In This Issue: Editor’s Note Poem: Goddess, Give Me Roots By Moonchild Cool Link(s) Article: The Shaman's Path - Extraction Part 4 of 4 By Jodi Wetherup (ierne) In the News: Experts Debate 'Homeland Security' Announcements: SPEAK UP FOR WOLVES: One-sided ABC News report hurts recovery effort Random Acts of Kindness Day Writer's Biographies Current Subscriber Count: 1070 ~*~*~ Hello All, Welcome to Whispers of a Stone Circle. I will admit I am still reeling a bit from all the changes that have happened over the course of the last month. I would like to welcome all those people who have joined us from American Witch and Pagan and I do hope you enjoy Whispers as much or more then you enjoyed AWAP. I also wasn’t expecting on changing Whispers’ home but I am glad I did. Karen has done a very snazzy job and if you haven’t looked at the site as yet, you may do so at the following URL: http://www.jbinc.com/Whispers/ Currently it contains some of the back issues and the rest shall be there soon. I also plan on a submissions guideline page and a statement of purpose. Whispers started out in October of 2000 and it was named after the stone circle I had in my herb garden at the time. That particular garden is gone along with the circle although both the stones and many of the plants were transplanted to my new gardening space when we moved. I chose Whispers because it hints at knowledge that isn’t commonly out there and I hope I have succeeded with that part. Whispers never has been and never will be a spell of the week type newsletter. I think in the last 2 years I have printed (maybe) 2-3 actual spells. For me it is more important to have the whys behind magic known instead of using any old recipe you can find. For me though magic is only a small part of my path, the major part is the spirituality. I have recently started calling myself a “non-traditional Wiccan with a bit of Shamanism thrown in” and I think it is an accurate description. I explained to a friend when I called myself that for the first time that electic wasn’t the right term because electic seems to imply that I am taking a bit of this and a bit of that and still experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. I know what works for me. You may wonder what “non-traditional Wicca” is. First off magic takes second place to the religion. I serve, follow and work for the goals that the deities I follow have revealed to me at least when I am not digging my heels in and bitching about what they have planned. Notice I didn’t say I worship them because I’m not in awe of them and don’t expect to be struck dead if I am not humble enough. I call my path Wicca because it is the closest term I can come up with for the path I am on at the present time. If I come up with another term that describes it better I will change what I am called. I borrow things from other sources only after careful consideration and soul searching. Maybe not the best definition but it might give you a clue as to what I am about. Anyway welcome once more to all the new readers and welcome back to all those who have been loyal readers for a long time. Until next time, Sheila K. Watkins Editor: Whispers of a Stone Circle See last page of this newsletter for submission guidelines, forwarding guidelines, subscription and unsubscription information and copyright information. ~*~*~*~ Goddess, Give Me Roots By Moonchild Goddess, give me roots - that I may use them to dig deep into this life, to anchor myself deep in your fertile soil, to drink what I crave from your flowing breast. Goddess, grant me hate - that I may learn to value love. Goddess, give me wings that I may use them to soar high above my foes, to shield myself from that which would harm me, to lift me aloft with this life's last breath. Goddess, grant me lies - that I may learn to value truth. Goddess, give me passions that I may use them to burn with love for others, to cherish myself so that I may be loved, to seize what I need and give this life worth. Goddess, grant me fear - that I may learn to value courage. Goddess, give me gills that I may use them to plumb my own deep oceans to steel myself 'gainst terrors dark and dread, to rise from my depths unbowed, unafraid. Goddess, grant me strife - that I may learn to value peace. ~*~*~*~ Cool Link(s) of the week: For those in the United States: http://www.senate.gov - Are you wanting to check the voting records of your state's Senators? This site contains roll call vote tallies, committee memberships, committee hearing schedules, contact information of all 100 Senators and an interesting "History News" section. ~*~*~*~ The Shaman's Path - Extraction Part 4 of 4 By Jodi Wetherup (ierne) First published at: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/women_healing_methods/55263 Imagine my surprise, when in my research I discovered that I had been practicing a form of Shamanistic healing when I use crystals and stones, or when I use Aura Surgery. I hadn't realized previous to this article series that that is precisely what I was doing. The methods used are also known as Extraction. This is the method, or group of methods, used to pull the negative energies or intruding energies from a soul, or the etheric spirit body of the patient. I have found that this is often the method that is used by people all over the world, and they are doing this much the same way I do, and are just as blind to the fact that they are indeed this method. To begin, the Shaman has the recipient or patient lie down. The Shaman then goes into the state of ecstasy needed to access the spirit world. From here, the Shaman will contact his/her spirit or animal guide(s) and enlist their help in locating the energies, and the extraction of the energies. The entire etheric body of the recipient is scanned for dark spots, or spots of energy that are colder and "stickier" than the rest. At these spots, the Shaman can do one of several things, but they all amount to the energy being pulled or "sucked" out of the area, and placed into a neutral area. The extraction itself, as I said, can be done in several ways. Crystals or Stones: These can be placed on the physical body to draw in the negative energies. This is something that I have been doing on and off for many years, without really realizing that was what I was doing. I personally carry the stones with me in an amulet bag, and they work on my spirit areas almost continually. Once or twice a month I will take the stones and cleanse them. Should I be working on someone else with a problem, the stones suited to that problem are placed on the body and left for a while. When the session is complete, the stones are placed in salt water, and then buried (if it's warm outside) or placed in a container to be buried later. During healings such as this, the energy is pulled into the stone and trapped there. If the energy is particularly stubborn, the healer may resort to placing his/her hands over the stone, and then pulling them back in a sucking motion. Surgery: In this method, the Shaman will use his/her hands to cut out the dark spots from the spirit body. The energy is literally scooped from the body, and placed into a neutral zone (like a bowl of water) and the area filled with positive energies from the spirit guides, and then sealed. In severe cases this may need to be done several times over, in order to completely cleanse the etheric body of the dis-ease. Sucking: Once the areas needing to be cleared are determined, the Shaman literally sucks the energy from the etheric body by using his/her mouth. I have seen images of a Shaman using an everyday straw for this, as well as one where the Shaman cups his hands around the area, and then sucks through the vent formed at the top of his hands. I would suggest that only experienced Shamans use this method, although I didn't find any research to bolster that opinion; I can't see where anyone should be using this method if they haven't the experience to protect themselves and their patient properly. I have really enjoyed this past two months working on these articles. I hope I have provided you with some useful information and insight into a little known world. ~*~*~*~ In the News: Experts Debate 'Homeland Security' By Darlene Superville Associated Press Writer Thursday, September 5, 2002; 12:54 PM WASHINGTON -- The name of the Department of Homeland Security is meant to evoke images of safety - even family, hearth, comfort. It gives some people a knot in the stomach. An uncommon word to begin with, "homeland" became an everyday word after the Sept. 11 attacks and was institutionalized when President Bush created the Office of Homeland Security. Jeff Neberman, who teaches European history at Boise State University, says it's "right out of Nazi Germany." The German word "heimat" means "homeland" and was used by the Nazis. Others dispute a direct Nazi link and note various cultures have used the word, too. Rest of the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40435-2002Sep5.html Pagans join the paintings at festivities Imagine, you're having a big, expensive wedding and you mention to your mom that you've invited half-a-dozen Hell's Angels to the reception. Mom goes along. But, to soften the expected shock, she tells her friends that these people you've invited are members of "a cycling club," a "diverse and interesting group of people." Now imagine you're Cindy Guy, chairwoman of the annual Riverside Arts Festival, an enormous party held each year in Riverside Park. Weather permitting, the festival should draw 25,000 people tomorrow and Sunday. There will be lots of art to buy and there will be plenty of food and entertainment. Also there will be pagans. Rest of the story: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090602/pat_10377337.html ~*~*~*~ Announcement(s): >From Defenders of Wildlife: SPEAK UP FOR WOLVES: One-sided ABC News report hurts recovery effort ABC News aired a one-sided, prime-time report this week giving voice to those who want to kill endangered gray wolves in the West. Among its many failings, the ABC report didn't note that surveys have consistently shown that people in the northern Rocky Mountains overwhelmingly support the restoration of wolves to the wild or that Defenders of Wildlife compensates ranchers when livestock is lost. "This outrageous ABC report could do damage to the wolf recovery program at a very critical time. Just as wolves are making a comeback in the Rockies, the government is about to try to strip them of federal protections. With its biased report, ABC may have set back this important effort," Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen said. Tell ABC News that you support the return of wolves to the American West. To make your voice heard, click here: http://abcnews.go.com/onair/WorldNewsNow/wnn_email_form.html (Editor’s note: Usually I don’t put things like this in Whispers but I felt this was a good idea and it had come to me directly from the person responsible for the conception of the idea.) Random Acts of Kindness Day: Recently there has been an e-mail circulating telling people to turn on their car headlights on September 11th in remembrance. Well, quite frankly I don't think to many of us have forgotten about September 11th and I personally don't think turning our headlights on will make a big difference in our world. So instead why not use September 11th to practice random acts of kindness. Do something nice for a complete stranger. Buy a coffee at the coffee shop for the person next to you. Pay for the person’s toll behind you on the bridge. Bring cookies to your local fireman, pick flowers for a total stranger. And when they ask you why? Tell them it's September 11th and I'm practicing random acts of kindness. We could all use being a little nicer to each other because you never know what tomorrow brings. It maybe a small gesture but hopefully it will have a huge impact. It may not make a difference in the world but I'm sure it will make a difference in that persons day. And who knows, maybe that person will pass along their random act of kindness to someone else and eventually it will make a difference in the world. Rev. Shelli H. English Have a great day! And do something nice. ~*~*~*~ Writer's Biographies: Moonchilde says about himself: I'm male, 47, married for 21+ years. My wife and I rent a house in South Florida from 6 cats. I found the Wiccan path about 8 years ago. Jodi Wetherup (ierne) is the editor of more newsletters and publications then I even want to count. Fortunately editing this many newsletters has not been declared a form of insanity. Sheila K. Watkins founded and became editor of Whispers of a Stone Circle in October of 2000. She is past editor of The American Witch and Pagan Weekly Newsletter, A long time Wiccan/Pagan/Witch as well as being a Wife and Mother. ~*~*~*~ Submissions are always welcomed and can be made to: zeliziw@jbinc.com Submission guidelines can be received by writing zeliziw@jbinc.com Forwarding information: If you chose to forward this newsletter, Please do so in its entirety, including copyright and contact information. People may subscribe or unsubscribe by contacting: Whispers@jbinc.com Back issues may be found at: http://www.jbinc.com/Whispers/ 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@jbinc.com Copyright (c) 2002 Sheila K. Watkins All Rights Reserved.