Tag Archive | tolerance

The Numerology Of Friday June 13, 2014

Jun12
"Merlin In The Moon" by Springwolf 🐾

“Merlin In The Moon” by Springwolf 🐾

The Science Of Numbers

Tomorrow is a special Friday the 13th as it also coincides with June’s Full Moon. That’s a rare occurrence and it does have meaning to Pagans. (Friday the 13th and the Full Moon – June 13th, 2014). But so do the numbers within the date itself.

Mathematics is the only language shared by all humans regardless of culture, religion, or gender. We all use the same constructs to add up a basket of groceries regardless of country fund, be it dollars, yen, rubles or pounds. This type of literacy is called numeracy, which has been the shared language of people throughout history and across continents. It links together people from ancient times, old scholars and medieval merchants to artists, modern astronauts, presidents and every day people like you and me.

Consequently many people believe that numbers share insight and meaning to events and people associated with those events. Of course that also applies to Friday the 13th days. And since this one falls on a full moon, the more information and insight you have about the day, the better you can plan your observances for that moment in time. Continue reading →

The Popularity of Friday the 13th

Jun11
thirteen-wolf

I’m not a cat person. A Black Wolf will do fine
for my Friday the 13th Message.

What The Numbers Say

One day closer to Friday the 13th’s Full Moon and another post to make note of this special event. This time it’s a little more personal.

I’ve been writing about Friday the 13th since starting my blog in 2012. It’s come around 4 times so far. Each time I try to share something new about the day and how we Pagans think of the day. “The History of Friday The 13th – A Good Day For Pagans” is by far the most popular topic for a one day event here on Springwolf Reflections.

The most popular topic on average each year has been, and continues to be “Soul Mates, Twin Souls & Karmic Relationships“.

On September 13th, 2013 Reflections had it’s most popular single day. 788 views! And the number one reason? Yep Friday the 13th.

On December 13th, 2013 our visits were near that number, 732. Again, Friday the 13th.

This Friday the 13th coincides with June’s Full Moon. And traffic to Reflections has already started picking up. And again, for Friday the 13th. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how this week progresses. Yesterday alone brought 327 visitors. Almost half the number of our most popular day. And we were still 3 days away from Friday! Continue reading →

Friday, the 13th and The Full Moon

Jun10

Thirteen On Springwolf ReflectionsWhat’s In A Day?

Thirteen. The number of transition and change. The Witch’s Number. The number of a Perfect Coven and Black Cats.

We’re coming up on another Friday the 13th this week and as usual I wanted to take note of it. It’s typically seen as a day of Good Luck for Pagans. A time to celebrate and take note of transition and change in our lives. To welcome and honor that change as part of the circle of life and the flow of Nature’s energy.

The one constant in Nature is that nothing stays the same. All things change. But in general humans fear change. They’re scared of what’s coming around the corner and what they don’t know. Better the Devil you know, than the one you don’t. But wouldn’t it be better to welcome change and be excited about what’s to come?!

This Friday the 13th is also marked by a Full Moon. In my clan we call this month’s full moon the Strawberry Moon, but it has other Moon Names too. For the Celts it’s the Moon of Horses. For the early Colonials it’s the Rose Moon. For the Cherokee it’s the Green Corn Moon. And of course there are many more.

So is there something special about a full moon falling on Friday the 13th? Of course there is! Continue reading →

The Legend Of The Sun and The Moon

Jun9

sun-n-moonThe History Of How The Sun Loved The Moon

“Tell me the story about how the Sun loved the Moon so much he died every night to let her breathe.”

Oh and yes, it’s breathe. You take in a breath that allows your lungs to breathe. Seems there has been some debate about that too.

The quote itself has captured the imagination of people world-wide. But what is the story and where did it come from? What’s the history or origin of the phrase? Who said it? And what’s the whole story?

I’ve spent a good deal of time searching and delving into the history of this phrase. And continue to search, for the original source. My initial assessment hasn’t changed. No one actually knows where it originated. So far…

Some believe it’s a spin on a much earlier folktale “Why the Sun Chases the Moon”. But there’s no real factual evidence linking these two together. Mostly supposition and that doesn’t make the link clear. It makes it a theory based on opinion. Not good enough for me.

Whither it’s a claim that the story was inspired from the Bible, the Australian Aborigines, Indo-European Pagans, the Norse, the Mayans, various Native American Nations or any other variety of cultures, people want to be “the originators” of this grand phrase and subsequent story. It’s such a great line, everyone simply wants the quote to come from “their” cultural origin and their history.  Continue reading →

Thoughts Of Maya Angelou

May29
Thoughts & Prayers

Thoughts & Prayers

A Woman Who Gave Us All Something To Think About

A statement from Wake Forest University, where Maya Angelou had been professor of American studies since 1982, said: “Dr Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world.”

Women of my age and older have a lot of thanks to extend to Dr. Angelou for her tireless work to bring equality to all people, regardless of race or gender; or anything else for that matter. Her work for civil rights, human rights, and women’s rights always gave us all something to think about and ponder through her poetry and words.

On May 28th, her family posted this message on Dr. Angelou’s facebook page:
Thursday, May 28, 2014
Statement from Dr. Maya Angelou’s Family:
Dr. Maya Angelou passed quietly in her home before 8:00 a.m. EST. Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension. She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love.
Guy B. Johnson

There are so many tributes to her and her life, what she meant to the world, to African-Americans, to women and others. I won’t even try to put into words the legacy she leaves behind as I think it would pale in comparison to her own words and to what others have written over the past few days about her.

For my own view of Dr. Angelou, I’ll remember her for her comments on spirituality and the words she used to share her journey to finding her own path of faith. She was raised Christian, but went on a discovery to find her own essence of spiritual life. Continue reading →

An Unexpected Visitor

May24

We Have Bats Up In Here!

So the cats are in the bathroom getting into something. I go in and find the shower curtain rod halfway down the wall. I go to push it back up and I notice this big brown something on the wall. Now it’s the bathroom, so the first I think is ..yeah..poop. How the hell did poop get on the wall?

Ok, so it wasn’t a rational thought and I look closer. Uh..How the heck did this little guy get in here?!!

The Bat by Springwolf 🐾 ©201405

Click the Image for a Larger View

After the realization that it was a bat, comes the heart pounding OMG!! Ok, how am I going to get him out of here without hurting him or getting me bitten? I ran the cats out of the bathroom and closed the door. Which in and of itself was also irrational, the bathroom door had been open for several hours and he didn’t come out. So why would he come out now that I knew he was there? Right? Shut up, this isn’t your irrational moment! 😉 Continue reading →

Have A Blessed Memorial Day!

May24

Thank You For Your Service!

A deep and heart-felt Thank You to all the Men, Women and Soldier Animals of our Armed Services, living and in spirit! Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

Memorial Day

Produced by The U.S. Air Force News Agency

Thank You To ALL The Animal Vets

Thank You To ALL The Animal Vets

This weekend is a reminder of the sacrifices that have been made for freedom. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union Soldiers. The south too had its day of Decoration, but the date of celebration varied through out each region of the nation. Continue reading →

Reflecting On Ladybugs

May23

ladybugWhat Can Ladybugs Say

It’s spring time and that means all of nature is coming out of its long winter’s sleep. And that includes the Ladybug.

Seems like a lot of people have come across these formidable little creatures this year. I’ve received emails, messages and even one or two people in person have asked if I know what Ladybugs are trying to tell us when they come by.

According to Wikipedia:
The Ladybug is known as Coccinella magnifica
The Coccinellidae are a family of small beetles, ranging from 0.8 to 18 mm (0.0315 to 0.708 inches). They are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, heads and antennae. Such color patterns vary greatly, however; for example, a minority of species, such as Vibidia duodecimguttata, a twelve-spotted species, have whitish spots on a brown background. Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone.

They are called Ladybirds, Ladybugs, and even Ladycrows. Continue reading →

Unsolicited Advice is Always Self-Serving

May17
Feeling Put Upon

Feeling Put Upon

Why Does Advice Sometimes Backfire?

I try to spend a little time during the week reading in my favorite magazines or news stories that peak my interest. This week, I found one that hits home as it’s close to something I posted on FB a few weeks ago concerning how we sometimes make assumptions about other people’s lives.

“Giving unsolicited advice is what causes problems. Advice is often preceded by a judgment or an evaluation—which is based on our interpretation of a person or situation. Although you may sincerely intend to help or assist someone, giving unsolicited advice sends a variety of underlying messages which are all based on assumptions, and which are almost always perceived as negative to the person receiving the unwanted advice. As a result, advice often comes across as judgmental, authoritative, or self-serving.

When we give unsolicited advice, the judgmental assumption is, “You can’t figure this out on your own,” or “I don’t trust you to figure it out.”
     
The authoritative assumption is, “I know better than you,” or “I know and you don’t, so I have to tell you.”
     
The self-serving assumption is, “I need to give you the benefit of my advice to validate or to prove to myself how smart I am.” or worse “I need to tell you what to do, so I can be the hero that saved you from yourself.”

As a result, your judgement manifests through your advice and is often taken as a slight or insult, causing hurt feelings within the one you’re trying to help.”

If you want to help someone you care about, simply tell them that you’re thinking of them, you’re sending thoughts and prayers; and ask if there’s anything you can do, for them to please let you know. But don’t make assumptions about what they need or want. Continue reading →

Walking Your Talk Everyday

May15
Go Within And Learn

Go Within And Learn

Can You Stand Up To Your Own Standards

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I get a lot of email from folks around the world. I love getting email. Especially from far off exotic places. I love answering questions and hearing about the experiences of others as they traverse their own paths through life and spiritual exploration.

It’s a double edge sword being a writer and teacher of a spiritual path that has centuries of demonstrative propaganda to stand up to. There are wonderful moments of enlightenment, excitement when someone shares their “Ah-ha” moments, and the inner peace you feel when others thank you for helping them find their own truth within themselves. It’s a calling I’m proud to take and honored to share.

But from time to time there are nasty eMails that condemn my writing, call me names and are in general monstrous accusations of sin, guilt, damnation and so on.

Anyone however, can receive an email like this. How you view those emails might say a lot about you and your own spiritual thoughts and perspectives. It can be a litmus test for how far you’ve come on your path, where you are today and maybe even shed some light on where you need to go moving forward.

Do they offend you? Do you get angry or take them to heart? Do you feel the need to respond or do you simply ignore them. If you do ignore them do you still think about what you would have said and how you would have put them in their place had you responded? Do you carry their message with you even if you know their comments and attack on your character are invalid?

Yesterday I received an email and I asked folks on my FB page this question: Continue reading →