.

These entities might include any from the whole spectrum of life including spirits, angels, gods, ghosts, etc. Our Grand Sabbath is held at this particular time because it is a time when our Awareness of so many things occult can be so easily opened.

What is a Witches Familiar?

Part of our training is to experience the dream-like nature of reality and the relationship of imagination to it. To do this we are taught how to move, live and work outside of our bodies for brief periods of time. Think of the way you develop a close bond with a husband or wife. At times you sometimes feel like you can see through their eyes, or tell what they're thinking. A traditional witch can learn to deliberately build such a relationship with a loved pet such as a cat, dog, raven, or owl.

There are techniques for you to actually move out of your body and share the body of your pet. You are able to see through its eyes, walk or fly with its legs or wings. The purpose for being taught this is to see for yourself firsthand that you really do share the same Consciousness that all other beings do. You see for yourself that you are one with every creature in the most absolutely concrete sense. You realize that your own human body is just a witch familiar: it is an animal that you share consciousness with.

You walk with its legs, talk with its mouth, but you are not human. So you get a firsthand experience that you are, and always have been something far beyond human.

My interview was much longer and detailed then what I have written today. I will give this male witches web site link at the bottom of my article. The site is filled with far more insight and history then I was able to cover in this article.

I admit I did not fully understand the true base or lifestyle of a real witch until I interviewed this man. I found it very interesting to be educated to another way of life and thank him for helping me understand the world through his eyes.

Since Halloween is just around the corner I felt it a perfect time for us all to understand the meaning it has for others past our treat or trick give me something good to eat concept.

I do know the next time I dress up as a witch for a Halloween party I will think of this man and be filled with new meaning concerning the term Witch.

Happy Halloween to all what ever you method of celebration may be!

Witches site below

http://dreaminghades.com/ Dreaming at the Feet of Hades

♥ Copyright © 2008- 2009 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved
Chris Holly’s Paranormal World- http://endlessjrny.blogspot.com/
Email chrishollyufo@yahoo.com chrishollyufo@yahoo.com

Moveable Feasts, Mobile Slaughter

I posted this on Oregon LOWFI: Moveable Feasts, Mobile Slaughter, an item about moveable beef killing, my grandfather, and Mason jars.

Danielle Lee's The Spirit Guide

Occasional contributor Danielle Lee has her own blog; I hadn't been over there for awhile but visited recently and there is a lot of interesting things over there, including lovely artwork. The Spirit Guide

Alien Beings - Michelin Man

The following extract is taken from the “Personal Biography” page of my website.

When I was 13 or 14 (in 1962/1963), I was at boarding school in Newbury, Berkshire, just 2 miles from Greenham Common Air Base. One day a friend decided to run away. The night she did this I was concerned for her safety and, after 'lights-out' I watched from my dormitory window. It would have been sometime after about 9.00 p.m., and I watched for a long time. I saw her go down the long drive, (at least the length of two hockey pitches), and disappear out of sight.

For some reason I stayed watching the main road that ran past the end of the school grounds. Suddenly, on the road, looking to my left, I saw a very tall figure that can only be described as a 'Michelin Man'. It must have been tall due to the distance involved, and the fact that I had such a clear view. I watched as it walked up the slope of the road to the crest of a hill, and out of sight.

I remember thinking that someone must be on their way to a fancy dress party, but how strange they didn’t go by car, and what would the other traffic on the road think of them. At the same time I didn’t actually recall seeing any traffic at all on the road; usually always busy, being a main link into, and through, the town.

The other strange thing is that although I was now feeling cold I don’t remember going back to bed. I simply remember being back in bed again. I was not asleep during this experience; it is still crystal clear and an absolute reality. I have no explanation for it.

In those days Michelin tyres may have been advertised on TV but at school we did not have TV, nor did we have TV at home so, if the advert was on I could not have seen any such advert at that time.

And the point of this blog post? To see if anyone can come forward with either an explanation, or a sighting that they too may have experienced.

Bison Sacrifice, Fortean Connections

A new post at Oregon LOWFI on the rotting bison meat in South Dakota:Fortean Bison: Sacrifice in South Dakota

Do Guardian Angels Leave Us Signs?

Often I have listened to those who believe in the power of angels, guides and spiritual powers giving us signs when we ask for help, answers or guidance.

I have heard stories of people seeing certain birds or flowers, words or hearing sounds as a sign that those they are speaking to in different realms or dimensions hear them. I know that people exchange certain words with loved ones to use with mediums to those who have passed over to the other side.

I have known all my life that those who pray often ask to be shown a sign that they are heard or that things will be OK. I can recall my own family members asking to be given a sign that we would survive a family crisis or for a loved one to make it past a serious health issue.

I realize that this goes on all the time with people all over the world but I really did not see it happen first hand until just recently. I am beginning to think if you live long enough and pay attention to the world and people around you -eventually you will experience many things that others seem to miss. I am grateful for all my experiences and will now add this one to those I can only categorize as unknown.

I belong to a large Irish family. One of my relatives is a very spiritual woman who spends a great deal of time talking to and praying to her creator and her angels. She is strong in her relationship with those who guide her and truly feels heard and helped when she reaches out for the help of her spiritual guides.

Another member of our family was seriously ill and due to have a dangerous difficult operation. Everyone was concerned for this family member. .

A day or so before the surgery was to take place a few of my brothers and sisters along with three cousins and two aunts all went to lunch together. We were in the habit of doing this often as it was a easy way to keep the family news flowing with so many of us spread out with large families of our own.

During this lunch visit my spiritual relative told us she had been praying for our family member who was about to have his extremely dangerous operation. She told us we all had to join hands and ask those who help and guide us to look out for him as he was still needed by his family and losing him would be a tremendous tragedy. We joined hands and prayed as a family. Just before ending the request for help given out to the universe and those who look over us our spiritual relative added “ And please give us a sign today that you have heard our request and that you are there looking over our family”.

We all whispered amen and began to look over our menus to order lunch. As we sat talking about what to eat one of my brothers was nagging at another one to move out of his way from the table, as he wanted to get something out of his car. We all shoved around to let my one brother make his way from the table. He had been sitting against a wall. When he finally got free of the table and walked away his chair was left empty exposing the wall behind him. The rest of us remained glued to our menus until a cousin sitting facing the spot my brother had just moved from blurted out “Oh good God – I don’t believe it”. We all looked at her and followed her eyes, which were round stunned and looking at the spot where my brother had been sitting against the wall. There on the wall behind where my brother had been sitting was an 8x10 photo stuck on the wall of two people sitting at a picnic table. As soon as I looked at it I also murmured a loud “Oh my God!”

The rest of my family all looked closely at what we were looking at and the Oh my Gods followed around the table. We all sort of sat there a bit stunned for a few seconds. With that my brother who had gone out to his car returned and stood looking at us looking at the wall. He took a look and gave a startled loud “OH MY GOD”, of his own.

There on the wall was a picture of two people sitting at a picnic table who looked exactly like our grandparents. At first we were sure it was them. We took down the picture to examine it. It took us a few minutes to figure out if it was or wasn’t our grandmother and grandfather. The people looked exactly like our grandparents. It was simply incredible.

My spiritual relative then stood up and said “ That’s our sign- everything is going to be OK for us all for awhile” She took the photo in her hands and said to the couple in the picture “Thanks Nana and Pop- we knew you were watching over us” She then looked at us all and said, “Any questions from any of you doubting Thomas’s? We all just sort of sat there a bit shocked at the entire scenario.

Our grandparents had doubles. Exact doubles that happened to also be married to each other as our grandparents were. They also somehow just so happened to have a photo of them stuck on the wall where we were just praying to those who looked over us.

We searched the rest of the walls in the restaurant and did not find one other photo of anyone anywhere. Only that one photo was stuck on the wall behind my brother’s chair.

We took the photo with us and went back to my oldest siblings house that kept all the family photos in her attic. We wanted to check our own memories and find some old photos of our grandparents to compare to the one we found on the wall in the restaurant.

This is the really incredible part of the story in my eyes. Not only did we find a box filled with photo’s of our grandparents. We found an 8x10 of our grandparents sitting at a picnic table exactly like the couple from the restaurant. When we held both pictures side by side- they were almost identical. The people in the picture found at our table in the restaurant were doubles of our grandparents without question.

Now I know many will simply mark this up to coincidence. For me, well I gave up on chalking up lots of things to coincidence and lean more towards reason. I believe things happen as they are suppose to and that this event happened so we would know things for our family at this point in time were going to be OK.

Our sick relative recovered from his delicate surgery and he is doing well. In fact the entire family is doing well right now. I think about my grandparents and know that they were kind loving caring people who were a gift to us all. I think they heard us that day and maybe even had lunch with us at our table leaving us a sign- things would be OK.

Take from our encounter with this strange event what you will. For this woman and her family it gave us comfort, love and the knowledge that praying or asking the universe to help you or look over those you love in life works. I often talk to those who may guide me and look over me. I will also never doubt those who tell me they were given a sign or dismiss the fact that they were heard.

Remember; although our loved ones have crossed over they also may be watching us finish our tour of duty here on the big blue ball of life! I have given up my doubting Thomas status and will admit- I am a believer!

♥ Copyright © 2008- 2009 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved
Chris Holly’s Paranormal World- http://endlessjrny.blogspot.com/
Email chrishollyufo@yahoo.com

UFO Magazine: Where are the Women?, Patrice Chaplin, Contactee Elizabeth Klarer

The current UFO magazine has an article by Women of Esoterica contributor Lesley Gunter: Where, Oh Where, Are the Women? Lesley discusses the lack of women (still!) on UFO and paranormal television programming.

Sean Casteel has an article: Patrice Chaplin's Love Affair with the City of Secrets, about author Patrice Chaplin, who is a fascinating person. Daughter in law of Charles Chaplin, author of books such as Siesta -- which was made into one of my favorite films, with Gabriel Byrne -- has an intriguing life concerning true esoterica and the Holy Grail. Her book City of Secrets: One Woman's True-life Journey to the Heart of the Grail Legend (quest Books, 2008) details her explorations in Spain and Europe into this realm of esoteric knowledge.

My article this month is about the South African contactee Elizabeth Klarer.

Other great articles in the issue as well, including Alfred Lehmberg's review (Provenance Is!) of David Cherniack's documentary UFOs: The Secret History. Stanton Friedman responds to criticisms about his research: Kimball, Smith, Bush, MJ-12, and Nick Redfern gives us the first half of a two part article: Unlocking the Real X-Files.

Karyn Dolan's Podcast Through the Keyhole

A general plug for Karyn Dolan's podcast. October 9th, her guest will be Stan Gordon, who, among other topics I'm sure, will discuss the stranger side of Bigfoot sightings. For more information, including archives of past shows, visit Karyn's site here.

BLOG CHANGE

Blogger is behaving oddly; I am in the process of changing the look, but Women Of Esoterica will continue to look "off" until both blogger, and myself, get in synch.