A Christian Wiccan Creed

Often when I go to church we will recite the Apostles' Creed.  I have no issue with this at all.  For more information on the Apostles' Creed I recommend Wikipedia's page on the Apolstles' Creed.  It walks you through several different versions.  It strikes me that in order to make this 100% true to myself there is very little modification that would need made.  Without further ado here is my version of the Christian Wiccan's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended into hell.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, Mother of knowledge and earth,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

Along with this there are a few rules that most Christian Wiccan's I know follow.  At times this can make for a very lively debate.  Do you follow the Wiccan Rede or the Golden Rule?  For those who are just learning these are:

These are all the guidance you need.  If you ponder them for a while you will see how absolutely compatible and similar they are.  This along with the Canticle of the Sun, from What is the Difference? Part 2 sum up the path I call Christian Wicca.  Yes, there is a lot more that I do and a lot to learn.  But at the heart, this is the belief.

A Spring Fresh Home!

Last week on Facebook I came across a recipe for homemade Febreeze.  I was intrigued because I have always liked Febreeze but as I get more cautious about the number of chemicals around the house, and the expense, and toll they are taking on the environment I started wondering about this.  The recipe that I saw was this:

1/8 cup fabric softener (like Downy April Fresh)
2 tablespoons Baking Soda
24 oz hot tap water

Combine all the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake to combine.  Make sure to shake before using it.

This sounds great.  Fabric softener has a wonderful smell and the baking soda will certainly absorb odors which is what you want from Febreeze.  But, we are back to using chemicals to make this air freshener.

Of course, if all we are looking for is fabric softener then why won't my homemade fabric softener work?  My homemade fabric softener is:

1/2 gallon white distilled vinegar
20 drops of essential oil (I prefer lavender for sheets and citrus for everything else)

The big problem with the homemade fabric softener and the above recipe would be the baking soda/vinegar combination.  While it would be fun for the kids to watch, it would not really help with the air freshener issue.  Vinegar is a natural odor destroyer as well but only loses its own odor when it dries.

I also came across one other natural odor absorbing ingredient, but only for those 21 years or older.  Vodka.  So, here is my twist on the fabric softener Febreeze:

1/8-1/4 cup vodka (the cheap stuff works just as well as the expensive)
2 tablespoons baking soda
24 oz hot tap water
20 drops essential oil of your preference

I tend to use a lot more of the essential oils than others but I love the smell of them.  Adjust them to your liking.  I have come across a different recipe that calls for 100 drops of essential oil.

Just a note of caution: always spot test anything you are using on your furniture to make sure it doesn't discolor.  This goes for the fabric softener air freshener as well.  Remember, you never know how your upholstery will react to anything sprayed on it!

Container Gardening

Last year I did not own my own home.  One of the major drawbacks to this was that I was unable to plant a garden for the first time in years.  This was, for me, horrible.  I love fresh vegetables but even more I love getting to play in the dirt.  It is soothing.  As my last post on meditation may have shown, this is where I get my major relaxation throughout the spring, summer, and fall.  I did the next best thing to planting a garden, I planted containers and it worked much better than I thought it would.

First, I went to my local Tuesday Morning.  There I found huge flower pots that were dirt cheap (pun intended).  I didn't mind that they were mismatched.  That actually gave the garden a bit of whimsy.

After that I found very inexpensive top soil to fill the pots about a half to 3/4 full.  On top of that I put the really good potting soil.  In my estimation, the potting soil is good for getting the plant started, but once it roots I always feel that the top soil is just fine.

For last year's garden, we had tomatoes, peppers, basil, peas, green beans, mint, and cucumbers.  Those were the plants that grew.  I tried to plant other herbs like thyme and other lower plants but the herbs did not do well.  I realized that at least for me, starting herbs from seeds does not work.  The basil grew very well because it was a seedling when I got it and the mint was a transplant.  The herbs were just too tiny for me to get to grow right.

I then mixed the plants in the containers, a "tall" plant and a "short" plant.  The tomatoes and basil went together, the green beans and the cucumbers, and the peas and mint.  I put cages in the pots for the tall plants to grow up and the short plants cascaded over the sides of the containers.  My yield out of my garden was pretty decent.  I must say that learning about mixing the plants, tall and short, in the containers was the piece of the puzzle that made it work.  It is a very simple idea that holds a lot of power.

This year, I own my own home so I will be able to plant in the ground.  However, I am searching for small garden ideas.  I don't have a lot of ground, but enough that my family will get fresh vegetables and maybe some fruit if I can pull it off.  And the herbs are a must.  I miss my herb garden; it has been far too long since I have had one.  I am looking forward to collecting new herbs as time progresses.  And, you can be sure that the tight space gardening will be posted here!

Springtime Meditation

One day last week it seemed that meditation was all over Facebook.  I kept seeing a quote.  To paraphrase, it was:  Everyone needs to meditate for 20 minutes a day.  Unless you don't have time, then you should meditate for an hour.

I found this poster on the Web that explains various types of meditation.  I was unable to find a real source for it, although I wish I could.

 I love this chart because of the ease in which it teaches newcomers to meditation the various ways that traditional meditation can be performed.

Personally, with two children and a full time job I very rarely have time to sit in passive meditation.  While maybe that means I am the target for an hour of meditation a day I personally prefer a more active type of meditation.

I have read a few articles on completely active meditation.  This one from eHow (How To Do Active Mediation) tells of how to meditate while being very active during something like running.

I guess then I will call my form of meditation mildly active meditation.  My absolutely best time meditating is during gardening.  I pay attention not only to my own breathing and feelings but it also puts me completely in touch with the elements.  It is not only a chance to worship Mother Earth but to put myself in the moment.

The best thing is again that anyone can participate in mildly active meditation.  It doesn't have to be gardening.  It doesn't even have to be outside.  Can you not meditate while knitting, crocheting, or sewing?  Can you be completely in the here and now while doing carpentry?  As long as you can slow your breathing and take the time to completely be in the here and now, then I believe you are accomplishing the goal of meditation.  It is my belief that the goal of meditation is to teach oneself how to participate in life more fully.  Any hobby can allow for this time, if it is done correctly.  For correctly, I would think it would be this:

1.  Focus on your own body and feelings.  Slow your breathing by counting to 4 on both your inhale and exhale.

2.  Focus on your surroundings.  What can you smell and see?  What can you feel?

3.  If any negativity or outside thought comes to mind, thank it for being there, let it go, and then move on.  This is a time to focus on the positive and the good.

Enjoy!

Spring is Here!

Or so I think.  I am often wrong on these things.  I don't check the weather often and consequently am normally dressed wrong or don't have an umbrella.  However, spring makes me think of spring cleaning and since on of the things I wanted to address in this blog is natural cleaning it seems like this would be a good time to start!

I have several recipes for home cleaning products but the one I toy around with the most has got to be my daily shower cleaner.  My shower does not have enough ventilation in it.  This is great for keeping steam from the rest of the bathroom and generally makes for a great shower.  The draw back is that it takes hours for the shower to dry.  It also has very deep grooves between the tiles that catch a lot of water.  All this adds up to the possibility of mold in the shower.

I have on occasion had to go after it with bleach.  I take a day when I can usher the children out of the house and spray the entire shower (ceiling included) with a 50% bleach solution.  Not natural cleaning, I know, but the only thing I have found to be truly effective.

On a daily basis though I don't want to use anything nearly that harsh.  I also love the daily cleaners you can get for the showers that make cleaning so much easier.  I have made one of my own.

1 part white vinegar
1 part water
2 drops essential oil

I normally make this in a 24 oz. spray bottle so it is 12 oz vinegar, 12 oz water, and 48 drops of oil.

My question was always what kind of oil to use.  I have used both tea tree and grapefruit.  I have read that tea tree oil is anti-septic and anti-fungual but I haven't had as much luck with it as I have the grapefruit oil.  The grapefruit oil kept the mold away.  The vinegar will also keep the mold down.  It also reacts with any soap left in the shower to help make it go away as well.

Once every two or three weeks, I will use a cloth with some baking soda to scrub the walls and floor to remove anything that has been missed by the daily cleaner but it normally isn't much.  The spray also makes a fantastic glass cleaner so I use it to clean the glass in the bathroom and the sinks.

It is easy and economical.  And my daughter loves getting to make the cleaner with me.  She gets upset if I don't wait for her to do it.  The other plus side to this, I don't have to worry about my children helping me clean and the chemicals they are getting into.  I have only seen positive things come from this!

What's the Difference: part 2.

One of the few people I am out of the broom closet with is my best friend.  I shouldn't say I am in the broom closet because I am not exactly.  I don't hide who I am, but I don't advertise either.  The author of the book The Path of a Christian Witch recommends that we keep our path secret, not because it is wrong but because it is looked upon negatively in both the Christian and the Wiccan communities.  I can understand but I do not pretend that I will agree.  I do not preach my path to anyone.  I do hope that I live it.  I digress.... back to my best friend.

My best friend has been so since I was about 14, meaning that she has held this dubious distinction for over half my life.  We are oil and water in many ways and are only now discovering exactly how much our friendship has shaped the other.  As with many people in my life, she is Catholic.  She isn't just Catholic, she is about as die hard Catholic as they come.  This is a woman who wears a veil to church!  I may not claim to understand, but she is who she is and I love and accept and would not have her any other way.

When she finally discovered my true path in my religious life she said to me, "I understand exactly where you are coming from but why pick a name for it that is so contentious to everyone else?"  This is why I love her.  She asks the good thought provoking questions.  Why is it?  She was prepared to accept everything except the name.  What is it about the name?  Wicca at its soul is simply finding the Divine in nature.  It is about accepting the supreme duality, that God is neither male or female or God is both male and female.  Wicca has something my Protestant upbringing did not: equality.  You see, in the Protestant church there is no Mary who is regarded as sacred.  She exists but you do not pray to her.  You do not recognize that she plays a vital role in the story of the Divine.  Without Mary, there is no Christianity!  The Catholic church has this equality but there are so many other aspects of Catholicism I just do not agree with.  So why the name?  It is the best description I can come up with for my path.  It accurately describes the community I have found.

She had a few other questions then:
1. How do you tie these together?
2. What about spells?
3. What about the belief that you can tap into God's powers?
4. Do you believe in a separate Goddess?

These are wonderful questions.  Answering her allowed me to clarify and solidify my own thoughts so that I could easily describe what I believe.

How do I tie these together?

I believe the best way to show someone what I believe in the most absolutely elegantly stated way is a piece written by St. Francis of Assisi called the Canticle of the Sun:

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,
for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,

and serve him with great humility.

(from Wikipedia: Canticle of the Sun)

I have a wonderful book of this that I read to my children on a regular basis called Brother Sun Sister Moon which they adore.  The interpretation in this book calls the Lord the Mother and Father of all Creation.  Such a wonderful description of how the natural elements and Christianity fit together!

What about spells and the belief that I can tap into the Divine's power?

I combine these two because they are so close.  I always have an issue with the question of the Divine's power.  You see, even in Christianity we are taught that our bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit:

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6)

The Christian belief that the Divine resides in each of us is echoed in Wicca.  In Wicca you never demand something from the Divine, you ask nicely.  You give offerings and make requests.  Demands are rarely met and frowned upon.  You are not the Divine, but you can ask of the Divine.  You direct your energy to asking the Divine and into what you seek.  What a fool I would be to think that I could possibly handle the same power that the Divine can handle!  I am not a Goddess.  I am pretty strong, both emotionally and spiritually, but that is a going a bit far.  I can handle what the Divine entrusts to me, the energy and power to ask and to trust.  

This all leads to my answer on spells.  Do I do spells?  Absolutely, but rarely.  Only when I feel I need that much power behind what I am asking.  What is a spell?  A spell is nothing more than a prayer that has been turned into a ritual.  The energy put into turing the prayer into the ritual, finding the exact right wording, the exact right herbs and ingredients contains so much more power than a prayer.  It is focusing and directing my energy in such a way to ask the Divine for assistance that takes the prayer to a new, higher level.  I cannot direct the energy of the Divine but I can ask in a very structured and respectful manner for the Divine to direct their own energies to help me.

Do I believe in a separate Goddess?

Yes and no.  I believe the Goddess is part of the Trinity as the Holy Spirit.  You see, the Bible never defines the gender of the Holy Spirit.  scripture4all.org has a translation of the Bible from the Hebrew.  Hebrew has very distinct masculine and feminine words, from what I understand.  These define the Spirit as being feminine. A very nice video was done showing some of these is at PROOF Female HOLY SPIRIT.  While I disagree with the name, I like the idea.  You cannot prove the Holy Spirit is female because you cannot prove the Holy Spirit exists any more than you can prove that God exists.  I believe the Holy Spirit is the feminine aspect of God.  Is this controversial? Sure.  Am I wrong? I have no idea. Am I going to go to hell if I am?  No.  Why not?  Because we all have one thing in common, right or wrong, it doesn't matter what I did or believed here on Earth.  I will only ever get into Heaven by God's grace.  If I am wrong, when God/dess confronts and judges me my answer is, "Forgive me."

I believe that the Holy Spirit takes on the form of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone.  She is the Maiden when She helps God to create the Earth.  She is the Mother when She helps Mary to conceive the baby Jesus.  She is the Crone following His death.  I believe that the Spirit is a Mother-figure to us all.

How do I answer that witchcraft is evil and forbidden in the Bible? (this is my own)

From scripture4all again:

It is a bit small but this is the most quoted verse from Exodus 22:18.  Personally I don't know what a one-being-enchantress is.  And until God/dess can explain that one to me, I will happily continue to fervently pray and ask for help.  Again, it is only by God/dess' grace that anything good will happen anyway.  So let me be wrong, but at least I will know I believed, my belief caused me to do good, and I strove to harm none while I was a member of this wonderful creation!

What's The Difference?

Very few people know I follow a Wiccan path because generally when someone close to me finds out it leads to heartache and misery for me.  I have had people tell me I worship the Devil, that I am going to Hell, and I am the worst form of evil there is.  But to me, there is very little difference in a Christian Path versus a Christian Wiccan path.  Allow me to explain with a true story:

A women I know prays to a figure, who is fully recognized not to be God, on an amulet every time she gets into her car.  She does this on the way to work, on the way to do errands, on her way to fun.  If she gets into the car she prays. One day, she and her family got into the car to go to the beach and she was talking to her daughter and did not pray because she was distracted.  Tragically, on the drive to the beach, a truck collided with their car, severally injuring her daughter and killing her three year old grandson.  While discussing this incident, the woman stated that she wonders if she had just remembered to pray would her grandson be alive.

Within this sad story is a truth, this woman believes enough to pray to this entity every time she gets into her car.  She is not praying to God.  She utilizes a coin of this person in her car to protect her and her family from harm.  Is this woman doing magic?  If you mentioned this question to her she would be offended and not speak to you.  You see, this woman is a devout Catholic whom prays to St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, and utilizes a St. Christopher's medallion in her vehicle, like many Catholics.  However, the fundamentals are the same.

Catholics are, in my opinion, using the same elements that I call Wicca daily.  During certain times, offerings are given to Mary or other Saints.  They believe Mary, Mother of Jesus, is Queen of Heaven.  They celebrate feast days for the Saints.  They ritually cleanse spaces with incense and believe the aroma to be pleasing to God.  They believe in the miracles of Jesus.  And most of all they believe in transubstantiation.  This is one of the dividing points between Catholics and Protestants.  Catholics believe that when a priest prays over the bread and wine of communion it becomes the body and blood of Christ.  That is one powerful piece of magic the priest is doing!

Comparing Wicca to the Protestant churches is a bit harder because they do not believe many of the things that Catholics believe.  However, they would never condemn a Catholic for their faith, so why condemn me for mine?

In my path, Wicca just states that I see a King and Queen of heaven.  I see the beauty of these two beings in all nature around me.  I believe that it is right and good to give these elements back to the King and Queen as sacrifices.  I believe that there are elements of nature that can help us.  I believe there is one God, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

I find a very hard time figuring out where the dividing line is with the dogma.  Why is Catholicism embraced and adored while Wiccan's are shunned?  What am I doing that is so wrong, yet for a Catholic to do the same Rite it is correct?  I believe that seeing the light and goodness in all around me is a gift from God and one that anyone can receive.  You do not need to be Catholic, Protestant, or Wiccan, you just need to want peace and happiness and to treat everything with the respect it deserves as part of the Divine.

Welcome!

The first thought that occurs to me is who am I welcoming and why?  I guess the traditional first post would be all about why I am writing this blog and where it came from.  

The title comes from my life.  I live a life of crossed paths, dualities, yin and yang, however you want to say it.  I work in the technical world yet attempt to embrace the natural world in my home.  I believe in both Christianity and Wicca.  There are many more mundane dualities (I have two children, a boy and a girl) and many more that I keep close to me.  I long to let everyone know of these dualities but fear repercussions should they truly be discovered.  There are other good examples but I believe this is enough for everyone to understand where the name is from.

As for what will eventually be found here, I plan to fill these postings with my many findings on natural living, on embracing the simple life while maintaining a life outside my home, of my beliefs and information surrounding them.  It is hard to find information on the Christian Witch and what makes up that Path.  I actively seek out this information and would like to amass it for others to easily be able to find it.  I also actively seek out natural remedies, recipes, and solutions and want to have those easily found as well. 

Do not look to me as one who has answers though.  I have opinions and beliefs and information but the only place you will find answers is within yourself.  I encourage everyone to read and interpret my thoughts and believes in their own light.  I may have answers to practical matters like: What is the best natural way to clean glass?  Vinegar, diluted so you can handle the odor.  Ask me about recipes, ways that I have found things, and anything else and I will happily answer.  I will happily give my opinion as well on religion and life but those are your answers to find.  

This is my path.  I am still learning, still discovering.  I fall and I get back up.  I laugh and I cry.  But in the end I know that there is goodness.  Do not take my word as truth but as the simplicity of one voice saying, "This is what I believe."