Author: A Solitary Pagan
Hekates Night, 13th August, 3, Offering at the Crossroads.
The crossroads offering is seemingly a later addition and it’s pretty obvious where it comes from – the Deipnon. Every lunar month, on the dark moon, we offer to Hekate at the crossroads to honour Her of course, but it is also a propitiation offering that in some ways asks for protection. On the dark moon She wanders the world as leader of the host of the Restless Dead. So we offer at the crossroa...
Hekates Night, 13th August, 2, The Modern Line.
Hekate Night is mentioned in several modern Pagan books, by that name and sometimes not by any name, simply listed as a night sacred to Hekate. When these books cite other modern, but still older, books this makes the festival seem a touch more legitimate. Then you get a book by reputable or at least popular Pagan authors, they don’t even need to cite a source. They say it, it must be true. “Her ...
Hekates Night, 13th August, 4, Protection and Harvest or Crops.
As noted above, one of the things people find issue with when it comes to this festival, is the idea of Hekate protecting the harvest/crops. Many people find the idea of Hekate and agriculture to be, well, just wrong. Some also find it difficult to understand why Hekate would be called on for protection. So we need to look at these aspects of the festival as well – do they fit Hekate or not? “Heca...
Ghostly Connections 11, Seance.
On occasion during a seance, someone who has not before beheld any phenomena may find that quite suddenly they become aware and that their nascent abilities have been kick started. This usually happens to someone who has a natural latent ability and just needed the right catalyst to awaken it. Generally, a seance will go for one hour, any longer will be tiring for all concerned, especially the lea...
Ghostly Connections 10, Mediums.
Some mediums work with a particular spirit guide, while others call upon spirit assistance and wait for one to make contact. To begin each person closes their eyes and holds hands with the person on either side of them, left palm down, right palm up. The circle is not to be broken while the session is in progress and all participants must remain holding hands until the session is ended. Once the m...
Ghostly Connections 9, An Occult Journey.
Those who are beginning their occult journey may wish to try a Ouija board, with one or several people, the best conduits are wooden. Each person touches the message indicator lightly with the tip of their finger and one person asks one question at a time, then waits for the indicator to spell out the answer. Contact with spirit depends on the awareness, sensitivity and receptiveness of the indivi...
Ghostly Connections 8, Telepathic and Clairvoyant Projection.
The ancient Egyptians believed every soul had a double (ka). Other beliefs are that a living person can project their astral body or their soul which is a reflection of their physical form. It is also thought to be a type of telepathic and clairvoyant projection, an expansion of a person’s consciousness. Crisis apparitions show that a living being is capable somehow of projecting themselves and pr...
Ghostly Connections 7, Spiritualism.
Spiritualism became popular throughout England and America in the 19th century, it came about as people felt the need to gather with others and share a new faith beyond anything scientific. There was a need to confirm life after death, mediums were coveted worldwide due to the new collective unconscious. Many fraudulent mediums surfaced at this time which stifled the new thinking until after the F...
Ghostly Connections 6, The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts.
The Chinese celebrate the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, beginning on the Ghost Month, which is 15 August, the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and lasts for six days. The Buddhist ceremony of putu (the deliverance of the spirits of the dead), is also celebrated at this time. Feasts are prepared and left out for the spirits walking the earth, while Taoist priests and Buddhist priests chan...
Ghostly Connections 5, Messages.
A determined spirit will transmit a message to the living one way or another, there may be signs such as items moved around the home, or even taken out of drawers and placed in specific places where they will no doubt be noticed. You may have an overwhelming urge to do something or see someone, you may have been procrastinating about something and are suddenly compelled to attend to it. If the spi...
Ghostly Connections 4, Supernatural and Spiritual Beings.
Spirit, comes from the Latin spirit (breath), a supernatural being or essence, spirits are less definitive than ghosts, who are the apparitions seen by the living, ghosts are quite tuned in to the earth plane and aware of the living. Spirits attempt to communicate with the living usually for a specific reason and once their task is complete they cease contact. Anyone with ghostly experiences or e...
Ghostly Connections 3, Fear of the Unknown.
It is usually those who die tragically, suddenly or by the hand of another, who remain attached to the earth plane, there is possibly unfinished business or an intense tie to people or a place. Spirits remain earthbound for various reasons, some only for a short period of times, others for longer, some remaining for centuries leading to the tales of haunting we hear about. On occasion a spirit fee...