August 2011 | Page 1 | The Blessed Be Newstand - - [guild newspapers] - - FEBRUARY 2013 NOW AVAILABLE! | Guild Forums

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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:21 pm

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Abilities, Advanced Practitioners, Astral Projection, Astrology, Author of the Month, Beginner's Section, Crystals and Gemstones, Current Affairs, Elements, Herb Garden, Kitchen Witches, Meditation, Mythical Creatures, Pagan Art, Pagan Humor, Spells

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It's a paying job (Gaia gold only), so it's well worth it! biggrin

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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:05 pm

- We celebrated Litha/Yule!

- We're currently celebrating Lammas/Imbolc!

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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:07 pm

Please welcome our new members!

LacrymosaVampiress22, Nakazora, lifeaura, Mikey xTEx, AloeBlisse, Nandoral

Please wish these members a happy birthday for the months of August and September!

August 3rd - - ummei
August 9th - - Marie Bellamy
August 11th - - The Riot King
August 12th - - Enshara
August 16th - - YumiSukazu
August 19th - - Bayleigh of the Dark Moon
August 20th - - Amythest Fae, dragonwings87 and mystikdreamer
August 23rd - - SinginginSilence
August 24th - - Lady Katmarie
August 29th - - Satans Sweetest Angel
August 30th - - xXEmo Tori Bitesv--v

September 1st - - PitifulSoulLostInDarkness
September 4th - - Nakazora
September 5th - - Mika Lockheart
September 7th - - iMissRainbowCake
September 9th - - Slevara
September 12th - - Mystic White Raven
September 14th - - IileyahWithTheStars and The Deadliest Grace
September 16th - - KimHeroin
September 17th - - The_Count_of_Capieville
September 26th - - phoenix_bandit and Reivyn-chan
September 30th - - Phoebe4448

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(Art is defined as poetry, short stories, excerpts from a novel, photography, sculptures, graphic design, painting, drawings, collages, etc).

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:09 pm

This is the spot where you can advertise just about anything you want.

Want to advertise your quest? Do you want to advertise something you're trying to sell? Or maybe you're looking for a mentor.

Whatever it may be, this is the place to do it!

It's completely free. All you have to do is send a PM to me, Blessed_Scribe, with your ad and which months issue you'd like it to be in. It can be as many months as you'd like, not just one.

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Blessed_Scribe

Abilities, Advanced Practitioners, Astral Projection, Astrology, Author of the Month, Beginner's Section, Crystals and Gemstones, Current Affairs, Elements, Herb Garden, Kitchen Witches, Meditation, Mythical Creatures, Pagan Art, Pagan Humor, Spells

If you're interested, please head on over to this thread to pick up the application. Once you've filled it out, please send it to Blessed_Scribe.

It's a paying job (Gaia gold only), so it's well worth it! biggrin

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If you've enjoyed this issue of the newsletter, or have any suggestions, please feel free to post some feedback!

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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:11 pm

Divination - Hydromancy
Written by oceantail

Hydromancy is divination by means of water which covers a wide variety of practices, the simplest of which is using the surface of the water as you would in scrying with a mirror. More complex methods include suspending a ring on a string, then holding the string and ring in a metal container and counting the times the ring hits the sides of the container. Because of water's relative abundance it is no surprise that there were many methods developed by different cultures. The mysterious quality of lakes and rivers may have brought about the practice of throwing stones and counting the ripples as another form of hydromancy.

Cunningham demonstrates a form of hydromancy in Earth Power. His method being asking a yes or no question then throwing a stone into a pond and counting the ripples. If the number is even the answer is yes, if it is odd then it is no. There are other types of divination that developed out of hydromancy, such as dripping hot wax in water and noting the shape. Hydromancy is believed to have its origins in Babylon, and there is a definite similarity in some hydromancy that would support a spreading outward. There are two major varieties of hydromancy: Natural, that use bodies of water, and contained, that use water in a vessel of some sort. Natural would most likely be discovered individually by each culture, however the contained is more likely to have spread. An example of the natural would be the practice among the women of what we now call Germany, watching rivers and noting the whirls for divination purposes. Hydromancy is a category of divination that uses water to reveal/gain knowledge.

Sources:
Earth Power by Scott Cunningham
http://www.themystica.org/mystica/articles/h/hydromancy.html

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:45 pm

Gods & Goddesses - Dionysus
Written by lifeaura

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The Greek god Dionysus, known as Bacchus to the Romans, is typically explained to school children as being the god of wine with some of his more dubious elements left out. He is also the god of revelry and fertility, often inducing ecstasy in his followers. He was likely added to the Greek pantheon later in its history as he is barely in the writings of Homer and even then he is mentioned with some hostility.

Dionysus is often labeled with the title “twice born” because of his origin story. The god Zeus in a human form came to the mortal Semele and ravaged her, claiming to be a god. Hera, jealous upon discovering the relationship, convinced Semele that she needed to have more proof of her lover's divine origins. Upon seeing Zeus again, Semele insisted upon seeing him in his true glory. Zeus knew that she could not bear to see him in such a form but eventually gave in to her wish. He revealed himself with a flourish of thunder and lightning which killed the mortal woman. However, he was able to snatch up his son from her womb and sew the child into his thigh until he was ready to be born.

The young god was given to the satyr of the wine-press dance, Silenus, to be raised. Under the care of the satyr and his nurses, the Nysiades, he grew up on the mythical mountain of Nyssa. Later stories often portray the young god as coming into cities bringing revelry and wine only to be opposed by the local government which he then crushes in order to allow his revelry to prosper.

One particular story illustrating his conquering powers was given by Euripides in the play The Bacchae. When the Theban ruler Pentheus attempts to deny the divine origin of Semele's son, Dionysus sweeps the women of the city into a frenzy. While in a state of ecstasy, Pentheus' mother Agave and the other followers of Dionysus known as maenads begin to tear Pentheus apart, mistaking him for a lion in their madness. Agave then triumphantly carries her own son's head back into town only to then realize in horror the act that she has committed.

Sources:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dionysus.html
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html
http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Seilenos.html
http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiNysiades.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/p/Dionysus.htm

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