Whispers Of A Stone Circle Volume 4, issue 2, Jan 10, 2003 In This Issue: Editor's Note Poem: Winter Nights By Morning Raven Cool Link(s) Article: How to: Tarot Meditation By Sheila K. Watkins Suggested Book of the week Skyward happenings: Extrasolar Planet Found Transiting Star In the News: Cedar Rapids Fortune-Telling Ban Could Be Lifted Sonar test on whales halted Announcements: None Writer's Biographies Submission guidelines and other stuff Current Subscriber Count: 947 ~*~*~*~ Hello All, As I write this I am listening to songs from the 80s and I sort of have to laugh because in the 80s I drove a car which did not receive FM bands and because of this the only music I could receive was that from the local oldies station. So in the 80s I was stuck in the 60's and now that it is past 2000 I am listening to the 80s. I guess I am stuck about 20 years behind the times. My daughters of course wonder why I listen to that stuff. They also have made the comment that I can't dance. They don't believe me when I tell them that when I wasn't much older then they are now that I won contests for dancing several times. Of course when I won the contests we didn't have the hip-hop style, we just moved to the music. I do find it ironic that there are rockers that are older then my parents out there when that was the same generation which had the motto, "never trust anyone over 30". I mentioned this fact to my daughters as well. The oldest was wondering who they might be. I mentioned Paul McCartney. At least she knew who he was but she did want to know if any other Beatles were left alive. I said Ringo is too. She went "Who?" I also had to explain that Crocodile Rock had been recorded by someone other then the Baha men. I think I need to stop discussing music with my daughters, I keep it up I am going to start looking for gray hair. I think I will leave this on this note: "We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it" We didn't start the fire by Billy Joel The history behind his song link http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm So until next time, Sheila K. Watkins Editor: Whispers of a Stone Circle Submissions are always welcomed and submission guidelines can be found here: http://www.jbinc.com/whispers/submissions.txt See last page of this newsletter for Forwarding guidelines, where you can subscribe to Whispers and copyright information. ~*~*~*~ Winter Nights By Morning Raven Jan. 10, 2003 Crystal clear, stars bright Moon's full, quiet night White satin blanket, pulled up to her chin Mother's slumber pulls deeper within In the quiet light of evening Her death is quite deceiving Waiting for her rebirth The night cuddles Mother Earth. ~*~*~*~ Cool Link(s) of the week: Magical Comic strips Clan of the Cats: A witch who is cursed to turn into a cat http://clanofthecats.com Acid Reflux: God and her adventures in a hand me down world http://www.acidrefluxcomic.com/ Elf Life: fantasy http://www.elflife.com/index.html ~*~*~*~ How to: Tarot card meditation By Sheila K. Watkins For this you need a tarot deck, separate the major arcana from the minor. As always dress comfortably and find a comfortable position to sit. Shuffle the cards until you feel comfortable with how they are arranged. Draw a card at random from the major arcana. (I will use The Fool as an example) Look at the card and then put yourself in a meditative state. Close your eyes and picture the following colors. Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple or violet The purple fades to white and you enter a short white hallway lined with doorways. You start counting them starting at 22 Then 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 This door is lit up and as you look at the door, the tarot card you have chosen slowly appears on the face of the door. You reach out and open the door and step through into a landscape, much like that painted on the card. As you step through you become the card and take on its journey. (the fool) As the fool you slowly walk across this landscape your path wandering and without a plan. As you wander you come to understand that it isn't the destination of the journey that is important but the journey itself. Meditate and wander for as long as you wish as the fool seeing what insights come to you. When you are ready to return, find the door and step back out into the hallway. Walk back past the doors 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 you walk back down the hallway into a purple light you see blue green yellow orange red and slowly come out and refreshed to our world. ~*~*~*~ Suggested book/item of the week: Wolves have a special spot in my heart In the Shadow of a Rainbow: The True Story of a Friendship Between Man and Wolf http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393314529/whispeofaston-20 ~*~*~*~ Skyward Happenings: Extrasolar Planet Found Transiting Star The farthest known planet reveals itself with a wink from its parent star. by Tom Ford Astronomers reported at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle this week that they have found the most distant extrasolar planet to date while using a new discovery method. Named OGLE-TR-56b, it is 30 times farther from us than any other planet discovered. However, it is a mere 0.02 AU from its parent star - closer than any other known planet is to a star. With this nearness, the Jupiter-sized world is thought to be an inhospitable 3,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Rest of article: http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/166popcs.asp ~*~*~*~ In the News: January 9, 2003 -- Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids Fortune-Telling Ban Could Be Lifted Cedar Rapids is inching closer to getting rid of an 82 year old ban on fortune telling. The repeal comes on the heels of complaints from a city leader that the ban violated his religious freedom. The city council recently unanimously voted to remove the law from the books. They approved the first reading of the new ordinance, but will have to approve it two more times before it becomes law. Rest of Story: http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=1078549 Sonar test on whales halted Judge reviewing lawsuit by activists who fear harm to whales ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 - In response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, a federal judge blocked scientists from studying the impact of a newly developed form of sonar on migrating gray whales. Environmentalists say the high-frequency sonar could disorient whales and separate calves from their mothers during their migration Rest of Story: http://www.msnbc.com/news/856987.asp ~*~*~*~ Announcement(s): This space is to hold announcements, If you have an event of regional, national or international interest to announce, please drop me a note. ~*~*~*~ Writer's Biographies: Morning Raven, licensed massage therapist, graduate practical nurse and spiritual seeker, currently lives in Northeast Florida. She is in the process of self-renewal and guidance after going through several trials. Apprentice tarot reader and all around open-minded, new age thinker, Morning Raven hopes to continue on her journey to self-discovery with peace and love. 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 found here: http://www.jbinc.com/whispers/submissions.txt Forwarding information: If you chose to forward this newsletter, Please do so in its entirety, including copyright and contact information. People may subscribe to Whispers Of A Stone Circle by mailing: Whispers-subscribe@jbinc.com or unsubscribe by mailing: Whispers-unsubscribe@jbinc.com Any other commentary may be sent to: Whispers-owner@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) 2003 Sheila K. Watkins All Rights Reserved.