Ancient Egypt culture flourished from around 3100 BCE to around 395 CE when Roman rule ended. But it extends to around 5500 BCE and that does go back a bit, even in the world history time line.

The Wiccan practice of the broom to sweep the sacred space prior to ritual and the use of water sprinkled on the floor; these came from ancient Egypt, likewise the use of incense. The Egyptians made use of fragrances in the ritual sense. “It was pleasing to the Gods”.

The use of knotted threads and ribbons also came out of Egypt; knotted red threads were sometimes called “Anubis threads”. They were used for protection from negative forces and entities.

Poppets were used for both healing and cursing; the former was used to represent the body of the sick person and the cursing was usually reserved for foreign armies.

Colour in Magick – Black was the colour of the night and death, but also for healing. Blue was heaven and water. Green was life and fertility. Red was the colour of blood and fire, but could also represent the sun, danger and chaos. Yellow or gold also represented the sun, constancy and eternity. White was the colour of sacredness and purity.

Magickal Tools – Egyptians used a number of different woods or materials for their wands, a different wand was used for different occasions. Sceptres such as Sekhem were used for command, and also to wave over objects for blessing.

Postures and movements from Egypt are also used within Wicca, such as the crossed arm position known as the Osiris position. The Egyptians also moved sunwise in their rituals, they believed that to move against the direction of the sun was to give power to the forces of chaos. The use of the sacred circle was a normal practice for the Egyptians. They offered food and gifts to the God, and after they had their share the priests ate there fill. Today we offer cakes and ale (wine) as well to the God/Goddess then we then take part in the sharing of the offering.

“Between the worlds” was also used in ritual; time didn’t exist within a sacred space. This was because stepping into a sacred space was seen as returning to the beginning of time, to enable the priest to tap into the energies of creation.

A final similarity between ancient Egypt and Wiccans is seen in the books of magick (Book of Shadows). The priests consulted their books for spells, healing and curses. Such spells were usually chanted, generally repeated a specific number of times to have their full efficiency.

Ancient Egypt, its religion, culture and legends still hold the mystery of magick with its eternal appeal and old beliefs. May the Egyptian people come through their time of grief and be strong once more to hold their heads up high.

So as you can see we as wiccans do share a unique path with the ancient Egyptians that have been left to us all as our legacy to hold and cherish and also pass along as it was passed along to us.

by David Rankine

Footnote: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs will be showing as the next Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for Melbourne Museum, running from April to November 2011 – www.kingtutmelbourne.com.au.

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What is a Twin Flame?

Twin flames, also called twin souls, are literally the other half of our soul. We each have only one twin, and generally after being split the two went their separate ways, incarnating over and over to gather human experience before coming back together. Ideally, this happens in both of their last lifetimes on the planet so they can ascend together. So you probably haven’t had many lifetimes with your twin.

Each twin is a complete soul, not half a soul. It is their task to become more whole, balancing their female and male sides, and ideally become enlightened, before reuniting with their twin. This reunion is of two complete and whole beings. All other relationships through all our lives could be said to be “practice” for the twin,  the ultimate relationship.

What is a Soulmate?

Soulmates are our soul family, the ones we do have many lifetimes and experiences with, who help us grow and evolve, create and dissipate karma. According to ancient wisdom, when the soul is ‘born’ or descended from Source, it is created in a group. The souls in this group are our soulmates, ones who are very like us in frequency makeup. Then each of these souls is split into two, creating the twins.

A soulmate is someone you are close to at a soul level, and with whom you have had many shared experiences in different lifetimes, in various kinds of relationships — siblings, parent-child, best friend, as well as romantic relationships. There is a deep love for each other, and a spiritual bond that sets them apart from the superficiality of most other people in your life. Conversations are generally deep, about personal growth and service to make the world a better place. We can have many soulmates in our lives, and they come to us to help us grow spiritually.

Have I Met My Twin?

Twin Flame reunions are the most fulfilling relationships we can enter into as humans, on all levels. However, twin flame couples have been extremely rare on the planet, and for good reasons, which will be described later.  Despite this, we are finding that more and more twins are finding each other now, because of the acceleration of spiritual transformation and opportunities for soul evolution we are all experiencing. People are evolving and learning and healing at such a fast rate that they are getting ready for their twins faster.  What used to take lifetimes to learn and heal, people are now going through in years or even months.  This is the astounding level of acceleration we and the planet are going through.

When twins get together, it is for some kind of spiritual service work. This is their primary reason for finding each other, because through their union a huge birthing of creative energy is released, to be used for their mission together. More and more twins are attempting to get together now to help the planet and humanity make a big shift forward in consciousness.

However, many of these attempts at reunion are unsuccessful because the individual people are not quite ready for the intensity of a twin flame union. It is more intense than any other union, and this intensity is at a soul level, not as much in the physical or even emotional bodies. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a good attraction at those levels as well, but the strongest attraction is of spirit. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a twin soul. Many people think they have met their twin because the attraction is so intense, but it is a karmic attraction, one of need or bodily desire rather than the Divine Love of twins.

Your chance of meeting and staying with your twin depends on how evolved your soul is, and how much of your baggage from this and past lives you have cleared. The biggest reason twins have to separate after coming together is their individual emotional baggage. Because in the presence of your twin, there can be nothing between you, nothing blocking your closeness. This means that everything comes up for healing that you haven’t previously healed. Everything!

When twins reunite, both of them experience an acceleration of their spiritual growth and awakening. They get on the fast track of learning about esoteric wisdom and experiencing other states of consciousness. They usually haven’t been together all that often during their series of lives on the planet, and so their backgrounds may be different. Yet, there is a closeness and similarities of spirit that are almost uncanny, noticed in many ways, such as looking back at yourself when you look at your mate, and a remembering of the distant past when you first split up. Guidance is strong with these relationships, and usually one or both have a good channel for communication with Spirit. Their connection is telepathic, and hugging each other is like coming home for nourishment.

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She and her black Labrador Guinness stopped and stared as they found themselves surrounded by a labyrinth of ring marks in the snow.

The beguiling effect, in woods off Daisy Bank Road, was created by dozens of contour marks encircling tree trunks.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said, “I have never seen anything like it before.  It was an incredibly beautiful sight so I went straight home to get my camera.”

In a bid to find out the cause of the mysterious pattern, Freddie sent the photo to the Echo.

But when we asked specialists at Cheltenham Tree Services, they were also left scratching their heads.

Managing Director Adrian Phillips said: “This is not something I have come across before.  There is no reason for any kind of fungus to affect the trees in the cold weather, and it seems unlikely things falling from the branches could create such a pattern.  The most likely answer is that the pattern is manmade.”

Do you know the answer to the riddle?

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Prepare and set your favourite colour jelly according to packet instructions.

Once the jelly is set, cut into small cubes.

Cut the tops off navel oranges and use a sharp spoon to carve out the insides of the orange (like a pumpkin, but smaller and much quicker!)

Carve little jack o’lantern faces into the individual oranges.

Once finished, fill each orange with your jelly cubes and replace the orange top.

Happy Halloween! Mwahahahaha

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Whilst the whole story is undoubtedly incredible, an incident that took place just moments before the mine collapsed on 5 August 2010 is equally astonishing – a white butterfly saved the lives of two of the miners, Jorge Galeguillos and Frank Lobos!

Included in a two-page letter Mr Galeguillos wrote to his brother, also a miner, were the words:  “We had been up to the workshop and as we were driving back down, a slab of rock caved in just behind us.  It crashed down only a few seconds after we drove past.  Just ahead I saw a white butterfly.  After that, we were caught in an avalanche of dirt and dust. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The tunnel was collapsing and the rocks buried a backhoe. A water tank lower down was almost completely buried too.”

If the pair had not let their curiosity slow them down and stop to admire the butterfly, they would have been crushed by the falling rocks.

Eleodoro Galeguillos’ response:  “Down in the mine, I don’t really know what that butterfly was.  Maybe it was a little angel passing in front of them, a little God saying, ‘Hurry up, there’s danger down here’.”

Whether a spiritual miracle or a scientific coincidence, the fact is that the presence of the little white butterfly saved two lives that day, in the most unlikely of places you’ll ever find one!

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Scrying can be practised at any time, but best results are often gained in the quiet of night after the hustle and bustle of the day’s activities.  It is not necessary to construct a fully consecrated circle for scrying; it is enough to simply create your sacred space by visualizing a circle of white light surrounding and purifying the appointed working area.  In a quiet darkened room, place your mirror on a table or altar with a dark cloth beneath it.  Light a candle, one on each side of the mirror, but in such a position they don’t reflect on the mirror’s surface, and if you wish, burn an appropriate blend of incense to stimulate the psychic senses.  Switch off all other light sources except for the two candles, and seat yourself comfortably in front of the mirror.  Take a few minutes to relax while you tune into the atmosphere created.  When ready to start, first ground and centre yourself then call your guides or guardians to protect the work from unwanted or misleading influences.

To begin, when looking at the mirror try not to just stare at it, but look through its surface as if gazing into a dark and endless tunnel.  After awhile, images and colours will begin to take form, they may even appear and take shape outside the mirror surrounding it on all sides.  When you first start scrying be patient, keeping your first sessions to about 10 – 30 minutes, and gradually work it up to hour-long sessions as you learn.  The art of scrying is interpreting what you see in the images and colours as they take form.  This in a way it is a little like dream interpretation, and initially you may wish to consult one of the many books on the subject to help define the images you see.  At the end of the day however, the real interpretation will be what those images mean to you personally.

After you have completed your scrying session, re-ground yourself and close your sacred space.  You may wish to keep a journal and note down any visions you received during your session and later compare them with a list of dream interpretations.  The more you practice, the more familiar the images and their meanings will become, but you may need to meditate on them for awhile to reveal any hidden meanings.

In conclusion, there are many differing ways and methods of scrying in addition to the one above, so it pays to experiment and use what works best for you.  Whatever tool or method you use, be it your own personalized mirror, a crystal ball, or simply a bowl of coloured water; it can with time and patience become a font of wisdom and knowledge.  As Ostara, the Spring Equinox approaches, a time of fresh beginnings, who knows what future truths can be divined?  Believe in your abilities and may you find what you seek.

by George Knowles

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The night of closest approach is 20-21 September. This is also called “the night of opposition” because Jupiter will be opposite the sun, rising at sunset and soaring overhead at midnight. Among all denizens of the midnight sky, only the Moon itself will be brighter.

Earth-Jupiter encounters happen every 13 months when the Earth laps Jupiter in their race around the sun. But because Earth and Jupiter do not orbit the sun in perfect circles, they are not always the same distance apart when Earth passes by. On Sept. 20th, Jupiter will be as much as 75 million km closer than previous encounters and will not be this close again until 2022.

The view through a telescope is excellent. Because Jupiter is so close, the planet’s disk can be seen in rare detail – and there is a lot to see. For instance, the Great Red Spot, a cyclone twice as wide as Earth, is bumping up against another storm called “Red Spot Jr”. The apparition of two planet-sized tempests grinding against one another must be seen to be believed.

Also, Jupiter’s trademark South Equatorial Belt (SEB) recently vanished, possibly submerging itself beneath high clouds. Researchers say it could reappear at any moment. The dramatic resurgence would be accompanied by a globe-straddling profusion of spots and cloudy swirls, clearly visible in backyard telescopes.

And what was that flash? Amateur astronomers have recently reported a surprising number of fireballs in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Apparently, many small asteroids or comet fragments are hitting the giant planet and exploding among the clouds. Researchers who have studied these events say visible flashes could be occurring as often as a few times a month.

Finally, we mustn’t forget the moons of Jupiter because they are also having a close encounter with Earth. These are planet-sized worlds with active volcanoes (Io), possible underground oceans (Europa), vast fields of craters (Callisto), and mysterious global grooves (Ganymede). When Galileo discovered the moons 400 years ago, they were no more than pinpricks of light in his primitive spy glass. Big, modern amateur telescopes reveal actual planetary disks with colorful markings.

It makes you wonder, what would Galileo think?

Answer: “I’m getting up at midnight!”

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In medieval times, woodcut images of witches show them as wearing a verity of costumes associated with those times, including headscarves and hats of differing fashions.  Many are also shown bareheaded with their hair locks blowing in the wind.

Is it possible that the witches hat is an exaggeration of the tall conical ‘dunce’s hat’, popular in the royal courts during the 15^th century, or the blunt-topped hats worn by the Puritans and Welsh of the same period?  At one point long ago, pointed hats were a fashion icon in the city of London (then the fashion capital of Europe), but it took a long time for fashion to trickle into the country, and by the time they did, they became way out of fashion in the city.  City folk called country folk ‘pagani’ (which means country dweller), much the same as calling someone a ‘hick’ today.

Pointed hats soon became considered something only the ‘pagani’ would wear, most were herbalists and farmers wife’s who lived in the country and understood the land.  Since they were wise to the ways of nature and could grow and harvest herbs, so the pointed hat became associated with the ‘wise woman’ or ‘witch’.  During this same period, the Christian church chipped in and associated pointed hats with the horns of the devil, by which time they frowned upon their use.

Brimless, conical hats have long been associated with male wizards and magicians, Goya the famous artist painted witches wearing such hats.  It is possible that other artists somewhere along the way added the brim to make the hats more appropriate for women.  By Victorian times, the tall, black, conical hat worn by an old crone became readily identifiable as symbols of wickedness in illustrations of children’s stories and fairy tales.

Another possibility is that the witch’s hat may date back to antiquity.  Ancient Etruscan coins from the city of Luna depict a head on one side of the coin; some believe it to be the goddess Diana, who is associated with witches.  The head on the coin depicts the wearer with a brimless, conical hat.

Today most contemporary witches go bareheaded or wear ritual headgear such as headbands with a crescent moon or other religious symbols on it.  Normally the symbol is positioned on the forehead.  During rituals in which the Goddess and Horned God are represented, the high priestess may wear a headband or a crown, while the high priest may wear a helmet with horns or antlers.

by George Knowles

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Three or four times a year, Mercury appears to move backwards in the sky for approximately three weeks. This is an optical illusion since no planet actually moves backwards or even slows down in their orbits around the Sun. However, it appears to move backwards from our perspective on planet Earth, since the planet may be orbiting at a different speed than the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

Mercury retrograde periods introduce a certain level of confusion for us earthlings. As the planet of communication, Mercury rules speech, our listening abilities, negotiations, buying, selling, travel formal contracts and documents amongst other things – all of which are affected when Mercury seems to slow down. Mercury rules how we perceive and interpret information and how we in turn act and react to that information as we interact with others.

The Leo Sun also opposes Neptune on August 20, which can have a lackluster, low energy, and marginally disappointing influence leading to muddled thinking and lack of motivation as we start this retrograde period. However, Neptune can be healing and very spiritual, and this can be an excellent time to chill out. August 20 can also have the thrill and flavor of romance about it and definitely a time to make your feelings known since we have a delightfully passionate and enthusiastic meeting of Venus and Mars in an exactly aligned conjunction in Libra.

Mercury retrograde periods affect each one of us differently depending on the placement of this planet in our individual birth charts. The effect on Gemini and Virgo signs, ruled by Mercury, will be stronger, but for other signs it is a time of trivial irritations. Being forced to slow down and develop patience can, however, be a blessing in disguise. It gives us all time to stop, go inward and reflect. Mercury retrograde periods can be times of heightened awareness and creativity, and an excellent time for out of the box thinking, which can sometimes lead to startling revelations.

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The next day, the man stopped her on the street.  “Here’s your $250,” he said, cheerily.  “God Bless won, 25 to 1!”

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