Category: Spirituality/Paganism & Magick

Imagine living in a culture where sex was sacred and not a sin! The cultures that honored the divine feminine, existing for over 30,000 years, knew that our sexuality was a life-affirming expression of the life force. Sexuality and spirituality was never seen as separate in these cultures and only became split during the patriarchal era. The ancient cultures understood that sexual pleasure was a wonderful way to honor the Goddess, connect with spirit and renew the land, as well as to connect deeply with others.

The rituals performed at Beltane, (the Celtic celebration of the rebirth of spring on May 1st) reflected this integration of sex, spirit, and community. Such celebrations were enacted in earth honoring cultures all over the world and continue in areas such as Latvia, one of the oldest intact cultures in Europe (5,000 years or more). On the summer Solstice, every adult Latvian participates in a celebration that is similar to Mardi Gras, with its ribald jokes, libations and erotic costumes, but with added benefits.

In 1967, director Roman Polanski made one of the most delightfully evil movies ever released by mainstream cinema. True to the old adage that great films are made from mediocre novels, Rosemary’s Baby was based on the just so-so novel by Ira Levin which tells the story of Rosemary Woodhouse, who is manipulated by her husband and his “witch” friends to have the devil’s baby.

It seemed natural that Polanski would hire as consultant Anton La Vey, who had recently gained notoriety in San Francisco by proclaiming himself to be the high priest of the Church of Satan and declaring “the year one,” the year of the devil, a sentiment that was repeated in the movie by a coven of devil worshippers. It also seemed natural that the director would use this self proclaimed Satanist to play the devil in this film, where he is seen impregnating the drugged Rosemary in a series of quick subliminal flashes. However, what seemed like a perfect fit might have had dire consequences for everyone involved in this project.

Last year at the Regional Conference in San Francisco, I introduced the ritual of the Great Marriage as an archetype for female sexuality as it was viewed by the cultures that honored the divine feminine. Collectively these are called the Goddess cultures. For those of you who are new to the Goddess information, there are cultures that existed for more than 30,000 years and until around 5 to 8,000 years ago that were women-centered as well as women honoring.

Women’s sexual desire in these ancient matrilineal societies was considered an active, powerful erotic drive. Their view of women’s sexuality was far more life affirming than what has developed under patriarchy. The wisdom of ancient cultures is that sexual desire is a sacred gift of the Great Mother. In these cultures, women were raised to feel plenty of permission to explore sexual pleasure without judgment and within a world view that integrated sexuality with spirituality.

Back in August of 1999, I penned a column on psychic fraud Raylene Van Worth, who'd written me a "personalized" computer letter to let me know that she had a vision concerning my future. I was in for a period of great luck, it seemed, with a Tudor style home and a new car with leather interior in my future. Most of all, however, the letter was meant to prey on my insecurities and supposed lack of a meaningful life. "I felt you have no one you could really trust," she wrote. "And I felt your loneliness."

The Light Side Of The Moon

by Christine Hall

The ancients understood many of the things that we’ve forgotten. For example, they knew all about the system of cycles within cycles, which is how nature operates in our lives. According to this knowledge, the 24 hour cycle of the day gives way to the 28 day lunar cycle. On our calendars, this would correspond to the month, if we hadn’t decided that it was more important for this to divide evenly into the 365 day cycle of the year, which is why we lengthened this cycle to 30 and 31 days, which represents nothing that occurs in nature.

The first thing a visitor notices when entering Richard Welborn’s home are the handmade mobiles of the planets that hang from the ceiling of his living room. They are arranged around an overhead light, making a representation of the solar system with the light as the sun. Welborn points them out and shrugs.

Several months ago, a friend of mine was at a gathering of Ceremonial Magicians in the mountains of Tennessee. The group was an oddball assortment of old hippies and younger New Agers who studied the practices of a turn of the century occult group, the Golden Dawn, that had revived the religion of the ancient Egyptians. During the course of the discussion, they began trying to name exactly what they were attempting to accomplish with the work they were doing.

It’s one thing when a group embraces a concept like Satanism to propagate their rather unpleasant and tasteless ideas. But at least when an organization calls themselves “Satanist,” the general public has some idea of what they are about, as if there is some sort of truth in their advertising. They may try to dress-up their ideas to make them intellectually palatable, but we pretty much know that they align themselves with concepts that most people consider bad or evil, because that’s what Satanism means.

I just received a letter in the mail that proclaims that I am already a winner! My ship is practically in port and it’s all down hill from here! I don’t have to have the winning number or give a specific time for Dick Clark or Ed McMahon to stop by to drop off my check. All I have to do is sit back and let the good times roll.

Most people would like to know what the future holds in store for them. Since the dawn of time, soothsayers and seers have been developing systems to predict events that have not yet happened. For as long as there has been commerce, there have been “fortune tellers” who will predict the future for a fee. There are many reasons why people seek such advice. Some are interested in love and romance. Others want to know about their financial future. Still others want only to gain a deeper insight into their own inner processes.