SalemWitchChild

Welcome Nik.

No I don't think they were ever popular.

HI Guys, Some of you know me, some do not. If you don't, I"m a long term member and witch. I use to be very active and helped moderate the forum at one time. Life took me away from forums and blogs for awhile. I started a journey of personal development, and being the busy witch/mom/wife that I am, I didn't have much time for much else. However I've graduated (yay me) and I'm getting back to my roots a bit. A community of friends and other Pagans in my area see a need to create a spiritual counseling and recovery outreach program that is non-denominational / Pagan in nature. Our area is hit hard with opioid and other drug usage. There's a Christian based recovery and spiritual counseling center here, but it doesn't cover the needs of those who are not Christian. This can impede an addicts recovery if they do not fit the mould of a typical Christian. My question here is if anyone has first hand experience filing 501c4 paperwork for tax exempt status. I really have no experience handling this, and it makes me apprehensive to move forward. I'm not sure how to go about getting funding for this. Obviously there can be no profit. So we're not sure how to secure funding and handle taxes.

Yes and no. If someone is true to their beliefs, they'll be a better person. If they are not true to their beliefs, they likely won't.

I use to do spiritual counseling and psychic readings on Yahoo's chat. Loved that. Miss it a lot! I met so many interesting people. It's actually why I became ordained because I was doing so many spiritual counseling sessions, I thought it best I be ordained.

Hi Jon. Yes, but this could apply to anything, not specifically Pagans or Wiccans. A persons Diabetes support group could lose their education material, for instance. I think the exodus away from private forums to Facebook groups was a mistake. With forums, the administrators could control content more.

This is just a rant about how she doesn't feel safe from crazy white men and facebook banned her for it. Not sure how it ties into Paganism.

Witch can be used for both male and female practitioners. Most use this title. There is a small portion of Pagans trying to take back the names Warlock or Wizard for male witches. To many it means Oathbreaker, others say differently. Hedge witch is a type of Pagan that usually has specialized in herbal applications. Either for skin care, medicine, etc. Here's an article about Hedge Witches.

Blessings, love and light dear friend.

It's been a very long time. Hey Mererdog! lol I'll give it a go.

The only clay I'd recommend not using is Polymer clay. This is because its a type of plastic, and for spiritual items that would not be a good material to use.

The only brand I've ever used is just plain ol Crayola air dry clay. While I'm working I keep it wet so I have more time to form whatever I'm working on. When it is drying you can wet it a bit if it cracks to seal over the crack. But it may crack again. Once I have it formed I let the clay dry for about 2 hrs. Then I use a clear polyurathane gloss to seal it. This prevents the cracking.

Ty, I tried selling on Etsy but it didn't work out. No interest in them I guess.

It is air dry clay and can be bought in the craft section of Wal-mart or other craft stores. I use air dry clay because its cheap, but I do have problems with cracking. I use a clear polyurathane gloss to avoid the cracks. It seems to work if I get it on before the cracking starts. But I'm hesitant to clear coat it while the clay is wet. Very nice. You can either upload the pictures using the attach file feature. (Note you must be on full reply option, not quick reply.) Or you can use a hosting site like Photobucket. Upload the pictures there than post the URL code they generate to share it here.

A Lord and Lady. I edited the Lord because he's anatomically correct. Didn't know if that would be appropriate here. The Goddess has a Moonstone imbedded in her womb. The Lord has a Tigers eye over his heart. Runes with crochet bag. Runes themselves.

My clay Isis. It's still wet here so that's why its still in a plastic cup in the pic. After it dried it just slips right out of the cup. My Cernunnos. He didn't stick well to the cup I made for him. So its just his head and torso that survived. Wand, my DD ended up with this. She has it on her little mini altar. Prayer Shawl. This took me about 3 months to crochet, but it was worth it. A little pentacle tree ornament.

It really depends on the individual. Some are further along on their spiritual journey than others. Age is not a factor either. I've seen 50 yr olds more spiritually lost than a teen. What I've experienced is what CAN happen if you put effort and dedication into self discovery and spritiual practice. A lot of it was analysing my true feelings. Like with Cernunnos. The reason why I hadn't been close to a god all those years is because of my experience with men. I would not LET him come through. Only when I began to put those feelings aside did he come to me. It's a journey of self discovery and development. There are many bumps along the path. Each one hurting a little bit to cross. But when you get to the other side you are so much healthier and stronger from the experience. Are my experiences "common"? Well I don't really know. Certainly a lot of people I know have some kind of experience encountering deity. Each one is a little different, which is to be expected. We see the deity as we envision them to be. Most see their deity in meditation. Visions are, in my exerpience, very rare, and often life altering. Pagan forums are not really a good indication of the Pagan population. I stear clear of them most of the time as well. The ones often saying, "you're doing it wrong" are posers or your snot nosed teen that read a book and think she (or he) is a high priest(ess). I prefer going to local metaphysical stores and local festivals for Pagan community. Even if everyone doesn't agree there, we are certainly more respectful of each other! Maybe you should seek out a shope near you to see for yourself. Most are welcoming of every path, as long as you enter without judgement and with respect.

I'm just going to link my blog because I don't feel like typing it all out again. I don't see physical manifestations. Isis was a vision. Cernunnos was the way I see spirits. I saw him in my mind and felt his presence. Relationship with Deity - ISIS Lord of the Hunt - Cernunnos

Murph glad your MIL is doing a bit better. Prayers for her continued recovery. On another note, DH is trying to quit smoking with Chantax. He's cig free now for about 2 weeks.

I think it is different for everyone. At 15 I knew I was in love and wasn't going to let anyone stop me from being with my BF. It was even more difficult because he is 10 yrs older than I am. Here I am at 32, married happily to him for almost 16 yrs now and we have two beautiful kids. If I had let all those nay sayers win back then I wouldn't have a great family and husband. I definitely made the right choice. When people say teens don't know what love is, I laugh. Yeah some of them, and maybe even the majority, may not know what love is. But that is not because of their age.

We've already celebrated Ostara at home. We did a ritual, where we planted seeds inside egg shells to represent our return to growth and new beginnings. We'll plant them outside (sunflowers) when they are ready. Then I gave the kids candy and we all sat around while I told a story about Eostre and her bunny who lays eggs. Today we'll be going to MIL's house for a dinner and maybe an egg hunt.

I believe aliens are possible, and maybe even probable. Perhaps in ancient times they were worshiped. Especially if they visited and the ancient civilizations witnessed their arrival. But no they do not have any impact on who I worship.

The ones I work with most are Isis and Cernunnos. But I believe in them all. Not as sentient beings but as the creative energy of our world.

I'm aware others don't share my opinion, which is why I added the "Imo" part. Just like some see the word "magic" as the entertainment magic, and "magick" as spiritual work. I personally use magick in relation to spiritual practice.