Poetry by Mystic Raven 06.16.07

HIS VERSION OF THE TRUTH

I wanted to know if something was wrong;
I had loved you so long and so desperately
"No," you said, "No I do not love another,
You are all that I want and need."

But then more and more I felt you withdraw;
You were no long affectionate to me.
But still, "No," you said, "I do not love another."
You let me hope, you let me try to be who you wanted.

You pointed out little things that I could do better.
That I would be prettier if I were a smaller size;
That the house did not look as spotless as before.
That maybe I could have been a better mother,

Or that we had had our child too soon in the marriage.
I was bewildered, but still you said there was nothing wrong.
I felt sad, and wondered why I was no longer wonderful
But still, "No," you said, "I do not love another."

Then one day I found things that said you had a lover.
You denied it, but more things happened, and I was sad.
Everyone believed you were cheating, but I didn't want to,
After all, you went to church, you promised in front of God.

Now you have left me, still denying what I now know to be true.
There is adultery, and has been for some time.
You could have told me the truth in a more gentle way.
You could have told me the truth instead of cheating.

The lies you have told me will poison your own mouth...
How can you be happy leaving your wife and children
And sleeping on another's bed of cheapness and cruelty.
Any lies you tell now will burn the inside of your mouth.

Saint Michael protects me and my children.
But oh, Mr. Adulterer, he does not protect you,
Or the woman that chose to sneak around with a married man.
My children will be happier without you in the long run;

But oh, the blood of our pain cries out to you
From the ground, and from the Heavens.


© Copyright 6/14/07
Beth Clare Johnson
(Mystic Raven)

What is Heka?

"Heka was seen as a gift from the sun god Re to mankind (his offspring), a manifestation of his creative energy as an embodiment of his Ba (his soul). It empowered man to create using words and actions, mirroring the sun god's creation of the universe. Heka can be seen as the creative force or life-giving energy connecting the objects, links and symbols of life with the universe, like a subtle tapestry of energy, which the magician must learn to read if s/he is to effectively work magic."



From the book "Heka" by David Rankine

We Are What We Think

We are what we think.
All that we are, arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakeable.
How can a troubled mind understand the way?
Your worst enemy cannot harm you
as much as your own thoughts unguarded.
But once mastered,
No one can help you as much,
Not even your father or your mother.

Buddha (from the Dhammapada, translated by Thomas Byron)

Temple of Kemetic Wicca

After much pondering and proactivity, we are pleased to announce the reformation of the Temple of Kemetic Wicca "Witch" has been revitalized via the Blessings of our Patron Divinities (Goddesses, Gods, Lwa (Loa) & Spiritual Guides).

And as always, we will continue to help those who seek spiritual enlightenment and those who may be in serious need of spiritual balance, solace, and guidance within our ancient and modern practicum and expertise of:

Heka ▪ Hoodoo ▪ Vodou (Voodoo) ▪ Witchcraft

Em hetep,
Blessed Be!

Frater K.A. Sahure V°
Arch High Priest
Temple of Kemetic Wicca
Priestesses & Priests of Ma'at

Sages

Sages lean on a pillar
That is never shaken,
Travel a road that is
Never blocked, are
Endowed from a
Resource that is never
Exhausted, and learn
From a teacher that
Never dies.
They are successful
In whatever they undertake,
And arrive wherever they go.
Whatever they do, they
Embrace destiny and go along
Without confusion.


~ Wen-tzu ~

Prayer Enough

Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, make me beautiful within, and grant that what-ever happens outside of me will help my soul to grow. May I always be aware that true wealth lies in wisdom, and may my "gold" be so abundant that only a wise man can lift and carry it away. For me that is prayer enough.


~ Socrates ~

The Snail

At the bottom of the Nine of Pentacles, Pamela Colman Smith painted a snail. What idea was she trying to help us to see?

Sandra A. Thompson, in her book “Pictures From the Heart”, tells us that snails are a lunar symbol and represent not only feminine energy but also the cycle of death and rebirth. She goes on to say that the shell is linked to the spiral and to self sufficiency.

The number nine is often linked to the Sephirah Yesod and to the unconscious while also meaning completion and ease in that particular suit. A pentacle is a five sided star that is surrounded by a coin. Isabel Kliegman sees this symbol as representing the body and the soul. The star is what we are made of and the coin is the body that houses it.

So what do we have? Someone who feels comfortable in her body, someone who has worked hard and can now enjoy the fruits of her labour. Someone who is self sufficient and proud of the person she has become. At the same time, she knows that all things must pass. Life is a never ending cycle of birth, growth, deterioration and death. Knowing this, she can enjoy what she has made, both in the outside world and in her soul. She can enjoy but not be bound by it. She is not afraid of the loss of her power or position because she knows that what she so meticulously built up can be taken away at any moment. And this is okay. She can build again. She is not her possessions.

What more can the snail tell us? Perhaps Ms Colman Smith wanted to point out that perfection is a myth. No true garden is free of insects, dirt and debris. Each and every garden has a snail just as every human has some habit or characteristic that makes them seem less than perfect. The woman in this card is at ease in her body and in her surroundings. She sees the snail in her garden but loves and enjoys what she has made anyway. She knows that perhaps in the eyes of others she is too short or too fat or too poor, but deep inside that star in the middle of the pentacle she is perfect unto herself. She not only accepts the snail in her garden, she welcomes it.

I keep a snail on my computer monitor and another on the kitchen windowsill. They remind me that I don’t have to look “perfect” to others. In fact “what other people think of me is none of my business”. I must acknowledge the snail in my garden and give it pride of place in my being. It is that snail who makes me who I am.

The world is full of human beings who have no confidence, who feel no joy in being who they are. People can spend their entire lives trying to “fix” themselves, to remake themselves in the image of what popular culture dictates as “perfect”. There are billion dollar industries that prey on this mistaken sense of what is “right”, what is “acceptable”. For some people it does not matter how much they own or how much they accomplish. It is never enough; they can never enjoy it because they need to erase that snail. They feel an overwhelming urgency to obtain perfection.

Why do we waste our precious time and resources denying the snail in our garden? Take a close look at the face of the woman in the card. Do you see her serenity? Does she look apologetic for being successful, well dressed, and self sufficient? No. She is happy and confident and at home with herself and with her life.

One other thing comes to mind when I look at the snail on the Nine of Pentacles from the Rider Waite Smith deck. Snails move slowly. We have all heard and used the term, “He is as slow as a snail”. In this world of computers and almost instantaneous e-mail we use the term “snail mail” to symbolize the slowness of regular postal mail. This card is a snapshot of our lives. The world has slowed down to a crawl and we can now take the time to enjoy what we have created, what we have become. Ultimately time moves forward and nothing lasts forever. But in the world of the Nine of Pentacles, the snail reminds us to find peace within our being and to be proud of who we are; warts, snails and all.


Sesheta-mallorn ~ May 2004

Drum For The Wicca

Tic toc and tic toc
And tic toc tic!

Whacks on a rock now
And taps with a stick!

In spins the Priestess
And round now she goes!

Ho! How she prances
And twirls on her toes!

Shouts from the Woods now
And howls to On High!

Praise to our MoonMaid
Who sails through the sky!

Great gifts She gives us
To know dark and bright!

And blessed be Her wise ones
Who dance in the night!


Julian Kenwick

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.


Percy Bysshe Shelley