Hello All,
This week has gone a lot smoother then I feared. Actually it went a 
lot smoother then I had hoped. I'm not ashamed to admit I was a bit 
nervous about doing two newsletters. I would like to thank all those 
who submitted things for either/or newsletter.  You all got thanked 
already but I would like to do it here as well. 

I will admit I am pushing the boundaries of stated goals a bit in 
this issue. The article is by a Christian Witch and her views on 
magic. I found it very interesting and I hope you will as well. 

I would also like to wish everyone a slightly belated Ostara. My 
daughters and I spent the evening of the 20th roasting peeps and 
eating them between graham crackers. (I had milk chocolate with 
mine.) I think the funniest part with the roasting of the peeps was 
when my oldest said to one as she skewered it "die Peep die."  I 
admit it I am raising children with a twisted sense of humor.  

My husband is still on the road but I got a postcard from him 
yesterday. (He calls almost daily and sends postcards.) This one had 
the Cherokee Alphabet on it. I thought it was pretty neat. I need to 
get myself an album for my cards like I have for the girls. Currently 
I have them in the same box as I have my crystal cards (for doing 
readings) but if I keep adding post cards I'm not going to have space 
for my crystal cards.

So until next time,
Blessings of the spring be yours.
Sheila K. Watkins
Editor: Whispers of a Stone Circle 
See last page of this newsletter for submission guidelines, 
forwarding guidelines, where you can subscribe to Whispers and 
copyright information.

~*~*~*~ 
LIFE
By Torch

The artist wields the chisel.
Scarring the surface.
The scars defining.
Creating a form.

Removing bits that hold it back.
Cutting deeper with each blow.
Releasing the inner contours.
Becoming a whole.

The creation becomes.
Recognizable as an entity.
Existing on its own.
Becoming a one.

The creature takes flight.
Moving about the plane.
Momentum building to frenzy.
Becoming a movement.

Abrasives in the atmosphere.
Colliding at great speeds.
The movement altered in response.
Becoming a core.

The inertia expended.
The chassis loses its hold.
Crashes down to the ground.
Becoming an old.

Rotting into nothingness.
The old slips away.
Reverting to its components.
Becoming a new.

The artist wields the chisels.
Creative once again.
The cycle continues.
As new turns to old.

~*~*~*~ 
Cool Link(s) of the week: 
Pantheist's Dictionary
http://www.pantheist-index.net/dictionary.html

Frequently Asked Questions about Pantheism
http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/faqs.htm

Various -theism definitions:
http://www.geocities.com/sttpharmd/hissoc/religion/beliefsystems.html

Varieties of Religious Belief:
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/blfaq_theism_main.htm

God and god beliefs:
http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/lshulman/URBELIEF.html

Theological Dictionary:
http://www.carm.org/dictionary.htm

Pagans and Theology:
http://www.soulrebels.com/meg/theology.html

Philosophical Vocabulary:
http://education.cant.ac.uk/renet/Philosophy/POR/por7.htm

Monotheisms, Quasimonotheisms, and fine shadings:
http://cyberspacei.com/jesusi/inlight/religion/belief/monotheism.htm

~*~*~*~ 
An Unconventional Witch
A Different Path of Magic
By Mina

I would like to preface this small article with a note that this 
comes from my own personal experiences, and opinions. They relate 
perhaps to only myself, but hopefully you will at least find them 
interesting. Now, on with the article.

Many people have problems dealing with things they do not understand, 
or that fall out of the standard range of what is considered normal. 
Situations such as those are shunned as they occur, any display that 
might prove that the realm of the supernatural is very much with us 
in our daily lives is often greeted with ridicule and scorn. Those 
that believe things outside of the norm are labeled weird at best and 
often times far worse.

I am a Christian Witch. The technical term I suppose for what I am in 
the realm of standard Christianity is heretic. At least, that is what 
someone that professes the beliefs I do would have been called in 
this very county in 1692. What I believe is at its root quite simple. 
I believe that God created this world, and all the things within it, 
including magic. It is there for each of us to tap into to the extent 
of our abilities. Magic is not a force for evil, as the Church has 
taught over the centuries, but a natural gift of God to his people. 
Like the wind over water, it is a moving creation waiting to be 
appreciated by those that have the touch. Magic is natural, in and of 
itself a force that each person can find their own connection to, 
whether slight or great. 

I am of Irish descent, and still carry a full fourth in blood. There 
is a long-standing tradition in my family of small, though useful 
strange abilities. There is also a long-standing tradition that one 
is never to speak of such things outside of the family, because 
others that do not have the abilities simply would not understand. My 
mother, a woman that has faith so pure that her aura literally shines 
with it, can lay on hands to a degree, but rarely does so for fear of 
ridicule or rejection ... or worse yet, the fear of being used for 
such abilities. Her touch can soothe headaches, nausea, calm fevers, 
and leave one with a sense of being loved. Yet because of the 
attitudes displayed towards magic in the past or the expectations 
that only priests or prophets should be able to heal, her gift is far 
more limited than I feel it could have been. Part of that, is fear.

My first encounter with my own abilities happened when I was about 
eleven or twelve years old. A girl in my baby brother's class had 
disappeared, and the whole neighborhood had turned out to search for 
her. After walking up and down a bit by the lakes, I tugged my Mom's 
sleeve and said .. "Mom, tell them to stop looking, she's dead. She's 
in the lake."

My mother of course was horrified, and told me not to say that. We 
walked about ten feet from where they found her, her ball still 
floating on the water where she had gone to try and get it. 
Afterwards, my mother gave me the speech.

"Don't tell anyone, that you knew she was dead ... they won't 
understand."

Afterwards, I discovered other innate abilities, and my connection 
with the magic of the world around me. It was as if this event opened 
the floodgates so to speak. Mostly, its smaller things ... a small 
healing touch, which I think, will grow with time and use, the innate 
call to learn and use herb lore, the call to the rituals to focus the 
magic I can use. To me, it is a real and living part of me, to use 
these gifts. To simplify my definition of what I am as a Christian 
Witch, I believe that the magic and the part of me that uses it comes 
from Him.

The organized church has done much over the years to steer away from 
questions that might involve magic, other than to decry it or try to 
lump it all together under the umbrella of Wicca or Paganism, or even 
Satanism. I've known many fine followers of the Wiccan path, and 
other sorts of Pagans, but I don't believe I've ever met a true 
Infernalist. But then, and once more this is simply my opinion, what 
I have experienced regarding the organized Christian church has been 
fairly negative. "Judge not lest ye be judged" is by far more often 
shown to be ... "I will judge you if you are not exactly like I am." 
and churches are far more often filled with "Sunday Christians" who 
do terrible things all week and then beg for forgiveness on the 
weekend. I by far prefer my own path ... if you cannot pray where 
ever you are, you have far more problems than who is going to file 
your tax refund and whether or not one can write off tithes as 
charitable contributions. 

That was something that I never felt comfortable with, growing up. 
The idea that one must be in a specific building in order to find a 
connection on a spiritual level with God always struck me as wrong on 
many levels. As I grew older, I began to research the religion as it 
is practiced, and came to many of my own conclusions as to the true 
purpose of organized religion. Many well-known men and women have 
gained great wealth and temporal power by espousing the beliefs of 
Christianity, and stressing the need to tithe to the Church. Perhaps 
at first this was meant to help support the poor, but as so often 
happens, it became "ten for me and one for them" and to a truly 
spiritual person I feel that there should be nothing more chilling 
than a televangelist spouting a fire and brimstone sermon on TV 
Beware the false prophets indeed. 

That small first internal thought, that this sort of thing was just 
not right led to others, discoveries that the elders of the churches 
I went to and spoke with knew little or nothing about the faith they 
were supposed to love and nurture made me realize as well, that some 
people would rather be led than to truly know what is out there for 
them. Which to me is very sad. God created such a wonderful world, 
full of majesty, mystery, and Magic ... and these sheep will never 
see it. I suppose its fitting that ministers often call themselves 
shepherds, yet far too often I see that they are not shepherding 
their flocks, but simply blinding them to the world. I refused to be 
blinded, and opened myself instead to the Magic.

So I am a Christian, and I am a Witch. That works for me, where it 
might not for others, and I am at the heart comfortable with my faith 
and what I am.

~*~*~*~
Announcement(s): 

Feel free to forward announcement as you wish but please keep the 
total post together.

Announcing for the April 1, 2002 special edition: 
The humor edition of Whispers of a Stone Circle 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhispersOfAStoneCircle/
What is eligible: Deliberately cheesy poetry, Spoof articles on any 
pagan subject, Wildly inaccurate History whatever your little heart 
finds funny. 
LadyHighPriestessFaerieDawnLightbringer will edit the issue.
Deadline: March 25, 2002.
Judges: whomever I can con into helping me read through everything.
Prizes: An honorary 1st 2nd or 3rd degree (depending on what place 
the person gets) in 
DanishWiccanGypsyGwyddonsBritishtradWelshroyalitygaelictradsNewAgeCrys
talweareringllewellynfluffbunnyhophophopFamilyTrad complete with 
degree suitable for printing and framing. All submissions will be 
receiving an initiate degree as a thank you. 

Rules:
1) Submission must be an original work with the copyright still in 
the name of the writer. Copyright as always remains the author's but 
agrees to be published in the special edition if deemed the winner. 
The Winners as well as second, third and all runners up will be 
placed on a special website for the world to read. 
2) I would prefer is submissions came in as the body of e-mail but if 
submitted as an attachment must be a .doc file and something I can 
read on MS word 97. 
3) Author must submit under his or her real or craft name but also 
must provide a pen (goofy) name for the article to be published under 
as well as a fake bio for the pen name. The more outrageous the bio 
the better. The author's real name will be posted with the fake bio 
in parentheses unless the author begs to be protected from anyone 
ever knowing he or she wrote the submission.
4) Sections for the contest: poetry and prose, Articles, Other. 
Please place submission for April Fool's issue: Poetry & prose, 
submission for April Fool's issue: Article, or submission for April 
Fool's issue: Other as the subject line of the submission.
5) Submissions will be judged for creativity, originality, and humor. 
Bios will be considered as part of the submission. `
6) Submissions should be made to: zeliziw@netins.net on or before 
March 25, 2002

~*~*~*~ 
Writer's Biographies: 
Torch: This 30-year-old Pisces/Aries Rat uses the labels Father, 
Witch, and Pagan, amongst others, to describe himself.  A life-long 
Florida resident (thus far), he has completed his first novel (with a 
partner) and is shopping it around for publishing.  He has studied 
many paths and incorporated elements of most into his own dance 
through life.  "I am human.  I am witch.  I am contradiction," says 
Torch.

Melinda or Mina describes herself as "Blonde, bratty, and too cute 
for my own good ... was once told that I am a `candy coated hellcat'. 
My weaknesses are chocolate, my husband's pout, and a good book. I 
enjoy chatting with friends and sharing ideas. " She's a long term 
pagan from the central part of the United States. 

Sheila K. Watkins knew from the time she was 15 that she wanted to be 
a writer but did not really start writing until she entered college 
where she worked on her college newspaper and also worked as the 
editor of the feature section for one semester. She was also 
introduced to the love of writing poetry at this time. Fortunately 
for all of us most of the poems have been lost to the world of men. 
After college she worked several jobs during the next few years but 
none included writing. It wasn't until after both of her children had 
started school in 1998 that she went back to her love of putting 
words on a computer screen. Her first submission was accepted by 
publication by the IOWAN newsletter and it started her on the path of 
truly honing her work. In October of 2000, she founded and became 
editor of Whispers of a Stone Circle.

~*~*~*~ 
Submissions are always welcomed and can be made to: Zeliziw@netins.net
In submitting materials writers are agreeing that if accepted I may 
post them in the newsletter and on the web page (whenever I finally 
get back to work on it.) Works submitted must be the writer's own 
work and they must still retain the copyright OR it must be 
verifiably public domain. Works can have been published before but 
please nothing that has been around over and over again. Copyright 
remains in the author's possession. The Author also realizes that 
they will not be paid. (If I had money I would be hosting this on 
something other then Yahoo.) If a submission is accepted, I will 
check for punctuation, capitalization and spelling in submitted 
articles. I will fix minor errors if they are present. I will NOT 
reword things (except for an occasional "an" for "a" and vice versa.) 
Poems are published as submitted. 

Forwarding information: If you chose to forward this newsletter, do 
so in its entirety, including copyright and contact information. 
People may subscribe to Whispers of A Stone Circle at: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhispersOfAStoneCircle/


All articles, poems, etc, except where noted are copyrighted by the 
writers and are used with permission. They are not to be republished 
without the express permission of the writers. Contact information 
may be obtained by contacting the editor of Whispers of A Stone 
Circle at Zeliziw@netins.net 

Copyright (c) 2002 Sheila K. Watson.
All Rights Reserved