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Animal Sign – Virginia Black RatSnake

May13
Eastern Ratsnake

Eastern Ratsnake – Virginia Herpetological Society
Picture by Paul Sattler

My Friday the 13th, 2016 Adventure

It seems fitting to have an encounter with a black animal on Friday the 13th. We have cats, and a wild black cat hangs around house now and then throughout the week. So for us, cats aren’t unusual.

But this afternoon while I was going out on an errand, I ran into some traffic at the security gate to our neighborhood. Now if you’ve followed my blog for a little while, you may know we live on large lake in a gated community. We have a great deal of wild life around here, including various types of snakes. In and out of the water. But I didn’t expect to see a snake in the road in the highest traffic area of our entire community.

As I was pulling up to the exit side of the gate house, I noticed something in the road. People were driving around it or right over it, but either way, careful not to hit it. When I approached, I realized it was a snake. Two of my favorite security guys were out there, keeping their distance with another resident pointing and looking at the snake. But they didn’t seem to know what to do about it. Continue reading →

Happy Friday the 13th, 2016!

May13

Black WolfMay 13, 2016

It’s another occurrence of the 13th falling on a Friday. And to Pagan’s that’s a good day!

Fear of Friday the 13th is known as triskaidekaphobes.

While the mainstream Western World runs in fear from Friday the 13th, many pagans should shed those made up connotations and revel in the day as one to be celebrated with joy and excitement. It’s a time to let go of the old that maybe holding you back and welcome in the new. It’s a day to honor the Divine (whatever that is to you) and connect with spirit for progress, and positive transformation. It’s a good day to create new ritual tools, such as carving a new wand, fashioning a new broom or even simply cleaning off your altar and re-organizing your supply closet.

Whither you’re Pagan or not, everyone here at Springwolf Reflections and Spring’s Haven would like to send out our wish for you to have a Wondrous and Happy Friday the 13th to One and All!

Learn more about Friday the 13th:

 

© 2012-2013 This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf - Springwolf's Hanko
© 2012 – 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Spring’s Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Full Moon In The Southern Hemisphere

Apr30
"Merlin In The Moon" by Springwolf 🐾

“Merlin In The Moon” by Springwolf 🐾

What Is The Name Of The Moon

As with all things in the world, where you are located will dictate how you associate this to that. Meaning and names of objects like the Moon vary around the world. Cultures assign names to each full moon based on their traditions, climate, animals, crops and how they view the world around them. There isn’t one complete list of this to that anywhere or for anything. There are many.

When it comes to Full Moon names, you can’t simply take a set of names from the North, reverse them and apply them to the South. This assumes we all look at things the same way through the same eyes. Imagine a Native American from the Cherokee Nation applying their moon names to the Aboriginal moon phases in Australia. It probably wouldn’t make sense to the folks who live down under.

But because Europeans settled in both the North and South, many of the moon names traveled with them to new lands and continents. In many ways this does a dis-service to the original peoples of the land in question and the names they came to know and associate with the Moon phases. Like the Tribal Nations in America, each group has its own language. The most common reference for the moon is Alkina and it’s associated with female energy. But try to find which Aboriginal Nation uses that word. I didn’t have any luck at all. Many words for the moon in other nations associate the moon with masculine energy. And that’s just Australia.

The Maori are the first people of New Zealand. They brought their Polynesian Mythology and the name of Moon with them to the land of the Kiwis. Here the Moon gets her name from the Goddess Marama, who governs the Moon and Death.

Continue reading →

The Power Of The Bald Eagle

Apr4
The Bald Eagle from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Bald Eagle from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

It’s My Lucky Day

I’ve made mention here before that 4 is my favorite and my lucky number. Today is 04-04-2016 and those double fours seem to be speaking to me today.

When I left the house this morning I found a large bird feather behind my little SUV. We have a lot of Red Tail and Red Shoulder hawks around here. But while I examined it, I knew it wasn’t a hawk feather, because it didn’t have the identifying stripes.

We live on a lake, but I also knew it wasn’t from our visiting Canadian Geese. But still I wasn’t sure what it was. So in an effort to identify the feather, I took a picture and uploaded it to Google’s image search. When I found several matches I knew I had my source. But to be honest I was seriously shocked to discover its the tail feather of a Bald Eagle.

We have a couple of nesting pairs of Bald Eagle here on our lake. We’ve seen them over the years flying by the water’s edge. Even caught sight of one fishing on one occasion. “He” dove into the water, disappeared and re-emerged with a fish between his talons. It was indeed a marvelous sight. We’ve seen them in the winter sitting on the ice near an open pool and we managed to capture one in a very bad picture eating a fish on the ice one winter.

Now being a Shaman, any eagle medicine is a very powerful animal message to me. You don’t come by Bald Eagle feathers every day. Heck, I’ve never seen one in this type of situation in my entire life. So this is a big deal to me. Wholly guacamole! Continue reading →

2016 Equinox and the Full Moon

Mar18
Moon Phase by Udell Enterprises, Inc.

Moon Phase by Udell Enterprises, Inc.

A Special Conjunction

This year, the first equinox coincides with a full moon. For Pagans this heightens the energy for both the Equinox holiday and the observance of the full moon.

The equinox marks that time of the year when the Earth begins to shift on its axis. It marks the change of seasons for each hemisphere; from Winter to Spring in the north and Summer to Fall in the south.

It’s best known as being the time when the number of hours for the day is equal to the number of hours for the night. But this isn’t accurate.

..day and night are not exactly equal at the equinox for two reasons. First, daytime begins the moment any part of the Sun is over the horizon, and it is not over until the last part of the Sun has set. If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’ – From The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Here in Richmond Virginia, the equinox officially occurs on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 12:30 AM EDT. That’s midnight on Saturday night. You can visit TimeAndDate.com to find the exact time in your area.

This astronomical event has long been observed as a spiritual occurrence. And that’s certainly true for Pagans around the world. But what that holiday celebrates and who or what it honors depends on if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere or in the South. Since Pagans begin their holiday observance at sunset and celebrate during the night hours, this becomes an important honoring of the event. Continue reading →

What Creates A Successful Union

Mar9
Respectful Love

Respectful Love

Respectful Commitments
While I’m waiting for scans to run on my laptop, I was reminded of what makes a relationship work. It can be applied to any relationship, but in particular to intimate relationships. Whither it’s a marriage or a long-term partnership, you can’t sustain any relationship for the long haul without respect.

When I officiate a wedding, a handfasting, or any commitment ceremony, I always include this:
“A marriage cannot exist and thrive without mutual respect. Respect of ideas, feelings and expressions of conscious and desire. Without respect you cannot support each others dreams, or care for one another in sickness. You cannot share the intimacy of your love, or honor the sacrifices you each will make to sustain your partnership and your family. Respect will maintain your love for one another even when those moments of dissatisfaction arise and angry words are spoken.”

Respect will pull you together in times of stress and struggle. Instead of pushing you apart and creating dissatisfaction, blame and anger that can tear your love apart. It creates a united front based on support and wanting to overcome the challenges life can throw at you. Working together and holding each other up when one of you loses the energy to fight sustains your strength as a partnership. Reminding each other that “we will be ok” goes a long way to helping each of you to fight another day and triumph over adversity.

But respect also works when times are good. When you’re walking down the street and feel the pull to walk arm in arm. For the 20year relationship that sits at a restaurant and still reaches across the table to touch each others hand. It reminds you of why you fell in love in the first place and promotes those soft intimate moments to rub a shoulder, or caress a knee when laughter overcomes you both. Respect is what’s needed for any long-term relationship of love. When you respect your partner, nothing can pull you apart.

Additional Reading:

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki

Mar8
Healing Through Compassion & Affirmation

Reiki: Caring with Compassion

From A Traditional Reiki Master

Reiki is an ancient art of healing. It is often referred to as a Zen art of hands on holistic healing, where the healer is a channel for the Divine Universal Life Force Energy.

From the Reiki Alliance:
Reiki is a Japanese word translated as “Universal Life Energy” by Hawayo Takata. 
She brought the possibility of a relationship with this energy to us through Usui Shiki Ryoho, a healing system founded by Mikao Usui in the early part of the 1900’s.

Usui Shiki Ryoho can be translated as “the Usui System of Natural Healing.”
Until the mid-1990’s, this was the most common translation and was used by nearly all of the various forms of hands on healing practice that came from Hawayo Takata’s teaching. At this time, Phyllis Lei Furumoto decided to return to the Japanese title of the practice to identify the form of practice and the system that she teaches: Usui Shiki Ryoho.

Takata trained 21 Reiki Masters before her death in 1980. One of those Masters was Rev. Beth Gray, who was my first Reiki teacher for Reiki I and II. I have been a practicing Reiki Healer since 1989.

Traditional Reiki Hanko

Traditional Reiki Hanko

I convinced a friend to take Reiki, who said she would if I took the classes with her. I call these my refresher classes, this time with John Harvey Gray (Beth’s husband). I really found the refreshers beneficial and they inspired me to take the next step and I became a Reiki Master Channel in 1996.

Over the past two decades of practice I have learned a few things and changed my view of some aspects of Reiki. I originally wrote a set of  articles about Reiki and what I had learned in 1999, and shared them on my website PagansPath and they have seriously needed updating. Primarily because of the evolution of Reiki around the world, some good, some not so good. And because my views on the traditional teachings have also evolved. With practice comes greater understanding and insight.

I overhauled this section in January 2013 and added my Reiki Introduction to my business site, Spring’s Haven. I continue to add and update to these articles, along with sharing perspectives about Reiki here on my blog.  Below you will find links to both the Reiki Introduction and the additional blog perspectives.

Additional Reading:

 

© Springwolfs Hanko
© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Full Moon – February 22, 2016

Feb22
"Merlin In The Moon" by Springwolf 🐾

“Merlin In The Moon” by Springwolf 🐾

What’s In A Number and Name?

This weekend I saw several posts on social media talking about today’s full moon and the message behind the moon falling on 2-22 (222). These posts discuss the message of the date in terms of Angel Numerology by Doreen Virtue. Sharing the message that the date indicates:
“Trust that everything is working out exactly as it’s supposed to, with Divine blessings for everyone involved. Let go and have faith.”

I’ll be quite honest, I’ve always had an issue with this method of numerology, because it doesn’t focus on the uniqueness of numbers. Which is very important when you’re talking about a date in numerology. Every year has a 2-22 (222), whither or not it has a full moon or not. So the message is the same every year on this date. But what about the this specific date for February 22, 2016? Continue reading →

The 2016 Motto

Feb21
By Springwolf 🐾 ©2016

By Springwolf 🐾 © 2012-2016

Keeping An Annual Resolution

Every year, people around the world create a resolution for the coming months. Most of them deal with change. Losing weight, exercise more, eating better, many things to work on the self and often on their appearance. But few people keep those annual resolutions.

Most of these resolutions miss the point for implementing the goal they’re trying to achieve. If you want real change in your life, start with changing your thinking. One of the best ways to do that, is to create a daily affirmation. Or in this case, an annual motto.

I’ve been creating an annual motto for decades. But I’ve been tracking those mottoes since 2001. I keep them here on the Quotes page of the blog. Now it’s time for the new motto for this year.

My 2016 Motto:
I let go of worry and trust the Divine will care for me and my family. I am filled with prosperity for financial and healthy abundance.

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© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Earth Based Spirituality

Feb15

Paganism & Pagan MetaphysicsI have received a fair number of emails over the past two months asking about the Pagan Earth Based Spirituality. And I’d like to clear up a modern misconception about this.

Paganism of today, especially Pagan Metaphysics is not “earth centered” but rather centered on a larger “cosmic” perspective of life and spirit. This has come about because Pagan Metaphysics strives to grow and broaden its understanding of life and spirit based on new knowledge and discoveries.

Way back when, Earth was the center of the cosmic universe. We know today that this isn’t true. It would be silly to maintain that view today. We grow our views through learning and research, instead of remaining stagnate in the way some other 2000+ year old religious organizations do.  Every thing in life changes. That includes views, beliefs, knowledge and wisdom. They cannot stay the same and refuse to look at how new discoveries evolve old understandings.

This is supported by the idea that Physics and Metaphysics aren’t at odds with each other, but rather depend on each other to understand our physical/spiritual existence. We are bound to expand our knowledge and by doing so, we should grow our understanding and wisdom of our existence. In Paganism, we evolve our understanding to fit what we know now. By doing so, we continue to grow and move toward Divine spiritual enlightenment.

Additional Reading:

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.