The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

IMBOLC: (February 1st or 2nd) Also known as St. Brigit's Day and in the Catholic holidays as Candlemas. AS explained in the Imbolic thread.



ST. Patrick's Day (March 17th) - a Celebration of St. Patrick's mission to the Ireland



OSTARA: (March 20th) This true first day of Spring is the Vernal Equinox. The days of light begin to grow longer than the nights. A time of renewed life. Tradition activities include planting seeds, tending gardens, and working with herbs for all purposes. Flowers should be placed on the altar and worn as well. Foods made of seeds, nuts, and leafy vegetables are eaten. Interesting dishes made with flowers are also made.



TARTAN DAY: (April 6th) A modern US holiday celebrating Scottish Heritage. The day that Scott's and Scottish Americans wear their Tartan to represent there family and clan's heritage.



BELTANE: (May 1st) The May Day holiday celebrates the merging of the Goddess and the God, and the passing of the Young God into manhood. The symbol of Her fertility is celebrated as well. This is the time of May Poles, representing the phallus of the God, while flowers and greenery represent the Goddess. Beltane is usually celebrated in a forest, or near a living tree. Weaving is popular at this time to join two separate things into one.



GEORGIA CELTIC DAY (May 15th) A holiday to celebrate Celtic heritage. Celtic Heritage Week May 15-21st



MIDSUMMER: (June 21st) Also known as the Summer Solstice. The powers of nature reach their highest point. Bonfires are built and leaped over to promote fertility, health, and love. This is the time of the longest daylight hours, midsummer being the longest day of the year. Herbs for Midsummer are vervain, chamomile, rose, lavender, daisy, carnation, and lily.



LUGHNASADH: (August 1st) This is the time for the first harvest of the year. The Goddess sees the God lose his strength as the days grow shorter, yet she knows she is with Child from the union at Beltane. The holiday was not originally celebrated on this day. It was observed on the day of the first reaping. We are reminded at this time that nothing in nature remains constant. The fruits of the Earth are cut and stored for the long winter months. The altar is adorned with wheat, oats, fruits, and bread. It is also custom to plant the seeds from the fruit eaten during the celebration.



MABON: (September 23rd) This is also the Autumn Equinox. This is the time of the completion of the harvest started at Lughnasadh. Day and night are equal once more as the God prepares to travel toward renewal and rebirth from the Goddess. Nature prepares for winter and the time of rest. It is traditional to walk wild places gathering dried plants to be used for decorating or future herbal magick. The altar holds acorns, pine cones, corn stalks, and various colored leaves.



SAMHAIN: (October 31st) Also know as All Hollows Eve or Halloween or Feast of the Dead.



YULE: (December 21st) Celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. Also known as the Winter Solstice.

The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency (FVZA):

A History







President Grant

Vampires arrived in the United States with the first European settlers and followed the general population shifts of Americans in the early days of the Republic. During this time, fighting vampires was a task left to individual bounty hunters and local militias known as the Vampire National Guard. As the country grew and became increasingly urbanized, a more ambitious vampire abatement program became necessary. The Copper Creek Seige of 1855, in which vampires took over an entire California mining town, underscored the country's need for an organized, well-trained force to combat the growing plague. The Civil War delayed implementation until 1868, when President Ulysses S. Grant officially formed the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.



An early vampire patrol

Initially, the FVZA was a specialized branch of the Armed Forces, modeled after similar troops in France and Great Britain. The troops were known as the "Vanguard," a contraction of Vampire National Guard. They worked mostly in large cities. By day, they scoured likely vampire/zombie hiding places; by night, they patrolled areas of high vampire/zombie activity (slums, waterfronts, parks, etc.). Though they were underfunded, ill-equipped and often shuttled off to fight wars on foreign soil, the FVZA made some strides in controlling resident vampire and zombie populations. However, the huge surges of immigrants coming to America helped increase the U.S. vampire population to 300,000 by the turn of the century.





Zozobra Project security

checkpoint

In 1897, President William McKinley moved the FVZA into the Department of Justice. The Agency was split into two groups: a scientific team in Washington, and a military unit with bases all over the U.S. In 1901, new President Teddy Roosevelt hired his friend Hilton Dickerson as FVZA Director. Dickerson ruled the FVZA with an iron fist for the next 34 years. When the zombie vaccine was created in France in 1911, the FVZA administered vaccination programs in the U.S., while the "Vanguard" focused on destroying remaining zombies.



With zombies largely eradicated, the focus of the FVZA shifted to vampire research and abatement. A 1935 Supreme Court ruling declaring that vampires have the same rights afforded to all citizens complicated the FVZA's job greatly. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Emergency Relief Act in 1936. The Act converted the Agency to an undercover operation. Roosevelt also put together the Zozobra Project, which brought the best medical minds in the world to a secret lab in New Mexico to work on a vampire vaccine. The Project was operated by the FVZA and reaped its greatest success with the creation of a vampire vaccine in 1950.

Powerful goddess



Black winged Nyx, some say, laid a germless egg in the infinite bosom of Erebus, the Darkness of the Underworld, and after long ages, sprang golden-winged Eros. But others have said that Nyx is the daughter of Eros, whereas others called both of them children of Chaos. Nyx is Night, a powerful goddess whose dark light falls from the stars, and who dictates not only to men but also to gods. Even Zeus does not wish to upset Night: It happened that Hera bribed Hypnos in order to make Zeus fall asleep, so that she could have it her way during the Trojan War. Hypnos obeyed the goddess in spite of his fears; for once he had performed a similar task, and when Zeus woke up in anger, he sought him everywhere, and would have hurled him from heaven into the deep, had Nyx not saved him. For Zeus stopped and thought twice before doing anything that could displease Nyx. Some seem to think that Nyx appears because light is gone as if anything could be and yet do not exist on its own right. But when counting the days, not seldom the nights are mentioned first as when it is said:



"… a brazen anvil falling down from heaven nine nights and days would reach the earth upon the tenth: and again, a brazen anvil falling from earth nine nights and days would reach Tartarus upon the tenth."



Nyx's home



In Tartarus, both a place and her brother, Nyx has her home and spreads around him in triple line like a necklace. At the gates of Tartarus and above it are the sources and ends of heaven, earth and sea, and it is told that if a man should find himself inside the gates, he would not reach the bottom for one year, being carried by blasts in all directions.



this info was found about NYX by XmisfitX many thanks go out to her may she be blessed

the pentacle has been worn as a powerful protection symbol for thousands of years associated in turn with magick paganism and christian mysticism its earliest connections were with worship of the goddess from whose sacred five petaled apple blossoms and seeds the symbol may have been derived like the circle it isconsidered a protective design brcause of its continuously connecting points the alchemists paired the elements of the earth to those of man-flesh and bones to earth breath to air body heat to fire the soul to the ether the five points stages of life-birth puberty marriage rest from labors and death this design incorporates celtic knot work into the penticle to make a truely powerful talisman the knot work increases the meditative quality of the design as well as its protective abilities worn with respect no negativity may penetrate the defense of the pentacle wearer

at midnight by the light of the full moon make a magick circle build a fire get a cauldren herbs and drugs

smeart body with fat of a newly killed cat, mix with aniseed and opium.

around your waist wear a belt made of wolf skin kneeling inside the circle saying



"hail hail hail great wolf spirit hail"

a boon i ask thee mighty shade

with in this circle i have made

make me a werewolf strong and bold the terror alike of young and old

grant me a figure tall and spare the speed of the elk the claws of the bear the poison of snake the wit of a fox thestealth of the wolf the strength of the ox the jaws of a shark the eye of a cat that sees in the dark



"make me a werewolf make me a man eater make me a werewolf make me a woman eater make me a werewolf make me a child eater i pine for blood human blood give it to me give it to me tonite great wolf spirit give it to me and heart and body and soul iam yours "

Celtic Cross History and Symbolism



By Stephen Walker, copyright 1996. All rights reserved.



What is the symbolism of the Celtic Cross? is a question I am often asked. As a craftsman and jewelry designer in the Celtic tradition I bring some very ancient symbols to a contemporary audience. The answer is not as straight foreword as one might hope. The history of this powerful symbol is ambiguous. There are many variations of interpretations and legends about the original meaning that are commonly repeated even today. The Presbyterian and Catholic are often startled to learn that the other considers this symbol their own. In our modern multicultural world the ringed cross is as much a symbol of ethnic heritage as it is of faith and it is often used as an emblem of ones Irish, Scottish or Welsh identity.



If you spend much time rooting around in the history of the Celtic lands you are sure to have many explanations and historical anecdotes offered to you in forms ranging from casual explanations from individuals to historical markers, tour guide banter, grandmother’s family lore and souvenir shop hang tags. This variety of sources of information is available on many topics of history, customs, superstition and when the subject is Celtic Art I have found that the popular and casual sources of information are very generous. Conversely the academic and scholarly sources of information are very cautious to the point of being truly a disappointment if your seek confirmation of the meaning of mysterious ancient symbols.



The Irish Catholic priest will have no hesitation telling you that the circle of the Celtic Cross is a symbol of eternity that emphasizes the endlessness of God’s love as shown through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is unless he says the circle is a halo. He may go on to explain that the crucifixion is important not just as an event at a certain point in time but, as the circle symbolizes, as the unending mystery of how through the crucifixion and resurrection Christ continues to offer the hope of salvation to the faithful throughout all time.



At the pub when the subject comes up you might just as likely hear the explanation that the great stone Celtic Crosses were carved from the standing stones of the Druids and were originally phallic symbols, just carved into crosses to disguise their original purpose. No proof of this theory is offered and the in-your-face delivery of this information will probably intimidate you from asking for any. The barroom iconographer will swear on the graves of all his ancestors that it is true. With the rise of interest in the occult and pagan ideas in recent years you are likely to read New Age interpretations about how the cross in the circle is a symbol of the Sun that was worshipped by the Druids and that this symbol was appropriated by the Christians. Look for these sorts of explanations on the cards that accompany jewelry and head shop bric-a-brac. Born Again Pagans are enthusiastic about Celtic designs and are successfully appropriating Christian symbols back to their supposed primal meaning. Just how much of this is fantasy and how much is based in historical fact is difficult to sort out since the academic keepers of the facts are so reluctant to discuss symbolic meaning.



There is a legend of how St. Patrick when preaching to some soon-to-be converted heathens was shown a sacred standing stone that was marked with a circle that was symbolic of the moon goddess. Patrick made the mark of a Latin cross through the circle and blessed the stone making the first Celtic Cross. This legend implies that the Saint was willing to make ideas and practices that were formerly Druid into Christian ideas and practices. This is consistent with the belief that he converted and ordained many Druids to lives as Christian priests.



These and many other stories and beliefs are the sort of folk lore history that cannot be substantiated by the academic convention of looking back into the written record for early citations or for iconographic precedence that contains enough supporting evidence of what the artist is really trying to say. What we have from the modern scholars and archeologists about Celtic art from early times are careful descriptions and comparisons. The questions the scholars attempt to answer are about dates and the migration of ideas. Which came first? Who was exposed to which prototypes? Figurative panels are often easier to interpret such as the scene of a Samson striking a Philistine with the jaw of an ass as depicted on the back of the Inchbraoch Stone. The knotwork, spirals and key patterns on the carved cross side of this 7th or 8th century Pictish monument are usually treated by scholars as a subject that can be described and classified but is rarely interpreted. When the meaning of the decorative elements are attempted the academic scholar tends to be very cautious and will often cite obscure references in ways that make their text difficult to understand.



George Bain, in 1951 in the preface his excellent book Celtic Art; the Methods of Construction wrote the following about meaning:



"After consultation with an eminent prehistorical Archaeologist, his advice to publish the meanings that the evidences suggest was accepted, with the qualification that if others could bring evidences to prove other meanings, agreement to such would benefit truth. In such a way, the art which was communicative and ornamental might regain its original communicative purpose."



That statement sounds sensible enough but it is neither followed nor preceded by more than the vaguest of hints of what the original communicative purpose might have been. Frustratingly this is just about all Bain has to say that even suggests that his subject even has any meaning. Bain’s book is a text book on how to construct Celtic Art. By following his instructions the student of Celtic Art learns a lot. By learning the creative process of construction one comes to feel a sense on knowing on a intuitive level what this is all about. In this way Bain succeeds brilliantly in communicating his message. What he writes is rather typical of the scholar who is concerned about being right in a way that can be defended with the proof of facts. If the reader expects a code book to interpret ancient symbols, Bain does not offer any convenient, quotable explanations.



It seems that most people who know about Celtic Art as part of their personal heritage have the sort of knowledge that the academic cannot cite as fact since the source is mainly oral tradition. This does not prevent common knowledge from being strongly, even passionately believed nor does it mean that it is not true. Where the scholar fears to venture writers who are more interested in satisfying fantasy views of history and mysticism have fewer qualms. The popularity of Celtic images and symbols has produced plenty of blurb cards that give the buyer of gift ware designs the sort of meaning they want to hear. The scholarship and authenticity of these statements ranges from very responsible to outright quackery. Right or wrong all this information adds to the modern folk lore of what Celtic Art means.

Full Moon Invocation



Mother, Goddess of moon and star,

Bring your presence from afar,

Manifest on this, Your night,

and bless me in this sacred rite!

Grant the knowledge and clarity,

to understand Your words to me.

Lend Your power, send Your light,

Aid me in my work tonight!

With love and wisdom please embrace,

All within this sacred space.

Mother, I now call to you,

Bring Your message clear and true







Invocation to the Three-Fold One



Maiden, Maiden, robed in light

Rejoice with us, this Sabbat night

Beauty Thy shield, and love Thy sword

Hath vanquished even death's dark Lord.

We bow before Thy gentle might.



Thy youthful joy doth never fade

Be welcome, oh Crone, sweet Mother, and Maid!



Mother Goddess, clad in green

Our circle Thy court, oh gracious Queen

All that lives comes forth from Thee

And dying returns - as the drop to the sea.

Rule Heaven, rule Hell, and the wide worlds between.



Thy lunar crown will light our scene,

Come and bless us Old Crone, sweet Maiden, and Queen.



Ancient Crone, in tatters old

Thy lore is bitter, Thy rede is cold

In wisdom fabled beyond our ken

Thou holdest wake over Gods and men

Then layest them down, to rest, in the mould.





With Thy wisdom be with us - Maid, Mother, and Crone!

Invocation to Flora

By the flowers of the field, Oh Lady of delight

By the crops Thy blessings yield, Oh Maiden clear and bright

We invoke Thy presence in kernals and sheaves

We see Thy face in the moonlit leaves.

Come now to us, extend Thy grace

Come into our circle within this holy place.

Daughter of the earth, drinking sunlight,

Queen of plants, sister of night.

By leaf and twig, by root and bough

By water and earth, come to us now.

Bring us Your grain the staff of our lives.

Bring us Your fruit wherever it thrives.

Mistress of herbs unlock Your power

And lead us into Your leafy bower.

In love and joy we call Your name

With comforting hope You ease our pain.

We see Thee in the swelling bud,

We feel Thy stirring in our blood;

O Lady clear, we feel Thee near.

In spring a Maiden with flowers crowned.

In summer and harvest, the Mother renewed.

In fall and winter the Hag holds sway

Yet the Maiden remains but months away.

Great Triple Goddess, the seasons flow

And ebb to Thy will, as You come and go.



Invocation to Brigid

Brigid, o' firey arrow bright,

Bring Your blessed healing light,

Loving Mother, hear my plea,

Attend this circle here with me!

Blessed Brigid, who tends the flame,

And hears Her children call Her name,

Goddess of music, poetry, and art,

Who brings inspiration and lifts the heart,

Three Brigids--Maiden, Mother, Crone,

Loving light of hearth and home,

Come and bless this sacred space,

By Your will and by Your grace,

And as we merry meet and merry part,

May I carry Your peace within my heart!





The Triple Goddess of Arthurian legend is made up as follows.







Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, takes the role of the Maiden. Queen Gueniever takes the role of the Mother, and, of course, Morgan Ley Fey plays the part of the Crone/Dark Goddess. Remember that 'dark' does not necessarily mean evil; it can simply refer, as in his case, to the hidden mysteries.







Purpose of ritual:



To attrune with the Celtic Triple Goddess.



What you need:



Three pillar candles (red, white and black);



essedntial oils of lily of the valley,



rosemary and cedarwood;



three small paint brushes;



a poster, picture,



book or other object that represents the Arthurian realm (alternatively, try using a cd of new age music).







Take everything you need to your altar. Display the picture, book or object that represents the Arthurian realm, or put some music on softly in the background.







Take up the white candle, and, using a paint brush, anoint it with lily of the valley essential oil. When it is evenly scented, place it on the altar at 12 o'clock position. This is the Maiden candle. It represents Elaine, who was the guardian of Lancelot's shield and who eventually fell in love with the great knight. She can help you with problems of unrequited love as well as with more traditional Maiden aspects of magic.







Light the Maiden candle and say:



I name this candle for Elaine, the fair lily maid of Astolat,



May she bless me with her love.

Azeman

Charmer (84)

Posts: 69

























Sabbats

Posted: 06:56:34 - Aug 07 2009

Times viewed: 2



Spring or The Vernal Equinox

Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)



Traditional Foods:

Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.



Herbs and Flowers:

Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.



Incense:

Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.



Sacred Gemstone: Jasper



Special Activities:

Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden.

Ostara is one of the four lesser Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel Of The Year. Ostara is celebrated on the spring equinox, in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane.







In the book Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the festival Ostara is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect.







Ostara is the virgin Goddess of spring. This holiday concerns the deity's trip to the underworld, and their struggle to return from the Land of the Dead to Earth. When they accomplish this return, they have a life renewed. It was considered bad luck to wear anything new before Ostara, so the people would work through the winter in secret to make elegant clothes for the Sabbat celebration. The entire community would gather for games, feasting, and religious rituals while showing off their clothing.



Beltane or Bealtaine is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated around May 1. Historically, this festival was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. There were similar festivals held at the same time in the other Celtic countries of Wales, Brittany and Cornwall. The festival survives in folkloric practices in the Celtic Nations and the diaspora, and has experienced a degree of revival in recent decades.

www.druidry.org/obod/festivals/beltane_morn.html





Also called L¨¢ Bealtaine, Bealltainn, Beltain

Observed by Gaels, Irish People, Scottish People, Neopagans

Type Pagan

Date The beginning of May

Celebrations Traditional first day of summer in Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man

Related to Walpurgis Night, May Day

For this ritual one should dress brightly and strikingly, wearing flowers and greenery according to taste. A low altar should be built partially or entirely of stones at the middle of the ritual area. Two candles should be placed on the altar, and the altar itself arranged as usual. (if the ritual is performed outdoors, the candles may be replaced be torches. These may be stuck in the ground on either side of the altar.) Four candles or torches are placed before the altar to be lit latter. A vertical pole about 3 feet in height is usualy erected on the far side of the altar: it should be decked with fruits, flowers, and bright ribbons. A half full cup of wine should be placed before the image of the Goddess.



Before dressing for the ceremony, take a ritual cleansing bath. When ready to go on with the rite, meditate for a while before going into the ritual area, thinking strongly on the old pagan ways and trying to imagine the rituals wich took place on this night in ages passed.









1) Go alone to the ritual place. Kneeling before the altar, light the candles or torches on the altar, and the incense. Set alight the four candles before the altar and place them 3 or 5 feet from the altar at the North, then going deosil, saying:







« Here at this spot Do I create a place Sacred to the Gods of old. For a while, here and now Shall the ancient ways Live again.»









2) Take the wand and hold it out and salute toward the East, saying:







« Ô winds of the East Blow sweet and pure For the Lady reigns again!»







- Hold the wand out and salute toward the South, saying:







« Ô warmth of the South Bring forth life from the earth For the Lady reigns again!»







- Hold the wand out and salute toward the West, saying:







« Ô waters of the West Glisten clear and fresh For the Lady reigns again!»







- Hold the wand out and salute toward the North, saying:







« Ô lands of the North Grow rich and bounteous For the Lady reigns again!»









3) Replace the wand and, holding the arms out over the altar, saying:



Gracious and lovely Lady of the moon, Of joy and love, Protecteress of forests and wild things, This place is consecrated to Thee.»







-Take up the wine cup, holding it out at arm's lenght, and pour out a few drops, saying:







« To the Great Ones of old And to the joyous times to come!»







-Drink some.





-After a brief pause, rap three times on the altar with the wand saying:







« As woods and meadows flower forth I celebrate the ancient rite As the Ancients did before me. I cast the words into the mists Of time and space and otherwhere: Where one stays now, in years to come, May scores of others revel there. So may it be!»









4) Rap once upon the altar. (More incense should be added now. Ad-lib additions are appropriate at this time...meditations, poetry ...and the like.) (If a source of proper music is available, a solitary Dance of the Winds may be improvised.)





4a) Draw the Fertility talisman on the parchment, suffumigate it thrice, then, recite the supplication written on the back, ...bow humbly...









4b) Then say:







« Friends of the nether worlds Now, come and assist us in our humble workings. Follow us to another sacred place of ours, And join your forces with ours, On this Fertilization Day. »









-Burry the talisman into the ground under an oak tree (if available), saying an ad-lib statement on the meaning of the talisman and its correspondances.Go back to the circle.









-When all is done, close by rapping four time with the wand, saying:







« Friends of the nether worlds Who have been about me for a while You may, with thanks, Return from whence you came.»









- Hold out arms and say:







« Blessed Lady of joy and laughter I thank Thee for Thy presence. May some of your love and power Remain with me. Blessed Be!»





5) Put out the lights about the altar. As the two on the altar itself are darkened, say:







« The rite is ended.»

if you have an unwanted guest in your home with all your heart get out the cayanne pepper sprinkle some in the guest shoes and they will leave your home in 3 days or less