I was going to talk about cords in my last post because I mentioned the boys going through their Brown Cording next week.  Then I realized that if I talked about cords, that post would end up much longer than I really wanted it to be.  So, I figured the best thing to do was dedicate a whole post just to cords.  This is that post.

Cords – What Are They Good For?

In Wicca cords, knots and braids are used in magic a lot.  Actually, they are used in society a lot for all types of magic.  If you’ve ever “tied a ribbon on your finger” to remind yourself of something, you’ve done a little knot magic.  Ribbons being tied around packages are remnants of old magic and rituals.  And for the “serious” witch, you’ll use knots and cords in magic for bringing all sorts of good luck, wishes, and various outcomes to your life.

Although there are lots of different spells that can be found for tying knots (including the marriage knot), I’m not going to be talking about that here.  You can find that information just about anywhere.  What I am going to talk about are the cords that we wear in ritual.

In Wicca, but most specifically in the Ecclasian tradition, we wear cords of various colors during our rituals.  These cords aren’t just pretty belts to wear around our robes.  These are used for several reasons.  One reason is to show your standing or rank within the coven.  The other is to help keep you grounded and centered within the circle.

The Colors & Their Meanings:

• Brown – Just finished the beginning Wicca course and is dedicated to the Wiccan path.
• Black – Given at Wiccaning – a person who has gone through the “Threshold” and is on the path to Initiation into Ecclasia
• Silver/Gold – A Silver or Gold  strand is added to the Black cord at initiation, symbolizes a 1st degree initiate.  The choice of color is up to the initiate, Silver symbolizing the Goddess and Gold symbolizing the God.
• 2nd Silver/Gold – A second strand of either Silver or Gold is added to the Black cord at the 2nd degree.  Must be the opposite of what was chosen at 1st degree (i.e. If Silver chosen at 1st degree, Gold must be taken at 2nd.)
• Red – is add to those who choose the Teachers path in Ecclasia
• Blue – Added to those who choose to be healers
• Yellow – Added to those who choose to be diviners
• Green – Added to those who choose to be Herbologists
• White – The white cord is only given to those who go through 3rd degree training and have become elders in the path.

These are two examples of cords within the Ecclasian tradition.

Brown Cording

The Brown Cording ritual that my sons and the other students in the Beginning Wicca class will be going through is this coming Monday.  I obviously can not tell you anything about the actual ritual, but needless to say it’s a big step for anyone on this path.  They will be affirming their dedication to the Wiccan path and starting the Threshold into further studies.  I am proud of my sons and my students for taking this step and I am looking forward to guiding them further onto this path.  I’d like to thank each of them for allowing me to be their teacher and guide and I can’t wait to work with each of you further!

]]> http://www.paganwitch.com/2009/10/cords-knots-braids/feed/ 0 http://www.paganwitch.com/2009/12/crafts-time-yule/ http://www.paganwitch.com/2009/12/crafts-time-yule/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:52:13 +0000 Kendra http://www.paganwitch.com/?p=318 I know I’ve talked about some of the items that my altar still needs… the main thing is the Pentacle tile for blessings.  I’ve been trying to find one to buy, but none have really called out to me.  So my sweetheart suggested I make my own out of tile samples from Lowes or Home Depot.  Well, we didn’t get around to getting any, but one of my students said she had some tiles from her house laying around and would let me have some.  She brought me five!  That would be plenty!  I could make one for the class to use, which would be a simple pentacle with the elements listed at the correct points of the star, and then the others I could make for my personal altar, the boys, and even have one left over to make to give away at the Yule raffle!  So this weekend, that is exactly what I did.  These are the pictures of how they turned out, except for the class one, which is just a basic one, no need to show that one off.  LOL!

This is the one I will be giving away at Yule for Ecclasia.  I made one like this for my  youngest son Jack, as well.

This is the one that Roger picked for himself.  It’s a golden circle around branches that make up the star with leaves coming out of the end of the branches.  Originally I had the circle in yellow and red, but I really didn’t like the way it looked so covered it with the gold pain instead.

This is the last one that  I made.  It’s a celtic knotwork circle, with the colors of the 4 elements and silver rings and the star is gold.

I had a lot of fun making all of these pentacles and may very well decide to not only make more for gifts, but to sell them on etsy and ebay.  What do you think?  Is anyone out there interested in hand painted pentacle altar tiles like these?

]]> http://www.paganwitch.com/2009/12/crafts-time-yule/feed/ 0 http://www.paganwitch.com/2010/04/meaning-monday-divination/ http://www.paganwitch.com/2010/04/meaning-monday-divination/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:42:00 +0000 Kendra http://www.paganwitch.com/?p=384

From Dictionary.com:

div·i·na·tion[div-uh-ney-shuhn]

–noun

1. the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

2. augury; prophecy: The divination of the high priest was fulfilled.

3. perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.