Australian Witchcraft
Casting Circle:
In Australia, deosil means anticlockwise and tuathail (widdershins) means clockwise. This is the way the Sun traverses the Southern skies.
Water in the East;since the Pacific Ocean is to the East. Commence the Circle Casting in the East at Lughnassad (Lammas) and Mabon and full moon.
Fire in the North;for us, the Sun is usually in the North as we are south of the Equator. Commence Circle Casting in the North for Beltaine and Litha.
Air in the South;the southerly winds are well noted in Australia. Commence Circle Casting in the South for Samhain and Yule.
Earth in the West;cool and dark, the Earth is associated with our cooler times when we feel the continental land mass close by. Commence Circle Casting in the West for Imbolc and Ostara and dark moon.
By Lady Snowflake
The Wheel of the Year
Yuleis held in the middle of winter, approx 21st June.
At Yule we celebrate with Yule tree, the Yule Log, gifts etc. It is the birth of the sun god
Yule is the New Year for our circle/coven
Imbolc is 1st August. This is the beginning of Spring, time of new beginnings, purification and making the candles for the sabbat year. Time of Initiations.
Ostara, the Spring Equinox, is celebrated approx 21st September.
At Ostara we make chocolates, plant seeds and celebrate the web of life.
Beltaineoccurs 1st November. Our herbs, flowers & crops have all been planted and it is time to quicken their growth. This is the beginning of Summer.
At Beltaine we dance around the Maypole, do spiral dance and honour the wedding of the Gods.
Midsummerwe celebrate approx 21st December, when most others around us are doing 'the Christmas thing'.
At Summer Solstice we celebrate the fairy realm, we give donations to the childrens ward and honour the God at his peak strength.
Lughnassadhwe celebrate 1st February. We give thanks for the sun god Lugh and the first harvest. It is the beginning of Autumn.
At Lughnassadh we hold our own fun games of Lugh and the winner is the Queen/King of Lughnassadh. We honour the first harvest with fresh loaves of bread.
Mabonis celebrated approx 21st March, the second harvest.
At Mabon we celebrate the grape harvest with wine and have our annual thanksgiving feast.
Samhainwe celebrate 1st May. The gates between this world and the next open allowing the new souls to pass on and those who have died during the year to enter the world .
We honour our relatives/friends passed on in last 12 month, our ancestors and those from the burning times.
By Lady Snowflake
We know,
That when rested and refreshed among our dear ones,
We will be re-born again,
By thy grace and the grace of the Great Mother.
Let it be in the same place
And at the same time as our beloved ones,
And may we meet and know and remember,
And love them again.
Blessed Be!
(author of poem - the Farrars)
Yhi
Yhi is an Australian aboriginal creation and light goddess. She was asleep in the Dreamtime, but when she awoke and opened her eyes she flooded the world with light. She wandered the bone-bare, windless mountains. With each step, plants sprang from her footprints. She walked the world surface until she had stepped everywhere and every inch was covered with green. She then rested on the treeless Nullarbor Plain.
She saw that the plants could not move or dance. In search of the dance, she descended beneath the earth, where evil spirits tried to sing her to death. Yhi's warmth melted the darkness, and butterflies, bees, and insects became a dancing mass that she led into the sunlit world. She then spread her light into dark caves, melting the ice there. Fish and lizards swam out of the darkness. Birds and animals appeared, and the earth was dancing with life.
Yhi then told the creatures that she was returning to her world, but she blessed them with changing seasons, and the knowledge that when they died they would join her in the sky. She then turned herself into a ball of light and sank below the horizon, and the earth was in darkness. The creatures were afraid and there was sorrow and mourning until they finally slept. But Yhi never intended to abandon her creation, and soon there was the first dawn.
For eons of Dreamtime, the animals lived in peace, put then they began to feel a vague sadness, and no longer delighted in what they were. Yhi felt sorry for them, so she returned to earth and asked what was wrong. Wombat wanted to wiggle along the ground. Kangaroo wanted to fly. Bat wanted wings. Seal wanted to swim. And the confused Platypus wanted something of every other animal. Yhi gave them what they wanted, then swept herself up to the sky again.
She had one other task yet to complete: the creation of woman. She had already created man and set him wandering the earth. But he was different from the plants, insects, and animals, and he was lonely. Yhi went to him one morning as he was dreaming near a grass tree. When he awoke, he saw the flower stalk on the grass tree shining with sunlight. He was drawn to the tree, as were all the earth's other creatures. Reverent and astonished, they watched as the power of Yhi concentrated itself on the flower stalk. It began to move rhythmically-to breathe. Then it changed form, softened, became a woman. Slowly emerging into the light from which she was formed, the first woman gave her hand to the first man.
To the original Pagans of this land ~ Blessed Be (from National Library of Australia website I have been told) The Dreaming and Spirituality
Aboriginal spirituality holds an interest for many people. Aboriginal religion or spirituality is the Dreaming, the spirit of the Land.
"Pukulpa Tjunguringkunytja
We walk together on sacred ground,
Black feet, white feet,
Foot prints soft upon the land,
The Tjukurpa moves beneath our feet,
The landscape is alive.
Anangu Guides and white guides,
working together.
We stand firm in our laws of the two cultures,
keeping the culture and natural heritage strong.
Our feet on sacred ground,
our hands reach up to hold the new circle of life;
The campfire, the waterhole,
where people of all cultures can meet and share."
- Diana James, 1995
Casting Circle:
In Australia, deosil means anticlockwise and tuathail (widdershins) means clockwise. This is the way the Sun traverses the Southern skies.
Water in the East;since the Pacific Ocean is to the East. Commence the Circle Casting in the East at Lughnassad (Lammas) and Mabon and full moon.
Fire in the North;for us, the Sun is usually in the North as we are south of the Equator. Commence Circle Casting in the North for Beltaine and Litha.
Air in the South;the southerly winds are well noted in Australia. Commence Circle Casting in the South for Samhain and Yule.
Earth in the West;cool and dark, the Earth is associated with our cooler times when we feel the continental land mass close by. Commence Circle Casting in the West for Imbolc and Ostara and dark moon.
By Lady Snowflake
The Wheel of the Year
Yuleis held in the middle of winter, approx 21st June.
At Yule we celebrate with Yule tree, the Yule Log, gifts etc. It is the birth of the sun god
Yule is the New Year for our circle/coven
Imbolc is 1st August. This is the beginning of Spring, time of new beginnings, purification and making the candles for the sabbat year. Time of Initiations.
Ostara, the Spring Equinox, is celebrated approx 21st September.
At Ostara we make chocolates, plant seeds and celebrate the web of life.
Beltaineoccurs 1st November. Our herbs, flowers & crops have all been planted and it is time to quicken their growth. This is the beginning of Summer.
At Beltaine we dance around the Maypole, do spiral dance and honour the wedding of the Gods.
Midsummerwe celebrate approx 21st December, when most others around us are doing 'the Christmas thing'.
At Summer Solstice we celebrate the fairy realm, we give donations to the childrens ward and honour the God at his peak strength.
Lughnassadhwe celebrate 1st February. We give thanks for the sun god Lugh and the first harvest. It is the beginning of Autumn.
At Lughnassadh we hold our own fun games of Lugh and the winner is the Queen/King of Lughnassadh. We honour the first harvest with fresh loaves of bread.
Mabonis celebrated approx 21st March, the second harvest.
At Mabon we celebrate the grape harvest with wine and have our annual thanksgiving feast.
Samhainwe celebrate 1st May. The gates between this world and the next open allowing the new souls to pass on and those who have died during the year to enter the world .
We honour our relatives/friends passed on in last 12 month, our ancestors and those from the burning times.
By Lady Snowflake
We know,
That when rested and refreshed among our dear ones,
We will be re-born again,
By thy grace and the grace of the Great Mother.
Let it be in the same place
And at the same time as our beloved ones,
And may we meet and know and remember,
And love them again.
Blessed Be!
(author of poem - the Farrars)
Yhi
Yhi is an Australian aboriginal creation and light goddess. She was asleep in the Dreamtime, but when she awoke and opened her eyes she flooded the world with light. She wandered the bone-bare, windless mountains. With each step, plants sprang from her footprints. She walked the world surface until she had stepped everywhere and every inch was covered with green. She then rested on the treeless Nullarbor Plain.
She saw that the plants could not move or dance. In search of the dance, she descended beneath the earth, where evil spirits tried to sing her to death. Yhi's warmth melted the darkness, and butterflies, bees, and insects became a dancing mass that she led into the sunlit world. She then spread her light into dark caves, melting the ice there. Fish and lizards swam out of the darkness. Birds and animals appeared, and the earth was dancing with life.
Yhi then told the creatures that she was returning to her world, but she blessed them with changing seasons, and the knowledge that when they died they would join her in the sky. She then turned herself into a ball of light and sank below the horizon, and the earth was in darkness. The creatures were afraid and there was sorrow and mourning until they finally slept. But Yhi never intended to abandon her creation, and soon there was the first dawn.
For eons of Dreamtime, the animals lived in peace, put then they began to feel a vague sadness, and no longer delighted in what they were. Yhi felt sorry for them, so she returned to earth and asked what was wrong. Wombat wanted to wiggle along the ground. Kangaroo wanted to fly. Bat wanted wings. Seal wanted to swim. And the confused Platypus wanted something of every other animal. Yhi gave them what they wanted, then swept herself up to the sky again.
She had one other task yet to complete: the creation of woman. She had already created man and set him wandering the earth. But he was different from the plants, insects, and animals, and he was lonely. Yhi went to him one morning as he was dreaming near a grass tree. When he awoke, he saw the flower stalk on the grass tree shining with sunlight. He was drawn to the tree, as were all the earth's other creatures. Reverent and astonished, they watched as the power of Yhi concentrated itself on the flower stalk. It began to move rhythmically-to breathe. Then it changed form, softened, became a woman. Slowly emerging into the light from which she was formed, the first woman gave her hand to the first man.
To the original Pagans of this land ~ Blessed Be (from National Library of Australia website I have been told) The Dreaming and Spirituality
Aboriginal spirituality holds an interest for many people. Aboriginal religion or spirituality is the Dreaming, the spirit of the Land.
"Pukulpa Tjunguringkunytja
We walk together on sacred ground,
Black feet, white feet,
Foot prints soft upon the land,
The Tjukurpa moves beneath our feet,
The landscape is alive.
Anangu Guides and white guides,
working together.
We stand firm in our laws of the two cultures,
keeping the culture and natural heritage strong.
Our feet on sacred ground,
our hands reach up to hold the new circle of life;
The campfire, the waterhole,
where people of all cultures can meet and share."
- Diana James, 1995
