The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

A letter from a 3rd grade teacher sent home to pagan parents
03:45 May 23 2006
Times Read: 497




Dear Mr. and Mrs. Thomas,



I write this letter in concern of your daughter, Aradia Moon. Please don't take this the wrong way, however, although she is a straight A student and a very bright child, she has some strange habits that I feel we should address.



Every morning before class, she insists on walking around the classroom with her pencil held in the air. She says she is "drawing down the moon." I told her Art Class is in an hour and to please refrain from then to do any drawing.



And speaking of Art Class, whenever she draws a night sky, she insists on drawing little circles around all the stars and people dancing on the ground. And that brings up dancing; I had to stop her twice for taking off her clothes during a game of Ring Around the Rosey! By the way, what does the term "skyclad" mean?



Aradia has no problem with making friends. I always find her sitting outside during recess with her friends sitting around her in a circle. She likes to share her juice and cookies. It is nice how she wants no one to ever thirst or hunger. However, when I walked over to see what they were doing, she jumped up and told me to stop, pulled out a little plastic knife and started waving it in front of me. I thought this was a bit dangerous, so I took her to the Principal's Office. She explained to the Principal that she was "opening the Circle" to let me in. She also said that her Mommy and Daddy always told her not to play or run with an "athame" in her hand, that she could put someone's eye out. I don't know what an "athame" is, but I am glad that she keeps it at home.



As for stories, your daughter tends to make up some whoppers. Just yesterday while I was talking sternly to Tommy Johnson and shaking my finger at him, he started screaming and ran from the room. When I finally caught him, he told me that Aradia told him and the rest of the class that the last time I shook my finger at someone, they caught the chicken pox. I explained to him that the Sally Jones incident was just a coincidence, and that things like that don't really happen.



One of the strangest things that happened was when I asked the children to bring in Halloween decorations for the classroom. Aradia brought in salt, incense and her family album. I see she has quite a sense of humor.



One of Aradia's worst habits is that she is very argumentative. We were discussing what the Golden Rule was (Do Unto others as you would have them Do Unto You), she firmly disagreed with me and stated it was "Do As you Will, but Harm None" and she will not stop saying "So Mote It Be" after she reads aloud in class. I try correcting her on these matters and she got very angry. She pointed her finger at me and mumbled something under her breath.



In closing, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, I would like to set up a parent/teacher conference with you sometime next week to discuss these matters. I would like to see you sooner, but I have developed an irritating rash that I am quite worried about.



With Deep Concerns,

Mrs. Livingston



P.S. Blessed Be. I understand that this is a greeting or closing form.

Children and the Craft
03:36 May 23 2006
Times Read: 498

Not sure how many of you have kids, but this is a pretty good article.

Blessings, StarEagle



Children are the future of the Craft and Pagan religions in general.

Although we all feel it necessary to allow our children to choose their own

religion when they are old enough to make an informed and heartfelt

decision, that doesn't mean they need to be raised in a religious vacuum until that time. As with everything else in life, what they don't learn at home they will pick up elsewhere--in the streets, at school, and from relatives of other

religious persuasions. Children learn what they live. We teach best by example, and on a day-to-day basis, not just when the Moon is Full or a Sabbat is

upon us (although that is a good place to start with young children).



Here is a place where solitaries are on equal footing with those who

work in covens or other religious/Magickal groups. It doesn't matter whether you

are in a group or not when it comes to passing on your beliefs and practiced to

your child/children. You and the child/children become the group. You are a

family.



I'd like to use this column this time to address an issue I've never heard

discussed at a Pagan gathering, workshop, conference, or tea breaks;

and that is, as Pagans, what values do we hold dear that we need to pass on to our children? I'm not looking for consensus here. I'm only interested in

beginning a thoughtful discussion of what Pagan values might be, or might

include. As with all else in the Craft, each person/family must ultimately decide for themselves what those values might entail or encompass. Here are mine:



1. Respect all living. Each living being is unique and contains the divine

within it. Size, shape/form, color, sex, sexual preference, mental capacity, place of origin, or position in society or the "evolutionary scale/food chain" all contribute to uniqueness and represent the flowering of that particular divine spark. Difference is not a cause for derision, it is cause for celebration.



2. Respect the cycle. Just because we respect and honor life does not

mean we fear, ignore, suppress, or disrespect death. Endings are just as

important as beginnings, and the middle develops one and leads to the

other in a never-ending cycle of birth, growth, maturity, aging, death and decay which creates the fertile ground necessary for rebirth, and hence the

repetition of the cycle. Death and dying are a sacred part of life and living and should be honored as such.



3. Respect yourself and honor your ancestors. Your familial heritage is

part of what makes you who you are. Without them you would not be. Your own

divine spark comes to you through your mother who shared hers with you until

your own grew bright enough to sustain you on its own after your birth. Study the ways of your ancestors. There is much to be learned from them that will contribute to your own individuality and tie you to a sacred past that can help you realize your present and prepare you for your future. There is no one else like you. You are unique amongst all the creations in the universe. No one else can do what you do in quite the same way. Be proud of who and what you are. Don't degrade yourself in thought, word or deed, or allow the options of others to override your own inner authority.



4. Think for yourself. Listen for that still, small voice within that is

the authentic you. It knows what is best for you and encourages you to

act in

your own best interest in any given situation. Keep your own counsel.



5.

be compassionate. When handling yourself, use your head. When

handling others, use your heart.



6. There is no free lunch. Expect to work for what you get in life. Your

Magick and your rituals can put what you desire in the hands of the

Goddess;

but in a very real sense, those hands are found at the end of your own two

wrists. No one owes you an income, a place to live or food at your table.

Your well being is your responsibility.



7. Be honest. Make every effort to practice what you preach. Honesty is

one of the foundations of trust. If you expect others to trust you and be

honest with you, you must demonstrate by example that you are worthy of

their

trust and confidence. Listen for the ring of truth within yourself and

others.

It will lead to understanding.



8. Keep your word. Always follow through on what you say you will

do. Not

only is it important in gaining the trust of others, it is Magickally

important as well. Your spells work in large part because you say they

will. If

your word if worthless, then so is your Magick.



9. Set goals for yourself, be creative in their realization, and don't

give

them up easily. Work systematically toward your goals, realizing that

there

is more than one way to manifest them. If one method doesn't work, try

another. Don't give up. Remember the old adage, "When you get to your

wits end,

remember that's where God (dess) lives."



10. Take responsibility for your own actions. There is no "The devil made

me do it" in the Craft. Consider carefully the possible ramifications of

your actions before you take them. How will they affect you? How will

they

affect others? What are the likely outcomes of what you want to do?

Remember

that what you put out there will come back to you--three times over.



11. Choose your friends carefully. Don't yearn to be part of the

"in-crowd" unless the in-crowd is genuinely concerned with what is best

for you as an

individual, is open and emotionally honest, and challenges you to grow and

bring out what is best in yourself.



12. Be positive. Your mental outlook is up to you. You can literally

change your mind. Don't dwell on past mistakes or perceived wrongs.

They are all

ways you learn to determine what is right. Live in the present and work

toward the future with a can-do attitude. One person can make a

difference,

and there is no better person to make that difference than you.



13. Pay attention. Giving your attention to something indicates your

commitment to it. Pay careful attention to your life. Pay attention

in school.

There you will develop the foundation skills that will see you through your

life. Never stop learning. Your mind needs the stimulation in order to

stay

interested and to continue paying attention. Pay attention to your loved

ones, be they parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, lovers, or

pets. They

hold the mirror in which your best self is reflected, and they can

teach you

much about love, caring, and sharing. Pay attention to your work, whatever

that turns out to be. Although I would be the first to say that your

work is not

who you are, it can go a long way in developing your self-confidence and

your self-esteem. Finally, pay attention to your spirit. Ii is the

spark of

your divinity, your connection to the Goddess, the source of your being,

and

the subtle substance with which you make Magick and through which the

miracles

in your life are made manifest.









A Gaelic Blessing To You –StarEagle



Deep peace of the running wave to you,

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you,

Deep peace of the gentle night to you,

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.